cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A Comparison of Encephalization between Odontocete Cetaceans and Anthropoid Primates

There have been very few studies of brain size and encephalization in cetaceans and essentially none that have made direct quantitative comparisons of cetaceans and another mammalian group using large normative samples. In the present study two different measures of encephalization were calculated and used to rank and compare 21 odontocete species and 60 anthropoid primate species. Comparisons were made both within and between the two groups. Results show that the encephalization level of Homo sapiens is still extraordinary relative to that of nonhuman species. Nevertheless, a subset of delphinid odontocetes are significantly more highly encephalized than the most highly encephalized anthropoid primates and narrow the gap in encephalization between humans and nonhumans substantially. These findings may have implications for comparative models of the relative importance of brain size versus brain organization for the evolution of intelligence.
Late tertiary paleoaltitudes and vegetational zonation in Mexico and Central America

SUMMARY During the middle Pliocene seven principal arborescent plant communities occupied the zone between sea level and the highest elevations of the eastern Transvolcanic Belt—manglar (mangrove swamps; Rhizophora), bosque caducifolio (deciduous or Quercus/Liquidambar woods), bosque de encino (oak woods; Quercus, both lowland tropical and upland temperate types), bosque de pino (pine woods; Pinus), bosque de pino y encino, and bosque de oyamel (high-altitude Abies/Pinus woods). The presence of Picea, now confined in Mexico to the northern mountains 1000 km distant from the fossil locality in south-eastern Veracruz state, and the poor representation of the selva alta perennifolia (tropical rain forest) suggest cooler mean annual temperatures estimated at 2–3°C below the present. A downward shift in ecotones of about 500–1000 m is suggested, with a maximum altitude in the region of about 2500 m (the present maximum is 5650 m; present altitudinal range of Abies in eastern Mexico is 2400–3600 m). In southern Central America (Costa Rica, Panama) all modern anologues of taxa recently reported from late Eocene and early Miocene palynofloras can be accommodated in a zone between sea level and 1200–1500 m (current maximum elevations c. 3500–4000 m). Tertiary temperature fluctuations were muted by the insular environment of proto-Central America, and altitudinal shifts in ecotones are not evident in the fossil floras.
Use of the resource-based relative value scale for private insurers.

Abstract Medicare's resource-based relative value scale (RBRVS) was implemented 1 January 1992 for physician payment using a conversion factor of $31 for each relative value unit (RVU). We calculated a conversion factor of $42.24 for The Travelers Insurance Company's group health plan business using the RBRVS methodology and the calendar year 1990 Travelers Large Case Norms Extract of active employees. This DataWatch describes two important applications of the relative value scale for private insurers: for pricing and for analyzing claims expenditures.
Safety of Long-term Treatment With HFA Albuterol

Background Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) used as propellants in metered-dose inhalers deplete stratospheric ozone, which results in serious public health concerns. Albuterol has been reformulated in the non-ozone-depleting propellant, hydrofluoroalkane-134a (HFA albuterol). Objectives The primary objective was to compare the safety of HFA albuterol to an albuterol product formulated in chlorofluorocarbon propellants (CFC albuterol) during 1 year of treatment in asthmatics. Bronchodilator efficacy of the two products was assessed as a secondary objective. Methods The results from two open-label, parallel-group trials of similar design in asthmatics requiring short-acting β-agonists for symptom control were combined. Patients took two puffs bid of either HFA albuterol or CFC albuterol for 1 year. Additional puffs of study drug were allowed as needed to control asthma symptoms. Adverse events were recorded at clinic visits. Patients self-administered study drug at quarterly visits and underwent serial spirometry during a 6-h period postdose. Bronchodilator efficacy variables, based on FEV 1 response to study drug, were proportion of responders, time to onset of effect, peak percent change, time to peak effect, duration of effect, and area under the curve. Differences between products and changes over time in efficacy variables were assessed using an analysis of variance model. Regression analyses with FEV 1 as a covariate were performed post-hoc to analyze changes in bronchodilator efficacy over time. Results Demographic and baseline characteristics were similar for patients receiving HFA albuterol (n = 337) and CFC albuterol (n = 132). Total reported adverse events were similar for the two treatments. Differences in only four individual adverse events were noted: the HFA albuterol group reported more gastroenteritis and dizziness; the CFC albuterol group reported more epistaxis and expectoration. Adverse events attributed to study drug use were infrequent. No serious adverse events were related to study drug use. Predose FEV 1 at quarterly visits increased to a small extent in both groups from month 0 to month 12. The bronchodilator efficacy of HFA albuterol was comparable to that of CFC albuterol at the quarterly visits, but decreased from baseline for both products over the 12 months of treatment. Use of inhaled corticosteroids, nasal corticosteroids, or theophylline did not explain the increase in predose FEV 1 over time and did not protect patients from developing reduced bronchodilator efficacy by month 12. The change in predose FEV 1 did not entirely account for the reduced bronchodilator efficacy over time. Conclusions HFA albuterol has a safety profile similar to that of CFC albuterol during chronic, scheduled use, and both drugs are well tolerated. HFA albuterol and CFC albuterol provided comparable bronchodilator efficacy, but bronchodilator efficacy decreased for both products with 1 year of use.
Changing Landscape of Opportunistic Infections

William Powderly, M.D., is Professor of Medicine at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, Missouri. Dr. Powderly joined the faculty in the Infectious Disease Division at the university in 1987 and became codirector of the division in 1995. He received his M.D. degree from University College Dublin in Ireland and completed internal medicine training in Dublin. He did his fellowship in infectious disease at Washington University School of Medicine and Barnes-Jewish Hospital. He is a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland. He has served on numerous national and international committees, especially in the area of AIDS-related clinical research and is currently Vice-Chair of the Adult AIDS Clinical Trials Group and chair of its Scientific Steering Committee. Dr. Powderly has been actively involved in HIV-related clinical research for the last 15 years. He is currently Principal Investigator of the National Institutes of Health (NIH)-funded AIDS Clinical Trials Unit at Washington University, which is part of the Adult AIDS Clinical Trials Group. His own research originally focused on opportunistic infections, especially fungal infections, including cryptococcal meningitis, candidiasis, and histoplasmosis. More recently, he and his group have concentrated on the emerging toxicities of antiretroviral therapy, especially the metabolic complications seen in patients receiving effective therapy. His group has contributed to available data on insulin resistance, lipid abnormalities, and bone disease. The Washington University Metabolic Group was the first to describe bone disease as a complication of HIV infection, has recently published a more complete study of natural history, and has just completed the first randomized trial of therapy for bone demineralization in HIV disease. Dr. Powderly is an associate editor of AIDS Patient Care and STDs.
Computation of transonic vortex flows past delta wings Integral equation approach

The steady full-potential equation is written in the form of Poisson's equation, and the solution of the velocity field is expressed in terms of an integral equation. The solution consists of a surface integral of vorticity distribution on the wing and its free-vortex sheets and a volume integral of source distribution within a volume around the wing and its free-vortex sheets. The solution is obtained through successive iteration cycles. The source distribution is computed by using a mixed finite-difference scheme of the Murman-Cole type. The method is applied to delta wings. Numerical examples show that a conical shock is captured on the suction side of the wing. It is attached to the lower surface of the leading-edge vortex but does not necessarily reach to the wing surface.
Directed evolution studies with combinatorial libraries of T4 lysozyme mutants.

Gene duplication with divergence to new functions has been an important mechanism in protein evolution. However, the questions of how many new functions can arise from a particular ancestral gene and how many mutational steps are typically required to generate new functions have been difficult to approach experimentally. We have addressed these questions using T4 lysozyme as a model system by synthesizing two combinatorial libraries of >107 mutant T4 lysozyme genes: one library with an average of 14 missense mutations spread throughout the gene and one library in which 13 active site residues have been simultaneously randomized. These libraries were placed under selection inlacZ orpheA deficient strains ofE. coli to investigate whether they sample sufficient diversity to contain mutants with acquired β-galactosidase or prephenate dehydratase activities. Although neither selection yielded T4 lysozyme mutants with these new activities, a novelE. coli locus was cloned that weakly complements these mutants, allowing them to form 1 mm colonies in 4–6 weeks. This growth rate corresponds to a turnover number of approximately 1000 or 25 min− for thelacZ orpheA complementation systems, respectively, thus defining the limits of evolved enzymatic activity detectable in these selections. Thus, the strong selective pressure uncovered an unexpected solution to the biochemical blocks, a frequently observed phenomenon in selection experiments. The characterization of this locus will allow its elimination from futureE. coli complementation schemes.
Modulation of dorsal thalamic cell activity by the ventral pallidum: Its role in the regulation of thalamocortical activity by the basal ganglia

The actions mediated by limbic system output projections of the basal ganglia were investigated by studying the effects of ventral pallidum (VP) stimulation on the activity of neurons in thalamic target nuclei, including several of the dorsal thalamic nuclei and the nucleus reticularis, using in vivo intracellular recordings in rats. Intracellular injection of Lucifer yellow was used in a subset of experiments to identify the neurons recorded and to confirm their location with respect to the specific thalamic nuclei targeted. Stimulation of the VP evoked ipsps in 79% of the mediodorsal cells recorded. In the reticular nucleus, 73% of the neurons tested responded with evoked ipsps. In contrast, in other dorsal thalamic nuclei VP stimulation evoked depolarizations in 58% of the cells recorded. The latency to onset of the ipsps in the mediodorsal nucleus and in the reticular nucleus were not substantially different (1.7 +/- 1.1 msec vs. 2.7 +/- 1.1 msec), whereas the depolarizing response evoked in dorsal thalamic nucleus neurons typically occurred at longer and more variable latencies (3.5 +/- 2.7 msec). These experiments support a dual functional role for limbic system output from the basal ganglia in the regulation of thalamocortical activity: a) a direct inhibitory projection from the VP to the mediodorsal nucleus and b) an indirect disinhibition of neurons in other dorsal thalamic nuclei that occurs via a direct inhibitory projection to the reticular nucleus of the thalamus. Such an anatomical arrangement may be relevant to the presence of hypofrontality and the breakdown of cognitive filtering observed in schizophrenics.
Thyroid hormone and experimental atherosclerosis in rabbits

Abstract Rabbits were fed a diet containing 2% added cholesterol but no fat for 60 days. When the diet contained D-thyroxine (0.5 mg/day) or L-thyroxine (0.05 mg/day) both serum cholesterol and atheromata were lower than they were in control rabbits. Of 10 studies in the literature relating to thyroid hormone and atherosclerosis, 7 report reduced atherosclerosis and 3 report increased atherosclerosis in drug-treated rabbits. The data are collected and the suggestion made that some ingredient present or absent in commercial rabbit ration may be responsible for the reported effects.
Trust the Process: Increasing Student Achievement via Professional Development and Process Accountability.

Student achievement has received much attention in the discourse of standards and accountablility. This article describes specific instructional innovations to guide professional development activities implemented at one West Coast high school. Preliminary results are discussed.
A detailed evaluation of the heating efficiency in the middle atmosphere

The role of airglow losses in reducing the efficiency of solar heating in the Hartley, Huggins, and Chappuis bands of ozone in the Herzberg, Ly alpha, Schumann-Runge continuum, and in Schumann-Runge bands of molecular oxygen is investigated together with the role of heating due to seven chemical reactions in the middle atmosphere. The results of calculations of bulk efficiencies demonstrate that airglow and chemiluminescent emission significantly reduce the amount of energy available for heat throughout the mesosphere and lower thermosphere.
Military Service and Alcohol Use in the United States

It is well known that enlistees and veterans in the United States are more likely to use alcohol than civilians. However, most of this research is potentially biased in that it often does not emplo...
Hematopoietic Expression of Hoxb4 Is Regulated in Normal and Leukemic Stem Cells through Transcriptional Activation of the Hoxb4 Promoter by Upstream Stimulating Factor (Usf)-1 and Usf-2

The homeobox genes encode a family of transcription factors that regulate development and postnatal tissue homeostasis. Since HOXB4 plays a key role in regulating the balance between hematopoietic stem cell renewal and differentiation, we studied the molecular regulation of HOXB4 expression in human hematopoietic stem cells. HOXB4 expression in K562 cells is regulated at the level of transcription, and transient transfection defines primary HOXB4 regulatory sequences within a 99-bp 5′ promoter. Culture of highly purified human CD34+ bone marrow cells in thrombopoietin/Flt-3 ligand/stem cell factor induced HOXB4 3–10-fold, whereas culture in granulocyte/macrophage colony-stimulating factor, only increased HOXB4/luciferase expression 20–50%. Mutations within the HOXB4 promoter identified a potential E box binding site (HOX response element [HXRE]-2) as the most critical regulatory sequence, and yeast one hybrid assays evaluating bone marrow and K562 libraries for HXRE-2 interaction identified upstream stimulating factor (USF)-2 and micropthalmia transcription factor (MITF). Electrophoretic mobility shift assay with K562 extracts confirmed that these proteins, along with USF-1, bind to the HOXB4 promoter in vitro. Cotransfection assays in both K562 and CD34+ cells showed that USF-1 and USF-2, but not MITF, induce the HOXB4 promoter in response to signals stimulating stem cell self-renewal, through activation of the mitogen-activated protein kinase pathway. Thus hematopoietic expression of the human HOXB4 gene is regulated by the binding of USF-1 and USF-2, and this process may be favored by cytokines promoting stem cell self-renewal versus differentiation.
Erratum: Alternative form of the nonlocal p potential in the empirical pseudopotential method

An alternative nonlocal $p$ potential is suggested. The difference between the present and the earlier form are discussed in terms of the effectiveness on the $p$ states of the elements in the first row of the Periodic Table.
Perceived Preparedness of Graduate Assistant Approved Clinical Instructors for Supervision of Athletic Training Students in Professional Programs.

Context: Approved clinical instructors (ACIs) are crucial for the development of athletic training students. Graduate students often serve as ACIs and usually do not have extensive clinical experience, and therefore may not feel adequately prepared to supervise students. Objectives: 1) To determine the perceived preparedness of graduate assistant ACIs in the supervision of athletic training students in professional programs; 2) To determine perceptions of ACI training. Design: Prospective, exploratory. Setting: Programs that have been accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Athletic Training Education (CAATE) for five years or more. Participants: Thirty-three out of 140 graduate assistant ACIs (23.5% response rate) at 27 athletic training programs. Instrumentation: A 47-item Graduate Assistant ACI Perceived Preparedness online questionnaire. Data Analysis: Frequencies and percentages were used to describe the responses for questionnaire items; an ANOVA was used to examine self-assessment ratings among participant groups. Results: Participants felt prepared in learning styles (79%), ACI responsibilities (100%), evaluation and feedback of student performance (79%). They felt most prepared to evaluate and provide feedback in students’ clinical skills and least prepared in evaluating and providing feedback for professional behaviors. The greatest challenges faced by participants included time constraints (69.7%), controlling the learning environment (57.6%), and understanding institutional policies and procedures related to clinical education (39.4%). When asked to self-assess their first-year performance supervising students on a scale of 0 (worst performance) to 10 (best performance), the mean [SD] score reported was 6.97 [1.2]. There were no differences in first-year self-assessment performance ratings between participants who thought ACI training was adequate and/or beneficial and those who did not ( P=0.05). Conclusion: Most of the participants felt prepared to be an ACI as a graduate assistant and believed the ACI training to be adequate and beneficial. There were no differences in self-reported first-year performance ratings between participants who believed their training to be adequate and beneficial and those who did not.
Immunity to Respiratory Viruses

The respiratory tract is characterized by an extensive surface area that is in direct contact with the environment, posing a significant problem for effective immune surveillance. Yet most respiratory pathogens are quickly recognized and controlled by a coordinated response involving the innate and adaptive arms of the immune system. The investigation of pulmonary immunity to respiratory viruses during a primary infection has demonstrated that multiple innate and adaptive immune mechanisms are necessary for efficient antiviral responses, and the inhibition of any single mechanism can have disastrous consequences for the host. Furthermore, the investigation of recall responses in the lung has shown that protection from a secondary challenge infection is a complex and elegant process that occurs in distinct stages. In this review, we discuss recent advances that describe the roles of individual components during primary and secondary responses to respiratory virus infections and how these discoveries have added to our understanding of antiviral immunity in the lung.
The Glutamate Switch of Bacteriophage T7 DNA Helicase ROLE IN COUPLING NUCLEOTIDE TRIPHOSPHATE (NTP) AND DNA BINDING TO NTP HYDROLYSIS

The DNA helicase encoded by gene 4 of bacteriophage T7 forms a hexameric ring in the presence of dTTP, allowing it to bind DNA in its central core. The oligomerization also creates nucleotide-binding sites located at the interfaces of the subunits. DNA binding stimulates the hydrolysis of dTTP but the mechanism for this two-step control is not clear. We have identified a glutamate switch, analogous to the glutamate switch found in AAA+ enzymes that couples dTTP hydrolysis to DNA binding. A crystal structure of T7 helicase shows that a glutamate residue (Glu-343), located at the subunit interface, is positioned to catalyze a nucleophilic attack on the γ-phosphate of a bound nucleoside 5′-triphosphate. However, in the absence of a nucleotide, Glu-343 changes orientation, interacting with Arg-493 on the adjacent subunit. This interaction interrupts the interaction of Arg-493 with Asn-468 of the central β-hairpin, which in turn disrupts DNA binding. When Glu-343 is replaced with glutamine the altered helicase, unlike the wild-type helicase, binds DNA in the presence of dTDP. When both Arg-493 and Asn-468 are replaced with alanine, dTTP hydrolysis is no longer stimulated in the presence of DNA. Taken together, these results suggest that the orientation of Glu-343 plays a key role in coupling nucleotide hydrolysis to the binding of DNA.
HYDRODYNAMIC EFFECTS IN THE PHASE SEPARATION OF BINARY POLYMER MIXTURES

Abstract The phenomenon of phase separation by spinodal decomposition was studied for polymer blends made by compositional quenching. The modified Cahn-Hilliard theory of phase separation was extended to include hydrodynamics, with a volumetric body force, due to concentration gradients, that induced convective flows. This force influenced the morphology and the growth rate of the average domain size. Unlike the conventional treatment of flows driven by surface tension, the velocity and pressure fields were treated as continuous functions of spatial position. Numerical solutions for the phase separation in a binary mixture were obtained for a three-dimensional system with periodic boundary conditions. For near critical quenches with similar volume fractions for the two components, cocontinuity was destroyed by the hydrodynamics, giving discrete domains. The breakup in interconnectivity is believed to be a universal phenomenon. The domain growth rate followed a power law, r → τn. The growth exponent depend...
Effect of Heifer Frame Score on Growth, Fertility, and Economics

A non-traditional forage-based protocol was employed to evaluate replacement heifer growth, fertility, and economics between small frame (SF, 3.50; n = 50) and large frame (LF, 5.56; n = 50) heifers using three increasing gain growth phases. Preceding an 85 d growing-breeding period (Phase 3; P3) the heifers were managed as a common group for Phases 1 and 2 (P1 and P2). During P1, heifers grazed common fields of unharvested corn and corn residue (total digestible nutrients [TDN] 56%) with supplemental hay. For P2, heifers grazed early spring crested wheatgrass pasture (CWG; TDN 62%) that was followed by the final P3 drylot growing and breeding period (TDN 68%). Small frame heifers were lighter at the end of P1 in May and at the start of P3 breeding in August (p = 0.0002). Percent of mature body weight (BW) at the end of P1 (209 d) was 48.7% and 46.8%, respectively, for the SF and LF heifers and the percent pubertal was lower for SF than for LF heifers (18.0% vs 40.0%; p = 0.02). At breeding initiation (P3), the percentage of mature BW was 57.8 and 57.2 and the percentage pubertal was 90.0 and 96.0 (p = 0.07) for the SF and LF heifers, respectively; a 5-fold increase for SF heifers. Breeding cycle pregnancy on days 21, 42, and 63, and total percent pregnant did not differ (p>0.10). In drylot, SF heifer dry matter intake (DMI) was 20.1% less (p = 0.001) and feed cost/d was 20.3% lower (p = 0.001), but feed cost/kg of gain did not differ between SF and LF heifers (p = 0.41). Economically important live animal measurements for muscling were measured in May and at the end of the study in October. SF heifers had greater L. dorsi muscle area per unit of BW than LF heifers (p = 0.03). Small frame heifer value was lower at weaning (p = 0.005) and the non-pregnant ending heifer value was lower for SF heifers than for the LF heifers (p = 0.005). However, the total development cost was lower for SF heifers (p = 0.001) and the net cost per pregnant heifer, after accounting for the sale of non-pregnant heifers, was lower for SF heifers (p = 0.004). These data suggest that high breeding efficiency can be attained among March-April born SF and LF virgin heifers when transitioned to a more favorable May-June calving period through the strategic use of grazed and harvested forages resulting in a lower net cost per pregnant SF heifer.
Muscle function and protein metabolism after initiation of eccentric contraction-induced injury

This study was designed to determine the relationship between skeletal muscle function and protein metabolism after initiation of eccentric contraction-induced injury. Mouse anterior crural muscles...
Transmit antenna selection based on outage probability for correlated MIMO multiple access channels

Two new algorithms are presented to select the number and subset of active transmit antennas among the users in a correlated multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) multiple access channel. The algorithms are based on the outage probability of a multiuser spatial multiplexing system using independent decoding with linear and successive interference cancellation receivers at the access point. A key advantage of these algorithms is the avoidance of tracking the fading channel by using channel covariance matrices rather than instantaneous channel realizations. The first algorithm selects the active transmit antennas to minimize the total transmit power among the users given the outage probability, the data rate of each user and estimates of the channel covariance matrices. The second algorithm selects the active transmit antennas to maximize the sum rate of the multiple access channel given the outage probability, the transmit power constraint of each user and the channel covariance matrices. In comparison to a system using all available transmit antennas, both selection algorithms provide significant performance gains in correlated fading channels for linear and successive interference cancellation receivers. In addition, the algorithms exhibit gains for linear receivers in independent fading
Integrating Three Perspectives on Noncompliance: A Sequential Decision Model

Drawing on decision research, a sequential decision-making model is outlined. The factors emphasized by three perspectives on explaining noncompliance enter the decision process at different stages because they are linked differently to more general effort-reducing procedures and because decision making about them differs in complexity. Norms require little decision effort and constrain the set of options considered in more complex decision making. Structural opportunities for successful noncompliance increase the substantive importance of compliance decisions and allow for differences in normative orientations to be realized. Deterrence decisions about the likelihood of detection are most likely undertaken by those in high opportunity situations with normative orientations toward noncompliance. Hypotheses from the model are supported by survey data on income tax noncompliance.
A Legionella pneumophila gene encoding a species-specific surface protein potentiates initiation of intracellular infection.

To investigate the pathogenesis of Legionnaires disease at a molecular level, we mutated by directed allelic exchange a gene encoding a Legionella pneumophila-specific 24,000-dalton (Da) surface protein. Southern hybridization and immunoblot analyses demonstrated that the predicted DNA rearrangement occurred in L. pneumophila with a specific loss of 24-kDa antigen expression. Compared with its isogenic parent, the mutant was significantly impaired in its ability to infect transformed U937 cells, a human macrophagelike cell line; i.e., the bacterial inoculum of the mutant strain that was required to initiate infection of the macrophage monolayer was ca. 80-fold greater than that of the isogenic parent strain. The mutant strain regained full infectivity on reintroduction of a cloned 24-kDa protein gene, indicating that the reduced infectivity was due specifically to the mutation in that gene. Compared with the parent strain, the mutant strain was recovered at titers that were ca. 10-fold lower shortly after infection, but it exhibited a similar intracellular growth rate over the next 40 h, indicating that the mutant was defective in its ability to initiate macrophage infection rather than in its ability to replicate intracellularly. When opsonized, the mutant strain was still significantly less infectious than the parent strain, despite equivalent macrophage association, suggesting that the mutant was not merely missing a ligand for macrophage attachment. The mutant also exhibited reduced infectivity in explanted human alveolar macrophages, demonstrating the relevance of the U937 cell model for analyzing this mutant phenotype. These results represent the first identification of a cloned L. pneumophila gene that is necessary for optimal intracellular infection; we designate this gene mip, for macrophage infectivity potentiator. Images
Application of the Testing and Spacing Effects to Name Learning

SUMMARY Four experiments investigated the effects of testing and spacing on the learning of face-name stimulus-response pairs. Experiments 1a and 1b compared the recall of names following intervening tests versus additional study opportunities and found that testing produced better retention of names. Experiments 2 and 3 explored the effects of repeated tests versus study for massed, uniform, or expanded spacing intervals. Tested names were better retained than studied names, spaced names were better retained than massed names, and memory was best for items tested at spaced intervals. Contrary to past findings, expanded schedules did not yield better memory than uniform schedules in either experiment. Theoretical implications for the testing and spacing effects are discussed, along with effective name-learning techniques based on these principles. Copyright # 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Critical Geography — the Strategic Influence of Water in Central Asia

This chapter assesses the geostrategic and geopolitical implications of water shortages in Central Asia and argues that resource scarcity or competition cannot be separated from other regional realities. On-again, off-again relations between Central Asian states, as well as the so-called war on terrorism, bear significant implications for the region. Thus, the convention of defining Central Asia as a grouping of five states is increasingly less relevant for policy making and sound strategic analysis. Central Asia is linked to the entire Caspian basin, the South Caucasus, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran, Turkey, and China’s Xinjiang province. Equally, the long- term interests of Russia and the United States now play into the complex realities of Central Asia. Specifically regarding water shortages, a number of vulnerability issues involving so-called “non-traditional” security present serious long-term challenges to the stability of the region. The chapter argues that there are crucial differences between threats and vulnerabilities, distinguishes between the two, and suggests relevant policy applications for the Central Asian states. The analysis includes a review of theoretical models that have been proposed in research. Specifically, this review addresses what have been argued as “trigger mechanisms” that can unleash violent conflict, create socio economic disparity, and induce long-term insecurity, and provides possible pathways for geostrategic solutions and means to reduce water resource tensions.
Performance of fault-tolerant distributed shared memory on broadcast- and switch-based architectures

This paper presents a set of distributed-shared-memory protocols that provide fault tolerance on broadcast-based and switch-based architectures with no decrease in performance. These augmented DSM protocols combine the data duplication required by fault tolerance with the data duplication that naturally results in distributed-shared-memory implementations. The recovery memory at each backup node is continuously maintained consistent and is accessible by all processes executing at the backup node. Simulation results show that the additional data duplication necessary to create fault-tolerant DSM causes no reduction in system performance during normal operation and eliminates most of the overhead at checkpoint creation. Data blocks which are duplicated to maintain the recovery memory are also utilized by the DSM protocol, reducing network traffic, and increasing the processor utilization significantly. We use simulation and multiprocessor address trace files to compare the performance of a broadcast architecture called the SOME-Bus to the performance of two representative switch architectures.
Art therapy: An approach to working with sexual abuse survivors

Because sexual abuse is a recurring problem in our culture, it is likely that counselors and educators will encounter people who have been victimized by this type of abuse. Although there are a variety of therapeutic approaches for working with survivors, art therapy is one that may be less threatening. The purpose of this pilot study was to determine the effectiveness of art therapy in raising levels of self-esteem in a group of sexual abuse survivors. Specifically, the following questions will be addressed: Will the use of art therapy significantly raise a survivor’s level of self-esteem? What aspects of self-esteem will be affected (personal, social, general)? What qualitative changes, if any, will take place in the group? The pilot study emerged from research on art therapy in group settings and the use of art therapy in raising self-esteem.
Parent and Teacher Ratings of Attention during a Year-Long Methylphenidate Trial in Children Treated for Cancer

Objective Longitudinally examine attention performance in childhood cancer survivors prescribed methylphenidate (MPH) to ameliorate cognitive late effects, comparing measures for inter-rater and inter-method discrepancies. Methods Survivors of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (n = 33) or brain tumor (n = 35), mean age 11.11 ± 0.37 years, completed a 12-month, open-label trial of MPH. Conners' Parent and Teacher Rating Scales were completed at baseline, 1, 3, 6, and 12 months. The Conners' Continuous Performance Test (CPT) was completed at baseline and 12 months. Results Improved attention was reported after 1 month of MPH (p < .05), with relative stability throughout the trial. Inter-rater agreement was low-to-moderate (ICC = ―.06 to .46). Observer ratings correlated with select CPT indices at baseline (p < .05), but not at 12 months. Conclusions Childhood cancer survivors' attention improved after 1 month on MPH. Modest agreement between parents and teachers, and low-to-moderate correlations between behavior ratings and performance-based attention measures highlight a need for multimodal assessment.
A Threat-Aware Routing Algorithm for Maximum Physical-Layer Path Survivability

In this work, we study the problems of finding the path of maximum survivability between two end nodes. Multiple network devices and connections may fail simultaneously due to either deliberate attacks or components failures. The problem is NP-hard and we propose a novel algorithm to find the optimal paths with semi-polynomial running time and prove its correctness.
The importance of continental margins in the global carbon cycle

[1] Approximately half of the world's net annual photosynthesis occurs in the oceans (∼48 Pg C y−1). Areas bordering continents (bottom 40% of the carbon sequestration in the ocean. These regions must be accounted for in realistic models of the global carbon cycle and its linkages to climate change.
Improvements in quality of life after surgery for benign hepatic tumors: Results from a dual center analysis.

Background Outcomes after operative management of benign hepatic lesions are ill-defined. We sought to define patient-reported quality of life (QOL) postoperatively for benign hepatic tumors. Methods Patients who underwent surgery for benign liver lesions ( n = 255) were invited to complete a QOL survey designed using validated assessment tools. Clinicopathologic data were collected from 2 participating hepatobiliary centers and correlated with QOL data. Results The response rate was 70.2%. Most patients had a benign cystic (41.9%) or solid (47.5%) tumor; 19 (10.6%) patients had an indeterminate lesion. The lesion was most often solitary (71.5%) and median size was 7.5 cm. Most benign lesions were either a simple cyst (35.8%), hemangioma (19.6%), focal nodular dysplasia (19.6%), or hepatic adenoma (16.9%). Presenting symptoms included abdominal pain (70.9%), nausea/vomiting (5.0%), and early satiety (5.0%). Surgery involved less than hemihepatectomy (68.2%); a laparoscopic approach was utilized in 40.8% of patients. Perioperative morbidity was 16%. Postoperatively, the proportion of patients who reported moderate-to-extreme pain decreased from 46.9% to 15.6% and 6.8% at 6 months and 1-year, respectively ( P P P = .03). Many patients reported overall improvement in general health (40.5%) and physical health (39.3%; P Conclusion Surgery for benign liver lesions is associated with high patient satisfaction and improved QOL. Patients with significant preoperative symptoms derive the most benefit from surgery.
Characteristics of Male Fencers in the 28th Annual NCAA Fencing Championships

Abstract One hundred and eighteen national collegiate fencers engaged in the first round competition in the 28th annual NCAA Fencing Championships held at the University of Illinois, Chicago Circle Campus. After the first day of competition, the field size was reduced to 72 fencers or 24 fencers per weapon. Through the use of a unique scoring device, response times and accuracy measurements were recorded for each fencer. The fencers then engaged in their respective round robin tournament according to class of weapon; epee, sabre, or foil. Two criterion measures of fencing success were then correlated with response times and accuracies. Correlation coefficients for sabre fencemen were slightly better than 0. Criterion measures for epee fencers showed a low relationship with response time and accuracies while those of foil showed a slight to fair relationship.
The Use of Fumigants in Archival Repositories

Human history, as the archivist must deal with it, is a fragile thing. Heir to the depredations of fire, flood, and man-made catastrophes, the paper record may also be the subject of more insidious injuries caused by those organisms which regard it as food or as a nesting material. More than 70 species of insects and 100 species of fungi are known to attack archival and library materials. Of the insect predators, cockroaches, silverfish, termites, woodworms, bookworms, black beetles, booklice, and crickets predominate as stack pests in North America and Europe. These creatures find especially attractive the cellulose content of paper, and the starch paste, animal glue, and leather components of bound volumes. Damage from insects may range from superficial attacks made on starch paste by booklice to the overwhelming destruction of the body of a document or book made by a severe termite or woodworm infestation.1
Cartilaginous-cup arthroplasty in ununited fractures of the neck of the femur.

The cartilaginous-cup arthroplasty has been proposed as another method for handling ununited fractures of the neck of the femur, particularly those in Classes II and III. The method is admittedly a modification of the Brackett procedure and is similar anatomically to the methods described by Wagner; Venable, Stuck, and Beach; and others. Its originality, if there be any, is based primarily upon the utilization of the hyaline cartilage of the head of the femur as an autograft transplant. The results in nine cases are considered excellent, and two are poor.
Supernumerary chromosome marker Der(22)t(11;22) resulting from a maternal balanced translocation.

Derivative 22 [der(22)] syndrome is a rare disorder associated with multiple congenital anomalies including pre-auricular skin tags or pits, conotruncal heart defects, and profound mental retardation. Der(22)t(11;22) is one of the causes of supernumerary chromosome markers (mar) in humans. We present a boy with developmental delay and multiple anomalies consistent with the supernumerary der(22) syndrome. Cytogenetic analysis showed an abnormal chromosome complement of 47, XY, +mar in all 50 cells analyzed. The karyotype of his mother showed a reciprocal translocation over the distal bands 11q23 and 22q11, respectively, i.e., 46,XX,t( 11;22)(q23.3;q11.2), and that of his father was 46,XY. Thus, the nature of the supernumerary chromosome markers was of der(22)t(11 ;22)(q23.3;q11.2). The clinical features, including craniofacial dysmorphism, hypotonia, psychomotor retardation, heart defects, and urogenital anomalies, were the combined effects of partial trisomies for both distal 11q and pericentromeric 22q.
On the Development of a High-Order, Multi-GPU Enabled, Compressible Viscous Flow Solver for Mixed Unstructured Grids

This work discusses the development of a three-dimensional, high-order, compressible viscous ow solver for mixed unstructured grids that can run on multiple GPUs. The solver utilizes a range of so-called Vincent-Castonguay-Jameson-Huynh (VCJH) ux reconstruction schemes in both tensor-product and simplex elements. Such schemes are linearly stable for all orders of accuracy and encompass several well known high-order methods as special cases. Because of the high arithmetic intensity associated with VCJH schemes and their element-local nature, they are well suited for GPUs. The single-GPU solver developed in this work achieves speed-ups of up to 45x relative to a serial computation on a current generation CPU. Additionally, the multi-GPU solver scales well, and when running on 32 GPUs achieves a sustained performance of 2.8 Tera ops (double precision) for 6th-order accurate simulations with tetrahedral elements. In this paper, the techniques used to achieve this level of performance are discussed and a performance analysis is presented. To the authors’ knowledge, the aforementioned ow solver is the rst high-order, three-dimensional, compressible Navier-Stokes solver for mixed unstructured grids that can run on multiple GPUs.
Midterm Outcomes After Treatment of Type II Endoleaks Associated With Aneurysm Sac Expansion

PurposeTo examine the outcomes following interventions for type II endoleaks in patients with aneurysm sac expansion after endovascular aneurysm repair (EVAR).MethodsA retrospective review was cond...
"What are you?" Multiracial individuals' responses to racial identification inquiries.

Objectives Guided by a racial microaggression framework and utilizing a mixed-method approach, this study explores multiracial individuals' interpersonal experiences and perceptions of racial identification inquiries--queries directed toward them as others attempt to determine their racial background (e.g., "What are you?"). Methods As part of an online study, multiracial college students (n = 40) were presented with a hypothetical situation in which racial identification inquiries were delivered by a White, racial minority, or racially unspecified communicator. Qualitative analyses identified the categories and thematic codes of participants' open-ended explanations of the personal relevance of these hypothetical situations and proposed endings. Nonparametric tests examined differences in situation, affect, and communication partner ratings based on race of the communicator. Results Findings affirmed that racial identification inquiries are commonly reported by diverse multiracial individuals (92.5% of the present sample). Qualitative coding of participants' explanations of personal relevance and proposed endings for the hypothetical situations, as well as ratings of situation, affect, and communication partner, revealed both positive and negative characterizations ascribed to racial identification inquiry experiences. Participants who imagined the queries came from a White communicator allotted less time to continuing the conversation than those in the control condition (communicator race unspecified). Conclusions A racial microaggression framework was relevant but not sufficient in reflecting the complex nature of racial identification inquiries for multiracial individuals. The insights into multiracial individuals' perceptions of these stimuli encourage more critical and dynamic thinking about racial categorization systems and interpersonal racial processes for this underrepresented but growing population.
Inflammatory properties of inhibitor of DNA binding 1 secreted by synovial fibroblasts in rheumatoid arthritis

Inhibitor of DNA binding 1 (Id1) is a nuclear protein containing a basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH) domain that regulates cell growth by selective binding and prevention of gene transcription. Sources of Id1 production in rheumatoid arthritis synovial tissue (RA ST) and its range of functional effects in RA remain to be clarified. We analyzed Id1 produced from synovial fibroblasts and endothelial cells (ECs) with histology and real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Fibroblast supernatants subjected to differential centrifugation to isolate and purify exosomes were measured for Id1 by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Western blotting of Id1-stimulated ECs was performed to determine the kinetics of intracellular protein phosphorylation. EC intracellular signaling pathways induced by Id1 were subsequently targeted with silencing RNA (siRNA) for angiogenesis inhibition. By PCR and histologic analysis, we found that the primary source of Id1 in STs is from activated fibroblasts that correlate with inflammatory scores in human RA ST and in joints from K/BxN serum-induced mice. Normal (NL) and RA synovial fibroblasts increase Id1 production with stimulation by transforming growth factor beta (TGF-β). Most of the Id1 released by RA synovial fibroblasts is contained within exosomes. Endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) and human dermal microvascular ECs (HMVECs) activate the Jnk signaling pathway in response to Id1, and Jnk siRNA reverses Id1-induced HMVEC vessel formation in Matrigel plugs in vivo. Id1 is a pleotropic molecule affecting angiogenesis, vasculogenesis, and fibrosis. Our data shows that Id1 is not only an important nuclear protein, but also can be released from fibroblasts via exosomes. The ability of extracellular Id1 to activate signaling pathways expands the role of Id1 in the orchestration of tissue inflammation.