cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
On the Aerosol Particle Size Distribution Spectrum in Alaskan Air Mass Systems: Arctic Haze and Non-Haze Episodes

Abstract Aerosols in central Alaskan winter air mass system were classified according to size by diffusive separation and light-scattering spectrometry. Particles entering central Alaska from the Pacific Marine environment had number concentrations ranging from 300 to 2000 cm−3 (geometric mean 685 cm−3) and unimodal size spectra, with maximum in number concentration near 1 × 10−6 cm radius. Air masses entering Alaska from the Eurasian Arctic possessed a factor of two smaller aerosol number concentrations than Pacific Marine systems (e.g., 150–700 cm−3; geometric mean 386 cm−3) but contained a factor of two greater particle volume loading within the fine particle radius range ∼5 × 10−7 < r < 1 × 10−5 cm. The particles in Eurasian Arctic air masses were bimodally distributed, with maxima in the particle size spectra near r = 3 × 10−7 and 5 × 10−6 cm. Sulfur was the predominant element in all cases studied. A particle depleted region was present in the size spectra obtained for Eurasian Arctic air masses. Th...
Selenium uptake and transfer in an aquatic food chain and its effects on fathead minnow larvae

The transfer of Se (Na2SeO4) was followed through a laboratory food chain (wateralgae-rotifer-larval fish) and its effect on larval fathead minnows (Pimephales promelas). Selenium transfer between algae (Chlorella pyrenoidosa) and rotifers (Brachionus calyciflorus) was a function of time and food availability. Selenium concentrations in the rotifers ranged from 46 to 91Μg Se · g−1 dry weight after 5 hr of feeding. Selenium concentrations (±SD) in larval fish reached 61.1±1.1 Μg Se · g−1 dry weight for 9 day-old larvae and 51.7+1.6 Μg Se · g−1 for 17 day-old larvae after 7 and 9 days of feeding with Se-contaminated rotifers, respectively. Final dry weights of larvae fed Se-contaminated rotifers were significantly lower than those of controls, although acute toxicity (mortality) was not demonstrated. The biological halflife of food-derived Se in the larvae was 28 days.
A note on the Goodman Jack

Reconnaissance experiments, performed to evaluate the practical utility of the hard-rock variety of the Goodman Jack, reveal that the Hustrulid-T* correction adequately reconciles the discrepancy between the measured and true deformation modulus of the rock mass in the range of 30 to 50 gigapascals.
Autoimmune Encephalomyelitis: Simultaneous Identification of T and B Cells in the Target Organ

Monoclonal antibodies to guinea pig T cells and antibodies to guinea pig immunoglobulin G were used in immunofluorescence studies to identify T and B cells in central nervous system tissue from guinea pigs with acute autoimmune encephalomyelitis. T cells appeared before B cells and were distributed within the white matter parenchyma, while B cells remained in perivascular spaces.
Quark Correlations and Sivers Effect

We illustrate, in a semi-classical picture, how the Wilson-line phase factor in the gauge invariantly defined unintegrated parton density can lead to a nonzero single-spin asymmetry (Sivers effect).
Neurofeedback Effects on Evoked and Induced EEG Gamma Band Reactivity to Drug-Related Cues in Cocaine Addiction

ABSTRACT Introduction. Preoccupation with drug and drug-related items is a typical characteristic of cocaine addicted individuals. It has been shown in multiple accounts that prolonged drug use has a profound effect on the EEG recordings of drug addicts when compared to controls during cue reactivity tests. Cue reactivity refers to a phenomenon in which individuals with a history of drug abuse exhibit excessive psychophysiological responses to cues associated with their drug of choice. One of the aims of this pilot study was to determine the presence of an attentional bias to preferentially process drug-related cues using evoked and induced gamma reactivity measures in cocaine addicts before and after biobehavioral treatment based on neurofeedback. Another aim was to show that central sensorimotor rhythm (SMR) amplitude increase and frontal theta control is possible in an experimental outpatient drug users group over 12 neurofeedback sessions. Method. Ten current cocaine abusers participated in this pilot...
Factitious stroke presenting for acute treatment

Four patients who were ultimately determined to have factitious neurological deficits were initially assessed as meeting eligibility criteria for treatment with intravenous recombinant tissue plasminogen activator (IV rt-PA), or enrollment in an acute stroke study. Two patients presented within the 3-hour IV rt-PA window; two presented between 4 and 6 hours after symptom onset. Evaluation by the Stroke Team responsible for IV rt-PA treatment or clinical study enrollment determined that three patients met all eligibility criteria, except for a fluctuating or rapidly improving deficit; these patients did not receive rt-PA or study enrollment. One patient whose deficit did not fluctuate or improve on Stroke Team evaluation was enrolled in an acute stroke study. Compared with 36 nonfactitious patients who received IV rt-PA or study enrollment, factitious patients were less likely to have facial weakness, aphasia, neglect, or visual field deficit. Because criteria for IV rt-PA and many stroke studies do not currently require imaging of a vascular occlusion or ischemic brain tissue, patients with factitious stroke may appear to meet these eligibility criteria. Physicians experienced in acute stroke evaluation and management are most likely to identify patients with factitious stroke and exclude them from consideration for thrombolysis or stroke study enrollment.
Basis for spectral curvature algorithms in remote sensing of chlorophyll

A simple, empirically derived algorithm for estimating oceanic chlorophyll concentrations from spectral radiances measured by a low-flying spectroradiometer has proved highly successful in field experiments in 1980-82. The sensor used was the Multichannel Ocean Color Sensor, and the originator of the algorithm was Grew (1981). This paper presents an explanation for the algorithm based on the optical properties of waters containing chlorophyll and other phytoplankton pigments and the radiative transfer equations governing the remotely sensed signal. The effects of varying solar zenith, atmospheric transmittance, and interfering substances in the water on the chlorophyll algorithm are characterized, and applicability of the algorithm is discussed.
Meno's Paradox ?

I. Consider what some representative commentators tell us about the crucial passage, 80A-81 A. We are told that Meno "tries to runi off on an irrelevant puzzle",' and that according to this puzzle, "'inquiry' is impossible"2 or "seeking is impossible".3 We are told that Meno "expresses some doubt about the possibility of knowledge"4 and even that he "doubts whether any criterion of truth exists".5 Commentators seem to have agreed that Meno's comment is "a lazy and eristic argument",6 a "convenient dodge" or "eristic trick".7 It seems agreed also that Meno's doubt was quite general. Typically, commentators believe his comment posed
Subarachnoid morphine reduces stimulation-induced but not basal expression of preproenkephalin in rat spinal cord.

BACKGROUND To evaluate directly the possibility that the potent exogenous opioid analgesic morphine may alter neuronal expression of opioid peptide genes, we assessed the effect of subarachnoid morphine on basal and noxious stimulation-induced expression of preproenkephalin in spinal cord neurons. METHODS Twenty male Sprague-Dawley rats were prepared 48 h in advance with lumbar subarachnoid catheters. In the first phase, basal expression was evaluated in rats that received morphine 10 micrograms or saline intrathecally (n = 5 per group). Subsequently, the experiment was repeated (n = 5 per group), except that 10 min after morphine or saline administration rats received a hindpaw footpad injection of 50 microliters 5% formalin. Rats were killed during pentobarbital anesthesia 2 h later, and messenger RNA transcribed from preproenkephalin was measured in lumbar spinal cord with quantitative in situ hybridization with a complementary sulfur 35-labeled oligonucleotide probe and emulsion autoradiography. RESULTS In control (nonstimulated) rats, 20% of the neurons in laminae I-II and 10% of those in laminae III-IV expressed preproenkephalin. Injection of formalin increased the fraction of positive neurons by 34% (P < 0.05) and 20% (P < 0.05) in laminae I-II and V-VI, respectively, but had no effect on expression in laminae III-IV. Subarachnoid morphine did not alter basal expression of preproenkephalin but markedly attenuated the noxious stimulation-induced increase in laminae I-II (P < 0.01) and V-VI (P < 0.05) by preventing the stimulation-evoked recruitment of preproenkephalin-expressing neurons that otherwise would have occurred. CONCLUSIONS Subarachnoid morphine does not acutely alter basal expression of preproenkephalin in spinal cord neurons but inhibits the increase in preproenkephalin expression that would otherwise occur after noxious stimulation.
Checking Accounts: Communication Privacy Management in Familial Financial Caregiving

This study explored familial financial caregiving, providing money management assistance to a family member, to determine how families coordinate access to and protection of private financial information during the caregiving process. Using the theory of Communication Privacy Management (CPM), this study analyzed semistructured interviews of 20 familial caregivers near a medium-sized, Midwestern city. The adult children studied perceived that their parents employed thick privacy boundaries and high privacy control goals around their financial information. The parents were also perceived to use risk-benefit and contextual criteria in creating privacy rules regulating revealing and concealing private financial information. Once financial caregiving assistance was required and disclosure was necessary, boundary linkages between parents and adult children were created, and adult children engaged in postdisclosure privacy management. Based on the study results, practical applications were offered for seniors, ...
Modeling HIV dynamics and antiviral response with consideration of time-varying drug exposures, adherence and phenotypic sensitivity

Highly active antiretroviral therapies consisting of reverse transcriptase inhibitor drugs and protease inhibitor drugs, which can rapidly suppress HIV below the limit of detection, are currently the most effective treatment for HIV infected patients. In spite of this, many patients fail to achieve viral suppression, probably due to existing or developing drug resistance, poor adherence, pharmacokinetic problems and other clinical factors. In this paper, we develop a viral dynamic model to evaluate how time-varying drug exposure and drug susceptibility affect antiviral response. Plasma concentrations, in turn, are modeled using a standard pharmacokinetic (PK) one-compartment open model with first order absorption and elimination as a function of fixed individual PK parameters and dose times. Imperfect adherence is considered as missed doses in PK models. We discuss the analytic properties of the viral dynamic model and study how time-varying treatment efficacies affect antiviral responses, specifically viral load and T cell counts. The relationship between actual failure time (the time at which the viral growth rate changes from negative to positive) and detectable failure time (the time at which viral load rebounds to above the limit of detection) is investigated. We find that an approximately linear relationship can be used to estimate the actual rebound failure time from the detectable rebound failure time. In addition, the effect of adherence on antiviral response is studied. In particular, we examine how different patterns of adherence affect antiviral response. Results suggest that longer sequences of missed doses increase the chance of treatment failure and accelerate the failure. Simulation experiments are presented to illustrate the relationship between antiviral response and pharmacokinetics, time-varying adherence and drug resistance. The proposed models and methods may be useful in AIDS clinical trial simulations.
Minimal periods for solutions of semilinear wave equations in exterior domains and for solutions of the equations of nonlinear elasticity

Abstract Let g ϵ C2(R1) and u(r, t) solve u rr + ( (n − 1) r ) u r − u tt − g(u) = 0 classically on D0 = (0, ∞) × [0, T] and be periodic in time. If lim r → + ∞ r 2(n − 1) E(r) = lim r → ∞ ∥u(r,·)∥ ∞ = 0, where E(r) = ∫ 0 T (u r 2 + u t 2 ) dt, u ϵ L 1 (D r1 ) for some r 1 > 0, and g′(0) > ( 2π T ) 2 , then u is independent of T. Related results are obtained for the equations of nonlinear elasticity.
Response of terrestrial ecosystems to recent Northern Hemispheric drought

[1] Satellite normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) observations reveal large and geographically extensive decreases in vegetation activity in Eurasia and North America between 1999 and 2002. In 2001, 73% of central southwest Asia exhibited NDVI anomalies that were more than one standard deviation below 21-year average conditions, and in 2002, fully 95% of North America exhibited below-average NDVI. This episode of large-scale vegetation browning coincided with a prolonged period of below-normal precipitation in the Northern Hemisphere, which limited moisture availability for plant growth. Spatio-temporal dynamics of NDVI, precipitation, and sea surface temperature data reveal that synchronous patterns of ocean circulation anomalies in the Pacific, Atlantic, and Indo-Pacific are strongly correlated with observed joint variability in NDVI and precipitation in the Northern Hemisphere during this period.
A Convenient Method for the Preparation of Racemic Nicotine

Abstract Early studies, in which the first resolution of racemic nicotine was accomplished showed2 that 1-nicotine, the principal alkaloid of tobacco, was acutely less toxic than d-nicotine in limited mammalian tests. Later studies3,4 have generally confirmed this, and some investigators suggest that the physiological effects of d-nicotine may, to some extent, oppose the effects of 1-nicotine, although this matter has been debated. It has been reported5 that racemization of 1-nicotine during the course of tobacco smoking leads to the transfer of significant quantities of d-nicotine into the mainstream of cigarette smoke. Where d,1-nicotine has been employed in insecticidal studies, data indicate6 that d-nicotine-has alethality equal to that of the-1-isomer. These species differences in response to nicotine antipodes and recent evidence of a central stereospecific nicotine receptor7,8 have stimulated inter estin efficient routes to the attainment of large quantities of-d-nicotine.
Impact-Parameter Dependence of K -Shell Coulomb-Ionization Cross Sections

Coincidence measurements are reported between the characteristic $K$- shell x rays emerging from a target and the protons of energy 0.3-3 MeV, scattered by 5\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{} from an incident beam, that cause the primary $K$-shell ionization. Absolute impact-parameter-dependent differential $K$-shell ionization cross sections are deduced for Al, Ca, Ni, and Ag. In a reduced plot the data follow a common curve that coincides with the semiclassical prediction of Bang and Hansteen.
Rays, modes and beams in optical fibre waveguides

The global properties of modal ray fields and the local properties of source-excited ray fields are discussed within the context of propagation in optical fibres. The importance of bounded beams is stressed for unambiguous determination of local energy transport, reflection, refraction and tunnelling.
Diatom constraints on the position of the Antarctic Polar Front in the middle part of the Pliocene

Abstract The relative percentages of diatom taxa in 5 deep-sea cores (DSDP 266, ODP 699A, ODP 747A, ODP 751 A, and Eltanin Core 50-28) from the Southern Ocean are determined for an interval centered on 3.1 to 2.9 Ma in the middle part of the Pliocene. This climatically warm interval, which is being studied by the PRISM Project of the U.S. Geological Survey, coincides with a proposed interval of major deglaciation of East Antarctica. The maximum southerly position of the Antarctic Polar Front between 3.1 and 3.0 Ma is inferred from these diatom studies, the presence of calcareous nannofossils in the sediments, and sedimentologic and micropaleontologic information from the literature. It is suggested that the Antarctic Polar Front may have migrated by as much as 6 ° of latitude further to the south in the southeastern Atlantic and Indian Oceans during this Pliocene warm interval but probably lay close to its present day position in the southwest Atlantic and Drake Passage. Summer sea surface temperatures are inferred to have been no more than 3 °–4 °C warmer than present at latitudes between 55 ° and 60 °S.
Estrogen-receptor-dependent regulation of telomerase activity in human endometrial cancer cell lines

Abstract Objectives. Given that prolonged exposure to unopposed estrogen is associated with endometrial cancer development and that the promoter region of the catalytic subunit of the telomerase enzyme, hTERT, contains putative estrogen response elements (EREs), we postulated that estrogen-receptor (ER)-mediated induction of telomerase activity may play an important role in endometrial carcinogenesis. Methods. ER-positive and ER-negative endometrial cancer cell lines were used. ERα expression was reconstituted in ER-negative cell lines by transient transfection. Telomerase activity was assayed using a PCR-based telomeric repeat amplification protocol (TRAP) after exposure to estradiol (E2). hTERT mRNA expression was assessed by real-time RT-PCR. Gel shift assays using oligonucleotide probes encoding each ERE and transient expression assays using luciferase reporter plasmids containing varying lengths of the 5′ promoter region of the hTERT gene were performed. Results. E2 induced both hTERT gene transcription and telomerase activity in the ER-positive cell lines, but not in the ER-negative cell lines. Transfection of ERα into ER-negative cell lines restored E2-induced hTERT gene transcription and telomerase activity. Gel shift assays revealed two EREs in the hTERT promoter that specifically bind to ERα. Luciferase assays demonstrated that at least the proximal ERE is responsible for transcriptional activation by ligand-stimulated ERα. Conclusions. Telomerase activity and hTERT mRNA were increased in response to estrogen in an ERα-dependent fashion in endometrial cancer cells. Binding of complexed estrogen with ERα to the EREs found within the hTERT promoter suggests a possible mechanism for telomerase induction that may facilitate the malignant transformation of hormone-dependent endometrial cells.
PACMan: prefetch-aware cache management for high performance caching

Hardware prefetching and last-level cache (LLC) management are two independent mechanisms to mitigate the growing latency to memory. However, the interaction between LLC management and hardware prefetching has received very little attention. This paper characterizes the performance of state-of-the-art LLC management policies in the presence and absence of hardware prefetching. Although prefetching improves performance by fetching useful data in advance, it can interact with LLC management policies to introduce application performance variability. This variability stems from the fact that current replacement policies treat prefetch and demand requests identically. In order to provide better and more predictable performance, we propose Prefetch-Aware Cache Management (PACMan). PACMan dynamically estimates and mitigates the degree of prefetch-induced cache interference by modifying the cache insertion and hit promotion policies to treat demand and prefetch requests differently. Across a variety of emerging workloads, we show that PACMan eliminates the performance variability in state-of-the-art replacement policies under the influence of prefetching. In fact, PACMan improves performance consistently across multimedia, games, server, and SPEC CPU2006 workloads by an average of 21.9% over the baseline LRU policy. For multiprogrammed workloads, on a 4-core CMP, PACMan improves performance by 21.5% on average.
Characteristics of Healthcare-Associated Infections Contributing to Unexpected In-Hospital Deaths

We reviewed the medical records of all the patients who died in our hospital during the period from 2004 through 2008 to determine the contribution of healthcare-associated infections to mortality. Of the 179 unexpected in-hospital deaths during that period, 55 (31%) were related to 69 healthcare-associated infections. The most common healthcare-associated infection was central line-associated bloodstream infection, and the most common organisms identified were members of the Enterobacteriaceae family. Overall, 45% of bacterial isolates were multidrug resistant.
Size and Concentration Measurements of Particles Produced in Commercial Chromium Plating Processes

Abstract Optical measurements of particle size and concentration were made at the chromium plating tank and exhaust system at a commercial hexavalent chromium plating facility. Particles were examined at three locations in the exhaust system: 1) directly at the hexavalent chromium plating bath surface, 2) at the exit of a cyclone separator located in the exhaust system approximately three to four meters downstream of the bath, and 3) in the exhaust stack, downstream of the induced draft fan and all abatement devices. Particle diameters at the bath surface ranged from 0.3 to 25 μm. Downstream of the cyclone exit and mesh pad filters, particle top sizes were approximately 5 and 0.7 mm, respectively. On a mass basis, the collection efficiency of all abatement devices was 99.997%. Assuming that droplets in the flow consist primarily of water and chromium, correcting the total particle mass flow against water content gives a chromium emission rate of 64,000 μg/hr, which compares favorably with a value of 77,00...
183 EXERCISE INFLUENCES EMBRYO QUALITY IN MARES

Athletic mares are commonly utilized in an embryo transfer regimen during the breeding season, which allows owners to continue to train and compete with these animals. Exercising mares in a hot and humid environment has proven detrimental to embryo recovery rates. However, the effects of exercise under milder temperatures have not been examined. Our goal was to compare embryo recovery rates and embryo quality scores of mares under mild environmental conditions of 2 differing exercise regimens v. a single control group (n = 5). One treatment group (full exercise) consisted of mares (n = 5) exercised 6 days a week throughout the duration of the project. The partial-exercise group (n = 5) was exercised throughout the duration of the project 7 days a week, with full rest from day of detected ovulation to the proceeding embryo collection attempt. This was to limit any deleterious effects exercise may potentially have on the mare and subsequent early developing equine embryo. Exercise resumed the day after an embryo collection attempt for the partial-exercise group. Exercised mares were given a 1-month training period prior to the beginning of this project and were moderately exercised for 30 min in a mechanical exercise pen (free exerciser). Control mares were managed similarly as the other groups, however were not exercised. Mares were bred via artificial insemination and embryos were nonsurgically collected 7 d post-ovulation. Mean environmental temperature during the duration of this study was 27.1°C with average 60% humidity. Immediately following completion of exercise, mares in the full exercise group had a mean temperature increase of 1.0°C and partial-exercised mares increased 0.9°C. Exercise had a significant effect on embryo quality (P < 0.05, Table 1) but did not influence embryo recovery rate. The mean embryo quality score for the control group was 1.1, whereas the full-exercised group was 1.85 and partial-exercised group was 2.5. It appears from these data that exercise has a negative effect on embryo quality, thus lowering the availability of transferable embryos. Embryos of lower quality (≥3) have been shown to result in poor pregnancy rates in horses. Additionally, rest from ovulation to an embryo collection attempt did not improve embryo quality. Table 1.Embryo recovery rate and quality score of embryos from control and exercised mares
Mutualistic rhizobia reduce plant diversity and alter community composition

Mutualistic interactions can be just as important to community dynamics as antagonistic species interactions like competition and predation. Because of their large effects on both abiotic and biotic environmental variables, resource mutualisms, in particular, have the potential to influence plant communities. Moreover, the effects of resource mutualists such as nitrogen-fixing rhizobia on diversity and community composition may be more pronounced in nutrient-limited environments. I experimentally manipulated the presence of rhizobia across a nitrogen gradient in early assembling mesocosm communities with identical starting species composition to test how the classic mutualism between nitrogen-fixing rhizobia and their legume host influence diversity and community composition. After harvest, I assessed changes in α-diversity, community composition, β-diversity, and ecosystem properties such as inorganic nitrogen availability and productivity as a result of rhizobia and nitrogen availability. The presence of rhizobia decreased plant community diversity, increased community convergence (reduced β-diversity), altered plant community composition, and increased total community productivity. These community-level effects resulted from rhizobia increasing the competitive dominance of their legume host Chamaecrista fasciculata. Moreover, different non-leguminous species responded both negatively and positively to the presence of rhizobia, indicating that rhizobia are driving both inhibitory and potentially facilitative effects in communities. These findings expand our understanding of plant communities by incorporating the effects of positive symbiotic interactions on plant diversity and composition. In particular, rhizobia that specialize on dominant plants may serve as keystone mutualists in terrestrial plant communities, reducing diversity by more than 40 %.
Influence of split‐applied nitrogen on grain yield and protein content in ten grain sorghum culti‐vars 1

Abstract More information on the response of newly developed or introduced grain sorghum cultivare to split‐applied nitrogen (N) in semi‐arid rainfed agriculture is needed. Therefore, the influence of four split‐applied N schedules (100/0, 66/34, 50/50, and 34/66) on six American (SC 283, SC 274, SC 669, B 66181, SC 33, and RTam 428), and four West African (CSm 63, 1S 6704c, 1S 7173c, and 1S 7419c) grain sorghum cultivars was evaluated. The split‐applied N significantly increased grain yield and percent protein in grain sorghum over a one‐time application of N. The increase in yield and protein content varied among varieties and schedules of N application. Varieties SC 574, RTam 428, and Csm 63 at split‐applied schedules of 66/34, 50/50, and 34/66, respectively, gave the highest yield over one‐time application of N. Similar differences in percent protein in grain among cultivars due to split‐applied N were observed.
Weighted pseudo-almost periodic solutions to a neutral delay integral equation of advanced type

Abstract This paper studies suitable sufficient conditions to ensure the existence and uniqueness of weighted pseudo-almost periodic solutions to a neutral delay integral equation of advanced type introduced by T.A. Burton in the literature. The abstract results are then utilized to characterize weighted pseudo-almost periodic solutions to the well-known logistic equation.
High-pressure melting of MgO from (Mg,Fe)O solid solutions

Magnesium oxide (MgO) is a significant component of planetary interiors, particularly Earth's mantle and other rocky planets within and beyond our solar system; thus its high-pressure, high-temperature behavior is important to understanding the thermochemical evolution of planets. Laser-heated diamond-anvil cell (DAC) experiments on (Mg,Fe)O ferropericlase up to ~40 GPa show that previous DAC experiments on MgO melting are too low, while previous multi-anvil experiments yield melting temperatures too high. Instead, our quasi-static experimental results are consistent with recent ab initio predictions as well as dynamic shock measurements. Extrapolated to the core-mantle boundary (CMB) of the Earth, MgO is expected to melt at ~8000 ± 500 K, much greater than expected geotherm temperatures.
Antimicrobial Resistance among Streptococcus pneumoniae in the United States: Have We Begun to Turn the Corner on Resistance to Certain Antimicrobial Classes?

BACKGROUND Antimicrobial resistance has emerged as a major problem in Streptococcus pneumoniae in the United States during the past 15 years. This study was undertaken to elucidate the current scope and magnitude of this problem in the United States and to assess resistance trends since 1994-1995. METHODS A total of 1817 S. pneumoniae isolates obtained from patients with community-acquired respiratory tract infections in 44 US medical centers were characterized during the winter of 2002-2003. The activity of 27 antimicrobial agents was assessed. In addition, selected isolates were examined for the presence of mutations in the quinolone-resistance determining regions (QRDRs) of parC and gyrA that resulted in diminished fluoroquinolone activity. The results of this survey were compared with the results of 4 previous surveys conducted in a similar manner since 1994-1995. RESULTS Overall rates of resistance (defined as the rate of intermediate resistance plus the rate of resistance) were as follows: penicillin, 34.2%; ceftriaxone, 6.9%; erythromycin, 29.5%; clindamycin, 9.4%; tetracycline, 16.2%; and trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (TMP-SMX), 31.9%. No resistance was observed with vancomycin, linezolid, or telithromycin; 22.2% of isolates were multidrug resistant; 2.3% of isolates had ciprofloxacin MICs of >or=4.0 microg/mL. It was estimated that 21.9% of the isolates in this national collection had mutations in the QRDRs of parC and/or gyrA, with parC only mutations occurring most often (in 21% of all isolates). Trend analysis since 1994-1995 indicated that rates of resistance to beta -lactams, macrolides, tetracyclines, TMP-SMX, and multiple drugs have either plateaued or have begun to decrease. Conversely, fluoroquinolone resistance among S. pneumoniae is becoming more prevalent. CONCLUSION It appears that, as fluoroquinolone resistance emerges among S. pneumoniae in the United States, resistance to other antimicrobial classes is becoming less common.
Using adaptive resonance theory and local optimization to divide and conquer large scale traveling salesman problems

The traveling salesman problem (TSP) is a very hard optimization problem in the field of operations research. It has been shown to be NP-complete, and is an often-used benchmark for new optimization techniques. One of the main challenges with this problem is that standard, non-AI heuristic approaches such as the Lin-Kernighan algorithm (LK) and the chained LK variant are currently very effective and in wide use for the common fully connected, Euclidean variant that is considered here. This paper presents an algorithm that uses adaptive resonance theory (ART) in combination with a variation of the Lin-Kernighan local optimization algorithm to solve very large instances of the TSP. The primary advantage of this algorithm over traditional LK and chained-LK approaches is the increased scalability and parallelism allowed by the divide-and-conquer clustering paradigm. Tours obtained by the algorithm are lower quality, but scaling is much better and there is a high potential for increasing performance using parallel hardware.
Perceptions of Giving Support and Depressive Symptoms in Late Life

Purpose of the Study: Research shows that parents benefit psychologically from generativity—giving and caring for the next generation—but older adults’ perceptions on giving support to their children are rarely if ever explored in these studies. The current study examines the association between the support that aging parents give to one of their middle-aged offspring, their perception of this support as rewarding or stressful, and their levels of depressive symptoms. Design and Methods: The sample draws from The Family Exchanges Study and consisted of 337 older parents (mean age: 76) who were drawn from a larger study of middle-aged adults (i.e., target participants). Older parents reported tangible and nontangible forms of support given to the target middle-aged child and the extent to which they viewed providing such support as stressful and/ or rewarding. Results: W e found significant interactions between tangible support and feelings of reward and between nontangible support and feelings of stress in explaining parental depressive symptoms. Parents who found giving support to be highly rewarding had lower levels of depressive symptoms when giving high amounts of tangible support. Conversely, parents who view giving support to be highly stressful had higher levels of depressive symptoms when they gave low amounts of nontangible support. Implications: Findings suggest older parents’ perceptions of supporting their offspring may condition how generativity affects their mental health.
Effectiveness of Rate Control in Slowing Down Worm Epidemics

Rate control is an automated defense to slow down a worm outbreak to buy time for conventional defenses to take effect. In this study, we apply the community of households model from biological epidemiology to evaluate rate control strategies. We find that rate throttling of outbound worm traffic, implemented in the network or hosts, can be effective in slowing down a new worm outbreak given sufficient coverage of hosts. An outbreak is slowed down exponentially as the fraction of protected hosts is increased. We also find that throttling both inbound and outbound traffic can be much more effective than rate throttling only outbound traffic. I. INTRODUCTION Automated worm programs take advantage of network con- nectivity to spread from infected hosts to vulnerable hosts. A worm such as SQL Slammer has been called "bandwidth limited" because compromised hosts were put into a simple execution loop to send out 404-byte UDP packets containing a copy of the worm to random IP addresses as fast as they could transmit packets (1). Slammer was observed to saturate the bandwidth on many links and would probably have taken advantage of more bandwidth had it been available. Faster worm outbreaks will compel organizations to depend more on automated blocking defenses compared to manual responses such as software patching and reconfiguring router access lists and firewalls. Current automated worm defenses consist of antivirus software, firewalls, and intrusion detection or prevention systems (IDS/IPS) (2), (3). These defenses attempt to detect and then block worms by a combination of misuse detection and anomaly detection. Misuse detection based on signature matching is the preferred approach of com- mercial antivirus and IDS/IPS due to its accuracy in detecting known (and similar) worms. However, new signatures may take hours to days to develop, test, and distribute after an unknown worm is discovered. Anomaly detection looking for deviations from "normal" baseline behavior has the potential to detect new worms without a known signature. Commercial products often in- clude heuristic behavior-blocking rules in addition to signature matching. For example, SMTP worm blocking checks if the process initiating SMTP outgoing email is an attachment in the current email; if it is, this self-mailing software is blocked (3). Another heuristic rule may look for any signs of a buffer overflow exploit which is a type of attack often used by worms.
Anti-Cardiolipin and Increased Serum Adhesion Molecule Levels in Patients With Aggressive Periodontitis

Background: We observed that a significant proportion of patients with periodontitis have elevated serum levels of b2-glycoprotein-I–dependent anti-cardiolipin (anti-CL). These prothrombotic autoantibodies, commonly found to be elevated in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus and the antiphospholipid syndrome, are associated with adverse pregnancy outcomes, such as fetal involution, prematurity, and low birth weight, and with cardiovascular sequelae, such as atherosclerosis, stroke, and myocardial infarction. Anti-CL is known to promote vascular inflammation and thrombosis. Methods: We measured serum levels of markers of vascular inflammation, including soluble intercellular adhesion molecule (sICAM)-1, soluble vascular cell adhesion molecule (sVCAM)-1, and sE-selectin, in 190 subjects with generalized aggressive or chronic periodontitis and in 90 periodontally healthy subjects. Results: sVCAM-1 and sE-selectin levels were significantly higher in patients with elevated anti-CL (>15 U/ml). This relationship also was observed in the never-smoker subset of subjects, even after correction for demographic and periodontal variables. Within the diagnostic categories, sICAM-1, sVCAM-1, and sE-selectin were significantly higher in generalized aggressive periodontitis patients who had elevated anti-CL compared to those with normal anti-CL. Statistical correction for demographic and periodontal variables indicated that elevated antiCL remained significantly associated with increased sVCAM-1 and sE-selectin in generalized aggressive periodontitis patients. Conclusions: Systemic markers of vascular inflammation in patients with aggressive periodontitis are associated with elevated levels of anti-CL. We hypothesize that a subset of periodontitis patients with elevated antiphospholipid antibodies could represent a subgroup at increased risk for obstetrical and cardiovascular sequelae. J Periodontol 2007;78:459-466.
Comparing Probabilistic Measures of Explanatory Power

Recently, in attempting to account for explanatory reasoning in probabilistic terms, Bayesians have proposed several measures of the strength of a potential explanation. These candidate measures of “explanatory power” arguably have interesting normative interpretations and consequences. What has not yet been investigated, however, is whether any of these measures are also descriptive of people’s actual explanatory judgments. Here I present my own experimental work investigating this question. I argue that one measure in particular is an accurate descriptor of explanatory judgments. Then I briefly point to some implications of this result for the epistemology and the psychology of explanatory reasoning.
Challenges in clinical research on Alzheimer's disease: Leon Thal's legacy

First and foremost, Leon Thal was a clinician. While he was an expert in clinical trials and a superb basic scientist, he was primarily a clinical neurologist. As such, Leon had a real appreciation for clinical diagnoses and the implications of them for patients and families. Leon was keenly aware of the importance or moving the diagnostic threshold for Alzheimer’s disease (AD) to earlier stages, since it was his belief that, if truly disease-modifying therapies were to be beneficial, they would need to be instituted at an early point in the disease process. This ultimately would have implications for treating asymptomatic individuals. Leon was an early proponent of the concept of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) as a means of identifying individuals at high risk for developing clinical AD at an earlier point in the clinical spectrum. He recognized MCI as the next step for improving our clinical acumen to identify individuals who were going to develop the full picture of AD. Hence, he endorsed and supported the first clinical trial designed to investigate the utility of therapeutics prior to the clinical diagnosis of AD [1]. We embarked on the Alzheimer’s Disease Cooperative Study (ADCS) MCI Treatment Trial to assess the utility of therapies at this early stage, and Leon was intimately involved throughout the entire project. This trial also spawned a spate of clinical trials in MCI which have informed the field, not only on the utility of a variety of compounds, but also on the design of clinical trials at this stage in the disease process [2,3,4]. While the ADCS trial was only partially successful, this trial represented the first demonstration of the potential for the postponement of the clinical diagnosis of AD. Leon recognized, of course, as many did, that the study of MCI was not the ultimate goal of therapeutics in AD. Rather, MCI is likely to be an intermediate phenotype on the way to addressing therapeutics for the general population, and Leon was fundamentally interested in primary prevention. Although, as we have been reminded by Dr. Russell Katz of the US Food and Drug Administration, we may not really mean primary “prevention” in a literal sense; rather, we would be pleased with the delay of onset or slowing of progression of the disease process as realistic intermediate goals [5]. As such, Leon directed the ADCS to perform primary prevention instrument studies in anticipation of therapeutic trials to address the issues of delay of onset or slowing of progression of the disease process.
An improved complex sphere decoder for V-BLAST systems

A complex sphere decoding algorithm is presented for signal detection in V-BLAST systems, which has a computational cost that is significantly lower than that of the original complex sphere decoder (SD) for a wide range of SNRs. Simulation results on a 64-QAM system with 23 transmit and 23 receive antennas at an SNR per bit of 24 dB show that the new sphere decoding algorithm obtains the ML solution with an average cost that is at least 6 times lower than that of the original complex SD. Further, the new algorithm also shows robustness with respect to the initial choice of sphere radius.
Association between a functional polymorphism in Toll-like receptor 3 and chronic hepatitis C in liver transplant recipients.

Background Toll-like receptor 3 (TLR3) is implicated in the pathogenesis of viral diseases owing to its ability to recognize viral double-stranded RNA. We hypothesized that single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in TLR3 gene that impairs the function of the protein-receptor influences the outcome of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection after liver transplantation. Methods The clinical characteristics of 611 liver recipients (HCV-infected: n = 153, non-HCV-infected: n = 458) were assessed to investigate the impact of TLR3 L412F SNP on transplant outcomes. Results TLR3 L412F is common, and it was significantly more prevalent among the HCV-infected cohort (57.5% vs. 45.2%, P = 0.008). In a multivariate analysis, TLR3 L412F was significantly associated with chronic hepatitis C (odds ratio: 1.73, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.13–2.65, P = 0.01). In an analysis that compared HCV-infected patients with wild-type versus TLR3 L412F, a marginally higher rate of allograft failure and mortality was observed in the TLR3 L412F group (44.3% vs. 30.8%, P = 0.09). However, in a multivariate analysis, only donor age was significantly associated with allograft failure and mortality (relative risk: 1.04, 95% CI: 1.007–1.06, P = 0.02). Conclusion TLR3 L412F is significantly common in HCV-infected liver recipients, and may be associated with worse outcomes. However, larger studies are needed to determine its significant association with allograft failure and mortality after liver transplantation for chronic hepatitis C.
Bend into shape

Bacteria come in a variety of shapes, as most species elaborate on the ‘default’ sphere to resemble ovoids, rods, bend rods, spirals, branched filaments or other more complicated forms. How cells that are under considerable turgor pressure maintain a nonspherical shape is unclear, though it is known to depend on structural elements on either side of the cytoplasmic membrane: the murein (peptidoglycan) sacculus on the outside, and forerunners of the eukaryotic cytoskeleton on the inside. In this issue, the results by Cabeen et al argue for one attractive mechanism whereby these elements cooperate to drive cellular morphogenesis.
Outbreak of psychosomatic illness at a rural elementary school.

Abstract In May, 1973, 95 students and 3 teachers at an elementary school in Alabama became ill with pruritus or rash and with one or more of the following symptoms: headache, cough, weakness, sore throat, abdominal pain, sore or burning eyes, arthralgia, shortness of breath, numbness, fainting, nausea, vomiting, and diarrhœa. More than 50 persons received care at a hospital emergency room. Four and seven days later, 18 and 14 individuals, respectively, most of whom had been ill on the first occasion, sought medical attention for the same problems. An extensive epidemiological investigation was undertaken, but infection, allergy, and other organic causes were incompatible with the epidemic. Hyperventilation, an apparent visual chain of transmission, and recurrences at widely scattered places and times suggest mass hysteria.
The use of motivational interviewing in weight loss

Within the past two decades, motivational interviewing has emerged as a useful strategy to help individuals develop motivation to change health behavior and sustain those efforts. This article reviews the preliminary but burgeoning literature that supports the effectiveness of motivational interviewing strategies in promoting positive changes in a variety of health behaviors, including dietary change, activity increases, and regimen adherence. A variety of adaptations of the motivational interviewing process are discussed as relevant to making this treatment strategy increasingly applicable to a variety of health care settings.
Lamination of the lateral geniculate nucleus in the squirrel monkey, Saimiri sciureus

The parvocellular portion of the lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN) in the squirrel monkey (Saimiri sciureus) is a relatively unlaminated mass of cells . In order to determine whether a concealed laminar structure might exist, one eye was removed in each of three squirrel monkeys . Transneuronal degeneration did not appear prominent in the LGN of the animal which was allowed to survive for six months, but in the two animals which survived for one year six laminae were clearly present. There was transneuronal degeneration in layers 1, 4 and 6 contralateral to the enucleation, and 2, 3 and 5 ipsilaterally . Lack of interlaminar fiber masses prob- ably accounts for the apparent absence of lamination in the normal parvocellular mass . Lamination is a conspicuous feature of
Stability analysis of phylogenetic trees

Motivation: Phylogenetics, or reconstructing the evolutionary relationships of organisms, is critical for understanding evolution. A large number of heuristic algorithms for phylogenetics have been developed, some of which enable estimates of trees with tens of thousands of taxa. Such trees may not be robust, as small changes in the input data can cause major differences in the optimal topology. Tools that can assess the quality and stability of phylogenetic tree estimates and identify the most reliable parts of the tree are needed. Results: We define measures that assess the stability of trees, subtrees and individual taxa with respect to changes in the input sequences. Our measures consider changes at the finest granularity in the input data (i.e. individual nucleotides). We demonstrate the effectiveness of our measures on large published datasets. Our measures are computationally feasible for phylogenetic datasets consisting of tens of thousands of taxa. Availability: This software is available at http://bioinformatics.cise.ufl.edu/phylostab Contact: sheikh@cise.ufl.edu