cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Mechanism of extradiol aromatic ring-cleaving dioxygenases

The extradiol aromatic ring-cleaving dioxygenases activate molecular oxygen by binding both O2 and the catecholic substrate to a reduced active site metal, generally Fe(II). Progress has been made in understanding the mechanism of this reaction through the combined use of kinetic, computational, biomimetic, structural, and diagnostic chemical approaches. It appears that O2 is activated by accepting an electron transferred from the substrate through the metal, thereby simultaneously activating oxygen and substrate for reaction with each other.
Ethnic identity and close friendship in Chinese-American college students

Abstract This article reports an empirical study on the relationship between ethnic identity and close friendship communication patterns in Chinese-American students. The friendship communication variables were: proximity, network size, frequency of interaction, perceived similarity, and degree of intimacy between subjects and close friends. Several hypotheses in this study were confirmed. Generation difference was a reliable predictor of ethnic identity on the 1st and 2nd generation subjects. Proximity was found to be a crucial factor that influenced the ethnicity of subjects' close friendship networks. All friendship variables were related on the zero-order correlation analyses. However, the relationship between ethnic identity and the ethnicity of subjects' friendship networks was not supported. This was explained in terms of sample bias, and the variable of friendship as a universal relational bond that transcends culture. The paper concludes with a set of research questions for future work on ethnic identity and cross-cultural friendship communication.
SEGMENTATION APPROACHES IN DATA MINING: A COMPARISON OF RFM, CHAID, AND LOGISTIC REGRESSION

Abstract Direct marketing has become more efficient in recent years because of the use of data-mining techniques that allow marketers to better segment their customer databases. RFM (recency, frequency, and monetary value) has been available for many years as an analytical technique. In recent years, more sophisticated methods have been developed; however, RFM continues to be used because of its simplicity. This study investigates RFM, CHAID, and logistic regression as analytical methods for direct marketing segmentation, using two different datasets. It is found that CHAID tends to be superior to RFM when the response rate to a mailing is low and the mailing would be to a relatively small portion of the database, however, RFM is an acceptable procedure in other circumstances. The present article addresses the broader issue that RFM may focus too much attention on transaction information and ignore individual difference information (e.g., values, motivations, lifestyles) that may help a firm to better market to their customers.
Twolined chestnut borer: effects of storage conditions processing, and insecticides on its survival in oak logs

Experiments were conducted in 1972 and 1973 to assess the effects of storage conditions, processing, and insecticides on survival of different stages of Agrilus bilineatus (Weber) in oak logs. Survival of overwintered insects in logs stored on a rack in an open shed was 99% compared to 75% in logs stored on a rack and placed outdoors. When slabs from processed logs were piled outdoors, overwinter survival was 84% but development was delayed considerably. Approximately 70% of the insects infesting slabs in July 1973 were larvae and pupae, compared to only 13% in logs stored in an open shed. Conversion of infested slabs to woodchips resulted in no emergent adults. Adult emergence from logs treated in May with lindane chlorpyrifos, and dimethoate at the rate of 1 lb AI/100 gai of water was 5.4, 6.0, and 7.0%, respectively, compared to 94.6% adult emergence from untreated logs.
SNAKDD 2008 social network mining and analysis postworkshop report

In this report, we summarize the contents and outcomes of the recent SNAKDD 2008 workshop on Social Network Mining and Analysis that was held in conjunction with the 14th ACM SIGKDD International Conference on Knowledge Discovery and Data Mining (KDD 2008), August 24-27, 2008, in Las Vegas, Nevada. The SNAKDD 2008 is the second in a successful series of workshops on social network mining and analysis. It solicited papers on broad overview subject "Social Network Mining and Analysis". The workshop drew a large number of participants from academia and industry. In this report we reflect on the results of the workshop, as captured in the regular paper session as well as the poster session.
Transport of atoms in a quantum conveyor belt

We have performed experiments using a three-dimensional Bose-Einstein condensate of sodium atoms in a one-dimensional optical lattice to explore some unusual properties of band structure. In particular, we investigate the loading of a condensate into a moving lattice and find nonintuitive behavior. We also revisit the behavior of atoms, prepared in a single quasimomentum state, in an accelerating lattice. We generalize this study to a cloud whose atoms have a large quasimomentum spread, and show that the cloud behaves differently from atoms in a single Bloch state. Finally, we compare our findings with recent experiments performed with fermions in an optical lattice.
Forage Quality Variation among Maize Inbreds: In Vitro Fiber Digestion Kinetics and Prediction with NIRS

The nutritive value of forage maize (Zea mays L.) may be improved through genetic selection for increased rate of fiber digestion or decreased indigestible fiber concentration. To identify sources of genetic variation, 45 maize inbreds were evaluated for in vitro neutral detergent fiber (NDF) digestion kinetic parameters using stem internode tissue harvested at silking during 2 yr. Near infrared reflectance spectroscopy (NIRS) was also used to estimate NDF digestion kinetic parameters. Maize inbreds varied significantly in NDF concentration and digestion kinetic parameters using either conventional in vitro analysis or NIRS predictions. Using NIRS predictions, inbreds varied in NDF concentration from 497 to 662 g kg -1 dry matter (DM), rate of NDF digestion ranged from 0.037 to 0.077 h -1 , and extent of NDF digestion was 525 to 735 g kg -1 NDF. The ranges for NIRS predicted parameters were less than those observed for the calibration data set by conventional analysis. Correspondence between conventional analysis data and NIRS predictions were good, except for lag time. Digestion kinetics calculated from NIRS predicted residues provided more precise predictions of lag time and fractional rate of digestion when compared with observations derived from conventional analyses, than did direct prediction of these kinetic parameters. Correlations between rate of NDF digestion and 18-h NDF digestibility (r = 0.79) or between potential extent of NDF digestion and 96-h NDF digestibility (r = 0.95) were large enough that these two fermentation intervals might substitute for conducting complete digestion kinetic studies with eight to 10 fermentation times. The substantial genetic variation among these maize inbreds shows good potential for development of silage hybrids with improved fiber digestion parameters. Year and year x genotype interactions were significant suggesting that identification of superior inbred lines will require evaluations in multiple environments.
Characterization of hydrocarbon emissions from green sand foundry core binders by analytical pyrolysis.

Analytical pyrolysis was conducted to study a relative comparison of the hydrocarbon and greenhouse gas emissions of three foundry sand binders as follows: (a) conventional phenolic urethane resin, (b) biodiesel phenolic urethane resin, and (c) collagen-based binder. These binders are used in the metal casting industry for making cores that are used to create internal cavities within castings. In this study, the core samples were flash pyrolyzed in a Curie-point pyrolyzer at 920 °C with a heating rate of about 3000 °C/sec. This simulated some key features of the fast heating conditions that the core binders would experience at the metal−core interface when molten metal is poured into green sand molds. The core samples were also pyrolyzed in a thermogravimetric analyzer (TGA) from ambient temperature to 1000 °C with a heating rate of 30 °C/min, and this simulated key features of the slow heating conditions that the core binders would experience at distances that are further away from the metal−core interf...
Current management of visceral artery aneurysms.

Background: Visceral artery aneurysms are an uncommon but important form of abdominal vascular disease. This study reviews a contemporary experience with special emphasis on newer methods of diagnosis and treatment. Methods. From 1980 to 1994, 37 patients were diagnosed with 46 visceral artery aneurysms. These consisted of 22 splenic, 10 hepatic, 4 superior mesenteric, 2 gastroduodenal, 3 celiac, 2 left gastric, 1 pancreatoduodenal, 1 jejunal-ileal, and 1 inferior mesenteric artery aneurysms. Follow-up was complete for 28 patients, average of 37.7 months. There were 17 asymptomatic and 29 symptomatic aneurysms, including 11 presenting with rupture. Results. Seventeen patients were treated surgically, with no surgical deaths. Surgical complications included splenic abscess (two) and failure to thrombose (one). Transcatheter embolization was used in 12 patients. Complications included splenic infarction (one) and recurrence (two), successfully treated with repeat embolization. Nine patients were treated with observation. Eight experienced no complications during follow-up; one died of a ruptured splenic artery aneurysm before treatment was initiated. Conclusions. The widespread use of computed tomography has led to increased detection of asymptomatic visceral artery aneurysms. Although surgery remains necessary in many patients, transcatheter embolization is effective in the treatment of selected visceral artery aneurysms with few complications and low recurrence.
Parent-child interaction therapy: application to maltreating parent-child dyads.

Objective: Parent-Child Interaction Training (PCIT), which uses a social learning framework, is a dyadic intervention that is designed to alter specific patterns of interaction found in parent-child relationships. Previous research suggests that maladaptive and high-risk characteristics found in maltreating parent-child dyads may be responsive to PCIT. The primary focus of this study is to examine the effectiveness of PCIT with maltreating parent-child dyads. Methodology: This study describes the effectiveness of PCIT with 136 biological parent-child dyads in which 66.9% (N = 91) of the children had been maltreated. Of the 91 maltreated children, 64.8% (N = 59) of the parents had maltreated their children, and were thus considered to be at high risk of repeating the abuse. Results: Primary outcomes of this study show the following: (1) a decrease in child behavior problems, (2) a decrease in parental stress, and (3) a decrease in abuse risk from pre- to post-treatment for dyads with and without a history of maltreatment. Conclusions: Our results add to the body of research supporting PCIT as a promising intervention and as a means to aid both children and parents in high-risk families for maltreatment. © 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
User- and content-aware object-based video streaming over the Internet

This paper presents a new scheme for efficient MPEG4 video transmission over the Internet that provides differentiated services (diff-serv). The scheme has three new elements: (1) smart packetization scheme which distinguishes different types of MPEG4 data streams; (2) object-based bit rate control and adaptation corresponding to users' interactions and selections; (3) selective dropping of packets that takes advantage of differentiated classes in diff-serv. Experiment was conducted on the Microsoft's IPv6 platform where an adaptive MPEG4 video streaming system was developed to verify our proposed approach. Experimental results show that our proposed scheme provides must improved QoS and capability for object-based user interactivity.
A Simplified 5 Megawatt Antenna for the UHF Broadcaster

A stacked arrangement of two UHF five-bay helical antennas is used to provide an antenna system with a power capacity of 120 KW and a power gain of 50. A power gain of 100 is achieved in the maximum direction with horizontal directivity.
Chemically Reactive Immunogens Lead to Functional Convergence of the Immune Response

An aldolase antibody, 24H6, which was obtained from immunization with the large hapten 2, is shown to possess an active-site lysine residue with a perturbed pKa of 7.0. This antibody catalyzes both the aldol addition and the retrograde aldol fragmentation with a broad range of substrates that are structurally different from the hapten. This observation suggests that in reactive immunization with 1,3-diketones, the hapten structure governs the chemistry but not the overall organization of the active site. Hammett correlation studies of the 38C2- and 24H6-catalyzed aldol and retroaldol reactions revealed that although the two antibodies exhibit broad substrate specificities, they utilize slightly different mechanisms. While antibody 38C2 adopts a mechanism that is reminiscent of an acid-catalyzed aldol reaction, antibody 24H6 follows a mechanism that is similar to the base-catalyzed reaction.
Neurotensin receptor localization by light microscopic autoradiography in rat brain

Neurotensin is a putative peptide neurotransmitter in the mammalian brain. The light microscopic localization of the neurotensin receptor has been carried out by the autoradiographic localization of [3H]neurotensin binding sites in slide-mounted tissue sections. Large variations in receptor distribution were found, even in small areas. In many regions, the distribution of the receptor paralleled that of the immunoreactive neurotensin found in other studies. The results suggest sites of neurotensin's action in producing various physiological effects such as hypothermia and analgesia.
Effects of emersion, temperature, dopamine, and hypoxia on the accumulation of extracellular oxidants surrounding the bloom-forming seaweeds Ulva lactuca and Ulvaria obscura

Abstract Macroalgal blooms are occurring in greater size and frequency and many of these blooms are composed of ulvoid green algae. Ulvoid algae can release a variety of allelopathic compounds that include reactive oxygen species (ROS), oxidants that have detrimental effects on other organisms. When algae are subjected to environmental stressors, oxidant production increases and can exceed the scavenging capacity of antioxidants, which can result in the passive diffusion of excess ROS into the extracellular environment. Because macroalgal blooms consist of high biomasses of algae and occur in intertidal or shallow subtidal habitats where they experience large and rapid changes in environmental conditions, there is the potential for significant releases of ROS into waters that contain them. To examine the effects of environmental stressors on the accumulation of oxidants around bloom-forming ulvoid algae, we manipulated emersion times, extracellular dopamine concentrations following emersion, seawater temperatures following emersion, and seawater oxygen concentrations and then measured the accumulation of extracellular oxidants around Ulva lactuca and Ulvaria obscura. In most cases, the accumulations of oxidants were similar among our experimental treatments except that the concentrations of extracellular oxidants resulting from Ulva were significantly lower when algae were exposed to either dopamine or high water temperatures than they were from controls or lower temperatures, respectively. The accumulations of oxidants in water surrounding Ulvaria were higher in unemersed than emersed algae, regardless of emersion time. These differences in concentrations of extracellular oxidants were most likely due to differences in algal photosynthetic rates among treatments, although oxidant decay and the upregulation or activation of antioxidants may also have affected our measurements. Based on the relatively high concentrations of oxidants that we measured and the interspecific and environmentally-driven differences in their accumulations, we hypothesize that accumulations of oxidants in waters near intertidal or shallow subtidal macroalgal beds will be larger in magnitude, more driven by biotic sources, and more seasonally and spatially variable than those measured farther offshore.
Production Response to Increased Imports: The Case of U.S. Sugar

This paper considers how the welfare of U.S. sugar producers can be affected by the use of production controls in the presence of rising sugar imports and falling sugar prices, taking into account the negative externalities associated with U.S. sugar production. Even if production controls are used, producer welfare can be affected negatively under rising imports.
Passive smoking among children with chronic respiratory disease

The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence and source of passive smoke exposure among children with chronic respiratory diseases and compare these to both a well child and nonrespiratory chronic illness child population. Rates and source of passive smoke exposure were compared among four child groups: asthma, cystic fibrosis, rheumatoid arthritis, and well children using a questionnaire mailed to the parents of the selected children. Twenty percent of respondents reported current smoking with a significantly higher rate among the cystic fibrosis and rheumatoid arthritis groups. One-third of all children surveyed were exposed to passive smoke at home and/or day care on a daily basis. Over 80% of the asthma and cystic fibrosis respondents reported a change in smoking behavior (i.e., smoking outside the home or smoking fewer cigarettes) after the diagnosis of their child's illness as compared with only 40% of the nonrespiratory groups. Health care providers need to inquire about potential sources of passive smoke exposure in their patients, particularly children with chronic respiratory disease.
Automated dielectric constant and loss tangent characterization using cavity resonators

A simple method for dielectric constant characterization is the full sheet resonance method. In this technique, the dielectric constant is extracted from the resonance frequencies of a parallel-plate waveguide resonator. The standard method cannot be applied to extract the loss tangent. Recently, the full-sheet resonance method has been extended to extract the loss tangent as well. The new method makes use of a new rapid plane solver and resonators with shorted boundaries. The materials properties are extracted by fitting the simulations to measurements. In this paper, we will demonstrate how the fitting process can be automated. In order to extract the dielectric constant and loss tangent, many simulations need to be run to find the parameters that provide the best match with the measurements. This is a computationally expensive approach. We will present a new method based on tracking sensitivity, which provides a parameterized macromodel for the resonators. Using this approach, the simulation data can be expressed as a low-order rational function of the complex permittivity. Hence, varying the complex permittivity to find the best fit can be done in negligible time after the macromodel has been generated. This new method will be applied to extract the dielectric constant and loss tangent of FR-4.
The stress of residency. A review of the literature.

• A review of empiric studies of the stresses of residency training and descriptions of intervention programs and mental health resource surveys published since 1980 indicated that inadequate sleep and fatigue are major stressors for residents, but they are only part of a more complex situation influenced by time demands, social support, and maturational factors. Other important stressful aspects of training appear to be those that interfere with social support. Increased anger, not depression, is emerging as the predominant mood change during residency, but the effects of any mood change on patient care have not been studied. Despite growing evidence of the need for change in training programs, especially attention to the affiliative needs of residents, few intervention programs have been reported. (Arch Intern Med1988;148:1428-1435)
Effects of PI3Kγ Inhibition Using AS-605240 in Acute Myocardial Infarction

To the Editor: We read with interest the article by Siragusa et al1 showing a protective effect of phosphoinositide-3 kinase (PI3K)γ in experimental myocardial infarction in mice. The authors describe impaired neovascularization in mice with genetic deletion of PI3Kγ (PI3Kγ KO) leading to …
Parent Reports of Coping and Stress Responses in Children With Recurrent Abdominal Pain

Objective: To examine relationships among coping, stress responses, pain, somatic symptoms, and anxious/ depressed symptoms in a sample of children and adolescents with recurrent abdominal pain (RAP). Method: We assessed parents’ reports of coping and involuntary responses to stress in relation to pain, somatic symptoms, and symptoms of anxiety and depression in a sample of 174 children and adolescents with RAP. Results: Based on parent reports, children’s primary control engagement coping (e.g., problem solving, emotional modulation) and secondary control engagement coping (e.g., acceptance, distraction, positive thinking) in response to pain were associated with fewer somatic complaints and symptoms of anxiety and depression; secondary control engagement coping was also associated with less pain. Involuntary engagement (e.g., physiological reactivity, rumination) and disengagement (e.g., escape, inaction) responses to pain were associated with more somatic symptoms and higher levels of anxiety and depression. Conclusions: We highlight implications of these findings for understanding processes of coping and stress reactivity in children with RAP.
Prediction of Antimalarial Drug Clearance in Children: A Comparison of Three Different Interspecies Scaling Methods

Allometric scaling is extensively used for the prediction of pharmacokinetic parameters from animals to humans and is often used for the selection of first-in-human dose. Allometric scaling can also be used to predict a pharmacokinetic parameter in children from adult data including animal species such as rat and dog. The current study was undertaken to evaluate if the clearances of antimalarial drugs in children with malaria can be predicted allometrically (interspecies scaling) from adult rat, dog, and human adult (healthy as well patients with malaria) clearance values. Three methods [simple allometry, maximum lifespan potential (MLP), and MLP with an empirical correction factor] using clearance values from adult rat, dog, and adult humans with and without malaria were used for the prediction of antimalarial drug clearance in children with malaria. The results of this study indicated that the simple allometry would systematically over-predict antimalarial drug clearance in children with malaria whereas the application of MLP would under-predict the clearances of these drugs in children. Therefore, an empirical correction factor was introduced to MLP which substantially improved the antimalarial drug clearances in children. Overall, the results of the study indicated that interspecies scaling using adult rat, dog, and human clearance values of antimalarial drugs could possibly be used to predict drug clearance in children with malaria of different age groups and may be useful during pediatric drug development of antimalarial drugs.
Ergonomics and regulatory politics: The Washington State case

Background Every year in the State of Washington more than 50,000 workers experience a work related musculoskeletal disorder (WMSD), making up more than 30% of all worker compensation cases. In 2000, the Washington State Department of Labor and Industries (L&I) adopted a workplace ergonomics rule requiring employers to reduce worker exposure to hazards that cause or contribute to WMSDs. In 2003, the ergonomics rule was repealed by a margin of 53.5–46.5 in a statewide voter initiative. Methods The official rulemaking record of approximately 100,000 pages, along with supplementary published and unpublished material, was reviewed. The relationship between scientific deliberation and the public policy process in adopting and repealing the ergonomics rule was assessed and described. The deliberative features of the regulatory, judicial, legislative, and ballot processes were compared. Results and Conclusions The ergonomics rule was successful in the regulatory and legal arenas where the process was most transparent and open to public involvement, differing views could be presented fully, and decision makers were expected to explain their decisions in light of the record. The rule fared most poorly in the legislature and at the ballot box when these features were lost and where considered deliberation was replaced by unconstrained political conflict. Additional checks and balances are needed. Am. J. Ind. Med. 50:391–401, 2007. © 2007 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Substrate channeling between the human dihydrofolate reductase and thymidylate synthase

In vivo, as an advanced catalytic strategy, transient non-covalently bound multi-enzyme complexes can be formed to facilitate the relay of substrates, i. e. substrate channeling, between sequential enzymatic reactions and to enhance the throughput of multi-step enzymatic pathways. The human thymidylate synthase and dihydrofolate reductase catalyze two consecutive reactions in the folate metabolism pathway, and experiments have shown that they are very likely to bind in the same multi-enzyme complex in vivo. While reports on the protozoa thymidylate synthase-dihydrofolate reductase bifunctional enzyme give substantial evidences of substrate channeling along a surface "electrostatic highway," attention has not been paid to whether the human thymidylate synthase and dihydrofolate reductase, if they are in contact with each other in the multi-enzyme complex, are capable of substrate channeling employing surface electrostatics. This work utilizes protein-protein docking, electrostatics calculations, and Brownian dynamics to explore the existence and mechanism of the substrate channeling between the human thymidylate synthase and dihydrofolate reductase. The results show that the bound human thymidylate synthase and dihydrofolate reductase are capable of substrate channeling and the formation of the surface "electrostatic highway." The substrate channeling efficiency between the two can be reasonably high and comparable to that of the protozoa.
Effect of contact force on breast tissue optical property measurements using a broadband diffuse optical spectroscopy handheld probe

We investigated the effects of operator-applied force on diffuse optical spectroscopy (DOS) by integrating a force transducer into the handheld probe. Over the typical range of contact forces measured in the breasts of eight patients, absorption and reduced scattering coefficients (650 to 1000 nm) variance was 3.1 ± 1.0% and 1.0 ± 0.4%. For trained operators, we observed <5% variation in hemoglobin and <2% variation in water and lipids. Contact force is not a significant source of variation, most likely because of a relatively wide probe surface area and the stability of the DOS method for calculating tissue optical properties.
A linear time algorithm to check for the existence of a rectangular dual of a planar triangulated graph

On developpe un algorithme en temps lineaire pour determiner si un graphe planaire triangule donne possede un dual rectangulaire
Rhetoric in Claims-Making: Constructing the Missing Children Problem

Claims-making about social problems is a persuasive activity, subject to rhetorical analysis. I use Toulmin's categories, which classify statements as grounds, warrants, and conclusions, to examine the rhetoric of claims made about the missing children problem. In particular, the grounds for missing children claims included a broad definition of the problem, horrific examples, and large estimates of the problem's scope, while references to the priceless, blameless nature of children and the evils threatening missing children provided key warrants. Rhetorical devices analogous to those identified in this case study appear in claims-making about other social problems. I also identify some patterns in rhetorical work, conditions favoring rhetorics of rectitude or rationality. The relationship between rhetoric and the cultural context within claims emerge deserves further study .
In search of a minimalist game.

This essay is a re-examination and critique of existing game definitions in parallel with the analysis of Juul [9, 10]. Juul’s original study revealed six basic game components; the analysis here pares these to four more definitive components, isolated in game form: rules, goals, opposition, and representation. These four components are used to construct a ―minimalist‖ game. The paper describes the implications of these minimalist game components to contrasting foundationalist and essentialist theories of games. Specific game examples are used to demonstrate how a minimalist game model might be used to distinguish among games, simulation, and play. Author Keywords Game theory, game model, game rules, game goals, representation, philosophy, minimalism.
Management of refractory angina in the contemporary era

This editorial refers to ‘Long-term survival in patients with refractory angina’[†][1], by T.D. Henry et al. , on page 2683 Refractory angina pectoris is a debilitating disease characterized by angina resistant to conventional therapies for coronary artery disease including drug therapy, percutaneous coronary interventions, and/or coronary artery bypass grafting. Individuals with refractory angina may suffer severely impaired quality of life, with recurrent and sustained chest pain, poor general health status, psychological distress, impaired role functioning and productivity, and restricted ability to perform activities. The European Society of Cardiology (ESC) Joint Study group on the Treatment of Refractory Angina emphasized that refractory angina is a clinical diagnosis (i.e. based on a combinations of history, physical examination, and investigations) and states that refractory angina pectoris is a chronic condition characterized by the presence of angina caused by coronary insufficiency in the presence of coronary artery disease which cannot be controlled by a combination of medical therapy, angioplasty, and coronary bypass surgery.1 The presence of reversible myocardial ischaemia should be clinically established to be the cause of the symptoms. Chronicity is defined as a duration of >3 months. The ESC Joint Study group further states that the diagnosis of refractory angina requires a cardiological and cardiothoracic surgical assessment that the patient has angina of ischaemic origin and that revascularization is not feasible. Despite these robust definitions, the … [1]: #fn-2
Detection probabilities of two introduced frogs in Hawaii: implications for assessing non-native species distributions

Two nonnative Caribbean frogs, the Puerto Rican coqui and the Cuban greenhouse frog, recently invaded Hawaii. Because of its louder breeding call, management efforts have focused on the coqui, while little has been done to address the more cryptic greenhouse frog, even though it may be as widespread and have similar ecological impacts. The goal of this research was to determine the distribution and detec- tion probability of both species on the island of Hawaii. We conducted a breeding call presence/absence survey at 446 sites every 2 km along major road networks. We re-surveyed 125 sites twice to determine detection and occupancy probabilities. Greenhouse frog detection probabilities (0.24, 0.29, 0.48, for each of the three visits, respectively) were lower than coqui detection probabilities (0.58, 0.73, 0.50, respectively) and increased with visits while those of the coqui did not. Greenhouse frog detection probabilities were lower in the presence of coquis for the first two surveys (0.12, 0.14) than in sites with greenhouse frogs alone (0.41), while greenhouse frogs had no effect on the detection of coquis. Site occupancy estimates for the greenhouse and coqui frog were 0.35 and 0.31, respectively, suggesting the species are similarly widespread. Results suggest multiple visits to sites are required to detect the greenhouse frog. Furthermore, results sug- gest that accounting for detectability is essential when determining the extent of invasion of cryptic species.
Three-dimensional opto-fluidic devices fabricated by ultrashort laser pulses for high throughput single cell detection and processing

Three-dimensional flow-through microchannels were fabricated inside bulk fused silica glass via ultrashort pulsed laser direct writing. The device fabrication sequence takes advantage of the nonlinear volumetric absorption in glass and the subsequent preferential chemical etching process. Optical waveguides were also written into the glass specimen and integrated with the fluidic conduits. Flow tests using both fluorescent particles and red blood cells (RBCs) were conducted on various three-dimensional channel configurations. Experiments showed the possibility for laser-induced cell processing inside the microchannels. To evaluate cytometer functionality, RBCs were detected inside the manufactured microchannel via both transmission and fluorescence probing.
From an intensity image to 3-D segmented descriptions

Addresses the inference of 3-D segmented descriptions of complex objects from a single intensity image. The authors' approach is based on the analysis of the projective properties of a small number of generalized cylinder primitives and their relationships in the image which make up common man-made objects. Past work on this problem has either assumed perfect contours as input or used 2-dimensional shape primitives without relating them to 3-D shape. The method the authors present explicitly uses the 3-dimensionality of the desired descriptions and directly addresses the segmentation problem in the presence of contour breaks, markings shadows and occlusion. This work has many significant applications including recognition of complex curved objects from a single real intensity image. The authors demonstrate their method on real images.
A Case Against Low-Volume Percutaneous Coronary Intervention Centers

Since the publication of the Clinical Outcomes Utiliz- ing Revascularization and Aggressive Drug Evaluation (COURAGE) trial1 in April 2007, percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) has received harsh scrutiny in both the scientific and lay press.2,3 The COURAGE investigators concluded that PCI did not reduce chances of death or myocardial infarction (MI) in patients with stable coronary artery disease and mild symptoms. At the same time, enormous controversy and media attention turned to a concern about late stent thrombosis in patients treated with drug-eluting stents. Studies suggested that an excess of deaths occurred 1 to 3 years after drug-eluting stent implantation.4,5 More recently, Tonino et al6 demonstrated in the Fractional Flow Reserve Versus Angiography for Multivessel Evaluation (FAME) trial that the risk of MI could be reduced by use of fractional flow reserve measurements during PCI. The FAME trial suggested that patients were benefited by deployment of fewer stents. In 2008, Hannan et al7 found that risk-adjusted mortality was less for coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) than PCI with drug-eluting stents in the New York State registry. In March 2009, the Synergy Between Percutaneous Coronary Intervention With Taxus and Cardiac Surgery (SYNTAX) trial was published, and Serruys et al8 concluded that PCI with drug-eluting stents was inferior to CABG in patients with multivessel or left main coronary disease. In June 2009, the Bypass Angioplasty Revascularization Investigation 2 Diabetes (BARI 2D) investigators reported that patients with treated diabetes mellitus had no improvement in survival when they were revascularized with PCI; however, an improvement in survival occurred when patients were treated with CABG.9 Article see p 600 In the aggregate, these studies combined with the dramatic decrease of interventions for in-stent restenosis have significantly decreased the growth of PCI use in the United States. Patients and referring …
Implantable Cardioverter-Defibrillators for Primary Prevention of Sudden Death in Heart Failure Are There Enough Bangs for the Bucks?

The demonstrated efficacy of implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (ICDs) for reducing sudden death in heart failure trial populations presents a critical challenge to those responsible for the allocation of healthcare resources.1–3 The current cost, multiplied by the prevalence of heart failure deemed high-risk, threatens to make this one enterprise the highest priced intervention for the Medicare population. The elegant cost-effectiveness analysis contributed by Dr Mark and colleagues from the Sudden Cardiac Death in Heart Failure Trial (SCD-HeFT) in this issue of Circulation provides an exemplary insight into this challenge.4 These investigators’ favorable conclusions are consistent with those from a meta-analysis by Sanders et al5 and with the slightly more conservative implications from the recent cost-effectiveness analysis of the Multicenter Automatic Defibrillator Implantation Trial (MADIT)-II by Zwanziger et al.6 Article p 135 This editorial will offer an alternative conclusion based on both back-of-the-envelope estimations and scrutiny of model assumptions regarding different phases of survival for heart failure populations. ICDs for primary prevention of sudden death in the heart failure population may be less cost-effective than other recommended heart failure therapies, which are prescribed to modify disease progression and symptoms, decreasing costly hospitalizations as well as mortality. Formal cost-effectiveness analysis is complex, but it may be illustrative to begin from simple considerations. A reasonable threshold for cost-effective intervention is often assigned as $40 000 per life-year saved, in line with the present article4 suggesting a cost of $38 389 per life-year saved and $41 530 per quality-adjusted life-year saved. This is approximately equal to the cost of the defibrillator device and implantation, as currently assessed for reimbursement. (The costs would be lower for the simpler device used in SCD-HeFT, which is not available now, and for outpatient implantation, which was common in SCD-HeFT but not the current standard.) This …
The Yellowing Virus Diseases of Beet

Publisher Summary The yellowing virus diseases, characterized by stunting of infected plants, accompanied by rolling, yellowing, reddening, and brittleness of affected leaves, are emerging as the most important artificial group of plant virus diseases. The viruses inducing these diseases fall into three currently recognized virus groups; persistent aphid-transmitted viruses with isometric particles, 25-30 nm; semipersistent aphid-transmitted viruses with flexuous, filamentous particles; and viruses transmitted by whiteflies. Because of the general high frequency of the yellowing diseases in affected crops and their severe effect on the physiology of diseased plants, disease interactions play an important role in the losses induced by these diseases. A number of reports state that leaves of beet plants infected with yellowing viruses are very susceptible to infection with Alternaria spp. and other fungi. An interaction between BMYV and Alternaria leaf spot on leaves of mature sugar beet plants has been reported by Russell. Alternaria leaf spot is of no commercial importance in beet crops that have little BMYV infection. In BMW-infected crops, however, Alternaria can cause severe losses of yield. Observations by Bennett indicate that yellows niay render spinach plants much more susceptible than healthy plants to certain types of vascular parasites and root rot organisms. Zink and Duffus reported that losses in California were severe as a result of a severe interaction between BWYV and lettuce mosaic virus on certain lettuce cultivars.
Gossip in John's Gospel and the Social Processing of Jesus' Identity

Readers of the NT's gospels are normally attuned to the words and deeds of Jesus and relatively less concerned with talk about him. Yet the amount of talk about Jesus in the gospels is striking, and when considered from the perspective of gossip, even more so. The aim of this article is to illustrate how gossip is operative with a number of other social-cultural processes in constituting Jesus' identity in the Fourth Gospel. After constructing a viable framework for identifying gossip in John, a selection of gossip events is evaluated in terms of its function vis-a-vis other social values and processes and in terms of its content. The cross-cultural social type of a shaman is then utilised to make sense of gossip's role in the social construction of Jesus. This project springs from inquiry into the sort of man who was the generative cause of the emergence of oral and eventually written stories about Jesus that come to us in John, and thus involves linking literary features about oral phenomena in the text to a social personage thoroughly embedded in his first-century Mediterranean world, and so underscoring gossip's role in the construction of a culturally plausible historical figure.
Material fields in atomistics as pull-backs of spatial distributions

Abstract The various fields defined in continuum mechanics have both a material and a spatial description that are related through the deformation mapping. In contrast, continuum fields defined for atomistic systems using the Irving–Kirkwood or Murdoch–Hardy procedures correspond to a spatial description. It is uncommon to define atomistic fields in the reference configuration due to the lack of a unique definition for the deformation mapping in atomistic systems. In this paper, we construct referential atomistic distributions as pull-backs of the spatial distributions obtained in the Murdoch–Hardy procedure with respect to a postulated deformation mapping that tracks particles. We then show that some of these referential distributions are independent of the choice of the deformation mapping and only depend on the reference and current configuration of particles. Therefore, the fields obtained from these distributions can be calculated without explicitly constructing a deformation map, and by construction they satisfy the balance equations. In particular, we obtain definitions for the first and second atomistic Piola–Kirchhoff stress tensors. We demonstrate the validity of these definitions through a numerical example involving finite deformation of a slab containing a notch under tension. An interesting feature of the atomistic first Piola–Kirchhoff stress tensor is the absence of a kinetic part, which in the atomistic Cauchy stress tensor accounts for thermal fluctuations. We show that this effect is implicitly included in the atomistic first Piola–Kirchhoff stress tensor through the motion of the particles. An open source program to compute the atomistic Cauchy and first Piola–Kirchhoff stress fields called MDStressLab is available online at http://mdstresslab.org .
Defining Unpatented Article: Why Labeling Products with Expired Patent Numbers Should Not Be False Marking

The false marking statute was designed to prevent products from being labeled with patents that do not apply to them, but the Federal Circuit recently extended its reach to prevent labeling products with expired patent numbers. This decision has spurred litigation by third parties against the makers of articles covered by expired patents. If this litigation continues, it will create incentives for manufacturers not to mark their products, contravening the public notice function of the patent act. This Note argues that articles covered by now-expired patents should not be considered unpatented articles for the purposes of the false marking statute. Allowing continued labeling after expiration of the patent is consistent with judicial precedent and the policies underlying the false marking statute. The Federal Circuit or Congress should act to exclude labeling articles covered by valid but now-expired patents from being false marking. This restriction would prevent the development of incentives not to mark, avert exploitative litigation, and limit the enforcement of the false marking statute to violations that have the potential to cause serious harm to the public.
The Regression of Thyroid Weight on Body Weight in the Growing Chick and the Influence of Penicillin

Abstract INTEREST in factors influencing the thyroid weight-body weight relationship in growing animals has been stimulated by the reported ability of certain antibiotics to increase the proportional weight of the thyroid in the rat and chick. Calesnick et al. (1954) reported that both chlortetracycline and potassium penicillin exerted a goitrogenic effect on a group of four rats. Mellen and Waller (1954) cited evidence that chlortetracycline in the diet of growing chicks increased the thyroid weight in relation to body weight, and Menge and Connor (1955) reported similar results. However, Libby and Meites (1954) observed no disproportional changes in the thyroid weights of rats given penicillin or chlortetracycline, or of chicks given penicillin, and Grant (1954) found no influence of chlortetracycline on thyroid weights of rats. Maghrabi and Turner (1953) and Keeling et al. (1955) also reported a failure to find any influence of chlortetracycline on chick thyroids. EXPERIMENTAL The study reported …
Higher Dimensional Gaussian Networks

Gaussian interconnection networks have been introduced as a useful alternative to the classical toroidal networks, and in this paper this concept is generalized to higher dimensions. We also explore many important properties of this new topology, including distance distribution and the decomposition of higher dimensional Gaussian networks into edge-disjoint tori and Hamiltonian cycles. In addition, an optimal shortest path routing algorithm and a one-to-all broadcast algorithm for higher dimensional Gaussian networks are given. Simulation results show that the routing algorithm proposed for higher dimensional Gaussian networks outperforms the routing algorithm of the corresponding torus network of the same node-degree and the same number of nodes.
Surveillance of Household Iodized Salt Use in Luanxian County,2004-2009

Objective To understand the status of household iodized salt use in Luanxian from 2004 to 2009, and provide evidence to take relevant intervenient measures. Methods The samples were collected according to ‘The Iodized Salt Use Surveillance Plan in Hebei’, and analysis was conducted on the sample test results.Results A total of 1 728 samples of household iodized salt were tested. The household iodized salt coverage rate was 97.7%, and the qualified rate of iodized salt was 92.5%. Conclusion The goal of using iodized salt by people has been achieved basically in Luanxian, but iodized salt was not sold in some rural area markets. It is necessary to conduct integrated intervention and health education to improve the household use of qualified iodized salt in Luanxian.