cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Openness, extraversion and the intention to emigrate

Abstract Economic, demographic and sociological factors influence the intention to emigrate, but variation in personality also may be consequential. In this report, data on intention to emigrate are drawn via nationally-representative samples from 22 countries in the Americas. Multivariate analyses permit attention to the key factors identified in past empirical research, but also enable examination of the effects of openness to experience and extraversion. Openness and extraversion both are shown to exert modest positive influence on the intention to emigrate. Additionally, heterogeneity in these effects is observed in that the influence of both traits is found to be conditional on a respondent’s level of education.
Ice streams—fast, and faster?

Abstract Rapid flow of ice streams is caused either by great thickness, or by effective basal lubrication especially from deforming tills. Competing thermal processes act to stabilize and to destabilize the well-lubricated ice streams, and may contribute to their observed short-term variability yet long-term persistence. Increasing evidence indicates that ice streams are subject to speed-up in response to warming, through thinning or loss of ice shelves, and possibly in response to meltwater penetration to ice-stream beds. To cite this article: R.B. Alley et al., C. R. Physique 5 (2004).
Toward a therapeutic reduction of imatinib refractory myeloproliferative neoplasm-initiating cells

Myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs) such as chronic myelogenous (CML) and chronic myelomonocytic leukemias (CMML) are frequently induced by tyrosine kinase oncogenes. Although these MPNs are sensitive to tyrosine kinase inhibitors such as imatinib, patients often relapse upon withdrawal of therapy. We used a model of MPN, which is induced by co-expression of the oncoproteins HIP1/PDGFβR (H/P) and AML1/ETO from their endogenous loci, to examine the mechanisms of disease development and recurrence following imatinib withdrawal. Although the MPN displayed a full hematologic response to imatinib, 100% of the diseased mice relapsed upon drug withdrawal. MPN persistence was not due to imatinib resistance mutations in the H/P oncogene or massive gene expression changes. Within 1 week of imatinib treatment, more than 98% of gene expression changes induced by the oncogenes in isolated hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (lineage(-)Sca-1(+)c-Kit(+) immunophenotype) normalized. Supplementation of imatinib with granulocyte colony-stimulating factor or arsenic trioxide reduced MPN-initiating cell frequencies and the combination of imatinib with arsenic trioxide cured a large fraction of mice with MPNs. In contrast, no mice in the imatinib-treated control cohorts were cured. These data suggest that treatment with a combination of arsenic trioxide and imatinib can eliminate refractory MPN-initiating cells and reduce disease relapse.
Prospective Payments and Hospital Efficiency

This paper examines the effects of the Prospective Payment System on the behavior of hospitals with respect to their capital allocations and the efficiency with which they produce in-patient care. A theoretical model adapted from Pope [1989] yields the testable hypotheses that as a hospital's Medicare population increases the hospital will supply greater levels of capital and produce in-patient care using less technically efficient methods. A two stage test of these hypotheses is run on a sample of US non-federal hospitals. Results from patient demand functions and a stochastic profit frontier are consistent with the theoretical model.
Chronic rotenone exposure reproduces Parkinson's disease gastrointestinal neuropathology.

Gastrointestinal disorders, particularly severe constipation and delayed gastric emptying, are core symptoms of Parkinson's disease that affect most patients. However, the neuropathological substrate and physiological basis for this dysfunction are poorly defined. To begin to explore these phenomena in laboratory models of PD, rats were treated with either vehicle or rotenone (2.0 mg/kg, i.p.; 5 days/week) for 6-weeks. Myenteric plexus α-synuclein aggregate pathology and neuron loss were assessed 3-days and 6-months after the last rotenone injection. Gastrointestinal motility was assessed at 3-days, 1-month and 6-months after the last rotenone injection. Rotenone treatment caused an acute reduction in α-synuclein-immunoreactivity, but this was followed 6 months later by a robust increase in aggregate pathology and cytoplasmic inclusions that were similar in appearance to enteric Lewy-bodies in idiopathic PD. Rotenone-treated rats also had a moderate but permanent loss of small intestine myenteric neurons and an associated modest slowing of gastrointestinal motility 6-months after treatment. Our results suggest that a circumscribed exposure to an environmental toxicant can cause the delayed appearance of parkinsonian α-synuclein pathology in the enteric nervous system and an associated functional deficit in gastrointestinal motility. The rotenone model may therefore, provide a means to investigate pathogenic mechanisms and to test new therapeutic interventions into gastrointestinal dysfunction in PD.
Inherited Pancreatic Cancer: Surveillance and Treatment Strategies for Affected Families

Background: Nearly 10% of pancreatic cancers are hereditary in origin, and in some individuals, the risk of pancreatic cancer approaches 50%. A number of defined syndromes can predi
THE INDUCTION OF A TRANSFER ADENOSINE TRIPHOSPHATE PHOSPHOHYDROLASE IN EMBRYONIC CHICK HEART.

Abstract The ATP phosphohydrolase of isolated mitochondria and microsomes from embryonic chick ventricles was studied at different stages of development. At 12 days of embryonic age the particulate fractions contribute at least 85–90% of the total Mg-activated ATP phosphohydrolase activity of the whole ventricle homogenate, the myofibrils contribute the remainder. A typical myocardial cation transfer ATP phosphohydrolase is demonstrated in the microsomal fraction: a Mg-activated ATP phosphohydrolase stimulated by Na,K and Na + K and inhibited by ouabian at concentrations which also inhibit active transport of Na and K. The induction of this transfer ATP phosphohydrolase is believed to occur between 4 and 7 days of embryonic development.
Measurements of the linac coherent light source laser heater and its impact on the x-ray free-electron laser performance

The very bright electron beam required for an x-ray free-electron laser (FEL), such as the linac coherent light source (LCLS), is susceptible to a microbunching instability in the magnetic bunch compressors, prior to the FEL undulator. The uncorrelated electron energy spread in the LCLS can be increased by an order of magnitude to provide strong Landau damping against the instability without degrading the FEL performance. To this end, a ``laser-heater'' system has been installed in the LCLS injector, which modulates the energy of a 135-MeV electron bunch with an IR-laser beam in a short undulator, enclosed within a four-dipole chicane. In this paper, we report detailed measurements of laser-heater-induced energy spread, including the unexpected self-heating phenomenon when the laser energy is very low. We discuss the suppression of the microbunching instability with the laser heater and its impact on the x-ray FEL performance. We also present the analysis of these experimental results and develop a three-dimensional longitudinal space charge model to explain the self-heating effect.
Towards the fast DSA: improvement of computational performance of the DSA model

The approaches to improve the performance of the DSA (directed self-assembly) computational models are being reviewed and discussed. We start by reviewing the computational complexity of a rigorous self-consistent field theory (SCFT) DSA model and also the currently utilized ways to reduce this computational complexity and improve its performance, as implemented in GLOBALFOUNDRIES DSA Solver. We proceed with presenting new approximations in the SCFT model making it possible to improve the computational performance of the DSA model further.
Scope and scale inefficiencies in physician practices

Using a national data set, this paper looks at the efficiency of physician practices, focusing on scopes of service by comparing single specialty groups and multispecialty groups. An analysis of efficiency using DEA indicates that there are scope inefficiencies from combining different types of providers into a single practice. Most of the inefficiency is due to technical rather than allocative reasons. In addition, we find that larger practices are able to capture efficiencies of scope, but incur inefficiencies of scale.
Changes in inequality and unemployment over the 1980s: comparative cross-national responses.

This paper reviews the research evidence regarding high and persistent unemployment in the western European nations and widening inequality in the United States and selected European countries. It has been suggested that both of these problems are due to fundamental economic shifts in labor demand within the more industrialized world that have led to declines in the demand for less skilled workers: The effect on countries with more regulated labor markets was rising unemployment, while in less regulated labor markets it was rising wage inequality. The paper considers the evidence for this hypothesis, as well as the research questions and policy issues that it raises.
Atomic tunneling from a scanning-tunneling or atomic-force microscope tip: dissipative quantum effects from phonons.

We study the effects of phonons on the tunneling of an atom between two surfaces. In contrast to an atom tunneling in the bulk, the phonons couple very strongly and qualitatively change the tunneling behavior. This is the first example of Ohmic coupling from phonons for a two-state system. We propose an experiment in which an atom tunnels from the tip of an scanning-tunneling microscope, and show how its behavior would be similar to the macroscopic quantum coherence behavior predicted for SQUIDs. The ability to tune and calculate many parameters would lead to detailed tests of the standard theories.
A Graphical User Interface for Contacts Between Wheel and Rail

Analysis of contact points between wheel and rail during the wheel climb is of interest to railroad application engineers. In this study the climb maneuver of a wheelset is modeled in a general purpose multi-body system computer program. This model then is used to generate the contact data for a climbing wheelset. A graphical user interface is developed which uses this contact data and generates several contact points charts. In developing the graphical user interface, mouse and keyboard events as well as other controls are used to make the interface interactive and intuitive.Copyright © 2014 by ASME
The sorption of selenite on various cement formulations

Abstract Twenty-seven cementitious formulations containing three levels of water/solids ratio (0.45, 0.50, and 0.55), three concentrations of silica fume (0, 10, and 20%), and three concentrations of clay (0, 3, and 5%) were evaluated for their ability to effectively sorb selenite (SeO32-) from an alkaline solution. A batch sorption procedure was utilized to determine distribution coefficients (Kd) for selenite between water and each cement formulation. Experimental Kd values obtained ranged from 250 to 930 l kg−1. The results indicated that varying the water and clay content of the mixes had little effect on selenite sorption, while adding increasing amounts of silica fume in a cement mix tended to decrease selenite sorption. A sorption/desorption study using several concentrations of selenium ranging from 6.5 to 1510 ppb was also conducted on cement formulations at one water/solids ratio (0.50), no silica fume, and three concentrations of clay (0, 3, and 5%). Freundlich isotherms were fitted to the sorption and desorption data. Results indicated that selenite sorption was irreversible under these conditions.
The Genetic Control of Two Lethal Traits in Variety 1, Tetrahymena pyriformis *

SYNOPSIS. A breeding analysis of a wild strain (Indian Lake 12) of variety 1, Tetrahymena pyriformis, discloses recessive lethal alleles at two independently assorting loci. Conclusions concerning the cytogenetic behavior of this species have been verified through the scoring of a large number of offspring segregating the lethals. In particular, cytogamy does not occur in these strains with a frequency higher than 2%. if indeed it occurs at all. The finding of lethal heterozygosity in a wild strain suggests that close inbreeding usually does not take place in nature and supports the conclusion that variety 1 of T. pyriformis is an outbreeding species.
Solvent and pH resistance of surface crosslinked chitosan/poly(acrylonitrile) composite nanofiltration membranes

The resistance of novel surface crosslinked Chitosan/poly(acrylonitrile) (PAN) composite nanofiltration (NF) membranes to pH and organic solvents was studied with respect to the effects of crosslinking parameters, namely, glutaraldehyde concentration and crosslinking time. The pH resistance was determined by permeation of aqueous acidic (pH 2.5) and basic (pH 11) solutions as well as swelling studies in the pH range of 2.5–11. The solvent resistance was determined by swelling, immersion, and permeation studies with several industrially important organic solvents, namely methanol, ethanol, iso-propanol, methyl ethyl ketone, ethyl acetate and hexane. It was observed that the crosslinked composite membranes maintain the permeate fluxes for test solvents for 2 h of continuous operation without any significant change in flux. SEM studies on membrane samples after immersion as well as permeation with the above-mentioned solvents indicated that the membrane morphology was maintained. The results are explained in terms of solvent–membrane polar and hydrophobic interactions, using solubility parameters of membrane and solvents and dielectric constants of solvents. Pure water flux and polyethylene glycol transmission data indicated that at pH 2.5 and 11, the membrane stability increased with increasing glutaraldehyde concentration and was much better at pH 11 than at pH 2.5. All surface crosslinked membranes showed reduced swelling between pH 4–10. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 77: 1782–1793, 2000
Why are women from Venus and men from Mars when they abuse cocaine

Both preclinical and clinical studies have shown sexually dimorphic patterns in behavioral responses to cocaine in all phases of the cocaine addiction process (induction, maintenance, and relapse). Thus, a clear picture is emerging which suggests that the biological basis of sex-specific differences in cocaine addiction resides in the disparate regulation of the CNS by male and female gonadal hormones. This review discusses the role that gonadal hormones play in these sexually dimorphic patterns of behavioral responses to cocaine.
Chemical stimulation of the ventrolateral medullary depressor area decreases ipsilateral cerebral blood flow in anesthetized rats.

In anesthetized (chloralose and urethane), paralyzed and artificially ventilated rats, the neurons in the ventrolateral medullary depressor area (VLDA) were chemically stimulated by microinjections of L-glutamate (2.5-5 nmole in 100 nl of 0.9% sodium chloride solution) and the cerebral blood flow (CBF) was determined using a combination of labeled microspheres (57Co, 113Sn and 46Sc). Unilateral chemical stimulation of the VLDA (n = 11) produced a significant (P less than 0.05) decrease in CBF of the cerebral cortex ipsilateral to the stimulated VLDA; the CBF was 41 +/- 5 (mean +/- S.E.M.) and 29 +/- 4 ml.min-1.(100 g)-1 before and during the chemical stimulation of VLDA. The decrease in CBF was not due to the decrease in arterial blood pressure (ABP) caused by the chemical stimulation of the VLDA because the CBF during the chemical stimulation of the VLDA was significantly smaller (P less than 0.01) than the CBF during controlled hemorrhagic hypotension (n = 10). In another group of rats (n = 6), moderate hypertension was induced by blood transfusion. Unilateral chemical stimulation of the VLDA in these rats decreased ABP but it remained within normotensive range. A significant (P less than 0.05) decrease in CBF (from 46 +/- 12 to 29 +/- 7 ml.min-1.(100 g)-1) and a significant (P less than 0.01) increase in cerebrovascular resistance (from 2.7 +/- 0.4 to 4.3 +/- 0.6 mmHg per [ml.min-1.(100 g)-1]) was observed in the ipsilateral cerebral cortex of these rats. Chemical stimulation of the VLDA did not affect the reactivity of the cerebral vessels to hypercapnea (n = 5).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
THE INFLUENCE OF ATTITUDE PRIMING AND SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY ON THE VALUATION OF ENVIRONMENTAL PUBLIC GOODS USING PAIRED COMPARISONS

Determining the value of an environmental public good, such as litigation over oil-spill damage to a beach, is an abstract and difficult task. Integration of economics and psychology enabled the study of how social responsibility and persuasive priming influenced the valuations of environmental public goods. Research participants were 460 university students randomly assigned to one of six combinations of social responsibility and either a negative, neutral, or positive priming editorial about the environment. Participants completed an interactive computer program in which the items were either environmental public goods (e.g., wildlife refuge, clean air) private goods of known market value (e.g., $15 meal, $500 airline ticket) or sums of money ranging from $1 to $9000. Results indicated the values derived for the environmental public goods were higher when participants had sole responsibility for the group outcome, but were not affected by priming editorials, although the editorials affected subsequent a...
Endogenous Natriuretic Peptides Participate in Renal and Humoral Actions of Acute Vasopeptidase Inhibition in Experimental Mild Heart Failure

Mild heart failure is characterized by increases in atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) and brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) in the absence of activation of the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system (RAAS). Vasopeptidase (VP) inhibitors are novel molecules that coinhibit neutral endopeptidase 24.11, which degrades the natriuretic peptides (NPs) and ACE. In a well-characterized canine model of mild heart failure produced by ventricular pacing at 180 bpm for 10 days, we defined the renal and humoral actions of acute VP inhibition with omapatrilat (OMA, n=6) and acute ACE inhibition (n=5) alone with fosinoprilat. We also sought to determine whether the NPs participate in the renal actions of acute VP inhibition by the administration of OMA together with an intrarenal administration of the NP receptor antagonist HS-142-1 (n=5). OMA resulted in a greater natriuretic response than did ACE inhibition in association with increases in plasma cGMP, ANP, BNP, urinary cGMP, urinary ANP excretion, and glomerular filtration rate (P<0.05 for OMA versus ACE inhibition). Plasma renin activity was increased only in the group subjected to ACE inhibition. Administration of intrarenal HS-142-1 attenuated the renal properties of OMA in association with a decrease in urinary cGMP excretion despite similar increases in plasma ANP and BNP. This study provides new insight into a unique new pharmacological agent that has beneficial renal actions in experimental mild heart failure beyond the actions that are observed with ACE inhibition alone and that are linked to the NP system.
A profile of the behavioral changes produced by facilitation of AMPA-type glutamate receptors

A newly developed group of benzoylpiperidine drugs that enhance AMPA-receptor-gated currents (“ampakines”) has been shown to improve memory encoding in rats across a variety of experimental paradigms. The present experiments were intended to i) provide a partial profile of the behavioral changes produced by ampakines, ii) test if two ampakines (BDP-12 and BDP-20) that differ significantly in their effects on AMPA receptor kinetics produce similar behavioral profiles, and iii) determine if physiological potency is reflected in behavioral potency. BDP-20 reduced two measures of exploratory activity in aged rats but increased speed of performance in a radial maze; the drug also caused substantially improved retention of spatial information. These results are similar to those obtained with BDP-12, an analog that differs from BDP-20 in its effects on ligand binding to the AMPA receptor and on the physiological responses of the receptors to glutamate. BDP-20 was approximately ten-fold more potent in behavioral effects than BDP-12, which agrees with the relative potencies of the two drugs as assessed with excised patches and excitatory synaptic responses. These findings indicate that ampakines, though differing in their effects on AMPA-receptor-mediated responses, have similar effects at the behavioral level.
SU-E-J-107: Utilization of Hysteresis Motion as a Marker for Tumor Margin in a Free-Breathing Lung

Purpose: To study the feasibility of using hysteresis motion characterized by a free‐breathing lung motion model as a marker for tumor margin in lung patients. Methods: Anatomical and physiological evidences have shown that solid tumors typically have more collagen in tumor stroma and consequently are firmer than surrounding normal tissues. For patients with lungcancer, the increased firmness in tumor stroma would alter pattern of breathing motion, mostly prominent in the hysteresis component that is defined as the variation between motion trajectories during inhalation and exhalation. A free‐breathing lung motion model, x= x0+alpha*v+beta*f, where v and f denote tidal volume and air flow respectively, decomposes breathing motion into a non‐hysteresis component alpha*v, which is purely due to air filling, and a hysteresis component beta*f. Four patients acquired in Cine mode were analyzed and beta was obtained by linear least‐square fitting registered motions to air flows measured by spirometry. Results: Hysteresis motions were found to gently change in magnitude and direction throughout whole lungs except around cancerous regions where the hysteresis motions turn sharply following the curvature of the tumors, indicating shear motions along the interface between tumors and surrounding normal tissues. Conclusions: The vector map of hysteresis motion demonstrates affinity to tumor curvature in the vicinity of the tumor, reflecting intrinsic physiological and mechanical changes at the transition from tumor stroma to surrounding normal tissue. It has the potential to be used as a marker for tumor margin.
Bedside Musculoskeletal Ultrasonography

Bedside sonography for the evaluation of soft tissue and musculoskeletal conditions has become indispensible for physicians caring for patients in critical, emergency, and urgent care settings. This article reviews indications, techniques, and imaging appearances of common conditions encountered in clinical practice.
Impact of Body Weight on Long-term Survival After Lung Transplantation

Study objectives: The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of a pretransplantation determination of body mass index (BMI) on survival after lung transplantation. Design and patients: Univariate and multivariate survival analyses of a single institution database consisting of 85 patients who had undergone lung transplantations between March 1994 and October 1998. Setting: University of Florida Health Science Center. Results: Kaplan-Meier survival curves showed that patients who were obese (ie, BMI, > 30) at a pretransplantation assessment had a marked decrease in posttransplantation survival time (log rank, p < 0.05; Wilcoxon, p < 0.05). The final Cox regression model revealed that the most powerful predictors of mortality after lung transplantation were higher pretransplantation BMI and the development of obliterative bronchiolitis. Conclusions: Our results suggest that the posttransplantation risk for mortality is possibly three times greater for obese patients than for nonobese patients. Additional study is needed to identify the mechanisms for such higher risk in obese patients. Our data also suggest that transplantation centers should not routinely reject underweight patients (ie, BMI, < 18.5) or overweight patients (ie, BMI, 25 to 29.9) for lung transplantation listing solely on the basis of weight, as their outcomes may not be significantly different than patients with normal BMIs. (CHEST 2002; 121:401– 406)
Depression and anxiety among high-risk obstetric inpatients

Abstract Objective To assess the following among women hospitalized antenatally due to high-risk pregnancies: (1) rates of depression symptoms and anxiety symptoms, (2) changes in depression symptoms and anxiety symptoms and, (3) rates of mental health treatment. Methods Sixty-two participants hospitalized for high-risk obstetrical complications completed the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS), Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7-item scale (GAD-7) and Short-Form 12 weekly until delivery or discharge, and once postpartum. Results Average length of total hospital stay was 8.3±7.6days for women who completed an initial admission survey ( n =62) and 16.3±8.9 ( n =34), 25.4±10.2 ( n =17) and 35±10.9 days ( n =9) for those who completed 2, 3 and 4 surveys, respectively. EPDS was ≥10 in 27% ( n =17) and GAD-7 was ≥10 in 13% ( n =8) of participants at initial survey. Mean anxiety (4.2±6.5 vs. 5.2±5.1, p =.011) and depression (4.4±5.6 vs. 6.9±4.8, p =.011) scores were lower postpartum compared to initial survey. Past mental health diagnosis predicted depression symptoms [odds ratio (OR)=4.54; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.91–7.17] and anxiety symptoms (OR=5.95; 95% CI 3.04–8.86) at initial survey; however, 21% ( n =10) with no diagnostic history had EPDS ≥10. Five percent ( n =3) received mental health treatment during pregnancy. Conclusion Hospitalized high-risk obstetrical patients may commonly experience depression symptoms and/or anxiety symptoms and not receive treatment. A history of mental health treatment or diagnosis was associated with depression symptoms or anxiety symptoms in pregnancy. Of women with an EPDS ≥10, >50% did not report a past mental health diagnosis.
Reducing mortality from sudden cardiac death in the community: lessons from epidemiology and clinical applications research

The reduction of mortality from sudden cardiac death (SCD) in the community remains a challenge. Clinical-epidemiologic studies have identified a range of factors that are associated with an increased risk of SCD. While of potential etiologic and prognostic importance, these factors have limited sensitivity and a low positive predictive value for SCD. On the other hand, clinical trials have suggested that a variety of interventions, including risk factor reduction, nutritional interventions, drug therapies, cardiac procedures, and new technologies, have the potential to reduce mortality from SCD. In this review, we examine what is known about the epidemiology and clinical application of interventions to reduce mortality from SCD; and, we consider the impact of both prevention and clinical interventions on mortality from SCD from a community perspective. There is mounting evidence that supports both public health and clinical efforts to prevent the occurrence of SCD. There also is evidence suggesting that new technologies, such as automated external defibrillators, have the potential to reduce case-fatality from SCD. Further progress will depend on improved methods to identify persons-at-risk, reduction of risk factors, and application of techniques -- both simple and advanced -- to improve survival in victims of SCD.
Effects of mimosine administered to a perfused area of skin in Angora goats

The effect of mimosine on a perfused area of skin tissue was studied using an isolated perfusion technique. Four mature Angora wethers (body weight 35 (SE 2.3) kg) were cannulated bilaterally with indwelling silicone catheters in the superficial branches of the deep circumflex iliac artery and vein. Mimosine (40 mg/kg metabolic weight (W)0.75) per d) was infused intra-arterially into one iliac artery of each goat for 3 d and saline was infused in the contralateral (control) iliac artery. Iliac venous blood samples were taken from both sides along with arterial samples from the carotid artery. Mimosine infusion elevated plasma mimosine in the carotid artery (52.6 (SEM 19.21) mumol/l) and iliac vein on the saline-treated side to 54.1 (SEM 16.31) mumol/l and in the iliac vein on the mimosine-treated side to 191.3 (SEM 19.14) mumol/l (P < 0.01). Mimosine decreased feed intake (2.3 v. 0.6 kg/d, SEM 0.29; P < 0.001) and water consumption (5.2 v. 1.3 litres/d, SEM 0.67; P < 0.001). Mimosine did not cause defleecing in the area of infusion and was cleared from the bloodstream within 12 h of cessation of infusion. The following effects were also observed during mimosine infusion: decrease in plasma amino acids to half pre-infusion values (methionine 22.7 v. 13.1 mumol/l, SEM 1.41; lysine 95.9 v. 37.4 mumol/l, SEM 4.28; P < 0.001); decreases in plasma triiodothyronine (1495 v. 695 ng/l, SEM 43.1; P < 0.001), thyroxine (61.5 v. 19.5 micrograms/l, SEM 1.8; P < 0.001) and insulin (28.7 v. 17.3 microIU/ml, SEM 1.89; P < 0.01) concentrations; increase in plasma cortisol (14 v. 62 micrograms/l, SEM 0.35; P < 0.001) concentration; decreases in levels of plasma Zn and Mg (0.97 v. 0.49 mg/l, SEM 0.063; P < 0.001 and 21.4 v. 14.6 mg/l, SEM 1.74; P < 0.001 respectively). All reported variables returned to their normal values 24 h after cessation of mimosine infusion except feed intake which was affected for a longer period. Mohair length and diameter were not affected by mimosine infusion. The toxicity of mimosine may be due to the drastic depletion of Zn and Mg in the blood as mimosine possesses very strong chelating properties and is excreted in the urine as a chelate.
Water resources and water quality in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas: Current status and future projections

This article reviews recent efforts by federal, state, and international organizations to address the impact of the unprecedented growth in population and industry along the border between Texas and Mexico on the water resources and water quality of the region. The border region depends heavily on the Rio Grande River both for water for sustenance and industrial use, as well as for wastewater disposal. The Texas Water Development Board, acting under the Texas Legislature, directed the development of regional water plans that were published early in 2001. Three regions were identified in the plans to include the Texas–Mexico border, namely, the Far West region, the Plateau region, and the Rio Grande region. Although these plans provide the basis for further work on managing water resources in the region, they do not address the adequacy of water quality and quality assurance in the region. Because water from the Rio Grande is being reused at numerous locations along the border, water-quality investigations must be given a high priority now.
Preexisting Immunity to Poliovirus Does Not Impair the Efficacy of Recombinant Poliovirus Vaccine Vectors

Recombinant viruses are attractive candidates for the development of novel vaccines. A number of viruses have been engineered as vaccine vectors to express antigens from other pathogens or tumors. Inoculation of susceptible animals with this type of recombinant virus results in the induction of both humoral and cellular immune responses directed against the foreign antigens. A general problem to this approach is that existing immunity to the vector can diminish or completely abolish the efficacy of the viral vector. In this study, we investigated whether poliovirus recombinants are capable of inducing effective immunity to the foreign antigen in previously vaccinated animals. Antipoliovirus immunity was induced in susceptible mice by intraperitoneal immunization with live poliovirus. Immunized mice developed antibodies directed against capsid proteins that effectively neutralized poliovirus in vitro and protected animals from a lethal challenge with a high dose of pathogenic poliovirus. To test whether preexisting immunity reduces the efficacy of vaccination with recombinant poliovirus, immunized mice were inoculated with a recombinant poliovirus expressing the C-terminal half of chicken ovalbumin (Polio-Ova). Animals developed ovalbumin-specific antibodies and cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL). While the antibody titers observed in preimmune and naive mice were similar, the overall CTL response appeared to be reduced in preimmune mice. Importantly, vaccination with Polio-Ova was able to effectively protect preimmune mice against lethal challenge with a tumor expressing the antigen. Thus, preexisting immunity to poliovirus does not compromise seriously the efficacy of replication-competent poliovirus vaccine vectors. These results contrast with those observed for other viral vaccine vectors and suggest that preexisting immunity does not equally affect the vaccine potential of individual viral vectors.
Empowering authors to diagnose comprehension burden in textbooks

Good textbooks are organized in a systematically progressive fashion so that students acquire new knowledge and learn new concepts based on known items of information. We provide a diagnostic tool for quantitatively assessing the comprehension burden that a textbook imposes on the reader due to non-sequential presentation of concepts. We present a formal definition of comprehension burden and propose an algorithmic approach for computing it. We apply the tool to a corpus of high school textbooks from India and empirically examine its effectiveness in helping authors identify sections of textbooks that can benefit from reorganizing the material presented.
Activation of Complement by Treponema denticola

Oral spirochetes have been shown to be associated with periodontal diseases and are present in increased numbers in lesions of greater severity. In this study, the interaction of Treponema denticola with human complement, a major antibacterial defense system, was examined. For each of two strains of T. denticola, it was found that both the classical and alternative pathways of human complement were activated in human serum upon incubation at 37°C. C3 fragments were deposited on the surface of this organism following complement activation; the fragments bound included both of the major C3-derived op-sonic fragments C3b and iC3b. Under incubation conditions identical to those carried out for complement activation in serum, T. denticola failed to degrade purified, hemolytically-active C3, although it readily degraded inactivated C3. Thus, despite the documented proteolytic activity of this organism, complement activation and deposition of complement-derived opsonins may be important defense mechanisms in the...
A functional approach to memory-safe operating systems

Purely functional languages—with static type systems and dynamic memory management using garbage collection—are a known tool for helping programmers to reduce the number of memory errors in programs. By using such languages, we can establish correctness properties relating to memory-safety through our choice of implementation language alone. Unfortunately, the language characteristics that make purely functional languages safe also make them more difficult to apply in a low-level domain like operating systems construction. The low-level features that support the kinds of hardware manipulations required by operating systems are not typically available in memory-safe languages with garbage collection. Those that are provided may have the ability to violate memory- and type-safety, destroying the guarantees that motivate using such languages in the first place. This work demonstrates that it is possible to bridge the gap between the requirements of operating system implementations and the features of purely functional languages without sacrificing type- and memory-safety. In particular, we show that this can be achieved by isolating the potentially unsafe memory operations required by operating systems in an abstraction layer that is well integrated with a purely functional language. The salient features of this abstraction layer are that the operations it exposes are memory-safe and yet sufficiently expressive to support the implementation of realistic operating systems. The abstraction layer enables systems programmers to perform all of the low-level tasks necessary in an OS implementation, such as manipulating an MMU and executing user-level programs, without compromising the static memory-safety guarantees of programming in a purely functional language. A specific contribution of this work is an analysis of memory-safety for the abstraction layer by formalizing a meaning for memory-safety in the presence of virtual-memory using a novel application of non-interference security policies. In addition, we evaluate the expressiveness of the abstraction layer by implementing the L4 microkernel API, which has a flexible set of virtual memory management operations.
Calcium requirements for growth : are current recommendations adequate ?

Peak adult bone mass is determined in each individual by a combination of endogenous and environmental factors. Insufficient accumulation of skeletal mass by the time young adulthood is reached appears to enhance the likelihood of fractures later in life. It is speculated that environment (nutrition and exercise) contributes to about 20% of the variance in bone mass. Although much is yet to be learned about how diet contributes to skeletal growth and development, it now appears that calcium intake may be an important factor in the attainment of peak bone mass. A review of the scientific literature suggests that the current recommended dietary allowance (RDA) for calcium may not be high enough to optimize the genetically programmed peak bone mass in a substantial number of growing individuals. New standards for dietary calcium intakes during growth may be indicated.
Self-ideal-self discrepancy as a defensive style.

HERE IS an assumption widely maintained in personality research that a large discrepancy between experienced self and ideal self reflects emotional disturbance, while its absence is a sign of emotional health. The most important and extensive clinical application of this assumption has been the Q-sort studies of Rogerian therapists postulating that productive change in therapy coincides with a decreasing discrepancy between experienced self and ideal self as more realistic relationships develop between one’s attitudes and abilities and one’s values and goals.’ This assumption was supported in several studies, in which some measure of self-ideal-self discrepancy was tested against some measure of adjustment.2-e Just as often, however, researchers did not find the expected positive relationships between low self-ideal-self discrepancy and adjustment. Individual differences sometimes attenuated a hypothesized positive linear relationship.’ Chodorkoff s found “high-adjustment” subjects with both very low and very high self-ideal-self discrepancy scores. Several studies comparing paranoid schizophrenics, neurotics, and normals found that paranoid schizophrenics had selfideal-self discrepancy scores as low as or lower than normals.y-” These authors reasoned that emotional adjustment would be directly reflected in a measure of realistic self-acceptance. They concluded that the low self-ideal-self discrepancy scores for their paranoid schizophrenic subjects reflected a defensive maneuver characterized by unrealistic self-enhancement. Ibelle” in particular concluded that rather than providing a clear-cut measure of psychological health, the results of these studies suggest that the Q-sort self-ideal-self discrepancy may be an excellent indicator of the effectiveness of an individual’s self-system in maintaining unacceptable aspects of the self in a state of dissociation, thus protecting the individual from experiences of severe anxiety and feelings of self-dissatisfaction. After reviewing this second group of studies, it is reasonable to hypothesize that self-ideal-self discrepancy is related to a defensive style involving the manner in which self-dissatisfaction is handled. Indeed, at least two studies have supported this notion. Self-ideal-self discrepancy was tested against overcontrollers-undercontrollers12 and repressors-sensitizers.13 Both of these dimensions contrast a style of handling conflict by avoiding it through denial and projection versus a style using isolation and intellectualization to obsessively mull over conflicts. In both studies, a significant positive association was found between low self-ideal-self discrepancy and the avoidant style characteristic of overcontrollers and repressors. The two studies reported below represent an attempt to further test the hypothesis that the measured discrepancy between experienced self and ideal self is related to defensive style; it reflects a disposition to accentuate or to hide self
Public Regulation of Agricultural Biotechnology Field Tests: Economic Implications of Alternative Approaches

Federal oversight of agricultural biotechnology field testing is based on public concerns that unknown consequences could arise from such tests, and that firms may not adequately consider the public consequences of their research and development activities. In this paper, four general types of ex ante and ex post approaches to manage public risks from field testing are explored. The analysis shows that the approaches are least effective at facilitating the research process yet controlling public risks when the research firm is small in size and potential damages exceed the value of the firm.
Steps toward activity-oriented computing

Most pervasive computing technologies focus on helping users with computer-oriented tasks. In this NSF-funded project, we instead focus on using computers to support user-centered "activities" that normally do not involve the use of computers. Examples may include everyday tasks around such as answering the doorbell or doing laundry. A focus on activity-based computing brings to the foreground a number of unique challenges. These include activity definition and representation, system design, interfaces for managing activities, and ensuring robust operation. Our project focuses on the first two challenges.
Persistent voids

Motivation: Membrane fusion constitutes a key stage in cellular processes such as synaptic neurotransmission and infection by enveloped viruses. Current experimental assays for fusion have thus far been unable to resolve early fusion events in fine structural detail. We have previously used molecular dynamics simulations to develop mechanistic models of fusion by small lipid vesicles. Here, we introduce a novel structural measurement of vesicle topology and fusion geometry: persistent voids. Results: Persistent voids calculations enable systematic measurement of structural changes in vesicle fusion by assessing fusion stalk widths. They also constitute a generally applicable technique for assessing lipid topological change. We use persistent voids to compute dynamic relationships between hemifusion neck widening and formation of a full fusion pore in our simulation data. We predict that a tightly coordinated process of hemifusion neck expansion and pore formation is responsible for the rapid vesicle fusion mechanism, while isolated enlargement of the hemifusion diaphragm leads to the formation of a metastable hemifused intermediate. These findings suggest that rapid fusion between small vesicles proceeds via a small hemifusion diaphragm rather than a fully expanded one. Availability: Software available upon request pending public release. Contact:kasson@cmgm.stanford-edu or pande@stanford.edu Supplementary information: Supplementary data are available on Bioinformatics online.
Editor’s overview: tutoring and mentoring for success within communities of praxis

This issue of the Mentoring & Tutoring: Partnership in Learning features the topic of tutoring and mentoring for success within communities of praxis. Communities that not only embrace but also syn...
A note on propagating rainfall episodes over the Bay of Bengal

An observational analysis of precipitation episodes over the Bay of Bengal and the adjacent coastal region is conducted using the TRMM Real-Time Multi-Satellite Precipitation Analysis (MPA-RT) products for three warm seasons (i.e. May to September for 2002–2004). Time–distance diagrams (Hovmuller diagrams) of rainfall episodes reveal frequent travelling precipitation episodes having lifetimes greatly exceeding those of individual convective systems. The majority of the episodes translate southward and many do not appear to have a steering level (i.e. they propagate in a hydraulic-like manner), unlike those previously documented over midlatitude and tropical continents which usually have a steering level. On average, the coherent systems have a latitudinal span of 5 degrees and a 1-day duration and a meridional propagation speed of 8 m s−1, approximately. The episodes mostly initiate over the coastal land around midday and offshore around midnight. Copyright © 2008 Royal Meteorological Society
Creative Aspects of Sonification

A goal of sonification research is the intuitive audio representation of complex, multidimensional data. The authors present two facets of this research that may provide insight into the creative process. First, they discuss aspects of categorical perception in nonverbal auditory scene analysis and propose that these characteristics are simplified models of creative engagement with sound. Second, they describe the use of sonified data in musical compositions by each of the authors and observe aspects of the creative process in the purely aesthetic use of sonified statistical data.
Low-dimensional Linearized Models for Systems with Periodic Orbits, with Application to the Ginzburg-Landau Equation

We introduce a general procedure for obtaining a low-dimensional linear time-periodic model from a very high-dimensional nonlinear system that has an asymptotically stable periodic orbit. Our goal is to develop models that are suitable for designing feedback controllers for uids systems with periodic orbits, such as periodically shedding wakes, or ow control problems where periodic actuation is introduced. In our method, we rst linearize the nonlinear system about its asymptotically stable periodic orbit. We then compute a projection to project out the one-dimensional neutrally stable eigenspace appearing in the linear model corresponding to perturbations along the direction of the periodic orbit. Finally, we apply the method of snapshot-based balanced truncation for the high-dimensional linear periodic system to obtain a reduced-order model. We illustrate the method by developing reduced-order models for the complex Ginzburg-Landau equation.
Generalized enchondromatosis. A case report.

L'observation clinique et radiologique est faite de la naissance a l'âge adulte. L'analyse microscopique est plutot evocatrice de chondrodysplasie metaphysaire
An object-oriented approach to reinforcement learning in an action game

In this work, we look at the challenge of learning in an action game, Infinite Mario. Learning to play an action game can be divided into two distinct but related problems, learning an object-related behavior and selecting a primitive action. We propose a framework that allows for the use of reinforcement learning for both of these problems. We present promising results in some instances of the game and identify some problems that might affect learning.