cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Computational Communication Science| Automated Coding of Televised Leader Displays: Detecting Nonverbal Political Behavior With Computer Vision and Deep Learning

For decades, nonverbal communication scholars have employed manual coding as the primary research methodology for systematic content analysis of nonverbal behaviors such as facial expressions and gestures. Manual coding of visual data, however, is expensive and time consuming and therefore not suitable for studies relying on large-scale data. This article introduces a novel computational methodology that can automatically analyze visual content of human communication from visual data. Based on computer vision techniques, the method allows to automatic detection and classification of diverse facial expressions and communicative gestures that have been manually coded in traditional work. To demonstrate the new method, we develop a computational pipeline to classify fine-grained facial expressions and physical gestures and apply our technique to the first 2016 U.S. presidential debates between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton. The results confirm that computational methods can replicate human coding with a high degree of accuracy for bodily movements and facial expressions, as well as nonverbal tics and signature displays unique to individual candidates. Automated coding should soon facilitate rapid progress in quantitative visual communication research by dramatically scaling up existing manual studies.
Finding the Fingerprint of Anthropogenic Climate Change in Marine Phytoplankton Abundance

We review how phytoplankton abundance may be responding to the increase in stratification associated with anthropogenic climate change, providing context on the utility of remote sensing datasets and Earth system model output to understand these perturbations. Assessing disruption in the ocean biosphere using remote sensing datasets is challenged by the relatively short length of the observational record, restricting our ability to disentangle fluctuations due to internal climate variability from those imposed by externally forced anthropogenic trends. Ensembles of Earth system models can be used to quantify past and future drivers, but may not skillfully predict observed spatial patterns and temporal dynamics in marine phytoplankton. To better understand the role of internal climate variability in the observational record, we construct a synthetic ensemble of global chlorophyll concentration over the MODIS satellite mission using statistical emulation techniques. We emphasize the use of a synthetic ensemble to illuminate the role of internal climate variability in the evolution of the ocean biosphere over time.
Discovery and characterization of a monogenetic insult, caveolin-3-V37L, that precipitated oligo-proteomic perturbations governing repolarization reserve

Abstract Background Caveolin-3 (Cav-3) is an essential scaffolding protein for caveolae formation in cardiomyocytes and targets multiple long QT syndrome (LQTS)-associated ion channels. Mutations in CAV3 have caused an LQT3-like accentuation in late sodium current, INa (Nav1.5). Here, we characterize a novel CAV3-V37L variant and determine whether it is the substrate for the patient's LQTS. Methods The proband was a 39-year-old female with drug-induced, sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) with profound QT prolongation (QTc > 600 ms). Genetic testing revealed a rare CAV3-V37L variant of uncertain significance (VUS). Whole-cell patch clamp technique was used to measure IKs, IKr, INa, and ICa, L currents co-expressed with either CAV3-WT or CAV3-V37L in TSA201 cells and to measure the action potential duration (APD) in control human induced pluripotent stem cells-derived cardiomyocytes (hiPSC-CMs) overexpressed with CAV3-WT or CAV3-V37L. Results CAV3-V37L did not affect Nav1.5 late current. Instead, CAV3-V37L resulted in 1) ICa, L with slower inactivation, a 1.5 fold increase in peak ICa, L current density and a 1.1 fold increase in ICa, L persistent current, 2) dramatically reduced IKs peak current density by 74.9%, 3) significantly reduced IKr peak current density by 31.1%, and 4) significantly prolonged the APD in hiPSC-CMs. Conclusions These functional validation assays enabled the promotion of CAV3-V37L from VUS status to a likely pathogenic variant. Although Nav1.5 was spared, this monogenetic insult precipitated an oligo-proteomic impact with a concomitant gain-of-function of ICa, L and loss-of-function of both IKs and IKr culminating in a marked prolongation of the cardiomyocyte's action potential duration.
Electro-assisted regeneration of pH-sensitive ion exchangers for sustainable phosphate removal and recovery.

Abstract Removal and recovery of phosphate from wastewater can minimize deleterious environmental impacts and supplement fertilizer supply. Hybrid anion exchangers (HAIX, with doped ferric oxide nanoparticles (FeOnp)) can remove phosphate from complex wastewaters and recover concentrated phosphate solutions. In this study, we integrate HAIX with a weak acid cation exchanger (WAC) to enrich phosphate and calcium in mild regenerants and precipitate both elements for recovery. We demonstrated an electro-assisted regeneration approach to avoid strong acid and base input. Based on demonstrated pH sensitivities of both materials, electrochemically produced mild electrolytes (pH 3 and pH 11), which are 100–1000 times less concentrated than typical regenerants, preserved 80% WAC and 50% HAIX capacities over five batch adsorption-regeneration cycles. FeOnp in HAIX facilitated regeneration due to pH sensitivity and their likely distribution on the resin particle surface, which reduced intraparticle diffusion path length. In column tests, repeatable phosphate removal (> 95%) from synthetic wastewater (3 mg P/L) was achieved with 20 kWh/kg P specific energy consumption. After removal, a similar 50% HAIX regeneration efficiency as batch experiments was achieved. In spent regenerant, more than 95% phosphorus was recovered as hydroxyapatite. This novel approach enhances ion exchange by minimizing chemical inputs.
Causal Organic Indirect and Direct Effects: Closer to the Original Approach to Mediation Analysis, with a Product Method for Binary Mediators.

Mediation analysis, which started in the mid-1980s, is used extensively by applied researchers. Indirect and direct effects are the part of a treatment effect that is mediated by a covariate and the part that is not. Subsequent work on natural indirect and direct effects provides a formal causal interpretation, based on cross-worlds counterfactuals: outcomes under treatment with the mediator set to its value without treatment. Organic indirect and direct effects avoid cross-worlds counterfactuals, using so-called organic interventions on the mediator while keeping the initial treatment fixed at treatment. Organic indirect and direct effects apply also to settings where the mediator cannot be set. In linear models where the outcome model does not have treatment-mediator interaction, both organic and natural indirect and direct effects lead to the same estimators as in the original formulation of mediation analysis. Here, we generalize organic interventions on the mediator to include interventions combined with the initial treatment fixed at no treatment. We show that the product method holds in linear models for organic indirect and direct effects relative to no treatment even if there is treatment-mediator interaction. Moreover, we find a product method for binary mediators. Furthermore, we argue that the organic indirect effect relative to no treatment is very relevant for drug development. We illustrate the benefits of our approach by estimating the organic indirect effect of curative HIV treatments mediated by two HIV persistence measures, using data on interruption of antiretroviral therapy without curative HIV treatments combined with an estimated or hypothesized effect of the curative HIV treatments on these mediators.
Measuring the effects of sleep on epileptogenicity with multifrequency entropy.

Abstract Objective We demonstrate that multifrequency entropy gives insight into the relationship between epileptogenicity and sleep, and forms the basis for an improved measure of medical assessment of sleep impairment in epilepsy patients. Methods Multifrequency entropy was computed from electroencephalography measurements taken from 31 children with Benign Epilepsy with Centrotemporal Spikes and 31 non-epileptic controls while awake and during sleep. Values were compared in the epileptic zone and away from the epileptic zone in various sleep stages. Results We find that (I) in lower frequencies, multifrequency entropy decreases during non-rapid eye movement sleep stages when compared with wakefulness in a general population of pediatric patients, (II) patients with Benign Epilepsy with Centrotemporal Spikes had lower multifrequency entropy across stages of sleep and wakefulness, and (III) the epileptic regions of the brain exhibit lower multifrequency entropy patterns than the rest of the brain in epilepsy patients. Conclusions Our results show that multifrequency entropy decreases during sleep, particularly sleep stage 2, confirming, in a pediatric population, an association between sleep, lower multifrequency entropy, and increased likelihood of seizure. Significance We observed a correlation between lowered multifrequency entropy and increased epileptogenicity that lays preliminary groundwork for the detection of a digital biomarker for epileptogenicity.
Complete time-resolved polarimetry of scattered light at the National Ignition Facility

The 3ω scattered light polarimetry diagnostic in the 30° incidence cone backscatter diagnostic at the National Ignition Facility (NIF) is being upgraded to measure the full time-resolved Stokes vector. Previously, the diagnostic had a single channel capable of diagnosing the time-integrated balance of the horizontal and vertical polarizations. Two additional channels were added – one that measures the balance of the 45° and 135° projections, and another that measures the right- and left-circular polarizations – and together the three complete the Stokes vector measurement. A division-of-aperture scheme is employed in which three nearby portions of the near field are sampled simultaneously. Time resolution is obtained by relaying an image of the measured regions onto a set of fibers coupled to diodes. The new diagnostic will be capable of measuring scattered light signals <≈ .1GW with ≈ 120ps time resolution. This will allow more rigorous evaluation of earlier indications that backscatter polarization can serve as a quantitative diagnostic of crossed-beam energy transfer in indirect-drive inertial confinement fusion experiments. It will also be used to diagnose Faraday rotation induced by magnetic fields in collisionless shock and turbulent dynamo experiments later this year.
Importance of Data in Decision-Making

The ability to make effective decisions is crucial to an organization’s survival in today’s tumultuous business environment. In order for firms to evaluate alternatives and make informed choices they must have reliable and timely data upon which to make their decisions. Consequently, the development of effective data management techniques is of central importance to an organization. Yet, many firms are learning that this is no easy task as they find themselves inundated with nearly overwhelming amounts of data. Assessing the specific data management issues firms face and the development of an effective methodology to address these issues is a central focus of this chapter. Specifically, this chapter explores data management from a cybernetic approach and focuses on methods of transforming various forms of structured and semi-structured data into structured, useful data that an organization can utilize to make effective, informed decisions.
Subunits βγ of heterotrimeric G protein activate β2 isoform of phospholipase C

THE activation of heterotrimeric G proteins results in the exchange of GDP bound to the α-subunit for GTP and the subsequent dissociation of a complex of the β- and γ-subunits (Gβγ). The α -subunits of different G proteins interact with a variety of effectors, but less is known about the function of the free Gβγ complex. Gβγ has been implicated in the activation of a cardiac potassium channel, a retinal phospholipase A2 (ref. 9) and a specific receptor kinase, and in vitro reconstitution experiments indicate that the Gβγ complex can act with Gα subunit to modulate the activity of different isoforms of adenylyl cyclase11. Of two phospholipase activities that can be separated in extracts of HL-60 cells, purified Gβγ is found to activate one of them. Here we report that in co-transfection assays Gβγ subunits specifically activate the β2 and not the β1 isoform of phospholipase, which acts on phosphatidylinositol. We use transfection assays to show also that receptor-mediated release of Gβγ from G proteins that are sensitive to pertussis toxin can result in activation of the phospholipase. This effect may be the basis of the pertussis-toxin-sensitive phospholipase C activation seen in some cell systems (reviewed in refs 13 and 14).
Equilibria of a Two-Person Non-Zerosum Noisy Game of Timing,

Necessary and sufficient conditions are obtained for the existence of an equilibrium point (as well as for the existence of a dominating equilibrium point) in a two-person non-zerosum game of timing.
A Cyber Age Privacy Doctrine: A Liberal Communitarian Approach

A privacy doctrine built for the cyber age must address a radical change in the type and scale of violations that the nation — and the world — face, namely that the greatest threats to privacy come not at the point that personal information is collected, but rather from the secondary uses of such information. Often cited court cases, such as Katz, Berger, Smith, Karo, Knotts, Kyllo — and most recently Jones — concern whether or not the initial collection of information was legal. They do not address the fact that personal information that was legally obtained may nevertheless be used later to violate privacy. That the ways such information is stored, collated with other pieces of information, analyzed, and distributed or accessed — often entails very significant violations of privacy. While a considerable number of laws and court cases cover these secondary usages of information, they do not come together to make a coherent doctrine of privacy — and most assuredly not one that addresses the unique challenges of the cyber age.
Chemistry of the Solar System: An Elementary Introduction to Cosmochemistry

An introduction is presented to the chemistry of the solar system. The qualitative and quantitative elemental analysis of the solar system is reviewed, and the elemental synthesis processes that led to the formation of the solar system are discussed. The chemical processes of the primordial mixture from which the solar system formed are examined, and the resulting chemical composition of meteorites, asteroids, comets, and planets is described.
The evolution of methods for the capture of human movement leading to markerless motion capture for biomechanical applications

Over the centuries the evolution of methods for the capture of human movement has been motivated by the need for new information on the characteristics of normal and pathological human movement. This study was motivated in part by the need of new clinical approaches for the treatment and prevention of diseases that are influenced by subtle changes in the patterns movement. These clinical approaches require new methods to measure accurately patterns of locomotion without the risk of artificial stimulus producing unwanted artifacts that could mask the natural patterns of motion. Most common methods for accurate capture of three-dimensional human movement require a laboratory environment and the attachment of markers or fixtures to the body's segments. These laboratory conditions can cause unknown experimental artifacts. Thus, our understanding of normal and pathological human movement would be enhanced by a method that allows the capture of human movement without the constraint of markers or fixtures placed on the body. In this paper, the need for markerless human motion capture methods is discussed and the advancement of markerless approaches is considered in view of accurate capture of three-dimensional human movement for biomechanical applications. The role of choosing appropriate technical equipment and algorithms for accurate markerless motion capture is critical. The implementation of this new methodology offers the promise for simple, time-efficient, and potentially more meaningful assessments of human movement in research and clinical practice. The feasibility of accurately and precisely measuring 3D human body kinematics for the lower limbs using a markerless motion capture system on the basis of visual hulls is demonstrated.
Controlled study of different sclerosing agents for coagulation of canine gut arteries.

Excellent clinical results have been reported with sclerotherapy for control of nonvariceal gastrointestinal hemorrhage. However, there are few controlled or comparative data on different sclerosing agents for treatment of lesions with active arterial bleeding or nonbleeding visible vessels. In a controlled, randomized study of canine small bowel arteries our purposes were (a) to evaluate the efficacy for arterial coagulation of six sclerosing agents compared with normal saline control, (b) to compare the resultant tissue injury of agents, and (c) to elucidate the possible mechanisms of arterial coagulation and tissue injury of the agents. The agents evaluated were (a) 98% ethanol, (b) TES, a mixture with final concentration of 1% tetradecyl sulfate, 32% ethanol, and 0.3 normal saline, (c) 1% polidocanol (Ethoxysclerol), (d) 1:10,000 epinephrine, (e) 7.2% hypertonic saline, (f) 3.6% hypertonic saline, and (g) 0.9% saline (normal saline control). Agents were injected from the mucosal side of the small bowel into and around the penetrating serosal arteries in the subserosal space. Ethanol and TES were the most effective agents for arterial coagulation. Polidocanol was less effective than ethanol and TES. However, it was the only other agent that induced significant arterial coagulation. Alcohol and TES also caused significant injury in surrounding tissue. The degree of this injury was dependent on the total volume injected. Epinephrine induced significant mucosal damage without significant serosal injury or arterial coagulation. The coagulation and tissue injury effects of hypertonic saline injections were not significantly different from normal saline control.
Contractility and stiffness of noninfarcted myocardium after coronary ligation in rats : effects of chronic angiotensin converting enzyme inhibition

BACKGROUND Previous studies have shown that global left ventricular function is depressed after myocardial infarction. However, little is known about the effects of myocardial infarction on contractility and the passive-elastic properties of residual myocardium. METHODS AND RESULTS We evaluated isometric function and passive myocardial stiffness in isolated, noninfarcted left ventricular papillary muscle from rats 6 weeks after sham operation or myocardial infarction. Maximal developed tension and peak rate of tension rise (+dT/dt) were significantly decreased in untreated rats with large myocardial infarction compared with controls (3.3 +/- 1.1 versus 4.3 +/- 0.6 g/mm2 and 49.5 +/- 17.5 versus 72.5 +/- 10.5 g/mm2/sec, respectively). Time to peak tension was prolonged (120 +/- 8 versus 102 +/- 4 msec) and myocardial stiffness was increased in untreated myocardial infarction rats compared with controls (35.2 +/- 4.9 versus 24.2 +/- 3.7). Rats with smaller myocardial infarctions differed from controls only with respect to a prolongation of time to peak tension. Papillary muscle myocyte cross-sectional area was increased by 44% (p less than 0.05), and myocardial hydroxyproline content was increased by 160% (p less than 0.05) in rats with large myocardial infarctions compared with controls. To determine whether treatment that improves left ventricular function after myocardial infarction also improves myocardial function, rats were treated with captopril beginning 3 weeks after myocardial infarction and continuing for 3 weeks. Treatment with captopril attenuated the prolongation in time to peak tension in the myocardial infarction rats; however, developed tension, +dT/dt, and muscle stiffness remained abnormal. Compared with untreated myocardial infarction rats, captopril-treated myocardial infarction rats had a 9% decrease in myocyte cross-sectional area (p = 0.1) but a persistent increase in myocardial collagen content. In summary, large myocardial infarction in rats causes contractile dysfunction, increased stiffness, myocyte hypertrophy, and increased collagen content in the residual noninfarcted myocardium. Treatment with captopril alters the process of cardiac remodeling and hypertrophy and improves one parameter of contractility in noninfarcted myocardium; however, myocardial collagen content and myocardial stiffness remain abnormal. CONCLUSIONS These findings suggest that angiotensin converting enzyme inhibition in the rat infarct model of heart failure improves global cardiac performance via combined effects on myocardial function and the peripheral circulation.
Successful paradigms, execution issues and best practices to build learning organisations

This paper provides an overview of the successful paradigms, execution issues and best practices to harness the power of knowledge residing in an organisation. As businesses and technology lead the transition of society and economy from an industry-based to information-oriented age, Knowledge Management (KM) appears as a powerful competitive weapon. This transition demands a change in the way companies harness the power of the knowledge in the organisation. This paper describes and synthesises the concepts and viewpoints related to the drivers of KM, the challenges to managing knowledge in organisations, the factors critical to successfully adopting the KM philosophy in an organisation, how KM can come to be understood as a critical part of a company's competitive strategy and how to deploy a sustainable KM system that suits the business needs of an organisation. Empirical validation of these concepts is based on the author's extensive experience in envisioning and growing knowledge-based organisations in established global companies and from the interviews conducted by the author with the representatives of several organisations.
Economic structure and factor payments

There is a growing body of evidence that the labour payment share in national income varies across countries and over time, suggesting that the popular aggregate Cobb–Douglas production function may not capture income share dynamics. There remains conflicting evidence on the importance of natural resource rents among low income economies and on estimates of the rate of return to produced capital. This paper focuses on the structural differences among countries, confirming the importance of the agriculture sector in estimates of labour and land’s share of factor income based on 81 countries at diverse levels of economic development in the year 2005. I find that cross-country data are best modelled by a CES production function with an elasticity of substitution of 0.8 and that many low income countries have a higher return to capital than the United States.
Toward a developmental neurobiology of autism.

Autism is a complex, behaviorally defined, developmental brain disorder with an estimated prevalence of 1 in 1,000. It is now clear that autism is not a disease, but a syndrome with a strong genetic component. The etiology of autism is poorly defined both at the cellular and the molecular levels. Based on the fact that seizure activity is frequently associated with autism and that abnormal evoked potentials have been observed in autistic individuals in response to tasks that require attention, several investigators have recently proposed that autism might be caused by an imbalance between excitation and inhibition in key neural systems including the cortex. Despite considerable ongoing effort toward the identification of chromosome regions affected in autism and the characterization of many potential gene candidates, only a few genes have been reproducibly shown to display specific mutations that segregate with autism, likely because of the complex polygenic nature of this syndrome. Among those, several candidate genes have been shown to control the early patterning and/or the late synaptic maturation of specific neuronal subpopulations controlling the balance between excitation and inhibition in the developing cortex and cerebellum. In the present article, we review our current understanding of the developmental mechanisms patterning the balance between excitation and inhibition in the context of the neurobiology of autism. © 2004 Wiley-Liss, Inc. MRDD Research Reviews 2004;10:303–317.
Rat tail suspension causes a decline in insulin receptors

Summary Decreased muscular activity results in weakness and muscular atrophy. Coincident with this protein catabolic state is glucose intolerance and hyperinsulinemia. Rats were tail suspended for 7 to 14 days to accomplish unloading of the hindlimbs. Insulin resistance was documented in these animals by a 14 day tail suspension-related 26 % increase in serum glucose in spite of a 253 % increase in serum insulin concentration. Microsomal membranes were prepared from hindlimb muscles and specific binding of insulin and insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I) were determined in these membranes. Insulin binding was decreased by 27 % at 7 days and by 21 % at 14 days. In contrast, IGF-I binding was unchanged at 7 days and was increased by 24 % at 14 days. Liver membrane insulin receptors also had declined by 14 days of suspension, suggesting that the change in insulin receptors was a generalized, humorally-mediated phenomenon. These data suggest that tail suspension in rats results in insulin resistance, hyperinsulinemia, a decline in insulin receptors in liver and muscle, and a relative increase in muscle membrane IGF-I receptors. These data are consistent with the hypothesis that resistance to insulin's effects on protein metabolism in skeletal muscle may contribute to the protein catabolism associated with decreased muscular activity.
Enterococcal Lung Abscess: Medical and Surgical Therapy

Enterococci are rarely implicated in the causation of pneumonia or lung abscess. Two patients are reported who developed large lung abscess cavities from enterococcal pneumonia. Combination penicillin and aminoglycoside antimicrobial therapy and drainage with a transthoracic tube resulted in complete cavity closure and healing. Enterococci should be considered as possible etiologic agents of pneumonia. Percutaneous chest tube drainage appears helpful in certain types of lung abscess.
Making It Matter: Relevant Instruction for New Mainstream Students.

In today's ethnically and linguistically diverse classrooms, teachers need a notion of “relevant” that allows students from vastly different backgrounds to make personal purposeful connections with their academic work.
Rapid Activation of Protein Kinase B/Akt Has a Key Role in Antiapoptotic Signaling during Liver Regeneration

Liver regeneration is controlled by multiple signaling pathways induced by a variety of growth factors, hormones, and cytokines. Here we report that protein kinase B (PKB)/Akt, part of a key cell survival signaling pathway, is markedly activated after partial hepatectomy (PHX). The antiapoptotic protein Bad, a downstream target of PKB/Akt, is also phosphorylated. This cascade can be activated by various factors in primary hepatocytes, with the strongest activation by insulin and the alpha1-adrenergic agonist phenylephrine (PE), followed by IL-6, epidermal growth factor (EGF), and hepatocyte growth factor (HGF). Pretreatment of cells with the specific PI3 kinase inhibitor LY294002 abolished insulin- or PE-activation of PKB/Akt, suggesting that activation of PKB/Akt is mediated by a PI3 kinase-dependent mechanism. In vivo administration of PE, insulin, IL-6, HGF, or EGF to mice markedly stimulated PKB/Akt in the liver, with the strongest stimulation induced by insulin and PE. Moreover, HGF and insulin were able to attenuate transforming growth factor beta-induced apoptosis in hepatic cells, and these effects were antagonized by LY294002. Taken together, these findings suggest that rapid activation of PKB/Akt is a key antiapoptotic signaling pathway involved in liver regeneration.
Effect of Methionine on a Growth Depression Induced by Supplementing a Corn-Soybean Meal Diet with Lysine

Abstract Dean and Scott (1966) reported that the addition of one percent lysine to a crystalline amino acid diet containing the equivalent of 17.7 percent protein depressed weight gain 44 percent. They later (Dean and Scott, 1968) showed that the lysine induced growth depression could be reversed by increasing the arginine concentration of the diet. We present here the results of an experiment which indicated that methionine reversed a growth depression resulting from adding lysine to a corn-soybean meal diet. The basal diet contained the following ingredients in percent: ground yellow corn, 51.75; soybean meal (44% protein), 33.5; minerals, 6.13; and vitamin premix, 5.37. In the diets in which lysine was used, it was added as lysine HCl to supply 0.15 percent added dietary lysine, DL methionine was added at the level of 0.35 percent in the diets where it was included. Glycine was added to certain diets at the level . . .
Seroprevalence of tetanus antibodies among adults older than 65 years

Abstract Study objective: To define the extent of immunity against tetanus among patients older than 65 years of age by measuring antitetanus antibody levels. Methods: A convenience sample of 129 patients from an urban comprehensive care geriatric center was studied. Serum was obtained and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) testing performed. Twenty health care providers, aged 25 to 40 years, were tested for comparison. Results: In 64 (50%) of 129 study patients, antitetanus antibody levels did not reach protective levels. Fifty-four (59%) of 92 women and 10 (27%) of 37 men did not have adequate titers. All 20 health care workers had protective titers. Conclusion: Elderly patients are substantially less likely than young individuals to have adequate immunity against tetanus. Emergency physicians must take this into consideration when evaluating tetanus immunization status in injured elderly patients. [Alagappan K, Rennie W, Kwiatkowski T, Falck J, Silverstone F, Silverman R: Seroprevalence of tetanus antibodies among adults older than 65 years. Ann Emerg Med July 1996;28:18-21.]
Building Institutions to Support National and International Markets for Water in the Jordan Valley

ABSTRACT The potential for implementation of market approaches for international management of the Jordan Valley water resources has received much attention recently. A shift to a market will require changes in the institutional frameworks-for water management in the countries involved. This article examines the problems associated with the creation of institutions to support national and international markets for water in the Jordan Valley. The article outlines the role that institutions play in the efficient allocation of water Three recent proposals for institutional structures for water management in a market context are examined and critiqued.
Boring but important: A self-transcendent purpose for learning fosters academic self-regulation.

Many important learning tasks feel uninteresting and tedious to learners. This research proposed that promoting a prosocial, self-transcendent purpose could improve academic self-regulation on such tasks. This proposal was supported in 4 studies with over 2,000 adolescents and young adults. Study 1 documented a correlation between a self-transcendent purpose for learning and self-reported trait measures of academic self-regulation. Those with more of a purpose for learning also persisted longer on a boring task rather than giving in to a tempting alternative and, many months later, were less likely to drop out of college. Study 2 addressed causality. It showed that a brief, one-time psychological intervention promoting a self-transcendent purpose for learning could improve high school science and math grade point average (GPA) over several months. Studies 3 and 4 were short-term experiments that explored possible mechanisms. They showed that the self-transcendent purpose manipulation could increase deeper learning behavior on tedious test review materials (Study 3), and sustain self-regulation over the course of an increasingly boring task (Study 4). More self-oriented motives for learning--such as the desire to have an interesting or enjoyable career--did not, on their own, consistently produce these benefits (Studies 1 and 4).
Polyamines Are Potent Ligands for the Capsaicin Receptor TRPV1

Polyamines are important endogenous regulators of ion channels and are known to modulate inflammation and nociception. Here we investigated effects of polyamines on the capsaicin receptor TRPV1, a major ion channel expressed in nociceptive sensory afferents. Extracellular spermine, spermidine, and putrescine directly activated TRPV1 in a charge-dependent manner, both in heterologous expression systems and sensory neurons. The threshold for activation by spermine was approximately 500 microm at room temperature. At lower concentrations, spermine enhanced capsaicin-evoked currents with an EC50 of approximately 5 microm. Further, polyamines freely permeated TRPV1 (estimated relative permeabilities compared with Na+ were between 3 and 16), and spermine reduced the single channel conductance from 96 to 49 pS. Experiments with TRPV1 mutants identified extracellular acidic residues critical for polyamine regulation. Neutralization of aspartate 646 (D646N) abolished direct activation by spermine, whereas neutralization of this same aspartate (D646N) or glutamate 648 (E648A) inhibited spermine-induced sensitization. These data show that polyamines, by virtue of their cationic charge, can regulate the activity of TRPV1. Extracellular polyamines are present in considerable concentrations in the gastrointestinal tract and at synapses, and these levels increase during inflammation and cancer. Therefore, polyamine regulation of TRPV1 in these tissues may be relevant to a variety of physiological and pathophysiological states.
Age of menarche and schizophrenia onset in women

Abstract Objective : The “estrogen hypothesis” posits that this hormone serves as a protective factor in the development of schizophrenia. If true, then it is expected that the earlier the age of menarche, the later the onset of schizophrenia (as has been reported by some investigators). This study attempts to replicate this relationship in a sample of women with schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder. Method : Self-report menarche age, clinical status, and onset of disorder were collected in a sample of 68 women (55 diagnosed with schizophrenia and 13 with schizoaffective disorder). Results : Menarche age and schizophrenia onset were not negatively correlated as would be predicted by the estrogen hypothesis. Two clinical measures, however, did correlate with age of menarche as predicted. Higher negative symptom scores (total SANS) and greater functional impairment (lower GAF) were reported in subjects who reported a later age at menarche. Conclusion : This study suggests that an earlier age at menarche might predict improved clinical outcome after schizophrenia onset (in support of the estrogen hypothesis). Our data, however, do not support Cohen et al.'s findings regarding the relationship between age at menarche, and the timing of the onset of the disorder. Further investigations regarding the relationship between estrogen and schizophrenia development in women are needed. It is suggested that other developmental factors, both biological and psychosocial, might play a crucial role in both the age at onset and the outcome of the disorder in women.
Role of Science, Policy, and Society in Adaptive Watershed Management: Planning for an Uncertain Future: Monitoring, Integration, and Adaptation; Estes Park, Colorado, 8–11 September 2008

Water managers around the world are being tasked to include potential effects of climate change in their future operations scenarios. One important water manager, the federal government, owns and manages 30% of all land in the United States, the vast majority of which is in western states and Alaska. On 9 March 2007, the Secretary of the Interior signed Order 3270, which states that adaptive management should be considered when (1) there are consequential decisions to be made; (2) there is an opportunity to apply learning; (3) the objectives of management are clear; (4) the value of reducing uncertainty is high; (5) uncertainty can be expressed as a set of competing, testable models; and (6) an experimental design and monitoring system can be put in place with a reasonable expectation of reducing uncertainty.
IBM reclaims supercomputer lead

IBM reclaims supercomputer lead. IBM's Blue Gene/L , to be delivered this spring to the U.S. Department of Energy's Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Calif., took the top spot, with a performance of 70.72 teraflops (trillion floating-point operations per second). Silicon Graphics' Columbia, built for NASA and named after the space shuttle lost in 2003, came in second, at 51.87 teraflops. The two machines displaced Japan's famed Earth Simulator to third place after that 35.86-teraflop computer had reigned supreme for two and a half years.
Can state and trait variables be disentangled? A methodological framework for psychiatric disorders

Abstract The goal of this study is to propose conceptual and operational definitions of “state” and “trait” and a methodological approach to document empirically the state and trait aspects of a characteristic. An example using real data related to rapid eye movement latency for patients with major depressive disorder is presented to model the application of this method.
Bilateral Harderian Gland Abscesses in a Syrian Dwarf Hamster (Mesocricetus auratus)

A 10-month-old Syrian dwarf hamster (Mesocricetus auratus) was evaluated for a presentation of acute unilateral exophthalmos of the right eye. Examination of the right eye revealed an exophthalmic eye, a dry cornea that appeared non-painful to touch, and eyelids dried and adhered to the ocular surface that did not close over the eye. Internal structures of the eye could not be visualized due to the diffuse desiccation of the cornea. The hamster was treated on initial presentation with temporary tarsorrhaphy, subcutaneous fluids, systemic antibiotics, and anti-inflammatory drugs. With environmental modification, the hamster did well at home for 8 days; however, the hamster died acutely after the contralateral eye ruptured and before further medical treatment. Necropsy revealed bilateral Harderian gland abscesses as the cause of exophthalmos, endophthalmitis, suppurative leptomeningitis, and encephalitis. Abscessation of the Harderian gland should be considered as a differential for hamsters presented with exophthalmos. The rapid progression of disease in this case suggests that aggressive, immediate therapy should be attempted in an effort to successfully treat this condition.
STOCHASTIC IMPLIED TREES: ARBITRAGE PRICING WITH STOCHASTIC TERM AND STRIKE STRUCTURE OF VOLATILITY

In this paper we present an arbitrage pricing framework for valuing and hedging contingent equity index claims in the presence of a stochastic term and strike structure of volatility. Our approach to stochastic volatility is similar to the Heath-Jarrow-Morton (HJM) approach to stochastic interest rates. Starting from an initial set of index options prices and their associated local volatility surface, we show how to construct a family of continuous time stochastic processes which define the arbitrage-free evolution of this local volatility surface through time. The no-arbitrage conditions are similar to, but more involved than, the HJM conditions for arbitrage-free stochastic movements of the interest rate curve. They guarantee that even under a general stochastic volatility evolution the initial options prices, or their equivalent Black–Scholes implied volatilities, remain fair. We introduce stochastic implied trees as discrete implementations of our family of continuous time models. The nodes of a stoch...
Coulomb excitation of Ge74 and Ge76

Abstract Deuterons and protons with energies from 3.5 to 4.0 MeV were used to excite the 598-keV level in Ge74 and the 564-keV in Ge76. The scattered particles were studied at angles from 75° to 150° with a magnetic analyzer by using photographic plate detection. The applicability of Coulomb excitation theory in this region of atomic number and incident energy was tested by measuring the energy dependence of the deutron excitation cross sections for both nuclei, the angular distribution of inelastically scattered deutrons for Ge74 and the ratios of the deuteron to the proton excitation cross section. These data indicate that Coulomb excitation theory may be applied for deuterons of less than 3.5 MeV and protons of less than 4.0 MeV. The values of the reduced transition probability, B(E2), of Ge74 and Ge76 are 0.32 ± 0.03 and 0.29 ± 0.03 respectively. The B(E) value derived from 4.0-MeV deutron data for Ge74 was 30% higher than the above value. Part of this discrepancy may be due to departures from Rutherford scattering of the elastically scattered deuterons, as Rutherford scattering was assumed in deriving the inelastic cross sections.
Google Book Search: Document Understanding on a Massive Scale

Unveiled in late 2004, Google Book Search is an ambitious program to make all the world's books discoverable online. The sheer scale of the problem brings a number of unique document analysis and understanding challenges that are outlined in this paper. We also go over some of the ways that Google is working with the document analysis research community to help push the state of the art.
PDGF-BB and IGF-I use different signaling pathways to induce fibronectin synthesis in cultured rat thoracic aortic smooth muscle cells.

Fibronectin, an extracellular matrix protein, acts as an early signal in initiating cell proliferation. Results have indicated that platelet-derived growth factor BB (PDGF-BB) and insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) both enhance fibronectin gene expression. Genistein inhibits PDGF-BB-induced fibronectin levels without inhibiting IGF-I-induced fibronectin levels. It indicates that PDGF-BB and IGF-I utilize separate signaling pathways to induce the synthesis of fibronectin.
Towards feature selection in network

Traditional feature selection methods assume that the data are independent and identically distributed (i.i.d.). However, in real world, there are tremendous amount of data which are distributing in a network. Existing features selection methods are not suited for networked data because the i.i.d. assumption no longer holds. This motivates us to study feature selection in a network. In this paper, we present a supervised feature selection method based on Laplacian Regularized Least Squares (LapRLS) for networked data. In detail, we use linear regression to utilize the content information, and adopt graph regularization to consider the link information. The proposed feature selection method aims at selecting a subset of features such that the empirical error of LapRLS is minimized. The resultant optimization problem is a mixed integer programming, which is difficult to solve. It is relaxed into a $L_{2,1}$-norm constrained LapRLS problem and solved by accelerated proximal gradient descent algorithm. Experiments on benchmark networked data sets show that the proposed feature selection method outperforms traditional feature selection method and the state of the art learning in network approaches.
Control issues of microgravity vibration isolation

Active vibration isolation systems contemplated for microgravity space experiments may be designed to reach given performance requirements in a variety of ways. An analogy to passive isolation systems proves to be illustrative but lacks the flexibility as a design tool of a control systems approach and may lead to poor design. Control theory as applied to vibration isolation is reviewed and passive analogies discussed.
Acidic Side-Chain Rotamers and their Impact on Ion Conduction through the Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptor

It has long been recognized that the glutamates at the intracellular mouth of the nicotinic acetylcholine-receptor (AChR) pore provide most of the stabilization to the passing cations. Moreover, it has recently been found that these “intermediate-ring” glutamates contribute asymmetrically to the single-channel conductance of the muscle receptor, with only two of the side chains being sufficient to achieve a wild-type value (Cymes and Grosman, 2012). Further single-channel recordings suggested that the difference between the two glutamates that contribute to the conductance and those that do not lies in the different conformations adopted by these side chains. To test these ideas in a framework of stereochemical rigor, we performed molecular simulations on a homology model of the open-channel muscle AChR that corrects for a register error in the original structural model. Using Brownian Dynamics, we found that different glutamate rotamers can account for dramatic changes in the computed single-channel conductance, and using Molecular Dynamics, we found that two of the four glutamates project their carboxylate oxygens into the pore while the other two glutamates project them away from the pore. In addition, using Brownian Dynamics simulations, we found that pore-facing glutamates are responsible for the majority of the single-channel conductance, whereas non-pore facing glutamates have a negligible impact on it. Overall, this configuration of glutamate side chains in the intermediate ring of charge (which is in remarkable agreement with the one we surmised on the basis of single-channel recordings) points to an unusual arrangement of acidic groups that may perhaps explain their bulk-like pKa values.
Four fatal flaws in recent spirituality research.

SUMMARY The answer to the question of whether clinical pastoral education and professional chaplaincy need become more scientific should be a Tillichian “yes and no.” Pastoral care and counseling is both an art and a science. The field is thus subject ineluctably to scientific examination. However, its artistic dimensions are elusive and impenetrable to scientific scrutiny.
The renal cytochrome P-450 arachidonic acid system.

In addition to cyclooxygenase and lipoxygenase, arachidonic acid (AA) is metabolized by the cytochrome P-450 monooxygenase system. The kidney is one of the major extrahepatic tissues that display cytochrome P-450 enzyme activities, in particular the cortex, specifically the proximal tubule demonstrate the highest concentration. AA is metabolized by the renal cytochrome P-450 epoxygenase and ω/ω-1 hydroxylases to epoxyeicosatrienoic acids and ω/ω-1 alcohols (20- and 19-mono-hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acids), respectively. These metabolites possess a broad spectrum of biological and renal effects which include: vasodilation, vasoconstriction, inhibition and stimulation of Na+−K+-ATPase, inhibition of ion transport mechanisms, natriuresis, inhibition of renin release and stimulation of cell growth. These metabolites are endogenous constituents of the kidney and are present in urine with increasing concentration under pathological conditions such as pregnancy-induced hypertension. The cytochrome P-450-dependent metabolism of AA is specifically localized to the proximal tubule and exhibits developmental changes, i.e., renal production of metabolites is very low in the fetus, newborn and up to 3 weeks of age, after which a remarkable increase in enzyme activities is observed. These characteristics call attention to the importance of this enzyme system in producing cellular mediators for regulating renal function in normal and diseased states.