cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Evolutionary Biology, Circa 2009

One hundred and fifty years after the publication of On the Origin of Species , evolutionary biology has matured into an active, rigorous, and exciting field of scientific research. Evolution: The First Four Billion Years provides a wonderful introduction to this field. The book offers in-depth articles on the current state of our understanding of evolution and on the relationships between evolutionary biology and society, and shorter essays on the people, books, and ideas that have contributed to the development of evolutionary thought. It contains something of interest to everyone who wants to learn more about evolution.
Anion Separation with Metal–Organic Frameworks

The application of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) to anion separations with a special emphasis on anion selectivity is reviewed. The coordination frameworks are classified on the basis of the main interactions to the included anion, from weak and non-specific van der Waals forces to more specific interactions such as coordination to Lewis acid metal centers or hydrogen bonding. The importance of anion solvation phenomena to the observed anion selectivities is highlighted, and strategies for reversing the Hofmeister bias that favors large, less hydrophilic anions, and for obtaining peak selectivities based on shape recognition are delineated. Functionalization of the anion-binding sites in MOFs with strong and directional hydrogen-bonding groups that are complementary to the included anion, combined with organizational rigidity of the coordination framework, appears to be the most promising approach for achieving non-Hofmeister selectivity.
Two post-Alikhanian generations of physicists

Artem Alikhanian, famous Soviet physicist, was one of founders of experimental nuclear and cosmic-ray physics in USSR and in Armenia. A result of his activity is subsequent two generations of professional physicists presenting the real wealth of Armenian science.
3D SRME: Data Reconstruction And Application to Field Data

A widely used approach to the suppression of surface-related multiples is to perform 2.5D SRME (Matson and Corrigan, 2000; Hadidi et al., 2002). In this technique an approximate method (such as differential NMO) is used to perform data regularization. The key assumption in the 2.5D SRME approach is that the subsurface does not vary in the crossline direction. SRME does not assume that the subsurface is laterally invariant in the crossline direction, but the 3D implementation requires additional information in order to predict multiples, namely a shot and a receiver at every surface location. Typical marine acquisition geometries deliver much sparser surface coverage and various approaches to overcoming this problem have been proposed: Levin (2002) used an approximate NMO-based method to perform zero offset 3D SRME; van Dedem and Verschuur (2002) used sparse inversion to predict locations of 3D multiples; Kleemeyer et al. (2003) discussed an application of 3D SRME to field data. We propose to use a new DMO-based reconstruction technique (Baumstein, 2004) to create the input necessary for 3D SRME. This technique employs common offset DMO to map all data to zero offset, followed by Inverse Shot Record (ISR) DMO to reconstruct prestack data.
Self-centring activity of cytoplasm.

Fish melanophore cells aggregate pigment granules at the centre or redisperse them throughout the cytoplasm. The granules move along radial microtubules by means of molecular motors1–3. Cytoplasmic fragments of melanophores organize a radial array of microtubules and aggregate pigment at its centre4–7. Here we report self-centring in microsurgically produced cytoplasmic fragments of black tetra melanophores. We observed rapid (10 min) formation of a radial microtubule array after stimulation of aggregation. Arrangement of microtubules in the fragments returned to random during pigment redispersion. Apparently, formation of the radial array does not depend on a pre-existing microtubule-organizing centre. The array did not form in granule-free fragments nor in fragments treated with inhibitors of the intracellular motor protein cytoplasmic dynein. We conclude that formation of the radial microtubule array is induced by directional motion of pigment granules along microtubules and present evidence that its position is defined by interaction of microtubules with the surface.
The degradation of SOFC electrodes

The long-term performance degradation of SOFCs is due to instability of the cell components. Because SOFCs have a composite-solid structure, thermal cycling may also cause performance degradation. In this study, the degradation of the cell performance due to thermal cycles and due to aging is examined by the AC impedance method. A specially designed electrochemical method is used to study the cell degradation due to aging. A large positive overpotential is applied at the cathode in order to accelerate the performance degradation. The AC impedance response helps to understand how the aging affects the electrode structure and may lead to performance degradation. The impedance responses generated in this study also help to understand the physical meaning of various features in the impedance diagram, and to clarify some controversial questions in terms of microstructure change in the electrode.
Effects of norethynodrel and progesterone on hepatic microsomal drug-metabolizing enzyme systems

Abstract Two progestational steroids, norethynodrel and progesterone, have been compared in their effects on hepatic drug-metabolizing enzyme systems in vitro . The steroids were added directly to incubation mixtures containing 9000 g supernatant fractions of rat liver homogenates, appropriate cofactors, and drug substrates. Norethynodrel and progesterone at 10 −5 and 10 −4 M concentrations markedly inhibited the side-chain oxidation of hexobarbital, ring hydroxylation of zoxazolamine, and p -hydroxylation of aniline. To a lesser degree they also inhibited the ring hydroxylation of 3,4-benzpyrene and the N-demethylation of aminopyrine. They did not appreciably affect the reduction of the nitro radical of p -nitrobenzoic acid, the reduction of the azo linkage of neoprontosil, the o -demethylation of codeine, or the metabolism of chlorpromazine. When animals were pretreated with these steroids, only the metabolisms of zoxazolamine and hexobarbital were affected in vitro . Both agents were capable of inhibiting the metabolism in vitro of these drug substrates when administered 1 or 2 hr prior to sacrifice of the animals. Norethynodrel stimulated the metabolism of hexobarbital when administered between 18 and 48 hr before sacrifice. Hexobarbital metabolism was also stimulated after subacute (daily for 3 days) and chronic (daily for 3 weeks) pretreatment with norethynodrel. Pretreatment with norethynodrel produced a stimulation of zoxazolamine metabolism when administered between 18 and 36 hr prior to sacrifice of the animals. Stimulation was also observed after chronic administration of norethynodrel. Pretreatment with progesterone produced no stimulation of hexobarbital or zoxazolamine metabolism.
Texture density and normal development of visual depth avoidance.

Kittens, dutch-belted rabbits, and albino rabbits were tested daily after eye opening for development of a reliable avoidance response on the visual cliff under varying conditions of texture density of elements comprising the checkerboard patterns of deep and shallow surfaces. Depth avoidance was demonstrated at an earlier age when coarse (34° to 18° retinal angle) rather than fine (2° or less of retinal angle) elements comprising shallow and deep surfaces were available to the subject. Visually guided placing to surfaces (in cats) developed after onset of visual cliff depth avoidance when coarse texture elements, but not when fine texture elements were used. Differences in onset of depth-avoidance responding under different conditions of texture density across species as well as non-coincidence of onset of visual placing with depth avoidance in cats indicated that changes in texture-processing abilities with age and as a function of species characteristics interact with developing visual-motor responding. The results were interpreted relative to organismic development of texture-processing systems affecting degree of degradation of primary visual input during development. The importance of texture-derived afferent information on development of visual-motor behaviors was discussed.
Properties of metamorphic materials and device structures on GaAs substrates

Metamorphic layer structures grown on GaAs substrates have been characterized and fabricated into high quality electrical and optical devices. The root mean square surface roughness of the metamorphic films is <15A, which is smaller than most device layer thicknesses. Cross-sectional transmission electron micrographs show that the dislocations necessarily formed during growth of the metamorphic buffer layer are predominantly contained in the buffer layer. Subsequently grown device layers exhibit planar interfaces. From plan view micrographs, the dislocation density is approximately 10 6 cm 2 or less. The mobility of metamorphic high electron mobility transistor (HEMT) structures increases with indium content and is essentially equivalent to the mobility of the same structures grown lattice matched on InP substrates. The room temperature photoluminescence of transistor quantum wells is not degraded by growth on metamorphic buffer layers. High gain, low noise amplifiers have been demonstrated with long-term reliability. Metamorphic PIN photodiodes exhibit the same responsivities and bandwidths as InP PIN photodiodes. An integrated metamorphic PIN-HEMT layer structure has been grown. The responsivity of the PIN was 0.52 A/W with an unoptimized bandwidth approaching 30 GHz. The metamorphic high electron mobility transistor exhibited typical performance for current, transconductance, and pinch-off.
CORRELATION OF A NOVEL NON-INVASIVE TISSUE OXYGEN SATURATION MONITOR TO SERUM CENTRAL VENOUS OXYGEN SATURATION IN PEDIATRIC CONGENITAL CYANOTIC HEART DISEASE PATIENTS FOLLOWING A CARDIAC SURGICAL PROCEDURE

Using a novel non-invasive, visible-light optical diffusion oximeter (T-Stat VLS Tissue Oximeter, Spectros Corp., Portola Valley, CA) to measure the tissue oxygen saturation (StO2) of the buccal mucosa, the correlation between StO2 and central venous oxygen saturation (ScvO2) was examined in
Vector Network Analyzer Characterization of Parallel Plate Capacitors with High-K Dielectrics

Most applications of high-K paraelectrics involve microwave frequencies; tunable microwave filters and phase shifters are obvious examples. Applications such as power supply decoupling and some tunable microwave devices make use of discrete capacitors (i.e., not distributed along a transmission line). In these cases, a direct measurement of a discrete capacitor is preferable to inferring the capacitor's characteristics by overall device performance. Methods for microwave characterization are discussed for Pt/(Ba,Ca)(Ti,Zr)O3/Pt parallel-plate capacitors. Impedance, capacitance, and quality factor are extracted from vector network analyzer measurements from 45 MHz to 50 GHz.
Commercialized CMOS Compatible Micro Anemometer

In this paper, two different post CMOS fabrication process designs which were also novel differential hot wire anemometers (usually named it as flow sensors) similar to Honeywell flow sensor structure are presented. Additionally, other two new types of anemometer structure compatible with standard CMOS process were also demonstrated in this paper. Our fabrication strategy to the anemometer was based on 0.35 mum standard CMOS processes and fabricated this anemometer with IC integration, low cost less time to market and high performance characteristics. A successful post CMOS processes designed to fabricate these micro anemometer had been demonstrated. Besides, the characteristics of the anemometer which indicates a good linearity output in the flow measuring range from 0 to 12 Liter / min and a sensitivity of this micro anemometer near 1cm 3 / min was measured.
Survey of speech and language skills with prognostic indicators in 116 patients with Cornelia de Lange syndrome

Speech and language evaluations of 116 patients, ages 2 months to 29 years, with Cornelia de Lange syndrome (CdLS), also known as Brachmann-de Lange syndrome, were conducted to survey speech and language skills and to ascertain the prognostic value of related variables. These patients were evaluated at conferences of the CdLS Foundation. The data from these evaluations were then analyzed using the database program of Paradox 3.5. The findings indicated that 53% of the children who were 4 years or older combined 2 or more words into sentences and 33% had no words or only 1-2 words. Four percent were judged to have language skills within normal to low-normal limits. Children who were not talking at all or who were severely delayed in language skills had at least one of the following characteristics: birth weight under 5 lbs.; a reported diagnosis of moderate-to-severe hearing impairment; upper limb malformations; poor abilities to relate socially; and/or severe motor delays, e.g., they did not sit up until after age 25 months or did not walk until after 35 months.
Nitrite confers protection against myocardial infarction: Role of xanthine oxidoreductase, NADPH oxidase and KATP channels

Reduction of nitrite to nitric oxide during ischemia protects the heart against injury from ischemia/reperfusion. However the optimal dose of nitrite and the mechanisms underlying nitrite-induced cardioprotection are not known. We determined the ability of nitrite and nitrate to confer protection against myocardial infarction in two rat models of ischemia/reperfusion injury and the role of xanthine oxidoreductase, NADPH oxidase, nitric oxide synthase and K(ATP) channels in mediating nitrite-induced cardioprotection. In vivo and in vitro rat models of myocardial ischemia/reperfusion injury were used to cause infarction. Hearts (n=6/group) were treated with nitrite or nitrate for 15 min prior to 30 min regional ischemia and 180 min reperfusion. Xanthine oxidoreductase activity was measured after 15 min aerobic perfusion and 30 min ischemia. Nitrite reduced myocardial necrosis and decline in ventricular function following ischemia/reperfusion in the intact and isolated rat heart in a dose- or concentration-dependent manner with an optimal dose of 4 mg/kg in vivo and concentration of 10 microM in vitro. Nitrate had no effect on protection. Reduction in infarction by nitrite was abolished by the inhibition of flavoprotein reductases and the molybdenum site of xanthine oxidoreductase and was associated with an increase in activity of xanthine dehydrogenase and xanthine oxidase during ischemia. Inhibition of nitric oxide synthase had no effect on nitrite-induced cardioprotection. Inhibition of NADPH oxidase and K(ATP) channels abolished nitrite-induced cardioprotection. Nitrite but not nitrate protects against infarction by a mechanism involving xanthine oxidoreductase, NADPH oxidase and K(ATP) channels.
Video Annotation Tools Technologies to Scaffold, Structure, and Transform Teacher Reflection

While video has long been used to capture microteaching episodes, illustrate classroom cases and practices, and to review teaching practices, recent developments in video annotation tools may help to extend and augment teacher self-reflection. Such tools make possible the documentation and support self-analysis using verifiable evidence as well as to examine changes in development over time. Video annotation tools offer the potential to support both the reflection and analysis of one's own teaching with minimal video editing as well as the ability to associate captured video with related student and teaching evidence. In this paper, we compare and contrast emerging video annotation tools and describe their applications to support and potentially transform teacher reflection.
Thixotropic parameters of whole human blood

Abstract The rheological property of 8 samples of whole blood from healthy adult human subjects was studied with a Weissenberg Pheogoniometer, modified with a continuously variable speed drive. Experimental data showed a hysteresis loop in the shear stress versus the shear rate plot and a torque-decay in the shear stress versus the shearing time plot which is under a constant shear rate. With these characteristics, whole human blood is under the classification of thixotropic fluid with its viscosity being time-dependent and shear rate-dependent. A rheological equation with 5 parameters was employed to represent experimental data of each blood sample. Thus the 5 thixotropic parameters of each blood sample can be used to characterize the rheological property of the blood sample. The results pertaining to these parameters will be discussed.
Parotid gland salivary secretion in Tourette's syndrome and attention deficit disorder: a model system for the study of neurochemical regulation.

Abstract The neurochemical regulation of parotid gland secretion of amylase and fluid has been well-studied and provides a model system for the study of receptor functioning in children and adults. Salivary amylase concentration, total amylase. and salivary volume were studied in children with Tourette's syndrome (TS) and Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) using a method for stimulating salivary secretion by citric acid swishes. Patients who were drug-free or on maintenance clonidine for treatment of TS were studied following single doses of clonidine or placebo. Drug-free TS patients had higher salivary amylase concentration and total salivary amylase than did TS patients who were chronically being treated with clonidine or ADD patients. Clonidine elicited a fall in salivary amylase secretion. The implications of these results and the use of salivary measures as an index of receptor functioning are discussed.
A phosphatidylinositol-3-OH kinase family member regulating longevity and diapause in Caenorhabditis elegans

A pheromone-induced neurosecretory pathway in Caenorhabditis elegans triggers developmental arrest and an increase in longevity at the dauer diapause stage. The gene age-1 is required for non-dauer development and normal senescence. age-1 encodes a homologue of mammalian phosphatidylinositol-3-OH kinase (PI(3)K) catalytic subunits. Lack of both maternal and zygotic age-1 activity causes dauer formation, whereas animals with maternal but not zygotic age-1 activity develop as non-dauers that live more than twice as long as normal. These data suggest that phosphatidylinositol signalling mediated by AGE-1 protein controls lifespan and the dauer diapause decision.
Children teach methods they could not discover for themselves

Across three studies (N=100), we explored whether and, if so, under what circumstances children's self-discovered knowledge impacts their transmission of taught information. All participants were taught one of several methods for extracting rewards from a box. Half of the participants were also given an opportunity to discover their own method prior to receiving such instruction. Across studies, we varied the transparency of the taught method relative to the method children could discover on their own. When asked to teach a naive pupil about the box, children who did not explore the box always transmitted what they were taught. Children in the Exploration+Instruction condition were also likely to transmit what they had been taught, but they were especially likely to do so when the taught method was more opaque than the method they had discovered for themselves. Thus, children faithfully transmit what they have been taught, but only when that information is difficult to discover.
Correction: Pan, J.L. Progress to a Gallium-Arsenide Deep- Center Laser. Materials 2009, 2, 1599-1635

The author acknowledges that her former graduate students, J. E. McManis and M. Gupta, collected the data in the recent review [1], as indicated by the references therein. [...]
Microelectronics: End of the beginning or beginning of the end?

The startling rate of change which microelectronics is producing in world societies has caused organizations to ponder how long this rate of change can endure and at what level of performance it might end. This paper traces the historical development of microelectronic capabilities, how this has fueled ever greater capabilities in electronic systems, which, in turn, created the explosive growth of the microelectronics industry. It is projected that the factors which have produced the growth in microelectronic capabilities will reach maturity within the next decade and electronics may become a low-growth industry within 5 to 10 years following that event unless new revolutionary approaches to microelectronics are developed which bypass foreseen limitations. Some possible paths these revolutionary approaches might take are outlined.
A retrospective analysis of the leptospirosis research in Colombia.

Introduction: Leptospirosis is a re-emerging infectious disease whose prevalence is often underestimated, not only in Colombia, but in most developing countries. The objective of this paper is to assess the research status of leptospirosis in Colombia in order to identify trends, knowledge gaps, and directions for future research.Methodology: With the aim of gathering all the information available on leptospirosis in the country, a web search was conducted in various indexes and databases. The search terms used were: Leptospirosis + Colombia. A total of 95 publications were found and analyzed using descriptive statistics.Results: The first report of leptospirosis in the country was published in 1957. More than 60% of the published works focus on the prevalence of the disease. The Central part of the country is the area with the highest number of publications. MAT was used in 84% of the prevalence studies and humans are the most studied taxonomic group, with 45% of the publications. The highest prevalence of the disease was registered for rodents (82.7%, 62/75), followed by humans (67.9%, 53/78), pigs (67.6%, 342/506), and dogs (67.2%, 41/61). The prevalence of the disease in the country is associated with occupational factors, hygiene conditions and contact with rodents.Conclusion: Although leptospirosis is a prevalent disease in Colombia, the limitations of the diagnostic techniques used and the lack of a unified criteria on titers thresholds, make an accurate assessment of the prevalence of the disease in the country problematic.
Correlates of substance misuse in patients with first-episode schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder

Objective: To identify factors associated with substance misuse in first-episode patients with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder. Method: Twenty-seven patients with a past or current history of substance misuse were compared with 91 patients with no history of misuse on demographic and psychopathological measures before being treated for their first episode of psychosis, and on cognitive measures after 6 months of treatment. Results: There were no statistically significant differences between groups for sex, schizophrenia subtype, marital status, education, family history of schizophrenia, course of illness, age of onset, baseline symptoms, time to treatment response, medication side effects, attention span, memory and executive functioning. However, dual diagnosis patients were found to have a higher parental social class, better premorbid cognitive functioning, higher IQ and better language skills. Conclusion: First-episode patients with a history of substance misuse have higher intellectual functioning, which may be associated with higher premorbid socioeconomic status and cognitive functioning.
Algorithm 907: KLU, A Direct Sparse Solver for Circuit Simulation Problems

KLU is a software package for solving sparse unsymmetric linear systems of equations that arise in circuit simulation applications. It relies on a permutation to Block Triangular Form (BTF), several methods for finding a fill-reducing ordering (variants of approximate minimum degree and nested dissection), and Gilbert/Peierls’ sparse left-looking LU factorization algorithm to factorize each block. The package is written in C and includes a MATLAB interface. Performance results comparing KLU with SuperLU, Sparse 1.3, and UMFPACK on circuit simulation matrices are presented. KLU is the default sparse direct solver in the XyceTMcircuit simulation package developed by Sandia National Laboratories.
Aspirin Use and Post-operative Bleeding from Dental Extractions

Aspirin is a common, chronically administered preventive treatment for cardiovascular disease, but is often discontinued prior to invasive dental procedures because of concern for bleeding complications. We hypothesized that aspirin does not cause increased bleeding following a single tooth extraction. Thirty-six healthy persons requiring a tooth extraction were randomized to receive 325 mg/day aspirin or placebo for 4 days. Cutaneous bleeding time (BT) and platelet aggregation tests were obtained prior to extraction. The primary outcome measure, oral BT, and secondary bleeding outcomes were evaluated during and following extraction. No significant baseline differences, except for diastolic blood pressure, were found between groups. There were no differences in oral BT, cutaneous BT, secondary outcome measures, or compliance. Whole-blood aggregation results were significantly different between the aspirin and placebo groups. These findings suggest that there is no indication to discontinue aspirin for persons requiring single-tooth extraction.
Federalism or Extreme Makeover of State Domestic Regulations Power? The Rules and Rhetoric of Windsor (and Perry)

The opinion of the Supreme Court of the United States in United States v. Windsor is express in its affirmation of the right of states to regulate family law; it affirms state power at least twenty-nine times. In repudiating the federal definition of marriage, Windsor seems to uphold state regulation of family law. At the same time, Hollingsworth v. Perry provides a background for considering democratic involvement in the process of state regulation of family law and in effect invalidates by lack of standing a voter-approved state referendum defining marriage for California. Thus, the characterization of federalism in Windsor seems to conflict with the actual outcome of Perry.In light of this apparent contradiction, this article considers whether “the traditional power of States to define domestic relations” is affected by the mandate that the federal government refrain from intervening in marriage entry regulation when one state’s ability to define marriage was effectively denied in Perry. An overview of some collateral effects of both the rules and rhetoric of Windsor and Perry on state family law regulation illuminates this question. Such an overview reveals that these cases do more than simply uphold and clarify federalism; at least to some extent, they impede the ability of states to define domestic relations, with practical and ideological ramifications for family law and liberty interests. First, Part I provides a background on the dicta of Windsor heralding state regulation of marriage. Part II considers and examines collateral effects of Windsor and Perry on family law in three categories. Those categories include federal conflicts with state regulations, interstate conflicts, and family law policy. Part III discusses an ideological shift Windsor and Perry promote in family law and the effects of the Supreme Court’s endorsement of this new ideology upon personal liberty interests and marriage regulation.
CONSTRAINED NON–LINEAR LEAST SQUARES

. Asymptotic properties of the constrained non–linear least squares estimator and the associated Lagrangian multipliers are derived, extending the results of LOTKEPOHL (1983).
Adaptive dynamic inversion control of a linear scalar plant with constrained control inputs

This paper develops a methodology for stable adaptation in the presence of control position limits, for a class of linear time invariant systems with uncertain parameters. The central idea is to modify the desired reference by the best estimated deficiency in the state derivative, because of the saturation. The modified reference is used in determining the modified tracking error which is further used in the parameter update laws. A notion of 'points of no return' is presented for unstable systems with bounded control, and a switching control strategy is devised to address this problem of containing the state within the points of no return. The paper presents stability proofs for the control scheme and numerical simulations to demonstrate the performance of the controller.
The Rehabilitation of Truth in Theology

In introducing his Dynamics of Faith , Paul Tillich speaks of ‘faith’ as one of those terms in religious language ‘which need healing before they can be used for the healing of men’. ‘Truth’ is another term that is in need of healing. Of course, it must be said that the critical reforming and refining of terms and their senses should be a perennial theological task. It can be said that we have witnessed in the twentieth century a cornucopia of linguistic analysis. However, much of this analysis has been less than productive, a fact due in part to highly restricted notions of meaning and verification. A deficiency in analysis is evident in what J. L. Austin has to say about ‘truth’:
Animal models of arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy

Arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathies are a heterogeneous group of pathological conditions that give rise to myocardial dysfunction with an increased risk for atrial or ventricular arrhythmias. Inherited defects in cardiomyocyte proteins in the sarcomeric contractile apparatus, the cytoskeleton and desmosomal cell-cell contact junctions are becoming recognized increasingly as major causes of sudden cardiac death in the general population. Animal models have been developed for the systematic dissection of the genetic pathways involved in the pathogenesis of arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathies. This review presents an overview of current animal models for arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy (ARVC), hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) and dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) associated with cardiac arrhythmias and sudden cardiac death.
Acid-sensing ion and epithelial sodium channels do not contribute to the mechanoreceptor component of the exercise pressor reflex.

Amiloride, injected into the popliteal artery, has been reported to attenuate the reflex pressor response to static contraction of the triceps surae muscles. Both mechanical and metabolic stimuli arising in contracting skeletal muscle are believed to evoke this effect, which has been named the exercise pressor reflex. Amiloride blocks both acid-sensing ion channels, as well as epithelial sodium channels. Nevertheless, amiloride is thought to block the metabolic stimulus to the reflex, because this agent has been shown to attenuate the reflex pressor response to injection of lactic acid into the arterial supply of skeletal muscle. The possibility exists, however, that amiloride may also block mechanical stimuli evoking the exercise pressor reflex. The mechanical component of the reflex can be assessed by measuring renal sympathetic nerve activity during the first 2–5 s of contraction. During this period of time, the sudden tension developed by contraction onset briskly discharges mechanoreceptors, whereas it has little effect on the discharge of metaboreceptors. We, therefore, examined the effect of amiloride (0.5 μg/kg) injected into the popliteal artery on the renal sympathetic and pressor responses to static contraction of the triceps surae muscles in decerebrated cats. We found that amiloride significantly attenuated the pressor and renal sympathetic responses to contraction; for the latter variable, the attenuation started 10 s after the onset of contraction. Our findings lead us to conclude that acid-sensing ion channels and epithelial sodium channels play little, if any, role in evoking the mechanical component of the exercise pressor reflex.
The influence of directional sampling on bidirectional reflectance and albedo retrieval using kernel-driven models

The error in bidirectional reflectance and albedo retrievals due to random noise in the observed reflectances is found to be less than the noise RMSE using 16-day MODIS-MISR angular sampling.
The Refugee: A Problem for International Organization

In everyday speech, the word “refugee” means any person who has to leave his home because of a general catastrophe — natural or social. People whose dislocation was caused, in one way or another, by the second world war came to be called “displaced persons” or “DP's.” The largest remaining group of such displaced persons is in China, where there are perhaps 25,000,000 people who are still living away from their former homes; but the problem which they present, though it is almost unimaginably vast and tragic, comes within the jurisdiction of a single nation. The same is true of the second largest remaining group, the perhaps 10,000,000 Soviet citizens who have not returned to their pre-war places of residence. The perhaps 8,000,000 Germans recently transferred from East Prussia, Silesia, the Sudetenland and other areas into the four zones of diminished Germany and Austria pose an international problem; but it is being handled by the occupying authorities — jointly or separately. Apart from several hundred thousand persons of Chinese nationality driven by the war from their homes in non-Chinese portions of Southeast Asia and some tens of thousands of Indian nationality, similarly displaced, who do not raise vexing political questions, the persons with whom a general international organization for uprooted people must deal are almost exclusively the perhaps 2,000,000 European refugees — refugees in the narrower technical meaning of the term, bristling with political complications.
A randomized trial evaluating Prosaptide for HIV-associated sensory neuropathies: use of an electronic diary to record neuropathic pain.

Objectives. To examine the efficacy and safety of Prosaptide TM (PRO) for the treatment of painful HIV-associated sensory neuropathies (HIV-SN). Design. A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multicenter study in participants with sensory neuropathy. Pain modulating therapy was discontinued prior to baseline. Participants were stratified by sural sensory nerve action potential (SNAP) amplitude. Participants were trained to use an electronic diary (ED) to record pain. Setting. Peripheral neuropathies are common complications of HIV infection. The pathogenesis is unknown and currently treatments are restricted to symptomatic measures. We examined PRO against placebo (PBO) for treatment of painful HIV-SN and performed a post-hoc evaluation of an electronic diary (ED) to record HIV-associated neuropathic pain. Participants. Eligible participants included adults with neurologist-confirmed painful HIV-SN. Interventions. 2, 4, 8, or 16 mg/d PRO or PBO administered via subcutaneous (SC) injection for six weeks. Neurotoxic antiretroviral drug usage was held constant. Outcome Measures. Changes from baseline in the weekly average of evaluable daily random prompts measuring pain using the Gracely pain scale and adverse events. Results. 237 participants were randomized. The study was stopped after a planned futility analysis. There were no between-group differences in the frequency of adverse events or laboratory toxicities. The 6-week mean (sd) Gracely pain scale changes were 20.12 (0.23), 20.24 (0.35), 20.15 (0.32), 20.18 (0.34), and 20.18 (0.32) for the 2, 4, 8, 16 mg, and PBO arms respectively. A similar variability of pain changes recorded using the ED were noted compared to previous trials that used paper collection methods. Conclusions. 6-week treatment with PRO was safe but not effective at reducing HIV-associated neuropathic pain. Use of an ED to record neuropathic pain is novel in HIV-SN, resulted in reasonable compliance in recording pain data, but did not decrease the variability of pain scores compared to historical paper collection methods. Trial Registration. ClinicalTrials.gov NCT00286377
Carbons from selected organic feedstocks

—Carbons in the form of electrodes and anodes, activated carbons, carbon blacks, and cokes and chars (as reducing agents) require large tonnages of petroleum and coal feedstocks for their production. Selected technology for the production of each of these forms of carbon is discussed and possible interchange between petroleum and coal feedstocks considered. The production of carbon fibers used in the fabrication of carbon composites is also considered, since potentially large amounts of feedstocks will be needed for this application. It is concluded that the technology exists to produce carbons with acceptable properties from coal feedstocks in every case, if a shortage of petroleum feedstocks develops. The production of activated carbon from a renewable resource is considered briefly.
Serologic diagnosis of yeast infections.

Tests for agglutinating, precipitating, and immunofluorescent IgM and anti-human-globulin antibody to Candida albicans were performed on 50 blood bank serum specimens, 52 consecutive serum specimens from patients without Candida infection submitted to a fungal serology laboratory, and 17 serum specimens from patients with serious yeast infections. On the basis of a combination of the agglutinin, precipitin, and anti-human-globulin tests, less than 2% of controls, 75% of patients with C. albicans infection, and 40% of those with infections due to other yeasts had clinically significant antibody levels.
A Seventeen-Year Study of Graduate Student Authorship in Advertising Journals.

An examination of five leading advertising journals over seventeen years revealed that the number of graduate student authors increased over time. However, there was no increase in the total number of articles with graduate student authors. More than 70 percent of graduate students who authored or co-authored the published research were first, second, or sole author. Long-standing advertising programs had the most graduate student authors but our results revealed new contenders. Institutions worldwide had a slight increase in the number of graduate student authors, but journalism, advertising, and mass communication programs lagged behind business, marketing, management, and economics programs.
How Do Digital Natives and Digital Immigrants Respond Differently to Interactivity Online?: A Model for Predicting Consumer Attitudes and Intentions to Use Digital Information Products

ABSTRACT The advertising industry has devoted substantial managerial focus on digital information and entertainment. Scholarly attention, however, has lagged. The current study examined the effects of perceived interactivity on attitude and intention to use a new product (adoption intention) in the context of digital information. In particular, the authors examined differences in response between younger “digital natives,” who were exposed to the Internet in childhood, and older “digital immigrants” exposed later in life. Results revealed that the control and communication dimensions of perceived interactivity lead to more positive attitudes and adoption intentions for digital natives but not always for digital immigrants.
Genetic Resistance to a Retroviral Neurologic Disease in Wild Mice

The only known example of a naturally occurring oncoviral neurologic disease in animals is the fatal hind leg paralysis described in an aging population of wild mice (Mus musculus) from an isolated squab farm near Lake Casitas (LC) in southern California (Officer et al. 1973; Gardner et al. 1973). The disease, called spongiform polioencephalomyelopathy, is caused by an infectious (ecotropic) murine leukemia virus (MuLV) and is characterized by a noninflammatory, nonimmunogenic, direct retrovirus injury to anterior horn neurons in the lumbosacral spinal cord. The observation that this virus and its associated paralysis are detected in only a small minority (10%) of the LC mice is explained by the segregation in this outbred population of a dominant ecotropic-MuLV restriction gene, initially called Akrv-1 and now called FV-4. In this chapter I briefly summarize the natural history of this retroviral neurologic disease, for which several recent reviews are available (Gardner 1978; Gardner and Rasheed 1982; Gardner 1985), and cover more recent information on the discovery, structure, and function of this MuLV restriction gene.
Fast and accurate analytical model to solve inverse problem in SHM using Lamb wave propagation

Lamb wave propagation is at the center of attention of researchers for structural health monitoring of thin walled structures. This is due to the fact that Lamb wave modes are natural modes of wave propagation in these structures with long travel distances and without much attenuation. This brings the prospect of monitoring large structure with few sensors/actuators. However the problem of damage detection and identification is an “inverse problem” where we do not have the luxury to know the exact mathematical model of the system. On top of that the problem is more challenging due to the confounding factors of statistical variation of the material and geometric properties. Typically this problem may also be ill posed. Due to all these complexities the direct solution of the problem of damage detection and identification in SHM is impossible. Therefore an indirect method using the solution of the “forward problem” is popular for solving the “inverse problem”. This requires a fast forward problem solver. Due to the complexities involved with the forward problem of scattering of Lamb waves from damages researchers rely primarily on numerical techniques such as FEM, BEM, etc. But these methods are slow and practically impossible to be used in structural health monitoring. We have developed a fast and accurate analytical forward problem solver for this purpose. This solver, CMEP (complex modes expansion and vector projection), can simulate scattering of Lamb waves from all types of damages in thin walled structures fast and accurately to assist the inverse problem solver.
Phrenic motor neuron TrkB expression is necessary for acute intermittent hypoxia-induced phrenic long-term facilitation

Phrenic long-term facilitation (pLTF) is a form of hypoxia-induced spinal respiratory motor plasticity that requires new synthesis of brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and activation of its high-affinity receptor, tropomyosin receptor kinase B (TrkB). Since the cellular location of relevant TrkB receptors is not known, we utilized intrapleural siRNA injections to selectively knock down TrkB receptor protein within phrenic motor neurons. TrkB receptors within phrenic motor neurons are necessary for BDNF-dependent acute intermittent hypoxia-induced pLTF, demonstrating that phrenic motor neurons are a critical site of respiratory motor plasticity.
Being and Doing: How Virtue Shapes Work

According to an influential tradition in philosophy, human action follows from being, which in turn is significantly constituted by the virtues and vices that make up individual character. Thus virtue shapes action and by implication its institutionalized form that is called work. Individual virtue may again be either facilitated by or condense into a spiritual attitude. This insight allows for many applications in management, from the selection and development of personnel to product quality enhancement and personal selling. The quintessential question for organizational success is to which extent businesses can foster the development of virtue.
The modern mycobacteriology laboratory. How it can help the clinician.

SUMMARY The mycobacteriology laboratory provides the information necessary to diagnose mycobacteriosis and to suggest proper patient management. When the definite diagnosis of disease due to M. tuberculosis is made on the basis of the laboratory result, contact follow-up studies should continue and the patient may be considered infectious if the bacilli were isolated from the sputum. A report of another Mycobacterium species suggests that a contact follow-up is not necessary, that the patient need not be isolated, and that a therapeutic regimen should be based on the results of drug-susceptibility tests with the isolate. Techniques of molecular biology are being used in the laboratory to provide the necessary information quickly for patient management. BACTEC has been accepted into most clinical laboratories to speed reporting of results. Other methods such as genetic and immunologic probes are under development. New DNA probes have been marketed by GenProbe for the identification of cultures of M. tuberculosis, M. avium, and M. intracellular. HPLC and GLC have been used for the identification of cultures based on unique mycolic acid patterns of the species. Immunologic probes may eventually be the most specific and sensitive, but additional development is necessary. Mycobacteriophage typing of M. tuberculosis isolates has been developed as a tool to aid in epidemiologic studies. These and other technologies are essential in the support of programs for the elimination of tuberculosis.
Effect of stage of gestation and uterine space on prenatal survival in the pig.

Summary The influence of uterine space on prenatal survival was examined in 251 gilts at three stages of gestation: days 25 to 30, days 31 to 40 and days 41 to term. Uterine space was varied so that either twice normal, half normal or the normal amount of uterine space was available per embryo. When the uterus was unchanged but the number of embryos entering the uterus was reduced the proportion of embryos surviving at any stage of gestation was not different from normal. Decreasing the uterine space to half that of normal did not affect embryo survival to day 30 but the proportion of embryos surviving after day 30 was reduced. These results demonstrate that uterine space is not associated with the embryonic mortality normally observed before day 30 but after day 30 it may be a factor in fetal death when large numbers of fetuses are present or when uterine space is restricted.
Working memory maintenance is sufficient to reduce state anxiety

According to the attentional control theory (ACT) proposed by Eysenck and colleagues, anxiety interferes with cognitive processing by prioritizing bottom-up attentional processes over top-down attentional processes, leading to competition for access to limited resources in working memory, particularly the central executive (Eysenck, Derakshan, Santos, & Calvo, ). However, previous research using the n-back working memory task suggests that working memory load also reduces state anxiety. Assuming that similar mechanisms underlie the effect of anxiety on cognition, and the effect of cognition on anxiety, one possible implication of the ACT would suggest that the reduction of state anxiety with increasing working memory load is driven by activation of central executive attentional control processes. We tested this hypothesis using the Sternberg working memory paradigm, where maintenance processes can be isolated from central executive processes (Altamura et al., ; Sternberg, ). Consistent with the n-back results, subjects showed decreased state anxiety during the maintenance period of high-load trials relative to low-load trials, suggesting that maintenance processes alone are sufficient to achieve this state anxiety reduction. Given that the Sternberg task does not require central executive engagement, these results are not consistent with an implication of the ACT where the cognition/anxiety relationship and anxiety/cognition relationship are mediated by similar central executive mechanisms. Instead, we propose an extension of the ACT such that engaging working memory maintenance suppresses state anxiety in a load-dependent manner. Furthermore, we hypothesize that the efficacy of this effect may moderate the effect of trait anxiety on cognition.