cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Critical statistical charge for anyonic superconductivity

We examine a criterion for the anyonic superconductivity at zero temperature in Abelian matter-coupled Chern-Simons gauge-field theories in three dimensions. By solving the Dyson-Schwinger equations, we obtain a critical value of the statistical charge for the superconducting phase in a massless fermion-Chern-Simons model. \textcopyright{} 1996 The American Physical Society.
Shifts in sexual dimorphism across a mass extinction in ostracods: implications for sexual selection as a factor in extinction risk

Sexual selection often favours investment in expensive sexual traits that help individuals compete for mates. In a rapidly changing environment, however, allocation of resources to traits related to reproduction at the expense of those related to survival may elevate extinction risk. Empirical testing of this hypothesis in the fossil record, where extinction can be directly documented, is largely lacking. The rich fossil record of cytheroid ostracods offers a unique study system in this context: the male shell is systematically more elongate than that of females, and thus the sexes can be distinguished, even in fossils. Using mixture models to identify sex clusters from size and shape variables derived from the digitized valve outlines of adult ostracods, we estimated sexual dimorphism in ostracod species before and after the Cretaceous/Palaeogene mass extinction in the United States Coastal Plain. Across this boundary, we document a substantial shift in sexual dimorphism, driven largely by a pronounced decline in the taxa with dimorphism indicating both very high and very low male investment. The shift away from high male investment, which arises largely from evolutionary changes within genera that persist through the extinction, parallels extinction selectivity previously documented during the Late Cretaceous under a background extinction regime. Our results suggest that sexual selection and the allocation of resources towards survival versus reproduction may be an important factor for species extinction during both background and mass extinctions.
IBD presenting as DVT/PE and Pancreatic Atrophy/Insufficiency in an Asymptomatic Patient

Introduction While the association between inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and venous thromboembolic events (VTE) is well established, only 5% of pediatric patients with IBD have pancreatic insufficiency and atrophy. Pancreatic sequela is generally diagnosed 1 year after the initial diagnosis of IBD, though it may precede the IBD. We present an unusual case of a patient devoid of gastrointestinal symptomology who was diagnosed with IBD and pancreatic insufficiency with atrophy …
Clinicoradiographic predictors of percutaneous bone biopsy results among patients with suspected thoracolumbar spine infection

Image-guided percutaneous thoracolumbar spine biopsy is frequently performed in the setting of suspected septic facet arthritis or discitis osteomyelitis (DOM). There are limited data regarding factors associated with a positive biopsy result among these patients. Patients with suspected DOM who underwent spine biopsy were identified. Samples yielding a positive culture and/or histopathology suggestive of acute osteomyelitis were considered positive. The associations between selected medical comorbidities, laboratory values, pre-biopsy antibiotic administration, imaging findings and biopsy results were investigated. 121 patients underwent percutaneous biopsy with 35.5% yielding positive results. Biopsy results showed no correlation with comorbidities. The only laboratory value that correlated with a positive biopsy yield was blood culture positivity (p = 0.03). The imaging findings that correlated with a positive biopsy yield were the presence of a paraspinal fluid collection or epidural abscess (p = 0.003 and 0.018, respectively). Sampling paraspinal fluid collections, when present, resulted in a higher rate of a positive biopsy yield compared to sampling of bone or disc (p = 0.006). Patients who received antibiotics had a higher rate of a positive biopsy yield (p = 0.014). In those with positive blood cultures, biopsy yielded the same antimicrobial susceptibility profile in 13/14 cases. The presence of a paraspinal fluid collection or epidural abscess is correlated with positive biopsy yield, and paraspinal fluid collections should be targeted for biopsy. Other imaging findings did not correlate with biopsy yield. Biopsy may not offer additional information for patients with positive blood cultures.
An integrative framework of information as both objective and subjective

We present a model of information that integrates two competing perspectives of information by emulating the Chinese philosophy of yin-yang. The model embraces the two key dimensions of information...
Appointees versus Elected Officials: The Implications of Institutional Design on Gender Representation in Political Leadership

We explore how institutional design, whether a position is elected or appointed, influences women’s representation in state executive leadership positions, including cabinet secretaries and heads o...
The Spectral Theorem for Normal Operators

The purpose of this chapter is to study the structure of certain special types of linear operators on an inner product space. In order to define these operators, we introduce another type of adjoint (different from the operator adjoint of Chapter 3). We will define this adjoint in the finite dimensional case only, deferring the infinite dimensional case to Chapter 13.
The BE2 model: When Business Events meet Business Entities

This work presents a unified modelling approach based on two declarative models which integrates event- and entity-driven paradigms while preserving a clear separation of concerns between their executions. The proposed approach provides business users with a unified model that is both sufficiently equipped to capture the inherent complexity of realistic business operations, and still enables gaining a complete overview of the entire business arena. This was attained building upon the business-entity-model and the-event-model as two complementary modeling paradigms yielding the BE2 model. In this paper we describe how these two models have been systematically unified using an ontological formalism as a common conceptual baseline. The approach also derives a set of modeling guidelines to preserve the consistency across the two specifications. We demonstrate the actual instantiation of the proposed BE2 model in the Transport and Logistics domain.
Robot Navigation for Automatic Model Construction Using Safe Regions

Automatic model construction is a core problem in mobile robotics. To solve this task efficiently, we need a motion strategy to guide a robot equipped with a range sensor through a sequence of “good” observations. Such a strategy is generated by an algorithm that repeatedly computes locations where the robot must perform the next sensing operation. This is called the next-best view problem. In practice, however, several other considerations must be taken into account. Of these, two stand out as decisive. One is the problem of safe navigation given incomplete knowledge about the robot surroundings. The second one is the issue of guaranteeing the alignment of multiple views, closely related to the problem of robot self-localization. The concept of safe region proposed in this paper makes it possible to simultaneously address both problems.
Partial Phase Diagram for the System NH3-H20: The Water-Rich Region

This paper describes the status of our diamond-anvil cell experiments of the NH3-H2O P-T-X phase diagram. Two parts of the diagram are discussed: the isothermal P-X diagram of (NH3)x(H2O)1-x for 0 ≤ X ≤ 0.3 and the melting line of (NH3)0.5(H2O)0.5. Five phases were observed, including: the liquid; ice VI and ice VII (which resembled their descriptions in the literature); a high-relief apparently isotropic ammonia monohydrate phase; and a low-relief, strongly anisotropic ammonia dihydrate phase. Our interpretation of the isothermal P-X diagram has been modified by recognition that difficulty in nucleating ice VI had led us to underestimate the importance of the ice VI plus liquid and ice VI plus ammonia dihydrate fields. Some unresolved questions and directions for future studies are discussed.
Human Behavior and the Social Environment, Self-Disclosure, and Poetry

Human Behavior and the Social Environment is a social work course that describes developmental theories throughout the lifespan. This course requires students to reflect upon their own theories of human development. In this article the author reflects upon her experiences as a student and teacher of Human Behavior and the Social Environment. The role of self-disclosure is discussed and the author shares several of her own poems that illustrate her own view of lifespan development and theory.
Genome-Wide Scan and Test of Candidate Genes in the Snail Biomphalaria glabrata Reveal New Locus Influencing Resistance to Schistosoma mansoni

Background New strategies to combat the global scourge of schistosomiasis may be revealed by increased understanding of the mechanisms by which the obligate snail host can resist the schistosome parasite. However, few molecular markers linked to resistance have been identified and characterized in snails.
Freedom of Contract

This essay provides a concise overview of the history of the constitutional status of freedom of contract in the United States, with particular attention to the rise and fall of the "liberty of contract" doctrine in the early 20th century.
Partial Purification and Properties of the Pyruvate-Uridine Diphospho-N-Acetylglucosamine Transferase from Staphylococcus epidermidis

Abstract A method for the partial purification of the pyruvate-uridine-diphospho-N-acetylglucosamine transferase from Staphylococcus epidermidis is presented. Some properties of the enzyme are discussed.
Behavioral Isolation Based on Visual Signals in a Sympatric Pair of Darter Species

Elaborate visual communication signals characterize many animal lineages. Often sex-limited, these signals are generally assumed to result from sexual selection, and in many cases, their evolution is thought to play a central role in speciation. The co-evolution of male visual signals and female preferences is hypothesized to result in behavioral isolation between divergent lineages; however, for many lineages characterized by elaborate visual signals, the importance of visual differences in behavioral isolation is not well established. Darters (fish genus Etheostoma) are particularly appropriate for examining the role of visual signals in behavioral isolation. They comprise one of the most diverse groups of North American freshwater fish, and nearly every species is characterized by unique nuptial coloration. Multiple darter species co-exist in sympatric populations, indicating that reproductive barriers are central to maintaining these extraordinarily diverse color patterns. This study demonstrates the presence of behavioral isolation between a pair of distinctly colored sympatric darter species, Etheostoma barrenense and Etheostoma zonale, through experimental observations using an artificial stream. In addition, a series of dichotomous mate-choice trials indicate that females prefer conspecific males over heterospecifics based on visual differences alone. We therefore provide the first evidence that visual signals are a critical trait maintaining behavioral isolation in darters, a lineage of fishes with spectacular diversification in visual communication.
A Clinical Home for Preexposure Prophylaxis: Diverse Health Care Providers’ Perspectives on the “Purview Paradox”

Background:One barrier to wider preexposure prophylaxis (PrEP) availability is uncertainty about the most appropriate providers and practice settings for offering PrEP.Methods:The authors conducted...
Sensitivity of regional climate to global temperature and forcing

The sensitivity of regional climate to global average radiative forcing and temperature change is important for setting global climate policy targets and designing scenarios. Setting effective policy targets requires an understanding of the consequences exceeding them, even by small amounts, and the effective design of sets of scenarios requires the knowledge of how different emissions, concentrations, or forcing need to be in order to produce substantial differences in climate outcomes. Using an extensive database of climate model simulations, we quantify how differences in global average quantities relate to differences in both the spatial extent and magnitude of climate outcomes at regional (250–1250 km) scales. We show that differences of about 0.3 °C in global average temperature are required to generate statistically significant changes in regional annual average temperature over more than half of the Earth's land surface. A global difference of 0.8 °C is necessary to produce regional warming over half the land surface that is not only significant but reaches at least 1 °C. As much as 2.5 to 3 °C is required for a statistically significant change in regional annual average precipitation that is equally pervasive. Global average temperature change provides a better metric than radiative forcing for indicating differences in regional climate outcomes due to the path dependency of the effects of radiative forcing. For example, a difference in radiative forcing of 0.5 W m−2 can produce statistically significant differences in regional temperature over an area that ranges between 30% and 85% of the land surface, depending on the forcing pathway.
Handoff Practices in Undergraduate Medical Education

BACKGROUND Growing data demonstrate that inaccuracies are prevalent in current handoff practices, and that these inaccuracies contribute to medical errors. In response, the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) now requires residency programs to monitor and assess resident competence in handoff communication. Given these changes, undergraduate medical education programs must adapt to these patient safety concerns.
A systematic classification and identification of optical fibre sensors

Abstract In this work, a new kind of classification for optical fibre sensors is introduced. Optical fibre sensors are classified according to the type of fibre, the light source and the modulation scheme on which they are based. Each of these categories is further subdivided and illustrations from systems developed and reported in the literature are given, with various sensor designs represented according to these criteria.
Aggregation, Ratio Variables, and Measurement Problems in Criminological Research

Issues of measurement error, level of aggregation, and ratio variables have been considered serious problems in criminological research. Although there have been many recent discussions of these issues in sociology and criminology, studies designed to assess the impact of these problems on the results of empirical research have, for the most part, been absent. After reviewing what is known theoretically and conceptually about these issues, an investigation which compares empirical analyses of a particular type of crime, homicide, that use different measurement strategies, different levels of aggregation, and ratio versus nonratio variables is presented. Utilizing homicide data from the mid-1970s and selected independent variables, the results of this investigation indicate that these three problems can interact in an empirical setting such that potential solutions to these problems do not always apply in the manner suggested in previous studies. The results also indicate that there is great risk in ignoring one or more of these problems in empirical research, in that different substantive conclusions can be reached from analyses that ignore these issues compared with analyses that deal directly with them.
Study group discourse: How external representations affect collaborative conversation

In this article, we examine collaborative discourse in an informal undergraduate study group in which students focus on their lecture notes. Several decades of educational research have demonstrated that collaborative groups contribute to enhanced learning, and recent work has explored how external representations—such as those that appear in lecture notes—enhance collaboration. However, few of these studies have focused directly on the discourse processes that occur in collaborating groups, or how external representations influence these processes. In this article we use conversation analytic methods to show how the notebooks’ external representations affect discourse processes and thus scaffold both individual and group learning. These analyses demonstrate that a close focus on discourse processes can help researchers understand how collaboration using external representations contributes to learning.
Consumer interaction as intellectual capital

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to categorize customer‐to‐customer (C2C) interaction as a sub‐component of relational capital and conceptualize C2C interaction adding value to business‐to‐customer (B2C) relational capital.Design/methodology/approach – This work empirically tests the concept of C2C interaction and its added value to a firm's B2C relationship within the movie industry. Both business data and consumer interaction from blockbuster movies are collected to test their impact on movie sales.Findings – The results support the hypotheses that C2C interaction (user messages on Yahoo movie message board) adds more explanation to movie sales than B2C interaction (advertising budget) alone, and that there is an inverse relationship between the impact of a firm's B2C interaction and C2C interaction on a firm's sales performance, with the former diminishing over time and the latter increasing over time.Research limitations/implications – For intellectual capital (IC) researchers, the main implicat...
Outcomes for Women Receiving Bevacizumab for Treatment of Ovarian Cancer Versus Other Solid Tumors at an Academic Oncology Center

Abstract Background The main objective of this study was to determine the incidence of severe toxicity associated with bevacizumab use in women with ovarian cancer compared with that in women with other solid tumors. Patients and Methods This retrospective cohort study was performed by evaluating women treated with single-agent or combination bevacizumab in the Program in Women's Oncology between January 2004 and May 2009. Data was collected from electronic and office-based medical records. Toxicity was assessed according to the National Cancer Institute's Common Toxicity Criteria version 3.0 guidelines. A total of 103 women were treated with bevacizumab: 41 women (40%) with ovarian cancer and 62 (60%) with other solid tumors. Results There was no increase in the number of toxic effects seen in patients treated for ovarian cancer versus other tumor types. However, GI perforations were seen in 7.3% of women with ovarian cancer, whereas none were seen in those treated for other cancers (P = .06). More than 1 bevacizumab-related toxic effect (hazard ratio [HR], 2.74; 95% CI, 1.35-5.55) and treatment with bevacizumab after 3 prior lines of chemotherapy (HR, 2.44; 95% CI, 1.159-5.129) were associated with an increase in mortality in women with ovarian cancer. We found no significant difference in the incidence of bevacizumab-related toxicities when comparing ovarian cancer to other cancers. However, ovarian cancer patients did appear to have a statistically nonsignificant higher percentage of GI perforations. Conclusion Further studies evaluating patient factors associated with increased risk of toxicities may be warranted to assist with appropriate patient selection prior to bevacizumab use.
Effects of systemic administration of indomethacin on ovulation, luteinization, and steroidogenesis in the rabbit ovary

Indomethacin blocks ovulation in human chorionic gonadotropin-stimulated rabbits. Experiments were done with an in vitro ovarian perfusion system to investigate whether indomethacin affects luteinization and steroidogenesis. Indomethacin (10 mg/kg) was administered in combination with human chorionic gonadotropin (100 11.1) via a marginal ear vein, and a second dose of indomethacin was given 8 hours later. Control animals received vehicle in place of indomethacin. Laparotomy was performed 24 hours after the initial treatment. The presence of unruptured follicles and corpora lutea was recorded and the ovaries were perfused in vitro for 3 hours. Progesterone, prostaglandin F 2α , prostaglandin E 2 , and 6-keto-prostaglandin F 1α were measured in samples obtained at 0, 30, 60, 120, and 180 minutes from the circulating perfusion medium entering and exiting the ovary. At the end of the perfusion all ovaries (12 treated and 10 controls) were fixed for histologic analysis. Ovulation occurred in all control ovaries but in none of the indomethacin-treated ovaries. The mean number of unruptured follicles per ovary in the treated group was not significantly different from the number of corpora lutea plus unruptured follicles per ovary in the controls. Cells in both groups were qualitatively similar in ultrastructure; abundant lipid droplets, smooth endoplasmic reticulum, and mitochondria were seen. Secretion rates of progesterone and prostaglandin did not differ between the two groups during the 3-hour perfusion period. These results suggest that transformation of granulosa cells into fully functional luteal cells can occur in the absence of follicular rupture.
Development of a protocol for pain management in patients undergoing uterine artery embolization

Summary We have described the development of our protocol for patients undergoing UAE, the basis of which is PCEA and multi-modal treatment of nausea/vomiting. With implementation of this protocol, we have moved closer to meeting our goal of making UAE an outpatient procedure.
Palaeontology: Breathing room for early animals

Animals originated in a world with marine oxygen levels only a fraction of those found in today's oceans. Observations of microbial habitats in present-day lagoons suggest that early animals could have found refuge in oxygen-producing mats.
A preoperative assessment and education program: implementation and outcomes

A preoperative program was initiated by the nursing staff of an orthopaedic unit to prepare patients and their families by providing information about every aspect of hospitalization for total joint replacement in order to decrease length of stay (LOS) and improve patient satisfaction. This included steps to minimize complications, teaching exercises that would increase post operative function, and quality discharge planning. The program is coordinated by the Patient Care Managers (PCM) and is offered to 4 patients twice weekly. The sample consisted of 463 patients admitted for total hip and knee replacement. The average LOS during the 33-month period was 8.0 days for those patients who received the preoperative program and 8.7 days for those patients who did not. Several outliers that had extended hospitalizations were equally distributed in both groups. By providing education preoperatively, we have not only reduced costs, but we have also provided our patients with timely information and quality care.
Protection from endotoxic shock by EVK-203, a novel alkylpolyamine sequestrant of lipopolysaccharide.

Abstract Lipopolysaccharides (LPS) play a key role in the pathogenesis of septic shock, a major cause of mortality in the critically ill patient. The only therapeutic option aimed at limiting downstream systemic inflammatory processes by targeting lipopolysaccharide is Toraymyxin™, an extracorporeal hemoperfusion device using solid phase-immobilized polymyxin B (PMB). While PMB is known to effectively sequester LPS, its severe systemic toxicity proscribes its parenteral use, and hemoperfusion may not be feasible in patients in shock. In our continuing efforts to develop small-molecule mimics which display the LPS-sequestering properties, but not the toxicity of PMB, a series of mono- and bis-substituted dialkylpolyamines were synthesized and evaluated. We show that EVK-203, an alkylpolyamine compound, specifically binds to and neutralizes the activity of LPS, and affords complete protection in a murine model of endotoxic shock. EVK-203 is without any apparent toxicity when administered to mice at multiples of therapeutic doses for several days. The specific endotoxin-sequestering property along with a very favorable therapeutic index renders this compound an ideal candidate for preclinical development.
Transient State Kinetic Investigation of 5-Aminolevulinate Synthase Reaction Mechanism

5-Aminolevulinate synthase (ALAS), a pyridoxal 5′-phosphate-dependent enzyme, catalyzes the first, and regulatory, step of the heme biosynthetic pathway in nonplant eukaryotes and some bacteria. 5-Aminolevulinate synthase is a dimeric protein having an ordered kinetic mechanism with glycine binding before succinyl-CoA and with aminolevulinate release after CoA and carbon dioxide. Rapid scanning stopped-flow absorption spectrophotometry in conjunction with multiple turnover chemical quenched-flow kinetic analyses and a newly developed CoA detection method were used to examine the ALAS catalytic reaction and identify the rate-determining step. The reaction of glycine with ALAS follows a three-step kinetic process, ascribed to the formation of the Michaelis complex and the pyridoxal 5′-phosphate-glycine aldimine, followed by the abstraction of the glycine pro-R proton from the external aldimine. Significantly, the rate associated with this third step (k 3 = 0.002 s−1) is consistent with the rate determined for the ALAS-catalyzed removal of tritium from [2-3H2]glycine. Succinyl-CoA and acetoacetyl-CoA increased the rate of glycine proton removal ∼250,000- and 10-fold, respectively, supporting our previous proposal that the physiological substrate, succinyl-CoA, promotes a protein conformational change, which accelerates the conversion of the external aldimine into the initial quinonoid intermediate (Hunter, G. A., and Ferreira, G. C. (1999) J. Biol. Chem. 274, 12222–12228). Rapid scanning stopped-flow and quenched-flow kinetic analyses of the ALAS reaction under single turnover conditions lend evidence for two quinonoid reaction intermediates and a model of the ALAS kinetic mechanism in which product release is at least the partially rate-limiting step. Finally, the carbonyl and carboxylate groups of 5-aminolevulinate play a major protein-interacting role by inducing a conformational change in ALAS and, thus, possibly modulating product release.
Gustatory responses to anomeric sugars.

Es wurden quantitative und qualitative Geschmacksvergleiche zwischen frisch zubereiteten und ins Gleichgewicht gebrachten Losungen von Fruchtzucker, Mannose, Malzzucker, Xylose und Rhamnose angestellt. Erfahrene Versuchspersonen stellten in bestimmten Zeitintervallen die Geschmackswirkung der Losung fest, die mit polarimetrischen Zeitmessungen verglichen wurden.
Nonlinear parametric amplification and attenuation in a base-excited cantilever beam

Abstract This work investigates the nonlinear behavior of a representative parametrically amplified macroscale structure. Specifically, the effort examines the effects of structural and inertial nonlinearities on the near-resonant response of a base-excited, flexible cantilever beam driven by a combined (simultaneously parametric and direct) excitation. The prototypical structure is modeled using classical energy methods and key response metrics are analyzed through the use of the method of averaging. A series of experimental investigations are performed to validate analytically predicted behaviors. The work demonstrates that with the proper selection of various system parameters, both vibration amplification and attenuation can be efficiently achieved. This work provides a baseline understanding of the effect of nonlinearities on parametrically excited systems and is expected to guide future work on micro/nanoscale systems, where parametric excitations arise quite naturally.
Multimodal Photoacoustic retinal imaging: current status and prospects

Photoacoustic ophthalmoscopy is a new retinal imaging technology that offers the unique capability to measure optical absorption in the retina and is anticipated to have applications in both research and clinical diagnosis of blinding diseases.
Haploid induction in Mexican polyploid species and colchicine-doubled derivatives

Haploids (tetraploids and triploids) were obtained from crosses between colchicine-doubled octaploid and natural hexaploid Mexican potato species and the Gp. Phureja clone 1.22 as the pollinator, but none were obtained from crosses of natural 4x(2EBN) Mexican species with 2x(1EBN) pollinators. The manipulation of ploidy and Endosperm Balance Number (EBN) of tetraploid Mexican potato species was useful in explaining the occurrence of pseudogamous parthenogenetic haploid production. The pollinator effect, EBN, and maternal influence are important characters to consider in searching for haploid-inducing pollinators among 2x(2EBN) as well as 2x(1EBN) potato species.
THE AGE FACTOR IN THE VELOCITY OF THE GROWTH OF FIBROBLASTS IN THE HEALING WOUND

The velocity curve of fibroplasia in the healing of wounds in young rats reached its end-point 3 days ahead of a similar curve for adults. Strength and fibroplasia were manifest 1 day sooner than in the adults. A study of the increments of the curve showed that the rate of fibroplasia during the accelerated phase was less in the young and that it lasted longer. Correspondingly, retardation appeared later and was less in amount than in the curve for the adult rats. The amount of retardation was even less than in the curve obtained for adults on a high protein diet, in spite of the fact that in this latter curve there was a definite increase in the rate of fibroplasia. Healing in the young, therefore, is more rapid than in adults because fibroplasia begins earlier and is less retarded, not because the rate of fibroplasia is greater. Growth of the young is not hindered by the process of wound healing.
Species differences in ribonuclease activity of milk and mammary gland

Abstract 1. 1. Ribonuclease (RNAase) activity in milk of mouse, rat, rabbit, dog, goat, cow and human and in mammary tissue of mouse and rat has been determined at pH 7.4 under various ionic conditions. 2. 2. RNAase in milk of rabbit, cow, goat, human, dog and mouse exhibited no strong ionic preference while activity of rat milk RNAase was greatly enhanced by Ca 2+ . Enzyme from every source preferred pyrimidine over purine homopolymers as substrate. 3. 3. Comparing the maximal activity per ml found for each species, milk of rabbit, rat and cow had the highest activity, that of human and goat was intermediate and that of dog and mouse was the lowest. Differences between strains were smaller than interspecific differences. 4. 4. In rat and mouse, milk RNAase activity is a function of mammary RNAase activity in the gland.
Immune exclusion and immune inclusion: a new model of host-bacterial interactions in the gut

Abstract It is thought that the primary function of secretory IgA (SIgA) is, in conjunction with the mucus lining of the gut, to prevent translocation of bacteria across the epithelial barrier. In this review, we evaluate the emerging idea that SIgA and the mucus of the large bowel may actually be involved in promicrobial activity. Central to this new model is the idea that growth of bacterial biofilms in the gut may be common and is likely advantageous to the microbial community. Evidence is examined that suggests the immune system is likely involved in the maintenance of biofilms in the gut. This model of immune inclusion, if correct, likely operates in conjunction with immune exclusion, preventing bacteria from transversing the epithelial barrier.
Bibliography of Western Works on Early Medieval China (2002–2009)

(2010). Bibliography of Western Works on Early Medieval China (2002–2009) Early Medieval China: Vol. 2010, No. 16, pp. 67-90.
Pink bollworm: sterilizing effects of benzylphenols and benzyl-1,3-benzodioxoles.

Seven benzyl and cinnamyl derivatives of 2, 4-di-tert-butylphenol and 1,3-benzodioxoles were tested for sterilant activity against Pectinophora gossypiella (Saunders). Five of the compounds prevented development of neonate larvae placed on larval diet containing 0.25% of the compounds. A13-53024, (5-ethoxy-6-[(4-methoxyphenyl) methyl]-1,3-benzodioxole), prevented development of neonate larvae placed on larval diet containing 0.01% of the compound, although diet containing 0.001% had no effect on the fertility of the subsequent adult moths. This compound also was the most active one in contact experiments with adult moths; continuous exposure of adult moths to surfaces treated with 0.1 mg/cm2 reduced egg hatch to 18% (control hatch was 86%) and exposure of either sex to 0.5 mg/cm2 for 6, 12, or 24 h resulted in complete sterility within 2–3 days. However, there was a subsequent partial recovery of fertility in 5–7 days. In a field plot test, applications of 2.23 kg AI/ha of A13-53024 at 5–7 day intervals had no effect on infestations of the pink bollworm.
Machine-independent register allocation

The context of this paper is a machine-independent Pascal optimizer that transforms an intermediate stack-machine pseudo-code program into a generally smaller and faster pseudo-code program. The emphasis of this current paper is on the approach taken for mapping registers and storage, using an abstract but practical definition of the target machine's storage hierarchy. A companion paper [7] describes the overall optimizer project. After starting on this project, additional input became available from a Fortran-to-Pcode compiler written at Stanford [2]. Our storage mapping design is sufficiently robust that the addition of Fortran EQUIVALENCE and COMMON statements required no changes.Our particular allocation algorithm is not unique or original, but the abstract description of the storage hierarchy, and its inclusion of practical considerations we feel to be an original contribution. The description framework has so far stood the test of describing the storage hierarchy of many commercially-available machines without needing to be extended or embellished. We hope that this is a good predictor for the future.
The geometric structure of s-tetrazine and its change on electronic excitation

Abstract We report improved rotational constants that are consistent with recent low temperature, high resolution spectra of gaseous tetrazine as well as with older room temperature spectra. The constants are sufficient to overdetermine the geometries of the molecule in the ground state and in the A 1 B 3u excited state. The ground state results agree with those of X-ray diffraction. Moreover, earlier disagreements with results of Franck-Condon treatments about the effects of electronic excitation on the tetrazine geometry are resolved. We append an easy and general procedure for calculation of nuclear spin statistical weight factors.
Multiple Target Vehicles Detection and Classification with Low-Rank Matrix Decomposition

Considerable interest has arisen in the recent years utilizing inexpensive acoustic sensors in the battlefield to perform targets of interest identification and classification. They require no line of sight and provide many capabilities for target detection, bearing estimation, target tracking, classification and identification. In practice, however, many environment noise, time-varying, and uncertainties factors affect their performance in detecting targets of interest reliably and accurate. In this paper, we have proposed a novel feature extraction approach for robust classification and identification of moving target vehicles to reduce those factors. The approach is based on Low Rank Matrix Decomposition. Using Low Rank Matrix Decomposition, dominant features of vehicle acoustic signatures can be extracted appropriately with respect to vehicle operational responses and used for robust identification and classification of target vehicles. The performance of the proposed approach has been evaluated based on a set of experimental acoustic data from multiple vehicle test-runs. It is demonstrated that the approach yields verv promising results to reduce uncertainties associated with classification of target vehicles based on acoustic signatures at different operation speeds in the field.
Correlation between Serum Estradiol in the Follicular Phase of the Ovarian Cycle and Decay Accelerating Factor (DAF) Expression on Red Blood Cells and Coxsackievirus B3‐Induced Hemagglutination in Young Cycling Women

Decay accelerating factor (DAF) is a widely distributed glycoprotein which aids in the inactivation of complement. DAF is also a cellular receptor for certain group B coxsackieviruses (CVB) and is responsible for the viral hemagglutinating activity for human red blood cells (RBC). Healthy, young female volunteers donated blood on days 11 and 22 of the ovarian cycle. Samples were categorized into luteal and follicular phases based on serum progesterone level (P4 either or = 2.0 ng/mL, luteal) and analyzed by flow cytomtery for DAF expression on RBC and CD21 + B lymphocytes. Cycling females showed significant variation in CVB-induced hemagglutination and % RBC or CD19 + cells which were DAF +. There was a strong correlation between serum estradiol levels and % RBC expressing DAF (P < 0.01) in the follicular, but not in the luteal ovarian phase. Infection of white blood cells with green-fluorescent protein CVB (GFP-CVB) showed a correlation between infectivity of CD19+ cells and DAF expression. This indicates that women may show differential susceptibility to CVB infection in the luteal and follicular phases of the ovarian cycle.
Racial composition, unemployment, and crime: Dealing with inconsistencies in panel designs

Racial composition and unemployment have appeared as either theoretically-relevant controls or variables of substantive interest in numerous studies of crime. While there is no clear consensus in the literature as to their statistical significance, the lack of consensus has been most apparent in panel analyses with unit fixed effects. One explanation for this is that racial composition and unemployment are fairly invariant, or slow-moving, which leads to collinearity with unit dummies. A number of pertinent studies are reviewed to illustrate how two slow-moving variables, percent black and percent unemployed, have behaved inconsistently. A fixed effects vector decomposition procedure [Plumper, V., Troeger, V. E., 2007. Efficient estimation of time-invariant and rarely changing variables in finite sample panel analyses with unit fixed effects. Political Analysis, 15, 124-139.] is used to illustrate how these variables' coefficients appear positive and significant when the slow-moving process is accounted for.
Options for screening colonoscopy without sedation: sequel to a pilot study in U.S. veterans.

Background Sedation on demand combined with a novel water infusion technique enabled 23 of 44 veterans to complete screening colonoscopy without sedation. Objective With use of the usual air insufflation technique, we determined the proportion of patients who could complete colonoscopy without sedation. Design Retrospective review of prospectively collected data in a performance improvement project to minimize the burden of sedation. Setting A Veterans Affairs open access screening colonoscopy program. Subjects Ninety-three consecutive veterans who accepted on-demand sedation or scheduled no sedation. Method Usual air insufflation during colonoscope insertion. Medications were administered at the veteran's request. Results Twenty-three veterans chose scheduled unsedated colonoscopy; 22 were completed without sedation. Sedation on demand enabled 54 to complete the procedure without medications; 16 requested medications to complete colonoscopy. Nurses' expectations indicated that the choices were credible options. Conclusions Options for screening colonoscopy without sedation combined with usual air insufflation are feasible among U.S. veterans. Confirmation by randomized controlled trial and evaluation of the impact on institutional costs and patient adherence to screening and surveillance colonoscopy deserve to be considered.
Velocities of Sputtered Atoms

The average velocity of atoms sputtered from metal surfaces by normally incident ${\mathrm{Hg}}^{+}$-ions in a low pressure discharge was found to be unexpectedly high, corresponding to kinetic energies of the order of 10 to 30 ev.By sputtering atoms from a (110) surface of a fcc crystal, rather dense atomic beams ejected normal to the target surface can be obtained. The fact that the kinetic energies of the atoms are more than 100 times higher than thermal evaporation energies makes such a beam interesting.
Short-Term Training in Loving-Kindness Meditation Produces a State, But Not a Trait, Alteration of Attention

While mindfulness meditation has been associated with enhanced attentional abilities, the consequences of loving-kindness meditation for attention have not previously been investigated. We examined the trait and state effects of 8 weeks of training in loving-kindness meditation (LKM) on the attentional blink. The attentional blink is a period of time in which a target stimulus is less likely to be detected if it follows too quickly (approximately 500 ms) after a previously detected target. For the two experiments reported here, a group of participants trained in LKM by meditating for approximately 15 min per day, four days per week, for 8 weeks. Experiment 1 utilized a pre-post design, with a non-meditating control group, to examine whether this training reduced the attentional blink. No differences were found. However, in an exploratory analysis, meditators did exhibit increases in two facets of mindfulness measured by the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire: observation and descriptiveness. In experiment 2, we tested for a state effect of LKM by having trained meditators practice LKM immediately prior to the attentional blink task. Here, meditators had a significantly reduced blink size compared to control participants. To establish that this reduction was caused by the combination of LKM training with pre-task meditation, we analyzed the data in experiment 2 with respect to one of our previous works, which reported that the practice of LKM immediately prior to the attentional blink task in those without meditation training did not reduce the blink magnitude. This analysis also revealed a significant difference. Therefore, training in LKM, coupled with its practice immediately prior to an attention task, caused a state reduction in the attentional blink. These results are the first to demonstrate that LKM, an emotion-focused practice, influences cognitive processing.
Path Integral Formulation of Relativistic Quantum Mechanics

FEYNMAN1 has given a path integral formulation of non-relativistic quantum theory which he showed to be completely equivalent to that given by Schrodinger's equation. Although the same can be done for the existing relativistic theory2, it cannot be unique because the latter is not consistent. The fundamental dilemma is3: either one adopts unitarity and all the divergences that go with it, or else admits non-Hermitian interactions and thus the non-conservation of probability.
The effect of gap depth on the perception of whether a gap is crossable

Four experiments were performed in order to examine the effect of gap depth on human observers’ perception of whether or not a gap is crossable. Experiments 1 and 2 showed that as the gap’s depth increased, observers tended to increasingly underestimate the maximum width of a gap they could step across. Experiments 3 and 4 clarified this finding: The observed covariation of perceived gap crossability and gap depth depended on the observer’s direction of gaze, rather than on the physical depth of the gap. The optical relations to which observers might be attending are discussed, as well as the possibility that cognitive-affective processes might have contributed to observers’ underestimation of their actual capabilities.
Generalization of the Concept of Invariance of Differential Equations. Results of Applications to Some Schrödinger Equations

We have found that differential equations can be form invariant under a larger class of infinitesimal transformations than those considered by Lie and Ovsjannikov. We give a generalization of the concept of point transformation. It is necessary for the systematic determination of the generators of continuous invariance groups of, e.g., the partial differential equations of physics. Applying it to Schr\"odinger's equation, time-dependent constants of the motion are found systematically, as illustrated here for the hydrogen atom.
Entropy generation in a five-dimensional cosmology admitting bulk viscosity.

The generation of primordial entropy is studied in a five-dimensional cosmological model, the generation is shown to depend critically on the equation of state and whether or not the bulk viscosity is constant or time dependent Nous etudions la generation d'une entropie primordiale dans une cosmologie a cinq dimensions. Nous montrons que cette generation depend crucialement de l'equation d'etat et de la propriete de la viscosite d'etre constante ou dependante du temps
Non-T, non-B acute lymphoblastic leukemia (L3) with t(8;22) and two 14q+ chromosomes

Abstract A patient with L3 leukemia is reported whose leukemic cells were characterized cytogenetically by a duplication of the long arm segment 1q25→q42, trisomy for chromosome 7, t(8;22)(q24;q11), and two 14q+ chromosomes. Immunologic marker analysis revealed the leukemic cells to be of the non-T, non-B ("null") type. This observation, when considered in conjunction with a previous report of heterogeneity in cell lineages of L3 leukemias, raises the possibility of some lymphoid neoplasms arising in stem cells.
Chinese academic libraries serving international students and scholars: An assessment of three case studies

The authors of this study assess the attitudes and perceptions of academic librarians at three university libraries in China regarding library services for international students and scholars. The study directs particular focus on librarians at Shaanxi Normal University in Xi’an, Fudan University in Shanghai, and Wuhan University of Technology, China, and follows logically upon a study conducted in 2008 that explored the perceptions of international students at two Chinese universities regarding the effectiveness of library services and collections for their research needs. In particular, this study documents information about Chinese academic librarian perceptions regarding services for international students and attitudes toward future outcomes. The ultimate goal of the study is to lay a foundation for developing strategies for improving library services and resources for international students and scholars in Chinese academic libraries in particular, which in turn can serve to improve services for inte...
Masses and widths of odd-parity N and D resonances

The masses and widths of $S=0$ resonances in the (70, ${1}^{\ensuremath{-}}$) and (56, ${1}^{\ensuremath{-}}$) multiplets have been fitted with use of a quark model with hyperfine interactions. Three models for the decay of these and other states have been examined, and it is concluded that the usual spectator model for the decays must be modified. No positive evidence is found for a tensor force, while conflicting evidence is found for a three-body spin-orbit force, and the (56, ${1}^{\ensuremath{-}}$) mass is lower than expected.