cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Research Note: Phosphorus digestibility in conventional canola meal determined using different balance assays.

Abstract Three experiments were conducted to determine ileal P digestibility and excreta P retention values for canola meal (CM) using 3 different types of balance assays. The first experiment was an ad libitum–fed chick experiment which evaluated the effect of phytase on ileal P digestibility and excreta P retention values. Chicks were fed a P-deficient cornstarch–dextrose-45% CM basal diet (0.13% nonphytate P) as diet 1 or that diet plus 125 or 250 FTU/kg of phytase, respectively, from 8 to 21 D of age. The digestibility/retention of P was 38% and phytase linearly increased both ileal digestibility and excreta retention of P (P
Tracheostomy Considerations during the COVID-19 Pandemic

ObjectiveTo compile current best practices regarding tracheostomy decision making, care, and technical performance during the global COVID-19 pandemic.Data SourcesArticles listed in PubMed and Goog...
Effect of Pregnancy on TMJ Nociception in Rats.

Objective Does TMJ nociception, as measured by a behavioral assay, differ during pregnancy, potentially due to the effect of sex steroids? Methods Thirty - two Sprague Dawlcy rats were randomly allocated to either mid- (EH 11) or late- (EH 17) pregnancy groups. The animals within each group were further allocated to a saline or CFA treatment. At EH 11 or EH 17, the animals were injected bilaterally into TMJ with either saline (15 μL.) or 1 μg/μL CFA (15 μL). Nociception was measured with a feeding assay (pellet recording) and analyzed by comparing in-tra-meal rates using a distance-based permutation method. Results CFA injection resulted in the animals eating longer in both the mid - pregnant and late-pregnant groups. Plasma estradiol was higher in the late - pregnant group versus the mid - pregnant group. Importantly, the CFA injected late-pregnant group ate for a shorter amount of time (i. e., shorter meal rate) than the CFA injected rats at mid - pregnancy. Conclusion The reduced nociceptive response (shorter meal rate) in the CFA injected late - pregnant group may be due to greater estradiol versus the CFA injected mid - pregnancy rats. Thus, one potential reason why women report fewer TMJ symptoms during pregnancy is the higher level of circulating estradiol.
Object detection and sensory feedback techniques in building smart cane for the visually impaired: an overview

People with vision impairment often encounter difficulties in situations that normal sighted people take for granted. Crossing roads and streets in busy environments with high traffic density is a major safety challenge. Investigation of proper technologies such as a smart cane that can provide navigational assistance to people with vision impairment has been an ongoing research topic of great interest. This paper provides a review of the current technology of smart canes and associated research topics. Specifically, the paper identifies a number of technical and application-oriented research challenges in designing smart cane systems. This includes the limitations of sensors, signal processing techniques, single sensors versus multiple sensors, adaptability standards, as well as pragmatic issues such as cost, size and usability. The paper then presents a survey of recent research focusing on various methods of object detection and sensory feedback systems, as well as the integration of other technology components that may be implemented in a smart cane system. Furthermore, the paper describes a summary of reported smart cane prototypes and categorizes them into various types such as how the object detection system is embedded on or separate from the cane, whether the system is able to detect static or dynamic objects, and what type of feedback is implemented into the system. In addition to defining common technical and application challenges involved in smart cane technology and developing an overview for both research and prototypes, the paper also provides an insight regarding the importance and need for safer and more effective object detection technology for the visually impaired community.
Reinforcement Learning Assist-as-needed Control for Robot Assisted Gait Training

The primary goal of an assist-as-needed (AAN) controller is to maximize subjects’ active participation during motor training tasks while allowing moderate tracking errors to encourage human learning of a target movement. Impedance control is typically employed by AAN controllers to create a compliant force-field around the desired motion trajectory. To accommodate different individuals with varying motor abilities, most of the existing AAN controllers require extensive manual tuning of the control parameters, resulting in a tedious and time-consuming process. In this paper, we propose a reinforcement learning AAN controller that can autonomously reshape the force-field in real-time based on subjects’ training performances. The use of action-dependent heuristic dynamic programming enables a model-free implementation of the proposed controller. To experimentally validate the controller, a group of healthy individuals participated in a gait training session wherein they were asked to learn a modified gait pattern with the help of a powered ankle-foot orthosis. Results indicated the potential of the proposed control strategy for robot-assisted gait training.
Defining and characterizing task-shifting medical devices.

Task shifting could help address limited human resources available for the delivery of quality health care services in low-resource settings. However, the role of medical devices in supporting task shifting is not fully understood. This study aimed to 1) define “task-shifting medical devices” and 2) identify product characteristics to guide the design and development of task-shifting medical devices. A three-part survey questionnaire comprising open-ended, rank-ordering, and multiple-choice questions was disseminated to healthcare professionals worldwide. The survey included questions to capture stakeholders’ general understanding of and preferences for task shifting in medicine and public health, and questions to define task-shifting medical devices and identify desirable product characteristics of task-shifting medical devices. Task-shifting medical devices were defined by respondents as “devices that can be used by a less specialized health worker”. Aside from safe and effective, both essential characteristics for medical devices, easy to use was the most cited product characteristic for a task-shifting medical device. Responses also emphasized the importance of task-shifting medical devices to enable local agency, such as peer-to-peer training and local maintenance. Several additional frequently mentioned attributes included low cost, contextually appropriate, maintainable, capable of using an alternative power source, easy to understand, easy to learn, reusable, and easy to manage throughout its use cycle. This study defines and characterizes task-shifting medical devices based on healthcare professionals’ responses. Ease of use was identified as the most important characteristic that defines a task-shifting medical device, alongside safe and effective, and was strongly associated with enabling peer-to-peer training and maintainability. The findings from this study can be used to inform technology product profiles for medical devices used by lower-level cadres of healthcare workers in low-resource settings.
Shall We Play a Game? : Building Capture the Flag Games for Non-Traditional Players

Capture the Flag contests are a common way to develop and exercise cybersecurity skills. One of the ways to reach underrepresented groups, such as women and minorities, is provide learning options that reduce cultural bias. This research used a game framework designed for the participants to build a series of Capture the Flag challenges together and create an original Capture the Flag competition for their peers at a university or conference to play.
Building Multicultural Competence by Fostering Collaborative Skills

Introduction:Developing greater multicultural competence is predicated on developing continual awareness and education about issues relevant to marginalized identities. One way to promote this comp...
How Do Extreme Weather Events Impact Investment in Combined Heat and Power

Since 1980, the United States has experienced 219 separate billion dollar plus natural disaster events. The total cost of these 219 events is estimated to be $1.8 trillion dollars. This takes into account 2017, which is on record as being the most costly year for natural disasters, with a cumulative cost of over $300 billion dollars. The number and intensity of these events are causing growing concern across the globe, as well. For this study, we are curious as to whether the growing number and intensity of events has led to greater investment in more resilient power systems. A resilient power system is one that is built to lessen the likelihood of a power outage, as well as manage and deal with power outage events to decrease impacts, regrouping quickly when the power comes back on and learning from the outage event to reduce likelihood of future outages .
Choice Overload via a Menu Dependent Luce Model

Many experimental studies document choice overload where individuals often fail to make a choice as menus increase in size or complexity. However, few models can describe choice overload. This paper proposes and characterizes a simple extension to the Luce rule where alternative values are exponentiated by a parameter that depends on the menu. This model intuitively allows for choice overload since alternatives with low Luce values can get chosen more often when the menu parameter is low. The characterization follows from two properties without a rich domain of menus: consistency and strong independent log-odds. Characterizations are also provided when menu values are non-negative and when menus can be framed different ways.
Use of Medical Imaging to Advance Mental Health Care: Contributions from Neuroimaging Informatics

Although medical imaging is not routinely deployed in the day-to-day structure of mental health care delivery, physicians and other healthcare providers are at a tipping point where such objective, quantitative physiological assessments are likely to become ever more important in the future. Such a development would generate new, actionable knowledge and information, at both an individual person and population public health levels. Mental health informatics could expand to encompass the acquisition of structured imaging data to augment other widely available data types.
The Federal Sentencing Guidelines Ten Years Later: An Introduction and Comments

The Editors have asked me to introduce the Symposium and to comment on its paper. I will begin by discussing why the papers selected here are well worth your reading. Then, I will comment on some of the issues they raise, comments that are sometimes critical of what it is said in the papers. Nearly all of the articles touch on one or more of three important topics: (1) the allocation of sentencing power and discretion, (2) the reasons for, mechanisms of, and solutions to circumvention of the Guidelines, and (3) the factors that should be taken into account in sentencing.
Provenance and family variability in slash pine (Pinus elliottii var. elliottii Engelm.) grown in southern Brazil and northeastern Argentina

A total of 172 seed orchard open-pollinated families of slash pine (Pinus elliottii var. elliottii Engelm.), generallysuperior for growth in the southeastern United States, wereevaluated in southern Brazil and northeastern Argentina. Mostfamilies were from selections originally made in four majorphysiographic regions within the species' natural distribution:Atlantic Coastal Flatwoods, East-Central Florida Flatwoods, GulfCoastal Flatwoods, and Southern Coastal Plain (withoutflatwoods). Ninety-one families were established in 1982 inthree tests in the Brazilian states of Santa Catarina and Parana. In 1986, 119 families, including 35 common to the Braziliantests, were planted in four tests in Corrientes and Misionesstates in Argentina. Variation among provenances for individualvolume growth was significant for both countries withEast-Central Florida Flatwoods consistently having the highestmean age-eight year volume and Southern Coastal Plainconsistently the lowest. Heritabilities were 0.20 in Argentinaand 0.44 in Brazil with within country type B geneticcorrelations of 0.66 and 1.00 for age-eight individual volume,respectively. The between country type B genetic correlation was0.63. Type B genetic correlations between United States breedingvalues for age-fifteen volume and Argentinian and Brazilianbreeding values for age-eight volume were 0.10 and 0.15,respectively. Families were generally superior to local checksin both South American countries.
Art, Constructional Apraxia, and the Brain

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the anatomy of the lesions that are most often responsible for constructional apraxia and their clinical testing. Art is diverse. Painters, sculptors, and architects use different media and often pursue their art in very different ways. Art is performed using many parts of the brain. The brain regions involved in these functions are active early in life, very widespread, and distributed within much of the brain. Neurologists coined the term ‘‘constructional apraxia’’ to describe difficulties with functions that relate to art. However, many brain lesions can result in constructional apraxia—each with very different signatures and mechanisms. The chapter explains the three most common brain regions that relate to art—to drawing and copying, realizing at the same time that much of the rest of the brain is also involved in creative art.
Efficient numerical algorithms for surface formulations of mathematical models for biomolecule analysis and design

This thesis presents a set of numerical techniques that extend and improve computational modeling approaches for biomolecule analysis and design. The presented research focuses on surface formulations of modeling problems related to the estimation of the energetic cost to transfer a biomolecule from the gas phase to aqueous solution. The thesis discusses four contributions to modeling biomolecular interactions. First, the thesis presents an approach to allow accurate discretization of the most prevalent mathematical definitions of the biomolecule-solvent interface; also presented are a number of accurate techniques for numerically integrating possibly singular functions over the discretized surfaces. Such techniques are essential for solving surface formulations numerically. The second part of the thesis presents a fast multiscale numerical algorithm, FFTSVD, that efficiently solves large boundary-element method problems in biomolecule electrostatics. The algorithm synthesizes elements of other popular fast algorithms to achieve excellent efficiency and flexibility. The third thesis component describes an integral-equation formulation and boundary-element method implementation for biomolecule electrostatic analysis. The formulation and implementation allow the solution of complicated molecular topologies and physical models. Furthermore, by applying the methods developed in the first half of the thesis, the implementation can deliver superior accuracy for competitive performance. Finally, the thesis describes a highly efficient numerical method for calculating a biomolecular charge distribution that minimizes the free energy change of binding to another molecule. The approach, which represents a novel PDE-constrained methodology, builds on well-developed physical theory. Computational results illustrate not only the method's improved performance but also its application to realistic biomolecule problems. (Copies available exclusively from MIT Libraries, Rm. 14-0551, Cambridge, MA 02139-4307. Ph. 617-253-5668; Fax 617-253-1690.)
Transliteration by Sequence Labeling with Lattice Encodings and Reranking

We consider the task of generating transliterated word forms. To allow for a wide range of interacting features, we use a conditional random field (CRF) sequence labeling model. We then present two innovations: a training objective that optimizes toward any of a set of possible correct labels (since more than one transliteration is often possible for a particular input), and a k-best reranking stage to incorporate nonlocal features. This paper presents results on the Arabic-English transliteration task of the NEWS 2012 workshop.
Adaptable Anatomical Models for Realistic Bone Motion Reconstruction

We present a system to reconstruct subject-specific anatomy models while relying only on exterior measurements represented by point clouds. Our model combines geometry, kinematics, and skin deformations skinning. This joint model can be adapted to different individuals without breaking its functionality, i.e., the bones and the skin remain well-articulated after the adaptation. We propose an optimization algorithm which learns the subject-specific anthropometric parameters from input point clouds captured using commodity depth cameras. The resulting personalized models can be used to reconstruct motion of human subjects. We validate our approach for upper and lower limbs, using both synthetic data and recordings of three different human subjects. Our reconstructed bone motion is comparable to results obtained by optical motion capture Vicon combined with anatomically-based inverse kinematics OpenSIM. We demonstrate that our adapted models better preserve the joint structure than previous methods such as OpenSIM or Anatomy Transfer.
Proton gradients during salt adaptation of synechococcus

The ability of cells to energize their membranes during salt-adaptation as measured by delta pH was studied using the electron spin resonance (ESR) spin probe technique. Salt-adaptated cells have the following features: an increased stability of delta pH across the cytoplasmic membrane and a significantly lower rate of delta pH formation across the thylakoid membrane. Therefore, during salt-adaptation, the cytoplasmic membrane takes over the role of primary energizing membrane from the thylakoid membrane. In contrast to non-adapted cells, delta pH across the thylakoid membrane of salt-grown cells is higher under respiratory than under photosynthetic conditions.
Homing Overlay Experiment (HOE) Sensor/Honeywell Test Facility Command And Data Acquisition System

A Honeywell Level-6 minicomputer has been adapted to the task of conducting the test and calibration of the HOE Homing Sensor at the Honeywell Electro-Optics Center's Low Background Calibration Facility, (LBCF). Special circuitry has been added to the standard Level-6 General Purpose Interface units to enable the computer to communicate with the sensor and the LBCF. Communication is accomplished by a handshake technique controlled by assembly language interrupt programs. These programs are subroutines in larger FORTRAN programs which implement specific test procedures. One group of FORTRAN test programs verify the proper functioning of the sensor and run relatively autonomously. A second group, on the other hand, for the more complete LBCF tests, are designed to be highly interactive, providing the test conductor the means to readily select test parameters as desired.
Release and transport of gaseous C-14 from a nuclear waste repository in an unsaturated medium

The potential nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain is to be in partially saturated rock. Released radioactive gases such as {sup 14}CO{sub 2} could have a direct pathway to the biosphere. We study the release of {sup 14}C released as {sup 14}CO{sub 2} from partly failed nuclear waste containers by analyzing the flow of gas into and out of a container. We analyze the transport of released {sup 14}CO{sub 2} in an unsaturated, fractured, porous medium with gas-phase advection and dispersion. We calculate the inhalation dose to a maximally exposed individual above ground, based on some conservative assumptions about release from containers. For the assumed parameter values, a simple atmospheric diffusion model gives very small doses when compared to background radiation doses. 12 refs., 4 figs., 1 tab.
A comparison of the protein quality of pollens for growth-stimulation of the hypopharyngeal glands and longevity of honey bees, Apis mellifera L. (Hymenoptera: Apidae)

Newly-emerged worker honey bees confined in small cages were fed 33 isonitrogenous diets containing 25 species of pollen. The growth-stimulation of the hypopharyngeal glands was determined by morphological examination after 7 days of feeding. Twenty-two species of pollen were evaluated and compared when they were fed as 10% concentrations of protein, three as 7.5%, six as 5%, two as 2.5%, and one each as 1.25 and 0.625% concentrations. A 0.625% concentration of protein from pollen ofTaraxacum officinale was just as effective in the diet as a 2.5% concentration of protein from pollen ofBaccharis viminea or a 5.0% concentration of protein from pollen ofSorghum. A concentration of 1.25% protein from pollen ofT. officinale in the diet stimulated as much gland growth as either a 7.5% concentration from pollen ofSorghum andB. viminea or a 5.0% concentration of pollen fromZea mays var.saccharata. At a 5.0% concentration of protein, pollen fromRobinia pseudoacacia andPolygonum promoted significantly better development thanRanunculus arvensis andT. officinale fed at the same level. At a 10.0% concentration, pollens fromTrifolium pratense, T. officinale, Prunus serotina, Malus pumila, andPopulus fremonti were significantly better than pollen fromAgoseris, Populus nigra var. italica, orMedicago sativa. Longevity data were obtained for nine species of pollen, six at a concentration of 10% protein, three at 7.5%, four at 5%, and two at 2.5%.
Rheological properties of corn oil emulsions stabilized by commercial micellar casein and high pressure homogenization

Abstract The rheological behavior of corn oil emulsions prepared by high pressure homogenization (HPH) was investigated. Coarse emulsions of corn oil (10–30 g oil/100 g emulsion) in casein dispersions containing 0.5–3.5 g micellar casein/100 g casein dispersion in an oil-free basis were homogenized at 0–300 MPa. Flow behavior under continuous increasing (0–150 s −1 ) or decreasing (150–0 s −1 ) shear rate was tested. Emulsions that showed macroscopic change in consistency were tested for viscoelasticity ( G ′). Homogenization of emulsions with low oil concentration (10 g/100 g) resulted in Newtonian behavior for all treatment pressures. The rheological behavior of emulsions with higher oil concentration (30 g/100 g) was dependent on casein concentration in the aqueous phase and varied from Newtonian to shear thinning. Homogenization pressures between 20 and 100 MPa induced the formation of a gel-like structure possibly through pressure-induced interactions between caseins surrounding adjacent droplets.
Recombinant Expression and Purification of the Botulinum Neurotoxin Type A Translocation Domain

Botulinum neurotoxin type A in its fully activated form exists as a dichain protein consisting of a 50-kDa light chain and a 100-kDa heavy chain linked by a disulfide bond (B. R. DasGupta and H. Sugiyama, Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 48, 108-112, 1972). The protein can be further subdivided into three functional domains: a catalytic domain corresponding to the light chain, a translocation domain associated with the N-terminal half of the heavy chain, and a binding domain as the C-terminal half. To facilitate further structural and functional studies on the mechanism of toxin translocation, we report here the recombinant Escherichia coli expression and purification of the isolated translocation domain with a yield of 1 mg pure protein per 1 g cell paste. Circular dichroism, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays, and preliminary crystallization experiments verify proper protein folding. This reagent should serve as a key tool in elucidating the mechanism of translocation and in determining how the catalytic domain, a large 50-kDa metalloprotease, is delivered to the cytosol.
Ocean currents mediate evolution in island lizards

Islands are considered to be natural laboratories in which to examine evolution because of the implicit assumption that limited gene flow allows tests of evolutionary processes in isolated replicates1. Here we show that this well-accepted idea requires re-examination. Island inundation during hurricanes can have devastating effects on lizard populations in the Bahamas2,3. After severe storms, islands may be recolonized by over-water dispersal of lizards from neighbouring islands3. High levels of gene flow may homogenize genes responsible for divergence, and are widely viewed as a constraining force on evolution4,5. Ultimately, the magnitude of gene flow determines the extent to which populations diverge from one another, and whether or not they eventually form new species6,7. We show that patterns of gene flow among island populations of Anolis lizards are best explained by prevailing ocean currents, and that over-water dispersal has evolutionary consequences. Across islands, divergence in fitness-related morphology decreases with increasing gene flow5. Results suggest that over-water dispersal after hurricanes constrains adaptive diversification in Anolis lizards, and that it may have an important but previously undocumented role in this classical example of adaptive radiation.
Limitations on the uses of multimedia exposure measurements for multipathway exposure assessment--Part II: Effects of missing data and imprecision.

Multimedia data from two probability-based exposure studies were investigated in terms of how missing data and measurement-error imprecision affected estimation of population parameters and associations. Missing data resulted mainly from individuals’refusing to participate in certain measurement activities, rather than from field or laboratory problems; it suggests that future studies should focus on methods for maximizing participation rates. Measurement error variances computed from duplicate-sample data were small relative to the inherent variation in the populations; consequently, adjustments in nonparametric percentile estimates to account for measurement imprecision were small. Methods of adjustment based on lognormality assumptions, however, appeared to perform poorly.
Heterogeneous host DNA attached to the left end of mature bacteriophage Mu DNA

Bacteriophage Mu, a highly efficient transposon during its lytic cycle in Escherichia coli, is always associated with the host DNA1. In mature Mu particles, both ends of Mu are heterogeneous in length and sequence owing to the presence of host DNA2–6. The right end contains host sequences which vary between 500 and 3,200 base pairs (bp), while the left end heterogeneity was proposed7 to correspond to ∼50–100 bp. To understand the mechanism by which a small amount of host DNA at the left end is packaged along with Mu DNA, we have now determined the precise lengths of these host sequences. The minimum size of the host sequences attached to the left end of the mature bacteriophage Mu DNA is 56 bp; host sequences longer than 144 bp are rare. The host sequences do not show a continuum from 56 to 144 bp but are rather packaged in discrete blocks. The first such block is 56–61 bp, the second is 67–72 bp and so on. Thus, each block represents fragments covering a 5–6-bp range, with a space of 5 bp between each block. It seems that Mu DNA is being measured in units of helical turns for packaging.
The ordinary-extraordinary transition revisited : A model polyelectrolyte in a highly polar organic solvent

The “ordinary−extraordinary” transition in the observed diffusivity of polyelectrolyte solutions was studied by dynamic light scattering using the model system of sodium polystyrene sulfonate (SPS)...
Nonlinear stability analysis of a uniformly fluidized bed

Abstract A small amplitude long wavelength nonlinear analysis is used to examine the stability of a uniformly fluidized bed. This work has the same objectives as that of a previous study by Liu. Although both analyses are based on the same model, there are major differences in interpretation and in the formula for the equilibrium amplitude. The analysis presented here implies that small amplitude sinusoidal perturbations about an unstable state do not equilibrate in a gas fluidized bed, in contrast to Liu's conclusion that there is equilibration. Numerical calculations on the original model describing a gas fluidized bed verify the analysis given here and extend it to larger amplitudes and smaller wavelengths.
Toward a Critique of Latin American Neostructuralism

This article offers a critical assessment of the first postneoliberalism development framework that emerged in Latin America after 1990. The ability of neostructuralism to present an attractive narrative about a twenty-first-century “modernity with solidarity” is based on abandoning key tenets of ECLAC's structuralism and the thinking of Raul Prebisch and Celso Furtado; namely, a focus on the distribution and appropriation of economic surplus and a framing of Latin American development problems in a world capitalist system. This article argues that Latin American neostructuralism's discursive strengths, as well as its analytical weaknesses, stem from the marginalization of power relations from key dimensions of the region's political economy. Since 2000, neostructuralism has exacerbated its descriptive, short-term perspective, further dulling its analytical edge, by focusing on policies that promote social cohesion and state intervention in the cultural and the socioemotional realm.
William Wordsworth: An English romantic poet's response to colonialism

(1994). William Wordsworth: An English romantic poet's response to colonialism. History of European Ideas: Vol. 19, No. 4-6, pp. 627-633.
A method of triage within an emergency department

University of Chicago ED has developed a Triage Scheme composed of three categories: True Emergency, Urgent and non-emergency or ambulatory clinic. Then nurses were utilized but after trying first physicians, then nurses, with indifferent results, a group of ex-military corpsmen were utilized successfully. In 18 months following the program's inception 90,000 patient visits were recorded, of which some 8,000 were admitted. Less than 1% of the patients underwent secondary triage. It is felt that one key element is insistence on taking of vital signs on all persons presenting at the emergency department.
The precision gain from additional predictions

Abstract The gain in precision from an additional prediction is analyzed by regressing the error of this prediction on those of the predictions already available. The result is simple and illuminating; it is extended to the case of m additional predictions.
Economic Measurement: Progress and Challenges

The national income accounts, together with the source data which they use, form the core of our economic measurement system. The development of the concepts and measurements of national income are among the most important achievements of modern economics, replacing the older notions of national wealth of the physiocrats and mercantilists, for example. Is national income and product, confined to market activity, the appropriate fundamental concept? Yes, but we ask a lot of national income and product accounting. It is used, most importantly, to gauge economic progress. How much better off are we than our parents or grandparents? Is the economy growing adequately, slowly, or rapidly in recent years? And, are we at a cyclical turning point? The information requirements, of course, will differ depending on the question. Gaps in inventory measurement may be an appropriate resource claimant to those interested in cyclical issues whereas finding, identifying, and incorporating new products and quality change more rapidly may be far more significant to long-term economic growth. We also tend to have a survivor selection bias in our concern with the speed with which new ideas and concepts are incorporated into the national accounts and other data series. Superlative indexes, hedonic regression methods for quality change, and many others were much more obvious after some years of diffusion throughout the profession than at their inculcation. As a result, the gap between major suggested improvements and their adoption by statistical agencies can be extensive, often decades (Erwin Diewert, 1999). Should national accounts be extended to nonmarket activity? Nonmarket work time is perhaps the most important area for supplemental information. Natural resources and the environment are close behind (William D. Nordhaus and Edward Kokkenlenberg, 1999). R&D capital, environmental capital, human capital, and other intangibles are high-priority items but should be dealt with in the form of satellite accounting, so I applaud the BEA’s recent initiatives in this direction. I come to this conclusion for a variety of reasons, not to suggest that technological capital and human capital are less important than tangible capital. In fact, perhaps quite the opposite, they are all complementary (Boskin and Lawrence Lau, 2000), but the issues in definition, classification, and measurements are still more problematic for these items than for traditional items, and therefore I believe they should not be added directly to the National Income and Product Accounts (NIPA). In short, my own view is that substantial improvements can and should be made in the traditional domain of the national accounts. Improvements in the core national accounts should not be sacrificed to a proliferation of satellite accounts. In principle, we should do both, and sufficient resources should be provided to accomplish these tasks.
Active sites of solid acidic catalysts: I. Chemisorption of ammonia and its effect on the isomerization of 1-butene on alumina

Abstract The chemisorption of ammonia and the isomerization of 1-butene on alumina have been studied in an attempt to obtain more detailed information on the nature of active sites. The temperature-programmed desorption of ammonia revealed two types of chemisorption: weaker chemisorption which occurred at room temperature and stronger chemisorption which took place at 250 °C or higher. With the aid of infrared spectroscopy, the stronger type has been explained as NH 2 species adsorbed on exposed Al ions on the surface, and the weaker type as molecular ammonia adsorbed probably on strained oxide ions. On the basis of the above results, the isomerization of 1-butene was carried out with preadsorbed ammonia as a poison. Ammonia chemisorbed in the stronger form blocked the isomerization efficiently and linearly while weakly chemisorbed ammonia had little effect on the reaction. Also, the catalyst activity was proportional to the amount of butene chemisorbed on sites I of alumina which had been found by us to be responsible for the chemisorption of olefins. On the other hand, other chemisorptive sites, sites II, also found previously were found not to be responsible for isomerization. The present results could be explained by a proton donor-acceptor mechanism postulated by Ozaki and Kimura [ J. Catal. 3, 395 (1964)] with butene chemisorbed on Lewis acid centers acting as proton donor. Those Lewis centers are sites I, and it appears that sites I are a pair or triplet of exposed Al ions, while sites II are isolated Al ions associated with hydroxyl groups.
The benefits of prayer on mood and well-being of breast cancer survivors

Objectives Prayer is becoming more widely acknowledged as a way to cope with cancer. The goal of this study was to compare differences in use of prayer between breast cancer survivors from different ethnic groups and examine how use of prayer is related to mood and quality of life.
Long-term studies of isoxicam in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis

Abstract Three multicenter studies evaluating the long-term efficacy of isoxicam (Maxicam) were conducted in 745 patients with active classic or definite rheumatoid arthritis. Initially, all patients in the one-year open-label phase received isoxicam, 200 to 400 mg per day. Dosage was then reduced to 200 mg a day for all patients. Objective and subjective parameters for efficacy included the number of tender joints, number of swollen joints, grip strength, duration of morning Stiffness, time to walk 50 feet, overall assessment of the patient's condition, and global assessment of change in the patient's condition since the beginning of isoxicam therapy. All parameters of efficacy showed improvement. Patients who had received aspirin or placebo in the double-blind phase experienced marked and progressive improvement while receiving open-label isoxicam. Those who had received isoxicam continued to improve. The mean erythrocyte sedimentation rates showed significant decreases (p
Cardiopulmonary resuscitation and somatic support of the pregnant patient

Cardiopulmonary arrest during pregnancy is a rare event that critical care clinicians must be prepared to manage. The causes of cardiopulmonary arrest during pregnancy, recommended modifications to cardiopulmonary resuscitation protocols that are specific to pregnancy, indications for and timing of perimortem cesarean delivery, and the expected fetal outcomes are reviewed. Rarely, brain death of a pregnant patient may occur in a setting where continued support of the mother is possible to prolong the pregnancy and improve fetal outcome. Prolonged somatic support of pregnant patients who are brain dead presents specific management challenges, but has been accomplished. The physiologic changes that occur after brain death and recommendations for somatic support of the brain dead pregnant patient also are reviewed.
Binding of Endogenous Cannabinoid Ligand 2-Arachidonoylglycerol to Cannabinoid Receptor CB2 via the Lipid Matrix

Endogenous cannabinoid ligand, 2-arachidonoylglycerol (2-AG), binds to and activates cannabinoid type-2 receptor CB2, controlling a variety of immune and hematopoietic cellular functions. Due to the high lipophilicity of cannabinoid ligands, there have been extensive discussions that after nonspecific incorporation into membrane, approach of the ligands to the binding pocket of CB2 may take place via lateral diffusion in lipid matrix. While previously reported microsecond-long molecular dynamics simulations showed molecular details in favor of this mechanism, no in-situ experimental evidence for the binding event has yet been made. Here we report on 2H NMR results that show exchange of deuterated 2-AG-d5 between the ligand binding site on CB2 and the surrounding lipid matrix at physiological conditions. Purified, recombinant CB2 was functionally reconstituted into liposomes containing four-fold molar excess of 2-AG-d5, and its deuterium resonances measured over the temperature range of 5-20°C. When the membranes contained CB2, the ligand resonances shifted upfield by 0.5 ppm and broadened significantly. Despite the excess amount of ligand, only one set of time-averaged resonances of the ligand was observed. The result suggests that 2-AG undergoes exchange between receptor-bound and free states on millisecond timescale. The resonance linewidth decreased with decreasing temperature as predicted from reduced exchange rates. The receptor binding was specific since only well-resolved signal of 2-AG in lipid matrix was observed when the binding pocket was blocked with a high affinity synthetic agonist CP-55,940. The experiments contrast to our previous experiments on CP-55,940 binding, where the free state of 2H-labeled CP-55,940-d6 in lipid matrix showed a highly-resolved signal under much slower exchange rate. The present work emphasizes the critical role of lipid matrix to provide a pathway and to regulate approach of lipophilic cannabinoid ligands to the receptor binding pocket.
Changes in national suicide rates, 1980-1990.

Lester (1988) stucGed the change in national suicide rates from 1970 to 1980 and reported that the nations with higher suicide rates in 1970 experienced more absolute increase in their suicide rates from 1970 to 1980. This supported a critical mass hypothesis of suicide. Data were available for 25 nations for 1970, 1980, and 1990 and for a further ten nations for 1969, 1979, and 1989 (World Health Organization, annual). Although the suicide rates for the 35 nations rose from 12.13 to 13.89 (SDs = 7.87 and 9.43) from 1970 to 1980 (t, , =3.28, two-tailed p < .01), there was no significant change from 1980 to 1990 (t,, = 0.01; Ms = 13.89 and 13.89, respectively, SDs = 9.43 and 7.78). Further, while the nations with higher suicide rates in 1970 experienced greater increases in absolute suicide rates by 1980 (Pearson r =.34), those nations with lower suicide rates in 1980 experienced greater absolute increases in suicide rates by 1990 ( r = -.67). These results suggest either that the critical mass hypothesis of suicide no longer applied in the 1980s or that efforts toward suicide prevention may have operated successfully in the 1980s.
Borrowing and Nonborrowing among International Courts

AbstractWhy do some international courts and judges extensively cite decisions from other courts, whereas others do not? I examine what light theories of transjudicial communication shed on this question. I then confront these theoretical expectations with an in-depth analysis of citations by the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) and a global analysis of broader cross-citation patterns. First, contrary to its transnationalist reputation, the ECtHR rarely cites other courts in judgments, although ECtHR judges do so regularly in separate opinions. Second, ideology matters: judges who are inclined toward an expansive interpretation of the European Convention are more likely to use external citations. Third, there are large asymmetries in the extent to which international courts rely on each other’s jurisprudence, contradicting the argument that transjudicial communication is driven by reciprocity principles. Fourth, the evidence is consistent with the notion that judges sometimes refrain from citing ext...
Role of topological constraints in the all-or-none transition of a globular protein model: theory of the helix-coil transition in doubly crosslinked, coiled coils

Abstract Employing a recently developed statistical mechanical theory, the α-helix-to-random-coil transition in two-chain, coiled coils is shown to possess many of the essential qualitative features of the equilibrium folding process in globular proteins. The role of short vs. long range interactions in stabilizing the native structure is examined. We demonstrate in doubly crosslinked coiled coils how, due to the role of loop entropy, an intrinsically continuous conformational transition evolves into one well approximated by an all-or-none transition. Thus the present work points out the crucial role played by loop entropy in the conformational transition in coiled coils in particular and perhaps in globular proteins in general.
Differences among sibling speciesRhagoletis mendax andR. pomonella (diptera: ephritidae) in their antennal sensitivity to host fruit compounds.

Prior electrophoretic and morphological studies have identified two closely related, economically important tephritid flies,R. mendax (Curran) andR. pomonella (Walsh), which infest the fruits of ericaceous and rosaceous plants, respectively. Further studies also have shown consistent differences among these species in their ovipositional preferences for apples and highbush blueberries and have determined that their ovipositional behavior is elicited by extracts obtained from these fruits. In this paper we report the results of an experiment that tested whether these species show distinct electroantennogram (EAG) responses to a large array of compounds present in gas chromatograph-fractionated pentane extracts of apples and highbush blueberries.R. mendax andR. pomonella flies were found to have significant differences in their antennal sensitivity to 11 blueberry and nine apple extract peaks, which correspond to 24.4% of all blueberry and 25.0% of all apple peaks that elicited a measurable EAG response from either species. Interspecific differences in peripheral sensitivity were more pronounced for blueberry than apple extract;R. pomonella flies were most sensitive to blueberry compounds with low retention times, whereasR. mendax flies responded to blueberry compounds with a broader range of retention times. Both species were most sensitive to apple peaks with high retention times. The retention times of most apple and blueberry peaks that elicited EAG responses fromR. mendax andR. pomonella flies were different from the retention times of seven attractant fruit esters that were previously identified by Fein et al. (1982). The identification of these unknown apple and blueberry compounds could lead to the discovery of new chemical cues that mediate the host-plant preferences of these sibling species.
Optimization and modeling of avalanche photodiode structures: Application to a new class of superlattice photodetectors, the p-i-n, p-n homojunction, and p-n heterojunction APD's

The development of predictive and diagnostic models for high-field, high-energy devices, i.e., avalanche photodiodes and IMPATT diodes, requires a first principles determination of the impact ionization rates in both bulk semiconductor material and in device structures. We have developed such a model using a combined numerical determination of the ionization rates from an ensemble Monte Carlo calculation. In conjunction with recently derived expressions for the gain, excess noise factor, and bandwidth, these relevant engineering figures of merit can be assessed in various new superlattice device Structures. Specifically, we present optimal designs of three new superlattice APD's, the p-i-n, p-n homojunction, and p-n heterojunction devices, for both lightwave communications and digital applications using the general device model described herein.
Sns and Kirre, the Drosophila orthologs of Nephrin and Neph1, direct adhesion, fusion and formation of a slit diaphragm-like structure in insect nephrocytes.

The Immunoglobulin superfamily (IgSF) proteins Neph1 and Nephrin are co-expressed within podocytes in the kidney glomerulus, where they localize to the slit diaphragm (SD) and contribute to filtration between blood and urine. Herein, we demonstrate that their Drosophila orthologs Kirre (Duf) and Sns are co-expressed within binucleate garland cell nephrocytes (GCNs) that contribute to detoxification of the insect hemolymph by uptake of molecules through an SD-like nephrocyte diaphragm (ND) into labyrinthine channels that are active sites of endocytosis. The functions of Kirre and Sns in the embryonic musculature, to mediate adhesion and fusion between myoblasts to form multinucleate muscle fibers, have been conserved in the GCNs, where they contribute to adhesion of GCNs in the `garland' and to their fusion into binucleate cells. Sns and Kirre proteins localize to the ND at the entry point into the labyrinthine channels and, like their vertebrate counterparts, are essential for its formation. Knockdown of Kirre or Sns drastically reduces the number of NDs at the cell surface. These defects are associated with a decrease in uptake of large proteins, suggesting that the ND distinguishes molecules of different sizes and controls access to the channels. Moreover, mutations in the Sns fibronectin-binding or immunoglobulin domains lead to morphologically abnormal NDs and to reduced passage of proteins into the labyrinthine channels for uptake by endocytosis, suggesting a crucial and direct role for Sns in ND formation and function. These data reveal significant similarities between the insect ND and the SD in mammalian podocytes at the level of structure and function.