cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Reversal of sex differences in morphine analgesia elicited from the ventrolateral periaqueductal gray in rats by neonatal hormone manipulations.

Abstract Male rats display significantly greater analgesic responses than female rats following systemic, ventricular and intracerebral morphine administration into either the ventrolateral periaqueductal gray (vlPAG) or the rostral ventromedial medulla, and following beta-endorphin administration into the vlPAG. Although adult gonadectomy severely reduces nonopioid forms of swim stress-induced analgesia, the marked sex differences in morphine analgesia were minimally affected by either male or female adult gonadectomy. Since very little is known about neonatal effects of gonadal hormones upon sex differences in morphine analgesia elicited from the vlPAG, the present study evaluated the effects of neonatal (within 1 day of birth) castration in male rat pups relative to sham-operated controls, and systemic androgenization with testosterone propionate in female rat pups relative to vehicle-injected controls upon baseline nociceptive thresholds and morphine analgesia elicited from the vlPAG in rats tested as adults. Significant sex differences in morphine analgesia elicited from the vlPAG were observed with adult males receiving neonatal sham surgeries displaying significantly greater morphine analgesia on two nociceptive measures than adult females tested during the estrous phase and receiving neonatal vehicle injections. Neonatal gonadectomy essentially reversed the pattern of sex difference effects upon morphine analgesia elicited from the vlPAG. Neonatally-castrated male rats tested in adulthood displayed dramatic reductions in morphine analgesia elicited from the vlPAG on both the tail-flick (∼15-fold rightward shift) and jump (6-fold rightward shift) tests relative to sham-operated males, and essentially mirrored those of vehicle-treated females. Conversely, neonatally-androgenized female rats tested in adulthood displayed dramatic increases in morphine analgesia elicited from the vlPAG on the tail-flick (5-fold leftward shift) and jump (12-fold leftward shift) tests relative to vehicle-treated females, and approximated those observed in sham-operated males. The potent differences between neonatally-castrated and sham-operated male rats and between neonatally-androgenized and vehicle-treated female rats suggest a possible ‘organizational’ role of gonadal hormones in mediating sex differences in morphine analgesia elicited from the vlPAG.
Physics of scintillator nonproportionality

Scintillator nonproportionality is a key mechanism by which the energy resolution is degraded in gamma spectroscopy. Herein, we survey the results obtained for a number of inorganic scintillating materials, including alkali and multivalent halides, fluorides, simple oxides, silicates, and a tungstate. The results are interpreted in the context of a model that accounts for carrier attraction by the Onsager mechanism and exciton-exciton annihilation by the Birks model. We then utilize the theory of Landau fluctuations in combination with the fitted experimental nonproportionality curves to deduce the predicted value of the resolution degradation.
Toxicological characteristics of refinery streams used to manufacture lubricating oils

In the past, reports on the tumorigenic potential of lubricating oils in experimental animals have poorly defined the materials under study. In this paper the results of mouse skin painting studies with 46 clearly defined samples of refinery streams associated with lubricating oil processing show that modern conventional solvent refining of distillates removes tumorigenic potential while conventional acid refining may not. Furthermore, dewaxing, hydrofinishing, and clay treatments do not appear to mitigate the tumorigenicity of the lubricant distillates. Lubricant processing has changed over the years and assessments of the carcinogenicity of present-day lubricating materials must be based on knowledge of modern processing.
Evaluation of the effect of pyrimethamine, an anti-malarial drug, on HIV-1 replication.

Abstract Co-infection of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) with malaria is one of the pandemic problems in Africa and parts of Asia. Here we investigated the impact of pyrimethamine (PYR) and two other clinical anti-malarial drugs (chloroquine [CQ] or artemisinin [ART]) on HIV-1 replication. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) or MT-2 cells were infected with HIV NL4.3 strain and treated with different concentrations of the anti-malarial drugs. HIV-1 replication was measured using p24 ELISA. We show that 10 μM CQ and ART inhibited HIV-1 replication by 76% and 60% in PBMCs, respectively, but not in MT-2 cells. In contrast, 10 μM PYR enhanced HIV-1 replication in MT-2 cells by >10-fold. A series of molecular mechanism studies revealed that PYR increased intracellular HIV gag proteins without affecting the promoter or the reverse transcriptase activity. The effect of PYR was independent of HTLV-1 produced by MT-2 cells. Of interest, PYR treatment led to S-phase accumulation and increased AZT and d4T antiviral activity by ∼4-fold. Taken together, we show that PYR significantly enhances HIV-1 replication by affecting the cellular machinery. Our results could be relevant for the management of malaria and HIV particularly in regions where HIV-1 and malaria epidemics overlap.
The Challenge of Hidden Profits: Reducing Corporate Bureaucracy and Waste

The article presents a review of the book “The Challenge of Hidden Profits: Reducing Corporate Bureaucracy and Waste,” by Mark Green and John E. Berry.
The Effect of APRV Ventilation on ICP and Cerebral Hemodynamics

Airway pressure release ventilation (APRV) is an alternative approach to the low-tidal volume “open-lung” ventilation strategy. APRV is associated with a higher mean airway pressure than conventional ventilation and has therefore not been evaluated in patients with acute neurological injuries. Case report. We report a patient with severe progressive hypoxemia following a subarachnoid hemorrhage who was converted from pressure-controlled mechanical ventilation to APRV. This change in ventilatory mode was associated with a significant improvement in oxygenation and alveolar ventilation with an associated increase in cerebral blood flow and a negligible increase in intracranial pressure. APRV may safely be applied to neurocritically ill patients, and that this mode of ventilation may increase cerebral blood flow without increasing intracranial pressure.
The Growing Burden of Chronic Disease in America

a In 2000, approximately 125 million Americans (45% of the population) had chronic conditions and 61 million (21% of the population) had multiple chronic conditions. The number of people with chronic conditions is projected to increase steadily for the next 30 years. While current health care financing and delivery systems are designed primarily to treat acute conditions, 78% of health spending is devoted to people with chronic conditions. Quality medical care for people with chronic conditions requires a new orientation toward prevention of chronic disease and provision of ongoing care and care manage- ment to maintain their health status and functioning. Specific focus should be applied to people with multiple chronic conditions.
Synthetic brain imaging: grasping, mirror neurons and imitation

Abstract The article contributes to the quest to relate global data on brain and behavior (e.g. from PET, Positron Emission Tomography, and fMRI, functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging) to the underpinning neural networks. Models tied to human brain imaging data often focus on a few “boxes” based on brain regions associated with exceptionally high blood flow, rather than analyzing the cooperative computation of multiple brain regions. For analysis directly at the level of such data, a schema-based model may be most appropriate. To further address neurophysiological data, the Synthetic PET imaging method uses computational models of biological neural circuitry based on animal data to predict and analyze the results of human PET studies. This technique makes use of the hypothesis that rCBF (regional cerebral blood flow) is correlated with the integrated synaptic activity in a localized brain region. We also describe the possible extension of the Synthetic PET method to fMRI. The second half of the paper then exemplifies this general research program with two case studies, one on visuo-motor processing for control of grasping (Section 3 in which the focus is on Synthetic PET) and the imitation of motor skills (Sections 4 and 5, with a focus on Synthetic fMRI). Our discussion of imitation pays particular attention to data on the mirror system in monkey (neural circuitry which allows the brain to recognize actions as well as execute them). Finally, Section 6 outlines the immense challenges in integrating models of different portions of the nervous system which address detailed neurophysiological data from studies of primates and other species; summarizes key issues for developing the methodology of Synthetic Brain Imaging; and shows how comparative neuroscience and evolutionary arguments will allow us to extend Synthetic Brain Imaging even to language and other cognitive functions for which few or no animal data are available.
The Protestant Ethic thesis: Weber’s missing psychology:

Commentators on Weber’s The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism have tended to view that work within the context of world-historical social processes and change. Recently, more literary f...
Effect of Entrance Geometry on Heat Transfer in a Narrow (AR=1:4) Rectangular Two Pass Channel With Smooth and Ribbed Walls

This paper studies the effect of entrance geometries on the heat transfer in a narrow aspect ratio (AR=1:4) rectangular internal cooling channel, representative of a leading edge of a gas turbine blade. Detailed heat transfer coefficient distributions are measured for three different entrance geometries: S-shape entrance, 90 degree bend entrance and a twisted entrance with changing AR. Both smooth and ribbed channels are used in a two pass channel configuration. A baseline straight-entry channel is used as a reference for comparison. The tests are done for Reynolds number ranging from 15000 to 55000. The ribs are placed at an angle of 45° to the mainstream flow. The results show that the effects of entrance geometry persist throughout the first pass (up to a distance of 9 times the hydraulic diameter) for the smooth channel. All the entrance geometries provided enhancement in heat transfer compared to the straight fully developed entrance, with the 90 degree bend entrance providing the highest enhancement. The effect of entrance is less pronounced for the ribbed test section case with the effects confined more in the early developing regions. The 90 degree bend entrance and the twisted-entry cases enhance heat transfer for the ribbed test section, while the S-shape entrance reduces the heat transfer for the ribbed test section relative to the straight entry channel.Copyright © 2011 by ASME
Rodent Hyperglycemia-Induced Inner Retinal Deficits are Mirrored in Human Diabetes.

PURPOSE To evaluate the utility of low luminance stimuli to functionally probe inner retinal rod pathways in the context of diabetes mellitus in both rat and human subjects. METHODS Inner retinal dysfunction was assessed using oscillatory potential (OP) delays in diabetic rats. Scotopic electroretinograms (ERGs) in response to a series of increasing flash luminances were recorded from streptozotocin (STZ)-treated and control Sprague-Dawley rats after 7, 14, 20, and 29 weeks of hyperglycemia. We then evaluated OP delays in human diabetic subjects with (DR) and without (DM) diabetic retinopathy using the International Society for Clinical Electrophysiology in Vision (ISCEV) standard scotopic protocol and two additional dim test flashes. RESULTS Beginning 7 weeks after STZ, OP implicit times in diabetic rats were progressively delayed in response to dim, but not bright stimuli. In many diabetic subjects the standard ISCEV dim flash failed to illicit measureable OPs. However, OPs became measurable using a brighter, nonstandard dim flash (Test Flash 1, -1.43 log cd s/m2), and exhibited prolonged implicit times in the DM group compared with control subjects (CTRL). CONCLUSIONS Delays in scotopic OP implicit times are an early response to hyperglycemia in diabetic rats. A similar, inner retinal, rod-driven response was detected in diabetic human subjects without diabetic retinopathy, only when a nonstandard ISCEV flash intensity was employed during ERG testing. TRANSLATIONAL RELEVANCE The addition of a dim stimulus to standard ISCEV flashes with assessment of OP latency during ERG testing may provide a detection method for early retinal dysfunction in diabetic patients.
Identifying Cloud-Uncontaminated AIRS Spectra from Cloudy FOV Based on Cloud-Top Pressure and Weighting Functions

Abstract An effort is made to increase the number of Advanced Infrared Sounder (AIRS) cloud-uncontaminated infrared data for regional mesoscale data assimilation and short-term quantitative precipitation forecast (QPF) applications. The cloud-top pressure from Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) is utilized in combination with weighting functions (WFs) to develop a channel-based cloudy-data-removal algorithm. This algorithm identifies “clear channels” for which the brightness temperature (BT) values are not cloud contaminated. A channel-dependent cutoff pressure (COP) level is first determined based on the structure of the WF of each channel. It is usually below the maximum WF level. If the cloud top (as identified by a MODIS cloud mask) is above (below) the COP level of a channel, this channel is then deemed cloudy (clear) and removed (retained). Using this algorithm, a sizable increase of cloud-uncontaminated AIRS data can be obtained. There are more usable domain points for those chan...
Longer Lengths of Stay and Higher Risk of Mortality among Inpatients of Physicians with More Years in Practice

Abstract Background More physician years in practice have been associated with less frequent guideline adherence, but it is unknown whether years in practice are associated with patient outcomes. Methods We examined all inpatients on the teaching service of an urban hospital from July 1, 2002 through June 30, 2004. Admissions were assigned to attending physicians quasi-randomly. Years in practice was defined as the number of years the attending physician held a medical license. We divided physicians into 4 groups (0-5, 6-10, 11-20, and >20 years in practice), and used negative binomial and logistic regression to adjust for patient characteristics and estimate associations between years in practice and length-of-stay, readmission, and mortality. Results Fifty-nine physicians and 6572 admissions were examined. Although the 4 inpatient groups had similar demographic and clinical characteristics, physicians with more years in practice had longer mean lengths of stay (4.77, 5.29, 5.42, and 5.31 days for physicians with 0-5, 6-10, 11-20, and >20 years in practice, respectively, P =.001). After adjustment, inpatients of physicians with more than 20 years in practice had higher risk for both in-hospital mortality (odds ratio 1.71; 95% confidence interval, 1.06-2.76) and 30-day mortality (odds ratio 1.51, 95% confidence interval, 1.06-2.16) than inpatients of physicians with 0-5 years in practice. Conclusion Inpatient care by physicians with more years in practice is associated with higher risk of mortality. Quality-of-care interventions should be developed to maintain inpatient skills for physicians.
Juvenile dermatomyositis: the role of cytokine gene polymorphisms in conferring risk and protection.

Introduction: Juvenile dermatomyositis (JDM) is a systemic autoimmune disease characterized by distinctive rash and proximal muscle weakness. Although its etiology is unclear, JDM is increasingly thought to involve environmental and genetic factors. Overexpression of proinfl ammatory cytokines, particularly tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α and interleukin (IL)-1 (α and β), is seen in mononuclear infi ltrates in the muscle fi bers and capillary endothelium in myositis. The TNF-α –308A promoter polymorphism is associated with increased TNF production from peripheral blood mononuclear cells. Previous research by this group and others has shown it to more frequently occur in Caucasian patients with both adult onset and JDM and in Chinese patients with adult onset disease. TNF-α –308A promoter polymorphism is also associated with calcinosis and a chronic disease course. Multiple polymorphic determinants of IL-1 (α and β) have been associated with systemic autoimmune disease, with the polymorphism IL-1RN A1 associated with infl ammatory myositis.
339 Appearance of multiple paraproteins during early engraftment of soy lectin T cell depleted haploidentical bone marrow cells in severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID)

Recent advances in the prevention of graft-versus-host disease through postthymic T-cell depletion have allowed the use of haploidentical bone marrow cells for immunologic reconstitution of severe combined immunodeficiency disease. We report a male infant with severe combined immunodeficiency (with normal adenosine deaminase) who developed two IgG kappa and one IgA lambda paraproteins 7 weeks following the administration of 1.4×109 maternal bone marrow cells depleted of postthymic T cells by soy lectin agglutination and sheep erythrocyte rosetting. Serum IgG rose from 128 to 820 mg/dl, and IgA from 0 to 2400 mg/dl, peaking at 10 weeks postgrafting. By 14 weeks posttransplantation T-cell numbers and function had risen to normal (all dividing T cells had the donor karyotype) and paraprotein concentrations began to decline. These observations strongly suggest that the later-appearing T cells regulated the B-cell clones from which the paraproteins were derived. Failure of such function to appear could account for the increased incidence of B-cell lymphomas in severe combined immunodeficiency.
ISTE standards in teacher education: A collection of practical examples

Abstract The innovative integration of technology into teacher education is at a premium. Institutions, large and small, are searching for examples of appropriate, effective, and replicable programs on which to base programmatic decisions. This article provides such a guide. The authors represent four of the first six International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) Distinguished Achievement award‐winning programs. This article provides examples of how four highly innovative programs meet the ISTE National Educational Technology Standards for Teachers (NETS?T) for technology integration into the teacher education programs. It provides a collection of practical examples of ways in which teacher education programs can use the NETS'T as a guide for enhancing teacher education curricula on campus and in P‐12 classrooms where teacher education candidates work.
Aorto-right ventricular fistula: a complication of aortic valve replacement.

The occurrence of aorto–right ventricular (aorto-RV) fistula after prosthetic aortic valve replacement is rare. Transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) with color-flow Doppler, transesophageal echocardiography (TEE), or both may be required for diagnosis. A 42-year-old woman sought care for palpitations and dyspnea due to atrial flutter 2 weeks after prosthetic aortic valve replacement and graft replacement of the ascending aorta. TTE and TEE revealed left-to-right shunt due to aorto-RV fistula.
Access to Addiction Pharmacotherapy in Private Health Plans

Background An increasing number of medications are available to treat addictions. To understand access to addiction medications, it is essential to consider the role of private health plans. To contain medication expenditures, most U.S. health plans use cost-sharing and administrative controls, which may impact physicians' prescribing and patients' use of addiction medications. This study identified health plan approaches to manage access to and utilization of addiction medications (oral and injectable naltrexone, acamprosate, and buprenorphine).
Speaking, Writing, and Authority: Explorations in and from the Kingdom of Taqali

Segismundo's services [as notary at the registry office] had, indeed, been admirably suited to the time and place. … He cheerfully registered all the children that ap-peared before him as having been born in the County of Ilheus, State of Bahia, Brazil. … How could one be bothered with such miserable legal details as the exact place and date of a child's birth when one was living dangerously in the midst of gun fights, armed bandits, and deadly ambushes? What did it matter, really, where the little Brazilian about to be registered was born? … He simply took the word of these friendly immigrants and their witnesses—respectable men whose word was worth more than any legal document—and accepted their gifts. … By that venerable hand, on a certain afternoon many years ago, little Nacib [a Syrian immigrant] was turned into a native-born Brazilian.
Atomic Control of TiO2(110) Surface By Oxygen Plasma Treatment

Abstract Segregation of impurities in TiO 2 substrates impacts the local atomic structure and stoichiometry of the native TiO 2 surfaces. We investigated the effects of oxygen plasma on the TiO 2 surfaces. It was found that annealing TiO 2 crystals in oxygen plasma at above 500°C effectively removed calcium and carbon contaminants, and dramatically improved the surface morphology and stoichiometry. Scanning tunneling micrographs revealed atomically smooth surfaces with well-defined step-terrace morphology after the plasma treatment, while X-ray photoelectron spectra showed that all the Ti cations on the resulting surfaces were fully coordinated.
Toward a progress indicator for program compilation

For user-friendliness purposes, many modern software systems provide progress indicators for long-running tasks. These progress indicators continuously estimate the percentage of the task that has been completed and when the task will finish. However, none of the existing program compilation tools provide a non-trivial progress indicator, although it often takes minutes or hours to build a large program. In this paper, we investigate the problem of supporting such progress indicators. We first discuss the goals and challenges inherent in this problem. Then we present a set of techniques that are sufficient for implementing a simple yet useful progress indicator for program compilation. Finally, we report on an initial implementation of these techniques in GNU Make. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Microscopic dissipation in a cohesionless granular jet impact

Sufficiently fine granular systems appear to exhibit continuum properties, though the precise continuum limit obtained can be vastly different depending on the particular system. In the present paper the continuum limit of an unconfined, dense granular flow is investigated. To do this a two-dimensional dense cohesionless granular jet impinging upon a target is used as a test system. This is simulated via a time-step-driven hard-sphere method and apply a mean-field theoretical approach to connect the macroscopic flow with the microscopic material parameters of the grains. It is observed that the flow separates into a cone with an interior cone angle determined by the conservation of momentum and the dissipation of energy. From the cone angle a dimensionless quantity $A\ensuremath{-}B$ that characterizes the flow is extracted. This quantity is found to depend both on whether or not a dead zone, i.e., a stationary region near the target, is present and on the value of the coefficient of dynamic friction. A theory is presented for the scaling of $A\ensuremath{-}B$ with the coefficient of friction that suggests that dissipation is primarily a perturbative effect in this flow rather than the source of qualitatively different behavior.
Constructing “Korean” Origins: A Critical Review of Archaeology, Historiography, and Racial Myth in Korean State-Formation Theories

Constructing “Korean” Origins: A Critical Review of Archaeology, Historiography, and Rascial Myth in Korean State-Formation Theories. Hyung ll Pai Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press 2000. xv + 543 PP., figures, maps, appendixes, notes, bibliography, glossary, index.
Aryl Hydrocarbon (Ah) Nonresponsiveness in Estrogen Receptor-Negative MDA-MB-231 Cells Is Associated with Expression of a Variant Arnt Protein

Several studies have reported a correlation between expression of the estrogen receptor (ER) and aryl hydrocarbon (Ah) responsiveness in human breast cancer cell lines. MDA-MB-231 cells are ER-negative and Ah-nonresponsive; however, initial studies showed that 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin induced CYP1A1 mRNA levels (5.8-fold) and chloramphenicol acetyltransferase activity (2.6-fold) in high passage (Hp, >50 passages) cells transiently transfected with an Ah-responsive plasmid. In contrast, no induction responses were observed in low passage (Lp, 2-fold increased expression of the Ah receptor in Hp cells. Further analysis revealed that the apparent molecular weight of the Ah receptor mRNA transcript and immunoreactive protein were comparable in Lp MDA-MB-231 and Ah-responsive human HepG2 cells. In contrast, RT-PCR analysis of the Ah receptor nuclear translocator (Arnt) protein showed that HepG2 cells expressed the expected 2.6-kb transcript, whereas a 1.3-kb transcript was the major product in MDA-MB-231 cells. Western blot analysis confirmed that HepG2 cells primarily expressed a 97-kDa wild-type form of Arnt, whereas a dominant 36-kDa variant was expressed in MDA-MB-231 cells. Complete sequence analysis of the variant form of Arnt revealed a major deletion of the C-terminal region of the protein (aa 330 to 789). Like HepG2 cells, the wild-type 2.6-kb transcript was detected in ER-positive (Ah-responsive) MCF-7 cells, whereas the low-molecular-weight variant Arnt was dominant in ER-negative MDA-MB-231, MDA-MB-435, and Adriamycin-resistant MCF-7 cells. These results suggest that expression of this protein may be useful as a prognostic factor in breast cancer.
Runoff Water Quality Impact of Variable Rate Sidedress Nitrogen Application

In recent years, precision agriculture has received attention from producers, agribusiness, and governmental agencies in an effort to increase profitability and protect the environment. Many aspects of precision agriculture, such as soil fertility, application technology, and economic factors, have received substantial research attention; however, other aspects of precision agriculture have not been well documented. One important issue that warrants increased attention is water quality. Because of precision application technology, variable rate fertilizer application based on within-field heterogeneity has the potential to decrease negative water quality impacts. Therefore, the objective of this paired watershed study was to evaluate the impact of variable rate nitrogen (N) fertilizer application on surface water quality. The variable rate field was divided into management units designated as poor, moderate, and high based on measured yield potential and received 100–160 kg/ha of N fertilizer. A portion of the N application was uniformly applied pre-plant or at planting, and rest was sidedressed at variable rates. The uniform rate field received uniform N application at 135 kg/ha. Surface water runoff and water quality were monitored for each field, and collected samples were analyzed for N and phosphorus (P) constituents. During the 2-year monitoring period with 22 storm sampling events, variable rate N application resulted in few water quality differences compared to uniform rate application, but overall median NO3 + NO2–N concentrations were significantly lower for the variable rate field in the second year of variable rate N application. Overall and event mean NO3 + NO2–N concentrations from the variable rate field tended to be higher, but median concentrations from the uniform rate field tended to be higher.
The Accessibility of Municipal Government Websites

ABSTRACT The Internet is increasingly being used by both citizens and governments for the transfer of information. There is a need to extend access to municipal websites to the portion of the population with disabilities. In 1998, Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 was amended by Congress to require federal government agencies and those agencies that receive funds from the federal government to ensure that their websites are accessible to the public. This paper presents the results of an evaluation of the level of accessibility of the 100 largest municipalities' websites. Webmasters in these cities were surveyed to determine their awareness of accessibility issues and their plans to make their municipalities' websites accessible. The results of this study show that while a number of cities have accessibility statements, overall compliance with Section 508 is low. However, compliance with accessibility standards can only be expected to increase in the future as technology improves and city staff...
Analysis of the steady states of a mathematical model for Chagas disease

The steady states of a mathematical model for the dynamics of Chagas disease, developed by Spagnuolo et al., are studied and numerically simulated. The model consists of a system of four nonlinear ordinary differential equations for the total number of domestic carrier insects, and the infected insects, infected humans, and infected domestic animals. The equation for the vector dynamics has a growth rate of the blowfly type with a delay. In the parameter range of interest, the model has two unstable disease-free equilibria and a globally asymptotically stable (GAS) endemic equilibrium. Numerical simulations, based on the fourth-order Adams‐Bashforth predictor corrector scheme for ODEs, depict the various cases.
Photophysics of π-conjugated metal-organic oligomers*

The optical absorption and photoluminescence properties of PPE-type π-conju- gated oligomers that contain a 2,2-bipyridine-5,5 '-diyl metal coordinating unit have been examined. The spectra of the free oligomers are compared with those that contain -Re(CO)3Cl and -Ru(bpy)2 2+ chromophores chelated to the bpy-diyl unit.
Side-to-Side Confrontational Strength-Testing for Weakness of the Intrinsic Muscles of the Hand*

A prospective study of 217 patients was performed to determine the sensitivity and specificity of standard manual testing and of a new method, termed confrontational testing, for detecting weakness of the intrinsic muscles of the hand. Electrodiagnostic testing was used to identify the presence of any neurological disorder and to provide a control for the manual testing methods. Standard manual testing of the muscles innervated by the ulnar nerve revealed a sensitivity of 14 per cent, a specificity of 100 per cent, a predictive value of a positive result of 100 per cent, and a predictive value of a negative result of 57 per cent. Confrontational testing of the muscles innervated by the ulnar nerve revealed a sensitivity of 82 per cent, a specificity of 100 per cent, a predictive value of a positive result of 100 per cent, and a predictive value of a negative result of 87 per cent. Standard manual testing of the muscles innervated by the median nerve revealed a sensitivity of 6 per cent, a specificity of 100 per cent, a predictive value of a positive result of 100 per cent, and a predictive value of a negative result of 49 per cent. Confrontational testing of the muscles innervated by the median nerve revealed a sensitivity of 16 per cent, a specificity of 100 per cent, a predictive value of a positive result of 100 per cent, and a predictive value of a negative result of 52 per cent.
Transaction Costs in Payment for Environmental Service Contracts

Citation: Jeffrey M. Peterson, Craig M. Smith, John C. Leatherman, Nathan P. Hendricks, John A. Fox; Transaction Costs in Payment for Environmental Service Contracts, American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Volume 97, Issue 1, 1 January 2015, Pages 219–238, https://doi.org/10.1093/ajae/aau071
Sampling large Internet topologies for simulation purposes

In this paper, we develop methods to ''sample'' a small realistic graph from a large Internet topology. Despite recent activity, modeling and generation of realistic graphs resembling the Internet is still not a resolved issue. All previous work has attempted to grow such graphs from scratch. We address the complementary problem of shrinking an existing topology. In more detail, this work has three parts. First, we propose a number of reduction methods that can be categorized into three classes: (a) deletion methods, (b) contraction methods, and (c) exploration methods. We prove that some of them maintain key properties of the initial graph. We implement our methods and show that we can effectively reduce the nodes of an Internet graph by as much as 70% while maintaining its important properties. Second, we show that our reduced graphs compare favorably against construction-based generators. Finally, we successfully validate the effectiveness of our best methods in an actual performance evaluation study of multicast routing. Apart from its practical applications, the problem of graph sampling is of independent interest.
Numerical Models of Converted Slow P-wave Modes in Porous Media

Biot theory has predicted a second P-wave that can propagate in a fluid saturated porous material. This wave can be regarded as a propagating wave predominantly through the fluid saturating the medium. For this wave, the fluid moves opposite to the solid and is highly attenuated. Consequently, it is hard to detect and has only been observed in laboratory experiments so far. Several boundary conditions for the reflection and transmission of plane waves at plane interfaces separating media involving porous rocks have been proposed since the Biot theory was introduced in the 1950’s. However there is a controversy on which set of boundary conditions should be employed for such media. Only experimental tests can warrant a definitive answer to this controversy. In this contribution, forward numerical models for the reflection-transmission in porous media will be presented at both high and low frequencies. These models are based on wave propagation using Biot theory and various sets of boundary conditions. Converted waves from and to a slow P-wave mode will be given a particular attention. Models, obtained at an interface between a water-saturated porous rock and water using the open boundary conditions, show converted slow P-waves with moderate amplitudes. However models derived from boundary conditions that restrict relative fluid movement with respect to the solid, such as those used in the case of a porous-solid interface, lead to weak converted slow P-waves. This confirms that the slow P-wave is predominantly a flow process. However, recent reflectivity experiments from a porous-solid interface exhibit converted slow P-waves with significant amplitudes that cannot be explained by the closed boundary conditions. The modeling also shows that the slow P-wave can convert to both a fast P-wave and to an S-wave (or vice versa) with relatively significant amount of energy when the relative fluid-solid motion is not restricted at the interface.
Self-referential processing in depressed adolescents: A high-density event-related potential study.

Despite the alarming increase in the prevalence of depression during adolescence, particularly among female adolescents, the pathophysiology of depression in adolescents remains largely unknown. Event-related potentials (ERPs) provide an ideal approach to investigate cognitive-affective processes associated with depression in adolescents, especially in the context of negative self-referential processing biases. In this study, healthy (n = 30) and depressed (n = 22) female adolescents completed a self-referential encoding task while ERP data were recorded. To examine cognitive-affective processes associated with self-referential processing, P1, P2, and late positive potential (LPP) responses to negative and positive words were investigated, and intracortical sources of scalp effects were probed using Low Resolution Electromagnetic Tomography (LORETA). Additionally, we tested whether key cognitive processes (e.g., maladaptive self-view, self-criticism) previously implicated in depression related to ERP components. Relative to healthy female subjects, depressed females endorsed more negative and fewer positive words, and free recalled and recognized fewer positive words. With respect to ERPs, compared to healthy female adolescents, depressed adolescents exhibited greater P1 amplitudes following negative words, which was associated with a more maladaptive self-view and self-criticism. In both early and late LPP responses, depressed females showed greater activity following negative versus positive words, whereas healthy females demonstrated the opposite pattern. For both P1 and LPP, LORETA revealed reduced inferior frontal gyrus activity in response to negative words in depressed versus healthy female adolescents. Collectively, these findings suggest that the P1 and LPP reflect biased self-referential processing in female adolescents with depression. Potential treatment implications are discussed.
Signal Transduction Pathways in Enhanced Microvascular Permeability

We have been investigating the molecular mechanisms underlying pathophysiological regulation of microvascular permeability on isolated venules and cultured venular endothelial monolayers. Physiological approaches have been employed in combination with molecular analyses to probe the signal transduction pathways leading to enhanced microvascular permeability. A newly developed technique of protein transfection into cells and intact microvessels enables the correlation of functional reactions and signaling events at the molecular level in a direct and specific fashion. The results indicate that inflammatory mediators increase microvascular permeability via intracellular signaling pathways involving the activation of phospholipase C, cytosolic calcium, protein kinase C, nitric oxide synthase, guanylate cyclase, and protein kinase G. In response to the signaling stimulation, complex biochemical and conformational reactions occur at the endothelial structural proteins. Specifically, myosin light-chain activati...
A spanning tree transitive closure algorithm

The authors present a transitive closure algorithm that maintains a spanning tree of successors for each node rather than a simple successor list. This spanning tree structure promotes sharing of information across multiple nodes and leads to more efficient algorithms. An effective relational implementation of the spanning tree storage structure is suggested, and it is shown how blocking can be applied to reduce the input/output cost of the algorithm. The algorithm can handle path problems also. Analytical and experimental evidence is presented that demonstrates the utility of the algorithm, especially in a graph with many alternate paths between the nodes. The spanning tree storage structure can be compressed and updated incrementally in response to changes in the underlying graph. >
“You may have a cancer-causing virus and not even know it” Fear appeals in online news

Most explanations of health risks are presented as “fear appeals,” messages that attempt to arouse fear to modify personal behavior. The central goal of this research is to assess fear appeal performance in online news while examining several research-design issues. Looking at digital news content as fear appeals will expand the scope of research into a new area, and more effective measurement and induction will avoid some common pitfalls. An online experiment produced data indicating that perceived threat and efficacy relationships developed as expected in online news and that improvements in research-design artifacts strongly affect observed variable relationships. Fear appeal and efficacy messages included in digital media content seem to be effective means to altering individual behavioral intentions.
SPECIALIZATION OF NURSING HOME CARE AND OUTCOMES1

Implications of nursing home specialization for health outcomes were examined. The formal hypothesis tested in this study was that facilities specializing in the treatment of certain kinds of residents, as reflected in a critical mass of such residents, are more likely to experience better health outcomes over time compared to facilities that do not specialize in the treatment of such residents. Activities of Daily Living (ADLs), survival, and several diagnosis-specific outcomes were analyzed for residents. Multivariate state-dependence and logistic regression models were estimated for residents of six diagnostic sub-groups. Specialization was empirically defined in terms of concentration of residents with certain diagnoses within nursing facilities. Empirical results indicate that specialization has some positive effects on some outcomes. For instance, facilities specializing in the care of Alzheimer's disease patients appear to produce comparatively better outcomes with respect to restraint use and accidents. Residents with diagnoses of hypertension or ischemic heart disease in specialized facilities also fare better in terms of survival. Residents with a diagnosis of cerebrovascular disease in specialized facilities were found to experience worse outcomes with respect to most of the outcomes modeled in this study, however. Overall, specialization only appears to make a difference in the outcomes of residents with certain medical conditions for some health outcomes. Regression results also indicate that basic measures of frailty such as functional deficiencies, incontinence, and behavioral problems largely contribute to detrimental effects irrespective of the diagnostic group or the outcome considered.
Efficient Global Combine Operations

We discuss a hybrid strategy for implementing global combine operations on distributed memory MIMD multicomputers. A theoretical analysis is given and results from its implementation on the Intel iPSC/SSO are reported.
The Female Offender as an Object of Criminological Research

The historical development of research approaches toward the etiology of female crimes and the characteristics of female offenders is traced through the correctional literature of the last century....
A Novel Fluorescent Labeling Method Enables Monitoring of Spatio‐Temporal Dynamics of Developing Microsporidia

The microsporidium, Anncaliia algerae (Brachiola algerae), is a eukaryotic obligate intracellular parasite first isolated from mosquitoes and is an important opportunistic human pathogen that can cause morbidity and mortality among immune-compromised individuals including patients with AIDS and those undergoing chemotherapy. There is little known about the Microsporidia-host cell interface in living host cells, due to current approaches being limited by the lack of fluorescent reporters for detecting the parasite lifecycle. Here, we have developed and applied novel vital fluorescent parasite labeling methodologies in conjunction with fluorescent protein-tagged reporters to track simultaneously the dynamics of both parasite and host cell specific components, including the secretory and endocytic trafficking pathways, during the entire infection time period. We have found dramatic changes in the dynamics of host secretory trafficking organelles during the course of infection. The Golgi compartment is gradually disassembled and regenerated into mini-Golgi structures in parallel with cellular microtubule depolymerization. Importantly, we find that Microsporidia progeny are associated with these de novo formed mini-Golgi structures. These host structures appear to create a membrane bound niche environment for parasite development. Our studies presented here provide novel imaging tools and methodologies that will facilitate in understanding the biology of microsporidial parasites in the living host.
Effect of bile acid deconjugation on the fecal excretion of steroids

The effect of microbiological deconjugation of bile acids on total bile acid and neutral sterol fecal excretion by adult male rats has been studied. A screening method utiliz- ing mice allowed selection of a Clostridium perfringens type A strain, which accelerated cholesterol catabolism in mice. When this species of bacteria was associated with germfree rats, the fecal bile acids were excreted as free bile acids (de- conjugated), however the quantities of bile acids excreted were not increased compared with those of germfree rats. Conven- tional rats excrete twice as much bile acids (all deconjugated) as do the germfree and C. perfringens-associated rats. It is, therefore, unlikely that the microbiological deconjugation of bile acids is responsible for the increased fecal excretion of bile acids seen in conventional rats. The C. perfringens-associated rats excreted identical kinds and quantities of fecal neutral sterols as did the germfree rats.
Thermodynamic Analysis of Full Liquid-Cooled Data Centers

One way to model the thermodynamic efficiency of a data center is to perform a second-law analysis using exergy calculations of the individual components. The in-house data center modeling tool Villanova Thermodynamic Analysis of Systems (VTAS) was applied to determine the effect of direct liquid cooling with cold plates on data center efficiency. The effectiveness of the cold plate as a function of the heat output of the servers was also examined. VTAS was used to study a configuration of two rows with eight racks each. Each rack was assumed to have twelve servers, each producing 200 W of heat. In addition to the cold plates and servers, this configuration also included a computer room air handling (CRAH) unit, a chiller, and a cooling tower. Preliminary results show that data center second-law efficiency increases as the cold plate removes more heat than the CRAH unit. Specifically, when using cold plates to remove all of the heat from the servers, the overall data center exergy destruction was reduced by over 30% compared to a configuration with only a CRAH unit and between 12–18% compared to a configuration with hybrid liquid-air technologies, thus showing that configurations with direct liquid cooling are thermodynamically more favorable. Furthermore, the effectiveness of the cold plate increases as the heat output of each server increases, suggesting that cold plates are most effective when removing a greater amount of heat.Copyright © 2015 by ASME