cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The interaction of stressors in the induction of increased levels of fluctuating asymmetry in the laboratory rat

Recent studies on fluctuating dental asymmetry have isolated single stressors as causative agents. Since most stressors are composite in nature, the present study was designed to determine the effects of the interaction of stressors in the induction of fluctuating dental asymmetry. Pregnant rats were assigned to one of six treatment groups and stressed with various combinations of heat, cold, noise and protein deprivation. The levels of fluctuating dental asymmetry were assessed and it was found that all protocols produced higher levels of asymmetry than found for control animals. Noise and reduced protein exhibited an additive effect and the interaction of stressors produced a reduction in litter size. Suggestions were offered for further research in this expanding field.
Investigation Of Vapor Explosion Mechanisms Using High Speed Photography

The vapor explosion, a physical interaction between hot and cold liquids that causes the explosive vaporization of the cold liquid, is a hazard of concern in such diverse industries as metal smelting and casting, paper manufacture, and nuclear power generation. Intensive work on this problem worldwide, for the past 25 years has generated a number of theories and mechanisms proposed to explain vapor explosions. High speed photography has been the major instrument used to test the validity of the theories and to provide the observations that have lead to new theories. Examples are given of experimental techniques that have been used to investigate vapor explosions. Detailed studies of specific mechanisms have included microsecond flash photograph of contact boiling and high speed cinematography of shock driven breakup of liquid drops. Other studies looked at the explosivity of various liquid pairs using cinematography inside a pulsed nuclear reactor and x-ray cinematography of a thermite-sodium interaction.© (1983) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Celiac and the cranial mesenteric arteries supply gastrointestinal sites that regulate meal size and intermeal interval length via cholecystokinin-58 in male rats

The site(s) of action that control meal size and intermeal interval (IMI) length by cholecystokinin-58 (CCK-58), the only detectable endocrine form of CCK in the rat, are not known. To test the hypothesis that the gastrointestinal tract may contain such sites, we infused low doses of CCK-58 (0.01, 0.05, 0.15 and 0.25nmol/kg) into the celiac artery (CA, supplying stomach and upper duodenum), the cranial mesenteric artery (CMA, supplying small and most of the large intestines), the femoral artery (FA, control) and the portal vein (PV, draining the gastrointestinal tract) prior to the onset of the dark cycle in freely fed male rats. We measured the first meal size (chow), second meal size, IMI and satiety ratio (SR, IMI/meal size). We found that (1) all doses of CCK-58 given in the CA and the highest dose given in the CMA reduced the first meal size, (2) all doses of CCK-58 given in the CA reduced the second meal size, (3) a CCK-58 dose of 0.15nmol/kg given in the CA and 0.15 and 0.25nmol/kg given in the CMA prolonged the IMI, (4) CCK-58 (0.05, 0.15, 0.25nmol/kg) given in the CA and 0.25nmol/kg given in the CMA increased the SR, and (5) CCK-58 given in the FA and PV had no effect on the meal size or intermeal interval. These results support our hypothesis that the gastrointestinal tract contains sites of action that regulate meal size and IMI length via CCK-58. The stomach and upper duodenum may contain sites regulating meal size, whereas the small intestine and part of the large intestine may contain sites regulating the IMI.
Human Major Histocompatibility Complex (MHC) Class I Molecules with Disulfide Traps Secure Disease-related Antigenic Peptides and Exclude Competitor Peptides

The ongoing discovery of disease-associated epitopes detected by CD8 T cells greatly facilitates peptide-based vaccine approaches and the construction of multimeric soluble recombinant proteins (e.g. tetramers) for isolation and enumeration of antigen-specific CD8 T cells. Related to these outcomes of epitope discovery is the recent demonstration that MHC class I/peptide complexes can be expressed as single chain trimers (SCTs) with peptide, β2m and heavy chain connected by linkers to form a single polypeptide chain. Studies using clinically relevant mouse models of human disease have shown that SCTs expressed by DNA vaccination are potent stimulators of cytotoxic T lymphocytes. Their vaccine efficacy has been attributed to the fact that SCTs contain a preprocessed and preloaded peptide that is stably displayed on the cell surface. Although SCTs of HLA class I/peptide complexes have been previously reported, they have not been characterized for biochemical stability or susceptibility to exogenous peptide binding. Here we demonstrate that human SCTs remain almost exclusively intact when expressed in cells and can incorporate a disulfide trap that dramatically excludes the binding of exogenous peptides. The mechanistic and practical applications of these findings for vaccine development and T cell isolation/enumeration are discussed.
The measurement of reactive silicate in saline-hypersaline lakes: Examples of the problem

The analysis of reactive silicate or H4SiO4 in saline lake waters using the silicomolybdic acid method developed by Mullin and Riley (1955) suffers from a rather severe salt interference. Our data show that the interference occurs in waters where both chloride and sulfate are the major anions. The interference leads to lower than actual values (by as much as 50 per cent). Until the chemical mechanism of the interference is quantitatively understood, dilution with deionized water appears to be the best approach to obtaining reliable data. This may limit the technique's usage in waters of high TDS, and low reactive silicate.
Minimally Invasive Surgery Techniques in Exotic Animals

Abstract The term minimally invasive surgery refers to procedures performed using endoscopic guidance to enter a part of the body (e.g., laparoscopy, thoracoscopy, arthroscopy, rhinoscopy, gastroscopy). Endoscope-assisted procedures generally use a rigid endoscope to improve visualization and/or access or permit completion of the procedure extracorporeally to access internal body structures through small openings compared with traditional "open" incision techniques. Endoscope-assisted procedures currently performed in exotics include, but are not limited to, exploratory laparoscopy/coelioscopy/thoracoscopy, procurement of thoracic and abdominal organ biopsies, intestinal foreign body removal, cystotomy, and reproductive sterilization.
Helminths of the ocelot from southern Texas.

In the USA, the ocelot (Leopardus pardalis) is a highly endangered felid found only in a few remaining vestiges of native thornshrub brushland in the Lower Rio Grande Valley (LRGV) of extreme southern Texas. From 1987–1998, carcasses of 15 adult ocelots that died of vehicular accidents or natural causes were examined for helminths. All cats had 1–8 (mean=3) helminth species. All were infected with 1–101 (mean±SE=32±7) Toxascaris leonina. Other helminths from these ocelots were Alaria marcianae, Brachylaima sp., Mesocestoides lineatus, Taenia rileyi, Oncicola canis, Dirofilaria immitis, Physaloptera rara, Ancylostoma tubaeformae, Cylicospirura chevreuxi, Vogeloides felis, and Metathelazia californica. Additionally, two cats had scarring of the aorta with lesions typical of those caused by Spriocerca lupi, although larval nematodes were not seen. A clinal variation in size of nearly three orders of magnitude was noted in the diplostomatid trematodes in the small intestine of one adult male ocelot. Despite t...
Between Optimism and Pessimism: Israeli Attitudes Toward Conflict Resolution in the Post-Oslo Era

The Oslo Accords failed to end Israeli-Palestinian violence and led to a final settlement of the conflict. This article examines Israeli attitudes toward conflict resolution and argues that the peace process, despite its setbacks, has increased Israeli support for certain concessions. While support for the “Oslo Process” may have declined, Jewish Israeli acceptance of the creation of a Palestinian state has risen dramatically. Israelis remain committed to continuing the peace process, they just remain highly skeptical that the process will succeed. The article examines the sources of this skepticism. Both lack of trust in Arab aspirations and religiosity are the primary determinants of Israeli unwillingness to make concessions for peace. Trust is tied to present conditions rather than past conditions of conflict. Thus, if trust could be rebuilt, Israeli Jews would be considerably better poised to make political and territorial concessions for peace than they were at the start of the “Oslo Process.” Althou...
Public acceptance of offshore wind power across regions and through time

This paper analyses mail surveys of residents living near two proposed offshore wind projects – Cape Wind off Massachusetts and Bluewater Wind off Delaware, and compares responses in 2005 or 2006 with 2009. On Cape Cod, compared with 2005, a majority (57%) now supports Cape Wind. Support in Delaware has remained relatively constant since 2006, reaching 80% in 2009. Questions examined reasons for support or opposition. A desire for energy independence is an increasingly significant reason for support in both areas and has motivated some individuals to switch from opposition to support. Conversely, those who switched from support to opposition said they were most concerned about fishing and recreational boating impacts.
The Palladium Assisted Transfer Reduction of α, β-Unsaturated Nitroalkenes Using Sodium Hypophosphite: A Synthesis of Oximes

Abstract α, β-Unsaturated nitroalkenes are readily reduced by sodium hypophosphite to the corresponding oximes in the presence of palladium.
Ultrasonographic appearance of the lower urinary tract in fifteen normal horses

The purpose of this study was to describe the normal ultrasonographic appearance of the caudal portion of the equine ureters, pelvic urethra, and urinary bladder and to assess ureteral contractility. Fifteen horses with no evidence of urinary tract disease (five females, five intact males and five geldings) were studied. The lower urinary tract was evaluated ultrasonographically using a transrectal approach. The normal ultrasonographic appearance and anatomic location of structures of the lower urinary tract were evaluated and anatomic relationships described. Both ureters were identified dorsal to the bladder and at their openings into the bladder. Their relationship and different appearance from the male deferent ducts/ampullae and vesicular glands was noted. Ultrasonographic measurements of the diameter of the ureters and urethra were obtained and the ureteral, urethral, and urinary bladder wall thickness recorded. The normal parameters established in this study will be useful during sonographic examination of horses with suspected urinary tract disease. Transrectal ultrasonographic examination is valuable in assessing the presence and frequency of ureteral contractions as well as in detecting structural abnormalities of the lower urinary tract. The use of high-frequency transrectal ultrasound transducers allows for excellent visualization of the structures of the equine lower urinary tract.
Convergent enantioselective synthesis of vinigrol, an architecturally novel diterpenoid with potent platelet aggregation inhibitory and antihypertensive properties. 1. Application of anionic sigmatropy to construction of the octalin substructure.

The coupling of building blocks 15 and 36e in the presence of MgBr2·OEt2 at 0 °C proceeds with an exo stereoselectivity (3.2:1) considerably more advantageous for the acquisition of carbinol 37e than in the absence of the additive (exo/endo = 1:5.7). The pivotal transformation that sets all of the relevant stereocenters of the cis-octalin 55 is the oxyanionic-accelerated [3,3]-sigmatropic rearrangement of 37e. A salient feature is the structurally enforced adoption of a boatlike transition state that serves to properly set four vicinal methine hydrogens in an all-cis arrangement. The ensuing conversion of 55 into iodo sulfone 62 has permitted X-ray crystallographic confirmation of all absolute stereochemical assignments since the isopropyl substituent was initially installed enantioselectively via the Evans oxazolidinone protocol. No intramolecular anionic cyclization of 62 to generate the tricyclic framework was seen. This absence of reactivity is attributed to conformational factors that inhibit attainm...
Pathologic characteristics of recurrent carotid artery stenosis

Abstract Recurrent carotid stenosis occurs randomly in approximately 10% of patients undergoing endarterectomy. Previous studies have described several histologic features but have failed to clearly elucidate the pathogenesis of this disorder. To improve our understanding of this disease, we reviewed pathologic lesions from 20 patients with recurrent stenosis. All specimens had been fixed in formalin and were embedded in paraffin and had undergone routine microscopic studies. In addition, immunoperoxidase staining with anti-factor VIII for endothelial cells and anti-desmin and anti-actin for smooth muscle cells was performed. Recurrent stenosis had developed in 16 of the 20 specimens within 2 years of endarterectomy (early), whereas the remaining four cases occurred from 2 to 7 years after the original carotid endarterectomy (late). Endothelial cells were found lining the luminal surface of both early and late recurrent lesions. Six of sixteen early and three of four late specimens had areas of luminal surface covered with cells exhibiting immunoreactivity for anti-factor VIII. Cells showing immunoreactivity for actin or desmin and demonstrating the morphology of smooth muscle cells were found in 9 of 16 early restenotic lesions but in no late ones. Areas of endothelial cell lining of the recurrent carotid lesions in a substantial number of patients in this study represent a finding not previously described. The presence of these cells implies that a phase of the arterial healing after endarterectomy involves reendothelialization. Contrary to previous reports, no significant role of thrombosis and/or intraplaque hemorrhage could be found to contribute to development of recurrent stenosis. The early presence of smooth muscle cells followed by their later disappearance suggests modification of recurrent stenosis over time. We suggest that the pathogenesis of recurrent carotid stenosis is a dynamic process of arterial healing that, if amenable to treatment, could improve the fate of carotid endarterectomy patients in the future. (J VASC SURG 1987;5:280-8.)
Divorce Over the Life Course: The Role of Marital Happiness

Using a national panel of married individuals interviewed in 1980 and 1988, this study explores the apparent anomaly that marital happiness and divorce are both lower in longer marriages. We find that marital happiness has a stronger effect on divorce at longer durations than at shorter durations. Exploration of the interactions between barriers and alternatives to marriage dissolution and marital happiness suggests that this interaction arises because longer marriages are more often characterized by high barriers and few alternatives, a situation that strengthens the relationship between divorce and happiness.
Health Education In India: A Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT) Analysis

The purpose of this study was to conduct a strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) analysis of the health education profession and discipline in India. Materials from CINAHL, ERIC, MEDLINE, and Internet were collected to conduct the open coding of the SWOT analysis. Strengths of health education in India include an elaborate tiered infrastructure, well trained workforce in health education, resources for information dissemination, school health education programs, and ability to conduct systematic needs assessments. Weaknesses of health education in India include focus on only knowledge-based interventions, primary reliance on print media, inability to reach rural and vulnerable areas, no quality assurance, no promotional avenues for health educators, no organization, and outmoded training of health educators. Opportunities include need to involve folk media, enhance participation of unconventional functionaries such as religious leaders, traditional healers, traditional birth attendants (dais), build systematic patient and worksite health education, apply theoretical approaches such as social marketing, involve physicians, and organize health education and health educators in India. Threats include criticism as motivational manipulation and delivery of health education campaigns as techno-managerial, vertical programs without building the infrastructure at the grassroots level.
Back to the future Renewable Energy Sources and green Smart Grid

There are advantages and disadvantages of the green power generation technologies using Renewable Energy Sources (RES) such as solar, wind energy, fuel cells, and biomass power generation, which can be used for generating distributed power.
A Synthesis Method for Dual-Passband Microwave Filters

This paper describes a synthesis method for symmetric dual-passband microwave filters. The proposed method employs frequency transformation techniques for finding the locations of poles and zeros of a desired filter. This method can be used to design dual-passband filters with prescribed passbands and attenuation at stopbands directly without the need for any optimization processes. To validate the procedure a dual-passband stripline filter is designed and fabricated. The stripline dual-passband filter is designed with passbands at 3.90-3.95 and 4.05-4.10 GHz, and 30-dB attenuation at the stopband. This measured results show a good agreement with the theoretical ones. The frequency transformation for symmetric dual-passband filters is also extended to include asymmetric dual-passband responses. This flexible frequency transformation preserves the attenuation characteristics of the low-pass filter prototype. Examples are shown to discuss the flexibility of this transformation.
Experience with biased random pattern generation to meet the demand for a high quality BIST

Three different approaches for LFSR based biased random pattern generation are presented. They can be mapped into custom-made finite state machines satisfying the requirements for BIST. The first approach chooses patterns with constant weights for all PIs/SRLs. The second one uses weights for clusters of inputs. Weights determined from design analysis are applied by a 'rotation' algorithm to cover the highest number of possible faults with simple ring shifters. As a result of these two heuristics, the fault coverage is improved up to 2%. Both approaches require >
Human impacts and adaptations in the Caribbean Islands: an historical ecology approach

Archaeological investigations demonstrate that peoples first settled the Caribbean islands approximately 6000–7000 years ago. At least four major, and multiple minor, migrations took place over the next millennia by peoples from Mesoamerica and South America who practised various subsistence strategies and had different levels of technology. For decades, researchers have been interested in investigating how these groups adapted to and impacted insular environments through time. This paper combines archaeological, palaeoecological, historical, and modern biological data to examine the effects of humans on Caribbean island ecosystems using a historical ecology approach. By synthesising a wide range of data sources, we take a human/nature dialectical perspective to understanding how peoples adapted to and modified their environments. The data suggest that earlier foraging/fishing Archaic groups (ca. 6000–3000 BP), who used a stone tool and shell technology and transported few, if any non-indigenous plants or animals, still impacted island landscapes as evidenced by bird and sloth extinctions. As more advanced ceramic making horticulturalists entered the Antillean chain around 2500 BP, there is an observable change to island environments as a result of forest clearance, overexploitation of both terrestrial and marine resources, and growing populations. Palaeoecological and palaeoenvironmental records also suggest, however, that an increased moisture regime during the late Holocene probably led to a decrease in near-shore salinity and heavier sediment and nutrient loads in rivers. These conditions would have been exacerbated by land clearance for agriculture, leading to coastline progradation, increased turbidity, and mangrove development resulting in changes to the availability of resources for humans on some islands. Although prehistoric peoples in the Caribbean were certainly impacting their environments, it was not until Europeans arrived and population centres grew that intensive and widespread degradation of island landscapes and resources occurred. Modern ecological studies, along with historical and archaeological data, indicate that hundreds of species have been driven to extinction or extirpation – many others have significantly diminished in number, especially within the last two millennia.
The importance of gender in mid-career: A longitudinal study of MBAs

This longitudinal study investigates whether the work environment in mid-career is comparable for men and women MBAs. No gender differences were found in early career. However by mid-career, women report less income, career satisfaction, and boss appreciation than men. Discrimination is also more prevalent for women.
Coverage-driven automatic test generation for uml activity diagrams

Due to the increasing complexity of today's embedded systems, the analysis and validation of such systems is becoming a major challenge. UML is gradually adopted in the embedded system design as a system level specification. One of the major bottlenecks in the validation of UML activity diagrams is the lack of automated techniques for directed test generation. This paper proposes an automated test generation approach for the UML activity diagrams. The contribution of this paper is the use of specification coverage to generate properties as well as design models to enable directed test generation using model checking. Our experimental results demonstrate that our approach can drastically reduce the validation effort in both specification and implementation levels.
High Suspension Schools and Dropout Rates for Black and White Students

This study examined the association between school suspension rates and dropout rates in a statewide sample of 289 Virginia public high schools. The contribution of suspension rates on dropout rates was examined for both Black and White students, after controlling for school demographics (school racial composition, percentage of students eligible for Free and Reduced Price Meals, urbanicity), and school resources (per pupil expenditure). Because student attitudes also might influence suspension rates, the prevalence of aggressive attitudes and rejection of school rules among students were used as additional predictors. Hierarchical regression analyses using schools as the unit of analysis found that, after entering both school demographics and student attitude measures, schools with high suspension rates tended to have high dropout rates. There were comparable findings for both White and Black students, although school suspension rates were more strongly associated with White dropout rates than Black dropout rates. These findings contribute new evidence that suspension policies may have an adverse effect on student completion of high school.
Modeling Multiple Vias With Arbitrary Shape of Antipads and Pads in High Speed Interconnect Circuits

This letter successfully extends the full-wave semi-analytical approach, based on Foldy-Lax multiple scattering equations and modal expansions, to solve massively-coupled multiple vias with arbitrary shape of antipads and pads in high speed interconnect circuits. The magnetic frill current at the antipad aperture is calculated using finite difference method. Numerical examples of as many as 16-by-16 via array demonstrate that this approach is able to model the multiple vias problem at about five thousand times faster than Ansoft HFSS and yet is within 5% difference of accuracy up to 20 GHz.
Traceback-enhanced MAP decoding algorithm

Soft-input soft-output algorithms are the principal component of the iterative decoding used in turbo codes and other 'turbo' feedback schemes. To enable efficient implementation, especially on energy constrained platforms such as portable devices, it is crucial to reduce the computational complexity to a minimum. We propose an enhancement to the MAX-LOG-MAP algorithm by adding a traceback operation similar to that used in the Viterbi algorithm, and devise a new efficient way to initialize the start state of the traceback. This enhancement is effective for each decoding iteration, and provides saving on top of existing techniques such as early termination and memory optimizations. It reduces the computational complexity by an additional 15%, without incurring any performance penalty.
Translational bioinformatics: coming of age.

The American Medical Informatics Association (AMIA) recently augmented the scope of its activities to encompass translational bioinformatics as a third major domain of informatics. The AMIA has defined translational bioinformatics as ". . . the development of storage, analytic, and interpretive methods to optimize the transformation of increasingly voluminous biomedical data into proactive, predictive, preventative, and participatory health." In this perspective, I will list eight reasons why this is an excellent time to be studying translational bioinformatics, including the significant increase in funding opportunities available for informatics from the United States National Institutes of Health, and the explosion of publicly-available data sets of molecular measurements. I end with the significant challenges we face in building a community of future investigators in Translational Bioinformatics.
Novel systems biology insights using antifibrotic approaches for diabetic kidney disease

Although several interventions slow the progression of diabetic nephropathy, current therapies do not halt progression completely. Recent preclinical studies suggested that pirfenidone (PFD) prevents fibrosis in various diseases, but the mechanisms underlying its antifibrotic action are incompletely understood. To explore the therapeutic potential of PFD, we studied the PFD-treated db/db diabetic mouse kidney by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry proteomics. A total of 21 proteins unique to PFD-treated diabetic kidneys were identified. Analysis of gene ontology and protein-protein interactions of these proteins suggested that PFD may regulate RNA translation. Two key proteins involved in mRNA translation initiation and elongation were further evaluated and found to be regulated by PFD at the level of phosphorylation. In conclusion, insights from combining proteomics and bioinformatics improve the likelihood of rapid advancement of novel clinical therapies focused on reducing inflammation and fibrosis for diabetic complications.
New insights on generalized Nash games with shared constraints: Constrained and variational equilibria

We consider generalized noncooperative Nash games with “shared constraints” in which there is a common constraint that players' strategies are required to satisfy. We address two shortcomings that the associated generalized Nash equilibrium (GNE) is known to have: (a) shared constraint games usually have a large number (often a manifold) of GNEs and (b) the GNE may not be the appropriate solution concept for exogenously imposed constraints. For (a), we seek a refinement of the GNE and study the variational equilibrium (VE), defined by [1], [2], as a candidate. It is shown that the VE and GNE are equivalent in a certain degree theoretic sense. For a class of games the VE is shown to be a refinement of the GNE and under certain conditions the VE and GNE are observed to coincide. To address (b), a new concept called the constrained Nash equilibrium (CNE) is introduced. The CNE is an equilibrium of the game without the shared constraint that is feasible with respect to this constraint. Sufficient conditions for the existence of a CNE are derived and relationships with the GNE and VE are established.
Sheltered identification with hiding biometrics

Biometrics based personal identification techniques have intrinsic advantages over traditional personal identification techniques but the security of biometric data is a major issue. The biometric based verification system works properly only if the verification system can guarantee that the biometric data has come from the genuine person at the time of enrollment. We introduced application in which we hide biometric feature of user in variety of images in order to enhance security of biometric template. We have proposed an image adaptive hiding method which adjusts the strength of the biometric bits based on host image property. Due to the redundancy of watermark bit, we are able to retrieve the hidden data with 100 percent accuracy with limited payload. Biometric watermark used for this work is fingerprint minutiae. However the idea can be extended for any other feature or combination of more than one feature. We have used a distortion-tolerant matching algorithm that defines a novel feature vector for each fingerprint minutia based on the global orientation field, similar to the method proposed by Jin Qi and Yangsheng Wang. These features are used to identify corresponding minutiae between two fingerprint impressions by computing the Euclidean distance between vectors that gives high verification accuracy. The algorithm proposed here is tested for 50 different types of host images and public data collection, DB3, FVC2002.
A component testability model for verification and measurement

Since components are the major building blocks for component-based systems, developing high quality components is becoming very critical for in component-based software engineering. To generate high quality components, we must pay attention to component testability to ensure that reusable components not only can be tested by component vendors, but also can be easily validated by component users. Therefore, component testability analysis, verification and measurement become very important research topic in testing components and component-based systems. This paper discusses the component testability in a quantifiable approach based on a component testability analysis model. Engineers can use this model to verify and measure component testability during a component development process. Based on this testability model, the paper discusses component testability verification, and proposes a pentagram model for testability measurement.
On the Role of Schistosome Mating Structure in the Maintenance of Drug-resistant Strains

The effects of drug treatment of human hosts upon a population of schistosome parasites depend upon a variety of factors. Previous models have shown that multiple strains of drug-resistant parasites are likely to be favored as the treatment rate increases. However, such models have neglected to account for the complex nature of schistosome mating biology. To more accurately account for the biology of these parasites, a simple mating structure is included in a multi-strain schistosome model, with parasites under the influence of drug treatment of their human hosts. Parasites are assumed to pay a cost for drug resistance in terms of reduced reproduction and transmission. The dynamics of the parasite population are described by a system of homogeneous differential equations, and the existence and stability of the exponential solutions for this system are used to infer the impact of drug treatment on the maintenance of schistosome genetic diversity.
Biodegradation and biocompatibility of mechanically active magnetoelastic materials

Magnetoelastic (ME) materials have many advantages for use as sensors and actuators due to their wireless, passive nature. This paper describes the application of ME materials as biodegradable implants with controllable degradation rates. Experiments have been conducted to show that degradation rates of ME materials are dependent on the material compositions. In addition, it was shown that the degradation rates of the ME materials can be controlled remotely by applying a magnetic field, which causes the ME materials to generate low-magnitude vibrations that hasten their degradation rates. Another concern of ME materials for medical applications is biocompatibility. Indirect cytotoxicity analyses were performed on two types of ME materials: Metglas™ 2826 MB (FeNiMoB) and iron–gallium alloy. While results indicate Metglas is not biocompatible, the degradation products of iron–gallium materials have shown no adverse effects on cell viability. Overall, these results present the possibility of using ME materials as biodegradable, magnetically-controlled active implants.
The Effects of Parent‐Adolescent Relationships and Parental Separation on Adolescent Well‐Being

This article uses data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health) to investigate the short-term effects of parental separation on adolescent delinquency and depression. Findings indicate that parent-adolescent relationships prior to marital dissolution moderate the effects of parental separation on adolescent delinquency. The higher adolescents' satisfaction with their relationship with the same-sex parent prior to residential separation the greater their increases in delinquent behavior when they are separated from this parent at Wave 2. These results highlight the importance of interpersonal relationships within the family prior to parental separation. Opposite-sex parents constitute a significant influence on adolescents' depression regardless of family structure. These findings suggest that research on parental influences on children's well-being needs to pay more attention to gender-specific effects.
CARS measurement of velocity in a supersonic jet

The velocity in a supersonic jet flow has been measured using CW CARS and agrees to within 4 percent of the calculated value.
THE GROWTH AND FUNCTION OF SKELETAL DIAPHRAGMS IN THE COLONY LIFE OF LOWER PALEOZOIC TREPOSTOMATA (BRYOZOA)

In many species of lower Paleozoic trepostomes (Bryozoa; class Stenolaemata) transverse partitions called skeletal dia- phragms differentiated feeding from non-feeding regions of colonies. It has been thought that each diaphragm floored the living chamber of a feeding polypide. However, analysis of skeletal growth patterns has shown that many diaphragms were too close to colony surfaces or too closely spaced in ontogenetic sequences to have accommodated feeding polypides at any given life horizon. Apparently colonies were capable of maintenance and even robust growth with reduced numbers of active polypides, an interpretation supported by com- parison with living stenolaemates. A synthesis of the inferred functions of colonies of the extinct trepostomes with post-Triassic fossil and living stenolaemates suggests that walls of trepostome autozooids grew continuously outward so that living chambers starting from their basal diaphragms ranged from shallow to full-sized on colony surfaces. Under-sized polypides apparently grew with their under-sized living chambers and fed as they regenerated to full size, as in living stenolaemates. Actively feeding colony surfaces included autozooids either having polypides at similar or different stages of polypide regeneration, or fully regenerated. Nonfeeding colony surfaces included autozooids either having degenerated polypides, autozooids with diaphragms too closely spaced to skeletal apertures to have housed polypides, or possibly, autozooids that stopped skeletal growth in proximal regions of some large colonies.
Metalloproteins in Developing Artemia

There is an increasing awareness of the importance of essential trace metals, particularly zinc and copper, in normal cell growth and development [1]. Central to this theme has been the postulated direct involvement of zinc in the control of gene expression [2]. A number of zinc metalloproteins have been reported to be involved in replication and transcription, including RNA and DNA polymerases [3]. Thus, the question arises as to the mechanism by which the activity of these enzymes might be directly regulated by cytosolic trace metals.
Beyond Protection: Invigorating Incentives for Sarbanes-Oxley Corporate and Securities Fraud Whistleblowers

Section 806 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (SOX) recognized the importance of private actors in bringing to light information about corporate financial and accounting fraud. That section provides some protection for whistleblowers against retaliation for objecting to, and reporting, violations of the federal securities laws. While this limited protection is a step in the right direction, current law does not go far enough to encourage whistleblowers to risk incurring the adverse social, psychological, and economic consequences of exposing serious corporate and securities fraud. This Article develops the bounty model for rewarding SOX whistleblowers, and argues that sound public policy counsels its adoption and implementation. By giving whistleblowers a share of the recovery of those damaged by corporate and financial fraud (a bounty), the law could increase incentives for whistleblowing. The federal False Claims Act provides a sensible precedent.
Thermal equation of state and stability of (Mg0.06Fe0.94)O

Abstract We present the pressure–volume–temperature (P–V–T) equation of state of polycrystalline (Mg0.06Fe0.94)O (Mw94) determined from laser-heated X-ray diffraction experiments up to 122 GPa and 2100 K, conditions approaching those of the deep mantle. We conducted two sets of experiments, one with an in situ Fe metal oxygen fugacity buffer and one without such a buffer. The internal pressure markers used in these experiments were B 2 -NaCl and hcp-Fe in the buffered experiment and B 2 -NaCl in the unbuffered experiment. In the sampled P–T range of the high temperature part of this study, only the B 1 structure of Mw94 was observed, indicating that the addition of Mg to FeO stabilizes the B 1 phase with respect to the B 8 phase at these conditions. Both datasets were fit to a Birch–Murnaghan and Mie–Gruneisen–Debye thermal equation of state using a new open-source fitting routine, also presented here. Analysis of these data sets using the same internal pressure marker shows that the P–V–T data of Mw94 obtained in the unbuffered experiment are well explained by the equation of state parameters determined from the buffered data set. We have also compared the thermal equation of state of Mw94 to that of wustite and conclude that Mw94 has measurably distinct thermoelastic properties compared with those of wustite. We use the results obtained in the buffered experiment to determine the density and bulk sound velocity of Mw94 at the base of the mantle and compare these values to geophysical observations of ultralow-velocity zones.
Compulsory Licensing and Public Health: TRIPS-Plus Standards in Investment Agreements

The effects of increasing intellectual property protection on public health have been hugely debated, especially after the coming into force of the TRIPS Agreement and with the emphasis on the utilization of compulsory licenses. At the same time, a growing network of bilateral and regional treaties that regulate foreign direct investment in the absence of an equivalent multilateral instrument are encompassing intellectual protection rules known as TRIPS-plus. A consequence of bringing investment and intellectual property under the umbrella of rules about expropriation and compensation is the potential application of such rules in cases of compulsory licenses. This article contends that, from a legal and economic perspective, investment rules on expropriation and compulsory licenses do not allow such extension. However, the controversy surrounding the interpretation of the proper grounds on which to grant compulsory licenses suggests that investment agreements might have the effect of further limiting the use of such licenses by developing countries. This result would contradict both the spirit of the Doha Declaration on the TRIPS Agreement and Public Health and national practices allowing the use of different kinds of compulsory licenses.
Recent Advances in Magnetostatic Waves-Based Integrated Magnetooptic Bragg Cell Modulators in Yig-Ggg Waveguides

The most recent advances in the integration architecture and diffraction efficiency of magnetostatic wave (MSW)-based guided-wave magnetooptic (MO) Bragg cell modulators in yttrium iron garnet-gadolinium gallium garnet (YIG-GGG) waveguides are reported. A curved ion-milled hybrid waveguide lens pair has been integrated with a MO Bragg cell modulator in a taper waveguide with dimensions of 6.0x16.0mm 2 to facilitate the collimation and focusing functions. An enhancement in the Bragg diffraction efficiency by two-to six-fold has been accomplished using a non-uniform bias magnetic field. An oscillator-based MO Bragg cell modulator has also been constructed and has provided a Bragg diffraction efficiency which is higher by a factor of two to four than that of a conventional delayline-based modulator.
Evaluación de las incidencias de salinidad y pH sobre la biomasa, productividad y acumulación de lípidos en cultivos de Chlorella vulgaris en un fotobiorreactor de placa plana

La presente investigacion evaluo la incidencia de la salinidad, pH y productividad en un cultivo de Chlorella vulgaris en un fotobiorreactor de placa plana, la evaluacion de las incidencias se hizo teniendo en cuenta tres criterios de seleccion, pero antes de llegar a los tres criterios se hizo una fase de seleccion de condiciones teniendo en cuenta cuatro concentraciones de salinidad y cuatro rangos pH obtenidos en estudios anteriores, al tener en cuenta las curvas de crecimiento, la productividad volumetrica y el analisis estadistico se seleccionan las dos mejores condiciones de salinidad y nivel de pH y son llevadas al fotobiorreactor en donde se selecciona la mejor condicion para determinar el perfil de acidos grasos y encontrar la debida aplicacion.
Analysis of epidemic character and tendency of HIV/AIDS in Weifang City,Shandong,China

Objective To analyze the HIV/AIDS epidemic character and tendency in Weifang City. Methods The data of general surveillance and epidemiological research was collected and analyzed from 1992 to 2007. Results 592 232 persons were inspected including all kinds of people from 1992 to 2007 in Weifang City. 226 infectors were found including 45 patients, 34 decedents. Among the infectors, the young bloods were primary. 187 cases (20～40 years old) accounted for 82.74%. There were male 106 and female 120 in the factors. 148 cases that from other provinces and cities accounted for 65.49%. 117 cases that infected through sex transmission accounted for 51.77%. 6 cases that infected through mother to child transmission accounted for 2.65%. Conclusion Weifang is the low epidemic area of HIV/AIDS, but the speed of epidemic situation is fast. The major route of transmission is sexual contact. Integrated measures should be actualized to prevent HIV spread from high risky groups to general groups.
MICROSTRUCTURAL OBSERVATION OF CEMENT PARTICLE GROWTH AND CONNECTIVITY IN CEMENT PASTES

Cement paste′s microstructure evolution is a complex phenomenon,which includes cement particle growth,agglomeration,flocculation and wide rage range of other reactions.It is important to know these behaviors of cement particles during hydration for better understanding of the early age cement based material properties.In-situ observations were made on three different cement pastes’ microstructures evolutions by employing Quantomix capsuling system in scanning electron microscopy.With the advantage of continuous observation on cement pastes microstructure developments using this system,single particle growth and connectivity between particles during hydration were then investigated.For this purpose,changes in gray level profiles(using image analysis) of cement particles were used,which could be obtained from image analysis of micrographs.Finally,cement particle growth and connectivity in these cement pastes were examined quantitatively.
The non-stoichiometric floating receptor model for hormone sensitive adenylyl cyclase*

Based on a large body of circumstantial evidence, the non-stoichiometric floating receptor model for hormone sensitive adenylyl cyclase is proposed. It is thought to be the most economical model able to rationalize the available data. According to this model, the adenylyl cyclase system consists of two protein components: receptors and enzymatic units, each capable of assuming two conformations. Hormones activate adenylyl cyclase by association with receptors, which then have an increased affinity for the enzymatic units in the catalytically active conformation. There is no fixed stoichiometric relationship between the number of enzymatic units and the number of hormone receptors in a cell, but they only form 1:1 complexes with each other. Hormone receptors are assumed to be capable of lateral diffusion in the membrane. The model is also formulated in physico-chemical terms in order to elucidate the consequences. The non-stoichiometric floating receptor model (1) underscores the absence of homotropic allosterism with respect to hormonal activation. (2) It explains, at least qualitatively, the differing maximal effects of various hormones. (3) It gives a clue to the effect of hormone combinations, describing them as being competitive in origin, rather than caused by positive or negative heterotropic allosterism. (4) It explains how one system can be responsive to many agents. (5) It explains both the easy ontogenetic as well as phylogenetic adaptation of the adenylyl cyclase system. (6) It suggests a basic structural similarity of all receptors for hormones affecting adenylyl cyclase. Finally, the model constitutes a suitable working hypothesis for further experimentation and suggests new approaches.
Epidemiology and Control of Lassa Fever

The history of recognized human arenavirus infection in Africa began in 1969 with the mysterious death of two medical missionaries and the near-fatal illness of a third (Frame et al. 1970). An arenavirus was isolated from two of these patients and given the name of Lassa virus after the town of Lassa, Nigeria, where the disease, known as Lassa fever, occurred (Buckley et al. 1970). An earlier description of a febrile syndrome in Sierra Leone was, in retrospect, very likely to have been the first account of Lassa fever; however, no etiologic agent was sought (Rose 1956, 1957).