cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Soil and sediment properties affecting the accumulation of mercury in a flood control reservoir.

Abstract Mercury accumulations in some fish species from Grenada Lake in north Mississippi exceed the Food and Drug Administration standards for human consumption. This large flood control reservoir serves as a sink for the Skuna and Yalobusha River watersheds whose highly erodible soils contribute to excessively high sediment yields and impaired water quality. This study was conducted to characterize the distribution of total Hg in watershed soils and determine the relationship between the easily transportable clay, organic C (OC), and Fe oxide fractions and the movement of Hg from upland sources to reservoir sinks. Cores were collected from soils, of different land-use, representative of the three soil orders (Alfisols, Entisols, and Vertisols) found in the watersheds. Sediment cores were collected from the Yalobusha River and Grenada Lake. In the laboratory, soil cores were sampled by horizon while sediment cores were sampled in 10 cm increments. These samples were characterized for total Hg, particle size distribution, OC, Fe oxide contents, and pH. Mercury concentrations ranged from 10 to 112 µg kg − 1 in the soil profiles, with average regression coefficient ( r 2 ) values of 0.104, 0.362, and 0.06 for Hg versus clay, OC, and Fe oxides, respectively. River sediment cores had Hg concentrations ranging from 0 to 38 µg kg − 1 , and significant (1% level) r 2 values of 0.611, 0.447, and 0.632 versus clay, OC, and Fe oxides, respectively. Mercury concentrations in the lake sediment ranged from 0 to 125 µg kg − 1 . The r 2 values for Hg versus clay, OC, and Fe oxides in the lake sediment were 0.813, 0.499, and 0.805, respectively, all significant at the 1% level. These results indicate that total Hg is poorly correlated with the clay, OC, and Fe oxide fractions at depth in the soil profiles because maximum Hg concentrations occur in the surface horizons due to atmospheric in-fall. The statistically significant r 2 values for Hg versus these components in the sediment cores are the result of particulate clay, Fe oxides, and finely divided OC sorption of Hg from solution during the runoff and sediment transport process. The higher correlations for the lake sediment reflect an enrichment of the Hg-laden clay fraction relative to stream sediment through flocculation and sedimentation processes in the slack-water environment of the reservoir.
Fine-needle aspiration biopsy in the management of choroidal melanoma

Purpose of reviewFine-needle aspiration biopsy of choroidal melanoma offers an opportunity to determine the prognosis for metastasis and provide tissue resources for further study to develop molecular-based targeted therapies. Patients increasingly desire as much information as possible about their
Some Empirical Evidence of the Efficacy of Job Matching in Urban Labor Markets

Theory predicts that workers in cities are more likely to engage in job search, ceteris paribus, due to market efficiencies associated with greater job density. However, if job search is more efficient in urban markets, then the quality of a given job match should also tend to be higher in cities, ceteris paribus. Employed workers living in cities might then be expected to search less than their nonurban counterparts. In this latter instance, it is not city residency itself that makes search less likely, but rather the positive correlation between city residency and job match quality. Using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979, this prediction is confirmed: The estimated coefficient on an indicator of urban residency is found to be near zero and statistically insignificant in models of employed search that omit proxies for job match quality. When job match proxies are included in the models, the estimated coefficient on urban residency becomes positive and highly significant. This result suggests that workers are not only more likely to engage in employed search in urban labor markets, but also tend to find more productive job matches in cities over time.
Learning Active Basis Model for Object Detection and Recognition

This article proposes an active basis model, a shared sketch algorithm, and a computational architecture of sum-max maps for representing, learning, and recognizing deformable templates. In our generative model, a deformable template is in the form of an active basis, which consists of a small number of Gabor wavelet elements at selected locations and orientations. These elements are allowed to slightly perturb their locations and orientations before they are linearly combined to generate the observed image. The active basis model, in particular, the locations and the orientations of the basis elements, can be learned from training images by the shared sketch algorithm. The algorithm selects the elements of the active basis sequentially from a dictionary of Gabor wavelets. When an element is selected at each step, the element is shared by all the training images, and the element is perturbed to encode or sketch a nearby edge segment in each training image. The recognition of the deformable template from an image can be accomplished by a computational architecture that alternates the sum maps and the max maps. The computation of the max maps deforms the active basis to match the image data, and the computation of the sum maps scores the template matching by the log-likelihood of the deformed active basis.
Compulsory medical service in Ecuador: the physician's perspective

Compulsory medical service programs for physicians and other health care professionals have been installed in developing countries around the world. The underlying assumption for the creation of these programs is that the increased presence of physicians will improve the health status of rural populations which exhibit higher rates of morbidity and mortality compared to urban populations. This assumption, however, has been challenged by recent evaluative studies of compulsory service programs in Latin America. This paper reports on the physician's perspective of Ecuador's compulsory service program, known as medicatura rural. Based on responses to a self-administered questionnaire completed by 127 physicians who had fulfilled or were currently fulfilling their medicatura rural requirement, in-depth interviews with physicians and other officials, and visits to several rural placement sites, the paper examines some of the fundamental programmatic and logistical problems that have impeded the successful implementation of the program since its inception in 1970. While the majority of the physicians reported that the medicatura rural experience was both professionally and personally rewarding, many view the program as conceptually flawed with respect to its goal of improving the health status of rural communities. The physicians' suggestions for improving the medicatura rural, which elucidate some of the program's basic conceptual flaws and reflect the criticisms of compulsory medical programs in other Latin American countries, are discussed. Finally, Ugalde's (1988) recommendation for replacing compulsory medical service programs with a “rural health corps” is considered.
Disaster research methods : Past progress and future directions

Published results for 225 disaster studies were coded on methodological variables, severity of effects, and event year. Methods varied greatly, but cross-sectional, after-only designs, convenience sampling, and small samples were modal. Samples that were assessed before the disaster, selected for reasons of convenience, or were large tended to show less severe effects than other samples. Developing countries were underrepresented overall, but not in recent years. Certain desirable study characteristics (longitudinal designs, representative samples) have been decreasing in prevalence over time, whereas others (early first assessment) have been increasing. Innovations such as latent trajectory modeling or hierarchical linear modeling might advance the field's ability to capture the complexity of disasters, but the field still needs to attend to the fundamentals of sound epidemiologic research.
Limited liability and incentive contracting with ex-ante action choices

Abstract This article examines a principal-agent model of financial contracting in which a risk-neutral entrepreneur (agent) makes an unobservable ex-ante effort choice while employing the investment funds of a risk-neutral investor (principal). The key innovation is that the investment contract is subject to statutory liability limits. Given these liability limits, two settings are considered, one in which the investor payoff function is also constrained to be monotonically nondecreasing in firm profit, and another in which no such “monotonic contract” constraint is imposed. In the former case, a standard debt contract is shown to emerge and a “first best” effort choice is not achieved. In the latter setting, the optimum is characterized by a “live-or-die” payoff function, and a “first best” effort level may or may not be realized.
Can the Sofa Speak? A Look at Thing Theory

It used to be that "living things" were mainly found in eighteenth-century speaking-object narratives. Scholars interested in talkative objects might have stretched a point to include late-nineteenth-century "commodity fetishes" and horror films. No longer. What is coming to be called "thing theory" urges us to take our account of "things that talk" as far back as Hieronymous Bosch monsters (in Joseph Koerner's persuasive "Bosch's Equipment"), and as far afield as Rorschach blots and the exemplary soap bubbles (anatomized in Simon Schaef fer's "A Science Whose Business Is Bursting") by which late Victorian physicists demonstrated universal laws of molecular behavior to bedazzled audiences (both articles appear in Lorraine Daston's impressive new collection, Things That Talk). Defining what one even means by talking about things can rapidly become an arcane dispute, especially when waged by scholars quoting and counterquoting Heidegger's chewy phenomenological account of the "thingness of things." But ordinary language can provide some useful guidance here. Harriet Beecher Stowe's original subtitle for Uncle Tom's Cabin, "The Man Who Was a Thing," is
Intellectual Border Crossing in Graduate Education: A Report From the Field

This article reflects on the author’s experience in leading an interdisciplinary seminar that draws together doctoral students who are preparing for careers in educational research in diverse departments across a large School of Education. The article details the work of the seminar and changes in its design as the faculty gained experience. The seminar presents a common underlying structure in a broad range of social scientific educational research, while also exploring very different tacit assumptions brought to that model by different research traditions. The author explores the faculty’s intentions, the students’ responses, and pedagogical lessons about education for interdisciplinary fluency that may be drawn from three years of experience with the seminar.
CLASS interference analysis system

The Communications Link Analysis and Simulation System (CLASS) project team of the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Network Division, Code 530, has developed the CLASS interference analysis system (IAS) to support satellite communications scheduling by NASA's Network Control Center, IAS is designed to analyze communications problems arising from two or more spacecraft communicating with the same tracking and data relay satellite (TDRS) simultaneously. This system is currently composed of two major components: the CLASS automated conflict resolution system (ACRS) and the CLASS interference monitor (IM). ACRS is designed to be used in a mission-current manner, producing through interference estimates for any and all currently operating TDRS users. The IM is employed as a long-term interference predictor, taking planned spacecraft and producing broad-based statistical results concerning the resulting communications interference with and/or by other planned or existing spacecraft. Together, these two packages form a comprehensive tool for accurately analyzing potential interuser communications interference between concurrently operating space missions. >
Computed tomography in paleopathology: technique and case study.

With the development of computed tomography, soft tissues and foreign body collections are distinguished with remarkable resolution. This distinction is particularly useful when examining desiccated human remains, both in construction of research strategies and when invasive procedure (i.e., traditional autopsies, needle biopsies, etc.) are not possible. Though the organs differ markedly from living tissue, it is possible to distinguish major organs with some certainty. One case study exhibited three separate pathological conditions which were not demonstrated with traditional radiological procedures.
Corpus Linguistics for Establishing The Natural Language Content of Digital Library Documents

The methods of corpus linguistics can reveal a great deal of information about word use and language structure by careful processing of very large corpora. This information can be used for adding organizational structure to digital libraries both in terms of individual document content and inter-document relations. The structure discovered by corpus linguistics methods reflects the actual use of words and language style in particular domains and genres, rather than being constrained by pre-built categories. The data presented here has demonstrated the power of simple word classification methods for discovering semantically related word clusters. Work in progress based on the new balanced entropy principle overcomes a number of limitations of current classification methods and should discover more detailed and accurate information about word relations and text structure.
Untestable fault identification using recurrence relations and impossible value assignments

This paper presents two novel and low cost techniques that can be used for the purpose of untestable fault identification. First, we present a new theorem and a practical method using static implications to identify unexcitable nets using recurrence relations in sequential circuits. Since each unexcitable net generally infers to more than one untestable fault, this theorem helps us to quickly identify significantly more sequentially untestable faults. In addition to discovering unexcitable nets using recurrence relations, we propose a second approach that aims at quickly identifying non-trivial multiple-node conflicts, which can then be used to identify additional untestable faults in both combinational and sequential circuits. Unlike previous techniques that concentrate on identifying local conflicts in the circuit, our approach efficiently extends the conflicting value analysis across multiple levels in the circuit to identify more untestable faults. Application of our techniques to both combinational and sequential benchmark circuits showed that significantly more untestable faults can be identified using the proposed approaches, with low overhead in terms of both memory and execution time.
Orders of limits for stationary distributions, stochastic dominance, and stochastic stability

A population of agents recurrently plays a two-strategy population game. When an agent receives a revision opportunity, he chooses a new strategy using a noisy best response rule that satisfies mild regularity conditions; best response with mutations, logit choice, and probit choice are all permitted. We study the long run behavior of the resulting Markov process when the noise level η is small and the population size N is large. We obtain a precise characterization of the asymptotics of the stationary distributions μ N�η as η approaches zero and N approaches infinity, and we establish that these asymptotics are the same for either order of limits and for all simultaneous limits. In general, different noisy best response rules can generate different stochastically stable states. To obtain a robust selection result, we introduce a refinement of risk dominance called stochastic dominance, and we prove that coordination on a given strategy is stochastically stable under every noisy best response rule if and only if that strategy is stochastically dominant.
Cryptography with cycling chaos

Periodic switching of cryptographic keys is commonly employed as a mechanism to enhance the security of encryption methods. In this Letter, cycling chaos, in which orbits of certain coupled iterated maps make periodic excursions between chaotic sets, is proposed as a new encryption approach that combines chaotic behavior with periodic switching of keys. The actual encryption process is similar to the one used by Baptista [Phys. Lett. A (1998) 50], except that now different chaotic attractors, and consequently different keys, are periodically switched to encrypt each character of a message. Advantages and disadvantages of this approach are also discussed.
Palaeomagnetic studies of the Early Permian Ingelside Formation of northern Colorado

Summary. Palaeomagnetic results have been obtained from the Early Permian Ingelside Formation at a location just north of Owl Canyon in northern Colorado. A total of 243 stratigraphically distinct core samples were collected at a stratigraphic interval of 28 cm. Curie temperature analysis and IRM acquisition experiments indicate that hematite is the predominant carrier of remanence in these samples. All the samples were subjected to partial thermal demagnetization. A two-step selection procedure involving the method of Helsley was applied to the partial thermally demagnetized data restricting the stable sample population to 34 samples which yielded an Early Permian pole at 45.9"N, 122.1"E (6p= 1.1, 6m= 2.1, kappa= 147.3). This result is similar to other cratonic North American Permian pole positions and, when combined with other data from the Late Palaeozoic, defines a polar wander path along which the palaeomagnetic pole appeared to move systematically north-west from a position near southern Japan during the Mississippian to near 55" N, 103" E during the Early Triassic. No normal polarity zones appear in the Ingelside section.
Is Management Science Arcane

As has been previously noted by Klein and Butkovich [Klein, D., P. Butkovich. 1976. Can the professions of operations research/management science change and survive? Interfaces6 3, May 47--51.], “the regular reader of Interfaces has been confronted with constant prophesies of trouble for the profession.” Anyone reading the May 1976 issue of Interfaces would certainly come away with the idea that OR/MS is arcane [Grayson, C. J. 1973. Management science and business practice. Harvard Bus. Rev.51 4, July--August.] and rapidly disintegrating. I propose to argue, however, that the opposite could be true and that subtle changes have been occurring in the profession which could result in a revitalization in the next decade. The following is a review of the articles in the May 1976 Interfaces discussing some of the causes of the lack of faith in MS/OR. Following this, some trends in the profession will be shown that may alleviate many of the previous ills, and further suggestions for progress are presented.
Flow over circular weirs in a centrifugal field

Liquid height over a circular weir in a cenrifugal field has been measured as a function of the flow over the weir for baffle configurations of great practical importance in the design of centrifugal contractors for solvent extraction. An existing correlation was tested and extended so that it can now be used for both baffle designs. The baffle design in which the baffle ends at the same radius as the weir, i.e., a baffle flush with the weir, is superior because, when Coriolis effects are significant, the liquid height over the weir is less affected by flow rate.
Methodological Problems in Measuring Ambulation in the Open Field

Three factors often ignored by investigators measuring ambulation in an open field are litter differences, observer bias, and time of day of testing. Evidence is given to show that each of these fa...
The combination very low-dose naltrexone-clonidine in the management of opioid withdrawal.

Background: The management of withdrawal absorbs substantial clinical efforts in opioid dependence (OD). The real challenge lies in improving current pharmacotherapies. Although widely used, clonidine causes problematic adverse effects and does not alleviate important symptoms of opioid withdrawal, alone or in combination with the opioid antagonist naltrexone. Very low-dose naltrexone (VLNTX) has been shown to attenuate withdrawal intensity and noradrenaline release following opioid agonist taper, suggesting a combination with clonidine may result in improved safety and efficacy. Objectives: We investigated the effects of a VLNTX–clonidine combination in a secondary analysis of data from a double-blind, randomized opioid detoxification trial. Methods: Withdrawal symptoms and treatment completion were compared following VLNTX (.125 or .25 mg/day) and clonidine (.1–.2 mg q6h) in 127 individuals with OD undergoing 6-day methadone inpatient taper at a community program. Results: VLNTX was more effective than ...
Systemic chemotherapy for squamous cell head and neck cancer

Squamous cell head and neck cancer is a relatively uncommon malignancy in North America. Nonetheless, it has been of considerable interest to medical oncologists because of its remarkable sensitivity to systemic chemotherapy. Even in patients with relapsed or metastatic disease, meaningful tumour shrinkage can be achieved with systemic therapy. This has led to the performance of carefully conducted clinical trials exploring the role of systemic chemotherapy, not only in the palliative setting, but as part of definitive multi-modality treatment. Chemotherapy has been used as the initial (or induction) treatment, as an adjuvant treatment after definitive surgery and/or radiation, and concurrent with both definitive and adjuvant radiation therapy. Evidence-based conclusions have been drawn from these clinical trials and have led to significant changes in the current standards of care for this disease. In this article, the available data supporting the use of systemic chemotherapy as palliative treatment, and as part of the definitive management for this disease will be reviewed.
Assessing drivers and barriers of energy-saving measures in Oklahoma’s public schools

Abstract Implementing energy conservation initiatives within public schools, including both behavioral changes as well as building retrofits, can generate cost saving and educational benefits. However, the level of energy efficiency improvements that can be achieved may depend on the socio-economic characteristics of the school or the underlying district. The purpose of this research is to identify and examine the factors that have a role in influencing the adoption of energy-saving practices and/or building retrofits within Oklahoma’s public schools. In order to investigate these factors, a survey was administered to public school administrators across the state. The results illustrate different factors that drive schools to make decisions associated with energy conservation and retrofitting efforts. A comparative analysis between different types of schools (e.g., rural vs. urban, low- vs. high-income) was also conducted to discover the combination of characteristics that are associated with energy-saving measures. The findings could help school administrators and teachers understand how they might adopt new behaviors or technologies.
Optimizing ICU Discharge Decisions with Patient Readmissions

This work examines the impact of discharge decisions under uncertainty in a capacity-constrained high risk setting: the intensive care unit (ICU). New arrivals to an ICU are typically very high priority patients and, should the ICU be full upon their arrival, discharging a patient currently residing in the ICU may be required to accommodate a newly admitted patient. Patients so discharged risk physiologic deterioration which might ultimately require readmission; models of these risks are currently unavailable to providers.These readmissions in turn impose an additional load on the capacity-limited ICU resources. We study the impact of several different ICU discharge strategies on patient mortality and total readmis-sion load. We focus on discharge rules that prioritize patients based on some measure of criticality assuming the availability of a model of readmission risk. We use empirical data from over 5000 actual ICU patient flows to calibrate our model. The empirical study suggests that a predictive model of the readmission risks associated with discharge decisions, in tandem with simple index policies of the type proposed can provide very meaningful throughput gains in actual ICUs while at the same time maintaining, or even improving upon, mortality rates. We explicitly provide a discharge policy that accomplishes this. In addition to our empirical work, we conduct a rigorous performance analysis for the family of discharge policies we consider. We show that our policy is optimal in certain regimes, and is otherwise guaranteed to incur readmission related costs no larger than a factor of (ˆp 1) of an optimal discharge strategy, where ˆp is a certain natural measure of system utilization.
Does calcium mediate the slowing of gastric emptying in primates

Disodium edetate (EDTA, 1 g/l) in test meals of water slowed gastric emptying strongly in one human and in four rhesus monkeys. When the binding sites of the EDTA were loaded with calcium before it was given in the test meal, there was little effect on gastric emptying. It is suggested that EDTA takes up calcium from the “tight junctions” of the duodenal epithelium. As a result a signal is set up that slows gastric emptying. It is postulated that the anions of fatty acids produced during the digestion of triglycerides in the duodenum also slow gastric emptying by the same mechanism. We explain how fats, carbohydrates, and proteins could all slow gastric emptying by operating on the same receptor.
Nematode-trapping fungi of a natural shrubland: Tests for food chain involvement

We describe the spatial and temporal pat- terns in the abundance of nematode-trapping fungi and in suppression of nematodes in a coastal shrub- land. A previous study at this location (Bodega Ma- rine Reserve, Sonoma County, California) had doc- umented a soil food chain in which an insect-parasitic nematode consumes and kills the soil-dwelling larva of the ghost moth, which otherwise consumes and kills the bush lupine; the patchy distribution of the nematode and lupine suggest the involvement of ne- matophagous organisms, including nematode-trap- ping fungi. To test our model (trapping fungi kill insect-parasitic nematodes, and therefore ghost moths persist and kill lupines at some sites), we hy- pothesized that sites with substantial lupine mortality would contain larger numbers of nematode-trapping fungi and would be more suppressive to nematodes than would sites with little lupine mortality. Soil was collected from eight sites (four with substantial lu- pine mortality and four with little lupine mortality) at 2-mo intervals for 1 yr and subjected to dilution plating and most probable number procedures. Nematode-trapping fungi detected were Arthrobotrys brochopaga, A. musiformis, A. oligospora, A. superba, Geniculifera paucispora, Hirsutella rhossiliensis, Mon- acrosporium cionopagum, M. doedycoides, M. euder- matum, M. parvicollis, Nematoctonus concurrens, and Stylopage sp. A. oligospora was the most abundant. Some soil samples contained large numbers of nem- atode-trapping fungi (as many as 695 propagules/g of soil), but sites with substantial lupine mortality did not contain larger numbers than did sites with little mortality. In a laboratory bioassay, suppression of the
Objective health care technology evaluation--it isn't easy.

Although creation of sophisticated technologies in health care has been one of the most significant social developments of the last decades, evaluation of the health effects is essential to avoid misallocation of resources. Evaluation today depends on various scientific tools: epidemiological methods provide benchmarks for measuring efficacy; biomedical models define subgroups for whom an intervention is worthwhile. Standardized rules for the conduct of clinical trials and statistical analysis help assure replicability and strive for objectivity. An economic bottom line assesses cost effectiveness in terms of life years saved or improved quality of life. Subjective biases that come from the socioeconomic context in which assessments are embedded should be recognized and defused.
Divergence through differential frequency: The grammaticalization of the Japanese connective soredewa ‘now/then’

Abstract Based on an extensive analysis of Early Modern and Modern Japanese texts, the present study illustrates how the Japanese connective soredewa and its variants underwent semantic-pragmatic changes over time. More specifically, the quantitative evidence provided in this study reveals that the reduced and non-reduced forms of soredewa progressively diverged. The reduced form became strongly associated with newer functions, while the non-reduced forms reverted to their previous uses after the reduced forms increased their presence in the language. The development of the reduced forms was found to follow the Reducing and Autonomy Effects of high token frequency proposed by Bybee (2007). These results shed new light on the functional relationships that develop between reduced and non-reduced forms during grammaticalization, a topic in need of more attention and evidence in historical pragmatics.
Newborn Congenital Malformations Associated With Prenatal Exposure to Drugs in Kentucky, 2009-2013.

OBJECTIVES This study examined associations between prenatal drug exposures and congenital organ system malformation diagnoses in newborns (at birth) and infants (hospitalizations after birth up to 30 days of age) in Kentucky. METHODS Data were obtained from Kentucky inpatient hospitalization records for newborns and for infants from 2009 to 2013. Prenatal drug exposures and congenital anomalies were identified using International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification codes for prenatal drug exposures (760.70-760.79; 304; 779.5) and congenital anomalies (740-759). Descriptive analyses and logistic regression were performed. RESULTS Neonatal abstinence syndrome was the most frequent prenatal drug exposure-related diagnosis in newborns (1%). Cardiac and circulatory malformation diagnoses were significantly elevated in newborns prenatally exposed to drugs compared with cardiac and circulatory malformation diagnoses in newborns with no prenatal drug exposures (P < 0.0001); genital and urinary anomalies also were significantly elevated among newborns with prenatal drug exposures (P < 0.05). Newborns and infants diagnosed as having congenital malformations who were prenatally exposed to drugs had significantly extended hospitalization stays and higher total hospitalization charges compared with newborns and infants diagnosed as having congenital malformations who were not prenatally exposed to drugs (P < 0.0001). CONCLUSIONS Further research is needed to identify specific risk factors (eg, drug classes, tobacco) and toxicities (eg, intake amount, frequency of intake, drug metabolism) associated with congenital malformation diagnoses following prenatal exposure to drugs.
Preparation and incorporation of probe-labeled apoA-I for fluorescence resonance energy transfer studies of rHDL.

Apolipoprotein A-I (apoA-I), the major constituent of HDL, plays an essential role in regulating cholesterol metabolism, acting as the physiological activator of lecithin: cholesterol acyltransferase, which converts cholesterol to cholesterol ester. Thiol-reactive fluorescent probes attached to cysteine-containing apoA-I mutants are currently being used to investigate the “LCAT active” conformation of lipid-bound apoA-I. Herein, we report new methodologies allowing rapid expression, fluorescent labeling, and recombinant HDL (rHDL) preparation for use in apoA-I in fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) studies. Cysteine-containing mutant forms of human apoA-I were cloned into the pTYB12 vector containing a T7 promoter, a modified self-splicing protein element (intein), and a small affinity tag [chitin binding domain (CBD)]. The fusion proteins were expressed in Escherichia coli, isolated from cell lysates, and bound to a chitin-affinity column. Release of mature human apoA-I was initiated by the addition of DTT, which induced self-cleavage at the COOH terminus of the intein-CBD fusion protein. ApoA-I was further purified by Q-sepharose and then used for fluorescent probe labeling. Discoidal rHDL were then prepared with donor and/or acceptor labeled apoA-I and characterized with respect to their size, composition and ability to activate LCAT. —Li, H-h., M. J. Thomas, W. Pan, E. Alexander, M. Samuel, and M. G. Sorci-Thomas. Preparation and incorporation of probe-labeled apoA-I for fluorescence resonance energy transfer studies of rHDL. J. Lipid Res. 2001. 42: 2084–2091.
Endogenous opioids. Histochemistry, neurophysiology, and pharmacology.

Endorphin research has become one of the most rapidly proliferating areas of neurotransmitter research. In order to integrate this new knowledge1 into its clinically relevant perspectives, this article considers some of the more solid foundations of the molecular and cellular advances in the field.
Human and Bacterium Hsp70 Interacts Differently with Lipid Membranes

The cellular response to stress is orchestrated by the expression of a family of proteins coined heat shock proteins (hsp), which are involved in the stabilization of basic cellular processes to preserve cell viability and homeostasis. The bulk of hsp function occurred within the cytosol and subcellular compartments. However, some hsp have also been found outside cells released by an active mechanism independent of cell death. Extracellular hsp act as signaling molecules directed at activating a systemic response to stress. The export of hsp requires the translocation from the cytosol into the extracellular milieu across the plasma membrane. We have proposed that membrane insertion is the initial step in the export process. We investigated the interaction of the major inducible hsp, Hsp70, from humans (HspA1) and bacteria (DnaK) with liposomes. We found that HspA1 displayed a high specificity for negatively charged phospholipids, such as phosphatidyl serine, whereas DnaK interacted with all lipids tested regardless of the charge. Both proteins were inserted into the lipid bilayer as demonstrated by resistance to acid or basic washes, which was confirmed by partial protection from proteolytic cleavage. The majority of HspA1 was inserted into the membrane with a small region of the N-terminus end exposed to the outer phase of the liposome. In contrast, the N-terminus end of DnaK was inserted into the membrane, exposing the C-terminus end outside the liposome. HspA1 was found to make high oligomeric complexes upon insertion into the membranes whereas DnaK only formed dimers within the lipid membrane. These observations suggest that both Hsp70s interact with lipids, but mammalian HspA1 displayed a high degree of specificity and structure as compared with the bacterium form.
Wind and Snow Load Statistics for Probabilistic Design

Structural reliability analyses and probability-based limit states design require statistical descriptions of structural load and load effect variables. Frequently, data are only available for the basic variables (e.g., wind speed, ground snow load, etc.) from which the loads are calculated through mathematical relationships. These distributions have been used to develop a set of tentative load factors for possible use in a future edition of the A58 Standard.
Through-Space Shielding Effects of Metal-Complexed Phenyl Rings.

Several naphthalene compounds containing a methyl group in a 1,8-relationship to a metal-complexed phenyl ring bearing various substituents have been synthesized. The through-space shielding effects of the phenyl ring, as a function of substituent and complexing metal species, were monitored by observing the 1H NMR signal of the methyl group located in the shielding zone of the ring. In all cases, the methyl signal was slightly more downfield in the complexes than in the uncomplexed analogues. A comparison of available crystal structures, however, shows that the phenyl ring is slightly closer to the naphthyl methyl group in the complexes than in their metal-free counterparts. X-ray structures and DFT calculations also reveal a slight elongation in the average length of the carbon–carbon bonds of the phenyl ring upon complexation. The effect of substituents on the signal of the naphthyl methyl group is small but discernible in the uncomplexed derivatives, and consistent with our previous report. A similar ...
Case 6: An Adjuvant to the Cuff-Leak Test

You have just finished a long laparoscopic nephrectomy in a 50-year-old woman (5 ft 6 in. and 95 kg). She is the donor to her brother. The operation has lasted 7 h. Since she has been in Trendelenburg position for most of that time, her face and neck are very swollen. You are reluctant to remove the endotracheal tube (ETT) at the end of the surgery, although the surgeon sees no problem. You perform a leak test. This is traditionally done by auscultating the presence of breath sounds after deflating the cuff and occluding the ETT. You have difficulty hearing if an audible leak is present at the mouth [1]. You attempt the cuff-leak volume test (difference between inspiratory tidal volume and expiratory tidal volume while the cuff is deflated). This has been suggested to quantitatively predict postextubation outcomes [2]. However, you are not convinced that this patient’s trachea can be safely extubated.
Design and Analysis of Replication Studies

Issues surrounding the importance and interpretation of replication research have generated considerable debate and controversy in recent years. Some of the controversy can be attributed to impreci...
Influence of the Carrier Concentration of CdS on the Properties of Dry Process Cu2S-CdS Solar Cell

The properties of the CdS substrate and the amount of copper compensation induced during processing influence strongly the current transport of the Cu2S-CdS heterojunction. We present results of various experiments on junction parameters like Voc, Jsc, dark and light capacitance on different samples with substrate carrier concentration in the range from 3×1016cm−3 to 4×l017cm−3.
Detection of factor X activation in humans.

A sensitive radioimmunoassay (RIA) for the fragment that is liberated from factor X when this zymogen is activated by factor VII/VIIa-tissue factor or factor IXa was developed. Antisera were raised in rabbits to a synthetic 15 amino acid peptide containing the COOH-terminal sequence of the activation fragment coupled to bovine serum albumin with glutaraldehyde. The reactivity of the antibody population obtained toward the factor X zymogen was negligible (less than 1/36,000 that of the activation peptide on a molar basis). However, because other plasma constituents contributed to a nonspecific basal signal in the RIA, a procedure by which the peptide could be reproducibly extracted from plasma was developed. The mean level of this species in normal individuals younger than the age of 40 was 66.4 pmol/L, and elevations up to 550 pmol/L were observed in patients with evidence of disseminated intravascular coagulation. The validity of these measurements of factor X activation is supported by the fact that the RIA signal migrates on reverse-phase high pressure liquid chromatography in a manner identical to that of the native peptide and can be quantitatively recovered. The mean concentration of the activation fragment was markedly decreased to 25.7 pmol/L in patients with hereditary factor VII deficiency (P = .0001 v normal controls), whereas the mean level in subjects with factor VIII deficiency was 61.1 pmol/L (P greater than .1 v normal controls). These data indicate that the basal (ie, in the absence of thrombosis or provocative stimuli) levels of FXP under in vivo conditions result mainly from the activity of the extrinsic pathway.
Fredholm Integro-Differential Equations

In Chapter 2, the conversion of boundary value problems to Fredholm integral equations was presented. However, the research work in this field resulted in a new specific topic, where both differential and integral operators appeared together in the same equation. This new type of equations, with constant limits of integration, was termed as Fredholm integro-differential equations, given in the form $${u^{\left( n \right)}}\left( x \right) = f\left( x \right) + \int_a^b {K\left( {x,t} \right)u\left( t \right)dt,{u^{\left( k \right)}}\left( 0 \right) = {b_k},0 \leqslant k \leqslant n - 1,} $$ (6.1) where \({u^{\left( n \right)}}\left( x \right) = \frac{{{d^n}u}}{{d{x^n}}}\). Because the resulted equation in (6.1) combines the differential operator and the integral operator, then it is necessary to define initial conditions u(0), u′ (0), , u (n−1)(0) for the determination of the particular solution u(x) of equation (6.1). Any Fredholm integro-differential equation is characterized by the existence of one or more of the derivatives u′, (x), u″(x), outside the integral sign. The Fredholm integro-differential equations of the second kind appear in a variety of scientific applications such as the theory of signal processing and neural networks [1–3].
Spatial Agent-based Modeling to Explore Slum Formation Dynamics in Ahmedabad, India

More than 900 million people or one third of the world’s urban population lives in either slum or squatter settlements. Urbanization rates in developing countries are often so rapid that formal housing development cannot meet the demand. In the past decades, international, national and local development communities have taken several policy actions in an attempt to improve the living conditions of people within slums or to eradicate them completely. However, such policies have largely failed and slum-free cities have remained a distant goal for many developing countries. This chapter argues that for informed policymaking, it is important to investigate questions related to slum formation such as: (1) How do slums form and expand? (2) Where and when are they formed? (3) What types of structural changes and/or policy interventions could improve housing conditions for the urban poor? In order to address these questions, this chapter develops a geosimulation model that is capable of exploring the spatio-temporal dynamics of slum formation and simulating future formation and expansion of slums within cities of the developing world. Our geosimulation model integrates agent-based modeling (ABM) and Geographic Information System (GIS), methods that are often applied separately to explore slums. In our model, ABM simulates human behavior and GIS provides a spatial environment for the housing market. GIS is also used to analyze empirical data using spatial analyses techniques, which is in turn used to validate the model outputs. The core of this framework is a linked dynamic model operating at both micro and macro geographic and demographic scales. The model explores the collective effect of many interacting inhabitants of slums as well as non-slum actors (e.g. local government) and how their interactions within the spatial environment of the city generate the emergent structure of slums at the macro scale. We argue that when empirical data is absent, geosimulation provides useful insights to study implications of various policies. The goal of this framework is to develop a decision support tool that could allow urban planners and policymakers to experiment with new policy ideas ex-ante in a simulated environment. We calibrate and validate the model using data from Ahmedabad, the sixth largest city of India, where 41% of its population lives in slums. This is one of the first attempts to develop an integrated and multi-scalar analytical framework to tackle slum issues in the developing world at multiple spatial scales.
What Possessed You? Spirits, Property, and Political Sovereignty at the Limits of ‘Possession’

This special issue brings together two seemingly opposed concepts – spirit possession and sovereignty – to ask how possessing lands, spirits, and selves can alter the theorisation of political prac...
Sitting Pretty: How Actors Accrue Social Capital

Current theories of social networks presume that actors build social capital through intentional strategic action (Hite, 2008; Kilduff & Brass, 2010). We relax this assumption, and argue that actors’ attributes - here, attractiveness - are sufficient for them to accrue social capital in the absence of strategic behavior. Using experimental methods, we test two pathways that allow this to happen. We find that people express greater intentions to initiate ties with attractive actors rather than unattractive actors. This is explained in part by people’s assumptions that attractive people have relatively more social capital. Second, when placed in decision making roles, people are significantly more likely to assign attractive actors to more central positions that are richer in social capital opportunity. Again, perceptions of social capital explain these results. Together these findings support our premise that some actors can systematically accrue significant social capital without any strategic intention or action on their part. Rather, for some, opportunity knocks.
Chain, Generalization of Covering Code, and Deterministic Algorithm for k-SAT

We present the current fastest deterministic algorithm for $k$-SAT, improving the upper bound $(2-2/k)^{n + o(n)}$ dues to Moser and Scheder [STOC'11]. The algorithm combines a branching algorithm with the derandomized local search, whose analysis relies on a special sequence of clauses called chain, and a generalization of covering code based on linear programming. We also provide a more ingenious branching algorithm for $3$-SAT to establish the upper bound $1.32793^n$, improved from $1.3303^n$.
Evaluation of reinforcing and aversive effects of voluntary Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol ingestion in rats.

Abstract Edible cannabis-infused products are an increasingly popular method of using cannabis in the United States. Yet, preclinical research to determine mechanisms underlying abuse of Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the primary psychoactive constituent of cannabis, has focused primarily on the effects of parenteral administration. The purpose of this study was to examine the rewarding and aversive effects of oral THC in a novel rodent voluntary ingestion model. Adult male and female Sprague Dawley rats were given access to sucrose-sweetened solutions during daily sessions. A range of THC concentrations, each paired with a unique flavor previously tested alone, was introduced into these solutions for four-session exposure periods and drinking volumes were measured. Injected (i.p.) THC doses were also paired with unique flavors to compare the effects of route of THC administration on drinking. Introduction of THC into sucrose solutions dose-dependently decreased drinking upon initial exposure, though drinking generally increased in subsequent sessions. By contrast, i.p. THC produced sustained dose-dependent decreases in drinking in rats of both sexes. Subsequent exposure to paired flavors in the absence of THC resulted in further decreases in drinking, suggesting route-specific aversion. Additional testing using saccharin-sweetened solutions in a two-bottle choice paradigm was also conducted, with THC producing sustained dose-dependent decreases in drinking after initial exposure in rats of both sexes. Though self-administration of ingested THC was not demonstrated, evidence of route-specific THC aversion was observed, which suggests that certain routes and/or rates of THC administration may mitigate some of its aversive effects.