cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
3. A pilot study of a self-management intervention for cognitive impairment in epilepsy

Background Approximately 50% of the 2 million people in the US living with epilepsy will have cognitive problems. Despite the significant impact cognitive functioning has on quality of life, there are limited treatment modalities. Our aim was to assess the feasibility and effectiveness of a self-management intervention to address cognitive dysfunction in adults with epilepsy at Dartmouth–Hitchcock Epilepsy Center. Methods HOBSCOTCH (HOme Based Self-management and Cognitive Training CHanges lives) was developed to teach problem-solving strategies and compensatory memory strategies. Adults age 18–65 with epilepsy and subjective cognitive complaints were randomized to receive HOBSCOTCH, HOBSCOTCH+ (which adds working memory training) or care as usual. The primary outcome was quality of life (QOLIE-31), with secondary outcomes of executive functioning, objective memory, and depression as measured by validated scales. In addition, a focus group was conducted to obtain quantitative data about patient satisfaction with the intervention. Results as of January 31, 2014, 38 have enrolled, 9 patients have completed the 8-week intervention and 8 controls have returned for 8 week assessments. Three patients enrolled in the intervention groups withdrew from the study. Pilot data (n = 14) demonstrated that HOBSCOTCH participants (n = 5) demonstrated an improvement in our primary outcome of QOLIE-31 scores as compared to controls (average improvement in score of 9.4 for intervention group vs decrease in score of −6.3 for controls, p = 0.001). There was also a significant reduction in depression scores and improvement in executive function and objective memory scores. Qualitative data indicate high satisfaction and subjective improvement in cognitive functioning in day-to-day life. Conclusions Cognitive problems are common in epilepsy, are multifactorial, & significantly affect quality of life. This pilot data suggests that a self-management intervention may improve cognitive performance in patients with epilepsy, and may be applicable to other patient populations or clinical settings. The effectiveness of HOBSCOTCH in epilepsy is currently being evaluated in a randomized trial. This work is supported by the CDC (3U48DP001935-04S3).
Growth in Beagles: Changes in Body Weight, Plasma Volume, and Venous Hematocrit

Extract: Body weight, plasma volume, and venous hematocrit of 12− to 18-hr-old beagles were 0.239 \pm 0.009 kg, 52.5 \pm 1.14 ml/kg, and 48.7 \pm 1.72%, respectively. Over the next 24 hr total plasma volume increased by 31% and body weight by only 8%. During the 1-year period after birth the plasma volume (milliliters per kilogram) changed abruptly four times, and each change was followed by stable periods of varying length. The plasma volume decreased significantly between weeks 1 and 2, weeks 6 and 7, and months 3 and 4; and, finally, it increased significantly between months 5 and 6. The venous hematocrit declined during the first 6 weeks of life, then gradually increased up to month 6. Body weight, plasma volume, and venous hematocrit did not change significantly from months 6–12. Plasma volume (milliliters per kilogram) for 6− to 12-month-old beagles was 44.3, significantly less than that of the newborn. Speculation: These data suggest the need to explore mechanisms concerned with the several abrupt changes in the plasma volume that occurred during growth of the beagle and in the mechanisms involved in the marked increase in plasma volume with no reduction in venous hematocrit on day 1.
HETEROTROPHIC NUTRITION AND ITS EFFECTS ON CHLOROPHYLL SYNTHESIS IN GOLENKINIA (CHLOROPHYCEAE)1

Glucose and sodium acetate are the only carbon sources able to support heterotrophic growth of Golenkinia minutissima Iyengar & Balakrishnan. Heterotrophic growth is maximal at a concentration range of 20–40 mM of either carbon source; however, growth is significantly more rapid and higher yields are obtained with acetate. Mannose is toxic but this effect is competitively reduced by the presence of glucose. The inhibitory action of acetate on chlorophyll synthesis is unaffected by 20 mM glucose, indicating that this inhibition is not related to the absence of glucose.
Momentum and energy exchange collision terms for interpenetrating bi-Maxwellian gases

For application to aeronomy and space physics problems involving strongly magnetized plasma flows, we derived momentum and energy exchange collision terms for interpenetrating bi-Maxwellian gases. Collision terms were derived for Coulomb, Maxwell molecule, and constant collision cross-section interaction potentials. The collision terms are valid for arbitrary flow velocity differences and temperature differences between the interacting gases as well as for arbitrary temperature anisotropies. The collision terms had to be evaluated numerically and the appropriate coefficients are presented in tables. However, the collision terms were also fitted with simplified expressions, the accuracy of which depends on both the interaction potential and the temperature anisotropy. In addition, we derived the closed set of transport equations that are associated with the momentum and energy collision terms.
Effects of Metalloporphyrins on Heme Oxygenase-1 Transcription: Correlative Cell Culture Assays Guide In Vivo Imaging

Heme oxygenase (HO) is the rate-limiting step in the heme degradation pathway and is a potential target for the control, or prevention, of pathologic jaundice in neonates. Metalloporphyrins (Mps), a diverse set of synthetic derivatives of heme, can competitively inhibit the HO enzymes. However, certain Mps are phototoxic and some increase transcription of HO-1, the inducible HO isozyme. Therefore, effective development of this class of compounds as therapeutics for treating pathologic jaundice will require rapid and integrated biological screens to identify the most efficacious and safe Mps. To study the safety of these compounds, we assessed their cytotoxic effects and measured luciferase activity by bioluminescent imaging (BLI) as an index of HO-1 transcription, first in live cell cultures and then in living transgenic reporter mice. A total of 12 Mps were first evaluated in the correlative cell culture assay. Based on results from this study, 2 Mps, zinc protoporphyrin (ZnPP) and zinc bis glycol porphyrin (ZnBG), were selected for further studies in the live animal model. In vitro BLI showed ZnPP to be a strong inducer of HO-1 transcription in comparison to ZnBG, which showed minimal induction. Cytotoxicity studies revealed that ZnPP was phototoxic, whereas ZnBG had no effect on cell viability. In vivo BLI showed that both ZnPP and ZnBG had minimal effects on the levels of HO-1 transcription in the animals. Furthermore, serum enzyme assays indicated that neither caused detectable liver toxicity. These findings, and especially those with ZnBG, support the use of selected Mps as therapies for pathologic jaundice. Coupling the high throughput advantage of cell culture with the capability of imaging for whole-body temporal analyses could accelerate and refine the preclinical phases of drug development. Thus, this study serves as a model for understanding the effects of specific compounds in relation to defined targets using an integrated approach.
Operator method for the perturbative solution of ordinary differential equations

Abstract We adapt the Feynman operator calculus to the Lie operators connected with the solution of ordinary, coupled, first order differential equations, particularly those arising from non-linear oscillations or from interactions between modes. Combining this calculus with the method of averaging we obtain approximate solutions which are algebraic and exponential functions of the appropriate expansion parameter rather than power series of this parameter. In addition to illustrating the method for the damped harmonic oscillator and for the van der Pol oscillator we present an approximate solution of the Lotka-Volterra problem of two competing species. The solutions are compared numerically with those of a variant of the Bogoliubov-Krylov-Mitropolsky (BKM) method of averaging. The bulk of the analytic calculations both for the operator algorithm and for the BKM method have been automated.
Progress and challenges for biosensors using plant tissue materials

Abstract Biocatalytic sensors using plant tissue materials in conjunction with electrochemical elements offer an alternative to biosensors based on isolated enzymes. In favorable cases, such plant based sensors show attractive analytical properties in addition to low cost, simplicity of construction, and reduced co-factor requirements. A review of the current state of the art is provided along with some previously unpublished examples of new biosensors using plant tissue materials.
Surgical treatment of os acromiale with and without associated rotator cuff tears

Nineteen consecutive patients treated surgically for meso-os acromiale and subacromial pathology were reviewed retrospectively, with a mean length of follow-up of 40 months (range, 24-94 months). Of the patients, 11 (58%) were treated with acromioplasty in the presence of a stable os acromiale; 8 patients (42%) underwent open reduction-internal fixation for an unstable and painful os fragment. Of the 19 patients, 8 (42%) with an os acromiale had an associated full-thickness rotator cuff tear. Overall, only 10 of 19 patients (53%) achieved a satisfactory result. All 8 patients (100%) treated with open reduction-internal fixation achieved union of the os fragment, although only 3 (37.5%) achieved a satisfactory result. Of the 11 patients who underwent acromioplasty, only 7 (64%) achieved a satisfactory result. The outcome of surgical management of symptomatic meso-os acromiale with concomitant rotator cuff pathology was satisfactory in 4 of 8 patients in our study group. The rate of satisfactory results was similar in patients with (50%) and without (55%) associated rotator cuff tears. When we analyzed our results to exclude workers' compensation patients, 80% achieved satisfactory results (compared with only 22% in our workers' compensation group).
Issues and Challenges in Quality Assurance of Health Care

In this paper I review the health care crisis in the United States and conclude that fundamental changes must be made. I then present: (1) an organizational approach that might be encompassed in President Clinton's program for health care reform; (2) my "dream" of a national quality improvement system for reform, based on The Netherlands Model; and (3) a suggestion that strengthening primary care will be the key to the success of this reform in the coming years.
Asymptotic analysis of amplify-and-forward relaying in Nakagami-fading environments

Amplify-and-forward (AF) relaying strategies are studied for Nakagami-fading channels in an (N + 2)-terminal wireless cooperative system where a source terminal transmits information to a destination terminal with the assistance of N relay terminals. The asymptotic outage behavior is investigated in terms of coding and diversity gains for channel-state information (CSI)-assisted AF relaying and semi-blind AF relaying in various channel profiles. It is shown that semi-blind AF relaying system achieves strictly higher average SNRs. Further, when there exists fading severity difference between the source-to-relay and relay-to-destination links, both AF strategies achieve the same diversity gain whereas semi-blind AF achieves strictly lower coding.
Stochastic nonlinear stabilization—I: a backstepping design

While the current robust nonlinear control toolbox includes a number of methods for systems affine in deterministic bounded disturbances, the problem when the disturbance is unbounded stochastic noise has hardly been considered. We present a control design which achieves global asymptotic (Lyapunov) stability in probability for a class of strict-feedback nonlinear continuous-time systems driven by white noise. In a companion paper, we develop inverse optimal control laws for general stochastic systems affine in the noise input, and for strict-feedback systems. A reader of this paper needs no prior familiarity with techniques of stochastic control.
Efficacy of cefmenoxime in experimental group B streptococcal bacteraemia and meningitis

Cefmenoxime, a new semisynthetic cephalosporin, was evaluated in vitro and in vivo in comparison with penicillin G against a type III group B streptococcal strain. In vitro, the minimal inhibitory and minimal bactericidal concentrations of the two drugs were very close (less than or equal to 2 dilutions). In-vivo studies using experimental bacteraemia and meningitis in newborn rats revealed that despite similar drug levels, cefmenoxime had significantly greater bactericidal titres in blood at 6-7 h after administration and bacterial clearance from blood was significantly faster with cefmenoxime than with penicillin G at the end of one day of treatment. In addition, all animals with cefmenoxime therapy had bactericidal titres in cerebrospinal fluid greater than or equal to 1:8 at 1-2 h after administration, whereas most (67%) animals receiving penicillin G had titres less than 1:8. However, overall efficacy of cefmenoxime was similar to that of penicillin G. These findings suggest that cefmenoxime may be an effective alternative against group B streptococcal infection.
Dopamine D2 receptor levels in striatum, thalamus, substantia nigra, limbic regions, and cortex in schizophrenic subjects.

Background—Studies in schizophrenics have reported dopaminergic abnormalities in striatum, substantia nigra, thalamus, anterior cingulate, hippocampus and cortex which have been related to positive symptoms and cognitive impairments. Methods—[ 18 F]fallypride PET studies were performed in off medication or never medicated schizophrenic subjects [N = 11, 6 M, 5 F; mean age of 30.5 ± 8.0 (S.D.); 4 drug naive] and age matched healthy subjects [N = 11, 5M, 6F, mean age of 31.6 ± 9.2 (S.D.)] to examine dopamine D2 receptor (DA D2r) levels in the caudate, putamen, ventral striatum, medial thalamus, posterior thalamus, substantia nigra, amygdala, temporal cortex, anterior cingulate, and hippocampus. Results—In schizophrenic subjects increased DA D2r levels were seen in the substantia nigra bilaterally; decreased levels were seen in the left medial thalamus. Correlations of symptoms with region of interest data demonstrated a significant correlation of disorganized thinking/nonparanoid delusions with the right temporal cortex region of interest (r = 0.94, P = 0.0001) which remained significant after correction for multiple comparisons (P<0.03). Correlations of symptoms with parametric images of DA D2r levels revealed no significant clusters of correlations with negative symptoms, but significant clusters of positive correlations of total positive symptoms, delusions and bizarre behavior with the lateral and anterior temporal cortex, and hallucinations with the left ventral striatum.
Regulating Molecular Recognition with C‐Shaped Strips Attained by Chirality‐Assisted Synthesis

Chirality-assisted synthesis (CAS) is a general approach to control the shapes of large molecular strips. CAS is based on enantiomerically pure building blocks that are designed to strictly couple in a single geometric orientation. Fully shape-persistent structures can thus be created, even in the form of linear chains. With CAS, selective recognition between large host and guest molecules can reliably be designed de novo. To demonstrate this concept, three C-shaped strips that can embrace a pillar[5]arene macrocycle were synthesized. The pillar[5]arene bound to the strips was a better host for electron-deficient guests than the free macrocycle. Experimental and computational evidence is provided for these unique cooperative interactions to illustrate how CAS could open the door towards the precise positioning of functional groups for regulated supramolecular recognition and catalysis.
Personalised medicine in exacerbations of COPD: the beginnings

Exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are inflammatory events induced by infection [1]. Therefore, the use of antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory medications in exacerbations appears logical. However, the evidence that antibiotics and corticosteroids are beneficial in the treatment of exacerbations is relatively sparse, and only a meta-analytic approach has given us sufficient confidence in the use of these treatments [2, 3]. Placebo-controlled and observational studies in hospitalised patients with COPD exacerbations have shown the benefit of antibiotics and steroids [4–6]. This has led to current recommendations for treating all hospitalised exacerbations with both antibiotics and steroids. However, as we appreciate the heterogeneity of infection and inflammation in exacerbations, using the same treatment in all exacerbations does not appear appropriate. Bacterial infection causes approximately 50% of exacerbations; therefore, antibiotic use is probably unnecessary in the other 50% [1]. Eosinophilic inflammation is seen in a third of exacerbations, so corticosteroids may be of limited benefit in a substantial proportion of exacerbations [7]. In a hospitalised patient with a COPD exacerbation, the cost of antibiotics accounts for a small fraction of the total cost of care. However, everyone is well aware of the dangers of inappropriate and excessive antibiotic use with regards to selection of antibiotic resistant pathogens and adverse effects. Therefore, discriminating exacerbations that are bacterial in origin from those that are not would help us target antibiotic therapy. Sputum cultures lack the sensitivity, specificity and speed to be such a discriminatory tool. Biomarkers such as …
Burden of HIV among female sex workers in low-income and middle-income countries: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Summary Background Female sex workers are a population who are at heightened risk of HIV infection secondary to biological, behavioural, and structural risk factors. However, three decades into the HIV pandemic, understanding of the burden of HIV among these women remains limited. We aimed to assess the burden of HIV in this population compared with that of other women of reproductive age. Methods We searched PubMed, Embase, Global Health, SCOPUS, PsycINFO, Sociological Abstracts, CINAHL (Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature), Web of Science, and POPLine for studies of female sex workers in low-income and middle-income countries published between Jan 1, 2007, and June 25, 2011. Studies of any design that measured the prevalence or incidence of HIV among female sex workers, even if sex workers were not the main focus of the study, were included. Meta-analyses were done with the Mantel-Haenszel method with a random-effects model characterising an odds ratio for the prevalence of HIV among female sex workers compared with that for all women of reproductive age. Findings Of 434 selected articles and surveillance reports, 102 were included in the analyses, representing 99 878 female sex workers in 50 countries. The overall HIV prevalence was 11·8% (95% CI 11·6–12·0) with a pooled odds ratio for HIV infection of 13·5 (95% CI 10·0–18·1) with wide intraregional ranges in the pooled HIV prevalence and odds ratios for HIV infection. In 26 countries with medium and high background HIV prevalence, 30·7% (95% CI 30·2–31·3; 8627 of 28 075) of sex workers were HIV-positive and the odds ratio for infection was 11·6 (95% CI 9·1–14·8). Interpretation Although data characterising HIV risk among female sex workers is scarce, the burden of disease is disproportionately high. These data suggest an urgent need to scale up access to quality HIV prevention programmes. Considerations of the legal and policy environments in which sex workers operate and actions to address the important role of stigma, discrimination, and violence targeting female sex workers is needed. Funding The World Bank, UN Population Fund.
Loss of microRNAs in pyramidal neurons leads to specific changes in inhibitory synaptic transmission in the prefrontal cortex

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are critical regulators of nervous system function, and in vivo knockout studies have demonstrated that miRNAs are necessary for multiple aspects of neuronal development and survival. However, the role of miRNA biogenesis in the formation and function of synapses in the cerebral cortex is only minimally understood. Here, we have generated and characterized a mouse line with a conditional neuronal deletion of Dgcr8, a miRNA biogenesis protein predicted to process miRNAs exclusively. Loss of Dgcr8 in pyramidal neurons of the cortex results in a non-cell-autonomous reduction in parvalbumin interneurons in the prefrontal cortex, accompanied by a severe deficit in inhibitory synaptic transmission and a corresponding reduction of inhibitory synapses. Together, these results suggest a vital role for miRNAs in governing essential aspects of inhibitory transmission and interneuron development in the mammalian nervous system. These results may be relevant to human diseases such as schizophrenia, where both altered Dgcr8 levels as well as aberrant inhibitory transmission in the prefrontal cortex have been postulated to contribute to the pathophysiology of the disease.
Quartz concentration as an index of sediment mixing: hydraulic mine-tailings in the Sierra Nevada, California

Abstract Hydraulic gold mining delivered large volumes of sediment to northern California stream channels from 1853 to 1884. Distinctive quartz compositions of this sediment allow development of a sediment mixing index for determination of tailings concentrations in contemporaneous and reworked deposits. This index reveals patterns of sediment mixing in the Bear River, California over the last 100 years. A conceptual model summarizes the nature of sediment mixing in the Bear River basin through time and space. High terrace sediment compositions suggest that hydraulic mining sediment was diluted by about 22% other alluvium as it moved more than 60 km to the Sacramento Valley. This substantial volume of other alluvium was introduced during the mining period by human activities in addition to hydraulic mining. Sediment compositions in modern low-flow channels indicate that most channel reaches within the mining districts remain dominated by tailings due to sustained reworking of stored alluvium. Tailings are substantially diluted downstream in modern channel deposits, however, due to trapping of sediment by dams and local erosion of Quarternary alluvium.
A low-power analog sampled-data VLSI architecture for equalization and FDTS/DF detection

The design philosophy behind a low-power integrated circuit architecture for implementing an FDTS/DF magnetic recording channel is presented. The goal of this philosophy is to achieve high clock speed, moderate power consumption, and relatively small die area. The principle components that are considered are a programmable FIR sampled-data analog equalizer and an analog sampled-data FDTS/DF detector. These blocks are implemented using sampled-data analog signal processing circuitry to avoid the need for a high-speed high-power analog-to-digital converter. Novel features of the FIR equalizer architecture include sampling of current rather than voltage, which allows extremely high sampling bandwidth; and, analog multiplication using MOS devices in their linear region which achieves a power dissipation on the order of 5 mW/tap at 100 MS/s. >
What factors determine disclosure of suicide ideation in adults 60 and older to a treatment provider

Correlates of patient disclosure of suicide ideation to a primary care or mental health provider were identified. Secondary analyses of IMPACT trial data were conducted. Of the 107 patients 60 years of age or older who endorsed thoughts of ending their life at least “a little bit” during the past month, 53 indicated they had disclosed these thoughts to a mental health or primary care provider during this period. Multiple logistic regression was used to identify predictors of disclosure to a provider. Significant predictors included poorer quality of life and prior mental health specialty treatment. Among participants endorsing thoughts of suicide, the likelihood of disclosing these thoughts to a provider was 2.96 times higher if they had a prior history of mental health specialty treatment and 1.56 times higher for every one-unit decrease in quality of life. Variation in disclosure of thoughts of suicide to a mental health or primary care provider depends, in part, on patient characteristics. Although the provision of evidence-based suicide risk assessment and guidelines could minimize unwanted variation and enhance disclosure, efforts to routinize the process of suicide risk assessment should also consider effective ways to lessen potential unintended consequences.
Medical Student Distress: Causes, Consequences, and Proposed Solutions

The goal of medical education is to graduate knowledgeable, skillful, and professional physicians. The medical school curriculum has been developed to accomplish these ambitions; however, some aspects of training may have unintended negative effects on medical students' mental and emotional health that can undermine these values. Studies suggest that mental health worsens after students begin medical school and remains poor throughout training. On a personal level, this distress can contribute to substance abuse, broken relationships, suicide, and attrition from the profession. On a professional level, studies suggest that student distress contributes to cynicism and subsequently may affect students' care of patients, relationship with faculty, and ultimately the culture of the medical profession. In this article, we review the manifestations and causes of student distress, its potential adverse personal and professional consequences, and proposed institutional approaches to decrease student distress.
Towards automatic recommendation of friend lists

Facebook access-control lists, called friend lists, are difficult to create manually. Previous work on automating these lists has used friend details entered by the user. Our approach automates them by merging virtual friend cliques using certain heuristics that determine if two virtual friend cliques correspond to a single actual friend clique. A small user study found that our lists were more likely to be used by participants than existing automated lists.
Saving Cells from Ultrasound-Induced Apoptosis: Quantification of Cell Death and Uptake Following Sonication and Effects of Targeted Calcium Chelation

Applications of ultrasound for noninvasive drug and gene delivery have been limited by associated cell death as a result of sonication. In this study, we sought to quantify the distribution of cellular bioeffects caused by low-frequency ultrasound (24 kHz) and test the hypothesis that Ca(2+) chelation after sonication can shift this distribution by saving cells from death by apoptosis. Using flow cytometry, we quantitatively categorized sonicated cells among four populations: (i) cells that appear largely unaffected, (ii) cells reversibly permeabilized, (iii) cells rendered nonviable during sonication and (iv) cells that appear to be viable shortly after sonication, but later undergo apoptosis and die. By monitoring cells for 6 h after ultrasound exposure, we found that up to 15% of intact cells fell into this final category. Those apoptotic cells initially had the highest levels of uptake of a marker compound, calcein; also had highly elevated levels of intracellular Ca(2+); and contained an estimated plasma membrane wound radius of 100-300 nm. Finally, we showed that chelation of intracellular Ca(2+) after sonication reduced apoptosis by up to 44%, thereby providing a strategy to save cells. We conclude that cells can be saved from ultrasound-induced death by appropriate selection of ultrasound conditions and Ca(2+) chelation after sonication.
The Spa: Emotional Economy and Social Classes in Nineteenth-Century Pyrmont

In 1835, Ferdinand Gustav Kuhne, a Saxon writer and teacher, estimated that the Germanic realm was inundated with spas and that nowhere else were there as many as in Central Europe. In France there were “only ten springs, in Italy eight, Hungary had twelve, Sweden three, Spain two, England two, in Denmark and in vast Russia there was only one mineral spring of note in each, whereas in German-speaking countries, that is, including Bohemia and Switzerland, 149 facilities claimed to possess healing springs.” Although Kuhne's estimate of foreign spas was too low—according to recent studies, the number of spas in England and France was significantly higher—contemporary accounts and recent local studies support his finding that Germans had the most bathing facilities in Europe. Fred Kaspar has isolated ninety-nine spas and mineral springs in Westphalia alone. Beginning in the last third of the eighteenth century, the number of spas and spa goers in particular increased rapidly in the Germanic realm. Only 200 guests came to the Kissingen spa in the summer of 1800, whereas fifty years later there were close to 4,000 and by the turn of the century 15,000 guests proper and more than 20,000 day visitors. Pyrmont, one of the most popular spas in the eighteenth century, started with 1,424 guests proper (not including peasants who were not considered guests proper) reaching 2,800 guests by the middle of the century, and around 19,000 by 1900.
Rainout lifetimes of highly soluble aerosols and gases as inferred from simulations with a general circulation model

The rainout-determined lifetimes of highly soluble particulate and gaseous atmospheric compounds are investigated using general circulation model simulations in which removal is explicitly calculated in terms of the local, model-produced precipitation rates. The calculations indicate that because of the episodic and asymmetric nature of rainout, species' lifetimes depend not only on the amount of precipitation but also on the characteristics of the precipitation regime (such as duration and frequency of the precipitation events) and on the direction of the tracer main flow (determined by the species' average mixing ratio gradient). For this reason, averaged rainout lifetimes of tracers flowing downstream from the stratosphere are found to differ substantially from those of tracers of surface origin flowing upward or tracers of a more ubiquitous tropospheric source. These results imply that the use of a first-order parameterization to simulate rainout in a photochemical model that does not explicitly calculate precipitation can be inadequate in representing this process. A computationally efficient parameterization that includes the effects of intermittence and asymmetry of rainout is proposed, and it is shown how this parameterization can be used to estimate rainout-determined tropospheric residence times from observational data sets. A review of published estimates of submicron aerosol tropospheric residence times based on observations shows that these are consistent with the model results.
Unique modulation of L-type Ca2+ channels by short auxiliary β1d subunit present in cardiac muscle

Recent studies have identified a growing diversity of splice variants of auxiliary Ca2+ channel Cavβ subunits. The Cavβ1d isoform encodes a putative protein composed of the amino-terminal half of t...
On-Demand Provisioning of Data-Aggregation Sessions Over WDM Optical Networks

We consider efficient network provisioning algorithms for applications that aggregate large data files from multiple remote sites to a central facility (where the aggregated data is further processed). Many important bandwidth-hungry scientific applications use such data aggregation, and it is important to efficiently use network resources to meet their requirements. We term an entire large-scale data-aggregation session as a data-aggregation request (DAR). In this paper, we investigate the problem of on-demand provisioning of DARs over a wavelength-division multiplexing (WDM) backbone network infrastructure. Our DAR provisioning problem is challenging, as for each DAR we need to jointly identify lightpaths (route, assign wavelengths, and groom) for each of the to-be-transferred files, and schedule DAR's file transfers in time. We first model our DAR provisioning problem mathematically as a mixed integer linear program (MILP); to solve our problem in practice, we propose a DAR provisioning algorithm (named DARP). From our numerical results, we find DARP to be efficient when compared with other benchmark algorithms. We study DARP's performance for a varying number of aggregating sites deployed in the network (i.e., sites with supercomputer facilities) and perform a detailed sensitivity analysis on several parameters of our problem. We also investigate the effect of partitioning the data to be transferred into pieces and conclude that, if the partitioning method is carefully designed, slight improvement over the approach that transfers the whole file (DARP) is possible.
Diets, habitat preferences, and niche differentiation of Cenozoic sirenians from Florida: evidence from stable isotopes

Cenozoic sediments of Florida contain one of the most highly fossiliferous sequences of extinct sirenians in the world. Sirenians first occur in Florida during the Eocene (ca. 40 Ma), have their peak diversity during the late Oligocene-Miocene (including the widespread dugongid Me- taxytherium), and become virtually extinct by the late Miocene (ca. 8 Ma). Thereafter during the Pliocene and Pleistocene, sirenians are represented in Florida by abundant remains of fossil man- atees (Trichechus sp.). Stable isotopic analyses were performed on 100 teeth of fossil sirenians and extant Trichechus manatus from Florida in order to reconstruct diets (as determined from d 13C val- ues) and habitat preferences (as determined from d18O values) and test previous hypotheses based on morphological characters and associated floral and faunal remains. A small sample (n 5 6) of extant Dugong dugon from Australia was also analyzed as an extant model to interpret the ecology of fossil dugongs. A pilot study of captive manatees and their known diet revealed an isotopic enrichment («*) in d13C of 14.0‰, indistinguishable from previously reported «* for extant medium to large terrestrial mammalian herbivores with known diets. The variation in d18OV-SMOW reported here is interpreted to indicate habitat preferences, with depleted tooth enamel values ( 25‰) representing freshwater rivers and springs, whereas enriched values ( 30‰) indicate coastal marine environments. Taken together, the Eocene to late Miocene sirenians (Protosirenidae and Dugongidae) differ significantly in both d 13 Ca ndd18O from Pleistocene and Recent manatees (Trichechidae). In general, Protosiren and the fossil dugongs from Florida have carbon isotopic values that are relatively positive (mean d13C 52 0.9‰) ranging from 24.8‰ to 5.6‰, interpreted to represent a specialized diet of pre- dominantly seagrasses. The oxygen isotopic values (mean d18O 5 29.2‰) are likewise relatively positive, indicating a principally marine habitat preference. These interpretations correlate well with previous hypotheses based on morphology (e.g., degree of rostral deflection) and the known ecology of modern Dugong dugon from the Pacific Ocean. In contrast, the fossil and extant Trichechus teeth from Florida have relatively lower carbon isotopic values (mean d 13C 52 7.2‰) that range from 218.2‰ to 1.7‰, interpreted as a more generalized diet ranging from C3 plants to seagrasses. The relatively lower oxygen isotopic values (mean d18O 5 28.1‰) are interpreted as a more diverse array of freshwater and marine habitat preferences than that of Protosiren and fossil dugongs. This study of Cenozoic sirenians from Florida further demonstrates that stable isotopes can test hy- potheses previously based on morphology and associated floral and faunal remains. All these data sets taken together result in a more insightful approach to reconstructing the paleobiology of this interesting group of ancient aquatic mammalian herbivores.
Detection of abnormalities is not synonymous with patient benefit.

We appreciate Gravel and colleagues’ efforts to develop a clinical decision rule that successfully identifies skull fractures among young children with mild head trauma and no indication for head computerized tomography (CT).[1][1] We wonder, however, if these skull fractures warrant diagnosis and
The Constitution and the Individual Right to Possess Firearms: A Different Take

This Essay provides a different analysis of the Second Amendment and the Supreme Court's decision in District of Columbia v. Heller.
Abstract 3637: Sensitivity of breast cancer cell lines with distinct genotypes to poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase inhibitor or in combination with DNA damaging agents

Poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) is required for the repair of single-strand DNA nicks and BRCA1/2 proteins are directly involved in the repair of DNA double-strand breaks through homologous recombination (HR). Recent studies have demonstrated that PARP inhibitors administered as single agents are active in 33 to 38% of BRCA-deficient advanced breast and ovarian cancer patients. However, the resistant mechanisms for the two thirds of patients with genetically-defined BRCA deficiency who did not respond to anti-PARP agents are largely undefined. The aim of this study was to test sensitivity of breast cancer cell lines with distinct genotypes to a PARP inhibitor alone or in combination with DNA damaging agents (topotecan and carboplatin). Methods: HCC1428 (BRCA2-mutant [2135basepair.del], but HR-competent breast adenocarcinoma); MDA-MB-231 (triple [ER, PR and HER2]-negative, BRCA-wildtype breast adenocarcinoma); and MCF-7 (BRCA-wildtype breast ductal carcinoma) cells were treated with carboplatin (1 μM), topotecan (10 nM), or veliparib (1 μM; ABT-888) alone or in combinations consisting of veliparib with topotecan or carboplatin for 24h. The survival of cancer cells was evaluated by clonogenic assays. Differences in cell survival (colony numbers) between vehicle-treated and veliparib-, DNA damaging agent-, or combination-treated were evaluated with unpaired t-tests and P values are two-sided. Results: Veliparib plus topotecan compared to topotecan alone markedly reduced the survival of MDA-MB-231 (mean ± SD; 36 ± 3 vs. 141 ± 4; P ≤ 0.01), MCF-7 (6 ± 1 vs. 25 ± 0.8; P ≤ 0.01), HCC1428 (10 ± 2 vs.29 ± 6; P = 0.04). The combination of veliparib and carboplatin versus carboplatin alone also reduced the survival of MDA-MB-231 (133 ± 2 vs. 477 ± 138; P ≤ 0.01), MCF-7 (48 ± 5 vs. 60 ± 2; P = 0.07) and HCC1428 (184 ± 6 vs. 260 ± 14; P ≤ 0.01). Veliparib has single agent activity in MCF-7 (53 ± 8 vs. 80 ± 4; P = 0.02) but not in BRCA2-mutant HCC1428 (259 ± 10 vs. 257 ± 13; P = 0.83) or triple-negative MDA-MB-231 (121 ± 2 vs. 104 ± 6; P = 0.54) cells. Conclusions: Veliparib enhances breast cancer cell death induced by DNA damaging agents. It has single agent activity in BRCA-wildtype MCF-7 cells, suggestive of other mechanisms of response to PARP inhibition in addition to BRCA deficiency. The BRCA2-mutant line HCC1428 is resistant to veliparib or carboplatin treatment alone but sensitive to topotecan alone or in combination with veliparib. The latter may provide an alternative for the management of PARP inhibitor- or platinum-resistant BRCA-mutant tumors. The underlying mechanisms of sensitivity or resistance to the PARP inhibitor alone or to the PARP inhibitor plus DNA damaging agents are under investigation. Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 101st Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2010 Apr 17-21; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2010;70(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 3637.
A representação da cultura de consumo em Eles eram muitos cavalos, de Luiz Ruffato

En este articulo se analiza la representacion del consumo en Eles eram muitos cavalos, del escritor Luiz Ruffato. Argumentamos que el autor, mediante el uso de referencias a objetos de consumo como indices de realidad, enfatiza la presencia constante e inescapable de la cultura de consumo en la cotidianidad de los grandes centros urbanos brasileros. Utilizando las contribuciones de los estudios culturales para el estudio de la cultura de consumo y de lo cotidiano, demostramos que estas referencias aparecen en el texto no como metafora de una fuerza alienante que actua sobre los consumidores irracionales de un determinado grupo social, sino como una marco de experiencias de un numero variado de individuos, creando identificaciones asi como reforzando divisiones sociales.
Rapid Method for Estimation of N-Nitrosodimethylamine in Malt Beverages

A new, rapid column elution method is described for the estimation of N-nitrosodimethylamine in malt beverages. Recoveries for N-nitrosodimethylamine and N-nitrosodipropylamine fortified at 5 ppb averaged 90 and 91%, respectively. A study of 20 different malt beverages showed that the results obtained with this method compared favorably with those obtained by a direct distillation procedure.
James Lawrence Cabell, one of the most influential of America's early surgeons.

Dr. James Lawrence Cabell was one of the most important, farsighted, and influential surgical educators and leaders in the United States in the 19th century. He was appointed as Chair of Surgery and Physiology at the University of Virginia by Thomas Jefferson's successor as Rector of the University, James Madison, and held that Chair for over 50 years, the longest tenure of any American medical academician. He was a founding member of the American Medical Association, the American Surgical Association, and the National Board of Health. He is best remembered as an articulate, incessant, and early proponent of public health and the delivery of quality health care in the United States. His legacy and that of his proteges has continued to influence health care in this country, especially in the realm of the prevention and treatment of infectious diseases, even into the present time.
Balzac’s Golden Triangles in the Colonial Genealogies of French Modernism

The past decade has seen far-reaching shifts and revisions in scholars’ use of the terms modern, modernity, and modernism as periodizing and critical lenses. Prompted by the stark divergences between disciplinary understandings of the terms, Mary Gluck (intellectual and cultural historian) and Susan Stanford Friedman (feminist literary and cultural critic) take the divergent disciplinary definitions as grounds to ask how interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary scholars can productively rethink these terms. Friedman identifies one of the most stymieing divergences when she writes that, ‘the epitome of modernity for those in the social sciences is precisely what modernity dismantles for those in the humanities’ (Chapter 1, 20). As Friedman and Gluck both note, from their interdisciplinary sites, if social scientists tend to follow historians, and define modernity through reference to the initial break with Medieval institutions and the gradual emergence of secular, rational humanism, the bourgeoisie, the nation state, and transitions to urban culture, by contrast, scholars in the humanities understand the modern as a break away from, or interruption to, many of those developments. Both scholars of modernism, however, work with and through such disciplinary divergences. For Friedman, ‘definitional dissonance matters’ (29) and she suggests that scholars resist attempts to further corral the definitions from outside, so to speak, and work instead from the midst of the dissonance.
A question of inference: Interpretations of site abandonment behavior from survey data

Surveys in anthropology are becoming much more common than in the past when participant-observation in ethnography and excavation in archaeology were the most common research methods employed. In archaeology there have been an increasing number of inferences drawn from site surface manifestations as the result of a growing survey data base. This paper discusses the reliability of such inferences and associated problems. It is suggested that excavation is necessary in some cases for more valid inferences to be drawn, particularly those related to mode of site abandonment. The article explores the issue from the perspective of catastrophic abandonment behavior, specifically the identification of historic Navajo ch’indi (ghost) hogans. The paper raises the question of what degree of reliability archaeologists are willing to be content with for inferences based on surface survey data.
Duty and Disobedience: The Conflict of Conscience and Compliance in the Trump Era

In an era of perpetual war, service members are required to follow orders with significant legal and moral consequences. Several high-profile cases, however, call into question the limits of the soldier’s duty. In 2006, First Lieutenant Ehren Watada refused to deploy to Iraq because of legal and moral objections to the underlying conflict. More recently, Captain Nathan Smith sued President Obama in federal court, claiming the conflict against the Islamic State terrorist organization was not properly authorized by Congress. Since early 2016, then Republican Presidential candidate Donald Trump made multiple proposals to combat terrorism by targeting civilians and committing torture. If confronted with such orders, under what circumstances do service members have a duty to disobey? This article examines the obligations of service members, focusing on Lieutenant Watada, Captain Smith, and others like them who objected to specific armed conflicts on legal and moral grounds. Specifically, this article seeks to answer whether state adherence to the jus ad bellum and jus in bello is condition precedent for soldiers’ obedience to orders. A preliminary examination of these issues reveals that soldiers have a legal obligation to disobey unlawful orders during armed conflict (e.g., targeting civilians, torture), but there is no equivalent legal obligation to disobey orders to deploy in support of a war that is—from the soldier’s perspective — unlawful. The state is also interested in avoiding widespread disobedience. A behavioral studies approach suggests that compliance can best be achieved through internalization of norms, opportunities for constructive dissent, and stricter adherence to the jus ad bellum. This article will appeal to national security practitioners, decision makers, and scholars. The relevance to national security is evident by seeking methods to gain greater compliance from soldiers and more prudent strategic level decisions regarding armed conflict. More broadly, the examination of compliance theory to individual behavior is applicable to multiple disciplines and any large organization. The examination of the soldier’s obedience is particularly timely when the United States is engaged in what some describe as a "forever war."
Changes in gut microbiota of migratory passerines during stopover after crossing an ecological barrier

ABSTRACT The gut microbiota is a large and diverse community of microorganisms that provides many beneficial functions to the animal host; however, any change in the host's external or internal environment can affect microbiota composition. Migratory passerines arriving at stopover sites show highly variable microbiotas, which is likely reflective of the widely different habitats and foods utilized by migrants prior to arrival. If the previous environmental conditions led to the observed initial variability, then the microbiotas of birds should become more similar through stopover when migrants are in the same habitat and able to utilize similar resources. During spring 2014, migratory Swainson's Thrush (Catharus ustulatus), Wood Thrush (Hylocichla mustelina), and Gray Catbird (Dumetella carolinensis) were captured at a site in southwest Louisiana, USA, (1) upon arrival after crossing the Gulf of Mexico and (2) ≥1 day later during stopover. Fecal samples were collected and the microbial communities in the...
Charleston in Black and White: Race and Power in the South after the Civil Rights Movement. By Steve Estes

Over the last few decades, historians have churned out a wealth of community studies probing the ways in which the civil rights movement played out across the spectrum of American localities. In th...