cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
An unusual case of interstitial lung disease in a patient with cardiopulmonary syndrome as the initial presentation of Erdheim-Chester disease

Erdheim-Chester disease (ECD) is a very rare disorder with only approximately 600 cases reported in the literature. ECD has been recently reclassified as a histiocytic dendritic cell neoplasm. The clinical spectrum ranges from asymptomatic tissue accumulation of histiocytes to invasive tissue infiltration, which can cause fulminant multisystem failure. It typically presents with bone pain and constitutional symptoms. Extraosseous manifestations are not uncommon. ECD-associated interstitial lung disease has been described in 20%-35% of patients. Diagnosis is primarily by tissue biopsy and immunohistochemistry showing xanthogranulomas composed of foamy histiocytes that stain positive for CD68, CD14 and CD163 and negative for CD1a and langerin. We report a case of ECD in a young man with cardiopulmonary involvement who presented with haemoptysis and dyspnoea.
Single-stage isolated 48V-to-1.8V point-of-load converter utilizing an impedance control network and integrated magnetic structures

This paper introduces a single-stage isolated 48V-to-1.8V point-of-load converter based on the impedance control network (ICN) resonant converter architecture. This point-of-load ICN converter achieves large step-down while maintaining high efficiency across a wide range of input voltage and output power. Large step-down is achieved using a novel immittance network transformer and a resonant current-doubler rectifier. High efficiency is achieved by utilizing the ICN architecture, which enables zero-voltage and near-zero-current switching across wide operating ranges. The power density of the converter is enhanced by combining its magnetic components into two integrated magnetic structures: one implementing the three inductors of the ICN using two coupled windings, and the other implementing the immittance network transformer and current-doubler magnetics on a common core. A systematic methodology is introduced to design and optimize the proposed ICN converter. A prototype 90-W ICN converter utilizing PCB-integrated magnetics, designed to operate over an input voltage range of 36 V to 60 V and an output voltage of 1.8 V is built and tested. The prototype ICN converter achieves a peak efficiency of nearly 90%, and maintains greater than 87.9% efficiency across its nearly 2:1 input voltage range.
Spatial and Multivariate Analysis of Japan’s Prefectural Digital Divide

This study of the digital divide within Japan utilizes data from Japan’s 47 prefectures for spatial analysis of distributions of technology utilization variables. It analyzes the spatial outliers and clusters of prefectures for the country. The paper constructs a conceptual model based on 10 dependent factors and 17 independent ones. The relationship of the independent to dependent factors is moderated by exploratory analysis of spatial patterns of technology utilization and by confirmatory analysis of correlates of technology utilization, while screening for spatial randomness. Geographical findings indicate areas of outlier high and low technology use as well as distinctive cluster patterns for the four major islands of Japan. Regression findings show the significance to technology utilization of newspaper circulation, patents registered by Japanese citizens, students and pupils per capita, household expenditures on education, farm household population (inverse), and young dependency ratio (mixed positive and negative). Practical implications are considered.
Brain Arterial Diameters and Cognitive Performance: The Northern Manhattan Study.

Objectives To test the hypothesis that brain arterial diameters are associated with cognitive performance, particularly in arteries supplying domain-specific territories. Methods Stroke-free participants in the Northern Manhattan Study were invited to have a brain MRI from 2003-2008. The luminal diameters of 13 intracranial arterial segments were obtained using time-of-flight magnetic resonance angiogram (MRA), and then averaged and normalized into a global score and region-specific arterial diameters. Z-Scores for executive function, semantic memory, episodic memory and processing speed were obtained at MRI and during follow-up. Adjusted generalized additive models were used to assess for associations. Results Among the 1034 participants with neurocognitive testing and brain MRI, there were non-linear relationships between left anterior (ACA) and middle cerebral artery (MCA) diameter and semantic memory Z-scores (χ2=10.00; DF=3; p=.019), and left posterior cerebral artery (PCA) and posterior communicating artery (Pcomm) mean diameter and episodic memory Z-scores (χ2=9.88; DF=3; p=.020). Among the 745 participants who returned for 2nd neuropsychological testing, on average 5.0±0.4 years after their MRI, semantic memory change was associated non-linearly with the left PCA/Pcomm mean diameter (χ2=13.09; DF=3; p=.004) and with the right MCA/ACA mean diameter (χ2=8.43; DF=3; p=.03). In both cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses, participants with the larger brain arterial diameters had more consistently lower Z-scores and greater decline than the rest of the participants. Conclusions Brain arterial diameters may have downstream effects in brain function presenting as poorer cognition. Identifying the mechanisms and the directionality of such interactions may increase the understanding of the vascular contribution to cognitive impairment and dementia. (JINS, 2018, 24, 335-346).
Seizure clustering during presurgical electroencephalographic monitoring in children.

Abstract Background Presurgical evaluation with antiseizure medication tapering in patients with refractory epilepsy places them at risk for seizure clustering or prolonged seizures. We looked at the occurrence of seizure clustering (3 or more seizures within 24 h) and prolonged seizures and the factors that influence seizure clustering and affect length of stay (LOS) in pediatric patients during presurgical monitoring. Methods We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of all consecutive admissions to the epilepsy monitoring unit (EMU) and included patients undergoing noninvasive presurgical evaluation. Data were extracted regarding demographics, seizure history, details of the EMU admission including occurrence of seizure clusters, prolonged seizures, status epilepticus, treatment, and LOS. Results Sixty-nine patients met our inclusion criteria. Seizure clustering during monitoring was observed in 33 patients (48%). Prolonged seizures lasting > 5 min was observed in 14 (20%) patients including 2 with status epilepticus (3%). Seizure clusters necessitated rescue treatment in around 30%. History of seizure clustering at home was the only factor associated with the occurrence of seizure clustering during the EMU stay (p Conclusions Seizure clustering was common in children undergoing presurgical monitoring and seen especially in those with a history of seizure clustering at home. Occurrence of seizure clustering did not prolong the LOS but necessitated the use of rescue medications in about a third of the patients with seizure clusters due to multiple seizures.
[The use of flumazenil for benzodiazepine associated respiratory depression in postanesthesia recovery: risks and outcomes].

Abstract Background and objectives The primary aim was to determine risk factors for flumazenil administration during postanesthesia recovery. A secondary aim was to describe outcomes among patients who received flumazenil. Methods Patients admitted to the postanesthesia recovery room at a large, academic, tertiary care facility after surgery under general anesthesia from January 1, 2010, to April 30, 2015, were identified and matched to 2 controls each, by age, sex, and surgical procedure. Flumazenil was administered in the recovery phase immediately after general anesthesia, according to the clinical judgment of the anesthesiologist. Demographic, procedural, and outcome data were extracted from the electronic health record. Conditional logistic regression, accounting for the 1:2 matched-set case-control study designs, was used to assess characteristics associated with flumazenil use. Results The incidence of flumazenil administration in the postanesthesia care unit was 9.9 per 10,000 (95% CI, 8.4–11.6) general anesthetics. History of obstructive sleep apnea (Odds Ratio [OR] = 2.27; 95% CI 1.02–5.09), longer anesthesia (OR = 1.13; 95% CI 1.03–1.24 per 30 minutes), use of total intravenous anesthesia (OR = 6.09; 95% CI 2.60–14.25), and use of benzodiazepines (OR = 8.17; 95% CI 3.71–17.99) were associated with risk for flumazenil administration. Among patients who received midazolam, cases treated with flumazenil received a higher median (interquartile range) dose than controls: 3.5 mg (2.0–4.0 mg) vs. 2.0 mg (2.0–2.0 mg), respectively (p Conclusions Patients who required flumazenil postoperatively had received a higher dosage of benzodiazepines and utilized more postoperative health care resources. More conservative perioperative use of benzodiazepines may improve postoperative recovery and use of health care resources.
Reactivity between rare‐earth oxides based thermal barrier coatings and a silicate melt

The reactivity between rare-earth (RE-) oxide stabilized ZrO2 or HfO2 thermal barrier coatings (TBCs) and a calcium-magnesium-aluminum-silicate (CMAS) melt was studied at 1310°C. These reactions are representative of the ingestion of siliceous materials by the intake air of gas turbines (e.g., in aircraft engines) at high temperatures (>1200°C). These materials can melt and react with coated components in the hot section, resulting in premature failure. The goal of this work was to probe the effect of various RE (RE = Y, Yb, Dy, Gd, Nd, and Sm) oxides in the melt phase equilibrium and stability of the top-coating system. Thermodynamic calculations of the phase assemblage of the (1−x) ZrO2-xY2O3 coating materials and CMAS melt are compared with the experimental findings. CMAS was found to penetrate the samples at the grain boundaries and dissolve the coating materials to form silicate phases containing the RE elements. Furthermore, apatite and garnet crystalline phases formed in the samples with total RE-oxide content higher than 16 mol% in the reaction zone for the ZrO2 system. In general, samples with nominal compositions ZrO2-9Dy2O3, HfO2-7Dy2O3, ZrO2-8Y2O3, HfO2-6Er2O3, ZrO2-9.5Y2O3-2.25Gd2O3-2.25Yb2O3, and ZrO2-30Y2O3 exhibited lower reactivity, or more resistance, to CMAS than the other coating compositions.
Comparative Study of Metabolic Activities of Bacteria in Three Ecoregions of the Colorado Front Range, U.S.A.

A comparative study of the bacteria occurring in soils of montane grasslands, montane forests, subalpine forests, and alpine tundra habitats was conducted to ascertain the types of bacterial metabo...
Family in Foreign Spaces: Leaving Home to Find Home

In the spring of 2012 I participated in an experiential education course. I taught English and lived with a family in an economically poor and rural community situated in Baja California, Mexico. During this process I began to explore how people in different social realities experience place, nationalism, and identity. I was faced with my own privileges as a U.S. citizen as well as my socialized habits of individualism. This auto-ethnography combines my specific experience with larger social themes of national identity construction and the influence that stereotypes and national stories may have on social experiences.
A critical review of object relations theory

Over the past 20 years, object relations theory has broadly influenced general psychiatry. Along with its insights, the theory has brought its own conundrums. This paper provides an overview of the theory, indicating its contributions--such as a basis for individual psychotherapy of severe disorders and a more effective understanding of countertransference--and its shortcomings--such as lack of an explanation for the effects of physical and cognitive factors on object relatedness. Object relations theory fills a niche in the biopsychosocial model but is not a complete psychology for general psychiatry. Rather, it is an addition to drive theory and ego psychology within psychoanalysis.
SVM-Based Parameter Identification for Composite ZIP and Electronic Load Modeling

This paper proposes a parameter identification technique for composite ZIP and electronic loads by leveraging the support vector machine (SVM) approach. Since the active power and the reactive power of electronic loads are piecewise functions of the voltage magnitude, the operating modes of electronic loads are determined by the voltage magnitude. To improve the accuracy of parameter identification, two filters (Hampel and Savitzky–Golay) are employed to preprocess measurements to reduce noise. The data after noise reduction serve as training data for the regression model that is solved by the SVM approach. Numerical results show that the SVM approach with filters can identify the parameters of the composite ZIP and electronic load model with high accuracy.
Global and regional trends in mercury emissions and concentrations, 2010–2015

Abstract Mercury (Hg) is a naturally occurring element in the Earth's crust. It can be harmful to human health when released in large quantities and/or converted to the neurotoxicant methyl mercury in aquatic ecosystems. This study analyzes global and regional trends in anthropogenic Hg releases to the atmosphere between 2010 and 2015, as well as the associated trends in modeled and measured Hg concentrations at sites around the world. In general, we find that global Hg emissions and concentrations have grown slightly in this period, as declines from the phase-out of commercial Hg use in the developed world have been more than matched by increases in Hg-related activities in the industrializing countries of the world. We estimate that global Hg emissions between 2010 and 2015 have grown at a rate of 1.8%/yr, from 2188 Mg (+44%/-20%, 80% C.I.) in 2010 to 2390 Mg (+42%/-19%, 80% C.I.) in 2015. Regionally, emissions declined over this period in the U.S. (−10%), OECD Europe (−5.8%), and Canada (−3.2%), while they increased in Central America (+5.4%), South Asia (+4.6%), and Eastern Africa (+4.0%). East Asia remained the largest emitting region at 1012 Mg in 2015, though growth there has slowed significantly in recent years. The production of Hg (+7.9%), caustic soda (+6.3%), and cement (+6.3%) showed the highest increases by source type, though artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM) was the single largest source of emissions in 2015 (775 Mg). The commercial use of Hg in dental applications (−5.6%) and electrical equipment (−5.2%) continued to decline. These emission trends show a continuation of the regional and sectoral shifts that began in the 1970s, but with a resulting reversal in global trends, because the benefits from Hg phase-out in North America and Europe have been largely realized and industrial growth in developing countries has begun to dominate. The emission trends are in agreement with trends in modeled and measured concentrations, which show small declines in surface air total gaseous Hg concentrations in eastern North America and Western Europe between 2010 and 2015, but slight increases for much of the rest of the world, driven by the continued increases in emissions from Asia and from ASGM. Our results suggest that reductions of Hg in the North Atlantic region have been largely successful, and focus now needs to shift to Asia and to the continued practice of ASGM worldwide.
Getting into shape: tissue tension drives oriented cell divisions during organogenesis

The shapes and architecture of the organs in the animal body develop through complex coordination of cell shape change, cell migration, and cell proliferation. Finegan et al (2019) use the simple model of the Drosophila ovary and elongation of each egg chamber to explore this process. They find that a gradient of myosin‐driven tension exists along the axis of organ elongation and that this orients the division of the constituent cells. This and other recent work highlight how tissue‐level tension plays a key role in regulating tissue architecture.
Families of 0-dimensional subspaces on supercurves of dimension 1 | 1

Abstract In the present paper we prove that the Hilbert scheme of 0-dimensional subspaces on supercurves of dimension 1 | 1 exists and it is smooth. We also show that the Hilbert scheme is not projected in general.
New activators of eIF2α Kinase Heme-Regulated Inhibitor (HRI) with improved biophysical properties

Abstract Heme-regulated inhibitor (HRI), a eukaryotic translation initiation factor 2 alpha (eIF2α) kinase, is critically important for coupling protein synthesis to heme availability in reticulocytes and adaptation to various environmental stressors in all cells. HRI modifies the severity of several hemoglobin misfolding disorders including β-thalassemia. Small molecule activators of HRI are essential for studying normal- and patho-biology of this kinase as well as for the treatment of various human disorders for which activation of HRI or phosphorylation of eIF2α may be beneficial. We previously reported development of 1-((1,4-trans)-4-aryloxycyclohexyl)-3-arylureas (cHAUs) as specific HRI activators and demonstrated their potential as molecular probes for studying HRI biology and as lead compounds for treatment of various human disorders. To develop more druglike cHAUs for in vivo studies and drug development and to expand the chemical space, we undertook bioassay guided structure–activity relationship studies replacing cyclohexyl ring with various 4-6-membered rings and explored further substitutions on the N-phenyl ring. We tested all analogs in the surrogate eIF2α phosphorylation and cell proliferation assays, and a subset of analogs in secondary mechanistic assays that included endogenous eIF2α phosphorylation and expression of C/EBP homologous protein (CHOP), a downstream effector. Finally, we determined specificity of these compounds for HRI by testing their anti-proliferative activity in cells transfected with siRNA targeting HRI or mock. These compounds have significantly improved cLogPs with no loss of potencies, making them excellent candidates for lead optimization for development of investigational new drugs that potently and specifically activate HRI.
Managing international volunteers

Abstract International volunteering brings its own set of challenges from knowing the right thing to do to actually getting into the disaster zone to establishing an appropriate effort. This chapter gives examples of how things have gone wrong in previous disasters to demonstrate best practices for international disaster volunteer management. Content that follows walks readers through the challenges of international disaster volunteerism and how to best fit in to relief efforts. The chapter concludes with a set of best practices for volunteering in other countries and contexts. Case examples come from Myanmar, Turkey, Pakistan, and Haiti among others.
Spin versus helicity equilibration times and Lagrangian for strange quarks in rotating quark-gluon plasma

Measurements of the net polarization of $\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Lambda}}$ and $\overline{\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Lambda}}}$ hyperons at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider have stimulated much interest in how strange quarks might align their spin with the vorticity of the matter created in heavy ion collisions. We calculate the Lagrangian in the rest frame of a fluid element undergoing rotation with angular velocity $\ensuremath{\omega}$ including photon and gluon fields. There is an additional coupling between the quarks and the gauge fields proportional to $\ensuremath{\omega}$, but this vertex does not change the spin of the quarks. We also show that the times to equilibrate quark helicity and spin parallel to the vorticity are the same so long as $\ensuremath{\omega}$ is small compared to the temperature.
Impact of unit-specific metrics and prescribing tools on a family medicine ward.

Objective: Prescribing metrics, cost, and surrogate markers are often used to describe the value of antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) programs. However, process measures are only indirectly related to clinical outcomes and may not represent the total effect of an intervention. We determined the global impact of a multifaceted AMS initiative for hospitalized adults with common infections. Design: Single center, quasi-experimental study. Methods: Hospitalized adults with urinary, skin, and respiratory tract infections discharged from family medicine and internal medicine wards before (January 2017–June 2017) and after (January 2018–June 2018) an AMS initiative on a family medicine ward were included. A series of AMS-focused initiatives comprised the development and dissemination of: handheld prescribing tools, AMS positive feedback cases, and academic modules. We compared the effect on an ordinal end point consisting of clinical resolution, adverse drug events, and antimicrobial optimization between the preintervention and postintervention periods. Results: In total, 256 subjects were included before and after an AMS intervention. Excessive durations of therapy were reduced from 40.3% to 22% (P < .001). Patients without an optimized antimicrobial course were more likely to experience clinical failure (OR, 2.35; 95% CI, 1.17–4.72). The likelihood of a better global outcome was greater in the family medicine intervention arm (62.0%, 95% CI, 59.6–67.1) than in the preintervention family medicine arm. Conclusion: Collaborative, targeted feedback with prescribing metrics, AMS cases, and education improved global outcomes for hospitalized adults on a family medicine ward.
Development and implementation of a logic model: Occupational stress, physical activity, and sedentary behavior in the workplace.

Background An increasing level of occupational stress is a major problem in the workplace that requires innovative approaches and strategies. An understudied research area pertains to the effects that physical activity performed during the workday have on occupational stress. Objective To determine if and how an intervention that increases physical activity and reduces sedentary behavior affects workplace stress. The population of interest are employees at a large university medical center including supportive staff, healthcare professionals, physicians, and faculty members; the study design is longitudinal; the approach is the implementation of an innovative workplace program (i.e., the Booster Break). Methods We present a logic model promoting physical activity and reducing sitting time during the workday as a feasible and practical strategy to cope with occupational stress. Results The logic model approach emphasizes that funding, partnerships, and incentives are inputs to implementing program activities such as Booster Break sessions, weekly meetings, social support, and personal self-monitoring. Short-term outcomes were categorized as psychosocial, goal setting, organizational, and social; intermediate outcomes were behavioral and psychosocial; and long-term outcomes were health status and physiological status. Conclusions This study is the first known effort to outline a comprehensive intervention based on changing physical activity and sedentary behavior during the workday and the concomitant effects on occupational stress. The findings of this study can be used to develop and implement interventions at workplaces to target increases in physical activity, decreases in sedentary time, and improvements in overall employee health.
Heterogeneous Mediation Analysis for Causal Inference

Abstract Mediation analysis is widely used to understand mediating mechanisms of variables in causal inference. However, existing approaches do not consider heterogeneity in mediation effects. Mediators in different sub-populations could have opposite effects on the outcome, and could be difficult to identify under the homogeneous model framework. In this paper, we propose a new mediator selection method, which can identify sub-populations and select mediators in each sub-population for heterogeneous data simultaneously. We perform a multi-directional clustering analysis to determine sub-group mediators and the corresponding subjects. Specifically, to select mediators, we propose a new joint penalty which penalizes the effect of independent variable on a mediator and the effect of a mediator on the response jointly. The proposed algorithm is implemented through the convex-smooth gradient descent. Our numerical studies show that the proposed method outperforms the existing methods for heterogeneous data. We also apply the proposed mediation method to estimate mediation effects of DNA methylation variations in glucocorticoid receptor regulatory network genes for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among African-Americans. Based on data from the Detroit Neighborhood Health Study, we have found heterogeneous mediators, which are indeed associated with PTSD or traumatic experiences according to literature but were not selected by existing homogeneous mediation selection methods.
Manipulating Algebra: Comparing Concrete and Virtual Algebra Tiles for Students with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities

Limited research exists to target algebra instruction for students with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). In this study, researchers compared the use of concrete – with scaffolds a...
Gaussian Channels with Feedback: A Dynamic Programming Approach.

In this paper, we consider a communication system where a sender sends messages over a memoryless Gaussian point-to-point channel to a receiver and receives the output feedback over another Gaussian channel with known variance and unit delay. The sender sequentially transmits the message over multiple times till a certain error performance is achieved. The aim of our work is to design a transmission strategy to process every transmission with the information that was received in the previous feedback and send a signal so that the estimation error drops as quickly as possible. The optimal code is unknown for channels with noisy output feedback when the block length is finite. Even within the family of linear codes, optimal codes are unknown in general. Bridging this gap, we propose a family of linear sequential codes and provide a dynamic programming algorithm to solve for a closed form expression for the optimal code within a class of sequential linear codes. The optimal code discovered via dynamic programming is a generalized version of which the Schalkwijk-Kailath (SK) scheme is one special case with noiseless feedback; our proposed code coincides with the celebrated SK scheme for noiseless feedback settings.
Tackling TB and COVID-19: US leadership is needed on global health, now more than ever

Despite progress towards ending the COVID-19 in the United States, and recognition of the role of the new US administration in supporting the global response to the pandemic, World TB Day offers a moment to highlight the opportunity to better align the US’s pandemic response with investments in global TB programs. Investing in TB and COVID-19 does not need to be an either-or scenario. With sound science, effective collaboration, smart investments and efficient synergies, COVID-19 efforts can enhance the global TB response, not undermine it.
"It's Hard to Show Empathy in a Text": Developing a Web-based Sexual Assault Hotline in a College Setting.

To increase access to counseling and advocacy services and respond to changes in communication preferences, many victim service programs are expanding their traditional telephone hotlines and addin...
Data Acquisition Board for Monitoring and Analysis of Electrical and Non-electrical data on Board of a Vessel

With the development of shipping and the technologies used in it, it is necessary to introduce new techniques to improve communication between crew and operator, as well as reduce the amount of work performed on board. In this paper is purposed, a system for collecting a wide range of data that can be used for monitoring, analysis and diagnosis.
Short bowel syndrome in children: current and potential therapies

Short bowel syndrome (SBS) reflects a state of malabsorption that occurs due to loss of a significant portion of the small bowel. The pathophysiology of SBS is determined largely by the process of adaptation, which is the innate attempt by the remnant portions of the intestine to increase fluid and nutrient reabsorption. In recent years, emphasis has been placed on intestinal rehabilitation with multidisciplinary teams as a comprehensive approach to the management of patients with SBS. In our institution, the multidisciplinary team members include pediatric gastroenterologists, pediatric surgeons, pediatric dieticians, physical therapists, occupational therapists, neonatologists (especially for patients still under their care), transplant surgeons, transplant coordinators and social workers. Parenteral nutrition plays a significant role in the management of SBS, but its use is associated with many potential complications, including cholestatic liver disease. Fish oil-based lipid emulsions have shown promise in their ability to reverse and also prevent the development of cholestasis in these patients. Clinical trials have shown that growth factors and other trophic hormones facilitate the process of adaptation. The most significant impact has been shown with the use of glucagon-like peptide-2 and its analog (teduglutide). Surgical interventions remain an important part of the management of SBS to facilitate adaptation and treat complications. Intestinal transplantation is a last resort option when the process of adaptation is unsuccessful. This review article is intended to provide an overview of the conventional and emerging therapies for pediatric SBS.
Enzymatically controlled drug release systems.

Publisher Summary This chapter reviews the use of enzymes in drug delivery devices and describes two methods that can be used to fabricate such devices. The use of immobilized enzymes in conjunction with electrochemical sensors has been studied extensively because of the ease with which an electrical signal can be coupled to a mechanically activated drug delivery system (e.g., the various glucose-controlled insulin infusion systems employing immobilized glucose oxidase in the electrochemical glucose sensor). The chapter considers only systems in which the enzyme is intended to directly control drug delivery by affecting the properties of a polymer. Enzyme-containing drug delivery systems have tremendous potential because of their ability to respond directly and specifically to metabolites of interest. This controlled response may result in improved drug therapy that mimics the action of healthy glands and organs.
Empirical Models of Transit Service Areas

Empirical tools for planning access to transit systems are developed. Transit access is defined as those portions of the journey spent getting to the transit system, and then from the transit system to the destination point. The usual transit modes include the following: walking, park-and-ride, kiss-and-ride, paratransit feeder, transit feeder, taxi and bicycle. The impact of the access characteristics on transit ridership and the normative definition of the area accessed by the transit system are explored. The models presented concern bus routes (in Vancouver, St. Louis and Washington, D. C.) and commuter rail and express bus service (in northeastern New Jersey). The models determine normative classifications for transit service areas on the basis of access distance and time.
Is Russia restructuring ? new evidence on job creation and destruction

A dynamic market - one that facilitates the creation of jobs in productive enterprises and the destruction of jobs in unproductive enterprises - is increasingly viewed as essential for countries making the transition from centrally planned to market systems. Russia's privatization initiatives have not adequately reduced the overmanning of firms that was typical under the socialist system and the reallocation of labor has been relatively limited. There has been only a modest decline in state enterprises' hiring rates, labor hoarding has been widespread, and the labor market has taken few and limited steps toward becoming more flexible and competitive. Broadman and Recanatini explore the labor dynamics of Russian enterprise restructuring, empirically assessing how patterns of job creation and destruction are related to various aspects of enterprise restructuring across firms in different sectors and regions, and to different forms, sizes, vintages, and performance characteristics of ownership. Evidence from case studies - based on more than 50 site visits in 2000 - suggests that jobs have been destroyed, but only to a limited degree in some sectors and regions, largely because of institutional and incentive constraints and a still-widespread "socialist" corporate culture. Jobs have been created - particularly in sectors where devaluation had the most pronounced effect on import substitution and export promotion - but only slowly, mostly for lack of skilled workers and because regional mobility is limited. Labor turnover appears higher within regions than across regions. Newly available data for 1996-1999 (provided by Goskomstat) for about 128,000 enterprises in 24 industrial sectors in Russia's 89 regions indicates that the typical firm has experienced only modest downsizing - about 12 percent - in number of employees. Smaller firms have entered, and larger, mature businesses have exited some sectors. Except for a lull in 1998, the rate of job creation has steadily increased and the rate of job destruction has declined, dropping substantially in 1998-1999. "Voluntary" worker separations remain the main - and growing - form of layoff, and the proportion of layoffs through redundancies is shrinking (now about 4 percent of total separations). Firm size and net employment growth are not statistically related, but form of ownership seems to matter. Firm size is also statistically correlated (positively) with profitability, but restructuring through changes in net employment growth appears not to be. It seems Russian restructuring needs to become more efficient. This paper - a product of the Poverty Reduction and Economic Management Sector Unit, Europe and Central Asia Region - is part of a larger effort in the region to study structural reforms in the Russian Federation. The authors may be contacted at hbroadman@worldbank.org or frecanatini@worldbank.org.
Physiological and morphological properties of Dbx1-derived respiratory neurons in the pre-Botzinger complex of neonatal mice.

Breathing in mammals depends on an inspiratory-related rhythm that is generated by glutamatergic neurons in the pre-Botzinger complex (preBotC) of the lower brainstem. A substantial subset of putative rhythm-generating preBotC neurons derive from a single genetic line that expresses the transcription factor Dbx1, but the cellular mechanisms of rhythmogenesis remain incompletely understood. To elucidate these mechanisms, we carried out a comparative analysis of Dbx1-expressing neurons (Dbx1(+)) and non-Dbx1-derived (Dbx1(-)) neurons in the preBotC. Whole-cell recordings in rhythmically active newborn mouse slice preparations showed that Dbx1(+) neurons activate earlier in the respiratory cycle and discharge greater magnitude inspiratory bursts compared with Dbx1(-) neurons. Furthermore, Dbx1(+) neurons required less input current to discharge spikes (rheobase) in the context of network activity. The expression of intrinsic membrane properties indicative of A-current (IA) and hyperpolarization-activated current (Ih) tended to be mutually exclusive in Dbx1(+) neurons. In contrast, there was no such relationship in the expression of currents IA and Ih in Dbx1(-) neurons. Confocal imaging and digital morphological reconstruction of recorded neurons revealed dendritic spines on Dbx1(-) neurons, but Dbx1(+) neurons were spineless. The morphology of Dbx1(+) neurons was largely confined to the transverse plane, whereas Dbx1(-) neurons projected dendrites to a greater extent in the parasagittal plane. The putative rhythmogenic nature of Dbx1(+) neurons may be attributable, in part, to a higher level of intrinsic excitability in the context of network synaptic activity. Furthermore, Dbx1(+) neuronal morphology may facilitate temporal summation and integration of local synaptic inputs from other Dbx1(+) neurons, taking place largely in the dendrites, which could be important for initiating and maintaining bursts and synchronizing activity during the inspiratory phase.
US agricultural support programs and ethanol policies effects on farmland values and rental rates.

Purpose – In recent years, prices for prime farmland have increased substantially, begging the question is the dramatic increase the result of a speculative bubble or consistent with market fundamentals with increases driven by increased global demand, low interest rates, and recent changes to US agricultural and energy policies. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impacts of recent agricultural support policies and ethanol policies on farmland values and rental rates. Design/methodology/approach – Farm-level Agricultural Resource Management Survey data collected by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) between 1998 and 2008 as well as county-level data collected by the USDA, US Census Bureau, and Bureau of Economic Analysis are used to determine the impacts of recent agricultural support policies and ethanol policies on farmland values and rental rates, while controlling for parcel characteristics and urban pressure. Specifically, weighted ordinary least squares and two-stage lea...
Class Identification in Review: Past Perspectives and Future Directions

The rebirth of class analysis in the last two decades is due, in large part, to a theoretical shift in the field regarding class identification. The notable absence or weakness of class identities has led many theorists to proclaim the death of class, divorce class locations from identification, or rethink class identification as a relative, hierarchical, and individual concept. In each case, assumptions of collective class identification are laid to rest. As a result, some have called for a break from older models of class. In this article, we reexamine the contributions of classical class theory to the debate on collective class identification. By taking a closer look at the works of Marx, Weber, Durkheim, and Veblen regarding class and collective identification, we suggest that not only are they still relevant to the current debate, but that taken together they form a diverse foundation from which many future directions are possible.
Some evidence of price and cross-elasticities of mineral supply: The case of gold and uranium

Abstract The adequacy of future mineral supplies depends heavily on long-run supply elasticities. Little is known, however, about their probable magnitudes. This study contributes a simple proxy method of measuring short- and long-run supply elasticities, including cross-elasticities of joint product supply. The method is tested against data from the South African gold-uranium industry and is found to yield highly significant results.
Intracerebroventricular leptin administration reduces food intake in pregnant and lactating mice.

Leptin acts within the hypothalamus to diminish food intake. During pregnancy and lactation, both circulating leptin concentrations and food intake are elevated, suggesting an ineffectiveness of leptin to reduce food intake in these mice. Thus, this study tested the ability of intracerebroventricular (ICV) leptin administration to alter food intake during pregnancy and lactation. Mice during the first, second, and third trimesters of pregnancy, lactating mice on postpartum Day 7, and age-matched female mice were used. Plasma leptin concentrations averaged 2.9 ± 0.3 ng/ml in control mice, increased steadily as pregnancy progressed (3.4 ± 0.7, 29.8 ± 4.5, and 40.5 ± 0.7 ng/ml during the first, second, and third trimesters, respectively), and remained elevated on Day 7 postpartum (26.4 ± 7.8 ng/ml). Mice were food deprived for 4 h, injected ICV with vehicle or leptin (1 µg), and food intake was subsequently measured hourly for 3 hr, and after 24 hr. Vehicle-treated pregnant mice consumed marginally more food than cycling control mice, whereas nursing dams ate two to three times as much food as controls. As expected, ICV leptin administration reduced 24-hr food intake of control mice by 2g , or� 50%. ICV-administered leptin was as effective in reducing food intake of pregnant and lactating mice as observed in control mice. Thus, the elevated circulating leptin concentrations observed in pregnant and nursing mice did not alter the ability of ICV-administered leptin to diminish food intake. High plasma concentrations of leptin-binding proteins observed during pregnancy, and probably during lactation, may limit the amount of endogenous leptin reaching the hypothalamus, and may consequently enable increases in food intake concomitant with elevated plasma leptin during these nutritionally demanding periods. [Exp Biol Med Vol. 227(8):616–619, 2002]
Surrogates for Resilience of Social–Ecological Systems

From its roots in ecology, resilience (Holling 1973) has more recently been applied to social-ecological systems, or SES. Theories of changing resilience explicitly address the persistence or breakdown of diverse states of complex systems (Gunderson and Holling 2002). These ideas have attracted interest from interdisciplinary research groups interested in change, conservation or restoration of SES (Berkes and others 2003; Scheffer and others 2003). From a practical standpoint, resilience theory provides a conceptual foundation for sustainable development (Folke and others 2002). The transition from the ory to practice, however, requires assessment or estimation of resilience (Carpenter and others 2001). So far, there is little experience with esti mating resilience of SES, and little understanding of the sensitivity of resilience measures to changes in SES. This shortage of practical field experience is a barrier to building understanding through empirical study of resilience in SES. Direct measurement of resilience is difficult be cause it requires measuring the thresholds or boundaries that separate alternate domains of dynamics for SES. The only sure way to detect a threshold in a complex system is to cross it (Carpenter 2003). Yet threshold-crossings do not occur very often. In the natural sciences, much understanding of thresholds has come from delib erate manipulations of ecosystems, or before/after studies of large disturbances (Turner and Dale
Gallbladder carcinosarcoma: a case report and literature review.

Carcinosarcoma of the gallbladder is a rare malignancy characterized by both malignant epithelial and mesenchymal components. The clinical behavior of this tumor is extremely aggressive. Only 26 cases have been reported in the world literature to date. We report the case of a 64-year-old woman who had fever associated with a right upper quadrant mass. An exploratory laparotomy through a right upper quadrant incision was performed at another institution, and the patient was thought to have severe acute cholecystitis that would require additional antibiotic therapy before attempted resection. She was referred to our center, where abdominal CT showed a 6.4 × 8.2 cm pericholecystic mass involving the hepatic flexure of the colon. The patient underwent cholecystectomy and hepatic wedge resection, pancreaticoduodenectomy, and right hemicolectomy. Pathologic examination of the surgical specimen revealed two histologic components consisting of squamous cell carcinoma and spindle cell sarcoma of gallbladder origin, consistent with carcinosarcoma. All seven lymph nodes in the pancreaticoduodenectomy specimen were negative for tumor. We present this case and a review of the literature and current treatment recommendations.
The Emissivity of Bismuth in a Magnetic Field

Electromagnetic theory and the experiments of Hagen and Rubens lead to the formula $\frac{\ensuremath{\delta}E}{E}=\frac{\ensuremath{\delta}\ensuremath{\sigma}}{(2\ensuremath{\sigma})}$, where $\ensuremath{\delta}E$ is the change produced in the emissivity $E$ of a metal for long heat waves by a change $\ensuremath{\delta}\ensuremath{\sigma}$ in the electrical conductivity $\ensuremath{\sigma}$. Using a thermopile to detect $\ensuremath{\delta}E$ a magnetic field of 4900 gauss was used to produce the $\ensuremath{\delta}\ensuremath{\sigma}$ in bismuth plates kept at about 100\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{}C. No effect of the field on $E$ was observed for polished surfaces, surfaces etched with nitric acid, or surfaces of a plate cast in vacuum. A change of $E$ ten times smaller than the expected result could have been detected. Possible causes of the negative result are (1) the presence of emitted energy of too short a wave-length, (2) the absence of magneto-resistance in bismuth for high frequency currents, and (3) the absence of magnetoresistance in surface layers of bismuth. Reasons are given for rejecting (1) and (2) and accepting (3) as an explanation of the experiment.
Biogeochemical processes controlling midday ferrous iron maxima in stream waters affected by acid rock drainage

Abstract The biogeochemical cycling of Fe in acid rock drainage (ARD) streams has presented ongoing challenges to reactive solute transport modeling. Previous studies have relied on the pH-dependent solubility of Fe oxides as the main control of the mid-day Fe(II) maxima concentration in ARD streams. In this study, the authors assess the potential for Fe(II)-oxidizing reactions, including the Fenton and microbial oxidation reactions, to constrain the mid-day Fe(II) maxima concentration. At mid-day, pseudo-equilibrium between Fe(II) oxidizing reactions and photoreduction was assumed in order to evaluate the observed Fe(II) maxima and develop an equation to represent this steady state scenario. This steady state condition is assumed only while light intensity, reactivity of oxides and dissolved organic matter (DOM), and microbial populations remain approximately constant. Three Rocky Mountain ARD streams with known values for Fe(II) were evaluated and average photoreduction rates ranging from 5.56×10−4 to 1.39×10−3 μM/s were found during mid-day steady state Fe(II) maxima. Application of Fe redox biogeochemistry to reactive solute transport modeling may improve predictive capabilities of various trace metal and solute interactions incorporated with the cycling of Fe within ARD streams. Further, model improvement of Fe cycling may enable more accurate remediation predictions for ARD streams.
Retrogradation of maize starch after thermal treatment within and above the gelatinization temperature range

ABSTRACT Studies of starch retrogradation have not considered the initial thermal treatment. In this article, we explore the effect of heating to temperatures within and above the gelatinization range on maize starch retrogradation. In the first experiment, 30% suspensions of waxy (wx) starch were initially heated to final temperatures ranging from 54 to 72°C and held for 20 min. On reheating in the differential scanning calorimeter immediately after cooling, the residual gelatinization endotherm peak temperature increased, the endotherm narrowed, and enthalpy decreased. Samples stored for seven days at 4°C showed additional amylopectin retrogradation endotherms. Retrogradation increased dramatically as initial holding temperature increased from 60 to 72°C. In a second experiment, wx starch was initially heated to final temperatures from 54 to 180°C and rapidly cooled, followed by immediate reheating or storage at 4°C. Maximum amylopectin retrogradation enthalpy after storage was observed for initial heat...