cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Alterations in heart rate and pupillary response in persons with organic solvent exposure

Cardiac and pupillary reactivity were examined in 25 persons with a history of exposure to organic solvents and 19 nonexposed controls during performance of a counting and a choice reaction task. The solvent-exposed group demonstrated an atypical pattern of responding across tasks. While control subjects showed a decline in heart rate across the two conditions (e.g., habituation), exposed persons had an increase in heart rate. Initial pupil diameter was similar for both groups, but only the control subjects exhibited habituation across the two tasks. In the exposed group, higher heart rate was not associated with higher levels of self-reported anxiety. Anticipatory cardiac deceleration preceding unpredictable events was significantly less in the exposed group, but there were no significant group differences on poststimulus acceleration. The results suggest that persons with solvent exposure have a deficiency in the allocation of attention (reduced anticipatory deceleration and decreased pupillary dilation). It is further suggested that difficulty in the allocation of attention produces an increase in tonic sympathetic levels when confronted with a cognitively challenging task. In this experiment, in which the choice reaction task was purposely presented last, and was apparently more challenging for exposed persons, a failure to exhibit autonomic habituation over the course of the session characterized the solvent-exposed group.
Time-dependent density functional theory within the Tamm–Dancoff approximation

Abstract A computationally simple method for molecular excited states, namely, the Tamm–Dancoff approximation to time-dependent density functional theory, is proposed and implemented. This method yields excitation energies for several closed- and open-shell molecules that are essentially of the same quality as those obtained from time-dependent density functional theory itself, when the same exchange-correlation functional is used.
Text-directed speech enhancement using phoneme classification and feature map constrained vector quantization

This paper presents and evaluates a novel text-directed speech enhancement algorithm for usage in non-real-time applications. In our approach, the text of the intended dialogue is used to partition noisy speech into regions of broad phoneme classifications. Classes considered include stops, fricatives, affricates, nasals, vowels, semivowels, diphthongs and silence. These partitions are then used to direct a new vector quantizer based enhancement scheme in which class directed constraints are applied to improve speech quality. Objective enhancement evaluations conducted across 100 sentences of the TIMIT database indicate consistent improvement in speech quality for actual helicopter fly-by noise, aircraft cockpit noise, and automobile highway noise at signal-to-noise ratios ranging from -5 to 10 dB. Subjective quality assessment was conducted in the form of an A-B comparison test. Results of these evaluations demonstrate that, for wideband noise distortion, the proposed algorithm is preferred over unprocessed noisy speech more than 2 to 1, while the proposed algorithm is preferred over spectral subtraction processed speech by more than 3 to 1.
Differences in metabolite levels upon differentiation of intact neuroblastoma × glioma cells observed by proton NMR spectroscopy

Abstract Proton NMR spectroscopy was used to study the effect of differentiation with prostaglandin E1 and theophylline on intact hybrid neuroblastoma × glioma cells. The standard proton NMR method showed more resolvable signals than the spin echo NMR spectra. The differentiated cells were found to contain significantly higher levels of glutamine than the undifferentiated precursors. Observations on cell extracts confirmed these results.
Idiosyncratic strategies in sentence production: a case report.

Abstract In their case study of a patient with selective apraxia of phonation, Marshall, Gandour, and Windsor (1988, Brain and Language, 35, 313–339) reported that many of his utterances were ill-formed syntactically. In this note, a detailed syntactic analysis of his speech is presented. Although the patient's syntax is deviant, it is seen to result from the application of certain consistent, identifiable, compensatory strategies. Moreover, it is shown that the particular, abnormal syntactic structures are internally consistent with his phonatory apraxia coupled with the normal rules of English prosody.
Functional anatomy of autobiographical memory recall deficits in depression

BACKGROUND Major depressive disorder (MDD) is associated with deficits in recalling specific autobiographical memories (AMs). Extensive research has examined the functional anatomical correlates of AM in healthy humans, but no studies have examined the neurophysiological underpinnings of AM deficits in MDD. The goal of the present study was to examine the differences in the hemodynamic response between patients with MDD and controls while they engage in AM recall. METHOD Participants (12 unmedicated MDD patients; 14 controls) underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scanning while recalling AMs in response to positive, negative and neutral cue words. The hemodynamic response during memory recall versus performing subtraction problems was compared between MDD patients and controls. Additionally, a parametric linear analysis examined which regions correlated with increasing arousal ratings. RESULTS Behavioral results showed that relative to controls, the patients with MDD had fewer specific (p=0.013), positive (p=0.030), highly arousing (p=0.036) and recent (p=0.020) AMs, and more categorical (p<0.001) AMs. The blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) response in the parahippocampus and hippocampus was higher for memory recall versus subtraction in controls and lower in those with MDD. Activity in the anterior insula was lower for specific AM recall versus subtraction, with the magnitude of the decrement greater in MDD patients. Activity in the anterior cingulate cortex was positively correlated with arousal ratings in controls but not in patients with MDD. CONCLUSIONS We replicated previous findings of fewer specific and more categorical AMs in patients with MDD versus controls. We found differential activity in medial temporal and prefrontal lobe structures involved in AM retrieval between MDD patients and controls as they engaged in AM recall. These neurophysiological deficits may underlie AM recall impairments seen in MDD.
Calculating ensemble averaged descriptions of protein rigidity without sampling.

Previous works have demonstrated that protein rigidity is related to thermodynamic stability, especially under conditions that favor formation of native structure. Mechanical network rigidity properties of a single conformation are efficiently calculated using the integer body-bar Pebble Game (PG) algorithm. However, thermodynamic properties require averaging over many samples from the ensemble of accessible conformations to accurately account for fluctuations in network topology. We have developed a mean field Virtual Pebble Game (VPG) that represents the ensemble of networks by a single effective network. That is, all possible number of distance constraints (or bars) that can form between a pair of rigid bodies is replaced by the average number. The resulting effective network is viewed as having weighted edges, where the weight of an edge quantifies its capacity to absorb degrees of freedom. The VPG is interpreted as a flow problem on this effective network, which eliminates the need to sample. Across a nonredundant dataset of 272 protein structures, we apply the VPG to proteins for the first time. Our results show numerically and visually that the rigidity characterizations of the VPG accurately reflect the ensemble averaged properties. This result positions the VPG as an efficient alternative to understand the mechanical role that chemical interactions play in maintaining protein stability.
Expression ofChlamydomonas actin-gfp fusion gene in tobacco suspension cell and polymerization of the actin-gfp proteinin vitro

The fusion gene of actin (cDNA ofChlamydomonas reinhardtii) and green fluorescence protein (gfp) had been constructed into two expression vectors which could be expressed inE. coli and tobacco suspension cells BY2. The correct expression was observed inE. coli and BY2 with a fluorescence microscopy. The fusion protein, which took part in the membrane skeleton, was mainly located peripherally along the membrane, specially the fusion protein was distributed around nucleus and cell plate, while the fusion protein also forms F-actin in the cell. The fusion protein was purified from Bl21plus by ammonium sulfate fractionation, ion exchange chromatography and hydrophobic interaction chromatography. The purified production could polymerize into F-actin when the actin polymerizing buffer was added. It was demonstrated that the characteristics and function of actin inChlamydomonas was similar with those of animals and higher plants.
Modest increase in plasma homocysteine follows levodopa initiation in Parkinson's disease

Levodopa, typically ingested chronically at high daily doses, is predictably methylated by means of a series of reactions using B vitamins, which convert methionine to homocysteine. Elevated total plasma homocysteine (tHcy), a risk factor for dementia, has been found in PD patients using levodopa. We prospectively measured the effects on plasma tHcy and B vitamins of levodopa initiation, and measured the effects of dose changes and of treatment with dopamine agonists and entacapone. We collected paired plasma samples, at baseline and again after several months treatment, from patients initiating levodopa (n = 30), from patients whose levodopa dose was doubled (n = 15), halved or stopped (n = 14), from patients starting or stopping entacapone (n = 15) and from patients initiating or doubling dopamine agonist monotherapy (n = 16). Vitamin B12, folate, and tHcy concentrations were measured. Baseline tHcy concentration of 8.7 (2.8) μmol/L increased to 10.1 (3.1) μmol/L (P = 0.004) an average of 94 (range 36 to 200) days after initiation of 604 (240 to 1050) mg/day of L-dopa. Average concentration of vitamin B12 fell from 380 to 291 pmol/ L (P = 0.01). Patients who doubled their daily levodopa dose experienced tHcy elevations from 9.5 to 11.1 μmol/L (P = 0.05). Levodopa reduction, agonist treatment, and entacapone treatment did not have significant effects. Levodopa elevates tHcy and lowers vitamin B12 concentration to modest degrees. The clinical implications, if any, have not yet been determined. © 2004 Movement Disorder Society
Capacity for Holding Sustained Attention Following Commissurotomy

To assess the relative capacities of the two cerebral hemispheres to sustain prolonged mental concentration, the performance of commissurotomized patients and normal controls was tested on monotonous sorting and signal detection tasks. The two series of tasks all required the maintenance of focused attention but differed in the amount of motor activity involved. Results showed that attentional capacity was different for active than for passive tasks in the patient group. During the active sorting tasks, commissurotomy patients were able to sustain continuous attention for periods of up to an hour while in the passive signal detection tasks, a decline in general levels of arousal was evident within ten to twenty minutes. The maintenance of generalized attention with minimal proprioceptive and external stimulation was thus found to be markedly weakened following commissurotomy. Neither hemisphere was consistently inferior to the other in sustaining mental concentration. The unique ability of commissurotomy patients to efficiently carry out mutually conflicting volitional decisions while sorting with the hands simultaneously points up the role of the intact commissures in unifying attentional components of cognitive processing.
A New Method for Nonorthogonal Signal Decomposition

Abstract A new algorithm for nonorthogonal decomposition is proposed and applied to Gabor decomposition of images. The algorithm is iterative and its advantages are discussed. Proof of the convergence of the algorithm is given. Also, a modified version of the algorithm is considered which increases the rate of convergence. Image simulations show that this method gives much lower reconstruction error than the method using biorthogonal functions, at the cost of a greater amount of computer time.
The Heat-Stable Enterotoxin-Guanylin Receptor is Expressed in Rat Hepatocytes and in a Rat Hepatoma (H-35) Cell Line

AbstractBackground/Aims: Guanylyl cyclase C (GC-C) is an intestinal transmembrane receptor which binds both guanylin, an endogenous ligand, and Escherichia coli heat-stable enterotoxin (STa) resulting in 5′-cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP) accumulation and chloride secretion. In the adult rat, there is a high basal level of GC-C expression in the intestine, but not in the liver. Increased expression of GC-C in the rat liver has been demonstrated during the perinatal period as well as with liver regeneration and during an acute phase response. The aim of this study was to identify and utilize cell culture models to further characterize the expression of GC-C in the liver. Methods: STa binding, STa-stimulated cGMP accumulation, and GC-C RNA expression by Northern analysis were determined in primary cultures of rat hepatocytes and H-35 cells, a rat hepatoma cell line, following treatment with dexamethasone and/or interleukin-6 (IL-6). Results: In rat hepatocytes treated with the combination of dexametha...
Glucagon responses to hypoglycemia in adrenalectomized man

In order to examine the possibility that epinephrine is involved in either the mediation or modulation of the enhanced glucagon release during glucopenia, glucagon responses to insulin-induced hypoglycemia were evaluated in four men with bilateral adrenalectomy in comparison with ten normal men. In the adrenalectomized patients, the mean nadir of plasma glucose and the rate of ascent to baseline levels were indistinguishable from those observed in normal subjects. Similarly, glucagon responses in the adrenalectomized group were not different from those encountered in the normal volunteers. We conclude that epinephrine does not contribute significantly to the augmented glucagon release during abrupt glucopenia in normal man and is not necessary for normal recovery from hypoglycemia.
Hospitalized mechanically ventilated patients are at higher risk of enteral underfeeding than non-ventilated patients.

Summary Background & aims Enteral nutrition (EN) is the preferred method of nutrition support in hospitalized patients but only 50–90% of the required calories are actually delivered. In order to identify where our nutrition support team (NST) should focus its activity, we prospectively evaluated the level of coverage of energy and protein needs during the first 5 days of EN in intensive care unit (ICU) and non-ICU patients and the relationship of energy and protein coverage with serum albumin, transthryretin, insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) and C-reactive protein (CRP). Methods Subjects ( n = 183 ) who required nutrition support and received EN were prospectively recruited. Calorie prescription was 20 and 25, 25 and 30 kcal/kg BW for women and men ⩾60 years and Results Significantly more mechanically ventilated than non-ventilated patients received Conclusions The energy and protein needs of hospitalized patients are not met during the first 5 days of EN. Ventilated patients are more likely to be energy and protein underfed than non-ventilated patients and to have low plasma protein level. These findings support our decision to intensify EN monitoring by our NST in ventilated patients to optimize their nutritional coverage.
Multicomponent Nanoparticles via Self-Assembly with Cross-Linked Block Copolymer Surfactants

We describe a simple and versatile protocol to prepare water-soluble multifunctional nanostructures by encapsulation of different nanoparticles in shell cross-linked, block copolymer micelles. This method permits simultaneous incorporation of different nanoparticle properties within a nanoscale micellar container. We have demonstrated the co-encapsulation of magnetic (gamma-Fe2O3 and Fe3O4), semiconductor (CdSe/ZnS), and metal (Au) nanoparticles in different combinations to form multicomponent micelles that retain the precursor particles' distinct properties. Because these multifunctional hybrid nanostructures spontaneously assemble from solution by simultaneous desolvation of nanoparticles and amphiphilic block copolymer components, we anticipate that this can be used as a general protocol for preparing multifunctional nanostructures without explicit multimaterial synthesis or surface functionalization of nanoparticles.
Ultrasonic Wave Propagation in Trabecular Bone Predicted by the Stratified Model

The objective of this study was to investigate ultrasound propagation in trabecular bone by considering the wave reflection and transmission in a multilayered medium. The use of ultrasound to identify those at risk of osteoporosis is a promising diagnostic method providing a measure of bone mineral density (BMD). A stratified model was proposed to study the effect of transmission and reflection of ultrasound wave within the trabecular architecture on the relationship between ultrasound and BMD. The results demonstrated that ultrasound velocity in trabecular bone was highly correlated with the bone apparent density (r=0.97). Moreover, a consistent pattern of the frequency dependence of ultrasound attenuation coefficient has been observed between simulation using this model and experimental measurement of trabecular bone. The normalized broadband ultrasound attenuation (nBUA) derived from the simulation results revealed that nBUA was nonlinear with respect to trabecular porosity and BMD. The curve of the relationship between nBUA and BMD was parabolic in shape, and the peak magnitude of nBUA was observed at approximately 60% of bone porosity. These results agreed with the published experimental data and demonstrated that according to the stratified model, reflection and transmission were important factors in the ultrasonic propagation through the trabecular bone.
Carbon K-shell vacancy production and K-K electron capture cross sections for 0.4–1.5 MeV 11H+ ions incident on CH4 targets

Abstract The ratios of the carbon K-K electron capture cross sections to the total K-vacancy production cross sections are measured in a coincidence between carbon KLL Auger electrons and charge-changed ions detected by time-of-flight. The vacancy production cross sections are determined from the carbon total KLL Auger electron production in a separate experiment, and electron capture cross sections are obtained by multiplying the measured ratios by the vacancy production cross sections. The data are compared to first Born and perturbed stationary state theories. Both the carbon K-K electron capture and the vacancy production measurements are found to be in excellent agreement with the ECPSSR theory. K-shell fluorescence yields for carbon in CH4 are extracted by comparison of the present work and other Auger-electron work to X-ray production measurements. They are found to be independent of 11H+ energy from 0.05 to 1.0 MeV where both X-ray and Auger electron data exist.
Functional magnetic resonance imaging of pain consciousness: Cortical networks of pain critically depend on what is implied by “pain”

Brain imaging studies, using primarily functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), are reviewed. These studies are aimed at developing imaging approaches that can be used in the clinical setting to investigate clinically relevant pain states. To this end, our recent studies indicate that by taking advantage of the temporal variations in pain perception, we are able to identify cortical regions that may be uniquely involved in pain consciousness. This procedure in turn becomes a general approach with which clinical pain states can be studied. Preliminary results are shown in patients suffering from chronic reflex sympathetic dystrophy (RSD) and chronic back pain. The review emphasizes that different experimental pain states, and chronic and acute clinical pain states, seem to involve dramatically different networks, the details of which remain to be worked out. It is concluded that these procedures need to be applied in the larger clinical setting in which multicentered studies may be conducted to begin building the brain pain network atlas.
Language, Ritual and Meaning

The history of the cultural sciences teaches us that in our quest for an explanation we often seek answers to the wrong questions. For example, scholars of religion have attempted to answer the meaning of religion by tracing the history of religion. We now know that the history of religion, as the history of language, will not yield an answer to the meaning of religion or language. Historians of religion have also searched for an answer to the meaning of religious symbols. Most historians of religion have tried to answer the question of symbolic meaning by studying the attributes, or the discrete elements of symbols, with the hope that an answer to the question of the meaning of religious symbols will be forthcoming by integrating the various symbols, or their attributes, across the various religions. We now know that a study of symbols will not yield their meaning, if they have one, simply because it is not the symbols themselves, but the relations between symbols which constitute or defines, their meaning. Several years ago Numen published an article by Professor Frits Staal in which he argued that rituals are meaningless.1 This is indeed a provocative thesis and if Staal is right, then the thesis should provide one more revolution in the history of religions. Once again we would learn that we have been seeking an answer to a wrong question. The quest for the meaning of rituals is misguided simply because rituals are meaningless. This essay is not a review of Staal's article. The article is neither profound as scholarship, nor specific in its description of either theory or the present status of ritual analysis. Although Staal's generalizations and conclusions about the "widespread" notions of ritual are not as simple as he describes them, I agree with him that we have not reached as yet a well formed theory which will explain them. Furthermore, Staal admits toward the end of his article that the syntactic structures (rules) he has constructed (following transformational generative linguistics), "do not correspond to any
beta-Glucosidase activator protein from bovine spleen ("coglucosidase").

Abstract β-Glucosidase-stimulating proteins (“co-β-glucosidase”) have been isolated from bovine spleen by acidification of homogenized spleen, heat denaturation, and chromatography with DEAE-Sephacel, Sephadex G-75, hydroxyapatite, and decyl agarose columns. Gel electrophoresis of the product revealed a trace of inert protein and two fast-moving bands, a major diffuse band and a minor, faster-moving band. The latter two bands could be eluted from the gel and shown to stimulate a glucosidase preparation from bovine spleen. They both stained with Stains All and fast green, but poorly with Coomassie blue. The bands could also be visualized by ultraviolet scanning. Periodate-Schiff stain was positive for the major band. The M r of the coglucosidase was about 20,400 as measured with the gel permeation column, but 4900 as measured with a Sephacryl S-200 column containing guanidine hydrochloride and roughly 6200 as measured by gel electrophoresis with Na dodecyl sulfate. A p I of 4.3–4.4 was indicated by isoelectric focusing. Neutral sugar was found to be present, but no sialic acid. It was destroyed by Pronase, but not by lyophilization, N -ethylmaleimide, or alkaline phosphatase. Stimulation of the basal activity (1 nmol/h assayed with methylumbelliferyl glucoside) was 50% when 0.15 μg/ml of coglucosidase was included in the incubation. The activating protein raised the V values and lowered the K m values when both glucosyl ceramide and the artificial substrate were used. In contrast, phosphatidyl serine raised both the V , and the K m for cerebroside hydrolysis. The activator protein was found to occur in the soluble part of spleen as well as in the mitochondrial and lysosomal fractions.
Identifying the Role of Multidisciplinary Journals in Scientific Research

Scientists in focused research areas customarily use specialized journals, and yet multidisciplinary journals also are widely cited. Prior studies have investigated the characteristics of multidisciplinary journals, but none have considered the role this type of journal plays in scientific research. Citation data from Nature , Science , and Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences were used to profile the articles in the journals and the articles that cite them. In particular, when citation occurred across disciplines, the reason for the citation was investigated.
POLICE DISRESPECT TOWARD THE PUBLIC: AN ENCOUNTER‐BASED ANALYSIS*

We use observations of police encounters with 3,130 suspects in Indianapolis and St. Petersburg to estimate three influences on police disrespect: how suspects behave, their personal characteristics, and the location of the encounter. Logistic regression models show that suspects' behaviors were the most powerful predictors, but the suspect's sex, age, income, and degree of neighborhood disadvantage were also significant. Minority suspects experienced disrespect less often than whites (statistically significant in the hierarchical analysis controlling for degree of neighborhood disadvantage). These effects are concentrated in St. Petersburg, where the chief had made the suppression of police abuses a visible priority. The findings offer partial confirmation of Donald Black's theory of law.
The composition of government spending as an additional policy instrument

Abstract This paper reevaluates the relationship between policy instruments and desired target levels when government and private spending are complements. First, the conceptual basis for the inclusion of government spending as an argument in the private consumption and investment functions is examined. Next, we show that a gap arises between the perceived and actual models under which the monetary authorities operate. Thus, the analysis is undertaken under conditions of uncertainty. In view of this, we conclude by showing that the presence of an additional policy instrument enables policymakers to adhere less rigidly to conventional fiscal and monetary measures.
Voting power and at-large representation

Abstract Suppose one wishes to design a legislative body that contains both representatives from equipopulous districts and some at-large representatives. If the total number of seats in the legislature is considered fixed, how should one decide how many at-large representatives to allocate? This paper will present one answer to that question: if one wishes to maximize the total Banzhaf power of the voters and if we assume that the at-large representatives will vote as a bloc, then the number of at-large representatives should be roughly the square root of the total number of legislators.
Binding of XOR to cellular glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) facilitates nitrite reductase activity under oxygenated conditions

Under anoxic conditions, XOR catalyzes the one e− reduction of nitrite ( NO 2 - ) to NO at the Mo-cofactor. However, the conditions that favor e− transfer to NO 2 - at the Mo-cofactor over e− transfer to O2 at the FAD site have not been defined. Using various detection methods, NO 2 - reduction by purified XOR was analyzed in an O2 controlled environment. At 0% O2, XOR reduced NO 2 - , generating 17.0 ± 3.2 nM/min NO from xanthine while similar rates (22.9 ± 4.8) were observed with NADH. As O2 tension increased to 2%, O2 concentration-dependent delays in the onset of NO production occurred. Concurrent measurement of O2 concentrations revealed that NO 2 - -dependent NO generation did not occur until all O2 was consumed, suggesting that O2 decreases NO 2 - reduction by indirect oxidation of the Mo via e− withdrawal at the FAD. Experiments with XDH, which has lower affinity for O2, did not demonstrate improved rates of NO formation or reduced lag times. However, immobilization of XO on artificial GAGs conferred the capacity for pronounced and sustained NO formation. In addition, reduction of NO 2 - by GAG-bound XO resulted not only in NO formation but concomitant diminution of XO-derived ROS. GAG-mediated enhancement of nitrite reductase activity and reduction in XO-derived ROS formation was confirmed when XO was associated with endothelial cell GAGs. Combined, these data indicate under inflammatory conditions where vascular XO levels and XO-GAG interactions are enhanced that O2-mediated inhibition of XO-catalyzed NO 2 - reduction can be overcome resulting in both increased NO generation and decreased ROS production.
Whole‐heart coronary magnetic resonance angiography at 3 Tesla in 5 minutes with slow infusion of Gd‐BOPTA, a high‐relaxivity clinical contrast agent

T(1)-shortening contrast agents have been used to improve the depiction of coronary arteries with breath-hold magnetic resonance angiography (MRA). The spatial resolution and coverage are limited by the duration of the arterial phase of the contrast media passage. In this study we investigated the feasibility of acquiring free-breathing, whole-heart coronary MRA during slow infusion of the contrast media (0.3 ml/s) for prolonged blood signal enhancement time. Ultrashort TR (3 ms) and parallel data acquisition were used to allow the whole-heart MRA in approximately 5 min. A newly approved gadolinium (Gd)-based high T(1) relaxivity contrast agent, gadobenate dimeglumine ([Gd-BOPTA](2-)), was used and coronary MRA was performed on a whole-body 3 Tesla (T) system to improve the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). Results from eight volunteers demonstrate that this coronary MRA method is capable of imaging the whole heart in 4.5 +/- 0.6 min. Major coronary arteries are well depicted with high SNR (42.4 +/- 12.5) and contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR; 27.1 +/- 7.6).
A Physical Explanation of the Lognormality of Pollutant Concentrations

Investigators in different environmental fields have reported that the concentrations of various measured substances have frequency distributions that are lognormal, or nearly so. That is, when the logarithms of the observed concentrations are plotted as a frequency distribution, the resulting distribution is approximately normal, or Gaussian, over much of the observed range. Examples include radionuclides in soil, pollutants in ambient air, indoor air quality, trace metals in streams, metals in biological tissue, calcium in human remains. The ubiquity of the lognormal distribution in environmental processes is surprising and has not been adequately explained, since common processes in nature (for example, computation of the mean and the analysis of error) usually give rise to distributions that are normal rather than lognormal. This paper takes the first step toward explaining why lognormal distributions can arise naturally from certain physical processes that are analogous to those found in the environment. In this paper, these processes are treated mathematically, and the results are illustrated in a laboratory beaker experiment that is simulated on the computer.
Synthesis of Atomically Thin ${\bf MoS}_{\bf 2}$ Triangles and Hexagrams and Their Electrical Transport Properties

Atomically thin molybdenum disulfide (MoS 2 ) triangles and hexagrams were prepared by a two-step growth ambient pressure chemical vapor deposition (APCVD) process. Molybdenum Trioxide (MoO 3 ) nanobelts, a few microns in length and width, were prepared using a hydrothermal technique and utilized as the starting material. High temperature treatment of the MoO 3 nanobelts followed by a rigorous sulfurization via APCVD processing provided different morphologies of MoS 2 monolayers and bilayer (BL) sheets. Triangle and hexagram morphologies were characterized using Raman spectroscopy, photoluminescence (PL) measurements, scanning electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy (AFM). The regrowth step in the CVD process was proven to be ideal in enlarging the grain size. PL and Raman spectroscopy and AFM results confirmed the presence of monolayer and BL regions in the regrowth growth process. Triangle and hexagram domains are observed to be cooperatively nucleating and coalescing together to form large-area layers. Furthermore, the electrical transport properties of the synthesized MoS 2 layers were studied. Electron mobility based on back gated field effect transistors was measured to be approximately 0.02 cm 2 /V. S.
La noción de conservación de peso. Estudio comparativo entre niños sordos profundos y niños oyentes

Se aborda el funcionamiento del lenguaje en el deficiente auditivo precisando el papel del mismo en el contexto del desarrollo cognitivo. A continuacion se analiza el factor inteligencia y la nocion mas especifica de la conservacion de peso. Finalmente se establece un esquema comparativo, basado en datos cuantitativos, entre la utilizacion de la funcion senalada en ninos oyentes y sordos profundos en los primeros estadios de la evolucion infantil.
Fluorination and defluorination of carbon nanotubes: A nanoscale perspective

Abstract In this Letter, scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) was used to study the sidewall fluorination and the reverse process of defluorination of single wall carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) and double wall carbon nanotubes (DWNTs). The same single SWNT was imaged in situ before and after defluorination to show the diameter changes and tube cuttings, and these confirm previously reported statistical shortening of SWNTs. In comparison, the STM image of annealed fluorinated DWNT reveals the inner tube to remain intact while the outer tube is cut. Finally, the ex situ Raman spectroscopy was used to confirm the fluorination and defluorination processes.
Correlation between in vitro antimicrobial susceptibilities and beta-lactamase plasmid contents of isolates of Haemophilus ducreyi from the United States.

We determined the susceptibilities of 94 strains of Haemophilus ducreyi isolated in various municipalities in the United States between 1982 and 1989 to the following antimicrobial agents: amoxicillin-clavulanic acid, ceftriaxone, erythromycin, azithromycin, ciprofloxacin, ofloxacin, trimethoprim, and spectinomycin. Ceftriaxone (MIC, less than or equal to 0.008 micrograms/ml), azithromycin (MIC, less than or equal to 0.125 micrograms/ml), erythromycin (MIC, less than or equal to 0.125 micrograms/ml), ciprofloxacin (MIC, less than or equal to 0.25 micrograms/ml), and ofloxacin (MIC, less than or equal to 0.25 micrograms/ml) were highly active against all isolates. Amoxicillin-clavulanic acid (MICs, 0.25 to 8.0 micrograms/ml), trimethoprim (MICs, 0.06 to 16.0 micrograms/ml), and spectinomycin (MICs, 2.0 to greater than or equal to 32.0 micrograms/ml) were less active against these isolates. Isolates possessing the 5.7-MDa beta-lactamase plasmid were less susceptible to erythromycin, trimethoprim, and spectinomycin than were isolates possessing the 3.2-MDa beta-lactamase plasmid. The susceptibilities of plasmidless isolates to erythromycin, trimethoprim, and spectinomycin were distributed bimodally; the median MIC for the more susceptible plasmidless isolates corresponded to that for isolates with the 3.2-MDa plasmid, and the median MIC for the less susceptible plasmidless isolates corresponded to that for isolates with the 5.7-MDa plasmid. Thus, plasmid profiles may be valuable markers for geographical variations in antimicrobial susceptibilities of H. ducreyi strains that may indicate the relative efficacy of regimens for the treatment of chancroid. Of the regimens recommended by the U.S. Public Health Service for the treatment of chancroid, our results support the use of erythromycin, ceftriaxone, and ciprofloxacin, and perhaps ofloxacin, but suggest that amoxicillin-clavulanic acid and sulfamethoxazole-trimethoprim should be used with caution.
Use of augmented cultural techniques in the diagnosis of the bacterial cause of clinical bovine mastitis.

Abstract Preculture incubation, preculture freezing, and increased plate inoculation volumes were tested in an attempt to increase the recovery rate of pathogens in milk from cases of clinical bovine mastitis. Culture of milk from 291 cases of clinical bovine mastitis was performed using standard milk culture techniques (.01ml of fresh milk streaked on trypticase soy agar plates with 5% sheep blood and .1% esculin). The sensitivity of this method was compared with that of cultures performed using augmented techniques: 4 and 18h of preculture incubation; preculture freezing of samples overnight at −20°C; and increasing the plate inoculation volume to .05 and .1ml for fresh, incubated, and frozen samples. Preculture incubation and larger plate inoculation volumes significantly increased the recovery rate of bacterial pathogens over the standard culture method. The greatest improvement in sensitivity without a concomitant increase in contamination was achieved when samples were incubated for 4h and plates were inoculated with .1ml of the sample. Recovery was enhanced significantly by this method for several organisms, including environmental streptococci and coliform bacteria. Freezing milk before culture yielded a significantly higher positive culture rate overall, but freezing did not affect the positive culture rate of any individual bacterial species.
FT-Raman determination of melamine and melamine cyanurate in nylon

Melamine and melamine cyanurate are often added to nylon to improve both the flame resistance and the mechanical properties of the resin. This is accomplished by extruding a mixture of nylon, melamine, and cyanuric acid. Cyanuric acid is converted to melamine cyanurate by reaction with melamine during the extrusion process. In the product the total additives are typically about 10% by weight.
Nutritional properties of coconut oil

Coconut oil has been one of the most widely used vegetable oils since the agricultural revolution. Only in recent years has there been controversy over the desirability of its uso. Controversy has usually stemmed from observed disturbances of calcium or cholesterol metabolism when hydrogenated coconut oil was fed, frequently with inadequate linoleate supplementation, to experimental animals. Furthermore, in many of the studies involving cholesterol, entirely unphysiological amounts of cholesterol have been included in the diet. It is contended here that the findings in such studies are the consequence of abnormal nutrition rather than inherent defects in coconut oil. Evidence from epidemiological studies of arteriosclerosis in populations consuming large amounts of coconut oil are cited to show that coconut oil in a natural diet is not disadvantageous and may even be of advantage. The high level of medium chain fatty acids in coconut oil is discussed from the point of view that they may contribute to beneficial effects on the part of coconut oil under some abnormal conditions.
Governing Global Democracy

Global Governance, Global Government: Institutional Visions for an Evolving World System. Edited by Luis Cabrera. Albany, NY: State University Press of New York, 2011. 338 pp., $24.26 paperback (ISBN-13: 978-1-438-43590-9). Building Global Democracy? Civil Society and Accountable Global Governance. Edited by Jan Aart Scholte. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2011. 424 pp., $32.39 paperback (ISBN-13: 978-0-524-14055-3). Global Democracy: Normative and Empirical Perspectives. Edited by Daniele Archibugi, Mathias Koenig-Archibugi, Raffaele Marchetti. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2012. 310 pp., $31.49 paperback (ISBN-13: 978-0-521-17498-5). There has been a concerted attempt over the past 20 years to address the emergence of the democratic practices of global institutions. Much of the attention has focused on the problem that global institutions lack the democratic structure of their institutional counterparts at the nation-state level. For the three books under review, such a dearth serves as the basis of a distinctive, yet evolving global dimension of democracy: the link between democratic accountability and new mechanisms to facilitate the coordination of global institutions and nonstate actors. The project of global democracy, in this sense, is a process rooted in not only the transference of sovereignty to the global level, but also the increasing ethical responsibility and novel capacity of global actors to legislate, administer, and enforce public goods (Rosenau 1995; Etzioni 2004; Price 2008; Franceschet 2009). As we shall see, the books under review offer differing yet systematic approaches to understanding and explaining the changing dynamics and unmet challenges of this project. Jan Aaart Scholte's edited volume investigates the accountability of global institutions through the influence and activities of civil society organizations (CSOs). As Scholte states in chapter 1, “the contemporary growth in influence of global governance processes has not been accompanied by a corresponding development of formal accountability mechanisms which link these agencies directly to the publics they affect” (p. 25). One of the central questions guiding this book is, who is accountable to whom and for what? If accountability in global civil society is derived from the consent of states, and not the people affected, then how do we assess the influence of mediating agents/mechanisms in the international and global spheres (Coicaud 2002)? The book addresses these questions by applying four variables—consultation, transparency, evaluation, and correction—to test and evaluate the legitimizing influences of CSOs on …
The morphology and physiology of the invertebrate liver and hepatopancreas

Modifications of the gastro-intestinal tract of Nereis virens are two dorsolateral esophageal cecums, directed anteriorly and posteriorly from the point of attachment. The cecal and esophageal lumina are continuous. Each cecum is composed of acini, possessing a row of elongated cells, basement membrane, and intima. Fibro-elastic tissue is present. The elongated cells contain glycogen and fat. The hepatopancreas of Asterias vulgaris consists of two lobes in each ray, and the numerous acini empty into the bifurcated hepatopancreatic duct which leads into the pyloric stomach. The hepatic cells are columnar and contain glycogen and fat. Pancreatic cells lie in the midregion of the acini. The lobulate liver of Loligo pealii lies on the ventral surface of the duodenum. A capsular membrane envelops the organ. The acini possess basement membrane, columnar cells, and intima; their lumina anastomose, forming a common duct, which leads into the blind sac. The hepatic cells contain fat. The hepatopancreas of Melanoplus femur-rubrum consists of six cecums histologically continuous with the digestive epithelium of the pyloric stomach. Each cecum consists of simple and compound acini which empty into a duct leading to the pyloric stomach. Each acinus possesses basement membrane, columnar hepatic cells, pancreatic cells, and intima. The pancreatic cells occur in islets, usually adjacent to the basement membrane. The hepatic cells contain glycogen and fat.
LEED-AES-TDS characterization of Sb overlayers on GaAs(110)

Abstract The GaAs(110)-Sb system is studied with Auger Electron Spectroscopy, Low Energy Electron Diffraction, Soft X-Ray Photoemission Spectroscopy and Thermal Desorption. Sb evaporated at room temperature forms a continuous film and a sharp interface with the substrate. For a coverage of one monolayer, LEED indicates a well ordered (1 × 1) structure which produces diffracted intensities very different from those measured from the clean substrate. Thermal desorption experiments show the particularly strong bonding between the first Sb monolayer and the substrate, confirming the large chemical stability observed during photoemission experiments. Two types of structures were considered for GaAs(110)-Sb(1 ML). Sb chains extending along the (110) direction, parallel and anti-parallel to the top layer Ga-As chains, and Sb dimers placed above the surface with one Sb bond to the surface Ga. The preliminary LEED analysis favors the later model.
Synchronization of a femtosecond modelocked Ti: sapphire laser to the Stanford SCA/FEL

Abstract We have synchronized a modelocked ultrafast Ti: sapphire laser to the Stanford picosecond free electron laser (FEL) by frequency locking the lasers using a phase lock loop. The jitter between the infrared FEL and the near-ir Ti: sapphire laser has been obtained by optical cross correlation. Synchronization is typically better than 3 ps over periods of hours. We have implemented a drift correction scheme to remove long term temporal drift due to temperature changes during operation.
Looking under the canopy: Rural smallholders and forest recovery in Appalachian Ohio

Abstract Political ecologists and other critical geographers have been steadily chipping away at the tenets of forest transition theory, which equates forest return with economic modernization. The role of rural smallholders in post-industrial forest recovery, however, remains largely unexplored. These local landowners are the focus of this work, which we ground in a case study of Appalachian Ohio, formally a hotbed of both underground coal mining and strip-mining. In this tumultuous landscape of ecological devastation and subsequent recovery, we find an ideal landscape to investigate how marginalized rural smallholders have (or have not) facilitated forest return. We also examine how their roles and visions for the forest are conceptualized and perhaps challenged by outsiders. Drawing primarily from interviews, our research demonstrates that local landowners, contrary to their depiction by many foresters and outside interest groups, are highly engaged, active, shrewd, and organized forest stewards. In many ways, the forests of Appalachian Ohio flourished because of smallholder landowners’ management practices and deliberate efforts to resuscitate what was a post-industrial wasteland mere decades ago. But, now that the forest has reached maturity, the battle over the region’s ecosystems, resources, and future has begun anew.
Chemical synthesis of N-acetylgalactosamine-αI-phosphate 6-O-sulphate, N-acetylchondrosine sulphate and UDP-N-acetylgalactosamine6-O-sulphate

The 6-O-sulphates of 2-acetamido-2-deoxy-α-D-galactose I-phosphate (N-acetylgalactosamine-αI-phoshate), O-(β-D-glucopyranosyluronic acid)-(I→3)-2-acetamido-2-deoxy-D-galactase (N-acetylchondrosine) and UDP-2-acetamido-2-deoxy-α-D-galactose (UDP-N-acetylgalactosamine) were synthesized using triethylamine-N-sulphonic acid as sulphating agent. The products of the reaction were purified by fractionation on ECTEOLA-cellulose and converted to the barium salts by passage through the barium form of a cation-exchange resin. Evidence for the homogeneity of the sulphates was provided by chemical analysis, paper chromatography, electrophoresis, colorimetric assay and infrared spectra. Proof for the position of the sulphate group on the primary hydroxyl of the N-acetylhexosamines was provided by periodate consumption studies and the detection of glycolaldehyde sulphate as an end product of periodate oxidation.
Understanding Forgiveness: Minding and Mining the Gaps Between Pharmacokinetics and Therapeutics

The usual objective during long-term pharmacotherapy is, in large part, to maintain continuity of action of the prescribed drug(s). Continuity of action arises from the continuity of execution of a prescribed dosing regimen that is pharmacologically sound in dose quantity and interval between successive doses. Interruptions in dosing can interrupt drug action, but the consequences vary according to length of interruption, drug, drug formulation, length of the patient's prior exposure to the drug, and the disease being treated.