cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Effects of glucose, anoxia, and adriamycin on the chemiluminescence of Ehrlich Ascites cells

Glucose and anoxia accelerate the photocount due to luminescence of Ehrlich Ascites cells. Adriamycin also has this effect if glucose is present. Comparison with a chemical standard combined with estimates of cellular and population transmittance yield a photon generation rate of at least 10.s−1.cell−1 in the presence of 10−2 M glucose, and twice this with anoxic conditions or 10−5 M adriamycin. Effects of adriamycin on Ehrlich Ascites cell respiration may depend on the presence of glucose.
Saving nature in the Anthropocene

This essay reviews six books broadly addressing the Anthropocene—the recent epoch in which humans play a dominant role on the face of the earth. Concepts of nature are still significant in contemporary American environmentalism despite its increasing diversity of issues, and no matter what the Anthropocene's challenges to naturalness nor what level of comfort or discomfort these works display regarding the Anthropocene, they largely retain some notion of nature. For balance, three books are included that generally speak positively of the Anthropocene and three that express various concerns: the former include Love Your Monsters: Postenvironmentalism and the Anthropocene (2011), Rambunctious Garden: Saving Nature in a Post-Wild World (2011), and Living Through the End of Nature (2010); and the latter include Eaarth: Making a Life on a Tough New Planet (2010), The Nature Principle: Human Restoration and the End of Nature-Deficit Disorder (2011), and Authenticity in Nature: Making Choices About the Naturalness of Ecosystems (2011). The latter group continues to distinguish nature from culture in the Anthropocene, thus effectively counting to two, whereas most among the former tend to count to one in celebrating a cultured nature. Embrace of the Anthropocene could, however, lead to counting beyond two by letting go of nature (and culture) as metaphysical categories qua moral shortcuts. The science and politics of living well in this enduring age of the Anthropocene may require attention less to generalities of nature than the interwoven details that constitute our environment.
The Physiology of Mechanoelectrical Transduction Channels in Hearing

Much is known about the mechanotransducer (MT) channels mediating transduction in hair cells of the vertrbrate inner ear. With the use of isolated preparations, it is experimentally feasible to deliver precise mechanical stimuli to individual cells and record the ensuing transducer currents. This approach has shown that small (1–100 nm) deflections of the hair-cell stereociliary bundle are transmitted via interciliary tip links to open MT channels at the tops of the stereocilia. These channels are cation-permeable with a high selectivity for Ca2+; two channels are thought to be localized at the lower end of the tip link, each with a large single-channel conductance that increases from the low- to high-frequency end of the cochlea. Ca2+ influx through open channels regulates their resting open probability, which may contribute to setting the hair cell resting potential in vivo. Ca2+ also controls transducer fast adaptation and force generation by the hair bundle, the two coupled processes increasing in speed from cochlear apex to base. The molecular intricacy of the stereocilary bundle and the transduction apparatus is reflected by the large number of single-gene mutations that are linked to sensorineural deafness, especially those in Usher syndrome. Studies of such mutants have led to the discovery of many of the molecules of the transduction complex, including the tip link and its attachments to the stereociliary core. However, the MT channel protein is still not firmly identified, nor is it known whether the channel is activated by force delivered through accessory proteins or by deformation of the lipid bilayer.
Experimentally determined PH-potential phase diagram for polyaniline; clues for optically distinguishable sub-phase in the conductor form

Abstract In this article we introduce an experimentally determined pH-potential phase diagram to correlate the structure of polyaniline with its properties. We illustrate that such a diagram is helpful and necessary for organizing and understanding the finer details of the properties of polyaniline. Using the pH-potential phase diagram to discuss patterns observed in in-situ optical absorption spectra, we show that there is a strong clue for the existence of two optically distinguishable sub-phases of the conductor form. It is speculated that these sub-phases of the conductor form may be related to the Curie and the Pauli spin phases previously reported by Epstein and MacDiarmid.
Psychometric analysis of the cultural mistrust inventory with a Black psychiatric inpatient sample.

An important empirical question is whether the Cultural Mistrust Inventory (CMI) can be used to measure cultural aspects of paranoia in Black psychiatric populations. Research on cultural mistrust in psychiatric populations is essential for tests of hypotheses regarding the misdiagnosis of African Americans. The purpose of this study was to assess the reliability and validity of the CMI in a sample of African American patients recently admitted to a psychiatric hospital. The reliability assessment revealed that the CMI total scale is a reliable measure. Factor analytic results indicated that a single global dimension underlies CMI scores. The CMI also showed good convergent validity with a measure of nonclinical paranoia and discriminant validity with measures of self-esteem and social desirability. This study provides reasonable evidence that use of the CMI with psychiatric patients is psychometrically sound.
A Replenishment Model for Radioactive Nuclide Generators

The nuclide generator is a radioactive element of long half life which is used to produce a short-lived daughter, or decay product, useful in medical diagnosis. This paper discusses the inventory problem for such exponentially decaying substances. Methods are proposed for finding the optimizing replenishment size when the reorder point, replenishment cost function, and other parameters are given. The reorder point is determined by certain medical requirements which give rise to a rather complicated model. A simple method is presented for finding close bounds on the required solution.
The nurse-technology relationship: the case of ultrasonography

Objective To examine the nurse-technology relationship via a case study of ultrasonography in women's health nursing practice. Design Exploratory case study using ethnographic methods. Setting Outpatient obstetric and gynecology clinic of a large teaching hospital. Participants Three nurses, two technicians, and one physician. Results Two of the nurses and the physician were very "nurse-like" in their use of the technology of ultrasonography to fulfill the traditional nursing purposes of observation, teaching, and comforting. The third nurse was nurse-like in talk, but at times "technician-like" in performance, allowing the technology to pull her away from nursing purposes. Conclusions The expert nurses bent the technology to nursing purposes. Sonographers performed in accordance with professional training and experience, rather than with gender expectations. The subtle differences between expert nurse use and technical use (by novice nurses or technicians) of ultrasonography may provide a strong rationale against current efforts to substitute technically trained or technically oriented personnel for expert nurses.
Listeria monocytogenes: Clinical and Experimental Update

Listeria monocytogenes, a small gram-positive bacillus, causes sepsis and meningitis in immunocompromised patients and a devastating maternal/fetal infection in pregnant women. Recent outbreaks demonstrated that L. monocytogenes can cause gastroenteritis in otherwise healthy individuals and more severe invasive disease in immunocompromised patients. Centralized processing in the food industry may be the cause of these large-scale listeriosis outbreaks. The mouse model of listeriosis, which was developed in the 1960s, has been extraordinarily useful for studying T cell-mediated immunity. Contrary to the original concept that macrophages are the principal effector cells in listeriosis, we found that immigrating neutrophils play the predominant role in early liver defenses. At later time points, CD8(+) T cells lyse infected hepatocytes by both perforin- and Fas-L/Fas--dependent mechanisms. Of interest, nonclassical major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class Ib--restricted cytolytic activity is expressed early during primary infection, whereas MHC class Ia--restricted activity is predominant through late primary and secondary infections.
Effects of Staphylococcus aureus on bovine mononuclear leukocyte proliferation and viability: modulation by phagocytic leukocytes.

Abstract In vitro effects of killed Staphylococcus aureus cells on bovine blood mononuclear leukocytes from uninfected cows or cows with chronic staphylococcal mastitis were assessed using a lymphocyte proliferation assay and a [ 51 Cr] release cytotoxicity assay. Killed S. aureus cells cultured with mononuclear leukocytes caused a concentration-dependent decrease in lymphocyte proliferation that was associated with a comcomitant decrease in mononuclear leukocyte viability. Responses of mononuclear leukocytes from uninfected and infected cows to killed S. aureus were similar, indicating effects were independent of the infection status of the animal. Addition of blood polymorphonuclear leukocytes to blood mononuclear leukocyte cultures without S. aureus cells did not alter mononuclear leukocyte viability but suppressed lymphocyte proliferation at the highest polymorphonuclear leukocyte:mononuclear leukocyte ratios (4:1 and 8:1) tested. When S. aureus cells and polymorphonuclear leukocytes were cultured with mononuclear leukocytes, both blood and milk polymorphonuclear leukocytes protected against the loss of viability compared with leukocytes cultured with S. aureus cells alone but did not consistently restore proliferative responses of the lymphocytes. These observations demonstrate that lymphocyte proliferation and mononuclear leukocyte viability are detrimentally affected by S. aureus cells, an effect that can be modulated by blood or milk polymorphonuclear leukocytes.
Ethnicity, race, and baseline retinopathy correlates in the veterans affairs diabetes trial.

OBJECTIVE—The Veterans Affairs Diabetes Trial (VADT) cohort is enriched with ∼20% Hispanics and 20% African Americans, affording a unique opportunity to study ethnic differences in retinopathy. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS—Cross-sectional analyses on the baseline seven-field stereo fundus photos of 1,283 patients are reported here. Diabetic retinopathy scores are grouped into four classes of increasing severity: none (10–14), minimal nonproliferative diabetic retinopathy (NPDR) (15–39), moderate to severe NPDR (40–59), and proliferative diabetic retinopathy (60+). These four groups have also been dichotomized to none or minimal (10–39) and moderate to severe diabetic retinopathy (40+). RESULTS—The prevalence of diabetic retinopathy scores >40 was higher for Hispanics (36%) and African Americans (29%) than for non-Hispanic whites (22%). The difference between Hispanics and non-Hispanic whites was significant (P 40 was significantly higher in African Americans than in non-Hispanic whites (P CONCLUSIONS—In addition to many well-known associations with retinopathy, a higher frequency of severe diabetic retinopathy was found in the Hispanic and African-American patients at entry into the VADT that is not accounted for by traditional risk factors for diabetic retinopathy, and these substantial ethnic differences remain to be explained.
The risk of introduction of equine infectious anemia virus into USA via cloned horse embryos imported from Canada

Deriving horse oocytes in the USA is hampered by the lack of abattoirs processing horse carcasses which could provide abundant quantities of ovaries from slaughtered mares. Therefore, several cloning industries in the USA are attempting to import cloned horse embryos from Canada. Like any agricultural commodity, cloned embryos pose a risk of introduction of exotic animal diseases into the importing country. Under such circumstances, risk assessment could provide an objective, transparent, and internationally accepted means for evaluating the risk. This quantitative risk assessment (QRA) was initiated to determine the risk of introduction of Equine infectious anemia virus (EIAV) into the USA via cloned horse embryos imported from Canada. In assessing the risk, a structured knowledge base regarding cloning in relation to Equine infectious anemia (EIA) was first developed. Based on the knowledge base, a scenario tree was developed to determine conditions (with mathematical probabilities) that could lead to the introduction and maintenance of EIAV along the cloning pathway. Parameters for the occurrence of the event at each node were estimated using published literature. Using @Risk software and setting Monte Carlo simulation at 50,000 iterations, the probability of importing an EIAV-infected cloned horse embryo was 1.8 × 10(-9) (R = 1.5 × 10(-12) to 2.9 × 10(-8)). Taking into account the current protocol for equine cloning and assuming the yield of 5 to 30 clones per year, the possible number of EIAV-infected cloned horse embryos ranged from 2.0 × 10(-10) to 9.1 × 10(-5) (Mean = 1.4×10(-6)) per year. Consequently, it would take up to 1.5 × 10(7) (R = 1.6 × 10(4) to 5.1 × 10(10)) years for EIAV to be introduced into the USA. Based on the knowledge base and our critical pathway analysis, the biological plausibility of introducing EIAV into USA via cloned horse embryos imported from Canada is extremely low.
Effects of stencil width on surface ocean geostrophic velocity and vorticity estimation from gridded satellite altimeter data

[1] This paper examines the effect of “stencil width” on surface ocean geostrophic velocity and vorticity estimated from differentiating gridded satellite altimeter sea surface height products. In oceanographic applications, the value of the first derivative at a central grid point is generally obtained by differencing the sea surface heights at adjacent grid points. This is called a “three-point stencil centered difference”. Here the stencil width is increased from three to five, seven, and nine points, using well-known formulae from the numerical analysis literature. The discrepancies between velocities computed with successive stencils decreases with increasing stencil width, suggesting that wide stencil results are more reliable. Significant speed-dependent biases (up to 10–20%) are found between results computed from three-point stencils versus those computed from wider stencils. The geostrophic velocity, and the variance of geostrophic velocity, are underestimated with thin stencils. Similar results are seen in geostrophic velocities computed from high-resolution model output. In contrast to the case when three-point stencils are used,wider stencils yield estimates of theanisotropy of velocity variance that are insensitive to the differences in grid spacing between two widely used altimeter products. Three-point stencils yield incorrect anisotropies on the 1/4 � anisotropic AVISO grid; we recommend the use of 7-point stencils. Despite the demonstrated inadequacies of the three-point stencils, the conclusions of earlier studies based on them, that the zonally averaged midlatitude eddy kinetic energy field is nearly isotropic, are found to pertain also with wider stencils. Finally, the paper also examines the strengths and limitations of applying noise-suppressing differentiators, versus classic centered differences, to altimeter data.
Alternative therapies: learning from patients who choose them.

INTRODUCTION This interesting article describes the, fortunately, rare decision among breast cancer patients to forego evidence-based mainstream care, at least initially, in favor of “alternatives.” As is clear to readers of this journal, there are no viable “alternatives” to nationally developed standards for breast cancer treatment. What defines the women and their rationale for declining mainstream care? That is the topic studied by Citrin et al. [1]. The research included 30 breast cancer patients who initially declined recommended treatment in favor of literal alternatives and who eventually sought the combination of appropriate treatment plus therapies termed “alternatives” as offered at the Midwestern Regional Medical Center (MRMC) in Zion, Illinois, a cancer treatment facility operated by Cancer Treatment Centers of America. These women were compared with 30 others who accepted the combination at MRMC following diagnosis. The comparison group was selected to mirror the racial mix and educational level of the decliners. No sociodemographic differences were found between the two groups, but they differed significantly in their perceptions of the risks and benefits of chemotherapy and radiation therapy versus “alternative” therapies. Women who initially declined mainstream treatment and sought alternative therapies exclusively perceived mainstream treatments as risky or harmful and alternatives as beneficial.
Octave spanning conventional geometry Ti:sapphire laser

We obtain direct stabilization of the laser offset frequency for a conventional geometry, octave spanning, Kerr-lens modelocked Ti:sapphire laser. Beam characteristics of the continuum are presented.
Adaptive online calibration in time stretched ADC arrays

It has recently been shown that photonics can be a powerful tool for manipulating the timescale of electrical signals. Stretching the signal prior to digitization has been proposed as a method to increase the effective sampling rate and the input bandwidth of the ADC, and to effect a reduction in the sampling-jitter noise. Sampling rates greater than 100Gsample/s have been demonstrated with this technique. This paper analyzes the performance of Time Stretch ADC (TSADC) arrays and proposes a novel adaptive calibration technique for mitigating the interchannel mismatch errors. The technique exploits the fact that each channel in the TSADC array is sampled at or above Nyquist rate, a key feature not shared by the conventional sample-interleaved architecture.
A generalized algorithm for constructing checking sequences

An efficient method for constructing checking sequences for strongly connected reduced, synchronous, completely specified, deterministic, sequential machines processing linking homing sequences (LHS) has been described. For machines not possessing an LHS, the only method for constructing a checking sequence requires the use of locating sequences which are often very long. In this correspondence a general method for constructing efficient checking sequences using multiple linking boming sequences instead of locating sequences is presented.
The Civil-Military Problematique: Huntington, Janowitz, and the Question of Civilian Control:

The alleged crisis in American civil-military relations has revived a long-standing theoretical debate about the determinants of civilian control. So far, the debate has followed lines of analysis ...
Disruptive behavior disorders in offspring of parents with major depression: associations with parental behavior disorders

Objective Although the offspring of parents with major depressive disorder (MDD) are at increased risk to develop disruptive behavior disorders (DBD) in addition to MDD, it remains unclear whether this heightened risk is due to MDD or to comorbid DBD in the parents.
Energy and angular distributions of ions and neutrals extracted from a slot in contact with a high-density plasma

The energy and angular distributions of ions and neutrals extracted from a two-dimensional slot in contact with a high-density Ar plasma were investigated. A combined fluid/Monte Carlo simulation was developed to follow the trajectories of ions and fast neutrals through the sheath and out the slot. The energy and angular distributions reflect the strong disturbance of the sheath when the slot size is comparable to the sheath thickness.
Incorporating response variability and estimation uncertainty into Pareto front optimization

Formal approach for multiple response optimization with estimation uncertainty.Uses Pareto front to identify and compare promising locations in input space.Breaks decision-making into sequential manageable steps to explore choices.Process starts by objectively removing less promising candidate locations.Process concludes by highlighting locations that match identified study goals. Pareto front optimization has been commonly used for balancing trade-offs between different estimated responses. Using maximum likelihood or least squares point estimates or the worst case confidence bound values of the response surface, it is straightforward to find preferred locations in the input factor space that simultaneously perform well for the various responses. A new approach is proposed that directly incorporates model parameter estimation uncertainty into the Pareto front optimization. This step-by-step approach provides more realistic information about variability in the estimated Pareto front and how it affects our decisions about the potential best input factor locations. The method is illustrated with a manufacturing example involving three responses and two input factors.
Finding Common Ground in Transnational Peace Movements

These concepts are discussed through the example of two globally significant mediators, Helen Caldicott and Petra Kelly. Drawing on ecofeminism and difference theory, both activists argued that women were, by nature, more peaceful than men, which meant that women provided the ideal model for humanity. Thus, they interpreted differential feminism as an emancipatory force that strengthened women's position in society. On the one hand both women found a powerful language that reached millions of people through these concepts; on the other hand, it can be argued that because their own “difference feminist” politics publicly emphasised qualities and aptitudes consistent with traditional views of women, Caldicott's and Kelly's influence was eventually weakened within their respective movements.
Myocardial structural associations with local electrograms: a study of postinfarct ventricular tachycardia pathophysiology and magnetic resonance-based noninvasive mapping.

Background— The association of scar on late gadolinium enhancement cardiac magnetic resonance (LGE-CMR) with local electrograms on electroanatomic mapping has been investigated. We aimed to quantify these associations to gain insights regarding LGE-CMR image characteristics of tissues and critical sites that support postinfarct ventricular tachycardia (VT). Methods and Results— LGE-CMR was performed in 23 patients with ischemic cardiomyopathy before VT ablation. Left ventricular wall thickness and postinfarct scar thickness were measured in each of 20 sectors per LGE-CMR short-axis plane. Electroanatomic mapping points were retrospectively registered to the corresponding LGE-CMR images. Multivariable regression analysis, clustered by patient, revealed significant associations among left ventricular wall thickness, postinfarct scar thickness, and intramural scar location on LGE-CMR, and local endocardial electrogram bipolar/unipolar voltage, duration, and deflections on electroanatomic mapping. Anteroposterior and septal/lateral scar localization was also associated with bipolar and unipolar voltage. Antiarrhythmic drug use was associated with electrogram duration. Critical sites of postinfarct VT were associated with >25% scar transmurality, and slow conduction sites with >40 ms stimulus-QRS time were associated with >75% scar transmurality. Conclusions— Critical sites for maintenance of postinfarct VT are confined to areas with >25% scar transmurality. Our data provide insights into the structural substrates for delayed conduction and VT and may reduce procedural time devoted to substrate mapping, overcome limitations of invasive mapping because of sampling density, and enhance magnetic resonance–based ablation by feature extraction from complex images.
Proteases in renal cell death: calpains mediate cell death produced by diverse toxicants

The role of proteases in renal cell death has received limited investigation. Calpains are non-lysosomal cysteine proteases that are Ca+2 activated. Calpain inhibitors that block the active site of calpains (calpain inhibitor 1 and 2) or the Ca+2 binding domain of calpains (PD150606) decreased calpain activity in rabbit renal proximal tubule (RPT) suspensions. The inhibition of calpain activity decreased cell death produced by the diverse toxicants antimycin A (mitochondrial inhibitor), tetrafluroethyl-L-cysteine (nephrotoxic halocarbon), bromohydroquinone (nephro-toxic quinone), t-butylhydroperoxide (model oxidant) and ionomycin (Ca+2 ionophore). In summary, calpains appear to play a common and critical role in cell injury produced by diverse toxicants with different mechanisms of action. The general cysteine protease inhibitor trans-epoxysuccinyl-L-leucylamido (4-guanidino)-butane (E-64) decreased antimycin A- and tetrafluoroethyl-L-cysteine-induced cell death but had no effect on bromohydroquinone- or t-butylhydroperoxide-induced cell death. Serine/cysteine protease inhibitors (antipain, leupeptin) were not cytoprotective to RPT exposed to any of the toxicants. The cytoprotection associated with E-64 correlated with inhibition of lysosomal cathepsins and E-64 was only cytoprotective after some cell death had occurred. Since some cell death occurred prior to the E-64 cytoprotective effect, lysosomal cathepsins may be released from dying cells and subsequently target the remaining viable cells.
Preparation and Properties of Optically Transparent, Pressure-cured Poly (methyl Methacrylate) Composites

The objective of this work was to develop optically transparent glass fiber reinforced poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) composites by matching the refracUve index of the glass fiber reinforcement to that of the PMMA matrix, thereby minimizing the quantity of light which is normally scattered and reflected at the interface of dissimilar materials. A pressure curing process is described for preparing composites 10 by 15 by 0.6 cm thick and containing up to ∼35 vol% glass fiber. By curing at 65°C under 6.9 MPa N 2 for 18 h, composites have been produced with optical quality surfaces and flexural strengths more than seven times that of commercial PMMA of the same thickness. A transparent composite containing 10.4 vol% of 13 μm diameter fiber had an 84% optical transmission (92% maximum for PMMA) at 600 nm and 25 o C
How to Use Multiattribute Utility Measurement for Social Decisionmaking

Arguments over public policy typically turn out to hinge on disagreements about public values. Often, those in conflict may agree about what the relevant dimensions of value are. The conflicts arise over the relative importance of various goals. Normally, such disagreements are fought out in the contexts of specific decisions, and so are fought out over and over again, at enormous social cost each time another decision must be made. This paper proposes a method that can spell out explicitly what each individual's or group's values are, showing how and how much they differ-and in the process can frequently reduce the extent of such differences. It presents data illustrating the application of this technology, multiattribute utility measurement, to two specific instances: management of the coastal zone of the town of Venice, a part of Los Angeles, CA; and selection of research programs for the Office of Child Development, Department of Health, Education, and Welfare. In both cases, exploitation of multiattribute utility measurement permits the decisionmaking or regulatory agencies to shift their attention from the specific actions, being regulated to the values these actions serve and the decisionmaking mechanisms that implement these values. In the process, the data show that degree of disagreement about values among holders of conflicting value systems are often reduced.
Bonobos Exhibit Delayed Development of Social Behavior and Cognition Relative to Chimpanzees

Phenotypic changes between species can occur when evolution shapes development. Here, we tested whether differences in the social behavior and cognition of bonobos and chimpanzees derive from shifts in their ontogeny, looking at behaviors pertaining to feeding competition in particular. We found that as chimpanzees (n = 30) reached adulthood, they became increasingly intolerant of sharing food, whereas adult bonobos (n = 24) maintained high, juvenile levels of food-related tolerance. We also investigated the ontogeny of inhibition during tasks that simulated feeding competition. In two different tests, we found that bonobos (n = 30) exhibited developmental delays relative to chimpanzees (n = 29) in the acquisition of social inhibition, with these differences resulting in less skill among adult bonobos. The results suggest that these social and cognitive differences between two closely related species result from evolutionary changes in brain development.
THE GENUS VESPERISPIRA (GASTROPODA: PLEUROTOMARIOIDEA) FROM THE PERMIAN OF TWO DISPLACED TERRANES, WESTERN UNITED STATES

Early permian strata in two displaced terranes of the McCloud belt contain a small biconic gastropod of distinctive appearance, Vesperispira humboldtiana new genus and species. This trochiform gastropod has a strongly oblique aperture with interrupted peristome, a small sinus on the peripheral margin of the shell, and lamellose shell. This gastropod is an easily recognized biogeographic indicator of the McCloud province biota, because of its lamellose ornamentation. Occurrence of this gastropod in strata of the Pine Forest Range of northwestern Nevada provides additional evidence for including rock units of the Black Rock terrane within the McCloud Belt, a grouping of several displaced terranes along the western margin of North America (Stevens et al., 1990) that contain fossil biotas rich in endemic species. This new gastropod genus occurs within an unnamed formation of Early Permian age in the Pine Forest Range of northwestern Nevada (Fig. 1) and within the McCloud Formation in the eastern part of the Klamath Mountains of northern California. In both areas the gastropod occurs in mollusc-rich biotas. In the Pine Forest Range of Nevada, the gastropod has been recovered from four horizons within the upper half of a 62 m thick section (the lower carbonate member of Wyld's (1990), Permian limestone and clastic formation) in Buckaroo Canyon, sampled and studied by Strong (1991, Strong 1992). Buckaroo Canyon is located 16 km west of Quinn River Crossing, in Humboldt County. The mollusc-bearing deposits in the unit are debris-flow beds, emplaced in deeper water settings. They contain a limited variety of brachiopods, bryozoans, and corals in addition to many molluscs. In northern California, the new gastropod has been recovered from six horizons within the lower 200 m of the McCloud Formation (Yancey and Hanger, 1985). Restricted occurrence of the gastropod to the lower part of the McCloud …
Muscle group specific changes in the electromechanical delay following short-term resistance training

Abstract Objectives The time delay between the onset of a muscle's electrical activity and force is believed to have important functional implications, and has been shown to decrease following resistance training in males. The purpose of this investigation was to examine changes in the voluntary electromechanical delay (EMD) for the leg extensors and flexors following a short-term resistance training intervention in females. Design Pretest/posttest control group experiment. Methods Twenty-two previously untrained females (mean ± SD age = 21 ± 2 years; mass = 65.4 ± 13.3 kg) were randomly assigned to training (n = 10) and control (n = 12) groups. The training group performed barbell back squats and deadlifts twice per week for four weeks. EMD for the vastus lateralis (extensors) and biceps femoris (flexors) was examined during maximal voluntary contractions at pre- and posttesting. Data were examined using analyses of covariance (ANCOVAs) with the pretest and posttest scores serving as the covariate and dependent variable, respectively, and by evaluating the number of participants that exceeded the minimal difference statistic. Results For the leg extensors, the adjusted EMD posttest mean for the training group was significantly lower than that for the control group (74.3 vs. 91.8 ms; p = 0.015; ή2 = 0.275), and five training participants displayed decreases that exceeded the minimal difference. The ANCOVA for the leg flexors was not significant (adjusted means = 98.0 vs. 90.0 ms; p = 0.487; ή2 = .026). Conclusions Four weeks of multi-joint resistance training resulted in decreased EMD for the leg extensors, but not the flexors.
Drinking Water Transmission of Giardiasis in the United States

For about a century after Giardia was named by Lambl in 1859, the occurrence of the organism in humans was not widely considered significant in explaining the etiology of disease. This organism is now recognized as a cause of disease that ranges from mild to severe and debilitating gastroenteritis. Beginning in 1965, drinking water became increasingly implicated as an important route of transmission. An outbreak occurred in a Colorado ski resort in that year. A survey of visitors to the resort revealed that 123 persons experienced acute enteritis, possibly giardiasis. Sewage contamination of the well water supply was thought to be the source of the organism. Further evidence for waterborne transmission of Giardia came in 1975 with the first isolation of the organism from a water supply implicated in an outbreak. A cyst was isolated from the water supply during an extended outbreak that resulted in 359 confirmed cases over a 7 month period. Subsequent outbreaks have clearly established the role of water in Giardia transmission. From 1965 through 1984, 90 waterborne outbreaks with 23 776 cases of giardiasis were reported in the United States. This report discusses the etiologic agent and examines drinking water outbreak occurrence and control.
Soft Tissue Chondroma of the Elbow

Soft tissue chondromas are benign, relativery rare lesions, characterized by tenosynovial metaplastic origin, and they are predominantly located in the hands and feet.We report a case of soft tissue chondroma arising in the tendon of the biceps brachii, and briefly review the features of these lesions.
A Femme Fatale of Whom ‘No One Spoke Ill’: Judith's Moral Muddle and Her Personification of Yahweh

Judith's behavior in the Assyrian camp has perplexed commentators for centuries. Even if the circumstances of war can justify the killing of an incursive enemy, Judith's deceit, seduction, and assa...
Coloring Outside the Lines: Erasing 'One-Person, One-Vote' & Voting Rights Act Line-Drawing Dilemmas by Erasing District Lines

In this article, Prof. Mulroy discusses the controversy raised by the Supreme Court decision in Evenwel v. Abbott over the use of total population versus voter population in measuring “one person, one vote” claims. The issue can affect various analogous questions concerning the use of total population, voting age population (VAP), and citizen voting age population (CVAP) in minority vote dilution suits under the Voting Rights Act. Generally, total population is preferable for one person, one vote claims, as well as evaluating “proportionality” under the Voting Rights Act, while VAP should be used for establishing a prima facie case of minority vote dilution, and CVAP in the remedial phase of Voting Rights Act litigation. More fundamentally, though, these controversies underscore the inherent arbitrariness of districting: whenever we carve up a jurisdiction into districts, tensions are unavoidable between representational fairness based on total population versus various measure of eligible voters. These tradeoffs are avoided through the use of nondistrict election systems like limited voting, cumulative voting, and rank choice voting, which tend to elect candidates in rough proportion to their share of the electorate, enhance minority and gender diversity of elected officials, and promote turnout, among numerous other advantages. The recent controversy sparked by the Evenwel litigation thus serves as a reminder of yet another reason to consider these alternative electoral systems, either through voluntary adoption or as potential remedies in voting rights litigation.
ABA Approves Researching Jurors' Public Presence on the Internet Ethics

Electronic devices and their ubiquity, along with the Internet and social media, create a host of challenges for the jury system. One is the risk that jurors may communicate improperly during a trial. Another is the risk that jurors may attempt to do their own factual or legal “research” about a case, in effect doing an end run around the limitations established by the rules of evidence. Lawyers using the Internet to find information about potential jurors during jury selection pose an additional challenge. Competency may well require a lawyer to do such electronic research. But at the same time, a lawyer is prohibited from communicating with or influencing a juror outside the courtroom. Ethics authorities in a number of states have addressed these issues in recent years, and the ABA has recently weighed in on them as well. The ABA Standing Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility recently issued an advisory ethics opinion explaining that, unless limited by law or a court order, a lawyer may review a juror’s or potential juror’s background and presence on websites and social media. In Formal Opinion 466 (Apr. 24, 2014), available at http://tinyurl.com/pqv9dbn, the standing committee explains that Model Rule 3.5(b) prohibits a lawyer from communicating ex parte with a juror or prospective juror, but a lawyer may review a juror’s public presence on the Internet. However, a lawyer may not request access to a juror’s social media accounts, concluding that such a request would violate Model Rule 3.5’s prohibition against ex parte communication with a juror. This ethics column analyzes this advisory ethics opinion in light of the ethics rules and new trends in how lawyers are using the internet in the representation of their clients.
Local Structure Contributions to Surface Tension of a Stereoregular Polymer

We have used all-atom molecular dynamics (MD) simulations to calculate the surface tension of melt poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) as a function of tacticity. Computation of surface tension using the Kirkwood-Buff approach required hundreds of nanoseconds of equilibration. The computed slopes of surface tension versus temperature are in very good agreement with reported experimental values. Using a rigorous treatment of the true interface, which takes into account the molecular roughness, we find that isotactic PMMA, in comparison to syndiotactic and atactic PMMA, shows a larger surface concentration of polar ester-methyl and carbonyl groups on the surface versus nonpolar α-methyl groups. A mechanistic hypothesis based on the helical nature of the isotactic PMMA chains, their relative flexibility, and their reported conformational energies is proposed to explain the trends in composition near the surface. We highlight here how surface composition and surface tension are controlled by both polarity and st...
Theoretical Basis of Nuclear Ethics Construction

Nuclear ethics is an important branch of applied ethics and at present it is theoretically being constructed.On the basic principles of the utilitarianism and the deontology,the philosophical principle of constructing a nuclear ethics is analyzed to find the ideology basis when constructing the theory.In the quo status of wide demands for the nuclear development and utilization,the nuclear ethical practice must be placed in a rational guidance track to refuse the unethical behaviors of nuclear development and utilization for the benefits of mankind.
Preparation of T-2 Toxin Artificial Antigen and Mouse Polyclonal Antiserum

To prepare high sensitive and specific polyclonal antiserum against T-2 toxin,T-2 toxin artificial antigens were synthesized and identified by animal immunization in this study.T-2 toxin was converted to T-2-hemisuccinate(T-2-HS) and coupled with carrier pro tein BSA and OVAusing EDC method,and then the immune antigen T-2-BSA and detection antigen T-2-OVA were obtained,respectively.To prepare the poly-antiserum against T-2,BALB/c mouse was immunized with T-2-BSA at the doses of 30 μg and 50 μg for four times at the intervals of four weeks.Ten days after the last immunization,the titer of antiserum was determined by indirect ELISA.The results showed that antiserum of high titers above 1∶104 were produced in six mice.The antiserum of mouse #2 had the best sensibility.Its IC50 was 324 ng/mL and it had good specificity.In this study,T-2 toxin artificial antigens were successful synthesized and the poly-antiserum with high sensibility and specificity was obtained,providing a foundation for the further study.
The role of the nutritionist in Third World agricultural policy planning

La malnutrition et ses sequelles sont un important probleme de sante publique dans les pays en developpement. Un planing politique de l'agriculture ne doit pas etre domine seulement par des considerations economiques ou nutritionnelles. Le developpement economique est essentiel pour eradiquer la malnutrition dans les pays en developpement
Monte Carlo Bayesian inference on a statistical model of sub‐gridcolumn moisture variability using high‐resolution cloud observations. Part 1: Method

A method is presented to constrain a statistical model of sub-gridcolumn moisture variability using high-resolution satellite cloud data. The method can be used for large-scale model parameter estimation or cloud data assimilation. The gridcolumn model includes assumed probability density function (PDF) intra-layer horizontal variability and a copula-based inter-layer correlation model. The observables used in the current study are Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) cloud-top pressure, brightness temperature and cloud optical thickness, but the method should be extensible to direct cloudy radiance assimilation for a small number of channels. The algorithm is a form of Bayesian inference with a Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) approach to characterizing the posterior distribution. This approach is especially useful in cases where the background state is clear but cloudy observations exist. In traditional linearized data assimilation methods, a subsaturated background cannot produce clouds via any infinitesimal equilibrium perturbation, but the Monte Carlo approach is not gradient-based and allows jumps into regions of non-zero cloud probability. The current study uses a skewed-triangle distribution for layer moisture. The article also includes a discussion of the Metropolis and multiple-try Metropolis versions of MCMC.
Maximum Likelihood Reconstruction in PET and TOFPET

The expectation-maximization (EM) algorithm for maximum likelihood estimation can be applied to image reconstruction in positron emission tomography (PET) and time-of-flight assisted PET (TOFPET). To implement this algorithm, one can employ either the projection data acquired at various angles or the rotationally integrated image. In the case of TOFPET, the latter approach can reduce the required computation time substantially. Three approaches -- the conventional, direct and statistical methods -- that incorporate the effect of photon attenuation in the EM algorithm have been investigated. Preliminary results from computer simulation studies indicate that the direct method can provide a good compromise between image quality and computation time. Three acceleration approaches -- the geometric, additive and multiplicative methods -- that increase the rate of convergence of these EM reconstruction methods have been studied also.
Morphological Aspects of Myelin and Myelination

Myelin is a membrane characteristic of the vertebrate nervous system, laid down in segments along selected nerve fibers, functioning as an insulator to increase the velocity of stimuli being transmitted between a nerve cell body and its target. Myelin is morphologically unique, and, while the present section will highlight this uniqueness, it is important to note that myelin is also distinct biochemically, physiologically, and immunologically. The latter three aspects form the subjects of later chapters in this volume. Structurally, myelin is recognized as a lipid bimolecular leaflet, sandwiched between two layers of protein, and wrapped in a spiral fashion around a segment of axon. Such a length of myelin sheath is known as an internode, being delineated at either end by nodes of Ranvier. Ontogenetically, myelin arises from its cell of origin as a flattened cytoplasmic process which is elaborated around the axon and which later becomes compacted and loses its cytoplasmic content (except for small pockets, usually displaced peripherally) to form a tightly wound, membranous sheath comprising a series of alternating lipid and protein lamellae.
Two immunoglobulin G fragment C receptor polymorphisms associated with clinical outcome of EGFR-expressing metastatic colorectal cancer patients treated with single agent cetuximab

3028 Background: Cetuximab is a chimeric immunoglobulin G1 anti-EGFR monoclonal antibody with efficacy in metastatic colorectal cancer patients refractory to irinotican chemotherapy. Recent studies show that Antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC) mediated through Fc receptors plays an important role in the antitumor effect of IgG1 antibody. There are three classes of FcγRs involved in the regulation of ADCC. FcγRIIa(CD32) and FcγRIIIa(CD16) activates and FcγRIIb inhibits activation. Clinical studies show FcγRIIIa 158 V/F polymorphism was associated with tumor response and progression-free survival in the follicular lymphoma patients treated with rituximab as first line treatment. Also, a H/R polymorphism at position 131 of FcγRIIa has been found to affects its affinity to human IgG and independently predict response to Rituximab. Since Cetuximab and Rituximab belong to the same chimeric IgG1 monoclonal antibody, we test hypothesis whether these two FcγR polymorphisms associated with clinical outc...
A Review of the Use of Large Datasets for Ascertainment of Cost Variation Across Institutions in Pediatric Medicine

Large datasets have been utilized frequently in the recent years to describe cost variation in pediatric medicine. Strengths of administrative datasets include their ability to provide cost data for a large nationwide sample in an economical manner. Limitations of these databases include the potential for coding errors and lack of clinical depth at the patient level. The linkage of administrative datasets with clinical registry or clinical trial data mitigates these shortcomings and provides a valuable method to accurately describe cost variation across institutions.