cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Pharmacy Students' Attitudes Toward Therapeutics and Clinical Pharmacokinetics Lectures via Interactive Videoconferencing

ABSTRACTThe purpose of this manuscript is to: (1) compare students' attitudes toward interactive videoconferencing in two courses (therapeutics and clinical pharmacokinetics) and (2) determine whether duration of time or the type of course significantly affected students' attitudes toward interactive videoconferencing lectures. In fall 1995, a 6-item pretested survey was administered to 40 (100% of the class) third-year professional Pharm.D. students in the Advanced Therapeutics course and the Clinical Pharmacokinetics course at the University of Georgia College of Pharmacy. The survey was given to the students two weeks after each course began (one-fifth of the way through the course) and six weeks later to reassess students' attitudes toward interactive videoconferencing lectures in these two courses. The students were asked to respond to each of the six items by using a five-point Likert response scale. Descriptive analysis for items on the survey was performed. Two-way analysis of variance using the g...
Teaching Undergraduate Family Diversity Courses

Abstract This paper offers perspectives on teaching an undergraduate family diversity course. These perspectives include the preparation of the teacher, not only as a scholar, but as a fallible human and as a person who is challenged to live a life in which diversity is central. Fundamental to teaching about family diversity is to teach students how to take the perspective of “the other” and how to understand the systemic context in which diverse families have functioned in the past and now function. Teaching about family diversity benefits from a scholarly literature on “whiteness” which focuses on the ways that white people may tune out, ignore, or deny both their own unearned skin privilege and the ways that they benefit from and rely on a system of inequality in which people of color are disadvantaged. Teaching about family diversity requires a pedagogy in which many voices speak. Included in that pedagogy are teaching methods that create many opportunities for students to express and develop their ow...
Nucleation and Growth of Voids in Silicon

Nucleation of voids and vacancy-type dislocation loops in Si under vacancy supersaturation conditions has been considered. Based upon nucleation barrier calculations, it has been found that voids can be nucleated, but not dislocation loops. The homogeneous nucleation rate of voids has been calculated for different temperatures by assuming different enthalpy values of Si vacancy formation. The process of void growth due to precipitation of vacancies has been numerically simulated. Comparing results of the nucleation and the growth modeling and taking into account the competition between the two processes, the limited time available, and the crystal cooling rate after growth, it has been shown that homogeneous nucleation of voids to experimentally observed densities and void growth to observed sizes is possible if enthalpy of Si vacancy formation is within the range of 2.9 to 3.6 eV with the nucleation temperature in the range of 980-1080 °c.
Some conceptual issues in the origin of eusociality

Certain issues arising in connection with the evolutionary origins of eusociality are discussed. Previous results about when natural selection favours helping behaviour are generlised, and the differing viewpoints of both parents and offspring are considered. Particular attention is given to the evolutionary implications of different patterns of overlapping generations observed in bivoltine insects. As argued by Seger (1983), these patterns imply different conditions under which a daughter is selected to help her mother rear additional siblings in haplodiploid populations. Other factors that can alter the selective advantages of helping behaviour under haplodiploidy are also discussed, including the possibility of sex ratio manipulation and the novel result that helping behaviour may be locally favoured in populations that are spatially patchy with respect to sex-specific fitness. A new hypothesis is also presented: The fact that sisters are selected to aid their mother to parasitise other sisters may have played an important role in the origins of eusociality. A given offspring benefits from having maternally parasitised siblings because such siblings rear additional siblings (to which the given offspring is more closely related) instead of nieces and nephews. Finally, the importance of haploidiploidy in the origins of eusociality is discounted; the virtually unique biology of aculeate Hymenoptera would seem to be of much greater importance.
The enigmatic history of the European, Asian and American plethodontid salamanders

Recently published research addressing the question of relationships and biogeography of European plethodontid salamanders has refined time estimates for divergence from American relatives. The recently discovered Korean plethodontid Karsenia is either the sister-taxon of Hydromantes (which has members in Europe and California), or a close relative and co-member of a larger clade that originated in western North America, not eastern North America as formerly thought. The new information strengthens the biogeographical hypothesis that Hydromantes entered Eurasia via the Bering Land Bridge. Arguments are made favoring the placement of European and American relatives in a genus Hydromantes, with an American clade (subgenus Hydromantes) and a European clade (subgenera Atylodes and Speleomantes).
A comparison of fruit of highbush and rabbiteye blueberry cultivars

In 1986, 1988 and 1989, fruit from highbush blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum L., cvs Collins, Bluecrop, and Herbert) and rabbiteye blueberry (V. ashei Reade, cvs Climax, Tifblue, and Menditoo) grown at the same location were compared for size, raw product quality, storage, and sensory attributes. Compared with rabbiteye blueberry fruit, fruit of highbush cvs were generally larger in size, volume, and surface area and higher in titratable acidity, higher Hunter color attributes of ‘L’, ‘a’, ‘b’, and chroma, protein, P, Ca, Mg, Mn, Fe, Cu, B (dry wt. basis), and higher in decay and water loss after 3 weeks storage at 7 C. Rabbiteye fruit, compared with highbush fruit, were generally higher in pulp pH, percent soluble solids, percent dry matter, seed weight per fruit, weight per seed, fruit height/width ratio, periderm dry weight per fruit, periderm wt. per surface area (in mg/cm2), sugar:acid ratio, firmness (as shear), and in sensory seediness. Fruit soluble solids, dry matter, hue, titratable acidity, pulp pH, and firmness of both species were influenced by weather (years).
Category Judgments as Functions of Flash Luminance and Duration

A method for obtaining suprathreshold, constant-response functions from category judgments was developed and illustrated by obtaining judgments for flashes of varying luminance and duration in the fovea. The contours show agreement with Bloch’s law; no Broca–Sulzer effect was obtained. A second experiment indicated that the method is sensitive to context effects. No reliable variation in the critical duration was found with changes in luminance level.
A decompositional approach to database constraint enforcement

This paper presents a decompositional approach to integrity constraint enforcement for very large database systems. The central theme of the paper is the development of the constraint decomposition theorem which can be used to decompose any complex constraint formula into a set of simpler constraint sub-formulas, each of which is a sufficient condition for the original constraint formula and they can be enforced independently of one another. By utilizing the decomposition theorem and the fact that both cost for checking each sub-formula and satisfiablity of each sub-formula may be different from one another, we developed a new constraint enforcement strategy which is much efficient than the previous approaches.
Esophageal endoscopic ultrasound fine-needle aspiration as a diagnostic tool

Endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration biopsy (EUS-FNA) may be employed for procurement of a tissue diagnosis in a minimally invasive fashion. In many cases, EUS-FNA excludes the need for more invasive diagnostic procedures when a tissue diagnosis is required. In patients with esophageal neoplasms, EUS-FNA is a safe and accurate tool for the preoperative diagnosis of metastatic spread to the paraesophageal and celiac lymph nodes. EUS-FNA is also increasingly recognized as an accurate, cost-effective and safe means of evaluating and staging patients with lung cancer. EUS-FNA is useful in providing tissue confirmation of cancer in cases in which bronchoscopy or computed tomography-guided approaches has been non-diagnostic. EUS-guided therapies are paving the way for therapeutic/interventional EUS. The interventional endoscopist will now play a more central role in the diagnosis and treatment of various gastrointestinal malignancies by delivering antitumor agents.
An inexpensive adjustable electrode for chronic implantation.

Abstract This paper has described a chronic electrode which may be adjusted in unrestrained and unanesthesized animals. This electrode enables the experimenter to record or stimulate various dorsal-ventral areas of the brain at a single anterior-posterior and lateral electrode placement. This basic unit affords a wide range of flexibility and may be modified for use with cannulas, micro-electrodes, or concentric electrodes for both electrical stimulation and recording.
Microinjection of Ghrelin into the Ventral Tegmental Area Potentiates Cocaine-Induced Conditioned Place Preference

Prior work has shown that systemic cocaine pretreatment augments cocaine conditioned place preference (CPP) in rats. In contrast, ghrelin receptor antagonism attenuates cocaine and amphetamine-induced CPP. In order to further investigate ghrelin’s role in dopamine-mediated reward, the present report examined whether pretreament with ghrelin, administered directly into the ventral tegmental area (VTA) of the midbrain, would potentiate the rewarding properties of cocaine as measured by CPP. Adult male Sprague-Dawley rats were given access to either side of the CPP chamber in order to determine initial side preferences. The rats were then restricted to either their non-preferred or preferred side over the course of conditioning which lasted for a total of 16 consecutive days. This was followed by a final test day to then reassess preference. On days where rats were confined to their non-preferred side, ghrelin (30-300 pmol) and cocaine (0.625-10 mg/kg IP) were administered immediately prior to the conditioning trial. On alternate days rats were treated with vehicle and placed into what was initially determined to be their preferred side. CPP was calculated as the difference in percentage of total time spent in the treatment-paired compartment during the post-conditioning session and the pre-conditioning session. Our results indicated that both cocaine and ghrelin elicited CPP and that ghrelin pretreatment potentiated the effect of cocaine on place preference. Overall, these findings provide additional support for the argument that ghrelin signaling within the VTA enhances the rewarding effects of psychostimulant compounds.
Millikelvin temperature standards

Abstract The status of temperature scales, fixed points and interpolation devices for the millikelvin region of temperature (approximately 1 mK to 500 mK) is reviewed. On the basis of recent comparisons of temperature scales by means of fixed points it appears that inaccuracies in temperature of 0.5% or less prevail at the upper end of this region and they increase steadily to a level of 5% at the lower end.
THE ESTROUS RABBIT AS A QUANTITATIVE ASSAY ANIMAL1

IN 1932 Friedman recommended the post-partum rabbit as a suitable animal for the quantitative assay of gonadotrophic substances, and seven years later (1939), he commented on the fact that only onegroup of investigators had published results based on this assay procedure. At this time he presented data on the sensitivity of the postpartum rabbit to chorionic gonadotrophins and their statistical significance for quantitative assays. However he pointed out that there was less regularity in the response of rabbits to pituitary extracts. During the past 3 years it has been necessary to use the post-partum rabbit in a continuation of a project started in this laboratory (Friedman and Mitchell 1941). Some of the limitations and fallacies of this rabbit assay method that have become obvious in the course of this work are presented in this communication.
Effects of diffusion on the electrophoretic behavior of associating systems: The Gilbert-Jenkins theory revisited

The Gilbert-Jenkins theory predicts the asymptotic shape of moving-boundary sedimentation and electrophoretic patterns and broad zone molecular sieve chromatographic elution profiles for the class of interacting systems, A + B in equilibrium C, in which two dissimilar macromolecules react reversibly to form a complex. A particularly provocative case is the one in which the complex has a greater migration velocity than that of either reactant, each of which has a different velocity. Depending upon conditions, this case predicts, for example, that in the asymptotic limit an ascending electrophoretic pattern or a frontal gel chromatographic elution profile can show two hypersharp reaction boundaries separated by a plateau. This prediction is now confirmed by numerical solution of transport equations which retain the second-order diffusional term and extrapolation of the computed patterns to zero diffusion coefficient. For finite diffusion coefficient, however, the two hypersharp reaction boundaries are separated by a weak negative gradient. These calculations are extended to an examination of the transitions between the three types of patterns admitted by the case under consideration in order to gain physical understanding and to define criteria for recognizing the transitions. Studies of this kind not only establish confidence in the Gilbert-Jenkins theory, but, in addition, they provide new insights which make for more effective application of the theory to real systems.
Return to running and sports participation after limb salvage.

Background:The ability to return to running and sports participation after lower extremity limb salvage has not been well documented previously. Although the ability to ambulate without pain or assistive devices is generally a criteria for a good limb salvage outcome, many patients at our institutio
Self efficacy as a mediator of the relationship between pain intensity, disability and depression in chronic pain patients.

Abstract To clarify the relationships between physical, and psychosocial components of chronic pain, a path analytic model was tested conceptualizing self efficacy as a mediator of disability. In turn, disability was hypothesized to mediate depression. This model could help explain the circumstances under which disability develops and why so many chronic pain patients become depressed. Questionnaires from 126 chronic pain patients (without prior depression) were reviewed from three pain clinics. Hypothesized and alternate models were tested using separate regression equations to identified models which best fit these data. Regression analysis supported that self efficacy partially mediates the relationship between pain intensity and disability. This model accounted for 47% of the explained variance in disability ( P R 2 =0.56), with gender and pain location paths remaining significant. In separate regression analyses, disability was found to partially mediate the relationship between pain intensity and depression (b=0.47–0.33). This model accounted for 26% of the explained variance in depression. The addition of self efficacy to this model supported it as a stronger mediator ( R 2 =0.32), and suggested that support for disability as a mediator of depression was a spurious finding. Both pain intensity and self efficacy contribute to the development of disability and depression in patients with chronic pain. Therefore, the lack of belief in ones own ability to manage pain, cope and function despite persistent pain, is a significant predictor of the extent to which individuals with chronic pain become disabled and/or depressed. Nevertheless, these mediators did not eliminate the strong impact that high pain intensity has on disability and depression. Therefore, therapy should target multiple goals, including: pain reduction, functional improvement and the enhancement of self efficacy beliefs.
ENVELOPING OBJECTS: ALLEGORY AND COMMODITY FETISH IN WENCESLAUS HOLLAR'S PERSONIFICATIONS OF THE SEASONS AND FASHION STILL LIFES

While in London during the 1640s Wenceslaus Hollar produced a striking cycle of etchings using contemporary female figures as allegories of the seasons, followed by another series of still lifes depicting fashion accessories, in which fur muffs appear repeatedly. This article focuses on the connections between the personi-fications of winter and the still lifes, and brings out the tensions that transpire when the disinterested and supposedly objective eye utilized in Hollar's other projects of the 1640s is revealed as an eye steeped with ambivalent desires – not just in relation to the bodies of certain women, but to the commodity form as well. The fur muff in these etchings is shown to be an enigmatic entity, not only intersecting with issues related to fetishism, eroticism and urban space in early modern London, but is also poised on a threshold between different economies of the object, between residual classical and medieval systems of representation and newly emergent anxieties about the commodity and exchange value.
Tunneling in C−H Oxidation Reactions by an Oxoiron(IV) Porphyrin Radical Cation: Direct Measurements of Very Large H/D Kinetic Isotope Effects

Rate constants for oxidations of benzyl alcohol-d0 and -d7 by oxoiron(IV) tetramesitylporphyrin radical cation perchlorate in acetonitrile were measured in single turnover kinetic studies. The kinetic isotope effect (kH/kD) increased from 28 at 23 °C to 360 at −30 °C due to extensive hydrogen atom tunneling that was analyzed in terms of a parabolic energy barrier to tunneling. Similarly, large KIE values were found for oxidations of ethylbenzene-d0 and -d10 at room temperature. The large KIE values are a function of the porphyrin identity, and porphyrins containing electron-withdrawing groups display normal KIEs. KIEs found under catalytic turnover conditions are somewhat smaller than those obtained in single turnover reactions. The results should serve as benchmarks for computational studies of C−H oxidations by porphyrin and heme-iron-oxo systems.
Multiple Instance Filtering

We propose a robust filtering approach based on semi-supervised and multiple instance learning (MIL). We assume that the posterior density would be unimodal if not for the effect of outliers that we do not wish to explicitly model. Therefore, we seek for a point estimate at the outset, rather than a generic approximation of the entire posterior. Our approach can be thought of as a combination of standard finite-dimensional filtering (Extended Kalman Filter, or Unscented Filter) with multiple instance learning, whereby the initial condition comes with a putative set of inlier measurements. We show how both the state (regression) and the inlier set (classification) can be estimated iteratively and causally by processing only the current measurement. We illustrate our approach on visual tracking problems whereby the object of interest (target) moves and evolves as a result of occlusions and deformations, and partial knowledge of the target is given in the form of a bounding box (training set).
Attentional Limits on the Perception and Memory of Visual Information

Attentional limits on perception and memory were measured by the decline in performance with increasing numbers of objects in a display. Multiple objects were presented to Ss who discriminated visual attributes. In a representative condition, 4 lines were briefly presented followed by a single line in 1 of the same locations. Ss were required to judge if the single line in the 2nd display was longer or shorter than the line in the corresponding location of the 1st display. The length difference threshold was calculated as a function of the number of objects. The difference thresholds doubled when the number of objects was increased from 1 to 4. This effect was generalized in several ways, and nonattentional explanations were ruled out. Further analyses showed that the attentional processes must share information from at least 4 objects and can be described by a simple model.
IMPACT OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY ON AGRICULTURAL COMMODITY AUCTIONS IN INDIA

Empirical research on the value of information technology investments in the information systems literature has primarily focused on the use of IT by businesses and multinational firms. The impact of IT on the global agricultural supply chain has largely been ignored in the IS literature. Auctions to buy and sell large volumes of agricultural commodities are widely prevalent in diverse regions of the world and are an important part of the agricultural supply chain. In an effort to increase efficiency, commodity auctions have been experimenting with online formats in recent years. Such online auctions have generated significant interest in the trade press because of their potential to generate higher commodity prices for producers, reduce unfair trading practices by middlemen, and bridge the digital divide. We analyze transaction data from a recently set up online auction in India that trades in various grades of coffee. We model the impact of lower transaction costs, daily operations, less collusive behavior among buyers, and learning curve effects on the selling price of coffee in the online auction. We estimate the parameters of the model by comparing the prices in the electronic auction with those of the same grade of coffee at physical auctions held weekly. We find that electronic auction prices are 4 percent higher and the difference is statistically significant. Further, we find that the price differential is higher for coffee grades that have higher price volatility and that are traded less frequently in the physical exchange. We also find that the price differential increases over time as buyers become more familiar with the benefits of the electronic trading format.
The biology of NKT cells.

Recognized more than a decade ago, NKT cells differentiate from mainstream thymic precursors through instructive signals emanating during TCR engagement by CD1d-expressing cortical thymocytes. Their semi-invariant αβ TCRs recognize isoglobotrihexosylceramide, a mammalian glycosphingolipid, as well as microbial α-glycuronylceramides found in the cell wall of Gram-negative, lipopolysaccharide-negative bacteria. This dual recognition of self and microbial ligands underlies innate-like antimicrobial functions mediated by CD40L induction and massive Th1 and Th2 cytokine and chemokine release. Through reciprocal activation of NKT cells and dendritic cells, synthetic NKT ligands constitute promising new vaccine adjuvants. NKT cells also regulate a range of immunopathological conditions, but the mechanisms and the ligands involved remain unknown. NKT cell biology has emerged as a new field of research at the frontier between innate and adaptive immunity, providing a powerful model to study fundamental aspects of the cell and structural biology of glycolipid trafficking, processing, and recognition.
Explaining the Justice-Performance Relationship: Trust as Exchange Deepener or Trust as Uncertainty Reducer?

Past research has revealed significant relationships between organizational justice dimensions and job performance, and trust is thought to be one mediator of those relationships. However, trust has been positioned in justice theorizing in 2 different ways, either as an indicator of the depth of an exchange relationship or as a variable that reflects levels of work-related uncertainty. Moreover, trust scholars distinguish between multiple forms of trust, including affect- and cognition-based trust, and it remains unclear which form is most relevant to justice effects. To explore these issues, we built and tested a more comprehensive model of trust mediation in which procedural, interpersonal, and distributive justice predicted affect- and cognition-based trust, with those trust forms predicting both exchange- and uncertainty-based mechanisms. The results of a field study in a hospital system revealed that the trust variables did indeed mediate the relationships between the organizational justice dimensions and job performance, with affect-based trust driving exchange-based mediation and cognition-based trust driving uncertainty-based mediation.
The relationship of female labor force participation to suicide: A comparative analysis.

Work on the relationship between female labor force participation and suicide has been limited largely to the U.S. The present study tests this perspective with data from 53 nations representing a wide range in level of socio-economic development. Female labor force participation (FPLF), an index of role conflict, is found to be positively related to both male and female suicide. However, when the sample is restricted to nations at high levels of FPLF, FPLF is related only to male suicide. This failure of FPLF to increase female suicide is interpreted in terms of role expansion theory and the context of greater cultural support for FPLF. The results are independent of indicators from industrialization and anomie theories of suicide.
Heterogeneous conversion of calcite aerosol by nitric acid

The reaction of nitric acid with calcite aerosol at varying relative humidities has been studied under suspended particle conditions in an atmospheric reaction chamber using infrared absorption spectroscopy. The reactant concentration in the chamber, as well as the appearance of gas phase products and surface adsorbed species, was spectroscopically monitored before and after mixing with CaCO3 (calcite) particles. The interaction with HNO3 was found to lead to gas phase CO2 evolution and increased water uptake due to heterogeneous conversion of the carbonate to particulate nitrate. The reaction was enhanced as the relative humidity of the system was increased, especially at relative humidities above the reported deliquescence point of particulate Ca(NO3)2. The measured reaction extent demonstrates that the total calcite particulate mass is available for reaction with HNO3 and the conversion process is not limited to the particle surface. The spectroscopy of the surface formed nitrate suggests a highly concentrated solution environment with a significant degree of ion pairing. The implications of the HNO3 loss and the formation of the particulate nitrate product for atmospheric chemistry are discussed.
Metaltella simoni (Araneae: Amphinectidae): widespread in coastal southern California

Metaltella simoni (Keyserling, 1877) (Amphinectidae) is a South American spider that has become established in urban southern California. Earlier publications remarked on its scattered presence, however, it has since become common enough that it can be easily found in many cities with minimal searching.
Exploring logic block granularity for regular fabrics

Driven by the economics of design and manufacturing nanoscale integrated circuits, an emphasis is being placed on developing new, regular logic fabrics that leverage the regularity and programmability of FPGAs, yet deliver a level of performance and density close to ASICs. One example of such a fabric is a Via-Patterned Gate Array (VPGA) according to Pillegi et al. (2002), which employs ASIC style global routing on top of an array of patternable logic blocks (PLBs). Previous works (Koorapaty et al., 2003; Koorapaty, 2003; Pileggi et al., 2003) showed that by employing even limited heterogeneity for the VPGA logic blocks, namely combining a 3-LUT with two 3-input Nand gates, one can achieve performance comparable to that provided by standard cells. Since the area cost for such heterogeneity id far less for FPGAs, we can explore new configurations of via-configurable logic blocks that offer greater heterogeneity and granularity to achieve even higher performance. In this paper, we present a new, more granular, via-patterned heterogeneous logic block architecture and compare it to a less granular LUT-based heterogeneous PLB. Our results show higher performance and more effective packing of the logic functions due to increased granularity.
Nutrient Removal in a Cold-Region Wastewater Stabilization Pond: Importance of Ammonia Volatilization

Nitrogen N, phosphorus P, and carbon C flux through a three pond wastewater stabilization system WWSP was measured over the course of a year in a cold weather region Minnesota with 4 months of ice cover. The system was surprisingly efficient at N removal averaging 80% primarily through volatilization of un-ionized ammonia during the late spring when the pH was above 8 and ammonia levels were still high. P removal was less efficient, with over 50% of influent P leaving the system in the effluent. Soluble carbonaceous biochemical oxygen demand CBOD removal was 90%, with most of the removal occurring in the primary pond. Algal carbon requirements were met by a combination of CO2 released by bacterial oxidation of influent organic matter and inorganic carbon in the influent. Photosynthesis provided much of the oxygen needed for CBOD removal in the primary pond, and the onset of aerobic conditions was nearly coincident with the highest rates of ammonia volatilization. Bacterial respiration in the sediment returned 80% of the sedimented C back to the water column long term. These results demonstrate the importance of ammonia volatilization as a N sink in WWSPs that experience ice cover setting up conditions for both high primary production and high ammonia levels in spring.
Adaptive redundancy, denominator neglect, and the base-rate fallacy

Homo sapiens have evolved a dual-process cognitive architecture that is adaptive but prone to systematic errors. Fuzzy-trace theory predicts that nested or overlapping class-inclusion relations create processing interference, resulting in denominator neglect: behaving as if one ignores marginal denominators in a 2 × 2 table. Ignoring marginal denominators leads to fallacies in base-rate problems and conjunctive and disjunctive probability estimates.
Double-blind study of alprazolam, diazepam, clonidine, and placebo in the alcohol withdrawal syndrome : preliminary findings

Both a reduction in the inhibitory effects of GABA (disinhibition) and activation of the sympathetic nervous system are manifested during the alcohol withdrawal syndrome. This study was designed to explore the relative efficacy of medications that differentially affects these two biological systems: the benzodiazepines, which attenuate GABAergic disinhibition, and the alpha 2-adrenergic receptor agonists, which decrease sympathetic activation. The benzodiazepine diazepam (n = 6), the alpha 2-receptor agonist clonidine (n = 7), the benzodiazepine alprazolam (this is also purported to have alpha 2-receptor agonist properties) (n = 6), and placebo (n = 6) were evaluated in their effectiveness in decreasing signs and symptoms of alcohol withdrawal. Drug-free, alcohol-dependent patients were administered 1 of the 4 medications in a double-blind design until symptoms of withdrawal, as measured by the Clinical Instrument Withdrawal Assessment for Alcohol-Revised, were successfully treated. Alprazolam was significantly more efficacious than both clonidine and placebo in decreasing withdrawal symptoms. Diazepam was more effective than clonidine and placebo on some measures of withdrawal. Clonidine decreased systolic blood pressure significantly more than the other two active drugs and placebo, but was no more effective than placebo in decreasing other symptoms of withdrawal. Alprazolam did not significantly decrease blood pressure compared with diazepam or placebo. Despite the small sample size, these preliminary findings suggest that the efficacy of alprazolam in the treatment of alcohol withdrawal is related to its effect at the benzodiazepine receptor and not its alpha 2-receptor agonist properties.
Spatial complexity reduces interaction strengths in the meta-food web of a river floodplain mosaic

Theory states that both the spatial complexity of landscapes and the strength of interactions between consumers and their resources are important for maintaining biodiversity and the balance of nature. Spatial complexity is hypothesized to promote biodiversity by reducing the potential for competitive exclusion; whereas, models show that weak trophic interactions can enhance stability and maintain biodiversity by dampening destabilizing oscillations associated with strong interactions. Here, we show that spatial complexity can reduce the strength of consumer-resource interactions in natural food webs. By sequentially aggregating food webs of individual aquatic habitat patches across a floodplain mosaic, we found that increasing spatial complexity resulted in decreases in the strength of interactions between predators and prey, owing to a greater proportion of weak interactions and a reduced proportion of strong interactions in the meta-food web. The main mechanism behind this pattern was that some patches provided predation refugia for species that were often strongly preyed upon in other patches. If weak trophic interactions do indeed promote stability, then our findings may signal an additional mechanism by which complexity and stability are linked in nature. In turn, this may have implications for how the values of landscape complexity, and the costs of biophysical homogenization, are assessed.
Multifactor dimensionality reduction as a filter-based approach for genome wide association studies.

Advances in genotyping technology and the multitude of data available now provide a vast amount of data that is proving to be useful in the quest for a better understanding of human genetic diseases. This has led to the development of approaches such as genome wide association studies (GWAS) designed specifically for interrogating variants across the genome for association with disease, typically by testing single-locus, univariate associations. More recently it has been accepted that epistatic (interaction) effects may also be great contributors to these genetic effects, and GWAS methods are now being applied to find epistatic effects. The challenge for these methods still remain in prioritization and interpretation of results, and it has also become standard for initial findings to be independently investigated in replication cohorts or functional studies. This is motivating the development and implementation of filter-based approaches to prioritize variants found to be significant in a discovery stage for follow-up for replication. Such filters must be able to detect both univariate and interactive effects. In the current study we present and evaluate the use of Multifactor Dimensionality Reduction (MDR) as such a filter, with simulated data and a wide range of effect sizes. Additionally, we compare the performance of the MDR filter to a similar filter approach using logistic regression (LR), the more traditional approach used in GWAS analysis, as well as Evaporative Cooling (EC)-another prominent machine learning filtering method. The results of our simulation study show that MDR is an effective method for such prioritization, and that it can detect main effects, and interactions with or without marginal effects. Importantly, it performed as well as EC and LR for main effect models. It also significantly outperforms LR for various two-locus epistatic models, while it has equivalent results as EC for the epistatic models.
Problem-Specific Racial/Ethnic Disparities in Pathways From Maltreatment Exposure to Specialty Mental Health Service Use for Youth in Child Welfare

The authors examined racial/ethnic differences in pathways from maltreatment exposure to specialty mental health service use for youth in contact with the Child Welfare system. Participants included 1,600 non-Hispanic White, African American, and Latino youth (age 4-14) who were the subjects of investigations for alleged maltreatment and participated in the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being. Maltreatment exposure, internalizing, and externalizing problems were assessed at baseline and subsequent specialty mental health service use was assessed 1 year later. Maltreatment exposure predicted both internalizing and externalizing problems across all racial/ethnic groups, but non-Hispanic White youth were the only group for whom maltreatment exposure was linked with subsequent service use via both internalizing and externalizing problem severity. Only externalizing problems predicted subsequent service use for African American youth and this association was significantly stronger relative to non-Hispanic White youth. Neither problem type predicted service use for Latinos. Future research is needed to understand how individual-, family-, and system-level factors contribute to racial/ethnic differences in pathways linking maltreatment exposure to services via internalizing/externalizing problems. Language: en
Ethnic differences in female sexual victimization

This study examined the link between ethnicity, early sexual victimization experiences and college sesual assault in a sample of 383 undergraduate women. One third of the sample (32.9%) had experienced some form of sexual assault during college (22% of whom reported that they had been raped), and 52 percent had experienced unwanted sexual activity before the age of 18 (17.5% of whom reported that a family member or trusted family friend asked for or forced sexual activities). There were substantial differences among the Black, White, Hispanic and Asian women on two of four measures of college sexual assault. Black women had the highest and Asian women the lowest incidence of forced intercourse through verbal threats or pressure. Hispanic women had the highest and Black women the lowest incidence of attempted rape. Black and White women were almost three times as likely as Hispanic women to have had experiences that meet the legal definition of rape, but do not consider themselves rape victims. There were significant differences in college victimization experiences as a result of experiencing incest before age 18, experiencing extrafamilial sesual abuse before age 18, and the use of alcohol. Ethnicity interacted with alcohol use and early experiences with extrafamilial sexual abuse. However, the effect of incest on college victimization was similar for the women in the study, regardless of ethnicity.
A Case Study Report of a Comprehensive Benchmarking Review of the Status of Vocational Education Students in California: Building a New Relationship between Community Colleges and California State University System

The purpose of this pilot study was to establish and provide legislators and educational leaders with adequate and appropriate information to make intelligent decisions on the growth and development of Vocational/occupational education in California community colleges. This study also established the importance of continued support for AB1725. AB1725 validates the articulated programs for vocational training by K-12 districts, community colleges, and the 4-year institutions in California (O’Lawrence, 2005). Under the articulation agreement regarding vocational programs, the Board of Governors and the State Board of Education will assist school and community college districts in developing articulated programs that coordinate vocational education instruction of final two years in high school and two years of community colleges (2 + 2 programs); and the Board of Governors to also work with the Trustees of the California State University in expanding the 2 + 2 programs to include the final two years of the baccalaureate degree (2 + 2 + 2 programs).
A fall detection study on the sensors placement location and a rule-based multi-thresholds algorithm using both accelerometer and gyroscopes

Falls are dangerous among the elderly population and are a major health concern. Many investigators have reported the use of accelerometers for fall detection. In addition, the use of miniature gyroscopes has also been reported to be able to detect falls, but the effects of sensor placement on the back of a person have not been studied thoroughly. In this paper we present a simple solution for effective fall detection using both an accelerometer and two gyroscopes placed, as a single unit, on three different positions along the thoracic vertebrae (i.e., T-4, T-7, and T-10). Results indicated that T-10 was not a good location for the gyroscope placement for fall detection. However, both T-4 and T-7 were suitable, with the results for T-4 being slightly better. Using a simple rule-based multi-thresholds algorithm that utilizes the recorded resultant gravitational acceleration, angular change, angular velocity, and angular acceleration, we were able to successfully detect all 60 falls and differentiate between falls and activities of daily living (ADL) with no false positives on young volunteers. More testing data is needed, especially for backward falls, to test the robustness of our simple algorithm and to improve the sensor portability for future trial studies on geriatric populations.
Caught Between Love and Money: The Experiences of Paid Family Caregivers

This paper considers the experiences of family home care providers, paid an hourly wage by California’s In Home Supportive Services program to care for disabled or elderly relatives. These caregivers are unique in that they provide care in what Arlie Hochschild calls the “third sector” of social life, where norms and responsibilities tied to work and family intersect. Drawing on in-depth interviews and ethnographic observations of family home care providers, we find that providers perceive their paid caregiving as deviant behavior that violates social norms surrounding family care, i.e. that people should not be paid for the care of kin. Family caregivers manage the norm violation associated with their carework by offering “accounts” that 1) emphasize the tasks and skill associated with caregiving and 2) by framing their carework as a public good that benefits the larger community. These accounts allow family providers to distance themselves from the norm violation of receiving a wage for care and to reconstruct their actions in a positive light.
The surface of Sr2Ru0.9Mo0.1O4: a LEED and STM study

Abstract In the unconventional superconductor Sr 2 RuO 4 , substitution of a small amount of Mo for Ru destroys the superconducting state. We have used low energy electron diffraction (LEED) and scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) to study the cleaved (1 0 0) surface of the Mo-doped strontium ruthenate: Sr 2 Ru 0.9 Mo 0.1 O 4 . Excellent LEED patterns indicate a well-ordered surface similar to Sr 2 RuO 4 . The analysis of LEED- I ( V ) spectra revealed that the (Ru/Mo)O 6 octahedra at the surface are rotated alternating clockwise and counterclockwise by 8.8° ± 2.5° about the direction of the surface normal, which is identical to these on the surface of Sr 2 RuO 4 . But the high-resolution STM images of Sr 2 Ru 0.9 Mo 0.1 O 4 show a surface fundamentally different from that of Sr 2 RuO 4 . The STM images are surprisingly inhomogeneous without clear atomic resolution. This indicates a local spatial roughness in the electronic structure induced by the Mo doping.
Reproductive Development of Northern and Southern Strains of Plum Curculio (Coleoptera: Curculionidae)

Abstract Laboratory-reared southern and field-collected northern strains of plum curculio, Conotrachelus nenuphar (Herbst), were sampled to examine the relationship between degree-day (DD) accumulation and female reproductive development, as measured by mating status, oocyte size, and number of oocytes. The overall goal was to generate an objective degree-day model for predicting damage potential that could be applied to various host commodities rather than relying on separate biofix models for each crop. Adult beetles were dissected to measure mating status, maximum oocyte size, and number of oocytes. Southern strain beetles reared at 25°C initiated mating 9 d after eclosion and did not require mating to induce oocyte development. By 20 d posteclosion, unmated females had significantly higher egg loads compared with mated females of the same age. Logistic regression analysis suggests that southern and northern strain beetles had a stable maximum oocyte length of 62 and 72 μm, respectively. Northern strai...
Precision and Consistency of the Taphonomic Signature of Predation by Crowned Hawk-Eagles (Stephanoaetus coronatus) in Kibale National Park, Uganda

Abstract Prey material, which was collected from beneath the nests of two pairs of crowned hawk-eagles (Stephanoaetus coronatus) in the Ngogo study area, Kibale National Park, Uganda, was analyzed to identify the taphonomic features diagnostic of eagle predation. Material from a recent three-year collection interval was compared to an earlier three-year collection subsample to determine signal consistency over time. The bulk of the assemblage is comprised of cercopithecoid monkey remains, reflecting the taxonomic composition of the Ngogo area. Taxonomic composition of the assemblage remains highly consistent over the collection period. Bone survivability and fragmentation profiles, as well as damage patterns, also were investigated. Crowned hawk-eagles inflict much less damage to prey skeletons than do mammalian carnivores. Crania, scapulae, and hindlimb elements are most likely to survive predation by crowned hawk-eagles and to be concentrated at nest sites, but these elements (especially crania) show ag...
High glucose and insulin inhibit VSMC MKP-1 expression by blocking iNOS via p38 MAPK activation.

Our laboratory has recently demonstrated a role for the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase-mediated inducible NO synthase (iNOS) signaling pathway in acute regulation of insulin-induced mitogen-activate...
Cancer stem cell targeted agents: Therapeutic approaches and consequences

An increased understanding of stem-cell biology at the molecular level, as well as the isolation and characterization of a rare subset of cells with tumor-initiating properties from several human tumor types, have renewed interest in the exploitation of cancer stem cells (CSCs) as therapeutic targets. Although CSCs share various characteristics with normal stem cells, including self-renewal, asymmetric cell division, indefinite proliferative capacity, and self-protection mechanisms, they also contain unique and disease-specific features suitable for exploitation as therapeutic targets. Several existing anticancer agents and experimental therapeutics can inhibit pathways critical to CSC maintenance, and could, therefore, be utilized to eradicate CSCs. In this review, general and tumor-type specific cancer-stem-cell targets are highlighted. In addition, known inhibitors of these targets that could be utilized in the design of clinical protocols together with conventional cytotoxics as debulking agents are described.