cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Analyze the death tendency of heart diseases in Dalian City during the last 30 years

Objective To investigate the trend of deaths of heart diseases( HD) in Dalian during the last 30 years,in order to provide scientific basis for the control of HD. Methods This study was based on surveillance data in Dalian. The data of analysis included sex,age and the decade of the century. Results From 1981 to 2013,the age-adjusted mortality( AAM) decreased obviously( t =- 9. 48,P 0. 001) and fluctuated from 65. 38 /100 000 to 139. 74 /100 000,however,because of aging of the population,the crude death rate( CDR) of HD increased obviously( t = 6. 08,P 0. 001) and fluctuated from 72. 99 /100 000 to 177. 99 /100 000. HD accounted for 13. 44%-24. 56% of the all deaths. At the end of the last century,HD was the third cause of deaths,but non reached to the second. The mortality of male was higher than that the female on CDR( X2= 49. 52,P 0. 001). With the age increased,both CDR and AAM increased. Conclusions HD has been one of the primary causes of deaths,in Dalian residents and much attention should be paid for the prevention and control of HD.
Modeling User Exploration and Boundary Testing in Digital Learning Games

Digital games can be potent problem solving environments which afford discovery learning through thoughtful exploration [1, 2]. As such, game microworlds facilitate self-regulated learning through sandbox elements in which students have agency in individualizing their pathways of interaction [3]. These agency-driven environments can support learning via individual discovery of problem space constraints and solutions, particularly through boundary testing and productive failure [cf. 4]. Thus, modeling of user interaction in digital learning games can provide considerable insight into emergent trajectories of discovery-based progression, in which equally engaged players may interact differently with the system. To this end, this research leverages educational data mining (EDM) [5] to investigate organic player trajectories of thoughtful exploration (around boundary testing and productive failure) in a learning gamespace. We align behavioral coding with log file data to automatically detect sequences of thoughtful exploration (TE) in play. Results include a robust predictive model of event-stream TE, with multiple trajectories of emergent student behavior-offering insight into organic learning pathways through the game-based problem space, and informing iterative design in optimization of user experience and student engagement.
Improving inpatient environments to support patient sleep.

Purpose Although sleep is important for healing, sleep deprivation is a major concern for patients in hospitals. The purpose of this review is to consolidate the observational and interventional studies that have been done to understand exogenous, non-pharmacological strategies for improving sleep in hospitals. Data sources We searched Medline, CINAHL, PsycINFO and the Web of Science databases for peer-reviewed articles published between 1970 and 2015 in English. Study selection A title review of 13,113 articles from four databases resulted in 783 articles that were further culled to 277 based on a review of the abstracts. The net result after reading the articles and a hand search was 42 articles. Data extraction From each article we recorded the independent variables, methods used for measuring sleep and specific sleep outcomes reported. Results of data synthesis Noise is a modifiable cause of some sleep disruptions in hospitals, and when reduced can lead to more sleep. Earplugs and eye masks may help, but changing the sound and light environment is more effective. Calming music in the evening has been shown to be effective as well as daytime bright light exposure. Nursing care activities cause sleep disruption, but efforts at limiting interventions have not been demonstrated to improve sleep conditions. Conclusion The research is hard to consolidate due to the multitude of independent variables and outcome metrics, but overall points to the potential for making meaningful improvements in the quality of patient sleep.
Coulomb attraction effects in CdZnSe quantum well lasers

It is shown that Coulomb attraction in the electron-hole plasma in CdZnSe quantum wells plays an important role in determining the observed blue-shift in lasing wavelength with increasing carrier density. The relationship between Coulomb attraction and excitonic gain is also discussed.
Wishstone to Watchtower: Amorphous alteration of plagioclase-rich rocks in Gusev crater, Mars

Previous observations by the Spirit rover in Gusev crater revealed a suite of rocks dubbed Wishstone and Watchtower Class in which the parent lithology and daughter products of a distinctive style of aqueous alteration are evident. Results from Spirit’s Miniature Thermal Emission Spectrometer (Mini-TES; ~2000–340 cm −1 ) were compromised by dust contamination of one of the instrument’s mirrors, for which a correction has since been developed. Now we have documented nearly 200 examples of rocks encompassing the span of alteration from Wishstone Class, which spectrally resemble minimally altered plagioclase-phyric basalt, to the most altered Watchtower Class. Among them is a rock dubbed Bruce that may be a previously unrecognized alteration spectral end-member. We employed factor analysis/target transformation and linear least-squares modeling to investigate the spectral characteristics and mineralogy of these rocks. Our results amplify those of a prior preliminary analysis showing that alteration produced a material resembling basaltic glass that masks the spectral features of plagioclase. The association of this amorphous silicate component with a ferric iron nanophase oxide phase identified via Spirit’s Mossbauer spectrometer is now clearly shown by our data, further characterizing the distinctive mineralogic expression of the alteration. These components and the absence of any recognizable secondary silicates or opaline silica may be an expression of alteration in the extreme aridity and cold of the martian environment. Similar mineralogic characteristics of soil measured with the CheMin X-ray diffraction instrument on the Curiosity rover in Gale crater may be an indication that this alteration process is widespread on Mars.
A preoperative model evaluating the tissue effects of chemopreventive agents in low-volume prostate cancer

1007 Background: To identify and assess biomarkers modulated by prostate cancer chemopreventive agents, we created a model that, by exploiting the time between histologic diagnosis of prostate canc...
“This is More About a Book Than About Science!” Preservice Teachers’ Perceptions Toward Using Literacy Strategies in Inquiry-Based Science Lessons

The application of literacy strategies in the context of inquiry-based elementary science instruction betokens an expansion of contemporary thought regarding cross-curricular instruction. Yet, in light of the potential and promise of new developments, the perceptions of preservice teachers, who will soon be expected to make use of such cross-curricular instructional strategies, remain largely unexplored. Through the use of structured interviews and surveys, insight was gleaned regarding why preservice teachers did, or, as in most instances, did not make use of literacy strategies during their elementary science field experience, wherein they were tasked with teaching an inquiry-based science lesson. Results indicate that though the vast majority of participants acknowledged the value of using the strategies, most elected not to employ them, as a result of numerous and varied concerns. Implications allow teacher educators to utilize perspective variances to support preservice teachers’ abilities to understand and apply novel instructional approaches.
Lateral septum growth hormone secretagogue receptor affects food intake and motivation for sucrose reinforcement.

The hormone ghrelin promotes eating and is widely considered to be a hunger signal. Ghrelin receptors, growth hormone secretagogue receptors (GHSRs), are found in a number of specific regions throu...
Generalized Probability Spaces

This chapter discusses generalized probability spaces. It explains that a quantum logic L admits hidden variables only if L is isomorphic to a σ -additive class Λ of subsets of a set X . In a certain sense, X might be thought of as a phase space representation of the physical system and the sets in Λ as measurable sets. However, one should not get the impression that a classical description of the physical system is obtained. An σ -additive class is much more general than a σ -algebra; therefore, a classical measurable space is not required. The chapter explains that much of quantum mechanics can be described in the framework of σ -additive classes. In particular, σ -additive classes provide the measure theoretic background necessary for the introduction of probability amplitude densities. This would ultimately result in a framework for a general theory of quantum probability spaces.
A Consensus-Based Framework for Responsive Computer System Design

The concept of responsive computer systems is presented. The emerging discipline of responsive systems demands fault-tolerant and real-time performance in both parallel and distributed computing environments. The responsiveness measure is discussed and a new design framework for responsive systems is introduced. The new framework is based on the fundamental concept of consensus and on application specific responsiveness. It is shown that consensus is crucial in responsive synchronization, communication, diagnosis, and reconfiguration.
Faculty Attitudes Toward Rhinology Fellowship Training: A Survey of Rhinology Fellowship Programs.

BackgroundThe number of rhinology fellowship programs has grown rapidly over the past decade. To date, no standardization or accreditation process exists, raising the potential for disparate progra...
Improved automatic road crack detection and classification

Automatic road crack detection using image/video data plays a crucial role in the maintenance of road service life and the improvement of driving experiences. In this paper, an improved automatic road crack detection system is proposed to reduce false detection under various noisy road surface conditions and to improve sensitivity in detecting light and thin cracks. The proposed system combines a variety of traditional image processing techniques, such as filtering and morphological processing, with scalable and efficient machine learning algorithms. Real road images with various noise conditions are taken to evaluate the performance of the proposed system. Experimental results have shown that the proposed system improved detection sensitivity and reduced false detection compared to some existing system, thus achieving higher detection accuracy.
Early Designs, Prototypes, and Learning Sequences for Exploration and Decision Making

During the early development phase, designers-developers may process the collected raw data and begin organizing the collected imagery; they may draft various learning objects, with full functionalities, in order to see how the objects look and how well the instantiated item compares with the original plan. They may experiment with item contents, sequencing, functions, style, and other features. This phase may be fleeting for some, but when observed with care, these processes may be informative to the ultimate project and beneficial to the learning. This chapter describes some ways to benefit from early designs and prototypes, to inform individuals of ways forward. After all, designs and plans look appropriate and clean and doable until they are tested in the real, and there are numerous discoveries to be made once the development work actually starts.
Beyond discomfort? Equity coaching to disrupt whiteness

ABSTRACTWhite discourse is a discourse that functions to support white supremacy. Based on an ethnographic study in a U.S. elementary school, this article analyses how white teachers use appeals to...
Found in Translation: The Utility of C. elegans Alpha-Synuclein Models of Parkinson's Disease.

Parkinson’s Disease (PD) is the second-most common neurodegenerative disease in the world, yet the fundamental and underlying causes of the disease are largely unknown, and treatments remain sparse and impotent. Several biological systems have been employed to model the disease but the nematode roundworm Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans) shows unique promise among these to disinter the elusive factors that may prevent, halt, and/or reverse PD phenotypes. Some of the most salient of these C. elegans models of PD are those that position the misfolding-prone protein alpha-synuclein (α-syn), a hallmark pathological component of PD, as the primary target for scientific interrogation. By transgenic expression of human α-syn in different tissues, including dopamine neurons and muscle cells, the primary cellular phenotypes of PD in humans have been recapitulated in these C. elegans models and have already uncovered multifarious genetic factors and chemical compounds that attenuate dopaminergic neurodegeneration. This review describes the paramount discoveries obtained through the application of different α-syn models of PD in C. elegans and highlights their established utility and respective promise to successfully uncover new conserved genetic modifiers, functional mechanisms, therapeutic targets and molecular leads for PD with the potential to translate to humans.
Clonal diversity impacts coral cover in Acropora cervicornisthickets: Potential relationships between density, growth, and polymorphisms

As coral reefs decline, cryptic sources of resistance and resilience to stress may be increasingly important for the persistence of these communities. Among these sources, inter- and intraspecific diversity remain understudied on coral reefs but extensively impact a variety of traits in other ecosystems. We use a combination of field and sequencing data at two sites in Florida and two in the Dominican Republic to examine clonal diversity and genetic differentiation of high- and low-density aggregations of the threatened coral Acropora cervicornisin the Caribbean. We find that high-density aggregations called thickets are composed of up to 30 genotypes at a single site, but 47% of genotypes are also found as isolated, discrete colonies outside these aggregations. Genet-ramet ratios are comparable for thickets (0.636) and isolated colonies after rarefaction (0.569), suggesting the composition of each aggregation is not substantially different and highlighting interactions between colonies as a potential influence on structure. There are no differences in growth rate, but a significant positive correlation between genotypic diversity and coral cover, which may be due to the influence of interactions between colonies on survivorship or fragment retention during asexual reproduction. Many polymorphisms distinguish isolated colonies from thickets despite the shared genotypes found here, including putative nonsynonymous mutations that change amino acid sequence in 25 loci. These results highlight intraspecific diversity as a density-dependent factor that may impact traits important for the structure and function of coral reefs.
Robust services: People or processes?

Abstract Service systems are inherently subject to variability, whether through customers, service providers, suppliers, or unexpected events. Yet, customers demand excellence and consistency regardless of this variability. In general, there are two ways to handle this variability: with people or with processes. We use the concept of robustness to describe these two approaches, address when one or the other might be appropriate, and discuss how and why one might transition from one approach to the other. Robust people and robust processes within a system can inform and build upon one another in a cycle that mirrors that of continuous improvement. Investing in this cycle can help an organization move toward a system that relies more on robust processes and less on hiring and training robust people, allowing the organization to be scalable while simultaneously creating new opportunities for incumbent robust people.
To the Humanities: What Does Communication Studies Give?

This special issue of Review of Communication presents new offerings of the study of communication, forging present and future humanities. This Introduction engages the six essays in this special i...
The Diplomacy of African Boundaries

Four disparate but vicious conflicts have soiled Africa’s soil as the twenty-first century begins, all involving territorial or boundary questions in a continent that is otherwise territorially stable. The oldest, Western Sahara, currently in remission but since 1975 pitting Algeria and the Polisario Front against Morocco, entered a new phase in 2007 when the UN Security Council dropped the idea of a referendum for a negotiated solution and Morocco officially proposed the solution of autonomy. Two border wars, in 1998–2000 and 2011 and counting, declared and undeclared, respectively, followed state self-determination when Eritrea broke away from Ethiopia and South Sudan broke away from Sudan. Finally, an army mutiny freed the northern part of Mali to declare independence under the National Liberation Movement of Azawad (MLNA), which was then pushed aside by various Islamist movements under the control of al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghrib (AQIM), in 2012.
BDP-CoAP: Leveraging Bandwidth-Delay Product for Congestion Control in CoAP

CoAP is one of the most popular protocols for data transfer in IoT networks. Since COAP uses an unreliable transport protocol (UDP) to deliver application data, loss-based congestion control algorithms are introduced in CoAP to mitigate network congestion. In particular, CoCoA+, which is currently under standardisation by the IETF, leverages RTT-measurements to regulate the frequency of packet retransmissions. Recent studies have shown that CoCoA+ still suffers from some critical performance issues, and a few modifications were proposed. In this paper, we follow a different approach, and we design a rate-based congestion control algorithm for COAP, called BDP-COAP, which is derived from the TCP BBR protocol. More precisely, BDP-COAP paces the transmissions of a CoAP sender in order to match the estimated bandwidth of the bottleneck link and constrains the total amount of unacknowledged data to be upper-bounded by the estimated bandwidth-delay product. We compare our solution against standard CoAP and CoCoA+. Results demonstrate the BDP-COAP significantly improves throughput fairness while obtaining similar total goodput as CoAP and CoCoA+. Furthermore, BDP-COAP ensures more stable performance also in dynamic traffic scenarios and when competing with congestion-unaware traffic.
Electrolyte Studies in Heart Failure II. Extracellular Factors in the Pathogenesis of Congestive Edema

Indirect metabolic studies and direct muscle biopsy studies have indicated diminution of intracellular electrolyte concentration during congestive heart failure explainable by extrusion of these electrolytes due to increase in osmolarity within the cells. Acute and chronic physical and circulatory stress in cardiac patients produced an elevation of plasma sodium concentration indicative of a concomittant increase in osmolarity of the extracellular fluid.
Learning from the Past & Charting the Future of IS Research on Africa: Reflections on Information Systems Research on Africa within Western Information Systems Journals

This paper assesses research on information systems manifestations in Africa as published in leading western journals. It is evident, from our findings, that the body-collective of information systems research on Africa that appears in leading western journals is minimal in proportion to research contextualized in the remaining parts of the worlds, especially in the industrialized nations. Nevertheless, the 33 articles reviewed in this paper present a sharp perspective of the scope and nature of Africa-specific information systems research published western information systems journals. The paper exposes the dominant themes, research methods, and countries studied in the research on information systems in Africa that is published in the western journals. These revelations enable us to outline and provide our reflections on the gaps that need to be addressed in the study of information systems within the context of Africa.
Money and influence: philanthropies, intermediary organisations, and Atlanta’s 2017 school board election

National philanthropies have recently played a prominent role in spending on U.S. urban school board elections, largely seeking to promote candidates who support charter schools. In Atlanta in 2017...
Uniform Systems with Chemical Change

A homogeneous system can be locally characterized by the velocity, the concentrations of all the chemical species, and one thermodynamic variable, such as the temperature or the internal energy. These variables will be called the state variables. A nonuniform or “distributed” system is completely specified by the values of the state variables at each point of the system, while a uniform system, not having any space variations, is specified by the values of the state variables at a single point.
Consent in the Acute Setting: A Necessary Evolution

Obtaining research consent for patients suffering from an acute illness, such as myocardial infarction or stroke, can be challenging, because a meaningful and informative discussion on the risks an...
Resolution of Vaulted Biaryl Ligands via Borate Esters of Quinine and Quinidine.

Given the sudden and unexplained rise in the cost of (+)- and (−)-sparteine, an alternative method for the resolution of vaulted biaryls has been developed. This method involves the reaction of a r...
Spirituality in the global age: theory of religious cycles and its implications

In modern times there have been numerous at-tempts by scholars to theorize about religion. Most of those theories reduced religion to other spheres of social activity – social, economic, or psychological. Now, in the 21st century, those radical predictions about the “death of God” seem shortsighted. After a temporary retreat reli-gion came back with increased influence, power, and, unfortunately, violence. What are the pre-conditions for a peaceful evolution of religious institutions? Are religious systems simply power structures that inevitably involve violence and abuse, and to eradicate the war should we also get rid of religion? Those and many other related issues concerning religion’s role in society be-come especially important in our time of the increasing globalization. This paper looks at religion in the global age through the prism of the theory of religious cycles that is outlined by the author. According to his approach, in the course of its evolution, every historical religion goes through specific and almost identical stages of growth. Based on a distinct correlation be-tween sacred scriptures and traditions, the author distinguishes six such phases – formative, or-thodox, classical, reformist, critical, and postcritical. Also, in the course of its expansion reli-gious system undergoes two types of crises – structural and systemic. The author applies his theory of religious cycles to the analysis of such world spiritual traditions as Judaism, Buddhism, Christianity, and Islam. The study reveals astounding similarities in the evolution of those faiths, offers a different perspective on moderni-ty and predicts the rise of new religious move-ments with globalist teachings and institutions.
Integration of Creative Thinking and Critical Thinking to Improve Geosciences Education

Both critical thinking and creative thinking have been essential in building and reshaping human civilization and intellectual landscapes. Teaching aims to educate and train our students to become ...
Interoception, Pain Tolerance, and Self-Injurious Behaviors: A Multidimensional Assessment.

Abstract Impairments in interoception have been linked to self-injurious behaviors, and capability for suicide may account for this relationship. However, past studies have relied primarily on self-report and unidimensional measures. The present study aimed to replicate and extend previous findings by examining the relationship between interoceptive dysfunction, pain tolerance, and self-injurious behaviors using a multidimensional and multi-method approach. A sample of 245 undergraduate students (Mage = 19.27 years, SD = 2.81; 73.7% female, 72.% White/European American), who reported lifetime suicidal ideation on a screening survey completed a battery of self-report measures, four counterbalanced pain tolerance tasks, and a clinical interview assessing their self-injurious behaviors. A tendency to stay attuned to bodily sensations was significantly related to decreased pain tolerance. Only trust in one’s body was significantly related to decreased presence of lifetime suicide attempts. No other facets of interoception or pain tolerance were significantly associated with self-injurious behaviors. Overall, these findings contrast with previous findings that capability for suicide may account for relations between interoceptive dysfunction and self-injurious behaviors. Nonetheless, the results of this study provide important information on the factor structure of interoceptive dysfunction and pain tolerance, and highlight the importance of careful selection of measures and operationalization of key constructs, particularly interoceptive dysfunction and pain tolerance.
A Guide to Understanding SE Constructions: Where They Come from and How They Are Connected

In this chapter, we outline a framework for understanding the syntactic and semantic complexity of the SE clitic. We adopt the idea that the source of the multiple uses of SE is reflexive SE itself. Moreover, assuming that reflexive SE is syntactically tied to Voice/little v, we argue that we can profitably understand SE’s diverse uses as a result of two directions of change, one where SE takes on novel syntactic and semantic functions related to Voice/little v and above; the other where SE takes on novel syntactic and semantic functions in positions below Voice/little v. We also summarize the remaining chapters in the volume and situate them within these two broad divisions. Finally, we highlight directions for further research that naturally emerge from this study.
Evaluating 24/7 Sobriety Program participant reoffense risk.

Abstract Objective: Our study investigated risk factors in survival among a subpopulation of drivers in North Dakota’s 24/7 Sobriety Program. Participants mandated for a second driving-under-the-influence of alcohol (DUI) arrest were studied for a three-year interval that commenced with the start date for a 360-day enrollment. Method: A Stratified Cox regression model was developed to compute the hazard ratios for survival. A subsequent DUI-related offense as event of interest. Relation to the explanatory variable array that could be construed from administrative records were investigated. Results: Older drivers were 6.31 times more likely to reoffend than the younger driver cohort of 18–35-years. The survival curve slope showed the fastest decline in the 361-day to 730-day interval. Neither gender nor residence region was a significant predictor in DUI reoffense over the three-year monitoring interval. Preliminary work suggests reoffense was more likely if an individual had program history prior to this court mandated 360-day term in the 24/7 Sobriety Program for a second DUI. The program experience finding was unexpected but could not be studied in greater detail due to data and resource limitations. Conclusions: Administrative records access created a novel opportunity to explore an evolving impaired driving prevention strategy that has shown early promise. Individual driver survival in and after the 24/7 Sobriety Program was studied for three-years. Findings show age, post-program time interval, and possibly program history as areas to explore to improve survival rates. Driver DUI offense were most common shortly after program completion. Although limited to a single state, findings increase knowledge for refining strategies designed to impact driver subpopulations at higher risk for reoffense.
Digital health for functional gastrointestinal disorders

Background Functional gastrointestinal disorders are a common but challenging set of conditions to treat. Gastroenterology practices often struggle to meet the needs of patients with functional disorders given the need for careful monitoring, frequent communication, and management of stressors that occur outside of the clinical setting. In recent years, applications in digital health have created a new set of tools that can improve the care of these patients, including through improved symptom tracking, physiologic monitoring, direct provision of care, and patient support. Purpose The purpose of this review is to evaluate how digital applications are being used to manage functional gastrointestinal disorders today, with several examples of relevant technologies and organizations. It also the shortcomings of current treatment strategies and how they can be overcome.
Quantification of Damage Evolution in Multilayered High Temperature Composites from Ultrasonic Measurements

New high temperature composite materials have potential to yield significant performance improvement and weight reduction in different components for aerospace applications (i.e. aircraft engines, airframe parts). For successful application of these materials in various environments their mechanical properties, life service capability and reliability must be known. The high cost of structures engineered from these materials makes experimental life determination very difficult. Thus the development of methodology for NDE of structures, combined with life prediction models using measured damage as input data, becomes very important.
Scalable Digital Libraries Based on NCSTRL/Dienst

NCSTRL (The Networked Computer Science Technical Report Library) is a successful digital library for scientific and technical information. It uses the Dienst protocol that was developed by ARPA-funded CS-TR project. We encountered several problems while implementing NCSTRL based large-scale libraries: UPS for Los Alamos and JDL for JTASC. The document collection for these libraries can range from several hundred thousands to few millions. The first problem we found that the native Dienst implementation does not scale beyond approximately 30,000 records. Secondly we found that the implementation is tightly coupled to the Unix platform. Finally, for a large number of hits the NCSTRL search interface support is limited in terms of usability. To address these problems, we replaced the Dienst repository service implementation with an Oracle-based implementation using servlet technology. The Oracle database stores the index information (metadata) and is partitioned horizontally to speed searching through different archives. Furthermore, indexes were built in order to speed the search by different key items such as the author name, the title and the abstract. Our implementation significantly reduced the average wait time for a user for searches that resulted in a large number of hits. In addition, we get all the other benefits of using servlet technology such as efficiency and portability. In this paper, we present the performance results of the new implementation and compare it with that of the implementation of the Dienst protocol in NCSTRL.
Recent Advances in the Treatment of Duodenal Ulcer Disease: A Surgical Perspective

Chronic peptic ulceration is a disease process in transition. During the past two decades, the disease has changed in its incidence, in its presentation and in its medical consequences. The pathogenesis of acid-peptic disease has been the major focus of numerous investigations, and major advances in understanding basic gastric physiology have led to specific and increasingly effective therapeutic approaches. With the introduction of H2-receptor antagonists, the treatment of peptic ulceration has been radically altered, and many new therapies await clinical trial. Surgeons treating gastroduodenal ulceration will require greater knowledge of gastric physiology and an increasingly refined appreciation of both the power and limitations of various medical and surgical therapies.
Coordinated Transcriptional Regulation of Storage Product Genes in the Maize Endosperm

We have demonstrated that expression of genes involved in starch and storage protein synthesis of the maize (Zea mays L.) endosperm are coordinated. Genetic lesions altering synthetic events in one biosynthetic pathway affect expression of genes in both pathways. Initial studies focused on shrunken2 (sh2) and brittle2 (bt2) mutants because these genes encode subunits of the same enzyme, ADP-glucose pyrophosphorylase. Analysis of various sh2- and bt2- mutant alleles showed that the most severe mutations also conditioned the largest increase in transcripts. The analysis was extended by monitoring the transcripts of the genes, shrunken1 (sh1, structural gene for Suc synthase), sh2, bt2, waxy1 (wx1, structural gene for starch synthase), and those of the large and small zeins in isogenic maize lines at 14, 22, and 30 d postpollination. Endosperms were wild type for all of these genes or contained sh1-, sh2-, bt1-, bt2-, opaque2 (o2-), or amylose-extender1 (ae1-) dull1 (du1-) wx1- mutations. Transcripts increased continually throughout kernel development in the mutants relative to the standard W64A used. Variation in the amount of Suc entering the developing seed also altered transcript amounts. The results indicate that starch and protein biosynthetic genes act in a concerted manner, and both are sensitive to mutationally induced differences.
Alkaloids of Thalictrum V. Quaternary Compounds from T. rugosum and T. adiantifolium

Magnoflorine and berberine were isolated as iodides from the quaternary alkaloid fraction of the roots of Thalictrum rugosum Ait. and T. minus var. adiantifolium Hort.
Elastic waves induced by the frictional sliding of two elastic half-spaces

The nominally steady state frictional sliding of two flat elastic half-spaces is investigated. It is shown that steady sliding is compatible with the formation of a pair of body waves (dilatational and shear) in each body radiated away from the sliding interface. Each wave propagates at a different angle such that the trace velocities along the interface are equal. The angles of propagation are determined by the material properties and by the coefficient of sliding friction. The wave amplitudes are subject only to the restriction that the perturbations in interface contact pressure and relative tangential velocity satisfy the inequality constraints for unilateral sliding contact. Furthermore these waves, which can be generated during frictional sliding and contribute to formation of friction induced vibrations, are shown to exist for a variety of frictional sliding laws, including speed-dependent and speed-independent friction. It is also shown that a slip-pulse can exist which allows the two bodies to undergo relative tangential motion with a ratio of applied shear to normal stress which is less than the friction coefficient. This phenomenon can result in a kinetic friction coefficient which decreases with increasing sliding velocity.
HOW THE LEGACY OF FRENCH COLONIZATION HAS SHAPED DIVERGENT LEVELS OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT IN EAST ASIA: A Time‐Series Cross‐National Analysis

Although many countries in East Asia have achieved high growth rates since the middle of the 20th century, former French colonies in the region have struggled to attain comparable levels of economic development. This article is an attempt to explain this variation in development through a cross-national analysis of economic growth in East Asia for the period from 1970 to 2007. Results suggest that the underperformance of former French colonies is attributable to their inheritance of colonial institutions that have been unfavorable for domestic investment, international trade, and educational attainment. Overall, conclusions lend support for the idea that long-term economic development should be understood in terms of path dependence, and that sustained economic growth requires a concerted effort to restructure growth-adverse institutional arrangements.
Early and Late Results of Ascending Aorta Surgery: Risk Factors for Early and Late Outcome

This study was designed to evaluate risk factors for in-hospital mortality and midterm survival in patients undergoing ascending aorta surgery at a single institution during an 11-year period. Between 1984 and 1994 a total of 158 patients underwent an ascending aorta procedure at our institution. Their mean age was 59.6 ± 12.3; 115 (73%) were male, 33 (21%) had a history of congestive heart failure, 61 (39%) had an acute type A dissection, 21 (13%) underwent redo operations, and 55 (35%) were operated on an emergency basis. In-hospital mortality was 9.7% (10/103) for elective procedures and 36.4% (20/55) for emergency operations ( p < 0.0001). Multivariable stepwise logistic regression analysis identified the cardiopulmonary bypass time [odds ratio (OR) = 1.01/min, p = 0.0021], emergency operation (OR = 2.27, p = 0.0022), arch replacement (OR = 2.71, p = 0.0067), and the need of femoral vein cannulation at intervention (OR = 1.89, p = 0.0375) as independent predictors of in-hospital death. When this kind of analysis was performed, evaluating only the variables known before surgery, acute type A dissection (OR = 2.21, p = 0.0009) and preoperative NYHA class (OR = 1.88 per class, p = 0.0290) were independent risk factors for in-hospital death. Follow-up ranged from 10 to 126 months (median 42 months), with Kaplan-Meier survivals of 69 ± 4%, and 60 ± 5% at 5 and 7 years, respectively; survival rates for hospital survivors were 85 ± 4% and 67 ± 7% at 5 and 7 years, respectively. Cox regression analysis has identified arch replacement [relative risk (RR) = 2.48, p < 0.0001], perioperative myocardial infarction (RR = 2.44, p = 0.0003), preoperative NYHA class (RR = 1.97 per class, p = 0.0009), acute type A aortic dissection (RR = 1.44, p = 0.0238), the need of femoral vein cannulation at intervention (RR = 1.55, p = 0.0332), and redo operation (RR = 1.44, p = 0.0851) as independent predictors of reduced survival at follow-up. When this kind of analysis was performed on hospital survivors only, postoperative tracheostomy ( p = 0.0003, RR = 3.42), reexploration for bleeding ( p = 0.0003, RR = 3.77), and the occurrence of postoperative ventricular arrhythmias ( p = 0.0007, RR = 2.45) emerged as risk factors. Multiple factors affect the early and late outcome after ascending aorta surgery; our data suggest that the preoperative clinical status of the patients and the priority of surgery and aortic dissection are the main determinants of the early results; on the other hand, the early postoperative course is the main determinant of the late outcome of hospital survivors.
The impact of temperature stress and pesticide exposure on mortality and disease susceptibility of endangered Pacific salmon

Abstract Anthropogenic stressors, including chemical contamination and temperature stress, may contribute to increased disease susceptibility in aquatic animals. Specifically, the organophosphate pesticide malathion has been detected in surface waters inhabited by threatened and endangered salmon. In the presence of increasing water temperatures, malathion may increase susceptibility to disease and ultimately threaten salmon survival. This work examines the effect of acute and sublethal exposures to malathion on ocean-type subyearling Chinook salmon held under two temperature regimes. Chinook salmon were exposed to malathion at optimal (11 °C) or elevated (19 and 20 °C) temperatures. The influence of temperature on the acute toxicity of malathion was determined by generating 96-h lethal concentration (LC) curves. A disease challenge assay was also used to assess the effects of sublethal malathion exposure. The malathion concentration that resulted in 50% mortality (LC 50 ; 274.1 μg L −1 ) of the Chinook salmon at 19 °C was significantly less than the LC 50 at 11 °C (364.2 μg L −1 ). Mortality increased 11.2% in Chinook salmon exposed to malathion at the elevated temperature and challenged with Aeromonas salmonicida compared to fish held at the optimal temperature and exposed to malathion or the carrier control. No difference in disease challenge mortality was observed among malathion-exposed and unexposed fish at the optimal temperature. The interaction of co-occurring stressors may have a greater impact on salmon than if they occur in isolation. Ecological risk assessments considering the effects of an individual stressor on threatened and endangered salmon may underestimate risk when additional stressors are present in the environment.
Age-related change in parathyroid hormone-dependent cyclic AMP formation in rat kidney.

Abstract Parathyroid hormone (PTH) dependent cyclic AMP (cAMP) accumulation was evaluated in renal cortex from 2- and 12-month-old rats. Basal cAMP was lower, and responses to PTH were greater at all concentrations of hormone in kidney from 2-month-old rats. This difference was obliterated by prior removal of parathyroid glands, cAMP responses to calcitonin and both basal and hormone-stimulated adenylate cyclase activity were the same at both ages. The results suggest progressive loss of responsiveness to PTH with age, but at a site other than the receptor—adenylate cyclase complex. Blunted cAMP accumulation in year-old rats most likely reflects agonist-specific desensitization.
NF-κB and STAT1 control CXCL1 and CXCL2 gene transcription

Diabetes mellitus results from immune cell invasion into pancreatic islets of Langerhans, eventually leading to selective destruction of the insulin-producing β-cells. How this process is initiated...
Correlating local tube surface heat transfer with bubble presence in a fluidized bed

Abstract A fifty-one millimeter outside diameter heat transfer tube of thirteen millimeter wall thickness was fitted horizontally into a cold bubbling bed of sand and fed with a supply of hot water. The surface of the tube was instrumented with five miniature thermocouples and, in addition, two pressure taps were drilled into the tube to infer bubble presence from vertical pressure gradients. The relationships between bubbling frequency and bed height as well as bubbling frequency and fluidizing velocity are reported. The correlation between transient temperature and differential pressure data shows the influence of bubble events on the local tube heat transfer. Velocity of a bubble at the tube surface could also be inferred from multiple thermocouple data.
Subsidence history of the Bahama Escarpment and the nature of the crust underlying the Bahamas

Abstract Subsidence of the Bahama Escarpment, determined from deep-diving submersible and dredge samples, is used to constrain the nature of crust underlying the Bahamas. Horizontal disposition of the Hauterivian/Barremian (125 Ma) age boundary along the Bahama Escarpment is inconsistent with an underlying oceanic crust (either normal or thickened) here, and suggests that thinned continental crust underlies the Bahamas. Subsidence curves are then fit based on a stretched lithosphere model to a stratigraphic section (2000–4000 m) off Cat Island. This analysis indicates crustal thinning by a factor (β) of 2.0–2.5, resulting in present crustal thicknesses of 10–12 km. We propose that rifting beneath the Bahamas occurred from middle (175–180 Ma) to late (160 Ma) Jurassic time. The pre-extension Bahamas fit between North and South America and Africa in Early Jurassic time, eliminating overlap of the present Bahamas onto Africa in reconstructions of the North Atlantic.
6-Aryldibenzo[b,d]pyrylium salts: synthesis and characterization of a reversible pH-driven optical and spectroscopic response

This preliminary report describes the synthesis of three 6-aryldibenzo[b,d]pyrylium salts, a relatively unexplored structural unit. The optical and spectroscopic properties of the 6-aryldibenzo[b,d]pyrylium salts were examined as a function of pH. All three compounds displayed bright colors under acidic conditions and were colorless under basic conditions. The halochromism of the molecules was shown to be reversible.
Electrophoretic characterization of melanosomal proteins extracted from normal and malignant tissues

Des granules de melanine furent extraites des yeux d'embryons de poussins et de souris noires venant de naitre ainsi que d'œufs deXenopus laevis et du melanome S-91. Apres que des purifications extensives de granules de melanine furent mises en solution soit dans l'uree de 8 M ou 1% de SDS et caracterisees par electrophorese en gel de polyacrylamide. Le resultat indique que plusieurs proteines de meme comportement en electrophorese son presents dans les granules de ces diverses provenances. En plus, il semble encore plus significatif qu'il y ait plusieurs differences entre les proteines melanosomales des melanocytes normaux et nocifs.
A collaborative problem-solving framework for mobile devices

The explosive growth in the number of mobile devices such as Internet-enabled cellular phones, wireless handheld devices, wireless laptops, and tablet PCs has driven the corresponding growth in applications for mobile computing. These applications usually belong to one of two classes: collaborative applications and individual application. While collaborative applications require several mobile devices to work together and include peer-to-peer computing and grid computing, individual applications are local to the mobile device and its user. In this paper, we present a framework that allows mobile devices to collaboratively work on a computationally-expensive problem. Such a problem is decomposed into smaller tasks and distributed across other mobile devices willing to share their computational power with others. This framework is based on the paradigm of grid computing applied to the domain of wireless mobile devices. This paper presents our current implementation of the framework architecture and simulation of its functionality. Also, we focus on the issues of mobility, QoS and network stability and their effect on the performance of our collaborative problem-solving framework.
Isolation of influenza viruses types A and B in ferret kidney cell culture.

SummaryThe isolation of influenza A and B viruses in primary ferret kidney cell cultures is described. A cytopathic effect is produced by these viruses in this cell culture system. The skunk kidney cell culture system is equally satisfactory for isolation of these viruses. Influenza A and B viruses were found to multiply in bat cell culture systems without a cytopathic effect.
Long-Term Care Nurses' Ethical Convictions About Tube Feeding:

Moral certait uncertainty, or both have an impact on every ethical decision confronted by the nurse. This article describes a qualitative study of the moral certainty and uncertainty experienced by long-term care nurses who are faced with the issue of withholding or withdrawing artificial nutrition and hydration from elders in the end stages of life. Moral certainty and uncertainty are analyzed as universal concepts, and the analysis is supported by the words of the study participants. Morally certain participants view tube feeding negatively and are likely to take some action when confronted with elders being tube-fed The most common action is to educate families about tube feeding. Morally uncertain participants see the tube feeding as neutral or benign and are likely to take no action, but to maintain a strong belief that the elder should not suffer Moral certainty and uncertainty are compared and contrasted and thefindings discussed