cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Commentary on “Total Videothoracoscopic Lobectomy Versus Open Thoracotomy for Early-Stage Non–Small-Cell Lung Cancer”

Ironically, thoracoscopy was first introduced by an internist, Jacobaeus, in 1910. His two cannulae technique was briefly mentioned in the Munich Journal and was definitively described in 1922 at the Royal Society of Medicine meeting in London.1,2 Enthusiasm for operative thoracoscopy declined in 1945, as streptomycin became an effective agent in preventing many of the complications of tuberculosis. The idea for a more humane approach to thoracic surgery predates the current generation of surgeons. It has been suggested that Edward Churchill, MD, expressed his concerns regarding issues of patient comfort; however, he did not have access to present-day facilities. The introduction of video technology into the clinical arena has enabled us to explore alternative approaches to anatomic lung resections. Coincidentally, the development of endoscopic stapling devices has facilitated the practical application of minimally invasive thoracic surgery. In the mid-1990s, we read about the Hong Kong, Scottish, and American experiences with video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS).3-5 However, in all cases, the procedures involved an "access" incision of 4-8 cm, defining a hybrid (video/ open) approach to anatomic lung surgery. Although there was some evidence of decreased analgesia requirements and shorter length of stay following VATS, binocular vision and manual lesion palpation were lost. More recently, Lewis and colleagues have published a modification of VATS that is safe with low morbidity.6 Their philosophy deviates from conventional thinking that "the identical operation must be performed using a VATS approach as that accomplished through a standard thoracotomy."5 Lewis et al use VATS, without rib spreading, in combination with simultaneous stapling of hilar structures (VNSSL). They emphasize that this technique does not represent a large wedge-resection, since an entire lobe can be removed. Luketich et al, in this edition, retrospectively compare VATS to open thoracotomy.7 Their technique of resection is the endoscopic equivalent of a conventional open lobectomy where hilar structures are individually isolated and divided. In contrast to Lewis’s approach, Luketich’s specimen is removed through a small anterior incision (4-6 cm). Lewis’s lesion is divided within the receptacle to avoid a large counter incision for retrieval. Luketich reports not only a shorter hospital stay, but also less time with a chest tube in place. As physicians, our priority has always been patient comfort and safety. With the
The NLRP3 Inflammasome Detects Encephalomyocarditis Virus and Vesicular Stomatitis Virus Infection

Inflammasomes are cytosolic protein complexes that regulate caspase-1 activation and the secretion of interleukin-1β (IL-1β) and IL-18. Several different inflammasome complexes have been identified, but the NLRP3 inflammasome is particularly notable because of its central role in diseases of inflammation. Recent work has demonstrated an essential role for the NLRP3 inflammasome in host defense against influenza virus. We show here that two other RNA viruses, encephalomyocarditis virus (EMCV) and vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV), activate the NLRP3 inflammasome in dendritic cells and macrophages through a mechanism requiring viral replication. Inflammasome activation in response to both viruses does not require MDA5 or RIG-I signaling. Despite the ability of the NLRP3 inflammasome to detect EMCV and VSV, wild-type and caspase-1-deficient mice were equally susceptible to infection with both viruses. These findings indicate that the NLRP3 inflammasome may be a common pathway for RNA virus detection, but its precise role in the host response may be variable.
Audit Software that Helps Your Company Stop Fraud

Companies discover few occupational frauds and abuses using routine audits. In today's world, your company needs more powerful tools. But a recent study found that nearly 40 percent of internal audit departments don't use fraud-detection software. The authors survey the audit software that's available to help you select the right products for your firm. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Cross‐cultural analysis of gender roles: Indian and US advertisements

Purpose – The objective of this research is to examine gender roles portrayal in Indian and US magazine advertisements. The impact of the socio‐cultural influences on the gender roles portrayal in magazine advertisements of the two countries is examined.Design/methodology/approach – Advertisements appearing in popular Indian and US magazine advertisements were analyzed with respect to the portrayal of male and female models shown in the print advertisements. The advertisements for five products were examined and observations were recorded. The role portrayals of the male and female models in the two countries are compared and discussed.Findings – The study concludes that there are both significant differences and some similarities in characteristics of gender roles as manifested in Indian and US magazine advertisements. The findings are consistent with those of the few earlier researchers comparing gender roles in different countries. The overall results of the present study suggest to international adver...
Radiation Effects in Free-Ranging Pocket Mice, Perognathus parvus, during the Breeding Season

Captive and free-ranging Great Basin pocket mice, Perognathus parvus, were exposed to ionizing radiation during the breeding season, April-June, in 1971. The values for the median lethal dose (LD50) at 30 days plus or minus the standard deviation were 880 ± 14 rads and 780 ± 27 rads, respectively, and the slopes of the survivorship curves were significantly different. These differences suggested that there was a synergism between radiation-induced and environmental sources of mortality, since the field data were corrected for natural mortality (5 percent) in the controls.
A PRINCIPLE OF UNCERTAINTY FOR INFORMATION SEEKING

This paper proposes an uncertainty principle for information seeking. The principle is based on the results of a series of studies conducted by the author into the user's perspective of the information search process. A basic principle of uncertainty is elaborated by six corollaries. The principle is proposed to explain the constructive process of information seeking and use bringing affective considerations to what has usually been regarded as a cognitive process.
An information system for head and neck tumors: optimal use of abstracting and retrieval resources.

This report describes a symbiotic interaction between a hospital tumor registry and the physicians in a medical school department of otolaryngology. The tumor registry is responsible for collecting central registry data, entering both central registry and department-specific data, performing routine data maintenance functions, and tracking the patients over time. The departmental physicians collect site-specific data and, after entry into a computer-based data base management system, can access the information without intermediaries and at their convenience. The result is a comprehensive information resource for head and neck cancer. The development of a medical subspeciality information system, as a satellite to the central registry mechanism, is noteworthy in its low cost, frequent physican use, better patient tracking, improved patient care, and increased clinical relevance of registry activites. A subtle but pervasive benefit is the increased sense of mission experienced by all concerned.
Electric Propulsion for International Space Station Reboost: A Fresh Look

Electric propulsion has recently been revisited for reboost of space station due to its high fuel efficiency. This paper focuses upon the propulsion system and orbit analysis trades undertaken at the beginning of a study to show the relative performance of potential electric propulsion system. A code was developed to analyze continuous low thrust reboost of space station with various electric propulsion systems at various power levels. Analysis showed that a major portion of reboost of space station can be made using electric propulsion systems with 0.5 N of continuous thrust. 1.0 N of EP thrust can provide almost the entire reboost mission, Three electric propulsion systems at various total power levels were chosen for further investigation: N2H4 arcjets at 5 kW, xenon Hall at 10 kW, and xenon ion thrusters at 20 kW. They were chosen for their ability to reduce the internationally launched chemical reboost fuel by 50% or more.
Impact of organ donation education on US undergraduate nursing students.

Experts advocate educational programs addressing misinformation regarding donation decisions to increase the potential donor pool. However, few researchers have measured outcomes with nursing students. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of an educational intervention on nursing students' knowledge, attitudes, registering as an organ donor, and family discussions. This quasi-experimental study used a pretest-posttest design with a control group. The research group consisted of 42 volunteers and the control group consisted of 73 volunteers. The written survey included 15 true-false knowledge items and 8 Likert items asking about attitude toward donation, registering as an organ donor, and family discussion. Normally distributed data showed no significant differences between groups on the pretest. The research group had no change in knowledge level 3 months later, but the control group had a significantly decreased knowledge level at that point. More members of the research group than the c...
Appendicovesicostomy and newer alternatives for the Mitrofanoff procedure : Results in the last 100 patients at Riley Children's Hospital

Purpose: We present our experience using the various Mitrofanoff techniques to create a continent catheterizable stoma as an adjunct to continent urinary tract reconstruction in children and young adults. Materials and Methods: Between 1990 and 1998 a Mitrofanoff procedure was performed at our institution in 55 male and 45 female patients with a mean age of 10.5 years. The etiology of incontinence was diverse but more than 90% of the patients had neurogenic bladder, the epispadias-exstrophy complex or a cloacal anomaly. Surgery included appendicovesicostomy in 57 cases, a Yang-Monti ileovesicostomy in 21, continent vesicostomy in 21 and formation of a tapered ileal segment as a catheterizable channel in 1. Simultaneously bladder augmentation was performed in 52 patients, bladder neck reconstruction was done in 48 and a Malone antegrade colonic enema stoma was constructed for fecal incontinence in 17. Results: The abdominal stoma is continent in 98 of our 100 patients. Mean followup is 2 years (range 2 months to 8 years) with the longer followup in the appendicovesicostomy group. One patient with stomal incontinence who underwent revision is now dry. Postoperative complications requiring an additional procedure developed in 20 patients, including stomal stenosis in 12. Continent vesicostomy was most prone to stomal problems (6 of 21 patients, 29%). Conclusions: The Mitrofanoff procedure is a reliable technique for creating a continent catheterizable urinary stoma. Appendicovesicostomy continues to be our first option for this procedure, although we have also had good results with the Yang-Monti ileovesicostomy and continent vesicostomy. These newer options have allowed preservation of the appendix for the Malone antegrade colonic enema stoma procedure in patients with urinary and fecal incontinence.
Mechanistic variations among reverse transcriptases of simian immunodeficiency virus variants isolated from African green monkeys.

Here we report enzymatic variations among the reverse transcriptases (RTs) of five simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) strains, Sab-1, 155-4, Gri-1, 9063-2, and Tan-1, which were isolated from four different species of naturally infected African green monkeys living in different regions across Africa. First, Sab-1 RT exhibits the most efficient dNTP incorporation efficiency at low dNTP concentrations, whereas the other four SIVagm RT proteins display different levels of reduced polymerase activity at low dNTP concentrations. Tan-1 RT exhibited the most restricted dNTP incorporation efficiency. Indeed, the pre-steady state analysis revealed that Sab-1 RT displays tight dNTP binding affinity (Kd ∼ 1−5 μM), comparable to values observed for NL4-3 and HXB2 HIV-1 RTs, whereas the dNTP binding affinity of Tan-1 RT is 6.2, ∼34.8-fold lower than that of Sab-1 RT. Second, Tan-1 RT fidelity was significantly higher than that of Sab-1 RT. Indeed, Tan-1 RT enzymatically mimics oncoretroviral murine leukemia virus RT ...
The Canon Law On the Formation of Marriage and Social Practice in the Later Middle Ages

The legal rules concerning the formation of marriage adopted by Pope Alexander III (1159-1181) gave considerable freedom to marriage partners to form a marriage without the consent of their parents...
Vacuum-induced oscillations in the charge density of distinguishable fermions

We have computed the time-dependent charge density for a fermionic two-particle system. In classical electrodynamics the total charge density is given by the sum of the individual densities associated with each particle. This intuitive relationship changes in quantum field theory if the particle pair was created from the vacuum. In this case the presence of the vacuum can lead to high-frequency oscillations in the resulting charge density. We note the modulation in the density outside the region where the pair is created may be interesting for probing the fermionic vacuum.
Effects of acute, transient coronary occlusion on global and regional right ventricular function in humans.

Objectives. The aim of this study was to investigate the changes in right ventricular function during acute coronary occlusion produced by inflating a coronary angioplasty balloon catheter. Background, Alterations in right ventricular function are well known to occur in patients with acute myocardial infarction or ischemie cardiomyopathy. However, the changes in right ventricular function resulting from acute, transient coronary occlusion of each of the major coronary arteries have been scantily studied, perhaps because of serious limitations of currently available technology. Methods. A newly designed, mobile, multiwire gamma camera, in combination with generator-produced tantalum-178, affords high count rate first-pass radionuclide angiography and is thus ideal for studying right ventricular function at the bedside. Accordingly, 46 patients underwent first-pass radionuclide angiography at baseline and during transient coronary occlusion induced by a coronary angioplasty balloon catheter. Results. A significant, albeit modest, decrease in global right ventricular ejection fraction occurred during occlusion of the left anterior descending (from 42.9 ± 9.3% to 39 ± 8.7%, p < 0.05) and left circumflex (from 44 ± 9.1% to 38.8 ± 7.9%, p = 0.03) coronary arteries, but diagonal artery occlusion caused no significant change in right ventricular ejection fraction. Occlusion of the right coronary artery proximal (but not distal) to the acute marginal branch caused a significant decrease in right ventricular ejection fraction (from 42.6 ± 4.7% to 35.7 ± 7.2%, p < 0.01). Although occlusion of the left anterior descending, left circumflex and proximal right coronary arteries all caused significant deterioration in regional right ventricular function, only proximal right coronary occlusion caused right ventricular dilation (p < 0.005). Conclusions. Significant impairment of right ventricular function occurs during transient occlusion of the left anterior descending, left circumflex and proximal right coronary arteries, but only occlusion of the latter causes acute right ventricular dilation, probably as a result of ischemia.
Experimental study of ion heating and acceleration during magnetic reconnection

Ion heating and acceleration has been studied in the well-characterized reconnection layer of the Magnetic Reconnection Experiment [M. Yamada , Phys. Plasmas 4, 1936 (1997)]. Ion temperature in the layer rises substantially during null-helicity reconnection in which reconnecting field lines are anti-parallel. The plasma outflow is sub-Alfvenic due to a downstream back pressure. An ion energy balance calculation based on the data and including classical viscous heating indicates that ions are heated largely via nonclassical mechanisms. The T-i rise is much smaller during co-helicity reconnection in which field lines reconnect obliquely. This is consistent with a slower reconnection rate and a smaller resistivity enhancement over the Spitzer value. These observations show that nonclassical dissipation mechanisms can play an important role both in heating the ions and in facilitating the reconnection process.
Odd girl out: an individual differences perspective on women in the IT profession

This paper develops a theoretical perspective on gender and information technology (IT) by examining socio‐cultural influences on women who are members of the information technology profession in Australia and New Zealand. In‐depth interviews with both practitioners and academics give evidence of a range of socio‐cultural influences on the professional development and working lives of women IT professionals. The paper rejects the essentialist view of women and their relationship to IT that has been put forth in the information systems literature arguing, instead, the primacy of societal and structural influences. The particular contribution of this paper is a theoretical perspective of individual differences which is presented to characterize the way individual women respond in a range of specific ways to the interplay between individual characteristics and environmental influences. This perspective contributes to a better understanding of women’s involvement in the IT sector and suggests areas for proact...
Ammonia chemical ionization tandem mass spectrometry in structure determination of alkaloids. I. Pyrrolidines, piperidines, decahydroquinolines, pyrrolizidines, indolizidines, quinolizidines and an azabicyclo[5.3.0]decane.

CI-MS/MS of alkaloids with ammonia reagent gas and collision-induced dissociation provides unique structural information for certain mono- and bi-cyclic alkaloids. This technique was applied to solve the structures of 195C, a 4,6-disubstituted quinolizidine alkaloid found in frog skin and an ant, and 275A, a novel 3,5-disubstituted azabicyclo[5.3.0]decane found in frog skin.
Vibrational dependence of the NH3+ (v2)+NO and NO+(v)+NH3 charge transfer cross sections

Abstract A tandem quadrupole mass spectrometer is used to study the charge transfer reactions NH 3 + + NO and NO + + NH 3 over a collision energy range 1.5–13 eV. The vibrational state of the reagent ions is selected by resonance-enhanced multiphoton ionization. For the 0.9 eV exothermic process NH 3 + + NO → NH 3 + NO + excitation of the v 2 umbrella bending mode ( v 2 = 0–12) causes no marked change in the charge transfer cross section, while in the reverse process NO + + NH 3 → NO + NH 3 + excitation of the NO + vibration ( v = 0–6) strongly enhanced the charge transfer cross section.
Chlordiazepoxide and ethanol additively reduce gustatory negative contrast

Negative contrast that occurs when rats are shifted from 32% to 4% sucrose has been shown to be reduced by chlordiazepoxide (CDP) and ethanol (ETOH). In a previous experiment, doses of 0.75 and 1.0 g/kg ETOH substantially reduced contrast while doses of 0.25 and 0.5 g/kg ETOH were much less effective. In this study, doses of 6 and 8 mg/kg CDP were shown to attenuate the negative contrast effect while smaller doses (2 and 4 mg/kg) influenced contrast to a lesser degree. Evidence for an additive effect of CDP and ETOH on contrast reduction was obtained when 4 mg/kg CDP and 0.5 g/kg ETOH were administered together.
Patients as actors: The patient's role in detecting, preventing, and recovering from medical errors

Purpose: Patients have the most to gain from reducing medical errors; yet, little research has been done to investigate the role they could or already do play in detecting and preventing errors in their own health care. The purpose of this study is to examine patient’s role in detecting, preventing, and recovering from medical errors in outpatient oncology. Methods: In this paper, we use cognitive work analysis and Rasmussen’s taxonomy of human performance to describe five cases of medical errors that occurred in an outpatient, cancercare setting. We detail the role of the patient in each case, and analyze each role using constructs from previous studies of human behavior and errors. Results: Observational data indicates that patients engage in a range of tasks that identify, prevent, and recover from medical errors in outpatient cancer care. The results of this study point to the importance of considering patients and their work in both the design of patientcare information systems and the structure of clinical-care environments that enable safe and effective health care.
Forecasting the Yen/U.S. Dollar exchange rate: Empirical evidence from a capital enhanced relative PPP-based model

Abstract This study uses a relative purchasing power parity (PPP) model based on price indexes (consumer, CPI or traded-goods price indexes, TPI), interest rate differentials, and a linear forecasting technique to determine the horizon over which such a model outperforms a random walk in forecasting the Yen/U.S. Dollar exchange rates out-of-sample. The results improve if one adjusts a simple CPI-based PPP-model by interest rate differentials, while the best results are obtained using a TPI-based PPP-model. For example, the TPI-based model, adjusted by interest rate differentials, is able to statistically significantly outperform the pure random walk starting at forecast horizons of 1 month.
Association between obesity and cardiometabolic health risk in Asian-Canadian sub-groups.

Objectives To quantify and compare the association between the World Health Organizations’ Asian-specific trigger points for public health action [‘increased risk’: body mass index (BMI) ≥23 kg/m2, and; ‘high risk’: BMI ≥27.5 kg/m2] with self-reported cardiovascular-related conditions in Asian-Canadian sub-groups. Methods Six cycles of the Canadian Community Health Survey (2001–2009) were pooled to examine BMI and health in Asian sub-groups (South Asians, Chinese, Filipino, Southeast Asians, Arabs, West Asians, Japanese and Korean; N = 18 794 participants, ages 18–64 y). Multivariable logistic regression, adjusting for demographic, lifestyle characteristics and acculturation measures, was used to estimate the odds of cardiovascular-related health (high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes, ‘at least one cardiometabolic condition’) outcomes across all eight Asian sub-groups. Results Compared to South Asians (OR = 1.00), Filipinos had higher odds of having ‘at least one cardiometabolic condition’ (OR = 1.29, 95% CI: 1.04–1.62), whereas Chinese (0.63, 0.474–0.9) and Arab-Canadians had lower odds (0.38, 0.28–0.51). In ethnic-specific analyses (with ‘acceptable’ risk weight as the referent), ‘increased’ and ‘high’ risk weight categories were the most highly associated with ‘at least one cardiometabolic condition’ in Chinese (‘increased’: 3.6, 2.34–5.63; ‘high’: 8.9, 3.6–22.01). Compared to normal weight South Asians, being in the ‘high’ risk weight category in all but the Southeast Asian, Arab, and Japanese ethnic groups was associated with approximately 3-times the likelihood of having ‘at least one cardiometabolic condition’. Conclusion Differences in the association between obesity and cardiometabolic health risks were seen among Asian sub-groups in Canada. The use of WHO’s lowered Asian-specific BMI cut-offs identified obesity-related risks in South Asian, Filipino and Chinese sub-groups that would have been masked by traditional BMI categories. These findings have implications for public health messaging, especially for ethnic groups at higher odds of obesity-related health risks.
Fused quad audio/visual and tracking data collection to enhance mobile robot and operator performance analyses

Collecting accurate, adequate ground truth and experimental data to support technology evaluations is critical in formulating exact and methodical analyses of the system's performance. Personnel at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), tasked with developing performance measures and standards for both Urban Search and Rescue (US&R) and bomb disposal robots, have been designing advanced ground truth data collection methods to support these efforts. These new techniques fuse multiple real-time streams of video and robot tracking data to facilitate more complete human robot interaction (HRI) analyses following a robot's experiences. As a robot maneuvers through a test method, video and audio streams are simultaneously collected and fed into a quad compressor providing real-time display. This fused quad audio/visual data provides a complete picture of what the operators and robots are doing throughout their evaluation to not only enhance HRI analyses, but also provide valuable data that can be used to aid operator training, encourage implementation improvements by highlighting successes and failures to the developers/vendors, and demonstrate capabilities to end-users and buyers. Quad data collection system deployments to support US&R test methods/scenarios at the 2007 Robot Response Evaluation in Disaster City, Texas will be highlighted.
Density functional theory for freezing of a binary hard sphere liquid

Our recently proposed effective liquid free energy model (ELFEM) density functional theory is extended to nonuniform binary systems. The theory is based on mapping the excess free energy of a nonuniform binary system onto that of an effective binary liquid. In the uniform density limit, the theory is required to reproduce the known properties of the liquid. The present theory is applied to the freezing of a binary hard sphere liquid into a substitutionally disordered fcc solid. Comparisons with previous density functional investigations and recent computer simulations are made.
Dorsal hippocampal unit and EEG responses to rewarding and aversive brain stimulation in rats

Abstract Hippocampal unit and EEG activity responses were studies in rats implanted with chronic stimulating electrodes in rewarding lateral hypothalamic (LH) and in aversive dorsal midbrain tegmental (DT) sites. Both LH and DT stimulation usually produced strong theta (4–12 Hz) activity responses, but in 8 out of 28 cases LH stimulation desynchronized ongoing theta activity. LH stimulation frequently elicited increases in amplitude of fast activity (20–40 Hz) that were most prominent in the dentate CA4 and CA3 regions. DT stimulation rarely influenced fast activity but in 3 cases reduced the amplitude of ongoing fast activity in dentate CA4. Tests with both LH and DT stimulation were made of responses in 81 unit sites (68 single- and 13 multiple-unit sites). Most (72 of 81) units were influenced by LH or DT stimulation. Most (52 of 72) of the affected units in response to the two kinds of stimulation fired non-differentially, with types of facilitation ( N = 29) or inhibition ( N = 23). Some units ( N = 8) changed their response in complex ways with continued stimulation. A few units ( N = 6) responded to LH but not to DT stimulation. Six units responded differentially by showing inhibition to LH and facilitation to DT stimulation. It is concluded that rewarding and aversive brain stimulation both can produce in the dorsal hippocampus of the rat strong theta responses and non-specific increases or decreases in the activity of most units. Nevertheless, a selectivity of the hippocampal response is indicated by changes in fast EEG activity and in the activity of a relatively small number of units.
Regulation of CD11b/CD18 (Mac-1) adhesion to fibrinogen by urokinase receptor (uPAR).

Objective and Design: The goal of this study is to investigate the consequence of the interaction between Mac-1 and uPAR and determine the mechanisms by which uPAR regulates Mac-1 dependent adhesion to fibrinogen.¶Material: Human embryonic kidney 293 cells transfected with Mac-1 or uPAR or co-transfected with both Mac-1 and uPAR.¶Methods: Cell adhesion and binding assays and Western Blotting for protein tyrosine phosphorylation analysis.¶Results: The adhesion to fibrinogen was increased two-fold for Mac-1-uPAR co-transfected cells comparing to the Mac-1 transfected cells alone. The increased adhesion was inhibited when cells were treated with phosphatidylinositol-specific phospholipase C to remove uPAR. Occupancy of uPAR with urokinase-type plasminogen activator further enhanced the cell adhesion to fibrinogen. Phosphorylation of focal adhesion kinase (FAK) and mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) was increased in Mac-1-uPAR co-transfected cells but not in Mac-1 transfected cells.¶Conclusions: uPAR up-regulated the Mac-1 adhesion to fibrinogen and FAK and MAPK were involved in this regulation.
Friendship Qualities and Social-Emotional Functioning of Adolescents With Close, Cross-Sex Friendships

The significance of having close, cross-sex friendships in adolescence was examined with 223 adolescents in Grades 10 through 12. Adolescents with only same-sex friends were compared to adolescents...
Automatic runtime frequency-scaling system for energy savings in parallel applications

Although high-performance computing has always been about efficient application execution, both energy and power consumption have become critical concerns owing to their effect on operating costs and failure rates of large-scale computing platforms. Modern processors provide techniques, such as dynamic voltage and frequency scaling (DVFS) and CPU clock modulation (called throttling), to improve energy efficiency on-the-fly. Without careful application, however, DVFS and throttling may cause a significant performance loss due to system overhead. This paper proposes a novel runtime system that maximizes energy saving by selecting appropriate values for DVFS and throttling in parallel applications. Specifically, the system automatically predicts communication phases in parallel applications and applies frequency scaling considering both the CPU offload, provided by the network-interface card, and the architectural stalls during computation. Experiments, performed on NAS parallel benchmarks as well as on real-world applications in molecular dynamics and linear system solution, demonstrate that the proposed runtime system obtaining energy savings of as much as 14 % with a low performance loss of about 2 %.
Guidance for improving comparability and relevance of dispersed oil toxicity tests

The complex nature, variable composition and limited aqueous solubility of crude oil and related petroleum products poses challenges for evaluating the aquatic toxicity of these substances. While considerable research has been performed to understand the effects of physically and chemically dispersed oils to aquatic organisms, differences in design and conduct of aquatic toxicity studies often makes results impossible to compare and correctly apply in decision-making. A review of past approaches for generating and characterizing oil exposures in toxicity tests in the absence and presence of chemical dispersants based on the commonly used water accommodated fraction (WAF) procedure is discussed. Differences in the multicomponent dissolution behavior and resulting exposure concentrations of dissolved hydrocarbons in WAFs obtained from different test procedures based on nominal oil loadings or WAF dilutions are illustrated using several case studies. To provide a consistent framework for interpreting toxicit...
Quantitative explanation for increased affinity shown by mixtures of monoclonal antibodies: importance of a circular complex.

Mixtures of some but not all monoclonal antibodies which bind to separate epitopes on human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) show an increased affinity for the hormone. To find an explanation for the increase in affinity, we developed a mathematical model which predicts the quantities of intermediates formed when pairs of IgG1 mouse monoclonal antibodies having affinities of approximately 10(8) M-1 for hCG are mixed with the hormone. At low antibody concentrations (i.e. less than 1 nM or 0.15 micrograms/ml) analysis of possible antibody-hormone combinations, including linear and circular chains composed of less than 12 molecules of antibody and 12 molecules of hCG, suggests the increase in affinity is due to formation of a circular complex containing two molecules of antibody and two of hCG. Further, the model predicts that the circular complex will be the major species formed at antibody-antigen equivalence. This prediction is supported by experimental observations on the molecular weight of a new complex formed in the presence of hCG and the mixture of the monoclonal antibodies. In addition, based on experimental values of binding constants for individual antibodies to hCG, the model correctly quantifies the loss in complex observed in the presence of excess hCG antigen. At high antibody concentrations (i.e. greater than 10 nM or 1.5 micrograms/ml) the formation of linear chains of antibody hCG pairs becomes appreciable and contributes to the increase in apparent affinity of the mixture for hCG. These results suggest that the observed affinity of complex mixtures of antibody for antigens containing multiple epitopes calculated from Scatchard plots may not be related to the affinity or avidity of any of the antibody species for a given epitope.
Axonal transport of actin: slow component b is the principal source of actin for the axon.

Axonally transported proteins were studied in guinea pig retinal ganglion cells using the standard radioisotopic labeling procedure. Two slowly moving groups of proteins were identified in guinea pig retinal ganglion cells. The more slowly moving group of proteins, designated slow component a (SCa) was transported at 0.2–0.5 mm/day. Five polypeptides contained greater than 75% of the total radioactivity transported in SCa. Two of these polypeptides correspond to the subunits of tubulin, while the other three correspond to the slow component triplet16,19. The other slowly moving group of proteins, which is designated slow component b (SCb), was transported at approximately 2 mm/day. Twenty labeled polypeptides were identified in SCb. The major labeled polypeptides transported in SCb differ from those transported in SCa. One of the polypeptides transported in SCb co-migrates with skeletal muscle actin in SDS-polyacrylamide slab gels. This polypeptide behaved identically to skeletal muscle actin on DNaseI affinity columns. Since DNaseI is a highly specific affinity ligand for actin21, we conclude that the labeled SCb polypeptide which co-migrates with actin in SDS-gels is actin. Between 1.4 and 5.7% of the total radioactivity transported in SCb is attributable to actin. Detailed comparison of the distribution of total radioactivity in the optic axons with the distribution of radioactive actin in the optic axons at post-injection times between 6 and 77 days showed that actin was transported specifically in SCb, and not in SCa. Furthermore, analyses of the proteins transported in the fast component of guinea pig retinal ganglion cells by DNaseI affinity chromatography failed to reveal an actin-like moiety. Slow component a, SCb and the fast component are the major components of axonal transport in guinea pig retinal ganglion cells. Thus, in these neurons, actin is transported principally and possibly only in SCb. Guinea pig retinal ganglion cell axons project principally to the lateral geniculate nucleus and superior colliculus. The fate of actin axonally transported to the region of the axon terminals was studied by determining the kinetics by which radioactivity associated with actin accumulates and then decays in the superior colliculus. The results of these studies indicate that labeled actin has a half-life in the superior colliculus of approximately 28 days.
Stability Theory of Relativistic Stars

In ap ersonal summ aryof his w ion rkrelati v(Cithay ndrasekhar 1970d), Chandrarecalls his early enthun’s siasm f1 93lec1otr Edures the doinmgatoth ematicaltheory reolfativity; he writes tbut hat “the principal reason for [my] reluctanceto get seriously interested in relativity was the hardly veiled contempt, I couldsense, which phy sBiocihsr ats nlid keothers had foofr Etdhde inwgotorkn (onfundamental theory) and Milne (on kinematical relativity).” In 1960, althtohughere was clear ano dditional evidence that general relativitywas soon to play a major role inastronomy, Chandra begsatn toudythe feld. i He didno twork in relativistic astrophysics u thnen, Schmitil 1963; adt’s nd bdyiscoverythatquasars were at cosmooglical distances allowed write, “T h imexhistence etoof the Schwarzschild li the sumit has bebject ofenmuch recent discussion in theconteof axt osnotrm idisccal overies petrht ae‘iqnuasing is ttradoelliao r’sources”(Chandrasekhar 1964a).
PSO: A Novel Technique to Optimize a Coal Preparation Plant

A coal preparation plant typically has multiple cleaning circuits based on size of coal particles. Each circuit is operated to produce the same product quality so that the blend of clean coal meets the targeted product quality constraints. Though, this approach of producing the clean coal satisfies the product quality constraints as given by the customer, it may suffer from the loss of overall clean coal yield by 1–2%. Numerous studies conducted in the past illustrate that the optimal yield can be obtained by operating each circuit to produce the same incremental product quality. However, this approach is good enough for single product quality constraints but it fails to produce optimal yield with multiple product quality constraints. A newer optimization technique known as particle swarming is developed for the yield optimization of a coal preparation plant while satisfying multiple product quality constraints. The optimization model incorporates two product quality constraints - product ash and sulfur assay. The results indicate that an increment of 2.73% in the yield could be achieved by both equal incremental ash quality approach and particle swarm optimization. The additional yield can generate extra revenue of $5,460,000 per annum without significantly adding to the implementation/operation cost.Copyright © 2005 by ASME
The prevalence of bulimia: A review of the empirical research

Abstract Bulimia nervosa represents a serious, psychophysiological disorder among adolescent women. The prevalence of this eating disorder is frequently described as “epidemic.” The present review examined 40 studies on its prevalence. Estimates of prevalence have varied dramatically, depending on the subjects sampled, diagnostic criteria used, and, especially, the researchers' method for establishing cases. Popular reports in the literature of prevalence rates greater than between 1–3% cannot be substantiated by the available, published data. Groups denoted as bulimic in studies that suggest dramatically higher prevalence rates likely include many false-positive cases. However, it is also likely that an unknown number of bulimia nervosa cases are not being included in prevalence study screening samples.
Current Trends in Altitude Training

Recently, endurance athletes have used several novel approaches and modalities for altitude training including: (i) normobaric hypoxia via nitrogen dilution (hypoxic apartment); (ii) supplemental oxygen; (iii) hypoxic sleeping devices; and (iv) intermittent hypoxic exposure (IHE). A normobaric hypoxic apartment simulates an altitude environment equivalent to approximately 2000 to 3000m (6560 to 9840ft). Athletes who use a hypoxic apartment typically ‘live and sleep high’ in the hypoxic apartment for 8 to 18 hours a day, but complete their training at sea level, or approximate sea level conditions. Several studies suggest that using a hypoxic apartment in this manner produces beneficial changes in serum erythropoietin (EPO) levels, reticulocyte count and red blood cell (RBC) mass, which in turn may lead to improvements in postaltitude endurance performance. However, other studies failed to demonstrate significant changes in haematological indices as a result of using a hypoxic apartment. These discrepancies may be caused by differences in methodology, the hypoxic stimulus that athletes were exposed to and/or the training status of the athletes. Supplemental oxygen is used to simulate either normoxic (sea level) or hyperoxic conditions during high-intensity workouts at altitude. This method is a modification of the ‘high-low’ strategy, since athletes live in a natural terrestrial altitude environment but train at ‘sea level’ with the aid of supplemental oxygen. Limited data regarding the efficacy of hyperoxic training suggests that highintensity workouts at moderate altitude (1860m/6100ft) and endurance performance at sea level may be enhanced when supplemental oxygen training is utilised at altitude over a duration of several weeks. Hypoxic sleeping devices include the Colorado Altitude Training (CAT) Hatch™ (hypobaric chamber) and Hypoxico Tent System™ (normobaric hypoxic system), both of which are designed to allow athletes to sleep high and train low. These devices simulate altitudes up to approximately 4575m/15006ft and 4270m/14005ft, respectively. Currently, no studies have been published on the efficacy of these devices on RBC production, maximal oxygen uptake and/or performance in elite athletes. IHE is based on the assumption that brief exposures to hypoxia (1.5 to 2.0 hours) are sufficient to stimulate the release of EPO, and ultimately bring about an increase in RBC concentration. Athletes typically use IHE while at rest, or in conjunction with a training session. Data regarding the effect of IHE on haematological indices and athletic performance are minimal and inconclusive.
Design and construction of a new electrophoretic light-scattering chamber and applications to solutions of hemoglobin.

Abstract We report the design and construction of an electrophoretic light-scattering chamber which has the important features of low solution volume, short thermal time constant, and uniform current density at the electrodes. This new chamber can be centrifuged at high speeds for removal of particulate contamination, making it especially suitable for analysis of dilute solutions of proteins. Electrophoretic light-scattering experiments on hemoglobin, including determinations of the isoelectric point, have been performed, and several of the inaccuracies of the data which may arise from distorting effects such as Joule heating, transit-time broadening, and electroosmosis have been evaluated.
Microscopy: Spot the atom

Heavy atoms can be detected by electron microscopy, but lighter atoms, such as carbon or hydrogen, are more elusive. These bashful atoms can now be pinpointed if they are adsorbed to a single layer of graphite.
Cholecystokinin inhibits gastric emptying and contracts the pyloric sphincter in rats by interacting with low affinity CCK receptor sites.

Abstract The aim of these experiments was to characterize the receptor affinity state through which CCK produces pyloric contraction and inhibits gastric emptying in the rat using the novel CCK heptapeptide analog CCK-JMV-180. CCK-JMV-180 has been demonstrated to act as a functional agonist at high affinity pancreatic CCKA receptors but as a functional antagonist at CCKA low affinity receptors. CCK-8 (1, 3.2 and 10 nM) induced dose dependent tension increases in isolated pyloric segments. CCK-JMV-180 (3.2 μM) or vehicle failed to mimic this action when administered alone but blocked the ability of CCK-8 (3.2 nM) to induce tension increases. CCK-8 (2 μg/kg) also inhibited the gastric emptying of physiological saline. CCK-JMV-180 (320 and 1000 μg/kg) failed to inhibit emptying when administered alone but dose dependently antagonized CCK induced inhibition of gastric emptying. Thus, in both preparations CCK-JMV-180 acted as a functional CCK antagonist. This profile is consistent with the interpretation that the actions of CCK in pyloric contraction and the inhibition of gastric emptying are mediated through CCK's interactions with receptors functionally similar to pancreatic low affinity sites.
Bc meson production at the Tevatron revisited

Abstract CDF recently measured the quantity σ(B c + ) σ(B + ) BR (B c + →J/ψl + ν) BR (B + →J/ψK + ) , from which we determine the ratio σ(B c + ) σ( b ) to be (2.08 +1.06 −0.95 )×10 −3 . In this note, we show that the ratio σ(B c + ) σ( b ) obtained by dividing the σ ( B c + ) by the leading order σ( b ) is consistent with this derived CDF measurement. We calculate the cross section σ ( B c + ) using the perturbative QCD fragmentation functions of Braaten, Cheung, and Yuan and the corresponding induced gluon fragmentation functions, with the charm-quark mass m c as a parameter. We also estimate the parameter m c from the CDF data and then predict the production rate at RunII.
Unbiased Estimators of Long-Run Expected Rates of Return

Abstract This article documents the biases in using sample arithmetic or geometric means of one-period returns to assess long-run expected rates of return. The formulas developed are applicable to other compound growth processes. For types of distributions of one-period returns likely to be encountered for bonds and stocks, numerical values for these biases are given. Four unbiased estimators of long-run expected rates of return are developed and their relative efficiency examined.
Intimacy, Monogamy, and Condom Problems Drive Unprotected Sex among Young Men in Serious Relationships with Other Men: A Mixed Methods Dyadic Study

This mixed methods study aimed to examine partner and relationship characteristics associated with HIV risk among young men who have sex with men (YMSM). A sub-sample of YMSM (18–25 years) who were involved in serious relationships with other men were recruited from two on-going longitudinal studies, Project Q2 and Crew450 (N = 20 couples). The mean age of the dyadic sample was 22.5 years (SD = 5.33, range 18–46 years) and participants were racially and ethnically diverse, with the largest percentage of the sample identifying as African American (47.5 %), followed by Hispanic (20 %). Participants completed individual self-report measures using computer-assisted self-interview technology and engaged in couples-based interviews. Mixed methods analyses indicated three global reasons for unprotected sex among YMSM in serious relationships: (1) the desire to achieve emotional intimacy; (2) the perception of being in a monogamous relationship; and (3) the difficulties associated with accessing and/or using condoms. Couples’ decision-making processes, including decisions made “in the heat of the moment,” have implications for HIV prevention interventions.
A brief for a tax-based U.S. immigration policy

This paper briefly reviews the present state of U.S. immigration policy from an economic perspective. It contends that the present system confounds two independent dimensions of immigration policy—residence and employment. It argues that far too much attention is paid to who is admitted to the U.S. and far too little to what people do once they enter. The proposed policy is a system of taxes and transfer payments designed to regulate the employment of foreign nationals and to compensate domestic workers who are adversely affected economically. The paper works out the economics of the tax and demonstrates that such a system could ideally remove all adverse economic effects of immigration.