cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Spectrum-generating algebra for stringlike mesons: Mass formula for q q ¯ mesons

We construct a mass formula for the stringlike properties of {ital q{bar q}} mesons, based on the spectrum-generating algebra U(4){direct product}SU{sub {ital s}}(2){direct product}SU{sub {ital f}}({ital n}){direct product}SU{sub {ital c}}(3), with U(4){contains}SO(4) dynamic symmetry. We determine the parameters appearing in this mass formula from fits to 57 well-established mesons in the Particle Data Group summary table. The average deviation for the mass squared of these mesons is 5.7% for our fit of all meson families combined. The mass formula allows us to distinguish meson states which are not {ital q{bar q}} type, such as {ital a}{sub 0}(980).
The effect of intravenous bumetanide in man with normal and low renal function.

: Bumetanide was administered intravenously to four groups of patients with varying levels of glomerular filtration rate (average 10 to 108 ml/min/1.73 m2 B.S.A.). The dose of bumetanide was either 0.25, 0.5, 1.0, or 2.0 mg administered by intravenous “push.” The intravenous administration produced a prompt and marked increase in sodium, chloride, and calcium excretion. The effect was brief, lasting 30 to 60 minutes, but persisted to some extent with the 2.0 mg dose beyond 120 minutes. There was no effect on phosphate excretion or on the parameters of net acid excretion.
Somatic incompatibility in basidiomycetes

Somatic incompatibility regulates allore- cognition (recognition of nonself) and allorejection following somatic contacts in many groups of organ- isms. The occurrence of somatic incompatibility and the resolving power of allorecognition probably re- flect an evolutionary balance between the costs and benefits of somatic integration with conspecific neighbors and intramycelial anastomoses. In basidi- omycetes, somatic incompatibility appears to func- tion primarily in the dominant somatic phase, the secondary mycelium, and is clearly distinct from two other incompatibility systems, sexual incompatibility and intersterility. In laboratory studies, closely related mycelia are apparently recognized as self in many cases. However, allorecognition is almost always evi- dent between different secondary mycelia from na- ture. Somatic incompatibility has therefore played an important role in concepts of individualism in fungi. In practice, somatic incompatibility in the strict sense (failure of anastomoses and genetic and cytoplasmic isolation) is usually inferred from mycelial incompat- ibility (macroscopic lines between colonies that can be interpreted as agonistic responses). Although the genetic mechanism is still unclear, multiple loci ap- pear to be involved.
Electrochemical determination of diffusion coefficients of selected metals in dimethylsulfoxide

Abstract Diffusion coefficients of lead, zinc, thallium and gadolinium in dimethylsulfoxide have been measured electrochemically by means of the complete Koutecky equation. Instantaneous currents were measured on first drops from a D.M.E. and calculations were made by an iterative computer technique. Half-wave potentials, polarographic wave reversibility, and diffusion control data are reported.
Transport characterization of a polypyrrolone for gas separations

The gas sorption and permeation properties of a polypyrrolone step-ladder polymer have been characterized with a variety of pure gases and one gas mixture at 35°C and for feed pressures up to 60 atm. The transport properties of the soluble prepolymer have also been characterized with pure gases up to 30 atm. The polypyrrolone shows simultaneously increased permeability and selectivity over the analogous polyimide. Wide angle X-ray diffraction measurements of the average segmental spacing of the materials and fractional free volume calculations characterize the packing of the different polymer types. Hindrance to intrasegmental motion is apparent in the polypyrrolone by the lack of a glass transition temperature prior to decomposition and by the limited plasticization by high pressure CO2. The permeability of the polypyrrolone is 89 barrers for He, 7.9 barrers for O2, and 27.6 barrers for CO2.
Altered Learning and Arc-Regulated Consolidation of Learning in Striatum by Methamphetamine-Induced Neurotoxicity

Altered Learning and Arc -Regulated Consolidation of Learning in Striatum by Methamphetamine-Induced Neurotoxicity
Determinants of infant feeding choices among Southeast Asian immigrants in northern California

Abstract Objective This study documents obstacles to successful lactation among Southeast Asian women. Design We assessed the infant feeding practices of 65 Hmong and 57 Vietnamese women. The women were recruited and interviewed at clinics of the Special Supplemental Food Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) and neighborhoods in northern California. Analysis included logistic regression and odds ratios. Results Only 5 of the Hmong women and 3 of the Vietnamese women in our initial sample breast-fed their youngest child. Primary reasons for formula-feeding included convenience, the intent to return to work or school (although few did so), desire to allow others to feed, and the expectation of insufficient milk. In addition, most perceived that formula-feeding was more popular in the United States, and 19 of the Vietnamese women believed formula-feeding was healthier than breast-feeding. Variables positively related to breast-feeding included the number of times the mother was enrolled in WIC (for Hmong women) and the number of children previously breast-fed (for both groups). Breast-feeding was negatively related to the total number of children (for Hmong women), maternal age (for Vietnamese women), and receiving formula at the time of discharge from the hospital (for both groups). Applications/conclusions Promotion of breast-feeding among Southeast Asian women should focus on increasing the number of women who initiate breast-feeding, addressing attitudes regarding the popularity and convenience of formula-feeding, and discouraging hospital practices that may impede breast-feeding.
ABSENCE OF TRANSSYNAPTIC BETA ADRENERGIC RECEPTOR REGULATION IN OVINE FETAL LUNG AND HEART

We examined the effect of altered transsynaptic neural activity on lung and heart BAR development in the ovine fetus following chemical sympathectomy (CS) with guanethidine sulfate (GS). CS was induced by chronic administration of GS using subcutaneously implanted miniosmotic infusion pumps programmed to deliver 17 mg/kg/day for 14 days (4 animals). Control fetuses were infused with vehicle alone (4 animals). Animals were delivered by cesarean section. The extent of sympathetic denervation was assessed by measurement of tissue norepinephrine (NE) content using a sensitive, specific radioenzymatic assay. BAR concentration and affinity were measured using the tritiated radioligand dihydroalprenolol (DHA). Lung NE was unchanged following CS while cardiac atrial NE was 10% of control (p 0.05). Brown adipose tissue NE and adrenal catecholamine (CAT) concentrations were unchanged by CS. Conclusions: 1) GS at the dosage utilized causes extensive atrial and ventricular sympathetic denervation but does not affect lung, BAT or adrenal CAT contents. 2) Sympathetic denervation of the developing ventricle is not associated with up-regulation of BAR. Speculation: Myocardial BAR development in fetal life is not subject to the “normal” postpartum transsynaptic regulatory influences.
From a State-Centered Approach to Transnational Openness: Adapting the Hague Convention with Contemporary Human Rights Standards as Codified in the Convention on the Rights of the Child

Parental kidnapping is an increasing problem throughout the world and the social consequences of globalization have made international child abductions more frequent. In the United States alone, the Department of Justice states that 354,100 children are reported to have been abducted by a family member in a single year. Estimates indicate that one in five parental kidnappings involves a child being taken across international borders. The United Kingdom states that in the last three years there has been a “58 percent increase in the number of international parental child abductions.” In 2000, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, which handles all U.S. international child abduction cases, reported 1,697 international abductions, up 66.7 percent over 1999. The increase of international child abductions has been attributed to the increasing access of international travel and rising divorce rates. International ab-
Fetal Hemoglobin Expression in Transplant Recipients of Placental Blood Hematopoietic Progenitor Cells

Patients who achieved bone marrow engraftment of cord blood-derived progenitor cells provided an opportunity to examine the expression of fetal Hb by neonatal hematopoietic progenitors in a postneonatal host. Cord blood cells from histocompatible siblings were successfully transplanted in two children with the Fanconi anemia syndrome. One of the transplant donors had heterocellular hereditary persistence of fetal Hb, apparently due to gamma-globin gene triplication; the other donor was hematologically normal. The G gamma/A gamma ratio of the patient who received his transplant from the donor with hereditary persistence of fetal Hb was markedly elevated, similar to that of the transplant donor's cord blood, and this ratio remained elevated in subsequent months. In the other child, the G gamma/A gamma ratio immediately after her transplant was typical of the normal newborn, and over the next several months it reverted to the adult pattern. Globin synthesis studies performed shortly after engraftment demonstrated ratios of fetal Hb/adult Hb synthesis in both patients that were typical of those of normal newborns. Over the next several months, both patients converted to the adult pattern. Fetal Hb to adult Hb switching in these patients seemed to follow a temporal sequence intrinsic to the transplanted neonatal progenitor cells, without discernible influence of postneonatal environmental factors. The program for Hb switching seems to be an inherent feature of neonatal hematopoietic progenitor cells.
Relationship between muscle fiber types and sizes and muscle architectural properties in the mouse hindlimb

Skeletal muscle fiber and architectural properties both contribute to the functional behavior of a muscle. This study uses discriminant analysis and mathematical modeling to identify the structurally and functionally significant properties. The architectural properties of fiber length, muscle length, and pennation angle are found to be the most structurally significant parameters, whereas fiber length, muscle length, and fiber type distribution are found to be most functionally determining. Architectural speed and fiber type do not appear to be complimentary (i.e., the architectural determinant of speed, fiber length, is not associated with fibers of high intrinsic velocity). However, there does seem to be a synergistic relation between the two property classes and force production. Muscles with large physiological cross sectional areas (PCSAs) tend to contain a greater proportion of larger, faster fibers. Structurally or morphologically significant parameters are not always found to have a large functional effect. Pennation angle, though one of the most structurally significant variables, was found to have very little functional effect.
Light spanners and approximate TSP in weighted graphs with forbidden minors

Given an edge weighted graph G with n vertices and no Kτ-minor and a small positive constant e, we show that a simple greedy algorithm [1] finds a spanning subgraph approximating all shortest-path distances within a factor of 1 + e, and with total edge weight at most O((τ√logτ · logn)/e) times the weight of a minimum spanning tree. This result implies a quasi-polynomial time approximation scheme (QPTAS) for the traveling salesman problem (TSP) in such graphs, with running time nO((τ4√logτ·log n·log log n)/e2).Our analysis shows that a graph with detour gap number [5] Ω(τ√logτ · log n) has a Kτ-minor. We also show that this dependence on n is nearly tight, by exhibiting graphs with no K6-minor (apex graphs) and detour gap number Ω((log n)/log log n).As a step towards eliminating the log n factors the first paragraph, we propose a generalized detour gap number, now depending on e, and we show that it remains bounded for apex graphs and some similar graph families.
Manufacturing Footprint Computation From Detailed Machining Plans for Sustainability Assessment in Manufacturing Enterprises

Several of the currently available engineering design and software analysis packages are being utilized by designers in the early stages of the product life cycle for product modeling and evaluation. However, while the growing need for designing ‘sustainable’ products is increasingly being recognized, an overall lack of measurement tools and formal methods for sustainability assessment remains a void to be addressed. In order to provide a reliable and design-based evaluation approach, “product footprint” is proposed as a viable sustainability assessment metric for gauging the environmental impacts of products. Such an assessment system would give direct feedback to designers of the overall manufacturing impact, so that design modifications can be effected to minimize environmental costs while maintaining product quality and design intent. Further, since all the product structure information is needed throughout the entire product life cycle, the system must be capable of making such evaluations in a PLM environment. A methodology for computing an energy metric and thereby overall manufacturing footprint for sustainability assessment is developed using the Pro/ENGINEER CAD system for design and Pro/NC-MILL for detailed NC path planning for machining operations.Copyright © 2011 by ASME
Why do people believe in a just world?: Testing explanations

From the literature, three explanations for a belief that the world is a “just place” are presented: (V high religiosity, (2) being “naive” about the world, and (3) successful acquisition of societal rewards. Pertinent literature for each explanation is examined and the results are found to be both mixed and contradictory. Using a random sample of adults (N = 283) from Northern Ireland, all three explanations are tested with multiple indicators using a revised version of the Rubin and Peplau (1975) Just World scale. Religiosity is not found to be related to the “just world” phenomenon, and the support for the other two explanations is mixed and gender‐related. Finding the extant explanations for a belief in a just world to be inadequate, brief suggestions for a new explanation and further research are discussed.
Globular hepatic amyloid: a diagnostic peculiarity that bears clinical significance

Summary Hepatic amyloid deposition in the form of globular inclusions is a rare occurrence. Only 24 such cases have been reported to date. Its clinical and pathological significance are undefined. Unawareness of such a pattern can cause diagnostic confusion. We herein describe a case of globular hepatic amyloid in a patient with a B-cell lymphoma and chronic hepatitis C. The findings in our case support the literature data in that (1) it is often an incidental finding during workup for other coexisting conditions and (2) its morphology is peculiar but can be recognized with ease if one is aware of its existence. Our case also provides new insights into this condition. First, it represents the first nonautopsy case to demonstrate that globular hepatic amyloid is an indication of systemic amyloidosis, thus emphasizing the clinical importance of the recognition of this condition. Second, in our case, there was a coexisting B-cell lymphoma, the constituent cells of which showed immunoglobulin λ light chain restriction, and patient's serum λ light chain was elevated. However, light chain restriction was not demonstrated in the globular inclusions, and there was no evidence of monoclonal gammopathy by serum electrophoresis. Whether immunoglobulin light-chain abnormality played a causal role in this condition is to be determined.
Nonmaximally Entangled States: Production, Characterization, and Utilization

Using a spontaneous-down-conversion photon source, we produce true nonmaximally entangled states, i.e., without the need for postselection. The degree and phase of entanglement are readily tunable, and are characterized both by a standard analysis using coincidence minima, and by quantum state tomography of the two-photon state. Using the latter, we experimentally reconstruct the reduced density matrix for the polarization. Finally, we use these states to measure the Hardy fraction, obtaining a result that is 122σ from any local-realistic result. ©1999 The American Physical Society
Chemical approaches to transcriptional regulation.

Given the correlation between many human diseases and mis-regulated transcription, there is a growing need for molecules that can inhibit or mimic key interactions between transcriptional activators and their binding partners. Because transcriptional activators typically participate in many different protein–protein binding events, the identification of small molecules or peptides that specifically target individual interactions represents a significant challenge. In spite of this, several small molecules that preferentially inhibit particular complexes of transcriptional activators or mimic the function of activators have recently been reported. These molecules serve as excellent mechanistic tools for studying transcription and, further, have outstanding therapeutic potential.
A dynamic, web-based methodology for developing intercultural understanding

This paper describes a pedagogical project that was designed at MIT in 1997 and that has been taking place every year since then, connecting American and French language students for the purpose of helping them develop intercultural understanding. It centers on the dynamic process that allows students to gradually and collaboratively construct, through a series of stages, an in-depth understanding of each other's cultures. It ends with some reflections on the challenges brought by the use of web-based communication tools as well as the pedagogical impact they inherently have on the ways students develop intercultural understanding.
Radical additions to (eta6-styrene) chromium tricarbonyl.

Alkyl radical addition reactions to styrene chromium tricarbonyl can be accomplished using alkyl halides and tris(trimethylsilyl)silane in the presence of AIBN in refluxing benzene. The ketyl generated from acetone with SmI2 in THF/HMPA also underwent successful addition. These addition reactions are believed to proceed through intermediates in which the radical is interacting with an adjacent arene chromium tricarbonyl functionality and do not appear to be complicated by polymerization.
Cytosolic flagellin receptor NLRC4 protects mice against mucosal and systemic challenges

Bacterial flagellin is a dominant innate immune activator of the intestine. Therefore, we examined the role of the intracellular flagellin receptor, NLRC4, in protecting the gut and/or driving inflammation. In accordance with NLRC4 acting through transcription-independent pathways, loss of NLRC4 did not reduce the rapid robust changes in intestinal gene expression induced by flagellin administration. Loss of NLRC4 did not alter basal intestinal homeostasis nor predispose mice to development of colitis upon administration of an anti-interleukin (IL)-10R monoclonal antibody. However, epithelial injury induced by dextran sulfate sodium in mice lacking NLRC4 resulted in a more severe disease, indicating a role for NLRC4 in protecting the gut. Moreover, loss of NLRC4 resulted in increased mortality in response to flagellate, but not aflagellate Salmonella infection. Thus, despite not being involved in rapid intestinal gene remodeling upon detection of flagellin, NLRC4-mediated inflammasome activation results in production of IL-1β and IL-18, two cytokines that protect mice from mucosal and systemic challenges.
Thermo-optic variable blazed grating for beam steering

The ability to perform non-mechanical optical beam steering is of critical importance in laser communication and remote sensing; it is as vital as a phased-array antenna is for RADAR. This challenge has been addressed in the past primarily by liquid crystal (LC) devices. To date, a peak optical steering angle of ±4.53 degrees has been achieved, but it is limited by the fringing field effect. This limiting effect has been circumvented by depositing a thermo-optic material, polydimethlyoxane (PDMS), on a stair-step-approximated, blazed grating. The phase gradient can be controlled, while the material's index of refraction remains homogeneous throughout. The design, fabrication, simulation and performance of such a prototype, reflection-mode device is analyzed. Angular control between orders separated by 0.75 and 1.2° is experimentally demonstrated. An analysis of the efficiency and response time (2.2 μs) of the device is also presented. This approach promises circumvention of the fringing field effect, as well as much simpler and less-expensive fabrication.
The Emergence of Chaos from Classical Economic Growth

This paper shows how fluctuations of an erratic and unstable nature can emerge from the classical, deterministic economic growth process. Implications of the analysis would appear to be at least two. First, pronounced changes in the way an economy behaves need not cause us to reject our understanding of how it works. Second, we need not seek in exogenous forces an explanation as to why behavioral patterns change and why it may be so difficult to anticipate future events from the profile of past experience.
BMP signaling negatively regulates bone mass through sclerostin by inhibiting the canonical Wnt pathway

Bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs) are known to induce ectopic bone. However, it is largely unknown how BMP signaling in osteoblasts directly regulates endogenous bone. This study investigated the mechanism by which BMP signaling through the type IA receptor (BMPR1A) regulates endogenous bone mass using an inducible Cre-loxP system. When BMPR1A in osteoblasts was conditionally disrupted during embryonic bone development, bone mass surprisingly was increased with upregulation of canonical Wnt signaling. Although levels of bone formation markers were modestly reduced, levels of resorption markers representing osteoclastogenesis were severely reduced, resulting in a net increase in bone mass. The reduction of osteoclastogenesis was primarily caused by Bmpr1a-deficiency in osteoblasts, at least through the RANKL-OPG pathway. Sclerostin (Sost) expression was downregulated by about 90% and SOST protein was undetectable in osteoblasts and osteocytes, whereas the Wnt signaling was upregulated. Treatment of Bmpr1a-deficient calvariae with sclerostin repressed the Wnt signaling and restored normal bone morphology. By gain of Smad-dependent BMPR1A signaling in mice, Sost expression was upregulated and osteoclastogenesis was increased. Finally, the Bmpr1a-deficient bone phenotype was rescued by enhancing BMPR1A signaling, with restoration of osteoclastogenesis. These findings demonstrate that BMPR1A signaling in osteoblasts restrain endogenous bone mass directly by upregulating osteoclastogenesis through the RANKL-OPG pathway, or indirectly by downregulating canonical Wnt signaling through sclerostin, a Wnt inhibitor and a bone mass mediator.
Capacity to delay reward differentiates obsessive-compulsive disorder and obsessive-compulsive personality disorder.

Background Although the relationship between obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and obsessive-compulsive personality disorder (OCPD) has long been debated, clinical samples of OCD (without OCPD) and OCPD (without OCD) have never been systematically compared. We studied whether individuals with OCD, OCPD, or both conditions differ on symptomatology, functioning, and a measure of self-control: the capacity to delay reward. Methods Twenty-five OCD, 25 OCPD, 25 comorbid OCD + OCPD, and 25 healthy control subjects completed clinical assessments and a validated intertemporal choice task that measures capacity to forego small immediate rewards for larger delayed rewards. Results OCD and OCPD subjects both showed impairment in psychosocial functioning and quality of life, as well as compulsive behavior, but only subjects with OCD reported obsessions. Individuals with OCPD, with or without comorbid OCD, discounted the value of delayed monetary rewards significantly less than OCD and healthy control subjects. This excessive capacity to delay reward discriminates OCPD from OCD and is associated with perfectionism and rigidity. Conclusions OCD and OCPD are both impairing disorders marked by compulsive behaviors, but they can be differentiated by the presence of obsessions in OCD and by excessive capacity to delay reward in OCPD. That individuals with OCPD show less temporal discounting (suggestive of excessive self-control), whereas prior studies have shown that individuals with substance use disorders show greater discounting (suggestive of impulsivity), supports the premise that this component of self-control lies on a continuum in which both extremes (impulsivity and overcontrol) contribute to psychopathology.
Bridging pre- and post-silicon debugging with BiPeD

The growing complexity of modern chips has caused an increasing share of the verification effort to shift towards post-silicon validation. This phase is challenged by poor observability, limited off-chip bandwidth, and complex, concurrent communication interfaces. Furthermore, pre-silicon verification and post-silicon validation methodologies are very different and share little information between them. As as result, the diagnosis and debugging of postsilicon failures is very much an ad-hoc and time-consuming task that is largely unable to leverage the vast body of design knowledge available in pre-silicon. We propose BiPeD, a novel methodology to identify the exact time and location of post-silicon bugs. During pre-silicon verification, BiPeD learns the correct behavior of a design's communication patterns. In post-silicon, this knowledge is used to detect errors by means of a reconfigurable hardware unit. When an error is detected, bug reproduction is not necessary: a diagnosis software algorithm analyzes information stored in the hardware unit to provide a wide range of debugging information. We show that our system provides accurate bug localization for a range of failures on the industrial-size OpenSPARC T2 design.
New techniques for DNA sequence classification

DNA sequence classification is the activity of determining whether or not an unlabeled sequence S belongs to an existing class C. This paper proposes two new techniques for DNA sequence classification. The first technique works by comparing the unlabeled sequence S with a group of active motifs discovered from the elements of C and by distinction with elements outside of C. The second technique generates and matches gapped fingerprints of S with elements of C. Experimental results obtained by running these algorithms on long and well conserved Alu sequences demonstrate the good performance of the presented methods compared with FASTA. When applied to less conserved and relatively short functional sites such as splice-junctions, a variation of the second technique combining fingerprinting with consensus sequence analysis gives better results than the current classifiers employing text compression and machine learning algorithms.
Antioxidant vitamin therapy alters sepsis-related apoptotic myocardial activity and inflammatory responses

This study examined the effects of antioxidant vitamins on several aspects of sepsis-related myocardial signaling cascades. Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into four groups: group 1, vehicle-treat...
Research in Low Back Pain: Time to Stop Seeking the Elusive “Magic Bullet”

For physical therapists who practice in the area of low back pain (LBP) and pride themselves on being evidence-based practitioners, the period 1995 to 2005 would seem to be the decade of our dreams: In this issue of Physical Therapy , Koumantakis and colleagues contribute the results of yet another RCT, one that investigated the adjunct effect of trunk stabilization exercises when added to “general exercise” in people with recurrent LBP. Given all of this accumulating evidence, we might conclude that we should be better able to address some of the shortfalls that have plagued us over the years in our efforts to manage LBP in a cost-effective manner. Indeed, with such a wealth of new evidence, we might assume that clinicians should now be capable of integrating the best evidence with each individual clinical encounter to eventually arrive at an optimal level of practice proficiency. Instead, we are faced with real facts that do not bode well for such an outcome:
Regulation of mitochondrial biogenesis

Although it is well established that physical activity increases mitochondrial content in muscle, the molecular mechanisms underlying this process have only recently been elucidated. Mitochondrial dysfunction is an important component of different diseases associated with aging, such as Type 2 diabetes and Alzheimer’s disease. PGC-1α (peroxisome-proliferator-activated receptor γ co-activator-1α) is a co-transcriptional regulation factor that induces mitochondrial biogenesis by activating different transcription factors, including nuclear respiratory factor 1 and nuclear respiratory factor 2, which activate mitochondrial transcription factor A. The latter drives transcription and replication of mitochondrial DNA. PGC-1α itself is regulated by several different key factors involved in mitochondrial biogenesis, which will be reviewed in this chapter. Of those, AMPK (AMP-activated protein kinase) is of major importance. AMPK acts as an energy sensor of the cell and works as a key regulator of mitochondrial biogenesis. AMPK activity has been shown to decrease with age, which may contribute to decreased mitochondrial biogenesis and function with aging. Given the potentially important role of mitochondrial dysfunction in the pathogenesis of numerous diseases and in the process of aging, understanding the molecular mechanisms regulating mitochondrial biogenesis and function may provide potentially important novel therapeutic targets.
ADOLESCENT ADDICTION AND DELINQUENCY IN THE FAMILY SYSTEM

Drug abuse and delinquent behavior in adolescents have been closely linked in the literature. It is possible that these links are not causal, but rather covariates of the common factor of family. This paper seeks to examine the behaviors of addiction and delinquency within the framework of family systems theory.
Earthquake Recurrence Intervals on the San Andreas Fault

Possible recurrence intervals between earthquakes of different magnitude that may be generated along the San Andreas fault are derived by relating long-term offset rates since mid-Tertiary time, displacements, and lengths of breaks recorded for historic earthquakes, and tectonic creep rates. The recurrence interval for earthquakes of different magnitude at a given point on the fault is believed to follow the relation: ![Formula][1] where: Rx : recurrence interval at a point on the fault, D : displacement accompanying an earthquake of given magnitude (related empirically to Richter magnitude), S : long-term strain rate (from offset of geologic units), C : tectonic creep rate. The recurrence interval for earthquakes of different magnitudes for the total length of the fault is then derived by weighting [equation (1)][2] according to the number of break lengths in the total length as follows: ![Formula][3] where: Rt : recurrence interval for entire fault, L : length of break (related empirically to Richter magnitude), Lt : total length of fault. Tectonic creep is believed to be related to Richter magnitude, for example, small for segments of the fault characterized by earthquakes of large magnitude, and large for segments characterized by small earthquakes; and [equations (1)][2] and [(2)][4] can be weighted according to this relationship. [1]: /embed/graphic-1.gif [2]: #disp-formula-1 [3]: /embed/graphic-2.gif [4]: #disp-formula-2
A Humean Response to Scotus's Conception of "Infinite Being"

Scotus piensa que la concepcion compuesta de "ser infinito" es la mejor descripcion de Dios como el fin de la metafisica. El atributo disyuntivo "infinito", cuando es aplicado al concepto univocamente vacio «ser», representa una conexion intrinseca y esencialmente racional entre ambos. Nuestra capacidad mental ha de ser extremadamente poderosa, segun Scotus, si ha de captar lo infinito. Me parece que semejante concepcion es realmente un trabajo de Sisifo que lleva a la contradiccion y a la frustracion, mas que a la satisfaccion y al reposo, como sotiene Scotus. Para formular mi posicion en este articulo, procedo con dos estrategias: primero, ofrezco una critica extema de Scotus a traves de la epistemologia de Hume; en segundo lugar, ofrezco una critica interna, mostrando los resultados paradojicos de su metafisica. Al final sostengo que el infinito existe, pero como el fin de una teologia emotiva o sentida, mas que de una metafisica natural.
Do Siblings Matter? The Effect of Siblings on Socio-Emotional Development and Educational Aspirations among Early Adolescents

Most prior research on siblings has focused on the quantity of siblings, and explored siblings’ effects on educational and cognitive outcomes. In this study, we analyze data on around 4,000 10-15 years olds from the United Kingdom Household Longitudinal Study (UKHLS) to test the effects of sibship size, child-sibling relationship quality, and other sibling characteristics (e.g. sibling type and birth order) on two outcomes: educational aspirations and socio-emotional development. The results suggest that sibship size has no effect on either outcome. Sibling relationship quality, however, has a significant and positive effect on socio-emotional development. Lastly, adolescents with adopted or foster siblings are less likely to aspire for college, whereas adolescents with half- and step-siblings and those with younger siblings are more likely to have lower socio-emotional development. Overall, these results appear to indicate that sibling characteristics and relationship quality influence adolescents’ well-being more than the quantity of siblings does.
Editor’s Correspondence

I would express my sincere appreciation to Koji Abe, Nader Antonios, Hakan Ay, Andrew Clifton, Bruce Coull, Seth Finklestein, Michael Forsting, Rainer Kollmar, James Torner, and Steven Warach for their valuable contributions to Stroke while they served on the Stroke editorial board. Pak H. Chan is retiring and will also leave the board after 23 years of service to the journal. I wish him well in his well-deserved retirement. I would also like to welcome our new editorial board members Cesar Borlongan, Bruce Campbell, Hugues Chabriat, Jesse Dawson, Stephanie Debette, David Hasan, Han-Hwa Hu, Irene Katzan, Pooja Khatri, Julien Labreuche, David Liebeskind, Kevin Sheth, and Clemens Sommer. I and the other senior editors look forward to working with them. I thank Elisabeth Tournier-Lasserve and James Meschia …
Glutathione homeostasis in response to exercise training and nutritional supplements

Glutathione plays a central role in the maintenance of tissue antioxidant defenses and in the regulation of redox sensitive signal transduction. In muscle cells, the level and redox status of GSH regulates activity of the redox sensitive transcription factor NF-κB. Physical exercise may cause oxidation of GSH in tissues such as the blood, skeletal muscle and liver. Endurance training strengthened GSH dependent tissue antioxidant defenses in most studies. Although studies investigating the effect of sprint training are few, current results show that sprint training may also have a beneficial effect on tissue GSH homeostasis. Skeletal muscle GSH level appears to be tightly regulated by the state of physical activity. Regular exercise enhances and chronic inactivity decreases the level of GSH in this tissue. N-acetyl-L-cysteine (NAC) and α-lipoic acid (LA) are two antioxidant dietary supplements that are able to enhance cellular GSH levels. Because LA can be recycled to its potent dithiol form, dihydrolipoate, by enzymes present in the human cell it has a clear advantage over NAC. Recently an improved form of LA, a positively charged analogue (LA-Plus), has been discovered. LA-Plus has more potent immuno-modulatory activity compared to LA. Both LA and NAC have been shown to have beneficial effects in protecting tissue GSH homeostasis against exercise induced oxidative stress.
Associative Memory in a Simple Model of Oscillating Cortex

A generic model of oscillating cortex, which assumes "minimal" coupling justified by known anatomy, is shown to function as an associative memory, using previously developed theory. The network has explicit excitatory neurons with local inhibitory interneuron feedback that forms a set of nonlinear oscillators coupled only by long range excitatory connections. Using a local Hebb-like learning rule for primary and higher order synapses at the ends of the long range connections, the system learns to store the kinds of oscillation amplitude patterns observed in olfactory and visual cortex. This rule is derived from a more general "projection algorithm" for recurrent analog networks, that analytically guarantees content addressable memory storage of continuous periodic sequences - capacity: N/2 Fourier components for an N node network - no "spurious" attractors.
E-025 Transvenous embolization of cavernous carotid fistulas facilitated by a distal access catheter

Introduction and purpose Although transvenous embolization of indirect carotid cavernous fistulas (iCCFs) represents an effective treatment strategy, venous navigation related limitations can prevent access to the entire fistulous site, decreasing the probability of definitive occlusion. In such cases, more invasive access to the involved vein, such as open surgical exposure, direct puncture of the superior ophthalmic vein or direct access to the anterior portion of the cavernous sinus may be needed to achieve a definitive cure. We describe two cases in which a coaxial technique using a commercially available distal access catheter facilitated venous navigation from the common femoral vein, enabling definitive obliteration of the iCCF. Our purpose includes reporting of these cases, discussion of endovascular strategies and a review of the various venous routes of access to the cavernous sinus. Materials and methods We reviewed all recent endovascular procedures performed at our institution to identify two cases of iCCF in which a coaxial access technique using a commercially available distal access catheter was used to facilitate treatment. The procedural notes, hospital charts and imaging studies were reviewed to identify potential novel procedural details or problems related to this technique. Additionally, we reviewed the current medical literature related to endovascular iCCF embolization in order to complement our summary review of the various venous approaches employed for iCCF treatment. Results The coaxial technique using a distal access catheter to achieve fistula access from the common femoral vein facilitated complete iCCF obliteration in both of our cases, without any added periprocedural morbidity. The technique was straightforward, easily applied and greatly simplified transvenous embolization of the iCCF in both cases. Conclusion The distal access catheter was introduced as an adjunct device for mechanical thrombectomy procedures using the Merci embolectomy system by providing microcatheter support during clot retrieval and improved stability in tortuous arterial anatomy. Similarly, successful endovascular treatment of iCCFs from a transvenous approach also requires navigation through tortuous venous anatomy and enhanced microcatheter stability in order to achieve successful embolization of the fistula. A distal access catheter was used in two patients with iCCFs treated via a transvenous endovascular approach which greatly facilitated complete obliteration of the fistula in both cases. The use of a distal access catheter in mechanical thrombectomy procedures is well documented, and given the ease of use and compatibility with the various guiding catheters and microcatheters currently available, the distal access catheter will likely have an increasing role in other intracranial neurointerventional procedures.
Where nanotechnology meets quantum computation

Since the invention of the scanning tunnelling microscope (STM) in the early 1980s atomic level microscopy has taken on a new dimension. The STM and the atomic force microscope (AFM) have become key instruments in the study of phenomena in the smallest dimensions ranging from magnetism in ultra-thin films, through the understanding of how atoms and molecules organise themselves, to insights into the propagation of electron waves. A good understanding of these issues will facilitate the manufacture of components or devices that are a few atomic dimensions in size and this will have far-reaching implications in fields ranging from medicine through to consumer electronics. As early as the 1970s, the scientific community was discussing the possibility of embedding a few molecules, or even a single molecule, between electrodes to perform the basic switching function. This is now possible in the case of individual components but key challenges lie with the economic commercial fabrication of whole devices. A key challenge lies in determining whether such quantum computers will work and how quantum effects can be used to perform variety of previously unsuspected and potentially useful schemes of information processing.
A technique for evaluating automatic term clustering

This study reexamines the feasibility of automatic thesaurus generation by establishing a framework for analyzing the degree of correspondence between automatically generated thesauri and a thesaurus of the same terms constructed by a team of subject specialists. In order to test the evaluative procedure, a series of thesauri are generated using the same clustering algorithm and three different measures of association. By comparing the relative effectiveness of the generated thesauri to the human standard, it is determined that substantial differences exist among them.
A sufficiently smart compiler for procedural records

Many languages include a syntax for declaring programmer-defined structured data types, i.e., structs or records. R6RS supports syntactic record definitions but also allows records to be defined procedurally, i.e., via a set of run-time operations. Indeed, the procedural interface is considered to be the primitive interface, and the syntactic interface is designed to be macro expandable into code that uses the procedural interface. Run-time creation of record types has a potentially significant impact. In particular, record creation, field access, and field mutation cannot generally be open coded, as it can be with syntactically specified records. Often, however, the shape of a record type can be determined statically, and in such a case, performance equivalent to that of syntactically specified record types can be attained. This paper describes an efficient run-time implementation of procedural record types, discusses its overhead, and describes a set of compiler optimizations that eliminate the overhead when record-type information can be determined statically. The optimizations improve the performance of a set of representative benchmark programs by over 20% on average.
Choosing Treatment Policies Under Ambiguity

Economists studying choice with partial knowledge typically assume that the decision maker places a subjective distribution on unknown quantities and maximizes expected utility. Someone lacking a subjective distribution faces a problem of choice under ambiguity. This article reviews recent research on policy choice under ambiguity, when the task is to choose treatments for a population. Ambiguity arises when a planner has partial knowledge of treatment response and does not feel able to place a subjective distribution on the unknowns. I first discuss dominance and alternative criteria for choice among undominated policies. I then illustrate with the choice of a vaccination policy by a planner who has partial knowledge of the effect of vaccination on illness. I next study a class of problems in which a planner may want to cope with ambiguity by diversification, assigning observationally identical persons to different treatments. Lastly, I consider a setting in which a planner should not diversify treatment.
Impedance of a Small Electrically Isolated Area of the Muscle Cell Surface.

A method has been developed permitting measurement of membrane impedance and current, as a function of transmembrane potential, at small, electrically isolated regions of the muscle cell surface without microelectrode impalement. The frequency dependence of the muscle cell membrane capacity found earlier by other methods has been confirmed. The average capacity is 3.5 µf/cm2 with a phase angle of 71° at 5 kilocycles. The internal phase angle of the complex impedance plot of whole muscle probably does not result from a distribution of fiber diameters and membrane capacities, since it also appears in the present experiments where measurements are confined to a small region of a single fiber.
Stream amphibians as indicators of ecosystem stress: a case study from California's redwoods

Road construction of the Redwood National Park highway bypass resulted in a large accidental infusion of fine sediments into pristine streams in Prairie Creek State Park, California, during an October 1989 storm event. This incident provided a natural experiment where we could measure, compare, and evaluate native stream amphibian densities as indicators of stream ecosystem stress. We employed a habitat-based, stratified sampling design to assess the impacts of these sediments on the densities of aquatic amphibians in five impacted streams by comparing them with densities in five adjacent, unimpacted (control) streams. Three species were sampled in numbers sufficient to be informative: tailed frogs (Ascaphus truei, larvae), Pacific giant salamanders (Dicamptodon tenebrosus, paedomorphs and larvae), and southern torrent salamanders (Rhyacotriton variegatus, adults and larvae). Densities of amphibians were significantly lower in the streams impacted by sediment. While sediment effects were species specific,...
Eutrophication of Buttermilk Bay, a cape cod coastal embayment: Concentrations of nutrients and watershed nutrient budgets

Nutrient concentrations in Buttermilk Bay, a coastal embayment on the northern end of Buzzards Bay, MA, are higher in the nearshore where salinities are lower. This pattern suggests that freshwater sources may contribute significantly to nutrient inputs into Buttermilk Bay. To evaluate the relative importance of the various sources we estimated inputs of nutrients by each major source into the watershed and into the bay itself. Septic systems contributed about 40% of the nitrogen and phosphorus entering the watershed, with precipitation and fertilizer use adding the remainder. Groundwater transported over 85% of the nitrogen and 75% of the phosphorus entering the bay. Most nutrients entering the watershed failed to reach the bay; uptake by forests, soils, denitrification, and adsorption intercepted two-thirds of the nitrogen and nine-tenths of the phosphorus that entered the watershed. The nutrients that did reach the bay most likely originated from subsoil injections into groundwater by septic tanks, plus some leaching of fertilizers.