cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
181-LB: Effect of Obesity and Physical Activity-Based Lifestyle Change on Circulating Amino Acids: A Randomized and Controlled Intervention Study in Adolescents

Objective: Circulating amino acids (AA) may serve as potential biomarkers for obesity and future type 2 diabetes (T2DM). In children and adolescents, the effects of obesity on circulating AAs are inconsistent. Data on the role of physical activity-based lifestyle (PAL) interventions on circulating AAs are also sparse. We aimed to address these gaps and determine the effect of obesity and PAL on circulating AAs in adolescents. Method: Age (age,14-18 year) and maturity matched (Tanner stage>IV) adolescents with normal weight (NW, n=7) and obesity (OB, n=15) were studied at baseline; the 15 OB adolescents underwent a 3-month randomized controlled PAL intervention. AAs were measured using high performance liquid chromatography-based amino acid analyzer. Body composition by DXA and glucose, insulin, adiponectin, RBP4, hsCRP and IL-6 were measured and HOMA-IR calculated. Independent t-tests, analysis of covariance and mixed effect models were used for data analysis. Results: Thirteen AAs were significantly (P Discussion: Obesity-related alterations in AAs warrant further studies to understand their role as potential biomarkers of obesity and T2DM in children. The post-PAL decrease in glutamine and glycine may suggest their increased demand by other organs in response to the intervention. Despite the beneficial changes in various metabolic factors, the lack of changes in several AAs is intriguing. Disclosure M. Hossain: None. D.E. George: None. P. Balagopal: None. Funding American Diabetes Association (1-14-CE-04 to P.B.B.); Nemours Biomedical Research
Interest Rate Prominence in Consumer Decisionmaking

Variations in consumers' responsiveness to interest rates across households and over time may have important implications for monetary transmission. Survey questions from the Michigan Survey of Consumers provide an indication of the degree to which interest rates are a prominent consideration in consumers' decision to buy durables, cars, and housing, and in their perceptions of their financial situation. Interest rates are more prominent in housing than in car and durable decisions, and low interest rates are more prominent than high rates. Interest rate prominence increases with income, education, and homeownership, and has declined since the Great Recession. Interest rate prominence is associated with a stronger responsiveness of consumption attitudes to monetary policy shocks.
Tribological behavior of 17–4 PH stainless steel fabricated by traditional manufacturing and laser-based additive manufacturing methods

Abstract This study investigates the wear and mechanical properties of additively manufactured (AM) 17–4 precipitation hardening (PH) stainless steel (SS) and compares to those of conventionally manufactured (CM) wrought specimens. Disk shape specimens were fabricated by either a laser beam powder bed fusion (LB-PBF) process or a conventional manufacturing method. Wear resistance of LB-PBF 17–4 PH SS specimens were compared to that of CM ones, for both dry and lubricated conditions under 10 N and 30 N applied loads. The wear rate for both LB-PBF and CM 17–4 PH SS was found to have a proportional relation with the applied load. The CM 17–4 PH SS specimens tended to have a higher wear rate than LB-PBF ones when tested dry, while the trend reversed for the lubricated condition. This is because the lubrication changed the dominant wear mechanism from adhesion to surface fatigue and abrasion. This trend was found to be similar for both AM and CM specimens. This was attributed to the low wear rate in lubricated condition, and high wear rate in dry condition, regardless of the type of specimens (i.e. LB-PBF or CM 17–4 PH SS). The results showed that AM parts have good potential to be an alternative to wrought counterparts in terms of friction and wear behavior.
Senotherapeutics: Targeting senescence in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a fatal chronic lung disease characterized by progressive scarring of the lung tissue, leading to respiratory failure. There is no cure for IPF, and current anti-fibrotic treatments modestly arrest its further progression. IPF prevalence and incidence increase with age, which is a recognized risk factor. Intense clinical and basic research over the last fifteen years has shown that hallmarks of accelerated aging are present in the lungs of patients with IPF. Different cell types in IPF lungs exhibit premature hallmarks of aging, including telomere attrition and cellular senescence. In this Review, we discuss recent insights into the mechanisms behind these age-related alterations and their contribution to the development of lung fibrosis. We focus on the genetic and molecular basis of telomere attrition in alveolar type II epithelial cells, which promote cellular senescence and lung fibrosis. Mechanistically, senescent cells secrete pro-fibrotic factors that activate scar-forming myofibroblasts. Ultimately, senescent alveolar epithelial cells lose their regenerative capacity, impeding fibrosis resolution. In addition, mitochondrial dysfunction is strongly associated with the appearance of senescent epithelial cells and senescent myofibroblasts in IPF, which persist in the fibrotic tissue by adapting their metabolic pathways and becoming resistant to apoptosis. We discuss emerging novel therapeutic strategies to treat IPF by targeting cellular senescence with the so-called senotherapeutics.
Attosecond-resolution optical path evaluation and sensing using quantum optical interferometry with dispersion cancellation (Conference Presentation)

"Attosecond-resolution optical path evaluation and sensing using quantum optical interferometry with dispersion cancellation" was recorded at Photonics West 2020 in San Francisco, California.
Interpretation of Observational Data

In Section 1.4 we have seen how the shapes and motions of prominences have been used to define different classes of these objects. Many of these observations can be obtained with fairly unsophisticated instrumentation, and their interpretation is straightforward. To go beyond this morphological information, i.e., the shapes and overall, gross motions, requires knowledge of the prominence’s spectrum, and nearly all other information on the physics of prominences comes from more or less complex spectrographs and demands often considerable theoretical background to be properly interpreted.
Market versus planning approaches to transmission and distribution investment

Liberalization of the power sector beyond markets for generation and retail supply has been pursued in transmission of electricity and is being pursued in its distribution. The successful mix of markets versus transmission and distribution planning depends on the physical characteristics of electric power systems, the design of the wholesale market, whether retail supply is permitted, the policy objectives of industry reforms, and the extent to which policymakers engage in strategic behavior. In this chapter, various market and planning approaches to transmission and distribution are discussed along with their efficiency, political and practical implications. Stated motivations for these pursuits are wide ranging and include lowering prices, increasing economic efficiency, enhancing reliability and resiliency, reducing environmental impacts, furthering economic development, and improving equity. Part of the impetus for extending liberalization, ironically, may be political by enabling state policymakers and regulators to engage in strategic regulatory behavior, which are policies pursued for political gain that undercut the markets and associated competition.
Uplink Cooperative NOMA Scheme with Higher Spectral Efficiency

Fifth-generation (5G) communication network puts forward a demanding requirement for spectrum resources. To improve spectral efficiency, a novel uplink cooperative nonorthogonal multiple access (NOMA) model is proposed. In particular, the proposed scheme enables the relay node to perform a cooperative transmission and uplink transmission simultaneously during the cooperative phase, at the expense of a slight decrease in the signal reception reliability. Moreover, the optimal power allocation strategy of relay node is given. Relay selection criteria is also presented. We analyze the outage probability and outage throughput in both ideal and non-ideal successive interference cancellation (SIC) conditions. Simulation results confirm that the proposed scheme can obtain higher throughput than other cooperative NOMA schemes.
Discrimination Trends and Mental Health Among Native- and Foreign-Born Latinos: Results from National Surveys in 2004 and 2013

We examined national trends and mental health correlates of discrimination among Latinos in the USA. We used data from two nationally representative surveys based on the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions collected in 2004 and 2013. Results indicated that perceived discrimination, both any and recurrent, increased for Latinos across nearly every demographic, with the greatest increases occurring for Latinos who were ages 65 and older, had household incomes less than $35,000, were less educated, were immigrants, and who lived in the Midwest. Findings also indicated that any and recurrent discrimination were associated with increased odds of a mood, anxiety, or substance use disorder and this association was observed for nearly all manifestations of discrimination. We also observed a dose-response association where experiencing discrimination in a greater number of domains was associated with increased likelihood of mood, anxiety, and substance use disorders. Results suggest that discrimination is a social stressor that has increased for Latino populations in recent years and may represent a serious risk factor for the psychological and behavioral health of Latinos. Findings are discussed in terms of prior research and the potential implications for prevention scientists working with Latino populations.
Jousting with Verse: The Poetics of Friendship in Duecento Comuni

Despite the divisive factionalism that riled Italian comuni in the late Duecento, the language of friendship dominated the vernacular poetry circulating in late medieval urban centers, particularly...
A Theoretical Model of Cognitive Factors that Affect Auditors' Performance and Perceived Independence

Auditor independence is a guiding principle of the relationship between auditors and clients, and a key component of outsiders' acceptance of firms' financial statements. As recent accounting scandals have illustrated, the audit process is meaningless without the auditor's impartial judgment. Kleinman, Palmon and various colleagues (1998, 2000a, 2001, and 2003) have developed a framework based on the behavioral sciences literatures to understand the auditor-client relationship. This framework excludes the effects of expertise, cognitive heuristics, and affect on the outcomes of situations that might challenge auditor independence. This paper draws on Libby and Luft (1993) and other literatures to develop a cognitive model of factors that may affect perceived independence. Insights are then applied to intra-team audit negotiations. This model should help interested parties better understand situations that may impair the perceived independence of auditors. Suggestions for improving the auditor's reasoning process are presented, as are research suggestions.
TempestExtremes v2.1: a community framework for feature detection, tracking, and analysis in large datasets

Abstract. TempestExtremes (TE) is a multifaceted framework for feature detection, tracking, and scientific analysis of regional or global Earth system datasets on either rectilinear or unstructured/native grids. Version 2.1 of the TE framework now provides extensive support for examining both nodal (i.e., pointwise) and areal features, including tropical and extratropical cyclones, monsoonal lows and depressions, atmospheric rivers, atmospheric blocking, precipitation clusters, and heat waves. Available operations include nodal and areal thresholding, calculations of quantities related to nodal features such as accumulated cyclone energy and azimuthal wind profiles, filtering data based on the characteristics of nodal features, and stereographic compositing. This paper describes the core algorithms (kernels) that have been added to the TE framework since version 1.0, including algorithms for editing pointwise trajectory files, composition of fields around nodal features, generation of areal masks via thresholding and nodal features, and tracking of areal features in time. Several examples are provided of how these kernels can be combined to produce composite algorithms for evaluating and understanding common atmospheric features and their underlying processes. These examples include analyzing the fraction of precipitation from tropical cyclones, compositing meteorological fields around extratropical cyclones, calculating fractional contribution to poleward vapor transport from atmospheric rivers, and building a climatology of atmospheric blocks.
Urine Drug Testing and Substance Use Disorders

Providers should be well-versed in screening for addiction, abuse, and diversion. In addition to the patient history, a urine drug test (or urine drug screen) can provide invaluable information in verifying if patients are taking medications they are prescribed. Urine drug testing has inherent limitations that should be understood by pain providers and to do so requires knowledge of metabolism, cross-reactivity, and potential false positives and false negatives.
Novel Genetically Modified Mouse Model to Assess Soman-Induced Toxicity and Medical Countermeasure Efficacy: Human Acetylcholinesterase Knock-in Serum Carboxylesterase Knockout Mice.

The identification of improved medical countermeasures against exposure to chemical warfare nerve agents (CWNAs), a class of organophosphorus compounds, is dependent on the choice of animal model used in preclinical studies. CWNAs bind to acetylcholinesterase and prevent the catalysis of acetylcholine, causing a plethora of peripheral and central physiologic manifestations, including seizure. Rodents are widely used to elucidate the effects of CWNA-induced seizure, albeit with a caveat: they express carboxylesterase activity in plasma. Carboxylesterase, an enzyme involved in the detoxification of some organophosphorus compounds, plays a scavenging role and decreases CWNA availability, thus exerting a protective effect. Furthermore, species-specific amino acid differences in acetylcholinesterase confound studies that use oximes or other compounds to restore its function after inhibition by CWNA. The creation of a human acetylcholinesterase knock-in/serum carboxylesterase knockout (C57BL/6-Ces1ctm1.1LocAChEtm1.1Loc/J; a.k.a KIKO) mouse may facilitate better modeling of CWNA toxicity in a small rodent species. The current studies characterize the effects of exposure to soman, a highly toxic CWNA, and evaluate the efficacy of anti-seizure drugs in this newly developed KIKO mouse model. Data demonstrate that a combination of midazolam and ketamine reduces seizure duration and severity, eliminates the development of spontaneous recurrent seizures, and protects certain brain regions from neuronal damage in a genetically modified model with human relevance to organophosphorus compound toxicity. This new animal model and the results of this study and future studies using it will enhance medical countermeasures development for both defense and homeland security purposes.
Serologic testing in the diagnosis of virus diseases of cattle

Serologic tests for IBR, BVD-MD and BPI-3 sometimes aid in the differential diagnosis and sometimes only mislead the person who submitted the specimens. When negative, these tests can be useful in the diagnostic “process of elimination.” Efforts to obtain a positive etiologic diagnosis are frequently frustrating. The relationship between the time of infection and the time of serum collection is a critical factor in the interpretation of test results. Because the time of infection is usually unknown, paired samples are essential. The aseptic specimens needed for virus serology should be collected in B-D Vacutainers. Antibodies induced by natural infection cannot be distinguished from antibodies induced by vaccination or from colostrally acquired maternal antibodies.
Listening to Six Generations of Chumash Women

“I’m haplo D group, which is one of the more ancient . . . . I’m 13,000 years old and you can tell [self-conscious laugh] . . . it’s an honor.” So begins 6 Generations, with Ernestine Ygnacio-De Soto’s voice. Her great-great-great-grandmother was born by the river behind the Santa Barbara Mountains in 1769, the very year that Fr. Junipero Serra founded the first Alta California mission (in San Diego, 220 miles to the south). “I’m not a full-blood Chumash. There are none,” she cautions, “but I think of myself as Chumash, first and foremost, even though I do have Hispanic and English in me, and those are not by my choice.” A self-described “living link,” she remembers her great-uncle, the last pure-blood Chumash. “I am their voice.” Thirty years ago, Ms. De Soto ran into John Johnson, working on his doctoral dissertation in the Mission Santa Barbara archive. When she saw the original mission records, Ms. De Soto found herself confronting a very personal family history. Her mother, recently deceased, was the last native speaker of the Chumash language. “This is just stepping back in time, like a time machine . . . more of a puzzle than a mystery, and all the pieces now fit . . . completely.” Years later, the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History (where John Johnson is now a curator) invited Ms. De Soto to become a model for their diorama on early Chumash lifeways, and she agreed. As their relationship prospered, they eventually teamed up to craft a first-person performance called “Voices from the Indian Orchard: Six Generations of Chumash Women Speak.” In 6 Generations, filmmaker Paul Goldsmith captures this gripping narrative on film as it welds together these multiple ways of knowing the past: a friar’s handwritten mission record, 2 centuries of Chumash oral
Cost-sensitive concept learning of sensor use in approach and recognition

Publisher Summary This chapter explores a prototype learning method that complements recent work in incremental learning by considering the role of external costs arising from realistic environmental assumptions. It would be logical to use machine learning techniques to develop a system that builds an efficient recognition process in response to available sensors and the perceptual qualities of objects encountered when aiming for a reduction of laborious encoding process. This learning-from-examples task is similar to others that machine learning has addressed save for two salient differences, both of which hinge on the cost aspects of sensing and acting. Observations are virtually very large—each object may be described by the results of the many instantiations of all possible sensing procedures. As sensing procedures have different costs, that is, different execution times, the ability of a particular sensor feature to discriminate between appropriate actions must be balanced against the cost of its corresponding sensing procedure.
A Little Common Sense: The Ethics of Immigration in Catholic Social Teaching

Modern Catholic social teaching recurs to the idiom of human dignity and human rights. Our moral entitlement to equal respect or consideration, in concert with the ethical ideal of the common good, moreover, justifies preferential treatment for those whose basic rights are most imperiled. Thus states are morally bound to respect and promote the basic human rights of both citizen and resident alien, especially the most vulnerable—and of these, in particular, women and children. Indeed, the duty to protect grounds the subsidiary duty to rescue, for example, through diplomatic initiatives, sanctions, and in extremis, humanitarian intervention in the case of genocide or mass atrocity. Disciples thus see and have compassion, even as compassion becomes a way of seeing. Compassion, then, not only guides them in the fitting application of universal, essential norms, for example, the rights of migrants, but gives rise to existential (personal and ecclesial) imperatives as they come to the aid of wounded humanity.
International Banking: Effects of Nationalizations and Exchange Controls

Recent litigation respecting foreign state nationalization of bank deposits and moratoria on bank liabilities has centered around the act of state doctrine and the "situs" of bank obligations. The author reports on a number of recent cases, explores the application of those doctrines and raises questions about the documentation of the deposit and loan transactions.
EGFRR497K polymorphism frequencies and molecular biomarkers in non-small cell lung cancer

A117 The epidermal growth factor receptor ( EGFR ) R497K (1749 A>G) polymorphism has been reported to affect high-affinity binding of TGF-alpha to the EGFR receptor. In addition, the A/A and A/G genotypes have been implicated in increased risk of tumor recurrence following chemoradiation therapy in colorectal cancer. To investigate potential effects of this polymorphism in lung cancer, possible molecular associations between this polymorphism and other biomarkers were analyzed in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients. Using restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP), we surveyed R497K in 56 normal donors and tumor tissue from 43 NSCLC patients. EGFR and K-ras mutation status of the NSCLC patients were determined by single strand conformation polymorphism and direct sequencing of paraffin embedded tumor tissue. Allele frequency was similar in non-cancer and NSCLC groups. The A/A, G/A, and G/G genotypes represented 63%, 22%, and 15% of the normal donor population, respectively, and 60%, 21% and 19%, respectively of the NSCLC patients. While the 1749A and G alleles were evenly distributed by gender, the G allele was less frequent in African-Americans (7/56 chromosomes) than in Caucasian ethnicity (35/112 chromosomes; chi square = 5.703, p 0.10). The G/G genotype was present in 2/13 (15%) of tumors with EGFR activating mutations and 5/34 (23%) of those without (chi square = 0.091, p > 0.10). None of 9 patients with K-ras -mutated tumors had a G/G genotype, compared to 7/38 (18%) of patients without K-ras mutations (chi square = 3.460, p >0.10). Although significant associations between the R497K polymorphisms, smoking status, EGFR or K-ras mutations were not observed in this small patient group, increasing evidence of subsets of lung tumors along with the reported biological effects of R497K on EGFR ligand binding warrant further investigation with larger specimen numbers.
Development of a Portable Data Processor with Mechanical Data Output for Use with a Miniature Fast Analyzer

The Mark I Data Processor is a system for acquiring, processing, and printing, without the aid of a computer, the results of analyses carried out in Fast Analyzers. Because it is inexpensive and portable, this system is particularly applicable for use with the newly developed miniature Fast Analyzer. It uses digital logic to correlate the signals originating at the photodetector of the analyzer with the proper cuvet position and corresponding recorder channel. The transmission pulses are converted electronically to absorbance values, which are recorded as printed dots on a data card. Vertical height on the card is proportional to absorbance, with the maximum absorbance and the absorbance span to be covered being set by calibrated potentiometers. The Mark I Data Processor has been evaluated in parallel with an on-line computer, and data obtained from it have been found to correlate with the computer-derived data.
Device for Evaluating Surface Cracking of GR-S

Abstract 1. Dynamic flex-cracking may be studied indoors under conditions which yield results closely comparable to outdoor atmospheric exposure. 2. Although the photographs are not sufficient to show the depth of cracking, it was observed that the stocks of several compounds which showed the tendency to bloom and migrate to the surface cracked badly and to a depth equivalent to control stocks. By comparison, however, these same stocks when statistically exposed showed only slight tendency to crack in the usual exposure time of 100 hours. 3. Minimum concentration of additives for retarding the rate of surface cracking was found to be 0.25 per cent, but best results were obtained with 1 per cent. 4. Cracking always occurred at right angles to the direction of strain. Preliminary studies with this apparatus indicated that none of the specimens cracked when exposed in the looped but unstretched position (this was done by removal of the pin and stirrup) up to 50 hours of exposure, but some cracked slightly at...
Analysis of information-bearing elements in complex sounds by auditory neurons of bats

Communication sounds of higher animals, including humans, often consist of three information-bearing elements, constant-frequency (or pure tone), frequency-modulated, and noise components. For communication and echolocation, bats and dolphins emit sounds including these three elements. Echoes returning from different objects overlap each other and show complex envelopes and structures. Analysis of complex sound is very essential for these animals. In order to explore the neural mechanisms of the analysis of complex sounds, two problems were particularly studied: (1) how single neurons respond to each of the information-bearing elements composing complex sounds, and (2) how single neurons respond to the complex sounds consisting of these elements.In both the inferior colliculus and the auditory cortex of bats, neurons exist which resond either to only one of the three elements, to two of the three, or to all of them. Most of the characteristics of these various types of neurons, which are not found in the ...
The Disposition of the Technical Equipment

IT IS TOO EARLY YET to indicate with exactness what has happened to the world's accumulation of capital goods with the dawning of peace. Yet certain broad trends are sufficiently clear to make possible a tentative inventory. In the first place, much of the technical equipment left over from the war and the prewar has been destroyed outright or suffered to rust and decay. In this category the two largest items are the factories in the American and British zones of Germany, and the heavy equipment, especially construction and transportation devices, of the American military forces and merchant marine. The second kind of disposition which has found favor is disemployment and idle preservation. Here the outstanding items are the refineries, plants, and other production facilities owned and operated by the United States government during the war. With some exceptions this portion of the technical equipment has been relegated to a "standby" status. The main items here are plants and processes in the light metals, aircraft, rubber, machine tools, and shipbuilding industries. A third disposition of the technical equipment has been reconversion." From war uses the world's accumulation of technologies has been turned to the usages of peace. "Reconversion" has meant primarily that machines and equipment formerly used for the production of war material are now used for the production of business material. While examples here are too numerous to mention, the whole category
Are Planetary Tides on the Sun and the Birthplace of Sunspots Related

We study whether the birthplaces of sunspots (defined as the location of first appearance in the photosphere) are related to the planetary tides on the Sun. The heliocentric longitudes of newly emerging sunspots are statistically compared to the longitudes of tidal peaks caused by the tidal planets Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Jupiter. The longitude differences between new sunspots and tidal planets (and their conjugate locations) as well as the magnitudes of the vertical and horizontal tidal forces at the birthplace of new sunspots are calculated. The statistical distributions are compared with simulation results calculated using a random sunspot distribution. The results suggest that the birthplaces of sunspots (in the photosphere) are independent of the positions of tidal planets and the strength of tidal forces caused by them. However, since the sunspots actually originate near the tachocline (well below the photosphere) and it takes considerable time for the disturbances to reach photosphere, we hesitate to conclude that the formation of sunspots are not related to planetary positions.
Expectancies of reinforcement control in biofeedback and cognitive performance.

This study investigated the effects of expectancies concerning the controllability of outcomes in a biofeedback task. Forty-eight college undergraduates were subjects. Frontal (forehead) electromyographic (EMG) responses were measured during baseline (no treatment), pretreatment, and test sessions. During pretreatment, subjects were assigned to one of three groups. Using a fictitious blood vessel control task, the success group received false feedback and instructions that conveyed that outcomes had been successfully controlled. The failure group received feedback and instructions that conveyed that outcomes had not been controlled. A control group was given no specific task. During the subsequent test stage, all subjects were asked to reduce frontal muscle tension levels through relaxation while assisted with true EMG feedback. Relative to the success and control groups, EMG levels of the failure group reflected more rapid acquisition of frontal muscle relaxation. However, performance on a cognitive task was not affected by the pretreatment. It was concluded that expectancies generated during the false feedback pretreatment were related to later biofeedback performance. The results were discussed in terms of concepts of locus of control and theories of learned helplessness and reactance.
Older Patient Age May Predict Early Mortality after Transjugular Intrahepatic Portosystemic Shunt Creation in Individuals at Intermediate Risk

Abstract Purpose To identify prognostic factors for early mortality among patients with intermediate-risk Model for End-stage Liver Disease (MELD) scores undergoing transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS) creation. Materials and Methods In this single-institution retrospective study, 47 patients (31 men; mean age, 54 y) with intermediate MELD scores (ie, 18–25) underwent TIPS creation between 1999 and 2012. Medical records were reviewed to identify demographic (age, sex), liver disease (Child–Pugh, MELD), and procedure data (indication, urgency, stent type, portosystemic pressure gradient reduction, complications), and the influence of these parameters on 90-day mortality was assessed by multivariate binary logistic regression analysis. Results TIPSs were successfully created for variceal hemorrhage (n = 24), ascites (n = 17), hydrothorax (n = 5), and portal vein thrombosis (n = 1). Hemodynamic success rate was 94% (44 of 47), and mean portosystemic pressure gradient reduction was 13 mm Hg. The 90-day mortality rate was 36% (17 of 47). Patient age ( P = .026) was significantly associated with 90-day mortality. Mean ages of living versus dead patients were 51 and 60 years, and mortality rates in patients aged 54 years or younger versus 55 years or older were 21% (five of 24) and 52% (12 of 23), respectively. There was no difference in MELD scores between these age groups (20.6 vs 21.0; P = .600), and MELD score was not a predictive factor on regression analysis. Conclusions Age is a prognostic factor for early mortality in TIPS recipients with intermediate MELD scores. Mortality rates are higher in patients at least 55 years of age, but MELD score does not predict survival in this subset. Age should be contemplated when selecting patients at intermediate risk for TIPS creation.
Spatial and temporal variation in brook trout and brown trout proportional stock densities in Wisconsin streams

Proper interpretation of measures used to describe fish populations requires knowledge of the measure's inherent spatial and temporal variation. Proportional stock density (PSD), the ratio of ‘quality-length’ fish to ‘stock-length’ fish multiplied by 100, is commonly used as a measure of population size structure; PSD values range from 0 to 100. Spatial and temporal variation in brook trout, Salvelinus fontinalis (Mitchill), and brown trout Salmo trutta L., PSD scores in Wisconsin are described and tested to determine if variation differed by stream order and ecoregion. Neither stream order nor ecoregion significantly affected variation of PSD scores. The mean standard deviation of PSD scores over time at a site was 12.49 for brook trout populations and 12.95 for brown trout populations. The mean standard deviation of PSD scores between sites in the same stream was 15.07 for brook trout populations and 12.50 for brown trout populations. Sampling frequency required to characterise a PSD score of a single population of trout in Wisconsin streams with a degree of precision equal to the amount of observed temporal variation is approximately 14 sites for brook trout and 20 sites for brown trout.
Experimental utilization of displacement effect for the optimization of the separation of a two-component mixture

Abstract Using a mixture of two substituted cyclohexanone epimers, sample loading, binary mixture composition and column efficiency were investigated for their influence on the displacement effect observed between the first and the second eluted components (“sample self-displacement effect”). This effect occurs and can enhance production for loads as high as 1 g on a 250 × 21.4 mm I.D. column. Separations over a broad range of epimer mixture compositions, from 10:90 to 75:25, show a displacement effect on the first-eluting component by the second. In loading and composition studies, interference between the tailing portion of the first component and the front of the second component is the predominant factor influencing recovery loss for both components. A high column efficiency is essential for sharpening band zone boundaries and maximizing yields. There is a very good correlation between experimental results and reported computer simulations of the band profiles of binary mixture components.
A comparison of EEG activity in the left and right cerebral hemispheres by power-spectrum analysis during language and non-language tasks

Abstract In 10 female subjects, power-spectrum analysis was performed on the alpha activity elicited during the resting state, 4 right hemispheric tasks, and 3 left hemispheric tasks. The data were treated in 3 ways: approach 1, comparing the right and left hemispheric alpha activity; approach 2, comparing the right and left hemispheric alpha activity adjusted for the resting state; and approach 3, comparing the right and left hemispheric alpha activity adjusted for the previous task. Approaches 1 and 2 revealed few significant differences in the alpha activity of the hemispheres, but approach 3 provided data that better fit the theory of decreased power spectrum or attenuation of activity in the activated hemisphere. Thus, approach 3 may be useful in developing an electroencephalographic test for determining cerebral dominance for language.
Sebaceous gland response in man to prolonged total caloric deprivation.

The response of the sebaceous gland to total caloric deprivation was studied in 18 obese patients undergoing fasts for periods of four to eight weeks. Sebum production was measured in 11 of the patients and was found to decrease in each individual, with an average reduction of 40%. Diminished secretion usually occurred by the fourth week but was sometimes seen as early as one or two weeks. The composition of the sebum, analyzed in 14 patients, was also altered, and this could be detected as early as five days after the onset of fast. The qualitative changes in surface lipid consisted of a reduction in the amount of triglyceride fatty acids, wax esters, cholesterol and cholesterol esters but with no significant alteration in the amount of squalene.
The dynamics of scientific manpower and output

Abstract Particularly with developing countries in mind, a dynamical model is developed for predicting scientific production in the future, using some empirical and phenomenological knowledge about the attrition processes that affect scientific productivity. A general mathematical scheme is formulated and then a number of numerical examples are given. It is shown that the naive models (used very prevalently at the present time) are likely to overestimate future production by as much as a factor of ten compared to more realistic predictions. In fact we show that an exponential increase in scientific production does not occur under all circumstances, but only if the quality of the scientific manpower is high. If the opposite is true, production might even decrease exponentially with time, unless shored up by a constant importation of foreign scientists. A number of policy consequences are derived from the results, involving the degrees of importance of education abroad, of education locally, of the acquisition of foreign scientists, of quality in science-building, and the inevitability of acquiring some research-wise ‘deadwood’ scientific manpower that must then be utilized in other ways.
Operations Research in Medium-Sized Companies and the Microcomputer Revolution: Educational Implications

Abstract This research focuses on the current practices of operations research/management science (OR/MS) techniques in medium-sized companies and identifies their impact on the education of OR/MS. Data were collected from 479 organizations on characteristics of the firms that use or do not use OR/MS, techniques used and where they are used, types of computer systems used, problems of implementation, and reasons for not using OR/MS. Our survey indicated that OR/MS courses should provide training in microcomputer-based OR/MS tools and in accessing databases on larger computers; familiarize students with embedding OR in other types of applications and interfacing with them; include real world projects or cases; place more emphasis on applications in the service sector; and provide students with a strong background in the application of statistics, project management, simulation, linear programming, and “quick and dirty” techniques.
Ingestion of feeding stimulants and protein by the female housefly, Musca domestica L.

Abstract The female housefly, Musca domestica L., recognized and ingested a solution of protein (egg albumen) about the fourth day after emergence. When l -leucine or guanosine-5′-monophosphate was added to the protein solution, ingestion occurred on the first day after emergence. The total quantity of protein solution ingested in the presence of these substances was several times more than when the protein solution was presented alone. In a multiplechoice situation when a solution containing l -leucine was given separately but concurrently with one of protein only, the solution with l -leucine was ingested but the one with protein was not. Ingestion of protein is possibly related to the development cycle of the ovaries.
Classic disease descriptions in the modern curriculum

The rising number of laboratory tests and procedures ordered by physicians have contributed to increasing health care costs [l]. An increasing dependence on laboratory tests appears to have replaced confidence in the interpretation of data obtained from history and physical examination. Clinical skills have been deemphasized in undergraduate medical education, and the acquisition of these skills may be less exciting to students and teachers than an understanding of newer diagnostic technologies [2]. This trend is reflected in the development of the modern medical textbook. The standard medical text expands with each edition as it attempts to keep pace with new and complex diagnostic and treatment modalities. At the same time, clinical descriptions of disease have been condensed and simplified. The premise of this essay is that the precise and elegant pictures of disease presented in the writings of the great clinicians of the past should be reintroduced into current curriculum to reestablish the primary role of listening to and examining patients. These clinicians, dependent on bedside skills, preserved their lifetimes of clinical wisdom in their writings. More importantly, these writings may inspire students to appreciate signs and symptoms of disease better than modern-day books or teachers. Clinical descriptions of disease from previous eras can supplement modern clinical texts. For example, gout is discussed in 10 pages of text in Cecil’s 18th edition published in 1988. Discussion of the disease includes genetics, prevalence in relation to serum uric acid, mechanisms of hyperuricemia, purine biosynthesis, crystal-phagocyte interaction, pathology of tophi, clinical manifestions, gouty nephropathy, gout with specific enzyme deficiencies including glycogen storage disease type I, hypoxanthine guanine phosphoribosyltransferase deficiency, and phosphoribosylpyrophosphate synthetase variants, diagnosis, and treatment. One paragraph is devoted to clinical symptoms and reads as follows:
Predicting infectious disease outbreak risk via migratory waterfowl vectors

The spread of an emerging infectious disease is a major public health threat. Given the uncertainties associated with vector-borne diseases, in terms of vector dynamics and disease transmission, it is critical to develop statistical models that address how and when such an infectious disease could spread throughout a region such as the USA. This paper considers a spatio-temporal statistical model for how an infectious disease could be carried into the USA by migratory waterfowl vectors during their seasonal migration and, ultimately, the risk of transmission of such a disease to domestic fowl. Modeling spatio-temporal data of this type is inherently difficult given the uncertainty associated with observations, complexity of the dynamics, high dimensionality of the underlying process, and the presence of excessive zeros. In particular, the spatio-temporal dynamics of the waterfowl migration are developed by way of a two-tiered functional temporal and spatial dimension reduction procedure that captures spat...
Demystifying the Cowboy Through His Song: How Cowboy Poetry and Music Create a Common Language Between Multiple-Use Conservationists and Forever-Wild Preservationists to Meet the Goals of Sustainable Agriculture

Though multiple-use conservationists (use the land for multiple purposes) and forever-wild preservationists (solely set aside land for nonhuman species) seem to be at odds, this article argues that key figures such as Gifford Pinchot and John Muir discredit this perceived discordance. As well, it probes into the unexplored arena of cowboy music gatherings as productive places for cooperation between the two groups. First, mystique of the cowboy is examined and unraveled through true stories of cowboy-environmentalist collaboration. This article addresses how cowboy poetry festivals function as entertainment and meeting places to support sustainable behavior through community-based social marketing techniques.
Anomalies in the linear absorption, transient absorption, photoluminescence and photoluminescence excitation spectroscopies of colloidal InP quantum dots

Abstract We report photoluminescence (PL), linear absorption and femtosecond, transient bleaching spectra for a colloidal solution of indium phosphide (InP) quantum dots (QDs) at ambient temperature. The PL quantum yield is shown to depend significantly upon the excitation wavelength and the PL excitation spectrum deviates markedly from the absorption spectrum. The cooling of electrons and holes to the lowest energy excited state is determined, by transient bleaching spectroscopy, to occur with an efficiency that is independent of the excitation wavelength. These results are discussed in terms of a threshold for a non-radiative decay process that resides above the bandgap and a PL quantum yield that depends upon the size of QD.
Influence of intervalley transitions on the photoconductivity in n-type Si 〈100〉 inversion layers

Abstract Transitions between the different sub-band systems corresponding to the valleys with low and high effective mass in the direction of surface quantization involve large momentum transfer. As a consequence the probabilities for impurity induced transitions between the respective sub-band systems are low. The corresponding transitions by phonon emission are energetically forbidden if the sub-band splitting does not exceed the energy of acoustic phonons near the K -point. Negative photoconductivity due to carrier transfer into the sub-band system with lower mobility and extremely long response times, as observed experimentally, 1 results if the sub-band splitting is less than this energy. Photoconductivity effects in 〈100〉 inversion layers will be weaker and response times will be much shorter for sub-band splitting larger than the critical value. For the corresponding case in 〈100〉 inversion layers, in contrast, strongly enhanced photoresponse is expected and the long response time should persist.
Hybrid Opportunistic Scheduling in Cognitive Radio Networks

In a cognitive (secondary) multiple-access network which is subject to interference power constraints imposed by a primary system, it is desirable to mitigate the interference on the primary and to harvest multiuser diversity gains in the secondary. To simultaneously achieve these goals, a two-step (hybrid) scheduling method is proposed that pre-selects a set of secondary users based on their interference on the primary, and from among them selects the user(s) that yield the highest secondary throughput. The optimal number of active secondary transmitters is characterized as a function of the primary interference constraint, the secondary transmit power, and the number of secondary transmitters n. The secondary sum-rate (throughput) of the proposed algorithm grows optimally (proportional to log n). We investigate the tradeoff between scaling the secondary throughput and reducing interference on the primary, and characterize the optimum tradeoff in the regime of large n. Finally, we study user scheduling under fairness constraints, which is necessary when the channel statistics of secondary nodes are not identical. A modified hybrid scheduling rule is proposed to ensure user fairness, while still achieving the optimal growth rate for the secondary throughput.
Gravity waves in classical string theory

Abstract Gravity waves that serve as conformally invariant bavkgrounds for the string sigma model can create space-time singularities when they collide. We describe some of the properties and pathologies of these waves, and compute the O(α′) perturbation to the metric for the space-time with two colliding plane waves. The perturbative correction to the dilaton field indicates that the α′ expansion becomes strongly coupled when the space-time curvature is large. The null convergence condition required for proving the singularity theorem for these space-times can be violated for certain choices of amplitude and polarization of the colliding waves.