cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Frailty and Clinical Outcomes of Direct Oral Anticoagulants Versus Warfarin in Older Adults With Atrial Fibrillation : A Cohort Study.

Background The role of differing levels of frailty in the choice of oral anticoagulants for older adults with atrial fibrillation (AF) is unclear. Objective To examine the outcomes of direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) versus warfarin by frailty levels. Design 1:1 propensity score-matched analysis of Medicare data, 2010 to 2017. Setting Community. Patients Medicare beneficiaries with AF who initiated use of dabigatran, rivaroxaban, apixaban, or warfarin. Measurements Composite end point of death, ischemic stroke, or major bleeding by frailty levels, defined by a claims-based frailty index. Results In the dabigatran-warfarin cohort (n = 158 730; median follow-up, 72 days), the event rate per 1000 person-years was 63.5 for dabigatran initiators and 65.6 for warfarin initiators (hazard ratio [HR], 0.98 [95% CI, 0.92 to 1.05]; rate difference [RD], -2.2 [CI, -6.5 to 2.1]). For nonfrail, prefrail, and frail persons, HRs were 0.81 (CI, 0.68 to 0.97), 0.98 (CI, 0.90 to 1.08), and 1.09 (CI, 0.96 to 1.23), respectively. In the rivaroxaban-warfarin cohort (n = 275 944; median follow-up, 82 days), the event rate per 1000 person-years was 77.8 for rivaroxaban initiators and 83.7 for warfarin initiators (HR, 0.98 [CI, 0.94 to 1.02]; RD, -5.9 [CI, -9.4 to -2.4]). For nonfrail, prefrail, and frail persons, HRs were 0.88 (CI, 0.77 to 0.99), 1.04 (CI, 0.98 to 1.10), and 0.96 (CI, 0.89 to 1.04), respectively. In the apixaban-warfarin cohort (n = 218 738; median follow-up, 84 days), the event rate per 1000 person-years was 60.1 for apixaban initiators and 92.3 for warfarin initiators (HR, 0.68 [CI, 0.65 to 0.72]; RD, -32.2 [CI, -36.1 to -28.3]). For nonfrail, prefrail, and frail persons, HRs were 0.61 (CI, 0.52 to 0.71), 0.66 (CI, 0.61 to 0.70), and 0.73 (CI, 0.67 to 0.80), respectively. Limitations Residual confounding and lack of clinical frailty assessment. Conclusion For older adults with AF, apixaban was associated with lower rates of adverse events across all frailty levels. Dabigatran and rivaroxaban were associated with lower event rates only among nonfrail patients. Primary funding source National Institute on Aging.
Gendered Housework Among Adolescents in India

Although an in-depth body of literature has explored the gendered lives of children in India, little is known about adolescents. Utilizing 24-hour time diary data from South India, this study exami...
Hauntology sans Exorcism, from Justice to Networked Subjectivities

In this closing chapter I briefly recap the book’s basic formulation of the different layers of abstraction via which original lifeless substance is transformed and transmitted into conscious communication of symbolic representations, highlighting the ubiquity with which the hauntogenic process appears to be at work across diverse developmental paths to human subjectivity. I then indicate two significant implications of hauntological understanding of everyday life: the question of justice, and the future of subjectivity. Given that any dominant discourse and any regime of truth have to establish a systemic repression of other meanings in order to become the dominant discourse or the regime of truth, a hauntological point of view understands justice as an expression of lost voices. A hauntology of everyday life is not meant to exorcise the everyday life or to heal it, nor does it pursue a specific political order or have in mind an attainable and defined formulation of justice. Hauntology upsets the political order and the normative notion of justice as an end attainable through law, and it is through such destabilization, of the law, the language, and the regime of truth as such, that justice emerges as an articulation of lost meanings. The chapter and this book end on a brief discussion of the relevance of hauntological theory to theorizing the emerging forms of subjectivity and subjective experience, specifically the already-in-place networked subjectivity, but also perhaps the capacity to anticipate and theorize the possibility of artificial subjectivity, subjectivity that depends on and is contained within the synthetic networks of artificial agents capable of sensing, perceiving, and conceptualizing the physical reality and communicating that information via super-compact symbolic forms.
Electrochemical sensor for tricyclic antidepressants with low nanomolar detection limit: Quantitative Determination of Amitriptyline and Nortriptyline in blood

Abstract Amitriptyline and its metabolite, Nortriptyline are commonly used tricyclic antidepressant (TCA) drugs that are electrochemically active. In this work, the performance characteristics of a plasticized PVC membrane-coated glassy carbon (GC) electrode are described for the voltammetric quantification of Amitriptyline and Nortriptyline in whole blood. The highly lipophilic Amitriptyline and Nortriptyline preferentially partition into the plasticized PVC membrane where the free drug is oxidized on the GC electrode. The concentrations of the drugs in the membrane are orders of magnitude larger than in the sample solution, resulting in superb limit of detection (LOD) of the membrane-coated voltammetric sensor: 3 nmol/L for Amitriptyline and 20 nmol/L for Nortriptyline. Conversely, hydrophilic components of the sample solution, e.g., proteins, the protein-bound fraction of the drugs, and electrochemically active small molecules are blocked from entering the membrane, which provides exceptional selectivity for the membrane-coated sensor and feasibility for the measurements of Amitriptyline in whole blood. In this work, the concentrations of Amitriptyline and Nortriptyline were determined in whole blood using the sensor and the results of our analysis were compared to the results of the standard HPLC-MS method. Based on our experience, the one-step voltammetric methods with the membrane-coated sensor may become a real alternative to the significantly more complex HPLC-MS analysis.
Photochemistry of AlkyI, Alkylidene, and Alkylidyne Complexes of the Transition Metals

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the photochemistry of alkyl, alkylidene, and alkylidyne complexes of the transition metals. The transition-metal alkyl, alkylidene, and alkylidyne complexes constitute an extremely important class of organometallic compounds because of their many roles in catalytic and synthetic chemistry. Alkyliden and vinyliden are two different sets of complexes discussed together because of their obvious structural resemblance. The tungsten complexes have been studied more extensively than the chromium analogues, and the less stable molybdenum derivatives have been scarcely examined. Only a few alkylidyne complexes have had their photochemical properties examined, and this is clearly an area in need of further development. The reported studies involve both mononuclear and polynuclear alkylidyne complexes. The complex has been shown to be photosensitive in the presence of acetylacetone. The photochemistry of metal alkyl, alkylidene, and alkylidyne complexes has advanced considerably since the earlier review on this subject.
Transitional Privatisation Policy: Objectives, Instruments and Theoretical Implications

This chapter intends to analyse the concrete means of privatisation as part of the institutional change. The economic policy of the East German transformation has combined the institutional change — detailed within the previous chapter — with particular economic objectives. It will be established that the approach went beyond the basic creation of private property rights and applied, by employing a selection function certain economic beliefs and principles about the assumed behaviour of individual economic agents. The employment of the ordo-liberal approach based on Eucken as the theoretical institutional framework for the East German economic transformation has focused on the creation of definite private property rights. The combination of this approach with the beliefs of the Property Rights School emphasised the individual as being motivated by self-interest and therefore creating his own utility function. The individual decision-maker desires to maximise his utility rather than the firm’s profits. It is assumed that the utilisation of resources will improve due to the change from a public property structure to a private one. The approach aimed at identifying the “best” private owners, leading individual economic action in the direction of particular behaviour with various macroeconomic aims such as investment and employment and the aim of reducing and internalising transformation costs.
Assays for the biosynthesis of sphingomyelin and ceramide phosphoethanolamine.

Publisher Summary Sphingomyelin (N-acyl sphingosine phosphorylcholine, SM) is the primary sphingophospholipid in mammalian cells. As much as two-thirds of the total cellular sphingomyelin resides at the plasma membrane, where it plays important structural and functional roles. Membrane structural order, fluidity and asymmetry, cholesterol transport, esterification and de novo synthesis, and membrane vesiculation and trafficking are related to the level of SM in plasma membranes. SM is also the major source of bioactive sphingolipid second messengers, ceramide and sphingosine, which are involved in cellular responses to stress and inflammation. Although sphingomyelin turnover has been studied intensively since the mid-1980s, little is known about the enzymes that carry out its synthesis. The major pathway for the synthesis of sphingomyelin is by transfer of the phosphorylcholine group from phosphatidylcholine to ceramide, yielding diacylglycerol and sphingomyelin. This reaction is catalyzed by phosphatidylcholine ceramide cholinephosphotransferase (PC; ceramide-PCh transferase), also known as “sphingomyelin synthase.” CDP-choline can act as a phosphorylcholine donor in vitro; however, the reaction prefers an unnatural analog of ceramide in which the sphingoid base is in a threo configuration and is acylated by a short chain fatty acid.
Long-Term Response of Small Mammal Communities to the 1988 Huckleberry Mountain Fire

Biologists have long been interested in the response of small mammals and their habitat following natural disturbances. The Greater Yellowstone Area (GYA) fires of 1988 have provided opportunities to study short and long term responses. This study continues investigations conducted in the 1990âs following identical methodology at the same sites now 21 years post-fire. We live trapped 256 Clethrionomys gapperi (Red-backed Vole), 116 Peromyscus maniculatus (Deer Mouse), 44 Tamius minimus (Least Chipmunk), 28 Zapus princeps (Western Jumping Mouse), two Microtus montanus (Montane Vole), 1 Thomomys talpoides (Northern Pocket Gopher) and 37 shrews (Sorex ssp.). These results support findings from other investigations regarding the initial early dominance of P. maniculatus in burn areas and C. gapperi in control or non-burn areas, and as time has progressed since the burn, differences between burn and control sites (as measured by community diversity indices) has decreased. As expected calculated Shannon diversity indices (Hâ) in 2009 are higher for at least one of the burn sites than in previous years as the habitat recovers to pre-burn conditions.
Therapy of secondary T-cell immunodeficiencies with biological substances and drugs

The immunodeficiencies of trauma and burns have various levels of complexity and it is difficult to treat them as a single common entity (Davis and Shires 1986). They seem to have in common an acute phase reaction which, to a significant degree, is glucocorticoid mediated. This acute phase reaction is associated with lymphopenia and leukocytosis. Depending on the circumstances, a number of mediators are released including cycloxygenase products (thromboxanes and prostaglandins) lipoxygenase products (eicosanoids and leukotrienes), histamine and other mast cell, granulocyte and platelet products, and complement derived products. As the acute phase resolves, the situation may become further complicated by blood and serum losses, fluid and electrolyte imbalances, protein/calorie and nutrient deficiencies, and the many consequences of sepsis. All in all, not a simple metabolic or immunologic circumstance.
Altered pathogenesis in herpes simplex virus type 1 infection due to a syncytial mutation mapping to the carboxy terminus of glycoprotein B.

Abstract A syncytial (syn) variant of herpes simplex virus type 1 strain 17 syn+ was selected by serial passage in heparin, a glycosaminoglycan which potently inhibits herpes simplex virus infectivity. This virus, 17 hep syn, is sixfold more heparin resistant than its parent. By using marker transfer techniques, its syn phenotype, but not heparin resistance, was mapped first to the BamHI G fragment (0.343 to 0.415 map units) and then to a 670-bp KpnI-PstI subclone (0.345 to 0.351 map units) encoding the carboxy terminus of glycoprotein B (gB). Three cloned syncytial recombinants were generated from cotransfections of 17 syn+ with either 17 hep syn BamHI-G or the 670-bp subclone. After footpad inoculation of mice, 17 hep syn was as virulent as its parent, despite reaching lower titers in feet, sciatic nerves, dorsal root ganglia, spinal cords, and brains. Animals infected with 17 hep syn or the gB recombinant viruses developed a unique pattern of disease that was strikingly different than that seen with wild-type virus: severe inflammation and edema of the inoculated limb and death without antecedent paralysis. Histopathologic examination revealed limitation of spinal involvement by 17 hep syn to the dorsal aspect of the cord and decreased virus-induced damage in the central nervous system. The genetically unrelated syn variant MP, in contrast, was avirulent and did not cause severe local inflammation. After intracerebral inoculation, 17 hep syn was highly virulent and replicated to high titers in the brain. Yet, unlike the parental virus, it resulted in an altered distribution of herpes simplex virus antigens, which were limited to the ependymal and subependymal regions surrounding the lateral ventricles. Despite their syncytial phenotype and pathogenic properties, the recombinant viruses, unlike 17 hep syn, were not heparin resistant. We conclude that a transferable alteration in the 670-bp carboxy-terminal portion of the glycoprotein gB gene of 17 hep syn results in both its syncytial phenotype and the unique pattern of disease that it causes but does not result in heparin resistance. These observations provide direct biological evidence for an important role for herpes simplex virus gB in pathogenic events both at the peripheral site of infection and within the nervous system.
The diet quality of adult women participating in a behavioural weight‐loss programme

Background: Diet quality plays an important role in health and has been shown to impact the risk of heart disease and certain cancers. The present study aimed to examine baseline and 16-week follow-up levels of energy intake, energy density and diet quality, as measured by the Healthy Eating Index 2005 (HEI-2005), in overweight and obese women participating in a behavioural weight-loss programme. Methods: Sixty-six women [mean (SD) age 48.6 (10.8) years; body mass index 31.8 (3.7) kg m−2; 92% Caucasian] completed dietary measures at baseline and follow-up. All participants received a 16-week Internet Behavioural weight-loss programme based on the core of the Diabetes Prevention Program. Dietary intake was measured using the 2005 Block food frequency questionnaire. Diet quality was calculated using the HEI-2005. Paired t-tests were used to determine changes over time. Results: There was a reduction in reported energy intake [7.867 (3.232) MJ versus 5.748 (1.775) MJ, P < 0.001] over the 16 weeks. Participants had an increase in diet quality [HEI score = 53.9 (9.9) versus 57.4 (10.6), P = 0.002] as well as a reduction in energy density [0.0088 (0.0021) MJ g−1 to 0.0080 (0.0021) MJ g−1 (P = 0.002)]. All micronutrient intakes decreased over the 16 weeks. Conclusions: Participation in a 16-week behavioural weight-loss programme significantly improved diet quality and reduced dietary energy density and energy intake in adult women. However, despite the overall increase in diet quality score, there were deficiencies in key micronutrients in the diets of most women at the conclusion of the 16-week study.
The Penn-Lehman automated trading project

The Penn-Lehman automated trading project is a broad investigation of algorithms and strategies for automated trading in financial markets. The PLAT project's centerpiece is the Penn exchange simulator (PXS), a software simulator for automated stock trading that merges automated client orders for shares with real-world, real-time order data. PXS automatically computes client profits and losses, volumes traded, simulator and external prices, and other quantities of interest. To test the effectiveness of PXS and of various trading strategies, we've held three formal competitions between automated clients.
Methadone overdose and cardiac arrhythmia potential: findings from a review of the evidence for an American Pain Society and College on Problems of Drug Dependence clinical practice guideline.

Abstract The number of deaths associated with methadone use increased dramatically in parallel with marked increases in its use, particularly for treatment of chronic pain. To develop a clinical guideline on methadone prescribing to reduce potential harms, the American Pain Society commissioned a review of various aspects related to methadone safety. This article summarizes evidence related to unintentional overdose due to methadone and harms related to cardiac arrhythmia potential. We searched Ovid MEDLINE, the Cochrane Library, and PsycINFO databases through January 2014 for studies assessing harms associated with methadone use; we judged 70 studies to be relevant and to meet inclusion criteria. The majority of studies on overdose and cardiac arrhythmia risk are observational and provide weak evidence on which to base clinical guidelines. In patients prescribed methadone for treatment of opioid dependence, data suggest that mortality benefits related to reduction in illicit drug use outweigh harms. Despite epidemiologic data showing marked increases in the numbers of methadone-related deaths that have been primarily attributed to increased use of methadone for chronic pain, evidence on methadone and mortality risk in this population has been somewhat contradictory. There is some evidence that recent initiation of methadone, psychiatric admissions, and concomitant use of benzodiazepines are associated with a higher risk for overdose. Evidence on cardiac risks is primarily limited to case reports of torsades de pointes, primarily in patients on high doses of methadone, and to studies showing an association between methadone use and prolongation of QTc intervals. Research is needed to understand the effectiveness of dosing methods, electrocardiogram monitoring, and other risk mitigation strategies in patients prescribed methadone. Perspective This systematic review synthesizes the evidence related to methadone use and risk for overdose and cardiac arrhythmia. Findings regarding the association between methadone use and QTc interval prolongation and risk factors for methadone-associated overdose suggest potential targets for risk mitigation strategies, though research is needed to determine the effectiveness of such strategies at reducing adverse outcomes.
A review essay on historical consciousness and ‘The genesis of God’ according to Thomas Altizer

Thomas Altizer dans Genese de Dieu : une genealogie theologique propose une genealogie qui dessine la conscience historique occidentale a partir d'un fondement theologique judeo-chretien. Sa pensee relie le sens de la theologie aux transformations culturelle et historique. Il va plus loin en considerant la voie dans laquelle il etablit le lien : la conscience historique moderne peut etre envisagee dans sa relation a la mort et a la genese de Dieu et donc dans sa relation avec le nihilisme dans la culture moderne.
Children's Solution Strategies for Equivalent Set Multiplication and Division Word Problems.

One hundred twenty-eight children in Grades 1, 2, and 3 were given two multiplication and four division word problems that differed in semantic structure. The children's solution strategies were classified by degree of abstraction into direct representation, double counting, transitional counting, additive or subtractive, or recalled number fact. Strategies were also classified by use of physical objects: use as representations of individual elements, use as tallies or repeated references, or no use. Analyses of the solution strategies indicated the existence of a two-step intuitive model for multiplication, two common intuitive models for partitive division and measurement division each of which was related to an intuitive model for subtraction, and a third model for partitive division.
Staging the Golden Age in Latin America: José Tamayo's Strategic Ascent in the Francoist Theatre Industry

During its two-year tour of Latin America from 1949 to 1951, the Spanish Lope de Vega Theatre Company employed Golden-Age theatre as a tool for cultural diplomacy. At the time, Francoist Spain's foreign policy towards Latin America focused on the discourse of hispanidad, and the Compania Lope de Vega's tour played up the shared language and Catholic values that the idea implied. My analysis of the Golden-Age plays performed in the Americas by the Compania Lope de Vega argues that this tour was as much about projecting Spanish culture abroad as it was about publicizing the Company's activities back in Spain. In his effort to ingratiate himself with the regime, Jose Tamayo invented a new role for himself—unofficial cultural ambassador. He personally assumed the mission of promoting Spanish culture in the Americas and created abroad an operation parallel to that of the Teatro Nacional de la Falange in order to secure his future within Spain. Ultimately, Tamayo's mission was wholly successful and in 1953 he w...
Fatty acids, cholesterol, and sphingolipids: interactive regulators and targets for SREBP processing

Abstract Sterol regulatory element-binding protein (SREBPs) have a major role in regulating transcription of many genes involved in lipid biology and pathobiology. In addition to inhibitory effects of cholesterol on cleavage of the precursor of SREBP (pSREBP) to the active mature nuclear form (mSREBP), polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA)—but not saturated fatty acids—have a key role in inhibiting formation of the active mSREBP. The ability of PUFA to decrease SREBP-dependent gene transcription is related in part to effects on modulating intracellular cholesterol partitioning and through effects on sphingolipid metabolism. Effects related to sphingolipids are due in part to their higher affinity for free cholesterol, as well as to the ability of PUFA to increase cell sphingomyelinase activity leading to production of ceramide. The inhibitory effects of ceramide on SREBP cleavage are associated with the ability of ceramide to inhibit its own de novo intracellular synthesis, which we hypothesize effects normal SREBP trafficking between the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and Golgi compartments. Our work indicates that intermediates of sphingomyelin metabolism now join cholesterol and fatty acids as important regulators of SREBP processing, and offer new therapeutic targets for disorders of lipid metabolism including dyslipidemias, steatohepatitis, obesity, and type II diabetes.
Pressure-responsive curvature change of a "rigid" geodesic ligand in a (3,24)-connected mesoporous metal-organic framework.

A (3,24)-connected mesoporous metal–organic framework, PCN-69, was synthesized by linking a hexatopic ligand btti with dicopper paddlewheel clusters. This material has rigid connectivity but a flexible framework, which has been attributed to a curvature change of the ligand.
A Study on the effect of PM machine design parameters changes on performance measures

In this paper a set PM machine designs with the same level output characteristics were studied. This study covers the influence of the various types of windings arrangements, varying the number of slots, and pole width as design parameters on the cogging torque, back EMF, flux linkages, total torque, and speed of PM motor. These parameters were 2D finite element solution. A phase variable model for each design was created to link the machine to the driving circuit to determine the effect of machine design on performance measures.
Correction for Unwanted Variance

Two formulas were discussed, one for correcting the scores of a variable to eliminate the correlation with another variable. The circumstances in which each formula may be useful were defined.
Bioactivity and mineralization of hydroxyapatite with bioglass as sintering aid and bioceramics with Na3Ca6(PO4)5 and Ca5(PO4)2SiO4 in a silicate matrix.

Abstract Hydroxyapatite and Bioglass ® -45S5 were sintered together creating new ceramic compositions that yielded increased apatite deposition and osteoblast differentiation and proliferation in vitro compared to hydroxyapatite. The sintered products characterized by X-ray diffraction, revealed hydroxyapatite as the main phase when small quantities (1, 2.5 and 5 wt.%) of bioglass was added. Bioglass behaved as a sintering aid with β-TCP (Ca 3 (PO 4 ) 2 ) being the minor phase. The amount of β-TCP increased with the amount of bioglass added. In compositions with larger additions of bioglass (10 and 25 wt.%), new phases with compositions of calcium phosphate silicate (Ca 5 (PO 4 ) 2 SiO 4 ) and sodium calcium phosphate (Na 3 Ca 6 (PO 4 ) 5 ) were formed respectively within amorphous silicate matrices. In vitro cell culture studies of the ceramic compositions were examined using bone marrow stromal cell (BMSC). Cell proliferation and differentiation of bone marrow stromal cells into osteoblasts were determined by Pico Green DNA assays and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity, respectively. All hydroxyapatite–bioglass co-sintered ceramics exhibited larger cell proliferation compared to pure hydroxyapatite samples. After 6 days in cell culture, the ceramic with Ca 5 (PO 4 ) 3 SiO 4 in a silicate matrix formed by reacting hydroxyapatite with 10 wt.% bioglass exhibited the maximum proliferation of the BMSC's. The ALP activity was found to be largest in the ceramic with Na 3 Ca 6 (PO 4 ) 5 embedded in a silicate matrix synthesized by reacting hydroxyapatite with 25 wt.% bioglass.
Evaluation of Cutting Forces During Single Pass Microtrenching of Poly (Methyl Methacrylate)

Research was conducted to evaluate a microtrenching process to create microchannels on the surface of poly (methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) for applications in tissue engineering. Experiments with a trenching tool included an exaggerated cutting edge radius (48 μm) to study the impact of a highly negative effective rake angle on forces during single pass microtrenching at subradius cutting conditions. During microtrenching, forces were measured by dynamometer and compared to a finite element (FE) model using an elastic-perfectly plastic material model for an undeformed chip thickness from 9 to 64 μm. During experiments, cutting was first observed when the ratio of undeformed chip thickness to cutting edge radius was 0.33. Measured and predicted values of thrust force exceeded cutting force up to an undeformed chip thickness equivalent to the cutting edge radius. The FE model predicted a linear trend in cutting force with feed (r = 0.99) and was substantiated by linear regression of experimental data (r = 0.99). However, at lower values of feed the model overestimated force, with a maximum difference of 42% at a feed of 22 μm. Thrust force was also predicted to be linear (r = 0.99), but at greater feed the experiments indicated a nonlinear decline in thrust force, resulting in a maximum difference of 27% at 64 μm. Finally, an analysis of nodal velocity plots from the FE model revealed a material stagnation zone developed along the cutting edge, rising from the workpiece surface in proportion to feed and then remaining fixed at 63 deg (stagnation angle) for all feeds greater than 35 μm. While the application of an elastic-perfectly plastic material model for PMMA was sufficient to predict microtrenching forces by the FE method, differences between predicted and measured thrust forces at greater undeformed chip thickness implies a more complex rheological model may add value.
To be the main leaders of our people: a history of Minnesota Ojibwe politics, 1825-1898

In this volume, the Ojibwe speak for themselves, as their words were recorded by government officials, Christian missionaries, fur traders, soldiers, lumbermen, homesteaders, and journalists. While they were nearly always recorded in English translation, Ojibwe thoughts, perceptions, concerns, and even humour clearly emerge.
An Analysis of Cloud Drop Growth by Collection: Part IV. A New Parameterization

Abstract A new parameterization of cloud particle growth combines the effects of accretion and self-collection, and frees the large-hydrometeor water mass and spectral moments to grow independently. The large-hydrometeor water mass grows through accretion in proportion to the cloud water mass. The spectral moments grow through self-collection in proportion to the large-hydrometeor water content. Accretion is also dependent upon the magnitude of the spectral moments and thus an important feedback loop occurs. The spreading or narrowing of the drop spectrum is dependent upon the collection kernel and the relative magnitudes of accretion and self-collection in the region of interest. These effects are included in the parameterization. In order for the spectrum to spread there must exist both the stochastic mode and a sufficiently rapid increase in the collection kernel with drop size.
Ice Crystal Agglomeration: T Formation

Abstract Numerous agglomerates shaped somewhat like the letter T were observed among replicas of ice crystals collected from laboratory ice clouds and replicated using the resin vapor technique. In fact, it was found that about 55% and 60% of all aggregates were T formations when the crystals involved were columns and platelets, respectively. Several processes, including an electrical and a hydrodynamic mechanism, are considered as possible explanations for the formation of T's. The temperature gradients existing in growing ice particles were calculated, and the resulting charge separation due to the thermoelectric effect in ice is found to be far too small to account for the relative abundance of T's experimentally observed. A hydrodynamic process, however, offers a reasonable explanation for T formation.
Spin-spin interactions between spin-labeled phospholipids incorporated into membranes

Abstract A detailed analysis of the resonance spectra of high concentrations of spin-labeled phospholipids incorporated into artificial and natural membranes is given. At high temperatures, (>40°C) the spectra are analyzed in terms of spin exchange interactions. At lower temperatures, dipole-dipole interactions and phase separation processes are considered. It is shown how the lateral diffusion constant of phospholipids can be deduced from the present analysis of the resonance spectra.
Fluorometric estimation of GSH-OPT

Abstract Cohn and Lyle (1) have reported that under certain conditions reduced glutathione (GSH) and o-phthalaldehyde (OPT) react to produce a highly fluorescent compound, and that no other compound tested, including GSSG and 16 other sulfhydryl, disulfide, or thioether compounds, yields fluorescence with OPT under those conditions. They have also described (2) a procedure whereby this reaction may be used to determine GSH content of liver and blood samples. Described here are experiments carried out to examine in some detail the GSH-OPT reaction and to confirm the usefulness of Cohn and Lyle's method. It was found in this laboratory that some material present in both HClO4 and HPO3 extracts of whole blood, washed erythrocytes, and liver from rats and mice, and of washed erythrocytes from humans, gave appreciable quenching of fluorescence developed by OPT. It was also found that the concomitant error in the tissue GSH content indicated by such quenched fluorescence could be minimized or eliminated by diluting the tissue extracts in the reaction mixtures 75,000 times for liver or 15,000 times for erythrocytes, at which point the quenching was no longer evident. At such dilutions it was found necessary to use a special attachment on the fluorometer employed in this laboratory to attain sensitivity sufficient to allow reliable measurement of the low levels of fluorescence resulting from the dilutions. Under these circumstances satisfactory results could be achieved.
The rebirth of pediatrics.

Any close examination of the epidemiologic trends in childhood suggests 2 fundamental findings. First, pediatrics has been among the most successful specialties in the history of modern medicine. Second, pediatrics must change. At the heart of this seeming paradox is the recognition that pediatrics has so altered the clinical threats to the well-being of children over the past 50 years that new structures of care will be required. The epidemiology presents a ruthless logic: one cannot take pride in pediatrics' remarkable record of impact and at the same time defend the status quo. The challenge to the pediatrics community is to ensure that the changes that will inevitably come are exquisitely focused on meeting the needs of children. We must craft strategies that can protect what remains essential in pediatric practice and yet embrace a historic opportunity to craft requisite reforms. It is in this context that the recent initiatives by the American Board of Pediatrics1 [Editor's note: also see related supplement titled “Residency Review and Redesign in Pediatrics: New (and Old) Questions” with this issue of Pediatrics. ] and the American Academy of Pediatrics2 to consider new training and practice needs should be welcomed. However, the nature and scale of the challenge will require a new level of direct engagement from pediatricians and a renewed progressive commitment to speak with a stronger and more coherent collective voice. It is useful to begin by recognizing just how much the epidemiology of childhood has changed over the past several decades. The likelihood that a child will get an acute illness, such as an upper respiratory infection, otitis media, or viral syndrome, has not changed very much over this time period. However, the likelihood that a child will get an acute illness and stay home from school has decreased dramatically. … Address correspondence to Paul H. Wise, MD, MPH, Stanford University, Center for Policy, Outcomes and Prevention, Department of Pediatrics, CHP/PCOR, 117 Encina Commons, Stanford, CA 94304-6019. E-mail pwise{at}stanford.edu
On a Generalized Nonlinear K-∊ Model for Turbulence that Models Relaxation Effects

In this paper, based on a similarity that exists between the constitutive relations for turbulent mean flow of a Newtonian fluid and that for the laminar flow of a non-Newtonian fluid, and making use of extended thermodynamics, we develop a generalized nonlinearK-ɛ model, whose approximate form includes the standardK-ɛ model and the nonlinearK-ɛ model of Speziale (1987) as special cases. Our nonlinearK-ɛ model, which is frame indifferent, can predict relaxation of the Reynolds stress, unlike most standardK-ɛ models. Also, our model is in keeping with that of Yakhotet al. (1992). Most interestingly, the linearized form of our model bears a striking resemblance to the model due to Yoshizawa and Nisizima (1993); however, it has been obtained from a totally different perspective.
Factors affecting management uncertainty in U.S. fisheries and methodological solutions

Abstract The management of marine fisheries is often based on a system of target and limit reference points, and contains significant amounts of scientific and management uncertainty that need to be interpreted and reconciled by managers. While scientific uncertainty has been thoroughly studied, described, and techniques have been developed to address this type of uncertainty; studies of management uncertainty are lacking and of the few studies available most are theoretical in nature. We evaluated 17 U.S. fisheries to describe how management uncertainty varies among management regimes and identify some potential factors that drive these variances. Our analysis found that a manager's ability to keep a fishery at or under the targeted catch level can vary substantially among fisheries, depending on the sector of the fishery, the management regime being used, the frequency at which landings are reported, and the magnitude of inter-annual target variability. Within our study, reporting frequency and the type of management regime being used seemed to describe the majority of the variance we observed among fisheries.
Adolescent popularity: A positive psychology course with a developmental foundation

Because positive psychology is still an emerging subfield, it can often be difficult to fit dedicated positive psychology courses into academic curricula, particularly at small colleges. This article describes ‘Adolescent Popularity’, a Special Topics course with a ‘balanced’ view of peer interactions that can fit naturally within the developmental offerings of most colleges. The course curriculum focuses on popularity-relevant issues of measurement (both quantitative and qualitative), social behaviors/characteristics (e.g., prosocial behavior, physical attractiveness, athletic achievement, and aggression), and peer relationships (including friendships, romantic relationships, and social groups). Suggested primary readings and course assignments are outlined. Ultimately, the goal of this course is for students to gain a deep understanding of popularity and peer relations during adolescence, as well as a general appreciation for the importance of researching positive aspects of human behavior.
Glucose control in sepsis

Hyperglycemia is common during the course of critical illness and is associated with adverse clinical outcomes. Randomized controlled trials and large observational trials of insulin therapy titrated to achieve glucose values approximating the normal range (80 to 110 mg/dL) demonstrate improved morbidity and mortality in heterogeneous populations and have led to recommendations for improved glucose control. Patients who have septic shock, however, appear to be at higher risk for hypoglycemia, and a recent randomized trial focusing exclusively on patients who had severe sepsis did not show benefit. The recent Surviving Sepsis consensus statement recommends insulin therapy using validated protocols to lower glucose (less than 150 mg/dL) pending the results of adequately powered trials to determine if normalization (less than 110 mg/dL) of glucose is needed to optimize outcomes in patients who have severe sepsis.
Strain Accumulation in the Shumagin and Yakataga Seismic Gaps, Alaska

Strain accumulation during the 1980-85 interval has been measured by means of trilateration surveys in the Shumagin and Yakataga seismic gaps, which are the two regions identified as the most likely sites for the next great thrust earthquakes along the Alaska-Aleutian arc. No significant strain accumulation was detected in the Shumagin gap, but experience at similar subduction zones and simple models of the subduction process suggest that a measurable amount of strain should have accumulated. The most likely explanation of the observation is that subduction there is either aseismic or episodic. The strain accumulation measured in the Yakataga gap is consistent with that expected for the plate convergence rate, although the direction of maximum compression may suggest a somewhat more oblique convergence than expected.
Prolongation of effects of adrenal cortical secretion by ascorbic acid; proposed mechanism of action.

SummaryThe influence of ascorbic acid treatment on the hematologic effects of cortisone and of ACTH was investigated. The vitamin (plus hormones) prolongs these effects beyond that in animals which receive saline + hormones. These data suggest that the circulating titer of cortical hormone is maintained for long periods by vitamin treatment. This observation is discussed in relation to previous findings, and a mechanism proposed for the relationship of ascorbic acid to pituitary-adrenal activity.
Geochemical exploration models for sedimentary uranium deposits

The geochemical detection of uranium deposits in sedimentary rocks, especially sandstone-type deposits, depends on the geochemical behavior of U and pathfinder elements. Uranium is extensively dispersed under oxidizing conditions but is immobile under reducing conditions. Adsorption on freshly precipitated Fe-oxides and certain types of organic matter also limits dispersion unless high concentrations of CO32− or other complexers are present. Thorium accompanies U in most plutonic processes, but the two elements are separated under oxidizing conditions. Background values for U in water are increased by evaporation and transpiration in arid regions, and are low because of extensive leaching in humid regions. Possible pathfinder elements associated with U in sandstone-type deposits include S, V, Mo, Se, As and at some deposits Cu, Ag, Cr, Pb, Zn, Ni, Co, Re, Be, P, Mn and rare earths, plus He, Rn and other radioactive decay products. Exploration models must take into account channelling of dispersion and possible concealment of deposits by bedding in sedimentary rocks. Most uranium deposits in sedimentary rocks are associated with geochemical provinces enriched in U and Th or with U-rich intrusives or volcanic rocks. However, the deposits may be separated from these U-rich source rocks by tens of kilometers or more. Weak regional U and Th anomalies in sediments containing U deposits are found in the Catskill Fm. of eastern Pennsylvania and may be present around other districts. Zircons from the Catskill sediments are also enriched in U. Halos of anomalous U and small concentrations of U are present around many U deposits but have not been documented in detail. The paleoaquifer leading to a Wyoming-type roll deposit in Pennsylvania contains distinctly anomalous U. Anomalies in U, Se, Mo, V, As, He, Rn, and other pathfinder elements in rock and in ground and surface waters can furnish geochemical guides to ore, as can thermoluminescence, S and C isotopes, and textures of Fe and Ti oxides.
Increased prostacyclin and thromboxane A2 formation in human varicose veins.

Increased urinary metabolites of the antiaggregatory vasodilator prostacyclin (PGI2) and the proaggregatory vasoconstrictor thromboxane A2 (TXA2) have been reported in deep vein thrombosis; however, the tissue(s) of origin is uncertain. Because little is known about the formation of PGI2 or TXA2 from its common precursor, prostaglandin (PG) endoperoxide H2 (PGH2), by varicose veins, we determined the formation of 6-keto-PGF1α (the stable metabolite of PGI2), TXB2 (the stable metabolite of TXA2), and PGE2. Segments of normal saphenous vein and varicose vein (nine and six patients, respectively) were incubated with 10 μM [14C]PGH2 for 2 min at 37°C; products were separated by thin-layer chromatography. Surface area and mass of normal and varicose vascular segments were 19.5 ± 0.8 versus 18.8 ± 0.6 mm2 and 11.6 ± 1.4 versus 10.7 ± 0.7 mg, respectively. Formation of 6-keto-PGF1α and TXB2 by the segments of varicose vein was significantly increased over that of normal vein: 157 ± 14 versus 243 ± 17 pmole of 6-keto-PGF1α (P < 0.005) and 22 ± 3 versus 35 ± 5 pmole of TXB2 (P < 0.01). The formation of PGE2 by segments of varicose vein was not significantly different from that of normal vein (201 ± 9 vs 219 ± 11, respectively). Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) content of normal and varicose vein was 1.69 ± 0.12 and 1.51 ± 0.13 mg per gram of tissue, respectively. The data suggest that the increased PGI2 formation may reflect increased activity or content of PGI2 synthase. The increase in TXA2 formation may reflect increased productivity or an increased presence of residual platelets or microemboli.
Tectonic control on coarse-grained foreland-basin sequences: An example from the Cordilleran foreland basin, Utah

Newly released reflection seismic and borehole data, combined with sedimentological, provenance, and biostratigraphic data from Upper Cretaceous–Paleocene strata in the proximal part of the Cordilleran foreland-basin system in Utah, establish the nature of tectonic controls on stratigraphic sequences in the proximal to distal foreland basin. During Campanian time, coarse-grained sand and gravel were derived from the internally shortening Charleston-Nebo salient of the Sevier thrust belt. A rapid, regional Campanian progradational event in the distal foreland basin (>200 km from the thrust belt in <8 m.y.) can be tied directly to active thrust-generated growth structures and an influx of quartzose detritus derived from the Charleston-Nebo salient. Eustatic sea-level variation exerted a minimal role in sequence progradation.
Electromagnetic Response Functions from Interrupted and Noisy Data

General methods for constructing reliable electromagnetic response functions from interrupted and noisy recordings of the naturally occurring electromagnetic variations are described. The aim is to be able to effectively utilize the 11 years of hourly mean electric and magnetic data (1932-42) from Tucson, Arizona, despite the many gaps and large extraneous values. This long-time series is extremely useful in helping one to focus on techniques that yield stable and reproducible response functions. The ultimate goal is to obtain accurate response functions in order to construct reliable earth electrical conductivity models and to determine the ocean fluid-induced part of the electromagnetic field. The Tucson electric field data is found to have diurnal and semidiurnal tidal frequencies most likely of oceanographic origin and a 6 d-1 peak of unknown origin.
A modified trust region algorithm for hierarchical NLP

Large-scale design optimization problems frequently require the exploitation of structure in order to obtain efficient and reliable solutions. Successful algorithms for general nonlinear programming problems with theoretical underpinnings do not usually accommodate any additional structure within the problem. In this article modifications are made to a trust region algorithm to take advantage of hierarchical structure without compromising the theoretical properties of the original algorithm.
The media marketplace for garbled demography.

Demography can produce stories that appeal to mass media journalists more often in some countries than in others. Yet as for many other fields of scientific research there are fundamental cultural differences between demographic researchers and journalists and an equally large divergence in the incentive structures faced by professionals in these two domains. Although hardly desired by either group these differences in cultural norms and incentives provide a powerful marketplace for garbled demography in the mass media. Another source of garbling is the understandable attraction among journalists toward demographic projections that extend far into the future: 25 50 100 years or even more. Over short time periods demographic changes are typically small hence not newsworthy. Major demographic shifts normally take place only over the long term and it is these that best meet the marketplace tests applied by editors and publishers. Moreover while large demographic changes of the past sometimes attract attention those of the long-term future are usually of greater journalistic interest. Meanwhile demographers routinely caution that long-term demographic projections are far from credible as forecasts. Instead they are entirely products of the assumptions built into them about long-term future trends in fertility mortality and migration trends that are in fact literally unknowable. Demographers warn that long-range projections cannot be interpreted as forecasts and that the range of error involved in such use is likely to be large and to increase with each successive time period. (excerpt)