cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Production of Potent Diphtherial Toxin on a Medium of Chemically Denned Composition

As a result of studies carried out by one of us1 on the chemical nature of the substances required by the bacillus of diphtheria for growth, and by another of us2 on the factors underlying toxin-production by this organism, it is now possible for the first time to produce toxin of high titer on a medium of known composition. A qualification of the word “known” is admitted in that certain of the components are obtained from natural sources and may contain traces of impurity, and further, that the extremely important traces of certain inorganic elements are beyond control due to the effect of components from the type of glass containers used. The complete absence of peptone, formerly believed to be the sine qua non for toxin-formation, appears to be assured.The composition and method of preparation of the medium is as follows: The glycine, valine, leucine, glutamic acid, methionine and tyrosine, sodium chloride and potassium phosphate are weighed out and dissolved in about 500 cc. of distilled water. The cy...
A multidisciplinary approach to the management of children with complex genital anomalies

Management of children with complex genital anomalies is one of the most difficult challenges a physician can face. The author of this Viewpoint argues that a multidisciplinary team of specialists—led by a pediatric endocrinologist—should be involved in the decision-making process to ensure the best possible outcome for the affected child.
Impact of Logic Synthesis on Soft Error Rate of Digital Integrated Circuits

Reliability-aware synthesis exploits the properties of fault masking to improve the reliability of logic circuits. My dissertation investigates how synthesis constraints can impact the effectiveness of this technique.
Projective Assessment and School Psychology: Contemporary Validity Issues and Implications for Practice

Projective techniques continue to be widely used by school psychologists despite frequent criticisms of their use. This article reviews contemporary validity issues in the use of projective techniques with children and adolescents, including incremental validity, treatment validity, and problems associated with professional judgment and experience. A discussion of these issues and their implications for school-based projective assessment is provided, along with recommendations for the appropriate use of projective techniques with children and youth within a problem-solving framework.
Thermal annealing of Cu- ions in γ-irradiated NaCl: Cu NEAR 415 K

Abstract Thermal annealing of Cu − ions in γ-irradiated NaCl:Cu has been observed using optical absorption and thermoluminescence over the range from room temperature to 500 K. The first isothermal measurements of the decay of Cu − ions are presented and indicate that the decay is second order with an activation energy of 0.80 ± 0.07 eV. Recovery of Cu + ions is two stage process, with an intermediate stage involving neither Cu − or unperturbed Cu + ions. The isochronal annealing curves were different in unbleached samples and in samples bleached to remove F-centers.
Linezolid-Associated Peripheral Neuropathy

Linezolid is the first drug in a new class of synthetic antimicrobials, the oxazolidinones, to be approved by the Food and Drug Administration. Linezolid is active against methicillin- and vancomycin-resistant gram-positive microorganisms. We describe 2 patients who developed peripheral neuropathy after prolonged treatment with linezolid. Linezolid-associated peripheral neuropathy has not been well documented. Most reported cases of linezolidassociated peripheral neuropathy have occurred in patients who took linezolid for a period longer than the recommended 28 or fewer days. Health care providers must be alert to the potential for serious adverse effects associated with linezolid use, including peripheral neuropathy.
The 5-day wave and ionospheric absorption

In a previous paper, Fraser and Thorpe (1976) indicated that the average partial-coherence spectra for three summers and the average for three winters at a southern mid-latitude site had a dominant peak at a period of about six days. This peak in coherence between absorption and temperature is anomalous, and the present paper explains how some of the unexpected coherence features can be explained by the five-day wave described by Geisler and Dickinson (1976) and whose existence in the upper stratosphere was discussed by Rodgers (1976).
Noise decomposition of intracellular biochemical signaling networks using nonequivalent reporters

Experimental measurements of biochemical noise have primarily focused on sources of noise at the gene expression level due to limitations of existing noise decomposition techniques. Here, we introduce a mathematical framework that extends classical extrinsic–intrinsic noise analysis and enables mapping of noise within upstream signaling networks free of such restrictions. The framework applies to systems for which the responses of interest are linearly correlated on average, although the framework can be easily generalized to the nonlinear case. Interestingly, despite the high degree of complexity and nonlinearity of most mammalian signaling networks, three distinct tumor necrosis factor (TNF) signaling network branches displayed linearly correlated responses, in both wild-type and perturbed versions of the network, across multiple orders of magnitude of ligand concentration. Using the noise mapping analysis, we find that the c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) pathway generates higher noise than the NF-κB pathway, whereas the activation of c-Jun adds a greater amount of noise than the activation of ATF-2. In addition, we find that the A20 protein can suppress noise in the activation of ATF-2 by separately inhibiting the TNF receptor complex and JNK pathway through a negative feedback mechanism. These results, easily scalable to larger and more complex networks, pave the way toward assessing how noise propagates through cellular signaling pathways and create a foundation on which we can further investigate the relationship between signaling system architecture and biological noise.
Chronic pain and anxiety: a treatment outcome comparison of patients with anxiety in an interdisciplinary pain rehabilitation program

Anxiety symptoms are often overlooked or deemphasized for chronic pain patients, and research on effective treatments for patients with both chronic pain and anxiety is minimal. This study attempts to determine the prevalence of various anxiety disorders within this population, and compare treatment outcomes of those with or without anxiety following an intensive (3-week) interdisciplinary pain rehabilitation program. Mayo Clinic IRB approved this retrospective study comparing patients with and without anxiety from March 2009 to Dec. 2011. The presence of an anxiety disorder was determined by diagnoses given from responses to the Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Interview. Pain-related anxiety and pain catastrophizing were assessed with the Pain-Anxiety Symptoms Scale and the Pain Catastrophizing Scale. Pain severity, mood and functioning were assessed with the Multidimensional Pain Inventory, Pain Catastrophizing Scale, SF-36 Health Survey and Center for Epidemiological Studies-Depression scale. Significant differences in age, gender, ethnicity, andmarital statuswere foundbetween anxiety and non-anxiety groups.Within this sample, panic disorder (with andwithout agoraphobia; 16%) was the most prevalent anxiety disorder. Upon admission significant differences were found in most treatment outcomes with chronic pain patients with anxiety faring worse. Upon discharge, those with anxiety significantly scored worse than those without anxiety in pain-anxiety symptoms (p<.01), pain catastrophizing (p<.05), depression (p<.001), and life control (p<.05). Upon follow-up, significant differences in depression (p<.001) were found with the anxiety group rating higher. This study concludes that patients with the presence of anxiety or an anxiety disorder responded favorably with improved functioning following interdisciplinary rehabilitation pain treatment. Yet, those with anxiety tended to show poorer outcomes than those without the presence of an anxiety disorder. Interdisciplinary pain rehabilitation programs should address anxiety disorders and provide tools for patients to manage and cope with anxiety in healthy ways to further improve outcomes.
Microstructural and optical characterization of germanium:indium tin oxide (Ge:ITO) nanocomposite films

Abstract The nanophase assembly and resulting optical and electronic properties of Ge:ITO composite thin films, produced by a sequential RF-sputtering deposition approach, were manipulated via deposition conditions and subsequent isochronal thermal anneals. The study examined the combined influences of thermally induced changes in phase crystallinity, semiconductor-phase morphology, and Ge–ITO interfacial structure on properties of relevance to photovoltaic function. A range of Ge-phase spatial distributions within the ITO embedded phase were produced, including isolated Ge nanocrystals and two-dimensional-extended semiconductor structures, as evaluated using cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy. The magnitude of a quantum-confinement induced blue-shift in the Ge absorption onset increased monotonically with increased isochronal anneal temperature and was concomitant to the decrease in connectivity of the as-deposited Ge-phase assembly. Raman spectroscopy, over the range of nanocomposite structures examined, confirmed the evolution of a germanium oxide interfacial structure anticipated to affect both carrier confinement within the Ge and long-range charge transport in the nanocomposite. Shifts in the near-infrared transmission edge with anneal temperature were further correlated, using Hall-effect measurements, with a thermally equilibrated free carrier population. An increased free carrier density in composite films, over that of similarly treated single-phase ITO, was attributed to the presence of the Ge semiconductor-phase. While a general reduction in carrier mobility accompanied the increased carrier density, resistivities of the composite films were found to be largely insensitive to the nanostructure morphology changes and, moreover, were comparable to that of single-phase ITO films produced under similar preparation conditions. Finally, optical excitation at energies resonant with the Ge absorption onset, but below the band-gap of the ITO, resulted in a photoconductive response attributed to photoelectron transfer from the Ge-phase to the ITO.
Synthesis and biological evaluation of novel 5(H)-phenanthridin-6-ones, 5(H)-phenanthridin-6-one diketo acid, and polycyclic aromatic diketo acid analogs as new HIV-1 integrase inhibitors.

Abstract A new series of phenanthridinone derivatives, and diketo acid analogs, as well as related phenanthrene and anthracene diketo acids have been synthesized and evaluated as HIV integrase (IN) inhibitors. Several new β-diketo acid analogs with the phenanthridinone scaffold replaced by phenanthrene, anthracene or pyrene exhibited the highest IN inhibitory potency. There is a general selectivity against the integrase strand transfer step. The most potent IN was 2,4-dioxo-4-phenanthren-9-yl-butyric acid (27f) with an IC50 of 0.38 μM against integrase strand transfer. The phenanthrene diketo acids 27d–f were more potent (IC50 = 2.7–0.38 μM) than the corresponding phenanthridinone diketo acid 16 (IC50 = 65 μM), suggesting that the polar amide bridge in the phenanthridinone system decreases inhibitory activity relative to the more lipophilic phenanthrene system. This might have to do with the possible binding of the aryl group of the compounds binding to a lipophilic pocket at the integrase active site as suggested by the docking simulations. Molecular modeling also suggested that effectiveness of chelation of the active site Mg2+ contributes to IN inhibitory potency. Finally, some of the potent compounds inhibited HIV-1 replication in human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) with EC50 down to 8 μM for phenanthrene-3-(2,4-dioxo)butyric acid (27d), with a selectivity index of 10 against PBMCs.
Ethics, Evidence, and Public Policy

The growth of evidence-based medicine (EBM) raises a number of ethical issues that have too often been overlooked. These include issues that arise when clinicians make judgments under uncertainty, new challenges for the clinician-patient relationship, new duties for institutional review boards, issues in physician autonomy and reimbursement, and challenges for disclosure and informed consent. Ethics and EBM must be addressed by policy makers and integrated into medical education.
Modernizing State Public Health Enabling Statutes to Reﬂect the Mission and Essential Services of Public Health

It is unclear whether efforts of the past decade to modernize state public health statutes have succeeded in codifying into state law the currently understood mission and essential services of public health. Although many state health agencies may be operating in a manner consistent with these principles, their codiﬁcation in state law is crucial for the sustainability of agency efforts in disease prevention and health promotion. This research examines the 50 state public health enabling statutes for their correspondence with the 6 mission statements and the 10 essential services of public health described in Public Health in America. This analysis ﬁnds that modernization efforts have not been universally effective in ensuring that the legislative basis of public health is commensurate with the accepted scope of authority necessary to support health agency’s performance. Given the importance of law modernization in public health, this analysis highlights the importance of model statutory language in facilitating the codiﬁcation of the mission and essential services of public health in state law. As a result, this research provides the practice community with a research base to facilitate statutory reform and develops a framework for future scholarship on the role of law as a determinant of the public’s health.
Thermal behaviour of graphite intercalation compounds with oxide of difluoride of phosphoryl

We present in this paper the thermal analysis (calorimetry, TG and DSC) of the first stage P 2 O 3 F 4 graphite intercalate compound in atmospheric pressure and high pressure. By heating we obtain always exfoliation phenomenon. The heating of exfoliated graphite shows an important oxidation resistance in comparison with another exfoliated graphite. This oxidation resistance has been studied also by thermal analysis like TG, in oxygen atmosphere. Carbon foil rebuilding from exfolied graphite keeps these interesting antioxidation properties
Optimal admission and preemption control in finite-source loss systems

We study the optimal control of both admission and preemption in a two-class finite source loss system, and prove that the optimal low priority (LP) job admission policy is a state dependent threshold based policy. We also provide the sufficient cost conditions for which the LP job admission and preemption are always optimal. Finally, we demonstrate that the optimal LP job preemption policy is a threshold based policy, using numerical results.
Attachment: A Concept That Connects

This research review explores the concept of "attachment" from the perspectives of love and work; marriage, parenting, and child development; triangles and thefamily emotional field; and evaluation instruments.
G-protein coupled receptor kinases as modulators of G-protein signalling.

G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs) comprise one of the largest classes of signalling molecules. A wide diversity of activating ligands induce the active conformation of GPCRs and lead to signalling via heterotrimeric G-proteins and downstream effectors. In addition, a complex series of reactions participate in the ‘turn-off’ of GPCRs in both physiological and pharmacological settings. Some key players in the inactivation or ‘desensitization’ of GPCRs have been identified, whereas others remain the target of ongoing studies. G-protein coupled receptor kinases (GRKs) specifically phosphorylate activated GPCRs and initiate homologous desensitization. Uncoupling proteins, such as members of the arrestin family, bind to the phosphorylated and activated GPCRs and cause desensitization by precluding further interactions of the GPCRs and G-proteins. Adaptor proteins, including arrestins, and endocytic machinery participate in the internalization of GPCRs away from their normal signalling milieu. In this review we discuss the roles of these regulatory molecules as modulators of GPCR signalling.
Disease dynamics and potential mitigation among restored and wild staghorn coral, Acropora cervicornis

The threatened status (both ecologically and legally) of Caribbean staghorn coral, Acropora cervicornis, has prompted rapidly expanding efforts in culture and restocking, although tissue loss diseases continue to affect populations. In this study, disease surveillance and histopathological characterization were used to compare disease dynamics and conditions in both restored and extant wild populations. Disease had devastating effects on both wild and restored populations, but dynamics were highly variable and appeared to be site-specific with no significant differences in disease prevalence between wild versus restored sites. A subset of 20 haphazardly selected colonies at each site observed over a four-month period revealed widely varying disease incidence, although not between restored and wild sites, and a case fatality rate of 8%. A tropical storm was the only discernable environmental trigger associated with a consistent spike in incidence across all sites. Lastly, two field mitigation techniques, (1) excision of apparently healthy branch tips from a diseased colony, and (2) placement of a band of epoxy fully enclosing the diseased margin, gave equivocal results with no significant benefit detected for either treatment compared to controls. Tissue condition of associated samples was fair to very poor; unsuccessful mitigation treatment samples had severe degeneration of mesenterial filament cnidoglandular bands. Polyp mucocytes in all samples were infected with suspect rickettsia-like organisms; however, no bacterial aggregates were found. No histological differences were found between disease lesions with gross signs fitting literature descriptions of white-band disease (WBD) and rapid tissue loss (RTL). Overall, our results do not support differing disease quality, quantity, dynamics, nor health management strategies between restored and wild colonies of A. cervicornis in the Florida Keys.
Strengthening mechanisms in Ti-Nb-Zr-Ta and Ti-Mo-Zr-Fe orthopaedic alloys.

Abstract The microstructural evolution and attendant strengthening mechanisms in two novel orthopaedic alloy systems, Ti–Nb–Zr–Ta and Ti–Mo–Zr–Fe, have been compared and contrasted in this paper. Specifically, the alloy compositions considered are Ti–34Nb–9Zr–8Ta and Ti–13Mo–7Zr–3Fe. In the homogenized condition, both alloys exhibited a microstructure consisting primarily of a β matrix with grain boundary α precipitates and a low-volume fraction of intra-granular α precipitates. On ageing the homogenized alloys at 600°C for 4 hr, both alloys exhibited the precipitation of refined scale secondary α precipitates homogeneously in the β matrix. However, while the hardness of the Ti–Mo–Zr–Fe alloy marginally increased, that of the Ti–Nb–Zr–Ta alloy decreased substantially as a result of the ageing treatment. In order to understand this difference in the mechanical properties after ageing, TEM studies have been carried out on both alloys prior to and post the ageing treatment. The results indicate the existence of a metastable B2 ordering in the Ti–Nb–Zr–Ta alloy in the homogenized condition which is destroyed by the ageing treatment, consequently leading to a decrease in the hardness.
Group B Streptococcus infections in non-pregnant adults: the role of immunosuppression

Summary Background Group B Streptococcus (GBS) is a known causative pathogen of neonatal sepsis, but the epidemiology in non-pregnant adults is less studied. Methods Retrospective case–control and cohort analyses of risk factors and outcomes of GBS infections among non-pregnant adults were conducted at the Detroit Medical Center from January 2005 to May 2010. Uninfected controls were matched to cases in a 3:1 ratio. Data were obtained from charts and pharmacy records. Identification of the bacteria and antimicrobial susceptibility testing were determined by MicroScan. Cox regression was used for matched multivariate analyses. Results Thirty-two patients with GBS infections were identified and were matched and compared to 96 controls. Compared to controls, patients with GBS infection were significantly younger. Immunosuppression, attributable mainly to neutropenia and recent use of glucocorticoids, was an independent predictor for GBS infection (odds ratio 2.7, p =0.03). Nine (28%) of the patients with GBS infection had bacteriological failure despite the administration of appropriate antimicrobial therapy. Of the 10 patients with bloodstream infections (BSI), three had endocarditis and four had central nervous system (CNS) infections. During the study period the incidence of infections decreased, but the rates of resistance to erythromycin and clindamycin increased. Conclusions GBS, previously considered a genitourinary pathogen, has emerged as a non-nosocomial opportunistic pathogen causing BSI, endocarditis, and CNS infections. Immunosuppression, particularly transient immunosuppressed states, was an independent predictor for GBS BSI. Resistance rates to macrolides and clindamycin continue to increase, and should be closely monitored.
Getting the Point Across: Exploring the Effects of Dynamic Virtual Humans in an Interactive Museum Exhibit on User Perceptions

We have created “You, M.D.”, an interactive museum exhibit in which users learn about topics in public health literacy while interacting with virtual humans. You, M.D. is equipped with a weight sensor, a height sensor and a Microsoft Kinect that gather basic user information. Conceptually, You, M.D. could use this user information to dynamically select the appearance of the virtual humans in the interaction attempting to improve learning outcomes and user perception for each particular user. For this concept to be possible, a better understanding of how different elements of the visual appearance of a virtual human affects user perceptions is required. In this paper, we present the results of an initial user study with a large sample size (n =333) ran using You, M.D. The study measured users' reactions based on the user's gender and body-mass index (BMI) when facing virtual humans with BMI either concordant or discordant from the user's BMI. The results of the study indicate that concordance between the users' BMI and the virtual human's BMI affects male and female users differently. The results also show that female users rate virtual humans as more knowledgeable than male users rate the same virtual humans.
The Effects of Alfalfa-Based Molt Diets on Skeletal Integrity of White Leghorns

Sixty White Leghorn hens were assigned to 1 of 6 treatments: pretrial control (PC), full fed (FF), 9-d feed withdrawal (FW), 90% alfalfa-10% layer ration (A90), 80% alfalfa-20% layer ration (A80), and 70% alfalfa/30% layer ration (A70). For the PC, hens were killed and bones collected immediately before light restriction. The FF hens were also subjected to light restriction. After hens were fasted or fed different molting treatment diets for 9 d, they were fed a maintenance diet for 14 d. At 23 d postmolt, hens were killed and bones collected. Feed intakes per hen of the FF, A90, A80, and A70 treatments during a 9-d molting period were 97, 17, 44, and 46 g, respectively. Tibia dry weight of the PC was greater than the FF group. The PC group had significantly greater tibia ash weight than the FF, FW, A90, and A80 groups. Tibia ash concentration of the PC group was significantly greater than the FF, A90, and A80 groups. Humerus dry weights of the PC group were greater than the other groups except for hens on FW. Humerus ash weight was lower for FF hens as compared with PC hens, but other molting treatments had humerus ash weights similar to PC hens. Tibia mineral content and density of the PC were significantly greater than the other treatments. The FF group exhibited significantly lower humerus mineral content and density compared with those of the PC group. The PC and A70 hens exhibited significantly greater ultimate bending moment and ultimate stress compared with the FF and A90 hens. The modulus of elasticity of the PC hens was greater than that of the FF and A90. There were no significant differences in modulus of elasticity among the PC, FW, A80, and A70 hens. In conclusion, hens at 23 d postmolt experienced deterioration in skeletal integrity. This decrease in bone quality occurred in all molted hens. However, A70 and A80 alfalfa-fed hens retained mechanical properties of bones compared with the pretrial control.
Cholesterol Metabolism in the Ehrlich Ascites Tumor

Analyses of the Ehrlich ascites tumor during Days 11 to 14 of growth in the mouse peritoneal cavity revealed that the cells accumulate cholesterol at a rate of 5.7 nmoles/108 cells per hr. Incubations with either 3H2O or uniformly labeled glucose-14C in vitro indicated that de novo cholesterol synthesis can account for only about 3% of the cholesterol accumulation in the Ehrlich cells. Since the peritoneal fluid in which the tumor cells grow is rich in very-low-density lipoproteins (VLDL), we wished to determine whether the cholesterol contained in these VLDL might be available for utilization by the cells. During incubation in vitro at 37°, the Ehrlich cells took up large quantities of cholesterol-4-14C from VLDL. Radioactive cholesterol previously incorporated into the cells was released during incubation with VLDL, indicating that cholesterol exchange between VLDL and the cells occurs in this system. None of the cholesterol taken up by the cells during 2 hr of incubation underwent esterification, but free fatty acids taken up under identical conditions were incorporated by the cells into cholesteryl esters. The cells also were able to take up radioactive cholesteryl oleate incorporated in the VLDL. Some of the cholesteryl oleate was taken up intact, perhaps due to binding of intact VLDL, and the remainder was hydrolyzed. A portion of the cholesterol and fatty acid produced by the hydrolysis of VLDL cholesteryl esters was retained by the cells. These findings demonstrate that the cholesterol contained in the ascites plasma VLDL potentially is available for utilization by the Ehrlich cells. Moreover, they suggest that VLDL may function as vehicles for transport of cholesterol from the tissues of the mouse to the growing tumor cells.
The taxonomic status of the Tasmanian endemic moss, Scleropodium australe (Brachytheciaceae)

Scleropodium australe is known from a single population in a suburb of Hobart, Tasmania and is the only southern hemisphere representative in an otherwise north temperate genus. It was originally segregated from S. cespitans based on two quantitative characters, median lamina cell width and relative costa length. Molecular data presented here (ITS, rps4, trnG, psbA2) indicate that S. australe is nested within a well supported clade of S. touretii. Morphological measurements also fail to demonstrate any differences between S. australe and S. touretii. Based on the lack of any molecular or morphological differences between these species and the single known station of the latter species at a ruderal site, S. australe is reduced to synonomy with S. touretii, with the interpretation that the Tasmanian population is introduced from Europe.
Early Work on the Use of Models in the Determination of Pod/inspection Reliability in the us and UK

Early demonstrations of the use of models in the U.S. and U.K. to assist in the determination of NDE reliability and probability of detection (POD), as dictated by the advent of damage tolerant design, will be reviewed. A major motivation in the U.S. was the adoption of POD as the primary metric for effectiveness of an inspection and the empirical observation that field and depot inspections were not adequate so support the desired structural integrity. In parallel, a series of round robin trials in Europe raised issues with the effectiveness of nuclear power plant inspections, and the resulting concerns became an important part of the “Public Inquiry” in the UK regarding the construction of the Sizewell B power plant. In each country, physics‐based models of the inspection process became an important part of the response. This paper describes these early developments in the use of models to assess inspection reliability, contrasts the philosophies and approaches taken, and notes how these provide the ori...
Soluble RANKL Induces High Bone Turnover and Decreases Bone Volume, Density, and Strength in Mice

Receptor activator for nuclear factor-kappa B ligand (RANKL) is an essential mediator of osteoclastogenesis. We hypothesized that administration of soluble RANKL to mice would result in high turnover and deleterious effects on both cortical and trabecular bone. For 10 days, 10-week-old C57BL/6J female mice (n = 12/group) were given twice-daily subcutaneous injections of human recombinant RANKL (0.4 or 2 mg/kg/day) or inert vehicle (VEH). Bone turnover was greatly accelerated by RANKL, as evidenced by the 49-84% greater levels of serum TRAP-5b (bone resorption marker) and 300-400% greater levels of serum alkaline phosphatase (bone formation marker). RANKL resulted in significantly greater endocortical bone erosion surface (79-83%) and periosteal bone formation rate (64-87%) vs. VEH. Microcomputed tomographic (microCT) analysis of the proximal tibia indicated a reduction in trabecular volume fraction (-84%) for both doses of RANKL. Cortical bone geometry and strength were also negatively influenced by RANKL. MicroCT analysis of the femoral diaphysis indicated significantly lower cortical bone volume (-10% to -13%) and greater cortical porosity (8-9%) relative to VEH. Biomechanical testing of the femur diaphysis revealed significantly lower maximum bending load (-19% to -25%) vs. VEH. Bone strength remained correlated with bone mass, independent of RANKL stimulation of bone turnover. These findings are consistent with the hypothesis that soluble RANKL could be an important etiologic factor in pathologic bone loss. RANKL also has potential utility as a model for studying the consequences of high bone turnover on bone quality and strength in animals.
Locomotion of free‐ranging golden lion tamarins (Leontopithecus rosalia) at the National Zoological Park

Locomotor behavior and substrate use of cage-reared golden lion tamarins (Leontopithecus rosalia), newly released and free-ranging on the grounds of the National Zoological Park, were studied to determine if locomotion changed following exposure to naturalistic conditions. The animals employed a predominantly quadrupedal locomotor profile, incorporating leaping and vertical climbing to a lesser degree. There was no clear evidence of a change in locomotion due to the high degree of variability in these behaviors. The locomotor repertoire of the free-ranging group differed from that of groups occupying unenriched but relatively large conventional enclosures, indicating that whereas locomotion is plastic with respect to environment, substrate characteristics influence locomotor behavior and may promote stereotypical behavior. However, due to anatomical constraints, the locomotor repertoire tended to be less variable than substrate use. Similar behaviors were used in moving through a variety of habitat features in spite of strong associations between specific locomotor styles and substrate classes. 0 1994 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Serial transverse enteroplasty (STEP): a novel bowel lengthening procedure.

Background/Purpose: Bowel lengthening may be beneficial for children with short bowel syndrome. However, current techniques require at least one intestinal anastomosis and place the mesenteric blood supply at risk. This study seeks to establish the technical principles of a new, simple, and potentially safer bowel lengthening procedure. Methods: Young pigs (n 6) underwent interposition of a reversed intestinal segment to produce proximal small bowel dilation. Five weeks later the reversed segment was resected. Lengthening of the dilated bowel then was performed by serial transverse applications of a GIA stapler, from opposite directions, to create a zig zag channel. A distal segment of equal length served as an in situ morphometric control. Contrast radiologic studies were performed 6 weeks later, and the animals were killed. Statistical comparisons were made by paired t test with P less than .05 considered significant. Results: After bowel lengthening, all animals gained weight (66.7 3.0 [SD] kg v 42.5 3.5 kg; P .001) and showed no clinical or radiologic evidence of intestinal obstruction. Intraoperatively, immediately after serial transverse enteroplasty, the intestine was substantially elongated (82.8 6.7 cm v 49.2 2 cm; P .01). Six weeks after surgery, the lengthened intestinal segment became practically straight and, compared with the in situ control, remained significantly longer (80.7 13.1 cm v 57.2 10.4 cm; P .01). There was no difference in diameter between these segments (4.3 0.7 cm v 3.8 0.4 cm; P value, not significant). Conclusions: Serial transverse enteroplasty (STEP) significantly increases intestinal length without any evidence of obstruction. This procedure may be a safe and facile alternative for intestinal lengthening in children with short bowel syndrome. J Pediatr Surg 38:425-429. Copyright 2003, Elsevier Science
Appraising Alternatives for Allocating and Cost Recovery for Irrigation Water in Egypt

Abstract Alternative approaches to allocating and recovering costs for water on Egyptian farms are proposed and evaluated in accordance with the societal objectives of allocative efficiency, equity of income distribution and cost recovery. A linear programming model of a study area in Egypt's northern Delta predicts farmers' response to the proposed cost-sharing instruments over a range of water supply conditions. Transactions costs for each charging instrument are estimated and incorporated into the allocative efficiency analysis. Flat land charges, supplemented by water quotas in the event of increasing water scarcity, best achieve societal objectives in the current and prospective Egyptian situation. Volumetric charging instruments were judged to be somewhat less desirable, due to higher tangible and intangible costs of implementation. The results highlight the importance of transactions costs, the degree of water scarcity and other governmental revenue raising policies in determining an appropriate charging mechanism.
Creep Behavior of SiC-Reinforced XDTM MoSi2 Composite

The compressive creep behavior of MoSi2 reinforced with 30v/o SiC fabricated by in situ XDTM process was investigated at 1050°C-1300°C in anaerobic and aerobic test ambients. Creep experiments performed with the composite in dry nitrogen and in air showed power-law type constitutive behavior and a stress exponent of ~3.5. Creep deformation occurred by dislocation glide accompanied by cavitation, and the apparent activation energy for creep at 1100°C-1300°C was bi-vaiued with a threshold temperature of ~1170°C. Microstrucural observations by TEM indicated that the rate-controlling process changed from dislocation glide to dislocation climb at higher temperature, corresponding to the change in activation energy. Creep damage occurred by cavitation at SiC-matrix interfaces and at grain boundaries within polycrystalline SiC particles. This process was apparently facilitated by the accumulation of glassy phase at these sites during creep. Creep experiments in air showed there was no appreciable atmospheric effect on the response of the composite, while an increased strain rate was observed in the base alloy due to an increase in glass phase resulting from thermal oxidation.
Characterization of SPEC CPU2006 and SPEC OMP2001: Regression Models and their Transferability

Analysis of workload execution and identification of software and hardware performance barriers provide critical engineering benefits; these include guidance on software optimization, hardware design tradeoffs, configuration tuning, and comparative assessments for platform selection. This paper uses Model trees to build statistical regression models for the SPEC1 CPU2006 and the SPEC OMP2001 suites. These models link performance to key microarchitectural events. The models provide detailed recipes for identifying the key performance factors for each suite and for determining the contribution of each factor to performance. The paper discusses how the models can be used to understand the behaviors of the two suites on a modern processor. These models are applied to obtain a detailed performance characterization of each benchmark suite and its member workloads and to identify the commonalities and distinctions among the performance factors that affect each of the member workloads within the two suites. This paper also addresses the issue of model transferability. It explores the question: How useful is an existing performance model (built on a given suite of workloads) to study the performance of different workloads or suites of workloads? A performance model built using data from workload suite P is considered transferable to workload suite Q if it can be used to accurately study the performance of workload suite Q. Statistical methodologies to assess model transferability are discussed. In particular, the paper explores the use of two-sample hypothesis tests and prediction accuracy analysis techniques to assess model transferability. It is found that a model trained using only 10% of the SPEC CPU2006 data is transferable to the remaining data. This finding holds also for SPEC OMP2001. In contrast, it is found that the SPEC CPU2006 model is not transferable to SPEC OMP2001 and vice versa.
‘Free’ Food, the Local Production of Worth, and the Circuit of Decommodification: A Value Theory of the Surplus

“The wealth of those societies in which the capitalist mode of production prevails, presents itself as an ‘immense accumulation of commodities’, its unit being a single commodity. Our investigation must therefore begin with the analysis of a commodity” [Marx, 1967 Capital, Volume 1 first paragraph (International Publishers, New York)]. As Marx moves beyond the first paragraph of Capital, he famously argues that value makes the commodity a ‘hieroglyphic’. But his own opening is also a sort of hieroglyphic: it rings true for bourgeois economy as it does for his critique of that economy, but for entirely different reasons. The purpose of Capital is to obliterate this apparent corroboration, yet a hieroglyphic quality is maintained throughout, as Marx subjects his own successive claims to iterative, immanent critique. This chain cannot be said to be indefinite for Marx, but neither is it complete. Here, I hark back to Marx's opening gambit to ask: in capitalist society, what else accumulates besides commoditi...
Rational Selective Exploitation Among Americans and Chinese: General Similarity, With One Surprise

A cross-cultural experiment tested predictions regarding reward allocation decisions among subjects in the United States and Taiwan. The experiment included five independent variables—two between-subject factors (American vs. Chinese; instrumental vs. unspecified vs. social-emotional allocator orientation) and three within-subject factors (high vs. low employee competence, social skill, and mobility). In general, Americans and Chinese distributed rewards quite similarly: In both cultures, allocators distributed greater rewards to employees who were more competent and possessed greater social skill. In both cultures, instrumental allocator orientation induced stronger tendencies to base allocations on competence; social-emotional allocator orientation induced stronger tendencies to base allocations on social skill. In both cultures, subjects engaged in competence-based “rational selective exploitation”—among highly competent employees, those with greater professional mobility received larger portions of the reward pool than did counterparts with constrained mobility. In both cultures, subjects also evidenced an unexpected social-skill-based rational selective exploitation—among employees with good social skill those with greater professional mobility received larger portions of the reward pool than did counterparts with constrained mobility. However, there were a number of interactions with culture that ran contrary to our a priori predictions: We hypothesized that Americans would exhibit greater individualism by focusing on competence in allocating outcomes, and that Chinese would exhibit greater collectivism by focusing on social skill. Although Americans did attend to employee competence more than Chinese, Americans also attended to employee social skill more than Chinese. These findings are discussed in terms of an expanded conceptualization of the nature of individualism and collectivism.
Tuning the speed-accuracy trade-off to maximize reward rate in multisensory decision-making

For decisions made under time pressure, effective decision making based on uncertain or ambiguous evidence requires efficient accumulation of evidence over time, as well as appropriately balancing speed and accuracy, known as the speed/accuracy trade-off. For simple unimodal stimuli, previous studies have shown that human subjects set their speed/accuracy trade-off to maximize reward rate. We extend this analysis to situations in which information is provided by multiple sensory modalities. Analyzing previously collected data (Drugowitsch et al., 2014), we show that human subjects adjust their speed/accuracy trade-off to produce near-optimal reward rates. This trade-off can change rapidly across trials according to the sensory modalities involved, suggesting that it is represented by neural population codes rather than implemented by slow neuronal mechanisms such as gradual changes in synaptic weights. Furthermore, we show that deviations from the optimal speed/accuracy trade-off can be explained by assuming an incomplete gradient-based learning of these trade-offs.
Body Mass Index Measurement and Obesity Prevalence in Ten U.S. Health Plans

Objective: The objective of this study was to examine the frequency of body mass index (BMI) measurement before the implementation of two new Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set (HEDIS) performance measures for obesity that require U.S. health plans to annually report the frequency of BMI and BMI percentile measurement among all adults and children who had at least one outpatient visit during the past two years. Design: Cross-sectional study. Setting: A consortium of ten U.S. health plans and care delivery systems from the Health Maintenance Organization Research Network, which together provide care to more than 6.5 million adults and children. Participants: Children and adults, age 2 years and older, who were continuously enrolled in one of ten U.S. health plans for at least one full year from 2005 to 2006. Methods: We extracted available anthropometric data for 3.7 million adults and 1.2 million children with at least one visit captured from ten electronic medical record databases from 2005 to 2006. Results: We found that the availability of BMI measurements for adults ranged widely across health plans from 28% to 88%, and availability of BMI percentiles for children ranged from 21% to 81%. Among adults and children with BMI measures in these ten health plans, the overall prevalence of overweight and obesity were very similar to those reported in the 2005 to 2006 U.S. national surveys that used measured heights and weights. Conclusion: The newly approved HEDIS performance measures likely represent an important step in addressing the quality of obesity care in the United States. The current study demonstrates that these HEDIS measures are achievable, especially among health plans that have implemented electronic medical records. Future research should assess the relationship between BMI assessment, provider counseling and treatment practices, and long-term changes in obesity rates among different population groups.
Phospholipids that Contain Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids Enhance Neuronal Cell Mechanics and Touch Sensation

SUMMARY Mechanoelectrical transduction (MeT) channels embedded in neuronal cell membranes are essential for touch and proprioception. Little is understood about the interplay between native MeT channels and membrane phospholipids, in part because few techniques are available for altering plasma membrane composition in vivo. Here, we leverage genetic dissection, chemical complementation, and optogenetics to establish that arachidonic acid (AA), an omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acid, enhances touch sensation and mechanoelectrical transduction activity while incorporated into membrane phospholipids in C. elegans touch receptor neurons (TRNs). Because dynamic force spectroscopy reveals that AA modulates the mechanical properties of TRN plasma membranes, we propose that this polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) is needed for MeT channel activity. These findings establish that polyunsaturated phospholipids are crucial determinants of both the biochemistry and mechanics of mechanoreceptor neurons and reinforce the idea that sensory mechanotransduction in animals relies on a cellular machine composed of both proteins and membrane lipids.
Competitive sharing of the spectrum in cognitive radio network: A market equilibrium framework

In this paper, we consider the problem of pricing the spectrum usage in a cognitive radio network. In such a network, where licensed/primary users (who has the right to use the spectrum) and the unlicensed/secondary users coexist, a secondary spectrum market can be established where the primary network service provider charges the secondary users for the usage of the spectrum, while the secondary users also compete with each other for the access. Several important questions arise regarding the operation of such spectrum market: 1) how the spectrum should be priced; 2) how the secondary users should distributedly access the spectrum based on the spectrum price. To answer these questions, we interpret the available spectrum in the network as the aggregated interference tolerable at the receivers of the primary users, and introduce the notion of a market equilibrium in which the prices of the spectrum/interference are set correctly such that 1) the supply of the spectrum equals the demand of the spectrum, and 2) the secondary network is stable. We also developed an algorithm to distributedly compute such market equilibrium, and proved its convergence.