cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Comprehensive care and psycho-social factors in rehabilitation in chronic rheumatoid arthritis: a controlled study.

Abstract A controlled study of comprehensive care in ambulatory patients with severe rheumatoid arthritis was carried out to determine the interrelationships between intensity of care, psycho-social factors and functional benefits. Psycho-social factors did not appear to influence disease activity. Results suggest that patients with higher intelligence scores more often maintain functional performance and improve in social adjustment than do patients with low intelligence scores. The more intelligent patients also had better motivation for rehabilitation. Improved social adjustment was more often seen in the intensive treatment group. A combination of good motivation and intensive treatment appeared to favor the achievement of superior functional results as judged by ADL performance. Furthermore, the patients showing better ADL function after 1 yr improved more in social adjustment. The results suggest that psycho-social factors, although they do not alter rheumatoid disease activity, can affect functional results of rehabilitation measures.
Leukocyte count is associated with reduced endothelial reactivity

Abstract Background: Leukocyte count has been associated with cardiovascular and cerebrovascular disease in several studies. We hypothesized that white blood cell count is associated with endothelial reactivity. Methods and results: Leukocyte count was measured in a sample of stroke-free community participants undergoing brachial artery testing for endothelial reactivity. Flow-mediated dilation (FMD) during reactive hyperemia was assessed in each subject using high-resolution B-mode ultrasound. Multivariate linear regression was used to calculate the effect of leukocyte count on endothelial reactivity after adjusting for potential confounding factors. Mean age of the 868 participants was 66.7 ± 8.8 years; 57% were women. Mean leukocyte count was (6.1 ± 1.8) × 10 9 /L. Each unit increase in leukocyte count was associated with a mean 0.18% decrease in FMD ( p = 0.01). After adjusting for other atherosclerosis risk factors, including age, sex, hypertension, diabetes, hyperlipidemia, and smoking, the relationship persisted (mean decrease in FMD per unit leukocyte count = 0.17%, p = 0.02). There was a linear decrease in FMD by quartile of leukocyte count ( p = 0.0014). The effect of leukocyte count on FMD was greater for women, those under age 70, and non-diabetics. Conclusions: Relative elevations in leukocyte count are associated with a reduction in brachial artery endothelial reactivity. These findings are consistent with current hypotheses regarding the inflammatory or infectious etiology of risk of atherosclerosis and stroke, but also suggest interactions with demographic and other risk factors.
Weapons of the wealthy: predatory regimes and elite-led protests in Central Asia

Weapons of the wealthy: predatory regimes and elite-led protests in Central Asia, by Scott Radnitz, Ithaca, NY, London, Cornell University Press, 2010, 272 pp., $35.00/£22.95 (hardback), ISBN-13 97...
Problems at the Foundation? Comments on Felin and Foss

This paper reviews the assessment of the routines and capabilities literature provided by T. Felin and N. J. Foss, ‘The Endogenous Origins of Experience, Routines and Organizational Capabilities: The Poverty of Stimulus’, published by the Journal of Institutional Economics. Although valuable points are raised, the assessment is largely off target because it is fixated on the implausible view that the literature assessed is strongly shaped by the tradition of behavioral psychology (B. F. Skinner and others). At the same time, important portions of the routines and capabilities literature that are highly relevant to the authors’ substantive concerns, and which are plainly inconsistent with the main interpretive claim, are not considered.
Impact of Angiolymphatic and Pleural Invasion on Surgical Outcomes for Stage I Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer

Background In the current study, we analyze the impact of pathologic variables (angiolymphatic invasion, visceral pleural invasion, and tumor inflammation) upon survival outcomes after segmentectomy or lobectomy for stage I non-small cell lung cancer. Methods A retrospective review was made of 524 patients undergoing resection of stage I non-small cell lung cancer through either lobectomy (n = 285) or anatomic segmentectomy (n = 239). Primary outcome variables include recurrence-free and overall survival. Statistical comparisons were performed with the t test and Fisher's exact test. Recurrence-free and overall survival was estimated utilizing the Kaplan-Maier method, with statistical significance being assessed by the log rank test. Results The incidence of angiolymphatic invasion, visceral pleural invasion, and degree of tumor inflammation, as well as morbidity, mortality, and length of stay were similar between segmentectomy and lobectomy. The presence of angiolymphatic invasion or visceral pleural invasion was associated with a significant decrease in recurrence-free survival (p Conclusions Angiolymphatic and visceral pleural invasion appear to be strong adverse prognostic factors after anatomic resection by segmentectomy or lobectomy for stage I non-small cell lung cancer. Overall survival is not affected by the extent of anatomical surgical resection. These data may have implications regarding the role of adjuvant systemic therapy after surgical resection for tumors with these pathologic characteristics.
Post-transcriptional Regulation of Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor by Hypoxia

The major control point for the hypoxic induction of the vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) gene is the regulation of the steady-state level of the mRNA. We previously demonstrated a discrepancy between the transcription rate and the steady-state mRNA level induced by hypoxia. This led us to examine the post-transcriptional regulation of VEGF expression. Actinomycin D experiments revealed that hypoxia increased VEGF mRNA half-life from 43 ± 6 min to 106 ± 9 min. Using an in vitro mRNA degradation assay, the half-life of VEGF mRNA 3′-untranslated region (UTR) transcripts were also found to be increased when incubated with hypoxic versus normoxic extracts. Both cis-regulatory elements involved in VEGF mRNA degradation under normoxic conditions and in increased stabilization under hypoxic conditions were mapped using this degradation assay. A hypoxia-induced protein(s) was found that bound to the sequences in the VEGF 3′-UTR which mediated increased stability in the degradation assay. Furthermore, genistein, a tyrosine kinase inhibitor, blocked the hypoxia-induced stabilization of VEGF 3′-UTR transcripts and inhibited hypoxia-induced protein binding to the VEGF 3′-UTR. These findings demonstrate a significant post-transcriptional component to the regulation of VEGF.
An Initial Investigation of Firm Size and Debt Use by Small Restaurant Firms

ABSTRACT This study examines whether or not size affects the use of debt used by small restaurant firms. Owners often use debt as a mechanism to minimize agency costs in large firms. However, there is no consensus in the literature about how to measure firm size. This study uses different proxies for size and finds the significant measures to be total assets, total sales, number of owners, and number of employees. The study finds number of owners and total assets to be variables with maximum explanatory power.
Determination of organochlorines, polychlorinated biphenyls and polybrominated diphenyl ethers in human hair: Estimation of external and internal exposure

Abstract A novel method was developed for the analysis of organochlorine pesticides (OCPs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) in human hair samples. External contaminants of hair were extracted with acetone under sonication, while washed hair was further hydrolyzed in formic acid and acetone (1:4, v/v) with microwave assisted extraction (MAE) for internal contaminant measurements. Both internal and external extracts were cleaned up with gel permeation chromatography (GPC) and then solid phase extraction (SPE), before analyzed by a large volume injection-gas chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (LVI–GC–MS/MS) using triple quadruple mass analyzer. Good linearity ( R 2 ⩾ 0.996) was established within a concentration range between 0.1 and 100 ng mL − 1 among all target analytes. The method was validated for accuracy, precision and sensitivity. The developed method is intended to be cost effective and robust for the routine human hair analysis of PCBs, PBDEs and OCPs including acid-labile OCPs. The described method has been applied in pilot biomonitoring study and the preliminary data suggested that the contaminant profiles with the use of partial least-squares analysis discriminant analysis (PLA-DA) could be useful in differentiating external and internal exposure.
Infrared and Raman spectra of formaldazine

Abstract From infrared and Raman spectra, and particularly from Raman depolarization measurements, a partial vibrational reassignment is offered for trans formaldazine and trans 1,3 butadiene and a comparison is made of the fundamental vibrations of these two isoelectronic molecules. The spectra suggest the existence of a small amount of a second rotamer of formaldazine at room temperature, a result independently deduced from electron diffraction studies. Using the trans skeletal parameters obtained in the electron diffraction work, rotational constants are calculated for various twisted structures and it is seen that the earlier microwave observations are compatible with a gauche but not a cis (or trans ) structure. Finally, spectra are presented for two different polymeric forms of formaldazine along with some discussion of their structures and the mechanism of polymerization.
Signaling mechanism for equine neutrophil activation by immune complexes.

Neutrophils (PMN) are critical host defense cells that have a role in the pathophysiology of a variety of inflammatory diseases, particularly those diseases associated with antigen–antibody immune complexes (IC) deposited in tissues. Activation of PMN by IC is most efficient if the IC are presented immobilized on a surface. Adhesion to the immobilized IC is important for subsequent activation of PMN effector functions, such as generation of reactive oxygen metabolites. Adhesion of human PMN to immobilized IC requires the expression and activation of adhesion receptors called integrins. Of the integrins expressed on PMN, the beta 2 family has been found to be of particular importance for PMN function. The mechanism of beta 2 integrin activation during adhesion to IC has been studied in human PMN, but not in equine PMN. We show here that adhesion of equine PMN to immobilized IC requires beta 2 integrins. Like adhesion, IC-induced respiratory burst activity is dependent on beta 2 integrins. Furthermore, the signaling pathway triggering beta 2 integrin-dependent adhesion of equine PMN to IC and subsequent generation of respiratory burst activity is inhibited by the specific phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K) antagonists wortmannin and LY294002 with IC50 (concentration at which 50% inhibition is achieved) similar to the published values for inhibition of PI3K enzymatic activity. In contrast, PMA-induced activation of beta 2 integrin-dependent adhesion and respiratory burst activity are wortmannin and LY294002 insensitive. These data demonstrate that like in human PMN, IC-induced activation of beta 2 integrins and beta 2 integrin-dependent functions in equine PMN is dependent on PI3K activity.
Expressive genetic programming: tutorial: 2012 genetic and evolutionary computation conference (GECCO-2012)

The language in which evolving programs are expressed can have significant impacts on the problem-solving capabilities of a genetic programming system. These impacts stem both from the absolute computational power of the languages that are used, as elucidated by formal language theory, and from the ease with which various computational structures can be produced by random code generation and by the action of genetic operators. Highly expressive languages can facilitate the evolution of programs for any computable function using, when appropriate, multiple data types, evolved subroutines, evolved control structures, evolved data structures, and evolved modular program and data architectures. In some cases expressive languages can even support the evolution of programs that express methods for their own reproduction and variation (and hence for the evolution of their offspring). This tutorial will begin with a comparative survey of approaches to the evolution of programs in expressive programming languages ranging from machine code to graphical and grammatical representations. Within this context it will then provide a detailed introduction to the Push programming language, which was designed specifically for expressiveness and specifically for use in genetic programming systems. Push programs are syntactically unconstrained but can nonetheless make use of multiple data types and express arbitrary control structures, supporting the evolution of complex, modular programs in a particularly simple and flexible way. The Push language will be described and ten years of Push-based research, including the production of human-competitive results, will be briefly surveyed. The tutorial will conclude with a discussion of recent enhancements to Push that are intended to support the evolution of complex and robust software systems.
Internalization of plasma proteins by cerebellar Purkinje cells.

Summary Animal studies suggest that Purkinje cells internalize proteins from the blood and CSF. This process may relate to the pathogenesis of paraneoplastic cerebellar degeneration in patients with anti-Purkinje cell antibodies. To determine if human Purkinje cells may also internalize plasma proteins, cerebellar tissue was taken from routine autopsies of eight patients without neurologic or neoplastic disease. Several plasma proteins including IgG, IgA, IgM, transferrin, albumin and alpha-2-macroglobulin were detected by immunohisto-chemistry within the cytoplasm of Purkinje cells. Internalized proteins frequently filled the entire soma and major dendrites, sparing the nucleus. Vascular structures were also immunolabeled, while glia internalized plasma proteins differentially, with oligodendrocytes selectively internalizing transferrin. Purkinje cells were the most numerous and heavily labeled neuronal cell type in spite of their small numerical representation in the cerebellar neuronal population. Our results are compatible with previous animal studies, and suggest that internalization of specific antibodies could contribute to the pathogenesis of Purkinje cell loss in paraneoplastic cerebellar degeneration.
Intelligent Ping Sequencing for Multistatic Sonar Systems

We study the problem of determining optimal pinging strategies in multistatic sonar systems with multiple sources. We are specifically investigating algorithms that determine optimal pinging strategies both for generalized search scenarios, and for holding confirmed target tracks with constraints related to maintaining search performance in the rest of the area. An important part of this work is the development of metrics to be used in the optimization procedures. For maintaining search coverage, we used a "probability of target presence" metric formulation. This formulation utilizes sonar performance prediction and a Bayesian update equation to incorporate negative information (i.e., searching an area but finding no targets). We also discuss strategies that can be used to increase the performance of a multistatic field, such as the use of bandwidth diversity.
Counselling in a hospital-based newborn screening service.

Abstract The newborn screening and parent counselling service at Howard University Hospital is an integral component of services to newborn infants. The organization of this service presents a model that appears appropriately suited to the general organization of health-care delivery in the United States. Significant features of this service are: hospital-based planning and management of the service; integration of multiscreening components into a unified service; tight integration between screening, education, and counselling; a hospital-based team that provides coherent and in-depth counselling for all screening-related needs; a forum for orienting parents to the benefits of preventive health care; and a context in which to teach students the applied aspects of preventive health care based on early detection of disorders. If we are to have high quality newborn services in this area it may be incumbent on hospital-based health professionals to designate this as a required component of adequate hospital-based services for newborn infants rather than relinquishing the initiative to centralized health planners and legislators.
Canine granulocytopathy syndrome: defective bactericidal capacity of neutrophils from a dog with recurrent infections.

Abstract Neutrophils from a male Irish Setter dog with a clinical history of recurrent life-threatening bacterial infections were studied. Increased susceptibility to infection in the affected dog was associated with a defect in the capacity to kill phagocytized bacteria. In comparison with normal cells the defective leukocytes reduced significantly more nitroblue tetrazolim dye to blue formazan after phagocytosis of polystyrene latex spheres. Ultrastructural studies of affected neutrophils did not reveal any overt morphological abnormalities. The clinical syndrome in the affected dog, which closely resembles that observed in human neutrophil dysfunction syndromes, has been tentatively designated the canine granulocytopathy syndrome. The results of limited functional and structural studies presented in this report indicate that this disease is similar to, but not homologous with, any of the granulocytopathy syndromes described thus far in humans.
Petrophysical study of faults in sandstone using petrographic image analysis and X-ray computerized tomography

Petrographic image analysis (PIA) and X-ray computerized tomography (CT) provide local determinations of porosity in sandstone. We have investigated small faults called deformation bands in porous sandstones using these techniques. Because the petrophysical properties of the fault rock vary at a small scale (mm scale), the ability of PIA and CT to determine porosity in small volumes of rock and to map porosity distribution in two and three dimensions is crucial. This information is used to recognize the processes involved in fault development and the different kinds of microstructures associated with dilatancy and compaction. The petrophysical study of fault rock in sandstone permits one to make predictions of the hydraulic properties of a fault and thereby evaluate the sealing or fluid transmitting characteristics of faulted reservoirs and aquifers. The results of this study indicate that faulting in sandstone alters the original porosity and permeability of the host rock: the porosity is reduced by an order of magnitude and the permeability is reduced by one to more than seven orders of magnitude for faults associated with compaction.
Convective Interaction with Dynamics in a Linear Primitive Equation Model

Abstract A new global atmosphere model purpose designed for climate studies is introduced. The model is solved in terms of the normal modes of the linearized primitive equations on a sphere, which allows use of long time steps without introducing computational instability or phase errors of the linear wave components. The model is tested by attempting to simulate the tropical intraseasonal oscillation using an idealized sea surface temperature distribution. Simple treatments of radiation and boundary-layer processes are used together with the much more complete Betts–Miller convection scheme. The Betts–Miller scheme maintains the atmosphere in a state of near neutrality to reversible saturated ascent. It is found that for different values of the surface evaporation time scale, either the evaporation-wind feedback mechanism postulated by Neelin et al. and Emmanuel or low-level convergence of moisture can create eastward propagating deep convective modes. In general, both mechanisms seem important, but it i...
Effects of selective depletion of L3T4+ T-lymphocytes on herpes simplex virus encephalitis.

The L3T4 surface molecule defines a subset of murine lymphocytes which are homologous to CD4+ lymphocytes in humans, and are functionally characterized as “helper/inducer” cells. To determine the role of helper/inducer lymphocytes in the host defense against herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) encephalitis, we utilized a monoclonal antibody to selectively deplete L3T4+ lymphocytes from BALB/c mice prior to experimental HSV infection. Susceptibility to HSV was only minimally increased by the depletion of L3T4+ cells, although mice receiving anti-L3T4 were profoundly immunosuppressed; splenic lymphocytes did not respond to stimulation by virus antigen in vitro, and L3T4+ lymphocyte-depleted mice failed to produce antibodies to HSV-1. However, mice receiving anti-L3T4 had a prolonged increase in natural killer cell activity following HSV infection as compared to controls. These data demonstrate that L3T4+ lymphocytes contribute minimally to host resistance to acute neural HSV infection, even though elimination of these lymphocytes markedly inhibits the genesis of immune responses.
Unintentional injury prevention efforts for young children: levels, methods, types, and targets.

Unintentional injury is the leading killer of children in the United States. Although many may consider such injuries to be accidents, the majority of unintentional injuries are preventable. This article reviews research on programs intended to prevent injuries in young children. The article examines levels of intervention (e.g., national, community, family, and individual), methods of intervention (e.g., legislation, education, and behavioral training), types of intervention (e.g., passive and active), and targets of intervention (e.g., families, caregivers, and children). The paper also suggests a means of categorizing types of interventions along a numerical continuum from most passive to most active.
Improved Procedure for Direct Coupling of Carbohydrates to Proteins via Reductive Amination

Carbohydrate-protein conjugates are utilized extensively in basic research and as immunogens in a variety of bacterial vaccines and cancer vaccines. As a result, there have been significant efforts...
Live Attenuated Herpes Simplex Virus 2 Glycoprotein E Deletion Mutant as a Vaccine Candidate Defective in Neuronal Spread

A herpes simplex virus 2 (HSV-2) glycoprotein E deletion mutant (gE2-del virus) was evaluated as a replication-competent, attenuated live virus vaccine candidate. The gE2-del virus is defective in epithelial cell-to-axon spread and in anterograde transport from the neuron cell body to the axon terminus. In BALB/c and SCID mice, the gE2-del virus caused no death or disease after vaginal, intravascular, or intramuscular inoculation and was 5 orders of magnitude less virulent than wild-type virus when inoculated directly into the brain. No infectious gE2-del virus was recovered from dorsal root ganglia (DRG) after multiple routes of inoculation; however, gE2-del DNA was detected by PCR in lumbosacral DRG at a low copy number in some mice. Importantly, no recurrent vaginal shedding of gE2-del DNA was detected in immunized guinea pigs. Intramuscular immunization outperformed subcutaneous immunization in all parameters evaluated, although individual differences were not significant, and two intramuscular immunizations were more protective than one. Immunized animals had reduced vaginal disease, vaginal titers, DRG infection, recurrent genital lesions, and recurrent vaginal shedding of HSV-2 DNA; however, protection was incomplete. A combined modality immunization using live virus and HSV-2 glycoprotein C and D subunit antigens in guinea pigs did not totally eliminate recurrent lesions or recurrent vaginal shedding of HSV-2 DNA. The gE2-del virus used as an immunotherapeutic vaccine in previously HSV-2-infected guinea pigs greatly reduced the frequency of recurrent genital lesions. Therefore, the gE2-del virus is safe, other than when injected at high titer into the brain, and is efficacious as a prophylactic and immunotherapeutic vaccine.
Ion manipulation with cooled and bunched beams

Ion beam properties are often critical to experiments with rare isotopes. The ability to cool transverse motion and energy spread in a beam or modify its time structure can significantly improve many types of experiments. This ability is now a common feature in existing low-energy facilities and will play a central role in a number of next generation radioactive beam facilities. The basic physics underpinning the operation of these beam cooling devices is introduced below together with the key technical evolutions that have occurred since the previous ENAM conference. Examples of operating devices for various sources of radioactive ions are given, together with the performance presently achieved and improvements expected in the near future.
Why do some small islands lack vegetation? Evidence from long-term introduction experiments

Classic island biogeography theory predicts that very small islands, near the extreme lower end of the speciesarea relationship, should support very few species. At times no species may be present, however, due to randomness in the immigrationextinction dynamics. Alternatively, a lack of vegetation on very small islands may indicate that such islands do not contain the appropriate habitat for the establishment or long-term survival of plants, or that disturbances are too frequent or intense. These potential mechanisms were evaluated in the central Exumas, Bahamas, where surveys of 117 small islands revealed that over a third of the islands supported no terrestrial plant life. Area and exposure were significant predictors of whether a small island was vegetated or not in multiple logistic regressions. No islands naturally devoid of vegetation were colonized over a 17-yr period, and only two naturally vegetated islands lost all vegetation. Experimental introductions of two speciesSesuvium portulacastrum and Borrichia arborescensrevealed that a number of islands naturally lacking vegetation were able to sustain introduced populations over the long term (up to 15 yr). Drought and hurricanes appeared to have reduced the establishment success and possibly long-term survival of the introductions, although some populations survived four major hurricanes. Turnover rates of both introduced species were often an order of magnitude higher on the experimental introduction islands than on other islands in the archipelago. It appears many of the islands in this system that naturally lack vegetation may be physically capable of supporting terrestrial plant life, yet have no plants primarily due to barriers to colonization.
Effects of Matrix Temperature and Rigidity on the Electronic Properties of Solvatochromic Molecules: Electroabsorption of Coumarin 153

Using Stark effect (electroabsorption) spectroscopy to study the well-known solvatochromic probe molecule coumarin 153 (C153) in a variety of polymer matrices and organic glasses, we have found that the average change in polarizability ( ) that we measure depends critically on the rigidity of the matrix used. In rigid polymer and frozen organic glass matrices, the measured values are between 4 and 60 A3. The smaller values in this range are similar to those obtained via semiempirical and ab initio calculations. In contrast, measurements made on polymer matrices that are above their glass-transition temperature or those containing trapped solvent are more than an order of magnitude higher. We postulate that large values of result from field-induced orientation of the C153 molecule and/or the dipoles of the surrounding matrix in matrices that are not fully rigid. The absolute value of the change in dipole moment between the ground and excited states (|Δμ|) of C153 measured here ranges from 4.4 to 7.0 D, dep...
Salvage Surgery for Recurrent Cancers of the Oropharynx: Comparing TORS With Standard Open Surgical Approaches

Importance Surgical salvage may be the only viable treatment option for recurrent tumors of the oropharynx. To our knowledge, there have been no published reports directly comparing the oncologic and functional outcomes of patients with recurrent oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) treated with transoral robotic-assisted surgery (TORS) with those treated with traditional open surgical approaches. Objective To compare the oncologic and functional outcomes of patients with recurrent oropharyngeal SCC treated with TORS with those treated with traditional open surgical approaches. Design Retrospective multi-institutional case-control study; study dates, March 2003 through October 2011. Setting Four tertiary care institutions (University of Alabama at Birmingham; M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas; Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota; and Henry Ford Hospital, Detroit, Michigan). Participants Sixty-four patients who underwent salvage TORS for recurrent oropharyngeal SCC were matched by TNM stage to 64 patients who underwent open salvage resection. Intervention or Exposure Salvage TORS for recurrent SCC of the oropharynx. Main Outcome and Measures Patient demographics, operative data, functional, and oncologic outcomes were recorded and compared with a similarly TNM-matched patient group that underwent salvage surgical resection by traditional open surgical approaches. Results Patients treated with TORS were found to have a significantly lower incidence of tracheostomy use (n = 14 vs n = 50;P Conclusions and Relevance This study demonstrates that TORS offers an alternative surgical approach to recurrent tumors of the oropharynx with acceptable oncologic outcomes and better functional outcomes than traditional open surgical approaches. This adds to the growing amount of clinical evidence to support the use of TORS in selected patients with recurrent oropharyngeal SCC as a feasible and oncologically sound method of treatment.
Propositions for testing the involvement construct in recreational and tourism contexts

Abstract The involvement construct has been extensively studied in the consumer behavior literature. Recent conceptual and measurement breakthroughs have made examination of the construct appealing in the contexts of recreational and tourist behavior. This article suggests 15 propositions that evolve from a review of involvement‐related literature. The propositions are grouped under the following headings: measurement issues; the relationship between involvement and time; the relationship of involvement with search and purchase behavior; the relationship between involvement and promotional stimuli; and accessing the involvement variable. The propositions are intended to stimulate and guide empirical research related to involvement in recreation and tourism contexts.
Gaucher Disease, Molecular Biology of

First page of article Keywords: Glucocerebroside; Glucocerebrosidase; Pyruvate kinase; Polymorphism; Pseudogene
Initiation and maintenance of cocoon spinning behaviour by saturniid silkworms

Larvae of Antheraea pernyi and Hyalophora cecropia terminate the feeding phase of the fifth instar by purging the alimentary tract. This occurs in the morning under artificial illumination schedules and precedes the initiation of spinning by a species-specific time interval. Infusion of β-ecdysone into H. cecropia late in the feeding phase may, under certain conditions, provoke premature gut purging or terminate spinning by causing premature metamorphosis. Experiments in which spinning A. pernyi were stripped of their cocoons at various stages of construction confirmed that caterpillars initiated the spinning of a second cocoon at the same point in the behavioural repertoire where they had been interrupted. The rapid turning involved in cocoon impregnation behaviour was executed only in the confines of a cocoon, and required that the hindgut be both distended by exudate and free to expel it. Severance of the ventral nerve cord anterior to the terminal ganglion also eliminated impregnation behaviour. Cyclic turning of the caterpillar in the cocoon persisted after spinneret occlusion or silk gland excision, but at a markedly depressed frequency.
The Performance Analysis and Hardware Acceleration of Crypto-computations for Enhanced Security

Security is very important in modern life due to most information is now stored in digital format. A good security mechanism will keep information secrecy and integrity, hence, plays an important role in modern information exchange. However, cryptography algorithms are extremely expensive in terms of execution time. To make data not easily being cracked, many arithmetic and logical operations will be executed in the encryption/decryption process with many data movement. This means the cryptographic applications are both computation and memory intensive. Using a general-purpose processor for this scenario would not be very cost-effective. This study addresses this problem. Compared to the previous designs, we used a performance analyzer to identify “hotspot” functions across a set of benchmarks. The hotspot function consumes a substantial amount of the execution time of the specific algorithm. Then we translate these hotspot functions into hardware accelerators to improve the performance. Overall we achieve 34 – 83 folds of speedup.
Quine and Prior on Quantification

It was clear in the preceding chapter that Davidson was inclined to think that there is some especially close connection between quantificational truth and the existence of objects (ontology). This conception is widespread in contemporary philosophy, and its acceptance is due, above all else, to the writings of Quine. So in our search for reasons to think that quantification brings in objects we turn to Quine.
The Effect of Sea Surface Microlayer Enrichment on TBT Transport

To assess the biological significance of the release of TBT containing substances the pathways as well as potential concentrating mechanisms must be understood. The sea surface microlayer provides such a pathway and may allow for significant enrichment. TBT compounds are surface active and hence remain surface adsorbed by lowering the Gibb's Free Energy. Because TBT also "dissolves" in lipids, petroleum hycrocarbons, and non-polar moieties of proteins and their breakdown products, the surface active nature of many of these compounds serves as an additional enriching mechanism. Conventional surface sampling methods yield enrichment over bulk water concentrations of 2 to 3 orders of magnitude, which reflect much higher surface concentrations. While direct contact by floating fish eggs and ichthyoplankton may be one method of transfer into the food web, the creation of whitecaps and the downwelling of bubble swarms not only may allow redistribution of TBT, but bubble collapse by rectified diffusion, and film collapse by surface stresses converts TBT enriched microlayer organic matter into particulate phases that inturn are able to enter the food web via detrital feeders.
Influence of Psychosocial Factors on Wart Remission

Abstract The effects of psychosocial events on the natural history of warts and the physiological mechanisms that mediate them are observed in two case studies. Psychosocial factors not only accelerate the remission of warts but may also reinforce their presence and proliferation as in Case No. 1. Vasomotor changes during and following nonspecific hypnotic suggestions in Case No. 2 lend confirmation to earlier speculations and hypotheses on the nature of one mediating physiological mechanism in wart remission. The merits of an operant conditioning paradigm of so called “hypnotic” behaviors were discussed.
Assessing Teachers’ Science Content Knowledge: A Strategy for Assessing Depth of Understanding

One of the characteristics of effective science teachers is a deep understanding of science concepts. The ability to identify, explain and apply concepts is critical in designing, delivering and assessing instruction. Because some teachers have not completed extensive courses in some areas of science, especially in middle and elementary grades, many professional development programs attempt to strengthen teachers’ content knowledge. Assessing this content knowledge is challenging. Concept inventories are reliable and efficient, but do not reveal depth of knowledge. Interviews and observations are time-consuming. The Problem Based Learning Project for Teachers implemented a strategy that includes pre-post instruments in eight content strands that permits blind coding of responses and comparison across teachers and groups of teachers. The instruments include two types of open-ended questions that assess both general knowledge and the ability to apply Big Ideas related to specific science topics. The coding scheme is useful in revealing patterns in prior knowledge and learning, and identifying ideas that are challenging or not addressed by learning activities. The strengths and limitations of the scoring scheme are identified through comparison of the findings to case studies of four participating teachers from middle and elementary schools. The cases include examples of coded pre- and post-test responses to illustrate some of the themes seen in teacher learning. The findings raise questions for future investigation that can be conducted using analyses of the coded responses.
Beyond the referential: Uses of visual symbolism in the press

This article explores the contradiction between the way journalism appeals to photographic indexicality in support of its claims to professional objectivity, while use of the news photograph includes violations of realism and the projection of multiple levels of connotative meaning. The article argues that in its drive to show as well as tell, the press routinely employs visual symbolism to supply photographic validation that it does not possess, even for abstract qualities that cannot be validated visually. Three classifications of photographic symbolism in the press are offered: temporal, in which time frames are evoked and utilized within the newspage; metaphorical, where analogical associations are employed; and synthetic, representations that entail gross distortions of reality. The study charts the codes and conventions that the press employs to create these levels of symbolism, and discusses examples of the way moving beyond the referential creates visual illusions that can frame and mislead.
Social Interactions of Speech, and Language-Impaired Children

Social interactions among preschool children were classified into four groups according to language ability: normally developing English, specific language impairment (SLI), speech impairment (SI),...
Multiple Chemical Sensitivity Multiorgan Dysesthesia, Multiple Symptom Complex, and Multiple Confusion: Problems in Diagnosing the Patient Presenting with Unexplained Multisystemic Symptoms

Patients are presenting in increasing numbers with multiorgan symptoms allegedly resulting from exposure to environmental chemicals. Among the symptoms expressed by patients with alleged multiple chemical sensitivities (MCS) are profound fatigue, mental confusion, myalgia, depression, anxiety, dizziness, headache, insomnia, loss of appetite, and numbness of the extremities, all in the absence of objective physical signs. Diagnostic criteria to assess the effects of environmental agents on organ systems are sorely needed because patients with MCS often have no tissue pathology or physiological abnormalities, but often do have diagnosable psychiatric illnesses. In treating patients with MCS, the physician should first perform a complete history and physical examination, including a comprehensive evaluation of chemical exposure. If the findings strongly suggest the presence of disease related to particular organ systems, further diagnostic evaluation should be undertaken. If abnormal findings are absent, psychiatric advice may be useful. The physician should keep an open mind about MCS but must also remember that a cause-effect relationship between exposure to multiple chemicals and symptoms has not been established.
The effects of using a nonprocedural computer language on programmer productivity

An empirical experiment was conducted in order to compare a third generation, procedural language (COBOL) with a fourth generation, nonprocedural language (Focus) in terms of programmer productivity and program efficiency. Six applications were developed in two languages by different programmers who had been matched according to their level of expertise. The results of the experiment showed that the applications were programmed significantly faster, particularly by beginning programmers, using the nonprocedural language. On the other hand, it was found that the procedural language was significantly faster than the nonprocedural language in terms of CPU execution time.
Notes on Estimating Experience Curves: Econometric Issues

Experience curves have for some time provided a conceptual framework for forecasting unit costs of new products or production activities. On a practical level, however, statistical estimation of experience curves involves a number of subtle model specification issues which if ignored can render estimated curves totally inappropriate. In this paper several of these issues are explored in a heuristic setting.
Uncertainty and Variability Analysis

The Environmental Protection Agency is developing final standards for the allowable concentrations of disinfection by-products (discussed in Chapter 3) in U.S. drinking water supplies. While disinfection is known to lower significantly the risk from microbial infections, epidemiological studies have suggested that there are cancer and other risks from the DBPs [1]. Many other disinfection byproducts, however, remain to be identified and the public health significance of these is unknown. The relatively low concentrations of the various natural and man-made contaminants in existing drinking water, the inability to obtain valid and complete exposure histories for individuals, and the challenge of controlling confounding factors, have made it difficult for epidemiological studies to detect and estimate risks of cancer from the DBPs [1,2]. Still, information on exposure of animals to individual DBPs has allowed the EPA to develop health criteria in drinking water that would result in either no expectation of non-cancer health effects or an acceptable lifetime probability of cancer (see the discussion in Chapter 5).
High-Density Superconducting Cables for Advanced ACTPol

Advanced ACTPol (AdvACT) is an upcoming Atacama Cosmology Telescope (ACT) receiver upgrade, scheduled to deploy in 2016, that will allow measurement of the cosmic microwave background polarization and temperature to the highest precision yet with ACT. The AdvACT increase in sensitivity is partly provided by an increase in the number of transition-edge sensors (TESes) per array by up to a factor of two over the current ACTPol receiver detector arrays. The high-density AdvACT TES arrays require 70 $$\upmu $$ m pitch superconducting flexible cables (flex) to connect the detector wafer to the first-stage readout electronics. Here, we present the flex fabrication process and test results. For the flex wiring layer, we use a 400-nm-thick sputtered aluminum film. In the center of the cable, the wiring is supported by a polyimide substrate, which smoothly transitions to a bare (uncoated with polyimide) silicon substrate at the ends of the cable for a robust wedge wire-bonding interface. Tests on the first batch of flex made for the first AdvACT array show that the flex will meet the requirements for AdvACT, with a superconducting critical current above 1 mA at 500 mK, resilience to mechanical and cryogenic stress, and a room temperature yield of 97 $$\,\%$$ .
A cradle to gate LCA framework for emissions and energy reduction in concrete pavement mixture design

Abstract The plurality of life-cycle assessments for concrete pavements have used national or regional data to develop models to aid in decision related processes for designing concrete pavements. The findings of these studies effectively yield information in which global decisions can be made with respect to material selection and implementation. However, construction projects are dependent upon local supply and demand and require different levels of design complexity: freeze–thaw exposure, leaching potential, and alkali-silica reactivity. This paper presents a cradle-to-gate framework for design engineers and concrete ready-mix producers to implement in an effort to optimize mixture designs across economic, environmental, and mechanical performance criteria. The framework was assessed through the examination of a newly constructed highway in South Georgia. The case study proved that through the incorporation of 20% more Class F fly ash compared to the in-situ mixture design used on the pavement project site, all fresh and hardened concrete properties set by the Georgia Department of Transportation could still be exceeded, while the environmental efficiency would also increase by 23% with a total cost savings of 0.67 million dollars for the 11.52 linear miles (18.54 linear km) of pavement. Additionally, updated emission factors for input materials into concrete pavements, ranging from cement to aggregates, are presented using the most up-to-date data and techniques.
Pediatric abuse. New patterns of injury

Summary The spectrum of abusive symptomatology has continued to expand since the initial report of the battered child syndrome. Many of these abused children present to the ED without a history of trauma. The ED physician must be aware of the range of clinical signs and symptoms to recognize and treat these children.
In-Situ Spectroscopic Ellipsometry Applied to ZnSe and ZnCdSe Growth Process in Organometallic Vapor Phase Epitaxy

Spectroscopie ellipsometry is a well developed technique for studying the semiconductor materials and heterostructures. Here, we have applied this technique to in-situ studies of ZnSe and ZnCdSe growth in a low pressure organometallic vapor phase epitaxy system. The growth of ZnSe on GaAs was studied using a light source in the range 2 to 4 eV, and film thickness of a few tens of angstroms could be monitored by this technique. The band gap and the composition of Zn 1-χ Cd χ Se could also be measured as a function of real time. It was found that, for a gas phase DMCd composition of 60%, the amount of Cd incorporated in the layers is less than 25%. Spectroscopie ellipsometry is demonstrated to be a valuable technique for in-situ monitoring of semiconductor growth in organometallic vapor phase epitaxy systems.
Principal loop-isotopes of quasigroups

If a quasigroup (L, .) has finite order n, then there are n2 principal loop-isotopes. Some of these n2 loops may be isomorphic, and the main purpose of this paper is to obtain theorems that describe the isomorphism classes. Using these results and a computer, we have determined all the loops of order 6. These are listed (using the Fisher and Yates (2) designations) at the end of the paper.
The Effects of Dietary Vitamin C, Protein, Strain and Age on Egg Quality, Production and Serum and Albumen Protein of Chickens

Abstract The influence of feeding supplemental vitamin C was determined on dietary protein level and upon protein patterns of serum and egg albumen and on egg quality from hens of different ages and strains. One-year-old Single Comb White Leghorn (S.C.W.L.) strain A hens were randomly assigned to either a 15% protein basal layer ration with or without a 3300 p.p.m. vitamin C supplement. Two-, four- and seven-year-old S.C.W.L. strain A hens and two-year old S.C.W.L. strain B hens were assigned to either a 15% or an 18% protein diet with or without supplementation of 1322 p.p.m. vitamin C. Egg production was significantly (P Shell thickness was significantly (P