cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Demographics, clinical characteristics, and outcomes of patients hospitalized for decompensated heart failure: observations from the IMPACT-HF registry.

Background: Hospitalizations for decompensated heart failure are frequent. The Initiation Management Pre-discharge Assessment of Carvedilol Heart Failure (IMPACT-HF) registry collected observational data in patients hospitalized for worsening heart failure to characterize an unselected group of patients and to confirm the generalizability of the IMPACT-HF main trial population. Methods and Results: The IMPACT-HF registry was conducted concurrently with the IMPACT-HF study, a randomized trial of in-hospital initiation of carvedilol compared with the standard practice of postdischarge β-blocker initiation. Patients were eligible for registry enrollment if they were hospitalized for heart failure regardless of ejection fraction. There were no exclusions to participation. Patients were followed for 60 days. The IMPACT-HF Registry enrolled 567 patients. The mean age was 71 years, 52% of the patients were men and 82% were Caucasian. At discharge, 71% received an angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor or angiotensin receptor blocker, 41% received digoxin, and 62% received β-blockers. The 60-day rate of rehospitalization or death was 31%. Conclusion: The IMPACT-HF registry enrolled elderly patients admitted for worsening heart failure primarily resulting from progressive volume overload. The 60-day rate of death or rehospitalization was high despite the use of evidence-based therapies. New treatments for this population are needed to decrease the morbidity and mortality associated with decompensated heart failure.
Ternary Electrocatalysts for Oxidizing Ethanol to Carbon Dioxide: Making Ir Capable of Splitting C–C Bond

Splitting the C-C bond is the main obstacle to electrooxidation of ethanol (EOR) to CO(2). We recently demonstrated that the ternary PtRhSnO(2) electrocatalyst can accomplish that reaction at room temperature with Rh having a unique capability to split the C-C bond. In this article, we report the finding that Ir can be induced to split the C-C bond as a component of the ternary catalyst. We characterized and compared the properties of several carbon-supported nanoparticle (NP) electrocatalysts comprising a SnO(2) NP core decorated with multimetallic nanoislands (MM' = PtIr, PtRh, IrRh, PtIrRh) prepared using a seeded growth approach. An array of characterization techniques were employed to establish the composition and architecture of the synthesized MM'/SnO(2) NPs, while electrochemical and in situ infrared reflection absorption spectroscopy studies elucidated trends in activity and the nature of the reaction intermediates and products. Both EOR reactivity and selectivity toward CO(2) formation of several of these MM'/SnO(2)/C electrocatalysts are significantly higher compared to conventional Pt/C and Pt/SnO(2)/C catalysts. We demonstrate that the PtIr/SnO(2)/C catalyst with high Ir content shows outstanding catalytic properties with the most negative EOR onset potential and reasonably good selectivity toward ethanol complete oxidation to CO(2).
Autoimmune factors and their influence on assisted reproduction

This article reviews the possible influences of autoimmune factors on the outcome of assisted reproduction, including antiphospholipid antibodies, antithyroid antibodies, antinuclear antibodies, antisperm antibodies, and antiovarian antibodies. In addition, different proposed treatment modalities are discussed. The majority of recent work has focused on these potential autoimmune factors; however, controversy still exists over indicated testing and treatment options.
Acoustic Cues to Grammatical Structure in Infant‐Directed Speech: Cross‐Linguistic Evidence

Several theorists have suggested that infants use prosodic cues such as pauses, final lengthening, and pitch changes to identify linguistic units in speech. One potential difficulty with this proposal, however, is that the acoustic shape of an utterance is affected by many factors other than its syntax, including its phonetic, lexical, and discourse structure. This has raised questions about how the infant could use timing and pitch as cues to any aspect of linguistic structure without simultaneously factoring out other effects. Acoustic analyses of connected samples of spontaneous speech addressed to 13.5-14-month-old infants by American English- and by Japanese-speaking mothers revealed that both utterance- and phrase-level acoustic regularities were large enough to be detected in spontaneous speech without correcting for other influences on the same acoustic features. (1) Utterance-final vowels were lengthened and underwent exaggerated pitch changes in both languages, and (2) local acoustic changes in duration (English) or pitch (Japanese) were reliably associated with some phrase boundaries within utterances. These findings suggest that a naive listener could estimate a rough prosodic template for each language based on robust acoustic patterns in observed sentences. We discuss ways in which the learner could combine acoustic and distributional analyses across utterances to acquire language-specific variations in prosodic bracketing cues and to obtain indirect perceptual evidence for the internal structure of utterances.
The transition to a sustainable society: a new social contract

This paper explores issues that are central to ecological economics. In spite of a substantial body of research and other literature that has appeared in recent decades on transition, and countless other efforts, no progress has been made to halt the increase in global warming, global emissions, rampant population growth, or several hundred other critical planet sustainability indicators including global species extinction. The opposite is true. Consumption has escalated and it is poised to double and, with it, planetary decay has followed closely. The aim of this work is to introduce a pragmatic solution and the economics mechanisms solidly rooted in science, in the laws of conservation of mass and energy, and in environmental and ecological sustainability that are necessary to overcome the tremendous forces of social, political, and economic resistance to major change. To advance towards a sustainable civilization, adopting a holistic approach with those underlying principles in all aspects of human activity, among others economy, finance, industry, commerce, engineering, politics, architecture, and education, is both lacking and fundamentally required. A short review of the state-of-the-art of the science on the critical status of the planet’s resources and its life-supporting systems is presented, as well as a brief catalog of the seminal works of the science that gave rise to its metrics and established early on the groundwork for the understanding of the degree of sustainability of the planet. We present the argument why past and current schemes of human economics, organization, culture, and politics cannot achieve anything else, but complete and utter failure under their own underlying precepts. A rigorous and disciplined process on how to overcome and avoid the precipitous decline and collapse of the environmental and planetary biosystems on which all life depends, including human life, and a new view towards the world and the universe we all have no choice but to live in, are also offered.
The role of building energy efficiency in managing atmospheric carbon dioxide

Abstract This paper provides an overview of recent findings concerning trends and prospects for carbon dioxide emissions from the buildings sector. Reports by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and the US Department of Energy note that buildings account for 25–30% of total energy-related carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) emissions. This means building energy use contributes 10–12% of the increasing net radiative forcing that is inducing global warming. On average, between 1980 and 1990, CO 2 emissions from buildings have grown by 1.7% per year with rates of growth four times greater in developing countries. The high growth in developing countries is mainly due to changes in structural factors (demographics, economic growth) and increases in the amount of energy services demanded by energy consumers. Experience in OECD countries has shown that technologies and policies exist to significantly reduce energy demand in buildings. Some of the main policy instruments to reduce energy demand include energy efficiency standards for buildings and appliances, voluntary agreements, financial/economic incentives, and market transformation programs. When converted to carbon emissions, energy forecasts of the World Energy Council suggest that business-as-usual trends will result in building CO 2 emissions growing by 2.6% a year to the year 2020, with the vast majority of the growth taking place in non-OECD countries. Significant opportunities to help raise building energy efficiency at home and abroad exist, should countries begin to more fully commit to mitigating greenhouse gases. Commitments by countries to contain the growth of greenhouse gas emissions in an economically sound manner is likely to induce significant increases in the investment in energy-efficient technologies.
Experimental Chandipura virus infection in mice. I. Virus assay and light microscopic studies with emphasis on neuropathologic observations.

Chandipura virus was inoculated intraperitoneally into 9-day old mice. Rising viral titers were detected in blood, skeletal muscle and viscera, beginning 3 to 6 h post-inoculation. Significant quantities of virus were initially noted in the brain at 24 h, and titers in that region rose precipitously during the succeeding 72 h. Detectable clinical signs, including neurologic dysfunctions began 48 h post-inoculation. Death was common at 72 and 96 h. The most significant and consistently observed lesions were in the central nervous system and included necrosis of neurons and ependymal cells.
Reappraisal of the provisional entity primary cutaneous CD4+ small/medium pleomorphic T-cell lymphoma: A series of 10 adult and pediatric patients and review of the literature

Background Primary cutaneous CD4 + small/medium-sized pleomorphic T-cell lymphoma (PCSM-TCL) was defined as a provisional entity in the 2005 World Health Organization—European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer classification of cutaneous lymphomas. A limited number of reports describe a generally indolent but heterogeneous condition. Objective We reviewed the concept of PCSM-TCL when applied to our experience and to the published literature. Methods We conducted a retrospective chart review and a PubMed search to identify all reported cases of PCSM-TCL from 2005 to 2010. Results Ten patients, including 4 of the youngest described, were identified in our institution, and their clinical and pathologic features were analyzed. All had a benign clinical course. Ten reports of patients with PCSM-TCL were reviewed and commonalities were found within an otherwise variable spectrum of clinical presentation, pathology, and biologic behavior. Limitations This study was retrospective, follow-up was short term in some cases, and data were limited in a number of published reports. Conclusions Our experience of 10 cases that met the diagnostic criteria of the provisional entity PCSM-TCL highlights its occurrence in children and further supports characterization of this condition as a clonal T-cell lymphoproliferative disorder with indolent behavior.
SOME EFFECTS OF SEX HORMONES AND HOMOLOGOUS GONADOTROPHINS ON THE EARLY DEVELOPMENTOF THE RUDIMENTARY GONAD IN FOWL1

The development of the right rudimentary gonad was studied in 477 untreated and hormone-treated brown Leghorns. In untreated sinistrally ovariectomized birds (poulards), the gonad wastypically composed of medullary cords and tubules, but cortical tissue was found in 21.3%. Estrogen-treatment, started at the time of ovariectomy, had no effect upon the incidence or development of cortical tissue. In androgen-treated poulards the incidence of cortical tissue was reduced to 12.4%, but this reduction was not statistically significant. Both androgen and estrogen inhibited the growth and differentiation of medullary tissue in poulards. Estrogen-treatment resulted in vacuolization of the medullary cord cells and suppression of further development, whereasandrogen caused a significant regression of the gonadal tissue. The weights of pituitaries of hormone-treated poulards were significantly less than those of controls, and, in the older groups, this reduction in weight was significantly greater in estrogen-treated...
Structural lineations in the Canary basin, eastern central North Atlantic

Abstract A corridor 315 km wide centered along the southeast projection of the Atlantis fracture zone between 21°W and 29°W was investigated with seismic reflection, bathymetric, gravity, and magnetic profiles. Six sub-parallel, sediment-filled troughs in acoustic basement trend about 106° across the abyssal hills and lower continental rise off northwest Africa. Where the southernmost structural lineations cross the abyssal plain, they are interrupted by a ridge trending 080° surmounted by volcanic peaks. The structural lineations become less distinct landward of the western margin of the abyssal plain coincident with a decrease in topographic relief on acoustic basement and increasing sediment thickness. This transition is coincident with a reduction in the amplitude of gravity and magnetic anomalies.
Jet Noise: Since 1952

Jet noise research was initiated by Sir James Lighthill in 1952. Since that time, the development of jet noise theory has followed a very tortuous path. This is, perhaps, not surprising for the understanding of jet noise is inherently tied to the understanding of turbulence in jet flows. Even now, our understanding of turbulence is still tenuous. In the fifties, turbulence was regarded as consisting of a random assortment of small eddies. As a result, the primary focus of jet noise research was to quantify the noise from fine-scale turbulence. This line of work persisted into the eighties. The discovery of large turbulence structures in free shear flows in the early seventies led some investigators to begin questioning the validity of the then established theories. Some went further to suggest that, for high-speed jets, it was the large turbulence structures/instability waves of the flow that were responsible for the dominant part of jet mixing noise. Development of a quantitative theory of noise from large turbulence structures/instability waves took place during the next 15 years. Precision instrumentation and facilities for jet noise measurements became available in the mid-eighties. This permitted a large bank of high-quality narrow band jet noise data to be gathered over the subsequent years. Recent analysis of these data has provided irrefutable evidence that jet noise, in fact, is made up of two basic components; one from the large turbulence structures/instability waves, the other from the fine-scale turbulence. This is true even for subsonic jets. In this paper, some of the crucial research results of the past 44 years, that form the basis of our present understanding of jet noise generation and propagation, are discussed.
Prediction of CMOS transistor performance at 0.10-μm gate length using tuned simulations

Predictive device simulation is essential in order to improve MOSFET design, and reduce development time and costs. In this paper, the results of a simulation study carried out to predict the performance of N and P channel MOSFETs having a physical gate length of 0.10 micrometer at supply voltages of 1.2 and 1.5 V are presented. The study was used to determine the feasibility of the FOM goal for scaled 0.10 micrometer CMOS, and to identify the values of key device parameters [the external source drain resistance (Rext), poly-gate doping, etc.] which would improve device performance.
Role of specific aminotransferases in de novo glutamate synthesis and redox shuttling in the retina.

In this study aminotransferase inhibitors were used to determine the relative importance of different aminotransferases in providing nitrogen for de novo glutamate synthesis in the retina. Aminooxyacetate, which inhibits all aminotransferases, blocked de novo glutamate synthesis from H(14)CO(3)(-) by more than 60%. Inhibition of neuronal cytosolic branched chain amino acid transamination by gabapentin or branched chain amino acid transport by the L-system substrate analog, 2-amino-bicyclo-(2,2,1)-heptane-2-carboxylic acid, lowered total de novo synthesis of glutamate by 30%, suggesting that branched chain amino acids may account for half of the glutamate nitrogen contributed by transamination reactions. L-cycloserine, an inhibitor of alanine aminotransferase, inhibited glutamate synthesis less than 15% when added in the presence of 5 mM pyruvate but 47% in the presence of 0.2 mM pyruvate. Although high levels of pyruvate blunted the inhibitory effectiveness of L-cycloserine, the results indicate that, under physiological conditions, alanine as well as branched chain amino acids are probably the predominant sources of glutamate nitrogen in ex vivo retinas. The L-cycloserine results were also used to evaluate activity of the malate/aspartate shuttle. In this shuttle, cytosolic aspartate (synthesized in mitochondria) generates cytosolic oxaloacetate that oxidizes cytosolic NADH via malate dehydrogenase. Because L-cycloserine inhibits cytosolic but not mitochondrial aspartate aminotransferase, L-cycloserine should prevent the utilization of aspartate but not its generation, thereby increasing levels of (14)C-aspartate. Instead, L-cycloserine caused a significant decline in (14)C-aspartate. The results suggest the possibility that shuttle activity is low in retinal Muller cells. Low malate/aspartate shuttle activity may be the molecular basis for the high rate of aerobic glycolysis in retinal Muller cells. Copyright 2001 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Use of Recombinant Inbred Lines for the Investigation of Insecticide Resistance and Cross Resistance inDrosophila simulans

Abstract Despite the frequent occurrence and economic importance of pesticide resistance in insects, it has not always been possible to clearly identify and characterize its genetic basis. Three questions, the number of genes responsible for resistance, the degree to which resistance to multiple classes of compounds is the result of common mechanisms, and the identity of resistance genes, are ones that have sometimes proven refractory to definitive analysis. To address these questions, we created two sets of recombinant inbred lines of Drosophila simulans , crossing strains resistant to malathion, carbaryl, and permanone with a strain sensitive to those compounds, followed by 15 generations of single-pair mating. Forty-four lines were obtained, each one of which should be homozygous for differing portions of the resistant and sensitive progenitor genomes. We then measured resistance to each pesticide in each line and determined its genotype for five candidate resistance locis by means of PCR-based scoring of sequence differences. From these analyses, the following points emerged: (1) Resistance to malathion and permanone is due to the actions of multiple genes, while resistance to carbamate is largely determined by a single major gene. (2) Correlations between resistance to the different pesticides suggests that, at least to an extent, common mechanisms are involved in determining resistance to all three. (3) A polymorphism in the Ace locus, encoding acetylcholinesterase, the target site of malathion and carbaryl action, cosegregates with malathion resistance and is correlated with carbaryl resistance. The resistant allele encodes a protein with at least one amino acid difference with the sensitive one, a leu → met substitution at position 299, near the active site of the protein. The protein from the resistant line has an eightfold lower affinity for malaoxon than does the protein from sensitive flies; no such difference was observed with respect to carbaryl. (4) The distribution of alleles in the recombinant inbred lines of other candidate loci examined— mdr50, para, dsc , and GSTD1 —indicate that they do not contribute to resistance to any of the three pesticides. Taken together, we feel that our results demonstrate that use of recombinant inbred lines may be a powerful new tool for the analysis of insecticide resistance, particularly in those species where laboratory culture is feasible and genetic map information is available.
Minority Rights and Majority Power: Theoretical Consequences of the Motion to Recommit

Motivated by the U.S. Congress's motion to recommit with instructions to report forthwith, we analyze a simple spatial model to clarify the relationship between early-stage agenda-setting rights of a committee or the majority party, a late-stage minimum parliamentary right of the minority party or a noncommittee member, and the distribution of power over outcomes. The extent to which certain parliamentary rights empower agents is dependent on the relative locations of the exogenous status quo and the preferences of the legislators. We derive comparative statics on the relationship between proposal order and power by considering a model that allows preference heterogeneity and status quo centrality to vary. Finally, we relate the findings to recurring substantive debates on majority party power and committee power. I appreciate the opportunity being afforded today to examine this important issue involving the motion to recommit. I know that many
Combined resistive and conductive sheets

To simulate a thin layer of material whose permittivity and permeability both differ from the values for the surrounding medium, a combination resistive and conductive sheet is defined and its properties described.
Fetal transfusion for red blood cell alloimmunization in pregnancy

Objective To present an up-to-date review of the literature encompassing all important aspects of fetal transfusion for red blood cell alloimmunization in pregnancy. Data Sources A MEDLINE computer data base search was conducted for pertinent articles through August 1995. Additional publications were identified by cross-referencing. Methods of Study Selection All pertinent references were reviewed by the authors, and their clinical significance in the fetal treatment of red blood cell alloimmunization was summarized. Tabulation, Integration, Results Fetal intraperitoneal transfusion in the treatment of severe red blood cell alloimmunization was first reported by Liley in 1963. Since then, major advancements have included intravascular techniques and fetal paralysis. A total of seven different approaches have been used. Case series describing fetal intravascular transfusion were reviewed, and outcomes were analyzed for all pregnancies and, separately, for those presenting with and without hydrops fetalis. Eighty-four percent of 411 fetuses that underwent intravascular transfusion had good outcomes. Ninety-four percent of nonhydropic fetuses and 74% of hydropic fetuses survived. Those with severe anemia but no hydrops at transfusion were five times more likely to survive than fetuses already hydropic. Conclusion For pregnant patients presenting with severe red blood cell alloimmunization remote from term, fetal transfusion remains the best available therapeutic option. It is a safe procedure with a perinatal loss rate of approximately 1–3%, and overall neonatal survival exceeds 80%. It is the best available option until red blood cell alloimmunization can be prevented altogether. (Obstet Gynecol 1996;88: 137-50)
Molecular Basis for the Selective Toxicity of Amphotericin B for Yeast and Filipin for Animal Cells

Among the polyene antibiotics, many, like filipin, cannot be used clinically because they are toxic; amphotericin B, however, is useful in therapy of human fungal infections because it is less toxic. Both the toxicity of filipin and the therapeutic value of amphotericin B can be rationalized at the cellular and molecular level by the following observations: (i) these polyene antibiotics showed differential effects on cells; filipin was more potent in lysing human red blood cells, whereas amphotericin B was more potent in inhibiting yeast cell growth; and (ii) the effects of filipin were more efficiently inhibited by added cholesterol, the major membrane sterol in human cells, whereas the effects of amphotericin B were more efficiently inhibited by ergosterol, the major membrane sterol in yeast. The simplest inference is that the toxicity and effectiveness of polyenes are determined by their relative avidities for the predominant sterol in cell membranes.
Recognition of septanose carbohydrates by concanavalin A

The ability of the jack bean lectin concanavalin A (ConA) to bind seven membered ring (septanose) monosaccharides has been investigated by isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC) and saturation transfer difference (STD) NMR spectroscopy.
The effect of coring and pulverizing juvenile red snapper, Lutjanus campechanus , otoliths on their chemical signatures

Experiments were conducted to test whether coring and pulverizing juvenile red snapper otoliths affected their chemical signatures, which consisted of element:Ca ratios (Ba:Ca, Li:Ca, Mg:Ca, Mn:Ca, and Sr:Ca) and stable isotope delta values (δ13C and δ18O). Analysis of otolith pairs revealed no significant difference in elemental (Hotelling’s paired T2, p = 0.954) or stable isotope signatures (Hotelling’s paired T2, p = 0.991) between whole right versus whole left otoliths. Pulverizing otoliths did not contaminate elemental signatures (Hotelling’s paired T2, p = 0.726), but elemental signatures were significantly different in otolith cores versus whole otoliths (Hotelling’s paired T2, p = 0.015). Specifically, significant differences were detected in Ba:Ca, Mn:Ca, and Li:Ca between whole right versus cored left otoliths (paired t-test, p ≤ 0.012 for each), which resulted from systematic differences of slightly higher Ba:Ca and Mn:Ca in cored versus whole otoliths, while the opposite was true for Li:Ca. Stable isotope signatures also were significantly different between pulverized whole right versus cored and pulverized left otolith cores (Hotelling’s paired T2, p = 0.007), which was driven by slightly lower δ13C and δ18O values in otolith cores versus whole otoliths (paired t-test, p ≤ 0.007 for each). However, no significant differences were found in either elemental or stable isotope signatures between whole right and cored left otoliths when residuals of right versus residuals of left signatures were analyzed (Hotelling’s paired T2, p ≥ 0.992). Overall, study results indicate extracted otolith cores reflect the chemistry of whole age-0 red snapper otoliths, but residuals should be modeled to account for systematic ontogenetic shifts observed in some constituents. Alternatively, cores of age-0 otoliths, instead of whole otoliths, could be analyzed initially to derive nursery-specific chemical signatures such that material later extracted from adult cores would correspond to the same dimensions as the otolith material originally assayed in age-0 otoliths.
Simulation protocols for coherent femtosecond vibrational spectra of peptides.

Two algorithms for simulating the response of peptides to sequences of infrared pulses are developed and applied to N-methyl acetamide (NMA) and a 17 residue alpha helical peptide (YKKKH17) in D2O. A fluctuating vibrational-exciton Hamiltonian for the amide I mode is constructed from MD trajectories. Coupling with the environment is described using a DFT electrostatic map. The Cumulant expansion of Gaussian Fluctuation (CGF) incorporates motional narrowing due to fast frequency fluctuations and is adequate for NMA and for isotopically labelled bands in large peptides. Real-space truncation of the scattering matrix of the Nonlinear Exciton Equations (NEE) significantly reduces the computational cost, making it particularly attractive for slow fluctuations in large globular proteins.
Imaging of Pressure-Dependent High-Power Microwave Surface Flashover

Open-shutter and intensified charge-coupled device images of high-power microwave breakdown were taken in an effort to characterize the pressure dependence of plasma development. These images were taken with a Nikon D200 and Andor iStar DH734-25U-03, respectively. With the pressures increasing from 200 mtorr to 155 torr, the plasma changes from a diffuse discharge encompassing a large volume to a multichannel structure following the electric field lines.
Implementing Popular Initiatives: What Matters for Compliance?

The purpose of this research is to understand what matters for compliance with a popular initiative. While scholars of policy implementation have identified many factors that play a role in explaining compliance with a new law, these explanatory variables have not been collectively tested, in particular, in the context of the initiative process. Focusing on an initiative in education, I examine compliance with California's Proposition 227 that aimed to dismantle bilingual programs for English learners in the state's public schools. The analysis confirms earlier research that the preferences of the agents of implementation are key to explain compliance, but other factors emerge as equally important. In particular, voter preferences, local demographics, and institutional capacity can also shape the level of implementation of an initiative. Since many local factors are jointly needed to understand implementation, full compliance with an initiative may be difficult to achieve.
Biogenesis of telomerase ribonucleoproteins

Telomerase adds simple-sequence repeats to the ends of linear chromosomes to counteract the loss of end sequence inherent in conventional DNA replication. Catalytic activity for repeat synthesis results from the cooperation of the telomerase reverse transcriptase protein (TERT) and the template-containing telomerase RNA (TER). TERs vary widely in sequence and structure but share a set of motifs required for TERT binding and catalytic activity. Species-specific TER motifs play essential roles in RNP biogenesis, stability, trafficking, and regulation. Remarkably, the biogenesis pathways that generate mature TER differ across eukaryotes. Furthermore, the cellular processes that direct the assembly of a biologically functional telomerase holoenzyme and its engagement with telomeres are evolutionarily varied and regulated. This review highlights the diversity of strategies for telomerase RNP biogenesis, RNP assembly, and telomere recruitment among ciliates, yeasts, and vertebrates and suggests common themes in these pathways and their regulation.
Factors Affecting Social Workers' Inclusion of Animals in Practice

Experts suggest that social work practitioners can improve their client service with a more thorough understanding of the impact of other animals on individuals and families. Studies indicate that some social work practitioners are including animals in their practices through assessment and interventions. Little is known about what factors contribute to this inclusion, especially because there is a lack of attention in social work education and research to animal-human relationships. This study used logistical regression to examine the impact of certain demographic, knowledge, and practice variables on the inclusion of animals in social work practice. Findings include that knowing other social workers who include animals in practice and primary client population served were significant for inclusion of animals in assessment, animal-assisted intervention, and treating clients for animal abuse or loss of an animal. Although practitioners' having a companion animal was positively related to including animals in interventions and treating clients for loss of an animal, contributing to animal welfare through volunteering at shelters or financially contributing to animal groups did not have an effect on inclusion of animals in practice. Implications for these and other findings are discussed, and recommendations for social work research, education, and practice are offered.
Fundamental studies of titanium oxide-Pt(1 0 0) interfaces . I. Stable high temperature structures formed by annealing TiO x films on Pt(1 0 0)

Abstract Surface structures formed by titanium oxide thin films at a Pt(1 0 0) surface have been studied by STM (scanning tunneling microscopy), LEED (low energy electron diffraction), AES (Auger electron spectroscopy), XPS (X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy), XPD (X-ray photoelectron diffraction) and He+-ISS (He+ ion scattering spectrometry) in order to explore and elucidate stable high-temperature structures that may be formed at titania–Pt interfaces and provide a basis for characterizing the chemistry of titania thin films on Pt(1 0 0). Titanium oxide films were produced by two different methods. First, titanium oxide films on Pt(1 0 0) were produced by oxidation using ozone (O3) of a Pt3Ti surface alloy at 300 K and annealing at 1000 K. Smooth thin films with a (3 × 5) structure were observed at 1 ML (monolayer) using this procedure, and we propose that the (3 × 5) structure is due to one layer of a Ti2O3 film that is similar to the (1 × 2) strands formed on reduced TiO2(1 1 0) surfaces. Structures prepared by this method showed particularly “flat” terraces without islands. Second, TiOx films were formed by Ti evaporation and deposition on Pt(1 0 0) in 6.7 × 10−5 Pa O2 and annealing the substrate above 750 K in vacuum. A (35) structure was produced also for these films below ∼1 ML. A (4 × 3√5R60°) structure, referred to as the “24-structure”, was observed after deposition of ∼2 ML and after annealing at 850–1000 K. We propose a model for this structure composed of TiO2 tetragonal nets with some O atoms in the second layer. The (4 × 3√5R60°) film changed to one with a (3 × 5) structure after annealing above 960 K in vacuum. TiO2 clusters were observed in our investigations, but mainly after Ti deposition sufficient to form several monolayers and after annealing at 1000 K. Under those conditions, a small number of (3 × 5) domains were observed also, but it was surprising that clean (1 × 1)- and (5 × 20)-Pt(1 0 0) domains still existed over ∼2% of the surface. TiO2 clusters decomposed to form a (2√2 × 2√2)R45° structure, which we propose to be Ti5O8, and (3 × 5) domains after annealing at 1300 K. Within our models, the composition of all titanium oxide ultrathin films on a Pt(1 0 0) surface are TiO2−1.5 after annealing at 850–1300 K. Chemical changes occurring during annealing of titanium oxide films include Ti dissolution (alloying) into the bulk of the Pt(1 0 0) crystal. We suggest that these results will have important consequences for the understanding and modeling of catalysis of related systems.
Group-Specific Assays That Distinguish between the Four Major Types of Mammalian Phospholipase A2☆

Phospholipase A2 (PLA2) constitutes a diverse superfamily of enzymes which catalyze the deacylation of phospholipids. At least four types of PLA2 are potentially involved in arachidonic acid release in cells and tissues. Since all of them catalyze the same enzymatic reaction, it is difficult to distinguish between them in mixtures of enzymes normally present in biological samples. Utilizing specific properties of each PLA2, we have designed distinct assay procedures which selectively and sensitively detect each type: Group VI Ca2+-independent PLA2, Group IV cytosolic Ca2+-dependent PLA2, Groups V and IIA secreted PLA2s. Each specific assay procedure is selective for a particular PLA2 type by at least fourfold and as high as four orders of magnitude relative to the other three enzymes. All assays can detect PLA2 activity with as low as subnanogram quantities of enzyme. Importantly, these assays are able to differentiate and quantitate the biochemically and structurally related enzymes, Group IIA and V sPLA2s in crude biological samples. Employing this system, we have found that iPLA2 is the dominant PLA2 in rat brain, and cPLA2 is the most abundant PLA2 in P388D1 macrophages and human amnionic WISH cells.
Effects of diphenylhydantoin and phenobarbital on protein metabolism in the rat cerebral cortex.

Abstract The effects of the anticonvulsant drugs diphenylhydantoin and phenobarbital on the incorporation in vivo of l -[4.5- 3 H]leucine into trichloroacetic acid-precipitable rat cerebral cortical protein were investigated. Protein specific activities were corrected for differences in precursor leucine specific activities. Plasma diphenylhydantoin levels of about 10 μg ml were associated with a 41 per cent depression when radioisotope incorporation was conducted for 5 min; phenobarbital concentrations of approximately 28 μg ml resulted in a 42 per cent depression after incorporation for the same period. A 3-fold increase in the diphenylhydantoin plasma levels and a 6-fold increase in the phenobarbital levels were found to invoke little, if any. additional effect. The induction period for the diphenylhydantoin effect was short (less than 1 hr), whereas a relative latency was associated with the phenobarbital effect. Simultaneous alterations in cortex and plasma concentrations of several amino acids were detected. Dose-related increases in cortex leucine. isoleucine and valine levels occurred after treatment with either drug. Cortex glycine concentrations were elevated only in response to the largest doses administered. Plasma leucine. isoleucine and valine levels were also elevated, but there was no change in plasma glycine concentration at any dose of either drug. The results indicate that diphenylhydantoin and phenobarbital inhibit the incorporation in vivo of radioactive leucine in the rat cortex when plasma drug levels have been attained that are therapeutically rational in the human, and substantial inhibitions would probably occur after much lower doses in the rat. The relationship of the altered amino acid levels to the effects on protein metabolism remains uncertain.
A two-phase algorithm for fast discovery of high utility itemsets

Traditional association rules mining cannot meet the demands arising from some real applications. By considering the different values of individual items as utilities, utility mining focuses on identifying the itemsets with high utilities. In this paper, we present a Two-Phase algorithm to efficiently prune down the number of candidates and precisely obtain the complete set of high utility itemsets. It performs very efficiently in terms of speed and memory cost both on synthetic and real databases, even on large databases that are difficult for existing algorithms to handle.
Phorbol ester-induced down-regulation of protein kinase C abolishes vasopressin-mediated responses in rat anterior pituitary cells.

The role of protein kinase C (PKC) in the multihormonally regulated ACTH secretory responses of rat anterior pituitary cells was examined in control cells or after pretreatment with 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA), an activator of PKC. Using affinity-purified polyclonal antiserum raised against purified rat brain PKC, immunoprecipitable PKC was demonstrated in [35S]methionine-labeled cells appearing as a doublet of 78/80 kilodaltons. Long-term treatment (24 h) of cells with 0.6 μm TPA caused the specific loss of immunologically reactive PKC. Consistently, TPA pretreatment decreased the amount of phosphatidylserine-dependent protein kinase activity measured in vitro by 90%. In control cells, vasopressin (AVP) stimulated ACTH secretion and potentiated ACTH secretion stimulated by CRF. After a 24-h treatment with 0.6 μm TPA, secretory responses to AVP and the potentiating effect of AVP on CRF action were completely abolished. In contrast, CRF action on ACTH secretion, thought to be mediated by cAM...
Validation of the NARCOMS Registry : fatigue assessment

The North American Research Committee on Multiple Sclerosis (NARCOMS) Registry is a multiple sclerosis (MS) self-report registry with more than 24 000 participants. Participants report disability status upon enrolment, and semi-annually using Performance Scales (PS), Patient Determined Disease Steps (PDDS) and a pain question. In November 2000 and 2001, we also collected the Pain Effects Scale (PES). Our aim was to validate the NARCOMS pain question using the PES as our criterion measure. We measured correlations between the pain question and age, disease duration, various PS subscales and PDDS to assess construct validity. We correlated pain question responses in participants who reported no change in PDSS or the PS subscales between questionnaires to determine test—retest reliability. We measured responsiveness in participants who reported a substantial change in the sensory, spasticity PS subscales. The correlation between the pain question and PES was r=0.61 in November 2000, and r=0.64 in November 20...
Segmented binary control of shape memory alloy actuator systems using the Peltier effect

A new approach to the design and control of shape memory alloy (SMA) actuators is presented. SMA wires are divided into many segments and their thermal states are controlled individually in a binary manner. The Peltier effect is used for heating and cooling individual segments of the SMA. Unlike the traditional way of controlling the wire length by driving a current to the entire SMA wire, the new method controls the binary state (hot or cold) state of each segment. The total displacement is then proportional to the number of the segments having the heated state, i.e. austenite phase. This architecture has three salient features, which would overcome fundamental difficulties of SMA. 1) Although the inherent property of SMA is highly nonlinear and uncertain with a prominent hysteresis, the binary state/phase control does not depend on the complexity of SMA state transition. 2) With use of the Peltier effect thermoelectric devices the response of SMA becomes more controllable, stable, and more accurate compared to the traditional air cooling and electric wire heating. 3) By operating at the heated state, SMA shows considerable load disturbance rejection compared to traditional methods. First, the basic principle and architecture of the segmented SMA actuator system are described. Initial implementation and feasibility tests are then presented, followed by discussion of the experimental results.
An automatic segmentation technique in body sensor networks based on signal energy

Monitoring human activities using wearable wireless sensor nodes has the potential to enable many useful applications for everyday situations. The long-term lifestyle monitoring can greatly improve healthcare by gathering information about quality of life; aiding the diagnosis and tracking of certain diseases such as Parkinson's. The deployment of an automatic and computationally-efficient algorithm reduces the complexities involved in the detection and recognition of human activities in a distributed system. This paper presents a new algorithm for automatic segmentation of routine human activities. The proposed algorithm can distinguish between discrete periods of activity and rest without specifically knowing the activity. A finite subset of nodes can detect all human activities, but each node by itself can only detect a particular set of activities. For local segmentation we choose the parameters for each node that result in the least segmentation error. We demonstrate the effectiveness of our algorithm on data collected from body sensor networks for a scenario simulating a set of daily activities.
Towards exitless and efficient paravirtual I/O

Virtualization is a prominent technology used in data centers around the world. While many kinds of workloads can run at near-native performance even when virtualized, I/O intensive workloads still suffer from high overhead precluding the use of virtualization in many applications. In this paper we tackle the problem of improving the performance of paravirtual I/O. We propose an exitless paravirtual I/O model, under which guests and the hypervisor, running on distinct cores, exchange exitless notifications instead of costly exit-based notifications. Our initial proof of concept improved throughput by 45% and latency by 25μsec compared to a traditional network paravirtual I/O model. We show that a single hypervisor I/O core can become saturated when serving multiple I/O intensive guests, and further research is required to improve scalability in this scenario.
High field flux pinning and the upper critical field of Nb-Ti superconductors

Nb-Ti wires of different composition and metallurgical state have been studied near the upper critical field (H/sub c2/) in an attempt to separate H/sub c2/ the irreversibility field (H*) and the resistively measured transition field (H/sub r/). For optimized multifilamentary Nb-47wt.%Ti wire, we find that H*=10.2 T, H/sub c2/=10.8 T and H/sub r/=11.8 T at 4.2 K. The transitions were studied by extended electric field vs. current density curves, magnetization and small current transport measurements. We found a strong correlation between magnetization, bulk flux pinning (F/sub p/) extrapolation and extended E-J curves for the value of H*, all giving H*=10.2 T. We have also shown that the maximum in H/sub r/ occurs for Nb-44wt.% Ti.
Timing when to buy

Most e-commerce sites to-date have focused on helping consumers decide what to buy and where to buy. We study the complementary question of helping consumers decide when to buy, focusing on consumer durables. We introduce a utility-based model for evaluating different approaches to this question. We focus on how best to make use of forecasts in making recommendations, and propose three natural strategies. We establish a relationship between these strategies, and show that one of them is optimal. We conduct a large-scale experimental study to test the performance and robustness of these strategies. Across a wide range of conditions, the best strategy obtains 90% of the maximum possible gains.
A novel UWB feeding mechanism for the TEM horn antenna, reflector IRA, and the Vivaldi antenna

This work proposes a method for feeding a balanced IRA with an unbalanced transmission line. This method is based on the current distribution on the surface of the antenna. The method of moments (MoM) simulations show that for the IRAs, there are some areas with low current density in comparison to the current density of the feeding points, almost over the entire frequency range. The coaxial cable is attached to the antenna's body all the way from the feeding point to an area of low current density, and extends out of the antenna structure at that point. This tremendously reduces the current density on the body of the coaxial cable. As a result, the current balance between two parts of the antenna is not disturbed. This method is applied to the TEM horn antenna, the reflector IRA, and the Vivaldi antenna. The TEM horn antenna was simulated using the HEMI software, and was fed by an unbalanced coaxial cable, both directly at the feeding point and using this method. This method was also applied to the reflector impulse-radiating antenna. Also, the Vivaldi antenna was fed both by considering the low-current density area and direct feeding. The E-plane far-field pattern of the new feeding method had good agreement with the result generated by the HEMI software for the balanced-fed antenna.