cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Review of The State and the Global Ecological Crisis

Review: The State and the Global Ecological Crisis By John Barry and Robyn Eckersley Reviewed by Victoria Carchidi Washington, DC, USA Barry, John and Robyn Eckersley. The State and the Global Ecological Crisis. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2005. 307 pp. ISBN: 0-262-52435-X. US$27.00 (softbound). If someone were to conduct an "impact assessment of international environmental diplomacy," John Vogler miserably acknowledges, the results would be "shameful" for such supposedly environmentally motivated interactions' "contribution to global warming" through excessive air travel and "the mountains of paper consumed" (p. 237). This collection of essays does not shy away from unpalatable facts about the way states acting alone and in concert cause ecological damage. Yet these twelve thought provoking essays move beyond the misery of documenting environmental failures. The collection explicitly looks "to discover to what extent it might be possible to " 'reinstate the state' as a facilitator of progressive environmental change rather than environmental destruction" (p. x). Part I, "The State and Domestic Environmental Governance," succeeds in this goal. It includes Peter Christoff's article documenting Australia's history-and pointing out that not only environmental degradation, but efforts at conservation, began almost immediately upon European settlement of that continent. James Meadowcraft, and Christian Hunold with John Dryzek, set out frameworks for looking at the ecological range of state policies. Hunold and Dryzek summarize their 2003 book (John S. Dryzek, David Downes, Christian Hunold, and David Schlosberg, with Hans-Kristian Hernes. Green States and Social Movements, Oxford, OUP, 2003) and present unexpected conclusions to the effects of governments' passive or active inclusion or exclusion of green activism. Norway's active inclusion of civic concerns has led to a green economy that silences radical options; the US's passive inclusion effectively ignores the environmental movement; the UK's active exclusion leads to easily placated greens; and, oddly, the passively exclusive government of Germany has led to an empowered, oppositional environmental movement that influences state policy and presses for radical change. David Schlosberg's very elegant presentation of the case for extending environmental justice to nature and ecological justice adds another approach to Part 1. Part II, "The State and Transnational Environmental Governance," succeeds less well in presenting varied perspectives of optimism and potential. John Vogler, quoted above, acknowledges that global environmental governance often concerns "the pursuit of status at the international level" (p. 237). Yet he rather desperately claims that "does not necessarily mean that there can be no substantive outcome" (p. 238). His language sometimes bogs down in his effort to find a non-negative lining to international initiatives. …
A User's Guide to the Laplace Transform

This chapter provides a compact, self-contained introduction to the Laplace transform, a powerful technique that can be applied with ease to a wide variety of time-dependent problems. Rather than strive for the greatest generality, this introduction addresses only those simplest properties that are most useful for the solution of diffusion problems. Only elementary methods of calculus are used, and integration in the complex plane is avoided altogether. It follows that questions regarding analyticity, the inversion integral, and asymptotic behavior cannot be completely answered, although some such properties will be demonstrated.N1
Smoothed time/frequency features for vowel classification

A novel signal modeling technique is described to compute smoothed time-frequency features for encoding speech information. These time-frequency features compactly and accurately model phonetic information, while accounting for the main effects of contextual variations. These segment-level features are computed such that more emphasis is given to the center of the segment and less to the end regions. For phonetic classification, the features are relatively insensitive to both time and frequency resolution, as least insofar as changes in window length and frame spacing are concerned. A 60-dimensional feature space based on this modeling technique resulted in 70.9% accuracy for classification of 16 vowels extracted from the TIMIT data base in speaker-independent experiments. These results are higher than any other results reported in the literature for the same task. >
CD4+ T regulatory and effector cells display a similar wide range of affinities for self during autoimmune disease (BA13P.129)

The affinity of a T cell receptor (TCR) from a regulatory T cell (Treg) for endogenous self peptide MHC complex is unknown. It is thought that thymic derived Tregs (nTregs) are enriched for high affinity, self-reactive TCRs as an alternative to negative selection. During experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), MOG self-antigen pMHC tetramers identified few ( 80% each) localized in the central nervous system (CNS) at peak EAE are in fact MOG self antigen specific. Tregs and Teffs possessed similar broad 1000 fold ranges in affinities for MOG with geometric means of 1 and 4 X 10-5 μm4. In the CNS, greater than 90% of the Tregs expressed helios which was consistent with frequencies in the thymus (94%), which suggests an enrichment of nTregs in the CNS during peak EAE. Contrary to the hypothesis that nTregs arise as an alternative to negative selection due to a high affinity for self, our data show that TCR affinity of MOG specific Tregs mimics Teffs with no enrichment of high affinity cells.
Spatial heterogeneity of fine root biomass and soil carbon in a California oak savanna illuminates plant functional strategy across periods of high and low resource supply

Author(s): Koteen, LE; Raz-Yaseef, N; Baldocchi, DD | Abstract: We sampled isolated trees and tree clusters from a blue oak, Quercus douglasii, savanna to determine the spatial heterogeneity of fine root biomass and soil carbon across the landscape as a function of tree size and configuration. We aimed to understand how fine root structure enables sustained ecosystem metabolism through a summer of limited moisture and high heat and facilitates resource acquisition during the short period of high resource supply. An additional goal was to provide a basis for upscaling root biomass and soil carbon to the landscape scale. We sampled trees of different size and tree clusters via a stratified sampling scheme that accounted for spatial heterogeneity in root biomass and soil carbon with lateral distance from the tree bole, or cluster centre, and soil depth. We upscaled these estimates using site-specific information from a lidar survey. We found that fine roots and soil carbon are spatially heterogeneous in their landscape distribution and greatly increase with tree size. We also found that Q.douglasii possesses a dimorphic fine root architecture, uniquely suited to the region's climatic constraints and exhibits morphological plasticity among trees of different size and physical setting.
Distribution of radioactivity in brain of tolerant and nontolerant pigeons treated with 3H-δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol

Levels of radioactivity in the brain stem, cerebellum, temporal cortex and frontal cortex of birds tolerant to δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (δ9-THC) did not differ significantly from levels in the same tissue of nontolerant birds after administration of 3H-δ9-THC. Levels of radioactivity in the lungs of both tolerant and nontolerant birds were similar to the levels of radioactivity in the brain areas after 3H-δ9-THC; however, higher levels of radioactivity were found in the livers of both groups of birds than were found in the brains. Approximately 0·1 per cent of the total dose of radioactivity was in the brain of both tolerant and nontolerant birds 2·5 hr after injection. When pigeons were injected repeatedly (seven times in 2 weeks) with 3H-δ9-THC, there was some accumulation of radioactivity in brain and lung, and an even greater accumulation in liver. These data suggest that tolerance to δ9-THC in pigeons is not due to a decreased concentration of total cannabinoids in the brain.
Steric effects on superconductivity in (Nd1−yYy)2−xCexCuO4−δ

Abstract We present here the results of SQUID magnetization and powder X-ray diffraction measurements for polycrystalline samples of (Nd1 − yYy)2 − xCexCuO4 − δ for various x and y. The lattice constants and superconducting fractions were determined for each sample. The lattice contracts as more yttrium is substituted, and superconductivity is reduced. The trend is compared with the spacing of Gd2 − xCexCuO4 − δ to separate steric from magnetic causes for the lack of a superconducting phase in Gd2 − xCexCuO4 − δ. The lack of superconductivity in (Nd0.7Y0.3)2 − xCexCuO4 − δ, which is almost the same size as Gd2 − xCexCuO4 − δ, indicates that a small lattice spacing is the primary reason for the failure of Gd2 − xCexCuO4 − δ to be a superconductor. This contradicts a recent theoretical proposal which emphasized magnetic pair breaking.
Fluid-flow Phenomena in Friction Spinning

An investigation is reported in which dynamic similarity was used to calculate a large–scale water analogue of a friction–spinning torque system that operated with water as the fluid. Reynolds numbers similar to those in an actual machine were used, and the model was geometrically similar. The results showed that leakage flows in the annuli between the rotating perforated cylinders and the stationary inner suction cylinders were very important, as were the relative positions of the suction slots in these inner cylinders. Yarn diameter and rotational speed were also important. With a particular port positioning, it was possible to create cross–flows that could pass behind the yarn from one cylinder to the other. Such cross–flows may be important in carrying portions of fibre from the ingoing roller to the outgoing one and thus help wrap the fibre around the forming yarn end.
Tensile yielding of multiwall carbon nanotubes

The tensile yielding of multiwall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) has been studied using Molecular Dynamics simulations and a Transition State Theory based model. We find a strong dependence of the yielding on the strain rate. A critical strain rate has been predicted above/below which yielding strain of a MWCNT is larger/smaller than that of the corresponding single-wall carbon nanotubes. At experimentally feasible strain rate of 1% /hour and T = 300K, the yield strain of a MWCNT is estimated to be about 3-4 % higher than that of an equivalent SWCNT (Single Wall Carbon Nanotube), in good agreement with recent experimental observations.
Stimulation of RNA synthesis in the salivary gland by isoproterenol.

Summary Isoproterenol stimulated the incorporation of 3H-uridine and 3H-orotic acid into total and nuclear RNA fractions of rat. The maximum stimulation in the nuclear fraction occurred 12 to 18 hr after the administration of the drug and it was sensitive to actinomycin D. The same dose of actinomycin D (250 mg/kg) which suppressed nuclear RNA formation was without effect on the incorporation of 14C-algal protein hydrolysate into the proteins of saliva and salivary gland.
Prevalance of morbid obesity and metabolic syndrome in U.S. adolescents and very young adults

Purpose The WHO body mass index (BMI) classes were developed primarily on an older adult population and may not adequately reflect increases in metabolic risk for a younger population. The purpose of this analysis was to estimate the numbers of adolescents and very young adults within adult obesity classes and to assess metabolic risk by obesity class and age in 5-year increments. Methods We used SUDAAN and data from NHANES 1999–2002 to estimate the prevalence in the United States of adolescents (ages 13–17) and very young adults (ages 18–22) who fell into adult WHO obesity classes I (BMI 30–34.9), II (35–39.9) and III (>40, also called morbid obesity). We used the Adult Treatment Plan III criteria to define individuals as having metabolic syndrome if they had at least three of the following: impaired fasting glucose, abdominal obesity, high triglycerides, low HDL or hypertension. Results We estimate that 190,185 or 1% of U.S. adolescents and 552,547 or 3% of very young adults are in adult obesity class III. An additional 590,495 (6%) adolescents and 775,903 (4%) very young adults are in adult obesity class II. While the entire NHANES 1999–2002 population shows the expected increase in the prevalence of metabolic syndrome as obesity and age increase ( p Conclusion Over four million U.S. adolescents and very young adults have an obesity level that significantly increases their risk of morbidity and mortality from metabolic syndrome. The risk of metabolic syndrome in these young people is equal to that of the population aged 58 to 62 and higher than any normal weight group including those over 68 years old.
Status Update for Six Rare Crayfishes (Decapoda: Cambaridae) in Western North Carolina

Abstract From 2009–2012 detailed distribution data, information to update conservation status, and additional life history and habitat observations were obtained for six rare crayfishes in Western North Carolina. The Hiwassee Headwaters Crayfish, Cambarus (Puncticambarus) parrishi, continues to occupy a very limited range in Clay County, with most known occurrences from the Tusquitee Creek system. The Chauga Crayfish, C. (P.) chaugaensis, appears to be abundant throughout much of its range in the upper Savannah River Drainage, in Transylvania, Jackson, and Macon counties. The French Broad River Crayfish, C. (P.) reburrus, has declined in Madison and Buncombe counties, while populations in Transylvania County appear to have remained relatively stable. The Broad River Stream Crayfish, C. (Cambarus) lenati continues to occur primarily in the upper First Broad River drainage where it is common in some streams in Rutherford County. The Broad River Spiny Crayfish, C. (P.) spicatus is rare but continues to exist...
The Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease Foundation.

The Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD) Foundation was formed in 1993 in Miami, Florida by two women who each lost a loved one to this terrible disease. They were instrumental in designing the Foundation’s mission, which stresses a strong dedication to providing support and information to all affected families who turn to us for help. This mission continues to guide the Foundation’s work today.
Regulation of Cellulase Synthesis in Batch and Continuous Cultures of Clostridium thermocellum

Regulation of cell-specific cellulase synthesis (expressed in milligrams of cellulase per gram [dry weight] of cells) by Clostridium thermocellum was investigated using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay protocol based on antibody raised against a peptide sequence from the scaffoldin protein of the cellulosome (Zhang and Lynd, Anal. Chem. 75:219-227, 2003). The cellulase synthesis in Avicel-grown batch cultures was ninefold greater than that in cellobiose-grown batch cultures. In substrate-limited continuous cultures, however, the cellulase synthesis with Avicel-grown cultures was 1.3- to 2.4-fold greater than that in cellobiose-grown cultures, depending on the dilution rate. The differences between the cellulase yields observed during carbon-limited growth on cellulose and the cellulase yields observed during carbon-limited growth on cellobiose at the same dilution rate suggest that hydrolysis products other than cellobiose affect cellulase synthesis during growth on cellulose and/or that the presence of insoluble cellulose triggers an increase in cellulase synthesis. Continuous cellobiose-grown cultures maintained either at high dilution rates or with a high feed substrate concentration exhibited decreased cellulase synthesis; there was a large (sevenfold) decrease between 0 and 0.2 g of cellobiose per liter, and there was a much more gradual further decrease for cellobiose concentrations >0.2 g/liter. Several factors suggest that cellulase synthesis in C. thermocellum is regulated by catabolite repression. These factors include: (i) substantially higher cellulase yields observed during batch growth on Avicel than during batch growth on cellobiose, (ii) a strong negative correlation between the cellobiose concentration and the cellulase yield in continuous cultures with varied dilution rates at a constant feed substrate concentration and also with varied feed substrate concentrations at a constant dilution rate, and (iii) the presence of sequences corresponding to key elements of catabolite repression systems in the C. thermocellum genome.
Precursory transient slip during the 2001 Mw = 8.4 Peru earthquake sequence from continuous GPS

[1] Two-hour position estimates from a continuous GPS station located at Arequipa, Peru, document precursory deformation beginning 18 hours prior to an Mw = 7.6 aftershock of the June 23rd 2001 Mw = 8.4 earthquake. This preseismic signal appears on the north and east components as a slow displacement with an amplitude twice that of the subsequent coseismic. Analysis of three years of 18-hour rate measurement shows this signal to be unprecedented and beyond four standard deviations from the mean rate. The best fitting centroid is directionally consistent with slow slip along the plate interface and suggests the preseismic deformation arises from creep near the aftershock rupture. This implies the Nazca-South American plate interface slipped slowly prior to seismogenic faulting. These observations indicate the Mw = 7.6 earthquake grew out of slow slip along the plate interface and clearly demonstrate the breadth of slip rates accommodated by subduction zone plate interfaces.
Efficacy of sustained-release buccal nitroglycerin in patients with angina pectoris. New and long-acting therapy demonstrated by exercise.

The antianginal efficacy of a single sustained-release buccal nitroglycerin (BNTG) tablet was assessed in 16 patients with known coronary artery disease. Patients were trained in bicycle ergometry to induce angina pectoris within three to five minutes. A hemodynamically effective dose of BNTG was identified. Patients were tested at baseline and given placebo and BNTG in a randomized, double-blind manner on consecutive days. They were tested at 0.5, 1, 3, and 5 hours after drug administration. The average increase in exercise duration with BNTG compared with placebo at 0.5 hours was 40 percent (p
Weakly non-linear Rossby waves in a rotating fluid of spheriodal configuration

Abstract A modified ray method is used to study weakly non-linear Rossby waves in a thin layer of incompressible inviscid fluid of constant density both in a rotating spheroidal shell and on a rotating spheroid bounded above by a free surface. This method yields the same dispersion relation and conservation law as in the linear case (London) but gives an equation for a new, second order mean term. This mean term is shown to be unstable for all free oscillations on any axisymmetric bottom topography in the free surface problem. This contrasts with the analogous problem on the Beta-plane where the corresponding mean term is stable.
Numerical Integration of the Shallow-Water Equations on a Twisted Icosahedral Grid. Part II. A Detailed Description of the Grid and an Analysis of Numerical Accuracy

Abstract The finite-difference scheme for the Laplace and flux-divergence operators described in the companion paper (Part I) is consistent when applied on a grid consisting of perfect hexagons. The authors describe a necessary and sufficient condition for this finite-difference scheme to be consistent when applied on a grid consisting of imperfect hexagons and pentagons, and present an algorithm for generating a spherical geodesic grid on a sphere that guarantees that this condition is satisfied. Also, the authors qualitatively describe the error associated with the operators and estimate their order of accuracy when applied on the new grid.
Formation: the Missing Ingredient in Administrator Preparation

Another dimension must be added to the way in which aspiring administrators prepare for leadership roles, says this writer. That dimension is "forma tion," a concept he explores in some detail.
PLEXUS—an on-line system for modeling neural networks

A description is presented of PLEXUS, a system which enables a user to construct and specify a neural network, to analyze the output data produced by the network, and to store and retrieve networks and data from a library. The system, operated entirely from a digital display unit, interacts directly with the user and permits easy and rapid transitions between the various phases of the modeling process. PLEXUS is designed to complement neurophysiological research so that the systematic development of neural models can be coordinated with experimental work.PLEXUS networks are built up from components representing individual neurons, external stimuli, and interconnecting fibers, each component being of a relatively detailed nature. Provision is also made for the use of experimental data as input to a network. Convenient means for specification and modification of a network and extensive error-checking capabilities are provided. Data resulting from the simulation of a network may be analyzed by a variety of techniques ranging from examinations of the gross characteristics of the data to the determination of detailed statistical properties.
Music of a Distant Drum: Classical Arabic, Persian, Turkish, and Hebrew Poems

Bernard Lewis, an eminent albeit controversial historian of Western Asia, turned his admiration for the literary production of peoples in regions he had studied for decades into this attractive and...
COMPUTER-BASED PATIENT RECORD SYSTEMS

Objectives To provide oncology nurses with an overview of computer-based patient record (CPR) systems, a key infrastructure requirement in information management that is essential to maintaining a scientific basis for health care. Data Sources Published articles, research studies, and review articles pertaining to CPR systems. Conclusions Progress in hardware development, software applications, and interfaces combine to bring us multimedia patient record systems. Many obstacles have been overcome as standards have emerged and technologies conform to those standards. However, there has been limited success in implementation of such systems. Early acceptance of structured data and problem-oriented documentation set the framework for charting in the electronic record. Implications for Nursing Practice Oncology clinicians and cancer patients alike will realize greater efficiencies and increased quality in health care when the CPR is fully implemented.
Peace Building and Violence: Perspectives from Around the Globe

Adekeye Adebajo, Building Peace in West Africa: Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Guinea-Bissau (Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner, 2002), pp. 192, $14.95 Softcover; John Darby, The Effects of Violence on Peace Processes (Washington, DC: USIP, 2001), pp. 153, $19.95 Softcover; Andrew Rigby, Justice and Reconciliation: After the Violence (Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner, 2001), pp. 207, $49.95 Hardcover, $19.95 Softcover; Paul van Tongeren, Hans van de Veen, and Juliette Verhoeven, eds., Searching for Peace in Europe and Eurasia: An Overview of Conflict Prevention and Peacebuilding Activities (Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner, 2002), pp. 832, $65.00 Hardcover, $24.95 Softcover.
Perceptions and Misperceptions of Major Organizational Changes in Hospitals: Do Change Efforts Fail Because of Inconsistent Organizational Perceptions of Restructuring and Reengineering?

Abstract Over the past decade, many hospitals have invested in major restructuring and/or reengineering efforts designed to enhance their competitiveness by improving product quality and/or reducing costs. For a variety of reasons, these significant changes have not been systematically evaluated. This research provides an objective look at the results of restructuring/reengineering hospitals and an examination of the influences on employee perceptions of reengineering's outcomes. This research demonstrates that employees, including upper management, had little or no objective knowledge of the outcomes of their change efforts. However, perceptions of all employees involved in a major change effort are critical if their full participation is to be sustained. The ultimate sustainability of many hospital strategic change efforts may rest largely on subjective assessments of its outcomes. The research reported here suggests that such perceptions vary significantly by organizational level and may not be stable ...
Understanding structural defects in lithium-rich layered oxide cathodes

Planar defects in lithium-rich layered oxides were examined by aberration-corrected scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) to understand their formation. Planar defects were found to form during the transition of the transition metal layer from a disordered Rm state to a lithium-ordered C2/m state. This disorder-to-order transition resulted in three orientation variants, namely [100], [110], and [10]. The fundamental mechanism behind the observed defects is a shear of ±b/3[010] on the (001) transition metal planes, which is equivalent to the point group operations lost during the disorder-to-order transition. These displacements also produced twins and single unit cells with P3112 symmetry. Lithium-rich layered oxides with and without nickel show the presence of these three orientation variants.
A Phase-Adaptive Approach to Increasing Cache Performance

Technological advances along with more complex and dynamic application behavior argue for revisiting mechanisms that adapt logical cache block size to application characteristics. This approach to bridging the processor/memory performance gap has been studied in the past, but most studies used trace-driven simulation and only looked at L1 caches. Given the changes in hardware and software since these seminal studies, we revisit the general approach: we present a transparent, phase-adaptive mechanism for L2 cache block superloading with minimal hardware complexity, evaluating it on a full-system simulator running 23 SPEC CPU2000 applications run to completion using training inputs.
The bulge circulation in the Columbia River plume

Abstract While most numerical and laboratory models of coastal river inflows result in the generation of a large anticyclonic bulge near the mouth of the river, evidence of such a feature in field observations is scant. Here, results from a series of approximately shore-parallel transects 20 km west of the mouth of the Columbia River are presented that provide a detailed description of the bulge circulation in the plume during a period of moderate wind stress. The transect data include velocity and density measurements in the upper 30 m of the water column, acquired with a vessel-mounted ADCP and a CTD towed on a vertically undulating TRIAXUS towfish, respectively. Sampling spanned more than 19 h of the mixed semidiurnal tidal cycle, and the anticyclonic circulation persisted throughout this period. The core of the bulge circulation, defined as the central region where the azimuthal velocity varies linearly, is approximately 5 m deep and 22 km in diameter, and the entire bulge circulation is 30–40 km in diameter. The observations from the Columbia plume agree well with the structure and scales proposed in laboratory and numerical model studies. The existence of the core region of constant vorticity agrees with laboratory studies that also show the bulge to be in solid-body rotation. The average rotation rate in this region is approximately - 0.8 f , close to the zero potential vorticity limit. Estimates of each of the terms in the radial momentum equation confirm that the bulge is in gradient-wind balance. Predictions based on previous analytical and scaling theories and observations from the Columbia plume suggest that the accumulation of freshwater in the bulge should reduce the northward coastal current flux to approximately 35% of the river discharge. This agrees with preliminary estimates of northward flux in the coastal current during the same period.
Analysis of electromagnetic scattering from an overfilled cavity in the ground plane

In this paper, we consider the scattering of the time-harmonic plane wave by a protruding cavity embedded in the PEC ground plane. An artificial boundary condition is introduced on a semicircle enclosing the cavity that couples the fields from the infinite exterior domain to those inside. Variational formulations for the TM and TE polarizations are derived and existence and uniqueness of weak solutions are established. Finite element error analysis is also performed. Numerical experiments demonstrate the efficiency and accuracy of the method.
Information, Incentives and Decentralized Decision-Making in a Bayesian Framework

This paper examines the problem of choosing an organization structure for decision-making for two-level organizations under various information conditions. Decentralized decision-making (DDM), centralized decision-making with reporting by division (CDRD), and centralized decision-making (CDM) are considered. The information conditions pertain to the observability of states and actions. It is shown that if the party not making the decisions can infer the choice of action from the ex post knowledge of the state, then DDM and CDRD are essentially equivalent in that it is possible to devise optimal incentive schemes in both cases. If, however, the action choice cannot be inferred, then CDRD is at least as preferred as DDM by the centre (regulator). If ex post observation (or inference) of the state can be made only by the party making the decision, we show that the centre (regulator) prefers CDRD to DDM. For this case, we derive an incentive scheme which elicits truthful information from the division (regulated entity). Finally, the incentive schemes are applied to the problem of regulating an industry that pollutes the environment.
Radiotoxicity of systemically administered 211At-labeled human/mouse chimeric monoclonal antibody: a long-term survival study with histologic analysis.

Abstract Purpose: The antitenascin human/mouse chimeric monoclonal antibody labeled with the α-particle-emitting radionuclide 211 At is of interest as an endoradiotherapeutic agent for the treatment of brain tumors. To facilitate the investigation of 211 At-labeled chimeric 81C6 in patients, the long-term radiotoxicity of this radiopharmaceutical has been evaluated. Methods and Materials: Antibody labeling was performed using N -succinimidyl 3-[ 211 At]astato-benzoate. After an initial dose-finding experiment, a second toxicity study was carried out at 4 dose levels in groups of 30 nonthyroid blocked B6C3F 1 mice per group (15 males, 15 females). Male mice received either saline or 15–81 kBq/g and females received either saline or 16–83 kBq/g of 211 At-labeled antibody. Ten animals (5 males, 5 females) were followed for 6 months and the remainder for 1 year. Results: The lethal dose in 10% of animals (LD 10 ) for 211 At-labeled chimeric 81C6 was 46 kBq/g in females and 102 kBq/g in males. Toxic effects—perivascular fibrosis of the intraventricular septum of the heart, bone marrow suppression, splenic white pulp atrophy, and spermatic maturational delay—generally were confined to a few animals receiving the highest doses of labeled antibody. Conclusions: The LD 10 of 211 At-labeled chimeric 81C6 in this mouse strain was about half that of [ 211 At]astatide. These results establish the preclinical maximum tolerated dose of 211 At-labeled chimeric 81C6 and define in the mouse the target organs for toxicity. These studies will be useful for determining starting doses for clinical studies with 211 At-labeled chimeric 81C6.
Taste pathways that mediate accumbens dopamine release by sapid sucrose.

Although it has been associated with the release of dopamine in the forebrain, reward remains a conundrum in neuroscience. Sucrose is inherently rewarding and its sensory message reaches the brain via the gustatory system. In rodents, the central gustatory system bifurcates in the pontine parabrachial nuclei, one arm forming a standard thalamocortical axis, the other distributing widely in the limbic forebrain. We report here that lesions of the gustatory thalamus fail to affect dopamine overflow during sucrose licking (149±5% vs. 149±4% for controls). Similar damage to the parabrachial nuclei, which severs the limbic taste projection, substantially reduces dopamine release from the nucleus accumbens (121±4% vs. 168±9% for sham operated controls; p<0.02). This represents the first demonstration that the affective character of a sensory stimulus might separate from the thalamocortical system as early as the second central synapse.
Adaptive Kalman filter implementation by a neural network scheme for tracking maneuvering targets

Conventional target tracking algorithms based on linear estimation techniques perform quite efficiently when the target motion does not involve maneuvers. Target maneuvers involving short term accelerations, however, cause a bias (e.g. jump) in the measurement sequence, which unless compensated, results in divergence of the Kalman filter that provides estimates of target position and velocity, in turn leading to a loss of track. Accurate compensation for the bias requires processing more samples of the input signals which adds to the computational complexity. The waiting time for more samples can also result in a total loss of track since the target can begin a new maneuver and if the target begins a new maneuver before the first one is compensated for, the filter would never converge. Most of the proposed algorithms in the current literature hence have the disadvantage of losing the target in short term accelerations, i.e., when the duration of acceleration is comparable to the time period between the measurements. The time lag for maneuver modelings, which have been based on Bayesian probability calculations and linear estimation shall propose a neural network scheme for the modeling of target maneuvers. The primary motivation for employing compensation. The parallel processing capability of a properly trained neural network can permit fast processing of features to yield correct acceleration estimates and hence can take the burden off the primary Kalman filter which still provides the target position and velocity estimates.
Prevalence of hypertension in junior high school-aged children: Effect of new recommendations in the 1996 updated task force report

Abstract The 1996 “Update on the 1987 Task Force Report on Blood Pressure in Children and Adolescents” adopted the fifth Korotkoff phase to define diastolic blood pressure and added height, in addition to age and gender, to develop new standards for blood pressure (BP) in children. The present study was performed to determine whether these changes altered the previously reported prevalence of hypertension in junior high school-aged children. Blood pressure screening was conducted in 19,452 fifth to eighth grade students. All students with a systolic blood pressure more than the 70th percentile had their BP measured a second time (rescreening). Using the 1996 criteria, systolic hypertension was found in 2.7% and diastolic hypertension in 2% after the screening. After the rescreening, systolic hypertension had fallen to 0.8% and diastolic hypertension to 0.4%. The prevalence of systolic hypertension was slightly higher and diastolic hypertension slightly lower than in 1987. These reports show that the overall prevalence of hypertension (1%) using the 1996 Updated Task Force criteria is similar to the prevalence using the original 1987 criteria. These results also confirm the importance of the Task Force recommendation that multiple BP measurements should be obtained before making a diagnosis of hypertension.
Responses to Wh-Questions in English Conversation

We explore the grammatical and interactional characteristics of various response-types to wh-questions in American English conversation. Our data reveal that there are two broad types of responses to type-specifying wh-questions, phrasal and clausal. We argue that each of these types of responses exhibits unique interactional properties, such that while phrasal responses to wh-questions do simple answering, clausal responses occur when there is trouble with the question or sequence. We suggest that the design of wh-questions permits a grammatically symbiotic or grammatically resonant response, and that such symbiotic phrasal responses, specifically fitted to the lexicogrammar of wh-questions, are the optimal no-trouble response for furthering the project initiated by the question. We take our study to provide further confirmation of the view of grammar that Schegloff has persuasively argued for (1996b, inter alia), namely the value, indeed the necessity, of considering grammar in terms of its real-time se...
Diet-Induced Alterations in Gut Microflora Contribute to Lethal Pulmonary Damage in TLR2/TLR4-Deficient Mice

Chronic intake of Western diet has driven an epidemic of obesity and metabolic syndrome, but how it induces mortality remains unclear. Here, we show that chronic intake of a high-fat diet (HFD), not a low-fat diet, leads to severe pulmonary damage and mortality in mice deficient in Toll-like receptors 2 and 4 (DKO). Diet-induced pulmonary lesions are blocked by antibiotic treatment and are transmissible to wild-type mice upon either cohousing or fecal transplantation, pointing to the existence of bacterial pathogens. Indeed, diet and innate deficiency exert significant impact on gut microbiota composition. Thus, chronic intake of HFD promotes severe pulmonary damage and mortality in DKO mice in part via gut dysbiosis, a finding that may be important for immunodeficient patients, particularly those on chemotherapy or radiotherapy, where gut-microbiota-caused conditions are often life threatening.
Cellular Immunity in Depressed, Conduct Disorder, and Normal Adolescents: Role of Adverse Life Events

ABSTRACT Objective To determine whether adolescents with major depressive disorder have disturbances in their cellular immunity and to study whether the immunological changes detected are specific to depression or are general responses to stress. Method Twenty subjects with major depressive disorder, 17 nondepressed subjects with conduct disorder, and 17 normal adolescents were recruited. Subjects were assessed with a clinical interview for DSM-III-R and a modified version of the Coddington Life Events Checklist. Blood samples were drawn for total white blood cells, lymphocytes subsets, natural killer cell activity, lymphocyte proliferation response to phytohemagglutinin, and cortisol plasma levels. Results Overall, there were no significant between-group differences in any of the cellular immune measurements. Natural killer cell activity was significantly negatively correlated with past year and lifetime adverse life events across all effector-target cell ratios. Controlling for diagnoses and socioeconomic status yielded similar results. There were no significant effects of age, sex, race, sleep, nutrition, cigarette use, menstrual cycle, or cortisol on any of the immunological variables. Conclusions In this sample of adolescents, we found that independent of the diagnoses and socioeconomic status, increases in adverse life events were associated with low natural killer cell activity.
2,3,7,8 Tetrachlorodibenzodioxin in fish from the Pigeon River of eastern Tennessee, USA: its toxicity and mutagenicity as revealed by the Ames Salmonella assay.

Levels of 2,3,7,8 tetrachlorodibenzodioxin (TCDD) were determined in both striated muscle (fillets) and whole body extracts of fish specimens harvested during a two-year period (1987–1989) from the Pigeon River (between Hartford and Newport) of Eastern Tennessee (USA). Whole body (wet weight) fish extract levels as high as 117 μg/kg body weight and composite fish fillet (wet weight) extract levels as high as 87 μg/kg fillet weight were observed. Pure TCDD was found to be highly toxic to theSalmonella typhimurium strains TA97, TA98, and TA100 at dosages which exceeded 825 ng TCDD/ml in the top agar of the Ames Salmonella assay. An 825 ng/ml TCDD dosage was not mutagenic to any of the tested Salmonella strains, either with or without metabolic activation (S9 mix). However, when acidic fish extracts from the Pigeon River were tested for mutagenicity, most of the fish extracts were mutagenic to Salmonella strains TA97, TA98, and TA100. These mutagenic extracts also demonstrated mutagenic dose-response curves. Other chemicals within the extracts as well as synergistic effects may account for the mutagenicity.
Wave packet with special relativity demonstrating quantum rules, Schrodinger's equation and propagator integral

The physics of special relativity is applied to a wave-packet model of a particle without the usual de Broglie-like assumption of Planck's rule, E = hv. The velocity of the particle is equated to the group-velocity of the wave-packet to associate the particle with its wave-packet. With such an identification it is demonstrated using special relativity that the momentum four-vector, P = [p, E/c2] of the particle is parallel and proportional to a central wave-number four-vector, K0 = [k0. ω0/c2], of the particle's wave-packet. The constant of proportionality, relating these two four-vectors, has the dimension of action and by diffraction experiments it has the value h/2π where h is Planck's constant. This refinement of the de Broglie wave-like nature of a particle suggests that special relativity underlies quantum physics more deeply than heretofore believed. The above quantum rules are used to find the wave-packet function in the one-dimensional case of a non-relativistic free particle and a particle in a conservative force field of potential V (x). This wave-packet function is shown to satisfy an integral time-evolution equation which relates the wave function at time t0 to the function at a slightly later time t. The resulting integral equation is equivalent to the propagator equation or path-integral hypothesised by Feynman. This fact also demonstrates, using the method of Feynman, that the wave-packet function satisfies Schrodinger's partial differential equation. The wave-packet function of a particle in a force field is directly shown to satisfy a linear integral equation which relates the wave-packet at one instant of time to its values at all later times. The kernel or propagator of this integral equation is also equivalent to Feynman's path integral. A computation demonstrates that the position of a moving particle in a simple quadratic potential well does not become more uncertain with the passage of time. This contrasts with the behaviour of a moving free particle which as a function of time becomes more and more difficult to accurately locate.
Living with the Curse of Dimensionality: Closed-Loop Optimization in a Large-Scale Fisheries Simulation Model

Facilitated by remarkable increases in computational speed, simulation models are becoming more and more complex and are being increasingly used in applied economic analysis. However, computational limitations remain a major barrier to the study of dynamically optimal policies. We study the problem of carrying out dynamic optimization in conjunction with large simulation models and propose a method for working around the computational difficulties that arise in such problems. Our methods are applied to a model of the Gulf of Mexico's red snapper fishery to study the dynamically optimal total allowable catch.
Impact of natural fractures in drainage volume calculations and optimal well placement in tight gas reservoirs

Abstract Current practice of well placement in tight gas reservoirs generally involves the use of empirical correlations based on reservoir properties and analysis of past production histories and/or pressure maps from flow simulation. No rigorous procedure is available to compute well drainage volumes in the presence of heterogeneity controlled by the distribution and orientation of natural fractures. The situation is complicated by the routine use of complex wells in tight gas reservoirs and the presence of multistage hydraulic fractures. The computation of drainage volume will be critical to our understanding of the interaction between existing wells, potential infill locations and the estimated ultimate recovery (EUR) computations. We propose a rigorous approach for well drainage volume calculations in tight gas reservoirs based on the flux field derived from dual porosity finite-difference simulation and demonstrate its application to optimize well placement. Our approach relies on a high frequency asymptotic solution of the diffusivity equation and emulates the propagation of a ‘pressure front’ along gas streamlines. The proposed approach is a generalization of the radius of drainage concept in well test analysis ( Lee, 1982 ). The method allows us not only to compute rigorously the well drainage volumes as a function of time but also examine the potential impact of infill wells on the drainage volumes of existing producers. Using these results, we present a systematic approach to optimize well placement to maximize the EUR. We demonstrate the power and utility of our method using both synthetic and field applications. The synthetic example is used to validate our approach by establishing consistency between the drainage volume calculations from streamlines and the EUR computations based on detailed finite-difference simulations. We also present comparison of our approach with analytic drainage volume calculations for simplified cases. Finally, we present a field example whereby we utilize the streamline-based drainage volumes to identify depleted sands and generate a reservoir ‘depletion capacity’ map to optimize infill well placement based on the undepleted and undrained regions. The field application clearly demonstrates a systematic approach to optimal well placement in tight gas reservoirs.
Conservation of eelgrass (Zostera marina) genetic diversity in a mesocosm-based restoration experiment.

Eelgrass (Zostera marina) forms the foundation of an important shallow coastal community in protected estuaries and bays. Widespread population declines have stimulated restoration efforts, but these have often overlooked the importance of maintaining the evolutionary potential of restored populations by minimizing the reduction in genetic diversity that typically accompanies restoration. In an experiment simulating a small-scale restoration, we tested the effectiveness of a buoy-deployed seeding technique to maintain genetic diversity comparable to the seed source populations. Seeds from three extant source populations in San Francisco Bay were introduced into eighteen flow-through baywater mesocosms. Following seedling establishment, we used seven polymorphic microsatellite loci to compare genetic diversity indices from 128 shoots to those found in the source populations. Importantly, allelic richness and expected heterozygosity were not significantly reduced in the mesocosms, which also preserved the strong population differentiation present among source populations. However, the inbreeding coefficient FIS was elevated in two of the three sets of mesocosms when they were grouped according to their source population. This is probably a Wahlund effect from confining all half-siblings within each spathe to a single mesocosm, elevating FIS when the mesocosms were considered together. The conservation of most alleles and preservation of expected heterozygosity suggests that this seeding technique is an improvement over whole-shoot transplantation in the conservation of genetic diversity in eelgrass restoration efforts.