cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Modulation of redox status in human lung cell lines by organoselenocompounds: selenazolidines, selenomethionine and methylseleninic acid

Cancer prevention strategies utilizing selenium-containing compounds have demonstrated reduced cancer mortality and efficacy for some cancer types but considerable differences in cellular effects exist among the selenocompounds employed. The variability of the effects on cell viability, redox modulation, and disruption of subcellular compartments by the conventional selenium-containing amino acid, selenomethionine, the oxidized selenosugar metabolite, methylseleninic acid, and selenazolidines was investigated in A549 and BEAS-2B human lung cell lines. Selenomethionine had little effect whereas methylseleninic acid increased cellular thiols and stress in the endoplasmic reticulum. The cyclohexylselenazolidine increased mild oxidative stress in the adenocarcinoma cell line, A549, but the effects were attenuated in the normal, but virally transformed cell line, BEAS-2B. These data demonstrate that all selenocompounds are not equal and that the form of the organic selenocompound is a major determinant in the expected cellular response.
Second Coordinate Readout in Drift Chambers by Charge Division

The drift time measurement and the charge division can be performed simultaneously on the same electrode (resistive anode) without affecting the accuracy of either measurement. It is shown that for the shortest measurement time there is an optimum value for the anode wire resistance. The signal requirement for a position uncertainty ? ? 0.5% of the anode wire length is only 2.7 x 106 electron charges. The drift chamber can be operated in the linear mode and with negligible space charge effects, so that it can also be used for ?E/?X measurements. A simple preamplifier optimized for both the time and charge measurements using a monolithic transistor array is described.
Mentoring increases connectedness and knowledge: a cross-sectional evaluation of two programs in child and adolescent psychiatry.

The authors assess changes in knowledge and feeling connected to the field of child and adolescent psychiatry (CAP) after participation in a brief mentoring program held at two CAP conferences. Similar mentorship programs were implemented at two CAP conferences, one national (N = 119 participants), one international (N = 53). The 4-day programs were part of larger travel awards, and included daily small group meetings consisting of a mode of two mentors and six participants. The authors created a survey with 40 quantitative questions designed to measure the change in participants’ perceptions related to the conference and mentoring program, and provided additional fields for narrative comments. Mean participant ratings were positive for all questions on the survey. Changes in connectedness were rated higher than those in knowledge. The highest mean ratings were related to feeling more connected to the host organization, to CAP, and to other program participants. Outcomes were similar between the two conferences, except for knowledge gained on research, which was higher among participants in the international meeting. Outcomes were similar across demographic variables, except for internationally trained participants rating higher on research knowledge, connectedness, and overall knowledge. Over 75% of participants felt they made a connection with their mentor bonded as a group, and learned new things about CAP and the host organization. A qualitative review of comments revealed several themes, including heightened importance of networking, increased awareness of the field, improved connectedness, a desire for trainee-focused events and mixed feelings about how much structure to provide within the mentorship experience. A brief group-style mentoring program is logistically feasible within large conferences, and can result in broad positive impact for trainees. Future studies are warranted to determine if these programs have lasting effects on connectedness, career choice and career development.
Buckling instabilities in a thick elastic three-ply composite plate under thrust

Abstract The buckling of a three-ply sandwich composite plate is studied in the context of finite deformation incompressible nonlinear elasticity. As is the case of a noncomposite plate, buckled configurations involving either barrelling or flexure are possible. However, the ordering of the failure thrusts for certain composite configurations is more complicated than the ordering that occurs in the noncomposite case. In particular, under suitable conditions, the thrusts at which barrelling and flexural buckling modes occur can be interlaced. Furthermore, transitions in the ordering of the different failure modes may occur as the aspect ratio of the plate is varied.
Some Aspects of Approximating Aquifer Discharge

Aquifers may serve as storage reservoirs, as treatment mediums, as discharge conduits, or in some combination of the various uses. If an aquifer serves as a conduit, the Darcy equation gives an accurate and simple solution for discharge provided the conduit is uniform; if nonuniform, the accuracy may be very poor unless special care is taken. Differential equations based on Darcy's equation and the equation of continuity give the steady-flow discharge rate for confined aquifers in which the cross-sectional area and permeability vary from point to point. For the general case the derived discharge expression is theoretically exact, whereas, for specific cases an approximate form can be used depending on the boundary conditions. Integration of the approximate form for a given aquifer length yields simplified solutions for discharge where the variation in cross-sectional area and/or permeability with distance in the direction of flow can be described by some mathematical expression.
Lipoblastomatosis of the neck causing hemiparesis: a case report and review of the literature.

Background. Lipoblastoma and lipoblastomatosis are rare pediatric adipose tumors that sometimes affect the neck or spinal cord. This case is the third report of lipoblastoma extending into the spinal canal, the first report of intradural tumor extension, and the first report of hemiparesis resulting from lipoblastoma compressing the spinal cord. Methods. A 13-month-old boy was seen by a pediatrician for a firm, supraclavicular neck mass on the left side. After being evaluated by CT and MRI scanning, the tumor was partially resected. Results. Postoperative microscopic examination of the tumor showed adipose cells with mature nuclei and well-formed fat vacuoles interspersed with fibrovascular septa, a finding consistent with maturing lipoblastoma. Conclusions. Although lipoblastomatous tumors are treated with complete surgical resection when possible, location of these tumors in the neck may dictate partial resection to avoid intraoperative injury to the spinal cord. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Head Neck 25: 337–340, 2003
Design and Implementation of an FPGA Architecture for High-Speed Network Feature Extraction

Network feature extraction involves the storage and classification of network packet activity. Although primarily employed in network intrusion detection systems, feature extraction is also used to determine various other aspects of a network's behavior such as total traffic and average connection size. Current software methods used for extraction of network features fail to meet the performance requirements of next-generation high-speed networks. In this paper, we propose an FPGA-based reconfigurable architecture for feature extraction of large high-speed networks. Our design makes use of parallel rows of hash functions and sketch tables in order to process network packets at a very high throughput. We present a detailed description of our architecture and its implementation on a Xilinx Virtex-II Pro FPGA board, and provide cycle-accurate timing results for feature extraction of input networking benchmark data. Our results demonstrate real-world throughputs of as high as 3.32 Gbps, with speedups reaching 18x when compared to an equivalent software implementation.
Thermodynamic Studies of the Addition of N2, C2H4, and Alkynes to [Rh(PiPr3)2Cl]2

[Rh((PPr3)-Pr-i)(2)Cl](2) reacts with various small molecules L' to give complexes Rh((PPr3)-Pr-i)(2)ClL'. The enthalpy of this reaction has been determined calorimetrically and/or by equilibrium methods for L' = N-2, C2H4, diphenylacetylene, and 2-butyne. These values, in combination with the previously determined lower limit for the [Rh((PPr3)-Pr-i)(2)Cl](2) bridge strength, afford lower limits of the Rh-L' BDE's; the lower limits are probably only slightly less than the actual BDE's.
Long term impact of youth sports participation on illegal behavior

Abstract Previous research into the relationship between sports and illegal behavior has left it unclear whether sports participation acts as a preventative measure or a risk factor for illegal behavior. The present study examines the relationship between sports involvement and illegal behavior, in both the long and the short-term, in a national sample, using propensity score matching and negative binomial regression to examine the short and long-term impacts of youth sports participation and adult illegal behavior. The results suggest that in general, sports participation has very little if any direct impact on illegal behavior, but participation specifically in contact sports, either alone or in combination with participation in noncontact sports, is associated with reduced frequency of some illegal behaviors. Implications for policy and future research are considered.
Rational approximations to linear forms of exponentials and binomials

Abstract Mahler proved the following quantitative result supplementing the Lindemann-Weierstrass theorem: ǀΣi=0nCieriǀ > H-n-e for any distinct rational numbers r0,r1,..., rn and rational integers C0,C1,...,Cn with H = max0≤i≤n ǀCiǀ. We improve Mahler's estimate by replacing exponentials eri by linearly independent linear forms Li = Σ Lijesij with rational Lij,siji = 0,1,...,n. Similar results are obtained for binomials (a/b)ri or Σ Lij(a/b)sij with integers a,b and logǀbǀ/logǀaǀ > 1 - e. The simplest examples of new numbers with the irrationality exponent “2 + e” are sinh 1 or sin 1.
What makes Dick and Jane run?: examining the retention of women and men in the software and internet industry

Project TechForce is a study of the attraction, promotion, and retention of women in the software and Internet industry. Drawing on preliminary findings from a web-based survey of 1,690 employees in the industry, this paper examines men and women's plans to remain in the industry long-term. The key factors named by respondents that would play an important role in shaping retention in the industry are identified, including pay, hours of work in a typical workweek, and the intrinsic nature of the work. This preliminary analysis will be further analyzed, in addition to drawing on 200 in-depth interviews with men and women in software and Internet workplaces, to gain a richer understanding of the factors shaping the participation of men and women in the industry.
The surface intermediate H2COO

Abstract The oxidation of D 2 CO was studied on Ag (110) with temperature programmed reaction spectroscopy. D 2 CO was oxidized to D 2 COO (a) upon adsorption, and this surface intermediate decomposed at approximately 225 K to yield deuterium and DCOO (a) . Adsorbed DCOO decomposed to deuterium and CO 2 at elevated temperatures. The present experiment further demonstrated that D 2 COO (a) is a reaction intermediate during formaldehyde oxidation by group IB metals, and that this intermediate is not thermally stable since it dissociates to deuterium and adsorbed formate well below room temperature.
Exploring the nature of evaluative person descriptors through scale development

Abstract Research regarding the nature of evaluative person descriptors has been hampered because existing measures are limited. Moreover, recent work has identified potential facets of evaluative dimensions, but practical measures of these do not yet exist. Our goals were to (a) develop a measure—the Evaluative Person Descriptors Questionnaire (EPDQ)—that models both higher- and lower-order components of such descriptors, and (b) explore their nature through analyses of temporal stability, self-informant agreement, and convergent and discriminant validity. The EPDQ—which was developed following four rounds of data collection and analyses—taps three broad evaluative dimensions (Positive Valence [PV], Depravity, and Oddity) as well as four lower-order facets of PV. Results suggested that the EPDQ yielded temporal stability consistent with markers of the Big Five model. Self-informant agreement was more variable, with PV and its facets yielding lower agreement than Depravity and Oddity. We discuss implications for structural personality theory and research.
Prevalence, Prognosis, and Implications of Isolated Minor Nonspecific ST-Segment and T-Wave Abnormalities in Older Adults. Cardiovascular Health Study

Background— The prevalence and prognostic significance of isolated minor nonspecific ST-segment and T-wave abnormalities (NSSTTAs) in older adults are poorly understood. Methods and Results— Cardiovascular Health Study participants free of both clinical cardiovascular disease and major ECG abnormalities were included. We examined the prospective association of isolated minor NSSTTAs (defined by Minnesota Codes 4–3, 4–4, 5–3, and 5–4) with total, cardiovascular, and coronary mortality and incident nonfatal myocardial infarction. Among 3224 participants (61.9% women; mean age, 72 years), 233 (7.2%) had isolated NSSTTAs at baseline. Covariates associated with isolated NSSTTAs included older age, nonwhite race (20.5% of blacks versus 4.8% of whites; P<0.001), diabetes, and higher blood pressure and body mass index but not the presence of subclinical cardiovascular disease. After 39 518 person-years of follow-up, the presence of isolated NSSTTAs was associated with significantly increased risk for coronary hea...
Signalling across the endoplasmic reticulum membrane: potential mechanisms.

The endoplasmic reticulum (ER) is a membrane-bound organelle responsible for the synthesis, assembly and post-translational modification of proteins destined for the lysosomes, Golgi and for secretion. The processes which occur in the lumen of the ER are vital to the correct functioning of the cell, and mechanisms must exist to enable the cell to monitor events within the lumen of the ER. How the cell is able to do this is not known, but it would apparently require the passage of signals from the lumen of the ER to the cytosol, from where signals can be sent to, for example, the nucleus to effect changes in transcription. Here, it is suggested that the membrane of the ER may contain the components (i.e. receptors, kinases, etc.) required for transmembrane signalling in much the same way as the plasma membrane does. This hypothesis will be discussed in relation to known ER proteins which might act as signalling proteins.
A factor in crab amebocytes which stimulates in vitro clotting of crab blood

Abstract Cellular blood clotting in the crab which is initiated on contact with glass is rapidly accelerated in vitro by the addition of a crude amebocyte extract to the syringe and needle with which the blood is obtained. This accelerating action is destroyed by boiling, but is not destroyed by exposure to N -ethylmaleimide.
Loss and depression after traumatic injury: the importance of case management in the recovery process.

Purposes of Study: This study aims to (1) explore the types of resource loss commonly experienced by trauma patients as a result of their injuries, (2) examine the relationship between loss of resources and depressive symptoms after traumatic injury, (3) identify the types of coping behaviors used during trauma recovery, and (4) identify other factors influencing depression after injury. Primary Practice Setting(s): Primary settings comprise the case managers working with trauma patients in hospital, rehabilitation, outpatient, and home environments. Methodology and Sample: This study used a cross-sectional design. A sample of 50 trauma patients who had sustained an unintentional injury in the prior 1–4 months completed a single interview during which participants completed measures of general health, loss of resources, coping, and depressive symptoms. Types of resource losses were also explored through open-ended questions. Results: Symptoms of depression were prevalent in the sample. Participants experienced multiple and varied loss of resources, especially in financial and personal realms. Loss of resources and depression scores were significantly related. Participants reported using a variety of coping strategies, most commonly accepting the reality of their circumstances and limitations. Implications for Case Management Practice: The case manager can serve an important role in the recognition of depression in trauma patients and the implementation of appropriate interventions, including referral to mental health professional for further evaluation. Strategies to aid in the prevention of depression after injury include early identification of individuals who are more vulnerable to resource loss, assessment of current resource stores, and facilitating and coordinating access to essential resources to aid in trauma recovery.
Respiratory metabolism in pacifastacus leniusculus (Dana) (crustacea: decapoda) as related to its ecology

Respiratory metabolism in the high-altitude crayfish, Pacifastacus leniusculus from Lake Tahoe (California-Nevada, U.S.A.) was investigated in a series of laboratory experiments. In general, oxygen consumption was found to be directly proportional to size when expressed per individual, and inversely proportional to size when expressed per ash-free gram dry weight per unit time. No significant variations in respiratory rates were observed between males and females. There was little variation in uptake over a temperature range of 5°C to 12.5°C, while the lowest and highest uptake values were observed at 0°C and 15°C respectively. An increase in temperature above 15°C, however, resulted in a decrease in respiratory activity. These results closely correlate with patterns of ventilatory activity, oxygen extraction efficiency, and seasonal feeding and reproductive activity in Pacifastacus as related to the annual temperature profile for their Lake Tahoe habitat. These results, as well as the extremely low tolerance of this species for low oxygen levels, suggest temperature as the possible critical environmental factor in the determination of the nature of seasonal metabolic cycles. It is concluded that Pacifastacus shows little tolerance for fluctuations in environmental oxygen and temperature and is well adapted to the narrow range of condition present in its Lake Tahoe habitat.
Transformation of Horsley-Clarke coordinate for electrode implantation experiments in stereotaxic surgery.

Abstract The speed and versatility of Horsley-Clarke stereotaxic procedures in the drug-free monkey preparation was extended by computerization. Computer programs are described for transformation of the coordinates of the stereotaxic frame and that of the grid plate mounted on the skull. This provided for calculating the electrode entry points and depth of the electrode penetration for areas of interest described in the brain atlas.
Gravitational Radiation from Relativistic Systems

Gravitational radiation is calculated for two selected systems, a pair of masses interacting through scalar or vector fields, to illustrate the behavior of gravitational radiation when the emitting bodies have arbitrarily large velocities. Explicit expressions are obtained for the radiation potentials and radiated power, which can be used for any orbit or trajectory. Although the radiation exhibits the same relativistic peaking as is found in electromagnetism, the amount of energy radiated is found to depend critically on the kind of stresses binding the system. Numerical calculations are done for the cases of circular orbits and extreme hyperbolic trajectories, in order to show the transition from the non-relativistic to extreme relativistic limits. The extreme hyperbolic case also allows comparison with previous results obtained for the gravitational deflection of a small mass in an unbound trajectory.
Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase activity in the olfactory system of the young rat: an enzyme histochemical study using computerized image analysis.

An understanding of olfactory system glucose metabolism is necessary for the interpretation of radiolabeled 2-deoxyglucose studies of odor processing since the relationship between glucose uptake and neural activity is based on assumptions regarding cellular glucose utilization. As part of an ongoing study examining divergent pathways of glucose metabolism in the olfactory system, the relative activity of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase, the rate-limiting enzyme of the hexose monophosphate shunt, was examined among cells of the rat olfactory bulb and anterior olfactory nucleus, by using enzyme histochemistry on fresh frozen tissue. Optical density measurements of formazan reaction product in stained tissue were quantified by computerized image analysis. To aid in the identification of histochemically stained neurons, alternate sections were Nissl-stained. The highest olfactory bulb dehydrogenase levels were found in the olfactory nerve and glomerular layers. Individual mitral and tufted cells also showed high dehydrogenase activity. In most stained neurons, formazan reaction product filled the cytoplasm and sometimes extended into the proximal part of dendrites and axons. The external plexiform and granule cell layers had low enzyme activity. High activity also was seen in pyramidal cells of pars dorsalis and pars lateralis of the anterior olfactory nucleus, one of the first, and most rostral of the olfactory bulb projection sites. High glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase activity in the olfactory system indicates that a significant amount of glucose can be channeled through the hexose monophosphate shunt in these neurons, with a concomitant production of NADPH. This may reflect high activity of cellular detoxification enzymes that rely on NADPH for reducing power. Such detoxification processes may be engaged in response to the potential entry and transsynaptic movement of airborne chemicals into the brain via the olfactory system.
Echocardiographic findings in patients with left superior vena cava and dilated coronary sinus

Three patients with a left superior vena cava draining into a dilated coronary sinus were studied with cardiac catheterization and echocardiography. The diagnosis was confirmed at operation in two patients. A posterior echo-free space was filled with echoes during injection of contrast medium into the left but not the right arm. This echo-free space was localized to the left atrioventricular groove. This technique established the presence of a left superior vena cava communicating with the coronary sinus and excluded pericardial effusion as the source of the posterior echo-free space.
Dusty shock flow with unstructured adaptive finite elements and parcels

Our objective is to formulate and develop an Eulerian-Lagrangian (E-L) method with an adaptive grid FEM-FCT flow solver that is computationally efficient. This method is used to predict a particle laden shock wave attenuation as a test case and to compare performance characteristics (computation speed, memory, and accuracy) with an E-E implentation that also includes adaptive unstructured grids
Probing the mechanical properties of seismically active crust with space geodesy: Study of the coseismic deformation due to the 1992 Mw7.3 Landers (southern California) earthquake

[1] The coseismic deformation due to the 1992 M(w)7.3 Landers earthquake, southern California, is investigated using synthetic aperture radar (SAR) and Global Positioning System (GPS) measurements. The ERS-1 satellite data from the ascending and descending orbits are used to generate contiguous maps of three orthogonal components ( east, north, up) of the coseismic surface displacement field. The coseismic displacement field exhibits symmetries with respect to the rupture plane that are suggestive of a linear relationship between stress and strain in the crust. Interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) data show small-scale deformation on nearby faults of the Eastern California Shear Zone. Some of these faults ( in particular, the Calico, Rodman, and Pinto Mountain faults) were also subsequently strained by the 1999 M(w)7.1 Hector Mine earthquake. I test the hypothesis that the anomalous fault strain represents essentially an elastic response of kilometer-scale compliant fault zones to stressing by nearby earthquakes [Fialko et al., 2002]. The coseismic stress perturbations due to the Landers earthquake are computed using a slip model derived from inversions of the InSAR and GPS data. Calculations are performed for both homogeneous and transversely isotropic half-space models. The compliant zone model that best explains the deformation on the Calico and Pinto Mountain faults due to the Hector Mine earthquake successfully predicts the coseismic displacements on these faults induced by the Landers earthquake. Deformation on the Calico and Pinto Mountain faults implies about a factor of 2 reduction in the effective shear modulus within the similar to 2 km wide fault zones. The depth extent of the low-rigidity zones is poorly constrained but is likely in excess of a few kilometers. The same type of structure is able to explain high gradients in the radar line of sight displacements observed on other faults adjacent to the Landers rupture. In particular, the Lenwood fault north of the Soggy Lake has likely experienced a few centimeters of left-lateral motion across < 1-km-wide compliant fault zone having the rigidity reduction of more than a factor of 2. The inferred compliant fault zones are interpreted to be a result of extensive damage due to past earthquakes.
Sarin: health effects, metabolism, and methods of analysis

Sarin (O-isopropylmethylphosphonofluoridate) is a highly toxic nerve agent produced for chemical warfare. Sarin is an extremely potent acetylcholinesterase (AchE) inhibitor with high specificity and affinity for the enzyme. Death by sarin is due to anoxia resulting from airway obstruction, weakness of the muscles of respiration, convulsions and respiratory failure. The main clinical symptoms of acute toxicity of sarin are seizures, tremors and hypothermia. Exposure to sarin during incidents in Japan in 1994, 1995 and 1998, and possible exposure to low levels of sarin during the Gulf War, resulted in the deaths and injury of many people in Japan and caused possible long-term health effects on Gulf War veterans. Symptoms related to sarin poisoning in Japan still exist 1-3 years after the incident and include fatigue, asthenia, shoulder stiffness and blurred vision. Sarin produced seizures in rats and pigs. Recent studies showed that long-term exposure to low levels of sarin caused neurophysiological and behavioral alterations. Toxicity from sarin significantly increased following concurrent exposure to other chemicals such as pyridostigmine bromide. Further research to examine effects of sarin on the cellular and the molecular levels, gene transcription, endocrine system as well as its long-term impact is needed.
Effects of age and exercise on physiological dead space during simulated dives at 2.8 ATA.

Physiological dead space (Vds), end-tidal CO2(Pet CO2 ), and arterial CO2(PaCO2 ) were measured at 1 and 2.8 ATA in a dry hyperbaric chamber in 10 older (58–74 yr) and 10 younger (19–39 yr) air-bre...
Genetic Enhancement, Post-persons, and Moral Status: Author reply to commentaries

I am grateful to the journal for commissioning commentaries by Allen Buchanan,1 Nicholas Agar,2 James Wilson and Thomas Douglas,3 4 and to those authors for their thoughtful remarks. In this brief reply, I respond to them in turn. Buchanan remains doubtful that there could be post-persons in the sense of beings who might plausibly be regarded as having higher moral status than (mere) persons. According to Buchanan, moral status is a threshold concept, and the property one needs in order to reach the threshold is accountability for reasons. He makes a decent case for his claim that dogs are not accountable for reasons at all and that persons are. Although I am sceptical that the most immature persons are significantly accountable for reasons and that there is a meaningful break between them and the most cognitively complex non-persons, here I set these doubts aside. Importantly, Buchanan claims that accountability for reasons is the only property that matters for the possession of moral status. (Note that on his view—and in his terminology, which differs from mine—dogs have moral standing in virtue of being sentient, but only persons have full and equal moral status in virtue of being accountable.) This claim strikes me as somewhat arbitrary and perhaps ad hoc as well. Consider alternative criteria that philosophers have suggested as the basis for full and equal moral status: temporal self-awareness, agency, the capacity for symbolic thought, and moral agency in a broader sense than simply accountability for reasons. These criteria seem no less plausible than Buchanan's for undergirding our moral status—assuming, for the moment, that the latter is closely connected with personhood and that sentience is insufficient—yet a wealth of empirical data suggest that the relevant characteristics come in various forms and different degrees, and that many animals have …
Loss Imposition and Institutional Characteristics: Learning from Automobile Insurance Reform in North America

This article reconsiders findings that emphasize the importance of governments' abilities to impose losses on powerful groups, while arguing that loss imposition is more problematic under separation of powers systems. The author argues that empirical evidence to this effect is thin, that more leverage can be obtained by comparing the policy decisions of subnational jurisdictions in the United States and Canada and that automobile insurance reform is an especially appropriate issue to study. Drawing on both aggregate analysis and case studies, the author presents findings suggesting that the Westminster-style parliamentary system in Canada indeed makes loss imposition easier than does the separation of powers system in the United States. /// Cet article examine a nouveau les conclusions qui insistent sur l'importance que revet l'aptitude des gouvernements a infliger des pertes aux groupes puissants, tout en affirmant que l'imposition des pertes est plus problematique dans le cadre d'un systeme de repartition des pouvoirs. L'auteu suggere que les preuves empiriques pour appuyer cette conclusion sont toutefois pluto minces. Il soutient que l'on a davantage de prise en comparant les decisions politiques d'instances infranationales aux Etats-Unis et au Canada. La reforme de l'assurance-automobile est un cas qui se prete particulierement bien a cette etude. En s'appuyant sur une analyse globale et sur des etudes de cas, l'auteur soutient que le systeme parlementaire type britannique qui se caracterise le fonctionnement politique des provinces canadiennes semble rendre l'imposition des pertes plus faciles que le systeme de separation des pouvoirs propre aux Etats americains.
Those Who Choose and Those Who Don’t: Social Background and College Orientation

Empirical research on the decision to attend college is predicated largely on the assumption that students make conscious, utility-maximizing decisions about their educational careers. For many students this may not be the case; in fact, the authors find that a large share of students assume from a young age that they will attend college, exhibiting what might be called a college-going habitus. Consistent with critical arguments about how social class is reproduced, the authors find that white, native-born children of college-educated parents are more likely to take college for granted than their less advantaged peers. Students with a college-going habitus are more likely than others to apply to a four-year college by spring of their senior year in high school. Although social origin accounts for some of the association between habitus and college application, both advantaged and disadvantaged students appear to benefit from a college-going habitus.
Few-nucleon forces from chiral Lagrangians.

Few-nucleon forces are considered from the point of view of effective chiral Lagrangians. It is argued that such forces naturally arise at the same order in chiral perturbation theory as some important features of the two-nucleon force. In particular, the leading few-nucleon forces cancel against the leading recoil correction in the iteration of the two-body potential. The remaining three-body potential is presented in momentum and coordinate spaces. It is dominated by contributions of the delta isobar of (i) two-pion range, which are not new, and (ii) shorter range, which involve an undetermined parameter.
Mechanism of Carbamate Inactivation of FAAH: Implications for the Design of Covalent Inhibitors and In Vivo Functional Probes for Enzymes

Fatty acid amide hydrolase (FAAH) regulates a large class of signaling lipids, including the endocannabinoid anandamide. Carbamate inhibitors of FAAH display analgesic and anxiolytic properties in rodents. However, the mechanism by which carbamates inhibit FAAH remains obscure. Here, we provide biochemical evidence that carbamates covalently modify the active site of FAAH by adopting an orientation opposite of that originally predicted from modeling. Based on these results, a series of carbamates was designed that display enhanced potency. One agent was converted into a "click chemistry" probe to comprehensively evaluate the proteome reactivity of FAAH-directed carbamates in vivo. These inhibitors were selective for FAAH in the nervous system, but they reacted with several enzymes in peripheral tissues. The experimental strategy described herein can be used to create in vivo probes for any enzyme susceptible to covalent inhibition.
Structure of neurons and ganglia of the guinea pig Gallbladder : light and electron microscopic studies

This study was undertaken to examine the morphological features of cells within ganglia of the guinea pig gallbladder, and to examine the ultrastructure of the ganglionated plexus. Gallbladder neurons are large, with a relatively simple form, having only one or two major processes. Neurobiotin often filled axons to their varicose arbors on smooth muscle in close proximity to the interganglionic connectives. With the exception of connective tissue clefts that sometimes penetrated into them, ganglia were devoid of intercellular spaces, capillaries, or connective tissue elements such as collagen and basal laminae. However, ganglia were surrounded by a single, continuous basal lamina that was enclosed within a fibroblast and collagen capsule. Within ganglia, neurons were insulated by the processes of cells that resembled the astrocyte-like glia of enteric ganglia. Although few classical synapses were observed, numerous sites of direct apposition were identified between vesicle-rich profiles and processes of gallbladder neurons. Direct appositions between vesicle-rich profiles and the ganglion-limiting basal laminae were also observed. Vesiculated profiles contained small clear vesicles and large dense-core vesicles. Within interganglionic connectives, axons were unmyelinated and were isolated from one another by processes of glia that resembled Schwann cells. As was seen in the ganglia, direct appositions between vesicle-rich profiles and the connective-limiting basal laminae were observed. The results of this study demonstrate that gallbladder ganglia are similar, ultrastructurally, to enteric ganglia in the CNS-like composition of the neuropil. However, the greater degree of glial investment, lesser degree of innervation, and simpler neurons indicated differences from the enteric nervous system that may be functionally significant.
Temporal variability and nestedness in California grassland species composition

Nestedness occurs when species-poor assemblages contain a subset of the species that occur in more species-rich communities and is a commonly observed pattern in spatial data sets. Examination of nested distribution patterns across time rather than space are rarely conducted, even though they may have important implications for species coexistence. Nested temporal assemblages can occur when most species respond similarly to interannual variation in conditions. In contrast, assemblages might be non-nested when different sets of species occur in different years, either because of different resource requirements or as a result of competitive exclusion. Using eight years of plant occurrence data at 71 sites in California grasslands, we found strong signals of temporal nestedness with most species favored by similar conditions. High-quality years enabled the expansion of both grasses and forbs into locales where they were not found during poor-quality years. Native annual forb, exotic annual forb, and exotic annual grass species richness were all greatest in cool, wet years following hot, dry years. Together, these analyses support the hypothesis that, in the absence of community members that specialize on poor-quality years, interannual environmental variation can cause communities to form nested subsets across time much as they do across space.
FREEDOM OF ASSOCIATION IN HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE

This paper seeks to examine two conflicting strands in the United States Supreme Court's treatment of “freedom of association,” by exploring some aspects of the historical development of the doctrine. It suggests that there are two conceptions of “freedom of association,” an older, traditional one, that eschews forcing odious contact on members of associations, and a newer one which privileges antidiscrimination doctrines over “freedom from association.” These two conceptions still exist on the Court, resulting in irreconcilable decisions such as those permitting the Boy Scouts to exclude gay scoutmasters, but forcing the Jaycees to accept women. The preference of one conception over the other is also evident in the work of different scholars, whose doctrinal approaches are similarly irreconcilable. The Supreme Court has explained the discontinuities in the doctrine by seeking to characterize it in terms of the First Amendment's “freedom of speech” clause, but the paper argues that it makes more sense, in the context of these two cases, to regard them as related to the First Amendment's “freedom of religion” clauses.
Depression following myocardial infarction: a one year longitudinal study

Objective:The purpose of this study was to examine the course and clinical correlates of depression during the first year after myocardial infarction.Method:A group of seventy patients hospitalized for the treatment of myocardial infarction (MI) were assessed for the presence of mood disorders during their hospital admission and at three, six, nine, and twelve months follow-up. Patients were evaluated and diagnosed using the Present State Examination and DSM-III criteria. Impairment in activities of daily living was measured by the Johns Hopkins Functioning Inventory and impairment in social functioning was measured by the Social Functioning Examination.Results:A total of twenty-four patients met DSM-III criteria for major depression at some time during the study (18 in the acute stage, 6 during follow-up). There were two patients with minor depression (dysthymia) at intake and six developed minor depression during the follow-up period. The median duration of major depression was 4.5 months. Patients with...
Improved multi-unit decoding at the brain–machine interface using population temporal linear filtering

Current efforts to decode control signals from multi-unit (MU) recordings rely on the use of spike sorting to differentiate neurons and the use of firing rates estimated over tens of milliseconds to reconstruct sensorimotor signals. The computational bottleneck associated with the need to identify and sort individual neuron responses poses challenges for the development of portable, real-time, neural decoding systems that can be incorporated into assistive and prosthetic devices for the disabled. Here, we investigate the ability of spike-based linear filtering to reduce computational overhead and improve the accuracy of decoding neuronal signals for populations of spiking neurons. Using a population temporal (PT) decoding framework, the speed and accuracy of spike-based MU decoding were compared with firing rate-based approaches using simulated populations of motor neurons tuned for the velocity of intended movement. For the two linear filtering approaches, the accuracy of decoded movements was examined as a function of the number of recorded neurons, amount of noise, with and without spike sorting, and for training and test motions whose statistics were either similar or dissimilar. Our results suggest that the use of a PT decoding framework can offset the loss in accuracy associated with decoding unsorted MU neural signals. Coupled with up to a 20-fold reduction in the number of decoding weights and the ability to implement the filtering in hardware, this approach could reduce the computational requirements and thus increase the portability of next generation brain-machine interfaces.
Sharp Bending of On-Chip Silicon Bragg Cladding Waveguide With Light Guiding in Low Index Core Materials

A novel on-chip Bragg cladding waveguide is designed and fabricated using conventional CMOS techniques. This optical waveguide has a low refractive index core surrounded by high index-contrast cladding bilayers. Polysilicon (n=3.5) and silicon nitride (n=2.0) are used for high index-contrast Bragg layers, where index difference is as high as 1.5. Our simulation shows that sharp bending in low index core materials can be achieved, which is not possible using index guiding mechanism. Within our approach, various on-chip applications are expected such as optical integration, high power transmission, biosensor/microelectromechanical system and so on
Animal-inspired sensing for autonomously climbing or avoiding obstacles

The way that natural systems navigate their environments with agility, intelligence and efficiency is an inspiration to engineers. Biological attributes such as modes of locomotion, sensory modalities, behaviours and physical appearance have been used as design goals. While methods of locomotion allow robots to move through their environment, the addition of sensing, perception and decision making are necessary to perform this task with autonomy. This paper contrasts how the addition of two separate sensing modalities --tactile antennae and non-contact sensing --and a low-computation, capable microcontroller allow a biologically abstracted mobile robot to make insect-inspired decisions when encountering a shelflike obstacle, navigating a cluttered environment without collision and seeking vision-based goals while avoiding obstacles.
Long-term Follow-up of Patients with Chronic Uveitis Affecting the Posterior Pole Treated with Combination Cyclosporine and Ketoconazole

Purpose: Combined treatment with cyclosporine (CsA) and ketoconazole in autoimmune diseases has received little attention. This article reports the outcome of a pilot study in patients receiving combination therapy for chronic uveitis affecting the posterior pole. Methods: Six patients initially treated with CsA and oral prednisone were observed prospectively on a combination of CsA, prednisone, and ketoconazole. Data were analyzed for visual acuity, number of flare-ups, and signs of systemic toxicity. Results: Patients were treated with CsA for a mean of 13 months and CsA-ketoconazole for a mean of 33 months. Although patients had a number of flare-ups before combination therapy, only two flare-ups in two patients were noted during combined therapy ( P = 0.055). Three patients showed signs of renal toxicity on CsA, and two continued to show signs of toxicity on CsA-ketoconaone. One patient stabilized and maintained normal renal parameters. Using CsA, three of six patients showed elevations of systolic and diastolic pressure. After switching to CsA-ketoconazole, the patient's systolic pressure remained unchanged, and the diastolic pressure returned to normal in all patients ( P = 0.03). No toxicity related to ketoconazole alone was observed. Conclusion: A combination of CsA and ketoconazole is effective in the treatment of chronic uveitis affecting the posterior pole. It appears to be more effective in preventing recurrences than does CsA alone and does not lead to an increased risk of renal toxicity.
Quantifying a bystander response following microbeam irradiation using single-cell RT-PCR analyses

Objective There is growing recognition that the effects of ionizing radiation may extend to more than those cells that directly suffer damage to DNA in the cell nucleus. Data from several investigators have indicated that cells neighboring those that are irradiated also demonstrate several responses seen in hit cells—the so-called bystander effect. The microbeam facility at the Center for Radiological Research is particularly well suited for the study of this bystander effect, since it has the ability to place known numbers of charged particles (protons or α-particles at LETs from 20 to 180 KeV/μm) at defined positions relative to individual cells. That is, some known fraction of cells in a population can be irradiated through the nucleus, or the cytoplasm or even adjacent to cells through the media. Therefore, using the microbeam it is possible to examine individual cell responses in both hit and nonhit cells in the same population. Method and Results Alterations in the cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor CDKN1a (p21/Cip1/WAF1) were quantified at the mRNA level in single normal human fibroblasts following precise delivery of 0 or 10 α-particles per cell at 90 KeV/μm to 50% of cells in a population. Semiquantitative RT-PCR of individual hit cells demonstrated increases in the levels of CDKN1A message that followed the kinetics previously described for irradiated populations. Furthermore, nonhit bystander cells also showed increased (though lesser) levels of CDKN1a message. Conclusion Data presented here demonstrate the power of this approach, which combines the ability of the microbeam to irradiate specific cells in a population and the ability to quantify the response to the irradiation in individual targeted and bystander cells.
Breeder Age Alters Offspring Performance in the Pekin Duck

Abstract There are reports that age of broiler breeders and turkey breeders can influence offspring performance; however, there are no data to support such possibilities in the Pekin duck. The effects of breeder age (prepeak and postpeak egg production) on fertility and hatchability were evaluated. Additionally, after hatch the effects of breeder age on body weight gain, feed conversion rates, and mortality through 8 d of age were investigated. These data suggest that prepeak breeders (24 wk of age) exhibit lower levels of fertility and reduced hatch of fertile eggs. In addition, ducklings from prepeak breeders display lower body weight gains and higher mortality rates when compared to their counterpart hatched from peak or postpeak breeders.