cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Bovine Leukemia Virus Infection and Mastitis

Adult dairy cows (226 head) in three herds were sampled both for bovine leukemia virus infection and for mastitis infection. A chi square analysis revealed no statistically significant association between the two types of infection.
Quasi-static intergranular brittle fracture: Dynamic embrittlement

A mode of brittle fracture is described which is fundamentally different from the rapid transgranular cleavage or intergranular decohesion that is usually associated with that term. It involves stress-induced diffusion of surface-adsorbed embrittling elements along grain boundaries, and it occurs by slow, step-wise crack growth, the rate of which can, in principle, be calculated from the knowledge of the relevant intergranular diffusion coefficient, the stress profile at the crack tip and the dependence of the stress for grain-boundary decohesion on the concentration of the embrittling element. This mode of fracture is postulated to be possible in any high-strength alloy with a low-melting-point element adsorbed on the surface if the applied stress is high enough. Known examples include the brittle type of stress-relief cracking in steels, tin-induced cracking of Cu-Sn alloys, oxygen-induced cracking of iron-, copper-, and nickel-based alloys, and the group of phenomena known as liquid-metal embrittlement and solid-metal embrittlement.
Pharmaceutical companies are writing the script for health consumerism

In this rhetorical analysis based on the Foucaultian constructs of power in medicine, specifically the docile body, the medical gaze, and health consumerism, the authors examine ways the pharmaceutical industry used web-based direct-to-consumer advertising, from 2007-2010, to craft interactions between U.S. consumers and physicians in ways that changed the traditional patient-physician relationship in order to drive sales of brand-name therapeutic drugs. We demonstrate how the pharmaceutical industry uses its websites to script power relationships between patients and physicians in order to undermined physician authority and empower patients to become healthcare consumers. We speculate that this shift minimizes or even erases dialogue, diagnosis, and consideration of medical expertise. We suggest that if it is important to uphold values of the modern version of the hippocratic oath, it may be necessary to provide physicians and patients additional parts in the script so that medical decisions are made based on sound science, knowledge, and experience.
Molecular scaffold protein and cellular responses.

Mitogen-activated kinases (MAPK) regulate many diverse cellular processes, including growth, differentiation and responses to stress. The organization of MAPKs through the use of scaffolding proteins is crucial for the selective activation of these kinases by different stimuli. Recent studies identify β-arrestins as members of the family of MAPK scaffold proteins. β-Arrestins not only shut off signaling by uncoupling G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) from their heterotrimeric G proteins, but also contribute to the specificity of GPCRs signaling by recruiting and activating selective MAPKs.
THE ARBUCKLE-HERSHEY CHAMISAL (ADENOSTOMA FASCICULATUM): A SIGNIFICANT ANOMALY IN CALIFORNIA PLANT GEOGRAPHY

ABSTRACT In a 1922 monograph on the California chaparral, William S. Cooper called attention to some patches of chamise (Adenostoma fasciculatum) growing robustly on deep alluvial soils on the west side of the lower Sacramento Valley. He submitted that these patches were relicts of “the true regional climax,” suggesting that centuries of Indian burning accounted for the prevalence of grass instead of brush when the Sacramento Valley was first seen by Europeans. We examined available historical evidence and found that Cooper was right in concluding that the chamise patches he saw were vestiges of a much more extensive (ca. 4000 ha) aboriginal stand. Whether the controlling local influence was edaphic or anthropogenic, and whether the local pattern had any wider regional implications, are questions that remain open to speculation.
Evolution of "determinants" in sex-determination: a novel hypothesis for the origin of environmental contingencies in avian sex-bias.

Abstract Sex-determination is commonly categorized as either “genetic” or “environmental”—a classification that obscures the origin of this dichotomy and the evolution of sex-determining factors. The current focus on static outcomes of sex-determination provides little insight into the dynamic developmental processes by which some mechanisms acquire the role of sex determinants. Systems that combine “genetic” pathways of sex-determination (i.e., sex chromosomes) with “environmental” pathways (e.g., epigenetically induced segregation distortion) provide an opportunity to examine the evolutionary relationships between the two classes of processes and, ultimately, illuminate the evolution of sex-determining systems. Taxa with sex chromosomes typically undergo an evolutionary reduction in size of one of the sex chromosomes due to suppressed recombination, resulting in pronounced dimorphism of the sex chromosomes, and setting the stage for emergence of epigenetic compensatory mechanisms regulating meiotic segregation of heteromorphic sex chromosomes. Here we propose that these dispersed and redundant regulatory mechanisms enable environmental contingency in genetic sex-determination in birds and account for frequently documented context-dependence in avian sex-determination. We examine the evolution of directionality in such sex-determination as a result of exposure of epigenetic regulators of meiosis to natural selection and identify a central role of hormones in integrating female reproductive homeostasis, resource allocation to oocytes, and offspring sex. This approach clarifies the evolutionary relationship between sex-specific molecular genetic mechanisms of sex-determination and non-sex-specific epigenetic regulators of meiosis and demonstrates that both can determine sex. Our perspective shows how non-sex-specific mechanisms can acquire sex-determining function and, by establishing the explicit link between physiological integration of oogenesis and sex-determination, opens new avenues to the studies of adaptive sex-bias and sex-specific resource allocation in species with genetic sex-determination.
Experiments on the effects of food and density on voltinism in a stream-dwelling water strider (Aquarius remigis)

SUMMARY 1. The stream water strider Aquarius remigis shows a latitudinal pattern of variation in voltinism. In general, populations with shorter growing seasons (e.g. in eastern Canada) tend to be univoltine (animals that reach adulthood in the summer overwinter before reproducing in the following spring), whereas populations with somewhat longer growing seasons (e.g. in the north-eastern United States) tend to be bivoltine. 2. This pattern was broken at our study site in the south-eastern United States (Kentucky) where A. remigis had a long growing season, but was almost always univoltine. In summer 1993, however, adult A. remigis in central Kentucky displayed a bivoltine reproductive cycle; i.e. individuals in some pools began breeding shortly after maturing to the adult stage. 3. A field survey documented a negative relationship between local water strider density and reproductive activity in prediapause adults. A laboratory experiment manipulating food availability and density, revealed that animals held at low density with high food levels displayed greater mating activity and egg production than did their counterparts at higher density or lower food levels. 4. A laboratory experiment also showed that high water strider density resulted in a greater frequency of very short pair durations (< 10 min). 5. Although the observed effects of density and food availability on mating activity of prediapause adults seem intuitively reasonable, they differ from the patterns observed in overwintered adults. The difference in reproduction patterns might be due to differences in selective pressures on prediapause vs. post-diapause adults.
Hydrogen above saturation at silicon vacancies: H-pair reservoirs and metastability sites.

We propose that hydrogen-passivated multivacancies which appear to be fully saturated with H can actually capture additional H in electrically inactive sites. In silicon, first-principles total energy calculations show that splitting an $(m\ensuremath{\ge}2)$ multivacancy into a mono- and an $(m\ensuremath{-}1)$ vacancy provides a low-strain pairing site for H, 0.4 eV per H lower than any known bulk pairing site. This monovacancy ejection mechanism is an excellent candidate for the H reservoir found both in crystalline and amorphous Si. A distinct H pairing on the fully saturated $m$ vacancies, by forming an internal surface Si-Si dimer, provides the final state of light-induced metastable degradation of hydrogenated amorphous silicon.
Phase stabilization in transparent Lu2O3:Eu ceramics by lattice expansion

Abstract Gadolinium lutetium oxide transparent ceramics doped with europium (Gd,Lu) 2 O 3 :Eu were fabricated via vacuum sintering and hot isostatic pressing (HIP). Nano-scale starting powder with the composition Gd x Lu 1.9− x Eu 0.1 O 3 ( x = 0, 0.3, 0.6, 0.9, 1.0, and 1.1) were uniaxially pressed and sintered under high vacuum at 1625 °C to obtain ∼97% dense structures with closed porosity. Sintered compacts were then subjected to 200 MPa argon gas at temperatures between 1750 and 1900 °C to reach full density. It was observed that a small portion of the Eu 3+ ions were exsolved from the Lu 2 O 3 cubic crystal lattice and concentrated at the grain boundaries, where they precipitated into a secondary monoclinic phase creating optical scattering defects. Addition of Gd 3+ ions into the Lu 2 O 3 cubic lattice formed the solid solution (Gd,Lu) 2 O 3 :Eu and stretched the lattice parameter allowing the larger Eu 3+ ions to stay in solid solution, reducing the secondary phase and improving the transparency of the ceramics. Excess gadolinium, however, resulted in a complete phase transformation to monoclinic at pressures and temperatures sufficient for densification. Light yield performance was measured and all samples show equal amounts of the characteristic Eu 3+ luminescence, indicating gadolinium addition had no adverse effect. This material has potential to improve the performance of high energy radiography devices.
Loss of the Methyl Lysine Effector Protein PHF20 Impacts the Expression of Genes Regulated by the Lysine Acetyltransferase MOF

In epigenetic signaling pathways, histone tails are heavily modified, resulting in the recruitment of effector molecules that can influence transcription. One such molecule, plant homeodomain finger protein 20 (PHF20), uses a Tudor domain to read dimethyl lysine residues and is a known component of the MOF (male absent on the first) histone acetyltransferase protein complex, suggesting it plays a role in the cross-talk between lysine methylation and histone acetylation. We sought to investigate the biological role of PHF20 by generating a knockout mouse. Without PHF20, mice die shortly after birth and display a wide variety of phenotypes within the skeletal and hematopoietic systems. Mechanistically, PHF20 is not required for maintaining the global H4K16 acetylation levels or locus specific histone acetylation but instead works downstream in transcriptional regulation of MOF target genes.
Updates in the Management of the Small Animal Patient with Neurologic Trauma

Neurologic trauma, encompassing traumatic brain injury (TBI) and acute spinal cord injury (SCI), is a cause of significant morbidity and mortality in veterinary patients. Acute SCIs occurring secondary to trauma are also common. Essential to the management of TBI and SCI is a thorough understanding of the pathophysiology of the primary and secondary injury that occurs following trauma. This article reviews the pathophysiology of this primary and secondary injury, as well as recommendations regarding clinical assessment, diagnostics, pharmacologic and nonpharmacologic therapy, and prognosis.
Survival of Salmonella typhimurium in soil and liquid microcosms amended with clinoptilolite compounds

The objectives of this study were to screen the effect of different clinoptilolite compounds on S. typhimurium survival and to compare the most effective compounds as amendments using agricultural soil and aqueous microcosm conditions. These microcosms were inoculated with the bacterial culture and at periodic intervals (over 12–30 days) viable Salmonella populations were enumerated using selective media. In screening studies Salmonella populations were found to be lower from the smaller mesh clinoptilolite compounds than from wood-chip sources or larger mesh clinoptilolite compounds at the end of 14 days. However, the response was highly correlated with the change in moisture content. In soil microcosm studies where moisture content was kept constant, there was an overall reduction of about 4 log units but there was no significant difference between the unamended control and the treatments. When smaller mesh clinoptilolites were evaluated in phosphate saline buffer there was a significantly lower (P < 0·05) number of viable S. typhimurium than in the unamended treatments. However, when the clinoptilolite compounds were sterilized prior to use, it was observed that the bacterial populations were protected from viability loss when compared with the unamended control.
Afferent influences on brain stem auditory nuclei of the chicken: effects of conductive and sensorineural hearing loss on N. magnocellularis

Nucleus magnocellularis is the avian homologue of the spherical cell region of the mammalian anteroventral cochlear nucleus. Its primary excitatory synaptic input is from large end bulbs of Held from the eighth nerve ganglion cells. We have examined the effects of three peripheral manipulations–middle ear ossicle (columella) removal (monaural and binaural), columella removal and oval window puncture (monaural), and monaural earplug–on cross-sectional cell area (“cell size”) of second-order auditory neurons in n. magnocellularis of the chicken. Manipulations were performed between embryonic day 19 and posthatch day 4. Survival time was varied from 2 to 60 days. Air conduction and bone conduction thresholds were determined to assess for conductive and sensorineural hearing loss associated with each of these manipulations. Hair cell counts were made from basilar papillae of each experimental group. We found that a columella removal alone, which produced a 50–55-dB purely conductive hearing loss, was not associated with changes in cell size of n. magnocellularis neurons. Similarly, chronic monaural earplugging did not affect the cross-sectional area of these second-order auditory neurons. Conversely, a combined columella removal and oval window puncture, which produced a mixed hearing loss with a 15–40-dB sensorineural component was associated with an 18–20% reduction in n. magnocellularis cell area. Hair cell counts for experimental ears were not significantly different from control ears. These results, in conjunction with measurements of multiunit activity recorded in n. magnocellularis, suggest that manipulations which markedly attentuate extrinsic auditory stimulation, but do not result in chronic change in the average activity levels, also do not influence the size of n. magnocellularis cell bodies. On the other hand, a manipulation which influences overall activity levels, but does not result in degeneration of receptor cells, resulted in marked changes in n. magnocellularis cell size.
Cleft palate orthopedics: Why, when, how

C l e f t palate orthopedics is usually referred to as the neonatal repositioning of the maxillary bony segments, thereby obtaining a more nearly normal skeletal base under the lip and nose. I prefer to think of cleft palate orthopedics as any therapy applied to the neonatal maxilla that can restore the maxilla and the oral and nasal cavities to a more norml functional relationship. Since Kjellgren ~ and McNeil 2 first introduced these techniques in the early 1950's they have been widely discussed by many supporters and by an equal number of detractors. Supporters feel that cleft palate orthopedics can control and modify the postnatal development of the maxilla, 3 stimulate palatal shelf growth/ and aid the plastic surgeon2 Its detractors claim that too much clinical time is required in relation to the benefits obtained and that treatment is too complex to be performed except in special clinics/' I maintained that the techniques I employ in case analysis and appliance construction eliminate lengthy procedures and make cleft palate orthopedics a practical procedure. Cleft palate orthopedics can yield many benefits. Specifically, orthopedic appliances can aid nursing, stimulate oral-facial development, develop the palatal shelves, prevent tongue distortions, prevent nasal septum irritation, decrease the number of ear infections, expand collapsed maxillary segments, constrict the expanded anterior part of the maxilla, reposition the premaxilla, aid the plastic surgeon, and help the mother psychologically. Any one of these factors alone may be compelling enough to warrant therapy. Most often, however, it is a combination of several factors that influence my decision to construct an orthopedic feeding appliance for a child.
Philosophy of gravity: Intuitions of four-dimensional curved spacetime

General Relativity describes the universe as a four-dimensional spacetime manifold which is somehow ‘curved’. Accounts of curved spacetime often claim that most of us find it impossible to imagine four-dimensional spacetime, and so should not even try to do so. This paper examines the claim that the best description of the universe is counter-intuitive and suggests ways to re-educate our intuitions to make them compatible with what seems to be the best science around. The paper examines two world views, or pictures of the universe — the Aristotelian and the Newtonian — and argues that we have forgotten (or perhaps never realized) how much of an idealization the Newtonian world view actually is. For this reason we have come to believe that we can only ‘see’ the world in three spatial dimensions. The paper ends by describing an alternative idealization, or set of pictures, that would lead us to find the claim that the universe is a four-dimensional spacetime manifold ‘perfectly natural’.
General formulation of pionic decays in the quark model

Predictions for pionic decays of resonances to states in the low-lying baryon 56 or meson 36 supermultiplets are shown to follow from general model-independent algebraic properties. All models in which transition operators change the state of only a single quark allow only two partial waves for the decay pion and give $\mathrm{SU}{(6)}_{W}$ relations between decays in each partial wave, while not necessarily relating different partial waves.
Waist circumference is an independent predictor of insulin resistance in black and white youths.

Objectives We examined how well waist circumference (WC) reflects total and abdominal fat and whether WC predicts insulin resistance independent of body mass index (BMI) percentile in youths. Study design Body composition was measured by dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry and abdominal adiposity by computed tomography. Insulin sensitivity was measured by the hyperinsulinemic-euglycemic clamp. Results Both BMI percentile and WC were significantly associated (P < .01) with total and abdominal fat and insulin sensitivity. WC remained a significant (P < .01) correlate of total and abdominal fat and insulin sensitivity after controlling for BMI percentile. By contrast, BMI percentile did not remain a significant correlate of visceral fat and markers of insulin resistance after controlling for WC. Without exception, WC explained a greater variance in abdominal fat and metabolic profiles than did BMI percentile. Conclusions Our findings suggest that the prediction of health risks associated with obesity in youths is improved by the additional inclusion of WC measure to the BMI percentile. Such observations would reinforce the importance of including WC in the assessment of childhood obesity to identify those at increased metabolic risk due to excess abdominal fat.
Determination of density and water content of marine sediment in an unextruded core using fast neutron and gamma ray attenuation

Abstract Water content and sediment density were measure rapidly and nondestructively at 2·5-cm intervals along a 75-cm long unextruded core (10·75 cm i.d.) using attenuation measurements of collimated gamma rays (0·66 MeV) and collimated fast neutrons (fission spectrum). The gamma source was 10 mCi 137 Cs, and the fast neutron source was ∼93 mCi(∼ 70 μg) 252 Cf. Nondestructively determined sediment densities and water contents compared well with destructively determined values (mean difference = 0·01 g/cm 3 ).
X-linked hypoxanthine-guanine phosphoribosyl transferase deficiency: heterozygote has two clonal populations.

Clones of skin fibroblasts cultured from the mother of two sons with X-linked hypoxanthine-guanine phosphoribosyl transferase deficiency (Lesch-Nyhan syndrome) were assayed for activity of this enzyme by measurement of the incorporation of 3H-guanine into guanylic acid as counts per minute per microgram of protein and by autoradiography. The demonstration of two populations of clones, wild-type clones with normal enzyme activity and mutant clones unable to incorporate 3H-guanine, is evidence that the locus for hypoxanthineguanine phosphoribosyl transferase on one of the X chromosomes is inactive.
Providing the Support Services Needed by Students Who Are Deaf or Hard of Hearing.

When students who are deaf or hard of hearing are appropriately placed, program-level and curriculum-level adaptations may both need to be discussed to ensure social as well as academic progress. Programmatic modifications may involve communication, linguistic, and grading issues, and both the listening and physical settings. Curricular modifications may involve the classroom structure, rapport and affect, the instructional format and language, the lesson format and materials, comprehension monitoring, activity and assignment completion, and placement choices. Professionals should work cooperatively to make and monitor changes.
Cathode Ion Bombardment in RF Photoguns

In this paper, we use the method of rapid oscillating field to solve the equation of ion motion in an RF gun. We apply the method to the BNL 1/2-cell SRF photogun and demonstrate that a significant portion of ions produced in the gun can reach the cathode if no special precautions are taken. Also, the paper proposes a simple mitigation recipe that can reduce the rate of ion bombardment.
The entomopathogenic bacterium, Xenorhabdus nematophila, impairs hemocytic immunity by inhibition of eicosanoid biosynthesis in adult crickets, Gryllus firmus

Abstract The bacterium, Xenorhabdus nematophila (Poinar and Thomas), is an obligate symbiont of nematodes in the genus Steinernema and a lethal insect pathogen. We investigated the hypothesis that one aspect of the bacterial virulence is the ability of X. nematophila to severely impair host insect cellular immune reactions to infection by inhibiting eicosanoid biosynthesis in the adult male cricket, Gryllus firmus (Scudder). Infection with heat-killed X. nematophila resulted in significant and time-dependent increases in hemocyte microaggregation reactions (from approximately 20/μl to nearly 100/μl hemolymph), nodulation reactions (from approximately 1 nodule/cricket to about 4 nodules/cricket) and hemocytic phospholipase A 2 activity (from approximately 0.1 pmol hydrolyzed fatty acid/mg protein/h at 1 min post-injection to nearly 1.6 pmol hydrolyzed fatty acid/mg protein/h at 60 min post-injection). Infection with live bacteria did not stimulate increases in these three immune-related parameters—but did result in significant and time-dependent reduction in living hemocyte counts (from approximately 4400 hemocytes/μl hemolymph to approximately 3200/μl). Injecting the eicosanoid-precursor fatty acid, arachidonic acid, into crickets infected with live bacteria reversed the bacterial effect on microaggregation and nodulation reactions, on living hemocyte populations and on hemocytic PLA 2 activity. Our work indicates that X. nematophila is equipped with an arsenal of mechanisms to disable eicosanoid-dependent host immune responses to the bacterium and possibly its host nematode. The efficacy of insect pathogens in biological control programs is limited, in part, by host immune functions. The significance of our work lies in understanding and possibly manipulating microbial mechanisms of disabling insect immunity.
Simple, Catalytic Enantioselective Syntheses of Estrone and Desogestrel

Highly enantioselective and very short syntheses of the bioactive forms of estrone (3) and desogestrel (4) are described using a chiral oxazaborolidinium catalyst (2) in the key initial step. Enantiomerically pure estrone was synthesized in eight steps from the readily available starting materials diene 5 and α,β-enal 6 via intermediates 8 and 9. Desogestrel was synthesized using a similar strategy from diene 5 and α,β-enal 11 via intermediates 12−17. The efficient syntheses of the chiral catalyst 2 and its enantiomer are also presented.
Anonymous polyphony and The Wanderer 's textuality

Old English manuscript poetry, including the text that we now call The Wanderer, remains close to its oral roots in its reliance on audible structures and traditional expressions, in its fluid relationship to other compositions and in its anonymity. It is not oral, however, and its existence in a manuscript is more than a physical fact. This change in medium has begun to affect the poetry's semiotics. Having lost the social context of oral performance, the poet attempts to provide a viewpoint in other ways. But this manuscript presentation does not share all the workings of a modern printed composition.
The log-likelihood ratio for sparse multinomial mixtures

Abstract The log likelihood ratio is expanded for testing a sequence of multinomial null hypotheses against a sequence of multinomial mixture close alternative hypothesis. As the number of categories grows without limit, the sample size increases and the variances of the mixing distributions tend to zero. The limiting form of the log likelihood ratio is functionally different from previously studied goodness of fit statistics. The statistic derived here exhibits moderate asymptotic power when Pearson's chi-square is biased.
Are homes hot or cold potatoes? The distribution of marketing time in the housing market

Abstract This paper analyzes how the distribution of marketing time of residential real estate evolves across time. Using real estate data from a large suburb in the Washington D.C. area we first show that the whole distribution of marketing time shifts to the right when a “hot” housing market in 2003 is compared with a “cold” one in 2007. The shift, however, is not homogenous across the distribution: it is negligible at lower percentiles, very large at the median and much smaller at higher percentiles. Moreover, the shift in the distribution cannot be explained by changes in the characteristics of the units. We then compute (quality adjusted) time on the market distributions and hazard functions for each year during the period 1997 to 2007. We find that while there are no changes at the bottom of the (conditional) distribution over time, higher percentiles, such as the first quartile and the median, are notably more volatile. We also find that the distribution of marketing time is heterogeneous across property types and property location. The focus on the distribution of marketing time rather than solely on the mean or on the median provides a comprehensive description of the evolution of this asset's liquidity and may help homeowners and financial institutions to better grapple with liquidity risk.
Hemifacial atrophy: Systemic and ophthalmological anomalies; a review and a case report

The case history of a 2-year-old girl with hemifacial atrophy since birth is described. There were multiple associated systemic anomalies such as hemiatrophy of the body, skeletal defects, colon agenesis and anus atresia. Ophthalmologically the girl showed a homolateral optic nerve hypoplasia. A review of the ophthalmological findings in hemifacial atrophy is given.
Nonlinear optical and electronic properties of SiC/PMMA/Ge/Fe waveguide for device applications

A new optical device whose dynamic grating intensity can be electrically controlled at specific magnetic fields and wavelengths has been demonstrated. This device has a semiconductor/polymer multilayer structure formed by pulsed laser deposition at room temperature. The reflection intensity can be electrically controlled with a response time of less than 2 ms. The EPR spectrum of the multilayer determined the concentration of the free spin and the effect of the light on the growth and decay of the Fe which was doped in the polymeric thin film using the high pulse laser deposition technique.
Lessons from Lipids in the Fight against Influenza

Influenza is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide, with vaccines and antiviral drugs having limited efficacy thus far. Two recent studies in Cell apply lipidomics approaches to identify bioactive lipid mediators influencing host inflammation, viral replication, and disease progression.
Reduction of a ship's magnetic field signatures

Decreasing the magnetic field signature of a naval vessel will reduce its susceptibility to detonating naval influence mines and the probability of a submarine being detected by underwater barriers and maritime patrol aircraft. Both passive and active techniques for reducing the magnetic signatures produced by a vessel's ferromagnetism, roll-induced eddy currents, corrosion-related sources, and stray fields are presented. Mathematical models of simple hull shapes are used to predict the levels of signature reduction that might be achieved through the use of alternate construction materials. Also, the process of demagnetizing a steel-hulled ship is presented, along with the operation of shaft-grounding systems, paints, and alternate configurations for power distribution cables. In addition, active signature reduction technologies are described, such as degaussing and deamping, which attempt to cancel the fields surrounding a surface ship or submarine rather than eliminate its source. Table of Contents: Introduction / Passive Magnetic Silencing Techniques / Active Signature Compensation / Summary
Community Engagement in Children's Environmental Health Research

Community engagement strategies and skills can build trust and reduce historical mistrust between researchers, communities, and populations being studied, as well as contribute to the quality of study designs, methods, and dissemination of findings. This review paper discusses why community engagement is of increasing importance in children's environmental health research, describes models and the continuum of methods that are used, and discusses their challenges and benefits. Two case studies, representing different study designs and using different community engagement models and methods, and lessons learned from these cases, are described. Community engagement methods are best understood on a continuum based on the degree to which community members or representatives of community populations are involved in research planning, decision-making, and dissemination. Methods along this continuum include community consultation, community-based participatory research, and community consent to research. Community engagement knowledge and skills are especially important in the conduct of children's environmental health research, with its emphasis on reducing environmental risks at the community level, the increasing focus on genetics and gene-environment interactions, and the importance placed on translation of scientific results into behaviors and policies that protect the community. Across study designs, whether qualitative survey research, an observational epidemiology study, or a randomized intervention trial, understanding community interests, norms, and values is necessary to describe attitudes and behaviors of specific population groups, build evidence of cause and effect between environmental exposures and health, and demonstrate the effectiveness of interventions to reduce risks.
Natural Products Used for Diabetes

Objective To review the efficacy and safety of natural products commonly used for diabetes. Data Sources English and Spanish-language journals retrieved through a MEDLINE search of articles published between 1960 and December 2001 using these index terms: Opuntia, karela, gymnema, tecoma, alpha lipoic acid, thioctic acid, ginseng, panaxans, and diabetes. Data Synthesis Natural products have long been used in traditional systems of medicine for diabetes. Products in common use include nopal (prickly pear cactus), fenugreek, karela (bitter melon), gymnema, ginseng, tronadora, chromium, and alpha-lipoic acid. The popularity of these products varies among people of different ethnicities. Nopal is the most commonly used herbal hypoglycemic among persons of Mexican descent. Karela is more commonly used by persons from Asian countries. Some of these agents have gained universal appeal. For a select number of products, studies have revealed single or multiple mechanisms of action. For several of these, high soluble fiber content is a contributing factor. Conclusion Based on the available evidence, several natural products in common use can lower blood glucose in patients with diabetes. Commonly used natural products often have a long history of traditional use, and pharmacists who have a stronger understanding of these products are better positioned to counsel patients on their appropriate use.
421 From bridge to destination: A paradigm shift in the management of patients with end-staged heart failure

model of post-discharge follow-up. METHODS: Two hundred post-operative coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) patients in a large tertiary centre were randomized to either: 1: an NP initiated telephone assessment 3 days post-discharge, with additional NP follow-up clinic visits, teaching, care, and referrals as required; or 2: the standard model of post-discharge follow-up. RESULTS: The findings, based on data collected at baseline (prior to discharge) and at 2 additional intervals post-discharge, revealed that at 2 weeks post-discharge the intervention group had significantly higher SF-36 physical functioning scores and lower symptom inventory scores than the control group (P 0.05). Although baseline differences were non-significant, at 2 and 6 weeks post-discharge the intervention group was more satisfied with the quality of service compared to the control group. CONCLUSIONS: Early post-discharge NP managed follow-up care in patients undergoing CABG is associated with improved physical functioning, decreased symptoms and increased patient satisfaction. Further development of this concept is warranted as a potentially significant tool in the ever streamlined management of these patients. The ongoing development and refinement of this clinic, including planned clinical and research strategies to improve health services and quality of life for these patients will be highlighted in this presentation.
The use of the Angioseal device for femoral artery closure

Abstract Background As vascular surgeons perform increasing numbers of percutaneous catheter–based procedures, they will need to become familiar with varying methods of femoral artery closure. Few studies on closure devices have included significant numbers of patients with peripheral arterial disease. It is the purpose of this study to determine whether the Angioseal device (St. Jude Medical) is a satisfactory method of achieving femoral artery puncture site hemostasis in these patients. Methods The records of all patients undergoing Angioseal closure of femoral artery puncture by a single vascular surgeon were reviewed. Indication, type of intervention, and size of the vascular sheath employed were recorded. Times to mobilization and discharge were determined. Patients were seen before discharge and 1, 4, and 12 weeks after the procedure, and at 3- month intervals thereafter. Complications including hemorrhage, pseudoaneurysm, infection, and vessel occlusion were noted. Results Between February 1, 2002, and August 31, 2003, 220 Angioseal collagen plugs were deployed in 188 patients. Attempts were made to deploy Angioseal devices in 92% of patients undergoing percutaneous procedures during this time period. One hundred forty-four procedures were diagnostic and 74 procedures included 76 therapeutic interventions. One hundred forty-four 5F sheaths, 47 6F sheaths, and 29 7F sheaths were employed during the procedures. Time to mobilization and discharge was 58 ± 19 minutes and 102 ± 31 minutes in patients undergoing diagnostic studies, 68 ± 22 minutes and 146 ± 42 minutes following interventions using 6F sheaths, and 127 ± 18 minutes and 219 ± 37 minutes when interventions were performed using 7F sheaths. No patient developed a major hematoma or infection following the use of an Angioseal. There were 2 complications related to device deployment. One patient developed a 1.4-cm false aneurysm at the femoral artery puncture site that resolved spontaneously. A second patient required operation for vessel occlusion when an Angioseal was deployed in a markedly diseased femoral artery. These adverse events occurred early in our experience. Conclusions The Angioseal provides a secure method of achieving hemostasis following femoral artery puncture. It is easy to deploy, has a high level of patient satisfaction, and allows for early ambulation and hospital discharge. When simple guidelines are observed, the device can be safely used in the great majority of patients with peripheral vascular disease. It offers considerable advantages over the traditional method of manual compression.
Occlusal refinement of mounted casts before crown fabrication to decrease clinical time required to adjust occlusion

Abstract Statement of problem. An inordinate amount of time is often required to adjust the occlusion of a newly fabricated crown. Purpose. This study determined whether the procedure of "cast adjustment" significantly decreases the time necessary to clinically adjust the occlusion of a newly fabricated crown. Material and methods. Thirty-eight crowns were fabricated by a commercial dental laboratory for patients of senior dental students at the University of the Pacific School of Dentistry. After master casts were returned from the laboratory and then mounted on semiadjustable articulators by the students, the cases were divided randomly into 2 groups: (1) the control group, for which no further work was performed before fabrication of the restoration; and (2) the experimental group, in which casts were occlusally adjusted by a certified laboratory technician until there was at least 1 cusp tip to flat surface centric contact on each posterior tooth in maximum intercuspation position. After the crowns were delivered, the students filled out a survey. One question on the survey asked the student for the time required to adjust the occlusion on the crown. Results. Of the 19 crowns in the control group, 6 crowns required more than 1 hour for occlusal adjustment. Of the 19 crowns in the experimental group, 1 crown required more than 1 hour for occlusal adjustment. Conclusion. Performing a "cast adjustment" before fabricating a single unit casting can significantly decrease the chance of a lengthy clinical occlusal adjustment. (J Prosthet Dent 1999;82:591-4.)
Deliverance and Submission: Evangelical Women and the Negotiation of Patriarchy in South Korea

Kelly Chong’s Deliverance and Submission: Evangelical Women and the Negotiation of Patriarchy in South Korea studies the complex conversion experiences of women, who, despite being the driving force behind the rise and maintenance of Korean evangelicalism, have been largely neglected in understanding the expansion of Christianity in South Korea. In particular, the book examines why educated middle-class Korean women would convert to a conservative evangelical faith that submits them to a traditional patriarchal order. Reviewing the book’s important contribution to the fields of gender and religion, this article raises questions for Chong and others in the field of pastoral psychology on how conversion can or should change the gender and familial dynamics in and outside of the Christian community.
Studies on activation of T4 bacteriophage by cofactor III. Conditions affecting the activation process

Abstract 1. 1. The effect of temperature on the rate of adsorption, on the degree of activity and on the rates of activation and of deactivation of cofactor-requiring T 4 bacteriophage is studied at different tryptophan by concentrations. 2. 2. The findings can be accounted for in terms of the model of the mechanism of activation of bacteriophage by cofactor proposed previously. 3. 3. The effects of pH and of ionic strength, the role of other cofactors and of inhibitors, and the characteristics of mutants T 4 of different cofactor requirement are discussed in terms of the model.
Student use of NABPLaw Online in a pharmacy laws project.

Objectives. To evaluate students' frequency of use and degree of usefulness of NABPLaw Online, a pharmacy-specific, online, licensed resource produced by the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy (NABP). Methods. Students usage of various information resources, including NABPLaw Online were evaluated through (1) usage statistics gathered by NABP, (2) students' response to a questionnaire, and (3) citation analysis performed on students' project reports. Results. Students used NABPLaw Online less frequently than other online tools, partly related to the relevance of the tool to their projects, and partly related to ease of use in comparison to other tools. Conclusions. Although it was not extensively used, NABPLaw Online represents a unique resource for students researching multistate aspects of pharmacy practice law.
Electrophoretic studies of cholinesterases in brain and muscle of the developing chicken

Acrylamide gel electrophoresis of aqueous homogenates from whole brain of perfused chick embryos of 18 days' incubation results in three anodally migrating zones having the properties of cholinesterases (ChE's 1, 2 and 3). These sites hydrolyze acetylthiocholine, alpha-naphthyl acetate and alpha-naphthyl propionate. Their activity is inhibited by 10−5 M eserine sulfate, by 10−4 M di-isopropylfluoro-phosphate, and by a 10−4 M solution of Burroughs-Wellcome compound 284c51j dibromide. Homogenization with 0.1% Triton X-100 selectively increases activity of ChE's 1 and 3, especially the former. The three ChE zones occur in all sub-regions of brain which were examined: optic tectum, medulla, cerebellum, telencephalon, and optic nerve, although activities in the last area are very low. In homogenates of adult brain, ChE 1 (the most rapidly migrating form) is considerably less active, relative to ChE's 2 and 3, than in embryos of 18 days' incubation. Aqueous homogenates of heads of embryos at stages 17–18 (3rd day of incubation) show a weak ChE 2. Inclusion of Triton X-100 in the homogenate results in appearance of all three ChE zones in this tissue. Electrophoresis of blood plasma from embryos of 18 days' incubation produces two zones of activity comparable in mobility and substrate affinity to ChE's 2 and 3 of brain. The relative intensities of the reactions in electrophoretic preparations of the two tissues plus the results from perfused brains indicate that residual blood is not the source for the brain enzymes. Electrophoresis of homogenates of skeletal muscle from embryos of 18 days' incubation produces three zones of ChE activity similar to those of brain. In adult muscle, the ChE's 2 and 3 are present, although less intense, and ChE 1 is not detectable. Electrophoretic preparations of limbs from embryos of stages 20–22 show the fastest migrating ChE (ChE 1) as the predominant form. All three ChE's are detectable in limbs at stages 26–27. The results are discussed in relation to literature in the fields of manometric and microscopic studies of cholinesterases in the developing chicken.
Absorbing boundary and free‐surface conditions in lattice solid approaches

Absorbing boundary conditions are necessary for any numerical approach to wave propagation in an unbounded model due to the computer memory size limit. The phononic lattice solid by interpolation (PLSI) and the phononic lattice solid with fluids (PLSF) are microscopic approaches for modelling wave phenomena in strongly heterogeneous media based on the Boltzmann lattice gas methods. An absorbing boundary condition for these microscopic approaches has been designed by setting the microscopic reflect ion coefficients at the borders of a model to zero and adding viscous layers to the borders. The viscosities of the viscous absorbing boundary layers are adjusted by choosing different values of the mean number densities of quasi-particles. Numerical examples using the PLSI demonstrate that the artificial boundary reflections can be eliminated almost completely when the incidence angle is less than approximately 70”. Bethe yond this angle, to attenuate. artificial boundary reflect ions are not easy
Quantum Chemistry–Based Force Field for Simulations of Energetic Dinitro Compounds

ABSTRACT A quantum chemistry–based force field for molecular dynamics simulations of energetic dinitro compounds has been developed, based on intermolecular binding energies, molecular geometries, molecular electrostatic potentials, and conformational energies obtained from quantum chemistry calculations on model compounds. Nonbonded parameters were determined by fitting experimental densities and heats of vaporizations of model compounds. Torsional parameters were parameterized to reproduce accurately the relative conformational energy minima and barriers in 2,2-dinitropropane, di-methoxy di-methyl ether, 2,2-dinitro-3-methoxypropane, and bis(2,2-dinitropropyl)formal. Molecular dynamics simulations using the developed force field accurately reproduce thermodynamic and transport properties of 1,1-dinitroethane, 2,2-dinitropropane, and a eutectic mixture of bis(2,2-dinitropropyl)formal and bis(2,2-dinitropropyl)acetal.
Vitamin A regulates proliferation and differentiation of human prostatic epithelial cells

The response of cultured human prostatic epithelial cells to vitamin A was measured by clonal growth assay in serum-free medium. Retinoic acid at 3 nM or higher inhibited the proliferation of cell strains derived from normal, benign hyperplastic and malignant tissues, while lower levels (0.03 nM) were stimulatory. Reduced proliferation induced by retinoic acid was accompanied by a marked change in morphology, as intercellular adhesion decreased. In conjunction, the expression of keratins 8 and 18, associated with the differentiated luminal phenotype of prostatic epithelia, was increased. In post-confluent cultures, retinoic acid prevented the appearance of keratin 1, which accompanied the development of a squamous phenotype by cells maintained under these conditions. The findings of this study indicate a role for vitamin A as a modulator of the growth and differentiation of prostatic epithelial cells.