cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Exercise Prevents Fatigue and Improves Quality of Life in Prostate Cancer Patients Undergoing Radiotherapy

Abstract Monga U, Garber SL, Thornby J, Vallbona C, Kerrigan AJ, Monga TN, Zimmermann KP. Exercise prevents fatigue and improves quality of life in prostate cancer patients undergoing radiotherapy. Objective To show fatigue prevention and quality of life (QOL) improvement from cardiovascular exercise during radiotherapy. Design Prospective enrollment (n=21), randomized to exercise (n=11) and control groups (n=10), with pre- and post-radiotherapy between- and within-group comparisons. Setting Academic medical center. Participants Localized prostate cancer patients undergoing radiotherapy. Interventions The interventional group received radiotherapy plus aerobic exercise 3 times a week for 8 weeks whereas the control group received radiotherapy without exercise. Main Outcome Measures Pre- and post-radiotherapy differences in cardiac fitness, fatigue, depression, functional status, physical, social, and functional well-being, leg strength, and flexibility were examined within and between 2 groups. Results No significant differences existed between 2 groups at pre-radiotherapy assessment. At post-radiotherapy assessment, the exercise group showed significant within group improvements in: cardiac fitness ( P P =.02), Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy–Prostate (FACT-P) ( P =.04), physical well-being ( P =.002), social well-being ( P =.02), flexibility ( P =.006), and leg strength ( P =.000). Within the control group, there was a significant increase in fatigue score ( P =.004) and a decline in social well-being ( P P =.006), strength ( P =.000), flexibility ( P P P =.006), physical well-being ( P P =.002), and functional well-being ( P =.04). Conclusions An 8-week cardiovascular exercise program in patients with localized prostate cancer undergoing radiotherapy improved cardiovascular fitness, flexibility, muscle strength, and overall QOL and prevented fatigue.
Monitoring of the Spatter Formation in Laser Welding of Galvanized Steels in Lap Joint Configuration by the Measurement of the Acoustic Emission

Galvanized steels have been widely used in the different industries such as automotive, aerospace and marine industry, due to their high corrosion resistance and excellent mechanical properties. However, the zinc coating on the metal sheet offers a big challenge to the welding operation, specifically in the high-power laser welding process of the lap joint if the metal sheets are installed in a gap-free configuration. Spatters, one of the critical problems for the weld quality, is readily generated by the high-pressurized zinc vapor developed at the interface of two metal sheets. It takes extra procedures to clean the weld surface or repair the blowholes generated by the spatters. The on-line process monitoring is critical to assure the achievement of the high quality welds. Therefore, it is necessary to develop an on-line efficient monitoring system for the welding of galvanized steels. In the past few years, acoustic emission (AE) technique has been applied to monitor different manufacturing processes. This paper will highlight its application in the laser welding of galvanized steels. An AE signal acquisition system is used to real-time monitor the welding process. The results of the investigation show that the amplitude of AE signals varies with the welding process status. When the welding process is stable, the amplitudes of AE signals are almost constant and with the low intensity compared to the AE emission signals when the weld defects are presented. When the spatter is formed, a sharp spike with the high amplitude is shown in the collected acoustic emission signal. In order to extract the features of the AE signals in frequency domain, the acquired signal in time domain is further processed using Short-time Fourier Transformation (STFT). The STFT processed results indicated that the spatter-induced AE signals cover a wide range of frequencies and the background noise is mainly presented in the range below 100 Hz.Copyright © 2008 by ASME
Generalised ICCG method for solution of asymmetric, sparse, linear systems of discretised semiconductor device equations

The ICCG (incomplete Choleski and conjugate gradient) method has been generalised for solving large-scale systems of linear equations whose coefficient matrices are highly sparse and asymmetric. The generalised method has been successfully tested on matrices with randomly generated elements and is found to be very efficient for two- and three-dimensional device simulations.
The Hyades Binary 51 Tauri: Spectroscopic Detection of the Primary, the Distance to the Cluster, and the Mass-Luminosity Relation

51 Tauri has long been known as a double-lined spectroscopic binary (orbital period = 11 yr) with the peculiarity that only the velocities of the secondary component could be measured. We report here new spectroscopic observations of this system that have enabled us to measure velocities for the rapidly rotating primary using TODCOR, a two-dimensional cross-correlation technique, and we have derived a double-lined orbit. In addition, 51 Tau is a visual binary resolved by speckle interferometry. By combining the astrometric and spectroscopic data, we have obtained the first complete visual-spectroscopic solution for the system, from which we derive the orbital parallax (?orb = 00179 ? 00006) and the individual masses (MA = 1.80 ? 0.13 M? and MB = 1.46 ? 0.18 M?). Based on this orbital parallax, we use relative proper motions for a representative sample of cluster members to obtain a distance modulus for the cluster of m - M = 3.40 ? 0.07 (47.8 ? 1.6 pc). We compare the empirical mass-luminosity relation from all available direct mass determinations with recent theoretical models, and we take advantage of the unusual opportunity that we have absolute luminosities and colors to derive an age estimate of 600 Myr for the Hyades, by comparing with stellar evolution models without any arbitrary adjustments.
Diverse responses to global change

Diversity describes the reaction to the very current issue of global warming, although most scientists and policymakers agree that there is a real threat to the world. Their message is an urgent, “We have to act now,” not 10 years from now when we are more certain that changes in climate result from human activity. The National Academy of Sciences, Smithsonian Institution, American Association for the Advancement of Science, and Sigma Xi held the 2-day Forum on Global Change and Our Common Future, May 2 and 3 in Washington, D.C. It was a public meeting, with the aim of presenting the science of global change, its impact on society, and implications for public policy.
Accounting for the position of verbal agreement morphology with psycholinguistic and diachronic explanatory factors

This article attempts a more complete explanation of the position of verbal agreement affixes which, unlike other inflections, lack a correlation with word order and are prefixes relatively more frequently. An analysis of the factors that determine the position of affixes during morphologization reveals that agreement inflections originate in relatively more mobile sources (unstressed pronouns) and are associated to polymorphemic hosts. This, in combination with a proposed psycholinguistic principle, which during morphologization, prevents fusion of grammatical markers to complex sequences of inflections (for which crosslinguistic statistical evidence is supplied) can be used to explain the position of agreement markers.
Institutionalization of an elderly family member: Reactions of spouse and nonspouse caregivers

Although a prevalent clinical assumption is that the caregiver well-being improves following patient institutionalization, recent research challenges this assumption. In this article, the impact of patient institutionalization on the well-being of family caregivers is examined. Caregiver reaction, sense of general well-being and level of depression are compared pre- and postinstitutionalization and differences between spouse, adult child, and other caregivers are investigated.
Thermal evolution of plutons: a parameterized approach.

A conservation-of-energy equation has been derived for the spatially averaged magma temperature in a spherical pluton undergoing simultaneous crystallization and both internal (magma) and external (hydrothermal fluid) thermal convection. The model accounts for the dependence of magma viscosity on crystallinity, temperature, and bulk composition; it includes latent heat effects and the effects of different initial water concentrations in the melt and quantitatively considers the role that large volumes of circulatory hydrothermal fluids play in dissipating heat. The nonlinear ordinary differential equation describing these processes has been solved for a variety of magma compositions, initial termperatures, initial crystallinities, volume ratios of hydrothermal fluid to magma, and pluton sizes. These calculations are graphically summarized in plots of the average magma temperature versus time after emplacement. Solidification times, defined as the time necessary for magma to cool from the initial emplacement temperature to the solidus temperature vary as R 1,3 , where R is the pluton radius. The solidification time of a pluton with a radius of 1 kilometer is 5 x 10 4 years; for an otherwise identical pluton with a radius of 10 kilometers, the solidification time is ∼10 6 years. The water content has a marked effect on the solidification time. A granodiorite pluton with a radius of 5 kilometers and either 0.5 or 4 percent (by weight) water cools in 3.3 x 10 5 or 5 x 10 4 years, respectively. Convection solidification times are usually but not always less than conduction cooling times.
From Lemkin to Clooney: The Development and State of Genocide Studies

The study of genocide has become one of the most attractive fields of research since the end of the Cold War. A productive and vibrant scholarly community has come into existence and professional associations compete with each other and foster international exchange by regularly organizing major conferences. Several scholarly journals contribute to a multifaceted research landscape. Similarly impressive is the progressive institutionalization of genocide studies. For most students and scholars, the study of genocide is more than just an academic or intellectual occupation. They see their roles as scholar-activists, but the will to stop genocide is not only prevalent in the ivory tower of academia. A whole plethora of actors in the realm of civil society are running stunning campaigns against genocide that attract both media and public attention. But is the evolution of genocide studies a single success story? This article highlights some methodological and ideological problems inherent in genocide studies (e.g., Eurocentrism) and discusses their consequences for our understanding of mass violence.
Evolution of Cardiopulmonary Bypass

At the end of the Second World War, the devastation of many cities in Europe, combined with the problems of reconstruction and loss of financial support, had brought European medical research to a halt. On the other hand, in the United States the war brought about an enormous amount of scientific research through the development of nuclear weapons, the mass production of penicillin, early computers, and a variety of other technological advances, some of which were eventually put to use by medical investigators. In the immediate postwar years, Congress began 3 decades of generous funding for medical research and education through the National Institutes of Health and the Public Health Service. In the 1920s and 1930s, medical research money had been scarce, but after the war there was a flood of money. The National Institutes of Health budget for medical research in 1945 was $180 000. By 1947, it was increased to $4 000 000, in 1950 to $46 000 000, and in 1974 to $1 billion.1 By 2008, the total budget just for the Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute was almost $3 billion. Since colonial times, it had been customary for young American physicians to spend postgraduate time in Vienna, Berlin, London, or Paris. Now the opposite was true. It became important for a young European physician to have worked for a year or so in a US medical center. The world center for medical education and research had shifted from Europe to the United States. Postwar medical progress was also stimulated by several other programs. The Hill-Burton act of 1946 provided funds for community hospital upgrades and construction. Initially this bill provided $75 million per year for 5 years. It was a matching plan in which local hospitals were required to raise two thirds of the new …
Material Removal and Dimensional Integrity of Green Machined W-Ni-Fe

In this research, the mechanism of material removal in green machining of unsintered tungsten alloy (W-Ni-Fe) was explored via orthogonal cutting. Parameters related to tool design (e.g. forces, stresses, and energy required during material removal processes at different settings) were calculated and compared. Dimensional integrity of production machining in pre-sintered tungsten alloy was also investigated via drilling and end-milling. The results, then, were compared with the conditions after sintering. Statistical analyses were used to quantify and explain the relationships among potential parameters. This research utilizes designed experiments and data analyses to investigate the material removal mechanism in green machining and the dimensional integrity of production machining pre-sintered tungsten alloy versus its status after sintering.Copyright © 2004 by ASME
Microprocessors and Education [Guest editor's inroduction]

The papers for this special issue of Computer were selected to be representative of those presented at the DISE Workshop on Microprocessors and Education held at Colorado State University, August 16-18, 1976. The workshop was sponsored by the DISE Committee (Digital Systems Education Committee–a project supported by the National Science Foundation) along with the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science of Colorado State University. The workshop was intended to provide a forum both for the academic and industrial communities. For educators it was an opportunity to exchange ideas on how microporcessors should be integrated into the curriculum and to discuss microprocessor hardware, software, and system problems associated with the educational environment. For industry it was a chance to present its views on what skills will be required of graduating engineers, to provide an insight into the problems and design decisions encountered in designing and fabricating devices and systems, and to provide educators with a forecast of future developments in the industry.
The Bell Curve: An Essay Review

Occasionally a book out of academia will break from scholarly circles and enter into the mainstream market. On even rarer occasions, it will gain considerable notoriety before its initial publication. Richard Herrnstein and Charles Murray's The Bell Curve: Intelligence and Class Structure in American Life is such a book. Currently, it has entered the New York Times best- sellers list and appeared in most academic and mainstream periodical book reviews. Direct publicity for the book has also been strong. Although Herrnstein died September 24 of the past year, Murray has appeared on many popular television and radio talk shows.
The Greeks Had a Word for It

AMONG the lesser deities worshiped by the ancient Greeks there was one who wore the beard, the ears and the horns of a goat. In fact, his imaginaryaspect largely shaped our subsequent conception of the Devil. According to the Greeks, when this creature appeared suddenly to human beings, he awoke in them a storm of sudden fear. They called him Pan, and called the fear that he evoked "panic." In this respect, in this trait of provoking panic or fear, the great god Pan has his prototype today; but we no longer worship the lesser gods, so we do not . . .
The Moderating Role of Autonomy and Control on the Benefits of Written Emotion Expression

Two studies examined the hypothesis that relative to control motivation, autonomy motivation is associated with effective written expression and regulation, leading to positive emotional, physical, and cognitive outcomes over time. Participants viewed a Hiroshima—Nagasaki documentary in each of two sessions. Study 1 showed that dispositionally autonomous participants, particularly those who expressed, had positive well-being, energy, and memory after the second viewing. Study 2 explored benefits of situational motivation by priming autonomy and control. Results showed that dispositionally controlled individuals received the same benefits as autonomous individuals only when primed with autonomy and encouraged to express. Coding of writing content revealed that the benefits of autonomy were mediated by nondefensive and effective emotional processing, as reflected in greater use of self-referencing and cognitive mechanism words and lower use of concrete words. Results support the expectation that autonomy relates to effective expression and emotion regulation, leading to positive functioning over time.
Designing a likert-type scale to assess attitude toward energy conservation: A nine step process

A nine-step process was used as a multilevel screening mechanism in developing a Likert-type scale that measures that attitudes of teachers toward energy conservation. Following the assemblage of a 71 statement item pool, the statements were analyzed via qualitative criteria (i.e., presence of authoritative appeals, use of double negatives, statements irrelevant to the attitude object, etc.). The 60 statements meeting the qualitative criteria were then pilotted using a sample of 93 preservice elementary teachers. One of the 60 statements was modified as a result of respondent feedback. Data collected from respondents were anlayzed using the Likert Attitude Scale Analysis Main Program (LIKRT) and the emotional intensity of each statement was judged by the criteria: discrimination index, bipolar data, and neutral data. Nineteen statements that were part of the initial item pool met all the criteria set forth by the nine-step process; as a result, these statements composed the Attitude Toward Energy Conservation Scale. Coefficient alpha for the scale was reported at 0.81 by LIKRT with an average adjusted item-total correlation of 0.48. Initial validity data collected suggests the scale to be a valid measure of preservice teachers' attitudes toward energy conservation.
The Ultrafine Mineralogy of a Molten Interplanetary Dust Particle as an Example of the Quench Regime of Atmospheric Entry Heating

Melting and degassing of interplanetary dust particle L2005B22 at approx. 1200 C was due to flash heating during atmospheric entry. Preservation of the porous particle texture supports rapid quenching from the peak heating temperature whereby olivine and pyroxene nanocrystals (3 nm-26 nm) show partial devitrification of the quenched melt at T approx. = 450 C - 740 C. The implied ultrahigh cooling rates are calculated at approx. 105 C/h-106 C/h, which is consistent with quench rates inferred from the temperature-time profiles based on atmospheric entry heating models. A vesicular rim on a nonstoichiometric relic forsterite grain in this particle represents either evaporative magnesium loss during flash heating or thermally annealed ion implantation texture.
Design, fabrication, and calibration of curved integral coils for measuring transfer function, uniformity and effective length of LBL ALS booster dipole magnets

A matched pair of curved integral coils has been designed, fabricated, and calibrated at Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory (LBL) for measuring Advanced Light Source (ALS) booster dipole magnets. Distinctive fabrication and calibration techniques are presented. The use of multifilar magnet wire in fabricating integral search coils is described. Magnetic measurements are discussed. >
Three New Tests of Independence That Differentiate Models of Risky Decision Making

This paper tests new "independence" properties to compare three models of risky decision making. According to the rank-affected multiplicative (RAM) weights model, all three properties should be satisfied; according to the transfer of attention exchange (TAX) model, two should be satisfied and one can be violated. However, according to cumulative prospect theory (CPT), all three properties will be violated if the probability weighting function is nonlinear. Although CPT is flexible enough to accommodate violations of these properties, its predicted violations based on previously estimated parameters failed to materialize. In 14 choices for which the CPT model disagreed with TAX, CPT correctly predicted the modal choice in only one case and TAX predicted the modal choice in the other 13. New versions of three other paradoxes were also tested and found to refute CPT.
Self-* software architectures and component middleware in pervasive environments

Software systems that execute in embedded and pervasive environments are frequently required to be self-monitoring, self-adapting, and self-healing. However, supporting these self-* capabilities in pervasive environments creates a number of unique engineering challenges. This paper first describes the challenges that we believe to be the most significant based on our experience developing real-world pervasive software applications with self-* capabilities. We then discuss each challenge in the context of four strategies commonly employed in self-* systems: dynamic software update, service discovery, transparent replication, and logical mobility. Finally, we explain how each strategy is implemented in our architectural middleware platform, Prism-MW.
Underestimation of pyruvic acid concentrations by fructose and cysteine in 2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazine-mediated onion pungency test.

Abstract Onion pungency has been routinely measured by determining pyruvic acid concentration in onion juice by reacting with 2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazine (DNPH) since 1961. However, the absorbency of the color adduct of the reaction rapidly decreased in onion samples as compared to that of the pyruvic acid standards, resulting in underestimations of the pyruvic acid concentrations. By measuring the absorbency at 1 min, we have demonstrated that accuracy could be substantially improved. As a continuation, the causes of degradation of the color adduct after the reaction and pyruvic acid itself before the reaction were examined in this study. Alliinase action in juice (fresh or cooked) and bulb colors did not influence the degradation. Some organic acids indigenously found in onion, such as ascorbic acid, proline, and glutamic acid, did not reduce the absorbency. However, fructose within the onion juice or supplemented caused the degradation of the color adduct, whereas sucrose and glucose had a lesser effect. Degradation rates increased proportionally as fructose concentrations increased up to 70 mg/mL. Cysteine was found to degrade the pyruvic acid itself before the pyruvic acid could react with DNPH. Approximately 90% of the pyruvic acid was degraded after 60 min in samples of 7 mM pyruvic acid supplemented with 10 mg/mL cysteine. Spectral comparisons of onion juice containing fructose naturally and pyruvic acid solution with supplemented fructose indicated identical patterns and confirmed that the color-adduct degradation was caused by fructose. Our study elucidated that fructose, a major sugar in onion juice, caused the degradation of color adduct in the onion pungency test and resulted in underestimation of the pyruvic acid concentration.
The pathogenesis of psoriasis and the mechanism of action of tazarotene

The 3 major features of psoriasis—abnormal differentiation of keratinocytes, hyperproliferation of keratinocytes, and infiltration of inflammatory components into the skin—can be quantified by measuring levels of certain biochemical markers. Psoriasis is associated with upregulation or downregulation of several of these markers. Tazarotene helps to normalize the levels of the markers, thereby bringing about clinical improvement. (J Am Acad Dermatol 1998;39:S129-33.)
Clinoptilolite zeolite and cellulose amendments to reduce ammonia volatilization in a calcareous sandy soil

Leaching of nitrate (NO3−) below the root zone and gaseous losses of nitrogen (N) such as ammonia (NH3) volatilization, are major mechanisms of N loss from agricultural soils. New techniques to minimize such losses are needed to maximize N uptake efficiency and minimize production costs and the risk of potential N contamination of ground and surface waters. The effects of cellulose (C), clinoptilolite zeolite (CZ), or a combination of both (C+CZ) on NH3 volatilization and N transformation in a calcareous Riviera fine sand (loamy, siliceous, hyperthermic, Arenic Glossaqualf) from a citrus grove were investigated in a laboratory incubation study. Ammonia volatilization from NH4NO3 (AN), (NH4)2SO4(AS), and urea (U) applied at 200 mg N kg−1 soil decreased by 2.5-, 2.1- and 0.9-fold, respectively, with cellulose application at 15 g kg−1 and by 4.4-, 2.9- and 3.0-fold, respectively, with CZ application at 15 g kg−1 as compared with that from the respective sources without the amendments. Application of cellulose plus CZ (each at 15 g kg−1) was the most effective in decreasing NH3 volatilization. Application of cellulose increased the microbial biomass, which was responsible for immobilization of N, and thus decreased volatilization loss of NH3–N. The effect of CZ, on the other hand, may be due to increased retention of NH4 in the ion-exchange sites. The positive effect of interaction between cellulose and CZ amendment on microbial biomass was probably due to improved nutrient retention and availability to microorganisms in the soil. Thus, the amendments provide favorable conditions for microbial growth. These results indicate that soil amendment of CZ or CZ plus organic materials such as cellulose has great potential in reducing fertilizer N loss in sandy soils.
Universal Relations for Transversely Isotropic Elastic Materials

We adopt Hayes and Knops’s approach and derive universal relations for finite deformations of a transversely isotropic elastic material. Explicit universal relations are obtained for homogeneous deformations corresponding to triaxial stretches, simple shear, and simultaneous shear and extension. Universal relations are also derived for five families of nonhomogeneous deformations.
RELATION OF DRY MATTER CONTENT IN ENSILED MATERIAL AND OTHER FACTORS TO NUTRIENT LOSSES BY SEEPAGE.

Abstract Seepage losses were measured in 24, 8 by 24ft tower silos, in six experiments involving a wide variety of forages, additives, and other treatments. Dry matter content of the ensiled material, which varied from 12.2 to 38.6%, was the most important determinant of seepage losses. The best fitting prediction equation was: per cent of total dry matter lost=26.962−1.576X + 0.02304X 2 , where X=per cent dry matter of ensiled material. The model accounted for 84% of the variation. Other factors such as forage species and type of additive had a modifying effect on these losses. The data and corresponding calculations indicate that attempts to substantially reduce seepage losses with additives are largely futile and impractical. In some instances total losses may be increased. With very high moisture forages, amounts of additive required to have important effects are extremely large, whereas at moderate forage moisture contents seepage losses are not large. Dry matter losses by seepage from 38 silos found in published literature of other experiment stations in the United States were analyzed for comparative purposes. On an average, somewhat higher amounts of dry matter were lost from these. However, the differences appear to have reasonable explanations when the experimental conditions are compared. The prediction equation from the combined data was: Per cent of total dry matter lost=17.614−0.538X where X=% dry matter of ensiled material. The model accounted for 61% of the variation.
Neighborhood-Based Verification of Precipitation Forecasts from Convection-Allowing NCAR WRF Model Simulations and the Operational NAM

Since 2003 theNationalCenterfor Atmospheric Research(NCAR) has beenrunningvariousexperimental convection-allowing configurations of the Weather Research and Forecasting Model (WRF) for domains covering a large portion of the central United States during the warm season (April‐July). In this study, the skill of 3-hourly accumulated precipitation forecasts from a large sample of these convection-allowing simulations conducted during 2004‐05 and 2007‐08 is compared to that from operational North American Mesoscale (NAM) model forecasts using a neighborhood-based equitable threat score (ETS). Separate analyses were conducted for simulations run before and after the implementation in 2007 of positive-definite (PD) moisture transport for the NCAR-WRF simulations. The neighborhood-based ETS (denoted hETSir) relaxes the criteria for ‘‘hits’’ (i.e., correct forecasts) by considering grid points within a specified radius r .I t is shown that hETSiris more useful thanthe traditional ETS because hETSircan be usedto diagnosedifferences in precipitation forecast skill between different models as a function of spatial scale, whereas the traditional ETS only considers the spatial scale of the verification grid. It was found that differences in hETSir between NCAR-WRF and NAM generally increased with increasing r, with NCAR-WRF having higher scores. Examining time series of hETSir for r 5 100 and r 5 0 km (which simply reduces to the ‘‘traditional’’ ETS), statistically significant differences between NCAR-WRF and NAM were found at many forecast lead times for hETSi100 but only a few times for hETSi0. Larger and more statistically significant differences occurred with the 2007‐08 cases relative to the 2004‐05 cases. Because of differences in model configurations and dominantlarge-scaleweatherregimes,amorecontrolledexperimentwouldhavebeenneededtodiagnosethe reason for the larger differences that occurred with the 2007‐08 cases. Finally, a compositing technique was used to diagnose the differences in the spatial distribution of the forecasts. This technique implied westward displacement errors for NAM model forecasts in both sets of cases and in NCAR-WRF model forecasts for the 2007‐08 cases. Generally, the results are encouraging because they imply that advantages in convectionallowing relative to convection-parameterizing simulations noted in recent studies are reflected in an objective neighborhood-based metric.
The Potential for Avoided Emissions from Photovoltaic Electricity in the United States

The Potential for Avoided Emissions from Photovoltaic Electricity in the United States Pei Zhai, Peter Larsen, Dev Millstein, Surabi Menon and Eric Masanet Environmental Energy Technologies Division Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Berkeley, CA 94720 April 2012
Prenatal hair nicotine analysis in homes with multiple smokers.

Primary smoking during pregnancy places a woman at greater risk for preterm delivery, preterm premature rupture of membranes, and delivering a low birth weight (LBW) or small for gestational age (SGA) infant [1]. Although there is less evidence regarding the effect of secondhand smoke on perinatal morbidity; increase risk for decreased birthweight, smaller head circumference, stillbirth and preterm birth have been consistently reported [2-5]. Secondhand smoke is defined as smoke inhaled by an individual that is not actively engaged in smoking but who is exposed to ambient tobacco smoke [6]. SHS consists of two components: sidestream smoke and mainstream smoke. Sidestream smoke refers to the smoke emitted from tobacco products, while mainstream smoke refers to the smoke exhaled by smokers. SHS contains approximately 4,000 chemicals, is responsible for nearly 3,000 cases of lung cancer deaths among nonsmokers each year, and affects more than 22 million US children annually [7]. Biomarker validation is recommended to confirm smoking and SHS due to a high deception rate for self-report status caused by the social pressures attributed to smoking during pregnancy [8]. Whether a women smokes during pregnancy or is exposed to SHS, biomarkers of exposure can be detected in both the mother and infant [9-11]. Nicotine in maternal hair is a valid biomarker strongly associated with prenatal reports of SHS exposure [12]. Research examining the association between prenatal smoking, SHS exposure and number of household smokers is limited. The purpose the study is to examine the relationship between maternal and infant hair nicotine levels and number of household smokers in women who smoke and who are exposed to SHS during pregnancy. The study aims propose to: 1) examine the difference in maternal hair nicotine in smoking and SHS-exposed women in homes with one, or two or more additional smoker(s) in the home; 2) to examine the difference in infant hair nicotine in smoking and SHS-exposed women in homes with one, or two or more additional household smokers; and 3) describe the relationship between hair nicotine levels and preterm birth in homes with multiple smokers.
Reasoning about continuous systems

Abstract The mathematics of program construction has been developed over three decades to design correct digital programs, hand-in-hand with their proofs, in a systematic fashion. A goal of this paper is to explore the use of this mathematics to reason about continuous systems. Many systems in physics and biology are continuous. Can the mathematics of programming be used to understand such systems? In particular can nondeterminism be used to reason about incompletely specified, continuous systems? This exploratory paper is written as much for scientists in the physical and biological sciences who want an introduction to the mathematics of program construction as for computing scientists who are intrigued by the possibility of using their mathematics outside the programming domain. Some of this material is introductory. The paper is speculative in the sense that it is likely to produce more questions than answers.
Phylogenetic Relationships among Virulent Newcastle Disease Virus Isolates from the 2002-2003 Outbreak in California and Other Recent Outbreaks in North America

Isolates from the 2002-2003 virulent Newcastle disease virus (v-NDV) outbreak in southern California, Nevada, Arizona, and Texas in the United States were compared to each other along with recent v-NDV isolates from Mexico and Central America and reference avian paramyxovirus type 1 strains. Nucleotide sequencing and phylogenetic analyses were conducted on a 1,195-base genomic segment composing the 3′ region of the matrix (M) protein gene and a 5′ portion of the fusion (F) protein gene including the M-F intergenic region. This encompasses coding sequences for the nuclear localization signal of the M protein and the F protein cleavage activation site. A dibasic amino acid motif was present at the predicted F protein cleavage activation site in all v-NDVs, including the California 2002-2003, Arizona, Nevada, Texas, Mexico, and Central America isolates. Phylogenetic analyses demonstrated that the California 2002-2003, Arizona, Nevada, and Texas viruses were most closely related to isolates from Mexico and Central America. An isolate from Texas obtained during 2003 appeared to represent a separate introduction of v-NDV into the United States, as this virus was even more closely related to the Mexico 2000 isolates than the California, Arizona, and Nevada viruses. The close phylogenetic relationship between the recent 2002-2003 U.S. v-NDV isolates and those viruses from countries geographically close to the United States warrants continued surveillance of commercial and noncommercial poultry for early detection of highly virulent NDV.
Stability of the high-order finite elements for acoustic or elastic wave propagation with high-order time stepping

SUMMARY We investigate the stability of some high-order finite element methods, namely the spectral element method and the interior-penalty discontinuous Galerkin method (IP-DGM), for acoustic or elastic wave propagation that have become increasingly popular in the recent past. We consider the Lax-Wendroff method (LWM) for time stepping and show that it allows for a larger time step than the classical leap-frog finite difference method, with higher-order accuracy. In particular the fourth-order LWM allows for a time step 73 per cent larger than that of the leap-frog method; the computational cost is approximately double per time step, but the larger time step partially compensates for this additional cost. Necessary, but not sufficient, stability conditions are given for the mentioned methods for orders up to 10 in space and time. The stability conditions for IP-DGM are approximately 20 and 60 per cent more restrictive than those for SEM in the acoustic and elastic cases, respectively.
Drug Addiction and Reward

Investigations of long-term changes in brain structure and function that accompany chronic exposure to drugs of abuse suggest that alterations in gene regulation contribute importantly to the addictive phenotype. In this chapter, we review multiple types of epigenetic mechanisms by which drugs alter the transcriptional potential of genes, from alterations in the accessibility of genes within their native chromatin structure (e.g. histone modifications, DNA methylation) to the regulation of gene expression by diverse forms of non-coding RNAs. Increasing evidence implicates these various mechanisms of gene regulation in the lasting changes that drugs of abuse induce in brain, and offer novel inroads for addiction therapy.
Molecular analysis of kinship in birds: Interesting questions and useful techniques

Recent advances in molecular techniques have provided answers to some fascinating questions about kinship in birds, but also have raised new problems and concerns. For example, extra-pair fertilizations (EPF) and intraspecific brood parasitism (ISBP) clearly affect perceived parent-offspring relationships, yet relatively little beyond estimates of frequencies of these events is known. Multilocus techniques allow identification of most offspring resulting from EPF and ISBP, thereby providing the quantitative data needed to test many types of specific hypotheses. Although popular, multilocus techniques have limitations when it comes to searching for and identifying the actual parents of such offspring. Hypervariable single locus techniques are helpful in tracking down actual parents once an EPF or ISBP is uncovered, but when used alone cannot easily distinguish EPFs from ISBP. Several key studies have combined single locus and multilocus techniques to efficiently uncover EPFs and identify actual parents. For the field biologist, speed of development and analysis are critical factors determining the scope of a study. Unfortunately, except for the PCR-RAPD technique, which has other major limitations, no technique at present combines speedy development with rapid analysis times; growing evidence indicates that PCR analysis of microsatellite loci may become easier to develop, which should make it a preferred compromise. Relatively few studies of birds have analyzed relatedness beyond parent-offspring relationships, yet multilocus and single locus techniques can provide estimates of average relatedness within sub-groups of a population. Although it is unlikely that any current technique will allow determination of relatedness between dyads of individuals, with a great deal of work two studies used multilocus techniques to distinguish first-order from second-order relatives. Finally, the study of dispersal and sex-ratios could benefit from the application of molecular techniques; single locus techniques in particular provide markers that can either track lineages or identify sex. Our review uncovered many unanswered questions about kinship in birds; the most exciting and successful research beginning to address these questions has integrated speedy and precise molecular tools with extensive behavioral and experimental studies of free-living individuals.
Formic and Acetic Acids in Degradation Products of Plant Volatiles Elicit Olfactory and Behavioral Responses from an Insect Vector

Volatile phytochemicals play a role in orientation by phytophagous insects. We studied antennal and behavioral responses of the Asian citrus psyllid, Diaphorina citri, vector of the citrus greening disease pathogen. Little or no response to citrus leaf volatiles was detected by electroantennography. Glass cartridges prepared with β-ocimene or citral produced no response initially but became stimulatory after several days. Both compounds degraded completely in air to a number of smaller molecules. Two peaks elicited large antennal responses and were identified as acetic and formic acids. Probing by D. citri of a wax substrate containing odorants was significantly increased by a blend of formic and acetic acids compared with either compound separately or blends containing β-ocimene and/or citral. Response surface modeling based on a 4-component mixture design and a 2-component mixture-amount design predicted an optimal probing response on wax substrate containing a blend of formic and acetic acids. Our study suggests that formic and acetic acids play a role in host selection by D. citri and perhaps by phytophagous insects in general even when parent compounds from which they are derived are not active. These results have implications for the investigation of arthropod olfaction and may lead to elaboration of attract-and-kill formulations to reduce nontarget effects of chemical control in agriculture.
The Immunobiology of Leishmaniasis

Members of the genus Leishmania are important intracellular pathogens that produce either cutaneous, mucocutaneous, or visceral disease in many areas of the world. In humans as well as in other mammals, the parasite is inoculated through the skin as a flagellated, extracellular promastigote by its arthropod vector, the sandfly. Once in its mammalian host, the promastigote converts to its amastigote stage, which lacks an exteriorized flagellum and is found solely within mononuclear phagocytes during established infection. In vitro, human monocyte-derived macrophages and peritoneal macrophages from several species of rodents can ingest both promastigotes and amastigotes, and they can permit intracellular multiplication of amastigotes only. Although serum factors may play a role in the pathogenesis of the disease and in protection against reinfection, the resolution of leishmaniasis is dependent primarily on cell-mediated immune responses. There appears to be a complicated interplay between cell-mediated helper and suppressor activities. The outcome of infection in each type of leishmaniasis depends on the complex and intriguing interaction of virulence factors inherent in the parasite and genetically determined host defense mechanisms.
A patient-oriented health status measure in outpatient rehabilitation.

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to assess the utility of a patient-centered health status measurement tool in multiple outpatient rehabilitation clinics and to characterize health status before and after an outpatient physical therapy intervention as part of that assessment. Design: Six outpatient rehabilitation clinics voluntarily agreed to incorporate a standardized patient-centered health status questionnaire into everyday practice. Patients completed the SF-36 health status questionnaire before initiating treatment and again at discharge. Only nonsurgical patients without comorbidities were enrolled. Results: Voluntary application of the SF-36 on a small scale was achieved over a period of 3-4 mo. All health concepts improved except general health perceptions. Conclusion: The results suggest that (1) a standard patient-oriented health status questionnaire can be incorporated into outpatient rehabilitation clinics, and useful information can be derived regarding outcomes; (2) careful administrative coordination is necessary to optimize follow-up and decrease burden on both patients and clinicians; (3) although improvements in health status were demonstrated, small sample sizes and the lack of control groups prevents conclusions regarding the effectiveness of physical therapy treatment; and (4) the magnitude of effect sizes suggests that controlled studies could be performed by clinicians partnering with researchers to improve outpatient rehabilitation.
The Anatomy of Safety Evaluations

Health/environment statutes contain safety and effectiveness provisions which require use of the scientific method of inquiry. To be meaningful, terms in such provisions must be cast in a scientific frame of reference whose construction yields the component parts of safety evaluations, i.e., operational definitions; data collection and evaluation procedures; and compliance criteria. Generally, safety evaluation protocols evolve in systematic ways that yield cohesive and well-integrated approaches to meeting the requirements of health/environment statutes. The component parts of safety evaluations and the processes by which they evolve will be discussed.
A survey of endpoint detection methods for speech signal

The main speech signal endpoint detection methods, such as short time energy based scheme, HMM based scheme, related alike scheme and so on are investigated deeply. The analysis about the principle of these methods, their advantages and disadvantages, and the comparison between these methods are given. According to their limitations, especially when applied in noisy environment, the research direction about speech signal endpoint detection is pointed out.
The Effect of N Acetyl D-Galactosamine and Other Sugars on the Mitogenic Activity and Attachment of PHA to Tonsil Cells

The effect of several simple sugars on the mitogenic and binding properties of PHA has been investigated. N acetyl D-galactosamine in concentration of 3-10 mg./ml. inhibited the incorporation of uridine-2-C14 and thymidine-2-C14 into the acid precipitable fraction of human tonsil cells stimulated by phytohemagglutinin. No inhibition, or a significantly lesser degree of inhibition was observed with N acetyl D-glucosamine or glucose. The binding of I131 labeled PHA to cells was decreased by NAGAL or EDTA. The EDTA inhibition, unlike the NAGAL inhibition was overcome by magnesium.
SeFo: A Package for Generating Probabilistic Forecasts from NMME Predictive Ensembles

Long-range weather forecasts based on output from ensembles of computer simulations are attracting increasing interest. A variety of methods have been proposed to convert the ensemble outputs to calibrated probabilistic forecasts. The package presented here (SeFo, for Seasonal Forecasting) implements a number of methods for producing forecasts of monthly surface air temperature anomalies up to 9 months in advance using output from the North American Multi-Model Ensemble (NMME). The package contains modules for downloading and reading past observations and ensemble output; producing forecast probability distributions; and verifying and calibrating a user-determined subset of methods using arbitrary past periods. By changing individual modules, the package could be extended to use other model ensembles, forecast other weather variables, or apply other forecast methods. SeFo is written in the numerical computing language Octave and is available on Bitbucket under the GNU General Public License (Version 3 or later).
Is the Kanişka Reliquary a Work from Mathurā

The so-called “Kaniṣka reliquary,” unearthed at ẖāh-jī-kī-Ḍherī, near Peshawar, in 1908,1 has been a center of controversy since its discovery. The reliquary was found buried in the foundations of the famous stūpa of Kaniṣka, in the relic chamber, and it rested on a coin of Kaniṣka. The casket bears four inscriptions, two of which are mere Buddhist dedications. The third gives the date in the first year of Kaniṣka, and the fourth, which is written between the heads of the figures on the drum of the casket, reads: “The slave Agiśala, the Superintendent of works at the Vihāra of Kaniṣka in the Monastery of Mahāsena.”