cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Norepinephrine concentrations in the epicardial transudate reflect early changes in adrenergic activity in the isolated perfused heart.

M. Lorbar, K. Skalova, A. Nabi, E. S. Chung, R. A. Fenton, J. G. Dobson, Jr and T. E. Meyer. Norepinephrine Concentrations in the Epicardial Transudate Reflect Early Changes in Adrenergic Activity in the Isolated Perfused Heart. Journal of Molecular and Cellular Cardiology (2000) 32, 1695–1701. The aim of this study was to establish whether epicardial transudates could be used to uncover small, but physiologically important changes in interstitial NE concentrations under normal and pathological conditions. Norepinephrine (NE) concentrations measured in epicardial transudate fluid were compared to NE levels in the coronary effluent in normal and pressure overload hypertrophied (POH) rat hearts. Hearts were isolated together with the stellate ganglion and perfused in the inverted position. Epicardial surface transudates, representative fluid of the interstitial myocardial compartment, and coronary effluents were collected for determination of NE levels in the presence and absence of stellate ganglion stimulation. The same protocol was repeated in the presence and absence of nisoxetine, a NE uptake blocker. NE concentrations in epicardial transudates were 16- and 19-fold higher than in the coronary effluent in both sham and POH groups, respectively. NE concentrations in the transudates but not in the coronary effluents were significantly higher (1.6-fold) in hearts with POH when compared to normal hearts. Likewise, nisoxetine (10−5) increased (1.3-fold) NE concentrations in the transudates but not in the effluents of sham animals. As expected, stellate ganglion stimulation increased NE concentrations in both transudates and effluents in sham and POH hearts. In conclusion, determination of NE concentrations in epicardial transudates represents a simple, rapid and sensitive method to detect increases in adrenergic activity in normal and abnormal hearts.
Natural history of traumatic rupture of the thoracic aorta managed nonoperatively: a longitudinal analysis.

Abstract Background . Although traumatic rupture of the thoracic aorta (TRA) has traditionally been considered a surgical emergency, there exists a small patient population for whom nonoperative management may be appropriate. The short- and long-term consequences of patients managed in a nonoperative fashion remain unclear. Methods . A review of patients admitted with TRA over a period of 16 years was performed. Patients who did not undergo operative repair within 24 hours of injury and diagnosis comprised the study group. Results . One hundred forty-five patients were admitted with TRA. Of these, 30 underwent a period of nonoperative management. The mean age of the study patients was 44 ± 21 years, 80% were male, and the mean Injury Severity Score (ISS) was 34 ± 9. Fifteen patients underwent delayed operation (DELAY group) at more than 24 hours after injury and diagnosis and 15 patients never underwent repair (NON-OP group). The median time to operation in the DELAY group was 3 days (range 2 to 90). Three patients exhibited progression of TRA within 5 days of injury and of these, 2 died. A total of 3 deaths occurred in the DELAY group (1 rupture and 2 intraoperative arrests). The fifteen NON-OP patients were significantly older (mean age 52 ± 22 versus 36 ± 18 years; p = 0.03), tended to be more severely injured (mean ISS 36 ± 9 versus 32 ± 8; p = 0.2), and had more premorbid risk factors than the DELAY patients. Five NON-OP patients died, all because of severe head injuries. On long-term follow-up of NON-OP patients, all 10 survivors are alive at a median of 2.5 years (range 6 months to 5 years) without progression of injury or the need for operation. Five of the 10 had complete radiographic resolution of their injuries and 5 have asymptomatic and radiographically stable pseudoaneurysms. Conclusions . Selected patients with multiple severe associated injuries or high-risk premorbid conditions may have their operations for TRA delayed temporarily or even indefinitely with acceptable survival rates. The potential for rapid progression of TRA in the same patients, however, mandates serial radiographic examinations during the first week of hospitalization after injury and diagnosis.
Gibbs-DiMarzio equation to describe the glass transition temperature trends in multicomponent chalcogenide glasses

Abstract High purity chalcogenide glasses incorporating Ge, Sb, Se, As and Te were prepared by vacuum melting of previously distilled 5 N to 6 N pure raw materials from which the surface oxide was also removed in some instances. Glass transition temperatures, Tg, of several chalcogenide glasses prepared by similar processing techniques were determined using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). An emperical relationship between the glass transition temperature and average coordination number is proposed by modifying the Gibbs-DiMarzio equation for glass transition of a cross-linked polymer as a function of cross-link density. The results for the Tg of three ‘iso-structural’ systems are reported and discussed in light of presumed structural arrangements in these glasses.
Message Variables That Mediate and Moderate the Effect of Equivocal Language on Source Credibility

Equivocation is advisable as a persuasive strategy only under limited conditions. Information-processing theory was used to model the effect of precise language on receiver evaluations of message and source. Path analyses found that the effects of language intensity (specificity and opinionatedness) on ratings of source competence and trust-worthiness were mediated by language perceptions and message evaluation variables such as assessed argument quality. The effect of language intensity on trustworthiness was mediated by attributions of either source bias or intolerance of discrepant opinions. Meta-analyses found that message discrepancy and personalization of the issue made the effects of intense language on competence more negative, whereas better quality arguments made the effect of intensity on competence and trustworthiness more positive.
La planificación familiar como herramienta básica para el desarrollo

The family planning (FP) concept has traditionally been, and is closely related to, sexual and reproductive health. At the International Conference on Population and Development held in Cairo in 1994, FP is recognized as a health strategy that, properly applied, can contribute to the development of nations. Over the past years we have found that the benefits are not only aimed at preventing unwanted pregnancies, there by preventing induced abortions and maternal death, but it also improves child health, facilitating access to education for children in the world, it promotes the empowerment of women not only in the workplace but also in other areas such as politics and thus, the concept of gender; it helps to reduce poverty by stimulating economic development and increasing the standard of living of people . This means that it not only contributes to one but to the eight Millennium Development Goals by 2015. Despite the evidence of its benefits, there are still social, cultural, political or religious barriers that cause an unmet need in Family Planning, which does not respect the right of individuals to choose and decide the number of children they want, and prevent the experience of a healthy sexuality.
The Jesuits and Joe McCarthy

The Jesuits frequently attract public attention, and one such occasion for notoriety occurred in the days of the Communist hunt commonly associated with the name of the junior Senator from Wisconsin, Joseph Raymond McCarthy (1908-1957). During the years from 1950 to 1957 there were repeated attempts to link McCarthy with the Jesuits, (or, paradoxically, to link him with the Senator's opponents). The national Jesuit weekly America became embroiled in one of the most bitter arguments which broke out in the controversy. The events illustrate not only the intensely divisive nature of the dispute over McCarthy, but the peculiar position of the order both in the Church and in the intellectual life of the nation as well. The Jesuits and McCarthy first met at Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Following a strict Catholic upbringing in northern Wisconsin, young McCarthy entered the Jesuit university in the fall of 1930, registering in the engineering college. Changing later to law, he carved a wide path through Marquette, making a name for himself as a "big man on campus." The Jesuit Fathers at Marquette with memories of McCarthy describe him as fun-loving, possessed of a winning personality, faithful to his religious duties, and always deferential toward the clergy. They also remember that he was beginning to develop an "Irish wit" that tempered his personality.1 His stay in the law school was neither distinguished nor poor, and he graduated on schedule in 1935, soon gaining admission to the Wisconsin bar. Viewed in retrospect, his Marquette experience appears to be less an exercise in formation at the hands of the Jesuits than simply a stop on the way up the ladder to political success. Marquette University gave him the legal background he needed to advance in politics, but he does not seem to have undergone any kind of transformation as a result of his years there. As a student in the law school, he certainly would have learned the Church's position on Communism, but it seems to have made little impression on him. In sum, the Marquette Jesuits seem to have had little impact on either McCarthy's character, or his system of values.
Inhibition of collagen cross-linking: effects on fibrillar collagen and ventricular diastolic function

The fibrillar collagen network is postulated to be a primary determinant of left ventricular diastolic stiffness. This hypothesis was tested by examining the structural and physiological effects of a reduction in fibrillar collagen content and cross-linking in the intact left ventricle. Collagen cross-linking was inhibited by treating five normal adult pigs with beta-aminopropionitrile (BAPN; 10 g/day po) for 6 wk; five normal untreated pigs served as controls. Left ventricular volume, mass, and function were determined by simultaneous echocardiography and catheterization. Chamber stiffness, defined by pressure vs. volume data, and myocardial stiffness, defined by stress vs. dimension data, were determined from variably loaded beats during dextran infusion. Collagen distribution (% area) and integrity (% confluence) were determined by light microscopy. Collagen content was measured by hydroxyproline assay, and collagen cross-linking was measured by salt extraction. BAPN decreased collagen distribution (% area decreased from 12 +/- 1% in control to 7 +/- 1% in BAPN, P < 0.05), collagen integrity (% confluence decreased from 8 +/- 1% in control to 4 +/- 1% in BAPN, P < 0.05), collagen content (from 36 +/- 2 mg/g dry wt in control to 27 +/- 2 mg/g dry wt in BAPN, P < 0.05), and collagen cross-linking (extractable collagen increased from 21 +/- 2% in control to 28 +/- 2% in BAPN, P < 0.05). BAPN decreased chamber stiffness (0.13 +/- 0.02 in control to 0.06 +/- 0.01 in BAPN, P < 0.05) and myocardial stiffness (10.4 +/- 0.5 in control to 6.6 +/- 0.5 in BAPN, P < 0.05).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
LIBERALISM AND THE CONSTITUTION

If the U.S. Constitution is a liberal Constitution, liberal governments can have a constitutional obligation to secure positive benefits or welfare rights. The original constitutional text describes a government instrumental to the Preamble's abstract ends or goods. Constitutional rights can be reconciled to the text's instrumentalist logic by viewing them as functional to better conceptions of abstract ends among actors who would compensate for their fallibility. The Federalist confirms the instrumentalism of the constitutional text. Conservative writers who treat negative liberties as constitutional ends err in several ways. They assume rational actors would establish a government for the sake of limiting it, and they ignore the positive nature of goods (life, liberty, property) that are the objects of negative liberties. They also fail to see that tax-supported protections for all positive goods, including the objects of negative liberties, must be justified by public purposes.
Cattle Before Crops: The Beginnings of Food Production in Africa

In many areas of the world, current theories for agricultural origins emphasize yield as a major concern during intensification. In Africa, however, the need for scheduled consumption shaped the development of food production. African cattle were domesticated during the tenth millennium BP by delayed-return Saharan hunter-gatherers in unstable, marginal environments where predictable access to resources was a more significant problem than absolute abundance. Pastoralism spread patchily across the continent according to regional variations in the relative predictability of herding versus hunting and gathering. Domestication of African plants was late (after 4000 BP) because of the high mobility of herders, and risk associated with cultivation in arid environments. Renewed attention to predictability may contribute to understanding the circumstances that led to domestication in other regions of the world.
Fertility regulation in male rats and hamsters with alkylating agents

A single intratesticular injection of TEPA or Thio-TEPA induced a period of infertility lasting 1-2 months. Restoration of fertility was characterized by a reduction of the litter size resulting from the first inpregnation post-treatment. There was no evidence of tissue pathogenesis 6-12 months after treatment.
Intensity-Modulated Radiotherapy for Resected Mesothelioma: The Duke Experience

Purpose To assess the safety and efficacy of intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) after extrapleural pneumonectomy for malignant pleural mesothelioma. Methods and Materials Thirteen patients underwent IMRT after extrapleural pneumonectomy between July 2005 and February 2007 at Duke University Medical Center. The clinical target volume was defined as the entire ipsilateral hemithorax, chest wall incisions, including drain sites, and involved nodal stations. The dose prescribed to the planning target volume was 40–55 Gy (median, 45). Toxicity was graded using the modified Common Toxicity Criteria, and the lung dosimetric parameters from the subgroups with and without pneumonitis were compared. Local control and survival were assessed. Results The median follow-up after IMRT was 9.5 months. Of the 13 patients, 3 (23%) developed Grade 2 or greater acute pulmonary toxicity (during or within 30 days of IMRT). The median dosimetric parameters for those with and without symptomatic pneumonitis were a mean lung dose (MLD) of 7.9 vs. 7.5 Gy ( p = 0.40), percentage of lung volume receiving 20 Gy (V 20 ) of 0.2% vs. 2.3% ( p = 0.51), and percentage of lung volume receiving 5 Gy (V 20 ) of 92% vs. 66% ( p = 0.36). One patient died of fatal pulmonary toxicity. This patient received a greater MLD (11.4 vs. 7.6 Gy) and had a greater V 20 (6.9% vs. 1.9%), and V 5 (92% vs. 66%) compared with the median of those without fatal pulmonary toxicity. Local and/or distant failure occurred in 6 patients (46%), and 6 patients (46%) were alive without evidence of recurrence at last follow-up. Conclusions With limited follow-up, 45-Gy IMRT provides reasonable local control for mesothelioma after extrapleural pneumonectomy. However, treatment-related pulmonary toxicity remains a significant concern. Care should be taken to minimize the dose to the remaining lung to achieve an acceptable therapeutic ratio.
Reliability Models for Facility Location: The Expected Failure Cost Case

Classical facility location models like the P-median problem (PMP) and the uncapacitated fixed-charge location problem (UFLP) implicitly assume that, once constructed, the facilities chosen will always operate as planned. In reality, however, facilities "fail" from time to time due to poor weather, labor actions, changes of ownership, or other factors. Such failures may lead to excessive transportation costs as customers must be served from facilities much farther than their regularly assigned facilities. In this paper, we present models for choosing facility locations to minimize cost, while also taking into account the expected transportation cost after failures of facilities. The goal is to choose facility locations that are both inexpensive under traditional objective functions and also reliable. This reliability approach is new in the facility location literature. We formulate reliability models based on both the PMP and the UFLP and present an optimal Lagrangian relaxation algorithm to solve them. We discuss how to use these models to generate a trade-off curve between the day-to-day operating cost and the expected cost, taking failures into account, and we use these trade-off curves to demonstrate empirically that substantial improvements in reliability are often possible with minimal increases in operating cost.
A free-space bistatic calibration technique for the measurement of parallel and perpendicular reflection coefficients of planar samples

A free-space bistatic measurement system suitable for operation in the frequency range of 5.85-40 GHz is calibrated to measure the parallel and perpendicular reflection coefficients of metal-backed planar samples for obliquely incident waves. The measurement system consists of transmit and receive antennas in the bistatic configuration, mode transitions, precision coaxial cables, and the network analyzer. Diffraction effects of the edges of the sample are minimized by using spot-focusing horn lens antennas, which focus most of the energy on a one-wavelength-diameter circular section of the sample. A new free-space bistatic calibration technique is developed to eliminate errors due to multiple reflections between transmit and receive antennas via the surface of the sample. The effect of defocusing due to the obliquely incident plane wave with focused antennas is minimized by introducing correction factors which modify measured reflection coefficients. Details of the calibration procedure and a discussion of the experimental results obtained for planar samples of Teflon and Eccogel 1365-90 in the frequency range 12.4-18 GHz are presented. >
In Vitro Activity of Ceftaroline against a Broad Spectrum of Recent Clinical Anaerobic Isolates

The in vitro activity of ceftaroline was compared with those of ceftriaxone, clindamycin, imipenem, metronidazole, moxifloxacin, tigecycline, and vancomycin against 514 clinical anaerobic isolates using Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) standard methodology. Ceftaroline demonstrated good to excellent activity against Gram-positive anaerobic pathogens and limited activity against Gram-negative pathogens, particularly Bacteroides fragilis group isolates.
Semi-automatic determination of citation relevancy: User evaluation

Abstract Online bibliographic, database searches typically produce hundreds of retrieved citations with only about 20–40% relevant to the search topic and/or problem statement. Significant amounts of time are required to categorize and select the relevant citations. A software system—SORT-AID/SABRE—has been developed which ranks the citations in terms of relevance. This paper presents the results of a comprehensive user evaluation of the relevance ranking procedures. Test results show that the software generated distributions approach the ideal distribution—all relevant citations at the beginning of the collection—in 22% of the cases, are 23% better than the random distribution—relevant citations distributed uniformly throughout the collection—on average and are poorer than the random distribution in 4% of the cases.
A randomized controlled comparison of integrative cognitive-affective therapy (ICAT) and enhanced cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT-E) for bulimia nervosa

Background The purpose of this investigation was to compare a new psychotherapy for bulimia nervosa (BN), integrative cognitive-affective therapy (ICAT), with an established treatment, ‘enhanced’ cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT-E). Method Eighty adults with symptoms of BN were randomized to ICAT or CBT-E for 21 sessions over 19 weeks. Bulimic symptoms, measured by the Eating Disorder Examination (EDE), were assessed at baseline, at the end of treatment (EOT) and at the 4-month follow-up. Treatment outcome, measured by binge eating frequency, purging frequency, global eating disorder severity, emotion regulation, self-oriented cognition, depression, anxiety and self-esteem, was determined using generalized estimating equations (GEEs), logistic regression and a general linear model (intent-to-treat). Results Both treatments were associated with significant improvement in bulimic symptoms and in all measures of outcome, and no statistically significant differences were observed between the two conditions at EOT or follow-up. Intent-to-treat abstinence rates for ICAT (37.5% at EOT, 32.5% at follow-up) and CBT-E (22.5% at both EOT and follow-up) were not significantly different. Conclusions ICAT was associated with significant improvements in bulimic and associated symptoms that did not differ from those obtained with CBT-E. This initial randomized controlled trial of a new individual psychotherapy for BN suggests that targeting emotion and self-oriented cognition in the context of nutritional rehabilitation may be efficacious and worthy of further study.
Assessing mixture-model goodness-of-fit with an application to automobile warranty data

Changing market conditions and improved manufacturing quality are reflected in recent extensions of automobile warranty coverage from 12 month/12,000 miles to 5 years/50,000 miles and better. The reliability engineer's challenge to predict future warranty claims over a longer lifetime becomes even more difficult as the number of possible causal factors evolve from the "vital few" associated with early Pareto problem solving, to more diverse external contributing factors. Using initial vehicle warranty claim data to predict future warranty claims becomes even more difficult as automobile design and the assembly process continuously evolve via engineering changes throughout the product life cycle. This paper demonstrates graphical techniques, hazard analysis, and likelihood ratio tests for testing goodness-of-fit, the hypothesis of predictive validity for the proposed models. This work shows that automobile warranty data appear more appropriately predicted as Weibull/uniform and Poisson/binomial mixtures than individual Weibull and Poisson processes. Changes in the way automobile manufacturers store and view warranty data are necessary to implement the types of models in this work and will allow linking to engineering and manufacturing data to evaluate the effectiveness of ongoing product and process design changes.
A novel t(3;8)(q27;q24.1) simultaneously involving both the BCL6 and MYC genes in a diffuse large B-cell lymphoma

Diffuse large B-cell lymphomas (DLBCLs) are a clinically and biologically heterogeneous group of hematologic malignancies. Specific genetic aberrations underlie some of this heterogeneity. These genetic events include distinct and separate translocations resulting in the dysregulated expression of either BCL6 protein with the t(3;14)(q27;q32) or c-MYC protein with the t(8;14)(q24;q32), as a consequence of the juxtaposition of these oncogenes with heterologous promoters or enhancers, such as those of the immunoglobulin heavy chain gene. Here, we report the case of a patient with DLBCL with a unique t(3;8)(q27;q24.1) that involves the BCL6 and MYC genes. We know of no previous report of this translocation in DLBCL, which simultaneously affects two key genes implicated in lymphomagenesis and may reflect a novel genetic mechanism in neoplastic transformation.
An Automated Analysis for Superoxide Dismutase Enzyme Activity

The pyrogallol autoxidation assay for superoxide dismutase was adapted for analysis by centrifugal analyzer. The precision of the enzymatic assay was estimated using bovine blood superoxide dismutase. Specific activity determined for human erythrocyte superoxide dismutase by the procedure agreed with previously reported determinations. Recovery of bovine blood superoxide dismutase from hemolysates provided a measure of proportional analytic error. Difficulties inherent in attempting to spectrophotometrically assay an enzyme catalyzing a reaction requiring a free radical substrate cannot be eliminated by an automated method. However, the centrifugal analyzer method makes routine enzymatic analysis for superoxide dismutase in numerous samples technically feasible. Moreover, automated analysis can conveniently include a standard such as bovine blood superoxide dismutase when enzyme levels in tissue extracts are assayed. These advantages make the method for assay of superoxide dismutase enzyme activity a useful procedure.
Functions of Human Cytomegalovirus Tegument Proteins Prior to Immediate Early Gene Expression

Proteins within the tegument layer of herpesviruses such as human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) are released into the cell upon entry when the viral envelope fuses with the cell membrane. These proteins are fully formed and active, and they mediate key events at the very start of the lytic infectious cycle, including the delivery of the viral genome to the nucleus and the initiation of viral gene expression. This review examines what is known about tegument protein function prior to the immediate early (IE) phase of the viral lytic replication cycle and identifies key questions that need to be answered to better understand how these proteins promote HCMV infection so that antiviral treatments that target these important viral regulators can be developed.
“How To”: Grant Writing for External Funding:

This article addresses the concerns of hospitality educators who want to become more active in grant writing and research, discovering and focusing interests, identifying resources and writing proposals. Also included are results from a suruey of four-year hospitality education program administrators regarding the status of faculty grant writing efforts and suggestions for further development.
Self-Controlled Writing and Erasing in a Memristor Crossbar Memory

The memristor device technology has created waves in the research community and led to the consideration of using the device in multiple avenues. The most likely candidate for early adoption is the nonvolatile memory due to the small cell size (increased scaling potential), increased density as compared to flash, and ability to stack these devices in a crossbar structure. This paper analyzes the feasibility of a memristor memory and introduces an adaptive read, write, and erase method that may be used to realize a more resilient memory system in the face of low yield in the nanotechnology regime. The proposed method is evaluated in simulation program with integrated circuit emphasis (SPICE) and a hand analysis model is extracted to help explain the sources of power and energy consumption. Finally, the power metrics are compared to flash memory technology, and the memristor memory is shown to have an energy per bit consumption about one-tenth that of flash when programming, comparable to flash when erasing, and about one-fourth of flash when reading.
Geochemistry, petrology, and cooling history of 14161,7373; a plutonic lunar sample with textural evidence of granitic-fraction separation by silicate-liquid immiscibility

We report new findings related to sample 14161,7373, the first analyzed lunar intrusive rock to show textural evidence for the formation of granitic material by silicate liquid immiscibility (SLI) and geochemical evidence for separation of that material, at least on a small scale, from mafic residua. Ion microprobe analyses of rare-earth element (REE) concentrations in silicates record the compositional evolution of this late-stage assemblage. For a sample whose bulk assemblage, that of whitlockite monzogabbro, has REE concentrations at ~5‐6× KREEP levels, the silicates have only moderately high REE concentrations. The calculated REE concentrations of melt in equilibrium with pigeonite, after re-integration of pigeonite host and augite lamellae, is approximately 2 × high-K KREEP. The high bulk REE concentrations of the assemblage are the result of a high proportion of whitlockite, probably an excess, i.e., the assemblage is a whitlockite cumulate. Variations in silicate REE concentrations reflect the co-crystallization of whitlockite, which we interpret to have begun crystallizing prior to the onset of late-stage immiscibility of the felsic melt fraction. Calculated cooling rates, based on a quantitative model of pyroxene exsolution, reveal a two-stage thermal history, which involved initial crystallization at a minimum depth of 700‐800 m during which the primary augite and pigeonite grains unmixed to form the observed host-lamella pairs. Unusual compositional profiles close to the host-lamella interface are consistent with a second stage of mild reheating followed by rapid cooling at a depth of ~30 m, most likely in an ejecta blanket. The shallow depth of origin indicated for 14161,7373 is consistent with other studies of evolved lunar intrusive rocks, supporting the interpretation that lunar QMD and granite, as found among the Apollo samples, are late-stage differentiates of high-level intrusions and are not related to differentiation of deep crustal KREEP reservoirs.
Embedding temporal constraint propagation in machine sequencing for job shop scheduling

In this paper, we show how a temporal constraint propagation technique can be embedded in the machine sequencing approach for solving the job shop scheduling problem. The temporal constraint propagation algorithm propagates the precedence constraints and machine interference constraints to reduce the search space generated by the machine sequencing approach. Further, by making use of the temporal nature of the job shop scheduling, efficient algorithms to propagate precedence constraints and machine interference constraints are developed. Experimental results reveal that embedding constraint propagation in the machine sequencing approach significantly reduces the computation time more than by just using the machine sequencing approach alone. Further, the proposed temporal constraint propagation algorithms provide an order of magnitude improvement on the computation time over the conventional constraint propagation algorithm.
Regeneration of Carnegiea gigantea (Cactaceae) since 1850 in three populations in the northern Sonoran Desert

Saguaro cacti (Carnegiea gigantea) are long-lived and exhibit great variability in growth that makes age estimation problematic. A few single-site studies have focused on those locales where long-term data (e.g. 85 years) are available. Using a newly developed technique, 733 saguaros were sampled in three locales (Silverbell, Harcuvar, Kofa) across Arizona and their age structure reconstructed for the last 150 years based on a mathematical model of the heights of individuals. This is the first study to compare regeneration at multiple locations across the species' range. Regression analysis for each site (years and frequency of individuals established during that year) was run and residuals extracted to determine peaks and troughs in regeneration over time. Correlation was run on the residuals between sites, and chi-square analysis was employed to compare frequency of good and bad regeneration years between Kofa and Silverbell. Peaks and troughs represent regeneration as well as survivorship and mortality. Several large cohorts established at Kofa and Harcuvar since 1850, while at Silverbell well over 80% of sampled saguaros established after the late 1930s. This more recent recruitment at Silverbell may be related to the major freezing event of 1937 whose impact was likely greater at the cooler Silverbell site. Despite the widely different population structures at Silverbell and Kofa, recruitment trends in both populations were statistically linked as both locales often benefited from the same favorable periods for regeneration (P < 0.001). The Harcuvar population shares some common peaks and troughs in regeneration over time with Kofa and Silverbell, but its relationship to them is not statistically significant. Some trends overlap in some locales, such as the favorable regeneration period in the late 1800s and early 1900s, particularly at Silverbell and Kofa as well as at other known sites. However, each population has its own signature. Silverbell is a youthful population likely shaped by severe freezing events, while Kofa has many individuals representing regeneration at several different periods. Regeneration, mortality and subsequent population structure is shaped by both regional-scale influences as well as more localized conditions over the long and short terms.
Composition and Size Distribution of Residential Wood Smoke Particles

Residential wood combustion emissions are an important source of organic and elemental carbon particulate matter in many urban and suburban areas. This research determined the organic and elemental carbon composition and size distribution of particulate emissions for hot- and cool-burning wood stoves and from conventional fireplaces. Sampling was done from smoke plumes which had been cooled and diluted by ambient air so that the particulate composition measured would be representative of smoke particles as they actually exist in the atmosphere. Organic and elemental carbon were determined by thermo-optical carbon analysis. Corrections were made for vapor organic carbon adsorption on quartz fiber filters during sampling. Particles emitted by hot-burning stoves were black, had a unimodal size distribution, and contained from 20% to 60% carbon (primarily elemental carbon) and high levels of trace elements (11% K, 1% S, 3% Cl). In contrast, particles from cool-burning stoves were tan, had a bimodal size distr...
Mandibular rest position: A reliable position influenced by head support and body posture

This prospective study was designed to establish how the positions of the molars and the condyles are related to incisor position in the mandibular rest position and how their positions are altered by changing head posture. Measurements of the mandibular rest position were taken on 24 men (age range, 23 to 35) with normal Class I occlusion, skeletal patterns, and temporomandibular joint function. The movements of 5 landmarks (lower incisor, and condyles and molars bilaterally) were tracked from maximum intercuspation into 4 independent rest positions (upright supported, upright unsupported, supine supported, and supine unsupported) using an optoelectric (Optotrak; Northern Digital, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada) computer system. The positions were based on minimal electromyographic and verbal instructions to swallow, lick the lips, and say "Mississippi." The results showed significant (P <.01) movements of the incisors, the molars, and the condyles into each of the 4 rest positions. Movements of the molars and the condyles into the supported upright posture and the unsupported upright posture differed slightly but significantly because of greater movement into the supported posture. Patterns of mandibular movement were entirely different between the upright and the supine rest positions; the mandible rotated anteriorly in the supine position and posteriorly in the upright position. We concluded that movement into the mandibular rest position from the intercuspal position is not a simple opening rotation of the mandible, and that the pattern of movement is influenced by head support and body postures.
Compiler-enhanced incremental checkpointing for OpenMP applications

As modern supercomputing systems reach the peta-flop performance range, they grow in both size and complexity. This makes them increasingly vulnerable to failures from a variety of causes. Checkpointing is a popular technique for tolerating such failures, enabling applications to periodically save their state and restart computation after a failure. Although a many automated system-level checkpointing solutions are currently available to HPC users, manual application-level checkpointing remains more popular due to its superior performance. This paper improves performance of automated checkpointing via a compiler analysis for incremental checkpointing. This analysis, which works with both sequential and OpenMP applications, reduces checkpoint sizes by as much as 80% and enables asynchronous checkpointing.
RF Plasma Deposition of YBa2Cu3O7−x Films

Superconducting YBa2Cu3O7−x films have been grown on single crystal yttria stabilized zirconia by rf plasma deposition from an aqueous solution of the nitrates of Y, Ba and Cu. The as-grown films are highly c-axis oriented perpendicular to the substrate with critical temperature and current density of 85K and ~ 1 × 104 amp/cm2 at 77K, respectively. The influence of the process parameters on the microstructural and transport properties will be discussed.
Pain and Symptom Management in Pediatric Palliative Care

Pain and symptom management is considered one of the cornerstones of palliative and hospice medicine. However, general clinicians and specialists are not usually comfortable addressing the most common forms of pain seen in the pediatric population. In addition, non-pain symptom management, especially when related to underlying chronic medical conditions, can be managed by the general clinician and specialists. The goal of this article is to educate clinicians about pain categories, taking a detailed pain history, and developing a plan for treatment, including nonpharmacologic methods. Finally, we discuss common symptoms in patients with chronic medical conditions, including first-line treatment options.
Insomnia in Parkinson’s Disease

The International Classification of Sleep Disorders (ICSD) defines insomnia simply as “difficulty in initiating and/or maintaining sleep”. Other definitions exist, and there is no clear consensus in this matter. The core elements of insomnia are an inadequate quantity or quality of sleep, with both nocturnal and daytime consequences. Traditionally, insomnia has been subgrouped into sleep-onset insomnia, sleep-maintaining insomnia, and insomnia with early morning awakening; however, there is extensive overlap, and most insomniacs fit into more than one subgroup.
Collected literature on isoflavones and chronic diseases

AbstractIsoflavones are organic compounds, which have been linked to the health benefits and prevention of many diseases. Common isoflavones are genistein, daidzein, and glycitein. Genistein has been researched in regard to its effect on the reduction of menopausal symptoms and reduction of cardiovascular risk factors in osteopenic, post-menopausal women. Research on daidzein focuses on bone mineral density implications in post-menopausal women, therapeutic effects early in prostate cancer, and protection against DMBA-induced mammary carcinogenesis. The most recent research on daidzein has implications for its effect on cardiovascular risk reduction. Research on glycitein focuses on it bioavailability, as well as its role in angiogenesis and invasion of malignant glioma cells. The health benefits of these specific isoflavones are instrumental in the prevention and treatment of many diseases. This review of literature focuses on the effects of genistein, daidzein, and glycitein on health outcomes, such as ...
The Big Data Analytics Gold Rush: A Research Framework for Coordination and Governance

Big data analytics (BDA) is rapidly becoming a most critical activity for organizations. Examples of how BDA enhances the competitive advantage of organizations abound in the literature, which has created a gold-rush-like atmosphere. The predictions about shortages of specialized analytical labor has caused every major university to launch big data, analytics or data science programs, and every major organization to adopt aggressive BDA initiatives. The promise of enhanced competitiveness and sustainable strategic advantage are appealing and virtually all major decisions need to be backed up with data. This has substantial implications for organizations, which need to align their business process architectures, data architectures and data management practices to support BDA initiatives. But while most research in this area has focused on either building BDA capabilities or on the benefits that these capabilities bring to organization, we know little about how this effort can be most effectively coordinated and governed to ensure organizational success. In this research we develop a research framework to study whether and how coordination and governance influence BDA outcomes. We build on the foundations of coordination theory and information systems governance.
Data Dilemma: Response and Measurement Units for Teachers of the Severely Handicapped

Systems for data collection and analysis have been developed to help teachers systematically specialize and individualize their instruction for special children. The appearance of severely and profoundly handicapped children as regular members of the school population has led to questions concerning the applicability of traditional response and measurement units to this population. A review of units used by researchers with the severely handicapped was conducted. A discussion of the applicability of the various response units (e.g., percent) in reference to the desired effects of instruction or intervention and in regard to the specific learning stage are discussed. The author concludes that a careful application of traditional units with some reservations may prove effective for teachers of the severely handicapped.
Eco-Policy Environment and Political Processes in 76 Cities of a Metropolitan Region

One can celebrate the San Francisco Bay metropolitan region' as a suburban paradise, or one can castigate it as a suburban nightmare. For the political scientist it is a convenient "natural laboratory" in which to examine theoretical propositions about the interdependence, if not interdetermination, of political processes and public policies.2 The most important thing one soon learns on sticking one's nose into this laboratory is that one does not easily find what colleagues wise in the ways of political theory say one should find. One doesn't discover any "systems," whether of the functional or any other variety. One doesn't discover "power structures," at least not of the kind that fascinates the imagination of latter-day monists. One doesn't find much "rational decision-making," or readily identifiable feedback loops, and so on. This is not to say that current fashions of
Design of RF electronic label based on low-power solar energy

As to the limited life of micro battery in active electronic tags, combined with the advanced solar cell technology, this paper puts forward a kind of designed method based on the solar panel to charge battery from the application point of view. The Atmega16 L is used to realize a display of radio signals and intelligent charging of solar cell. The results show that the use of the solar cell can supply power for each port of the system module,realizing the low-power RF electronic label.
Discussion on detection method for Vibrio cholera in Pearl river water

Objective:To compare the three detection methods to improve detection rate of Vibrio cholera in Pearl River water.Methods:Fluorescent PCR method,colloidal gold method,conventional culture method were used for detection of Vibrio cholera in Pearl River water.Results:With real-time fluorescent PCR method,fifteen Vibrio cholera strains were found positive,the sensitivity was 90.9%,the specificity was 98.9%,and the Kappa value was 0.81;With colloidal gold method,thirteen Vibrio cholera strains were found positive,the sensitivity was 72.7%,the specificity was 99.4%,and the Kappa value was 0.78;With conventional bacterial culture method,eleven Vibrio cholera strains were found positive.Conclusion:The detection results of real-time fluorescent PCR method,colloidal gold method and conventional bacterial culture method had statistical difference.Real-time fluorescent PCR method is suitable for preliminary screening of large number of samples.Combination of real-time fluorescent PCR and culture method contribute to the early finding and diagnosis of cholera cases,worthy to popularize and apply in basic hygiene system.
Transforming medical best practice guidelines to executable and verifiable statechart models

Improving effectiveness and safety of patient care is an ultimate objective for medical cyber- physical systems. However, the existing medical best practice guidelines in hospital handbooks are often lengthy and difficult for medical staff to remember and apply clinically. Statechart is a widely used model in designing complex systems and enables rapid prototyping and clinical validation with medical doctors. However, clinical validation is often not adequate for guaranteeing the correctness and safety of medical cyber-physical systems, and formal verification is required. The paper presents an approach that transforms medical best practice guidelines to verifiable statechart models and supports both clinical validation in collaboration with medical doctors and formal verification. In particular, we use an open source statechart tool Yakindu to model best practice guidelines and use the statechart to interact with doctors for validating the model correctness. The statechart model is then automatically transformed to a verifiable formal model, such as timed automata, so that existing formal verification tool, such as UPPAAL, can be used to verify required safety properties. The approach also provides the ability to trace back to the paths in the statechart model (Yakindu model) when a specific property in its associated formal model (UPPAAL model) fails. A cardiac arrest scenario is used as a case study to validate the proposed approach. The tool is available on our website www.cs.iit.edu/~code/software/Y2U.
Falsely Positive Specific Human Chorionic Gonadotropin Assays in Patients With Testicular Tumors: Conversion to Negative With Testosterone Administration

Abstract We report false elevations of serum human chorionic gonadotropin levels in 4 patients with testicular germ cell tumors. Elevated circulating luteinizing hormone levels that resulted from unilateral orchiectomy were responsible for the falsely positive human chorionic gonadotropin activity measured in commercial radioimmunoassays. In 3 patients tested aliquots of serum evaluated in reliable human chorionic gonadotropin assay systems revealed no elevation. We administered testosterone to 3 patients who had elevations of luteinizing hormone and human chorionic gonadotropin levels. Luteinizing hormone was suppressed to normal levels 1 week later in 2 patients and in 1 it was diminished but still slightly elevated. In all 3 cases the falsely positive human chorionic gonadotropin results converted to negative. Recognition of falsely positive elevations of human chorionic gonadotropin can spare patients unnecessary operations and/or chemotherapy.
Effect of Natural and Synthetic Fibers and Film and Moisture Content on Stratum Corneum Hydration in an Occlusive System

The effects of fabric made from natural and synthetic fibers and film on transepidermal water loss (tewl) from the stratum corneum (sc) were investigated using an occluded system. Sixteen fabrics differing in fiber type and construction were placed on the volar forearm of 35 female subjects in a dry state (standard moisture regain) and a wetted state. Each fabric was in place for 40 minutes before tewl was measured. There was no statistically significant difference in tewl measurements on a control skin site from the beginning to the end of the 75-minute test session in a controlled conditioned environment. Placement of dry fabrics on the skin did not significantly affect the hydration level of the sc, though all dry fabrics did increase the hydration level slightly. Wetted wool and cotton fabrics significantly hydrated the sc when levels were compared to either normal skin or skin covered by dry fabrics. Of the seven synthetic fiber fabrics tested in a wetted state, three (acrylic, ptfe, and spun nylon) ...