cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Inhibin activity in the mare and stallion.

Abstract An overnight double antibody RIA, employing a rabbit antiserum raised to bovine 31 kDa inhibin (rAs-#1989, NICHD) and purified bovine 31 kDa inhibin (bINH-I-90/1, NICHD) as trace and standard, was validated to measure immunoreactive inhibin (iINH) concentrations in equine peripheral plasma, follicular fluid (FF), ovarian vein (OV) plasma, testicular tissue extracts (TTE) and testicular vein (TV) plasma. The dynamic relationship of iINH and follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) was investigated during the estrous cycle of the mare and the annual reproductive cycle of the stallion. In the RIA, parallel dose-response curves were observed between the bovine inhibin standard and serial dilutions of equine FF, OV, TTE, TV and plasma. The average recovery of a known amount of purified bovine inhibin added to gelding plasma was approximately 100%. In the inhibin bioassay, serial dilution of equine FF and TTE were observed to be parallel to the bovine inhibin standard. A five-fold difference (p Concentrations of FSH, estradiol and iINH changed significantly in the mare during the estrous cycle (p In conclusion, a specific and sensitive RIA for iINH has been validated for plasma and biological fluids in the horse. Furthermore, the gonads appear to be the source of bioactive and immunoreactive inhibin as observed in other species. The dynamic relationship between iINH and FSH that is present in both the mare and stallion suggests that iINH may be a useful marker of gonadal activity in this species.
A new UDP-GalNAc:polypeptide N-acetylgalactosaminyltransferase mRNA exhibits predominant expression in the hypothalamus, thalamus and amygdala of mouse forebrain

Protein glycosylation is a common and important process that can alter the stability, half-life, biological activity and receptor recognition of target molecules. We have identified a new putative mouse UDP-GalNAc:polypeptide N-acetylgalactosaminyltransferase family member, termed GalNAc-T10/ppGaNTase-T10 (gene symbol Galnt10), and determined its expression pattern in mouse CNS using in situ hybridization analysis. Results demonstrated predominant expression of Galnt10 in several distinct hypothalamic, thalamic and amygdaloid nuclei. The most abundant hybridization levels were observed in the paraventricular, ventromedial and arcuate nuclei of the hypothalamus, the anterodorsal and parafascicular nuclei of the thalamus and the central, basomedial and medial nuclei of the amygdala. Expression of Galnt10 was also detected in cerebral cortex, lateral septum, habenula and hippocampus. The localization of this putative glycosyltransferase in distinct regions within the CNS indicates the specificity for complex protein modifications and suggests that region-specific glycosylation represents an essential process in basic biological functions.
THE USE OF OBSTETRIC SERVICE SIZE AS A CRITERION FOR REGIONALIZATION OF PERINATAL SERVICES

All 315 perinatal deaths in Nassau County in 1973 were reviewed by a panel of obstetric and pediatric perinotolegists. Preventability, based on the presence or absence of factors which would have materially lessened the risk of death, was delineated for each perinatal death. Perinatal death rates (PDR) and preventable perinatal death rates (PPDR) were developed for each hospital. All deaths were attributed to the hospital of birth. Size of obstetric service was defined as the total number of births per hospital. The mean PDR was 20.3 with a range of 12.0-50.3/1000 live births; the mean PPDR was 4.9 with a ranoe of 2.0-10.1/1000 live births. There was a significant inverse correlation between the size of a hospital's obstetric service and its PDR (p < 0.02). There was no sianificant correlation between the size of a hospital's obstetric service and its PPDR. These findings suggest that a hospital's obstetric service size should be considered in conjunction with mortality data (PDR) and an assessment of quality of care (PPDR) when regionalizing perinatal services.
High-level Inferencing in a Connectionist Network

Connectionist models have had problems representing and applying general knowledge rules that specifically require variables. This variable binding problem has barred them from performing the high-...
The Lay Health Educator Program: Evaluating the Impact of this Community Health Initiative on the Medical Education of Resident Physicians

Resident physicians receive little training designed to help them develop an understanding of the health literacy and health concerns of laypersons. The purpose of this study was to assess whether residents improve their understanding of health concerns of community members after participating in the Lay Health Educator Program, a health education program provided through a medical–religious community partnership. The impact was evaluated via pre-post surveys and open-ended responses. There was a statistically significant change in the residents’ (n = 15) understanding of what the public values as important with respect to specific healthcare topics. Findings suggest participation in a brief, formal community engagement activity improved medical residents’ confidence with community health education.
Emergence of agent-based referral networks

We consider the problem of finding desirable services and sources of information in distributed multiagent systems. Traditional solutions, such as centralized directories, may be inaccurate and may often be unavailable in such settings. Therefore, the only way agents can find the right agents is through referrals. In order to make the referrals effective, the agents must adaptively select the agents with whom they interact. This adaptivity leads to the emergence of referral networks among agents. We study this network experimentally to see the emergence of social structures and the evolution of such structures under different scenarios.
A FORTRAN program for analysis of genotypic frequencies and description of the breeding structure of populations.

A FORTRAN program, “Genestats” was designed to analyse genotypic and allelic frequencies in subpopulations. The genotypes of individuals gathered from electrophoretic analysis at one or more loci are submitted. The program subsequently calculates allele frequencies, determines if significant heterogeneity exists among subpopulations, tests for departures from random mating in subpopulations and calculates F-statistics. A description of the statistical methods is provided. Printout from analysis of allozyme data collected from field subpopulations of the house fly (Musca domestica L.) is provided to illustrate and evaluate the computational methods.
Effect of the R1 element on expression of the US3 and US6 immune evasion genes of human cytomegalovirus.

Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) has several gene products that are important for escape from immune surveillance. These viral gene products downregulate the expression of HLA molecules on the cell surface. The viral US3 and US6 gene products are expressed at immediate-early and early times after infection, respectively. There are two regulatory regions between the US3 and the US6 transcription units. The first region is an NF-kappaB responsive enhancer that promotes the immediate-early expression of the US3 gene and is designated the R2 enhancer. Upstream of the R2 enhancer is a region designated the R1 element that in transient transfection assays behaves as a silencer by repressing the effect of the enhancer on downstream gene expression (A. R. Thrower et al., J. Virol. 1996, 70, 91; Y.-J. Chan et al., J. Virol. 1996, 70, 5312). We constructed recombinant viruses with wild-type or mutated R1 elements. The expression of the US3 gene at 6 h after infection and the US6 gene at 24 h was higher when the R1 element was present. The R1 element in the context of the viral genome is not a silencer of US3 or US6 gene expression. The R1 element has multiple effects on the US3 and US6 RNAs. It enhances the level of US3 and US6 mRNA; it determines the 3'-end cleavage and polyadenylation of US6 RNA, and it stabilizes read-through viral RNAs. The potential mechanisms of R1 enhancement of US3 and US6 gene expression are discussed.
Ultrasonic monitoring of capillary porosity and elastic properties in hydrating cement paste

Abstract A test procedure for monitoring changes in the amplitude of horizontally polarized ultrasonic shear waves from the surface of hydrating cement paste is presented. A theoretical framework based on a poro-elastic idealization of the hydrating cement paste is developed for interpreting the ultrasonic reflection data. The poro-elastic representation of hydrating cement paste is shown to provide simultaneous, realistic estimates of porosity and shear modulus for hydrating cement paste through setting and early strength gain. The porosity predicted by the poro-elastic representation is identical to the capillary porosity predicted by Powers’ model. The shear modulus of the poro-elastic skeleton was found to agree favorably with the value of shear modulus obtained from a vibration-based measurement. Data from cement paste with different water-to-cement ratios indicates a very non-linear relationship between capillary porosity and shear modulus. While there is a steady decrease in the porosity in the first 24 h, there is initially an exponential increase in the shear modulus up to the end of the acceleration period, which is followed by a period with a slower rate of increase.
Stabilising pentavalent actinides—visible–near infrared and X-ray absorption spectroscopic studies of the utility of the [(Np3W4O15)(H2O)3(MW9O33)3]18− (M = Sb, Bi) structural type

We report the interaction between B-type tri-lacunary heteropolyoxotungstate anions and actinyl(V) cations in aqueous solution, yielding a greater understanding of the stability of the OAnO1+ linear dioxo actinide moiety. Previously we reported that B-α-[BiW9O33]9− and B-α-[SbW9O33]9− will react with NpO21+ to yield [(Np3W4O15)(H2O)3(MW9O33)3]18− (M = Bi, or Sb). Single crystal structural characterisation of salts of these complexes revealed a core in which three NpV atoms interact with a central WVI atom through bridging oxo groups. These bridging oxygen atoms come from one of the two axial oxygens in ONpO1+ and represent a highly unusual interaction for a discrete molecular species. In this study visible/near infra-red spectroscopy indicates that [(Np3W4O15)(H2O)3(BiW9O33)3]18− could be readily stabilized in solution at near neutral pH for several months, with (NH4)14Na4[(Np3W4O15)(H2O)39BiW9O33)3]·62H2O crystallising from solution in high yield. At lower pH and [BiW9O33]9− : NpO21+ ratios additional NpV species could be observed in solution. Stabilization of [(Np3W4O15)(H2O)3(SbW9O33)3]18− in solution proved more challenging, with several distinctive NpV near infra-red transitions observed in solution. Slow complexation kinetics and reduction to NpIV was also observed. High [SbW9O33]9− : NpO21+ molar ratios and careful control of solution pH was required to prepare solutions in which [(Np3W4O15)(H2O)3(SbW9O33)3]18− was the only neptunium containing species. In stark contrast to the NpO21+ chemistry, [BiW9O33]9− readily oxidizes PuO21+ to PuO22+ yielding further evidence of the decreased stability of PuVvs.NpV. Np LII-edge XAFS measurement revealed very good agreement with single crystal diffraction data for the Np structural environment for [(Np3W4O15)(H2O)3(MW9O33)3]18− (M = Bi, or Sb) in the solid state. There was also good agreement between coordination shells for [(Np3W4O15)(H2O)3(BiW9O33)3]18− in the solid state and in solution, yielding further confirmation of the high stability of this particular cluster.
An introduction to outsourcing

Outsourcing as a business strategy is discussed in relation to library practices. While contracting out services is being touted as a solution to many management problems, some government operations are moving to reduce use of contractors. As with other business arrangements, preliminary steps before considering outsourcing, such as defining quality and the expectations of both parties, must be taken. Acquisitions and collection development librarians have extensive experience with managing contracts with vendors but also have to think in new terms and develop new relationships, with vendor services expanding. Acquisitions librarians have many skills to offer in managing outsourcing arrangements, and general management and leadership abilities will still be necessary both for the staff working within the library and the contract services.
Regulation of carbon and nitrogen metabolism: Adding regulation of ion channels and another second messenger to the mix

The regulation of metabolism in bacteria is accomplished by a complex array of signal transduction systems, metabolic interactions, and gene regulatory relationships. For example, maintenance of the balance of carbon and nitrogen metabolism involves (as a partial list) ppGpp, cAMP, the NtrBC two-component system and the coupled Nac-controlled regulon, the leucine-responsive protein LRP, the carbohydrate phosphotransferase system (PTS), and a parallel PTS that has been referred to as the nitrogen PTS. Understanding how these signaling and regulatory systems function to coordinate metabolism remains a significant challenge. In a recent issue of PNAS, Lee et al. (1) show for the first time one of the ways that the nitrogen PTS plays a role in regulating gene expression and metabolism. It does so by regulating an ion channel that is the major K+ transporter, TrkA. Apparently, K+ is a second messenger controlling gene expression and enzyme activity in bacteria.
Chronic stress and a cyclic regimen of estradiol administration separately facilitate spatial memory: relationship with hippocampal CA1 spine density and dendritic complexity.

This study investigated the effects of chronic restraint stress and repeated cyclic estradiol pulses on hippocampal CA3 and CA1 dendritic and/or spine morphology and spatial memory in female rats. Sprague-Dawley adult female rats were ovariectomized and then injected over two days with 17β-estradiol (10µg, s.c.), which was repeated every 4–5 days. While all rats received similar estradiol injection histories, half of the rats were chronically restrained and/or given a final cyclic pulse of estradiol prior to testing on a hippocampal-dependent object placement (OP) task to assess spatial memory. OP testing was performed two days after the last restraint session, as well as when the last two estradiol pulses best captured the maximal effect on hippocampal CA1 spine density. The data revealed several novel findings: 1) chronic stress or estradiol separately facilitated spatial memory, but did not have the same effects when co-administered, 2) CA1 spine densities negatively correlated with spatial memory, and 3) repeated estradiol pulses failed to prevent stress-induced CA3 dendritic retraction. We also corroborated previous studies showing increased CA1 spine density following estradiol, chronic stress, and behavioral manipulations. The present study uniquely combined chronic stress, repeated estradiol pulses, hippocampal morphology and behavior within the same animals, allowing for correlational analyses to be performed between CA1 spine morphology and spatial memory. We demonstrate novel findings that chronic stress or estradiol pulses independently facilitate spatial memory, but not when co-administered, and that these effects may involve a balance of CA1 apical spine expression that is independent of CA3 dendritic complexity.
Hypoxia, angiotensin-II, and norepinephrine mediated apoptosis is stimulus specific in canine failed cardiomyocytes: a role for p38 MAPK, Fas-L and cyclin D1.

Background: Apoptosis may contribute to the myocardial dysfunction associated with heart failure (HF). Activation of the p38 MAPK cascade can induce apoptosis in non-cardiac cells through increased expression of Fas-L, or through decreased expression of cyclin D1. Aims: We tested the hypothesis that hypoxia (HX), angiotensin-II (A-II) and norepinephrine (NEPI) can mediate apoptosis by activating p38 MAPK, and thus initiating stimulus specific changes in Fas-L and cyclin D1 expression in failing cardiomyocytes. Methods and results: Cardiomyocytes isolated from ten dogs with HF induced by coronary microembolizations were subjected to HX or A-II or NEPI with and without a p38 MAPK inhibitor (SB 203580). TUNEL staining for DNA fragmentation and Western blots for p38 MAPK, Fas-L and cyclin D1 detection were performed. HX-induced apoptosis was associated with increased Fas-L expression, A-II-induced apoptosis was associated with increased Fas-L and decreased cyclin D1 expression, and NEPI-induced apoptosis was associated with decreased cyclin D1 expression. Inhibition of p38 MAPK activity attenuated stress-induced apoptosis in all experiments and reversed changes in Fas-L and cyclin D1 expression. Conclusions: HX, A-II and NEPI mediate apoptosis in failing cardiomyocytes via different effects on Fas-L and cyclin D1 expression. Inhibition of p38 MAPK reversed these effects, suggesting that apoptosis induced by HX, A-II and NEPI involves activation of p38 MAPK upstream from Fas-L and cyclin D1.
Image-Transfer Characteristics of Carrier-Frequency Photography*

Introduction of a spatial amplitude carrier in an object distribution by either absorption, addition, or redistribution of light is discussed. The transfer characteristics of carrier-frequency photography can be influenced by carrier manipulation and variation of the recording parameters. Different portions of the nonlinear transfer characteristic of a recording process are found to be useful for modulated as well as unmodulated carriers. Other possibilities treated are combinations of modulated and unmodulated carriers. It is also shown that images belonging to different diffracted orders in the reconstruction process can be given different image characteristics. Experimental verifications are presented.
The quality of assessment of patients with chest pain: the development of a questionnaire to audit the nursing assessment record of patients with chest pain.

The quality of nursing and medical records has been a source of concern for many years (Audit Commission 1995). This study has two main purposes: firstly, to design an audit questionnaire to evaluate the quality of nursing assessment records of patients with chest pain; and secondly, to make some tentative conclusions about the quality of nursing assessment of patients with a chest pain in order to pinpoint areas that need further study. A sample of 30 patients was selected for this study on the basis of some well-defined inclusion criteria. The nursing assessment notes of these patients were evaluated using the audit questionnaire. It was found that the questionnaire was effective in gleaning appropriate information from the nursing notes to be able to derive some tentative conclusions about the quality of nursing assessment of patients with chest pain, i.e., on the whole nursing assessment was found to be superficially carried out, potentially making errors of omission and commission likely to occur. The inter-rater reliability of the questionnaire was found to be good. The questionnaire also seems to measure what it purports to measure (i.e. has content validity). However, this needs to be further checked by using a larger sample.
Natural and professional help: a process analysis

Differences in the helping interactions formed by mental health professionals, divorce lawyers, and mutual help group leaders were examined. Fourteen members of each of these three helper groups (N = 42) met independently with a coached client presenting marital difficulties. Using ratings of ability to ameliorate the personal and emotional problems presented, the 42 helpers were divided (using a median split) into successful and less successful outcome groups. The responses of each of the pairs were coded using the Hill Counselor Verbal Response Category System. The sequence of client-helper responses were examined using log-linear analysis as they varied by type of helper and outcome. Results indicated that successful helpers (regardless of type of helper) tended to use directives (e.g., guidance and approval-reassurance) differently from less successful helpers. Successful helpers used directives following client emotional expression and not following factual description. In addition, clear differences in helper responses by helper type and outcome were found. Each helper type had unique patterns of responses that differentiated successful from less successful outcomes. Client responses were found to vary across helper type even when given the same helper preceding response. Results are discussed with respect to the unique goals of each helping relationship and the different shaping process involved in each.
Intervention for Hyperlipidemia Associated With Protease Inhibitors

In the past 3 years, treatment for HIV infection has significantly improved the prognosis for HIV-infected persons. The administration of protease inhibitors for the treatment of HIV infection has had a significant role in the reduction of AIDS-related complications. Recent findings have indicated that protease inhibitors may significantly increase lipids to levels that pose a health risk that may be greater than the illness itself. This article reviews the initial findings of a study that investigated the impact of interventions for the treatment of protease inhibitor-related hyperlipidemia. The purpose of the study was to determine if initiation of interventions based on the National Cholesterol Education Program Guidelines would be effective in lowering protease inhibitor-related hyperlipidemia without disrupting the effectiveness of the HIV therapy. A total of 45 HIV-infected individuals who were taking a protease inhibitor and had abnormally elevated lipids were enrolled into this study. Mean serum cholesterol level prior to initation of a protease inhibitor regimen was 170 mg/dl as compared to a mean cholesterol at time of enrollment of 289 mg/dl and triglycerides of 879 mg/dl. Interventions included diet and exercise and the prescription of gemfibrozil alone or in combination with atorvatstatin. During the course of the study, overall intervention significantly reduced serum cholesterol level to 201 mg/dl (p. 01) over a study period of ten months. Case studies of five medical events related to hyperlipidemia are included. Currently, 26 participants continue in the study. Sixteen participants discontinued protease inhibitor therapy during the course of the study and thus ended their participation.
The value of intraoperative Gram stain in revision total knee arthroplasty.

Background: The accurate preoperative diagnosis of infection is an essential component of decision-making prior to revision total knee arthroplasty. When preoperative modalities used to detect infection reveal equivocal findings, the surgeon may rely on intraoperative testing. While intraoperative Gram stains are routinely performed during revision total knee arthroplasty, their value remains unclear. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the records on 945 revision total knee arthroplasties performed at three university institutions to which patients were referred for total joint arthroplasty; the results of an intraoperative Gram stain were available for review in 921 cases (97.5%). Of these knees, 247 were classified as infected on the basis of (1) the presence of the same organism in two cultures; (2) growth, on solid media, of an organism as well as other objective evidence of infection; (3) histologic evidence of acute inflammation; (4) gross purulence; and/or (5) an actively draining sinus. We reviewed the results of preoperative laboratory studies, which included measurements of the erythrocyte sedimentation rate, C-reactive protein values, and white blood-cell count in 90%, 76%, and 98% of cases, respectively. Preoperative aspiration to obtain a specimen for culture and a cell count was performed routinely at one center and selectively at the other two centers, and the results were available for review in 439 (48%) of the 921 cases. Results: Intraoperative Gram staining was found to have a sensitivity of 27% and a specificity of 99.9%. The positive and negative predictive values were 98.5% and 79%, respectively. The test accuracy was 80%. Patients with a true-positive Gram stain had a significantly higher preoperative white blood-cell count, C-reactive protein level, and nucleated cell count in the aspirate when compared with patients with a false-negative Gram stain (p < 0.001). In no case did the results of the intraoperative Gram stain alter treatment. Conclusions: The intraoperative Gram stain was found to have poor sensitivity and a poor negative predictive value, and its results did not alter the treatment of any patient undergoing revision total knee arthroplasty because of a suspected infection. These data do not support the routine use of intraoperative Gram staining in revision total knee arthroplasty; instead, they suggest a much more limited role for this test. Level of Evidence: Diagnostic Level I. See Instructions to Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.
Altered Subthreshold Sodium Currents and Disrupted Firing Patterns in Purkinje Neurons of Scn8a Mutant Mice

Sodium currents and action potentials were characterized in Purkinje neurons from ataxic mice lacking expression of the sodium channel Scn8a. Peak transient sodium current was approximately 60% of that in normal mice, but subthreshold sodium current was affected much more. Steady-state current elicited by voltage ramps was reduced to approximately 30%, and resurgent sodium current, an unusual transient current elicited on repolarization following strong depolarizations, was reduced to 8%-18%. In jolting mice, with a missense mutation in Scn8a, steady-state and resurgent current were also reduced, with altered voltage dependence and kinetics. Both spontaneous firing and evoked bursts of spikes were diminished in cells from null and jolting mice. Evidently Scn8a channels carry most subthreshold sodium current and are crucial for repetitive firing.
Wealth effects of American depository receipts listed on the New York Stock Exchange: The case of telecom firms

This study investigates the short-term and long-term performance of NYSE-listed American depository receipts (ADRs) from the telecom industry. Early performance results suggest the entire sample of 63 ADRs underperforms the S&P500 on the first day of trading but outperforms the market in the first month. In the long run, seasoned equity offerings (SEOs) outperform the S&P500 index by nearly 32 per cent by the end of the third year of trading, whereas initial public offerings (IPOs) underperform by nearly 9 per cent in the long run. Finally, these telecom ADR holding period returns are affected by the date of issue, the region of issue, the type of issue and the return of the market index as determined by regression results.
A Theory for the Vertical Alignment of a Quasigeostrophic Vortex

This article presents a new theory for the rate at which a quasigeostrophic vortex realigns, under conservative dynamics, after being tilted by an episode of external vertical shear. The initial tilt is viewed as the excitation of a three-dimensional ‘‘vortex Rossby mode.’’ This mode, that is, the tilt, decays exponentially with time during its early evolution. The decay rate g is proportional to the potential vorticity gradient at a critical radius, where the fluid rotation is resonant with the mode. The decay rate g also depends on the internal Rossby deformation radius lR, which is proportional to the stratification strength of the atmospheric or oceanic layer containing the vortex. The change of g with lR is sensitive to the form of the vortex. For the case of a ‘‘Rankine-with-skirt’’ vortex, the magnitude of g increases (initially) with increasing lR. On the other hand, for the case of a ‘‘Gaussian’’ vortex, the magnitude of g decreases with increasing lR. The relevance of this theory to tropical cyclogenesis is discussed.
Thermal effects of phase transformations: A review

All the stages of phase transformations in materials, nucleation, growth, and coarsening, are subject to thermal effects that stem from the redistribution of energy in the system, like release of latent heat, and heat conduction. The thermal effects change the rate and outcome of the transformation and may result in the appearance of unusual states or phases, in particular in nanosystems. This review will cover the attempts of researchers to build a comprehensive theory of thermal effects in different phase transformations. Although the dynamical Ginzburg‐Landau (continuum) approach will be used for the analysis of the effects, they are robust and conceivably independent of the theoretical method employed. On general physical grounds a possibility of an oscillatory regime in nucleation is considered and evolution equations for the interfacial motion are derived. The equations show that there are two distinctly different sets of thermal effects of interface motion: one set originates from the existence of the Gibbs‐Duhem thermodynamic force on the interface, which has opposite directions compared to the velocity of the interface in the cases of continuous and discontinuous transitions, resulting in a heat trapping effect for the latter and a drag effect for the former. The other set of thermal effects stems from the existence of the surface internal energy and the necessity to carry it over together with the moving interface. As a result, temperature double layers accompany moving domain boundaries after a continuous transition or the surface creation and dissipation effect appear after a discontinuous one. An unusual, novel phase that may appear in isolated nanosystems (adiabatic nanophase) is described. Several experiments are suggested for the verification of the thermal effects in different material systems. c 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Prediction of drill-bit breakage from degradation signals using Mahalanobis-Taguchi system analysis

Drilling is a widely used machining process. As the hole drilling operation progresses, a drill-bit gradually degrades until it breaks at the end of its life. Replacing a drill-bit after it is breakage can be costly in certain special applications. At the same time an early tool replacement decision may lead to lower tool life utilisation. This calls for methods that enable accurate prediction of tool failures. In such situations degradation signals using appropriate features are utilised to arrive at the tool replacement decision. In this paper we study two such degradation signals viz., thrust force and torque using 20 derived features (10 features per degradation signal). The methodology used involves a successful application of Mahalanobis-Taguchi System (MTS) analysis that enables an accurate prediction of drill-bit breakage ensuring high tool life utilisation.
A Comparison of the Spatial Linear Model to Nearest Neighbor (k-NN) Methods for Forestry Applications

Forest surveys provide critical information for many diverse interests. Data are often collected from samples, and from these samples, maps of resources and estimates of aerial totals or averages are required. In this paper, two approaches for mapping and estimating totals; the spatial linear model (SLM) and k-NN (k-Nearest Neighbor) are compared, theoretically, through simulations, and as applied to real forestry data. While both methods have desirable properties, a review shows that the SLM has prediction optimality properties, and can be quite robust. Simulations of artificial populations and resamplings of real forestry data show that the SLM has smaller empirical root-mean-squared prediction errors (RMSPE) for a wide variety of data types, with generally less bias and better interval coverage than k-NN. These patterns held for both point predictions and for population totals or averages, with the SLM reducing RMSPE from 9% to 67% over some popular k-NN methods, with SLM also more robust to spatially imbalanced sampling. Estimating prediction standard errors remains a problem for k-NN predictors, despite recent attempts using model-based methods. Our conclusions are that the SLM should generally be used rather than k-NN if the goal is accurate mapping or estimation of population totals or averages.
Social networks and the elderly: conceptual and clinical issues, and a family consultation.

After a general Introduction to the construct "social networks," this article discusses the progressive transformation of the personal social network—family, friends and acquaintances, work and leisure relationships, et cetera—as individuals reach an advanced age. This is followed by a summary and discussion (from a social-constructionist perspective) of a clinical consultation, with an emphasis on the reciprocal influence between individual and social network. This article has a double frame of reference: (a) an ecosystemic perspective that highlights, as a crucial level of analysis of human processes, the personal social network of individuals (including family), a dynamic system in permanent evolution actively inserted in the larger sociocultural macrosystem; and (b) a social constructionist frame of reference, through which the therapeutic process can be described as a purposeful evolution of the problematic stories displayed by the consultees into consensually validated alternative stories that enhance competency as well as facilitate change. The first frame will be presented in the sections that follow, the latter will permeate through the closing discussion, and the interview contained in this article will constitute, hopefully, an example of how this double frame of reference translates into practice.
Methane Hydrate and Free Gas on the Blake Ridge from Vertical Seismic Profiling

Seismic velocities measured in three drill holes through a gas hydrate deposit on the Blake Ridge, offshore South Carolina, indicate that substantial free gas exists to at least 250 meters beneath the bottom-simulating reflection (BSR). Both methane hydrate and free gas exist even where a clear BSR is absent. The low reflectance, or blanking, above the BSR is caused by lithologic homogeneity of the sediments rather than by hydrate cementation. The average methane hydrate saturation above the BSR is relatively low (5 to 7 percent of porosity), which suggests that earlier global estimates of methane in hydrates may be too high by as much as a factor of 3.
Psychopharmacologic Treatment A Note on Classroom Effects

Although significant numbers of children with learning or behavioral disorders may be receiving psychopharmacologic medications, special education personnel may not always be familiar with either specific therapeutic effects or side effects of such drugs. The following is a brief introduction to specific classroom issues involved in the four major classes of psychotropic medication, along with certain recent methodological concerns in both research and classroom intervention in this area.
Genome‐scale models of metabolism and gene expression extend and refine growth phenotype prediction

Growth is a fundamental process of life. Growth requirements are well-characterized experimentally for many microbes; however, we lack a unified model for cellular growth. Such a model must be predictive of events at the molecular scale and capable of explaining the high-level behavior of the cell as a whole. Here, we construct an ME-Model for Escherichia coli—a genome-scale model that seamlessly integrates metabolic and gene product expression pathways. The model computes ∼80% of the functional proteome (by mass), which is used by the cell to support growth under a given condition. Metabolism and gene expression are interdependent processes that affect and constrain each other. We formalize these constraints and apply the principle of growth optimization to enable the accurate prediction of multi-scale phenotypes, ranging from coarse-grained (growth rate, nutrient uptake, by-product secretion) to fine-grained (metabolic fluxes, gene expression levels). Our results unify many existing principles developed to describe bacterial growth.
Design and Analysis of a Programmable Single-Chip Architecture for DVB-T Base-Band Receiver

This work treats the design and analysis of a programmable (or reconfigurable) DSP-domain-specific architecture called MorphoSys, upon which the world's first single-chip software solution for a DVB-T base-band receiver can be implemented. Based on the first version of MorphoSys, many modifications have been made to improve greatly both computation power and data movement efficiency. Sequential codes and SIMD codes can be parallelized; temporal granularity adjustment boosts performance up to 4 times: numerous different types of data movement can be accelerated 8 to 64 times faster than sequential movement. As a complicated (21 GOPS) and typical communication system, the DVB-T base-band receiver is designed with low performance loss and mapped onto MorphoSys architecture (>28 GOPS). This solidly contributes to software defined radio development.
An Aristotelian Account of Minimal Chemical Life

Abstract This paper addresses the open philosophical and scientific problem of explaining and defining life. This problem is controversial, and there is nothing approaching a consensus about what life is. This raises a philosophical meta-question: Why is life so controversial and so difficult to define? This paper proposes that we can attribute a significant part of the controversy over life to use of a Cartesian approach to explaining life, which seeks necessary and sufficient conditions for being an individual living organism, out of the context of other organisms and the abiotic environment. The Cartesian approach contrasts with an Aristotelian approach to explaining life, which considers life only in the whole context in which it actually exists, looks at the characteristic phenomena involving actual life, and seeks the deepest and most unified explanation for those phenomena. The phenomena of life might be difficult to delimit precisely, but it certainly includes life's characteristic hallmarks, bord...
Source of the Australasian tektite strewn field - A possible off-shore impact site

Although there is a preponderance of evidence that tektites were formed by asteroid impacts on the earth, no source crater has been found for the largest and youngest of the strewn fields - the Austalasian strewn field. A combined Seasat/Geos 3 altimeter data set of sea surface heights in the northern portion of the Australasian strewn field has been examined for negative gravity anomalies on the continental shelf and slope which might be related to the source crater for these tektites. A large negative anomaly called the Qui Nhon Slope Anomaly is a sea surface depression of approximately 1.5 meters over an area of 100 km diameter. It corresponds to a gravity anomaly of about -50 mgal. It is proposed that this anomaly may be due to the impact structure that produced the Australasian strewn field.
Regulation of Septum Formation in Aspergillus nidulans by a DNA Damage Checkpoint Pathway

In Aspergillus nidulans, germinating conidia undergo multiple rounds of nuclear division before the formation of the first septum. Previous characterization of temperature-sensitive sepB and sepJ mutations showed that although they block septation, they also cause moderate defects in chromosomal DNA metabolism. Results presented here demonstrate that a variety of other perturbations of chromosomal DNA metabolism also delay septum formation, suggesting that this is a general cellular response to the presence of sublethal DNA damage. Genetic evidence is provided that suggests that high levels of cyclin-dependent kinase (cdk) activity are required for septation in A. nidulans. Consistent with this notion, the inhibition of septum formation triggered by defects in chromosomal DNA metabolism depends upon Tyr-15 phosphorylation of the mitotic cdk p34nimX. Moreover, this response also requires elements of the DNA damage checkpoint pathway. A model is proposed that suggests that the DNA damage checkpoint response represents one of multiple sensory inputs that modulates p34nimX activity to control the timing of septum formation.
U.S. Army Botulinum Neurotoxin (BoNT) Medical Therapeutics Research Program: past accomplishments and future directions

The United States Army (USA) under the auspices of the Medical Research and Material Command (USAMRMC) and the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) sponsored several major efforts to develop an effective medical countermeasure against botulinum neurotoxin (BoNT). This review focuses on the U.S. Army's research and development efforts for a BoNT therapeutic over the period from 1975–2007. Two antitoxin preparations: Human botulism immunoglobulin (BIG) and Botulism Immune Globulin F(ab')2 Heptavalent Equine (BIGHE) were administered to humans and shown to possess acceptable efficacy and safety levels. BIGHE was deployed in Operation Desert Storm/Desert Shield. BoNT/A monoclonal antibodies were developed and are currently undergoing clinical evaluation with funding from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease (NIAID). The development of small molecules for the treatment of BoNT has also been supported. Efforts have focused on molecules to inhibit nearly every aspect of BoNT pathogenesis. This would include toxin binding, translocation, catalytic activity, and recovery following intoxication. Several compounds capable of inhibiting toxin activity or mitigating the severity of paralysis have been identified. To date, none of the compounds possess the appropriate properties (safety, efficacy, solubility) to be considered for clinical studies. Drug Dev Res 70:266–278, 2009. Published 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Data mining and the evolution of biological complexity.

A common challenge of identifying meaningful patterns in high-dimensional biological data is the complexity of the relationship between genotype and phenotype. Complexity arises as a result of many environmental, genetic, genomic, metabolic and proteomic factors interacting in a nonlinear manner through time and space to influence variability in biological traits and processes. The assumptions we make about this complexity greatly influences the analytical methods we choose for data mining and, in turn, our results and inferences. For example, linear discriminant analysis assumes a linear additive relationship among the variables or attributes while support vector machine or neural network can model nonlinear relationships. Regardless, it is a useful exercise to think about where biological complexity comes from as a way to facilitate the selection of data mining methods. One important theory is that evolution has shaped the complexity of biological systems. More specifically, we introduce here canalization as an evolutionary force in biological systems.
A theoretical melting model for plasticating extruders

A theoretical model for melting in plasticating extruders is described. Compared to previous models, this model introduces more accurate and less restrictive assumptions, adds a mass balance on the entire channel, and replaces certain approximate solutions by exact solutions. Flow of the solid bed is represented by a solid bed acceleration parameter, SBAP, which permits solid bed acceleration in a screw compression section. New experimental melting data for a variety of screw designs, polymers, and extruder sizes are presented and compared to the theoretical predictions. With the optimum SBAP, reasonably accurate model prediction of the melting profiles is observed for a wide variety of cases.
Surgical sutures: MR artifacts and sequence dependence

Artifact reduction is fundamental to the daily clinical application of magnetic resonance (MR) imaging. Imaging of the postoperative patient may be difficult because of surgically introduced materials that result in artifacts. The authors tested some commonly used types of surgical suture for MR susceptibility artifact with various imaging sequences. Ten different suture types were studied. Suture was immersed in vegetable oil in separate plastic test tubes. The sutures were also studied embedded in meat. All samples were studied with T1-weighted and T2-weighted spin-echo, STIR (short-inversion-time inversion-recovery), and two-dimensional and three-dimensional gradient-echo sequences. Silk suture produced the most artifact.
Photonic bandgaps with defects and the enhancement of Faraday rotation

We investigate enhancement of magnetooptical rotation in periodic magnetic garnet thin-film stacks with defects using a combination of coupled-mode theory and matrix calculations. We prove that a combination of high rotation per unit length and high output is unattainable for a symmetric grating with a single central defect. We demonstrate that the addition of a second defect introduces sufficient degrees of freedom to allow high transmission for a much larger range of rotation angles than was previously possible. We present a number of designs with emphasis an achieving 45/spl deg/ rotation in very short propagation lengths.
The Negative Influence of Licensing and Disciplinary Boards and Drug Enforcement Agencies on Pain Treatment with Opioid Analgesics

State licensing and disciplinary boards and state and federal drug enforcement agencies exert a negative influence on adequate pain trealrnent because health-care professionals fear unwarranted discipline and prosecution from these agencies if they use opioid analgesics adequately to treat pain. Health care practice acts. and controlled substances laws authorize government regulations of the drugs used to treat pain. Boards must interpret the broad, sometimes vague and ambiguous, language in these acts that defies the standard 'of practice for narcotic use. Unfortunately, cultural and societal biases, myths and misconceptions about opioids influence boards' interpretation of the language in these acts. If pain treatment is to be improved, guidelines for interpretation of these statutes must be developed that eliminate biases, myths, and misconceptions, and which provide clear direction for the practitioner for the use of these drugs which assures him or her that charges of violation of the act will not be...
Hydra Probe and Twelve-Wire Probe Comparisons in Fluids and Soil Cores

Soil water content is often determined using various permittivity sensors. The Hydra Probe reports both the real (e') and imaginary (e") components of complex permittivity (e*) and estimates electrical conductivity (σ'). Previously, a 12-wire probe was used with a vector network analyzer to determine e' and e" and σ' and σ" in undisturbed soil cores. The purpose of this study was to compare results from the Hydra Probe and the 12-wire probe for fluids as well as for soil samples taken from six locations, to better understand the interrelations of e', e", and σ' from the Hydra Probe. Undisturbed soil cores were collected from an Iowa prairie and adjacent soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] field, an Iowa forest and adjacent soybean field, Idaho burned and unburned sites, Colorado grassland and dryland wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) sites, Ohio grassed areas, and Texas rangeland and an irrigated field. Because of their density, some of the Texas samples were sieved and repacked. The reported σ', e', and e" values of fluids were compared between the two measurement systems and with theoretical values. Because the theoretical values for soils are not known, the measured values were compared between systems. Both probes showed σ', e', and e" close to the theoretical values for fluids. In soils, we showed that an adjustment was needed in the calculated σ' from the Hydra Probe to account for dielectric relaxation. The soil σ' of the Hydra Probe matched σ' from the 12-wire probe better after the adjustment was made.
Optimization of sub-50 nm MOSFETs to mitigate drive current degradation due to silicon recess in S/D

The recess of silicon in the source/drain and extension area severely compromises the performance of sub-50 nm MOSFETs. In this paper we investigate the influence of silicon recess on the transistor characteristics using process and device simulation, and systematically map the engineering space for optimization of channel, halo, S/D implants, spacer formations, silicidation and integration schemes to mitigate the silicon surface gouging using response surface modeling.