cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Correlation of enzymatic, metabolic, and behavioral deficits in thiamin deficiency and its reversal

To clarify the enzymatic mechanisms of brain damage in thiamin deficiency, glucose oxidation, acetylcholine synthesis, and the activities of the three major thiamin pyrophosphate (TPP) dependent brain enzymes were compared in untreated controls, in symptomatic pyrithiamin-induced thiamin-deficient rats, and in animals in which the symptoms had been reversed by treatment with thiamin. Although brain slices from symptomatic animals produced 14CO2 and 14C-acetylcholine from [U-14C]glucose at rates similar to controls under resting conditions, their K+-induced-increase declined by 50 and 75%, respectively. In brain homogenates from these same animals, the activities of two TPP-dependent enzymes transketolase (EC 2.2.1.1) and 2-oxoglutarate dehydrogenase complex (EC 1.2.4.2, EC 2.3.1.61, EC 1.6.4.3) decreased 60-65% and 36%, respectively. The activity of the third TPP-dependent enzyme, pyruvate dehydrogenase complex (EC 1.2.4.1, EC 2.3.1.12, EC 1.6.4.3) did not change nor did the activity of its activator pyruvate dehydrogenase phosphate phosphatase (EC 3.1.3.43). Although treatment with thiamin for seven days reversed the neurological symptoms and restored glucose oxidation, acetylcholine synthesis and 2-oxoglutarate dehydrogenase activity to normal, transketolase activity remained 30-32% lower than controls. The activities of other TPP-independent enzymes (hexokinase, phosphofructokinase, and glutamate dehydrogenase) were normal in both deficient and reversed animals.
Purinergic P2X2 Receptor Desensitization Depends on Coupling between Ectodomain and C-Terminal Domain

The wild-type P2X2 purinergic receptor (P2X2aR) and its splice form lacking the intracellular Val370-Gln438 C-terminal sequence (P2X2bR) respond to ATP stimulation with comparable EC50 values and peak current/calcium responses but desensitize in a receptor-specific manner. P2X2aR desensitizes slowly and P2X2bR desensitizes rapidly. We studied the effects of different agonists, and of substituting the ectodomain, on the pattern of calcium signaling by P2X2aR and P2X2bR. Both receptors showed similar EC50values (estimated from the peak calcium response) and IC50values (estimated from the rate of calcium signal desensitization) for agonists, in the order 2-MeS-ATP ≤ ATP ≤ ATPγS
The Texas Aggie Bonfire: A Conservative Reading of Regional Narratives, Traditional Practices, and a Paradoxical Place

Abstract Concepts of place, narrative, tradition, and identity are employed in a conservative reading of the Texas A&M Bonfire. Texas A&M embodied regional narratives of a dual Southern commitment to economic and technological development and conservation of traditional cultural. Institutionalized at Texas A&M in the late nineteenth century, these narratives made a paradoxical place. Bonfire expressed and obscured this paradox. In line with the narrative of tradition, Texas A&M was an all-male military school until 1965. The students were uniform, isolated, and regimented. This social structure engendered intense feelings of loyalty and community. These social emotions were further aroused at events like yell practice, and projected onto Bonfire. After the Second World War the commitment of university administrators to economic and technological progress increasingly threatened the narrative of tradition and the cultivation of manliness. Student veneration of Bonfire intensified. After 1965 mandatory mili...
Nature and Regulation of Energy Metabolism in the Epidermis

Epidermal slices can produce ATP by both glycolytic and respiratory reactions. Via glycolysis, ATP is produced at a maximal rate of about 0.1 μmole/hr/mg of fresh tissue when slices are incubated in the presence of glucose at concentrations equivalent to normal blood levels. Most of the glucose is converted to lactate, and only a small percentage of the glucose metabolites are oxidized. Respiration generates the majority of the energy for the epidermis, producing ATP at a rate of 0.5 μmole/hr/mg of tissue. The main respiratory reactions of the epidermis in vitro are β-oxidation of lipids and the Krebs cycle. Slices of human epidermis in culture show a relatively constant rate of respiration for several hours in the absence of added substrate, and endogenous components are the main substrates of respiration even in the presence of added nutrients. Cellular phospholipids are probably the major endogenous nutrients for this oxidation. The constant rate of epidermal respiration, the limited oxidation of glucose metabolites, and the Pasteur effect indicate that epidermal energy metabolism is subject to a strong and complex control by biochemical factors. These factors are more prominently expressed in the intact epidermis than in homogenates or extracts. Data are cited which suggest that nucleotide cofactors, particularly ATP, play an important part in energy control by modifying key enzymes of the energy pathways. In light of these data and current concepts of biochemical regulation, an hypothesis is presented in which nucleotides and other intermediates synchronize the rates of glycolysis and respiration, markedly limiting the oxidation of pyruvate by the Krebs cycle. They also may contribute to the accumulation of glycogen, which is observed in wounds and psoriatic epithelium.
Direct in vivo evaluation of pulmonary arterial pathology in chronic congestive heart failure with catheter-based intravascular ultrasound imaging☆

Abstract Patients with chronic congestive heart failure (CHF) frequently develop secondary pulmonary hypertension. This development is a poor prognostic indicator.1 In addition, secondary pulmonary hypertension that does not improve in response to vasodilators identifies a group of patients who will have a poor outcome after orthotopic heart transplantation.2,3 The structural abnormalities of the pulmonary artery that occur in CHF have been described in autopsy specimens,4 and human studies have demonstrated indirectly that there are alterations in pulmonary vascular impedance and stiffness.5,6 Intravascular ultrasound using high-frequency catheter-based imaging has been performed to quantify pulmonary artery area and diameter in humans.7 It also has been validated as a method of detecting plaque in both elastic and muscular arteries.8 We hypothesized that intravascular ultrasound could be used to characterize the changes in pulmonary vascular morphology and elasticity in CHF.
Characterization of a Lipophilic Plasmid DNA Condensate Formed with a Cationic Peptide Fatty Acid Conjugate

In the presence of cationic ligands, DNA molecules can become aggregated into larger particles in a process known as condensation. DNA condensates are of interest as models for the dense packing found in naturally occurring structures such as phage heads and chromatin. They have found extensive application in DNA transfection and also provide convenient models with which to study DNA damage by the direct effect of ionizing radiation. Further, conjugates of cationic peptides with fatty acids may represent a class of attractive ligands for these areas because of their simple synthesis. When plasmid pUC18 is used as the DNA target and N-caproyl-penta-arginine amide (Cap-R 5 -NH 2 ) is used as the ligand, the physical properties of the resulting mixtures were characterized using static and dynamic light scattering, sedimentation, dye exclusion, circular dichroism, nanoparticle tracking, and atomic force microscopy. Their chemical properties were assayed using solvent extraction and protection against hydroxyl radical attack and nuclease digestion. Titration of the plasmid with the Cap-R 5 -NH 2 ligand produced sharply defined changes in both chemical and physical properties, which was associated with the formation of condensed DNA particles in the 100―2000 nm size range. The caproyl group at the ligand's N-terminus produced a large increase in the partitioning of the resulting condensate from water into chloroform and in its binding to the neutral detergent Pluronic F-127. Both the physical and chemical data were all consistent with condensation of the plasmid by the ligand where the presence in the ligand of the caproyl group conferred an extensive lipophilic character upon the condensate.
A NUMERICAL STUDY OF THE HEAT TRANSFER TO FLUID FLOW THROUGH CIRCULAR POROUS PASSAGES

A detailed numerical study of heat transfer to a fluid passing through a saturated porous medium is the subject of this study. The Green's function solution method is selected in order to accomplish this task. The interesting features of this methodology are the focus of this article. As a test case, primary consideration is given to the computation of heat transfer to a fluid flowing through a circular passage with impermeable walls filled with porous materials. The analysis includes the heating/cooling effects due to a temperature change at the wall of the passage. In addition, the contributions of frictional heating are examined.
A model of feeding currents in encrusting bryozoans shows interference between zooids within a colony

A potentially important consequence of colony morphology in colonial suspension feeders such as bryozoan colonies is the hydrodynamic interaction between modules (zooids). In this paper, a detailed numerical model of water flow through an encrusting bryozoan colony is developed, using the theory of flow around slender bodies in slow flow (low Reynolds number), which calculates flow properties everywhere within a colony. Ciliated tentacles are represented by an extension of previous slender body theory to include cylinders with a “traction velocity” at their surfaces. The traction velocity, which is tangent to the cylinder surface, represents the macroscoic flow induced by ciliary action. This modeling approach makes it possible to calculate the self-induced flow through a complex geometry—in this case a colony of up to 121 zooids—which would be computationally difficult using mesh-based methods. Calculations of flow through model colonies indicate that there are strong, negative hydrodynamic interactions between zooids in a colony of this type. Zooids interfere with one another because areas of high shear beneath the lophophores cause viscous resistance to excurrent flow, resulting in high pressure in the interior of colonies. The ability of interior zooids to pump water through the lophophores is thereby greatly reduced. In contrast, a linear arrangement of zooids, as found in less-integrated and stoloniferous colonies, greatly reduces interference. Strong hydrodynamic interference between zooids suggests that there must exist other functional factors which enable highly-integrated colonies to compete successfully with arborescent and stoloniferous forms.
Self-broadening of the sodium resonance lines and excitation transfer between the 3P3/2 and 3P1/2 levels

Sodium vapor, in the density range ${10}^{13}$ to 5 \ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{} ${10}^{14}$ ${\mathrm{cm}}^{\ensuremath{-}3}$, was excited by a cw dye laser, tuned 20-150 GHz from either the ${D}_{1}$ or ${D}_{2}$ resonance line. We observed a three-peak scattered spectrum, consisting of the Rayleigh component at the laser frequency, and the two fluorescence components (direct and sensitized) at the atomic resonance-line frequencies. Corrections to the Rayleigh signals for anisotropy and polarization effects, and to the fluorescence signals for radiation trapping, were made in order to obtain the ratio of the sum of the total intensities of the two fluorescence components to that of the Rayleigh component. This ratio combined with a measurement of the line-wing absorption coefficient yields the sodium density and the $D$-line self-broadening rate coefficients [${k}_{\mathrm{br}}=4.67\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{\ensuremath{-}7}$ ${\mathrm{cm}}^{3}$${\mathrm{s}}^{\ensuremath{-}1}$ (\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}15%) for the ${D}_{2}$ line and ${k}_{\mathrm{br}}=3.07\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{\ensuremath{-}7}$ ${\mathrm{cm}}^{3}$${\mathrm{s}}^{\ensuremath{-}1}$ (\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}15%) for the ${D}_{1}$ line]. Asymmetry in the self-broadened line wings due to fine-structure recoupling was observed. The measured intensity ratio of the $D$ lines, combined with pulsed measurements of the effective radiative decay rates in the presence of radiation trapping, yields the fine-structure collisional-mixing cross section [$\ensuremath{\sigma}(3{P}_{\frac{3}{2}}\ensuremath{\rightarrow}3{P}_{\frac{1}{2}})=172$${\mathrm{\AA{}}}^{2}$(\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}18%)] at $T\ensuremath{\cong}300\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{}$ C. Our results are compared to other experiments and to theory.
Tackling task allocation uncertainty via a combinatorial method

A task-executing robot may encounter various types of uncertainty born of sensing, actuation, and motion errors. A robot uncertain of its current state is likely to reflect this uncertainty in the calculation of its utilities or performance estimates (e.g., costs, fitnesses) for planning purposes too. While controlling a single robot under uncertainty is challenging, coordinating a group of robots is likely to exacerbate the problem. An efficient and reliable way for assessing the uncertainty in the system in light of how it will affect robot's decisions and subsequent actions can help address the challenge of distributed reasoning under uncertainty. This paper examines our previously developed Interval Hungarian algorithm, providing complementary interpretations from the perspective of robotics applications. The method is described step by step via a common scenario: multi-robot navigation with localization uncertainty. Which we provide an extended comparison and analysis of this algorithm, as well as insights that we gained from experience conducting physical robots experiments.
A Framework for Evaluating Forest Conservation Implications of Community-based Capacity Building: Experiences from the Northern Bolivian Amazon

Capacity-building projects in forest-based communities are implemented by governments, cooperatives, and non-government organisations to encourage sustainable management of community forests. While such projects are regularly evaluated on a case-by-case basis, they are rarely subjected to a landscape-level examination to explore conservation implications. To understand how environmental capacity-building projects address regional conservation goals, an interdisciplinary framework was developed to highlight the thematic focus, the geographic distribution, and the degree of community participation in environmental capacity-building projects. We demonstrate how the framework can be used by characterising projects in campesino communities in the Amazonian department of Pando, Bolivia, that were active during 2006-2008. While projects were too recent to affect forest cover, we describe how the framework elucidates three project themes (timber, Brazil nut, and agroforestry management); that project distribution was largely related to land tenure security, proximity to town, historical relationships, and motorised access; and that capacity-building strategies varied in participation, depending on thematic content and federal requirements for specific resources. We then discuss how the framework can be used to analyse forest cover implications over many years. Understanding the combination of thematic focus, geographic distribution, and degree of participation in project strategies offers a foundation for understanding how capacity-building initiatives can influence forest landscapes.
The Value and Diversity of Indigenous Archaeology: A Response to McGhee

Robert McGhee (2008) recently argued against the validity and viability of Indigenous archaeology based on claims that untenable “Aboriginalism” supports the entire enterprise. However, he mischaracterizes and simplifies Indigenous archaeology, despite the wealth of literature suggesting that such community approaches have had and will continue to have great value for method, theory, rigorous interpretation, and political value in archaeology.
Outcome studies of low birth weight infants published in the last decade: a metaanalysis.

We conducted a metaanalysis and methods review of 80 studies, published in the last decade, that explored the outcome of low birth weight infants; 27% involved infants whose birth weights were ≤2500 gm (low birth weight), 44%≤1500 gm (very low birth weight), and 29% ≤1000 gm (extremely low birth weight). Problems found in these studies were grouped into three categories: subject and methods issues, environmental factors, and outcome measurement. The combined average intelligence quotient/developmental quotient (IQ/DQ) of all low birth weight groups was 97.77 (SD 6.19); for control subjects the mean IQ/DQ was 103.78 (SD 8.16). This difference was statistically significant but perhaps not clinically significant. No differences in mean IQ/DQ scores were found among the low birth weight, very low birth weight, and extremely low birth weight subgroups. Statistically significant differences among all groups and control subjects were found when categoric data were analyzed, as were differences among the three subgroups; however, the variety of outcome criteria makes interpretation of the categoric analyses difficult.
Interrole conflict among married women: The influence of husband and wife characteristics on conflict and coping behavior

Abstract The present research investigated the conflict that women experience between their home and nonhome roles. All of the women in the sample (N = 115) were married and living with their husbands, had at least one child living at home, and were college students. It was found that women who placed a similar level of importance on work as their husbands experienced less intense conflict than women who differed from their husbands in career orientation. In addition, the number of children at home was positively related to a woman's conflict when her husband was highly work oriented. A woman's use of reactive coping strategies was negatively related to her life satisfaction when her husband was dissatisfied with his own life.
Uncertainty from synergistic effects of multiple parameters in the Johnson and Ettinger (1991) vapor intrusion model

Abstract Migration of volatile chemicals from the subsurface into overlying buildings is known as vapor intrusion (VI). Under certain circumstances, people living in homes above contaminated soil or ground water may be exposed to harmful levels of these vapors. VI is a particularly difficult pathway to assess, as challenges exist in delineating subsurface contributions to measured indoor-air concentrations as well as in adequate characterization of subsurface parameters necessary to calibrate a predictive flow and transport model. Often, a screening-level model is employed to determine if a potential indoor inhalation exposure pathway exists and, if such a pathway is complete, whether long-term exposure increases the occupants’ risk for cancer or other toxic effects to an unacceptable level. A popular screening-level algorithm currently in wide use in the United States, Canada and the UK for making such determinations is the “Johnson and Ettinger” (J&E) model. Concern exists over using the J&E model for deciding whether or not further action is necessary at sites as many parameters are not routinely measured (or are un-measurable). Many screening decisions are then made based on simulations using “best estimate” look-up parameter values. While research exists on the sensitivity of the J&E model to individual parameter uncertainty, little published information is available on the combined effects of multiple uncertain parameters and their effect on screening decisions. This paper presents results of multiple-parameter uncertainty analyses using the J&E model to evaluate risk to humans from VI. Software was developed to produce automated uncertainty analyses of the model. Results indicate an increase in predicted cancer risk from multiple-parameter uncertainty by nearly a factor of 10 compared with single-parameter uncertainty. Additionally, a positive skew in model response to variation of some parameters was noted for both single and multiple parameter uncertainty analyses. From these results, an example order of data collection is presented to reduce output uncertainty. An on-line version of the model with automated uncertainty analyses is available to the public on EPA's Office of Research and Development website ( http://www.epa.gov/athens/onsite ).
Asynchronous distributed solution of large scale nonlinear inversion problems

In this paper we consider large scale nonlinear least squares problems whose objective functions are very expensive to evaluate, and whose Jacobian matrices are generally ill-conditioned and have an almost block diagonal structure. We prove the convergence of an asynchronous iteration to solve this kind of problems under standard assumptions. The method is naturally parallelizable and thus is applicable to practical inversion problems, as those arising in seismic exploration for hydrocarbons.
An Unexpected Penlon Sigma Elite Vaporizer Leak

THE Penlon Sigma Elite vaporizer (Penlon Ltd., Radley Road, Abingdon, UK) has been widely distributed throughout the United States to meet the consumer demand for delivery of sevoflurane. We present a case describing a Penlon Sigma Elite Vaporizer leak that was not detected using the 1993 Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Anesthesia Apparatus Checkout Recommendations' for anesthesia gas delivery machines. To our knowledge, this is the first case report describing a potential problem with the Penlon Sigma Elite Vaporizer when used on an Ohmeda Modulus II anesthesia machine (Madison, WI).
Community, Authority, and Autonomy: Jewish Resources for the Vaccine Wars

What can the Jewish tradition contribute to the current public debate about vaccination? Much of the rhetoric surrounding vaccine refusal appeals to concepts of individual autonomy and fears of political and intellectual authority, claiming that the individual is the best expert on his or her own health and on whether to actively deny accepted medical consensus. Unlike many other health decisions, vaccine refusal has direct and measurable consequences for one’s community. The Jewish tradition’s emphasis on community and the well-being of the collective, as well as its tradition of respect for intellectual authority, can be a critical support to the medical community in encouraging widespread vaccination.
What do we really know about auroral acceleration

Abstract The auroral acceleration region provides an easily accessible region where plasma acceleration processes of solar and cosmic importance can be studied. In addition the auroral acceleration region plays an important role in the magnetosphere. The acceleration of ions in the auroral acceleration region provides an important, and at least during times of large magnetic storms, the dominant source of mass to the magnetosphere while the acceleration of electrons produce beautiful auroral displays. While many of the effects of auroral acceleration are understood since it is relatively easy to measure energetic particles, the mechanisms by which particles are accelerated are less well known since a study of mechanisms requires a combination of measurements of both particles and electric fields, preferably at more that one point, with a theory that describes the creation of such electric fields and the effect of such fields on particle acceleration. Measurements by sounding rockets and satellites dedicated primarily to auroral studies such as S3-3, DE, and Viking have provided much of the in situ observations that are the basis of our current knowledge of auroral acceleration. Currently, Freja, Akebono, and especially the Polar and FAST satellites, together with increasingly more sophisticated sounding rockets are adding to our knowledge of auroral acceleration.
Babesiosis-Induced Acute Kidney Injury With Prominent Urinary Macrophages

Babesia is an obligate intracellular erythrocyte parasite that can infect humans. Severe symptomatic disease from massive hemolysis and multiorgan system failure, including acute kidney injury (AKI), occurs. Acute tubular injury from a combination of volume depletion and heme pigment toxicity from profound hemolysis is the most common cause of AKI. We present a case of severe babesiosis complicated by dialysis-requiring AKI with the unique finding of large macrophages containing engulfed erythrocyte fragments in urine sediment. This urinary finding raised the possibility of another diagnosis distinct from acute tubular injury. Subsequent kidney biopsy demonstrated infection-associated acute interstitial nephritis.
Timing Is Everything: Economic Sanctions, Regime Type, and Domestic Instability

Recent scholarship suggests that democracies are more vulnerable to economic coercion than authoritarian regimes; unfortunately, the countries most often targeted by economic sanctions are nondemocratic. While agreeing that authoritarians are indeed more robust to sanctions at most times, this article argues that there exist “windows of opportunity,” created by domestic instability, which make dictatorships particularly vulnerable to sanctions pressures. This is because, while domestic discontent in democracies is often seen a form of politics as usual (even if intensified), public demonstrations against the government in an authoritarian country can be both cause and indication of deep structural problems and crises that may be exploited by sanctioning countries. The hypothesis that the interaction between regime-type and domestic instability leads to greater vulnerability among despots finds strong support in a number of selection-corrected regressions indicating that, when sanctioning authoritarians, t...
A highly aromatic and sulfonated ionomer for high elastic modulus ionic polymer membrane micro-actuators

A high modulus, sulfonated ionomer synthesized from 4,6-bis(4-hydroxyphenyl)-N,N-diphenyl-1,3,5-triazin-2-amine and 4,4?-biphenol with bis(4-fluorophenyl)sulfone (DPA-PS:BP) is investigated for ionic polymer actuators. The uniqueness of DPA-PS:BP is that it can have a high ionic liquid (IL) uptake and consequently generates a high intrinsic strain response, which is >1.1% under 1.6?V while maintaining a high elastic modulus (i.e. 600?MPa for 65?vol% IL uptake). Moreover, such a high modulus of the active ionomer, originating from the highly aromatic backbone and side-chain-free structure, allows for the fabrication of free-standing thin film micro-actuators (down to 5??m thickness) via the solution cast method and focused-ion-beam milling, which exhibits a much higher bending actuation, i.e. 43??m tip displacement and 180?kPa blocking stress for a 200??m long and 5??m thick cantilever actuator, compared with the ionic actuators based on traditional ionomers such as Nafion, which has a much lower elastic modulus (50?MPa) and actuation strain.
Formulas of Liapunov functions for systems of linear partial differential equations

Formulas of explicit quadratic Liapunov functions for showing asymptotic stability of the system of linear partial differential equations ∂u∂t=AΔu(t,x) on (0,∞)×Ω, are constructed, where A is an n×n real matrix, u=(u1,u2,…,un)T, Ω is a bounded domain in Rk with smooth boundary ∂Ω, and Δ denotes the Laplacian operator on Rk with Δu=(Δu1,Δu2,…,Δun)T. These formulas are also modified and applied to a number of nonautonomous linear and nonlinear systems and models in structural stability, traveling wave, and Navier–Stokes equations.
Infrequent physician use of implantable cardioverter-defibrillators risks patient safety

Context Implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (ICDs) have diffused rapidly into clinical practice with little evaluation of their real-world effectiveness. Objectives To determine the effect of the adoption of ICD on patient safety, particularly with respect to physician volume and early outcomes. Design Retrospective cohort of all ICD implantations in New York state from 1997 to 2006, with follow-up at 90 days and 1 year. Setting New York state non-federal hospital discharges in which an ICD was implanted during the admission. Patients were followed forward for 1 year for subsequent admissions. Patients New York state residents undergoing ICD implantation. Main outcome measures Effects of annual and career ICD implantation volume on 90-day complication, readmission, reprogramming, mortality and revision of the ICD within 1 year. Results This cohort (N=38 992) represents a period of rapid adoption and implementation of this new technology, with frequency more than tripling between 1997 and 2006. We identified 6439 (16.5%) post-implantation complications and 1093 (2.8%) deaths within 90 days of implantation. The majority (73.4%) of physicians implanted one or fewer ICDs per year, and 11.0% of all implantations were performed by these very-low-volume operators. Patients treated by very-low-volume operators were more likely to die (RR=1.8, 95% CI 1.3 to 2.4) or experience cardiac complications (RR=4.7, 95% CI 3.3 to 6.8) even after the adjustment for case mix compared to operators who frequently performed ICD implantation. Conclusions These findings suggest a need for safe and effective implementation strategies for new medical technologies, which minimize patient risk due to rapid diffusion among inexperienced providers and assure that the intended benefit can be maximised rapidly.
Including the Assessment of Nontraditional Factors in Pharmacy School Admissions

OBJECTIVE:To review the relevant literature regarding the predictive ability of cognitive measures (ie, Pharmacy College Admissions Test [PCAT] scores and prepharmacy grade point average [GPA]) on both academic and clinical performance and discuss the inclusion of nontraditional assessment during the admissions process.DATA SOURCES:Articles were identified through searches of International Pharmaceutical Abstracts (1970–April 2004), MEDLINE (1966–January 2004), and ERIC (1966–April 2004) using the key words admissions variables, predictors of success, Pharmacy College Admissions Test, grade point average, cognitive variables, and noncognitive variables.STUDY SELECTION AND DATA EXTRACTION:Cross-sectional, longitudinal, and retrospective studies, as well as reviews, regarding pharmacy school and other higher education admissions' variables were included in this review.DATA SYNTHESIS:Many pharmacy school admissions committees give a majority weight to the traditional cognitive markers of prepharmacy GPA and ...
Biomarkers of the insulin-like growth factor pathway predict progression and outcome in lung cancer.

Background Insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-I), IGF binding proteins (IGFBP) 1 to 7, and C-peptide have been postulated to predict survival in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Studying serum levels in NSCLC patients treated with surgical resection may provide information on the aggressiveness of tumors and be predictive of disease recurrence. Methods Immunobead assays were used to measure pretreatment serum levels of IGF-I, IGFBP1 to IGFBP7, and C-peptide in 100 NSCLC patients. Of these, 59 had no metastatic progression (T1 to T4 N0 M0), whereas 41 had positive lymph nodes (T1 to T4 N1 to N3 M0). Data were analyzed using the Mann-Whitney two-sided rank sum test or Kaplan-Meier curves. Results Low serum IGFBP5 levels correlated strongly with a positive nodal status (p Conclusions IGFBP5 and IGFBP7 had value as biomarkers for identifying NSCLC progression and patient outcome.
Organization and development of combined medical-psychiatric units: Part 1.

Abstract Key issues examined in this first of a two-part series on the organization and development of combined medical-psychiatric units include definition of the intended patient populations, features of the physical environment for both patients and staff, diagnostic and therapeutic capabilities, kinds of psychiatric therapy in relation to this particular therapeutic milieu, and the roles of other mental health practitioners. This evaluation, along with the subsequent discussion of associated features in Part 2, is intended to provide a comprehensive guide for assessing the feasibility of successfully operating a combined unit within a general hospital setting.
The Effects of Job Corps Training on Wages of Adolescents and Young Adults

Previous evaluations of Job Corps document disparate effects on the earnings of adolescents (aged 16-19) and young adults (aged 20-24). These are conjectured to be due to differential human capital accumulation within the program between these groups. If correct, the effect of the program on wages should be larger than that on earnings, since wages more accurately reflect human capital. We estimate bounds on average and quantile treatment effects of Job Corps on wages and find that the relative effects on both outcomes are similar, casting some doubt on the conjecture that human capital is driving the disparate effects.
Simulated Fan-Beam Radar Imagery

This paper describes a capability for simulating significant aspects of the imagery available from an idealized “fan-beam” radar. The object is two-fold. First, it is to evaluate the utility of such imagery in assessing the progress of an aircraft along postulated final approach paths, and secondly, to determine if the sensed imagery from a horizontally scanned fan-beam radar can be enhanced by implementing a second, vertically scanned fan-beam radar and combining the two images. Mathematical algorithms necessary to perform the simulations are derived and a Vax 11/780 computer is utilized to implement them. Plots are drawn for various aircraft positions and attitudes utilizing discrete points delineating Los Angeles International airport runways 7L and 7R. The simulated visual scene is presented with the radar sensed imagery for comparison purposes. The simulation is performed in two parts. Part I contains the horizontally scanned Fan-beam Radar Imagery (FRI) and shows that while the radar imagery presents an accurate lateral view, it lacks vertical information. Thus, while yaw is apparent, pitch and roll information, as well as vertical path deviations, are not apparent. It is concluded that such imagery is inadequate to provide critical aircraft position and attitude information, especially in the vertical dimension. Part II adds a vertically scanned fan-beam radar to the horizontally scanned fan-beam radar so that combined FRI can be evaluated. The simulation shows that this technique produces an accurate view in both the lateral and vertical direction. In fact, the visual view and radar view are practically identical. Thus, yaw, pitch, and roll information, as well as progress in both the horizontal and vertical planes, are apparent. It is concluded that such combined imagery can provide critical aircraft position and attitude information.
PORTFOLIO CHOICES, CONSUMPTION, AND PRICES IN A MARKET WITH DURABLE ASSETS

Recent research in investments has focused almost exclusively on financial assets such as corporate stocks. Although durable assets constitute an important part of investors' holdings, little effort has been made to explore their role in individuals' investments decisions and on assets pricing. This paper establishes results concerning the role of durable assets in the determination of optimum portfolio choices. The paper explores the effect of consumption considerations related to the service flows generated by durable assets on optimum portfolio considerations and asset prices. The main result is tied to the existence, or lack thereof, of efficient rental markets. In the absence of rental markets (or with restrictions on renting), investors' portfolio choices are not independent of consumption considerations as they are assumed to be in the standard CAPM. Individuals may thus hold different portfolios, and prices reflect the owner's inability to trade consumption flows. Under perfect market assumptions with unrestricted rental markets, optimum portfolio choices are undistinguishable from those implied by the standard CAPM in the sense that they are mean-variance efficient and identical for all individuals. Consumption is adjusted by trading service flows in the rental market. Prices, and the price of risk, however, reflect the existence of durable assets service flows as well as the risks involved in trading these flows in the rental market. In the model, risky rental income is introduced by uncertain rental costs. Equilibrium rental rates, an important part of the return expected from holding durable assets, are determined in the context of the mean-variance framework as a function of return and undiversifiable risk.
Pesticides and honey bee toxicity – USA

Until 1985 discussions of pesticides and honey bee toxicity in the USA were focused on pesticides applied to crops and the unintentional exposure of foraging bees to them. The recent introduction of arthropod pests of honey bees, Acarapis woodi (1984), Varroa destructor (1987), and Aethina tumida (1997), to the USA have resulted in the intentional introduction of pesticides into beehives to suppress these pests. Both the unintentional and the intentional exposure of honey bees to pesticides have resulted in residues in hive products, especially beeswax. This review examines pesticides applied to crops, pesticides used in apiculture and pesticide residues in hive products. We discuss the role that pesticides and their residues in hive products may play in colony collapse disorder and other colony problems. Although no single pesticide has been shown to cause colony collapse disorder, the additive and synergistic effects of multiple pesticide exposures may contribute to declining honey bee health.
Amplification of narrow line LiF:F 2 +∗∗ color center laser oscillation

Abstract A nanosecond pulsed LiF : F 2 + ∗ ∗ color center master oscillator and power amplifier scheme is presented. Maximum amplified pulse energies of ∼15 mJ near 930 nm are achieved, with an amplification gain of more than 35× under less than 50 mJ of absorbed pump energy. Furthermore, flexibility in the amplifier design should allow for additional improvements through steps such as saturating the passive losses in the crystal. We also discuss the optimization of color center crystal preparation, which has facilitated the growth of LiF : F 2 + ∗ ∗ color center crystals with large absorption coefficients (from 2 to 8 cm −1 at the maximum near 600 nm). Passive losses in these crystals are estimated to be less than 0.08 cm −1 at the oscillation wavelength and are attributed to the presence of “ F 2 + ∗ ∗ -like” color centers.
Solid-state dynamics of uranyl polyoxometalates

Understanding fundamental uranyl polyoxometalate (POM) chemistry in solution and the solid state is the first step to defining its future role in the development of new actinide materials and separation processes that are vital to every step of the nuclear fuel cycle. Many solid-state geometries of uranyl POMs have been described, but we are only beginning to understand their chemical behavior, which thus far includes the role of templates in their self-assembly, and the dynamics of encapsulated species in solution. This study provides unprecedented detail into the exchange dynamics of the encapsulated species in the solid state through Magic Angle Spinning Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (MAS NMR) spectroscopy. Although it was previously recognized that capsule-like molybdate and uranyl POMs exchange encapsulated species when dissolved in water, analogous exchange in the solid state has not been documented, or even considered. Here, we observe the extremely high rate of transport of Li(+) and aqua species across the uranyl shell in the solid state, a process that is affected by both temperature and pore blocking by larger species. These results highlight the untapped potential of emergent f-block element materials and vesicle-like POMs.
Irreversible adsorption from dilute polymer solutions.

We study irreversible polymer adsorption from dilute solutions theoretically. Universal features of the resultant non-equilibrium layers are predicted. Two broad cases are considered, distinguished by the magnitude of the local monomer-surface sticking rate Q: chemisorption (very small Q) and physisorption (large Q). Early stages of layer formation entail single-chain adsorption. While single-chain physisorption times $\tau_{\rm ads}$ are typically micro- to milli-seconds, for chemisorbing chains of N units we find experimentally accessible times $\tau_{\rm ads} = Q^{-1} N^{3/5}$ , ranging from seconds to hours. We establish 3 chemisorption universality classes, determined by a critical contact exponent: zipping, accelerated zipping and homogeneous collapse. For dilute solutions, the mechanism is accelerated zipping: zipping propagates outwards from the first attachment, accelerated by occasional formation of large loops which nucleate further zipping. This leads to a transient distribution $\omega(s) \sim s^{-7/5}$ of loop lengths s up to a maximum size $s^{\max} \approx (Q t)^{5/3}$ after time t. By times of order $\tau_{\rm ads}$ the entire chain is adsorbed. The outcome of the single-chain adsorption episode is a monolayer of fully collapsed chains. Having only a few vacant sites to adsorb onto, late-arriving chains form a diffuse outer layer. In a simple picture we find for both chemisorption and physisorption a final loop distribution $\Omega(s) \sim s^{-11/5}$ and density profile $c(z) \sim z^{-4/3}$ whose forms are the same as for equilibrium layers. In contrast to equilibrium layers, however, the statistical properties of a given chain depend on its adsorption time; the outer layer contains many classes of chain, each characterized by a different fraction of adsorbed monomers f. Consistent with strong physisorption experiments, we find the f values follow a distribution $P(f) \sim f^{-4/5}$ .
Copper-Matrix Molybdenum Particle Composite as a Low-Thernal-Expansion Conductor

Powder metallurgical fabrication of Cu/Mo composites containing 33–73 wt.% Mo was carried out by using either Cu coated Mo powder or a mixture of Cu and Mo powders. The former yielded Cu/Mo composites of greater density, hardness, compressive yield strength and abrasive wear resistance, and lower electrical resistivity and coefficient of thermal expansion than the latter. This is attributed partly to the lower porosity of the former composites and partly to the separation of the adjacent Mo particles in the former composites and the partial linkage of the adjacent Mo particles in the latter composites.
Physical structure of the local interstellar medium

The physical structure and morphology of the interstellar medium that surrounds our solar system directly effects the heliosphere and the interplanetary environment. High resolution ultraviolet absorption spectra of nearby stars and the intervening interstellar medium, observed by the Hubble Space Telescope, provide important information about the chemical abundance, ionization, temperature, kinematics, density, morphology, and turbulent structures of the local interstellar medium. Fortunately, nearly all observations of nearby stars contain useful local interstellar medium absorption lines. The number of useful observations is large enough that we can start analyzing the local interstellar medium as a three-dimensional object, as opposed to focusing on individual sightlines. We present the results of high resolution observations of nearby gas obtained by the Hubble Space Telescope. Our focus will be on the kinematic, temperature, and turbulent velocity structures in the Local Interstellar Cloud and other nearby clouds. Understanding the physical characteristics of these structures is necessary if we are to discuss the morphology of the local interstellar medium, its evolution, origin, and impact on the heliosphere and our solar system. 2004 COSPAR. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome: clinical and radiological manifestations, pathophysiology, and outstanding questions

Summary Almost two decades have elapsed since posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome (PRES) was described in an influential case series. This usually reversible clinical syndrome is becoming increasingly recognised, in large part because of improved and more readily available brain imaging. Although the pathophysiological changes underlying PRES are not fully understood, endothelial dysfunction is a key factor. A diagnosis of PRES should be considered in the setting of acute neurological symptoms in patients with renal failure, blood pressure fluctuations, use of cytotoxic drugs, autoimmune disorders, or eclampsia. Characteristic radiographic findings include bilateral regions of subcortical vasogenic oedema that resolve within days or weeks. The presence of haemorrhage, restricted diffusion, contrast enhancement, and vasoconstriction are all compatible with a diagnosis. In most cases, PRES resolves spontaneously and patients show both clinical and radiological improvements. The range of symptoms that can comprise the syndrome might be broader than usually thought. In its mild form, this disorder might cause only one clinical symptom (headache or seizure) and radiographically might show few areas of vasogenic oedema or even normal brain imaging in some rare cases. In severe forms, PRES might cause substantial morbidity and even mortality, most often as a result of acute haemorrhage or massive posterior fossa oedema causing obstructive hydrocephalus or brainstem compression.
The Economic Impact Of International Trade In A Small Regional Economy: The Case Of Miami, Florida

This study estimates the economic impacts from international trade activity in Miami-Dade using an input-output model developed with IMPLAN software. Common observations suggest that international trade is an important determinant of the long-term economic growth of the metro area’s economy, as well as a key factor in the region’s pattern of short-run business cycles. The logistics of international trade requires not only port operations, but also involves numerous components of the transportation network. Local manufacturing firms are also likely to be involved in exporting or production requiring imported intermediate goods. BLS establishment survey data is used to identify the direct employment and labor compensation in industries that are directly involved in the movement of international cargo. Census data on origin of exports is used to estimate the direct impact of international trade related local manufacturing. An economic model for Miami-Dade County is then used to estimate the local indirect and induced impacts of international merchandise trade.
Obstetric and gynecologic problems associated with eating disorders

Objective This article summarizes the literature on obstetric and gynecologic complications associated with eating disorders. Method We performed a comprehensive search of the current literature on obstetric and gynecologic complications associated with eating disorders using PubMed. More recent randomized-controlled trials and larger data sets received priority. We also chose those that we felt would be the most relevant to providers. Results Common obstetric and gynecologic complications for women with eating disorders include infertility, unplanned pregnancy, miscarriage, poor nutrition during pregnancy, having a baby with small head circumference, postpartum depression and anxiety, sexual dysfunction and complications in the treatment for gynecologic cancers. There are also unique associations by eating disorder diagnosis, such as earlier cessation of breastfeeding in anorexia nervosa; increased polycystic ovarian syndrome in bulimia nervosa; and complications of obesity as a result of binge eating disorder. Discussion We focus on possible biological and psychosocial factors underpinning risk for poor obstetric and gynecological outcomes in eating disorders. Understanding these factors may improve both our understanding of the reproductive needs of women with eating disorders and their medical outcomes. We also highlight the importance of building multidisciplinary teams to provide comprehensive care to women with eating disorders during the reproductive years.