cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The role of extraversion and neuroticism in influencing anxiety following computer-mediated interactions

Abstract With the increasing popularity of the internet, online interpersonal interactions have become a popular method of communication. The current study examined whether individuals with certain personality characteristics felt less anxious after communicating via computer-mediated communication (CMC) than after face-to-face (FtF). To examine this issue, 80 female participants ( M age = 18.88, SD = 1.10) completed a personality assessment and then interacted with a confederate for 15 min either using CMC or FtF. After the interaction, participants’ current level of anxiety was assessed. Results indicated that participants tended to be less anxious after the CMC than after a FtF interaction. Subsequent analyses found that this effect was moderated by participants’ extraversion and neuroticism. Specifically, introverted and neurotic participants tended to be more anxious communicating FtF than communicating using CMC whereas extraverts and stable participants tended to experience low amounts of anxiety irrespective of the interaction type.
If “Thanda Matlab Coca-Cola” Then “Cold Drink Means Toilet Cleaner”: Environmentalism of the Dispossessed in Liberalizing India

With the sudden, almost ubiquitous reentry of The Coca-Cola Company to India during economic liberalization, the branded commodity became a sign of both aspirational global consumer-citizenship for India's urban middle class and of corporate enclosure for those dispossessed of material and symbolic resources to fuel this consumption. Village communities around several of Coca-Cola's rural plants, including in Mehdiganj, Uttar Pradesh, organized against the company's operations, which they accused of exploiting and polluting common groundwater in the production of bottled drinks as an increasing expanse of the country fell into a crisis of water scarcity. This “environmentalism of the poor” has articulated a powerful critique of corporate globalization and privatization, illuminating the exploitation of the resources of the rural poor for the consumption of those on the other side of an increasingly widening economic divide.
Toward a Resilience Framework for Sustainable Engineered Systems

Abstract We discuss the development of sustainable engineered systems (SES) using emergent features of complex systems: large and diffused information content, non-linear causality, time lags in response to forcing functions, diffused control hierarchy, and uncertainty in end-points. If SES are to maintain their performance indicators over long durations, their success should be defined by the ability to monitor the changing risk profile and take timely actions to prevent the likelihood of failure. Resilience engineering (RE) is a new systems engineering design approach that takes into consideration such likelihoods and provides ways of generating prevention schemas before perturbations turn into system failures. We intend to extend the notions provided by RE into the SES conceptualization.
The α-Actinin Gene Family: A Revised Classification

The sequencing of a genome is the first stage of its complete characterization. Subsequent work seeks to utilize available sequence data to gain a better understanding of the genes which are found within a genome. Gene families comprise large portions of the genomes of higher vertebrates, and the available genomic data allow for a reappraisal of gene family evolution. This reappraisal will clarify relatedness within and between gene families. One such family, the α-actinin gene family, is part of the spectrin superfamily. There are four known loci, which encode α-actinins 1, 2, 3, and 4. Of the eight domains in α-actinin, the actin-binding domain is the most highly conserved. Here we present evidence gained through phylogenetic analyses of the highly conserved actin-binding domain that α-actinin 2 was the first of the four α-actinins to arise by gene duplication, followed by the divergence of α-actinin 3 and then α-actinins 1 and 4. Resolution of the gene tree for this gene family has allowed us to reclassify several α-actinins which were previously given names inconsistent with the most widely accepted nomenclature for this gene family. This reclassification clarifies previous discrepancies in the public databases as well as in the literature, thus eliminating confusion caused by continued misclassification of members of the α-actinin gene family. In addition, the topology found for this gene family undermines the 2R hypothesis theory of two rounds of genome duplication early in vertebrate evolution.
Effects of water activity, light intensity and physical structure of food on the kinetics of riboflavin photodegradation

The kinetics of light-induced riboflavin degradation were evaluated in elbow macaroni, particulate macaroni, nonfat dried milk, skim milk and a buffered solution of riboflavin. A first order degradative mechanism was observed in liquid systems, while a two-phased mechanism was observed in dry food systems. Light intensities of 25, 50 or 100 ft-c showed no significant differences in effect on the rate of riboflavin loss in elbow macaroni; however, a very dim light showed only a single-phased first order rate of loss. In elbow macaroni exposed to a broad range of water activities the degradation of riboflavin increased at elevated relative humidities. Lumichrome was determined to have limited use as a quantitative indicator of riboflavin loss, but could be used as a qualitative indicator of riboflavin degradation.
Identification of Body Fat Mass as a Major Determinant of Metabolic Rate in Mice

OBJECTIVE Analysis of energy expenditure (EE) in mice is essential to obesity research. Since EE varies with body mass, comparisons between lean and obese mice are confounded unless EE is normalized to account for body mass differences. We 1 ) assessed the validity of ratio-based EE normalization involving division of EE by either total body mass (TBM) or lean body mass (LBM), 2 ) compared the independent contributions of LBM and fat mass (FM) to EE, and 3 ) investigated whether leptin contributes to the link between FM and EE. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS We used regression modeling of calorimetry and body composition data in 137 mice to estimate the independent contributions of LBM and FM to EE. Subcutaneous administration of leptin or vehicle to 28 obese ob / ob mice and 32 fasting wild-type mice was used to determine if FM affects EE via a leptin-dependent mechanism. RESULTS Division of EE by either TBM or LBM is confounded by body mass variation. The contribution of FM to EE is comparable to that of LBM in normal mice (expressed per gram of tissue) but is absent in leptin-deficient ob / ob mice. When leptin is administered at physiological doses, the plasma leptin concentration supplants FM as an independent determinant of EE in both ob / ob mice and normal mice rendered leptin-deficient by fasting. CONCLUSIONS The contribution of FM to EE is substantially greater than predicted from the metabolic cost of adipose tissue per se, and the mechanism underlying this effect is leptin dependent. Regression-based approaches that account for variation in both FM and LBM are recommended for normalization of EE in mice.
Optical coherence tomography of the larynx in the awake patient

Objective To demonstrate the feasibility of performing optical coherence tomography of the human larynx on the awake patient with a novel flexible fiberoptic delivery system. Study Design Prospective clinical trial. Subjects and Methods Imaging was performed in 17 awake patients. A flexible optical coherence tomography probe was inserted through the nose and placed in near or gentle contact with laryngeal tissues under direct endoscopic visualization. Results Images were successfully obtained from all laryngeal subsites and clearly identified laryngeal mucosal microanatomy. Several critical probe design modifications improved rotational and angular control of the distal tip while allowing linear translation of the probe and allowing more accurate apposition of the probe onto target tissues, which is critical for transnasal laryngeal imaging. Conclusion This study demonstrates the feasibility of awake transnasal laryngeal optical coherence tomography and identifies key instrumentation needed to obtain useful images.
The Consumer Diaries, or, Autoethnography in the Inverted World

Using the form of an ethnographic diary, this article explores the complexity of contemporary consumer life as it is enmeshed with everyday experience. Built around three ethnographic diary entries that track the author's miscarriage, the article's aim is to insist on the humanity of consumption even as it poses profound problems. Scholars and scholarship are not exempt from suffering the very problems we seek to analyze. To further this point, this article also explores aspects of the consumer lives of Karl Marx and his wife Jenny, showing how even for them, negotiating the demands of commodity capitalism was complex, contradictory, and painful.
Instantons, supersymmetric vacua, and emergent geometries

We study instanton solutions and superpotentials for the large number of vacua of the plane-wave matrix model and a $2+1$ dimensional Super Yang-Mills theory on $R\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{S}^{2}$ with 16 supercharges. We get the superpotential in the weak-coupling limit from the gauge theory description. We study the gravity description of these instantons. Perturbatively, with respect to a background, they are Euclidean branes wrapping cycles in the dual gravity background. Moreover, the superpotential can be given by the energy of the electric charge system characterizing each vacuum. These charges are interpreted as the eigenvalues of matrices from a reduction for the $1/8$ BPS sector of the gauge theories. We also discuss qualitatively the emergence of the extra spatial dimensions appeared on the gravity side.
Simultaneous NMR study of protein structure and dynamics using conservative mutagenesis.

A novel iterative procedure is described that allows both the orientation and dynamics of internuclear bond vectors to be determined from direct interpretation of NMR dipolar couplings, measured under at least three orthogonal alignment conditions. If five orthogonal alignments are available, the approach also yields information on the degree of motional anisotropy and the direction in which the largest amplitude internal motion of each bond vector takes place. The method is demonstrated for the backbone 15N−1H, 13Cα−1Hα, and 13Cα−13C‘ interactions in the previously well-studied protein domain GB3, dissolved in a liquid crystalline suspension of filamentous phage Pf1. Alignment variation is achieved by using conservative mutations of charged surface residues. Results indicate remarkably uniform backbone dynamics, with amplitudes that agree well with those of previous 15N relaxation studies for most residues involved in elements of secondary structure, but larger amplitude dynamics than those found by 15N ...
On the Use of Compilers in DSP Laboratory Instruction

A modern DSP laboratory course should teach students how to quickly develop efficient applications using a mixture of C and assembly instructions. Since typical irregular DSP microprocessor architectures present some challenges to traditional optimizing compilers, we introduced a novel new interactive optimizing compiler, VISTA, in a DSP laboratory course to teach students about optimizing compilers and the trade-offs between code development in C and assembly. Students generally found VISTA educational and gained improved insight into effective DSP software development.
PREHISTORIC EXPLOITATION OF BIRDS ON THE PACIFIC COAST OF CHIAPAS, MEXICO

Abstract We report bones of 60 species of birds from the Paso de la Amada archaeological site (ca. 3600 to 3150 years old) in the Soconusco region of Chiapas, Mexico. Among 36 species of landbirds and 24 marine, estuarine, and aquatic species, four landbirds (Harpia harpyja, Ortalis vetula, Cyrtonyx ocellatus, and Ara militaris) have not been recorded previously from coastal Chiapas. Their nearest populations are characteristic of foothill or montane forest. The families of birds most commonly exploited at Paso de la Amada were Columbidae (pigeons, doves), Phasianidae (quail), Falconidae (caracaras), Ardeidae (herons), and Cracidae (chachalacas). Because of human interactions with birds and their habitats over the millennia, it is difficult or impossible to determine the precise species-level composition for any Neotropical bird community under conditions free of human influence. Prehistoric data thus improve our understanding of how these communities have changed over long time scales, whether or not the...
THE SPIRIT OF NINAY: Pedro Paterno and the First Philippine Novel

This study of Pedro Paterno’s Ninay (1885) examines the first novel to be published by a Filipino author, setting the work against the background of the author’s activities in Madrid and his work as a writer, host and diplomat. Considering the novel’s status to be that of a fictional-historical archive and literary ethnography, this essay elaborates its foundational discourse on the developing national culture, conceived as intrinsically hybrid, fundamentally an amalgam of Spanish and Asiatic elements. As foregrounded in this reading, the novel makes reference to particular and idiosyncratic aspects of Philippine tradition, explicating its relationship to the Spanish colonial bond that constituted the Philippines as a national territory and overseas possession. Availing itself of the devices of costumbrismo, the narrative of Ninay is staged as an extended act of mourning: that is, its internal structure follows the protocol of the pasiam, the nine-day prayer for the welfare of the soul of the departed loved one. It is this structure that frames the treatment of Ninay’s significance as a ghostly figure that haunts the text, one around whose phantasmatic presence a community of mourners is created and a new kind of discourse is generated: what could be called a spectral allegory of la filipinidad. Against the critical orthodoxy that judges Ninay to be a flawed and superficial work, the present study maps the narrative’s recodification of available elements of an emergent national culture in a narrative as an affair of Tagalog- and Castillian-speaking Filipino characters. Indeed, Paterno, by his authorship of Ninay, subsequent works of ethnography and the libretto for The Dreamed Alliance, the opera that debuted in 1902, offers us the portrait of the author not only as an initiator of discourse in search of a unique Filipino national identity, but also as a medium of his own country’s “spectral nationalism” as an overseas possession of changing empires.
The Establishment and Assessment of Medium-Sized and Small Enterprises Environmental Evaluation Index System - Based on the Empirical Analysis around the Cities of Jiangsu

At present, the connotation and extension of business environment for SMEs at home and abroad remain greater differences. This article drew on the research framework of Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM), combined with practical research, established entrepreneurial environment evaluation index system for SMEs, and conducted Positive Analysis through a combination of data around the city of Jiangsu Province, verified the evaluation index system was scientific and rationality to some extent and could be used as environment assessment model selection of small and medium business.
Energy balanced chain in distributed sensor networks

With detection and monitoring requirements becoming more complicated and difficult, wireless sensor networks are envisioned to revolutionize the paradigm of collecting and processing information in diverse environments, such as on Mars' in-situ exploration. However, energy utilization by sensor nodes often impacts the application's life time due to limited battery capacity. One of the problems in energy utilization is that nodes near the base station lend to die earlier than other nodes because of their higher traffic. This paper suggests an energy balanced chain (EBC) which can efficiently prolong the sensor network lifetime by actively controlling the nodes' hop distances. In EBC, we formulate the energy balance optimization problem in terms of the segmentation space. By adjusting the transmission power, nodes with higher traffic have a longer hop distance than nodes with lower traffic. Further, numerical analysis results show that EBC performs significantly better than traditional hop-by-hop transmission.
Detection of islet β-cell death in vivo by multiplex PCR analysis of differentially methylated DNA

Noninvasive detection of early β-cell death in type 1 diabetes might identify individuals in whom therapeutic interventions would preserve β-cell mass and prevent hyperglycemia. Recent studies in mice have shown that β-cell death produces a corresponding increase in unmethylated preproinsulin (PPI) DNA in serum. Here, we report the development of a novel assay using dual fluorescent-probe multiplex PCR (TaqMan) to detect differential methylation of circulating PPI DNA. Key assay features include low background signals, linear assay output across a large range of values, and simultaneous detection of methylated and unmethylated PPI DNA in a single reaction. We defined the "unmethylation index" as a summary parameter that reflects the relative amounts of unmethylated vs methylated PPI DNA. To validate this assay's ability to detect β-cell death in vivo, we measured the unmethylation index in the serum of diabetic mouse models, including high- and multiple low-dose streptozotocin-induced diabetes, and the nonobese diabetic mouse model of type 1 diabetes. Our data show a significantly increased unmethylation index concordant with the known timeline of β-cell death that precedes the onset of hyperglycemia. Subsequently, we observed a decrease in the unmethylation index following diabetes development, likely reflecting the absence of further β-cell death in the pancreas. We conclude that simultaneous measurement of methylated and unmethylated PPI DNA using the multiplex PCR method described here is a readily available and sensitive indicator of dying β-cells that may be useful to track diabetes progression and response to therapeutic intervention.
Interconnect-dominated VLSI design

This paper demonstrates the problems long, lossy wires pose for VLSI design as devices shrink to deep submicron dimensions. The degree to which both repeater insertion and reverse scaling of wire sizes are required to meet GHz clock frequency projections are estimated using a detailed wire distribution and a detailed processor model (RIPE). We also show how to achieve good floorplans with repeater insertion.
Computer simulation of carbachol‐driven rhythmic population oscillations in the CA3 region of the in vitro rat hippocampus.

1. We used simulations of the in vitro CA3 region of the hippocampus to analyse the 5 Hz population oscillations recorded experimentally in carbachol. 2. A simulation model of the in vitro CA3 region was constructed with 1000 pyramidal neurones and 200 inhibitory neurones (100 producing fast inhibitory postsynaptic potentials (IPSPs) and 100 producing slow IPSPs of delayed onset). Each neurone contained nineteen soma-dendritic compartments. Pyramidal neurones contained six voltage- and/or calcium-dependent ionic currents, whose kinetics were consistent with voltage-clamp data. The connectivity and waveform of unitary synaptic events for excitatory and fast inhibitory synapses were consistent with dual intracellular recordings. This network was shown to generate previously described network oscillations, including synchronized bursts recorded in the presence of GABAA blockers, and synchronized synaptic potentials observed during partial blockade of GABAA inhibition. 3. The model generated 5 Hz oscillations as recorded in carbachol under the following conditions: (a) excitatory synaptic conductance was within a limited range; (b) there was blockade of fast and slow IPSPs (consistent with the experimental lack of effect of bicuculline and phaclofen on carbachol oscillations and the known depression of IPSPs by acetylcholine); (c) the after hyperpolarization (AHP) conductance was reduced (consistent with the known pharmacology of carbachol); (d) the apical dendrites of the pyramidal cells were depolarized, as suggested by the carbachol-induced depolarization of pyramidal neurones. Each oscillation was associated in pyramidal cells with a burst of action potentials riding on a depolarizing wave. The N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) type of excitatory synapse was not necessary for the oscillations to occur. 4. Progressive reduction of excitatory synaptic strength led to an oscillation of the same frequency, with bursts riding on smaller EPSPs (consistent with the experiment). Further reduction of excitatory synaptic strength abolished the population oscillation by uncoupling the neurones. When excitatory synaptic conductance was too large, population oscillations were attenuated as the cells switched from a bursting mode to a repetitively firing mode. 5. Increasing the AHP conductance prolonged the interburst interval as expected. Inclusion of slow IPSPs exerted a similar effect. 6. When fast IPSPs were included, an oscillation with different characteristics emerged: a 10 Hz oscillation that was gated by compound GABAA IPSPs. On any oscillatory wave, few pyramidal neurones fired, and the firing of individual neurones was irregular.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
MicroRNAs as New Characters in the Plot between Epigenetics and Prostate Cancer.

Prostate cancer (PCA) still represents a leading cause of death. An increasing number of studies have documented that microRNAs (miRNAs), a subgroup of non-coding RNAs with gene regulatory functions, are differentially expressed in PCA respect to the normal tissue counterpart, suggesting their involvement in prostate carcinogenesis and dissemination. Interestingly, it has been shown that miRNAs undergo the same regulatory mechanisms than any other protein coding gene, including epigenetic regulation. In turn, miRNAs can also affect the expression of oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes by targeting effectors of the epigenetic machinery, therefore indirectly affecting the epigenetic controls on these genes. Among the genes that undergo this complex regulation, there is the androgen receptor (AR), a key therapeutic target for PCA. This review will focus on the role of epigenetically regulated and epigenetically regulating miRNAs in prostate cancer and on the fine regulation of AR expression, as mediated by this miRNA-epigenetics interaction.
News as a Contested Commodity: A Clash of Capitalist and Journalistic Imperatives

This paper makes the case for conceptualizing news as a contested commodity. It offers an unprecedented application of commodification theory to the problem of the sustainability of a free press in a democracy. When the news media are expected to be purveyors of the public interest while pursuing profits for their corporate owners, the result often is a clash of capitalist and journalistic imperatives. The amoral values of the market system conflict with the moral agency of a free press, and the two are inherently incompatible. This study presents a synthesis of otherwise divergent theoretical perspectives to examine the free press-free market paradox from a new vista. The author concludes regulatory reforms are needed to insulate the press from the predatory expansion of a free market system that permeates every aspect of social life, including the production of news. “American mainstream media have become the watchdog and guardian of the corporate bottom line instead of the vanguard of democracy and the...
Recent progress in understanding chemical shifts

In the past three or four years computer hardware and software developments have reached the stage where the nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectra of many molecular systems can now be accurately evaluated. Detailed analysis of chemical shifts may soon become a routine part of solid (and liquid) state NMR structure prediction in chemistry and biology, and this Article covers the development of the topic from its earliest beginnings.
Revision and Cladistic Analysis of the Orbweaving Spider Genus Cyrtognatha Keyserling, 1881 (Araneae, Tetragnathidae)

Abstract The Neotropical spiders of the orbweaving genus Cyrtognatha Keyserling, 1881 (Tetragnathidae) are monographed. Cyrtognatha now includes a total of 21 species distributed over a large part of South America, Central America, and the southern parts of North America. Several species are known from the Caribbean islands of Cuba (one species), Hispaniola (two species), Jamaica (one species), and Saint Vincent (one species). Despite the wide geographic distribution of the genus, most Cyrtognatha species are known from single localities and often from very few museum specimens. The web architecture of several Cyrtognatha species is described and illustrated for the first time. Adults and juveniles of Cyrtognatha can be easily distinguished from all other tetragnathids by the presence of a straight line of long and robust macrosetae with enlarged bases on the retrolateral surface of the PLS. In Cyrtognatha the spermathecae are reduced and the sperm storage function is undertaken by an unpaired membranous ...
Estimation and Marginalization Using the Kikuchi Approximation Methods

In this letter, we examine a general method of approximation, known as the Kikuchi approximation method, for finding the marginals of a product distribution, as well as the corresponding partition function. The Kikuchi approximation method defines a certain constrained optimization problem, called the Kikuchi problem, and treats its stationary points as approximations to the desired marginals. We show how to associate a graph to any Kikuchi problem and describe a class of local message-passing algorithms along the edges of any such graph, which attempt to find the solutions to the problem. Implementation of these algorithms on graphs with fewer edges requires fewer operations in each iteration. We therefore characterize minimal graphs for a Kikuchi problem, which are those with the minimum number of edges. We show with empirical results that these simpler algorithms often offer significant savings in computational complexity, without suffering a loss in the convergence rate. We give conditions for the convexity of a given Kikuchi problem and the exactness of the approximations in terms of the loops of the minimal graph. More precisely, we show that if the minimal graph is cycle free, then the Kikuchi approximation method is exact, and the converse is also true generically. Together with the fact that in the cycle-free case, the iterative algorithms are equivalent to the well-known belief propagation algorithm, our results imply that, generically, the Kikuchi approximation method can be exact if and only if traditional junction tree methods could also solve the problem exactly.
Architecture and implementation of a multimedia conference system

A new multimedia conference system is designed and implemented. The system allows a group of users to conduct a meeting in real time. Participants can jointly view and edit relevant multimedia information, including text, graphics, and still images distributed throughout the network. Participants can also communicate simultaneously by voice to discuss the information they are sharing. This multimedia conference system can be used in a wide variety of cooperative work environment, such as distributed software development, joint authoring, and group decision support.
A least square extrapolation method for the a posteriori error estimate of the incompressible Navier Stokes problem

A posteriori error estimators are fundamental tools for providing confidence in the numerical computation of PDEs. To date, the main theories of a posteriori estimators have been developed largely in the finite element framework, for either linear elliptic operators or non-linear PDEs in the absence of disparate length scales. On the other hand, there is a strong interest in using grid refinement combined with Richardson extrapolation to produce CFD solutions with improved accuracy and, therefore, a posteriori error estimates. But in practice, the effective order of a numerical method often depends on space location and is not uniform, rendering the Richardson extrapolation method unreliable. We have recently introduced (Garbey, 13th International Conference on Domain Decomposition, Barcelona, 2002; 379–386; Garbey and Shyy, J. Comput. Phys. 2003; 186:1–23) a new method which estimates the order of convergence of a computation as the solution of a least square minimization problem on the residual. This method, called least square extrapolation, introduces a framework facilitating multi-level extrapolation, improves accuracy and provides a posteriori error estimate. This method can accommodate different grid arrangements. The goal of this paper is to investigate the power and limits of this method via incompressible Navier Stokes flow computations. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Off-Off-Broadway Explosion: How Provocative Playwrights of the 1960s Ignited a New American Theater. By David A. Crespy. New York: Back Stage Books, 2003; pp. 192; 32 illus. $19.95 paper.

David Crespy's account of Off-Off Broadway's roots in New York City is a welcome addition to a growing body of scholarship on this vibrant period in American theatre history. Many authors writing on this era have limited themselves to focusing on particular theatre groups, such as the Living Theatre, Cafe Cino, and the Open Theatre, or on the work of specific playwrights, such as Maria Irene Fornes, Sam Shepard, and Edward Albee. More historical accounts are needed to examine a cross section of theatre practitioners in the context of the political and artistic movements of the 1960s. Crespy has managed to do this to some degree, and has even convinced the elusive Edward Albee to write a foreword.
High prevalence of proximal and distal gastroesophageal reflux disease in advanced COPD.

Background Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) is common in a variety of chronic respiratory diseases, but little is known about GERD in the setting of COPD. The aims of this study were to determine the prevalence, presentation, and predictors of GERD based on proximal and distal esophageal pH monitoring in patients with severe COPD. Methods Forty-one COPD patients with a mean FEV 1 of 24% of predicted underwent dual-probe 24-h esophageal pH monitoring, and 1 patient underwent esophagogastroduodenoscopy. Results The prevalence of GERD was 57%. Elevated distal and proximal reflux were present in 41% and 46% of patients undergoing esophageal pH studies, respectively. Fifteen percent of these patients had abnormal proximal reflux despite having normal distal probe results. Most patients with GERD were not receiving acid blockers at the time of their referral, and only one third reported heartburn and/or acid regurgitation during the pH study. Only higher body mass index was predictive of reflux on regression analysis (odds ratio, 1.2; 95% confidence interval, 1.0 to 1.5; p=0.05). Conclusions GERD is common in advanced COPD. Patients are often asymptomatic and have a relatively high prevalence of isolated abnormal proximal reflux. Dual-probe monitoring is therefore well suited for detecting GERD in patients with advanced COPD.
A perceptual metric for masking

Analytical tools were developed to predict masking of formant frequencies of steady-state vowels in the presence of a noise masker. Two kinds of masking were studied: within-band masking (where the signal frequency was within the bandwidth of a noise masker) and above-band masking (where the signal frequency was above the upper cutoff frequency of the masker). It was found that results of auditory-masking theory can be used to predict accurately within-band masking. Above-band masking, however, could not be predicted well from existing procedures, and an algorithm was developed to predict this kind of masking. >
Introduction of internal matching circuit to increase the bandwidth of a metamaterial-inspired efficient electrically small antenna

The performance characteristics of a simplified electric, lumped-element based, meta-material -inspired, efficient, electrically small antenna have been determined numerically for a fixed reactive element value over a band of frequencies. These characteristics were used to define an internal matching network (in contrast to the usual non-Foster external matching networks) which would provide the appropriate reactance at the appropriate frequency that can substantially increase the instantaneous bandwidth of the antenna. Over 10% instantaneous fractional bandwidth for an system with ka 0.048 (i.e., a/lambda0 132) while maintaining a high overall efficiency has been demonstrated at VHF frequencies.
The Contribution of Soil Aggregates to Carbon Sequestration in Restored Urban Grasslands

As urban development continues to replace or transform native grasslands, restoration has become increasingly critical for maintaining soil organic matter accrual. We asked if C-depleted urban soils could be restored to C accruing grasslands. Aggregate C content increased significantly between early- ( 10 years) model restorations (those resembling pristine prairies), and aggregate C levels in model restorations approached those in prairie remnants; more C was incorporated into the macroaggregate (>250 μm) than microaggregate fractions (53–250 μm). However, lower quality late-stage sites showed little evidence of macroaggregate C accrual. Stable isotope δ13C signatures indicated that C3 forbs were increasingly significant contributors to micro- and macroaggregate C accrual in restored grasslands and macroaggregates in pristine prairies whereas microaggregates in the pristine prairie showed δ13C signature typical of C4 plants. Our findings suggest that: C accrual occurs with urban grassland restoration; markers of restoration success and perception of a high quality restoration are reflected in C accrual; and management type rather than simply the duration of management are important in promoting C accrual.
Eukaryotic gene invasion by a bacterial mobile insertion sequence element IS2 during cloning into a plasmid vector

Escherichia coli (E. coli) are commonly used as hosts for DNA cloning and sequencing. Upon transformation of E. coli with recombined vector carrying a gene of interest, the bacteria multiply the gene of interest while maintaining the integrity of its content. During the subcloning of a mouse genomic fragment into a plasmid vector, we noticed that the size of the insert increased significantly upon replication in E. coli. The sequence of the insert was determined and found to contain a novel DNA sequence within the mouse genomic insert. A BLAST search of GenBank revealed the novel sequence to be that of the Insertion Sequence 2 (IS2) element from E. coli that was likely inserted during replication in that organism. Importantly, a detailed search of GenBank shows that the IS2 is present within many eukaryotic nucleotide sequences, and in many cases, has been annotated as being part of the protein. The results of this study suggest that one must perform additional careful analysis of the sequence results using BLAST comparisons, and further verification of gene annotation before submission into the GenBank.
Effects of Too-loud Music on Human Ears But, Mother, Rock'n Roll HAS to be Loud!

Constant or recurrent exposure to high intensity sound can permanently damage hearing. Pediatricians and otologists are becoming increasingly aware of this danger, especially to teenagers who listen to rock'n roll music and entertainment—"the louder the better."
Adaptive Consistency Guarantees for Large-Scale Replicated Services

To maintain consistency, designers of replicated services have traditionally been forced to choose from either strong consistency guarantees or none at all. Realizing that a continuum between strong and optimistic consistencies is semantically meaningful for a broad range of network services, previous research has proposed a continuous consistency model for replicated services to support the tradeoff between the guaranteed consistency level, performance and availability. However, to meet changing application needs and to make the model useful for interactive users of large-scale replicated services, the adaptability and the swiftness of inconsistency resolution are important and challenging. This paper presents IDEA (an infrastructure for detection-based adaptive consistency guarantees) for adaptive consistency guarantees of large-scale, Internet-based replicated services. The main functions enabled by IDEA include quick inconsistency detection and resolution, consistency adaptation and quantified consistency level guarantees. Through experimentation on the Planet-Lab, IDEA is evaluated from two aspects: its adaptive consistency guarantees and its performance for inconsistency resolution. Results show that IDEA is able to provide consistency guarantees adaptive to userpsilas changing needs, and it achieves low delay for inconsistency resolution and incurs small communication overhead.
The design and synthesis of human branched-chain amino acid aminotransferase inhibitors for treatment of neurodegenerative diseases.

Abstract The inhibition of the cytosolic isoenzyme BCAT that is expressed specifically in neuronal tissue is likely to be useful for the treatment of neurodegenerative and other neurological disorders where glutamatergic mechanisms are implicated. Compound 2 exhibited an IC50 of 0.8 μM in the hBCATc assays; it is an active and selective inhibitor. Inhibitor 2 also blocked calcium influx into neuronal cells following inhibition of glutamate uptake, and demonstrated neuroprotective efficacy in vivo. SAR, pharmacology, and the crystal structure of hBCATc with inhibitor 2 are described.
Danazol: Endocrine consequences in healthy women***

Abstract We studied the effects of danazol on pituitary and gonadal function in seven normal women who volunteered to take danazol, 400 mg twice daily, for 2 months. We measured circulating levels of sex steroids, gonadotropins, and prolactin on alternate days throughout a control menstrual cycle and during treatment. Danazol inhibited ovulation in all subjacts. The amenorrhea state induced by danazol was charactefized by normal basal levels of gonadotropins, prolactin, and estrogen. Serum androgen levels were significantly increase as was the urinary of 17-ketosteroids. The LH and FSH responses to gonadotropin-releasing hormone were enhanced during treatment and there was a normal LH rise following administration of estradiol valerate, indicative of intact positive feedback. These observations fail to support the contention that danazol suppresses pituitary gonadotropin secretion or directly inhibits steroidogenesis. The results suggest that danazol may have a primary site of action at the ovary by suppressing the normal, orderly process of follicular maturation. (Am. J. Obstet. Gynecol. 141:723, 1981.)
Paying (for) Attention: The Impact of Information Processing Costs on Bayesian Inference

Human information processing is often modeled as costless Bayesian inference. However, research in psychology shows that attention is a computationally costly and potentially limited resource. We thus study Bayesian agents for whom computing posterior beliefs is costly; such agents face a tradeoffs between economizing on attention costs and having more accurate beliefs. We show that even small processing costs can lead to significant departures from the standard costless processing model. There exist situations in which beliefs can cycle persistently and never converge. In addition, when updating is costly, agents are more sensitive to signals about rare events than to signals about common events. Thus, these individuals can permanently overestimate the likelihood of rare events. There is a commonly held assumption in economics that individuals will converge to correct beliefs/optimal behavior given sufficient experience. Our results contribute to a growing literature in psychology, neuroscience, and behavioral economics suggesting that this assumption is both theoretically and empirically fragile.
Relationship Between Wing Loading, Wingbeat Frequency and Body Mass in Homopterous Insects

Several biophysical properties of members of Aleyrodidae and Aphididae were examined in order to explore how homopterous insects fly. Five species of aphids were found to weigh significantly more than five whitefly species (range 1.14-7.02xl0 −4 g for aphids vs 3.3-8.0x 10 −5 g for whiteflies) and to have significantly larger wing surface areas (range 0.0103-0.1106 cm 2 vs 0–0096-0.0264cm 2 ). As a consequence whiteflies and aphids can be partitioned into two groups with respect to wing loading (range 0.00633-0.01412 gcm −2 for aphids, 1.74-5.23x 10 −3 gcm −2 for whiteflies). Members of the two families are also separated in terms of wingbeat frequency (range 81.l-123.4Hz for aphids, 165.6-224.2 Hz for whiteflies). Since our animals were much smaller than any insects examined previously for these parameters, values were compared with the same parameters for 149 insect species recorded in the literature. Using these data, we found wingbeat frequency to be significantly correlated with wing loading only in insects weighing more than 0.03 g. Larger insects seem to employ a strategy similar to other flying animals, by compensating for high wing loading with higher wingbeat frequencies. The lack of correlation for these two parameters in insects weighing less than 0.03 g probably results from the use of different flying strategies. These include employment of a clap and fling mechanism and the possession by some of exceedingly low wing loading. Also, small insects may have reduced settling velocities because they possess high drag coefficients. Previous studies which failed to establish a relationship between wing loading and wingbeat frequency in larger insects may have considered too few subjects or too great a range of body masses. The mass range is important because smaller insects which employ increased wingbeat frequency must use rates exponentially higher than those of larger insects utilizing the same strategy.
Quantitative Aspects of Simulium virgatum Coq. and S. Species Life History in a Southern Oklahoma Stream1

Simulium virgatum and S . species A from a south central Oklahoma limestone stream were found to have larval instars with the greatest percent weight gains during the 4th and 5th instars. Changes in survival, density, and biomass coincided with larval movements from eclosion to feeding, and from feeding to pupation sites. Downstream drift probably accounted for most population attrition. Larval development took from 21 to 35 days and pupation lasted from 4 to 5 days during late summer.
The Effect of Triglycerides on Gluconeogenesis and Ketogenesis in the Isolated Perfused Rat Liver

SummaryGlucose and ketone body production was measured in livers from 24 hr starved rats perfused with 20 mM lactate. Addition of either tributyrin (1.5 mM) or Ediol (5 mM) to the perfusate markedl...
The Effects of Regulatory Agencies on Organizations in Wood Products and High Technology/Electronics Industries

This study compares the effects on organizations in two industries of regulatory agencies and other sectors of the task environment. Findings indicate that regulatory agencies differ from other sec...
How I Treat Condyloma Acuminatum

Condyloma acuminatum, a verrucose papule or plaque usually found on mucous membrane, may spread and involve the rectal mucosa, the vagina or the urethra, if not treated. The physician can easily diagnose and treat such condylomas in their early stages. Podophyllin usually is effective, and lesions that do not respond to topical therapy can be surgically removed.
Long-Term Performance of a Multiplanar Positron Emission Tomograph

A protocol for the daily quality assurance (QA) of a multiplanar positron emission tomographic (PET) system was developed. This was implemented on a daily basis for the PC 4600 Neuro-PET, a multiplanar PET system designed for quantitative brain imaging. Sensitivity data collected as part of the protocol are presented for a 22-mo time period. These data show the need to periodically monitor instrument performance if meaningful quantitation is to be achieved. The methods presented have direct application to any quantitative multiplanar emission tomographic imaging program.
Closure of Atrial Septal Defect and Patent Foramen Ovale

Secundum atrial septal defects cause, through a left-to-right shunt, an increase in the pulmonary blood flow and the size of the right heart chambers. These defects are amenable to catheter closure using a variety of devices, which have shown excellent results related to their safety and efficacy. In the older patients, additional co-morbidities may result in left ventricular diastolic dysfunction, and pulmonary hypertension can occur. The defects should be closed in the majority of patients after clinical and haemodynamic assessment, because of possible evolution of heart failure and/or pulmonary hypertension. In the older patients, there is an improvement in the symptoms and quality of life, even when the defect is closed above 60 years of age. Patients with pulmonary hypertension need to be carefully evaluated with pulmonary vasodilator drugs in order to decide on the appropriateness of catheter closure.
Alkaline aqueous solution promoted debromination of 1,2 dibromo-fluorocarbons – A convenient method for electron deficient perfluorovinyl ethers

Abstract A facile and efficient base-mediated protocol for debromination of vic-dibromides in perfluoroalkyl(aryl) compounds in aqueous medium has been demonstrated. With mild reaction conditions, the developed strategy has a good substrate scope and electron-deficient olefin products were obtained in good yields. A mechanistic explanation of the debromination is offered with three key experimental observations: (1) the reactions are accelerated by the more electron-rich nucleophiles, (2) the reactions are promoted by the more electron poor vic-dibromides in perfluoroalkyl compounds, and (3) the nucleophilic side reaction is preventable. It is evident that the electronic factors strongly dictate vic-dibromides elimination to the perfluorovinyl ethers, which are the precursors for various perfluorinated polymers. The different reaction conditions were tested in implicit solvent (water) conditions, which helped to confirm the E2-like mechanism.
Recent advances in holographic data storage implemented with photorefractive fibers

In this invited paper we discuss recent advances in holographic data storage using ferroelectric SBN fibers as the recording medium. An optical architecture involving an array of SBN fibers is discussed that potentially allows 2-3 orders of magnitude faster access times than for conventional magnetic data storage devices of Gbyte-size . To realize this potential we are studying the interplay between fundamental materials issues related to fiber growth and photorefractive processes underlying storage and readout processes in SBN.