cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
State Farm‐to‐School Laws Influence the Availability of Fruits and Vegetables in School Lunches at US Public Elementary Schools

BACKGROUND State laws and farm-to-school programs (FTSPs) have the potential to increase fruit and vegetable (FV) availability in school meals. This study examined whether FV were more available in public elementary school lunches in states with a law requiring/encouraging FTSPs or with a locally grown-related law, and whether the relationship between state laws and FV availability could be explained by schools opting for FTSPs. METHODS A pooled, cross-sectional analysis linked a nationally representative sample of public elementary schools with state laws. A series of multivariate logistic regressions, controlling for school-level demographics were performed according to mediation analysis procedures for dichotomous outcomes. RESULTS Roughly 50% of schools reported FV availability in school lunches on most days of the week. Schools with the highest FV availability (70.6%) were in states with laws and schools with FTSPs. State laws requiring/encouraging FTSPs were significantly associated with increased FV availability in schools and a significant percentage (13%) of this relationship was mediated by schools having FTSPs. CONCLUSIONS Because state farm-to-school laws are associated with significantly higher FV availability in schools—through FTSPs, as well as independently—enacting more state legislation may facilitate increased FTSP participation by schools and increased FV availability in school meals.
The Unauthorized Mexican Immigrant Population and Welfare in Los Angeles County: A Comparative Statistical Analysis

Using a unique 1994 Los Angeles County Household Survey of foreign-born Mexicans and the March 1994 and 1995 Current Population Surveys we estimate the number of unauthorized Mexican immigrants (UMIs) residing in Los Angeles County and compare their use of seven welfare programs with that of other non-U.S. citizens and U.S. citizens. Non-U.S. citizens were found to be no more likely than U.S. citizens to have used welfare and UMIs were 11% (14%) less likely than other non-citizens (U.S.-born citizens).... We demonstrate how results differ depending on the unit of analysis employed and on which programs constitute `welfare. (EXCERPT)
Hemispheric Anomalies of 700 mb Height Related to Mean Temperature for Fall, Winter and Spring in the United States

Abstract Zonally averaged composite anomalies of 700 mb height for years preceding and during four warm winters in the contiguous United States show generally positive anomalies over subtropical and middle latitudes and generally negative anomalies over high latitudes. The overall composite hemispheric height anomaly was positive for the years with warm winters. For four years with cold winters, generally inverse composite patterns are noted. In both composites, pattern reversals with respect to latitude occur during the following spring seasons. The four warm and four cold winters were those whose average temperature anomalies, nationwide, were the largest in the 33-yeu period 1948–80. The occurrence of consecutive severe winters within this relatively short record places limits on interpretation. More generally, based on 33 years of data and Monte Carlo testing procedures, a statistical relation that is marginally significant at the 95% level appears to exist between the overall pattern of zonally avera...
Impact of Gate Assignment on Departure Metering

Departure metering reduces congestion by reducing the number of aircraft present on the airport surface at any time while not starving the runway. Because some departing flights are held at gates, there is a possibility that arriving flights cannot access the gates and have to wait until the gates are cleared. This is called a gate conflict. Robust gate assignment is an assignment that minimizes gate conflicts by assigning gates to aircraft to maximize the time gap between two consecutive flights at the same gate; it makes gate assignment robust, but passengers may walk longer to transfer flights. In order to simulate the airport departure process, a queuing model is introduced. The model is calibrated and validated with actual data from New York's LaGuardia Airport (LGA) and a large U.S. hub airport. Then, the model simulates the airport departure process with the current gate assignment and a robust gate assignment to assess the impact of gate assignment on departure metering. The results show that the robust gate assignment reduces the number of gate conflicts caused by departure metering compared with the current gate assignment. Therefore, robust gate assignment can be combined with departure metering to improve operations at congested airports with limited gate resources.
Relation between intraseasonal and interannual variability of the South Asian monsoon in the National Centers for Environmental Predictions forecast systems

[1] This study has investigated the extent to which the state-of-the-art general circulation models are able to reproduce the observed relation between the intraseasonal and interannual variability of the South Asian monsoon. Long simulations from two coupled models with different horizontal resolutions and one uncoupled model of the National Centers for Environmental Prediction Climate Forecast System are analyzed. Specifically, the observed feature that the interannual variability of the seasonal monsoon is largely determined by large-scale seasonally persistent modes rather than the nature and frequency of the intraseasonal oscillations has been examined in the model simulations. The importance of ocean-atmosphere interaction has also been examined by comparing the coupled and uncoupled model simulations. The models simulate the spatial structure of the mean and variability of the monsoon fairly well, although the details over the Indian land region are inadequate in all simulations. The variability of the rainfall is overestimated in the models, especially in the uncoupled version. The coupled simulations produce more realistic precipitation and circulation patterns, while the improvement in the mean and variability due to higher horizontal resolution is marginal. Composite and pattern correlation analyses indicate the presence of a large-scale seasonally persistent structure that largely determines the interannual variability of the seasonal mean monsoon. Consistent with the observations, the probability distributions of the pattern correlations indicate that the nature and frequency of the intraseasonal oscillations remain unchanged between strong and weak monsoon years. Similar to the observations, the model results provide hope for seasonal prediction of monsoon.
A mathematical analysis of carrier-facilitated diffusion

Abstract Carrier-facilitated diffusion in a one dimensional slab is analyzed. The method of matched asymptotic expansion is used to obtain solutions in both the near-equilibrium and the small facilitation limit. Consumption of the diffusing species within the slab is included in the analysis, so that the solutions are applicable to situations of physiological interest.
15N Kinetic Analysis of N2O Production by Nitrosomonas europaea: an Examination of Nitrifier Denitrification

A series of 15N isotope tracer experiments showed that Nitrosomonas europaea produces nitrous oxide only under oxygen-limiting conditions and that the labeled N from nitrite, but not nitrate, is incorporated into nitrous oxide, indicating the presence of the “denitrifying enzyme” nitrite reductase. A kinetic analysis of the m/z 44, 45, and 46 nitrous oxide produced by washed cell suspensions of N. europaea when incubated with 4 mM ammonium (99% 14N) and 0.4 mM nitrite (99% 15N) was performed. No labeled nitrite was reduced to ammonium. All labeled material added was accounted for as either nitrite or nitrous oxide. The hypothesis that nitrous oxide is produced directly from nitrification was rejected since (i) it does not allow for the large amounts of double-labeled (m/z 46) nitrous oxide observed; (ii) the observed patterns of m/z 44, 45, and 46 nitrous oxide were completely consistent with a kinetic analysis based on denitrification as the sole mechanism of nitrous oxide production but not with a kinetic analysis based on both mechanisms; (iii) the asymptotic ratio of m/z 45 to m/z 46 nitrous oxide was consistent with denitrification kinetics but inconsistent with nitrification kinetics, which predicted no limit to m/z 45 production. It is concluded that N. europaea is a denitrifier which, under conditions of oxygen stress, uses nitrite as a terminal electron acceptor and produces nitrous oxide.
Perisilicone proliferation after vitrectomy for proliferative vitreoretinopathy

From 1983 to 1986, silicone oil injections were used to treat 31 patients with retinal detachment (RD) and advanced proliferative vitreoretinopathy (PVR). In 19 eyes (61%), perisilicone proliferation (PSP) developed causing recurrent RDs in 15 eyes (49%). At an average of 5 weeks after surgery, PSP occurred and was characterized by extensive transparent preretinal membranes with denser focal areas. Microscopic examination of five preretinal membranes showed droplets of silicone oil and necrotic cells on the silicone side and glial or retinal pigment epithelial cells, or both, on the retinal side, often in layers separated by extracellular matrix. Silicone oil was present in periretinal membranes removed several months after the intraocular silicone had been evacuated indicating that silicone within cells may persist despite the removal of silicone. The use of silicone oil to provide tamponade in eyes with recurrent PVR is associated with a high incidence of periretinal proliferation that frequently leads to recurrent RD and visual failure.
Letters of reference: A process approach

References continue to be a required part of selection systems in employment settings and higher education. Previous research on references has often involved atheoretical validation studies. We propose that the reference message itself is but one step in a communication process and that letter tone, content, and structure can be analyzed to determine their contribution to process outcomes. A sample of 85 reference statements was used to demonstrate potential antecedents, measures, and outcomes suggested by this conceptualization. Antecedents including letter characteristics were significantly related to readers' evaluations and accept or reject recommendations. Results from regression analyses indicated initial support for measures of letter tone, content, and structure in predicting readers' evaluations. A communication-based framework is presented and implications for research and practice are discussed.
Zel'manov polynomials in quadratic Jordan triple systems

Abstract Zel'manov polynomials are elements of a free special Jordan system which are both hermitian (their values look like hermitian elements) and Clifford (they do not vanish on systems T containing H 3 = H ( M 3 ( Φ ), t )). These polynomials decide the classification of strongly prime special Jordan systems: T is either Clifford or hermitian according as some Zel'manov polynomial does or does not vanish on T . The existence of such polynomials has been established by McCrimmon and Zel'manov for quadratic Jordan algebras, and by Zel'manov for linear Jordan triple systems (and pairs). In this paper, we carry out the construction for quadratic Jordan triple systems (and pairs).
Phantom Design To Evaluate A Three-Dimensional Motion Correction Algorithm In DSA Of The Coronary Arteries

A phantom has been designed which simulates the environment of the left ventricle in the chest. The phantom consists of 5 tubes approximating arteries with contrast, layers of acrylic plastic to simulate soft tissue, bones, and a bladder which can be inflated with a dilute contrast solution to simulate the left ventricle. The parts of the phantom can be adjusted to provide known amounts of motion in three dimensions and is used in the evaluation of a three-dimensional motion correction algorithm which is described in detail in a companion paper. Images of the phantom appear to be like those seen in x-ray imaging of the chest. The results using the phantom to test the registration algorithms show that a significant improvement in the subtraction images of the phantom can be achieved in the presence of simulated three-dimensional motion, when compared to conventional subtraction.
Fragrance material review on dihydrocarveol

A toxicologic and dermatologic review of dihydrocarveol when used as a fragrance ingredient is presented.
Evaluation of absorbent products for women with mild to moderate urinary incontinence

U RINARY INCONTINENCE affects up to 40% of community-dwelling adult women in the United States (Diokno, Brode, Brown, & Herzog, 1986; Thomas, Plymat, Blannin, & Meade, 1980), and 7 billion dollars are spent annually on managing incontinence in the community (Hu, 1990). Many health care providers believe that surgery, medication, and behavioral modification are the major treatment options, but the use of absorbent products is the most common method of managing urinary incontinence (Herzog, Fultz, Normolle, Brock, & Diokno, 1989). This is reflected by the growth of the absorbent pad market from $9 million in 1972 to $496 million in 1987 (Urinary Incontinence Guideline Panel, 1992). Absorbent products have been evaluated for the institutionalized patient, but few studies have evaluated absorbent products for the community-dwelling woman (Brink, 1990). The purpose of this study was to evaluate eight absorbent pads for use by communitydwelling women with mild to moderate urinary incontinence.
Network-centric military system architecture assessment methodology

Recent paradigm shift from considering software as a product to treating software as a service has produced capabilities for engineering complex Network-Centric Military Systems (NCMSs). As the industry works on building a cyber-infrastructure and the Department of Defence moves towards network-centric operations and warfare, military systems are becoming increasingly more network-centric. Assessment of the architecture of such a NCMS is a very complex process, involves the measurement and evaluation of hundreds of qualitative and quantitative elements, mandates subject matter expert evaluation, and requires the integration of disparate evaluations obtained by experimentation, demonstration, trial, testing, direct measurement, analysis and examination. Planning and managing such measurements and evaluations require a unifying methodology and should not be performed in an ad hoc manner. This paper presents such a methodology named Military System Architecture Assessment Methodology (MSAAM). MSAAM advocates mission-oriented risk-driven architecture assessment based on four assessment perspectives: product, process, people and project. It enables the decomposition of architecture assessment into small pieces corresponding to leaf indicators and provides a structured framework for overcoming the complexity of architecture assessment.
Correlation between spin-orbital coupling and the superparamagnetic properties in magnetite and cobalt ferrite spinel nanocrystals.

The superparamagnetic properties of CoFe2O4 and Fe3O4 nanocrystals have been systematically investigated. The observed blocking temperature of CoFe2O4 nanocrystals is at least 100 deg higher than that of the same sized Fe3O4 nanocrystals. The coercivity of CoFe2O4 nanocrystals at 5 K is over 50 times higher than the same sized Fe3O4 nanocrystals. The drastic difference in superparamagnetic properties between the similar sized spherical CoFe2O4 and Fe3O4 (or FeFe2O4) spinel ferrite nanocrystals was correlated to the coupling strength between electron spin and orbital angular momentum (L−S) in magnetic cations. Compared to the Fe2+ ion, the effect of much stronger spin−orbital coupling at Co2+ lattice sites leads to a higher magnetic anisotropy and results in the dramatic discrepancy of superparamagnetic properties between CoFe2O4 and Fe3O4 nanocrystals. These results provide some insight to the fundamental understanding of the quantum origin of superparamagnetic properties. Furthermore, they suggest that i...
'How may I help you'-spoken queries for technical assistance

Spoken dialog systems, including interactive assistants, have emerged as a viable option for presenting technical communication. Thus has contributed to interests in improving the effectiveness and design of such systems through natural language. Traditional methods of natural language processing include parts-of-speech tagging, syntactic parsing, and statistical models. This paper introduces a new conversational question answering methodology, Answer First (A1) that bypasses traditional methods and removes the need for preprocessing of queries.
Acute Pulmonary Embolism: Part II Risk Stratification, Treatment, and Prevention

Pulmonary embolism (PE) presents with a wide clinical spectrum, from asymptomatic small PE to life-threatening major PE that causes hypotension and cardiogenic shock (Table). Traditionally, our risk assessment is done by gestalt . However, a more precise risk assessment can be obtained by using a formal clinical scoring system, such as the Geneva Prognostic Index.1 The Geneva Prognostic Index uses an 8-point scoring system and identifies 6 predictors of adverse outcome: 2 points each for cancer and hypotension and 1 point each for heart failure, prior deep vein thrombosis (DVT), arterial hypoxemia, and ultrasound-proven DVT. As points accumulate, prognosis worsens. Remarkably, hypoxemia accounts for only 1 of 8 points. View this table: Risk Stratification Physical examination, ECG, chest radiograph, CT scan, and echocardiogram2 can provide evidence of right ventricular dysfunction, a key prognostic marker of high risk and increased major adverse clinical events. The most recent development in prognostication is the use of biomarkers2a such as troponin elevation,3 which indicates right ventricular microinfarction, and elevations of pro-B–type natriuretic peptide4 and B-type natriuretic peptide, which indicate right ventricular overload.5,6 On physical examination, general clinical appearance is useful, but young patients may appear deceptively well despite massive PE. Clues to right heart failure include distended jugular veins, an accentuated pulmonic heart sound, and a tricuspid regurgitation murmur. The ECG may show a classic S1Q3T3 pattern but more often will demonstrate a less commonly recognized sign of right ventricular strain, T wave inversion in leads V1 through V4. New incomplete or complete right bundle-branch block is a very useful sign of right ventricular dysfunction. The chest radiograph may show enlarged pulmonary arteries, especially an enlarged right descending pulmonary artery, indicating pulmonary hypertension. Although the chest CT scan is performed primarily to detect or exclude PE, information about …
A Continuous-Adaptive DDRx Interface with Flexible Round-Trip-Time and Full Self Loop-Backed AC Test

This paper describes new DDRx SDRAM interface architecture suitable for system-on-chip (SOC) implementation. Our test chip fabricated in a 90-nm CMOS process adopts three key schemes and achieves 960 Mb/s/pin operations with 32 bits width. One of new schemes is to suppress timing skew with rising-edge signal transmission I/O circuit and look-up table type impedance calibration circuit. DQS round-trip-time, propagation delay from rising edge of system clock in SOC to arrival of DQS at input PAD of SOC during read operation, becomes longer than one clock cycle time as for DDR2 interface and beyond. Flexible DQS round-trip-time scheme can allow wide range up to N/2 cycles in N bits burst read operation. In addition, full self loop-backed test scheme is also proposed to measure AC timing parameters without high-end tester. The architecture reported in this paper can be continuously adaptive to realize higher data-rate and cost-efficient DDRx-SDRAM interface for various kinds of SOC.
Correlation of mid-sternum and mid-spine positions in 82 patients irradiated for breast cancer

The validity of designing anterior internal mammary node (IMN) radiation therapy fields based on vertebral body landmarks was tested by reviewing computer tomography (CT) images in 82 patients treated for breast cancer. The horizontal distance between the geometric center of the sternum and the vertebral body was 0-5, 6-10 and > 10 mm in approximately 30%, 25%, and 45% of patients, respectively. This suggests that using the projection of the vertebral bodies to design an anterior internal mammary node field is frequently inaccurate and may lead to inadequate coverage of these lymph nodes.
A View from Across the Pond

In this series, current issues in beekeeping and applied beekeeping science are looked at from a US perspective. Once again CCD is examined and at least one positive outcome discovered! However, there are also dire warnings for the gullible or easily lead.
Users versus nonusers of supplements: socioeconomic characteristics

The objective of this research was to determine the socioeconomic characteristics of supplement users versus nonusers. Seven western states (Arizona, California, Idaho, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon and Wyoming) were surveyed to determine the socioeconomic profile of persons who either use or do not use supplements. Results indicated that 60.2% of the supplement users were female. The largest percentage was 31–40 years of age. By most definitions, supplement users tended to be well educated. Under adverse economic conditions, only a small percentage (7%) of users would give up supplements first when asked to choose from a variety of items that were considered to be nonessential.
The myeloproliferative neoplasms including the eosinophilia-related myeloproliferations associated with tyrosine kinase mutations: changes and issues in classification and diagnosis criteria

The classification and diagnostic criteria of the myeloproliferative neoplasms have changed significantly in the 2008 World Health Organization monograph on the classification of hematologic malignancies. Many of the changes arose from the findings that the different malignancies are associated with abnormal cell signaling because of translocations or mutations in genes for protein tryosine kinases involved in the normal growth and regulation of hematopoietic cells. These include ABL1, PDGFRA, PDGFRB, FGFR1, JAK2, MPL, and KIT. The new classification attempts to reflect the related molecular pathogenesis of the different entities and incorporates the identification of the molecular defects into the diagnostic criteria for some of the individual diseases. Issues concerning the new classification are discussed, and the new diagnostic criteria are reviewed and commented upon.
Automated volumetric analysis for comparison of oral sulfate solution (SUPREP) with established cathartic agents at CT colonography

Purpose To objectively compare residual colonic fluid volume and attenuation of oral sulfate solution (OSS) with four different established cathartic regimens using an automated volumetric software tool at CT colonography (CTC).
Reversal of expected stereochemical outcome in the Oppolzer reaction of a cyclic N-enoylsultam: Enantioselective synthesis and absolute configuration of antispermatogenic hexahydroindeno[1,2-c]pyridines

Abstract p-Tolylmagnesium bromide added with high enantioselectivity to a cyclic enoylsultam (4), but the diastereofacial selectivity (determined by X-ray crystallography of the product) was opposite that reported for acyclic enoylsultams. The reaction was used in an enantioselective synthesis of antispermatogenic hexahydroindenopyridines and allowed the absolute configuration of the active enantiomer (1) to be determined.
On the equilibrium of the magnetopause current layer

Magnetopause current layer equilibrium based on numerical solution of uniform magnetic field confinement by warm plasma with net parallel velocity
Radiosurgery for Treatment of Recurrent Intracranial Hemangiopericytomas

OBJECTIVE Hemangiopericytomas are highly aggressive meningeal tumors with tendencies for recurrence and metastasis. The purpose of this retrospective, single-institution review was to evaluate the efficacy and role of stereotactic radiosurgery in the management of recurrent hemangiopericytomas.METHO
Small three-dimensional seismic models

The fundamental theory of models is reviewed and application made to the case of three-dimensional laboratory models of seismic phenomena. The nature of usable transducers and media of transmission are considered from the standpoint of the bandwidth restrictions imposed by the modeling method. The experimental prodedure is described and results for a model for Lamb's problem are obtained. The influence of imperfections of elasticity is also investigated; toe results for a wax accord with theoretical predictions based upon a viseoelasticity of a simple type.
Methadone dose and human sexual behavior.

Among 31 male and 17 female former addicts in methadone maintenance or drug-free treatment, the frequency of sexual behaviors was determined by questionnaires administered at least weekly over several weeks. Daily methadone dose (mg/kg) correlated significantly with frequency of genital contacts (r = -.54) and orgasms (-. 43) among females, and with frequency of ejaculation (-.31) among males. Although open and nonblind, the study suggests that higher doses of methadone may suppress human sexual behavior.
Glycogen synthase phosphatase interacts with heat shock factor to activate CUP1 gene transcription in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

Upon heat shock, transcription of many stress-inducible genes is rapidly and dramatically stimulated by heat shock factor (HSF). A central region of the yeast HSF (designated HSFrr for “repression region”) was previously identified and proposed to be involved in repressing the activation domain under non-heat-shock conditions. Here, we used the phage display system to isolate proteins that interact with HSFrr. This should identify factors that modulate HSF activity or directly participate in HSF-mediated transcriptional activation. We constructed a randomly sheared yeast genomic library to express yeast proteins on the surface of λ phage. HSFrr binding phages were selected by cycles of affinity chromatography. DNA sequencing identified an HSFrr-interacting phage that contains the GAC1 gene. The GAC1 gene encodes the regulatory subunit for a type 1 serine/threonine phosphoprotein phosphatase, Glc7. Both gac1 and glc7 mutations had little effect on HSF activation of gene transcription of two heat shock genes, SSA4 and HSP82. In contrast, heat shock induction of CUP1 gene expression was completely abolished in a glc7 mutant and reduced in a gac1 mutant. The results demonstrate that the Glc7 phosphatase and its Gac1 regulatory subunit play positive roles in HSF activation of CUP1 transcription.
Orthology, Function, and Evolution of Accessory Gland Proteins in the Drosophila repleta Group

The accessory gland proteins (Acps) of Drosophila have become a model for the study of reproductive protein evolution. A major step in the study of Acps is to identify biological causes and consequences of the observed patterns of molecular evolution by comparing species groups with different biology. Here we characterize the Acp complement of Drosophila mayaguana, a repleta group representative. Species of this group show important differences in ecology and reproduction as compared to other Drosophila. Our results show that the extremely high rates of Acp evolution previously found are likely to be ubiquitous among species of the repleta group. These evolutionary rates are considerably higher than the ones observed in other Drosophila groups' Acps. This disparity, however, is not accompanied by major differences in the estimated number of Acps or in the functional categories represented as previously suggested. Among the genes expressed in accessory glands of D. mayaguana almost half are likely products of recent duplications. This allowed us to test predictions of the neofunctionalization model for gene duplication and paralog evolution in a more or less constrained timescale. We found that positive selection is a strong force in the early divergence of these gene pairs.
Engineering trust with semantic guardians

The ability to guarantee the functional correctness of digital integrated circuits and, in particular, complex microprocessors, is a key task in the production of secure and trusted systems. Unfortunately, this goal remains today an unfulfilled challenge, as even the most straightforward practical designs are released with latent bugs. Patching techniques can repair some of these escaped bugs, however, they often incur a performance overhead, and most importantly, they can only be deployed after an escaped bug has been exposed at the customer site. In this paper we present a novel approach to guaranteeing correct system operation by deploying a semantic guardian component. The semantic guardian is an additional control logic block which is included in the design, and can switch the microprocessor's mode of operation from its normal, high-performance but error-prone mode, to a a secure, formally verified safe mode, guaranteing that the execution will be functionally correct. We explore several frameworks where a selective use of the safe mode can enhance the overall functional correctness of a processor. Additionally, we observe through experimentation that semantic guardians facilitate the trade-off between the design validation effort and the performance and area cost of the final secure product. The-experimental results show that the area cost and performance overheads of a semantic guardian can be as small as 3.5% and 5%, respectively.
Uncorking gastrulation: the morphogenetic movement of bottle cells.

Bottle cell-driven blastopore lip formation externally marks the initiation of gastrulation in amphibian embryos. The blastopore groove is formed when bottle cells undergo apical constriction and transform from cuboidal to flask-shaped. Apical constriction is sufficient to cause invagination and is a highly conserved mechanism for sheet bending and folding during morphogenesis; therefore, studying apical constriction in Xenopus bottle cells could provide valuable insight into this fundamental shape change. Initially described over a century ago, the dramatic shape change that occurs in bottle cells has long captured the imaginations of embryologists. However, only recently have investigators begun to examine the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying bottle cell apical constriction. Bottle cell apical constriction is driven by actomyosin contractility as well as by endocytosis of the apical membrane. The Nodal signaling pathway, Wnt5a, and Lgl1 are all required for bottle cell formation, but how they induce subcellular changes resulting in apical constriction remains to be elucidated. Xenopus bottle cells now represent an excellent vertebrate system for the dissection of how molecular inputs can drive cellular outputs, specifically the cell shape change of apical constriction. WIREs Dev Biol 2012, 1:286–293. doi: 10.1002/wdev.19 For further resources related to this article, please visit the WIREs website.
Is metformin a primary ovulatory agent in patients with polycystic ovary syndrome

Insulin resistance is an important pathophysiological feature of the polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). Insulin resistance and its compensatory hyperinsulinemia contribute to the anovulation, hyperandrogenism, infertility and early pregnancy loss suffered by women with PCOS. Current evidence supports the role of metformin in the treatment of anovulation in PCOS, both in monotherapy and concomitantly with clomiphene in clomiphene-resistant patients. In addition, novel evidence suggests that insulin sensitizers may also play a role in reducing the risk of early pregnancy loss. The insulin-sensitizing agents available commercially include metformin, rosiglitazone and pioglitazone. Compared with the thiozolidinediones, metformin is the agent that has been most frequently studied in PCOS, and has the most favorable pregnancy safety profile. In conclusion, there is strong evidence supporting the use of metformin as a primary ovulatory agent in women with PCOS.
Chemical defenses, nutritional quality, and structural components in three sponge species: Ircinia felix, I. campana, and Aplysina fulva

Allocating chemical defenses to regions or tissues most at risk for predatory attack may provide protection while simultaneously minimizing associated metabolic costs. Chemical defense allocation patterns were investigated in the aspiculate sponges Ircinia felix, I. campana, and Aplysina fulva collected between July 2005 and April 2006 from J Reef off the coast of Georgia, U.S.A. It was predicted that chemical defenses would be (1) higher in the outermost 2 mm layer of the sponge; (2) positively correlated with tissue nutritional quality; and (3) correlated with structural components such as spongin fibers. Whereas defensive chemicals were concentrated in the outer 2 mm of A. fulva, the Ircinia species had higher concentrations in deeper tissue layers. Furthermore, no significant positive or negative correlation between chemical defenses and nutritional quality or levels of structural components was observed in these sponges. Overall, these results do not support the prediction that predation pressure by fish and large mobile invertebrates significantly impacts chemical defense allocation in these sponges.
Delayed Carotid Dissection Following Lower Lip Revascularization in the Setting of Hyoid Fracture—A Case Report and Review of the Literature

Traumatic injuries to the lip are common, but injuries that require revascularization of the lower lip are infrequent and pose a major challenge to the reconstructive surgeon. This report describes the case of a 53-year-old woman who sustained a lower lip avulsion injury, a comminuted mandibular parasymphyseal fracture, and a hyoid bone fracture secondary to a bicycle accident. Trauma workup included computed tomographic angiography of the head and neck, which did not show vascular injury. Despite successful revascularization of the lower lip, on postoperative day 11 the patient developed a large internal carotid artery dissection and middle cerebral artery stroke. This case highlights the importance of careful postoperative monitoring after high-energy facial trauma, particularly in the setting of vascular and bony injuries.
Multi-predator effects across life-history stages: non-additivity of egg- and larval-stage predation in an African treefrog

The effects of multiple predators on their prey are frequently non-additive because of interactions among predators. When prey shift habitats through ontogeny, many of their predators cannot interact directly. However, predators that occur in different habitats or feed on different prey stages may still interact through indirect effects mediated by prey traits and density. We conducted an experiment to evaluate the combined effects of arboreal egg-stage and aquatic larval-stage predators of the African treefrog, Hyperolius spinigularis. Egg and larval predator effects were non-additive – more Hyperolius survived both predators than predicted from their independent effects. Egg-stage predator effects on aquatic larval density and size and age at hatching reduced the effectiveness of larvalstage predators by 70%. Our results indicate that density- and trait-mediated indirect interactions can act across life-stages and habitats, resulting in non-additive multipredator effects.
Trapping and Identification of Cellular Substrates of the Staphylococcus aureus ClpC Chaperone

ClpC is an ATP-dependent Hsp100/Clp chaperone involved in protein quality control in low-GC Gram-positive bacteria. Previously, we found that ClpC affected the expression of a large number of genes, including capsule genes in Staphylococcus aureus. Here we constructed a His-tagged ClpC variant (ClpCtrap) with mutations within the Walker B motifs to identify the direct substrates of ClpC by copurification with ClpCtrap followed by gel electrophoresis combined with liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry proteomics. We identified a total of 103 proteins that are potential substrates of ClpC in strain Newman. The direct protein-protein interaction of ClpC with a subset of the captured proteins was verified in a bacterial two-hybrid system. The captured proteins could be grouped into various functional categories, but most were related to proteins involved in the stress response. Several known ClpC substrates were captured, including ClpP, TrfA/MecA, ClpB, DnaK, DnaJ, GroL, RecA, and CodY, supporting the validity of our approach. Our results also revealed many new ClpC substrates, including AgrA, CcpA, RsbW, MurG, FtsA, SrtA, Rex, Atl, ClfA, and SbcC. Analysis of capsule production showed that three of the captured proteins, which were not previously known to be transcriptional regulators, did affect capsule production.
Competivive sorption of benzene, toluene and the xylenes onto soil

Knowledge of contaminant soil-groundwater partitioning is of crucial importance in determining contaminant transport. The majority of studis to date examine only single contaminant partitioning. Studies presented in this paper investigated single contaminant and multiple, competitive contaminant partitioning of benzene, toluene, and xylenes with a sandy loam soil. Batch serum bottle and flow soil column studies were utilized. Significant competitive effects were observed.
Growth responses of yellow-poplar (Liriodendron tulipifera L.) exposed to 5 years of O3 alone or combined with elevated CO2

Field-grown yellow-poplar ( Liriodendron tulipifera L.) were fumigated from May to October in 1992‐96 within open-top chambers to determine the impact of ozone (O 3 ) alone or combined with elevated carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) on sapling growth. Treatments were replicated three times and included: charcoal-filtered air (CF); 1 ¥ ¥ ¥ ambient ozone
Recent results from the NRL X-band magnicon amplifier experiment

Summary form only given, as follows. In this paper, we present a progress report on the NRL program to develop a high power second harmonic magnicon amplifier at 11.4 GHz. The experiments are being carried out on the single-shot NRL Long-Pulse Accelerator Facility using a plasma cathode to create the electron beam. Typical beam parameters are 500-700 kV, 200-300 A, 5.5 mm diameter, with a 300 nsec voltage flattop. We have previously reported the results of an initial two-deflection-cavity experiment, and of a simulation-based design study for the complete magnicon circuit. Following the design study, the complete magnicon circuit was fabricated, tuned, and cold-tested. It includes a drive cavity, two gain cavities, and a two-section penultimate cavity, all operating at 5.7 GHz, followed by an output cavity designed to operate in the TM/sub 210/ mode at 11.4 GHz. In preliminary experiments, a low power (/spl sim/1-10 kW) saturation effect was observed in the deflection cavities, apparently due to plasma formation caused by the diode X-ray flux and by inadequate vacuum conditions. Recent experiments have shown that it is possible to "burn through" this low power saturation effect, and achieve high fields in the deflection cavities in narrow gain spikes. These gain spikes lead to rf breakdown of the deflection cavities, typically in a temporal cascade that begins in the penultimate cavity and ends in the first gain cavity. In addition, moderate power level emission (/spl sim/1 MW) is observed from the output cavity. Experiments are in progress to characterize the output radiation, and to improve the overall magnicon performance.
Stimulatory and inhibitory effects of iron on photodynamic inactivation of leukemia cells.

— The influence of exogenous iron on merocyanine 540 (MC540))sensitized photoinactivation of leukemia cells has been investigated. Irradiation of murine L1210 or human HL-60 cells (-lOh/mL in 1 % serumiRPM1 medium) with broadband visible light in the presence of MC540 (2 pIM) resulted in a progressive loss of clonally assessed cell viability. When added to cells 30 min before irradiation, the low polarity chelate, ferric 8-hydroxyquinoline [Fe(HQ), 0.5 *MI stimulated dye-sensitized pho- tokilling, whereas high polarity chelates such as ferric 8-hydroxyquinoline-5-sulfonate [Fe(HQS)2, 0.5 p M] or ferric ethylenediaminetetraacetate (Fe.EDTA, 0.5 FM) had no effect. A striking reversal of Fe(HQ),-enhanced photokilling was observed upon increasing the preirradiation incubation time with Fe(HQ)2 such that a marked resistance (relative to non-iron-treated controls) was evident after 24 h. Cells exposed for 24 h to Fe(HQS), or Fe.EDTA showed similar or even greater resistance to photo-killing. Like phototoxicity, H,O,-induced cytotoxicity was enhanced after a 30 min exposure of cells to Fe(HQ)2 but strongly repressed after 24 h. Immunoblot (western) analysis, using a polyclonal antibody to ferritin, revealed that cells exposed to Fe(HQ): for 24 h contained at least 12 times as much ferritin heavy chain as non-Fe(HQ)?-treated controls. Preincubating cells with emetine, an inhibitor of protein synthesis, prevented both ferritin induction and the development of hyperresistance. These findings, along with the observation that exogenous apoferritin protected LI 2 10 cells against photokilling, suggest a possible role for ferritin in iron-stimulated photoresistance. It is conceivable that in photodynamic treatment of tumors, certain cells might resist inactivation via this mechanism, a possibility that has not been recognized heretofore.
GANDHI ON DEMOCRACY, POLITICS AND THE ETHICS OF EVERYDAY LIFE

This paper is about Gandhi's critique of politics, of which his ambivalence towards democracy was a part. I argue that for Gandhi the ground of moral action is fearlessness, while that of political reason is security and self-defense. Gandhi sees the context of moral action in the mundane fabric of everyday life, in places such as the family and the village. For that reason he does not believe that moral action requires being supplemented by the particular kind of unity which politics and the state call for and necessitate.
Prioritizing Selected Modern Language Teaching Skills.

: Modern language classroom goals and processes are enjoying new attention and increased scrutiny as a result of recent political and professional factors including: (1) the recommendations of the President's Commission report in 1979, (2) various national studies and local follow-up assessments of the effectiveness of secondary schools and educational programs, and (3) the recent development of ACTFL provisional guidelines and the training of examiners in the use of the oral proficiency interview. This article describes a research study of existing priorities of teachers as a step in analyzing their compatibility with changing directions in modern language education, especially in relation to the emerging focus on proficiency.
Comparison of bond strengths of three denture base resins to treated nickel-chromium-beryllium alloy

Abstract Purpose. In-vitro bond strengths of 3 denture base resins (Trutone, Lucitone 199, and Triad) to a nickel-chromium-beryllium removable partial denture alloy (Ticonium) were tested with 3 surface pretreatments: sandblast, acid etch, and Rocatec (silica blasting), with or without primers (Dentsply, CR inlay cement, and Super Bond). Material and methods. Lucitone 199 denture base resin bonded to the nonprimed sandblasted alloy specimen served as the control group. Alloy specimens were prepared, surface treated, and primed or not primed with primer. The treated specimens were then packed and processed with the denture base resin. Bonded specimens were stored in the distilled water at 37°C for 24 hours, and then debonded in tension. The force at which the bond failed was noted, and bond strength was calculated in megapascals (MPa). Five replications for each condition (180 specimens total) were tested. Results. Significant differences in bond strength were observed with primer, the most important factor, followed by pretreatment and denture base resin. Without primer for all 3 denture base resins, the Met-Etch and Rocatec treated groups showed significantly higher bond strengths than the sandblasted groups. For Trutone denture base resin, nonprimed treated groups produced significantly higher bond strength than those for the other 2 denture base resins. The control group had zero bond strength. For Dentsply primer, the Rocatec treated group bonded to Lucitone 199 resin produced the highest bond strength value (14.8 ± 1.8 MPa). For CR inlay cement, the Met-Etch and Rocatec treated groups for Lucitone denture base resin demonstrated the highest bond strength (19.3 ± 4.8 MPa, and 19.3 ± 1.8 MPa, respectively). For Super Bond primer, the Met-Etch treated group for Trutone resin demonstrated the highest bond strength (19.8 ± 6.2 MPa). Conclusions. Without primer, the control had the lowest bond strength (0 MPa), and the Trutone groups showed the highest bond strength (11.7 ± 4.1 MPa). Met-Etch and Rocatec treated groups produced higher bond strengths than the sand blasted groups. The primed specimens demonstrated significantly higher bond strengths than nonprimed specimens, except for Trutone resin, for which primed specimens produced lower bond strengths than the nonprimed specimens. (J Prosthet Dent 1998;80:354-61.)
High Performance Parallel JPEG2000 Streaming Decoder Using GPGPU-CPU Heterogeneous System

The JPEG2000 image coding standard provides many superior features compared to JPEG and other compression standards. However, the relatively slow performance of JPEG2000, especially in software implementations, is a critical drawback of the standard. Moreover, as image sizes rapidly grow in size, higher demands on performance for image coding and processing are introduced, making the slow performance of JPEG2000 even further pronounced. While much effort over the past decade has been devoted to accelerating the JPEG2000 encoder, there have been very few studies focusing on improving the performance of the JPEG2000 decoder, despite the fact that the performance of the decoder is just as critical as the encoder. This paper proposes a high-performance JPEG2000 decoder that efficiently exploits the recent improvements of modern parallel programming models and hardware architectures. Specifically, a parallel streaming decoder running on a GPGPU-CPU heterogeneous system is developed to fully exploit the flexibility of the high-performance multi-core CPUs and the massively parallel capability of GPGPUs. In addition, a new task scheduling strategy is developed that exploits the soft-heterogeneity in OpenCL and C/C++ at runtime in order to gain a significant performance boost. Running on a heterogeneous configuration of one Nvidia GTX 480 GPU and one Intel Core i7 CPU, the parallel streaming decoder gains more than 8X speedup in runtime compared to the JasPer JPEG2000 software implementation.
Use of an Action Learning Model to Create a Dental Faculty Development Program

Dental educators are often talented practitioners who may have little knowledge of educational concepts and current teaching modalities. Dental schools have recognized the need to offer instruction in teaching skills to their clinical faculty members to support their roles as educators. Since 2005, New York University College of Dentistry (NYUCD) Office of Professional Development has sponsored the Excellence in Clinical Teaching Program, an introductory program in pedagogy and teaching skills. The Action Learning model was used to drive development and implementation of Class ACTS (Advanced Clinical Teaching Scholars), a new advanced teaching skills program. Action Learning is a collaborative educational approach that has its origins in the business world. The learning is problem-driven and occurs in a supportive and reflective environment. The Action Learning approach culminated in a seminar series, Class ACTS, that offers an in-depth opportunity for faculty members to sustain and improve their teaching skills in a small-group setting. Class ACTS is open to NYUCD faculty members who have successfully completed NYUCD’s Excellence in Clinical Teaching Program or a comparable program and have a basic background in pedagogy.