cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Comparative antimycotic effects of selected herbs, spices, plant components and commercial antifungal agents

The antifungal effects of 16 ground herbs and spices, 4 other plant materials, 3 commercial antifungal agents, tannic acid and 2 experimental mold inhibitors were tested against seven mycotoxin- producing molds. Of the 26 substances tested, cloves, cinnamon, mustard, allspice, garlic, and oregano at the 2% level in potato dextrose agar, completely inhibited growth of all seven mycotoxigenic molds for various times up to 21 d. The remaining compounds either caused little or no inhibition. Powdered pomegranate peel was a good inhibitor against four Penicillium species. Potassium sorbate at 0.3% was highly effective against all seven mold strains. The antifungal antibiotic, natamycin (pimaricin), was also highly effective. Combinations of different levels of potassium sorbate and cloves showed an enhanced or possible synergistic inhibitory effect on growth of all seven molds tested, indicating the possibility of using spices and commercial antifungal agents together in small amounts to obtain antimycotic activity.
Definiton of neutrosophic logic - a generalization of the intuitionistic fuzzy logic.

In this paper one generalizes the intuitionistic fuzzy logic (IFL) and other logics to neutrosophic logic (NL). The differences between IFL and NL (and the corresponding intuitionistic fuzzy set and neutrosophic set) are pointed out.
BIOLOGY-DRIVEN CLUSTERING OF MICROARRAY DATA

In this note, we describe an approach to the analysis of microarray data that uses significant biological information early in the process. By combining information about the biological function and chromosomal location of genes with microarray expression data, we are able to get a more comprehensive picture of the heterogeneity of different kinds of cancer. We also get information about the importance of different chromosomes and biological processes for distinguishing cancers. In general, methods that use existing biological knowledge are likely to provide more meaningful and more interpretable results than completely unsupervised methods.
Conception par simulation pour la conduite de culture

L'optimisation a base de simulation est une approche performante pour la resolution de problemes d'optimisation continus et stochastiques. Nous proposons des algorithmes d'optimisation par simulation bases sur la decomposition hierarchique de l'espace de recherche en espaces de plus petite taille. Les problematiques consistent a evaluer les sous espaces, selectionner les sous espaces optimaux et les diviser a nouveau. Nous discutons l'efficacite d'alternatives algorithmiques connues et d'autres nouvelles, dans le but de trouver la ou l'ensemble des regions optimales. Ces alternatives sont developpees dans les contextes d'optimisation de l'esperance, d'optimisation du quantile et d'optimisation multiobjectif. Tout au long de la these, nous avons evalue cette famille d'algorithmes sur des problemes de conception de strategies de conduite de culture en agriculture et plus particulierement sur un probleme de gestion de l'irrigation du mais. Nous avons propose les espaces de decision obtenus par l'application de nos methodes, et leur traduction en termes de strategies d'irrigation. Les algorithmes d'optimisation du quantile et d'optimisation multiobjectif ont abouti a la proposition de strategies nouvelles en termes de prise en compte de l'incertain et de prise en compte simultanee d'objectifs. Il sera interessant de poursuivre ces pistes de recherche, en particulier pour l'application a d'autres problemes multicriteres soumis a l'incertain.
Russia: The Great War and Women’s Political Rights

Ruthchild explores the role of war in the Russian suffrage victory, arguing that hastening the collapse of the Russian empire was key to winning women the right to vote. However, war and revolution alone did not bring about women’s suffrage. Women were active on the streets, but after the overthrow of the Tsarist regime, women were overlooked initially—until women joined together from the educated and working classes to demonstrate for their own political rights. Once suffrage became law in 1917, Russian women in urban and rural areas voted in large numbers in local elections, indicating that voting was an issue of importance to the female masses as well as the elites.
Loss of foundation species: disturbance frequency outweighs severity in structuring kelp forest communities.

Disturbances often cause the disproportionate loss of foundation species but understanding how the frequency and severity of disturbance to such organisms influence biological communities remains unresolved. This gap in knowledge exists in part because of the rarity of ecologically meaningful studies capable of disentangling different elements of disturbance. Hence, we carried out a long-term (9 yr), large-scale (2,000 m2 plots), spatially replicated (4 sites) field experiment in which we manipulated disturbance to a globally distributed marine foundation species, the giant kelp Macrocystis pyrifera, and tracked community responses over time. To distinguish the effects of disturbance frequency and severity on the biodiversity and composition of temperate rocky reef communities, we simulated the repeated loss of giant kelp from destructive winter waves across a background of natural variation in disturbance. By following the response of over 200 taxa from the surrounding community, we discovered that the frequency of disturbance to giant kelp changed the biomass, diversity, and composition of community guilds in a manner commensurate with their dependence on the physical (i.e., benthic light and space), trophic (i.e., living and detrital biomass), and habitat (i.e., biogenic structure) resources mediated by this foundation species. Annual winter disturbance to giant kelp reduced living and detrital giant kelp biomass by 57% and 40%, respectively, enhanced bottom light by 22%, and halved the seafloor area covered by giant kelp holdfasts. Concomitantly, the biomass of understory algae and epilithic sessile invertebrates more than doubled, while the biomass of rock-boring clams, mobile invertebrates, and fishes decreased 30-61%. Frequent loss of giant kelp boosted understory algal richness by 82% and lowered sessile invertebrate richness by 13% but did not affect the biodiversity of mobile fauna. In contrast to changes driven by disturbance frequency, interannual variation in the severity of disturbance to giant kelp had weaker, less consistent effects, causing only modest changes in assemblages of sessile invertebrates, mobile invertebrate herbivores, and fishes. Our results broaden the foundation species concept by demonstrating that repeated disturbance to a dominant habitat-forming species can outweigh the influence of less frequent but severe disturbances for the surrounding community.
Electronic Structure and Band Alignment of LaMnO3/SrTiO3 Polar/Nonpolar Heterojunctions

Author(s): Kaspar, TC; Sushko, PV; Spurgeon, SR; Bowden, ME; Keavney, DJ; Comes, RB; Saremi, S; Martin, L; Chambers, SA | Abstract: The behavior of polar LaMnO3 (LMO) thin films deposited epitaxially on nonpolar SrTiO3(001) (STO) is dictated by both the LMO/STO band alignment and the chemistry of the Mn cation. Using in situ X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, the valence band offset (VBO) of LMO/STO heterojunctions is directly measured as a function of thickness, and found that the VBO is 2.5 eV for thicker (≥3 u.c.) films. No evidence of a built-in electric field in LMO films of any thickness is found. Measurements of the Mn valence by Mn L-edge X-ray absorption spectroscopy and by spatially resolved electron energy loss spectra in scanning transmission electron microscopy images reveal that Mn2+ is present at the LMO surface, but not at the LMO/STO interface. These results are corroborated by density functional theory simulations that confirm a VBO of ≈2.5 eV for both ideal and intermixed interfaces. A model is proposed for the behavior of polar/nonpolar LMO/STO heterojunctions in which the polar catastrophe is alleviated by the formation of oxygen vacancies at the LMO surface.
Asymmetric Material Impact: Achieving Free Surfaces Velocities Nearly Double that of the Projectile

Abstract Hypervelocity impact speeds are often limited by practical considerations in guns and explosive driven systems. In particular, for gas guns (both powder driven and light gas guns), there is the general trend that higher projectile speeds often come at the expense of smaller diameters, and thus less time for examining shock phenomena prior to two dimensional release waves affecting the observed quantities of interest. Similarly, explosive driven systems have their own set of limiting conditions due to limitations in explosive energy and size of devices required as engineering dimensions increase. The focus in this study is to present a methodology of obtaining free surface velocities well in excess of the projectile velocity. The key to this approach is in using a high impedance projectile that impacts a series of progressively lower impedance materials. The free surface velocity (if they were separated) of each of the progressively lower impedance materials would increase for each material. The theory behind this approach, as well as experimental results, are presented.
Methamphetamine use drives decreases in viral suppression for people living with HIV released from a large municipal jail: Results of the LINK LA clinical trial.

Abstract Background People living with HIV (PLWH) often experience decreases in HIV viral suppression (VS) after release from jail. The Linking Inmates to Care in LA (LINK LA) peer navigation intervention helped maintain VS 12 months after release from jail compared to standard of care. In this study, we analyzed correlates of substance use and tested whether substance use was an independent correlate of decreased VS in LINK LA participants. Methods We analyzed LINK LA data collected at baseline, 3, and 12 months. We defined high-risk drug use as any reported methamphetamine, cocaine, or opioid use in the 30 days prior to a study visit (or jail entry at baseline). We used generalized linear mixed models to test associations of sociodemographic variables with type of substance used, and we tested correlates of VS while controlling for time, the intervention, and their interaction. Results At baseline (n = 356), 71% of participants reported high-risk drug use: 58%, methamphetamine; 17%, cocaine; 7%, heroin; and 4%, prescription opioids. Non-Hispanic Whites and those younger than 35 were most likely to use methamphetamine; Blacks were most likely to use cocaine; people who inject drugs were most likely to use opioids. Participants who used high-risk drugs had 53% lower adjusted odds than non-users of maintaining VS (AOR 0.47, 95% CI 0.31–0.70, p Conclusion High-risk drug use, dominated by methamphetamine use, independently correlated with decreased VS among recently incarcerated PLWH. Improving HIV care continuum outcomes among populations leaving jail requires attention to efforts to address high-risk drug use.
Understanding the Impact of Farmer Autonomy on Transportation Collaboration Using Agent-Based Modeling

Food from small-scale farms has seen a recent resurgence in demand as consumers have become increasingly aware of the benefits of buying from regional food supply chains (RFSCs). However, these farmers still face pressure to reduce their costs and remain financially solvent. One potential solution for farmers is to use collaborative transportation methods to reduce costs. However, shared transportation means a reduction in the autonomy of the farmers, something they highly prize. To investigate this trade-off, an agent-based model (ABM) of farmers forming coalitions was created. This ABM includes cooperative game theory concepts to enable the farmers (agents) to form coalitions strategically. As expected, the model finds that the farmers do not form coalitions when their preference for autonomy is high, or the impact of distance between farmers is too great. These results represent a proof-of-concept for using agent-based modeling to investigate this problem.
Research progress of the renoprotection effects of dexmedetomidine

Dexmedetomidine(Dex) served as a highly selective α2 adrenoceptor agonist, which exhibits sedation, analgesia, anti-anxiety, diuresis effects and so on. Meanwhile, it has low side-effects including respiratory depression and brain electrical interference. As it′s widely used as analgesic and sedative depressant tranquilizer application in clinic. Kidney ischemia/reperfusion injury is a global public health concern associated with high morbidity, mortality, and healthcare costs. It is of great significance to implement reasonable renal protection strategies, and optimization of perioperative medications may be an important strategy in renal protection. Recent studies show that Dex has renoprotection. This paper reviews the renoprotection of Dex and the possible mechanisms, which may able to make people further understood the renal protective effect and possible mechanisms of Dex, so as to reasonable application Dex to improve the prognosis of related patients. Key words: Dexmedetomidine; Kidney; Reperfusion injury; Protection
The Way Home

Pico the mystic searches for a way to God. Pico offers a form of Platonic henosis, mergence with the One, and Aristotelian noesis, mergence with the Active Intellect, and combines with the rising of the shekinah to the revealed God, even to the darkness of Pseudo-Dionysius’ First Father. Pico’s mystic climbs Jacob’s ladder for a vision and then can transcend by dying to ‘cleave.’ The exceptional philosopher-mystic who can interpret the clues can ascend but requires God’s motile grace. But this is not closing the circle between God’s people and God, nor the journey of the leader aiming to transform their world. There is no return here, and whether Pico ever had a goal to change the world, bring about practical reform, transform the Church, or redeem the Jews, as a philosopher, Pico presents as the exceptional individual on a solitary quest for enlightenment.
A Family of Identities That Yields a Wide Variety of Partition Theorems

In a recent paper, Andrews and Yee presented two identities that were described as surprising. In this paper, a family of similar identities will be presented and used to establish a wide variety of partition theorems.
Access to OUD Treatment and Maintenance of Sobriety amid the COVID-19 Pandemic.

OBJECTIVES: The COVID-19 pandemic changed the way that healthcare is delivered, with non-urgent care becoming almost entirely virtual. Underserved communities already battling the opioid epidemic had new challenges in accessing medication assisted treatment (MAT). The investigators sought to determine if patients were retaining access to their opioid use disorder (OUD) treatment and maintaining sobriety during the pandemic, with the intention of using this information to improve subsequent patient care while the pandemic continues. METHODS: In the assessment, seventy-five patient Epic EMR (electronic medical record) charts were reviewed to collect information on demographics, socioeconomic factors, healthcare access and sobriety during the pandemic period between March 1st, 2020 and June 15th, 2020. Patient charts were selected based on those receiving office-based opioid treatment (OBOT) for OUD at an urban healthcare center. RESULTS: 98.7% of patients accessed the healthcare center in some form since March 1st, 2020. The most common form of communication was through telemedicine with 94.6% of calls over audio. Out of the 21 toxicology screens performed during the pandemic period, 16 (76%) patients were found to be adhering to their buprenorphine treatment. Only 78.7% had documented they had Narcan at their disposal. Among all patients, 11 (14.6%) reoccurrences in opioid use were documented during the pandemic period. Few patients (76%) were adhering to their prescribed buprenorphine treatment, revealing that patients may not be receiving needed MAT support amid the pandemic. CONCLUSION: This assessment reveals short-comings of patient education in managing craving and the maintenance of support systems amid social-isolating conditions.
Spontaneous Coronary Artery Dissection: A Novel Application of FDG/PET

1655 Introduction: Spontaneous coronary artery dissection (SCAD) can be a diagnostic challenge and may be missed with coronary angiography alone. We propose a novel application of 18F-FDG/PET to identify inflammation in cases of suspected SCAD. Though 18FDG/PET cannot differentiate SCAD from other causes of myocardial inflammation, we suggest it may localize inflammation in cases where a culprit artery is not obv­ious on invasive angiography. Methods: Participants with clinically significant myocardial injury as measured by troponin I ≥ 5 ng/mL were enrolled and underwent invasive coronary angiography. All participants gave informed consent in accordance with the Institutional Review Board of Johns Hopkins Hospital. Following invasive angiography, patients with SCAD diagnosed by angiography also underwent 18F-FDG/PET scan and transthoracic echocardiogram within 48-72 hours of hospital admission. Participants received a low-carbohydrate diet on the day before imaging followed by a 12-hour fast to optimize glucose uptake. The FDG/PET scan was performed on all participants, and scans were analyzed to localize inflammation by coronary artery distribution. Results: Four subjects with SCAD were enrolled in the study and underwent 18F-FDG/PET. The PET reconstructed images were compared to the invasive coronary angiogram and transthoracic echocardiogram. The participants had marked inflammation in the territories that correlated with invasive angiography and echocardiography Results: An example case is presented in the Figure. Conclusion: A novel application of 18F-FDG PET identifies myocardial inflammation in cases of suspected SCAD.
Editorial Comment: Transitional or Hepatobiliary Phase Hypointensity Improves Sensitivity Without Loss of Specificity for Pathologically Viable HCC After Locoregional Treatment.

This Editorial Comment discusses the following AJR article: Incorporation of Ancillary MRI Features into the LI-RADS Treatment Response Algorithm: Impact on Diagnostic Performance After Locoregiona...
Applications and Characterization of a New Face-Centered-Cubic Photonic Crystal

Recently, a new photonic crystal consisting of a face-centered-cubic (fcc) arrangement of cylindrical air atoms has been developed. In the present work, frequency-domain measurements are performed on this crystal in transmission using a network analyzer. In addition, time-domain measurements in transmission are performed by optoelectronically generating picosecond bursts of free-space electromagnetic radiation by photoconductively switching planar antennas A direct comparison between the time-domain and frequencydomain measurement is performed. One application of the new fcc crystal involves stacking several sections with different lattice constants in tandem, thereby creating an ultrawideband (UWB) photonic crystal.
The effect of short term experiences on the incorporation of uridine into RNA and polysomes of mouse brain.

Publisher Summary In an experiment described in the chapter, one mouse of a pair was injected intracranially with ( 14 C) uridine and the other with ( 3 H) uridine. Thirty minutes later, one of the mice was trained for 15 minutes in the jump box while the other served as the yoke animal. After the training period, the brains of both mice were homogenized simultaneously in the same homogenizer, after which the homogenate was fractionated into nuclei, ribosomes, and a supernatant fraction. Uridine monophosphate (UMP) was isolated from the supernatant fraction and RNA was extracted from each of the subcellular components: the amount of 14 C and 3 H in each was determined. The purpose of using two labels in this way was to avoid the problem of differential losses of RNA that had occurred during the complicated manipulations that had been employed to isolate the RNA. The ratio of 3 H to 14 C in the UMP is a useful indication of the relative efficiency of the injection and of the relative amount of uridine that entered brain cells and is used to correct the observed ratio of 3 H to 14 C in the RNA. It was concluded that the increased radioactivity was not confined to a single species of RNA but was distributed among many species and that a general increase was observed in the synthesis of rapidly labeled RNA due to a metabolic stimulation of the cells involved.
Qualität des Lichtes und das menschliche Wesen

Wir gelangen standig mehr zu der Uberzeugung, das mit Rucksicht auf die Leistungsfahigkeit des Individuums bei seiner taglichen Arbeit ein weises oder fast weises Licht als idealer Beleuchter anzusehen ist. Berucksichtigen wir noch weiter das Moment der Anpassung an die Umgebung, so kommen wir zu dem Schlus, das das Licht einer Tageslichtqualitat, gleichgultig ob naturlich oder kunstlich, die beste Art der Beleuchtung darstellt. Glucklicherweise schreitet auch die Entwicklung in der Tendenz erhohter und wirkungsvollerer Temperaturen durch Erhitzung fester Korper immer weiter fort, so das wir uns auf diesem Wege immer mehr dem weisen Licht nahern. Bei fast allen Versuchen, die hinsichtlich der Qualitat des erstrebten Lichtes gemacht wurden, wurde immer wieder festgestellt, das das weise Licht fur Arbeitszwecke bevorzugt wird. Die Erklarung hierfur wird vielleicht mehrfacher Art sein; der Verfasser selbst ist aber der Meinung, das das in der Hauptsache auf das Ergebnis der Anpassung in der Entwicklungsperiode der Menschheit zuruckzufuhren ist und jeder, der dieses Moment in seiner Wichtigkeit gerade auf biologischem und psychologischem Gebiet erkannt hat, wird dieser Meinung beipflichten.
Effects of traumatic brain injury on oxycodone self-administration in rats

Epidemiological data indicate that patients who experience a traumatic brain injury (TBI) have an elevated risk of developing substance abuse disorders, but the underlying neurobiological connections remain unclear. To further understand the relationship between TBI and substance abuse, we investigated the effects of TBI on the rewarding effects of oxycodone in clinically-relevant models. Our evaluation utilized lateral fluid percussion injury of moderate severity followed by assessment of oxycodone self-administration behavior in adult male Sprague-Dawley rats. The reinforcing effects of oxycodone were examined under fixed ratio (FR) and progressive ratio (PR) schedules as well as in a reinstatement model of relapse. Relative to control, TBI subjects self-administered greater levels of the intermediate doses of oxycodone under FR conditions and exhibited up to 8-fold higher responding during time out periods when no drug or cues were available. Under PR conditions, multiple doses of oxycodone also mainta...
Widely tunable terahertz source based on intra-cavity frequency mixing in quantum cascade laser arrays

We demonstrate a compact monolithic terahertz source continuously tunable from 1.9 THz to 3.9 THz with the maximum peak power output of 106 μW at 3.46 THz at room temperature. The source consists of an array of 10 electrically tunable quantum cascade lasers with intra-cavity terahertz difference-frequency generation. To increase fabrication yield and achieve high THz peak power output in our devices, a dual-section current pumping scheme is implemented using two electrically isolated grating sections to independently control gain for the two mid-IR pumps.
CHAPTER 1 – The Horizon of Agricultural Ethics

Publisher Summary Those engaged in agriculture must begin to examine and expand agriculture's ethical horizon. A horizon can also be regarded as a limit or the extent of one's outlook, experience, interest, knowledge, and so on. The problems of agriculture multiply faster than the solutions. There are three reasons because of which things have become more complex. The first reason is ontological or human-induced changes in the nature of the real world. The second reason is epistemological change. The third reason for added complexity is changes in the nature of decision making. A more “participatory style of decision making” is gaining; and “technocratic and authoritarian” decision making is less in favor. The ecocentric, as opposed to technocentric view, often prevails. Other decision criteria (gender, human rights, the environment) are also gaining credibility as nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and multinational corporations expand the dimensions that define issues and solutions. In general, while changes in the nature of decision making are known and often lamented in agriculture, that knowledge has not led to changes in agricultural practice. Change in practice has been imposed from outside. It is reasonable to posit that changes resulting from environmental concern, gender issues, human rights, and animal rights have been resisted within agriculture.
Caring for the New Uninsured: Hospital Charity Care for Older People without Coverage

Despite near-universal coverage through Medicare, a number of elderly residents in the United States do not have health insurance coverage. To the author's knowledge, this study is the first to document trends in the use of hospital charity care by uninsured older people. Data from the New Jersey Charity Care Program, which subsidizes hospitals for services provided to low-income uninsured people, were used to analyze trends in charity care utilization by older people from 1999 to 2004. Charity care charges are standardized to uniform Medicaid reimbursement rates and inflation adjusted using the Medical Care Consumer Price Index. From 1999 to 2004, use of charity care by older people grew much faster than it did for younger patients. As a result, older people now account for a greater share of hospital charity care in New Jersey than children. Elderly users of charity care generated higher costs per patient than their younger counterparts. Cost differences were especially salient at the upper end of the distribution, where high-cost elderly patients used significantly more resources than high-cost patients in other age groups. These results highlight an emerging source of strain on the healthcare safety net and point to a growing population of uninsured residents who have costly and complex medical needs. Similar experiences are likely to be found in other states, especially those that have growing populations of elderly immigrants who are likely to lack health insurance.
Analytical And Experimental Studies of the Helical Magnetohydrodynamic Thruster Design

This paper describes the results of analytical and experimental studies of a helical magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) seawater thruster using a 8-Tesla (T) solenoid magnet. The application of this work is in marine vehicle propulsion. Analytical models are developed to predict the performance of the helical MHD thruster in a closed-loop condition. The analytical results are compared with experimental data and good agreement is obtained.
Twin boundary energies in YBa2Cu3O7–x and La2CuO4

Abstract Colonies of parallel twins are observed in YBa2Cu3O7–x and La2CuO4, as well as in many other materials which undergo a tetragonal to orthorhombic or equivalent transformation. The spacing of such twins is found to vary with the colony size. It is shown that this variation can be used to calculate the twin boundary energy, γ. The total energy of a twin colony is the sum of the twin boundary energy associated with the presence of the twin boundaries and the strain energy of the coherent lenticular ends. Minimization of the total energy of the system shows that the twin thickness (t), should be proportional to (γL/e2)1/2 where L is the colony size and e is the transformation strain. Plots of t against L yield straight lines for both YBa2Cu3O7–x and La2CuO4 and γ can be calculated from the slopes giving values of 2·8 and 5·3 mJ m-2 respectively.
Burn Size Estimate Reliability: A Study

A study was undertaken to assess any differences between physicians' and nurses' estimates of burn size from drawings of 10 hypothetical patients with burns. Patient drawings were sent to the 199 burn facilities that are listed in the American Burn Association's Burn Care Resources in North America 1989-1990. The mailings were randomized between physicians and nurses. In order to have an even distribution, the cover letter asked the individual who received the forms to fill them out himself or herself rather than to pass them on to someone else. Forty-one nurses and 16 doctors (29%) returned the completed forms. The length of experience in burn care for the nurses averaged 9.3 years (range, 2 to 20 years), and the length of experience in burn care for the physicians averaged 14.7 years (range, 1 to 30 years [p = 0.01]). There were significant differences in the estimate of mean burn size between the physicians and nurses for only the two smallest drawings; in these cases, size may have been hard to translate from the patient to the drawing. There were four smaller burn charts (less than 20% body surface area), and in two (50%) of these, there were significant differences in the estimation of the burn size. For the six larger burn charts (greater than 20% body surface area), there were no differences in the size estimates. With regression analysis, no trend was noted that correlated the size estimates with the length of experience in burn care for either the physicians or the nurses. Additionally, the participants were asked to indicate which method of estimating burn size was used in their units. Thirty-five percent use the Rule of Nines, 33% use the Lund & Browder chart, 5.3% use Berkow's method, 3% use other methods, and 1.75% use a combination of the Lund & Browder chart and the Rule of Nines. Twenty-one percent failed to indicate any preferred method. Estimates of burn sizes with the use of standardized burn forms were consistently the same whether estimates were made by physicians or nurses. Sixty-eight percent of the respondents used the Rule of Nines or the Lund & Browder chart to estimate burn size, but 21% of the respondents failed to answer the question about which method is used in their units. In conclusion, there appears to be little variance in estimation of burn size as made by experienced burn nurses and physicians, and use of these estimates in a centralized data bank should be reliable.
Steroid−DNA Interactions Increasing Stability, Sequence-Selectivity, DNA/RNA Discrimination, and Hypochromicity of Oligonucleotide Duplexes

Cholic acid and its deoxy derivatives were found to increase the melting point of oligonucleotide duplexes when coupled to their 5‘-termini. For duplexes of mixed-sequence octamers, the melting point was 8−11 °C higher with the steroid appendage than without. For the self-complementary hexamer TGCGCA, a 21 °C melting point increase was measured in the presence of steroid appendage and −18 kcal/mol in ΔΔH°. The affinity increases were accompanied by increased discrimination against mismatches at the two terminal base pairs and increased hypochromicity, as well as an improved DNA/RNA discrimination for the non selcomplementary sequence. Cross-peaks in the NOESY spectrum of (chl-T*GCGCA)2, where chl denotes the cholic acid residue and T* a 5‘-amino-5‘-deoxythymidine residue, point toward stacking interactions in which the methyl groups of the steroid face the nucleobases. Our results indicate that bile acids can form a specific complex with terminal T:A base pairs of double-stranded DNA.
A study of finite difference approximations to steady-state, convection-dominated flow problems

Abstract Five different finite difference schemes, first-order upwind, skew upwind, second-order upwind, second order central differencing, and QUICK, approximating the convection terms in the transport equation with fluid motion, have been studied. Three simple test problems are used to compare the performances by the five schemes for high cell Peclet number flows; they are also used to demonstrate the restraints on the accuracy of the numerical approximations set by the types of the boundary conditions, by the presence of the source term in the flow region, and by the skewness of the numerical grid lines. The basic reasons behind the spurious oscillations in a numerical solution are studied. Among all five schemes studied, the second-order upwind is found to be, in general, the most satisfactory.
Impacts and control of air toxics from combustion

The debate over the contribution of air toxics to adverse human and ecosystem health effects continues in both scientific and policy arenas. While the primary concern in the 1970s and 80s was the criteria pollutants and the nonmethane volatile organics which contribute to ozone formation, concern in the late 1980s was directed to air toxics as well. Major changes in regulatory legislation occurred in the early 1990s resulting in increased demand for emissions reductions. Air toxics in combustion emissions include volatile and semivolatile organics such as benzene, dioxins, and furans, as well as inorganic species such as HCl, many metals (including metal oxides and chlorides), and aerosols with particles less than 10 μm in diameter. Air toxic are of concern for their potential to impact both human and ecosystem health. While carcinogenic potential was of greatest concern initially, other health impacts including reproductive effects and endocrine system disruption are receiving increasing attention. Within the combustion community, research efforts focused initially on air toxics emissions from incinerators. More recently, air toxics emissions from other combustion processes have come under scrutiny. The relationships among the feedstock, the combustion process, and postcombustion processes all influence the emissions of air toxics and the distribution or transfer of pollutant species among environmental media. This paper reviews impacts by air toxics from combustion on human health and ecosystem health, reviews the factors that contribute to the formation of air toxics, and considers how the impacts can guide combustion research to focus on those factors most crucial to control of air toxics.
Producing TV's World: How Important is Community?

Two views of the televisionl film business examine the media’s New York-California connection. Up the Tube: Prime Time Television in the Silverman Years by Sally Bedell. New York: Viking, 1981. Media Made in California: Hollywood, Politics, and the News by Jeremy Tunstall and David Walker. New York: Oxford University Press, 1981.
Medicolegal analysis of the delayed diagnosis of cancer in 338 cases in the United States

Objective: To define the frequency, clinical characteristics, and legal outcomes of the delayed diagnosis of cancer leading to negligence litigation. Design: Retrospective review of 338 jury verdict reports from 42 states in the United States. Setting: State and federal civil court decisions, as reported to litigation survey services, in a 5-year interval from 1985 to 1990. Results: Of 338 cancers divided into 13 major organ sites, breast (38%, n=127), gastrointestinal (15%, n=51), lung (15%, n=50), and head and neck cancers (10%, n=33) accounted for 80% (270/338) of lawsuits. The average diagnostic delay for 212 cases was 17 months. The median age of patients with delays was 15 years younger than the age of patients presenting with cancer in the general population. For cancers in nine major organ sites, the ratio of mortality for patients filing lawsuits to that for patients with cancer in the general population averaged 3.4:1. The total known indemnity payout was $140.2 million, with an average payout per case of $64 600. At 1 to 3 months of diagnostic delay, jury verdicts largely favored the defense (seven of 11 [65%] defense verdicts); after 6 months of delay, jury verdicts were almost evenly divided between defense verdicts, plaintiff verdicts, and out-of-court settlements. Conclusions: The delayed diagnosis of cancer leading to negligence litigation is associated with significant indemnity payments, often involves middle-aged patients far younger than the expected age in the general cancer population, and is defensible only in the minority after 6 months of diagnostic delay. (Arch Surg. 1994;129:397-404)
Hohlraum-driven high-convergence implosion experiments with multiple beam cones on the omega laser facility.

High-convergence implosion experiments have been performed on the Omega laser facility [T.R. Boehly et al., Opt. Commun. 133, 495 (1997)] using cylindrical gold hohlraums with 40 drive beams arranged into multiple cones. These experiments make use of improved hohlraum radiation symmetry conditions [T.J. Murphy et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 81, 108 (1998)] to demonstrate near predicted primary (2.45 MeV) neutron production from single-shell implosions with measured deuterium fuel convergence ratios exceeding 20 at an ignition-relevant hohlraum case-to-capsule ratio $\ensuremath{\approx}3$.
Analysis for Neptunium by Controlled-Potential Coulometry

Summary An accurate and precise method for the determination of neptunium has been developed, based on a controlled-potential coulometric titration. The electrolysis cell contains a platinum working electrode at which the neptunium V -neptunium VI couple is titrated. A 1.0 N sulfuric acid solution is used as a titration medium. The precision of the method ranges from 1 per cent relative standard deviation for 20 μ g samples to 0.5 per cent relative standard deviation for samples of neptunium approximately 1 mg or larger in size. With care, as little as 2 μ g of neptunium can be detected and 7 μ g can be titrated with a relative standard deviation of 6 per cent. Under ordinary conditions, large excesses of plutonium, iron and uranium can be tolerated or the interference calculated. The general procedure is to first oxidize the neptunium to neptunium VI with cerium IV , then electrolytically reduce the neptunium VI and excess cerium IV to neptunium V and cerium III and, finally, coulometrically oxidize the neptunium V to neptunium VI . The integrated current in the last step is used to calculate the concentration of the neptunium. The solutions can be analyzed for the concentrations of neptunium in different oxidation states with the coulometer, using a platinum electrode cell. The neptunium VI is determined by a coulometric reduction to neptunium V . The neptunium V is then oxidized coulometrically; the difference between these two titrations being the concentration of the neptunium V . The total neptunium concentration is determined by the method described in the preceding paragraph, and the neptunium IV is then calculated from the difference between the concentrations of neptunium V plus neptunium VI and the total neptunium. This analysis depends upon the fact that neptunium IV is not oxidized at a significant rate during the coulometric oxidation of the neptunium V . All substances which undergo oxidation or reduction at the applied potentials interfere and must be removed or masked in order to carry out this determination. The accuracy and precision depend, of course, on the total neptunium concentration and the concentrations of neptunium in the various oxidation states. A simple and rapid method to determine oxidation-reduction potentials, using the controlled-potential coulometer, is described. In this method, the same electrode system is used to measure potentials and to adjust the concentrations of the element in various valence states by coulometric titrations. Some formal oxidation potentials are given for iron, neptunium and plutonium couples.
A revision of the assassin spiders of the Eriauchenius gracilicollis group, a clade of spiders endemic to Madagascar (Araneae: Archaeidae)

An endemic group of Malagasy spiders (Araneae: Archaeidae: Eriauchenius) called the gracilicollis group is revised. The monophyly and phylogenetic relationships of the gracilicollis group are tested based on morphological characters. Archaeid spiders of Madagascar have evolved varying degrees of elongation in the cephalic area. Historically, it was believed that the extremely elongated cephalic area had evolved only once. These morphological data support the monophyly of the gracilicollis group and suggest that the elongated cephalic area has evolved more than once. All 14 species from the gracilicollis group are described and keyed, of which nine are new species: Eriauchenius ambre sp. nov., Eriauchenius anabohazo sp. nov., Eriauchenius borimontsina sp. nov., Eriauchenius griswoldi sp. nov., Eriauchenius halambohitra sp. nov., Eriauchenius lavatenda sp. nov., Eriauchenius namoroka sp. nov., Eriauchenius spiceri sp. nov. and Eriauchenius voronakely sp. nov. The morphology of the gracilicollis group is examined in detail and figures of the male and female genitalia are presented. The distributions of the gracilicollis group species are presented and discussed and higher species group relationships within the Archaeidae are discussed. © 2008 The Linnean Society of London, Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2008, 152, 255–296.
Tobacco, Alcohol, and Cancer in Low and High Income Countries

Abstract Background Tobacco use is a well-established risk factor for cancers of the lung, head and neck, nasopharynx, esophagus, stomach, pancreas, liver, kidney, bladder, leukemia, and cervix. Alcohol consumption is a well-established risk factor for cancers of the head and neck, esophagus, liver, colorectum, and breast for women only. The majority of studies on tobacco and alcohol were conducted in high-income countries (HICs). Objective The aim of this review was to assess the extent of tobacco and alcohol usage and to compare the cancer burden between low- and high-income regions. Findings Overall, tobacco smoking is estimated to account for 21% of cancer deaths worldwide (29% in HICs and 18% in low- and middle-income countries [LMICs]). Alcohol consumption is estimated to account for 5% of all cancer deaths worldwide, with similar proportions in LMICs. Cancers of the breast, lung, stomach, liver, head and neck, esophagus, cervix, and nasopharynx, and leukemia are already diagnosed in greater numbers each year in less-developed countries compared with more developed countries. The future burden of tobacco- and alcohol-related cancers on less-developed regions is expected to increase greatly based on demographic effects, with a 69.9% increase in tobacco-related cancer cases and a 68% increase in cancers related to alcohol. Although HICs have experienced a decrease in tobacco prevalence in recent decades, LMICs are still in the early stages of the tobacco epidemic. Conclusion Tobacco use and alcohol consumption will clearly remain important risk factors that must be targeted with public health efforts particularly in LMICs.
Femininity, Sports, and Feminism: Developing a Theory of Physical Liberation

U.S. society continues to accept myths regarding the supposed weakness of women’s bodies. Women’s displays of physical power are often prevented or undermined, typically in ways centering on the concept of femininity. Increasing numbers of female athletes have not led to a true physical feminist liberation, one which would increase women’s confidence, power, respect, wealth, enjoyment of physicality, and escape from rape and the fear of rape. Despite these possible benefits, most feminists have not encouraged the development of physical power in women. Although caution regarding physical power is warranted, the benefits of a physical, libratory feminism outweigh the risks.
Electrokinetic Phenomena in Porous Media

Electrokinetic phenomena, such as electroosmosis (fluid-flow induced by applied electric fields) and streaming potential (the complementary process) are known to exist in brine-saturated porous media, but are very difficult to measure. With modern instrumentation and an ac method, we can now determine these transport coefficients accurately, and use them to characterize the permeability k 1 , the effective throat radius R e , and the electric potential at the slip-plane, or ζ-potential. Our study shows that permeability can be determined by two different means: by combining the dc values of the streaming potential, electroosmotic pressure and conductivity; or from the frequency response of ac electroosmosis alone. The high sensitivity of the method allows us to measure k over the 0.1–10,000 millidarcy range with less than lOkPa applied pressure. This article reviews some of the basics of electrokinetics and describes our methods. We also discuss effects of brine salinity and possible effects due to the fractal nature of the pore surface.
The dual role of HOP2 in mammalian meiotic homologous recombination

Deletion of Hop2 in mice eliminates homologous chromosome synapsis and disrupts double-strand break (DSB) repair through homologous recombination. HOP2 in vitro shows two distinctive activities: when it is incorporated into a HOP2-MND1 complex it stimulates DMC1 and RAD51 recombination activities and the purified HOP2 alone is proficient in promoting strand invasion. We observed that a fraction of Mnd1(-/-) spermatocytes, which express HOP2 but apparently have inactive DMC1 and RAD51 due to lack of the HOP2-MND1 complex, exhibits a high level of chromosome synapsis and that most DSBs in these spermatocytes are repaired. This suggests that DSB repair catalyzed solely by HOP2 supports homologous chromosome pairing and synapsis. In addition, we show that in vitro HOP2 promotes the co-aggregation of ssDNA with duplex DNA, binds to ssDNA leading to unstacking of the bases, and promotes the formation of a three-strand synaptic intermediate. However, HOP2 shows distinctive mechanistic signatures as a recombinase. Namely, HOP2-mediated strand exchange does not require ATP and, in contrast to DMC1, joint molecules formed by HOP2 are more sensitive to mismatches and are efficiently dissociated by RAD54. We propose that HOP2 may act as a recombinase with specific functions in meiosis.
Direct and Indirect Effects of a Large-Scale Application of Nosema locustae (Microsporida: Nosematidae) on Rangeland Grasshoppers (Orthoptera: Acrididae)

In 1988, a study in central Wyoming was done to determine direct and indirect effects of a large-scale (3,250 hal field application of Nosema locustae Canning on rangeland grasshoppers. No clear direct or indirect effects of N. locustae on low-density (<9.6 grasshoppers per m2) populations were apparent compared with controls. In the 3 wk after application of N. locustae , high-density (≥9.6 grasshoppers per m2) populations had 40 to 45% higher mortality than controls. However, between 3 and 7 wk after treatment, a natural population crash obscured any further effects. In treated, high-density asemblages, grasshoppers exhibited higher rates of necrophagy and lower fecundity than controls. Treated plots had greater forb, grass, and total plant biomass than untreated plots. Although the highdensity community structure (based on grasshopper subfamilies) was not affected by treatment, the sex ratio shifted significantly; proportionately fewer males were found in treated areas. The rate of development and mean body weight of grasshoppers in high-density treated areas did not differ significantly from that of controls. The relevance of indirect effects of N. locustae to grasshopper management and the conditions accentuating these effects are discussed.