cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The gravitational lens MG 0414+0534: A link between red galaxies and dust

We present near-IR observations of the red gravitational lens system MG 0414+0534. Our images are of sufficient quality to allow photometry of all four QSO images and the lens galaxy. The observations show that the K-band brightnesses of the components are more similar to the radio brightnesses than to the optical and thus support the notion that the system is highly reddened. The differing brightnesses at visible wavelengths are interpreted as variable amounts of extinction in the lens galaxy. The lens galaxy is detected in the K band and is as red as any other known galaxy of comparable apparent magnitude. An estimate of the redshift of the lens galaxy of 0.45 < z < 0.6 is determined from the Faber-Jackson relation and photometric considerations. By extension, we argue that other very red field galaxies may contain large amounts of dust. K-band spectra of the individual components show no difference in the Hα equivalent widths among the components. This is evidence against significant microlensing.
Optimal design of Fourier estimator in the presence of microstructure noise

The Fourier estimator of Malliavin and Mancino depends on both sample size and a so-called cutting frequency. The latter controls the number of Fourier coefficients to be included, and it also determines how the Fourier estimator responds to market microstructure noise. By examining the finite sample properties of the Fourier estimator, an easy-to-implement procedure is developed for the optimal cutting frequency which minimizes the mean squared error in the presence of the microstructure noise, along with a modified Whittle likelihood approach for the estimation of the signal-to-noise ratio.
Comments on "A surrogate ensemble study of climate reconstruction methods: stochasticity and robustness".

Abstract In a recent paper, Christiansen et al. compared climate reconstruction methods using surrogate ensembles from a coupled general circulation model and pseudoproxies. Their results using the regularized expectation maximization method with truncated total least squares (RegEM-TTLS) appear inconsistent with previous studies. Results presented here show that the poor performance of RegEM-TTLS in Christiansen et al. is due to 1) their use of the nonhybrid method compared to the hybrid method; 2) a stagnation tolerance that is too large and does not permit the solution to stabilize, which is compounded in another paper by Christiansen et al. by the introduction of an inappropriate measure of stagnation; and 3) their use of a truncation parameter that is too large. Thus, the poor performance of RegEM-TTLS in both Christiansen et al. papers is due to poor implementation of the method rather than to shortcomings inherent to the method.
The Analysis on Barriers of Low Carbon Technology Transfer

Abstract This study summarize the barriers of low carbon technology transfer. Based on analysis of the findings of the literature on technology transfer, this paper presents a summary of key areas for future action in order to facilitate the transfer of low carbon technology to developing countries.
Anxiety in Mothers With Preterm Infants in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit

Conclusion/Implications for Nursing Practice To meet the Healthy People 2020 breastfeeding goals, interventions appropriate for the Hispanic culture must be tested with larger samples. In addition, effective strategies to retain participants in research must be developed. Breastfeeding promotion is the initial health promotion strategy that can decrease acute and chronic illnesses and prevent childhood obesity.
Performance processes within affect-related performance zones: a multi-modal investigation of golf performance.

Individual affect-related performance zones (IAPZs) method utilizing Kamata et al. (J Sport Exerc Psychol 24:189–208, 2002) probabilistic model of determining the individual zone of optimal functioning was utilized as idiosyncratic affective patterns during golf performance. To do so, three male golfers of a varsity golf team were observed during three rounds of golf competition. The investigation implemented a multi-modal assessment approach in which the probabilistic relationship between affective states and both, performance process and performance outcome, measures were determined. More specifically, introspective (i.e., verbal reports) and objective (heart rate and respiration rate) measures of arousal were incorporated to examine the relationships between arousal states and both, process components (i.e., routine consistency, timing), and outcome scores related to golf performance. Results revealed distinguishable and idiosyncratic IAPZs associated with physiological and introspective measures for each golfer. The associations between the IAPZs and decision-making or swing/stroke execution were strong and unique for each golfer. Results are elaborated using cognitive and affect-related concepts, and applications for practitioners are provided.
Lactic acidosis and acute ethanol intoxication

Ethanol intoxication has been widely reported as a cause of lactic acidosis. To determine the frequency and severity of ethanol-induced lactic acidosis, patients who presented to an emergency department with a clinical diagnosis of acute ethanol intoxication and a serum ethanol concentration of at least 100 mg/dL were studied. Arterial blood was sampled for lactate and blood gas determinations. A total of 60 patients (mean age, 41 years) were studied. Twenty-two patients sustained minor trauma. Ethanol concentrations ranged from 100 to 667 mg/dL (mean, 287 mg/dL). Lactate concentrations were abnormal (> 2.4 mmol/L) in seven patients (11.7%). In all cases, blood lactate was less than 5 mmol/L. Of the patients with elevated lactate, other potential causes for lactic acidosis, including hypoxia, seizures, and hypoperfusion, were also present. Only one case with elevated blood lactate concentration had associated acidemia. Significant elevations of blood lactate are uncommon in acute ethanol intoxication. In patients with ethanol intoxication who are found to have lactic acidosis, other etiologies for the elevated lactate level should be considered.
Some morphological and biochemical characteristics of isolated rat liver cells dissociated with sodium tetraphenylboron and cultured in suspension

Abstract The dissociation of rat liver by sodium tetraphenylboron (TPB) yielded a nearly pure population of hepatocytes. The metabolism of the cells was affected by the contact with the chemical as shown by the low oxidation of 14C-U-glucose, glycogen concentration and insulin effect upon it, incorporation of 14C-leucine into protein and glucose-6-phosphate phosphohydrolase and lactic dehydrogenase specific activities. After 18 h of incubation in medium supplemented with serum the cells were fully recovered. Dexamethasone phosphate stimulates a marked increase in the tyrosine-α-ketoglutarate transaminase of cells cultured for 30 days. The morphology of cells recently dispersed and after 30 days in culture was shown.
Optimally designing experiments under non-standard experimental situations

There are numerous situations in which experiments need to be optimally designed since classic experimental design techniques are no longer effective. The experimental design space may be constrained, or already-performed experiments may have to be included. The experiment may involve qualitative factors with more than two levels, mixture and process factors in the same design, or a specific set of design points. In addition, the situation may call for reducing the number of experimental runs or using a reduced regression model in fitting the data. Finally, the region where the model is to be fitted may not be the same as where the measurements are to be made, or the model errors may have a known correlation matrix. Unfortunately, researchers in the experimental design community have paid full attention to only a few popular optimal designs; however, there are a number of other optimal designs which may be useful under different experimental situations. The main objective of this paper is the collective documentation of a broad spectrum of optimal design families, application areas, and key mathematical properties.
Parents of Adolescents Who Have Sexually Offended: Providing Support and Coping With the Experience

When an adolescent sexually offends, it is a traumatic experience in the lives of their families. However, there is limited research about the experiences of these family members. This article presents two qualitative pilot studies that explored the experiences of eight parents and parental figures of adolescents who have sexually offended (ASOs). Both studies are presented to give a more complete description of the experience. Data were collected using a focus group and individual interviews. The purpose of Study 1 was to identify how parents of ASOs felt when they provided support to their child after his sexual offense. The overarching theme that emerged from the data was to prevent reoffending within the context of the prescribed treatment. Three main themes emerged within this process: an interactive relationship between the parent and the child, identified as being there; the parental toll; and aspirations for the child’s future. Study 2 was then conducted to further explore the parental toll using ...
Enteric infection meets intestinal function: how bacterial pathogens cause diarrhoea

Bacterial diarrhoea is caused by toxins that are secreted by a variety of bacterial species. These toxins target different host factors and cause loss of fluid and electrolytes, leading to diarrhoea. In addition, the host innate immune response plays an important part in modulating fluid loss.
Factors contributing to impaired self-awareness of cognitive functioning in an HIV positive and at-risk population

Purpose: To examine the association between self-awareness of cognitive impairment and age, selected mood disorders, and type and severity of cognitive impairment in a sample of individuals with HIV/AIDS and at risk for HIV. Method: 75 subjects, 52 HIV+ and 23 at risk for HIV completed a psychosocial interview, the Patient’s Assessment of Own Functioning (PAOF) questionnaire, and a battery of neuropsychological tests. Based upon the differences between their clinical impairment and self-reported impairment, subjects were classified as being “Underestimators”, “Good Awareness”, or “Impaired Awareness” with regard to self-awareness. Results: Those with more severe cognitive impairment were less aware than those with normal or borderline cognitive impairment. A one-way ANOVA suggested that the Impaired Awareness group differed significantly from the Underestimators on the Rey Figure Immediate and Delayed Recall tasks, and from both the Underestimators and Good Awarenesss groups on the Digit Symbol Substituti...
Computation's development critical to our society

The ACM's growth continues: we are now at 13,000 members; expenses also grow. Our professional membership does not spring from a uniformly trained group as in mathematics or physics or even economics. Instead, our increasing membership comes from what I might call intellectual adventures—pioneers in an over-organized society—who see great futures in computing at all levels of aspiration.
The influence of hygroscopic movement on seed dispersal in Daucus carota (Apiaceae).

The influence of hygroscopic movement on seed dispersal in Daucus carota was examined. When relative humidity increases, umbels containing mature fruits close; when relative humidity drops, umbels open. Tests of the effectiveness of smalland large-angled umbels on dispersing seeds under various conditions demonstrate that umbels responding greatly to relative humidity (i.e. opening wide) lose seeds more quickly than do umbels responding little, and do not disperse them as far. As relative humidity increases, number of dispersing seeds drops to near zero. Response to changes in relative humidity within an umbel progressively increases from late August when dispersal begins. Umbels that slowly increase their response retain some seeds that may disperse over snow in winter. Individual variation in response to relative humidity is high among plants beginning dispersal at the same time. This variability is probably maintained by the variable consequences of dispersing seeds at different times.
Renewable energy integration and the control and protection paradigms of the future

This panel session paper outlines one of the research thrust areas in the Power System Engineering Research Center's (PSERC) new initiative funded by the US Department of Energy (DOE) to investigate requirements for a systematic transformation of today's electric grid to enable high penetrations of sustainable energy systems. The proposed research under this thrust area aims at defining and determining the feasibility of wide area control and protection that will be needed in the future.
The Nature and Impact of the Market Forecasting Errors in the Federal Funds Futures Market

Abstract In this paper we examine the impact of the forecasting errors arising from a monetary policy shock arising in the Federal funds rate market. Our empirical results indicate that forecasting errors in the Federal funds futures market do have implications for the asset market's natural price discovery process, since expectations in this market affect long term interest rates and inflation. We also find that the price discovery process may be exacerbated if the policy transmission mechanism is more pronounced under a transparency objective because of the negative feedback loop mechanism. The results further show that the aggregate demand and inflation expectations channels appear to be much more pronounced under the Bernanke regime than Greenspan leading to a much stronger policy transmission. In fact a policy tightening through both channels would have a visibly stronger deflationary and employment impact under Bernanke relative to Greenspan.
Experimental Study of the Effect of Periodic Unsteady Wake Flow on Boundary Layer Development, Separation, and Re-Attachment Along the Surface of a Low Pressure Turbine Blade

The paper experimentally studies the effects of periodic unsteady wake flow on boundary layer development, separation and re-attachment along the suction surface of a low pressure turbine blade. The experimental investigations were performed on a large scale, subsonic unsteady turbine cascade research facility at Turbomachinery Performance and Flow Research Laboratory (TPFL), Texas A&M University. The experiments were carried out at a Reynolds number of 110,000 (based on suction surface length and exit velocity) with a free-stream turbulence intensity of 1.9%. One steady and two different unsteady inlet flow conditions with the corresponding passing frequencies, wake velocities, and turbulence intensities were investigated. The reduced frequencies cover the entire operating range of LP turbines. In addition to the unsteady boundary layer measurements, blade surface measurements were performed at the same Reynolds number. The surface pressure measurements were also carried out at one steady and two periodic unsteady inlet flow conditions. The results presented in ensemble-averaged, and the contour plot forms help to understand the physics of the separation phenomenon under periodic unsteady wake flow. It was found that the suction surface displayed a strong separation bubble for these three different reduced frequencies. For each condition, the locations and the heights defining the separation bubble were determined by carefully analyzing and examining the pressure and the mean velocity profile data. The location of boundary layer separation was independent of the reduced frequency level. However, the extent of the separation was strongly dependent on the reduced frequency level. Once the unsteady wake started to penetrate into the separation bubble, the turbulent spot produced in the wake paths caused a reduction of the separation bubble height.Copyright © 2004 by ASME
THE SIALYLTRANSFERASE SIALYLMOTIF PARTICIPATES IN BINDING THE DONOR SUBSTRATE CMP-NEUAC

Abstract All members of the sialyltransferase gene family cloned to date contain a conserved region, the “sialylmotif,” consisting of 48-49 amino acids in the center of the coding sequence. To investigate the function of this motif, mutant constructs of the Galβ1,4GlcNAc α2,6-sialyltransferase were designed by site-directed mutagenesis, replacing 11 individual conserved amino acids with alanine. Each of the mutants was expressed in COS-1 cells, and eight of these retained sialyltransferase activity, allowing comparison of their enzymatic properties with that of the wild type enzyme. Kinetic analysis showed that six of eight mutants had a 3-12-fold higher K for the donor substrate CMP-NeuAc relative to the wild type enzyme, while the K values for the acceptor substrate were within 0.5-1.2-fold of the wild type for all eight mutants evaluated. The K of the donor substrate analog CDP was also evaluated for the recombinant sialyltransferase with the Val to Ala mutation at residue 220, which produced a 6-fold increase in K of CMP-NeuAc. A corresponding increase in K of 3.4-fold was observed for CDP, indicating a decreased affinity for the cytidine nucleotide. Taken together, these results suggest that the conserved sialylmotif in the sialyltransferase gene family participates in the binding of the common donor substrate, CMP-NeuAc.
SU‐GG‐T‐583: Dosimetric Comparison of Anisotropic Analytical and Pencil Beam Convolution Algorithms in Breast Cancer Radiation Treatment Planning

Purpose: The anisotropic analytical algorithm (AAA) has been shown to provide more accurate dose calculation due to 3D scatter and inhomogeneity corrections than the pencil beam convolution algorithm (PBC) for inhomogeneous anatomical regions such as lung based on Monte Carol simulation and measurements. This study aimed to investigate whether the same level of dosimetric plan quality was achievable using AAA compared to PBC in breast cancerradiation treatment planning. Materials and Methods: This study included 10 lumpectomy (group I) and 10 mastectomy (group II) cases. All plans used for actual patient treatment were initially calculated using PBC algorithm (V8.2.23) and subsequently re‐planned using the AAA (V8.6.15) in the same Eclipse treatment planning system. Re‐planning involved changes in wedges, subfields and beam weightings as needed. AAA plans were normalized to achieve the same VI00% (volume receiving 100% prescription dose) to the breast or chest‐wall volume as the original PBC plans. The dose to ipsi‐lateral breast (group I) or chest‐wall (group II) and the dose to ipsi‐lateral lung were compared. Results: For both groups, the ipsi‐lateral lung in plans using AAA showed higher dose than PBC (group I IDMean=8.9Gy vs 7.6Gy, p=0.002; V5Gy=33.6% vs 22.8%, p=0.002) and (group II DMean=8.9Gy vs 7.6Gy, p=0.002; V5Gy=33.6% vs 21.2%, p=0.002). Dosimetric differences between AAA and PBC plans were marginal either in the breast or chest‐wall region while the differences between AAA and PBC plans for V90% of breast and chest‐wall were statistically significant (the difference was only ∼1%). For chest‐wall (group II), AAA plans showed larger high‐dose volumes (V105%=24.1% vs 19.5%, p=0.037; V110%=2.8% vs 1.5%, p=0.027) whereas group I showed no statistical significance. Conclusions: Plans using AAA calculation could achieve the similar level of dose coverage as PBC calculation for target volume. However, the lung volume receiving low dose is larger with AAA dose calculations.
Nerve growth factor gene delivery: Animal models to clinical trials

Cell death is the final common pathway of cognitive decline in Alzheimer's disease (AD). Nervous system growth factors, or neurotrophic factors, are substances naturally produced in the nervous system that support neuronal survival during development and influence neuronal function throughout adulthood. Notably, in animal models, including primates, neurotrophic factors prevent neuronal death after injury and can reverse spontaneous neuronal atrophy in aging. Thus, neurotrophic factor therapy has the potential to prevent or reduce ongoing cell loss in disorders such as AD. The main challenge in clinical testing of neurotrophic factors has been their delivery to the brain in sufficient doses to impact cell function, while restricting their delivery to specific sites to prevent adverse effects from broad distribution. This article reviews progress in evaluating the therapeutic potential of growth factors, from early animal models to human clinical trials currently underway in AD.
The Distribution and the Probable Origin of the Lunar Craters1

It has been shown by L. La Paz that, while members of the special class of ray craters are distributed very nearly at random on the visible portion of the Moon, the same fact does not appear to be true of the typical craters shown on certain representative lunar photographs. He has inferred that not all of the craters shown on such photographs are of impact origin. In the present paper, the nature of the distribution of 3,112 typical lunar craters listed by Blagg is investigated. It is found that the distribution of these craters is very probably a non-random one. Such preferential distribution is unfavorable to the hypothesis that the lunar craters studied in the present paper are all of meteoritic origin. In view of the known occurrence on the Earth of craters of both volcanic and meteoritic origin, it is reasonable to conclude that craters of both types may exist on our near neighbor, the Moon.
PROMOTING PATIENT SAFETY AND PREVENTING MEDICAL ERROR IN EMERGENCY DEPARTMENTS

An estimated 108,000 people die each year from potentially preventable iatrogenic injury. One in 50 hospitalized patients experiences a preventable adverse event. Up to 3% of these injuries and events take place in emergency departments. With long and detailed training, morbidity and mortality conferences, and an emphasis on practitioner responsibility, medicine has traditionally faced the challenges of medical error and patient safety through an approach focused almost exclusively on individual practitioners. Yet no matter how well trained and how careful health care providers are, individuals will make mistakes because they are human. In general medicine, the study of adverse drug events has led the way to new methods of error detection and error prevention. A combination of chart reviews, incident logs, observation, and peer solicitation has provided a quantitative tool to demonstrate the effectiveness of interventions such as computer order entry and pharmacist order review. In emergency medicine (EM), error detection has focused on subjects of high liability: missed myocardial infarctions, missed appendicitis, and misreading of radiographs. Some system-level efforts in error prevention have focused on teamwork, on strengthening communication between pharmacists and emergency physicians, on automating drug dosing and distribution, and on rationalizing shifts. This article reviews the definitions, detection, and presentation of error in medicine and EM. Based on review of the current literature, recommendations are offered to enhance the likelihood of reduction of error in EM practice.
Statistical-mechanical calculations for nematic liquid crystals

A molecular theory of liquid crystals is developed within the framework of statistical mechanics for classical liquids. Coupled Bogoliubov-Born-Green-Kirkwood-Yvon (BBGKY) equations are derived and solved for anisotropic systems of molecules interacting via a pairwise, orientation-dependent potential. Solutions representing isotropic and nematic phases are obtained. Among the quantities calculated are the temperature- and density-dependent orientational order parameters. Besides serving as a prototype calculation, what is presented here also provides a theoretical background in which the mean-field approximation can better be understood.
External validity of predictive models: a comparison of logistic regression, classification trees, and neural networks.

Abstract Background and Objective: The utility of predictive models depends on their external validity, that is, their ability to maintain accuracy when applied to patients and settings different from those on which the models were developed. We report a simulation study that compared the external validity of standard logistic regression (LR1), logistic regression with piecewise-linear and quadratic terms (LR2), classification trees, and neural networks (NNETs). Methods: We developed predictive models on data simulated from a specified population and on data from perturbed forms of the population not representative of the original distribution. All models were tested on new data generated from the population. Results: The performance of LR2 was superior to that of the other model types when the models were developed on data sampled from the population (mean receiver operating characteristic [ROC] areas 0.769, 0.741, 0.724, and 0.682, for LR2, LR1, NNETs, and trees, respectively) and when they were developed on nonrepresentative data (mean ROC areas 0.734, 0.713, 0.703, and 0.667). However, when the models developed using nonrepresentative data were compared with models developed from data sampled from the population, LR2 had the greatest loss in performance. Conclusion: Our results highlight the necessity of external validation to test the transportability of predictive models.
A reanalysis of water abundances in the Martian atmosphere at high obliquity

[1] We take a new look at expected atmospheric water vapor abundances on Mars during periods of high obliquity using the Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory Mars General Circulation Model. For the first time, the sublimation and burial of the present-day residual polar caps beneath a sublimation lag is considered as the planet shifts from lower to high (45°) obliquity periods. Following the elimination of the polar deposits, the only sources for atmospheric water at high obliquity are the low latitude ice deposits emplaced prior to elimination of the polar source. Annual average water vapor abundances are predicted to be only ∼20–80 prμm during extended periods of high obliquity, one to two orders of magnitude less than previous estimates. This has implications for the climate history of the planet as it suggests that during extended periods of high obliquity, there is not a significant greenhouse warming effect from elevated atmospheric water vapor.
The magnetic quiet zone in the eastern Gulf of Aden: implications for the early development of the continental margin

Summary. The ‘magnetic quiet zone’ in the eastern Gulf of Aden is located between the oceanic crust of Sheba Ridge and the continental crust of Arabia and Somalia, and is separated from both by important structural boundaries. The seaward boundary is marked by the end of the seafloor spreading magnetic anomaly sequence and by a basement depth discontinuity. The landward boundary is marked by escarpments made up of a series of normal faults. These escarpments extend from 2–3 km below sea-level to 1500 m above sea-level and are equivalent of the ‘hinge zone’ found at mature continental margins. The magnetic field in the quiet zone is flat in some areas and in others is characterized by anomalies of up to several hundred gammas which are correlatable over distances of up to about 20 km and which appear related to basement topography. The basement lacks the topographic slope characteristic of mid-ocean ridge flanks and is characterized by moderately rough relief. The crustal structure appears quite heterogeneous and where the crustal thicknesses have been determined, they are slightly greater than those of oceanic crust. New heat flow measurements show high values (95.7–123.3 mW m−2) in the quiet zone with values decreasing from Sheba Ridge toward the coast. The unusual structure of the quiet zone and the observations that more opening appears to have occurred between Arabia and Somalia than can be accounted for by the oceanic crust of Sheba Ridge leads to the suggestion that the magnetic quiet zone was generated by diffuse extension of continental crust through a combination of rotational (listric) faulting and dyke injection. This possibility is investigated using both a ‘stretching’ or ‘lithospheric attenuation’ model and a model in which a portion of the extension occurs through dyke injection. It is found that these models can adequately match the observed heat flow and basement depths although very large amounts of extension (β= 4–6) are required in the deep seaward portion of the quiet zone. This results in more extension than is compatible with the documented motion between Arabia and Africa. However, formation of the magnetic quiet zone occurred over a period of 10–15 Myr rather than instantaneously as assumed in the simple models. When the effects of a finite length rifting episode are considered, less extension is required and the observed geophysical data are consistent with a diffuse extension origin for the magnetic quiet zone.
An analysis of FMA using structural self-bisimilarity

As ontologies are mostly manually created, they tend to contain errors and inconsistencies. In this paper, we present an automated computational method to audit symmetric concepts in ontologies by leveraging self-bisimilarity and linguistic structure in the concept names. Two concepts A and B are symmetric if concept B can be obtained from concept A by replacing a single modifier such as “left” with its symmetric modifier such as “right.” All possible local structural types for symmetric concept pairs are enumerated according to their local subsumption hierarchy, and the pairs are further classified into Non-Matches and Matches. To test the feasibility and validate the benefits of this method, we computed all the symmetric modifier pairs in the Foundational Model of Anatomy (FMA) and selected six of them for experimentation. 9893 Non-Matches and 221 abnormal Matches with potential errors were discovered by our algorithm. Manual evaluation by FMA domain experts on 176 selected Non-Matches and all the 221 abnormal Matches found 102 missing concepts and 40 misaligned concepts. Corrections for them have currently been implemented in the latest version of FMA. Our result demonstrates that self-bisimilarity can be a valuable method for ontology quality assurance, particularly in uncovering missing concepts and misaligned concepts. Our approach is computationally scalable and can be applied to other ontologies that are rich in symmetric concepts.
Determination of "free" glycerol in human serum reference materials by isotope-dilution gas chromatography-mass spectrometry.

Serum free glycerol analyses are an important part of the preparation and evaluation of human serum reference materials used for the quality assurance of triglyceride assays. However, enzymatic kits for free glycerol analysis obtained from different vendors have, on occasion, provided different results for a given sample. In an effort to establish the “target” glycerol content of selected reference materials, we have established a method for the analysis of serum free glycerol by using isotope-dilution gas chromatography—mass spectrometry, incorporating [1,3-13C2]glycerol as the internal standard. The use of a simplified serum extraction and clean-up procedure resulted in (uncorrected) recoveries of glycerol averaging about 90% before derivatization, and in estimated concentrations for spiked serum pools that corresponded closely to the expected values. A comparison of enzymatic and gas chromatographic—mass spectrometric results for several reference serum pools suggest that the latter method is of value in evaluating and validating routine enzymatic methods for free glycerol analysis.
Self-Regulation of Candida albicans Population Size during GI Colonization

Interactions between colonizing commensal microorganisms and their hosts play important roles in health and disease. The opportunistic fungal pathogen Candida albicans is a common component of human intestinal flora. To gain insight into C. albicans colonization, genes expressed by fungi grown within a host were studied. The EFH1 gene, encoding a putative transcription factor, was highly expressed during growth of C. albicans in the intestinal tract. Counterintuitively, an efh1 null mutant exhibited increased colonization of the murine intestinal tract, a model of commensal colonization, whereas an EFH1 overexpressing strain exhibited reduced colonization of the intestinal tract and of the oral cavity of athymic mice, the latter situation modeling human mucosal candidiasis. When inoculated into the bloodstream of mice, both efh1 null and EFH1 overexpressing strains caused lethal infections. In contrast, other mutants are attenuated in virulence following intravenous inoculation but exhibited normal levels of intestinal colonization. Finally, although expression of several genes is dependent on transcription factor Efg1p during laboratory growth, Efg1p-independent expression of these genes was observed during growth within the murine intestinal tract. These results show that expression of EFH1 regulated the level of colonizing fungi, favoring commensalism as opposed to candidiasis. Also, different genes are required in different host niches and the pathway(s) that regulates gene expression during host colonization can differ from well-characterized pathways used during laboratory growth.
Myth of the typical primate

Anthropological interest in nonhuman primates as models for human behavioral evolution has tended to focus on a relatively small number of species. This emphasis, coupled with a search for unifying principles that explain behavior, has led to a widespread perception of the semi-terrestrial cercopithecines as “typical,” and therefore characteristic of most other primates. The prevalence of male-biased dispersal and female philopatry, the use of aggression to establish and maintain hierarchical relationships, and the occurrence of sex for exclusively reproductive purposes have been challenged repeatedly, but the cercopithecine model of primate behavior has nonetheless persisted in much of the anthropological literature. This review incorporates accumulating data on a diversity of primates to examine the myth of the typical primate. The roles of kinship, aggression, and sex in mediating primate social relationships are far less uniform across primates than the myth has implied, raising questions about the generality of models of primate social systems derived from “typical” primates. Acknowledging existing diversity and encompassing it in more accurate portrayals of primate behavioral ecology requires consideration of the interacting effects of phylogenetic, demographic, ontogenetic, and physiological variables. © 1994 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Aspergilloma in an Open Chest Cavity

We present the findings in a patient who underwent pneumonectomy and developed a chronic bronchopleural fistula and empyema and who developed an intrathoracic aspergilloma after open-window thoracostomy. To our knowledge, formation of an aspergilloma in an open intrathoracic cavity has not been reported previously.
The resolution solution: Longitudinal examination of New Year's change attempts.

This study prospectively tracked the self-change attempts of 200 New Year's resolvers over a 2-year period in order to more fully understand the coping determinants of maintenance and the natural history of lapses and relapses. Seventy-seven percent maintained their pledges for 1 week but only 19% for 2 years. Successful resolvers reported employing significantly more stimulus control, reinforcement, and willpower than the unsuccessful over the 2 years; social support and interpersonal strategies failed to predict success before 6 months but did so thereafter. Counterconditioning and fading were retrospectively nominated as the most efficacious coping strategies; paucity of willpower and failure of stimulus control were reported as the most hindering to maintenance. Fifty-three percent of the successful group experienced at least one slip, and the mean number of slips over the 2-year interval was 14. Slips were typically precipitated by a lack of personal control, excessive stress, and negative emotion.
Energy Efficient Mobile Wireless Sensor Networks

Wireless sensor networks (WSN) have tremendous potential in many environmental and structural health monitoring applications including, gas, temperature, pressure and humidity monitoring, motion detection, and hazardous materials detection. Recent advances in CMOS-technology, IC manufacturing, and networking utilizing Bluetooth communications have brought down the total power requirements of wireless sensor nodes to as low as a few hundred microwatts. Such nodes can be used in future dense ad-hoc networks by transmitting data 1 to 10 meters away. For communication outside 10 meter ranges, data must be transmitted in a multi-hop fashion. There are significant implications to replacing large transmission distance WSN with multiple low-power, low-cost WSN. In addition, some of the relay nodes could be mounted on mobile robotic vehicles instead of being stationary, thus increasing the fault tolerance, coverage and bandwidth capacity of the network. The foremost challenge in the implementation of a dense sensor network is managing power consumption for a large number of nodes. The traditional use of batteries to power sensor nodes is simply not scalable to dense networks, and is currently the most significant barrier for many applications. Self-powering of sensor nodes can be achieved by developing a smart architecture which utilizes all the environmental resources available for generating electrical power. These resources can be structural vibrations, wind, magnetic fields, light, sound, temperature gradients and water currents. The generated electric energy is stored in the matching media selected by the microprocessor depending upon the power magnitude and output impedance. The stored electrical energy is supplied on demand to the sensors and communications devices. This paper shows the progress in our laboratory on powering stationary and mobile untethered sensors using a fusion of energy harvesting approaches. It illustrates the prototype hardware and software required for their implementation including MEMS pressure and strain sensors mounted on mobile robots or stationary, power harvesting modules, interface circuits, algorithms for interrogating the sensor, wireless data transfer and recording.Copyright © 2006 by ASME
Ultrasound image texture processing for evaluating fatty liver in peripartal dairy cows

The objective of this work is to characterize the liver ultrasound texture as it changes in diffuse disease of fatty liver. This technology could allow non-invasive diagnosis of fatty liver, a major metabolic disorder in early lactation dairy cows. More than 100 liver biopsies were taken from fourteen dairy cows, as a part of the USDA-funded study for effects of glucagon on prevention and treatment of fatty liver. Up to nine liver biopsies were taken from each cow during peripartal period of seven weeks and total lipid content was determined chemically. Just before each liver biopsy was taken, ultrasonic B-mode images were digitally captured using a 3.5 or 5 MHz transducer. Effort was made to capture images that were non-blurred, void of large blood vessels and multiple echoes, and of consistent texture. From each image, a region-of-interest of size 100-by-100 pixels was processed. Texture parameters were calculated using algorithms such as first and second order statistics, 2D Fourier transformation, co-occurrence matrix, and gradient analysis. Many cows had normal liver (3% to 6% total lipid) and a few had developed fatty liver with total lipid up to 15%. The selected texture parameters showed consistent change with changing lipid content and could potentially be used to diagnose early fatty liver non-invasively. The approach of texture analysis algorithms and initial results on their potential in evaluating total lipid percentage is presented here.© (2001) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Differences in the efficiency of reductive activation of methionine synthase and exogenous electron acceptors between the common polymorphic variants of human methionine synthase reductase.

Methionine synthase reductase (MSR) catalyzes the conversion of the inactive form of human methionine synthase to the active state of the enzyme. This reaction is of paramount physiological importance since methionine synthase is an essential enzyme that plays a key role in the methionine and folate cycles. A common polymorphism in human MSR has been identified (66A → G) that leads to replacement of isoleucine with methionine at residue 22 and has an allele frequency of 0.5. Another polymorphism is 524C → T, which leads to the substitution of serine 175 with leucine, but its allele frequency is not known. The I22M polymorphism is a genetic determinant for mild hyperhomocysteinemia, a risk factor for cardiovascular disease. In this study, we have examined the kinetic properties of the M22/S175 and I22/S175 and the I22/L175 and I22/S175 pairs of variants. EPR spectra of the semiquinone forms of variants I22/S175 and M22/S175 are indistinguishable and exhibit an isotropic signal at g = 2.00. In addition, the...
A spiral curriculum for hypnosis training.

Although hypnosis has been used for centuries, there are few reports of systematic, professional training. The most thorough codification of instructional content is the Standards of Training in Clinical Hypnosis (SOTCH) (Elkins & Hammond, 1994), endorsed by The American Society of Clinical Hypnosis (ASCH), and The Society of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis (SCEH) for annual workshops. This curriculum is organized around two assumptions: training is presented to adult professionals who know their own objectives; and each participant has a favorite learning style that should be accommodated. The workshop follows the content and time recommendations of the SOTCH. Some content is scheduled with spaced opportunity for practice. Concepts are organized in a spiral pattern, then presented and reviewed several times, each time in more detail, and in ways that accommodate different learning styles.
Macroinvertebrate and Fish Populations in a Restored Impounded Salt Marsh 21 Years After the Reestablishment of Tidal Flooding

During the last two decades, the State of Connecticut has restored tidal flow to many impounded salt marshes. One of the first of these and the one most extensively studied is Impoundment One in the Barn Island Wildlife Management Area in Stonington, Connecticut. In 1990, twelve years after the re-establishment of tidal flooding, the density of the marsh snail Melampus bidentatus, the numerically dominant macroinvertebrate of the high marsh, in Impoundment One was about half that in reference marshes below the breached impoundment dike. By 1999 the densities of Melampus above and below the dike were not significantly different, but the shell-free biomass was greater above the dike as a result of the somewhat larger number and size of the snails there. Twenty-one years after the renewal of tidal flooding, three marsh macroinvertebrates (the amphipods Orchestia grillus and Uhlorchestia spartinophila and the mussel Geukensia demissa) were significantly less abundant in the previously impounded marsh than in the reference marshes, whereas another amphipod (Gammarus palustris) was more abundant above the breached dike where conditions appeared to be somewhat wetter. In 1991 the fish assemblage in a mosquito-control ditch in Impoundment One was similar to that in a ditch below the breached dike; however, the common mummichog Fundulus heteroclitus appeared to be less abundant in the restoring marsh. By 1999 the number of mummichogs caught in ditches was significantly greater in Impoundment One than in the reference marsh, but the numbers of mummichogs trapped along the tidal creek were comparable above and below the dike. The results obtained in this study and those of other restoring marshes at Barn Island indicate the full recovery of certain animal populations following the reintroduction of tidal flow to impounded marshes may require up to two or more decades. Furthermore, not only do different species recover at different rates on a single marsh, but the time required for the recovery of a particular species may vary widely from marsh to marsh, often independently of other species.
Extracorporeal photopheresis: Clinical use so far

Extracorporeal photopheresis (ECP or photopheresis) is an advanced therapeutic apheresis procedure in which blood is separated into its various components and the isolated buffy coat is treated with 8-methoxypsoralen (a photoactivating drug), exposed to ultraviolet light and returned to the patient. All other remaining blood components are also returned to the patient. The purpose of this procedure is immunomodulation. The treated leukocytes, specifically T-cells, are returned to the patient's circulation and will induce cytotoxicity and reduce proliferation of new T-cells. In the United States, ECP was initially approved for the treatment of cutaneous T-cell lymphoma by the US Food and Drug Administration in the late 1980s. Since that time, it has been used as an "off-label" therapy to treat several other autoimmune diseases in the United States and even more extensively in Europe and Asia. The following review is limited to the current clinical use of ECP in cutaneous T-cell lymphoma, Crohn's disease, systemic sclerosis, graft versus host disease, and emerging data on nephrogenic systemic fibrosis.
Methyl-CpG Binding Domain Protein 2 Represses Transcription from Hypermethylated π-Class Glutathione S-Transferase Gene Promoters in Hepatocellular Carcinoma Cells

During the pathogenesis of human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), the CpG island encompassing the π-class glutathione S-transferase gene (GSTP1) becomes hypermethylated. Repression of transcription accompanying CpG island hypermethylation has been proposed to be mediated by methyl-CpG binding domain (MBD) proteins. We report here that inhibition of transcription from hypermethylatedGSTP1 promoters in Hep3B HCC cells, which fail to expressGSTP1 mRNA or GSTP1 polypeptides, appears to be mediated by MBD2. Treatment of Hep3B cells with 5-azadeoxycytidine (5-aza-dC), a methyltransferase inhibitor, activated GSTP1expression, whereas treatment with trichostatin A, a histone deacetylase inhibitor, had little effect. To more precisely assess the contribution of the pattern of GSTP1 CpG island methylation on GSTP1 mRNA expression, Hep3B cells were treated for 72 h with 5-aza-dC and then subjected to limiting dilution cloning. Bisulfite sequencing was used to map the methylation patterns of the GSTP1 promoter region inGSTP1-expressing and -non-expressing clones. In the clone that expressed GSTP1 mRNA determined by Northern blot analysis and quantitative reverse transcriptase (RT)-PCR, widespread demethylation of at least one GSTP1allele was evident. Chromatin immunoprecipitation experiments revealed the presence of MBD2, but not Sp1, at the GSTP1 promoter in Hep3B cells. In contrast, Sp1 was detected at the GSTP1promoter in a GSTP1-expressing Hep3B 5-aza-dC subclone. To test whether MBD2 might be responsible for the inhibition ofGSTP1 transcription from hypermethylated GSTP1promoters, siRNAs were used to reduce MBD2 polypeptide levels in Hep3B cells. SssI-catalyzed methylation ofGSTP1 promoter sequences resulted in diminished luciferase reporter activity after transfection into Hep3B cells. However, when hypermethylated GSTP1 promoter sequences were transfected into Hep3B cells that had been treated with siRNA-targetingMBD2 mRNA, no repression of luciferase reporter expression was evident. These findings implicate MBD2 in the repression of GSTP1 expression associated with GSTP1 CpG island hypermethylation in HCC cells.
Infinitely divisible measures with independent marginals

Necessary and sufficient conditions are found for a system of marginals of an infinitely divisible measure to be independent. The conditions are stated in terms of the Levy spectral data of the measure. This result is then applied to the case of independent marginals of operator stable measures.