cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A chemistry of mammalian pheromones

Many mammalian social odors do not elicit an observable specific response in the recipient and therefore strictly cannot be considered to be pheromones. The pheromones now known in mammals are mostly transferred by contact and detected by accessory olfaction, which further indicates that pheromones in mammals should not be considered to be even a subclass of social odors. Aphrodisin, a female hamster pheromone that elicits sexual behavior in male hamsters, is a member of the lipocalycin family of 20 kDa extracellular proteins, and it is most closely related to rat odorant binding protein. Homologous proteins occur in the urine and scent glands of mice, rats and possibly voles, where they may serve as pheromone binding proteins. A 20 kDa protein, pheromaxein, binds the known pheromones androstenol and related steroids in boar saliva, and uncharacterized small proteins have been found in monkey and human skin gland secretions. Thus it appears that proteins may generally be associated with mammalian pheromones.
Synthetic risks, risk potency, and carcinogen regulation.

This article analyzes a comprehensive sample of over 350 chemicals tested for carcinogenicity to assess the determinants of the probability of regulation. Controlling for differences in the risk potency and noncancer risks, synthetic chemicals have a significantly higher probability of regulation overall: this is due to the greater likelihood of U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulation. Measures of risk potency increase the probability of regulation by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), have a somewhat weaker positive effect on regulation by the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), and decrease the likelihood of regulation by the FDA. The overall regulatory pattern is one in which the FDA targets synthetic chemicals and chemicals that pose relatively minor cancer risk. The EPA particularly performed more sensibly than many critics have suggested.
Partial Thermodynamic Properties of γ′-(Ni,Pt)3Al in the Ni-Al-Pt system

Measurements were made to determine how Pt influences the partial thermodynamic properties of Al and Ni in γ′-(Ni,Pt)3Al and liquid in the Ni-Al-Pt system. The activities of Al and Ni were measured with a multiple effusion-cell mass spectrometer (multi-cell KEMS). For a constant X Al = 0.24, adding Pt, from X Pt = 0.02-0.25, reduces a(Al) almost an order of magnitude, from 2 × 10−4 to 2 × 10−5, at 1560 K. This occurred for $${\varvec{\Delta_{\rm m}} \bar{\hbox{H}}\hbox{(Al)}}$$ of −203 ± 10 kJ mol−1 and the a(Al) decrease was due to $${\varvec{\Delta_{\rm m}} \bar{\hbox{S}}\hbox{(Al)}}$$ increasing from −60 to −40 J mol−1 K−1 with Pt addition. The large negative $${\varvec{\Delta_{\rm m}} \bar{\hbox{H}}\hbox{(Al)}}$$ and $${\varvec{\Delta_{\rm m}} \bar{\hbox{S}}\hbox{(Al)}}$$ indicate Al-atoms are highly ordered in γ′-(Ni,Pt)3Al. Nickel activity, a(Ni), remained essentially constant, ∼0.7, indicating an increasing ternary interaction between Ni-atoms and (Al + Pt)-atoms with Pt addition, where γNi increased from about 0.7 to 1.2. This is supported by $${\varvec{\Delta_{\rm m}} \bar{\hbox{H}}\hbox{(Ni)}}$$ in the range 6.1-7.1 ± 1.5 kJ mol−1 at 1520 K, and a positive $${\varvec{\Delta_{\rm m}} \bar{\hbox{S}}^{\rm xs} \hbox{(Ni)}}$$ , which suggest disorder on the Ni-lattice. For a consistent X Al = 0.27, adding Pt, from X Pt = 0.10–0.25, also reduces a(Al) but only by a factor of about 3, while a(Ni) remained essentially constant, with γNi increasing from about 0.7 to 0.95. A dramatic change in the mixing behavior was observed between the $${X_{\rm Al} = 0.24}$$ and 0.27 series of alloys, where $${\varvec{\Delta_{\rm m}} \bar{\hbox{H}}\hbox{(Al)}}$$ and $${\varvec{\Delta_{\rm m}} \bar{\hbox{S}}\hbox{(Al)}}$$ are seen to increase about 50 kJ mol−1 and 20 J mol−1 K−1 at T = 1566 K, respectively. In contrast, $${\varvec{\Delta_{\rm m}} \bar{\hbox{H}}\hbox{(Ni)}}$$ decreased about 16 kJ mol−1 at T = 1520 K and $${\varvec{\Delta_{\rm m}} \bar{\hbox{S}}^{\rm xs} \hbox{(Ni)}}$$ changed from a positive to a negative value.
Photoejection of Electrons from Bubble States in Liquid Helium

We have observed changes in the drift properties of negative ions in liquid helium when they are exposed to near-infrared radiation. The existence of this effect strongly supports the bubble model of the ion's structure. The results imply a bubble radius of 21.2\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.5 \AA{} and a well depth of 1.0\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.2 eV.
Enoxaparin Increases the Incidence of Postoperative Intracranial Hemorrhage when Initiated Preoperatively for Deep Venous Thrombosis Prophylaxis in Patients with Brain Tumors

OBJECTIVE:Prophylactic therapies have demonstrated efficacy in reducing the incidence of deep venous thrombosis (DVT) in neurosurgical patients. Retrospective analysis of patients undergoing neurosurgical procedures at the University of Michigan demonstrated a high incidence (14%) of postoperative D
Evaluation of Multiple-Quantum-Filtered23Na NMR in Monitoring Intracellular Na Content in the Isolated Perfused Rat Heart in the Absence of a Chemical-Shift Reagent

Abstract The feasibility of employing triple-quantum-filtered (TQF) or double-quantum-filtered (DQF) 23 Na NMR spectra to monitor intracellular Na (Na in ) content in isolated rat hearts perfused in the absence of a chemical-shift reagent (SR) was investigated. This necessitated characterization of the following: first, the pool of Na in represented by the intracellular TQF (TQF in ) spectrum; second, the maximum extent to which altered transverse relaxation times affect TQF in spectral amplitudes; and finally, the situations for which the SR-free method can reliably be applied. The rates of increase in peak amplitudes of both intracellular TQF spectra, adjusted for changes in both fast ( T 2f ) and slow ( T 2s ) transverse relaxation times, and intracellular single-quantum (SQ in ) spectra were identical during no-flow ischemia, indicating that TQF in and SQ in spectra represent the same Na in population. Addition of an Na/K ATPase inhibitor, ouabain (≥500 μ M ), and no-flow ischemia induced similar rates of increase of Na in content. However, the Na in level for which the T 2 values started to increase was lower for ischemic ( 165%) hearts, which is consistent with the known earlier onset of intracellular swelling in ischemic hearts. Exposure of hearts to hyperosmotic perfusate (200 m M sucrose) increased [Na in ], due to a decreased cell volume and an unchanged Na in content, but caused a decrease in T 2 values, a trend opposite to that observed with exposure of hearts to ouabain or ischemia. T 2 values therefore consistently correlated only with cell volume, not with Na in content or concentration, indicating an important role for intracellular macromolecule concentration in modulating transverse relaxation behavior. The combined effect of ischemia-induced increases in T 2 values and their inhomogeneous broadened forms was an ∼6% overestimation of Na in content from amplitudes of SR-aided TQF in spectra, indicating negligible effect of transverse relaxation-dependent alterations on TQF in spectral amplitudes. Thus, Na in content may be reliably determined from SR-free TQF spectra when the contribution from extracellular Na does not appreciably vary, such as during constant pressure perfusion. Following complete reduction in perfusion pressure, both SR-free TQF and DQF spectra respond to increases in Na in content. However, SR-free DQF NMR provides an estimate of Na in content much closer to that provided by the SR-aided method, due to the appreciable decrease of the extracellular DQF signal resulting from destructive interference between second- and third-rank tensors.
Comparing the GPS capabilities of the Samsung Galaxy S, Motorola Droid X, and the Apple iPhone for vehicle tracking using FreeSim_Mobile

In this paper, we present a comparison of the Samsung Galaxy S™ [1], the Motorola Droid X™ [2], and the iPhone 4™ [3] using the real-time vehicle tracking application FreeSim_Mobile [4,5]. Using the built-in GPS receiver and the web capabilities of these smart phones, coupled with a V2I architecture, we are able to send a continuous flow of location data to a central server for processing by FreeSim [6–8], a real-time traffic simulator. The proportional model algorithm [9] is then used on this data to determine the time to traverse a section of roadway in order to report in real-time the current flow of traffic. In this paper we analyze the capability of two different Android-based [10] phones, the Samsung Galaxy S and the Motorola Droid X, on reporting accurate and reliable locations and compare them to a vehicle tracking device and the iPhone 4, which has been previously shown to be as accurate as a vehicle tracking device [4,5]. Drivers equipped with a Samsung Galaxy S, Motorola Droid X, iPhone 4, and vehicle tracking device manually timed how long it took to travel along a 0.98 mile/1.58 kilometer section of roadway. All four devices reported their location and the vehicle tracking device also reported the current speed. The amount of time to traverse the test section of roadway was determined using the proportional model algorithm [9] and compared to the actual amount of time it took to traverse the test section of roadway as manually timed. The results of the vehicle tracking device had an average error factor of 0.79% from the actual time to traverse the section of roadway, whereas the Samsung Galaxy S was 4.59%, the Motorola Droid X was 0.84%, and the iPhone 4 was found to have an error factor of 0.60%. The case study furthers the feasibly that mobile phones can act as an alternative means for probe vehicles as the iPhone 4 and Motorola Droid X are relatively as accurate as a vehicle tracking device.
Acute Electrophysiologic Effects of Nadolol

The acute effects of intravenous nadolol (0.01 and 0.02 mg/kg) on cardiac electrophysiologic parameters were assessed with His bundle recording and programmed atrial stimulation. The higher dose of nadolol reduced resting heart rate (71 vs. 65 beats/min, P less than 0.02), and the degree of slowing was related to the initial heart rate (r = -0.68, P less than 0.05). Atrioventricular conduction time as defined by the paced A-H interval, rose by 12 msec (P less than 0.001) after nadolol (0.02 mg/kg) administration. Atrial refractoriness increased (by 10 msec, P less than 0.02) only at the higher dose level with nadolol. At both dose levels, atrioventricular nodal effective and functional refractory periods were increased (P less than 0.02) by a mean of 45 and 21 msec, respectively, suggesting greater sensitivity of atrioventricular nodal refractoriness to beta-adrenergic blockade. Nadolol's effects were generally similar to those of previously reported studies with other beta-adrenergic blockers. These data suggest that nadolol slows conduction through the atrioventricular node and increases atrial and atrioventricular nodal refractoriness.
Central relationships of trigeminal and cervical primary afferents in the spinal cord and medulla

Abstract The structural relationships between primary trigeminal and cervical dorsal root afferents in the spinal cord and the medulla were investigated in 13 cats. In 5 cats rhizotomies of one upper cervical dorsal root and of the contralateral trigeminal dorsal root were done at one operative session. In the remaining 8 cats rhizotomies of from 1 to 3 cervical roots were performed. The resultant degeneration was studied by the Nauta-Gygax and Fink-Heimer methods. The degree of anatomical overlap between afferents of the first 3 upper cervical roots and trigeminal terminals in the dorsal horn at identical levels is maximal in the lower half of C1 and upper third of C2. Minimal overlap of C4 with trigeminal endings occurs, while no afferents from the C5 to C8 roots reach the caudalmost endings of the trigeminal. Convergence of cervical with trigeminal afferents is also seen in the spinal nucleus of V in the low medulla in two discrete loci.
Potential immunological advantage of intravenous mycophenolate mofetil with tacrolimus and steroids in primary deceased donor liver transplantation and live donor liver transplantation without antibody induction

With the current immunosuppressive regimens, graft loss secondary to immunological reasons after successful liver transplantation is a rarity; acute rejections, however, do occur, with the majority of them being steroid-responsive. The aim of the present study is to examine the rate of acute rejection with tacrolimus, intravenous (IV) mycophenolate mofetil (MMF), and steroids in primary deceased donor liver transplant (DDLT) and live donor liver transplant (LDLT) recipients. During the year 2005, 130 patients (mean age: 54.9 ± 10.8, males: 84, females: 46, 112 DDLT and 18 LDLT) received primary liver transplantation. They were followed up for the incidence of acute rejection in the first 12 months. Liver biopsies were performed as clinically indicated; protocol liver biopsies were never performed. A total of 127 liver biopsies were performed. Thirty-two had a rejection activity index (RAI) score of ≥3, of which 24 biopsies in 20 patients were not treated with a steroid bolus. Eight (6.1%) patients (mean RAI score: 5.1 ± 1.4) received 750 to 1500 mg of methylprednisolone over 3 days. Out of these, 2 were noncompliant, 4 were off MMF, and 1 was on cyclosporine. All patients responded to steroid therapy. None of the patients required any antibody preparation. In conclusion, IV MMF with tacrolimus and steroids is useful and required antirejection therapy in 6.1% of liver transplant recipients. Liver Transpl 14:202–209. 2008. © 2008 AASLD.
Lipopolysaccharide-induced inflammation attenuates taste progenitor cell proliferation and shortens the life span of taste bud cells

Background The mammalian taste bud, a complex collection of taste sensory cells, supporting cells, and immature basal cells, is the structural unit for detecting taste stimuli in the oral cavity. Even though the cells of the taste bud undergo constant turnover, the structural homeostasis of the bud is maintained by balancing cell proliferation and cell death. Compared with nongustatory lingual epithelial cells, taste cells express higher levels of several inflammatory receptors and signalling proteins. Whether inflammation, an underlying condition in some diseases associated with taste disorders, interferes with taste cell renewal and turnover is unknown. Here we report the effects of lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced inflammation on taste progenitor cell proliferation and taste bud cell turnover in mouse taste tissues.
Extending the focal depth of an optical tracking system using a phase pupil plate

In this paper we present a normalized method of deriving a phase pupil function to extend the focal depth of imaging systems specially used for small object tracking. The method is based on the concept that the intensity distribution in the vicinity of the focal plane can be controlled and redistributed by means of a phase pupil function. This phase pupil function allows the peak intensity of a point-spread function (PSF) of the imaging system to remain relatively uniform, and the profile of the PSF to be approximately fitted to a Gaussian function in an extended range of the focal depth. A rotational symmetric aspheric phase plate has been designed and fabricated. The imaging system incorporating this pupil plate has extended the focal depth more than twofold compared with a conventional imaging system. Theoretical analyses and experimental results are also presented in support of this method.
In vitro fertilization and early embryogenesis: a cytological analysis.

A cytological analysis of events of fertilization and early embryogenesis in vitro has been made with the light and electron microscopes. Special attention was paid to the initial phases of fertilization, mitochondrial changes during embryogenesis, and cell association. This study discloses that happenings taking place in vivo during fertilization and early embryogenesis are recapitulated in vitro. The events of mammalian fertilization and the development of the preimplantation embryo are now accessible to precise experimental analysis in vitro.
Decorin-mediated Transforming Growth Factor-β Inhibition Ameliorates Adverse Cardiac Remodeling

Background Implantation of a left ventricular assist device (LVAD) has been shown to induce regression of fibrosis in patients with congestive heart failure (CHF) and improve myocardial function. The mechanism of reverse remodeling after mechanical circulatory support (MCS), however, has not been fully characterized. In this study we examined the anti-fibrotic effects of decorin, an extracellular matrix (ECM) proteoglycan, on the transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) pathway. Methods Human myocardial tissue samples were obtained from patients undergoing LVAD implantation and again following subsequent transplantation after a sustained period of MCS. The specimens were examined by utilizing different molecular and histologic techniques, including human cardiac fibroblast in vitro studies. We assessed gene expression, mRNA and protein levels. Results We found a significant decrease in interstitial fibrosis after MCS, with a decrease in collagen mRNA transcription rates, serving as an indirect measurement of collagen synthesis. Both the mRNA and protein levels of decorin were significantly increased after a period of MCS. Decorin mRNA was up-regulated by 44% after MCS ( p p p p Conclusions The decorin molecule is potentially involved in reverse cardiac remodeling, by directly inhibiting the TGF-β pathway and its pro-fibrotic effects on the failing human heart.
Neighboring methoxyl participation in solvolytic nucleophilic substitution

Abstract In the present paper are summarized some of the results of the investigation of MeO-3,4,5,6 and 7 participation in solvolytic substitution. Among the ω-methoxy-1-alkyl bromobenzene-sulfonates, solvolysis of the 4-methoxy-1-butyl and 5-methoxy-1-pentyl esters is rapid and dominated by anchimerically assisted ionization in the common solvents. While MeO-5 and 6 participation is important, MeO-3,4 and 7 is not, the corresponding esters solvolyzing with a rate constant essentially equal to the k s value estimated from a ϱ*ν* correlation of solvolysis rates for primary bromobenzenesulfonates solvolyzing without anchimeric assistance. On the basis of the calculated k s values, ratios of anchimerically assisted and unassisted solvolysis rates ( k Δ/ k s ) are derived for the MeO-5 and 6 cases. In the case of MeO-5 assisted ionization of 4-methoxy-1-butyl bromobenzenesulfonate in acetic acid at 25°, an α- or a δ-methyl group is rate-enhancing by a factor of 6. Both the 5-methoxy-2-pentyl and 4-methoxy-1-pentyl esters give rise to an identical mixture of 5-methoxy-2-pentyl and 4-methoxy-1-pentyl acetates from methylene-O cleavage of the common cyclic oxonium ion intermediate. The participating methoxyl group may be an o -methoxyl substituent in a phenyl group, as in o -methoxyneophyl, 3- o -anisyl-1-propyl, 3-methyl-3- o -anisyl-1-butyl and trans -2- o -anisyl cyclo pentyl arenesulfonates. With the compounds investigated, o -MeO-5, o -MeO-6, but not o -MeO-7 participation has proved to be important. Me-O cleavage of the intermediate oxonium ions formed by o -MeO-5 and 6 participation is important, so that benzodihydrofurans or benzodihydropyrans are produced, sometimes as the major product. The behavior of the cyclic oxonium ion intermediates as ion pairs determines some interesting kinetic features of the acetolysis of the methoxyl-substituted alkyl arenesulfonates solvolyzing with methoxyl participation.
Political Instability, War, and Tourism in Cyprus: Effects, Management, and Prospects for Recovery

This article examines the divergent fortunes of the tourist industry on the divided island of Cyprus and discusses the prospects for crisis management and recovery. The Greek-Cypriot state has witnessed an economic miracle because of rapid tourism development. Conversely, tourism in the northern Turkish-Cypriot part has struggled due to international boycotts. The prospects of a burgeoning Cypriot tourist industry can be seen only in the context of a demilitarized single island-nation with a restructured and diversified product. A competitive single Cypriot tourism product could bring the two communities closer and serve as a catalyst for unfolding Cyprus’s sustainable development potential.
Role of Water in Urban Ecology

This volume is a report on a symposium on the role of water in urban ecology held in Amsterdam in August 1979. The second international environmental symposium of the Koninklijke Nederlandsche Heide Maatschappij (Royal Netherlands Land Development Society) was cosponsored by the International Association for Ecology (INTECOL) and Elsevier Scientific Publishing Company with proceedings published in a special edition of the journal Urban Ecology, volume 6, pp. 1–362, from which this volume is reprinted.
A pharmacoeconomics and formulary management collaborative project to teach decision analysis principles.

Objective. To implement and assess the effectiveness of a 2-course collaborative decision analysis project intended to help students understand the relevance of pharmacoeconomics to clinical pharmacy practice and provide them an opportunity to apply skills taught in pharmacoeconomics to a “real world” problem. Design. Students were assigned a pair of drugs, 1 commonly used as standard therapy and 1 newly approved, and conducted a decision analysis. The results were then used in a mock pharmacy and therapeutics (P&T) committee meeting. Assessment. Ninety-eight of 106 (92%) students completed a 4-question survey instrument. Ninety-six percent of students agreed or somewhat agreed that the decision analysis project met the learning objectives. Students felt the shared assignment influenced their choice of formulary drug, augmented understanding of factors influencing decisions, broadened their thinking about drug costs, and was a good approximation of a “real world” application. Conclusion. An innovative joint-course assignment proved to be a successful technique for teaching decision analysis.
Weighing the evidence in evolutionary biology

The joke among scientists is that ‘philosopher’ is the last stage of one’s scientific career, to be arrived at when one can no longer get grants funded or graduate students to advise. Despite the fact that some of the greatest minds in evolutionary biology (from Darwin to Ernst Mayr) were very much interested in the philosophical aspects of what they were doing, the bad joke persists in the halls of academia.
The influence of lasers on experimental and theoretical studies of second order Raman spectra

The history of experimental and theoretical studies of second order Raman spectra is illustrated by studies that have been made on sodium chloride. It is shown how the introduction of polarized laser sources radically transformed the experimental situation by demonstrating that the observed spectra are highly sensitive to scattering geometry and drastically different from previous results obtained using unpolarized mercury are sources. This necessitates abandonment of previous interpretations of these spectra as simple maps of the two-phonon joint density of states. Results are presented which show how the inclusion of the Raman polarizability in the scattering calculations, using a simple phenomenological model, also dramatically alters the predicted spectra. Moreover, it does so in such a way as to produce the same degree of agreement between theory and experiment as existed between the earlier spectra and the joint density of states. A short overview of attempts to refine the theory further is presented. It is concluded that subsequent extensions of phenomenological and semi-phenomenological theories, amied at producing a precise fit to the observed spectra, are not satisfactory. It is therefore argued that attempts be made in the future to derive the Raman polarizabilities from first principles.
Removing emotional obstacles to learning and performance by visuo-motor behavior rehearsal

Some innovative adaptations of desensitization, visuomotor behavior rehearsal and the use of competency, were developed to treat a Ph.D. candidate with a severe examination anxiety. Treatment was aimed at developing adaptive behavior, rather than simply the removal of the anxiety.
Marginal Corneal Ulceration (Limbal Guttering) as a Presenting Sign of Temporal Arteritis

A 68-year-old white woman was seen because of pain in each eye associated with the development of a marginal corneal ulceration (limbal guttering) bilaterally. Subsequently, the patient developed swelling over the bridge of the nose, painful necrotic lesions of the fingernail beds, scalp, on one knee, and conjunctival ulceration with scleral thinning. Medical examination revealed a markedly elevated erythrocyte sedimentation rate. A temporal artery biopsy specimen was positive for giant cell arteritis. The skin and ocular lesions resolved when the patient was given systemic corticosteroid therapy. The systemic and ocular manifestations of giant cell arteritis and the differential diagnosis and cause of limbal guttering are discussed.
Young Children's Understanding of the Social Roles of Physician and Patient

Thirteen 4and 5-year-old children's understanding of the social roles of doctor and patient was examined by means of a brief clinical interview and puppet play. In the context of a puppet play, each of 12 children first pretended to be either a doctor or a patient in a clinical setting while the experimenter played the complementary role. The experimenter and child then switched social roles and the structure and language of children's interactions were analyzed. While playing the role of physician, most children spontaneously asked numerous questions of the patient, performed therapeutic procedures, and prescribed therapeutic regimens. They often failed, however, to obtain a medical history or perform a physical exam, and their attempts at therapy included administering unspecific medication and prescribing rest, the ingestion of fluids, the avoidance of friends, and "surgery." As patients, they asked few questions, gave few commands, and frequently divulged personal information. These findings suggest that while young children have fairly
Photorefractive keratectomy after radial keratotomy in a patient with severe myopia

The Journal welcomes letters that describe unusual clinical or pathologic findings, experimental results, and new instruments or techniques. The title and the names of all authors appear in the Table of Contents and are retrievable through the Index Medicus and other standard indexing services. Letters must not duplicate data previously published or submitted for publication. Each letter must be accompanied by a signed disclosure statement and copyright transfer agreement published in each issue of The Journal . Letters must be typewritten, double-spaced, on 8 1/2 × 11-inch bond paper with 1 1/2-inch margins on all four sides. (See Instructions to Authors.) An original and two copies of the typescript and figures must be sent. The letters should not exceed 500 words of text. A maximum of two black-and-white figures may be used; they should be cropped or reducible to a width of 3 inches (one column). Color figures cannot be used. References should be limited to five. Letters may be referred to outside editorial referees for evaluation or may be reviewed by members of the Editorial Board. All letters are published promptly after acceptance. Authors do not receive galley proofs but if the editorial changes are extensive, the corrected typescript is submitted to them for approval. These instructions markedly limit the opportunity for an extended discussion or review. Therefore, The Journal does not publish correspondence concerning previously published letters.
Making Sequential Consistency Practical in Titanium

The memory consistency model in shared memory parallel programming controls the order in which memory operations performed by one thread may be observed by another. The most natural model for programmers is to have memory accesses appear to take effect in the order specified in the original program. Language designers have been reluctant to use this strong semantics, called sequential consistency, due to concerns over the performance of memory fence instructions and related mechanisms that guarantee order. In this paper, we provide evidence for the practicality of sequential consistency by showing that advanced compiler analysis techniques are sufficient to eliminate the need for most memory fences and enable high-level optimizations. Our analyses eliminated over 97% of the memory fences that were needed by a na¨ýve implementation, accounting for 87 to 100% of the dynamically encountered fences in all but one benchmark. The impact of the memory model and analysis on runtime performance depends on the quality of the optimizations: more aggressive optimizations are likely to be invalidated by a strong memory consistency semantics. We consider two specific optimizations pipelining of bulk memory copies and communication aggregation and scheduling for irregular accesses and show that our most aggressive analysis is able to obtain the same performance as the relaxed model when applied to two linear algebra kernels. While additional work on parallel optimizations and analyses is needed, we believe these results provide important evidence on the viability of using a simple memory consistency model without sacrificing performance.
A Hopf algebra for product connections of analytic nonlinear input-output systems

A combinatorial Hopf algebra is described corresponding to a class of analytic nonlinear integral operators known as Fliess operators which are interconnected in a parallel fashion so that their outputs are multiplied componentwise.
Learning to Interpret Cultural Meaning through an Etic Description of a Familiar Culture

Undergraduate students often have trouble interpreting cultures other than that with which they are familiar in a way that takes into account the symbols and meanings that explain behaviors, objects, and ideologies. Instead, many fall into the trap of making ethnocentric assumptions and coming to conclusions that are informed by their own cultural perspectives. This in-class active learning exercise makes the familiar strange, using Horace Miner’s wellknown 1956 essay "Body Ritual among the Nacirema" to introduce students to an etic, cultural outsider–like description of American culture. Using short excerpts from Miner’s article, students draw pictures of Miner’s descriptions, producing a wide variety of interpretations. This activity demonstrates that when students overlook or misunderstand cultural meaning, they can come to myriad inaccurate depictions and conclusions about social life and behavior. It therefore reinforces the importance of developing an emic understanding of cultures, rather than accepting social phenomena at face value.
Love canal questions

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) conducted a 3-month monitoring study of the Love Canal area near Niagara Falls, N.Y., after the federal government pronounced that a potential health risk existed due to chemical waste dumps. In 1982 the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) decided that the area was habitable, subject to implementation of effective safeguards against leakage from the canal and to cleaning up of the contaminants. Now, the Congressional Office of Technology Assessment (OTA) has announced that, with the information available, it is not possible to demonstrate with certainty that unsafe levels do not exist within the so-called “emergency declaration area” (EDA).
Carolina Chickadee (Aves, Paridae, Poecile carolinensis) Vocalization Rates: Effects of Body Mass and Food Availability under Aviary Conditions

We evaluated the effect of body mass and several environmental factors on vocalization rates of Carolina chickadees (Poecile carolinensis) housed in an aviary. Two different nonsong vocalizations (tseet and chick-a-dee) and song (fee-bee fee-bay) were recorded. Food was delivered from a feeder and three different levels of food access were presented to each bird: 10, 40 and 55 min/d. Two scales of body mass were measured: 'dawn mass' and 'focal mass' (mass during a focal observation divided by dawn mass). Across all birds, there was a significant negative correlation between both nonsong vocalization rates and body mass (both dawn and focal mass) and the effect of mass on call rate was greatest for days when food was relatively abundant. Nonsong vocalizations were also given at higher rates when food was limited (10 min/d) than when food was more abundant (40 and 55 min/d). No changes in call rates with time of day were observed. Overall, song rates were substantially lower than nonsong rates. Unlike nonsong rates, song rates were highest in birds that had relatively high dawn mass. No significant correlation between song rates and focal mass was observed, and no significant correlation between song rates and time of day was observed. Finally, vocalizations from nonfocal birds had little effect on vocalization rates of focal birds. Our results suggest that nonsong communicative signals are more important for birds facing energetic stress, while song is more important for birds that are not energetically stressed.
Use of visible spectral displacement method to determine the concentration of surfactants in aqueous solution

Abstract A substitution method in which phenolphthalein is displaced from the β-cyclodextrin cavity by the hydrocarbon moiety of a surfactant is used to determine the concentration of the surfactant. The 1:1 complex of phenolphthalein with β-cyclodextrin has an absorbance practically equal to zero in the region of the 550-nm band of the basic form of phenolphthalein. When solute molecules containing an alkyl moiety displace some of the phenolphthalein at a pH of approximately 10.5, the absorbance at 550 nm is significantly increased and serve as a direct measure of the concentration of the solute. The method is useful in determining concentrations of surfactants such as sodium dodecyl sulfate and N,N-dimethyl-N-dodecylamine oxide, which do not contain chromophores.
Hydrogenation of Gallium Nitride

A comparative study of the effects of hydrogen in n-type (unintentionally and Si-doped) as well as p-type (Mg-doped) MBE-grown GaN is presented. Hydrogenation above 500°C reduces the hole concentration at room temperature in the p-type material by one order of magnitude. Three different microscopic effects of hydrogen are suggested: Passivation of deep defects and of Mg-acceptors due to formation of hydrogen-related complexes and the introduction of a hydrogenrelated donor state 100 meV below the conduction band edge.
Suitability of A_4 as a Family Symmetry in Grand Unification

In the recent successful applications of the non-Abelian discrete symmetry A_4 to the tribimaximal mixing of neutrinos, lepton doublets and singlets do not transform in the same way. It appears thus to be unsuitable as a family symmetry in grand unification. A simple resolution of this dilemma is proposed.
Combined heart rate and activity improve estimates of oxygen consumption and carbon dioxide production rates

Moon, Jon K., and Nancy F. Butte. Combined heart rate and activity improve estimates of oxygen consumption and carbon dioxide production rates. J. Appl. Physiol.81(4): 1754–1761, 1996.—Oxygen consu...
Commentary: APH total wrist arthroplasty.

Radmer et al 1 have presented a large series of failed total wrist arthroplasties with successful revision to arthrodesis using internal fixation and bicortical iliac crest bone graft. Their patient population of failures was associated with significant bone loss after removal of the prosthesis. This occurred because of removal of the carpal bones during insertion as well as osteolysis associated with reactive change from the titanium implant material and loosening. Reconstruction after explantation of the implants required filling of the carpal space but because no cement was used, basilar hand/carpal bone and distal radius bone stock was available for reconstruction. The treatment of a failed total wrist arthroplasty presents a difficult surgical problem. There are 3 basic choices for revision/reconstruction. 1. Removal of the component accompanied by long-term immobilization and splinting results in an occasional functional resection arthroplasty. I have seen several patients in whom this option has been satisfactory with pain-free stability and some motion. Most of these patients, however, tend to become unstable over time, drifting into ulnar deviation and flexed positions. Although they remain pain free the instability generally results in a functionless hand. This technique therefore is limited to patients with a history of chronic infection or with generalized debility precluding more major reconstructive surgery, both with and without autogenous iliac crest bone graft. 2. Arthrodesis of the wrist with bone graft and internal fixation. This is the author’s method using bicortical iliac bone graft and either Mannerfelt rods (intermedullary Steinmann pins) or plates and was extremely successful in the patients of Radmer et al (34 of 36 united on first attempt). Simmons 2 has reported on similar results using allograft from the femoral heads and longitudinal Steinmann pins. They reported an excellent (90%) fusion rate for reconstruction of failed total wrist arthroplasty. My personal success using allograft has been less rewarding (nearly 50% nonunion with one half of nonunions requiring revision) and my current practice is to use iliac crest bone graft and internal fixation as the authors have described. The option of allograft bone, though, is very appealing in the elderly population with low demand and at a higher risk for complications of the larger iliac crest surgery, and this is certainly a satisfactory option. In general the procedure of bone graft and internal fixation with rods or plates is the preferred choice in revision of total wrist arthroplasty. 3. Revision to a new arthroplasty with insertion/revision of the arthroplasty. In an attempt to allow
Brief Report: Sleep in Parents of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders

Objective To examine sleep quality and sleep–wake patterns in parents of children with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) and parents of typically developing (TD) children. Methods Thirty-five mothers and 22 fathers completed the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, a 7-day sleep diary, and wore an actigraph for 1 week. Results Parents of children with ASDs reported poorer sleep quality compared to the TD group. In addition, parents of children with ASDs had objectively different sleep patterns, with an earlier wake time and shorter total sleep time than parents of TD children. Finally, regardless of group, fathers had significantly shorter sleep time compared to mothers. Conclusions This study is one of the first to demonstrate poorer sleep quality and shorter sleep quantity in parents of children with ASDs using validated measures of sleep. Future studies should examine the relationship between chronic sleep loss and stress in parents of children with ASDs.
Unique ethical problems in information technology

A distinction is made between moral indoctrination and instruction in ethics. It is argued that the legitimate and important field of computer ethics should not be permitted to become mere moral indoctrination. Computer ethics is an academic field in its own right with unique ethical issues that would not have existed if computer technology had not been invented. Several example issues are presented to illustrate this point. The failure to find satisfactory non-computer analogies testifies to the uniqueness of computer ethics. Lack of an effective analogy forces us to discover new moral values, formulate new moral principles, develop new policies, and find new ways to think about the issues presented to us. For all of these reasons, the kind of issues presented deserve to be addressed separately from others that might at first appear similar. At the very least, they have been so transformed by computing technology that their altered form demands special attention.
Automated measurement and statistical modelling of elastic laminae in arteries

Structural features of elastic laminae within arteries can provide vital information for both the mechanobiology and the biomechanics of the wall. In this paper, we propose, test and illustrate a new computer-based scheme for automated analysis of regional distributions of elastic laminae thickness, inter-lamellar distances and fragmentation furcation points (FPs) from standard histological images. Our scheme eliminates potential artefacts produced by tissue cutting, automatically aligns tissue according to physiologic orientations and performs cross-sectional measurements along radial directions. A statistical randomised complete block design and F test were used to assess the potential (non)-uniformity of lamellar thicknesses and separations along both radial and circumferential directions. Illustrative results for both normotensive and hypertensive thoracic porcine aorta revealed marked heterogeneity along the radial direction in nearly stress-free samples. Clearly, regional measurements can provide more detailed information about morphologic changes that cannot be gained by globally averaged evaluations alone. We also found that quantifying FP densities offers new information about potential elastin fragmentation, particularly in response to increased loading due to hypertension.
Synthesis and self-assembly of poly(3-hexylthiophene)-block-poly(acrylic acid)

A modular and convenient synthesis of ethynyl end functionalized poly(3-hexylthiophene) in high purity is reported; this material facilitated access to poly(3-hexylthiophene)-block-poly(acrylic acid) which self-assembled into hierarchical structures.
A global joint model for semantic role labeling

We present a model for semantic role labeling that effectively captures the linguistic intuition that a semantic argument frame is a joint structure, with strong dependencies among the arguments. We show how to incorporate these strong dependencies in a statistical joint model with a rich set of features over multiple argument phrases. The proposed model substantially outperforms a similar state-of-the-art local model that does not include dependencies among different arguments. We evaluate the gains from incorporating this joint information on the Propbank corpus, when using correct syntactic parse trees as input, and when using automatically derived parse trees. The gains amount to 24.1% error reduction on all arguments and 36.8% on core arguments for gold-standard parse trees on Propbank. For automatic parse trees, the error reductions are 8.3% and 10.3% on all and core arguments, respectively. We also present results on the CoNLL 2005 shared task data set. Additionally, we explore considering multiple syntactic analyses to cope with parser noise and uncertainty.
Learning parameters of the K-means algorithm from subjective human annotation

The New York Public Library is participating in the Chronicling America initiative to develop an online searchable database of historically significant newspaper articles. Microfilm copies of the papers are scanned and high resolution OCR software is run on them. The text from the OCR provides a wealth of data and opinion for researchers and historians. However, the categorization of articles provided by the OCR engine is rudimentary and a large number of the articles are labeled ``editorial" without further categorization. To provide a more refined grouping of articles, unsupervised machine learning algorithms (such as K-Means) are being investigated. The K-Means algorithm requires tuning of parameters such as the number of clusters and mechanism of seeding to ensure that the search is not prone to being caught in a local minima. We designed a pilot study to observe whether humans are adept at finding sub-categories. The subjective labels provided by humans are used as a guide to compare performance of the automated clustering techniques. In addition, seeds provided by annotators are carefully incorporated into a semi-supervised K-Means algorithm (Seeded K-Means); empirical results indicate that this helps to improve performance and provides an intuitive sub-categorization of the articles labeled ``editorial" by the OCR engine.
End-of-Life Decision Making and Communication of Bereaved Family Members of African Americans with Serious Illness

Abstract Objective: The study objective was to examine factors that influence African American (AA) family members' end-of-life care decision outcomes for a relative who recently died from serious illness. Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive study design was used. Binary logistic and linear regressions were used to identify factors associated with decision regret and decisional conflict. Forty-nine bereaved AA family members of AA decedents with serious illness who died two to six months prior to enrollment were recruited from the palliative care program in a safety net hospital and a metropolitan church in the Midwest. Measurements used were the Decisional Conflict, Decision Regret, Beliefs and Values, and Quality of Communication scales. Results: Family members who reported higher quality of communication with health care providers had lower decisional conflict. Family members of decedents who received comfort-focused care (CFC) had significantly less decision regret than family members of those who ...
Cost Differential of Chemotherapy for Solid Tumors

QUESTION ASKED:The objective of the present study is to determine the cost differentials between chemotherapeutic regimens (of similar or acceptable effectiveness) for common solid tumors in the metastatic and adjuvant settings.SUMMARY ANSWER:Of the 62 regimens included, the 6-month mean cost of chemotherapy was $26,989, and the median cost was $9,611. Mean cost of metastatic cancer therapy regimens was $35,315 compared with $18,107 for curative therapy. Regimens using biologics had higher mean costs than regimens not using biologics ($77,278 v $13,646). Cost differential between extremes of costs for regimens with presumed similar efficacy was Δ$90,843; $79,165 in the curative therapy arms and $90,210 in the metastatic cancer therapy arms. The highest cost differential was noted in breast cancer regimens (Δ$71,041 for metastatic v Δ$63,926 for curative).METHODS:Chemotherapy regimens—curative (adjuvant/neoadjuvant) and metastatic—and dosages outlined in National Comprehensive Cancer Network guidelines (20...
Co-delivery of Cisplatin and Rapamycin for Enhanced Anticancer Therapy through Synergistic Effects and Microenvironment Modulation

The tumor microenvironment plays an important role in the tumor's progression and metastasis. Therefore, successful alteration of this delicate setting against the tumor's favor can open a window for therapeutic efficacy. We have developed a modality to bring about treatment-induced alterations in the tumor microenvironment by employing the synergistic effects between two drugs. Co-delivery of rapamycin (RAPA), an mTOR inhibitor that may offer notable therapy through antiangiogenic activity, alongside cisplatin can foster significant potency as RAPA sensitizes A375 melanoma cells to cisplatin therapy through microenvironment modulation. However, encapsulation of these drugs into poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) NPs was inefficient due to the incompatibility between the two free drugs and the polymer matrix. Here, we show cisplatin can be made hydrophobic by coating a nanoprecipitate (cores) of the drug with dioleoylphosphatidic acid (DOPA). These DOPA coated cisplatin cores are compatible with PLGA and can be coencapsulated in PLGA NPs alongside RAPA at a molar ratio to promote synergistic antitumor activity. The presence of the cisplatin cores significantly improved the encapsulation of RAPA into PLGA NPs. Furthermore, PLGA NPs containing both cisplatin cores and RAPA induced significant apoptosis on A375-luc human melanoma cells in vitro. Additionally, they inhibited the growth of A375-luc melanoma in a xenograft tumor model through modulation of the tumor vasculature and permitted enhanced penetration of NPs into the tumor.