cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Gentamicin effects on urinary electrolyte excretion in healthy subjects

Background Symptomatic hypomagnesemia, hypocalcemia, and hypokalemia caused by renal electrolyte wasting occasionally develop in patients treated with aminoglycosides. This phenomenon has been attributed to aminoglycoside tubular injury. However, rats administered a single dose of gentamicin show immediate dose-related calcium and magnesium renal wasting without sodium or potassium wasting days before other evidence of tubular dysfunction or structural injury can be shown. The mechanism is undefined but transient and is not dependent on the presence of parathyroid hormone. Objective To determine whether gentamicin administration to humans causes renal electrolyte wasting. Design Five healthy volunteers ingested a 400-mg calcium, 100-mEq sodium diet for 1 week before the study. After a 90-minute baseline period, 5 mg/kg gentamicin was administered intravenously over 30 minutes. Urine and serum were collected for 5 hours after gentamicin administration. Results Peak serum gentamicin levels ranged from 12.8 to 20.6 μg/mL. There was no change in serum electrolytes. The urinary fractional calcium excretion rose from a baseline of 1.8% ± 0.5% to 6.8% ± 1.4% (P < .01), and the magnesium fractional excretion rose from 3.4% ± 0.8% to 11.8% ± 6.4% (P = .03). These effects were transient. Gentamicin caused no change in renal excretion of sodium, potassium, or phosphate. Conclusions Gentamicin administered at the standard clinical dose causes immediate and transient renal calcium and magnesium wasting in normal humans. The mechanism of gentamicin-associated urinary magnesium wasting and calciuria is undefined. However, the pattern of electrolyte excretion after gentamicin administration suggests that the site of action of these gentamicin effects is the distal convoluted tubule. Clinical Pharmacology & Therapeutics (2000) 67, 16–21; doi: 10.1067/mcp.2000.103864
A comparison of efferent suppression of compound action potentials by simultaneous and non-simultaneous contralateral noise paradigms.

The intent of this study was to compare the effectiveness of continuous versus gated contralateral noise in producing efferent suppression of CAPs in guinea pigs. The average contralateral suppression was 2.0 dB when using gated noise, with ipsilateral tone-pip rates of 2 s−1, and 1.4 dB when using continuous noise at an ipsilateral tone-pip rate of 31 s−1. When the ipsilateral tone-pip rate employed in the simultaneous paradigm with continuous noise was reduced to 2 s−1 a rate equivalent to that employed in the non-simultaneous paradigm, the average attenuation was 2.1 dB, a magnitude comparable to the suppression achieved using gated noise. The present data suggest that, when equated for ipsilateral tone-pip pulse rate, simultaneous and non-simultaneous contralateral masking paradigms produce comparable levels of efferent suppression.
Information-Sensitive Replenishment when Inventory Records Are Inaccurate

Inspired by recent empirical work on inventory record inaccuracy, we consider a periodic review inventory system with imperfect inventory records and unobserved lost sales. Record inaccuracies are assumed to arrive via an error process that perturbs physical inventory but is unobserved by the inventory manager. The inventory manager maintains a probability distribution around the physical inventory level that he updates based on sales observations using Bayes Theorem. The focus of this study is on understanding, approximating, and evaluating optimal forward-looking replenishment in this environment. By analyzing one- and two-period versions of the problem, we demonstrate several mechanisms by which the error process and associated record inaccuracy can impact optimal replenishment. Record inaccuracy generally brings an incentive for a myopic manager to increase stock to buffer the added uncertainty. On the other hand, a forward-looking manager will stock less than a myopic manager, in part to improve information content for future decisions. Using an approximate partially observed dynamic programming policy and associated bound, we numerically corroborate our analytical findings and measure the effectiveness of an intelligent myopic heuristic. We find that the myopic heuristic is likely sufficiently good in practical settings targeting high service levels.
Redox reactions in the XeF2/platinum fluoride and XeF2/palladium fluoride systems and the conversion of XeF2 to XeF4 and Xe

Abstract Liquid XeF 2 at 140–150° oxidizes PtF 4 : 5XeF + 2PtF 4 → 2Xe 2 F 3 PtF 6 + Xe ↑. The salts Xe 2 F 3 + PtF 6 − loses XeF 2 at 70° in vacuo : Xe 2 F 3 PtF 6 → XeFPtF 6 + XeF 2 ↑. Pyrolysis of XeF + PtF 6 − at 150–160° yields XeF 4 : XeFPtF 6 → XePt 2 F 10 + XeF 4 ↑. The Complex XePt 2 F 10 loses XeF 2 at 430°: XePt 2 F 10 → PtF 4 ↑. XePt 2 F 10 also can be oxidized by liquid XeF 2 at 140–150°: XePtF 10 + 4XeF 2 → 2Xe 2 F 3 PtF 6 + Xe ↑. The paramagnetic mixed-valence fluoride Pd 2 F 6 is oxidized by XeF 2 (l) at 140–150°: Pd 2 F 6 + 3XeF 2 → 2XePdF 6 + Xe ↑. The yellow diamagnetic XePdF 6 , which is thermally stable at room temperature, loses XeF 2 at 140–150°: 2XePdF 6 → XePd 2 F 10 + XeF 2 ↑. Both XePdF 6 and XePd 2 F 10 may be derived from XeF 2 + PdF 4 . The complex XePd 2 F 10 is a close structural relative of XePt 2 F 10 and spectroscopic evidence suggests that both are salts of XeF + and a polymeric (M 2 F 9 ) x x- ion. Pyrolysis of XePd 2 F 10 at 280° yields XeF 4 : XePd 2 F 10 → Pd 2 F 6 + XeF 4 .
Effects of growth hormone on ATPase and fluorescence of isolated liver membranes utilizing the fluorescent substrate, 1,N6-etheno-adenosine triphosphate.

Abstract The influence of bovine growth hormone on Mg 2+ -ATPase (EC 3.6.1.4) in isolated liver plasma membranes of hypophysectomized rats has been investigated in vitro by means of spectrofluorescence measurements in parallel with Mg 2+ -ATPase assays, using 1, N 6 -etheno-ATP as substrate and fluorescence probe. Bovine growth hormone, at concentrations of 10 −14 m and above, enhanced significantly Mg 2+ -ATPase activity in the presence of GTP at concentrations from 10 −6 m to 10 −10 m . Moreover, bovine growth hormone decreased fluorescence intensity of membrane protein at the peak at 330 nm and of 1, N 6 -etheno-ATP at its peak at 395 nm as well. The greatest decrease in fluorescence intensity of 1, N 6 -etheno-ATP was observed in the presence of 5 m m MgCl 2 and 10 −8 m GTP, consistent with the stimulating effect of bovine growth hormone on Mg 2+ -ATPase activity. In addition, bovine growth hormone caused a small decrease in fluorescence intensity of 1, N 6 -etheno-ADP, but not the corresponding fluorescent analogs of AMP, cyclic AMP, and adenosine. The decrease in fluorescence intensity of 1, N 6 -etheno-ATP by bovine growth hormone was completely eliminated by addition of ATP, ADP, and cyclic AMP at concentrations five times that of 1, N 6 -etheno-ATP. Neither AMP nor adenosine exerted any effects. Bovine growth hormone also increased the fluorescence polarization of 1, N 6 -etheno-ATP from 0.177 ± 0.006 to 0.212 ± 0.010 at 300 nm under the same conditions employed for the Mg 2+ -ATPase assay. These observations suggest that bovine growth hormone produced changes in tertiary structure of membrane proteins in general and probably Mg 2+ -ATPase in particular with consequent enhanced enzyme activity.
Sharon’s story: The usefulness of conceptual change constructs in promoting student reflection

(1994). Sharon’s story: The usefulness of conceptual change constructs in promoting student reflection. Journal of Science Teacher Education: Vol. 5, No. 4, pp. 139-145.
Energy-efficient network memory for ubiquitous devices

Energy and delay tradeoffs occur when a design moves some or all local storage out of the embedded device and into a remote server. Using the network to access remote storage in lieu of local memory can result in significant power savings.
The finite plane stretching of a neo-hookean strip bonded at its ends

Abstract An approximate analysis of a rubberlike strip subjected to the “strip biaxial” test is made under the assumption of plane strain. The application of the principle of stationary potential energy to the problem at hand leads to a nonlinear boundary value problem which is studied by means of ideas from singular perturbation theory. It is concluded that the boundary conditions have little effect upon the results of a “strip biaxial” test.
Summarization of Visual Content in Instructional Videos

In instructional videos of chalk board presentations, the visual content refers to the text and figures written on the boards. Existing methods on video summarization are not effective for this video domain because they are mainly based on low-level image features such as color and edges. In this work, we present a novel approach to summarizing the visual content in instructional videos using middle-level features. We first develop a robust algorithm to extract content text and figures from instructional videos by statistical modelling and clustering. This algorithm addresses the image noise, nonuniformity of the board regions, camera movements, occlusions, and other challenges in the instructional videos that are recorded in real classrooms. Using the extracted text and figures as the middle level features, we retrieve a set of key frames that contain most of the visual content. We further reduce content redundancy and build a mosaicked summary image by matching extracted content based on K-th Hausdorff distance and connected component decomposition. Performance evaluation on four full-length instructional videos shows that our algorithm is highly effective in summarizing instructional video content.
Thoracoscopic and laparoscopic lymph node staging in esophageal cancer: do clinicopathological factors affect the outcome?

Abstract Background . This study was performed to evaluate the pattern of lymphatic metastases found by combined thoracoscopic (TS) and laparoscopic (LS) lymph node staging in esophageal cancer, and ascertain whether clinicopathologic factors may be used to guide the clinical practice of combined TS and LS staging. Methods . A retrospective study was performed in a series of 76 esophageal cancer patients who had undergone both TS and LS staging before treatment. The correlation of TS and LS lymph node metastases with clinicopathologic factors was analyzed, including the clinical T stage, clinical N stage, tumor location, and histology. Results . Thirty-one patients (40.8%) were found to have lymphatic metastasis by TS and LS staging. Among them, 22 patients had abdominal lymph node metastases, 7 patients had mediastinal lymph node metastases, and 2 patients had both. Patients with advanced T stage (T3 to T4) or adenocarcinoma had a higher frequency of abdominal lymphatic metastases than patients with early T stage (T1 to T2) (39% vs 16%; p = 0.04) or squamous cell carcinoma (39% vs 20%; p = 0.079), respectively. Patients with clinical abdominal N1 stage had a higher incidence of positive laparoscopic finding than patients with clinical abdominal N0 stage (67% vs 23%; p = 0.001). There was no significant correlation between lymphatic metastases and the location of the primary tumor. Conclusions . Clinicopathologic factors, including the histologic type, the clinical T stage, and abdominal N stage, may affect the outcome of TS and LS lymph node staging in esophageal cancer patients. This clinicopathologic impact may play a role for the selection of candidates for TS and LS staging, and also allows surgeons to focus their attention on the most likely high-yield biopsy targets.
Quality Characteristics of Chinese-style Meatball Containing Bacterial Cellulose (Nata)

ABSTRACT: The physicochemical, textural, and quality characteristics of Chinese-style meatball (20% fat) containing varying levels of bacterial cellulose (nata) were evaluated. Cooking losses of nata-containing Chinese-style meatballs were higher than those of control (containing no nata and 20% fat [C20]). Raw nata-added batter had higher water-holding capacity than control, but the pattern was reversed after cooking. N10 (10% nata) and C20 had the highest springiness scores. Textural hardness and shear-force value were significantly higher for C20, but both attributes for nata-added treatments decreased with increasing nata levels. Addition of 10% nata to Chinese-style meatballs produced products with acceptable textural and sensory qualities. Nata showed potential as a functional ingredient in Chinese-style emulsified meat products such as Chinese-style meatballs.
Pharmacokinetic behavior presents drug therapy challenges

There are conditions that cause a substantial change in drug clearance to such a degree that how a specific drug is managed to optimize drug response and minimize drug toxicity presents a challenge. This review will focus on recent literature (within the past 5 years) that evaluates pathophysiologic and genetic conditions and drug interactions which can change drug clearance to the magnitude that response is affected. Situations discussed that cause an increase in drug clearance will include: augmented renal clearance in critically ill patients; ultrafast drug metabolism caused by gene duplication; and enzyme induction interactions caused by rifampin. Situations discussed that result in a reduction in clearance will include: multiple organ failure in critically ill, patients with non-functioning CYP2D6 and CYP2C8/9 alleles, and CYP3A4 drug interactions with erythromycin and clarithromycin. In each case evaluated clearance is changed to the magnitude such that managing drug therapy can be difficult.
Development of a health conception scale

Described in this paper are the development, reliability, and validity of an instrument, the Laffrey Health Conception Scale to measure individual perceptions of the meaning of health. The instrument measures four dimensions of health conception: clinical, functional/role performance, adaptive, and eudaimonistic. A score is obtained for each dimension as well as a total score for the four dimensions. The high levels of reliability and validity in preliminary testing indicate that the instrument warrants further development and use with different populations.
Relationships among Maternal Locus of Control, Prenatal Sources of Infant Feeding Information, and Infant Feeding Choices

Abstract Ninety-eight women were recruited for the study during their third trimester of pregnancy from private obstetrical practices. Each subject was asked to complete a demographic survey, a questionnaire on sources of infant feeding information, and an instrument which assessed locus of control (Generalized Expectancies for Internal Versus External Locus of Control, Rotter). Of the 89 subjects who completed the study, 30 planned to breastfeed, 28 planned to formula-feed, and 31 planned to feed a combination of breast milk and formula during the first month postpartum. Subjects' ages ranged from 16 to 39 years. Ninety-eight percent of the participants were white and 62% had at least some college education. The three groups were not statistically different in age (p>.05) and education (p=.05). Locus of control scores were not statistically different among women in the three groups (p>.05). The most frequently cited sources of infant feeding information were health care providers (82%) and reading materials (82%). At least two-thirds of subjects indicated they had received information from family (75%) and/or friends (73%). There were no significant differences in information sources used by women in the three groups. Overall, subjects initiated the interaction more frequently with family (73%) and friends (73%) than with health care providers (30%). Although previous research suggests those with an external locus of control are more likely to initiate health education, the present study found no relationship between maternal locus of control and initiation of infant feeding discussions. Additional research is needed to explore strategies dietitians and other health care professionals can utilize to optimize breastfeeding promotion and education activities during the prenatal period.
Basic Science Review: Statin Therapy-Part I: The Pleiotropic Effects of Statins in Cardiovascular Disease

3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase (HMG CoA-reductase) inhibitors, otherwise known as statins, are currently the medical treatment of choice for hypercholesterolemia. Hypercholesterolemia is a known risk factor for cardiovascular disease, and statin therapy has led to a significant reduction in morbidity and mortality from adverse cardiac events, stroke, and peripheral arterial disease. In addition to achieving a therapeutic decrease in serum cholesterol levels, statin therapy appears to promote other effects that are independent of changes in serum cholesterol. These ‘‘pleiotropic’’ effects include attenuation of vascular inflammation, improved endothelial cell function, stabilization of atherosclerotic plaque, decreased vascular smooth muscle cell migration and proliferation, and inhibition of platelet aggregation. This article is part I of a 2-part review, and it focuses on the pleiotropic effects of statins at the cellular level.
Representation in stochastic search for phylogenetic tree reconstruction

Phylogenetic tree reconstruction is a process in which the ancestral relationships among a group of organisms are inferred from their DNA sequences. For all but trivial sized data sets, finding the optimal tree is computationally intractable. Many heuristic algorithms exist, but the branch-swapping algorithm used in the software package PAUP* is the most popular. This method performs a stochastic search over the space of trees, using a branch-swapping operation to construct neighboring trees in the search space. This study introduces a new stochastic search algorithm that operates over an alternative representation of trees, namely as permutations of taxa giving the order in which they are processed during stepwise addition. Experiments on several data sets suggest that this algorithm for generating an initial tree. When followed by branch-swapping, can produce better trees for a given total amount of time.
History-induced critical behavior in disordered systems

Barkhausen noise as found in magnets is studied both with and without long-range (LR) demagnetizing fields using the nonequilibrium, zero-temperature random-field Ising model. Two distinct subloop behaviors arise and are shown to qualitatively agree with experiments on thin film magnets and soft ferromagnets. With LR fields present subloops resemble a self-organized critical system, while their absence results in subloops that reflect the critical point seen in the saturation loop as the system disorder is changed. In the former case, power law distributions of noise appear in subloops, while in the latter case history-induced critical scaling is studied in avalanche size distributions and their second moments as well as spin-flip correlation functions.
NN tensor and LS potentials in a quark model with quark-antiquark excitations

A more detailed study is made of the NN interaction in a quark model in which the (qq) excitations inherent in the quark-gluon interaction are explicitly incorporated into the model space. A unified treatment for all types of exchange terms of the (3q)-(3q) to (3q)-(3q)(q$ coupling kernels is used to calculate the space parts of the full coupling kernels and their Wigner transforms in complete analytic form. The present investigation focuses on the noncentral parts of the NN interaction. The tensor force gains almost its full strength from coupling kernels of NT and Np type. If the NT contribution is adjusted to fit the experimental pion-nucleon coupling constant the predicted strength of the full tensor force is in reasonable agreement with that of conventional OBEP's over the range in which the tensor force can act. The LS force gains contributions from both the pure (3q)-(3q) and the coupling kernels, but the dominant contributions (about 60-65% of the triplet-odd LS potential in the 0.7-1.0 fm range), come from the coupling kernels and particularly from the No and Np components. The triplet-odd LS potential derived from the full quark-exchange kernel is in remarkably good agreement with the OBEP LS potential over the significant range. Both the tensor and LS potentials are approximated surprisingly well over their full range by the simple (qq) exchange terms of our model. The 3P RGM phase shifts are calculated to show that both tensor and LS forces of our quark model are in good agreement with the experimental facts.
Clarithromycin impairs clearance and potentiates clinical effects of trazodone but not of zolpidem

Background Safe coadministration of sedative agents together with antimicrobials that may impair drug metabolism is of ongoing concern in clinical practice. Methods In a 5-way crossover study, healthy volunteers received: 1. Trazodone (TRAZ), 50 mg, + placebo (P); 2. TRAZ+ clarithromycin (C); 3. Zolpidem (Z), 5mg, + P; 4. Z+ C; 5. P+ P. Kinetics and dynamics of TRAZ and Z were assessed over a 24-hr period. Results Compared to TRAZ+ P, TRAZ+ C yielded significantly higher Cmax (923 vs 681 ng/ml), longer t1/2 (13.9 vs 7.1 hr), and lower clearance (166 vs 89 ml/ min). However differences between Z+ C and Z+ P in Cmax (121 vs 109 ng/ml), t1/2 (2.4 vs 2.3 hr) and clearance (164 vs 173 ml/min) were not significant. Compared to P+ P, TRAZ+ P and Z+ P treatments produced expected sedative effects. Sedation and performance impairment with TRAZ+ C were significantly enhanced compared to TRAZ+ P. In contrast, Z+ C and Z+ P conditions were not different. Conclusions Coadministration of TRAZ with C impairs clearance and enhances sedative effects of TRAZ. This is attributable to mechanism-based inhibition of CYP3A by C. The interaction is potentially hazardous. However C has no effects on the kinetics and dynamics of Z. Clinical Pharmacology & Therapeutics (2005) 77, P28–P28; doi: 10.1016/j.clpt.2004.11.108
Importance of Cell-Mediated Immunity in Marek’s Disease and Other Viral Tumor Diseases

Cell-mediated immune (CMI) responses to viral tumor diseases are often used as examples of the importance of antiviral and antitumor immunity in chickens. Especially, reticuloendotheliosis virus (REV) and Marek's disease herpesvirus (MDV) are used as models to study the development of cytotoxic T-lymphocytes against viral and tumor antigens and activation of natural killer (NK) cells. Major histocompatibility complex Class I-restricted, antiviral cytotoxic T-lymphocytes expressing CD4-/CD8+ markers are induced after infection with REV. Thus far, this is the only example of Class I-restricted cytotoxic T-lymphocytes in chickens. Antiviral cytotoxic T-lymphocytes may be induced by infection with MDV or by vaccination, but conclusive evidence has not yet been provided. Antitumor responses have not been demonstrated against REV-induced tumors. Although Marek's disease is often used as an example for the importance of antitumor immunity, there is a lack of convincing data demonstrating antitumor immunity mediated by cytotoxic T-lymphocytes. Activation of NK cells by MDV infection or vaccination is probably an important part of CMI responses against Marek's disease viral antigens but not against tumor antigens.
Merton’s Sociology 215-216 Course

For many years, Robert K. Merton taught a famous, year-long graduate course at Columbia called The Analysis of Social Structures. His lectures have been recalled for their dazzling intellectual effects by those who took the course, but none of these former students has described what Merton actually said in specific lectures. I do this now, using my extensive lecture notes from 1952–53 when I took it for credit, and from later years when I sat in on the course. The core of the course at that time was Merton’s Paradigm for Functional Analysis in Sociology. Each concept in the paradigm—subjective dispositions, objective consequences, functional requirements, structural constraints, etc.—was elaborated in its relationship to a wide variety of sociological problems in the published theoretical and empirical literature. I also recount how Merton’s relationship to Talcott Parsons appeared to us in the course.
NEW PLESIADAPIFORM PRIMATES FROM THE EOCENE OF WYOMING AND MONTANA

ABSTRACT Several recently discovered fossil specimens add to our knowledge of plesiadapiform primates. Micromomys willwoodensis, new species, is a diminutive microsyopid from the early Eocene (early Wasatchian) Willwood Formation of the Clark's Fork Basin, Wyoming. It is larger and more specialized than late Paleocene M. vossae and M. silvercouleei. Elwynella oreas is a new genus and species of paromomyid from the middle Eocene (early Bridgerian) Aycross Formation of northwestern Wyoming. It is most closely related to Phenacolemur, but differs from all other post-Tiffanian paromomyids in retention of P3 and in details of incisor morphology and molar trigonid structure. New specimens of the microsyopid Tinimomys graybulliensis are described, including a nearly complete dentary from the Wasatchian of the Bighorn Basin and the first record from probable Clarkforkian (latest Paleocene–earliest Eocene) beds of the Powder River Basin. The first Wasatchian specimen of Plesiadapis is described and illustrated.
Dynamic self-invalidation: reducing coherence overhead in shared-memory multiprocessors

This paper introduces dynamic self-invalidation (DSI), a new technique for reducing cache coherence overhead in shared-memory multiprocessors. DSI eliminates invalidation messages by having a processor automatically invalidate its local copy of a cache block before a conflicting access by another processor. Eliminating invalidation overhead is particularly important under sequential consistency, where the latency of invalidating outstanding copies can increase a program's critical path.DSI is applicable to software, hardware, and hybrid coherence schemes. In this paper we evaluate DSI in the context of hardware directory-based write-invalidate coherence protocols. Our results show that DSI reduces execution time of a sequentially consistent full-map coherence protocol by as much as 41%. This is comparable to an implementation of weak consistency that uses a coalescing write-buffer to allow up to 16 outstanding requests for exclusive blocks. When used in conjunction with weak consistency, DSI can exploit tear-off blocks---which eliminate both invalidation and acknowledgment messages---for a total reduction in messages of up to 26%.
Natural evolution and pathological alterations of lymphoid cell proteins electrophoretic patterns of soluble and insoluble components

Abstract Soluble lymphocyte proteins were electrophoretically heterogeneous and distinctly different from those of serum, with multiple prealbumins in all, and postgamma-globulins in certain extracts. Variations with age were restricted to the first two years of life, after which time both soluble and insoluble proteins were stabilized. Various lymphoid organs were not identical in their electrophoretic patterns both on agar and on starch gels. Pathologically lymphocyte protein alterations were dependent on the type of disorder. These disease-dependent protein changes might prove to be a diagnostic tool with useful clinical applications. It was concluded that lymphoid cell protein composition is controlled by inherent mechanisms which depend on cell organ of origin, age and state of health of lymphocyte donor.
Observing with the infrared array camera (IRAC) on the Spitzer Space Telescope

We describe the astronomical observation template (AOT) for the Infrared Array Camera (IRAC) on the Spitzer Space Telescope (formerly SIRTF, hereafter Spitzer). Commissioning of the AOTs was carried out in the first three months of the Spitzer mission. Strategies for observing fixed and moving targets are described, along with the performance of the AOT in flight. We also outline the operation of the IRAC data reduction pipeline at the Spitzer Science Center (SSC) and describe residual effects in the data due to electronic and optical anomalies in the instrument.
Reducing cache misses through programmable decoders

Level-one caches normally reside on a processor's critical path, which determines clock frequency. Therefore, fast access to level-one cache is important. Direct-mapped caches exhibit faster access time, but poor hit rates, compared with same sized set-associative caches because of nonuniform accesses to the cache sets. The nonuniform accesses generate more cache misses in some sets, while other sets are underutilized. We propose to increase the decoder length and, hence, reduce the accesses to heavily used sets without dynamically detecting the cache set usage information. We increase the access to the underutilized cache sets by incorporating a replacement policy into the cache design using programmable decoders. On average, the proposed techniques achieve as low a miss rate as a traditional 4-way cache on all 26 SPEC2K benchmarks for the instruction and data caches, respectively. This translates into an average IPC improvement of 21.5 and 42.4p for SPEC2K integer and floating-point benchmarks, respectively. The B-Cache consumes 10.5p more power per access, but exhibits a 12p total memory access-related energy savings as a result of the miss rate reductions, and, hence, the reduction to applications' execution time. Compared with previous techniques that aim at reducing the miss rate of direct-mapped caches, our technique requires only one cycle to access all cache hits and has the same access time of a direct-mapped cache.
THE TENSOR INTERACTION AND NUCLEAR MATTER

Abstract The separation method of Moszkowski-Scott has been applied to the calculation of the properties of nuclear matter using two different nucleon-nucleon potentials, both in reasonable agreement with two-body data. Calculations with the potential of Brueckner-Gammel gave A E = −14.2 Mev at an equilibrium densitty corresponding to k f = 1.5 f −1 . The difference from the results of B and G may be caused by slow convergence of the series (especially in the triplet-even state where the tensor interaction has a large second order contribution). An important factor in obtaining nuclear saturation is shown to be the weakening of tensor interaction effects by the Fermi sea. Evidence for this may also be seen from the results obtained using a different two nucleon potential which, however, still gives good fits to two body data. The potential chosen has a much weaker tensor component and shows no sign of saturation at normal densities (at k f = 1.5 f −1 , A E = −23.4 Mev ). The difference in the two results appears to be much larger than can be accounted for either by higher order terms or by differences in the phase shift approximation to the reaction matrix.
Secular variations in Precambrian seawater chemistry and the timing of Precambrian aragonite seas and calcite seas

An extension of the seawater secular-variation model that successfully predicted the observed timing of Phanerozoic MgSO 4 vs. KCl marine evaporites and aragonite seas vs. calcite seas has been applied to the prediction of the secular variations in the major ion chemistry of seawater and aragonite seas vs. calcite seas during the Precambrian. Testing of the predictions was based on those Precambrian seafloor carbonate precipitates that have been interpreted by others to have formed originally as aragonite. Of 16 examples of Precambrian seafloor aragonite, 14 fall within the 6 periods of aragonite seas predicted for the Late Archean–Proterozoic by the model, 1 falls on the transition between an aragonite sea and calcite sea, and 1 falls in a period of calcite seas. This strong correlation supports the following predictions of the model: (1) Precambrian seawater was a saline NaCl water with Ca > HCO 3 since at least the Late Archean. (2) The major ion compositions of Precambrian seawater chemistry and their secular variations are in the same ranges as those of Phanerozoic seawater. (3) The Mg/Ca mole ratio in seawater has controlled the types of CaCO 3 polymorphs that have precipitated from Earth9s oceans throughout the Phanerozoic and most, if not all, of the Precambrian.
Podzolization under forest and stump prairie vegetation in northern Michigan

Abstract The contrast in vegetation between the second-growth forests of northern Michigan and the nearby `stump prairies' is striking. Prior to the logging and fires of the late nineteenth century both areas supported dense forest. Neither geomorphological surface boundaries nor soil drainage patterns appear to explain the origin and maintenance of the contrasting vegetation types. Representative pedons of forest and stump prairie vegetation stands were sampled. Soil texture was not different between the forest and stump prairie sites, but spodic horizon development, as shown by illuvial accumulations of Fe, Al, and OC, was slightly stronger where forest regeneration has occurred than in the stump prairie. Ortstein content represents the primary difference between the soils in forested and stump prairie areas. The relative lack of ortstein in the nutrient-poor and droughty soils may therefore have been a factor in the origin of the stump prairie. Other factors, such as pre-logging forest vegetation and logging-era wildfires, were probably also involved. The soils were examined for evidence of podzolization processes. The distribution of extractable Fe and Al in the soils indicates that organically bound sesquioxides are most common in the Bhs and ortstein portions of Bs horizons, while inorganic forms of Fe and Al become more abundant in the lower B horizon. These data are best explained as a result of two sets of processes: (1) the translocation of organically bound sesquioxides into the B horizon, and (2) the further translocation of Al (and perhaps Fe) as amorphous aluminosilicate complexes. Both sets of processes appear to be active in the soils simultaneously.
The Hazard in Using Probabilistic Seismic Hazard Analysis for Engineering

Both the deterministic and probabilistic methods of seismic hazard analysis serve necessary purposes. Probability is needed to obtain operating basis earthquakes, to perform risk analyses, to prioritize projects, and for assigning recurrence estimates to deterministic earthquakes. The probability for these purposes is used as a relativistic measure. The problem with seismic probability is that it relies on the Gutenberg-Richter b-line, which has severe shortcomings. There are corrections that can be applied, which attempt to remedy the problems. Data are introduced for paleoseismic events, characteristic earthquakes, and slip-rate, or judgments are introduced from logic trees, multiple expert opinions, and de-aggregation of E-values. Unfortunately, none are equal to the task. The probabilistic seismic hazard analyses remain fundamentally limited in their dependability. However, the deterministic method can provide evaluations that are at a practical level for engineering. Engineering design must be done deterministically if one is to have seismic safety coupled with good engineering judgement. The design for critical structures, those for which failure is intolerable, such as dams, nuclear power plants, hazardous waste repositories, etc., must be based on maximum credible earthquakes, obtained by deterministic procedures, in order to assure their seismic safety.
Nonlinear dynamics of dewetting: kinetically stable structures

Abstract A nonlinear equation is used to describe the nucleation and growth of dry zones in the process of dewetting of a solid surface covered by a liquid film. The equation has the same form as the Cahn equation of spinodal decomposition, and it has a set of space periodical unstable steady states. Numerical analysis of the 1-D model discovers kinetically stable patterns, i.e. the solution dwells on the unstable steady states for a very large time. Such a nonlinear dynamics was observed previously for some other models with conservation restraints.
A SINGLE ANCIENT ORIGIN OF BROOD PARASITISM IN AFRICAN FINCHES: IMPLICATIONS FOR HOST-PARASITE COEVOLUTION

Abstract Robust phylogenies for brood-parasitic birds, their hosts, and nearest nesting relatives provide the framework to address historical questions about host-parasite coevolution and the origins of parasitic behavior. We tested phylogenetic hypotheses for the two genera of African brood-parasitic finches, Anomalospiza and Vidua, using mitochondrial DNA sequence data from 43 passeriform species. Our analyses strongly support a sister relationship between Vidua and Anomalospiza, leading to the conclusion that obligate brood parasitism evolved only once in African finches rather than twice, as has been the conventional view. In addition, the parasitic finches (Viduidae) are not recently derived from either weavers (Ploceidae) or grassfinches (Estrildidae), but represent a third distinct lineage. Among these three groups, the parasitic finches and estrildids, which includes the hosts of all 19 Vidua species, are sister taxa in all analyses of our full dataset. Many characters shared by Vidua and estrildi...
West Coast Jazz: Modern Jazz in California, 1945-1960

From the Preface by Ted Gioia: All of these musicians fought their way back over the next decade, and their success in re-establishing themselves as important artists was perhaps the first signal, initially unrecognized as such, that a re-evaluation of the earlier West Coast scene was under way. Less fortunate than these few were West Coasters such as Sonny Criss, Harold Land, Curtis Counce, Carl Perkins, Lennie Niehaus, Roy Porter, Teddy Edwards, Gerald Wilson, and those others whose careers languished without achieving either a later revival or even an early brief taste of fame. Certainly some West Coast jazz players have been awarded a central place in jazz history, but invariably they have been those who, like Charles Mingus or Eric Dolphy, left California for Manhattan. Those who stayed behind were, for the most part, left behind. The time has come for a critical re-evaluation of this body of work. With more than forty years of perspective - since modern jazz came to California - we can perhaps now begin to make sense of the rich array of music presented there during those glory years. But to do so, we need to start almost from scratch. We need to throw away the stereotypes of West Coast jazz, reject the simplifications, catchphrases, and pigeonholings that have only confused the issue. So many discussions of the music have begun by asking, "What was West Coast jazz?" - as if some simple definition would answer all our questions. And when no simple answer emerged; how could it when the same critics asking the question could hardly agree on a definition of jazz itself? this failure was brandished as grounds for dismissing the whole subject. My approach is different. I start with the music itself, the musicians themselves, the geography and social situation, the clubs and the culture. I tried to learn what they have to tell us, rather than regurgitate the dubious critical consensus of the last generation. Was West Coast jazz the last regional style or merely a marketing fad? Was there really ever any such thing as West Coast jazz? If so, was it better or worse than East Coast jazz? Such questions are not without merit, but they provide a poor start for a serious historical inquiry. I ask readers hoping for quick and easy answers to approach this work with an open mind and a modicum of patience. Generalizations will emerge; broader considerations will become increasingly clear; but only as we approach the close of this complex story, after we have let the music emerge in all its richness and diversity. By starting with some theory of West Coast jazz, we run the risk of seeing only what fits into our theory. Too many accounts of the music have fallen into just this trap. Instead, we need to see things with fresh eyes, hear the music again with fresh ears.
Botulinum toxin for the treatment of musculoskeletal pain and spasm

The impressive pain relief experienced by sufferers of dystonia and spasticity from intramuscular injections of botulinum toxin suggested that patients with other chronic, musculoskeletal pain conditions also may benefit. However, there have been relatively few placebo-controlled studies of botulinum toxin in such non-neurologic conditions as myofascial pain syndrome, chronic neck and low back pain, and fibromyalgia; the results of these studies have not been impressive. One explanation for the lack of positive findings may be the lack of clinically evident muscle spasms (overactivity), despite the presence of muscle tenderness, tightness, or trigger points. Clinical observations of pain relief from injections of botulinum toxin for dystonia and spasticity and its apparent efficacy in treating migraine suggest an anti-nociceptive action independent of its neuromuscular junction-blocking action. Evidence from animal experiments supports this notion, and other data provide plausible physiologic mechanisms in the periphery and central nervous systems. These involve modulation of the activity of the neurotransmitters glutamate, substance P, calcitonin gene-related peptide, enkephalins, and others. However, even if botulinum toxin is firmly established as an analgesic, there is insufficient clinical evidence of its efficacy in treating non-neurologic, chronic, musculoskeletal pain conditions.
Viability of Candida shehatae in D-xylose fermentations with added ethanol.

Ethanol was added at concentrations of 25 and 50 g/L to active cultures of Canida shehatae under oxygen-limited (fermentative) conditions. Added ethanol completely inhibited growth and fermentation of D-xylose by C. shehatae. Cultures with added ethanol rapidly declined in cell viability as measured by plate counts and methylene blue staining. The rate of decline in cell viability was dependent on the amount of added ethanol. Over the course of the fermentation, cell viability, as measured by plate counts, was significantly lower in all experiments (with or without ethanol addition) compared with the viability measurements by methylene blue staining. Thus, data from the plate counts provided a more sensitive measure of the toxic effects of added ethanol and long-term anaerobiosis on C. shehatae growth/fermentation. Mean cell volume and total cell volume declined in fermentations with added ethanol.
COMPARISON OF ELIGIBLE RANDOMIZED PATIENTS WITH TWO GROUPS OF INELIGIBLE PATIENTS: CAN THE RESULTS OF THE VA TOTAL PARENTERAL NUTRITION CLINICAL TRIAL BE GENERALIZED?

Abstract The recently reported VA Cooperative Study “A Randomized Clinical Trial of Total Parenteral Nutrition (TPN) in Malnourished Surgical Patients” randomized 395 pre-operative patients to TPN treatment or control. The study concluded that the use of perioperative TPN should be limited to the most severely malnourished patients. The study also followed 233 patients eligible for the study who refused to give informed consent for randomization (Eligible Refusers) as well as 1220 patients who were ineligible because they were not sufficiently malnourished (Index Group). Patients in the Index Group were determined to be significantly healthier than those in the two eligible groups of patients. Those in the Eligible Refuser group were shown to be slightly less malnourished than the Randomized Patients. The 395 patients randomized to the study (Randomized Patients) showed the highest rate of septic complications at 30 days and at 90 days (10% and 13% respectively) with rates for the Eligible Refusers slightly lower (8% and 9%) and Index Group rates still lower (4% and 4%). Nonseptic complication rates showed the same pattern (19% and 22% for the Randomized group, 12% and 12% for Eligible Refusers, and 10% and 10% for the Index Group). Because (a) the beneficial effect of TPN is attained only in severely malnourished patients, (b) there is increased risk of septic complications with TPN use in patients not severely malnourished, (c) Index Group patients, and presumably the population of patients from which they are drawn, are not severely malnourished, it follows that unless specifically indicated, TPN should not be used in nonseverely malnourished patients.
Structure and electronic structure of polyacene

It is shown that infinite long polyacene chains may have three energetically close but structurally distinct isomers (a symmetrical, sym, form and two lower symmetry forms: one with double bonds in a trans and another isomer with double bonds in a cis pattern). The energetics is based on solid state MNDO theory. We discuss that the symmetrical form has a substantial energy gap Eg in the Hartree–Fock approach owing to exact exchange terms, which are nonlocal. Broken symmetry Hartree–Fock (HF) solutions for polyacene are also described. An angularly distorted structure suggested earlier on Jahn–Teller grounds is found to be energetically not favorable.
Calculation of the aortic valve gradient from the left ventricular-femoral and aortic-femoral pairs of pressure waveforms.

Accurate measurement of the transaortic gradient is important in the invasive assessment of the significance of aortic stenosis. The mean gradient obtained from simultaneous left ventricular and aortic pressure recordings is the gold standard, but requires two central catheters. We hypothesized that a gradient calculated by subtracting the aortofemoral from the ventriculofemoral gradient would reproduce the ventriculoaortic gradient. In 24 patients sequential recordings of the aortofemoral, ventriculofemoral, and ventriculoaortic pressures pairs were obtained. The calculated ventriculoaortic gradient was obtained by subtracting the aortofemoral gradient from the ventriculofemoral gradient. Both of these gradients were measured by computer, using a systolic ejection period between the crossovers of the upslope and downslope of the left ventricular waveform with the femoral waveform. The ventriculoaortic gradient calculated using this technique correlated closely with the gradient measured by two central catheters (R = 0.99). This technique is accurate and does not require two central catheters. Cathet. Cardiovasc. Diagn. 44:9–13, 1998. © 1998 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
STAPHYLOCOCCAL PROTEIN‐A AGGLUTINATION ASSAY FOR AVIAN VIRUSES

Abstract Protein-A rich staphylococci were used to develop an agglutination assay for the detection and quantitation of avian reticuloendotheliosis virus (REV) and Herpes virus of turkeys (HVT). Rabbit anti-REV or anti-HVT were used to coat the staphylococci and these reagents were mixed with REV or various other viral antigen preparations. An agglutination titer was determined for antigen preparations of varying purity and the results indicated that in addition to being rapid, this assay allows the detection of as little as 0.3 to 0.5 microgram of partially purified viral antigens. No crossreactivity was observed with the two antisera and the various antigen preparations. This study also confirmed the reports in the literature that chicken immunoglobulins do not bind to protein-A of the Cowan I strain of Staph. aureus.
Adenoviral inhibitors of the apoptotic cascade.

FADD: Fas-associated death domain-containing protein.Fas: Also known as CD95; a cell surface protein, the ligation of which causes cell death by apoptosis.FIP-2: 14.7K interacting protein 2.FLICE: FADD-like interleukin 1β-converting enzyme.RAIDD: RIP-associated ICH-1/CED-3 homologous protein with a death domain.RID: Adenovirus E3 10.4K and 14.5K proteins that induce receptor internalization and degradation.RIP: Receptor-interacting protein.TRADD: Tumor necrosis factor receptor 1-associated protein with a death domain.