cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
1996 peritoneal dialysis--core indicators report.

Abstract The 1996 Peritoneal Dialysis-Core Indicators Study (PD-CIS) retrospectively reviews a random sample of peritoneal dialysis patients from the United States End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) program. Peritoneal dialysis (PD) patients are more likely to have a primary diagnosis of glomerulonephritis, less likely to be of African-American heritage, and are younger than hemodialysis patients. One third of PD patients now perform some form of automated peritoneal dialysis (APD) rather than continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD). The dialysis prescriptions currently employed do not appear to be based on kinetic principles, and the intensity of dialysis achieved is below the proposed minimal guidelines for 30% of patients. In 1996, the mean dialysis index or wKt/Vurea for CAPD patients was 2.0 +/- 0.5 and was not significantly altered from the 1995 value of 2.1. Eighty-four percent of CAPD patients perform four or fewer exchanges daily, and only 27% of patients have prescriptions using infusion volumes greater than 2 L. Although hematocrits have improved since 1995, 30% of PD patients have a hematocrit below 30%. The mean serum albumin for PD patients is 3.5 g/dL, and 25% of patients have a 6-month average serum albumin value below 3.2 g/dL. In general, the indices monitored as predictive of health and well-being of PD patients afford significant opportunity for improvement. (Am J Kidney Dis 1998 Jul;32(1):E3)
Academic Planning--Back to the Basics.

Education has generally existed in a relatively stable environment. However, because of recent demographic and technological changes, high levels of uncertainty have been created which have led to a decrease in productivity. To combat the dysfunctional consequences of change, many institutions of higher learning have adopted myopic and piecemeal decision-making processes. This article explores some of the basic questions that need to be answered if systematic planning is to result.
Improving Predictions Using Linear Combination Of Multiple Extreme Learning Machines

This work presents several effective approaches for linear combination of multiple artificial neural networks based on the extreme learning machine (ELM) algorithm. Given a learning task, a large set of neural networks are firstly trained by ELM. Then, these trained machines are efficiently ranked and the useless models are effectively discarded in order to provide an ensemble system with better generalization performance. The ensemble system is constructed using an automatic and fast forward model selection by minimizing the leave-one-out error, without user intervention. Experiments on an artificial regression dataset and three real-world engineering problems are discussed. According to the obtained results, the weighted linear combination of ELMs improves predictions by exploiting model diversity in the ensemble system with fast learning speed. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5755/j01.itc.42.1.1667
Molecular Imaging of Thrombus: Technology in Evolution

For some time, scientists with expertise in medical imaging, cell biology, and chemical engineering have teamed together with the goal of producing targeted contrast agents for molecular imaging in cardiovascular disease. The goal of these efforts is to bring about techniques for noninvasively detecting and quantifying specific molecular processes that play a role in the pathophysiology of cardiovascular disease. Although there has been a tendency in the scientific literature to focus on how molecular imaging has been achieved, it is equally important to review why. Article see p 3117 In the clinical setting, molecular imaging is likely to enhance and expand the diagnostic capabilities of current imaging applications. Nowhere has this been more successful than in cancer imaging, where targeted contrast agents can detect otherwise nonapparent primary or metastatic disease or be used to select appropriate therapies based on tumor or tumor microvascular phenotype.1 There are several areas of focus where molecular imaging could play an important role for early diagnosis and to guide patient management in cardiovascular disease. Imaging the cellular or molecular profile in atherosclerotic disease could yield important information on susceptibility for acute atherothrombotic complications.2 In the future, it could also potentially be used to determine appropriateness for emerging therapies such as new drugs that interrupt the inflammatory response, which will likely be expensive and have adverse effects. Recent myocardial ischemia can be detected by molecular imaging of either a reduction in myocyte fatty acid utilization or postischemic inflammatory activation of the microvascular endothelium.3,4 This approach could be used for rapid diagnosis in patients with chest pain of unclear origin and allow spatial assessment of the postischemic region even hours after resolution. Large-scale clinical trials with imaging of labeled branched-chain fatty acids have already been completed showing that the technique can accelerate …
Teaching Neuroimages: Fungus in the brain Coccidioidomycosis meningoencephalitis

Coccidioidal meningoencephalitis often carries a poor prognosis.1 Brain imaging can reveal focal enhancement at the basal cisterns, infarction, and communicating hydrocephalus.2 A 38-year-old HIV-negative Korean man with a history of CSF- and serum-confirmed coccidioidal meningitis, receiving chronic antifungal therapy, presented with a first generalized tonic-clonic seizure. CSF demonstrated pleomorphic leukocytosis, normal protein and glucose, negative acid-fast bacillus and fungal cultures, negative Mycobacterium tuberculosis PCR, and negative Coccidioides antibodies. The diagnosis is presumed coccidioidomycosis based on imaging (figure) and clinical history. This case is an uncommon presentation with an enhancing lesion in the sylvian fissure, progressing to parenchymal invasion and extensive edema.
On cylindrically converging shock waves shaped by obstacles

Abstract Motivated by recent experiments, numerical simulations of cylindrically converging shock waves were performed. The converging shocks impinged upon a set of 0–16 regularly space obstacles. For more than two obstacles the resulting diffracted shock fronts formed polygonal shaped patterns near the point of focus. The maximum pressure and temperature as a function of the number of obstacles were studied. The self-similar behavior of cylindrical, triangular and square-shaped shocks was also investigated.
A GENERIC PIPELINED TASK SCHEDULING ALGORITHM FOR FAULT-TOLERANT DECENTRALIZED CONTROL OF A SEGMENTED TELESCOPE TESTBED

Control of complex structures requires high computational power to achieve real-time performance. Through decentralized techniques, a complex structure can be controlled by multiple lower-order local controllers, leading to reduced computational complexities. Furthermore, a decentralized approach can both simplify the development of parallel controllers and facilitate fault-tolerant designs. In our research, multiple digital signal processors are employed in a NASA-sponsored segmented telescope testbed to increase the throughput of control tasks. Although increased performance is realized when subsystems are statically mapped to specific processors for control, inefficiency arises if the number of subsystems M is not an integer multiple of the number of processors P (M > P) because (M mod P) processors are necessarily controlling more subsystems than others. Optimality is sacrificed because processors with lighter loads wait for processors with heavier loads. Furthermore this mechanism does not lend itself favorably towards fault tolerance because the failure of a single processor will result in the failure of its subsystem. This paper describes the design and implementation of a pipelined task mapping approach for the decentralized control of a segmented reflector telescope testbed. In our pipelined processing implementation only four of the six subsystems are processed in any given control cycle; the two unprocessed subsystems in each cycle propagate about the system in a round-robin fashion, so processors are never idle. Fault tolerance is facilitated because processors are no longer tied to specific subsystems. Instead, control computations are distributed dynamically such that the pipeline flow structure is maintained. The implementation of a watchdog technology is presented for detecting the possible processor failures. Experimental results are shown comparing the performance of the pipelined and straightforward approaches. The throughput of the system has also been estimated on a system with a larger number of processors. Such estimation shows the linearity of speedup achieved by using the pipelined approach.Copyright © 2004 by ASME
Antibodies against the chemically synthesized genome-linked protein of poliovirus react with native virus-specific proteins.

Abstract The genome-linked protein (VPg) of poliovirus has been chemically synthesized, coupled to bovine serum albumin carrier and injected into rabbits. An antibody response was elicited not only by the full-length synthetic VPg peptide, but also by a synthetic 14-amino-acid carboxy-terminal peptide. All antisera reacted with virus-specific proteins from HeLa cells infected with poliovirus. Three of these proteins have previously been implicated by others as precursors of VPg. No free cytoplasmic VPg could be detected, and the antibodies did not react with radiolabeled proteins from uninfected cells.
Nutrition, including diet restriction, in mammals

Although diet influences basic aging processes as well as age-associated disease processes, diet is either not mentioned or inadequately described in reports of gerontologic studies using animal models. Studies carried out in our laboratory with male F344 rats are a good example of the importance of diet in the use of an animal model for aging research. Nephropathy, resulting in kidney failure, is often an overwhelming disease problem in life span studies using ad libitum fed male F344 rats. However, by appropriate choice of dietary components, nephropathy can be reduced to only one of several disease processes contributing to the death of these ad libitum fed rats. Such diets greatly increase the value of the male F344 rat as a model for aging research. Because almost all rodent species and strains suffer from one or more major age-associated diseases, nutritional conditions should be sought in the case of each to minimize the occurrence of such diseases during an aging study. Restriction of energy intake (often called food restriction or dietary restriction) delays or prevents most age-associated disease processes in a spectrum of rat and mouse strains. It is, therefore, suggested that the dietary restricted rodent be used as the standard or base model for aging research. Moreover, dietary restriction is proving to be a powerful tool for the study of aging processes. (Aging Clin. Exp. Res. 5: 269–275, 1993)
Looking Beyond Domestic Violence: Policing Coercive Control

The current policy, legal, and criminal justice response to partner abuse is based on a “violent incident model” that equates abuse with discrete assaults and gauges severity by the degree of injury inflicted or threatened. Although application of this model by police has reduced serious and fatal partner violence, it has not significantly improved the long-term prospects of battered women. This article argues that the limited effectiveness of the criminal justice response stems less from failures in policing than from a large gap that separates the violent incident model guiding the current response from the pattern of coercive control that drives most victims to seek police or other outside assistance. This article identifies the flawed assumptions that underlie the violent incident model, shows why application of this model by law enforcement has failed abused women, describes the pattern of coercive control research shows to be typical of abusive relationships, and outlines how adapting the coercive c...
Crossover Roundabouts: An Alternative Interchange Design

The double crossover diamond (DCD) (also known as the diverging diamond interchange) was first introduced conceptually to engineers and planners in the United States less than a decade ago. The concept has been spreading rapidly since that time; as of July 2013, DCDs had been constructed in 19 locations in eight states and had been studied in countless other projects nationwide. Nearby frontage roads pose operational challenges for all interchanges, and DCD geometry intensifies this problem. Reverse curvature for crossover points reduces the storage length between ramps and nearby frontage roads in DCDs. The crossover roundabout concept was conceived as a potential solution to this challenge. Instead of a signalized crossover point (as in a DCD), a five-legged roundabout was proposed for the intersecting arterial, frontage road, and ramps. A crossover roundabout would function essentially like any other roundabout except that it would adjoin an arterial roadway with travel directions flipped on one side. The operational and safety benefits of typical roundabouts are expected to apply to crossover roundabouts; no new driver behaviors must be learned. Variations of crossover roundabout interchanges are possible: one crossover roundabout could adjoin half of a DCD, or two crossover roundabouts could form a complete interchange. Interchanges with two crossover roundabouts would look like typical double-roundabout diamond interchanges with the arterial road directions flipped between the roundabouts. Crossover roundabouts are not required to contain frontage roads to function. Microsimulation and cost estimations have shown the concept to have merit; crossover roundabouts can combine the best attributes of DCDs and roundabouts.
Optimum population, overlapping generations and social security in a model maximizingu (c 1 ,c 2 ,X)

The author expands on a previous publication in which she "considered the social welfare function u(c L) which incorporates the size of population as an argument in addition to per capita consumption and investigated its implications for optimal population policy within a conventional growth setting....In overlapping generations models as in dynamic growth models lifetime utility has been maximized using the per capita approach...and more recently using the total utility approach....Our model incorporating population externalities represents an intermediate approach both in the way it is formulated and in its results. It should be noted that our utility function contains as special cases the model with summing over individual utilities or various models with weighted summation and models with X absent from the utility function." (EXCERPT)
Differential NK Cell and Macrophage Killing of Hamster Cells Infected with Nononcogenic or Oncogenic Adenovirus

Hamster cells infected with highly oncogenic human adenovirus type 12 (Ad12) were resistant to lysis by natural killer cells and macrophages, compared to cells infected with nononcogenic adenovirus type 2 (Ad2). The data suggest that early adenovirus gene expression in hamster cells results in preferential survival of Ad12, compared to Ad2, infected cells in vivo, thus providing an explanation for the differences in the oncogenicities of these two transforming viruses.
sex and sin, witchcraft and the devil in late-colonial Mexico

Analysis of Mexican Inquisition cases can shed light on various aspects of religion and belief that have gone largely unexplored in the ethnohistory of Mexico: the course that Christianization took during the 18th century, the role that women played in it, and how it affected the racially mixed areas that were growing in importance as the colonial era drew to a close. Men and women in these areas were intensely involved with beliefs linking witchcraft, sex, sin, and the devil, and constantly juggled these beliefs with contradictory beliefs fostered by the Catholic Church. The Inquisition, which played such a large role in creating these crises of conscience, paradoxically came to abandon its pursuit of “superstition” by the late 18th century, as inquisitors came to see these men and women as members of a lower class, not worthy of being held to account.
The Impact of School-Based Mentoring on Adolescents’ Social–Emotional Health

In order to support at-risk adolescents in their transition to high school, a school-based mentoring program was implemented for a group of 9th and 10th grade students. Due to the need for greater clarity regarding the impact of school-based mentoring on youth outcomes, a quasi-experimental study was conducted to examine the impact of one-to-one mentoring on students’ social–emotional health. Strengths-based survey data were collected from participants at pre-intervention and post-intervention. Findings suggested that school-based mentoring is a promising practice for improving the social–emotional strengths of adolescents and/or protecting them from the risks associated with adolescence.
Multidecadal Evidence of Recovery of Nearshore Red Drum Stocks off West-Central Florida and Connectivity with Inshore Nurseries

AbstractThe importance of defining and quantifying ontogenetic movements and connectivity between juvenile and adult fish populations, especially for exploited species, has been well documented. Furthermore, the persistence of strong year-classes can be used to track the success of regulations that contribute to the increased survival and escapement of fish into the adult population. Size and age structures of Red Drum Sciaenops ocellatus were documented within the Tampa Bay estuary, in southwest Florida, using haul seines and trammel nets (1989–2008), and in nearshore Gulf of Mexico waters using a commercial purse seine (2005–2008). In the estuary, juvenile Red Drum ( 800-mm TL) were rare. Red Drum from nearshore gulf waters ranged from 2 to 35 years of age (674–1,074-mm TL), but most were greater than age 4. After back-calculating ages from Re...
Plasma free polyunsaturated fatty acid levels are associated with symptom severity in acute mania

Nutritionally essential polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) are increasingly understood to play dynamic roles in the brain, performing direct actions as second messengers (1), modifying receptor expression and binding affinities (2), altering membrane fluidity (3), enhancing neurite outgrowth (4), inhibiting apoptosis in neurons (5), regulating gene expression (6), and producing active metabolites like prostaglandins and leukotrienes (1). Despite their critical functions in the brain, these PUFAs cannot be synthesized de novo by mammals, but must be ingested through diet. Deficiency states with regard to essential PUFAs are thus potential etiologic factors in neuro- or psychopathology. Brain PUFAs fall within two major structural isomer categories, the n-6 and n-3 families (also called ‘omega-6’ and ‘omega-3’), conveying the acyl chain position of the fatty acid's last double bond. Differential levels of n-3 versus n-6 appear to be important in mood disorders. Studies in non-anesthetized rats found that chronic treatment with the mood stabilizers lithium, valproate and carbamazepine decreased arachidonic acid (AA,20:4n6) turnover in phospholipids and metabolism to prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) in the brain (7–10). In humans, subjects with unipolar depression (11–15) and subjects with bipolar depression (BPD) (16) exhibit lower circulating levels of n-3 PUFAs compared with controls, and some studies in depression note higher AA:eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA, 20:5n3) ratios (11, 14, 17). Increased total n-6 fatty acids are seen in phospholipids of healthy first-degree relatives of patients with bipolar disorders (18). Epidemiologically, high consumption of seafood (a measure of n-3 fatty acid intake) has been associated with lower prevalence rates of BPD (19). Open-label studies of add-on treatment with n-3 PUFAs in BPD have reported reductions in depression (20) and irritability (21). More rigorous, double-blinded, placebo-controlled studies have also found that adjunctive administration of n-3 PUFAs improves outcomes in BPD (22, 23) and in unipolar depression (24–26). Moreover, changes in PUFA intake cause measurable alterations in brain functioning in BPD: on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), whole brain T(2)-relaxation times were decreased in a dose-dependent fashion in subjects after treatment with n-3 PUFAs, compared with untreated subjects (27). Previous investigation of PUFA levels in acute mania consists of one report (28) of lower AA and docosahexaneoic acid (DHA, 22:6n3) in erythrocyte membranes of subjects compared with healthy volunteers. We sought to investigate group differences in plasma fatty acids and to explore associations between acute manic symptoms with plasma fatty acid and PGE2 levels.
Expanding metabolic engineering algorithms using feasible space and shadow price constraint modules

While numerous computational methods have been developed that use genome-scale models to propose mutants for the purpose of metabolic engineering, they generally compare mutants based on a single criteria (e.g., production rate at a mutant׳s maximum growth rate). As such, these approaches remain limited in their ability to include multiple complex engineering constraints. To address this shortcoming, we have developed feasible space and shadow price constraint (FaceCon and ShadowCon) modules that can be added to existing mixed integer linear adaptive evolution metabolic engineering algorithms, such as OptKnock and OptORF. These modules allow strain designs to be identified amongst a set of multiple metabolic engineering algorithm solutions that are capable of high chemical production while also satisfying additional design criteria. We describe the various module implementations and their potential applications to the field of metabolic engineering. We then incorporated these modules into the OptORF metabolic engineering algorithm. Using an Escherichia coli genome-scale model (iJO1366), we generated different strain designs for the anaerobic production of ethanol from glucose, thus demonstrating the tractability and potential utility of these modules in metabolic engineering algorithms.
Synthesis of N-Methyl-N-{(1S)-1-[(3R)-pyrrolidin-3-yl]ethyl}amine†

N-Methyl-N-{(1S)-1-[(3R)-pyrrolidin-3-yl]ethyl}amine (1)1 is a key intermediate in the preparation of premafloxacin (2), which was under development as an antibiotic for use against pathogens of veterinary importance. This paper describes the development of a practical, efficient, and stereoselective process for the preparation of 1 from isobutyl (3S)-3-{methyl[(1S)-1-phenylethyl]amino}butanoate (5c). The key steps in the synthetic sequence are an asymmetric Michael addition, which yields 5c, and a stereoselective alkylation, which yields (3S,4S)-3-allyl-1,4-dimethylazetidin-2-one (17).
Spatial properties of an EEG event in the olfactory bulb and cortex

Abstract Simultaneous records of the EEG were made from rectangular arrays of 60–64 electrodes successfully implanted over the surfaces of the olfactory bulb and cortex of 9 cats and 34 rabbits. Analysis was focused on bursts of sinusoidal activity at frequencies of 38–80 Hz that accompanied respiration in waking motivated animals and resemble the induced wave of Adrian. The bursts occured in focal areas of the bulb and cortex at peak rms amplitudes averaging about 80 μV and rising by a factor of about 3 times above the relatively inactive areas. The foci sometimes appeared as randomly scattered small active zones but often were confluent into irregular shapes or occasionally a smoothly elliptical shape. From 20–40% of the bulbar surface is enclosed within the half-(peak)amplitude contours of bulbar foci. The foci differed greatly in size, shape, location and amplitude between animals, but for each animal the shape was relatively constant over days and weeks. Maximum variation occured at scattered sites on the slopes of foci and there was also low rms amplitude, low (spatial) frequency variation from burst to burst and from day to day. The phase differences between sites within bursts were a small fraction of a cycle (5–8%). The foci were not significantly altered in shape or location by presenting odors to the animals but were abolished or changed under barbiturate anesthesia. Preliminary results from bulbar evoked potentials suggest that foci may result from specialized conditions created by centrifugal input or from interactions between the bulb and more central structures. The results fail to support the hypothesis that different odors are represented by activity in grossly different parts of the bulb. If the spatial distributions of the bursts reflect specific information, that information cannot depend on the odor being received but may depend on internal states including motivation and perhaps expectancy. The EEG amplitude patterns are more likely to contain this information than the frequency or phase distributions of bursts, for which the ranges of variation appear too small. The main problem for analysis is the reduction of the vast amount of data from multichannel recording. Some solutions used here include calculation of rms amplitudes and normalization of amplitude patterns for single bursts.
Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids and Infant Nutrition

Infants consume n−6 and n−3 fatty acids both as linoleic (18:2n−6) and linolenic (18:3n−3) acids and as their 20 and 22 carbon products of elongation and desaturation. Abnormal elevation of eicosatrienoic acid (20:3n−9) occurs with diets deficient in n−6 and n−3 fatty acids since of these families only the n−9 family can be synthesized de novo by mammals. Human symptoms of deficiency include scaly dermatitis, hair loss, and impaired wound healing. If deficiency occurs during development, growth is limited. When n−3 but not n−6 fatty acids are deficient, animals grow normally but demonstrate subtle differences in retinal physiology, visual acuity, and learning.1–6 Such an n−3 deficiency can be produced by feeding diets with very high ratios of n−6 to n−3 fatty acids to developing animals as shown by Galli and coworkers.7 Normally, docosahexaenoic acid (22:6n−3) is a major component of central nervous system synaptosomes and photoreceptor disk membranes. 8–10 In n−3 deficiency, docosahexaenoic acid (22:6n−3) is partially replaced by the equivalent elongation-desaturation product of linoleic acid, docosapentaenoic acid (22:5n−6).
Combined internal medicine/psychiatry and family practice/psychiatry training programs 1999-2000: residents' perspectives.

Residents enrolled in internal medicine/psychiatry (IM/PSY) and family practice/psychiatry (FP/PSY) programs were surveyed to assess their views concerning training experiences and future plans. The FREIDA online directory was used to supplement missing information. Responses were received from 60% of residents (N=111), representing all active IM/PSY (n = 20) and FP/PSY (n = 9) programs. Variability existed in call, clinical, and didactic experiences. Residents generally were very pleased with training. Following graduation, most plan to practice a combination of skills, primarily in community or academic settings. Levels of recruitment were felt to be equal to or higher than those for colleagues in individual training specialties. Training in IM/PSY and FP/PSY programs is variable. Residents report high levels of satisfaction and plan to practice both specialties.
A critical review of the IELTS writing test

Administered at local centres in 120 countries throughout the world, IELTS (International English Language Testing System) is one of the most widely used large-scale ESL tests that also offers a direct writing test component. Because of its popularity and its use for making critical decisions about test takers, it is crucial to draw attention to some issues regarding the assessment procedures of IELTS. Therefore, the present paper aims to provide a descriptive and critical review of the IELTS writing test by focusing particularly on various reliability issues such as single marking of papers, readability of prompts, comparability of writing topics, and validity issues such as the definition of the ‘international writing construct’, without considering variations among rhetorical conventions and genres around the world. Consequential validity-impact issues will also be discussed and suggestions will be given for the use of IELTS around the world and for future research to improve the test.
Systematics of Some Ultrarelativistic Potential Models

The properties of two massless wave equations relevant to quark bound states are examined. We establish general conditions on the Lorentz-scalar and Lorentz-vector potentials which yield arbitrary leading Regge trajectories for the case of circular classical motion. A semiclassical approximation which includes radial motion reproduces remarkably well the exact solutions. The conditions for a mesonic tower structure are discussed.
Posaconazole for the management of mucosal candidiasis.

Mucocutaneous candidiasis (MC) is one of the first signs of HIV infection. In the pre-highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) era, more than 90% of patients with HIV infection eventually developed some form of oral candidiasis during their illness, and an additional 10% developed esophageal candidiasis (EC). Although several antifungal agents are available, systemic azoles (e.g., fluconazole and itraconazole) have replaced older topical antifungals (e.g., gentian violet and nystatin) in the management of MC in these patients. Overall, the azoles are safe and effective agents in HIV-infected patients with MC. However, clinical relapses are extremely common in HIV patients not on HAART or who are noncompliant. The relapses are dependent on the degree of immunosuppression and are more common following treatment with clotrimazole or ketoconazole than with fluconazole or itraconazole. Posaconazole is a new extended-spectrum triazole recently approved for the management of oropharyngeal candidiasis (OPC). ...
Self-organization of harmonic pulses in a passively modelocked stretched pulse erbium fiber ring laser

In summary, we have reported self-stabilization in a harmonic passively modelocked stretched pulse fiber laser. With no active modulation or optical feedback, a highly stable and periodic train of 125 fs pulses with a maximum repetition rate of 220 MHz and average output power of /spl sim/80mW was obtained from the laser. Supermode noise could be suppressed by more than /spl sim/75 dB, with pulse to pulse timing jitter of 1 ps.
Magnitude-preserving ranking algorithms

This paper studies the learning problem of ranking when one wishes not just to accurately predict pairwise ordering but also preserve the magnitude of the preferences or the difference between ratings, a problem motivated by its key importance in the design of search engines, movie recommendation, and other similar ranking systems. We describe and analyze several algorithms for this problem and give stability bounds for their generalization error, extending previously known stability results to non-bipartite ranking and magnitude of preference-preserving algorithms. We also report the results of experiments comparing these algorithms on several datasets and compare these results with those obtained using an algorithm minimizing the pairwise misranking error and standard regression.
Probing the Randomness of Proteins by Their Subsequence Composition

The quantitative underpinning of the information contents of biosequences represents an elusive goal and yet also an obvious prerequisite to the quantitative modeling and study of biological function and evolution. Previous studies have consistently exposed a tenacious lack of compressibility on behalf of biosequences. This leaves the question open as to what distinguishes them from random strings, the latter being clearly unpalatable to the living cell. This paper assesses the randomness of biosequences in terms on newly introduced parameters that relate to the vocabulary of their (suitably constrained) subsequences rather than their substrings. Results from experiments show the potential of the method in distinguishing a protein sequence from its random reshuffling, as well as in tasks of classification and clustering.
Two-Screw, Arthroscopic Fixation of Os Acromiale Compared to a Similar, Open Procedure Incorporating a Tension Band: A Laboratory Study

BackgroundA common treatment for symptomatic os acromiale is open fixation using two lag screws with a tension band. In several patients, we have used two screws alone inserted arthroscopically and...
Cardiac myosin binding protein-C restricts intrafilament torsional dynamics of actin in a phosphorylation-dependent manner.

We have determined the effects of myosin binding protein-C (MyBP-C) and its domains on the microsecond rotational dynamics of actin, detected by time-resolved phosphorescence anisotropy (TPA). MyBP-C is a multidomain modulator of striated muscle contraction, interacting with myosin, titin, and possibly actin. Cardiac and slow skeletal MyBP-C are known substrates for protein kinase-A (PKA), and phosphorylation of the cardiac isoform alters contractile properties and myofilament structure. To determine the effects of MyBP-C on actin structural dynamics, we labeled actin at C374 with a phosphorescent dye and performed TPA experiments. The interaction of all three MyBP-C isoforms with actin increased the final anisotropy of the TPA decay, indicating restriction of the amplitude of actin torsional flexibility by 15–20° at saturation of the TPA effect. PKA phosphorylation of slow skeletal and cardiac MyBP-C relieved the restriction of torsional amplitude but also decreased the rate of torsional motion. In the case of fast skeletal MyBP-C, its effect on actin dynamics was unchanged by phosphorylation. The isolated C-terminal half of cardiac MyBP-C (C5–C10) had effects similar to those of the full-length protein, and it bound actin more tightly than the N-terminal half (C0–C4), which had smaller effects on actin dynamics that were independent of PKA phosphorylation. We propose that these MyBP-C-induced changes in actin dynamics play a role in the functional effects of MyBP-C on the actin–myosin interaction.
Normotensive Salt Sensitivity: Effects of Race and Dietary Potassium

Abstract—Normotensive salt sensitivity, a putative precursor of hypertension, might be quite frequent in African Americans (blacks) and less frequent in Caucasian Americans (whites), but only when ...
A general approach to the basiliolide/transtaganolide natural products: total syntheses of basiliolide B, epi-8-basiliolide B, transtaganolide C, and transtaganolide D.

In a flash: The total synthesis of transtaganolide and basiliolide natural products is achieved in three steps from achiral, monocyclic esters (see scheme). Featured in the syntheses are an Ireland-Claisen/Diels–Alder cascade and a novel methoxyacetylide coupling/cyclization sequence.
Masculine Bonds and Modern Mothers: The Rationalization of Gender in the Textile Industry in Puebla, 1940–1952

This article emphasizes the crucial links between gender, working-class formation, and postrevolutionary statebuilding in Mexico. During the 1940s, textile unions in Puebla defined and implemented gendered conceptions of working-class identities and beliefs about men and women's proper roles within the sexual division of labor. Union leaders employed concepts of working-class honor to foster bonds of masculinity that in turn became the foundation for union authority and revolutionary working-class identities. These bonds subsequently underpinned union efforts to establish regional influence amid the union strife and political conflicts that persistently plagued postrevolutionary Puebla. To justify women's exclusion from factory and union life, unions concurrently promoted an ideal of working-class femininity, identified with home-based domesticity and scientific definitions of modern motherhood. This article ultimately suggests the important connections between industrial masculinization, modernization, and statebuilding in twentieth-century Mexico.
Accuracy, precision, and utility of spine and whole‐skeleton mineral measurements by dxa in rats

We evaluated the precision and accuracy of dual-energy x-ray bone densitometry (DXA) in 38 male and female rats aged 1–10 months. The coefficients of variation (CV) estimated from same-day paired measurements of bone mineral content (BMC) were 1.26% at the lumbar spine and 0.69% at the whole skeleton, and the corresponding CV for BMC corrected for projected bone area (i.e., bone mineral density, BMD) were 0.57 and 0.66%. BMC, measured in vivo, correlated closely with the subsequently determined ash weights (spine r2 = 0.94, whole-skeleton r2 = 0.97). The long-term CV for BMC measurements, assessed by measuring a frozen animal daily for 4 weeks, were 1.28% for the spine and 1.03% for the whole skeleton; for BMD the corresponding CV were 0.88 and 1.15%. To examine the utility of serial DXA measurements we followed female rats subjected to ovariectomy (OVX) or sham operation at 10 months of age and male rats given daily subcutaneous injections of hPTH-(1–34) or vehicle starting at 10 months of age every 3 weeks for 15 weeks. In the OVX rats a progressive decrease in spine BMC was observed that was most rapid during the first 6 weeks. By 15 weeks the mean spine BMC decreased by 17% in the OVX rats (p < 0.007 versus sham operation). OVX did not affect the accuracy of DXA measurements as assessed by comparison with the ash weight at the end of the 15 week study. PTH treatment increased spine BMC by a mean of 32% and increased whole-skeleton BMC by a mean of 19% within 15 weeks. The long-term in vivo variation was estimated by fitting a model for BMC and BMD in the vehicle-treated male rats and sham-operated female rats, assuming a linear rate of change over the 15 weeks and a different slope and intercept for each animal; the residual root mean squared error was taken as an estimate of variability. Defined in this manner, the long-term variation for BMC measurements in vivo is 5% for the spine and 3% for the whole skeleton; for BMD the corresponding figures are 3 and 2%. This variability is significantly greater than that attributable to instrumental variation and/or same-day repositioning and must be considered when designing experiments requiring serial measurements.XS
Degradation of sandy arid shrubland environments: observations, process modelling, and management implications

Field remote sensing, and modelling observations from a degraded Mojave Desert shrubland were used to develop a model of the progressive degradation of areas adjacent to sites of direct anthropogenic disturbance. Aeolian removal and transport and dust, sand, and litter are the primary mechanisms of degradation, killing plants by burial and abrasion, interrupting natural processes of nutrient accumulation, and allowing the loss of soil resources by abiotic transport. It is concluded that any arid shrubland with wind-erodible soils is susceptible to degradation, and where possible development of these lands should be avoided.
An intelligent GIS for rangeland impact assessment

A monitoring and forecasting system is needed for bioregional planning, natural resource policy analysis and management strategy testing in California. The advantages of qualitative, rule-based models, and a state-transition paradigm to build ecosystem models are discussed. An intelligent geographic information system to model the effects of fire, grazing, thinning and protection on species composition, canopy coverage and resource values in the woodland is presented. Conceptual issues and possible improvements are discussed. >
Abstract P027: Associations of Renin-Angiotensin-Aldosterone System Genes with Blood Pressure changes and Hypertension Incidence: The GenSalt Study

Objective The renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system (RAAS) plays an important role in blood pressure regulation. The current study used single-marker and gene-based analyses to examine the association between RAAS genes and longitudinal blood pressure (BP) phenotypes in a Han Chinese population. Methods A total of 1,768 participants from the Genetic Epidemiology Network of Salt Sensitivity follow-up study were included in the current study. Twenty-seven BP measurements were taken using random-zero sphygmomanometers at baseline and 2 follow-up visits. Mixed-effect models were used to assess the additive associations of 106 SNPs in 10 RAAS genes with longitudinal BP changes and hypertension incidence. Gene-based analyses were conducted using the truncated product method. Attempts were made to replicate significant findings among 775 Asian participants of the Multi-ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA) using available data from the database of Genotypes and Phenotypes. False discovery rate procedures were used to adjust for multiple testing. Results During an average of 7.2 years of follow-up, average systolic and diastolic BP increased, and 32.1% (512) of participants free from hypertension at baseline developed hypertension. NR3C2 SNPs rs7694064 and rs6856803 were significantly associated with longitudinal changes in systolic BP ( P values of 6.9х10 -5 and 8.2х10 -4 , respectively). Through gene-based analysis, NR3C2 was found to be significantly associated with longitudinal systolic BP change ( P value of 1.00х10 -7 ), even after removal of significant markers rs7694064 and rs6856803 from the analysis. The gene-based association between NR3C2 and longitudinal systolic BP change was successfully replicated in Asian MESA participants ( P value of 1.00х10 -4 ). However, single-marker findings could not be replicated in this relatively small sample. Conclusions These findings indicate that NR3C2 may play an important role in BP progression and development of hypertension.
Auction-Theoretic Approach to Modeling Legal Systems: An Experimental Analysis

In this paper, we report experimental results providing a test of the auction theoretic approach to modeling legal systems (see Baye, Kovenock and de Vries, 2005 and Klemperer, 2003). Consistent with the theory, experimental evidence indicates that systems in which winners pay a low fraction of their legal expenditure at trial such as the British and the Continental systems generate higher average total legal costs for cases already at trial. Giving participants the opportunity to opt out of a costly legal dispute, we observe that the British and Continental systems provide lower incentives to litigate. However, contrary to the model's predictions, they generate higher average total legal costs in this case as well. For example, the British system generates fewer trials than the American system, but results in the highest average total legal costs overall. Other legal systems, such as the Quayle and Continental systems, yield intermediate results.
Grandparents’ Rights: What Every Grandparent Needs to Know

Robin A. Boyle reviews Grandparents' Rights: What Every Grandparent Needs to Know, a book written by Patricia Perkins Slorah. Boyle recommends this book for grandparents who seek legal assistance in securing visitations with their grandchildren. The book is written in layperson's language.
Two new Saturn-spored species of Pichia.

SUMMARY Two new Saturn-spored species of Pichia are described. Pichia mucosa was isolated from Illinois topsoil and P. sargentensis from a small lake in New Hampshire. Both species are homothallic. Pichia mucosa produces a neutral extracellular mannan. Saturn-spored species of the genus Pichia are uncommon. Of the 35 species and two varieties of Pichia recognized by Kreger-van Rij (1970), only two species have Saturn-shaped ascospores: P. saitoi Kodama and P. dispora (Dekker) Kreger-van Rij. The remaining species have either hat-shaped or spherical spores. Two new Saturnspored species of Pichia were isolated and are described here. METHODS Methods for carrying out the fermentation and assimilation tests and procedures for morphological examination of the isolates have been given previously (Wickerham, 1951). Samples containing the yeasts were placed in liquid isolation medium (Wickerham, 1969) and incubated for 5-7 days at 25-28 C. The growth from the isolation medium was streaked on malt extract (ME) agar and single colonies were isolated. Single-spore cultures were obtained by micromanipulation from cultures grown on ME agar for 14 days. Ascospores were freed by digestion of the ascus wall with gut juice from Helix pomatia (Industrie Biologique Frangaise,' 35, Quai Du Moulin de Cage, 92 Gennevilliers,
Continuous Electrical Tuning of the Chemical Composition of TaOx-Based Memristors

TaOx-based memristors have recently demonstrated both subnanosecond resistance switching speeds and very high write/erase switching endurance. Here we show that the physical state variable that enables these properties is the oxygen concentration in a conduction channel, based on the measurement of the thermal coefficient of resistance of different TaOx memristor states and a set of reference Ta–O films of known composition. The continuous electrical tunability of the oxygen concentration in the channel, with a resolution of a few percent, was demonstrated by controlling the write currents with a one transistor-one memristor (1T1M) circuit. This study demonstrates that solid-state chemical kinetics is important for the determination of the electrical characteristics of this relatively new class of device.
Synthesis of Nonspherical Superparamagnetic Particles: In Situ Coprecipitation of Magnetic Nanoparticles in Microgels Prepared by Stop-Flow Lithography

We present the synthesis of nonspherical magnetic microparticles with multiple functionalities, shapes, and chemistries. Particle synthesis was performed in two steps: polymeric microparticles functionalized homogenously with carboxyl groups were generated using stop-flow lithography, and then in situ coprecipitation was used to grow magnetic nanoparticles at these carboxyl sites. With successive growth of magnetic nanoparticles, we obtained polymeric particles with saturation magnetizations of up to 42 emu/g microparticle. The growth in the magnetic nanoparticle mean size and polydispersity was determined from the magnetization curves obtained following each growth cycle; nanoparticle sizes were limited by the physical constraint of the effective mesh within the hosting gel microparticle. Particles with spatially segregated domains of varying magnetic properties (e.g., Janus particles, particles with step changes in magnetite concentration, etc.) can be synthesized readily using this approach.
Protection of cultural property in armed conflict: treaty ratification and implementation*

Having previously worked with both the Australian Red Cross and International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in the field of international humanitarian law, and working now as Director of Intern...
Case Study #1: A Rose for Emily by William Faulkner

In “A Rose for Emily,” Faulkner discusses the relationship of the individual and the community. So assume, for the time being, that you live in a modest town, possibly in Yoknapatawpha County somewhere in rural America. Not only are you a long-time member of the community, but you are also one of the several people who keep the town government operating smoothly. You might be the town’s clerk, its manager, or its mayor. Those townspeople are your friends and your neighbors as well as the public that you serve. The era might be the early 1900s, as it is here in “A Rose for Emily;” in certain respects, however, it could almost be today. Now with that frame of reference in mind, read William Faulkner’s short story.