cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Citrus Water Uptake Dynamics on a Sandy Florida Entisol

Florida citrus trees must be irrigated to reach maximum production due to low soil water-holding capacity. In a highly urbanizing state with limited water resources, improved understanding of soil water uptake dynamics isneeded to optimize irrigation volume and timing. The objectives of this study were: (i) estimate mature citrus daily evapotranspiration (ET c ) from changes in soil water content (θ), (ii) calculate citrus crop coefficients (K c ) from ET c and reference evapotranspiration (ET o ), (iii) determine the relationship of soil water stress coefficient (K s ) to θ, and (iv) evaluate how ET c was related to root length density. In a 25-mo field study using mature 'Hamlin' orange [Citrus sinensis (L.) Osbeck] trees, ET c averaged 1137 mm yr - 1 , and estimated K c ranged between 0.7 and 1.1. Day of year explained more than 88% of the variation in K c when 0 was near field capacity. The value of K, decreased steadily from 1.0 at field capacity (θ = 0.072 cm 3 cm - 3 ) to approximately 0.5 at 50% available soil water depletion (θ = 0.045 cm 3 cm - 3 ). Roots were concentrated in the top 15 cm of soil under the tree canopy (0.71 to 1.16 cm roots cm - 3 soil), where maximum soil water uptake was about 1.3 mm 3 mm root - 1 d - 1 at field capacity, decreasing quadratically as 0 decreased. Estimating daily plant water uptake and resulting soil water depletion based on root length density distribution would provide a reasonable basis for a citrus soil water balance model.
Dissipation in ultrahigh quality factor SiN membrane resonators.

We study the mechanical properties of stoichiometric SiN resonators through a combination of spectroscopic and interferometric imaging techniques. At room temperature, we demonstrate ultrahigh quality factors of $5\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{7}$ and a $f\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}Q$ product of $1\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{14}\text{ }\text{ }\mathrm{Hz}$. To our knowledge, these correspond to the largest values yet reported for mesoscopic flexural resonators. Through a comprehensive study of the limiting dissipation mechanisms as a function of resonator and substrate geometry, we identify radiation loss through the supporting substrate as the dominant loss process. In addition to pointing the way towards higher quality factors through optimized substrate designs, our work realizes an enabling platform for the observation and control of quantum behavior in a macroscopic mechanical system.
An expression and purification system for the biosynthesis of adenosine receptor peptides for biophysical and structural characterization

Biophysical and structural characterization of G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) has been limited due to difficulties in expression, purification, and vitro stability of the full-length receptors. “Divide and conquer” approaches aimed at the NMR characterization of peptides corresponding to specific regions of the receptor have yielded insights into the structure and dynamics of GPCR activation and signaling. Though significant progress has been made in the generation of peptides that are composed of GPCR transmembrane domains, current methods utilize fusion protein strategies that require chemical cleavage and peptide separation via chromatographic means. We have developed an expression and purification system based on fusion to ketosteroid isomerase, thrombin cleavage, and tandem affinity chromatography that enables the solubilization, cleavage, and characterization in a single detergent system relevant for biophysical and structural characterization. We have applied this expression and purification system to the production and characterization of peptides of the adenosine receptor family of GPCRs in Escherichia coli. Herein, we demonstrate using a model peptide that includes extracellular loop 3, transmembrane domain 7, and a portion of the carboxy-terminus of the adenosine A2a receptor that the peptide is sufficiently pure for biophysical characterization, where it adopts α-helical structure. Furthermore, we demonstrate the utility of this system by optimizing the construct for thrombin processing and apply the system to peptides with more complex structures.
Continuum evolution of multi agent systems under a polyhedral communication topology

In this paper, evolution of a multi agent system (MAS) in n-D space where n+1 or more leader agents located on the boundary guide the MAS is studied. We consider the MAS as a deformable body whose motion can be prescribed by a homogeneous map determined by the initial and current positions of the leaders. Each follower agent learns this leader prescribed motion plan by local communication with adjacent agents. In previous work we assumed that each follower communicates with n+1 adjacent agent [1-7]. Here we relax that constraint to include more than 3 adjacent agents by choosing a polyhedral communication topology where the vertices are local agents that are adjacent to a follower agent i. The polytope encloses the follower agent i and is the union of m i sub-polyhedra, with one of the n+1 vertices occupied by agent i. m i volume weights are defined based on the initial position of follower i and the set of adjacent agents to. The motion proceeds by updating the position of every follower agent such that volume weights in intermediate configurations of the MAS are close to the initial volume weights. This update strategy maneuvers the MAS to its final desired formation as a homogenous map of its initial configuration.
Colicin K acts by forming voltage-dependent channels in phospholipid bilayer membranes

The bactericidal action of colicins K, E1, Ia, and other functionally related colicins involves disruption of active transport and leakage of ions from the cell. We show that a single colicin K molecule can form a voltage-dependent, relatively nonselective, ion-permeable channel of a few picosiemens conductance in a planar phospholipid bilayer membrane. In a membrane containing many of these channels, the ratio of the number of conducting to nonconducting channels changes e-fold per 3.7 mV. We suggest that the physiological effects of colicin K and functionally related colicins result from their ability to form ion-permeable channels in the bacterial plasma membrane.
Unexpected pehnomenon in the high-performance liquid chromatographic anlaysis of racemic 14C-labelled nicotine: Separation of enantiomers in a totally achiral system

Abstract Two different forms of racemic 14 C-labelled nicotine exhibit unusual behavior on Partisil-ODS and Partisil-SCX high-performance liquid chromatography systems, when co-injected with unlabelled nicotine of varying enantiomeric composition. Alone, either radiolabelled compound elutes as a single rdioactive peak. In the precense of unlabelled ( S )-(—)-nicotine or its antipode as standard, the 14 C activity is divided into two equal peaks. If unlabelled racemic nicotineis used as standard, only one 14 C peak is produced. Experiments were performed which demonstrate that the two 14 C peaks observed are due to the separated enantiomers of the radiolabelled material. The phenomenon responsible for this separation is not known, but may be due to differential enantiomeric association between like and unlike optical isomers of nicotine. The resulting effect provides a facile method for the isolation of the pure enantiomers of 14 C-labelled nicotine, on a totally achiral system. This method may also be applicale to other optically active radiolabelled compounds.
Financial Distress with Family Farm Transfer in Six European Countries

Many potential young farmers face the difficult choice between farming or a city career. An important criterion in this decision is the financial distress that goes with farming. Using data for the 1990s, the present study compared the financial distress after take-over of family farms by the next generation, in six European countries: Denmark, France, Germany, Spain, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. The principles of inheritance and succession and the fiscally appraised value of the farm have a large impact on the transfer price, and therefore on the installation costs. A transfer price below the fiscally appraised value results in gift taxes. The financial distress ratio is a ratio of the yearly interest and rent burden of the installation costs to agricultural income. Besides the installation costs, rent prices and the average interest rate determine the differences in the ratio among countries. The combination of high transfer prices with a high interest rate, together with the lowest agricultural income of the six countries, resulted in the hardest situation for Danish successors. A policy to reduce the fiscally appraised value of the farm would most aid successors. Such a policy would reduce transfer prices and reduce or avoid gift taxes and thereby cut installation costs for successors
The Application of Capacitors for Power-Factor Correction in Industrial Plants

WHILE a paper on this subject before an AIEE meeting seems rather superfluous, perhaps a review of some of the facts to be considered in the application of capacitors to industrial loads will bring out a discussion that will be beneficial to all.
Sidelobe reduction in reflective s.a.w. pulse compressors without external filtering

The letter describes the incorporation of amplitude weighting into the response characteristics of a reflective-array compressor. The reflective-array grooves, formed by ion etching, have nonuniform depth, thereby achieving a nonuniform amplitude response. The resulting sidelobe reduction is then evaluated, and the advantages of this weighting method over external and other internal weighting methods are discussed.
Use of A Student Ombudsperson to Enhance Communication in University Classes

The article reviews the concept of an ombudsperson, shows how it can be adapted to classroom usage, and summarizes the authors’experiences over a 10-year period. The student ombudsperson (SO) is selected by classmates to enhance communication between the instructor and class. Using an SO helps produce the following: better upward communication, a psychologically safe classroom environment, another set of eyes and ears for the instructor, and an early warning system for identifying problems. The SO concept is compared with that of the workplace ombudsperson. Guidelines are provided for classroom usage of an SO.
Use of rhodamine 123 to identify viable cells isolated from embryonic chick calvaria

A technique is described for the determination of viable bone cell numbers isolated from embryonic calvaria. The protocol utilized postisolation staining of the initial cell pellet with 10 µg/ml rhodamine 123. Using phase contrast and epifluorescence microscopy, this vital dye allowed for direct confirmation of viable osteogenic cells. Viability assessments comparing trypan blue exclusion with rhodamine 123 uptake varied with cell source. Estimates of cells cultured for 4 days were identical using the two methods, whereas trypan blue estimates of primary isolate cells were twofold greater than estimates using rhodamine 123. To ascertain the effects of rhodamine pretreatment on growth and differentiation of the osteogenic cells in culture, treated and untreated control cultures were compared. Over 21 days in culture, no differences were observed between the two groups. These data suggest that rhodamine 123 is an efficient tool for measuring viability of osteogenic cells which does alter phenotypic expression in vitro.
Cathodic Protection Levels under Disbonded Coatings

Abstract A theoretical and experimental study of potential gradients in crevices between a piece of steel and an insulating coating has revealed that the condition of the steel surface and the potential of the steel at the coating holiday have important effects on the potential gradient. Holiday potentials more negative than that required to form hydrogen bubbles can cause difficulty in controlling the potential under disbonded coatings, whereas good control of potential under the coating appears to be possible at less negative holiday potentials. The potential gradients are surprisingly insensitive to the shape of the crevice. A relatively simple mathematical relationship exists among the potential gradient, the current flowing in the electrolyte under the coating, and the current density on the metal.
Pure culture growth of ectomycorrhizal fungi on inorganic nitrogen sources

Four ectomycorrhizal fungi were tested for their ability to grow (i.e., mycelial mat radial extension and fungal biomass) on nutrient media either supplemented with ammonium-nitrogen or nitrate-nitrogen or in the absence of an inorganic nitrogen source.Pisolithus tinctorius, Cenococcum geophilum andThelephora terrestris exhibited greater growth on ammonium-nitrogen.Suillus granulatus grew better on the nitrate-nitrogen nutrient medium. Regardless of inorganic nitrogen form preference (i.e., ammonium-nitrogen or nitrate-nitrogen), all 4 species showed some growth on each of the 3 nutrient media. Growth rate maxima varied by fungal species as well as by inorganic nitrogen source. Maximum growth rate forT. terrestris exceeded rates exhibited by the other 3 fungi by 2–5 times.
Covariance Statistics of Polarimetric Brightness Temperature Measurements

All microwave radiometer measurements of brightness temperature (T B) include an additive noise component. With conventional linearly polarized radiometers, the variance of the noise is a well-understood function of the system temperature, the predetection bandwidth, and the integration time according to the so-called ldquoradiometer uncertainty equation.rdquo The noise has generally been considered to be uncorrelated between orthogonally polarized channels. The variance and the correlation statistics of the additive noise component of fully polarimetric radiometer measurements are derived from theoretical considerations, and the resulting relationships are experimentally verified. It is found that the noise can be correlated between polarimetric channels, and the correlation statistics will vary as a function of the polarization state of the scene under observation. For example, a strong correlation is typical between the noise in either vertically or horizontally polarized TB and the 45 deg slant linear polarizations that are often used to derive the third Stokes T B. A weak, but nonzero, correlation is also possible between the additive noise in the vertically and horizontally polarized T B's themselves. This is a correction to the common assumption that they are uncorrelated.
Detroit and the closed fist: Toward a theory of material rhetoric 1

From its origins in ancient Greece, Western rhetoric has been embodied in city life. Save for his walk with Phaedrus, Plato's Socrates only practiced his dialectical rhetoric within the walls of Athens and then only for the ennoblement of the republic. So in the Apology, Socrates defends one version of life in the city against another, explaining that in his talk with others, he had been "trying to persuade each of you not to have a greater concern for anything you have than for yourselves, that each of you may be the best and wisest person possible, nor to consider the affairs of the city in preference to the well-being of the city itself' (36c5-9; trans. in Kennedy 44). For Plato the one best hope for Athens was embodied in cultivating the character of its citizens. Cultivation of self and the well-being of the city were so closely linked, a link so prominent in classical rhetoric, that Cicero could monumentalize rhetoric's civic dimensions through the figure of the orator's open hand: a gesture of conciliation and cooperation, of civic responsibility and democratic possibility. The open hand of the Ciceronian orator still has hold of our imaginations, embodying hopes of communitarianism, democracy, and mutuality. Thomas Farrell, for example, has explained rhetoric's open-handedness as "our partisanship for the familiar and, from within the world of the local and particular, our movement toward the other" (279). Ideally we would always approach others with outstretched arms and open hands. Yet open-handedness no longer embodies the rhetorical activities, perspectives, and values of persons who share life in cities. In the United States, material conditions and mass media representations of postindustrial urban space, as well as expressions of difference, questions of identity, and conflicts over multiculturalism, have overwhelmed the figure's resonance. Suburban sprawl, the proliferation of privatized consumer spaces, and the fortification of inner cities materialize inequalities that empty the open-handed appeal of its genuineness; at the same time, mass media representations of urban spaces as dangerous, decaying, and violent fuel suspicion and caution people against open-handed appeal. Informed by the material and representational realities of cities, the global sameness and commonalty suggested by the open-handed gesture become expressions of a
A wait-free multi-producer multi-consumer ring buffer

The ring buffer is a staple data structure used in many algorithms and applications. It is highly desirable in high-demand use cases such as multimedia, network routing, and trading systems. This work presents a new ring buffer design that is, to the best of our knowledge, the only array-based first-in-first-out ring buffer to provide wait-freedom. Wait-freedom guarantees that each thread completes its operation within a finite number of steps. This property is desirable for real-time and mission critical systems.This work is an extension and refinement of our earlier work. We have improved and expanded algorithm descriptions and pseudo-code, and we have performed all new performance evaluations.In contrast to other concurrent ring buffer designs, our implementation includes new methodology to prevent thread starvation and livelock from occurring.
OSMOREGULATION IN THE MARINE DIATOM CYLINDROTHECA FUSIFORMIS1

A mechanism for the regulation of internal osmolarity in the diatoms (Bacillariophyta) was investigated using the intertidal/estuarian pennate diatom, Cylindrotheca fusiformis Reimann and Lewin. The intracellular pools of the free sugar, mannose, and its respective polymer, polymannose, were found to be in a dynamic equilibrium which rapidly responds to changes in external osmotic pressure. Increasing the salinity shifts the steady state in the direction of free mannose, while decreasing the salinity stimulates polymerization of the free mannose to its polysaccharide. The mechanism requires a response of certain key enzymes to osmotic pressure rather than to levels of any particular ion since increasing the external osmolarity with an organic solute (sorbital) was as effective in eliciting a response as using inorganic ions.
Purification and properties of chicken prothrombin.

Abstract Prothrombin was isolated from citrated chicken plasma. The isolation depends upon the elimination of an interfering substance closely adherent to chicken prothrombin by treatment with SrCO 3 . Subsequent to this, the classical adsorption to barium citrate, chromatography on DEAE-cellulose, and gel filtration on Sephadex G-200 was carried out. Prothrombin purified by this method was found to have a specific activity of 1050 Iowa units (850 N.I.H. thrombin units) per mg. Recovery from plasma averaged 40%. Molecular weight by Sephadex G-200 chromatography was 73,000 ± 5,000 and by dodecyl sulfate sodium salt acrylamide gel electrophoresis 70,000 ± 5,000. A stable dimer of M r 138,000 was observed in some preparations. The isoelectric pH in both acetate and phosphate buffers (μ = 0.1) was 3.95. Rabbit antibody to chicken prothrombin evidenced a single line by immunoelectrophoresis against purified antigen and chicken plasma.
Factors associated with outcomes and response to therapy in patients with infiltrative hepatocellular carcinoma.

Background & Aims Infiltrative hepatocellular carcinoma (iHCC) is characterized by its indistinct borders and lack of a typical pattern of contrast enhancement. There are few published data on iHCC. We assessed outcomes, effects of treatment, and prognostic factors in a large cohort of patients with iHCC. Methods We analyzed data from 155 patients (median age, 60 years; 79% male; median level of α-fetoprotein, 347 ng/mL; median Model for End-Stage Liver Disease score, 13) with iHCC, on the basis of contrast-enhanced computed tomography or magnetic resonance imaging, from 2002–2010 at the University of California, San Francisco Medical Center. All imaging study results were independently reviewed by 2 investigators. Results Most of the patients had tumors of Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer stage C (70%) or D (22%). The median maximum tumor diameter was 11.3 cm; 41% of lesions were hypovascular, 82% had macrovascular invasion, and 52% had extrahepatic metastases. Median survival was 4.0 months, and rates of survival at 6 and 12 months were 30% and 10%, respectively. On multivariate analysis, predictors of 6-month mortality were Child–Pugh class B or C cirrhosis; lack of tumor-directed therapy with chemoembolization (transarterial chemoembolization), radiofrequency ablation, or sorafenib; α-fetoprotein level >1000 ng/mL; female sex; Model for End-Stage Liver Disease score; and maximum tumor diameter. The percentages of patients surviving 6 and 12 months were 17% and 2% for those who received no therapy (n = 109), 73% and 36% for those who received sorafenib (n = 11), and 45% and 17% for those who received transarterial chemoembolization (n = 18) (all P values Conclusions Infiltrative HCC is a radiographically distinct and advanced form of hepatocellular carcinoma with a poor prognosis. Therapy with transarterial chemoembolization or sorafenib appears to prolong survival and requires further investigation.
Vascular responsiveness to norepinephrine, serotonin, and potassium chloride in veins from spontaneously hypertensive and age-matched Wistar Kyoto rats.

Jugular veins from normotensive rats respond to norepinephrine with a beta adrenergically-mediated relaxation, and thus provide a useful tissue for the examination of changes in venous responses to norepinephrine in hypertension. Jugular veins from spontaneously hypertensive rats did not relax to norepinephrine and in some tissues, a contraction occurred. After propranolol (10-6 M), norepinephrine contracted jugular veins from both groups. However, contraction to norepinephrine was greater in veins from spontaneously hypertensive rats. Enhanced contraction was specific to norepinephrine since maximal force developed to serotonin and potassium chloride was less in veins from spontaneously hypertensive rats. Thus structural changes in venous smooth muscle cannot explain the enhanced contraction to norepinephrine. Relaxation to isoproterenol, nitroglycerin or norepinephrine (after alpha adrenoceptor blockade with prazosin) was not decreased in jugular veins from spontaneously hypertensive rats in comparison ...
The Pathologist's Role in Rectal Cancer Patient Assessments

Since Cuthbert Dukes fundamental work linking cancer stage to prognosis, the pathologist has had an ever-expanding role in the multidisciplinary management of rectal cancer. Gross dissection techniques and histologic evaluation are reviewed. The evolving tumor size, node status, metastasis classification (TNM) staging system is outlined. The pathologist's critical role in correctly assessing circumferential margins and establishing resection adequacy and staging accuracy via lymph node assessment is emphasized.
Use of asphalts for formcoke briquettes

Increasing demand for coke is coupled with diminishing supplies of cokeable coals. Formcoke technology, which involves briquetting of char, coke and/or raw coals with a binder material (usually coal tar), permits the use of a much wider range of coals as feedstock. The major objective of this study was to explore the use of petroleum residues as binders. The effects of properties of feedstock, char and binders, and operating conditions were investigated. The interaction of oxygen with the binder can be beneficial in increasing the mechanical strength of formcoke briquettes. The outcome depends on competing carboxyl-forming and depolymerization reactions. This interaction of oxygen with the binder can be effected through air-blowing and curing in air. The strength is also enhanced by the addition of asphaltenes and increased coking temperature. A new measure, the cokeable fraction of the binder, provided the best correlation with briquette strength.
Observations of Lamb shifts in H using spatially periodic potentials.

Resonance effects between H levels by induced electric dipole transitions, using spatially periodic potential barriers
Mantle melting and magma supply to the Southeast Indian Ridge: The roles of lithology and melting conditions from U-series disequilibria

Abstract Intermediate-spreading Southeast Indian Ridge (SEIR) basalts display geographic gradients from 90°E to 118°E in Th/U, ( 230 Th/ 232 Th) and 238 U– 230 Th– 226 Ra disequilibria ( 230 Th-excesses of 1 to 21% and 226 Ra-excesses of 0 to 160%). Highly correlated ( 238 U/ 232 Th) and ( 230 Th/ 232 Th) ( r 2 = 0.94) span nearly the entire global MORB range; basalts from three of four ridge morphologies form subparallel, vertically stacked arrays on an equiline diagram. ( 226 Ra/ 230 Th) is inversely correlated with ( 230 Th/ 238 U) within sub-regions of the study area. There is a convex ( 230 Th/ 238 U) along-axis pattern (lower 230 Th-excesses in the west and east, at shallowest and deepest depths), such that ( 230 Th/ 238 U) does not correlate with axial depth as described elsewhere, despite the ~ 2300 m west-to-east axial depth increase. κ and κ Pb also vary along axis from κ κ Pb in the west to κ ≅ κ Pb in the east. Variations in axial depth, crustal thickness, U-series disequilibria, κ and κ Pb are best explained by forward model scenarios in which the physical characteristics of melting (such as melting rate, degree of melting, porosity and melt initiation depth) vary along axis in response to an inferred long wavelength temperature gradient and small variations in the underlying source lithology (pyroxenite veins). This leads to decreased melt supply from west to east, a concomitant change in axial morphology and axial magma chamber depth, and systematic long wavelength geochemical gradients. Melting rate covaries with melt supply in the western and central regions, decreasing eastward along the SEIR, but supply and rate vary inversely from the central to the eastern regions, because cooler eastern mantle contains a few percent of fusible pyroxenite veins that melt productively to generate melts with high Th–U–Ra concentration but low 230 Th-excess and 226 Ra-excess. The veins contribute only a small proportion of the total melt volume from mantle that is > 95% peridotite. Th, Pb and He isotopic gradients are consistent with a changing proportion of enriched pyroxenite veins along axis having a roughly 0.5 to 1 Gyr reservoir age.
Characteristics of Voicing Source Waveforms Produced by Esophageal and Tracheoesophageal Speakers

Voicing source waveforms produced by 10 laryngectomized esophageal speakers, 12 laryngectomized tracheoesophageal speakers, and 10 age-matched, normal male speakers were obtained by inversely filte...
Restitution of Action Potential Duration During Sequential Changes in Diastolic Intervals Shows Multimodal Behavior

Restitution of action potential duration (APD) is thought to be critical in activation instability. Although restitution is used to predict APD during sequential changes in diastolic interval (DI), currently used protocols to determine restitution do not use sequential changes in DI. We explored restitution using a new pacing protocol to change DI sequentially and independently of APD. Transmembrane potentials were recorded from right ventricular endocardial tissue isolated from six dogs. We used three patterns of DIs: oscillatory, to demonstrate differences in APDs depending on previous activation history; random, to minimize effects of previous activation history, each DI preceding an APD had an equal probability of being short or long; and linear, to compare restitution relationship obtained during sequential changes in DI with those obtained using currently used protocols; DIs mimicked those that resulted using currently used protocols, except that they changed in sequence. During oscillatory DIs, restitution showed bimodal trajectory similar to hysteresis. Decrease in APD during decreasing DIs was faster than increase in APD during increasing DIs. When effects of previous activation history were minimized, we observed that for a given DI there were multiple values of APD. Restitution relationship obtained during sequential changes in DI was shallower than those obtained using currently used protocols. Our results show that the new pacing protocol may permit direct evaluation of effects of memory on APD. Sequential and explicit control of DI suggests that use of a unimodal relationship to predict APD when DIs change in sequence may not be appropriate.
Catheter infections during continuous peritoneal dialysis.

A typical tunnel infection is described in a patient receiving continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis. This complication of peritoneal dialysis is important to study and manage well because the infection leads to removal of the catheter and interruption of therapy. Most infections are due either to Staphylococcus aureus or to S. epidermidis
Exploration of awareness, knowledge, and perceptions of traumatic brain injury among American youth athletes and their parents

Abstract Purpose Although much effort is underway by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and other organizations to highlight the seriousness of traumatic brain injury, including concussions, among young athletes, little is known about how these athletes and their parents view this injury and how much they know about it. Methods Online surveys were conducted with youth who participate in sports (n = 252) and with the parents of youth who participate in sports (n = 300) to explore the ways in which these audiences view concussion and messaging related to concussion. Results More than four out of five youth and parents reported that they had heard about concussions, although awareness was significantly higher for some subgroups, including parents of children 10–13 years old, and parents who reported using the Internet several times daily. Youth ages 13–15 years were significantly more likely to strongly agree that concussions are a "critical issue," as compared with youth ages 16–18 years. Among parents, significantly more mothers than fathers agreed that concussions are a critical issue. More than half of youth participants strongly disagreed that their friends would think they were "dumb for caring about concussions," with girls significantly more likely to strongly disagree than boys. When parents were asked to identify organizations they would trust as a reliable source of information for concussions, the most frequently cited organization was the CDC. Conclusions Results of this study demonstrate a high level of awareness about concussion among youth athletes and parents of youth athletes. However, important distinctions among subgroups of both youth and parents—such as by race/ethnicity, age, sex, and Internet use—suggest directions for future communication and research efforts.
Challenges in primary care relationships: Seeing it from both sides

Abstract Objective This qualitative study explored perspectives of primary care providers and patients in challenging relationships. Methods In 2007, we conducted semi-structured interviews with providers recruited from 12 clinics affiliated with a U.S. academic center. Providers identified patients with whom they had ongoing “challenging relationships,” and we interviewed the first consenting patient for each provider. We compared numeric ratings of relationship quality statistically. Using an editing analysis style, ≥2 investigators coded transcripts to identify themes. Results Seventeen dyads participated. Providers averaged 14 years in practice. Most were Caucasian (88%) and female (59%). The mean patient age was 49 years, 59% were Caucasian, and 71% female. Relationships averaged 4.6 years. On a 1–10 scale, patients’ ratings of the relationship quality (median 9) significantly exceeded providers’ ratings (median 5, p = 0.002). Three major themes emerged: patients view relationships more positively than providers, the challenges of guarding emotions, and trust matters in challenging relationships. Conclusion Patients felt more positively about these relationships than providers perceived. Both sought ways to achieve mutual trust, despite barriers arising from guarded emotions. Practice implications Providers in challenging relationships should consider exploring their patients’ views, as they may feel reassured that patients appreciate their efforts and have trust in them.
A field study for understanding thermally driven coupled processes in partially saturated fractured welded tuff

Abstract As part of a multi-laboratory team, we are carrying out two in situ thermal tests — the single Heater Test and Drift Scale Test, in an underground facility at Yucca Mountain, Nevada, USA, the proposed site for a high-level nuclear waste repository. Our objective in these tests is to gain a more in-depth understanding of the coupled thermal–hydrological–mechanical–chemical processes likely to exist in the fractured rock mass around a geological repository. These coupled processes are monitored continuously by numerous sensors emplaced in boreholes, while cross-hole radar tomography, neutron logging, electrical resistivity tomography, and interference air-permeability tests all serve to measure moisture change in the rock mass. Thermal–hydrological processes for both tests have been simulated (using a 3-D numerical model) and compared to the extensive data set. In this paper, we present examples to illustrate how an iterative approach requiring close integration of modeling and measurements enables us to track the complex coupled processes we seek to understand. The main manifestation of coupled thermal-hydrological processes is in the time evolution of the drying and condensation zones. Good agreement exists between model predictions and measurements, specifically the decrease in air-permeability values within zones of increased liquid saturation in the fractures and the increase of radar velocity in cross-hole radar survey in zones of decreased matrix liquid saturation. A heat-pipe signature in the temperature data arising from liquid–vapor counter-flow occurs in both the measurements and simulated results. The good agreement between predictions from the numerical simulations and measurements in the thermal tests indicates that our basic understanding of the thermal-hydrological processes in a potential repository at Yucca Mountain is sound. However, detailed behavior is impacted by site-specific heterogeneity, in the form of discrete fractures that are not likely to be predictable a priori. One emphasis of the on-going Drift Scale Test is to build on the present understanding and to assess the impact of heterogeneity to the repository performance.
Stapedectomy in congenital stapes fixation: Are hearing outcomes poorer?

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate outcomes of stapedectomy surgery for congenital stapes fixation.STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective chart review.METHODS: The charts of 463 stapedectomies performed by 1 surgeon from 1996 to 2003 were reviewed. Patients with a history of childhood hearing loss and operative findings consistent with congenital fixation of the stapes were included. Patients with a history of trauma or chronic otitis media and those with otosclerosis were excluded. Thirty-six patients underwent stapedectomy for congenital fixation. Revision cases and those with inadequate postoperative bone or air conduction data were excluded. Inclusion criteria were met for 25 patients. Operative findings and hearing outcomes were evaluated.RESULTS: The study group was comprised of 25 stapedectomies. Closure of the air-bone gap to less than 10 dB was achieved in 48% of cases, and 80% had closure within 20 dB. A gap of more than 30 dB remained in 3 cases. There were 2 cases of sensorineural hearing loss with worsening of the ...
Confrontational Behavior and Escalation to War 1816-1980: A Research Plan

The understanding of international war, like many complex social events, may be - and has been - ap proached from a range of theoretical perspectives and via a variety of research strategies. Outside of the work of Bloch (1898), Sorokin (1936), Richardson (1941), and Wright (1942), however, there was little re search of a scientific nature until the mid-1960s. And while these past fifteen years have certainly not given us a compelling theory of international war, they have seen a steady growth in cumulative knowledge regar ding the correlates of war. These results, despite the expected mix of inconsistencies and anomalies, provide us with some sense of the factors that are most consistently associated with war over the last century and a half, along with some tentative insights into the rising and declining potency of these factors.
Human lumbar facet joint capsule strains: II. Alteration of strains subsequent to anterior interbody fixation.

Abstract Background context In cases of low back pain associated with biomechanical lumbar instability, anterior interbody fixation can be used as a surgical treatment, but its affect on facet joint capsule strains is unknown. Purpose To determine the effect of a single-level anterolateral interbody fixation, the changes in lumbar facet joint capsule strains at the level of and adjacent to the fixation were evaluated. Study design/setting Human cadaveric lumbar spine specimens were tested under displacement control before and after the addition of a single anterior thoracolumbar plate (ATLP) on the L4–L5 motion body. Methods Ligamentous lumbar spine specimens (n = 7) were potted and actuated before and after fixation of the L4–L5 motion segment with an ATLP in motions of extension, flexion, left and right bending. Joint moments were calculated from the applied load and respective moment arms. Intervertebral angulation was measured using biaxial inclinometers mounted onto adjacent vertebrae. Plane strains of the capsules were measured by optically tracking the displacements of small, infrared reflective markers glued to capsule surfaces. Statistical differences (p Results Fixation resulted in an increase in moment at the three vertebral levels for all motions. There was also an increase in intervertebral angle at L3–L4 and L5–S1, and a decrease in intervertebral angle at L4–L5 for all motions. Plane strains in the L3–L4 and L5–S1 facet capsules increased as a result of the fixation. L4–L5 facet capsules experienced decreased and increased strains ipsilateral and contralateral, respectively, to the instrumentation. Conclusion Restriction of a vertebral motion segment using a single ATLP increased adjacent capsular strains, which if suprathreshold for capsule nociceptors, could play a role in low back pain.
Effects of cadmium on respiration rate and activities of several enzymes in soybean seedlings

Soybean (Glycine max L. cv. Columbus) seedlings grown in culture solution were treated with cadmium as CdSO/sub 4/. Final concentrations of cadmium (Cd/sup 2 +/) in the solution were 0, 0.45, 0.90, and 1.35 ..mu..M. Soybean leaves, analyzed 10 days after Cd/sup 2 +/ was added to the culture solution, showed increased respiration rate and activities of malate dehydrogenase, acid phosphatase, ribonuclease, deoxyribonuclease, and peroxidase but decreased activity of carbonic anhydrase. Increased activity of hydrolytic enzymes and peroxidase reflects a general senescence response while the carbonic anhydrase decrease is consistent with an antagonism between cadmium and endogenous zinc. Chlorosis, epinasty, abscission of leaves, and decreased growth rate occurred in seedlings treated with 1.35 ..mu..M Cd/sup 2 +/.
Action of Lobeline and Capsaicine on Afferent Endings in the Pulmonary Artery of the Cat

A comparison has been made of the anatomical localization and some of the characteristics of the visceral afferent endings stimulated by capsaicine, lobeline, and phenyldiguanide. The reflex hypotensive responses to these drugs have been measured following injection into the right atrium and different positions of the pulmonary artery tree in cats anesthetized with α-chloralose. In comparison with the magnitude of the hypotensive responses to capsaicine, lobeline, and phenyldiguanide from the right atrium, the response to capsaicine and lobeline was small or absent on injection into the right or left branch of the pulmonary artery at the level of the hilum. The response to phenyldiguanide was the same on injection at these two positions. The latent period between the injection and the reflex responses to capsaicine and lobeline, and the sensitivity of these responses to blocking doses of sodium pentobarbital and procaine hydrochloride were the same. Tetraethylammonium chloride will block the reflex action...
Early Morphogenesis of Glugea-lnduced Xenomas in Laboratory-Reared Flounder

Glugea stephani-infecled submucosal cells of laboratory-reared winter flounder, Pseudopleuronectes americanus, change to unique giant cell xenomas. These cells hypertrophy while the intracellular Glugea propagate to high numbers in the cytoplasm and eventually overrun the host cell. The xenomas slowly reach 20-25 muml;m (at 17°C) by day 10 after parasite invasion. These xenomas (eight often examined by electron microscopy) are coated with a mucus-like envelope onto which is attached a layer of endothelial ceils. The 10-day xenomas display (a) host cell endonuclear polyploidization and amitosis, (b) limited parasite growth and reproduction, and (c) a host cell cytoplasm structure similar to that seen in undifferentiated phagocytes. Glugea parasites do not induce obvious cell degenerative effects in 10-day xenomas; the 20-day xenomas are hypertrophied to 70-100 mm. These cells are characterized by (a) a host cell component denuded of endoplasmic reticulum and phagosome membrane, (b) a reduction in host cell ribosomes and the disappearance of host cell cytoskeletal assemblages, including microtubules, and (c) a significant increase in vegetative Glugea within xenomas. Evidence indicates cytoplasmic calcium of the host cell xenoma is perturbed by the intracellular Glugea; the alterations in the host cell calcium domains may be a big factor in the induction of the block of mitosis in the host cell and in the disruption in its cytoskeletal controls.
Skeletal effects of zoledronic acid in an animal model of chronic kidney disease

Summary Bisphosphonates reduce skeletal loss and fracture risk, but their use has been limited in patients with chronic kidney disease. This study shows skeletal benefits of zoledronic acid in an animal model of chronic kidney disease.
Spore Coat Architecture of Clostridium novyi NT Spores

Spores of the anaerobic bacterium Clostridium novyi NT are able to germinate in and destroy hypoxic regions of tumors in experimental animals. Future progress in this area will benefit from a better understanding of the germination and outgrowth processes that are essential for the tumorilytic properties of these spores. Toward this end, we have used both transmission electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy to determine the structure of both dormant and germinating spores. We found that the spores are surrounded by an amorphous layer intertwined with honeycomb parasporal layers. Moreover, the spore coat layers had apparently self-assembled, and this assembly was likely to be governed by crystal growth principles. During germination and outgrowth, the honeycomb layers, as well as the underlying spore coat and undercoat layers, sequentially dissolved until the vegetative cell was released. In addition to their implications for understanding the biology of C. novyi NT, these studies document the presence of proteinaceous growth spirals in a biological organism.
Prehospital recognition of tension pneumothorax.

(2000). P REHOSPITAL R ECOGNITION OF T ENSION P NEUMOTHORAX. Prehospital Emergency Care: Vol. 4, No. 1, pp. 75-77.
The curious tale of liberal education, professional training and the American college, 1880–1910

Given American higher education’s origins in British practice, it is surprising that training in the traditional ‘learned’ professions follows such different patterns. Most strikingly, such training is post‐graduate in the United States while it is often a first degree programme in Britain. Intriguingly, in the middle nineteenth century, the pattern was closer to the opposite. This paper examines why that reversal occurred and how the current American practice came into being. At the centre of the analysis is the revival and success of the fin de siecle America liberal arts college. Seemingly headed for oblivion in the face of the German model of specialized higher education and dissatisfaction with its Classical curriculum, the colleges re‐invented themselves, becoming a rite of passage for the emerging upper middle class. Their desire to become gateways to the professions intersected symbiotically with those of the professional elites seeking to regain control of their professions.
Between: Capital, Culture, and the Transformation of Hong Kong’s Universities

The public universities in Hong Kong are preparing for a momentous educational reform in the Fall of 2012 that will create four- instead of three-year degrees and add a strong General Education component to the curriculum. In this essay, I examine the trajectory of this reform from the point of view of an "insider-outsider" Fulbright Scholar in General Education who, based at the University of Hong Kong and the Hong Kong America Center (but working with colleagues across the system), consulted on the formation of interdisciplinary courses, interactive teaching, and administrative infrastructure for the launch of the reform. I examine the change in light of the flow of global capital, the development of the "whole person" familiar to us from the discourse of the Liberal Arts, and of the demands of multinationals based in Hong Kong for a differently trained globalized workforce. The Hong Kong experiment is, I argue, an illuminating site to examine in order for us to better understand the emergence of the global university.
Distinctive stages and strain variations of A. baumannii biofilm development under shear flow.

Objective: To examine and characterise the process of Acinetocbacter baumannii biofilm development under shear flow. Method: Using an automated flow-cell system with microfluidic channels connected to an imaging system, 10 clinical wound isolates of A. baumannii were examined for their ability to form biofilms under shear flow, on the glass surface of the flowthrough device. Flow biofilm development by this organism was observed to comprise four stages: attachment, microcolony formation, maturation with three-dimensional structures, and dispersion. Results: A. baumannii adheres readily to glass surfaces and quickly forms biofilm. Significant variations were observed among these 10 clinical strains in their ability to attach and form flow biofilms. Conclusion: These specific characteristics in biofilm formation may contribute to this organism's ability to disseminate within health-care environments. Declaration of interest: This study was funded by the Combat Wound Initiative Program and Henry M. Jackson F...