cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Constraining seismic velocity and density for the mantle transition zone with reflected and transmitted waveforms

We examine stacks of several seismic phases having different sensitivities to mantle transition zone structure. When analyzed separately, underside P and S reflections (PdP and SdS) are suggestive of very different structures despite similar raypaths and data coverage. By stacking the radial component of PdP rather than the vertical PdP, we show that this difference does not result from interference from other more steeply inclined phases such as PKP and Ppdpdiff. In general, stacks of P-to-S converted phases (Pds) appear to lack evidence of a 520-km discontinuity when examined without other phases. When these phases and stacked topside P reflections (Ppdp) are analyzed jointly using a nonlinear inversion method, consistent but nonunique, seismological models emerge. These models show that a discontinuity at ∼653 km depth has smaller contrasts in density and velocity than found in most previous studies. A sub-660 gradient can account for the majority of this difference. A 1.6 ± 0.5% P-velocity contrast and a 2.2 ± 0.3% density contrast at ∼518 km depth without a S-velocity contrast can explain the lack of a P520s, together with robust Pp520p and S520S phases. For models parameterized with a finite thickness for each discontinuity, the 410-km discontinuity is consistently ∼3 times thicker than the 660-km discontinuity.
In the Tennessee Mountains

Reviewed Medium: book Authors: Mary Noailles Murfree Year: 2009 Pages: 167 Publisher: University of Tennessee Press ISBN: 1-57233-660-9 (soft cover). Prices: $24.95 USD(soft cover).
Tsessebe, Topi and Tiang: three distinct Tc1-like transposable elements in the malaria vector, Anopheles gambiae.

Three distinct types of Tc1‐family transposable elements have been identified in the malaria vector, Anopheles gambiae. These three elements, named Tsessebe, Topi and Tiang, have the potential to encode transposases that retain most of the conserved amino acids that are characteristic of this transposon family. However, all three are diverged from each other by more than 50% at the nucleotide level. Full‐length genomic clones of two types, Topi and Tsessebe, have been isolated and fully sequenced. The third, Tiang, is represented only by a 270 bp, PCR‐amplified fragment of the transposase coding region. The Topi and Tsessebe elements are 1.4 kb and 2.0 kb in length, respectively, and differ in the length of their inverted terminal repeats (ITRs). The Topi elements have 26 bp ITRs, whereas the Tsessebe clones have long ITRs ranging in length from 105 to 209 bp, with the consensus being about 180 bp. This difference is due primarily to variation in the length of an internal stretch of GT repeats. The copy number and location of these elements in ovarian nurse cell polytene chromosomes varies greatly between element subtypes: Topi elements are found at between 17–31 sites, Tsessebe at 9–13 and at 20 euchromatic sites, in addition to several copies of these elements in heterochromatic DNA. The copy number and genomic insertion sites of these transposons varies between A.gambiae strains and between member species of the A.gambiae complex. This may be indicative of transpositionally active Tc1‐like elements within the genome.
Sirenia (Dugongs and Manatees)

Sirenia are an order of large, aquatic, plant-eating, mostly tropical placental mammals that includes the modern seacows (dugongs and manatees) and their extinct relatives. Their nearest living relatives are the Proboscidea (elephants). Together with some extinct orders (including Desmostylia and Embrithopoda), Sirenia and Proboscidea make up a group known as Tethytheria, after their likely origin along the shores of the ancient Tethys Seaway in the Old World. Sirenians first appeared in the fossil record in the Eocene. They comprise four families, two extinct (Prorastomidae and Protosirenidae, both Eocene) and two extant (Trichechidae and Dugongidae). For most of the Tertiary, they formed multispecies communities in marine environments, partitioning seagrass resources in ways not completely understood. However, global cooling after the middle Miocene, and human predation in the North Pacific, diminished their diversity to only two living genera and four species. Key Concepts: Sirenians are herbivorous, completely aquatic mammals that evolved from land-dwelling ancestors. The closest living relatives of the Sirenia are the Proboscidea (elephants). Sirenians have a fossil record dating from the Eocene. Most sirenians of the past lived in salt water, and fed on seagrasses (marine flowering plants). The Family Dugongidae was the most diverse and successful family of sirenians. Several lineages of sirenians apparently specialised on eating large seagrass rhizomes, using bladelike, self-sharpening upper tusks. These specialised sirenians could act as ‘keystone species’, allowing both seagrasses and other kinds of sirenians to become locally more diverse. Unlike today, sirenians of the past formed communities of several coexisting species, with a different taxonomic makeup in each ocean basin. Diversity of sirenians diminished after the middle Miocene, due to global cooling. Manatees in the southeastern U.S. and Caribbean had a complicated history during the Pleistocene Ice Ages, shifting their range south and north with the alternating glacial and interglacial cycles. Keywords: dugongs; ecology; evolution; manatees; seacows
Assessing the presence of garnet-pyroxenite in the mantle sources of basalts through combined hafnium-neodymium-thorium isotope systematics

[1] The existence of an enriched component in the mantle with a pyroxenitic or eclogitic composition and its importance for basalt genesis has been discussed for over two decades. Inferences about the depth of melting as well as the dynamics of melting based on the presence of garnet and the location of the spinel-garnet transition are different if garnet-pyroxenite is present in the peridotitic mantle. Trace element partition coefficients are dependent on composition, and the differences between garnet-pyroxenite and peridotite are large enough to produce significant differences in trace element fractionation between melts derived from these different lithologies. Melts derived from garnet-pyroxenite or eclogite-bearing sources will have small or no 230Th excesses, which are largely independent of melting and upwelling rate. Melts derived from garnet-peridotite will have significant 230Th excesses, which are dependent on melting and upwelling rate. We show that the combined hafnium-neodymium-thorium (Hf-Nd-Th) isotope and trace element data can distinguish between melts derived from peridotitic and pyroxenitic or eclogitic sources. We also present new Hf isotope data for Hawaiian basalts and use the combined Hf-Nd-Th isotope and trace element systematics to argue against the existence of garnet-pyroxenite or eclogite in the source of Hawaiian basalts. It is especially the large variation in degree of melting for relatively constant isotopic composition that allows us to rule out garnet-pyroxenite in the source of the Hawaiian basalts.
Homotopy Gerstenhaber algebras

The purpose of this paper is to complete Getzler-Jones’ proof of Deligne’s Conjecture, thereby establishing an explicit relationship between the geometry of configurations of points in the plane and the Hochschild complex of an associative algebra. More concretely, it is shown that the B ∞-operad, which is generated by multilinear operations known to act on the Hochschild complex, is a quotient of a certain operad associated to the compactified configuration spaces. Different notions of homotopy Gerstenhaber algebras are discussed: One of them is a B ∞-algebra, another, called a homotopy G-algebra, is a particular case of a B ∞-algebra, the others, a G ∞-algebra, an Ē1-algebra, and a weak G ∞-algebra, arise from the geometry of configuration spaces. Corrections to the paper of Kimura, Zuckerman, and the author related to the use of a nonextant notion of a homotopy Gerstenhaber algebra are made.
The determination of serum concentrations of osteocalcin in growing pigs and its relationship to end-measures of bone mineralization.

Osteocalcin, a 49-amino acid, gamma-carboxyglutamic acid-containing protein produced by the osteoblast, has been shown in laboratory animals to be a better marker of bone turnover than alkaline phosphatase. To determine serum osteocalcin levels in growing pigs, we isolated pure porcine osteocalcin and developed a double-antibody RIA. To evaluate the effects of dietary Ca and P levels on serum osteocalcin, 36 individually penned crossbred pigs (19.5 kg initial BW) were fed fortified corn-soybean meal diets (.95% lysine) containing four levels of Ca (.42, .66, .90, 1.14%) and P (.35, .55, .75, .95%) in a 30-d test. Increasing dietary Ca and P improved body weight gain quadratically (P < .02). Most bone traits improved quadratically (P < .05) with increasing Ca and P. Pigs were bled on d 0, 10, 20, and 30 to determine serum levels of alkaline phosphatase, 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3, and osteocalcin. Osteocalcin decreased (P < .02) linearly with increasing Ca and P on d 10, 20, and 30. However, this effect was much more pronounced on d 20 and 30. Alkaline phosphatase decreased with the first incremental increase in dietary Ca and P, but was not affected by higher levels on any day measured. Osteocalcin was inversely correlated with growth rate (r = -.54, P < .01), bone strength (r = -.57, P < .01), metacarpal ash (r = -.29, P < .10), femur ash (r = -.60, P < .01), and femur ash weight (r = -.65, P < .01). Similar results were found for 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3. Alkaline phosphatase was not correlated with performance or most bone traits on d 30. Based on this model, these results suggest that serum osteocalcin and 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 are better predictors of bone mineralization and(or) turnover in pigs than serum alkaline phosphatase.
Men Who Make Nontraditional Career Choices

A summary of research findings showed that men who choose female-dominated occupations likely possess many of the same traits and characteristics often attributed to women in the same jobs. Contrary to stereotypes, men generally are comfortable with themselves and their masculine sexuality, although they score lower in Bem's masculine identity than traditional men. A framework for the process of men's nontraditional career choice is presented based on previous career development models for traditional careers plus a review of the empirical research literature. Implications for professional counselors and organizations are discussed.
Overactive bladder and stress urinary incontinence: From diagnosis to treatment

Urinary incontinence is not a natural consequence of aging, though many patients believe it is. A focused evaluation and equally focused treatment plan can not only relieve a woman's symptoms but significantly improve her quality of life.
High-spin states in 153Gd and 154Gd from (α, x nγ) studies

Abstract By in-beam γ-spectroscopy we have found many new γ-transitions in 153 Gd. Most transitions can be assigned to two rotational bands, one built on the 11 2 − [505] band-head at 171.4 keV and extending up to the 23 2 − level at 1587.1 keV, the other built on a 95.2 keV 9 2 + band head at 95.2 keV and extending up to 25 2 + at 1197 keV. From angular distributions and γ-branching ratios in the 11 2 − band we determine gyromagnetic factor differences g rmK − g R for three cascade γ-transitions. The severely perturbed energy spacings of the even-parity band are discussed in terms of very large Coriolis mixing of the two lowest-lying i 13 2 Nilsson orbitals. Additional transitions are reported to extend the ground band of 154 Gd to the 16 + level.
Decreasing Polypharmacy in Clients Most at Risk

Approximately one third of all drugs prescribed in the United States are considered unnecessary. Polypharmacy, the unnecessary, excessive use of prescription and over-the-counter medications, increases clients' risk for adverse drug reactions and drug-drug interactions. Reducing the incidence of polypharmacy is a health protection goal of Healthy People 2000. Older clients, particularly older women living independently in the community, are at highest risk for polypharmacy caused by age-related changes in pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics, the presence of comorbidities requiring pharmacologic management, and high rates of unintentional noncompliance with their therapeutic regimen. Health providers may contribute to polypharmacy directly by excessive or inappropriate prescribing practices or indirectly through their inability to resist client's demands for pharmacologic interventions. Strategies to prevent and detect polypharmacy are suggested to reduce its incidence and the severity of its consequences.
Neural Correlates of Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal Regulation of Mothers with Their Infants

Background Neural correlates of stress regulation via the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis have been identified, but little is known about how these apply to real-world interpersonal stress contexts such as mother-infant interaction. We extended stress regulation research by examining maternal neural activation to infant cry related to HPA regulation with their infants. Methods Twenty-two primiparous mothers listened to the cry sounds of their own 18-month-old infant and an unfamiliar infant and a control sound during functional magnetic resonance imaging scanning. Salivary cortisol was collected at four timepoints in a separate session involving the Strange Situation stressor. Cortisol trajectories were modeled with hierarchical linear modeling, and trajectory terms were used to predict neural response to own infant cry. Results Mothers who showed less HPA reactivity—indexed by trajectory curvature rather than level—showed increased activation to the cry of their infant relative to control sound across limbic/paralimbic and prefrontal circuits. These included periaqueductal gray, right insula, and bilateral orbitofrontal cortex as well as anterior cingulate-medial prefrontal cortex. Activations overlapped to some extent with previous HPA regulation findings and converged more extensively with circuits identified in other maternal response paradigms. Conclusions Maternal stress regulation involves both circuits found across stressor types (i.e., prefrontal) and areas unique to the mother-infant relationship (i.e., limbic/paralimbic). The shape of the HPA response trajectory of mothers was more important than the level of such response in defining stress-related neural correlates. Future research should consider dimensions of the stress context and of physiological trajectories to define stress-regulatory circuits.
Resistant starch as energy.

This study was designed to compare the metabolizable energy of two starch sources, standard cornstarch and high amylose cornstarch.Diets containing 70% amylose (AM) or 70% amylopectin (AP) cornstarches were fed to 10 control and 14 hyperinsulinemic men for 14 weeks. During the last 4 weeks of each period, subjects were fed a controlled diet containing 34% of total energy from fat, 15% from protein and 51% from carbohydrate (55% of carbohydrate provided AM or AP). Duplicate food and all urine and feces were collected during the second week of the controlled diets for energy, nitrogen, fiber and starch determinations. Metabolizable energy (ME) was calculated as [energy intake minus (fecal plus urinary energy excretion)].Total fiber uncorrected for resistant starch was 35.2 g and 48.8 g in the AP and AM diets, respectively. The AM diet contained an average of 29.7 g resistant starch (16% of total starch) while the AP diet averaged 0.8 g (less than 0.01%). ME was not significantly different between the AM and...
Detection of a coherent signal of known phase

A novel algebraic technique is employed to find asymptotic solutions for Helstrom's integral equation for a single-cavity-mode detector of a coherent signal of known phase. At high and low temperatures, the detection probability is related to the fixed false-alarm probability. When either the decision level or the signal intensity is small, a solution is found for all temperatures.
Molecular Basis for Cation Selectivity in Claudin-2-Based Pores

Claudins are transmembrane tight junction proteins that form paracellular pores. Claudins regulate the permeability of small inorganic ions and are selective on the basis of charge. We have developed an inducible expression system to measure the permeability of claudin-2 and have found that claudin-2 forms highly cation-selective paracellular pores. The basis of this charge selectivity is likely to be the presence of a negatively charged binding site within the lumen of the pore. This may be a general mechanism by which claudins achieve selectivity.
Colonoscopist's thumb: DeQuervains's syndrome (tenosynovitis of the left thumb) associated with overuse during endoscopy.

Individuals who perform repetitive stereotyped motion at work are at high risk for development of chronic occupational injury from mechanical stress to specific joints or tendons, such as tennis elbow in athletes and carpal tunnel syndrome in musicians. In particular, DeQuervain’s syndrome (tenosynovitis of the thumb tendon) is strongly associated with occupational risk factors. The colonoscopist uses the left thumb to turn both control dials (wheels) on the colonoscopic head for horizontal or vertical colonoscopic tip deflection for steering during colonoscopy without powered assistance. This thumb provides all the mechanical force to turn the colonoscopic tip against colonic resistance and repeatedly exerts this force to negotiate colonic turns. This frequent, repetitive, and chronic occupational thumb motion and force could injure the thumb tendon. A novel case is reported of a gastroenterologist with DeQuervain’s syndrome, with pain exacerbation during every left thumb flexion to negotiate colonic turns during colonoscopy. With the increasing number of colonoscopists and their increasing procedural volume (as a result of the recent institution of mass screening for colon cancer), this occupational injury may become increasingly recognized, affect procedural technique, and affect endoscopic design.
Anaerobic biotransformations of pollutant chemicals in aquifers

Anaerobic microbial communities sampled from either a methanogenic or sulfate-reducing aquifer site have been tested for their ability to degrade a variety of groundwater pollutants, including halogenated aromatic compounds, simple alkyl phenols and tetrachloroethylene. The haloaromatic chemicals were biodegraded in methanogenic incubations but not under sulfate-reducing conditions. The primary degradative event was typically the reductive removal of the aryl halides. Complete dehalogenation of the aromatic moiety was required before substrate mineralization was observed. The lack of dehalogenation activity in sulfatereducing incubations was due, at least in part, to the high levels of sulfate rather than a lack of metabolic potential. In contrast, the degradation of cresol isomers occurred in both types of incubations but proved faster under sulfate-reducing conditions. The requisite microorganisms were enriched and the degradation pathway forp-cresol under the latter conditions involved the anaerobic oxidation of the aryl methyl group. Tetrachloroethylene was also degraded by reductive dehalogenation but under both incubation conditions. The initial conversion of this substrate to trichloroethylene was generally faster under methanogenic conditions. However, the transformation pathway slowed when dichloroethylene was produced and only trace concentrations of vinyl chloride were detected. These results illustrate that pollutant compounds can be biodegraded under anoxic conditions and a knowledge of the predominant ecological conditions is essential for accurate predictions of the transport and fate of such materials in aquifers.
On the nature of PSE approximation

The recently developed method of parabolized stability equations (PSE) offers a fast and efficient way of analyzing the spatial growth of linear and nonlinear (convective) disturbances in shear layers. For incompressible flows, the governing equations may be represented either in primitive variables or by using other formulations obtained by eliminating the pressure gradient (e.g., vorticity-streamfunction formulation). On the other hand, for compressible flows, primitive variables offer a natural and the only choice. We show that primitive-variable formulation is not well-posed due to the ellipticity introduced by the\(\partial \hat p/\partial x\) term and the marching solution eventually blows up for a sufficiently small step size. However, it is shown that this difficulty can be overcome if the minimum step size is greater than the inverse of the real part of the streamwise wave number, αr. An alternative is to drop the\(\partial \hat p/\partial x\) term, in which case the residual ellipticity is of no consequence for marching computations with much smaller step sizes. However, the ellipticity cannot be completely removed. Results obtained with streamfunction and vorticity-velocity formulations also show that the numerical difficulties arise for a sufficiently small marching step size. This step-size restriction can be overcome by dropping thedα/dx term from the governing equations. The effect of this term on solution accuracy is negligible for Blasius flow but not so for rotating-disk flow.
Genet's Fantastic Voyage in Miracle de la Rose: All at Sea about Maternity

Together psychoanalytical and feminist criticism appear to uncover the very composition of Jean Genet's inversion. Indeed, in this regard the Miracle de la Rose dream sequence which focuses on an extraordinary voyage through the body of Harcamone, the very imprimatur of bisexuality defined in Cixous' Le rire de la meduse, holds singular importance. Abandoned by his biological mother, Genet sees himself as a "produit synthetique" who has to belong to someone in order to be. Genet simply does not exist unless he can establish, not the Lacanian Name-of-the-Father, but rather the Name-of-the-Mother. The dream reveals a Freudian resolution of ambivalence when its author "kills" the Mother by becoming her through a mediation of Subject and Other which parallels Irigaray's interpenetration of mother and child. Mediation becomes transformation as Genet's fantastic voyage allows him to say, "je nais." This article is available in Studies in 20th Century Literature: http://newprairiepress.org/sttcl/vol14/iss2/5 Genet's Fantastic Voyage in Miracle de la Rose: All at Sea about Maternity Elizabeth Richardson Viti Gettysburg College Though homosexuality is not uncommon in the literary world, few if any writers have chosen, like Jean Genet, to place their own inversion flamboyantly center stage. This phenomenon explains the temptation to apply psychoanalytic theory to Genet's work, but the author and his homoeroticism intrigue feminist criticism as well. In the sixties Kate Mil lett's Sexual Politics praised the portrayal of a homosexual society which, because of its hyperbolic aping of an arbitrary masculine and feminine, exposed the oppressive social system of patriarchy.' Later, in Le Rire de la meduse [The Laugh of the Medusa] Helene Cixous cited Genet as one of only three twentieth-century writers who successfully inscribe femininity in their work.' And most recently, a dissertation by Cynthia Running Rowe, Jean Genet and Helene Cixous: Reading Genet through the Feminine, proposes Cixous' essay as an appropriate vehicle for examining Genet's homosexuality.' In fact, it seems to me that the convergence of psychoanalytical and feminist criticism permits+ a better understanding of Jean Genet's inversion and, indeed, reveals its very composition. Most notably, Miracle de la Rose [Miracle ofthe Rose] provides fertile ground: Among texts in which dreams are typically pervasive, here one dream in particular emerges as exceptional and calls for psychoanalytical interpretation much in the way that Swami's dream, noticeably different from the myriad daydreams in A la recherche du temps perdu [Remembrance of Things Past], provoked, inspired an analysis by Jean Bellemin-Noe1. Because the author announces the phantasy as such and constructs it coherently, it is admittedly a product of the conscious; and yet, like the Proustian passage, it clearly exposes a conflict with the unconscious. Of course, one might easily ask whose unconscious is revealed, for in the case of Un Amour de
Adenosine deaminase activity in peripheral blood cells from SJL/J mice

Adenosine deaminase (ADA) activities were measured in peripheral blood cells of SJL/J mice, and compared with those of C57BL/6J animals. No association was observed between the levels of lymphocyte or erythrocyte ADA and immunologic abnormalities in SJL/J mice nor was evidence obtained to suggest a relationship between ADA activity and tumorigenesis in this strain.
Some observations on near-limit flames

Lean mixtures of hydrogen-air and rich mixtures of n -butane-air were spark ignited within a 12-ft-diam sphere. At hydrogen concentrations below 8.0%, and at butane concentrations above 6.1%, the pressure rises were very small since little of the combustible mixture was consumed by upward flame propagation. With the onset of downward propagation at 8.5% hydrogen or 6.0% butane, combustion was complete. The limits of downward flame propagtion are compared with available data on the detonable limits of gas mixtures when initiated by solid explosives. The interpretation follows Spalding's treatment of the optimum gas concentrations for spark ignition, using the concept of preferential diffusion.
Simian virus 40 structural proteins: Amino-terminal sequence of the major capsid protein

Abstract The two major capsid proteins of simian virus 40 (SV40) have been purified to homogeneity by electrophoresis in sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gels. The amino-terminal sequence of VP1 (molecular weight 48,000) was found to be Ala-Pro-Thr-Lys-Arg-Lys-Gly-. No amino-terminal residue was found for VP3 (molecular weight 30,000) and this capsid polypeptide may, therefore, have a blocked amino terminus.
Pulmonary Gas Exchange During Dialysis in Patients with Obstructive Lung Disease

Hypoxemia occurs during routine hemodialysis and may contribute to morbidity, but its cause is not well understood. We reasoned that patients with COPD would be more vulnerable to abnormalities in gas exchange with dialysis. Thus, to investigate the cause of dialysis-related hypoxemia, we measured gas exchange in a group of stable dialysis patients with normal pulmonary function (n=6) and a group of dialysis patients with COPD (n=6). Measurements were made predialysis, at 1 h, and postdialysis with both acetate and bicarbonate dialysates. Acetate dialysis decreased PaO 2 in normal and COPD patients at 1 h and postdialysis. Acetate-induced hypoxemia was associated with reduced respiratory CO 2 excretion and hypoventilation but PaCO 2 did not change. This decrease in CO 2 excretion resulted from CO 2 fixation during acetate metabolism and modest CO 2 loss across the dialyzer. Hypoxemia occurred only postdialysis with bicarbonate dialysate in normal and COPD patients. An increased P(A-a)O 2 occurred postdialysis with both dialysates, and was most consistently observed in the COPD patients. In summary, at least two mechanisms contribute to dialysis hypoxemia. With acetate dialysate, alveolar hypoventilation from CO 2 unloading occurs at 1 h and postdialysis due to acetate metabolism. However, abnormalities in ventilation/perfusion contribute to postdialysis hypoxemia observed with both dialysates. In addition, the decrement in PaO 2 associated with dialysis is similar in normal and COPD patients, although preexisting COPD makes postdialysis changes more apparent.
Dose-Dependent Disposition of Sodium Arsenate in Mice Following Acute Oral Exposure

Dose-Dependent Disposition of Sodium Arsenate in Mice Following Acute Oral Exposure. Hughes, M. F., Menache, M., and Thompson, D. J. (1994). Fundam. Appl. Toxicol. 22, 80-89. The effect of dose on arsenate disposition was studied in adult female B6C3F1 mice, dosed po with 0.5 to 5000 μg/kg [73As]arsenate in water. Urine was collected at 1, 2, 4, 8, 12, 24, and 48 hr and feces at 24 and 48 hr postexposure. The mice were euthanized at 48 hr and tissues were removed. Recovery of arsenate-derived radioactivity ranged from 83 to 89%; 66-79% of the dose was excreted in urine, 10-18% in feces, and <1% remained in the tissues. Although dose had no effect on the 48-hr excretion of radioactivity, the level of radioactivity in several tissues increased significantly with dose. The urine was analyzed for arsenic metabolites by using ion chromatography to analyze for arsenate, methylarsonic acid (MMA), and dimethylarsinic acid (DMA); ion-pairing high-performance liquid chromatography was used for arsenite analysis. Arsenate elimination ranged from 3 to 15%. DMA was the predominant metabolite excreted (51-64% of dose), but no effect of dose on its elimination was detected. As the dose of arsenate increased, the amount of MMA excreted (0.1-1.0% of dose) significantly increased. At 5000 μg/kg arsenate, a significant increase in arsenite excretion was observed. At doses of arsenate ⩽500 μg/kg, peak elimination of DMA occurred within 4 hr postexposure. At the 5000 μg/kg dose, DMA peak elimination shifted to 8 hr and a lower amount was excreted. In addition, at the 5000 μg/kg dose, there was an increase of arsenate and arsenite in the 1- and 2-hr urines. These results suggest that an acute dose of arsenate can affect the metabolism of arsenicals. High doses lead to the accumulation of intermediates that are more reactive than DMA, and this response may lead to increased toxicity.
Effect of Chilling Exposure of Tomatoes During Subsequent Ripening

Mature green tomatoes were stored at 4°C, ≥ 90% RH, for up to 39 days and transferred to 21°C, ≥ 90% RH, for further ripening. After 15 days of chilling exposure, stimulation of C2H2 production and increased susceptibility to decay were observed when the fruit was ripened at ambient temperatures. As chilling exposure increased, C2H4, production upon removal to 21°C returned to the level of the control. Irreversible inhibition of color development was observed in fruit exposed to 4°C for 34 days and an increase in CO2 production was noted upon warming of tomatoes chilled for 39 days.
Probing ultrafast electron correlation with double attosecond pulses

Double ionization of He by two intense attosecond pulses has been investigated by using the time-dependent close-coupling method. By adjusting the time delay between the two attosecond pulses so as to coordinate the sequential two-photon absorption in He, we can examine electron correlation effects in this three-body Coulomb system. The double-ionization cross-sections from sequential two-photon absorption indicate that the correlation time between the two electrons [partially/fully ionized], on the order of ∼1.5 fs in the specific case of photon energy eV, can be measured. This demonstrates the feasibility of directly probing ultrafast electron correlation in the time domain.
Two new genera, Crassoseta and Brachysternopsis, of the family diplogyniidae (Acari, Mesostigmata, Trigynaspida)

The genus Crassoseta is erected for three new species of diplogyniid mites taken from passalid beetles collected in Mexico, Brazil and Costa Rica; Brachysternum cornutum Hyatt, 1964 is transferred to this genus and a key to species is given. Brachysternopsk gen.n. is established for B. flechtmanni gen. et sp.n. taken from an ant, Atrica capiguara. in Brazil.
Taui, A high-resolution metabolic imaging biomarker for myocardium

Background Contrast-enhanced H2O T1-weighted cardiovascular MRI is usually interpreted using tracer paradigms; e.g., the extra-/intravascular contrast agent (CA) partition coefficient. However, the signal molecule is water, not CA. Consequently, the myocardial extracellular volume fraction (ECV) is underestimated in proportion to its magnitude. Even more importantly, intercompartmental water exchange kinetics are inaccessible. The mean intracellular water molecule lifetime [taui] is assumed effectively 0; though it is a fraction of a second. For cylindrical myocytes with mean cytolemmal water permeability coefficient PW and diameter d: taui = 4(PW/d). taui -1 is linearly related to PW and to d . However, PW dominates and is itself dominated by active trans-membrane water cycling. Thus, taui -1 is proportional to the driving cytolemmal ATPase ion pump activity.
Additive manufacturing: technology, applications and research needs

Additive manufacturing (AM) technology has been researched and developed for more than 20 years. Rather than removing materials, AM processes make three-dimensional parts directly from CAD models by adding materials layer by layer, offering the beneficial ability to build parts with geometric and material complexities that could not be produced by subtractive manufacturing processes. Through intensive research over the past two decades, significant progress has been made in the development and commercialization of new and innovative AM processes, as well as numerous practical applications in aerospace, automotive, biomedical, energy and other fields. This paper reviews the main processes, materials and applications of the current AM technology and presents future research needs for this technology.
Toward a Cultural Framework for Dialogue About Justice

This article addresses what justice is and how it is perceived by members in the Black community. The Black community is composed of people of all races and ethnicities who live and/or work in pred...
Blind structural similarity estimation of digital images using quantized discrete cosine transform coefficients

Objective image quality assessment is used to develop a quantitative measure in order to predict perceived image quality by exploiting a variety of known properties of the human visual system (HVS). A new paradigm for quality assessment of the image is based on the structural similarity (SSIM) index, which takes advantage of characteristics of the HVS. In order to estimate SSIM, we need to know the source image to quantify the visibility of errors between the distorted image and the referenced image. In many practical applications, however, the reference image is not available and a blind quality assessment should be utilized. In this paper, an algorithm for statistical estimation of the SSIM based on the probability density functions (pdfs) of quantized discrete cosine transform (DCT) coefficients is presented. In the proposed method, we assume that the pdfs of the original DCT coefficients follow a specific distribution. The parameters of this distribution are then obtained from the quantization step size and quantized DCT coefficients of the distorted image, which are then used to calculate the SSIM metric. Our proposed method is, therefore, applicable to the encoding schemes that involve DCT quantization such as JPEG encoding. Numerical results show that the proposed SSIM estimation method provides relative errors that are generally smaller than those of the available peak signal-to-noise ratio estimation schemes for DCT-based images.
Filming the World’s End. Images of the Apocalypse in Lars von Trier’s "Epidemic" and "Melancholia"

Este articulo analiza dos peliculas de Lars von Trier, Epidemia y Melancolia, atendiendo a su concepcion del fin del mundo. Examina si las imagenes apocalipticas de ambas peliculas se presentan como un espectaculo del que se puede disfrutar o si el fin del mundo aparece como un suceso que produce inquietud. Con este proposito, el articulo examina el decorado, la banda sonora, asi como el color de la escenografia de ambas peliculas. El estudio sostiene que Epidemia y Melancolia presentan distintas concepciones del fin del mundo como forma mas radical de apocalipsis. Mientras que Epidemia presenta la extincion de la vida sobre la tierra como un suceso que mueve a la reflexion critica sobre la participacion implicita del publico en el proceso, Melancolia concibe el fin del mundo como un acontecimiento sublime que sabe extraer belleza de su composicion visual y musical, y deja al espectador sumido en una actitud de recepcion mas bien pasiva. En este contexto, cobra importancia el concepto de ‘exceso audiovisual’, que no puede aplicarse al caso de Epidemia, mientras que constituye un elemento central en Melancolia.Abstract This article analyzes Lars von Trier’s films Epidemic and Melancholia with regard to their designs of world demise. It examines whether the apocalyptic images the two films refer to are suggested as a spectacle that is to be enjoyed, or whether world demise appears as an occurrence to unsettle. To that extent, the article inspects the films’ settings, their soundtracks, as well as their mise-en-scenes’ coloring. It contends that both Epidemic and Melancholia differ in their designs of world demise as the most definite form of apocalypse. Whereas Epidemic draws an image of the end of life on the world as an occurrence that critically reflects on the audience’s implicit participation in it, Melancholia designs the end of the world as a sublime event that derives beauty out of its musical and visual composition and leaves the audience in a rather passive state of reception. Important in this context becomes the notion of ‘audio-visual excess’, which proves impossible to be applied to Epidemic while being a central element to Melancholia.
Sex differences in preadolescent self-disclosure

Both amount and content of self-disclosure may vary with sex role. Both adult and preadolescent females have been reported as engaging in greater amounts of self-disclosure than males; the present study attempted to replicate these findings with preadolescents, and to investigate sex differences in the content of self-disclosure. A self-disclosure questionnaire covering a wide range of subjects was administered to 307 urban children. The sex difference on the total number of items revealed to a friend closely approached significance, with girls showing greater disclosure. When only “intimate” content items were examined, the sex difference reached clear significance. Content analysis showed that girls were more willing to reveal items related to emotionality, anxiety, and dependence.
Cancer-specific beliefs and survival in nonmetastatic colorectal cancer patients.

BACKGROUND: Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the third leading cause of cancer mortality in the United States. Associations between cancer-specific beliefs (beliefs) and survival have been observed among other cancer populations, but similar research in CRC patients is virtually nonexistent, especially in racially diverse populations. The relationship between beliefs and survival was investigated in a cohort of African Americans and non-Hispanic whites with newly diagnosed nonmetastatic CRC, followed for up to 15 years. METHODS: The authors analyzed data from a population-based cohort of 286 individuals (115 African Americans and 171 whites, approximately 52% women) diagnosed with nonmetastatic CRC in Connecticut, 1987 to 1991. Cox proportional hazards models were adjusted for sociodemographic (age, sex, race, education, income, occupational status, marital status) and biomedical (stage at diagnosis, histological grade, treatment) variables. RESULTS: Not believing in the curability of cancer increased the risk of all-cause mortality (hazard ratio [HR], 1.59; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.06-2.39) and CRC-specific mortality (HR, 1.65; 95% CI, 0.90-3.03; P=.10). These multivariate estimates were not altered by additional adjustment for insurance coverage, obesity, smoking, alcohol consumption, or comorbidity. Furthermore, the association between perceived curability and survival did not vary significantly by key sociodemographic or biomedical factors. Other beliefs were not associated with survival. CONCLUSIONS: Among a racially diverse cohort of men and women with CRC, believing in the curability of cancer was independently associated with survival over a 15-year period. Confirmation of the role of cancer-specific beliefs on survival and study of the potential biobehavioral mechanisms is needed. Findings may inform the design of interventions for cancer survivors.
Skype: a tool for functional assessment in orthopaedic research

Skype is a free program which enables PC users to make video calls to other users with Internet access. We carried out a prospective review of all acromioclavicular joint hook plates for lateral-third clavicle fractures over a five-year period. Functional assessment with Oxford and Constant shoulder scores were carried out using Skype and compared to outpatient review using the Bland-Altman method. Of 36 patients (mean age 36 years), 33 had a computer with a video camera, all 33 had Internet access and 22 were already users of Skype. In total 29 patients were happy to take part in Skype assessment (83%). In comparison with outpatient review, there was a mean difference in the Oxford score of -0.48 (95% confidence interval -0.84, -0.12); the mean difference for the Constant score was -0.68 (95% confidence interval -1.08, -0.29). These differences were not clinically significant, confirming that Skype can be used as an alternative to goniometry in this clinical setting. A survey showed that 93% of 29 patients surveyed preferred the use of Skype for follow-up, mainly due to the convenience and cost-saving involved. The study demonstrates the potential for this new technique in providing patients with more options for follow-up.
Elective palliative total hip replacement in a patient with lymphoma and advanced lung cancer

Total hip replacement is among the most effective procedures in medicine, providing sustained relief of hip pain in more than 90% of recipients, with perioperative mortality rates less than 1% (1–3). The procedure is highly cost-effective and may even be cost-saving (4). Originally introduced in the 1960s, total hip replacement is presently performed on more than 260,000 persons annually in the US (5). The indications for elective total hip replacement have traditionally included advanced joint destruction and severe pain-related functional loss in otherwise healthy older adults. Data have emerged in the last decade showing that patients operated on later in the course of disease experience worse functional outcome (6). Consequently, the indications for total hip replacement are broadening to include patients with less severe functional loss. Although the indications for total joint replacement are expanding, the procedure is typically reserved for patients who are generally healthy. Texts suggest that medical conditions that might influence the outcome of total joint replacement should be recognized and stabilized prior to surgery (7). We report the case of an 82-year-old woman with advanced metastatic lung cancer (not involving the hip) and severely symptomatic hip osteoarthritis (OA) who underwent elective left total hip replacement in order to provide pain relief in her last year or two of life. We discuss the limited literature on the use of elective total hip replacement and similar procedures as palliative care for patients with terminal conditions not involving the index joint. We suggest that total joint replacement be considered as a therapy for patients with symptomatic, advanced OA who are receiving palliative care for terminal medical conditions. More generally, we suggest that a wide range of elective procedures traditionally contraindicated in patients with terminal illness may in fact be entirely appropriate when viewed in a palliative care context.
Intense Particle Beams

Substantial progress has been made recently in generation, focusing, and transport of intense electron and light ion beams. The impetus for this work has been to develop a 1 MJ, 1014W particle beam device for inertial confinement ignition experiments and to create a practical technology base for application to future commercial power reactors.
Phycological notes. VI. New records, new combinations, and noteworthy observations concerning marine algae of California1

Abstract Distribution of range is extended for 15 species. New combinations are: Ulva costata, Ectocarpus parvus, Feldmannia hemispherica, and Hildenbrandia dawsonii. Placed in synonymy are: Ectocarpus flocculiformis, E. socialis, E. mucronatus, and E. oviger. The genus Epicladia is merged with Entocladia.
TRH stimulation test as a predictor of acute and long-term antidepressant response in major depression

We assessed the prognostic utility of the TRH stimulation test by examining (a) the relationship between pre-treatment delta TSH and acute response to fluoxetine treatment, and (b) the relationship between the change in delta TSH (delta delta TSH value) after repeated TRH testing at 6 weeks of fluoxetine treatment and long-term outcome during maintenance fluoxetine or placebo therapy. 43 MDD patients were studied with sequential TRH tests at 6-week intervals. Fluoxetine 'responders' were defined as patients with a Hamilton Depression Rating Scale score < or = 7 by week 9 of treatment and who remained in remission at least 3 additional weeks. These subjects were then randomized to one of four fluoxetine/placebo treatment groups and long-term outcome assessed. Overall, there was no difference in the mean pre-treatment delta TSH values between acute fluoxetine responders and nonresponders. Moreover, we observed similar delta delta TSH values in patients who maintained long-term remission compared to those who relapsed during maintenance with either fluoxetine or placebo. In contrast to prior reports of an higher delta delta TSH value in long-term remitters, the present observation of similar mean delta delta TSH values patients with long-term remission compared to those who relapsed suggest a limited prognostic utility for the TRH stimulation test in MDD.
Information-Theoretical Analysis of Time-Correlated Single-Photon Counting Measurements of Single Molecules

Time-correlated single photon counting allows luminescence lifetime information to be determined on a single molecule level. This paper develops a formalism to allow information theory analysis of the ability of luminescence lifetime measurements to resolve states in a single molecule. It analyzes the information content of the photon stream and the fraction of that information that is relevant to the state determination problem. Experimental losses of information due to instrument response, digitization, and different types of background are calculated and a procedure to determine the optimal value of experimental parameters is demonstrated. This paper shows how to use the information theoretical formalism to evaluate the number of photons required to distinguish dyes that differ only by lifetime. It extends this idea to include distinguishing molecular states that differ in the electron transfer quenching or resonant energy transfer and shows how the differences between the lifetime of signal and background can help distinguish the dye position in an excitation beam.
siRNA Conjugates Carrying Sequentially Assembled Trivalent N-Acetylgalactosamine Linked Through Nucleosides Elicit Robust Gene Silencing In Vivo in Hepatocytes

Asialoglycoprotein receptor (ASGPR) mediated delivery of triantennary N-acetylgalactosamine (GalNAc) conjugated short interfering RNAs (siRNAs) to hepatocytes is a promising paradigm for RNAi therapeutics. Robust and durable gene silencing upon subcutaneous administration at therapeutically acceptable dose levels resulted in the advancement of GalNAc-conjugated oligonucleotide-based drugs into preclinical and clinical developments. To systematically evaluate the effect of display and positioning of the GalNAc moiety within the siRNA duplex on ASGPR binding and RNAi activity, nucleotides carrying monovalent GalNAc were designed. Evaluation of clustered and dispersed incorporation of GalNAc units to the sense (S) strand indicated that sugar proximity is critical for ASGPR recognition, and location of the clustered ligand impacts the intrinsic potency of the siRNA. An array of nucleosidic GalNAc monomers resembling a trivalent ligand at or near the 3′ end of the S strand retained in vitro and in vivo siRNA a...