cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Mechanical and Chemical Analysis of Gelatin‐Based Hydrogel Degradation

The interrelated effect of environmental pH and temperature, gelatin backbone modification and content on the tensile and degradative property of interpenetrating networks (IPNs) containing gelatin and poly(ethylene glycol) diacrylate (PEGdA) was examined. Either increasing the PEGdA content or modifying the gelatin backbone with PEG-monoacetate ester and/or polyanions decreased the IPN elasticity at ambient room temperature (rt). Under an aqueous environment of varying pH levels and elevated temperature, the degradation of IPN tensile properties was further accelerated. IPNs showed an enhanced elasticity and strength when compared to glutaraldehyde-fixed gelatin hydrogels. Under an aqueous condition, IPNs showed a wider range of degradation products than hydrogels cross-linked with glutaraldehyde, as characterized with gel permeation chromatography. The nature of IPN degradation products was independent of the type of gelatin backbone modification. The presence of loaded drug, chlorohexidine digluconate, wich was found to interact with PEG-monoacetate esters of the modified gelatin backbone, resulted in unique degradation products. The tensile and chemical degradation of IPNs is a complex interrelationship of the environmental condition, time, and material modification.
Added Phenolic Compounds Enhance Lipid Stability in Extruded Corn

BHT, cinnamic acid or vanillin were blended with degermed cornmeal prior to extrusion in a single screw extruder to Improve oxidative stability, Ether extracts were analyzed immediately after frying and following storage. Phenolic compounds did not change color. By 12 wk all samples, except for 200 ppm BHT, had lower peroxide values and conjugated dienes. Iron did not Increase due to extrusion, and iron sequestration did not appear to contribute to the antioxidant effects of phenolics. Natural phenolic compounds may have potential as antioxidants when added to extruded foods.
B physics at the Tevatron collider Run II

The status of the Tevatron collider, the CDF and D0 experiments, and the planned B physics program at the collider are described. A few specific topics are highlighted from CDF and D0 in the first year of running. To illustrate some of the issues in a B physics analysis in a hadron collider, such as the LHC, a new improved jet-charge tagging method is presented from CDF Run I along with an updated \(\sin 2 \beta\) result. CDF measures a preliminary value of \(\sin 2 \beta = 0.91 \pm 0.32 \pm 0.18\).
The role of olivine in the crystallization of the prehistoric Makaopuhi tholeiitic lava lake, Hawaii

On eruption, the tholeiitic basalt lava of the prehistoric Makaopuhi lake contained nearly seven percent euhedral olivine phenocrysts of approximately Fa14 composition. In the center of the 225 foot vertical section of the lake, the lava became more than 90 percent solid at 1000° C after about 30 years. At the surface the lava was quenched to air temperature, whereas, at the bottom, quenching to 800° C was followed by a 40 year period before the temperature reached 700° C. The olivine phenocrysts settled at an average rate of about 4 × 10−6 cm Sec−1 to form a zone that contains 21 percent olivine 75 feet above the base. Sinking of olivines continued until some time after the beginning of the crystallization of augite and plagioclase. Thin rims of iron-rich olivine (up to Fa55) surrounding the phenocrysts, and a second generation of fine-grained olivines (Fa20 Fa48) restricted to the uppermost 20 feet indicate local extensions of the period of crystallization of olivine. During crystallization of the groundmass and later subsolidus cooling in the range 1000° C to at least as low as 800° C, the olivine phenocrysts were converted to Fa30–40 by interdiffusion of Fe, Mg, Ni, and Mn. Homogenization of Mg-rich cores and Fe-rich margins and equilibration of olivine composition with the groundmass phases was progressively less well achieved toward the top of the lake. Reaction rims around the olivines are composed primarily of Ca-rich pyroxene. Pigeonite crystallized alongside augite except in the uppermost 5 feet where there is abundant ground mass olivine. Poikilitic hypersthene grew at the expense of pre-existing ferromagnesian minerals in the cumulate zone.
The prognostic value of a QRS score during exercise testing.

Summary Results: During the follow-up period, 20 patients (6.5%) died from acute myocardial infarction. Abnormal QRS score values were found to be significantly and independently asso- ciated with cardiac mortality (QRS ≤ � 4: relative risk 11.7; 95% confidence interval = 2.5-55.4; p = 0.002). Conclusions:Taking into consideration the importance of exercise testing in the management of ischemic heart disease, the use of this QRS score could be of clinical value in predict- ing the outcome of patients with documented CAD.
CEC‐atmospheric pressure ionization MS of pesticides using a surfactant‐bound monolithic column

A surfactant bound poly (11-acrylaminoundecanoic acid-ethylene dimethacrylate) (AAUA-EDMA) monolithic column was simply prepared by in-situ co-polymerization of AAUA and EDMA with 1-propanol, 1,4-butanediol and water as porogens in 100 µm id fused silica capillary in one step. This column was used in capillary electrochromatography (CEC)-atmospheric pressure photoionization (APPI)-mass spectrometry system for separation and detection of N-methylcarbamates (NMCs) pesticides. Numerous parameters are optimized for CEC-APPI-MS. After evaluation of the mobile phase composition, sheath liquid composition and the monolithic capillary outlet position, a fractional factorial design (FFD) was selected as a screening procedure to identify factors of ionization source parameters, such as sheath liquid flow rate, drying gas flow rate, drying gas temperature, nebulizing gas pressure, vaporizer temperature, and capillary voltage, which significantly influence APPI-MS sensitivity. A face-centered central composite design (CCD) was further utilized to optimize the most significant parameters and predict the best sensitivity. Under optimized conditions signal-to-noise ratios (S/N) around 78 were achieved for an injection of 100 ng/mL of each pesticide. Finally, this CEC-APPI-MS method was successfully applied to the analysis of nine NMCs in spiked apple juice sample after solid phase extraction with recoveries in the range of 65 to 109%.
Two Important Topics for 2012: Electronic Health Records and mHealth

As the new year begins, we like to reflect on where health information technology (IT) has been and where it is going. We are not fond of rehashing the minutia regarding every event that occurred in the health IT domain, so we will not spend our time and space presenting an exhaustive review. We will, however, touch on the continuing efforts surrounding electronic health records (EHRs). We will also focus forward in discussing an emerging area that we are closely following.
The MTXαR method: Applications to the ground state Na2 and NaLi molecules

Abstract Our recently proposed MTXαR version of the multiple scattering Xα scheme is applied to the Na2 and NaLi molecules. We find that the potential curves obtained with our “molecular” αR values (αR(Li) = 0.8390; αR(Na) = 0.8939) are in substantially better agreement with experiment than the curves based on “atomic” α values now in common use.
The empty space phenomenon: The process of grief in the bereaved family

Abstract Forty-nine families who experienced a death following childhood cancer were interviewed 7–9 years after the death. Interviews were analyzed using grounded theory technique for qualitative data for the purpose of examining the long-term responses of families to childhood death. In contrast to bereavement theories which claim that grief is usually resolved within two years, findings of this study suggest that many parents and siblings still experience pain and loss after 7–9 years. Analysis suggests that the death of a child creates an “empty space” for surviving family members. Three patterns of grieving were described by family members in response to this sense of emptiness: “getting over it,” “filling the emptiness,” and “keeping the connection.” Differences and similarities of these patterns are enumerated. The perceived significance of the relationship to the pattern of grief is hypothesized. Situations which stimulate a recurrence or continuation of the “empty space” are suggested and changes...
A New Genus and Species of Gall Forming Nematode From Danthonia Californica, With a Discussion of Its Life History

Cynipanguina danthoniae gen. n., sp. n. is described and illustrated from California oatgrass. Danthonia californica Boland in California. This new genus and species can be distinguished from other Anguina-like nematodes by the slender procorpus, the ovate metacorpus with a small but distinct valve, the digit-like process extending posteriorly from the swollen glandular portion of the esophagus and the lateral field which contains longitudinal, transverse and oblique striae. This nematode is widespread along the western coast of the United States. Life history studies revealed that the adults are the cryptobiotic stage within mature galls rather than the larvae.
Performance analysis of real traffic carried with encrypted cover flows: Invited talk 2

Encrypted protocols are becoming more prevalent because of the growing use of e-commerce, anonymity services, and secure authentication. Likewise, traffic analysis is becoming more common because it is the only way to analyze encrypted communications. Though there are many valid uses for traffic analysis (such as network policy enforcement and intrusion detection), it can also be used to maliciously compromise the secrecy or privacy of a user. Because the secrecy of the payload of SSL communications is strongly protected by encryption, this work focuses on protecting the secrecy of the type and nature of the traffic by masking its behavior. With behavior obfuscation and strong encryption, SSL would provide a much stronger guarantee of message secrecy than it does currently. This talk presents an examination of the effects tunneling real traffic through cover flows which mask behavior. Through simulation and an analytical model we have investigated the effects on the user experience using disparate and similar traffic models. The point provides a novel context where we observe the synergy of simulation and analytic modeling. We show that a detailed simulation model of network traffic characteristics can be used to estimate the parameters of an analytic model of tunneling. We see that the the accuracy of the the model's predictions are directly dependent on the accuracy of parameters we obtain from the simulation. However, the simulation model does not need to have any concept of tunneling. Using simulation and analytic modeling together, we obtain an analysis whose whole is greater than the sum of the parts.
TU-E-141-03: A Population Based Statistical Model of Three-Dimensional Systematic Tissue Displacement for Fractionated Radiation Therapy

Purpose: To introduce and validate a model of systematic tissue displacement based upon population statistics for prostate cancer patients undergoing fractionated external‐beam radiotherapy. Methods: Our dataset consisted of 19 patients, each with 9–14 pelvic fan‐beam CTs taken throughout treatment, all manually contoured and aligned to bone. Each patient's fractional images were deformably registered to his planning image using intensity and contour matching. The resulting displacement vector fields (DVFs) were averaged to find the patient‐specific tissue systematic error, which maps the patient's mean treatment anatomy to his planning anatomy. Then, each patient's prostate, rectum, and bladder were mapped from his planning image to its counterpart on an average reference image set using contour‐driven deformable registration. These planning‐to‐reference DVFs were used to transport the 19 systematic DVFs (limited to the space occupied by the organs) into the common reference frame. A principal component analysis (PCA) was performed to determine the principal modes of systematic DVF variability. A leave‐one‐out approach was used to test the hypothesis that systematic errors for patients not included in the training set can be accurately represented as a linear combination of PCA eigenvectors. The known average anatomy and the PCA reconstructed anatomy was compared using the Dice similarity coefficient. Results: The PCA showed that 92% of systematic error variations can be accounted for using 7 eigenmodes. Using the leave‐one‐out approach to reconstruct the patient's average anatomy, the mean (standard deviation) Dice for the prostate, bladder, and rectum were 0.91±0.03, 0.93±0.03, and 0.84±0.05 respectively. Conclusion: The PCA population modeling of systematic errors can accurately represent systematic error DVFs for arbitrary patients. Our model can be used to create an ensemble of randomly sampled systematic pelvic organ DVFs for use in probabilistic planning when the patient's actual systematic error is unknown a priori. Supported by NIH Grant P01 CA 116602; Supported by NIH Grant P01 CA 116602
Reply to S Das et al

Dear Sir: We deeply appreciate the comments offered by Das et al, which summarize many of the critical issues highlighted in our article related to the association of serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentrations and risk of hospital-acquired bloodstream infections (1). These considerations are extremely important for the design of adequately powered, clinically meaningful, randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trials to investigate the effect of vitamin D supplementation on hospital-acquired infections.
To kill or not to kill Bacilli: opportunities for food biotechnology

Bacillus species are a spoilage and safety challenge to the food industry due to their extremely resistant endospores. To interfere with (out)growth of spores and vegetative cells, weak organic acids are suitable preservatives. To ensure their continued use while optimally preserving product quality, knowledge of resistance development is important. In Bacilli stress responses induced by weak organic acids include intracellular membrane and pH homeostasis and detoxification of reactive oxygen species. Targeted identification of inhibitors and formulation of milder antimicrobial combinations, as desired by consumers, is thereby facilitated. In addition to being food spoilers, probiotic Bacilli are known and utilized. Knowledge of weak organic acid stress resistance may be used to develop enhanced strain robustness facilitating their permanence in the gastrointestinal tract.
Multiple views for ontology-based formal concept lattices

Formal concept analysis (FCA) has developed into an accepted knowledge discovery paradigm being productively used in solving practical problems involving clustering, classification or association discovery. FCA is being applied to annotation files and their associated ontological terminology. Here the formal context is a matrix whose rows correspond to the annotated objects and whose columns correspond to the annotation terms that exist in an ontological terminology. This paper describes a software tool Multi-FCA that generates multiple views of the formal context. A view is determined by the emphasis on objects, properties, or complementation. In addition, these views can be filtered using the structure of the ontological terminology. A simple example using a small portion of the Gene Ontology (GO) is used to illustrate the filtered view for a concept lattice. Future work to improve the efficiency of reconstructing a filtered view and incorporate the degree of evidence supporting the gene-annotation mapping is described.
White-emitting OLED devices in an RGBW format with microelement white subpixels

— OLED devices with an RGBW pixel format using an unpatterned white emitter have the potential to provide very good efficiency and color gamut while enabling lower-cost and large-format manufacturing. However, the white subpixel often has unacceptably large color shifts with viewing angle. Furthermore, for some architectures such as top-emitting microcavity devices, it can even be difficult to produce a white subpixel with good on-axis color. In this paper, we describe the use of a white subpixel made up of a combination of differently tuned microelements and demonstrate how such an approach can overcome these problems. By carefully tuning the color and areas of each of the microelements in the white subpixel, we can trade off between better on-axis color, less color change with angle, and higher efficiency. Furthermore, it was demonstrated that an RGBW top-emitter microcavity device with a microelement white subpixel can achieve an increase in both power efficiency and color gamut relative to a conventional RGBW bottom-emitter non-microcavity device.
Low temperature infrared spectra of polyglycines and C--H...O==C hydrogen bonding in polyglycine II.

Infrared spectra of polyglycines I and II obtained at −170°C. have been compared with those obtained at room temperature. The changes in frequency of some of the C—H stretching bands are consistent with the earlier suggestion that C—H … OC hydrogen bonds are present in the structure of polyglycine II.
Author's reply to "Comments on 'maximum entropy spectral estimation using the analytic signal'"

It is argued that for most practical situations, the use of the analytic signal approach for maximum entropy spectral estimation does indeed result in a better spectral estimate than that obtained by using real data.
Fixed-dose rasburicase 6 mg for hyperuricemia and tumor lysis syndrome in high-risk cancer patients.

Background Rasburicase is indicated for the initial management of plasma uric acid levels in adults receiving anticancer therapy who are at risk for acute tumor lysis syndrome (TLS) and subsequent hyperuricemia. The labeled dose is 0.2 mg/kg/day administered intravenously over 30 minutes for up to 5 days. Our institutional adult guidelines recommend rasburicase 6 mg for uric acid levels >8 mg/dL in most adults with TLS, or 4-8 mg/dL in high-risk patients. Repeat dosing is indicated for uric acid levels >4 mg/dL determined ≥12 hours following the initial dose. Objective To determine the efficacy of a single dose of rasburicase 6 mg per institutional adult TLS guidelines to decrease uric acid levels to Methods The study was approved by the University of Maryland Medical Center Institutional Review Board. A retrospective review of all adults between July 2008 and February 2009 who received at least one 6-mg dose of rasburicase, with redosing, if indicated, before day 3, was conducted. Subsequent TLS monitoring over 7 days after initial dosing was recorded. Patients were excluded if dosing did not adhere to institutional guidelines. Results We observed a decline in median uric acid levels from 9.2 mg/dL (interquartile range 8.1-10.4) on day 1 to between 1.8 (1.0-3.8) on day 3 and 3.8 mg/dL (2.1-4.4) on day 7 (p 8 mg/dL; 76%) or at high risk for TLS (85%). Conclusions A 6-mg dose of rasburicase effectively decreased uric acid to
A physical model for strain accumulation in the San Francisco Bay Region

SUMMARY Strain accumulation in tectonically active regions is generally a superposition of the effects of background tectonic loading, steady-state dislocation processes, such as creep, and transient deformation. In the San Francisco Bay region (SFBR), the most uncertain of these processes is transient deformation, which arises primarily in association with large earthquakes. As such, it depends upon the history of faulting and the rheology of the crust and mantle, which together determine the pattern of longer term (decade-scale) post-seismic response to earthquakes. We utilize a set of 102 GPS velocity vectors in the SFBR in order to characterize the strain rate field and construct a physical model of its present deformation. We first perform an inversion for the continuous velocity gradient field from the discrete GPS velocity field, from which both tensor strain rate and rotation rate may be extracted. The present strain rate pattern is well described as a nearly uniform shear strain rate oriented approximately N34 ◦ W (140 nanostrain yr −1 ) plus a N56 ◦ E uniaxial compression rate averaging 20 nanostrain yr −1 across the shear zone. We fit the velocity and strain rate fields to a model of time-dependent deformation within a 135-km-wide, arcuate shear zone bounded by strong Pacific Plate and Sierra Nevada block lithosphere to the SW and NE, respectively. Driving forces are purely lateral, consisting of shear zone deformation imposed by the relative motions between the thick Pacific Plate and Sierra Nevada block lithospheres. Assuming a depth-dependent viscoelastic structure within the shear zone, we account for the effects of steady creep on faults and viscoelastic relaxation following the 1906 San Francisco and 1989 Loma Prieta earthquakes, subject to constant velocity boundary conditions on the edges of the shear zone. Fault creep is realized by evaluating dislocations on the creeping portions of faults in the fluid limit of the viscoelastic model. A priori plate-boundary(PB)-parallel motion is set to 38 mm yr −1 .Ag rid search based on fitting the observed strain rate pattern yields a mantle viscosity of 1.2 × 10 19 P as and a PB-perpendicular convergence rate of ∼ 3m m yr −1 . Most of this convergence appears to be uniformly distributed in the Pacific—Sierra Nevada plate boundary zone.
Sterically crowded azulene-based dication salts as novel guests: synthesis and complexation studies with crown ethers and calixarenes in solution and in the gas phase

The 1,4-bis(3-guaiazulenylmethylium)benzene 1 and 1,4-bis[1-(4,6,8-trimethylazulenylmethylium)]benzene 2 dication salts were synthesized via an acid-catalyzed condensation/dehydration protocol with guaiazulene–terephthalaldehyde (2 : 1 ratio), and 4,6,8-trimethylazulene–terephthalaldehyde (2 : 1 ratio) respectively in one-pot processes. A similar condensation reaction with the parent azulene led to an insoluble oligomer that was shown by MALDI-TOF-MS to contain 1,4-bis[(diazulenyl)methylium]benzene as a repeating unit. Dication salts 1 and 2 were fully characterized by 2D NMR and NOE techniques and by electrospray-MS (ES-MS) and MALDI-TOF-MS. NMR studies confirm that the dications are best represented as bis-tropylium species. A delicate balance of electronic (inductive stabilization) and steric influence of the alkyl groups on the seven-membered ring seems to influence the chemo-/regioselectivity of the co-condensation process. NMR titration and T1 measurements established that, despite its highly crowded structure, dication 1 forms host–guest HG complexes with dibenzo-30-crown-10 (DB30C10) and dibenzo-24-crown-8 (DB24C8) in solution, but fails to complex with the smaller dibenzo-18-crown-6 (DB18C6). The corresponding HG cation–molecule cluster ions were also detected in the gas phase by ES-MS, showing the formation of both dication–crown 1 : 1 and 1 : 2 complexes. Similar complexation of dication salt 2 with DB30C10 was observed via NMR titration and T1 measurements in solution and by ES–MS in the gas phase. Although solution complexation studies (NMR titration) did not indicate stable complex formation between 1 and p-tert-butyl-methoxycalix[8]arene, their [HG]2+ and [H2G]2+ clusters were detectable by ES-MS. Solution decomplexation experiments (HG2+ → H + G2+) were performed on 1–crown complex by addition of DMSO, acetone, silver tosylate, and tropylium cation salt. Complexation of 1 with DB30C10 was also studied by microcalorimetric titration.
Signal-to-noise ratio performance of magneto-optic read channels in the presence of bloom

ABSTRACT Bloom, the thermal expansion or contraction of the written domains in magneto-optic (MO) recording can cause degradeddetection performance at high densities. To study the effect of bloom on the soft bit error rate (BER), we modeled the MOchannel in the presence of bloom. Our study indicates that 4 ns of bloom causes two orders of magnitude increase in the BER when Decision Feedback Equalizer (DFE) is used with Run Length Limited (RLL) (1,7) coded Pulse Width Modulated (PWM) signal. 1. INTRODUCTION In addition to additive electronic and shot noise and intersymbol interference (151), there are impairments in MO recordingwhich are not necessarily additive. Bloom is such an impairment. Even in the presence of skillful thermal, optical, and laserdriver design, bloom can be a significant problem in MO recording .Bloomis due to variations in focus, laser power, and/ormedia sensitivity, and results in uniform increase or decrease in the sizes of the written domains. We distinguish between twokinds of bloom; the data dependent bloom which is random and can be compensated for during writing and, negative or posi-tive bloom which can be modeled as uniform increase or decrease in the domain sizes. The second kind of bloom may becaused by thermal sensitivity of the media and can not be corrected during writing. In this work we address the second kind ofbloom. It is expected that bloom will cause an increase in the soft bit error rate and we evaluate the output SNR of DecisionFeedback Equalization (DFE) and Linear Equalizer (LE) in the presence of bloom. DEE is chosen because of its ability todetect without noise enhancement in the presence of severe 151 and because it is well suited for adaptive implementation 2
The Anthocyanin Pigments of Boysenberries

SUMMARY Anthocyanins in boysenberries were extracted and purified by ion-exchange and paper chromatographic methods. The pigments were identified by R1 values, sugar moiety, alkaline degradation products of the aglycone, partial acid hydrolysis, and absorption spectra. The major pigments were shown to be cyanidin 3-mono-glucoside and cyanidin 3-diglucoside. Also present were smaller amounts of cyanidin 3-rhamnoglucoside and cyanidin 3-rhamnoglucosido-5-glucoside.
Blind self-synchronized receivers for DS/CDMA communications

We consider blind adaptive linear receivers for the demodulation of DS/CDMA signals in asynchronous transmissions. The proposed structures are self-synchronized in the sense that adaptive synchronization and demodulation are viewed and treated as an integrated receiver operation. Two computationally efficient combined synchronization/demodulation schemes are proposed, developed and analyzed. The first scheme is based on the principles of minimum-variance-distortionless-response (MVDR) processing, while the second scheme follows the principles of auxiliary-vector filtering and exhibits enhanced performance in short data record scenarios. The coarse synchronization performance of combined synchronization/demodulation receivers under finite data record adaptation is also investigated. Analytic expressions are derived that approximate closely the probability of coarse synchronization error of the conventional correlator and the MVDR type combined synchronization/demodulation scheme and provide low cost highly accurate alternatives to the computationally demanding performance evaluation through simulations.
User web browsing characteristics using palm handhelds for information retrieval

An increasing amount of information is being disseminated to decision-makers via web interfaces. Because there is also an increase in the use of personal digital assistants (PDA's), future web sites must accommodate handheld access. With easy ability to synchronize content from the web with handheld systems, basic web design assumptions should be reexamined to determine how handheld's affect search and retrieval. The small screen size, text-based design, and cumbersome interface manipulation requires verification of the current design guidelines to ensure they support efficient information retrieval. In addition, PDA users' browsing behaviors also differ from typical Web use. Whereas people using the Web tend to engage in open-ended, exploratory behaviors, PDA's are intended to support task-specific use. Thus user ability to retrieve information---including locating and relocating information, building mental models of the website, and remembering the information once the user has found it---may differ in substantive ways. This paper lays out a theoretical framework for understanding differences between handheld and full-sized web environments, as well as their intended uses. Design issues are identified for further research.
Transport mechanisms of diuresis in Malpighian tubules of insects.

SUMMARY We have studied Malpighian tubules of Aedes aegypti using a variety of methods: Ramsay fluid secretion assay, electron probe analysis of secreted fluid, in vitro microperfusion and two-electrode voltage clamp. Collectively, these methods have allowed us to elucidate transepithelial transport mechanisms under control conditions and in the presence of diuretic peptides. Mosquito natriuretic peptide (MNP), a corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF)-like diuretic peptide, selectively increases transepithelial secretion of NaCl and water, meeting the NaCl loads of the blood meal. The intracellular messenger of MNP is cAMP, which increases the Na + conductance and activates the Na + /K + /2Cl - -cotransporter in the basolateral membrane of principal cells. Leucokinin non-selectively increases transepithelial NaCl and KCl secretion, which may deal with hemolymph volume expansions or reduce the flight pay load upon eclosion from the aquatic habitat. The non-selective NaCl and KCl diuresis stems from the increase in septate junctional Cl - conductance activated by leucokinin using Ca 2+ as second messenger. Fundamental to diuretic mechanisms are powerful epithelial transport mechanisms in the distal segment of the Malpighian tubules, where transepithelial secretion rates can exceed the capacity of mammalian glomerular kidneys in the renal turnover of the extracellular fluid compartment. In conjunction with powerful epithelial transport mechanisms driven by the V-type H + -ATPase, diuretic hormones enable hematophagous and probably also phytophagous insects to deal with enormous dietary loads, thereby contributing to the evolutionary success of insects.
Competing Risk Analyses: How Are They Different and Why Should You Care?

Competing risks are events in which at least one precludes the observation of the other, such as toxicity and death. This commentary discusses and distinguishes between the two common types of competing risk analyses, the Kaplan-Meier and cumulative incidence curves.
Hyperactive Children: Could They Have Sleep Disordered Breathing?

To the Editor: Sleep disordered breathing (SDB) is underdiagnosed in children and difficult to differentiate from attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Both may present with similar symptoms of inattention, hyperactivity, irritability, and daytime sleepiness. Sleep disordered breathing includes primary snoring or obstructive sleep apnea, which are surprisingly common among children with hyperactivity. Adenotonsillar hypertrophy is the primary cause of obstructive sleep apnea between the ages of 2 and 8 years, coinciding with the age onset of ADHD, thus creating a difficult differential diagnosis. Sleep in these cases may be adequate in duration, but fragmented with frequent arousals that result in daytime dysfunction. Intermittent hypoxia during apnea causes inflammatory vascular changes in the brain, resulting in neurocognitive dysfunction, while sleep fragmentation causes inattentiveness. Approximately 25% of children with signs of ADHD also have evidence for SDB; about 28% of those scheduled for adenotonsillectomy exhibit criteria for ADHD (vs 7% for surgical controls). At 1 year post-adenotonsillectomy, 50% of them no longer meet the criteria for ADHD. Among adenotonsillectomy subjects with ADHD symptoms, 78% no longer evidenced ADHD after 6 months. Significant snoring is reported to be 2 times more common in children with ADHD than in other pediatric populations. It is important to screen for SDB in children who present with hyperactivity and/or inattention. Children with ADHD-like symptoms should be screened for signs of sleep disorders, such as snoring, apneas, and/or awakenings accompanied by gasping. When SDB is suspected, assessment includes a history, physical examination, X-ray of the neck, and fiberoptic endoscopy to rule out adenotonsillar hypertrophy. Polysomnography is the definitive means to diagnose SDB. Since SDB is rarely suspected in hyperactive children, detailed screening and diagnostic evaluation are critical. Psychostimulant treatment of a child with SDB may result in more sleep disturbance and dysfunctional behavior.
Peroxidation of lysozyme treated with Cu(II) and hydrogen peroxide

Abstract When lysozyme was treated with Cu(II) and H2O2 at pH 7.4, the protein underwent polymerization as well as changes in its fluorescent characteristics. Upon prolonged incubation, most of the protein aggregates were degraded into smaller peptides. Amino acid analysis indicated that the basic amino acid residues were most susceptible to the oxidation. Tryptophan residues were converted to N-formylkynurenine and kynurenine, and lysine residues were deaminated to form α-aminoadipic acid δ-semi- aldehyde. During Cu(II)H2O2 treatment, the formation of carbonyl groups was accompanied by the loss of free amino groups in the protein. Succinylation of free amino groups protected lysine residues from oxidation by Cu(II)H2O2, but failed to prevent polymerization. The studies with the modified lysozyme suggest that Cu(II)H2O2 can oxidize various amino acid residues in addition to lysine to generate different types of carbonyl compounds and these carbonyl compounds may be responsible for the formation of crosslinks in the polymerization process.
Long-term follow-up of patients with cutaneous T-cell lymphoma treated with extracorporeal photochemotherapy

Abstract Background: Few studies have assessed the long-term outcome of patients with cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL) treated with extracorporeal photochemotherapy (ECP). Objective: Our objective was to assess the efficacy, safety, and survival of a cohort of patients with refractory T-cell lymphoma in various stages of cutaneous involvement who were treated with ECP. Methods: Twenty patients who had received at least 6 months of ECP between September 1988 and April 1991 were reevaluated and the data analyzed statistically to obtain outcome data through December 1995. Results: A complete response (disappearance of all lesions) was obtained in five patients (25%) and a partial response (disappearance of at least 50% of lesions) in five patients (25%). Of the 10 responders, seven (70%) were weaned from ECP. Two of seven patients had a relapse. Ten patients (50%) showed no response to ECP. No statistically significant differences between responders and nonresponders were found with respect to demographic, clinical, or laboratory variables. Seven patients died of causes directly related to CTCL and two patients died of unrelated causes. Median survival time for the entire cohort was 96 months (range, 16 to 152 months). An assessment of early response after 6 to 8 months of ECP had a sensitivity of 100% and a specificity of 90% for predicting long-term (> 4 years) outcome. Adverse effects were minimal. Conclusion: ECP is a safe effective alternative therapy for CTCL that is refractory to other therapies; it can induce a long-term, disease-free remission in a minority of patients. Response in the first 6 to 8 months of treatment predicts long-term outcome.
Groundwater flow in a compressible unconfined aquifer with uniform circular recharge

The distributions of the hydraulic head and velocity components of the transient groundwater flow in an unconfined compressible aquifer of finite thickness under constant uniform circular recharge are obtained from the linearized mathematical model by the use of integral transforms. The result generalizes Dagan's (1967) solution which was derived by neglecting the compressibility. By treating the compressibility parameter as a small value, the formula for the hydraulic head is analyzed by asymptotic methods, resulting in approximations to the exact solutions for the head and velocities on small and large time scales. The hydraulic head and flow velocities can be accurately approximated by Dagan's formula for large times; for small times, neglecting the compressibility gives a large relative error but small absolute error.
Variation in maternal effects and embryonic development rates among passerine species

Embryonic development rates are reflected by the length of incubation period in birds, and these vary substantially among species within and among geographical regions. The incubation periods are consistently shorter in North America (Arizona study site) than in tropical (Venezuela) and subtropical (Argentina) South America based on the study of 83 passerine species in 17 clades. Parents, mothers in particular, may influence incubation periods and resulting offspring quality through proximate pathways, while variation in maternal strategies among species can result from selection by adult and offspring mortality. Parents of long-lived species, as is common in the tropics and subtropics, may be under selection to minimize costs to themselves during incubation. Indeed, time spent incubating is often lower in the tropical and subtropical species than the related north temperate species, causing cooler average egg temperatures in the southern regions. Decreased egg temperatures result in longer incubation periods and reflect a cost imposed on offspring by parents because energy cost to the embryo and risk of offspring predation are both increased. Mothers may adjust egg size and constituents as a means to partially offset such costs. For example, reduced androgen concentrations in egg yolks may slow development rates, but may enhance offspring quality through physiological trade-offs that may be particularly beneficial in longer-lived species, as in the tropics and subtropics. We provide initial data to show that yolks of tropical birds contain substantially lower concentrations of growth-promoting androgens than north temperate relatives. Thus, maternal (and parental) effects on embryonic development rates may include contrasting and complementary proximate influences on offspring quality and deserve further field study among species.
Development of a wide-tuning-range two-parallel-plate tunable capacitor for integrated wireless communication systems

This paper reports on the development of a micromachined parallel-plate tunable capacitor with a wide tuning range. Different from conventional two-parallel-plate tunable capacitors, this tunable capacitor consists of one suspended top plate and two fixed bottom plates. One fixed plate and the top plate form a variable capacitor, while the other one provides necessary electrostatic actuation. Among the fabricated prototype devices, a maximum controllable tuning range of 69.8%@1 MHz has been obtained experimentally, exceeding the theoretical limit (50%) of conventional two-parallel-plate tunable capacitors. A component quality factor (Q) of 30@5 GHz and a self-resonant frequency far beyond 5 GHz have been achieved. The fabrication process is compatible with the existing standard IC (integrated circuit) technology, which makes it suitable for integrated wireless communication applications. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Int J RF and Microwave CAE 11: 322–329, 2001.
High Moisture Corn for Dairy Cows in Early Lactation

Abstract Two trials were conducted to evaluate high moisture (HM) corn as the primary concentrate energy source for dairy cows in early lactation. In Trial I, thirty-six Holsteins compared HM shelled corn, dry shelled corn, and a multi-ingredient pelleted dairy concentrate. In Trial II, thirteen Holsteins and three Ayrshires compared HM shelled corn and HM ear corn. Soybean meal was added to each corn. In both trials, conducted for 16 weeks after calving, grain was fed in an attempt to maintain postpartum body weight. Forages, including hay, corn, and grass silages were offered ad libitum. Total digestible nutrients (TDN) (DM basis) for the respective grain rations from digestion trials were: 89.8, 83.5, 78.6 (Trial I), and 86.4 and 84.0 (Trial II). Corn from different sources was utilized in Trial I. Feeding HM shelled corn in Trial I resulted in significantly lower forage DM intake, milk fat percentage (P
ARTICULATION AND FUNCTION OF THE PTEROID BONE OF PTEROSAURS

Abstract For more than 100 years, most pterosaur workers have accepted the traditional reconstruction of the pteroid, articulated in the fovea of the preaxial carpal and directed medially along the anterior margin of a small propatagium in order to control it. A few workers have rejected the traditional reconstruction and advocated an alternative reconstruction with the pteroid directed anteriorly and controlling a large propatagium extending laterally past the wrist. Articulated specimens of a wide range of pterosaurs preserve a sesamoid associated with the tendon of M. flexorcarpi ulnaris in the fovea of the preaxial carpal. No specimen preserves the pteroid articulated in the fovea, and because the sesamoid articulated there, the pteroid could not. Therefore, both the traditional and alternative reconstructions, which are based on the assumption that the pteroid articulated in the fovea, are falsified. The preaxial carpal acted as a strut to increase the leverage of M. flexor carpi ulnaris for wrist ex...
Intensity of Recurved Typhoons

Abstract The maximum wind speed obtained by reconnaissance aircraft in recurved typhoons is examined for 66 cases from 1957 to 1968 for 2-3 days after recurvature from a westward to an eastward component of motion. The maximum wind decreases at a variable rate as the storms move out of the tropics, but a fairly uniform behavior is found if the maximum speed at any given time after recurvature is normalized to a percentage of the highest speed attained during the life of a typhoon. For latitude increments in position of up to about 8 deg in 48–72 hr a linear relation gives results within fairly narrow limits. For longer displacements a logarithmic relation is indicated. The latter is compared with the variation of maximum wind speed in steady-state storms with latitude. It appears that a large fraction of the decrease in intensity after recurvature can be ascribed to the latitude effect itself but that an additional smaller term possibly related to decreasing ocean and air temperatures is present.
Do Under-Managed Portfolios Outperform Over-Managed Portfolios?

How often should a portfolio be rebalanced? This is the question our study attempts to answer. The Internet stock bubble and its aftermath made portfolio mangers very sensitive to their management styles. Specifically, they had to reassess how often to evaluate a client’s portfolio. This work examines the performance of portfolios that were aggressively managed and compares their risk-adjusted returns with those of portfolios that were managed infrequently. To accomplish this, we change the rebalancing frequency of a well-diversified portfolio and track its performance over time. This study will not only enable us to determine whether the performance of an actively-managed portfolio surpasses the performance of an under-managed or unmanaged portfolio, but it will also allow us to determine the optimal rebalancing period for maximizing risk-adjusted returns. The asset selection and portfolio optimization methodologies applied to the portfolios in this study are identical to maintain consistency and comparability of results. To evaluate the performance of each portfolio, we used daily observations from September 2000 to September 2006 and applied various rebalancing frequencies using the QuantAnalysis application at www.fundsformation.com .
Stream macroinvertebrate communities across a gradient of natural gas development in the Fayetteville Shale.

Oil and gas extraction in shale plays expanded rapidly in the U.S. and is projected to expand globally in the coming decades. Arkansas has doubled the number of gas wells in the state since 2005 mostly by extracting gas from the Fayetteville Shale with activity concentrated in mixed pasture-deciduous forests. Concentrated well pads in close proximity to streams could have adverse effects on stream water quality and biota if sedimentation associated with developing infrastructure or contamination from fracturing fluid and waste occurs. Cumulative effects of gas activity and local habitat conditions on macroinvertebrate communities were investigated across a gradient of gas well activity (0.2–3.6 wells per km2) in ten stream catchments in spring 2010 and 2011. In 2010, macroinvertebrate density was positively related to well pad inverse flowpath distance from streams (r = 0.84, p < 0.001). Relatively tolerant mayflies Baetis and Caenis (r = 0.64, p = 0.04), filtering hydropsychid caddisflies (r = 0.73, p = 0.01), and chironomid midge densities (r = 0.79, p = 0.008) also increased in streams where more well pads were closer to stream channels. Macroinvertebrate trophic structure reflected environmental conditions with greater sediment and primary production in streams with more gas activity close to streams. However, stream water turbidity (r = 0.69, p = 0.02) and chlorophyll a (r = 0.89, p < 0.001) were the only in-stream variables correlated with gas well activities. In 2011, a year with record spring flooding, a different pattern emerged where mayfly density (p = 0.74, p = 0.01) and mayfly, stonefly, and caddisfly richness (r = 0.78, p = 0.008) increased in streams with greater well density and less silt cover. Hydrology and well pad placement in a catchment may interact to result in different relationships between biota and catchment activity between the two sample years. Our data show evidence of different macroinvertebrate communities expressed in catchments with different levels of gas activity that reinforce the need for more quantitative analyses of cumulative freshwater-effects from oil and gas development.
Mass spectrum of supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory in three dimensions

We consider supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory on RxS{sup 1}xS{sup 1}. In particular, we choose one of the compact directions to be light like and another to be space like. Since the SDLCQ regularization explicitly preserves supersymmetry, this theory is totally finite, and thus we can solve for bound state wave functions and masses numerically without renormalizing. We present the masses as functions of the longitudinal and transverse resolutions and show that the masses converge rapidly in both resolutions. We also study the behavior of the spectrum as a function of the coupling and find that at strong coupling there is a stable, well-defined spectrum which we present. We also find several unphysical states that decouple at large transverse resolution. There are two sets of massless states; one set is massless only at zero coupling and the other is massless at all couplings. Together these sets of massless states are in one-to-one correspondence with the full spectrum of the dimensionally reduced theory. (c) 2000 The American Physical Society.