cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Impact of Capillary-Driven Liquid Films on Salt Crystallization

Flow-through drying of ionic liquids in porous media can lead to super saturation and hence crystallization of salts. A model for the evolution of solid and liquid concentrations of salt, in porous media, due to evaporation by gas flow is presented. The model takes into account the impact of capillary-driven liquid film flow on the evaporation rates as well as the rate of transport of salt through those films. It is shown that at high capillary wicking numbers and high dimensionless pressure drops, supersaturation of brine takes place in the higher drying rate regions in the porous medium. This leads to solid salt crystallization and accumulation in the higher drying rate region. In the absence of wicking, there is no transport and accumulation of solid salt. Results from experiments of flow-through drying in rock cores are compared with model prediction of salt crystallization and accumulation.
Shortest paths for visibility-based pursuit-evasion

We present an algorithm that computes a minimal-cost pursuer trajectory for a single pursuer to solve the visibility-based pursuit-evasion problem in a simply-connected two-dimensional environment. This algorithm improves upon the known algorithm of Guibas, Latombe, LaValle, Lin, and Motwani, which is complete but not optimal. Our algorithm uses a Tour of Segments (ToS) subroutine to construct a pursuer path that minimizes the distance traveled by the pursuer while guaranteeing that all evaders in the environment will be captured. We have implemented our algorithm in simulation and provide results.
Modulated repetition time look-locker (MORTLL): a method for rapid high resolution three-dimensional T1 mapping.

Purpose To demonstrate a modification of the Look-Locker (LL) technique that enables rapid high resolution T1 mapping over the physiologic range of intracranial T1 values, ranging from white matter to cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). This is achieved by use of a three-dimensional (3D) balanced steady-state free precession (b-SSFP) acquisition (for high signal-to-noise and resolution) along with variable repetition time to allow effective full recovery of longitudinal magnetization. Materials and Methods Two modifications to the Look-Locker technique were made to realize high resolution imaging in a clinically reasonable scan time. The 3D b-SSFP acquisition after an initial inversion pulse was followed by a variable repetition time. This technique makes it possible to image a volume of thin contiguous slices with high resolution and accuracy using a simple fitting procedure and is particularly useful for imaging long T1 species such as CSF. The total scan time is directly proportional to the number of slices to be acquired. The scan time was reduced by almost half when the repetition time was modified using a predesigned smooth function. Phantoms and volunteers were imaged at different resolutions on a 3 Tesla scanner. Results were compared with other accepted techniques. Results T1 values in the brain corresponded well with full repetition time imaging as well as inversion recovery spin echo imaging. T1 values for white matter, gray matter, and CSF were measured to be 755 ± 10 ms, 1202 ± 9 ms, and 4482 ± 71 ms, respectively. Scan times were reduced by approximately half over full repetition time measurements. Conclusion High resolution T1 maps can be obtained rapidly and with a relatively simple postprocessing method. The technique is particularly well suited for long T1 species. For example, changes in the composition of proteins in CSF are linked to various pathologies. The T1 values showed excellent agreement with values obtained from inversion recovery spin-echo imaging. J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2009. © 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Post-Disaster Housing Recovery: The Promise and Peril of Social Capital

AbstractResearchers argue that social networks based on shared values, trust, and norms can facilitate collective action, and such social capital increases the ability of communities to recover after a disaster, implying that the presence of social capital ensures collective community action after a disaster and enables recovery. Drawing from comparative case studies of Bhuj and Bachhau, urban centres impacted by the 2001 Gujarat earthquake in India, this study presents a nuanced view of the role of social capital during post-disaster recovery. It argues that it is important to consider community contexts that are inherent to the amount of social capital available and the use of resources through social networks. The study demonstrates that strong internal bonds based on mutual trust did not necessarily lead to collective action for post-disaster housing recovery among communities in Bhuj and Bachhau. Moreover, the amount of social capital available through bonding networks differed among communities, dep...
The effect of pyramidal lesions on the performance of a conditioned avoidance response in cats.

Abstract Normal cats were trained to withdraw the right forelimb to a flashing light signal. Following training, one group was subjected to unilateral, and another to bilateral section of the pyramidal tracts at the caudal pontine level. Control groups underwent section of crossed olivospinal and olivocerebellar tracts, and bilateral subtotal removal of the cuneate nuclei. All subjects except three (one unilateral; two bilateral pyramidal) regained preoperative performance levels quickly, with only slight, transient losses. Possible reasons for the rather severe losses in three animals are discussed on the basis of damage to medial lemniscus, inferior olivary nuclei, and ventral reticular structures. It is concluded that in spite of the critical involvement of frontal cortex in the performance of a response of this type, the pyramidal tracts are not required for its mediation. Alternate pathways are discussed, involving nonpyramidal cortical feedback mechanisms.
High Speed Cineradiography : A Teciinique For Obtaining Physiologic Data

Biplanar high-speed cineradiography a technique that offers a unique approach for obtaining precise physiologic data that extends beyond the conventional recording devices. The rapid frame rates reduce motion blurring of moving objects and when used in the biplanar mode allows the inves-tigator to examine this information in three dimensional space. In our laboratory we have found it to be a useful technique for examining cardiovascular dynamic changes, particularly those events which are difficult or impossible to describe or measure using standard cine or physiologic recording methods. " " When combined witha number of new radiopaque contrast materials the investigator can obtain in-formation about the changing size and shape of the cardiac chambers throughout the heart cycle; the patterns of flaw through these chambers and the surrounding great vessels; the motion of the heart valves and the correlation of this data with pressures, sounds or electrical events. This type of information enables the scientist working with a small laboratory computer to calculate rapidly changing forces, volumes, dimenfpns and flaws in the cardiovascular system.© (1976) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Attachment style and person‐centered comforting

This study examines a link between attachment style and person‐centered comforting. Research suggests that those with secure attachment beliefs tend to be better comforters than those who are more avoidantly or anxiously attached. This paper suggests that one possible explanation lies in secures' ability to construct person‐centered comforting messages. The results of data analysis support this suggestion. Both continuous measures of attachment beliefs (comfort with closeness and anxiety) and self selected attachment style were reliably related to person‐centered message construction. Specifically, comfort with closeness was positively associated, and anxiety was found to have an “inverted U” shaped nonlinear association, with person‐centered comforting message production. This relationship remained after participant sex, cognitive complexity, and unwillingness to communicate were controlled. Implications for attachment theory and the constructivist approach to communication are discussed.
An interactive contextual model of migration in Ilocos Norte the Philippines.

This paper develops and estimates an interactive contextual model of migration in Ilocos Norte, the Philippines. It focuses on how contextual features alter the effects of family class status and community development level on the family’s migration decisions. The model estimates show a curvilinear relation between class status and migration, but the pattern differs in accordance with the prevalence of migration from the community in the past. In addition, the effects of socioeconomic development and agricultural commercialization patterns vary with context. These results demonstrate the importance of using interactive models for analyzing the contextual influences on migration.
The principle of multidimensional arrays.

Echocardiography is one of the most important diagnostic tools in cardiology today. One-dimensional phased arrays have been used extensively because they have a small footprint and allow beam steering. Their major limitation lies in that these devices can only be used to acquire images of two-dimensional slices in real-time and that the slice thickness cannot be controlled. To allow real-time three-dimensional imaging of the heart and focusing of the ultrasonic beam in two-dimensional, two-dimensional arrays, the design and fabrication of which are enormous engineering challenges, are required. Before reaching this ultimate goal, limited focusing in the elevational plane can be achieved with 1·5-dimensional arrays. Focusing in the elevational plane allows a reduction in slice thickness and thus an improvement in the image quality over a larger depth of view. Copyright 2002 The European Society of Cardiology. Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved .
Family resources, social capital, and college attendance

Abstract Using four waves of the National Educational Longitudinal Survey (NELS), we study the influence of parental education, family income, and selected aspects of social capital on the probability of attending different types of post-secondary education. We focus specifically on social capital over which parents and adolescents have some control while the children are adolescents. We compare the importance of social capital to parental education and family income, factors over which parents and children have little control by the time children are adolescents, in explaining the likelihood of individuals attending college. The results suggest that parental expectations, parent/adolescent discussion of school activities, Catholic school attendance, school changing, parental involvement in school activities, and parent-school academic contact are strongly related to post-secondary enrollment. Using predicted probabilities generated by models of college attendance, we show that the individual and cumulative effects of these social capital variables are sizable enough to warrant further research as well as consideration in policy discussions of how to increase educational attainment.
Anthracyclines in the Treatment of Early-Stage Breast Cancer: Ally or Adversary?

Adjuvant systemic chemotherapy has long been established as a mainstay in the management of many women with early-stage breast cancer. The original Oxford Overview of randomized controlled trials d...
ML-DEWS : Modeling Language to Support Dynamic Evolution within Workflow Systems

Organizations that are geared for success within today's business environments must be capable of rapid and continuous change. Dynamic change is a large and pervasive problem which surfaces within organizational workflows as well as within soft ware engineering, manufacturing, and numerous other domains. Procedural changes, performed in an ad hoc manner, can cause inefficiencies, inconsistencies, and catastrophic breakdowns within organizations. This document is concerned with change, especially dynamic change, to organizational procedures. We explain a taxonomy of change modalities, and present a modeling language for the unambiguous specification of procedural change. This language, call i>ML-DEWS, complements the formal model of dynamic change previously presented by the authors. Issues of exception handling, temporal specification, and participatory change are conveniently handled within the framework presented in this document.
A Molecular Dynamics Investigation of the Bacterial Cis-Prenyl Transferases: Perspectives on Conformational Flexibility and Chain Elongation Mechanisms

E,Z-farnesyl diphosphate synthase (E,Z-FPPS; Rv1068) and cis-decaprenyl diphosphate synthase (DPPS; Rv2361c) are promising drug targets in Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the causative agent of tuberculosis, due to their essential roles in the early steps of isoprenoid synthesis during the bacterial cell wall biosynthesis. In this work, we performed a series of molecular dynamics (MD) simulations on E,Z-FPP and DPPS both free and in complex with various ligands in order to investigate their dynamic behaviors. Binding pocket volume calculations obtained from the MD trajectories identified several transitions between open and closed states, indicating considerable structural plasticity of the active sites of these proteins, with the largest flexibility found with DPPS. MD simulations on the mutated E,Z-FPPS and DPPS suggested a possible chain elongation mechanisms for the two enzymes which work in series to synthesize the long decaprenyl diphosphate. To incorporate the flexibility of DPPS into our drug discovery protocol, we carried out virtual screening of a library of 39 known DPPS inhibitors with different receptor conformers obtained from the MD simulations, finding better predictive performance with several rarely sampled MD structures than with static, X-ray crystallographic structures. Our results highlight the importance of accounting for protein flexibility in computer-aided drug design targeting E,Z-FPPS and DPPS.
Depolarization Current Measurements on Field-Aged XLPE Cable Insulation

Laboratory tests on field aged and unaged cables were performed using DC depolarization current measurements. Aged cables with water trees showed high dielectric losses and depolarization currents as compared with the reference, unaged cable. Both the area under the depolarization current waveform and dielectric loss factor, tandelta, increased with DC poling and the applied AC voltage, respectively. A new indicator of the insulation aging derived from the measured current is proposed to rate the degree of aging of cable insulation. This indicator increases with the poling field, and a DC poling voltage less than 50% of the nominal peak value of the cable operating voltage is sufficient to obtain reliable values. The cable insulation aging indicator could be a useful tool for monitoring the operating condition of cables in service and help utilities to develop cable replacement programs based on the actual state of the cable insulation conditions.
Mortality among workers at the Savannah River Site.

Background Workers employed at the Savannah River Site (SRS) were potentially exposed to a range of chemical and physical hazards, many of which are poorly characterized. We therefore compared the observed deaths among workers to expectations based upon death rates for referent populations. Methods The cohort included 18,883 SRS workers hired between 1950 and 1986. Vital status and cause of death information were ascertained through 2002. Sex-specific standardized mortality ratios (SMR) were computed using U.S. and South Carolina mortality rates. SMRs were tabulated separately for monthly-, weekly-, and hourly-paid men. Results Males had fewer deaths from all causes [SMR = 0.80, 90% confidence interval (CI): 0.78, 0.82], all cancers (SMR = 0.85, 90% CI: 0.81, 0.89), and lung cancer (SMR = 0.88, 90% CI: 0.82, 0.95) than expected based upon US mortality rates. The SMR for cancer of the pleura was 4.25 (90% CI: 1.99, 7.97) for men. The SMR for leukemia was greater than unity for monthly-paid (SMR = 1.33, 90% CI: 0.88, 1.93) and hourly-paid (SMR=1.36, 90% CI: 1.02, 1.78) men. Female workers had fewer deaths from all causes (SMR = 0.75, 90% CI: 0.69, 0.82) than expected, but more deaths than expected from cancer of the kidney (SMR = 2.58, 90% CI: 1.21, 4.84) and skin (SMR = 3.90, 90% CI: 2.11, 6.61). Conclusions While the observed numbers of deaths in most categories of cause of death were less than expected, there are greater than expected numbers of deaths due to cancer of the pleura and leukemia, particularly among hourly-paid male workers. It is plausible that occupational hazards, including asbestos and ionizing radiation, contribute to these excesses. Am. J. Ind. Med. 50:881–891, 2007. © 2007 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Photosynthesis by developing embryos of oilseed rape (Brassica napus L.)

The aim of this study was to assess the photosynthetic potential of developing seeds of oilseed rape (Brassica napus L.) and to compare photosynthetic properties of embryo plastids with those of leaf chloroplasts from the same species. Measurements of CO 2 -dependent O 2 evolution show that developing seeds of B. napus are photosynthetically active in vitro. Essentially, all of the photosynthetic activity of the developing seed is accounted for by the embryo. The rate of photosynthesis by developing embryos increased until the onset of desiccation, after which it declined, so that by maturity embryos were no longer photosynthetically active. Photosynthetic activity was positively correlated with chlorophyll content throughout development. Comparison of the photosynthetic characteristics of leaf and embryo chloroplasts revealed that rates of uncoupled electron transport were 2.5-fold greater in those from the embryo. Light-saturated rates of CO 2 -dependent O 2 evolution, per unit chlorophyll, and CO 2 saturation points were similar for chloroplasts from both tissues. However, light-saturation points and chlorophyll a/b ratios were lower for embryo than for leaf choroplasts. Embryos and embryo chloroplasts also contained considerably less ribulose 1,5-bis-phosphate carboxylase/oxygenase protein per unit total protein, than leaves. Although excised embryos were capable of high rates of CO 2 -dependent O 2 evolution (90-100 μmol mg -1 chlorophyll h -1 ) under a saturating photosynthetic photon flux density (PPFD), low transmittance of light through the silique wall (30%), together with the high PPFD required to achieve light compensation points in developing seeds (500 μmol m -2 s -1 ), suggests that photosynthesis in vivo is unlikely to make a net contribution to carbon economy under normal environmental conditions.
PROTON POLARIZATION MEASUREMENTS NEAR 18 Mev

Polarization of protons in proton-helium scattering may be calculated from phase shifts obtained from differential cross section measurements. Calculations of this type were performed for energies up to 18 Mev. On the basis of these results, an instrument was built with which proton polarizations could be measured for protons with energies from 5 Mev to 18 Mev and beyond. A second polarization analyzer was built utilizing the discovery of polarization in the scattering of protons by carbon around 17 Mev. Results are given for polarization measurements on H, D, Be, C, and Al near 18 Mev. Angular distributions for polarization in both elastic and inelastic (4.4-Mev excitation) scattering by carbon are also reported. (auth)
Auxiliary Bearing Life Prediction Using Hertzian Contact Bearing Model

A rotating machine with active magnetic bearings (AMBs) requires conventional bearings as a backup support system in the case of AMB failure. This paper presents an estimated auxiliary/catcher bearing (CB) L 10 fatigue life based on the Hertzian contact dynamic loads between bearing ball and races during the touchdown. The thermal growths of bearing components are predicted using a one-dimensional thermal model, and the resulting expansions contribute to the calculation for the Hertzian contact loads. Numerical simulations for an energy-storage flywheel module reveal that a high-speed backward whirl significantly reduces the CB life and that an optimal damping lowers the CB temperature and increases the CB life.
Nuclear Reactions among the Hydrogen Isotopes at Low Energies

The low-energy fusion cross-section (LEFCS) apparatus installed at the Los Alamos Van de Graaff facility has been used to measure the cross sections for the important fusion-energy reaction D(t, ?)n over the triton bombarding energy range of 12.5 to 117 keV. This corresponds to an equivalent deuteron bombarding energy range of 8.3 to 78.1 keV and to a D+T plasma temperature (kT) range of 0.7 to 18.8 keV. Over most of the energy range the cross sections are accurate to 1.4%, with the error rising to 4.8% at the lowest energy. A data base was constructed for deuteron bombarding energies up to about 250 keV that included our data and four other data sets. This data base can be fitted quite well with a single-level (3/2+) resonance formula in the R-matrix formalism. Work is currently in progress on the D(d, p) T and D(d, He) n reactions, with studies of D(t, ?) and T(t, ?)nn planned for the future.
High rate anaerobic digestion of wastewater separated from grease trap waste

Abstract The co-production of biodiesel and methane gas from grease trap waste (GTW) was evaluated and compared against theoretical predictions of methane production from sole anaerobic digestion of GTW. The GTW was first processed into two separate phases comprised of fats, oil, and grease (FOG) and high strength wastewater (GTW wastewater). The GTW wastewater was then anaerobically digested in biochar packed up-flow column reactors to produce methane gas and a low-strength wastewater effluent while the FOG phase was set aside for conversion into biodiesel. Anaerobic digestion efficiencies that yielded chemical oxygen demand (COD) reductions up to 95% and methane headspace concentrations between 60 and 80% were achieved along with FOG to biodiesel conversion efficiencies of 90%. Methane production yields (m3 per kg COD reduced) achieved theoretical maximums with near total depletion of the volatile organic acids. High resolution images of biochar samples confirmed extensive coverage with thick biofilm communities. Microbial analysis revealed broad spectrum populations of anaerobic bacteria that ferment organic substrates to produce acetate, ethanol, and hydrogen as major end products as well as archaeal populations that produce methane gas. Energy calculations validated the co-production of biodiesel and methane gas from GTW as a competitive option relative to its co-digestion with sewage sludge.
IRM: integrated region matching for image retrieval

Content-based image retrieval using region segmentation has been an active research area. We present IRM (Integrated Region Matching), a novel similarity measure for region-based image similarity comparison. The targeted image retrieval systems represent an image by a set of regions, roughly corresponding to objects, which are characterized by features reflecting color, texture, shape, and location properties. The IRM measure for evaluating overall similarity between images incorporates properties of all the regions in the images by a region-matching scheme. Compared with retrieval based on individual regions, the overall similarity approach reduces the influence of inaccurate segmentation, helps to clarify the semantics of a particular region, and enables a simple querying interface for region-based image retrieval systems. The IRM has been implemented as a part of our experimental SIMPLIcity image retrieval system. The application to a database of about 200,000 general-purpose images shows exceptional robustness to image alterations such as intensity variation, sharpness variation, color distortions, shape distortions, cropping, shifting, and rotation. Compared with several existing systems, our system in general achieves more accurate retrieval at higher speed.
Scanning electron microscope observations of Plasmodium berghei ookinetes in primary mosquito cell cultures

Abstract Plasmodium berghei -infected blood from mice was inoculated into primary cell cultures (PCC) obtained from the mosquito Anopheles stephensi . Immature and mature ookinetes of Plasmodium berghei , which developed in these cultures were studied with the scanning electron microscope. Immature ookinetes had a bulbous-like structure at the posterior end and a slightly wrinkled surface. Mature ookinetes were smoother in appearance and somewhat longer than immature forms. Shallow spiraling waves were observed on the surface of some ookinetes, especially in the anterior half of the body. Such waves may be involved in ookinete locomotion. Penetration of cultured cells by ookinetes was not observed. Infected red cells, which were present in the inoculum, had small depressions on the red cell surface, whereas some uninfected red cells had accentuated concavities. Mouse blood cells adhered closely to PCC cells; some attached red cells were irregular in shape.
Self‐Disclosure in Spouse and Stranger Interaction A Social Relations Analysis

The purpose of this study was to examine self-disclosure as both a personality trait and an interaction process. Forty men and women engaged in dyadic conversations with three same and three opposite-sex strangers and their spouses on each of three occasions. The conversations were coded for type of self-disclosure (descriptive vs. evaluative) and level of intimacy. The data were analyzed using Social Relations Analysis. The results of the study provided little support for individual differences in self-disclosure. In general, individuals were inconsistent in how much they self-disclosed to others and in how much self-disclosure they elicited from others. There were no sex differences in self-disclosure. There was qualified support for the process model of self-disclosure. The level of the relationship (spouse vs. stranger) affected self-disclosure, and self-disclosure was reciprocal for both spouses and strangers. However, there were no relationship differences in self-disclosure and self-disclosure was not related to liking.
Chloroplast biogenesis: quantitative determination of monovinyl and divinyl Mg-protoporphyrins and protochlorophyll(ides) by spectrofluorometry.

Abstract General equations which permit the determination of the amounts of any two closely related fluorescent compounds which can be distinguished by 77°K but not by 293°K spectrofluorometry have been described. This was achieved in the presence or absence of a third interfering compound, without prior separation of the fluorescent species. The adaptation of the generalized equations to the determination of the amounts of monovinyl (MV) and divinyl (DV) Mg-protoporphyrins or of MV and DV protochlorophyll(ides) in the presence or absence of Mg-Protos [Mg-protoporphyrin IX (Mg-Proto), Mg-Proto monoester, Mg-Proto diester or a mixture of those three tetrapyrroles] interference, was then demonstrated over a wide range of MV DV tetrapyrrole proportions. These equations are likely to be very useful for the study of the intermediary metabolism of the monovinyl and divinyl chlorophyll biosynthetic routes in plants.
Feasibility of short-term outpatient intravenous antibiotic therapy for the management of infectious conditions in pediatric patients.

Abstract Objective The objective of this study was to examine the feasibility of short-term outpatient peripheral intravenous (IV) antibiotic therapy for selected emergency department (ED) patients. Methods Retrospective analysis of pediatric ED patients presenting with infections of presumed bacterial etiology who received IV ceftriaxone and were discharged with a “capped” IV catheter and instructions to return in 24 hours for reevaluation. Outcome measures included clinical outcome at 24 hours and catheter-related complications. Results Twenty-nine patients met study criteria. All returned for reevaluation. In one case, a parent removed the catheter when their child reported “numbness/soreness” at the catheter site. The other 28 patients were judged to be improved, received a second dose of ceftriaxone through the original catheter, and were discharged on oral antibiotic. No adverse events related to the catheter were identified. Conclusion Outpatient peripheral IV catheter use appears to be a feasible method for providing serial doses of parenteral antibiotic for the treatment of selected pediatric patients with infectious conditions.
Parental Characteristics and the Schooling Progress of the Children of Immigrant and U.S.-Born Blacks

In this study, I examine disparities in schooling progress among children born to immigrant and U.S.-born blacks. I find that in one- and two-parent families, children born to black immigrants are less likely to fall behind in school than those born to U.S.-born blacks. In two-parent immigrant families, children born to two immigrant parents have a significant schooling advantage over children born to one immigrant parent. While children born to two immigrant parents in the wealthiest black immigrant families do better in the second generation than in the first, the reverse is observed among children in less wealthy families. These findings contribute in two ways to our understanding of the assimilation processes of children born to black immigrant parents. First, they show that there is a positive association between the number of immigrant parents in a family and children’s schooling performance. Second, they suggest that disparities in the assimilation patterns of the children of black immigrants are a likely product of the interaction between their parental characteristics and the socioeconomic circumstances of their families.
Drug use in the elderly: a review of problems and special considerations.

With the recognition that the aged constitute an increasing proportion of our patient population, attention is being directed toward understanding the epidemiology, pharmacology and toxicology of drug use in the elderly. As a group, elderly patients have more illness and inevitably take more medications than younger patients. Although not unique to geriatric medicine, medication errors and lack of comprehension of treatment plans are prevalent. These factors undoubtedly contribute to the increased incidence of adverse drug reactions in the elderly. It is possible that age differences in pharmacokinetics may contribute importantly to the apparent increased ‘sensitivity’ of older persons to both the therapeutic and toxic effects of some drugs. For most drugs studied, such pharmacokinetic differences are generally consistent with age differences in body composition, protein binding, renal function and tissue perfusion. Aging is associated with a decrease in lean body mass and total body water, a decrease in serum albumin concentration, a decline in glomerular and tubular function in the kidney, and diminished cardiac output, liver blood flow and cerebral blood flow. Although some evidence suggests that hepatic metabolism of drugs is impaired with aging, it is increasingly clear that apparent effects of age on antipyrine metabolism may be more related to age differences in other factors, such as diet and smoking, than to age per se. For antipyrine, a model compound for the study of hepatic microsomal drug metabolising enzyme activity in man, biological variation seems to be much more important than any single non-genetic variable presently investigated. The few available studies suggest little effect of age on drug absorption, but more information is needed. In addition to considering the epidemiology of drug use and the altered physiology in the elderly, this review attempts to provide an overview of what is known about the relationship of advanced age and the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of representative compounds from several groups of drugs. Although the response to isoprenaline (isoproterenol) and propranolol is impaired in the elderly, most studies seem to bear out the long held clinical impression that the elderly are generally more sensitive to drugs than younger individuals. Finally, several general principles of drug use in a patient of any age are restated as guidelines for geriatric pharmacotherapy. Worthy of special consideration are ways of promoting compliance with prescribed therapy.
High-precision Penning trap mass measurements of neutron-rich sulfur isotopes at the N = 28 shell closure

Direct mass measurements of the neutron-rich {sup 40-44}S isotopes were performed at the Low Energy Beam and Ion Trap facility at the National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory. The resulting mass excesses (MEs) are ME({sup 40}S)=-22 837.8(3.9) keV, ME({sup 41}S)=-19 008.6(4.1) keV, ME({sup 42}S)=-17 637.9(2.7) keV, ME({sup 43}S)=-12 195.5(4.9) keV, and ME({sup 44}S)=-9 204.2(5.2) keV, and they represent improvements by factors of 20 to 50 in the precision of previous mass measurements of these isotopes.
Two Sides to Every Proinflammatory Coin New Insights Into the Role of Dendritic Cells in the Regulation of T-Cell Driven Autoimmune Myocarditis

Myocarditis is a major cause of heart failure in young adults that is typically precipitated by cardiac infection with organisms such as Coxsackie B virus or the parasite Trypanosoma Cruzi 1 . Myocarditis has a variety of clinical presentations but is often characterized by severe ventricular dysfunction and risk of fatal arrhythmia. Tissue injury during myocarditis is caused by direct infection of cardiomyoctes and immune-mediated responses to microbial antigens; in addition, autoimmune T cell and antibody responses to myocardial antigens can develop and persist even after the inciting infection has been cleared. The autoimmune component of myocarditis indicates a failure of self-tolerance mechanisms, and may be driven by molecular mimicry between microbial and myocardial self-antigens. Although there has been an emphasis on the role of autoantibodies in autoimmune myocarditis, such as those targeting the β1 adrenergic receptor or the αmyosin heavy chain αMHC), this may reflect the relative ease of their experimental detection as compared to assays of T cell activation by specific self-antigens. Nonetheless, the relevance of T cells is supported by the fact that lymphocytic infiltrates including CD4 + helper T cells can be demonstrated in endocardial biopsy or autopsy sections taken from patients with myocarditis, and by the fact that many of the cardiac auto-antibodies in human myocarditis have undergone IgG class switching, which reflects T helper dependent B cell responses.
Education modifies the effect of apolipoprotein epsilon 4 on cognitive decline

Objectives: To assess the influence of education on the association between apolipoprotein E and cognitive change. Design: Prospective cohort. Participants: HMO-based sample of 2168 non-demented community-dwelling elderly followed over 6 years. Measurements: Generalized estimating equations were used with the difference between baseline and follow-up cognitive abilities screening instrument (CASI) as the outcome variable. Results: At follow-up, 6% of the sample had a decline of 1.5 S.D. or greater on the CASI. Compared to individuals without an APOE4 allele, individuals with a single APOE4 allele did not have greater CASI decline. By contrast, individuals with two APOE4 alleles experienced greater decline in cognitive performance and the magnitude of that decline decreased as years of educational attainment increased. These relationships held after adjusting for age, gender, ethnicity, depression, diabetes, and history of vascular disease. Conclusion: Lower education was associated with steep 4-year cognitive decline for APOE4 homozygotes but not for APOE4 heterozygotes. Potentially modifiable host factors such as education could influence the association of high-risk genotypes and cognitive decline.
Short-distance dispersal and lack of genetic structure in an urban striped skunk population

Striped skunks (Mephitis mephitis) act as reservoirs of many zoonotic diseases and are highly adept at persisting in urbanized landscapes in high densities. A better understanding of the interaction between skunks and the urban environment can aid in the development of management approaches to disease outbreaks, as well as provide information on wildlife responses to urbanization-induced habitat fragmentation. We studied the genetic structure of a population of striped skunks in an urban environment, assessing the presence of subpopulation structuring, sex-biased philopatry, and natal habitat—biased dispersal. Analysis of microsatellite data failed to detect any significant population clustering or evidence of natal habitat—biased dispersal, but spatial autocorrelation analyses did reveal patterns of limited dispersal (< 2 km) and suggest female-biased philopatry. Our results suggest that urban habitats provide few barriers to gene flow in striped skunks.
Current therapies in exotic animal oncology

The majority of information on oncology therapies has been reported in humans, canine, and feline patients, and laboratory animals with experimentally induced tumors. A variety of treatments,including radiation therapy, chemotherapy, photodynamic therapy, and others have been used with exotic animals. There are many species of exotic pets, and anatomic differences, as well as husbandry and nutritional requirements, must be taken into account to provide optimal care. By providing a broad overview of therapies and considerations for treatment, this article is intended to provide the practitioner with an overview of approach and options when addressing oncology cases in exotic animals.
The analytical bootstrap: a new method for fast error estimation in approximate query processing

Sampling is one of the most commonly used techniques in Approximate Query Processing (AQP)-an area of research that is now made more critical by the need for timely and cost-effective analytics over "Big Data". Assessing the quality (i.e., estimating the error) of approximate answers is essential for meaningful AQP, and the two main approaches used in the past to address this problem are based on either (i) analytic error quantification or (ii) the bootstrap method. The first approach is extremely efficient but lacks generality, whereas the second is quite general but suffers from its high computational overhead. In this paper, we introduce a probabilistic relational model for the bootstrap process, along with rigorous semantics and a unified error model, which bridges the gap between these two traditional approaches. Based on our probabilistic framework, we develop efficient algorithms to predict the distribution of the approximation results. These enable the computation of any bootstrap-based quality measure for a large class of SQL queries via a single-round evaluation of a slightly modified query. Extensive experiments on both synthetic and real-world datasets show that our method has superior prediction accuracy for bootstrap-based quality measures, and is several orders of magnitude faster than bootstrap.
Swimbladder Leiomyosarcoma in Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) in North America.

Leiomyosarcoma with associated retrovirus were found in North America for the first time in adult Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) held in a quarantine facility at the North Attleboro National Fish Hatchery (NANFH), Massachusetts, USA. The fish had been collected as age 1–2 yr animals from the Pleasant River, Maine, and were to be used as brood stock in a population augmentation program for that river. Neoplastic disease was observed at NANFH initially in older (age 4 yr) fish, followed by age 3 yr fish. Disease was not observed in age 2 yr fish. The mortality pattern was chronic.
Molecular cloning and nucleotide sequence analysis of the Saccharomyces cerevisiae RAD1 gene.

Abstract We have screened a yeast genomic library for complementation of the UV sensitivity of mutants defective in the RAD1 gene and isolated a plasmid designated pNF1000 with an 8.9-kilobase insert. This multicopy plasmid quantitatively complemented the UV sensitivity of two rad1 mutants tested but did not affect the UV resistance of other rad mutants. The location of the UV resistance function in pNF1000 was determined by deletion analysis, and an internal fragment of the putative RAD1 gene was integrated into the genome of a RAD1 strain. Genetic analysis of several integrants showed that integration occurred at the chromosomal RAD1 site, demonstrating that the internal fragment was derived from the RAD1 gene. A 3.88-kilobase region of pNF1000 was sequenced and showed the presence of a small open reading frame 243 nucleotides long that is apparently unrelated to RAD1, as well as a 2,916-nucleotide larger open reading frame presumed to encode RAD1 protein. Depending on which of two possible ATG codons initiates translation, the size of the RAD1 protein is calculated at 110 or 97 kilodaltons.
Comparison of Non-Human Primate and Human Whole Blood Tissue Gene Expression Profiles

Gene expression profiling is an important tool in the development of medical countermeasures against chemical warfare agents (CWAs). Non-human primates (NHPs), specifically the rhesus macaque (Macaca mulatta), the cynomologus macaque (Macaca fascicularis), and the African green monkey (Chlorocebus aethiops), are vital models in the development of CWA prophylactics, therapeutics, and diagnostics. However, gene expression profiling of these NHPs is complicated by the fact their genomes are not completely sequenced, and that no commercially available oligonucleotide microarrays (genechips) exist. We, therefore, sought to determine whether gene expression profiling of NHPs could be performed using human genechips. Whole blood RNA was isolated from each species and used to generate genechip probes. Hybridization of the NHP samples to human genechips (Affymetrix Human U133 Plus 2.0) resulted in comparable numbers of transcripts detected compared with human samples. Statistical analysis revealed intraspecies reproducibility of genechip quality control metrics; interspecies comparison between NHPs and humans showed little significant difference in the quality and reproducibility of data generated using human genechips. Expression profiles of each species were compared using principal component analysis (PCA) and hierarchical clustering to determine the similarity of the expression profiles within and across the species. The cynomologus group showed the least intraspecies variability, and the human group showed the greatest intraspecies variability. Intraspecies comparison of the expression profiles identified probe sets that were reproducibly detected within each species. Each NHP species was found to be dissimilar to humans; the cynomologus group was the most dissimilar. Interspecies comparison of the expression profiles revealed probe sets that were reproducibly detected in all species examined. These results show that human genechips can be used for expression profiling of NHP samples and provide a foundation for the development of tools for comparing human and NHP gene expression profiles.
Nonparametric Estimation for Censored Mixture Data With Application to the Cooperative Huntington’s Observational Research Trial

This work presents methods for estimating genotype-specific outcome distributions from genetic epidemiology studies where the event times are subject to right censoring, the genotypes are not directly observed, and the data arise from a mixture of scientifically meaningful subpopulations. Examples of such studies include kin-cohort studies and quantitative trait locus (QTL) studies. Current methods for analyzing censored mixture data include two types of nonparametric maximum likelihood estimators (NPMLEs; Type I and Type II) that do not make parametric assumptions on the genotype-specific density functions. Although both NPMLEs are commonly used, we show that one is inefficient and the other inconsistent. To overcome these deficiencies, we propose three classes of consistent nonparametric estimators that do not assume parametric density models and are easy to implement. They are based on inverse probability weighting (IPW), augmented IPW (AIPW), and nonparametric imputation (IMP). AIPW achieves the effic...
Validation of VASO cerebral blood volume measurement with positron emission tomography.

Cerebral blood volume (CBV) has been shown to be an important biomarker in a number of neurological disorders and in the quantitative interpretation of functional MRI. One approach to determine CBV in humans is Vascular-space-occupancy (VASO) MRI and this technique has been applied to the studies of brain glioma, Schizophrenia and Alzheimer’s Disease. However, validation of this technique with a gold standard method has not been reported. In this study, we compared VASO MRI with a radiotracer based PET technique in a group of healthy subjects. It was found that regional CBV measured with VASO MRI was highly correlated with that of the PET data (R=0.79±0.10, N=8). Furthermore, absolute CBV values quantified by VASO were also in excellent agreement with those by PET (slope=1.00±0.15). Due to differences in the labeling principles between the two modalities, systematic CBV differences were observed in large vessel and ventricle regions.
The effect of short term treatment with alendronate on vertebral density and biochemical markers of bone remodeling in early postmenopausal women

The effects of oral alendronate treatment on spinal bone mineral density and biochemical markers of bone turnover were assessed in women in the early postmenopausal period. Sixty-five women were treated with placebo or 5, 20, or 40 mg alendronate daily for 6 weeks in a double blind study. Treatment with alendronate decreased both urinary markers of bone resorption (pyridinolines, hydroxyproline, and calcium) and serum markers of bone formation (osteocalcin and alkaline phosphatase) in a dose-dependent fashion. This short term treatment with alendronate also produced a dose-dependent increase in lumbar bone mineral density measured 7.5 months after the completion of therapy. Median percent changes in integral spinal bone mineral density, as assessed by dual x-ray absorptiometry, were -2.3, -1.2, +0.7, and +1.2 after treatment with placebo and 5, 20, and 40 mg alendronate, respectively. Treatment with alendronate was well tolerated and produced no fever; gastrointestinal intolerance was no more common than with placebo treatment. Short term alendronate treatment in early postmenopausal women decreased bone turnover and increased vertebral density.
PARENTAL BEHAVIOR AT PARTURITION IN PRAIRIE VOLES (MICROTUS OCHROGASTER)

Little is known about the behavior of male and female rodents at parturition. We documented behavior during and immediately after parturition in prairie voles (Microtus ochrogaster), a species characterized by extensive biparental care during the preweaning period. To assess the role of males in parturition and their effect on maternal behavior, we studied parturient behavior of male‐female pairs and females recently separated from their mates. We studied 12 births under seminatural conditions. For each birth, we scored behavior beginning with birth of the 1st offspring, using 3 h of continuous videotape records. Time from birth of the 1st offspring to birth of the last was always ,1 h. Female prairie voles were aggressive toward their mates and effectively excluded them from the nest for most, if not all, of the period of parturition. Thus, measures of parental behavior were much higher for females than for males in breeding pairs. Females permitted males back into the nest about 1 day after parturition. The behavior at parturition of paired and single females was similar. Our data indicate that females may limit the role of males in parturition and care of newborn young, even in species with extensive paternal investment.