cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Why does COVID-19 kill more elderly men than women? Is there a role for testosterone?

Background Recent epidemiological data indicate that there may be a gender predisposition to COVID-19, with men predisposed to being most severely affected, and older men accounting for most deaths. Objectives Provide a review of the research literature, propose hypotheses, and therapies based on the potential link between testosterone (T) and COVID-19 induced mortality in elderly men. Materials and methods A search of publications in academic electronic databases, and government and public health organization web sites on T, aging, inflammation, severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) due to coronavirus (CoV) 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection, and COVID-19 disease state and outcomes was performed. Results The link between T, the immune system, and male aging is well-established, as is the progressive decline in T levels with aging. In women, T levels drop before menopause and variably increase with advanced age. Elevated IL-6 is a characteristic biomarker of patients infected with COVID-19 and has been linked to the development of the acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). Thus far, half of the admitted COVID-19 patients developed ARDS, half of these patients died, and elderly male patients have been more likely to develop ARDS and die. Low T is associated with ARDS. These data suggest that low T levels may exacerbate the severity of COVID-19 infection in elderly men. It may also stand to reason that normal T levels may offer some protection against COVID-19. SARS-CoV-2 binds to the angiotensin-converting enzyme 2, present in high levels in the testis. Conclusion At present, it is not known whether low T levels in aging hypogonadal males create a permissive environment for severe responses to COVID-19 infection or if the virus inhibits androgen formation. Given the preponderance of COVID-19 related mortality in elderly males, additional testing for gonadal function and treatment with T may be merited.
Investor Protection, Investment Efficiency and Value: The Case of Cross-Listed Firms

We examine the impact of improved investor protection due to cross-listing on foreign firms’ investment decisions to explore the channels through which cross-listing increases foreign firms’ value. While we find that cross-listing increases firms’ capital expenditures and M&A activities, cross-listed firms also invest more in R&D, make better acquisition decisions, and have higher profitability compared to non-cross-listed firms. Moreover, cross-listing is associated with better cash utilization by foreign firms’ for investments. These improvements in investments and cash utilization are more pronounced for firms cross-listed on U.S. exchanges and for firms from countries with weaker investor protection laws.
Sickness and the Social Brain: Love in the Time of COVID

As a highly social species, inclusion in social networks and the presence of strong social bonds are critical to our health and well-being. Indeed, impaired social functioning is a component of numerous neuropsychiatric disorders including depression, anxiety, and substance use disorder. During the current COVID-19 pandemic, our social networks are at risk of fracture and many are vulnerable to the negative consequences of social isolation. Importantly, infection itself leads to changes in social behavior as a component of "sickness behavior." Furthermore, as in the case of COVID-19, males and females often differ in their immunological response to infection, and, therefore, in their susceptibility to negative outcomes. In this review, we discuss the many ways in which infection changes social behavior-sometimes to the benefit of the host, and in some instances for the sake of the pathogen-in species ranging from eusocial insects to humans. We also explore the neuroimmune mechanisms by which these changes in social behavior occur. Finally, we touch upon the ways in which the social environment (group living, social isolation, etc.) shapes the immune system and its ability to respond to challenge. Throughout we emphasize how males and females differ in their response to immune activation, both behaviorally and physiologically.
Bedtime media use and sleep: evidence for bidirectional effects and associations with attention control in adolescents

Abstract Objective/Design Bedtime media use has been associated with poor sleep and attention difficulties among adolescents, but much of this research has been cross-sectional, limiting current understanding of directionality of effects. This 2-wave prospective study tested bidirectional effects between bedtime media use and sleep measures, including time in bed, sleep onset latency, and daytime sleepiness, and further examined whether bedtime media use and sleep variables were related to attention control difficulties. Setting/Participants Data were collected from 345 middle-schoolers (ages 12-14, 47% female) at baseline (T1) and at 6-month follow-up (T2). Measurements Students self-reported their access to media devices and internet in their bedroom, bedtime media use, sleep, and attention control. Data were analyzed using cross-lagged panel modeling. Results Greater bedtime media use (at T1) was associated with less time in bed and longer sleep onset latency at T2, controlling for T1 levels of these variables. In the case of sleep effects on bedtime media use, greater daytime sleepiness and less time in bed (at T1) were associated with greater bedtime media use at T2, controlling for T1 levels. Further, greater daytime sleepiness (at T2, controlling for T1 levels) was associated with greater attention control difficulties at T2. Conclusions Findings provide evidence for some reciprocal relations between bedtime media use and poor sleep in adolescents. Furthermore, higher daytime sleepiness was linked to greater attention control difficulties.
Integration of tetrapod ichnofaunas and coastal dynamics for paleocommunity reconstruction in the Curtis and Summerville formations (Jurassic), eastern Utah

The transition between the aeolian Moab Member of the Curtis Formation and the marginal marine upper tongue of the Summerville Formation, in the area of Arches National Park, Utah, facilitated the ...
Identity, nationalism, and cultural heritage under siege: five narratives of Pomak heritage – from forced renaming to weddings

This book traces the tragic journey of the Pomak community through the tumultuous assimilation campaigns of Bulgaria's twentieth-century nation-building history. The author's objective is to combin...
Biologic behavior of adenoacanthoma of endometrium.

Abstract Nine hundred and eighty primary cases of endometrial carcinoma including 75 cases of adenoacanthoma are presented and their biologic characteristics and treatment results are discussed. Analysis of the different clinicopathologic features showed no difference in the behavior between adenoacanthoma and adenocarcinoma. The methods of treatment used in both groups were similar. Preoperative radium combined with total hysterectomy was the treatment of choice in operable cases. This resulted in a higher crude 5 year survival in adenoacanthoma, but the corrected survival rates were not different. In advanced stages, the treatment results were equally poor in the two groups. The incidence, sites, and time to recurrence after initial treatment in adenoacanthoma were similar to those in adenocarcinoma. This indicates that endometrial adenoacanthoma responds with the same success to the standard treatment methods used in endometrial adenocarcinoma.
Polynomial-phase signal direction-finding and source-tracking with a single acoustic vector sensor

This paper introduces a new ESPRIT-based algorithm to estimate the direction-of-arrival of an arbitrary degree polynomial-phase signal with a single acoustic vector-sensor. The proposed time-invariant ESPRIT algorithm is based on a matrix-pencil pair derived from the time-delayed data-sets collected by a single acoustic vector-sensor. This approach requires neither a prior knowledge of the polynomial-phase signal's coefficients nor a prior knowledge of the polynomial-phase signal's frequency-spectrum. Furthermore, a preprocessing technique is proposed to incorporate the single-forgetting-factor algorithm and multiple-forgetting-factor adaptive tracking algorithm to track a polynomial-phase signal using one acoustic vector sensor. Simulation results verify the efficacy of the proposed direction finding and source tracking algorithms.
Moving Beyond Causes: Optimality Models and Scientific Explanation

A prominent approach to scientific explanation and modeling claims that for a model to provide an explanation it must accurately represent at least some of the actual causes in the event's causal history. In this paper, I argue that many optimality explanations present a serious challenge to this causal approach. I contend that many optimality models provide highly idealized equilibrium explanations that do not accurately represent the causes of their target system(s). Furthermore, in many contexts, it is in virtue of their independence of causes that optimality models are able to provide a better explanation than competing causal models. Consequently, our account of explanation and modeling must expand beyond the causal approach
Recent particle searches at PEP

The subject of this talk will be the recent searches for new particles that have been conducted at PEP. In such a context, PEP’s unique advantage is a large integrated luminosity that has been accumulated in recent years. While the center of mass energy has remained at 29 GeV, experiments can perform clean, high statistics searches to set improved limits on new particle production.
When the self becomes other: toward an integrative understanding of the processes distinguishing adaptive self-reflection from rumination.

How can people adaptively analyze and “work through” negative feelings without ruminating? This paper will briefly review findings from an integrative program of research, which suggests that a critical factor determining whether people’s attempts to adaptively reason about negative experiences succeed or fail is the type of self-perspective they adopt. That is, whether people analyze their feelings from a self-immersed or self-distanced perspective. The implications of shifting self-perspectives for subjective experience, autonomic nervous system reactivity, and neural activity are discussed.
QU Vul: A New Eclipsing Nova in the Period Gap

We report the preliminary results of a photometric and spectroscopic study of the classical nova, QU Vulpeculae (= Nova Vul 1984 2). QU Vul was discovered by Collins on 23 Dec 1984 and reached a peak of V~5.7. Subsequent work by Gehrz et al., and by Starrfield et al. revealed QU Vul to be member of the ONeMg sub-class of the classical novae. This sub-class shows an overabundance of medium weight nuclei, e.g. 0, Ne, Na, Mg and A1, in their ejecta, which are believed to be produced when a thermonuclear runaway occurs on the surface of a massive, ONeMg white dwarf.
Binding Studies on Resins Imprinted with (S)-naproxen

Resins were prepared in a free-radical polymerization of 4-vinylpyridine and ethylene glycol dimethacrylate in the presence of (S)-(+)-6-methoxy-α-methyl-2-naphtaleneacetic acid ((S)-naproxen). Initially (S)-naproxen, the imprinted molecule template, was assembled with the monomer 4-vinylpyridine by non-covalent interactions. After the polymerization, stepwise removal of the template left binding sites that retain complementary specificity and affinity. Binding parameters including the maximum number of binding sites and dissociation constant were calculated from the amount of template removed using a two-site Scatchard equation. The results are typical of other systems reported in the literature.
Solid-state microstructure of poly(l-lactide) and l-lactide/meso-lactide random copolymers by atomic force microscopy (AFM).

Tapping mode atomic force microscopy was used to investigate the lamellar morphology of poly(l-lactide) and two poly(l-lactide-co-meso-lactide) random copolymers containing 3% and 6% meso-lactide. Samples were isothermally crystallized at selected temperatures, and qualitative and quantitative analyses of lamellar structure were performed using height and phase images. This is the first study of the morphology of polylactide stereocopolymers using a real-space probe, and the important effects of scanning parameters on the acquired images are described. More open spherulites with an abundance of screw dislocations between edge-on lamellar stacks were observed in samples crystallized at higher temperatures. Mean lamellar thicknesses are lower for the random copolymers compared to PLLA, particularly at lower ΔT, in agreement with the results of our previous small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) experiments. Mean lamellar thicknesses derived from the current real-space examination are in good agreement with tho...
Prone insertion of a size 0.5 intubating laryngeal airway overcomes severe upper airway obstruction in an awake neonate with Pierre Robin syndrome

To the Editor, We present a case of a one-day-old 3-kg neonate who was scheduled to undergo a computed tomography (CT) scan to examine a severe upper airway obstruction secondary to Pierre Robin syndrome. The patient had remained in a prone position in the neonatal intensive care unit since birth, as transition to the supine position resulted in severe upper airway obstruction, sternal retractions, and oxygen desaturations despite the use of a nasopharyngeal airway. Commonly described goals to manage the airway in this context include using an oral/nasal airway to alleviate the airway obstruction prior to induction of anesthesia, using a supraglottic airway device, 1 and possibly securing the airway with a tracheal tube using a fibreoptic bronchoscope through a supraglottic device. We have experienced favourable results using the intubating laryngeal airway (ILA TM ) (Cookgas LLC; St Louis, MO, USA) as a conduit for tracheal intubation in neonates and infants with a difficult airway. 2,3 As the patient was unable to tolerate the supine position, airway management was performed in the CT suite with the patient awake in the prone position without administration of anesthetic agents. The anesthetic considerations for this patient included obtaining intravenous access, administration of an antisialagogue and chronotropic agent, and management of the airway with the patient in the awake state. Our primary plan was to place the ILA to manage the airway with the patient in the awake state, and our back-up plan was to intubate the trachea through the ILA using a fibreoptic bronchoscope. We applied standard American Society of Anesthesiologists’ monitors, and the anesthesia machine was then checked. Next, intravenous access was established in the patient’s left foot with the child awake prior to any airway intervention. Atropine 0.1 mg was subsequently administered as an antisialagogue. An assistant extended and stabilized the neonate’s head over the edge of the bed, and a size 0.5 ILA was placed with minimal gagging. The patient was then turned to the supine position with resultant improvement in airway
Low dose zolmitriptan as a 5–HT neuroendocrine challenge agent in humans

The 5-HT1B/D agonist sumatriptan has been used in a number of studies as a neuroendocrine challenge agent. Whether its neuroendocrine effects are centrally mediated is unclear, however, since sumatriptan shows minimal penetration of the central nervous system. Zolmitriptan shows a greater penetration into the central nervous system than sumatriptan, and has recently been shown to be an effective challenge agent. In order to determine the neuroendocrine, temperature and side effects of a 2.5 mg oral dose of zolmitriptan, 17 healthy volunteers underwent a placebo controlled, repeated measures, double blind neuroendocrine challenge. Zolmitriptan or placebo were administered, and cortisol, growth hormone, prolactin, blood pressure and temperature, were measured over four hours after the dose of zolmitriptan. Zolmitriptan at this dose was well tolerated by all subjects, with minimal side effects and only minor effects on blood pressure. There was a significant increase in serum growth hormone after zolmitriptan compared to placebo, however there were no significant effects on cortisol, prolactin or oral temperature. The neuroendocrine effects of 2.5 mg of orally administered zolmitriptan are similar to previously reported effects of sumatriptan, with minimal side effects.
Chemical analyses of ten stony meteorites

Abstract A group of stony meteorites, mainly unequilibrated chondrites ( Dodd and Van Schmus , 1965), has been analysed chemically. The chemical analyses of ten meteorites are given in this paper. Detailed studies of the petrology and mineralogy of these meteorites are in progress.
Electromagnetic fields induced by a concentrated heat source in multiferroic materials

Pyroelectric and pyromagnetic effects are important for applications of multiferroic materials in elevated temperature environments. In this paper, we derive exact closed-form electromagnetic Green's function expressions for polarization fields in uniaxial multiferroic materials and bimaterials induced by a steady point heat source. The pyroelectric and pyromagnetic effects as a result of temperature change in multiferroic materials are incorporated in this study. The degen- erate and nondegenerate cases, which pertain to whether the heat conduction characteristic constant is equal to one of the two electromagnetic characteristic constants, are discussed in detail. The Green's functions for a bimaterial composed of two perfectly bonded uniaxial multiferroic half-spaces subjected to a point heat source are further obtained by means of the image method. (© 2008 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)
Giving Multisource Feedback a Facelift

This paper calls for the development of a new form of Multi-Source Feedback (MSF) mechanism. This MSF platform attempts to address the more implicit relational schemata that guide judgments raters hold of ratees. In general, individuals construct mental representations to reflect elements they encounter in the world. These mental representations can include mental images of people – ‘flash images’ – that evoke an emotional response and influence the way in which actions and behaviors are interpreted. A proposal for an alternative type of multi-source feedback instrument to capture these flash images is discussed.
Direct observation of the hole protonation state and hole localization site in DNA-oligomers.

In this work, it is shown that the incorporation of an 8-deuteroguanine (G*) moiety in DNA-oligomers allows for direct determination at 77 K of (i) the location of holes (i.e., the radical site) within dsDNA at specific base sites, even within stacks of G, as well as (ii) the protonation state of the hole at that site. These findings are based on our work and demonstrate that selective deuteration at C-8 on a guanine moiety in dGuo results in an ESR signal from the guanine cation radical (G*•+) which is easily distinguishable from that of the undeuterated guanine cation radical (G•+). G*•+ is also found to be easily distinguishable from its conjugate base, the N1-deprotonated radical, G*(−H)•. Our ESR results clearly establish that at 77 K (i) one-electron oxidized guanine in double stranded DNA-oligomers exists as the deprotonated neutral radical G(−H)• as a result of facile proton transfer to the hydrogen bonded cytosine and (ii) the hole is preferentially located at the 5′-end in several ds DNA-oligome...
Clinical effects of correspondence training in the management of hyperactive children

Overactivity, inattention, and noise in three hyperactive children were intervened with correspondence training procedures. One subject was intervened with the “reinforcement of corresponding reports” procedure: true reports about the inhibition of hyperactivity were reinforced. Another subject's hyperactive behaviors were managed with the “reinforcement of fulfillment of promises” procedure: the reinforcer was delivered contingent upon the presence of both promising to inhibit hyperactivity and fulfillment of the promise. The third subject received the “reinforcement of corresponding reports” and the “reinforcement set up on promises” procedures: the reinforcer was set up or displayed contingent upon the subject's promises and delivered contingent upon fulfillment of the promise (actual inhibition of hyperactivity). These procedures were programmed in a multiple baseline design across two settings (a treatment room and a classroom). A changing-criterion design was employed with all subjects: the nonoccurrence of hyperactivity had to be observed across a pre-established criterion level for the actual delivery of the reinforcer. In general, consistently higher levels of correspondence were noted during each procedure, relative to baseline. However, with the third subject the overall clinical effects of the reinforcement set up on promises phase were more dramatic than the overall effects of the reinforcement of corresponding reports condition. The results for Subject 2 and Subject 3 demonstrated the maintenance of treatment effects in a follow-up phase.
Influence of Low-Level Thermodynamic Structure on the Downdraft Properties of Simulated Supercells

AbstractIdealized simulations using the Weather Research and Forecasting Model (WRF) were performed to examine the role of capping inversions on the near-surface thermodynamic structure of outflow from simulated supercells. Two simulations were performed: one with the traditional noncapped Weisman and Klemp (WK) analytic sounding and the second with a WK sounding modified to contain a capping inversion. Both sounding environments favor splitting storms and a right-moving supercell by 90 min into the simulation. These two supercell simulations evolve in a qualitatively similar fashion, with both storms exhibiting large, quasi-steady updrafts, hook-shaped appendages in the precipitation mixing ratio field, and prominent localized downdrafts.Results show that the supercell simulated in the capped environment has a surface cold pool with larger values of pseudoequivalent potential temperature (θep) than the cold pool of the supercell produced in the noncapped simulation. Parcels in the surface cold pool of th...
Hypersingular boundary integral equations for radiation and scattering of elastic waves in three dimensions

Abstract A weakly singular form of the hypersingular boundary integral equation (BIE) (traction equation) for 3-D elastic wave problems is developed in this paper. All integrals involved are at most weakly singular and except for a stronger smoothness requirement on boundary elements, regular quadrature and collocation procedures used for conventional BIEs are sufficient for the discretization of the original hypersingular BIE. This weakly singular form of the hypersingular BIE is applied to the composite BIE formulation which uses a linear combination of the conventional BIE and the hypersingular BIE to remove the fictitious eigenfrequencies existing in the conventional BIE formulation for elastic wave problems. Numerical examples employing different types of boundary elements clearly demonstrate the effectiveness and efficiency of the developed formulation.
Atomistic treatment of depolarizing energy and field in ferroelectric nanostructures

An atomistic approach allowing an accurate and efficient treatment of depolarizing energy and field in any low-dimensional ferroelectric structure is developed. Application of this approach demonstrates the limits of the widely used continuum model (even) for simple test cases. Moreover, implementation of this approach within a first-principles-based model reveals an unusual phase transition---from a state exhibiting a spontaneous polarization to a phase associated with a toroid moment of polarization---in a ferroelectric nanodot for a critical value of the depolarizing field.
An Anthropological View of the Street Addict's World.

Anthropologists are beginning to concern themselves with urban problems in the United States. This paper describes the anthropological approach to a serious problem, narcotic addiction. The purposes of this paper are threefold: first, it will define a subculture of addiction composed of criminal narcotics addicts which has structural and functional features making it amenable to anthropological investigation; second, it will describe some difficulties encountered in the investigation of the subculture and methodological strategies which have been used to circumvent these difficulties; and lastly, it will attempt to relate how an applied anthropology approach can help to change various generalized perceptions of treatment and prevention agents toward the addict.
GELLAB: A computer system for 2D gel electrophoresis analysis. II. pairing spots

Abstract An algorithm and computer program CMPGEL, which is part of the GELLAB 2D electrophoretic gel analysis system, is described for pairing comparable spots in two gels. Pairing of spots between two gels at a time is necessary for the comparison of multiple gel images by the construction of multiple gel data bases. Interrogation of and experimentation with the spot data base may then be performed in order to extract measurements on particular spots for the set of gels. The enormous problem of pairing all spots in one gel with all spots in another gel is reduced to a small number of much simpler problems by partitioning spots in the gels into local regions. These are denoted by proximity to so called “landmark spots” and are termed “landmark regions.” Spots within landmark regions are then compared in order to perform the pairing.
Miniature Antimony pH Electrodes for Measuring Gastroesophageal Reflux

Abstract Miniature antimony–antimony oxide sensors have been used to record intraesophageal pH during diagnostic esophageal manometry. The electrodes have a rapid response time and sufficient accuracy and reproducibility to give good assessment of gastroesophageal reflux. The electrodes are durable and have a very low impedance (
Overlapping Binding Sites in Protein Phosphatase 2A for Association with Regulatory A and α-4 (mTap42) Subunits

Abstract Diverse functions of protein Ser/Thr phosphatases depend on the distribution of the catalytic subunits among multiple regulatory subunits. In cells protein phosphatase 2A catalytic subunit (PP2Ac) mostly binds to a scaffold subunit (A subunit or PR65); however, PP2Ac alternatively binds to α-4, a subunit related to yeast Tap42 protein, which also associates with phosphatases PP4 or PP6. We mapped α-4 binding to PP2Ac to the helical domain, residues 19-165. We mutated selected residues and transiently expressed epitope-tagged PP2Ac to assay for association with A and α-4 subunits by co-precipitation. The disabling H118N mutation at the active site or the presence of the active site inhibitor microcystin-LR did not interfere with binding of PP2Ac to either the A subunit or α-4, showing that these are allosteric regulators. Positively charged side chains Lys41, Arg49, and Lys74 on the back surface of PP2Ac are unique to PP2Ac, compared with phosphatases PP4, PP6, and PP1. Substitution of one, two, or three of these residues with Ala produced a progressive loss of binding to the A subunit, with a corresponding increase in binding to α-4. Conversely, mutation of Glu42 in PP2Ac essentially eliminated PP2Ac binding to α-4, with an increase in binding to the A subunit. Reciprocal changes in binding because of mutations indicate competitive distribution of PP2Ac between these regulatory subunits and demonstrate that the mutated catalytic subunits retained a native conformation. Furthermore, neither the Lys41-Arg49-Lys74 nor Glu42 mutations affected the phosphatase-specific activity or binding to microcystin-agarose. Binding of PP2Ac to microcystin and to α-4 increased with temperature, consistent with an activation energy barrier for these interactions. Our results reveal that the A subunit and α-4 (mTap42) require charged residues in separate but overlapping surface regions to associate with the back side of PP2Ac and modulate phosphatase activity.
Cement-implant interface gaps explain the poor results of CMW3 for femoral stem fixation: A cadaver study of migration, fatigue and mantle morphology.

Background The Norwegian Arthroplasty Register reported that CMW3 cement performed poorly for femoral stem fixation.Methods We implanted collared, satin-finished stems (Ra = 0.35 µm) into cadaver femora using CMW3 and with Simplex as control. Cement mantle function was quantified by stem migration after 300,000 cycles of “stair climbing”. Cement cracks and interface gaps were quantified in transverse sections.Results The variances of the CMW3 migrations were substantially higher than for the control (p < 0.001): subsidence for CMW3: –32 (SD 42) µm, and for Simplex: –7 (SD 9) µm (p = 0.2); retroversion for CMW3: 0.60° (SD 0.25), and for Simplex: 0.37° (SD 0.04) (p = 0.08). Crack length-densities were similar. CMW3 had significantly more non-apposed stem/cement interface: 52% (SD 17) versus 33% (SD 8) (p = 0.04).Migrations could be predicted by the fraction of non-apposed stem/cement interface (retroversion: R2=0.80, p < 0.001; subsidence: R2 = 0.46, p = 0.02) but not by cement cracks or non-apposed cement-...
Of Enlightenment and Alaska Early Moderns

This article examines transformations of status-capital in the modern history of the Alaska Native Alutiiq. I redevelop Pierre Bourdieu's forms of capital and habitus to analyze how Alutiiq elites stay on course during massive changes in their social structure. By drawing attention to citizenship statuses of the nineteenth century Russian and American colonial periods, I explore how local structural inequalities emerge in Alaska, yet with leaders of the same Alaska Native kin groups moving into the new privileged positions as Russian Imperial citizen, then later as American citizen. The study identifies citizenship as a key technology of group identification in Alaska and, in particular, how civilizing processes associated with citizenship create marked objective differences among the Alutiiq. Alaska Native society's articulation with the Russian and, later, American cultural-political orders creates new kinds of local structural inequalities. By possessing the requisite cultural capital to comprehend str...
The Observability of Abundance Ratio Effects in Dynamically Hot Stellar Systems

Using synthetic spectra, we construct a simple model of an elliptical galaxy with a velocity dispersion σ = 200 km s-1. Absorption feature indices are defined that are sensitive to the abundances of C, N, O, Na, Mg, Al, Si, S, K, Ca, Sc, Ti, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, Sr, Ba, and Eu as a first step in determining the abundances of these elements in stellar populations such as elliptical galaxies for which integrated spectra are available. Using these indices and assuming a photon statistical error such that S/N = 100 around 5000 A, the feasibility of measuring individual elements in real galaxies is assessed. Of the elements studied, only S, K, Cu, Zn, and Eu appear to be difficult to determine. The rest appear to be measurable with high-quality data and models. The effects of abundance changes on Lick IDS indices, Rose indices, and BRVI colors are also tabulated.
Structure and analysis of a complex between SUMO and Ubc9 illustrates features of a conserved E2-Ubl interaction

Abstract The SUMO E2 Ubc9 serves as a lynchpin in the SUMO conjugation pathway, interacting with the SUMO E1 during activation, with thioester linked SUMO after E1 transfer and with the substrate and SUMO E3 ligases during conjugation. Here, we describe the structure determination of a non-covalent complex between human Ubc9 and SUMO-1 at 2.4 A resolution. Non-covalent interactions between Ubc9 and SUMO are conserved in human and yeast insomuch as human Ubc9 interacts with each of the human SUMO isoforms, and yeast Ubc9 interacts with Smt3, the yeast SUMO ortholog. Structural comparisons reveal similarities to several other non-covalent complexes in the ubiquitin pathway, suggesting that the non-covalent Ubc9–SUMO interface may be important for poly-SUMO chain formation, for E2 recruitment to SUMO conjugated substrates, or for mediating E2 interactions with either E1 or E3 ligases. Biochemical analysis suggests that this surface is less important for E1 activation or di-SUMO-2 formation, but more important for E3 interactions and for poly-SUMO chain formation when the chain exceeds more than two SUMO proteins.
The Design of High-Power Traveling-Wave Tubes

This paper discusses the problems involved in designing traveling-wave tubes in the range of pulsed powers of the order of a megawatt. Suitable circuits are described, together with their advantages and limitations. In general, the all-metal structures described are capable of dissipating high average powers, have good impedances at the required voltages (100-kv range), but at a sacrifice in bandwidth. Nevertheless, this class of traveling-wave tube is useful where bandwidths of 10 to 20 per cent, not obtainable from klystrons of equivalent power outputs, are of interest. The problems of tube construction and tube design are discussed. Results of tests on an experimental model tube are described, showing good agreement with available theory. A gain uniformity of 3 db over a 9 per cent bandwidth, with power outputs of 300 kw pulsed have been obtained using attenuators of nonoptimum design. Better performance should be obtainable with further improvements in beam focusing and coupler design. Higher power levels with same effliciency should be possible, by designing the tube to operate at higher potentials.
On random-effects meta-analysis

Meta-analysis is widely used to compare and combine the results of multiple independent studies. To account for between-study heterogeneity, investigators often employ random-effects models, under which the effect sizes of interest are assumed to follow a normal distribution. It is common to estimate the mean effect size by a weighted linear combination of study-specific estimators, with the weight for each study being inversely proportional to the sum of the variance of the effect-size estimator and the estimated variance component of the random-effects distribution. Because the estimator of the variance component involved in the weights is random and correlated with study-specific effect-size estimators, the commonly adopted asymptotic normal approximation to the meta-analysis estimator is grossly inaccurate unless the number of studies is large. When individual participant data are available, one can also estimate the mean effect size by maximizing the joint likelihood. We establish the asymptotic properties of the meta-analysis estimator and the joint maximum likelihood estimator when the number of studies is either fixed or increases at a slower rate than the study sizes and we discover a surprising result: the former estimator is always at least as efficient as the latter. We also develop a novel resampling technique that improves the accuracy of statistical inference. We demonstrate the benefits of the proposed inference procedures using simulated and empirical data.
Economic and ecological perspectives on ranching in the Eastern Amazon

Abstract Approximately 10% of the Eastern Amazon forest was converted to pasture during 1960–1990. The performance of the ranching sector was poor during this period. There are clear signs, however, that this is changing. Some ranches are becoming more specialized, focusing exclusively on calf production, range fattening, or daily production. New, better adapted forages are now commonly planted and pasture lifetime has been extended. Old, degraded pastures are being rehabilitated and the returns on investment approach 20%. These encouraging developments are counterbalanced by lingering doubts about the long-term sustainability of ranching in the Amazon environment.
Release of Feeding by the Sweet Taste in Rats: The Influence of Body Weight

Rats that are not deprived of water, or that are overhydrated artificially, drink sweet solutions with avidity. We show that intake of sweet solutions is sensitive to nutritional status, suggesting that the rats are treating the solutions as liquid diets and “eating” rather than drinking them. First, when rats are force-fed to mild obesity, intake of dilute and concentrated saccharin and carbohydrate solutions is progressively reduced. Secondly, when weight loss is forced by restricted feeding, intake of saccharin and dilute carbohydrate is elevated, but intake of concentrated carbohydrate solutions is not. Perhaps the postingestive effects of concentrated sugar solutions set a limit on ingestion, so that intake can be driven below that limit as weight is gained, but cannot rise above it as weight is lost.
Technical issues in focal plane development for terrestrial resource observations

Performance goals for solid-state detector arrays operating in the pushbroom scan mode for the high-resolution, high-accuracy remote sensing of earth resources from space are discussed and some of the focal plane and system trades involved are identified. Issues in the development of solid-state pushbroom arrays with radiometric calibration to 0.5% precision detector-to-detector over a dynamic range of 1000:1 are considered, with calibration, temporal stability and spectral response conditions noted. Factors influencing the geometric precision of satellite-borne pushbroom scan mode sensors are then examined, including satellite orbit track and attitude errors, and geometric and radiometric correlation between information in the various spectral bands. Approaches to the alignment of linear arrays of thousands of detectors are then discussed that take into account tradeoffs between fabrication and test complexity and ground processing requirements. Continuing science experiments are indicated as necessary to establish tolerances on performance goals.
Effectiveness and Efficiency in Small Academic Peer Groups: A Case Study

What are the dynamics that affect a peer group, making one work more effectively and efficiently than another? What are some of the factors that influence peer group behavior to make some experiences positive and uplifting, whereas others are negative and frustrating? Using the case study method, the current research focuses on a small, academic peer group, during a particular period, in relation to group efficiency and effectiveness in achieving group goals. Issues the group encounters in the process of group work are documented and discussed by peer members and by a participant observer. The authors suggest that the contextual and affective processes associated with the study are not unique and can characterize group behavior in other peer situations. If this is the case, then the ability for such groups to monitor interactional behavior and recognize group problems before effectiveness and efficiency are greatly compromised may be a key factor for peer group success.
Strange Bedfellows: U.S Bargaining Behavior with Allies of Convenience

Despite the ubiquity of the term "alliance of convenience," the dynamics of these especially tenuous alliances have not been systematically explored by scholars or policymakers. An alliance of convenience is the initiation of security cooperation between ideological and geopolitical adversaries in response to an overarching third-party threat; they are conceptually different from other types of alliances. Neorealist, two-level games, and neoclassical realist theories all seek to explain the outcome of intra-alliance bargaining between the United States and allies of convenience since 1945. Neorealism and two-level games theories broadly predict successful U.S. bargaining because of the United States' favorable position in the international system and the relatively tight constraints on executive power in the United States, respectively. By contrast, neoclassical realism predicts that tight constraints on executive power in the United States should have led the foreign policy executive to bargain unsuccessfully with allies of convenience. In the case of the U.S. alliance of convenience with Iraq during the 1980–88 Iran-Iraq War, neoclassical realism best explains the outcome of U.S. bargaining with Iraq. This case has implications for other U.S. bargaining efforts.
Enhanced synthesis of proinflammatory cytokines by vulvar vestibular fibroblasts: implications for vulvar vestibulitis

Objective The objective of the study was to determine whether vestibular fibroblasts from vulvar vestibulitis (VVS) patients produce higher proinflammatory cytokine levels when provoked with Candida albicans (yeast) and alpha - melanocyte-stimulating hormone (α-MSH) in vitro. Study Design Twenty anatomically defined fibroblast strains from patients and age-matched controls were stimulated with 5 regimens: no stimulus, α-MSH, heat-killed yeast, α-MSH plus yeast, and interleukin (IL)-1β. Supernatant products included the following: granulocyte macrophage colony-stimulating factor, interferon-γ, IL-10, IL-12, IL-1β, IL-2, IL-4, IL-6, IL-8, and tumor necrosis factor-α were assayed. Results Coincubation with α-MSH plus yeast significantly increased IL-6 (3-fold) and IL-8 (greater than 40-fold) production in patients and controls. Vestibular fibroblast exceeded external vulvar fibroblast production of IL-1β, IL-6, and IL-8 following yeast alone and α-MSH plus yeast stimuli in patients and controls. Substratified by anatomic origin, vestibular fibroblasts from VVS patients produced the highest relative levels of IL-1β, IL-6, and IL-8 at baseline and following the yeast-alone regimen. Conclusion Localized pain of VVS may results from regionally elevated cytokines produced by vulvar vestibule–specific fibroblasts.
An Orange is an Orange

(1975). An Orange is an Orange. Environment: Science and Policy for Sustainable Development: Vol. 17, No. 5, pp. 6-11.
Contemporary management of atherosclerotic renovascular disease

Atherosclerotic renovascular disease (aRVD) is an increasingly recognized cause of severe hypertension and declining kidney function. Patients with aRVD have been demonstrated to have an increased risk of adverse cardiovascular events compared with patients without aRVD. For these reasons, >45,000 renal artery revascularization procedures are performed annually, with significant growth observed in the number of procedures performed each year. The efficacy of contemporary revascularization therapies in the treatment of aRVD is unproven and controversial, with no level I data to support current practices. Lower-level data suggest that kidney function improvement is a key indicator of subsequent improved survival free of adverse cardiovascular events and dialysis, and that observed improvements of hypertension confer, at best, limited benefit. This review focuses on existing data on the management of aRVD, including data from completed and ongoing randomized clinical trials. This review also examines other existing data regarding aRVD that may guide current treatment and future research efforts into this significant clinical and public health problem until widely accepted level I evidence emerges.
STATIONARITY AND CENTRAL LIMIT THEOREM ASSOCIATED WITH BILINEAR TIME SERIES MODELS

. Consider the general bilinear times series model where {Xt; t= 0, L1, …} is a p-variate process, C(p x (s+ 1)), A(p x p). Bt(p x p) (1 ≤j≤q) are arbitrary matrices of constants, eT=[et,…et-q+1] and {et; t=0, ±1, …} is a strictly stationary ergodic sequence of random variables. We investigate a set of minimal regularity conditions (on C, A, Bj and {et}) under which we can establish the existence and causality of Xt and the asymptotic normality of the sample mean derived from {Xt}.
Church‐Based Social Relationships and Change in Self‐Esteem Over Time

This study has two goals. The first goal is to see if church-based social relationships are associated with change in self-esteem. Emotional support from fellow church members and having a close personal relationship with God serve as measures of church-based social ties. The second goal is to see whether emotional support from fellow church members is more strongly associated with self-esteem than emotional support from secular social network members. The data come from an ongoing nationwide survey of older adults. The findings reveal that having a close personal relationship with God is associated with a stronger sense of self-esteem at the baseline and follow-up interviews. In contrast, emotional support from fellow church members was not associated with self-esteem at either point in time. However, emotional support from secular social network members is related to self-esteem at the baseline but not the follow-up interview.
Short latency vestibular evoked potentials in the Japanese quail (Coturnix coturnix japonica )

Short-latency vestibular-evoked potentials to pulsed linear acceleration were characterized in the quail. Responses occurred within 8 ms following the onset of stimuli and were composed of a series of positive and negative peaks. The latencies and amplitudes of the first four peaks were quantitatively characterized. Mean latencies at 1.0 g ms-1 ranged from 1265 +/- 208 microseconds (P1, N = 18) to 4802 +/- 441 microseconds (N4, N = 13). Amplitudes ranged from 3.72 +/- 1.51 microV (P1/N1, N = 18) to 1.49 +/- 0.77 microV (P3/N3, N = 16). Latency-intensity (LI) slopes ranged from -38.7 +/- 7.3 microseconds dB-1 (P1, N = 18) to -71.6 +/- 21.9 microseconds dB-1 (N3, N = 15) and amplitude-intensity (AI) slopes ranged from 0.20 +/- 0.08 microV dB-1 (P1/N1, N = 18) to 0.07 +/- 0.04 microV dB-1 (P3/N3, N = 11). The mean response threshold across all animals was -21.83 +/- 3.34 dB re: 1.0 g ms-1 (N = 18). Responses remained after cochlear extirpation showing that they could not depend critically on cochlear activity. Responses were eliminated by destruction of the vestibular end organs, thus showing that responses depended critically and specifically on the vestibular system. The results demonstrate that the responses are vestibular and the findings provide a scientific basis for using vestibular responses to evaluate vestibular function through ontogeny and senescence in the quail.
The role of exercise in the African-American woman with type 2 diabetes mellitus: application of the health belief model.

Purpose To determine whether aging African-American women with a diagnosis of type 2 diabetes mellitus who maintain a regular exercise regimen possess different health beliefs and benefit from greater glycemic control than those who do not exercise regularly. Data Sources A 32-item health belief model diabetes scale was administered to a convenience sample of 31 African-American women with type 2 diabetes. Conclusions A group t-test identified statistically significant differences between “exercisers” and “nonexercisers” in perceived benefits and barriers to exercise and glycemic control. Implications for Practice Findings may be utilized in the development of diabetic educational programs and compliance- enhancing treatment interventions that focus on the barriers and benefits of diabetes self-management.