cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Elevated carbon dioxide ameliorates the effects of ozone on photosynthesis and growth: species respond similarly regardless of photosynthetic pathway or plant functional group

Due to their different physiological effects, elevated carbon dioxide and elevated ozone might have interactive impacts on plants, and differentially so on plants differing in photosynthetic pathway and growth rate. To test several hypotheses related to these issues, we examined the physiological, morphological and growth responses of six perennial species grown at various atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide and ozone. The species involved (two C3 trees: Populus tremuloides Michx., Quercus rubra L.; two C3 grasses: Agropyron smithii Rybd., Koeleria cristata L.; two C4 grasses: Bouteloua curtipendula Michx., Schizachyrium scoparium Michx.) differed in growth form, stomatal conductance and photosynthetic pathway. In situ photosynthesis, relative growth rate (RGR) and its determinants (leaf area ratio, specific leaf area, leaf weight ratio and root weight ratio) were determined via sequential harvests of seedlings that were grown in all combinations of 366 or 672 μmol mol−1 CO2 and 3 or 95 nmol mol−1 O3 over a 101-d period. Elevated CO2 had minimal effect on either photosynthesis or RGR. By contrast, RGR for all six species was lower in high O3 concentrations at ambient CO2, significantly so in A. smithii and P. tremuloides. Five of the six species also exhibited reductions in in situ photosynthesis at ambient CO2 in high-O3-grown compared with low-O3-grown plants. For all species, these O3-induced reductions in RGR and photosynthesis were absent in the elevated CO2 environment. Root weight ratio was significantly reduced by elevated O3 in A. smithii and P. tremuloides in ambient but not elevated CO2. Species with high stomatal conductance were the most susceptible to oxidant injury, while those with low stomatal conductance, such as the C4 species and Q. rubra, were not as detrimentally affected by O3. Elevated levels of CO2 will reduce stomatal conductance and O3 uptake, and might therefore reduce the potential for oxidant damage. However, there was a stronger relationship of the percent reduction in whole-plant mass due to O3, related to the ratio of photosynthesis to stomatal conductance. In general, results of this study of six functionally diverse plant species suggest that O3 pollution effects on carbon balance and growth are likely to be ameliorated by elevated concentrations of atmospheric CO2.
Photodetachment Cross Sections for He-(4P°)

We report the first measurements of photodetachment cross sections for He- (formed through charge exchange of He+ with Ca vapor) over the photon energy range from 1.77 to 2.75 eV. The energies of auto-detached electrons from the metastable He beam have also been determined for the first time. The autodetached electron energy agrees within experimental error (±0.25 eV) with the known 1s2s2p)4P° He- energy level. This taken with measurements for the lifetime of He- infers that change exchange of He+ with Ca vapor produces 4P° He-.
Ureteral triplication with a ureterocele

Ureteral triplication is a rare anomaly of the upper urinary tract. The occurrence of complete ureteral triplication with an associated ureterocele has only been reported once before. A case of this extremely rare association is described, and the embryology of this condition is discussed.
The administration of a rural development project: Part 2—Historical background and economic perspective to higher education for rural development in Malawi

Abstract The indigenous source of agriculturalists for Malawi's National Rural Development Programme (NRDP) has been, since 1967, Bunda College, University of Malawi. In Part 1, administrative experience of the College's Rural Development Department provided insights into professional linkages to overcome the divergence of disciplines related to rural development. These linkages can provide a basis for the administration of rural development projects. The historical background to the NRDP, an evolutionary stage of development policy, and an examination of selected indicators of economic progress are considered here in Part 2. During Malawi's colonial history, early policy protected smallholders' rights and encouraged commercialization in estates. The fundamental importance of smallholders came gradually into focus, gaining increasing emphasis with the movement toward independence. Then, in the mid-1970s, the NRDP was conceived as a multi-dimensional means of redressing the inequitable distribution of benefits resulting from the earlier, agriculture-focused development policy. Indicators of economic progress suggest that rural Malawi is currently faring less well than a decade ago despite the expanding proportion of resources channelled into the NRDP. This is the context for which the University must have the capability for appropriately training personnel who can integrate the technical problems and complex issues in the administration of rural development in Malawi.
Estimates of Solutions and Asymptotic Symmetry for Parabolic Equations on Bounded Domains

We consider fully nonlinear parabolic equations on bounded domains under Dirichlet boundary conditions. Assuming that the equation and the domain satisfy certain symmetry conditions, we prove that each bounded positive solution of the Dirichlet problem is asymptotically symmetric. Compared with previous results of this type, we do not assume certain crucial hypotheses, such as uniform (with respect to time) positivity of the solution or regularity of the nonlinearity in time. Our method is based on estimates of solutions of linear parabolic problems, in particular on a theorem on asymptotic positivity of such solutions.
Deferred-acceptance auctions and radio spectrum reallocation

Deferred-acceptance auctions choose allocations by an iterative process of rejecting the least attractive bid. These auctions have distinctive computational and incentive properties that make them suitable for application in some challenging environments, such as the planned US auction to repurchase television broadcast rights. For any set of values, any deferred acceptance auction with “threshold pricing”is weakly group strategy-proof, can be implemented using a clock auction, and leads to the same outcome as the complete-information Nash equilibrium of the corresponding paid-as-bid auction. A paid-asbid auction with a non-bossy bid-selection rule is dominance solvable if and only if it is a deferred acceptance auction. ∗The authors thank Alexey Kushnir as well as Mohammad Akbarpour, Piotr Dworczak, Tim Roughgarden, Inbal Talgam Cohen, Joshua Thurston-Milgrom, and Alex Wolitzky for their comments and suggestions. †Department of Economics, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305. The authors are members of the Auctionomics’team advising the US Federal Communications Commission concerning the design of the US “incentive auction.”This research analyzes some properties of proposals to which the authors have contributed. ‡Segal gratefully acknowledges the support of the Toulouse Network for Information Technology.
Comparative toxicities of organophosphate and pyrethroid insecticides to aquatic macroarthropods.

As agricultural expansion and intensification increase to meet the growing global food demand, so too will insecticide use and thus the risk of non-target effects. Insecticide pollution poses a particular threat to aquatic macroarthropods, which play important functional roles in freshwater ecosystems. Thus, understanding the relative toxicities of insecticides to non-target functional groups is critical for predicting effects on ecosystem functions. We exposed two common macroarthropod predators, the crayfish Procambarus alleni and the water bug Belostoma flumineum, to three insecticides in each of two insecticide classes (three organophosphates: chlorpyrifos, malathion, and terbufos; and three pyrethroids: esfenvalerate, λ-cyhalothrin, and permethrin) to assess their toxicities. We generated 150 simulated environmental exposures using the US EPA Surface Water Contamination Calculator to determine the proportion of estimated peak environmental concentrations (EECs) that exceeded the US EPA level of concern (0.5×LC50) for non-endangered aquatic invertebrates. Organophosphate insecticides generated consistently low-risk exposure scenarios (EECs 0.5×LC50) to P. alleni, but not to B. flumineum, where only λ-cyhalothrin produced consistently high-risk exposures. Survival analyses demonstrated that insecticide class accounted for 55.7% and 91.1% of explained variance in P. alleni and B. flumineum survival, respectively. Thus, risk to non-target organisms is well predicted by pesticide class. Identifying insecticides that pose low risk to aquatic macroarthropods might help meet increased demands for food while mitigating against potential negative effects on ecosystem functions.
When to stress patients after coronary artery bypass surgery? Risk stratification in patients early and late post-CABG using stress myocardial perfusion SPECT: Implications of apppropriate clinical strategies

OBJECTIVES The study compared the prognostic significance of myocardial perfusion single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) (MPS) in patients early and late after coronary artery bypass graft surgery (CABG). BACKGROUND The long-term effectiveness of CABG is limited by graft stenosis. The greatest incidence of graft occlusion occurs between five and eight years after surgery. However, little is known regarding the appropriate time to stress patients post-CABG with respect to risk stratification. METHODS We identified 1,765 patients, who underwent MPS 7.1 ± 5.0 years post-CABG. All patients underwent rest Tl-201/stress Tc-99m sestamibi MPS and were followed up ≥1 year after testing. Patients with early CABG or PTCA (<60 days after MPS) were censored. The prognostic population consisted of 1,544 patients. A semiquantitative visual analysis employing a 20-segment model was used to define summed stress score (SSS), summed rest score (SRS), summed difference score (SDS), and the number of nonreversible segments (NRS). RESULTS During follow-up, 53 cardiac deaths (CD) occurred. There was a significant increase in annual CD rates as a function of SSS. A multivariate analysis identified age, ischemia (SDS), and infarct size (NRS) as independent predictors of CD. Nuclear variables added incremental value to prescan information. The annual CD rate was relatively low (1.3%) in patients ≤5 years post-CABG. In this subgroup only age and infarct size (NRS) were predictive of CD. CONCLUSION MPS is strongly predictive of subsequent CD in post-CABG patients and adds incremental value over clinical and treadmill test information. Our data suggest that symptomatic patients ≤5 years and all patients >5 years post-CABG may benefit from testing.
Globalization and Social Exclusion in Istanbul

The article presents information on globalization and social exclusion in Istanbul, Turkey. Most accounts of globalization and urban re-configuration start with a picture of an urban fabric whose stability and balances are disturbed by newly intensified global networks. These networks penetrate urban life and restructure the economy, introducing new types of employment and levels of income commensurate with the wealthier areas of the world, resulting in new levels of differentiation between those who become part of the networks and those who are left out. Istanbul also experienced the shock of rapid integration into transnational networks and markets and has witnessed the emergence of new social groups since the 1980s. A thin social layer constituting a new bourgeois and professional class, able to operate in global markets and remunerated at world scale, adopted the lifestyle and consumption habits of their transnational counterparts. The impact of this development on urban geography was rapid: globalized spaces of commerce and leisure emerged along with secluded residential areas on the outskirts of the city.
Obstetrician-gynecologists' beliefs on the importance of pelvic examinations in assessing hormonal contraception eligibility.

Abstract Objective To describe obstetrician-gynecologists’ beliefs regarding the importance of pelvic examination (including external genitalia inspection, speculum examination, bimanual examination) in assessing hormonal contraception eligibility. Methods In a national probability survey, 1020 obstetrician-gynecologists drawn from the American Medical Association’s Physician Masterfile rated importance of the examination in four categories: very, moderately, a little and not important. Results The response rate was 62% (n= 521). Seventy-nine percent considered at least one exam component to be of some importance (very, moderately, or a little importance). Bimanual examination was rated more often than external examination in each level of importance (p Physicians who believed no component of the examination was important were more likely to be younger, female and in practice settings other than private practice. Conclusions Despite guidelines stating that pelvic examinations are unnecessary in assessing hormonal contraception eligibility, most obstetrician-gynecologists believe that they are of some importance. These attitudes may pose a barrier to contraception provision.
Genetic and Rearing Environmental Influences on Adult Personality: An Analysis of Adopted Twins Reared Apart

We report a genetic and environmental analysis of California Psychological Inventory (CPI) scale scores gathered on a sample of 45 sets of monozygotic twins reared apart (MZA) and 26 sets of dizygotic twins reared apart (DZA). Analysis of twin intraclass correlations and the results of models fit to the twin data demonstrate that the heritability of most scales and five factors of the CPI is about 50. When compared to results from studies of adult MZ and DZ twins reared together few of the scales demonstrate any common family environmental influence. Placement coefficients on the Family Environmental Scale (FES) can explain only a minor portion of the correlations for twins reared apart. The influence of specific rearing environmental factors on adult personality was evaluated by analyzing the relationship between the FES and the CPI in this adoptee sample. One FES factor (Cohesion vs. Conflict) does correlate substantially with the CPI factor of Consensuality and may account for up to 24% of the variance in that factor, but the retrospectively gathered rearing environment measures generally explain very little variance in adult personality.
Brief paper: Identification of a modified Wiener-Hammerstein system and its application in electrically stimulated paralyzed skeletal muscle modeling

Electrical muscle stimulation demonstrates potential for restoring functional movement and preventing muscle atrophy after spinal cord injury (SCI). Control systems used to optimize delivery of electrical stimulation protocols depend upon mathematical models of paralyzed muscle force outputs. While accurate, the Hill-Huxley-type model is very complex, making it difficult to implement for real-time control. As an alternative, we propose a modified Wiener-Hammerstein system to model the paralyzed skeletal muscle dynamics under electrical stimulus conditions. Experimental data from the soleus muscles of individuals with SCI was used to quantify the model performance. It is shown that the proposed Wiener-Hammerstein system is at least comparable to the Hill-Huxley-type model. On the other hand, the proposed system involves a much smaller number of unknown coefficients. This has substantial advantages in identification algorithm analysis and implementation including computational complexity, convergence and also in real-time model implementation for control purposes.
Long-term endothelin receptor antagonism attenuates coronary plaque progression in patients with early atherosclerosis

Aim The purpose of the current study was to determine if long term treatment with an endothelin-A (ETA) receptor antagonist attenuates the progression of coronary plaques in patients with coronary endothelial dysfunction.
Inheritance of the shared epitope and long-term outcomes of rheumatoid arthritis among community-based Caucasian females

Multiple HLA-DRB1 alleles encoding a shared epitope (SE) at amino acid positions 70-74 are associated with susceptibility and severity of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). We examined the relationship between the number and DRB1 genotype of SE alleles inherited and long-term outcomes of 180 community-based, Caucasian female RA patients followed annually for up to 12 years. Outcomes examined were physician assessment of RA course; annual measures of pain, function, and number of painful joint groups; history of joint surgery; and resource utilization. Models accounted for correlation among serial observations for the same patient and adjusted for patient age and disease stage. We examined two genetic models: a SE model in which patients were classified according to the number of SE copies inherited and a genotype model in which patients were categorized into one of six groups based on the inherited DRB1 genotype. We used likelihood ratio tests to compare these genetic models and to compare alternative model specifications. Our results demonstrate strong associations between inheritance of the SE and long-term outcomes of community-based Caucasian females with RA. However, the pattern of results is not consistent across the outcomes. An additive model of risk is apparent for history of joint surgery and RA hospitalization. In contrast, a near reversal of this pattern is apparent for function, joint pain, pain rating, and RA physician visits. Finally, although the genotype model did not appear to be a better predictive model for RA outcomes overall, it did reveal some striking heterogeneity of SE alleles that was masked by the more parsimonious SE model. For example, the odds ratio (OR) for joint surgery for patients with 2 SE copies (OR = 3.16) reflects an average of 2 very different ORs when patients are further categorized according to genotype groups 4 and 5 (OR = 1.3 and 11.9, respectively).
DSF - A Distributed Security Framework for heterogeneous wireless sensor networks

Wireless sensor networks (WSNs) have many applications that handle sensitive information such as surveillance, reconnaissance, and target tracking. Therefore, a WSN deployed in a hostile region should be resilient to attacks. The current approach to defending against malicious threats is to develop and deploy a specific defense mechanism for a specific attack. However, the problem with this traditional approach to defending sensor networks is that the solution for the jamming attack does not defend against other attacks (e.g., sybil, selective forwarding, and wormhole attacks). In reality, one cannot know a priori what type of attack an adversary will launch. Also, given the resource constraints of sensor nodes, the current defense mechanisms cannot be simply combined on the node to provide a complete solution. This work addresses the challenges with the traditional approach to securing sensor networks and presents a collaborative framework (the Distributed Security Framework -DSF) that can defend against all known attacks. The framework is extensible, therefore, as new attacks are discovered they can also be defended against. The DSF leverages existing defense mechanisms created by researchers. These defense mechanisms are distributed in such a way that they can, collectively, provide comprehensive defense to the network. The efficacy of the DSF is determined using simulations for scenarios consisting of multiple stationary and multiple mobile attackers. The simulation results show that though the DSF consumes more energy than single defense schemes, it can significantly enhance the network security even when the network is under multiple types of attacks.
Non-Indigenous Range Expansion of the Blue Catfish (Ictalurus furcatus) in the Satilla River, Georgia

Abstract Here we present evidence of the first field observation of the nonnative Ictalurus furcatus (Blue Catfish) occurring on the Satilla River, GA, in May 2011, and additional collections since then. This is the second large, non-native riverine catfish to be found in the Satilla River basin. Pylodictis olivaris (Flathead catfish) was first collected from the Satilla River in May 1996. The ecological effects of Blue Catfish on native mussel and fish species in the Satilla River are currently unknown, but competition with native catfishes is likely.
CHEMICAL RESTORATION IN NITELLA : IV. EFFECTS OF GUANIDINE.

Leaching in distilled water may remove irritability and the potassium effect in Nitella but both of these may be restored by appropriate treatment with guanidine.
Murine Hepatitis Virus Replicase Protein nsp10 Is a Critical Regulator of Viral RNA Synthesis

Coronavirus replication requires proteolytic processing of the large polyprotein encoded by ORF1a/ab into putative functional intermediates and eventually approximately 15 mature proteins. The C-terminal ORF1a protein nsp10 colocalizes with viral replication complexes, but its role in transcription/replication is not well defined. To investigate the role of nsp10 in coronavirus transcription/replication, alanine replacements were engineered into a murine hepatitis virus (MHV) infectious clone in place of conserved residues in predicted functional domains or charged amino acid pairs/triplets, and rescued viruses were analyzed for mutant phenotypes. Of the 16 engineered clones, 5 viable viruses were rescued, 3 mutant viruses generated no cytopathic effect but were competent to synthesize viral subgenomic RNAs, and 8 were not viable. All viable mutants showed reductions in growth kinetics and overall viral RNA synthesis, implicating nsp10 as being a cofactor in positive- or negative-strand synthesis. Viable mutant nsp10-E2 was compromised in its ability to process the nascent polyprotein, as processing intermediates were detected in cells infected with this virus that were not detectable in wild-type infections. Mapping the mutations onto the crystal structure of severe acute respiratory syndrome virus nsp10 identified a central core resistant to mutation. Mutations targeting residues in or near either zinc-binding finger generated nonviable phenotypes, demonstrating that both domains are essential to nsp10 function and MHV replication. All mutations resulting in viable phenotypes mapped to loops outside the central core and were characterized by a global decrease in RNA synthesis. These results demonstrate that nsp10 is a critical regulator of coronavirus RNA synthesis and may play an important role in polyprotein processing.
Body size and physical activity in relation to incidence of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

Background: Limited evidence suggests that adiposity and lack of physical activity may increase the risk of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). We investigated the relation of body size and physical activity with incidence of COPD. Methods: We obtained data on anthropometric measurements and physical activity from 113 279 participants in the National Institutes of Health–AARP Diet and Health Study who reported no diagnosis of COPD at baseline (1995–1996). We estimated associations between these measurements and subsequent diagnosis of COPD between 1996 and 2006, with extensive adjustment for smoking and other potentially confounding variables. Results: Participants reported 3648 new COPD diagnoses during follow-up. The incidence of COPD was higher in both severely obese (body mass index [BMI]D≥ 35) and underweight (BMID Interpretation: Obesity, in particular abdominal adiposity, was associated with an increased risk of COPD, and increased hip circumference and physical activity were associated with a decreased risk of COPD. These findings suggest that following guidelines for a healthy body weight, body shape and physical activity decrease the risk of COPD.
Hierarchical Co-Clustering: A New Way to Organize the Music Data

In music information retrieval (MIR) an important research topic, which has attracted much attention recently, is the utilization of user-assigned tags, artist-related style, and mood labels, which can be extracted from music listening web sites, such as Last.fm (http://www.last.fm/) and All Music Guide (http://www.allmusic.com/). A fundamental research problem in the area is how to understand the relationships among artists/songs and these different pieces of information. Co-clustering is the problem of simultaneously clustering two types of data (e.g., documents and words, and webpages and urls). We can naturally bring this idea to the situation at hand and consider clustering artists and tags together, artists and styles together, or artists and mood labels together. Once such co-clustering has been successfully completed, one can identify co-existing clusters of artists and tags, styles, or mood labels (T/S/M). For simplicity, we use the acronym T/S/M to refer to tag(s), style(s), or mood(s) for the rest of the paper. When dealing with tags it is worth noticing that some tags are more specific versions of others. This naturally suggests that the tags could be organized in hierarchical clusters. Such hierarchical organizations exist for styles and mood labels, so we will consider hierarchical co-clustering of artists and T/S/M. In this paper, we systematically study the application of hierarchical co-clustering (HCC) methods for organizing the music data. There are two standard strategies for hierarchical clustering. One is the divisive strategy, in which we attempt to divide the input data set into smaller groups recursively, and the other is the agglomerative strategy, in which we attempt to combine initially individually separated data points into larger groups by finding the most closely related pair at each iteration. We will compare these two strategies against each other. We apply a previously known divisive hierarchical co-clustering method and a novel agglomerative hierarchical co-clustering. In addition, we demonstrate that these two methods have the capability of incorporating instance-level constraints to achieve better performance. We perform experiments to show that these two hierarchical co-clustering methods can be effectively deployed for organizing the music data and they present reasonable clustering performance comparing with the other clustering methods. A case study is also conducted to show that HCC provides us a new method to quantify the artist similarity.
Bone Morphogenetic Proteins in Craniofacial Surgery: Current Techniques, Clinical Experiences, and the Future of Personalized Stem Cell Therapy

Critical-size osseous defects cannot heal without surgical intervention and can pose a significant challenge to craniofacial reconstruction. Autologous bone grafting is the gold standard for repair but is limited by a donor site morbidity and a potentially inadequate supply of autologous bone. Alternatives to autologous bone grafting include the use of alloplastic and allogenic materials, mesenchymal stem cells, and bone morphogenetic proteins. Bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs) are essential mediators of bone formation involved in the regulation of differentiation of osteoprogenitor cells into osteoblasts. Here we focus on the use of BMPs in experimental models of craniofacial surgery and clinical applications of BMPs in the reconstruction of the cranial vault, palate, and mandible and suggest a model for the use of BMPs in personalized stem cell therapies.
Phonon-induced superexchange

Abstract The superexchange in V 2+  O 2−  V 2+ pair in MgO is calculated including the orbit-lattice interaction into theone-electron. hamiltonian. Although the exchange by itself is ferromagnetic, the phonon-induced contribution is found to be dominantly antiferromagnetic.
Thoracoscopic thoracic duct ligation and thoracoscopic pericardectomy for treatment of chylothorax in dogs.

Objective— To report the use of thoracoscopic thoracic duct ligation (TDL) and pericardectomy for treatment of chylothorax. Study Design— Case series. Animals— Dogs with chylothorax (n=12). Methods— Dogs with secondary or idiopathic chylothorax had thoracoscopy performed in sternal recumbency through 3 portals in the caudal right hemithorax for TDL and were then repositioned in dorsal recumbency for pericardectomy. Portals were placed in the 5th and 7th intercostal spaces of the right hemithorax with 1 transdiaphragmatic portal in the right paraxiphoid position. Follow-up was performed by recheck examination or telephone interview to determine outcome. Results— Seven dogs (58%) had idiopathic chylothorax; 6 dogs (85.7%) had complete resolution of their effusion, whereas only 2 of the 5 nonidiopathic dogs (40%) had complete resolution. Conclusions— Thoracoscopy is minimally invasive, provides excellent observation, and allows for ligation of the thoracic duct in the caudal thorax. Patients with idiopathic chylothorax may have a better prognosis after TDL and pericardectomy than dogs with nonidiopathic chylothorax. Clinical Relevance— Thoracoscopy for ligation of the thoracic duct and pericardectomy is an acceptable surgical technique for treatment of chylothorax.
What's Yours Is Now Mine: Deviant Consumption Through Acquisitive Crime

Abstract Deviant consumption in the form of acquisitive crime, or the theft of material possessions by one person from another person or household, is prevalent in countries across the globe. Anomie theory provides a multilevel framework for understanding this prevalent and damaging form of consumer misbehavior, highlighting the societal factors propagating it. The authors conduct a multilevel study that analyzes reports from more than 58,000 households in 26 countries worldwide. Using hierarchical generalized linear modeling, they contrast household-level crime reports with country data on inequality and cultural values. The findings reveal that wealth inequality, achievement orientation, individualism, future orientation, and uncertainty—both individually and in combination—influence acquisitive crime prevalence. In particular, greater societal wealth inequality increases the positive effects of achievement orientation and uncertainty to promote acquisitive crime. The negative effects of a low future or...
Job characteristics, occupational status, and ambulatory cardiovascular activity in women.

Background: Prior research concerning the effects of occupational status and work stress on ambulatory blood pressure (AmBP) has seldom included women, and available results are equivocal. Moreover, the concurrent effects of occupational status and job characteristics have rarely been investigated. Some research is consistent with the idea that stressful job characteristics are especially detrimental to health in low-status workers, creating a cumulative physiological burden.Purpose: To examine the independent and joint effects of occupational status and perceived demands, control, and social support at work on AmBP and heart rate (HR) in women.Methods: One hundred eight women (M age = 41.07 years) wore an AmBP monitor for 2 days and completed a self-report assessment of job control, demands, and support (i.e., Karesek et al.’s Job Content Questionnaire).Results: After controlling for numerous potential confounds, occupational status and job characteristics accounted for 18% and 22% of the inter-individual variability in ambulatory systolic blood pressure (SBP) and HR, respectively. Occupational status independently predicted ambulatory cardiovascular activity and interacted with job characteristics, particularly in relation to SBP.Conclusions: Inasmuch as ambulatory SBP and HR predict future cardiovascular morbidity and mortality, women with both lower status occupations and stressful job circumstances could be at disproportionately high cardiovascular risk.
A knowledge-based approach for automated process planning

Automated process planning (APP) is a critical interface to both design and manufacturing. Several evolving systems have employed artificial intelligence (AI) procedures to capture the basic logic used by a process planner. However, no effort has been directed to systemize the knowledge in the field of process planning. In this paper process planning knowledge extraction and formalization will be discussed. A framework for the development of intelligent APP systems capable of learning through user interaction is also presented.
MARTX effector cross kingdom activation by Golgi-associated ADP-ribosylation factors

Vibrio vulnificus infects humans and causes lethal septicemia. The primary virulence factor is a multifunctional-autoprocessing repeats-in-toxin (MARTX) toxin consisting of conserved repeats-containing regions and various effector domains. Recent genomic analyses for the newly emerged V. vulnificus biotype 3 strain revealed that its MARTX toxin has two previously unknown effector domains. Herein, we characterized one of these domains, Domain X (DmXVv ). A structure-based homology search revealed that DmXVv belongs to the C58B cysteine peptidase subfamily. When ectopically expressed in cells, DmXVv was autoprocessed and induced cytopathicity including Golgi dispersion. When the catalytic cysteine or the region flanking the scissile bond was mutated, both autoprocessing and cytopathicity were significantly reduced indicating that DmXVv cytopathicity is activated by amino-terminal autoprocessing. Consistent with this, host cell protein export was affected by Vibrio cells producing a toxin with wild-type, but not catalytically inactive, DmXVv . DmXVv was found to localize to Golgi and to directly interact with Golgi-associated ADP-ribosylation factors ARF1, ARF3 and ARF4, although ARF binding was not necessary for the subcellular localization. Rather, this interaction was found to induce autoprocessing of DmXVv . These data demonstrate that the V. vulnificus hijacks the host ARF proteins to activate the cytopathic DmXVv effector domain of MARTX toxin.
A Red Dye to Evaluate Bait Formulations and to Mass Mark Field Populations of Boll Weevils

Calco Oil Red N-1700 dye was used to evaluate bait formulations both in the laboratory and in the field as well as to mass mark field populations of the boll weevil, Anthonomus grandis Boheman, attracted to a cottonseed-oil bait. The red dye permitted the evaluation of bait formulations without confounding the efficacy of the bait with control agents. It was not necessary to handle the insect; the marked insect was easily recognized when captured; the dye persisted throughout the life of the individual, and the dye caused no deleterious biological effects.
Indicators for assessment of compliance with quality standards for the prevention of opportunistic infections in persons infected with human immunodeficiency virus.

Peter A. Gross, Jonathan E. Kaplan, John P. Phair, Henry Masur, Catherine M. Wilfert, and King K. Holmes From Hackensack Medical Center, Hackensack, New Jersey, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, Northwestern University Medical School, Chicago, Illinois; the National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland; Duke University, Durham, North Carolina; and the University of Washington, Seattle, Washington
Interactions of Protein Kinase C-α C1A and C1B Domains with Membranes: A Combined Computational and Experimental Study

Protein kinase C-α (PKCα) has been studied widely as a paradigm for conventional PKCs, with two C1 domains (C1A and C1B) being important for the regulation and function of the kinase. However, it is challenging to explore these domains in membrane-bound environments with either simulations or experiments alone. In this work, we have combined modeling, simulations, and experiments to understand the molecular basis of the PKCα C1A and C1B domain interactions with membranes. Our atomistic simulations of the PKCα C1 domains reveal the dynamic interactions of the proteins with anionic lipids, as well as the conserved hydrogen bonds and the distinct nonpolar contacts formed with lipid activators. Corroborating evidence is obtained from additional simulations and experiments in terms of lipid binding and protein diffusion. Overall, our study, for the first time, explains with atomistic detail how the PKCα C1A and C1B domains interact differently with various lipids. On the molecular level, the information provid...
Characteristics of widespread pyroclastic deposits formed by the interaction of silicic magma and water

We have recognized a type of pyroclastic deposit formed by the interaction of water and silicic magma during explosive eruptions. These deposits have a widespread dispersal, similar to plinian tephra, but the overall grain size is much tiner. Several deposits studied can be associated with caldera lakes or sea water and water/magma interaction is proposed to account for the fine grain size. Several examples have been studied, including the Oruanui Formation, N.Z., and the Askja 1875 deposit. Both show little downwind decrease in median diameter, a downwind decrease in sorting (σφ) (more evident in the Askja deposit) and coarse tail grading. The Askja example has base surge deposits near source and some Oruanui members show multiple thin beds near source; both are common features of phreatomagmatic deposits. Isopachs of the Askja deposit indicate a source under Lake Oskjuvatn in Askja Caldera and those of the Oruanui indicate a source under the NW part of Lake Taupo. In terms of dispersal area, volume and calculated eruption column heights, these deposits are similar to plinian. However, their extreme fragmentation due to magma/water interaction, superimposed on fragmentation imparted by carlier vesiculation, gives a much finer and more complex grain size distribution than plinian counterparts. The field of phreatomagmatic equivalents to plinian pumice deposits was unoccupied onWalker’s (1973) classification of explosive volcanic eruptions. Such deposits are the phreatomagmatic analogue of plinian deposits and the name « phreatoplinian » is proposed.
A probabilistic model of mosaicism based on the histological analysis of chimaeric rat liver

The analysis of pattern development in mosaic and chimaeric animals has provided insight into a number of developmental problems. In order to aid the understanding of the dynamics of the development of mosaic tissues, a computer simulation of the generation of a mosaic tissue was created using simple probabilistic decisions. Results of quantitative analysis of the simulated mosaicism were compared with chimaeric liver. Chimaeric animals were produced by morula aggregation between histologically distinguishable strains of congenic rats. The livers of these animals revealed a pattern of patchy mosaicism unrelated to either acinar or lobular architecture of the organ. Independent quantifiable parameters were correlated and compared between the simulation and chimaeric liver tissue. This analysis showed that extensive cell migration is not required to develop finely variegated mosaic tissue and that the patterns of mosaicism observed could have resulted from tissue development in which as few as three reiterated decisions were required. First, the simulation established anlagen of two cell types of various specified proportions with randomly chosen placement. Second, in each generation of the simulation the order in which the cells divided was established randomly. Third, there was a random choice of the direction of placement of the daughter cell. The quantitative relationships between the proportion of cell types, the area of patches and the number of patches per unit area was consistent between the simulation and the chimaeric tissue.
AML survives with a little help from its friends

Strategies that have produced dramatic successes in curing many cancers, such as small molecule tyrosine kinase inhibitors and immunotherapy, have not yet improved outcomes for patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Leukemia stem cells (LSCs) seem to be sheltered in the bone marrow
Character sums and arithmetic combinatorics

In this survey we review some old and new results on character sums and their applications to various problems in analytic number theory, e.g., smallest quadratic nonresidues, Dirichlet L-function, Linnik’s problem. We also discuss open problems in this area. Some of the techniques involved belong to arithmetic combinatorics. One may hope for these methods to lead to further progress.
Instantaneous communication capacities of vehicular ad hoc networks

Abstract Wireless communications among vehicles, roadside infrastructures, and traffic management centers can enable the development of next-generation Intelligent Transportation Systems so as to tackle basic traffic problems associated with driving safety, road congestion, and vehicle emissions. This paper analytically investigates the instantaneous communication capacities of vehicular ad hoc networks (VANETs), which measure the upper bounds of the message transmission rates of vehicles. Subject to interference among wireless transmissions, the broadcast capacity is defined by the maximum number of successful receivers, and the unicast capacity by the maximum number of successful senders. With the protocol communication model and uniform vehicular traffic patterns, we derive closed-form formulas for the capacities as functions of transmission range r , interference ratio δ , vehicular density ρ , and channel capacity W . We show that broadcast capacities are approximately W ( 2 + δ ) r ρ + 1 for uni-directional communications, and 2 W ( 2 + δ ) r ρ + 1 for bi-directional communications; while unicast capacities are approximately W ( 1 + δ ) r ρ + 1 for uni-directional communications, and W ( 1 + δ ) r ρ + 1 for bi-directional communications. For general vehicular traffic patterns, an optimization model is proposed to calculate the capacities, and a genetic algorithm integrated with the protocol communication model is developed to solve the optimization problem. Finally, the impacts of different transmission ranges, interference ratios, and shock waves on communication capacities are analyzed.
Ecoflex® and Ecovio®: Biodegradable, Performance-Enabling Plastics

Biodegradable polymers are sustainable alternatives to standard plastics in applications where the functional property of biodegradability is an advantage. Ecoflex® is the brand name of completely biodegradable aliphatic–aromatic polyesters produced by BASF. By the use of renewable raw materials either in the production of Ecoflex® itself and/or by blending with bio-based polymers like starch or poly(lactic acid) (PLA), biodegradable plastics with new and interesting properties profiles are obtained. Compounds of Ecoflex® and PLA are commercialized by BASF under the brand name Ecovio®. Ecoflex® and Ecovio® combine very good mechanical properties with complete biodegradability and are, in certain applications, drop-in substitutes for standard plastics like polyethylene or polystyrene. The application range is very broad: from film applications like organic waste bags, shopping bags or agricultural mulch films to knitted nets, shrink films, coated paper board and stiff foamed packaging.
Empyema in the Acute Care Surgical Patient

Parapneumonic effusions are common in the intensive care unit. The fluid can be sterile or infected. It is of critical importance drain infected pleural space fluid in a timely fashion as it is unlikely to resolve on its own. These parapneumonic effusions can evolve from a simple-to-complex process and ultimately become an empyema mandating surgical intervention. Thus, early recognition is critical. Chest tube placement in a pleural cavity concerning for infection that fails to improve radiographically or the patients’ symptoms 24–48 h after placement is concerning for a complicated multi-loculated process, which warrants CT imaging. Treatment of this process requires a secondary intervention, which can include injecting the pleural space with tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) and DNAse for three days, versus early video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) decortication. Patients who have frank purulent drainage (empyema) or fail fibrinolytic therapy require surgical intervention, which can be attempted with VATS but may require a thoracotomy.
Neither dopes nor dupes: Maya farmers and ideology

Drawing inspiration from the work and legacy of Elizabeth Brumfiel, I develop a case study about the lives and religious practices of Maya farmers at the Chan site in Belize, to demonstrate how farmers were neither the dopes, dupes, nor mystified masses of Maya state level ideologies. I use this case study to rethink anthropological theories that attempt to explain the role of state level ideologies in the production of inequality and power, particularly ideas about ideology and false consciousness that are often bundled together and referred to as the ‘dominant ideology thesis.’
How can neurologists avoid burnout

Over the last decade, surveys of American physicians have shown an alarming decrease in professional satisfaction and well-being accompanied by an increase in the symptoms of burnout.1 Physician burnout is a dysfunctional syndrome comprising emotional exhaustion, cynicism, depersonalization, and loss of empathy, accompanied by career dissatisfaction, from a feeling of meaninglessness of work and a sense of low personal esteem and accomplishment.2 Burnout represents a growing problem because it leads to serious harm to both physicians and patients. It produces physician impairment with poor judgment, treating patients as objects, medical errors, and poorer patient outcomes. Burned-out physicians exhibit work–life imbalance and conflicts, abandon the profession, elect premature retirement, and experience higher rates of depression, substance abuse, and suicide.3
Contact and contagion: Probability of transmission given contact varies with demographic state in bighorn sheep

Understanding both contact and probability of transmission given contact are key to managing wildlife disease. However, wildlife disease research tends to focus on contact heterogeneity, in part because the probability of transmission given contact is notoriously difficult to measure. Here, we present a first step towards empirically investigating the probability of transmission given contact in free-ranging wildlife. We used measured contact networks to test whether bighorn sheep demographic states vary systematically in infectiousness or susceptibility to Mycoplasma ovipneumoniae, an agent responsible for bighorn sheep pneumonia. We built covariates using contact network metrics, demographic information and infection status, and used logistic regression to relate those covariates to lamb survival. The covariate set contained degree, a classic network metric describing node centrality, but also included covariates breaking the network metrics into subsets that differentiated between contacts with yearlings, ewes with lambs, and ewes without lambs, and animals with and without active infections. Yearlings, ewes with lambs, and ewes without lambs showed similar group membership patterns, but direct interactions involving touch occurred at a rate two orders of magnitude higher between lambs and reproductive ewes than between any classes of adults or yearlings, and one order of magnitude higher than direct interactions between multiple lambs. Although yearlings and non-reproductive bighorn ewes regularly carried M. ovipneumoniae, our models suggest that a contact with an infected reproductive ewe had approximately five times the odds of producing a lamb mortality event of an identical contact with an infected dry ewe or yearling. Consequently, management actions targeting infected animals might lead to unnecessary removal of young animals that carry pathogens but rarely transmit. This analysis demonstrates a simple logistic regression approach for testing a priori hypotheses about variation in the odds of transmission given contact for free-ranging hosts, and may be broadly applicable for investigations in wildlife disease ecology.