cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A self-administered screener for migraine in primary care: The ID Migraine™ validation study

Background: Migraine is a highly prevalent and disabling illness that remains substantially undiagnosed in primary care. Because of the potential value of a screening tool, the current study was designed to establish the validity and reliability of a brief, self-administered migraine screener in patients with headache complaints in the primary care setting. Methods: A total of 563 patients presenting for routine primary care appointments and reporting headaches in the past 3 months completed a self-administered migraine screener. All patients were then referred for an independent diagnostic evaluation by a headache expert, of whom 451 (80%) completed a full evaluation. Migraine diagnosis was assigned based on International Headache Society criteria after completing a semi-structured diagnostic interview. Results: Of nine diagnostic screening questions, a three-item subset of disability, nausea, and sensitivity to light provided optimum performance, with a sensitivity of 0.81 (95% CI, 0.77 to 0.85), a specificity of 0.75 (95% CI, 0.64 to 0.84), and positive predictive value of 0.93 (95% CI, 89.9 to 95.8). Test-retest reliability was good, with a kappa of 0.68 (95% CI, 0.54 to 0.82). The sensitivity and specificity of the three-item migraine screener was similar regardless of sex, age, presence of other comorbid headaches, or previous diagnostic status. Conclusions: The three-item ID Migraine™ migraine screener was found to be a valid and reliable screening instrument for migraine headaches. Its ease of use and operating characteristics suggest that it could significantly improve migraine recognition in primary care.
Isolation and Characterization of Site-directed Mutants in the Highly Conserved Dicyclohexylcarbodiimide Binding Site in Subunit III of Rhodobacter sphaeroides Cytochrome c Oxidase

Cytochrome c oxidase (COX) is the final electron acceptor in mitochondrial respiratory chain and in many bacterial species including Rhodobacter sphaeroides. Electron transfer is coupled with the pumping of protons across the membrane. Previous work has shown that reaction of beef COX with dicyclohexylcarbodiimide (DCCD) resulted in an inhibition of proton translocation by covalently binding to the conserved amino acid residue E90 located in a nonpolar region of subunit III (SIII). E90 is involved in a bonding pair with another conserved residue H212, possibly connected by a salt bridge or a hydrogen bond pair in the three dimensional structure of SIII. Our goal was to test whether the retention of the E90-H212 linkage and the spatial arrangements of these amino acid residues were critical for electron transfer and proton pumping activities of the enzyme. In the current work, we investigated the functional role of these amino acids through the creation of three mutants in SIII_H212E, E90H, and E90H/H212E. Each of the visible absorbance spectra of the three mutant proteins in the bacterial membranes exhibited similar properties as wild type COX. Conversely, the spectrum of isolated and purified COX mutant SIII E90H displayed a blue shift of 3 nm. SDS-PAGE verified that subunit III was present. Electron transfer activity assays of E90H showed an approximate 40% decrease in activity when compared to wild type enzyme and that the mutant did not undergo suicide inactivation during steady-state turnover. Proton pumping activity of the mutants reconstituted into liposomes will be discussed.
Marxism and a rhetorical conception of ideology

THE CONCEPT OF IDEOLOGY. By Jorge Larrain. Athens: University of Georgia Press, 1979; pp. 251. $18.00. READING IDEOLOGIES. By Colin Sumner. New York: Academic Press, 1979; pp. 303. Paper $12.00. THE DIALECTIC OF IDEOLOGY AND TECHNOLOGY. By Alvin W. Gouldner. New York: Oxford University Press, 1976; pp. 304. Paper $7.95. THE FUTURE OF INTELLECTUALS AND THE RISE OF THE NEW CLASS. By Alvin W. Gouldner. New York: Seabury Press, 1979; pp. 121. Paper $4.95. THE TWO MARXISMS. By Alvin W. Gouldner. New York: Oxford University Press, 1980; pp. 397. Paper $9.95. THE IDEOLOGY OF POWER AND THE POWER OF IDEOLOGY. By Goran Therborn. London: NLB, 1980; pp. 133. Paper $5.50. POLITICS AND IDEOLOGY IN MARXIST THEORY. By Ernesto Laclau. London: Verso Edition, 1979; pp. 198. Paper $5.75. CENTRAL PROBLEMS IN SOCIAL THEORY. By Anthony Giddens. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1979; pp. 294. Paper $9.95.
Inhibition of Interleukin 2 (IL-2)-stimulated tyrosine kinase activity by leflunomide

We have used antigen-specific T-cell clones plus antigen to examine the biochemical effects of leflunomide on T cells during an immune response. Leflunomide inhibited both antigen and IL-2-stimulated proliferation of these clones, with an ED50 of 8–10 μM for either stimuli. Conversely, antigen-stimulated cytokine production and up-regulation of the IL-2 receptor (CD25) were relatively insensitive to inhibition by leflunomide. IL-2-receptor-mediated signaling, however, was inhibited by this drug. Using32P-orthophosphate metabolic labeling and anti-phosphotyrosine immunoprecipitation, we were able to show that leflunomide inhibited IL-2-stimulated tyrosine kinase activity. Furthermore, we demonstrated that leflunomide directly inhibited the IL-2 stimulated tyrosine kinase activity of p56lck. These data suggest that inhibition of IL-2-stimulated p56lck activity could play a role in leflunomide-mediated immunosuppression.
Dynamics of Contact Line Pinning in Capillary Rise and Fall

The dynamics of water columns rising and falling in vertical glass capillaries are studied near the pinning threshold. In tubes with rough interior walls, the column height h as a function of time t exhibits stick-slip behavior. In tubes with smooth walls, falling experiments show no pinning effects, but rising experiments exhibit critical behavior with nonunique exponents. We argue that this is due to the fact that fluid has to be transported in a microscopic wetting film which does not have a stationary structure. Similar restrictions can affect avalanche dynamics in other systems. [S0031-9007(98)05750-0]
Assisted Suicide: Finding Common Ground

The five papers on assisted suicide in this issue should help advance the dialogue about this difficult ethical subject and should be of assistance to physicians who grapple with these issues in pr...
Around the World to: The Virginia Reid Moore Marine Research Library: Serving its Community through Library Technology

Purpose – To inform readers how creativity and fresh ideas can aid an established institution to meet specialized information needs.Design/methdology/approach – This is an introduction to a new library at an established aquarium that is now engaged with a new mission, leadership and is doing a variety of outreach activities.Findings – New ideas are really the key to success in this virtual library visit. The librarian is seeking to renew the role of service and outreach by building the collection and giving the institution and library a more digital identity.Practical implications – Reinforcing a positive approach to service, preservation and archival standards while building a core collection is essential.Originality/value – Provides information of value to library management.
Designing system availability into the service quality of automated facilities

Investigates how system availability can be designed into the service quality of automated facilities. With the advent of new and advanced technologies and the growing dynamics of global competition, many service facilities are resorting to automation as a means of not only providing prompt service, but also improving quality and productivity. To achieve these goals, the system must be reliable and available to provide the needed services. Describes and models a processing facility to show how quality and productivity can be improved when system availability is maximized. Uses simulation to build the model. Develops and applies a regression metamodel within a cost structure to determine the optimal number of standby processors and maintenance staff required to achieve a target service level.
The Motion-Induced Contour

An outline projection of a rectangular solid object, rotating in depth, produces a moving rotating in depth illusory contour across the empty region where an edge would normally be located even though it is not physically present. Observers see a contour demarcating the junction of the two frontal surfaces of the object when it undergoes the figural transformations of rotation-in-depth. Two experiments, in which several types of temporal change were compared, demonstrated that translation, flicker, or no motion are ineffective in producing the contour compared to rotation-in-depth. Also the four lines constituting the two inducing vertices of the object were sufficient to produce the motion-induced contour during rotation-in-depth. Three demonstrations further clarifying the nature of the motion-induced contour are also reported.
Effects of hydrogen and oxygen on the elastic moduli of vanadium, niobium, and tantalum single crystals

Measurements of the ultrasonic wave velocities at 30 to 50 MHz frequencies reveal very significant effects of dissolved hydrogen on the elastic shear moduli, C′ = (C11 – C12)/2 and C44, of the group V b.c.c. transition metals. In all cases C′ decreases with increasing hydrogen solute, whereas C44 increases and the bulk modulus remains nearly constant. The ΔC′ effect is interpreted as a Snoek relaxation that arises from a tetragonal elastic dipole produced by interstitial hydrogen in tetrahedral sites. The data indicate that the tetragonal distortion parameter, λ1 – λ2, is 0.11 for V, 0.051 for Nb, and 0.047 for Ta. The rate of increase in C44 is 0.5% per at% hydrogen for V, 1.8% for Nb, and 0.13% for Ta. This increase is reflected in a positive change in the isotropic Young's modulus for Nb, opposing the Snoek relaxation effect. The addition of oxygen to V and Nb produces no Snoek relaxation at these high frequencies, but the positive change in C44 is as pronounced as in the hydrogen addition. Present information is not sufficient to relate this ΔC44 effect strictly to the interstitial solute configuration. Further research is needed on the temperature dependence of the effect. Messungen der Ultraschallgeschwindigkeiten bei Frequenzen von 30 bis 50 MHz zeigen betrachtliche Einflusse von gelostem Wasserstoff auf die Schermoduli C′ = (C11 – C12)/2 und C44 der k.r.z.-Ubergangsmetalle der Gruppe V. In allen Fallen nimmt C′ mit steigendem Wasserstoffgehalt ab, wahrend C44 zunimmt und der Volumenmodul nahezu konstant bleibt. Der ΔC′-Effekt wird als Snoek-Relaxation interpretiert, die von einem tetragonalen elastischen Dipol herruhrt, der von Wasserstoff auf Tetraeder-Zwischengitterplatz erzeugt wird. Die Werte zeigen, das der Parameter der tetragonalen Verzerrung, λ1 – λ2, 0,11 fur V, 0,051 fur Nb und 0,047 fur Ta betragt. Die Anstiegsrate fur C44 betragt 0,5% pro At% Wasserstoff fur V, 1,8% fur Nb und 0,13% fur Ta. Dieser Anstieg wird als positive Anderung des isotropen Young-Moduls fur Nb beobachtet, der entgegengesetzt ist zur Snoek-Relaxation. Die Zugabe von Sauerstoff zu V und Nb erzeugt keine Snoek-Relaxation bei diesen hohen Frequenzen, jedoch ist die positive Anderung in C44 genauso ausgepragt wie bei Wasserstoffzugabe. Gegenwartige Informationen reichen nicht aus, um diesen ΔC44-Effekt direkt mit der Zwischengitterkonfiguration zu verknupfen. Weitere Untersuchungen der Temperaturabhangigkeit des Effektes sind dazu notwendig.
Dynamic reorganization of decision-making groups

Agents in a multi- agent system must coordinate to achieve their goals, in general. Establishing an organizational structure that specifies how agents in the system should work together helps multi- agent systems achieve effective coordination. Among other things, an organizational structure specifies agent decisionmaking frameworks. A decision- making framework identifies the locus of decision- making control for a given goal and the authority of decision- makers to assign subtasks in order to achieve that goal. Agents may participate in different decision- making frameworks for each goal they pursue. Agents who implement the capability of Adaptive Decision- Making Frameworks (ADMF) are able to dynamically modify their decision- making frameworks at run- time to best meet the needs of their current situation. Through ADMF, agents are able to reorganize decision- making groups by dynamically changing (1) who makes the decisions for a particular goal and (2) who must carry out these decisions. This paper presents experiments exploring the following hypothesis: Multi- agent systems that implement ADMF can perform better and more robustly across run- time changes in situation than systems that maintain static decision- making frameworks. Experimental results show that no one decision- making framework performs best across various situations that may be faced at run- time. Further experiments show that the implementation of ADMF in multi- agent systems can improve system performance across changing situations. These experimental results clearly motivate the implementation of Adaptive Decision- Making Frameworks in multi- agent systems.
Emergency decision support using an agent-based modeling approach

A key activity in emergency management is preparation for natural and man-made disasters. This paper presents a prototype of a computer simulation system that uses agent-based modeling to simulate an emergency environment with crowd evacuation and provides for testing of multiple disaster scenarios at virtually no cost.
The Body Esteem of Hmong and Caucasian Young Adults.

This study investigated race and gender differences among 73 Hmong American and 80 Caucasian American college students. Racial differences were found only among the women, with Hmong women holding more positive attitudes toward weight concern body items and expressing less interest in changing these body items than Caucasian women. There were no gender differences among the Hmong, and the gender differences among Caucasians involved weight concern. Increased body mass was correlated with negative body attitudes among Caucasian and Hmong women and among Hmong men, whereas increased body mass was correlated with positive upper-body attitudes among Caucasian men.
Structure and synthesis of 6-(substituted-imidazol-1-yl)purines: versatile substrates for regiospecific alkylation and glycosylation at N9.

X-ray crystal structures of several 6-(azolyl)purine base and nucleoside derivatives show essentially coplanar conformations of the purine and appended 6-(azolyl) rings. However, the planes of the purine and imidazole rings are twisted ∼57° in a 2-chloro-6-(4,5-diphenylimidazol-1-yl)purine nucleoside, and a twist angle of ∼61° was measured between the planes of the purine and pyrrole rings in the structure of a 6-(2,5-dimethylpyrrol-1-yl)purine nucleoside derivative. Shielding “above” N7 of the purine ring by a proximal C−H on the 6-azolyl moiety is apparent with the coplanar compounds, but this effect is diminished in those without coplanarity. Syntheses of 6-(azolyl)purines from both base and nucleoside starting materials are described. Treatment of 2,6-dichloropurine with imidazole gave 2-chloro-6-(imidazol-1-yl)purine. Modified Appel reactions at C6 of trityl-protected hypoxanthine and guanine derivatives followed by detritylation gave 6-(imidazol-1-yl)- and 2-amino-6-(imidazol-1-yl)purines. Imidazole...
Geometrically directed selective steroid hydroxylation with high turnover by a fluorinated artificial cytochrome P-450

Abstract A metalloporphyrin has been synthesized carrying a beta-cyclodextrin group on tetrafluorophenyl rings at the four meso positions of the porphyrin. It performs the selective hydroxylation of an androstanediol derivative with complete positional selectivity and 187 turnovers.
Perception of utterance relatedness during the first-word-period.

Interactions between six toddlers (aged 1;0 to 1;6) and adults were examined to ascertain adult perceptions of toddler utterance relatedness and to determine temporal and interactional features that underlie those perceptions. Five raters made judgments regarding relatedness of the child utterances to the previous adult utterances; 251 utterances were examined. Utterances judged by adults as related occurred within 4·25 seconds of the preceding adult utterance nearly 90% of the time. This study also points to the need for using interactional categories that go beyond describing utterance relatedness, and introduces terms (i.e. co-participatory, initiation, narrowed focus) for doing so.
Political corruption, economic performance, and electoral outcomes: a cross-national analysis

The current study examines how the incumbent government's economic performance plays a role in mediating the impact of political corruption on electoral outcomes in 115 developing countries with relatively higher levels of corruption than Western consolidated democracies. Borrowing theoretical insights from the information-processing theory of voting, this study finds that political corruption becomes a formative electoral factor when the regime fails to sustain a sufficient level of economic growth. Otherwise, political corruption is not a significant factor that shapes electoral outcomes, irrespective of the level of perceived corruption, because the economy occupies voters' minds as the most important issue, making it a more accessible issue than political corruption.
Interleukin-1β Upregulates Functional Expression of Neurokinin-1 Receptor (NK-1R) via NF-κB in Astrocytes

Cytokines and neuropeptides are modulators of neuroimmunoregulation in the central nervous system (CNS). The interaction of these modulators may have important implications in CNS diseases. We investigated whether interleukin-1beta (IL-1beta) modulates the expression of neurokinin-1 receptor (NK-1R), the primary receptor for substance P (SP), a potent neuropeptide in the CNS. IL-1beta upregulated NK-1R expression in human astroglioma cells (U87 MG) and primary rat astrocytes at both mRNA and protein levels. IL-1beta treatment of U87 MG cells and primary rat astrocytes led to an increase in cytosolic Ca(2+) in response to SP stimulation, indicating that IL-1beta-induced NK-1R is functional. CP-96,345, a specific non-peptide NK-1R antagonist, inhibited SP-induced rise of [Ca(2+)](i) in the astroglioma cells. Investigation of the mechanism responsible for IL-1beta action revealed that IL-1beta has the ability of activating nuclear factor-kappab (NF-kappaB). Caffeic acid phenethyl ester (CAPE), a specific inhibitor of NF-kappaB activation, not only abrogated IL-1beta-induced NF-kappaB promoter activation, but also blocked IL-1beta-mediated induction of NK-1R gene expression. These findings provide additional evidence that there is a biological interaction between IL-1beta and the neuropeptide SP in the CNS, which may have important implications in the inflammatory diseases in the CNS.
Fault tree network analysis for construction

Abstract This paper introduces a new technique in construction networking. A modified fault tree analysis was employed to determine the critical paths, sequence of activities, and the basic events that have the potential to induce the delays of any activity in the network. This method can be used for both deterministic and non-deterministic approaches. It also incorporates the provision of minimal cut sets that guarantee the occurrence of a delay. The cut sets can be evaluated qualitatively, quantitatively, or both, in order to determine their rank of importance.
Performance of an energy-mass spectrograph for heavy ions☆

Abstract The instrument described consists of a velocity selector ( E × B filter ) followed by a more conventional charged-particle spectrograph. The velocity selector sorts the particles vertically in accordance with their velocity and the spectrograph sorts them horizontally in accordance with their momentum/charge ratio. Particles with identical mass/charge ratio fall on sharp slanted lines on the detector with the distance along the line representing kinetic energy. Hence, the instrument measures mass (to about one part in 400) and energy (to about one part in 2000). It is being used to study the mass numbers and velocity distribution of evaporation residues resulting from fusion of intermediate-mass nuclei.
Implementation of modified positive velocity feedback controller for active vibration control in smart structures

This paper introduces the Modified Positive Velocity Feedback (MPVF) controller as an alternative to the conventional Positive Position Feedback (PPF) controller, with the goal of suppressing unwanted resonant vibrations in smart structures. The MPVF controller uses two parallel feedback compensators working on the fundamental modes of the structure. The vibration velocity is measured by a sensor or state estimator and is fed back to the controller as the input. To control n-modes, n sets of parallel compensators are required. MPVF controller gain selection in multimode cases highly affects the control results. This problem is resolved using the Linear Quadratic Regulator (LQR) and the M-norm optimization method, which are selected to form the desired performance of the MPVF controller. First, the controller is simulated for the two optimization approaches, and then, experimental investigation of the vibration suppression is performed. The LQR-optimized MPVF provides a better suppression in terms of vibration displacement. The M-normoptimized MPVF controller focuses on modes with higher magnitudes of velocity and provides a higher level of vibration velocity suppression than LQR-optimized method. Vibration velocity attenuation can be very important in preventing fatigue failures due to the fact that velocity can be directly related to stress.
The effect of race, smoking and immunoglobulin allotypes on IgG subclass concentrations

In previous studies we have demonstrated that serum IgG subclass concentrations are influenced by both race and periodontal disease diagnosis. Furthermore, we have shown that smoking habits modify the concentrations of some IgG subclasses in specific racial and diagnostic groups. In view of a large amount of data showing strong associations between immunoglobulin allotypes and IgG subclass concentrations we have investigated the effects of race, smoking and IgG allotype on IgG subclass concentration in a population of subjects with or without various forms of periodontitis. The results indicated that there are complex relationships between these factors in their effects on individual IgG subclass levels, and that effects unique to black or white subject groups, or to specific periodontal diagnostic groups and racial subgroups, were evident. In blacks with chronic adult periodontitis IgG1 was lower in smokers, while in generalized early-onset periodontitis patients IgG2 was lower in smokers. IgG4 was independently affected by gender (males higher), smoking (smokers lower) and GM23 (GM23 positive subjects higher), in black subjects only. In white subjects, complex relationships between smoking and allotypic markers were noted but no influence of periodontal diagnosis was found. White GM23 negative subjects who smoked had lower levels of IgG1 than GM23 positive subjects. White GM2 negative subjects who smoked had lower levels of IgG2, than did those who did not smoke. In contrast, smoking had no effect on IgG2 levels in GM2 positive subjects. Thus, in addition to immunoglobulin allotype, smoking is associated with IgG subclass concentrations; furthermore, in black subjects, periodontal diagnosis, gender and smoking all influence IgG subclass concentrations. These results demonstrate that genetic and environmental factors can interact to influence levels of individual subclasses.
Bayesian online learning of the hazard rate in change-point problems

Change-point models are generative models of time-varying data in which the underlying generative parameters undergo discontinuous changes at different points in time known as change points. Change-points often represent important events in the underlying processes, like a change in brain state reflected in EEG data or a change in the value of a company reflected in its stock price. However, change-points can be difficult to identify in noisy data streams. Previous attempts to identify change-points online using Bayesian inference relied on specifying in advance the rate at which they occur, called the hazard rate (h). This approach leads to predictions that can depend strongly on the choice of h and is unable to deal optimally with systems in which h is not constant in time. In this letter, we overcome these limitations by developing a hierarchical extension to earlier models. This approach allows h itself to be inferred from the data, which in turn helps to identify when change-points occur. We show that our approach can effectively identify change-points in both toy and real data sets with complex hazard rates and how it can be used as an ideal-observer model for human and animal behavior when faced with rapidly changing inputs.
Biological and biochemical consequences of global deletion of exon 3 from the ERα gene

To address issues resulting from α estrogen receptor-knockout (αERKO) residual N-terminal truncated estrogen receptor α, and to allow tissue-selective deletion of ERα, we generated loxP-flanked exon 3 mice. Initial characterization of global sox2 cre-derived exon 3-deleted Ex3αERKO mice indicated no ERα protein in uterine tissue and recapitulation of previously described female phenotypes, confirming successful ablation of ERα. Body weights of Ex3αERKO female mice were 1.4-fold higher than wild-tupe (WT) females and comparable to WT males. Microarray indicated the Ex3αERKO uterus is free of residual estrogen responses. RT-PCR showed Nr4a1 is increased 41-fold by estrogen in WT and 7.4-fold in αERKO, and not increased in Ex3αERKO. Nr4a1, Cdkn1a, and c-fos transcripts were evaluated in WT and Ex3αERKO mice following estrogen, IGF1, or EGF injections. All 3 were increased by all treatments in WT. None were increased by estrogen in Ex3αERKO. Nr4a1 increased 24.5- and 14.7-fold, Cdkn1a increased 14.2- and 12.3-fold, and c-fos increased 20.9-fold and 16.2-fold after IGF1 and EGF treatments, respectively, in the Ex3αERKO mice, confirming that growth factor regulation is independent of ERα. Our Ex3α ERα model will be useful in studies of complete or selective ablation of ERα in target tissues.
Extending the road beyond CMOS

The accelerating pace of CMOS scaling is rapidly approaching the fundamental limits of MOSFET performance, even as the projected size of a high-performance and manufacturable MOSFET technology is currently being extended with growing confidence to the 22-nm node (featuring a 9-nm physical gate length). The new 2001 International Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors currently projects the industry to reach this node in 2016. However, this forecast assumes the traditional industry node-cycle cadence of a quadrupling of the number of transistors every three years for DRAMS and a return to the three-year cycle in 2004 for MPUs and ASICs. During the past several years the node cycles for MPUs have been accelerated to occur within two-year periods. This pace will bring the microelectronics industry to the end of silicon CMOS technology scaling sometime not later than 2016, and maybe as soon as 2010. The new Emerging Technologies section of the 2001 ITRS offers guidance on both sides of this problem: nanoelectronics for memory, logic, and information-processing architectures could possibly extend the time frame of the ITRS beyond CMOS.
Percutaneous vertebroplasty in the treatment of vertebral body compression fracture secondary to osteogenesis imperfecta

Percutaneous vertebroplasty, a minimally invasive interventional radiological procedure, has recently been used effectively for the treatment of symptomatic vertebral body compression fractures. Primary indications for vertebroplasty include osteoporotic compression fracture, osteolytic vertebral metastasis and myeloma, and vertebral hemangioma. We present a case and extend the indication of percutaneous vertebroplasty in a patient with a vertebral body compression fracture secondary to osteogenesis imperfecta.
Covey Membership and Size Dynamics in a Low Density Population of Northern Bobwhites

Abstract Northern Bobwhites (Colinus virginianus) are predicted to maintain optimal covey sizes throughout the non-breeding season to avoid predators, thermoregulate, and forage efficiently. Arguably, population declines that reduce local bobwhite population densities could influence coveying behavior, which may then affect individual survival and population growth rates. We investigated changes in covey size and membership in a declining bobwhite population on private land in southwestern Ohio. Covey densities (range 0.25–1.63 coveys/km2) were lower than estimates from other areas of the bobwhite range. Despite an average 3.2% weekly decline in mean covey size during October–March, two unique coveys merged to form larger coveys on only six occasions and only one radiomarked individual changed covey affiliation (n = 307 radiomarked individuals, n = 57 coveys). Spatio-temporal separation of coveys and low daily movement rates (139.2 m/day) provided little opportunity for contact among adjacent coveys, ...
The distribution and kinetics of release of radiocalcium in tendon and skeletal muscle.

The distribution of Ca 4s in frog (Rana pipiens) sartorius muscle, after 4 hours' exposure to Ringer's solution containing radiocalcium, has been analyzed by observing the kinetics of escape of the radioisotope into a non-radioactive Ringer's solution with caldum present or absent and by assuming that the tendon of Achilles is a satisfactory model of the extent of the uptake and rdease of Ca 46 by the interstitial connective tissue (c.t.). In a Ringer's solution containing 1 m~/liter calcium, the exchangeable calcium distribution in micromoles per gram wet weight is as follows: (a) Aqueous phase of c.t. space: 0.16; (b) bound to c.t.: 0.16; (c) bound to surface of fibers: 0.13, of which 0.03 is displaced only by self-exchange, whereas the rest, as in c.t., can be displaced by other ions; and (d) in myoplasm: 0.33. The kinetics of Ca 45 exit suggests that in infinite time of exposure to Ca 45 the myoplasmic component would rise to 0.85. In the muscles, the half-time of the quickly emerging Ca 41 averages about 3 minutes, whereas the time constant of the slowly released component is about 500 minutes. In the tendons the percentage rate of escape falls exponentially, the half-time of emergence being about 10 minutes. Direct evidence has been presented that augmented entry of calcium is intimately associated with contraction and contracture in frog sartorius muscle (1, 3, 17). These studies suggested that the additional calcium which enters is derived from readily accessible calcium-binding sites on the muscle fibers. Thus, since the calcium entry per twitch was not measurably changed by trebling the extraceUular concentration whereas the entry in unstimulated muscle increased proportionately, the sites concerned with contraction were saturated with calcium at the calcium concentration of the medium while those involved in "passive" calcium entry were not. Similarly, an increase in Ca ~ entry could not be demonstrated during potassium depolarization * Address for 1959: Office of Naval Research, Branch Office, Keysign House, 429
Blind code-timing estimation for CDMA systems with bandlimited chip waveforms in multipath fading channels

In this paper, we present a blind code-timing estimator for asynchronous code-division multiple-access (CDMA) systems that use bandlimited chip waveforms. The proposed estimator first converts the received signal to the frequency domain, followed by a frequency deconvolution to remove the convolving chip waveform, and then calculates the code-timing estimate from the output of a narrowband filter with a sweeping center frequency, which is designed to suppress the overall interference in the frequency domain. The proposed estimator is near-far resistant, and can deal with time- and frequency-selective channel fading. It uses only the spreading code of the desired user, and can be adaptively implemented for both code acquisition and tracking. We also derive an unconditional Crame/spl acute/r-Rao bound (CRB) that is not conditioned on the fading coefficients or the information symbols. It is a more suitable lower bound than a conditional CRB for blind code-timing estimators which do not assume knowledge of the channel or information symbols. We present numerical examples to evaluate and compare the proposed and several other code-timing estimators for bandlimited CDMA systems.
Low-power carry-select adder using adaptive supply voltage based on input vector patterns

Demands for the low power VLSI have been pushing the aggressive design methodologies to reduce the power consumption drastically. To meet the growing demand, we propose Adaptive Supply Voltage Carry-Select Adder (CSA) based on the input vector patterns. A proposed level converter based on the Complementary Pass Transistor Logic (CPL) cancels out the delay penalty of level conversion. We achieved 26% power improvement on a 128-bit CSA prototype over a conventional design with same performance.
Phenotypic plasticity, parental effects, and parental care in plants? I. An examination of spike reflectance in Plantago lanceolata (Plantaginaceae)

We explore the relationships among phenotypic plasticity, parental effects, and parental care in plants by presenting data from four experiments examining reflectance/color patterns in Plantago lanceolata. In three experiments, we measured spike (inflorescence) reflectance between 362 and 850 nm using a spectrophotometer with an integrating sphere. Experiments show that (1) spike reflectance changes seasonally within and outside the visible portion of the spectrum of radiant energy, (2) increasing ambient temperature causes an individual plant to produce flowering and fruiting spikes that reflect more/lighten in color (the greatest changes occur in the regions around 550 nm and between 750 and 850 nm, the visible and near-infrared regions, respectively), (3) responses are reversible, (4) genotypes within populations and populations from different latitudes differ in mean reflectance and degree of phenotypic plasticity. In a fourth experiment, we measured internal spike temperature. Darker spikes, those produced at lower temperature, got hotter than did lighter spikes in full sun. Thus, plants can partially thermoregulate reproduction and the embryonic development of their offspring. In light of a previous experiment, data suggest that thermoregulation produces adaptive parental effects and is a mechanism by which P. lanceolata provides parental care.
Crystal structure of 14-ring aluminophosphate AlPO4-8 from powder data

Abstract AlPO 4 -8, a 14-ring molecular sieve, has been prepared by direct synthesis and crystallized in pure form. The crystal structure of the dehydrated phase of AlPO 4 -8 was refined from X-ray powder data. The crystals belong to the space group Cmc 2 1 with a = 33.227(1), b = 14.745(1) and c = 8.3807(7) A. The structure consists of alternating Al and P atoms in the tetrahedral environment. In the hydrated AlPO 4 -8 the water molecules interact with the Al atoms at the intersection of the 4-rings in a manner similar to that observed in the case of VPI-5.
Phased burst error-correcting array codes

Various aspects of single-phased burst-error-correcting array codes are explored. These codes are composed of two-dimensional arrays with row and column parities with a diagonally cyclic readout order; they are capable of correcting a single burst error along one diagonal. Optimal codeword sizes are found to have dimensions n/sub 1/*n/sub 2/ such that n/sub 2/ is the smallest prime number larger than n/sub 1/. These codes are capable of reaching the Singleton bound. A new type of error, approximate errors, is defined; in q-ary applications, these errors cause data to be slightly corrupted and therefore still close to the true data level. Phased burst array codes can be tailored to correct these codes with even higher rates than before. >
Nontypable Haemophilus influenzae: A Review of Clinical Aspects, Surface Antigens, and the Human Immune Response to Infection

Nontypable Haemophilus influenzae has now become well established as an important pathogen in both adults and children. Recent work has identified clear distinctions between nontypable and type b strains of H. influenzae. These organisms affect different patient populations, cause different infections, present different surface antigens to the host, and are genetically different. The commonest clinical manifestation of infection due to nontypable H. influenzae in adults is lower respiratory tract infection, particularly in the elderly and in those with chronic bronchitis. The bacterium is a frequent cause of acute otitis media in children. The surface of nontypable H. influenzae is composed of outer-membrane proteins and lipooligosaccharide, and both of these demonstrate substantial antigenic heterogeneity, which can be used to serotype isolates. Some respiratory tract isolates are fimbriated, but the role of fimbriae in pathogenesis is unclear. Antibodies to outer-membrane proteins and lipooligosaccharide are present in human serum. Investigation of human immunity to infection is focusing on identification of those antigens to which protective antibody is directed.
P02.39. Leveraging grant awards to enhance the research infrastructure at a CAM institution

Results Web applications included: the Centralized Participant Database System and Project/Users Permissions System to securely capture participant contact information and control personnel access to web modules; a real-time participant tracking report to monitor recruitment and participant flow; a role-specific Reminder System to track outstanding activities requiring personnel follow-up; and double key-entry verification on web data used for an adaptive treatment allocation algorithm. Templates of these tools can be incorporated into any new trial’s web application. Study protocol templates facilitate timely, accurate translation of research proposals into detailed protocols for IRB applications, DSMC review and training. A revised training plan included role-specific training logs for tracking training objective completion and a thorough certification process for key protocols to ensure accurate and consistent performance. Quality control templates support the informed consent process and fidelity of trial interventions and outcomes assessment. We implemented these enhanced resources in 5 clinical trials. To date, our team has completed 3378 phone screens, conducted 1439 first and 473 second in-person screening visits, enrolled 394 participants, and followed 315 through trial end. The study protocol templates have been used in two additional clinical trials currently undergoing IRB review.
Strike-slip fault evolution on Europa: evidence from tailcrack geometries

Secondary cracks are commonly produced at stress concentration points at the tips of slipping interfaces such as faults. These so-called tailcracks form an antisymmetric pattern at opposite tips of the fault with a fracture geometry that is a mechanical indicator of the sense of slip, whether left-lateral or right-lateral. I present descriptions of tailcracks along numerous strike-slip faults on Europa. Two distinct styles of strike-slip faults are identified: ridge-like and band-like. The angles between faults and tailcracks are variable and are commonly less than the theoretical 70.5° angle that approximately characterizes many terrestrial examples involving fault surfaces that remain in contact during slip. Median tailcrack angles are lower for band-like faults (30°) than ridge-like faults (52°). In addition, the sense of curvature of band-like fault tailcracks is characteristically opposite to that of ridge-like faults. Analytical models of stress orientations around strike-slip faults on Europa indicate that these effects result from dilation during strike-slip motion. Band-like faults characteristically underwent concurrent dilation and shearing but this dynamic coupling is not characteristic of ridge-like faults. The implication is that strike-slip faulting was not a globally homogeneous process on Europa and as a result the morphologies of strike-slip faults are variable. Furthermore, band-like faults appear to corroborate the predictions of the tidal walking theory, exhibiting predominantly right-lateral motions in the southern hemisphere and left-lateral motions in the northern hemisphere. However, ridge-like faults do not obey this slip-sense convention, suggesting that the tidal walking theory may be appropriate for describing the evolution of dilational band-like faults but that ridge-like faults may have resulted from a different driving mechanism.
Fragmented QRS on twelve-lead electrocardiogram predicts arrhythmic events in patients with ischemic and nonischemic cardiomyopathy.

Background Myocardial scar is a substrate for reentrant ventricular arrhythmias and is associated with poor prognosis. Fragmented QRS (fQRS) on 12-lead ECG represents myocardial conduction delays due to myocardial scar in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD). Objective The purpose of this study was to determine whether fQRS is associated with increased ventricular arrhythmic event and mortality in patients with CAD and nonischemic dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM). Methods Arrhythmic events and mortality were studied in 361 patients (91% male, age 63.3 ± 11.4 years, mean follow-up 16.6 ± 10.2 months) with CAD and DCM who received an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator for primary or secondary prophylaxis. fQRS included various RSR′ patterns (QRS duration 1 –V 5 ), lateral (I, aVL, V 6 ), or inferior (II, III, aVF) myocardial segments. Results fQRS was present in 84 (23%) patients (fQRS group) and absent in 100 (28%) patients (non-fQRS group). Wide QRS (wQRS; QRS duration ≥120 ms) was present in 177 (49%) patients. Kaplan-Meier analysis revealed that event-free survival for an arrhythmic event (implantable cardioverter-defibrillator shock or antitachycardia pacing) was significantly lower in the fQRS group than in the non-fQRS and wQRS groups ( P P Conclusion fQRS on 12-lead ECG is a predictor of arrhythmic events in patients with CAD and DCM. fQRS is associated with a significantly decreased time to first arrhythmic event compared with non-fQRS and wQRS.
Urinary levels of type II collagen C-telopeptide crosslink are unrelated to joint space narrowing in patients with knee osteoarthritis

Objective: To determine whether urinary concentrations of the cross linked C-telopeptide of type II collagen (CTx-II) distinguish subjects with progressive radiographic or symptomatic knee osteoarthritis from those with stable disease. Methods: Subjects were 120 obese women with unilateral knee osteoarthritis who participated in a 30 month, randomised, placebo controlled trial of structure modification by doxycycline, in which a standardised semiflexed anteroposterior view of the knee was obtained at baseline and 30 months. Subjects were selected from a larger sample to permit comparisons of urinary CTx-II levels between 60 progressors and 60 non-progressors with respect to medial joint space narrowing. Each group contained 30 subjects who, across five semi-annual assessments, reported on at least two occasions an increase of ⩾20% in 50 ft walk pain (minimum = 1 cm on a 10 cm visual analogue scale), relative to the previous visit. The remainder reported no increases in knee pain. Urine samples were obtained semi-annually for determination of the CTx-II and creatinine concentrations. Results: In an analysis of the placebo group only, the frequency of radiographic progressors in the upper and middle tertiles (48% and 60%, respectively) of the baseline CTx-II distribution was not significantly different than that in the lower tertile (64%). These results were unchanged after inclusion of data from subjects in the doxycycline group. Furthermore, serial CTx-II levels did not distinguish subjects with progressive radiographic or symptomatic knee osteoarthritis from those with stable disease. Conclusions: In this pilot study, urinary CTx-II concentration was not a useful biomarker of osteoarthritis progression.
Active renin, prorenin, and renin gene expression after reduced renal perfusion pressure in term ovine fetuses

We studied the pattern of plasma active renin concentration (ARC), prorenin concentration (PRC), renal renin concentration, and the renin mRNA levels in ovine fetuses subjected for 24 h to reduced renal perfusion pressure (RPP). The results obtained in five animals (133.8 ± 1.4 days of gestation) in which RPP was reduced by 10 mmHg were compared with those in seven control fetuses (130.3 ± 0.8 days of gestation) without pressure reduction. Plasma samples were obtained before and at intervals of 24 h after initiating reduced RPP. The plasma ARC increased within 60 min of reduced RPP, reaching a maximum (13.0 ± 4.7 vs. 115.7 ± 23.8,P < 0.01) at 3 h. The ARC then declined toward control values. In contrast, plasma PRC did not increase consistently until 4 h into reduced RPP, with maximal levels at 24 h (8.2 ± 2.4 vs. 87.7 ± 21.9,P = 0.016). Within the kidney PRC, but not ARC, increased significantly, by 2.5-fold. Reduced RPP also increased renal renin mRNA levels (P = 0.004). We conclude that a chronic reduc...
Who are your Neighbors? Neighbor Relationships and Subjective Well-Being in Japan

Supportive relationships with neighbors have been shown to positively predict indicators of subjective well-being. Using data from the 2010 Japanese General Social Survey, we examine how neighbor relationships predict subjective well-being. Japan presents an interesting case to examine this question when considering its highly institutionalized neighborhood associations. We find that controlling for the safety and amenity aspects of the neighborhood environment, supportive neighbor relationships significantly increase men and women’s life satisfaction, but such relationships have a significant positive effect only on men’s happiness. The effects of neighborhood relationships on life satisfaction and happiness are significantly larger for men. Moreover, we find that the social and safety aspects of the neighborhood reinforce each other to increase life satisfaction also only for men. Implications of the gendered pattern of these results are discussed for future research on the association between neighbor relationships and subjective well-being in Japan and beyond.
Effects of Rh on the thermoelectric performance of the p-type Zr0.5Hf0.5Co1-xRhxSb0.99Sn0.01 half-Heusler alloys

Abstract We show that Rh substitution at the Co site in Zr0.5Hf0.5Co1−xRhxSb0.99Sn0.01 (0≤x≤1) half-Heusler alloys strongly reduces the thermal conductivity with a simultaneous, significant improvement of the power factor of the materials. Thermoelectric properties of hot-pressed pellets of several compositions with various Rh concentrations were investigated in the temperature range from 300 to 775 K. The Rh “free” composition shows n-type conduction, while Rh substitution at the Co site drives the system to p-type semiconducting behavior. The lattice thermal conductivity of Zr0.5Hf0.5Co1−xRhxSb0.99Sn0.01 alloys rapidly decreased with increasing Rh concentration and lattice thermal conductivity as low as 3.7 W/m*K was obtained at 300 K for Zr0.5Hf0.5RhSb0.99Sn0.01. The drastic reduction of the lattice thermal conductivity is attributed to mass fluctuation induced by the Rh substitution at the Co site, as well as enhanced phonon scattering at grain boundaries due to the small grain size of the synthesized materials.