cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Distal cis-acting elements restrict expression of the CyIIIb actin gene in the aboral ectoderm of the sea urchin embryo.

Abstract The distal region of the S. purpuratus actin CyIIIb gene, between −400 and −1400 nucleotides, contains at least three distinct cis-acting elements (C1R, C1L and E1) which are necessary for correct expression of fusion reporter genes in transgenic sea urchin embryos. The contribution of these elements in the temporal and spatial regulation of the gene was analyzed by single and double site-directed mutagenesis in fusion constructs which carry the bacterial chloramphenicol acetyl transferase (CAT) gene as a reporter. Following microinjection of the transgenes in sea urchin embryos, the activity of the mutants was compared to the wild type in time and space by measuring CAT activity at the blastula and pluteus embryonic stages and by in situ hybridization to the CAT mRNA at pluteus stage. Our results indicate that E1 involved in the temporal regulation of CyIIIb and that all three elements are necessary and sufficient to confer aboral (dorsal) ectoderm specificity to the proximal promoter. This is achieved by suppressing the promoter's activity in all other tissues by the cooperative interaction of the cis-acting elements. The C1R element, binding site of the nuclear receptors SpCOUP-TF and SpSHR2, is by itself sufficient to restrict expression in the ectoderm, whereas the aboral ectoderm restricted expression requires in addition the presence of both C1L adn E1. It is therefore evident, that the actin CyIIIb gene is exclusively expressed in the aboral ectoderm by a combinatorial repression in all other cell lineages of the developing embryo.
On the Northern Range of the Fallow Deer in Europe

THE essay, illustrated by woodcuts, on the existence of the Fallow Deer in Pleistocene times in England, in NATURE (vol. xi. p. 210), leaves no room for doubting that the antlers named in the books Cervus brownie and Cervus somonensis, really belong to a variety of the living Fallow Deer. And I thank its author, Sir Victor Brooke, for having brought forward evidence on the point which is not presented by any of the large series of recent antlers known to me in the British and Continental Museums, and without which I could not venture to identify the fossil with the living form. He has supplied the missing link hitherto sought in vain, and thereby removed two synonyms from the bulky catalogue of fossil mammalia. This identification, however, as I have already remarked in NATURE (vol. xi., pp. 113, 114), has little, if anything, to do with the further question, raised by Drs. Jeitteles and Sclater, as to whether the Fallow Deer now living in Northern and Central Europe was introduced—like the horse into South America—by the hand of man ; and on this point I am glad to find my views shared by so high an authority on the Cervidae as Sir Victor Brooke.
Impaired Recruitment of the Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex and Hippocampus During Encoding in Bipolar Disorder

Background The aim of the present study was to examine the functional neuroanatomy of episodic memory impairment in euthymic subjects with bipolar I disorder. There is evidence that individuals with bipolar disorder have cognitive impairments not only during mood episodes but also when they are euthymic. The most consistently reported cognitive difficulty in euthymic subjects with bipolar disorder is impairment in verbal episodic memory (i.e., the ability to learn new verbal information). Methods The current study examined verbal learning in eight euthymic, remitted subjects with bipolar I disorder (BP-I; seven nonmedicated) and eight control subjects matched for age, gender, education, and intelligence. Subjects underwent 15O-CO2 positron emission tomography scanning while completing a verbal learning paradigm that consisted of encoding (learning) several lists of words. Results The BP-I subjects had more difficulties learning the lists of words compared with the control subjects. Compared with control subjects, BP-I subjects exhibited blunted regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) increases in the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (Brodmann’s area 9/46) during encoding. Conclusions Consistent with previous studies, subjects with BP-I were impaired in learning new verbal information. This was associated with rCBF abnormalities in brain regions involved in learning and episodic memory.
Ultrasensitive Clinical Enumeration of Rare Cells ex Vivo Using a Micro-Hall Detector

The ability to detect rare cells (<100 cells/ml whole blood) and obtain quantitative measurements of specific biomarkers on single cells is increasingly important in basic biomedical research. Implementing such methodology for widespread use in the clinic, however, has been hampered by low cell density, small sample sizes, and requisite sample purification. To overcome these challenges, we have developed a microfluidic chip-based micro-Hall detector (μHD), which can directly measure single, immunomagnetically tagged cells in whole blood. The μHD can detect single cells even in the presence of vast numbers of blood cells and unbound reactants, and does not require any washing or purification steps. In addition, the high bandwidth and sensitivity of the semiconductor technology used in the μHD enables high-throughput screening (currently ~10(7) cells/min). The clinical use of the μHD chip was demonstrated by detecting circulating tumor cells in whole blood of 20 ovarian cancer patients at higher sensitivity than currently possible with clinical standards. Furthermore, the use of a panel of magnetic nanoparticles, distinguished with unique magnetization properties and bio-orthogonal chemistry, allowed simultaneous detection of the biomarkers epithelial cell adhesion molecule (EpCAM), human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)/neu, and epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) on individual cells. This cost-effective, single-cell analytical technique is well suited to perform molecular and cellular diagnosis of rare cells in the clinic.
Leaching requirement for salinity control I. Wheat, sorghum, and lettuce

Abstract Crop productivity and water use efficiency when saline irrigation water is used are highest when efficient irrigation systems are managed to meet the crop's leaching requirement. The objective of this experiment was to establish the leaching requirement. The objective of this experiment was to establish the leaching requirements for frequently irrigated wheat, grain sorghum, and head lettuce. The 4-year study in field plots consisted of six replicated leaching fraction treatments. The plots were pulse-irrigated daily with water having a total dissolved salts concentration of 1350 mg/l. The leaching requirements are 0.08 for wheat and sorghum, and 0.26 for lettuce. The respective evapotranspiration during each crop's growing season coincident with the leaching requirements was 440, 550, and 245 mm. A pan factor of 0.7 was consistent among these three crops at their respective leaching requirements. With daily irrigation, 90% of the crop's water uptake occurred above a soil depth of 0.6 m, independent of leaching fraction.
Whose land is it? Land reform, minorities, and the titular "nation" in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan

Each of the post-Soviet Central Asian states inherited both inefficient collectivized agricultural systems and an understanding of the nation rooted in categories defined by Soviet nationality policy. Despite the importance placed on territorial homelands in many contemporary understandings of nationalism, the divergent formal responses to these dual Soviet legacies have generally been studied in isolation from one another. However, there are conceptual reasons to expect more overlap in these responses than generally assumed; in this paper, we engage in a focused comparison of three post-Soviet Central Asian states (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan) in order to investigate how nationalizing policies and discourse, land distribution, and ethnic tensions interact with each other over time. We reveal that the nationalizing discourses of the three states – despite promoting the titular groups vis-a-vis other groups – have had limited influence on the actual processes of land distribution. Furthermore, t...
Forum: German Studies and Globalization

present is more than accidental. It is part of a paradigm shift of major proportions that fully emerged with the end of the Cold War when the long frozen geography of the world opened and the tendency to trace social and cultural developments according to their place within twentieth-century modernization gave way to their reevaluation within old and new spatial configurations. Postmodernism provided a frame of reference that anchored the present in a temporal succession to modernism-whatever this might have been-and produced an amazing array of theories of the present that professed its lack of direction except for its liberating play with history. This concept shares with that of globalization its associative power as well as its lack of what I would call definitory substance. While postmodernism had its origins in architecture and was adapted to all kinds of discourses about the open-endedness of the present, globalization has its origins in political economy and projects a sense of the global interconnectedness of human endeavor even at its most individual, specific and local. Both concepts were around before they became catalysts of a new sense of the present as a distinct period. Both have contributed to the de-hierarchization and de-centering of high culture. Both project a dynamic whose origins lie in the United States and whose workings are bound up with the transformation of communication into culture.
Human tryptophan dioxygenase: a comparison to indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase.

In contrast to the diverse superfamily of monooxygenases, there are only two classes of heme-containing dioxygenases in humans. One is tryptophan 2,3 dioxygenase (hTDO), and the other is indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase (hIDO), both of which catalyze the oxidative degradation of Trp to N-formyl kynurenine. Although hTDO and hIDO catalyze the same reaction, they engage in distinct physiological functions. The molecular properties of hTDO, unlike hIDO, have never been explored in the past. Here, we report the first structural and functional characterization of hTDO with resonance Raman and optical absorption spectroscopies. We show that the proximal Fe-His stretching frequency of hTDO is 229 cm-1, 7 cm-1 lower than that of hIDO, indicating its weaker imidazolate character as compared to hIDO. In the CO derivative of the l-Trp-bound enzyme, the Fe−CO stretching and C−O stretching frequencies are 488 and 1972 cm-1, respectively, suggesting that l-Trp binds to the distal pocket with its C2−C3 double bond facing the...
Current developments in cryomedicine

Abstract The paper reviews current developments in cryomedicine by summarizing papers presented in the Fifth Annual Meeting of the Society for Cryobiology. Cryomedicine is divided into two areas for the purpose of this discussion: cryosurgery and cryopreservation of biological material for clinical use.
The use of acetone to dissolve a styrofoam impaction of the ear

Foreign bodies in the ear occasionally thwart conventional means of removal. Styrofoam can be particularly problematic because it can be compressed and become tightly impacted in an ear canal. Furthermore, Styrofoam is friable and tends to fragment with usual removal methods. We report the case of a 6-year-old girl who was referred from another tertiary care hospital after failed efforts to remove a painfully impacted piece of Styrofoam from her left ear canal. Instillation of the organic solvent acetone into the ear canal was well tolerated and caused rapid and near-complete dissolution of the Styrofoam impaction. This is the first reported case of organic solvent dissolution of an otic foreign body. Ototoxic considerations are discussed as is a method for safe acetone instillation that minimizes the amount of acetone introduced into the ear canal.
Reactivity studies of anticancer active dirhodium complexes with 2-aminothiophenol.

Reactions between the antitumor active compound [Rh2II,II(μ-O2CCH3)2(phen)2(CH3CN)2][PF6]2 (phen = 1,10-phenanthroline) and excess 2-aminothiophenol in the presence of oxygen yields the neutral complex [RhIII(η2-C6H6NS)(η1-C6H6NS)2(phen)] (2), which was characterized by spectroscopic and crystallographic methods. Dinuclear intermediates are most likely involved in this chemistry as indicated by the isolation of [Rh2III,III(μ-C6H6NS)2(C6H6NS)2(bpy)2]2+ (3a) as well as [RhIII(C6H6NS)2(bpy)]+ (3b) from reactions of Rh2II,II(μ-O2CCH3)2(bpy)2(CH3CN)2 with 4 equiv of 2-aminothiophenol.
Köbberling type of familial partial lipodystrophy: an underrecognized syndrome.

OBJECTIVE—The phenotypic expression of partial lipodystrophy is present in two familial syndromes: familial partial lipodystrophy type 1 (FPLD1), with fat loss from the extremities, and central obesity and FPLD type 2, with fat loss from the extremities, abdomen, and thorax. The latter disorder is associated with mutations in the LMNA gene. FPLD1 is thought to be rare. Here, we report 13 subjects with FPLD1, suggesting that this syndrome is more common than previously thought. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS—Fasting glucose, plasma lipids, leptin, HbA1c, and anthropomorphic measurements were evaluated in 13 subjects with clinical features of FPLD1 and are compared with two age-matched control groups, with and without diabetes. RESULTS—Only women with clinical features of FPLD1 have been identified. Although they lack extremity and gluteal subcutaneous fat, they do have truncal obesity. Skinfold thickness on the arm and leg was significantly less than that in control subjects. The ratio of skinfold thickness from abdomen to thigh was significantly higher in subjects, suggesting an easy method for identifying affected patients. FPLD1 subjects also had components of the metabolic syndrome, including hypertension, insulin resistance, and severe hypertriglyceridemia resulting in pancreatitis. Premature coronary artery disease was present in 31% of subjects. None of the subjects had coding mutations in the LMNA gene or in the gene coding for peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR)-γ. CONCLUSIONS—FPLD1 is more common than previously described, but the diagnosis is often missed. Early recognition and intensive treatment of hyperlipidemia and diabetes in FPLD1 is important for prevention of pancreatitis and early cardiovascular disease.
Principal components analysis of Mars in the near-infrared

Abstract Principal components analysis and target transformation are applied to near-infrared image cubes of Mars in a study to disentangle the spectra into a small number of spectral endmembers and characterize the spectral information. The image cubes are ground-based telescopic data from the NASA Infrared Telescope Facility during the 1995 and 1999 near-aphelion oppositions when ice clouds were plentiful [ Clancy et al., 1996 , Wolff et al., 1999b ], and the 2003 near-perihelion opposition when ice clouds are generally limited to topographically high regions (volcano cap clouds) but airborne dust is more common [ Martin, L.J., Zurek, R.W., 1993. J. Geophys. Res. 98 (E2), 3221–3246 ]. The heart of the technique is to transform the data into a vector space along the dimensions of greatest spectral variance and then choose endmembers based on these new “trait” dimensions. This is done through a target transformation technique, comparing linear combinations of the principal components to a mineral spectral library. In general Mars can be modeled, on the whole, with only three spectral endmembers which account for almost 99% of the data variance. This is similar to results in the thermal infrared with Mars Global Surveyor Thermal Emission Spectrometer data [Bandfield, J.L., Hamilton, V.E., Christensen, P.R., 2000. Science 287, 1626–1630]. The globally recovered surface endmembers can be used as inputs to radiative transfer modeling in order to measure ice abundance in martian clouds [Klassen, D.R., Bell III, J.F., 2002. Bull. Am. Astron. Soc. 34, 865] and a preliminary test of this technique is also presented.
Refinements in the one-stage procedure for management of chronic osteomyelitis

Posttraumatic osteomyelitis remains a frequent problem and requires aggressive surgical treatment to be cured. Radical debridement of all involved soft and hard tissues, obliteration of dead space, and neovascularization of the involved area are obligatory for successful management of the disease. Microvascular free tissue transfer provides the necessary tissue bulk and neovascularization to reconstruct the resulting defect. The transplanted muscle can be optimally mobilized and adjusted in size to obliterate the dead space in contrast to local transposition flaps. This is facilitated by smoothening the bony cavity using a rotating drill system. With an optimal interface between the muscle and the wall of the cavity, small foci of infection can be eliminated. Moreover after free muscle transfer, the optimal environment for secondary bone reconstruction is created. These principles of radical debridement combined with muscle transfer for dead space obliteration, are generally accepted in literature. Nevertheless to achieve this goal several different treatment schedules of repetitive debridements, prolonged antibiotic regimes, and finally various flap transfers have been advocated. We present 16 patients with chronic osteomyelitis treated with radical debridement and immediate free muscle transfer using the latissimus dorsi muscle preferably. Postoperatively an antibiotic course of only 12 days was given. With a mean follow-up of 2 years all patients remained symptom free. Therefore, our results indicate that this long-term problem can be solved by a one-stage procedure using a free flap combined with a short course of antibiotics. However definite conclusions should be reserved for 20 years.
Basis set converged weak interaction energies from conventional and explicitly correlated coupled-cluster approach.

Interaction energies for seven weakly bound dimers involving helium, argon, water, and methane are computed using large correlation-consistent basis sets augmented with bond functions. The estimates of the coupled-cluster singles, doubles, and noniterative triples [CCSD(T)] complete basis set limit are obtained using both the conventional approach and several variants of the explicitly correlated CCSD(T)-F12 method. It is shown that both bond functions and the F12 approach significantly speed up the convergence of the CCSD(T)/aug-cc-pVXZ interaction energies with the basis set cardinal number X. However, the extent of improvement provided by each technique varies with the character of the interactions—the F12 method works best for polar, electrostatics-bound dimers, while for dispersion-dominated complexes the addition of bond functions is more efficient. The convergence rate afforded by different coupled-cluster variants is fairly consistent across the entire attractive region of the potential curve, while the improvement provided by the F12 correction increases along the repulsive wall. The use of large basis sets and the agreement between conventional and explicitly correlated approaches allow us to assess the importance of different residual approximations present in the popular CCSD(T)-F12 implementations.
Life-long screening of patients with intermediate-thickness cutaneous melanoma for asymptomatic pulmonary recurrences: a cost-effectiveness analysis.

BACKGROUND Costs and potential benefits of an intensive chest X-ray (CXR) screening program to detect asymptomatic pulmonary metastases in patients with intermediate-thickness, local, cutaneous melanoma were assessed. METHODS Cost-effectiveness analysis from a societal perspective was performed using data on recurrence detection from an historic cohort at Roswell Park Cancer Institute and other published studies, estimates of new cases of melanoma in 1996 from the National Cancer Institute's Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results program, and estimates of cost and treatment benefits from published articles retrieved through MEDLINE. Net costs were calculated as the added cost of CXR screening to regular follow-up and the costs incurred in the surgical treatment of lung recurrences. Net benefits were calculated as potential savings in nonquality-adjusted life years (NQALY) and quality-adjusted life years (QALY) resulting from surgical treatment. Cost-effectiveness ratios were calculated as the present value of net costs divided by net benefits, with benefits presented in discounted and undiscounted forms. RESULTS For the base case, cost of screening per NQALY was $150,000 and was $165,000 for QALY in 1996 dollars using undiscounted health benefits. Screening accounted for approximately 80% of program costs and treatment accounted for 20%. Annual cost-effectiveness ratios were lowest in Years 3-10 of screening. The total cost of a 20-year screening program for patients diagnosed in 1996 was estimated to be between $27-$32 million. CONCLUSIONS Even in the absence of certain benefits, the model demonstrates that significant cost savings may be possible by decreasing screening frequency in the first 2 years and limiting screening to the first 5-10 years after diagnosis. Cancer 1997; 80:1052-64. © 1997 American Cancer Society.
Do normative standards advance our understanding of moral judgment

sunstein's review of research on moral heuristics is rich and informative – even without his central claim that individuals often commit moral errors. we question the value of positing such a normative moral framework for the study of moral judgment. we also propose an alternative standard for evaluating moral judgments – that of subjective rationality.
Abstract 4774: Identification and characterization of colon cancer associated antigens which would be key therapeutic targets in the prevention of disease relapse or progression

Introduction: Colon cancer (CRC) is an immunogenic tumor and adaptive immunity may play a role in inhibiting disease relapse. A vaccine which could boost cellular immunity in CRC patients would prevent disease recurrence. However, there have been few defined immunogenic proteins, implicated in driving the malignant phenotype, that have been identified as vaccine candidates. Our group has shown that overexpressed tumor associated proteins, abundant in the cancer state but expressed at basal levels in normal cells, can be immunogenic. We hypothesized that ideal candidate antigens would be ones already validated as prognostic markers in multivariate analysis. Methods: We performed a directed literature review using search words e.g. colon cancer, prognosis, biomarker to identify such proteins in CRC. We selected a panel of eight proteins based on (1) incidence of expression, (2) independent predictor of poor prognosis and (3) early disease recurrence, and (4) known biologic function in CRC pathogenesis. Using our algorithm program we identified peptides predicted to be high affinity binders across multiple HLA DR alleles; characteristics shown to be associated with native epitopes of self tumor antigens. We synthesized the 19 peptides that were predicted to be the highest binders. We evaluated the potential immunogencity of the peptides with 1. IFN-g ELISPOT assays using PBMC9s from CRC patients and controls and 2. specific IgG antibody response with ELISA using serum from CRC patients and controls. We quantitated antigen gene expression using qPCR in cell lines representing microsatellite unstable (MSI), chromosome unstable (CIN) CpG island methylator phenotype (CIMP) CRC. Summary: The eight proteins are: CDC25B, COX-2, EBAG9, EGFR, Fascin-1, IGF-1R, PRL-3 and VCP. For all candidate antigens there was a greater IFN-g response in CRC patients than in controls; for three proteins, this difference reached statistical significance (CDC25B p=.013, COX-2 p=.013, PRL-3 p=.018). For ELISA positive response, the cut-off point was set at values of the mean of control serum plus two standard deviations. All six proteins were positive. All seven antigen genes were overexpressed relative to normal colon. Conclusions: 1. biologically relevant CRC associated proteins can be identified that are associated with prognosis and potentially expressed in the majority of colorectal cancers, 2. epitopes predicted to bind multiple DR alleles, derived from candidate antigens, elicit T cell responses that are greater in CRC patients than in normal controls, 3. there was an overexpression of candidate genes across three different CRC phenotypes, and 4. these antigens may represent novel immunologic targets for CRC. Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 101st Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2010 Apr 17-21; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2010;70(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 4774.
Reconstitution of FOXP3+ regulatory T cells (Tregs) after CD25-depleted allotransplantion in elderly patients and association with acute graft-versus-host disease

Selective depletion (SD) of host-reactive donor T cells from allogeneic stem-cell transplants (SCTs) using an anti-CD25 immunotoxin (IT) is a strategy to prevent acute graft-versus-host disease (aGvHD). There is concern that concurrent removal of regulatory T cells (Tregs) with incomplete removal of alloactivated CD25+ T cells could increase the risk of aGvHD. We therefore measured Tregs in the blood of 16 patients receiving a T-cell–depleted allograft together with anti–CD25-IT–treated SD lymphocytes, in 13 of their HLA-identical donors, and in 10 SD products. Tregs were characterized by intracellular staining for forkhead box protein 3 (FOXP3) and by quantitative reverse-transcription–polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) for FOXP3 gene in CD4+ cells. Patients received a median of 1.0 × 108/kg SD T cells and a stem cell product containing a median of 0.25 × 104/kg residual T cells. Tregs reconstituted promptly after SCT and underwent further expansion. Of the CD4+ T cells in SD products, 1.5% to 4.8% were CD25− Tregs. Acute GvHD (≥ grade II) was restricted to 5 patients whose donors had significantly (P = .019) fewer Tregs compared with those without clinically significant aGvHD. These results suggest that rapid Treg reconstitution can occur following SD allografts, either from CD25− Tregs escaping depletion, or from residual CD25− and CD25+ Tregs contained in the stem-cell product that expand after transplantation and may confer additional protection against GvHD.
Early feeding and neonatal hypoglycemia in infants of diabetic mothers

Objectives:To examine the effects of early formula feeding or breast-feeding on hypoglycemia in infants born to 303 A1-A2 and 88 Class B-RF diabetics.Methods:Infants with hypoglycemia (blood glucose < 40 mg/dL) were breast-fed or formula-fed, and those with recurrences were given intravenous dextrose.Results:Of 293 infants admitted to the well-baby nursery, 87 (30%) had hypoglycemia, corrected by early feeding in 75 (86%), while 12 (14%) required intravenous dextrose. In all, 98 infants were admitted to the newborn intensive care unit for respiratory distress (40%), prematurity (33%) or prevention of hypoglycemia (27%). Although all newborn intensive care unit patients received intravenous dextrose, 22 (22%) had hypoglycemia. Of 109 hypoglycemia episodes, 89 (82%) were single low occurrences. At discharge, 56% of well-baby nursery and 43% of newborn intensive care unit infants initiated breast-feeding.Conclusions:Hypoglycemia among infants of diabetic mothers can be corrected by early breast-feeding or fo...
Children's Literature in South-East Europe

In her article "Children's Literature in South East Europe" Milena Mileva Blažic begins with an introduction to Maria Nikolajeva's 2000 book From Mythic to Linear: Time in Children's Literature in which a theoretical framework of thematics is defined, systematized, and categorized. Nikolajeva's framework for children's literature suggests attention to characteristics through which the maturation process of becoming adult is accomplished. Following the introduction and application of Nikolajeva's concepts, Blažic first applies the frame to selected texts published in South-East Europe, followed by lists of children's book published in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Romania, and Serbia.
Farm subsidies and obesity in the United States: National evidence and international comparisons

Abstract Many commentators have claimed that farm subsidies have contributed significantly to the “obesity epidemic” by making fattening foods relatively cheap and abundant. But U.S. farm policies have generally small and mixed effects on farm commodity prices, which in turn have even smaller and still mixed effects on the relative prices of more- and less-fattening foods. Other factors have had much more influence on reducing the farm prices of food commodities and the consumer prices of food such that any effects of U.S. farm policies on U.S. obesity patterns must have been negligible. Moreover, while many arguments can be made for changing U.S. farm subsidies, even entirely eliminating the current programs could not be expected to have a significant influence on obesity rates. International evidence reinforces this finding. The countries that support their farmers most strongly tend to have relatively low obesity rates. In these countries the main support for farmers comes through trade barriers and higher consumer prices, which—like U.S. policies for sugar, dairy, orange juice, and beef—discourage consumption and reduce obesity. In contrast with agricultural subsidies, agricultural R&D has had a significant effect in the past on the relative price of food commodities and food, and has the potential to influence obesity patterns in the future, but R&D policy is a very blunt instrument for pursuing public health policy objectives.
4 Of Earth and Stone: The Materiality of Maya Farmers’ Everyday Lives at Chan, Belize

This chapter explores the materials and materiality of the everyday lives of farmers living in the ancient Maya farming community of Chan located in west central Belize. Limestone bedrock and soil matrix were the substance of Chan's landscape. In constructing their community and across their daily lives, Chan's residents used, modified, and transformed earth and stone to build houses, agricultural terraces, quarries, and workshops that were the basis of everyday life at Chan. The local resources and products that residents created from earth and stone were critical in their development of a resilient community. Exploring the materiality of the everyday lives of Maya farmers provides a fertile ground for understanding the significance of ordinary people's daily lives in the past.
Analyzing light localization using Iwasawa-canonical transfer matrices

The transfer matrix formalism has proven to be a powerful tool for analyzing one-dimensional photonic bandgap structures, whether their multilayers are perfectly periodic or randomized in some fashion. In the randomized structure, as the number of layers tends to infinity, Furstenberg's formula can be used, at least theoretically, to find the deterministic Lyapunov exponent (localization factor, sometimes called the inverse localization length) governing the confinement of energy transmission in the model. The challenge in using Furstenberg's formula is that it requires the calculation of the invariant probability measure of the direction of the vector propagated by the chain of random matrices. This invariant measure is usually impossible to find analytically, and so one must resort to numerical simulation or some other approximating assumption. To aid in the numerical determination of this invariant probability measure, we consider matrix similarity transformations based on the average plane wave transfer matrix at a given frequency. These transformations, like the original transfer matrix, are elements of SU(1,1), the special pseudo-unitary group, and are obtained by moving the fixed points of the bilinear (or Mobius) transformation of the original transfer matrix to the corresponding fixed points of the canonical forms known from the Iwasawa decomposition. Amazingly, in some situations, including a quarter-wave stack, such a transformation can cause the invariant probability measure to become a nearly uniform probability density function, making the Furstenberg formula more readily useable.
Multivariate Right Caputo Fractional Ostrowski Inequalities

Here we present general univariate right Caputo fractional Ostrowski inequalities. One of them is proved sharp and attained. Estimates are with respect to ‖⋅‖ p , 1 ≤ p ≤ ∞. This chapter is based on [4].
Remediation of Soils Contaminated with Toxic Organic Compounds

Decontamination or removal of soil that is contaminated with toxic organic compounds can be very costly, as illustrated by the values in Figure 1. In numerous situations, cleanup activities do not take place because the cost of clean-up may exceed the value of the property or dramatically decrease the willingness of the property owner to initiate remediation. Therefore, inexpensive, but effective, remedial methods are needed because the number of U.S. sites that are contaminated by toxic organsic chemicals, toxic inorganic chemicals, or a mixture of the two is quite large. In addition to the nearly 1300 locations on the National Priorities List (“Superfund”) and subject to RCRA (Resource Conservation and Recovery Act) there are a much larger number of sites of smaller size that may pose a threat to adjacent populations. For example, Brown, et al. estimated that 75,000 to 100,000 or more of below-ground petroleum storage tanks were leaking. (1995) estimated that, in the US alone, about 37,000 candidate sites for Superfund, 80,000 sites for RCRA, 1.5 million leaking underground storage tanks, and about 25,000 Department of Defense sites in need of remediation exist. Similar situations exist in developed countries of Europe and in less developed nations. In the U.S., sale of contaminated property is difficult or impossible, a situation which may lead to abandonment by the owner and lost opportunities to redevelop contaminated, but potentially very valuable, urban sites into productive uses. Long-term use of property for military operations has also resulted in contamination with organic solvents, petroleum hydrocarbons, and explosives. (1994) estimated that remediation costs for NPL and RCRA sites alone could be as much as $750 billion, or an amount equal to the U.S. military budget for about 15 years. The cost estimate for European sites (including the European Union) is between $300 and $400 billion. At these costs, it is unlikely that more than a small fraction of the most critical sites will ever be remediated.
Capacitive monitoring of electrostatic MEMS tunable evanescent-mode cavity resonators

This paper presents for the first time a novel concept for monitoring the resonant frequency of electrostatic MEMS tunable high-Q evanescent-mode cavity resonators through capacitance measurement. The proposed scheme relies on the fact that there is a one-to-one correspondence between the actuation capacitance C s and the resonant frequency f 0 . This relationship is derived theoretically using a spring-mass model. The proposed monitoring concept is then validated by static measurement using a capacitance meter. Discussions are given on implementing a dynamic monitoring scheme by using custom-designed integrated high-speed CMOS capacitance sensors.
Runtime validation of memory ordering using constraint graph checking

An important correctness issue for emerging multi/many-core shared memory systems is to ensure that the inter-processor communication through shared memory conforms to the memory ordering rules, as specified by the architecturepsilas memory consistency model. This presents a significant validation challenge. Growing system complexity makes it increasingly hard to identify all deep-state logic bugs in pre-silicon verification. Further, aggressive technology scaling makes hardware more vulnerable to dynamic errors that can only be detected at runtime. In this paper, we propose an approach for runtime validation of memory ordering. This allows us to survive bugs that escape pre-silicon verification, as well as deal with emerging dynamic errors. Our solution consists of two parts: 1) at the microarchitecture level, we add efficient hardware support to capture the observed ordering among shared-memory operations; 2) we perform online verification of the observed memory ordering by checking for cycles in the constraint graph. We combine these to achieve end-to-end correctness validation of the system execution with respect to the memory ordering specification. There are several challenges that need to be addressed to make this approach practical. We describe these, as well as optimization techniques for reducing the hardware overhead. Estimates obtained from preliminary chip multiprocessor simulation experiments show that the proposed techniques are very effective in achieving acceptable hardware overhead and minimal performance impact.
An Ultra-Low Power 2.4GHz RF Transceiver for Wireless Sensor Networks in 0.13/spl mu/m CMOS with 400mV Supply and an Integrated Passive RX Front-End

A 2.4GHz RF transceiver in 130nm CMOS for sensor networks is presented. The transceiver operates from 400mV to accommodate a single solar cell power supply. The RX dissipates 200 to 750muW and achieves a 6.7dB NF and a -6.2dBm IIP3 at 330muW. At 300muW output power, the PA is 44% efficient and the overall TX is 30% efficient
Simulation of floral specialization in bees

In this study the nectar-gathering behavior of population of virtual bees is observed during visits to a field of simulated flowers over several hundred generations. The object of the study is to see if floral constancy evolves in the virtual bees. Floral constancy, observed in real bees, is the tendency to harvest nectar from only one type of flower. Flowers can only reproduce if they have received the proper pollen type from a visiting bee and so floral constancy is potentially of substantial importance to flowering plants. The virtual bees are evolved for 250 generations and evaluated for floral specialization. Floral specialization is defined as the average of the maximum visits to one flower type divided by the total number of flower visits. The initial hypothesis was that populations with flowers that had nearly equal amounts of nectar available to the bee would not specialize, but populations with flowers that had a large difference in obtainable nectar would specialize in the flower with more nectar available. Although populations with a choice between nearly equal returns stabilized at non-specialization, the other populations did not behave as expected. Populations that were given one flower with nearly no available nectar (less than 0.1000) and a flower with a larger amount of nectar available specialized in the flower with nectar, but when given a choice between flowers with any procurable amount of nectar greater than 0.1000, the populations eventually stabilized at non-specialization.
New properties of afocal lens pairs with Gaussian beams

Some unexpected properties of Gaussian beams when they are used with afocal lens pairs are presented. It is shown that the output confocal parameter is simply equal to the input confocal parameter multiplied by the square of the magnification of the afocal lens pair. It is not a function of the location of the input beam waist. Applications of these analytical results are discussed in a general way, and one particular application is discussed in detail.
Multi-axis maglev nanopositioner for precision manufacturing and manipulation applications

We present a 6-axis magnetic levitation (Maglev) stage capable of precision positioning down to several nanometers. This stage has a simple and compact mechanical structure advantageous to meet the performance requirements in the next-generation nanomanufacturing. It uses the minimum number of linear actuators required to generate all 6-axis motions. Three vertical actuators are used to levitate the moving part, namely the platen, and maintain its vertical position. Other three horizontal actuators control its position and rotation in the horizontal plane. We describe the electromechanical design, modeling and control, and the electronic instrumentation to control this maglev system. We modeled the platen as a pure mass due to negligible spring and damping forces while it is levitated without contact. The stage has a light moving-part mass of 0.2126 kg. It is capable of generating translation of 300 /spl mu/m in the x-, y- and z-axes, and rotation of 3 mrad about the three orthogonal axes. The stage demonstrates position resolution better than 5 nm rms and position noise less than 2 nm rms. The total power consumption by all the actuators is only a fraction of a watt. Experimental results presented in this paper show that the stage can carry, orient, and precisely position a payload as heavy as 0.3 kg. The pull-out force was found to be 8.08 N in the vertical direction. Furthermore, under the effect of a load variation of 0.14 N, the plant recovers its regulated position within 0.6 s. All these experimental results match quite closely with the calculated values because of the accurate plant model and robust controller design. This device can be used as a positioning stage for numerous applications including photolithography for semiconductor manufacturing, microscopic scanning of delicate instruments, fabrication and assembly of nanostructures, and microscale rapid prototyping.
Lawyer-Client Confidentiality: Stephen Gillers’ Reversed Position

My principal policy concern with requiring a lawyer to reveal a client’s confidences to remedy a client’s perjury is that such a requirement would discourage clients from confiding in their lawyers. In an earlier article in the Hofstra Law Review, Professor Stephen Gillers said that he does not believe that requiring lawyers to reveal client confidences to the court will impair lawyer-client communication by dissuading clients from being candid with their lawyers. In a later article in the Stanford Law Review, however, Gillers says that a state should not be able to force a lawyer to produce a weapon or stolen item at risk of discipline and prosecution. Otherwise, full communication between lawyer and client may be impaired.Also, Gillers rejected my view that requiring a lawyer to reveal confidences of an accused client violates the Fifth and Sixth Amendments. In his Stanford article, however, Gillers now argues that forcing a lawyer on pain of prosecution or discipline to produce incriminating evidence in her possession can undermine the client’s Fifth and Sixth Amendment rights, even when the lawyer is withholding the murder weapon or other powerfully incriminating information.
Evaluating agency use of “best available science” under the United States Endangered Species Act

The United States Congress passed the Endangered Species Act (ESA) in 1973, a law aimed at preventing the extinction of rare species. Since then, the ESA has become increasingly politicized in the U.S., adding to the difficulty of ESA implementation and endangered species management, while species continue to go extinct at alarming rates. The ESA is among the first statues to include a “best available science” mandate, requiring that agencies use the best scientific and commercial data to guide key decisions. Because the way in which agencies use science under the ESA is often the legal basis for litigation, it is timely and pertinent to evaluate the federal agencies' sources of information—and their uses of this information. The “best” available science and its use are each moving targets, difficult to define in the abstract. However, a straightforward way of evaluating these ideas is to compare the use of science by each of the two administrative agencies in charge of implementing the ESA, the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Marine Fisheries Service (NOAA). Here, we use bibliographic data, litigation records, authorship affiliation, and related data to ask whether the two agencies' use of scientific information differs systematically. Overall, we find that NOAA draws more deeply from the scientific literature and is somewhat better buffered from changes in political administration than is FWS. These results suggest NOAA's implementation is more closely aligned with commonly held ideas of good scientific practice than that of FWS, although in some cases these differences could also result from the different amounts of available information on the species each agency manages. We then interpret these findings in the context of each agency's budget, structure, and history and highlight specific policy mechanisms that would allow the agencies to improve endangered species management, and reduce their own exposure to litigation, by improving their use of high-quality scientific information.
A Study into the Important Elements of a Masters Degree in Real Estate

This paper reports the methodology utilized by the members of the University of San Diego’s Burnham-Moores Center for Real Estate to develop a program and curriculum for graduate studies in real es...
Private pensions and public policy

SOCIAL WORK Social policy analysts have not traditionally been concerned with the pension system for workers retired from private industry. How ever, this system significantly influences society at large and involves issues that are crucial to social policy. It therefore merits careful study. The following three factors make the private pension system a subject of continuing concern to those analyzing, planning, and developing social policy: 1. This large private benefit system has an enormous effect on the public well-being because of its magnitude, cost, and power. 2. Past and present operation of the sys tem clearly illustrates the negative conse quences of a high degree of selectivity in pension programs. 3. The economic impact of large existing private systems that distribute benefits, such as this one, must be taken into account in any significant efforts to redistribute re sources in the society. Efforts at redistribu tion should not be confined to the internal
Abstract 247: STEMI 365: Creating a Yearlong Program to Reduce Cardiac Recidivism After STEMI

Survivors of myocardial infarctions are at increased risk of recurrent infarctions and have an annual death rate of 5%, six times that in people of the same age who do not have coronary heart disease. Despite the existence of published interventions and clinical recommendations aimed at secondary and tertiary prevention their application and adherence statistics in post-myocardial infarction patients are woeful. The objective of this paper is to detail the creation of a template curriculum that gives best practice recommendations to post STEMI patients in an effort to reduce recidivism by combining current medical methodology with lessons learned from other fields currently addressing the problem of recidivism and relapse. STEMI 365 is a yearlong program that aims to reduce cardiac recidivism in STEMI survivors. STEMI 365 is composed of three parts: best practice guidelines, evaluation toolkit, and template curriculum. The best practice guidelines document is broken into sections on cardiac rehabilitation...
Commentary: Academic health centers and comparative effectiveness research: opportunities and challenges.

AbstractThe focus of comparative effectiveness research (CER) is decision making by patients, physicians, and policy makers. The key elements of CER are head-to-head comparisons of active treatments, study patients who are representative of typical practice, and the search for patient characteristic
The Effect of Medium, Temperature, and Age on Rhizopus Delemar Sporangiospore Size

(1981). The Effect of Medium, Temperature, and Age on Rhizopus Delemar Sporangiospore Size. Mycologia: Vol. 73, No. 2, pp. 362-368.