cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Cooperative hunting behavior, prey selectivity and prey handling by pack ice killer whales (Orcinus orca), type B, in Antarctic Peninsula waters

Currently, there are three recognized ecotypes (or species) of killer whales (Orcinus orca) in Antarctic waters, including type B, a putative prey specialist on seals, which we refer to as “pack ice killer whale” (PI killer whale). During January 2009, we spent a total of 75.4 h observing three different groups of PI killer whales hunting off the western Antarctic Peninsula. Observed prey taken included 16 seals and 1 Antarctic minke whale (Balaenoptera bonaerensis). Weddell seals (Leptonychotes weddellii) were taken almost exclusively (14/15 identified seal kills), despite the fact thattheyrepresentedonly15%of365sealsidentifiedonicefloes;thewhalesentirely avoided taking crabeater seals (Lobodon carcinophaga; 82% relative abundance) and leopard seals (Hydrurga leptonyx; 3%). Of the seals killed, the whales took 12/14 (86%) off ice floes using a cooperative wave-washing behavior; they produced 120 waves during 22 separate attacks and successfully took 12/16 (75%) of the Weddell seals attacked. The mean number of waves produced per successful attack was 4.1 (range 1–10) and the mean attack duration was 30.4 min (range 15–62). Seal remains that we examined from one of the kills provided evidence of meticulous postmortem prey processing perhaps best termed “butchering.”
Real Wage Index Numbers

Real wage index numbers have been used to measure movements in the standard of living of the typical worker. This paper describes some of these indicators for the United States and England. A new real wage index is proposed that resembles the sliding scale used to adjust wages in certain industries years ago. This new index is applied to US manufacturing industry and it implies a fall in real wages by about 40 percent since 1960. Workers' distributional position in US manufacturing has deteriorated considerably.
Reticulocyte-based estimation of red blood cell lifespan

We introduce a new, minimally invasive laboratory technique called reticulocyte-based estimation of lifespan (REBEL) of erythrocytes in humans. Its major advantage over existing techniques is its applicability to patients with both changing and steady-state erythropoiesis status. The feasibility of REBEL was tested in five patients with hemodialysis-dependent end-stage renal disease. The RNA degradation half-life was first determined for each subject on day 1 by flow cytometry measurement of the decay rate of thiazole orange stain. Reticulocyte age distribution was then measured from residual RNA content weekly for 2 months to estimate the RBC production rate time course. Mean RBC lifespan per subject was estimated by fitting the integrated RBC production rate over time to the measured RBC count and optimizing the integration limits. The mean reticulocyte RNA half-life was 0.71 ± 0.11 days. The small coefficient of variation (15.6%) indicated that the degradation rate of RNA did not vary substantially between subjects. The mean RBC lifespan (TRBC = 76.6 ± 23.8 days) was comparable to the reported values for this patient population.
Ultra-compact wavelength division multiplexing devices using silicon photonic wires for on-chip interconnects

Ultra-compact four-channel wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) devices in add/drop filter and multi-mode interferometer configurations were demonstrated on silicon-on-insulator for future on-chip optical interconnects. Both devices show a crosstalk level les-13 dB and a footprint les0.006 mm2.
A CT MASH ΣΔ modulator with adaptive digital tuning for analog circuit imperfections

This paper reports the transistor-level design of a continuous-time 2-1 MASH sigma delta modulator with digital adaptive tuning of the cancellation logic. The modulator is designed for broadband wireless applications and provides 12 bits of resolution for a 10 MHz signal bandwidth. A direct approach to design the CT MASH modulator is used which reduces the coupling between the MASH stages. The problems of excess loop delay and clock jitter are addressed. Excess delay compensation loops are used to overcome the problem of excess loop delay. Multi-bit quantizers with NRZ DACs are used to reduce the effect of clock jitter. It is shown that without calibration, the performance of a CT MASH modulator would be severely degraded due to different analog imperfections such as finite gain and bandwidth of the Opamp, clock jitter and even addition of the excess delay compensation loops. The catastrophic degradation is due to the leakage of lower order noise to the output of the modulator. An adaptive digital tuning of the digital filters is used in this design to regain the performance of the modulator in presence of the above errors. Simulation results show that the modulator provides the required resolution while consuming 20 mW of power from 1.8 V supply voltage.
Endovascular stenting of traumatic extracranial carotid artery dissections in the pediatric population: a case report

Background: Traumatic extracranial carotid artery injuries are rare in children. Treatment options include surgery, anticoagulation therapy and endovascular treatment. There have been only limited reports in the literature documenting endovascular carotid stent placement in the pediatric population. In these reports, stent deployment was utilized in the setting of pseudoaneurysm formation. Case report: Here we report a case of endovascular carotid stenting for traumatic carotid dissection in a 15 year-old boy. An uncovered bare self-expanding stent was used to treat progressive high-grade stenosis in the early post-injury period. Conclusion: At 6 months post-procedure, complete healing of the carotid artery was demonstrated on follow-up angiogram.
Gridline graphs: a review in two dimensions and an extension to higher dimensions

Gridline graphs can be realized in the plane with vertices adjacent whenever they are on a common vertical or horizontal line. We review some applications and characterizations, e.g. they are line graphs of bipartite graphs, and provide practical O(|V|3) algorithms for some classical problems. We extend gridline graphs from the plane to higher dimensions. We characterize these graphs using a vertex coloring of the clique graph that corresponds to the conditions that, in the intersection graph of lines parallel to axes in Rn, any cycle of four lines must remain in two dimensions and any path between two given lines must traverse the same two dimensions.
Adaptive software for head-operated computer controls

Head-operated computer controls provide an alternative means of computer access for people with disabilities who are unable to use a standard mouse. However, a person's disability may limit his or her neck movements as well as upper extremity movements. Software was developed which automatically adjusts the interface sensitivity to the needs of a particular user. This adaptive software was evaluated in two stages. First, 16 novice head-control users with spinal-cord injury or multiple sclerosis used head controls with and without the adaptive software. The adaptive software was associated with increased speed in standardized icon selection exercises (p<0.05). A small increase in accuracy was also observed. In addition, five current head-control users evaluated the software in a real-world setting. One of these five subjects perceived an improvement in comparison to his current head-control system.
High-School Students' Approaches to Solving Algebra Problems that Are Posed Symbolically: Results from an Interview Study.

A cross-curricular structured-probe task-based clinical interview study with 44 pairs of third year high-school mathematics students, most of whom were high achieving, was conducted to investigate their approaches to a variety of algebra problems. This paper presents results from three problems that were posed in symbolic form. Two problems are TIMSS items (a linear inequality and an equation involving square roots). The other problem involves square roots. We found that the majority of student pairs used symbol manipulation when solving the problems, and while many students seemed to prefer symbolic over graphical and tabular representations in their first attempt at solving the problems, we found that it was common for student pairs to use more than one strategy throughout the course of their solving. Students' use of graphing calculators to solve the problems is discussed.
Phylogeny of swallows (Aves: Hirundinidae) estimated from nuclear and mitochondrial DNA sequences.

Abstract The phylogeny of swallows was reconstructed by comparing segments of three genes, nuclear β-fibrinogen intron 7 (βfib7), mitochondrial cytochrome b (cytb), and mitochondrial ND2, in a variety of combinations using maximum likelihood and Bayesian methods. βfib7 was sequenced for 47 species, cytb for 74 species, and ND2 for 61 species to yield comparisons among 75 of the 84 currently recognized swallow species. The family Hirundinidae was confirmed to consist of two clades, Pseudochelidoninae (river martins) and Hirundininae (typical swallows). The Hirundininae is further divided into mud nesters ( Hirundo sensu lato ), core martins ( Phedina , Riparia , and New World endemic genera), and basal relicts ( Psalidoprocne , Cheramoeca , and Pseudhirundo ). We did not resolve the hierarchy among these three hirundinine groups, but discovered many relationships within them. Mud-nesting genera have the following relationships: ( Hirundo sensu stricto , Ptyonoprogne ), ( Delichon , ( Petrochelidon , Cecropis )). Core martins have the following topology: ( Phedina , Riparia cincta ), ( Riparia sensu stricto , Tachycineta , (( Stelgidopteryx , Progne ), (Neotropical endemic genera))). Interspecific relationships among the Neotropical endemics were resolved completely; Atticora and Notiochelidon are paraphyletic, and all Neotropical endemics probably should be lumped into one or two genera. The final group of hirundinines, the basal relicts, consists of a sister pair, the Australian Cheramoeca and African Pseudhirundo . The African saw-wings ( Psalidoprocne ) are their likely sister group.
Attitudes toward Socialized Medicine

(1953). Attitudes toward Socialized Medicine. The Journal of Social Psychology: Vol. 38, No. 2, pp. 273-282.
Tropical Impacts of SST Forcing. A Case Study for 1987 versus 1988

The response of the NASA/Goddard Institute for Space Studies general circulation model (GCM) to large tropical sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies is investigated by evaluating model simulations of the particularly contrasting summer monsoon seasons 1987 and 1988. These years are representative of the warm and cold phases, respectively, of a recent El Nino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) event. An ensemble averaging the results of three simulations was considered for each season, using monthly mean observed SST anomalies for June-August 1987 and 1988 as lower boundary forcing. Consistent with the European Center for Medium Weather Forecast (ECMWF)-analyzed winds, the simulations based on 1988 as compared to 1987 SST exhibit stronger upper-tropospheric irrotational circulation between the monsoon regions and the Southern Hemispheric sub-tropical anticyclones, a stronger Pacific Walker cell and a weaker subtropical westerly jet over the South Pacific. In the same vein, the modeled precipitation, indicating a more northerly position of the Pacific Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) in 1988 compared with 1987, is supported by satellite observations of outgoing longwave radiation and highly reflective clouds.
Saving Chrysler: the use and non-use of accounting information by the US Congress:

In the late 1970s, the US government’s approval of a program of loan guarantees on behalf of the Chrysler Corporation was an unprecedented intervention into the logic of capitalism. The discourse that made this possible involved a large set of sometimes conflicting rationales. Because the proposed intervention was intimately connected to the past and future performance of a single company, accounting information should have been a major element of the decision making. This paper discusses where accounting information was used, where it could have been used better and where it would have no role in this particular historical episode. Whereas accounting could not have been the only form of information involved in this major decision, it could have been used more extensively and more imaginatively. The case points out that when accounting is primarily used as ammunition and rationalisation, individuals do not necessarily want to explore the limits of its usefulness.
Eddy fluxes of CO2, water vapor, and sensible heat over a deciduous forest

Fluxes of CO2, latent heat and sensible heat were measured above a fully-leafed deciduous forest in eastern Tennessee with the eddy correlation technique. These are among the first reported observations over such a surface. The influences of solar radiation, vapor pressure deficit and the aerodynamic and canopy resistances on these mass and energy exchanges are examined. Following a concept introduced by McNaughton and Jarvis (1983), examination of our data suggest that the water vapor exchange of a deciduous forest is not as strongly coupled with net radiation as is that of agricultural crops. The degree of decoupling is smaller than in the case of a coniferous forest. This difference may be attributable in part to the greater aerodynamic resistance to water vapor transfer in a deciduous forest. It appears that the concept of decoupling may be extended to the CO2 exchange of a deciduous forest as well.
Identification of photoproducts liberated by in vitro argon laser irradiation of atherosclerotic plaque, calcified cardiac valves and myocardium

Abstract To determine how laser light effects alterations in cardiovascular tissue, photoproducts liberated as the result of argon laser irradiation of atherosclerotic plaque, myocardium and calcified aortic valve leaflets were analyzed by gas chromatography, gas chromatography-mass spectrometry and absorbance spectroscopy. The products formed in gas phase are those expected when proteins and porphyrins are pyrolyzed—light hydrocarbon fragments, carbon monoxide and water vapor. The laser-generated products dissolved in solution are those expected when a protein chain or porphyrin ring is degraded in a thermal reaction, namely protein fragments and nitrogen heterocyclic ring fragments. These photoproducts are those typical of combustion or thermal degradation, and indicate that the fundamental nature of laser irradiation of coronary plaque, myocardium and calcified valve leaflets is thermal rather than photochemical. Thermal degradation of myocardium is more extensive than thermal degradation of atherosclerotic arteries or calcified valves because the red hue of myoglobin-containing myocardium enhances the absorption of the blue-green argon laser light. In contrast, the yellow-white hue of both atherosclerotic plaque and calcified aortic valve leaflets allows less complete absorbance of the argon laser light, leading to a lesser amount of converted heat and, therefore, less complete thermal degradation.
Relative contributions of crown and phenological traits to growth of a pseudo-backcross pine family ((slash×loblolly)×slash) and its pure species progenitors

One pseudo-backcross [(slash × loblolly) × slash] (BC1) and open-pollinated families of the pure species progenitors were established in a single test in North Central Florida. Multivariate analysis was used to estimate the intra-trait correlation among the taxa, and path analyses were used to determine the relative contributions of crown architectural and phenological traits to first-year height growth. The multivariate analysis indicated that BC1, slash, and loblolly pine have different relationships among the traits studied, suggesting that a separate path analysis was required for each taxon. Path analysis coefficients of determination of the final models were 0.69, 0.73, and 0.65 for the pseudo-backcross, loblolly, and slash pine families, respectively. The ranking of traits by relative magnitude of effect on total growth was, for the pseudo-backcross crown projected area (CPA), fascicle length (FL), number of nodes (NN), number of branches (NB), number of needles per fascicle (NF), and fascicle diameter. For loblolly, this was CPA, NB, FL, NN, NF, initiation, and specific leaf area. For slash, this was CPA, NN, FL, NF, and NB. The study indicated that all crown traits considered in the path analysis had moderate effects on first-year height growth, with the exceptions of the consistently large effect of CPA and the minimal effect of the phenological traits.
DOSA: Design Optimizer for Scientific Applications

In this work, we propose an application composition system (ACS) that allows design-time exploration and automatic run-time optimizations so that we relieve application programmers and compiler writers from the challenging task of optimizing the computation in order to achieve high performance. Our new framework, called "design optimizer for scientific applications" (DOSA), allows the programmer or compiler writer to explore alternative designs and optimize for speed (or power) at design-time and use its run-time optimizer as an automatic ACS. The ACS constructs an efficient application that dynamically adapts to changes in the underlying execution environment based on the kernel model, architecture, system features, available resources, and performance feedback. The run-time system is a portable interface that enables dynamic application optimization by interfacing with the output of DOSA. It thus provides an application composition system that determines suitable components and performs continuous performance optimizations. We focus on utilizing advanced architectural features and memory-centric optimizations that reduce the I/O complexity, cache pollution, and processor-memory traffic, in order to achieve high performance. The design-time effort uses a computer-aided design space exploration that provides a user-friendly graphical modeling environment, high-level performance estimation and profiling, and the ability to integrate low-level simulators suitable for HPC architectures.
Corporate Reporting of Non-Financial Leading Indicators of Economic Performance and Sustainability

The call for disclosure of non-financial information has grown in response to the aware-ness that financial statements omit salient information about the company (Adams et al. 2011). This study follows earlier studies of non-financial disclosures of governance and corporate social responsibility information (Holder-Webb et al. 2008, 2009) and examines the public voluntary disclosure of a set of leading indicators of economic performance and sustainability of earnings provided during 2004 by a sample of 50 publicly traded firms across five industries. The results indicate that, among the sample firms, there remains a lack of rigorous and expansive disclosure of this type of information and that considerable variability exists in disclosure practice based on both industry and size. For example, companies disclose a wide variety of non-financial information both through mandatory filings such as 10-Ks and through alternative sources such as investor promotion materials and company websites, with the most frequent types of disclosures being concerned with information pertaining to market share and innovation. We conclude by discussing the role of this study within recent developments in integrative reporting (Adams et al. 2011) and suggest that perhaps these types of disclosures should be encouraged to receive some assurance services.
Visuoperceptive region atrophy independent of cognitive status in patients with Parkinson’s disease with hallucinations

Visual hallucinations are frequent, disabling complications of advanced Parkinson’s disease, but their neuroanatomical basis is incompletely understood. Previous structural brain magnetic resonance imaging studies suggest volume loss in the mesial temporal lobe and limbic regions in subjects with Parkinson’s disease with visual hallucinations, relative to those without visual hallucinations. However, these studies have not always controlled for the presence of cognitive impairment or dementia, which are common co-morbidities of hallucinations in Parkinson’s disease and whose neuroanatomical substrates may involve mesial temporal lobe and limbic regions. Therefore, we used structural magnetic resonance imaging to examine grey matter atrophy patterns associated with visual hallucinations, comparing Parkinson’s disease hallucinators to Parkinson’s disease non-hallucinators of comparable cognitive function. We studied 50 subjects with Parkinson’s disease: 25 classified as current and chronic visual hallucinators and 25 as non-hallucinators, who were matched for cognitive status (demented or non-demented) and age (±3 years). Subjects underwent (i) clinical evaluations; and (ii) brain MRI scans analysed using whole-brain voxel-based morphometry techniques. Clinically, the Parkinson’s disease hallucinators did not differ in their cognitive classification or performance in any of the five assessed cognitive domains, compared with the non-hallucinators. The Parkinson’s disease groups also did not differ significantly in age, motor severity, medication use or duration of disease. On imaging analyses, the hallucinators, all of whom experienced visual hallucinations, exhibited grey matter atrophy with significant voxel-wise differences in the cuneus, lingual and fusiform gyri, middle occipital lobe, inferior parietal lobule, and also cingulate, paracentral, and precentral gyri, compared with the non-hallucinators. Grey matter atrophy in the hallucinators occurred predominantly in brain regions responsible for processing visuoperceptual information including the ventral ‘what’ and dorsal ‘where’ pathways, which are important in object and facial recognition and identification of spatial locations of objects, respectively. Furthermore, the structural brain changes seen on magnetic resonance imaging occurred independently of cognitive function and age. Our findings suggest that when hallucinators and non-hallucinators are similar in their cognitive performance, the neural networks involving visuoperceptual pathways, rather than the mesial temporal lobe regions, distinctively contribute to the pathophysiology of visual hallucinations and may explain their predominantly visual nature in Parkinson’s disease. Identification of distinct structural MRI differences associated with hallucinations in Parkinson’s disease may permit earlier detection of at-risk patients and ultimately, development of therapies specifically targeting hallucinations and visuoperceptive functions.
Monoamine and neuropeptide-related function: prospects for novel therapeutics of depression.

Treatment of depression has been dominated by monoamine hypotheses for nearly half a century. Although the ultimate downstream targets of manipulation of biogenic amine transport and metabolism are signal transduction cascades, neurotrophic factors and ultimately genomic fine-tuning, much of drug development has remained focused on strategies to facilitate a rapid initial augmentation of synaptic neurotransmitter levels. Both monoaminergic agents that are highly specific in their target receptor stimulation and agents that modify multiple monoamine systems will move through the stages of drug development in coming years. Furthermore, recent landmark successes and initial pilot data indicates that small molecule peptide receptor antagonists for substance P, corticotrophin releasing factor and eventually others will be of increasing importance, since they may more subtlety modulate neurotransmission and only act on already deranged neural circuits. Eventually treatment strategies may begin to target intrace...
Neuromodulator content of hamster intergeniculate leaflet neurons and their projection to the suprachiasmatic nucleus or visual midbrain.

The intergeniculate leaflet (IGL) of the lateral geniculate complex has widespread, bilateral, and reciprocal connections with nuclei in the subcortical visual shell. Its function is poorly understood with respect to its role in visual processing. The most well-known IGL projection, and the only one with a clear function, is the geniculohypothalamic tract (GHT) that terminates in the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN), site of the primary circadian clock. The hamster GHT is derived, in part, from IGL neurons containing neuropeptide Y and enkephalin. IGL neurons containing these peptides also project to the pretectal region. The present studies used a combination of immunohistochemical, lesion, and retrograde tracing techniques to study neuron types in the IGL and their projections to hamster SCN and pretectum. Two additional neuromodulators, gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) and neurotensin, are shown to be present in IGL neurons. The GABA- and neurotensin-immunoreactive neurons project to the SCN with terminal field patterns very similar to those for neuropeptide Y and enkephalin. IGL neurons of all four types also send projections to the pretectum, but rarely do individual cells project to both the SCN and the pretectum. Nearly all neurotensin is colocalized with neuropeptide Y in IGL neurons, although about half of the neuropeptide Y cells do not contain neurotensin. Otherwise, the extent to which the four neuromodulators are colocalized varies from 6% to 54%. Nearly every SCN neuron appears to contain GABA. In the IGL, the majority of cells studied are not identifiable by GABA immunoreactivity. Putative functions of the various neuromodulator projections from the IGL to pretectum or SCN are discussed.
An economic perspective of message-dropping attacks in peer-to-peer overlays

Peer-to-peer networks have many advantageous security properties, including decentralization, natural load-balancing, and data replication. However, one disadvantage of decentralization is its exclusion of any central authority who can detect and evict malicious peers from the network. It is therefore relatively easy to sustain distributed denial-of-service attacks against these networks; malicious peers simply join the network and fail to forward messages. This article shows that peer-to-peer message-dropping attacks can be understood in terms of a well-established category of economic theory: the theory of the second best. In particular, peers who wish to continue service during an attack seek a second best solution to a utility optimization problem. This insight reveals useful connections between economic literature on the second best and computer science literature on peer-to-peer security. To illustrate, we derive and test an economics-inspired modification to the Chord peer-to-peer routing protocol that improves network reliability during message-dropping attacks. Under simulation, networks using the modified protocol achieve a 50% increase in message deliveries for certain realistic attack scenarios.
Mycobacteriophages BPs, Angel and Halo: comparative genomics reveals a novel class of ultra-small mobile genetic elements

Mycobacteriophages BPs, Angel and Halo are closely related viruses isolated from Mycobacterium smegmatis, and possess the smallest known mycobacteriophage genomes, 41,901 bp, 42,289 bp and 41,441 bp, respectively. Comparative genome analysis reveals a novel class of ultra-small mobile genetic elements; BPs and Halo each contain an insertion of the proposed mobile elements MPME1 and MPME2, respectively, at different locations, while Angel contains neither. The close similarity of the genomes provides a comparison of the pre- and post-integration sequences, revealing an unusual 6 bp insertion at one end of the element and no target duplication. Nine additional copies of these mobile elements are identified in a variety of different contexts in other mycobacteriophage genomes. In addition, BPs, Angel and Halo have an unusual lysogeny module in which the repressor and integrase genes are closely linked. The attP site is located within the repressor-coding region, such that prophage formation results in expression of a C-terminally truncated, but active, form of the repressor.
Advanced learning made as easy as ABC: an example using design for fatigue of machine elements subjected to simple and combined loads

Failure of systems and components resulting from fatigue is one of the most challenging and costly designs accomplished by today's industrial companies. However, one of the more difficult concepts to teach in machine component design courses is fatigue analysis of "real world" components. These components come with multiple cyclic loads, each with different stress concentrations, which result in mean and alternating stress states. The student then must select a failure criterion to obtain an equivalent stress that can be used in one of several different fatigue failure theories to predict either a safety factor or an estimated life. Without a heuristic to guide the student, these types of analyses are very difficult. The authors have developed a heuristic which consists of a combination of a concept map and flow charts that give a student not only process but also directions for improvement of the analysis. The heuristic is a visual image that is simple and can be readily reproduced in a basic sketch. The visual quality (simple and striking) of these concept maps/flow charts produces ready access to the understanding which students ultimately develop. Several examples of the heuristic they have developed are presented along with applications to demonstrate their use.
Editorial: why bad things happen to good systems, and what to do about it

Perfection in large software systems is improbable; therefore, it is prudent to enhance security by anticipating failures and preparing for contingencies. We propose an analogy with medicine, supporting curative as well as preventive action. Information technology (IT) security needs to allocate resources to contingency resolution mechanisms that can be used to complement prevention mechanisms. >
The Role of Exposure to Media Violence in the Etiology of Violent Behavior A Criminologist Weighs In

Criminologists have been conspicuously absent from the debate about media violence and aggression. In this article, the author attempts to fill this void by discussing the relationship between exposure to television and film violence and violent behavior in the context of the empirical and theoretical literature on violent crime. Some criticisms of the literature on media violence are offered. The disjuncture between the absence of media violence in the criminological literature and the emphasis on it in other disciplines is also discussed. It is concluded that the empirical literature on media violence and aggression has not established that exposure to media violence causes violent criminal behavior.
Abnormal Hemostatic Profiles and Gastric Necrosis in Canine Gastric Dilatation‐Volvulus

Hemostatic profiles (prothrombin time, activated partial thromboplastin time, fibrinogen concentration, fibrin degradation product concentration, platelet count, and antithrombin III activity) were acquired prospectively in 20 dogs with a diagnosis of gastric dilatation-volvulus. Eighteen dogs had abnormal results of one or more hemostatic test, including eight dogs that had hemostatic profiles consistent with a diagnosis of disseminated intravascular coagulation. During surgery, or at necropsy, the dogs' stomachs were evaluated for gross abnormalities, and lesions were graded subjectively as mild, moderate, or severe. Eight dogs had mild gastric lesions, five had moderate lesions, and seven had severe changes indicating gastric necrosis. Seventy percent (7/10) of the dogs with two to six abnormal hemostatic test results had gastric necrosis, whereas none of the 10 dogs with no or one abnormality had gastric necrosis (p < .001). A multiple linear regression equation, based on fibrin degradation product concentration, activated partial thromboplastin time, and antithrombin III activity was derived to predict gastric necrosis. This equation correctly identified gastric necrosis with 86% sensitivity, 100% specificity, 100% positive predictive value, and 93% negative predictive value.
Analysis of the Amino Terminus of Maize Branching Enzyme II by Polymerase Chain Reaction Random Mutagenesis

Abstract Maize endosperm branching enzyme II (mBEII) plays a pivotal role in determining the quality of starch by catalyzing the synthesis of the α-1,6-branch points. While the central (α/β) 8 -barrel and the C-terminal domains of mBEII have been analyzed previously, the possible role of its amino terminus in catalysis is still poorly understood. Because the amino terminus of mBEII shares very little sequence homology with other amylolytic enzymes, the Met1-Gly276 region of mBEII was randomly mutagenized under error-prone PCR conditions. Subsequent screening by a heterologous complementation system, utilizing an Escherichia coli strain devoid of the endogenous glycogen branching enzyme ( glgB − ), led to the recovery of mBEII mutants with altered iodine-staining patterns and reduced branching enzyme activities. The NR-625 mutant enzyme, which lacks the N-terminal 39 residues of mBEII due to a frameshift mutation introduced during the random mutagenesis, retained more than 70% of the wild-type activity. The chain transfer pattern and substrate preference of the truncated enzyme were almost identical to those of the wild-type mBEII. It appears that the N-terminal 39 residues of mBEII are neither required for catalysis nor involved in chain transfer. On the other hand, the Gln-to-Arg substitution at position 270 of mBEII resulted in the loss of more than 90% of branching activity. The Gln270 of mBEII, located at the beginning of the (α/β) 8 -barrel domain, may be required for maximum enzyme activity.
Barriers to Interracial Marriage? Examining Policy Issues Concerning U.S. Citizens Married to Undocumented Latino/a Immigrants

Interracial marriage in the United States is no longer outlawed, yet for many mixed-status couples (i.e., marriage between citizens and noncitizens), especially those including an undocumented Latino spouse, de facto discrimination is in effect. U.S. immigration policies have inadvertently made it difficult for citizens to love and marry the person of their choosing, all while remaining largely unknown to the public. Using existing literature, this article examines how immigration laws are contrary to the doctrine of marital privacy for mixed-status couples, with a special focus on U.S. citizens married to undocumented immigrants. My aim is to shine a light on how contradictory policies impact mixed-status couples and to trace back the roots of this problem by analyzing historical U.S. immigration policy choices.
gFEX, the ATLAS Calorimeter Level-1 real time processor

The global feature extractor (gFEX) is a component of the Level-1 Calorimeter trigger Phase-I upgrade for the ATLAS experiment. It is intended to identify patterns of energy associated with the hadronic decays of high momentum Higgs, W, & Z bosons, top quarks, and exotic particles in real time at the LHC crossing rate. The single processor board will be packaged in an Advanced Telecommunications Computing Architecture (ATCA) module and implemented as a fast reconfigurable processor based on three Xilinx Vertex Ultra-scale FPGAs. The board will receive coarse-granularity information from all the ATLAS calorimeters on 276 optical fibers with the data transferred at the 40 MHz Large Hadron Collider (LHC) clock frequency. The gFEX will be controlled by a single system-on-chip processor, ZYNQ, that will be used to configure all the processor Field-Programmable Gate Array (FPGAs), monitor board health, and interface to external signals. Now, the Prototype 1 board which includes one ZYNQ and one Vertex-7 FPGA has been designed for testing and verification. After the elementary technologies have been verified in the Prototype 1, a more advanced prototype with three Vertex Ultra-scale FPGAs is being designed. Although the board is being designed specifically for the ATLAS experiment, it is sufficiently generic that it could be used for fast data processing at other high energy physics or nuclear physics experiments.
The Slack Is Gone: How the United States Lost Its Competitive Edge in the World Economy

T mmediately after the Second World War the United States enjoyed a crushing economic advantage because its productive machinery was more modern than anyone else's (and had not been bombed). But by the early 1970s, the forces that would eventually destroy South Chicago were being set in motion around the world. As investment capital became more mobile, companies were freer to shop for locations with lower wages and better "business climates," whether in Tennessee or Taiwan. The oil-price increases engineered by OPEC in 1973, and the resulting inflation, reduced the standard of living for most Americans-but not for workers in the heavy industries, whose unions had negotiated the cost-of-living adjustments known as COLAs. This was a temporary advantage for them and a long term disaster for their industries. During the late 1970s, when chronic inflation eroded the dollar's value in international trade, American goods became artificially attractive to foreign buyers-and American manufacturers were lulled into an artificial sense of security about their ability to compete. They were not prepared to adapt when circumstances changed in the early 1980s and an overvalued dollar drove their foreign customers away.' It is by now no secret that, in recent years, the economic performance of the United States has declined, especially when compared with that of other nations such as Japan. On the other hand, little careful analysis has been done on why this has occurred. Such an analysis is more critical than ever, but before we as a nation can determine how to regain our competitive edge, it is first necessary to understand the factors that shaped the old way of doinig business and why the old paradigm no longer applies. Only then can we look clearly at the new rules and new organizing assumptions that are essential to success in today's environment. In the pages that follow, we will consider the factors that are responsible for the recent economic difficulties of the United States: the evolutionary path of the modern U.S. corporation and the kinds of consumer markets it created to complement its organizational structure; the special kinds of labor-management agreements that evolved as a result; and the role the government assumed in managing the U.S. economy. In addition, the predominant position that until recently the U.S. had commanded in world markets contributed to its failure and, paradoxically, as a result of enormous successes, not failures, in managing the domestic economy, this nation was that much more vulnerable to the various world crises of the mid-1960s and 1970s. Finally, the refusal of Third World countries to play along with the "rules of the game" according to conventional economic theory added to our economic problems. To put it succinctly, the hardships we are currently experiencing are directly traceable to a failure to understand the critical role played by every one of these factors.2
What price success? The continuing saga of the toxic:therapeutic ratio in the use of aminoglycoside antibiotics.

More than a decade has passed since the first observations that the dosing strategies for aminoglycoside administration influenced the development of aminoglycoside toxicity [1]. Why is it, then, that experimental aminoglycoside studies like the two featured in this issue of the Journal merit publication [2, 3]? In the first place, the aminoglycosides, which could have faded in the bright light of newer antimicrobial agents, cling tenaciously to their slot as the premier bactericidal agents [4]. Despite the associated ototoxicity and nephrotoxicity, the requirement for parenteral administration, the development of transferable and nontransferable antibiotic resistance [5], and the need in many infections for combination with other agents, the aminoglycosides remain a keystone of therapy for serious infections [6]. At the Charleston (SC) Veterans Administration Medical Center, with 200 active medical and surgical beds, aminoglycosides still account for onefourth to one-third of all therapy days for parenteral antibiotics. In the six-month period September 1987 to February 1988, an average of 60 patients per month received a therapeutic course of aminoglycosides. An aminoglycoside was used as monotherapy for nearly one-half of all aminoglycoside-therapy days. Such persistence in the use of aminoglycosides derives from the broad range of indications for use, particularly in such nosocomial infections as gramnegative bacteremia, gram-negative pneumonia, endocarditis due to gram-negative bacilli and certain types of staphylococci, severe intra-abdominal and pelvic abscesses, severe soft-tissue infections, some types of gram-negative (e.g., Enterobacter spp. and Citrobacter spp.) meningitis, and infections due to some non-tuberculous mycobacteria. Innovative animal models simulating human infections can test
The specific heats, Cs, and Cv, of compressed and liquefied methane

The specific heats, Cσ , of saturated liquid methane have been measured at 66 temperatures in the temperature range 95-187 K. The specific heats at constant volume, CV , have been measured at 20 densities ranging from 0.8 to 2.8 times the critical density, at temperatures between 91 and 300 K, and at pressures to 330 bar (at 280 PVT states in all). The uncertainty of most of the measurements is estimated to be less than 0.5 percent, except near the critical point. These measurements were performed primarily to provide input data for accurate thermodynamic properties data calculations for liquid methane. They are believed to be the most comprehensive specific heat measurements available for pure compressed gaseous and liquid methane.
Vortex Structures and Span Loadings from Alleviated-Wake Measurements

In an effort to find efficient wing designs that shed non-hazardous vortex wakes, an analysis is made of data taken in the wakes of three configurations of a subsonic transport. The study begins with the observation that alleviated-wake configurations often shed vortex wakes that induce about the same rolling-moment coefficient on following aircraft of all sizes. In order to determine the span loadings that correspond to these downstream vortex wakes, the analysis first finds the vortex structures that make up the measured downwash distributions. An inverse Betz method is then used to derive the corresponding span loadings. Analysis of these span loadings, and consideration of the induced drag and the energy in various wakes, yields information on some of the characteristics and penalties associated with the design of wings for less hazardous wakes. It is recommended that tools be developed for an optimization process that includes drag, wing-root bending moment, weight, complexity, etc. and the design of vertical and horizontal lifting surface for vortex wakes that have an acceptable hazard. Nomenclature
The Vitamins and Minerals: A Functional Approach

Vitamins and minerals are essential micronutrients required throughout all stages of the life span. Vitamins are organic compounds required by the body for numerous metabolic reactions in small amounts (microgram or milligram quantities). Minerals are inorganic compounds; major minerals are found in the body in quantities greater than 5 g; trace minerals are found in amounts less than 5 g. Neither vitamins nor minerals supply calories to the diet. Abnormally high intakes of one or more vitamins or minerals may adversely affect the absorption and balance of other vitamins and minerals.
Effect of a cancer chemotherapy prescription form on prescription completeness

Completeness of physicians' orders for cancer chemotherapy was compared before and after implementation of a preprinted form for these orders. When an oncology pharmacy service (OPS) in which pharmacy prepared all drugs for cancer chemotherapy was implemented in 1985 at an 879-bed teaching hospital, the pharmacists began educational sessions for house-staff physicians on writing orders for cancer chemotherapy. Pharmacists assessed the effectiveness of these sessions by comparing completeness of orders written before implementation of the OPS with orders during a four-week period starting two months after implementation. Orders were checked for nine components: patient's diagnosis, height, weight, and body surface area and drug regimen, dose, dosage, frequency, and route. Inclusion of the same components was assessed after implementation of a form that physicians were required to use for prescribing all antineoplastic agents. During the baseline period, orders for 143 patients were evaluated. Only two prescription components, dose and route, were present is more than 90% of the orders. Educational intervention led to some improvement in order completeness, but only dose and route appeared in at least 90% of the 87 orders evaluated. The components necessary to verify physicians' calculations for body surface area and dose--height, weight, and dosage--were absent in 29 of the orders, and a pharmacist spent 420 minutes clarifying them. After the order form was implemented, orders for 77 patients were reviewed. Compliance exceeded 90% for eight of the nine components, and 12 medication errors were prevented by the form. A pharmacist spent 70 minutes clarifying five orders.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Risk for emerging bipolar disorder, variants, and symptoms in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, now grown up

Risk for emerging bipolar disorder, variants, and symptoms in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, now grown up
Kidney Biopsy: Analysis of Patient Data and Indications for Kidney Biopsies

Abstract To evaluate the use of the facilities of a teaching renal unit patient data during the last 33 months were studied. A total of 534 patients received evaluation, treatment and followup, of whom 71 were biopsied. The pattern of referrals, the major categories of renal diseases and the results of the kidney biopsies were examined to offer the urologist a profile of a new clinic and some guide lines concerning referrals for kidney biopsies.
Pathways to Meteoritic Glycine and Methylamine

Glycine and methylamine are meteoritic water-soluble organic compounds that provide insights into the processes that occurred before, during, and after the formation of the Solar System. Both glycine and methylamine and many of their potential synthetic precursors have been studied in astrophysical environments via observations, laboratory experiments, and modeling. Despite these studies, the synthetic mechanisms for their formation leading to their occurrence in meteorites remain poorly understood. Typical 13C-isotopic values (δ13C) of meteoritic glycine and methylamine are 13C-enriched relative to their terrestrial counterparts; thus, analyses of their stable carbon isotopic compositions (13C/12C) may be used not only to assess terrestrial contamination in meteorites but also to provide information about their synthetic routes inside the parent body. Here, we examine potential synthetic routes of glycine and methylamine from a common set of precursors present in carbonaceous chondrite meteorites, using ...
Vancomycin in the Kidney-A Novel Cast Nephropathy.

Ever since its discovery >60 years ago, the glycopeptide antibiotic vancomycin has been a first-line drug therapy for gram-positive bacterial infections. Initial reports of AKI with vancomycin were attributed to impurities in the original formulation (Mississippi mud) that have since been largely
Family Law for the Future: An Introduction to Merle H. Weiner's A Parent-Partner Status for American Family Law (Cambridge University Press 2015)

This article summarizes some of the arguments in the author's book, A Parent-Partner Status for American Family Law.