cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Provision of risk management and risk assessment information: The role of the pharmacist

Abstract Background There exists a need to conceptualize and understand the roles that pharmacists serve to help convince others such as patients, prescribers, and payers to value their contributions and to plan for the roles they could serve in the future within the health care system. Objective The purpose of this study was to (1) describe and track differences in pharmacists' and patients' views about the pharmacist's and physician's role in medication risk management and risk assessment in 1995, 1998, 2001, and 2004, and (2) describe associations between selected demographic variables and reported opinions about the pharmacist's role using data from 2004. Methods Brushwood's Risk Management/Risk Assessment Framework was used as a conceptual guide for developing 2 risk management and 2 risk assessment scenarios. For each scenario, study participants were asked to select the level of responsibility shared by physicians and pharmacists in addressing the drug therapy problem. Data were collected in 1995, 1998, 2001, and 2004 using random samples of pharmacists and patients as study subjects. Descriptive statistics and logistic regression analysis were used for analyzing the data. Results The results showed that pharmacists view their role as providing risk management information to patients and may view this role as adding value to patient care above and beyond a level that can be provided by a physician alone. In 2004, pharmacists started to view the risk assessment scenarios as being more their responsibility as well. Patients, on the other hand, consistently viewed their physician as having primary responsibility for their health care in all of the scenarios we studied. Conclusions Pharmacists view their role as one that adds unique value to a patient's health through their provision of medication risk management and some types of risk assessment. However, patients do not yet view the pharmacist as the primary provider of either medication risk management or risk assessment information.
Environmental factors influencing the chaperone-like activity of α-crystallin

The effects of mild environmental changes (e.g. the addition of divalent cations or EDTA, as well as variations of buffer pH) on the heat stability and chaperone-like activity of native alpha-crystallin, and denatured-renatured alpha-crystallin in the native molar isoform ratio, have been investigated using circular dichroism (CD) spectropolarimetry and functional assays. The presence or absence of divalent cations has little or no effect on the secondary structure of renatured samples, although chaperone-like activity levels can vary widely; the only relevant spectral difference observed is a loss of some alpha-helical content in all the renatured samples relative to the native protein, but this change has no impact on function. The range of concentration over which the inhibitory Mg2+ effect is observed is 10-fold higher for dialyzed fresh protein than for protein renatured into buffers containing Mg2+, but for both sets of samples, the full effect is established below physiological Mg2+ concentrations. Renaturing into various pH buffers, in contrast, affects both heat stability and chaperone-like activity below pH 7.0, with essentially no functionality observed at pH 6.0. CD spectra of these samples indicate that acidic conditions lead to some degree of unfolding, and that this unfolding correlates directly with functionality. Similar results are obtained for fresh protein dialyzed against these pH levels. Overall, these results suggest that heat stability is a function of the protein's secondary structure and folding state, while chaperone-like activity is primarily a function of factors at the tertiary and quaternary levels of organization.
Numerical simulation of unsteady combustion using the transport element method

The transport element method is described and implemented in the simulation of the non-premixed reacting shear layer. The method, a natural extention of the vortex element method, resolves the low Mach number variable density flow and the exothermic reacting field. The effect of combustion on the flow is accommodated by incorporating a volumetric expansion velocity component and by modifying the integration of the vorticity equation to include expansion-related and baroclinic terms. The reacting field equations describing a single step, irreversible, chemical reaction, are simplified by the introduction of Schvab-Zeldovich (SZ) conserved scalars whose transport is sufficient to compute the evolution of combustion in the case of infinite reaction rate. In the case of finite rate chemistry the evolution of one primitive scalar, the product mass-fraction, is also computed. The vorticity, conserved scalar gradient and product mass fraction are discretized amongst fields of transport elements. Their time evolution is implemented by advecting the elements at the local velocity while simultaneously integrating their transport equations along particle trajectories. The integration of the vorticity and the conserved scalar gradient equations is simplified using ideas from kinematics. A novel core expansion scheme that avoids the problems associated with the conventional implementation is used to simulate diffusion. Field quantities are obtained using convolutions over the elements. Results indicate that the method is able to accurately reproduce the essential features of the flow. Convergence of the solution in time is approximately linear. Moreover, the finite reaction rate solution at low Karlovitz number bear strong similarities to that of the infinite reaction rate model. This similarity is exploited in validating the part of the numerical methodology related to the integration of the product mass-fraction equation.
Forecasting the national incidence of sugar-beet powdery mildew from weather data in Britain

In a national survey of the incidence of powdery mildew (Erysiphe betae) in sugar beet in Britain, between 1980 and 1989, in which between 335 and 717 fields were inspected at the end of August each year, the average crop area infected ranged from 2% in 1986 to 68% in 1989. The effect of various climatic factors that might be expected to influence powdery mildew development over this period was examined, using meteorological records from Broom's Barn Experimental Station, Using simple linear regression analyses, a significant association was found between disease incidence and both air temperature and rainfall incidence in the period April-August, However, air temperature and frost incidence in some winter months were also closely associated with the incidence of powdery mildew in the following crop. Combinations of these variables were examined in stepwise multiple-regression analyses, The model of best fit, incorporating winter frost incidence with summer temperature and rainfall incidence, accounted for 95% of the variation. Model validation procedures demonstrated the superiority of this model over those involving single variables. Nevertheless, for forecasting purposes, the best correlation was found between the crop area infected at the end of August each year and the number of days with a ground frost in the preceding February and March. This single climatic variable accounted for 82% of the variation and its potential use to forecast powdery mildew incidence in the national sugar-beet crop is discussed.
Far-infrared investigation of band-structure parameters and exchange interaction in Pb1-xEuxTe films.

Far-infrared (FIR) magnetotransmission has been investigated in molecular-beam-epitaxy-grown ${\mathrm{Pb}}_{1\mathrm{\ensuremath{-}}\mathit{x}}$${\mathrm{Eu}}_{\mathit{x}}$Te films with Eu concentration x=0.02. The experiments were carried out at fixed FIR photon energies between 2.5 and 21.4 meV, in the temperature range 1.8\ensuremath{\le}T\ensuremath{\le}60 K, and in magnetic fields up to 6 T. From the magnetic-field dependence of the cyclotron-resonance energies the momentum matrix elements have been determined within the framework of the Mitchell-Wallis k\ensuremath{\cdot}p model: 2${\mathit{P}}_{\mathit{t}}^{2}$/${\mathit{m}}_{0}$=8.23\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.02 eV and 2${\mathit{P}}_{\mathit{l}}^{2}$/${\mathit{m}}_{0}$=0.55\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.02 eV. The results signal a strong increase of band anisotropy due to the presence of Eu, from ${\mathit{P}}_{\mathit{t}}^{2}$/${\mathit{P}}_{\mathit{l}}^{2}$=10.3 for pure PbTe to ${\mathit{P}}_{\mathit{t}}^{2}$/${\mathit{P}}_{\mathit{l}}^{2}$=14.9 for ${\mathrm{Pb}}_{0.98}$${\mathrm{Eu}}_{0.02}$Te. The low-field approximation of the model yields the following components of the effective-mass tensors: ${\mathit{m}}_{\mathit{t}}^{\mathit{v}}$/${\mathit{m}}_{0}$=0.023, ${\mathit{m}}_{\mathit{l}}^{\mathit{v}}$/${\mathit{m}}_{0}$=0.287, ${\mathit{m}}_{\mathit{t}}^{\mathit{c}}$/${\mathit{m}}_{0}$=0.020, and ${\mathit{m}}_{\mathit{l}}^{\mathit{c}}$/${\mathit{m}}_{0}$=0.218. A resonant transition from shallow acceptor states to valence band has also been observed. The analysis of these transitions in finite magnetic fields provided the value of the valence-band g factor, ${\mathit{g}}_{\mathit{t}}^{\mathit{v}}$=15.9. This in turn served to place an upper limit on the valence-band exchange integral \ensuremath{\alpha}, \ensuremath{\alpha}=-7.5\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}5.5 meV. The small value of \ensuremath{\alpha} indicates that the hole-Eu exchange interaction in the ${\mathrm{Pb}}_{1\mathrm{\ensuremath{-}}\mathit{x}}$${\mathrm{Eu}}_{\mathit{x}}$Te system is at least one order of magnitude weaker than the hole-Mn interaction in ${\mathrm{Pb}}_{1\mathrm{\ensuremath{-}}\mathit{x}}$${\mathrm{Mn}}_{\mathit{x}}$Te, and two orders of magnitude below exchange parameters in ${\mathrm{II}}_{1\mathrm{\ensuremath{-}}\mathit{x}}$${\mathrm{Mn}}_{\mathit{x}}$VI systems.
New Three-Dimensional Damage Index for RC Buildings with Planar Irregularities

Motivated by the observation that existing damage indices do not take into account the bidirectional and torsional response effects, a new three dimensional damage index is proposed in this paper. The derivation is based on decomposing the 3D structure into planar frames. A local damage index that is sensitive to out-of-plane responses is described and a method to combine local damage indices is presented. The proposed index is verified by comparison with conventional damage indices.
Immunomodulation at epithelial sites by obesity and metabolic disease

Obesity and related type 2 diabetes are increasing at epidemic proportions globally. It is now recognized that inflammatory responses mediated within the adipose tissue in obesity are central to the development of disease. Once initiated, chronic inflammation associated with obesity leads to the modulation of immune cell function. This review will focus specifically on the impact of obesity on γδ T cells, a T-cell subset that is found in high concentrations in epithelial tissues such as the skin, intestine, and lung. Epithelial γδ T cell function is of particular concern in obesity as they are the guardians of the epithelial barrier and mediate repair. A breakdown in their function, and subsequently the deterioration of the epithelium can result in dire consequences for the host. Obese patients are more prone to non-healing injuries, infection, and disease. The resulting inflammation from these pathologies further perpetuates the disease condition already present in obese hosts. Here we will provide insight into the immunomodulation of γδ T cells that occurs in the epithelial barrier during obesity and discuss current therapeutic options.
Recurrent Syncope in a Cancer Patient: A Case Report and Review of the Literature

A 59-year-old male with invasive squamous cell carcinoma of the left preauricular region, treated with several chemotherapy regimens and radiation therapy, was admitted for recurrent syncopal episodes. He was found to be suffering from neurocardiogenic reflex-mediated syncope secondary to mechanical compression of the carotid baroreceptors and glossopharyngeal nerve by the tumor. We discuss the pathophysiology of this case and the available treatment options.
VARIABLE SELECTION ON EUROSTA'S GALL SIZE, I: THE EXTENT AND NATURE OF VARIATION IN PHENOTYPIC SELECTION

Natural fluctuations in environmental conditions are likely to induce variation in the intensity or direction of natural selection. A long-term study of the insect, Eurosta solidaginins Fitch (Diptera; Tephritidae), which induces stem galls on the perennial herb Solidago altissima (Asteraceae) was performed to explore the patterns of variation in phenotypic selection. The intensity of selection imposed by parasitoids and predators on gallmaking larvae, for gall size, was measured across 16 populations over the course of 4 generations, for a total of 64 population- generations. Directional selection was quantified by i, the selection intensity, and variance selection by j' a measure of the intensity of selection on phenotypic variance. Size-dependent attack by parasitoids caused upward directional selection (mean ip = 0.42; SE = 0.023), while size-dependent bird attack favored larvae that induced smaller galls (mean ib = -0.07; SE = 0.013. The mean net directional selection intensity was 0.35 (SE = 0.030), which indicates that insects inducing larger galls are generally favored by selection. The opposing patterns of size-dependent attack resulted in stabilizing selection in half the population generations, with an overall average j' of -0.1 1 (SE = 0.078). The magnitude of directional selection was strongly influenced by the population mean gall size and weakly by the optimal gall size. The intensity of variance selection was strongly influenced by the shape of the fitness function, with sigmoidal and Gaussian-like shapes causing greater depletion of phenotypic variance.
Hospital use and associated costs of children aged zero-to-two years with craniofacial malformations in Massachusetts.

BACKGROUND: Craniofacial malformations (CFMs) are among the most common and correctable birth defects in the United States, often requiring multiple medical and surgical treatments. However, population-based data on hospital utilization and costs are sparse. METHODS: This retrospective cohort study used linked data from the Massachusetts Pregnancy to Early Life Longitudinal Data System. Cases were children born during 1998–2002 in Massachusetts hospitals to Massachusetts residents, alive at age two years, and ascertained by the Massachusetts Birth Defects Monitoring Program as having a CFM (orofacial cleft, craniosynostosis, microtia/anotia). Mean and median number of inpatient days and hospital facility costs (excluding professional fees) during birth and postbirth hospitalizations to age two years are presented by defect type and pattern for cases and compared to Massachusetts children without CFMs. RESULTS: Children with CFMs (N = 649) mostly had orofacial clefts (73%), and 73% had no other major birth defect. Both mean (12.0) and median (6) number of inpatient days from birth to age two years among children with CFMs were three times higher than among all other children. Mean incremental hospital cost of children who survived to age two years with CFMs compared to those with no CFM was $4,901 more during the birth hospitalization and $12,858 more for postbirth hospitalizations, or $17,760 overall. CONCLUSION: In the first two years of life, children with CFMs incur increased hospital costs compared to other children without such conditions, with substantial heterogeneity by defect and pattern type. Birth Defects Research (Part A) 2009. © 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Hyperinsulinism in Infants and Children: Response to Diazoxlde

Early diagnosis and treatment of hypoglycemia in children of any age is important. Prompt treatment with diazoxide of infants or children with documented fasting hypoglycemia is effective. In addition, the blood glucose response to diazoxide is an important diagnostic test for hyperinsulinism along with confirmatory metabolic and hormonal studies. Longitudinal growth, neurologic and metabolic data of 17 infants and children (< 2 years at the time of diagnosis) with hyperinsulinism treated with diazoxide will be presented. The blood glucose of 13 of the 17 patients responded to diazoxide (5-10 mg/kg) within 48 hours. Ten of these children have continued to require low dose (< 5 mg/kg) treatment for symptomatic or laboratory evidence of hypoglycemia (mean duration 4 years, 1-11 years). Hyperinsulinism, although asymptomatic, is still present in the 3 children who have been able to discontinue treatment. The pathological diagnosis of the 4 infants whose blood glucose failed to respond to diazoxide were islet cell adenoma (2) and nesidioblastoma (2). Two of these infants died; the 2 who survived required total pancreatectomies and subsequent treatment with insulin and pancreatic enzymes. Hypertrichosis was evident in all children treated with diazoxide and was dose related. One child developed reversible leukopenia. Neurologic sequellae in most children surviving are surprisingly minimal and unrelated to the age of onset, the degree or duration of hypoglycemia.
Translation Networks and Function Composition

A notation for specifying translation networks is analyzed and shown to be a special case of a notation for specifying functions. Cancellation of domains and ranges and associativity is derived more simply than in a previous paper by Sklansky, Finkelstein, and Russell.
Mapping ventricular expansion and its clinical correlates in Alzheimer's disease and mild cognitive impairment using multi-atlas fluid image alignment

We developed an automated analysis pipeline to analyze 3D changes in ventricular morphology; it provides a highly sensitive quantitative marker of Alzheimer's disease (AD) progression for MRI studies. In the ADNI image database, we created expert delineations of the ventricles, as parametric surface meshes, in 6 brain MRI scans. These 6 images and their embedded surfaces were fluidly registered to MRI scans of 80 AD patients, 80 individuals with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), and 80 healthy controls. Surface averaging within subjects greatly reduced segmentation error. Surface-based statistical maps revealed powerful correlations between surface morphology at baseline and (1) diagnosis, (2) cognitive performance (MMSE scores), (3) depression, and (4) predicted future decline, over a 1 year interval, in 3 standard clinical scores (MMSE, global and sum-of-boxes CDR). We used a false discovery rate method (FDR) method based on cumulative probability plots to find that 40 subjects were sufficient to discriminate AD from normal groups. 60 and 119 subjects, respectively, were required to correlate ventricular enlargement with MMSE and clinical depression. Surface-based FDR, along with multi-atlas fluid registration to reduce segmentation error, will allow researchers to (1) estimate sample sizes with adequate power to detect groups differences, and (2) compare the power of mapping methods head-to-head, optimizing cost-effectiveness for future clinical trials.
Human–Pet Dynamics in Cross-Cultural Perspective

ABSTRACTPets increasingly serve the function as emotional surrogates of children, with tremendous resources poured into their care. However, this function of pets may be quite different from the typical human–pet dynamics characterizing a wider array of societies. To help fill a gap in the cross-cultural understanding of pets, we employed the probability sample of the electronic Human Relations Area Files (eHRAF), covering 60 societies, to code for various features of human–pet dynamics. The findings revealed that dogs are the most commonly kept pets, followed by birds, cats, and other animals including horses, rodents, and reptiles. Dogs, cats, and other pets frequently served valuable functions such as aiding in hunting and pest removal. Birds, dogs, and some other pets also served as playthings, particularly the young of these animals and for the enjoyment of human children. Feeding, sleeping, and positive and negative interactions varied across societies and pets. Dogs, cats, birds, and other pets wer...
Comparison of three epoxy die materials

Sixty MOD inlay and 60 complete crown castings were fabricated on three epoxy die materials. The castings were evaluated with a specific criteria for fit, retention, and margin adaptation. Of the three materials tested, the castings fabricated on the Unitek die material had consistently higher ratings on the master die with the exception of unacceptable ratings in retention for the MOD inlay.
Calcium balance in normal individuals and in patients with chronic kidney disease on low- and high-calcium diets.

Calcium balance in chronic kidney disease is poorly understood as calcium deficiency is a stimulus for secondary hyperparathyroidism and consequent bone loss while calcium excess promotes extraosseous calcifications. To help resolve this, we evaluated calcium balance in normal individuals and in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) on daily diets containing 800 and 2000mg elemental calcium. Both normal individuals and patients with late stage 3 and stage 4 CKD were in slightly negative to neutral calcium balance on the 800-mg calcium diet. Normal individuals were in modest positive calcium balance on the 2000-mg diet, while patients with CKD on the same diet were in marked positive calcium balance at least over the 9 days of study; and significantly greater than the normal individuals. Increased calcium intake significantly decreased 1,25-dihydroxy-vitamin D and intact parathyroid hormone levels but did not alter the serum calcium concentration. Thus, our findings have important implications for both preventing calcium deficiency and loading in individuals with late stage 3 and stage 4 CKD.
Manganese bioavailability in a MN-methionine chelate

Abstract Two experiments were conducted to assess the bioavailability of both managanese (Mn) and methionine (MET) in a Mn-MET chelate (Mn-MET). In the first experiment, Hubbard female chicks were fed graded levels of Mn as either Mn-MET or feedgrade MnO in both the presence and absence of phytate and fiber derived from a corn-soybean meal mixture (C-SBM). Bioavailability of Mn was determined by assessing Mn-uptake by tibia from chicks fed graded levels of Mn-MET relative to those fed graded levels of MnO by use of multiple regression slope-ratio methodology. Mn deposition in tibia per unit of supplemental Mn consumed was much greater in chicks fed the fiber- and phytate-free casein-dextrose diet than in those fed this same diet with a 10% addition of C-SBM. When either Mn concentration in bone, or total Mn in bone, was regressed on supplemental Mn intake, Mn-MET was found to provide 30.1% (basal diet) and 74.4% (basal+10% C-SBM) more bioavailable Mn than that provided by MnO. Although total bone Mn as well as bone Mn concentration regressed on Mn intake yielded similar results for Mn bioavailability, total bone Mn provided better regression fits (i.e., R 2 ) and thus a more precise basis for statistical discrimination between slopes obtained with the standard (MnO) and the test (Mn-MET) compounds. In the second experiment chicks were fed graded levels of either MET or Mn-MET for 9 days. Weight gain was recorded and bioavailability of MET determined by comparing regressions of gain on Mn-MET intake to that of gain on MET intake. Bioavailability of MET in Mn-MET was found to be 68%.
Muslim women, middle class habitus, and modernity in Indonesia

This article asks how pious religious practices, which are often highly gendered, and implicated in diverse formulations of “the modern” in non-Western contexts. Based on ethnographic research among women members of Indonesia's Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), I argue that PKS women’s pious practices are part of the creation of a particular kind of middle class subjectivity. An examination of two constitutive elements of this habitus, clothing and marriage, reveals how these pious Islamic practices enact class and gender difference, and simultaneously produce “modern” selves. While scholars have shown that gender is an important axis for class difference, I extend this argument to suggest that gendered forms of piety are key ways class in which distinctions are embodied and expressed. Yet the habitus of PKS women is just one of several competing Islamic habitus in Indonesia. The question of which habitus is most culturally legitimate, I maintain, turns on the hegemony of particular understandings of piety and ideas about how modernity should be defined–issues which remain unresolved in contemporary Indonesia.
Complexity analysis and verification of real-time operation for a semi-Markov model of photovoltaic intermittency

Photovoltaic (PV) penetration levels in the power grid have significantly increased during the last few years. However, issues such as cloud-induced intermittency in PV generation forces equipment on the electrical grid to cycle excessively, preventing PV generation from being a reliable or dispatchable source of power, particularly for utilities. To mitigate this intermittency, the PV must be coordinated with either dispatchable generation, energy storage, or demand response. In order to do so economically, it is necessary to develop a model of PV power that can be included in design and control problems. A semi-Markov process model is proposed for PV power. Unlike existing models of PV power, the proposed model has a wide range of applicability across both small and large timescales. These applications include simulating PV power, short-term forecasting of PV power, design of rule-based controllers for energy storage units (ESU), and stochastic scheduling of ESU in conjunction with other resources. This paper investigates the suitability of the model implemented in algorithms in real-time. To this end, the complexity of four algorithms involving the model is analyzed in terms of the number of operations required vs. number of samples processed. This is validated by implementing the algorithms on a representative target platform, demonstrating that they can complete within reasonable deadlines.
Coefficient-based test of parametric faults in analog circuits

Coefficient-based test (CBT) is introduced for detecting parametric faults in analog circuits. The method uses pseudo Monte Carlo simulation and system-identification tools to determine whether a given circuit under test (CUT) is faulty. From the circuit description, and component tolerance specifications, the tolerance boxes of all circuit transfer-function coefficients are precomputed and used during the test. Using input/output signal information, the test procedure attempts to extract the CUT's transfer function. When this extraction is complete-if one or more of these measured transfer-function coefficients are found to be outside their tolerance boxes-the circuit is declared faulty.
Cellular gene regulation by K13/VFLIP of Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus

ORFK13/vFLIP of Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV) encodes a 188-amino acid protein, which binds with Iκb kinase gamma subunit (IKKγ) to activate the NFκB pathway. To gain insight into the changes induced by K13 in endothelial cells, we retrovirally expressed ORFK13 in human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) and examined by DNA microarray patterns of genes expression in control retrovirus- and K13 retroviral-infected HUVECs. As expected, expression of numerous NFκB-targeted genes increased and expression of a limited number of genes decreased in K13-expressing HUVECs compared to control. Genes with increased expression included pro-inflammatory chemokines, cytokines, and adhesion molecules. Consistent with these results, K13-expressing HUVECs promoted monocyte attachment in vitro more effectively than controls, an observation consistent with immunofluorescent staining of AIDS-KS tissue showing infiltration of CD68-positive monocyte/macrophages. These infiltrating CD68-positive cells displayed moderate expression of VEGF, suggesting that K13 expression in KSHV-infected cells contributes to monocyte/macrophages attachment and represents a source of VEGF for tumor cells. Additionally, retroviral gene expression of ORFK13 caused a dynamic morphological change in HUVEC that turned into spindle-like cells, and altered endothelial formation of vascular structures on extracellular matrix. In another aspect, K13 retrovirus induced significant expression of human thymidine phosphorylase, which is also called platelet-derived endothelial cell growth factor (PD-ECGF). PD-ECGF can metabolize 5-fluoro-5-deoxyuridine (5-dFUrd) into 5-fluorouridine (5-FU), a thymidylate synthase inhibitor. When cytotoxity was measured, 5-dFUrd selectively killed K13-expressing HUVECs at low concentrations (0.1–1 μM), which did not affect the survival of control HUVECs. This observation has potential clinical implications for the treatment of KSHV-related malignancies where ORFK13/vFLIP is expressed and responses to current therapy are poor.
Further observations of X-rays inside thunderstorms

A control and an x-ray detector were flown into thunderstorms in 1984. The x-ray detector found statistically significant radiation flux increases in the energy range 5 to > 110 keV for time intervals of several seconds each. Simultaneously the control detector showed no statistically significant changes. The x-ray flux is sometimes seen to increase prior to observed lightning discharges and then return to background levels within 0.1 seconds of a lightning flash initiation. The temporal development of these x-ray bursts is discussed and related to inferring the scale size of the x-ray emitting regions.
Roles and well‐being among healthy women and women with rheumatoid arthritis

Title. Roles and well-being among healthy women and women with rheumatoid arthritis. Aim. This paper is a report of a study examining the relationships among number of roles, role quality, role stress, role balance, and psychological well-being in women diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis. Background. A substantial literature exists examining multiple roles in healthy women. However, less is known about multiple roles and well-being in women with a chronic illness such as rheumatoid arthritis. Methods. A questionnaire study was conducted in 2003 examining four role-related constructs (number of roles, quality of roles, role stress, and role balance) and psychological well-being in healthy women (n = 47) and women diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis (n = 50). Correlation coefficients and multiple regression analyses were calculated to determine the nature of the relationships among the variables. Findings. The two groups were similar in demographics except for employment, with fewer women with rheumatoid arthritis employed. The two groups differed statistically significantly on psychological well-being. Women with rheumatoid arthritis had a lower mean psychological well-being score than healthy women. Regression analyses revealed that role stress was the only unique predictor of psychological well-being in healthy women, while role balance was the sole unique predictor among women with rheumatoid arthritis. Conclusion. Women with rheumatoid arthritis experienced lower levels of well-being than their healthy counterparts. Examination of the relationships among the variables can facilitate the development of interventions to improve these women’s mental health. Nurses are in a position to assess the psychosocial needs of women with rheumatoid arthritis and assist those experiencing role stress and role imbalance.
A Monolithic Nanodiamond Lateral Field Emission Vacuum Transistor

A nanocrystalline-diamond-based monolithic lateral-type vacuum transistor is reported. The device, fabricated by a single-mask approach, incorporates a fingerlike emitter, integrated with gate and anode electrodes, in a lateral triode geometrical configuration. The device demonstrates transistor characteristics with gate-controlled current modulation showing distinct cutoff, linear, and saturation regions. The transistor with a single emitter has a gate turn-on voltage of 40 V, anode current (Ia) of 1.1 muA (current density of ~ 1A/cm2) with a small gate intercepted current (Ig) of less than 0.001%, transconductance of 22 nS/finger, dc voltage gain of 200, and high output impedance of 10 GOmega. This demonstration of a lateral vacuum transistor at microelectronic scale is essential to the development of the vacuum electronic integrated circuit.
Extra-pair parentage: a new theory based on transactions in a cooperative game

Question: What is the adaptive significance of extra-pair parentage? Theoretical approach: We view parentage as a ‘transaction currency’ for exchanges of ecological benefits. We develop a multi-player cooperative game, using the core and the Nash bargaining solution as solution concepts. Model assumptions: Birds can negotiate about who pairs with whom. Parentage can be exchanged between individuals as a result of negotiations. Number of offspring fledged from a nest depends on the experience and situation of the social parents and not on their genes (i.e. only direct benefits, no genetic benefits). Predictions: We predict extra-pair parentage to occur when individuals with higher breeding capability are paired to individuals with lower breeding capability. Social interactions between males are predicted to precede the occurrence of extra-pair paternity. We give an example experiment to test our model.
Sonographic Evaluation of a Ruptured Ectopic Pregnancy

Ectopic pregnancy is a life-threatening condition that warrants immediate treatment due to the risk of rupture and resultant hemorrhaging. Less than 1% of all pregnancies are ectopic; of these, 90% or more are located in the fallopian tubes. In a clinical setting, sonography can diagnose an ectopic pregnancy in conjunction with beta-human chorionic gonadotropin (B-hCG) levels above 1500 mIU. A case is presented in which the diagnosis of ectopic pregnancy was supported through sonographic features. Medication was given to terminate the ectopic pregnancy; however, surgery was later needed when the ectopic ruptured.
Laplacian polynomials of fullerenes (C20C40)

Abstract The characteristics polynomials of the Laplacian matrices of small fullerenes (C 20 C 40 ) are obtained. These polynomials are useful in not only characterizing the structures of fullerenes but also in some of their vibrational modes. The Laplacians of C 20 , C 24 , C 26 , c 32 , C 36 , C 38 and C 40 fullerenes were found to have at least one non-zero integral eigenvalue. The factorization of Laplacian polynomials of some of these fullerenes is also considered.
Sr-isotopic, paleomagnetic, and biostratigraphic calibration of horse evolution: Evidence from the Miocene of Florida

During the middle Miocene an explosive adaptive radiation resulted in the advent of grazing horses with high-crowned teeth in North America. New Sr isotopic, paleomagnetic, and biostratigrahic evidence from the Miocene marine and nonmarine sequence of the Florida panhandle calibrates the base of this adaptive radiation. The transition from the primitive outgroup species 'Parahippus' leonensis to the most primitive high-crowned horse, 'Merychippus' gunteri occured after about 17.7 Ma. After this event, the lowest known stratigraphic level at which diversification (i.e., presence of two or more sympatric species) of grazing merychippine horses occurs is about 16.2 Ma, or within the early part of Chron C5BR. Although this currently is the only sequence where the parahippine-merychippine transition is directly calibrated, biochronologic evidence from other important, contemporaneous localities in Texas, Nebraska, and California indicate that diversification occured rapidly throughout North America between 15 and 16 Ma.
Neural correlates of self-reflection

The capacity to reflect on one's sense of self is an important component of self-awareness. In this paper, we investigate some of the neurocognitive processes underlying reflection on the self using functional MRI. Eleven healthy volunteers were scanned with echoplanar imaging using the blood oxygen level-dependent contrast method. The task consisted of aurally delivered statements requiring a yes-no decision. In the experimental condition, participants responded to a variety of statements requiring knowledge of and reflection on their own abilities, traits and attitudes (e.g. 'I forget important things', 'I'm a good friend', 'I have a quick temper'). In the control condition, participants responded to statements requiring a basic level of semantic knowledge (e.g. 'Ten seconds is more than a minute', 'You need water to live'). The latter condition was intended to control for auditory comprehension, attentional demands, decision-making, the motoric response, and any common retrieval processes. Individual analyses revealed consistent anterior medial prefrontal and posterior cingulate activation for all participants. The overall activity for the group, using a random-effects model, occurred in anterior medial prefrontal cortex (t = 13.0, corrected P = 0.05; x, y, z, 0, 54, 8, respectively) and the posterior cingulate (t = 14.7, P = 0.02; x, y, z, -2, -62, 32, respectively; 967 voxel extent). These data are consistent with lesion studies of impaired awareness, and suggest that the medial prefrontal and posterior cingulate cortex are part of a neural system subserving self-reflective thought.
THE VALIDITY and FAIRNESS OF EMPLOYMENT and EDUCATIONAL TESTS FOR HISPANIC AMERICANS: A REVIEW and ANALYSIS

This study examined the questions of whether employment and educational tests demonstrate either differential validity or test unfairness to Hispanic Americans relative to the majority group. Relevant data from 19 published and unpublished studies formed the basis of the review and analysis. Results for employment tests, based on a very large amount of data, indicated that differential validity occurs no more frequently than would be expected on the basis of chance plus the operation of various statistical artifacts. The frequencies of slope and intercept differences between Hispanic and majority regressions were also within the chance range. A similar pattern of results obtained for the more limited amount of data available on educational tests. Taken together, the results provide strong evidence that tests are neither differentially valid for, nor unfair to, Hispanics. These findings are consistent with the results of previous studies of test validity and fairness for blacks.
Culture and Politics in the Study of Europe's Schengen Borders

Cultures of Border Control: Schengen and the Evolution of European Frontiers. By Ruben Zaiotti. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2011. 263 pp., $30.00 paperback (ISBN-13: 978-0-226-97787-4). For many years, I worked in a British university in an academic unit with a planned and distinct interdisciplinary environment, with scholars who, while subject specialists, sought to test the limits of their disciplines, to design curricula and research that approached the European Union in novel ways. This Institute of European Studies was in the main staffed by scholars of politics, international relations, international political economy, law, and anthropology. I was in fact the sole anthropologist, and I was both impressed and heartened by the many ways in which my colleagues used the ideas, theories, methodologies, and literatures of diverse scholarly approaches to ask and answer questions that could not be satisfactorily crafted through the use of one subject's toolkit. In our collective view, the European Union (EU) and its predecessor intergovernmental and supranational manifestations were so dynamic, so novel, and so much a product of the contemporary that they constituted a political-economic-social-cultural system without precedent and blueprint. As the eminent French political anthropologist Marc Abeles has labeled it, the EU is an unidentified political object, and as such, it tests the limits of the possible in terms of new political and economic forms. We mixed bag of social scientists, whether consciously or unconsciously, sought the tools to identify as much as we might of that object, and to understand the myriad ways it seemed to transform itself from year to year. Ruben …
A synthesis-for-transparency approach for hierarchical and system-on-a-chip test

Test data propagation through modules and test vector translation are two major challenges encountered in hierarchical testing. We propose a new synthesis-for-test approach in which multiplexers are embedded in the behavioral models of the various modules constituting a hierarchical system. This approach can also be applied to system-on-a-chip designs in which synthesizable models are available for the embedded cores. The embedded multiplexers provide complete single-cycle transparency, thereby offering a straightforward yet effective solution to the problems of test data propagation and test vector translation. In order to determine module I/O bitwidths for single-cycle transparency, a global analysis is carried out using a graph-theoretic framework and an optimization method based on integer linear programming. Case studies using high-level synthesis benchmarks and an industrial-strength benchmark show that synthesis for transparency introduces very little area and performance overhead.
No end in sight

Vision includes the frontier of perception, and involves cortical interpretation; thus requiring an “eye” and the neurological machinery for processing. But photoreception is a far different matter and is much more common. There are many creatures that have extraocular photoreception, even beyond the parietal eye, discussed in the BJO March 2005 essay. Most plants have photosynthesis and, in some sense, photoreception. But, there is more to it than that. Living creatures are divided into three great domains, bacteria, Archaea (including the extremophiles), and eucarya or eucaryotes. The bacteria and Archaea are both prokaryotes, meaning they lack a nucleus. The eucaryotes include all single celled nucleated organisms, such as the protists, and all metazoa, or multicellular organisms. All three domains contain creatures that use photoreceptive compounds that include vitamin A aldehyde, or retinal. The opsins, however, are different. Bacteria and Archaea have opsins that resemble those in eucaryotes, but are not identical. All metazoan opsins, however, are very similar suggesting that these proteins must be very old. The sun represents the ultimate source for most, …
Rotational Dynamics of Strongly Adsorbed Solute at the Water Surface

The orientational dynamics of nitrobenzene adsorbed at the water liquid/vapor interface as a model for the orientational dynamics of surface-active solute are studied using classical molecular dynamics computer simulations. By varying the charge distribution of the solute and by comparing the results with those in bulk water, we are able to determine the effects of dielectric and mechanical frictions on reorientation dynamics and to correlate the orientational dynamics with the specific hydration of the solute. As in our previous model studies, we find that the equilibrium orientational relaxation is much slower in the bulk than at the interface. Variations of the solute charge distributions show that, as the solute becomes more polar, the surface rotation slows and approaches the bulk behavior. The reorientation dynamics are quite anisotropic, with out-of-plane rotation faster than in-plane rotation. This anisotropy disappears when the solute-water electrostatic interactions are turned off.
Chronic Cardiovascular Disease Mortality in Mountaintop Mining Areas of Central Appalachian States.

Purpose: To determine if chronic cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality rates are higher among residents of mountaintop mining (MTM) areas compared to mining and nonmining areas, and to examine the association between greater levels of MTM surface mining and CVD mortality. Methods: Age-adjusted chronic CVD mortality rates from 1999 to 2006 for counties in 4 Appalachian states where MTM occurs (N = 404) were linked with county coal mining data. Three groups of counties were compared: MTM, coal mining but not MTM, and nonmining. Covariates included smoking rate, rural-urban status, percent male population, primary care physician supply, obesity rate, diabetes rate, poverty rate, race/ethnicity rates, high school and college education rates, and Appalachian county. Linear regression analyses examined the association of mortality rates with mining in MTM areas and non-MTM areas and the association of mortality with quantity of surface coal mined in MTM areas. Findings: Prior to covariate adjustment, chronic CVD mortality rates were significantly higher in both mining areas compared to nonmining areas and significantly highest in MTM areas. After adjustment, mortality rates in MTM areas remained significantly higher and increased as a function of greater levels of surface mining. Higher obesity and poverty rates and lower college education rates also significantly predicted CVD mortality overall and in rural counties. Conclusions: MTM activity is significantly associated with elevated chronic CVD mortality rates. Future research is necessary to examine the socioeconomic and environmental impacts of MTM on health to reduce health disparities in rural coal mining areas.
THE PHYLOGEOGRAPHY OF AMAZONIA REVISITED: NEW EVIDENCE FROM RIODINID BUTTERFLIES

A fully resolved cladogram for 19 species in the Charis cleonus group of riodinid butterflies, which have closely parapatric ranges throughout the Amazon basin, is used to derive an area cladogram for the region. This represents the first comprehensive species-level analysis using insects and results in a hypothesis of Am- azonian area relationships that is the most detailed to date. The Charis area cladogram is interpreted as supporting an historical vicariant split between the Guianas and the remainder of the Amazon and then between the upper and lower Amazon. The latter two clades can be further divided into the six most widely recognized areas of endemism and even smaller endemic centers within these, some of which, especially along the Madeira and lower Amazon Rivers, have never been previously hypothesized for butterflies. The overall pattern of historical inter- relationships indicated is Guiana 1 ((Rondonia1 (Para ´1 Belem))1 (Imeri 1 (Napo 1 Inambari))). The area relationships for riodinid butterflies show substantial congruence with those presented from the literature for amphibians, reptiles, birds, primates, rodents, and marsupials, suggesting a common vicariant history for these organisms. A summary area cladogram generated by combining area cladograms for all the aforementioned groups of organisms indicated the pattern of historical interrelationships to be (Guiana 1 (Rondonia1 (Para ´1 Belem))) 1 (Imeri 1 (Napo 1 Inambari)). Charis cleonus group species distributions are noticeably larger around the upland periphery of Amazonia and smaller in the central and lower regions. A significant positive correlation between the proportion of range area above 100 m and total range size for each species is used to suggest that past sea-level rises may explain smaller range sizes in low-lying regions and that riverine barriers have been important in shaping the current distribution of C. cleonus group species.
Tropic croton interference in cotton

Abstract Studies were conducted to determine the effect of interference between tropic croton (Croton glandulosus) and cotton (Gossypium hirsutum) on plant growth and productivity. Tropic croton height was not affected by weed density, but cotton height decreased with increased weed density 10 wk after planting. Tropic croton biomass per plant was not affected by weed density, but total weed biomass per meter of crop row increased with weed density. Cotton lint yield decreased linearly 2 kg ha−1 with each gram increase in weed dry biomass per meter of row. Percent yield loss–density relationship was described by the rectangular hyperbola model. Estimated coefficients A (maximum yield loss) and I (yield loss per unit density as density approaches zero) were 129.6 ± 42.2 and 35.6 ± 8.0%, respectively, when asymptotic iterations were based on least sums of squares. When A was constrained to 100% yield loss, I was 42.5 ± 5.1%. Results indicated that tropic croton was less competitive with cotton than many wee...