cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Health promotion practices of women with multiple sclerosis

Abstract Objective: To explore the health promotion behaviors of women with multiple sclerosis (MS), a chronic, disabling disease affecting the central nervous system. Design: Participants completed a battery of instruments measuring illness-related disability, health-promoting behaviors, and quality of life. Descriptive statistics were used to examine the frequency of various health promotion practices among women with MS. Participants were grouped according to clinical course and compared on frequency of health-promoting behaviors using multivariate analysis of variance. Path analysis was used to test the hypothesis that health-promoting behavior mediates the relation of illness severity to quality of life. Participants: Women with physician-diagnosed MS ( n = 629) who were community-residing were recruited with the assistance of two chapters of the National MS Society. Main Outcome Measures: Health Promoting Lifestyle Profile II; Quality of Life Index-MS Version. Results: Overall, these women scored lower on measures of physical activity (moderate effect size) and spiritual growth (small effect size) than the comparison "normative" sample. Women with benign sensory and relapsing-remitting MS were more likely than women with progressive MS to engage in physical activity and spiritual growth behaviors. Health-promoting behaviors mediated the relation of illness-related disability to quality of life. Conclusions: Findings highlight the impact of living with a chronic disabling condition on the frequency of health-promoting behaviors. Additional research is needed to identify factors that enhance both the initiation and maintenance of health promotion behaviors.
Hatchery Performance Attributes of Juvenile Lake Sturgeon Fed Two Natural Food Types

Abstract The use of stocking programs to rehabilitate depressed populations of lake sturgeon Acipenser fulvescens requires the optimization of early life stage growth in hatchery settings. We evaluated the performance of juvenile lake sturgeon fed different proportions of two natural food types—adult brine shrimp Artemia spp. and larval bloodworms Chironomus spp.—over a 10-week laboratory experiment. The following five diet treatments were provided: (1) 100% bloodworms; (2) 75% bloodworms : 25% brine shrimp; (3) 50% bloodworms : 50% brine shrimp; (4) 25% bloodworms : 75% brine shrimp; and (5) 100% brine shrimp. Lake sturgeon growth was positively related to bloodworm content in the diet and was significantly different among treatments. Although the initial sizes of fish were similar, mean fork length and wet weight were greatest for the 100% bloodworm treatment (183.1 mm and 37.5 g, respectively) and lowest for the 100% brine shrimp diet (118.4 mm and 9.5 g) by the end of the study. Mean specific and abso...
The effect of equalizing landing task demands on sex differences in lower extremity energy absorption.

Background: Less lean mass and strength may result in greater relative task demands on females compared to males when landing from a standardized height and could explain sex differences in energy absorption strategies. We compared the magnitude of sex differences in energy absorption when task demands were equalized relative to the amount of lower extremity lean mass available to dissipate kinetic energy upon landing.Methods: Male–female pairs (n = 35) were assessed for lower extremity lean mass with dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. Relative task demands were calculated when landing from a standardized height. Based on the difference in lower extremity lean mass within each pair, task demands were equalized by increasing the drop height for males. Joint energetics were measured while landing from the two heights. Multivariate repeated measures ANOVAs compared the magnitude of sex differences in joint energetics between conditions.Findings: The multivariate test for absolute energy absorption was significant (P < 0.01). The magnitude of sex difference in energy absorption was greater at the hip and knee (both P < 0.01), but not the ankle (P = 0.43) during the equalized condition compared to the standardized and exaggerated conditions (all P < 0.01). There was no difference in the magnitude of sex differences between equalized, standardized and exaggerated conditions for relative energy absorption (P = 0.18).Interpretation: Equalizing task demands increased the difference in absolute hip and knee energy absorption between sexes, but had no effect on relative joint contributions to total energy absorption. Sex differences in energy absorption are likely influenced by factors other than differences in relative task demands.
The WHO Classification of Pulmonary Hypertension: A Case-Based Imaging Compendium:

AbstractPulmonary hypertension (PH) is defined as a resting mean pulmonary artery pressure greater than 25 mmHg. The World Health Organization (WHO) classifies PH into five categories. The WHO nomenclature assumes shared histology and pathophysiology within categories and implies category-specific treatment. Imaging of the heart and pulmonary vasculature is critical to assigning a patient’s PH syndrome to the correct WHO category and is also important in predicting outcomes. Imaging studies often reveal that the etiology of PH in a patient reflects contributions from several categories. Overlap between Categories 2 and 3 (left heart disease and lung disease) is particularly common, reflecting shared risk factors. Correct classification of PH patients requires the combination of standard imaging (chest roentgenograms, ventilation-perfusion scans, echocardiography, and the 12-lead electrocardiogram) and advanced imaging (computed tomography, cardiac magnetic resonance imaging, and positron emission tomograp...
Neurotrophin Family Members as Neuroprotectants in Retinal Degenerations

Inherited retinal degenerations (IRDs) are an untreatable cause of blindness due to photoreceptor apoptosis. Blocking apoptosis by exogenous neurotrophic factor administration is a promising therapeutic strategy in IRDs. The neurotrophin (NT) family are a group of peptide growth factors homologous to nerve growth factor that regulate the development, differentiation, survival, and function of neuronal cells. This mini-review summarizes the preclinical evidence for neuroprotection of photoreceptors by NTs and explores the molecular pathways responsible for this protective effect. Studies published in the literature over the past 20 years that report on the effect of NTs on apoptotic photoreceptor death in IRDs and light-induced retinal degeneration, and the cellular pathways involved, are reviewed. Preclinical evidence suggests that exogenous NT administration may be protective against photoreceptor apoptosis. Each NT exerts a neuroprotective effect on photoreceptors that is specific depending upon the model of retinal degeneration and the delivery system. Signaling pathways and retinal cells mediating this effect are still uncertain. Alternatively, different NTs may protect or damage photoreceptors depending on the expression pattern of high- and low-affinity NT receptors on the retinal cells. Although there is evidence that NTs may exert a protective effect, most likely indirectly on photoreceptor cell apoptotic degeneration in IRDs, the precise cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying this effect are still largely unknown. Better understanding of these mechanisms may greatly improve the rationale and efficacy of NT strategy for treatment of IRDs.
World-Class Purchasing Skills: An Empirical Investigation

SUMMARY Changes in the purchasing function and the environment in which it operates significantly affect the ideal skill set required fora world-class purchasing professional. Although much has been written in the popular press about the skills required of a purchasing/supply management professional, very little academic research has been undertaken to examine this topic. The objectives of this study were to ascertain which skills are the most important to the function and to develop a concise set of factors to describe a comprehensive set of skills required of a world-class purchasing/supply management professional One hundred thirty-six purchasing professionals rated the importance of 30 purchasing skills. The skills were subsequently analyzed via exploratory factor analysis. Strategy, process management, teaming, decisionmaking, behavioral, negotiation, and quantitative skills were identified as key skill dimensions.
Silicon hot-electron bolometers with single-electron transistor readout

Abstract With the goal of making high-sensitivity bolometers for low-background measurements in the far-infrared or submillimeter, we have made small silicon thermistors, which act as hot-electron bolometers, with integrated single-electron transistors for readout amplifiers. Semiconductors doped just below a metal–insulator transition can make highly sensitive thermistors that have been used as thermometers in X-ray microcalorimeters and FIR bolometer arrays. In such arrays, thermal isolation is engineered by supporting the absorber and thermometer on a membrane. However, electron–phonon decoupling in doped silicon can be made the dominant thermal isolation by reducing device volume, potentially allowing a smaller thermal conductance and a more sensitive bolometer. A key feature is that, while its DC resistance is very high, the thermistor's surface impedance at terahertz frequencies is conveniently low, making feasible efficient antenna coupling of radiation into the electron system. Radio-frequency single-electron transistors integrated with the thermistors have sufficiently low input capacitance to offer high-speed readout of the high impedance detectors.
TOWARD IDENTIFICATION OF ACID/BASE CATALYSTS IN THE ACTIVE SITE OF ENOLASE: COMPARISON OF THE PROPERTIES OF K345A, E168Q, AND E211Q VARIANTS

High-resolution crystallographic data show that Glu 168 and Glu 211 lie on opposite surfaces of the active site from Lys 345. Two different proposals for general base catalysis have emerged from these structural studies. In one scheme, the carboxylate side chains of Glu 168 and Glu 211 are proposed to ionize a trapped water molecule and the OH- serves as the base [Lebioda, L., & Stec, B. (1991) Biochemistry 30, 2817−2822]. In the other proposal, the e-amino group of Lys 345 functions in general base catalysis [Wedekind, J. E., Poyner, R. R., Reed, G. H., & Rayment, I. (1994) Biochemistry 33, 9333−9342]. Genes encoding site specific mutations of these active site residues of yeast enolase, K345A, E168Q, and E211Q, have been prepared. The respective protein products of the wild type and mutant genes were expressed in Escherichia coli and isolated in homogeneous form. All three mutant proteins possess severely depressed activities in the overall reaction< 1 part in 105 of wild type activity. Properties of th...
Star coloring planar graphs from small lists

A star coloring of a graph is a proper vertex-coloring such that no path on four vertices is 2-colored. We prove that the vertices of every planar graph of girth 6 (respectively 7, 8) can be star colored from lists of size 8 (respectively 7, 6). We give an example of a planar graph of girth 5 that requires 6 colors to star color. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Graph Theory 63: 324–337, 2010
Desensitization of N-Formylpeptide Receptor-mediated Activation Is Dependent upon Receptor Phosphorylation

The human N-formylpeptide receptor (FPR) represents one of the most thoroughly studied leukocyte chemoattractant receptors. Despite this, little is known about the molecular mechanisms involved in the activation and desensitization of this receptor. To assess the role of phosphorylation in receptor function, U937 promonocytic cells were stably transfected to express the recombinant human FPR. Three mutant forms of the FPR lacking specific serine and threonine residues in the receptor C terminus were studied with respect to activation and desensitization. Replacement of all 11 serine and threonine residues within the C terminus by alanine and glycine residues (ΔST) resulted in a receptor capable of ligand binding and G protein activation similar to the wild-type receptor. However, whereas the wild-type FPR was phosphorylated on both serine and threonine residues upon exposure to agonist and displayed a significantly reduced ability to stimulate G protein-mediated GTP hydrolysis upon subsequent exposure to agonist, ΔST demonstrated a complete lack of phosphorylation and displayed little alteration in its ability to stimulate G protein-mediated GTP hydrolysis upon a subsequent exposure to agonist. In addition to desensitization of G protein-mediated GTP hydrolysis, calcium mobilization was assayed to test whether desensitization occurred at a site distal to G protein activation. However, as observed with G protein activation, ΔST underwent no desensitization of the calcium mobilization response upon a second exposure to agonist. To define more precisely the role of specific serine and threonine residues, two additional mutants were analyzed. Replacement either of Ser328, Thr329, Thr331, and Ser332 (mutant A) or of Thr334, Thr336, Ser338, and Thr339 (mutant B) resulted in functional receptors that exhibited ∼50% the level of phosphorylation following stimulation. Whereas mutant A, like ΔST, could not be significantly desensitized by exposure to agonist, mutant B exhibited partial desensitization. These results indicate that phosphorylation of the FPR is a necessary and sufficient step in cellular desensitization, that multiple phosphorylation sites are involved, and that redundant desensitization does not occur downstream of G protein activation in the signaling cascade.
Soluble CD14 and toll-like receptor-2 are potential salivary biomarkers for oral lichen planus and burning mouth syndrome

Oral lichen planus (OLP) and burning mouth syndrome (BMS) are chronic conditions affecting the oral mucosa characterized by pain and burning sensation. Saliva plays a significant role in the maintenance of physical and functional integrity of normal oral mucosa. Identification of potential "salivary biomarkers" for early diagnosis and/or monitoring of human diseases is being explored. We investigated the soluble forms of innate immune associated proteins CD14 and toll-like receptor-2 in unstimulated whole saliva (UWS) as potential biomarkers for OLP and BMS. Our results suggest that the levels of sCD14 and sTLR-2 in UWS were upregulated in OLP and BMS respectively. In addition, oral epithelial cells in the saliva of patients with OLP and BMS exhibited elevated levels of CD14 mRNA and decreased levels of TLR-2 mRNA. Interestingly, presence of co-existent oral candidiasis nullified these changes.
The peak and average temperature in a self-heated GaN HFET

Simulations of the self-heating in a GaN HFET are reported including its effect on the drain and transfer characteristics. The peak and effective temperature are discussed and how the latter may be measured experimentally. Different effective temperatures may be deduced depending on whether the drain current or transconductance is taken as reflecting the average device temperature.
Irradiation-induced angiogenesis is associated with an MMP-9-miR-494-syndecan-1 regulatory loop in medulloblastoma cells

Matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) represents one of the most prominent proteins associated with tumorigenesis and is a modulator of the tumor microenvironment during angiogenesis. Recently, syndecan-1 (SDC1), a transmembrane heparan sulfate-bearing proteoglycan, was also speculated to have a critical role in contributing to angiogenesis when associated with MMP-9. However, the mechanism behind their synergistic regulation is not fully understood. In the current study, we report for the first time that ionizing radiation (IR)-induced MMP-9 enhances SDC1 shedding, corroborating to tube-inducing ability of medulloblastoma (MB) cells. Furthermore, we observed that the tumor angiogenesis is associated with higher MMP-9-SDC1 interactions on both the cell surface and extracellular medium. Our results also revealed the existence of a novel regulatory mechanism where MMP-9 drives the suppression of miR-494, resulting in enhanced SDC1 shedding and angiogenesis. From the in situ hybridization analysis, we found that MMP-9-specific shRNA (shMMP-9) treatment of mouse intracranial tumors resulted in elevated expression of miR-494. This negative correlation between MMP-9 and miR-494 levels was observed to be dependent on the methylation status of a miR-494 promoter-associated CpG island region (-186 to -20), which was confirmed by bisulfite-sequencing and methylation-specific PCR (MSP) analysis. Further, validation of MMP-9 and SDC1 3'-untranslated region (3'-UTR) targets with luciferase reporter assay provided a more favorable result for miR-494-mediated regulation of SDC1 but not of MMP-9, suggesting that the 3'-UTR of SDC1 mRNA is a direct target of miR-494. Overall, our results indicate that angiogenesis induced by radiotherapy is associated with an MMP-9-miR-494-SDC1 regulatory loop and that MMP-9-SDC1 activity creates a negative feedback loop by regulating the expression of miR-494.
Mucopolysaccharidosis IIIB (Sanfilippo syndrome type B) masquerading as a behavioral disorder

Lysosomal storage diseases (LSD) are a heterogeneous group of approximately 60 disorders caused by lysosomal dysfunction. The significant variability in the age of onset, rate of progression, and symptomatology of these disorders can make diagnosis difficult, particularly for those LSD with later onset and delayed progression. We report a 25-year-old female who exhibited profound behavioral issues andmild learning disabilities in childhood. As a result, shewas diagnosed with multiple psychiatric disorders, and treated to attain acceptable behavior. In her mid-twenties, she manifested a rapid cognitive decline. Brain imaging studies showed moderate cortical atrophy and significant deposition of metal in several regions. Her family history was notable for an older sister with a very similar phenotype. In the absence of signs pathognomonic for their disease, we pursued whole exome sequencing of the family. This identified compound heterozygous mutations in NAGLU,which encodesN-acetyl-D-glucosaminidase. Biochemical studies confirmed enzyme deficiency diagnostic of mucopolysaccharidosis IIIB (Sanfilippo syndrome). Both the initial behavioral presentation and late onset of cognitive decline contributed to the 22-year diagnostic odyssey of this patient. This case demonstrates the importance of considering late-onset metabolic disorders, such as Sanfilippo syndrome, when evaluating individuals in a mental-health setting who exhibit behavioral abnormalities and learning disabilities.
ACCURACY OF A BEDSIDE LABORATORY ANALYZER (BLA) FOR DETERMINATION OF BLOOD HEMATOCRIT AND CHEMISTRIES IN NEONATES 1239

ACCURACY OF A BEDSIDE LABORATORY ANALYZER (BLA) FOR DETERMINATION OF BLOOD HEMATOCRIT AND CHEMISTRIES IN NEONATES 1239
Cosmic strings and galaxy formation

Accretion onto closed loops of vacuum string results in the formation of compact objects of subgalactic mass which are comparable in number to the frequency of active galactic nuclei and quasars. Such structure develops in baryon- and neutrino-dominated, as well as in axion-dominated, cosmological models. Planar wakes also develop behind relativistically moving open strings and generate fluctuations of order unity in the galaxy density on scales comparable to those of galaxy superclusters.
Condominium Rentals and the Supply of Rental Housing

The rental housing market has been characterized by considerable change in recent years. Among the developments has been the conversion of rental units into condominiums and cooperatives. Concern has been expressed about the negative effect of these conversions on the supply of rental housing. What is often overlooked, however, is the positive effect on the supply of rental housing of the rapid increase in the number of rented condominium and cooperative units. Making use of published data, it is estimated that, during the 1970s, the increase in the number of rented condominium and cooperative units in the United States exceeded the number of converted rental units. There is considerable variation in the pattern, however, across areas of the country.
Meson exchange contributions to electron-3He scattering

Abstract Theoretical calculations have been done corresponding to Ω-, σ-, π °-meson exchange between pairs of nucleons in 3 He for e- 3 He inelastic scattering and compared with the experimental data for 14.6 GeV incident electrons. The purpose of these calculations was to see if these calculations could account for the experimental cross sections on either side of the quasi-elastic peak, where the impulse approximation calculations gave results less than 10% of the experimental cross sections. Meson exchange calculations account impressively for the experimental cross sections on the left side of the quasi-elastic peak, whereas the contribution of the meson exchange calculations on the right side of the quasi-elastic peak was found to be negligible.
Beagle dog as predictor of schedule-dependent toxicity of 5-fluoro-2-deoxyuridine

Abstract The beagle dog exhibits gastrointestinal, hematopoietic and neurologic toxicities similar to those observed in clinical studies. The dog failed to predict for the marked increase in toxicity of 5-fluoro-2-deoxyuridine in man when administered by continuous infusion as compared to single injections.
Mild induced hypertension improves blood flow and oxygen metabolism in transient focal cerebral ischemia.

Background and Purpose— In focal ischemic cortex, cerebral blood flow autoregulation is impaired, and perfusion passively follows blood pressure variations. Although it is generally agreed that profound hypotension is harmful in acute stroke, the hemodynamic and metabolic impact of increased blood pressure on the ischemic core and penumbra are less well understood. We, therefore, tested whether pharmacologically induced hypertension improves cerebral blood flow and metabolism and tissue outcome in acute stroke using optical imaging with high spatiotemporal resolution. Methods— Cerebral blood flow, oxyhemoglobin, and cerebral metabolic rate of oxygen were measured noninvasively using simultaneous multispectral reflectance imaging and laser speckle flowmetry during distal middle cerebral artery occlusion in mice. Hypertension was induced by phenylephrine infusion starting 10 or 60 minutes after ischemia to raise blood pressure by 30% for the duration of ischemia; control groups received saline infusion. Res...
A Call to Organizational Scholarship The Organization Dimensions of Global Change: No Limits to Cooperation

The organization dimensions of global change represent afresh arena of organizational scholarship demanded by the global exigencies of our moment in history, a moment where, for the first time, the scale and character of human action has measurable impacts on the natural environment, as well as societal transformations and our collective consciousness. This article lays an intellectual foundation for such work, first by reviewing three extant domains of global-change research in environmental change, social change, and the transformation of consciousness, then by articulating the call for the organizational sciences to extend existing knowledge and future research streams into these vital areas. The authors stipulate that the scope of global challenges will demand untold amounts of human cooperation, inquiry into the potential of which has only begun, especially at the global and interorganizational levels. They offer the proposition that there are no necessary limits to cooperation but suggest that the r...
Stability of threshold learning

Significant similarities exist among models of simple human learning and trainable pattern classifiers. Such similarities have recently been demonstrated quantitatively in the case of human auditory signal detection and the author's "threshold learning process" [1]. This leads us to hope that the development of techniques for designing training procedures for threshold learning processes and pattern classifiers will be transferrable to the design of training procedures for human perception.
The epidemiology of blood-injection-injury phobia.

Background. We report the prevalence, clinical characteristics, frequency of mental health treatment, demographic correlates, frequency of co-morbid psychiatric conditions, and general health ramifications of DSM-IV blood-injection-injury phobia in the general population.Method. The Diagnostic Interview Schedule (version III-R), which included questions on blood-injection-injury phobia, was administered to 1920 subjects in the Baltimore ECA Follow-up Study.Results. The estimated unweighted lifetime prevalence of blood-injection-injury phobia was 3·5%. The median age of onset was 5·5 years; 78% had had symptoms within the last 6 months. Subjects with blood-injection-injury phobia (cases) had higher lifetime histories of fainting and seizures than those without (non-cases). None reported seeking mental health treatment specifically for phobia. Prevalences were lower in the elderly and higher in females and persons with less education. Cases had significantly higher than expected lifetime prevalences of other psychiatric conditions, including marijuana abuse/dependence, major depression, obsessive–compulsive disorder, panic disorder, agoraphobia, social phobia and other simple phobia. Cases and non-cases did not differ with regard to usual health-care settings, regular care for specific medical conditions, numbers of out-patient visits or hospitalizations, or previous general anaesthesia or live births. However, diabetics with blood-injection-injury phobia had higher than expected rates of macrovascular complications.Conclusion. Blood-injection-injury phobia is common, especially in females and those with less education, and it is associated with several co-morbid psychiatric conditions. No strong, broad general health ramifications of this phobia are apparent. However, diabetics with this phobia appear at particular risk for complications; this deserves further study.
Rates and Mechanisms of Heterogeneous Ice Nucleation on Silver Iodide and Silver Chloroiodide Particulate Substrates

Abstract Information on two molecular mechanisms of ice nucleation on silver iodide and silver chloroiodide particulates has been gained by a chemical kinetics interpretation of the rates and mechanisms of ice crystal formation from experiments conducted in a 1 m3isothermal cloud chamber. The interpretation required the consideration of the Langmuir surface adsorption of water molecules by AgI from the vapor and the chemistry of AgI colloids and suspensions in water with and without the influences of supporting electrolytes. One mechanism is a slow rearrangement of three-dimensional water molecule clusters, adsorbed at water saturation and −20°C and lower on 500 A and larger substrate particles, to ice embryos. The second occurs rapidly at −5 to −20°C on substrate particles wetted by liquid water. This mechanism is hypothesized to involve the rearrangement of ordered water molecule clusters associated with hydrated Ag+ion patches on the substrate surface. The rate of nucleation is slowed by the presence of alkali and alkaline earth halides. Crystal structure match of the substrate with that of ice may help the first mechanism but, perhaps, has no effect on the second.
Introduced pathogens follow the invasion front of a spreading alien host.

Summary 1. When an invasive species first colonizes an area, there is an interval before any host-specific natural enemies arrive at the new location. Population densities of newly invading species are low, and the spatial and temporal interactions between spreading invasive species and specific natural enemies that follow are poorly understood. 2. We measured infection rates of two introduced host-specific pathogens, the entomophthoralean fungus Entomophaga maimaiga and the baculovirus Lymantria dispar nucleopolyhedrovirus (LdNPV), occurring in spreading populations of an invasive forest defoliator, L. dispar (gypsy moth), in central Wisconsin. 3. Over 3 years, we found that host density was closely associated with the presence and prevalence of both pathogens. The fungal and viral pathogens differed in the sensitivity of their response as E. maimaiga was present in lower-density host population than LdNPV. 4. We examined the relationship between weather conditions and infection prevalence and found that activity of both the fungus and virus was strongly seasonally influenced by temperature and rainfall or temperature alone, respectively. 5. Purposeful releases of pathogens (median distances of study sites from release sites were 65AE2 km for E. maimaiga and 25AE6 km for LdNPV) were not associated with pathogen prevalence. 6. A generalist fly parasitoid, Compsilura concinnata, also killed L. dispar larvae collected from the study sites, and parasitism was greater when infection by pathogens was lower. 7. Our results demonstrated that although infection levels were low in newly established host populations, host-specific pathogens had already moved into host populations close behind advancing populations of an invasive host; thus, spreading hosts were released from these enemies for only a relatively short time.
Performance of blind and group-blind multiuser detectors

In blind (or group-blind) linear multiuser detection, the detector is estimated from the received signals, with the prior knowledge of only the signature waveform of the desired user (or the signature waveforms of some but not all users). The performance of a number of such estimated linear detectors, including the direct-matrix-inversion (DMI) blind linear minimum mean square error (MMSE) detector, the subspace blind linear MMSE detector, and the form-I and form-II group-blind linear hybrid detectors, are analyzed. Asymptotic limit theorems for each of the estimates of these detectors (when the signal sample size is large) are established, based on which approximate expressions for the average output signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratios (SINRs) and bit-error rates (BERs) are given. To gain insights on these analytical results, the performance of these detectors in an equicorrelated code-division multiple-acces (CDMA) system is compared. Examples are provided to demonstrate the excellent match between the theory developed here and the simulation results.
Real-time diesel particulate matter ambient monitoring in underground mines

A real-time Diesel Particulate Matter (DPM) monitor has been developed on the base of the successful National Institute of Occupational Health and Safety (NIOSH) designed Personal Dust Monitor (PDM) unit. The objectives of a recently completed Australian Coal Association Research Program (ACARP) study was to modify the PDM to measure the submicrometre fraction of the aerosol in a real-time monitoring underground instrument. Mine testing focused on use of the monitor in engineering evaluations of Longwall (LW) moves demonstrated how DPM concentrations from vehicles fluctuate under varying ventilation and operational conditions. The strong influence of mine ventilation systems is reviewed. Correlation between the current SKC DPM measurement system and real-time DPM monitors were conducted and results from eight mines show a correlation between elemental carbon (EC) and the new monitor DPM mass ranging from 0.45 to 0.82 with R 2>0.86 in all but two cases. This differences in suspected to be due to variations from mine to mine in aspects such as mine atmospheric contamination, vehicle fleet variations, fuel type, engine maintenance, engine combustion efficiency, engine behavior or interference from other submicrometre aerosol. Real-time monitoring clearly reflects the movement of individual diesel vehicles and allows pin-pointing of high exposure zones such as those encountered where various vehicles engage in intense work in areas of constrained or difficult ventilation. DPM shift average monitoring approaches do not readily allow successful engineering evaluation exercises to determine acceptability of pollution levels. Identification of high DPM concentration zones allows efficient modification of mine ventilation, operator positioning and other work practices to reduce miners’ exposures without waiting for laboratory analysis results.
Lipid/myelin basic protein multilayers: A model for the cytoplasmic space in central nervous system myelin

Abstract A multilayered complex forms when a solution of myelin basic protein is added to single-bilayer vesicles formed by sonicating myelin lipids. Vesicles and multilayers have been studied by electron microscopy, biochemical analysis, and X-ray diffraction. Freeze-fracture electron microscopy shows well-separated vesicles before myelin basic protein is added, but afterward there are aggregated, possibly multilayered, vesicles and extensive planar multilayers. The vesicles aggregate and fuse within seconds after the protein is added, and the multilayers form within minutes. No intra-bilayer particles are seen, with or without the protein. Some myelin basic protein, but no lipid, remains in the supernatant after the protein is added and the complex sedimented for X-ray diffraction. A rather variable proportion of the protein is bound. X-ray diffraction patterns show that the vesicles are stable in the absence of myelin basic protein, even under high g -forces. After the protein is added, however, lipid/myelin basic protein multilayers predominate over single-bilayer vesicles. The protein is in every space between lipid bilayers. Thus the vesicles are torn open by strong interaction with myelin basic protein. The inter-bilayer spaces in the multilayers are comparable to the cytoplasmic spaces in central nervous system myelins. The diffraction indicates the same lipid bilayer thickness in vesicles and multilayers, to within 1 A. By comparing electron-density profiles of vesicles and multilayers, most of the myelin basic protein is located in the inter-bilayer space while up to one-third may be inserted between lipid headgroups. When cytochrome c is added in place of myelin basic protein, multilayers also form. In this case the protein is located entirely outside the unchanged bilayer. Comparison of the various profiles emphasizes the close and extensive apposition of myelin basic protein to the lipid bilayer. Numerous bonds may form between myelin basic protein and lipids. Cholesterol may enhance binding by opening gaps between diacyl-lipid headgroups.
Tracing Attentions Toward an Analysis of Simultaneous Media Use

Simultaneous media use has become a prominent part of the contemporary media landscape. While critical media scholars continue to presume that audiences engage media one at a time, industries and a...
The Reconstruction of a Political Icon: Shi Lu’s Painting Fighting in Northern Shaanxi

As an instance of semiotic interpretation of political art, this article rereads a painting created during the 1950s by Shi Lu that depicts the Chinese Communist leader, Mao Zedong. The author identifies the artist’s visual references to traditional Chinese landscape painting and the embodied traditional values, differentiates the work from the popular revolutionary art style of the same age, and argues that this act of referencing problematizes the dominant ideology in a politically highly charged historical context by reconstructing the commonly depicted political icon Mao through dislocated style and scale. The interpretation demonstrates how signifiers both in the forms of text and memory can interfere with current cultural drive and rename the signified through subtle variations.
Implementing Affirmative Action and Organizational Compliance: The Case of Universities

This article develops a conceptual model of organizational compliance using affirmative action as an example. The model is applied to universities that are both highly professionalized and loosely coupled. The article explores the dynamics of the process by which organizations with weak hierarchical links attempt to respond to demands that are sometimes unclear or changing and that make a valued resource contingent upon compliance with goals that are externally imposed. The article then attempts to show how the model could be operationalized empirically and the results used to determine whether or not an organization is making a good-faith attempt to comply with affirmative action.
Calibration of two objective measures of physical activity for children

A calibration study was conducted to determine the threshold counts for two commonly used accelerometers, the ActiGraph and the Actical, to classify activities by intensity in children 5 to 8 years of age. Thirty-three children wore both accelerometers and a COSMED portable metabolic system during 15 min of rest and then performed up to nine different activities for 7 min each, on two separate days in the laboratory. Oxygen consumption was measured on a breath-by-breath basis, and accelerometer data were collected in 15-s epochs. Using receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) analysis, cutpoints that maximised both sensitivity and specificity were determined for sedentary, moderate and vigorous activities. For both accelerometers, discrimination of sedentary behaviour was almost perfect, with the area under the ROC curve at or exceeding 0.98. For both the ActiGraph and Actical, the discrimination of moderate (0.85 and 0.86, respectively) and vigorous activity (0.83 and 0.86, respectively) was acceptable, but not as precise as for sedentary behaviour. This calibration study, using indirect calorimetry, suggests that the two accelerometers can be used to distinguish differing levels of physical activity intensity as well as inactivity among children 5 to 8 years of age.
A modeling study of coastal inundation induced by storm surge, sea-level rise, and subsidence in the Gulf of Mexico

The northern coasts of the Gulf of Mexico (GoM) are highly vulnerable to the direct threats of climate change, such as hurricane-induced storm surge, and such risks are exacerbated by land subsidence and global sea-level rise. This paper presents an application of a coastal storm surge model to study the coastal inundation process induced by tide and storm surge, and its response to the effects of land subsidence and sea-level rise in the northern Gulf coast. The unstructured-grid finite-volume coastal ocean model was used to simulate tides and hurricane-induced storm surges in the GoM. Simulated distributions of co-amplitude and co-phase lines for semi-diurnal and diurnal tides are in good agreement with previous modeling studies. The storm surges induced by four historical hurricanes (Rita, Katrina, Ivan, and Dolly) were simulated and compared to observed water levels at National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration tide stations. Effects of coastal subsidence and future global sea-level rise on coastal inundation in the Louisiana coast were evaluated using a “change of inundation depth” parameter through sensitivity simulations that were based on a projected future subsidence scenario and 1-m global sea-level rise by the end of the century. Model results suggested that hurricane-induced storm surge height and coastal inundation could be exacerbated by future global sea-level rise and subsidence, and that responses of storm surge and coastal inundation to the effects of sea-level rise and subsidence are highly nonlinear and vary on temporal and spatial scales.
"Something Like a Harlem Renaissance West": Black Popular Fiction, Self-Publishing, and the Origins of Street Literature: Interviews with Dr. Roland Jefferson and Odie Hawkins

Since the dawn of the twenty-first century, the popularity of self-published street literature (also known as urban literature, ghetto fiction, and hip-hop literature) has exploded among African American readers. Starting with the publication of titles such as Teri Woods’s True to the Game (1998), Sister Souljah’s The Coldest Winter Ever (1999), Vickie M. Stringer’s Let That Be the Reason (2001), and Nikki Turner’s A Hustler’s Wife (2003), street literature has emerged as a driving force in the African American publishing industry. Dozens of independent imprints, each publishing several books per year, sprang up virtually overnight, and now thousands of street literature novels compete for the attention of an ever-growing black readership. Some of the more influential independent publishers of this new genre include Urban Books, Teri Woods Publishing, and Stringer’s Triple Crown Publications, though new publishing houses arrive on the scene each year. Triple Crown Publications is probably the most successful of these new publishing houses, having sold more than a million books between its founding in 2001 and 2006. As a further indication of street literature’s growing power in the marketplace, mainstream trade publishers (including Ballantine Books, Simon and Schuster, and St. Martin’s Press) have begun offering six-figure, multiple-book deals to some of the biggest names in the business, including K’wan Foye, Shannon Holmes, and Turner. These books can be purchased at Barnes and Noble and Amazon.com, at book vendor tables along 125th Street in Harlem, and in state and federal penitentiaries across the country. Street literature is particularly popular in American cities with large black populations, including New York, Detroit, Houston, Oakland, and Atlanta. At a moment when the
The distribution of abnormal lung function in kyphoscoliosis.

The regional distribution of lung function was determined in the erect and supine positions in fifteen young patients with thoracic restriction due to varying degrees of kyphoscoliosis. The relative distribution of aerating lung volume, ventilation, and perfusion was determined using xenon-133 in sixty-six zones (four to six per patient). Gamma emissions were detected by a rack of four to six stationary, collimated sodium iodide crystals facing the posterior thoracic wall. Lung volume and alveolar-arterial gas exchange were determined by standard methods. The degree of curvature was determined by the method of Cobb from roentgenograms of the spine in the erect and supine positions; there was a mean decrease in curvature of 11 degrees (5 to 17 degrees) in the supine position. In the supine position regional abnormalities in the distribution of function were less frequent and aerating lung volume was more evenly distributed. Zones of abnormal ventilation occurred primarily on the concave side of the curve and were fewer in the supine (twelve) than in the erect (twenty-three) position. In the erect position perfusion tended to be increased in the upper zones and decreased in the lower zones. In three patients decreased lower-zone perfusion persisted in the supine position. These findings suggest that increased curvature in the erect position compresses the lung particularly on the concave side of the curve accounting for decreased aerating volume. The observed relative hypoventilation or hyperventilation appears to be caused by the variable expansion of lung produced by the deformed thorax, possibly related to abnormal distribution of intrapleural pressures. The increased upper-zone perfusion in the erect position is due to the decreased vertical height of the lung caused by the curvature. The decreased lower-zone perfusion appears to be related to decreased retractile forces on the extra-alveolar vessels which therefore collapse. The data suggest that these decreased forces may lead to permanent changes in pulmonary vasculature. Improvement in these abnormalities in the supine position when the degree of curvature is less suggests that stabilization or correction of these curves should be beneficial for pulmonary function as well as for cosmetic reasons provided that rib excursion is not impaired and permanent changes in pulmonary vasculature have not occurred.
Systematic identification of perceptual disabilities in autistic children.

Matching-to-sample tasks were used to test the ability of six autistic children to make visual, vocal, and fine motor responses in response to visual and auditory stimuli. The results indicated that: the testing method was appropriate for low-functioning children; the group was heterogeneous with respect to perceptual deficits; and fine motor performance was poor. The data suggest that a basic difficulty in infantile autism may not be an avoidance of auditory and visual stimuli per se but rather a deficit in ability to make cross-modal associations. It is further suggested that the testing method would be useful for constructing profiles of perceptual disabilities with many types of low-functioning children.
Development of Hepatocellular Carcinoma After Seroclearance of Hepatitis B Surface Antigen

Background & Aims During the natural course of chronic hepatitis B virus infection, a small proportion of patients experience hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) seroclearance. However, the long-term clinical outcomes of this process are not well established. Methods Thirty-five patients with chronic hepatitis B, followed between 1976 and 2008 at a community liver clinic, experienced HBsAg seroclearance. Ten patients were Caucasian and 25 were Asian. These patients continued to undergo surveillance for hepatocellular carcinoma that included test for α-fetoprotein levels and abdominal ultrasound examinations. The median follow-up time was 185 months (range, 27–400 months). Results During the initial visit to the clinic, the median age of the patients was 41 years (range, 1.5–72 years). Eighteen patients (51.4%) were hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg) positive 25 (71.4%) were hepatitis B virus DNA positive, and 13 (37.1%) had cirrhosis. At the time of HBsAg loss, the median age was 54 years (range, 13–77 years) and all were hepatitis B e antigen- as well as hepatitis B virus DNA negative. During the long-term follow-up, 4 patients with cirrhosis developed hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), which was discovered by ultrasound examination. Factors associated with development of HCC were low baseline levels of albumin ( P = .04), family histories of HBsAg positivity ( P = .01) and HCC ( P = .04), and age of less than 50 years at the time of HBsAg clearance ( P = .03). Conclusions HCC can still develop after HBsAg seroclearance. Thus, surveillance should be continued after HBsAg loss in the same manner as for HBsAg positive patients.
The Stress Change in Passivated Al Lines Due to the Reaction Between Ti and Al

The thin film reaction between Ti and Al-0.5%Cu to form TiAl3 is common in the microelectronics industry. In this paper the stress changes in Al-0.5%Cu films at elevated temperatures during the reaction are measured. The changes are measured in blanket films as well as in passivated interconnect lines. Results show that in blanket films the Al-0.5%Cu does not experience any stress change due to the reaction. However in passivated lines, where the layers are not allowed to relax in the normal direction, tensile stresses build up in the Al-0.5%Cu due to the volume shrinkage that happens when these films react.
High Repetition Rate Planar Velocity Measurements in a Mach 2.0 Compressible Axisymmetric Jet

The convective velocity of large-scale structures in a Mach 2.0 compressible axisymmetric jet is explored using both qualitative flow visualization and quantitative velocity data acquired using MHz rate planar Doppler velocimetry. Space-time correlations based on qualitative flow visualization image sequences appear to show two modes of convective velocity, a fast and a slow mode, that deviate significantly from the theoretically expected value. Space-time correlations based on velocity data, however, appear to show only a single mode of convective velocity with a magnitude close the theoretical value. It is found that the use of space-time correlations on inherently qualitative flow visualization images can produce misleading results. The implications of these findings are significant with further work necessary before broader conclusions can be drawn.