cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The role of the social and physical environment in privacy maintenance among the Iban of Borneo

Abstract Altman's (1977) theory of privacy as a cultural universal is examined by analyzing the privacy mechanisms of the Iban of Sarawak (Borneo). The Sarawak Dayaks live in communal longhouses which appear to offer little physical opportunity for individual privacy. However, the authors found that social mechanisms were utilized to obtain privacy. Thus, despite the communal physical environment of the Sarawak Iban, support is found for a system of privacy. The implications of these findings for other cultures and settings where the physical environment appears to limit control of privacy is discussed.
Speeding up large-scale geospatial polygon rasterization on GPGPUs

This study targets at speeding up polygon rasterization in large-scale geospatial datasets by utilizing massively parallel General Purpose Graphics Processing Units (GPGPU) computing for efficient spatial indexing and analysis based on a dynamically integrated vector-raster data model. As the first step, we have designed and implemented a parallelization schema for moderately large polygons using the Compute Unified Device Architecture (CUDA). Experiment results on 41,768 real world geospatial polygons with vertex numbers between 64 and 1024, which are selected among a total of 717,057 polygons with 1,199,799 rings in the experiment dataset, show that our implementation can speed up the computation of intersection points among polygon edges and scan lines by more than 20 times on a Nvidia C2050 GPU card when compared to a serial CPU implementation. Extending the design and implementation to support polygons with arbitrarily large numbers of vertices by extensively using efficient sorting is discussed. The paper also reports the design and implementation of a profile quadtree to better understand the data and the distributions of its parallel computing tasks, in addition to help select polygon groups for experiments.
Coupling between heparan sulfate proteoglycans and FGF-2 receptors is key to FGF-2 capture under flow: a computational study

Bioavailability of regulatory molecules such as growth factors or cytokines is tightly controlled in vivo. Measurement of these molecules in circulation is difficult, especially within the cell microenvironment, and static tissue culture studies, although valuable, cannot mimic the conditions present in blood vessels with regard to the architecture or flow dynamics. Using endothelial-lined synthetic capillaries, we measured the capture of fibroblast growth factor-2 (FGF-2) and found that capture was critically dependent on the flow rate and the presence of heparan sulfate proteoglycans (HSPG). We developed a computational model as an aid to our experimental work and the model predictions compared well to experimental results both with and without HSPG. Simulations indicated that FGF-2 binding primarily occurred in the initial quarter of the bioreactor with much lower levels found further down the capillary due to depletion of FGF-2 near the capillary wall. Stability afforded by coupling between HSPG and FGF receptors was shown to play a dominant role in the process. Inclusion of fluid flow within our model provides an important step forward in studying growth factor dynamics and our model, coupled with our experimental bioreactor, has potential as a screening and predictive tool for investigating cellular activity within the microvasculature.
Influence of Cardiac Sympathetic and Vagal Nerve Stimulation on the Relation Between Left Ventricular Diastolic Pressure and Myocardial Segment Length

During the continuous and simultaneous recording of left ventricular diastolic pressures and changes in the length of a segment of left ventricular myocardium it was demonstrated that neither cardiac sympathetic nor vagal efferent nerve stimulation produces a change in ventricular myocardial extensibility. It was further shown that, at the heart rates studied, autonomic nerve stimulation does not modify the end-diastolic pressurelength curve. These data indicate that, during cardiac sympathetic stimulation, the augmented ventricular stroke work from any given end-diastolic Pressure is accomplished without a change in end-diastolic fiber length. Evidence was obtained, however, which suggests that the abbreviation of diastole at high imposed heart rates or large stroke volumes may leave an inadequate time for ventricular relaxation to take place and for inertial and viscous factors to be dissipated. Under these circumstances, sympathetic stimulation, by shortening systole and thereby lengthening diastole, p...
Enhanced glutathione biosynthetic capacity promotes resistance to As3+-induced apoptosis

Trivalent arsenite (As3+) is a known human carcinogen capable of inducing both cellular transformation and apoptotic cell death by mechanisms involving the production of reactive oxygen species. The tripeptide antioxidant glutathione (GSH) constitutes a vital cellular defense mechanism against oxidative stress. While intracellular levels of GSH are an important determinant of cellular susceptibility to undergo apoptotic cell death, it is not known whether cellular GSH biosynthetic capacity per se regulates As3+-induced apoptosis. The rate-limiting enzyme in GSH biosynthesis is glutamate cysteine ligase (GCL), a heterodimeric holoenzyme composed of a catalytic (GCLC) and a modifier (GCLM) subunit. To determine whether increased GSH biosynthetic capacity enhanced cellular resistance to As3+-induced apoptotic cell death, we utilized a mouse liver hepatoma (Hepa-1c1c7) cell line stably overexpressing both GCLC and GCLM. Overexpression of the GCL subunits increased GCL holoenzyme formation and activity and inhibited As3+-induced apoptosis. This cytoprotective effect was associated with a decrease in As3+-induced caspase activation, cleavage of caspase substrates and translocation of cytochrome c to the cytoplasm. In aggregate, these findings demonstrate that enhanced GSH biosynthetic capacity promotes resistance to As3+-induced apoptosis by preventing mitochondrial dysfunction and cytochrome c release and highlight the role of the GSH antioxidant defense system in dictating hepatocyte sensitivity to As3+-induced apoptotic cell death.
COMPUTATIONS OF DROP DYNAMICS WITH THE IMMERSED BOUNDARY METHOD, PART 2: DROP IMPACT AND HEAT TRANSFER

In Part 2 of the two-part article, the impact dynamics of a liquid drop on a flat surface with heat transfer is numerically simulate d with the immersed boundary method. Computations with both static and dynamic contact angles are adopted to assess the importance and implications of the modeling aspect. Both water and ink droplets are considered, with direct experimental visualization and quantitative measurement employed to assess the computation. The effects of wettability, viscosity, surface tension, and impact velocity on the droplet spreading and recoiling behavior and wall heat transfer are assessed. It is found that the drop inertia directly influences the spread characteristics, the surface tension plays a major role in the recoil frequency, the drop viscosity damps out the drop spread and recoil, and the contact angle affects both the spreading and recoiling processes. Overall, the dynamic contact angle model attenuates the recoiling of the drop. The wall heat flux distribution is clearly affecte...
Dynamics of the streptavidin-biotin complex in solution and in its crystal lattice: distinct behavior revealed by molecular simulations.

We present a 250 ns simulation of the wild-type, biotin-liganded streptavidin tetramer in the solution phase and compare the trajectory to two previously published simulations of the protein in its crystal lattice. By performing both types of simulations, we are able to interpret the protein’s behavior in solution in the context of its X-ray structure. We find that the rate of conformational sampling is increased in solution over the lattice environment, although the relevant conformational space in solution is also much larger, as indicated by overall fluctuations in the positions of backbone atoms. We also compare the distributions of χ1 angles sampled by side chains exposed to solvent in the lattice and in the solution phase, obtaining overall good agreement between the distributions obtained in our most rigorous lattice simulation and the crystallographic χ1 angles. We observe changes in the χ1 distributions in the solution phase, and note an apparent progression of the distributions as the environmen...
Cellobiose dehydrogenase–an extracellular fungal flavocytochrome

Wood-degrading fungi, including white-rot and soft-rot fungi as well as at least one brown-rot fungus, produce cellobiose dehydrogenase (CDH). CDH has generated recent interest because of its ability to facilitate the formation of free radicals and because it makes a nice model to study intraprotein electron transfer. While the physiological function of CDH is not known, a considerable portion of this review discusses the strength of the data dealing with individual hypotheses. New evidence dealing with proteolysis of CDH in relationship to the interaction of CDH with lignin and manganese peroxidases are discussed. Additionally, recent information dealing with the catalytic mechanism and reactivity of the individual domains of CDH is detailed.
Use of prescription medications with a potential for fetal harm among pregnant women

Purpose To estimate the prevalence of use of prescription drugs with a potential for fetal harm among pregnant women in the United States. Methods A retrospective study was conducted using the automated databases of eight health maintenance organizations involved in the HMO Research Network Center for Education and Research on Therapeutics (CERT). Women who delivered an infant from January 1996 to December 2000 were identified. The frequency of use of prescription drugs with a potential for fetal harm was based upon the expert review of a clinical teratologist and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) risk classification system, assuming a gestational duration of 270 days. Results Among the 114 165 women with no documentation of a diagnosis suggesting potential pre-term birth or dispensing of ovulation stimulants in the 270 days before delivery, 1305 (1.1%) received a teratogenic drug during the 270 days before delivery, based upon the expert review of a clinical teratologist. A larger proportion of women received U.S. FDA category D or X drugs (5.8%; N = 6600). However, the general patterns of use were similar, with higher use in early pregnancy compared to later trimesters. The proportion of women dispensed a teratogen during pregnancy was substantially higher among women who received a teratogen in the 90 days before pregnancy compared to women who did not (adjusted RR = 38.9, 95%CI, 33.5, 45.3). Conclusions Our results suggest that further efforts directed at physicians to counsel women or at the women themselves about the potential risks of particular medications appear warranted. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Nuclear safeguards considerations for pebble bed reactors (PBRs)

Abstract Recent reports by the Department of Energy National Laboratories have discussed safeguards considerations for low enriched uranium (LEU)-fueled pebble bed reactors (PBRs) and the need for bulk accountancy of the plutonium in “used fuel.” These reports fail to account for the degree of plutonium dilution in the graphitized-carbon pebbles that is sufficient to meet the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) “provisional” guidelines for termination of safeguards on “measured discards.” The thrust of this finding is not to terminate safeguards but to limit the need for specific accountancy of plutonium in stored used fuel. While the residual uranium in the used fuel is not sufficiently diluted to meet the IAEA provisional guidelines for termination of safeguards, the estimated quantities of the uranium minor isotopes 232 U and 236 U in the used fuel at the target burnup of ∼90 Gigawatt-days per metric ton (GWD/MT) exceed standard specification limits for reprocessed uranium and will require extensive blending with either natural uranium or uranium enrichment tails to dilute the 236 U content to fall within specification. Hence, the PBR used fuel is less desirable for commercial reprocessing and reuse than that from light water reactors. Also the PBR specific activity of a reprocessed uranium isotopic mixture and its A 2 values for effective dose limits if released in a dispersible form during a transportation accident are more limiting than the equivalent values for light-water-reactor used fuel at 55 GWD/MT without accounting for the presence of the principal carry-over fission product (technetium, 99 Tc) and plutonium contamination. Thus, the potentially recoverable uranium from PBR used fuel carries reactivity penalties and radiological penalties likely greater than those for reprocessed uranium from light water reactors. These factors impact the economics of reprocessing, but a more significant consideration is that reprocessing technologies for coated particle fuels encased in graphitized carbon have not progressed beyond laboratory-scale demonstrations. However, key equipment that has been tested in the past (such as graphite burners and electrolytic disintegration/dissolution devices) is not listed on either the “Trigger List” or the “Dual Use List” for mandatory export controls. If gross burnup determined from fission-product gamma-ray inspection of a discharged pebble cannot be correlated acceptably with predicted plutonium content of the pebble, development and testing may be required on detector concepts for more directly measuring the plutonium content in a discharged pebble to ensure that its placement in the spent fuel storage tanks is for an acceptable measured discard of diluted plutonium.
The prognostic value of prostate specific antigen in the follow-up of patients after radical prostatectomy.

The authors compared the PSA levels in 19 patients who had undergone radical prostatectomy between 1986 and 1991. Measurements were done preoperatively, 3–4 weeks postoperatively and at the end of 1993. The increase of the average preoperative level corresponds to the stage of the disease (local, local advanced, metastatic lymph nodes). Patients with high preoperative PSA levels have a higher risk for progression, even if their postoperative PSA values are normal. While the predictive value of low PSA levels measured immediately after prostatectomy is small, high postoperative PSA levels are unfavourable prognostic signs.
Geometric characterizations of centroids of simplices

We study the centroid of a simplex in space. Primary attention is paid to the relationships among the centroids of the different k-skeletons of a simplex in n-dimensional space. We prove that the 0-dimensional skeleton and the n-dimensional skeleton always have the same centroid. The centroids of the other skeleta are generically different (as we prove), but there are remarkable instances where they coincide in pairs. They never coincide in triples for regular pyramids.
Kinetic and thermodynamic resolution of cytochrome c1 and cytochrome c2 from Rhodopseudomonas sphaeroides

In chromatophores from Rhodopseudomonas sphaeroides, cytochrome c has several characteristics which suggest that there are two distinct populations. Among these are: (i) A displacement of the a-band absorbance maxima of cyt. c l-l.5 nm to the red in chromatophores relative to purified cyt. c2 [1,2]; (ii) Intact spheroplasts and vesicles derived from them retain -50% of the cyt. c found in cells or chromatophores but this cytochrome is unable to react rapidly with the reaction centers ]2,31; (iii) In the presence of UHDBT the cyt. c oxidation kinetics measured at 551-542 nm show two approximately equal phases with halftimes of -5-10 ps and -200 ,us [2]. Direct biochemical methods have shown that in both cells and chromatophores there are two separate c cytochromes, a bound cytochrome cl (h,, 552 nm) and a soluble cyt. c2 (A,, 550 nm) [3,4]. Here, we present evidence on the kinetic, spectral and thermodynamic resolution of the two c-type cytochromes, and show that both are involved in cyclic electron transport, and function in series. A preliminary report of some of this work has appeared in [5]. pared as in [6] and suspended in buffer (50 mM MOPS, 100 mM KCl, pH 7.0) to -0.2 PM reaction center. Time-resolved flash spectra and cytochrome kinetics were obtained as in [2]; the monochromator was a Hilger and Watts D330, and slits were set at 0.5 mm to give spectral bandwidth of 1.3 nm. Cytochrome c2 kinetic changes were measured from the difference between the kinetics at 550 nm and 554 nm, and cyt. cl was measured at 552-548 nm. The flash redox titrations were performed as in [1,7]. Dark redox titrations were performed as in [8,9] and redox resolved spectra were obtained from full spectra redox titrations as in [lo]. The spectrophotometer used a Hilger and Watts D330, D331 double monochromator, with slits set at 1 mm to give a bandwidth of 1.3 nm. UHDBT was a generous gift of B.L. Trumpower and the antimycin was obtained from Sigma.
What Works with LD Adolescents

Fostering intrinsic motivation can lead students to accept more responsibility for their actions and to learn to become more independent.
Metacarpal Synostosis: Treatment With a Longitudinal Osteotomy and Bone Graft Substitute Interposition

Purpose To describe a case series of congenital metacarpal synostosis treated with longitudinal osteotomy and bone graft substitute interposition. Methods We retrospectively reviewed charts of all patients with metacarpal synostosis treated with a longitudinal osteotomy and bone graft substitute interposition at 2 institutions. Radiographic and clinical appearances were analyzed at initial diagnosis, intraoperatively, and at last follow-up. Results A total of 10 patients (14 hands) met the inclusion criteria. Six patients (8 hands) demonstrated ring-little finger metacarpal synostosis and 4 patients (6 hands) had a middle-ring finger metacarpal synostosis. The median age at operation was 5 years (range, 2–16 y). Follow-up ranged from 1 to 14 years (average, 3 y). Associated hand anomalies included polydactyly, symbrachydactyly, and clinodactyly. Before surgery, the little finger proximal phalanx was angulated away from the middle finger metacarpal on average 46° (range, 26°–60°), and the angulation between the middle and the ring fingers averaged 43° (range, 26°–50°). Postoperative correction at 1 year was statistically significant for both ring-little finger metacarpal synostosis, average 23° (range, 10°–30°), and middle-ring finger metacarpal synostosis, average 16° (range, 5°–44°). Recurrence of digital abduction was evident in 2 patients who had middle-ring finger metacarpal synostosis. Conclusions Metacarpal synostosis is an uncommon congenital hand anomaly characterized by the coalescence of 2 adjacent metacarpals. In the most common form, the ring and little finger metacarpals are associated with abduction of the small finger in an awkward position. Use of the described technique is safe and effective, yet concerns remain regarding mild persistent angulation and risk of recurrence. Clinical relevance Congenital metacarpal synostosis may be effectively treated with a longitudinal osteotomy, realignment of component metacarpals, and interposition of bone graft substitute. When the procedure is performed at a young age, we recommend follow-up until skeletal maturity to identify recurrence of the deformity. Type of study/level of evidence Therapeutic IV.
Multicomponent turbulence, the spherical limit, and non-Kolmogorov spectra.

A set of models for homogeneous, isotropic turbulence is considered in which the Navier-Stokes equations for incompressible fluid flow are generalized to a set of N coupled equations in N velocity fields. It is argued that in order to be useful these models must embody a new group of symmetries, and a general formalism is laid out for their construction. The work is motivated by similar techniques that have had extraordinary success in improving the theoretical understanding of equilibrium phase transitions in condensed matter systems. We consider two classes of models: a simpler class (model I), which does not contain an exact Galilean symmetry, and a more complicated, extended class (model II), which does. The key result is that these models simplify when N is large. The so-called spherical limit N\ensuremath{\rightarrow}\ensuremath{\infty} can be solved exactly, yielding closed sets of nonlinear integral equations for the response and correlation functions. For model I, these equations, known as Kraichnan's direct interaction approximation equations, are solved fully in the scale-invariant turbulent regime. For model II, these equations are more complicated and their full solution is left for future work. Implications of these results for real turbulence (N=1) are discussed. In particular, it is argued that previously applied renormalization group techniques, based on an expansion in the exponent y that characterizes the driving spectrum, are incorrect and that the Kolmogorov exponent \ensuremath{\zeta} has a nontrivial dependence on N, with \ensuremath{\zeta}(N\ensuremath{\rightarrow}\ensuremath{\infty})=3/2 for both sets of models. This value is close to the experimental result \ensuremath{\zeta}\ensuremath{\simeq}5/3, which must therefore result from higher-order corrections in powers of 1/N. Prospects for calculating these corrections are briefly discussed: though daunting, such calculations might provide a controlled perturbation expansion for the Kolmogorov, and other, exponents. Our techniques may also be applied to other nonequilibrium dynamical problems, such as the Kardar-Parisi-Zhang equation for interface growth, and perhaps to turbulence in nonlinear wave systems.
BIOETHICS SYMPOSIUM II: current factors influencing perceptions of animals and their welfare.

To address escalating concerns about livestock animal care and welfare it is necessary to better understand the factors that may predispose people to develop such concerns. It has been hypothesized that experiences with, beliefs about, and emotional connections to animals may influence level of perceived obligation toward and therefore concern for animals. However, the extent to which people's classifications of animals and their status as pet owners may impact their views on food animal care and welfare practices remains unclear. An online survey of 798 U.S. households was therefore conducted in June 2012 to understand differences in consumer sentiment towards various animal species, classification of certain species (as pet, livestock or neither), and variations in food animal welfare concerns between dog and/or cat owners and those who do not own such species. Sixty-six percent of households in the survey owned at least 1 animal. Forty-eight percent owned dogs, 41% owned cats, 3% owned horses, and 10% owned other animals. As expected, dogs and cats were classified by most respondents (90%) as pets. Most respondents similarly categorized rabbits (58%) and horses (55%) as pets, although consensus was not found for horses with 27% classifying them as livestock animals and 18% as neither pets nor livestock. Over 80% of respondents classified beef cows, dairy cows, pigs, chickens, and turkeys as livestock. The majority of survey respondents were opposed to eating cats and dogs followed closely by horses due to ethical and/or spiritual reasons. Dog and/or cat owners more often reported having a source for animal welfare information (68%) than those who did not own these species (49%). Additionally, dog and/or cat owners were more concerned about food animal welfare for both domestically raised food animals and those raised outside the United States (dog and/or cat owners mean level of concern was 3.88 for domestic animal welfare and 5.16 for those raised outside the United States compared with non-dog or -cat owners with means of 4.46 and 5.46, respectively). Although a causal relationship cannot be established, pet ownership and increased concern for food animal welfare appear to be correlated. These data suggest that increased interest in protecting food animals may stem from interactions with and emotional connections to pets, especially when combined with other factors such as having a source for animal welfare information, education level, age, and gender.
Three-dimensional aspects and synaptic relationships of a Golgi-impregnated spiny stellate cell reconstructed from serial thin sections

A Golgi-impregnated spiny stellate cell was selected from layer IV of SmI cortex in a mouse whose ipsilateral ventrobasal complex had been lesioned. The neuron was gold-toned, thin sectioned and then reconstructed in three dimensions using wooden sheets of appropriate thickness. These procedures enabled the numbers and distribution of thalamocortical and other synapses onto the reconstructed neuron to be determined. Results show the cell body to be roughly spherical and to receive 49 symmetrical synapses and four synapses which are intermediate between the asymmetrical and symmetrical type. A single, clearly asymmetrical axosomatic synapse is made by a degenerating, thalamocortical axon terminal. Five primary dendrites and their branches were reconstructed and, interestingly, these processes are distinctly elliptical in cross-section. The reconstructed dendrites receive 68 symmetrical synapses onto their shafts and 373 synapses onto spines of which 359 are asymmetrical and 14 symmetrical. Forty-eight, or about 13%, of the asymmetrical axospinous synapses are made by degenerating, thalamocortical axon terminals. An intriguing finding is that in many regions of the dendritic tree, two or more spines involved in thalamocortical synapses are attached to the dendritic shaft at intervals of 5±0.5 μm.
Stone tools and fossil bones: debates in the archaeology of human origins

Research on the archaeology of human origins — in this book, a term used to refer specifically to some of the earliest traces of the archaeological record — has been increasingly visible in the aca...
Reduction in Beam Positioning Error During HIFU Ablation Studies in Tissue Phantoms

Measurements of high intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) induced temperature rise using thermocouples in tissue phantoms are subject to several types of error which must be accounted for in order to accurately assess the thermal field and predict the outcome of clinical procedures. Thermocouple artifacts due to viscous heating is one source of error. A second source of error involves displacement of the beam relative to the targeted thermocouple junction, due to the difficulty in precisely positioning the very narrow beam. This paper presents an iterative method for removing inaccuracies due to positioning error from the measured temperature data. The refined data is used to quantify the effect of blood flow through large vessels on the efficacy of HIFU procedures. It was determined that blood flow cooling effect causes an order of magnitude decrease in thermal dose at the target within 2 mm of the blood vessel, potentially resulting in incomplete ablation of the tumor. The technique also reveals that thermocouple artifacts exist in significant proportions from about 0.5 to 2.2 times the computed temperature rise in the initial few seconds. The iterative method can aid in clinical procedure planning, especially in predicting the proper HIFU intensity and duration for complete destruction of tumors.Copyright © 2010 by ASME
The zener relaxation and a new magnetic relaxation effect in Fe-rich Fe-Al alloys

Abstract The damping behavior of Fe-Al alloys containing 8–36 at.% Al has been investigated in the temperature range 350–750°C using a torsion pendulum. Special care was taken to separate magnetic and non-magnetic damping effects. A new magnetoelastic damping peak has been observed near 600°C in alloys containing less than 22 per cent aluminum. This peak, which has not previously been observed to the author's knowledge, has the characteristics of a relaxation phenomenon. A mechanism involving the diffusion-limited, stress-induced oscillation of magnetic domain walls anchored by magnetic directional ordering is proposed. In addition, the temperature and composition dependence of the Zener relaxation (which occurs near 500°C) has been measured in the absence of magnetoelastic effects. Previous reports that the relaxation strength increases more slowly than the square of the solute content at low aluminum contents were confirmed and possible explanations are discussed. Effects of long range ordering are apparent in alloys containing more than 21 per cent aluminum. The activation energy for the Zener relaxation is appropriate for self-diffusion, but the pre-exponential factor is unusually small. At 17 per cent aluminum, the activation energy is 56 kcal/mole and τv = 8 × 10−17.
Cultural adaptations of psychological treatments for depression are mostly based on implementation rather than content

The WHO considers psychological interventions to be first-line treatments for mild depression and effective in combination with antidepressants for moderate and severe depression.1 However, interventions are often developed in populations from Europe and the USA. Little is known about how such treatments are adapted for minority populations in Western societies or for populations elsewhere.
Effects of selective cyclooxygenase-2 and nonselective cyclooxygenase inhibition on ischemic myocardium

Objective We explored effects of nonselective cyclooxygenase and selective cyclooxygenase 2 inhibition on collateral development in a model of chronic myocardial ischemia. We hypothesized that cyclooxygenase 2 inhibitors would negatively effect angiogenic and inflammatory pathways. Methods Yorkshire swine were made chronically ischemic by placing an ameroid constrictor on the left circumflex coronary artery. Swine were divided into 3 groups and given no drug (control, n = 7), a nonselective cyclooxygenase inhibitor (naproxen 400 mg daily, n = 7), or a selective cyclooxygenase 2 inhibitor (celecoxib 200 mg daily, n = 7). After 7 weeks, coronary angiography was performed. Myocardial function and microvascular reactivity were assessed. Serum and myocardial tissue were analyzed for prostaglandin levels and markers of inflammation and angiogenesis. Results The celecoxib group demonstrated significantly increased mean arterial pressure and decreased left ventricular function. Myocardial perfusion in the celecoxib group was similar to control value but less than in the naproxen group. Coronary microvascular contraction in the collateral-dependent territory was increased in the naproxen group but minimally affected in the celecoxib group. Oxidative stress and apoptosis were increased in the celecoxib group. Expression of angiogenic markers vascular endothelial growth factor and phospho–endothelial nitric oxide synthase (ser1177) and tissue levels of prostacyclin were decreased in both celecoxib and naproxen groups. The naproxen group had diminished endostatin expression. Conclusions Selective and nonselective cyclooxygenase inhibition are more complex in effect than previously published, but they did not decrease collateral-dependent blood flow to the myocardium in our model of chronic myocardial ischemia.
AN OPTIMAL TAX TREATMENT OF LEVIATHAN

This paper constructs a model in which taxation and public expenditure decisions are made by two decision makers: a “benevolent planner,” who treats all consumers equally in the measurement of welfare; and a “Leviathan planner,” who places more weight on the utilities of “favored consumers.” The benevolent planner can restrict the Leviathan planner's power to tax, but cannot control the allocation of expenditures between desirable public goods and income transfers to favored consumers. Several types of tax restrictions are shown to be welfare-improving from the benevolent planner's viewpoint. These restrictions include a reduction in the size of the tax base, although administrative costs already prevent the Leviathan planner from taxing all commodities.
A guinea pig model for Lyme disease.

We report that outbred Hartley guinea pigs are susceptible to Borrelia burgdorferi. We recovered spirochetes from 57 of 60 (95%) guinea pigs inoculated when or = 6 months of age were resistant to infection as defined by recovery of organisms at > or = 4 weeks postinoculation. Infection was widely disseminated: B. burgdorferi was recovered from 83% of bladders, 64% of knee joints, 57% of hearts, 48% of spleens, and 38% of spinal cords examined within 4 weeks of inoculation. Histopathologic changes were common in the heart (88%) (preferential involvement of perineural tissues near the annulus fibrosus) and bladder (76%) and were also noted in a minority of spinal cords (13%) and knee joints (9%). Western immunoblots demonstrated an immunoglobulin G response to B. burgdorferi, particularly to the 24-, 31- (OspA), 39-, and 41-kDa (flagellin) antigens. Infection was cleared from most tissues with the passage of time; spirochetes were recovered from 63% of tissues removed from guinea pigs at or = 8 weeks postinoculation (P or = 8 weeks postinoculation. The guinea pig provides a new model useful for studying host-spirochete interactions in Lyme disease.
Multispectral constraints for optical flow computation

Multispectral constraints are exploited for optical flow computation. The theoretical basis and conditions for using multispectral images are described. An optical flow algorithm using multispectral constraints is outlined. Tests of the algorithm on real image sequences show that various multispectral constraints from the visible and infrared spectrum can be used to compute optical flow fields in the presence of noise. >
Analytic modeling of the unreliable buffer in the serial transfer line

In modern automated production lines, it is common to connect pairs of machines by means of accumulating conveyors in order to provide storage and buffering between processing stations. Since conveyors are mechanical devices, they are prone to failure. Previous research in analytic modeling of the serial transfer line has assumed that buffers are completely reliable. The authors introduce the concept of the unreliable buffer, and produce a model of the serial transfer line incorporating this new concept. They provide a decomposition solution for the general serial line with unreliable buffers, and give some preliminary numerical results of an application of this method. >
How much is tuberculosis screening worth? Estimating the value of active case finding for tuberculosis in South Africa, China, and India

Current approaches are unlikely to achieve the aggressive global tuberculosis (TB) control targets set for 2035 and beyond. Active case finding (ACF) may be an important tool for augmenting existing strategies, but the cost-effectiveness of ACF remains uncertain. Program evaluators can often measure the cost of ACF per TB case detected, but how this accessible measure translates into traditional metrics of cost-effectiveness, such as the cost per disability-adjusted life year (DALY), remains unclear. We constructed dynamic models of TB in India, China, and South Africa to explore the medium-term impact and cost-effectiveness of generic ACF activities, conceptualized separately as discrete (2-year) campaigns and as continuous activities integrated into ongoing TB control programs. Our primary outcome was the cost per DALY, measured in relationship to the cost per TB case actively detected and started on treatment. Discrete campaigns costing up to $1,200 (95% uncertainty range [UR] 850-2,043) per case actively detected and started on treatment in India, $3,800 (95% UR 2,706-6,392) in China, and $9,400 (95% UR 6,957-13,221) in South Africa were all highly cost-effective (cost per DALY averted less than per capita gross domestic product). Prolonged integration was even more effective and cost-effective. Short-term assessments of ACF dramatically underestimated potential longer term gains; for example, an assessment of an ACF program at 2 years might find a non-significant 11% reduction in prevalence, but a 10-year evaluation of that same intervention would show a 33% reduction. ACF can be a powerful and highly cost-effective tool in the fight against TB. Given that short-term assessments may dramatically underestimate medium-term effectiveness, current willingness to pay may be too low. ACF should receive strong consideration as a basic tool for TB control in most high-burden settings, even when it may cost over $1,000 to detect and initiate treatment for each extra case of active TB.
Molecular phylogenetics of the spider infraorder Mygalomorphae using nuclear rRNA genes (18S and 28S): Conflict and agreement with the current system of classification

Mygalomorph spiders, which include the tarantulas, trapdoor spiders, and their kin, represent one of three main spider lineages. Mygalomorphs are currently classified into 15 families, comprising roughly 2500 species and 300 genera. The few published phylogenies of mygalomorph relationships are based exclusively on morphological data and reveal areas of both conflict and congruence, suggesting the need for additional phylogenetic research utilizing new character systems. As part of a larger combined evidence study of global mygalomorph relationships, we have gathered approximately 3.7 kb of rRNA data (18S and 28S) for a sample of 80 genera, representing all 15 mygalomorph families. Taxon sampling was particularly intensive across families that are questionable in composition-Cyrtaucheniidae and Nemesiidae. The following primary results are supported by both Bayesian and parsimony analyses of combined matrices representing multiple 28S alignments: (1) the Atypoidea, a clade that includes the families Atypidae, Antrodiaetidae, and Mecicobothriidae, is recovered as a basal lineage sister to all other mygalomorphs, (2) diplurids and hexathelids form a paraphyletic grade at the base of the non-atypoid clade, but neither family is monophyletic in any of our analyses, (3) a clade consisting of all sampled nemesiids, Microstigmata and the cyrtaucheniid genera Kiama, Acontius, and Fufius is consistently recovered, (4) other sampled cyrtaucheniids are fragmented across three separate clades, including a monophyletic North American Euctenizinae and a South African clade, (5) of the Domiothelina, only idiopids are consistently recovered as monophyletic; ctenizids are polyphyletic and migids are only weakly supported. The Domiothelina is not monophyletic. The molecular results we present are consistent with more recent hypotheses of mygalomorph relationship; however, additional work remains before mygalomorph classification can be formally reassessed with confidence-increased taxonomic sampling and the inclusion of additional character systems (more genes and morphology) are required.
Age dependent and cellular origin (stem versus progenitor) of a selected group of spontaneous brain tumors in humans.

Summary The origin of spontaneous human brain tumors has been recently debated as originating from a stem rather than a progenitor cell. Based on the statistical distribution of a selected group of primary brain tumors, and on the clonality and field theory for cancer growth, we propose as plausible the contribution of progenitor cells in the origin of the most common brain tumors such as, pediatric, mixed (glial and neuronal), and the aggressive glioblastoma multiforme in adults. Operationally, stem cell is defined as having a renewal probability of p =1, a progenitor 0 p p =0. The space–time field location (microenvironment, cell–cell interactions…) and mitotic potential of a cell limits the distinguishability between stem and progenitors, due to the interconvertibility of these states via the process of retrodifferentiation (dedifferentiation). If excessively iterated retrodifferentiation of a mitotically competent cell prompts such a cell to organize programs that are atypical vis-a-vis the standard ones. Regarding specifically malignant cells, aperiodic cycles of dedifferentiation favour emergence of subclonal populations whose anachronistic evolution might become idiosyncratically resistant to therapies previously efficient against the initial tumoral mass. Unfortunately the "ab initio" identification of such subclonal "drifters" is impaired by systematic uncertainties as quali-quantified in appendix.
Thermoelectric Heat Recovery From a Tankless Water Heating System

Thermoelectric cogeneration promises to recover waste heat energy from a variety of combustion systems. There is a need for computationally efficient simulations of practical systems that allow optimization and illustrate the impact of key material and system parameters. Previous research investigated thermoelectric material enhancement and thermoelectric system integration separately. This work connects material parameters and system integration. We develop a thermal simulation for a 15kW tankless, methane-fueled water heater with thermoelectric modules embedded within a cross-flow heat exchanger. The simulation employs a finite volume method for the two fluids. It links external convection with a surface efficiency of 85%, internal convection for laminar flow, and conduction through the system in order to determine power generation within the thermoelectric. For a single pipe in the water heater system, 126 W of electrical power can be generated, and a typical system could yield 370 W. Realization of effective cogeneration systems hinges on investigating the impact of thermoelectric material parameters coupled with system parameters, so the impact of varying flow rate, convection coefficient, TEM thermal conductivity, Seebeck coefficient, and thermal interface materials are investigated. While varying parameters can improve thermoelectric output by over 50%, thermal interface materials can severely limit cogeneration system power output.
THE LYMAN ALPHA FOREST IN THE SPECTRA OF QUASISTELLAR OBJECTS

Observations of redshifted Lyman alpha (Ly alpha) forest absorption in the spectra of quasistellar objects (QSOs) provide a highly sensitive probe of the distribution of gaseous matter in the universe. Over the past two decades, optical spectroscopy with large ground-based telescopes, and more recently ultraviolet (UV) spectroscopy from space, have yielded a wealth of information on what appears to be a gaseous, photoionized intergalactic medium (IGM), partly enriched by the products of stellar nucleosynthesis, residing in coherent structures over many hundreds of kiloparsecs. Recent progress with cosmological hydro-simulations based or hierarchical structure formation models has led to important insights into the physical structures giving rise to the forest. If these ideas are correct, a truly inter- and protogalactic medium [at high redshift (z similar to 3), the main repository of baryons] collapses under the influence of dark matter gravity into flattened or filamentary structures, which are seen in absorption against background QSOs. With decreasing redshift, galaxies forming in the denser regions may contribute an increasing part of the Ly alpha absorption cross section. Comparisons between large data samples from the new generation of telescopes and artificial Ly alpha forest spectra from cosmological simulations promise to become a useful cosmological tool.
Type 2 diabetes is cardiovascular disease.

Neurologists are trying to convince generalists to avoid the term cerebrovascular accident, because many of the risk factors for stroke are modifiable: to regard the condition as an act of fate encourages inertia rather than the necessary aggressive approach including rapid brain scanning and thrombolysis in selected cases.1 Just as in myocardial infarction ‘time is muscle’, with an intracerebral event ‘time is brain’. The term ‘brain attack’ serves to remind clinicians that intervention is required long before the 24 hours required for formal definition of a stroke.2 Generalists now have to be persuaded that an equally focused and aggressive approach is required in diabetes mellitus. The day of ‘wait and see’ is past, and the term mild diabetes should be buried forever. Gaining ground is the idea that diabetes mellitus (especially type 2 diabetes) is a ‘state of accelerated cardiovascular disease that just happens to be associated with hyperglycaemia’. People with type 2 diabetes are between two and six times more likely than those without diabetes to have cardiovascular disease and are more than twice as likely to die from it. 3,4 Among diabetologists there is a widely held belief that cardiovascular risk reduction should take precedence over reduction of blood glucose. Whereas in type 1 diabetes the diagnosis is usually made quickly, in type 2 diabetes the patient will probably have had the disorder for 4‐7 years before being formally diagnosed.5 Moreover, at the time of diagnosis as many as one fifth will prove to have other risk factors for cardiovascular disease modifiable by lifestyle changes or pharmacological treatment or both.7,8 There is now ample evidence that aspirin, 9,10 statins, 11,12 and angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors 13 reduce the risk of death from cardiovascular disease in diabetes. Gaede and co-workers14 lately reported that, compared with ‘standard care’, an intensive combination of behavioural and pharmaceutical interventions in type 2 diabetes reduced the incidence of cardiovascular disease by 53%, nephro
Studies on the inhibition of endosome fusion by GTPgammaS-bound ARF

Using a cell free assay, we have previously shown that ARF is not required for endosome fusion but that inhibition of fusion by GTPgammaS is dependent on a cytosolic pool of ARFs. Since ARF is proposed to function in intracellular membrane traffic by promoting vesicle biogenesis, and components of clathrin- and COP-coated vesicles have been localized on endosomal structures, we investigated whether ARF-mediated inhibition of early endosome fusion involves the recruitment or irreversible association of these proteins onto endosomal membranes. We now report that depletion of components of clathrin coated vesicles (clathrin, AP-1 and AP-2) or COPI vesicles (beta COP) does not affect the capacity of GTPgammaS-activated ARF to inhibit endosome fusion. Inhibition of fusion by activated ARF is also independent of endosomal acidification since assays performed in the presence of the vacuolar ATPase inhibitor bafilomycin A1 are equally sensitive to GTPgammaS-bound ARF. Finally, in contrast to reported effects on lysosomes, we demonstrate that ARF-GTPgammaS does not induce endosomal lysis. These combined data argue that sequestration of known coat proteins to membranes by activated ARF is not involved in the inhibition of early endosome fusion and that its capacity to inhibit fusion involves other specific interactions with the endosome surface. These results contrast with the mechanistic action of ARF on intra-Golgi transport and nuclear envelope assembly.
A Resonantly Coupled, Ferrite-Tuned Buncher-Cavity System for the Los Alamos Proton Storage Ring

Resonantly coupled buncher and ferrite-loaded tuning cavities at 503.125 MHz are separately optimized to provide fast tracking of time-dependent beam current changes in the Los Alamos Proton Storage Ring (PSR) while maximizing radio-frequency (rf) stability and efficiency.