cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Surface Fluxes of Energy, Moisture, and Momentum

The eddy covariance method is the most accurate and direct approach to measure fluxes of energy, matter, and momentum, in neutral, stable, and unstable atmospheric conditions. This chapter reviews the eddy covariance form of the wind stress (or shearing stress; τ) equation, along with the corresponding eddy flux equations for energy (heat; QH) and moisture (matter; QE). The negative sign on the right side of the equation for τ suggests that a positive shearing stress is associated with large momentum transport downward (i.e., in the negative w direction). When this momentum interacts with the surface, it is dissipated by friction, putting the brakes on the atmosphere. There are no such negative signs in the equations for QH and QE, because as the Sun heats the surface, the surface in turn heats and provides water for the air above it. Therefore, by convention, the positive direction for QH and QE is upward. The geographical distribution of QH and QE is described, and scintillometry as a means of measuring QH and QE is described.
Application of Markov random fields to smoothing and segmentation of noisy pictures

An algorithm is presented for smoothing piecewise stationary data from measurements corrupted by additive noise. Its main feature is the combination of Markov random field models, with Kalman filtering techniques and dynamic programming in order to smooth and segment the data within the regions of stationarity without affecting the edges. Applications to one-dimensional and two-dimensional data are given, with particular emphasis on the segmentation of multiregion images. Although application to piecewise constant data are emphasized, the algorithm can be extended to data with regions characterized by textures with which different autoregressive models are associated. >
A Novel Specification and Design Methodology of Embedded Multiprocessor Signal Processing Systems Using High-Performance Middleware

Embedded signal processing system designers need to be able to prototype their designs quickly and validate them early. This must be done in a manner that avoids premature commitment to the implementation target, especially when that target includes costly COTS parallel multiprocessing hardware. A new specification and design methodology known as MAGIC enables the designer to move from an executable specification through design exploration and on to implementation with minimal loss of specification and design information by leveraging compuation middleware (VSIPL) and communication middleware (MPI). Maintaining such information is a quality known as "model continuity," which is established using the MAGIC specification and design methodology.
Bites and Stings

Bites and stings account for a small but significant number of patients seen in the primary care setting. Family physicians can provide the patient, family, and community with anticipatory guidance regarding common hazards and appropriate care if a bite or sting does occur.
The Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae hemolysin determinant: unlinked appCA and appBD loci flanked by pseudogenes.

Abstract The appBD genes encoding the secretion functions for the 110-kDa RTX hemolysin of Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae have been cloned and sequenced. Unlike analogous genes from other RTX determinants, the appBD genes do not lie immediately downstream from the hemolysin structural gene, appA. Although isolated from a diverse group of gram-negative organisms, the appBD genes and the characterized RTX BD genes from other organisms all exhibit a high degree of homology at both the DNA and predicted amino acid sequence levels. Analysis of the DNA sequences 3' to appA and 5' to appB suggests that these regions harbor remnant RTX B and A pseudogenes, respectively. Although the appA gene is most similar to the lktA gene from Pasteurella haemolytica (Y. F. Chang, R. Young, and D. K. Struck, DNA 8:635-647, 1989), the RTX A pseudogene upstream from appB most closely resembles the hlyB gene from Escherichia coli, suggesting that the appCA and appBD operons were derived from different ancestral RTX determinants.
Book review: Parallel Logic Programming By Evan Tick (MIT Press, 1991)

Ten years ago, Japan's Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) sponsored a conference to announce a national project for a new generation (fifth) of computers. The Fifth Generation Computing Project was initiated to develop computer programs that process symbolic information using logic programming languages capable of reasoning. Evan Tick participated in the project at the Institute of New Generation Computer Technology (ICOT) as a visiting foreign scientist.
Intensive Care Admissions in Pregnancy: Analysis of a Level of Support Scoring System

Development of a validated triaging system that can be used by obstetric providers to identify obstetric patients at risk of developing severe morbidity during an admission is urgently required. Maternal Critical Care Working Group (MCCWG) recommended a “level of care” strategy that based patient acuity needs on number of individual organ systems requiring support. The objective of this study was to apply the MCCWG level of support for critical care (MCCWG LOC) scoring to pregnant women admitted to an intensive care unit (ICU) to predict maternal outcomes and to compare it to the Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation (APACHE) II scoring system. In this retrospective study, we applied the MCCWG LOC scoring to pregnant women admitted to an ICU at the Detroit Medical Center, between January 2006 and December 2010. The MCCWG LOC was scored on admission to the ICU, and patients were subsequently divided into two groups (Group 1, patients requiring Level 1 and 2 support and Group 2, patients requiring level 3a and 3b support) and their outcome variables were compared. The MCCWG LOC scores were also compared to APACHE II scoring, an ICU scoring system, to test if an alignment of the two systems existed, and if they were able to predict outcomes such as death, hospital and intensive care stay. Sixty-nine pregnant women (0.25 % of deliveries) required admission to the ICU and 3 maternal deaths were reported. Sixty-four (92.7 %) patients had pre-existing medical problems. Fifty-eight (84 %) of admissions were secondary to a medical diagnosis. Mean APACHE II score (p < 0.018) and APACHE II predicted mortality rate were significantly higher in Group 2 (p < 0.018). The hospital length of stay (LOS) (p < 0.017) and ICU LOS (p < 0.0001) were significantly longer in Group 2 as compared to Group 1. Group 2 patients required more interventions while in the ICU (p < 0.0001). All the patients who died were classified as Group 2. In a cohort of women requiring intensive care admission during pregnancy, MCCWG LOC, a simplified organ system based, triaging scoring system, predicted maternal outcomes and correlated with APACHE II score. Our data support initiatives for further development and testing of global obstetric triaging scoring systems for the purposes of risk stratification, monitoring of quality and resource allocation.
Teachers’ Experiences With Multiple Victimization: Identifying Demographic, Cognitive, and Contextual Correlates

Extant scholarship has primarily examined demographic predictors of teacher victimization. Teacher multiple victimization, or the extent to which teachers experience multiple types of violence, has not been examined. Using social-ecological theory, we examine correlates of violence among 2,324 teachers who reported having been victimized at least once. Male teachers were more likely to report student-generated multiple victimization, and White teachers were more likely to experience multiple forms of violence generated by students and parents. Teacher attributions also played an important role. Characterological and behavioral self-blame were associated with higher colleague and student-generated multiple victimization, respectively. Regarding contextual variables, teachers who reported less administrative support were more likely to report multiple forms of violence by students and colleagues, and teachers working in urban settings reported more student-generated multiple victimization. This study unders...
Frank-Starling Relationship

The Frank-Starling relationship is an intrinsic property of myocardium by which increased length (or ventricular volume) results in enhanced performance during the subsequent contraction.1–3⇓⇓ This relationship appears to be very important in cardiac function because increased venous return and the corresponding increase in end-diastolic volume result in greater stroke volume during the next beat. The ventricles can thus accommodate increased venous return by means of a more vigorous contraction that ejects the greater volume of blood from the heart. Although the physiological significance of the Frank-Starling relationship is widely appreciated, its cellular basis is not well understood. One hypothesis is that more cross-bridges interact with actin at longer sarcomere lengths due to length-dependent reductions in lateral spacing between thick and thin filaments,3–5⇓⇓ ie, due to closer proximity to actin more crossbridges bind and thereby increase contractile force (see Figure). Measurements in permeabilized myocardium held at constant length have shown that osmotic compression increases force at each [Ca2+]. Thus, the greater Ca2+ sensitivity of force at long lengths can be achieved at short lengths by reducing fiber diameter. Moreover, osmotic compression actually eliminates the length dependence of Ca2+ sensitivity.4 This evidence suggests that lateral filament spacing is a primary determinant of the Frank-Starling relationship, but the evidence is incomplete because studies to date have only measured muscle diameter and not the actual spacing between thick and thin filaments. Diameter and filament separation are likely to increase or decrease in concert, but these changes need not be proportionate because the shape of the muscle cross section can change with stretch or with osmotic compression. Until now, no one has quantified the lateral spacing of thick and thin filaments in such experiments due to the technical difficulty of the measurements. Myocardial sarcomere …
Psychiatric Diagnoses After Hospitalization With Work-Related Burn Injuries in Washington State

This study aims to describe workers who were hospitalized with work-related burn injuries and their psychiatric sequelae in Washington State. Psychiatric sequelae of interest were depression, posttraumatic stress disorder, and other anxiety disorders. Workers' compensation claims meeting a definition for a hospitalized burn patient from Washington State from January 2001 through April 2008 were analyzed. The resulting claims were searched for the presence of certain psychiatric diagnoses or treatment codes, and descriptive analyses performed. In Washington State during the time period, the prevalence of claims with psychiatric diagnoses after hospitalization with burn injury was 19%. Claims with psychiatric diagnoses had higher medical costs and more days of time loss than those without these diagnoses. Workers with electrical burns in the construction industry and in construction and extraction occupations had a higher proportion of psychiatric sequelae. Burns are devastating yet preventable injuries. Workers who were hospitalized with work-related burn injuries, particularly those in certain industries and occupations and those with electrical burns, are at high risk for developing serious psychiatric sequelae with major costs to both the individual and the society.
Gene Integration and Expression and Extracellular Secretion of Erwinia chrysanthemi Endoglucanase CelY ( celY ) and CelZ ( celZ ) in Ethanologenic Klebsiella oxytoca P2

The development of methods to reduce costs associated with the solubilization of cellulose is essential for the utilization of lignocellulose as a renewable feedstock for fuels and chemicals. One promising approach is the genetic engineering of ethanol-producing microorganisms that also produce cellulase enzymes during fermentation. By starting with an ethanologenic derivative (strain P2) of Klebsiella oxytoca M5A1 with the native ability to metabolize cellobiose, the need for supplemental β-glucosidase was previously eliminated. In the current study, this approach has been extended by adding genes encoding endoglucanase activities. Genes celY and celZ from Erwinia chrysanthemi have been functionally integrated into the chromosome of P2 using surrogate promoters from Zymomonas mobilis for expression. Both were secreted into the extracellular milieu, producing more than 20,000 endoglucanase units (carboxymethyl cellulase activity) per liter of fermentation broth. During the fermentation of crystalline cellulose with low levels of commercial cellulases of fungal origin, these new strains produced up to 22% more ethanol than unmodified P2. Most of the beneficial contribution was attributed to CelY rather than to CelZ. These results suggest that fungal enzymes with substrate profiles resembling CelY (preference for long-chain polymers and lack of activity on soluble cello-oligosaccharides of two to five glucosyl residues) may be limiting in commercial cellulase preparations.
Hinge-Free Compliant Mechanism Design Via the Topological Level-Set

The objective of this paper is to introduce and demonstrate a new method for the topology optimization of compliant mechanisms. The proposed method relies on exploiting the topological derivative, and it exhibits numerous desirable properties including: (1) the mechanisms are hinge-free, (2) mechanisms with different geometric and mechanical advantages can be generated by varying a single control parameter, (3) a target volume fraction need not specified; instead numerous designs, of decreasing volume fractions, are generated in a single optimization run, and (4) the underlying finite element stiffness matrices are well-conditioned, permitting the use of high-performance iterative solvers. The proposed method and implementation are illustrated through numerical experiments in 2D and 3D.Copyright © 2013 by ASME
Social disparities and prostate cancer: mapping the gaps in our knowledge

To evaluate the current state of our knowledge regarding social disparities and prostate cancer and to map the domains where substantial knowledge has been acquired as well as those where little is known, with the purpose of identifying important areas for future research. A Medline research was conducted to identify published papers regarding social disparities in prostate cancer since 1990. The results of this review are presented in a social disparities and prostate cancer grid designed to highlight which domains of social disparities have been researched and which neglected. The major social disparity in prostate cancer concerns the extremely high prostate cancer incidence and mortality seen among black Americans. This is also the area where the most research has been performed. Low socioeconomic position is associated with poorer prostate cancer outcomes but not with higher prostate cancer incidence. It remains poorly defined to what extent racial/ethnic differences in prostate cancer result from differences in socioeconomic position (SEP). Understanding the causes of the high prostate cancer mortality seen among black men remains the major challenge in the area of social disparities and prostate cancer.
Topology and descriptive set theory

Abstract This paper consists essentially of the text of a series of four lectures given by the author in the Summer Conference on General Topology and Applications, Amsterdam, August 1994. Instead of attempting to give a general survey of the interrelationships between the two subjects mentioned in the title, which would be an enormous and hopeless task, we chose to illustrate them in a specific context, that of the study of Borel actions of Polish groups and Borel equivalence relations. This is a rapidly growing area of research of much current interest, which has interesting connections not only with topology and set theory (which are emphasized here), but also to ergodic theory, group representations, operator algebras and logic (particularly model theory and recursion theory). There are four parts, corresponding roughly to each one of the lectures. The first contains a brief review of some fundamental facts from descriptive set theory. In the second we discuss Polish groups, and in the third the basic theory of their Borel actions. The last part concentrates on Borel equivalence relations. The exposition is essentially self-contained, but proofs, when included at all, are often given in the barest outline.
A Simple, Rapid Method for Extracting Large Plasmid DNA from Bacteria

We are studying the lateral transfer of transmissible antibiotic resistance plasmids among stream bacteria impacted by fecal runoff from poultry and cattle. Such plasmids are typically large (ca. 40 – 100 kb) and occur in low copy numbers in the cell and have therefore typically been difficult to isolate and therefore to study. Traditional protocols, based upon variations of the standard alkaline-lysis method, are long (ca. 1 1/2 to 2 days) and difficult. Commercial kits designed for the isolation of Baterial Artificial Chromosomes (BACs) can be used and are an improvement; however, these are expensive and still require hours of sustained effort. We have adapted a method published by Rondon et al. (1999), originally designed for the isolation of BAC DNA, for the rapid isolation of large plasmid DNA. In this method, lysis and alkaline denaturation steps are combined, incubation steps are vastly reduced, proteins are removed via a simple ammonium acetate/chloroform step, and the DNA precipitated using a plyethylene glycol/NaCl step. No ethanol precipitation is required. If additional purification is required, extracted DNA can be further processed through a Qiagen Plasmid Mini or Midi column (Qiagen Inc., Valencia CA). The method is rapid (under 1 hour), easy, very inexpensive and has been reliably used by undergraduate students to isolate large (up to 200 kb) native plasmids from a variety of both Gram-positive and Gram-negative genera including _Shigella_, _Klebsiella_, _E. coli_, _Pseudomonas_, _Bacills_, _Streptococcus_, _Staphylococcus_, and _Enterococcus_, as well as BACs from _E. coli_. The protocol is simple and reliable enough to be used for the rapid large-scale visualization of native plasmids and we have used it to visualize and isolate DNA from hundreds of multidrug resistance plasmids exogenously captured from stream sediments, soils, and beach sands.
Tectonic setting of the Bela Ophiolites, southern Pakistan

Abstract The Bela Ophiolites consist of a 3–5-km-thick sequence of basaltic pillow lava, inter-flow sedimentary rocks (chert, argillite, limestone) and diabase-gabbro sills. Debris of serpentinite (up to kilometer-sized blocks), serpentinite-carbonate breccia, and less commonly of basalt, gabbro, peridotite, pelagic limestone and their metamorphic equivalents occur throughout the ophiolite sequence and may form extensive horizons. The age of the ophiolites, as indicated by pelagic microfauna, is Aptian-early Maestrichtian. The lava flows belong to a spilite-keratophyre-basaltic andesite suite of tholeiites enriched in Fe, TiO 2 and other trace elements. The lava flows, although similar to the E-type MORB, differ in details such as La/Ta ratio ranges (9.62–18.04 for the Bela lavas versus 10–15 for the MORB). The diabase-gabbro sills are similar to the associated lava flows. However, due to their relative enrichment in certain elements (e.g., Fe, Ti, Hf, Th and Ta, etc.), they may represent more fractionated late melts. A comparison of the stratigraphic and structural features of the Bela Ophiolites with modern oceanic environments reveals that these ophiolites probably originated in a large oceanic fracture zone (leaky transform). This is based on lithotectonic features such as the common occurrence of debris of foliated serpentinite and serpentinite-carbonate-breccia-bearing rocks in the ophiolite sequence and on geodynamic considerations. The fracture zone ancestral to the Bela Ophiolites probably acted as a boundary between the Indian and the Neo-Tethys plates during the Cretaceous, analogous to the present-day Owen fracture zone which separates the Indian and the Arabian plates. This ancestral fracture zone was destroyed when transform movement gave way to oblique convergence, culminating in the ophiolite obduction in Paleocene-Early Eocene time. The ophiolite obduction on the West Indian continental margin was preceded by alkaline (WPB) type volcanism which is represented by the Porali basalts, the Bibai lavas and the Deccan basalts.
Histological observations on the relation of insulin to the deposition of glycogen in adipose tissue.

The adipose tissue of animals in normal nutritional balance contains no histologically demonstrable glycogen. However, Gierke 1906 found that glycogen is deposited in the fat cells of guinea-pigs refed after a period of fasting. The occurrence of glycogen in the fat of other animal species under similar experimental conditions has been confirmed by several European investigators (Arndt, 1926, Wertheimer 1928, Richter 1931, Eger 1938, 1942). Among these Arndt, using dogs, also reported a transient accumulation of glycogen in the fat cells after insulin administration. These old observations take on new interest in the light of recent advances in our knowledge of the biochemistry of adipose tissue (Hook and Barron 1941, Mirski 1942), and the relation of insulin to lipogenesis (Drury 1940, Stetten and Klein 1946). We have therefore undertaken to investigate, with an improved staining method, the deposition of glycogen in the brown and white adipose tissues of normal and diabetic rats, rats given insulin, and...
A review of parenting and adolescent sexual behavior: The moderating role of gender

In spite of the established link between parenting and adolescent sexual risk behavior, less is known about the role of adolescent gender as a potential moderator of this association. This literature review integrates findings from 24 studies to examine gender as a moderator of the link between parenting and youth sexual risk behavior. Despite the wide variability in methodology across the reviewed studies, findings suggest that monitoring may be more protective against sexual risk behavior for boys than girls, whereas parental warmth and emotional connection may be an especially salient factor for girls. The results of this review support further research on gender as an important factor in better understanding the role of parenting in the development of adolescent sexual behavior. Furthermore, the findings highlight the potential role of gender-specific, tailored family-focused prevention programs targeting sexual behavior.
Warriors for Peace: The Next Generation of U.S. Military Leaders

This article examines the extent to which military socialization at the United States Military Academy (USMA) at West Point prepares future officers cognitively for the changing security requirements of the post-Cold War world. The increasing involvement of U.S. armed forces in operations other than war (OOTW) requires officers to shift with mounting frequency from warfighting to peacekeeping and back again as missions change. The article contends that the Army's readiness to serve the nation's interests in the future can best be ensured if officers are committed to both the military's traditional combat roles and to its many new noncombat functions. Using survey methods, the article examines the social, political, and professional attitudes and values of cadets at the USMA in order to measure the effects of military socialization on their level of commitment to the Army's post-Cold War roles.
Evalutation of integrals in the theory of atomic scattering of electrons

It is shown how using methods recently developed in field theory, one may exactly evaluate some integrals appearing in the calculation of the differential cross section for the scattering of electrons by atoms.
Aggregation of granulocyte colony stimulating factor under physiological conditions: characterization and thermodynamic inhibition.

We have investigated the aggregation of recombinant human granulocyte colony stimulating factor (rhGCSF), a protein that rapidly aggregates and precipitates at pH 6.9 and 37 °C. We observed that native monomeric rhGCSF reversibly forms a dimer under physiological conditions and that this dimeric species does not participate in the irreversible aggregation process. Sucrose, a thermodynamic stabilizer, inhibits the aggregation of rhGCSF. We postulate that sucrose acts by reducing the concentration of structurally expanded species, consistent with the hypothesis that preferential exclusion favors most compact species in the native state ensemble. Thermodynamic stability data from unfolding curves and hydrogen−deuterium exchange experimental results support the above hypothesis. Thus, the strategy of stabilizing the native state of the protein under physiological conditions using thermodynamic stabilizers, especially ligands binding with high affinity to the native state, is expected to protect against protei...
Subminiature binary camera design for inspection and robotic assembly applications

The article describes the design and utilization of a small, lightweight digital camera intended to assist in robot assembly tasks and to provide a low cost visual inspection tool. The main operational features of the design are outlined together with some sample applications involving the identification of integrated circuit devices, and the location of assembly sites on a printed wiring board.
Characterisation of Connexin Expression and Electrophysiological Properties in Stable Clones of the HL-1 Myocyte Cell Line

The HL-1 atrial line contains cells blocked at various developmental stages. To obtain homogeneous sub-clones and correlate changes in gene expression with functional alterations, individual clones were obtained and characterised for parameters involved in conduction and excitation-contraction coupling. Northern blots for mRNAs coding for connexins 40, 43 and 45 and calcium handling proteins (sodium/calcium exchanger, L- and T-type calcium channels, ryanodine receptor 2 and sarco-endoplasmic reticulum calcium ATPase 2) were performed. Connexin expression was further characterised by western blots and immunofluorescence. Inward currents were characterised by voltage clamp and conduction velocities measured using microelectrode arrays. The HL-1 clones had similar sodium and calcium inward currents with the exception of clone 2 which had a significantly smaller calcium current density. All the clones displayed homogenous propagation of electrical activity across the monolayer correlating with the levels of connexin expression. Conduction velocities were also more sensitive to inhibition of junctional coupling by carbenoxolone (∼80%) compared to inhibition of the sodium current by lidocaine (∼20%). Electrical coupling by gap junctions was the major determinant of conduction velocities in HL-1 cell lines. In summary we have isolated homogenous and stable HL-1 clones that display characteristics distinct from the heterogeneous properties of the original cell line.
Calculations on the Countercurrent Separation ofWeak Acids and Bases

A simple expression has been derived for predicting the separation to be obtained from the countercurrent distribution of binary mixtures of ideally behaving weak acids or bases under conditions for optimum separation.
Optimization analysis of a disk-shaped heat pipe

In the present study, the Zhu and Vafai model is incorporated to predict the performance and to study the influence of the design parameters on the performance of a disk-shaped heat pipe
Gene Therapy Progress and Prospects: Gene therapy for diabetes mellitus

Diabetes mellitus has long been targeted, as yet unsuccessfully, as being curable with gene therapy. The main hurdles have not only been vector-related toxicity but also the lack of physiological regulation of the expressed insulin. Recent advances in understanding the developmental biology of β-cells and the transcriptional cascade that drives it have enabled both in vivo and ex vivo gene therapy combined with cell therapy to be used in animal models of diabetes with success. The associated developments in the stem cell biology and immunology have opened up further opportunities for gene therapy to be applied to target autoimmune diabetes.
Thermal and electrical transport in the spin density wave antiferromagnet CaFe4As3

We present here measurements of the thermopower, thermal conductivity, and electrical resistivity of the newly reported compound CaFe${}_{4}$As${}_{3}$. Evidence is presented from specific heat and electrical resistivity measurements that a substantial fraction of the Fermi surface survives the onset of spin density wave (SDW) order at the N\'eel temperature ${T}_{\mathrm{N}}=88$ K and its subsequent commensurate lock-in transition at ${T}_{2}=26.4$ K. The specific heat below ${T}_{2}$ consists of a normal metallic component from the ungapped parts of the Fermi surface and a Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer (BCS) component that represents the SDW gapping of the Fermi surface. A large Kadowaki-Woods ratio is found at low temperatures, showing that the ground state of CaFe${}_{4}$As${}_{3}$ is a strongly interacting Fermi liquid. The thermal conductivity $\ensuremath{\kappa}$ of CaFe${}_{4}$As${}_{3}$ is an order of magnitude smaller than those of conventional metals at all temperatures, due to a strong phonon scattering. The thermoelectric power $S$ displays a sign change from positive to negative indicating that a partial gap forms at the Fermi level with the onset of commensurate spin density wave order at ${T}_{2}=26.4$ K. The small value of the thermopower $S$ and the enhancements of the resistivity due to gap formation and strong quasiparticle interactions offset the low value of the thermal conductivity $\ensuremath{\kappa}$, yielding only a modest value for the thermoelectric figure of merit $\mathcal{Z}\ensuremath{\leqslant}5\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{\ensuremath{-}6}\phantom{\rule{0.28em}{0ex}}{\mathrm{K}}^{\ensuremath{-}1}$ in CaFe${}_{4}$As${}_{3}$. The results of ab initio electronic structure calculations are reported, confirming that the sign change in the thermopower at ${T}_{2}$ is reflected by a sign change in the slope of the density of states at the Fermi level. Values for the quasiparticle renormalization $Z$ are derived from measurements of the specific heat and thermopower, indicating that as $T\ensuremath{\rightarrow}0$, ${\mathrm{CaFe}}_{4}{\mathrm{As}}_{3}$ is among the most strongly correlated of the known Fe-based pnictide and chalcogenide systems.
Metformin suppresses growth of human head and neck squamous cell carcinoma via global inhibition of protein translation

Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is the sixth leading cancer in the world; the main risk factors are alcohol and tobacco use. Advancements in therapies have yet to improve the prognosis of HNSCC. the connection between diabetes and cancer is being recognized, and metformin has been shown to decrease cancer incidence in diabetic patients. Accordingly, here, for the first time, we investigated metformin's efficacy on the growth and viability of human HNSCC FaDU and Detroit 562 cells. our results show that metformin treatment (5–20 mM) dose-dependently inhibits the growth of both cell lines. In FaDU cells, metformin caused 18–57% and 35–81% growth inhibition after 48 and 72 h treatments, respectively. Similarly, in Detroit 562 cells, 48 and 72 h metformin treatment resulted in 20–57% and 33–82% inhibition, respectively. Mechanistically, metformin caused G1 arrest, which coincided with a decrease in the protein levels of Cdks (2, 4 and 6), cyclins (D1 and e) and Cdk inhibitors (p15, p16, p18 and p27) but no change in p19 and p21. Metformin also decreased the levels of oncogenic proteins Skp2 and β-Trcp. In other studies, metformin decreased the phosphorylation of 4E-BP1 at Ser65, Thr37/46 and Thr70 sites but drastically increased the phosphorylation of EF2 at Thr56 and AMPK at Thr172, which results in global translational inhibition. In summary, the observed wide spectrum of mechanistic effects of metformin on HNSCC cells provides support for the anticancer capability of the drug and its potential use in future therapies.
An analysis of online professional development and outcomes for students with disabilities

Professional development (PD) experiences for special education teachers are designed to facilitate teacher learning and the implementation of evidence-based practices. PD should also make a positi...
Selectivity of endotoxin-induced defect in endothelial calcium mobilization

Selectivity of endotoxin-induced defect in endothelial calcium mobilization. Background We hypothesized that endotoxin (LPS) would impair bradykinin (BK)-induced calcium (Ca 2+ ) mobilization in aortic endothelial cells, perhaps due to cytotoxicity or via stimulation of nitric oxide (NO) synthesis. As well, we sought to define contributions of LPS-stimulated Ca 2+ mobilization to these effects. Methods LPS- or BK-induced increments of intracellular Ca 2+ were assessed by microspectrofluorimetry with fura-2 in passaged bovine aortic endothelial cells. Time- and dose-dependent effects of LPS exposure (± inhibitors of NO or prostaglandin synthesis) on subsequent BK-induced Ca 2+ mobilization and on attached cell counts were determined. Results LPS (0.1 to 1.0mg/ml) led to rapid increments of Ca 2+ , while Ca 2+ responses were delayed following LPS (1 to 10 μg/ml) and lower doses were without effect. By contrast, LPS more potently (1.0pg to 1.0 μg/ml) led to dose- and time-dependent impairment of subsequent BK-induced Ca 2+ mobilization, with peak effect at four to six hours, persisting for at least 18hours. This delayed effect on BK-response was unaltered by inhibition of either NO synthase or cyclooxygenase. The effect of LPS on BK-responsivity depended importantly on cell confluence, as it was not observed in subconfluent cells. By contrast, LPS-induced cell detachment, which was observed only at doses ≥ 1.0 μg/ml, did not depend on confluence. Conclusions Different mechanisms lead to endothelial cytotoxicity and to impaired BK-response following LPS. Only the former effect, occurring at higher doses, might depend on initial LPS-induced Ca 2+ mobilization.
Katie Hafner: The Origins of the Internet

Katie Hafner describes how she came to write her book, Where Wizards Stay Up Late, about the history of the Arpanet. The first Web extra at http://youtu.be/IUk2KyqrmF8 is an audio recording of Charles Severance's Computing Conversations column, in which he discusses his interview with Katie Hafner about how she came to write her book, Where Wizards Stay Up Late, on the history of the Arpanet. The second Web extra at http://youtu.be/pJ51RMAjLGI is video segment of Charles Severance's interview with Katie Hafner about how she came to write her book, Where Wizards Stay Up Late, on the history of the Arpanet.
Childhood‐onset autosomal‐dominant limb‐girdle muscular dystrophy with cardiac conduction block

We report childhood-onset autosomal-dominant limb-girdle muscular dystrophy (LGMD) in a Chinese family with complete atrioventricular conduction block in the adult members. Six patients, including 5 men and 1 woman with an age of onset from 3 to 7 years, were affected. The grandfather had exercise intolerance since childhood and complete heart block with pace-maker placement at age 52. Three siblings had proximal muscle weakness and/or wasting since age 5 and heart block in their 40s. Two grandsons at the ages 7 and 3 showed exercise intolerance, and proximal muscle weakness and wasting. Sinus bradycardia was present in the elder grandson. Muscle enzymes were elevated in 3, particularly in childhood. Muscle biopsies from the proband showed myopathic changes with fatty degeneration, whorled fibers, and rimmed vacuoles. In adult patients, muscle magnetic resonance imaging scans disclosed atrophic changes and fatty degeneration in the gluteal, quadriceps, adductors, hamstrings, gastrocnemius, and soleus muscles, while in child probands the early atrophic changes were seen in the gluteal and hamstrings muscles. We conclude that this distinct family is characterized by childhood-onset autosomal-dominant LGMD with heart block and that prevention of sudden death in these patients is important.
Optical and transport studies of single molecule tunnel junctions based on self-assembled monolayers

Abstract We have fabricated a variety of novel molecular tunnel junctions based on self-assembled-monolayers (SAM) of two-component solid-state mixtures of molecular wires (1,4-methane benzene-dithiol; Me-BDT with two thiol anchoring groups), and molecular insulator spacers (1-pentanethiol; PT with one thiol anchoring group) at different concentration ratios, r of wires/spacers, which were sandwiched between two metallic electrodes such as gold and cobalt. FTIR spectroscopy and surface titration were used, respectively, to verify the formation of covalent bonds with the electrodes, and obtain the number of active molecular wires in the device. The electrical transport properties of the SAM devices were studied as a function of (i) r -value, (ii) temperatures, and (iii) different electrodes, via the conductance and differential conductance spectra. The measurements were used to analyze the Me-BDT density of states near the electrode Fermi level, and the properties of the interface barriers. We measured the Me-BDT single molecule resistance at low bias and gold electrodes to be 6×10 9 Ω. We also determine the energy difference, Δ between the Me-BDT HOMO level and the gold Fermi level to be about 1.8 eV. In addition we also found that the temperature dependence of the SAM devices with r −4 is much weaker than that of the pure PT device (or r =0), showing a small interface barrier.
PRODUCTION SPECTRUM OF MESONS IN HIGH-ENERGY NUCLEON-NUCLEON COLLISIONS

In order to obtain a production spectrum of mesons in the center-of-mass system, three high-energy nuclear collisions were selected which satisfy very stringent criteria for nucleon-nucleon collisions and for which the momenta of all charged particles could be measured in the laboratory system. The results show that more than one-half of the mesons have energies less than 1 Bev in the center-of-mass system. Only a few particles emitted under very small angles in the forward and backward direction have higher energies, extending up to 10 Bev. The low-energy end of the spectrum is compared with results obtained in experiments with the Berkeley Bevatron.
The Management of Household and Childcare Tasks and Relationship Satisfaction in Dual-Earner Families

The investigation examined the mental work associated with managing a household and raising young children and how such mental work might be associated with relationship satisfaction. Forty-five parents with young children completed questionnaires that assessed marital satisfaction and mothers' and fathers' perceptions of who did what in their household in terms of household tasks, childcare tasks, household management, and childcare management, as well as how much they worried about the completion of each of these tasks. Results indicate that fathers' marital satisfaction and mothers' marital satisfaction differed in terms of the division of labor and management of labor.
Ultrahigh-resolution differential ion mobility spectrometry using extended separation times

Ion mobility spectrometry (IMS), and particularly differential IMS or field asymmetric waveform IMS (FAIMS), is emerging as a versatile tool for separation and identification of gas-phase ions, especially in conjunction with mass spectrometry. For over two decades since its inception, the utility of FAIMS was constrained by resolving power (R) of less than ∼20. Stronger electric fields and optimized gas mixtures have recently raised achievable R to ∼200, but further progress with such approaches is impeded by electrical breakdown. However, the resolving power of planar FAIMS devices using any gas and field intensity scales as the square root of separation time (t). Here, we extended t from the previous maximum of 0.2 s up to 4-fold by reducing the carrier gas flow and increased the resolving power by up to 2-fold as predicted, to >300 for multiply charged peptides. The resulting resolution gain has enabled separation of previously “co-eluting” peptide isomers, including folding conformers and localization...
Three Strikes and They're Out: African American Boys and American Schools' Responses to Misbehavior

ABSTRACT This article examines summary data from a recent U.S. Office for Education civil rights survey of American schools in terms of three specific types of school responses to children's misbehaviors: corporal punishment, suspension from school, and placement in Special Education for the Behaviorally Disordered. Extremely large disparities in rates for African American boys versus those for girls and boys of other race/ethnicity groups were often found. The shear magnitude of the differences suggests that selectivity may be operating vis-a-vis punitive/exclusionary measures taken by schools when responding to children's behaviors. Speculations as to these dynamics are offered.
Functional fits to some observed drop size distributions and parameterization of rain

Abstract A data sample of optical spectrometer measurements that were obtained in two tropical cyclones is analyzed. The resultant drop size distributions are normalized and their shape is found to exhibit some curvature-departure from exponentiality. When the sample, ordered by rainfall rate, is divided in half, the shape (curvature) of the low-rainfall-rate half is found to be nearly identical to that of the high-rainfall-rate half. Five functional fits to the data are explored in detail; three are exponential fits-Marshall-Palmer, least-squares and “analytical"-and two are gamma distribution function fits-an analytical and a curvilinear least-squares. The goodness-of-fit is evaluated based on error squared, and on coalescence growth error and drop evaporation error. The coalescence growth and drop evaporation are computed using simple microphysical models. The fits that are based on minimizing squared error do not characterize coalescence growth and evaporation well. An analytical gamma distribution fu...
Alternatives to the “New Urban Politics”: finding locality and autonomy in local economic development☆

Abstract The New Urban Politics (or NUP) of local economic development has become one of the dominant themes in urban political economy in the last twenty years. But despite the volume of research this has generated, basic problems remain in the theories that underlie this academic and political work. This paper begins with a discussion of the understandings of the central concepts of locality and autonomy in the NUP. These understandings of locality and autonomy are then criticized for failing to recognize the relational and processual character of both of these constructs. Local autonomy is then retheorized as the capacity to control the production of place. In particular, the paper focuses on groups constructing institutions and relationships of local ownership. These organizations, it is argued, have combined the goals of local autonomy and local economic development, and in so doing have produced new localities in the places in which they are organizing.
B2C Failures: Toward an Innovation Theory Framework

This article uses concepts derived from the investigation of product and services innovation failures to develop a strategic market framework to help understand why so many Internet-based business-to-consumer (B2C) companies failed to fulfill their initial promise. B2C crashes, viewed collectively, may be seen as representing an initial wave of failure of an entirely new class of technology-driven services. Such services sought to inform, promote, sell, and deliver B2C items in radically unfamiliar ways. Research shows B2C firms failed because they did not follow time-tested business precepts, but does not tell us why. In addressing this question, this article argues that unsuccessful B2C firms failed to realize they were marketing innovative services. It focuses on the difficulty of marketing innovative services by developing an integrated framework using the continuum of need-solution context, in conjunction with the notion that seller/buyer perceptions about the scope of innovations are not necessarily concordant. Matched perceptions lead to success, but not always because sellers and buyers can both misjudge the nature and scope of an innovation. Using secondary sources, the article illustrates the explanatory power of the framework and contributes to e-commerce management issues by clarifying why, despite resource availability, most B2C firms failed in the initial round.
CARDIOVASCULAR RISK FACTORS IN CHILDREN: SOCIOECONOMIC VARIABLED AFFECTING THE COLLECTION OF VALID DATA

Though physical fitness and activity level (AL) have been associated with disease and mortality reductions, few studies have examined methods applicable to epidemiologic studies of children. In this study, parents classified their child's AL as (1) sedentary, (2) slightly active, or (3) active. Children (25 black females [BM], 32 white females [WM], 47 black males [BM], and 52 white males [WM] aged 6-18) completed a maximal exercise test. AL reports correlated significantly with maximal oxygen consumption (VO2 max) largely due to the association among WM. Analysis of household (HH) demographic variables indicated that in mother-headed HH, AL reports were uncorrelated with VO2 max (Table of means and correlations; *p≤.05; **p≤.01). Indirectly, race affected AL reports, i.e., 59% of black children were from mother-headed HH versus 13% of white children. Thus, a single question provided an approximation of children's fitness; the accuracy was affected by family structure, e.q., mothers who head HHs may have less time to observe their children.
Methamphetamine Use, Transmission Risk Behavior and Internet Use Among HIV-Infected Patients in Medical Care, San Francisco, 2008

Methamphetamine use is associated with adverse health outcomes and HIV incidence. Few studies have assessed methamphetamine use, sexual behavior and Internet use among HIV-infected patients. Surveys were administered to a sample of HIV-infected patients seeking medical care in a San Francisco county hospital and university-based clinic. In 2008, 35% of homosexual participants, 26% of heterosexual participants and 11% of female participants reported methamphetamine use in the past year. Of participants, 29% reported using the Internet to find sex partners; Internet-users versus non-Internet-users reported a higher median number of sex partners in 6 months (4 vs. 1), were more likely to report unprotected sex (32 vs. 10%), and higher rates of methamphetamine use in the past 12 months (48 vs. 24%). Given the association among methamphetamine use, increased sex partners and Internet use, the Internet may present a new and effective medium for interventions to reduce methamphetamine-associated sexual risk behavior.
GATT and the Environment: Policy Research Needs

This paper is a brief review of current problems in which trade and environmental issues intersect. After a statement of these problems, it focuses on some recent empirical research and future research needs of special relevance to agricultural economists.