cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Short-time stochastic electron

As in previous stochastic interpretations of quantum mechanics, the electron is treated as a modified Brownian particle. Here, however, the analysis is based on extensions of the short-time Ornstein-Uhlenbeck description of classical Brownian motion, rather than the approximate, long-time Einstein-Smoluchowski treatment utilized in the earlier work. It is shown that Schrodinger's equation with its proper probabilistic interpretation emerges as an asymptotic description of such a system. After reviewing relevant aspects of Brownian motion, the appropriate equation for the displacement distribution in the Ornstein-Uhlenbeck framework is derived. The Brownian system is then coupled to external potentials via a modified Lagrangian formulation, resulting in coupled equations which, except for transient terms, are shown to be equivalent to Schrodinger's equation. These transients imply that the short-time stochastic model, while reproducing the early successes of quantum mechanics, is, in principal, experimentally distinguishable from it.
Experimental evaluation of content distribution with NDN and HTTP

Content distribution is a primary activity on the Internet. Name-centric network architectures support content distribution intrinsically. Named Data Networking (NDN), one recent such scheme, names packets rather than end-hosts, thereby enabling packets to be cached and redistributed by routers. Among alternative name-based systems, HTTP is the most significant by any measure. A majority of today's content distribution services leverage the widely deployed HTTP infrastructure, such as web servers and caching proxies. As a result, HTTP can be viewed as a practical, name-based content distribution solution. Of course, NDN and HTTP do not overlap entirely in their capabilities and design goals, but both support name-based content distribution. This paper presents an experimental performance evaluation of NDN-based and HTTP-based content distribution solutions. Our findings verify popular intuition, but also surprise in some ways. In wired networks with local-area transmission latencies, the HTTP-based solution dramatically outperforms NDN, with roughly 10× greater sustained throughput. In networks with lossy access links, such as wireless links with 10% drop rates, or with non-local transmission delays, due to faster link retransmission brought by architectural advantages of NDN, the situation reverses and NDN outperforms HTTP, with sustained throughput increased by roughly 4× over a range of experimental scenarios.
Intrinsic Bending of Microtubule Protofilaments

The complex polymerization dynamics of the microtubule (MT) plus end are closely linked to the hydrolysis of the GTP nucleotide bound to the β-tubulin. The destabilization is thought to be associated with the conformational change of the tubulin dimers from the straight conformation in the MT lattice to a curved conformation. It remains under debate whether this transformation is directly related to the nucleotide state, or a consequence of the longitudinal or lateral contacts in the MT lattice. Here, we present large-scale atomistic simulations of short tubulin protofilaments with both nucleotide states, starting from both extreme conformations. Our simulations indicate that both interdimer and intradimer contacts in both GDP and GTP-bound tubulin dimers and protofilaments in solution bend. There are no observable differences between the mesoscopic properties of the contacts in GTP and GDP-bound tubulin or the intradime and interdimer interfaces.
Model Potential Calculation of the Raman Tensor for Be, Mg, and Zn

A model potential calculation of the first derivative of the electronic polarizability with respect to an atomic displacement for Be, Mg, and Zn is presented. The magnitudes of these derivatives, which govern the intensity of the first-order Raman effect in the corresponding crystals at the argon-ion laser wavelength of 4880 \AA{}, are 39.7 ${\mathrm{\AA{}}}^{2}$ for Be, 11.2 ${\mathrm{\AA{}}}^{2}$ for Mg, and 18.9 ${\mathrm{\AA{}}}^{2}$ for Zn. The dependence of the real and imaginary parts of the polarizability derivative on the frequency of the incident light has also been calculated for these crystals.
Phosphatidyl choline interaction with bovine serum albumin: effect of the physical state of the lipid on protein-lipid complex formation.

Abstract Radioactively labeled [14C]phosphatidyl choline dispersed on Celite was equilibrated with bovine serum albumin solutions buffered at pH 8.0. Phosphatidyl choline was rapidly solubilized in the presence of serum albumin, and formed stable protein-lipid complexes which were isolated by gel-filtration through a Sepharose 4B column. Under similar conditions, equilibration of the protein with phosphatidyl choline liposome dispersions in buffer did not result in complex formation. The altered physical state of phosphatidyl choline on the weakly adsorbing Celite surface appears to be essential for binding by native bovine serum albumin. This work reports the first observation of phosphatidyl choline binding to native serum albumin in bulk phase and suggests the possibility of exposing monodisperse lipids, under controlled conditions, to proteins having lipid binding properties.
DXA estimates of vertebral volumetric bone mineral density in children: potential advantages of paired posteroanterior and lateral scans.

Abstract Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) estimates of areal bone mineral density (BMD) are confounded by bone size in children. Two strategies have been proposed to estimate vertebral volumetric BMD: (1) bone mineral apparent density (BMAD) is based on the posteroanterior (PA) spine scan; (2) width-adjusted bone mineral density (WABMD) is based on paired PA lateral scans. The objective of this study was to compare DXA estimates of vertebral bone mineral content (BMC), volume and volumetric BMD obtained from Hologic PA scans (Hologic, Inc., Bedford, MA) alone, and paired PA lateral scans in 124 healthy children, ages 4 to 20 yr. The PA scans were used to estimate bone volume (PA Volume) as (PA Area) 1.5 and BMAD as [(PA BMC)/(PA Volume)]. Paired PA lateral scans were used to estimate width-adjusted bone volume (WA Volume) as [(π/4)(PA width)(lateral depth)(vertebral height)] and WABMD as [(lateral BMC)/(WA Volume)]. Generalized estimating equations were used to compare the relationship between scan type (PA vs. paired PA lateral) and bone outcomes, and the effects of height and maturation on this relationship. The estimates of BMC and volume derived from PA scans and paired PA lateral scans were highly correlated (r>0.97); WABMD and BMAD were less correlated (r=0.81). The increases in BMC, volume, and volumetric BMD with greater height and maturation were significantly larger (all p p
Detection of novel copy number variants in uterine leiomyomas using high-resolution SNP arrays

Uterine leiomyomas (ULs) are benign monoclonal tumors originating from myometrial tissue in the uterus. Genetic pathways that lead to myometrial transformation into leiomyomas are largely unknown. Approximately 40% of ULs are karyotypically abnormal by G-banding; however, the remaining 60% of leiomyomas do not contain cytogenetically visible genomic rearrangements. Recent technological advances such as array based comparative genomic hybridization (array CGH) and dense single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) arrays have enabled genome-wide scanning for genomic rearrangements missed by karyotype banding analysis. In the current study, we employed a high resolution SNP microarray on 16 randomly selected ULs and normal myometrium samples to detect submicroscopic ( 5 Mb, whereas 31% of which (5/16) contained only submicroscopic copy number changes (<5 Mb). We corroborated 3/5 submicroscopic changes using quantitative PCR, meaning that ultimately, 19% of our samples (3/16) were found to contain only submicroscopic changes. Novel submicroscopic aberrations on chromosomal segments 1q42.13, 11q13.1 and 13q12.13 and large, previously unreported deletions on 15q11.2-q23, 17p-q21.31 and 22q12.2-q12.3 were identified. Previously reported deletions on 1p, 3q, 7q, 13, and chromosome 14q were also noted. RHOU, MAP3K11 and WASF3 gene copy numbers were changed in the subset of leiomyomas with submicroscopic aberrations, and these genes have previously been implicated in tumorigenesis. Our findings support the hypothesis that a significant fraction of ULs without visible cytogenetic changes harbor submicroscopic genomic rearrangements which may in turn contribute to transformation of normal myometrial tissue into leiomyomas.
The Likelihood of Arrest: A Routine Activity Theory Approach

Routine activities theory (RAT) is traditionally drawn upon to highlight the role of offender motivation, target suitability, and effective guardianship in explaining victimization patterns. While an extensive literature base supports RAT, prior studies have neglected to examine the impact of offender motivation, target suitability, and guardianship on diverse outcomes of violent crimes. The current study extends prior research grounded in RAT by exploring the role of indicators of the central elements highlighted by the theory in understanding the likelihood that an offender will be arrested. As such, this study adds to the growing body of literature on RAT by exploring its relevance to a more diverse set of outcomes. To do this, we draw on the wealth of data on offender, victim, and incident characteristics available in the National Incident Based Reporting System (NIBRS). Results from the analysis offer a moderate to strong level of support for extending RAT to understanding variation in the likelihood that an offender will be arrested. The insights gained from a RAT framework were further discussed in relation to our findings.
PIPECURONIUM-INDUCED PROLONGATION OF VECURONIUM NEUROMUSCULAR BLOCK

We have examined the prolongation of a maintenance dose of vecuronium after an intubating dose of pipecuronium in 45 patients who received either pipecuronium 70 μg kg-1 or vecuronium 200 μg kg-1 i.v. for tracheal intubation, followed by either pipecuronium 10 μg kg-1 or vecuronium 15 μg kg-1 for maintenance of neuromuscular block. The duration of the vecuronium maintenance dose was greater after pipecuronium (40 (so 12) min) than after vecuronium (29 (9) min) (P = 0.02). The duration of pipecuronium after pipecuronium (49 (15) min) was similar to that of vecuronium after pipecuronium. We conclude that the duration of action of vecuronium is prolonged by prior administration of pipecuronium. (Br. J. Anaesth. 1993; 70: 446–448)
Resistance issues in treating chronic hepatitis B

HBV resistance is the main limitation of long-term therapy with oral HBV polymerase inhibitors, which represent the most common approach in the treatment of chronic hepatitis B. The complete suppression of HBV replication minimises the risk of resistance and therefore close monitoring with sensitive HBV DNA determinations at least every 6 months is required. Lamivudine monotherapy has the highest risk of selecting resistant mutations compared with other anti-HBV agents and is not currently considered as an optimal first-line treatment. Adefovir has a similar profile but less potency than the other nucleotide analog, tenofovir, whereas telbivudine selects for lamivudine resistance mutants and therefore its place is currently unclear. Entecavir and possibly tenofovir are the two most potent anti-HBV agents with the best resistance profile in nucleo(s)tide-naive patients, while tenofovir represents the optimal treatment for patients with lamivudine resistance. Combination of two agents without cross-resistance should be used in any patient with HBV resistance.
Transcriptional regulation of the heme oxygenase 1 gene by pyrrolidine dithiocarbamate

Heme oxygenase 1 (HO-1), a stress response protein, is highly induced in response to various agents causing oxidative stress including ultraviolet irradiation, sodium arsenite, hyperoxia, and glutathione depletors. We recently characterized the induction of HO-1 gene expression by nitric oxide (NO) and postulated that the addition of an antioxidant, such as pyrrolidine dithiocarbamate (PDTC), would attenuate HO-1 induction in response to NO. Surprisingly, PDTC was a very potent inducer of HO-1 gene expression, causing increases in the steady-state level of HO-1 mRNA in rat aortic vascular smooth muscle (aVSM) cells in a time- and concentration-dependent manner. PDTC-induced HO-1 gene expression correlated with a rise in protein levels and was dependent on both increased gene transcription and mRNA stability. Deletional analyses of the proximal promoter and the entire 5′ distal upstream region of the HO-1 gene (11 kbp) were performed including the two 5′ distal enhancers, SX2 and AB1, located 4 kbp and 10 ...
Optimal vaccination and bednet maintenance for the control of malaria in a region with naturally acquired immunity

Abstract Following over two decades of research, the malaria vaccine candidate RTS,S has reached the final stages of vaccine trials, demonstrating an efficacy of roughly 50% in young children. Regions with high malaria prevalence tend to have high levels of naturally acquired immunity (NAI) to severe malaria; NAI is caused by repeated exposure to infectious bites and results in large asymptomatic populations. To address concerns about how these vaccines will perform in regions with existing NAI, we developed a simple malaria model incorporating vaccination and NAI. Typically, if the basic reproduction number (R0) for malaria is greater than unity, the disease will persist; otherwise, the disease will become extinct. However, analysis of this model revealed that NAI, compounded by a subpopulation with only partial protection to malaria, may render vaccination efforts ineffective and potentially detrimental to malaria control, by increasing R0 and increasing the likelihood of malaria persistence even when R 0 1 . The likelihood of this scenario increases when non-immune infected individuals are treated disproportionately compared with partially immune individuals – a plausible scenario since partially immune individuals are more likely to be asymptomatically infected. Consequently, we argue that active case-detection of asymptomatic infections is a critical component of an effective malaria control program. We then investigated optimal vaccination and bednet control programs under two endemic settings with varying levels of naturally acquired immunity: a typical setting under which prevalence decays when R 0 1 , and a setting in which subthreshold endemic equilibria exist. A qualitative comparison of the optimal control results under the first setting revealed that the optimal policy differs depending on whether the goal is to reduce total morbidity, or to reduce clinical infections. Furthermore, this comparison dictates that control programs should place less effort in vaccination as the level of NAI in a population, and as disease prevalence, increases. In the second setting, we demonstrated that the optimal policy is able to confer long-term benefits with a 10-year control program by pushing the system into a new state where the disease-free equilibrium becomes the attracting equilibrium. While this result suggests that one can theoretically achieve long-term benefits with a short-term strategy, we illustrate that in this second setting, a small environmental change, or the introduction of new cases via immigration, places the population at high risk for a malaria epidemic.
Understanding school health environment through interviews with key stakeholders in Lao PDR, Mongolia, Nepal and Sri Lanka

Studies on health promoting schools (HPS) in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) are scarce. To contribute to the development of HPS in these countries, we conducted formative research to understand the school environment in Lao PDR, Mongolia, Nepal, and Sri Lanka. Forty-three teachers, 10 government workers and 5 parents participated in three one-on-one interviews and 14 natural group interviews. Six themes emerged that centered on insufficient resources as reasons for suboptimal health conditions. At the individual level, participants mentioned the deficiency of personal resources to cope with cold weather and poor diet. At the school level, the lack of physical resources such as water purifiers and latrines was discussed. Interviewees also pointed out the schools' overdependence on external resources and therefore the lack of sustainability. Last, the shortage of health services at the school and community level was commonly mentioned. Based on these results, we believe that the basic concept of HPSs should also be applied when working with schools in LMICs. In conclusion, there was a lack of perception of the importance of policy and capacity development programs, which are important in developing HPSs. Therefore, future school health programs should stress improving these elements.
Appraising Children for Mental Retardation The Usefulness and Limitations of IQ Testing

As a result of their unique relationship with families, pediatricians are often faced with the difficult task of counseling the parents of a mentally retarded child. For this reason it is imperative that he understand the nature of the tools used to evaluate the retarded. Since the IQ test is still the most commonly used tool to assess presence or absence of retardation, this paper has briefly reviewed the concepts of intelligence, the IQ, and their interrelationships and their usefulness when evaluating the mentally retarded child.
Corpus luteum function and regression

Several conclusions can be drawn from a review of the formation, function and regression of the corpus luteum. Ovulation and luteinization encompass degenerative and growth changes. Inflammatory conditions associated with ovulation lead to the breakdown of the follicle wall and the membrana granulosa, along with initial damage to theca and granulosa cells. The early corpus luteum is, therefore, a tissue in stress. Thus, one view of the corpus luteum is that it, like the phoenix, rises from the inflammatory ashes of the postovulatory follicle to exist briefly and to be consumed by a similar process at regression. The luteinization process is associated with parenchymal cell hypertrophy and matrix remodelling, which appear to be regulated by IGFs and androgens, and with angiogenesis, which is induced mostly by bFGF. High levels of functional activity of the corpus luteum are regulated by control at the level of the LH receptor, whose activation leads to the translocation of cholesterol into the cell and mitochondria for conversion to steroids. Functional luteal regression can be considered as another inflammatory-like condition with apparent activation of the immune system, along with cytokine, reactive oxygen, and eicosanoid production. Structural luteolysis is subsequently invoked that leads to matrix dissolution and cellular degeneration. It is perhaps not surprising that the invocation of immune activation, which causes the production of DNA-damaging reactive oxygen species and cytotoxic cytokines each cycle, may increase the risk of pathologies. One example may be ovarian cancer which appears to be associated with the use of fertility-enhancing drugs and associated with the number of ovulations in a woman's lifetime.
The essential role of bursicon during Drosophila development

The protective external cuticle of insects does not accommodate growth during development. To compensate for this, the insect life cycle is punctuated by a series of molts. During the molt, a new and larger cuticle is produced underneath the old cuticle. Replacement of the smaller, old cuticle culminates with ecdysis, a stereotyped sequence of shedding behaviors. Following each ecdysis, the new cuticle must expand and harden. Studies from a variety of insect species indicate that this cuticle hardening is regulated by the neuropeptide bursicon. However, genetic evidence from Drosophila melanogaster only supports such a role for bursicon after the final ecdysis, when the adult fly emerges. The research presented here investigates the role that bursicon has at stages of Drosophila development which precede adult ecdysis. We addressed the mechanism and timing of hormonal release from bursicon-positive motor neurons at the larval neuromuscular junction. Our findings indicate that vesicle membrane proteins which are required for classical neurotransmitter release are also expressed at these peptidergic motor neuron terminals; and that these terminals secrete hormones including bursicon at the neuromuscular junction, coinciding with larval ecdysis. This release surprisingly occurs in two waves, indicating bursicon secretion preceding and following the ecdysis sequence. Next, we addressed the functional significance of bursicon signaling during development, by disrupting the expression of its receptor, rickets, in different target tissues. We determined that rickets is developmentally required in the epidermis and imaginal discs for proper formation of the prepupa. It is also required to harden the pharate adult cuticle before eclosion. Significantly, we have also found that the available rickets mutants are not genetic nulls as previously believed, which necessitated the use of targeted RNA interference to disrupt rickets expression. Our results are consistent with the view that bursicon is the insect tanning hormone. However, this is the first study to rigorously demonstrate both its release and function during development. Importantly, we provide new evidence that bursicon release can precede the initiation of larval ecdysis, and that bursicon tans the puparium. Our results firmly establish bursicon signaling as essential to insect growth and development.
Facilitation methods for use with EMS tools to enable rapid development of high quality business process models

An electronic meeting system (EMS) designed to support construction of IDEFO models can effectively support groups for rapid development of models. Such an EMS tool enables more domain experts to directly and productively participate during model development than traditional approaches supported by single-user tools. Although previous research has demonstrated that EMS-IDEFO tools can used to rapidly develop some model content, the corresponding facilitation methods produced models that included far too many inputs, controls, outputs, and mechanisms arrows with unspecified sources or destinations. Since such dangling connections signify incompleteness, ambiguity, and inconsistency in the models, a better approach was sought. The paper reports research on modeling approaches for use with EMS that produced different levels of productivity and model quality. Although some approaches produced suboptimal quality, a more successful approach was derived. This approach, the top-down, integrated (TDI) approach, overcomes significant problems inherent in the other approaches. The TDI approach allows models to be developed two to three times faster than traditional modeling support and yet avoids model ambiguities and inconsistencies.
Cyclosporin A stimulates transcription and procollagen secretion in tubulointerstitial fibroblasts and proximal tubular cells.

The brief study described in this report was undertaken to determine whether cyclosporin A had any direct effect on the expression of tubulointerstitial procollagens in cultured renal cells. Our findings indicate that murine tubulointerstitial fibroblasts secreted significantly more procollagen type I after the addition of cyclosporin A, whereas syngeneic proximal tubular cells expressed significantly more types I and IV procollagen after cyclosporin stimulation. These increases in procollagen gene product correlated concordantly with changes in the levels of cytoplasmic mRNA with procollagen-specific cDNA probes. Transfection of these fibroblasts and proximal tubular cells with chimeric gene constructs contaming enhancer/promoter elements for a2(I) and aI(IV) procollagen linked to a chloramphenicol acetyltransferase reporter gene indicates that the stimulatory effect of cyclosporin on procollagen expression depends, at least to some extent, on an increase in transcriptional activity.
Clonidine diminishes c-jun gene expression in the cardiovascular sensitive areas of the rat brainstem.

The present study investigated the effect of clonidine on the basal and inducible c-jun and c-fos mRNA expression in the nucleus tractus solitarius (middle, mNTS, and rostral, rNTS) and the rostral ventrolateral medulla (caudal, cRVLM, and rostral, rRVLM). Conscious rats received saline, clonidine (30 μg/kg, i.v.), saline plus sodium nitroprusside (NP), or clonidine plus NP. Under basal conditions (saline-infused rats), c-jun mRNA was expressed in the mNTS and rRVLM but not in the rNTS or cRVLM whereas c-fos mRNA was not detectable. Clonidine attenuated the increases in c-fos in the mNTS and cRVLM and c-jun gene expression in the mNTS and rRVLM caused by NP-evoked hypotension and also reduced the basal expression of c-jun mRNA in the mNTS and rRVLM. These findings establish a causal link between clonidine inhibition of c-fos expression in brainstem and its hypotensive action, and provide the first evidence that clonidine attenuates the expression of the closely linked c-jun gene in neurons implicated in centrally mediated hypotension.
Sensitivity and reproducibility of standardized-competitive RT-PCR for transcript quantification and its comparison with real time RT-PCR.

Probe based detection assays form the mainstay of transcript quantification. Problems with these assays include varying hybridization efficiencies of the probes used for transcript quantification and the expense involved. We examined the ability of a standardized competitive RT-PCR (StaRT PCR) assay to quantify transcripts of 4 cell cycle associated genes (RB, E2F1, CDKN2A and PCNA) in two cell lines (T24 & LD419) and compared its efficacy with the established Taqman real time quantitative RT-PCR assay. We also assessed the sensitivity, reproducibility and consistency of StaRT PCR. StaRT PCR assay is based on the incorporation of competitive templates (CT) in precisely standardized quantities along with the native template (NT) in a PCR reaction. This enables transcript quantification by comparing the NT and CT band intensities at the end of the PCR amplification. The CT serves as an ideal internal control. The transcript numbers are expressed as copies per million transcripts of a control gene such as β-actin (ACTB). The NT and CT were amplified at remarkably similar rates throughout the StaRT PCR amplification cycles, and the coefficient of variation was least (<3.8%) when the NT/CT ratio was kept as close to 1:1 as possible. The variability between the rates of amplification in different tubes subjected to the same StaRT PCR reaction was very low and within the range of experimental noise. Further, StaRT PCR was sensitive enough to detect variations as low as 10% in endogenous actin transcript quantity (p < 0.01 by the paired student's t-test). StaRT PCR correlated well with Taqman real time RT-PCR assay in terms of transcript quantification efficacy (p < 0.01 for all 4 genes by the Spearman Rank correlation method) and the ability to discriminate between cell types and confluence patterns. StaRT PCR is thus a reliable and sensitive technique that can be applied to medium-high throughput quantitative transcript measurement. Further, it correlates well with Taqman real time PCR in terms of quantitative and discriminatory ability. This label-free, inexpensive technique may provide the ability to generate prognostically important molecular signatures unique to individual tumors and may enable identification of novel therapeutic targets.
Symplectic Twist Maps and the Theorem of Conley-Zehnder for General Cotangent Bundles

We announce the existence and multiplicity of periodic orbits for time dependent Hamiltonian systems on cotangent bundle of arbitrary compact manifolds. We discretize the variational problem by decomposing the time 1 map into a product of symplectic twist maps.
Emotional and Behavioral Disorders in 1.5th Generation, 2nd Generation Immigrant Children, and Foreign Adoptees

Existing theories (e.g., acculturative stress theory) cannot adequately explain why mental disorders in immigrants are less prevalent than in non-immigrants. In this paper, the culture-gene co-evolutionary theory of mental disorders was utilized to generate a novel hypothesis that connection to heritage culture reduces the risk for mental disorders in immigrant children. Four groups of children aged 2–17 years were identified from the 2007 United States National Survey of Children’s Health: 1.5th generation immigrant children (n = 1378), 2nd generation immigrant children (n = 4194), foreign adoptees (n = 270), and non-immigrant children (n = 54,877). The 1.5th generation immigrant children’s connection to their heritage culture is stronger than or similar to the 2nd generation immigrants, while the foreign adoptees have little connection to their birth culture. Controlling for age, sex, family type and SES, the odds for having ADD/ADHD, Conduct Disorder, Anxiety Disorder, and Depression diagnosis were the lowest for the 1.5th generation immigrant children, followed by the 2nd generation immigrant children and the foreign adoptees. The foreign adoptees and non-adopted children were similar in the odds of having these disorders. Connection to heritage culture might be the underlying mechanism that explained recent immigrants’ lower rates of mental disorders.
Autonomic control of heart rate in dogs treated chronically with morphine.

The vagotonic effect of chronic morphine on the parasympathetic control of the heart was examined in dogs treated with morphine for 2 wk. Because normal vagal function is critical to myocardial sta...
Sicilian Folk Narrative versus Sicilian-American Literature: Mangione’s “Mount Allegro”

Considered by some critics to be a classic of Italian-American literature, Jerre Mangione's Mount Allegro has been praised for its "folkloric popular humus, ... [its] social voice celebrating its own subaltern condition..., [its] cultural patrimony of...Sicilian immigrants [that] rests on oral telling, the authority of the speakers, legend, fable,... the commonsense wisdom of their popular ethnic culture"-i.e., its "poetics, of the art of storytelling" (Boelhower 205-06). But, while Vladimir Propp's interpretation of folklore as a unique form of poetic creation with its own structural and linguistic principles seems valid in theory with regard to many indigenous and ethnic people's narrative techniques (145-52), in the case of Mangione, I maintain that Propp's view does not apply. To substantiate my point, I will focus first on what I see as genuinely ethnic in Sicilian storytelling by analyzing selections from a corpus of oral histories I collected several years ago in the Sicilian peasant/fishing village of Trappeto, not far from Mangione's place of origin, Agrigento.1 Locating Trappetese narratives in Kellogg's and Scholes's context of "an amalgam of myth, legend and folktale" ("Plot" 288), I will interpret the forms and contents of my primary sources in Wole Soyinka's terms of "aesthetic artifacts and utilitarian products..., the cohering expression of intellectual life..., modalities of existence" (111). Lastly, I intend to illustrate how Mangione does not artistically substantiate his own claim that he embodies the ethnic soul of the
Temperature as a Factor in Resistance of Young Puppies to Canine Herpesvirus

The age of an animal at the time of infection with many viruses often determines the outcome of disease [1]. Both in laboratory animals and in the natural host, there is a clear relationship between the age of a host and its susceptibility to infections with herpesvirus. This was first demonstrated by Andervont [2], who found that adult mice are more resistant to herpes simplex virus than younger animals, except when inoculated by the intracerebral route. Similar observations have been made for other animal species naturally infected with herpesviruses [3], including canine
LONG-TERM STATIN USE FOLLOWING RE-INITIATION AMONG MEDICARE BENEFICIARIES WITH CORONARY HEART DISEASE

The benefits of statin use after a myocardial infarction (MI) hospitalization accrue over time. Discontinuing statins in the year following initiation is common. We determined the percentage of Medicare beneficiaries who re-initiate statins and had high statin persistence following re-initiation.
Characterization of Printing Inks Using DART-Q-TOF-MS and Attenuated Total Reflectance (ATR) FTIR

The rise in improved and widely accessible printing technology has resulted in an interest to develop rapid and minimally destructive chemical analytical techniques that can characterize printing inks for forensic document analysis. Chemical characterization of printing inks allows for both discrimination of inks originating from different sources and the association of inks originating from the same source. Direct analysis in real-time mass spectrometry (DART-MS) and attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR) were used in tandem to analyze four different classes of printing inks: inkjets, toners, offset, and intaglio. A total of 319 samples or ~ 80 samples from each class were analyzed directly on a paper substrate using the two methods. DART-MS was found to characterize the semi-volatile polymeric vehicle components, while ATR-FTIR provided chemical information associated with the bulk components of these inks. Complimentary data results in improved discrimination when both techniques are used in succession resulting in >96% discrimination for all toners, 95% for all inkjets, >92% for all offset, and >54% for all intaglio inks.
Novel Spectroscopy of Spatially Confined Acoustic Phonons in Nanometer Scale Structures

In this paper we describe a novel spectroscopy of one-dimensional acoustic modes in narrow Au-Pd wires deposited on silicon substrates. The spectroscopy is based on electron heating measurements in which the low temperature electrical resistance of the wires is measured as a function of an applied electric field.
Acute Cholecystitis Detected by Serial Emergency Department Focused Right Upper Quadrant Ultrasound

Abstract Acute cholecystitis is a common etiology of acute right upper quadrant pain in patients presenting to the emergency department (ED). The use of ED-focused right upper quadrant ultrasound (RUQ US) is becoming more widely utilized to evaluate abdominal pain thought to be hepatobiliary in nature. We describe a case series of two patients with acute cholecystitis detected by serial ED-focused RUQ US. Case 1: A woman presented to the ED with epigastric pain of acute onset. She was initially found to have a mild leukocytosis and cholelithiasis detected by ED-focused RUQ US. Seventy-five minutes later, the patient had a repeat bedside ultrasound by the same sonographer that showed visual evidence of acute cholecystitis that was later confirmed by surgical pathology. She was treated operatively. Case 2: A man with known cholelithiasis presents to the ED with acute-onset RUQ pain. Initial RUQ ultrasound performed by the Department of Radiology (University of Colorado Hospital) was equivocal, showing cholelithiasis with a mildly thickened wall and no pericholecystic fluid. A repeat ED-focused RUQ ultrasound 5 hours later showed increased wall thickness and pericholecystic fluid. The patient was subsequently taken for same-day cholecystectomy. This case series demonstrates the dynamic and progressive nature of acute cholecystitis detected by ED-focused RUQ US. It also highlights how serial bedside ultrasonography can reduce harm, appropriately triage patients with hepatobiliary disease and lead to reductions in overall morbidity.
Introduction of IPD in State-owned Enterprisse

The paper introduces the background of IPD in state-owned enterprises and the concepts of IPD,analyzes the problem of RD management in state-owned enterprises.Actual content and cautions are shown and also the advice is introduced according to the particularity of state-owned enterprises.It might give a reference to the improvement of RD management.
An Exploratory Study about the Role of Ambiguity during Complex Problem Solving.

The concept of ambiguity is often discussed within the field of Artificial Intelligence; however, its role and effect on early-stage complex problem solving is not well understood. This paper describes a theoretical framework that recognizes the relationship between ambiguity and uncertainty, as these variables change throughout the different stages of problem solving. We particularly focus on the start of the process, when ambiguity and creativity are typically high. Through a case study approach, we hope to provide a foundation for the design and development of creative intelligent systems that more effectively support ambiguity during complex problem solving.
A Partitioned Chi-square Analysis of Variation in Spanish Clitic Doubling: The Case of dar ‘give’

ABSTRACTIn Spanish ditransitive clauses with Dative Clitic Doubling (DClD), the goal may be doubled by a dative clitic pronoun. Applying a chi-square decomposition analysis to examples with the prototypical ditransitive verb dar “give”, from a corpus of journalistic language characteristic of River Plate Spanish, I show that DClD is disfavoured when the theme is a bare noun, and also that the distinction between bare and non-bare themes is more statistically significant than the distinction between definite and indefinite themes. The relational effect of definiteness on DClD in clauses with the verb dar is accounted for by extending Hopper and Thompson’s (1980) Transitivity Hypothesis to clauses with three arguments.
Evaluating the patient with a knee injury.

Traditionally, physical examination maneuvers, such as the Lachman test, the pivot shift, the anterior drawer, and the McMurray test, have been recommended for patients with acute or subacute knee injury.
SU-C-207B-06: Comparison of Registration Methods for Modeling Pathologic Response of Esophageal Cancer to Chemoradiation Therapy.

Purpose: To compare linear and deformable registration methods for evaluation of tumor response to Chemoradiation therapy (CRT) in patients with esophageal cancer. Methods: Linear and multi-resolution BSpline deformable registration were performed on Pre-Post-CRT CT/PET images of 20 patients with esophageal cancer. For both registration methods, we registered CT using Mean Square Error (MSE) metric, however to register PET we used transformation obtained using Mutual Information (MI) from the same CT due to being multi-modality. Similarity of Warped-CT/PET was quantitatively evaluated using Normalized Mutual Information and plausibility of DF was assessed using inverse consistency Error. To evaluate tumor response four groups of tumor features were examined: (1) Conventional PET/CT e.g. SUV, diameter (2) Clinical parameters e.g. TNM stage, histology (3)spatial-temporal PET features that describe intensity, texture and geometry of tumor (4)all features combined. Dominant features were identified using 10-fold cross-validation and Support Vector Machine (SVM) was deployed for tumor response prediction while the accuracy was evaluated by ROC Area Under Curve (AUC). Results: Average and standard deviation of Normalized mutual information for deformable registration using MSE was 0.2±0.054 and for linear registration was 0.1±0.026, showing higher NMI for deformable registration. Likewise for MI metric, deformable registration had 0.13±0.035 comparing to linear counterpart with 0.12±0.037. Inverse consistency error for deformable registration for MSE metric was 4.65±2.49 and for linear was 1.32±2.3 showing smaller value for linear registration. The same conclusion was obtained for MI in terms of inverse consistency error. AUC for both linear and deformable registration was 1 showing no absolute difference in terms of response evaluation. Conclusion: Deformable registration showed better NMI comparing to linear registration, however inverse consistency of transformation was lower in linear registration. We do not expect to see significant difference when warping PET images using deformable or linear registration. This work was supported in part by the National Cancer Institute Grants R01CA172638.
Contracts Governed by International Conventions or Treaties

Countries in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) are party to several international commercial treaties and conventions. Membership in these international institutions reduces the cost of doing business in the global market system. The United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG) is one of the most significant international commercial treaties. As in the case of the United States that has adopted a Uniform Commercial Code to govern sales transactions between parties within the federal system, the CISG has developed uniform international sales rules for countries around the world. The application of the CISG to countries in SSA is quite limited. Even more significant is the unavailability of any cases on inter-regional trade between SSA countries. The few cases that have been resolved under CISG rules involve issues related to nonconforming goods. These cases suggest the need for more effective preshipment inspection systems.
PHYSIOLOGICAL RESPONSES OF THE CRAYFISH PACIFASTACUS LENIUSCULUS TO ENVIRONMENTAL HYPEROXIA: I. EXTRACELLULAR ACID-BASE AND ELECTROLYTE STATUS AND TRANSBRANCHIAL EXCHANGE

Extracellular acid--base and ionic status, and transbranchial exchange of acidic equivalents and electrolytes, were monitored in freshwater crayfish ( Pacifastacus leniusculus ) during control normoxia (P O 2 = 148 mmHg; 1 mmHg = 133.3 Pa), 72 h of hyperoxia (P O 2 = 500 mmHg) and 24 h of recovery. An initial (3 h) respiratory acidosis of 0.2 p H units was completely compensated within 48 h by a 50% increase in metabolic [HCO 3 − +CO 3 2- ] accompanied by a significant reduction in circulating [Cl − ]. In addition, the original increase in P co 2 was partially accommodated. The time course of transbranchial acidic equivalent exchange paralleled the change in extracellular metabolic base load with a significant branchial output of H+ during the first 48 h of hyperoxia. This was associated with net branchial effluxes of Cl − and Mg 2+ . Unidirectional flux analysis revealed parallel reductions in Na + influx and efflux during initial hyperoxic exposure, reflecting an alteration in exchange diffusion. The net Cl − efflux was due to an initial increase in efflux followed by a reduction in influx. The reverse sequence of events occurred more rapidly when normoxia was reinstated: metabolic base was removed from the haemolymph and control haemolymph acid--base and ion levels were re-established within 24 h. Transbranchial fluxes of acidic equivalents similarly recovered within 24 h although net Na + output and Cl − uptake persisted. The study attempted to identify relationships between branchial net H + exchange and components of Na + and Cl − exchange and quantitatively to correlate changes in the acidic equivalent and electrolyte concentrations in the extracellular fluid compartment with those in the external water.
Top-K Algorithm for Recommendation in Social Networking Kingdoms

The world wide web and its continuous growth remains among the trending topics in daily conversations. Social networks are a convenient way for people to share information and communicate with one another whether it is for the purpose of exchanging information or seeking social interaction from colleagues or coworkers. It seems that many online users are turning to social networking environments for basic information retrieval, rather than using what used to be known as the normal sources such as basic online encyclopedias or even the Google search engine. Question and answer forums, Face book, Twitter, and blog websites are becoming more populated with user's giving and receiving information. One of the topics that we will discuss is the type of information that is exchanged on these networks. And this aspect becomes very important when we begin discussing the specifics of our algorithm. What we will develop in this paper is a reliable system that will recommend appropriate users to answer specific types of questions that can be successfully implemented throughout the entire social networking kingdom (social network of social networks).
Effects of ibuprofen on cognition and NMDA receptor subunit expression across aging

Age-related declines in long- and short-term memory show relationships to decreases in N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) receptor expression, which may involve inflammation. This study was designed to determine effects of an anti-inflammatory drug, ibuprofen, on cognitive function and NMDA receptor expression across aging. Male C57BL/6 mice (ages 5, 14, 20, and 26months) were fed ibuprofen (375ppm) in NIH31 diet or diet alone for 6weeks prior to testing. Behavioral testing using the Morris water maze showed that older mice performed significantly worse than younger in spatial long-term memory, reversal, and short-term memory tasks. Ibuprofen enhanced overall performance in the short-term memory task, but this appeared to be more related to improved executive function than memory. Ibuprofen induced significant decreases over all ages in the mRNA densities for GluN2B subunit, all GluN1 splice variants, and GluN1-1 splice forms in the frontal cortex and in protein expression of GluN2A, GluN2B and GluN1 C2' cassettes in the hippocampus. GluN1-3 splice form mRNA and C2' cassette protein were significantly increased across ages in frontal lobes of ibuprofen-treated mice. Ibuprofen did not alter expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines IL-1β and TNFα, but did reduce the area of reactive astrocyte immunostaining in frontal cortex of aged mice. Enhancement in executive function showed a relationship to increased GluN1-3 mRNA and decreased gliosis. These findings suggest that inflammation may play a role in executive function declines in aged animals, but other effects of ibuprofen on NMDA receptors appeared to be unrelated to aging or inflammation.
Self-Reported Happiness of Older Adults in an Assisted Living Facility: Effects of Being in Activities

ABSTRACTHappiness is an important component of the quality of life of older people, but happiness is a construct, not a thing, and it is difficult to quantify. The present study examined the feasibility of having participants and observers quantify participants’ level of happiness by pointing to line drawings of faces depicting different emotions, like those commonly used to index pain. As hypothesized, results indicated that both participants and observers reported that participants were significantly happier when they were exposed to activities than when they were not. Scores recorded by participants showed a wider range of happiness and generally greater happiness than did scores recorded by observers. These results suggest that further research using this technique to measure happiness is warranted.
Acculturation and Help-Seeking Behavior in Consultation: A Sociocultural Framework for Mental Health Service

ABSTRACTMany immigrant and ethnic minority families demonstrate reluctance to pursue or utilize mental health services in community-based and clinical settings, which often leads to poorer quality of care for children and greater likelihood of early termination. Cultural variations in help-seeking behavior and acculturation are likely to influence consultation participation and process for mental health services. Thus, examining sociocultural context of the consultants, consultees, and clients is critical to the success of multicultural consultation and outcomes. The purpose of the article is to (a) address processes and barriers when engaging in multicultural consultation in community-based and clinical settings, (b) outline the sociocultural context in relation to parent help-seeking behavior, and (c) discuss the effect of acculturation and related sociocultural factors in the participation and process of consultation.