cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Chilling-enhanced photooxidation: The production, action and study of reactive oxygen species produced during chilling in the light

Chilling-enhanced photooxidation is the light- and oxygen-dependent bleaching of photosynthetic pigments that occurs upon the exposure of chilling-sensitive plants to temperatures below approximately 10 °C. The oxidants responsible for the bleaching are the reactive oxygen species (ROS) singlet oxygen (1O2), superoxide anion radical (O 2 ∸ ,hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), the hydroxyl radical (OH·), and the monodehydroascorbate radical (MDA) which are generated by a leakage of absorbed light energy from the photosynthetic electron transport chain. Cold temperatures slow the energy-consuming Calvin-Benson Cycle enzymes more than the energy-transducing light reactions, thus causing leakage of energy to oxygen. ROS and MDA are removed, in part, by the action of antioxidant enzymes of the Halliwell/Foyer/Asada Cycle. Chloroplasts also contain high levels of both lipid- and water-soluble antioxidants that act alone or in concert with the HFA Cycle enzymes to scavenge ROS. The ability of chilling-resistant plants to maintain active HFA Cycle enzymes and adequate levels of antioxidants in the cold and light contributes to their ability to resist chilling-enhanced photooxidation. The absence of this ability in chilling-sensitive species makes them susceptible to chilling-enhanced photooxidation. Chloroplasts may reduce the generation of ROS by dissipating the absorbed energy through a number of quenching mechanisms involving zeaxanthin formation, state changes and the increased usage of reducing equivalents by other anabolic pathways found in the stroma. During chilling in the light, ROS produced in chilling-sensitive plants lower the redox potential of the chloroplast stroma to such a degree that reductively-activated regulatory enzymes of the Calvin Cycle, sedohepulose 1,7 bisphosphatase (EC 3.1.3.37) and fructose 1,6 bisphosphatase (EC 3.1.3.11), are oxidatively inhibited. This inhibition is reversible in vitro with a DTT treatment indicating that the enzymes themselves are not permanently damaged. The inhibition of SBPase and FBPase may fully explain the inhibition in whole leaf gas exchange seen upon the rewarming of chilling-sensitive plants chilled in the light. Methods for the study of ROS in chilling-enhanced photooxidation and challenges for the future are discussed.
Risk of venous thromboembolism in patients with rheumatoid arthritis: initiating disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs.

Abstract Objectives Recent research suggests that rheumatoid arthritis increases the risk of venous thromboembolism. This study compared the risk of venous thromboembolism in patients with newly diagnosed rheumatoid arthritis initiating a biologic disease-modifying antirheumatic drug (DMARD) with those initiating methotrexate or a nonbiologic DMARD. Methods We conducted a population-based cohort study using US insurance claims data (2001-2012). Three mutually exclusive, hierarchical DMARD groups were used: (1) a biologic DMARD with and without nonbiologic DMARDs; (2) methotrexate without a biologic DMARD; or (3) nonbiologic DMARDs without a biologic DMARD or methotrexate. We calculated the incidence rates of venous thromboembolism. Cox proportional hazard models stratified by propensity score (PS) deciles after asymmetric PS trimming were used for 3 pairwise comparisons, controlling for potential confounders at baseline. Results We identified 29,481 patients with rheumatoid arthritis with 39,647 treatment episodes. From the pairwise comparison after asymmetric PS trimming, the incidence rate of hospitalization for venous thromboembolism per 1000 person-years was 5.5 in biologic DMARD initiators versus 4.4 in nonbiologic DMARD initiators and 4.8 in biologic DMARD initiators versus 3.5 in methotrexate initiators. The PS decile-stratified hazard ratio of venous thromboembolism associated with biologic DMARDs was 1.83 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.91-3.66) versus nonbiologic DMARDs and 1.39 (95% CI, 0.73-2.63) versus methotrexate. The hazard ratio of venous thromboembolism in biologic DMARD initiators was the highest in the first 180 days versus nonbiologic DMARD initiators (2.48; 95% CI, 1.14-5.39) or methotrexate initiators (1.80; 95% CI, 0.90-3.62). Conclusions The absolute risk for venous thromboembolism was low in patients with newly diagnosed rheumatoid arthritis. Initiation of a biologic DMARD seems to be associated with an increased short-term risk of hospitalization for venous thromboembolism compared with initiation of a nonbiologic DMARD or methotrexate.
Effects of Baseline Conditions on the Simulated Hydrologic Response to Projected Climate Change

AbstractChanges in temperature and precipitation projected from five general circulation models, using one late-twentieth-century and three twenty-first-century emission scenarios, were downscaled to three different baseline conditions. Baseline conditions are periods of measured temperature and precipitation data selected to represent twentieth-century climate. The hydrologic effects of the climate projections are evaluated using the Precipitation-Runoff Modeling System (PRMS), which is a watershed hydrology simulation model. The Almanor Catchment in the North Fork of the Feather River basin, California, is used as a case study.Differences and similarities between PRMS simulations of hydrologic components (i.e., snowpack formation and melt, evapotranspiration, and streamflow) are examined, and results indicate that the selection of a specific time period used for baseline conditions has a substantial effect on some, but not all, hydrologic variables. This effect seems to be amplified in hydrologic variab...
Intraspecific variation of life history parameters in the terrestrial isopod, Armadillidium vulgare

Individual populations of the terrestrial isopod, Armadillidium vulgare, were studied in three Texas coastal prairie habitats: Chinese tallow forest, oak forest, and a Baccharis-grassland area. Time-specific life tables were compared for each population to determine intraspecific variation in life history parameters. Survivorship was greatest in the Baccharis area but density was lower and fluctuated less in this area than in the tallow or oak forests. Density in the oak forest was higher than in the tallow or Baccharis habitat. Density in the tallow and oak forests increased sharply during spring and summer and declined throughout the winter. Reproductive capacity of females in all three areas increased directly with body length but did not differ significantly between habitats. Density and reproductive performance of isopods in the tallow and oak forests was asynchronous with autumn leaf fall; this asynchrony may be a response to tannins leached from fallen leaves of these trees. Density and reproductive potential of isopods in the Baccharis-grassland, however, did not exhibit such marked fluctuations. Isopods in this latter habitat responded moderately to annual input of detritus during the fall.
Effective repair of traumatically injured spinal cord by nanoscale block copolymer micelles

Spinal cord injury results in immediate disruption of neuronal membranes, followed by extensive secondary neurodegenerative processes. A key approach for repairing injured spinal cord is to seal the damaged membranes at an early stage. Here, we show that axonal membranes injured by compression can be effectively repaired using self-assembled monomethoxy poly(ethylene glycol)-poly(d,l-lactic acid) di-block copolymer micelles. Injured spinal tissue incubated with micelles (60 nm diameter) showed rapid restoration of compound action potential and reduced calcium influx into axons for micelle concentrations much lower than the concentrations of polyethylene glycol, a known sealing agent for early-stage spinal cord injury. Intravenously injected micelles effectively recovered locomotor function and reduced the volume and inflammatory response of the lesion in injured rats, without any adverse effects. Our results show that copolymer micelles can interrupt the spread of primary spinal cord injury damage with minimal toxicity.
Preliminary report on the interaction of apolipoprotein E polymorphism with aortic atherosclerosis and acute nephropathy after CABG.

Abstract Background Renal dysfunction is a serious complication of cardiac surgery that is highly associated with short- and long-term adverse outcome. While the apolipoprotein E (APOE) ϵ4 allele has been linked to the occurrence of both postcardiac surgery acute renal injury (ϵ4 favorable) and ascending aortic arteriosclerosis (ϵ4 unfavorable), the role of ϵ4 in the relationship between these two conditions is unknown. We hypothesized that patients with and without the ϵ4 allele (E4/non-E4) would have different associations between atheroma burden and postoperative renal dysfunction. Methods Ascending, arch, and descending aorta atheromatous burden and APOE status were evaluated for 130 coronary bypass patients. Multivariable analyses were performed for aortic regions to assess the relationship of atheroma burden and APOE ϵ4 status with peak in-hospital postoperative serum creatinine. All p Results We found an interaction between E4 status (E4/non-E4; 24/106) and atheroma burden, with a much greater predicted peak in-hospital postoperative serum creatinine for increases in ascending aorta atheroma load for non-E4 patients versus E4 patients (beta coefficient −0.13; p = 0.002). We also confirmed the association between ascending aorta atheroma and peak creatinine (beta coefficient 0.11; p = 0.0008), after controlling for E4 status, preoperative creatinine, and the E4–atheroma interaction. Conclusions Equivalent ascending aortic atheroma burden is associated with a greater susceptibility to postoperative renal injury among patients undergoing cardiac operation who lack the APOE ϵ4 allele. Findings may be attributable to APOE-related differences in inflammation, susceptibility to atheroma detachment (eg, during operative aortic manipulation), or renal vulnerability to embolic injury.
A lymphocytotoxic factor(s) in plasma of patients with minimal change nephrotic syndrome: partial characterization.

Abstract The incidence, relationship to clinical disease, and physical characteristics of a plasma cytotoxic factor(s) were studied in steroid-responsive minimal change nephrotic syndrome (MCNS) and other renal diseases. Plasma activity was found in 76% of 67 children with MCNS and in 67% of 9 children with focal segmental sclerosis (FSS). Of 31 normal adults and children and 7 adults with membranous glomerulonephritis, only 1 individual had toxic plasma. In MCNS, degree of plasma activity was not related to clinical disease, prednisone dosage, or serum levels of IgG or α-2-macroglobulin. The active factor(s) was found more frequently in plasma than in serum, was heat stable and nondialyzable by selected filtration, and was approximately 100,000 to 300,000 molecular weight. By DEAE column chromatography, activity coincided with fractions containing IgA and IgM but not IgG. While the nature of the plasma factor(s) has not been identified, these data indicate that MCNS plasma may adversely affect lymphocyte viability by a slow process of cytotoxicity requiring 24 or more hr, and that such plasma activity occurs frequently in children with MCNS and also with the more severe FSS.
Long-term (>30 months) follow-up of a single successful kidney-islet transplant recipient

VV E HAVE PREVIOUSLY reported several factors contributing to the initial success of clinical islet cell transplantation.‘..” Despite improved initial success, longterm insulin independence after either islet after kidney (IAK) or simultaneous islet-kidney (SIK) transplantation has occurred infrequently.4 Investigators are therefore obligated to continuously re-evaluate and update the biochemical and clinical information from those few individuals achieving success. Thus, the present study provides a 3-year update of the clinical and biochemical parameters from a 3%year-old white man with insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM) of 32 years duration who remains completely insulin independent at 36 months after a 1993 kidney/islet transplant at Washington University Medical Center. This study reports the subjective and objective beneficial effects of long-term insulin independence after islet cell transplantation in this unique patient.
Managing bone loss in women with early-stage breast cancer receiving aromatase inhibitors.

Third-generation aromatase inhibitors (AIs; anastrozole, letrozole, exemestane) have replaced tamoxifen as the adjuvant treatment of choice for postmenopausal women with hormone receptor–positive early-stage breast cancer. Because bone loss is a predictable adverse event of AI therapy, early recognition, prevention, and/or treatment of AI-induced bone loss is needed. One to 5 years of AI therapy causes a bone mineral density (BMD) loss of up to 7.2% in postmenopausal women; however, current clinical guidelines do not recommend initiating bisphosphonate therapy for the treatment of BMD loss until fragility fractures or frank osteoporosis occur. Results of recent trials evaluating the use of intravenous (I.V.) zoledronic acid as prevention and treatment of AI-induced bone loss in women with early-stage breast cancer receiving letrozole suggest a potential benefit to the concurrent use of zoledronic acid and letrozole. To our knowledge, clinical trials assessing oral or other I.V. bisphosphonates for these indications have not been published. Recently, concerns of bisphosphonate-induced renal safety and osteonecrosis of the jaw have emerged. Studies evaluating bisphosphonates in women with breast cancer have reported lower rates of renal dysfunction than those reported in patients with metastatic cancer receiving bisphosphonates, and no cases of jaw osteonecrosis. The use of bisphosphonates in this population requires further study to more clearly define the most appropriate timing and length of therapy as well as the long-term efficacy and safety of these drugs. Until these data become available, balancing the safety concerns with the potential benefits of I.V. bisphosphonates to minimize or prevent AI-induced bone loss in women with early-stage breast cancer is required.
Focal epithelial hyperplasia mimicking tumor at gastroenterostomy site

A case of focal epithelial hyperplasia simulating tumor at a gastrojejunal anastomosis was recognized endoscopically but required surgical excision with full-thickness biopsy for full definition. Alkaline reflux is postulated as a cause in this instance.
Media Framing and Myth: The Media's Portrayal of the Gulf War

This is an analysis of the media's framing of the Persian Gulf War in mythological categories. We contend that through careful framing the media transformed political and military events into mythical dramas to evoke deeply held beliefs in the masses and achieve political aims. Following Joseph Campbell's model of the "hero's journey," the media-created myth of the Persian Gulf War consisted of four main stages: the hero's quest, the encounter with evil, fulfillment, and return.
Operating characteristics and realism of certainty estimates

Nineteen Ss each estimated the probability that each of a series of conceptual discriminations would be correct. These certainty estimates were compared with the actual percentage correct at each level of certainty. Certainty estimates proved to be fairly accurate for most Ss, although consistent individual differences were found. Training sessions in certainty estimation produced no major improvement. Operating characteristics were consonant with signal detection theory.
Simulation studies of transverse resonance effects in space-charge-dominated beams

Abstract Particle-in-cell simulations exploring the effects of transverse envelope resonances on the emittance of space-charge-dominated beams have been carried out using a new 2-D transverse “slice” model in the WARP particle-in-cell code. In this paper, we consider resonances between an applied quadrupole field error and harmonics of the asymmetric mismatch mode of beam envelope oscillation. We examine both acceleration and bunching, and show that rapid passage through a major resonance significantly reduces the attendant emittance growth.
Effect of diet on N,N-dimethyl-p-(m-tolylazo)aniline carcinogenesis in rats.

SummaryN,N-Dimethyl-p-(m-tolylazo) aniline (3'-Me-DAB), mixed either in powdered Purina Laboratory Chow or in semisynthetic diet was fed to rats for 4 months. The animals were then returned to their respective basic diet for the next 2 months, when the experiment was terminated and the animals examined for possible lesions. Male Osborne-Mendel rats on chow diet showed a hepatoma incidence of 40, 67, and 100% in rats receiving 0.06, 0.09, and 0.098% 3'-Me-DAB, respectively, and female rats showed a hepatoma incidence of 0, 33, and 100% in animals receiving 0.06, 0.09, and 0.12% 3'-Me-DAB, respectively. The carcinogen concentration of 0.12 and 0.18% was too toxic for male and female rats, respectively. In the rats receiving 0.06% 3'-Me-DAB in semisynthetic diet, hepatoma incidence was 100% in all groups except NIH black where it was 90%.
Valuation of Credit Risk in Agricultural Mortgages

A credit-risk valuation model is developed and empirically implemented to estimate the cost of insuring against credit risks in pools of agricultural mortgage loans. Probabilistic information about loss distributions across a broad set of loan-level and pool-level characteristics is used to assess insurance valuation and solvency likelihood. The effects on the value of credit-risk insurance of pool size, deductibles, timing alterations, premium loadings, adverse loan selection, and changing underwriting standards are also estimated. Results indicate that actuarial insurance costs are initially highly sensitive and then become relatively insensitive as pool size increases.
Books and Films

Liska, K.: Drugs and the Human Body with Implications for Society. Douglas W Jackson MD& Susan Pescar, THE YOUNG ATHLETE'S HEALTH HANDBOOK
Algorithm 708: Significant digit computation of the incomplete beta function ratios

An algorithm is given for evaluating the incomplete beta function ratio Ix(a,b) and its complement 1 - Ix(a,b). A new continued fraction and a new asymptotic series are used with classical results. A transportable Fortran subroutine based on this algorithm is currently in use. It is accurate to 14 significant digits when precision is not restricted by inherent error.
Association of Isolated Minor Non-specific ST-Segment and T-Wave Abnormalities with Subclinical Atherosclerosis in a Middle-Aged, Biracial Population: Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) Study

Aims:Isolated minor non-specific ST-segment and T-wave abnormalities (NSSTTAs) are common and known to be independent electrocardiographic risk markers for future cardiovascular disease (CVD) event...
Electrical synapses in the thalamic reticular nucleus

Neurons of the thalamic reticular nucleus (TRN) provide inhibitory input to thalamic relay cells and generate synchronized activity during sleep and seizures. It is widely assumed that TRN cells interact only via chemical synaptic connections. However, we show that many neighboring pairs of TRN neurons in rats and mice are electrically coupled. In paired-cell recordings, electrical synapses were able to mediate close correlations between action potentials when the coupling was strong; they could modulate burst-firing states even when the coupling strength was more modest. Electrical synapses between TRN neurons were absent in mice with a null mutation for the connexin36 (Cx36) gene. Surprisingly, inhibitory chemical synaptic connections between pairs of neurons were not observed, although strong extracellular stimuli could evoke inhibition in single TRN neurons. We conclude that Cx36-dependent gap junctions play an important role in the regulation of neural firing patterns within the TRN. When combined with recent observations from the cerebral cortex, our results imply that electrical synapses are a common mechanism for generating synchrony within networks of inhibitory neurons in the mammalian forebrain.
Spatial and temporal estimation of air pollutants in New York City: exposure assignment for use in a birth outcomes study

Recent epidemiological studies have examined the associations between air pollution and birth outcomes. Regulatory air quality monitors often used in these studies, however, were spatially sparse and unable to capture relevant within-city variation in exposure during pregnancy. This study developed two-week average exposure estimates for fine particles (PM2.5) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) during pregnancy for 274,996 New York City births in 2008–2010. The two-week average exposures were constructed by first developing land use regression (LUR) models of spatial variation in annual average PM2.5 and NO2 data from 150 locations in the New York City Community Air Survey and emissions source data near monitors. The annual average concentrations from the spatial models were adjusted to account for city-wide temporal trends using time series derived from regulatory monitors. Models were developed using Year 1 data and validated using Year 2 data. Two-week average exposures were then estimated for three buffers of maternal address and were averaged into the last six weeks, the trimesters, and the entire period of gestation. We characterized temporal variation of exposure estimates, correlation between PM2.5 and NO2, and correlation of exposures across trimesters. The LUR models of average annual concentrations explained a substantial amount of the spatial variation (R2 = 0.79 for PM2.5 and 0.80 for NO2). In the validation, predictions of Year 2 two-week average concentrations showed strong agreement with measured concentrations (R2 = 0.83 for PM2.5 and 0.79 for NO2). PM2.5 exhibited greater temporal variation than NO2. The relative contribution of temporal vs. spatial variation in the estimated exposures varied by time window. The differing seasonal cycle of these pollutants (bi-annual for PM2.5 and annual for NO2) resulted in different patterns of correlations in the estimated exposures across trimesters. The three levels of spatial buffer did not make a substantive difference in estimated exposures. The combination of spatially resolved monitoring data, LUR models and temporal adjustment using regulatory monitoring data yielded exposure estimates for PM2.5 and NO2 that performed well in validation tests. The interaction between seasonality of air pollution and exposure intervals during pregnancy needs to be considered in future studies.
Molecule-Mimetic Chemistry and Mesoscale Self-Assembly

Molecules are structured aggregates of atoms joined by chemical bonds; crystals are aggregates of molecules, interacting covalently or noncovalently. The work described in this Account uses molecules, crystals, and other forms of atomic/molecular matter to suggest principles that can be used in generating structured aggregates of millimeter-scale components, interacting through capillary interactions. The properties of these aggregatesthat is, their “chemistry”mimic aspects of the chemistry of molecules.
Parent Knowledge, Attitudes, and Household Practices Regarding SHS Exposure: A Case-Control Study of Urban Children With and Without Asthma

Impoverished children suffer disproportionately from asthma and are more likely than other children to be exposed to secondhand smoke (SHS). We conducted a case-control study to describe and compare knowledge, attitudes, and household practices regarding SHS exposure among parents of young urban children with and without asthma (response rate, 76%). Overall, 39% of children lived with > or =1 smoker (cases, 36%; controls, 43%). The majority of parents (78%) felt that cigarette smoking is very dangerous and agreed that smoke harms the health of children (97%). Cases were more likely than controls to report that smoking in a car affects children's health (54% vs 42%) and that smoking in front of children is never allowed in their home (88% vs 79%). Additionally, more cases reported a home smoking ban (81% vs 70%). Our findings suggest that parents of children with asthma have somewhat better knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding SHS; however, gaps remain, and many urban children continue to be exposed.
Acceptance testing of BGA ball alloys

The industry has seen the development of a wide range of new Pb-free BGA ball alloys. A significant element of uncertainty regarding these new alloys is the lack of defined data requirements for alloy acceptance. This paper describes recent efforts at Hewlett-Packard to develop Pb-free solder alloy testing requirements. To facilitate the standardization of alloy testing, the required tests are divided into three major areas. • Material properties • Solder joint reliability • Impact to manufacturing processes This paper presents the approach to assess the risk of using new Pb-free BGA ball alloys on printed circuit assemblies.
Divided over Thaksin: Thailand's Coup and Problematic Transition

John Funston (ed.) (Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, 2009) Not that long ago, in a note to an article in Contemporary Southeast Asia (31, 2, 2009, p. 241), Michael Montesano wrote: ...
Pharmacotherapy for Mechanical Circulatory Support: A Comprehensive Review

ObjectiveTo provide a comprehensive review of the pharmacotherapy associated with the provision of mechanical circulatory support (MCS) to patients with end-stage heart failure and guidance regarding the selection, assessment, and optimization of drug therapy for this population.Data Sources:The MEDLINE/PubMed, EMBASE, and Cochrane databases were searched from 1960 to July 2010 for articles published in English using the search terms mechanical circulatory support, ventricular assist system, ventricular assist device, left ventricular assist device, right ventricular assist device, biventricular assist device, total artificial heart, pulsatile, positive displacement, axial, centrifugal, hemostasis, bleeding, hemodynamic, blood pressure, thrombosis, antithrombotic therapy, anticoagulant, antiplatelet, right ventricular failure, ventricular arrhythmia, anemia, arteriovenous malformation, stroke, infection, and clinical pharmacist.Study Selection And Data Extraction:All relevant original studies, metaanalyse...
A new land: Deleuze and Guattari and planning

This article argues that planning would benefit from greater engagement with the work of Gilles Deleuze and Felix Guattari. It pays particular attention to their normative political vision, which is a revolutionary agenda that aims at a condition of radical freedom for humans beyond the state and capitalism. The planning literature has only just begun to examine Deleuze and Guattari's work, and so far it has avoided discussion of their normative political vision. I argue that when we confront this vision head-on, it opens up productive existential and normative questions about what planning is and if it should exist at all.
Single Nanoparticle and Virus Detection Using a Smart Phone Based Fluorescence Microscope

We demonstrate a field-portable fluorescence microscopy platform installed on a smart phone for imaging of single/isolated nanoparticles and fluorescently labeled viruses.
Effect of exposure to photographs of thin models on self-consciousness in female college students.

The purpose of this study was to assess the immediate influence of brief exposure to images taken from print media on the general self-consciousness and body self-consciousness of 67 college women. After viewing photographs of either thin female models or control photographs, the women completed the Self-consciousness Scale and the Body Self-consciousness Questionnaire. Although alpha was .45, the college women who looked at images of thin female models gave immediate ratings significantly (p < .001) higher on both general Self-consciousness and Body Self-consciousness than those who looked at control images.
Late Cretaceous Volcanism in South and Central Texas--Stratigraphic, Structural, and Seismic Models: ABSTRACT

ABSTRACT Since their discovery in 1915, hydrocarbon traps in and around "serpentine plugs" have produced about 47 million barrels of oil, and have significant potential for additional small discoveries. Production is from isolated reservoirs within mounds of altered volcanic tuff and associated shoal-water carbonates. A review of the more than 200 volcanic centers and intrusive bodies of South and Central Texas has led to development of stratigraphic and seismic models useful in exploration and production. The so-called serpentine plugs are largely tuff mounds formed by accumulation of volcanic ash (altered to palagonite) on the seafloor around a submarine volcanic vent. Volcanic activity peaked during deposition of the chalk and marl of the upper Austin and lower Taylor Groups (about 80 million years ago). After their eruption, the tuff mounds localized the deposition of shoal-water carbonates with good porosity and permeability. Low-permeability, organic-rich marine shale and marl of the Taylor Group capped the carbonates, serving as both a hydrocarbon source and a stratigraphic seal. Compactional draping of overlying San Miguel and Olmos sands, with minor offset faulting, created important additional traps in South Texas. Central Texas volcanic centers are highly aligned along strike-oriented regional faults and fractures of the Balcones and Luling systems. The magmas in both Central and South Texas were ultramafic and alkaline, suggesting that partial melting occurred at depths of about 40 miles (60 kilometers). The magma rose rapidly to the surface, probably in an extensional stress regime controlled by pre-Tertiary Balcones-Luling faults. The palagonite tuff of a typical productive volcanic center has low seismic velocity and is encased in high-velocity carbonates. The strong velocity contrast, coupled with the distinctive shape of the tuff mass, yields a characteristic seismic pattern. Modern seismic techniques, together with stratigraphic data, allow accurate delineation of buried tuff mounds and prediction of productive carbonate facies.
Infrapopulation sizes of co-occurring trematodes in the snail Ilyanassa obsoleta.

This study addresses the infrapopulation sizes of 2 larval trematode species Himasthla quissetensis and Zoogonus rubellus as they co-occur within their estuarine snail host Ilyanassa obsoleta. Rediae of H. quissetensis and sporocysts of Z. rubellus were counted in snails singly infected with each parasite and in snails infected with both. Comparisons of the counts indicate that infrapopulations of H. quissetensis were unaffected by co-occurrence with Z. rubellus. However, Z. rubellus infrapopulations were reduced when co-occurring with H. quissetensis. It is proposed that this situation does not result from an interspecific interaction between parasite species. Although this double infection is relatively frequent in certain snail populations, it is contended that these trematode species do not co-occur often enough to evolve responses to one another. However, the host environment must be encountered in each life cycle, and both trematode species must be adapted to use it. On this basis, whatever happens ...
Use of a Remote Wireless Pressure Sensor for Post-operative Surveillance of Thoracic Endoluminal Grafts

Thoracic endografting for the treatment of thoracic aortic aneurysms requires lifelong post-operative surveillance using various imaging techniques. Currently, the entirety of exclusion or absence of endoleaks is evaluated by intra-operative angiography and post-operative CT scans. Multiple contrast injections can lead to an increased risk of contrast-induced nephropathy as well as increased radiation to both patient and surgeon. Remote wireless pressure sensor monitoring is a new technology with potential benefit for post-operative surveillance of thoracic endografts without the added risk of radiation exposure or contrast-induced nephropathy. Advantages of this new technology include frequent evaluations with multiple examinations performed on a given patient at any time within the year; systemic pressurization may be detected much earlier within a previously excluded aneurysm and lead to prompt evaluation and treatment.
The taxonomy of viruses should include viruses

Having lost sight of its goal, the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses has redoubled its efforts. That goal is to arrive at a consensus regarding virus classification, i.e., proper placement of viruses in a hierarchical taxonomic scheme; not an easy task given the wide variety of recognized viruses. Rather than suggesting a continuation of the bureaucratic machinations of the past, this opinion piece is a call for insertion of common sense in sorting out the avalanche of information already, and soon-to-be, accrued data. In this way information about viruses ideally would be taxonomically correct as well as useful to working virologists and journal editors, rather than being lost, minimized, or ignored.
Recent Insight Into the Subtypes of Social Anxiety Disorder

Systems for subtyping individuals with social anxiety disorder have been the focus of much research attention as a means to improve assessment and treatment of the disorder. This article highlights recent revisions to social anxiety disorder (SAD) subtypes from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition (DSM-IV) to DSM-V, reviewing empirical evidence that served as the impetus for the revisions. Recent research examining the validity of the DSM-V system and alternative subtyping systems is reviewed. Overall, there appears to be greater empirical support for a dimensional subtyping system. Concerns therefore remain with the DSM-V system, which retained a categorical system but replaced the previous subtypes with a subtype of individuals fearing only performance situations. Recommendations for future research are discussed, as well as alternate options for capturing the variability in SAD presentations, including the possibility of eliminating subtyping altogether.
Reading Kurt Wolff

In these two texts, we have a mature and confident Kurt Wolff demonstrating through compelling honesty and clarity that he is willing to reveal consciousness and risk identity for the rewards of phenomenological sociology. As an intellectual community, our challenge is to organize our reading, understanding, and use of these offerings. There are two, among many, ways to read and respond to these two recent texts by Wolff. One is to read Wolff against the backdrop of his earlier work especially the method of surrender-and-catch (1976). At all times the reader must invoke and be enveloped by Wolff's surrender-and-catch which should be understood as "an orientation, an outlook, a Weltanschauung" (1974, 206). In such a reading an operative thematic is phrased as 'becoming' (Van Manen, 1991: 34). This expression captures not only the essential thrust of O Loma!, but encapsulates the processes evident in Survival and Sociology. Becoming also suggests the manner in which the reader is drawn into these works, as well as the expression and movement of Wolff's consciousness and intellectual work.
HYBRIDIZATION BETWEEN SPECIES OF THE RANA PIPIENS COMPLEX IN CENTRAL TEXAS.

Widespread acceptance and application of the polytypic species concept in the 1930s and 1940s resulted in the taxonomic lumping of many allopatric nominal species on the basis of the assumption of conspecificity. Consequently, for many groups of organisms one can cite cases of what Vaurie (1955) called "pseudo-subspecies"-good species taxonomically confused as subspecies. The example provided by leopard frogs of the Rana pipiens complex is particularly important because of the prominent place they have had in relation to theories of intraspecific variation and the evolution of isolating mechanisms. Analysis of patterns of geographic variation in morphology and the ability of individuals from some widely separated areas to produce viable offspring in laboratory crosses led Moore (1944) to regard many forms of the Rana pipiens complex as members of one polytypic species. Moore's (1946a, 1946b, 1949a, 1949b, 1950) extensive and influential work on the effects of temperature on embryonic and larval development and on genetic compatibility between frogs from different areas was interpreted within the framework of intraspecific variation. His demonstration that degree of abnormality in embryonic development is related to latitudinal distance (and, to a lesser degree, longitudinal distance) between parental populations provided a model of the manner in which differences accumulate between conspecific populations along environmental gradients. As Moore's interpretation gained wide acceptance, Rana pipiens became a standard textbook
Response Rate Stimulants in Mail Surveys: A Potential Source of Sample Composition Bias

Users of mail surveys are continually searching for ways to increase response rates without adversely affecting total survey costs, but it is possible that higher response rates are sometimes achieved at the cost of decreased quality of response and/or increased sample bias. This paper studies return envelope style as a response stimulant. While recognizing the trade-offs between higher response rates for stamped return envelopes and lower total costs for business reply return envelopes, this study asks if response quality and sample composition are affected. Response quality was not differentially affected by return envelope style. However, an important difference in the age composition of the different groups of respondents was detected. It appears that the middle categories of age (41–ars) may resist returning questionnaires in business reply return envelopes to a greater extent than in stamped return envelopes. More research on this question is needed. No differences in sex, marital status, occupation, education or income were detected.
Islet autotransplantation in a patient with hypercoagulable disorder

Total pancreatectomy and islet auto transplantation is a good option for chronic pancreatitis patients who suffer from significant pain, poor quality of life, and the potential of type 3C diabetes and pancreatic cancer. Portal vein thrombosis is the most feared complication of the surgery and chances are increased if the patient has a hypercoagulable disorder. We present a challenging case of islet auto transplantation from our institution. A 29-year-old woman with plasminogen activator inhibitor-4G/4G variant and a clinical history of venous thrombosis was successfully managed with a precise peri- and post-operative anticoagulation protocol. In this paper we discuss the anti-coagulation protocol for safely and successfully caring out islet transplantation and associated risks and benefits.
A Review of the Empirical Research on Private School Choice.

Parents in the United States have had the legal right to choose the school their child attends for a long time. Traditionally, parental school choice took the form of families moving to a neighborhood with good public schools or self-financing private schooling. Contemporary education policies allow parents in many areas to choose from among public schools in neighboring districts, public magnet schools, public charter schools, private schools through the use of a voucher or tax-credit scholarship, virtual schools, or even homeschooling. The newest form of school choice is education savings accounts (ESAs), which make a portion of the funds that a state spends on children in public schools available to their parents in spending accounts that they can use to customize their children's education. Opponents claim that expanding private school choice yields no additional benefits to participants and generates significant harms to the students “left behind” in traditional public schools. A review of the empiri...
Exact and heuristic algorithms for the job shop scheduling problem with earliness and tardiness over a common due date

Scheduling has turned out to be a fundamental activity for both production and service organizations. As competitive markets emerge, Just-In-Time (JIT) production has obtained more importance as a way of rapidly responding to continuously changing market forces. Due to their realistic assumptions, job shop production environments have gained much research effort among scheduling researchers. This research develops exact and heuristic methods and algorithms to solve the job shop scheduling problem when the objective is to minimize both earliness and tardiness costs over a common due date. The objective function of minimizing earliness and tardiness costs captures the essence of the JIT approach in job shops. A dynamic programming procedure is developed to solve smaller instances of the problem, and a Multi-Agent Systems approach is developed and implemented to solve the problem for larger instances since this problem is known to be NP-Hard in a strong sense. A combinational auction-based approach using a Mixed-Integer Linear Programming (MILP) model to construct and evaluate the bids is proposed. The results showed that the proposed combinational auction-based algorithm is able to find optimal solutions for problems that are balanced in processing times across machines. A price discrimination process is successfully implemented to deal with unbalanced problems. The exact and heuristic procedures developed in this research are the first steps to create a structured approach to handle this problem and as a result, a set of benchmark problems will be available to the scheduling research community.
Landmark-based position and movement detection of wireless sensor network devices

The demand for reliable indoor positioning of mobile devices is wide and the computing and communication hardware are evolving rapidly. Thus, it is meaningful to consider a spectrum of techniques that reflect different constraints and tradeoffs of hardware investment, computational complexity, set-up cost, and positioning accuracy. The present paper strives to achieve high accuracy with low hardware investment and moderate set-up cost, but with somewhat sophisticated computations. We not only describe a successful positioning system, but also suggest a set of formal techniques that proved to work well in the real setting, and can be implemented using standard wireless sensor network hardware. The overall philosophy of utilizing the full distribution information of signal measurements at each location (proved implementable after careful algorithm design) distinguishes sharply from most existing works. Compared with the earlier work within our group, the present paper introduces new elements such as profiling the signal measurement distributions over the coverage area using a special interpolation technique; a two-tier tracking scheme that improves the efficiency of localization (in the commonly used sense) by adding movement detection (lower energy cost); and the joint clusterhead placement optimization for both localization and movement detection. Experimentally, our system achieved an accuracy equivalent to 95% < 5 meters and 87% < 3 meters, which should be considered a high-quality result compared to well-known contemporary systems that use similar low-cost hardware.
Causal Thinking in the Twilight Zone

To students of causality, the writings of William Cochran provide an excellent and intriguing vantage point for studying how statistics, lacking the necessary mathematical tools, managed nevertheless to cope with increasing demands for policy evaluation from observational studies. Cochran met this challenge in the years 1955-1980, when statistics was preparing for a profound, albeit tortuous transition from a science of data, to a science of data generating processes. The former, governed by Fisher’s dictum (Fisher, 1922) “the object of statistical methods is the reduction of data” was served well by the traditional language of probability theory. The latter, on the other hand, seeking causal effects and policy recommendations, required an extension of probability theory to facilitate mathematical representations of generating processes. No such representation was allowed into respectable statistical circles in the 1950-60s, when Cochran started looking into the social effects of public housing in Baltimore. While data showed improvement in health and well-being of families that moved from slums to public housing, it soon became obvious that the estimated improvement was strongly biased; Cochran reasoned that in order to become eligible for public housing the parent of a family may have to possess both initiative and some determination in dealing with the bureaucracy, thus making their families more likely to obtain better healthcare than non-eligible families. 1 This led him to suggest “adjustment for covariates” for the explicit purpose of reducing this causal effect bias. While there were others before Cochran who applied adjustment for various purposes, Cochran is credited for introducing this technique to statistics (Salsburg, 2002) primarily because he popularized the method and taxonomized it by purpose of usage. Unlike most of his contemporaries, who considered cause-effect relationships “ill-defined” outside the confines of Fisherian experiments, Cochran had no qualm admitting that he sought such relationships in observational studies. He in fact went as far as dening the objective of an observational study: “to elucidate causal-and-effect relationships” in situations where controlled experiments are infeasible (Cochran, 1965). Indeed, in the paper before us, the word “cause” is used fairly freely, and other causal terms such as “effect,” “influence,” and “explanation” are almost as frequent as “regression” or “variance.” Still, Cochran was well aware that he was dealing with unchartered extra-statistical territory and cautioned us: “Claim of proof of cause and effect must carry with it an explanation of the mechanism by which this effect is produced.”
Ophthalmic Plastic Surgery: A History in the Making

The subspecialty of ophthalmic plastic surgery was born in the mid-twentieth century in the United States at the conclusion of World War II. The art of oculoplastic surgery, however, is centuries old, bearing its roots in antiquity in India, the Far East, and Europe. The principles and basic techniques that have been improved upon and refined over the years are inherent in the disciplines of ophthalmology and plastic surgery. Thus, a history of ophthalmic plastic surgery is inevitably a history of the development of both fields. The various procedures that have evolved over centuries can be divided into several general categories: reconstructive, restorative, and cosmetic. Each of these categories deals with restoring or enhancing structure as well function to damaged or malfunctioning adnexal structures. Numerous adnexal structures make up the periorbita, and throughout time, oculoplastic surgeons have perfected, refined, and pioneered new techniques of lacrimal surgery, ptosis repair and blepharoplasty, orbital surgery, lid malpositions, and flaps and grafts. Oculoplastic surgery became recognized as a unique subspecialty of ophthalmology at the end of World War II. Numerous orbital and periocular injuries were treated by general ophthalmologists without prior training or exposure to ophthalmic plastic surgery. For these surgeons topic literature, exchange of experiences with colleagues and across disciplines, and more often than not, trial and error were keys in developing these procedures. After the war, interest in the subfield of ophthalmic surgery grew, and eventually, an organized association dedicated solely to the field of ophthalmic plastic surgery was formed. This chapter is a testament to those great minds that weaved the broad array of ophthalmic techniques into a quilt of a distinct subspecialty.