cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
NITROGEN RETENTION IN SEMIARID ECOSYSTEMS ACROSS A SOIL ORGANIC-MATTER GRADIENT

Agricultural and industrial activities have greatly altered the global nitrogen (N) cycle and increased the availability of biologically reactive N in many ecosystems. Though N is a limiting nutrient in most terrestrial ecosystems, production responses to enhanced N availability are not likely to pace increases in N deposition. Soils may represent a large and relatively stable sink for anthropogenic N, but few studies have explicitly addressed the influence of soil properties on N retention. We examined the influence of soil organic matter (SOM), particulate organic matter (POM), and soil texture on N retention in a series of soils across an environmental gradient in the western Great Plains of the United States. We applied 2.5 and 50 g N/m2 of 15N-labeled (NH4)2SO4 to coarse- and fine-textured soils in the spring of 1996 and collected soils and plants at four sampling intervals over the following three growing seasons. Within the grassland ecosystems studied, soils were the dominant sink for both the low-N and high-N treatments. Following low-N additions, plots retained a high proportion of N distributed in plant and POM fractions, suggesting tight cycling among pools with rapid and intermediate turnover. High-N plots retained 35% of N additions after three growing seasons following application. On average, recovery of N was greatest in fine-textured soil relative to coarse soils, although this trend was significant only in plots receiving low-N additions. Soil organic carbon (C) content explained a significant proportion of the variability in estimates of N retention, particularly for high-N plots where soil C accounted for up to 40% of the variance in total recovery of the N applications. We conclude that soils are the dominant sink for retention of N applications and that stabilization is controlled in large part by soil organic C. Based upon our results, we estimate the threshold for N retention of pulse N addition in the surface soils of semiarid grasslands systems to be <20 g N/m2.
Shipboard Meteorological Data System

This paper describes a shipboard system which records true wind as averaged north and east vectors every six minutes on digital tape. Also recorded are air temperature, sea surface temperature, dew point, solar radiation, and ship speed and heading. In addition to recording the data, the system provides a continuous TV-type display of quantities in engineering units at a central location on the ship. Since the system is computer controlled and programmed in the BASIC language, it can be easily expanded and reconfigured for different applications. An extensive data set taken manually on the R/V Atlantis II JASIN cruise and from a nearby moored buoy is compared with the computer-acquired data set to verify the quality of the latter.
A new, practical synthesis of 2-methoxyestradiols.

Abstract An efficient and practical approach to synthesize moderate to large amounts of 2-methoxyestradiol (2-ME2) is described. The key step in the synthesis is the regioselective introduction of an acetyl group at the C-2 position of estradiol using a zirconium tetrachloride mediated Fries rearrangement carried out on estradiol diacetate. The seven step synthetic procedure readily gave 2-ME2 in 49% overall yield. Application of this method to the synthesis of 2-methoxy-7α-methylestradiol is also described.
Effect of Respiration on Venous Return and Stroke Volume in Cardiac Tamponade

In 40 lightly anesthetized dogs, 5 to 30 days after surgical preparation, flow was measured simultaneously in the venae cavae, pulmonary artery, pulmonary vein, and aorta with ultrasonic flowmeters. Intrapleural and pericardial pressures were measured via silastic cannulas. Pulmonary vein diameter was monitored by miniature mutual inductance coils. In the resting animal with sinus arrhythmia, inspiration increased heart rate and flow in the vena cava, and to a lesser extent, in the pulmonary vein. Left ventricular stroke volume (LVSV) varied directly with the right ventricular stroke volume (RVSV) in dogs with slow heart rates. Cardiac tamponade invariably caused tachycardia and a marked decrease in cardiac output, arterial pressure, pulse pressure, and stroke volume; venous pressure and diameter increased. Pericardial pressure, although markedly elevated, fell with inspiration paralleling the fall in intrapleural pressure. Flow in the pulmonary vein rose or remained constant with inspiration. Pulmonary v...
Formulating an approach to develop a system for the temporal analysis of clinical trial data: The POSCH AI project

The architecture and requirements of a prototypical system to help in the statistical investigation of causal relationships in a large clinical trial database are discussed. The suitability of techniques from artificial intelligence (AI), statistical analysis, and neural networks are being studied. Back-propagation experiments indicate that it works about as well as other methods but it is doubtful how useful it will be for discovering relationships in the POSCH dataset. Structure discovery techniques from artificial intelligence are being investigated.
Expensive egos: narcissistic males have higher cortisol.

Background Narcissism is characterized by grandiosity, low empathy, and entitlement. There has been limited research regarding the hormonal correlates of narcissism, despite the potential health implications. This study examined the role of participant narcissism and sex on basal cortisol concentrations in an undergraduate population. Methods and Findings Participants were 106 undergraduate students (79 females, 27 males, mean age 20.1 years) from one Midwestern and one Southwestern American university. Narcissism was assessed using the Narcissistic Personality Inventory, and basal cortisol concentrations were collected from saliva samples in a laboratory setting. Regression analyses examined the effect of narcissism and sex on cortisol (log). There were no sex differences in basal cortisol, F(1,97) = .20, p = .65, and narcissism scores, F(1,97) = .00, p = .99. Stepwise linear regression models of sex and narcissism and their interaction predicting cortisol concentrations showed no main effects when including covariates, but a significant interaction, β = .27, p = .04. Narcissism was not related to cortisol in females, but significantly predicted cortisol in males. Examining the effect of unhealthy versus healthy narcissism on cortisol found that unhealthy narcissism was marginally related to cortisol in females, β = .27, p = .06, but significantly predicted higher basal cortisol in males, β = .72, p = .01, even when controlling for potential confounds. No relationship was found between sex, narcissism, or their interaction on self-reported stress. Conclusions Our findings suggest that the HPA axis is chronically activated in males with unhealthy narcissism. This constant activation of the HPA axis may have important health implications.
Reflectance infrared spectroscopic analysis of polymers at the air-water interface. 4. Microstructure of poly(dimethylsiloxane)

At room temperature, monolayer films of poly(dimethylsiloxane) spread on the air-water interface display nearly constant surface pressures in the region between surface concentrations of 0.75 and 1.6 mg/m 2 . Studies of these films in this region by epifluorescence microscopy and external reflectance infrared spectroscopy are reported. Two surface phases were detected by the epifluorescence micrographs. The infrared reflectance spectra in the 1000-1100 cm -1 region and at concentrations between 0.75 and 1.6 mg/m 2 can be fit as a mixture of infrared features observed at these surface concentration limits. At 0.75 mg/m 2 , the infrared reflectance data are consistent with a random chain in which the oxygen atoms are largely exposed to the water surface, described by earlier workers as a twisted caterpillar, or a two-dimensional random coil with as many oxygen atoms as possible exposed to water. At 1.6 mg/m 2 , the infrared data indicate that the oxygen atoms are largely excluded from contact with water and suggest the presence of a more ordered structure consistent with helical segments which have the helix axis parallel to the water surface.
Conditions for weak ergodicity of inhomogeneous Markov chains

A classical result of Wolfowitz states that an inhomogeneous Markov chain is weakly ergodic if the transition matrices are drawn from a finite set of indecomposable and aperiodic matrices and the products of transition matrices are also indecomposable and aperiodic. Since products of indecomposable and aperiodic matrices can be decomposable, any finite set of indecomposable and aperiodic transition matrices does not guarantee weak ergodicity. We present conditions for weak ergodicity which are simpler to verify and are related to properties of the graph of the transition matrices.
Thermal conductance of multilayered metallic sheets

An experimental investigation was conducted to determine the thermal conductivity, the overall thermal conductance, and the thermal contact conductance between layers of stacked aluminum alloy 3004, 5042, and 5182 sheet. Tests were conducted for aluminum sample thicknesses of 0.0305-0.3074 cm (0.012-0.121 in.), mean junction temperatures of 79.5 and 165.5°C (175 and 330°F), and contact pressures of 0.689-10.34 MPa (100-1500 psi). The overall thermal conductance increased with increasing contact pressure and increasing temperature. It decreased as the number of aluminum layers was increased. The experimental data were used to derive thermal contact conductance between layers of stacked aluminum sheet. From these derived values, a correlation for the thermal contact conductance was developed. The resulting expressions are presented as a function of dimensionless parameters for the layer material, apparent contact pressure, and mean junction temperature.
Model predictions and experiments for rotating reverse osmosis for space mission water reuse

Abstract Reverse osmosis (RO) is an efficient process for the removal of ionic and organic pollutants from wastewater. However, flux decline and rejection deterioration due to concentration polarization and membrane fouling hinders the application of RO technology. Rotating RO, which takes advantage of high shear and the Taylor–Couette flow instability to reduce the flux decline related to concentration polarization and membrane fouling, was investigated as a novel method for space mission wastewater recovery. Mass transfer in rotating RO was experimentally determined based on film theory. The model developed for rotating RO allows the prediction of flux and pollutant rejection over a wide range of design and operational parameters. The model matches the experimental results from a laboratory‐scale rotating RO system very well. According to the model, rotating RO shows better flux and rejection than a nonrotating system by effectively reducing concentration polarization. Operating parameters, such as rota...
Raman scattering and structural order in liquid GeSe2

Abstract High temperature polarized and depolarized Raman spectra have been obtained in liquid GeSe 2 near the melting point of 770 C. The spectra indicate a number of similarities to amorphous GeSe 2 , including the presence of the “companion” line which has been associated with intermediate range order in the amorphous state. The Raman spectra, as well as previous low angle diffraction studies, indicate that intermediate range structural order is also present in liquid GeSe 2 .
Examining potential demographic risk factors for congenital cardiovascular malformations on a time-developmental model.

Summary. A descriptive epidemiological study of congenital cardiovascular malformations (CCM) was performed to evaluate the use of a model which groups selected cardiac lesions according to time of embryonic origin. Infants born from 1983–1986 to residents of New York State excluding New York City and reported to the Congenital Malformation Registry (CMR) were first grouped into those with (n=299) and without (n=4424) chromosome anomalies. Infants were then categorised according to the time of gestation of their earliest occurring CCM into one of the seven cardiac groups of the model. The categories were analysed by infant race, gender, birthweight, gestation, maternal age and education, and the presence of additional malformations. The group without chromosomal anomalies showed an increasing proportion of non-whites, females, and preterm births and a decreasing proportion of infants with other malformations in the embryonically later categories. The group with chromosomal anomalies was too small to exhibit any significant demographic patterns. The findings suggest associations between characteristics of the infant and the embryonic period in which the CCM occurred, thus demonstrating the usefulness of a time-based model. Further research should concentrate on confirming these associations with more complete data and on investigating their biological bases.
Overcoming Passive Behavior.

Passivity is a behavior problem that seriously interferes with learning for many LD youngsters but it can be identified and dealt with.
Varying Kernel-Extent Gridding Reconstruction for Undersampled Variable-Density Spirals

Nonuniform, non-Cartesian k-space trajectories enable fast scanning with reduced motion and flow artifacts. In such cases, the data are usually convolved with a kernel and resampled onto a Cartesian grid before reconstruction. For trajectories such as undersampled variable-density spirals, the mainlobe width of the kernel for undersampled high spatial frequencies has to be larger to limit the amount of aliasing energy. Continuously varying the kernel extent is time consuming. By dividing k-space into several annuli and using appropriate mainlobe widths for each, the aliasing energy and noise can be reduced at the expense of lower resolution towards the edge of the field of view (FOV). Resolution can instead be preserved at the center of the FOV, which is expected to be free of artifacts, without any artifact reduction. The image reconstructed from each annulus can be deapodized separately. The method can be applied to most k-space trajectories used in MRI.
When prostate cancer markers become unreliable: the PCPT dilemma.

t i D p d Gleason score has proven itself as one of the most relible single markers to predict the behavior of prostate caner. Gleason score can stand-alone or be used in a variety of omograms to predict clinical stage or the subsequent risk f progression. However, the performance of reliable markrs such as the Gleason score can sometimes be unintenionally compromised. When can a reliable prostate cancer arker become unreliable? Perhaps this phenomenon can e seen in the recently reported Prostate Cancer Prevention rial (PCPT) [1]. Thompson and associates recently reported on the PCPT, here a reduction in the development prostate cancer was hown using long-term daily finasteride in a placebo conrolled trial. However, the excitement of this trial was temered by concerns about an observed increased risk of igh-grade tumors in men who developed prostate cancer in he treatment arm. Men treated with finasteride who develped prostate cancer were more likely to develop higher leason score (7–10) tumors than men who developed prosate cancer on the placebo arm (6.4% vs. 5.1%, P 0.005). Can finasteride cause the development of more aggresive cancers while preventing some cases of prostate caner? While the answer remains unknown, several theories ave been proposed [2]. One consideration is that finaseride-induced cellular changes could give the histologic ppearance of high-grade tumor histology. Another explaation is that finasteride’s effect could be greater on lowrade tumors than high-grade tumors. Lastly, finasteride ould create a microenvironment that favors the evolution f low-grade into high-grade prostate tumors. While all these explanations are possible, one appears ost compelling. Well-described histologic changes are inuced when prostate cancer is subjected to hormonal ablaion, either by surgical castration or leutinizing hormoneeleasing hormone analogue. These changes can include landular atrophy with basal cell hyperplasia, cytoplasmic learing, vacuolization, and squamous metaplasia [3]. Col-
Implementation of integrated auto macro-defect inspection in the photolithography tool cluster

Integrated Auto Macro Defect Inspection was implemented onto all photolithography clusters at IBM’s 300mm wafer manufacturing line. Inspection is performed post photoresist develop step and has resulted in achieving 100% wafer inspection while minimizing tool downtime to less than 5%. This paper discusses the challenges encountered towards making the inspection process manufacturable. The challenges started as tool integration issues during implementation, but have evolved to include hardware and software issues as well. The tool integration issues encountered at the outset pertained to the physical installation of a macro metrology tool into the photolithography tool cluster. Subsequently, the hardware challenges included ensuring that the macro inspection, recipe management, and disposition systems were designed properly in order to effectively receive, send, and store the inspection data. Software challenges, on the other hand, are very similar to those encountered with the automated macro defect inspection standalone tools. With the existing software providing a high degree of defect detection capability the challenge has been more towards decreasing the high number of false fails while ensuring that the true fails do not end up passing inspection. False fails significantly impact manufacturing throughput of the photolithography sector. Ongoing software improvements in response to these false fails have resulted in improving inspection accuracy. False fails are further being addressed by moving towards automated recipe creation (utilizing the scanner/stepper file shot map offset parameters). Heightened sensitivity of non-optimized recipe parameters, also lead to trivial defect fails that are not necessarily reworked. This significantly impacts cycle time while causing tool downtime and thus needs to be avoided. On the other hand preventing true fails from passing inspection involves ensuring that the recipe parameters are adequately sensitized. To further improve automated macro defect inspection several hardware and software improvements have also been pursued. Software improvements include accurately grouping the detected defects and performing automated defect classification into pre-taught categories. Hardware related improvements include improving defect coordinate repeatability and integrating a "smart" system that will provide real-time feedback, thus resulting in automated tool shut down and product rework when necessary. This paper will also discuss the importance of defect detection capability, defect classification, and KLARF file conversion in implementing automated disposition.
Concerning the egress of herpes simplex virus from infected cells: Electron and light microscope observations

Abstract Electron microscopic studies of the cytoplasm of HEp-2 cells productively infected with herpes simplex virus revealed a network of branched tubules 65 nm in diameter. The membranes limiting the tubules were continuous at one end with the outer lamellae of the nuclear membrane and at the other end with the cytoplasmic membrane. At 8 hours after infection enveloped nucleocapsids appeared at the junction of the tubules with the nucleus; tubules were filled with enveloped nucleocapsids 16 hours after infection. Branched fibrils were seen in infected cells with phase optics; they stained with conjugated human convalescent antibody in immunofluorescence tests. The ducts as seen by the electron microscope and fibrils as seen by light microscopy were absent from uninfected cells and from DK cells abortively infected with the same virus. Cross sections of the tubules appear as vacuoles; the finding of “vacuoles” containing virus led in the past to the erroneous conclusion that they serve to transport enveloped virus to the extracellular fluid by “reverse phagocytosis.” It is suggested that the tubules function as a third compartment of the cell to (1) prevent the uncoating of the virus in the cytoplasm and (2) furnish a pathway for egress from the site of envelopment to the extracellular fluid.
Anomalously warm July 2005 in the northern California Current: Historical context and the significance of cumulative wind stress

[1] In the northern California Current, the onset of the 2005 upwelling season was five weeks later than usual, and well-established upwelling with a cold surface signature did not occur until about seven weeks after this. As part of the joint US-Canada Pacific hake survey, from 14–16 July 2005 we occupied the Newport Hydrographic line at 44.65°N, from the Oregon coast to 83 km offshore. Instead of the cold surface layer expected in July, we observed anomalously warm water. For example, 10-m temperature at the shelf station NH-5 was the warmest ever recorded in July at this location: 6.2°C above average, with observations back to 1961. We explore the pivotal role played by cumulative (time-integrated) wind forcing in the development of upwelling, in both 2005 and previous years. We find that 80% of July surface layer (0–30 m) interannual temperature variance can be explained by cumulative upwelling index from the spring transition.
A Data-Driven Orthogonal Basis Function Approach for Non-Parametric Nonlinear System Identification

Abstract A data driven orthogonal basis function approach is proposed for non-parametric FIR nonlinear system identification. This eliminates the problem of blindly choosing the basis functions without a priori structural information. Extension to deterministic inputs are also presented. Further, based on the proposed basis functions, approaches are proposed for model order determination and regressor selection along with their theoretical justifications.
Formation of Nitroxyl and Hydroxyl Radical in Solutions of Sodium Trioxodinitrate: EFFECTS OF pH AND CYTOTOXICITY *

Despite its negative redox potential, nitroxyl (HNO) can trigger reactions of oxidation. Mechanistically, these reactions were suggested to occur with the intermediate formation of either hydroxyl radical (·OH) or peroxynitrite (ONOO–). In this work, we present further experimental evidence that HNO can generate ·OH. Sodium trioxodinitrate (Na2N2O3), a commonly used donor of HNO, oxidized phenol and Me2SO to benzene diols and ·CH3, respectively. The oxidation of Me2SO was O2-independent, suggesting that this process reflected neither the intermediate formation of ONOO– nor a redox cycling of transition metal ions that could initiate Fenton-like reactions. In solutions of phenol, Na2N2O3 yielded benzene-1,2-diol and benzene-1,4-diol at a ratio of 2:1, which is consistent with the generation of free ·OH. Ethanol and Me2SO, which are efficient scavengers of ·OH, impeded the hydroxylation of phenol. A mechanism for the hydrolysis of Na2N2O3 is proposed that includes dimerization of HNO to cis-hyponitrous acid (HO-N=N-OH) with a concomitant azo-type homolytic fission of the latter to N2 and ·OH. The HNO-dependent production of ·OH was with 1 order of magnitude higher at pH 6.0 than at pH 7.4. Hence, we hypothesized that HNO can exert selective toxicity to cells subjected to acidosis. In support of this thesis, Na2N2O3 was markedly more toxic to human fibroblasts and SK-N-SH neuroblastoma cells at pH 6.2 than at pH 7.4. Scavengers of ·OH impeded the cytotoxicity of Na2N2O3. These results suggest that the formation of HNO may be viewed as a toxicological event in tissues subjected to acidosis.
A systematic review of titles and abstracts of experimental studies in medical education: many informative elements missing

Context Informative titles and abstracts facilitate reading and searching the literature. Objective To evaluate the quality of titles and abstracts of full-length reports of experimental studies in medical education. Methods We used a random sample of 110 articles (of 185 eligible articles) describing education experiments. Articles were published in 2003 and 2004 in Academic Medicine, Advances in Health Sciences Education, American Journal of Surgery, Journal of General Internal Medicine, Medical Education and Teaching and Learning in Medicine. Titles were categorised as informative, indicative, neither, or both. Abstracts were evaluated for the presence of a rationale, objective, descriptions of study design, setting, participants, study intervention and comparison group, main outcomes, results and conclusions. Results Of the 105 articles suitable for review, 86 (82%) had an indicative title and 10 (10%) had a title that was both indicative and informative. A rationale was present in 66 abstracts (63%), objectives were present in 84 (80%), descriptions of study design in 20 (19%), setting in 29 (28%), and number and stage of training of participants in 42 (40%). The study intervention was defined in 55 (52%) abstracts. Among the 48 studies with a control or comparison group, this group was defined in 21 abstracts (44%). Study outcomes were defined in 64 abstracts (61%). Data were presented in 48 (46%) abstracts. Conclusions were presented in 97 abstracts (92%). Conclusions Reports of experimental studies in medical education frequently lack the essential elements of informative titles and abstracts. More informative reporting is needed.
A novel probabilistic SET propagation method

In the current deep sub-micron technology, a small inaccuracy in computing the probability of occurrence of a soft error result in an unacceptably large chip failure rate. We propose a method that considers gate delays to determine accurately the probability of SET propagation resulting into an error. Disjoint covers of appropriately formulated functions are used for the probability computations in order to consider reconvergent paths in the circuit. The probabilities are calculated at the output gate at all time instants that SET can propagate within a latching window. Bayes' theorem is used to model the SET injection.
Measuring CS1 perceptions of parallelism

Educators in Computer Science (CS) generally agree that teaching concurrency can be difficult. CS programs typically offer parallel and distributed computing topics as advanced courses. A potential alternative approach is to provide instruction on parallelism early in the undergraduate curriculum, emphasizing conceptual design rather than implementation issues. This introduction of “parallel-thinking” to beginning CS undergraduates represents an innovation and significant extension to existing standard Computer Science curricula. The research described in this paper investigated the feasibility of integrating parallel computing concepts into a first-year CS course. To quantitatively assess student comprehension of parallel computing, an experimental two-factor mixed group design educational study was conducted to evaluate a control group and two instructional interventions: (1) lecture only, and (2) lecture with laboratory work using a software visualization Parallel Analysis Tool (PAT) specifically designed for this project. The Perceptions of Parallelism Survey (PoPS), a new evaluation instrument developed for this study and modeled after the Force Concept Inventory (FCI), was used to measure student learning. The results from this educational study show a statistically significant main effect among the repeated measures. PoPS results measured during the ninth week of the course reveal that performance levels remained high compared to pre-course performance scores.
Differential responsiveness of early and late passage (SENESCENT) endothelial cells to flow

Hemodynamic forces such as shear stress are implicated in the development of atherosclerosis and neointimal hyperplasia. To determine whether in vitro studies of flow using early passage endothelial cells (EC) are relevant to elderly patients, the effects of flow on early passage and late passage (senescent) EC were compared. Early (p3–7) and late (p28–32) passage bovine aortic EC were exposed to arterial levels of flow (11 dyn/cm2) using an orbital shaker; control cells were exposed to static conditions (0 dyn/cm2). Cell proliferation was counted with a Coulter counter. PCNA was evaluated by immunohistochemistry. Phosphorylated and total Akt were assessed with Western blotting. Conditioned media from early and late passage EC under static and flow conditions (16 h) were evaluated for their chemoattractant activities by assessing smooth muscle cell (SMC) migration (4 h, Boyden chamber). Early passage cells demonstrated increased proliferation with flow compared to static conditions (36% increase, day 5, P = 0.03); late passage cells had no statistically significant increase (P = 0.42). PCNA staining confirmed lack of proliferation in late passage cells under static or flow conditions. Western blotting demonstrated increased Akt phosphorylation with flow in early, but not late, passage EC (n = 6, P = 0.01). Senescent cells induced 26% less SMC migration than early passage cells (n = 3, P = 0.03). Late passage EC do not proliferate in response to turbulent flow as younger EC do. Late passage EC also do not phosphorylate Akt, and attract fewer SMC, than early passage EC, in response to flow. These results suggest that hemodynamic forces may have different effects on senescent compared to younger EC and implies that treatment of vascular disease in elderly patients may require different therapeutic strategies than those based on strategies designed for younger patients.
Performance of the GLAS Satellite Lidar Cloud and Aerosol Measurements

Launched in early 2003, the geoscience laser altimeter system (GLAS) on the Ice, Cloud and Land Elevation Satellite is the first polar orbiting satellite lidar and is intended for comprehensive earth science applications covering surface altimetry for ice sheets and vegetation and atmospheric profiling. The instrument design includes high performance observations of the distribution and optical scattering cross sections of atmospheric clouds and aerosol. The backscatter lidar operates at two wavelengths, 532 and 1064 nm. For the atmospheric cloud and aerosol measurements, the 532 nm channel was designed for ultra high efficiency with solid- state photon counting detectors and etalon filtering. Data processing algorithms were developed to calibrate and normalize the signals and produce global scale data products of the height distribution of cloud and aerosol layers and their optical depths and particulate scattering cross sections up to the limit of optical attenuation. Since the initial production of data products there has been extensive studies of the accuracy and limitation of the data products. Studies include the statistical analysis of results, quality checking surveys and inter-comparison to ground and airborne measurements. The paper concentrates on the effectiveness, results and limitations of the atmospheric lidar channel design and data product algorithms. Overall, given known instrument problems uncorrected before launch, the results validate the expectations of the lidar design.
Ultrasound Compared With Magnetic Resonance Imaging for the Diagnosis of Rotator Cuff Tears: A Critically Appraised Topic

Failure of rotator cuff tendons because of wear and tear is the most common clinical problem of the shoulder, with more than 4.5 million physician visits per year in the United States. 1 Although failure can result from acute trauma, it more commonly arises from age-related attrition of the tendons. Rotator cuff injury increases with age, with two-thirds of asymptomatic persons over 70 years showing tendon tears by ultrasound imaging. Rotator cuff injury is more common inobesepersons,andlocalsteroidinjectionsandnicotineuse have been implicated in impairing tendon healing. 1 Both magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and ultrasound (US) have evolved to become the mainstay in evaluation of the rotator cuff for tears or injury. 2 These techniques have essentially obviated the need for conventional shoulder arthrography. Technical improvements, coupled with a better understanding of rotator cuff anatomy and pathology, have resulted in maturation of these 2 modalities. However, diagnostic difficulty can arise because of technical limitations, artifacts, operator experience, and interpretative pitfalls. MRI, which is more universally accepted, may be limited in evaluating partial tears, whereas US is more challenging to perform, especially for beginners. 2 This article describes the use of evidence-based practice (EBP) techniques as a means of deciding the appropriateness of MRI or US in diagnosing rotator cuff tears.
Land use impacts on trip-chaining propensity for workers and nonworkers in Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Combining several away-from-home activities into one single trip, or trip chaining, may reduce the daily travel time of individuals and help curtain ever-increasing total vehicle miles and hours traveled. This research uses a Personal Transportation Survey data set in the Baton Rouge metropolitan area, Louisiana, to examine the impacts of land use and individual attributes on trip-chaining behavior. Land uses are grouped into agricultural, commercial, and office; and three residential types (high-, medium-, and low density). In addition, a localized job–housing balance ratio is computed to capture the degree of mixed land uses around each residential location. Individual attributes include a traveler's work status (i.e., worker vs. nonworker), gender and household child presence. Multilevel logistic regression is used to examine the combined effects of land use and individual attributes on trip-chaining propensity. Research results indicate that land use plays an important role in a traveler's decision on...
The rates of radical formation from the dipyridylium herbicides paraquat, diquat, and morfamquat in homogenates of rat lung, kidney, and liver: An inhibitory effect of carbon monoxide

Abstract In an attempt to elucidate the mechanism of toxicity in mammals and to explain some organ specificities observed in chronic dipyridylium herbicide intoxication, the specific rates of radical cation appearance for paraquat, diquat, and morfamquat were measured in homogenates of rat lung, kidney, and liver. In each organ homogenate, the order of the rates was morfamquat > diquat > paraquat. For each herbicide the order of the rates was liver > lung > kidney. The results are inconsistent with the hypothesis that selectively enhanced rates of radical production in the target organs are responsible for the specificities observed. Carbon monoxide inhibited the rate of appearance of the diquat radical in all three organ homogenates: in contrast, the rate of radical formation from paraquat and morfamquat were not affected. No inhibition was observed in any combination of organ and herbicide by either potassium cyanide or SKF 525-A. It is concluded that diquat is reduced by a different electron transferring agent than either paraquat or morfamquat.
THE ACCOUNTING TREATMENT OF HUMAN INVESTMENT AND CAPITAL

Defining investment as outlays that increase income- and output-producing capacity, the author presents estimates of human investment in the United States 1929–69, comprising rearing costs, education, training, health, safety and mobility outlays. He develops an economic accounting framework to accommodate human investments and research and development in national and sector capital accounts, with appropriate adjustments to the current accounts to provide consistency. The associated balance sheets and wealth statements are also developed. The wealth and corresponding income estimates are used to compute rates of return on human, non-human, and total capital. In the business economy the average net rate of return on total capital was 10.6 percent in 1969, compared with 10.0 percent in 1929. The average and marginal rates of return on human capital were generally somewhat higher than on non-human capital throughout the period.
Recent developments and contemporary issues for diagnostic technology assessment

This paper summarizes recent themes of interest to this conference as well as the conferences of the Medical Image Perception Society (MIPS).
Home-field advantage: the role of selection bias in the general surgery national residency matching program.

Abstract Background For academic general surgery residency programs, graduation from the affiliated allopathic medical school is one criterion used in resident selection. The magnitude of this criterion is unknown. The aim of this study is to describe the nature of this phenomenon, with the hypothesis that states with fewer medical schools would accept more home program graduates than states with more medical schools. Methods In this cross-sectional study from 2012, each allopathic medical school that participates in the American Medical College Application Service was geographically matched to its academic general surgery program that participates in the Electronic Residency Application Service. Program websites were evaluated for categorical resident rosters with medical school matriculation data. The percentage of categorical home program residents was described for each program. A 1-tailed 2-sample t-test was performed between programs in states with fewer ( n ≤2) medical schools and programs in states with more ( n >2) medical schools, using an α = 0.05. Results Of the 127 residency programs that met inclusion criteria, there were 64/127 (50.4%) programs with online categorical resident rosters and medical school graduation data. There was a mean of 26.4±12.3 included residents per residency training program. The mean program percentage of home program categorical general surgery residents was 24.6%±15.2%. The median number of medical schools per state was 2 (Interquartile Range [1-4]). A 1-tailed 2-sample t-test showed that the home program percentage rate in states with≤2 medical schools [ n = 17] (30.1%±18.4%) was greater than the home program percentage rate in states with>2 medical schools [ n = 47] (22.6%±13.5%) (p = 0.04). Conclusions Approximately, one-quarter of categorical general surgery slots are filled with home program graduates. States with fewer medical schools are more likely to fill general surgery slots with home program graduates than states with more medical schools. These selection criteria are important to general surgery programs and future applicants.
Fiber-optic infrared reflectance spectroelectrochemistry: isomerization of a manganese pyranyl complex

Abstract A simple apparatus for fiber-optic reflectance FTIR spectroelectrochemical measurements is described. The method is useful for observing the products of electrode reactions generated in steady-state at an electrode surface, and the problem of large thin-layer resistance in non-aqueous solvents is minimized. Cyclic voltammetry (CV) and FTIR spectroelectrochemical measurements on five compounds ([(η 5 -C 5 H 5 )Fe(CO) 2 ] 2 (Fp 2 ), Fp(CCPh), Mn 2 (CO) 10 , BrMn(CO) 5 and (η 5 -2,4-diphenyl-6-methylpyranyl)tricarbonylmanganese (PyrMn(CO) 3 ) are presented. As expected, Mn 2 (CO) 10 and BrMn(CO) 5 are both reduced to the known Mn(CO) 5 − anion, but Fp 2 is reduced in CH 2 Cl 2 to form FpCH 2 Cl, and Fp(CCPh) forms a [μ 2 –η 1 :η 2 -Fp 2 CCPh] + cation. Upon oxidation of the PyrMn(CO) 3 complex, the Mn(CO) 3 + unit undergoes migration from the pyranyl ring to a phenyl ring to form an η 6 -arene complex which has a pyrylium ion as a substituent on the arene ligand.
Mental Health Service and Drug Treatment Utilization: Adolescents with Substance Use/Mental Disorders and Dual Diagnosis

This research is a secondary data analysis of the impact of adolescents' mental/substance-use disorders and dual diagnosis on their utilization of drug treatment and mental health services. By analyzing the same teenagers who participated in the NIMH Methods for the Epidemiology of Child and Adolescent Mental Disorders (MECA) study, logistic regression could be conducted for the data analysis. The results show that any of the following increased the likelihood of adolescents' treatment/service utilization: a dual diagnosis, mental disorders alone, a parent's treatment/service utilization, problematic biological children, adolescent's involvement with police/court system, adolescent having coverage for mental health care, the adolescent being male, and the adolescent living with a single, white parent with a relatively high educational level. Implications for policy and practice are discussed.
Microvascular notch signaling is upregulated in response to vascular endothelial growth factor and chronic myocardial ischemia.

BACKGROUND Notch signaling is a highly conserved pathway that promotes vascular and myocardial growth. The hypothesis that exogenous vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) administration to ischemic myocardium would enhance the neovascular response and upregulate Notch signaling was assessed. METHODS AND RESULTS Fourteen male Yorkshire swine underwent placement of an ameroid constrictor on the left circumflex artery to induce chronic myocardial ischemia with half of the animals receiving perivascular VEGF to the ischemic area. The remote territory served as the normal ventricle control (NV), while the 2 experimental groups consisted of the area at risk of the non-VEGF animals (AAR) and the area at risk of animals treated with VEGF (VEGF). Capillary and arteriolar density was significantly increased in the VEGF group as compared to both NV and AAR. Expression of Notch receptors and pro-neovascular Notch ligands was significantly higher in the VEGF group. Both Jagged 1 and Notch 3 were the most highly concentrated in the smooth muscle wall of arterioles. CONCLUSIONS VEGF administration to chronically ischemic myocardium significantly augmented the neovascular response by an increase in both capillary and arteriolar density, and resulted in an upregulation of several Notch receptors and ligands, which were not upregulated with ischemia alone. These findings suggest that the augmented neovascular response seen with VEGF administration was through the VEGF-induced upregulation of Notch signaling.
Symptoms described by African American women evaluated for preterm labor.

ABSTRACT Objective To describe symptoms, self-care for symptoms, and lay consultations of African American women later diagnosed with a likelihood of preterm labor (PTL). Design Qualitative descriptive study. Setting Two sites within the United States, one urban and one suburban high-risk maternity referral center. Participants Twenty-five African American women presenting for emergent care and subsequently diagnosed as "rule out PTL." Five of the women later delivered before 37 weeks gestation, of whom 4 had a preterm low-birthweight infant (≤2,500 g). Main Outcome Measure Women's symptoms, self-care for symptoms, and lay consultations prior to seeking care for PTL. Results The most common reason for seeking care was due to "pains," and the second most common was "cramping," with most women ( n = 17) seeking care within 4 to 24 hours of first experiencing symptoms. Importantly, 15 of the women first contacted friends/family members before seeking care. Conclusions In African American women, implications about PTL teaching include adding the word "pain" as another teaching descriptor and targeting education to individuals whom the patient considers to be significant such as a close friend or family member.
The Primary Egg Envelope of the Anuran Lepidobatrachus laevis: Physicochemical and Macromolecular Alterations During Development

The coelomic egg envelope (CE) of the frog Lepidobatrachus laevis has a network of fibrillar bundles which disperse after transit through the oviduct. Following oviposition, the egg vitelline envelope (VE) has an additional amorphous zone on the exterior surface. The fertilization envelope (FE) formed after fertilization, appears to be very similar to the VE. The CEs, VEs, FEs and hatched envelopes (FEh) were manually isolated. The CE, VE and FE were solubilized at 100° using denaturing conditions, but were only partially solubilized in phosphate buffer, pH 7.0. All envelopes and several purified polypeptides from the VE and FE were analyzed using gel electrophoresis and one-dimensional peptide mapping. Each of the envelopes contained 9 major polypeptides ranging from 118.5 to 22 kD and 8–12 minor polypeptides. Several envelope components were added/removed in the conversions based on the results of experiments in which preparations were incubated with activated egg exudate and crude hatching enzyme; some of these transformations were mimicked by tryptic and chymotryptic digestions. Therefore, serine proteases may be involved in envelope processing in vivo. Lepidobatrachus CE polypeptides and several major components from the VE, FE and FEh were crossreactive with antibodies against Xenopus VE*.
Characterization of an isolate of Sowbane mosaic virus.

Sowbane mosaic virus (SoMV), a member of the plant virus genus Sobemovirus, was first isolated in 1961 from Chenopodium murale (L.), in which it is symptomless. SoMV is both pollen-borne and seed transmitted in Chenopodium quinoa (Willd.) [4, 6]. C. quinoa is frequently grown as a pseudo-cereal for its nutritional value, and C. quinoa and Chenopodium amaranticolor (Coste & A. Reyn.) are frequent host plants used in the identification of plant viruses [6]. Sporadic occurrence of SoMV arising from infected seed during biological indexing can lead to the specious conclusion that a virus infection had originated from the subject plant being investigated. This potential was illustrated by the identification of a virus from C. quinoa inoculated with an extract from apple. The virus was originally designated apple latent virus 2 (ALV2) based on its presumed origin but was later identified as an isolate of SoMV [2, 10]. SoMV has also been reported in natural infections of spinach seed (Spinacia oleracea L.) [3]. Readily available assay methods are required to aid in the elimination of SoMV-infected seed batches and to aid in the identification of pathogens associated with symptoms observed on indicator plants in the family Chenopodiaceae. To achieve this objective, an isolate of SoMV was characterized to facilitate development of a reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) assay.
Acute exposure to methylmercury opens the mitochondrial permeability transition pore in rat cerebellar granule cells.

Cerebellar granule cells are preferentially targeted during methylmercury (MeHg) poisoning. Following acute MeHg exposure, granule cells in culture undergo an increase in intracellular Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+]i) that apparently contributes to cell death. This effect consists of several temporally and kinetically distinct phases. The initial elevation arises from release of Ca2+(i) stores; the second phase results from entry of Ca2+(e). In these experiments, we tested the hypothesis that release of mitochondrial Ca2+ through the mitochondrial permeability transition pore (MTP) contributes to the initial release of Ca2+(i). Neonatal rat cerebellar granule cells in culture and single cell microfluorimetry were used to examine MeHg-induced changes in [Ca2+]i and mitochondrial membrane potential (Psi(m)). Pretreatment with the MTP inhibitor cyclosporin A (CsA, 5 microM) delayed the initial phase of increased [Ca2+]i induced by 0.2 and 0.5 microM MeHg, but not 1.0 microM MeHg. CsA (5 microM) also delayed the irreversible loss of Psi(m) induced by 0.5 microM MeHg. Ca2+(e) was not required for either effect, because the effect of CsA on the first phase increase in [Ca2+]i and loss of Psi(m) was not altered in nominally Ca2+-free buffer. Increasing concentrations of MeHg (0.2-2.0 microM) caused increasing incidence of cell death at 24 h postexposure. Treatment with CsA provided protection against cytotoxicity at lower MeHg concentrations (0.2-0.5 microM), but not at higher MeHg concentrations (1.0-2.0 microM). Thus, the MTP appears to play a significant role in the cellular effects following acute exposure of cerebellar granule neurons to MeHg.