cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Reduction of teat skin mastitis pathogen loads: Differences between strains, dips, and contact times

The purpose of these experiments was to (1) assess differences in mastitis pathogen strain sensitivities to teat disinfectants (teat dips), and (2) determine the optimum time for premilking teat dips to remain in contact with teat skin to reduce pathogen loads on teat skin. Two experiments were conducted using the excised teat model. In experiment 1, the differences in mastitis pathogen strain sensitivities to 4 commercially available dips (dip A: 1% H2O2; dip B: 1% chlorine dioxide; dip C: 1% iodophor; and dip D: 0.5% iodophor) were evaluated. Four strains of 11 common mastitis pathogens (Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus agalactiae, Mycoplasma bovis, Streptococcus dysgalactiae, Streptococcus uberis, Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus chromogenes, Staphylococcus epidermidis, Staphylococcus hyicus, Staphylococcus xylosus, and Staphylococcus haemolyticus) were tested. In experiment 2, the percentage log reduction of mastitis pathogens (Escherichia coli, Streptococcus uberis, Streptococcus dysgalactiae, Klebsiella species, Staphylococcus chromogenes, Staphylococcus haemolyticus, Staphylococcus xylosus, and Staphylococcus epidermidis) on teat skin with 3 commercially available teat dips: dip A; dip D; and dip E: 0.25% iodophor, using dip contact times of 15, 30, and 45 s, was evaluated. Experiment 1 results indicated significant differences in strain sensitivities to dips within pathogen species: Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus chromogenes, and Streptococcus uberis. Species differences were also found where Mycoplasma bovis (97.9% log reduction) was the most sensitive to tested teat dips and Staphylococcus haemolyticus (71.4% log reduction) the most resistant. Experiment 2 results indicated that contact times of 30 and 45 s were equally effective in reducing recovered bacteria for dips D and E and were also significantly more effective than a 15-s contact time. No differences were seen in recovered bacteria between tested contact times after treatment with dip A. It can be concluded that different mastitis pathogen species and strains within species may possess different sensitivities to teat dips, which may have implications in selection of teat dips on dairies. Furthermore, a 30-s premilking dip contact time for iodophors and 15 s for H2O2 dips may be optimal in reducing pathogen load in the shortest amount of time. A reduction in premilking teat dip contact time may improve milking parlor efficiency.
Tuberculosis in Nunavut: looking back, moving forward

The history of tuberculosis in Nunavut is not one of a century of failure.[1][1],[2][2] Rather, it is a story of success, followed by failure. In the 1950s, the annual incidence of tuberculosis among Inuit in Canada and Alaska was 1500–2900 cases per 100 000 population, but it fell rapidly to a
The Effect of Bank Mergers on Loan Prices: Evidence from the United States

Bank mergers can increase or decrease loan spreads, depending on whether the increased market power outweighs efficiency gains. Using proprietary loan-level data for U.S. commercial banks, I find that, on average, mergers reduce loan spreads, with the magnitude of the reduction being larger when postmerger cost savings increase. My results suggest that the relation between spreads and the extent of the market overlap between merging banks is nonmonotonic. The market overlap increases cost savings and consequently lowers spreads, but when the overlap is sufficiently large, spreads increase, potentially due to the market-power effect dominating the cost savings. Furthermore, the average reduction in spreads is significant for small businesses. The Author 2009. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Society for Financial Studies. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org., Oxford University Press.
Ex vivo expansion of hematopoietic cells from umbilical cord blood for clinical transplantation

Stem cell transplantation (SCT) has achieved significant therapeutic success over the last 10 years, providing a viable treatment option for many previously incurable diseases. However, several inherent limitations of the procedure have restricted its widespread use. These include: lack of sufficient donors for all recipients, a period of bone marrow (BM) aplasia leading to severe, prolonged neutropenia and thrombocytopenia, and the poten- tial for tumor contamination in autologous SCT. Umbilical cord blood (UCB) provides a unique, and potentially more successful, approach to alleviating these limitations. Ex vivo manipulation of hemato- poietic stem (HSCs) and progenitor cells (HPCs) derived from UCB using a liquid culture system has revealed that the primitive HSCs from UCB are not identical to their BM counterparts. In fact, these cells may derive from a more primitive stem cell compartment. Ultimately, successful engraftment of UCB HSCs manipulated in an ex vivo environ- ment may lead to a larger number of these life- saving procedures being performed and the full potential of SCT realized. J. Leukoc. Biol. 64: 147-155; 1998.
Ternary homogeneous nucleation of H 2 SO 4 , NH 3 , and H 2 O under conditions relevant to the lower troposphere

Ternary homogeneous nucleation (THN) of H2SO4, NH3 and H2O has been used to explain new parti- cle formation in various atmospheric regions, yet laboratory measurements of THN have failed to reproduce atmospheric observations. Here, we report first laboratory observations of THN made under conditions relevant to the lower tropo- sphere ((H2SO4) of 10 6 -10 7 cm 3 , (NH3) of 0.08-20 ppbv, and a temperature of 288 K). Our observations show that NH3 can enhance atmospheric H2SO4 aerosol nucleation and the enhancement factor (EF) in nucleation rate (J ) due to NH3 (the ratio of J measured with vs. without NH3) in- creases linearly with increasing (NH3) and increases with decreasing (H2SO4) and RH. Two chemical ionization mass spectrometers (CIMS) are used to measure (H2SO4) and (NH3), as well as possible impurities of amines in the nucle- ation system. Aerosol number concentrations are measured with a water condensation counter (CPC, TSI 3786). The slopes of Log J vs. Log (H2SO4), Log J vs. Log RH, and LogJ vs. Log (NH3) are 3-5, 1-4, and 1, respectively. These slopes and the threshold of (H2SO4) required for the unity nucleation vary only fractionally in the presence and absence of NH3. These observations can be used to improve aerosol nucleation models to assess how man-made SO2 and NH3 affect aerosol formation and CCN production at the global scale.
Atomistic Simulation of Conduction and Diffusion Processes in Nafion Polymer Electrolyte and Experimental Validation

Conduction and diffusion processes in Nafion 117 polymer electrolyte were analyzed using all-atom molecular dynamics models. The diffusivity of methanol, water, hydronium, and proton in Nafion and the conductivity of Nafion were evaluated in a wide range of temperatures from 20 to 120°C for various water contents (λ = 3.0, 13.0, and 22.0). To validate the simulation results, the conductivity of Nafion was evaluated using a four-probe conductivity measurement apparatus at temperatures from 20 to 120°C in humidified air (RH=50 to 100%) and in liquid water. The permeability of methanol in Nafion was evaluated using a high-temperature membrane diffusion cell. The calculated values and experimental results are generally in good agreement with maximum differences within 50% at room temperature or 100% at higher temperatures.
N-Myc down regulation induced differentiation, early cell cycle exit, and apoptosis in human malignant neuroblastoma cells having wild type or mutant p53

Neuroblastomas, which mostly occur in children, are aggressive metastatic tumors of the sympathetic nervous system. The failure of the previous therapeutic regimens to target multiple components of N-Myc pathway resulted in poor prognosis. The present study investigated the efficacy of the combination of N-(4-hydroxyphenyl) retinamide (4-HPR, 0.5 μM) and genistein (GST, 25 μM) to control the growth of human neuroblastoma cells (SH-SY5Y and SK-N-BE2) harboring divergent molecular attributes. Combination of 4-HPR and GST down regulated N-Myc, Notch-1, and Id2 to induce neuronal differentiation. Transition to neuronal phenotype was accompanied by increase in expression of e-cadherin. Induction of neuronal differentiation was associated with decreased expression of hTERT, PCNA, survivin, and fibronectin. This is the first report that combination of 4-HPR and GST mediated reactivation of multiple tumor suppressors (p53, p21, Rb, and PTEN) for early cell cycle exit (due to G1/S phase arrest) in neuroblastoma cells. Reactivation of tumor suppressor(s) repressed N-Myc driven growth factor mediated angiogenic and invasive pathways (VEGF, b-FGF, MMP-2, and MMP-9) in neuroblastoma. Repression of angiogenic factors led to the blockade of components of mitogenic pathways [phospho-Akt (Thr 308), p65 NF-κB and p42/44 Erk 1/2]. Taken together, the combination of 4-HPR and GST effectively blocked survival, mitogenic, and angiogenic pathways and activated proteases for apoptosis in neuroblastoma cells. These results suggested that combination of 4-HPR and GST could be effective for controlling the growth of heterogeneous human neuroblastoma cell populations.
Nonlinear realization and unified interaction

Spontaneously broken gauge theory viewed in terms of physical fields is identified as a nonlinear realization of the symmetry. In particular Nambu-Goldstone fields play the role of the auxiliary fields that are needed for a Callan-Coleman-Wess-Zumino nonlinear realization. Possible advantages of the nonlinear realization as an alternative approach to the Higgs mechanism in unifying color and flavor interactions are speculated.
The SLAC NLC extraction and diagnostic line

A prototype extraction line for the Next Linear Collider is discussed that has several important functions that include optimizing luminosity, characterizing beam properties at the Interaction Point and transporting beams from the IP to a dump. Beam characterization includes measurements of current, position, profile, energy, polarization and low-order correlations on a bunch-to-bunch basis for feedback and stabilization. Prototype optical and diagnostic layouts are described that provide such functions. We also consider possibilities for e, /spl mu/ and /spl gamma/ secondary beam lines and dump experiments as well as energy recovery and local reuse of an assumed 10 MW in each 500 GeV beam.
Fabrication of the acrylic splint Herbst appliance

This article describes the fabrication of one type of Herbst appliance, a removable or fixed functional appliance that causes the posturing of the mandible in a forward position. The type of Herbst appliance described in this article consists of a wire framework to which are attached the various parts of the Herbst bite-jumping mechanism. The acrylic part of the appliance is fabricated from splint Biocryl or from methylmethacrylate. The steps of the fabrication of the appliance are described in detail.
Pragmatic Democracy: Inquiry, Objectivity, and Experience

This essay argues that to understand Dewey's vision of democracy as “epistemic” requires consideration of how experiential and communal aspects of inquiry together produce what is named here “pragmatic objectivity.” Such pragmatic objectivity provides an alternative to absolutism and self-interested relativism by appealing to certain norms of empirical experimentation. Pragmatic objectivity, it is then argued, can be justified by appeal to Dewey's conception of primary experience. This justification, however, is not without its own complications, which are highlighted with objections regarding “radical pluralism” in political life, and some logical problems that arise due to the supposedly “ineffable” nature of primary experience. The essay concludes by admitting that while Dewey's theory of democracy based on experience cannot answer all of the objections argumentatively, it nevertheless provides potent suggestions for how consensus building can proceed without such philosophical arguments.
Interference Detection and Mitigation in IEEE 802.15.4 Networks

Proper frequency planning is essential to enable multiple IEEE 802.15.4 networks to coexist in the same space, otherwise the network performance can be adversely affected due to interference. While this may be feasible for static networks, it is not really an option for mobile networks such as body area networks due to the dynamic nature of these interactions. This work demonstrates one approach to detecting and mitigating interference in IEEE 802.15.4 networks from other 802.15.4 networks. Interference is detected by observing packets from other networks while the mitigation strategy leverages collaboration between interfering networks to determine which network should switch to a different channel. The approach can also work with legacy networks that do not implement this protocol. The system is implemented and demonstrated on Intel Mote2 devices running Tiny OS.
Learning While Caring: Medicine's Epistemology

An essential epistemic consideration is the conditional nature of medical knowledge. This uncertainty must be understood when acquiring new knowledge or designing treatments. We must value all sources of information, neither discarding those deemed lower on the current value scale, nor slavishly accepting randomized clinical trials or their meta-analyses as the fount of all knowledge. Generally, the tension between clinical investigation and individual care can be framed in a utilitarian versus deontologic or rights-based philosophy. The utilitarian is clearly appropriate to public health considerations, but what is learned for public health may not necessarily be in the best interest of an individual patient. In utilitarianism, the distribution of goods—in this case, health—is not important; rather, it is the amount of total good gained that is to be maximized. Too often we assume that survival or cure is a sufficient metric, with no similar quantitative measure of other factors. This often leads to the ...
Research Issues in Mexican American English

Research durign the past decade has greatly increased our understanding of Southwest Spanish and the shift from Spanish to English that is taking place in Mexican-American communities. Mexican American Vernacular English (MAVE); however; has remained a relatively neglected area of investigation; despite the fact that English has become the primary or sole language of many Mexican Americans. This article examines work on MAVE that has been accomplished to date and proposes a research program designed to fill the most obvious gaps in our knowledge. Using data and examples from recent and ongoing research in Los Angeles and San Antonio; I argue that sociolinguistic studies of MAVE are necessary to achieve a full understanding of the linguistic repertoire and social dynamics of Mexican American communities. Such studies also have the potential to contribute to our understanding of language shift and to formal linguistic theory. Finally; systematic study of MAVE is needed to counter linguistic stereotypes that negatively impact on the education of Mexican American children.
Dose from syringe procedures during technetium-99m radiopharmaceutical preparation.

We examined the dose from 99mTc contained in syringes and shielded vials to assess in detail the dose burdens in a central pharmacy. Methods: Absorbed-dose rates at the end of the plunger of a shielded syringe, when 99mTc is contained either in the syringe or in a shielded vial from which the activity would be drawn, were measured with CaF2 dosimeters. The dose rates also were calculated with a Monte Carlo model. Results: When activity was contained in either 3-ml or 10-ml disposable syringes shielded by lead glass, the absorbed-dose rates were 1.35–1.62 mGy hr−1 GBq−1 (5–6 mrad hr−1 mCi−1). When the activity was contained in either a shielded elution or product kit vial, the absorbed-dose rates at the end of the syringe plunger were about 0.40 mGy hr−1 GBq−1 (1.4–1.5 mrad hr−1 mCi−1). These results were reproduced with reasonable accuracy by Monte Carlo simulations. Conclusion: The dose burden per unit of activity handled from 99mTc in procedures using syringes is likely to be two to five times larger than the dose burden from calibrating generator eluate. The Monte Carlo simulations suggest that lead K x-rays may be responsible for a significant fraction of the total dose to the fingers and hand of the pharmacist when lead-glass syringe shields are used.
Hypoxic arousal in intact and carotid chemodenervated sleeping cats.

To determine whether the carotid chemoreceptors or hyperpnea are required for arousal from sleep by hypoxia, 14 sleep-deprived cats were studied during slow-wave (SWS) and rapid-eye-movement (REM) ...
Autonomic pathways involved in a sympathetic-like action of pilocarpine on salivary composition.

SummaryWhen stimulation of the rat parotid gland was effected by pilocarpine administration immediately following removal of one superior cervical ganglion, the amylase levels in the secretion obtained from the denervated gland were approximately 1/10 the levels obtained from the normally innervated gland, and were very similar to levels obtained as the result of stimulation of the auriculo-temporal nerve, or following administration of the β-adrenergic blocking agent Inderal prior to pilocarpine stimulation. On the other hand, amylase levels of pilocarpine-evoked saliva were not modified either by severing of the preganglionic fibers to the superior cervical ganglion or by removal of both adrenal glands. It is concluded that the sympathetic-like character of pilocarpine-evoked saliva results from an indirect stimulation of adrenergic receptors in the gland that is mediated through the superior cervical ganglion and the sympathetic postganglionic fibers.
Modeling the density profiles and adsorption of pure and mixture hydrocarbons in shales

Abstract The production from shale resources in the US has shifted from the gas window to the condensate and oil windows recently due to the low natural gas price. Liquid-rich shales, such as Barnett, Woodford and Eagle Ford Shales, etc., are brought more attentions than ever before. Therefore, it is critical to understand the fluid phase behavior and their impacts on production in the condensate systems. Fluid phase behavior in porous media is governed by not only fluid molecule–fluid molecule interactions but also fluid molecule-porous media wall interactions. In the shale formations, a large amount of hydrocarbons are stored within the organic matters where the pore sizes are in the order of nanometers. Inside these nanopores, the interactions between the fluid molecules and porous walls play such an important role that can change the fluid properties of the stored fluids. Our work focused on the predictions of fluid density distributions of both dry gas and liquid rich systems inside nanoporous media. Simplified Local-Density theory coupled with Modified Peng–Robinson Equation of State was used to predict the density profiles of pure and mixture hydrocarbons in confined pores. Adsorption isotherms were generated based on the density profiles calculated. The adsorption isotherms of pure methane and the methane/ethane binary mixture were calculated and compared to experimental data and molecular simulation results in the literature with excellent accuracy. Our results showed that due to the fluid-wall interactions, the fluid density is not uniformly distributed across the pore width. In general, the fluid density is higher near the porous media wall than that in the center of the pore. It also showed the fluid density profiles are temperature, pressure, pore size and fluid composition dependent. In general, the adsorbed amount increased by increasing pressure and decreased by increasing temperature. The pore size range of interest is from 2 nm to 20 nm. In order to present the condensate system, a binary mixture of 80% methane and 20% n-butane was used. It was found that fluid composition for the fluid mixture was not uniformly distributed across the pore. Heavier component (n-butane) tended to accumulate near the wall while lighter component (methane) would like to stay in the center region of the pore. For the methane/ethane binary mixture, the composition of methane in confined space was found much smaller than the bulk methane composition. For example, the methane composition in confined silicalite is 7% when the bulk methane composition is 50% at 355 kPa and 300 K.
CONFERENCE CIRCUIT: Information provision: An international seminar on politics and strategy

Compte-rendu d'une conference tenue a Berlin, 1998. Principaux themes: ethique de l'information, intelligence en information, copyright
Permanently Reinvested Earnings: Priceless

In this report, the authors discuss the tax and policy issues associated with repatriation under the American Jobs Creation Act of 2004, P.L. 108-357, 118 Stat. 1418 (2004) (Jobs Act), and conduct an extensive survey of the financial statements of the top 81 repatriating multinational corporations. The author's findings suggest that the rate of repatriation by firms was extremely sensitive to the tax burden associated with repatriation, and the rate was further influenced by industry sector, and the amount of permanently reinvested earnings located in low-tax jurisdictions overseas. The authors' data results also evidence that firms repatriated qualifying dividends under section 965 at a U.S. effective tax rate lower than the 5.25 percent initially discussed in literature, and suggest that the amount of permanently reinvested earnings and cash holdings of firms only increased after repatriation.
Diversification and Economies of Scope

Diversification refers to the process by which single product, specialist firms become multiproduct firms. In this article, two fundamental questions in firm diversification are addressed: why do firms diversify, and how do they organize for diversification. The goal is to communicate the logic, strategy, and coherence of diversification, while illustrating how firms choose organizational structures to support diversification. Drawing on Resource-based View and Transaction Cost Economics theories of the firm, it is concluded that successful diversification is the combination of managers making strategic choices as to lines of business and simultaneously developing appropriate organizational supports. This conclusion has implications for empirical testing, and several scholars have recently begun to undertake efforts to integrate theories of diversification.
petal: Co-expression network modelling in R

Networks provide effective models to study complex biological systems, such as gene and protein interaction networks. With the advent of new sequencing technologies, many life scientists are grasping for user-friendly methods and tools to examine biological components at the whole-systems level. Gene co-expression network analysis approaches are frequently used to successfully associate genes with biological processes and demonstrate great potential to gain further insights into the functionality of genes, thus becoming a standard approach in Systems Biology. Here the objective is to construct biologically meaningful and statistically strong co-expression networks, the identification of research dependent subnetworks, and the presentation of self-contained results. We introduce petal, a novel approach to generate gene co-expression network models based on experimental gene expression measures. petal focuses on statistical, mathematical, and biological characteristics of both, input data and output network models. Often over-looked issues of current co-expression analysis tools include the assumption of data normality, which is seldom the case for hight-throughput expression data obtained from RNA-seq technologies. petal does not assume data normality, making it a statistically appropriate method for RNA-seq data. Also, network models are rarely tested for their known typical architecture: scale-free and small-world. petal explicitly constructs networks based on both these characteristics, thereby generating biologically meaningful models. Furthermore, many network analysis tools require a number of user-defined input variables, these often require tuning and/or an understanding of the underlying algorithm; petal requires no user input other than experimental data. This allows for reproducible results, and simplifies the use of petal. Lastly, this approach is specifically designed for very large high-throughput datasets; this way, petal’s network models represent as much of the entire system as possible to provide a whole-system approach. petal is a novel tool for generating co-expression network models of whole-genomics experiments. It is implemented in R and available as a library. Its application to several whole-genome experiments has generated novel meaningful results and has lead the way to new testing hypothesizes for further biological investigation.
Deadlock prevention in processor self-scheduling for parallel nested loops

Processor self-scheduling is an effective distributed dynamic scheduling scheme for parallel nested loops in multiprocessor systems. A parallel nested loop structure can be considered as a task system. A task is an interation (or several iterations) of an innermost loop body and the execution order of tasks is determined by a precedence relation. Data dependences among statements are enforced either by the precedence relation or by explicit synchronization. Since self-scheduling is non-preemptive and uses busy-waiting as the basic technique for task synchronization, deadlocks may possibly arise. This paper identifies conditions that allow deadlock-free processor self-scheduling. It uses control tokens and data tokens to model the precedence relation and data dependences. Both control tokens and data tokens, together with processors, are regarded as three kinds of resources needed by tasks. Based on this resource model, we study three possible self-scheduling schemes with different degrees of parallelism, and propose to use appropriate scheduling priority for allocating processors to prevent deadlocks. 12 refs., 7 figs.
The Burial Ground: A Bridge Between Language And Culture

This paper explores the cultural and historical forces that created variation in terms for “cemetery”, including links between language and material culture, using cemetery terms found within two Linguistic Atlas data sets to demonstrate how colonial influence, cultural changes, and physical locations contribute to linguistic variation. Speakers’ lexical choices in the 1930s still show the effects of the religious and social climates of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Northern and southern colonial trends were still influencing regional language use several hundred years later. Furthermore, for the LANE data we find that the physical location of historic cemeteries has an effect on speakers’ use of specific lexical items.
Robotic Technique for Accessing Left Hepatic Vein Through Ligamentum Venosum in Left Hepatectomy: How I Do It?

Abstract Introduction: Blood loss is associated with postoperative morbidity and mortality. Outflow control could be used concomitantly with inflow control for maximum reduction in blood loss during parenchymal transection. However, in left hepatectomy (LH) and left lateral sectionectomy (LLS), extrahepatic control of the left hepatic vein (LHV) is still less commonly used. Some authors reported extrahepatic LHV control technique using ligamentum venosum (LV) in open or laparoscopic surgery, but no reports of this technique in robotic surgery have been found. Materials and Methods: The dissection of LV from the liver was performed, followed by clipping and transecting LV. The cephalad LV stump was retracted to the left inferior direction and then the dissection of the posterior part of LHV was performed until the opening space was connected to the anterior part of LHV. The LHV was encircled with the tape and vascular stapler was inserted to manage LHV stump. From 2013 to 2015, LHV was successfully encircl...
The Effects of Indirectly Implied Real Body Cues to Virtual Body Ownership and Presence in a Virtual Reality Environment

While direct associations, such as through visual, audio and tactile senses, play an obvious role in giving a person a perception of body presence in an immersive virtual environment, indirect implied cues can also be effective factors in providing the illusion of reality. Thus, as the direct use of implied association can arouse desired illusions of reality, we believed the indirect associations also has effects that can similarly arouse such illusions in virtual settings. In this paper, we report on an experiment we conducted to explore the effects of indirect implication of a participant's body parts to virtual body ownership and presence.
A Resilient Algorithm for Power System Mode Estimation using Synchrophasors

Bulk electric systems include hundreds of synchronous generators. Faults in such systems can induce oscillations in the generators which if not detected and controlled can destabilize the system. Mode estimation is a popular method for oscillation detection. In this paper, we propose a resilient algorithm to estimate electro-mechanical oscillation modes in large scale power system in the presence of false data. In particular, we add a fault tolerance mechanism to a variant of alternating direction method of multipliers (ADMM) called S-ADMM. We evaluate our method on an IEEE 68-bus test system under different attack scenarios and show that in all the scenarios our algorithm converges well.
The use of polychaetes (Annelida) as indicator species of marine pollution: a review

Polychaetes are usually the most abundant taxon in benthic communities and have been most often utilized as indicator species of environmental conditions. This review finds that, while the use of indicator species for a particular pollutant is not simple, polychaetes can provide a useful means of assessing the effects of poor environmental conditions. Polychaetes may be used as sensitive monitors of water quality especially in terms of the effects of pollutants on life history characteristics. They may also be utilized as general indicators of community diversity but those species indicative of lower diversity may differ geographically and temporally. While sewage is often a mixture of high organic material and other pollutants such as heavy metals and pesticides, high organic situations associated with aquaculture facilities indicates that members of the Capitella capitata species complex and the dorvilleid genus Ophryotrocha are often dominant. Some species of polychaetes are able to live in sediments very high in trace metal content and body burden of these metals often does not reflect sediment concentrations due to regulation by these species. Many species seem relatively resistant to organic contaminants and pesticides and the effects of these pollutants on life history characteristics of these species may provide a more sensitive assay method. Recent studies using biomarkers in polychaetes to indicate general heavy metal or pesticide contamination has shown some success. Polychaete species known to occur in appreciable densities in the Gulf of Nicoya, Costa Rica, and which have been most often used as indicator species of pollution, are listed as potential taxa for environmental monitoring in this tropical estuary. Rev. Biol. Trop. 56 (Suppl. 4): 11-38. Epub 2009 June 30.
Formal Experiments in Margaret Atwood’s The Penelopiad

This essay examines two formal features of Margaret Atwood’s The Penelopiad: the use of the underworld as the novel’s setting, and the use of time and character in the first and last chapters of the novel. It explores how Atwood competes with Homer by recording a multi-tonal female voice that antagonizes the male voice of the Odyssey, turning its products into falsifiable legends. The women’s accounts in The Penelopiad are also targets of this rhetoric because they present different and at times mutually exclusive versions of events from the Odyssey. The novel’s polemical stance has interesting epistemological ramifications as it portrays a kaleidoscope where men and women vie with one another for the possession of a partial and always unverifiable “truth.”
Examining Conditions for Empathy in Counseling: An Exploratory Model

The authors present a new multidimensional framework for empathy through the development and analysis of the Conditions for Empathy in Counseling Scale. Exploratory factor analysis led to retention of 6 factors related to counselor conceptualization of empathic processes. The rationale, procedures, initial data, and implications for counseling are discussed.
Gaza at the Margins? Legibility and Indeterminacy in the Israel‐Palestine Conflict

Despite prominent attention to the nature of the state in the social sciences, the place of language in creating and maintaining the state remains an emerging area of research. The analysis that follows investigates indeterminacy and illegibility in messages disseminated by the Israeli military in the Gaza Strip. This analysis highlights the ways in which linguistic indeterminacy is used as a tool by the state in controlling populations at its margins, while investigating the role of language in reproducing the state through the circulation of texts.
Humeral loads during swimming and walking in turtles: implications for morphological change during aquatic reinvasions

During evolutionary reinvasions of water by terrestrial vertebrates, ancestrally tubular limb bones often flatten to form flippers. Differences in skeletal loading between land and water might have facilitated such changes. In turtles, femoral shear strains are significantly lower during swimming than during walking, potentially allowing a release from loads favoring tubular shafts. However, flipper-like morphology in specialized tetrapod swimmers is most accentuated in the forelimbs. To test whether the forelimbs of turtles also experience reduced torsional loading in water, we compared strains on the humerus of river cooters (Pseudemys concinna) between swimming and terrestrial walking. We found that humeral shear strains are also lower during swimming than during terrestrial walking; however, this appears to relate to a reduction in overall strain magnitude, rather than a specific reduction in twisting. These results indicate that shear strains show similar reductions between swimming and walking for forelimb and hindlimb, but these reductions are produced through different mechanisms.
Public Investment in Education: Benefits, Challenges and Opportunities

The chapter undertakes an analysis of public investment in education in Sri Lanka. Several dimensions of education benefits are examined within an econometric framework. These include the returns to education investment, the association between education and economic welfare, inter-generational benefits of investment in education and the promotion of gender equity, and the relationship between education and poverty reduction. The economic and social benefits of education are shown to be high. Next, several dimensions of public investment in education are analyzed. These cover the time trend of education investment, international comparisons of investment in education, and the pattern and composition of education expenditure. Over the period of the study public education expenditure is shown to have been low. The negative consequences of low investment in human capital is discussed. This is followed by an analysis of the institutional framework for the delivery of education services, and the incentives for performance in the system. The paper then studies the equity of public investment in education, which is shown to be high. The analysis concludes by recommending increased public investment in education, as it both yields strong economic and social benefits and enhances equity.
Benefits of Passive Warming on Surgical Patients Undergoing Regional Anesthetic Procedures.

Purpose The purpose of this quality improvement project was to determine if application of preoperative passive warming methods would maintain body temperature in patients receiving regional anesthetic procedures (RAPs). Design A nonrandomized quasi-experimental design was used. Methods A passive warming trial using a convenience sample of 53 RAP patients warmed with passive measures was compared with data collected from 67 retrospective chart reviews of RAP patients warmed per standard unit policy—typically active forced warm air. Passive measures included a thermal reflective surgical cap and an activated chemical warmer. Findings Passive warming methods maintained temperatures throughout the perioperative process. No significant variations in mean temperatures were noted. As age increased, the difference in temperature from admit to transfer to operating room also increased ( P = .0182). Conclusions Passive warming is a suitable cost-effective alternative when forced-air warming is not feasible. Additional inquiry into the use of passive warming is warranted.
A Law of Financial Accounts: Modern Payment and Securities Transfer Law

This Article discusses the structure and policies of modern payment and securities transfer law, as epitomized by U.C.C. Articles 4A and part 5 of U.C.C. Article 8. Both bodies of law require tremendous legal clarity and govern highly intermediated systems of accounts. These similar requirements evoke similar responses: formalism and careful compartmentalization of legal responsibility. The same analytical structure explains most of the distinctive features of these bodies of law: security interests in deposit accounts and security entitlements, enforcement of judgements against accounts, third-party claims, and conflict-of-laws.
The Contribution of Genetic Factors in Cocaine and Other Drug Abuse

Publisher Summary Cocaine is a potent reinforcer with significant abuse potential. However, not everyone who tries cocaine continues using cocaine, and not everyone who uses cocaine develops debilitating addiction. Factors responsible for individual differences in response to cocaine are categorized in this chapter. A goal of behavior genetic research is to identify the relative proportion of variability caused by genetic and environmental factors. Vulnerability to drug abuse is a complex trait determined by both genetic and environmental influences. The purpose of this chapter is to examine strategies for studying genetic influences in drug abuse, drawing both from animal and human research. It emphasizes the fact that in twins born before 1940, 41% of the variance in educational attainment was because of additive genetic influences, with no evidence of sex differences in familial transmission and in twins born after 1940, significant sex differences in familial transmission were found. Finding environmental conditions that inhibit expression of genetically based vulnerabilities may be a target for prevention efforts and may improve our ability to treat drug abuse.
Immunosuppressive Effects of the Opiopeptins

The immune system has long been considered an organ system differing significantly from others in the immediacy of its regulation by the central nervous system. Whereas other organs have, to differing degrees, well characterized neural and hormonal afferent as well as efferent regulatory pathways, immune function has traditionally been viewed as an internally regulated effector system essentially devoid of CNS modulation with the possible exception of the CRF-ACTHcorticosteroid link. Such views were reinforced by Jerne’s natural antibody selection theory (Jerne, 1955), and the observed ability of immune elements to display significant levels of activity in varied in vitro assay systems (Nowell, 1960). Astute clinicians, however, have for centuries reported antecdotal evidence of increased disease susceptibility associated with diverse physiological and psychological stimuli (Shigami, 1919) including those of stress and emotional distress (Locke, 1982). Patients suffering stressful injury such as burns, and operative or accidental trauma, exhibit decreased immune responsiveness which is often well correlated with post-traumatic susceptibility to bacterial, viral and fungal infections (Constantian et al., 1977; Wolfe et al., 1981; Alexander, 1968; and Goodman et al., 1968). Cancer patients have generally suppressed immunocompetence and, conversely, a large body of experimental data indicates that stress reduces the rate of implanted tumor rejection (Visintaner et al., 1982), and increases tumor growth (Riley, 1981) along with other correlates of invasiveness (Shavit et al., 1983).
Comprehensive modeling reveals proximity, seasonality, and hygiene practices as key determinants of MRSA colonization in exposed households.

Staphylococcus aureus is the leading cause of skin and soft tissue infections (SSTIs). To develop interventions to prevent recurrent infections, household attributes and individual practices influencing S. aureus colonization must be discerned. Households of healthy children with methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) SSTI (n = 150; 671 participants) were interviewed regarding health history, activities, and hygiene practices. S. aureus colonization was assessed in household members, and recovered isolates were typed by repetitive sequence-based PCR. The number of unique strain types in a household (median 1, range 0–7) correlated with the number of colonized individuals (p < 0.001). The MRSA infecting strain type colonized a household member in 57% of 91 households with an available infecting strain, and was the most common strain type recovered in 45% of these households. In multivariable models, household MRSA colonization burden (p < 0.001), sharing a bedroom with MRSA-colonized individuals (p = 0.03), renting dwelling (p = 0.048), and warmer seasons (p = 0.02) were associated with increased MRSA colonization. Increasing age (p = 0.02), bathing at least daily (p = 0.01), and antibacterial soap use (p = 0.03) correlated with reduced MRSA colonization. This study identified practices that correlate with MRSA colonization, which will inform physician counseling and multifaceted interventions among MRSA-affected households to mitigate MRSA in the community.
Abstract 3: Increasing Use of Intravenous Thrombolytic Therapy was Associated With Decline in Ischemic Stroke Mortality in Medicare Beneficiaries

Background: Mortality due to stroke has declined over the past 2 decades. Intravenous thrombolytic therapy improves the functional outcome, but its contribution in reducing stroke mortality is not ...
Integrating the Veterinarian Scientist to the One Health Concept

One health is the integrative effort of multiple disciplines working together to attain optimal health for people, animals, and the environment. One health is thus at the intersection of human, animal, and environment health, and in the one health paradigm, these three different domains merge into one superposed and universal goal. The number of outbreaks around the world is increasing, in terms of total number and diversity of outbreaks and the richness of pathological agents. Identifying the origin of these outbreaks is important to ensure appropriate capacity to respond to potentially pandemic threats. Many (re-)emerging pathogens come from animals, and there is a compelling need to understand the epidemiology of these diseases, including the role of animals as disease reservoirs. In parallel, the progressive phasing out of antibiotics in animal foods around the world has been achieved through active collaboration of physicians and veterinarians, and it is to be hoped that this continued interaction will help align human and veterinary medicine with the objectives of the one health paradigm. Indeed, a multi-sector cooperative approach between human and veterinarian health will contribute to improved preparedness and capacity for response to current and future health threats using the one health concept.
Economic Sector Models

The most elementary forms of econometric models are not models in the complete sense. Rather they are components of models or are single sector models that relate to one particular aspect of a mineral or energy market or industry as a whole. Typically, model components or equations in this category focus on the price, the supply, the demand or the trade aspect of a market. The underlying methodologies used for the components can be statistical equations which embody some complex time-series process or econometric regression equations which feature dependence on a set of economic and technological factors of an explanatory nature.
A Review of “The Essay Film: From Montaigne, After Marker”

In The Essay Film: From Montaigne, After Marker, Timothy Corrigan seeks to resituate the essay film not within documentary film or even film history, but in a multimedia history that also includes ...
Herbicide, fertilization, and planting density effects on intensively managed loblolly pine early stand development

Abstract Production forestry in the southeast US has been partially transitioned to intensively managed short rotations (~10 years), in which multiple silvicultural interventions are performed during forest development. Understanding the responses to silvicultural practices and continued refinement of site-specific recommendations is critical to sustainably maximize forest production. We evaluated the effects of silvicultural practices (herbicide, fertilization, and planting density) on growth, stand homogeneity, and above- and belowground biomass accumulation and partitioning of loblolly pine (Pinus taeda) throughout early stand development (age 5 years) in the southeastern US. Five treatments with eight replications each were tested: no herbicide and no fertilization (C); herbicide only (H); herbicide and half-reduced fertilization rate (R); herbicide and full fertilization (F); and increased stand density (60+ %; 1346 vs. 2152 trees per hectare) with herbicide and full fertilization rate (D). Allometric equations generated from destructive harvests were applied to annual diameter measurements to estimate plot-level biomass and allocation. Herbicide was crucial to promote stand uniformity and increase yield (~600+ % stem biomass compared with C at age 5). Aboveground biomass was similar in R and F treatments, which was ~25% higher than in H at age 5. Increasing planting density along with multiple herbicide and fertilizer applications yielded higher biomass without compromising individual tree size (diameter and height). There was little effect of silviculture practices on allocation patterns. Our results parallel what was found for fertilization with herbicide from a number of loblolly stands under similar conditions and indicate a ~28% volume gain with fertilization during early stand development. Similarly, our results were consistent with other studies implementing similar differences in planting density and suggest a ~26% volume gain through early stand development with an initial 60% increase in planting density. Our study helps to understand complex relationships between production and silvicultural practices during early stand development and demonstrates that silvicultural prescriptions can be optimized to increase sustainability of production forestry.