cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Translation and Bilingual Practice for German Vocabulary Teaching and Learning

This article offers a critical examination of the current practices and beliefs about vocabulary teaching and learning in typical communicative-approach German classrooms. While research on vocabulary acquisition is scarce, frequency dictionaries reveal that current practice is based heavily on the use of concrete, referential lexemes that may be easier to teach but may not represent the most frequently occurring vocabulary in spoken and written texts. For teaching high-frequency vocabulary, which is often abstract and non-referential, this paper explores strategies for bilingual practice, validating the pedagogical use of the learners’ first language. These strategies integrate translation into the classroom as a productive strategy for learning that promotes learner autonomy. By discussing techniques for bilingual classroom practice for the acquisition of core vocabulary at the introductory and intermediate level, this article lends support to recent proposals for integrating translation and extensive reading as key strategies for developing vocabulary.
Micro-mismanaging sickle cell stress

SCD (or “HbSS”) can vary markedly in its clinical manifestations[1][1]: in HbSS cells, regulatory factors that skew in association with disease severity may present new prognostic and/or therapeutic opportunities. In this issue of Blood , Sangokoya et al have applied unsupervised miRNA profiling
Electrical conductivity of PbCl2 with a dispersed second phase

Abstract The electrical conductivity of dispersions of alumina, fumed silica and fly ash in PbCl 2 was measured as function of the temperature. Also the effect on the conductivity of particle size, concentration and pressure applied to form the pellets was investigated in the system PbCl 2 Al 2 O 3 . Moderate additions of the dispersoid lower the conductivity. Results are interpreted by a trapping of chloride vacancies at PbCl 2 /Al 2 O 3 interfaces. Combining measurements in homogeneous and heterogeneously doped systems, an approximate value for the bulk concentration of chloride vacancies in PbCl 2 Al 2 O 3 was obtained.
A note on the semi-Lagrangian formulation of the Vlasov equation

Semi-Lagrangian formulation of Vlasov equation in two and three dimensional electrostatic problems, investigating tensor determinants and perturbation
Mechanical nociceptive thresholds in the axial skeleton of horses

Summary Reasons for performing study: An objective measure of neck, back and croup pain is needed in horses with musculoskeletal injuries, vague upper limb lameness or poor performance. Objectives: To establish mechanical nociceptive thresholds (MNTs) within the axial skeleton and evaluate the effects of subject status and ridden exercise. Methods: Thirty-six mature horses (10 nonridden; 26 actively ridden) were used to assess MNTs evoked by a pressure algometer (PA) with a 1 cm2 rubber plunger tip at 62 midline and bilaterally symmetrical anatomical landmarks along the axial skeleton. Pressure was applied at a uniform rate of application until a local avoidance reaction was noted. The repeatability of 3 consecutive measurements was evaluated. Left-to-right comparisons and the effects of subject status and ridden exercise on MNTs were assessed. Results: MNTs were repeatable and increased in a cranial-to-caudal gradient within the axial skeleton. Typically, there were no significant left-to-right differences. Within-horse variability was less than between-horse variability. Higher MNTs were measured in young, heavy, non-Thoroughbred, castrated males, and in horses that were ridden and actively exercised. Conclusions and potential relevance: PA provides an objective, noninvasive, and repeatable tool to measure mechanical nociception in horses. MNTs vary in horses with differing subject status and ridden exercise level.
The Male-Female Pay Gap Driven by Coupling between Labor Markets and Mating Markets

Males often get paid more than females for the same work. This male-female pay gap has been observed throughout the world over many years. The most commonly cited explanations focus on gender oppression and workplace discrimination. We agree that discrimination contributes significantly to the pay gap; however, other factors may play important roles in how the sexes compete in the labor market. We use observations from psychology and concepts from biology to show how aspects of mate choice may influence labor markets. With a mathematical model, we analyze how mating preferences for partner wages affect the differences in wages between males and females, and in turn how wage differences affect mating preferences. If some extrinsic force, such as discrimination, creates an initial bias in wages, then coupled feedback between mating preferences and wages creates and maintains excess mating preference and wage biases. This model demonstrates how coupling between labor markets and mating markets can lead to outcomes that do not occur when analyzing either market in isolation from the other.
Adenosine through the A2A adenosine receptor increases IL-1β in the brain contributing to anxiety

Anxiety is one of the most commonly reported psychiatric conditions, but its pathogenesis is poorly understood. Ailments associated with activation of the innate immune system, however, are increasingly linked to anxiety disorders. In adult male mice, we found that adenosine doubled caspase-1 activity in brain by a pathway reliant on ATP-sensitive potassium (KATP) channels, protein kinase A (PKA) and the A2A adenosine receptor (AR). In addition, adenosine-dependent activation of caspase-1 increased interleukin (IL)-1β in the brain by 2-fold. Peripheral administration of adenosine in wild-type (WT) mice led to a 2.3-fold increase in caspase-1 activity in the amygdala and to a 33% and 42% reduction in spontaneous locomotor activity and food intake, respectively, that were not observed in caspase-1 knockout (KO), IL-1 receptor type 1 (IL-1R1) KO and A2A AR KO mice or in mice administered a caspase-1 inhibitor centrally. Finally, adenosine administration increased anxiety-like behaviors in WT mice by 28% in the open field test and by 55% in the elevated zero-maze. Caspase-1 KO mice, IL-1R1 KO mice, A2A AR KO mice and WT mice treated with the KATP channel blocker, glyburide, were resistant to adenosine-induced anxiety-like behaviors. Thus, our results indicate that adenosine can act as an anxiogenic by activating caspase-1 and increasing IL-1β in the brain.
Reaction of thin Ni films with (001) 3C-SiC at 700°C

Abstract The reaction layer of a thermally reacted thin Ni film, deposited by electron-beam evaporation on a single crystalline (001) 3CSiC substrate, was investigated after vacuum annealing at 700°C in terms of its morphology and structure by cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Ni2Si and carbon are identified as reaction products. Distinctive dissimilarities with depth in the morphology of the reacted layer are observed. Carbon appears to form isolated clusters in the upper part of the Ni2Si layer and microcolumns in the lower part.
World-System Mobility and Economic Growth, 1980–2000

World-system scholars have traditionally emphasized the stability of the core/periphery hierarchy. However, prior network studies employing both categorical and continuous measures of world-system position reveal substantial mobility across time, whereby a number of developing states have become more integrated in the world economy over the past several decades. The developmental impact generated by such mobility remains unexplored. Using data on all commodities in the world trade network, I examine the presence and economic impact of world-system mobility across 110 states during the 1980–2000 period. First, I show that the continued upward mobility of “middle-tier” states from East Asia and the semiperiphery no longer contributes to the long-term trend of trade convergence, but began producing divergence during the final decades of the 20 th century. Second, using difference models that control for lagged values, I find that world-system mobility positively affects economic growth, net of initial world-system position, capital and labor inputs, and other regional and economic characteristics. In fact, the magnitude of mobility’s effect is substantially larger than that of initial world-system position and second only to initial human capital. These findings support a range of perspectives that are collectively useful for understanding the rapid economic growth of emerging states.
Conjugative transfer of the Escherichia coli-Clostridium perfringens shuttle vector pJIR1457 to Clostridium botulinum type A strains.

Abstract An RP4- ori T shuttle vector pJIR1457 originally developed for Clostridium perfringens was successfully transferred by conjugation from Escherichia coli to Clostridium botulinum type A strains and to a nontoxigenic C. botulinum type A–transposon Tn 916 mutant strain lacking the entire toxin gene cluster. The light chain (LC) of botulinum toxin was highly expressed in the toxin deletion mutant strain from a pJIR1457 construct containing the recombinant botulinal gene for LC. This shuttle vector system will be valuable for genetic analysis of C. botulinum and will enable genetic manipulation and recombinant expression studies of botulinum neurotoxins as pharmaceutical agents.
Is staging laparotomy in cervical cancer justifiable

Abstract 1. (1) Surgical staging is more accurate than clinical staging in squamous cell carcinoma of the cervix. 2. (2) Conventional radiation therapy in cervical carcinoma routinely demands pelvic doses which are limited by normal tissues tolerance. 3. (3) The only information gained by exploratory laparotomy which might alter therapy significantly is the discovery of the periaortic nodal metastases, or other disease outside the pelvis. 4. (4) Because pelvic failure constitutes the overwhelming majority of treatment failures, control of periaortic disease, if possible, will not increase cure rate since failure will likely occur in the pelvis anyway. 5. (5) The chances of controlling periaortic metastases are small, and combined surgical exploration and radiation therapy will increase complications. 6. (6) Analysis of data previously reported in the literature indicates little benefit and suggests a detrimental effect from exploratory laparotomy. 7. (7) Preliminary reports of patients undergoing exploratory laparotomy show no increase in cure rate. 8. (8) Routine use of exploratory laparotomy in cervical cancer is not justifiable based on data about the disease which is already available.
Role for GDNF in Biochemical and Behavioral Adaptations to Drugs of Abuse

The present study examined a role for GDNF in adaptations to drugs of abuse. Infusion of GDNF into the ventral tegmental area (VTA), a dopaminergic brain region important for addiction, blocks certain biochemical adaptations to chronic cocaine or morphine as well as the rewarding effects of cocaine. Conversely, responses to cocaine are enhanced in rats by intra-VTA infusion of an anti-GDNF antibody and in mice heterozygous for a null mutation in the GDNF gene. Chronic morphine or cocaine exposure decreases levels of phosphoRet, the protein kinase that mediates GDNF signaling, in the VTA. Together, these results suggest a feedback loop, whereby drugs of abuse decrease signaling through endogenous GDNF pathways in the VTA, which then increases the behavioral sensitivity to subsequent drug exposure.
Penetration of horseradish peroxidase into the terminal cisternae of frog skeletal muscle fibers and blockade of caffeine contracture by Ca ++ depletion.

Horseradish peroxidase, an extracellular marker, was given intravenously to frogs, and 40 min later the sartorius muscles were removed. The isolated muscles were exposed for an additional hour to Ringer solution containing peroxidase, then fixed with glutaraldehyde. Peroxidase activity was found in the T tubules, in some of the terminal cisternae (TC) of the SR, and occasionally in the longitudinal tubules of the SR. In transverse sections, the structures containing tracer formed a pattern of approximately parallel columns reaching to the cell surface; the statistical distribution of their spacing was nearly the same as that of the interdistances between the current-sensitive spots on the Z-line which triggered localized contraction (Huxley and Taylor, 1958). The caffeine contracture of frog sartorius muscles remained unchanged in isotonic Ringer solutions which were Ca++-free or contained Mn++ or La+++; however, contracture was blocked by prior exposure of the muscles to the same solutions made 2 × hypertonic with sucrose (known to produce swelling of T tubules and (TC). Since Mn++ and La+++ are known to depress Ca++ influx, these results suggest that washout of Ca++ from the TC, and penetration of La+++ or Mn++ into it, occur more rapidly due to the swelling of T tubules and TC associated with hypertonicity. It is concluded that at least some of the terminal cisternae are open to the interstitial fluid via the T tubules. Thus, depolarization of the T tubules could readly depolarize the cisternae and lead to Ca++ influx into the myoplasm.
Substitution of hydroxide by fluoride at the boron center of a BODIPY dye

Abstract 4-Chloro-4-phenyl-1,3,5,7,8-pentamethyl-3a,4a-diaza-4-bora-s-indacene (2) has been synthesized, structurally characterized and converted into the corresponding hydroxide derivative 4-hydroxo-4-phenyl-1,3,5,7,8-pentamethyl-3a,4a-diaza-4-bora-s-indacene (3). This boron hydroxide derivative reacts with fluoride anions under acidic conditions to afford the corresponding fluoride derivative 4-fluoro-4-phenyl-1,3,5,7,8-pentamethyl-3a,4a-diaza-4-bora-s-indacene (4). This simple reaction may become useful for the incorporation of [18F]-fluoride and may serve for the preparation of radiolabeled BODIPY derivatives.
Calcified Sinus of Valsalva Aneurysm Eroding into the Interventricular Septum

A 12-year-old male patient with complete heart block was diagnosed by cardiac catheterization to have an unruptured aneurysm of the sinus of Valsalva eroding into the interventricular septum. Aortic regurgitation was absent and he underwent permanent pacemaker implantation. Three years later, he was readmitted with severe aortic regurgitation and left ventricular failure. The pacemaker was replaced and the patient underwent successful patch closure of the aneurysm and aortic valve replacement. The mode of presentation, noninvasive methods of evaluation, and surgical management of this rare cardiac pathology are discussed.
SnapAR: Storing snapshots for quick viewpoint switching in hand-held augmented reality

Many tasks require a user to move between various locations within an environment to get different perspectives. This can take significant time and effort, especially when the user must switch among those viewpoints repeatedly. We explore augmented reality interaction techniques that involve taking still pictures of a physical scene using a tracked hand-held magic lens and seamlessly switching between augmenting either the live view or one of the still views, without needing to physically revisit the snapshot locations. We describe our optical-marker-tracking-based implementation and how we represent and switch among snapshots. To determine the effectiveness of our techniques, we developed a test application that lets its user view physical and virtual objects from different viewpoints.
Grid Sensitivity Study for Slat Noise Simulations

The slat noise from the 30P/30N high-lift system is being investigated through computational fluid dynamics simulations in conjunction with a Ffowcs Williams-Hawkings acoustics solver. Many previous simulations have been performed for the configuration, and the case was introduced as a new category for the Second AIAA workshop on Benchmark problems for Airframe Noise Configurations (BANC-II). However, the cost of the simulations has restricted the study of grid resolution effects to a baseline grid and coarser meshes. In the present study, two different approaches are being used to investigate the effect of finer resolution of near-field unsteady structures. First, a standard grid refinement by a factor of two is used, and the calculations are performed by using the same CFL3D solver employed in the majority of the previous simulations. Second, the OVERFLOW code is applied to the baseline grid, but with a 5th-order upwind spatial discretization as compared with the second-order discretization used in the CFL3D simulations. In general, the fine grid CFL3D simulation and OVERFLOW calculation are in very good agreement and exhibit the lowest levels of both surface pressure fluctuations and radiated noise. Although the smaller scales resolved by these simulations increase the velocity fluctuation levels, they appear to mitigate the influence of the larger scales on the surface pressure. These new simulations are used to investigate the influence of the grid on unsteady high-lift simulations and to gain a better understanding of the physics responsible for the noise generation and radiation.
Search for HD in Jupiter and Saturn

Upper limits are placed on the D/H ratio in the observed portions of the atmospheres of Jupiter and Saturn from observations at high S/N over the region of the 5-0 R(1) line of HD. The upper limits of 0.00004 and 0.00006 D/H on Jupiter and Saturn, respectively, are not inconsistent with present models for abundance ratios in the primitive solar nebula or with other estimates of this quantity from observations.
Pediatric antidepressant medication errors in a national error reporting database.

Objective: To describe inpatient and outpatient pediatric antidepressant medication errors. Methods: We analyzed all error reports from the United States Pharmacopeia MEDMARX database, from 2003 to 2006, involving antidepressant medications and patients younger than 18 years. Results: Of the 451 error reports identified, 95% reached the patient, 6.4% reached the patient and necessitated increased monitoring and/or treatment, and 77% involved medications being used off label. Thirty-three percent of errors cited administering as the macrolevel cause of the error, 30% cited dispensing, 28% cited transcribing, and 7.9% cited prescribing. The most commonly cited medications were sertraline (20%), bupropion (19%), fluoxetine (15%), and trazodone (11 %). We found no statistically significant association between medication and reported patient harm; harmful errors involved significantly more administering errors (59% vs 32%, p =.023), errors occurring in inpatient care (93% vs 68%, p = .012) and extra doses of medication (31 % vs 10%, p =.025) compared with nonharmful errors. Outpatient errors involved significantly more dispensing errors (p < .001) and more errors due to inaccurate or omitted transcription (p < .001), compared with inpatient errors. Family notification of medication errors was reported in only 12% of errors. Conclusions: Pediatric antidepressant errors often reach patients, frequently involve off-label use of medications, and occur with varying severity and type depending on location and type of medication prescribed. Education and research should be directed toward prompt medication error disclosure and targeted error reduction strategies for specific medication types and settings.
Regioselective photoisomerization of pentaenals. Effect of methyl substituents.

Abstract The different photochemical behavior of a demethylated retinal analog versus its methylated homologs has been rationalized based on perturbation of the excited potential surface by the methyl substituents.
Transient Thermomechanical Simulation of Laser Hammering in Optoelectronic Package Manufacturing

Laser hammering (LH) is a process used in the manufacturing of butterfly optoelectronic packages to correct laser-to-fiber misalignment that occurs when the semiconductor lasers are welded in place. High-power, precisely positioned pulsed lasers are used in LH to induce deformation of the fiber support housing to, in turn, induce realignment. A thermomechanical modeling study of LH is reported in this paper, which focuses on the degree to which a steady-state model can predict the asymptotic state of a transient response subjected to a periodic laser excitation. A baseline, two-dimensional fiber mounting/ferrule geometry is employed in a finite element analysis simulation case study. Various laser wave forms are applied to focus spot location sizes of 50 and 200μm over a range of applied heat fluxes (10–1000W∕mm2). Effects of laser energy deposition location, as well as the use of multiple lasers, are also studied. The results show that the steady-state solution is in good agreement with the asymptotic transient response for horizontal fiber displacement and fiber temperature. The laser focus spot surface temperature predictions are also found to be in reasonable agreement. However, the vertical fiber displacement tends to be overpredicted by the steady-state solution, sometimes by as much as an order of magnitude. The causes, both physical and computational, of this disagreement are discussed.
Cell Receptors as Mediators of Metabolic Signals

AbstractDuring the last 5 years, substantial progress has been made in understanding the pathways that regulate the cell response to extrinsic signaling molecules including growth factors, ions, and pharmacologic agents. Many of the responses are linked through enzymatic activation, particularly phosphorylation reactions, and these may result in intracellular ion changes and transcriptional activation of a limited number of genes. A central molecule in a number of response pathways is protein kinase C, a family of enzymes that adds phosphate groups to serine and threonine residues on specific target proteins. Protein kinase C is an important regulator of epidermal differentiation and has a high affinity for certain toxicants that bind to the enzyme and activate its phosphorylating activity. Protein kinase C activation is linked to several dermatologic disorders including contact dermatitis, psoriasis, and neoplasia. Natural inhibitors of the enzyme have been identified, and these, or their derivatives, ma...
Axiomatic approach to certain inverse problems

A general approach to the problem of reconstructing a non-negative function from finitely many linear functional values is to select from among all data consistent functions that one closest to a prior estimate, according to some measure of directed distance. Minimizing the cross entropy (MCE), or more generally, minimizing the Kullback-Leibler distortion, are examples of this approach. Shore and Johnson have characterized the MCE approach for the reconstruction of probability densities in terms of axioms of probabilistic inference. Many of the applications of these methods involve the reconstruction of functions that are not essentially probabilistic in nature, such as energy distributions in space, x-ray attenuation functions, and so on. The properties of the reconstructions, as approximations of the true solution, are not easily determined from these axioms. Because the basic problem is how to approximate one function by others, we adopt axioms that govern the approximation theoretic behavior of the directed distances. The first three axioms merely impose reasonable behavior on the directed distances. The fourth, directed orthogonality, characterizes a wide class of directed distances, including the Kullback-Leibler and the Itakura-S alto distortion measures. The addition of a fifth axiom, invariance to scale, uniquely characterizes the Kuilback-Leibler distortion, which reduces to MCE (for probability densities) when the prior estimate is constant.
Surgical fenestration of large periapical lesions

The decompression technique utilizing tubing for the treatment of large periapical lesions has been widely used with success. However, unobtainable biopsies and patient noncompliance are among the disadvantages that are of concern. An alternative approach is presented, whereby a surgical procedure is performed involving only partial removal of tissue from the lesion. The advantages of this procedure are discussed.
Common origins and host-dependent diversity of plant and animal viromes.

Many viruses infecting animals and plants share common cores of homologous genes involved in the key processes of viral replication. In contrast, genes that mediate virus–host interactions including in many cases capsid protein (CP) genes are markedly different. There are three distinct scenarios for the origin of related viruses of plants and animals: first, evolution from a common ancestral virus predating the divergence of plants and animals; second, horizontal transfer of viruses, for example, through insect vectors; third, parallel origin from related genetic elements. We present evidence that each of these scenarios contributed, to a varying extent, to the evolution of different groups of viruses.
Organ and effective doses in infants undergoing upper gastrointestinal (UGI) fluoroscopic examination

To provide more detailed data on organ and effective doses in digital upper gastrointestinal (UGI) fluoroscopy studies of newborns and infants, the present study was conducted employing the time-sequence videotape-analysis technique used in a companion study of newborn and infant voiding cystourethrograms (VCUG). This technique was originally pioneered [O. H. Suleiman, J. Anderson, B. Jones, G. U. Rao, and M. Rosenstein, Radiology 178, 653-658 (1991)] for adult UGI examinations. Individual video frames were analyzed to include combinations of field size, field center, x-ray projection, image intensifier, and magnification mode. Additionally, the peak tube potential and the mA or mAs values for each segment/subsegment or digital photospot were recorded for both the fluoroscopic and radiographic modes of operation. The data from videotape analysis were then used in conjunction with a patient-scalable newborn tomographic computational phantom to report both organ and effective dose values via Monte Carlo radiation transport. The study includes dose estimates for five simulated UGI examinations representative of patients ranging from three to six months of age. Effective dose values for UGI examinations ranged from 1.17 to 6.47 mSv, with a mean of 3.14 mSv and a large standard deviation of 2.15 mSv. The colon, lungs, stomach, liver, and esophagus absorbed doses in sum were found to constitute between 63 and 75% of the effective dose in these UGI studies. Representing 23-30% of the effective dose, the lungs were found to be the most significant organ in the effective dose calculation. Approximately 80-95% of the effective dose is contributed by the dynamic fluoroscopy segments with larger percentages found in longer studies. The mean effective dose for newborn UGI examinations was not found to be statistically different from that seen in newborn VCUG examinations.
Revising the Representation of Fatty Acid, Glycerolipid, and Glycerophospholipid Metabolism in the Consensus Model of Yeast Metabolism.

Abstract Genome-scale metabolic models are built using information from an organism's annotated genome and, correspondingly, information on reactions catalyzed by the set of metabolic enzymes encoded by the genome. These models have been successfully applied to guide metabolic engineering to increase production of metabolites of industrial interest. Congruity between simulated and experimental metabolic behavior is influenced by the accuracy of the representation of the metabolic network in the model. In the interest of applying the consensus model of Saccharomyces cerevisiae metabolism for increased productivity of triglycerides, we manually evaluated the representation of fatty acid, glycerophospholipid, and glycerolipid metabolism in the consensus model (Yeast v6.0). These areas of metabolism were chosen due to their tightly interconnected nature to triglyceride synthesis. Manual curation was facilitated by custom MATLAB functions that return information contained in the model for reactions associated ...
Prediction of Interfacial Positions in Steady Converging Microchannel Flows at Low Reynolds Numbers

Previous work has shown that interfaces formed in steady, converging microchannel flows tend to be planar in nature under a wide variety of MEMS-relevant conditions. Assuming a planar interface, we have developed analytical models to predict the interfacial location in the outlet branch. The analytical results show good agreement with 3-D computational cases and experimental measurements. Application of this analytical, planar interface method represents a significant degrease in computational effort when compared to using CFD to determine interfacial positions.Copyright © 2002 by ASME
Genetic teaching for the retinoblastoma patient

Retinoblastoma is the most common primary intraocular tumor in children. Retinoblastoma can be hereditary (familial) or nonhereditary (nonfamilial). Nurses who have an understanding of the genetic patterns for retinoblastoma can participate in the counseling of these patients. A chart is provided as a tool for teaching patients about family patterns of retinoblastoma.
Making up people—The effect of identity on performance in a modernizing society

Abstract It is typically assumed that being hard-working or clever is a trait of the person, in the sense that it is always there, in a fixed manner. However, in an experiment with 288 high-caste and 294 low-caste students in India, cues to one's place in the caste system turned out to starkly influence the expression of these traits. The experiment allows us to discriminate between two classes of models that give different answers to the question of how someone's identity affects his behavior. Models of the fixed self assume that identity is a set of preferences. Models of the frame-dependent self assume that identity entails a set of mental models that are situationally evoked and that mediate information processing. Our findings suggest that the effect of identity on intellectual performance depends sensitively on the social setting. This perspective opens up new policy options for enhancing human capital formation and development.
Unification and some new grammatical formalisms

The key idea in the unification-based approaches to grammar is that we deal with informational structures (called feature structures) which encode a variety of linguistic information (lexical, syntactic, semantic, discourse, perhaps even cross-linguistic) in a uniform way and then manipulate (combine) these structures by means of a few (one, if possible) welldefined operations (unification being the primary one). The feature structures consist of features and associated values, which can be atomic or complex i.e., feature structures themselves. In other'words, the values can be from a structured set. The unification operation builds new structures and together with some string combining operation (concatenation being the primary one) pairs the feature structures with strings (Schieber, 1986).
Pox Populi: Network Populism, Network Sovereigns, and Experiments in People-Powers

This article examines recent developments in U.S. network politics. Focusing on the rise of the Tea Party as well as the standoffs in Madison, WI, it analyzes the emergent forms of populism via network forms. In addition, this conjuncture produces new mutations in the relationship between networks and sovereignty. Finally, the affective charge of these future networked movements, from fear to hope to love, need investigation.
Intensive management of hepatic failure.

A substantial number of patients with liver failure are admitted to the intensive care unit; thus a thorough understanding of the prevention and treatment of complications in such patients is imperative. The management of liver failure is demanding and often involves the combined efforts of many specialists. Critically ill patients with hepatic failure encompass a broad spectrum of disease, ranging from acute liver failure in a patient with no prior history of liver disease, to acute on chronic liver failure. The initial assessment and management of acute liver failure are reviewed with an emphasis on the prevention and treatment of brain edema in the pretransplant setting. The current treatment of complications resulting from decompensated chronic liver disease such as portal hypertensive bleeding; infection, renal failure, and hepatic encephalopathy are then discussed.
DRUG RESPONSES OF THE TRANSPLANTED HEART.

SUMMARY The autotransplanted canine heart differs significantly from the normal heart in its response to various drugs. There is enhanced response to direct acting catecholamines such as epinephrine, norepinephrine and isopropyl norepinephrine. In contrast, the reactions to many other sympathomimetic drugs are eliminated or strikingly attenuated. The response of the autotransplanted canine heart to digitalis seems to be unaltered.
From Complex ${\rm B}_{1}$ Mapping to Local SAR Estimation for Human Brain MR Imaging Using Multi-Channel Transceiver Coil at 7T

Elevated specific absorption rate (SAR) associated with increased main magnetic field strength remains a major safety concern in ultra-high-field (UHF) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) applications. The calculation of local SAR requires the knowledge of the electric field induced by radio-frequency (RF) excitation, and the local electrical properties of tissues. Since electric field distribution cannot be directly mapped in conventional MR measurements, SAR estimation is usually performed using numerical model-based electromagnetic simulations which, however, are highly time consuming and cannot account for the specific anatomy and tissue properties of the subject undergoing a scan. In the present study, starting from the measurable RF magnetic fields (B1) in MRI, we conducted a series of mathematical deduction to estimate the local, voxel-wise and subject-specific SAR for each single coil element using a multi-channel transceiver array coil. We first evaluated the feasibility of this approach in numerical simulations including two different human head models. We further conducted experimental study in a physical phantom and in two human subjects at 7T using a multi-channel transceiver head coil. Accuracy of the results is discussed in the context of predicting local SAR in the human brain at UHF MRI using multi-channel RF transmission.
Determination of the exciton binding energy in single-walled carbon nanotubes.

We report that measurements of the Raman intensity versus applied voltage are sensitive to filling of the density of states and enable us to measure the second band gap in specific semiconducting single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs). Raman scattering preferentially selects sets of SWNTs whose excitonic transitions are resonant with the incident or scattered photon energies. Simultaneous measurement of the electronic gap and exciton resonance allows us to infer binding energies for the exciton of $0.49\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.05$ and $0.62\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.05\text{ }\text{ }\mathrm{eV}$ for tubes of $(10,3)$ and $(7,5)$, respectively. Metallic SWNTs exhibit no excitonic feature.
An economic analysis of bio-energy options using thinnings from overstocked forests

Abstract The economic feasibility of producing bio-fuels and ultimately bio-energy by utilizing thinnings from overstocked forests is examined. Large areas of forest in the western US are severely overstocked with small diameter trees, and as such, pose extreme risk for catastrophic wildfires. Physical removal of such small diameter trees, or forest “thinning,” is the best solution to the wildfire problem, and represents a potential raw material for the production of bio-fuels. Production of (1) wood pellets, (2) bio-oil, and (3) methanol all represent potential conversion pathways which would utilize unmerchantable forest thinnings as the feedstock. Wood can also be directly combusted, either in conjunction with another fuel such as coal or on its own to generate steam and electricity. This study examines the potential for accomplishing both forest wildfire reduction and the generation of energy using a single integrated pathway. The economic effects of thinning scale, thinning duration, and distance to end-use markets are quantified. Co-firing of thinnings with coal is currently found to be the most viable option for transportation distances of less than 500 km. Beyond 300 km transportation distance, pelletization, fast pyrolysis, and methanol synthesis become increasingly cost competitive for different ranges of thinning yield and duration. Bio-energy options are economically preferable to landfill or open burning disposal of thinned biomass; however, revenue from bio-fuels will not cover the cost of thinning. Results for a range of thinning scenarios are visualized using technology maps.
Erythrocytes as a total barrier for renal excretion of hydrochlorothiazide: Slow influx and efflux across erythrocyte membranes

The potential barrier effect of erythrocytes (RBC) on renal excretion (mainly by tubular secretion) of hydrochlorothiazide (HCTZ) was evaluated in nine anesthetized rats during steady-state iv infusion. Drug concentrations in plasma and blood from the carotid artery and renal vein were assayed by a simple modified HPLC method. Renal extraction ratios were concentration-independent with a mean of 0.17 +/- 0.05 (SD). The renal excretion was found to occur primarily from the drug in plasma; the mean net fractional removal from plasma was 0.57 +/- 0.12, while that from RBC was less than 0.008 +/- 0.041. The virtual total unavailability of HCTZ from RBC (containing approximately 70% of drug in arterial blood) for renal excretion is attributed to relatively slow efflux of drug from RBC to plasma during each passage through the kidney compared with the blood transit time (in seconds). Preliminary in vitro influx and efflux kinetics of HCTZ across RBC membranes were studied using rat and human blood. The flux data could be adequately described by a linear, reversible, closed two-component system model, and the mean equilibration half-times (ET1/2) in rat and human blood were 10.9 and 20.5 min, respectively. The mean residence time of drug in blood circulation of rats was estimated to be 8.32 +/- 1.06 min, which is shorter than the ET1/2. This is consistent with data indicating that distribution equilibrium of HCTZ in arterial blood might not be reached in vivo even at steady state. Other implications of slow transport kinetics of drugs across RBC membranes are discussed.
The LO-BaFL method and ALS microarray expression analysis

Background Sporadic Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (sALS) is a devastating, complex disease of unknown etiology. We studied this disease with microarray technology to capture as much biological complexity as possible. The Affymetrix-focused BaFL pipeline takes into account problems with probes that arise from physical and biological properties, so we adapted it to handle the long-oligonucleotide probes on our arrays (hence LO-BaFL). The revised method was tested against a validated array experiment and then used in a meta-analysis of peripheral white blood cells from healthy control samples in two experiments. We predicted differentially expressed (DE) genes in our sALS data, combining the results obtained using the TM4 suite of tools with those from the LO-BaFL method. Those predictions were tested using qRT-PCR assays.
Adjacent repeating units of xenopus laevis 5S DNA can be heterogeneous in length

The distribution of length heterogeneity in adjacent repeating units of X. laevis 5S DNA has been examined by "cloning" 5S DNA in bacteria. Fragments of 5S DNA produced by partial digestion with Hind III and containing 1, 4, and 5 repeating units have been inserted at the single Hind III site of the tetracycline-resistance plasmid, pSC101, and the hybrid plasmids cloned in E. coli. Adjacent 5S DNA repeats in the cloned multi-repeat fragments can differ in length. This finding rules out some mechanisms which have been proposed to account for the parallel evolution of tandem repeated DNAs. The results are consistent with an unequal crossing-over mechanism and place some constraints on the molecular processes in this recombinatory event.
Variability of Burkholderia pseudomallei Strain Sensitivities to Chlorine Disinfection

Burkholderia pseudomallei is a select agent and the causative agent of melioidosis. Variations in previously reported chlorine and monochloramine concentration time (Ct) values for disinfection of this organism make decisions regarding the appropriate levels of chlorine in water treatment systems difficult. This study identified the variation in Ct values for 2-, 3-, and 4-log(10) reductions of eight environmental and clinical isolates of B. pseudomallei in phosphate-buffered water. The greatest calculated Ct values for a 4-log(10) inactivation were 7.8 mg.min/liter for free available chlorine (FAC) at pH 8 and 5 degrees C and 550 mg.min/liter for monochloramine at pH 8 and 5 degrees C. Ionic strength of test solutions, culture hold times in water, and cell washing were ruled out as sources of the differences in prior observations. Tolerance to FAC was correlated with the relative amount of extracellular material produced by each isolate. Solid-phase cytometry analysis using an esterase-cleaved fluorochrome assay detected a 2-log(10)-higher level of organisms based upon metabolic activity than did culture, which in some cases increased Ct values by fivefold. Despite strain-to-strain variations in Ct values of 17-fold for FAC and 2.5-fold for monochloramine, standard FAC disinfection practices utilized in the United States should disinfect planktonic populations of these B. pseudomallei strains by 4 orders of magnitude in less than 10 min at the tested temperatures and pH levels.
Acute inhalation studies with irritant aerosols: technical issues and relevance for risk characterization.

Current testing conventions for inhalation toxicity studies require that solid and non-volatile liquid compounds are converted to respirable aerosol, which is often achieved by laboratory-specific technical methodologies. So far, internationally harmonized approaches are lacking that would allow comparison of results from inhalation studies with ‘contrived’ test aerosols taking into account the actual particle size of the product as it might be encountered in normal handling and use. The focus of this paper is to consider aerosols of irritant substances eliciting their mode of action on sites of initial deposition within the respiratory tract of rats. Assessment is based on conventional endpoints, such as mortality (LC50), and sublethal endpoints that include an analysis for the concentration–effect relationship of protein in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BAL-protein) as a sensitive, early marker of lung edema. This retrospective analysis also addresses whether common denominators can be found for different aerosol sizes of direct and indirect irritants, such as monomeric and polymeric diphenylmethane-4,4′-diisocyanate (mMDI and pMDI), naphthylene diisocyanate (NDI), dicyclohexylmethane-4,4′-diisocyanate (HMDI), 2,4-triisopropyl-benzene-diisocyanate (TRIDI) and substances (e.g., chlorofluoroalkyl side-chain fungicides) known to decompose to irritant intermediates in the lining fluids of the airways. Collectively, this analysis shows that for irritant aerosols both the concentration and the particle size are equally important for the outcome of the test, independent of whether the endpoint chosen is lethality or BAL protein. The scientific value of 1-h exposures to high aerosol concentrations, as required by some regulations, could be challenged because high concentrations and high respirability of aerosol appear to be mutually exclusive, as shown for mMDI and NDI (LC50 >2000 mg/m3). Thus, for a meaningful risk characterization, test results from inhalation studies with ‘contrived properties’ due to the specific techniques employed need to be compared with the real properties of substances as marketed, handled and used.
Upper extremity pain and computer use among engineering graduate students.

Background The objective of this study was to investigate risk factors associated with persistent or recurrent upper extremity and neck pain among engineering graduate students. Methods A random sample of 206 Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS) graduate students at a large public university completed an online questionnaire. Results Approximately 60% of respondents reported upper extremity or neck pain attributed to computer use and reported a mean pain severity score of 4.5 (� 2.2; scale 0–10). In a final logistic regression model, female gender, years of computer use, and hours of computer use per week were significantly associated with pain. Conclusions The high prevalence of upper extremity pain reported by graduate students suggests a public health need to identify interventions that will reduce symptom severity and prevent impairment. Am. J. Ind. Med. 46:297–303, 2004. 2004 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Maternal and Child Oral Health Issues: Research

There is currently little oral research directed toward the maternal and child health population, especially outside of the National Institute of Dental Research funded programs. Although many agencies are involved with research in this area, there is no central national coordination, policy, or research agenda. Not all segments of the population are benefiting from existing knowledge. To improve oral health for all segments of the population, leadership in the establishment of research priorities is needed to direct activities that will benefit the population groups most affected by oral disease. New directions and perspectives are needed in the type of research conducted. The populations and conditions studied and the depth of the analyses performed must be extended. Additional emphasis should be placed on behavioral, evaluation, and health services research and collaborative research with other health fields. The population groups studied need to be expanded from the historical focus on relatively healthy elementary schoolchildren. As discussed by Waldman, information is particularly needed pertaining to children under age five, all women, and special population groups. As Frazier and Horowitz indicated, research on health promotion and health education within these target populations, as well as among other family members and care givers is needed. Data collected from surveys need to be analyzed more thoroughly. As new diagnostic systems and oral health care technologies are developed, they need to be evaluated adequately for safety, effectiveness, and efficiency. To accomplish all these activities, financial and human resources are needed--funding from appropriate sources in the public and private sector and qualified dental researchers interested in public health and clinical issues of concern to the maternal and child population.
On estimating the effective nonlinearity of structural modes using approximate modal shapes

We investigate the validity and accuracy of using assumed modes methods to estimate the effective nonlinearities of vibration modes. For this purpose, a problem concerning the nonlinear response of a linearly tapered cantilever beam is considered. Since, in the selected example, the linear eigenvalue problem cannot be solved analytically for the exact mode shapes, an approximate set is required to discretize the partial differential equation governing the beam's motion. To approximate the mode shapes, three methods are utilized: (i) a crude approach, which directly utilizes the linear mode shapes of a regular (untapered) cantilever beam; (ii) a finite-element approach wherein the mode shapes are obtained in ANSYS, then fitted into orthonormal polynomial curves while minimizing the least square error in the modal frequencies; and (iii) a Rayleigh–Ritz approach which utilizes a set of orthonormal trial basis functions to construct the mode shapes as a linear combination of the trial functions used. Upon dis...