cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Seasonal trends in aggression among sympatric larval salamanders: the roles of habitat-mediation and behavioural conservatism

The behaviours of sympatric congeners are influenced by the competing forces of behavioural conservatism, or the retention of similar behaviour among closely related species, and species-specific environments that promote behavioural divergence. Species inhabiting ephemeral ponds represent an ideal system for examining the net effect of these opposing factors, as pond assemblages consist of closely related species exhibiting varying degrees of temporal partitioning, such that congeners experience widely differing pond conditions. We observed intraspecific larval aggression among the salamanders Ambystoma opacum , A. tigrinum and A. maculatum to quantify species differences in responses to temperature, prey availability, and predation risk and to determine if responses could be attributed to relatedness or temporal variation in habitat conditions. Despite their fundamental similarities, focal species displayed divergent responses to habitat variables in laboratory trials, and these patterns contributed to dissimilar ontogenetic trends in intraspecific agonistic behaviour in situ. Ontogenetic trends in aggression for spring-breeding species supported a priori predictions regarding the influences of temporal variation in predation and pond drying. Overall, species-specific influences of habitat conditions appeared to supersede behavioural similarities predicted by phylogenetic inertia, and our results also indicate the potential for variance in ecological function among species regarded as functionally equivalent.
The component structure of event-related slow potentials: task, ISI, and warning stimulus effects on the 'E' wave.

Abstract Two experiments were conducted to investigate the role of task variables and ISI length on the late component of the event-related slow potential (ERSP) recorded during various two-stimulus anticipation tasks. In the first experiment, a two-component ERSP was observed during short (1 sec) and long (4 sec) ISI conditions. The first component was generally Fz dominant and independent of task variables. The second component was generally Cz dominant and most prominent when an immediate motor response was required. A second experiment was successful in eliciting large second ERSP components even in the absence of response requirements. In this experiment, the topography of the second component was not exclusively Cz dominant; rather, it was task dependent, and achieved Fz dominance under delayed-response conditions. Heart rate, monitored concurrently with the EEG, also reflected the change in experimental conditions by the enhancement of a mid-ISI acceleratory component. The data are discussed with respect to a multiple-component model of slow potential activity during periods in which subjects anticipate significant events.
Photophysical properties of 3,3'-dialkylthiacarbocyanine dyes in organized media: unilamellar liposomes and thin polymer films.

Abstract All symmetrical dialkylthiacarbocyanine dyes, with the exception of the diethyl derivatives, are incorporated into liposomes. Absorption and fluorescence data indicate a solubilization site close to the bilayer surface with the alkyl chains penetrating into the lipid bilayer. Incorporation into organized assemblies affects the photophysical parameters of these dyes. Photoisomerization occurring from the first excited state becomes more difficult as the restrictive effect of the solubilization site increases. As a consequence, competing deactivation processes, such as fluorescence and triplet formation, become more efficient with the result that fluorescence quantum yields, triplet yields and singlet oxygen quantum yields are larger in liposomes than in homogeneous solution. Dihexylthiacarbocyanine iodide has a fluorescence quantum yield of 0.27 and 0.10 (25δC) in dimyristoylphosphatidylcholine liposomes and ethanol, respectively, and the singlet oxygen yield increases by a factor three to 0.006 on going from ethanol to liposomes. The effect of a highly organized environment is even more pronounced in thin polymer films. In these systems, photoisomerization is completely inhibited and only triplet formation is observed in the transient absorption spectrum.
Rayleigh-Ritz Based Substructure Synthesis for Flexible Multibody Systems

This paper is concerned with the modeling of flexible multibody systems by a Rayleigh-Ritz based substructure synthesis method, so that certain advantages can be accrued by using the variational approach to derive the eigenvalue problem. As with the classical Rayleigh-Ritz method, if the admissible functions used to represent the motion of the substructures are not chosen properly, convergence can suffer. This paper presents a new substructure synthesis method with superior convergence characteristics achieved by representing the motion by means of a recently developed class of functions, namely, the class of quasi-compari son functions. This improved convergence is shown to be related to improved approximation of both the differential equations and the natural boundary conditions. The theory is demonstrated by means of a numerical example. I. Introduction T HIS investigation is concerned with the modeling of flexible multibody systems. Many structures, such as fixedwing aircraft, helicopters, flexible spacecraft, flexible robots, etc., can be modeled as assemblages of interacting flexible bodies. A method proposed by Hurty1'2 in the early 1960s, and known as "component-mode synthesis," consists of modeling the motion of the individual substructures, referred to as components, by means of "component modes." He uses three types of modes to represent the motion of a substructure: rigid-body modes, constraint modes, and normal modes. To define constraint modes, Hurty divides the constraints into two classes, statically determinate and redundant. The constraint modes are equal in number to the number of redundant constraints and are defined by producing a unit displacement on each redundant constraint in turn, with all other constraints fixed. The normal modes represent the modes of vibration of the components with all constraints fixed. An approach by Craig and Hampton3 differs from that of Hurty 1'2 mainly in the selection of the component modes. Indeed, Craig and Hampton suggest two types of component modes: boundary modes providing for displacements and rotations at points along the substructure boundaries, and related to the constraint modes of Hurty, and substructure modes corresponding to completely restrained boundaries. The substructures modeled individually in Refs. 1-3 are made to act together as a single structure by eliminating the redundant generalized coordinates arising from the fact that displacements at points common to two adjacent substructures are included twice in the overall problem formulation, once for each substructure. The elimination process is based on the use of constraint equations resulting from the enforcement of compatibility conditions, which amounts to saying that the displacement of a boundary point shared by two substructures is the same. In another approach to the problem, proposed by
A sectoral analysis of the financial instability hypothesis

Abstract Hyman Minsky's Financial Instability Hypothesis (FIH) is applied to various North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS) industry groups, and it is found that some sectors develop much more closely in accordance with the FIH than others. Minsky categorized firms based on the relationship between cash flow and debt service requirements: hedge finance units, whose operating revenues are adequate to service current interest and principal on their debt; speculative finance units, which can meet interest payments but cannot pay down principal; and Ponzi finance units, which cannot meet current interest payments. The FIH is related to, as well as supportive of, Austrian Business Cycle (ABC) theory, because interest rates are negatively correlated with the proportion and market value of speculative firms in several sectors.
Commercial applications of the digital computer in American corporations, 1945-1995

This paper describes the commercial applications of the digital computer in the United States over the past 50 years. It suggests that as technology improved, new uses for computers appeared. Looking at major types of applications common to all industries and then at industry-specific uses, the author identifies several historically important phases in the adoption of applications. He suggests that future research should focus on the history of applications and, more specifically, by industry.
Electrochemistry of [V(III)EDTA]- in Ethylene Glycol−Water Mixtures. 1. Thermodynamic and Transport Properties: Solvation of the Reactant and Product

The effect of the solvent composition for water−ethylene glycol (EG) mixtures in the mole fraction range XEG = 0−1 on the diffusion coefficients and formal potentials of the ethylenediamine-N,N,N‘,N‘-tetraacetatovanadate(III/II) redox reaction has been investigated at a mercury electrode using convolution potential sweep voltammetry. It has been shown that the formal potential of the redox reaction, measured on the ferrocene/ferricinium scale, depends on the solvent composition. This dependence has been characterized by a two-step solvent exchange mechanism, which describes the solvation of the reactant and product. Distribution diagrams for the differently solvated species have been calculated as a function of the mole fraction of EG. Preferential solvation of the more negatively charged vanadium(II) complex relative to the vanadium(III) complex by water has been found. Acceptor numbers for the mixtures have been proposed.
SPUTTERING THRESHOLDS AND DISPLACEMENT ENERGIES

A spectroscopic method for the measurement of small numbers of atoms sputtered at low energies was developed; a strong emission line of the target material is monitored by a monochromator and measured by a photomultiplier detector. The plot of spectral line intensity vs. bombarding ion energy in most cases closely matches the yield plot obtained by absolute methods. The sensitivity of this method is 10/sup -4/ or more atoms per ion for many metals. Measurement of yields was made for about 20 metals sputtered by Ar/sup +/ and Hg/ sup +/ ions; one such yield curve is given for chromium. The results indicate that yields at very low ion energies (<50 ev) become sensitive to the anode voltage above a critical value and decrease with decreasing ion energy more rapidly than previous estimates. The threshold energy for sputtering appears to be 15 to 45 ev, with 25 ev as the approximate value for Ar/sup +/ ions; this is on the same order as the displacement threshold energy for radiation damage. (D. L.C.)
β-Lactams: A New Class of Conformationally-Rigid Inhibitors of γ-Aminobutyric Acid Aminotransferase

AbstractA structural similarity of several monobactams (2–4), 3-aminonocardicinic acid (6), 6-aminopenicillanic acid (7), 7-aminocephalosporanic acid (8), and 7-aminodesacetoxycephalosporanic acids (9, 10) to γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) and to known inhibitors and substrates of GABA aminotransferase is described. Because of this, the above-mentioned compounds were tested as competitive inhibitors and as inactivators of pig brain GABA aminotransferase. All of the compounds were competitive inhibitors of GABA aminotransferase. On the basis of the inhibitory potency of these conformationally-rigid GABA analogues it is hypothesized that GABA is bound at the active site with its amino and carboxylate groups in a syn orientation. None of the compounds inactivates GABA aminotransferase. These β-lactam analogues represent the first examples of a new class of inhibitors of GABA aminotransferase.
Laterally coupled InGaAsP/InP distributed feedback lasers at 1.5 /spl mu/m for chemical sensing applications

Summary form only given. Single frequency semiconductor lasers with emission wavelength at /spl sim/1.5 /spl mu/m are finding applications as chemical sensors because a large number of molecules have strong absorption bands at this wavelength region including ammonia. Tunable diode laser (TDL) spectroscopy employing tunable single longitudinal mode lasers provides a means in which, trace gases can be accurately monitored using systems that are relatively small in size and low in power consumption. Conventional distributed feedback (DFB) lasers can achieve wavelength selectivity through feedback from a periodic change in index or gain along the laser cavity and this usually requires regrowth, over the corrugation, greatly complicating the fabrication process and making the completed lasers susceptible to unreliability due to the defects at grating/regrowth interface. One way to eliminate this regrowth problem is to introduce the gratings after the lasing cavity is formed and to rely on the coupling of the evanescent optical fields. This has been demonstrated by etching the ridge first and then defining the gratings on both sides of the ridge to fabricate a laterally-coupled (LC) ridge waveguide (RW) DFB laser. In this paper, we report on the lasing characteristics of InGaAsP/InP LC-RW-DFB lasers realized by a greatly simplified fabrication process.
Approaches for the Evaluation of the National Cancer Institute’s Summer Curriculum in Cancer Prevention: Lessons from the All-Ireland NCI Cancer Consortium

The NCI Summer Curriculum in Cancer Prevention (SCCP) has provided interdisciplinary training in cancer prevention and control to cancer health-care professionals, including nurses, physicians, and scientists, since 1986. It has trained over 1,200 participants, 256 of them from Ireland and Northern Ireland through two summer courses: a 4-week course on Principles and Practice of Cancer Prevention and Control (PP) and 1-week on Molecular Prevention (MP). This report is our attempt to measure achievements and level of satisfaction among alumni from the island of Ireland upon return to their home institution. A questionnaire was developed to assess this. Our analysis found statistically significant differences in the types of accomplishments reported among respondents of the MP and PP courses as well as statistically significant differences in their level of satisfaction. More data are needed to better explain the differences observed as well as level of resources available to alumni upon their return home.
The 3, 4‐didehydroretinal chromophore of goldfish porphyropsin

The isomeric configuration of the 3,4-didehydroretinal chromophore of goldfish porphyropsin was determined by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and by the regeneration of this visual pigment with authentic isomers of 3,4-didehydroretinal. A nonisomerizing, quantitative method using hydroxylamine and methylene chloride was employed to extract the 3,4-didehyroretinal chromophore from the rod outer segment membrane (containing the porphyropsin). When this extracted chromophore was injected into the HPLC, only a single major peak was observed and this peak coeluted with the authentic 11-cis 3,4-didehydroretinyl oxime. This suggests that the chromophore of goldfish porphyropsin is 11-cis 3,4-didehydroretinal. When the bleached rod outer segments (containing the opsin) were incubated with different 3,4-didehydroretinal isomers (13-cis, 11-cis, 9-cis, and all-trans), only the 11-cis isomer resulted in the degeneration of porphyropsin. This also suggests that the porphyropsin chromophore exists in the 11-cis configuration.
Advances in the diagnosis and treatment of chronic granulomatous disease.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW Chronic granulomatous disease (CGD), characterized 50 years ago as a primary immunodeficiency disorder of phagocytic cells (resulting in failure to kill a defined spectrum of bacteria and fungi and in concomitant chronic granulomatous inflammation) now comprises five genetic defects impairing one of the five subunits of phagocyte NADPH oxidase (Phox). Phox normally generates reactive oxygen species (ROS) engaged in intracellular and extracellular host defence and resolving accompanying inflammatory processes. 'Fatal' granulomatous disease has now changed into a chronic inflammatory condition with a median survival of 35 years and is now of interest to both paediatricians and internists. Clinical vigilance and expert knowledge are needed for early recognition and tailored treatment of this relatively rare genetic disorder. RECENT FINDINGS Infections by unanticipated pathogens and noncirrhotic portal hypertension need to be recognized as new CGD manifestations. Adult-onset CGD too is increasingly observed even in the elderly. Conservative treatment of fungal infections needs close monitoring due to the spread of azole resistance following extensive use of azoles in agriculture. Curative haematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) in early childhood has expanded with impressive results following use of matched, unrelated or cord blood donors and of a reduced intensity conditioning (RIC) regimen. Gene therapy, however, still has major limitations, remaining experimental. SUMMARY CGD is more prevalent than initially believed with a birth prevalence of 1: 120 000. As patients are increasingly diagnosed around the world and grow older, further manifestations of CGD are expected. While fungal infections have lost some threat, therapeutic research focuses on two other important aims: pharmacologic cure of chronic inflammation and long-term cure of CGD by gene therapy.
Reflecting on the Reflecting Process: A Research Perspective

Reflecting teams have garnered much attention since Andersen introduced the process in 1987. The majority of the published literature on reflecting teams has described its uses across a variety of ...
Thermolysis of the tetrahedrane cluster PhCCo3(CO)3(μ-CO)Cp2 with the unsaturated diphosphine ligands (Z)-Ph2PCH=CHPPh2 and 4,5-Bis(diphenylphosphino)-4-cyclopenten-1,3-dione (bpcd): Redox properties and molecular structure of PhCCo3(CO)(μ-CO)[(Z)-Ph2PCH=CHPPh2]Cp2

Thermolysis of the tricobalt cluster PhCCo3(CO)3(μ-CO)Cp2 (1) with the diphosphine ligands (Z)-Ph2PCH=CHPPh2 and 4,5-bis(diphenylphosphino)-4-cyclopenten-1,3-dione (bpcd) has been examined and found to give the diphosphine-substituted clusters PhCCo3(CO)[(Z)-Ph2PCH=CHPPh2](μ-CO)Cp2 (2) and PhCCo3(CO)(bpcd)(μ-CO)Cp2 (3) in moderate yield. The new compounds 2 and 3 have been isolated and characterized in solution by IR and NMR (1H and 31P) spectroscopies. VT 31P NMR data reveal that the chelating diphosphine ligand is fluxional in solution and exhibits a rocking motion between the axial and equatorial sites that renders both phosphorus moieties identical at ambient temperature. The molecular structure of PhCCo3(CO)[(Z)-Ph2PCH=CHPPh2](μ-CO)Cp2 (2) has been determined by X-ray crystallography. PhCCo3(CO)[(Z)-Ph2PCH=CHPPh2](μ-CO)Cp2 crystallizes, as the CH2Cl2 solvate, in the monoclinic space P21/n, a = 16.822(2) A, b = 10.554(1) A, c = 23.135(3) A, β = 100.944(2)∘, V = 4032.4(8) A3, Z = 4, and dcalc = 1.537 Mg/m3; R = 0.0488, Rw = 0.0725 for 9431 reflections with I > 2σ(I). The solid-state structure of cluster 2 establishes the chelating nature of the ancillary (Z)-Ph2PCH=CHPPh2 ligand at the unique Co(CO)P2 center via coordination at an equatorial and an axial site. The redox behavior of clusters 2 and 3 has been explored by cyclic voltammetry and chronocoulometry. Each cluster reveals the presence of two one-electron oxidations of common origin due to the oxidation of a Co–Co bonding orbital. Whereas cluster 2 does not exhibit an accessible reduction process in CH2Cl2, a ligand-based one-electron reduction was found for cluster 3 given its low-lying π* LUMO associated with the bpcd ligand. The electrochemical data for clusters 2 and 3 are discussed with respect to the reported redox chemistry for this genre of tricobalt cluster and the bpcd ligand.
An early history of pure shear in the upper plate of the raft river metamorphic core complex: black pine mountains, southern Idaho

Abstract Although commonly obscured by simple shear, pure shear fabrics occur locally within many metamorphic core complexes. The cover rocks to the Raft River metamorphic core complex exposed within the Black Pine Mountains display an early coaxial strain history which developed prior to the formation of low-angle fault-bounded allochthons. At higher structural levels this is documented by pressure shadows with straight sutures, and oppositely-rotated antitaxial calcite veins. These rocks were sub-horizontally extended parallel to bedding, by up to 160%, in an ≈ E-W direction. The marbles of the lowest exposed levels exhibit well-developed crystallographic preferred orientation fabrics. Calcite c- and a-axis pole figures are symmetric to slightly asymmetric, with obliquities ranging from 0° to 8°, which indicate that the percent pure shear ranges between 100 and 76%. Initial constraints on the timing of this layer-parallel extension suggest that extension was occurring locally within the Sevier belt hinterland during the late Cretaceous. These data, coupled with previous studies, suggest that pure shear might be a much more common component of strain in rocks deformed in extensional environments than is generally acknowledged.
A Review of Observational Pain Scales in Nonverbal Elderly With Cognitive Impairments

Objective: Pain assessment for nonverbal older adults with cognitive impairments or dementia presents many challenges, and it is important to determine which scales are most useful in assessing pai...
Advice to Presidents of Struggling Colleges.

The principles and practices described by the president of a small private college are relevant across all institutions of higher education.
Beyond Cooptation or Resistance: Urban Spatial Politics, Community Organizations, and GIS-Based Spatial Narratives

The roles, relationships, and strategies of state and civil society institutions in urban planning, problem solving, and service delivery are in flux. In trying to understand how these changes affect community organizations, grassroots groups, and local-level institutions of civil society, existing research has tended to conceptualize these roles through a series of oppositional dialectics, such as cooptation or resistance. This article shows instead that community organizations shift their technological, institutional, and spatial approaches to urban planning and problem solving in creative and multifaceted ways. They produce a variety of spatial narratives to advance their agendas by strategically enacting multiple roles vis-a-vis a diverse set of actors and institutions. Information technologies such as geographic information systems (GIS) can play a central role in this approach. Community organizations apply their own interpretive frameworks to GIS-based maps and images to produce spatial narratives ...
Home environmental intervention in inner-city asthma: a randomized controlled clinical trial.

Background Airborne pollutants and indoor allergens increase asthma morbidity in inner-city children; therefore, reducing exposure, if feasible, should improve asthma morbidity. Objective To conduct a randomized controlled trial of methods to reduce environmental pollutant and allergen exposure in the homes of asthmatic children living in the inner city. Methods After the completion of questionnaires, spirometry and allergen skin tests, home inspection, and measurement of home air pollutant and allergen levels, 100 asthmatic children aged 6 to 12 years were randomized to the treatment group (home-based education, cockroach and rodent extermination, mattress and pillow encasings, and high-efficiency particulate air cleaner) or to the control group (treated at the end of the 1-year trial). Outcomes were evaluated by home evaluations at 6 and 12 months, clinic evaluation at 12 months, and multiple telephone interviews. Results In the treatment group, 84% received cockroach extermination and 75% used the air cleaner. Levels of particulate matter 10 μm or smaller declined by up to 39% in the treatment group but increased in the control group ( P P = .04). Other measures of morbidity, such as spirometry findings, nighttime symptoms, and emergency department use, were not significantly changed. Conclusions A tailored, multifaceted environmental treatment reduced airborne particulate matter and indoor allergen levels in inner-city homes, which, in turn, had a modest effect on morbidity.
Context-steered learning: the learning in process approach

Context-steered learning in enterprises promises both from a learner point of view and from an organizational point of view higher learning efficiency and improved quality control. We present the learning in process approach for contextualizing learning processes in a corporate setting. Its nucleus is a matching component compiling personalized learning programs on demand from modular learning objects.
GPFS: A Shared-Disk File System for Large Computing Clusters

GPFS is IBM's parallel, shared-disk file system for cluster computers, available on the RS/6000 SP parallel supercomputer and on Linux clusters. GPFS is used on many of the largest supercomputers in the world. GPFS was built on many of the ideas that were developed in the academic community over the last several years, particularly distributed locking and recovery technology. To date it has been a matter of conjecture how well these ideas scale. We have had the opportunity to test those limits in the context of a product that runs on the largest systems in existence. While in many cases existing ideas scaled well, new approaches were necessary in many key areas. This paper describes GPFS, and discusses how distributed locking and recovery techniques were extended to scale to large clusters.
The impact of lipoic acid on endothelial function and proteinuria in quinapril-treated diabetic patients with stage I hypertension: results from the QUALITY study.

Background: We sought to determine whether a combination of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEIs) and the nutraceutical α-lipoic acid (ALA) regulates blood pressure, endothelial function, and proteinuria in diabetic patients with Stage I hypertension. Methods: A total of 40 diabetic patients with Stage I hypertension were treated in a crossover double-blinded manner. Patients were administered quinapril ([QUI] 40 mg/d) for 8 weeks or QUI + ALA (600 mg/d) for 8 weeks. Measurements included blood pressure, 24-hour collection of urinary albumin, and endothelial-dependent flow-mediated dilation (FMD). Results: There was a change of metabolic parameters in both study groups after 8 weeks of therapy. In comparison to baseline, the 24-hour urinary albumin significantly decreased by 30% in the QUI group (P = .018, time comparison) and 53% in QUI + ALA group (P < .005, time and group comparison). Also, when compared with baseline, FMD significantly increased by 58% in QUI group (P < .005, time compariso...
Julia Dickson-Gómez on Francisco Bastos' "Structural violence in the context of drug policy and initiatives aiming to reduce drug-related harm in contemporary Brazil: a review".

Bastos’ article on structural violence and drug policy in contemporary Brazil raises a number of big questions that substance abuse researchers, particularly social scientists and public health researchers, should tackle to a greater extent than they have to date. The first big question raised by Bastos’ article is the extent to which international drug treaties influence, and often hamper, national drug policies that may reduce the harm associated with illicit drug use. As Bastos hints, more powerful countries (often those that have problems with “demand”) have more power to dictate the content of international drug treaties than poorer countries (often those that supply). International conventions have defined particular drugs as “illicit.” These treaties—and the recent history of Brazil’s dictatorship—have made drug reform “timid” at best. While drug reform has occurred, moving national law and policy from extremely punitive criminalization to some more tolerant and flexible approaches, these efforts have been hampered by local police enforcement and ambiguities in the law that allow judges considerable latitude in prosecution. For example, a number of state legislations protect the implementation of needle and syringe exchange programs (NSEP) to reduce druguse-related harms. In spite of this, national law has not protected outreach workers or NSEP, and outreach workers and users of these programs continue to be harassed by local police. Law 11343, passed in 2006, draws a distinction between personal use and trafficking with penal sanctions recommended only for the latter. However, the distinction between the two in terms of the amount or nature of the substance was not clear in this law, and left to an interpretation of “contextual factors” and the “personal characteristics and history of each individual” giving each judge considerable and somewhat arbitrary latitude in deciding who should be prosecuted as a drug trafficker.
Infanticidal Behavior in the Subsocial Beetle Odontotaenius disjunctus (Illiger) (Coleoptera: Passalidae)

Infanticide, the killing of young, reproductively immature individuals of the perpetrator's same species, has many interesting implications for reproductive fitness. Here we provide the first experimental description of infanticidal behavior in the passalid beetle Odontotaenius disjunctus (Illiger). To test our hypothesis that infanticide is triggered by the takeover of burrows by adults that had yet to reproduce in the mating season, we measured the mortality of larvae when housed with adults that were reproducing or had not yet reproduced. A significantly higher mortality was observed in larvae housed with adults that had not reproduced than when housed with their own parent or with unrelated reproducing adults. Infanticidal behavior of O. disjunctus is thought to result from the reproductive advantage obtained by taking over an existing burrow and thereby securing one with high food resource quality.
Modeling the effects of β1-adrenergic receptor blockers and polymorphisms on cardiac myocyte Ca2+ handling.

β-Adrenergic receptor blockers (β-blockers) are commonly used to treat heart failure, but the biologic mechanisms governing their efficacy are still poorly understood. The complexity of β-adrenergic signaling coupled with the influence of receptor polymorphisms makes it difficult to intuit the effect of β-blockers on cardiac physiology. While some studies indicate that β-blockers are efficacious by inhibiting β-adrenergic signaling, other studies suggest that they work by maintaining β-adrenergic responsiveness. Here, we use a systems pharmacology approach to test the hypothesis that in ventricular myocytes, these two apparently conflicting mechanisms for β-blocker efficacy can occur concurrently. We extended a computational model of the β1-adrenergic pathway and excitation-contraction coupling to include detailed receptor interactions for 19 ligands. Model predictions, validated with Ca2+ and Forster resonance energy transfer imaging of adult rat ventricular myocytes, surprisingly suggest that β-blockers can both inhibit and maintain signaling depending on the magnitude of receptor stimulation. The balance of inhibition and maintenance of β1-adrenergic signaling is predicted to depend on the specific β-blocker (with greater responsiveness for metoprolol than carvedilol) and β1-adrenergic receptor Arg389Gly polymorphisms.
Waist circumference predicts increased cardiometabolic risk in normal weight adolescent males

AbstractObjective. The aims of the study were to establish waist circumference (WC) cut-off points that identify clustering of obesity-related conditions and determine if the cut-off points identified an increased risk of disease when used within BMI categories. Methods. This is a secondary analysis of the Centers for Disease Control NHANES III complex, multistage probability weighted data set collected between 1988 and 1994 from multiple locations in the United States. There were 2003 adolescents ages 12–19 years. Main outcome measures were low (<2 risk factors) or high (≥2 risk factors) risk for cardiometabolic disease based on the number of abnormal serum measurements for fasting glucose, high-density lipoprotein (HDL), triglycerides, and blood pressure. Receiver-operating characteristic curve analysis created the WC cut-off points and logistic regression determined if cut-off points predicted of within BMI categories. Results. Analysis identified cut-off points of ≥80.5 cm for males and ≥81 cm for fem...
Sound Control with High Density Coated Substrates

Lead vinyl coated fabrics, new composite vinyl films, and molding compounds have been developed that have application as flexible sound barriers in transportation and recreational equipment. The material consisting of fine lead particles disbursed in PVC compounds for coating, casting films, extrusion, injection molding, thermal form sheets, and rotational casting combines the high mass of lead and the properties and formability of vinyl. These composites provide a limp high mass sound barrier material.
Delirium induced by a new synthetic legal intoxicating drug: phenazepam.

Phenazepam is a long-acting benzodiazepine that is not currently a controlled substance in theUnited States. It is marketed as an air freshener that is labeled “not for human consumption” in an attempt to avoid scrutiny by legal authorities. Such drugs of abuse have been termed synthetic legal intoxicating drugs or “SLIDs.” In this article, we report the first case of phenazepaminduced delirium in the United States. This adds to the limited published data on SLIDs and provides consultation-liaison psychiatrists with new information on the necessity of screening for such drugs in cases of suspected substance-induced delirium.
TFPI antigen levels in normal human volunteers after intravenous and subcutaneous administration of unfractionated heparin and a low molecular weight heparin

Abstract Tissue factor pathway inhibitor (TFPI) is an important mediator of the in vivo anticoagulant/antithrombotic properties of unfractionated heparin (UFH) and low molecular weight heparin (LMWH). The vascular pool of TFPI is released into the circulation after intravenous and subcutaneous administration of both UFH and LMWH. We have administered LMWH (Ardeparin®) and UFH to normal human volunteers in a dose dependent manner. Our results demonstrate that the TFPI antigen levels increase upon the intravenous and subcutaneous administration of UFH and Ardeparin®. Because of the better bioavailability of LMWH by the subcutaneous route at equigravimetric dosages, Ardeparin® released more TFPI than UFH. However, when given intravenously an identical release of TFPI from the vasculature has been observed. The plasma concentration of TFPI was increased 0.5 – 2 fold when UFH or Ardeparin® was administered subcutaneously and was 3 fold higher when administered intravenously. This profound increase in TFPI antigen levels was dependent on the dosage of Ardeparin® administered. This release in TFPI correlates with prologation of the Heptest® clotting assay. However, it appears from this study that TFPI release precedes the elevation of the Heptest® clotting time.
A causal examination of the effects of confounding factors on multimetric indices

a b s t r a c t The development of multimetric indices (MMIs) as a means of providing integrative measures of ecosys- tem condition is becoming widespread. An increasingly recognized problem for the interpretability of MMIs is controlling for the potentially confounding influences of environmental covariates. Most com- mon approaches to handling covariates are based on simple notions of statistical control, leaving the causal implications of covariates and their adjustment unstated. In this paper, we use graphical models to examine some of the potential impacts of environmental covariates on the observed signals between human disturbance and potential response metrics. Using simulations based on various causal networks, we show how environmental covariates can both obscure and exaggerate the effects of human dis- turbance on individual metrics. We then examine from a causal interpretation standpoint the common practice of adjusting ecological metrics for environmental influences using only the set of sites deemed to be in reference condition. We present and examine the performance of an alternative approach to metric adjustment that uses the whole set of sites and models both environmental and human dis- turbance effects simultaneously. The findings from our analyses indicate that failing to model and adjust metrics can result in a systematic bias towards those metrics in which environmental covariates function to artificially strengthen the metric-disturbance relationship resulting in MMIs that do not accurately measure impacts of human disturbance. We also find that a "whole-set modeling approach" requires fewer assumptions and is more efficient with the given information than the more commonly applied "reference-set" approach.
A computational stability analysis of discrete-time piecewise linear systems

A computational method for stability analysis of discrete-time piecewise linear systems is presented. The method is based on combining the solutions to two separate problems: one is to obtain stabilizing switching sequences between linear dynamics, and the other is to obtain an increasing sequence of state-space partitions. Examples show that there are cases where the presented method is very useful.
Critical Conductivity and Charge Vortex Duality Near Quantum Criticality

Three decades ago, Fisher and Lee [1] showed that the SIT can be described as a Bose condensation of quantum vortices.
The “difference between heaven and earth”: Urban–rural disparities in well-being in China

Abstract Although China is a rapidly developing nation, rural–urban disparities in well-being remain large, and perhaps have become larger than in the early years of the Communist period because the urban sector has benefited from China's transition to a market economy much more than has the rural sector; or perhaps have become smaller as earning opportunities in the export-oriented manufacturing sector have increased for those from rural origins. Economic disparities are exacerbated by institutional arrangements that have created a two-class society based on registration ( hukou ) status with sharp rural–urban distinctions in the public provision of schooling, health care, housing, and retirement benefits. Indeed, it is fair to say that China built an urban welfare state on the backs of the peasants. Using data from two national probability sample surveys, one carried out in 1996 and one in 2008, this paper describes trends in various aspects of inequality for three groups, identified at age 14: those with rural registration and rural residence; those with rural registration and urban residence; and those with urban registration. The specific outcomes considered are education, occupational position, earnings, family income, material well-being, and perceptions regarding whether life has improved. The paper shows that a rising tide lifts all boats. That is, there has been across-the-board improvement in almost all aspects of life in China measured here, but for most measures the size of the rural–urban gap has remained relatively constant over a 60-year period.
Diffusion Tensor Imaging of Neurofibromatosis Bright Objects in Children with Neurofibromatosis Type 1

Neurofibromatosis bright objects (NBOs) are poorly understood. This article aimed to investigate: 1) differences in fractional anisotropy (FA) between NBOs based in gray matter (GM) and white matter (WM), and 2) the relationship between NBOs and the affected white matter tracts. Fourteen NF1 patients were included in this study. Apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC), FA, radial diffusivity (RD) and eigenvalues were used to compare NBOs and matching contralateral normal-appearing sites (NAS). Diffusion tensor imaging scalars were also compared with age-matched healthy controls. Fiber tractography was performed to assess NBO-induced changes in WM trajectories. ADC values were higher for GM and WM NBOs than for NAS and controls. FA values were lower in GM and WM NBOs compared with controls. In all regions, eigenvalues were higher in NBOs than in NAS and controls. Only three out of 18 NOBs appeared to disrupt WM tracts. ADC, λ2 and RD values of WM NBOs were higher in symptomatic compared to asymptomatic patients. Increased ADC, RD and eigenvalues and decreased FA values in NBOs can be explained by myelin and axonal damage. Increased ADC values and RD in WM NBOs correlated with the presence of symptoms. Tract integrity predominated in our study.
What Global Businesses Really Want For Academia: An Interdisciplinary Program

With the increase in international business in Indiana, it was necessary to research and analyze what these businesses are doing with regards to international and what their future plans are regarding internationalizing. In addition to analyzing the international activities of businesses, the research addresses the need from their current employees and potential new-hires. The results of this 18-month, 3-phased research project will help craft the curriculum and its experiential learning components, in order to assure that students have the best opportunity to succeed in the global business environment.
Frequency Analysis of Complete Spherical Shells

The results of the transverse frequency analysis of complete spherical shells by elastic theory and classical, improved, and membrane shell theories are compared. Fundamental frequencies less than the lowest pure shear frequency of a solid sphere are shown to be accurately predicted by classical shell theory. For shells of vanishing thickness, the equations of elasticity are shown to reduce exactly to the membrane shell equations. Evaluation of the distortional energy associated with each transverse frequency allows a classification of the three frequencies of transverse vibration in each mode shape. This classification is based on predictions by improved shell theory as to the dominant character of the behavior associated with extensional, bending or shear distortion.
Designing Precision Reference Circuits

This chapter contains sections titled: Error Sources The Output Stage Designing for Power Supply Rejection and Line Regulation Summary This chapter contains sections titled: Appendix A.4 Error Sources in a Typical First-Order Bandgap Appendix B.4 Effect of the Resistors' Temperature Coefficient on a Reference with a Current-Mode Output Stage Bibliography ]]>
The generality of free-recall: II. Performance as a function of type of material

The Ss were tested on a variety of materials in a multiple trial free-recall paradigm. Correlations between performance on the differing materials suggest that S’s score on any given trial represents a combination of general free-recall factors and factors specific to the kind of material.
Synthesis and Structural Characterization of a Hydrated Gallosilicate Zeolite with the Nat-Framework

Gallosilicate NAT-framework zeolites have been synthesized from Na2O:TMA2O:Ga2O3:SiO2:H2O gels and characterized by chemical analysis and powder X-ray diffraction. The structure of a hydrated material (Orthorhombic, Fdd2, a = 18.423(4) A, b = 18.826(3) A, c = 6.652(1) A) was determined using powder neutron diffraction. The framework Si:T ratio, Si-Ga segregation and non-framework cation and water configurations are similar to those in the analogous aluminosilicates. The geometrical effects of framework gallium substitution are consistent with those observed for other zeolite framework topologies.
States Sued: Democracy, the Rule of Law, and Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS)

ABSTRACTInvestor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) cases have increased dramatically in recent decades, and the institutions of investment arbitration to resolve investor-state disputes constitute the core of the modern investment regime. In this article, we seek to explain the variation in the host governments’ risk of being challenged by foreign investors before international arbitration tribunals. We argue that such risk is greatest at the intermediate level of democracy where some democratic elements such as elections are strong, but the system of rule of law remains weak. In those regimes, “regulatory risk” runs higher than in autocratic regimes as the host governments are under greater pressure for regulating matters of broad public concern. At the same time, more traditional political risk of arbitrary, discriminate, and abusive acts remains considerable at that level of democracy due to weak rule of law, exacerbating the former risk. Empirical analysis provides a good deal of support for the argument.
Education, training, professional certification, and work patterns of directors in interstate laboratories.

Education, professional training, certification, and work patterns of 988 laboratory directors employed in 440 clinical laboratories licensed under the Clinical Laboratories Improvement Act of 1967 are examined. Directors of hospital laboratories as opposed to independent laboratories were more likely to be physicians (82.8% vs . 68.0%), to have completed a formal residency program (75.5% vs . 62.0%), and to be certified in both anatomic and clinical pathology (65.3% vs . 57.1%). Only 51.9% of pathologists confined their work to a single laboratory, while 64.8% of directors with Ph.D.s or other doctorates directed only one laboratory. Most laboratories (81.5%) have at least one associate director. Hospital directors are more often full time (30 or more hours per week) than their independent laboratory counterparts, 74.4% vs . 42.4%, respectively. When the education and experience of individuals entering the field between the 1950s and 1970s are examined, it is evident that fewer individuals with bachelor’s or master’s degrees now are able to qualify as laboratory directors.
Two-Year and Four-Year Tertiary Education: Measuring Human Capital Effects on Economic Growth in Developing and Developed Countries with the Uzawa-Lucas Model

Tertiary education is believed to be a driver of economic development through the relationship between human capital development and economic output. Global massification efforts of tertiary education have led to increased global demand. Countries with limited tertiary education systems, like developing countries, have employed policies to increase domestic tertiary education opportunities instead of sending students abroad. Many tertiary education policies have focused on importing tertiary education from countries with established tertiary education systems. Import efforts first emphasized university models, but limited success prompted the import of more flexible short-cycle education modeled after the United States’ community college system. Limited empirical research has studied the relationship between tertiary education and economic growth. Currently, there has been no research on the effect of importing U.S. four-year and two-year tertiary education models in other countries and the effect on economic growth. The purpose of this study was to examine differences between two- and four-year U.S. university models implemented in developing countries by examining changes in economic growth. Utilizing country level economic and tertiary education data spanning 1970 to 2013 from The World Bank and the United National Education, Scientific, and Cultural Organization Institute for Statistics in the Uzawa-Lucas model with a General Method of Moments (GMM) estimation of an autoregressive distribution lag model to take into account the lagged effect of tertiary education on economic indicators.