cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Biochemical Analysis and Electron Microscopy of Human Mitral Valve Collagen in Patients with Various Etiologies of Mitral Valve Diseases

Biochemical analyses and electron microscopy of mitral valve collagen were carried out in 29 patients with various mitral valve diseases. They were divided into 3 groups: (1) rheumatic heart disease (15 patients), (2) isolated rupture of chordae tendineae (8 patients), and (3) floppy mitral valve (6 patients). Normal mitral valves obtained at necropsy from 6 patients who died from extracardiac causes were used for control observations. Results of the electrophoretic analysis of the collagen of normal and diseased valves showed that all valves contained collagen types I, III, and AB collagen with similar electrophoretic patterns. Electron microscopic observations and comparisons of the segment-long-spacing crystallites of each type of collagen revealed similar band patterns, irrespective of the normal or diseased valves sources. It is concluded that the composition and primary molecular structure of mitral valve collagen are usually not altered in a wide variety of disease processes affecting the mitral valve.
An overview of data warehousing and OLAP technology

Data warehousing and on-line analytical processing (OLAP) are essential elements of decision support, which has increasingly become a focus of the database industry. Many commercial products and services are now available, and all of the principal database management system vendors now have offerings in these areas. Decision support places some rather different requirements on database technology compared to traditional on-line transaction processing applications. This paper provides an overview of data warehousing and OLAP technologies, with an emphasis on their new requirements. We describe back end tools for extracting, cleaning and loading data into a data warehouse; multidimensional data models typical of OLAP; front end client tools for querying and data analysis; server extensions for efficient query processing; and tools for metadata management and for managing the warehouse. In addition to surveying the state of the art, this paper also identifies some promising research issues, some of which are related to problems that the database research community has worked on for years, but others are only just beginning to be addressed. This overview is based on a tutorial that the authors presented at the VLDB Conference, 1996.
Picnics, Flowers, and Moonlight Strolls: An Exploration of Routine Love Behaviors

This study focused on the behavioral aspect of love, with a purpose of explicating routine behaviors associated with love. A 37-item Love Behaviors Scale was created to explicate those behaviors indicative of expressing love towards a romantic partner. Analysis of the resulting factor matrix yielded a reliable five-factor structure of the behaviors--Mutual Activity, Special Occasion, Offerings, Selfless, Sacrifices. Although both genders considered the behaviors to be love-related, women placed greater emphasis on the behaviors than men. Individuals who had never been in love also perceived the behaviors as love-related. Participants also indicated 13 additional behaviors which should be included in the Love Behaviors Scale.
The Transitional Structure of Detonation Waves in Multi-Phase Reactive Media

Abstract The transitional structure of two-phase detonations initiated by strong blast waves in decane sprays in oxygen and in clouds of wheat and RDX particles in air is investigated numerically. A one-dimensional unsteady code based on the flux corrected transport algorithm is employed. Detailed profiles of mass velocity, particle velocity, sound velocity and Mach number are presented for the reaction zone both prior to and after the establishment of fully developed detonations. With heavy particle loading a broad region of near sonic flow is observed and under proper conditions weak secondary shock waves are generated within the reaction zone.
Identifying ESL Students at Linguistic Risk on a State Minimal Competency Test.

Gass, S., Haynes, M., Rittenberg, W., & Wieferich, M. A. (1989, March). Good teaching from an ITA: Compensatory strategies. In P. Byrd (Chair), Language and pedagogy in mathematics: Implications for FTA training. Colloquium conducted at the 23rd Annual TESOL Convention, San Antonio, TX. McKeachie, W. (1978). Teaching tips: A guidebook for the beginning college teacher (7th ed.). Lexington, MA: D. C. Heath. National Research Council. (1989). Everybody counts: A report to the nation on the future of mathematics education. Rounds, P. L. (1985). Talking the mathematics through: Disciplinary transaction and socioeducational interaction. Dissertation Abstracts International, 46, 3338A. (University Microfilms No. 86-00, 543) Rounds, P. L. (1987). Characterizing successful classroom discourse for NNS teaching assistant training. TESOL Quarterly, 21(4), 643-671.
Microtubule Templated Synthesis of Inorganic Nanomaterials

Protein microtubules (MTs) have been used as templates for the biomimetic synthesis of metal oxide, metal sulfide, and metallic nanomaterials. These materials were coated onto MTs via three distinct synthetic pathways: metal ion hydrolysis which yielded iron oxide or zinc oxide-coated microtubules, metal ion/sulfide co-precipitation which yielded zinc sulfide coated MTs, and metal ion reduction which yielded gold-coated MTs. The growth process of metal oxide coating involves heterogeneous nucleation on the MT surface and produces even, microcrystalline films. Metal sulfide and metal coating initially involves the formation of nanoparticle arrays that decorate the MT surface and can eventually lead to either semi- or fully continuous coatings.
Children's Gender-Emotion Stereotypes in the Relationship of Anger to Sadness and Fear

Children’s perceptions of the emotional reactions of same- and different-sex characters in stories containing ambiguous and unambiguous emotional contexts were examined. According to the Parallel-Constraint-Satisfaction Theory (Kunda and Thagard. Psychological Review, 103, 284–308, 1996), stereotypes are more likely to be utilized in ambiguous contexts, defined here as those likely to elicit multiple emotional responses. Seventy suburban U.S. preschoolers were read vignettes describing boys or girls in ambiguous or unambiguous emotion-inducing events and reported how the vignette characters were feeling. Results suggest that the perceptions of participants were more likely to reflect gender–emotion stereotypes (e.g. perceiving males as angry and females as sad) in ambiguous contexts than in unambiguous contexts. Results are discussed in terms of children’s emerging understanding of gender–emotion stereotypes.
Effects of gender and other factors on rank of law professors in colleges of business: Evidence of a glass ceiling

The matter of salary levels and professional advancement is much discussed and debated today in business and academe. This paper examines the matter of salary determinants for law professors in colleges of management in the U.S. with an emphasis on examining how gender might affect professorial salary and rank. By focusing on one discipline in today's academe and in a college having great student demand (management) coupled with a professed commitment to women's rights and by holding constant variables relevant to salary and rank, this study, addresses the matter of whether gender is a factor in determination of academic rank and salary. This study used correlation and path analysis in arriving at our conclusions. Our sample size meets statistically acceptable parameters. Our results corroborate earlier research which finds significant pay differences between women and men, but they show that at least for the sample of legal studies professors in this study, these pay differences are attributable to the number of years spent in academe. If women have only recently enjoyed opportunities for careers in this discipline, they do not have as much seniority, on average as men. Consequently, if universities pay salaries at least partly according to seniority, women's salaries are likely to be lower than men's salaries, as our study indicates. At the same time, however, even after controlling for seniority and other factors that might affect rank, there are still significantly fewer women in the higher ranks. These results point to the operation of a “glass ceiling” which restricts promotional opportunities for women in other fields.
Cost considerations with tight glycemic control in the acute care setting.

Hyperglycemia is associated with increased morbidity and mortality in critically ill patients. Clinical trial data has demonstrated that controlling hyperglycemia with insulin infusions guided by frequent blood glucose monitoring can reduce this morbidity and mortality. Pharmacoeconomic analyses of these studies have found that tight glycemic control in the critically ill patient is highly cost-effective. Given the relatively small cost of achieving tight glycemic control (about $200 per patient), most economic analyses have demonstrated that tight glycemic control protocols are actually cost saving. Based on the outcomes of cardiac surgery and intensive care unit studies, the cost per life year gained resulting from the implementation of tight glycemic control protocols is less than $6000 (highly cost-effective). Benefits of implementing tight glycemic control protocols in critical or intensive care units includes not only reductions in morbidity and mortality, but reductions in hospital costs.
Beyond Groups: Seven Pillars of Peopled Ethnography in Organizations and Communities

We extend Fine's (2003) model of `peopled ethnography' for studying small groups to the study of larger social units, including organizations and communities. While studies of small groups often re...
Dual PI3K/mTOR inhibitor NVP-BEZ235 suppresses hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF)-1α expression by blocking protein translation and increases cell death under hypoxia

The PI3K/Akt pathway is activated in many cancers; therefore, we investigated NVP-BEZ235, a dual PI3K/mTOR inhibitor. BEZ235 was more potent than either the mTOR inhibitor rapamycin or the PI3K inhibitor LY294002 in blocking HIF-1α induction. BEZ235 decreases protein translation, and 7-methyl GTP chromatography showed that the drug induced robust recruitment of 4E-BP1 to eIF4E and a near absence of binding of eIF4G. BEZ235 also decreased expression of other proteins known to be regulated by eIF4E including cyclin B1 and D1 and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). BEZ235 also decreased the level of eIF4G but not eIF4E. As HIF-1α has been associated with adaptation to hypoxic stress, we examined the effect of the drug on cell survival in low pO2. BEZ235 increased killing of cells under hypoxia, measured by short-term (MTT) and long-term (clonogenic) assays. To understand the underlying mechanism, we examined BEZ235’s effect on the expression of factors associated with cell survival. Under normoxia, Akt Ser473 phosphorylation decreased within an hour of BEZ235 treatment, but then increased by 24 h. In contrast, under hypoxia, BEZ235 caused prolonged suppression of Akt Ser473 phosphorylation. Furthermore, there was greater PARP cleavage in hypoxic cells than in normoxic cells, consistent with increased apoptosis. BEZ235 increased autophagy as measured by LC3-I to LC3-II conversion under both normoxic and hypoxic conditions, but our data indicate that this is actually a pro-survival mechanism. In conclusion, we have found that BEZ235 blocks HIF-1α induction by decreasing protein translation and increases cell killing under hypoxia, likely by increasing apoptosis.
Transformations in an early agricultural society: Feasting in the southern Levantine Pre-Pottery Neolithic

Abstract Feasting is a powerful and transformative phenomenon. Societies are both integrated and differentiated through feasting; identities are both enacted and altered; and ideologies are inculcated. This paper uses ethnographic data to establish criteria for the archaeological recognition of prehistoric feasting. These criteria are then used to assess the changing evidence for feasting across the southern Levantine Pre-Pottery Neolithic (ca. 10,200–7500 BP/9700–6250 cal BC), with the aim of shedding light on changes in social organization across the transition to agriculture. During most of the Pre-Pottery Neolithic, the extent and scale of feasting expanded as sociopolitical complexity increased. Towards the end of the period, however, populations dispersed and feasting probably declined. Feasts were simultaneously integrative and competitive, ameliorating scalar stress even as they offered opportunities for individual or household competition. Feasts may also have played a key role in conferring ideological prominence on Neolithic cattle, and perhaps even contributed to their adoption as domesticates.
Mechanistic Aspects of Semiconductor Photoelectrochemistry: The Behavior of Si and GaAs in Nonaqueous Solvents

Kinetic methods for identification of the dominant recombination mechanism of photogenerated carriers can yield important information concerning the current-voltage behavior of semiconductor/ liquid junctions. We describe here the application of these techniques to systems based on n-Si and n-GaAs photoelectrodes. The use of nonaqueous solvents and outer sphere redox couples allows separation of the overpotential losses associated with fuel formation from losses inherent to the solid/solvent junction itself. Control over surface chemical interactions in both liquid and Schottky junctions can be attained by photoelectrochemical treatments to reduce interface recombination processes. Calculations of the theoretical upper limit on the photovoltage for a given semiconductor/liquid interface can be useful in assessing the prospects for improved current-voltage performance in response to surface modification procedures.
Microsurgical Rat Varicocele Model

Purpose: A rat varicocele model using partial occlusion of the left renal vein was described previously. Reproducibility in creating this model has met with varied success. Alternate routes of testicular venous drainage may negate the effect of partial renal vein occlusion on varicocele creation. We hypothesized that varicocele induction would be more effective if microsurgical ligation of the gonadal venous drainage to the common iliac vein was combined with partial occlusion of the left renal vein.Materials and Methods: We randomly assigned a total of 36 rats to 3 groups, including sham surgery, partial renal vein occlusion alone (the classic technique) and microsurgical ligation. Half of the rats in each group were evaluated at 5 and 12 weeks, respectively. We evaluated internal gonadal vein and spermatic cord diameter, testicular weight, cauda epididymal sperm concentration and motility and testicular histology using the Johnsen score as well as serum and intratesticular testosterone and dihydrotestos...
Exercise Applications to Childhood ADHD

ADHD is the most common neurobehavioral disorder of childhood, presenting with pervasive and impairing symptoms of inattention, hyperactivity, impulsivity, or a combination. The leading hypothesis of the underlying physiology of this disorder of inattention and/or hyperactivity-impulsivity is based on catecholamine dysfunction. Pharmacotherapy research indicates that psychostimulants, which are catecholamine agonists, show the greatest efficacy for treating the core symptoms of ADHD. Exercise affects the same dopaminergic and noradrenergic systems that stimulant medications target and is a stressor, which elicits measurable physiological changes. The magnitude of these peripheral alterations is posited as a potential biomarker of ADHD. The hypothesis that exercise training alters the underlying physiology present in ADHD and other medical conditions as well as conceptual issues behind its potential clinical utility is reviewed.
'Handedness' in snakes? Lateralization of coiling behaviour in a cottonmouth, Agkistrodon piscivorus leucostoma, population

Studies have documented the presence of behavioural lateralization in many groups of lower vertebrates, demonstrating that these behaviours are not limited to mammals and birds. These studies suggest that the evolution of brain lateralization, often linked to lateralized behaviours, may have occurred early in evolutionary history and may not have been the result of multiple independent evolutionary events as previously thought. The goal of this study was to further document behavioural lateralization in another group of lower vertebrates, snakes. Given the importance of the coiling posture to snakes, I examined the coiling behaviour of a cottonmouth population. Coiling asymmetries were found at both the individual and population levels. However, the adaptive significance and mechanisms influencing this behaviour remain undefined. Additional research is needed to explore these areas and to link the lateralized behaviours documented in this and other studies directly to brain asymmetries before the evolutionary history of brain lateralization can be further resolved.  2003 Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of The Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour.
Pulmonary injury in patients undergoing complex spine surgery

Abstract Background context Previous reports have shown that 15% of patients who undergo sequential anterior, then posterior, surgical corrections for spinal deformities demonstrate evidence of acute lung injury. By analyzing the bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid from these patients for evidence of acute inflammation, we might gain some insight into the etiology of this acute lung injury. Purpose To elucidate the etiology of acute lung injury after corrective surgery for adult spinal deformities. Study design/setting Fifteen adult patients with scoliosis scheduled for elective sequential anterior then posterior corrective (A/P) spinal deformity surgery. Patient sample Consecutive adult patients with scoliosis scheduled for elective corrective surgery with the author (OBA). Outcome measures Patients were assessed for postoperative respiratory complications by oxygen requirements, continued mechanical ventilation, and radiological evidence of diffuse bilateral interstitial or alveolar infiltrates. An acute pulmonary inflammatory response included the presence of inflammatory cells and elevated cytokines in BAL fluid. Methods BAL were performed after induction of anesthesia but before surgery, at the completion of surgery, and on the morning after surgery with the patient still intubated. BAL fluid was analyzed for inflammatory cells and cytokine interleukin-6 (IL-6) and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) levels. Patients were assessed postoperatively for increased pulmonary vascular resistance, radiological evidence of diffuse bilateral alveolar infiltrates, and the requirement for ventilatory support beyond the first postoperative day (POD1). Results The cell counts of BAL fluid demonstrated significant increases in neutrophils, lymphocytes, and lipid laden macrophages (LLMAC) with surgery. The concentration of the cytokines IL-6 and TNF-α also increased with surgery. The elevations in BAL inflammatory cells and cytokine levels correlated positively with increased pulmonary vascular resistance and the requirement for mechanical ventilation. Conclusions After A/P spine fusions, patients have evidence of an acute inflammatory pulmonary injury. Several etiologies exist for this finding, including blood and fluid infusions, direct trauma to the lung, a systemic inflammatory response, and the embolization of fat and bone-marrow debris. The presence of LLMAC in the lungs of these patients and the finding that the patient with the requirement for the longest ventilatory support also had the highest BAL LLMAC count, suggest that the embolization of fat and bone debris released from the spine during surgery may be at least partially responsible for the lung injury. Further studies on the mechanism of lung injury during this procedure are warranted.
Tryptophan-free human PNP reveals catalytic site interactions

Human purine nucleoside phosphorylase (PNP) is a homotrimer, containing three nonconserved tryptophan residues at positions 16, 94, and 178, all remote from the catalytic site. The Trp residues were replaced with Tyr to produce Trp-free PNP (Leuko-PNP). Leuko-PNP showed near-normal kinetic properties. It was used (1) to determine the tautomeric form of guanine that produces strong fluorescence when bound to PNP, (2) for thermodynamic binding analysis of binary and ternary complexes with substrates, (3) in temperature-jump perturbation of complexes for evidence of multiple conformational complexes, and (4) to establish the ionization state of a catalytic site tyrosine involved in phosphate nucleophile activation. The 13 C NMR spectrum of guanine bound to Leuko-PNP, its fluorescent properties, and molecular orbital electronic transition analysis establish that its fluorescence originates from the lowest singlet excited state of the N1H, 6-keto, N7H guanine tautomer. Binding of guanine and phosphate to PNP and Leuko-PNP are random, with decreased affinity for formation of ternary complexes. Pre-steady- state kinetics and temperature-jump studies indicate that the ternary complex (enzyme-substrate-phosphate) forms in single binding steps without kinetically significant protein conformational changes as monitored by guanine fluorescence. Spectral changes of Leuko-PNP upon phosphate binding establish that the hydroxyl of Tyr88 is not ionized to the phenolate anion when phosphate is bound. A loop region (residues 243-266) near the purine base becomes highly ordered upon substrate/inhibitor binding. A single Trp residue was introduced into the catalytic loop of Leuko-PNP (Y249W-Leuko-PNP) to determine effects on catalysis and to introduce a fluorescence catalytic site probe. Although Y249W-Leuko-PNP is highly fluorescent and catalytically active, substrate binding did not perturb the fluorescence. Thermodynamic boxes, constructed to characterize the binding of phosphate, guanine, and hypoxanthine to native, Leuko-, and Y249W-Leuko-PNPs, establish that Leuko-PNP provides a versatile protein scaffold for introduction of specific Trp catalytic site probes.
Quasielastic light scattering by biopolymers. V. Interparticle interactions between polynucleosomes

Quasielastic light scattering and electrophoretic light scattering experiments were performed on chicken erythrocyte polynucleosome solutions at various temperatures and ionic strengths. The apparent diffusion coefficient, Dapp, was found to depend on the scattering vector K. In general, Dapp can be described as a damped oscillatory function of K in the ionic strength range of 10 to 60 mM and over the temperature range of 10 to 40°C. Electrophoretic light scattering studies on total digest chromatin samples indicate the apparent charge on the polynucleosomes increases as the ionic strength is lowered from 10 to 1 mM. These data are interpreted in terms of fluctuations in the surface charge distribution of the polyion and subsequent inducement of an asymmetric distribution of small ions about the polyion. These fluctuation components lead to the formation of “clusters” of polyions.
The Changing Tails of a Novel Short Interspersed Element in Aedes aegypti: Genomic Evidence for Slippage Retrotransposition and the Relationship Between 3′ Tandem Repeats and the poly(dA) Tail

A novel family of tRNA-related SINEs named gecko was discovered in the yellow fever mosquito, Aedes aegypti. Approximately 7200 copies of gecko were distributed in the A. aegypti genome with a significant bias toward A + T-rich regions. The 3′ end of gecko is similar in sequence and identical in secondary structure to the 3′ end of MosquI, a non-LTR retrotransposon in A. aegypti. Nine conserved substitutions and a deletion separate gecko into two groups. Group I includes all gecko that end with poly(dA) and a copy that ends with AGAT repeats. Group II comprises gecko elements that end with CCAA or CAAT repeats. Members within each group cannot be differentiated when the 3′ repeats are excluded in phylogenetic and sequence analyses, suggesting that the alterations of 3′ tails are recent. Imperfect poly(dA) tail was recorded in group I and partial replication of the 3′ tandem repeats was frequently observed in group II. Genomic evidence underscores the importance of slippage retrotransposition in the alteration and expansion of the tandem repeat during the evolution of gecko sequences, although we do not rule out postinsertion mechanisms that were previously invoked to explain the evolution of Alu-associated microsatellites. We propose that the 3′ tandem repeats and the poly(dA) tail may be generated by similar mechanisms during retrotransposition of both SINEs and non-LTR retrotransposons and thus the distinction between poly(dA) retrotransposons such as L1 and non-poly(dA) retrotransposons such as I factor may not be informative.
Design of Metalloporphyrin-Based Dendritic Nanoprobes for Two-Photon Microscopy of Oxygen.

Metalloporphyrin-based phosphorescent nanoprobes are being developed for two-photon microscopy of oxygen. In these molecular constructs, the generation of porphyrin triplet states following two-photon excitation is induced by the intramolecular Forster-type resonance energy transfer from a covalently attached 2P antenna. In the earlier developed prototypes, electron transfer between the antenna and the metalloporphyrin strongly interferred with the phosphorescence, reducing the sensitivity and the dynamic range of the sensors. By tuning the distances between the antenna and the core, and adjusting their redox potentials, the unwanted electron transfer could be prevented. An array of phosphorescent Pt porphyrins (energy transfer acceptors) and 2P dyes (energy transfer donors) was screened using dynamic quenching of phosphorescence, and the FRET-pair with the minimal ET rate was identified. This pair, consisting of Coumarin-343 and Ptmeso-tetra-(4-alkoxyphenyl)porphyrin, was used to construct a probe in which the antenna fragments were linked to the termini of G3 poly(arylglycine) (AG) dendrimer with PtP core. The folded dendrimer formed an insulating layer between the porphyrin and the antenna, simultaneously controlling the rate of oxygen quenching (Stern-Volmer oxygen quenching constant). Modification of the dendrimer periphery with oligoethyleneglycol residues made the probe's signal insensitive to the presence of proteins and other macromolecular solutes.
Analytical Image Models and Their Applications

In this paper, we study a family of analytical probability models for images within the spectral representation framework. First the input image is decomposed using a bank of filters, and probability models are imposed on the filter outputs (or spectral components). A two-parameter analytical form, called a Bessel K form, derived based on a generator model, is used to model the marginal probabilities of these spectral components. The Bessel K parameters can be estimated efficiently from the filtered images and extensive simulations using video, infrared, and range images have demonstrated Bessel K form's fit to the observed histograms. The effectiveness of Bessel K forms is also demonstrated through texture modeling and synthesis. In contrast to numeric-based dimension reduction representations, which are derived purely based on numerical methods, the Bessel K representations are derived based on object representations and this enables us to establish relationships between the Bessel parameters and certain characteristics of the imaged objects. We have derived a pseudometric on the image space to quantify image similarities/differences using an analytical expression for L2-metric on the set of Bessel K forms. We have applied the Bessel K representation to texture modeling and synthesis, clutter classification, pruning of hypotheses for object recognition, and object classification. Results show that Bessel K representation captures important image features, suggesting its role in building efficient image understanding paradigms and systems.
Towards high quality region-of-interest medical video over wireless networks using lossless coding and motion compensated temporal filtering

Telehealth is growing rapidly and there is an increased need for high quality transmission of video over wireless networks. In this paper, we propose a method for achieving high quality within a diagnostically important region-of-interest (ROI) using mathematically lossless (M-lossless) video coding of the ROI and motion compensated temporal filtering (MCTF) of the video. The remaining region (non-ROI) is coded in a lossy manner. MCTF as a prefilter addresses the issue of noise in video. With the correct values of filter parameters, it results in very good denoising for noisy video and improved quality for even near noiseless video. The key motivation to use MCTF in our application is that in both cases it results in significant reduction of the required total bitrate. This is crucial on data rate constrained wireless networks. We also show how MCTF is particularly advantageous for the ROI. We study the advantages of MCTF in terms of (i) quality improvement, and (ii) bitrate reduction. We apply a mean MCTF to filter Additive White Gaussian Noise (AWGN), and propose a new median MCTF to filter impulse noise. The results show that the applied techniques result in substantial improvement in quality and significant total bitrate reduction
Torsional properties of helix-reinforced composites fabricated by magnetic freeze casting

Abstract Helix-reinforced structures are found in a variety of natural materials, from the helical architecture of the narwhal tusk to the Bouligand structures in the exoskeletons of crustaceans. Drawing inspiration from these natural structures, a novel materials processing method, known as magnetic freeze casting, is used to fabricate helix-reinforced hybrid composites. The ZrO2–epoxy composites investigated here exhibit enhanced torsional properties due their helical architectural organization. In torsion, the maximum tensile and compressive stresses induced by a state of pure shear are oriented at ±45° to the axis of rotation. As a result, the composites with helix-reinforcement oriented parallel to the direction of maximum compressive stress (at ∼45°) exhibit the highest shear moduli. Bioinspired, hybrid composites with helix-reinforced structures may be useful for a variety of engineering applications, from the cylindrical shafts in combustion engines to golf clubs and bone implants.
Is Paul’s Gospel Narratable?

Does Paul’s gospel have a narrative substructure? If so, what are the implications for our understanding of Paul’s theology? This review article reflects on the issues raised by Bruce W. Longenecker (ed.), Narrative Dynamics in Paul. The essay has six sections. Section 1 frames the problems. Sections 2-4 respond to issues raised by the book: the method for investigating ‘narrative’ in Paul, the shape and content of Paul’s gospel story, and the hermeneutical implications of a narrative approach. Section 5 offers constructive observations about the fundamental ‘grammar’ of Paul’s gospel narrative. The gospel story is explicated ‘according to the Scriptures’; it posits a tension between the present time and the hoped-for future glory; it focuses not on personal experience but on the death and resurrection of Jesus; and it proclaims a participatory soteriology, so that salvation has an inalienably ecclesial character. Finally, Section 6 replies to Francis Watson’s claim that the gospel is ‘nonnarratable’. On ...
Limb-Threatening Ischemia Complicated by Perigenicular Infection

When graft infection or infection of the medial leg or popliteal fossa precludes a standard approach to revascularization of the ischemic leg, the literature suggests amputation may be the most prudent course because of excessive perioperative mortality and morbidity of attempts to reestablish axial flow. The purpose of this study is to define the outcome of revascularization when limb-threatening ischemia is complicated by perigenicular infection. Of 1020 infrainguinal reconstructions performed since 1984, nine (0.9%) presented with limb-threatening ischemia and graft or wound infections involving the popliteal fossa (6) or medial thigh or calf wounds (3) which precluded standard revascularization in the five women and four men. Risk factors for infection included diabetes mellitus (5/9), wound hematoma at initial operation (2/9), and intravenous drug abuse (1/9); Staphylococcus aureus was the predominant organism in all infected wounds and two popliteal fossa infections. The other deep infections grew group D streptococci, Enterococcus, and Salmonella. Extra-anatomic reconstruction was performed from the femoral (7) and iliac vessels (2) extending to the below-knee popliteal (2), the anterior tibial (4) and the peroneal (3) arteries using vein (5), and PTFE (4) in a lateral tunnel which avoiding the plane of the infection. Postoperative complications included MI (1), early graft thrombosis (2), and osteomyelitis of the femur (1); there were no deaths. With a mean follow-up of 19 months (3-57 months), primary graft patency was 66% and secondary patency was 78%, resulting in salvage of 66% of extremities at risk. These data demonstrate the safety and efficacy of extra-anatomic reconstruction for maintaining axial flow when limb-threatening ischemia is complicated by perigenicular infection.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Intranet document management systems as knowledge ecologies

Document management inside an organization is an interesting socio-technical problem. This paper considers Intranet Document Management as a knowledge ecology and presents a document lifecycle model consisting of five phases: creation, publication, organization, access, and destruction. Specific attention is paid to the knowledge ecology issues faced by document management systems (DMS), such as identifying typical heterogeneous work groups in an enterprise document management system, the implications of inter-user and inter-group, coordination (via, for example, annotation) and the consequences of DMS use over time. We conclude with a discussion of how the basic stages of a document lifecycle can tie together with the socio-technical goal of a scalable DMS to support a lively and dynamic document knowledge ecology.
Co-occurrence of sexual risk behaviors and substance use across emerging adulthood: evidence for state- and trait-level associations.

Aims Prior research has suggested that problematic alcohol and drug use are related to risky sexual behaviors, either due to trait-level associations driven by shared risk factors such as sensation seeking, or by state-specific effects, such as the direct effects of substance use on sexual behaviors. Although the prevalence of both high-risk sexual activity and alcohol problems decline with age, little is known about how the associations between substance use disorder symptoms and high-risk sexual behaviors change across young adulthood.
Extreme Value Distributions for the Skew-Symmetric Family of Distributions

We derive the extreme value distribution of the skew-symmetric family, the probability density function of the latter being defined as twice the product of a symmetric density and a skewing function. We show that, under certain conditions on the skewing function, this extreme value distribution is the same as that for the symmetric density. We illustrate our results using various examples of skew-symmetric distributions as well as two data sets.
Analysis and evaluation of five short-term load forecasting techniques

Load forecast has been a central and an integral process in the planning and operation of electric utilities. Many techniques and approaches have been investigated to tackle this problem in the last two decades. These are often different in nature and apply different engineering considerations and economic analyses. In this paper a comparative evaluation of five short-term load forecasting techniques is presented. These techniques are: 1. Multiple Linear Regression; 2. Stochastic Time Series; 3. General Exponential Smoothing; 4. State Space Method; and 5. Knowledge-Based Approach. The authors have applied these algorithms to obtain hourly load forecasts (for up to 24 hours) during the winter and summer peaking seasons. Thus the five forecasting methodologies have been applied to the same database and their performances are directly compared. The forecast error analyses are provided in Tables 1 and 2 for the winter and summer days respectively. As these results are based on forecasts of two single days, these should be used for comparative purposes only. Some interesting observations are made about the results presented in Tables 1 and 2. For example, for the peak summer day the transfer function (TF) approach gave the best result, whereas for the peak winter day the TF approach resulted in the next to the worst accuracy. During the peak summer day the temperature profile was typical whereas during the peak winter day the profile was unseasonal.
Direct emission of methane and nitrous oxide from switchgrass and corn stover: implications for large-scale biomass storage

Little is known about the contributions of biomass feedstock storage to the net greenhouse gas emissions from cellulosic biofuels. Direct emissions of methane and nitrous oxide during decomposition in storage may contribute substantially to the global warming potential of biofuels. In this study, laboratory-scale bales of switchgrass and corn stover were stored under a range of moisture (13.0–32.9%) and temperature (5–35 °C) conditions and monitored for O2 consumption and CO2, CH4, and N2O production over 8 weeks. Gas concentrations and emissions rates were highly variable within and between experimental groups. Stover bales produced higher CO2 concentrations (P = 0.0002) and lower O2 (P < 0.0001) during storage than switchgrass bales. Methane concentrations (1.8–2100 ppm) were inversely correlated with bale moisture (P < 0.05), with emissions rates ranging from 4.4–914.9 μg kg−1 DM day−1. Nitrous oxide concentrations ranged from 0 to 31 ppm, and emissions from switchgrass bales inversely correlated with temperature and moisture (P < 0.0001). Net global warming potential from each treatment (0–2.4 gCO2e kg−1 DM) suggests that direct emission of methane and nitrous oxide from aerobically stored feedstocks have a small effect on net global warming potential of cellulosic biofuels.
Dietary Patterns and Plasma Sex Hormones, Prolactin, and Sex Hormone–Binding Globulin in Premenopausal Women

Background: Sex hormones are important for breast cancer but it is unclear whether dietary patterns influence hormone concentrations. Methods: Dietary pattern adherence scores for the alternate Mediterranean diet (aMED), Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) and Alternative Healthy Eating Index (AHEI) were calculated from semiquantitative food frequency questionnaires administered in 1995 and 1999. Premenopausal plasma concentrations of sex hormones were measured in samples collected in 1996-1999. We used generalized linear models to calculate geometric mean hormone concentrations across quartiles of dietary pattern scores among 1,990 women in the Nurses' Health Study II. Results: We did not observe significant associations between sex hormone concentrations and the DASH pattern, and only one suggestive association between follicular estrone concentrations and the aMED pattern (top vs. bottom quartile -4.4%, (95%CI -10.6%, 2.1%), p-trend=0.06). However, women in the top vs. bottom quartile of AHEI score had lower concentrations of follicular (-9.1%, 95%CI: -16.1%, -1.4%; p-trend=0.04) and luteal (-7.5%, 95%CI: -13.6%, -0.9%; p-trend=0.01) estrone, luteal free (-9.3%, 95%CI: -16.8%, -1.1%; p-trend=0.01), and total (-6.7 %, 95%CI: -14.3%, 1.5%; p-trend=0.04) estradiol, follicular estradiol (-14.2 %, 95%CI: -24.6%, -2.4%; p-trend=0.05) and androstenedione (-7.8%, 95%CI: -15.4%, 0.4%; p-trend=0.03). Conclusion: Diet quality measured by the AHEI is inversely associated with premenopausal estrogen concentrations. Given we did not observe similar associations with the aMED or DASH patterns, our findings should be interpreted with caution. Impact: Given the role of estrogens in breast cancer etiology, our findings add to the substantial evidence on the benefits of adhering to a healthy diet.
Robust Vision-Aided Navigation in Urban Environments

One of the major challenges for vision-aided navigation systems that use GPS in urban environments is the impact of multipath errors. These errors induce biases in the GPS positioning solution that can degrade the performance of the vision-aided navigation solution. This paper presents a computationally efficient approach for vision-aided navigation that is robust to multipath errors as well as visual odometry errors caused by biases and odometric drift. Central to the approach is a novel recursive filtering algorithm, the l1-norm filter, that can provide reliable state estimates in the presence of unmodeled nonGaussian measurement and state propagation errors. The algorithm consists of a convex optimization to detect the unmodeled errors followed by a state update step based on the results of the error detection. By adding in the error detection step, the algorithm enables the state estimates to recover from accumulated errors in the visual odometry data while simultaneously shielding the state estimates from the impact of multipath errors in the GPS data. Experimental data collected in urban areas of Boston are used to evaluate the proposed framework and demonstrate its improved performance relative to other recent robust filtering algorithms.
Mu Torere: An Analysis of a Maori Game

(1987). Mu Torere: An Analysis of a Maori Game. Mathematics Magazine: Vol. 60, No. 2, pp. 90-100.
Comment on the Functions and Husbandry of Alpaca

This brief note points out two problems in the comment by Topic et al.: the assumption that alpaca were valued only for their wool, and the questionable application of ethnographic and Inkaic husbandry models in culturally and environmentally different settings. Important to resolving these and other problems is improvement of our ability to differentiate alpaca and llama from preserved and sampled osteological and fiber remains.
Using light to covalently immobilize and pattern nanoparticles onto surfaces.

There is considerable current interest in developing methods to integrate nanoparticles into optical, electronic, and biological systems due to their unique size-dependent properties and controllab...
Staphylococcus aureus Community-acquired Pneumonia: Prevalence, Clinical Characteristics, and Outcomes

Background. Prevalence of Staphylococcus aureus community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) and its clinical features remain incompletely understood, complicating empirical selection of antibiotics. Methods. Using a multicenter, prospective surveillance study of adults hospitalized with CAP, we calculated the prevalence of methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) and methicillin-susceptible S. aureus (MSSA) among all CAP episodes. We compared the epidemiologic, radiographic, and clinical characteristics of S. aureus CAP (per respiratory or blood culture) with those of pneumococcal (per respiratory or blood culture or urine antigen) and all-cause non- S. aureus CAP using descriptive statistics. Results. Among 2259 adults hospitalized for CAP, 37 (1.6%) had S. aureus identified, including 15 (0.7%) with MRSA and 22 (1.0%) with MSSA; 115 (5.1%) had Streptococcus pneumoniae . Vancomycin or linezolid was administered to 674 (29.8%) patients within the first 3 days of hospitalization. Chronic hemodialysis use was more common among patients with MRSA (20.0%) than pneumococcal (2.6%) and all-cause non- S. aureus (3.7%) CAP. Otherwise, clinical features at admission were similar, including concurrent influenza infection, hemoptysis, multilobar infiltrates, and prehospital antibiotics. Patients with MRSA CAP had more severe clinical outcomes than those with pneumococcal CAP, including intensive care unit admission (86.7% vs 34.8%) and in-patient mortality (13.3% vs 4.4%). Conclusions. Despite very low prevalence of S. aureus and, specifically, MRSA, nearly one-third of adults hospitalized with CAP received anti-MRSA antibiotics. The clinical presentation of MRSA CAP overlapped substantially with pneumococcal CAP, highlighting the challenge of accurately targeting empirical anti-MRSA antibiotics with currently available clinical tools and the need for new diagnostic strategies.
Chest radiology in the surgical patient.

This section contains descriptions of machinery and procedures related to the respiratory care of surgical patients. Positive-pressure devices and ventilators come in a variety of types, each with its own bedazzling set of knobs, gauges, alarms, and blinking lights. Drinker and Berryman’s description of ventilators is written from the viewpoint of the bioengineer. The principles they outline will help the surgeon to feel at home with any mechanical ventilator in current or future use. Gallagher and coauthors divide monitoring methods into pulmonary mechanics, gas exchange, and systemic oxygen delivery. In addition to these specific techniques, they present the practical pitfalls that are commonly encountered. The next four articles could be subtitled "Surgical Care of the Respiratory Patient." The articles by Orringer, Gazzaniga, and Connolly form a mini-atlas of techniques and procedures. All surgeons will benefit from a review of these often neglected details. Bronchoscopy should be as routine to general and thoracic surgeons as cystoscopy is to the urologist, yet this important technique is often neglected in residency training. Ratliff leaves description of bronchoscopic techniques to existing atlases and on-site training and devotes his discussion to when, why, and how bronchoscopy should be used in respiratory care. Eric Milne is noted for his studies of chest radiography in acute lung disease. His clear descriptions and examples provide a useful bridge between dynamic physiology and the static shadows on the celluloid.
The chemokinetic response of human neutrophils.

A computer-assisted single cell assay that allows quantification of the locomotive behavior of individual cells and a flow-through system that allows study of response of individual cells to stimulation were utilized to study the chemokinetic response of neutrophils. The range of basal mean rate of locomotion (mROL) and chemokinetic response to 10(-9) mol/L formylmethionyl leucyl phenylalanine (FMLP) was determined for neutrophils of eight normal adults. The basal mROL was 8.2 +/- 1.5 um/min and 6.2 +/- 1.0 um/min; the rate after 10(-9) mol/L fMLP was 12.1 +/- 2.1 and 9.5 +/- 1.8 um/min in 2.0 g% and 0.05 g% HSA, respectively. The mean increase in ROL for neutrophils was 50%. Assay with the flow-through system shows that the chemokinetic response-- increase in mROL of a population of neutrophils in response to 10(-9) mol/L--is due to an increase in ROL when cells are actively moving and not due to a decrease in the amount of time the cell spends inactive. Studies of individual cells within the populations show that chemokinetic response to 10(-9) mol/L fMLP is highly variable. The majority of cells (77%) respond with an increase in ROL; the minority (23%) are nonresponders that characteristically move at ROL greater than or equal to 14 um/min prior to stimulation and do not change ROL or exhibit a net decline in ROL in response to 10(-9) mol/L fMLP. The dose response of a population of neutrophils and of individual neutrophils to serial addition of 10(-10) to 10(-6) mol/L fMLP shows that the fMLP dose dependence for maximal chemokinetic response is highly variable among individual cells. Seventeen percent of cells do not respond to any fMLP concentration; 25% of neutrophils exhibit maximal response to 10(-10) mol/L fMLP, while 50% and 25% of cells showed peak chemokinetic response to 10(-9) mol/L and greater than or equal to 10(-8) mol/L fMLP, respectively. These studies document the variability in the locomotive responses of peripheral blood neutrophils. Understanding the causes of variability in the chemokinetic responsiveness of individual neutrophils may improve our understanding of how the cellular inflammatory response in man can be modulated.