cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Influence of Zolpidem and Sleep Inertia on Balance and Cognition During Nighttime Awakening: A Randomized Placebo‐Controlled Trial

OBJECTIVES: To determine whether sleep inertia (grogginess upon awakening from sleep) with or without zolpidem impairs walking stability and cognition during awakenings from sleep. DESIGN: Three within-subject conditions hypnotic medication (zolpidem), placebo (sleep inertia), and wakefulness control randomized using balanced Latin square design. SETTING: Sleep laboratory. PARTICIPANTS: Twelve older and 13 younger healthy adults. INTERVENTION: Five milligrams of zolpidem or placebo 10 minutes before scheduled sleep (double-blind: zolpidem or sleep inertia); placebo before sitting in bed awake for 2 hours after their habitual bedtime (single-blind: wakefulness control). MEASUREMENTS: Tandem walk on a beam and cognition, measured using computerized performance tasks, approximately 120 minutes after treatment. RESULTS: No participants stepped off the beam on 10 practice trials. Seven of 12 older adults stepped off the beam after taking zolpidem, compared with none after sleep inertia and three after wakefulness control. Fewer young adults stepped off the beam: three after taking zolpidem, one after sleep inertia, and none after wakefulness control. Number needed to harm analyses showed one tandem walk failure for every 1.7 (95% confidence interval (CI)=1.4-2.0) older and 5.5 (95% CI=5.2-5.8) younger adults treated with zolpidem. Cognition was significantly more impaired after zolpidem exposure than with wakefulness control in older and younger participants (working memory: older, -4.3 calculations, 95% CI=-7.0 to -1.7; younger, -12.4 calculations, 95% CI=-18.2 to -6.7; Stroop: older, 76-ms increase (95% CI=13.5-138.4 ms); younger, 126-ms increase, 95% CI=34.7-217.5 ms), whereas sleep inertia significantly impaired cognition in younger but not older participants. CONCLUSION: Zolpidem produced clinically significant balance and cognitive impairments upon awakening from sleep. Because impaired tandem walk predicts falls and hip fractures and because impaired cognition has important safety implications, use of nonbenzodiazepine hypnotic medications may have greater consequences for health and safety than previously recognized. Language: en
International Legislative Efforts to Combat Child Sex Tourism: Evaluating the Council of Europe Convention on Commercial Child Sexual Exploitation

This paper assesses the recent national and multinational efforts to combat global child sex tourism (CST), focusing particularly on the Council of Europe’s Convention on the Protection of Children Against Sexual Exploitation and Abuse. Ultimately, the rise in CST offenses compared to the sparse number of CST convictions strongly suggests the inadequacy of the national and multinational efforts currently in play. However, even a significant increase in convictions by “Sending States” (the focus of most legislation, including the COE Convention) is unlikely to sufficiently diminish CST unless matched by heightened enforcement efforts in “Destination States.” Properly addressing CST requires comprehensive legislation at the national and international level that stimulates multinational cooperation and motivates Destination States to prosecute offenders and foster local initiatives for victim prevention, protection and assistance.
Bartholin cystectomy: paraffin technique.

Abstract The revived technique for Bartholin cystectomy involving the injection of liquid paraffin to allow dissection of the solidified mass has been used in 40 patients. Only 22 of these could be successfully followed. No recurrence has been noted.
Potential Change in the Distribution of Larval Fish Within Great South Bay, New York in Response to Recurrent Phytoplankton Blooms

Estuaries are recognized as prime nursery and spawning habitat for many species of marine fishes and invertebrates (Adams, 1976; Thayer et al., 1979). Up to 70 percent of the economically important Atlantic fishes spend a portion of their early life in estuaries (McHugh, 1966; 1967). Most of these species live at sea as adults, utilizing the estuaries as larvae and juveniles, presumably for the protection from predators (Rosenberg, 1982; Bell, 1987) and high productivity these systems provide (Thayer et al., 1979; Houde and Lovdal, 1984). Though these estuarine systems are known to be important, information on the contribution of a specific nursery area to the local stocks or the relative importance of a specific habitat within a given estuary is often lacking, especially with respect to the larval stages (Thayer et al., 1984). The need for such information is clearly important for the proper management of the various fisheries stocks and to assess impacts that occur from the degradation of habitats within estuaries, whether natural or man-induced.
Development, implementation and critique of a bioethics framework for pharmaceutical sponsors of human biomedical research

Pharmaceutical human biomedical research is a multi-dimensional endeavor that requires collaboration among many parties, including those who sponsor, conduct, participate in, or stand to benefit from the research. Human subjects' protections have been promulgated to ensure that the benefits of such research are accomplished with respect for and minimal risk to individual research participants, and with an overall sense of fairness. Although these protections are foundational to clinical research, most ethics guidance primarily highlights the responsibilities of investigators and ethics review boards. Currently, there is no published resource that comprehensively addresses bioethical responsibilities of industry sponsors; including their responsibilities to parties who are not research participants, but are, nevertheless key stakeholders in the endeavor. To fill this void, in 2010 Eli Lilly and Company instituted a Bioethics Framework for Human Biomedical Research. This paper describes how the framework was developed and implemented and provides a critique based on four years of experience. A companion article provides the actual document used by Eli Lilly and Company to guide ethical decisions regarding all phases of human clinical trials. While many of the concepts presented in this framework are not novel, compiling them in a manner that articulates the ethical responsibilities of a sponsor is novel. By utilizing this type of bioethics framework, we have been able to develop bioethics positions on various topics, provide research ethics consultations, and integrate bioethics into the daily operations of our human biomedical research. We hope that by sharing these companion papers we will stimulate discussion within and outside the biopharmaceutical industry for the benefit of the multiple parties involved in pharmaceutical human biomedical research.
The square meter arcsecond resolution x-ray telescope: SMART-X

We describe an X-ray Observatory mission with 0.5” angular resolution, comparable to the Chandra X-ray Observatory, but with 30 times more effective collecting area. The concept is based on developing the new technology of adjustable X-ray optics for ultra thin (0.4 mm), highly nested grazing incidence X-ray mirrors. Simulations to date indicate that the corrections for manufacturing and mounting can be determined on the ground and the effects of gravity release can be calculated to sufficient accuracy, so that all adjustments are applied only once on-orbit, without the need of any on-orbit determination of the required corrections. The mission concept is based on the Chandra Observatory, and takes advantage of the technology studies which have taken place over the past fifteen years developing large area, light weight mirrors.
ScreenMatch: providing context to software translators by displaying screenshots

Translators often encounter ambiguous messages while translating software. To resolve ambiguity, the translator needs to understand the context in which the message appears. Currently, context is provided via textual descriptions, or not at all. This paper describes ScreenMatch, a system which provides translators with visual context for each translatable message. It does so by matching each message with a corresponding screenshot of the application. ScreenMatch consists of a tool to gather screenshots, an algorithm to match messages to screenshots, and an interface that presents translators with screenshots alongside messages. We evaluated the system by gathering screenshots for 3 applications, using the algorithm to match messages to screenshots, and comparing results to manual matches. We found that hard-to-reproduce error messages make it difficult to gather all the screenshots. The algorithm correctly matched messages to screenshots 80% of the time when a corresponding screenshot had been gathered.
The benefits of tutoring: an exploration of expectancy and outcomes

The benefits of tutorials on participants have been explored extensively. The impact of expectancy to tutor on specific outcomes remains to be clarified. The present study investigated the effect of tutorial set versus study time on performance of students. Tutors who worked with partners and students who studied materials for a test performed differently than did tutors who expected to work with partners but did not. Discussion of related issues is presented.
Modified sulfur isotopic compositions of sulfides in the nakhlites and Chassigny

Variable sulfur isotopic ratios of sulfide minerals in the nakhlites and Chassigny have been measured by ion microprobe. The ranges and means of δ34S values of pyrrhotite and pyrite in nakhlites become more negative in the sequence Nakhla (δ34S: −1.7 to +4.9‰; mean δ34S = +1.5 ± 2.0‰) > Governador Valadares (δ34S: −2.4 to +3.8‰; mean δ34S = +0.7 ± 2.4‰) > Lafayette (−6.1 to +0.1‰; mean δ34S = −3.2 ± 2.1‰). This is also the sequence of increasing degrees of subsolidus re-equilibration, suggesting that 32S enrichment may be related to the subsolidus thermal history. A chalcopyrite vein cross cutting a pyrrhotite in Nakhla, coupled with chalcopyrite having slightly lighter δ34S values, suggests that subsolidus fluids may have become isotopically lighter (with respect to sulfur) in Nakhla with time. Pyrite has replaced pyrrhotite in Lafayette, suggesting that fO2 and/or fS2 increased after pyrrhotite crystallization. A model involving subsolidus hydrothermal modification of igneous sulfide minerals (with δ34S ∼ 0‰) due to late-stage oxidation of fluids provides a reasonable explanation for the sulfur isotopic systematics of the nakhlites and Chassigny. Sulfur isotopic alteration is believed to have occurred during the waning stages of nakhlite magmatism, rather than during a much later low-temperature (<100°C) iddingsite formation event, based on the ineffectiveness of abiogenic sulfur isotopic fractionation below 200°C. Variable mixing of two isotopically different fluids also could have produced the observed fractionations, although an isotopically light reservoir of sulfur is problematic. Other possible mechanisms evaluated to explain the sulfur isotopic values of the sulfide minerals include martian mantle heterogeneity, possible influence of martian biological processes, and magmatic degassing of SO2.
Study of Optical Effects Due to an Induced Polarization Third Order in the Electric Field Strength

This paper presents the results of a series of experiments in which a giant pulsed ruby laser is used to study several different nonlinear optical effects arising from an induced optical polarization third order in the electric field strength. The various phenomena studied are special cases of either frequency mixing or intensity-dependent changes in the complex refractive index, including Raman laser action at a focus. A wide range of crystalline and isotropic materials was studied. The theory for these effects is extended to cover resonant interactions. The experimental results are interpreted in terms of simplified models, and quantitative values for the nonlinear polarizability coefficients are given. The rather large experimental uncertainties in these coefficients are discussed.
Monte Carlo simulations of carbon monoxide oxidation on Pt catalysts

Abstract This communication presents results of Monte Carlo (MC) simulations of the CO oxidation reaction on a flat Pt surface. Several algorithms were considered to account for the effects of nearest neighbor interactions on the probabilities of adsorption, desorption and surface reaction. The results from the various algorithms are compared with those reported in the literature as well as with the classical Langmuir-Hinshelwood (LH) model. The results indicate that the MC simulations are sensitive to the algorithms accounting for nearest neighbor interactions. The MC calculations predict the formation of clusters of CO which confines the reaction to the cluster perimeters, effectively decreasing the reactive surface area. Conditions that increase the probability of cluster formation lead to discrepancies between MC and LH model predictions and vice versa. Agreement between MC and LH calculations are obtained only on randomizing the surface after each MC iteration or when high CO desorption probabilities minimize cluster formation.
Leo Strauss: education and the body politic

Leo Strauss is commonly cited as a seminal influence for the neoconservatism that, in the minds of many commentators, dominates the administration of George W. Bush. What intersection, if any, exists between Strauss's views and neoconservatism? This paper investigates that question by studying Strauss's writings on liberal education and assessing whether, and on what grounds, liberal education as conceived by Strauss is capable of the vital role which he assigns to it. In addressing this question the paper examines the work of Joseph Tussman, a contemporary of Strauss, as a means of elucidating the depth and distinctiveness of the Straussian project. The essay concludes that while Strauss may have much in common with the themes of neoconservatism, his priorities extend beyond the neoconservative agenda and, in some cases, run counter to it.
Predicting snow depth with people

Meteorologists are using a technique based on human observations to calibrate a Doppler radar method of predicting how much snow will fall in major storms. In a new program sponsored by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), several dozen volunteers will record information about the shape and size of snowflakes and measure the depth of snowfalls in the Denver, Colo., area. Handheld microscopes will allow t h em to determine the type of snow falling as heavy storms develop. Because large dendritic snow crystals are usually associated with deeper snow, while crystals laden with frozen cloud water droplets called graupel are characteristic of lesser accumulations, the morphology of the crystals can be used to guess where more snow will fall.
Impact of cyclo-oxygenase blockade on juxtamedullary microvascular responses to angiotensin II in rat kidney

1. Experiments were designed to evaluate the hypothesis that cyclo-oxygenase products modulate the influence of angiotensin II (AII) on the renal juxtamedullary microvasculature of enalaprilat-treated rats. 2. The in vitro blood-perfused juxtamedullary nephron technique was utilized to provide access to afferent arterioles, efferent arterioles and descending vasa recta located in the outer stripe of the outer medulla. 3. Baseline afferent arteriolar diameter was 20.8 +/- 1.9 microns in kidneys subjected to cyclo-oxygenase blockade (1 mumol/L piroxicam), a value significantly lower than that observed in untreated kidneys (26.1 +/- 1.0 microns). Baseline diameters of efferent arterioles and outer medullary descending vasa recta did not differ between untreated and piroxicam-treated groups. 4. Topical application of 1 nmol/L AII reduced blood flow through outer medullary descending vasa recta by 22 +/- 6% in untreated kidneys and by 24 +/- 7% in piroxicam-treated kidneys. 5. In untreated kidneys, AII (0.01-100 nmol/L) produced concentration-dependent afferent and efferent arteriolar constrictor responses of similar magnitudes. Neither afferent nor efferent arteriolar AII responsiveness was significantly altered in piroxicam-treated kidneys, although afferent responses exceeded efferent responses at AII concentrations > or = 10 nmol/L. 6. We conclude that endogenous cyclo-oxygenase products exert a vasodilator influence on juxtamedullary afferent arterioles under baseline conditions. Although cyclo-oxygenase inhibition had little effect on juxtamedullary microvascular responses to AII, the response to high AII concentrations may be modulated by cyclo-oxygenase products in a manner which delicately alters the relative influence of the peptide on pre- vs postglomerular resistances.
Analysis of the binding of Xenopus ribosomal protein L5 to oocyte 5 S rRNA. The major determinants of recognition are located in helix III-loop C.

Xenopus ribosomal protein L5 was expressed in Escherichia coli and exhibits high affinity (Kd = 2 nM) and specificity for oocyte 5 S rRNA. The pH dependence of the association constant for the complex reveals an ionization with a pKa value of 10.1, indicating that tyrosine and/or lysine residues are important for specific binding of L5 to the RNA. Formation of the L5·5 S rRNA complex is remarkably insensitive to ionic strength, providing evidence that nonelectrostatic interactions make significant contributions to binding. Together, these results suggest that one or more tyrosine residues may form critical contacts through stacking interactions with bases in the RNA. In order to locate recognition elements within 5 S rRNA, we measured binding of L5 to a collection of site-specific mutants. Mutations in the RNA that affected the interaction are confined to the hairpin structure comprised of helix III and loop C. Earlier experiments with a rhodium structural probe had shown that the two-nucleotide bulge in helix III and the intrinsic structure of loop C create sites in the major groove that are opened and accessible to stacking interactions with the metal complex. In the present studies, we detect a correlation between the intercalative binding of the rhodium complex to mutants in the hairpin and binding of L5, supporting the proposal that binding of the protein is mediated, in some part, by stacking interactions. Furthermore, the results from mutagenesis establish that, despite overlapping binding sites on 5 S rRNA, L5 and transcription factor IIIA utilize distinct structural elements for recognition.
Design of a CCD focal-plane image halftoner

The design of a CCD image half-toner integrated monolithically on the focal plane with a 256 x 256 frame transfer imager is reported and the algorithm used is discussed. The imager/half-toner chip is projected to achieve a throughput of 30 frames per second.© (1990) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
2-Phenylaminoadenosine stimulates dopamine synthesis in rat forebrain in vitro and in vivo via adenosine A2 receptors

The adenosine agonist 2-phenylaminoadenosine (PAD) stimulated tyrosine hydroxylase activity in rat striatum in vitro. This effect was selectively blocked by the A2 antagonist 8-chlorostyrylcaffeine (CSC), suggesting an A2 receptor-mediated mechanism. PAD also produced a corresponding increase in striatal adenylyl cyclase activity. Using an in vivo model that measures presynaptic effects of drugs at dopamine nerve terminals, intracerebroventricular administration of PAD to rats stimulated tyrosine hydroxylase activity in striatum in a manner that was selectively blocked by CSC. These results suggest that PAD stimulates adenylyl cyclase and tyrosine hydroxylase activity, with a corresponding increase in dopamine synthesis, by activation of presynaptic A2-type receptors in mammalian forebrain.
Health-related quality of life improves in children and adolescents with inflammatory bowel disease after attending a camp sponsored by the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation of America.

Purpose: To describe the reported health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in children and adolescents with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) after attending an IBD summer camp. Methods: A prospective analysis of quality of life was completed at an overnight camp that was exclusively for patients with IBD, which was sponsored by the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation of America. The IMPACT-II questionnaire (Canada and United States) and the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory for Children were administered to the campers at the beginning and at the end of a 1-week camp to assess HRQOL and anxiety. The IMPACT-II questionnaire consists of 35 questions measuring 6 quality-of-life domains (i.e., bowel domain, systemic symptoms, emotional functioning, social functioning, body image, and treatment/interventions). The State-Trait Anxiety Inventory for Children consists of 2 different 20-item sets of questions. One set assesses state anxiety, and the other, trait anxiety. A repeated-measures multivariate analysis of variance was performed to determine the differences between scores attained before and after camp on the IMPACT-II questionnaire and in each of its domains. Paired sample t tests were performed on state and trait anxiety before and after camp. Results: A total of 125 individuals consented to participate, but 61 patients (50 girls and 11 boys; age range, 9 to 16 y) completed the IMPACT-II questionnaire in full. Of those 61 patients, 47 had Crohn's disease and 14 had ulcerative colitis. There was statistically significant improvement between the mean (±SD) precamp total score (172.95 ± 36.61) and the mean postcamp total score (178.71 ± 40.97; P = 0.035), bowel symptoms scores (P = 0.036), social functioning scores (P = 0.022), and treatment interventions scores (P = 0.012). No difference was found between anxiety scores before and after camp on either the state or trait anxiety inventories (n = 55; P > 0.05). Conclusions: Overall, HRQOL improved in children after attending IBD summer camp. This exploratory study suggests that contributing factors for these improvements may be an increase in social functioning, a better acceptance of IBD symptoms, and less distress regarding treatment interventions, suggesting that a camp that is specifically designed for children with IBD may normalize the chronic illness experience. However, future research using a multimodal measurement approach is warranted to support these conclusions.
Silver Oxide Microwires: Electrodeposition and Observation of Reversible Resistance Modulation upon Exposure to Ammonia Vapor

Wires composed of AgxO (1 < x < 2) with diameters ranging from 0.7 to 1.1 μm were prepared by electrochemical step edge decoration on highly oriented pyrolytic graphite (HOPG) electrode surfaces. AgxO microwires were obtained by the oxidative electrodeposition of AgxO from a pH = 6 acetate-based plating solution. Step edge selectivity, coupled with the high nucleation density necessary for wire formation, required that the electrodeposition be carried out within a potential window of just 10 mV. The resulting microwires were characterized by scanning electron microscopy and electron diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. AgxO microwires were transferred from the HOPG surface to a glass surface, and electrical contacts were applied to ensembles of between 5 and 100 transferred microwires. The resistance of these microwire ensembles increased reversibly by up to 5000% upon exposure to NH3 vapor, whereas an irreversible decrease in the wire resistance was seen upon exposure to...
Furrows and Walls, or the Legal Topography of a Frontier Road in Peru

Abstract During the 1980s and 1990s, Peru’s Marginal Highway became the target of two inextricable conflicts: a bitter counter-insurgency war with the Maoist Shining Path and a US-sponsored effort to suppress a cocaine boom. This essay considers how attempts to transform the material surface of the highway altered the road’s orientation while asserting claims of territorial sovereignty and shaping the kinds of publics brought together. Furrows and walls each expressed singular points around which accounts of regional history would be told. Yet, it was their robust materiality that enabled distinct kinds of encounters, many of them violent: not only collisions but ambushes, confiscations, and executions. Focusing on the surface disruptions of the road, I suggest, offers a ready means for examining highway events as well as their relationship to the lived topographies of law in state frontiers.
Henry Fairfield Osborn and Jurassic Dinosaur Reconnaissance in the San Juan Basin, Along the Colorado-Utah Border, 1893-1900

Henry Fairfield Osborn, vertebrate paleontologist at the American Museum of Natural History, did virtually all of his fieldwork by proxy. Working mostly from his New York office, he detailed a score of fieldworkers to locate and claim fossil localities in advance of collectors from rival museums. This history of a long-forgotten Jurassic dinosaur reconnaissance in the San Juan Basin, which was materially unsuccessful, explores how Osborn found and evaluated potential new field localities. He was relentless in pursuit of fossils, especially in the face of worthy competition. He received his first unsolicited tip about fossils along the Colorado-Utah border in 1893. A collector sent to scout the locality found Jurassic dinosaurs in poor condition and left them behind. Following a second tip about fossils in the same region in 1899—at the height of the second Jurassic dinosaur rush—Osborn sent two more expeditions to search the area. Both of these parties returned empty-handed also. Reliable locality data re...
Interview with Andreas Buja

Andreas Buja is the Liem Sioe Liong/First Pacific Company Professor in the Statistics Department, The Wharton School, at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, USA. Some highlights of Andreas' career can be found in the interview below and his full vita can be located at his personal Web page at http://www-stat.wharton.upenn.edu/~buja . This interview was conducted by the North American Editor of Computational Statistics, Dr. Jurgen Symanzik, during the Joint Statistical Meetings (JSM) on August 10, 2006, in Seattle, Washington, USA.
LiDAR as a tool for archaeological research: a case study

Airborne light detection and ranging (LiDAR) is a technology that offers the ability to create highly detailed digital terrain models (DTMs) that expose low relief topographic features. The availability of these models holds potential to augment archaeological field research by producing visual imagery that can used to identify traces of ancient anthropogenic activity. This capability is particularly useful in hard to access areas and in areas of dense vegetation, where manual surveys are difficult to plan and to execute. Additionally, LiDAR technology is nonintrusive so that initial surveys can be performed without altering or destroying the integrity of the landscape and any features that it may contain. This paper explores the use of LiDAR within the field of archaeology and uses a case study approach to investigate the potential of LiDAR data for identifying earthworks dating back to the pre-Roman period in central England. Additionally, an evaluation of a technique to enhance the imagery in order to facilitate detecting human activity on the landscape is undertaken. Vegetation cover, particularly during leaf-on periods, can interfere with the ability of LiDAR to penetrate to the surface and can therefore impact its accuracy. The effect of vegetation cover on the ability of LiDAR to produce accurate DTMs is evaluated in relationship to its impact on the identification of archaeological features.
Sources of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in Sediments of the Kinnickinnic River, Wisconsin

Abstract A chemical mass balance (CMB) model was developed and used to apportion both point and nonpoint sources of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in six dated sediment cores. The cores were collected in 1994 from a stretch of the Kinnickinnic River between the Becher Street Bridge and the Wisconsin Wrecking Company Wharf, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and had PAH concentrations of 80 to 1,000 ppm. This work was done in order to identify major PAH sources to this IJC Area of Concern which is important for pollution modeling and management. The source fingerprints were taken from the literature. Coke oven emissions and coal-wood gasification or coal tar are the main local PAH sources, whereas highway dust provides an important nonpoint input since the 1920s. Coal-wood gasification ceases to be a significant source after 1950–’60. Factor analysis based on nonnegative constraint of factor scores and loadings, and oblique rotations, supports this apportionment, but points also to deficiencies in the CMB source profile for coke oven emissions. It appears that the now defunct Milwaukee Solvay Coke Co. was a major source. The influence of geophysical factors and chemical and biological fractionation of the selected PAH compounds appears to be small.
Insecticidal Control of Chironomid Midges in the Santa Ana River Water Spreading System, Orange County, California

In the laboratory, 7 organophosphorus insecticides were tested against 4th instars (field populations) of Chironomus spp., Tanytarsus spp., and Cricotopus spp. midges. Chlorpyrifos, followed by temephos, was the most active compound against Chironomus spp. and Tanytarsus spp. Cricotopus spp. were most susceptible to phenthoate. For larval control in the field, granules of temephos enclosed in burlap sacs, were applied at various sites in a flood control channel and an emulsifiable formulation of temephos was dripped for a period of 24 h at the head basin of a series of 3 basins. The treatment rate for both the formulations was 0.15 lb AI/surface acre. The granular formulation controlled Chironomus spp. for 3–6 weeks, and Tanytarsus spp. for 3–8 weeks. The emulsifiable concentrate yielded satisfactory control of Chironomus spp. and Tanytarsus spp. in the lead basin only. Procladius spp. were not significantly suppressed either in the channel or in the spreading basins.
Protecting the integrity of clinical trial results in the digital age.

The arrival of the digital age has provided the opportunity for information to be captured instantaneously and rapidly transmitted around the globe. New information can be disseminated through the Internet on journal Web sites or industry or governmental web pages; alternatively, it can be rapidly published and distributed in the traditional journal format using digital technology. While this ability to expeditiously disseminate new information provides the opportunity for clinicians and investigators to be better informed about discoveries in both the clinical and basic research arenas, it also raises new challenges for ensuring that new information is distributed with appropriate oversight and within acceptable ethical boundaries. The need for careful oversight of data distribution is exemplified by the increasing practice of rapidly reporting or reviewing presentations of preliminary results from large and often complex clinical trials reported at major national meetings, often before the full report has been published in peer-reviewed journals. Premature publication of study results raises important concerns as they may lead to inappropriate changes in practice patterns within the medical community by failing to provide the reader with enough accurate information in order for them to be able to adequately dissect the results of these complex trials. For example, a lay medical writer with limited scientific or medical background may summarize the results of clinical trials and have their summaries read by a large number of physicians through on-line reports such as heart.org and Cardiosource. By contrast, experts in the field have authored summaries that have been published in peerreviewed journals including Circulation, The Journal of the American College of Cardiology, Journal of Cardiac Failure, and the European Journal of Heart Failure that
Multimodal information fusion using the iterative decoding algorithm and its application to audio-visual speech recognition

The fusion of information from heterogenous sensors is crucial to the effectiveness of a multimodal system. Noise affect the sensors of different modalities independently. A good fusion scheme should be able to use local estimates of the reliability of each modality to weight the decisions. This paper presents an iterative decoding based information fusion scheme motivated by the theory of turbo codes. This fusion framework is developed in the context of hidden Markov models. We present the mathematical framework of the fusion scheme. We then apply this algorithm to an audio-visual speech recognition task on the GRID audio-visual speech corpus and present the results.
Chromium-aluminum mixing in garnet: A thermochemical study

Abstract The enthalpies of mixing of synthetic grossular (Ca3Al2Si3O12)-uvarovite (Ca3Cr2Si3O12) solid solutions have been determined by oxide melt calorimetry at 970 K. The results indicate that the solid solution exhibits a very small negative deviation from Raoult's law. In terms of the regular solution model a chromium-aluminum interaction parameter W H Cr-Al of between 0 and −1000 cal/gm atom is consistent with the data.
Measles Virus Glycoprotein Complexes Preassemble Intracellularly and Relax during Transport to the Cell Surface in Preparation for Fusion

Measles virus (MeV), a morbillivirus within the paramyxovirus family, expresses two envelope glycoproteins. The attachment (H) protein mediates receptor binding, followed by triggering of the fusion (F) protein, which leads to merger of the viral envelope with target cell membranes. Receptor binding by members of related paramyxovirus genera rearranges the head domains of the attachment proteins, liberating an F-contact domain within the attachment protein helical stalk. However, morbillivirus glycoproteins first assemble intracellularly prior to receptor binding, raising the question of whether alternative protein-protein interfaces are involved or whether an entirely distinct triggering principle is employed. To test these possibilities, we generated headless H stem mutants of progressively shorter length. Conformationally restricted H stems remained capable of intracellular assembly with a standard F protein and a soluble MeV F mutant. Proteolytic maturation of F, but not the altered biochemical conditions at the cell surface, reduces the strength of glycoprotein interaction, readying the complexes for triggering. F mutants stabilized in the prefusion conformation interact with H intracellularly and at the cell surface, while destabilized F mutants interact only intracellularly, prior to F maturation. These results showcase an MeV entry machinery that functionally varies conserved motifs of the proposed paramyxovirus infection pathway. Intracellular and plasma membrane-resident MeV glycoprotein complexes employ the same protein-protein interface. F maturation prepares for complex separation after triggering, and the H head domains in prereceptor-bound conformation prevent premature stalk rearrangements and F activation. Intracellular preassembly affects MeV fusion profiles and may contribute to the high cell-to-cell fusion activity characteristic of the morbillivirus genus. IMPORTANCE Paramyxoviruses of the morbillivirus genus, such as measles, are highly contagious, major human and animal pathogens. MeV envelope glycoproteins preassemble intracellularly into tightly associated hetero-oligomers. To address whether preassembly reflects a unique measles virus entry strategy, we characterized the protein-protein interface of intracellular and surface-exposed fusion complexes and investigated the effect of the attachment protein head domains, glycoprotein maturation, and altered biochemical conditions at the cell surface on measles virus fusion complexes. Our results demonstrate that measles virus functionally varies conserved elements of the paramyxovirus entry pathway, providing a possible explanation for the high cell-to-cell fusion activity of morbilliviruses. Insight gained from these data affects the design of effective broad-spectrum paramyxovirus entry inhibitors.
System identification with reaction-mass devices

Reaction-mass devices are to be used in a dual role: first for the purpose of system identification, and second for the purpose of vibration suppression. Unlike ground-based shakers, reaction-mass devices have a position constraint which must be maintained. A two-part system identification procedure is described which maintains this constraint. In the first part, a new algorithm is used to obtain the impulse response from input-output data. The second part uses the eigensystem realization algorithm to determine linear matrix models of the structure and of the reaction-mass device. This procedure is demonstrated on a small experimental structure. The usefulness of the model for the design of a vibration suppression controller is also demonstrated.
Toxicity of intracranial and intraperitoneal O6-benzyl guanine in combination with BCNU delivered locally in a mouse model.

Abstract Purpose. The DNA-repair protein, O6-alkylguanine-DNA alkyl transferase, may account for resistance of CNS tumors to DNA-alkylating drugs, such as bis-(2-chloroethyl)-1-nitrosourea (BCNU). The therapeutic effects of BCNU can be potentiated by inhibiting the repair protein with an alkylated guanine analog, O6-benzyl guanine (O6BG). To investigate potential toxicity of this inhibition, we examined the effects of O6BG in mice treated with intracranial (i.c.) BCNU given via a biodegradable polymer. Methods. Mice were treated with escalating doses of BCNU chronically delivered i.c., and with chronically delivered O6BG. The O6BG was delivered via a 7-day intraperitoneal (i.p.) or i.c. osmotic minipump. Toxicity of the combination therapies was measured from survival data. Bone marrow response was estimated from white blood cell counts. Results. Combining systemic (i.p.) O6BG with locally (i.c.) delivered BCNU resulted in a decrease in the maximum tolerated dose (MTD) of local BCNU. With local delivery of O6BG, the MTD of BCNU in combination with O6BG was increased. Conclusions. Based on the results of this study, a dose escalation study will be necessary when combining systemic O6BG with the higher doses of i.c. BCNU.
Oscillator strengths and electron-excitation cross sections for atomic nitrogen

The $\mathrm{LS}$ states belonging to the configurations ${2s}^{2}{2p}^{3},$ ${2s2p}^{4},$ ${2s}^{2}{2p}^{2}3s,$ ${2s}^{2}{2p}^{2}3p,$ ${2s}^{2}{2p}^{2}3d$, and ${2s}^{2}{2p}^{2}4s$ of neutral nitrogen are considered in the calculations of excitation energies and oscillator strengths. Extensive configuration interaction wave functions are used, which give excitation energies in close agreement with the experiment. The calculation of the differential and integral cross sections of the forbidden ${}^{4}{S}^{o}{\ensuremath{-}}^{2}{D}^{o}$ transition for the scattering of electrons from atomic nitrogen is performed in a 11-state close-coupling approximation using the R-matrix method in the energy region from threshold to 70 eV. The calculated differential cross sections are peaked in the backward direction and compare very well with the recent measurement. The present integral cross sections also show very good agreement with the available other calculations and measurement.
TESTING AND MODELLING OF "MUNICH" SAND

ABSTRACT A general plasticity based constitutive model is developed for simulating hardening, stress path dependence, volume change and coupling of volume and shear responses of a cohesionless soil, called “munich” sand. The model parameters are evaluated from a comprehensive series of laboratory multiaxial tests on cubical specimens of the material. The proposed model is verified by comparing predictions with observed test results and with predictions of the test behavior by using the finite element method.
Dact1 presomitic mesoderm expression oscillates in phase with Axin2 in the somitogenesis clock of mice

During segmentation (somitogenesis) in vertebrate embryos, somites form in a rostral-to-caudal sequence according to a species-specific rhythm called the somitogenesis clock. The expression of genes participating in somitogenesis oscillates in the presomitic mesoderm (PSM) in time with this clock. We previously reported that the Dact1 gene (aka Dpr1/Frd1/ThyEx3), which encodes a Dishevelled-binding intracellular regulator of Wnt signaling, is prominently expressed in the PSM as well as in a caudal-rostral gradient across the somites of mouse embryos. This observation led us to examine whether Dact1 expression oscillates in the PSM. We have found that Dact1 PSM expression does indeed oscillate in time with the somitogenesis clock. Consistent with its known signaling functions and with the "clock and wavefront" model of signal regulation during somitogenesis, the oscillation of Dact1 occurs in phase with the Wnt signaling component Axin2, and out of phase with the Notch signaling component Lfng.
Variational principles for ascent shapes of large scientific balloons

Current mathematical models of large scientific balloons assume an axisymmetric ascent shape, sharply contrasting what is observed in real balloons. We propose an approach to computing nonaxisgmmetric shapes of balloons which is based on the inextensibilitg of certain balloon fibers and a set of rules that model how excess material must fold away. The energy of a balloon configuration is modeled as the sum of the gravitational potentials of the lifting gas and balloon fabric. We evolve an initial guess to a shape that minimizes this energy while satisfying certain material constraints. We refer to a shape determined in this fashion as an energy-minimizing (EM) shape. Using our approach to compute axisymmetric EM shapes, we find our results agree with those obtained by solving the standard Σ-shape model. For nonaxisgmmetric shapes, we are able to compute shapes that possess features observed in actual balloons, including internally folded material, flat wing sections, and periodic lobe-like structures surrounding the gas bubble
125I-Clq-binding and specific antibodies as indicators of pulmonary disease activity in cystic fibrosis

We studied the incidence and levels of circulating immune complexes by the 125 I-Clq-binding assay in patients with cystic fibrosis in relation to clinical respiratory status and specific IgG and IgE antibodies to Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus, Aspergillus fumigatus , and Candida albicans . Overall prevalence of CIC was 43%, but 86% of serially studied patients had evidence of CIC at some time. Patients with acute respiratory exacerbations and deteriorating pulmonary function had a higher incidence of CIC (76%) as compared to stable patients (36%, P Pseudomonas ( P Pseudomonas -specific IgG nor with any other specific antibody studied. A variety of age-related differences in specific antibody levels were seen. The episodic appearance of CIC is common in CF and is usually associated with exacerbation of lung disease.
Down-regulation of hepatic lipase expression in experimental nephrotic syndrome

Down-regulation of hepatic lipase expression in experimental nephrotic syndrome. Hepatic lipase (HL) plays an important role in catabolism of chylomicron remnants, conversion of intermediate density lipoprotein (IDL) to low-density lipoprotein (LDL) and reverse transport of cholesterol to the liver. Several features of the nephrotic dyslipidemia point to the possible presence of HL deficiency. In an attempt to address this possibility, gene expression of HL was studied in rats with puromycin-induced nephrotic syndrome (NS). The results were compared with those obtained in a group of placebo-treated control animals. The NS group showed marked proteinuria, hypoalbuminemia, hypercholesterolemia, hypertriglyceridemia, normal creatinine clearance and normal hepatic tissue cholesterol concentration. HL activity of the liver tissue was reduced by approximately 60% in the NS group as compared to that found in the normal control group. The reduction of HL activity in the NS group was accompanied by a reduction of HL mRNA of virtually similar magnitude. HL activity of the liver tissue was inversely related to urinary protein excretion, serum cholesterol and serum triglyceride concentrations. In contrast, HL activity was directly related to serum albumin concentration and HL mRNA. No significant difference was observed in HL activity between the control group and the pre-nephrotic animals studied at days 1 and 5 following puromycin administration. This observation excludes an acute effect of puromycin as a possible cause of HL deficiency in the NS animals. Thus, NS in this model results in a marked down-regulation of HL expression which may, in part, contribute to the nephrotic dyslipidemia.
The Prognostic Value of the Mitosis Count in Biopsies of Lymphosarcoma

For the past two years the author has been engaged in a study of the coefficient of mitosis in tumors of man and other mammals (1). The tumors included a wide assortment, benign and malignant, of both epithelial and non-epithelial types. A method was devised having an error approximating that in making a total white blood cell count2 (2). The evidence obtained indicated that the primary tumor, the metastases, and the recurrences had the same mitotic coefficient in biopsy material. Autopsy specimens have not been studied sufficiently. Tumors of man have been found to have mitosis counts similar to the tumors of other mammals. Malignant tumors have shown more than 4 mitoses per 1000 tumor cells and benign tumors less than 4 mitoses per 1000 tumor cells, irrespective of type, site, and mammalian species. In a preliminary series of 125 cases in man the coefficient of mitosis in the biopsy specimen was found to be highly correlated with the incidence of metastases and with the eventual mortality from the tumors. This study was based principally on cases of carcinoma of the breast, carcinoma of the cervix, and mixed tumors of the parotid gland. More recently Pearson, working in the author's laboratory (3), has made a study of the coefficient of mitosis in basal-cell tumors of man. He found that the average coefficient of mitosis was 2.5 per 1000 tumor cells, and that 86 per cent of basal-cell tumors had counts in the benign tumor range ( i.e. less than 4 mitoses per 1000 tumor cells). Fourteen per cent of the basal-cell tumors had between 4 and 7 mitoses per 1000 tumor cells, indicating a low-grade malignancy. These latter recurred or failed to disappear under treatment. No basal-cell tumors were encountered in this small series with high coefficients of mitosis ( i.e. above 8 per 1000 tumor cells). The coefficient of mitosis in this series was compatible with the clinical course and the general failure of such tumors to metastasize.
Orbit Prediction in the Presence of Gravitational Anomalies

The classical description of a body's gravitational field is by means of an infinite series expansion in spherical harmonics, which lends itself well to most orbit determination problems. For low orbiting spacecraft, however, local gravitational anomalies have an effect on the path of a spacecraft which increases as the distance from the spacecraft to the body decreases. This paper develops an efficient, localized gravity model which uses suborbital surface distributions of mass and, a new gravity modeling tool, gravity dipoles on the surface of a body. Mathematical techniques are developed to calculate recursively the gravity field arising from this model. It is also shown that the tangential component of disturbing acceleration is approximately proportional to the derivative of the radial component for low circular orbits. Several numerical examples of these developments are presented.