cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Interlocal Cooperation and the Distribution of Federal Grant Awards

Much of the research on the distribution of federal assistance focuses on the activities of members of Congress. Yet it has been long understood that seeking and receiving federal aid programs by state and local governments is a costly activity. What is not understood nor carefully studied is how local jurisdictions attempt to “work” the federal aid system to obtain increased federal funding. To investigate this question, we draw upon theories of collective action among governmental jurisdictions within metropolitan areas to explain both the quantity and quality of participation in the federal aid system. We focus on four questions: (1) To what extent is governmental fragmentation and interjurisdictional collaboration among governmental jurisdictions within metropolitan areas positively related to the ability of local actors to secure new federal grant awards? (2) To what extent do congressional delegations that represent voters within metropolitan areas influence the flow of grant awards to those areas? ...
The impact of peer social networks on adolescent alcohol use initiation.

Abstract Objective Early adolescent alcohol use is a major public health problem. Drinking before the 14th birthday is associated with a fourfold increase in risk of alcohol dependence in adulthood. The objective of this study is to evaluate the association between adolescent social network characteristics and alcohol initiation prospectively over time. Methods The study analyzes data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, a nationally representative survey of 7th- through 11th-grade students enrolled between 1995 and 1996. Generalized estimating equations are used to model the risk of alcohol use initiation at 1-year follow-up among nondrinkers at wave 1 of the study. Results Both an adolescent's friends' alcohol use and the adolescent's social network characteristics displayed an independent main effect on alcohol initiation. In comparison with abstainers, alcohol initiators had more popular friends as measured by more peer nominations as friends (indegree) and having more friends up to 3 steps removed (3-step reach), and more friends who drank. An adolescent's risk of alcohol use onset increased 13% (95% CI, 4%–22%) for every additional friend with high indegree, 3% (95% CI, 0.3%–6%) for every additional 10 friends within 3-step reach, and 34% (95% CI, 14%–58%) for each additional friend who drank alcohol, and after controlling for confounders. Conclusion The findings suggest that, in addition to well-established demographic risk factors, adolescents are at heightened risk of alcohol use onset because of their position in the social network in relationship to their friends and the friends of their friends.
The reaction of cesium and sodium metals with uranium hexafluoride

Abstract The reaction of uranium hexafluoride with sodium and cesium metal was studied. With sodium, the reaction produces the double salt, β-Na2UF6. The reaction with cesium produces an unusual compound [Cs2UF6]Cs which contains tetravalent uranium and free cesium in the lattice.
A Study of the Hydrothermal Stability of Copper for Use as a Container Material for Nuclear Waste

The hydrothermal stability of copper has been studied to assess its suitability as a container material for disposal of nuclear waste in the proposed repository site at Hanford, Wa. The experiments (Cohassett basalt, synthetic Grande Ronde #4 groundwater, and copper powder with a water:rock:Cu-powder mass ratio of 20:1:1) were conducted at 300°C, 30 MPa, using Dickson rocking autoclaves for periods up to 3000 hours. Redox was calculated from dissolved H 2 measured by gas chromatograph and He-ionization detector. After ca. 100 hours the solution Cu concentration stabilized at 2–3 ppm, near Cu saturation, and did not vary significantly during the remainder of the experiment. The in situ solution pH was slightly alkaline. The copper powder showed little evidence of etching. The Cu concentration did not reflect oxide-coating spallation effects such as those described by Johnston et al.[15]. Within 48 hours, the log fO 2 values decreased rapidly toward the magnetite-hematite phase boundary (−31 at 300°C); this is well within the stability field of native copper. SEM and EDX analysis of the reaction products revealed a copper-iron sulfide. One experiment used copper powder containing ca. 5% cuprite. Oxygen released by the cuprite overwhelmed the buffering capacity of the basalt. The resulting log fO 2 values stabilized near the copper-cuprite phase boundary (−23.1 at 300°C) with the solution remaining within the copper stability field. Copper purity is important as oxygen contamination or oxidation of the copper containers may strongly affect the repository redox and mobility of radionuclides.
Design and Validation of High-Efficiency Chopper for Magnetoresistive Sensors

Low-frequency noise, i.e., 1/f noise severely limits the low-frequency performance of magnetoresistive sensors for applications as ultrasensitive magnetic sensors. The combination of a flux concentrator and chopping system has been proposed to mitigate the effect of 1/f noise and improve the field sensitivity. This paper reports a high-efficiency chopping system for magnetoresistive sensors. A simple reluctance analysis allows us to estimate the chopping efficiency and optimize the design, and finite-element simulations confirm the operation. Experimental results based on the optimized design using an anisotropic magnetoresistance sensor validate the concept. The sensitivity of the sensor with the chopper at OFF and ON positions is determined to be 0.009 and 0.067%/Oe, respectively, which yields a high sensitivity chopping efficiency, namely 72%.
Effect of instrument response time on heat release rate measurements

A linear hereditary integral technique provides simple analytic solutions for deconvoluting thermopile and oxygen consumption data to remove the effect of instrument response time on peak and integrated heat release rate values. A comparison of corrected and uncorrected thermopile and oxygen sensor data obtained on an Ohio State University (OSU) apparatus for various materials indicates that significant errors in peak and integrated heat release rate can result from delayed instrument response to repidly changing heat flows. However, correcting for temporal effects alone using this procedure does not account for differences between heat release rate values obtained by thermopile and oxygen consumption methods.
Real-time Knowledge Discovery and Dissemination for Intelligence Analysis

This paper describes the issues and challenges for real-time knowledge discovery and then discusses approaches and challenges for real-time data mining and stream mining. Our goal is to extract accurate information to support the emergency responder, the war fighter, as well as the intelligence analyst in a timely manner.
Phase Equilibria in the System MgO‐FeO‐Fe2O3: The 1300°C Isothermal Section and Extrapolations to Other Temperatures

The 1300°C isotherm of the system MgO–FeO–Fe2O3 was studied thermogravimetrically under conditions of controlled fugacity of oxygen. The magnesioferrite solid solutions that coexist in equilibrium with magnesiowustite solid solutions have a cation to anion ratio experimentally indistinguishable, in the present study, from 0.750. Curves are presented expressing the change in composition of coexisting magnesioferrite and magnesiowustite phases as a function of temperature and oxygen fugacity. These curves for the system MgO-FeO-Fe2O3 can be used (1) to predict compositional relations under isothermal conditions for temperatures where reaction rates are sluggish, (2) as additional oxygen buffer curves for experimental control of oxygen fugacity, and (3) in certain instances to distinguish equilibrium from nonequilibrium assemblages.
Racial Differences in the Prevalence of Atrophic-appearing Macular Lesions Between Black and White Patients With Retinitis Pigmentosa

We compared the prevalence of atrophic-appearing macular lesions between black and white patients with isolated or various genetic types of retinitis pigmentosa to determine if an appreciable difference existed between these two groups. The study included 720 patients of whom 138 (19.2%) were black patients from 115 families and 582 (80.8%) were white patients from 478 families. A logistic regression analysis combining isolated and all genetic types but randomly selecting one patient per family showed a statistically significant difference in the prevalence of atrophic-appearing macular lesions between black and white patients for the right eye (P = .0012) and left eye (P = .002). When considering either all patients or one patient per family, the estimated odds ratios were approximately 2.0 for blacks relative to whites. Our findings indicate that black patients with retinitis pigmentosa are approximately twice as likely as white patients to develop an atrophic-appearing macular lesion. This observation has implications for the prognosis of central visual function in such patients.
Herpes Simplex Virus Replication: Roles of Viral Proteins and Nucleoporins in Capsid-Nucleus Attachment

Replication of herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) involves a step in which a parental capsid docks onto a host nuclear pore complex (NPC). The viral genome then translocates through the nuclear pore into the nucleoplasm, where it is transcribed and replicated to propagate infection. We investigated the roles of viral and cellular proteins in the process of capsid-nucleus attachment. Vero cells were preloaded with antibodies specific for proteins of interest and infected with HSV-1 containing a green fluorescent protein-labeled capsid, and capsids bound to the nuclear surface were quantified by fluorescence microscopy. Results showed that nuclear capsid attachment was attenuated by antibodies specific for the viral tegument protein VP1/2 (UL36 gene) but not by similar antibodies specific for UL37 (a tegument protein), the major capsid protein (VP5), or VP23 (a minor capsid protein). Similar studies with antibodies specific for nucleoporins demonstrated attenuation by antibodies specific for Nup358 but not Nup214. The role of nucleoporins was further investigated with the use of small interfering RNA (siRNA). Capsid attachment to the nucleus was attenuated in cells treated with siRNA specific for either Nup214 or Nup358 but not TPR. The results are interpreted to suggest that VP1/2 is involved in specific attachment to the NPC and/or in migration of capsids to the nuclear surface. Capsids are suggested to attach to the NPC by way of the complex of Nup358 and Nup214, with high-resolution immunofluorescence studies favoring binding to Nup358.
Submaximal exercise gas exchange is an important prognostic tool to predict adverse outcomes in heart failure

Aims Traditionally, VO2peak has been used to determine prognosis in heart failure; however, this measure has limitations. Hence, other exercise and gas exchange parameters measured submaximally, e.g. breathing efficiency (VE/VCO2), end-tidal CO2 (PETCO2), oxygen uptake efficiency slope (OUES), and circulatory power [ systolic blood pressure (SBP)], have been investigated. The aim of this study was to investigate the prognostic relevance of submaximal exercise gas exchange in heart failure patients. Method and results One hundred and thirty-two consecutive heart failure patients (mean age 56 ± 12 years, ejection fraction 29 ± 11%) performed peak treadmill testing. Gas exchange and haemodynamic variables were measured continuously. Gas exchange data obtained from the first 2 min of exercise and at a respiratory exchange ratio (RER) of 0.9 were the measurements of interest. Over a median follow-up period of 62.4 (range 0–114) months, there were 44 endpoints (death or transplant). Univariate analysis demonstrated submaximal predictors of survival, which included VE/VCO2 slope and ratio, PETCO2, OUES, and circulatory power (P≤ 0.01). When these and additional submaximal variables were included together in the multivariable analysis, the strongest submaximal exercise predictive model (C-statistic 0.75) comprised data from the first stage of exercise (VE and circulatory power) and at an RER of 0.9 (VE/VCO2 ratio). The inclusion of VO2peak and demographic data, with submaximal data (VE/VCO2 ratio at an RER = 0.9), increased the predictiveness of the model (C-statistic 0.78). Conclusion Submaximal exercise measures provide useful prognostic information for predicting survival in heart failure. This form of testing is logistically easier, cheaper, and safer for patients compared with maximal exercise.
Genetics of Egg-Laying in Worms

AbstractGenetic studies of behavior in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans have provided an effective approach to investigate the molecular and cellular basis of nervous system function and development. Among the best studied behaviors is egg-laying, the process by which hermaphrodites deposit developing embryos into the environment. Egg-laying involves a simple motor program involving a small network of motorneurons and specialized smooth muscle cells, which is regulated by a variety of sensory stimuli. Analysis of egg-laying–defective mutants has provided insight into a number of conserved processes in nervous system development, including neurogenesis, cell migration, and synaptic patterning, as well as aspects of excitable cell signal transduction and neuromodulation.
Progressing to the Center: Coordinating Project Work

Project forms of organizing are theorized to rely upon horizontal as opposed to vertical lines of authority, but few have examined how this shift affects progression---how people advance in an organization. We argue that progression without hierarchy unfolds when people assume lateral authority over project tasks without managing people. With a longitudinal study of a mature, collectively managed open source software project, we predict the individual behaviors that enable progression to lateral authority roles at two different stages. Although technical contributions are initially important, coordination work is more critical at a subsequent stage. We then explore how lateral authority roles affect subsequent behavior---after gaining authority, individuals spend significantly more time coordinating project work. Our research shows how people progress to the center as opposed to up a hierarchy, and how progression differs by stage and specifies the theoretical relationship between lateral authority roles and the coordination of project work.
Annual summary of vital statistics--1993.

A new low in the infant mortality rate was reached again in 1993, at 828.8 deaths per 100 000 live births, a decline of 2% from 848.7 in 1992. Births, marriages, and divorces were all lower, both in number and rate. Deaths and the death rate, however, both increased and, more significantly, the age-adjusted death rate increased. A likely explanation is the occurrence of influenza epidemics in early and late 1993. The rate of natural increase declined 8%, to a level of 6.9 per 1000 population. Final figures on births for 1992 indicate that, for the first time in many years, birth rates to teen-agers declined, more among black mothers than white. Increase in birth rate among older mothers continued at a somewhat slower rate than recently; older mothers tended to be better educated than the general population in their age groups. Total fertility rates were higher among mothers of Hispanic origin than among non-Hispanic blacks who, in turn, had higher rates than non-Hispanic whites. Among Hispanics the highest rates were in those of Mexican origin. Unlike recent years, birth rates to unmarried mothers did not increase in 1992. Prenatal care coverage improved, with more mothers seeking care early and fewer receiving late or no care. Electronic and fetal monitoring was performed on more than three-quarters of all births and ultrasound on more than half. Life expectancy decreased slightly, in contrast to recent years. Among major causes of death, increases were recorded in 1993 for chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases, pneumonia and influenza, and HIV infection, the latter having the largest percentage increase. Internationally, infant mortality rates in most other industrialized countries declined further in 1992. Comparatively, as in 1991, 21 other countries had infant mortality rates lower than the United States.
Isotope effects as tools for the elucidation of reaction mechanisms. Predictions from model calculations.

Model calculations, based on the statistical-mechanical formulation of isotope effects, have been used to predict how analyses of experimentally measured isotope effects may be used to gain information concerning the differences between the reactants and the transition state in a rate process or between the reactants and the products in an equilibrium process. It is shown that while isotope effects cannot be used generally to obtain reliable information about geometry differences, they can be used to determine or set limits on force constant differences and possibly to gain insight into the nature of reaction coordinates. Information of this type can be useful in the elucidation of reaction mechanisms. A method by which isotope effects for large molecular systems may be studied theoretically by working with smaller model molecules is presented.
Commentary on "Vascular cognitive impairment: today and tomorrow".

Helen Chui and others in 1992 provided new and expanded criteria for the diagnosis of ischemic vascular dementia (Alzheimer’s Disease Diagnostic and Treatment Centers [ADDTC] criteria) [1]. Vascular dementia had focused primarily on development of dementia after clinical stroke or in association with clinical signs of overt cerebral vascular disease. The ADDTC criteria included aspects of subclinical vascular disease in the brain identified by brain neuroimaging, an important advance in dementia classification. Chui notes that pathology studies have found a variety of different pathologies associated with vascular cognitive impairment. The pathology studies provide associations with dementia, grey matter, and white matter loss but do not prove causality. Separation of “vascular dementia” or vascular cognitive impairment from Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is difficult, and the current criteria based on clinical cognitive evaluation may be of limited utility. The subsequent application of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in larger epidemiologic and clinical studies documented the very high prevalence of subclinical vascular disease in the brain, including both white matter changes, ie, white matter grade (WMG) abnormalities, and subclinical infarcts [2 –6]. Further longitudinal analyses from these studies reported that WMG abnormalities were strongly related to hypertension [4,7]; increase with age; and were an independent risk factor for dementia [2] and lower extremity functional abnormalities [8] including gait, clinical
Multiple Toll-like receptor ligands induce an IL-6 transcriptional response in skeletal myocytes.

Toll-like receptors (TLRs) comprise a critical sentinel that monitors body compartments for the presence of pathogens. Skeletal muscle expresses TLRs and responds to pathogen-associated molecular p...
Vibrating wire apparatus for periodic magnetic structure measurement

Devices with periodic magnetic structures such as wigglers and undulators are often key elements in synchrotron radiation sources. In applications where the coherence of the emitted radiation is important, magnetic field errors distorting the periodicity of the field can significantly reduce the performance of the devices. Thus, the measurement, localization, and correction of the field errors can be a critical issue. This article presents a new method for magnetic field measurements in periodic magnetic structures. The method uses a vibrating taut wire passing through the magnetic structure, and it involves measurements of the amplitudes and phases of the standing waves excited on the wire by the Lorentz force between an AC current in the wire and the surrounding magnetic field. For certain arrangements of the wire, vibrations in the wire will be excited by only nonperiodic magnetic field component, i.e., by the error field. By measuring the phase and amplitude of these waves, one can reconstruct the error field distribution and then correct it. The method was tested on a permanent magnet wiggler with 19:8 cm period and a peak field of B7000G: It demonstrated B0:6G RMS sensitivity, dBrms=BrmsB1:2 � 10 � 4 and spatial resolution sufficient to identify poles generating the field error. Good agreement was found between field error measurements obtained with the vibrating wire method and with traditional Hall probe field mapping. r 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Regulation of Pyrimidine Biosynthetic Gene Expression in Bacteria: Repression without Repressors

Summary: DNA-binding repressor proteins that govern transcription initiation in response to end products generally regulate bacterial biosynthetic genes, but this is rarely true for the pyrimidine biosynthetic (pyr) genes. Instead, bacterial pyr gene regulation generally involves mechanisms that rely only on regulatory sequences embedded in the leader region of the operon, which cause premature transcription termination or translation inhibition in response to nucleotide signals. Studies with Escherichia coli and Bacillus subtilis pyr genes reveal a variety of regulatory mechanisms. Transcription attenuation via UTP-sensitive coupled transcription and translation regulates expression of the pyrBI and pyrE operons in enteric bacteria, whereas nucleotide effects on binding of the PyrR protein to pyr mRNA attenuation sites control pyr operon expression in most gram-positive bacteria. Nucleotide-sensitive reiterative transcription underlies regulation of other pyr genes. With the E. coli pyrBI, carAB, codBA, and upp-uraA operons, UTP-sensitive reiterative transcription within the initially transcribed region (ITR) leads to nonproductive transcription initiation. CTP-sensitive reiterative transcription in the pyrG ITRs of gram-positive bacteria, which involves the addition of G residues, results in the formation of an antiterminator RNA hairpin and suppression of transcription attenuation. Some mechanisms involve regulation of translation rather than transcription. Expression of the pyrC and pyrD operons of enteric bacteria is controlled by nucleotide-sensitive transcription start switching that produces transcripts with different potentials for translation. In Mycobacterium smegmatis and other bacteria, PyrR modulates translation of pyr genes by binding to their ribosome binding site. Evidence supporting these conclusions, generalizations for other bacteria, and prospects for future research are presented.
Nitric oxide modulates endotoxin-induced platelet-endothelial cell adhesion in intestinal venules

Although platelets have been implicated in the pathogenesis of vascular diseases, little is known about factors that regulate interactions between platelets and the vessel wall under physiological ...
Effect of Patient Position on the Incidence of Vasovagal Response to Venous Cannulation

Background: This study was undertaken to determine the effect of patient position on the incidence of vasovagal responses to venous cannulation in ambulatory surgery patients. Methods: Three hundred surgical outpatients, aged 18 to 40 years, were randomly assigned by week to the sitting or recumbent position. Blood pressure and heart rate were recorded during and for 6 minutes following venous cannulation. An observer recorded signs and symptoms suggestive of a vasovagal response. Results: A vasovagal reaction occurred in 12.6% of sitting patients and 2.1% of recumbent patients. Two sitting patients, 1.3%, experienced frank syncope. Symptomatic patients were more likely (39.1%) than asymptomatic patients (8.3%) to have a history of fainting. In symptomatic patients who were sitting, mean arterial pressure fell from 90.4 mm Hg (SD, 10.6) at baseline to 64.4 mm Hg (SD, 14.3) during cannulation. Similarly, heart rate fell from 76.6 beats per minute (SD, 15.6) at baseline to 59.0 beats per minute (SD, 11.7) after cannulation. Conclusions: The vasovagal response during venous cannulation occurs more frequently in the sitting patient who has a history of fainting and is associated with a significant decline in blood pressure and heart rate. (Arch Intern Med.1993;153:1698-1704)
Field Gathering Wireless Sensor Networks

Field Gathering Wireless Sensor Networks are a class of sensor networks used to periodically collect data from a field in which the sensors are deployed. Sensing data are then transmitted to one or more data collectors or control centers, and collectively they form a snapshot of the field, e.g., temperature, pressure, etc. In this study we focus on two performance limits that arise in such networks. The first is network lifetime, which is a limit imposed by the energy constraint; the second is network throughput capacity, which is a limit imposed by the network architecture, communication and physical layer capabilities. The first determines how long the network may last (and how much data the network may deliver during its lifetime), while the second determines how fast data may be delivered. We present an in depth survey of recent advances, research and results in both performance measures. Special attention is paid to the network model used in each study and the effect of the assumptions of the model on the results. We finish by discussing future research and open research questions for field gathering wireless sensor networks.
Passive RFID tag based heart rate monitoring from an ECG signal

In this paper, we propose a monitoring system that employs a passive RFID tag to transmit heart rate using an ECG signal as its source. This system operates without a battery and has been constructed with easily available commercial components. Here, an RFID tag is used as an on-off keying device, wherein it is normally transmitting, but turns off every time a heart beat is detected. Heart beats ranging from 30BPM through 300BPM are successfully measured using our device. It is shown that the system is capable of providing accurate heart rate measurements up to a distance of ten feet with a standard deviation of less than one beat per minute without a local power source. The proposed system is also found to be resilient in the presence of an additional RFID tag.
Application of quantitative 19F and 1H NMR for reaction monitoring and in situ yield determinations for an early stage pharmaceutical candidate.

Quantitative NMR spectrometry (qNMR) is an attractive, viable alternative to traditional chromatographic techniques. It is a fast, easy, accurate, and nondestructive technique which allows an analyst to gain quantitative information about a component mixture without the necessity of authentic reference materials, as is the case with most other analytical techniques. This is ideal for the synthesis of active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) that are in the early stages of development where authentic standards of the analytes may not be available. In this paper, the application of 19F and 1H qNMR for reaction monitoring and in situ potency determinations will be discussed for an early stage pharmaceutical candidate with several analytical challenges. These challenges include low UV absorption, low ionization, thermal instability, and lack of authentic reference standards. Quantitative NMR provided quick, fit-for-purpose solutions for process development where conventional separation techniques were limited.
As-built error modeling for effective 3D laser scanning on construction sites

Construction engineers increasingly use 3D laser scanners on job sites to capture detailed as-built geometries for construction monitoring, while their data collection time and quality can vary significantly. Various data collection parameters influence the quality of data and time for data collection. These parameters include internal (e.g., the laser signal strength, spatial resolution of the used scanner) and external parameters (e.g., color, object dimension, distance, and lighting condition). Correlations among these parameters, data collection time, and as-built modeling errors, contain principles of efficient and effective laser scan planning. Limited quantitative studies of these correlations result in ad-hoc laser scan planning, missing geometric information, and unnecessarily long data collection time. This paper presents a series of controlled experiments and seven statistical methods for quantitatively modeling the correlations between 3D as-built modeling errors and various parameters mentioned above. The major findings include: 1) internal correlations among data collection parameters need to be resolved for precise as-built error prediction; 2) all tested statistical methods are based on linear regression, while non-Gaussian distribution of the as-built modeling errors and nonlinear correlations in the experimental results distort the parametric error models. Future research will explore nonlinear or non-parametric methods for obtaining more reliable error models for proactively guiding engineers to conduct laser scanning in the field.
New Species of Simuliidae (Diptera) from Guatemala II

In the course of entomological investigations concerning the Simuliidae of Guatemala and their possible role in the transmission of onchocerciasis, several described species of this family, hitherto unknown from Guatemala, as well as a number of completely new species, have been found to exist there. This paper presents descriptions of three new species with notes on their distribution and ecology. It is expected that in future works by this author there will be included lists of all species found in Guatemala, descriptions of other new species, descriptions of apparently unknown stages of already described species, and distributional and ecological data about each.
Insecticides for Control of Tropical Sod Webworm on St. Augustinegrass, 2014

Tropical sod webworm (TSW) are important pests of warm season turfgrasses in the Gulf Coast States of the USA and elsewhere. The objective of this test was to compare the residual efficacy of insecticides from three different classes on TSW infested “Floratam” St. Augustinegrass. The trial was conducted on experimental turf plots at the University of Florida Mid Florida Research and Education Center in Apopka, Florida, in the fall (October to November) of 2013. Treatments were randomly assigned to 1 m2 turf plots …
Effects of placement of intravaginal sponges on LH, FSH, estrus and ovarian activity in mares during the nonbreeding season.

Eight seasonally anestrous mares were administered intravaginal polyurethane sponges on December 15 and then weekly thereafter until February 1. Control mares received no sponges or genital contact. Sponge insertion caused an immediate surge in follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) concentrations in jugular plasma in 50% of treated mares whereas no control mares had surges in FSH (P less than .05). The effect of treatment on luteinizing hormone (LH) concentrations was much less dramatic and only three treated mares appeared to have positive responses. Sponge-treated mares exhibited positive responses in FSH concentrations 11 times out of 32 mare-days and control mares zero out of 28 (P less than .05). The magnitude of the FSH response decreased rapidly with successive responses. Sponge insertion induced estrus in four of eight treated mares; no control mares exhibited estrus (P less than .05). Sponge insertion also increased ovarian size and the incidence of large follicles. When all mares were fed altrenogest for 14 d beginning February 1, there was no beneficial effect of sponge treatment on number of mares exhibiting estrus or on pregnancy rate. These data confirm earlier speculations that sponge treatment causes surges in gonadotropins and increased ovarian size in approximately 50% of anestrous mares. However, sponge treatment does not appear to provide a practical means of preparing mares for progestogen synchronization during the nonbreeding season.
Brief Report: A Brief Neuropsychological Testing Battery for Evaluating Patients with Schizophrenia

Current conceptualizations of schizophrenia include neurocognitive impairment, particularly in aspects of attention, memory, and executive functioning. Evaluation of these cognitive abilities typically involves use of comprehensive batteries which may take up to six hours to complete. The current study examined the effectiveness of a briefer battery to detect cognitive impairments usually seen in schizophrenia as established by previous studies using more lengthy and labor intensive protocols. The current study involved 61 outpatients with schizophrenia who were separated into three subgroups: paranoid type (n = 20), undifferentiated type (n = 21), and schizoaffective (n = 20). The majority of the patients were male (61%), African-American (52%), and of low socio-economic status. The mean age was 41.4 years (SD = 8.8), and the mean years of education was 11.7 (SD = 6.8). For the overall sample, results revealed mild to moderate impairments in memory, construction, concept formation, response set maintenance, psychomotor speed, and visual speed of information processing. Post-hoc analyses revealed significant differences between subgroups on Similarities and psychomotor speed, with the undifferentiated group performing more poorly than the paranoid or schizoaffective groups. In conclusion, the current brief battery minimized respondent burden in terms of both time demands and level of task complexity. However, it was also sensitive enough to capture many of the same cognitive weaknesses as those reported when using more labor-intensive neuropsychological test protocols.
The anatomy and innervation of lacrimal glands.

The comparative anatomic and physiological study of primary lacrimal glands raises a number of important questions the answers to which can provide insight into lacrimal gland function and dysfunction.
CT: Patient Selection

Proper patient selection is extremely important in all diagnostic testing. The potential benefit should outweigh the risk of the test. With cardiac CT, valuable information regarding coronary arteries and cardiac anatomy can be rapidly obtained in a non-invasive manner. Appropriate use criteria documents have been developed to help guide practitioners on whether a test is likely to be beneficial in making the correct diagnosis, providing prognostic information, or obtaining vital information prior to invasive procedures. Despite these potential benefits, there are risks related to cardiac CT including radiation and contrast agents, which should be minimized as much as possible. There are also patient factors that can influence the diagnostic quality of the cardiac CT exam, which can render the exam uninterpretable and not beneficial. Careful patient selection will help improve the benefit to risk ratio and maximize the usefulness of cardiac CT.
Library in a Box

Lending libraries have sprung up all over Nicaragua, thanks to an idea that Jane Mirandette developed. Jane, who established the first lending library in Nicaragua more than 14 years ago, knew firs...
Molecular classification of Crohn's disease reveals two clinically relevant subtypes

Objective The clinical presentation and course of Crohn's disease (CD) is highly variable. We sought to better understand the cellular and molecular mechanisms that guide this heterogeneity, and characterise the cellular processes associated with disease phenotypes. Design We examined both gene expression and gene regulation (chromatin accessibility) in non-inflamed colon tissue from a cohort of adult patients with CD and control patients. To support the generality of our findings, we analysed previously published expression data from a large cohort of treatment-naive paediatric CD and control ileum. Results We found that adult patients with CD clearly segregated into two classes based on colon tissue gene expression—one that largely resembled the normal colon and one where certain genes showed expression patterns normally specific to the ileum. These classes were supported by changes in gene regulatory profiles observed at the level of chromatin accessibility, reflective of a fundamental shift in underlying molecular phenotypes. Furthermore, gene expression from the ilea of a treatment-naive cohort of paediatric patients with CD could be similarly subdivided into colon-like and ileum-like classes. Finally, expression patterns within these CD subclasses highlight large-scale differences in the immune response and aspects of cellular metabolism, and were associated with multiple clinical phenotypes describing disease behaviour, including rectal disease and need for colectomy. Conclusions Our results strongly suggest that these molecular signatures define two clinically relevant forms of CD irrespective of tissue sampling location, patient age or treatment status.
Preterm birth : can we do better?

Preterm birth (PTB) remains the most serious complication in obstetrics and a substantial excess burden in US healthcare economics. The etiology of PTB is complex and likely has multiple physiological pathways. Unfortunately, current antenatal care screening methods have not been successful in predicting and, eventually, preventing PTB. Although treatments such as progesterone, cerclage and pessary are available for patients with historical risk factors and shortened cervix, these treatments are not universally efficacious. Antenatal care is in great need of new prediction and prevention strategies. The role of more global methods of screening and treatment is still undefined. Most women with clinical risk factors will not deliver early, and aggressive interventions in large segments of the population may not be warranted or cost effective. Furthermore, over half of women who experience PTB have no historical risk factors. Even second-trimester cervical length (CL) has only modest ability to predict which women will experience PTB. There is thus a clear need to identify biomarkers that provide quantitative, individualized assessment of risk early in pregnancy that is specific for each individual woman. The ideal biomarkers would be indicative of the pathway leading to PTB, require no special testing equipment, have a low false positive and negative rate, and offer early identification, allowing adequate time to intervene. We need an aggressive and comprehensive approach to see a dramatic reduction in rates of preterm delivery in the U.S
Metal homeostasis in infectious disease: recent advances in bacterial metallophores and the human metal-withholding response

A tug-of-war between the mammalian host and bacterial pathogen for nutrients, including first-row transition metals (e.g. Mn, Fe, Zn), occurs during infection. Here we present recent advances about three metal-chelating metabolites that bacterial pathogens deploy when invading the host: staphylopine, staphyloferrin B, and enterobactin. These highlights provide new insights into the mechanisms of bacterial metal acquisition and regulation, as well as the contributions of host-defense proteins during the human innate immune response. The studies also underscore that the chemical composition of the microenvironment at an infection site can influence bacterial pathogenesis and the innate immune system.
Background Radiation Effect on Ground Sensor-to-UAV Free-Space Optical Link With Inexpensive Laser

This paper presents a model for evaluating the effect of background radiation such as reflected sun light on a free-space optical link that employs the beam divergence of an inexpensive laser for ground sensor-to-unmanned aerial vehicle applications.
The Fundamentally Mental Character of Reality

The realistically construed orthodox quantum mechanics described in this book has three components: (1), A physically described universe represented by an evolving quantum mechanical state; (2), An ordered sequence of probing questions that arise in the minds of observers; and (3), A “nature” that chooses and implements—in concordance with Born’s statistical rule—psycho-physical responses to the probing questions posed by observers.
Association between oxidative stress and atrial fibrillation.

Background Oxidative stress (OS) may be a key mechanism underlying the development of atrial fibrillation (AF) in experimental studies, but data in humans remain limited. Objective Systemic OS can be estimated by measurements of circulating levels of the aminothiols including glutathione, cysteine, and their oxidized products. We tested the hypothesis that the redox potentials of glutathione (E h GSH) and cysteine will be associated with prevalent and incident AF. Methods Plasma levels of aminothiols were measured in 1439 patients undergoing coronary angiography, of whom 148 (10.3%) had a diagnosis of AF. After a median follow-up of 6.3 years, 104 of 917 patients (11.5%) developed incident AF. Multivariate logistic regression and Cox regression models were used to determine whether OS markers were independent predictors of prevalent and incident AF after adjustment for traditional risk factors, heart failure, coronary artery disease, and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein level. Results For each 10% increase in E h GSH, the odds of prevalent AF was 30% higher (odds ratio [OR] 1.3; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.1–1.7; P = .02) and 90% higher (OR 1.9; 95% CI 1.3–2.7; P = .004) when the median was used as a cutoff. The E h GSH level above the median was more predictive of chronic AF (OR 4.0; 95% CI 1.3–12.9; P = .01) than of paroxysmal AF (OR 1.7; 95% CI 1.1–2.7; P = .03). Each 10% increase in E h GSH level was associated with a 40% increase in the risk of incident AF (hazard ratio 1.4; 95% CI 1.1–1.7; P = .01). Conclusion Increased OS measured by the redox potentials of glutathione is associated with prevalent and incident AF. Therapies that modulate OS need to be investigated to treat and prevent AF.
Proactive information security behavior and individual creativity: Effects of group culture and decentralized IT governance

This study attempts to explore the potential in employees to positively contribute to organizational information security management. Toward that end, this study developed the concept of proactive information security behavior and examined its connections to individual creativity and two organizational context factors: group culture and decentralized IT governance. Findings of this study supported its positive relationship with individual creativity and group culture as well as partial and full mediation effects of decentralized IT governance and individual creativity on the relationship between proactive information security behavior and group culture.
Role of Proline in Pathogen and Host Interactions

Abstract Significance: Proline metabolism has complex roles in a variety of biological processes, including cell signaling, stress protection, and energy production. Proline also contributes to the...
Dynamic Management of Codon Compression for Saturation Mutagenesis

Saturation mutagenesis is conveniently located between the two extremes of protein engineering, namely random mutagenesis, and rational design. It involves mutating a confined number of target residues to other amino acids, and hence requires knowledge regarding the sites for mutagenesis, but not their final identity. There are many different strategies for performing and designing such experiments, ranging from simple single degenerate codons to codon collections that code for distinct sets of amino acids. Here, we provide detailed information on the Dynamic Management for Codon Compression (DYNAMCC) approaches that allow us to precisely define the desired amino acid composition to be introduced to a specific target site. DYNAMCC allows us to set usage thresholds and to eliminate undesirable stop and wild-type codons, thus allowing us to control library size and subsequently downstream screening efforts. The DYNAMCC algorithms are free of charge and are implemented in a website for easy access and usage: www.dynamcc.com .
A New Global Foreground Modeling and Local Background Modeling Method for Video Analysis

This paper presents a new Global Foreground Modeling (GFM) and Local Background Modeling (LBM) method for video analysis. First, a novel feature vector, which integrates the RGB values, the horizontal and vertical Haar wavelet features, and the temporal difference features of a pixel, enhances the discriminatory power due to its increased dimensionality. Second, the local background modeling process chooses the most significant single Gaussian density to model the background locally for each pixel according to the weights learned for the Gaussian mixture model. Third, an innovative global foreground modeling method, which applies the Bayes decision rule, models the foreground pixels globally. The GFM method thus is able to achieve improved foreground detection accuracy and capable of detecting stopped moving objects. Experimental results using the New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) traffic video sequences show that the proposed method achieves better video analysis results than the popular background subtraction methods.
Double Intermediation in IPOs: Double the Trouble?

This study investigates the role of repeated interactions between venture capital firms and unaffiliated investment banks in the IPO process. Our main findings are threefold. First, we find strong evidence of venture capital investors’ influence on their portfolio firms’ underwriter choice towards relationship banks. Second, relationship banks are more likely to underwrite IPOs with more severe information asymmetry and agency problems. Finally, underpricing is significantly lower if the IPO is underwritten by a relationship bank, driven by both a reduction in information asymmetry problems and a better alignment of incentives. Overall, our results indicate that relationships play a beneficial role in the IPO process.
Regulatory Experiences in Symbiotic Control of Pierce’s Disease

The amount of research funds for addressing practical plant pest or disease problems is determined by the value of the industry and the size of the threat. When new products, tools or strategies are developed, regulatory agencies must judge and evaluate these new tools that are not specifically described in the statutes that guide their decisions. Regulatory costs to pay for risk assessments make commercial sense when projected income from a new product can be charged against an investment based on the size of the expected market. When a pest or disease problem affects a minor crop, the research to address regulatory issues does not have such a clear-cut funding origin. Ironically, a very selective biopesticide designed to address a local pest or disease problem is the ideal form of sustainable pest management, but has the smallest market of any pest control strategy and therefore the smallest amount of financial support. In this sphere of modest financial resources, regulatory needs can force research away from solving the problem at hand to address unfocused or ill-defined risk issues. When genetic modification is a part of the proposed new strategy, an added burden is placed on the developers. This burden can defy logic and can, ironically, come largely from peers, not the public.