cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Seasonal Patterns and Regional Preferences in Japanese Household Demand for Seafood

This study addresses the little analyzed Japanese consumer demand for seafood. A demand system approach is used to analyze demand for a group of seafood products that make up the representative household's total expenditures on seafood for at-home consumption. The linear approximate Almost Ideal Demand System (U/AIDS) is applied to monthly data from 1980 through 1989 on the demand for seafood for three representative households: the average Japanese household, northern Japanese household, and southern Japanese household. Estimation results highlight effects of seasonality on demand for various seafood products; how seasonality effects defer by region; and differences in demand elasticities for seafood products both during the marketing year and across regions. Results from the analysis of the nationally representative household are contrasted with results from regionally representative house-holds to determine implications of viewing Japan as a single, homogeneous market. Cette etude s'interesse au sujet peu analyse jusqu'ici de la demande a la consommation des produits de mer au Japon. Au moyen d'une approche par systeme de demande, on analyse la demande a l'egard d'un groupe de produits de la mer qui composent le budget total du menage japonais representatif affectea l'achat de produits de la mer pour consommation domestique. Le systeme de demande quasi-ideale avec approximation linehire (LA/AIDS) est teste sur les donees mensuelles recueillies de 1980 a 1989 sur la demande de produits de la mer chez trois menages representant 1) le menage japonais moyen, 2) le menage type du nord du Japon et 3) le menage type du sud du Japon. Les resultats de l'estimation mettent en evidence les effets saisonniers sur la demande a l'egard de divers fruits de mer, ainsi que la variation de ces effets saisonniers selon la reegion. Ils font voir egalement les elasticites de la demande pour les fruits de mer, a la fois durant la campagne de commercialisation et d'une region a l'autre. Les resultats de l'analyse du menage japonais moyen sont confrontes avec ceux du menage representatif des regions sud et nord, afin de cemer les consequences qu'aurait une perception du Japon comme un seul marche homogene.
Space Weather Quarterly Is a Jewel in AGU's Crown

Space Weather Quarterly (SWQ) is an attractive, glossy, hands-on magazine unlike anything else AGU publishes. It is beginning to be recognized as a showcase publication for promoting the goals of one of the four pillars of AGU's strategic plan: science and society.
Development of a virtual reality robotic surgical curriculum using the da Vinci Si surgical system.

This study aimed to develop a training curriculum to evaluate the basic robotic skills necessary to reach an 80 % preset proficiency score and correlate the level of surgical experience with the overall performance obtained using the da Vinci Surgical Skills simulator. Twenty-two participants (4 faculty, 4 senior, and 14 junior residents) were enrolled in a 4-week robotic training curriculum developed at our institution. A set of seven robotic skills were selected based on the manufacturer’s exercise primary endpoint. During their pretesting session, participants completed one trial of each of the seven simulated exercises. In two individual sessions over a 2 week period, trainees practiced a different set of exercises that evaluated the same basic robotic skills assessed during pretesting with the objective of reaching an overall score of 80 % on two consecutive attempts. If proficiency was not achieved, then a maximum of six trials per exercise was allowed before advancing to the next skill. During their fourth week of training, participants completed a post-testing session with the same set of exercises used during pretesting. Participants’ overall performance and various metrics were recorded in an online database for further analysis. A significant skills gain from pre- to post-test was observed for each of the seven basic robotic skills regardless of participant’s level of training (p < .001). Interestingly, participants only achieved an overall score of 80 % or more in only five of the seven exercises. No statistical difference in gain of skills was found between groups suggesting robotic skills development is independent of level of prior surgical expertise. A dedicated virtual reality robotic training curriculum significantly improves the seven basic robotic surgical skills necessary to operate the da Vinci Si surgical console. Six training trials appear to be insufficient to reach proficiency levels on more advanced skills.
CLINICAL VALUE OF THE PLASMA BUTANOL-EXTRACTABLE (THYROXINE) I131 IN THE DIAGNOSIS OF HYPERTHYROIDISM AND MYXEDEMA

THYROXINE has been accepted generally as the major active hormone of the thyroid gland. It can be separated from nonthyroxine protein-bound iodine and inorganic iodine in plasma by extraction with butyl alcohol (1–4). Radioactive iodine (I131) is incorporated into the thyroxine molecule by the thyroid gland, and the labeled thyroxine can be recovered in the butanol-extractable fraction of the plasma protein-bound iodine (4–6). It is of interest to determine whether or not the rate of formation and release of thyroxine tagged with I131 has special value in the diagnosis of hyperthyroidism and myxedema. The present study was undertaken therefore to evaluate the plasma butanol-extractable I131 as a clinically useful measure of thyroid function and to compare it with the plasma proteinbound I131. METHODS AND MATERIALS Testing procedures Studies were conducted on 50 euthyroid hospital patients, 12 patients with moderate or severe hyperthyroidism, and 5 patients with primary myxedema. None of the euthyroid subj...
Registration of operant responses in fish

A new microminiature inertial switch offers an inexpensive versatile alternative to the crystal phonocartridge as a response-detection device. An operandum for fish based on the inertial switch is described. Results obtained with goldfish suggest that the inertial switch follows response rates up to 2/second; faster rates are confounded by switch contact bounce.
Emotional mood and memory in young children

Abstract Two experiments examined affect-dependent memory with preschool/kindergarten and third-grade children. A two-list intentional learning procedure was used to assess the effects of the congruent versus incongruent relationship between affect (happy vs sad) during initial list learning and affect (happy vs sad) during a delayed recall test. When induction of emotional mood was preceded by relaxation exercises in Experiment 1, no evidence of affect dependence was observed. When the relaxation procedure was omitted in Experiment 2, the affect-dependent pattern was obtained in both free recall and cued recall for both age groups. The results of Experiment 2 show that affect-dependent memory is a reasonably robust phenomenon in children and that hypnosis is not necessary for its appearance. However, the phenomenon is apparently absent under conditions of relaxation, a result consistent with two-factor theories of emotion.
Development of Translation Materials to Assess International Students' Mental Health Concerns

International college students in the United States often face adjustment difficulties; therefore, cultural sensitivity is necessary to help them express their concerns. This article describes the development of translations of international students' common mental health concerns into 7 languages. Suggestions for the use of translated materials with distressed international students are provided. Los estudiantes internacionales universitarios en los Estados Unidos se enfrentan a menudo con dificultades de ajuste; por lo tanto, la sensibilidad cultural es necesaria para ayudarles a expresar sus preocupaciones. Este articulo describe el desarrollo de traducciones a 7 idiomas de problemas de salud mental comunes. Se ofrecen sugerencias sobre como usar los materiales traducidos con estudiantes internacionales afligidos.
Arterialization of venous blood for differentiation of sickle cell subjects in vaso-occlusive crisis.

AbstractThese studies were designed as two experiments. Experiment 1 was performed to validate the hypothesis that oxygen saturation of the venous blood may be a marker for vaso-occlusive crisis (VOC) in sickle cell patients undergoing hydroxyurea (HU) treatments. Experiment 2 was performed to test the hypothesis that an acute increase in the blood nitric oxide (NO) concentration by administering HU modulates the perception of pain in sickle cell subjects in VOC. The percent saturations of oxyhemoglobin (%O 2 Hb), reduced hemoblogin (%RHb), carboxy-hemoglobin (%COHb), met-hemoglobin (%MHb), fetal hemoglobin (HbF), and nitric oxide metabolites were measured in venous blood samples collected from sickle cell disease (SCD) who were on and off HU and O 2 at steady state and during VOC. The results showed the ratio of %O 2 Hb/RHb in VOC+HU was significantly higher than patients in the steady state who were on and off of HU (p<0.05). The %COHb was higher in all SCD groups, %COHb valu...
Crossover between hopping and tunnelling conduction in Au-SiO2 films

Recently, J. Klafter and P. Sheng (see ibid., vol.17, p.L93, 1984) analysed the temperature dependence of the DC resistivity of granular materials and predicted that the Mott exp(T0/T)1/4 behaviour should apply at low temperatures, and an activated behaviour at high temperatures. This is opposed to the view held by A.L. Efros and B.I. Shklovskii (1975) which predicts exp(T0/T)1/2 behaviour at low temperatures and the Mott law at high temperatures. Here the authors present data for co-sputtered Au-SiO2 films which support the Klafter and Sheng suggestion.
A composite likelihood approach for spatially correlated survival data

The aim of this paper is to provide a composite likelihood approach to handle spatially correlated survival data using pairwise joint distributions. With e-commerce data, a recent question of interest in marketing research has been to describe spatially clustered purchasing behavior and to assess whether geographic distance is the appropriate metric to describe purchasing dependence. We present a model for the dependence structure of time-to-event data subject to spatial dependence to characterize purchasing behavior from the motivating example from e-commerce data. We assume the Farlie-Gumbel-Morgenstern (FGM) distribution and then model the dependence parameter as a function of geographic and demographic pairwise distances. For estimation of the dependence parameters, we present pairwise composite likelihood equations. We prove that the resulting estimators exhibit key properties of consistency and asymptotic normality under certain regularity conditions in the increasing-domain framework of spatial asymptotic theory.
Analysis of polychlorinated biphenyls in food products

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are highly persistent, lipophilic and bioaccumulative toxic industrial contaminants formed as a result of human activities. Most of its uses have been banned since the late 1970s. This article describes the importance of matrix pretreatment, sample extraction, clean-up and fractionation of PCBs from food matrices. It reviews detection techniques, such as cGC, for these congeners and their enantiomers, using different columns and detectors, with emphasis on MS methods, together with the limitations of these techniques. It also discusses other methods, such as MEKC, immunoassays and bioassays, as applied to the detection of PCBs in foods.
The relevance of auxiliary assumptions in falsification.

According to Murphy (2012), an irreligious perspective can add much to bioethics. Although we mostly agree with Murphy's conclusion, we strongly disagree with one of the reasons for that conclusion...
Outcomes after endovascular repair of arterial trauma

Background Endovascular repair of peripheral arterial trauma using covered stent grafts is a minimally invasive alternative to open surgery in selected patients. Although the technical feasibility of endovascular repair has been established, there are a paucity of data regarding outcomes. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the short-term outcomes of endovascular repair in patients with peripheral arterial trauma. Methods A review of a prospectively collected institutional trauma registry captured all patients with peripheral arterial injury who underwent endovascular repair from August 2004 to June 2012. Data collected included demographics, Injury Severity Score (ISS), mechanism, location and type of injury, imaging modality, intervention type, complications and reintervention, length of stay, and follow-up. Descriptive statistics were used for analysis. Results During the study period, we performed endovascular repair in 28 patients with peripheral arterial injuries. There were 20 male patients (71%) with a median age of 39 years (range, 13-88 years). The mean ISS was 17.2 (range, 9-41). The mechanism of injury was penetrating in 21 (75%) and blunt in seven (25%). The anatomic locations of the 28 arterial injuries were carotid (3 [11%]), subclavian (7 [25%]), axillary (6 [22%]), iliac (3 [11%]), and femoral/popliteal (9 [32%]). Findings consistent with injury on imaging included pseudoaneurysms (9 [32%]), extravasations (9 [32%]), occlusions (6 [22%]), and arteriovenous fistulas (4 [14%]). Technical success was achieved in all patients. The overall complication rate was 21%, with six patients requiring a secondary procedure. Two patients underwent a planned, elective conversion to open repair during the initial hospitalization. Four patients required conversion secondary to stent graft thrombosis. Three conversions were early ( 30 days). The mean length of stay was 18.4 ± 22.9 days (range, 1-93 days), with a median follow-up of 13 months (range, 1-60 months). The overall limb salvage rate was 92% at 45 days and 79% at 93 days. Conclusions The present study outlines our early experience with endovascular repair of peripheral arterial injuries in a variety of anatomic locations. Overall complication rates are appreciable but can be effectively detected and managed with additional intervention. The inclusion of endovascular modalities in algorithms of trauma care holds considerable promise. The need to better define optimal algorithms for utilization and determine long-term outcomes of intervention requires significant additional study.
Opiate‐induced oesophageal dysmotility

Objectives To characterize opiate effects on motor function of the oesophagus in patients presenting with dysphagia.
Rheumatoid arthritis subgroup with type I interferon signature: comment on the article by Thurlings et al.

To the Editor: Thurlings and colleagues recently reported that the presence of a type I interferon (IFN) signature in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is predictive of a decreased clinical response to rituximab treatment (1). Similarly, Sekiguchi et al reported that the emergence of IFN-related gene expression in RA patients is associated with a dampened response to the tumor necrosis factor (TNF) inhibitor infliximab (2). There is thus an emerging body of evidence highlighting the important role of IFN in the determination of clinical response to certain therapeutic agents in RA. A hallmark of RA is juxtaarticular bone erosion mediated by stimulated osteoclasts. The development of osteoclasts requires the presence of RANKL and macrophage colonystimulating factor, and is enhanced by interleukin-1 (IL-1), IL-6, and TNF (3). Interestingly, IFN inhibits osteoclast formation (4,5), raising the possibility that the joint erosive process might be retarded in the RA subgroup with a type I IFN signature. This hypothesis is supported by observations in systemic lupus erythematosus, a disease in which IFN is a key cytokine and the associated polyarthritis is typically nonerosive (6). Further, in the study by Thurlings et al, patients with the type I IFN signature had lower baseline disease activity, despite a dampened response to treatment as measured by the 28-joint Disease Activity Score (7). Although it is not entirely clear if the type I IFN signature emerges as a result of treatment with biologic agents or if it represents an additional immunologic event in this RA subset, the presence of type I IFN might contribute, in part, to the difference in disease activity between responders and nonresponders in both studies. Therefore, this RA subgroup with the type I IFN signature might benefit from additional antimalarial treatment, as this decreases IFN production (8). It would be crucial to investigate both the progression of the joint destruction and the responsiveness to antimalarial treatment in this RA subgroup with a type I IFN signature. The answer would provide a biologic rationale for the use of antimalarial drugs in RA as well.
Isoelectric points of some sulfonamides: determination by microelectrophoresis and by calculations involving acid-base strength

The isoelectric points of four very slightly soluble sulfonamides were measured by microelectrophoresis of dilute suspensions as a function of pH. Ionic strength and pH were adjusted with KCl, KOH, and HCl only. The isoelectric points were also calculated from published values of acid and basic ionization constants which had been determined by potentiometric titration, and from changes in ultraviolet absorption spectra and in solubility as a function of pH. Including one sulfonamide whose isoelectric point as measured by microelectrophoresis was published, rather good agreement between the two methods was observed for all but one compound. All values were between 3.5 and 4.6, indicating that the sulfonamides function as weak acids rather than as amphoteric compounds at physiological pH.
Clinical and hematological aspects of acuteerythromyelosis

Summary Clinical histories of two children with acute erythromyelosis and one child with acute erythroleukemia are reported and the difficulty of differential diagnosis considered. The hematological and clincal findings are evaluated and followed throughout the patient's course. The pathogenic mechanisms of the anemia are discussed. A specific phagocytosis againstnucleated red cells is documented. The anaplastic and dysplasticchanges of the erythroid system, the invasion of multiple organs, and the logarithmic progression of pathological cells in the blood stream (observed in Case 1) suggest strong similarity between erythromyelosis and the neoplastic diseases. Various lines of therapeutic approachare described.
EFFECTS OF METRIZAMIDE MYELOGRAPHY ON CEREBROSPINAL FLUID ANALYSIS IN THE DOG

The effect of metrizamide myelography on the composition of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) was studied. Seven dogs received an intracisternal injection of metrizamide. An intracisternal puncture was performed in three additional dogs that did not receive metrizamide. CSF was collected before myelography and 24, 72, and 144 hours after myelography from all dogs. A significant increase in the percentage of neutrophils (p<0.05) and a pleocytosis noted 24 hours after myelography (p<0.02) were attributed to the effect of metrizamide. Significant increases in total protein concentration (p<0.001) and erythrocyte count (p<0.05), and a decrease in the percentage of small mononuclear cells (p<0.01) were attributed to repeated intracisternal puncture. No significant changes were observed for CSF creatine phosphokinase activity or the percentage of large mononuclear cells.
New directions in special education

Abstract Five current ideas judged to be of significance for the future development of special education are considered: ( a ) learning disabilities and the problem of definition, ( b ) preschool and infant education, ( c ) language development, ( d ) the behavior modification approach, and ( e ) attention as a critical process. The interrelationships between general and special education and between basic and applied research are discussed.
Long-lived selective spin echoes in dipolar solids under periodic and aperiodic π -pulse trains

The application of Carr-Purcell-Meiboom-Gill (CPMG) $\pi-$trains for dynamically decoupling a system from its environment has been extensively studied in a variety of physical systems. When applied to dipolar solids, recent experiments have demonstrated that CPMG pulse trains can generate long-lived spin echoes. While there still remains some controversy as to the origins of these long-lived spin echoes under the CPMG sequence, there is a general agreement that pulse errors during the $\pi-$pulses are a necessary requirement. In this work, we develop a theory to describe the spin dynamics in dipolar coupled spin-1/2 system under a CPMG($\phi_{1},\phi_{2}$) pulse train, where $\phi_{1}$ and $\phi_{2}$ are the phases of the $\pi-$pulses. From our theoretical framework, the propagator for the CPMG($\phi_{1},\phi_{2}$) pulse train is equivalent to an effective ``pulsed'' spin-locking of single-quantum coherences with phase $\pm\frac{\phi_{2}-3\phi_{1}}{2}$, which generates a periodic quasiequilibrium that corresponds to the long-lived echoes. Numerical simulations, along with experiments on both magnetically dilute, random spin networks found in C$_{60}$ and C$_{70}$ and in non-dilute spin systems found in adamantane and ferrocene, were performed and confirm the predictions from the proposed theory.
SOCIOLINGUISTIC EFFECTS ON CODE-SWITCHED ADS TARGETING BILINGUAL CONSUMERS

One of the techniques advertisers use to target language minorities (e.g., U.S. Hispanics) is the use of code-switching, or mixing languages within one ad. This paper investigates the consequences of code-switching for ad persuasiveness. The results of two studies suggest that code-switching results in the activation of associations relevant to the language the slogan switches to. Those associations influence the valence of consumers' elaboration such that if the language a slogan switches to possesses positive (negative) associations, consumers engage in positive (negative) elaboration, resulting in higher (lower) evaluations. Attitudinal and contextual variables interact with the effect of code-switching on ad responses.
The Effect of Mucolytic Agents and Topical Decongestants on the Ciliary Activity of Chicken Tracheal Organ Cultures

Summary: The chicken tracheal organ culture system was used to study the effect on cilia function of two frequently used topical decongestants and four mucolytic agents. The agents used were: phenylephrine hydrochloride spray 0.25%, oxymetazoline 0.05%, sodium bicarbonate 7.5%, acetylcysteine 10%, pancreatic dornase 50,000 units/ml, and L-arginine 5.6%. The tracheal rings were given two kinds of exposure to the test drugs. Only pancreatic dornase was not ciliotoxic. Until further data arc available, including studies with human organ cultures, it would perhaps be wise to discourage the topical use of phenylephrine hydrochloride spray 0.25% and oxymetazoline 0.05%, and to consider pancreatic dornase as the mucolytic agent of choice. Speculation: Topical medications have been used on mucous membrane surfaces with little regard for whether the ciliary system is affected by them. Since all but one of the agents tested here showed pronounced ciliotoxic effect, we suggest that all topical drugs should undergo testing in a physiologic system such as chicken tracheal organ cultures.
Molecular origins of rapid and continuous morphological evolution

Mutations in cis-regulatory sequences have been implicated as being the predominant source of variation in morphological evolution. We offer a hypothesis that gene-associated tandem repeat expansions and contractions are a major source of phenotypic variation in evolution. Here, we describe a comparative genomic study of repetitive elements in developmental genes of 92 breeds of dogs. We find evidence for selection for divergence at coding repeat loci in the form of both elevated purity and extensive length polymorphism among different breeds. Variations in the number of repeats in the coding regions of the Alx-4 (aristaless-like 4) and Runx-2 (runt-related transcription factor 2) genes were quantitatively associated with significant differences in limb and skull morphology. We identified similar repeat length variation in the coding repeats of Runx-2, Twist, and Dlx-2 in several other species. The high frequency and incremental effects of repeat length mutations provide molecular explanations for swift, yet topologically conservative morphological evolution.
Design and Development of a Test Fixture and Method for Investigation of Impact During Pre-Stressed Compression

As composites become more integrated into large structures and vehicles, there is a need to design for laminate failure associated with realistic combined loading scenarios. Because a structural composite is typically brittle, impact damage has been extensively studied and residual strength has been evaluated post impact damage. Few studies have been conducted to determine the effects of pre-stressing a composite during impact. In the case of in-plane compression during impact, it has been found that there is a synergistic effect which causes more damage than occurs with a standard compression-after-impact (CAI) test. When compressive pre-stress greater than 70 MPa was applied to 150mm×100mm ×5.4mm glass fiber/vinyl ester laminates, an impact initiated shear crack (IISC) developed perpendicular to the applied load leading to failure. To accommodate designers concerned with compressively loaded composite structures that may endure an impact event, a test method has been established to conduct compression during impact (CDI) testing. This paper has reported the design, construction, and implementation of an innovative test fixture that enables investigation of failure mechanisms in the CDI test mode.
COSOD: A critique

In November 1981, the University of Texas at Austin hosted a Conference on Scientific Ocean Drilling (COSOD), which was attended by an international group of nearly 150 earth scientists. COSOD was first proposed by the passive- and active-margins panels of the Joint Oceanographic Institutions for Deep Earth Sampling (JOIDES) as a forum where the earth science community could update scientific priorities and deliberate on the most productive ways to sample rock from the world's ocean basins. The results of this forum had the potential to guide the direction of scientific ocean drilling, particularly as its future was being reshaped. About a year ago, the proposed program was disproportionately weighted toward drilling on the eastern U.S. margin, and some significant subjects in previous drilling programs became much less important. Unfortunately, the COSOD report is similarly unbalanced, but in a contrary direction. The COSOD report has shifted consideration from the margins to an emphasis on the deep ocean basins. Scientific ocean drilling is vital for research in many fields of the earth sciences, and the Glomar Challenger facility has an unmatched record of providing a means to solve problems across earth science disciplines. Therefore, any new drilling program should be of sufficient scope to advance the earth sciences as a whole.
Ubiquitous infrastructure policy issues

States the expansion of nuclear power after World War II promised the abundant generation of electricity that would be so cheap, no one would have to pay for it. Posits that evolution of the telecommunications networks of the country took some of the same paths. Concludes care should be taken not to use the newness of the technology as an excuse for changing critical balances – especially with regard to the interests of the public.
Semitic Morphological Analysis and Generation Using Finite State Transducers with Feature Structures

This paper presents an application of finite state transducers weighted with feature structure descriptions, following Amtrup (2003), to the morphology of the Semitic language Tigrinya. It is shown that feature-structure weights provide an efficient way of handling the templatic morphology that characterizes Semitic verb stems as well as the long-distance dependencies characterizing the complex Tigrinya verb morphotactics. A relatively complete computational implementation of Tigrinya verb morphology is described.
Dynamic Capacity Management with Substitution

We examine a multiperiod capacity allocation model with upgrading. There are multiple product types, corresponding to multiple classes of demand, and the firm purchases capacity of each product before the first period. Within each period, after demand arrives, products are allocated to customers. Customers who arrive to find that their product has been depleted can be upgraded by at most one level. We show that the optimal allocation policy is a simple two-step algorithm: First, use any available capacity to satisfy same-class demand, and then upgrade customers until capacity reaches a protection limit, so that in the second step the higher-level capacity is rationed. We show that these results hold both when all capacity is salvaged at the end of the last demand period as well as when capacity can be replenished (in the latter case, an order-up-to policy is optimal for replenishment). Although finding the optimal protection limits is computationally intensive, we describe bounds for the optimal protection limits that take little effort to compute and can be used to effectively solve large problems. Using these heuristics, we examine numerically the relative value of strictly optimal capacity and dynamic rationing, the value of perfect demand information, and the impact of demand and economic parameters on the value of optimal substitution.
Theoretical Yields at Various Rates of Natural and Fishing Mortality in Stabilized Fisheries

Abstract In theoretical, stabilized fish populations it is shown that maximum yield in weight depends not only on the rates of natural and fishing mortality but also on the nature of growth in weight. Families of yield curves at various combinations of natural and fishing mortality rates are presented for three growth types with point of inflection (A) early in life, (B) about mid-life, and (C) late in life. Maxima appear in all three types but at progressively lower natural mortality rates. The curves are of limited practical value because of the many assumptions which are involved.
Aging Effects on Cardiac Progenitor Cell Physiology

Cardiac aging has been confounded by the concept that the heart is a postmitotic organ characterized by a predetermined number of myocytes, which is established at birth and largely preserved throughout life until death of the organ and organism. Based on this premise, the age of cardiac cells should coincide with that of the organism; at any given time, the heart would be composed of a homogeneous population of myocytes of identical age. The discovery that stem cells reside in the heart and generate cardiac cell lineages has imposed a reconsideration of the mechanisms implicated in the manifestations of the aging myopathy. The progressive alterations of terminally differentiated myocytes, and vascular smooth muscle cells and endothelial cells may represent an epiphenomenon dictated by aging effects on cardiac progenitor cells (CPCs). Changes in the properties of CPCs with time may involve loss of self-renewing capacity, increased symmetric division with formation of daughter committed cells, partial depletion of the primitive pool, biased differentiation to the fibroblast fate, impaired ability to migrate, and forced entry into an irreversible quiescent state. Telomere shortening is a major variable of cellular senescence and organ aging, and support the notion that CPCs with critically shortened or dysfunctional telomeres contribute to myocardial aging and chronic heart failure. These defects constitute the critical variables that define the aging myopathy in humans. Importantly, a compartment of functionally competent human CPCs persists in the decompensated heart pointing to stem cell therapy as a novel form of treatment for the aging myopathy.
Anomaly detection in crowded scenes

A novel framework for anomaly detection in crowded scenes is presented. Three properties are identified as important for the design of a localized video representation suitable for anomaly detection in such scenes: 1) joint modeling of appearance and dynamics of the scene, and the abilities to detect 2) temporal, and 3) spatial abnormalities. The model for normal crowd behavior is based on mixtures of dynamic textures and outliers under this model are labeled as anomalies. Temporal anomalies are equated to events of low-probability, while spatial anomalies are handled using discriminant saliency. An experimental evaluation is conducted with a new dataset of crowded scenes, composed of 100 video sequences and five well defined abnormality categories. The proposed representation is shown to outperform various state of the art anomaly detection techniques.
A review of machine learning in scheduling

This paper has two primary purposes: to motivate the need for machine learning in scheduling systems and to survey work on machine learning in scheduling. In order to motivate the need for machine learning in scheduling, we briefly motivate the need for systems employing artificial intelligence methods for scheduling. This leads to a need for incorporating adaptive methods-learning. >
Cloning Should Be Simple: Escherichia coli DH5α-Mediated Assembly of Multiple DNA Fragments with Short End Homologies

Numerous DNA assembly technologies exist for generating plasmids for biological studies. Many procedures require complex in vitro or in vivo assembly reactions followed by plasmid propagation in recombination-impaired Escherichia coli strains such as DH5α, which are optimal for stable amplification of the DNA materials. Here we show that despite its utility as a cloning strain, DH5α retains sufficient recombinase activity to assemble up to six double-stranded DNA fragments ranging in size from 150 bp to at least 7 kb into plasmids in vivo. This process also requires surprisingly small amounts of DNA, potentially obviating the need for upstream assembly processes associated with most common applications of DNA assembly. We demonstrate the application of this process in cloning of various DNA fragments including synthetic genes, preparation of knockout constructs, and incorporation of guide RNA sequences in constructs for clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR) genome editing. This consolidated process for assembly and amplification in a widely available strain of E. coli may enable productivity gain across disciplines involving recombinant DNA work.
Existence of topologically cylindrical shocks

Abstract In this Note the multidimensional stability of cylindrical shock profiles and the existence of a nearby perturbed structure is presented for the full Euler equations. This provides an example of a nonplanar structure for which the uniform Kreiss–Lopatinski–Majda stability condition can be explicitly verified. To cite this article: N. Costanzino, C. R. Acad. Sci. Paris, Ser. I 346 (2008).
Can a manager have a life and a career? International and multisource perspectives on work-life balance and career advancement potential.

The present study was the first cross-national examination of whether managers who were perceived to be high in work–life balance were expected to be more or less likely to advance in their careers than were less balanced, more work-focused managers. Using self ratings, peer ratings, and supervisor ratings of 9,627 managers in 33 countries, the authors examined within-source and multisource relationships with multilevel analyses. The authors generally found that managers who were rated higher in work–life balance were rated higher in career advancement potential than were managers who were rated lower in work–life balance. However, national gender egalitarianism, measured with Project GLOBE scores, moderated relationships based on supervisor and self ratings, with stronger positive relationships in low egalitarian cultures. The authors also found 3-way interactions of work–life balance ratings, ratee gender, and gender egalitarianism in multisource analyses in which self balance ratings predicted supervisor and peer ratings of advancement potential. Work–life balance ratings were positively related to advancement potential ratings for women in high egalitarian cultures and men in low gender egalitarian cultures, but relationships were nonsignificant for men in high egalitarian cultures and women in low egalitarian cultures.
Benchmarking a nationwide non-profit service organization using DEA

We used 2009 data from a nationwide church organization to assess operational productivity and efficiency utilizing Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA). This non-parametric methodology has been used to assess not-for-profit organizations before, but this is one of the first papers using this technique to study a religious organization and a network of 65 synods.1 Such homogenous Decision Making Units (DMU's) and the uniform and measurable nature of their resources and deliverables (inputs and outputs) made this an ideal case for analysis. By using a Variable Returns to Scale and output-oriented model with as many as three inputs and six outputs, as many as 60% of the synods were found to be efficient. Nevertheless, the model produces enough nuances to allow identification and further analysis of the DMU's deemed to be inefficient, as well as the selection of “best practice” performers to use in organizational improvement efforts. In addition to considering and discussing the practical use of slack variables and multipliers, the paper also introduces some statistical and graphical tools to further analyze the results.
You cannot leave it at the office: Spillover and crossover of coworker incivility

Summary This study examines the spillover and crossover effects of a specific chronic stressor, coworker incivility, on target marital satisfaction, partner marital satisfaction, and partner family-to-work conflict and on how the transmission of stress from the workplace to the family domain (as perceived by the target's partner) mediates these relationships. Using a matched data set of 190 job incumbents and their partners, the findings reveal that coworker incivility demonstrates both spillover and crossover effects on these outcomes important to the family. Evidence indicates that incivility targets do not leave the stress of incivility at work but instead bring it home to the family domain where it influences relationships with and outcomes of their partners. Implications of these findings and avenues for future research are discussed. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Total Energy Differences Between Silicon Carbide Polytypes and their Implications for Crystal Growth

The energy differences between various SiC polytypes are calculated using the full-potential linear muffin-tin orbital method and analyzed in terms of the anisotropie next nearest neighbor interaction (ANNNI) model. The fact that J 1 + 2 J 2 J 1 > 0 implies that twin boundaries in otherwise cubic material are favorable unless twins occur as nearest neighbor layers. Contrary to some other recent calculations we find J 1 > | J 2 |. We discuss the consequences of this for stabilization of cubic SiC in epitaxial growth, including considerations of the island size effects.
Biased sex ratios in the dioecious annual Croton texensis (Euphorbiaceae) are not due to environmental sex determination

At Arapaho Prairie, in the sandhills of western Nebraska, the dioecious annual Croton texensis (Euphorbiaceae) exhibits biased sex ratios. Moreover, the direction of bias changes from year to year: in 1994 the study population was significantly female biased, in 1995 and 1996 it was significantly male biased, and in 1997 and 1998 the sex ratio did not differ from 1 : 1. Such variation in the observed sex ratio in plants is frequently attributed to environmental sex determination (ESD), which is favored by natural selection if the rate of fitness gain across an environmental gradient is greater for one sex than the other. We performed experiments to determine: (1) whether variation in the sex ratio is correlated with environmental conditions, as would be expected if ESD is operating, and (2) whether ESD, if present, would be favored by natural selection. In a common garden experiment in which water and fertilizer were manipulated the sex ratio was marginally male biased in treatments in which water was added, but not different from 1 : 1 in other treatments. In field plots into which seeds were planted none of several soil characteristics, nor overall plot quality for C. texensis (measured as average plant biomass) were correlated with plot sex ratio. However, plots in which a large number of planted seeds emerged tended to be female biased. These results provide very weak evidence for sex ratio bias across an environmental gradient, and thus provide little evidence for ESD. Moreover, sex-by-environment interactions for fitness, which are required for the evolution of ESD, were absent for all measured variables. Thus, ESD does not appear to be favored by natural selection in this population. Instead, these biases may have been caused by differences between the sexes in germination and/or early mortality.
Naval Space Surveillance System (NAVSPASUR) solid state transmitter modernization

The author describes the design of the modernized solid-state transmitter for the US Naval Space Surveillance System (NAVSPASUR) station transmitters at Jordan Lake, AL, Gila River, AZ, and Lake Kickapoo, TX. The modernized NAVSPASUR, operating at 217 MHz, is the highest average power solid-state transmitter ever produced. With the antenna gain of the system, it produces an effective radiated average power in excess of 98 dBw. Solid-state modernization of the NAVSPASUR transmitter has produced significant cost and performance improvements, which are expected to extend the operating life of the system into the next century. >
Induction of NAD(P)H-quinone oxidoreductase 1 by antioxidants in female ACI rats is associated with decrease in oxidative DNA damage and inhibition of estrogen-induced breast cancer

Exact mechanisms underlying the initiation and progression of estrogen-related cancers are not clear. Literature, evidence and our studies strongly support the role of estrogen metabolism-mediated oxidative stress in estrogen-induced breast carcinogenesis. We have recently demonstrated that antioxidants vitamin C and butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA) or estrogen metabolism inhibitor α-naphthoflavone (ANF) inhibit 17β-estradiol (E2)-induced mammary tumorigenesis in female ACI rats. The objective of the current study was to identify the mechanism of antioxidant-mediated protection against E2-induced DNA damage and mammary tumorigenesis. Female ACI rats were treated with E2 in the presence or absence of vitamin C or BHA or ANF for up to 240 days. Nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (NRF2) and NAD(P)H-quinone oxidoreductase 1 (NQO1) were suppressed in E2-exposed mammary tissue and in mammary tumors after treatment of rats with E2 for 240 days. This suppression was overcome by co-treatment of rats with E2 and vitamin C or BHA. Time course studies indicate that NQO1 levels tend to increase after 4 months of E2 treatment but decrease on chronic exposure to E2 for 8 months. Vitamin C and BHA significantly increased NQO1 levels after 120 days. 8-Hydroxydeoxyguanosine (8-OHdG) levels were higher in E2-exposed mammary tissue and in mammary tumors compared with age-matched controls. Vitamin C or BHA treatment significantly decreased E2-mediated increase in 8-OHdG levels in the mammary tissue. In vitro studies using silencer RNA confirmed the role of NQO1 in prevention of oxidative DNA damage. Our studies further demonstrate that NQO1 upregulation by antioxidants is mediated through NRF2.
Excess weight gain accelerates 1-methyl-1-nitrosourea-induced mammary carcinogenesis in a rat model of premenopausal breast cancer

In contrast to the null effects generally reported, high-risk premenopausal women (Gail score ≥1.66) enrolled in the Breast Cancer Prevention P-1 Trial were recently reported to be at increased risk for breast cancer when overweight (HR = 1.59) or obese (HR = 1.70). To investigate this clinical observation in a preclinical setting, ovary-intact female rats were intraperitoneally injected with 50 mg/kg 1-methyl-1-nitrosourea at 21 days of age to simulate premenopausal women with increased risk. Two commercially available strains of Sprague-Dawley rat (Taconic Farms) were used, which are dietary resistant (DR) or dietary susceptible (DS) to excess weight gain when fed a purified diet containing 32% kcal from fat, similar to levels consumed by the typical American woman. DS rats were approximately 15.5% heavier than DR rats at study termination and plasma leptin indicated a marked difference in adiposity. DS rats had higher incidence (26% increase), multiplicity (2.5-fold increase), and burden (5.4-fold increase) of mammary carcinomas with a concomitant reduction in cancer latency (16% earlier detection) compared with DR rats (P < 0.001 for all analyses), and displayed a higher proportion of hormone receptor negative tumors compared with DR rats [OR = 1.78; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.83-3.81]. Circulating levels of several breast cancer-risk factors, including leptin, adiponectin:leptin ratio, insulin, insulin-like growth factor (IGF)-1, IGF-1:IGF-1 binding protein-3 ratio, and calculated insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) were negatively impacted in DS rats (P < 0.05 for all analyses). These findings support further investigation of the effects of excess weight in high-risk premenopausal women and demonstrate a useful preclinical model for rapid evaluation of mechanistic hypotheses.
Riboflavin Utilization by a Mutant Strain of Single Comb White Leghorn Chickens 4. Excretion and Reabsorption of Riboflavin by the Kidney

Abstract KNOWN aspects of the nature of the physiological block in the riboflavin pathway in a mutant strain of Single Comb White Leghorn (S.C.W.L.) chickens may be summarized in the order in which they were discovered. The egg is so deficient in riboflavin that the embryo dies during the incubation period (Maw, 1954; Buss et al., 1959). The concentration of free riboflavin in the blood does not increase normally at the onset of egg production and this results in the riboflavin deficient egg (Boucher et al., 1959). Estrogen injection into the recessive bird does not increase the concentration of free riboflavin in the blood as it does in the normal bird (Cowan et al., 1961). No blood components appear to be responsible for maintaining the characteristic blood concentration in either genotype (Boucher et al., 1964). The kidney of the normal laying hen retains free riboflavin more effectively than that of the …
“This is Our Freedom Bus Going Home Right Now”: Producing and Hybridizing Space-Time Contexts in Pedagogical Discourse:

Contexts of school-related discourse are not static backgrounds; rather, contexts are produced, negotiated, and hybridized within the flow of dialogue. In this study, an approach to the analysis of discursive intercontextuality is advanced through theories of space-time production. In addition, the management of multiple contexts within school-related discourse is argued to be an important means of discursively producing identity, agency, and power relations. Data are drawn from an ethnographic and discourse-based study of students and sponsors on an extended school field trip. Drawing upon Bakhtin, the first part of the analysis compares the production and hybridization of space-time in two segments of pedagogical discourse. Whereas one segment suggests the imaginative possibilities of discourse to expand identity across hybridized contexts, another segment suggests how school contexts are bracketed and privileged. The analysis turns to work in conceptual integration networks for a method of closely anal...