cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Antiretroviral therapy in the lives of women of colour with HIV

Non-adherence to antiretroviral medication is associated with adverse patient outcomes. Considerable research and clinical work has focused on issues surrounding patient compliance to prescribed regimens. Few studies have explored the essence of antiretroviral medications in the lives of women of colour with HIV. A qualitative study of HIV-infected women of colour was undertaken in response to the question: What is the role of antiretroviral medication in your life? Taped interviews were conducted with graduate psychology students and commercially transcribed. Transcriptions were analyzed by Spiegelberg's category-cluster-theme process by four different reviewers. Three themes were distilled: trust/mistrust, approach/avoidance motivation and 'constantly tethered'. Strategies designed to increase medication adherence may need to consider these basic themes in order to be successful.
Call for tighter coal ash disposal standards

More than 200 million tons of coal ash and scrubber sludge were deposited from coal plants into ponds or landfills between 2009 and 2011, according to a 21 December report by the Environmental Integrity Project (EIP), a nonprofit organization based in Washington, D. C. EIP issued the report to mark the fourth anniversary of the dike rupture at the Tennessee Valley Authority's Kingston Fossil Plant, which spilled an estimated 1.1 billion gallons of coal fly ash slurry into the Tennessee River system on 22 December 2008. EIP called for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to issue ash disposal standards.
Ecological character displacement and the study of adaptation

The study of adaptation—a central issue in biology since before the time of Darwin—is currently enjoying a renaissance. Ridiculed two decades ago as following a panglossian paradigm (1) that promulgated “just so stories” rather than testing hypotheses, evolutionary biology has become a vibrant field in which a wide variety of methods—ranging from molecular developmental biology to manipulative field experiments—are used to rigorously test adaptive hypotheses (2). Nowhere is this more evident than in the study of ecological character displacement; a paper by Adams and Rohlf (3) in a recent issue of PNAS is one of a growing number of studies that have used integrative, multidisciplinary approaches and have demonstrated that ecological character displacement appears to be an important ecological and evolutionary phenomenon.
Dynamic data organization for bitmap indices

Bitmap indices have been successfully used in scientific databases and data warehouses. Run-length encoding is commonly used to generate smaller size bitmaps that do not require explicit decompression for query processing. For static data sets, compression is shown to be greatly improved by data reordering techniques that generate longer and fewer runs. However, these data reorganization methods are not applicable to dynamic and very large data sets because of their significant overhead. In this paper, we present a dynamic data structure and algorithm for organizing bitmap indices for better compression and query processing performance. Our scheme enforces a compression rate close to the optimum for a target ordering of the data which results in fast query response time. For our experiments, we use Gray code ordering as the tuple ordering strategy. However, the proposed scheme efficiently works for any desired ordering strategy. Experimental results show that the proposed framework provides better compression and query execution time than the traditional approaches.
Stability of Ag nanoparticles fabricated by electron beam lithography

The stability of silver nanoparticles on indium tin oxide coated glass substrates under atmospheric condition was investigated. These nanoparticles were fabricated using electron beam lithography. Energy dispersive spectroscopy analysis revealed a high concentration of sulfur in the silver nanoparticles exposed to laboratory air for 12 weeks at room temperature. Morphological changes in the silver nanoparticles were also observed for nanoparticles stored under the same conditions. In contrast, silver nanoparticles kept in vacuum did not show chemical or morphological changes after 12 weeks. The present work clearly shows the need to consider ambient exposure when using Ag nanoparticles for sensors.
Invited Paper Scaling Methods For Rapid Estimation Of Background Clutter Leakage

Scaling laws are derived for the calculation of clutter leakage in sensors which display mixed jitter and drift relative to a background characterized by a two-dimensional power spectral density which can be approximated by an inverse power law. These scaling laws are applied in the construction of a series of nomographs permitting rapid estimation of clutter leakage for arbitrary detector footprints, drift rates, jitter statistics and integration times, for nth order frame differencing with various PSD power laws. Application of the nomographs to staring sensors with temporal n-th order difference filters is explained, and limited application to spatially-filtered staring sensors and scanning sensors is discussed. The extension of the nomograph set to cover other PSD slopes and viewing angles is discussed. The paper then concludes with a general discussion of relative accuracies and utilities of PSD-based clutter leakage estimation versus simulation methods.© (1987) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Picric Acid Degradation in Sediments from the Louisiana Army Ammunition Plant

Picric acid is an explosive historically produced and disposed at the Louisiana Army Ammunition Plant (LAAP) in northern Louisiana. The potential for natural degradation of picric acid was investigated by creating picric-acid slurries with four LAAP sediments of variable composition and monitoring for up to 98 days. The concentrations of picric acid decreased rapidly in all slurries during the first day, attributed to adsorption, followed by slower decreases in some samples due to degradation. Degradation in unsterilized slurries was nearly complete within 80 days for two of the four sediments. Increases in nitrite and nitrate concentration over time were proportional to the loss of picric acid and indicate that at least two of the three nitrite groups were removed from the picric acid molecule. The absence of significant concentrations of compounds with a mass greater than 100 amu in the final solutions suggests that all three nitrite groups were removed. No correlation was found between the degree of degradation and grain size, clay content, organic content, carbonate content, or a suite of element concentrations in the sediment. Degradation in sterilized samples was minimal for all sediment slurries, indicating microbial activity as the primary mechanism of degradation.
Characterization of the Transport Pathways Induced during Low to Moderate Voltage Iontophoresis in Human Epidermal Membrane

Abstract □ This report describes the results of iontophoresis experiments involving the transport of polar nonelectrolytes across human epidermal membrane (HEM) at a moderate applied voltage of 2.0 V and where the data are interpreted via a convective transport model and hindered transport theory. A principal finding is that although HEM iontophoresis at 2.0 V resulted in a large increase in HEM porosity, the pore radii of the newly induced pores in HEM as calculated from the iontophoresis data using the hindered transport theory were found to be in the range of 6–12 A. This supports the view that electroporation at these modest applied voltages results in pores with sizes the same order of magnitude but somewhat smaller than those estimated for the preexisting pores in HEM prior to electroporation. This outcome is also important from a practical standpoint, as flux enhancement for large molecules (such as oligonucleotides and polypeptides) arising from electroporation under these conditions would be expected to be significantly less than if the resulting pore sizes were much greater. Providing a “prepulse” of 4.0, 8.0, and 15 V prior to the 2.0 V iontophoresis generally gave greater increases in HEM conductance (and, therefore, in porosity) but did not significantly change the deduced effective pore radii (around 5–9 A). The alteration during and the recovery of HEM after iontophoresis was also investigated. The recovery behavior was found to be dependent upon both the duration of the applied voltage and the magnitude of its effects: the recovery for a HEM sample that experienced a large increase in electrical conductance during iontophoresis was generally poorer than that for a sample that was more resistant to the electric field. Incomplete recovery was generally observed in experiments with long iontophoresis duration (50 min) and with the higher voltages (4.0, 8.0 V, and 15 V). In these cases, the barrier properties of HEM were more greatly altered as indicated by larger increases in the electrical conductance and passive permeability of HEM after iontophoresis.
Variations In The Day of The Week Discharge: An example of Unwarranted Variation? 1350

Discharge from an intensive care nursery should be dependent upon the infant's clinical condition, and independent of the day of the week. We observed, however, that the timing of nursery discharge shows an uneven distribution across the days of the week, with the weekend discharge rates significantly lower than weekdays.
Polyamine biosynthesis in Cryptosporidium parvum and its implications for chemotherapy

Abstract This study demonstrates that polyamine biosynthesis in Cryptosporidium parvum occurs via a pathway chiefly found in plants and some bacteria. The lead enzyme of this pathway, arginine decarboxylase (ADC) was sensitive to the specific, irreversible inhibitor dl - α -difluoromethyl-arginine (IC 50 30 μ M), and intracellular growth of C. parvum was significantly reduced by inhibitors of ADC. No activity was detected using ornithine as substrate, and the irreversible inhibitor of ornithine decarboxylase, dl - α -difluoromethyl-ornithine, had no effect upon ADC activity or upon growth of the parasite. Back-conversion of spermine to spermidine and putrescine via spermidine:spermine- N 1 -acetyltransferase (SSAT) was also detected. Compounds such as bis (ethyl) nor spermine, which have been demonstrated to down-regulate SSAT activity in tumor cells, were synergistic in the inhibition of growth when used in combination with inhibitors of the forward pathway. Thus, C. parvum differs fundamentally in its polyamine metabolism from the majority of eukaryotes, including humans. Such differences indicate that polyamine metabolism may serve as a chemotherapeutic target in this organism.
Enantioselective adsorption on rock-forming minerals: A thought experiment

Abstract Experimental studies of enantioselective molecular adsorption on chiral crystalline surfaces have been limited by the availability of crystals with chiral surfaces of sufficient aerial extent. I propose a simple experimental approach to quantifying enantiomeric excess—a technique that is applicable to any crystal that displays predominantly chiral cleavage faces when crushed, such as the (110) and (1–10) faces of common rock-forming clinopyroxene and clinoamphibole mineral groups. Enantiomeric excesses can be determined by comparing batch adsorption experiments that employ a racemic solution of the adsorbed molecule to similar experiments using pure D or L solutions of the molecular adsorbate.
Update to Blangero et al.'s "Quantitative trait nucleotide analysis using Bayesian model selection" (2005): from QTL localization to functional variant identification.

"Quantitative Trait Nucleotide Analysis Using Bayesian Model Selection" and its companion, "The F7 Gene and Clotting Factor VII Levels: Dissection of a Human Quantitative Trait Locus," by Soria et al. (2005), were originally published back to back in 2005. As with many scientific papers, the genesis of this particular paper had a rather unique trajectory. Originally, these two Lasker Prize winning papers were components of a single paper that we submitted to the journal Science. From that august journal, we received three quite verbose reviews. The reviews were generally favorable, but the editors realized that the extent of methodological detail that was being asked for would lead to a paper that would be incompatible with their format. Therefore we began plans to separate the papers and search for another journal. At that time, Sarah Williams-Blangero, then the editor-in-chief of Human Biology and a close collaborator of mine, approached me to ask that we consider sending the papers to her journal. She believed that the papers would provide solid material for her stated goal of increasing the emphasis of the journal on the genetic dissection of normal human variation, a goal that I strongly supported then and still strongly support. Being a good citizen in the American Association of Anthropological Genetics, the dominant sponsoring organization of the journal, I agreed and convinced my colleagues to send both papers to Human Biology for consideration. The final published papers formed a cohesive pairing, although each stands on its own merits.
Panitumumab-Related Hypomagnesemia in Patients With Colorectal Cancer

Purpose: Hypomagnesemia is an adverse reaction associated with epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)–targeting monoclonal antibodies. Of the 2 EGFR antibodies approved by the US Food and Drug Administration—cetuximab and panitumumab—cetuximab-induced hypomagnesemia has been extensively characterized but panitumumab-induced hypomagnesemia has not.Methods: In this retrospective study, the clinical course of hypomagnesemia is described in three 64- to 68-year-old men who received panitumumab monotherapy or panitumumab-plus-irinotecan therapy for colorectal cancer for 8 to 21 weeks.Results: The onset of hypomagnesemia was variable, ranging from 1 week to 10 weeks following the initiation of panitumumab. Magnesium levels did not normalize until 4 to 8 weeks after discontinuation of the agent. Of the patients in the study, 2 had new onset of grade 3 hypomagnesemia 1 to 3 weeks after panitumumab was discontinued. Management was magnesium sulfate 2 g infusion weekly and magnesium oxide 1,200 mg oral repletion d...
The Impact of United States v. Lopez on Intergovernmental Relations: A Preliminary Assessment

The U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Lopez v. United States (1995) was the first occasion since the 1930s where a congressional act was overturned on the ground that its subject matter bore no perceptible relation to interstate commerce. The case may signal significant change in the Court's federalism jurisprudence. Instead of looking mainly to the Tenth Amendment to find constztutional safeguards for the states, conservative justices may now identify commerce-power limitations. The politics of the Lopez case suggest that the Congress finds electoral advantages in federalizing crime and is disinclined to sort out roles for different governments in law enforcement. Paradoxically, this pattern exists even as the Congress is undergoing certain changes that may make consideration of basic constitutional issues more likely. Finally, this article demonstrates the weakness of public interest groups in influencing federal policymaking in criminal law.
TGFβ and Wnt in cardiac outflow tract defects in offspring of diabetic pregnancies.

BACKGROUND Diabetes mellitus in pregnancy causes defects in infant heart, including the outflow tracts (OFTs). Development of the aorta and pulmonary artery, which are derived from the common OFT in the embryo, is regulated by the transforming growth factor β (TGFβ) and Wnt families, and can be perturbed by hyperglycemia-generated intracellular stress conditions. However, the underlying cellular and molecular mechanisms remain to be delineated. METHODS Female mice were induced diabetic with streptozotocin. Embryonic and fetal OFTs were examined morphologically and histologically. Cell proliferation was assessed using 5’-bromo-2’-deoxyuridine incorporation assay. Oxidative and endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress markers and TGFβ factors were detected using immunohistochemistry. The expression of genes in the Wnt-signaling system was assessed using real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction array. The role of activin-A in cell proliferation was addressed by treating embryos cultured in high glucose with activin-A. RESULTS Maternal diabetes caused complex abnormalities in the OFTs, including aortic and pulmonary stenosis and persistent truncus arteriosus. The development of the endocardial cushions was suppressed, manifested with insufficient cellularization of the tissues. Cell proliferation was significantly decreased under oxidative and ER stress conditions. The expression of genes in the Wnt signaling was significantly altered. Activin-A and Smad3 were found to be expressed in the OFT. Treatment with activin-A rescued cell proliferation in the endocardial cushions. CONCLUSIONS Maternal diabetes generates oxidative and ER stress conditions, suppresses TGFβ and Wnt signaling, inhibits cell proliferation and cellularization of the endocardial cushions, leading to OFT septal defects. Activin-A plays a role in hyperglycemia-suppressed proliferation of the endocardial cells
The offensive nature of maternal aggression in mice: Effects of fluprazine hydrochloride

The phenylpiperazine fluprazine hydrochloride was used to test the hypothesis that maternal aggression in laboratory mice reflects offensive motivation. Lactating females (n = 8 per condition) tested for aggression following drug treatment (1.0 mg/kg and 5.0 mg/kg of fluprasine) were significantly less aggressive than saline controls according to all measures used. The findings support the hypothesis that maternal aggression is offensive in nature, and provide no evidence that maternal attack is a mixture of offensive and defensive tendencies.
A Scale-Selective Data Assimilation Approach to Improving Tropical Cyclone Track and Intensity Forecasts in a Limited-Area Model: A Case Study of Hurricane Felix (2007)

Accurately forecasting a tropical cyclone’s (TC) track and intensity remains one of the top priorities in weather forecasting. A dynamical downscaling approach based on the scale-selective data assimilation (SSDA) method is applied to demonstrate its effectiveness in TC track and intensity forecasting. The SSDA approach retains the merits of global models in representing large-scale environmental flows and regional models in describing small-scale characteristics. The regional model is driven from the model domain interior by assimilating large-scale flows from global models, as well as from the model lateral boundaries by the conventional sponge zone relaxation. By using Hurricane Felix (2007) as a demonstration case, it is shown that, by assimilating large-scale flows from the Global Forecast System (GFS) forecasts into the regional model, the SSDA experiments perform better than both the original GFS forecasts and the control experiments, in which the regional model is only driven by lateral boundary conditions. The overall mean track forecast error for the SSDA experiments is reduced by over 40% relative to the control experiments, and by about 30% relative to the GFS forecasts, respectively. In terms of TC intensity, benefiting from higher grid resolution that better represents regional and small-scale processes, both the control and SSDA runs outperform the GFS forecasts. The SSDA runs show approximately 14% less overall mean intensity forecast error than do the control runs. It should be noted that, for the Felix case, the advantage of SSDA becomes more evident for forecasts with a lead time longer than 48 h.
Antibody-profiling technologies for studying humoral responses to infectious agents

Analyses of humoral responses against different infectious agents are critical for infectious disease diagnostics, understanding pathogenic mechanisms, and the development and monitoring of vaccines. While ELISAs are often used to measure antibody responses to one or several targets, new antibody-profiling technologies, such as protein microarrays, can now evaluate antibody responses to hundreds, or even thousands, of recombinant antigens at one time. These large-scale studies have uncovered new antigenic targets, provided new insights into vaccine research and yielded an overview of immunoreactivity against almost the entire proteome of certain pathogens. However, solid-phase antigen arrays also have drawbacks that limit the type of information obtained, including suboptimal detection of conformational epitopes, high backgrounds due to impure antigens and a narrow dynamic range of detection. We have developed a solution-phase antibody-profiling technology, luciferase immunoprecipitation systems (LIPS), which harnesses light-emitting recombinant antigen fusion proteins to quantitatively measure patient antibody titers. Owing to the highly linear light output of the luciferase reporter, some antibodies can be detected without serum dilution in a dynamic range of detection often spanning seven orders of magnitude. When LIPS is applied iteratively with multiple target antigens, a high-definition antibody profile is obtained. Here, we discuss the application of these different antibody-profiling technologies and their associated limitations with particular emphasis on protein microarrays. We also describe LIPS in detail and discuss several clinically relevant uses of the technology. Together, these new technologies offer new tools for understanding humoral responses to known and emerging infectious agents.
Collaborative planning approach to inform the implementation of a healthcare manager intervention for hispanics with serious mental illness: a study protocol

This study describes a collaborative planning approach that blends principles of community-based participatory research (CBPR) and intervention mapping to modify a healthcare manager intervention to a new patient population and provider group and to assess the feasibility and acceptability of this modified intervention to improve the physical health of Hispanics with serious mental illness (SMI) and at risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD). The proposed study uses a multiphase approach that applies CBPR principles and intervention-mapping steps--an intervention-planning approach--to move from intervention planning to pilot testing. In phase I, a community advisory board composed of researchers and stakeholders will be assembled to learn and review the intervention and make initial modifications. Phase II uses a combination of qualitative methods--patient focus groups and stakeholder interviews--to ensure that the modifications are acceptable to all stakeholders. Phase III uses results from phase II to further modify the intervention, develop an implementation plan, and train two care managers on the modified intervention. Phase IV consists of a 12-month open pilot study (N = 30) to assess the feasibility and acceptability of the modified intervention and explore its initial effects. Lastly, phase V consists of analysis of pilot study data and preparation for future funding to develop a more rigorous evaluation of the modified intervention. The proposed study is one of the few projects to date to focus on improving the physical health of Hispanics with SMI and at risk for CVD by using a collaborative planning approach to enhance the transportability and use of a promising healthcare manager intervention. This study illustrates how blending health-disparities research and implementation science can help reduce the disproportionate burden of medical illness in a vulnerable population.
Image Analysis and Computer Simulation of Nanoparticle Clustering in Combustion Systems

The current work presents a new method to model and characterize the formation and growth of nanoparticles clusters which includes the three dimensional geometric properties of the clusters, such as aspect ratios, main chain length, radius of gyration, fractal dimension and fractal prefactor. In the model, semi-stochastic mathematics is used to represent varying levels of Coulomb and van der Waals forces during clustering of monodisperse particles. Parametric studies of the relative particle interactions are conducted to evaluate the effects on cluster geometry. Radius of gyration and main chain length were identified as the geometric properties with the greatest sensitivity to changes in the interparticle forces. To demonstrate the analytical capability of the approach, clusters of combustion-generated tin dioxide (SnO2) nanoparticles were imaged and evaluated to identify the dominant forces controlling cluster morphology. The results show the geometry of the SnO2 clusters is a result of strong Coulomb i...
The Flipside: Concerns about the "New Literacies" Paths Educators Might Take

Abstract This article explores some of the ways in which educators are using the tools of new literacies without the mind-set. The author poses the possibility that this might be a result of increased pressure on teachers to differentiate for standardization. The author then presents ways in which new literacies, particularly those grounded in technology, can be used to transform education instead of dressing up drill and practice as new literacies.
Crop-weed interference as influenced by a leguminous or synthetic fertilizer nitrogen source: I. Doublecropping experiments with crimson clover, sweet corn, and lambsquarters

Abstract Field studies were conducted from 1989 to 1991 to assess the effects of N source (incorporated crimson clover ( Trifolium incarnatum L.) residue vs. synthetic fertilizer) on crop-weed interference in a corn ( Zea mays L.) silage production system. Two series of experiments were undertaken: in corn and lambsquarters (CLQ) experiments, crimson clover or oat ( Avena sativa L.) green manure crops were followed the next year by field corn grown alone or with lambsquarters ( Chenopodium album L.) and other weeds; in lambsquarters (LQ) experiments, clover and oat crops were followed by lambsquarters and other weeds grown without corn. In the second year of each rotation sequence, ammonium nitrate fertilizer was applied at several rates to the oat treatment preceding corn or lambsquarters planting, allowing determination of the clover's N fertilizer equivalency value (52 kg N ha −1 ) and subsequent contrast of the clover treatment with a comparable rate of N fertilizer addition (45 kg N ha −1 ). In the 1990 LQ study, lambsquarters drymatter accumulation at final harvest was 34% lower in the clover than the fertilizer treatment. Nitrogen source did not significantly affect lambsquarters growth in the 1991 LQ experiment. Neither corn nor lambsquarters drymatter accumulation differed between fertilizer and clover treatments in the 1990 CLQ experiment. However, at final harvest in the 1991 CLQ experiment, lambsquarters and corn drymatter under weed infested conditions were 65% lower and 131% higher, respectively, in the clover than the fertilizer treatment. Despite the substantially better performance of legume-grown than fertilize-grown corn under weedy conditions in the 1991 CLQ experiment, corn yield in the legume treatment was still reduced by 59% due to weed interference. Weed control derived from use of a crimson clover N source in these rotation experiments was less consistent and less effective than in previous experiments conducted within a doublecropping system, a result which may stem from the incorporation of winterkilled crimson clover in the rotation experiments as opposed to that of immature, freshly mown crimson clover in the doublecropping study.
Glucose catabolism in Rhizobium japonicum.

Gluconate catabolism in Rhizobium japonicum ATCC 10324 was investigated by the radiorespirometric method and by assaying for key enzymes of the major energy-yielding pathways. Specifically labeled gluconate gave the following results for growing cells, with values expressed as per cent 14CO2 evolution: C-1 = 93%, C-2 = 57%, C-3 = 30%, C-4 = 70%, C-6 = 39%. The preferential release of 14CO2 from C-1 and C-4 indicate that gluconate is degraded primarily by the Entner-Doudoroff pathway but the inequalities between C-1 and C-4 and between C-3 and C-6 indicate that another pathway(s) also participates. The presence of gluconokinase and a system for converting 6-phosphogluconate to pyruvate also indicate a role for the Entner-Doudoroff pathway. The extraordinarily high yield of 14CO2 from C-1 labeled gluconate suggests that the other participating pathway is a C-1 decarboxylative pathway. The key enzyme of the pentose phosphate pathway, 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase, could not be demonstrated. Specifically labeled 2-ketogluconate and 2,5-diketogluconate were oxidized by gluconate grown cells and gave ratios of C-1 to C-6 of 2.73 and 2.61, respectively. These compare with a ratio of 2.39 obtained with specifically labeled gluconate. Gluconate dehydrogenase, the first enzyme in the ketogluconate pathway found in acetic acid bacteria, was found. Oxidation of specifically labeled pyruvate, acetate, succinate, and glutamate by gluconate-grown cells yielded the preferential rates of 14CO2 evolution expected from the operation of the tricarboxylic acid cycle. These data are consistent with the operation of the Entner-Doudoroff pathway and tricarboxylic acid cycle as the primary pathways of gluconate oxidation in R. japonicum. An ancillary pathway for the initial breakdown of gluconate would appear to be the ketogluconate pathway which enters the tricarboxylic acid cycle at α-ketoglutarate.
Ablation of neurons expressing agouti-related protein, but not melanin concentrating hormone, in leptin-deficient mice restores metabolic functions and fertility

Leptin-deficient (Lepob/ob) mice are obese, diabetic, and infertile. Ablation of neurons that make agouti-related protein (AgRP) in moderately obese adult Lepob/ob mice caused severe anorexia. The mice stopped eating for 2 wk and then gradually recovered. Their body weight fell to within a normal range for WT mice, at which point food intake and glucose tolerance were restored to that of WT mice. Remarkably, both male and female Lepob/ob mice became fertile. Ablation of neurons that express melanin-concentrating hormone (MCH) in adult Lepob/ob mice had no effect on food intake, body weight, or fertility, but resulted in improved glucose tolerance. We conclude that AgRP-expressing neurons play a critical role in mediating the metabolic syndrome and infertility of Lepob/ob mice, whereas MCH-expressing neurons have only a minor role.
Pathway HUDs: are they viable?

We describe two experiments that examine 3D pathway displays in a head-up location for aircraft landing and taxi. We address both guidance performance and pilot strategies in dividing, focusing, and allocating attention between flight path information and event monitoring. In Experiment 1 the 3D pathway head-up display (HUD) was compared with a conventional 2D HUD. The former was found to produce better guidance, with few costs to event detection. Some evidence was provided that attentional tunneling of the pathway HUD inhibits the detection of unexpected traffic events. In Experiment 2, the pathway display was compared in a head-up versus a head-down location. Excellent guidance was achieved in both locations. A slight HUD cost for vertical tracking in the air was offset by a HUD benefit for event detection and for lateral tracking during taxi (i.e., on the ground). The results of both experiments are interpreted within the framework of object- and space-based theories of visual attention and point to the conclusion that pathway HUDs combine the independent advantages of pathways and HUDs, particularly during ground operations. Actual or potential applications include understanding the costs and benefits of positioning a 3D pathway display in a head-up location.
Is There Evidence of Cream Skimming Among Nursing Homes Following the Publication of the Nursing Home Compare Report Card

Purpose: A national quality report card for nursing homes, Nursing Home Compare, has been published since 2002. It has been shown to have some, albeit limited, positive impact on quality of care. The objective of this study was to test empirically the hypothesis that nursing homes have responded to the publication of the report by adopting cream skimming admission policies. Design and Methods: The study included all non-Medicare newly admitted patients to all Medicare- and Medicaid-certifi ed nursing homes nationally during the 2001 – 2005 period. Using the Minimum Data Set data, we calculated for each quarter several admission cohort characteristics: average number of activity of daily living limitations and percent of residents admitted with pain, with pressure ulcers, with urinary incontinence, with diabetes, and with memory limitations. We tested whether residents admitted in the postpublication period were less frail and sick compared with residents admitted in the prepublication period by estimating fi xed facility effects longitudinal regression models. Analyses were stratifi ed by nursing home ownership, occupancy, reported quality ranking, chain affi liation, and region. Results: Evidence for cream skimming was found with respect to pain and, to a lesser degree, with respect to memory limitation but not with respect to the 4 other admission cohort characteristics. Implications: Despite the theoretical expectation, empirical evidence suggests only a limited degree of cream skimming. Further studies are required to investigate this phenomenon with respect to other admission cohort characteristics and with respect to post-acute patients.
Case study of waste water minimization at a general electric manufacturing plant

This paper describes the process of converting an existing industrial water system at a General Electric manufacturing plant towards zero discharge. A plan to significantly reduce waste water to the publicly owned treatment works (POTW) is presented. The first phase, which should reduce water discharge by 90% compared to 1992 rates, involves three major steps. First, a vibrating membrane filter machine will be used to treat the tumbler machine waste water, which accounts for about half of the plant's total water usage. The suspended solids in the waste water will be removed and disposed of as non-hazardous waste. The water will be reused in the tumbler room and in other processes throughout the plant. Second, effluent from the waste water treatment plant will be recycled to the maximum extent possible. Third, steps will be taken to minimize water usage in rinsing operations. When the first phase is completed, the water quality in the plant will be expected to change. In particular the salt concentration will increase, and the temperature of the water may rise. With careful monitoring of the water quality, input rates of city water, and discharge rates, a zero-discharge system can be defined. The key to achieving zero-discharge will be selecting a technology to remove salts from the water. The likely candidates are reverse osmosis, electrodialysis, or ion exchange, perhaps followed by evaporation to reduce the brine volume. A preliminary design for a zero-discharge system is presented ; however the first phase of the project will be implemented and studied before the appropriate salt-removing technology is selected.
The Endocrinology of Spermatogenesis in Birds III. Effect of Hypo- and Hyperthyroidism

Abstract THE role of the thyroid hormone, thyroxine, in reproduction in mammals has received considerable study especially in the female. In poultry, the effect of thyroxine or thyroidectomy has been confined chiefly to problems of growth and egg production. In a previous paper (Kumaran and Turner, 1949) it was indicated that the gonadotrophic hormones of the anterior pituitary act upon homologous components of the gonads. One might expect that hypo- or hyperthyroidism would influence spermatogenesis and the secretion of the male hormone by the interstitial cells of Leydig as a result of the effect upon the gonadotrophic hormone secretion just as these hormones influence the maturation of the ovum and the hormone secretion of the ovary. There has been no suggestion that the thyroid hormone stimulates either spermatogenesis or male hormone secretion directly, i.e. has gonadotrophic hormone-like activity, but rather that in stimulating increased functional activity in either the male or . . .
FINANCIAL MARKETS AND THE MACRO ECONOMY

The objective of this paper is to provide a deeper insight into the links between financial markets and the real economy. To that end, we study the short-term anticipation and response of U.S. stock, Treasury, and corporate bond markets to the first release of U.S. macroeconomic information. Specifically, we focus on the impact of these announcements not only on the level, but also on the volatility and comovement of those assets' returns. Forthat purpose, we estimate several extensions of the parsimonious amended GARCH model of Engle (2002) for the excess holding-period returns on seven portfolios of these asset classes. We find that the process of price formation in the U.S. financial markets appears to be driven by fundamentals; yet, "excessive" volatility and comovement play an important role in return dynamics as well. Further, our analysis reveals a statistically and economically significant dichotomy between the reaction of the stock and bond markets to the arrival of unexpected fundamental information. However, we also show that stock and bond returns tend to react to the expected component of these announcements. Overall, the above results often differ from earlier studies where the surprise portion of those releases was not identified, and shed new light on the mechanisms by which information is incorporated into prices.
Motion preference learning

In order to control systems to meet subjective criteria, one would like to construct objective functions that accurately represent human preferences. To do this, we develop robust estimators based on convex optimization that, given empirical, pairwise comparisons between motions, produce both (1) objective functions that are compatible with the expressed preferences, and (2) global optimizers (i.e., “best motions”) for these functions. The approach is demonstrated with an example in which human and synthetic motions are compared.
Interactive Effects of c-myc and Transforming Growth Factor α Transgenes on Liver Tumor Development in Simian Virus 40 T Antigen Transgenic Mice

To analyze the effects of c-myc and transforming growth factor alpha (TGFalpha) on hepatocarcinogenesis induced by simian virus 40 T antigen (TAg), livers from single and bitransgenic mice, 3 to 11 mice per line, were examined morphologically 1 to 8 weeks after birth. Mice carrying c-myc or TGFalpha alone exhibited centrilobular hypertrophy and increased apoptosis (c-myc mice only) of hepatocytes after 3 or 4 weeks of age, but no detectable changes in cell proliferation or proliferative lesions were observed in either line during the 8 weeks. Mice carrying TAg alone exhibited increased cell proliferation, apoptosis, and dysplasia of hepatocytes with notably high mitotic and apoptotic indices as major changes before development of putative preneoplastic lesions after 4 weeks of age and neoplastic lesions after 6 weeks. In bitransgenic mice coexpressing c-myc or TGFalpha with TAg, nonproliferative lesions and mitotic and apoptotic indices were similar to those in mice carrying TAg alone. In TAg x c-myc bitransgenic mice, however, both preneoplastic and neoplastic lesions developed sooner and grew more rapidly than those in TAg mice, whereas in TAg x TGFalpha bitransgenic mice, rapid tumor growth was the principle observation. Because of the effects of transgene coexpression, livers from TAg x c-myc and TAg x TGFalpha mice had multiple tumors as early as 3 and 6 weeks of age, respectively. The results indicate cooperative functions of c-myc and TGFalpha with TAg during development and/or growth of liver tumors in vivo.
Comparative visual ecophysiology of mid-Atlantic temperate reef fishes

The absolute light sensitivities, temporal properties, and spectral sensitivities of the visual systems of three mid-Atlantic temperate reef fishes (Atlantic spadefish [Ephippidae: Chaetodipterus faber], tautog [Labridae: Tautoga onitis], and black sea bass [Serranidae: Centropristis striata]) were studied via electroretinography (ERG). Pelagic Atlantic spadefish exhibited higher temporal resolution but a narrower dynamic range than the two more demersal foragers. The higher luminous sensitivities of tautog and black sea bass were similar to other benthic and demersal coastal mid-Atlantic fishes. Flicker fusion frequency experiments revealed significant interspecific differences at maximum intensities that correlated with lifestyle and habitat. Spectral responses of the three species spanned 400-610enm, with high likelihood of cone dichromacy providing the basis for color and contrast discrimination. Significant day-night differences in spectral responses were evident in spadefish and black sea bass but not tautog, a labrid with characteristic structure-associated nocturnal torpor. Atlantic spadefish responded to a wider range of wavelengths than did deeper-dwelling tautog or black sea bass. Collectively, these results suggest that temperate reef-associated fishes are well-adapted to their gradient of brighter to dimmer photoclimates, representative of their unique ecologies and life histories. Continuing anthropogenic degradation of water quality in coastal environments, at a pace faster than the evolution of visual systems, may however impede visual foraging and reproductive signaling in temperate reef fishes.
On transport daemons for small collaborative applications over wide-area networks

A number of science applications employing collaborative computations require transport methods that guarantee end- to-end performance at the application level. Throughputs achieved by the traditional transport methods are limited to single default best-effort IP paths, which are often insufficient for the application tasks. In this paper, we present a measurement-based approach that utilizes application-level daemons at the collaborating sites to enhance the transport performance by utilizing multiple quickest paths. This method is based on a linear approximation of the effective bandwidth, and is computationally efficient and analytically tractable under fairly general conditions. We implemented and tested this method at Internet nodes, and the experimental results show significant performance improvements over the default TCP.
Analyzing the impact of asynchronous multimedia feedback on novice computer programmers

For many engineering students, freshman programming represents one of the hardest courses for them to master. Unlike other science fields, few students are routinely exposed to programming in the K12 system. This can make the freshman programming course daunting. However, in the field of software engineering, success in this area is vital, as success in nearly all future courses requires mastery of this skillset. In the engineering field, we find that many students are visual learners. These students learn best by seeing, and they can perform very well in the classroom with the appropriate usage of teaching styles. However, when it comes to providing feedback to students on submitted assignments, the main method employed is the written comment, which is not conducive to visual learners. From a faculty member's standpoint, this makes sense, as it is the simplest form of feedback. However, written feedback is often ineffective at improving student performance, as many students simply do not read the comments because the students feel they are not relevant to their performance. This can be compounded in the freshman year, as students are still learning what is meant to be an effective college student. At higher levels, an alternative feedback mechanism, namely asynchronous multimedia feedback, has shown great promise. In lieu of written feedback, students are provided feedback for software engineering exercises through the use of a short video made via video capture. The video captures in multimedia format the instructor's perceptions and actions when grading a given assignment. The video shows, in real time, what the instructor saw, whether it is a program crashing or the successful operation of the program. Furthermore, it provides the instructor the ability to potentially fix simple blatant errors and see the instructor's debugging strategy. The article describes the pedagogical foundation for the technique, specifics of the technique used, student perceptions of the technique, and an assessment of the learning gains from using such a method in an introductory freshman programming course. In general, students are show to prefer the technique versus traditional grading, and a statistically significant improvement in overall outcomes for the experimental course is shown to exist. A statistically significant correlation between the watching of videos and outcomes is also shown.
PythonTeX: reproducible documents with LaTeX, Python, and more

PythonTeX is a LaTeX package that allows Python code in LaTeX documents to be executed and provides access to the output. This makes possible reproducible documents that combine results with the code required to generate them. Calculations and figures may be next to the code that created them. Since code is adjacent to its output in the document, editing may be more efficient. Since code output may be accessed programmatically in the document, copy-and-paste errors are avoided and output is always guaranteed to be in sync with the code that generated it. This paper provides an introduction to PythonTeX and an overview of major features, including performance optimizations, debugging tools, and dependency tracking. Several complete examples are presented. Finally, advanced features are summarized. Though PythonTeX was designed for Python, it may be extended to support additional languages; support for the Ruby and Julia languages is already included. PythonTeX contains a utility for converting documents into plain LaTeX, suitable for format conversion, sharing, and journal submission.
Helicopter Emergency Medical Care Delivery Systems

Through the use of simulation techniques, estimates were prepared of the costs and benefits associated with utilizing helicopters for transferring rural emergency medical cases in the Huntington, WV, medical trade area. Several hypothetical emergency transfer systems which incorporate varying amounts of helicopter capability were simulated and compared along a number of dimensions including response time, transfer time, ability to respond to emergency calls, and cost per transfer. The results indicated that as the number of helicopters increased so did the average cost per emergency transfer. The average emergency transfer costs can only be reduced by decreasing the proportion of fixed cost allocated to emergency transfers. However, increasing the utility of the helicopter component by diversifying its services lowers its availability and increases final destination time for the system. The best system then consists of utilizing helicopters primarily for such functions as police patrols, medical team transfers, or reserve military training and quickly diverting the aircraft to emergency missions when required.