cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
ACE2: Angiotensin II/Angiotensin-(1–7) Balance in Cardiac and Renal Injury

Our current recognition of the renin-angiotensin system is more convoluted than originally thought due to the discovery of multiple novel enzymes, peptides, and receptors inherent in this interactive biochemical cascade. Over the last decade, angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) has emerged as a key player in the pathophysiology of hypertension and cardiovascular and renal disease due to its pivotal role in metabolizing vasoconstrictive/hypertrophic/proliferative angiotensin II into favorable angiotensin-(1–7). This review addresses the considerable advancement in research on the role of tissue ACE2 in the development and progression of hypertension and cardiac and renal injury. We summarize the results from recent clinical and experimental studies suggesting that serum or urine soluble ACE2 may serve as a novel biomarker or independent risk factor relevant for diagnosis and prognosis of cardiorenal disease. We also review recent proceedings on novel therapeutic approaches to enhance ACE2/angiotensin-(1–7) axis.
Determination of the positions and residues of the Δ++ and Δ0 poles☆

Abstract The poles and the associated residues in the πN P 33 amplitude corresponding to the resonances Δ ++ and Δ 0 are determined by fitting the π + p and π − p hadronic phase shifts from the Carter 73 analysis. The Δ ++ and Δ 0 pole positions are determined also from the nuclear phase shifts, these being the phase shifts made up of the hadronic phase shifts plus the Coulomb corrections. The pole positions obtained from the two sets of phase shifts are different, the difference being larger in the case of the Δ ++ .
Attitudinal, Social, and Practical Correlates to Fitness Behavior: A Test of the Theory of Planned Behavior

Srr,nmary.-Professional management personnel (N=73) who exercise were studied to assess the efficacy of the theory of ~lanned behavior in predicting intention to exercise and amount of exercise. Four rating scales were used for the assessment of attirude toward fitness, subjective norm, perceived behavioral control, and intention to exercise. In addition, frequency of exercise was measured and recorded for five months. aerarchical mulriple regression analyses indicated that 26.6% of the variance of inrention to exercise was contributed by both fitness attirude and subiective norm, with the unique contribution of attitude toward fitness (part r = .36) slightly greater than that of subjective norm (part r = 33). 8% of the unique variance of exercise was explained by intention to exercise. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses also indicated that perceived behavioral control did not account for a significant variance in intention to exercise but did account for a significant variance in amount of exercise (R~ change= ,211. In the environment in which it was tested, results support the theory of planned behavior for understanding the exercise behavior of professional management personnel who exercise. Less than 40% of first-year participants in fitness programs continue into the second year. In comparison, more than 80% of third- and fourthyear participants and more than 90% of participants who exercise longer than four years continue to renew their memberships (Kerner, 1993a). Of those first-year participants who choose not to continue, almost 50% cite reasons that may be grouped as perception of a lack of control. Consequently, the effectiveness of adult fitness programs is hampered by a considerable number of persons who are unwilhg or unable to participate regularly in physical activity, especially in [he initial period. Although exercise programs vary widely, it is typical to expect as much as a 40 to 50% dropout rate within the initial six months to first year of membership (Dishman & Sallis, 1994).
PLASMA APOLIPOPROTEIN PROFILES OF MALE AND FEMALE RATS

Abstract To determine if sex differences exist in the apolipoprotein profile of the rat, the concentrations of the major apolipoproteins and lipids of 12-week-old male and female rats were measured in the plasma as well as in the individual lipoprotein fractions. Plasma apo B, triglyceride, and cholesterol concentrations were significantly higher in male rats than in female rats. Plasma concentrations of apo A-I, apo E, apo A-IV, and apo CIII did not differ between the sexes. Male rats had higher concentrations of apo B in the very low density lipoproteins (VLDL), intermediate density lipoproteins (IDL), and the low density lipoproteins (LDL). These results further support the evidence that sex hormones influence lipoprotein metabolism in the rat.
Post-glacial environmental change and hunting-gathering societies of the southern Prairie Peninsula

Abstract Evidence from several disciplines supports the proposition that following the Wisconsinan and an initial but brief moist phase of the Holocene, there was a gradual drying trend in the mid-continent Prairie Peninsula that peaked about 7000 years ago, a pattern that was not reversed until about 4000 years ago. Except for minor perturbations, conditions during the past four millennia have essentially been similar to those of the present. Studies in palynology and geomorphology have shown that the climatic regimes of the early/mid Post-glacial had a marked influence on both the biota and landscape erosional patterns, especially along the margins of the Prairie Peninsula. Measurable changes in the landscape and attendant biota show a time-transgressive pattern of drought related phenomena recorded palaeo-ecologically from west to east. Few studies of archaeological sites in the Prairie Peninsula have examined the evidence in and around the sites themselves for data reflecting local environmental dynamics. In fact, earlier models proposed for explaining the evolution of food-procuring systems in eastern North America virtually ignored potential changes in the natural environment. This paper examines data from two archaeological sites along the prairie-forest border in Missouri that contain long cultural sequences. Evidence is presented that pronounced changes in the natural environment occurred and that these biophysical variables are indeed critical for understanding the evolution of food-procuring societies in the American Midwest.
The conservation equations of a classical plasma in the presence of radiation

Abstract The conservation equations of a plasma are derived, taking into account the presence of radiation. Although the plasma is considered in the framework of classical gas dynamics, radiation is described as a relativistic photon gas. The 4-energy-momentum tensor of this gas is decomposed according to a process already used by Eckart in the case of a relativistic gas of material particles. The second part of this article deals with the case of local thermodynamic equilibrium.
Social knowledge II

In this reconsideration of social knowledge, an attempt is made to resolve ambiguities related to the original project. Three regions of dispute fostered by the initial essay are examined and explained: first, the definition of social knowledge; second, the issue of form; third, the problem of normative impact.
Electroanatomic Mapping of Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy

A 51-year-old man with a history of dilated cardiomyopathy presented with New York Heart Association Class III congestive heart failure. Despite optimal medical management, he continued to experience symptoms consistent with low-output failure: exertional dyspnea, orthopnea, and paroxysmal nocturnal dyspnea. He was hospitalized 3 times in the previous 4 months for congestive heart failure management. The baseline ECG revealed a left bundle-branch block with a QRS width of 172 ms, and the echocardiogram revealed an ejection fraction of 28%. He was referred to the cardiac arrhythmia service for cardiac resynchronization therapy. A biventricular pacemaker was implanted in the left prepectoral region. A transvenous approach was utilized to position both the standard right-sided leads, and the left ventricular lead was positioned …
Cytokinesis in flowering plants: more than one way to divide a cell.

Several different cytokinetic mechanisms operate in flowering plants. During ‘conventional’ somatic cytokinesis, the mitotic spindle remnants give rise to a phragmoplast that serves as a framework for the assembly of the cell plate. Cell plates fuse with the parental plasma membrane at specific cortical sites previously defined by the preprophase band of microtubules. In nuclear endosperms, meiocytes, and gametophytic cells, cytokinesis occurs without preprophase bands. The position of the new cell walls is determined instead by interacting arrays of microtubules that radiate from the nuclear envelope surfaces. The nuclear cytoplasmic domains defined by these microtubule arrays demarcate the boundaries of the future cells. Recent studies have provided new insights into the ultrastructural similarities and dissimilarities between conventional and non-conventional cytokinesis. Numerous proteins have also been localized to cytokinesis-related cytoskeletal arrays and cell plates but the functions of most of them have yet to be elucidated.
Efficacy of ondansetron against nausea and vomiting caused by dacarbazine-containing chemotherapy.

Background and Methods. The antiemetic activity of ondansetron (Zofran, Glaxo Pharmaceuticals, Research Triangle Park, NC) was evaluated in 25 patients with recurrent melanoma who were treated sequentially with dacarbazine (DTIC), vinblastine, and cisplatin. The antiemetic regimen included ondansetron alone in 11 patients; ondansetron plus lorazepam (Ativan, Wyeth-Ayerst, Philadelphia, PA) in 9 patients; and ondansetron plus lorazepam plus metoclopramide (Reglan, A. H. Robins Go., Richmond, VA) in 5 patients. Twenty-one patients had no prior exposure to chemotherapy, whereas 4 patients had previously received the same chemotherapy regimen and had severe vomiting despite administration of standard antiemetics. Results. The antiemetic efficacy of ondansetron was impressive. Administration of a single dose of 10 mg resulted in complete control of nausea and vomiting in 22 patients, and the remaining 3 patients had only mild vomiting. Conclusions. Ondansetron is highly effective in controlling the nausea and vomiting caused by dacarbazine. Cancer 1992; 70: 2018-2020.
Influence of various starches on dissolution rate of salicylic acid from tablets.

The effect of various starches (corn, potato, rice, arrowroot, and a compressible starch) on the rate of dissolution of salicylic acid from tablets (prepared by double compression) was investigated. Dissolution rate determinations were carried out using three different test methods: USP-NF Method Types I and II and a modified flask method. In all instances, the dissolution of the drug was fastest from tablets containing a compressible starch, whereas the rank order of the dissolution times of the other starch formulations depended on the dissolution test method. Dissolution rates for starch formulations determined by the stirring agitation-type test methods were potato > corn > arrowroot > rice, and the rates determined by an oscillating agitation-type test were corn > rice > arrowroot = potato.
On the approximate K-controllability of nonlinear systems in Banach spaces

Abstract Let X be a real Banach space. Control problems of the type (*) x ′ + A ( t ) x = B ( t , x , u ) , t ∈ [ 0 , T ] , x ( 0 ) = 0 , are considered, where, for every t ∈ [ 0 , T ] , A ( t ) : X ⊃ D ( A ) → X , and B : [ 0 , T ] × X 2 → X are given operators. The concept of approximate K -controllability (or controllability with preassigned responses) is introduced for systems of the type ( * ) . It is shown that there exist Lipschitz-continuous approximating control functions u ɛ ( t ) , t ∈ [ 0 , T ] , for a variety of response types. Evans-responses and Kato-responses are considered for fully nonlinear problems as well as mild ones for semilinear problems. It is also shown that the function r ( ɛ ) , which determines the proximity of the response x ɛ ( t ) with x ɛ ′ ( t ) + A ( t ) x ɛ ( t ) = B ( t , x ɛ ( t ) , u ɛ ( t ) ) , t ∈ [ 0 , T ] , x ( 0 ) = 0 , to the preassigned response f ( t ) ( ∥ x ɛ - f ∥ ⩽ r ( ɛ ) ), is of the type C ɛ , where C is a positive constant independent of ɛ . A more natural approximate K -controllability concept, “approximate eK -controllability”, is also introduced, and a result is given about it using Leray–Schauder theory. An application is given in the field of partial differential equations.
Discriminant analysis of stochastic models and its application to face recognition

As the vital component of a recently developed stochastic model based feature generation scheme, Fisher score is increasingly used in classification applications. We present a generalization of previous proposed feature generation schemes by introducing the concept of multiclass mapping, which is oriented to multiclass classification problems. Based on the generalized feature generation scheme, a novel face recognition system is developed by a systematical integration of hidden Markov model (HMM) and linear discriminant analysis (LDA). The proposed system is evaluated on a public available face database of 50 subjects. Comparing to holistic features based LDA method, stand alone HMM method, and LDA method based on previous proposed feature generation schemes, which are intrinsically oriented to two-class problems, superior performance is obtained by our method in terms of recognition accuracy.
An Integrative Model of Inter- and Intragenerational Preconception Processes Influencing Birthweight in the United States

Social inequalities in birthweight are an important population health concern as low birthweight is one mechanism through which inequalities are reproduced across generations. Yet, we do not understand what causes these social inequalities. This study draws together theoretic and empiric findings from disparate disciplines—sociology, economics, public health, and behavior genetics—to develop a new integrative intra- and intergenerational model of preconception processes influencing birthweight. This model is empirically tested using structural equation modeling and population-level data containing linked mother-daughter pairs from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY79) and the Children of the NLSY79 (N = 1,580 mother-daughter pairs). Results reveal that birthweight is shaped by preconception factors dating back to women's early life environment as well as conditions dating back three generations, via integrative intra- and intergenerational processes. These processes reveal specific pathways through which social inequality can transmit from mothers to children via birthweight.
Detection of ionizing radiation using graphene field effect transistors

We propose schemes of using graphene field effect transistors (GFET) to detect ionizing radiation. The detection is based on the high sensitivity of graphene to local change of electrical field that can result from the interaction of radiation with a semiconductor substrate in a GFET. We present preliminary modeling and experimental work to develop a prototype sensor, and discuss potential advantages compared to conventional detectors.
A speaker adaptation technique using linear regression

A technique for adapting speaker-independent speech recognition models to the voice of a new speaker is presented. The technique is capable of estimating adapted parameters for all the speech models when only a small subset of the recognition vocabulary is spoken by the new speaker. Whereas previous methods have often assumed a transformation between the speaker-independent models and the adapted models, this technique models the relationship between different speech units using linear regression. The regression models are built off-line using the training-set data. At recognition-time, the speech models are adapted using the regression models and the new speaker's data, a procedure which is computationally cheap. Experimental results show a halving of the recognition error-rate when only about 8% of the vocabulary is given as enrollment data, and when half the vocabulary is given, a reduction in the error-rate of 78%.
How Do Parents Make Adolescents Feel Loved? Perspectives on Supportive Parenting From Adolescents in 12 Cultures

The conceptualization and measurement of parental support is predominately the work of adult researchers from the West. This mixed-method study reports the parental behaviors that adolescents themselves perceive as supportive. Data come from the Cross-National Adolescent Project, a survey of adolescents in 12 nations or ethnic groups in Africa, Asia, Australia, the Americas, the Balkans, Europe, and the Middle East. The authors find that adolescents in all 12 settings validated the substantive content of existing survey measures of parental supportive behaviors. Adolescents in all settings also expanded the list of supportive behaviors. When parents provide a rare and valued commodity, it is perceived as love. The specific commodities, which include quality time, basic necessities, and support for education, vary across culture. In the discussion the authors describe how parenting strategies that have been interpreted previously as reinforcing distinct cultural purposes may, in fact, serve the same purpose.
Microfilament association of ASGP-2, the concanavalin A-binding glycoprotein of the cell-surface sialomucin complex of 13762 rat mammary ascites tumor cells

Microfilament-associated proteins and membrane-microfilament interactions are being investigated in microvilli isolated from 13,762 rat mammary ascites tumor cells. "Phalloidin shift" analyses on velocity sedimentation gradients of Triton X-100 extracts of [3H]-glucosamine-labeled microvilli identified a 120-kDa cell-surface glycoprotein associated with the microvillar microfilament core. The identification was verified by concanavalin A (Con A) blots of one- and two-dimensional (2D) electrophoresis gels of sedimented microfilament cores. By 2D-electrophoresis and lectin analyses the 120-kDa protein appeared to be a fraction of ASGP-2, the major Con A-binding glycoprotein of the sialomucin complex of the 13,762 cells. This identity was confirmed by immunoblot analyses using immunoblot-purified anti-ASGP-2 from anti-membrane serum prepared against microvillar membranes. Proteolysis of the microvilli with subtilisin or trypsin resulted in an increase in the amount of ASGP-2 associated with the microfilament cores. An increase was also observed with sialidase treatment of the microvilli, suggesting that negative charges, probably present on the highly sialated sialomucin ASGP-1 of the ASGP-1/ASGP-2 sialomucin complex, reduce ASGP-2 association with the microfilament core. Proteolysis of isolated microvillar membranes, which contain actin but not microfilaments, also increased the association of ASGP-2 with a Triton-insoluble, actin-containing membrane fraction. Purified ASGP-2 does not bind to microfilaments in sedimentation assays. Since the Triton-insoluble membrane residue is enriched in an actin-containing transmembrane complex, which contains a different glycoprotein, we suggest that the ASGP-2 is binding indirectly via this complex to the microfilament core in the intact microvilli.
The meta-Newcomb problem

Meta-Newcomb There are two boxes in front of you and you are asked to choose between taking only box B or taking both box A and box B. Box A contains $ 1,000. Box B will contain either nothing or $ 1,000,000. What B will contain is (or will be) determined by Predictor, who has an excellent track record of predicting your choices. There are two possibilities. Either Predictor has already made his move by predicting your choice and putting a million dollars in B iff he predicted that you will take only B (like in the standard Newcomb problem); or else Predictor has not yet made his move but will wait and observe what box you choose and then put a million dollars in B iff you take only B. In cases like this, Predictor makes his move before the subject roughly half of the time. However, there is a Metapredictor, who has an excellent track record of predicting Predictor’s choices as well as your own. You know all this. Metapredictor informs you of the following truth functional: Either you choose A and B, and Predictor will make his move after you make your choice; or else you choose only B, and Predictor has already made his choice. Now, what do you choose?
Economics of residential gas furnaces and water heaters in US new construction market

New single-family home construction represents a significant and important market for the introduction of energy-efficient gas-fired space heating and water-heating equipment. In the new construction market, the choice of furnace and water-heater type is primarily driven by first cost considerations and the availability of power vent and condensing water heaters. Few analysis have been performed to assess the economic impacts of the different combinations of space and water-heating equipment. Thus, equipment is often installed without taking into consideration the potential economic and energy savings of installing space and water-heating equipment combinations. In this study, we use a life-cycle cost analysis that accounts for uncertainty and variability of the analysis inputs to assess the economic benefits of gas furnace and water-heater design combinations. This study accounts not only for the equipment cost but also for the cost of installing, maintaining, repairing, and operating the equipment over its lifetime. Overall, this study, which is focused on US single-family new construction households that install gas furnaces and storage water heaters, finds that installing a condensing or power-vent water heater together with condensing furnace is the most cost-effective option for the majority of these houses. Furthermore, the findings suggest that the new construction residential market could be a target market for the large-scale introduction of a combination of condensing or power-vent water heaters with condensing furnaces.
Declustering large multidimensional data sets for range queries over heterogeneous disks

Declustering is a technique to distribute data sets over multiple disks so that future retrievals can be well balanced over the disks and be performed in parallel. Although clusters often have heterogeneous disks, most declustering work has focused only on homogeneous environments. In this work, we investigate the declustering problem for a heterogeneous disk environment using virtual servers, and propose approaches for deciding the number of virtual servers and the mapping between virtual servers and physical disks. Our experimental results show that by combining our algorithm for choosing the number of virtual servers with a greedy algorithm for mapping virtual servers to disks, users can expect range query retrieval performance within 4% of the optimum achievable in practice on average, in all configurations studied. Compared to an intuitively natural approach to the problem, this represents an improvement of 8-31% in average fetch ratio, as well a 26-38% reduction in the standard deviation of performance for small queries.
Multiprocessor performability analysis

Performability models of multiprocessor systems and their evaluation are presented. Two cases in which hierarchical modeling is applied are examined. Modified stochastic Petri net (MSPN)-based fault models of processor arrays, and a fault handling model to account for near coincident, permanent, transient, and intermittent faults are discussed. Performability results based on capacity-based reward assignments are reported. A simple MSPN-based model for multiprocessor systems, is introduced, and a closed queuing network to derive performance rewards is discussed. Several multiprocessor configurations are compared. >
Cerebrospinal Fluid Calcium

Hypotheses linking affective illness to alterations in calcium function rest on indirect pharmacological and behavioral observations in laboratory animals and man. In this chapter, we will briefly review both indirect evidence supporting these hypotheses and data from cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) studies in psychiatric and neurological patients. Studies of serum and urinary calcium in affective illness have been reviewed elsewhere.5,6,11
Intense and Extreme Wind Speeds Observed by Anemometer and Seismic Networks: An Eastern U.S. Case Study

AbstractThe scale and intensity of extreme wind events have tremendous relevance to determining the impact on infrastructure and natural and managed ecosystems. Analyses presented herein show the following. 1) Wind speeds in excess of the station-specific 95th percentile are coherent over distances of up to 1000 km over the eastern United States, which implies that the drivers of high wind speeds are manifest at the synoptic scale. 2) Although cold fronts associated with extratropical cyclones are a major cause of high–wind speed events, maximum sustained and gust wind speeds are only weakly dependent on the near-surface horizontal temperature gradient across the front. 3) Gust factors (GF) over the eastern United States have a mean value of 1.57 and conform to a lognormal probability distribution, and the relationship between maximum observed GF and sustained wind speed conforms to a power law with coefficients of 5.91 and −0.499. Even though there is coherence in the occurrence of intense wind speeds at...
Sex differences in route learning by children.

Differences between men and women have been reported with respect to route-learning, but sex differences in children on these and related tasks have not been found. In this study, 51 children ages 5 to 12 years were required to learn a route on a map to criterion and then asked to recall landmarks on that route. Boys made significantly fewer errors and rook less time and fewer trials to reach criterion in learning the route, and girls recalled more landmarks than boys. Significant main effects for age were also noted on all measures of route learning and landmark recall. These results suggest that the patterns of route learning that have been ascribed to women and men are present in girls and boys.
Kidney injury, fluid, electrolyte and acid-base abnormalities in alcoholics

In the 21 st century, alcoholism and the consequences of ethyl alcohol abuse are major public health concerns in the United States, affecting approximately 14 million people. Pertinent to the global impact of alcoholism is the World Health Organisation estimate that 140 million people worldwide suffer from alcohol dependence. Alcoholism and alcohol abuse are the third leading causes of preventable death in the United States. Alcohol dependence and alcohol abuse cost the United State an estimated US$220 billion in 2005, eclipsing the expense associated with cancer (US$196 billion) or obesity (US$133 billion). Orally ingested ethyl alcohol is absorbed rapidly without chemical change from the stomach and intestine, reaching maximum blood concentration in about an hour. Alcohol crosses capillary membranes by simple diffusion, affecting almost every organ system in the body by impacting a wide range of cellular functions. Alcohol causes metabolic derangements either directly, via its chemical by-product or secondarily through alcohol-induced disorders. Many of these alcohol-related metabolic disturbances are increased in severity by the malnutrition that is common in those with chronic alcoholism. This review focuses on the acute and chronic injurious consequences of alcohol ingestion on the kidney, as well as the fluid, electrolyte and acid-base abnormalities associated with acute and chronic ingestion of alcohol.
Promoting the uptake of evidence in clinical practice: a prescription for action

Abstract In many respects, obstetrics, perinatology, and neonatology have been at the forefront in the dissemination and uptake of evidence-based medicine. The work of the Cochrane Collaboration began largely with the need to systematize the evidence on these subjects. Among other organizations, the National Perinatal Information Service and the Vermont Oxford Network represent exemplary efforts to promote the uptake of evidence. With this background and support, the reader should be equipped to use the tools and examples provided in this article to promote evidence-based practice in his or her own practice setting.
Fractional-step dimensionality reduction

Linear projections for dimensionality reduction, computed using linear discriminant analysis (LDA), are commonly based on optimization of certain separability criteria in the output space. The resulting optimization problem is linear, but these separability criteria are not directly related to the classification accuracy in the output space. Consequently, a trial and error procedure has to be invoked, experimenting with different separability criteria that differ in the weighting function used and selecting the one that performed best on the training set. Often, even the best weighting function among the trial choices results in poor classification of data in the subspace. In this short paper, we introduce the concept of fractional dimensionality and develop an incremental procedure, called the fractional-step LDA (F-LDA) to reduce the dimensionality in fractional steps. The F-LDA algorithm is more robust to the selection of weighting function and for any given weighting function, it finds a subspace in which the classification accuracy is higher than that obtained using LDA.
Flexibility and Reputation in Repeated Prisoners' Dilemma Games

We study the role that the option to terminate a relationship has on cooperation in a repeated prisoner's dilemma. While cooperation is, in theory, sustainable with or without this option, we show experimentally that cooperation rates are significantly lower with the option to terminate. Rather than punishing a defection, most subjects choose to terminate the relationship, which increases the temptation to behave opportunistically. However, we show that introducing a reputation mechanism, through which signals of past cooperative behavior are given to future matches, can substantially increase cooperation rates, in some cases to a level higher than when the option to terminate the relationship is absent. Our results show that an objective, long-lasting measure of reputation is the most effective in promoting cooperation, but short-lasting or subjective but long-lasting reputation mechanisms also increase cooperative behavior. Moreover, reputation mechanisms generally lead to stable cooperation rates over time, in contrast to the declining cooperation rates observed in their absence when subjects are free to terminate relationships. Finally we show that the option to terminate a relationship acts as a sorting mechanism between subjects who cooperate frequently and those who do not, and that reputation mechanisms further enhance this sorting effect.
Space-time and OFDM Eigencoding for MIMO Ad-hoc Networks

We investigate the problem of minimizing total transmit power in an ad hoc network while maintaining quality of service for each link in the network. It is assumed that each node in the network uses M transmit and M receive antennas. We introduce two new algorithms based on minimizing the total interference function (TIF). A cooperative algorithm is also introduced as a benchmark for other algorithms. Simulations show that the new algorithms provide better performance than the greedy approach.
The Influence of Emersion on the Rate at Which Nucella lamellosa (Muricidae) Consumes Prey in the Laboratory

Abstract. Nucella lamellosa (Gmelin, 1791) is a phenotypically plastic species that preys on barnacles and occurs intertidally and subtidally along the north-eastern Pacific coast. This laboratory experiment tests the hypothesis that daily episodes of emersion impose a greater stress than daily episodes of limiting food in N. lamellosa. In this experiment, individuals of N. lamellosa were housed in containers with a rock covered with barnacles. In one experimental treatment, I removed snails from their barnacle-covered rocks and placed them on a counter for five hours each day. In another treatment, I placed the snail-and-rock assemblage on a counter for five hours each day. In a final experimental treatment, I kept the snails submersed, but placed the barnacle-covered rocks in an empty sea table for five hours each day. A control treatment kept individuals constantly submersed with continuous access to food. To account for the effect of handling the snails, individuals in a manipulation control were pick...
Vinylmagnesium Chloride–Copper(I) Chloride

(CH2CHMgCl) [3536-96-7] C2H3ClMg (MW 86.81) InChI = 1S/C2H3.ClH.Mg/c1-2;;/h1H,2H2;1H;/q;;+1/p-1 InChIKey = NAFZXKWEUWVSAW-UHFFFAOYSA-M (CuCl) [7758-89-6] ClCu (MW 99.00) InChI = 1S/ClH.Cu/h1H;/q;+1/p-1 InChIKey = OXBLHERUFWYNTN-UHFFFAOYSA-M (mediates conjugate addition in the synthesis of β-vinyl carbonyl compounds1-3 and 1,6-diketones4) Solubility: sol ether, THF. Preparative Method: generated2 in situ by stirring vinylmagnesium chloride5 in THF with varying amounts of anhydrous Copper(I) Chloride below 0 °C. Handling, Storage, and Precautions: all reactions must be conducted in the absence of moisture and oxygen. Some reactions have been conducted satisfactorily in THF under reflux conditions.3 Use in a fume hood.
Electronic emission spectroscopy of the 4-methyl-3-azabenzyl radical

Abstract The 4-methyl-3-azabenzyl radical was generated from 2,5-lutidine in a corona excited supersonic expansion, and its fluorescence emission spectrum was recorded. Two possible radical isomers could form by loss of an H atom from either methyl group in 2,5-lutidine. Theoretical studies of both isomers confirmed the only species observed was 4-methyl-3-azabenzyl. The emission spectrum corresponded to the D 1 → D 0 transition, with a strong origin peak and several vibronic bands. The origin transition is located at 21 401 cm −1 , in good agreement with a previous assignment, and calculated vibrational energies were in good agreement experimental vibrational energies.
Assessment of bioburden encapsulated in bulk materials

Abstract The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) imposes bioburden limitations on all spacecraft destined for solar system bodies that might harbor evidence of extant or extinct life. The subset of microorganisms trapped within solid materials during manufacture and assembly is referred to as encapsulated bioburden. In the absence of spacecraft-specific data, NASA relies on specification values to estimate total spacecraft encapsulated bioburden, typically 30 endospores/cm 3 or 300 viable cells/cm 3 in non-electronic materials. Specification values for endospores have been established conservatively, and represent no less than an order of magnitude greater abundance than that derived from empirical assessments of actual spacecraft materials. The goal of this study was to generate data germane to determining whether revised bulk encapsulated material values (lower than those estimated by historical specifications) tailored specifically to the materials designated in modern-day spacecraft design could be used, on a case-by-case basis, to comply with planetary protection requirements. Organic materials having distinctly different chemical properties and configurations were selected. This required more than one experimental and analytical approach. Filtration was employed for liquid electrolytes, lubricants were suspended in an aqueous solution and solids (wire and epoxy sealant) were cryogenically milled. The final data characteristic for all bioburden estimates was microbial colony formation in rich agar growth medium. To assess survival potential, three non-spore-forming bacterial cell lines were systematically encapsulated in an epoxy matrix, liberated via cryogenic grinding, and cultured. Results suggest that bulk solid materials harbor significantly fewer encapsulated microorganisms than are estimated by specification values. Lithium-ion battery electrolyte reagents housed fewer than 1 CFU/cm 3 . Results also demonstrated that non-spore-forming microorganisms are capable of surviving encapsulation within, and liberation from, epoxy solids. It must be noted, however, that all purposely spiked experimental solids, resulted in very low recovery (1 × 10 −3 –1 × 10 −5 CFU/cm 3 ) of viable organisms.
Cocaine Self-Administration and Extinction Leads to Reduced Glial Fibrillary Acidic Protein Expression and Morphometric Features of Astrocytes in the Nucleus Accumbens Core

Abstract Background As a more detailed picture of nervous system function emerges, diversity of astrocyte function becomes more widely appreciated. While it has been shown that cocaine experience impairs astroglial glutamate uptake and release in the nucleus accumbens (NAc), few studies have explored effects of self-administration on the structure and physiology of astrocytes. We investigated the effects of extinction from daily cocaine self-administration on astrocyte characteristics including glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) expression, surface area, volume, and colocalization with a synaptic marker. Methods Cocaine or saline self-administration and extinction were paired with GFAP Westerns, immunohistochemistry, and fluorescent imaging of NAc core astrocytes (30 saline-administering and 36 cocaine-administering male Sprague Dawley rats were employed). Imaging was performed using a membrane-tagged lymphocyte protein tyrosine kinase-green fluorescent protein (Lck-GFP) driven by the GFAP promoter, coupled with synapsin I immunohistochemistry. Results GFAP expression was significantly reduced in the NAc core following cocaine self-administration and extinction. Similarly, we observed an overall smaller surface area and volume of astrocytes, as well as reduced colocalization with synapsin I, in cocaine-administering animals. Cocaine-mediated reductions in synaptic contact were reversed by the β-lactam antibiotic ceftriaxone. Conclusions Multiple lines of investigation indicate that NAc core astrocytes exist in a hyporeactive state following cocaine self-administration and extinction. Decreased association with synaptic elements may be particularly meaningful, as cessation of chronic cocaine use is associated with changes in synaptic strength and resistance to the induction of synaptic plasticity. We hypothesize that the reduced synaptic colocalization of astrocytes represents an important maladaptive cellular response to cocaine and the mechanisms underlying relapse vulnerability.
Hip arthroplasty with the metallic prosthesis.

The results of 251 operations done for insertion of an internal hip prosthesis were evaluated by examination of the patient in ninety-one cases and by questionnaire in forty-eight. Of these 139 operations, 112 were considered successful (excellent, good, or satisfactory result) and twenty-two unsuccessful (poor or failure). In five cases the patient was too senile to permit evaluation of the result. Operations done for fresh fractures had significantly better results than those done as salvage procedures for hip fractures with unsuccessful initial treatment. Although the over-all complication rate was not significantly different in the two groups, the high incidence of fracture of the femur during salvage operations on old unsuccessfully treated fractures was a significant hazard not found in any other group of cases. The high postoperative mortality in the patients operated on for fresh fracture might suggest that the procedure carries too great a risk, but it must be remembered that patients with fresh fracture constituted a biased group since this procedure was elected in poorer-risk patients. Thus, the mortality rate may be distorted. The fact that the Hueter approach gave significantly less pain in the patients with fresh fractures may indicate that this approach is preferable if the operation can be done through this rather limited exposure. It appears that use of a stem prosthesis to replace the femoral head in fresh fractures of the femoral neck is a justifiable procedure. However, only relatively short follow-up periods are available; and, therefore, the operation should still be limited to the more elderly patient. In the patients operated on for malum coxae senilis, the end result was not as good as in those treated for fresh fracture or for salvage of an unsuccessfully treated old fracture of the femoral neck. For malum coxae senilis, a Judet prosthesis inserted through a Gibson approach gave a significantly poorer result with respect to hip pain than did a Frederick R. Thompson prosthesis inserted through a Smith-Petersen approach. From this study it appears that the former operation should be abandoned. Where the results with Eicher prostheses could be compared with those with Frederick R. Thompson prostheses, no significant difference could be found with respect to hip pain, muscle power, or hip-joint motion. Hip pain is less, and the end result is significantly better in the slender patient when the operation is done for malum coxae senilis. Although the complication rate is high, this series includes our earliest experiences with hip prostheses. It is to be hoped that the incidence of complications will decrease with increasing experience. It is quite significant that when a major complication occurs the chances of a successful outcome are significantly reduced.
Ethnic Considerations in Risk Exposure and Cigarette Use Vulnerability among Eighth Grade Students in Virginia

The purpose of this study was to examine risk exposure and cigarette use vulnerability among 4,559 8th grade students enrolled in Virginia public schools. The study used 2005 statewide data from the Community Youth Survey (CYS) which assessed risks and protective factors for substance use. The findings indicated that Asian youth reported the lowest exposure to community, family, school, and peer/individual risks, but were most vulnerable in terms of past 30-day cigarette use. African-American youth reported significantly greater risk exposure than did their counterparts on more than half of the risks examined; however, they were substantially less vulnerable to the effects of these risks in comparison to their White, Latino, and Asian peers. The findings are discussed with regard to prevention interventions for adolescents from different ethnic groups.
Short interpregnancy intervals in the United States.

Objective To investigate the prevalence and correlates of short interpregnancy intervals in the United States.
Slumdog Millionaire: directed by Danny Boyle and Loveleen Tandan, with screenplay by Simon Beaufoy, novel written by Vikas Swarup. Los Angeles: Fox Searchlight Pictures, Warner Brothers, Celador Films, Film4, and Pathé Pictures International, 2008

Textured with rhythmic Indian music and alluring cinematography, Slumdog Millionaire chronicles the life of Jamal Malik (Ayush Mahesh Khedekar, Tanay Chheda, Dev Patel). In the film, directors Dann...
Graphical Interpretation of the Teamology Transformation

The “teamology” approach to psychologically constructing and organizing design teams is based on an original transformation of personality questionnaire responses on to the four cognitive mode pairs of C. G. Jung’s underlying personality theory. This article shows how to interpret the transformation as the combination of a pair of square graphs, one for the two information collection (perception) mode pair scores; the other, for the two decision-making (judgment) mode pair scores. Questionnaire data are plotted in each square’s rectangular coordinates. The mode scores in each square are the projections of the questionnaire points on to the two diagonals. To illustrate, example graphs are used to guide the organization of a student trio to identify and strengthen a potential weakness. This can be done whether or not the team was constructed according to teamological principles.Copyright © 2009 by ASME
Information Processing Models of Consumer Behavior

Using the Newell, Shaw, and Simon postulates for an information processing theory of human problem solving, decision net models were constructed for two individual consumers’ choices of grocery pro...
Application of pulse transit time in children with suspected obstructive sleep apnea hypopnea syndrome

Objective To explore the application of pulse transit time (PTT) in evaluating obstructive sleep apnea hypopnea syndrome(OSAHS) in children and to introduce the principle and manipulation of PTT. PTT is the time the pulse wave (PW) travells between two arterial sites (normally heart to finger).Methods One hundred and twenty-five children suspected of OSAHS underwent All-night PTT test. The following parameters were measured: chest and abdominal wall movement by respiratory inductance plethysmography, heart rate by electrocardiogram, PTT and arterial oxygen saturation were recorded using ECG and pulse oximetry. Nasal airflow was measured by nasal catheter and thermistor.The apnea events and hypopnea events were determined by nasal/mouth airflow. The obstructive and central events were differentiated by combining the changes of PTT and nasal/mouth airflow. Then PTT values were recorded and analyzed with a statistical software program (Version 11.0; SPSS). Results All of the 125 children (age range, 2 to 12 years; mean age5 years and 8 months old; 85 male children, 40 female children) underwent PTT monitoring. The results were as followings: The mean maximum obstructive apnea duration was (32.02±20.80)s [male (30.47±21.97)s ,female (34.26±18.22)s respectively]. The mean maximum central apnea duration was (14.45±6.55)s[male (14.34±7.59)s, female (14.78±4.54)s, respectively]. The mean hypopnea duration was (57.04±25.22)s[male (53.80±21.95)s, female (62.2±30.68)s, respectively].The obstructive apnea index (OAI) was 6.00±6.44(male 5.44±7.37, female 7.33±3.93, respectively),central apnea index (CAI) was 0.85±1.00(male 0.79±1.07, female 0.98±0.87, respectively), hypopnea index (HI) was 5.68±6.04(male 5.72±5.0, female 5.60 ±7.84, respectively), saO2 nadir was 83.26±12.88% [male (81.97±12.93)%,female (85.58±15.87)% , respectively], arousal index was 26.39±12.46(male 28.09±13.58, female 22.75±9.29, respectively). The causes of sleep-related breathing disorder included upper airway resistance syndrome (UARS) in 13 cases(10.4%,13/125), mild OSAHS in 41 cases(32.8%,41/125), moderate OASHS in 47 cases(37.6%,47/125), severe OSAHS in 22 cases(17.6%,22/125), normal in 2case(1.6%,2/125). No significant difference was found for maximum apnea duration, maximum hypopnea duration, AI, HI, saO2 nadir values in boys and girls. Conclusions PTT should be a useful method for diagnosis of OSAHS, it could distinguish the central from obstructive apnea events. PTT could be clinically applied in polysomnographic studies in children suspected of OSAHS.
But Do They know It’s February in China? And Other Questions of Authority and Culture in Comparative Classrooms

In this essay I recount three interesting questions students have asked me in comparative classroom settings, each of which I see as helping to problematize assumptions about the material they are studying as well as teachers’ responsibilities in unearthing and responding to these underlying prejudices. I outline the difficult position in which comparative philosophy teachers at times find themselves in (i.e., occupying the role of cultural representative for a variety of cultures and traditions). I then conclude with several pedagogical strategies to support teachers negotiating such cross-cultural conversations.