cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Understanding the Fire-Festivals: Wittgenstein and Theories in Religion

The riddle Frazer confronts us with in The Golden Bough is posed in the form of a question. ‘Why is this happening?’ - this life and death of the King of the Wood at Nemi? In the related context of his accounts of the fire-festivals in Europe, Frazer refines the question in a more dramatic form: ‘What is the meaning of such sacrifices? Why were men and animals burnt to death at these festivals?’ Frazer recognizes something serious in all this. The practice of human sacrifice is puzzling; it does leave us disquieted! But Frazer's search for what he calls ‘a fairly probable explanation’ of the motives which gave rise to the priesthood of Nemi and its embodiment of the practice of human sacrifice, Wittgenstein in his ‘Remarks on Frazer's Golden Bough’ feels, does not help us to understand a practice like the burning of a man! With all the additional data, numerous theories, and the historical tracing of origins we are no closer to resolving the perplexities of the riddle than the riddle itself presents to us daily.
Measurements of quantum yields of bromine atoms in the photolysis of bromoform from 266 to 324 nm

[1] The quantum yield for the formation of bromine atoms in the photolysis of bromoform, CHBr3, has been measured between 266 and 324 nm. For 303 to 306 nm the quantum yields are unity within the experimental uncertainty of the measurements. At longer wavelengths, where the bromoform cross sections decrease rapidly, an apparent trend to slightly lower quantum yields is probably the result of systematic and random errors or incorrect CHBr3 absorption cross sections. Support for a unit quantum yield for all wavelengths longer than 300 nm comes from the recent theoretical calculations of Peterson and Francisco. At 266 nm the bromine atom quantum yield is 0.76 (±0.03), indicating that at least one additional dissociation channel becomes important at shorter wavelengths. For modeling of the troposphere, it is recommended that a quantum yield of unity be used for wavelengths of 300 nm and longer.
Laterality of central venous sampling: lack of effect on the accuracy of intraoperative parathyroid hormone monitoring.

Abstract Background The purpose of this study was to determine if laterality of internal jugular vein (IJV) sampling affects the accuracy of intraoperative parathyroid hormone (PTH) monitoring during parathyroidectomy for primary hyperparathyroidism. Methods In this study, 109 patients underwent parathyroidectomy (82 with unilateral disease, 27 with multigland disease). PTH samples were taken from both the left and the right IJV at these time points: preincision (baseline) and then at 5, 10, and, in selected patients, 20 minutes after excision. The Miami criterion was used to determine operative success. Results In all 109 patients combined, the mean decreases in intraoperative PTH levels were 73.8 ± 22.2% for the left IJV and 71.9 ± 23.0% for the right IJV (P = .22). The Miami criterion was met in 105 patients: in 100 (95%) left IJV samples and 99 (94%) right IJV samples (P = 1.00). Conclusions No difference was found in the accuracy of intraoperative PTH monitoring between patients' left and right IJV samples. Central venous laterality did not affect fulfillment of the Miami criterion.
Effects of designer drugs on the chicken embryo and 1-day-old chicken

Abstract The present study was conducted to examine the effects of d -amphetamine and the designer drags 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), N -methyl-3,4-methylenedioxyphenyl-3-butanamine (HMDMA), 3,4-methylenedioxyphenyl-2-butanamine (BDB), 3,4-methylenedioxyphenyl-1-ethanamine (MDM1EA) in the chick embryo and the young chicken. HMDMA and MDM1EA had no effect on motility on day 14 of embryogenesis, while MDMA, BDB, and d -amphetamine decreased embryonic motility at one or more doses. On day 1 posthatch, chickens were challenged with cumulative injections of water or the same drag that they had received in ova. With the exception of MDM1EA, all of the drags produced effects such as distress vocalization, wing extension, tremor, flat body posture, bursting forward movements, loss of righting reflex, and convulsant-like kicking. Pretreatment with drag in ova resulted in tolerance to certain drug effects and supersensitivity to other drag effects. Furthermore, BDB significantly decreased hatchability, MDM1EA decreased body weight, and HMDMA decreased liver weight. Further studies are neeeded to determine the mechanism(s) of toxicity in this species.
Fetal hippocampal cell suspensions ameliorate behavioral effects of intradentate colchicine in the rat

Colchicine, a neurotoxin that preferentially destroys dentate gyrus granule cells and mossy fibers, was injected into the hippocampus of adult rats. Three weeks later, the rats were tested for colchicine-induced hypermotility after which they received fetal hippocampal explants. Locomotor activity was retested three weeks later, after which the rats were trained over a period of four weeks on a food-reinforced, spatial, working memory task in an 8-arm radial maze. Fetal hippocampal explants were found to attenuate significantly the colchicine-induced hypermotility and spatial learning deficits. Histological observations showed the presence of surviving hippocampal explants in both the lesioned and the control rat brains, suggesting that the presence of viable implants facilitates the recovery of behavioral function in rats with spatial memory deficits.
Plasma etching of polypropylene films and fibres

The introduction of a ∼1000 A scale corrugated structure, aligned perpendicular to the filament axis, into oriented semi-crystalline polymers on plasma etching is shown to result from restructuring of the partially etched surface and not, as has previously been proposed, to correspond to morphological detail in the unetched material. The detail exposed on plasma etching polypropylene is shown to vary extensively with the etching conditions used. The exposed surface is compared with those resulting from peeling and chromic acid etching. Plasma etching is, however, shown to be useful in exposing coarse morphological detail such as spherulites, and in providing a convenient route for rapidly stripping the polymeric sample. The restructured partially etched surface may then be removed easily by, for example, a brief chromic acid treatment, exposing the sample interior to microscopic examination.
Tsunami Wave Analysis and Possibility of Splay Fault Rupture During the 2004 Indian Ocean Earthquake

The 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami was observed by two satellites, close in space and time, that traversed the Indian Ocean 2 h after the Sumatra–Andaman earthquake, but which observed different tsunami lead wave morphologies. The earlier satellite, Jason-1, recorded a lead wave with two peaks of similar amplitude and wavelength, while the later satellite, TOPEX/Poseidon, recorded a lead wave with only one longer wavelength uplift. To resolve this disparity, we examine the travel paths of long wavelength waves over the seafloor bathymetry. Waves traveling from the margin will traverse significantly different paths to arrive at the two satellite transects. The result is that the satellites are sensitive to different parts of the margin; Jason-1 is highly sensitive to the margin in the area of the epicenter, while TOPEX is sensitive to a more northerly section. By developing solutions of the ocean gravity wave equations, accounting for dispersion, we show that the double peak of the Jason-1 satellite observations are consistent with coseismic rupture of a splay fault of limited along-strike extent, located north of Simeulue Island. The doubly peaked morphology can be reproduced with co-activation of the subduction zone interface and the splay fault, which creates a seafloor uplift pattern with two distinct areas of uplift. The Jason-1 satellite is sensitive to a splay fault in this portion of the margin, whereas the TOPEX satellite would not be significantly affected by this uplift pattern. By back-projecting satellite observation points to the margin, we constrain the location of the proposed splay fault and find that it correlates with a bathymetric high. The aftershock locations, uplift of corals on Simeulue Island and a fault scarp on Pulau Salaut Besar are also consistent with the activation of a splay fault in the area delimited by the back-projection. Our work also shows that it is critical to fully capture gravity wave dispersion in order to represent features of the lead wave profile that may not be as well characterized by the shallow water (long-wavelength) model. It is also necessary to account for dispersion so as to precisely assess wavefront travel times; this leads us to conclude that the rupture must have reached very near to the trench and propagated with an updip rupture velocity of order 2.0 km/s or more.
Color flow imaging compared with quantitative Doppler assessment of severity of mitral regurgitation: influence of eccentricity of jet and mechanism of regurgitation.

Objectives. To determine the influence of jet eccentricity and mechanism of mitral regurgitation, we examined 1) the relation between jet extent and severity of mitral regurgitation, and 2) the use of Doppler color flow imaging for quantitation of mitral regurgitation. Background. Doppler color flow imaging is widely used to assess mitral regurgitation. However, whether, how and in which subgroups it can quantify regurgitation remain controversial. Methods. In 80 patients with mitral regurgitation, results of color flow Doppler studies obtained in two orthogonal apical views were prospectively compared with quantitative Doppler measurement of the regurgitant volume and the regurgitant fraction. Comparisons were made according to the eccentricity of the jet (group 1 eccentric jets, n = 29; group 2 central jets, n - 51); group 2 was subdivided according to the mechanism of mitral regurgitation (group 2a organic, n = 27; group 2b ischemic or functional, n = 24). Results. Globally, weak correlations were found between regurgitant volume and jet area (r = 0.57) and regurgitant fraction and jet are/left atrial area ratio (r = 0.65). Groups 1 and 2 showed a correlation between regurgitant volume and jet area (r = 0.68 and r = 0.65, respectively, p< 0.0001), but the slope was steeper in group 2 than in group 1 (0.22 vs. 0.06, p < 0,0001). The same jet area corresponded to more severe regurgitation in group 1 than in group 2 (jet ≥8 cm2, regurgitant volume 113 ± 55 vs. 43 ± 21 ml, p < 0.0001). Similarly, for comparable regurgitant volumes (24 ± 22 vs. 29 ± 11 ml, p = NS), group 2a had a smaller jet area than did group 2b (5.3 ± 6 vs. 9.6 ± 6 cm2, p < 0.02). Quantitation of regurgitation by Doppler color flow imaging was unreliable in group 1; in group 2b, the regression line between regurgitant fraction and jet area/left atrial area ratio was close to the identity line. Conclusions. Mitral regurgitant jet eccentricity and mechanism influence jet extent. The same regurgitant volume produces smaller jet areas for eccentric compared with central jets and for central organic compared with ischemic or functional regurgitation. Quantitation of regurgitation using Doppler color flow imaging is possible in ischemic or functional regurgitation but inappropriate in eccentric jets, where quantitative Doppler study should be recommended.
The diagnostic accuracy of Doppler echocardiography in assessment of pulmonary artery systolic pressure: a meta-analysis.

Background: Transthoracic echocardiography is commonly used to estimate pulmonary arterial systolic pressure (PASP) and to diagnose pulmonary hypertension (PH). However, some recent studies have questioned the accuracy of Doppler echocardiography (DE) in the assessment of PASP. The present meta-analysis was performed to estimate the accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity of DE in the assessment of PASP. Methods: A literature search and data extraction of English and non-English articles reported from May 1984 to January 2009 was performed independently by 2 investigators using MEDLINE and EMBASE databases. Articles were included if they compared DE with right heart catheterization (RHC) in the assessment of PASP. Nine articles met our criteria and were included in our meta-analysis. We conducted a meta-analysis of the results of these articles using fixed- and random-effect models to estimate the accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity of DE in the assessment of PASP. Results: The correlation between PASP estimated by DE and RHC ranged from (r = 0.65, P < 0.001) to (r = 0.97, P < 0.001). The pooled sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of DE for the diagnosis of PH were 88% (95% confidence interval [CI], 84–92%), 56% (95% CI, 46–66%), and 63% (95% CI, 53–73%), respectively. Conclusion: DE is a useful noninvasive modality to screen for PH and can reliably determine whether PASP is normal, mildly elevated, or markedly elevated. However, abnormal results from DE need to be confirmed by RHC.
An APL based relational data management language using SYSTEM R as data server

This report describes a system for accessing System R, via AQL, a query language based on APL, developed by IBM Italy Scientific Centers. System R and AQL reside in two different Virtual Machines: the DB Machine and the User Machine, respectively. The two Machines communicate through VMCF, an inter-machine communication facility in VM/370 environment.Queries formulated in AQL are shipped to System R, translated into SQL (the native query language of System R) and the results brought back to the User Machine.The major advantage of this architecture is easiness of implementation and separability between the two environments. From the user's standpoint, this approach combines a friendly and flexible query language with a powerful data manager.
Varying levels of family history of breast cancer in relation to mammographic breast density (United States).

We examined the relationship between breast cancer family history and mammographic breast density. Participants included 35,019 postmenopausal women aged ≥40 years enrolled in a population-based mammography screening program. We collected data on the number and type of 1st and 2nd degree female relatives with a history of breast cancer and their ages at diagnosis. We used the Breast Imaging Reporting and Data System™ breast density categories to identify women with fatty (1 = almost entirely fatty or 2 = scattered fibroglandular tissue) and dense (3 = heterogeneously dense or 4 = extremely dense) breasts. We used logistic regression to calculate odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals for dense (N = 18,111) compared to fatty breasts (N = 16,908). The odds of having dense breasts were 17% greater for women with affected 1st degree relatives than women with no family history. The odds increased with more affected 1st degree relatives [≥3 vs. none (OR = 1.46; 1.05–2.01)] and among women with ≥1 affected 1st degree relative diagnosed <50 years (OR = 1.22; 1.10–1.34). Having a family history of breast cancer was more strongly associated with mammographic breast density when the affected relatives were more genetically similar. There may be common, yet undiscovered, genetic elements that affect breast cancer and mammographic breast density.
Discovering Prognostic Features Using Genetic Programming in Remaining Useful Life Prediction

In prognostics approaches, features (e.g., vibration level, root mean square or outputs from signal processing techniques) extracted from the measurement (e.g., vibration, current, and pressure, etc.) are often used or modeled as an indicator to the equipment's health condition. When faults are detected or when increasing/decreasing trends are shown in the health indicator, prediction algorithms are applied to extrapolate the future behavior and predict remaining useful life (RUL). However, it is difficult to make an accurate prediction if the trend of the health indicator is not obvious through the entire life cycle or if the trend is only shown right before a failure occurs. The challenge lies in whether an advanced feature (e.g., a mathematical combination of a group of the extracted features) can be found to clearly present/correlate with the fault progression. A genetic programming method is proposed to address the challenge of automatically discovering advanced feature(s), which can well capture the fault progression, from the measurement or extracted features in the purpose of RUL prediction.
The Problem of Citizenship in an Internationalized Academy

The internationalized academy of the 21st century was in part a byproduct of American higher education’s ingenuity in addressing the demographic problems facing it in the 1970s. But it has made much more difficult what was until recently considered one of the central tasks of higher education: the education of American citizens.
Effect of laminate construction on residual stresses in graphite/polyimide composites: The effects of ply-stacking sequence and ply orientation on the magnitude of residual stresses were investigated experimentally in graphite/polyimide angle-ply laminates using embedded-strain-gage techniques

The influence of ply-stacking sequence and ply orientation on the magnitude of lamination residual stresses in graphite/polyimide angle-ply laminates was investigated. The effect of stacking sequence was investigated with laminates of [02/±45]s, [±45/02]s, [0/+45/0/−45]s and [+45/02/−45]s layup. The effect of ply orientation was evaluated with additional specimens of [02/±15]s and [02/902]s layup. Thermal strains were measured using embedded-gage techniques. Residual strains were determined by comparing thermal strains in the angle-ply laminates with those of a unidirectional laminate. The ply-stacking sequence did not have an influence on the magnitude of residual strains. The highest residual strains occur in the [02/902]s laminate and the lowest, approximately one-fourth in magnitude, occur in the [02/±15]s laminate. The maximum residual strains in the [02/±45]s group are slightly lower than those in the [02/902]s laminate. Residual stress computations show that, at room temperature, the transverse-to-the-fibers stresses in all plies, except those of the [02/±15]s laminate, exceed the transverse tensile strength of the unidirectional material.
Modeling back office operations at greenfield online's digital consumer store

Greenfield Online, the first online market research company, is an example of an e-business that has continued to be successful despite recent retrenchments in the Internet sector. Their core business involves developing and implementing customized market research studies. At the time of this case, they also sold "off-the-shelf" reports related to online shopping trends for specific groups of products. This case describes operations at Greenfield Online's "Digital Consumer Score" using three modeling techniques--process mapping, data flow diagramming, and entity-relationship diagramming. The simultaneous use of these techniques illustrates how they relate to each other, and demonstrates their applicability within an e-business environment. After the descriptive models set the stage, the economics of manually-performed back office processes are evaluated through a present value analysis of labor costs. The organization is left with open questions regarding how to improve the Digital Consumer Store's back office operations.
Optical Frequency Negative-Index Material Based on Silver Nanocluster Metamaterial

We present theoretical and experimental studies on a new negative-index material based on silver nanocluster metamaterial. A scalable bottom-up approach based on template directed self-assembly was used for fabricating the nanocluster material.
The definition of dependence distance

Several definitions of dependence distance can be found in the literature. A single coherent definition is the vector distance between the iteration vectors of two iterations involved in a dependence relation. Different ways to associate iteration vectors with iterations can give different dependence distances to the same program, and have different advantages.
Batrachotoxin-Resistant Na+ Channels Derived from Point Mutations in Transmembrane Segment D4-S6

Local anesthetics (LAs) block voltage-gated Na+ channels in excitable cells, whereas batrachotoxin (BTX) keeps these channels open persistently. Previous work delimited the LA receptor within the D4-S6 segment of the Na+ channel alpha-subunit, whereas the putative BTX receptor was found within the D1-S6. We mutated residues at D4-S6 critical for LA binding to determine whether such mutations modulate the BTX phenotype in rat skeletal muscle Na+ channels (mu1/rSkm1). We show that mu1-F1579K and mu1-N1584K channels become completely resistant to 5 microM BTX. In contrast, mu1-Y1586K channels remain BTX-sensitive; their fast and slow inactivation is eliminated by BTX after repetitive depolarization. Furthermore, we demonstrate that cocaine elicits a profound time-dependent block after channel activation, consistent with preferential LA binding to BTX-modified open channels. We propose that channel opening promotes better exposure of receptor sites for binding with BTX and LAs, possibly by widening the bordering area around D1-S6, D4-S6, and the pore region. The BTX receptor is probably located at the interface of D1-S6 and D4-S6 segments adjacent to the LA receptor. These two S6 segments may appose too closely to bind BTX and LAs simultaneously when the channel is in its resting closed state.
The Effect of Neighborhood and Individual Characteristics on Pediatric Critical Illness

The relationship between neighborhood/individual characteristics and pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) outcomes is largely unexplored. We hypothesized that individual-level racial/ethnic minority status and neighborhood-level low socioeconomic status and minority concentration would adversely affect children’s severity of illness on admission to the PICU. Retrospective analyses (1/1/2007–5/23/2011) of clinical, geographic, and demographic data were conducted at an academic, tertiary children’s hospital PICU. Clinical data included age, diagnosis, insurance, race/ethnicity, Pediatric Index of Mortality 2 score on presentation to the PICU (PIM2), and mortality. Residential addresses were geocoded and linked with 2010 US Census tract data using geographic information systems geocoding techniques. Repeated measures models to predict PIM2 and mortality were constructed using three successive models with theorized covariates including the patient’s race/ethnicity, the predominant neighborhood racial/ethnic group, interactions between patient race/ethnicity and neighborhood race/ethnicity, neighborhood socioeconomic status, and insurance type. Of the 5,390 children, 57.8 % were Latino and 70.1 % possessed government insurance. Latino children (β = 0.31; p < 0.01), especially Latino children living in a Latino ethnic enclave (β = 1.13; p < 0.05), had higher PIM2 scores compared with non-Latinos. Children with government insurance (β = 0.29; p < 0.01) had higher PIM2 scores compared to children with other payment types and median neighborhood income was inversely associated with PIM2 scores (β = −0.04 per $10,000/year of income; p < 0.05). Lower median neighborhood income, Latino ethnicity, Latino children living in a predominantly Latino neighborhood, and children possessing government insurance were associated with a higher severity of illness on PICU admission. The reasons why these factors affect critical illness severity require further exploration.
Activity of Combinations of Antimicrobial Agents against Bacteroides fragilis

Thirty-two clinical isolates of Bacteroides fragilis were tested against nine pairs of antimicrobial agents by means of an agar dilution technique. A synergistic effect was observed with the combination of clindamycin and metronidazole. End points were achieved with 17 strains. Of these strains, 13 (76%) were inhibited by the combination of clindamycin and metronidazole; each drug was present at a concentration of <25% of its minimal inhibitory concentration when tested alone. This combination also showed synergistic bactericidal activity against three of six strains examined by a tube dilution technique. No antagonism was noted with any strain. The other eight combinations tested failed to show a consistent synergistic effect, although no antagonism was observed. These in vitro data indicate that antagonism is not likely to be encountered when combination therapy is used for B. fragilis infections. For selected B. fragilis infections, the combination of clindamycin and metronidazole may be useful.
The Missing Metaphor

To determine the metaphor that represents cloning, a contemporary scientific revolution, this study examines articles published in Nature, Nature Biotechnology, Science, and Time that describe the cloning of the sheep Dolly. A plethora of figurative language may be garnered from these articles, and this study describes a number of them: metaphor (dead, natural, and technical), simile, hyperbole, personification, irony, cliche, paronomasia, antithesis, metonymy, anthimera, oxymoron, the rhetorical question, and analogy. The significance and relationship to cloning are explicated. The article concludes that the figures do not support a central metaphor. Further research is suggested to determine if the lack of a metaphor is a fluke or a trend in the development of scientific research and what the difference may be between scientific and technical metaphor.
Odontometric microevolution in the Valley of Oaxaca, Mexico

Tooth crown lengths, breadths, and areas were compared from five sequential human skeletal samples from the Valley of Oaxaca, Mexico, spanning the period from 1600 BC to AD 1521. Almost all of the measurements considered exhibited dramatic reduction over that period. Total crown area declined from 1320 mm2 to 1262 mm2, a change of 4.4% or 9.4 darwins, which is noticeably larger than any previously reported rate of dental reduction in a recent human population. This reduction was greatest in posterior tooth breadths, especially in the mandible. The patterning of the reduction, and of the variance of the measurements, indicates that natural selection was primarily responsible for the change. Of all the measurements, anterior breadths appear to have been the least subject to selection, and posterior lengths the next least. The degree of reduction suggests that selective pressures towards smaller teeth were greater in Mesoamerica than elsewhere. This case provides an example of the value of recent human skeletal series for the study of microevolutionary processes.
Developing normalized strength scores for neuromuscular research.

summary scores created from normalized data con-trols for these differences, reduces variance andminimizes the chance of ﬁnding false-positiveresults, as fewer variables are analyzed. 27,28 Summary scores are routinely used to analyzeTQNE data. The 20 raw MVIC values are ﬁrst con-verted to z-scores based on a population mean andstandard deviation for each muscle group derivedfrom a natural history ALS data bank. Two re-gional megascores are then calculated by averagingthe 10 individual leg z-scores (megaleg) and the 10individual arm z-scores (megaarm). This methodplaces all muscles on a ‘‘common yardstick,’’ thusallowing each muscle, regardless of size, to contrib-ute equally to the megascore. Disease progressioncan then be expressed as the slope of the mega-score over time (megaslope). 29 Unfortunately, megascore values are expressedas z-scores and, thus, clinical interpretation is difﬁ-cult. In addition, megaslope analysis can be mis-leading, because the slopes are often very small frac-tions. Therefore, clinically insigniﬁcant changes canresult in a several-fold change in slope (e.g., the dif-ference between a megaslope of 0.001 and a meg-aslope of 0.0001 is not clinically detectable,although, statistically, the difference is tenfold).An improved method for summarizing TQNEdata is to convert raw MVIC values to percent of pre-dicted normal (PPN).
Stereochemical reaction mechanism formulations for enzyme-catalyzed pyrophosphate hydrolysis, ATP hydrolysis, and ATP synthesis

Abstract Fundamental concepts pertaining to the stereochemistry paths of polar additionelimination (nucleophilic substitution) reactions at phosphate phosphorus centers are reviewed and employed to analyze 18O exchange reactions catalyzed by inorganic pyrophosphatase and mitochondrial ATP synthetase. The analysis suggests reasonable choices for the stereochemistry path of the 18O exchanges. This, in turn, permits reasonable choices for the stereochemistry paths of hydrolysis of pyrophosphate catalyzed by pyrophosphatase and of hydrolysis and synthesis of ATP catalyzed by ATP synthetase.
Oestrogens and puberty

Oestrogens induce the development of female reproductive tissues. Endogenous human oestrogens include oestradiol, oestrone and oestriol. Oestrogen signalling in target tissues is dependent on the tissue concentration of oestrogen and the interaction of oestrogen receptors with an array of cell-specific co-regulator proteins. The diverse mechanisms of oestrogen signalling are complex and incompletely understood. In puberty, oestrogen is derived from both gonadal and peripheral sources. Originally, oestrogen was only thought to drive feminization in females; now, oestrogen is known to be important for pubertal development of males as well. Oestrogen is required for normal maturation of the neuroendocrine-gonadal axis and bone in both sexes, and a variety of other tissues are also responsive to oestrogen. Abnormal puberty can be associated with either excessive or inadequate oestrogen production. Girls deficient in oestrogen should receive replacement in physiological doses. Aromatase inhibitors and anti-oestrogens may prove to be useful therapeutic tools in some types of abnormal puberty.
Does inadequate sleep play a role in vulnerability to obesity

The prevalence of obesity is increasing rapidly worldwide, which is cause for concern because obesity increases the risk of cardiovascular disease and diabetes, reduces life expectancy, and impairs quality of life. A better understanding of the risk factors for obesity is therefore a critical global health concern, and human biologists can play an important role in identifying these risk factors in various populations. The objective of this review is to present the evidence that inadequate sleep may be a novel risk factor associated with increased vulnerability to obesity and associated cardiometabolic disease. Experimental studies have found that short-term sleep restriction is associated with impaired glucose metabolism, dysregulation of appetite, and increased blood pressure. Observational studies have observed cross-sectional associations between short sleep duration (generally 8 h per night) and cardiometabolic disease. A few prospective studies have found a significant increased risk of weight gain, incident diabetes, and incident hypertension associated with inadequate sleep. Given the potential link between inadequate sleep and obesity, a critical next step is to identify the social, cultural, and environmental determinants of sleep, which would help to identify vulnerable populations. Future human biology research should consider variation in sleep characteristics among different populations and determine whether the associations between sleep and obesity observed in Western populations persist elsewhere.
An Analysis of the Functional Differences Between the Contractions of the Adductor Muscles in the Thoracic Legs of the Lobster Homarus Vulgaris L.1

The different thoracic legs of the lobster Homarus vulgaris have been compared with regard to the contractions caused in the closer muscles on one and more impulses in the "fast" nerve fiber. It was found that small twitches occurred in the fresh preparations especially in the second and third legs; that the cutter claw, the fourth and fifth leg showed sometimes a very small contraction on a single shock, but that in the crusher claw more than two closely spaced impulses are necessary before a visible contraction occurs. Two closely spaced impulses in the second, third and fourth leg lead to a stronger twitch, which increases considerably in strength on further impulses. In the cutter claw two such impulses lead to a very strong twitch, which increases but little with a greater number of impulses. Muscle action potentials lead from the muscle with external leads
Student involvement in wellness policies: a study of Pennsylvania local education agencies.

Abstract Objective Explore student-involvement goals in local wellness policies (LWPs) of local education agencies (LEAs) in Pennsylvania (PA) and investigate associations with LEA characteristics. Design An observational study that helped examine student-involvement goals. Setting Public PA LEAs. Participants LWPs submitted by 539 PA public LEAs. Main Outcome Measures Six student-involvement goals analyzed as dependent variables. Correlations between demographic and policy characteristics of LEAs and student-involvement goals were measured. Analysis Policies developed by LEAs were abstracted and analyzed. Logistic regression models were developed to analyze relationships between student-involvement goals and the demographic and policy characteristics of LEAs. Results Majority of LEAs included policy goals that address student involvement in an array of activities related to wellness policy, food service, and role modeling. Regression models showed that LEAs with comprehensive and strong policies were most likely to include student-involvement goals regardless of LEA location, enrollment, or socioeconomic status of students. Conclusions and Implications Student engagement in school nutrition policies has been shown to increase student acceptance in an array of health-related areas and is therefore promising in the area of obesity prevention. Comprehensiveness and rigor of LWPs were strongly correlated with the inclusion of student-involvement goals on LWPs. The upcoming reauthorization of the Child Nutrition programs in 2010 creates a good opportunity to address student involvement in LWPs.
On the trail of microparticles.

Stimulation of a variety of cell types leads to the release of submicron vesicles that bud off from the plasma membrane. These so-called microparticles (MPs) or microvesicles are defined by their small size (0.1 to 1 μm) and the presence of surface antigens from the parental cells.1,2 MPs contribute to a variety of physiological and pathological processes. For instance, they appear to play a role in both hemostasis and thrombosis. MPs released into the bloodstream can act as messengers delivering a variety of cargos, such as cell surface receptors, proinflammatory cytokines, signaling molecules, and even mRNA, to distal cells.1,2 They may also contribute to disease by transporting viruses and prions.1,2 In addition, in vitro studies have shown that binding of MPs to endothelial cells and monocytes induces the expression of proinflammatory and procoagulant molecules (Figure 1). In this issue of Circulation Research , Simoncini et al explore the inflammatory pathways that trigger the release of MPs from endothelial cells.3 Figure 1. MPs derived from different cell types induce the expression of proinflammatory and procoagulant molecules in endothelial cells, monocytes, and epithelial cells. Monocyte-derived MPs also bind to activated platelets. MPs derived from endothelial precursor cells (EPC) bind to endothelial cells and enhance angiogenesis. TF indicates tissue factor. MPs are generated from a variety of different vascular cell types, including endothelial cells, monocytes, and platelets. Early studies on MPs focused on platelets because these cells readily generated MPs on activation. Indeed, the original term for MPs was “platelet dust” and platelets are the major source of MPs in the blood of healthy individuals.4 Importantly, the procoagulant activity of MPs can be significantly increased by altering the phospholipid composition of the membrane surface. Under normal conditions the distribution of phospholipids moieties in the plasma membrane of …
BLOOD GLUCOSE AND LIVER GLYCOGEN FOLLOWING INTRAVENOUS INJECTION OF AMYLASE.

SummaryDogs and pigs were injected intravenously with crystalline hog amylase. Clearance of the amylase from the serum was associated with a rise in the level of the blood glucose. Simultaneously, the amylase activity of the liver rose and its glycogen content fell. The results in both species of animals were almost identical.
Random walk model for a class of threshold measurements

Abstract Threshold measurements by a titration schedule are discussed in the context of a random walk model. Various features of the experimental results, such as Sidman-type avoidance responses, bursting, and rest-to-zero procedures, are naturally incorporated into such a framework. The level frequency distibution can be derived from the measured response probabilities. The rest-to-zero procedure is quantitatively compared to continuous titration and is shown to give a lower estimate of the threshold. A simulation of the procedure indicates that for short test periods apparently stable thresholds can be generated in the absence of a true threshold.
Seasonal Variation in Semen Production in Domestic Fowls

Abstract INTRODUCTION OBSERVATIONS by a number of investigators including Pearl and Surface (1911) and Whetham (1933) show that egg production in the hen is influenced by season. Highest egg production tends to be correlated with increasing length of day. Because of the similarity of the hormonic mechanisms governing egg production in the female and spermatozoa formation in the male, it was thought probable that semen production in the domestic cock likewise is related to length of day. Results of previous studies (Parker, McKenzie, and Kempster, 1942) showed that, when semen was intercepted in a semen collector during mating trials, male fowls ejaculated the greatest number of sperms during the spring months. However, since the influence of libido was not eliminated, these results were not necessarily indicative of the rate of spermatozoa formation. The following experiment was conducted to determine whether there are measurable seasonal differences in semen production in the cock.
A pesquisa que faz diferença

Os pesquisadores da administracao lamentam o fato de que seu trabalho tenha tao pouco impacto na pratica gerencial. Os gerentes, por sua vez, procuram conhecimento que possa ajuda-los a melhorar a performance organizacional, mas raramente consultam os trabalhos universitarios - frequentemente tidos como incompreensiveis e irrelevantes para os desafios cotidianos. Para que a pesquisa em administracao possa fazer diferenca para os gerentes sao necessarias parcerias mutuamente beneficas que envolvam os gerentes e os pesquisadores e que sejam apoiadas por suas respectivas organizacoes. Ilustramos a importância da pesquisa da administracao relevante para a pratica valendo-se de quatro importantes contribuicoes, juntos, estes casos nao somente demonstram como esse tipo de parceria pode produzir conhecimento relevante para a pratica, mas tambem promovem insights para aumentar a probabilidade de ocorrencia de encontros produtivos.
Possible evolutionary links between immunoglobulin light chains and other proteins involved in amyloidosis.

With limited exceptions, proteins that account for the amyloidoses appear to be evolutionarily unrelated. Transthyretin is classified as having an “immunoglobulin-like” fold as found in light chain variable and constant domains. Thus, these amyloidogenic proteins have significant conformational similarity. In the absence of primary structure similarity sufficient to justify an inference of an evolutionary relationship, transthyretin is considered an analog of immunoglobulin domains having accrued the immunoglobulin-like fold by some form of convergent evolution of structure. Improvements in sequence comparison tools and strategies, coupled with recent logarithmic increases in the availability of primary structure data, now make it possible to suggest that transthyretin and immunoglobulins may have a common evolutionary origin. In addition, lactadherin, the medin fragment of which accounts for the most common form of human amyloid, also appears to be evolutionarily linked to transthyretin and immunoglobulins.
Decreased Cytochrome c Oxidase Subunit VIIa in Aged Rat Heart Mitochondria: Immunocytochemistry

Aging decreases oxidative phosphorylation through cytochrome oxidase (COX) in cardiac interfibrillar mitochondria (IFM) in 24-month old (aged) rats compared to 6-month old adult Fischer 344 rats, whereas subsarcolemmal mitochondria (SSM) located beneath the plasma membrane remain unaffected. Immunoelectron microscopy (IEM) reveals in aged rats a 25% reduction in cardiac COX subunit VIIa in cardiac IFM, but not in SSM. In contrast, the content of subunit IV remains unchanged in both SSM and IFM, irrespective of age. These subunits are localized mainly on cristae membranes. In contrast, semi-quantitative immunoblotting, which detects denatured protein, indicates that the content of COX VIIa is similar in IFM and SSM from both aged and adult hearts. IEM provides a sensitive method for precise localizing and quantifying specific mitochondrial proteins. The lack of immunoreaction of COX VIIa subunit by IEM in aged IFM is not explained by a reduction in protein, but rather by a masking phenomenon or by an in situ change in protein structure affecting COX activity.
Multiple linear regression analysis of hypertrophy, calcium and cadmium in hypertensive and non-hypertensive states

Heart disease remains a major public health issue. In this study we aimed to achieve a greater mathematical and mechanistic understanding of the relationship between exposure to heavy metals and heart disease. Measurements of calcium and cadmium levels were made by flame atomic absorption spectrophotometry in tissue from hypertensive and non-hypertensive rabbits. Relationships between hypertrophy, calcium and cadmium were tested using multiple regression analysis. Multiple linear relationships occurred that showed the dependence of hypertrophy on calcium and cadmium levels, and of calcium accumulation on cadmium and hypertrophy. These data provide an insight into the mechanisms of heavy metal accumulation and the development of cardiovascular hypertrophy.
Introductory Psychology Textbooks: Assessing Levels of Difficulty.

Given the importance of assessing level of difficulty for text consideration and selection, I derived level classifications for all 37 full-length introductory textbooks published from 1995 through...
Route Design for Multiple Ferries in Delay Tolerant Networks

Routing mechanisms in delay tolerant networks (DTNs) usually rely on nodes' mobilities to bridge gaps in space and time. Though they may depend on the movements of ordinary nodes, it is more desirable to introduce special mobile nodes called ferries dedicated to communication in DTNs. In this paper, we concentrate on the route design problem for multiple ferries. We introduce an analytically tractable model to describe message delivery delay in three different schemes for multiple ferry routing. We give analytical results that reveal the tradeoff between the cost of using more ferries and the performance gains. Driven by the analysis, we propose routing algorithms that can match our theoretical results well. The algorithms are evaluated under extensive network settings via simulations. The results show that our algorithms can reduce the message delivery delay over existing routing algorithms, especially when the nodes are not uniformly distributed in space.
Assembly of Inflammation-Related Genes for Pathway-Focused Genetic Analysis

Recent identifications of associations between novel variants in inflammation-related genes and several common diseases emphasize the need for systematic evaluations of these genes in disease susceptibility. Considering that many genes are involved in the complex inflammation responses and many genetic variants in these genes have the potential to alter the functions and expression of these genes, we assembled a list of key inflammation-related genes to facilitate the identification of genetic associations of diseases with an inflammation-related etiology. We first reviewed various phases of inflammation responses, including the development of immune cells, sensing of danger, influx of cells to sites of insult, activation and functional responses of immune and non-immune cells, and resolution of the immune response. Assisted by the Ingenuity Pathway Analysis, we then identified 17 functional sub-pathways that are involved in one or multiple phases. This organization would greatly increase the chance of detecting gene-gene interactions by hierarchical clustering of genes with their functional closeness in a pathway. Finally, as an example application, we have developed tagging single nucleotide polymorphism (tSNP) arrays for populations of European and African descent to capture all the common variants of these key inflammation-related genes. Assays of these tSNPs have been designed and assembled into two Affymetrix ParAllele customized chips, one each for European (12,011 SNPs) and African (21,542 SNPs) populations. These tSNPs have greater coverage for these inflammation-related genes compared to the existing genome-wide arrays, particularly in the African population. These tSNP arrays can facilitate systematic evaluation of inflammation pathways in disease susceptibility. For additional applications, other genotyping platforms could also be employed. For existing genome-wide association data, this list of key inflammation-related genes and associated subpathways can facilitate comprehensive inflammation pathway- focused association analyses.
Molecular Interactions and Membrane Targeting of Granuphilin C2 Domains: A Preliminary Study

Membrane-targeting proteins are crucial components of many cellular signaling pathways, including the secretion of insulin. Granuphilin (also known as synaptotagmin-like protein 4) is essential for proper insulin secretion and acts most likely in docking the exocytic vesicles to the plasma membrane. However, the precise mechanisms of its membrane targeting and regulation remain uncertain. Granuphilin contains two C2 domains (C2A and C2B) involved in the process of docking to the lipid bilayer of the plasma membrane. Previous studies suggest that at least the C2A domain is essential for proper plasma membrane docking. The present study focuses on determining the target lipids, affinities and kinetics of both granuphilin C2 domains using fluorescence spectroscopy and microscopy methods. Preliminary data suggest that both C2 domains require phosphatidylinositol polyphosphate (PIPx) lipids for membrane targeting, and do not have a significant affinity for major plasma membrane components such as phosphatidylserine (PS) or zwitterionic lipids. Our experimental results confirm the observation that granuphilin C2-membrane binding is Ca2+ independent, in contrast to closely related C2 domains from synaptotagmin 1 and others. Current results of this ongoing study will be presented. Overall, this study aims to clarify important molecular interactions between granuphilin and signaling lipid molecules for insulin secretion.