cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Predicting herbicide movement across semi-permeable membranes using three phase partitioning

Abstract Herbicide efficacy depends on herbicides crossing cell and organelle membranes. We evaluated an artificial membrane system to understand how herbicides cross biological membranes. This understanding aids in predicting herbicide behavior in planta and, consequently, efficacy, mode of action, and whether active transporter-based herbicide resistance mechanisms may be possible. Five herbicides with different log Kow and pKa values were assessed: glyphosate, 2,4-D, clopyralid, sulfentrazone and glufosinate. The artificial membrane apparatus included four semipermeable membranes containing buffers with pH 2.7, 5 and/or 7.4, floating in a bath of diethyl ether. These conditions were based on the pH from different cellular compartments and the pKa for these herbicides. Changes in herbicide concentration due to movement were measured using radioactivity or liquid chromatography mass spectrometry. In general, herbicide behavior followed the pattern predicted by their calculated pKa and log Kow. Herbicides added to an acidic phase (pH 2.7) were more mobile than when they were added to the more basic phase (pH 7.4), except when herbicide's pKa was lower than the pH of the starting phase. Clopyralid, 2,4-D, and sulfentrazone showed significant acid trapping behavior due to their weak acid functional groups. Sulfentrazone and 2,4-D had a high affinity for the nonpolar, diethyl ether bath, especially when they were protonated at low pH. Our findings illustrate the robustness of the system to provide predictions about herbicide behavior at the subcellular level.
Changes in acetabular orientation during total hip arthroplasty.

Aims The aims of this study were to determine the change in pelvic sagittal alignment before, during, and after total hip arthroplasty (THA) undertaken with the patient in the lateral decubitus pos...
Contemporary Outcomes of the Fontan Operation: A Large Single-Institution Cohort

Background The Fontan procedure is the accepted standard for single-ventricle palliation. The goal of this study was to determine short- and midterm outcomes of patients undergoing a Fontan operation at a single institution and to identify contemporary risk factors for acute and chronic failure. Methods All patients undergoing a Fontan operation between 1995 and 2016 were included. Failure was defined as death, transplantation, Fontan takedown or revision, fenestration creation or enlargement, plastic bronchitis, protein-losing enteropathy, or major perioperative reintervention. Multivariable logistic and Cox regression models were used to identify risk factors for acute (perioperative) and chronic failure (after hospital discharge or 30 days postoperatively, or both). Results The cohort included 610 patients. Median age at surgery was 4 years. Median follow-up was 6.8 years. Trends showed increasing use of extracardiac conduits, nonfenestrated Fontan, and extubation in the operating room. Perioperative mortality was 0.5% (n = 3). Transplant-free survival at 5, 10, and 15 years was 97%, 94%, and 92%, respectively; freedom from failure was 91%, 89%, and 87%, respectively. Extubation in the operating room was associated with lower risk of acute failure (odds ratio, 0.30; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.11 to 0.87). Independent risk factors for chronic failure included genetic syndrome (hazard ratio [HR], 2.54; 95% CI, 1.11 to 5.83), ventricular dysfunction (HR, 3.86; 95% CI, 1.81 to 8.24), cardiopulmonary bypass time in 30-minute intervals (HR, 1.242; 95% CI, 1.100 to 1.402), and persistent pleural effusions (HR, 4.26; 95% CI, 2.25 to 8.07). Moderate or severe atrioventricular valve regurgitation (HR, 2.61; 95% CI, 1.13 to 6.02) and cardiopulmonary bypass time (HR, 1.22; 95% CI, 1.03 to 1.45) were associated with reduced long-term transplant-free survival. Conclusions Contemporary midterm outcomes for Fontan patients are reassuring. Lifelong follow-up is mandatory to determine long-term outcomes and need for additional surgery as patients reach adulthood.
Gastrointestinal Beriberi Mimicking a Surgical Emergency in a Well-Nourished Patient: A Case Report.

Beriberi is a well-documented disease caused by thiamine deficiency. The diagnosis of gastrointestinal beriberi in the clinical setting is uncommon, especially in nonalcoholic patients. Failure to recognize beriberi can result in devastating acute multisystem organ failure; however, timely treatment can result in rapid improvement in a patient's clinical status. We present the case of an 81-year-old nonalcoholic man presenting with abdominal pain, lethargy, and hypotension. The patient was admitted to the intensive care unit and intubated for hemodynamic instability and declining mental status. Further investigations revealed profound lactic acidosis and cardiac hypokinesis. The patient's course changed rapidly after intravenous thiamine administration, and within hours he was weaned off vasopressors. He was extubated, discharged from the intensive care unit, and discharged to home quickly thereafter. To our knowledge, this report is the first description of gastrointestinal beriberi mimicking a surgical emergency in an otherwise well-nourished patient with no history of alcoholism. The rapid improvement the patient experienced with administration of thiamine underscores the importance of considering gastrointestinal beriberi and thiamine deficiency in all moribund patients with unexplained abdominal symptoms, cardiogenic shock, and lactic acidosis.
Social Work and Nursing Students’ Perceptions of the Social Determinants of Health Based on Practice and Educational Experiences

PURPOSE Although social workers and nurses work together in healthcare settings, there are tensions between their roles. Both professions embrace the concept of the social determinants of health (SDOH), but less is known about how the professions understand SDOH. METHODS Using semi-structured interviews with 25 masters’ level nursing and social work students, this qualitative descriptive study explored the educational and practice experiences relating to the SDOH. RESULTS Both nursing and social work students recognized that socioeconomic, patient/client educational, and access factors contribute to health and healthcare. Subtle differences in emphasis included a broader focus among social work students of the influence of SDOH on vulnerability/disparities and communities. While nursing students focused on vulnerability/disparities, they emphasized the effects of SDOH on specific health conditions. Both groups of students expressed that their exposure to people unlike themselves in their clinical/field educational experiences helped them learn about the SDOH. Nursing students stressed that interprofessional teamwork was vital to addressing SDOH, whereas social work students emphasized cultural awareness and avoiding stereotypes were necessary elements. All students wanted more information about health policies. CONCLUSION The shared understanding of both nursing and social work graduate students have on the effect that SDOH have on health and healthcare can provide a common language. Employing SDOH as a framework for interprofessional education could encourage shared understanding among professions and a purpose for interprofessional educational field opportunities, that would both support learning about the SDOH and collaborative practice with underserved communities.
What matters the most? Understanding individual tornado preparedness using machine learning

Scholars from various disciplines have long attempted to identify the variables most closely associated with individual preparedness. Therefore, we now have much more knowledge regarding these factors and their association with individual preparedness behaviors. However, it has not been sufficiently discussed how decisive many of these factors are in encouraging preparedness. In this article, we seek to examine what factors, among the many examined in previous studies, are most central to engendering emergency preparedness in individuals particularly for tornadoes by utilizing a relatively uncommon machine learning technique in disaster management literature. Using unique survey data, we find that in the case of tornado preparedness the most decisive variables are related to personal experiences and economic circumstances rather than basic demographics. Our findings contribute to scholarly endeavors to understand and promote individual tornado preparedness behaviors by highlighting the variables most likely to shape tornado preparedness at an individual level.
Evaluating the fitness effects of seed size and maternal tree size on Polylepis tomentella (Rosaceae) seed germination and seedling performance

In vascular plants, larger seeds are generally associated with higher germination potential, healthier seedlings and overall higher rates of survivorship. How this relationship holds or what other physiological tradeoffs evolved in plants adapted to high-altitude environments, such as the tropical and subtropical highland Polylepis tree, remain unclear. In this study, we evaluated the relationship between seed mass and seedling performance by testing the reserve effect, the metabolic effect, and the seedling-size effect hypotheses in Polylepis tomentella Weddell (Rosaceae). Since the relationship between fitness and seed size can often depend on maternal plant size, we additionally investigated the association between germination success, seedling performance (survival, relative growth rate (RGR) and height), and size of bearing-seed trees under controlled greenhouse conditions. Our results showed that heavier seeds are more likely to germinate, but we did not find evidence that could support the reserve effect, metabolic effect or seedling-size effect. As seedlings from larger and medium seeds exhibited comparatively similar RGR, survival percentages and final size, maternal plant size was positively associated with improved seed quality and seedling performance. These results demonstrate that seed mass and maternal size during early seedling establishment are critical for Polylepis persistence, demography and conservation.
The Role of Ultrasound in the Ambulatory Setting

Ultrasound use has become an integral part of modern medical practice in the past two decades. Ultrasound technology allows clinicians to quickly, easily, and safely identify patient anatomy for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes. Diagnostic ultrasound utilization includes transthoracic, abdominal, and airway assessment. Therapeutic ultrasound utilization includes securing difficult intravenous access, central hemodynamic access, and peripheral nerve blocks. The ease, quickness, and safety of ultrasound use has made it an integral component of ambulatory surgical centers’ healthare. This chapter will review the wide utility of ultrasound in ambulatory surgical centers.
Dysregulation of mitochondria-lysosome contacts by GBA1 dysfunction in dopaminergic neuronal models of Parkinson's disease

Mitochondria-lysosome contacts are recently identified sites for mediating crosstalk between both organelles, but their role in normal and diseased human neurons remains unknown. In this study, we demonstrate that mitochondria-lysosome contacts can dynamically form in the soma, axons, and dendrites of human neurons, allowing for their bidirectional crosstalk. Parkinson's disease patient derived neurons harboring mutant GBA1 exhibited prolonged mitochondria-lysosome contacts due to defective modulation of the untethering protein TBC1D15, which mediates Rab7 GTP hydrolysis for contact untethering. This dysregulation was due to decreased GBA1 (β-glucocerebrosidase (GCase)) lysosomal enzyme activity in patient derived neurons, and could be rescued by increasing enzyme activity with a GCase modulator. These defects resulted in disrupted mitochondrial distribution and function, and could be further rescued by TBC1D15 in Parkinson's patient derived GBA1-linked neurons. Together, our work demonstrates a potential role of mitochondria-lysosome contacts as an upstream regulator of mitochondrial function and dynamics in midbrain dopaminergic neurons in GBA1-linked Parkinson's disease.
Impact of maternal medication for opioid use disorder on neurodevelopmental outcomes of infants treated for neonatal opioid withdrawal syndrome.

Background Increasing rates of maternal opioid use disorder has led to greater number of opioid exposed newborns (OENs). Maternal enrollment in medication for opioid use disorder (MOUD) program improves short term neonatal outcomes. This study aimed at assessing neurobehavioral outcomes for OENs. Methods Retrospective observational cohort study of OENs between Jul 2006 and Dec 2018. Two study groups were identified as initiation of medication for opioid use disorder (MOUD) prior to diagnoses of pregnancy or after. Primary outcome variables were enrollment in and duration of EI services. Secondary outcome variable was diagnoses of a behavioral and/or developmental disorder (BDD) during the study period. Results Of 242 infants, 113 were enrolled in EI and BDD diagnoses data was available for all infants [age range 6 to 12 years], 82% infants had exposure to maternal MOUD, while 18% were exposed to either maternal prescription non-MOUD opioids or illicit opioids. Maternal MOUD initiation prior to pregnancy was associated with improved short term outcomes for OENs. Almost a third of infants were diagnosed with a BDD with no differences between the two study groups. Conclusion Early initiation of maternal MOUD improved short term outcomes and discharge disposition for OENs. Prolonged in-utero exposure to opioids presents a potential for negative impact on neurodevelopmental and behavioral outcomes. These risks must be considered to increase access and adherence to EI services, as well as to focus on non-opioid based maternal MOUD. Longitudinal studies assessing the safety of MOUD on short and long-term child health outcomes are needed.
Modeling and Mitigating Link-Flooding Distributed Denial-of-Service Attacks via Learning in Stackelberg Games

This work formulates the mitigation of link-flooding distributed denial-of-service attacks as a routing problem among parallel links. In order to address the challenge that the adversary can observe the routing strategy before assigning attack traffic, we model the conflict between routing and attack as a Stackelberg game. For a general class of adversaries, we establish a characterization of an optimal attack strategy that reduces the search space to a finite set, and construct explicit formulae for Stackelberg equilibria and costs for a special class of networks. When the attack objective and capacity are unknown, we propose a learning-based approach that predicts the routing cost using a neural network and minimizes the predicted cost via projected gradient descent. A simulation study is provided to demonstrate the effectiveness of our approach.
Committor functions via tensor networks.

We propose a novel approach for computing committor functions, which describe transitions of a stochastic process between metastable states. The committor function satisfies a backward Kolmogorov equation, and in typical high-dimensional settings of interest, it is intractable to compute and store the solution with traditional numerical methods. By parametrizing the committor function in a matrix product state/tensor train format and using a similar representation for the equilibrium probability density, we solve the variational formulation of the backward Kolmogorov equation with linear time and memory complexity in the number of dimensions. This approach bypasses the need for sampling the equilibrium distribution, which can be difficult when the distribution has multiple modes. Numerical results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method for high-dimensional problems.
Utility of tremor electrophysiology studies.

Abstract Objective To determine the utility of tremor electrophysiology testing in differentiating clinically indeterminate tremor due to organic, functional, and mixed tremor types. Background Prior studies have shown that electrophysiological studies increase diagnostic sensitivity of tremor syndromes; however, few have examined mixed organic and functional tremors. Methods Patients referred for tremor to the Mayo Clinic, Rochester movement disorders lab were consecutively selected and retrospectively reviewed. Surface electromyography (EMG) recordings of upper limb muscles were performed at rest, posture, with action and distractibility tasks. Results Of 116 patients, all were clinically described as having either a resting tremor, postural tremor, action tremor, postural and action tremor, mixed resting, postural, and action tremor, or nonspecific tremulousness. Based on electrophysiological features, patients were diagnosed with organic tremor (parkinsonian, essential, mixed, rubral, cerebellar, non-specific tremulousness), functional tremor, or mixed functional and organic tremors. The median disease duration at electrophysiological confirmation of diagnosis was shorter for functional tremor at 1.5 years (IQR 1–9.3), and organic tremor at 3 years (IQR 1–15), versus mixed organic and functional tremor at 11 years (IQR 2–15) (p = 0.0422). The electrophysiology study clarified the referral/clinical diagnosis in 87 patients (75%), 26 (29.5%) of whom had functional tremor, and 61 (70.1%) had organic tremor or mixed organic/functional tremor. Variability of tremor during electrophysiology testing was associated with a change in diagnosis (p = 0.0286). Conclusion Our findings show that electrophysiological assessment of tremor can be helpful in the clinical diagnosis of patients with both organic and functional tremor.
Hybrid Reactor Simulation of Boiling Water Reactor Power Oscillations

Hybrid reactor simulation (HRS) of boiling water reactor (BWR) instabilities, including in-phase and out-of-phase (OOP) oscillations, has been implemented on The Pennsylvania State University TRIGA reactor. The TRIGA reactor's power response is used to simulate reactor neutron dynamics for in-phase oscillation or the fundamental mode of the reactor modal kinetics for OOP oscillations. The reactor power signal drives a real-time boiling channel simulation, and the calculated reactivity feedback is in turn fed into the TRIGA reactor via an experimental changeable reactivity device. The thermal-hydraulic dynamics, together with first harmonic mode power dynamics, is digitally simulated in the real-time environment. The real-time digital simulation of boiling channel thermal hydraulics is performed by solving constitutive equations for different regions in the channel and is realized by a high-performance personal computer. The nonlinearity of the thermal-hydraulic model ensures the capability to simulate the oscillation phenomena, limit cycle and OOP oscillation, in BWR nuclear power plants. By adjusting reactivity feedback gains for both modes, various oscillation combinations can be realized in the experiment. The dynamics of axially lumped power distribution over the core is displayed in three-dimensional graphs. The HRS reactor power response mimics the BWR core-wide power stability phenomena. In the OOP oscillationmore » HRS, the combination of reactor response and the simulated first harmonic power using shaping functions mimics BWR regional power oscillations. With this HRS testbed, a monitoring and/or control system designed for BWR power oscillations can be experimentally tested and verified.« less
Sarcoidosis manifesting a soft lesion in the floor of the mouth. Report of a case.

Abstract A case of known sarcoidosis with a lesion in the floor of the mouth has been presented. The importance of histopathologic examination of removed tissue is stressed, since clinical impressions are frequently misleading.
Slander? Prove It: Why a Two Hundred-Year-Old Defamation Law Should Be Changed

To anyone unfamiliar with defamation law, a plaintiff with eyewitness testimony and recordings of a defendant maliciously disparaging the plaintiff’s professional reputation would appear to be poised for an easy victory in court. However, to a person familiar with defamation law, the defendant would be poised for the easy victory where the testimony and recordings were from undercover investigators sent by the plaintiff to gather evidence for a lawsuit.Slander may seem like a quaint concept in today’s fast-paced, high-tech world, but word-of-mouth publicity and personal recommendations are still the best advertising, so slander of a person’s professional reputation can have an enormous impact on his business. Under current defamation law a plaintiff with definitive proof that a defendant slandered his professional reputation will lose his defamation case if the definitive evidence was obtained by an undercover agent sent to the defendant with the intent of bringing suit on the defendant’s disparaging statements. This result denies the plaintiff a legal remedy and allows the defendant to avoid accountability. This defamation law is rooted in English cases decided around the beginning of the nineteenth century. However, England abandoned the law in 1849. America should follow England’s lead. Although suggesting that courts ignore two-hundred years of precedent may seem presumptuous, an unsound and unjustified rule should not continue just because it has always existed in American jurisprudence. Therefore, defamation law should be changed to allow actions based on evidence obtained by undercover investigators sent by the plaintiff to obtain evidence for the lawsuit.
Couple communication among problem drinking males and their spouses: a randomized controlled trial

This study evaluated the effects of alcohol-focused spouse involvement and behavioural couple therapy (BCT) on couple communication in the context of group drinking reduction treatment for male problem drinkers. Sixty-four male clients and their female partners were randomly assigned to one of three conditions: (i) treatment for problem drinkers only (PDO), (ii) couple alcohol-focused treatment or (iii) couple alcohol-focused treatment combined with BCT. Couples whose partners participated in the treatment made fewer negative statements during a couple conflict communication task following treatment than PDO couples. The beneficial effect of spouse involvement on negative couple communication was partially mediated by a reduction in the frequency of clients’ heavy drinking during treatment. There was also evidence that BCT reduced couples’ negative communication and increased problem-solving communication. Practitioner points Involving the spouse in group drinking reduction treatment for male problem drinkers can improve drinking outcome. Therapists can encourage spouses to decrease counterproductive behaviour and engage in behaviour supportive of drinking reduction. Actively involving the spouse can decrease negative statements during problem-solving communications. Reduction in negative communication may be a result of, rather than a cause of, the male partner's drinking reduction.
Theiler's murine encephalomyelitis virus-induced cardiac and skeletal muscle disease.

The DA strain of Theiler's murine encephalomyelitis virus, a member of the cardiovirus genus of picornaviruses, induces a restricted and persistent infection associated with a demyelinating process following intracerebral inoculation of mice; both virus infection and the immune response are believed to contribute to the late white matter disease. We now report that intraperitoneal inoculation with DA produces an acute myositis that progresses to a chronic inflammatory muscle disease in CD-1 mice as well as several inbred mouse strains. Some mouse strains also develop central nervous system white matter disease and a focal myocarditis. Infectious virus in skeletal muscle falls to undetectable levels 3 weeks postinoculation (p.i.), although viral genome persists for at least 12 weeks p.i., the longest period of observation. Severe combined immunodeficient animals have evidence of muscle pathology as long as 5 weeks p.i., suggesting that DA virus is capable of inducing chronic muscle disease in the absence of an immune response. The presence in immunocompetent mice, however, of prominent muscle inflammation in the absence of infectious virus suggests that the immune system also contributes to the pathology. T lymphocytes are the predominant cell type infiltrating the skeletal muscle during the chronic disease. This murine model may further our understanding of virus-induced chronic myositis and help to clarify the pathogenesis of human inflammatory myopathies.
Adolescent Sexual Experiences with Adults

Abstract Professional and popular discussions of the effects of adult-adolescent sexual relations focus almost exclusively on harmfulness. Possible benefit is almost never considered. Yet historical perspective shows that such relations were common in past times, often seen as socially functional. It is argued that the current narrow focus on harm is driven by ideology, with problems such as moral panic and consequence. To address this imbalance in focus and response, the present article (originally a conference paper) reviewed nonclinical empirical research and case studies involving adolescent boys' sexual experiences with adults, where evidence for positive reactions is common. Beyond mere reactions, perceived long-term benefit is common in certain types of adolescent boy-adult sexual relations and includes increased sexual confidence, bolstered self-acceptance, and enhanced development via mentoring. This evidence for frequency and importance of benefit, it is concluded, indicates that the current foc...
Recovering from Drugs and the Drug War: A Viable Public Health Alternative

For three decades our War on Drugs has characterized illicit drug use as a law enforcement problem, to be addressed primarily through interdiction and criminal punishment. This policy has multiplied the number of imprisoned Americans, but our drug problem remains as entrenched as ever, and both voters and policy experts appear ready to embrace an alternative public health approach. Such an approach recognizes that a substantial number of Americans will continue to use drugs for the foreseeable future, and seeks to minimize the risks these people face from their drug habits. This requires programs and funding for treatment, education, and job opportunities. It also requires strategies that promote less frequent use, or safer, less abusive use, or a shift in consumption from hard to soft drugs - as opposed to the current all-or-nothing policies that have proven to exacerbate the risks of drug use. This article presents and advocates one legal reform at the state level that would significantly move our drug policy towards the public health approach, and a method for enacting it that has already proven achievable. The proposed law can be summarized by the phrase "drug profits for drug treatment." This law would reorient drug policy in two important ways. First, it would substitute treatment for incarceration of lesser drug offenders. As the article demonstrates, substantial recent research indicates that treatment is a far more effective method of addressing drug dependence than punishment. Second, it would finance treatment by redirecting assets seized and forfeited from drug offenders into a Treatment Trust Fund, and repeal laws that currently channel these assets into the police forces that seized them. The latter laws have made law enforcement agencies dependent on drug enforcement to maintain their budgets. Redirecting these forfeited assets not only helps fund treatment, but frees law enforcement and drug policy officials from a financial conflict of interest that has distorted their priorities. The article concludes that this reform is politically viable, based on the success reformers have already achieved by utilizing state laws authorizing voters to legislate via the ballot box. Over the past six years voters in many states have approved numerous drug reform ballot initiatives, including some designed to enhance drug treatment and to curtail forfeiture abuse.
The Education of Racial and Cultural Minorities in the United States

In a world in which status and social mobility are more and more affected by levels of education, students of minority-majority relations must examine carefully the distribution of educational opportunities, the trends, and the outcomes. As we focus on the most deprived of America’s minorities, we hope to suggest principles and facts that demonstrate the significance of education in maintaining or, as can be the case, weakening patterns of inequality.1 We are convinced that “schools make a difference” (see Summers and Wolfe 1977).2 It is essential for students of minority-majority relations to study the conditions under which they reinforce the structures of inequality and when they promote equality.
Chinese wall security policy-an aggressive model

In Brewer and Nash's Chinese Wall security policy model, there is a very strong implicit assumption that the 'conflict of interest' is an equivalence relation. It is called the BN-axiom. Such axiom is valid only for some very special circumstances. By modifying their formulation, a modified Brewer and Nash model without BN-axiom is defined. Such model turns out to be rather 'conservative' in the sense that the Chinese Walls are built within Chinese territory; it is not really a Chinese Wall model. Next, a new formal model is introduced in which Chinese Walls are built right on the boundary of China-an aggressive model for Chinese Wall security policy. >
Store-Operated Ca2+ Entry Sustains the Fertilization Ca2+ Signal in Pig Eggs

The role of store-operated Ca(2+) entry (SOCE) in the maintenance of sperm-induced Ca(2+) oscillations was investigated in porcine eggs. We found that 10 μM gadolinium (Gd(3+)), which is known to inhibit SOCE, blocked Ca(2+) entry that was triggered by thapsigargin-induced store depletion and also caused an abrupt cessation of the fertilization Ca(2+) signal. In a similar manner 3,5-bis(trifluoromethyl)pyrazole 2 (20 μM), and tetrapandin-2 (10 μM), potent SOCE inhibitors, also blocked thapsigargin-stimulated Ca(2+) entry and disrupted the Ca(2+) oscillations after sperm-egg fusion. The downregulation of Stim1 or Orai1 in the eggs did not alter the Ca(2+) content of the intracellular stores, whereas co-overexpression of these proteins led to the generation of irregular Ca(2+) transients after fertilization that stopped prematurely. We also found that thapsigargin completely emptied the endoplasmic reticulum, and that the series of Ca(2+) transients stopped abruptly after the addition of thapsigargin to the fertilized eggs, indicating that the proper reloading of the intracellular stores is a prerequisite for the maintenance of the Ca(2+) oscillations. These data strengthen our previous findings that in porcine eggs SOCE is a major signaling cascade that is responsible for sustaining the repetitive Ca(2+) signal at fertilization.
Women as communicators: Mary Daly's hagiography as rhetoric

In 1987, Spitzack and Carter made a call for a greater understanding of the notion of women as communicators. While feminist scholars have explored the various aspects of this notion both before and after Spitzack and Carter's call, the work of Mary Daly, a radical philosopher and theologian, can be used to develop this conceptualization in a more comprehensive way. A theory of women as communicators developed from Daly's writings reveals the existence of a rhetorical foreground that silences and oppresses women, and alternative realm of rhetoric, the Background, in which women act as communicators. A theory of rhetoric based on the notion of women as communicators also reveals an alternative framework with which to assess rhetorics that do not fit easily into our more traditional frameworks. In this essay, the author develops and explores Daly's theory of women as communicators suggesting that Daly's theory assists rhetorical scholars in expanding the perimeters of the communication discipline and in exp...
Full and Modulated Chemical Gating of Individual Carbon Nanotubes by Organic Amine Compounds

The adsorption of several types of alkylamine molecules on individual semiconducting and metallic single-walled carbon nanotubes is investigated by electrical transport measurements. The electrical...
Influence of pressure on the properties of a microwave-induced plasma

Abstract The argon excitation temperature, OH rotational temperature, electron density, and relative line radiances have been measured as the pressure is varied from 10 to 760 torr in a unique, variable-pressure microwave-induced plasma system. The influence of power and flow rate on low (50 torr), medium (220 torr), and atmospheric-pressure plasmas is presented. Changes in behavior of the plasma at pressures below 100 torr are observed which are consistent with a relative decrease in nonradiative processes and thus a proportional increase in radiative processes at reduced pressures.
Calibration of the polarization of a beam of arbitrary energy in a storage ring

With a storage ring synchrotron, two additional methods have become possible to establish polarization standards at arbitrary energies, making use of the ease with which the energy of the stored beam can be changed. Both methods yield the analyzing power of a reaction at one energy in relation to the known analyzing power at a different energy. One method involves ramping of the energy of a polarized beam up and down; the other requires a polarized target. The two methods have been demonstrated in an experiment with the Indiana Cooler, and their relative consistency has been established.
The substance P receptor antagonist CP-99,994 reduces acute postoperative pain

Background Animal studies suggest that substance P, a peptide that preferentially activates the neurokinin-1 (NK1) receptor, is involved in pain transmission, with particular importance in pain after inflammation. Methods The analgesic efficacy of CP-99,994, a NK1 receptor antagonist, was compared with ibuprofen and placebo in 78 subjects undergoing third molar extraction. The initial 60 subjects randomly received 1 of 3 possible treatments in a double-blind fashion before oral surgery: 750 μg/kg CP-99,994 infused intravenously over 5 hours on a tapering regimen starting 2 hours before surgery, 600 mg oral ibuprofen 30 minutes before surgery, or placebo. In a second study, 18 subjects were randomized to the same regimens starting 30 minutes before surgery to maximize the amount of CP-99,994 circulating during pain onset. Results In the first study, ibuprofen significantly reduced pain, as measured by visual analog scale, from 90 to 240 minutes postoperatively compared with placebo. CP-99,994 produced analgesia that was significant at 90 minutes (P < 0.01 compared with placebo), but not at subsequent time points. In the second study, ibuprofen and, to a lesser extent, CP-99,994 significantly suppressed pain in comparison to placebo at 60, 90, and 120 minutes (P < 0.05). The incidence of side effects was similar across groups. Conclusions This replicate demonstration that a NK1 receptor blocker relieves clinical pain supports the hypothesis that substance P contributes to the generation of pain in humans. The reduction in postoperative pain at doses not producing side effects suggests that NK1 antagonists may be clinically useful. Clinical Pharmacology & Therapeutics (1998) 64, 562–568; doi:
Reconstructing and analyzing periodic human motion from stationary monocular views

We have shown previously that it is possible to accurately reconstruct periodic motions in 3D from a single camera view, using periodicity as a physical constraint from which to perform geometric inference. In this paper we explore the suitability of the reconstruction techniques for real human motion. We examine the degree of periodicity of human gait empirically, and develop algorithmic tools to address some of the challenges arising from this type of motion, including reconstructing motions that deviate from pure periodicity, properly handling the trajectories of multiple points on an articulated body, and proposing a distance function for measuring the difference between two reconstructions. Importantly, we illustrate the usefulness of these techniques by applying them to the tasks of view-invariant activity classification, clinical gait analysis and person identification.
Cross-layer design of joint routing and rate control in ad hoc wireless networks

We investigate multi-hop wireless networks in which nodes use adaptive modulation-coding schemes and 802.11-based CSMA-CA MAC. Each node independently selects its cross-layer parameter vector for each packet that it forwards. It entails the setting of the transmission data rate and the identification of the neighboring node to which the packet is forwarded (and thus the selection of the route). We present an analytical model to calculate, for each candidate parameter vector, the corresponding attainable throughput and transport throughput capacity rates. To enable throughput-effective network operations, we present cross-layer schemes under which each node configures its parameter vector by using the transport throughput capacity measures that it computes, for each candidate attached link, as key metrics. We present two such datagram-based cross-layer parameter vector selection schemes, one of which makes use of observed channel status statistical data. We compare the network's throughput performance behavior attained under the use of these schemes, demonstrating the performance enhancement that is offered by schemes that use cross-layer adaptations that are guided by calculations of link transport throughput capacity metrics. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. We investigate multi-hop wireless networks in which nodes use adaptive modulation-coding schemes (MCS) and 802.11 like CSMA-CA MAC. Two cross-layer joint transmit data rate control and routing strategies are presented and demonstrated to offer performance enhancements through simulation evaluations.
Discrete and continuous reliability models for systems with identically distributed correlated components

Abstract Many engineers and researchers base their reliability models on the assumption that components of a system fail in a statistically independent manner. This assumption is often violated in practice because environmental and system specific factors contribute to correlated failures, which can lower the reliability of a fault tolerant system. A simple method to quantify the impact of correlation on system reliability is needed to encourage models explicitly incorporating correlated failures. Previous approaches to model correlation are limited to systems consisting of two or three components or assume that the majority of the subsets of component failures are statistically independent. This paper proposes a method to model the reliability of systems with correlated identical components, where components possess the same reliability and also exhibit a common failure correlation parameter. Both discrete and continuous models are proposed. The method is demonstrated through a series of examples, including derivations of analytical expressions for several common structures such as k-out-of-n: good and parallel systems. The continuous models consider the role of correlation on reliability and metrics, including mean time to failure, availability, and mean residual life. These examples illustrate that the method captures the impact of component correlation on system reliability and related metrics.
Treatment-resistant depression: additional perspectives

Treatment-resistant depression (TRD) is usually thought to characterize -10-15% of patients who are refractory to all conventional antidepressant therapy. However, in its broadest definition, TRD occurs across a spectrum of severity and is not an uncommon clinical problem, defining a sizeable portion of patients with mood disorders. Although the majority of treatment outcome studies report response rates to antidepressants in the 60-70% range, this figure should not be viewed as indicating the rate of remission, but rather an estimate of improvement from minimal response to complete remission. Thus, while as many as 60% of depressed patients may have some degree of response to antidepressant treatment, only ~ 25-30% of patients will achieve clinical remission. Therefore, estimates of response rate can hide the fact that most patients who are described as 'improved' with pharmacotherapy actually have a form of partial TRD. In this framework, a more realistic view of the TRD syndrome should encompass a broad spectrum of cases ranging from partial to complete drug resistance. It is in this context that we view this timely review on TRD by Malizia and Bridges.
Aldo-keto reductase- and cytochrome P450-dependent formation of benzo[a]pyrene-derived DNA adducts in human bronchoalveolar cells.

There is substantial evidence to suggest that polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) such as benzo-[a]pyrene (B[a]P) induce lung cancer through metabolic activation. As part of a program to delineate the routes of PAH activation, we have examined DNA adducts that are formed in human lung cells. A stable isotope dilution liquid chromatography/multiple reaction monitoring mass spectrometry method was used to quantify eight anti-7,8-dihydroxy-9,10-epoxy-7,8,9,10-tetrahydro-B[a]P (B[a]PDE)-derived DNA adducts in four H358 human bronchoalveolar cell lines with different phenotypes. In P450 1A1/P450 1B1-induced H358 cells exposed to (±)-B [a]P-7,8-dihydro-7,8-diol (B[a]P-7,8-dihydrodiol), (+)-anti-rrans-B[a]PDE-N 2 -2'-deoxyguanosine [(+)-anti-trans-B[a]PDE-N 2 -dGuo] was the major DNA adduct, and it formed with no lag phase. In AKR1A1-transfected H358 cells, (+)-anti-trans-B[a]PDE-N2-dGuo was also the major adduct with a 3 h lag phase before significant adduct formation was detected. In AKRlA1-transfected H358 cells with induced P450 1A1/P450 1B1, (+)-anti-trans-B[a]PDE-N 2 -dGuo was formed with no lag phase in amounts similar to those in the H358 cells with up-regulated P450 1A1/P450 1B1. Surprisingly, the greatest amount of (+)-anti-trans-B[a]PDE-N 2 -dGuo was formed in the control H358 cells. Furthermore, (+)-anti-trans-B[a]PDE-N 2 -dGuo formation was 2-fold higher in (-)-B[a]P-7,8-dihydrodiol-exposed H358 cells when compared with (±)-B[a]P-7,8-dihydrodiol-exposed cells. The P450 1A1/1B1 inhibitor 2,4,3',5'-tetramethoxystilbene did not attenuate DNA adduct formation in the control H358 cells, suggesting that another P450 was responsible. These data raise the intriguing possibility that P450 1A1/P450 1B1 and AKR1A1 may be protective against (+)-B[a]PDE-mediated DNA damage.
On the use of the auto-bispectral density for detecting quadratic nonlinearity in structural systems

Abstract Higher-order spectra appear often in the analysis and identification of nonlinear systems. The auto-bispectral density is one example of a higher-order spectrum and may be used in the analysis of stationary structural response data to detect the presence of certain types of structural nonlinearities. In this work a closed-form expression for the auto-bispectral density, derived previously by the authors, is used to find the bispectral frequency most sensitive to the nonlinearity. The properties of nonlinearity detectors based on estimates of the magnitude of the auto-bispectral density at this frequency are then explored. Estimates of the auto-bispectral density are obtained using the direct method based on the discrete Fourier transform. The bias associated with this estimator is derived here and combined with previously derived expressions for the estimator variance to give both Type-I and Type-II errors for the detector. Detector performance is quantified using a receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve illustrating the trade-off between false positives (Type-I error) and power of detection (1.0-Type-II error). Theoretically derived ROC curves are compared to those obtained via numerical simulation and show excellent agreement. Results are presented for different levels of nonlinearity in both the stiffness and damping terms for a spring–mass system. Possible consequences are discussed with regard to the detection of damage-induced nonlinearities in structures.
Thin film growth and the scattering of atoms from surface island defects

Abstract We investigate the potential energy surface and dynamics of atoms impinging upon pyramidal defects on fcc (100) and (111) surfaces. Illustrative molecular dynamics trajectory results are used to highlight the subtleties of the growth processes. Homoatomic systems of both Cu and Pd are considered in order to determine the influence of extreme differences in bonding coordination variation, i.e. the binding energy per atom decreases by a factor of 3.3 from Cu(bulk) to Cu2 but more dramatically by a factor of 7.5 for Pd(bulk) to Pd2. We find that stable adsorption sites on pyramidal facets only exist for three layer high (and higher) facets, but even these sites are not as energetically favorable as those at the pyramid's base. This single energetic effect can promote a Stranski-Krastanov type growth pattern, with a critical roughness of no less than three layers being required before a 3D growth mechanism can propagate in a surface temperature regime where post impact diffusion is small compared to the deposition rate. The transition to 3D growth at the minimum possible roughness would be found for Pd on the (100) face where sticking to the sides of even the three layer pyramid is a high probability event, at a low enough temperature to make post-impact diffusion negligible. However, for the Cu system, we find that the “downward funneling” mechanism smoothed the growth for the three layer pyramid and is still important for the five layer pyramid, indicating that Cu will exhibit layer-by-layer like growth even past three layers. A comparison of scattering simulations from defects show that the growth mode is diffusion limited on the fcc (100) crystal face, but becomes dominated by impact induced disruption of the original structure for a (111) surface. This implies that the (111) surface will grow more smoothly as a new atom displaces pre-adsorbed atoms more easily, an effect that is not included in the “downward funneling” model. The ratio of the diatomic molecule's binding energy to the bulk cohesive energy is shown to provide good insight into the preferred growth mechanism. As the ratio increases, at least in the range spanned by typical metals, the film grows more layer-by-layer like on the (100) surface and less layer-by-layer like on the (111) surface. On the (100) surface, stronger low coordination bonding makes the defect structures less able to adsorb the impacting atom on the sloped faces, increasing the effectiveness of “downward funneling.” On the (111) surface, stronger low coordination bonding inhibits impact disruption of the defects, decreasing this important smoothing mechanism.
Work and Housework Conditions and Depressive Symptoms Among Married Women: The Importance of Occupational Status

ABSTRACT Using the American Changing Lives Survey, a nationally representative sample of adults residing in the United States, this research examines housewives' subjective evaluations of their housework and the subjective evaluations of paid employment among three groups of married women–professionals, sales-clerical, and service-blue collar wives. A major goal was to assess the usefulness of disaggregating employed women by occupational status. Depressive symptoms were regressed on five work conditions-autonomy, physical and time demands, boredom, and feeling appreciated-along with sociodemographic characteristics. The results indicate professional wives report fewer symptoms than homemakers, sales-clerical, and service-blue collar wives. Differences between professionals and homemakers are largely accounted for by professional women's more advantaged economic position. Nonprofessional employed women are more depressed than professionals even when their disadvantaged working conditions are controlled. W...