cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Music, Sound, and Site: A Case Study from Southern Song China (1127–1275)

This chapter discusses current theories and methods for understanding music as cultures and as natural or man-made phenomena, the meanings of which are shaped by not only musical styles and structures but also performance sites and the participants’ aesthetics and music practices. This chapter begins with a survey of key concepts, such as sound culture, soundscape, and musikscape, and concludes with a case study of the musical world of Lin’an, the capital of Southern Song China (1127–1275), demonstrating the ways its citizens selectively and strategically produced and consumed a diversity of music in their historical time and place. With such demonstrations, this chapter underscores the observations that if current theories and methods of music studies developed in the West can be fruitfully applied to Chinese music studies, the applications would challenge the theories and stimulate further debates on their definitions and issues.
« Cela nous a échappé… » : théorie de l’acteur-réseau et le problème des générations scientifiques:

The present article reviews in detail the generational fate of Actor-Network Theory (AnT). This theory is one of the rare examples of an intellectual product that has managed to transpose into the ...
Nondestructive Low-Temperature Cracking Characterization of Asphalt Materials

AbstractAn acoustic-emission approach to evaluate the low-temperature cracking performance of asphalt binders is presented. The acoustic activity of a thin film of asphalt binder bonded to a granit...
Mitigating Risk and Measuring Success

This chapter covers how supply chain security data is analyzed and how intelligence gathering is used in order to help meet the strategic goals of businesses and government. By acknowledging complexity in the supply chain the process of supply chain risk mitigation is easier to map out. Several sources of risk are discussed and a model for disruption management is outlined. In terms of measuring success a game theoretic approach is used to highlight how cooperation may be achieved among the critical players. The games are discussed in both cargo transportation and in disaster relief. Finally, a few key performance indicators are offered to help decision makers in measuring success. Special attention is paid to the perfect order index.
Explicit Economics: Addressing Conscious Consumption for Sustainability

Sustainability is typically discussed in a siloed fashion in the United States. Cradle-to-cradle production and regulation to curb greenhouse gas emissions are proffered as salves for evidenced degradation but little attention is directed to how a society can enable sustainability as a cultural norm. Further and related, the role of the individual economic agent as consumer, investor, and government participant is seemingly not acknowledged. To a large extent, the population majority delegates the powers conferred in the three roles to a minority largely through indifferent conveyance posited on trust, leaving outcomes impacting society as a whole dependent on incentives of a few, who may or may not be aligned with the public welfare. Therefore, given the evidence of marketed demand fostered by a consumerism based economy (Day and Aaker in J Mark 34(3):12–19, 1970), perhaps the most significant, powerful, and traction-inducing vehicle for instituting sustainability may be found in enabling conscious consumption at the individual level. Arguably, the conduit for conscious consumption would then be education not limited to defining sustainability but inclusive of the rationale for sustainability, the patience requisite for implementation, and the acceptance of sustainability as a societal norm of behavior. However, the building block for conscious consumption is found in understanding the basis of present consumption decisions, ultimately the values that shape the behaviors that lead to observable economic outcomes.
Insecurity, Inequality and Obesity in Affluent Societies

The rise of the modern obesity epidemic is well documented, and its increase is observed in both developed and developing economies. Obesity increases the risk of numerous mortalities and morbiditi...
Catholic Politicians and the Politics of Abortion Position Taking

Four decades after the Court's landmark decision in Roe v. Wade, the issue of abortion persists as a point of contention for elected officials. The Catholic Church has taken a leading role in the pro-life movement, putting many Catholic representatives in a difficult position as they can be cross-pressured by their party, their constituents, and their own beliefs. Given these pressures, how do Catholic legislators explain their positions on abortion? We address this question via an analysis of public statements about abortion made by Catholic representatives and senators in the 108th Congress. We examine which members comment on abortion and use automated text analysis to measure legislators' certainty and use of moral and religious terms when discussing abortion. Multivariate analysis shows that gender, ethnicity, and an interaction between a member's position on abortion and the number of Catholics in their constituency shape how Catholic legislators discuss abortion.
Distributing dollars for democracy: changing foreign policy contexts and the shifting determinants of US democracy aid, 1975–2010

In the late 20th century, the United States adapted to changes in the international arena and initiated innovative strategies of democracy promotion by providing assistance to governments, political parties, and non-governmental organisations all over the world. Through the lens of foreign policy change, this analysis examines the factors shaping US democracy aid decisions in the context of two major paradigm shifts—the end of the Cold War (1989) and the 9/11 episode (2001)—which establish three distinct US foreign policy contexts: Cold War, post-Cold War, and Global War on Terror. Examining democracy aid allocations; ideational goals; US interests; and economic, political and social factors, we argue that the external foreign policy context of each time period generates a different blend of determinants that shape democracy aid allocations, with ideational factors more consequential in the post-Cold War and Global War on Terror contexts, and interest-based factors more significant in the Cold War and Global War on Terror contexts. Evidence from the period between 1975 and 2010 provides support for our argument. We conclude with a discussion of the implications of these findings.
Das Sprachsystem des Menschen

Die biologische Disposition der Sprache kann aktivitatsunabhangige und aktivitatsabhangige Prozesse involvieren, aber beide Prozessarten gehoren zum „Sprachgenotyp“. Die Expression der biologischen Disposition erfolgt nach einem genetischen Programm, zu dem auch Proliferation und Pruning eines (geschlechtsunabhangigen) neuralen Sprachnetzes gehoren. Die kritischen corticalen Regionen und deren fur Sprache relevanten Konnektivitaten werden besprochen. Sie umfassen u. a. verschiedene ventrale und dorsale Faserbahnen, den superioren und den mittleren und/oder den anterior temporalen Gyrus, die Broca-Region, den pramotorischen Cortex, das frontale Operculum, die parietal-temporale Verbindung und den rechten posterioren temporalen Gyrus. Modalitatsspezifische und modalitatsunabhangige Studien verdeutlichen, dass das neurale „Sprachnetz“ multifunktional ist, d. h., es fuhrt verschiedene Berechnungen innerhalb einer einzelnen Domane (z. B. Semantik und Syntax) und uberlagernd in verschiedenen Domanen aus (z. B. Sprache und Musik).
Association of Quantitative Metastatic Lymph Node Burden With Survival in Hypopharyngeal and Laryngeal Cancer.

Importance Nodal staging for laryngohypopharyngeal cancers is based primarily on size and laterality, with less value placed on absolute number of metastatic lymph nodes (LNs). We are aware of no studies to date that have specifically addressed the prognostic effect of quantitative nodal burden in larynx or hypopharynx malignancies. Objective To assess the independent impact of quantitative metastatic LN burden on mortality risk. Design, Setting, and Participants Univariate and multivariable models were constructed to evaluate the association between patients’ number of metastatic LNs and their survival, adjusting for factors such as nodal size, laterality, extranodal extension, margin status, and adjuvant treatment. Participants were patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the larynx or hypopharynx undergoing upfront surgical resection for curative intent at a US hospital between 2004 and 2013, as identified in the National Cancer Database. A neck dissection of a minimum of 10 LNs was required. Main Outcomes and Measures Overall survival. Results Overall, 8351 cases were included (mean [SD] age, 61 [10.1] years; 6499 men [77.8%]; 4710 patients with metastatic LNs and 3641 with no metastatic LNs). Mortality risk escalated continuously without plateau as number of metastatic nodes increased, with the hazard per node (hazard ratio [HR], 1.19; 95% CI, 1.16-1.23;P Conclusions and Relevance The number of metastatic nodes is a predominant independent factor associated with mortality in hypopharyngeal and laryngeal cancers. Moreover, standard nodal staging factors like LN size and contralaterality have no independent prognostic value when accounting for positive LN number. Deeper integration of quantitative metastatic nodal disease may simplify staging and better triage the need for adjuvant therapy.
Abstract 5464: Pharmacologic activation of REV-ERBs is lethal in cancer and oncogene-induced senescence

The circadian clock drives daily rhythms in cell proliferation, metabolism, inflammation and DNA damage response. Perturbations of these processes are hallmarks of cancer, and circadian rhythm disruption predisposes to tumor development in animal models and humans. This raises the hypothesis that pharmacologic modulation of the circadian machinery may be an effective therapeutic strategy for combating cancer. The nuclear hormone receptors REV-ERBα and REV-ERBβ (REV-ERBs) are essential components of the circadian clock. Here we show that SR9009 and SR9011, two different agonists of REV-ERBs, are specifically lethal to cancer cells and oncogene-induced senescent (OIS) cells, including melanocytic naevi, while having no effect on viability of normal cells or tissues. Anticancer activity of SR9009 and SR9011 affects several oncogenic drivers (such as H-RAS, BRAF, PIK3CA, and others), and persists in the absence of p53 and under hypoxic conditions. The regulation of autophagy and de novo lipogenesis by SR9009 and SR9011 plays a critical role in evoking an apoptotic response in malignant cells. Importantly, the selective anticancer properties of these REV-ERB agonists impair glioblastoma growth in vivo and improve survival without causing any overt toxicity in mice. These results indicate that pharmacologic modulation of circadian regulators is an effective novel antitumor strategy, identifying the existence of a previously unknown class of anticancer agents with a wide therapeutic window. We propose that REV-ERB agonists are novel autophagy and de novo lipogenesis inhibitors with selective activity towards malignant and benign neoplasms. Citation Format: Gabriele Sulli, Amy Rommel, Xiaojie Wang, Matthew J. Kolar, Francesca Puca, Alan Saghatelian, Maksim V. Plikus, Inder M. Verma, Satchidananda Panda. Pharmacologic activation of REV-ERBs is lethal in cancer and oncogene-induced senescence [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2018; 2018 Apr 14-18; Chicago, IL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2018;78(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 5464.
Organoid and pluripotent stem cells in Parkinson’s disease modeling: an expert view on their value to drug discovery

Introduction: Parkinson’s disease is a devastating neurodegenerative disorder preferentially involving loss of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra, leading to typical motor symptoms. While...
Neither autophagy nor exercise training mode affect exercise-induced beneficial adaptations in high fat-fed mice

Abstract Exercise mitigates obesity-associated pathologies; however, there is controversy regarding optimal exercise interventions. Autophagy, is known to decrease during obesity and is an important moderator for exercise adaptations. Purpose To investigate individual and combined effects of different exercise interventions and autophagy inhibition on exercise adaptations during obesity. Methods C57BL/6J mice initiated 45% high fat diet at 8 weeks of age. After 6 weeks of diet, animals were divided into moderate (MOD) or high intensity interval training interventions (HIIT), animals were further divided into autophagy inhibition or vehicle conditions (n = 10/group). Animals exercised and autophagy was inhibited 3X/week by NSC185058 injections, thereby blocking autophagosome formation. Interventions continued for 4 weeks. Results High fat diet impaired glucose handling ∼17%; exercise interventions normalized glucoregulation to pre-high fat diet levels, without differences between any interventions. High fat diet induced ∼25% decrease in aerobic capacity, which returned to baseline after exercise interventions, with no differences between any interventions. No effects of autophagy inhibition were noted. Conclusions HIIT and MOD training confer similar health-related adaptations.
Selective Electrochemical Detection of Nitrite Using Cobalt Phthalocyanine Modified on Multi-Wall Carbon Nanotubes

Nitrite (NO2-) as an important preservative is extensively used in the food industry, especially in the production and processing of pickled meat due to nitrite prevents bacterial growth. In addition, NO2- as a toxic contaminant probably threaten human health by producing N-nitrosamines with highly carcinogenic. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has restricted the maximum contaminant level to 1.0 ppm (21.7 μM), and a similar guideline value recommended by WHO is 3.0 ppm. European Union Scientific Committee for Food sets the acceptable daily intake (ADI) of NO2- as 0.06 mg kg-1 of body weight. Voltammetric biosensing is considered the most promising approach because it offers a fast, reliable, and low-cost detection. In this abstract, cobalt (II) phthalocyanine (CoPc) was immobilized on multi-wall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs), then modified on glassy carbon electrode (GCE) as an electrochemical senor toward nitrite using the voltammetric technique. Consequently, we developed a facile, sensitive, and rapid electrochemical method for nitrite determination, which reached a linear dynamic range of 0.01 to 1050.0 mM with a detection limit of 2.11 μM. The simple preparation of CoPc/MWCNTs makes the novel material convenient tools for the development of new electrode modified materials. Such excellent performance is ascribed to the synergistic effect between CoPc and MWCNT, indicating the promise of applying CoPc/MWCNTs@GCE in the practical bio-sensing applications.Figure 1
Parent discipline and pre-schoolers’ social skills

Educators recognize children’s social competence as an indicator of school readiness. Children’s social competence may be promoted prior to kindergarten through parents’ discipline. We assessed par...
A Combined Approach to Intracerebral Hemorrhage: Intravenous Mesenchymal Stem Cell Therapy with Minimally Invasive Hematoma Evacuation.

Abstract Background Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are multipotent stromal cells currently being tested as therapy for a variety of diseases. MSC therapy and hematoma evacuation using a minimally invasive approach are being studied separately to improve clinical outcomes after stroke. We report the first case of a patient with intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) treated with combination MSC therapy and endoscopic hematoma evacuation. Case report A 36-year-old woman with a past medical history of essential chronic hypertension and right lung bronchial atresia presented to the emergency department with acute neurologic decline (National Institute of Health Stroke Scale [NIHSS] score, 22). Computed tomography showed a 4.4 × 3.5 × 3.5 cm right basal ganglia hemorrhage with intraventricular extension. An external ventricular drain was placed, and she was enrolled in a Phase I clinical trial investigating intravenous MSC therapy for acute ICH. Continued neurologic deterioration due to increased intracranial pressure led to minimally invasive hematoma evacuation using the Artemis Neuro Evacuation Device (Penumbra, Inc.) on hospital day 4. Follow-up scans showed decreased density and extent of hemorrhage. She was discharged on day 41 with improved neurologic function scores (NIHSS score, 2). At 3-month follow-up, she was walking on her own, but had residual left arm and hand weakness (modified Rankin Score, 2). Conclusions This case report suggests that the combination of MSC therapy and minimally invasive hematoma evacuation may be safe and well tolerated. Further larger randomized clinical trials are required to identify whether MSC therapy in combination with minimally invasive hematoma evacuation is safe, tolerable, and potentially improves outcomes than either alone.
Numerical investigation of the accuracy of particle image velocimetry technique in gas-phase detonations

Abstract We numerically investigate the accuracy of the Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) technique for the flow characterization in high-speed, compressible regimes, in particular in gas-phase detonations. We carry out synthetic PIV reconstruction of the flow field in a two-dimensional, planar detonation propagating under atmospheric conditions and modelled using single-step Arrhenius kinetics. The flow is uniformly seeded with monodispersed Al2O3 particles with sizes 50 and 200 nm, along with initially co-located massless Lagrangian tracer particles. The effect of massive particles on the detonation speed and thermodynamic state of the flow is investigated and is found to be negligible. We further assess the ability of massive particles to sample the flow field and while it is found that 50 nm particles sample the flow field better than the 200 nm ones, they also exhibit significant clustering. By comparing the trajectories of massive particles with those of massless tracers, it is shown that almost all massive particles rapidly diverge from the actual flow pathlines. Finally, we quantify the accuracy of the PIV reconstruction of the velocity field in comparison with the actual velocity field in the numerical simulations. It is shown that while PIV is generally capable of capturing the bulk flow features in the streamwise direction, its accuracy is not sufficient to characterize the transverse velocity component or velocity fluctuations.
SOCS, Intrinsic Virulence Factors, and Treatment of COVID-19.

The suppressor of cytokine signaling (SOCS) family of intracellular checkpoint inhibitors has received little recognition compared to other checkpoint inhibitors. Two members of this family, SOCS1 and SOCS3, are indispensable, since SOCS1 knockout in mice results in neonatal death due to interferon gamma (IFNI³) induced inflammatory disease, and SOCS3 knockout leads to embryonic lethality. We have shown that SOCS1 and SOCS3 (SOCS1/3) function as virus induced intrinsic virulence factors for influenza A virus, EMC virus, herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1), and vaccinia virus infections. Other viruses such as pathogenic pig enteric coronavirus and coronavirus induced severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) spike protein also induce SOCS virus intrinsic virulence factors. SOCS1/3 exert their viral virulence effect via inhibition of type I and type II interferon (IFN) function. Specifically, the SOCS bind to the activation loop of receptor-associated tyrosine kinases JAK2 and TYK2 through the SOCS kinase inhibitory region (KIR), which inhibits STAT transcription factor activation by the kinases. Activated STATs are required for IFN function. We have developed a small peptide antagonist of SOCS1/3 that blocks SOCS1/3 inhibitory activity and prevents virus pathogenesis. The antagonist, pJAK2(1001-1013), is comprised of the JAK2 activation loop, phosphorylated at tyrosine 1007 with a palmitate for cell penetration. The remarkable thing about SOCS1/3 is that it serves as a broad, simple tool of perhaps most pathogenic viruses to avoid innate host IFN defense. We suggest in this Perspective that SOCS1/3 antagonist is a simple counter measure to SOCS1/3 and should be an effective mechanism as a prophylactic and/or therapeutic against the COVID-19 pandemic that is caused by coronavirus SARS-CoV2.
Tract Specificity of Age Effects on Diffusion Tensor Imaging Measures of White Matter Health

Well-established literature indicates that older adults have poorer cerebral white matter integrity, as measured through diffusion tensor imaging (DTI). Age differences in DTI have been observed widely across white matter, although some tracts appear more sensitive to the effects of aging than others. Factors like APOE e4 status and sex may contribute to individual differences in white matter integrity that also selectively impact certain tracts, and could influence DTI changes in aging. The present study explored the degree to which age, APOE e4, and sex exerted global vs. tract specific effects on DTI metrics in cognitively healthy late middle-aged to older adults. Data from 49 older adults (ages 54-92) at two time-points separated by approximately 2.7 years were collected. DTI metrics, including fractional anisotropy (FA) and mean diffusivity (MD), were extracted from nine white matter tracts and global white matter. Results showed that across timepoints, FA and MD increased globally, with no tract-specific changes observed. Baseline age had a global influence on both measures, with increasing age associated with lower FA and higher MD. After controlling for global white matter FA, age additionally predicted FA for the genu, callosum body, inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus (IFOF), and both anterior and posterior cingulum. Females exhibited lower global FA on average compared to males. In contrast, MD was selectively elevated in the anterior cingulum and superior longitudinal fasciculus (SLF), for females compared to males. APOE e4 status was not predictive of either measure. In summary, these results indicate that age and sex are associated with both global and tract-specific alterations to DTI metrics among a healthy older adult cohort. Older women have poorer white matter integrity compared to older men, perhaps related to menopause-induced metabolic changes. While age-related alterations to white matter integrity are global, there is substantial variation in the degree to which tracts are impacted, possibly as a consequence of tract anatomical variability. The present study highlights the importance of accounting for global sources of variation in DTI metrics when attempting to investigate individual differences (due to age, sex, or other factors) in specific white matter tracts.
Cardiac involvement in hospitalized patients with COVID-19 and its incremental value in outcomes prediction.

Recent reports linked acute COVID-19 infection in hospitalized patients to cardiac abnormalities. Studies have not evaluated presence of abnormal cardiac structure and function before scanning in setting of COVD-19 infection. We sought to examine cardiac abnormalities in consecutive group of patients with acute COVID-19 infection according to the presence or absence of cardiac disease based on review of health records and cardiovascular imaging studies. We looked at independent contribution of imaging findings to clinical outcomes. After excluding patients with previous left ventricular (LV) systolic dysfunction (global and/or segmental), 724 patients were included. Machine learning identified predictors of in-hospital mortality and in-hospital mortality + ECMO. In patients without previous cardiovascular disease, LV EF < 50% occurred in 3.4%, abnormal LV global longitudinal strain (< 16%) in 24%, and diastolic dysfunction in 20%. Right ventricular systolic dysfunction (RV free wall strain < 20%) was noted in 18%. Moderate and large pericardial effusion were uncommon with an incidence of 0.4% for each category. Forty patients received ECMO support, and 79 died (10.9%). A stepwise increase in AUC was observed with addition of vital signs and laboratory measurements to baseline clinical characteristics, and a further significant increase (AUC 0.91) was observed when echocardiographic measurements were added. The performance of an optimized prediction model was similar to the model including baseline characteristics + vital signs and laboratory results + echocardiographic measurements.
An Exactly Solvable Model for Thermal Boundary Resistance in a Nonharmonic System

Theories of the thermal boundary resistance (Kapitza resistance if one side of the boundary is occupied by liquid helium) have been based on the assumption that the lattice heat current is given by $${\text{J = }}\sum\limits_\alpha {\hbar {\omega _\alpha }{{\text{v}}_\alpha }{\text{n}}(\alpha ,{\text{x}})}$$ (1) where vα is the group velocity and n(α,x) is the density of phonons a at point x, or that the density matrix is diagonal in the local phonon representation. Eq. (1) can be justified for a homogeneous system far from boundaries with small temperature gradients. Then it is assumed that the part of n(α,x) which describes phonons propagating toward the boundary, which is at the x = 0 plane, is a Bose-Einstein equilibrium distribution. This is probably a good approximation for |x| » l (phonon mean free path), but n(α,x) for |x| « l is what is needed for the next step in the calculation, to match phonons across the boundary to find a transmission coefficientt a enabling one to write, for |x| » l $$n\left( {a,x} \right) = \left\{ \begin{array}{l} {t_a}{n_{BE}}\left( {a,{T_L}} \right){\rm{ }}{v_a} > 0\\ {t_a}{n_{BE}}\left( {a,{T_R}} \right){\rm{ }}{v_a} < 0 \end{array} \right.$$ (2)
French and US videotex: Prospects for the electronic directory service

Abstract This article examines the 10 key reasons accounting for the success of Minitel and reports US telecommunications companies' reactions to the implementation of an electronic directory service modelled on the French videotex system. In October 1988 a mail survey was conducted with the seven Regional Bell Operating Companies and five independent telephone companies. The results indicate that the Regional Bell Operating Companies are very likely to offer electronic white and yellow pages in the near future. Recommendations to facilitate the Introduction of electronic white and yellow pages are also discussed.
Perception of Behavioral Contagion of Adolescent Suicide

In order to assess perceptions of behavioral contagion of suicide (what people thought a disturbed adolescent would do if the teen knew about a suicide in the community), and to assess actor-observer differences in such perceptions, 142 college students were asked to view a videotaped vignette of a distressed high school student, and then to assess her potential for committing suicide, running away, entering therapy, or abusing alcohol. Subjects who were told that the teenager knew of two recent suicides in the community (contagion group) rated the young woman as more likely to commit suicide or run away than did the subjects who were not told of the suicides (noncontagion group). Subjects who were instructed to imagine that they were the teenager (actors) blamed situational factors, and in particular the teen's parents, more for her distress than did subjects who were instructed just to rate the teenager on the videotape (observers). Contagion/actors rated suicide as more likely than did any other group. Apparently, people believe that behavioral contagion occurs when a suicide is reported, and they especially perceive themselves to be influenced by such information.
A Personal History and Commentary

At the termination of World War II, discrimination against Jews at the major American universities began to wane. As the president of Yale reportedly had said in a conversation, the time when it was not possible to appoint a Jew to a position of tenure at Yale College had passed. The new situation permitted the Department of Mathematics to offer me a tenured associated professorship in 1947. I accepted and became the first Jew to hold a tenured position in the mathematics department (and perhaps the second among all departments teaching undergraduates at Yale).1
Systemic responses of preterm newborns with presumed or documented bacteraemia.

Aim: To compare the frequency of elevated concentrations of inflammation-related proteins in the blood of infants born before the 28th week of gestation who had documented bacteraemia and those who had presumed (antibiotic-treated but culture-negative) bacteraemia to those who had neither. Methods: The subjects of this study are the 868 infants born at 14 institutions for whom information about protein measurements on at least two of the three protocol days (days 1, 7, and 14) was available and who did not have Bell stage 3 necrotizing enterocolitis or isolated bowel perforation, which were strongly associated with bacteraemia in this sample. Results: Newborns with presumed early (week 1) bacteraemia had elevated concentrations of only a few inflammation-related proteins, while those who had presumed late (weeks 2–4) bacteraemia did not have any elevations. In contrast, newborns who had documented early bacteraemia had a moderately strong signal, while those who had documented late bacteraemia had a stronger signal with more protein concentrations elevated on two separate occasions a week apart. Conclusions: Culture-confirmed early and late bacteraemia are accompanied/followed by systemic inflammatory responses not seen with presumed early and late bacteraemia.
Hepatitis A virus in ready-to-eat foods.

Hepatitis A virus (HAV) outbreaks linked to poor personal hygiene of infected food handlers have been reported in association with highly handled foods such as salads, sandwiches, and bakery products. This chapter lists some of the outbreaks associated with HAV and ready-to-eat (RTE) foods. Typically, detection of viruses in foods requires sequential steps of (i) sampling, (ii) virus concentration, (iii) detection, and (iv) confirmation. Following concentration and purification of HAV from food matrices, detection of the virus can be carried out using the following assays: (i) mammalian cell culture infectivity assays; (ii) immunological methods; or (iii) nucleic acid-based molecular methods. Confirmation methods are needed during the testing of food and environmental samples in order to eliminate false positives, because nonspecific products can be amplified from the food matrix components themselves. Confirmation methods include (i) direct sequencing of amplified PCR product, (ii) restriction digestion of the amplified product, (iii) Southern hybridizations, and (iv) nested PCR. These are briefly described since they are now rarely used. Real-time approaches are now being increasingly used instead.
Mobile Agent Attack Resistant Distributed Hierarchical Intrusion Detection Systems

Abstract : Distributed intrusion detection systems are especially vulnerable to attacks because the components reside at a static location and are connected together into a hierarchical structure. An attacker can disable such a system by taking out a node high in the hierarchy, thus amputating a portion of the distributed system. One solution to this problem is to cast the internal nodes in the system hierarchy as mobile agents. These mobile agents randomly move around the network such that an attacker can not locate their position. If an attacker takes out a mobile agent platform, the remaining agents estimate the location of the attacker and automatically avoid those networks. Killed agents are resurrected by a group of backups that retain all or partial state information. We are implementing this technology as an API such that existing intrusion detection systems can wrap their components as mobile agents in order to gain a type of "attack resistance".
A Review of “Political Keywords: Using Language That Uses Us”

The various authors of Political Keywords offer an unusual and, at times, insightful and thought–provoking analysis of some of the important words in our shared political lexicon. They base their w...
Bifurcation and stability in Yang-Mills theory with sources

In my lecture I shall discuss some recent work on solutions to classical Yang-Mills theory. The investigations that I shall summarize study the field equations with static, external [non-dynamical] sources. The physical, quantum-mechanical significance of such solutions has not thus far been as profound as that of solitons, where sources are dynamical i.e. monopoles with Higgs-field sources; nor as that of instantons, where sources are absent but the equations are continued to imaginary time. Nonetheless the new results are interesting in their differences from the Abelian counterpart and should suggest intuition about the physical content of non-Abelian gauge-quantum field theory. Moreover, structurally the equations are sufficiently intricate to provide a most interesting example of analysis in mathematical physics.
The formation of Sr silicates at low temperature and the solubility product of tobermorite-like Sr5Si6O16(OH)2.5H2O

The Formation of Strontium Silicates at Low Temperature and the Solubility Product of Tobermorite like Sr5Si6O16(OH)2 5H20
Electrostatic Solitary Waves in the Solar Wind: Evidence for Instability at Solar Wind Current Sheets

A strong spatial association between bipolar electrostatic solitary waves (ESWs) and magnetic current sheets (CSs) in the solar wind is reported here for the first time. This association requires that the plasma instabilities (e.g., Buneman, electron two stream) which generate ESWs are preferentially localized to solar wind CSs. Distributions of CS properties (including shear angle, thickness, solar wind speed, and vector magnetic field change) are examined for differences between CSs associated with ESWs and randomly chosen CSs. Possible mechanisms for producing ESW-generating instabilities at solar wind CSs are considered, including magnetic reconnection.
[18F]Fluoroestradiol Radiation Dosimetry in Human PET Studies

[18F]16α-fluoroestradiol (FES) is a PET imaging agent useful for the study of estrogen receptors in breast cancer. We estimated the radiation dosimetry for this tracer using data obtained in patient studies. Methods: Time-dependent tissue concentrations of radioactivity were determined from blood samples and PET images in 49 patients (52 studies) after intravenous injection of FES. Radiation absorbed doses were calculated using the procedures of the MIRD committee, taking into account the variation in dose based on the distribution of activities observed in the individual patients. Effective dose equivalent was calculated using International Commission on Radiological Protection Publication 60 weights for the standard woman. Results: The effective dose equivalent was 0.022 mSv/MBq (80 mrem/mCi). The organ that received the highest dose was the liver (0.13 mGy/MBq [470 mrad/mCi]), followed by the gallbladder (0.10 mGy/MBq [380 mrad/mCi]) and the urinary bladder (0.05 mGy/MBq [190 mrad/mCi]). Conclusion: The organ doses are comparable to those associated with other commonly performed nuclear medicine tests. FES is a useful estrogen receptor-imaging agent, and the potential radiation risks associated with this study are well within accepted limits.
Josephson Plasma Resonance as a Structural Probe of Vortex Liquid

Recent developments of the Josephson plasma resonance and transport c -axis measurements in layered high T{sub c} superconductors allow one to probe Josephson coupling in a wide range of the vortex phase diagram. We derive a relation between the field dependent Josephson coupling energy and the density correlation function of the vortex liquid. This relation provides a unique opportunity to extract the density correlation function of pancake vortices from the dependence of the plasma resonance on the ab component of the magnetic field at a fixed c -axis component. {copyright} {ital 1998} {ital The American Physical Society}
Recognizing human actions

Recognition of human actions from video sequences is a very active area of research in Computer Vision. An important step in any action recognition approach is the extraction of useful information form a raw video data and its subsequent representation. The representation should account for the variability that arises when arbitrary cameras capture humans performing actions.UCF Computer Vision group has been very active in action recognition area. In this talk, I will present our action recognition work employing a variety of representations: a single point, anatomical landmarks on the human body, and complete contour of the human body. I will also explicitly identify three important sources of variability: (1) viewpoint, (2) execution rate, and (3) anthropometry of actors, and propose a model of human actions that allows us to address all three. Our hypothesis is that the variability associated with the execution of an action can be closely approximated by a linear combination of action bases in joint spatio-temporal space. We demonstrate that such a model bounds the rank of a matrix of image measurements and that this bound can be used to achieve recognition of actions based only on imaged data.
"Aha" effects in the generation of pictures.

An “aha” effect in memory was first reported by Auble, Franks, and Soraci (1979). They demonstrated that recall was greater for sentences that were initially incomprehensible but which were eventually comprehended, as compared with sentences that were understood from the outset. The present studies extend this “aha” effect to memory for pictorial stimuli. In Experiment 1, a recall advantage for pictures encoded by connecting the dots as compared with those encoded by tracing or visual scanning occurred only in the absence of foreknowledge of the picture (i.e., an “aha” effect). In Experiment 2, we replicated this finding and obtained evidence that conceptually based, verbal foreknowledge does not function in a similar manner as does pictorial foreknowledge in suppressing the “aha” recall advantage. These results place important constraints on previous research on generation effects for visual stimuli and attest to the cross-modal generalizability of the “aha” effect.
Persistent inhibition of human natural killer cell function by ziram and pentachlorophenol.

Ziram is a currently used agricultural fungicide. It is also used as an additive in the production of latex gloves. Because of these uses, there is a potential for human exposure to this compound. Pentachlorophenol (PCP) has been used as an insecticide, fungicide, disinfectant, and ingredient in antifouling paints. Currently, it is used as a wood preservative for power-line poles and fence posts. Measurable levels of PCP have been detected in human blood and urine. In previous studies we demonstrated that both these compounds could cause very significant inhibition of the tumor-killing function of human natural killer (NK) cells. NK lymphocytes play a central role in immune defense against viral infection and the formation of primary tumors. So interference with their function could increase the risk of tumor development. In the present study we examined the effects of exposure to ziram or PCP of brief duration (1 h) on the ability of NK cells to destroy tumor cells. NK cells were exposed to either ziram (5–0.5 μM) or PCP (10–5 μM) for 1 h followed by 0 h, 24 h, 48 h, or 6 days in compound-free media and then were tested for the ability to lyse as well as to bind tumor cells. A 1-h exposure to as little as 2.5 μM ziram decreased the ability of NK cells to lyse target tumor cells, which persisted up to 6 days following exposure. The loss of lytic function for from 24 h to 6 days following exposure was accompanied by a comparable loss of NK capacity to bind tumor cells. Exposure to 10 μM PCP for 1 h caused a progressive loss (greater than 80%) of lytic function within 6 days of exposure. In contrast to ziram, PCP exposure caused no accompanying loss of binding function. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Environ Toxicol 20: 418–424, 2005.
An application of the almost-positivity of a class of fourth-order pseudodifferential operators

Using the almost-positivity of a class of fourth-order pseudo-differential operators, we prove the inequality $$L = \sum\nolimits_{j = 1}^m {X_j^* X_j } + X_0 $$ where X0,Xj ∃ ψ phg 1 (Ω), with Xj,X complex-valued, are given.
Progression and resolution of myocardial reflow injury

The development of and recovery from a severe yet nonlethal myocardial injury following hyperkalemic cardioplegia and prolonged hypothermic global ischemia was examined over 14 days in a rat model of heterotopic intraabdominal cardiac isograft transplantation. Mitochondrial enzymatic markers of myocardial ischemic injury and light microscopic signs of damage were examined. Eighteen hearts were arrested in situ using hyperkalemic cardioplegia and subjected to a mean of 38 min of ischemia at 20°C as transplantation was achieved. No changes in mitochondrial creatine kinase (CKm) activity, mitochondrial malate dehydrogenase (MDHm) activity, their ratio, or morphologic evidence of injury were found during 8 days of reperfusion. In a second group of 66 hearts, the duration of hypothermic cardioplegic ischemia was extended by 120 min before transplantation. Neither unreperfused hearts nor hearts reperfused for only 1 hr demonstrated significant depression of enzyme activities or microscopic evidence of injury. However, after 1 day of reperfusion, CKm and MDHm activities were depressed to 36 and 44% of control levels (P < 0.05). These activities had returned to control levels by 2 days of reperfusion and remained stable for 12 days thereafter. Light microscopic analysis revealed cellular injury to be maximal at 1 to 2 days of reperfusion with gradual improvement noted over the following 12 days. These observations suggest the existence of a mitochondrial injury following prolonged cardioplegic arrest and hypothermic global ischemia that is maximal after 24 hr of reperfusion but shows evidence of improvement thereafter. These findings justify aggressive support of the poorly functioning heart for the first few days after prolonged global ischemia.
Double Hopf Bifurcation and Quasi-Periodic Flow in a Model for Baroclinic Instability

Abstract The interaction between pairs of dispersive waves is studied with different zonal wavenumbers in the β-plane model for baroclinic instability. We find that degenerate (codimension 2) double Hopf bifurcations occur at isolated points in the (F2/r2, F−1) parameter space. Here F is Froude number and r is an effective viscosity. Using perturbation methods, we derive the phase and amplitude equations for the interacting modes, which have distinct frequencies. These equations take the standard normal form for a nonresonant double Hopf bifurcation and can readily be analyzed using phase plane methods. We compute numerical values of the coefficients that determine stability in several cases and find that both pure and mixed (quasi-periodic) modes exist and that these modes can be stable or unstable, depending upon the zonal wavenumbers and other parameters. We discuss our results in the light of experimental studies. Our main conclusion is that the two-wave interaction and attendant double Hopf bifurcati...
The PDZ and band 4.1 containing protein Frmpd1 regulates the subcellular location of activator of G-protein signaling 3 and its interaction with G-proteins.

Activator of G-protein signaling 3 (AGS3) is one of nine mammalian proteins containing one or more G-protein regulatory (GPR) motifs that stabilize the GDP-bound conformation of Gαi. Such proteins have revealed unexpected functional diversity for the “G-switch” in the control of events within the cell independent of the role of heterotrimeric G-proteins as transducers for G-protein-coupled receptors at the cell surface. A key question regarding this class of proteins is what controls their subcellular positioning and interaction with G-proteins. We conducted a series of yeast two-hybrid screens to identify proteins interacting with the tetratricopeptide repeat (TPR) of AGS3, which plays an important role in subcellular positioning of the protein. We report the identification of Frmpd1 (FERM and PDZ domain containing 1) as a regulatory binding partner of AGS3. Frmpd1 binds to the TPR domain of AGS3 and coimmunoprecipitates with AGS3 from cell lysates. Cell fractionation indicated that Frmpd1 stabilizes AGS3 in a membrane fraction. Upon cotransfection of COS7 cells with Frmpd1-GFP and AGS3-mRFP, AGS3-mRFP is observed in regions of the cell cortex and also in membrane extensions or processes where it appears to be colocalized with Frmpd1-GFP based upon the merged fluorescent signals. Frmpd1 knockdown (siRNA) in Cath.a-differentiated neuronal cells decreased the level of endogenous AGS3 in membrane fractions by ∼50% and enhanced the α2-adrenergic receptor-mediated inhibition of forskolin-induced increases in cAMP. The coimmunoprecipitation of Frmpd1 with AGS3 is lost as the amount of Gαi3 in the cell is increased and AGS3 apparently switches its binding partner from Frmpd1 to Gαi3 indicating that the interaction of AGS3 with Frmpd1 and Gαi3 is mutually exclusive. Mechanistically, Frmpd1 may position AGS3 in a membrane environment where it then interacts with Gαi in a regulated manner.
Keeping Language Curiosity Alive in Elementary School Children: Adventuring with Words

(1985). Keeping Language Curiosity Alive in Elementary School Children: Adventuring with Words. Childhood Education: Vol. 61, No. 5, pp. 361-365.
Supercritical Fluid Extraction of 1,2,4-Trichlorobenzene from DOE Job Control Wastes

At U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) sites, significant amounts of job control waste (JCW) need to be disposed. This JCW is generated and contaminated with polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) during cleanup operations. A commercial, plant-based absorbent material, “Toxi-dry,” is used extensively for decontamination and decommissioning of DOE waste sites and is classified a hazardous JCW after use. In this investigation, 1,2,4-trichlorobenzene (TCB) was chosen as the surrogate for PCBs. As a promising separation technology, supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) was investigated for removing and recovering PCBs from contaminated of JCW. TCB was extracted from Toxi-dry using both pure and modified supercritical carbon dioxide. It was found that at constant pressure, increasing temperature from 40 to 80°C greatly improved the recoveries, while the pressure effect of SFE was not as clear as the temperature effect. With 5wt% acetone or ethanol added as cosolvent, the efficiency of SFE of TCB was also significantly im...
Cation accumulation by winter wheat forage: I. Solution culture and soil experiments

Abstract Understanding the factors influencing cation accumulation by plants is needed, because of the importance of calcium (Ca) and magnesium (Mg) in both plant and animal nutrition. To determine the effect of anion levels and the proportion of Ca in solution on Ca, Mg, and potassium (K) accumulation by winter wheat forage (Triticum aestivum L. ‘Centurk'), seedlings were grown in nutrient solution and soil, at three levels of nitrate and three Ca/(Ca+K) mole ratios (0.2, 0.5, 0.8). In solution culture, increasing nitrate levels [added as Ca(NO3)2 and KNO3] significantly increased total nitrogen (N) and Ca concentrations in the shoots, but had no significant effect on K concentrations in the shoots. As a result, increasing nitrate levels significantly depressed equivalent ratios of K/(Ca+Mg) in the shoots, thus reducing the tetany hazard of wheat forage. In soil, increasing nitrate levels [applied as Ca(NO3)2 and KNO3] significantly increased nitrate, Ca, Mg, and K concentrations in the bulk soil solutio...
An algorithm for computing the automorphism group of a Hadamard matrix

Abstract An algorithm for computing the automorphism group of a Hadamard matrix is described. It is shown how the algorithm may be modified to determine if two Hadamard matrices are equivalent.