cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
How government policies shape the food and nutrition information environment

Abstract This paper discussed how government policy shapes the information environment in which consumers make food choices. Government's most important information role may be in supporting the production of basic scientific knowledge about the relationships between diet and health. Government also plays a role in education and in shaping the types of information available to consumers. Among the issues highlighted by the author are the importance of incentives in determining the types of products offered for sale, the key role of scientific uncertainty and the dynamic nature of the diet–health knowledge in shaping regulatory choices, and finally, the importance of recognizing consumer heterogeneity in assessing the success of regulatory rules and other government initiatives.
A system for continuous production and infusion of [15O]H2O for PET activation studies

A system for continuous production and infusion of [15O]H2O has been designed for Positron Emission Tomography brain activation studies. The infusion system consists of two Horizon Nxt infusion pumps, a four-port-two-position valve and a sterile 50 ml vial. The line and the back check valve between the furnace and the reservoir were heated in order to reduce vapor condensation in the line. The variation of the production of [15O]H2O was < 1%. The activity delivered as measured by scanner counts varied < 2% during the steady state period. The system has been demonstrated to be capable of delivering activity over a wide range of conditions.
Oxidase Reactions of Tomato Anionic Peroxidase

Tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill) anionic peroxidase was found to catalyze oxidase reactions with NADH, glutathione, dithiothreitol, oxaloacetate, and hydroquinone as substrates with a mean activity 30% that of horseradish peroxidase; this is in contrast to the negligible activity of the tomato enzyme as compared to the horseradish enzyme in catalyzing an indoleacetic acid-oxidase reaction with only Mn2+ and a phenol as cofactors. Substitution of Ce3+ for Mn2+ produced an 18-fold larger response with the tomato enzyme than with the horseradish enzyme, suggesting a significant difference in the autocatalytic indoleacetic acid-oxidase reactions with these two enzymes. In attempting to compare enzyme activities with 2,4-dichlorophenol as a cofactor, it was found that reaction rates increased exponentially with both increasing cofactor concentration and increasing enzyme concentration. While the former response may be analogous to allosteric control of enzyme activity, the latter response is contrary to the principle that reaction rate is proportional to enzyme concentration, and additionally makes any comparison of enzyme activity difficult.
Further attenuated live measles vaccines: the need for revised recommendations.

R E C E N T L Y M O D I F I E D R E C O M M E N D A T I O N S 1' ~ f o r the use of live attenuated measles vaccines call for routine immunization of children at 15 months of age or older. During epidemics, infants may be immunized at 6 months of age or older, but must be reimmunized at 15 months. A change in the age recommended for administration, from 12 to 15 months was originally suggested by the retrospective observations of Yeager and associates. 3 This report presents the results of two studies designed to study prospectively the relationship between age at immunization and response to measles vaccine. The first study, done during 1974 and 1975, measured seroconversion rates in 6to 12-month-old children. The second study measured seroconversion following measles vaccine given as measles-mumps-rubella vaccine at 12 months of age simultaneously with trivalent oral polio vaccine.
Charge Localization: Doubly‐Charged Ion Reactions in Toluene

The kinetic energy released in the major charge-separation reactions of [C7H8]++ [C7H7]++ and [C7H6]++ formed from toluene, and in the corresponding reactions of toluene-α-d3, toluene-d8 and 2,3,4,5,6-toluene-d6 has been measured. Some fragmenting [C7]++ ions are linear; in certain cases they have cyclic structures while in others ‘coiling’ of a linear ion to allow hydrogen transfer in the transition state is suggested. From relative metastable ion abundance data it is apparent that nearly complete H/D randomization accompanies these slow reactions.
The Bender Gestalt Test: A Review of Reported Research with School-Age Subjects, 1966-1977.

The past 11 years of published research investigating the use of the Bender Gestalt Test with school-age children are reviewed. Seen as a psychometric instrument, scored according to standardized procedures, this recent work does not conclusively support the use of the test for prediction of school achievement. Nor does it offer any substantial support for individual diagnosis of neurological impairment or emotional disturbance. Test scores from group and individual administration appear equivalent. Deprived and minority group performance has differed significantly from the Koppitz norms in a number of studies and bears further investigation.
Sources of Continuity in Infant Predictors of Later IQ.

Abstract The sources of continuity between nine measures of infant cognitive processing and later childhood IQ were examined by application of developmental structural equation models to longitudinal data from a sample of 208 twin pairs measured from 7 to 36 months. The models were designed to assess whether the longitudinal trends observed in the infant tests follow a developmental pattern in which infant skills are persistently transmitted into those measured later, or whether transient discontinuities interrupt the continuity observed over the course of early development. Infant cognitive measures administered at 7, 8, and 9 months included Fagan's Test of Infant Intelligence, Visual Expectation and Vocalization measures, and Bayley's Infant Behavior Record. The Bayley Scales of Mental Development, administered at 12 and 24 months, and the Stanford-Binet IQ test, collected at 36 months, served as dependent measures of general mental ability. Model-fitting results suggest that, in general, the specific skills assessed by the infant measures are not continuously incorporated into later general ability measurements but, instead, appear related to general cognitive ability in a relatively unstable manner over the developmental period examined. Exploration of the genetic and environmental sources of the longitudinal measurements further suggests that, although the outcome depends upon the measure, observed continuity is a result of both genetic influences and features of the infant home environment.
(1E, 3E, 5E)-1,2,3,4,5,6-Hexafluoro-1,6-diphenylhexatriene

The title triene, C18H10F6, was prepared via the Pd0 coupling reaction of (E)-(1,2-di­fluoro-1,2-ethenediyl)­bis­(tri­butyl­stan­nane) with (Z)-β-iodo-α,β-di­fluoro­styrene in N,N′-dimethylformamide/tetrahydrofuran. The crystal structure shows the product to be the 1E,3E,5E isomer. Due to steric interactions between F atoms, the double bonds are not coplanar. The planes defined by the two terminal double bonds are almost perpendicular.
Ethics of Mandatory Student Health Insurance

Should college require health insurance for all students? This issue involves financial and ethical issues. This article raises questions for leaders to consider.
An operational policy for an integrated inventory system under consignment stock policy with controllable lead time and buyers' space limitation

This paper aims to enable the decision maker of an integrated vendor-buyer system, under Consignment Stock (CS) policy, to make the optimal/sub-optimal production/replenishment decisions where the buyer places a space limitation to the vendor and the lead-time is controllable with an extra investment. Within any production cycle, the vendor produces at a finite rate and ships the outputs to the buyer with a number of equal-sized lots. With a long-term consignment stock agreement, the vendor takes responsibility to maintain a certain inventory level in the buyer's warehouse. Some of the shipments are delayed so that the buyer's inventory does not go beyond the capacity limitation. The buyer compensates the vendor after the complete consumption of the products. The holding cost consists of a storage component and a financial component. Two constraint four-variable non-linear integer optimization models are established wherein the buyer space limitation is considered. Because the developed models are mathematically very difficult to solve, three doubly hybrid meta-heuristic algorithms are employed to solve the models. The computational results show that one of these three algorithms works very well both in the sense of the success rate and the mean CPU time. The analysis of the computational example also reveals the quantitative effects the buyer space limitation may have to the annual joint total expected cost (JTEC) of the integrated system.
Effect of a Methyl-Protecting Group on the Adsorption of Pyrrolidine on Si(100)-2 × 1

The room-temperature adsorption of pyrrolidine and its methyl-protected analogue, N-methylpyrrolidine, on the Si(100)-2 × 1 surface has been investigated using multiple internal reflection Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and ab initio quantum chemistry calculations. For both compounds, initial adsorption occurs by barrierless formation of a dative bond between the nitrogen lone pair and the electrophilic atom of the Si dimer. However, while pyrrolidine proceeds to chemisorb dissociatively through N−H bond cleavage, methylpyrrolidine is shown to be trapped in its dative-bonded precursor state at room temperature due to a substantial barrier for N−CH3 cleavage. Additionally, the saturation coverage of methylpyrrolidine on Si is seen to be significantly less than that of pyrrolidine, due likely to both steric factors and charge-transfer effects.
Reliable signal transmission in wireless sensor networks with zero bandwidth expansion

This paper considers wireless sensor networks with limited bandwidth, where sensors must transmit sensing results that are distorted with noise uncertainty, to the fusion center reliably and efficiently. A class of rate-1 linear complex-field coding (CFC) transmission strategy is developed, to effectively protect the noisy observation of the signals without any bandwidth expansion. Pairwise error probability (PEP) is analyzed, design criterion for optimal complex-field coding strategies is derived, and optimal codes are examined. In addition to maximum likelihood (ML) decoding, a low-complexity decoding scheme termed partially nulling and canceling (PNC) is also proposed. The PNC decoder, representing a midway tradeoff between sphere decoding and (linear) minimum mean square error (MMSE) detection, strikes a good balance between complexity and performance. Extensive simulations show that the proposed CFC is able to reap considerable gains without any bandwith epansion!
Comparison of helodermin, VIP and PHI in pancreatic secretion and blood flow in dogs.

Abstract Helodermin, VIP and PHI, which share a high degree of homology with secretin, have been identified in the gut but their physiological role is unknown. In this study 3 series of tests were carried out to determine the actions of helodermin, VIP and PHI on pancreatic secretion in 6 conscious dogs and amylase release from the dispersed canine pancreatic acini and to correlate the alterations in pancreatic secretory and circulatory effects in 24 anesthetized dogs. Helodermin, VIP and PHI infused i.v. in graded doses (12.5–200 pmol/kg · h) resulted in a dose-dependent increase in pancreatic HCO 3 secretion reaching, respectively, 100%, 7% and 2% of secretin maximum. When combined with constant dose infusion of CCK-8 (100 pmol/kg · h), helodermin but not VIP or PHI augmented dose-dependently the HCO 3 secretion. When added in various concentrations (10 −10 –10 −5 M) to the incubation medium of dispersed pancreatic acini only helodermin but not VIP or PHI increased dose-dependently amylase release reaching about 50% of CCK-8 maximum. In anesthetized dogs, the pancreatic blood flow (PBF) measured by electromagnetic blood flowmetry showed an immediate and dose-dependent increase following the injections of various doses of helodermin, VIP, PHI and secretin, the peak blood flow preceding by about 1 min the peak secretory stimulation. This study shows that helodermin resembles secretin in its potent pancreatic HCO 3 stimulation but differs from VIP or PHI which are poor secretagogues but potent vasodilators. We conclude that if tested peptides are released in the gut, helodermin, like secretin, may be involved in the hormonal stimulation of exocrine pancreas, whereas VIP and PHI may serve mainly as vasodilators in the pancreatic circulation.
Directional shear force microscopy

We describe a technique, based on shear force microscopy, that allows one to detect shear forces in a chosen direction at the nanometer scale. The lateral direction of an oscillating probe tip is determined by selecting which of the four quadrants are excited on the piezo driver. The shear forces depend directly on this lateral direction if structural anisotropies are present, as confirmed with polydiacetylene monolayers.
A device for measuring the mean electrical axis of the heart.

Abstract A device helpful in determining the mean electrical axis of the heart has been described. It employs the "Magic Slate", which is commercially available as an inexpensive toy. This device can be used repeatedly and it has greater flexibility than other more elaborate charts now available. It must be borne in mind that the mean electrical axis of the heart is influenced by several factors other than the relative weights of the two ventricles. Chief among these are the position of the heart and the status of intraventricular conduction. 7
The control of photosynthetic carbon metabolism.

Strong regulation of photosynthetic metabolism is maintained by controlled key enzymes within the carbon reduction cycle, on biosynthetic paths leading from it, and within the chloroplast membrane. Of these, the most important are ribulose diphosphate carboxylase, controlling the initial entry of carbon dioxide, and fructose diphosphatase, operating as a portal between carbohydrate metabolism and other biosynthesis, and perhaps playing some role in the selective diffusion of sugar phosphates through the outer chloroplast membrane. Intracellular pH and concentrations of magnesium ion and inorganic pyrophosphate seem to be candidates for controlling factors in some of these processes. These and other control effects have been demonstrated by determinations of metabolite concentrations in green cells and chloroplasts in vivo by tracer techniques. Along biosynthetic paths, pyruvate kinase, which controls the conversion of phosphoenolpyruvic acid to pyruvate, and sucrose phosphate synthetase, which controls sucrose synthesis, play important roles. 61 references, 6 figures.
Differential sensitivity of human mammary epithelial and breast carcinoma cell lines to curcumin.

Curcumin has anti‐inflamatory, antiproliferative, and antitumor effects. To understand the chemopreventive mechanism of curcumin against human malignancies, the cellular and molecular changes induced by this agent in human mammary epithelial (MCF‐10A) and breast carcinoma (MCF‐ 7/TH) cell lines were investigated. The human multidrug‐ resistant breast cancer cell line was 3.5 fold more sensitive to curcumin than the mammary epithelial cell line. Even though both cell lines accumulated a similar amount of curcumin, a significantly higher percentage of apoptotic cells was induced in breast cancer cells compared to a very low percentage of apoptosis in mammary epithelial cells. Incubation of breast cancer cells with 20 and 40 μM curcumin for 24 h induced G2 block and sub‐ G0/G1 cell population, respectively. Curcumin treatment caused a reduction in the expression of Ki67, PCNA, and p53 mRNAs in breast cancer cells. The human mammary epithelial cell line showed a down‐regulation of p21 mRNA and an up‐regulation of Bax mRNA expression with curcumin treatment. The results suggest that apoptosis is involved in the curcumin‐induced inhibition of tumor cell growth, and genes associated with cell proliferation and apoptosis may be playing a role in the chemopreventive action of curcumin. Abbreviations: EGF: epidermal growth factor; D-MEM: Dulbecco' Modified Eagle Medium; EDTA: ethylene diamine tetra‐acetic acid; PBS: phosphate buffered saline; TdT: terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase; FBS: fetal bovine serum; RT‐PCR: reverse transcription‐polymerase chain reaction; PCNA: proliferating cell nuclear antigen; TNF: tumor necrosis factor; TPA: 12‐tetradecanoyl‐phorbol‐13‐acetate.
6 Oral anticoagulants for the treatment of venous thromboembolism

Oral anticoagulation has been the mainstay of therapy for the long-term treatment of venous thromboembolism since the 1940s. The rationale for the use of oral anticoagulation is based on the results of both empirical clinical evidence and animal models of thrombosis in the 1950s and 1960s. Higher-quality studies emerged in the 1970s and 1980s demonstrating the benefit of initial heparinization for venous thromboembolism followed by long-term oral anticoagulation. Good clinical outcomes with oral anticoagulation are highly dependent on the quality of dose management. Excellent management is best achieved in a programme of focused and co-ordinated care, often referred to as an anticoagulation clinic. Such programmes achieve better outcomes at reduced costs because of fewer adverse events. New models of anticoagulation management are emerging with the development of point-of-care testing that enables patients to do their own prothrombin time monitoring and anticoagulation dose adjustment. These models have the potential to improve care further, to increase patient satisfaction and to reduce costs.
Sequence step algorithm for continuous resource utilization in probabilistic repetitive projects

The sequence step algorithm addresses for the first time the problem of scheduling repetitive projects with probabilistic activity durations while maintaining continuous resource utilization. This algorithm is based on generalized concepts that can be implemented in most general-purpose simulation systems. The algorithm is presented in detail and is applied to an example project with 7 activities and 4 repetitive units using a simulation model developed in Stroboscope, an activity-based simulation system. Numerical and graphical results help explain the algorithm and provide insight into the underlying tradeoff problem between reducing the expected crew idle time and increasing the expected project duration.
The Degree-of-Freedom Regions of MIMO Broadcast, Interference, and Cognitive Radio Channels With No CSIT

The degree-of-freedom (DoF) regions are characterized for the multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) broadcast channel (BC), interference channels (ICs), including X and multihop ICs, and the cognitive radio channel (CRC), when there is no channel state information at the transmitter(s) (CSIT) and for fading distributions in which transmit directions are statistically indistinguishable. For the K-user MIMO BC, the exact DoF region is obtained, which shows that time division is DoF-region optimal. For the two-user MIMO IC and CRC, inner and outer bounds are obtained that coincide for a vast majority of the relative numbers of antennas at the four terminals. Finally, the DoF of the K-user MIMO IC, the CRC, and X networks are obtained for certain classes of these networks. The results herein are derived for fading distributions and additive noises that are more general than those considered in other simultaneous related works. The DoF with and without CSIT are compared and conditions under which a lack of CSIT does, or does not, result in the loss of DoF are identified, thereby 1) providing robust no-CSIT schemes that have the same DoF as their previously found CSIT counterparts and 2) identifying situations where CSI feedback to transmitters would provide gains that are significant enough that even the DoF could be improved.
Neurological Interventions for Physical Therapy, ed 2

Martin S, Kessler M. St Louis, MO 63146, Saunders Elsevier, 2007, paperback, 512 pp, illus, ISBN: 978-0-7216-0427-5, $59.95. An excellent text for the professional (entry-level) physical therapist student, this book also is suitable as a reference for practicing physical therapists interested in both pediatric and adult neurologic patient management. This book is organized into 3 sections. The first section consists of 4 chapters that provide a comprehensive review of anatomy and the foundations of neurologic patient management. Chapter 1 describes the Nagi disablement model and its relationship to the physical therapist's role as described in APTA's Guide to Physical Therapist Practice . Furthermore, this chapter relates the role of the physical therapist to that of the physical therapist …
The Proverbial Bourdieu: Habitus and the Politics of Representation in the Ethnography of Kabylia

Since the 1970s, anthropologists have been centrally concerned with the relationship of ethnographic representation to political and historical context. Interestingly, the work of Pierre Bourdieu has largely escaped such contextualization, despite the sig- nificance of Bourdieu's ideas to anthropological theorizing. Today, many of Bourdieu's central concepts float free from the context out of which they arose-the Kabyle region of Algeria. This article addresses this omission by reading Bourdieu's early works against each other to reconstitute aspects of his methodology and fieldwork. Focusing on his choice to represent the Kabyles of his early work in prose, and those in his later work via proverbs, I suggest that key premises of Bourdieu's theory may not be supported by historical and ethnographic evidence. I consider how Bourdieu's position as a young social scientist grappling with ethnographic responsibilities in colonial wartime led him to privilege his interlocutors' accounts in some studies while expunging them from others. (Keywords: Bourdieu, represented speech, literacy, Algeria, Berbers)
Teachers' perceptions of the influence of no child left behind on classroom practices

Due to the magnitude of NCLB, the pressure on teachers has increased to perhaps immeasurable proportions. One could argue that NCLB has ramifications for nearly all aspects of the teachingâ€“learning process, including classroom-based assessment. The purpose of this study was to describe teachers' beliefs about NCLB and its influence on classroom practices. Differences based on several demographic variables were also examined. An original instrument was administered to teachers and 1,534 responses were received. Salient findings revealed that teachers believe NCLB is having negative impacts on instructional and curricular practices, including higher levels of stress related to improving student performance. Teachers reported several changes in how they assess students. Significant group differences were found, particularly on the resultant components of Student Test Preparation and Instructional Changes.
Evaluation of culture media for the production of secondary metabolites in a natural products screening program

Variation in the growing environment can have significant impacts on the quantity and diversity of fungal secondary metabolites. In the industrial setting, optimization of growing conditions can lead to significantly increased production of a compound of interest. Such optimization becomes challenging in a drug-discovery screening situation, as the ideal conditions for one organism may induce poor metabolic diversity for a different organism. Here, the impact of different media types, including six liquid media and five solid media, on the secondary metabolite production of three fungal strains was examined in the context of the drug-discovery screening process. The relative production of marker compounds was used to evaluate the usefulness and reliability of each medium for the purpose of producing secondary metabolites.
Open boundary particle‐in‐cell simulation of dipolarization front propagation

First results are presented from an ongoing open boundary 2-1/2D particle-in-cell simulation study of dipolarization front (DF) propagation in Earth's magnetotail. At this stage, this study is focused on the compression, or pileup, region preceding the DF current sheet. We find that the earthward acceleration of the plasma in this region is in general agreement with a recent DF force balance model. A gyrophase bunched reflected ion population at the leading edge of the pileup region is reflected by a normal electric field in the pileup region itself, rather than through an interaction with the current sheet. We discuss plasma wave activity at the leading edge of the pileup region that may be driven by gradients, or by reflected ions, or both; the mode has not been identified. The waves oscillate near but above the ion cyclotron frequency with wavelength several ion inertial lengths. We show that the waves oscillate primarily in the perpendicular magnetic field components, do not propagate along the background magnetic field, are right handed elliptically (close to circularly) polarized, exist in a region of high electron and ion beta, and are stationary in the plasma frame moving earthward. We discuss the possibility that the waves are present in plasma sheet data, but have not, thus far, been discovered.
Electrophoretic separation and quantitation of cardiac myosin heavy chain isoforms in eight mammalian species

A protocol for sample preparation and gel electrophoresis is described that reliably results in the separation of the α- and β-isoforms of cardiac myosin heavy chain (MHC-α and MHC-β) in eight mamm...
Calculated neutron dose rates and flux densities from implantable Californium‐252 point and line sources

The results of neutron-transport flux-density and dose rate calculations for implantable Californium-252 point and line sources in essentially infinite tissue-equivalent material are presented. The point-source flux densities were obtained from a discrete ordinates calculation, and the point dose rates were established by multiplying the flux densities by their appropriate kerma factors. Line-source dose rates were evaluated by integrating the point dose rates over the length of the line source. Dose-rate data are given within a 20 X 20-cm region from the source center for source lengths of 1.5, 2, and 3 cm. The dose rates established by these calculations showed good agreement with an independent Monte Carlo calculation. Detailed point-source flux-density data as a function of energy and position are also given.
Memory of chirality in rebound cyclizations of α-amide radicals

Reduction of (S)-N-(2-bromoallyl)-N-(tert-butyl)-2-methyl-3-phenylpropanamide with tributyltin hydride provides (3S,4S)-3-benzyl-1-(tert-butyl)-3,4-dimethylpyrrolidin-2-one with about 80% retention of chirality at the stereocenter adjacent to the amide carbonyl group. This memory of chirality is suggested to occur by transfer of chirality from a stereocenter to an axis, then from the axis back to a new stereocenter.
Synthesizing the Evidence on Classroom Goal Structures in Middle and Secondary Schools A Meta-Analysis and Narrative Review

This meta-analysis and narrative review synthesizes the literature on classroom goal structures and their relationships with student outcomes, focusing additionally on the ways in which these constructs are operationalized across research studies. Specifically, this study evaluates the relationships between students’ perceptions of mastery and performance classroom goal structures and secondarily of teacher support as related to academic achievement and motivational and psychological outcomes. The findings document that students’ perception of the mastery emphasis of their classrooms is related to a number of positive socio-emotional outcomes and to academic achievement measures and that extrinsically focused classroom goal structures have an overall negative effect on academic achievement. Also, teachers’ socio-emotional and instructional support was found to relate positively to students’ academic achievement, particularly to normed achievement measures rather than grades, as well as to socio-emotional ...
Epidemiology of stroke and high blood pressure in Africa

Stroke and high blood pressure are major causes of death and disability worldwide. Although comprehensive stroke surveillance data for Africa are lacking, the available data show that age-standardised mortality, case fatality and prevalence of disabling stroke in Africa are similar to or higher than those measures in most high-income regions. In Africa, more than 90% of patients with haemorrhagic stroke and more than half with ischaemic stroke are found to have high blood pressure. However, awareness of hypertension and its prevention, treatment and control remain very low in Africa even though recent surveys show an increasing prevalence of the disease consistent with the nutritional and epidemiological transition in the region. Renewed emphasis on improved surveillance and the prevention and control of high blood pressure and stroke in Africa is needed.
The NRIES II Multiregional Macroeconomic Model of the United States

This article describes the evolution over the last decade of the National-Regional Impact Evaluation System II (NRIES II) macroeconomic model of the United States developed at the Bureau of Economi...
Population pharmacokinetics and dose simulation of carvedilol in paediatric patients with congestive heart failure.

What is already known about this subject • Applying in silico tools such as population pharmacokinetic analysis and simulation will help to find adequate dosing strategies and increase the probability of success for a randomized controlled trial. • Up to now, for carvedilol in paediatric patients with congestive heart failure (CHF) the dose has been linearly extrapolated from adults, but the results with this dosing strategy are ambiguous. • Further trials are necessary to establish carvedilol for paediatric patients with CHF. What this study adds • Carvedilol pharmacokinetics in paediatric patients with CHF depends on the weight and age of the patient. • Therefore, the drug exposure differs substantially between patients of different ages receiving the same dose with respect to body weight. • Simulations revealed that an age-adjusted carvedilol dosing strategy with higher doses for younger patients with respect to body weight is preferable to a uniform one. Aims To investigate the ontogeny of carvedilol pharmacokinetics and to develop an age-appropriate carvedilol dosing strategy for paediatric patients. Methods Data were derived from a prospective, nonplacebo-controlled study of carvedilol for the treatment of paediatric patients with congestive heart failure and analysed using a nonlinear mixed-effects modelling approach (NONMEM, Version V 1.1). The population pharmacokinetic model was further utilized for simulations of different carvedilol dosing strategies. Results Four hundred and eighty carvedilol plasma concentrations of 41 patients (0.1–19.3 years; median 3.5) were included in the analysis. A two-compartment model with first-order absorption and absorption lag served as structural model. Weight and age were the most important covariates for carvedilol pharmacokinetics. The weight-adjusted clearance was highest for the younger patients with 2.7 l h−1 kg−1 for a 1-year-old patient compared with 0.7 l h−1 kg−1 for a 19.3-year-old patient. Dose simulations revealed that the area under the plasma concentration–time curve (AUC) as a measure of drug exposure increased with age despite constant doses with respect to body weight. For infants (28 days to 23 months), children (2–11 years) and adolescents (12–15 years) daily doses of 3, 2 and 1 mg kg−1, administered in two or three discrete doses, were necessary to reach an exposure comparable to adults receiving 0.7 mg kg−1 day−1. Conclusion The ontogeny of carvedilol pharmacokinetics in paediatric patients depends on age and weight. Dose simulations revealed that younger patients have to be treated with higher doses with respect to body weight to reach the same exposure as adults.
The use of intravenous albumin in patients at high risk for severe ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome.

Previous experiences in subjects with other forms of third space fluid accumulation have shown that albumin is efficacious in preventing and correcting haemodynamic instability. Using a similar approach in an effort to increase the serum oncotic pressure and to reverse the leakage of fluids from the intravascular space, high risk subjects for severe ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (SOHS) were treated with albumin. In a recent large study two high risk factors were identified, i.e. the number of oocytes and levels of serum oestradiol. Thirty-six women undergoing assisted reproductive techniques who presented both these factors, received intravenous albumin at a dose of 5% in Ringers lactate in doses of 500 ml during oocyte retrieval and 500 ml immediately thereafter in the recovery room. Daily measurements of urine output, serum and urine electrolytes, weight, abdominal girth, and haematocrit prior to and after oocyte retrieval revealed normal serum and urine electrolyte levels, and no signs of haemoconcentration. No patient in this study developed SOHS, and of course none had to be hospitalized. Vaginal ultrasound performed in the majority of the subjects revealed < or = 100 ml of peritoneal fluid 48-72 h after oocyte retrieval. The only complication from the use of intravenous albumin was the appearance of a 'flu-like condition' (low grade temperature, nausea and muscle pains) developed by 12 women between days 3 and 5 after oocyte collection. Intravenous albumin had thus prevented the development of severe ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome in an assisted reproduction programme.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Temperature Control of Fueled Irradiation Capsules by Variable Conductance

An irradiation capsule for high-temperature fuel irradiations has been developed to permit constant temperature control over a range of about ±35% of design power. Control is achieved by the variat...
A COMPARISON BETWEEN DREDGE INDUCED SEDIMENT RESUSPENSION AND THAT PRODUCED BY NATURAL STORM EVENTS

Field observations indicate that the effect of dredge-induced resuspension on sediment transport within small estuaries is generally negligible in comparison to the transport induced by natural storm events. Data obtained in the Thames River, near New London, Connecticut show dredge-induced resuspension to be essentially a near field phenomenon. The resultant plume of material increases total suspended load in the river by approximately 25% but extends over less than 2.5% of the total estuarine area. In contrast storms are observed to increase total suspended load by a factor of three, influencing concentration levels throughout the estuary. These factors, in combination with the lower frequency of dredging vis-a-vis significant storm events, appear to effectively limit the influence of dredge-induced resuspension.
The Schumpeterian Approach to Education and Growth

Unlike other subjects or questions on which I have been working, my thinking about education and growth was spurred by policy demands. First, by the French Conseil d’Analyse Economique which asked me to write a report on the subject back in 2001. And a year later, by the European Commission which asked me to co-author a report (now referred to as the ‘Sapir Report’) on the causes of the slow growth in Western Europe. A first look at the United States versus the EU in 1999–2000 shows that 37.3 per cent of the United States population aged 25–64 have completed a higher education degree, against only 23.8 per cent of the EU population. This educational attainment comparison is mirrored by that on tertiary education expenditure, with the United States devoting 3 per cent of its GDP to tertiary education versus only 1.4 per cent in the EU. Is this European deficit in tertiary education investment adverse for growth?
Women’s agency in household economic decision making in Kenya

The misalignment between economic strengthening opportunities and women’s agency is especially salient given the connection between women’s economic empowerment and household well-being. Using Keny...
Migraine Episodes Following Cranial Irradiation

Complicated migraine-like episodes occurring 1.2 to 2.8 years after cranial irradiation and chemotherapy for brain tumor are reported in four children treated at the Children’s National Medical Center, Washington, DC.
Fisheries portfolio diversification and turnover buffer Alaskan fishing communities from abrupt resource and market changes.

Abrupt shifts in natural resources and their markets are a ubiquitous challenge to human communities. Building resilient social-ecological systems requires approaches that are robust to uncertainty and to regime shifts. Harvesting diverse portfolios of natural resources and adapting portfolios in response to change could stabilize economies reliant on natural resources and their markets, both of which are prone to unpredictable shifts. Here we use fisheries catch and revenue data from Alaskan fishing communities over 34 years to test whether diversification and turnover in the composition of fishing opportunities increased economic stability during major ocean and market regime shifts in 1989. More than 85% of communities show reduced fishing revenues following these regime shifts. However, communities with the highest portfolio diversity and those that could opportunistically shift the composition of resources they harvest, experienced negligible or even positive changes in revenue. Maintaining diversity in economic opportunities and enabling turnover facilitates sustainability of communities reliant on renewable resources facing uncertain futures. Economies dependent on natural resources could gain resilience to abrupt ecosystem and market shifts through proactive risk-buffering approaches. Using data from Alaskan fisheries, Clineet al. show that communities relying on diverse fisheries were more resilient to major ocean and market regime shifts in 1989.
Clinical outcomes of remote ischemic preconditioning prior to cardiac surgery: A meta‐analysis of randomized controlled trials

BackgroundMultiple randomized controlled trials of remote ischemic preconditioning (RIPC) prior to cardiac surgery have failed to demonstrate clinical benefit. The aim of this updated meta‐analysis...
Property Assessments of Tissues

There are many schemes to probe the structure and properties of natural tissue, and it is within the realm of clinical diagnostics to evaluate these both by noninvasive tools and by biopsy as needed. Much has learned by tissue donations of the link between tissue density and composition, aging differences, and ultimately the mechanical, electrical, and phase structural features that lead to phase contrast in organized tissues. Here details of how property assessments are conducted, what is determinant, and what can learned by altering the experimental conditions. There is a much more refined understanding of tissue structure and behavior which we have been able to develop as a result of new tools and schemes to test noninvasively.
Shades of Grey: Capital Structure Decisions of Non-Sin vs. Sin Firms in the G20 Nations

This paper examines the impact of social norms on firm value and the capital structure of firms engaged in the production of tobacco, alcohol, and gambling services ('sin stocks') in the G20 nations. We first demonstrate that sin stocks are undervalued in countries where social norms are strongly against such firms. The negative impact on these firms’ equity valuation (roughly 8% on average) leads them to rely more heavily on debt financing. Specifically, we show that sin stocks compared to similar non-sin stocks have higher levels of debt (roughly 4 times), a greater probability of taking on debt, and a lower debt cost of capital (after controlling for debt load). Finally, we show that specific market behavior towards sin stocks is influenced by other country specific social norms like the degree of individualism and risk aversion. Our results are robust to alternative measures of firm valuation and debt load.
Electrical Stimulation of Fabric Filtration Part IV: Enhancement by Particle Precharging

The reductions in pressure drop that accompany the establishment of a strong electric field near a filter fabric appear to be due to three separate mechanisms. One is the formation of a more porous...
Recognizing Arguing Subjectivity and Argument Tags

In this paper we investigate two distinct tasks. The first task involves detecting arguing subjectivity, a type of linguistic subjectivity on which relatively little work has yet to be done. The second task involves labeling instances of arguing subjectivity with argument tags reflecting the conceptual argument being made. We refer to these two tasks collectively as "recognizing arguments". We develop a new annotation scheme and assemble a new annotated corpus to support our learning efforts. Through our machine learning experiments, we investigate the utility of a sentiment lexicon, discourse parser, and semantic similarity measures with respect to recognizing arguments. By incorporating information gained from these resources, we outperform a unigram baseline by a significant margin. In addition, we explore a two-phase approach to recognizing arguments, with promising results.
Transition Metal Oxide Bronzes with Quasi Low-Dimensional Properties

The term bronze, originally given to the NaxWO3 compounds by Wohler in 1825 [1], is now applied to a variety of crystalline phases of the transition metal oxides; usually ternary compounds of the type AxMzOy, but binary oxides with intense color and metallic luster, metallic or semiconducting properties, and resistance to attack by non-oxidizing acids also qualify. Ternary bronzes have been prepared in which M is Ti, V, Mn, Nb, Ta, Mo, W, or Re, and A is H, NH 4 + , alkali, alkaline earth, rare-earth, Group IB, IIB, or other metal ion.
Pornography and Sexual Behavior: Do Sexual Attitudes Mediate or Confound?:

Using four separate national probability metasamples of adults in the United States, two measures of pornography consumption, two measures of sexual attitudes, and two measures of sexual behavior, ...
Bioprocess development for muconic acid production from aromatic compounds and lignin

Muconic acid (MA) is a bio-based platform chemical that can be converted into the commodity petrochemical building blocks adipic acid or terephthalic acid, or used in emerging, performance-advantaged materials. MA is a metabolic intermediate in the β-ketoadipate pathway, and can be produced from carbohydrates or other traditional carbon sources via the shikimate pathway. MA can also be produced from lignin-derived aromatic compounds with high atom efficiency through aromatic-catabolic pathways. Metabolic engineering efforts to date have developed efficient muconic acid-producing strains of the aromatic-catabolic microbe Pseudomonas putida KT2440, but the titers, productivities, and yields from aromatic compounds in most cases remain below the thresholds needed for industrially-relevant bioreactor cultivations. To that end, this work presents further process and host development towards improving MA titers, yields, and productivities, using the hydroxycinnamic acids, p-coumaric acid and ferulic acid, as model aromatic compounds. Coupling strain engineering and bioprocess development enabled the discovery of new bottlenecks in P. putida that hinder MA production from these compounds. A combination of gene overexpression and removal of a global catabolic regulator resulted in high-yielding strains (100% molar yield). Maximum MA titers of 50 g L−1, which is near the lethal toxicity limit in this bacterium, and productivities over 0.5 g L−1 h−1 were achieved in separate process configurations. Additionally, a high-pH feeding strategy, which could potentially reduce the salt load and enable higher titers by decreasing product dilution, was tested with model compounds and lignin-rich streams from corn stover and a complete conversion of the primary monomeric aromatic compounds to MA was demonstrated, obtaining a titer of 4 g L−1. Overall, this study presents a step forward for the production of value-added chemicals from lignin and highlights critical needs for further strain improvement and bioprocess development that can be applied in the biological valorization of lignin.
Speed of sound and geo-alpha in clayey silt derived from concurrent inversion of geo and bio-acoustic parameters from transmission loss data and co-located chirp sonar measurements

Application of the concurrent geo and bio-acoustic inversion method (Diachok and Wales, 2005) to broadband (0.3–5 kHz) transmission loss (TL) measurements, and co-located normal incidence chirp sonar measurements provided measures of geo-acoustic properties of clayey-silt in the Santa Barbara Channel. Inversion calculations assumed that the geological environment may be characterized by the interfacial sound speed, unconsolidated layer thickness, sound speed gradient, g, and geo-alpha, αG; and that the biological environment may be characterized by the layer depth, layer thickness, and bio-alpha (attenuation coefficient within the layer). Co-located cores provided ground truth; echo sounder and trawl measurements provided biological truth. Both the concurrent inversion and the chirp-based methods yielded approximately the same value of g, 6.5/s, in the top 9 m thick layer of clayey-silt. The value of αG, based on TL measurements, was quite low, approximately 0.02 dB/λ, in good agreement with Holland and Dosso’s (2013) only previously reported in-situ estimate of geo-alpha in silty-clay in this frequency-depth range. These results have important implications for estimation of geo parameters from TL measurements in biologically intense environments. Refinements to envisioned follow-on experiments will be discussed. [This research was supported by the Office of Naval Research Ocean Acoustics Program.]Application of the concurrent geo and bio-acoustic inversion method (Diachok and Wales, 2005) to broadband (0.3–5 kHz) transmission loss (TL) measurements, and co-located normal incidence chirp sonar measurements provided measures of geo-acoustic properties of clayey-silt in the Santa Barbara Channel. Inversion calculations assumed that the geological environment may be characterized by the interfacial sound speed, unconsolidated layer thickness, sound speed gradient, g, and geo-alpha, αG; and that the biological environment may be characterized by the layer depth, layer thickness, and bio-alpha (attenuation coefficient within the layer). Co-located cores provided ground truth; echo sounder and trawl measurements provided biological truth. Both the concurrent inversion and the chirp-based methods yielded approximately the same value of g, 6.5/s, in the top 9 m thick layer of clayey-silt. The value of αG, based on TL measurements, was quite low, approximately 0.02 dB/λ, in good agreement with Holland and D...
The Effects of Planning, Goal Setting, and Performance Feedback on Avoidance Behaviors for Struggling Readers

To improve reading achievement, teachers must ensure students actively engage in productive and meaningful reading tasks. Students with an established history of reading difficulty—including those ...