cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Effect of Antioxidants on the Production of Off-Odor Volatiles and Lipid Oxidation in Irradiated Turkey Breast Meat and Meat Homogenates

The addition of gallate, sesamol, trolox, and tocopherol was effective, but sesamol, sesamol + toco- pherol, and gallate + tocopherol were among the most effective antioxidants in reducing thiobarbituric acid reactive substances, volatile production, and off-odor intensity in turkey breast homogenates. Also, these 3 antioxidant treatments were effective in controlling lipid oxidation and off-odor intensity in both vacuum and aerobically packaged patties. However, aerobic packaging was better than antioxidant treatments in reducing off-odor inten- sity of irradiated turkey patties. Antioxidants had no effect on redness, but increased lightness and yellowness of irradiated turkey breast. It was concluded that a combination of antioxidant and aerobic packaging was more useful than antioxidant and vacuum packaging in controlling off-odor problems in irradiated raw turkey meat.
International Epidemiology of Child and Adolescent Psychopathology I: Diagnoses, Dimensions, and Conceptual Issues

Objectives To review international findings on the prevalence of diagnosed disorders, generalizability of dimensional scales, and distributions of dimensional scores for school-age children and to address the conceptual and clinical issues raised by the findings. Method A review of findings for interviews (Development and Well-Being Assessment, Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children) and dimensional rating instruments (Conners Rating Scales, Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire [SDQ]) that have been used to assess general population samples of at least 300 children in at least five societies. Results Prevalence estimates for diagnosed disorders varied greatly, owing at least in part to methodologic variations. A Goodman five-dimension model for the SDQ received some support, whereas a three-dimension internalizing-externalizing-prosocial model for the SDQ was supported for epidemiologic studies. The SDQ total difficulties scores varied less than the prevalence estimates for diagnoses, but population-specific norms may be needed. Conclusions Numerous studies have shown the feasibility of assessing children in diverse societies with diagnostic interviews and dimensional ratings. However, the findings disclose challenges to be met to help clinicians take account of the similarities and differences found for psychopathology in different societies
Inappropriate antidiuresis and carcinoma of the lung: detection of arginine vasopressin in tumor extracts by immunoassay.

A case is described in which an undifferentiated (oat cell) carcinoma of the lung was associated with hyponatremia, natruresis and excretion of urine hypertonic to plasma. The electrolyte and osmolality abnormalities were corrected by water restriction and did not recur after pneumonectomy. By means of radioimmunoassay, extracts of the tumor were found to contain arginine vasopressin (or some very closely related pep tide) in amounts ranging from 8 to 427 μU/mg wet tissue weight. Extracts from uninvolved lung, lymph node, and from lung tumors of patients without this syndrome contained no detectable activity. Pituitary glands obtained at autopsy contained vastly greater quantities. These studies provide further evidence that the syndrome of inappropriate secretion of antidiuretic hormone associated with various malignant tumors is due to hormone production by the tumor.
Effect of NRG1, GDNF, EGF and NGF in the Migration of a Schwann Cell Precursor Line

The Schwann cells are the myelinating glia of the peripheral nervous system that originated during development from the highly motile neural crest. However, we do not know what the guidance signals for the Schwann cell precursors are. Therefore, we set to test some of the known neurotrophins that are expressed early in developing embryos and have been shown to be critical for the survival and patterning of developing glia and neurons. The goal of this study was to determine more specifically if GDNF, NRG1 and NGF are chemoattractants and/or chemokinetic molecules for a Schwann cell precursor line, the Spl201. We performed live chemoattraction assays, with imaging and also presented these molecules as part of their growing substrate. Our results show for the first time that GDNF and NRG1 are potent chemoattractive and chemokinetic molecules for these cells while NGF is a chemokinetic molecule stimulating their motility.
Endothelial cell and platelet bioenergetics: effect of glucose and nutrient composition.

It has been suggested that cells that are independent of insulin for glucose uptake, when exposed to high glucose or other nutrient concentrations, manifest enhanced mitochondrial substrate oxidation with consequent enhanced potential and generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS); a paradigm that could predispose to vascular complications of diabetes. Here we exposed bovine aortic endothelial (BAE) cells and human platelets to variable glucose and fatty acid concentrations. We then examined oxygen consumption and acidification rates using recently available technology in the form of an extracellular oxygen and proton flux analyzer. Acute or overnight exposure of confluent BAE cells to glucose concentrations from 5.5 to 25 mM did not enhance or change the rate of oxygen consumption (OCR) under basal conditions, during ATP synthesis, or under uncoupled conditions. Glucose also did not alter OCR in sub-confluent cells, in cells exposed to low serum, or in cells treated with added pyruvate. Likewise, overnight exposure to fatty acids of varying saturation had no such effects. Overnight exposure of BAE cells to low glucose concentration decreased maximal uncoupled respiration, but not basal or ATP related oxygen consumption. Labeled glucose oxidation to CO2 increased, but only marginally after high glucose exposure while oleate oxidation to CO2 decreased. Overnight exposure to linolenic acid, but not oleic or linoleic acid increased extracellular acidification consistent with enhanced glycolytic metabolism. We were unable to detect an increase in production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) from BAE cells exposed to high medium glucose. Like BAE cells, exposure of human platelets to glucose did not increase oxygen consumption. As opposed to BAE cells, platelet mitochondria demonstrate less respiratory reserve capacity (beyond that needed for basal metabolism). Our data do not support the concept that exposure to high glucose or fatty acids accelerates mitochondrial oxidative metabolism in endothelial cells or platelets.
Hospice and health policy

Abstract This article gives a review of the hospice concept of care. The importance of caring for the patient and family as one unit for the purpose of addressing specific needs of each, and the specific needs of the dying patient and of his/her family are discussed. The alleviation of symptoms and control of pain are of primary importance in terminal cases. Throughout the dying process the patient should be treated as a unique individual and his fear of isolation and abandonment must be overcome by the availability of personal attention. Although the patient receives a great deal of attention it is of vital importance to him/her that he/she is just as involved in giving as receiving. The family is both an agency and a recipient of care. It is the task of hospice care to allow the family to go on living. Feelings of anticipatory grief — of which a definition is given — have to be reduced; the most difficult time for the family is however when the patient is very close to death. It is stressed that real exchange of feelings between family and the dying person is of utmost importance for both, and should be encouraged by hospice care. The hospice staff should maintain contact with the family and close friends after the death of their loved one, to allow them ventilation of their feelings.
A discounted cost relationship

Abstract In Savits (1988 . J. Appl. Probab. 4 , in press) a very general cost mechanism for a maintained system was considered. There he established a relationship between the expected long run cost per unit time for the age and block maintenance policies. In the present paper a similar relationship is obtained for the expected total α-discounted cost.
Colonoscopy for Colorectal Cancer Screening Above Age 75: Outcomes in Symptomatic African American and Hispanic Adults

US Preventive Services Task Force recommends against routine screening for colorectal cancer (CRC) in adults above 75 years of age. Considerations to support screening in an individual patient are not clearly described. There is limited data to support recommendations in African American (AA) and Hispanics population. We reviewed records of 568 inpatient colonoscopies carried out at our Mt. Sinai Hospital Medical Center, Chicago during 2006–2008 for symptomatic adults ≥75 years of age. Subjects with previous normal screening colonoscopies and presence of one or more “generally indicated” indications as per American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy guidelines were included in the study. A total of 155 adults (mean age, 81.8 years; 29% males and 71% females; 83.8% AAs and 16.1% Hispanics) met the inclusion criteria. Seventy-nine percent had one previous colonoscopy, whereas 21% of the patients had two or more previous colonoscopies. Common indications for a repeat colonoscopy were anemia 69.7%, hematochezia 39.4%, and fecal occult blood 19.4%. Colonoscopy was completed to the cecum in 65.2% of the subjects. Advanced adenomas/cancers were found in 15/155 (9.7%) colonoscopies. CRC detection rate was 14/155 (9%), of which 9/14 (75%) were staged III/IV. Two (1.3%) patients had complications which resolved conservatively. Symptomatic AAs and Hispanics ≥75 have a high incidence of CRC despite a previous normal colonoscopy. Presence of male sex, new onset anemia and hematochezia, and longer colonoscopy intervals are associated with CRC detection on colonoscopy. The detection of advanced cancer and high comorbidity/low life expectancy limit the benefit of CRC detection.
Greenhouse gas trading starts up

While nations decide on whether to sign on to the Kyoto Protocol on climate change, some countries and private companies are moving forward with greenhouse gas emissions trading. A 19 March report, “The Emerging International Greenhouse Gas Market,” by the Pew Center on Global Climate Change, reports that about 65 greenhouse gas emissions trades for quantities above 1,000 metric tons of carbon dioxideequivalent already have occurred worldwide since 1996. Many of these trades have taken place under a voluntary, ad hoc framework, though the United Kingdom and Denmark have established their own domestic emissions trading programs.
Pulmonary Cytokine and Chemokine mRNA Levels after Inhalation of Lipopolysaccharide in C57BL/6 Mice

Inhaled endotoxin (lipopolysaccharide, LPS) can induce acute lung injury and at high doses may lead to respiratory distress syndrome. Using a mouse model of acute lung inflammation induced by inhalation of low doses of LPS we examined the kinetics of chemokine, proinflammatory cytokine, and metallothionein. Eight-week-old C57BL/6 mice were dosed for 10 min with LPS, resulting in an estimated alveolar dose of <10 ng LPS/mouse, and euthanized 2, 6, or 24 h postexposure. Analysis of bronchoalveolar lavage fluid demonstrated increased polymorphonuclear neutrophils (PMNs) of 6.94, 32.7, and 38.8% after 2, 6, and 24 h, respectively. Examination of proinflammatory cytokine, chemokine, and Mt mRNA in the lung revealed increases for messages encoding IL-1α, IL-1β, IL-6, IFN-γ, TNFα, Eotaxin, MIP-1α, MIP-1β, MIP-2, Mt, and IP-10, while messages encoding IL-12, IL-10, IFN-β, Ltn, MCP-1, TGFβ1 + 2, and RANTES were unchanged from those of sham-exposed mice 2 h postexposure. By 6 h most messages had returned to near control levels. Comparison to 5 mg/kg body weight intraperitoneal injection and 5 μg/mouse intratracheal instillation 2 h postexposure demonstrated similar message responses. Our results demonstrate that low levels of LPS exposure by inhalation induce a strong PMN response and a selective cytokine response in the lung, supporting the hypothesis that PMNs may regulate inflammatory processes via cytokine and chemokine response.
Rate of convergence of Schmidt pairs and rational functions corresponding to best approximants of truncated Hankel operators

The problem of approximating Hankel operators of infinite rank by finite-rank Hankel operators is considered. For efficiency, truncated infinite Hankel matrices Γn of Γ are utilized. In this paper for any compact Hankel operator Γ of the Wiener class, we derive the rate of l2-convergence of the Schmidt pairs of Γn to the corresponding Schmidt pairs of Γ. For a certain subclass of Hankel operators of the Wiener class, we also obtain the rate of l1-convergence. In addition, an upper bound for the rate of uniform convergence of the rational symbols of best rank-k Hankel approximants of Γn to the corresponding rational symbol of the best rank-k Hankel approximant to Γ asn → ∞ is derived.
RNA interference targeting geminin gene affects the proliferation of vascular smooth muscle cells in rats

The proliferation of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) plays an important role in the pathogenesis of vascular diseases. The Geminin is one kind of Nucleoprotein, which plays a critical role during the initiation of DNA replication. There are two phenotypes of VSMCs. However, VSMCs can switch between an alternative proliferative phenotype and a contractile, whereas, the functions and Mechanism of Geminin in VSMCs has not been well defined yet. So we use siRNA approach to analyse the effects of geminin gene on the proliferation and apoptosis of rat VSMCs. We transfected rat VSMCs with siRNA by Slow virus package; geminin protein expression and mRNA level were respectively determined by Western blotting and RT-PCR. siRNA mediated geminin suppression affected the Landmark gene of the two phenotypes of VSMCs such as osteopontin and α-action. Furthermore, cells were synchronised to remain in the G1/S phase. There were interactions between cdt1 and geminin, and DNA synthesis was analysed by 3H thymidine (3H-TdR) and EDU incorporation. Down-regulation of geminin mRNA and protein expression was observed in rat VSMCs at 24 h after transfection. A significant increase in the proliferation index was observed. Thus, geminin gene may be an essential regulator of rat VSMCs proliferation and transformation of phenotype
Photoresonant neonlike krypton x-ray lasers

A neonlike X-ray laser photoresonant pumping scheme is explored. The design is configured as a coaxial z-pinch consisting of an inner krypton lasant plasma surrounded by a carbon shell that itself is surrounded by a stagnated krypton plasma. The photoresonant radiation emitted from the outer plasma passes inwardly through the carbon shell and photoexcites lasant electrons to the 3s and 3d levels. It is calculated that monochromatic pump powers of 100 - 200 GW/eV can be achieved for the 3s and 3d neonlike resonance lines. The gain in several neonlike 3s-3p transitions is calculated as a function of temperature and density of the lasant plasma. Reasonable gain in the 3p-3s (J=0-1) transition is obtained for high density, high temperature lasant conditions. This gain is nearly independent of the pump. For low density, low temperature lasants, optimal gain is obtained in the 3p3s (J=2-1) transitions. Photoionization and photoexcitation by the pump are necessary to produce gain under these conditions. The attenuation of the resonance line pumps limits gain to the outer edge of modest density lasants.© (1992) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
MM-Wave Radiation Laser and BRT in Tuberculosis Empyemae Therapy

Chronic tuberculosis empyemae of the pleural cavity (CTEP) is one the diseases causing a lethal outcome.
Apical and basolateral membrane ionic channels in rabbit urinary bladder epithelium.

This paper reviews the properties and regulation of single amiloride-sensitive Na+ channels in the apical membrane, and Cl− and K+ channels in the basolateral membrane of rabbit urinary bladder. According to fluctuation analysis, there is an average of one amiloride-sensitive Na+ channel for every 40 μm2 of apical membrane. Each Na+ channel passes 0.7 pA of current under normal, short-circuit conditions. Apical channels are hydrolysed by the endogenous enzyme urokinase, which is released into the urine by the kidney. After exposure to urokinase, the Na+ channel loses its amiloride sensitivity, and eventually becomes unstable in the membrane. The selectivity and kinetic properties of single anion and K+ channels in the basolateral membrane were also studied using the patch clamp technique. The properties of these channels are discussed in terms of the regulation of transepithelial Na+ transport.
Protein Mechanics: A New Frontier in Biomechanics

Proteins play essential roles in all aspects of cellular processes, such as biosynthesis, division, growth, motility, metabolism, signaling, and transmission of genetic information. Proteins, however, could deform under mechanical forces, thus altering their biological functions. Here we present protein deformation as a possible molecular basis for mechanosensing and mechanotransduction, elucidate the important features of protein mechanics including protein deformation mode and dynamics, illustrate how protein deformation could alter biological function, and describe the important roles of protein deformation in force-sensing, force transducing and mechanochemical coupling in cells. The experimental and modeling challenges in protein mechanics are discussed.
The Main Determinants of Bollywood Movie Box Office Sales

ABSTRACT The Indian film industry produces more movies and sells more tickets than any other movie industry, with revenues second only to those of the U.S. film industry. We employ a two-by-two research design to investigate the main determinants of Indian movie sales overseas using two measures of movie performance for two countries of destination. By examining data and testing our hypotheses on a sample of 330 films, we identify effects related to brand, product, distribution, and consumers during opening week as well as total box office sales both individually and collectively. Results show that the groups of variables affecting Bollywood opening week sales for both countries of destination are identical in sequence and importance (distribution, product, brand, consumer variables). For total box office sales, they are similar, with the exception of the first group. For the United Kingdom, consumer-related variables predominate while distribution-related variables predominate in the United States, follo...
Molecular profiling of tissue samples using laser capture microdissection.

The management of cancer and other genetically based diseases is far from optimal in even our most advanced medical centers. There is still uncertainty regarding how diseases will progress in certain patients, toxicity that must be tolerated with imprecise treatment regimens and significant potential for treatment failure. As our understanding of the complexity of these diseases has increased, it has become clear that we must move toward precisely tailored approaches to treating each individual patient. To that end, a major goal of current medical research is the rapid identification of the specific molecular alterations in each patient’s disease. This will enable the design of optimal diagnosis, prognosis and treatment, significantly improving survival. This review describes one important approach to the genetic analysis of disease – molecular profiling – and the tenets and technologies necessary for its success.
The Griffin model, complex particles and direct nuclear reactions

The basic approximations of the Griffin model for nuclear reactions are reexamined. Proton-neutron distinguishability and the Pauli exclusion principle are treated in an improved way. Several improvements in the model input values are suggested. Direct reaction mechanisms are systematically considered, and semi-empirical descriptions are proposed for those not included in the Griffin model calculations (knockout and inelastic processes involving alpha particles and stripping and pickup). When all of these points are considered, good agreement with experimental energy spectra for emitted particles are obtained without arbitrary and unphysical factors in the particle emission rates and without the artificial projectile dependence previously needed for the average residual two-body matrix element.
Optimization methods for computing global minima of nonconvex potential energy functions

The minimization of potential energy functions plays an important role in the determination of ground states or stable states of certain classes of molecular clusters and proteins. In this paper we introduce some of the most commonly used potential energy functions and discuss different optimization methods used in the minimization of nonconvex potential energy functions. A very complete bibliography is also given.
Maximizing throughput of jobs with multiple resource requirements

We consider the problem of scheduling jobs that require multiple resources such as memory, bandwidth and processors. For each job, the input specifies start time, finish time and profit; the input also specifies the job's requirement for each resource. Each resource has a fixed capacity (called bandwidth). A feasible solution is a subset of jobs such that for any timeslot and any resource, the total requirement of the jobs active at the timeslot does not exceed the capacity of the resource. The goal is to maximize the profit of the jobs selected. We present an approximation algorithm with provable guarantees and effective heuristics for this problem. The algorithm has an approximation ratio of O(r), where r is the number of resources. We present an experimental evaluation of our algorithms that exhibit their effectiveness.
MEASUREMENT OF THE DIELECTRIC CONSTANT OF SLURRIES IN PIPES

The dielectric constant and the ionic conductivity are measured for a slurry flowing in a conducting pipe. These properties are determined from a measurement of the wavelength, frequency and attenuation of radio waves propagating inside the pipe. A mixing model is used to infer the solids fraction of the slurry.
Understanding and characterizing insights: how do people gain insights using information visualization?

Even though "providing insight" has been considered one of the main purposes of information visualization (InfoVis), we feel that insight is still a not-well-understood concept in this context. Inspired by research in sensemaking, we realized the importance of the procedural aspects in understanding insight. Thus, rather than asking "What is insight?" we instead focus on "How do people gain insights?" In an effort to better understand and characterize insight, we reviewed previous literature in InfoVis, seeking other researchers' comments and views on this concept. We found that: 1) Insights are often regarded as end results of using InfoVis and the procedures to gain insight have been largely veiled; 2) Four largely distinctive processes of gaining insight (Provide Overview, Adjust, Detect Pattern, and Match Mental Model) have been discussed in the InfoVis literature; and 3) These different processes provide some hints to understand the procedures in which insight can be gained from InfoVis. We hope that our findings help researchers and practitioners evaluate InfoVis systems and technologies in a more insight-oriented way.
Prothrombin and protein C in early childhood: Normal adult levels are not achieved until the fourth year of life

Prothrombin and protein C are vitamin K--dependent proteins with important roles in hemostasis. During the neonatal period, levels of both proteins are lower than in the adult. TM However, the normal range in later infancy and the age at which adult levels are reached have not been established for either protein. We report values for protein C and prothrombin in 148 healthy children ranging in age from 1 month to 4 years. METHODS The children attended the Family Care Clinic at Belle- vue Hospital Center. All were born at term after uncom- plicated pregnancies, were well at the time of study, and had no significant previous illness. Capillary blood speci- mens were obtained by finger or heel stick into heparinized microhematocrit tubes. The tubes were centrifuged imme- diately, and the plasma stored at -70 ~ C until tested. from I 1 healthy adults obtained from venous blood drawn into dry heparin. Protein C level in this pool was 115.5%, and prothrombin was 116% expressed as a percentage of pooled plasma obtained from George King. Assuming a dilution factor of 1:6 in the George King plasma related to the anticoagulant, these values are 101.5% and 101%, respectively. RESULTS Mean protein C levels in plasma obtained from citrated blood of 28 healthy adults were 102% _+ 12.5% in venous samples and 118% + 14% in capillary samples. Assuming a dilution factor of 1:6 in the venous samples because of the anticoagulant, the mean level in the capillary samples was 103% + 14%. There was a significant correlation between the venous and capillary values in the individuals studied (r -- 0.995, P <0.001). The mean values for prothrombin in the same samples were venous 98.3%-+ 11.5% and capillary 113.0% _+ 13.0%. When dilution of the venous samples with antico- agulant was taken into account, the capillary values were 98.9% _+ 13.0%. The correlation between capillary and venous sample was also highly significant (r--0.995, P <0.001 ). Levels of protein C and of prothrombin in relation to age from 1 month to 4 years are shown in the Figure and the Table. At 36 months, mean values for both proteins were still significantly lower than the adult mean level, and did not reach adult values until sometime during the fourth year of life. The initial rise was relatively rapid, but became progressively slower (Figure). Levels of prothrom- bin were higher than those of protein C for the first 8 months, and the ratio of protein C to prothrombin was significantly lower than in the adult. By 1 year of age the ratio had reached the normal adult value of I, and remained there subsequently (Table).
Update on the treatment of hypercholesterolemia, with a focus on HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors and combination regimens.

Numerous studies involving patients with hypercholesterolemia have demonstrated that reduction of lipid levels markedly reduces morbidity and mortality from cardiovascular disease. Diet alone may enable patients without established disease to attain target lipid levels, but pharmacotherapy generally is necessary for those with coronary artery disease. Choice of a suitable agent for monotherapy—a bile acid resin, niacin, or an HMG-CoA reductase inhibitor—may be determined by patient phenotype. For resistant cases, therapy combining an HMG-CoA reductase inhibitor with another agent generally is effective and well tolerated.
Tactical underwater navigation system (TUNS)

The problem of underwater navigation for an individual diver is particularly challenging. GPS navigation is unsuitable for most underwater operations and particularly covert operations use because the GPS RF signal is attenuated below usable levels as it penetrates the water column. Dead reckoning methods, which rely on magnetic compass and approximate distance measurements, are susceptible to magnetic interference, inaccurate distance estimates and current induced drift. Pure inertial navigation methods require expensive systems to meet mission accuracy objectives, due to mission lengths of several hours. Advances in the performance of MEMS inertial sensors, solid state compasses and the development of water based Doppler velocity sensors have enabled a positioning solution that meet USMC diver cost and performance goals. A technology development team organized by Honeywell has developed a self-contained prototype system that integrates a GPS receiver, an inertial measurement unit, a solid state magnetometer, a pressure sensor and a multi-axis Doppler velocity sensor that functions as a surface or underwater navigator and also enables the user to perform underwater surveying and mapping. The sensor integration approach was based on a Kalman filter aided strapdown navigator. Gyro and accelerometer information is processed by the strapdown navigation algorithms to produce navigation solution. An extended Kalman filter processes the GPS, magnetometer, Doppler Velocity Log (DVL), and depth sensor measurement to aid the navigation solution and update sensor error estimates. This paper presents an overview of the system hardware and software implementation as well as test results from ocean trials off the coast of Hawaii.
Affine dynamical systems

Abstract A affine dynamical system is a dynamical system whose attainability map is affine. It is shown that over a reflexive Banach space the class of affine dynamical systems is equivalent to the class of linear differential systems.
The Arise Space VLBI Mission

Abstract ARISE (Advanced Radio Interferometry between Space and Earth) is a proposed future space VLBI mission currently under consideration by NASA. The primary mission goal is to orbit a radio telescope whose performance for high-frequency VLBI is similar to a 25-meter antenna of the Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA). A VLBA antenna has a mass greater than 200 tons, but inflatable antenna technologies may enable launch of an orbiting antenna with a similar diameter, but a mass of only a few hundred kilograms. This would permit key scientific questions to be investigated, such as the nature of the innermost relativistic jets in γ-ray blazars, and the physics associated with extragalactic H2O megamasers. If ARISE is selected by NASA, a launch date of 2008 is feasible.
Communication, relativism, and student development

Recent contributions to communication theory imply that an education in communication requires an encounter with relativism. With empirical support, William Perry has schematized the role of relativism in student development. Therefore, the Perry scheme is commended as a paradigm for research and practice in communication education. An assessment of three approaches to communication pedagogy, from Perry's perspective, suggests the unique relevance of the “communicative experience model” for intellectual and ethical development through relativism.
Articulating Distress on Multiple Levels: Illness, History, and Culture Among the Kumiai of Baja California, Mexico

Illness among disenfranchised indigenous communities in Mexico reflects not only disease but also structural relations of power based on ethnicity, gender, and economic status. As such, physiological explanations of illness alone are not sufficient to understand and address suffering caused by common illnesses. Among the Kumiai Indians of one rural community in Baja California, one of the most commonly reported health problems is presioon baja (low blood pressure), and the overlapping condition of alternating high and low blood pressure. Low/variable blood pressure is most likely to affect women from one of two clans and who are relatively poorer than other community members. For these women, low/variable blood pressure embodies the lived experience of and response to high rates of diabetes, local gender relations, and a changing kinship structure. As a local idiom of distress that carries national cultural currency as a reflection of the experiences of indigenous Mexican women living in rural poverty, low/variable blood pressure requires interventions that directly target diabetes but also gender-sensitive economic development programs to promote community health.
Prepare your mind for learning

The learning process must evolve and expand throughout one's IT career. Most would agree that's often easier said than done. Here are some ways professionals can overcome mental blocks that may prevent learning.
Best-so-far vs. where-you-are: New perspectives on simulated annealing for CAD

The simulated annealing (SA) algorithm has been applied to every difficult optimization problem in VLSI (very large scale integration) CAD. Existing SA implementations use monotone decreasing, or cooling, temperature schedules motivated by the algorithm's proof of optimality as well as by an analogy with statistical thermodynamics. This paper gives strong evidence that challenges the correctness of using such schedules. Specifically, the theoretical framework under which monotone cooling schedules is proved optimal fails to capture the practical application of simulated annealing. In practice, the algorithm runs for a finite rather than infinite amount of time; and the algorithm returns the best solution visited during the entire run ("best-so-far") rather than the last solution visited ("where-you-are"). For small instances of classic VLSI CAD problems, the authors determine annealing schedules that are optimal in terms of the expected quality of the best-so-far solution. These optimal schedules do not decrease monotonically, but are in fact either periodic or warming. (When the goal is to optimize the cost of the where-you-are solution, they confirm the traditional wisdom of cooling.) The results open up many new research directions, particularly how to choose annealing temperatures dynamically to optimize the quality of the finite time, best-so-far solution. >
Reduced G-protein-coupled-receptor kinase 2 activity results in impairment of osteoblast function

Rapid phosphorylation of many G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) by G-protein-coupled receptor kinases (GRKs) accompanies stimulus-driven desensitization. Recent evidence suggests that GRKs and their associated arresting proteins, β-arrestins, function as essential elements in the GPCR-mediated mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase signaling cascade. We investigated the interaction between GRKs and MAP kinase activation by growth factors in UMR 106-H5 osteoblastic cells stably expressing a dominant negative mutant of GRK2 (K220R). Expression of K220R in osteoblastic cells results in reduced cellular proliferation, both basally and in response to insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1), and blunting of IGF-1- and EGF-induced MAP kinase activation. Reduced MAP kinase activation is not associated with alterations in IGF-1-receptor autophosphorylation. Both a constitutively active Ras mutant and PMA fully activate MAP kinase in K220R cells. We found that disruption of the GRK2 gene results in: (1) reduced osteoblast proliferation in response to growth factors, and (2) impaired receptor tyrosine kinase activation of mitogenic signaling pathways. Thus, GRK2 may regulate growth factor responsiveness in osteoblasts by modulating multiprotein complex formation following receptor tyrosine kinase activation.
In‐vitro interaction of azithromycin and fluoroquinolones against gram‐positive and gram‐negative bacteria

Objective To determine the combined in-vitro effects of azithromycin plus the fluoroquinolone ofloxacin or lomefloxacin against gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria. Methods Fractional inhibitory (FIC) and fractional bactericidal concentration indices of azithromycin and the fluoroquinolone were determined using a microtiter-checkerboard method. Clinical isolates of Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus pneumoniae, Neisseria gonorrhoeae, Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Pseudomonas cepacia, Haemophilus influenzae, Xanthomonas maltophilia and Acinetobacter calcoaceticus were studied. Fourteen strains of S. aureus were also studied in time-kill curves with azithromycin (4 mg/L), lomefloxacin (6 mg/L) and the two in combination. Results No synergism or antagonism was found in inhibitory assays. However, bactericidal assays revealed antagonism with some strains of S. aureus, S. pneumoniae, X. maltophilia, A. calcoaceticus, P. aeruginosa, P. cepacia, K. pneumoniae and E. coli. Kill-curve results with 14 strains of S. aureus showed no antagonism with four strains of methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA), and antagonism with one strain of MRSA and seven methicillin-susceptible S. aureus (MSSA). Conclusions In-vitro exposure to combinations of azithromycin and a fluoroquinolone does not produce a synergistic effect. Antagonism was found in bactericidal assays against some gram-negative bacteria and MSSA; caution is therefore recommended in the use of macrolides and quinolones against these organisms.
Biased Manifold Embedding: Supervised Isomap for Person-Independent Head Pose Estimation

An integral component of face processing research is estimation of head orientation from face images. Head pose estimation bears importance in several applications in biometrics, human-computer interfaces, driver monitoring systems, video conferencing and social interaction enhancement programs. A recent trend in head pose estimation research has been the use of manifold learning techniques to capture the underlying geometry of the images. Face images with varying pose angles can be considered to be lying on a smooth low-dimensional manifold in high-dimensional image feature space. However, with real-world images, manifold learning techniques often fail because of their reliance on a geometric structure, which is often distorted due to noise, illumination changes and other variations. Also, when there are face images of multiple individuals with varying pose angles, manifold learning techniques often do not give accurate results. In this work, we introduce the formulation of a novel framework for supervised manifold learning called Biased Manifold Embedding to obtain improved performance in person-independent head pose estimation. While this framework goes beyond pose estimation, and can be applied to all regression applications, this work is focused on formulating the framework and validating its performace using the Isomap technique for head pose estimation. The work was carried out on face images from the FacePix database, which contains 181 face images each of 30 individuals with pose angle variations at a granularity of 1 ∘ . A Generalized Regression Neural Network (GRNN) was used to learn the non-linear mapping, and linear multi-variate regression was adopted on the low-dimensional space to obtain the pose angle. Results showed that the approach holds promise, with estimation errors substantially lower than similar efforts in the past using manifold learning techniques for head pose estimation.
Depression and risk of mortality in individuals with diabetes: a meta-analysis and systematic review.

Abstract Objectives To estimate risk of comorbid depression on all-cause mortality over time among individuals with diabetes. Methods The Medline, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, Cochrane Library, Embase and Science Direct databases were searched through September 30, 2012. We limited our search to longitudinal or prospective studies reporting all-cause mortality among those having depression and diabetes, compared with those having diabetes alone that used hazard ratios (HRs) as the main outcome. Two reviewers independently extracted primary data and evaluated the quality of studies using predetermined criteria. The pooled random effects adjusted HRs were estimated using meta-analysis. The impact of moderator variables on study effect size was examined with meta-regression. Results A total of 42,363 respondents from 10 studies were included in the analysis. Depression was significantly associated with risk of mortality (pooled HR=1.50, 95% confidence interval=1.35–1.66). Little evidence for heterogeneity was found across the studies (Cochran Q=13.52, P =.20, I 2 =26.03). No significant possibility of publication bias was detected (Egger's regression intercept=0.98, P =.23). Conclusion Depression significantly increases the risk of mortality among individuals with diabetes. Early detection and treatment of depression may improve health outcomes in this population.
Pharmacogenetics- and pharmacogenomics-based rational clinical trial designs in oncology.

The rapid evolution of molecular technologies that can identify genetic markers and lead to dissecting the inherent variance of individual cancer biology has had a tangible impact on trial designs in oncology. Rational trial designs based on molecular marker expression coupled with drug–marker interactions have started to be adopted, challenging the previous paradigms of morphology-based, single-arm efficacy studies. This review summarizes novel trials being developed based on molecular predictive factor therapeutics and the potential impact these novel trial designs will have on the practice of oncology in future. A variety of clinical trial designs based on tumor and drug–host genetic interactions are discussed and the example of advanced prostate cancer is used to illustrate the changing landscape of clinical trial designs in cancer.
Toward more effective strategies in teaching programming for novice students

This work reports two different approaches in teaching an introductory level computer programming course to first-year undergraduate students in a small liberal arts university. The first approach, task-specific design strategy, is a simplified teaching method to help students solving large problems. The second approach, teaching programming using graphical language, is a method to enhance students' understanding on programming terminologies. The overall evaluation of the course showed the teaching methods are beneficial and effective, especially for students with limited background in computing and programming. Further, students' feedback conducted at the end provide us with potential improvements for the future.
ATTENTIONAL MEDIATION OF CIGARETTE SMOKING'S EFFECT ON ANXIETY

It was hypothesized that smoking's calming effects are cognitively mediated and depend on the presence of a benign distractor, smoking narrows the focus of attention, thereby reducing anxiety by facilitating distraction from stressful cognitions (cf. C. M. Steele & R. A. Josephs's [1988] attention-allocation model of alcohol reinforcement). This notion was tested by examining the effect of smoking (vs. not smoking) on anxiety with and without a concurrent distraction in 82 smokers; distraction effects were also assessed in 42 nonsmokers. As predicted, smoking reduced anxiety only when paired with a distractor. Further, these findings could not be explained by direct nicotine effects or nicotine withdrawal. Several measures of attention allocation failed to confirm the hypothesized cognitive mechanisms, however. Implications of the findings are discussed.
PURE: A web-based decision support system to evaluate pesticide environmental risk for sustainable pest management practices in California

Farmers, policy makers, and other stakeholders seek tools to quantitatively assess pesticide risks for mitigating pesticide impacts on ecosystem and human health. This paper presents the Pesticide Use Risk Evaluation (PURE) decision support system (DSS) for evaluating site-specific pesticide risks to surface water, groundwater, soil, and air across pesticide active ingredient (AI), pesticide product, and field levels. The risk score is determined by the ratio of the predicted environmental concentrations (PEC) to the toxicity value for selected endpoint organism(s); except that the risk score for the air is calculated using the emission potential (EP), which is a pesticide product property for estimating potential volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions by California Environmental Protection Agency (CEPA). The risk scores range from 0 to 100, where 0 represents negligible risk while 100 means the highest risk. The procedure for calculating PEC in surface water was evaluated against monitoring data for 41 pesticide AIs, with a statistically significant correlation coefficient of r¼0.82 (po 0.001). In addition, two almond fields in the Central Valley, California were evaluated for pesticide risks as a case study, where the commonly acknowledged high-risk pesticides gained high risk scores. Simazine, one of the most frequently detected pesticides in groundwater, was scored as 74 (the moderate high risk class) to groundwater; and chlorpyrifos, one of the frequently detected pollutants in surface water, was scored as 100 (the high risk class) to surface water. In support of pesticide risk quantitative assessment and use of reduced-risk pesticide selection, the PURE-DSS can be useful to assist growers, pesticide control advisors, and environmental protection organizations in mitigating pesticide use impacts on the environment.
Chilblains in Southern California: two case reports and a review of the literature

Chilblains or perniosis is an acrally located cutaneous eruption that occurs with exposure to cold. Chilblains can be classified into primary and secondary forms. The primary or idiopathic form is not associated with an underlying disease and is clinically indistinguishable from the secondary form. The secondary form is associated with an underlying condition such as connective tissue disease, monoclonal gammopathy, cryoglobulinemia, or chronic myelomonocytic leukemia. Histopathology cannot accurately help distinguish the primary from secondary forms of chilblains. This article will raise the awareness of chilblains by presenting two unusual case reports of chilblains in men from Southern California with discussion of the appropriate evaluation and treatment of this condition. Case 1 A 56-year-old Caucasian man presented in January to a Southern California primary care clinic with a report of tingling and burning in both feet, followed by bluish discoloration and swelling as well as blistering. He had no unusual cold exposure prior to the onset of his symptoms. He had a history of “white attacks” in his hands consistent with Raynaud’s phenomenon. His symptoms gradually resolved over a 3-week period. Case 2 A 53-year-old Caucasian man also presented to a Southern California clinic in January with a 3-week history of painful tingling in his toes, and subsequent purplish-black discoloration of the toes in both feet. His symptoms occurred 1 week after a skiing trip. He had partial improvement with warming measures. His symptoms resolved 2 weeks after his initial presentation. Chilblains is a relatively uncommon entity in warmer climates but can present during the winter months. Primary care providers in warmer climates such as Southern California in the USA may be unfamiliar with its presentation. It can be diagnosed clinically by the appearance of typical lesions during the cold damp season. Through a thorough history, physical examination and selected laboratory evaluation, underlying connective tissue disease or a mimic such as vasculitis or cutaneous leukemia can be excluded.