cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Removing Spatially Aliased Tube Waves In Cross-Well Data

Seismic data collected in a cross-well experiment often contain steep linear events generated by tube waves that propagate vertically along wells where sources and receivers are positioned. Because these linear events are spatially aliased, trace interpolation is necessary before they can be removed through dip-filtering. One of existing methods for trace interpolation is the linear two-step method. The method first finds prediction filters from known traces, and then estimates missing traces by minimizing the energy of prediction errors. I have developed an improved method for finding prediction filters from known, spatially-aliased data. With this method, the prediction filter at one frequency is obtained from the component of data at that frequency; no squeezing or stretching of the filter is required. The effects of aliased data on the prediction filters are removed by selecting the zeros of the prediction filters with a neural net. Consequently, this method can correctly interpolate data whose dip structure varies with respect to frequencies. It does not require the amplitudes of the wavelets along an event to be constant. And furthermore, it correctly determines prediction filters even when data are completely aliased. An example with field data shows that after trace interpolation, tube waves are removed much more effectively than before.
Jail Diversion: Addressing the Needs of Offenders with Mental Illness and Co-Occurring Disorders

The primary purpose of this research is to illuminate three critical components related to the success of jail diversion programs. First, prior to diversion there is the need to identify those offenders most open to therapeutic services. Second, for those offenders diverted, there must be a proper match between the offender and the mental health professional who provides therapeutic services. Third, quality mental health services must have therapists that are routinely involved in the offender's clinical progress from intake to program completion. Suggestions are offered which may serve to forward the evolution of jail diversion implementation and enhance success rates.
Maternal control style and the mastery motivation of one‐year‐olds

Forty-one mothers and their 12-month-old infants participated in a study of the effects of maternal control style on infant mastery motivation. Three scales were designed to assess maternal control style during a mother-infant play session. Mastery motivation was assessed in an experimenter-administered structured toy play procedure. Three components, persistence, competence, and affect, comprised the measure of mastery motivation. Mothers also completed questionnaires on child-rearing attitudes, infant temperament, and control style. Results showed that maternal attitudes and behavior were correlated with infant mastery motivation. More specifically: autonomy-oriented control behavior, sensitive care and knowledge of child-rearing were positively related to infant mastery motivation. The results provide converging evidence regarding the multiple aspects of maternal behavior which affect infant motivation.
The Clinical Validity of the Mattis Dementia Rating Scale in Staging Alzheimer's Dementia:

Considerable heterogeneity exists in the criteria used for the establishment of stages of impairment for patients with dementia. The valid distinction of stages is important both for clinical interpretation and the study of dementia. This study reports on the use of the Mattis Dementia Rating Scale (DRS) in staging dementia. Using a sample of 42 patients diagnosed with Alzheimer-type dementia, DRS performance and a rating of Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (IADL) were compared with clinical ratings of dementia severity. Total DRS score provides a clinically valid measure of stage of impairment and appeared to provide a better distinction among stages than IADL score. However, use of the IADL score in conjunction with total DRS may improve correspondence with clinical staging over use of the total DRS score alone. Normative data for the DRS are also provided.
A CULTURAL HISTORY OF VICTORIAN PHYSICAL SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

Making modern science: a historical survey. By Peter J. Bowler and Iwan Rhys Morus. Chicago and London: University of Chicago Press, 2005. Pp. viii+528. ISBN 0-226-06861-7. $95.00.Over the past three decades, a growing number of historians of science and (to a lesser extent) historians of technology have offered compelling cultural histories that depict the inextricable links between the content of scientific and technological knowledge and the context in which it was created. Rather than assuming at face value that science is a trans-temporal body of knowledge, these historians describe the scientific enterprise as being culturally contingent. Most of the socio-cultural histories of science of the 1980s and 1990s were synchronic, focusing on various aspects of science and culture during a relatively short span of time. As important and successful as those studies were, a number of historians feared that the discipline was losing sight of the longue duree. Precisely because scientific theories and practices can be successful over long periods of time and throughout different cultures, micro-histories with a penchant for contextualizing, while necessary, seemed insufficient. The question was then raised: could the analytical tools and historiographies offered by these earlier microanalyses be applied diachronically? A number of recent works discussed in this review article have answered this question with a resounding ‘yes.’ By focusing on macro-historical themes, such as pedagogy, standardization, imperialism, credibility, and trustworthiness, these works detail the importance of science and technology to Victorian society, and illustrate how the social relations typical of the period shaped physical and technical knowledge.
The Performance Effects of Process Management Techniques

This paper provides exploratory evidence on the cross-sectional association between process management techniques and two profit measures: return on assets and return on sales. Using a sample of firms in two industries automotive and computer and four countries Canada, Germany, Japan, and the United States, we find that certain process management techniques improve profitability while others have little effect on financial performance. In particular, long-term partnerships with suppliers and customers are associated with higher performance in both industries. The value of other techniques such as statistical process control, process capability studies, and cycle time analysis, on the other hand, appears to vary by industry, reflecting differences in the stages of the two industries' process management practices. Finally, computer organizations following an innovation-oriented strategy earned significantly higher accounting returns regardless of the process management techniques employed, suggesting that these techniques have only a second-order effect on performance in this industry.
Central line perforation associated with Staphylococcus epidermidis infection

Abstract We present detailed case reviews of four very low birth weight (VLBW) infants in whom central venous silastic catheter perforation was associated with Staphylococcus epidermidis sepsis. The diagnostic and therapeutic dilemma presented by the intracavitary fluid collections occurring in all four of these cases proved to be of clinical interest. Additionally, we propose a model that may account for the etiology of catheter displacement—localized phlebitis as a result of S epidermidis infection with resultant extralumenal migration of the central venous catheter.
Investigating the cognitive neuroscience of social behavior.

Abstract Social cognitive neuroscience is a fledgling discipline that has already accrued an impressive body of data, but important questions remain regarding the theoretical constructs and methodological approaches that it utilizes. An overview of the papers in this special issue points to several key issues facing the field. We need a theoretical vocabulary that bridges three domains: our intuitive “folk” conceptions of other people, the explanations offered by social psychology, and the explanations offered by cognitive neuroscience. And we need a method that can extract common patterns across multiple studies, to complement strict hypothesis testing of individual studies. These issues can be addressed, in part, by giving theory and experiment equal time, and by fostering an interdisciplinary approach that includes neuroscience, psychology, philosophy, anthropology and allied disciplines.
Chlorhexidine Gluconate Bathing to Reduce Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus Acquisition

Background Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is a virulent organism causing substantial morbidity and mortality in intensive care units. Chlorhexidine gluconate, a topical antiseptic solution, is effective against a wide spectrum of gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria, including MRSA. Objectives To examine the impact of a bathing protocol using chlorhexidine gluconate and bath basin management on MRSA acquisition in 5 adult intensive care units and to examine the cost differences between chlorhexidine bathing by using the bath-basin method versus using prepackaged chlorhexidine-impregnated washcloths. Methods The protocol used a 4-oz bottle of 4% chlorhexidine gluconate soap in a bath basin of warm water. Patients in 3 intensive care units underwent active surveillance for MRSA acquisition; patients in 2 other units were monitored for a new positive culture for MRSA at any site 48 hours after admission. Results Before the protocol, 132 patients acquired MRSA in 34333 patient days (rate ratio, 3.84). Afterwards, 109 patients acquired MRSA in 41376 patient days (rate ratio, 2.63). The rate ratio difference is 1.46 (95% CI, 1.12-1.90; P = .003). The chlorhexidine soap and bath basin method cost $3.18 as compared with $5.52 for chlorhexidine-impregnated wipes (74% higher). Conclusions The chlorhexidine bathing protocol is easy to implement, cost-effective, and led to decreased unit-acquired MRSA rates in a variety of adult intensive care units.
C-R bounds for the AR parameter estimation as a function of a data length

This correspondence presents the exact Cramer-Rao (C-R) bounds for unbiased parameter estimation of Gaussian autoregressive (AR) processes. In this particular instance, the computation of the exact bounds is actually simpler than that of some proposed asymptotic bounds. It is shown that in order to build the Fisher information matrix, the intractable analytical evaluation of the derivatives can be transformed into simple shift-matrix operations.
The Impact of Rotational Practice on Nitrate Leaching Losses in Organic Farming Systems in the United Kingdom

ABSTRACT The characteristics of organic farming involve the application of husbandry practices which are consistent with limiting nitrate leaching from agricultural land. The high losses of nitrate associated with ploughing of grass-clover leys are balanced by lower losses during the subsequent years of the arable and grassland phases of the rotation. Nitrate leaching data are presented from a monitoring programme carried out on 10 field sites on three commercial organic farms in the UK during the period 1988–92. Fields in arable and grassland phases of the farm rotations were monitored. Nitrate leaching was estimated from the nitrate concentration in soil water (sampled using porous ceramic cup samplers installed at 0.9 m soil depth) integrated with cumulative net drainage. The rotations operated on the farms were 5 to 8 years duration, including grass/clover for grazing and conservation, winter and spring wheat, winter and spring oats and potatoes. Average annual losses from these rotations calculated u...
BSAP can repress enhancer activity by targeting PU.1 function.

PU.1 and BSAP are transcription factors crucial for proper B-cell development. Absence of PU.1 results in loss of B, T, and myeloid cells, while absence of BSAP results in an early block in B-cell differentiation. Both of these proteins bind to the immunoglobulin κ chain 3′ enhancer, which is developmentally regulated during B-cell differentiation. We find here that BSAP can repress 3′ enhancer activity. This repression can occur in plasmacytoma lines or in a non-B-cell line in which the enhancer is activated by addition of the appropriate enhancer binding transcription factors. We show that the transcription factor PU.1 is a target of the BSAP-mediated repression. Although PU.1 and BSAP can physically interact through their respective DNA binding domains, this interaction does not affect DNA binding. When PU.1 function is assayed in isolation on a multimerized PU.1 binding site, BSAP targets a portion of the PU.1 transactivation domain (residues 7 to 30) for repression. The BSAP inhibitory domain (residues 358 to 385) is needed for this repression. Interestingly, the coactivator protein p300 can eliminate this BSAP-mediated repression. We also show that PU.1 can inhibit BSAP transactivation and that this repression requires PU.1 amino acids 7 to 30. Transfection of p300 resulted in only a partial reversal of PU.1-mediated repression of BSAP. When PU.1 function is assayed in the context of the immunoglobulin κ chain 3′ enhancer and associated binding proteins, BSAP represses PU.1 function by a distinct mechanism. This repression does not require the PU.1 transactivation or PEST domains and cannot be reversed by p300 expression. The possible roles of BSAP and PU.1 antagonistic activities in hematopoietic development are discussed.
Interleaving schemes for multidimensional cluster errors

We present two-dimensional and three-dimensional interleaving techniques for correcting two- and three-dimensional bursts (or clusters) of errors, where a cluster of errors is characterized by its area or volume. Correction of multidimensional error clusters is required in holographic storage, an emerging application of considerable importance. Our main contribution is the construction of efficient two-dimensional and three-dimensional interleaving schemes. The proposed schemes are based on t-interleaved arrays of integers, defined by the property that every connected component of area or volume t consists of distinct integers. In the two-dimensional case, our constructions are optimal: they have the lowest possible interleaving degree. That is, the resulting t-interleaved arrays contain the smallest possible number of distinct integers, hence minimizing the number of codewords required in an interleaving scheme. In general, we observe that the interleaving problem can be interpreted as a graph-coloring problem, and introduce the useful special class of lattice interleavers. We employ a result of Minkowski, dating back to 1904, to establish both upper and lower bounds on the interleaving degree of lattice interleavers in three dimensions. For the case t/spl equiv/0 mod 6, the upper and lower bounds coincide, and the Minkowski lattice directly yields an optimal lattice interleaver. For t/spl ne/0 mod 6, we construct efficient lattice interleavers using approximations of the Minkowski lattice.
Identification and comparison of stable and unstable mRNAs in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

We developed a procedure to measure mRNA decay rates in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae and applied it to the determination of half-lives for 20 mRNAs encoded by well-characterized genes. The procedure utilizes Northern (RNA) or dot blotting to quantitate the levels of individual mRNAs after thermal inactivation of RNA polymerase II in an rpb1-1 temperature-sensitive mutant. We compared the results of this procedure with results obtained by two other procedures (approach to steady-state labeling and inhibition of transcription with Thiolutin) and also evaluated whether heat shock alter mRNA decay rates. We found that there are no significant differences in the mRNA decay rates measured in heat-shocked and non-heat-shocked cells and that, for most mRNAs, different procedures yield comparable relative decay rates. Of the 20 mRNAs studied, 11, including those encoded by HIS3, STE2, STE3, and MAT alpha 1, were unstable (t1/2 less than 7 min) and 4, including those encoded by ACT1 and PGK1, were stable (t1/2 greater than 25 min). We have begun to assess the basis and significance of such differences in the decay rates of these two classes of mRNA. Our results indicate that (i) stable and unstable mRNAs do not differ significantly in their poly(A) metabolism; (ii) deadenylation does not destabilize stable mRNAs; (iii) there is no correlation between mRNA decay rate and mRNA size; (iv) the degradation of both stable and unstable mRNAs depends on concomitant translational elongation; and (v) the percentage of rare codons present in most unstable mRNAs is significantly higher than in stable mRNAs.
Statistical uncertainty in ultrasonic backscatter and attenuation coefficients determined with a reference phantom

Uncertainties in measured attenuation and backscatter coefficients due to statistical fluctuations in echo signal data from a randomly scattering medium are estimated. The uncertainties are computed for the special case in which a reference phantom is employed to account for transducer and instrumentation factors when measuring attenuation and backscatter coefficients. The resultant uncertainty in the attenuation is inversely proportional to the 3/2 power of the depth range. The error in the backscatter coefficient arises both from the local fluctuation in the data and from the uncertainty in the attenuation estimate. The first of these is inversely proportional to the square root of the number of independent data points, while the second results in a contribution that is depth dependent. Predicted errors were tested by scanning tissue mimicking phantoms and estimating attenuation and backscatter coefficients for subsets of the digitized echo data. Standard deviations of the experimental results were in agreement with those predicted.
John Lydgate's Lives of Ss Edmund & Fremund and the Extra Miracles of St Edmund

ANTHONY BALE and A.S.G. EDWARDS (Eds), 2009 Middle English Texts 41 Heidelberg, Universitatsverlag Winter 198 pp., 3 825 35629 3, pb. [euro]40.00 John Lydgate's themes, didacticism, and style posed...
Predicting wave exposure in the rocky intertidal zone: Do bigger waves always lead to larger forces?

Hydrodynamic forces from breaking waves are among the most important sources of mortality in the rocky intertidal zone. Information about the forces imposed by breaking waves is therefore critical if we are to interpret the mechanical design and physiological performance of wave-swept organisms in an ecologically and evolutionarily relevant context. Wave theory and engineering experiments predict that the process of wave breaking sets a limit on the maximum force to which organisms can be subjected. Unfortunately, the magnitude of this limit has not been determined on rocky shores. To this end, at a moderately exposed shore in central California, we measured the maximum hydrodynamic forces imposed on organism-sized benthic objects and related these forces to nearshore significant wave heights. At 146 of 221 microsites, there was a significant and substantial positive correlation between force and wave height, and at 130 of these microsites, force increased nonlinearly toward a statistically defined limit. The magnitude of this limit varied among sites, from 19 to 730 newtons (N). At 37 other sites, there was no significant correlation between surf zone force and wave height, indicating that increased wave height did not translate into increased force at these sites either. At only 16 sites did force increase in proportion to wave height without an apparent upper bound. These results suggest that for most microsites there is indeed a limiting wave height beyond which force is independent of wave height. The magnitude of the limit varies substantially among microsites, and an index of local topography was found to predict little of this variation. Thus, caution must be exercised in any attempt to relate observed variations in ocean ‘‘waviness’’ to the corresponding rates of microsite disturbance in intertidal communities. Rocky intertidal invertebrates and algae live in a world of extreme environmental severity, and the risk of damage or dislodgment from wave-generated forces is thought to be among the most important determinants of survival in this habitat (e.g., Dayton 1971; Levin and Paine 1974; Koehl 1979; Paine 1979; Paine and Levin 1981; Sousa 1984; Denny 1987, 1988; Carrington 1990, 2002; Bertness et al. 1991; Hunt and Scheibling 1996; Blanchette 1997). Quantifying the hydrodynamic forces acting on organisms, and how they vary in space and in time, is therefore key to understanding the evolutionary and ecological consequences of morphological design and the subsequent effects of wave-driven forces on the dynamics of intertidal ecosystems (Denny 1988; Koehl 1996; Denny and Wethey 2001; Carrington 2002).
Maximizing radiotracer delivery to experimental atherosclerotic lesions with high-dose, negative charge-modified Z2D3 antibody for immunoscintigraphic targeting

Two factors that directly affect target/background ratio in immunoscintigraphy are the concentration of the antibody bound to the target and the concentration of the antibody in the circulation. High dosages of monoclonal antibody have been reported to be more efficacious in visualization of tumors. Although administration of a higher dosage of antibody increases the absolute target accumulation of the radiotracer, it also increases the background activity, which may offset this advantage. Negative charge-modified antibodies carry high specific radioactivity to the target sites without significantly increasing the background activity. Therefore we investigated whether higher dosages of negative charge-modified antibody can be used to improve imaging of experimental atherosclerotic lesions. Experimental atherosclerotic lesions were produced in 16 New Zealand White rabbits by balloon deendothelialization of the infradiaphragmatic aorta and hyperlipidemic diet for 12 weeks. Negative charge-modified Z2D3 antibody F(ab′)2 specific for an antigen on proliferating smooth muscle cells of human atheroma labeled with 111In was used for imaging experimental atherosclerotic lesions either at high (100 to 125 μg) or low (25 to 50 μg) dosages. A lower dosage of Z2D3 was labeled with 507±29.5 μCi (25 to 50 μg) 111In label, compared with 2.9±0.24 mCi (100 to 125 μg) for the higher dosage. Although noninvasive visualization of atherosclerotic lesions was possible in all animals at 24 hours, high antibody dose allowed unequivocal visualization of the lesion as early as 3 hours after intravenous administration of the antibody. Eight animals were killed at 24 hours and the remaining eight animals at 48 hours. Mean radioactivity dose delivered per gram of lesion with the low-dose protocol at 24 hours was 0.46±0.09 μCi, which remained essentially unchanged at 48 hours (0.37±0.09 μCi; p=0.51). With the high-dosage protocol, the total radioactivity (dose) per gram uptake in the lesion increased by about eightfold (3.49±0.58 μCi; p=0.002) at 24 hours and was sixfold higher at 48 hours (2.21±0.45 μCi; p<0.02). The study demonstrated that the increase in the dosage of negatively charge-modified antibody allows a very high delivery of specific radioactivity to the target, which in turn enables early visualization of experimental atherosclerotic lesions.
Field evaluation of weigh-in-motion screening on truck weigh station operations

Weigh-in-Motion (WIM) systems can improve the capacity of weigh station operations by screening trucks while traveling at high speeds and only requiring trucks within a threshold of a maximum permissible weight to be weighed on more accurate static scales. Consequently, the operation of a weigh station is highly dependent on the accuracy of the screening WIM system. This paper develops a statistical procedure for relating axle and gross weight accuracies for evaluating the accuracy of a WIM system. In addition, the paper examines the WIM scale operation at the Stephens City weigh station in Virginia to present a case study evaluation of the operation of a weigh station that is equipped with WIM screening. The case study evaluates the accuracy of the WIM technology in addition to the operations of the weigh station in terms of service time, system time, and delay incurred at the static scales.
Comparison of Two Commercial Microimmunofluorescence Kits and an Enzyme Immunoassay Kit for Detection of Serum Immunoglobulin G Antibodies to Chlamydia pneumoniae

We compared the MRL and the Labsystems Chlamydia pneumoniae microimmunofluorescence (MIF) immunoglobulin G (IgG) kits and the Labsystems enzyme immunoassay (EIA) kit in a blinded study of 83 serum samples in which we evaluated titers, cross-reactivity to other species, and reproducibility. There was no statistically significant difference between the MRL and the Labsystems MIF kits in the endpoint titers of IgG antibody to C. pneumoniae. The correlation between the results obtained with these two MIF kits was excellent (r = 0.95; P = 0.001). The cross-reactivity of the C. pneumoniae-positive sera with C. trachomatis- and C. psittaci-positive sera was assessed for each MIF kit. For C. pneumoniae-positive sera with titers of ≥32, the Labsystems MIF kit exhibited more cross-reactivity to C. psittaci than the MRL kit did. The values obtained with the Labsystems EIA kit represented single dilutions of serum specimens expressed as enzymeimmuno units on a continuous scale. The results obtained with the Labsystems EIA kit correlated moderately well with those obtained with each MIF kit when they were compared for their abilities to detect IgG antibodies to C. pneumoniae (for the MRL MIF kit, r = 0.79 [P = 0.001]; for the Labsystems MIF kit, r = 0.78 [P = 0.001]). The results obtained with the commercial MRL and Labsystems MIF kits and the Labsystems EIA kit tested were reproducible; and the kits were standardized, had quality control reagents, and are suitable for detection of C. pneumoniae antibodies in serum and for use in interlaboratory studies. Validation of the use of these kits for clinical diagnosis still needs further evaluation.
'As in heart, so in mouth': Translating the Scandal of Wolfish Desire from Fables to Peire Vidal

The motif of the ‘wolf at school’, in which a wolf is made to learn elementary Latin, typically the alphabet, occurs in medieval tales, church sculptures, and manuscript illuminations. Whatever the wolf ’s instructors try to teach him, he can only say ‘lamb’. The story’s usual moral is ‘quod in corde, hoc in ore’ [as in heart, so in mouth]. I probe the meaning of this moral through the medieval Latin fables of Romulus and Odo of Cheriton, the well-known vernacular fable of Marie de France, and a hitherto unknown version attributed to the troubadour Peire Vidal, which in turn leads me to assess clerical and vernacular teaching of the alphabet. In Latin, the wolf ’s speech is invariably censured, even if readers may sneakingly have sided with him; but the vernacular texts accord him more sympathy, self-deprecatingly in Berenguer d’Anoia, equivocally in Marie, and flamboyantly in Peire Vidal, who elsewhere adopts a wolf as his emblem. The wolf ’s cry of ‘lamb’ gives voice, albeit impossibly, to the ‘insistence of the letter in the unconscious’ (Lacan): a beast that can thus openly speak his desire challenges human readers to reconsider the relationship of language to appetite and to question the human monopoly of language.
Tumors of the Parathyroid Gland and Circulating Parathyroid Hormone-Related Protein Associated with Persistent Hypercalcemia

Neoplasms of the parathyroid glands are uncommon in all species of laboratory and domestic animals, but occur in low incidence in rats, Syrian hamsters, and dogs and rarely in mice. Proliferative lesions of the parathyroid gland include hyperplasia (diffuse and focal), adenomas, and carcinomas. The tumors may be functional or nonfunctional. Trophic atrophy of remaining parathyroid tissue is present around functichal tumors. Humoral hypercalcemia of malignancy (HHM) is a syndrome that occurs in human and animal patients with certain malignant neoplasms and is characterized by hypercalcemia, hypophosphatemia, and increased osteoclastic bone resorption. The syndrome is thought to be due to the release of parathyroid hormone (PTH)-like factors by the tumor cells which bind to PTH receptors-in bone and kidney and result in the clinical manifestations of HHM. Parathyroid hormone-related protein (PTHrP) is a newly purified and sequenced protein which originated from human tumors associated with HHM. PTHrP has been shown to stimulate in vitro and in vivo effects similar to PTH-like proteins isolated from tumors associated with HHM. Well characterized animal models of HHM include a rat Leydig cell tumor line (Rice-jOO), the rat Walker mammary carcinosarcoma, and the canine apocrine adenocarcinoma. All 3 models have been found to contain 3 biologic activities which are thought to be important in the pathogenesis of HHM, viz., in vitro bone resorbing activity, adenylate cyclase-stimulating activity of bone and kidney cells, and transforming growth factor activity. The first 2 activities are due to PTH-like proteins which are able to compete for binding to the PTH receptor. The complete spectrum of functional disturbances in patients with HHM may be the result of the combined effects of a PTH-like protein (i.e., PTHrP) and transforming growth factors.
Mechanisms of LtxA (Leukotoxin), a Potent New Anti-Inflammatory Agent for the Treatment of Alopecia Areata

Alopecia areata is an autoimmune condition where activated, pro-inflammatory white blood cells (WBCs) attack the hair follicles, resulting in hair loss. Migration of these activated WBCs from the blood stream and into the follicle tissue requires interaction between the integrin, lymphocyte function-associated antigen-1 (LFA-1) on WBCs, and ICAM-1 on vascular endothelial cells. High levels of active LFA-1 are uniquely expressed on WBCs that are involved in autoimmune and inflammatory conditions. The natural biologic agent LtxA (Leukothera) preferentially targets and depletes disease activated and malignant WBCs by binding to active LFA-1. The experimental drug has demonstrated significant therapeutic efficacy against autoimmune/inflammatory conditions such as psoriasis and allergic asthma in mouse models for these diseases. In addition, when injected into rodents, rhesus macaques, and dogs, LtxA was demonstrated to be physiologically active, biologically specific, and extremely well-tolerated. LFA-1 is an attractive target for therapy because it is only normally present on WBCs and has been shown to be activated and overexpressed on WBCs that are responsible for autoimmune/inflammatory conditions.
Ecological Economics: The Science and Management of Sustainability

Outlines an interdisciplinary approach to the understanding and management of the ecology and sustainable economics on local, regional and global scales. The topics discussed include the modelling of ecological economics systems and the institutional changes required.
Drug Use Severity, Mortality, and Cause of Death in Primary Care Patients With Substance Use Disorders:

This article examines the association between drug use severity and mortality in primary care patients with substance use disorders. In 848 individuals with known vital status, severity was low in ...
The DAMA trial: a diet and physical activity intervention trial to reduce mammographic breast density in postmenopausal women in Tuscany, Italy. Study protocol and baseline characteristics.

UNLABELLED Aims and background. High mammographic breast density (MBD) is an established risk factor for breast cancer (BC). The influence of diet and physical activity (PA) on MBD has long been investigated. In an observational study of a cohort in Florence, we observed inverse associations between consumption of vegetables and olive oil and moderate leisure-time PA and MBD, while high alcohol intake and high glycemic load diets were positively associated with MBD. We set out to investigate whether dietary and PA interventions were able to reduce MBD in postmenopausal women with high MBD (>50%). Methods and study design. The DAMA (Diet, physical Activity and MAmmography) trial, a factorial randomized trial involving healthy nonsmoking postmenopausal women not using hormone replacement therapy and having MBD >50%, is aimed at evaluating the ability of a 24-month intervention based on moderate-intensity PA and/or dietary modification focused on plant foods with a low glycemic load, low in saturated fats and alcohol, and rich in antioxidants and fiber, to reduce the percent MBD. Participants have been randomized to 1 of 4 study arms (diet, PA, diet + PA, control). Dietary and PA habits and anthropometry are collected at baseline and at the end of the intervention phase together with repeated blood and urine samples. The primary outcome of the study is the absolute change in percent MBD as assessed on baseline and follow-up digital mammograms performed in the framework of the local screening program. Results. Of 728 eligible women, 234 (32.1%) agreed to participate. We did not observe any difference across study arms in the baseline distribution of variables of interest related to diet and lifestyle. Conclusions. The DAMA trial may contribute to a better understanding of MBD determinants. This will provide insight into the pathogenesis of BC and may allow the development of strategies for primary prevention focused on high-MBD groups that are easily identifiable in large-scale BC screening programs. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER ISRCTN28492718.
Functors of Graded Rings

Suppose F is a functor on rings such that F(A)≅ F(A[T]). In the first section it is shown that F(A) ≅ F(A0) any graded ring A. Several examples of such functors are given of which the most important are the subgroup of the Brauer group consisting of elements of order prime to all of the residue characteristics of A and of commutative, separable A-algebras of rank relatively prime to the residue characteristics of A. In the second section the part the Brauer group and of the fundamental group of A[T,T-1] of order relatively prime to the residue characteristics is computed.
Geologic Hazard Reduction: The Professional's Responsibility

Major geologic problems, such as slope failures and landslides, coupled with the continuing pressure for increased land development and utilization of scarce resources have caused many to become concerned. This concern has been expressed in demands for more geologic investigations to determine the significance of geologic hazards to the public associated with new development. Reduction in these hazards can only be accomplished through improvement in the quality of geotechnical investigations, the quality of governmental systems, and in an increase in professionalization of local hazard mitigation policy making options. The process through which fact and value issues are identified and resolved should be opened to the informed participation of all parties, risks and benefits associated with alternative mitigation approaches should be thoroughly aired in open hearings, and technical findings contained in hazardous assessment reports should be cast in terms that are fully understandable to policy makers and the general public. A systems view of the problems, issues, constraints, impacts and stakeholders is a necessity if we are to reduce the risk of loss from geologic hazards.
Spatial Correlation Based Sensor Selection Schemes for Probabilistic Area Coverage

This paper develops an analytical model for probabilistic area coverage in terms of the target detection probability. A decision fusion framework is utilized to infer the presence or absence of the target. Analytical results are derived for the target detection and false alarm probabilities in the presence of correlated sensor noise. The spatially correlated sensor observations are utilized to select a subset of sensors to meet the specified area coverage. Two new sensor selection schemes are proposed for maximizing information theoretic measures such as joint entropy. The sensor selection schemes are analyzed extensively based on simulations. The results show that the proposed sensor selection scheme outperforms two state-of-the-art sensor selection schemes: constrained random sensor selection and disjoint random sensor selection.
Temperature Buffering in an Arctic Microhabitat

The thermal fluctuations respective of heat gain and loss within decayed stump habitats were analyzed under controlled conditions. Overwintering arctic and near-arctic invertebrates resident to the taiga biome require prolonged periods of thermostable exposures to insure complete development. One habitat type, decayed wood, offers a suitable winter hibernaculum. Decayed stumps act to dampen variations in ambient temperatures due to insulative properties. The porous wood is water saturated and those temperature changes occurring above and below 0°C permit the hibernaculum to be viewed as an aqueous system. Stumps warm to thawing at a rate twice that of cooling to freezing over the same temperature range due to the specific heats and thermal conductivities of the water-ice phases. These factors allow for the extension of developmental processes into autumn by low temperature buffering, but also provide the hibernaculum with rapid thawing (warming) characteristics for spring emergence.
Analysis on prevalence situation of soil-transmitted nematode from 2007 to 2011 in Jiangyin City

Objective To investigate the morbidity of soil nematode diseases in Jiangyin,so as to provide basis for formulating prevention and control messures. Methods The parasitic infections status of faces of people who were older than 3 years old were detected by cluster sampling method in continuous 5 years. Results A total of 13 cases of soil nematodes were detected from 2007 to 2011,and the average annual rate was 0. 20%,the detection rate was under 1%. Conclusions The prevalence of soil nematode in Jiangyin was low,which showed that the control measures were significant effective.
Influences of Modeling the Summer Heavy Rain Process in Southern China Using Cumulus Convective Parameterization Schemes

With the latest parallel version of regional climate model(RegCM3),three different cumulus convective parameterization schemes,Anthes-Kuo,MIT-Emanuel and Grell,are used to test their capability in simulating the heavy rain process happened in Yangtze-Huaihe River valley in July 2003.The simulations were conducted on the monthly total amount,procedural amount and distributional pattern of precipitation,the wind,potential height and humidity field structure either in the lower or middle-upper atmosphere.By analyzing the model outputs,we obtained that RegCM3 is capable of simulating the basic three dimensional atmospheric structure in Southern China while the summer heavy rain happened.Based on present case study of July 2003,we found that Anthes-Kuo scheme is better than Grell and MIT-Emanuel scheme in simulating the amount,distributional pattern and procedural intensity of the precipitation.Secondly,according to the simulation appraising index of Ts and Bs calculated for different critical values on rainfalls,still,Anthes-Kuo Scheme is better than Grell and MIT-Emanuel scheme in simulating the most common precipitation events with total procedure amount less than 100 mm.For those extreme events with procedure rainfall larger than 100 mm caused mainly by sub-grid scale strong convective systems,the present model is unable to handle such systems because of the computational facility.The further research should be directed to raise model resolution or use model nesting techniques.Thirdly,the atmospheric structure in middle-upper levels(higher than 700 hPa) simulated by different cumulus convective parameterization schemes shows negligible differences,while in the lower atmosphere of 850 hPa both wind field and moisture transferring structure are different as different parameterization schemes being used,which interpreted why the simulated precipitation behaved differently and why Anthes-Kuo's scheme is better than the others.
Effects of reperfusion after acute coronary occlusion on the beating, working heart compared to the arrested heart treated locally and globally with cardioplegia.

To determine whether acutely ischemic myocardium could be more effectively salvaged by reperfusion on cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) in the cardioplegia-treated heart than with reperfusion in the beating, working heart, 52 greyhound dogs underwent 3 hours of left anterior descending (LAD) occlusion and were randomly assigned to one of four groups. In Group I (19 dogs) the LAD occlusion was released at 3 hours and reperfusion continued in the beating, working heart for an additional 3 hours. Group II (six dogs), Group III (14 dogs), and Group IV (13 dogs) were placed on CPB and underwent 45 minutes of hypothermic ischemic arrest protected by aortic root potassium cardioplegia. In Group II, only aortic root potassium cardioplegia was given; in Group III, the ischemic area was perfused with potassium cardioplegic solution via a graft from the internal mammary artery (IMA) to the LAD. In Group IV, blood cardioplegic solution via the IMA-LAD graft was used. After the cross-clamp and local occlusion were removed, CPB was discontinued after an additional 45 minutes and reperfusion was continued off CPB for an additional 1½ hours (total 6 hours). The ischemic area at risk was determined by injecting monastryl blue dye via the left atrium while the LAD was briefly reoccluded. After the animal had been sacrificed and the left ventricle had been sectioned, the area of myocardial necrosis was determined by nonstaining with triphenyltetrazolium chloride (TTC). For each group, the ratios of area of necrosis/area at risk (AN/AR) were calculated and postreperfusion arrhythmias were documented. Postreperfusion arrhythmias were noted in 11 of 12 animals in the beating, working heart group and only two of 24 in the combined CPB groups. The mean AN/AR was 66% ±2% in the beating, working heart (Group I), 59% ±6% after infusion of potassium cardioplegic solution into the aortic root (Group II), 57% ±6% with blood cardioplegia (Group IV), and 38% ± 6.5% after global and local application of the potassium cardioplegic solution into the ischemic area (Group III). This study suggests that the reperfused ischemic myocardium will sustain less necrosis and less postreperfusion arrhythmias when the heart is protected by global and local cold potassium cardioplegia on CPB.
The Antioxidant Effects of Glutathione and Ascorbic Acid

The functions of glutathione have been explored by use of a model animal system in which the cellular synthesis of glutathione is inhibited. Glutathione deficiency, induced by administration of buthionine sulfoximine (an inhibitor of the first step of glutathione synthesis) leads to mortality in newborn rats and in guinea pigs, animals that are unable to synthesize ascorbic acid, and to tissue damage in these animals and in adult mice, which can synthesize ascorbic acid. Mortality and morbidity are greatly diminished by administration of glutathione esters or of ascorbic acid. These and other findings indicate that cellular glutathione is essential for the physiological function of ascorbic acid, that ascorbic acid can spare glutathione, and that glutathione (supplied as an ester) can spare ascorbic acid. Recent studies showed that administration of glutathione (in an ester form) to guinea pigs fed an ascorbatedeficient diet significantly delays the onset of scurvy, a disease in which oxidative stress leads to inactivation of certain enzymes that catalyze hydroxylation reactions. The present findings demonstrate that ascorbic acid and glutathione function together as an antioxidant couple. Since there is good evidence that glutathione and/or ascorbic acid function in maintaining the reduced forms of other cellular components, such as α-tocopherol, it appears that glutathione is the source of a major portion of cellular antioxidant activity.
Tracking sentence comprehension: Test-retest reliability in people with aphasia and unimpaired adults.

Abstract Purpose Visual-world eyetracking is increasingly used to investigate online language processing in normal and language impaired listeners. Tracking changes in eye movements over time also may be useful for indexing language recovery in those with language impairments. Therefore, it is critical to determine the test-retest reliability of results obtained using this method. Methods Unimpaired young adults and people with aphasia took part in two eyetracking sessions spaced about one week apart. In each session, participants completed a sentence-picture matching task in which they listened to active and passive sentences (e.g., The [N1+Aux woman was] [V visiting/visited] [NP/PP2 (by) the man]) and selected between two pictures with reversed thematic roles. We used intraclass correlations (ICCs) to examine the test-retest reliability of response measures (accuracy, reaction time (RT)) and online eye movements (i.e., the likelihood of fixating the target picture in each region of the sentence) in each participant group. Results In the unimpaired adults, accuracy was at ceiling (thus ICCs were not computed), with moderate ICCs for RT (i.e., 0.4–0.58) for passive sentences and low ( 0.75) for RT for both sentence types. Similarly, for the unimpaired listeners, reliability of eye movements was moderate for passive sentences (NP/PP2 region) and low in all regions for active sentences. But, for the aphasic participant group, eye movement reliability was excellent for passive sentences (in the first second after sentence end) and strong for active sentences (V and NP/PP2 regions). Conclusion Results indicated moderate-to-low reliability for unimpaired listeners; however, reliable eye movement patterns were detected for processes specific to passive sentences (e.g., thematic reanalysis). In contrast, individuals with aphasia exhibited strong and stable performance across sentence types in response measures and online eye movements. These findings indicate that visual-world eyetracking provides a reliable measure of online sentence comprehension in aphasia, and thus may be useful for investigating sentence processing changes over time.
Vladimir Putin and Defeat-Proofing the System

“It should be remembered that the word ‘democracy’ which is used so frequently in the modern mass media, is by no means the same word ‘democracy’ as was so widespread in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The two words are merely homonyms. The old word democracy was derived from the Greek ‘demos’, while the new word is derived from the expression ‘demo-version’.” Viktor Pelevin, Generation P. If few people outside of the Kremlin had heard of Vladimir Putin in August 1999, by the time he stood down as President in May 2008, the former KGB colonel was a household name. Moreover, in stepping down and transferring power to an elected successor, Putin was taking a historic step: Executive power in Russia had changed hands through the ballot box for only the second time in history. Well, yes and no. The ballot box had played a role in that the new president, Dmitri Medvedev, had won the elections with 70 percent of the first-round votes. However, the elections hardly represented much of a choice, pitting Putin's chosen successor and the enormous resources of the Russian state against two veteran politicians with four presidential election defeats between them and a little-known liberal allegedly with close ties to the Kremlin. Furthermore, not only was the manner of the transfer of power controversial, it was unclear whether power had really changed hands.
Cross Sections in the Three-Body Problem

In Dynamical Systems, Birkhoff gave a clear formulation of a cross section, suggested a possible generalization to cross sections with boundary, and raised the question of whether or not such cross sections exist in the three-body problem. In this work, we explicitly develop Birkhoff's notion of a generalized cross section, formulate homological necessary conditions for the existence of a cross section or generalized cross section, and show that these conditions are not satisfied in the three-body problem.