cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Contribution of Root vs. Leaf Litter to Dissolved Organic Carbon Leaching through Soil

Very little is known about dissolved organic matter (DOM) originating from fine roots in forest soils in comparison to DOM originating from leaf litter. To compare the fate of root- vs. leaf-derived dissolved organic carbon (DOC), we added 14 C-labeled root litter at depths of 10 cm, a "shallow root treatment," and 40 cm, a "deep root treatment," and leaf litter to 50-cm column soil microcosms. We analyzed the solution leached from the columns during a 47-d simulated snowmelt treatment, trapped respired 14 CΟ 2 , and measured translocation of 14 C within the columns. In general, total C losses, as a percentage of 14 C added, were substantial and highest for the leaf treatment (8.2% leached as DOC, 13.4% translocated, and 14.8% respired), intermediate for the shallow root treatment (2.3, 5.2, and 3.9%, respectively) and lowest for the deep root treatment (2.4, 1.9, and 2.9%, respectively). The C lost to DOC leaching was similar, however, for the deep and shallow root treatments. As a percentage of total losses (i.e., the sum of DOC leaching, respiration, and translocation), 14 C lost as DOC leaching was significantly higher in the deep root treatment than other treatments. These observations suggest that leaf-derived DOC may contribute to the formation of an A horizon and even to accumulation of soil organic carbon (SOC) in the B horizon during soil development, either by adsorption or microbial biomass incorporation. The 14 C data further showed that root-derived DOC, especially from root litter at greater depths, may help explain both the presence of SOC at depth and a portion of the DOC draining from soil profiles.
De Quervain's Tenosynovitis: A Review of the Rehabilitative Options:

de Quervain’s tenosynovitis is an overuse disease that involves a thickening of the extensor retinaculum, which covers the first dorsal compartment. A case study approach was utilized in this article to demonstrate many of the available medical and occupational therapy modalities to treat this condition. A 34-year-old right hand-dominant female who works in a daycare facility presents with radial side wrist pain during lifting activity for the past 4–6 weeks. The patient was diagnosed with de Quervain’s tenosynovitis and conservative care was initiated. Conservative care involved anti-inflammatory medication and corticosteroid injections as well as occupational therapy to include splinting, activity modification, modalities, manual treatment, and therapeutic exercise. Although conservative care assisted the patient with her symptoms initially, she returned with increased pain and discomfort after 2 months time. At that point, surgery was discussed and performed to release the first dorsal compartment as well as the sub-compartment. The patient was provided with a splint postoperatively and initiated occupational therapy for edema and scar management, therapeutic exercise, and desensitization. Ultimately, the patient was able to return to work pain free.
An Uplifting Experience: A Course Sequence Designed to Facilitate Proficiency Development.

This article discusses a three-course sequence which has been designed to aid students' attainment of Advanced Low proficiency according to ACTFL guidelines. A cycle of iterative tasks (with increasing learner autonomy) within and between the courses in the sequence are highlighted and their implementation discussed. Additionally, metalinguistic activities which bolster development of tools necessary for proficiency development are described. In exposing students to these tasks and activities, instructors of such sequences can facilitate the learning process, engage students in the course and its assessments, and help develop cognitive skills applicable beyond the classroom.
Selective suppression of lymphokine production by human hybridoma suppressor factor (HSF)

We have made a human thymus cell hybridoma that secretes an immunosuppressive monoclonal lymphokine, referred to as hybridoma suppressor factor (HSF). This factor modulates the function of CD4+ cells suppressing their IL-2 production and suppressing PWM-induced B cell differentiation into Ig producing cells. Here we have examined the effect of HSF on the generation of T cell-derived lymphokines that regulate B cell growth and differentiation as well as the expression of other proteins involved in the control of T cell growth i.e., the p55 chain of the IL-2R and the transferrin receptor (TFR). HSF suppressed IFN-gamma activity produced by mitogen-stimulated PBMC without affecting the generation of lymphokines responsible for BCGF and BCDF activities. Additionally, HSF did not inhibit the expression of either IL-2R (p55) or TFR by activated T cells in spite of causing the suppression of IL-2 production. This evidence was further supported by experiments in which HSF selectively suppressed the accumulation of IL-2 mRNA without affecting IL-2R (p55) mRNA expression in mitogen-stimulated PBMC. The selective action of HSF may help to clarify the regulatory mechanisms involved in lymphokine gene expression as well as provide a way by which immune responses involved in autoimmunity and transplant rejection may be interrupted.
Nucleic acid sensing Toll-like receptors in autoimmunity

Trafficking and activation of the nucleic acid sensing TLRs is subject to unique regulatory requirements imposed by the risk of self-recognition. Like all TLRs these receptors traffick through the Golgi, however, access to the secretory pathway is controlled by a binding partner present in the ER. Receptor activation in the endolysosome is regulated through a proteolytic mechanism that requires activity of compartment-resident proteases, thereby preventing activation in other regions of the cell. Advances in our understanding of the cell biology of these receptors have been paralleled by efforts to understand their precise roles in autoimmunity. Mouse models have revealed that TLR7 and TLR9 make unique contributions to the types of self-molecules recognized in disease and possibly disease severity. Currently, methods of inhibiting TLR7 and TLR9 are being tested in clinical trials for systemic lupus erythamatosus.
Drinking for relief: Negative affect increases automatic alcohol motivation in coping-motivated drinkers.

Although there is increasing evidence that automatic alcohol motivation plays a role in drinking behavior, little research has examined the contexts that elicit these automatic processes. This study was designed to examine whether negative affect would increase the strength of automatic alcohol-approach associations in individuals who drink to cope with negative emotion. Participants consisted of regular drinkers who were high or low in motivation to consume alcohol to cope with negative emotion. In session 1, participants completed an Implicit Association Test (IAT; Greenwald in, J Pers Soc Psychol 74: 1464–1480, 1998) to assess automatic alcohol-approach associations. In session 2, participants were administered a personalized negative affect imagery task (Sinha in, Imagery script development procedures, version 4.1. Unpublished manuscript, Yale University School of Medicine, 2005) and completed another IAT. The results indicated that the negative affect induction increased the strength of automatic alcohol-approach associations in participants with high coping motivation but not in participants with low coping motivation. These data are the first to document that negative affect can increase the strength of automatic motivational processes related to alcohol.
One-dimensional hopping conductivity calculations

Abstract A simple procedure for calculating the expected maximum resistance value in a length L of a one-dimensional random chain is used to calculate the d.c. conductivity of systems of length L, and forms the basis of calculations of the low-frequency a.c. conductivity. The high-frequency a.c. conductivity is given in a pair approximation. A smooth transition to the low-frequency calculations is obtained. Both spatially random and variable-range hopping (VRH) systems are treated.
A Strategy for Improving Nutrition-related Quality of Life in Patients With Generalized Cardiovascular Metabolic Disease

Abstract LEARNING OUTCOME: To assess the quality of life outcomes from two methods for achieving the NCEP/AHA Step 1/2 dietary guidelines. Health professionals frequently advise patients with cardiovascular diseases to modify their diets but often find that patients do not follow their advice because of difficulties encountered altering food-intake patterns. Finding ways of reducing the difficulties associated with dietary change is of critical importance to successful nutritional therapy. The objective of this study was to provide a complete-prepared food plan as a means of reducing diet-related difficulties. Success in meeting this objective was measured by improvements in quality of life (QOL). The prepared food plan was compared to an intensive dietitian-guided, self-selected diet. Both meal plans provided as %Kcal
The devoicing of /z/ in American English: effects of local and prosodic context

Abstract Voiced fricatives are often taken as an example of sound that is ‘difficult’ to produce. It might therefore be expected that speakers would choose to simplify them. In English, the most common simplification is devoicing, especially for voiced sibilants. The nature of this process was examined in productions of /z/ and /s/ by four speakers of American English. These were recorded in matched word and phrase positions using acoustic, airflow, and electroglottographic (EGG) data. Although many tokens of /z/ showed little or no vocal fold vibration in the EGG signal, durational and aerodynamic differences maintained the distinction between /z/ and /s/. The speakers varied in overall frequency of devoicing, but showed similar rank orderings for frequency of devoicing in different contexts. Devoicing was most frequent in two kinds of environments: those where it could be viewed as assimilation to an adjacent voiceless context, and those where articulatory and aerodynamic effort tends to be reduced. These contexts (unstressed syllables, and ends of words or phrases) have been shown to favor other kinds of prosodically-structured lenition.
Transcription-related mutations and GC content drive variation in nucleotide substitution rates across the genomes of Arabidopsis thaliana and Arabidopsis lyrata

There has been remarkably little study of nucleotide substitution rate variation among plant nuclear genes, in part because orthology is difficult to establish. Orthology is even more problematic for intergenic regions of plant nuclear genomes, because plant genomes generally harbor a wealth of repetitive DNA. In theory orthologous intergenic data is valuable for studying rate variation because nucleotide substitutions in these regions should be under little selective constraint compared to coding regions. As a result, evolutionary rates in intergenic regions may more accurately reflect genomic features, like recombination and GC content, that contribute to nucleotide substitution. We generated a set of 66 intergenic sequences in Arabidopsis lyrata, a close relative of Arabidopsis thaliana. The intergenic regions included transposable element (TE) remnants and regions flanking the TEs. We verified orthology of these amplified regions both by comparison of existing A. lyrata – A. thaliana genetic maps and by using molecular features. We compared substitution rates among the 66 intergenic loci, which exhibit ~5-fold rate variation, and compared intergenic rates to a set of 64 orthologous coding sequences. Our chief observations were that the average rate of nucleotide substitution is slower in intergenic regions than in synonymous sites, that rate variation in both intergenic and coding regions correlate with GC content, that GC content alone is not sufficient to explain differences in rates between intergenic and coding regions, and that rates of evolution in intergenic regions correlate negatively with gene density. Our observations indicated that mutation rates vary among genomics regions as a function of base composition, suggesting that previous observations of "selective constraint" on non-coding regions could more accurately be attributed to a GC effect instead of selection. The negative correlation between nucleotide substitution rate and gene density provides a potential neutral explanation for a previously documented correlation between gene density and polymorphism levels within A. thaliana. Finally, we discuss potential forces that could contribute to rapid synonymous rates, and provide evidence to suggest that transcription-related mutation contributes to rate differences between intergenic and synonymous sites.
On the European Species of Chthamalus (Cirripedia)

[L'auteur recapitule l'histoire des especes europeennes appartenant au genre Chthamalus et montre que le C. stellatus var. depressus decrit par Darwin est identique au C. depressus (Poli). La distribution geographique connue de la forme depressus comprend la plupart des cotes septentrionales de la Mediterranee et de la Mer Noire, ou on la rencontre d'ordinaire dans la zone supralittorale, au dessus de la forme stellatus. On ne rencontre pas la forme depressus dans l'Atlantique, au nord de la Mediterranee, ni a Madere, bien que Darwin l'ait signalee des iles du Cap Vert. Les C. stellatus var. depressus Darwin signales d'Afrique occidentale appartiennent en realite a une autre espece. En raison de differences dans leur comportement, leur reproduction et leur morphologie, il apparait qu'il existe deux especes valides en Europe. L'une, C. stellatus (Poli), a une large distribution, mais ses caracteres varient peu d'une extremite a l'autre de son aire de dispersion. La seconde, C. depressus (Poli), n'est connue avec certitude que de la region mediterraneenne; c'est peut-etre une espece qui a evolue sous l'influence des conditions locales, sur des cotes sans maree, a moins qu'elle ne represente l'avant-poste d'une espece non reconnue, dont la distribution serait tropicale., L'auteur recapitule l'histoire des especes europeennes appartenant au genre Chthamalus et montre que le C. stellatus var. depressus decrit par Darwin est identique au C. depressus (Poli). La distribution geographique connue de la forme depressus comprend la plupart des cotes septentrionales de la Mediterranee et de la Mer Noire, ou on la rencontre d'ordinaire dans la zone supralittorale, au dessus de la forme stellatus. On ne rencontre pas la forme depressus dans l'Atlantique, au nord de la Mediterranee, ni a Madere, bien que Darwin l'ait signalee des iles du Cap Vert. Les C. stellatus var. depressus Darwin signales d'Afrique occidentale appartiennent en realite a une autre espece. En raison de differences dans leur comportement, leur reproduction et leur morphologie, il apparait qu'il existe deux especes valides en Europe. L'une, C. stellatus (Poli), a une large distribution, mais ses caracteres varient peu d'une extremite a l'autre de son aire de dispersion. La seconde, C. depressus (Poli), n'est connue avec certitude que de la region mediterraneenne; c'est peut-etre une espece qui a evolue sous l'influence des conditions locales, sur des cotes sans maree, a moins qu'elle ne represente l'avant-poste d'une espece non reconnue, dont la distribution serait tropicale.]
Energy-resolved collision-induced dissociation in tandem mass spectrometry

Abstract The effects of ion kinetic energy upon the low-energy collision-induced dissociation (CID) process in triple quadrupole mass spectrometry (MS/MS) are investigated. Energy-resolved CID breakdown curves are compared to those from quasi-equilibrium theory (QET) and angle-resolved mass spectrometry. The use of breakdown curves for the differentiation of isomeric ion structures is also investigated In addition. associative collisions with reactive collision gases are studied by energy-resolved MS/MS. These techniques provide a better understanding of the low-energy collision process in MS/MS and are essential in determining standard conditions for recording MS/MS library spectra
A Cramer rule for least-norm solutions of consistent linear equations

Abstract The least (Euclidean-) norm solution of a consistent linear equation Ax = b is given a determinantal form, which reduces to Cramer's rule if A is nonsingular.
The work of helping strangers

This essay examines dilemmas of professional and nonprofessional helpers in this urban, industrialized society; it generates hypotheses about the sources of these dilemmas and proposes how they can be dealt with constructively. The dilemmas are attributed to conflicts inherent in helping relationships between strangers. These include conflicts within helping roles and between helping roles and work roles. A case is made for counteracting undesirable effects of these conflicts by developing networks of mutual aid among would-be helpers, among users of human services, and between helpers and users. Problems in such networks and ways to cope with them are outlined.
Neuroendocrine responses to nicotine and stress: enhancement of peripheral stress responses by the administration of nicotine

Habitual smokers frequently report that when they are stressed smoking helps them to relax. One potential explanation for the reported stress ameliorating effect of smoking is that cigarette consumption (nicotine self-administration) may decrease the sympathetic autonomic nervous system activity which is associated with the stress response. In the present study, rabbits prepared with chronic vascular cannulae were used to study the effects of nicotine administation on plasma corticosterone, catecholamine (epinephrine, norepinephrine and dopamine) and glucose responses to physical restraint stress. Nicotine (0.025, 0.05 or 0.10 mg nicotine base/kg body weight) was administered for 10 days prior to the “stress test” to allow for the development of habituation/tolerance to its acute toxic effects. Independent administration of nicotine, or the application of the physical restraint stressor, resulted in increases in the plasma concentrations of corticosterone, epinephrine, norepinephrine, and glucose. Nicotine administration during restraint stress enhanced the increase in plasma corticosterone and epinephrine, as compared to the responses induced by either factor alone. The results suggest that the stress ameliorating effect of continued cigarette smoking, as reported by habitual smokers, is not due to a reduction in the activity of the peripheral sympathetic autonomic nervous system.
Cross-polarization two-beam coupling in optically active photorefractive media

We present a theoretical description of the coupling of energy and polarization between two beams in an optically active photorefractive medium. We apply this analysis to the problem of cross-polarization two-beam coupling and determine the dependence of the cross-polarization coupling gain on the input polarization states of the interacting beams and the properties of the coupling medium. In particular, we show that by a proper choice of the input polarization states, the cross-polarization gain seen in typical optically active photorefractive materials may be increased by more than 2 orders of magnitude over that previously observed. As a test of our theoretical treatment, we also apply it to standard two-beam coupling in Bi12SiO20 and obtain close numerical agreement with earlier experimental results in this material.
Cognitive Ability Predicts Older Adult Performance in a Complex Task but is Moderated by Social Interaction

Previous research has examined the effects of cognitive training on cognitive abilities. However, the contribution of cognitive abilities to learning to perform the tasks used as cognitive training, such as complex video games, is not completely understood. Additionally, social interaction while playing a video game may change the relationship between cognitive ability and game success by allowing players to learn from one another instead of solely their own abilities. As part of a larger cognitive intervention designed for older adults, the 50 participants included in our analysis were randomly assigned to either play games alone or take turns with a partner for one hour a day over fifteen days. Those playing with a partner outscored those playing alone. Multiple cognitive abilities predicted game success, but there was also evidence to suggest a moderating effect when playing with a partner on the predictive power of certain cognitive abilities.
Foundational issues in evolution education

There is a great need for effective evolution education. This paper reviews some of the evidence that demonstrates that need and analyzes some of the foundational semantic, epistemological, and philosophical issues involved. This analysis is used to provide a functional understanding of the distinction between science and non-science. Special emphasis is placed the scientific meaning of the terms theory, hypothesis, fact, proof, evidence, and truth, focusing on the difference between religious belief and acceptance of a scientific theory. Science is viewed as theologically neutral and as not mutually exclusive from religion. Finally, a number of practical recommendations to the classroom biology teacher are presented.
Distinctions between intestinal and placental isoenzymes of alkaline phosphatase

Abstract 1. 1. Placental and intestinal alkaline phosphatases are equally inhibited by 0.005 M l -phenylalanine, a fact which complicates the interpretation of the values for l -phenylalanine-sensitive alkaline phosphatase of pregnancy serum which can be expected to have both phosphatases. 2. 2. Contrary to (human and rat) intestinal alkaline phosphatases (orthophosphoric monoester phosphohydrolase, EC 3.1.3.1) the isoenzymes of human and rat placental tissues are split by neuraminidase ( N -acetyl neuraminate glycohydrolase, EC 3.2.1.18) i.e. the anodic mobilities of the placental enzymes are appreciably reduced by prior incubation with neuraminidase. 3. 3. Advantage is also taken of the marked heat-stability of placental alkaline phosphatase and thus starch gel electrophoretic patterns of the placental and intestinal enzymes in heated and unheated specimens are different from each other. 4. 4. The pH optima of human intestinal and placental alkaline phosphatases are 9.8 and 10.6 with 18 m M phenylphosphate as substrate. The ratio of the enzyme activity at pH 10.6 to that at pH 9.8 is ten times higher for placenta than that for intestine (1.1 versus 0.11) with 2 m M phenylphosphate as substrate. 5. 5. Although the Michaelis constants of placental and intestinal alkaline phosphatase at pH 10.6 are the same, the K m -values of placental alkaline phosphatase at lower pH's are considerably higher than those of the intestinal isoenzymes. 6. 6. The above electrophoretic and kinetic differences may be employed to distinguish from each other human intestinal and placental alkaline phosphatase isoenzymes and may be utilized further to investigate the intestinal and placental origins of serum alkaline phosphatase.
Parameters of spectral/temporal fusion in speech perception

When the distinctive formant transition of a synthetic syllable is presented to one ear while the remainder (the “base”) is presented to the opposite ear, listeners report hearing the original syllable in the ear receiving the base—a phenomenon called “spectral/temporal fusion” by Cutting (1976). We have found that the mere onset (i.e., the first pitch pulse, 10 msec in duration) of an isolated, contralateral third-formant (F3) transition can be sufficient to cue the /da/-/ga/ distinction in this way. We also varied the relative onset times of isolated F3 and base and compared three types of F3 segments (50-msec time-varying, 50-msec constant, 10-msec onset) under both dichotic and diotic presentation. Time-varying F3 segments were superior to constant ones, especially when they lagged behind the base. Diotic performance exceeded dichotic performance, but only when F3 preceded the base, suggesting that upward spread of masking occurred in diotic presentation when F3 coincided with energy in the lower formants. Perhaps most interestingly, subjects’ tolerance of temporal asynchrony (roughly ±50 msec) was about the same in dichotic and diotic conditions, suggesting that the temporal integration mechanism that combines phonetic information from the isolated F3 segment and the base operates similarly in both conditions.
Prolactin and helping behaviour in the cooperatively breeding Florida scrub-jay,Aphelocoma c. coerulescens

The relationship between parental and alloparental behaviours and prolactin was examined by measuring plasma levels of prolactin in cooperatively breeding Florida scrub-jays during three breeding seasons. The seasonal trends were similar to those in several other avian species, with low prolactin titres during the pre-nesting phase that steadily increased to a maximum during the incubation and nestling periods. Females had higher prolactin levels than males, and breeders had higher levels than non-breeders. Circulating prolactin in non-breeders was elevated prior to the time when they were exposed to a nest or young, suggesting that high prolactin levels were not a simple response to the stimulus of begging young. To further assess correlations between prolactin and parent-like behaviours, the number of nest visits and the amount of food delivered to focal nests was monitored. Prolactin levels were significantly correlated with the number of visits to the nest, as well as the amount of food delivered to the young. Non-breeders that fed nestlings had higher prolactin titres than non-breeders that did not help, lending further support to the hypothesis that helping behaviours are mediated by prolactin.
Sediment and nutrient losses from an unimproved, all-year grazed watershed

A common practice for grazing land in the humid, eastern USA is continuous grazing with little or no fertilizer use. Concentrations and transport of nutrients from a 28-ha unimproved grassed watershed were assessed in east-central Ohio for 2 yr without the presence of livestock, for 3 yr with a 17-cow beef (Bos taurus) herd grazing during the summer months only, and for an additional 6-yr period with all-year grazing with hay being brought in for winter feed. Nutrient concentrations remained low during all three grazing levels. An exception was K concentration, which increased with all-year grazing. Concentrations of NO₃-N, mineral-N, P, Ca, Mg, Na, and Cl were similar to or less than the concentrations from a nearby 17.7-ha wooded watershed that contained no pastured areas and received no agricultural inputs. Nutrient concentrations showed no consistent seasonal variation. Concentrations of organic-N, total organic C and sediment increased with increased grazing pressure. Greatest sediment concentrations and transport rates generally occurred during July and August regardless of grazing system. Largest monthly average sediment concentrations were 0.8, 1.3, and 3.2 g/L for the three systems, respectively; annual sediment losses were 0.2, 1.2, and 2.1 Mg/ha, respectively. All-year cattle grazing/feeding on an unimproved pasture in this area would not be expected to produce degradation of stream water quality from nutrient concentrations or transport. Joint contribution from USDA-ARS and Ohio State Univ./Ohio Agric. Res. Development Ctr.
Observations on the kinetics of hydrogen-chlorine flames

A detailed study was undertaken of the hydrogen-chlorine flame, in order to obtain reliable burning velocity data and to contribute to the resolution of the question regarding the existence of an energy chain in the propagation reaction. Burning velocities were measured by a schlieren-cone technique for stoichiometric to rich mixtures (140% of stoichiometric hydrogen) diluted with (from) 20% to 50% of nitrogen. The composition regime, accessible to reliable measurement, was circumscribed by the strong diffusional effects encountered in these flames, which sharply limited their range of stability on nozzle burners. The various types of instability observed are illustrated and discussed. A maximum burning velocity of 235 cm/sec was obtained for 120% of stoichiometric hydrogen at the lowest nitrogen dilution. Results found in this work are compared with others reported in the literature, which differ widely among themselves, and reasons for these discrepancies are discussed. The experimental data were analyzed in terms of some current approximate flame theories, and they are shown to be incapable of accounting for the variation of burning velocity of hydrogen-chlorine flames with nitrogen dilution. It appeared that no valid inferences regarding the kinetics of the hydrogen-chlorine flame could be drawn from such analyses of burning velocity data. No evidence was found to support the hypothesis of an energy chain leading to a branching reaction. To obtain further information regarding the mechanisms of reaction in hydrogen-chlorine flames, the effect of additives (CCl 4 , CH 3 Cl, CH 2 Cl 2 , CH 4 , SnCl 4 ) on their burning velocity was examined. Promotional effects were strongest with carbon tetrachloride, as little as 0.1% of this additive produced a 50% increase of burning velocity in the mixture of maximum flame speed, and decreased progressively in passing down the chlorinated methane series. Stannic chloride also exerted a large promotional effect, though its mode of action appeared to be somewhat different from that of the other additives. Vapor-phase chromatographic analysis of the product gases of mixtures containing carbon tetrachloride indicated that the additive was completely decomposed in passing through the flame front. Kinetic schemes to explain the promotional effect are suggested and analyzed. None of them are unequivocally supported by the present work.
Syntheses of aminated poly(vinyl chloride)s using methyl piperazine for the development of pH-selective membranes

Abstract Fifty-seven copolymers of poly(vinyl chloride-vinyl methyl piperazine) were prepared from the reaction of poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) and 1-methyl piperazine (Me-PIP) either with dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) or without any aprotic solvent. Reaction temperatures, times and concentrations were varied from 23 to 45°C, from 1 to 35 days, and from 0.125 to 1.0 mol. eq. of Me-PIP, respectively. Nitrogen (N) analyses, electromotive force (EMF) responses and subjective colours were reported. From these measurements the N contents, slopes of the EMF-pH responses, activation energies and time-temperature superposition via the WLF expression were analyzed. The resulting powders had up to 2.0 wt%N, although insolubility was reached in tetrahydrofuran above 1.2 wt%N. After storing at room temperature, the soluble formulations remained soluble for up to two years. With all reaction conditions the degree of amination was directly proportional to the reaction time. In addition to the amination reactions, elimination reactions produced conjugated polyenes as indicated by the changes in colour from white for the homopolymer of PVC to dark brown for the copolymers of PVC having the highest nitrogen contents. With the soluble formulations membranes were cast with o-nitrophenyl octyl ether and potassium tetrakis (p-chlorophenyl) borate as plasticizer and negative sites, respectively. Nernstian behavior was generally obtained for the membranes that were cast from materials with from 0.3 to 1.2 wt%N. The activation energy (17–20 kcal·mol −1 was calculated for the substitution reaction in DMSO. Based on the WLF equation, a time-temperature shift factor was determined. In DMSO the amination reaction was directly proportional to the concentration of Me-PIP. Without any solvent, amination yielded formulations that produced membranes that approximated Nernstian responses. These solventless aminations followed the same reaction rate as the DMSO aminations. © 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd.
A visual guide to expected blood levels of long-acting injectable risperidone in clinical practice.

Objective. Risperidone is the only second-generation (atypical) antipsychotic medication available in a long-acting injectable formulation. The mechanism of drug delivery and the pharmacokinetics of this medication are distinctively different from the first-generation injectable depot medications. Antipsychotic blood levels have been reported in carefully managed single-dose and multiple-dose studies of long-acting risperidone. However, there have been no studies of blood levels produced by the variability in doses and schedules that may occur in clinical practice. Mathematical modeling allows for estimation of blood levels in a variety of clinical scenarios that have yet to be studied empirically. This paper presents mathematically modeled representations of antipsychotic blood levels in clinical situations with long-acting risperidone, with the goal of helping professionals, patients, and family members make informed decisions regarding treatment. Methods. A model of single-dose pharmacokinetics was derived from a published, empirical single-dose study. The model was used to prepare graphs of expected multiple-dose schedules consistent with clinical situations, using empirically validated assumptions. Results. The model was validated by comparison of the results of multiple-dose modeling with published empirical multi-dose data. Graphs of expected blood levels in several clinical situations are presented. Future empirical studies are required to fully validate these results. Conclusions. Mathematical models of antipsychotic blood levels in various common situations allow a better appreciation of the novel pharmacokinetics of long-acting injectable risperidone, which may lead to more informed decision-making.
Using UN information resources: a guide for general reference librarians in academic settings

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to help reference librarians in academic institutions to more effectively use UN information resources to meet users' needs.Design/methodology/approach – This paper outlines the United Nations' structure, addresses the effects of misconceptions regarding the organization's boundaries, describes the categories of UN information resources and their most useful content, identifies and evaluates the most important reference tools by or about the UN, and casts light on little‐known obstacles to intellectual access in the UN information environment.Findings – Access to UN information is often hindered by the idiosyncrasies of UN documents and their records, misconceptions about the United Nations' relationships with other organizations, and a lack of in‐depth information about UN reference sources. The effects of these problems can be ameliorated, however, through the information, techniques, and strategies presented here.Originality/value – This article identifies and eva...
Development and validation of the Stepfamily Life Index

Using schema theory, this study explored the knowledge structures that stepchildren hold about their stepfamilies. Two studies developed a reliable measure of six themes of stepfamily functioning. In Study 1, 251 adult and adolescent stepchildren completed a pilot inventory. Factor-analytic results reduced the pilot inventory from 192 items to 65 items and demonstrated that each dimension could be measured empirically. In Study 2, 586 adult and adolescent stepchildren completed the revised inventory and produced a new, multidimensional measure: The Stepfamily Life Index (SLI). Evidence of internal reliability and discriminant validity for the SLI is offered, and implications are discussed.
Etiology of School Shootings: Utilizing a Purposive, Non-Impulsive Model for Social Work Practice

Many schools have introduced violence prevention measures that aim to combat acts such as bullying and carrying weapons on school premises. Despite these attempts, students and faculty live in fear of a school shooting happening in their community. This article reviews the factors that are most prevalent in those who follow through with school violence and the most prevalent cluster of variables seen in cases of school shootings. Next, the etiology of school shootings and the stages-of-change model, applied to school violence, is discussed. The analyses are then followed by implications for social work and how to augment existing practices through practice and policy changes.
Congestion-aware MAC layer adaptation to improve video teleconferencing over wi-fi

In wireless networks such as those based on IEEE 802.11, packet losses due to fading and interference are often misinterpreted as indications of congestion, causing unnecessary decrease in the data sending rate due to congestion control at higher layer protocols. For delay-constrained applications such as video teleconferencing, packet losses may result in excessive artifacts or freeze in the decoded video. We propose a simple and yet effective mechanism to detect and reduce channel-caused packet losses by adjusting the retry limit parameter of the IEEE 802.11 protocol. Since retry limit is left configurable in the IEEE 802.11 standard, and does not require cross-layer coordination, our scheme can be easily implemented and incrementally deployed. Experimental results of applying the proposed scheme to a WebRTC-based realtime video communication prototype show significant performance gain compared to the case where retry limit is configured statically.
Synthesis and characterization of poly(imide‐sulfonamide)s

Eight novel poly(imide-sulfonamide)s have been prepared by reacting pyromellitic dianhydride and benzophenone tetracarboxylic acid dianhydride with variously substituted dianilines containing preformed sulfonamide linkages. Inherent viscosities of the prepared polymers ranged from 0.13 to 0.53 dL/g. Four of the polymers formed tough, transparent yellow, flexible films. Glass transition temperatures, determined by differential scanning calorimetry, ranged from 103 to 249°C. Thermogravimetric analyses of the polymers showed that they have moderate thermal stability with weight losses ranging from 6.8 to 42% at 400°C.
Dynamic Migration of Computation Through Virtualization of the Mobile Platform

Virtualization and live migration techniques have long been used in the enterprise server space and have been tuned to address data center usages. These capabilities are now expanding to personal computers including desktops and laptops and more recently into smaller mobile devices such as Netbooks and Mobile Internet Devices (MID). Hardware support for virtualization in these platforms, such as that offered by Intel® Atom? processor, enables the use of existing operating systems and virtualization software. Our experiments demonstrate that live migration can be used to dynamically offload computation from a MID device to a nearby desktop computer, taking only 25 s over a 100 Mbps Ethernet network and approximately 40 s over an 802.11n interface with a measured throughput of 110 Mbps. Additionally, these experiments highlight the limitations of existing virtualization solutions for migrating computation between small form-factor mobile devices and desktop computers which have widely varying resources and processing capabilities. Finally, we discuss the challenges observed in these early experiments and raise key questions that need to be resolved to enable the design of effective systems that support this use model.
Evaluation of risk scores derived from the health family tree program

Family health history is an independent risk factor for certain diseases. The Health Family Tree (HFT) was developed and used to document and assess family health history from the families of high school students since 1980. While the risk algorithm of the HFT was initially validated, 20 years of use as a public health tool in the community provides an extremely large dataset for more rigorous validation. A retrospective cohort study was used with the events before the “cut-off” year as the baseline and the events after the “cut-off” year as the follow-up. Baseline data were used in the algorithm to calculate the Family History Score (FHS). Cox proportional hazards model was used to test the dose-response nature of the FHS for predicting incident events. An FHS ≥1 was determined to be a significant predictor for future development of diabetes, myocardial infarction, and early onset of myocardial infarction.
Consistency Among Elicitation Techniques for Intertemporal Choice: A Within-Subjects Investigation of the Anomalies

The equivalence of two elicitation methods (sequences and matching) has been assumed when empirically testing the traditional discounting model even though the respective literature has revealed results that are dependent on the procedure used. Three common anomalies revealed (gain/loss asymmetry, short/long asymmetry, and the absolute magnitude effect) are investigated using the two different methods in a within-subjects experiment. In both procedures, it appears that the participants in this study evaluate monetary outcomes over time differently than the discounting model predicts. Patterns consistent with two of the anomalies (gain/loss and absolute magnitude effect) surface and interact in both elicitation techniques. Finally, a systematic inconsistency exists between the two methods. We observe significantly more consistency between the two elicitation techniques when the outcome is a gain in the relatively far future than when it is a future loss. This may be due to the participants' inability to display a preference for spreading losses, which they revealed in the sequences task, in the matching task.
Sound stress-induced long-term enhancement of mechanical hyperalgesia in rats is maintained by sympathoadrenal catecholamines.

Abstract Although stress plays an important role in chronic widespread pain syndromes, such as fibromyalgia, the underlying mechanism has remained elusive. We have recently demonstrated, in a model of chronic widespread pain, that prolonged enhancement of immune mediator hyperalgesia, induced by unpredictable sound stress, requires a contribution of both the sympathoadrenal (epinephrine) and the hypothalamic-pituitary adrenal (corticosterone) neuroendocrine stress axes. Because this stress protocol produced sustained elevation of plasma epinephrine, in the current study we tested the hypothesis that the sympathoadrenal axis also plays a role in maintenance of symptoms in this model of chronic widespread pain. After establishment, adrenal medullectomy abolished the enhancement of epinephrine-induced cutaneous and muscle hyperalgesia. Administration of stress levels of epinephrine to adrenal medullectomized rats reconstituted the pain phenotype. These observations suggest that the sympathoadrenal stress axis plays a major role in the induction as well as maintenance of stress-induced enhancement of mechanical hyperalgesia, mediated by prolonged elevation of circulating epinephrine. Perspective We present data showing mechanical hyperalgesia persisting for up to 28 days after exposure to sound stress, with evidence that the sympathoadrenal axis mediator epinephrine plays a major role. These findings could have clinical implications with regard to novel potential treatments for chronic widespread pain syndromes, such as fibromyalgia.
Roles for Pituitary Adenylate Cyclase-Activating Peptide (PACAP) Expression and Signaling in the Bed Nucleus of the Stria Terminalis (BNST) in Mediating the Behavioral Consequences of Chronic Stress

Anxiety disorders are frequently long-lasting and debilitating for more than 40 million American adults. Although stressor exposure plays an important role in the etiology of some anxiety disorders, the mechanisms by which exposure to stressful stimuli alters central circuits that mediate anxiety-like emotional behavior are still unknown. Substantial evidence has implicated regions of the central extended amygdala, including the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BNST) and the central nucleus of the amygdala as critical structures mediating fear- and anxiety-like behavior in both humans and animals. These areas organize coordinated fear- and anxiety-like behavioral responses as well as peripheral stress responding to threats via direct and indirect projections to the paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus and brainstem regions (Walker et al. Eur J Pharmacol 463:199-216, 2003, Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry 33(8):1291-1308, 2009; Ulrich-Lai and Herman Nat Rev Neurosci 10:397-409, 2009). In particular, the BNST has been argued to mediate these central and peripheral responses when the perceived threat is of long duration (Waddell et al. Behav Neurosci 120:324-336, 2006) and/or when the anxiety-like response is sustained (Walker and Davis Brain Struct Funct 213:29-42, 2008); hence, the BNST may mediate pathological anxiety-like states that result from exposure to chronic stress. Indeed, chronic stress paradigms result in enhanced BNST neuroplasticity that has been associated with pathological anxiety-like states (Vyas et al. Brain Res 965:290-294, 2003; Pego et al. Eur J Neurosci 27:1503-1516, 2008). Here we review evidence that suggests that pituitary adenylate cyclase-activating polypeptide (PACAP) and corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) work together to modulate BNST function and increase anxiety-like behavior. Moreover, we have shown that BNST PACAP as well as its cognate PAC1 receptor is substantially upregulated following chronic stress, particularly in the BNST oval nucleus where PACAP-containing neurons closely interact with CRH-containing neurons (Kozicz et al. Brain Res 767:109-119, 1997; Hammack et al. Psychoneuroendocrinology 34:833-843, 2009). We describe how interactions between PACAP and CRH in the BNST may mediate stress-associated behaviors, including anorexia and anxiety-like behavior. These studies have the potential to define specific mechanisms underlying anxiety disorders, and may provide important therapeutic strategies for stress and anxiety management.
Auroral electron beams near the magnetic equator

Intense beams of electrons travelling parallel to the local magnetic field have been observed at a magnetic latitude of 11° and a radial distance of 6.6 Re. The distribution function for electrons travelling within 8° of the field line direction is typically flat or slightly rising up to a break point beyond which it decreases as v−5 to v−10. The energy corresponding to the break point velocity is usually between 0.1 and 10 keV. These beams are found to occur on closed field lines at the inner edge of the plasma sheet and thus at the root of the earth’s magnetotail. Beams with break point energies greater than 2 k seem to occur only within the first 10 minutes after the onset of hot plasma injection associated with a magnetospheric substorm. Although the origin and destiny of these electrons is as yet unknown, considerations of the total energy and the number of particles transported guarantee that they must play a dominant role in many key magnetospheric processes.