cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Effect of SERCA pump inhibitors on chemoresponses in Paramecium.

Inhibitors of SERCA (sarcoplasmic/endoplasmie reticulum Ca 2+ -dependent ATPase) calcium pumps were used to investigate the involvement of internal Ca2+ stores in the GTP response in Paramecium. External application of these inhibitors was found to dramatically alter the typical behavioral and electrophysiological responses of Paramecium to extracellular chemical stimulation. In particular, 2,5-di-tert-butylhydroquinone (BHQ) strongly inhibited the backward swimming response of paramecia to externally applied GTP, though it did not inhibit the associated whirling response. BHQ also prolonged the normally brief electrophysiological response of these cells to GTP BHQ completely blocked the behavioral and electrophysiological responses of Paramecium to extracellular Ba 2+ , but had no measurable effect on the behavioral or electrophysiological responses of these cells to another depolarizing stimulus, elevated external K + concentration. These results suggest the involvement of nonciliary. Ca 2+ ions in the GTP and Ba 2+ responses.
The shelf life and effectiveness of granular formulations of Metschnikowia pulcherrima and Pichia guilliermondii yeast isolates that control postharvest decay of citrus fruit

Abstract Our overall objectives were to prepare commercially acceptable formulations of the postharvest biological control yeasts, Metschnikowia pulcherrima and Pichia guilliermondii, which have a long storage life and to determine the effectiveness of these formulations to control postharvest green and blue moulds on citrus fruit. Yeasts, grown on a cane molasses-based medium, were combined with talc or kaolin carriers and various adjuvants and the viability of yeast in 12 formulations was determined over a 6 month period. Formulation no. 11, containing talc, sodium alginate, sucrose, and yeast extract, for both yeasts had a significantly higher viable yeast cell content over a 6 month storage period. Among the formulations, three formulations (formulations no. 5, 6, and 11) were selected for additional in vivo testing because they had higher levels of viability amongst yeast cell populations during storage and were easier to resuspend remained in suspension more easily. These formulations were tested on Satsuma mandarin and grapefruit to control green and blue moulds. Formulations no. 5, 6, and 11 for both yeasts effectively controlled green mould, while only formulation no. 11 with either yeast isolate M. pulcherrima (isolate M1/1) or P. guilliermondii (isolate P1/3) effectively controlled both blue and green moulds.
Comparison of plicated and stapled continent ileocecal stoma

Abstract Tapered terminal ileum and an intact ileocecal valve have been shown to be an effective efferent continence mechanism in patients with continent ileocecal urinary reservoirs. The terminal ileum can be tapered by simple suture plication or with linear gastrointestinal stapling devices. We used precise urodynamic techniques to study 21 continent urinary reservoirs constructed from ileocecal bowel segments: 14 with plicated segments and 7 with stapled segments. Mean contraction pressures tended to be higher in the latter (P = 0. 054), although maximum contraction pressures were similar (P = 0.48). Terminal ileum tapered with the gastrointestinal stapling device and an intact ileocecal valve provide for an effective efferent continence mechanism that is easy to construct and catheterize.
Laser-Induced Particle Production and Nuclear Reactions

We show that electrons accelerated in plasma generated by available, or within reach, terawatt lasers can initiate positron and neutron production and a host of nuclear reactions. We propose and evaluate the environments and processes favorable for this phenomenon, which can be used to develop a practical table-top source of intense short pulses of positrons, gamma-photons, neutrons, and fission fragments.
Utilization of electron impact ionization of gaseous and sputtered species in the secondary ion acceleration region of a magnetic sector SIMS instrument

Abstract Negative secondary ion insulator analysis using a normal incidence electron gun (NEG) on CAMECA magnetic sector SIMS instruments can be difficult due to an inability to adequately determine the electron beam impact region during NEG alignment. The electron impact energy is too low to utilize phosphor cathodoluminescent materials that can be used for NEG alignment for positive secondary ion analyses. Detection of electron beam desorbed H− is often used for NEG alignment, but the presence of H on the surface is not always uniform and it is transient, making it difficult to determine whether variations in the H− secondary ion intensity are due to non-uniformity of the electron beam or of the H on the sample. To overcome this difficulty, a new technique has been developed that takes advantage of sputtering of the sample surface by positive ions created by electron impact ionization in the spectrometer secondary ion acceleration region between the sample and the immersion lens of the mass spectrometer. The formation of the ions occurs by interaction of residual gas species in the spectrometer secondary ion acceleration region with the NEG electron beam. This method is used to align the NEG for negative secondary ion charge neutralization.
Intrinsic differences in the perturbing ability of alkanols in bilayer: action of phospholipase A2 on the alkanol-modified phospholipid bilayer.

The kinetic parameters for the steady-state rate of hydrolysis of egg phosphatidylcholine in multilamellar vesicles by bee venom phospholipase A2 are measured in the presence of 27 alkanols and several organic solvents. In general, small nonpolar solutes like enflurane, tetrahydrofuran, benzene, chloroform and diethylether do not promote the hydrolysis of multilamellar vesicles. The rate of hydrolysis shows a biphasic dependence upon the alkanol concentration for all higher (C5–C9) alcohols examined, i.e., an optimal rate of hydrolysis is observed at a characteristic concentration for each alcohol. The alkanol to lipid mole ratio (D/L ratio) in the bilayer at the peak activating concentration of an alkanol was computed from its bilayer/water partition coefficient. The branched chain alcohols induce peak activation of hydrolysis at lowerD/L ratios in the bilayer than the corresponding straight chain analogs. Similarly, the longer chainn-alkanols at peak activating concentration have a lowerD/L ratio than the corresponding lower alcohols. Both theK m andV m for phosphatidylcholine increase as a function of the chain length of the activating alcohol. These kinetic parameters also depend upon the position of the substituents on the activating alcohols. Both theD/L ratio andV m for an alcohol are found to change with the cross-sectional area of the activating alcohol across its long axis: alcohols with a more asymmetric cross-section exhibit higherV m and a lowerD/L ratio. Such correlations ofV m andD/L ratio with the molecular parameters of the alkanols are interpreted to suggest that the accessibility of the substrate molecule in the bilayer to the phospholipase is modulated by the free space introduced by the alkanols in the bilayer. Effect of tetradecane derivatives and A2C (a membrane fluidizing agent) on the phase transition characteristics of DPPC bilayers, and their susceptibility to phospholipase A2 from bee venom and pig pancreas is also reported. These solutes cause a broadening of the transition profile and reduce the size of the cooperative unit and the enthalpy of transition. These effects depend upon the mole fraction of a solute in the bilayer; however, equal concentrations of these solutes do not induce equal response. Susceptibility of the modified bilayers to phospholipase A2 depends not only upon the structure of the solute but also upon the source of the enzyme. The data show that the activity of the membrane-bound enzyme is modulated to different extents by different solutes, and the bilayer perturbing ability of these solutes may be related to the asymmetry of their cross-sectional area and to the free space introduced by the alkanols in a bilayer.
Examining Argument in a Naturally Occurring Jury Deliberation

In this article, the authors examine argument in the interactions of members of a naturally occurring jury (State of Ohio v. Mark Ducic). Using the structurational concept of contradictions and a thematic analysis, the authors examine the forms and functions of group argument structures and the role of argument structuring in the jury’s penalty deliberation. Findings are discussed in terms of theoretical and methodological implications for structuration argument theory.
Oxidation of l-α-amino acids by chicken liver microsomes☆

Abstract A general l -amino acid oxidase has been extensively purified as a particulate preparation from the microsome fraction of chicken liver. It catalyzes an irreversible aerobic oxidation of a number of l -α-amino acids with the formation of the corresponding α-keto acid, ammonia, and hydrogen peroxide. Neither d -amino acids nor α-hydroxy acids are substrates for this enzyme. It is likely that the enzyme is one of the flavoproteins which catalyze a stereospecific oxidative deamination of l -α-amino acids.
Advances in matrix manifolds for computer vision

The attention paid to matrix manifolds has grown considerably in the computer vision community in recent years. There are a wide range of important applications including face recognition, action recognition, clustering, visual tracking, and motion grouping and segmentation. The increased popularity of matrix manifolds is due partly to the need to characterize image features in non-Euclidean spaces. Matrix manifolds provide rigorous formulations allowing patterns to be naturally expressed and classified in a particular parameter space. This paper gives an overview of common matrix manifolds employed in computer vision and presents a summary of related applications. Researchers in computer vision should find this survey beneficial due to the overview of matrix manifolds, the discussion as well as the collective references.
Nitrogen dissolution in alkali-barium-metaphosphate melts

Phosphorus oxynitride glasses were prepared by remelting 30R2O-20BaO-50P2O5, (R=Li, Na or K) glasses in anhydrous ammonia. The nitrogen content of these metaphosphate melts decreased with increasing size of the alkali ion. The dissolution rate in water and thermal expansion coefficient of the base glasses increased with increasing alkali ion size. The dissolution rate of the oxynitride glasses was lower than that of the base glasses but was essentially independent of the alkali ion. The thermal expansion coefficient of the oxynitride glasses increased with increasing alkali size as observed in other glasses.
The macroscopic theory of van der Waals attraction

Abstract The van der Waals energy between two films is calculated from the average quantum energy of the electromagnetic radiation field. All branch points and different Riemann surfaces appearing in earlier treatments vanish by applying finite boundary conditions. The final frequency integration runs over the full imaginary axis.
Synthesis and comparison of CF3 versus CH3 substituted perfluorocyclobutyl (PFCB) networks for optical applications

A novel aryl trifluorovinyl ether monomer, 1,1,1-tris(4-trifluorovinyloxy-phenyl)-2,2,2-trifluoroethane (5), was prepared via a multistep reaction sequence adapted from previously reported procedures. Monomer 5 polymerizes by free-radical mediated thermal cyclodimerization to produce a crosslinked perfluorocyclobutyl (PFCB) polymer. Substituting CH 3 for CF 3 did not affect the polymerization kinetics as measured by differential scanning calorimetry. Surprisingly, the refractive index of poly5 (1.4931 at 1550 nm) is slightly higher than that measured for poly6 (1.4876 at 1550 nm) despite the significant increase in fluorine content. Compared to the CH 3 -containing monomer 6, fluorinated analogue 5 exhibits increased thermal and thermal oxidative stability and thus we expected lower optical loss for long-term high performance applications. Copolymerization with existing aryl trifluorovinyl ether monomers should allow access to new PFCB network copolymers with a tailored performance.
Astrocytes get in the act in epilepsy

Neurons in the brain of individuals with focal epilepsy exhibit sustained discharges, called paroxysmal depolarization shifts. Unexpected new evidence indicates that glutamate release from glia can generate these events, and may serve to synchronize the activity of neurons.
How important is bacterial carbon to planktonic grazers in a turbid, subtropical lake?

This study examined the relative contributions of bacterial and phytoplankton production to the pelagic carbon flow of Lake Okeechobee, a large and shallow subtropical lake. Due to the predominance of cyanobacteria in this lake, we hypothesized that bacterial carbon flow to grazers would be larger than phytoplankton carbon flow to grazers. Using epifluorescent and light microscopy and radiotracer techniques, we measured the carbon biomass of planktonic functional groups and carbon flow between these groups. The functional groups that we used in this study included: picophytoplankton, autotrophic nanoflagellates (ANAN), microphytoplankton, bacteria, heterotrophic nanoflagellates (HNAN), ciliates, microzooplankton (rotifers and copepod nauplii), and macrozooplankton (cladocerans, copepodites, and adult copepods). Microphytoplankton dominated the carbon biomass of all plankton, whereas the calanoid copepod, Diaptomus, dominated the carbon biomass of the grazers. Phytoplankton carbon flow often was higher than bacterial carbon flow to grazers; however, bacterial carbon constituted a large percentage of the total carbon flow to grazers (33.7 ± 22.4%). Bacterial carbon provided roughly one quarter of the carbon flow to macrozooplankton (27.1 ± 25.4%), whereas it provided half of the carbon flow to microzooplankton (57.4 ± 20.3%) and to protozoans (47.2 ± 25.8%). These results suggest that microbial pathways play an important role in the energetics of subtropical lake plankton communities. Although microbial loop pathways are important in many systems, direct bacterial carbon flow to macrozooplankton also may be important in copepod- and cyanobacteriadominated lakes.
An Empirical Investigation of Audit Fees, Nonaudit Fees, and Audit Committees*

Abstract This stody examines the association between audit committee characteristics and the ratioof nonaudit service (NAS) fees to audit fees, using data gathered under the Secuiities andExchange Commission's (SEC's) fee disclosure rules. Issues related to NAS fees have beenof concern to practitioners, regulators, and academics for a number of years. Prior researchsuggests that audit committees possessing certain characteristics are important participantsin the process of managing the client—auditor relationship. We hypothesize that audit com-mittees that are independent and active financial monitors have incentives to limit NAS fees(relative to audit fees) paid to incumbent auditors, in an effort to enhance auditor indepen-dence in either appearance or fact. Our analysis using a sample of 538 flrms indicates thataudit committees comprised solely of independent directors meeting at least four timesamiually are significantly and negatively associated with the NAS fee ratio. This evidence isconsistent with audit committee members perceiving a high level of NAS fees in a negativelight and taking actions to decrease the NAS fee ratio.Keywords Audit committee; Audit fees; Auditor independence; Nonaudit seiYicesCoiidenseLes auteurs examinent le lien entre les caracteristiques du comite de verification et le rapportentre les honoraires des services autres que la verification (designes NAS — non-auditsenAces) et les honoraires des services de verification, a l'aide de donnees recueillies auxEtats-Unis, sous le regime des regies imposees par la Securities and Exchange Commission(SEC) en matiere d'ioformation a foumir sur les honoraires. Depuis bon nombre d'annees,les questions relatives aux honoraires des NAS preoccupent les praticiens, les responsablesde !a reglementation et ies chercheurs. La presente etude est motivee par deux decisions
Sequels of rheumatic fever: chronic rheumatic heart disease

The outcome of rheumatic fever spans the spectrum from complete recovery (always marred, however, by a predisposition to recurrences) to death from intractable heart failure during the acute attack. In between are the various kinds of chronic rheumatic heart disease, each with its own characteristic natural history, and with its own spectrum of severity.
Long-term incidence of urinary tract infection after ureteral reimplantation for primary vesicoureteral reflux.

Abstract Objective To determine the incidence of urinary tract infection (UTI) after ureteral reimplantation (UR) for primary vesicoureteral reflux (VUR). Materials and methods In this retrospective review, the pyelonephritis-free survival of patients with primary VUR who underwent open UR from January 1990 to December 2002 was assessed using a Cox proportional hazards analysis. Results 1076 patients underwent open UR for primary VUR. 73.0% were female; median age was 4.7 years. 80.1% presented with UTI. Clinical success rate for non-tapered UR was 96.5%. Median follow-up was 2.9 years. 21.8% had at least one postoperative UTI. 6.5% had postoperative pyelonephritis (POP) at a median of 21 months postoperatively. On multivariate survival analysis female gender (OR 9.97, 95% CI 3.07–32.34), preoperative VUR grade ≥3 (2.14, 1.25–3.69), breakthrough preoperative UTI (2.00, 1.22–3.25), and preoperative renal scarring (1.86, 1.15–2.99) were associated with POP. Conclusion POP is rare on long-term follow-up, suggesting that UR is effective in reducing pyelonephritis in this population.
"You're all a bunch of fucking feminists:" Addressing the perceived conflict between gender and professional identities using the Montreal Massacre

A case study of the Montreal Massacre was employed in a core engineering thermodynamics class, using two video news clips to spur discussion about the event and about the intersection of gender identity and feminist politics with the engineering profession. In the pilot test of our lesson plan, students discussed strategies for addressing overt and subtle sexism, negotiating questions of dress in the profession, the ways they use gendered behavior or gender distancing as strategies, work-life balance, competition and women's success as a threat. Such concerns are not typically included in professionalization aspects of engineering curricula, but their importance for both women and men is evident. We present our lesson plan and discussion outcomes, and address multiple contexts in which this case can be utilized to teach about gender and engineering.
The use of integrated soil microcosms to assess the impact of carbendazim on soil ecosystems.

Our investigation used carbendazim as a representative pesticide for testing an integrated soil microcosm (ISM) test protocol. Microcosms, set up in a greenhouse, consisted of cylinders made from high-density polyethylene (HDPE) pipe, 7.5 cm (i.d.) x 15 cm high. A fine nylon mesh was placed across the bottom of each microcosm for leachate collection. Field soil, (silty clay loam), collected from Florsheim, Germany, was sieved through a 5 mm screen and mixed thoroughly. Earthworms, enchytraeids, and microarthropods were added to each microcosm. Each microcosm contained five wheat seedlings, and was maintained at a 12 h-12 h light-dark cycle. Artificial rainwater was used to water microcosms as required. Soil microcosms were treated with carbendazim at concentrations 1, 3, 9, 27, and 81 times higher than the predicted environmental concentration (PEC) of 0.76 mg a.i./kg soil dry weight. A water-only control treatment was also used. The key soil processes used as endpoints were microbial activity, nitrogen mineralization. soil enzymatic activity, ammonium and nitrate leaching, organic matter decomposition and biological feeding activity. Key structural parameters measured were microbial biomass, nematode communities, microarthropod populations and diversity, enchytraeid and earthworm populations and plant growth. Pesticide degradation, leaching and uptake into plants and earthworms were also assessed. Carbendazim had significant effects on several key soil processes including soil ammonium-N and nitrate-N concentrations and soil dehydrogenase activity. Wheat growth, nematode and earthworm populations, and invertebrate feeding activity were soil structural parameters affected significantly by carbendazim. Earthworm biomass was the most sensitive parameter measured with an EC50 of 1.9 mg a.i./kg soil dry weight 28 days after treatment. A comparison of these results with results from single-species tests, small microcosms, large terrestrial model ecosystems, and field tests indicated that the ISM protocol may adequately predict environmental effects.
The molecular population genetics of regulatory genes.

Regulatory loci, which may encode both trans acting proteins as well as cis acting promoter regions, are crucial components of an organism’s genetic architecture. Although evolution of these regulatory loci is believed to underlie the evolution of numerous adaptive traits, there is little information on natural variation of these genes. Recent molecular population genetic studies, however, have provided insights into the extent of natural variation at regulatory genes, the evolutionary forces that shape them and the phenotypic effects of molecular regulatory variants. These recent analyses suggest that it may be possible to study the molecular evolutionary ecology of regulatory diversification by examining both the extent and patterning of regulatory gene diversity, the phenotypic effects of molecular variation at these loci and their ecological consequences.
State estimation of systems with binary-valued observations

This paper studies problems of state estimation of systems whose outputs are measured by binary-valued sensors. Signal estimation is first explored under an over-sampling method. Strong convergence and convergence rates of signal estimators are established. Algorithms are developed for estimation of initial states based on signal estimation results, when state equations are noise free. It is shown that the algorithms are asymptotically efficient in the sense that they achieve the Cramer-Rao lower bounds asymptotically when over-sampling rates become large. These results are then extended to more general scenarios of smoothing, filtering, and prediction problems.
Visual input to commissural neurons of the cat's superior colliculus.

Cells projecting into the commissure of the cat's superior colliculus were identified during extracellular recording by antidromic activation. Electrical stimulation of the ipsilateral optic tract evoked action potentials in the majority of commissural neurons. Response latencies of 1.4 +/- .5 ms (mean +/- S.D.) in a few cells indicated that some commissural neurons receive direct input from the axons of retinal Y-cells. Most commissural cells responded 5.9 +/- 1.9 ms (mean +/- S.D.) following optic tract shock, implying that the responsible pathway was composed of more slowly conducting axons or did not proceed directly to the colliculus. Results of previous studies of retinal inputs to cells in the deep tectal layers suggest that the later responses were mediated by an indirect Y pathway through the visual cortex.
Electromagnetic scattering by a finite strip on a substrate

Features on wafers manufactured by the semiconductor industry continue to decrease in size. Simulation is required to determine the dimensions of a feature from a microscope image when some of the dimensions are comparable to or significantly smaller than the wavelength of the light used in the microscope. Previously images of finite strips on a substrate have been approximated by those of infinite strips, which reduces to the solution of the two-dimensional scalar Helmholtz equations [1]. If this simpler approach no longer gives accurate results, we have to consider scattering of monochromatic plane waves of circular frequency ω by finite strips, which requires the solution of the three-dimensional Maxwell equations [2]. We use a generalization of the single-integral-equation formulation [3] that reduces the number of unknowns on the interfaces in three-dimensional problems such as a particle in a layer [4], a doublet of spheres [5], and a finite strip on a substrate [6], where we show the integral equations for the unknown tangential vector fields on the boundaries and the simulation of image formation. Here we show details of the scattering by a finite strip, such as the parameters defining the configuration of an oblique strip, the handling of the surface divergence term, and the reduction to algebraic equations, including self-patch contributions [7]. Most simulations of interest will be those of rectangular strips, as shown in Fig. 1, but to study deformations of such strips we need to be able to simulate oblique strips as shown in Fig. 2.
A fully implicit numerical method for single-fluid resistive magnetohydrodynamics

We present a nonlinearly implicit, conservative numerical method for integration of the single-fluid resistive MHD equations. The method uses a high-order spatial discretization that preserves the solenoidal property of the magnetic field. The fully coupled PDE system is solved implicitly in time, providing for increased interaction between physical processes as well as additional stability over explicit-time methods. A high-order adaptive time integration is employed, which in many cases enables time steps ranging from one to two orders of magnitude larger than those constrained by the explicit CFL condition. We apply the solution method to illustrative examples relevant to stiff magnetic fusion processes which challenge the efficiency of explicit methods. We provide computational evidence showing that for such problems the method is comparably accurate with explicit-time simulations, while providing a significant runtime improvement due to its increased temporal stability.
Dose-Dense Anthracycline-Based Chemotherapy for Node-Positive Breast Cancer

PURPOSE: Theoretical considerations and clinical experience suggest that dose-dense chemotherapy may be superior to other approaches using the same drugs. We studied a dose-dense combination of doxorubicin and cyclophosphamide, with or without fluorouracil, as adjuvant therapy. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Patients with resected breast cancer were treated if they were node-positive and estrogen receptor–negative, positive for overexpression of Her-2-neu, or had four or more involved nodes. Doxorubicin was given weekly to a total dose of 480 mg/m2. Cyclophosphamide 60 mg/m2 was given daily by mouth during the period of doxorubicin treatment. The first 30 patients received fluorouracil at 300 mg/m2/wk intravenously concurrently with doxorubicin administration. In the last 22, it was omitted because of symptomatic hand-foot syndrome in the majority of patients. Filgrastim (granulocyte colony-stimulating factor [G-CSF]) was administered during chemotherapy every day except the day of intravenous administration and c...
Ethical Problems of Marketing Researchers

Almost all studies on ethics in marketing research have focused on either delineating the responsibilities and obligations of researchers to respondents and clients or exploring whether various gro...
Relative dose and vascular response after drug-eluting stent implantation: A dosimetric 3D-intravascular ultrasound study.

Abstract Background In drug-eluting stents (DESs), the theoretical drug dose exposed to the vessel wall per stent surface area may vary due to the fixed loading dose and differences in the stent surface area once expanded in varying vessel sizes. The aim of this study was to evaluate the potential effects of different dose intensities, as estimated by 3D-IVUS dosimetry, on vascular response after DES implantation. Methods Follow-up (6–9months) 3D-IVUS was performed in 840 coronary lesions treated with a single DES of the following types: sirolimus (SES, n=148), paclitaxel (PES, n=162), Endeavor zotarolimus (E-ZES, n=233), Resolute zotarolimus (R-ZES, n=147), and everolimus (EES, n=150). Volume index (volume/length, mm 3 /mm) was obtained for vessel, lumen, plaque, stent, and neointima. In each lesion, exposed dose intensity was calculated as known loading dose divided by measured luminal surface area of the stented segment. Lesions were divided into tertiles based on the exposed dose intensity: high, medium, and low dose groups. Results The exposed dose intensity ranged 0.74–1.76μg/mm 2 for SES, 0.41–1.18μg/mm 2 for PES, 0.71–1.57μg/mm 2 for E-ZES, 0.72–1.63μg/mm 2 for R-ZES, and 0.40–0.99μg/mm 2 for EES. All types of DES showed no significant difference in neointimal hyperplasia among the 3 groups, except that E-ZES showed significantly less neointimal hyperplasia in the high dose group. Conclusions Detailed 3D-IVUS revealed significant lesion-to-lesion variability in dose intensity exposed to the vessel wall following DES implantation. However, the major types of DES appear to yield equally effective neointimal suppression, despite the varying dose intensity, except for E-ZES.
Randomized controlled trial of prolonged second stage: extending the time limit vs usual guidelines

Background Guidelines for management of the second stage have been proposed since the 1800s and were created largely by expert opinion. Current retrospective data are mixed regarding differences in maternal and neonatal outcomes with a prolonged second stage. There are no randomized controlled trials that have evaluated whether extending the second stage of labor beyond current American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists recommendations is beneficial. Objective The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether extending the length of labor in nulliparous women with prolonged second stage affects the incidence of cesarean delivery and maternal and neonatal outcomes. Study Design We conducted a randomized controlled trial of nulliparous women with singleton gestations at 36 0/7 to 41 6/7 weeks gestation who reached the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists definition of prolonged second stage of labor , which is 3 hours with epidural anesthesia or 2 hours without epidural anesthesia. Women were assigned randomly to extended labor for at least 1 additional hour, or to usual labor , which was defined as expedited delivery via cesarean or operative vaginal delivery. The exclusion criteria were intrauterine fetal death, planned cesarean delivery, age Results Seventy-eight nulliparous women were assigned randomly . All of the women had epidural anesthesia. Maternal demographics were not significantly different. The incidence of cesarean delivery was 19.5% (n = 8/41 deliveries) in the extended labor group and 43.2% (n = 16/37 deliveries) in the usual labor group (relative risk, 0.45; 95% confidence interval, 0.22–0.93). The number needed-to-treat to prevent 1 cesarean delivery was 4.2. There were no statistically significant differences in maternal or neonatal morbidity outcomes. Conclusion Extending the length of labor in nulliparous women with singleton gestations, epidural anesthesia, and prolonged second stage decreased the incidence of cesarean delivery by slightly more than one-half, compared with usual guidelines. Maternal or neonatal morbidity were not statistically different between the groups; however, our study was underpowered to detect small, but potentially clinical important, differences.
Teresa de Ávila: Portrait of the saint as a young woman

ABSTRACTTeresa de Jesus (known as Teresa de Avila in the English-speaking world) began life in a comfortable, merchant-class family. The daughter and granddaughter of conversos, she was one of twelve children (two from the first marriage of Don Alonso de Cepeda, Teresa's father, and ten from the second). She received a good education for a girl of her period and class, probably learning to read and write from parents and tutors, and then studying at a convent boarding school. She undoubtedly learned the importance of letter writing from her father, as business in early modern Europe was conducted largely through correspondence. Although traditional biographers paint a romanticized view of Teresa's girlhood, a careful reading of her Vida, letters, and other documents reveals that there were many strains on the Cedepa-Ahumada household. Among the causes were the Cepedas' deteriorating financial situation, societal pressures on conversos, the death of Teresa's mother, tensions among the siblings, the departu...
Model for River Regulation

Flow modification of the 450 mile Wisconsin River, which drains 12,000 sq miles as it traverses the state, is accomplished by the average annual release of 465,000 acre-ft of water from a system of 21 reservoirs on the River’s headwaters that are owned by a private corporation and have a capacity of 401,000 acre-ft. Twenty-six hydro-plants, which develop an aggregate head of 650 ft, are benefited directly by the reservoir operation which reduces flood flows by as much as 50% and frequently doubles low flows. Data from 38 rain gages (twelve recorders), twelve ground-water wells, six stream gages, five snow courses, four lake evaporation pans, and the hydro-stations permit close control of the annual runoff of 12.5 in. which results from 31 in. of rainfall. Ground-water Index correlations indicate that an Index range of 5.75 ft represents a change of 1,300 cfs in base flow of the River. The Wisconsin Valley Improvement Company, whose stockholders are eight paper companies and four utilities, hopes to provide reservoirs to control flashy runoff from five other tributary streams.
Induced Oscillations of Liquid Jet-Gas Cavity System

This investigation studies the basic liquid jet-gas cavity interaction, accounting for compressibility, frequency and amplitude of jet oscillation, and fall characteristics of the undisturbed jet flow. The analysis reveals several new aspects of the liquid jet-gas cavity interaction: The phase angle between the jet origin and the cavity pressure fluctuation is a strong function of cavity compressibility and oscillation frequency; the amplitude of the cavity pressure fluctuation has resonance states which are related to phase angle and compressibility effects; the phase angle dependence on frequency of oscillation has well-defined upper and lower limits due to cavity compressibility limits.
Mutual Information Based Risk-Aware Active Sensing in an Urban Environment

The risk-aware path planning problem is considered, which aims to locate a target in a congested urban environment and facilitate aid in the decision making on target interdiction. The target is modeled as a ground vehicle moving randomly within a road network and following traffic rules. To locate the target, a heterogeneous sensor network composed of passive sensors (e.g., Static traffic cameras and mobile human observers) and active sensors (e.g., A UAV) is tasked to cooperatively search for the target. A sample-based Bayesian filter is developed to fuse various sensor measurements to estimate the target state. To facilitate the decision making on target interdiction, a notion of risk is considered, which evaluates the incurred loss of target interdiction at certain locations based on incomplete information of target state and urban factors (e.g., The proximity to critical areas such as populated shopping malls, schools, military, or government buildings). As opposed to the static traffic cameras and the randomly walking human observers that passively provide target measurements, the UAV actively plans its path, based on mutual information, to maximize the in formativeness of future measurements. In contrast to classical target tracking that only focuses on reducing the uncertainty of target state, the risk is encoded in the particle weights to guide the motion of UAV to improve target state estimation and, ultimately, reduce the risk of decision on target interdiction. Simulation results are provided to demonstrate the integrated sensing framework and the risk-aware path planning algorithm.
Nuisance Potential of a Dump Fly, Ophyra aenescens (Diptera: Muscidae), Breeding at Poultry Farms

In Oconee County, S.C., a dump fly, Ophyra aenescens (Wiedemann), displaced the house fly, Musca domestica L., as the predominant muscoid fly present in the pits of two enclosed environmental poultry houses. During an 18-wk period (June–October 1983), these flies were allowed to breed without restriction. Twenty-eight sticky-tape monitoring stations at distances of 0–1,500 m from the poultry farm provided evidence that flies did not migrate to sensitive areas such as nearby residences in sufficient numbers to be considered a nuisance. Habits of this muscoid fly differ from those of the house fly in that O. aenescens apparently is more attracted to the dark pit area of poultry houses, shaded woodlands, and similar areas rather than human habitations. Because it does not appear to be a problem at human habitations, O. aenescens may be useful as an alternative biological strategy for suppressing house-fly breeding on poultry farms.
Biomass allocation, clonal dispersal, and competitive success in three salt marsh plants

Although a tradc-off between colonization and competitive ability is widely recognized to promote species co-existence. this trade-off is rarely tested. Biomass allocation patterns, clonal dispersal, and competitive success of three salt marsh plant species grown in pots or trays were examined in the greenhouse. The competitive ranking was determined by a pairwise additive-series competition experiment in pots under low nutrient conditions. Competitive ability and patterns of biomass allocation differed significantly among species. The competitive dominants, Juncus gerardi, exhibited higher root :shoot and root:rhizome ratios than its competitive subordinates, Spartina patens and Distichlis spicata. Contrary to what was previously observed in the field. Spartina patens was only slightly competitively superior to Distichlis spicata in the greenhous (i.e., the difference was not statistically significant). Distichlis spicata and Spartina patens exhibited very similar patterns of biomass allocation. including similar patterns of allocation to roots and rhizomes. Although the ranking of the three species with respect to clonal dispersal rates in trays (i.e., Distichlis spicata > Spartina patens > Juncus gerardi) was inversely correlated with their competitive abilities in the field, differences in dispersal rates were small and not statistically significant. Thus. a hypothesized trade-off between competitive ability and colonization ability in these three species does not appear to be strongly correlated with interspecific differences in rates of clonal dispersal in trays in the greenhouse. It is hypothesized that the superior colonization ability of Distichlis spicata observed in the field depends greatly on its ability to tolerate harsh edaphic conditions within gaps.
Cross-Shopping and Retail Growth

In contrast to a currently held assumption, cross-shopping is shown to produce incremental business for a retail firm. The conditions under which such cross-shopping occurs are specified. The resul...
The world at work: hotel cleaners

With tourism and hospitality representing the largest economic sector in the world,1 and more than 4.8 million rooms in accommodation establishments in the USA alone,2 hotel cleaners comprise a significant occupational segment. Regardless of geographic variation, hotel cleaners are predominantly women, immigrants and minorities working under adverse conditions such as long hours, ergonomic strain, chemical exposure, poor pay, low job control, job insecurity and a wide array of other physical and mental health risks.3–5 Such exposure has produced disproportionately high health disparities among service occupations, including repetitive strain injury, musculoskeletal disorders, allergies and psychological distress; hotel cleaners are both highly underserved and understudied as an occupational segment.6–8 In this paper, we will provide an overview of the plethora of work hazards encountered by hotel cleaners, and propose effective measures to reduce these hazards in order to improve hotel cleaners’ occupational safety and health. Hotel cleaners perform cleaning tasks in lodging facilities, such as hotels, motels and resorts. Various interchangeable terms have been used to identity these labourers, including ‘maids’, ‘housekeepers’ and ‘room attendants’.9 By cleaning guests’ rooms, hotel cleaners make an important contribution to the core value of a hotel. Unlike cleaners in other private or commercial establishments, hotel cleaners are required to clean guest rooms to meet the quality standards of the individual hotel. They are also expected to exercise customer service skills when encountering hotel guests, and to contribute to customers’ overall satisfaction.10 The responsibilities of a hotel cleaner vary and generally include cleaning the guest rooms, hallways and other public areas in the hotel. The specific tasks involved include changing sheets and towels; making beds; emptying wastebaskets; dusting and polishing furniture and equipment; scrubbing sinks, taps, toilets, and bathtubs; washing and mopping bathroom floors; vacuuming floors; replenishing supplies; pushing heavy supply …
Distribution of Caenocholax fenyesi (Strepsiptera: Myrmecolacidae) and the habitats most likely to contain its stylopized host, Solenopsis invicta (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)

Caenocholax fenyesi Pierce has been collected sporadically throughout the Neo-tropics and southeastern United States. We present the known distribution of C. fenyesi , including the addition of 5 new distributional records. The distribution of C. fenyesi was evaluated in Brazos County, Texas, as an example of a concise geographic region saturated with Solenopsis invicta Buren, the known host of males. Stylopized S. invicta were collected at only 10 of 25 sites. The distribution of C. fenyesi in Brazos County appeared limited by some factor other than its male host. Stylopized S. invicta were found in all surveyed habitats, although they were more commonly found in savanna and woodland habitats compared with grasslands.
Residues of Telodrin Following Fall, Spring, and Summer Applications to Alfalfa

Telodrin®, 1,3,4,5,6,7,8,8-octachloro-3a,4,7,7a-hexahydro-4,7-methanoisobenzofuran, has shown considerable promise for controlling many insects that are injurious to alfalfa and other forages. Studies undertaken in 1961 and 1962 to determine disappearance rates of Telodrin residues showed it to be very persistent following applications of either granules or emulsions. Residucs of 0.02 and 0.04 ppm were present 8 months after application of Telodrin granules at ½ and 1 lb of actual toxicant per acre, respectively. Telodrin applied as an emulsion to alfalfa stubble at as low as 2 oz per acre produced detectable residues as late as 41 days after application.
THE PROPERTY EQUILIBRIUM IN A LIBERAL SOCIAL ORDER (OR HOW TO CORRECT OUR MORAL VISION)

The “welcome return” to “substantive political philosophy” that Rawls's A Theory of Justice was said to herald has resulted in forty years of proposals seeking to show that philosophical reflection leads to the demonstrable truth of almost every and any conceivable view of the justice of property rights. Select any view—from the justice of unregulated capitalist markets to the most extreme forms of egalitarianism—and one will find that some philosophers have proclaimed that rational reflection uniquely leads to its justice. This is, I believe, a sort of ideological thinking masquerading as philosophizing. In this paper, using some tools from game theory as well as experimental findings, I seek to sketch a non-ideological approach to the question of the justification of property rights. On this approach the aim of political philosophy is, first and foremost, to reflect on whether our social rules of property are within the “optimal eligible set” of rules acceptable to all.
The Effects of Single Specialty Hospital Entry on Hospital Market Competition

Rationale and Aims: Single specialty hospitals (SSHs) that provide cardiac, orthopedic, and/or surgical care, are a relatively new and rapidly growing sub-industry among U.S. hospitals. These providers, the majority of which are owned by physicians who refer patients to them, have stirred considerable controversy over whether they support unfair competition or promote economic efficiency leading to a new competitive benchmark for costs and quality. Yet the scientific knowledge base supporting these convictions has not been established. This project aims to address this deficiency by focusing on the competitive process itself, and by investigating the responses of full-service hospitals in face of the new competitive challenge. Do SSHs stimulate higher quality of care and services among their competitors? We address this question by analyzing specific markers of competition that relate to the quality of hospital service, as observed in changes in the behavior of competing hospitals operating over a period during which there was considerable physician-owned SSH entry. Three benchmarks of quality are examined: inpatient safety events, service mix, and staffing ratios. Methods: Methods comprise quantitative analysis of state and national level administrative data for three key states in which the SSH sub-industry is geographically concentrated and growing: TX, CA and AZ. The research plan entails identification of hospital markets that have experienced the entry of physician-owned SSHs in recent years in the three states. Market areas are Hospital Referral Regions as defined in the Dartmouth Atlas of Health Care. We examine changes in the quality benchmarks observed in competitor hospital behavior and performance before and after entry of the SSHs, and compare them with changes over the same time period in hospitals located in markets with no SSH presence. We will estimate a set of regressions corresponding to the competitive responses described above, using longitudinal panel data models with hospital fixed effects. Long-Term Objective: The long-term objective is to assess the dynamic market consequences associated with entry of physician-owned SSHs into local markets. Knowledge of how SSHs affect overall hospital quality in the markets where they operate will provide a foundation for future policy evaluation of the following question: Does the organization of hospital care around single specialties truly foster a new competitive benchmark in local markets, inducing community hospitals to improve performance and quality of service?
Study on the diagnostic value of magnetic resonance imaging(MRI) in the abnormal placenta attaching the scar uterine

Objective To evaluate the diagnostic value of Magnetic resonance imaging(MRI) examination in placenta abnormalities of uterine scar rebirth women. Methods A total of 538 patients with previous cesarean delivery in our hospital prospectively underwent trans-abdominal color Doppler ultrasound and MRI for the prenatal diagnosis of placenta abnormalities. The gold diagnostic criteria of placental abnormalities was due to pathological findings in childbirth or after surgery We prospectively followed up their clinical and pathological results and compared the sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values of color Doppler ultrasound and MRI. Results MRI exam on uterine scar placenta previa(placenta previa dangerous type) and placenta accreta uterine scar had better sensitivity and specificity than color Doppler ultrasound diagnosis. The positive predictive value and negative predictive value was also higher than color ultrasound diagnostic. Conclusion MRI exam in pregnancy with uterine scar of abnormal placental attachment has a good diagnostic value, it deserves to be widely promoted in the clinical.