cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
General and Environmental Health as the Context for Science Education

The “science for all” approach to science education is grounded in the view that scientific knowledge is useful in daily living and necessary for informed citizenship. At the same time, educators often feel that convincing students of the practical relevance of science education is a challenge. We propose that health, including environmental health, constitutes a scientific domain that allows easy connection to real-life issues and that making this connection is beneficial for both health and science education. The challenge lies in finding a place for health in an already crowded science curriculum and identifying effective strategies for teaching science in the health context. In the USA, health topics receive little coverage in the science classroom. Health education exists as a separate subject, or class, which provides basic facts but does not focus on complex biological mechanisms that underlie them. We suggest that while basic health facts are important and while biological knowledge alone is insufficient for behavioral change, students would benefit from deeper (than what is currently taught) understanding of biology and environmental factors that impact health. This chapter presents evidence that lack of scientific knowledge impacts individuals’ ability to reason and evaluate health information outside the school context. It also reviews educational interventions that improve students’ ability to reason about personal and socioscientific health issues by emphasizing deep conceptual understanding and informal reasoning and argumentation skills. We conclude that science education emphasizing reasoning and argumentation about general and environmental health, situated in the context of realistic situations and socioscientific dilemmas, is likely to promote scientific literacy, which can then contribute to informed citizenship and healthy personal choices.
A Tri-Partite Framework of Forest Dynamics: Hierarchy, Panarchy, and Heterarchy in the Study of Secondary Growth

This chapter presents a framework that departs from standard approaches to provide explanations for reforestation. It draws on hierarchy theory, notions of “adaptive cycles” and “panarchy”, and the concept of “heterarchy” as heuristics for understanding multi-scale causation behind secondary growth. Hierarchy theory reconciles theoretical perspectives by noting the distinct scales on which their explanations operate, and allows identification of causal pathways to narrate indirect and direct causes of forest recovery. Adaptive cycles provide a means of accounting for both fast and slow operations in the agents behind land cover change, and panarchy reveals asynchronies in slow-fast operations that result in short-, medium- and long-term forest cover dynamics. Heterarchy refers to hierarchical and non-hierarchical causation, including reorganization of the causal chains influencing land cover, such that certain explanations may become important at some moments and not others. This framework can explain why different mechanisms can best account for secondary growth in different contexts, and provides a basis for, comparisons across cases, and recognition of changes in causation over time.
Adding Preferences to Answer Set Planning

Planning—in its classical sense—is the problem of finding a sequence of actions that achieves a predefined goal. As such, much of the research in AI planning has been focused on methodologies and issues related to the development of efficient planners. To date, several efficient planning systems have been developed (e.g., see [3] for a summary of planners that competed in the International Conference on Artificial Intelligent Planning and Scheduling). These developments can be attributed to the discovery of good domain-independent heuristics, the use of domain-specific knowledge, and the development of efficient data structures used in the implementation of the planning algorithms. Logic programming has played a significant role in this line of research, providing a declarative framework for the encoding of different forms of knowledge and its effective use during the planning process [5].
Review of Direct Matching Markets and the Deferred Acceptance Algorithm

Alvin E. Roth and Lloyd S. Shapley were awarded the 2012 Nobel Prize in Economic Science "for the theory of stable allocations and the practice of market design;" (Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, 2012).This paper, motivated by a desire to understand their accomplishments, reviews successful matching processes adopted in particular market institutions. In some situations, the standard market mechanism – which adjusts prices and allocates resources by allowing supply to equal demand – cannot be utilized to directly match two sets of agents in markets with prices often unavailable. The deferred acceptance matching algorithm – originally designed by Gale and Shapley (1962) for the college admissions problem – was imbued with several optimum properties, including Pareto optimality for the students, and was subsequently adapted for specific market institutions by Roth; (Roth, 1985).Designing optimal matching algorithms has been heavily influenced by the practice of adopting and implementing market-specific designs which recognize characteristics of specific markets and sets of agents, rather than directly applying the theory of simple markets; (Roth, 2010). The deferred acceptance matching algorithm and its adaptations and extensions serve as the most highly-preferred stable mechanism to assign matchings in several two-sided markets, such as the medical residency and school choice problems. The deferred acceptance procedure has been successfully linked to other direct-matching market designs.
The Effects of alpha-Tocopherol on Mammalian Torpor

Tocopherols (Vitamin E) are antioxidants that intercept the reactive oxygen species that initiate lipid peroxidation. Plants produce four tocopherol isomers, with α-tocopherol being the most biologically active. All mammals require tocopherols in their diets. Field and laboratory studies were conducted to determine the influence of diet α-tocopherol content on torpor by ground squirrels (Spermophilus lateralis). The diets of free-ranging ground squirrels contained both α and γ-tocopherols, with α-tocopherol being the most abundant. Natural diet atocopherol levels ranged from 1.5 to 34.1 µg/g. Laboratory experiments, however, revealed that squirrels fed diets with α-tocopherol contents above or below 12 µg/g were: 1) were less likely to enter torpor, and, 2) were less likely to survive torpor than those fed a diet containing 12 µg atocopherol/g. A low α-tocopherol diet is thus actually required for proper torpor.
Not full reductions, but better explanations: Comment on "Neuroontology, neurobiological naturalism, and consciousness: a challenge to scientific reduction and a solution" by Todd E. Feinberg.

Abstract Feinberg (2012) [8] suggests that science so far cannot “reduce critical features of consciousness to neural processes.” But this poses an unrealistic standard. If science required full reductive explanations, neither Newton nor Darwin would be remembered today, since neither gave a reductive account of gravity or heredity. Indeed, we do not have such full reductions today. Useful theories, like Darwinʼs, are often not reductionistic to biological cells like neurons, though they can offer explanations of basic puzzles. Even theoretical physics cannot explain mountain avalanches and oak trees at the level of fundamental particles. Yet physics is a widely admired model of scientific theory. Judging by more modest historical standards we are making steady progress on Feinbergʼs four basic questions.
Early Adopters of Patient-Generated Health Data Upload in an Electronic Patient Portal.

Background and Objective Patient-generated health data (PGHD) may help providers monitor patient status between clinical visits. Our objective was to describe our medical center's early experience with an electronic flowsheet allowing patients to upload self-monitored blood glucose to their provider's electronic health record (EHR). Methods An academic multispecialty practice enabled the portal-linked PGHD tool in 2012. We conducted a retrospective observational study of adult ambulatory patients using this tool between 2012 and 2016, comparing clinical and demographic characteristics of data uploaders with those of a group of patients with diabetes diagnoses and patient portal accounts seen by the same health care providers. Results Over four years, 16 providers chose to use the tool, and 53 adult patients used it to upload three or more blood glucose values within any 9-month period. Of these patients, 23 were pregnant women and 30 were nonpregnant adults with diabetes. Uploaders had more encounters and portal log-ins than comparison patients but did not differ in socioeconomic status. Among the chronic disease patients, uploaders' mean hemoglobin A1c and body mass index (BMI) both dropped significantly in the months after upload. Conclusion Despite the potential value of PGHD in health care, the rate of adoption of a tool allowing patients to upload PGHD to their provider's EHR has been slow. Among chronic disease patients, PGHD upload was associated with improvements in blood glucose control and BMI, but it is possible that the changes were because of increased motivation or intensive changes in medical management.
More QACs, more questions: Recent advances in structure activity relationships and hurdles in understanding resistance mechanisms.

Abstract Quaternary ammonium compounds (QACs) are a class of antimicrobials that have been around for over a century; nevertheless, they have found continued renewal in the structures to which they can be appended. Ranging from antimicrobial polymers to adding novel modes of action to existing antibiotics, QACs have found ongoing use due to their potent properties. However, resistance against QACs has begun to emerge, and the mechanism of resistance is still only partially understood. In this review, we aim to summarize the current state of the field and what is known about the mechanisms of resistance so that the QACs of the future can be designed to be evermore efficacious and utilized to unearth the remaining mysteries that surround bacteria’s resistance to them.
Concurrent nicotine exposure to prenatal alcohol consumption alters the hippocampal and cortical neurotoxicity.

Abstract Aims This study investigated the neurotoxic effects of prenatal alcohol and nicotine exposure in the cortex and hippocampus of rodents. Main methods Behavioral alterations, electrophysiological changes, and biochemical markers associated with cholinergic neurotransmission, neural oxidative stress, mitochondrial function, and apoptosis were evaluated. Key findings Prenatal alcohol exposure induced the generation of ROS, nitrite and lipid peroxide, decreased mitochondrial Complex-I and IV activities, increased Caspase-1 and 3 activities, had no effect on cholinergic neurotransmission, increased expression of PSD-95, decreased LTP and decreased performance on spatial memory tasks. However, nicotine exposure, in addition to alcohol exposure, was found to mitigate the negative effects of alcohol alone on ROS generation and spatial memory task performances. Furthermore, we also studied the role of ILK in prenatal alcohol and nicotine exposure. Significance Prenatal Smoking and/or drinking is a major health concern around the world. Thus, our current study may lead to better insights into the molecular mechanisms of fetal alcohol and nicotine exposure on the developing offspring.
To Live Here, You Have to Fight: How Women Led Appalachian Movements for Social Justice

The American public “discovered” poverty in the early 1960s, and the face of poverty was the Appalachian coal miner. Devastated by black lung disease, jobs lost to technological innovations, and en...
Impact of Diabetes Mellitus on Mortality and Hospitalization in Patients With Mild-to-Moderate Cardiomyopathy

Abstract Objectives This study examined the independent predictors of all-cause mortality, all hospitalizations, and cardiac hospitalizations in patients with mild-to-moderate cardiomyopathy (left ventricular ejection fractions [LVEFs] of 36% to 50%). Background Patients with severe cardiomyopathy have high rates of death. Implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (ICDs) improve survival in this setting. It is not known whether the same applies to patients with mild-to-moderate cardiomyopathy. Methods All patients with cardiomyopathy of any etiology seen at our institution between 2011 and 2017 were included. Baseline characteristics and outcomes were compared between patients with mild-to-moderate cardiomyopathy and severe cardiomyopathy (LVEF ≤35%). Results Of the 18,003 patients with cardiomyopathy, 5,966 (33%) had a LVEF between 36% and 50%. Over a median follow-up of 3.35 years, 8,037 patients (45%) died and 11,056 (61%) were hospitalized for cardiac reasons. Independent predictors of all-cause mortality included older age (p Conclusions A history of DM predicts mortality in patients with cardiomyopathy and is associated with worse outcome than the actual severity of cardiomyopathy. Patients with mild-to-moderate cardiomyopathy and DM may therefore benefit from the same life-saving therapies (e.g., ICDs) that are indicated for patients with severe cardiomyopathy. This finding needs to be verified in a prospective, randomized setting.
Pathophysiological roles and therapeutic potential of voltage-gated ion channels (VGICs) in pain associated with herpesvirus infection

Herpesvirus is ranked as one of the grand old members of all pathogens. Of all the viruses in the superfamily, Herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) is considered as a model virus for a variety of reasons. In a permissive non-neuronal cell culture, HSV-1 concludes the entire life cycle in approximately 18–20 h, encoding approximately 90 unique transcriptional units. In latency, the robust viral gene expression is suppressed in neurons by a group of noncoding RNA. Historically the lesions caused by the virus can date back to centuries ago. As a neurotropic pathogen, HSV-1 is associated with painful oral lesions, severe keratitis and lethal encephalitis. Transmission of pain signals is dependent on the generation and propagation of action potential in sensory neurons. T-type Ca2+ channels serve as a preamplifier of action potential generation. Voltage-gated Na+ channels are the main components for action potential production. This review summarizes not only the voltage-gated ion channels in neuropathic disorders but also provides the new insights into HSV-1 induced pain.
Axial proton probing of magnetic and electric fields inside laser-driven coils

In a laser-driven coil, a laser is used to eject electrons from a plate, which then draws a current through a loop. Diagnosing the field strength, geometry, and conditions within these loops has been one of the primary difficulties in fielding this type of target. In this paper, the diagnostic technique of axial proton probing with a mesh fiducial of a laser-driven coil is demonstrated. Multiple coil types were driven by a 1 ns, 1.25 kJ long pulse beam and probed several times. This technique provides significantly more information than transverse probing on electric- and magnetic-field strength in the region of interest and shows in our experiment complex, non-uniform current path structures and charge distribution.
Examining and Improving Provider Adherence to the Primary Care Mental Health Integration Model

Introduction The Veterans Health Administration (VHA) is a national leader in integrated care, known in the VHA as the Primary Care Mental Health Integration (PCMHI) model. This model is associated with improved quality of services and same-day access for veterans. There has been some recent development of PCMHI/integrated care competencies within VHA and across the nation. To fully implement these competencies, however, PCMHI providers must not only be trained, but their adherence to the PCMHI model must also be assessed. While there have been recent advances, there has been little research that has examined the adherence of PCMHI providers to the model or methods to improve adherence. Materials and methods The present study sought to examine and improve the clinical practice of a team of eight PCMHI providers to make practice more adherent to the PCMHI model. This study was conducted at a large Midwestern VA Medical Center using interventions based in assessment, feedback, and training-measured at three points in time. The Primary Care Behavioral Health Provider Adherence Questionnaire (PPAQ; Beehler GP, Funderburk JS, Possemato K, et al.: Psychometric assessment of the primary care behavioral health provider adherence questionnaire (PPAQ). Transl Behav Med 2013; 3: 379-91.) was used to assess provider adherence and the PPAQ toolkit was used to provide tailored recommendations for improving provider practice. In addition, the VHA "Foundations Manual" and Functional Tool outlined essential behavioral targets that are consistent with the PCMHI model and the "essential provider behaviors" from the PPAQ. A combination of individual and group interventions was presented and adherence, pre and post, was assessed with the PPAQ and with evaluation of clinical practice data. Results Results indicated that the behavior of PCMHI providers changed over time, with providers exhibiting more PCMHI consistent behaviors and fewer inconsistent behaviors. Adherence to the PCMHI model increased. Conclusion Providing assessment, feedback, and training in the PCMHI model changed the clinical practice of PCMHI providers and resulted in improved adherence. Clinical and research implications are discussed.
The HIV/STI Epidemic Potential of Dynamic Sexual Networks of Men Who Have Sex With Men in Atlanta and San Francisco

ABSTRACT Background The potential speed through which a pathogen may circulate in a network is a function of network connectivity. Network features like degree (number of ongoing partnerships) determine the cross-sectional network connectivity. The overall transmission potential of a pathogen involves connectivity over time, which can be measured using the forward reachable path (FRP). We modeled dynamic sexual networks of MSM in San Francisco and Atlanta to estimate the FRP as a predictor of HIV/STI epidemic potential. Methods We used exponential random graph models to obtain parameter estimates for each city’s sexual network and then simulated the complete networks over time. The FRP was estimated in each city overall and stratified by demographics. Results The overall mean and median FRPs were higher in San Francisco than in Atlanta, suggesting a greater epidemic potential for HIV and STIs in San Francisco. At one year, in both cities, the average FRP among casual partnerships was highest in the youngest age group and lowest in the oldest age group, contrasting with the cross-sectional network parameters we estimated, where the youngest age category had the lowest mean degree and the oldest age category had the highest mean degree. Conclusions The FRP results correspond to the observed STI epidemics but not HIV epidemics between the cities. In San Francisco, rates of HIV have been declining over the last few years, whereas they have been steady in Atlanta. The FRP by age group resulted in fundamentally different conclusions about connectivity in the network compared with the cross-sectional network measures.
Almost sure functional central limit theorem for ballistic random walk in random environment

Nous considerons une marche aleatoire multidimensionnelle en environnement aleatoire produit. La marche est a pas bornes, transiente dans une direction spatiale donnee, et telle que le temps de regeneration possede un moment suffisamment haut. Nous prouvons un principe d’invariance, ou un theoreme limite central fonctionnel, sous presque tout environnement pour la marche centree et diffusivement normalisee. Le point principal derriere le principe d’invariance est que la moyenne trempee (quenched) de la marche est sous-diffusive.
The Berlin Questionnaire in pregnancy predominantly identifies obesity.

Study Objectives: Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is common in pregnant women and is a risk factor for poor perinatal outcomes. The Berlin Questionnaire (BQ) is a validated OSA screening tool that is...
The Role of Demographic Data Bias in the Under-Provision of Retail: A Quasi-Experimental Case Study of Low Food Access Neighborhoods in Twenty-Five Southern Metros:

Municipal policy attempting to remediate low food access neighborhoods tends to focus on improving demand conditions in these neighborhoods. We investigate the role of two fundamental measures of f...
Capacity of thyroxine-binding globulin to bind triiodothyronine and thyroxine in maternal and cord blood.

Normal values for the measurement of thyroidal function using the erythrocytic uptake of I131-labeled triiodothyronine and the thyroxine-binding capacity of the inter-alpha globulin were established. Paired maternal and cord blood samples collected at the time of delivery were studied with these methods. The erythrocytic uptake of labeled hormone was increased in cord blood as compared to maternal blood. Cord blood apparently binds exogenous triiodothyronine in a different manner than it does exogenous thyroxine. Whether this is a qualitative or quantitative difference was not shown in this study.
Predictors of ventilator weaning in individuals with high cervical spinal cord injury

AbstractBackground/Objective: To evaluate which tests best predict the ability of patients with ventilator-dependent tetraplegia to wean from the ventilator.Methods: Retrospective review of patients.Participants: Twenty-six ventilator-dependent patients with tetraplegia admitted to a university inpatient spinal cord-injury rehabilitation unit with American Spinal Injury Association (ASIA) injury levels C2 to C6, A or B.Results: Failure to wean off the ventilator completely was predicted by absence of motor unit recruitment of one hemidiaphragm or at least moderate decreased recruitment with needle electromyography (EMG) in both hemidiaphragms. Phrenic nerve conduction studies would have predicted that all patients who weaned off the ventilator would have failed. Fluoroscopic examination of the diaphragm and bedside spirometry were not as good predictors of ability to wean, failing to predict accurately in 44% and 19% of cases, respectively. ASIA examination was also not entirely predictive, and any outlie...
Hereditary Spherocytosis in the Deer Mouse. Its Similarity to the Human Disease

The hematologic and pathophysiologic consequences of a mutant recessive gene in the deer mouse produce features that are indistinguishable from hereditary spherocytosis in man. The syndrome in the mouse was characterized by neonatal jaundice, splenomegaly, spherocytosis and hemolytic disease which could be abolished by splenectomy. Red cell survival was shortened when the spleen was present and was normal or almost normal in splenectomized animals. Affected animals had a marked increase of gallstone formation at a young age. The intensity of neonatal jaundice as well as the tendency to gallstone formation among affected animals appeared to be under control of genetic modifiers. Hereditary spherocytosis in the mouse is identical pathophysiologically with the human syndrome, although inherited as a recessive trait. Biochemical heterogeneity and dominance modification are discussed as possible explanations for this genetic discrepancy.
Operads and Cosimplicial Objects: An Introduction

This paper is an introduction to the series of papers [26, 28, 29, 30], in which we develop a combinatorial theory of certain important operads and their actions.1 The operads we consider are A ∞ operads, E ∞ operads, the little n-cubes operad and the framed little disks operad. Sections 2, 6 and 9, which can be read independently, are an introduction to the theory of operads.
On the Representation Theory of Lie Triple Systems

In this paper, we take a new look at the representation theory of Lie triple systems. We consider both ordinary Lie triple systems and restricted Lie triple systems in the sense of Hodge (2001). In a final section, we begin a study of the cohomology of Lie triple systems.
Explicit representation of physical processes in concrete fracture

The utility of concrete as a cost-effective, durable structural material depends largely on its fracture properties. Improved understandings of the physical bases and scaling of concrete fracture are needed to meet the growing expectations and constraints on concrete usage in high-performance applications, and to develop alternative cementitious materials for reduced environmental load. This paper reviews relevant knowledge of fracture processes in concrete, with a particular focus on ways new 3D measurements may be coupled with discrete modelling approaches. The microstructure of concrete is briefly reviewed in the context of the physical processes that dictate fracture properties. We advocate a modelling approach where, to the extent possible, a direct correspondence is made between measured material structure and the structures explicitly represented by numerical models. This correspondence is made by utilizing x-ray microtomography, a high-resolution 3D imaging technique, and lattice models that mimic physical structure and processes. 3D image analysis provides us with quantitative measurements of internal damage progression. 3D lattice simulations offer the potential for extracting additional knowledge from these high-fidelity measurements.
Impact of Blinded Versus Unblinded Abstract Review on Scientific Program Content

ABSTRACTPurpose: A procedure whereby reviewers are not informed of the author or institutional identity for submitted abstracts is sometimes considered a more equitable and impartial process for selection of the content for a scientific program. We performed a prospective randomized study to evaluate the impact of a reviewer blinding process on scientific program content.Materials and Methods: A total of 234 abstracts submitted for presentation at the 2001 meeting of the Southeastern Section of the American Urological Association were distributed for review and grading to 42 reviewers who were randomly assigned to either a blinded or unblinded category. Acceptance for presentation was based on combined raw scores for blinded and unblinded reviews. However, multiple statistical comparisons were performed to evaluate the program content if only the blinded or unblinded reviews had been used as criteria for program acceptance. The abstracts were divided into pediatrics; prostate cancer, bladder cancer and ur...
Neonatal T Cells Produce Significantly Higher Levels of IL-10 Compared to Adult Derived T Cells

Neonatal T Cells Produce Significantly Higher Levels of IL-10 Compared to Adult Derived T Cells
Predators, moral decay, and moral revivals

Abstract This paper assumes that some people, whom we denote as “moral”, always choose to be producers, whereas other people, whom we denote as “amoral”, choose to be either producers or predators, depending on whether production or predation is more lucrative. To determine the ratio of predators to producers within a generation, we focus on the interaction between the choice of amoral people to be producers or predators and the choice of producers of the fraction of their resources to allocate to guarding against predators. To analyze the evolution of the ratio of predators to producers over generations, we propose theories of moral decay and moral revivals. We suggest that these theories account for the apparent historical pattern of intergenerational moral decay, interrupted and reversed by periodic moral revivals.
PGD9 Outcomes and Cost‐Benefit of Inhaled Corticosteroid Therapy Introduction in Medicaid‐Enrolled Asthmatic Children

OBJECTIVE:The purpose of this study was to assess the clinical and economic impact of the introduction of inhaled corticosteroid therapy for asthma in a cohort of children 12 years and younger who were North Carolina Medicaid enrollees. METHODS:The North Carolina Medicaid claims database was used to retrieve clinical and economic variables for the purpose of this study. The case group, which was comprised of 84 children who started corticosteroid inhaler therapy between March 1994 and March 1995, was followed up for 1 year before and 1 year after the start of the therapy. The control group was comprised of 72 children with similar severity of asthma who remained on any other therapy other than corticosteroids for a continuous 2-year period. Paired t-tests were used to compare differences, and multiple regression analysis was used to adjust for potential confounders. RESULTS:There was a 58% reduction in hospital visits, and a 19% reduction in physician visits in the case group after initiation of inhaled corticosteroids. In the control group, an increase of 34% in the number of outpatient visits occurred in the second year. All the decreases and increases were statistically significant. Children with regular patterns of inhaled corticosteroid refills were found to be significantly lower costing for Medicaid. However, after adjusting for potential confounders, no significant change in health care costs per asthmatic child occurred as a result of the introduction of inhaled corticosteroid therapy. CONCLUSION:Overall, the study found that introduction of inhaled corticosteroids in a cohort of asthmatic children enrolled in Medicaid was beneficial to Medicaid because it brought about dramatic decreases in health care utilization without additionally increasing costs.
The Role of Conflict-Based Communication Responses and Outcomes in Male Domestic Violence toward Female Partners

The general purpose of this study was to investigate domestic violence within a conflict framework. Specifically, the associations between conflict-based, communication responses and outcome behaviors and the frequency and severity of male domestic violence towards female partners were examined. Participants were 251 male volunteers who reported on a range of communication responses and outcomes for both self and partner. The contribution of relationship distress was controlled for and also examined as a moderator. Relationship distress was not found to be a significant moderator. Results showed that 8 communication response variables and 4 outcome variables were significantly associated with the frequency and/or severity of male domestic violence. Relative to non-violent relationships, relationships with male violence had more male and female unilateral verbal aggression, more mutual verbal aggression, more male demand/partner withdraw, less constructive relative to destructive communication, and less mu...
Does Age Matter? Judicial Decision Making in Age Discrimination Cases*

Objective. Drawing upon research that suggests that race and gender may shape judicial views about legal issues pertaining to these attributes, this study conducts an investigation of the influence of age on judicial decision making in age discrimination cases. Methods. This research analyzed 544 age bias rulings and 1,592 decisions in racial and gender discrimination cases handed down in the federal district courts from 1984 to 1995. Descriptive statistics incorporating crossproduct ratios were analyzed, and logit models were developed. Predicted probabilities were utilized to isolate differences in predicted decision-making patterns for different age cohorts. Results. The youngest judges were least sympathetic to those who alleged that they were victims of age discrimination while the oldest judges were the most sympathetic to age discrimination claimants. This study also identified a generally more conservative decision-making pattern in age cases compared to cases dealing with racial and gender discrimination. Conclusions. The data support the hypothesis that increased age corresponds with increased pro-elderly decision making in age bias cases, though the effects appear at the age extremes among the very oldest and youngest judges. These results provide new evidence to support the social attribute model of judicial decision making, with a clear suggestion that some socioeconomic variables may affect judges’ decision making differently over time. It has been well documented in the popular press that the ‘‘baby boom’’ generation, which came of age during the 1960s and early 1970s, will soon be approaching retirement age. Because this growth in population was followed by a decline in the birthrate, the average age of the American population has increased. This aging of the population has not been lost on policymakers. Issues that have traditionally been of concern to older Americans have taken on new importance as more people approach
Ethnic pride, biculturalism, and drug use norms of urban American Indian adolescents

This study examines how strength of ethnic identity, multiethnic identity, and other indicators of biculturalism relate to the drug use norms of urban American Indian middle school students. The article distinguishes categories of norms that may affect drug use. Regression analysis of self-reports by 434 American Indian seventh graders attending middle schools in a large southwestern U.S. city indicated that students who had a more intense sense of ethnic pride adhered more strongly to certain antidrug norms than those who did not. Whereas American Indian students with better grades in school held consistently stronger antidrug norms, there were few differences by gender, socioeconomic status, or age. These results have implications in social work practice for better understanding and strengthening the protective aspects of American Indian culture in drug prevention efforts.
HtrA2 and Parkinson's disease: think PINK?

Mitochondrial dysfunction is primarily responsible for neurodegeneration in Parkinson's disease. The Parkinson's-disease-associated kinase PINK1 has been identified as an important regulator of the activity of the mitochondria-associated stress-protective protease HtrA2.
Chondrules, matrix and coarse-grained chondrule rims in the Allende meteorite: Origin, interrelationships and possible precursor components

INAA and broad-beam EMPA are used to determine the bulk compositions of 20 chondrules, 13 coarse-grained chondrule rims, and one nonporphyritic CV chondrule (NPCVC) from CV3 Allende (and of one NPCVC each from Leoville and Vigarano). The data are presented in extensive tables and graphs and analyzed in detail. Five probable chondrule precursor components are deduced, and the solar-nebula processes giving rise to them (and probably to the coarse-grained rims as well) are discussed. It is suggested that the formation of the rimmed chondrules involved nebular reheating in space, after the accretion of dusty coatings.
Recurrent faulting in the vicinity of Reelfoot Lake, northwestern Tennessee

Reelfoot Lake in northwestern Tennessee was the site of considerable ground motion at the time of the 1811 to 1812 New Madrid earthquakes. Thirty-two kilometers of conventional seismic-reflection profiling in the vicinity of the lake has revealed the existence of many faults. Most significant are two high-angle faults with 0 to 60 m of vertical offset at the contact of the Late Cretaceous embayment sediments and Paleozoic bedrock. One fault is associated with the scarp on the western edge of Reelfoot Lake, and the other, with a major northeast-trending lineament that passes through the town of Ridgely, Tennessee, and near the southeast edge of Reelfoot Lake. The nature of the observed vertical offsets suggests recurrent motion on faults of Late Cretaceous, or older, age. 5 figures, 1 table.
International dry onion trade: Factors affecting import demands for US dry onions

Canada and Japan import about three-fourths of US onion exports. Imports demands are specified for Canada and Japan and then estimated by joint generalized least squares. Results show FOB onion price in the United States and the price of domestically produced onions in the importing country have an important influence on US dry onion exports. Finally, even though similar economic variables affect the import demands for US dry onions in Japan and Canada, the magnitudes of the elasticities are quite different for each country's demand equation. © 1992 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Basic factors in the formation and stability of nonsoap lubricating greases

Abstract The oil-thickener interface was recognized as the seat of important properties in nonsoap greases. In order to index the nature and extent of this interface, in a variety of systems, first the surface characteristics of several thickening agents and the physical properties of several oils were measured. These properties of the oils and solids were correlated with the behavior of grease systems formulated from them. Modification of the interfacial region by water and its effect on grease building by inducing flocculation was then investigated. For hydrophobic thickeners, grease building efficiency depends directly on surface area for those above 200 m.2/g., and falls off sharply for thickness of lower surface area. The amounts of thickeners required to give greases of a specified consistency vary as the square of their surface areas. For hydrophilic thickeners, the amounts of water adsorbed at the oil-thickener interface can be much larger than for hydrophobic thickeners and, indeed, control the consistency. Temperature, relative humidity, and amount of working of the grease affect the amount of water at the interface. The polarity of the oil has little effect on the grease building by hydrophobic thickeners, but greatly affects those built with hydrophilic thickeners. In the latter case, water enhances thickening in nonpolar vehicles but somewhat surprisingly thins those made with polar, water-miscible oils.
Viscous resistance of thromboid (thrombus-like) surface layers in systems of plasma proteins including fibrinogen

Abstract Viscous resistance was measured of surface layers which form in systems of bovine and human fibrinogen and other plasma proteins as well as of human plasma and serum. A modification of the Weissenberg rheogoniometer was employed with a combined Couette and cone and plate geometry. The measurements were made at shear rates from 10 3 to less than 10 −1 sec −1 , and the torque values, in response to shear, of these polymolecular layers were determined. Fibrinogen solutions gave the highest torque values when compared with γ globulin, while albumin exhibited the least. The higher the concentration of each of the tested proteins, the higher was the torque value. This was also the case with 5 to 90 per cent concentrations of platelet-free oxalate plasma and serum obtained from apparently healthy human subjects. The addition of 0.4 per cent fibrinogen to 0.25 per cent albumin or to 5 per cent plasma or serum increased viscous resistance. Such addition to 5 per cent albumin or usually to 18 per cent plasma showed no change in torque values. A critical concentration of plasma or serum was noted, which ultimately may provide an indicator in the recognition of proneness towards thrombosis and may serve in the management of thrombotic conditions. Preliminary data showed that the surface layers of heparin plasma gave decreased torque values, when compared to the surface layers of oxalate plasma from the same blood withdrawal. These and other findings are discussed in relation to the recently proposed concept of Copley of the initiation of thrombosis, which is based on the formation of polymolecular layers of fibrinogen and other plasma proteins, leading to obstruction of the affected blood vessels. This aggregation of proteins is considered to occur in two steps, viz., a first adsorption process on the endoendothelial fibrin film, followed by a growth process, in which additional protein molecules adsorb on first or previously formed layers of adsorption. Work by other investigators is cited in support of this concept, and in relation to a hitherto unrecognized kind of clotting, viz., the formation of polymolecular layers of plasma proteins including fibrinogen.
Laser photoionization of aromatic hydrocarbons in micellar solution

Abstract The 347.1 nm ruby laser photolysis of aromatic hydrocarbons such as pyrene, triphenylene and perylene solubilized in aqueous micellar solutions yields relatively high yields of ions (hydrated electrons and solute cations). The ionization process is biphotonic. In the case of triphenylene the yield of hydrated electrons decreases sharply with increasing chain length of the micellized surfactant molecules. This effect is less pronounced or absent in the photoionization of pyrene or perylene. The results are interpreted in terms of energy loss of photoelectrons in the hydrocarbon phase of micelles.
Application of adaptive FTF/FAEST zero tracking filters to noninvasive characterization of the sound pattern caused by coronary artery stenosis before and after angioplasty.

This article presents a new signal processing application that can be used for acoustical detection of coronary artery disease before and after angioplasty. The adaptive Autoregressive (AR) method based on the FTF/FAEST (Fast transversal filters/Fasta posteriori error sequential techniques) is used to track acoustical behavior associated with coronary occlusions. Using the amplitude trajectory of the second pole pair of this method, 9 out of 10 angioplasty patients were correctly identified using a blind protocol without prior knowledge of whether a given recording was made before and after angioplasty. These results were obtained from signals located between 200 and 300 msec after the end of the second heart sound during the diastolic period.
Self-assessment procedure XIX

Presentation d'un questionnaire permettant aux professionnels de l'informatique de tester leurs connaissances sur la legislation americaine de protection des droits d'auteur des programmes informatiques
The Prevalence of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome in Nigeria

The present study found adult rates of chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) in Nigeria that were somewhat higher than rates from community-based CFS epidemiologic studies in the USA. The rates of chronic fatigue for both adults and children were also higher than in existing community-based studies. It is possible that the presence of several fatiguing illnesses such as malaria and typhoid, the lack of adequate healthcare resources and poverty in Nigeria, place individuals at greater risk for fatigue and its syndromes. There is a need for more epidemiologic studies on the prevalence and sociodemographic characteristics of CFS in developing countries.
Temporally staggered sensing for field estimation with quantized data in wireless sensor networks

In this paper, we present an optimal sensor staggering strategy to estimate a spatially and temporally varying field using quantized sensor data in wireless sensor networks. In order to predict the field intensity at a particular field point of interest, we first extend ordinary kriging to the case of quantized sensor data. Then, we derive the Average Quantized Kriging Error Variance (AQKEV) of the field as a performance metric which is then numerically minimized to find each sensors optimal sampling instant. Simulation results show that, the proposed sensor staggering strategy which is a function of the temporal correlation of the field yields better AQKEV as compared to the non-staggered and uniformly staggered strategies.
Pyramid Vision Using Key Features to Integrate Image-Driven Bottom-Up and Model-Driven Top-Down Processes

Pyramidlike parallel hierarchical structures have been shown to be suitable for many computer vision tasks and have the potential for achieving the speeds needed for the real-time processing of real-world images. Algorithms are being developed to explore the pyramid's massively parallel and shallowly serial-hierarchical computing ability in an integrated system that combines both low-level and higher level vision tasks. Micromodular transforms are used to embody the program's knowledge of the different objects it must recognize. Pyramid vision programs are described that, starting with the image, use transforms that assess key features to dynamically imply other feature-detecting and characterizing transforms and additional top-down model-driven processes to apply. Program performance is presented for four real-world images of buildings. The use of key features in pyramid vision programs and the related search and control issues are discussed. To expedite the detection of various key features, feature-adaptable windows are developed. In addition to image-driven bottom-up and model-driven top-down processing, lateral search is used and is shown to be helpful, efficient, and feasible. The results indicate that with the use of key features and the combination of a variety of powerful search patterns, the pyramidlike structure is effective and efficient for supporting parallel and hierarchical object recognition algorithms.
Functional characterization of transcription regulators that interact with the electrophile response element

The electrophile response element (EpRE), also referred to as the antioxidant responsive element (ARE), is found in the 5'-regulatory region of a number of genes encoding phase II, drug-metabolizing enzymes. Gene knockout studies have demonstrated the primary regulatory role that an Nrf2:Maf dimer plays by binding to nucleotides within the EpRE consensus sequence. Current models of transcription regulation have also shown the involvement of higher-order transcriptional coactivators, proteins that nucleate around DNA sequence-specific transcription factors, enhancing transcription of the target gene by interacting with components of the basal transcriptional apparatus and by enabling chromatin remodeling. Here, we hypothesized that multiple transcriptional regulators, including: (i) a primary Nrf2-Maf heterodimer, (ii) a proposed secondary, EpRE-specific, p160 family coactivator, ARE-binding protein-1, and (iii) a tertiary coactivator, CBP/p300, nucleate to form a complex at the EpRE that regulates transcription of the dependent gene. To test this hypothesis, we constructed a HepG2 cell line which contains a stably integrated green fluorescent protein (GFP) gene; its inducible expression is regulated by a synthetic TK promoter containing a linked EpRE. To identify the involvement of specific, primary and higher-order transcriptional regulators in the EpRE-mediated regulation of the GFP reporter gene, we microinjected antibodies directed against specific transcription factors into the HepG2/GFP cells and determined their effect upon tBHQ-induced expression of the GFP gene. The results demonstrate that microinjected antibodies directed against Nrf2, MafK, CBP and p300 could each, individually, significantly inhibit tBHQ-induced GFP expression. This directly demonstrates the role that the tertiary regulators, CBP or p300, play in mediating EpRE activation of phase II genes, and also implicates the involvement of secondary, p160 family coactivators. Moreover, we found that the same anti-MafK antibody that blocked induction of the EpRE-regulated GFP gene completely ablated the gel-shift complex that we hypothesize contains an Nrf2:Maf dimer, ARE-binding protein-1, and CBP or p300.