cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The Operatics of Detachment: Tosca in the James Bond Film Quantum of Solace

Abstract I argue that Quantum of Solace , the 2008 James Bond movie, marks a change in the conception of the opera visit in film, which typically shows opera in an idealizing light. Quantum 9s opera visit, which may be a “first” in an action film, signifies detachment and encapsulates the subjective isolation of the protagonist. The scene9s distance comes from the floating operatic venue (Bregenz Festival), the voyeuristic production (“techno-opera”), the frenetic montage in much of the sequence, and the work itself ( Tosca ), which has parallels with the filmic story. Detachment is further promoted by a dry sound environment, a rearranged temporal scheme, and opera music that approaches underscore in its distance from operatic idioms. Comprised of slow harmonic rhythm and considerable repetition, the two musical excerpts—the Te Deum ending act I and the instrumental music after Scarpia9s murder in act II—are noticeably static and impose a groundedness that separates the scene from the film9s other set pieces, which are extremely fast in music, sound, and image. The disposition of the operatic music points up the cinematic bent of Puccini9s score and its remarkable ability to accommodate the needs of the film. Although Quantum 9s opera visit is cynical toward opera culture, it captures the postmillennial malaise of the long-running Bond franchise and forms the high point of a film that disappointed critics and fans alike. But while opera may “redeem” the film9s larger narrative, the protagonist remains aloof from opera9s transforming qualities as he shuns engagement with the spectacle and the resonant music on the soundtrack. Bond9s detachment is embodied in the symbol of the set9s iconic Big Eye, which not only reverses opera9s scopic dynamic by gazing at the audience more than the audience gazes at the stage, but also represents mediated looking at opera in general, as in the Metropolitan Opera9s HD cinecasts. While an operatics of detachment may seem like a contradiction, Quantum of Solace persuades us that it can be a vibrant reimagining of the special filmic ritual that is the opera visit.
Optical trapping efficiencies from n-phase cylindrical vector beams

We present the use of n - phase cylindrical vector beams in optical trapping. The vector beams are created via a Mach- Zehnder interferometer equipped with tunable phase plates, and the "n" prefix indicates the relative phase between the Hermite-Gaussian modes comprising the output beam. The optical trapping efficiency is measured via the Stokes drag force method for radial and azimuthal vector beams with n = 0 and π, giving a total of 4 unique input beams. Additionally, their trapping efficiencies are compared with that of a standard Gaussian input beam of equal input power. We find that the axial trapping efficiency can be optimized by increasing the amount of longitudinal (z) polarization at the focal plane of the trapping objective. Further, the lateral trapping efficiency is determined by the focal spot diameter, as expected, and can be similarly tuned by varying the relative phase between the vector beams' eigenmodes. The results suggest that cylindrical vector beams may be tuned such that both axial and lateral trapping efficiencies can be maximized.
Hardware-friendly mixed content compression algorithm

The mixed content compression (MCC) algorithm developed in this research provides a hardware efficient solution for compression of scanned compound document images. MCC allows for an easy implementation in imaging pipeline hardware by using only an 8 row buffer of pixels. MCC uses the JPEG encoder to effectively compress the background and picture content of a document image. The remaining text and line graphics in the image, which require high spatial resolution, but can tolerate low color resolution, are compressed using a JBIG1 encoder and color quantization. To separate the text and graphics from the image, MCC uses a simple mean square error (MSE) block classification algorithm to allow a hardware efficient implementation. Results show that for our comprehensive training suite, the compression ratio average achieved by MCC was 60:1, but JPEG only achieved 35:1. In particular, MCC compression ratios become very high on average (82:1 versus 44:1) for mono text documents, which are very common documents being copied and scanned with all-in-ones. In addition, MCC has an edge sharpening side-effect that is very desirable for the target application.
THE WAY I SEE ITPeople are from earth, machines are from outer space

Prologue: In the summer of 2008, I locked myself away in a secluded, secret location and wrote a book. My publisher didn't like it. "Boring," he said. Boring! Me? So I rewrote the beginning, which I present here to you. (Interested readers can find the original version, "Sociable Design," on my website, jnd.org.)
High-power harmonic gyro-TWT design

The design of a stable gyro-TWT amplifier that can generate extremely high power at cyclotron harmonic frequencies is presented. To prevent competing backward wave modes from oscillating, an amplifier with a multistage structure is used. Although the interaction strength in a harmonic gyro-TWT is strongest if an axis-encircling electron beam is employed, a more common MIG beam has been used in this design study to make it more practical. Using a 100 kV, 25 A MIG beam, a peak output power of 533 kW, peak efficiency of 21.3% and a saturated bandwidth of 7.4% have been predicted by a nonlinear self-consistent analysis for a three-stage second-harmonic stable gyro-TWT amplifier.© (1992) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Evening flights of female northern pintails from a major roost site

We monitored evening flights of female Northern Pintails (Anas acuta) from Lacassine National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) in southwestern Louisiana during winters of 1991-1992 and 1992-1993. We analyzed the influence of female age, winter, and date within wintering period on three flight parameters: distance, duration, and departure time. Flight distance and duration increased with date within wintering period, and age differences in flight distance and duration were not consistent between winters. Females departed 12 min later, on average, on clear, moonlit evenings than on overcast, moonless evenings, and 4 min later when winds were light rather than heavy. After controlling for variation due to environmental conditions, immature females departed Lacassine NWR 1.3 min earlier, on average, than did adults. Flight parameters of females did not differ between hunting and non-hunting time periods. Estimated daily transit costs ranged from 27-54% of basal met- abolic rate, 7-19% of daily energy expenditure, and 8-20% of daily dietary intake of rice (Oryza sativa). Our findings that flight distance and duration increased with date within wintering period were consistent with predictions of refuging theory, but alternative hy- potheses also could explain these results. Evening flights of Northern Pintails roosting on Lacassine NWR were greater in distance and duration than those reported for most other species of wintering waterfowl. We recommend that proximity of refuges to feeding sites be considered in conservation and management plans for wintering Northern Pintails and other refuging waterfowl.
Solution interactions and solid-matrix interactions in β-cyclodextrin solid-matrix luminescence

Abstract A variety of liquid chromatographic, solution fluorescence, and extraction data were obtained in an attempt to correlate solution interactions with solid-matrix interactions for solute-β-cyclodextrin complexes. From the chromatographic data, dissociation constants were calculated for the complexes. Fluorescence spectral characteristics were obtained for sodium chloride, glucose, and β-cyclodextrin solutions of several solutes. In addition, extraction experiments were performed in an attempt to remove the solutes from the β-cyclodextrin solid matrix. Generally, the results revealed that there were no simple correlations between the solution data and solid-matrix luminescence data. However, the extraction results yielded important information related to the solute interactions in the solid matrix.
Health Services Determinants of the Duration of Untreated Psychosis Among African-American First-Episode Patients

Objective: The duration of untreated psychosis is associated with poor outcomes in multiple domains in the early course of nonaffective psychotic disorders, although relatively little is known about determinants of this critical period, particularly health services–level determinants. This study examined three hypothesized predictors of duration of untreated psychosis (lack of insurance, financial problems, and broader barriers) among urban, socioeconomically disadvantaged African Americans, while controlling for the effects of three patient-level predictors (mode of onset of psychosis, living with family versus alone or with others before hospitalization, and living above versus below the federally defined poverty level). Methods: Analyses included data from 42 patient–family member dyads from a larger sample of 109 patients with a first episode of nonaffective psychosis. The duration of untreated psychosis and all other variables were measured in a rigorous, standardized fashion in a study designed specifically to examine determinants of treatment delay. Survival analyses and Cox regression assessed the effects of the independent predictors on time from onset of psychosis to hospital admission for initial evaluation and treatment. Results: The median duration of untreated psychosis was 24.5 weeks. When the analyses controlled for the three patient-level covariates, patients without health insurance, with financial problems, or with barriers to seeking help had a significantly longer duration of untreated psychosis. Conclusions: Health services–related factors, such as lack of insurance, are predictive of longer treatment delay. Efforts to eliminate uninsurance and underinsurance, as well as minimize barriers to treatment, would be beneficial for improving the prognosis of young patients with emerging nonaffective psychotic disorders. (Psychiatric Services 60:1489–1494, 2009)
The connection between self-interaction and static correlation: a random phase approximation perspective

Semi-local density functional theory suggests a connection between static correlation and self-interaction. It is difficult to make such a connection from the wave function theory perspective, since few wave function methods permit self-interaction error. However, the random phase approximation for ground-state correlation, which has a wave function derivation, does include self-interaction in its direct (Hartree) variant. This variant also describes left–right correlation. The self-interaction can be removed by means of second-order screened exchange; however, this also has negative consequences for the description of static correlation. This paper discusses the connection between the two concepts (static correlation and self-interaction) from the perspective provided by the random phase approximation.
The Effect of Chronic Erythrocytic Polycythemia and High Altitude upon Plasma and Blood Volumes

Comparison of two kinds of physiological chronic erythrocytic polycythemias in order to differentiate the specific effect of erythrocytic polycythemia from the general effects of high altitude upon the plasma volume. The two kinds were produced hormonally in female chickens, at sea level, or by protracted high-altitude exposures. It appears that the vascular system of the body may account for an increase in red blood cell mass either by reduction in plasma volume, or by no change in plasma volume, resulting in differential changes in total blood volumes.
Building energy use compilation and analysis (BECA). Part C: Conservation progress in retrofitted commercial buildings

Abstract Data on actual energy use were compiled for 223 retrofitted U.S. commercial buildings and analyzed for several quantities of interest: average savings, average retrofit cost, correlation between cost and savings, type of retrofit attempted, etc. Dominant building types were schools and offices; nearly all buildings included operations and maintenance changes as part of the retrofit. Eight-nine per cent. of the buildings which saved energy by retrofitting achieved a payback (simple) in less than 3 years. Nine per cent. of the buildings failed to save (generally because of improper maintenance), indicating there is some risk in conservation investment. Average savings for the entire sample were 20 per cent., at an average cost of $0.62 per square foot. On a more limited subsample, energy savings predictions made by the auditors prior to retrofit were compared with actual energy savings. About 60 per cent. of the time, actual savings exceeded predictions. Data were available on 15 buildings for savings achieved over a number of years following the retrofit; in most cases the savings persisted, and even increased.
The influence of energy and other cost inflations on raw materials

There is still much uncertainty in Processing industries resulting from rapidly increasing costs of raw materials, energy and labour and from the general inflation in all European countries. Many companies have themselves carried out studies aimed at assessing the likely influence on their business resulting from the dramatic increase in crude oil prices in the recent past. However, other inflationary pressures are also at work — e.g. rapidly increasing costs of labour and capital — which will contribute at differing levels to the increasing costs and, therefore, prices of industrial raw materials such as chemicals, plastics and the other materials.
Polyenylphosphatidylcholine prevents carbon tetrachloride-induced lipid peroxidation while it attenuates liver fibrosis.

Abstract Background/Aims: Polyenylphosphatidylcholine protects against alcoholic cirrhosis in the baboon and carbon tetrachloride-induced cirrhosis in rats. This study addresses the possible mechanism of the protective effect of polyenylphosphatidylcholine. Methods: For 8 weeks, rats were injected with either carbon tetrachloride in peanut oil or peanut oil alone (control), and pair-fed nutritionally adequate liquid diets with equivalent amounts of linoleic acid either as polyenylphosphatidylcholine or as safflower oil. Other rats were injected for 9 weeks with heterologous albumin and fed the same liquid diets. Lipid peroxidation was measured by F 2 -isoprostanes and 4-hydroxynonenal. Results: Carbon tetrachloride-induced lipid peroxidation was strikingly attenuated with polyenylphosphatidylcholine supplementation. Levels of hepatic F 2 -isoprostanes and 4-hydroxynonenal paralleled liver fibrotic scores and collagen accumulation. Polyenylphosphatidylcholine also attenuated the fibrosis induced in rats with human albumin, but in this case, levels of hepatic 4-hydroxynonenal did not change, nor were they significantly affected by polyenylphosphatidylcholine. Neither carbon tetrachloride injection nor polyenylphosphatidylcholine treatment changed the arachidonic acid content (a major precursor of F 2 -isoprostanes and 4-hydroxynonenal) in liver phospholipids, and hepatic vitamin E was not significantly altered. Conclusions: The hepatic protection of polyenylphosphatidylcholine against carbon tetrachloride appears to be due, at least in part, to an antioxidant effect, whereas the protection against heterologous albumin-induced fibrosis suggests that an additional mechanism, such as stimulation of collagenase activity, may also be responsible.
Caspases and upstream mechanisms in central nervous system ischemic injury

Abstract Programmed or apoptotic-like cell death plays an important role in cell demise following ischemic or traumatic brain injury. Caspases -1, -3, -8, and -11, the pro-death bcl-2 family member BID, and the Fas death receptor have been implicated. We recently showed that caspases-8 and -3 are activated, BID is cleaved in mouse brain after cerebral ischemia, neuronal BID is a substrate of caspase-8, and that Bid null mice are resistant to ischemia. These novel findings suggest that BID promotes caspase activation and contributes importantly to ischemic neuronal cell death. Consistent with its role in programmed cell death, caspase-3 null mice are resistant to mild ischemia, and in vitro neuronal death was inhibited in cultured caspase-3 −/− neurons subjected to OGD. Interestingly, we observed that caspase-3 substrates such as poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) are still cleaved in the absence of caspase-3, albeit in reduced amounts. Upstream, the Fas death receptor is an important initiating mechanism of cell death after ischemia and TBI. Fas expression and Fas–Fas ligand interaction is markedly increased in injured brain early after experimental traumatic brain injury (TBI), and Fas activation is followed by robust assembly of Fas–Fas-associated protein with a death domain (FADD)–procaspase-8 death inducing signaling complex (DISC) assembly within hours. DISC assembly is temporally associated with cleavage of caspases-8 and -3 and neuronal cell death, and robust assembly of Fas DISC occurs in contused human brain after TBI. All of the components needed to assemble a DISC are intrinsic to neurons based on in vitro studies. Fas ligand overexpression induces DISC assembly in cultured neurons, and resultant cell death is attenuated by adding a broad spectrum caspase inhibitor. Together, these data suggest that death receptors play an important role in initiating caspase-mediated cell death after TBI, and that death receptors or their downstream DISC components may be attractive therapeutic targets to reduce cell death after CNS injury.
Leiomyomatosis peritonealis disseminata and ovarian Brenner tumor associated with tamoxifen use

Tamoxifen is frequently administered as adjuvant therapy for breast carcinoma and produces weak estrogen agonist effects in estrogen sensitive tissues. In addition to producing a measurable increase in the risk of endometrial carcinoma, tamoxifen has also been associated with increasing size of uterine leiomyomata as well as the development of new leiomyomata. As the indications for tamoxifen therapy expand, surveillance for additional potential associated adverse outcomes is warranted. A 44-year-old woman with a history of bilateral breast carcinoma presented with leiomyomatosis peritonealis disseminata and a right ovarian Brenner tumor 18 months after beginning adjuvant tamoxifen therapy. Although a causal link cannot be proven, this case is the second reported association between leiomyomatosis peritonealis disseminata, an ovarian Brenner tumor, and tamoxifen use for the treatment of breast carcinoma. Given the hormonal sensitivity of leiomyomatosis peritonealis disseminata, both mutagenic and mitogenic effects of tamoxifen on this rare entity must be considered. In the setting of continued hormonal treatment for breast carcinoma, the management of leiomyomatosis peritonealis disseminata presents unique clinical challenges.
Liberalism, the First Amendment and Religious Studies: a review of Stanley Fish's The Trouble With Principle

In The Trouble with Principle Stanley Fish argues that (1) there are no neutral principles; (2) that liberalism is intolerant, anti-religious and amoral; (3) that only politics, ideology and rhetoric ‘exist’ and that in politics and rhetoric, as in war, ‘anything goes’; (4) that the principles embodied in the First Amendment stand in the way of political responsibility; and (5) that religion, the primary victim of liberalism, should reassert itself in the public sphere and in academe by putting on the full armour of rhetoric and politics. Although in his book Fish distinguishes between professional experts and true believers, he recently has given up this distinction and instead advocates the creation of departments of religious studies staffed by ‘true believers’. Disagreeing with all of these positions, the reviewer argues that Fish's antifoundational attack on liberalism and advocacy of a neo-foundational fideism bespeak a singular lack of political wisdom.
Biomarkers in Osteoarthritis

The future of OA biomarkers is great. The number of studies currently underway has increased greatly, including longitudinal studies. More research on new biomarkers is underway, and we hope to increase awareness and use of biochemical biomarkers over the next few years. The goal is clear—to move the diagnosis of OA from a radiologic viewpoint back to a pre-radiologic viewpoint and on to the molecular events that initiate cartilage breakdown and joint failure.
Manipulating Personal Salience: The Effects of Performance Expectations on Physical Positioning

Contestants playing the Minnesota Jeopardy game chose positions in a 3 × 3 seating arrangement in anticipation of the competition. More visible seats were selected when contestants expected to perform well than when they expected to perform poorly. Mediation analyses suggest that performance expectations affected the desire to be noticed, which, in turn, affected the salience of the seat that was assumed. The findings suggest that people manipulate their salience as a function of their performance expectations to influence the impressions of others. The study introduces an important and possibly ubiquitous self-presentation technique that has been largely neglected by the psychological literature.
The Diabetic-Foot Online Clinic Utilization Score (DFOCUS): A calculator for estimating clinic volume and utilization

Abstract The goal of this manuscript is to suggest the utilization of pre-existing population data to provide a functional tool for health systems and administrators to best estimate and plan resource utilization when building or refining a diabetic foot clinic. The system allows one to predict the number of expected risk-category specific visits from a local community in a given year. It is our hope that this system will aid health care providers in administrative planning and overhead. The calculator is hosted at http://www.diabeticcalculator.com as a free to use operation.
Categorization-Based Spatial Voting

Experimental research shows that while most voters have some form of spatial preferences, individuals differ in the type of spatial preferences they have: many voters prefer candidates closer to themselves in a policy space (proximity voting), others prefer candidates that are on the same side of an issue as themselves (directional voting), and still others prefer those who will move policy closest to them (discounted proximity voting). No existing theory explains this variation. I propose a theory based on the idea that people categorize candidates and have preferences defined over categories. As a voter gains political experience, he/she makes finer distinctions between candidates, and the set of categories grows. In this way, voters move from either–or conceptions of politics that approximate directional preferences toward more detailed conceptions consistent with proximity preferences, with some cases approximating discounted proximity voting as well. I show that the categorization model accurately predicts the observed frequencies of different voting types as well as some of the observed comparative statics and observed differences in the distribution of voting types across different policy areas.
Conventional and Low-Permeability Reservoirs of Shallow Gas in the Northern Great Plains

Significant resources of natural gas occur at shallow depths (<4,000 ft (1200 m))within a large area of the northern Great Plains. Reservoir properties are controlled mainly by the depositional environments in which source and reservoir rocks accumulated. Exploration and development of potential gas resources depends on successful prediction of the physical characteristics and distribution of gas-bearing rocks. 10 refs.
Differences in expression of metalloproteinases and plasminogen activators in murine melanocytes and B16 melanoma variants: lack of association with in vitro invasion.

We investigated in vitro chemotactic responses to fibronectin and laminin, invasion through reconstituted basement membrane (Matrigel) and secretion of matrix metalloproteinases and plasminogen activators by non-tumorigenic Mel-ab melano-cytes; B16 melanoma; and the metastatic sublines, B16F1, B16F10 and B16BL6. In vitro chemotactic and invasive ability were not associated with in vivo metastatic potential. Secretion of various matrix-degrading enzymes was not related to in vitro invasion. Conditioned media from all B16 melanoma sublines, but not from Mel-ab cells, contained the Mr 92,000 pro-gelatinase. The activated Mr 85,000 species was present only in conditioned media from Mel-ab, B16 and B16F1 cells. Mel-ab cells secreted copious amounts of the Mr 72,000 pro-gelatinase, and the Mr 66,000 active form was also present in conditioned media. Secretion of the Mr 72,000 pro-gelatinase by B16 melanoma sublines was markedly lower, and only conditioned media from B16 cells contained the activated Mr 66,000 form. Furthermore, cell lysates of Mel-ab cells contained a Mr 67,000 metalloproteinase which was absent in the tumor cells. All cells secreted tissue plasminogen activator; however, the metastatic B16F1, B16F10 and B16-BL6 cells also secreted urokinase plasminogen activator. Our results indicate that matrix metalloproteinase secretion by itself is not associated with tumorigenicity or metastatic potential. Secretion of urokinase plasminogen activator, and not tissue plasminogen activator, reflected the metastatic characteristics of the B16 melanoma tumor sublines.
Sexual Harassment Policies in Florida School Districts

: Until recently, little attention has focused on the sexual harassment that occurs in primary and secondary schools. Several school-related lawsuits and study results heightened awareness of the issue. This study investigated the extent to which Florida's school districts complied with the Florida Department of Education's (FDOE) recommendation and guidelines for addressing sexual harassment in schools. District equity coordinators were surveyed regarding policy development, implementation, promotion, education, and effects. Policies were collected for analysis. Most districts responded to the strong encouragement of the FDOE and approved a sexual harassment policy incorporating many of the suggested components. However, policies included only basic information when compared with suggestions from the literature. Results suggest problems with sexual harassment will continue due to lack of efforts in promoting awareness of the policy and education about the issue, which scholars insist are necessary for effectiveness
The juxtaglomerular apparatus as studied electron microscopically.

The juxtaglomerular apparatus of the rat kidney has been studied electron microscopically. Three parts and their intimate relationships are described in some detail: (1) the macula densa of the distal convoluted tubule, (2) the granular epithelioid cells, commonly found in the wall of the afferent arteriole, and (3) the cells of the “lacis” of Oberling and Hatt, or the pseudo-meissnerian cells of Goormaghtigh. The cells of the macula densa vary in fine structure from other cells of the distal convoluted tubule, and lying close under them are processes of both granular and lacis cells. Granular cells may contain, besides two or more types of granules, fibrillar bundles resembling those of smooth muscle. Lacis cells may lie beneath the endothelium of the afferent arteriole. Their cytoplasm usually contains prominent membrane systems, and may have granules and fibrillar bundles like those of granular cells. The evidence suggests that lacis cells are related to granular cells and that both may be derived from smooth muscle. Functional implications of these observations are discussed.
Evaluation of the left ventricle by two-dimensional echocardiography.

SUMMARY Left ventricular wall motion was assessed in 105 consecutive patients both invasively using biplane cineangiography, and non-invasively, by a real-time, phased-array, two-dimensional echocardiography system. Ventricular wall motion in five anatomic areas of the ventricle (anterolateral, posterolateral, apical, septal and inferior) was analyzed by both methods in a double-blind manner. Two-dimensional echocardiographic images were deemed adequate for analysis in 82% of the regions (430 of 525). Firty-five discrepancies were noted in the comparison of the remaining 430 regions. The reasons for discrepancies in interpretation between the two methods were established for 54 during retrospective review: 33 were due to echocardiography (inadequate target visualization, observer error, or tangential echo views). Fifteen were related to angiography (overlay of silhouettes or observer error), and six were due to other reasons including definition problems or spatial orientation difficulties. Both real-time, two-dimensional echocardiography and cineangiography have advantages and disadvantages. The techniques used together could provide more complete information concerning ventricular wall movement than is now currently available.
Coagulase-negative staphylococci and endocarditis: reappraisal in the 21st century.

include hemodialysis, peripheral catheters, and central intravascular catheters, as well as invasive procedures such as cardiac catheterization and prostate surgery. It is not surprising that the affected patient population is the elderly and those with comorbid illnesses. Thus, this study and others call attention to the clinical scenarios that are associated with this disease. This study is the first to show that the majority (63%) of patients with CoNS NVE had a vegetation size of < 1 cm. Vegetations this small are often detected only by transesophageal echocardiography and can be missed by transthoracic echocardiography12. This, in addition to the typically subacute clinical presentation of CoNS bloodstream infections, illustrates how CoNS NVE can be missed early in the course of disease. Thus a high degree of suspicion for CoNS NVE in the appropriate clinical setting is important and could potentially have an impact on patient outcomes. The poor outcomes reported in this study are similar to those reported in other studies of CoNS NVE3,8,9. Over one-half of patients suffered from congestive heart failure and approximately 1 in 4 patients died in the hospital. Interestingly, in this study by Haro et al, mortality was higher among patients whose symptoms evolved over fewer than 21 days (on univariate analysis). As suggested by the authors, these patients were likely diagnosed in the hospital setting or under close observation in outpatient clinical settings. Possible explanations for the higher mortality are a sicker patient population or perhaps a more virulent staphylococcal strain acquired in the hospital setting. Although it is impossible to determine based on the current data, the poor outcomes with CoNS NVE are likely due to a combination of host susceptibility and staphylococcal pathogenicity factors. The epidemiology of NVE has changed dramatically over the past few decades. Once predominated by viridans streptococci in the community setting, this disease is increasingly becoming a nosocomial infection due to S. aureus, with CoNS increasing in prevalence7,9. While simple catheter-related CoNS bloodstream infections are common and usually benign, CoNS NVE can be associated with surprisingly poor outcomes. Future efforts should focus on the pathogenesis and prevention of serious CoNS infections.
The Psychological Effects of Foreign-Language Restaurant Signs on Potential Diners

Some ethnic restaurants display exterior signage written only in their native tongues. Therefore, this research examines the psychological effects of foreign-language signs on potential diners. More specifically, psychological influences of restaurant signs’ language are explored in the following three laboratory experiments: Study 1, a Mexican restaurant sign manipulation (Spanish vs. English script) on a non-Hispanic sample; Study 2, a Korean restaurant sign manipulation (Korean vs. English script) on a non-Asian sample; and Study 3, a Korean restaurant sign manipulation (Korean vs. English script) on a Korean-American sample. In each of these three experiments, the authors found that a restaurant sign’s language has statistically significant effects on potential diner’s perceptions of the restaurant’s brand personality. On the other hand, a sign’s language does not appear to influence perceptions of anticipated food authenticity or perceptions of the restaurant’s target marketing efforts. Based on thes...
The Shifting Currents of Bioscience Innovation

Arising from its roots in the US, biotechnology today is a global enterprise. Cutting-edge tools are transforming traditional models of drug discovery and development and diagnostic testing. They are enabling the potential for large-scale production of renewable fuels, biodegradable materials, safer industrial chemicals and food crops grown under harsh conditions. The practice of technological innovation in the industrial era – the systematic application of ideas, inventions and technology to markets, trade and social systems – is now being joined with the code of life through rapid DNA sequencing and synthesis technologies. The pace of bioscience innovation is also influenced by geographic concentration of research, entrepreneurship and investment (clusters). Policy makers are just beginning to consider and debate the implications of the new biological technologies: the promises they hold for global public health, natural resource conservation, and economic growth, and the risks they pose from their power and accessibility around the world.
Assessing descriptive substance in free-text collection-level metadata

Collection-level metadata has the potential to provide important information about the features and purpose of individual collections. This paper reports on a content analysis of collection records in an aggregation of cultural heritage collections. The findings show that the free-text Description field often provides more accurate and complete representation of subjects and object types than the specified fields. Properties such as importance, uniqueness, comprehensiveness, provenance, and creator are articulated, as well as other vital contextual information about the intentions of a collector and the value of a collection, as a whole, for scholarly users. The results demonstrate that the semantically rich free-text Description field is essential to understanding the context of collections in large aggregations and can serve as a source of data for enhancing and customizing controlled vocabularies.
Staged abdominal repair: Development and current practice of an advanced operative technique for diffuse suppurative peritonitis

Background: To improve mortality of intraabdominal infections, since 1975, many surgeons worldwide have been extending the classical single-stage operative approach for the sickest 10 % of patients. A variety of names have been introduced for similar operative strategies. All procedures contributed to the development of Staged Abdominal Repair (STAR). Methods: STAR is defined as one operation performed in multiple steps at 24 hours intervals to 1) reverse or prevent the physiological derangement of increased intra-abdominal pressure from peritoneal edema and ileus and to 2) combine damage control in non-stable patients with delayed definitive repair including formation of anastomoses, and ultimate formal fascial closure. The abdomen is temporarily closed using the artificial burr that has been approved for clinical use by the European and US health authorities (www.starsurgical.com). The wound above the artificial burr is sealed with a Hypobaric Wound Shield (HBS) that acts as a barrier against exogenous contamination in the ICU and allows for collection of toxic peritoneal fluid for diagnostic purposes to provide a basis for meaningful protein substitution. Results: Our recent series from 1988 to 1999 includes 128 patients with an Apache II score of 19±7. We entered the abdominal cavity 5.9±3.5 times during 6.8±4.1 days per patient and performed STAR because we were unable to close the abdomen without undo tension in 83 % of our patients. The viability of the bowel was a concern in 17% of the cases. Patients required an average of 22±19 (median 18) days of care in the intensive care unit and they were discharged a median of 30 (2–252) days after the Index STAR. We were able to close the fascia in 93 % of the cases. The 30 day, 60 day and hospital mortality was 11 %, 15 %, and 19 % respectively. Post STAR we saw 3 intestinal fistulae that closed spontaneously and 12 % of the patients developed abdominal wall hernias. Conclusions: The observed mortality compares favorably to the expected mortality of 47 % for patients with similar risk factors, and there are fewer complications when compared with other open techniques.
A review of experimental measurements of effective diffusive permeabilities and effective diffusion coefficients in biofilms.

Experimental measurements of effective diffusive permeabilities and effective diffusion coefficients in biofilms are reviewed. Effective diffusive permeabilities, the parameter appropriate to the analysis of reaction-diffusion interactions, depend on solute type and biofilm density. Three categories of solute physical chemistry with distinct diffusive properties were distinguished by the present analysis. In order of descending mean relative effective diffusive permeability (De/Daq) these were inorganic anions or cations (0.56), nonpolar solutes with molecular weights of 44 or less (0.43), and organic solutes of molecular weight greater than 44 (0.29). Effective diffusive permeabilities decrease sharply with increasing biomass volume fraction suggesting a serial resistance model of diffusion in biofilms as proposed by Hinson and Kocher (1996). A conceptual model of biofilm structure is proposed in which each cell is surrounded by a restricted permeability envelope. Effective diffusion coefficients, which are appropriate to the analysis of transient penetration of nonreactive solutes, are generally similar to effective diffusive permeabilities in biofilms of similar composition. In three studies that examine diffusion of very large molecular weight solutes (>5000) in biofilms, the average ratio of the relative effective diffusion coefficient of the large solute to the relative effective diffusion coefficient of either sucrose or fluorescein was 0.64, 0.61, and 0.36. It is proposed that large solutes are effectively excluded from microbial cells, that small solutes partition into and diffuse within cells, and that ionic solutes are excluded from cells but exhibit increased diffusive permeability (but decreased effective diffusion coefficients) due to sorption to the biofilm matrix.
Effect of Adding Chicory Fructans in Feed on Fecal and Intestinal Microflora and Excreta Volatile Ammonia

This study was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of adding chicory fructans in feed on fecal ammonia and Microflora. Adding Raftifeed® to the diet reduced volatile ammonia and fecal pH in fresh fecal in the first four weeks of production. Reductions (P<0.05) in total aerobe and E. coli counts of fecal broiler were recorded for inulin or oligofructose treatment at the 4 week. Oligofructose increased the lactobacilli th counts in the gizzard and small intestine contents of female broiler. Inulin or oligofructose supplementation reduced (P<0.05) total Campylobacter counts in the large intestine. The Lactobacilli counts of fecal in the female birds were also increased when the diets supplemented with either inulin or oligofructose . Th e Campylobacter count of the male birds and the Salmonella counts of the female birds were lower (P<0.05) in cecal contents for the chicory fructan supplemented birds.
Local Action on Behalf of Local Collectives in the U.S. and Israel: How Different Are Leaders from Members in Voluntary Associations?

While leadership in voluntary organizations is important to the understanding of voluntary action, not enough is known about differences between leaders and members in voluntary organizations. This study explored the differences between leaders and members in local voluntary organizations in the U.S. and Israel. Using discriminant function analysis on demographic characteristics, social psychological variables, and cost-benefit relationships it was found that leaders differ significantly from members in several of these areas. Patterns of greatest similarity were found between the American and Israeli participants on the social psychological variables. Gender distinguished members from leaders in Israel; occupation and education did so in the U.S. A very significant finding in the area of costs and benefits was that leaders perceived their activism as more costly than did members; leaders viewed costs to their participation as being equal to benefits while members perceived more benefits than costs.
Verification of Object Relational Maps

Enterprise software systems need to deal with two dominant data models. While object oriented languages (such as Java, C#, C++) are the dominant ways to write business logic, relational databases are the dominant ways to store data. Object-relational (OR) maps are widely used to mediate between these two data models. We present a system to verify correctness of OR maps. We formulate simple correctness conditions for OR maps, and convert these conditions to validity of formulas in first order logic. We have built a verification tool called ROUND TRIP that is able to both validate and find errors in OR maps defined in the ESQL language of the Microsoft EDM data model.
Robust recovery of synthetic aperture radar data from uniformly under-sampled measurements

In this paper, we propose a novel robust sparse-recovery technique that allows sub-Nyquist uniform under-sampling of wide-bandwidth radar data in real time (single observation). Although much of the information is lost in the received signal due to the low sampling rate, we hypothesize that each wide-bandwidth radar data record can be modeled as a superposition of many backscattered signals from reflective point targets in the scene. In other words, our proposed technique is based on direct sparse recovery via orthogonal matching pursuit using a special dictionary containing many time-delayed versions of the transmitted probing signal. Using data from the U.S. Army Research Laboratory (ARL) Ultra-Wideband (UWB) synthetic aperture radar (SAR), we show that the proposed sparse-recovery model-based (SMB) technique successfully models and synthesizes the returned radar data from real-world scenes using only an analytical waveform that models the transmitted signal and a handful of reflectivity coefficients. More importantly, the reconstructed SAR imagery using the SBM technique with data sampled at only 20% of the original sampling rate has a comparable signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) to the original SAR imagery. For comparison purpose, the paper also presents SAR images recovered from conventional interpolation techniques and the standard random projection based compressed sensing technique, both of which resulted in very poor SAR image quality at the same sub-Nyquist sampling rate (20%).
Dual lipid modification of the yeast ggamma subunit Ste18p determines membrane localization of Gbetagamma.

The pheromone response in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae is mediated by a heterotrimeric G protein. The Gβγ subunit (a complex of Ste4p and Ste18p) is associated with both internal and plasma membranes, and a portion is not stably associated with either membrane fraction. Like Ras, Ste18p contains a farnesyl-directing CaaX box motif (C-terminal residues 107 to 110) and a cysteine residue (Cys 106) that is a potential site for palmitoylation. Mutant Ste18p containing serine at position 106 (mutation ste18-C106S) migrated more rapidly than wild-type Ste18p during sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE). The electrophoretic mobility of wild-type Ste18p (but not the mutant Ste18p) was sensitive to hydroxylamine treatment, consistent with palmitoyl modification at Cys 106. Furthermore, immunoprecipitation of the Gβγ complex from cells cultured in the presence of [3H]palmitic acid resulted in two radioactive species on nonreducing SDS-PAGE gels, with molecular weights corresponding to Gγ and Gβγ. Substitution of serine for either Cys 107 or Cys 106 resulted in the failure of Gβγ to associate with membranes. The Cys 107 substitution also resulted in reduced steady-state accumulation of Ste18p, suggesting that the stability of Ste18p requires modification at Cys 107. All of the mutant forms of Ste18p formed complexes with Ste4p, as assessed by coimmunoprecipitation. We conclude that tight membrane attachment of the wild-type Gβγ depends on palmitoylation at Cys 106 and prenylation at Cys 107 of Ste18p.
Preliminary observations from the use of US-Soviet Joint Seismic Program data to model upper mantle triplications beneath Asia

New short-period waveform data from the US-Soviet Joint Seismic Program (JSP) make possible investigations of Asian upper mantle structure. the goal of this paper is to explore the potential use of the newly available JSP data to gain a qualitative view of upper mantle structure beneath Asia, and to facilitate more detailed future detailed future upper mantle studies. In a reconnaissance approach, waveform upper mantle studies. In a reconnaissance approach, waveform predictions from upper mantle P-wave velocity models of previous studies are compared to the JSP data to investigate regional differences in the central Asian upper mantle. Data coverage brackets the upper mantle triplications with excellent multi-source-to-stations sections. the abundance of data for controlled source-receiver geometries and the impulsive nature of the arrivals enable us to stack seismograms to improve signal-to-noise ratio. Arrivals from the 400 and 670 km discontinuities are apparent in the data and are compared to predictions of the mantle models. the principal result is that, for the regions studied, paths through cratonic regions of Asia are compatible with shield-type models, while paths through highly deformed regions of Asia are compatible with models derived for tectonically active regions, suggesting large lateral variations beneath the Eurasian continent. Use of the JSP data in a comparative approach is fast and simple, and proves effective in obtaining a first-order understanding of the Asian upper mantle. This result also presents the potential for qualitative studies elsewhere with digital portable stations.
Rapid‐Cycle Improvement in Pediatric Health Care: A Solution for Patients With Similar or Same Last Names

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