cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A hybrid genetic algorithm to minimize the periodic preventive maintenance cost in a series-parallel system

This study presents a hybrid genetic algorithm (GA) to optimize the periodic preventive maintenance model in a series-parallel system. The intrinsic properties of a repairable system, including the structure of reliability block diagrams, maintenance priority of components, and their maintenance periods, are considered in developing the proposed hybrid GA. The importance measure of components is employed to account for these properties, identify important components, and determine their maintenance priorities. The optimal maintenance periods of these important components are then determined to minimize total maintenance cost given the allowable worst reliability of a repairable system using the GA search mechanism. An elitist conservation strategy is applied to retain superior chromosomes in the iterative breeding process to accelerate the approach toward the global optimum. Furthermore, the response surface methodology is utilized to systematically determine crossover probability and mutation probability in the GA instead of using the conventional trial-and-error process. A case study demonstrates the effectiveness and practicality of the proposed hybrid GA in optimizing the periodic preventive maintenance model in a series-parallel system.
Acoustic and Semantic Enhancements for Children with Cochlear Implants

Purpose In this study, the authors examined how signal clarity interacts with the use of sentence context information in determining speech-in-noise recognition for children with cochlear implants and children with normal hearing. Method One hundred and twenty sentences in which the final word varied in predictability (high vs. low semantic context) were produced in conversational and clear speech. Nine children with cochlear implants and 9 children with normal hearing completed the sentence-in-noise listening tests and a standardized language measure. Results Word recognition in noise improved significantly for both groups of children for high-predictability sentences in clear speech. Children with normal hearing benefited more from each source of information compared with children with cochlear implants. There was a significant correlation between more developed language skills and the ability to use contextual enhancements. The smaller context gain in clear speech for children with cochlear implants is...
Introduction of a standardized report form improves the quality of mental status examination reports by psychiatry residents.

The quality of mental status examination (MSE) reports in consecutive admission notes by psychiatric residents was compared before and after the introduction of a structured, pre-printed MSE form that had been designed for teaching and quality of care purposes. We found the use of the form to be associated with a marked improvement in the quality of the reports; however, an important item not on the form was less likely to be recorded than with an unstructured record of the MSE. We conclude that the use of structured MSE forms leads to a significant improvement in the comprehensiveness of MSE records. We therefore recommend that some version of a comprehensive, structured MSE form be adopted for use on adult inpatient psychiatry units where residents are being trained.
Understanding Congress’ Role in Terminating Unpopular Wars: A Comparison of the Vietnam and Iraq Wars

In this paper, I examine how a Democratic Congress reacts when a Republican President refuses to terminate involvement in an unpopular peripheral war. This inquiry proceeds in several parts; first, I outline a typology detailing the ways that members of Congress can influence the President. More specifically, I outline three strategies: enacting substantive legislations, framing exit strategies, and privately lobbying the President. I then turn to a theoretical examination of when Congress is likely to use these modes of influence to challenge the President; I devise two sets of hypotheses, one from the Democratic Peace Theory, and one from David Mayhew’s work, Congress and the Electoral Connection. On one hand, the Democratic Peace Hypotheses anticipate an assertive Congress, eager to confront the President and end a war; in contrast, the Electoral Connection Hypotheses expects that members of Congress will seek to avoid open confrontation with the President, and will instead use more indirect means to pressure the executive. I test these hypotheses in two case studies, examining Congressional activity during the final years of the Vietnam War (1968-1975) and the Iraq War during the period of 2006-2008. I conclude that the Electoral Connection Hypotheses provides the fullest explanation for Congressional behavior during the two wars.
Automated visual discourse synthesis: coherence, versatility, and interactivity

In this proposal, we present comprehensive and systematic approaches of building systems that can automatically generate coherent visual discourse for interactive envirornments. A visual discourse refers to a series of connected visual displays. A coherent visual discourse requires smooth transitions between displays, consistent designs within and among displays, and effective integration of various components. Our research focuses in part on establishing a general framework by abstracting various generation systems and providing a reference model in which a specific system is considered an instantiation of the framework. In other words, any automated graphics generation system must contain a knowledge base, an inference engine, a visual realizer and an interaction handler. As a consequence, not only can a general framework serve as a template from which a specific generation system can be instantiated, but the framework also can be used as a base for comparing or evaluating different systems. We concentrate on the basic issues involved in establishing these four core components. In particular, we identify various knowledge sources and determine effective knowledge representation paradigms in constructing the knowledge base. We emphasize the efficiency, usability, and flexibility issues in modeling the inference engine. We are concerned with portability and parallelization issues in building the visual realizer, and we also take into account interaction capabilities for interactive environments. To demonstrate the generality and comprehensiveness of the framework, we address its application to the design of coherent visual discourse for heterogeneous information in interactive environments. Within such discussions, heterogeneous information refers to both quantitative and qualitative, or static and dynamic information. In addition, we assume that the system aims to support a wide variety of visual techniques, ranging from individual 2D displays to interactive 3D animation sequences. We describe a system called IMPROVISE (Illustrative Metaphor Production in Reactive Object-oriented VISual Environments) that serves as a proof-of-concept prototype. IMPROVISE is built based on our framework, aiming to automatically generate coherent visual discourse for various application domains in interactive environments. IMPROVISE has been used in two testbed application domains to demonstrate its generality and flexibility. Examples from both domains will be given to illustrate IMPROVISE’s generation process and to identify the future research areas.
Modeling Repeated Multinomial Route Choices Under Advanced Traveler Information System: Generalized Estimating Equations with Polytomous Logit Function

Correlated multinomial route choice data were modeled under an advanced traveler information system (ATIS). A travel simulator was used as a dynamic data collection tool. The simulator uses realistic network and real historical traffic volumes. It provides five levels of ATIS and accounts for types of delay. A 25-node and 40-link network was used. Sixty-three qualified subjects performed a total of 539 trial days. Forty-four distinct routes were chosen. The multinomial generalized estimating equation (MGEE) methodology was used with a generalized polytomous function and an exchangeable correlation structure. MGEEs account for the serial correlation between repeated choices made by the same subject as well as the correlation due to the overlapping between alternatives. The modeling results show that drivers can identify and follow the shortest path when they are provided with advice-free traffic information on all the network links. In addition, it is shown that the odds of choosing a certain shortest-path route, whether the drivers are advised or not, vary from route to route, depending on the characteristics of the route itself. It was proved that the proposed model could account for a correlation in the multinomial repeated route choices with simple computational effort, even for a large number of alternatives.
Elastic modulus of biopolymer matrix in nacre measured using coupled atomic force microscopy bending and inverse finite element techniques

Abstract A novel approach combining the atomic force microscopy probing of nacre biopolymer strand and the inverse finite element analysis has been used to directly measure the elastic modulus of nacre biopolymer matrix. An elastic modulus of 11 ± 3 GPa was determined for the first time from the direct measurement of the nacre biopolymer matrix. This property is essential for a fundamental understanding of the roles that the biopolymer matrix plays in nacre's strengthening and toughening, and provides guidelines in selecting engineering polymers for biomimetic materials design and fabrication. Such coupled experimental and modeling techniques should find more applications in studying the mechanical behavior of biological materials.
Al1-XGaxAs/GaAs Superlattice Disordering By Ion-Implantation And Diffusion: A TEM Study Of Mechanisms

The disordering of All-xGaxAs/GaAs superlattices by ion-implantation has been studied by cross-sectional electron microscopy. It has been found that the superlattice intermixing is extensive only when accompanied by superlattice amorphization or impurity diffusion. Stacking-fault tetrahedra, interstitial dislocation loops and microtwins are the main types of defects observed after implantation and annealing. The defects are stratified and interact with the periodic strain-field of the superlattice.
Multiple Clusters of Release Sites Formed by Individual Thalamic Afferents onto Cortical Interneurons Ensure Reliable Transmission

Thalamic afferents supply the cortex with sensory information by contacting both excitatory neurons and inhibitory interneurons. Interestingly, thalamic contacts with interneurons constitute such a powerful synapse that even one afferent can fire interneurons, thereby driving feedforward inhibition. However, the spatial representation of this potent synapse on interneuron dendrites is poorly understood. Using Ca imaging and electron microscopy we show that an individual thalamic afferent forms multiple contacts with the interneuronal proximal dendritic arbor, preferentially near branch points. More contacts are correlated with larger amplitude synaptic responses. Each contact, consisting of a single bouton, can release up to seven vesicles simultaneously, resulting in graded and reliable Ca transients. Computational modeling indicates that the release of multiple vesicles at each contact minimally reduces the efficiency of the thalamic afferent in exciting the interneuron. This strategy preserves the spatial representation of thalamocortical inputs across the dendritic arbor over a wide range of release conditions.
Preliminary quality-of-life findings of patients undergoing hematopoietic stem cell transplant utilizing the city of hope national medical center and functional assessment of cancer therapy instruments

INTRODUCTION: Advances in clinical and supportive care have significantly improved survival in hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT) recipients, resulting in greater interest in the long-term morbidity and quality of life (QOL) of patients undergoing this procedure. SIGNIFICANCE: As the number of HSCT survivors increases, longitudinal studies designed to collect preand post-HSCT QOL data will provide clinicians and researchers with important information regarding changes and adaptations in physical, psychosocial, and other QOL domains. METHODS: The University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC) is conducting a pilot, longitudinal study of HSCT recipients’ QOL to measure physical functioning and psychosocial, emotional, and spiritual well-being at baseline (pre-HSCT) and at day 100, 6 months, and annually post HSCT utilizing the Medical Outcomes Study Short Form-36 Health Survey, City of Hope (COH) Quality of Life in Bone Marrow Transplant (BMT) Survivors, and the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Bone Marrow Transplant (FACT-BMT) instruments. RESULTS: Since August 2001, 43 patients have received an autologous HSCT and completed their pre-HSCT, day-loo, and 6-month post-HSCT QOL questionnaires. Forty-nine percent of participants are female, 93% are nonHispanic white, and the median age at transplant was 54 years (range, 27-70). Patients received transplants for lymphoma (79%) or multiple myeloma (21%). All have survived 1 year post HSCT, 8 of whom have relapsed. Data were analyzed using repeated measures analysis of variance, and preliminary results regarding QOL as measured by the FACT-BMT and COH-BMT are reported below as means and standard deviations (SD). No statistically significant differences in the FACT-BMT total score or subscale scores were found across the 3 assessments,
Fatigue crack growth under general-yielding cyclic-loading

In low cycle fatigue, cracks are initiated and propagated under general yielding cyclic loading. For general yielding cyclic loading, Dowling and Begley have shown that fatigue crack growth rate correlates well with the measured delta J. The correlation of da/dN with delta J was also studied by a number of other investigators. However, none of thse studies have correlated da/dN with delta J calculated specifically for the test specimens. Solomon measured fatigue crack growth in specimens in general yielding cyclic loading. The crack tips fields for Solomon's specimens are calculated using the finite element method and the J values of Solomon's tests are evaluated. The measured crack growth rate in Solomon's specimens correlates very well with the calculated delta J.
Search for the Origin and Limits of Nuclei at the NSCL

The recent production of the most neutron‐rich nuclei by the fragmentation of 48Ca and 76Ge beams at Michigan State are presented. The cross sections were measured for a large range of nuclei including fifteen new isotopes that are the most neutron‐rich nuclides of magnesium, aluminum, silicon, and the elements from chlorine to manganese. The cross sections of several new nuclei were found to be enhanced relative to a simple thermal evaporation framework that was previously shown to describe similar production cross sections. This difference indicates that precursor excited nuclei in the region around 62Ti that decay to the observed nuclei may be more stable than predicted by current mass models. The enhanced stability may be evidence for a new island of inversion similar to that centered on 31Na. The NSCL at Michigan State University was recently selected to be the site of the next generation radioactive beam facility, FRIB, for the United States. A brief overview of the proposed facility and some of its...
TorsinA hypofunction causes abnormal twisting movements and sensorimotor circuit neurodegeneration

Lack of a preclinical model of primary dystonia that exhibits dystonic-like twisting movements has stymied identification of the cellular and molecular underpinnings of the disease. The classical familial form of primary dystonia is caused by the DYT1 (ΔE) mutation in TOR1A, which encodes torsinA, AAA⁺ ATPase resident in the lumen of the endoplasmic reticular/nuclear envelope. Here, we found that conditional deletion of Tor1a in the CNS (nestin-Cre Tor1a(flox/-)) or isolated CNS expression of DYT1 mutant torsinA (nestin-Cre Tor1a(flox/ΔE)) causes striking abnormal twisting movements. These animals developed perinuclear accumulation of ubiquitin and the E3 ubiquitin ligase HRD1 in discrete sensorimotor regions, followed by neurodegeneration that was substantially milder in nestin-Cre Tor1a(flox/ΔE) compared with nestin-Cre Tor1a(flox/-) animals. Similar to the neurodevelopmental onset of DYT1 dystonia in humans, the behavioral and histopathological abnormalities emerged and became fixed during CNS maturation in the murine models. Our results establish a genetic model of primary dystonia that is overtly symptomatic, and link torsinA hypofunction to neurodegeneration and abnormal twisting movements. These findings provide a cellular and molecular framework for how impaired torsinA function selectively disrupts neural circuits and raise the possibility that discrete foci of neurodegeneration may contribute to the pathogenesis of DYT1 dystonia.
Cognitive Constructs Underlying Complex Figure Copy Test Performance in Patients with Corticobasal Syndrome (CBS) (P04.229)

Objective: To understand the visuospatial and executive factors contributing to complex figure reproduction in corticobasal syndrome (CBS). Background Patients with CBS are impaired at complex figure copy, but factors contributing to this deficit are unclear. Design/Methods: In Experiment 1, 40 CBS patients completed the modified Rey complex figure (REY) copy, backward digit span (DSB), and modified Judgment of Line Orientation (JOLO) tests, all from the Philadelphia Brief Assessment of Cognition (PBAC). In Experiment 2, 30 CBS patients completed the CERAD praxis figure copy subtest, along with the WAIS-R DSB, unusual views (UV), and dot location (DOTS) tests. Results: In Experiment 1, REY copy was correlated with DSB (r= 0.416, p Conclusions: Converging evidence from both experiments suggests that a combination of executive skills, likely revolving around mental planning ability, and visuospatial ability, related to locating objects in space, is associated with complex figure copy ability in CBS. Supported by: In part by the National Institutes of Health (NS044266 and HD060406). Disclosure: Dr. Haley has nothing to disclose. Dr. McMillan has nothing to disclose. Dr. Goldmann Gross has nothing to disclose. Dr. Boller has nothing to disclose. Dr. Kitain has nothing to disclose. Dr. Rascovsky has nothing to disclose. Dr. Libon has nothing to disclose. Dr. Grossman has nothing to disclose.
Heparin-coated catheters and heparin-induced thrombocytopenia.

Abstract Ten patients with heparin-coated pulmonary artery catheters had heparin-induced thrombocytopenia, which persisted after all other sources of heparin were discontinued. The thrombocytopenia occurred in approximately 0.4% of the patients receiving heparin- coated catheters and remitted when the catheters were removed. The platelet counts averaged 59,000/mm 3 at the time of the diagnosis and recovered to an average of 143,000/mm 3 by 3 days (range 2 to 4 days) after removal of the heparin-coated catheters. One patient required a second catheter 31 days after the first catheter had been removed. When the second heparin-coated catheter was inserted, the platelet count decreased from 307,000/mm 3 to 102,000/mm 3 in 4 days. Segments of heparin-coated pulmonary artery catheters were placed in platelet-rich plasma and incubated with serum from patients with known heparin-associated antiplatelet antibodies or with serum from volunteers with no exposure to heparin. The heparin-coated catheters induced platelet aggregation in all samples containing serum from patients with heparin-induced thrombocytopenia. However, platelet aggregation did not occur when the catheters were incubated with the serum of the volunteers. Non-heparin-coated catheters failed to produce platelet aggregation when incubated with either sera. The high mortality and morbidity rates associated with heparin-induced thrombocytopenia mandate that afflicted patients receive no more heparin, at least until the heparin-associated antiplatelet antibodies are no longer detectable. Patients with heparin-coated catheters who have thrombocytopenia should be tested for the presence of heparin-associated antiplatelet antibodies. If heparin-induced thrombocytopenia is confirmed, the catheters must be removed if the thrombocytopenia is to be reversed and complications avoided. (J VASC SURG 1988;7:667-72.)
Purification and properties of initiation factor f-1.

The protein synthesis initiation factor f2 of E. coli has properties in common with the chain elongation factors G and Tu and Ts.
Surface stress effects on the thermodynamics of epitaxy

An analysis of the thermodynamics of epitaxy in thin films is presented which includes the effects of the surface stresses of the free surface and the film-substrate interface. It is shown that these effects, which are usually ignored in the theory of epitaxy, can have a major influence on both the critical thickness for epitaxy and on the partitioning of the misfit strain between the volume elastic strain and interface dislocations.
Progress in Ohio Soft Red Winter Wheat Breeding: Grain Yield and Agronomic Traits of Cultivars Released from 1871 to 1987

Significant increases in worldwide wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) grain yield (GY) over years have been due to the release of newer, genetically improved cultivars that are earlier-maturing, shorter in stature, and more resistant to lodging. Some analyses of wheat GY trends have led to conclusions that future genetic gains could be limited and that, in some cases, a GY plateau would soon be approached. Soft red winter wheat (SRWW) field trials, which included cultivars released from 1871 to 1987, were conducted for 4 yr at Wooster, OH, USA. Trials were conducted to document any changes in GY to determine if a yield plateau was being approached for Ohio SRWW
Clinical Trials in Late-Life Depression: Revisited

Received July 1, 2002; revised July 9, 2002; accepted July 10, 2002. From the Department of Clinical Psychopharmacology, New York State Psychiatric Institute, and the Department of Psychiatry, College of Physicians and Surgeons of Columbia University (SPR); and the Department of Biological Psychiatry, New York State Psychiatric Institute, and Departments of Psychiatry and Radiology, College of Physicians and Surgeons of Columbia University (HAS). Address correspondence to Dr. Roose, Department of Clinical Psychopharmacology, New York State Psychiatric Institute, 1051 Riverside Drive, New York, NY 10032. e-mail: spr2@columbia.edu Copyright 2002 American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry For the past 50 years, the parallel-group, randomized, placeboor comparator-controlled trial has been the standard for testing the efficacy of medications. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) in patients with latelife depression typically include modifications specific for this age-group, for example, lower starting dose, slower dose escalation, and longer trial duration. These changes reflect the widely held beliefs that, compared with younger patients, elderly depressed patients are more sensitive to side effects and take longer to remit. The current models of the RCT have served us well. Nonetheless, the findings of recent clinical trials and analyses of extant data mandate fundamental revisions in the design and conduct of RCTs.
Discriminant models for predicting risk of blueberry maggot (Diptera: Tephritidae) infestations in southeastern North Carolina.

Endemic infestations of the blueberry maggot, Rhagoletis mendax Curran, are sparsely distributed in North Carolina because not all blueberry ( Vaccinium spp.) fields, or even areas within one field, support these populations. Physical site characteristics of cultivated high bush blueberry fields associated with the presence or absence of blueberry maggot infestations were measured, and discriminant analysis was used to classify the sites. A quadratic discriminant function using four variables (bush height, percentage of shade, percentage of soil organic matter, and percentage of sand) provided the best discrimination. A two-variable function using only bush height and percentage of shade proved more economical to use and a chart was developed that allows field determination of the probability of an infestation by blueberry maggots. This method predicted infestation with 100% accuracy on a validation data set. These data represent the first successful application of this forest pest and fire management strategy to a horticultural crop. Because the variables associated with infestation all directly affect the character and temperature dynamics of soils, we believe that desiccation of the puparia in the soil limits maggot distribution in North Carolina. Thus, altering the crop environment through irrigation may increase the likelihood of an infestation.
The Chemistry and Toxicity of Sediment Affected by Oil from the North Cape Spilled into Rhode Island Sound

Abstract On 19 January 1996, the barge North Cape spilled more than three million liters of No. 2 fuel oil into Rhode Island Sound near Matunuck, Rhode Island. The toxicity and chemistry of this oil in two subtidal sediments were followed for more than 9 months. Maximum concentrations of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in the sediments reached 730 μg / g dry weight (DW). Water samples taken immediately after the spill were phototoxic to embryos of the bivalve Mulinia lateralis. Total PAHs and toxicity to the amphipod Ampelisca abdita were high immediately after the spill, decreasing to background values ( 10 μg / g DW and
Uranium-series age of coral reef growth on Rottnest Island, Western Australia

Abstract Dating samples of corals and shell from the elevated coral reef terrace on Rottnest Island, Western Australia, indicate that in this region away from active plate boundaries the sea stood at least 3 m above present sea level 132,000 ± 5,000 years ago. There is no geologic evidence of other ancient reef-forming periods on this island.
Comment on the use of an exponential approximation for the Stark broadening of hydrogen lines

Abstract We show that, contrary to some recent calculations of hydrogen Stark broadening, the neglect of the operator which sequentially orders collisions is not strictly valid (even when collisions do not overlap in time).
Tissue Factor Positions and Maintains the Factor VIIa Active Site Far above the Membrane Surface Even in the Absence of the Factor VIIa Gla Domain A FLUORESCENCE RESONANCE ENERGY TRANSFER STUDY

Abstract Coagulation factor VIIa (fVIIa), a soluble serine protease, exhibits full proteolytic activity only when bound to its cofactor, tissue factor (TF). Both proteins interact with membranes; TF is an integral membrane protein, while fVIIa binds reversibly to phospholipid surfaces via its Gla domain. In this study, we examine the extent to which the location of the fVIIa active site in the fVIIa·TF complex is determined by the fVIIa Gla domain. A fluorescein dye was covalently attached to the active site of fVIIa lacking the Gla domain (Gla domainless fVIIa, GD-fVIIa) via a tripeptide tether to yield fluorescein-d-Phe-Pro-Arg-GD-fVIIa (Fl-FPR-GD-fVIIa). The location of the active site of GD-fVIIa relative to the membrane surface was determined using fluorescence resonance energy transfer between the fluorescein dye in the active site of GD-fVIIa and octadecylrhodamine (OR) at the surface of phospholipid vesicles. As expected, no energy transfer was observed between Fl-FPR-GD-fVIIa and OR in vesicles composed of phosphatidylcholine/phosphatidylserine (PC/PS, 4:1) because the Gla domain is required for the binding of fVIIa to phospholipid. However, when Fl-FPR-GD-fVIIa was titrated with PC or PC/PS vesicles into which purified TF had been reconstituted, energy transfer was observed. Based on the dependence of fluorescence resonance energy transfer on OR density, the average distance of closest approach between fluorescein in the active site of Fl-FPR-GD-fVIIa·TF and OR at the vesicle surface was determined to be 78 A (κ2 = ). Since this value is nearly the same as that obtained with intact Fl-FPR-fVIIa bound to TF, the presence or absence of the fVIIa Gla domain has only a small effect on the location of the active site in the fVIIa·TF complex. The extracellular domain of tissue factor therefore must be fairly rigid and fixed relative to the surface to position and maintain the fVIIa active site far above the membrane even in the absence of the fVIIa Gla domain.
Improved performance using internal standardization in inductively coupled plasma emission spectroscopy

Abstract Significantly improved performance in ICP emission spectroscopy is possible using internal standardization given the proper choice of operating conditions. A dual monochromator detection system was used to study the correlation between two emission signals recorded simultaneously as several ICP parameters were varied. The behavior of the signal formed by dividing the analyte and reference signals was also measured. The noise behavior of twenty analytically important elements was compared to that of a manganese ion line used as the internal standard for a single, compromise choice of ICP operating parameters (RF power = 1250 W, carrier gas flow rate = 0.7 or 0.91 min , and viewing height = 20mm). The elements differed widely in excitation and ionization energies. Sample concentrations were chosen so that the analyte emission signals were sufficiently intense that the noise and drift contributions due to plasma background and shot noise could be ignored. Under these conditions very good signal correlation (r ⩾ 0.95) and similar noise proportionality factors were observed leading to noise reductions of ⩾ 10 × after signal division in almost every instance. After signal division the noise, defined as the relative standard deviation of the emission signal, (time constant = 1.0 s, n = 20) was less than 0.1 %. The closely similar noise behavior is attributed to sample density fluctuations arising from corresponding fluctuations of the sample aerosol density. Good correlation is also observed between fluctuations in the plasma background simultaneously detected at two widely separated wavelengths when appropriate steps are taken to reduce shot noise. At carrier gas flow rates above 1.01 min and at viewing heights below 15mm or above 20mm, the signal correlation is reduced or absent, yielding little or no improvement using internal standardization. The use of internal standardization leads to other improvements in analytical performance in addition to noise reduction. Drift is reduced, and nebulizer performance is improved in that it is less sensitive to variations in liquid sample uptake rate, or nebulizer instabilities associated with high solids content sample introduction. The divided signal takes much less time to reach equilibrium following introduction of a new sample.
''Quick'' fix to add to the mix?

Comment on Shepherd et al, page [3662][1] In this issue of Blood , Shepherd and colleagues report that AMD3100 is a potent and rapid mobilizer of angiogenic cells, including endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs), and demonstrate the feasibility of obtaining and storing large numbers of angiogenic
An Essential Role of the Forkhead-Box Transcription Factor Foxo1 in Control of T Cell Homeostasis and Tolerance

Members of the Forkhead box O (Foxo) family of transcription factors are key regulators of cellular responses, but their function in the immune system remains incompletely understood. Here we showed that T cell-specific deletion of Foxo1 gene in mice led to spontaneous T cell activation, effector T cell differentiation, autoantibody production, and the induction of inflammatory bowel disease in a transfer model. In addition, Foxo1 was critical for the maintenance of naive T cells in the peripheral lymphoid organs. Transcriptome analyses of T cells identified Foxo1-regulated genes encoding, among others, cell-surface molecules, signaling proteins, and nuclear factors that control gene expression. Functional studies validated interleukin-7 receptor-alpha as a Foxo1 target gene essential for Foxo1 maintenance of naive T cells. These findings reveal crucial functions of Foxo1-dependent transcription in control of T cell homeostasis and tolerance.
KINETICS AND MECHANISM OF HYDROLYSIS OF AFLATOXIN B1 EXO-8,9-EPOXIDE AND REARRANGEMENT OF THE DIHYDRODIOL

Aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) is thought to play a large role in human liver cancer in some parts of the world, and the mechanism of genotoxicity is generally considered to involve the DNA adduct formed at t...
Flight activity in the parasitoid wasp Nasonia vitripennis (Hymenoptera: Pteromalidae)

Flight activity in females of the parasitoid wasp Nasonia vitripennis(Walker) was examined by measuring still-air tethered flight. There was a large amount of variation among females in flight duration. The longest single flight (with no pauses of more than 5 s) was more than 2 h long. Mating status had a significant and large effect on flight: mated females flew twice as long as virgin females. There also was a slight but significant effect of age on flight, with 3-day-old females being less likely to fly than 1-day-old females. Flight duration was not affected by prior exposure to other females, to honey, or to a low or a high host density.
Plane strain neck propagation

Abstract Quasi-static neck propagation in polymers (cold drawing) is studied for the case of plane strain tension. For a J 2 -deformation theory material (nonlinear elastic), jump conditions across the neck provide a simple steady-state solution. For a J 2 -flow theory material a finite element solution characterizes the complete development of a neck in an initially smooth specimen. The numerical results include the overall load-deflection curve, details of deformation states, and the triaxial stress distribution. The solution algorithm is based on a convected coordinate description of the governing equations (Lagrangian in character) with both Newton equilibrium iterations and a stress integration algorithm to improve accuracy.
Postpartum paravaginal hematoma andlower-extremity infection

We report a case of infection of the lower extremity after a normal vaginal delivery. The infection originated in an occult obturator internus muscle hematoma, and diagnosis was based on a clinical suspicion and characteristic findings on computerized tomography scan. These findings permitted prompt surgical drainage, debridement, and antibiotic therapy and resulted in a successful outcome.
Prejudice Awareness Through Cultural Self-Knowledge Development: Going Beyond the Contact Reduces Prejudice Hypothesis

This article challenges the simplicity of Allport's contact reduces prejudice hypothesis by emphasizing the importance of addressing previously learned cultural beliefs and attitudes as a possible factor in prejudice development and reduction. These cultural beliefs and attitudes were studied through classroom assignments where this type of learning can be explored. Data were collected from students in a graduate cross-cultural course after students' completion of a cultural self-assessment paper and a paper based on interviewing an ethnic family. These data revealed that, through a process of cultural self-knowledge development and later contact with an ethnic family, prejudice awareness appeared to occur, which has the potential to reduce prejudice.
Cytokine abnormalities in the etiology of the cardiometabolic syndrome.

The cardiometabolic syndrome comprises a cluster of risk factors, including abdominal obesity, dyslipidemia, hypertension, insulin resistance/glucose intolerance, and proteinuria. This syndrome is due, in part, to the accumulation of visceral fat, which promotes synthesis of proinflammatory adipokines resulting in a visceral adipose tissue-specific increase in reactive oxygen species derived from NADPH oxidase. Adipose tissue oxidative stress results in the development of systemic oxidative stress and inflammation, which further lead to development of metabolic dyslipidemia, impaired glucose metabolism, renal disease, and hypertension. Importantly, visceral—not subcutaneous—fat is the significant source of the circulating adipokines that promote these systemic abnormalities. Chronic low-grade inflammation develops within adipose tissue because of the additional infiltration and accumulation of inflammatory macrophages. There is evidence that lifestyle changes, bariatric surgery, and/or administration of insulin-sensitizing, anti-inflammatory, or antihypertensive drugs that address the risk factors promoting the cardiometabolic syndrome act, in part, by promoting an anti-inflammatory adipokine profile in visceral fat.
Patient-reported cognitive and communicative functioning: 1 construct or 2?

Abstract Hula WD, Doyle PJ, Austermann Hula SN. Patient-reported cognitive and communicative functioning: 1 construct or 2? Objectives To examine the dimensionality of scales for measuring patient-reported cognitive and communicative functioning in a sample of stroke survivors and to evaluate the consequences for measurement of treating them as a single, undifferentiated construct. Design Secondary analysis of existing cross-sectional data. Setting Data were collected in outpatient rehabilitation clinics and in the community. Participants Unilateral stroke survivors (N=316) 3 months or more postonset referred for participation in research. Interventions Not applicable. Main Outcome Measures The Burden of Stroke Scale cognition and communication domain scales were evaluated by using confirmatory factor analysis, Rasch analysis, and tests of differential item functioning (DIF). To evaluate the impact of multidimensionality on the measurement of individual patients, separately estimated cognition and communication scores were compared. Combined and separately estimated scores were also examined for responsiveness to group differences in the presence of cognitive and communicative impairment. Results Factor analysis and Rasch model fit analyses equivocally supported the unidimensionality of the item pool. DIF analyses between participants with right versus left hemisphere stroke suggested multidimensionality. Scaling cognition and communication items separately resulted in different person scores for a significant number of patients and greater responsiveness to group differences. Conclusions Patient-reported scales assessing communication along with more general cognitive activities may possess an internal structure that is inconsistent with a unidimensional measurement model with potential negative consequences for measurement.
Chromatin diminution in early embryogenesis of Ascaris lumbricoides L. var. suum

The occurrence of chromatin diminution in early Ascaris lumbricoides L. embryos has been studied in detail, and it is shown that it is possible to preselect three characteristic types of mitoses: pre-diminution, diminution, and post-diminution mitosis. The first three embryonic mitotic divisions are of the pre-diminution type. Chromatin diminution occurs after the third mitosis, but there is a variation from embryo to embryo as to whether or not chromosomal diminution occurs during the fourth, fifth, and six divisions. However, the seventh embryonic division, which gives rise to an eight-cell embryo, always exhibits chromatin diminution. Subsequent mitoses of somatic cells already in the diminished state are of the post-diminution type of mitosis.
Preparing Teachers for Instructing Multiple Ability Groups

The 21st century poses a formidable instructional challenge for preservice teachers and teacher educators alike. Dramatic changes in student demographics, exponential increases in the knowledge base to be mastered and applied, and dwindling levels of public and administrative support for education have placed educators in the unenviable position of trying to do more with less—and calling it better. In this paper, I highlight many of the instructional implications associated with teaching diverse groups of learners, describe briefly some promising educational practices for meeting the instructional needs of such students, and explore how those within departments, schools, and colleges of education might go about better preparing their future teachers for accommodating such learning differences.
Plasmon-Mediated Electron Transport in Tip-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopic Junctions.

We combine experiment, theory, and first-principles-based calculations to study the light-induced plasmon-mediated electron transport characteristics of a molecular-scale junction. The experimental data show a nonlinear increase in electronic current perturbation when the focus of a chopped laser beam moves laterally toward the tip–sample junction. To understand this behavior and generalize it, we apply a combined theory of the electronic nonequilibrium formed upon decoherence of an optically triggered plasmon and first-principles transport calculations. Our model illustrates that the current via an adsorbed molecular monolayer increases nonlinearly as more energy is pumped into the junction due to the increasing availability of virtual molecular orbital channels for transport with higher injection energies. Our results thus illustrate light-triggered, plasmon-enhanced tunneling current in the presence of a molecular linker.
Sensitivity of ecological models to their climate drivers: statistical ensembles for forcing.

4 National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, Colorado 80307-3000 USA Abstract. Global and regional numerical models for terrestrial ecosystem dynamics require fine spatial resolution and temporally complete historical climate fields as input variables. However, because climate observations are unevenly spaced and have incomplete records, such fields need to be estimated. In addition, uncertainty in these fields associated with their estimation are rarely assessed. Ecological models are usually driven with a geostatistical model's mean estimate (kriging) of these fields without accounting for this uncertainty, much less evaluating such errors in terms of their propagation in ecological simulations. We introduce a Bayesian statistical framework to model climate observations to create spatially uniform and temporally complete fields, taking into account correlation in time and space, spatial heterogeneity, lack of normality, and uncertainty about all these factors. A key benefit of the Bayesian model is that it generates uncertainty measures for the generated fields. To demonstrate this method, we reconstruct historical monthly pre- cipitation fields (a driver for ecological models) on a fine resolution grid for a climatically heterogeneous region in the western United States. The main goal of this work is to evaluate the sensitivity of ecological models to the uncertainty associated with prediction of their climate drivers. To assess their numerical sensitivity to predicted input variables, we generate a set of ecological model simulations run using an ensemble of different versions of the reconstructed fields. We construct such an ensemble by sampling from the posterior predictive distribution of the climate field. We demonstrate that the estimated prediction error of the climate field can be very high. We evaluate the importance of such errors in ecological model experiments using an ensemble of historical precipitation time series in simulations of grassland biogeochemical dynamics with an ecological numerical model, Century. We show how uncertainty in predicted pre- cipitation fields is propagated into ecological model results and that this propagation had different modes. Depending on output variable, the response of model dynamics to uncer- tainty in inputs ranged from uncertainty in outputs that matched that of inputs to those that were muted or that were biased, as well as uncertainty that was persistent in time after input errors dropped.
Enhancement of Chemical Carcinogenesis in Mice by Systemic Effects of Ultraviolet Irradiation

The present study was designed to determine the systemic influence of ultraviolet (UVB) irradiation upon subsequent carcinogenesis induced by benzo(a)pyrene. The source of UV irradiation consisted of six Westinghouse FS-40 fluorescent sunlamps. Female BALB/c mice received five 30-min dorsal UVB radiation treatments per week for 13 wk. At the end of 13 wk, irradiated and unirradiated mice received ventral applications of 0.1 or 1.0 mg of benzo(a)pyrene twice weekly for 20 or 10 wk, respectively. At 18 wk after the first benzo(a)pyrene treatment, mice receiving 0-, 0.1-, or 1.0-mg benzo(a)pyrene treatments bore 0, 12, or 29 tumors per group of 18 mice, respectively. Tumor-free survival was significantly shortened in the UV-irradiated hosts as compared with unirradiated hosts, as analyzed by the Kaplan-Meier method of survival analysis. Therefore, ultraviolet irradiation induced a systemic effect which enhanced subsequent tumor induction by benzo(a)pyrene in a manner which was dependent on the dose of benzo(a)pyrene.
ADMISSION: A CRUCIAL POINT IN RELATIONSHIP BUILDING BETWEEN PARENTS AND STAFF IN CHILD PSYCHIATRIC UNITS

The admission of a child to a psychiatric unit is difficult for parents. While many articles about admissions can be discovered in the literature, few address the process of admission. A grounded theory study was undertaken to describe and explain the relationships that develop between parents and nurses in child psychiatric units. The crucial nature of the admission process was discovered and is the focus of this article. Theoretical sampling was used. Data were collected by interviewing parents and the nursing staff working with the parents. In addition, participant observation was used. Data were analyzed using the constant comparative method. Parents often came to the unit expecting to be blamed for their child's problems. When nurses responded with reassurance and caring, the parents' engagement was enhanced. During admission, expectations of parents and nurses influenced the relationship. In addition, the study discovered ways that nursing routines influence the relationship during the admission period.
Chemical Synthesis of a Highly Selective Probe of the Renal Outer Medullary Potassium Channel (ROMK)

The renal outer medullary potassium channel, ROMK, critically regulates salt and water balance and may be a drug target for a novel class of diuretic. However, the molecular pharmacology of the inward rectifier potassium channel family is virtually undeveloped, precluding assessment of ROMK's therapeutic potential. We therefore performed a high-throughput screen of approximately 225,000 small molecules for modulators of ROMK function, from which several novel antagonists were identified. One compound, termed VU590, inhibits ROMK with a half-inhibition concentration (IC50) of 300 nM, has no effect on Kir2.1 or Kir4.1, but inhibits Kir7.1 at low micromolar concentrations. Two structurally related compounds were identified in the screen, but were found to be comparatively weak ROMK inhibitors. Using a molecular mechanics-based knowledge of VU590, medicinal chemistry was employed to improve the potency of one compound 33-fold (IC50 from 8 μM to 240 nM). This novel probe, termed VU591, is highly selective for ROMK over Kir2.1, Kir2.3, Kir4.1, Kir6.2/SUR1B, Kir7.1 and a panel of more than 65 other potential off-targets, including voltage-gated sodium and calcium channels and hERG. Functional studies suggest the VU591 binding site is located in the cytoplasmic pore of ROMK. VU591 will be instrumental in mapping the location and topographical features of this selective binding site and could pave the way for animal studies assessing the therapeutic potential of ROMK.