cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Moments of the Noncentral Chi Distribution

Explicit closed form formulas for the integer moments of the noncentral chi distribution are given. The mean of the noncentral chi distribution is the average distance between a fixed point and a random vector with a standard multivariate normal distribution. Previous published expressions for the mean use the hypergeometric function or infinite series. In the case where the dimension, d, is even, the formula presented here can be expressed using polynomials of order (d − 1)/2, the square root function, and standard normal density and distribution functions. In the case where the dimension is odd, the formula involves two Bessel functions of the first kind. Calculation of the other positive integer moments is also discussed.
MAP kinases in mitogenesis and development.

Publisher Summary Over the past few years, two contrasting views of mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAP kinase) signaling have emerged from the studies of mitogenesis in mammalian cell culture on the one hand and the studies of cell induction in Drosophila melanogaster , Caenorhabditis elegans , and Xenopus laevis on the other hand. The cell culture studies have identified an elaborate, highly ramified, network of signaling pathways downstream of the receptor tyrosine kinases, in which the relay system of Raf, Mek, and p42 and p44 MAP kinase constitutes only one pathway among many. The studies of cell induction present a simpler view; if extensive ramifications exist, the MAP kinase pathway is, nevertheless, sufficiently dominant that its activation is both necessary and sufficient for induction. This chapter discusses the evidence supporting each of these views. It explains how the mammalian p42 and p44 MAP kinases were discovered and provides an analysis of the relationships among the various members of the rapidly growing MAP kinase family. The MAP kinases fall into five groups based on sequence similarity. Within each group, the kinases share an overall resemblance to one another and each group possesses a distinct sequence in the region, where the p42/Erk2 and p44/Erkl MAP kinases undergo their activating phosphorylations.
Topological Queries in Spatial Databases

Handling spatial information is required by many database applications, and each poses different requirements on query languages. In many cases the precise size of the regions is important, while in other applications we may only be interested in the TOPOLOGICAL relationships between regions --intuitively, those that pertain to adjacency and connectivity properties of the regions, and are therefore invariant under homeomorphisms. Such differences in scope and emphasis are crucial, as they affect the data model, the query language, and performance. This talk focuses on queries targeted towards topological information for two-dimensional spatial databases, where regions are specified by polynomial inequalities with integer coefficients. We focus on two main aspects: (i) languages for expressing topological queries, and (ii) the representation of topological information. In regard to (i), we study several languages geared towards topological queries, building upon well-known topological relationships between pairs of planar regions proposed by Egenhofer. In regard to (ii), we show that the topological information in a spatial database can be precisely summarized by a finite relational database which can be viewed as a topological annotation to the raw spatial data. All topological queries can be answered using this annotation, called topological invariant. This yields a potentially more economical evaluation strategy for such queries, since the topological invariant is generally much smaller than the raw data. We examine in detail the problem of translating topological queries against the spatial database into queries against the topological invariant. The languages considered are first-order on the spatial database side, and fixpoint and first-order on the topological invariant side. In particular, it is shown that fixpoint expresses precisely the PTIME queries on topological invariants. This suggests that topological invariants are particularly well-behaved with respect to descriptive complexity. (Based on joint work with C.H. Papadimitriou, D. Suciu and L. Segoufin.).
A parallel macro partitioning framework for solving mixed integer programs

Mixed Integer Programs are a class of optimization problems which have a vast range of applications in engineering, business, science, health care, and other areas. For many applications, however, problems of realistic size can take a an impractical amount of time to solve on a single workstation. However, using parallel computing resources to solve MIP is difficult, as parallelizing the standard branch-and-bound framework presents an array of challenges. In this paper we present a novel framework called a Parallel Macro Partitioning (PMaP) framework for solving mixed integer programs in parallel. The framework exploit ideas from modern MIP heuristics to partition the problem at a high-level into MIP subproblems, each of which can be solved on a separate processor by an MIP algorithm. Initial computational resources suggest that PMaP has significant promise as a framework capable of bringing many processors to bear effectively on difficult problems.
Theological determinism and the problem of evil: Are Arminians any better off?

One of the more striking features of the revival of analytic philosophy of religion that began in the 1960s has been a renewed interest in the scholastics and in seventeenth and eighteenth century philosophical theology. Norman Kretzmann’s, Eleonore Stump’s, and Scott MacDonald’s work on Aquinas, Alfred Fredosso’s and Thomas Flint’s discussions of Molina, William Rowe’s use of Samuel Clarke, and Robert Adams’ examination of Leibniz are examples. There appear to be two reasons for the new interest in our predecessors. The first was the discovery that issues central to the debates of the 1960s and 1970s had already been examined with a depth and sophistication missing from most nineteenth and early twentieth century discussions of the same problems. The impact of the recovery of Ockham and Molina on the freedom-foreknowledge debate is an important and well known example. The second is this. A significant number of analytic philosophers of religion are practicing Christian or Jewish theists. Anselm, Aquinas, Maimonides, Malebranche, Leibniz, or Clarke are important models for these theists both because of the broad similarity between their approaches to philosophy and that of contemporary analytic philosophers of religion and because they were self-consciously Jewish or Christian A conviction of the truth and splendor of Judaism or Christianity pervades their writings.
Vortex Lattice Symmetry and Electronic Structure in Y Ba 2 Cu 3 O 7

We report a small angle neutron scattering study of the vortex lattice in Y${\mathrm{Ba}}_{2}$${\mathrm{Cu}}_{3}$${\mathrm{O}}_{7}$ in magnetic fields of $0.5\ensuremath{\le}H\ensuremath{\le}5$ T applied along and close to the $c$ axis. Over the entire field range, the vortices form an oblique lattice with two nearly equal lattice constants and an angle of 73\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{} between primitive vectors. Numerical calculations suggest that variations of the superconducting order parameter near the vortex core are important in stabilizing this structure. An analysis that accounts for the fourfold symmetry of the vortex core qualitatively explains both the symmetry and the orientation of the observed vortex lattice. A quantitative explanation of our data will require calculations based on a realistic gap equation.
Spin polarization control in semiconductors by electric-field gradients

We show that the propagation of spin polarized carriers may be dramatically affected by inhomogeneous electric fields. Surprisingly, the spin diffusion length is found to strongly depend on the sign and magnitude of electric field gradients, in addition to the previously reported dependence on the sign and magnitude of the electric field [Yu and Flatt\'e, Phys. Rev. B 66, 201202(R) (2002); Yu and Flatt\'e, Phys. Rev. B 66, 235302 (2002)]. This indicates that purely electrical effects may play a crucial role in spin polarized injection, transport, and detection in semiconductor spintronics. A generalized drift-diffusion equation that describes our findings is derived and verified by numerical calculations using the Boltzmann transport equation.
Coordination, Control and Skill

In this chapter, I develop the interpretation of coordination, control and skill sketched by Kugler, Kelso and Turvey (1980, 1982). The orientation promoted here is primarily descriptive with the focus being the development of a framework for a useful operational distinction between the three terms. 1 believe one can draw on the interpretation of coordination, control and skill outlined by Kugler and colleagues without necessarily invoking the theoretical position advanced by this group, although it will become clear as this chapter unfolds, that I am sympathetic to this theoretical position.
The Good Samaritan's new trouble: A study of the changing moral landscape in contemporary China

Modernization often involves changes in behaviour norms, values, and moral reasoning; China is by no means an exception. The present study focuses on a rare type of extreme immoral cases in which the Good Samaritan is extorted by the very person being helped. A particular effort is made to unpack why most extortionists of the Good Samaritan are elderly people. Despite its rare occurrence, cases of extorting Good Samaritans have seriously negative impacts on social trust, compassion, and the principle of reciprocity. Yet, a close analysis of the cases and public opinions reveals the complexity of the seemingly straight immoral behaviour, especially the tension between two moral systems and the challenge of dealing with strangers, which in turn reflect the changing moral landscape in contemporary Chinese society.
The Potential for Office Automation in Department Stores

Potential for office automation in department stores is explored by sales volume class. This is done in terms of the present-day expenses in the clerical work area and the inventory management area typical of the stores in each volume class. Some characteristics of the “typical” stores are also briefly reviewed. The data used are those given in the Harvard Business School Survey conducted in 1963 [McNair, M. P. 1962. Operating Results of Department and Specialty Stores in 1962. Graduate School of Business Administration, Harvard University, Boston, Massachusetts.].
The Piedmont Project: Fostering Faculty Development Toward Sustainability

Many universities recognize urgent environmental dilemmas and embrace efforts to move campus operations and university culture toward sustainability. However, the broader academic mission across departments and programs is often slower to connect with sustainability efforts. The Piedmont Project at Emory University offers one model of a faculty development program that has fostered an enriching collaborative experience and has created considerable impact across the university.
Constitutive theory for some constrained elastic crystals

Abstract Some of the observations of A-15 superconductors near cubic-tetragonal phase transformations suggest treating them as thermoelastic bodies subject to certain material constraints. Here we begin to develop a theory of this kind.
Notice of Violation of IEEE Publication Principles 0.13μm CMOS DBS demodulator front-end using a 250MS/s 8 bit time interleaved pipeline ADC and a sampled loop filter PLL

A low-IF satellite TV demodulator front-end for single-chip receiver SoC was realized in 0.13 mum CMOS using a low-power 0.25mm2 8b time interleaved pipeline ADC. A 250MS/s conversion rate was achieved by sharing the sample-and-hold amplifier (SHA) between two time interleaved ADCs having eight 1.5b cascaded stages. The full-rate SHA uses a feed-forward source follower to speed-up the settling by pre-charging the amplifier output at the voltage level sampled at its input. The ADC area was reduced by sharing the operational amplifiers between the time interleaved paths. The digital clock was generated with a sampled switched-capacitor loop filter PLL which reduces both reference and supply injected spurs. ADC's specifications include: INL plusmn2LSB, DNL plusmn0.5LSB, SFDR greater than 59dB, 35mW power dissipation, while the PLL achieves <20pspp total jitter and <-60dBc spurs.
Combining patch-clamp and optical methods in brain slices

Combining patch-clamp and optical imaging techniques in brain slices offers several advantages for physiological studies of nerve cells. Numerous practical considerations weigh heavily in this design of an apparatus suitable for such combined measurements. These considerations include the thickness of the slices, the type of microscope to be used for imaging and the kind of optical signal to be measured. A system that combine optical and patch-clamp methods can be modified readily to permit studies of intracellular and extracellular signaling pathways via flash photolysis of caged compounds.
Endocrine control of vitellogenesis in Drosophila melanogaster: effects of the brain and corpus allatum.

The endocrine control of yolk deposition in Drosophila melanogaster was studied by ligation and transplantation techniques. Endocrine events associated with the initiation of vitellogenesis were found to be synchronized with eclosion rather than the completion of adult development. Decapitation experiments showed that a cephalic event occurring at about the time of eclosion is necessary for each animal to initiate vitellogenesis. The morphogenetic effect of the head could be replaced by a juvenile hormone analog (JHA). In addition to the cephalic event, a thoracic factor is required for each follicle to initiate vitellogenesis, since preparation of isolated abdomens before 16 hours after eclosion prevented vitellogenesis. In abdomens isolated after this time, no early vitellogenic stages were formed. The suppression of vitellogenesis in isolated abdomens was reversed by implanting corpora allata or by treating these preparations with JHA, but not by implanting corpora cardiaca. Ovaries that were artificially induced to mature by treating isolated abdomens with JHA still displayed the normal complement of ovarian proteins after electrophoresis in polyacrylamide gels. These results show that a circadian clock triggers vitellogenesis via a cephalic signal at eclosion, which in turn triggers events in the thorax or abdomen. The cephalic signal can be superseded by juvenile hormone, whose presence is necessary for each follicle to become vitellogenic.
Nutrient composition of selected plant species consumed by semi free‐ranging lion‐tailed macaques (Macaca silenus) and ring‐tailed lemurs (Lemur catta) on St. Catherines Island, Georgia, U.S.A.

Feeding behavior in two groups of semi free-ranging primates, lion tailed macaques (LTM) (Macaca silenus, n = 9) and ring-tailed lemurs (RTL) (Lemur catta, n = 13), residing on St. Catherines Island, GA, was observed seasonally at quarterly intervals for 1 year. Each group had unlimited access to native flora and fauna in addition to a daily provisioned diet; LTM were observed a total of 144 hours and RTL for 208 hours. We hypothesized that foods selected by macaques would be lower in macronutrients and higher in fiber than those consumed by lemurs owing to body size differences. Samples of plant foods observed eaten (106 samples from 30 identified species) were collected, air-dried in the field, and analyzed for macronutrient, fiber, and mineral content. Leaves and seeds were important diet components for semi free-ranging LTM most of the year, comprising 51% to 93% of observed feeding time on non-provisioned food items, with ripe fruit a major food item (40% of observed feeding time) only during the August sampling period. In general, RTL consumed a more diverse diet of fruits and leaves during all seasons, with seeds and buds increasingly important during winter months (45% of observed feeding time). Based on the nutrient composition of different plant parts, weighted by the percentage contribution (feeding time assumed equivalent to mass of forage intake) of each part, no difference was seen in fiber (LTM 56.8 ± 21.9% of DM, RTL 38.4 ± 16.7% DM) or crude protein content of diets consumed (LTM 9.0 ± 2.9% DM, RTL 11.5± 6.7% DM) throughout the year. Weighted diets contained mineral concentrations meeting recommended values for non-human primates of Mg, Cu, Mn, and Zn, but were low in Na, P, and Fe, as well as Ca (LTM only). Despite wide differences in individual food items selected, overall diets were remarkably similar in macronutrient composition between these two disparate primates. Zoo Biol 18:481–494, 1999. © 1999 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Metal–Oxygen Stretching Frequencies in the Metal Chelate Compounds of β-Diketones

RECENTLY, many papers1 have been published on the infra-red spectra of metal chelate compounds of β-diketones in the sodium chloride (4,000 ∼ 650 cm.−1) region. The empirical assignments of the observed bands have also been made by Locomte and other workers2. Since the CO stretching bands can be identified without much ambiguity, attempts have been made to correlate their frequencies with the stability of the chelates3 or the ionization potential4 of various metals.
A numerical study of flow in curved tubes simulating coronary arteries

Numerical simulations of pulsatile flow in coronary arteries which take into account the curvature associated with the bending of arteries over the surface of the heart are presented for resting, excited and drug induced states. The study was motivated by reported observations of atherosclerotic plaque localization on the inner curvature of coronary arteries. The simulated flow field appears quasi-steady under resting conditions with wall shear stress always highest on the outside wall and only a single secondary flow vortex in the half tube. However, reversal of wall shear stress direction at the inside wall does occur under resting flow conditions and this is not a quasi-steady characteristic. The flow field is markedly unsteady under excited conditions with wall shear stress sometimes peaking on the inside wall and an increase in the magnitude of wall shear stress reversal on the inside wall. However, only a single secondary flow vortex in the half tube is observed. Implications of the simulations for the role of fluid mechanics in coronary artery atherosclerosis are also discussed.
Anthropometric and Behavioral Measures Related to Mindfulness in College Students

Abstract Objective: To determine whether mindfulness is associated with physical and behavioral measures in first semester college students. Participants: Male and female first year college students (n = 75) from the University of Rhode Island. Methods: Height, weight, waist circumference (WC), and blood pressure were assessed and online questionnaires were completed. Independent t tests and Pearson correlations were utilized for analysis. Results: The less mindful group had a higher WC than the more mindful group. Correlations were seen between mindfulness and weight-related behaviors. Conclusions: Mindfulness can impact health status of first year college students, particularly with behavioral measures that have been found to effect weight status. However, additional research is needed focusing on mindfulness as a potential weight gain prevention technique for first year college students in order to decrease chronic disease prevalence.
Porphyrin-embedded organosilicas for detection and decontamination

Porphyrin-embedded materials (PEMs) combine the tunable binding selectivity, high surface area, and low materials density of a highly ordered pore network with the unique properties of porphyrins. Porphyrins are a family of large, nearly planar molecules which strongly absorb visible light and fluoresce intensely. They are highly sensitively to alterations in their immediate environment making porphyrins valuable as indicators. They are well established electroand photocatalysts and have been used in this capacity in a wide range of applications. Surfactant-templated nanoporous organosilicas have great potential for the adsorption of small molecule contaminants. They can be synthesized with high surface areas, uniform pore dimensions, and ordered nanostructures while incorporating organic bridging groups in the pore walls that may be tuned for adsorption of a specific class of compounds. In the porphyrin-embedded materials, the organosilica scaffold stabilizes the porphyrin and facilitates optimal orientation of porphyrin and target. The materials can be stored under ambient conditions and offer exceptional shelf-life. The selectivity of the materials can be controlled both through incorporation of varying organic bridging groups in the organosilica structure and through selection of the porphyrin component.
The combined flux technique for diffusion—reaction problems in partial equilibrium: Application to the facilitated transport of carbon dioxide in aqueous bicarbonate solutions

Abstract A systematic method is derived for the simplification of a system of diffusion—reaction equations in which the kinetics fall into two distinct classes, E fast reactions and R — E slow reactions. The method has its origins in the “combined flux” technique introduced for the modelling of laminar flames by Dixon-Lewis et al. (1975, Proc. R. Soc. A346, 261–278). In using this method the E fast reactions are assumed to be in local equilibrium throughout some region of space, and this allows a reduction by E in the number of differential equations which must be simultaneously solved to compute multicomponent concentration profiles and fluxes. By eliminating the fast reactions this approach alleviates the stiffness problem that typically accompanies a reaction network in which the characteristic timescales vary by several orders of magnitude and provides what is essentially the lowest order term of the asymptotic expansion in the outer region,. Once derived, this technique is applied to the problem of the facilitated transport of carbon dioxide in aqueous bicarbonate solution to determine, in particular, the effect of induced electric fields on membrane permeability. The theoretical results obtained show that diffusion potentials in the uncatalyzed membrane in partial reaction equilibrium, i.e. R ⪢ E, are several orders of magnitude lower than those predicted for the carbonic anhydrase catalyzed membrane which attains full reaction equilibrium, i.e. R = E. Furthermore, in the example studied the induced electric field is shown to have a negligibly small influence on the net flux of CO2 regardless of the assumed kinetic rates.
Juggling the categories of race, class and gender: Aphra Behn's Oroonoko

(1991). Juggling the categories of race, class and gender: Aphra Behn's Oroonoko. Women's Studies: Vol. 19, Women in the Renaissance: An Interdisciplinary Forum (MLA 1989), pp. 159-181.
Noninvasive Coronary Angiography Using Electron Beam Computed Tomography: Technique, Clinical Application, Future Prospective

Electron beam computed tomography has been available clinically for 20 years. It is the only computed tomography scanner specifically developed for cardiac imaging. Over the past decade, with improvements in methodology and computer software, electron beam computed tomography has been shown to provide an excellent method to perform noninvasive coronary angiography. This article looks at the historical aspects of electron beam computed tomography and comments on how to perform and interpret electron beam angiography studies. The expanding development of noninvasive coronary and peripheral angiography methods using computed tomography will have a significant influence on cardiovascular specialists and their practices.
Immunoelectron microscopy identification of early proliferating cells in rat liver tissue during hyperplasia induced by lead nitrate

Recent studies have suggested that hepatic stem cells may be involved in at least some forms of liver epithelial growth. To obtain further information on this controversial hypothesis, we treated rats with lead nitrate to induce liver growth and identified the cells undergoing early DNA synthesis by bromodeoxyuridine immunohistochemistry, using both light and electron microscopic detection methods. Eight hours after an intravenous injection of lead nitrate 100 μmol/kg, DNA synthesis was detected in a few scattered hepatocytes and in nonparenchymal cells in portal connective tissue. At the light microscopic level, identification of nonparenchymal cells was limited to bile duct epithelial cells. Other cell types were also labeled, but their identity could not be established. At the ultrastructural level, however, four types of nonparenchymal cells were identified as containing bromodeoxyuridine immunogold particles. These four types included bile duct epithelial cells, fibroblasts, macrophages and nondescript periductular cells. These periductular cells displayed certain ultrastructural features of bile duct cells but did not line a lumen or display microvilli on their apical membrane, nor did they reside within the bile duct basement membrane. Because proliferation of nonparenchymal cells in portal areas preceded that of hepatocytes, it is suggested that the former reaction reflects a direct mitogenic effect of lead nitrate and not an adaptive growth response secondary to parenchymal enlargement. However, whether DNA synthesis in periductular cells or bile duct cells reflects activation of hepatic stem cells cannot be established from the present morphological observations. If so, such a progenitor compartment must be dormant because it does not seem to play a functional role in this and other forms of adult liver epithelial growth. (HEPATOLOGY 1993;17:685–692.)
The Influence of in vitro Phosphatide upon the Disappearance of Free Cholesterol in Heparinized and Unheparinized Serum Upon Incubation

The disappearance of free cholesterol in incubated serum is inhibited in some lightly heparinized subjects. This inhibition is accentuated when an emulsion of soy bean phosphatides is added to the serum prior to incubation. The combined effect of in vivo heparin and in vitro phosphatide is the reverse of that produced by added phosphatide alone in unheparinized serum. In a limited number of experiments, the results with crystalline lecithin resembled those produced by soy bean phosphatides, but were more pronounced.
Morphological study on thermal shrinkage and dimensional stability associated with oriented poly(lactic acid)

Morphological features governing dimensional stability of variously processed poly(lactic acid) have been investigated. The exotherm observed near the glass transition temperature (Tg) is one of the most sensitive indicators reflecting structural changes as a function of temperature and time. A combination of spectroscopic and calorimetric techniques was used to analyze the amorphous chain conformation of deformed PLA samples. We found that nucleation-enhanced crystallization is the major contributor to the exotherm, not shrinkage. Our analysis suggests the existence of two amorphous regions. One is characteristic of the deformed structure. The other is consistent with a relaxed isotropic conformation distribution. Results showed that the existence of deformed amorphous chains is necessary for any fiber shrinkage. But above a critical crystallinity of 40%, a rigid crystalline network prevents shrinkage, even for highly deformed chains. In addition, the previously reported value of tg‘t fraction in the amo...
Critical Pulmonary Stenosis with a Diminutive Right Ventricle in Neonates

Thirteen of 19 neonates seen in the first months of life with critical pulmonary stenosis (PS) and an intact ventricular septum had a diminutive right ventricle (RV) evidenced by electrocardiographic and angiocardiographic criteria. All were critically ill and at catheterization had hypoxemia secondary to right-to-left shunting at the atrial level, and RV hypertension. Right ventricular angiogram was useful to evaluate RV size and differentiate the children with PS from those with pulmonary atresia. Pulmonary valvulotomy was the procedure of choice and in ten children the operation resulted in marked improvement with disappearance of cyanosis and cardiomegaly within one year. All are well six months to eight and one half years later. Two children had an additional unrecognized infundibular stenosis and required a shunt after valvulotomy because of persistant cyanosis. One child had a shunt without valvulotomy and died three years later in congestive failure. The three children who have been recatheterized...
A COMPARISON OF THE LIPID COMPOSITION OF BROWN ADIPOSE TISSUE FROM MALE AND FEMALE BATS (MYOTIS LUCIFUGUS) DURING HIBERNATING AND NON-HIBERNATING SEASONS.

Abstract The lipids of the interscapular brown fat of bats, Myotis lucifugus, have been analyzed by silicic acid column chromatography and anion-exchange chromatography of the mild alkaline hydrolysis products of phosphatides. Brushite (CaHPO4) chromatography has been introduced as an adjunct technique for the convenient separation of neutral from polar lipids and the removal of phosphatidylcholine from other phosphatides. Data from comparative studies of tissue obtained from male and female bats sacrificed during the hibernating and non-hibernating seasons are presented. The fatty acid composition of the cholesterol ester and triglyceride fraction is reported. The triglycerides, the major class of lipids, contain predominantly unsaturated fatty acids. Oleic acid is the principal individual fatty acid of this fraction. All brown fat preparations have high levels of cardiolipin presumably related to the rich content of mitochondria in brown adipose cells.
Postoperative cognitive dysfunction after noncardiac surgery: effects of metabolic syndrome.

Vascular risk factors, including metabolic syndrome, are known to contribute to the development of cognitive dysfunction. We tested the hypothesis that patients with metabolic syndrome are more likely to develop cognitive dysfunction after noncardiac surgery. Age- and education-balanced patients (n = 60) undergoing elective noncardiac surgery with and without metabolic syndrome and 30 nonsurgical controls were enrolled. Recent verbal and nonverbal memory and executive functions were assessed using a psychometric test battery before and 1 month after noncardiac surgery or at a 1-month interval in nonsurgical controls. Neurocognitive scores under baseline conditions were similar in surgical patients with versus without metabolic syndrome in all examined cognitive modalities (recent nonverbal and verbal memory, executive functions). Pronounced reductions in tests of verbal memory (delayed story recall, immediate and delayed word list recall) and executive function (backward digit span) were observed in patients with versus without metabolic syndrome after surgery. Overall cognitive performance after surgery was also significantly (P = 0.03) more impaired in patients with versus without metabolic syndrome. The prevalence rate of postoperative cognitive dysfunction (POCD) differed in the studied groups (13/30 and 8/30 in patients with versus without metabolic syndrome; P < 0.02). The results indicate that cognitive functions were more profoundly impaired in patients with metabolic syndrome undergoing noncardiac surgery compared with their healthier counterparts.
Gram and acridine orange staining for diagnosis of septic arthritis in different patient populations

The sensitivity of Gram staining is known to be suboptimal for the diagnosis of native joint septic arthritis. We lack information about the accuracy of Gram compared to other microscopic staining techniques for predicting infection in different patient populations. This was a cohort study with cost evaluations at the Orthopaedic Service of Geneva University Hospitals (January 1996–October 2012). Among 500 episodes of arthritis (196 with immunosuppression, 227 with underlying arthroplasties and 69 with gout or other crystals in synovial fluid), Gram staining revealed pathogens in 146 episodes (146/500, 29 %) or in 146 of the 400 culture-positive episodes (37 %). Correlation between the Gram and acridine staining of the same sample was good (Spearman 0.85). Overall, the sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value and negative predictive value of Gram stain for rapid diagnosis of septic arthritis was 0.37, 0.99, 0.99 and 0.28, respectively, compared to microbiological cultures. Quite similar values were recorded across the different patient subpopulations, in particular for sensitivity values that were 0.33 for patients with prosthetic joint infections, 0.40 for immunosuppressed patients, 0.36 for patients under antibiotic administration and 0.52 for patients with concomitant crystalline disease. The sensitivity of Gram or acridine orange staining for a rapid diagnosis of episodes of septic arthritis is suboptimal compared to microbiological culture, regardless of underlying conditions, immunosuppression or antibiotic therapy. The sensitivity in the presence of synovial fluid crystals is moderate. Acridine orange and Gram stains are equivalent.
Environmentally relevant mixing ratios in cumulative assessments: a study of the kinetics of pyrethroids and their ester cleavage metabolites in blood and brain; and the effect of a pyrethroid mixture on the motor activity of rats.

Abstract National surveys of United States households and child care centers have demonstrated that pyrethroids are widely distributed in indoor habited dwellings and this suggests that co-exposure to multiple pyrethroids occurs in nonoccupational settings. The purpose of this research was to use an environmentally relevant mixture of pyrethroids to assess their cumulative effect on motor activity and develop kinetic profiles for these pyrethroids and their hydrolytic metabolites in brain and blood of rats. Rats were dosed orally at one of two levels (1.5× or 5.0× the calculated dose that decreases rat motor activity by 30%) with a mixture of cypermethrin, deltamethrin, esfenvalerate, cis-/trans-permethrin, and β-cyfluthrin in corn oil. At 1, 2, 4, 8, or 24 h after dosing, the motor activity of each animal was assessed and the animals sacrificed. Concentrations of pyrethroids in brain and blood, and the following metabolites: cis-/trans-dichlorovinyl-dimethylcyclopropane-carboxylic acid, 3-phenoxybenzoic acid, 3-phenoxybenzyl alcohol, 4-fluoro-3-phenoxybenzoic acid, and cis-dibromovinyl-dimethylcyclopropane-carboxylic acid were determined using liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC–MS/MS). Using this pyrethroid mixture in rats, the results suggest there is greater metabolism of trans-permethrin prior to entering the systemic circulatory system. All pyrethroids had tissue half-lives (t1/2) of less than 5 h, excepting esfenvalerate in brain. At early time points, relative pyrethroid brain concentrations approximated their dose mixture proportions and a sigmoidal Emax model described the relationship between motor activity decrease and total pyrethroid brain concentration. In blood, the t1/2's of the cyclopropane metabolites were longer than the phenoxybenzoic metabolites. However, relative to their respective precursors, concentrations of the phenoxybenzoic acids were much higher than concentrations of the cyclopropane metabolites. Brain concentrations of all metabolites were low relative to blood concentrations. This implies limited metabolite penetration of the blood-brain barrier and little metabolite formation within the brain. In conclusion: toxicokinetic differences between the pyrethroids did not appear to be important determinants of their relative potency and their effect on motor activity was consistent with a pyrethroid dose additive model.
Measuring Drivers' Frustration in a Driving Simulator:

The objective of the current study was to measure the effect of frustration on drivers' performance and scanning efficiency in a driving simulator. We hypothesized that unsafe driving would be elicited by a combination of manipulating frustrating events in the external driving environment while inducing a sense of time pressure within the driver. Two age groups of drivers drove through several frustrating situations on the road while trying to reach a destination within a limited time. The induced frustration decreased drivers' awareness of potential distractions, mental state, and potential danger in driving environment. When compared to younger drivers, older drivers had a more efficient scanning routine and safer vehicle control. This study speaks to the need for emotionally engaging simulated driving scenarios to produce more realistic driver performance.
Changes in Testamentary Practice at Montpellier on the Eve of the Black Death

The Black Death arrived in southern France, at Marseille, in January 1348. It then spread westward, reaching Carcassonne by February and Perpignan by March. There is no exact chronology of the outbreak of the plague in Montpellier. However, the disease probably appeared by March 1348, since it spread along trade routes and the town was considerably closer to Marseille than both Carcassonne and Perpignan. The recorded toll of the Black Death in Montpellier at first seems great enough to account for any changes in the behavior of the population in the plague year. For this commercial and financial capital of Lower Languedoc, 1348 was generally termed “lan de la mortalidat.”
Taphonomic Effects of Sea-Floor Exposure on an Ordovician Brachiopod Assemblage

The taphonomy of the Cincinnatian brachiopod Platystrophia ponderosa reveals a complex history of draft filling and biologic occupation of the shell, commonly followed by disarticulation and preferential destruction of the thinner brachial valve by abrasion and breakage. Polished sections of 50 shells exhibit a repeated filling sequence beginning with mixed and laminated skeletal debris and micrite, deposited from suspension in gaped shells. Pelletal concentrations, produced in situ by a shell-inhabiting organism, truncate the underlying fill. Shell fillings imply prolonged post-mortem exposure of gaped, articulated shells, contrary to arguments that brachiopod shells do not gape following death and rapidly disarticulate. In bulk samples of disarticulated valves, the pedicle:brachial valve ratio increases with abrasion and breakage. This correlation, combined with the greater thickness of the pedicle valve and the lack of brachial valve-dominated assemblages, suggests that skewed valve ratios in Platystrophia ponderosa result from preferential destruction of the thinner brachial valve, rather than from selective transportation of one valve, as observed for pelecypods. Differences in shell preservation are controlled by the duration of post-mortem exposure, not by water energy alone.
Multiplex charge-transfer interactions between quantum dots and peptide-bridged ruthenium complexes.

Simultaneous detection of multiple independent fluorescent signals or signal multiplexing has the potential to significantly improve bioassay throughput and to allow visualization of concurrent cellular events. Applications based on signal multiplexing, however, remain hard to achieve in practice due to difficulties in both implementing hardware and the photophysical liabilities associated with available organic dye and protein fluorophores. Here, we used charge-transfer interactions between luminescent semiconductor quantum dots (QDs) and proximal redox complexes to demonstrate controlled quenching of QD photoemission in a multiplexed format. In particular, we show that, because of the ability of the Ru complex to effectively interact with CdSe−ZnS QDs emitting over a broad window of the optical spectrum, higher orders of multiplexed quenching can be achieved in a relatively facile manner. Polyhistidine-appended peptides were site-specifically labeled with a redox-active ruthenium (Ru) phenanthroline com...
Jonathan Edwards, The Ethics of Virtue and Public Theology

In The Nature of True Virtue , Jonathan Edwards does not deny that common morality is important; benevolence, beauty, conscience, justice, love for family and country are all threads in the fabric of a common morality. Without love for God as their chief end, however, the ‘virtues’ of common morality do not rise to the level of true virtue. This incommensurability can be problematic for Christian ethics in the public square. Edwards understood his project within the horizon of a commonwealth founded on Christian faith, but modern liberal democracies envision a different relationship between religious discourse and public life. In these contexts, so different from Edwards’ setting, pluralism and tolerance are among the keys to a peaceful pursuit of the common good. With these differences in view, then, I explore what contribution Edwards’ work on virtue might make to the practice of public theology in the areas of environmental ethics, bioethics and immigration policy.
Renal prostaglandin E2 synthesis in the brattleboro homozygous diabetes insipidus rat

The effect of vasopressin (VP) on prostaglandin (PG) synthesis in the renal collecting tubule remains equivocal. To further address this issue, the present study determined the effects of chronic absence of VP on renal medullary collecting tubule PG synthesis. Prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) synthesis was measured in both inner and outer medullary slices and collecting tubules microdissected from the inner medulla (PCD) and outer medulla (MCT) of Brattleboro homozygous diabetes insipidus (DI) rats, which are genetically devoid of VP, and from Long Evans (LE) control rats. In vitro PGE2 synthesis was significantly lower in. both inner medulary (Δ - 56%; p < 0.001) and outer medullary (Δ - 56%; p < 0.01) slices of DI rats compared to controls. Vasopressin tannate treatment (0.5 U/day for 5 days) increased urinary PG excretion, and increased in vitro PGE2 synthesis in both inner and outer medullary slices of DI rats to levels that did not differ from vehicle-treated LE controls. In contrast, PGE2 synthesis in both PCD and MCT of DI rats did not differ from LE controls when incubated either in an isotonic (300 mOsm) medium, or in an hypertonic (1000 mOsm) medium. These results suggest that PGE2 biosynthetic capacity of medullary collecting tubules in the DI rat is not dependent on VP, while depressed PGE2 synthesis in renal medullary slices of DI rats, suggests that the interstitial cell is the primary medullary site of PG synthesis which is modulated by VP.
Conservative technologies for environmental protection based on the use of reactive polymers.

Abstract Biodegradation of organic pollutants is based on ‘destructive’ technologies leading to the formation of low-molecular-weight compounds and carbon dioxide or methane depending on the process red-ox conditions. This is not possible for persistent pollutants (e.g., heavy metals, biorefractory organics, complex organometals) independent of the origin and structure of the chemical substrate. Reference compounds can only be recovered and eventually recycled to the production lines of origin and/or to related industrial activities. However, the quality of the recovered products must justify the recycling operation. Sorption techniques (ion exchange, carbon adsorption) and membrane technology as typical ‘conservative’ unit operations allow for removal of pollutants to the strictest limits imposed by enforced legislation and simultaneous recovery and recycling. We discuss two examples of conservative environmental technologies, based on ion exchange and the use of reactive polymers. The first relates to metal-laden effluents from the tannery industry, and the second to the management of residues (clarifier sludge) from the drinking water industry. Both processes are aimed at the minimization of environmental impact resulting from the production lines (Cr(III)- and Al(III)-containing wastes, respectively) and the recovery of valuable by-products with the related economic revenues associated with their commercial value.
Understanding the Mechanism of Ionic Conductivity in an Anhydrous Proton-Conducting Electrolyte Through Measurements of Single-Ion Diffusion Coefficients

The single-ion diffusion coefficients of H + and MePEG n SO - 3 ions have been electrochemically measured in a series of anhydrous proton-conducting electrolytes composed of mixtures of MePEG n SO 3 H acid (where n = 3, 7, 12, or 16) dissolved in our MePEG 7 polymer. The electrochemically measured H + single-ion diffusion coefficients in this electrolyte are dependent on temperature such that, at low temperatures (25°C), the H + cation is the primary charge carrier in the four acid/polymer solutions tested. However at high temperatures, the diffusion coefficients of the MePEG 7 SO - 3 and MePEG 12 SO - 3 anions are larger than the corresponding H + diffusion values, yielding a smaller fraction of charge carried by H + (t H+ values of 0.29 and 0.41, for the MePEG 7 SO 3 H and MePEG 12 SO 3 H mixtures at 85°C). While the diffusion coefficient of the large MePEG 16 SO - 3 anion does not overtake D H+ at 85°C, its transference number nonetheless increases with increasing temperature. We conclude that our electrolyte is dominated by Grotthus conductivity at low to moderate temperatures, while the contribution of the vehicle mechanism of H + conductivity increases at high temperatures.
Paleoecology of an upper Middle Pennsylvanian coal swamp from Western Pennsylvania, U.S.A.

The first sufficient quantitative analysis of vegetation preserved in coal balls from the Allegheny Formation, late Middle Pennsylvanian age, was made in the present study by measuring 13,203 cm2 from middle peels of over 300 coal balls or pieces of coal balls. The distinctive features of this flora are the dominance of lycopods, the absence of cordaitean plants, and the extremely low shoot/root ratio (0.74 for total plant remains, 0.24 for lycopods). It is suggested that the climate at the Derringer Corners coal swamps was a drier tropical climate, compared to that of some earlier coal-forming environment of the Appalachian Basin, and to those of coal swamps in the Illinois Basin during the Middle Pennsylvanian. The discrepancy between the abundance of lycopods (as an indicator of a wet environment or habitat) and the low shoot/root ratio (inferring relatively dry conditions) in the coal-forming peat swamps at the Derringer Corners indicates that the actual set of factors causing massive reduction of arborescent lycopods at, or near, the boundary between Middle and Late Pennsylvanian would be much more complex than simply a “drier climate”. Some local factors, such as edaphic, perhaps geomorphic conditions, and local events, might play an important role in creating a favorable environment for the growth of lycopod trees.
Relationship of light intensity to leaf resin composition and yield in the tropical leguminous genera Hymenaea and Copaifera

Abstract Hymenaea and Copaifera are closely related morphologically distinct tree genera whose leaf resins appear to be composed of the same sesquiterpene hydrocarbons which occur in similar quantitative compositional patterns. The seedlings of both genera grow in varying light intensities in the understories of different lowland tropical ecosystems from desert thorn forests to equatorial evergreen rain forests; all eventually grow into high light intensity. Previous controlled environment studies of the effects of photoperiod, temperature and moisture status have shown little phenotypic plasticity in the leaf resin composition of Hymenaea seedlings. In this study, focusing on light intensity, both control chamber experiments comparing seedlings of H. courbaril var. courbaril, H. courbaril var. subsessilis, C. officinalis and C. pubiflora , grown under low and high light treatments, and field data from saplings of C. multijuga , growing under shaded and unshaded conditions, also show lack of phenotypic plasticity in resin composition. The yield of resin (mg/g leaf tissue), however, varied considerably among individuals, and increased significantly from low to high light conditions in both control chamber and field conditions. The relationship of increased synthesis is discussed with regard to photosynthetic capacity, allocation of carbon and herbivory.