cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Physiological correlates of reproductive decisions: Relationships among body condition, reproductive status, and the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis in a reptile.

Abstract When opportunities to feed and reproduce are limited, females are often unable to recover sufficient energy stores to reproduce in consecutive years. Body condition has been used as a proxy for recent reproductive history in such species. We previously found that glucocorticoid responses to capture stress vary with body condition in female red-sided garter snakes (Thamnophis sirtalis parietalis), a species with limited seasonal breeding opportunities. Because variation in glucocorticoid receptor (GR) protein in the brain could explain these differences, we first assessed GR protein content in females in different body conditions. To investigate if body condition during the spring mating season accurately reflects recent reproductive history, we measured glucocorticoid responses to stress in females with different body conditions, assessed their mating behavior and brought mated females to our lab to determine which females would give birth during the summer (i.e., were parturient). Female red-sided garter snakes reproduce biennially, and therefore mated females that did not give birth were deemed non-parturient. In this study, glucocorticoid stress responses and mating behavior did not vary with body condition, nor was body condition related to brain GR or reproductive condition (parturient vs non-parturient). Only unreceptive females showed a significant stress-induced increase in glucocorticoids, suggesting that reduced stress responsiveness is associated with receptivity. Parturient females mated faster (were more proceptive) than non-parturient females. These data suggest that HPA axis activity modulates receptivity, while proceptivity is related primarily to reproductive condition.
Visual acuity recovery following traumatic hyphema in a pediatric population.

Purpose To determine the rate of visual recovery following hyphema caused by traumatic blunt force injury in children. Methods The medical records of patients evaluated between July 2008 and July 2014 were reviewed retrospectively. Primary outcome measures included presenting and follow-up visual acuities. Results At total of 56 eyes of 55 children ( Conclusions There is good potential for visual recovery following uncomplicated traumatic hyphema in children. In our patient cohort, the majority of patients had significant improvement in visual acuity within the first 28 days; in some children visual acuity continued to improve beyond the first month.
Copy Number Variation/Chromosomal Aberration

Prostate cancer is characterized by recurrent copy number alterations (CNAs) and chromosomal aberrations (CAs). In this chapter, we detail the most common CNAs and CAs encountered in prostate cancer and explore our knowledge of how such alterations are generated. We also describe how such alterations are identified using modern genomic sequencing combined with computational analysis and highlight key validation strategies. Finally, we describe how copy number alterations are sometimes actionable and should form integral part of a prostate cancer precision medicine program.
Receptor Signaling Pathways in Heart Failure: Transgenic Mouse Models

With increasing prevalence and high mortality, heart failure (HF) emerges as a major health problem. The heart often undergoes myocardial hypertrophy in response to increased load demand, and acute or chronic HF occurs when the heart acutely or gradually decompensates in the setting of new pathologic stresses. In addition to hypertrophy, the heart also undergoes other maladaptive modifications in response to pathogenic stresses that include altered contractility, cardiomyocyte survival, and transcriptional gene expressions. These changes are mediated, in part, by plasma membrane receptors that transduce extracellular signals to multiple complex intracellular signaling pathways that regulate cardiac gene expression. These various signaling pathways implicated in the pathophysiology of HF have been extensively studied, and genetically modified mouse models have been crucial in elucidating these pathways. This chapter discusses the signaling mechanisms underlying cardiac hypertrophy and failure and the transgenic mouse models that have been used to study these signaling pathways, with emphasis on G-protein-coupled receptors, growth factor receptors, and the convergence of extracellular signaling pathways in intracellular and transcriptional regulation of hypertrophy and HF.
Gadolinium contrast medium administration does not adversely affect T2*‐weighted gradient recalled echo magnetic resonance imaging of the canine brain at 1.5 Tesla

As gadolinium-based contrast agents are paramagnetic and have T2 shortening effects, they have the potential to adversely affect gradient recalled echo sequences. The aim of this prospective, cross-sectional study was to evaluate the effects of gadolinium administration on T2*-weighted sequence diagnostic quality and signal intensity when imaging the canine brain. A total of 100 dogs underwent brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) including pre- and postcontrast T2*-weighted sequences acquired with a delay (Group A) or immediately (Group B) following gadolinium administration. Pre- and postcontrast images were subjectively compared. In dogs with intracranial enhancing masses, regions of interest were drawn on corresponding images and signal intensity ratios were calculated. The effect of degree and pattern of contrast enhancement, susceptibility artifacts, and time between contrast injection and T2*-weighted sequence acquisition on signal intensity ratio was evaluated. Overall 31 dogs had contrast enhancing intracranial masses. Subjectively, there was no difference in image quality of T2*-weighted sequences obtained before and after contrast medium administration. No significant signal intensity differences of intracranial contrast enhancing masses were found (Group A P = 0.9999; Group B P = 0.9992). Susceptibility artifacts did not differ in appearance, and there was no effect on calculated signal intensity ratio (P = 0.8142). Similarly, there was no effect of degree of enhancement or contrast heterogeneity on signal intensity ratio (P = 0.4413). No correlation was found between signal intensity ratio and the time to acquisition (P = 0.199). Administration of gadolinium-based MRI contrast agents does not adversely affect T2*-weighted imaging of the brain in dogs at 1.5 T even in the presence of contrast enhancing lesions.
Sincere Praise of Honest Sweat: Tirumalamba’s Varadambika Parinaya Campu and Pingali Surana’s Kalapurnodayam

I have gathered and studied these Sanskrit and Telugu writings by South Indian poets, and I’ve thought about them, and researched them for a few years. My highest priority in this piece is not to make the most simple literal word-for-word translation. I am trying not only to be faithful to the original texts, but to find a way in English to tell the detailed century-old stories more naturally, conveying them in a way that gives them a flow and literary charm. I want to make a new attempt to convey these century-old stories which suggest the rich feelings of human life, in refreshing ways. I hope people who are not professional Indologists, but who are humanists, can enjoy the nuances of the topic. So this article based on translations is literary and frankly experimental; it is about natural experiences told in natural language. Often, translations from centuries ago seem stilted, dry and archaic, literally correct and academically adequate, but lacking such touchstones of basic humanity’s life as inner feelings and visceral intuitive sensations. I am exercising a hope of offering a fresh telling, and a chance to provide some imaginative reflections on this topic I have chosen. The theme is sweat—and other natural human responses. Why explore sweat? This is a pertinent question. For one thing, I’ve been struck by how the experience of sweat meant something different centuries ago in India, in comparison with what it means to many people today. As reflected in Sanskrit literature, it had associations with desirable feelings—thrills, soulful exertions, arousal, passionate intensity. It is distinctive, and I seek to know what it might tell us about life, both to Hindus and non-Hindus. It offers a chance to contemplatively play around with beauty, too. It is an aesthetic exploration, an artistic challenge, an alluring human mood, of loving joy. The longer texts I am working with are Tirumalamba’s Sanskrit text Varadambika Parinaya Campu and Pingali Surana’s Telugu text Kalapurnodayam. Shorter texts I refer to include a verse from the Sanskrit Bhagavad Gita, and Jayadeva’s Sanskrit Gita Govinda, and a Telugu song by Annamacharya.
Feeding Dairy Cows With “Leftovers” and the Variation in Recovery of Human-Edible Nutrients in Milk

Ruminants can convert feeds unsuitable and unpalatable for humans into milk and meat, and thereby play a key role in food security. Milk production efficiency is usually calculated as the ratio between nutrients secreted in milk and nutrient intake, but this metric does not address concerns about human/livestock feed competition. Our objective was to evaluate effects of diets composed of ecological leftovers (ECO; industrial by-products and feed produced on land unsuitable for human food production) on dairy cattle productivity compared with traditional diets used in the U.S. We also sought to estimate human-edible (HE) nutrient recovery rate (HE inputs vs. milk nutrients) in different scenarios: thrift (all potentially HE ingredients counted as such), choice (ingredients rarely consumed by humans considered not HE), and land use (land used for forage production could be used to grow corn and soybeans for direct human consumption). Experiment 1 evaluated effects of an ECO diet (ECO1), incorporating wheat straw and by-products, on performance of 12 mid-lactation cows in a crossover design with 20-d periods. Experiment 2 evaluated effects of a different ECO diet (ECO2), using winter crop forage and by-products with or without rumen-protected Lys and Met (ECO2-AA), on performance of 12 late-lactation cows in a 3×3 Latin square design with 21-d periods. Both ECO diets were compared to lactation diets typical in North America (CON). Although ECO1 decreased feed efficiency (milk yield ÷ feed intake), feed intake and milk yield were maintained for primiparous cows. ECO1 increased the HE recovery of metabolizable energy (ME) and protein relative to CON1 across all food system scenarios. In Experiment 2, ECO diets significantly decreased feed intake and milk yield, and in the thrift scenario, recovery of ME and protein were worsened by ECO2. All diets resulted in a positive net recovery of HE digestible essential amino acids, and ECO diets further improved recovery. In conclusion, several factors affect recovery of HE nutrients fed to dairy cows, including dietary composition, land use, and human food system assumptions. Depending on these factors, ECO diets can either improve or reduce the efficiency of converting HE nutrients from feeds into milk.
Okay, No One Panic; Working up a Case of Possible Hospital Acquired V. Cholerae

Background Disease caused by Vibrio cholera (Cholera) is rare in the United States, due to the sanitation standards. On July 4th, 2019, a long-term patient with new onset diarrhea tested positive for Cholera and Clostridioides difficile via Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR). Since this patient was admitted for over three months and receiving nutrition via G-tube, Infection Prevention (IP) assumed this was hospital acquired Cholera. Methods IP and Infectious Disease (ID) reviewed the electronic medical record, identified a group of subject matter experts, and sent requests for information. Facilities identified recent water testing. Nutrition Services reviewed food sources and the formula room. Pharmacy pinpointed medications the patient received via G-tube and checked for reports of contamination. ID examined the patient and discussed risk factors with the family. Laboratory leadership worked to confirm the PCR test. Results Results of individual investigations concluded in less than twenty-four hours and yielded no potential reservoirs. This positive result added five additional IP staff hours and approximately one hour to each of the departments (excluding the laboratory) consulted for their expertise, totaling nine additional holiday person-hours. Confirmatory testing by four different methods, including the state laboratory and repeat PCR, yielded negative results. There were no additional costs for state testing, but the additional in-house culture for PCR confirmation cost $288. Additional monetary costs included an ID consult for the patient. It took an additional four days to confirm the false positive. The source of the positive PCR remains unclear. Conclusions Laboratory results are often accurate, specifically with PCR. When there is a false positive, especially with a rare organism such as Cholera, hospitals may incur increased costs related to person-hours, additional testing, and patient needs. Additionally, Infection Prevention should work to foster interdepartmental relationships, as time-sensitive mobilization is more attainable in times of need when those relationships already exist.
“Who you know” earnings effects of formal and informal social network resources under late state socialism in Hungary, 1986–1987

Abstract Although social network assets have been widely studied as mechanisms for social achievement in the capitalist context, they remain largely unexamined under socialist-type systems. This paper addresses that weakness in the literature and tests the usefulness of social network resources in income attainment models in Hungary, 1986–1987. It suggests that the formal-informal distinction is a useful basic taxonomy of social network assets. Contrary to the received analytical framework of state socialist economies—which associates formality with the state sector and informality with the second economy—it treats formal and informal ties as present in both the state and non-state sectors. Regression models of social survey data show that social network resources are a positive contributor to income inequality in both the state and non-state sectors. Formal and informal network ties are shown to have independent and unequal returns, suggesting that they are different types of ties rather than poles in a spectrum.
Fundamentals of T Cell Metabolism and Strategies to Enhance Cancer Immunotherapy

Emerging reports show that metabolic pathways can be targeted to enhance T cell-mediated immunity to tumors. Yet, tumors consume key metabolites in the host to survive, thus robbing T cells of these nutrients to function and thrive. T cells are often deprived of basic building blocks for energy in the tumor, including glucose and amino acids needed to proliferate or produce cytotoxic molecules against tumors. Immunosuppressive molecules in the host further compromise the lytic capacity of T cells. Moreover, checkpoint receptors inhibit T cell responses by impairing their bioenergetic potential within tumors. In this review, we discuss the fundamental metabolic pathways involved in T cell activation, differentiation and response against tumors. We then address ways to target metabolic pathways to improve the next generation of immunotherapies for cancer patients.
Regional-Scale GHG Utilization Strategies for Enhanced Shale Oil Recovery and Sustained Carbon Management

Recent advances in unconventional resource development have largely outpaced efforts to manage associated emissions that pose significant environmental risks. Regulation of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from gases co-produced with oil has largely been driven by economics and logistics, but more intentional proactive strategies will be crucial to minimize adverse environmental and social impacts from continued development. Here, we explore opportunities to improve long-term GHG management from both industry and environmental perspectives through a regional case study in the Eagle Ford shale. Specifically, we propose reinjecting natural gas co-produced with oil for enhanced oil recovery (EOR) as an alternative to flaring where gas sales are infeasible. Based on historic production data along with recent experimental and pilot testing, we forecast gas availability and EOR potential through 2025. Results indicate gas reinjection could prevent a cumulative 250 Bcf of flared gas while adding 31.2 MMbbl of incremental oil over projected production rates. A high-level cost analysis indicates this strategy will be economical, particularly in light of the extent of Eagle Ford oil reserves and low primary recovery rates. Motivating industry buy-in will require policy intervention, but appropriate incentives and market assurances could promote gas recycling as a more sustainable alternative to traditional EOR techniques that would be required to maintain production rates in the coming decade.
Auflösungsgrenze, Gesichtsfeld und Schärfentiefe

Wenn es auch nahezu unmoglich ist, eine elektronenmikroskopische Aufnahme mit einfachen Zahlenangaben zu beschreiben, so lassen sich doch verschiedene Parameter angeben, die sie in technischer Hinsicht charakterisieren und die bei der kritischen Bewertung und Interpretation beachtet werden sollen. Am haufigsten wird die Auflosungsgrenze zur Charakterisierung von Mikroskopen und mikroskopischen Bildern benutzt. Diese Angabe ist jedoch bei weitem nicht ausreichend, um den Wert eines elektronenmikroskopischen Bildes im Rahmen einer bestimmten Untersuchungsaufgabe zu bemessen. In vielen Fallen spielt z.B. die in einer speziellen Aufnahme erreichte Auflosungsgrenze eine weit unbedeutendere Rolle als das erfaste Gesichtsfeld. Bei sehr rauhen Objekten kann wiederum die Scharfentiefe ausschlaggebendes Kriterium sein. Schlieslich konnen alle sonstigen Eigenschaften eines Mikroskopes nur dann hinreichend ausgenutzt werden, wenn im Bild ein hinreichender Kontrast erhalten wird. Somit lassen sich die folgenden Eigenschaften als wesentliche Merkmale fur eine mikroskopische und im speziellen auch elektronenmikroskopische Abbildung herausstellen: 1. Kontrast 2. Auflosungsgrenze 3. Gesichtsfeld 4. Scharfentiefe.
Distance and Interference in the Reference Management of African American Adults

Purpose The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of distance and interference on the adequacy of reference management in 2 contrasting narrative conditions among age-defined groups of healthy African American adults. Methods Twenty middle-aged (M = 51 years) and 20 older (M = 72 years) women produced a complex story retelling and a personal narrative of a childhood experience. All narratives were transcribed orthographically, parsed into terminal units (T-units), and analyzed for surface structure markings of referents. Results Results varied on the basis of task complexity and specific dependent variables. Older adults produced shorter T-unit distances between nouns and pronouns in story retelling compared with middle-aged adults. Middle-aged adults, but not older adults, exhibited longer T-unit distances between referents on story retelling than on personal narratives. Both groups performed similarly in the management of intervening information between referents. The presence of African Ameri...
Estimation of spatial and temporal parameters of multiple transient signals

A technique for estimating the spatial and temporal parameters of multiple transient signals impinging on a uniform linear array is proposed. Each transient signal is assumed to be the sum of complex exponentials arriving at the array from a different direction. The technique is based on the subspace decomposition and matrix pencil (SDMP) approach which can be implemented by solving for eigenvectors and eigenvalues. Simulations show that the subspace-decomposition and matrix-pencil method can achieve the Cramer-Rao bound. >
Pulmonary thrombotic arteriopathy in patients with sickle cell disease.

Abstract Background.—Shortened life expectancy due to pulmonary hypertension (PH) is seen in 5% to 10% of patients with sickle cell disease. The principal factors suspected of causing PH are pulmonary thromboemboli (PE) and in situ arterial thrombosis. Objective.—To investigate the possible role that PE or in situ arterial thrombosis play in the development of PH in sickle cell disease. Methods.—Autopsies of 12 patients with sickle cell disease were correlated with clinical data from medical records. Results.—Right ventricular hypertrophy was present in 9 of 12 patients. Six patients with right ventricular hypertrophy had thrombi in large elastic pulmonary arteries. All patients with elastic artery thrombi had fresh or organized thrombi in small muscular pulmonary arteries. Hypertensive small arterial changes were present in 5 of these 6 patients. Six patients showed no thrombi in elastic arteries. Among these 6 patients, 3 had right ventricular hypertrophy and recent and organized thrombi, as well as hyp...
Evidence for the Flavor-Changing Neutral Current Decays B → Kl+l− and B → K*l+l−

Abstract We present preliminary results from a search for the rare, flavor-changing neutral current decays B → Kl+l− and B → K ∗ l + l − , where l+l− is either and e+e− or μ+μ− pair. The data sample comprises (84.4±0.9) × 106 Ψ(4S) → B B decays (77.8 fb−1) collected with the BABAR detector at the PEP-II B Factory. For B → Kl+l−, we observe a signal with greater than 4σ significance and obtain B(B → Kl+l−) = (0.78−0.20−0.18+0.21+0.11) × 10−6 (averaged over l = e and μ. For B → K ∗ l + l − , we observe an excess of events over background with less than 4σ significance. We obtain B(B → K ∗ l + l − = 1.68 −0.58 +0.68 ±0.28) × 10 −6 and the 90% C.L. upper limit B → K ∗ l + l − ) −6 .
Setup and annotation of metabolomic experiments by integrating biological and mass spectrometric metadata

Unbiased metabolomic surveys are used for physiological, clinical and genomic studies to infer genotype-phenotype relationships. Long term reusability of metabolomic data needs both correct metabolite annotations and consistent biological classifications. We have developed a system that combines mass spectrometric and biological metadata to achieve this goal. First, an XMLbased LIMS system enables entering biological metadata for steering laboratory workflows by generating ‘classes' that reflect experimental designs. After data acquisition, a relational database system (BinBase) is employed for automated metabolite annotation. It consists of a manifold filtering algorithm for matching and generating database objects by utilizing mass spectral metadata such as ‘retention index', ‘purity', ‘signal/noise', and the biological information class. Once annotations and quantitations are complete for a specific larger experiment, this information is fed back into the LIMS system to notify supervisors and users. Eventually, qualitative and quantitative results are released to the public for downloads or complex queries.
Weekends as social distancing and their effect on the spread of influenza

Many published influenza models treat each simulation day as a weekday and do not distinguish weekend days. Consequently, the weekend effect on influenza transmission has not been fully explored. To assess whether distinguishing between weekday and weekend transmissions in simulation models of flu-like infectious disease models matters, this study uses an agent-based model of the Chicago, Illinois metropolitan area. Our study assesses whether including weekend effects is offset by increases in weekend contact patterns and if implementing 3-day weekends dampens disease transmission enough to warrant its use as a containment strategy. Results indicate that ignoring weekend behaviors without incorporating increases in community-based non-school contacts (i.e., compensatory behaviors) causes the peak case incidence day to occur 7 days earlier and can reduce the peak attack rate by as much as 60 %. These results are sensitive to the proportion of symptomatic cases that are assumed to remain at home until they recover. The 3-day weekend intervention has interesting possibilities, but the benefits may only be effective for mild epidemics. However, a 3-day weekend for schools would be less detrimental to the educational process than sustained permanent closing because student and teacher contact is maintained throughout the epidemic period. Also, a 4-day school and work week may be more easily accommodated by many types of schools and businesses. On the other hand, an additional day per week of school closure could result in substantial societal costs, with lost productivity and child care costs outweighing the savings of preventing influenza cases.
Rational conformal field theories with G2 holonomy

We study conformal field theories for strings propagating on compact, seven-dimensional manifolds with G2 holonomy. In particular, we describe the construction of rational examples of such models. We argue that analogues of Gepner models are to be constructed based not on = 1 minimal models, but on 2 orbifolds of = 2 models. In 2 orbifolds of Gepner models times a circle, it turns out that unless all levels are even, there are no new Ramond ground states from twisted sectors. In examples such as the quintic Calabi-Yau, this reflects the fact that the classical geometric orbifold singularity can not be resolved without violating G2 holonomy. We also comment on supersymmetric boundary states in such theories, which correspond to D-branes wrapping supersymmetric cycles in the geometry.
The Novels of Susan Ertz: Aspects of Affirmation

(1980). The Novels of Susan Ertz: Aspects of Affirmation. Critique: Studies in Contemporary Fiction: Vol. 21, No. 3, pp. 5-27.
A cross‐national test of Bonger's theory of criminality and economic conditions

Using international data for 100 countries, we test two hypotheses derived from Bonger's Marxian theory of crime. The analyses support the hypothesis that the degree of capitalism significantly predicts homicide rates, but they fail to confirm that the de-moralization of the population (loss of moral feelings for others) mediates the relationship between capitalism and homicide. Although capitalism is not the best predictor among those considered, overall, the results underline the importance of Bonger's ideas because both capitalism and corruption (our indicator of de-moralization) show reasonably strong relationships with homicide rates and compete with other variables commonly used as predictors of international homicide rates. The results confirm the usefulness of attempting to subject Marxian ideas to positivist, quantitative tests, with an eye to integrating Marxian theories with other mainstream theories, such as institutional anomie theory.
Dissolving metal reduction of naphthalene coal models

Abstract The dimer, 1,2-di(4-methyl-1-naphthyl)ethane has been studied in metal-ammonia reduction as a model for the analogous polymer which has recently been reported. Both unsubstituted rings were reduced and reduction of only one ring by limiting the metal could not be accomplished. No CC bond cleavage occurred under these conditions. The dimer behaved quite differently from the monomer (1,4-dimethylnaphthalene) with respect to 1,2-dihydro and tetralin-like products.
Transport and photoconduction characteristics of metal-graphene-4H-SiC(0001) heterojunction devices

Vertically integrated graphene-semiconductor systems remain of significant technological importance for their promise to captivate new device physics and propel the development of advanced carbon-based opto-electronic devices. In this study, we carry out a series of bias-dependent transport, gate-dependent transport, and photoconduction measurements to probe the opto-electronic characteristics of metal-graphene-4H-SiC (0001) (Si-face) heterojunctions. The forward bias transport is found to deviate strongly from thermionic emission one as being controlled by the device circuitry and minority carrier injection mechanisms. An improved analytical model is offered and used to extract key junction parameters including series resistance of ∼80 kΩ, interface barrier height of ∼0.6 eV, and ideality factor of ∼6.1. The results of the photocurrent tests point to a light-assisted minority carrier injection as a key mechanism behind the photoconductive gain obtained in the devices subject to a weak, sub-bandgap cw-excitation.
The mantra of mucosal healing.

Introduction: Medical therapy for irritable bowel syndrome (IBD) is complex and complicated. There are uncertainties about when and how and with what to treat patients. Recent studies have suggested that an important goal of treatment is to obtain mucosal healing (MH), a return to a normal mucosa endoscopically [1]. A special subset of IBD patients is those that undergo surgery for Crohn’s disease. There have been multiple studies examining the natural history of recurrence and the effectiveness of a variety of interventions including mesalamine, immunosuppressives, antibiotics, and biologics. No consensus has been reached about the optimal therapy.
Airway problems in patients with rheumatologic disorders.

The intensivist should be aware of the upper airway manifestations of the common rheumatologic disorders which may lead to ICU admission or which may potentially pose a problem during airway management. Information should be obtained from the patient, the patient's family, and the patient's primary physician, if possible. One should be fully prepared with various options in case a problem arises with an airway. Equipment for managing a difficult airway should be available. Alternate methods of managing the airway (e.g., the laryngeal mask airway, fiberoptic scopes, and the WU Scope) (Achi Corporation, Fremont, CA) are of great help in dealing with airway problems. The potential for cervical spine instability exists in patients with rheumatologic disorders. Intubating with care and avoiding spinal movement both seem to be more important than any particular mode of intubation in preserving neurologic function. One should make a concentrated and serious effort to be as gentle as possible and to avoid even minimal trauma to the mucosa in these patients, because they are at risk for mucosal edema and subsequent postextubation stridor. In cases of stridor, helium-oxygen mixtures may be of help and may eliminate the need for reintubation. When difficulty in establishing an airway is anticipated, it is prudent to attempt airway control in the operating room with surgical assistance standing by should cervical tracheotomy is required.
Input-to-state stability for switched systems with unstable subsystems: A hybrid Lyapunov construction

The input-to-state stability (ISS) of a nonlinear switched system is investigated in the scenario where there may exist some subsystems that are not input-to-state stable (non-ISS). We show that, providing the switching signal neither switches too frequently nor activates non-ISS subsystems for too long, a hybrid ISS Lyapunov function can be constructed to guarantee ISS of the switched system. With the constraints on the switching signal being modeled by a novel auxiliary timer, a hybrid system is defined so that the solutions to the two systems are correspondent. After the construction and verification of an ISS Lyapunov function, ISS of all complete solutions to the hybrid system, and therefore all solutions to the switched system, is conveniently proved.
Virola: a promising genus for ethnopharmacological investigation.

(1990). Virola: A Promising Genus for Enthnopharmacological Investigation. Journal of Psychoactive Drugs: Vol. 22, No. 3, pp. 357-361.
Equation of state for polymer liquid crystals: Theory and experiment

The first part of this paper develops a theory for the free energy of lyotropic polymer nematic liquid crystals. We use a continuum model with macroscopic elastic moduli for a polymer nematic phase. By evaluating the partition function, considering only harmonic fluctuations, we derive an expression for the free energy of the system. We find that the configurational entropic part of the free energy enhances the effective repulsive interactions between the chains. This configurational contribution goes as the fourth root of the direct interactions. Enhancement originates from the coupling between bending fluctuations and the compressibility of the nematic array normal to the average director. In the second part of the paper we use osmotic stress to measure the equation of state for DNA liquid crystals in $0.1M$ to $1M$ NaCl solutions. These measurements cover five orders of magnitude in DNA osmotic pressure. At high osmotic pressures the equation of state, dominated by exponentially decaying hydration repulsion, is independent of the ionic strength. At lower pressures the equation of state is dominated by fluctuation enhanced electrostatic double layer repulsion. The measured equation of state for DNA fits well with our theory for all salt concentrations. We are able to extract the strength of the direct electrostatic double layer repulsion. This is an alternative way of measuring effective charge densities along semiflexible polyelectrolytes.
Emergency ultrasound diagnosis of traumatic renal cyst rupture

Renal cyst rupture secondary to trauma is a rare occurrence. A case is reported of a ruptured renal cyst after a fall in a 79-year-old man with a history of multicystic kidney disease. The focused sonographic findings of the renal cyst rupture are described.
The Effect of Land Reform on Poverty: The Case of Southern African Development Community (SADC) Countries

This article examines the effect of land reform on poverty in Southern African Development Community countries while controlling for factors that have been shown to be important in explaining poverty in Africa. The percentage of the population without access to clean water is used as a proxy for poverty. Empirical results provide evidence that countries that embarked on land reform experienced an increase in the percentage of the population without access to clean water for the period 1990–2007. More specifically, our results show that the impact of the willing seller–willing buyer land reform approach is higher than the impact of the expropriation land reform approach during the study period.
The Kerr Canyon Textile and the Importance of Packrats (Neotoma floridana) in the Eastern Woodlands

In 1974 a section of uncarbonized textile made from rattlesnake master leaves (Eryngium yuccifolium Michx.) was recovered from an eastern woodrat (Neotoma floridana) midden in a sandstone rockshelter along Kerr Canyon in the Shawnee Hills of southern Illinois. Even though this important discovery was brought to the attention of local archaeologists, the textile went unreported and unanalyzed until its recent rediscovery. A radiocarbon assay of fibers removed directly from the textile produced a late Middle Archaic date (4500 B.P.). The Kerr Canyon Textile is significant because it is the earliest reported uncarbonized textile from Illinois and because it adds new information to the meager list of Archaic period textiles from the Midcontinent.
Differential actions of central alloxan upon opioid and nonopioid antinociception in rats: A further examination

Previous work demonstrated that central pretreatment with alloxan significantly reduced antinociception induced by morphine and 2-deoxy-D-glucose (2DG), an opioid-mediated stressor, but not induced by continuous cold-water swims (CCWS), a nonopioid-mediated stressor. The alloxan-induced deficits in 2DG antinociception were ameliorated by coadministration of D-glucose (3 M, 3M-DG). The present study evaluated this relationship further by: a) examining whether central alloxan reduced morphine antinociception following either simultaneous 3M-DG and alloxan coadministration, alloxan followed 10 days later by 3M-DG and 3M-DG alone, and b) determining whether central alloxan pretreatment altered nonopioid antinociception induced by the muscarinic cholinergic agonist, pilocarpine. Morphine (2.5-5 mg/kg, SC) antinociception on the tail-flick and jump tests was significantly reduced by central alloxan. In contrast, simultaneous coadministration of 3M-DG and alloxan failed to alter morphine antinociception. This ameliorative effect of 3M-DG was not due to its ability to affect morphine antinociception, and was time-dependent in that delays in 3M-DG administration failed to affect the alloxan-induced deficit. Central alloxan pretreatment failed to alter pilocarpine antinociception on the tail-flick test, and increased pilocarpine antinociception on the jump test. That central alloxan reduced opioid (e.g., morphine and 2DG), but not nonopioid (e.g., CCWS, pilocarpine) forms of antinociception suggests a specific mode of action, possibly through disruptions of glucoprivic control mechanisms which is in keeping with the suggestion that opioid systems are sensitive to changes in central glucose function.
Persuasive cartography in Geopolitik and national socialism

Abstract Persuasive cartography in Nazi Germany is generally believed to be the product of the German school of Geopolitik centered on a mythical institute in Munich. Although Geopolitik and national socialism shared many causes, the persuasive maps that were designed by progenitors of both doctrines differed not only in their graphic form but also in their political content. The main document that is customarily cited to support the argument that persuasive mapping in Geopolitik and national socialism were synonymous, Giselher Wirsing's atlas The War in Maps (published in 1941 by the German Library of Information in New York), is shown to be a purely national socialist production without notable input from practitioners of Geopolitik.
Effect of nonionic surfactant addition on bacterial metabolism of naphthalene: Assessment of toxicity and overflow metabolism potential

Abstract Two factors potentially accounting for the variability of bioremediation outcomes when surfactant micelles are used to increase polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) bioavailability were investigated: (1) surfactant toxicity and (2) the link between microbial metabolism and the intended effect of surfactant addition, enhanced solubilization and mass transfer from a solid phase. The nonionic surfactant, octaethyleneglycol mono n -dodecyl ether, did not alter the metabolism of succinate and glucose by an isolate from a creosote-contaminated soil indicating that the surfactant is nontoxic. When the culture was supplied with solid naphthalene, growth was limited by the dissolution of solid naphthalene after the aqueous-phase naphthalene was depleted. Moreover, increasing dissolution rate by increasing interfacial surface area increased the microbial growth rate. However, increasing bioavailability further by increasing interfacial surface area, introducing convective mass transfer, and adding surfactant were all found to reduce growth rate and prompt incomplete metabolism of naphthalene to a compound whose UV absorption corresponds to 1,2-naphthaquinone. Lowering the surfactant concentration diminished the metabolic overflow and permitted sustained growth. The results suggest that different mismatches between solubilization/mass transfer and metabolic capacity may be among the factors responsible for variable bioremediation outcomes.
Local control and survival in locally advanced gastrointestinal cancer.

Abstract When conventional modalities (external beam irradiation and chemotherapy ± resection) are used in the treatment of locally advanced gastrointestinal malignancies, although useful palliation can be achieved in many patients, local control and long-term survival are infrequent. In recent trials, investigators have used fractionated external beam doses of 4500–5000 rad in 180 rad fractions in combination with irradiation boost techniques of intraoperative electrons, or intraoperative or transcatheter brachytherapy (± chemotherapy and resection). With colorectal and biliary cancer, both local control and long-term survival appear to be improved, compared to results achieved with conventional treatment. With pancreatic cancer, an apparent improvement has been noted with local control and median survival, but long-term survival has not been altered. For partially resected gastric cancer, the use of intraoperative irradiation has yielded five year survival rates of approximately 20%. With unresectable or residual gastric cancer, accelerated fractionation alone or in combination with chemotherapy has yielded excellent local control, but patients have died as a result of abdominal failure or lung metastases. Prevention of abdominal failures will be necessary to improve long-term survival with pancreatic and gastric cancer. Randomized trials by site are needed to determine if the observed differences seen in prospective nonrandomized trials are real or due to differences in case selection.
International Trade as an "Integrated Equilibrium": New Perspectives

The integrated equilibrium is a paradigm that has played a central role in the field of international trade. The concept originated with Paul A. Samuelson (1949), was further developed by Avinash K. Dixit and Victor F. Norman (1980), and placed at the heart of international analysis by Elhanan Helpman and Paul R. Krugman (1985). The central idea is that a world with imperfect mobility of productive factors across regions or countries may replicate the essential equilibrium of a fully integrated economy, provided that goods are perfectly mobile. The concept of the integrated equilibrium has proved to be exceptionally tractable and useful for analytic developments, as for example in the work of Gene M. Grossman and Helpman (1992). We have found using elements of integrated equilibrium analysis useful in our own work (e.g., Davis et al., 1997). The central figures in developing the theory of trade and growth within the integrated equilibrium framework have been quite aware of its limitations. Helpman and Krugman (1985) include a section on the cases in which factor-price equalization (FPE) breaks down. Grossman and Helpman (1992) make the distinction between national and international spillovers a key element of their theory of trade and growth. Moreover, the starting point of Krugman’s work in the past decade on economic geography has been precisely to deny that the world operates as if it were an integrated economy. This notwithstanding, we believe that the grip of integrated equilibrium analysis on the way that the economics profession conceives of world trade patterns remains very powerful and in important ways distorts one’s view of trade relations, particularly among the relatively rich countries of the OECD. We do not propose to banish integrated equilibrium analysis. We believe that it is useful in the proper context. However, we do propose that it is important to have a fuller appreciation of the limits of such analysis from an empirical standpoint and thus to have a richer view of the determinants of world trade patterns.
Kidney-targeted liposome-mediated gene transfer in mice

To develop gene therapy targeted to the kidney, we compared three different routes of liposome-mediated gene delivery to the kidney in mice, ie intra-renal-pelvic, intra-renal-arterial, and intra-renal-parenchymal injections. A plasmid construct, pCMV beta gal, containing a cytomegalovirus (CMV) immediate-early gene promoter and a beta-galactosidase reporter gene was mixed with a 1:1 liposome mixture of N[1-(2,3-dioleoyloxy)propyl]-N,N,trimethylammonium chloride (DOTMA)/dioleoyl phosphatidyl ethanolamine (DOPE). The pCMV beta gal-liposome complex was injected into the left kidney via three different routes. The efficacy of gene transfer was assessed using 5-bromo-4-chloro-3-indolyl beta-D-galactopyranoside (X-gal) staining on frozen kidney sections 3 to 42 days after injections. Cells with beta-galactosidase activity were detected in the cortex and outer medulla in both intra-renal-pelvic and intra-renal-arterial groups, but not in the intra-renal-parenchymal group or in the contralateral noninjected kidney. Evidence of gene transfer was observed only in tubular epithelial cells, but not in glomerular, vascular, or interstitial compartments. The levels of beta-galactosidase expression started to decrease 3 weeks after injection. The gene transfer in the kidney was not associated with nephrotoxicity as assessed by blood urea nitrogen levels and renal histology. We conclude that both intra-renal-pelvic and intra-renal-arterial injections provide a transient gene transfer to the renal tubular cells and are suitable routes for kidney-targeted gene therapy.
A synopsis of the neotropical species of Dalechampia (Euphorbiaceae)

WEBSTER, G. L. & ARMBRUSTER, W. S., 1991. A synopsis of the neotropical species ofDalechampia (Euphorbiaceae). The characters used in inferring phylogenetic relationship in Dalechampia are discussed, and a consistent terminology is devised for the parts of the distinctive pseudanthial inflorescences. The infrageneric classification is radically modified, with the 92 provisionally accepted binomials for the neotropical taxa referred to six sections: Rhopalostylis, Dioscoreifoliae, Cremophyllum, Coriaceae, Tiliifoliae and Dalechampia. As here interpreted, section Dalechampia includes 53 species in five subsections; one new subsection, Convolvuloides, is described.
Introduction to the special issue on international clinical psychology.

We briefly describe the content of the six research articles selected by peer review for this, the first special issue of the Journal of Clinical Psychology devoted to international clinical psychology. Two of the articles address general scientific issues—illusory mental health and a theory of anorexia nervosa—not considered specific to any particular cultural setting. One article examines social anxiety in three different Western societies. One considers the development of clinical psychology in a specific country, Spain. The final two articles consider two clinical problems—sexual dysfunction and Type-I diabetes—within two different contexts in India, one Hindu, the other Moslem. The introduction concludes with some general comments on the history and present status of clinical psychology as an international field. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Clin Psychol.
Approval Motive and Acceptance of “Fake” Personality Test Interpretations which Differ in Favorability:

The Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability (M-C SD) scale has been interpreted as measuring a need for social approval and then, more recently, as a measure of vulnerable self-esteem. The present study placed Ss in a situation where gaining approval from the psychologist required accepting unfavorable personality test interpretations as personally characteristic of them when acceptance would lower their self-esteem. High-scoring Ss on the M-C SD scale were more likely to accept favorable but less likely to accept unfavorable “fake” personality test interpretations from the psychologist than were the low scoring Ss on M-C SD.