cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Incidence and Risk Factors for 30-Day Readmission in Patients Undergoing Nephrectomy Procedures: A Contemporary Analysis of 5276 Cases From the National Surgical Quality Improvement Program Database

Objective To explore factors associated with readmission after nephrectomy procedures using a large national database. Materials and Methods A national surgical outcomes database, the American College of Surgeon–National Surgical Quality Improvement Program registry, was queried for data on all patients undergoing open partial nephrectomy (OPN), minimally invasive (laparoscopic + robotic) partial nephrectomy (MIPN), and minimally invasive radical nephrectomy (MIRN) in 2011 and 2012. Patients undergoing these procedures were identified using the Current Procedural Terminology codes. The primary outcome was unplanned 30-day hospital readmission. A multivariate logistic regression model was constructed to assess for factors independently associated with the primary outcome. Results Overall, 5276 cases were identified and included in the analysis: 1411 OPN (26.7%), 2210 MIPN (41.8%), and 1655 MIRN (31.3%). Overall, the 30-day readmission rate was 5.9% (7.8% for OPN, 4.5% for MIPN, and 6.1% for MIRN). On multivariate analysis, the odds for 30-day readmission for MIPN was approximately 70% that of OPN (P = .012). The odds for 30-day readmission for 2012 was about 80% of that of 2011 (P <.001). History of steroid use and of bleeding disorder and occurrence of postoperative transfusion increase the odds of readmission by approximately 2 (P = .005, P = .038, and P <.001, respectively). A postoperative urinary infection increased the odds of readmission by 5.5 (P <.001). Conclusion Contemporary 30-day readmission rates after nephrectomy procedures are influenced by specific patients' characteristics as well as postoperative adverse events. Moreover, contemporary MIPN seems to carry lower odds of readmission than OPN. It remains to be determined to what extent these findings are influenced by the expanding role of robotic technology.
PARAVEINAL MESOPHYLL IN CALLIANDRA TWEEDII AND C. EMARGINATA (LEGUMINOSAE; MIMOSOIDEAE).

Paraveinal mesophyll (PVM) in Leguminosae, subfamily Mimosoideae, was first reported in 1894 but never described in detail before now. We cleared, and sectioned in resin, leaflets of Calliandra tweedii and C. emarginata (Tribe Ingeae). Lamina anatomy in both species is very similar: one palisade layer, two to three spongy layers, and the horizontal veinal network with its interconnected PVM in between. PVM is a unistratose cellular lacework extending between veins and attached medianly along each flank of all veins. PVM cells have a normal complement of typical chloroplasts similar to other mesophyll cells. Most veins are ensheathed by fibers except for an extended lateral slit along each flank where the PVM is attached; a parenchymatous bundle sheath is therefore lacking. All vein endings lack phloem, although the tracheary elements of some vein endings are flanked by one or two long, slender, seemingly undifferentiated cells. Occasional small gaps occur between the PVM cell wall and adjacent tracheary elements, which expose xylem directly to mesophyll intercellular space. PVM anatomy of Calliandra, including its physical relationship to the various vein orders, differs in some important respects from PVM of the few other leguminous and nonleguminous species studied anatomically in any detail.
Differential cellulolytic activity of native-form and C-terminal tagged-form cellulase derived from Coptotermes formosanus and expressed in E. coli.

An endogenous cellulase gene (CfEG3a) of Coptotermes formosanus, an economically important pest termite, was cloned and overexpressed in both native form (nCfEG) and C-terminal His-tagged form (tCfEG) in Escherichia coli. Both forms of recombinant cellulases showed hydrolytic activity on cellulosic substrates. The nCfEG was more active and stable than tCfEG even though the latter could be purified to near homogeneity with a simple procedure. The differential activities of nCfEG and tCfEG were also evidenced by hydrolytic products they produced on different substrates. On CMC, both acted as an endoglucanase, randomly hydrolyzing internal β-1,4-glycosidic bonds and resulting in a smear of polymers with different lengths, although cellobiose, cellotriose, and cellotetraose equivalents were noticeable. The hydrolytic products of tCfEG were one unit sugar less than those produced by nCfEG. Using filter paper as substrate, however, the major hydrolytic products of nCfEG were cellobiose, cellotriose and trace of glucose; those of tCfEG were cellobiose, cellotriose and trace of cellotetraose, indicating a property similar to that of cellobiohydrolase, an exoglucanase. The results presented in this report uncovered the biochemical properties of the recombinant cellulase derived from the intact gene of Formosan subterranean termites. The recombinant cellulase would be useful in designing cellulase-inhibiting termiticides and incorporating into a sugar-based biofuel production program.
Influence of thermal conductivity on interface shape during bridgman growth

Abstract Finite element analysis was used to calculate the solid-liquid interface shape during Bridgman growth. Comparisons with experimental observations on CdGeAs 2 showed generally good agreement. Calculations of the effect of moving the interface in a steep temperature gradient showed that the interface shape may change rapidly with position. The effects of anisotropic thermal conductivity in the solid are examined.
Quality Control in the Yeast Secretory Pathway A MISFOLDED PMA1 H+-ATPase REVEALS TWO CHECKPOINTS

The yeast plasma-membrane H+-ATPase, encoded by PMA1, is delivered to the cell surface via the secretory pathway and has recently emerged as an excellent system for identifying quality control mechanisms along the pathway. In the present study, we have tracked the biogenesis of Pma1-G381A, a misfolded mutant form of the H+-ATPase. Although this mutant ATPase is arrested transiently in the peripheral endoplasmic reticulum, it does not become a substrate for endoplasmic reticulum-associated degradation nor does it appear to stimulate an unfolded protein response. Instead, Pma1-G381A accumulates in Kar2p-containing vesicular-tubular clusters that resemble those previously described in mammalian cells. Like their mammalian counterparts, the yeast vesicular-tubular clusters may correspond to specific exit ports from the endoplasmic reticulum, since Pma1-G381A eventually escapes from them (still in a misfolded, trypsin-sensitive form) to reach the plasma membrane. By comparison with wild-type ATPase, Pma1-G381A spends a short half-life at the plasma membrane before being removed and sent to the vacuole for degradation in a process that requires both End4p and Pep4p. Finally, in a separate set of experiments, Pma1-G381A was found to impose its phenotype on co-expressed wild-type ATPase, transiently retarding the wild-type protein in the ER and later stimulating its degradation in the vacuole. Both effects serve to lower the steady-state amount of wild-type ATPase in the plasma membrane and, thus, can explain the co-dominant genetic behavior of the G381A mutation. Taken together, the results of this study establish Pma1-G381A as a useful new probe for the yeast secretory system.
Expression and Function of TNF and IL-1 Receptors on Human Regulatory T Cells

Regulatory T cells (Tregs) suppress immune activation and are critical in preventing autoimmune diseases. While the ability of Tregs to inhibit proliferation of other T cells is well established, it is not yet clear whether Tregs also modulate inflammatory cytokines during an immune response. Here, we show that the expression of inflammatory cytokine receptors IL-1R1 and TNFR2 were higher on resting mature Tregs compared to naive or memory T cells. While upon activation through the T cell receptor (TCR), expression of IL-1R1 and TNFR2 were upregulated on all T cell subsets, IL-1R1 maintained significantly higher expression on activated Tregs as compared to other T cell subsets. The decoy receptor for IL-1 (IL-1R2) was not expressed by any of the resting T cells but was rapidly upregulated and preferentially expressed upon TCR-stimulation on Tregs. In addition, we found that Tregs also expressed high levels of mRNA for IL-1 antagonist, IL-1RA. TCR-stimulation of naive T cells in the presence of TGFβ, which induces FOXP3 expression, however did not result in upregulation of IL-1R1 or IL-1R2. In addition, ectopic expression of FOXP3 in non-Tregs, while causing significant upregulation of IL-1R1 and IL-1R2, did not achieve the levels seen in bona fide Tregs. We also determined that resting human Tregs expressing IL-1R1 did not have higher suppressive capacity compared to IL-1R1- Tregs, suggesting that IL-1R1 does not discriminate suppressive resting Tregs in healthy individuals. Functionally, activated human Tregs displayed a capacity to neutralize IL-1β, which suggests a physiological significance for the expression of IL-1 decoy receptor on Tregs. In conclusion, our findings that human Tregs preferentially express receptors for TNF and IL-1 suggest a potential function in sensing and dampening local inflammation.
Accuracy of Electronically-Captured Diagnosis Data: Effects of Different Measures of Matching between an Encounter Form-Derived Database and the Medical Record

Accuracy of Electronically-Captured Diagnosis Data: Effects of Different Measures of Matching between an Encounter Form-Derived Database and the Medical Record
Holographic Optics For Space Laser Communications

In this paper we examine the utility of holographic optics for their use as collection, pointing and filtering elements in a space-based optical communications system architecture. In the first section, we examine the possible applications and requirements for satellite lasercom pointing, acquisition and tracking subsystems. These requirements reflect the multifarious and dynamic aspects of a network architecture such as SDI. Next we examine some of the unique performance aspects of holographic elements and how they enhance network performance. We then analyze the element performance based on the features of the hologram. We evaluate the technologies and materials currently employed in the fabrication of holograms and discuss the capabilities and limitations of this technique to meet space-based requirements. We outline in the conclusions the potential enhancements to laser communications offered through the use of holograms, and recommend further work to extend their feasibility.
Cellular expression of the beige mouse mutation and its correction in hybrids with control human fibroblasts.

Fibroblasts from a beige mouse (C57BL/6J;bgJ bgJ) have been established and maintained in culture for more than 3 yr. At early passages, the mutant cells were distinguishable from C57BL/6J control mouse fibroblasts at the ultrastructural level by the presence of enlarged cytoplasmic granules. After continuous passaging, this distinguishing feature was lost from the mutant cells, correlated with their increased growth rate. Clustered, perinuclear distribution of lysosomes was retained, however, and was quantitatively different at any passage number of the beige cell line from the dispersed distribution of these organelles in control mouse fibroblasts, as analyzed by computer-aided, video-enhanced light microscopy. In somatic cell hybrids between the established beige cell line and a control human diploid fibroblast cell strain, seven uncorrected hybrid lines retained a lysosomal dispersion pattern statistically indistinguishable from that of the beige mouse cell lines. Three corrected hybrid lines had lysosomal dispersion patterns that were significantly different from the beige parent line and indistinguishable from that of the control mouse fibroblast line. Thus, lysosomal dispersion can be used objectively and quantitatively to distinguish mutant beige and control mouse fibroblasts and corrected vs. uncorrected cell hybrids made from the beige/control human somatic cell crosses.
Elastic, inelastic, and path length fluctuations in jet tomography

Abstract Jet quenching theory using perturbative QCD is extended to include (1) elastic as well as (2) inelastic parton energy losses and (3) jet path length fluctuations. The extended theory is applied to non-photonic single electron production in central Au + Au collisions at s = 200 A GeV . The three effects combine to significantly reduce the discrepancy between theory and current data without violating the global entropy bounds from multiplicity and elliptic flow data. We also check for consistency with the pion suppression data out to 20 GeV. Fluctuations of the jet path lengths in realistic geometry and the difference between the widths of fluctuations of elastic and inelastic energy loss are essential to take into account.
Spherical impression of thin elastic films on elastic–plastic substrates

The mechanical behavior of thin elastic films deposited onto structural alloys plays a critical role in determining film durability. This paper presents analysis of an impression experiment designed to evaluate some of the relevant properties of these films. The modeling provides quantitative strain information which can be used to estimate the fracture toughness of the film, the static friction coefficient of the surface and the constitutive behavior of the substrate. Results are presented for radial and circumferential strain distributions in the film relevant to the interpretation of cracking patterns. Additionally, load-displacement curves are provided that may be used to evaluate the plastic properties of the substrate. To facilitate estimates of the film cracking strain through correlation with experiments, the radial strain distributions are presented as functions of impression depth, yield strain and hardening exponent.
Communication-Based Motion Planning

The conventional philosophy in designing mobile networks is that network node movement should be independent of network state. However, there are practical situations where movement decisions may be modified to ensure connectivity. For example, emergency responders in a crisis region relying upon an ad hoc network may need constant reliable communications and therefore adjust their search plan to stay connected, though aspects of their mission may override their objective of staying connected. We present a discrete formulation for this problem and a method for solving it optimally. We propose a cooperative and a noncooperative algorithm, showing that the run-time of the latter is drastically more efficient with a minimal performance cost relative to optimality.
Acute effects of captopril on cardiopulmonary hemodynamics and renin-angiotensin-aldosterone and bradykinin profile in hypertension

Hemodynamic variables were measured and plasma renin activity (PRA), angiotensin II (AII), aldosterone, and bradykinin assays performed in 21 hypertensive men on regular diet and thiazide diuretics before and 60 to 90 minutes after 25 mg oral captopril. Heart rate, right and left ventricular filling pressures, mean cardiac index (CI), and pulmonary vascular resistance (PVR) remained unchanged. The mean intra-arterial pressure (MAP) fell from 140 +/- 5 to 116 +/- 6 mm Hg (p less than 0.001) correlating with reduction of systemic vascular resistance (SVR) (r = 0.87, p less than 0.001), control PRA (r = 0.59, p less than 0.01), and All levels (r = 0.72, p less than 0.005) but not with control bradykinin or its postcaptopril rise (p less than 0.01). The fall in SVR correlated with reduction in plasma All (r = 0.80, p less than 0.001) and aldosterone concentrations (r = 0.53, p less than 0.05). Of four patients (19%) with precipitous fall in MAP after captopril, three needed volume expansion for circulatory support. We conclude: (1) All reduction by captpril and not bradykinin potentiation explains most of the agent's hemodynamic response in hypertensive circulation, (2) endogenous All may have a supportive role for SVR and possibly for CI but not for PVR, and (3) extra precaution is warranted while captopril is being started in patients taking diuretics.
Effects of Preslaughter Exercise, Electrical Stimulation, Type of Packaging Tray, Display Temperature, and Time on Acceptance and Shelflife of Beef Steaks

Eight steers, of which four were exercised prior to slaughter, were slaughtered and one side of each carcass electrically stimulated (ES). Steaks from combined wingrib and sirloin were packaged in two types of plastic foam trays, overwrapped with PVC and displayed in refrigerated display cabinets either at 0°C or 5°C meat surface temperature. Display temperature and period of display significantly influenced shelflife and overall appearance of steaks. ES enhanced tenderness and improved muscle color but caused more weight loss during display when compared with steaks from unstimulated carcasses. All factors investigated had a significant influence on percentage weight loss during display while stress and tray depth also negatively influenced cooking weight loss encountered during cooking.
Synthesis of application-level utility functions for autonomic self-assessment

We present an approach to self-assessment for Autonomic Computing, based on the synthesis of utility functions, at the level of an autonomic application, or even a single task or feature performed by that application. This paper describes the fundamental steps of our approach: instrumentation of the application; collection of exhaustive samples of runtime data about relevant quality attributes of the application, as well as characteristics of its runtime environment; synthesis of a utility function through statistical correlation over the collected data points; and embedding of code corresponding to the equation of the synthesized utility function within the application, which enables the computation of utility values at run time. We describe a number of case studies, with their results and implications, to motivate and discuss the significance of application-level utility, illustrate our statistical synthesis method, and present our framework for instrumentation, monitoring, and utility function embedding/evaluation.
Dental caries in permanent first molars after eight years of fluoridation

Abstract After 8 years use of a fluoridated water: 1. (a) Children aged 5–8 years, with use of a fluoridated water from birth, apparently exhibit the ultimate degree of inhibition. Numbers of DMF first molar teeth and surfaces were about two-thirds lower than in children of the same ages at the beginnings of fluoridation. Of the restorations still required by this group, about nineteen out of twenty were pit-and-fissure fillings. Their teeth continue to decay at rates about three-quarters less than those observed in children of these ages before fluoridation was begun. 2. (b) There was a considerable inhibition of first molar caries in children aged 9–11 years, with first use of a fluoridated community water during the calcification period. They exhibited about 40 per cent fewer DMF first molar teeth, and about 49 per cent fewer DMF first molar tooth surfaces, than children of the same ages at the outset of fluoridation. 3. (c) Children aged 12–14 years, with first fluoride exposure after calcification but prior to eruption of the permanent first molars, showed about the same caries experience in pit and fissure areas as children of the same ages before fluoridation, but caries in smooth surface areas was less by about 31 per cent. 4. (d) No inhibition could be demonstrated in the small group of children aged 15 years. Most of their first molars were in eruption and at risk of caries before fluoridation of the community water.
Salmonella Aortitis Treated with Endovascular Aortic Repair

Salmonella aortitis is a known complication of Salmonella infection that usually requires surgical therapy. It is unknown whether endovascular aortic repair (EVAR) is an acceptable alternative to conventional aortic surgery for patients with Salmonella aortitis who are at high risk for perioperative complications. We therefore report 2 cases of Salmonella aortitis treated with EVAR and review the literature to further characterize previously published cases.
The line-tension effect in heterogeneous nucleation

Abstract The theory of heterogeneous vapor-solid nucleation is reformulated to include the line-tension contribution to the free energy of formation of a nucleus. The nucleation theory used is based on the Pound description which employs a cap-shaped model of the critical nucleus. The line-tension effect has been shown to increase the contact angle for small crystals above that of the macroscopic contact angle that would obtain between the phases considered. The role of the contact angle in achieving solutions to the nucleation rate equation is considered in detail. It is shown that in the absence of line-tension there exists one and only one physically real contact angle that satisfies the nucleation equation. However, the nucleation rate equation becomes multivalued in respect to its dependence on contact angle if the line-tension effect is considered. The resultant contact angle derived from the nucleation data need not be the macroscopic contact angle. A general method is derived for plotting nucleation data in which three nucleation effects may be readily distinguished: (1) a mechanism involving direct addition of atoms from the vapor to the critical nucleus, (2) a mechanism involving addition of atoms to the critical nucleus via surface diffusion on the substrate, and (3) the occurrence of the line-tension effect in heterogeneous nucleation. These predictions are compared with data available in the literature. The Zeldovich factor which depends very strongly on contact angle for values less than 60° is found to not affect the conclusions.
The Totally Subcutaneous Implantable Defibrillator

The subcutaneous implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (S-ICD) is a new therapeutic option for patients at risk of sudden cardiac arrest. The device uses a pulse generator implanted in the lateral thoracic region and a tunneled subcutaneous electrode. Benefits of this configuration include the preservation of venous access and reduction in the risk of systemic infection, vascular injury, and lead failure. Clinical trials suggest that the device effectively senses, discriminates, and converts both spontaneous and induced ventricular tachycardia and ventricular fibrillation episodes with minimal complications. The S-ICD represents a novel implantable cardioverter-defibrillator configuration that may provide reliably effective therapy for malignant tachyarrhythmias.
On the asymmetry of frog retinal rod outer segment disk membranes.

Abstract Freeze-fracture studies on intact frog rod outer segments have been carried out using a device designed to minimize surface contamination and inadvertent specimen etching. When fractured and shadowed at −170°C, each double-membrane disk gives rise to two membrane fracture faces. In replicas with particularly favorable directions of heavy metal deposition, it is possible to infer the axial spacings between the membrane fracture faces by analyzing the widths of the oblique fracture jumps. The distance of each membrane fracture plane from the center of the disk can then be determined from these axial spacings and the structural centrosymmetry of the disk. Our analysis indicates that each membrane fracture plane is located at a distance of ∼47 A from the coordinate origin at the center of the disk. This coordinate corresponds in position to the electron density minimum of the membrane. Our results therefore support the original hypothesis by Clark and Branton (1968) that disk membranes fracture along some interior hydrophobic plane, presumably the region of terminal methyl groups at the center of the lipid bilayer. Fracture face A is characterized by a rough, particulate appearance, and represents the hydrophobic face of that half of the disk membrane adjacent to the cytoplasmic matrix. Face B is smooth, and represents the hydrophobic face of that half of the membrane adjacent to the intradisk compartment. When these membrane fracture faces are compared with the characteristic textures observed in pure lipid bilayers and in rhodopsin-lipid recombinant membranes, it appears that in frozen disk membranes rhodopsin is restricted to the cytoplasmic half of the membrane. The smooth B face has the appearance of a lipid monolayer. Although the A face particles have a rather low surface relief, it is still possible to estimate their apparent size and shape. These particles are roughly circular; the range of diameters is about 120–140 A, when measured in the projected direction of heavy metal shadowing. Optical diffraction patterns of the A face show broad intensity bands centered at ± ( ∼ 1 130 A ). When examining the published equatorial X-ray diffraction data from frog outer segments, it is apparent that there is no broad band of intensity within the interval ( 1 150 A ) to ( 1 70 A ), corresponding to the optical diffraction data. Accordingly, it must be postulated that at physiological temperatures, the distribution of matter within the plane of the disk membrane does not correspond to the distribution evident in the A fracture face. Hence, the A face particles appear to represent artifactual, derivative phenomena. An explanation in terms of lateral phase separations of disk membrane components is developed. The consequences of such an hypothesis for the etching behavior of the B face are derived in the context of those parameters which are known to affect the passage of water molecules across lipid monolayers.
Mycoplasmal Induction of Cytokine Production and Major Histocompatibility Complex Expression

The mycoplasmas are a diverse set of bacteria that, in the course of their interactions with cells of the immune system, have a wide range of immunomodulatory effects. These effects include polyclonal stimulation of proliferation of T and B lymphocytes; activation of cytolytic activity of macrophages, natural killer cells, and cytotoxic T cells; and stimulation of production of cytokines (interleukin [IL]-1, IL-2, IL-4, IL-6, interferon [IFN]-α, IFN-β, IFN-γ, tumor necrosis factor-α, and granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor [GM-CSF]) by immunocompetent cells
Novel, unifying mechanism for amphotericin B and other polyene drugs: electron affinity, radicals, electron transfer, autoxidation, toxicity, and antifungal action.

Amphotericin B is the most important member of the macrolide polyene antibiotics. There has been recent focus on mode of action involving membrane ion channels. The present report provides extensive evidence based on literature reports and computational studies on electron affinity for a multifaceted approach to therapeutic action and drug toxicity. Aspects involved include electron affinity, electron transfer, reactive oxygen species and oxidative stress in relation to mechanisms of drug action and toxicity. Other features addressed are autoxidation, metabolism, therapeutic properties (mainly antifungal), pro-oxidant action, antioxidant properties and analogy to conjugated dicarbonyls.
The planetary boundary layer of the deep western boundary undercurrent

Abstract Current meter observations of the deep western boundary undercurrent of the North Atlantic at 4800 m show a near-bottom turning and speed defect characteristic of a planetary boundary layer.
Erratum to “Heterogeneous chemistry of individual mineral dust particles from different dust source regions: the importance of particle mineralogy”: [Atmos. Environ. 38 (36) (2004) 6253–6261]

The publisher regrets that there was an error in the information in Table 1 incorrectly identifies the mineral dust and their corresponding composition. The corrected table is given below. In addition, the second full sentence below the table should read “Smaller amounts ≤1% of other elements such as V and Ti were also observed but are not listed in Table 1 and is the reason why the percentages do not total to 100 in Table 1.” In the original article it states that K was not included in Table 1 but clearly it is.
Drought and the Government-Village Emergency Food Distribution System in India

Government assistance programs are now a major source of subsistence for many Indian villagers. The level of government consumption subsidies required by villages and the government's actual capacity to deliver these subsidies are matters best seen in the case of emergency relief provided in response to droughts. This paper attempts an assessment of the government-village food distribution system as a guarantor of individual subsistence security in drought emergency situations in terms of four issues. These include the extent of institutionalized food sharing traditionally taking place within and between village households during a famine; the survival of traditional food sharing patterns into the era of modern Indian history; the responsibility devolving on agencies of government as far as taking over or supplementing the village food management system during a crisis; and the complementarity of emergency assistance and development planning.
Lengthening the greater saphenous vein with the use of the lateral femoral cutaneous vein

Besides quality, the length of the greater saphenous vein dictates the feasibility of vein bypass grafts in femorodistal popliteal or tibial revascularization. A simple and effective technique of lengthening the greater saphenous vein is described that allows the use of the laterofemoral cutaneous vein in continuity. This technique can be applied when the distal segment of the greater saphenous vein is inadequate or unavailable.
Recruiting and Retaining Students in Family and Consumer Sciences Education: El Puente Para El Futuro (The Bridge to the Future) Mentoring Project

El Puente Para El Futuro (The Bridge to the Future) mentoring project was undertaken to meet the need for family and consumer sciences (FCS) teachers. The centerpiece of the project was one-on-one mentoring relationships between family and consumer sciences education (FCSE) mentor students from New Mexico State University and mentee students from the Education Program at Dona Ana Branch Community College. During fall 2003, the researchers developed curricula, recruitment materials, and assessment instruments. Seven mentor-mentee pairs completed the project during spring 2004. The researchers planned monthly structured events, and each mentor-mentee pair arranged for unstructured events. Valid and reliable cognitive and affective assessments were administered to participants at the beginning and end of the project. Mentees had significant increases in both cognitive and affective mean scores regarding teaching FCS. This mentoring model is recommended to FCSE educators and others working in recruitment settings.
Descartes on God's relation to time

God and time play crucial, intricately related roles in Descartes' project of grounding mathematical physics on metaphysical first principles. This naturally raises the perennial theological question of God's precise relation to time. I argue, against the strong current of recent commentary, that Descartes' God is fully temporal. This means that God's duration is successive, with parts ordered ‘before and after’, rather than permanent or ‘all at once’. My argument will underscore the seamless connection between Descartes' theology and his physics, and the degree to which he was prepared to depart from orthodoxy in the former in order to secure an a priori foundation for the latter. As Newton would later do, Descartes freed time from its traditional dependence on bodily motion and so removed an important barrier to making God temporal. Acting in time, God makes the physical world intelligible in a way He could not were He timeless.
Experimental observations of the dependence of impedance tube behavior upon gas phase losses and propellant self-noise☆

Abstract Some of the unexpected behavior observed during admittance measurement of burning solid propellants in a modified impedance tube set-up is discussed. Specifically, repeated tests conducted with the same solid propellant resulted, unexpectedly, in different standing wave structures in the impedance tube when the exhaust configuration was changed. This resulted in the calculation of different admittances at the propellant surface. It is shown in this paper that the observed experimental trends can be explained when the presence of gas phase damping and a propellant self-noise are taken into consideration in the development of a simplified analytical model describing the behavior of the impedance tube.
Ebstein's anomaly presenting in adulthood: the role of cine magnetic resonance imaging in diagnosis.

Three adult patients with late presentation of Ebstein's anomaly were studied using MRI, including cine MIR. Spin-echo MRI demonstrated a large right atrium in each case and suggested an abnormal tricuspid valve in two. Systolic signal loss, on cine MRI, deep within the right ventricular cavity correctly indicated the presence of an abnormally positioned and incompetent tricuspid valve, and the diagnosis of Ebstein's anomaly in each patient. Selective presaturation MRI demonstrated an associated atrial septal defect in one patient. The diagnosis was confirmed by echocardiography in each case and cardiac catheterization with contrast angiography in one case. Cine MRI clearly demonstrates abnormal tricuspid valve morphology and function in Ebstein's anomaly and is a useful technique when other imaging is unclear.
The Good-Mother Stereotype: Stay at Home (or Wish That You Did!)

This study extends prior research on the good-mother stereotype by examining the influence of mothers’ role satisfaction on perceptions. Students read a brief description of a mother and rated her commitment to motherhood and communality. As predicted, the mother who remained home with her child and who was satisfied with staying home was rated higher than was the dissatisfied stay-at-home mother. However, the continuously employed mother who was satisfied with working outside of the home was perceived as less committed to motherhood and less selfless than was the dissatisfied, employed mother. The results are discussed in the context of Russo's (1976) analysis of the motherhood mandate and Eagly and Steffcn's (1984) theory of gender stereotypes. Implications for career-oriented mothers are examined.
Shared Paths to the Lab A Sociospatial Network Analysis of Collaboration

Spatial layouts can significantly influence the formation and outcomes of social relationships. Physical proximity is thus essential to understanding the elemental building blocks of social networks, dyads. Situating relationships in space is instrumental to formulating better models of collaboration and information sharing in organizations and more robust theories of networks and their effects. We propose, develop, and test a concept, the functional zone, which effectively captures Festinger et al.’s classic description of “functional distance” as it pertains to social interactions. We operationalize functional zone with measures of path and areal zone overlap. At two biomedical research buildings with different layouts (compact versus linear), regression analyses of collaboration rates show that increasing path overlap increases collaboration. More traditional distance measures influence collaboration only in the more linear building. The functional zone concept improves our ability to understand relationships and their attendant organizational outcomes.
Self-Efficacy and Vocational Outcome Expectations for Adolescents of Lower Socioeconomic Status: A Pilot Study.

Relationships between contextual support, perceived educational barriers, and vocational/educational self-efficacy and outcome expectations were examined for a group of 114 ninth graders from lower socioeconomic backgrounds. Results of this exploratory pilot study indicated that sibling and peer support accounted for a significant amount of variance in vocational/educational self-efficacy beliefs. Vocational/educational self-efficacy beliefs also significantly predicted vocational outcome expectations, and contextual supports and barriers did not account for any unique variance associated with vocational outcome expectations. Results are discussed in relation to social cognitive career theory. Implications for counseling and future research are presented.
Dynamic response of a portable electronic product subjected to an impact load

In today's world, hand held electronic products are becoming more and more popular. It is not uncommon that these electronic products accidentally drop on the ground. The accidental shock or impact load on these products leads to breakage of circuitry inside printed circuit board (PCB) which may cause malfunction or total failure of the product. Manufacturers usually determine the fragility of such products by conducting experimental drop tests, which are not only expensive but also time consuming. An alternative approach is to develop analytical dynamic model and to perform numerical simulations. In this paper, the drop impact response of the mobile phone is investigated. We decoupled this problem to be a two-step analysis. First, finite elemental analysis is used to determine the stiffness for the housing and the PCB. Second, the predictive dynamic model method is developed to investigate the drop impact response of the system. Parameter studies have been done on the basis of performed analysis. An engineering guideline for preliminary selection of the mass and stiffness of housing are developed, so that dynamic stability is maintained. Time and frequency response has been performed to study the peak acceleration, maximum displacement in the portable electronic product. Finally, the developed model is applied to evaluate dynamic response of commercially used mobile phone
Pathomechanism of Defective Hemostasis During and After Extracorporeal Circulation: The Role of Platelets

The pathomechanism of defective hemostasis during and after cardiopulmonary bypass surgery may be related to multiple factors, including: surgical damage to blood vessels, thrombocytopenia, defects in platelet function, a fibrinolytic state, unneutralized heparin, and excessive protamine [1, 2]. The most important factor in post-bypass hemorrhage is considered to be an acquired defect in the formation of the platelet plug [3]. In this chapter, the role of platelets in the hemostatic defect associated with extracorporeal circulation will be reviewed.
Relational languages for metadata integration

In this article, we develop a relational algebra for metadata integration, Federated Interoperable Relational Algebra (FIRA). FIRA has many desirable properties such as compositionality, closure, a deterministic semantics, a modest complexity, support for nested queries, a subalgebra equivalent to canonical Relational Algebra (RA), and robustness under certain classes of schema evolution. Beyond this, FIRA queries are capable of producing fully dynamic output schemas, where the number of relations and/or the number of columns in relations of the output varies dynamically with the input instance. Among existing query languages for relational metadata integration, only FIRA provides generalized dynamic output schemas, where the values in any (fixed) number of input columns can determine output schemas.Further contributions of this article include development of an extended relational model for metadata integration, the Federated Relational Data Model, which is strictly downward compatible with the relational model. Additionally, we define the notion of Transformational Completeness for relational query languages and postulate FIRA as a canonical transformationally complete language. We also give a declarative, SQL-like query language that is equivalent to FIRA, called Federated Interoperable Structured Query Language (FISQL).While our main contributions are conceptual, the federated model, FISQL/FIRA, and the notion of transformational completeness nevertheless have important applications to data integration and OLAP. In addition to summarizing these applications, we illustrate the use of FIRA to optimize FISQL queries using rule-based transformations that directly parallel their canonical relational counterparts. We conclude the article with an extended discussion of related work as well as an indication of current and future work on FISQL/FIRA.
Aspects of Catalyzed Coal Liquefaction

Among the many coal conversion processes are those that produce liquid fuels from solid coal. It is not easy to do this, and one underlying problem is apparent even from a casual inspection of the mass or elemental formulas of coal and some other common fuels. A typical value for the carbon/hydrogen mass ratio of a bituminous coal is about 15; for gasoline, the value is about 6, and for natural gas, 3. In terms of an elemental formula, coal might be CH0.8, gasoline CH2, and natural gas CH4. To make liquid fuel from coal requires either addition of hydrogen or loss of carbon.
α-Melanocyte-stimulating Hormone Signaling Regulates Expression of microphthalmia, a Gene Deficient in Waardenburg Syndrome *

The pituitary peptide α-melanocyte-stimulating hormone (α-MSH) stimulates melanocytes to up-regulate cAMP, but the downstream targets of cAMP are not well understood mechanistically. One consequence of α-MSH stimulation is increased melanization attributable to induction of pigmentation enzymes, including tyrosinase, which catalyzes a rate-limiting step in melanin synthesis. The tyrosinase promoter is a principle target of the melanocyte transcription factor Microphthalmia (Mi), a factor for which deficiency in humans causes Waardenburg syndrome II. We show here that both α-MSH and forskolin, a drug that increases cAMP, stimulate a rapid increase in Mi mRNA and protein levels in both melanoma cell lines and primary melanocytes. This up-regulation requires a cAMP-responsive element within the Mi promoter, and the pathway leading to Mi stimulation is subject to tight homeostatic regulation. Although cAMP signaling is ubiquitous, the Mi promoter was seen to be cAMP-responsive in melanocytes but not in nonmelanocytes. Moreover, dominant negative interference with Mi impeded successful α-MSH stimulation of tyrosinase. The regulation of Mi expression via α-MSH thus provides a direct mechanistic link to pigmentation. In addition, because the human melanocyte and deafness condition Waardenburg syndrome is sometimes caused by haploinsufficiency of Mi, its modulation by α-MSH suggests therapeutic strategies targeted at up-regulating the remaining wild type Mi allele.
Systematics of Ischiolepta Lioy (Diptera : Sphaeroceridae)

The nominal species of the genus Ischiolepta Lioy were studied, and their phylogenetic relationships were analyzed. Nineteen species of Ischiolepta, including three new species, are described and illustrated: I. crenata (Meigen), I. denticulata (Meigen), I. draskovitsae Rohacek and Papp, I. flava (Vanschuytbroeck), I. horrida Papp, I. intermedia Han and Kim, sp. n., I. loebli Rohacek and Papp, I. longispina Papp, I. micropyga (Duda), I. nitida (Duda), I. oedopoda Papp, I. orientalis (de Meijere), I. pansa Han and Kim, sp. n., I. pusilla (Fallen), I. scabra (Spuler), I. scabricula (Haliday), I. stuarti Han and Kim, sp. n., I. vanschuytbroecki Papp, and I. vaporariorum (Haliday). A key to the species and the inferred phylogeny of Ischiolepta also are presented.
Business and Environmental Sustainability

This paper is about what some have called "the next industrial revolution."1 My starting assumption is that in the early years of the twenty-first century humanity is faced with a cluster of significant economic, ecological, and ethical challenges. Extreme poverty, exacerbated by a cycle of political repression, war, famine, disease, and natural disasters, confronts hundreds of millions of people on a daily basis. Throughout the world, hundreds of millions of human beings struggle just to get the basic necessities of life: clean water, nutritious food, shelter, health care, education, jobs. Population growth guarantees that these problems will only intensify in the immediate future. Justice and common decency, as well as self-interest, requires that these problems be addressed by those living in the economically developed world. Addressing these challenges will require significant global economic activity, integrated with social and political leadership. However, the earth's biosphere, ultimately the only source for all this economic activity, is already under severe stress from just the type of economic growth that many assume is the solution to these challenges. These factors will require that business in the twenty-first century be practiced in a way that is economically vibrant enough to address the real needs of billions of people, yet ecologically informed so that the earth's capacity to support life is not diminished by that activity and ethically sensitive enough that the human dignity is not lost or violated in the process.
Behavioral modulation of tactile responses in the rat somatosensory system.

We investigated the influence of four different behavioral states on tactile responses recorded simultaneously via arrays of microwires chronically implanted in the vibrissal representations of the rat ventral posterior medial nucleus (VPM) of the thalamus and the primary somatosensory cortex (SI). Brief (100 μsec) electrical stimuli delivered via a cuff electrode to the infraorbital nerve yielded robust sensory responses in VPM and SI during states of quiet immobility. However, significant reductions in tactile response magnitude and latency were observed in VPM and SI during large-amplitude, exploratory movements of the whiskers (at ∼4–6 Hz). During small-amplitude, 7–12 Hz whisker-twitching movements, a significant reduction in SI response magnitude and an increase in VPM and SI response latencies were observed as well. When pairs of stimuli with interstimulus intervals 25 msec. These response patterns were correlated with the amount and duration of postexcitatory firing suppression observed in VPM and SI during each of these behaviors. On the basis of these results, we propose that sensory responses are dynamically modulated during active tactile exploration to optimize detection of different types of stimuli. During quiet immobility, the somatosensory system seems to be optimally tuned to detect the presence of single stimuli. In contrast, during whisker movements and other exploratory behaviors, the system is primed to detect the occurrence of rapid sequences of tactile stimuli, which are likely to be generated by multiple whisker contacts with objects during exploratory activity.