cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Maximizing rights: The one-state solution to the Palestinian– Israeli conflict

This article employs a ‘rights-based approach’ in evaluating a ‘single state solution’ to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. International human rights provide a necessary normative standard for the just resolution of this long-running dispute. A single state, as compared to the two-state solution that has been broadly supported by the international community since 1947, offers superior opportunities to maximize the legitimate rights, interests, and aspirations of the greatest number of Israelis and Palestinians. Yet Israeli Jews and Palestinian Arabs each enjoy internationally recognized rights of self-determination and sovereignty. Accordingly, there is no legal means by which a one-state solution could be directly imposed on the parties to the dispute without violating the respective rights of each people. As a matter of law, then, a one-state solution could only come about through the agreement of Palestinians and Israelis and as an exercise of their respective rights to self-determination. The inability to implement a one-state solution without consent of the parties requires consideration of the means by which such an agreement might be encouraged. There is no indication that states are likely to brook the current international consensus in support of a two-state solution. Thus it is necessary to examine whether international civil society is capable of playing a facilitating role analogous to the role it played in the demise of apartheid in South Africa. A variety of scenarios can be imagined, but in any of them, ultimately, broad Israeli Jewish opposition to a single state solution will have to be overcome. This suggests that a non-violent campaign, or at least one that scrupulously avoids attack on innocent civilians, is the most promising route to achieving a one-state solution. While such a shift appears farfetched at the moment, no other solution to the conflict currently seems imminent. The moral power of a single state, based on equal rights for all residents of Israel/Palestine, has transformative power that should not be underestimated.
Correlations of phytoplankton standing crop, species diversity and dominance with physical-chemical data in a coastal salt pond

A set of environmental variables from a coastal salt pond were regressed in a stepwise fashion against the following dependent variables: phytoplankton standing crop, species diversity and dominance. Multiple variable interaction, as measured by multiple correlation coefficients yielded higher values than the coefficients obtained by regressing individual environmental variables against the dependent variables. The seasonal variation in the dependent variables could, therefore, be explained to a greater extent by the effects of multiple variables rather than single limiting factors.
A New Method of Preparing Tilt Boundaries for High Resolution Electron Microscopy

A new method of preparing bicrystal substrates of NaCl with a common tilt zone axis has been developed. Upon a lateral overgrowth of NaCl, bridging the two mechanically polished and oriented crystals, very thin films can then be vapor deposited. Au bicrystals of ∼ 75A thickness and b.c.c. Cr films of similar thickness with grain boundaries have been fabricated.
Financial effectiveness of a corporate weight loss program

This study examined the financial effectiveness of a corporate weight loss program. Case study data are presented which illustrate the cost effectiveness of the program.
Grand unified theories and the lepton number of the Universe

Present observations are consistent with a number of neutrinos in the Universe much greater than the number of photons. We explore the possibility of the production and/or survival of a large lepton number within the framework of grand unified models. We find that standard unified theories with gauge-invariant initial asymmetries may give lepton numbers much greater than the photon number (even with zero initial baryon and lepton numbers), and lead to the possibility that the present Universe is hot in baryons (${n}_{B}\ensuremath{\ll}{n}_{\ensuremath{\gamma}}$) but cold in leptons (${n}_{\ensuremath{\nu}}\ensuremath{\gg}{n}_{\ensuremath{\gamma}}$). Detection of a large lepton number may thus provide a probe of initial conditions.
Macromolecular interactions in the assembly of HIV and other retroviruses

Abstract A critical phase in the infection cycle of HIV and other retroviruses is the assembly of new infectious virus particles. This process requires complex but coordinated targeting of capsid precursor proteins, virus genomic RNA and viral glycoproteins to a common assembly site on the plasma membrane. Domains within the capsid precursor proteins define the route taken to the plasma membrane and direct the process of virus budding. However, in order for the assembled virus to be infectious, viral glycoproteins, replicative enzymes and genomic RNA must also be included. The mechanisms by which this complex of interactions occur are discussed in this chapter.
Isolation and characterization of 14 polymorphic microsatellite loci in the leatherback turtle (Dermochelys coriacea) and cross-species amplification

Fourteen microsatellites were isolated and characterized from a small-insert genomic DNA library from the leatherback turtle Dermochelys coriacea enriched for dinucleotide microsatellite motifs. We tested primers on 207 leatherbacks sampled from St. Croix, US Virgin Islands. Primer pairs yielded an average of 5.7 alleles per locus, an average observed heterozygosity of 0.47, and average polymorphic information content of 0.43. Cross species amplification of these markers was performed on the six other extant species of marine turtles: olive ridley (Lepidochelys olivacea), Kemp’s ridley (Lepidochelys kempii), hawksbill (Eretmochelys imbricata), loggerhead (Caretta caretta), green (Chelonia mydas), and flatback (Natator depressus) turtles. Eleven of the markers worked in at least one of the species, and seven of these were polymorphic. These leatherback-specific microsatellite markers will facilitate population genetic and ecological studies to aid in the conservation of this divergent species of marine turtle, and provide additional markers for the other species of cheloniids.
Differential diagnosis of hearing impairment in children: Developmental approaches to clinical assessment

Abstract Every audiologist who has known “success” in testing children who others find “untestable” has his or her own repertoire of Tommy, Albert and Barbara stories. Every audiologist who is succesful in the clinical assessment of hearing impairment with a pediatric population has certainly experienced and perhaps participated in a variety of similar child-mother and mother-child encounters. These encounters are intimately related to the strange environment, the stranger (audiologist), and to the mother's own anxieties. Of paramount importance is the test requirement that the child be separate from the mother. Under the pressures of an alien environment, a normal young child's anxieties over separation are exacerbated. Sensory deprivation inhibits or retards acquisition of basic trust in the earliest developmental phase, thus compounding the conflict and increasing the dread of separation. In the presence of multiple impairments, differentiation—both structural and psychological—proceeds unevenly within the organism, progressing at different rates in different systems. Such disparate development, especially when associated with disturbances in perception,negatively affects the child's ability to acquire trust in others, and mistrust creates further anxiety about separation. Separation anxiety provokes behavior that creates a barrier between the child and the testing process. Familiarity with these developmental principles and their possible behavioral concomitants can provide audiologists with clinical insights that will considerably enhance the testing of every young and multiply handicapped children.
Potentially Predictable Components of African Summer Rainfall in an SST-Forced GCM Simulation

An ensemble of general circulation model (GCM) integrations forced by observed sea surface temperature (SST) represents the climate response to SST forcing as well as internal variability or “noise.” Signalto-noise analysis is used to identify the most reproducible GCM patterns of African summer precipitation related to the SST forcing. Two of these potentially predictable components are associated with the precipitation of the Guinea Coast and Sahel regions and correlate well with observations. The GCM predictable component associated with rainfall in the Sahel region reproduces observed temporal variability on both interannual and decadal time scales, though with reduced amplitude.
The value of EMS experience when applying to medical school

Introduction This study explores the value of Emergency Medical Services (EMS) experience for students applying to medical school. Methods Surveys were sent to 67 medical schools in the eastern United States and Canada. Using a five-point Likert scale, the survey asked the respondent to rate the amount of consideration given to Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) or paramedic experience when making admissions decisions (1 = very little to 5 = strong), and to describe the influence of that experience (1 = very negative to 5 = very positive). Results Usable responses were received from 21 schools. The median rating for the consideration given to EMS experience was "some consideration" for both EMT and paramedic experience, with 85.7% of respondents assigning that rating or higher. The median rating for the influence of that experience was "somewhat positive" for both EMT and paramedic experience. Only 14.3% of the returned surveys rated EMS experience as "neutral", and no respondent reported EMS experience as a "negative". Conclusion EMS experience receives at least some consideration during the admissions process at most of the responding institutions in the United States and Canada. Experiences at either the EMT or Paramedic level are viewed similarly. None of the responding institutions viewed EMS experience negatively.
Successful treatment of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus endocarditis with telavancin

Sir, Within our institution, we have recently seen an increase in bloodstream infections due to methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) having decreased responsiveness to glycopeptides. Testing has revealed that these isolates are neither vancomycin intermediate nor heterogeneous vancomycin intermediate. Patients continue to be bacteraemic despite therapeutic levels of vancomycin. In September 2009, the FDA approved telavancin for the treatment of complicated skin and soft-tissue infections. To date, there have been no reports of the use of telavancin in bacteraemic patients. Here we report the successful use of telavancin for MRSA bacteraemia and right-sided endocarditis. A patient with a history of hepatitis C and intravenous drug use presented with fevers and chills. Blood cultures grew MRSA (vancomycin MIC≤0.5 mg/L, daptomycin MIC≤1 mg/L) and he was begun on 15 mg/kg vancomycin every 12 h. He was found to have septic pulmonary emboli and a pleural effusion. A transoesophageal echocardiogram showed severe tricuspid valve regurgitation with a large tricuspid valve vegetation. Blood cultures remained positive through 8 days of vancomycin treatment with documented trough levels of 15–20 mg/L. Treatment was changed to 10 mg/kg telavancin intravenously every 24 h. Blood cultures became negative within 1 day of the start of telavancin. The patient’s creatinine was monitored and remained stable from admission. The patient underwent a tricuspid valve repair for severe tricuspid regurgitation 1 month after his initial positive culture. He completed 4 weeks of telavancin and was discharged home in a stable condition 6 weeks after his admission. At follow-up 6 weeks after completing treatment, the patient was afebrile with documented negative blood cultures. To our knowledge, this is the first case of persistent MRSA bacteraemia treated successfully with telavancin. Telavancin is a lipoglycopeptide with a mechanism of action similar to that of the glycopeptides but with an added mechanism that interferes with cell membrane function. It is reportedly rapidly bactericidal against S. aureus, thus having potential for use in bacteraemic patients. The study of telavancin in MRSA bacteraemia has been completed in murine models with the comparator being vancomycin. In this model, telavancin demonstrated greater killing activity than vancomycin, and a statistically significant difference in survival was found between the two groups with 0% survival for vancomycin and 93% for telavancin. These results have been attributed to the dual mechanism of action of telavancin as well as a longer post-antibiotic effect. With the increasing frequency of persistent MRSA bacteraemia with decreased responsiveness to vancomycin and failures reported with daptomycin after vancomycin use, new therapeutic options are desirable. Clinical studies will be necessary to determine whether telavancin offers advantages over other currently available antibiotics.
Gagging on égalité: French culinary imperialism on the island of Reunion in Axel Gauvin’s Faims d’enfance:

In Axel Gauvin’s 1987 novel, Faims d’enfance, food aversions sketch out the lines of finely nuanced Reunionese identities, as an adolescent of Tamil descent and his poor white classmates find themselves gagging on the egalite they are served in their rural school’s cafeteria in 1958. Using Laurent Medea’s 2010 work on neo-colonialism in departmentalised Reunion and Laurence Tibere’s 2009 study of the role of foodways in structuring Reunion’s multicultural society in conjunction with a close reading of the novel itself, this article demonstrates that Axel Gauvin’s Faims d’enfance widens the scope of the defence of Creoleness to include the notion of patrimoine gastronomique and intimates that the Reunionese attachment to ‘eating Creole’ is a legitimate first step in the pursuit of cultural and political self-determination.
The Boserup theory of agricultural growth: a model for anthropological economics

Abstract Ester Boserup's challenging counter-Malthusian theory of growth of primitive agriculture is formalized in a continuous time framework that permits investigation of the long-run properties of such a closed economy. It is discovered that from any initial conditions there are two asymmetric outcomes that are possible. The implications of the theory are further extended to Karl Polanyi's now classic argument concerning structural transformation as an economic system makes the transition from feudalism to capitalism and to Walter Rodney's claims about the origins of African underdevelopment.
The Path to Life History Evolution

In the summer of 1971 I took Jim Crow’s course in population genetics at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. His book with Kimura had just been published (Crow and Kimura 1970), and the course was a disciplined march through the first six chapters. Jim did lots of algebra at the board and assigned homework from the problems at the ends of the chapters. I liked the course but was frustrated by its abstractions, in particular the lack of phenotypes and the reduction of all of ecology and behavior to a single, unexplained fitness coefficient, whose consequences were explored in detail but whose causes were unexamined. I wanted to know what role phenotypes had to play in evolution.
Appropriate Technology for Artificial Aquifers

This paper suggests a labor-intensive water-supply technique that may be classified as appropriate technology in that it conserves energy and capital (scarce inputs in developing countries) and utilizes labor (an abundant input in these same countries). The problem of collecting rain during the wet season for use during the rest of the year is compounded by evaporation and infiltration losses. Lining a shaped reservoir in a slough or gully can eliminate the infiltration losses; filling the same reservoir with uniform sand and a gravel mulch can greatly reduce the evaporation losses. Thus one creates an artificial aquifer with an appropriate technology which can supply filtered water under gravity flow with minimal maintenance.
What Do You Know? Rational Expectations in Information Technology Adoption and Investment

This study examines the potential applications of the rational expectations hypothesis (REH) and adaptive learning theory in IT investment and adoption decision-making. Despite the fact that rationality is commonly assumed in economic analyses, the REH's assumptions make it a unique theory and allow us to offer new perspectives on IS/IT adoption and investment decision-making. Our application of these theoretical perspectives to the IT adoption context--the first time in the IS literature to our knowledge that REH has been used to examine the mechanism for business value expectations formation--will allow us to treat the investment and adoption issues using a perspective that is based on a longer time horizon. Such settings require managers, as economic agents, to form a set of expectations about the values of various variables related to the business value of IT. Rational expectations and adaptive learning assume that decision-makers are able to utilize all available decision-relevant information efficiently and can learn the true value of a prospective investment over time. We present a number of propositions that characterize this perspective, and discuss some illustrative examples that demonstrate the efficacy of the theoretical perspective that we present to characterize the business value expectations formation process in IT adoption.
Site‐specific receptor methylation of FrzCD in Myxococcus xanthus is controlled by a tetra‐trico peptide repeat (TPR) containing regulatory domain of the FrzF methyltransferase

Myxococcus xanthus is a gliding bacterium with a complex life cycle that includes swarming, predation and fruiting body formation. Directed movements in M. xanthus are regulated by the Frz chemosensory system, which controls cell reversals. The Frz pathway requires the activity of FrzCD, a cytoplasmic methyl-accepting chemotaxis protein, and FrzF, a methyltransferase (CheR) containing an additional domain with three tetra trico-peptide repeats (TPRs). To investigate the role of the TPRs in FrzCD methylation, we used full-length FrzF and FrzF lacking its TPRs (FrzF(CheR)) to methylate FrzCD in vitro. FrzF methylated FrzCD on a single residue, E182, while FrzF(CheR) methylated FrzCD on three residues, E168, E175 and E182, indicating that the TPRs regulate site-specific methylation. E168 and E182 were predicted consensus methylation sites, but E175 is methylated on an HE pair. To determine the roles of these sites in vivo, we substituted each methylatable glutamate with either an aspartate or an alanine residue and determined the impact of the point mutants on single cell reversals, swarming and fruiting body formation. Single, double and triple methylation site mutants revealed that each site played a unique role in M. xanthus behaviour and that the pattern of receptor methylation determined receptor activity. This work also shows that methylation can both activate and inactivate the receptor.
Removal of Trace Metals from Culture Media and Sera for In Vitro Deficiency Studies

Culture media and sera contain substantial quantities of trace metals such as zinc and copper, so that they cannot be used for cell culture studies of trace metal deficiencies unless the element in question is first removed. By coupling the chelator iminodiacetate to an insoluble agarose matrix, we have been able to extract zinc selectively from both media and sera, without exposing cells directly to the chelator. The procedure reduced the zinc concentration of media to unmeasurably low levels, and serum zinc concentration by approximately 90%. The development of zinc defi ciency in vitro was demonstrated by a reduced lymphocyte blastogenic response, which could be prevented by the addition of zinc to the extracted culture medium. The extraction procedure is potentially applicable to a range of trace metals (e.g., Zn, Cu, Mn, Fe) and to virtually any cell type that can be cultured. ). Nutr. 112: 652-657,
Adenovirus Infections and Respiratory Illnesses in Children in Group Day Care

Adenovirus infections and respiratory illnesses among 123 children attending a research day care center were analyzed from data collected prospectively from 1967 through 1981. During the 15-year study period, 298 adenovirus isolates were recovered from respiratory secretions of the study children, and five different serotypes were identified, with types 1, 2, and 5 accounting for 92% of the typed isolates. Annual incidence of each serotype varied greatly, with types 2 and 5 predominating before 1975 and type 1 thereafter. Exposure to adenovirus in the day care center correlated with acquisition of infection. Through two years of age, children were exposed to 3.4 +/- 0.9 (mean +/- SD) different serotypes and became infected by 2.1 +/- 0.8 different types. Most infections occurred before the child's second birthday, and incidence was highest from six to 12 months of age (1.4 primary infections/child-year). Mild and febrile illness accompanied 75% of primary isolations. Otitis media occurred in 37% of illnesses over all ages and in greater than 50% of illnesses among infants.
Assessing the Impact of Geographically Correlated Failures on Overlay-Based Data Dissemination

This paper addresses reliability of data dissemination applications when there are severe disruptions to the underlying physical infrastructure. Such massive simultaneous physical failures can happen during the geographical events such as natural disasters (earthquakes, floods, tornados) or sudden power outages - infrastructure failures in these cases are geographically correlated. In particular, we focus on overlay based data dissemination mechanisms and explore their ability to tolerate such large geographically correlated failures. Due to the tight correlation between multiple overlay links and a single physical link, a few physical failures may affect lots of overlay links. To enable reliable dissemination under such conditions, we propose overlay network construction methods that incorporate proximity-aware neighbor selection methods to improve the performance of the overlay data dissemination, to the extent possible, in terms of reliability and latency. In this approach, the overlay nodes select neighbors which are most likely distinct in presence of a geographical failure; we show how an overlay structure constructed using our proximity-aware neighbor selection techniques can disseminate data to over 80% of reachable end clients without any significant additional latency under various geographical failure conditions.
Tunable Reverse‐Biased Graphene/Silicon Heterojunction Schottky Diode Sensor

A new chemical sensor based on reverse-biased graphene/Si heterojunction diode has been developed that exhibits extremely high bias-dependent molecular detection sensitivity and low operating power. The device takes advantage of graphene's atomically thin nature, which enables molecular adsorption on its surface to directly alter graphene/Si interface barrier height, thus affecting the junction current exponentially when operated in reverse bias and resulting in ultrahigh sensitivity. By operating the device in reverse bias, the work function of graphene, and hence the barrier height at the graphene/Si heterointerface, can be controlled by the bias magnitude, leading to a wide tunability of the molecular detection sensitivity. Such sensitivity control is also possible by carefully selecting the graphene/Si heterojunction Schottky barrier height. Compared to a conventional graphene amperometric sensor fabricated on the same chip, the proposed sensor demonstrated 13 times higher sensitivity for NO₂ and 3 times higher for NH₃ in ambient conditions, while consuming ∼500 times less power for same magnitude of applied voltage bias. The sensing mechanism based on heterojunction Schottky barrier height change has been confirmed using capacitance-voltage measurements.
News Effects on Bonding and Bridging Social Capital: An Empirical Study Relevant to Ethnicity in the United States

In an effort to adv ance decades of mass communication research on social capital and related indicators of social ties and civ ic engagement, this study prov ides an empirical assessment of social capital’s often discussed, but rarely tested, bonding and bridging dimensions. It examines how usage patterns of traditional news media (i. e. , newspaper and TV news) and online news media (i. e. , Internet news) are associated with bonding and bridging neighborliness, as defined by ethnicity. Analysis of data from a 2007 national surv ey demonstrates that traditional news media use—but not online news media use—is significantly associated with bonding neighborliness and bridging neighborliness. In addition, the relationship between traditional news media use and bonding neighborliness, as well as that between online news media use and bonding neighborliness, is more positiv e for Whites and Asians than for Blacks and Latinos. Results are discussed in terms of bonding and bridging social capital, ethnic media ...
Environmental Law, the Economy and Sustainable Development: Equity and efficiency in global emissions markets

This essay examines the issues of equity and efnciency in the use of global environmental resources, with the atmosphere as a case in point. It shows a somewhat unexpected connection between the two issues in the context of international greenhouse gas emissions trading markets. Contrary to common wisdom, achieving a more even distribution of property rights to environmental assets is more than a matter of equity Property rights also influence market efficiency. I show that a precondition for market efficiency is that more property rights in the global commons should be given to those regions that own fewer private goods. This connection leads to recommendations to implement the greenhouse gas emissions trading regimes authorized by the Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (FCCC). In order to ensure an efficient trading market, developing countries should be allocated proportionately more emissions rights than industrial countries. In addition, there is a need to create an International Bank for Environmental Settlements (IBES) as a self-financing institution that can obtain market value from environmental resources while preserving them. Emissions trading, the global reinsurance of environmental risks, and securitization of the earth’s biodiversity resources are financial instruments that merge the interests of the private financial markets with international sustainable development policy These instruments and institutions should help to redefine economic progress in away that is compatible with a harmonious use of the world’s resources and with equity among rich and poor nations.
Treatment of Hypogonadism in Men

The goal of testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) is to alleviate the symptoms of hypogonadism while minimizing potential adverse affects associated with testosterone replacement. There are several approved options available for the treatment of androgen deficiency, including oral, transdermal, injectable, and implantable formulations of testosterone, as well as emerging therapies such as selective androgen receptor modulators (SARMs), each associated with specific advantages, disadvantages, and side effects. In men with an identifiable etiology of hypogonadism, the underlying pathology should be addressed first. For men interested in fertility, androgen deficiency may be treated with pulsatile gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) or gonadotropin therapy using human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG), purified or recombinant luteinizing hormone (LH) and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) preparations. The empiric use of selective estrogen receptor modulators (SERMs) and aromatase inhibitors for the treatment of men with primary hypogonadism is associated with variable outcomes, depending on the severity of the underlying defect. The choice of therapy should be guided by consideration of the formulation-specific pharmacokinetics and adverse effects, cost, and patient preference. All patients on any form of TRT should be evaluated on a regular basis.
Transformative Reparations? A Critical Look at a Current Trend in Thinking about Gender-Just Reparations

Gender justice in reparations for women requires that entrenched oppression or disadvantage suffered by women does not result in women being deprived of recognition as victims and of access to full and effective reparation. An idea has taken hold in both policy and academic inquiry that gender-just reparations should be ‘transformative’ rather than (merely) corrective or restorative. I question the most ambitiously transformative aims that seek to make reparations into an instrument of society-wide structural change. I suggest that this conception not only overreaches practically and politically but that it threatens to bypass or aims to displace reparative justice as a distinct and distinctly victim-centered imperative. In doing so, it demotes the importance of recognizing individual victims themselves, whose status as bearers of rights and subjects of justice depends crucially on their standing to claim accountability and repair for violations to their individual persons.
Estrogens for the menopause. Maximizing benefits, minimizing risks.

There is no question that exogenous estrogens can relieve distressing menopausal symptoms such as hot flashes and atrophic vaginitis. Before prescribing them, however, a physician should establish that the need for hormone replacement is real and that the potential for harm is minimal.
DC Electric Field‐Enhanced Grain‐Boundary Mobility in Magnesium Aluminate During Annealing

Magnesium aluminate spinel was sintered and annealed at 1300°C under an applied 1000 V/cm DC electric field. The experiment was designed such that current could be removed as a variable and just the effect of a noncontact electric field was studied. Enhanced grain growth was observed for both samples that were sintered or annealed after densification in the presence of an electric field. Grain-boundary character distributions revealed that no microstructural changes were induced due to the field. However, the electric field was found to enhance the kinetic movement of cations within the lattice. Energy-loss spectroscopy experiments revealed cation segregation resulting in regions of Mg-rich and Al-rich layers adjacent the grain-boundary cores. The defects generated during segregation supported the generation of a space charge gradient radiating from the grain-boundary core out into the bulk, which was significantly affected by the applied field. The interaction between the field and space charges effectively reduced the activation energy for cation movement across boundaries thereby enhanced grain-boundary mobility and resultant grain growth.
Similar Days in the NAS: an Airport Perspective

‡On any given day, constraints in the National Airspace System, for instance weather, necessitate the implementation of Traffic Flow Management initiatives, such as Ground Delay Programs. The parameters associated with these initiatives, for example the location, scope, duration, etc., are typically left to human decision makers, who must rely on intuition, past experience, and weather and traffic forecasts. Although the decisions of these traffic flow specialists are recorded on a daily basis, few studies have attempted to apply data mining techniques to these archives in an attempt to identify patterns and past decisions that could ultimately be used to influence future decision-making. The goal of this study is to take a preliminary step towards informing future decision-making by proposing a technique for identifying similar days in the National Airspace System in terms of the Ground Delay Programs that were operationally implemented. Hence an airport perspective is being taken to identify these similar days, as opposed to considering possible airspace features. A modified k-means clustering algorithm is applied to all days in 2011, resulting in the identification of 18 clusters that represent unique combinations of Ground Delay Program that were historically implemented. A given day was described in terms of the presence or absence of 33 features that were a combination of Ground Delay Program locations and causes. By far the largest cluster that was identified consisted of 73 days on which low ceiling related Ground Delay Programs impacted San Francisco International Airport. In an attempt to verify the stated cause of the Ground Delay Programs, an Expectation Maximization clustering algorithm was applied to the 8,760 hourly Meteorological Aerodrome Reports, scheduled arrival rate and Ground Delay Program start and end time records for 2011. In general, clusters were identified that corroborated the stated causes of the Ground Delay Programs. However, these clusters often contained a significant number of members for which a Ground Delay Program did not occur. Findings from this initial study indicate that it is possible to identify similar days under which the National Airspace System operates, and clustering techniques appear to be promising methods for identifying the major causes of Ground Delay Programs.
Technology and Some Aspects of Industrial Supervision: A Model Building Approach

The dynamic factor technology, has received increased attention as a major variable in industrial management. Yet, its role is as yet to be more clearly defined.1 An increasing number of articles a...
Comparison of Intranational and International Politics

The study of international relations has been considerably advanced in recent years by the application of findings from other areas of the social sciences. These have included decision-making, game theory, conflict, bargaining, communication, negotiation, systems, geography, attitudes, and simulation. International relations scholars such as Morton Kaplan, Charles McClelland, Richard C. Snyder, and Harold Sprout have built important bridges between international relations and other disciplines. It has been fortunate that such innovators have often found men from other disciplines, such as Kenneth Boulding, Harold Guetzkow, Charles Osgood, and Anatol Rapoport, in the middle of the bridge. The volumes of the Journal of Conflict Resolution offer one example of how far this remarkable effort at cross-fertilization has gone.
Marking Time in the Inca Empire

The Incas worshipped the Sun with light and shadow effects in their constructs commonly denoting such events as the solstices and equinoxes. They used these orientations, as well as solar pillars, to mark time passage for purposes of crop management and religious festivals. New research was conducted and photo-documentation of Inca intentional light and shadow effects is presented. Data was examined in a cultural context and supports a well-developed calendrical system. Several examples are examined within.
Poliomyelitis Virus in the Blood Stream in the Experimental Disease.

SummaryOf 10 monkeys, paralyzed after being inoculated with poliomyelitis virus of recent human origin, three rhesus and one capuchin monkey were found to have the virus in the blood stream. All of the positive tests in the blood were due to a single strain. The colon contents of three of these latter monkeys were examined for virus and it was found in only one instance. Of 4 monkeys in whose blood virus could not be detected, one was found to have virus in its colon contents.
Am Investigation on the Pulmonary Function of Skeletal Fluorosis Patients in Water-improving Fluorosis Region

Objective In order to investigate the pulmonary function damage of drinking-skelelal fluorosis patients af- ter water improvement.Methods 65 cases of the patients with different degree skeletal fluorosis from endemic fluorosis region in Xinjiang,and 23 residents without skeletal fluorosis as control from no endemic fluorosis region were determined pulmonary function.Results Pulmonary function investigation showed that MMEF%,MEF75%,MEF25%,FEV_1/FVC were significantly lower in patients than the control (P0.05).MMEF%,MEF50% were significant lower in the severe group than the mild group (P0.05).FEV_1/FVC of the severe group were significantly lower than the other groups (P 0.05).MEF75% of the se- vere and moderate group were significantly lower than those of mild group (P0.05).Conclusions High level of fluoride in drinking water can cause pulmonary function damage on skeletal fluorosis patients even after water improvement for 18 years. There is relationship between pulmonary function damage and the degree of skeletal fluorosis.We can use MMEF%,MEF75%, MEF25%,FEV_1/FVC as sensitive pulmonary function index to monitor the development of skeletal fluorosis.
Respiratory Response to Temperature Variability in the River Snail Lithasia obovata and Its Relevance to the Potential Impacts of Climate Change on Freshwater Gastropods.

Abstract: The effects of temperature acclimation and acute temperature variation on oxygen consumption were determined for the pleurocerid snail Lithasia obovata (Say, 1829), a prosobranch restricted to the Ohio River and its tributaries' main stems. Snails were divided into two treatment groups and acclimated to constant temperatures (either 15 or 25 °C). Following acclimation, oxygen consumption rates for each animal were recorded at both 15 and 25 °C. Oxygen consumption rates did not differ between the two treatments at either temperature. Lithasia obovata exhibits no metabolic temperature compensation, as determined by acclimation Q10 (Q10acc). Because of the thermal inertia of the Ohio River (which does not change more than 1 °C day1), L. obovata is not exposed to rapid, large changes in water temperature and, thus, has little need for adjusting to short-term changes in ambient temperatures. We then examined the published literature and compared the acute Q10 and Q10acc values of L. obovata and other...
Weather or Not? Examining the Impact of Meteorological Conditions on Public Opinion Regarding Climate Change

Between 2008 and 2012 surveys of Americans indicated substantial variation in public views on the existence of global warming. During the period from 2008 to 2010 the number of Americans who felt that global warming was occurring dropped significantly. Then in 2011 and early 2012 acceptance of global warming began to rebound in the United States. This volatility in public opinion regarding global warming has drawn the attention of scholars who have attributed the shifts to a variety of factors including volatile economic conditions, increased political partisanship, media framing and variable weather conditions. In this study we dive deeper into the examination of the role that weather has played in producing the fluctuations in public belief that global warming is happening. Using results from 7 national surveys between 2008 and 2012 we find evidence that Americans regularly cite weather as a key determinant of their positions on the existence of global warming. We also find that actual weather conditions are related to both the likelihood that an individual would cite weather as a primary cause of their views on global warming and that overall acceptance of global warming is significantly affected by experiences with weather.
Dexfenfluramine Effects on Serotonin Neurons: A Long-term Immunohistochemical Analysis

Publisher Summary This chapter focuses on a long-term immunohistochemical analysis of effects of dexfenfluramine on serotonin neurons. Serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine, 5-HT) is produced by a distinct population of the central nervous system (CNS) neurons located predominantly in the raphe nuclei of the brainstem. The function of 5-HT neurons is modified pharmacologically in the therapy of a variety of disorders. Dexfenfluramine therapy for obesity is one such situation. There have been suggestions from animal studies that there is a potential for neurotoxicity in the use of dexfenfluramine in humans. The major measure of drug effects on 5-HT neurons has been either biochemical assay of brain 5-HT content or immunohistochemistry that cannot distinguish between a neurotoxic effect and the neurochemical depletion of 5-HT from an intact plexus. For these reasons, a study was undertaken to further clarify this issue. The study involves an immunohistochemical analysis of forebrain 5-HT innervations, assessment of the integrity of dorsal raphe neurons by counting neuron number, and analyzing retrograde transport of a standard tracer from the frontal cortex. It was concluded that the drug has no effect on the 5-HT innervations of the forebrain at doses of 2 and 4 mg kg–1 day–1 as assessed by morphological methods at 7 days and 6 months after 21 day oral treatment.
Structural Basis of Signaling Events Involving Fibrinogen and Fibrin

Publisher Summary Fibrinogen is an extracellular protein found in significant concentrations in the blood plasmas of all vertebrate animals. Although the principal role of fibrinogen has to do with its polymerization into fibrin clots, the protein also interacts with a number of other extracellular proteins, blood platelets, and a variety of cells. Directly or indirectly, the fibrinogen–fibrin system is involved in hemostasis, inflammation, wound healing, and angiogenesis. Fibrinogen and fibrin can also interact with various bacteria. The conversion of fibrinogen to fibrin is initiated by thrombin removing short peptide regions—the fibrinopeptides—from the amino-terminal ends of the α and β chains. Fibrin—but not fibrinogen—has long been known to stimulate tissue plasminogen activator (t-PA), a first step in the fibrinolytic process. Many different integrins on the surfaces of many different kinds of cell are known to recognize and bind fibrinogen. The chapter mentions that a variety of medically important bacteria can interact with fibrinogen or fibrin, either to protect themselves from immune surveillance or to aid their spread through the circulatory system. Recently, genetically modified mice have been used to demonstrate how important the fibrinogen–fibrin system is in the never-ending battle between animals and bacteria.
The Vinculin D1 Domain Stabilizes αE-Catenin in a Strong Actin Binding State

Cadherins are an ancient class of transmembrane proteins that mediate intercellular adhesion. Previous work from our laboratory and others established that the E-cadherin cytoplasmic tail forms a ternary complex with αE-catenin and β-catenin, and that αE-catenin forms a force-sensitive catch bond to filamentous (F)-actin as part of this complex. Biochemical and cell biological data indicate that αE-catenin can also bind and recruit the actin-binding protein vinculin to intercellular junctions, where vinculin is proposed to reinforce the connection between E-cadherin and the actin cytoskeleton. In this study we investigated how conformational changes in αE-catenin are coupled to vinculin binding, and how vinculin binding alters the force-dependent interaction of αE-catenin with actin. Using a single-molecule optical trapping assay, we found that the addition of the vinculin D1 domain, which cannot bind actin, to the ternary E-cadherin/αE-catenin/β-catenin complex traps the resulting quaternary complex in a constitutively strong-binding state with dramatically longer binding lifetimes to actin at low force relative to the ternary cadherin-catenin complex. In addition, we used isothermal calorimetry and point mutagenesis to probe the structural transitions that mediate binding of vinculin to αE-catenin. We found that the R551A point mutation, which eliminates a salt bridge between the MI and MIII domains of αE-catenin, resulted in a 100-fold increase in the affinity of αE-catenin for the vinculin D1 domain relative to that of wild-type αE-catenin. These and other data suggest that mutual activation of vinculin and αE-catenin traps both molecules in conformational states with enhanced affinities for actin, providing a potential mechanism by which relatively small changes in force experienced by the cadherin-catenin complex can be amplified into large changes in adhesion stability.
A Perception-Based Error Criterion and the Design of Stack Filters for Image Restoration

Restoration of images with translation invariant filters always involves a tradeoff between detail preservation and noise removal. The tradeoff which is best is that which produces an image that a human being would judge to be closest to the original image. In this paper, we show how such an optimal tradeoff can be achieved by combining a filter design algorithm with a nonlinear model of the human visual system.
Use of flecainide in combination antiarrhythmic therapy in patients with arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy.

Background Antiarrhythmic therapy is commonly used for suppression of arrhythmias in patients with arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy (ARVC) in conjunction with implantable cardioverter–defibrillators and catheter ablation. The efficacy of combination flecainide and sotalol/metoprolol therapy for patients refractory to single agents and/or catheter ablation has not been well established. Objective The purpose of this study was to describe our experience with the addition of flecainide in combination with sotalol/metoprolol for treatment of arrhythmias in patients with ARVC. Methods We reviewed all patients within our genetic arrhythmia program with a definite diagnosis of ARVC (45 patients) and identified 8 patients treated with a combination of flecainide with sotalol/metoprolol after failure of single-agent therapy and/or catheter ablation. These patients were monitored with at least yearly clinic visits and device interrogations focused on the detection of major ventricular arrhythmias. Results Of the 8 patients reviewed, 6 demonstrated excellent arrhythmia control after initiation of combination therapy with flecainide and sotalol/metoprolol. These patients have been arrhythmia-free for an average of 35.5 months. Two patients have demonstrated recurrent arrhythmias despite combination therapy and have undergone repeat epicardial and endocardial ablation. Recurrence was noted to occur within 2 months of therapy. Patients were diverse with regard to the severity of disease as well as in the presence of genetic mutations. Conclusion The addition of flecainide in combination with sotalol/metoprolol may be an effective antiarrhythmic strategy for the control of ventricular arrhythmias in patients with ARVC refractory to single-agent therapy and/or catheter ablation.