cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Cloud Computing: A Digital Libraries Perspective

Provisioning and maintenance of infrastructure for Web based digital library search engines such as CiteSeer$^x$ present several challenges. CiteSeer$^x$ provides autonomous citation indexing, full text indexing, and extensive document metadata from document scrawled from the web across computer and information sciences and related fields. Infrastructure virtualization and cloud computing are particularly attractive choices for CiteSeer$^x$, which is challenged by both growth in the size of the indexed document collection, new features and most prominently usage. In this paper, we discuss constraints and choices faced by information retrieval systems like CiteSeer$^x$ by exploring in detail aspects of placing CiteSeer$^x$ into current cloud infrastructure offerings. We also implement an ad-hoc virtualized storage system for experimenting with adoption of cloud infrastructure services. Our results show that a cloud implementation of CiteSeer$^x$ may be a feasible alternative for its continued operation and growth
Effect of Age on International Normalized Ratio at the Time of Major Bleeding in Patients Treated with Warfarin

Study Objectives. Because the risk of major bleeding associated with warfarin increases with increasing international normalized ratio (INR) as well as with advanced age, we evaluated the association between age and INR in patients with major bleeding events related to anticoagulation with warfarin. Design. Retrospective record review. Setting. Two university-affiliated anticoagulation clinics. Patients. Sixty-six patients (mean age 61.2 yrs, range 21–90 yrs) receiving warfarin therapy who experienced major bleeding, defined as bleeding requiring hospitalization, during a 20-month index period. Measurements and Main Results. In patients aged 65 years or older, the mean INR at the time of a major bleeding event was significantly lower than that in patients younger than 65 years (INR 3.1 vs 4.2, respectively; p=0.01). For every 1-year increase in age, mean INR at the time of a major bleeding event decreased by 0.03 (p=0.02). Conclusion. Patients aged 65 years or older experience warfarin-related major bleeding events at a mean INR 1.1 units lower (95% confidence interval −1.9 to −0.27) than patients younger than 65 years. Older patients may require more aggressive management of overanticoagulation to minimize the risk of major bleeding.
Reproducibility of conformal radiation therapy in localized carcinoma of the prostate without rigid immobilization

Abstract The reproducibility of 3-dimensional (3D) conformal therapy in localized prostate cancer was studied in 14 patients, based on retrospective analysis of 196 anteroposterior-posteroanterior (AP/PA) and lateral portal images. The patients were treated supine without rigid immobilization using six isocentric coplanar conformal fields. Three different observers independently compared the portal and simulation images, determining the deviation of each portal film from the corresponding simulation film. No significant deviations were observed in the cephalo-caudal or lateral axes (0 mm median values). However, a systematic median shift of 5 mm (0 to +10, range) was observed in the anteroposterior direction, presumably as a consequence of a sagging in the treatment couch under the patient's weight. After modification of the treatment couch, no further systematic anteroposterior shifts have been observed. These results demonstrate that the daily setup of conformal prostate irradiation fields can be performed with acceptable reproducibility without the use of special immobilization devices.
A Novel Pressure-Controlled Hydro-Mechanical Transmission

A novel pressure-controlled hydro-mechanical transmission (PHMT) is studied in this paper. The PHMT consists of a pressure-controlled hydraulic transmission (PCT) and a variable displacement hydraulic motor. The PCT functions like a conventional hydrostatic transmission (HST) but has a different form. It uses a double-acting vane pump with a floating ring. By coupling the floating ring to an output shaft, the vane pump becomes a hydraulic transmission. The PCT combines the pumping and motoring functions in one unit, making it much simpler than a conventional HST. By controlling the pressure in the PCT, the output shaft torque and speed can be adjusted. By feeding the PCT control flow to a variable displacement motor coupled to the PCT output shaft, a PHMT is constituted. In this paper, the fundamental principle of the PHMT is studied. To demonstrate its advantage, the PHMT is applied to a fan drive system and the transmission efficiency is compared to a conventional HST. Preliminary experimental results show that the input power of the fan drive system with a PHMT is lower than that with an HST given the same output fan speed and torque.Copyright © 2014 by ASME
Fiber tract stimulation can reduce epileptiform activity in an in-vitro bilateral hippocampal slice preparation.

Abstract Mesial temporal lobe epilepsy (MTLE) is a common medically refractory neurological disease that has been treated with electrical stimulation of gray matter with limited success. However, stimulation of a white matter tract connecting the hippocampi could maximize treatment efficacy and extent. We tested low-frequency stimulation (LFS) of a novel target that enables simultaneous targeting of bilateral hippocampi: the ventral hippocampal commissure (VHC) with a novel in-vitro slice preparation containing bilateral hippocampi connected by the VHC. The goal of this study is to understand the role of hippocampal interplay in seizure propagation and reduction by commissural fiber tract stimulation. LFS is applied to the VHC as extracellular and intracellular recording techniques are combined with signal processing to estimate several metrics of epilepsy including: (1) total time occupied by seizure activity (%); (2) seizure duration (s); (3) seizures per minute (#); and (4) power in the ictal (V 2 Hz − 1 ); as well as (5) interictal spectra (V 2 Hz − 1 ). Bilateral epileptiform activity in this preparation is highly correlated between hippocampi. Application of LFS to the VHC reduces all metrics of epilepsy during treatment in an amplitude and frequency dependent manner. This study lends several insights into the mechanisms of bilateral seizure reduction by LFS of the VHC, including that depolarization blocking, LTD/LTP and GABA A are not involved. Importantly, enhanced post-stimulation 1-Hz spiking correlates with long-lasting seizure reduction and both are heightened by targeting bilateral hippocampi via the VHC. Therefore, stimulating bilateral hippocampi via a single electrode in the VHC may provide an effective MTLE treatment.
A neonate with Coombs-negative hemolytic jaundice with spherocytes but normal erythrocyte indices: a rare case of autosomal-recessive hereditary spherocytosis due to alpha-spectrin deficiency

The diagnosis of hereditary spherocytosis (HS) in a newborn infant is generally made on the basis of a positive family history, spherocytes on blood film and Coombs-negative hemolytic jaundice of variable severity with an elevated mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration (MCHC) and a low mean corpuscular volume (MCV). In general, sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) quantification of erythrocyte membrane proteins is not needed to make the clinical diagnosis of HS. However, we observed that a neonate with no family history of HS, but with abundant spherocytosis on repeated blood films, Coombs-negative hemolytic jaundice and normal MCHC and MCV measurements, where SDS-PAGE revealed alpha-spectrin deficiency, a rare autosomal-recessive variety of HS that generally has a severe clinical phenotype.
An Observational Study of Large-Scale Atmospheric Rossby Waves during FGGE

Abstract Analyzed global data from the European Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasts for the FGGE year are projected onto Hough functions at each synoptic time and the time series filtered to retain all westward propagating components on time scales less than seasonal. The evolution of Hough mode phase agrees closely with Rossby wave theory whenever the amplitudes are not small. The evolution of the wave amplitude is described as irregular vacillation. The first three zonal and meridional wavenumbers are studied. The total Rossby wave field can be as large as 130 m and can potentially explain a significant part of observed, persistent anomalies.
Distribution and Inhibition of Esterases in Various Body Tissues of Susceptible and Resistant German Cockroaches (Dictyoptera: Blattellidae)

The distribution and inhibition of esterase activity among body of the resistant Crawford and susceptible CSMA strains of male German cockroach, Blattella germanica (L.), were evaluated with α- and β-naphthyl esters using a spectrophotometric assay and native polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The esterase activities in the Crawford strain were significantly higher than in the CSMA strain in most tissues except midgut and male genitalia, where the activities were similar. In both strains, isozyme a was dominant in the brain and fat body and isozymes c and d were more abundant in the midgut; but in addition to isozyme a, isozyme b was observed only in the Crawford strain. The α-naphthyl butyrate (α-NB) and β-naphthyl acetate (β-NA) esterase activities in the brain of both strains were completely inhibited by most inhibitors (DEF, 3,4-dichloroisocoumarine, paraoxon, pepstatin A, and propoxur). However, in the midgut tissue and contents, the activities and inhibition patterns of the α-NB and β-NA esterase were apparently different from the brain and between strains. The complete inhibition by paraoxon was observed regardless of the strain, substrate type, and body part for enzyme source. In esterase inhibition on native PAGE gels, paraoxon completely inhibited the activity of most esterases similar to the results from spectrophotometric assay. In addition, the esterase b was observed from the whole body homogenates of several German cockroach resistant strains on native PAGE analysis.
Small deletion variants of the replication protein, π, and their potential for over‐replication‐based antimicrobial activity

The emergence of multiply antibiotic-resistant microorganisms in the environment has become a serious public health threat. To address this, our lab has devised a methodology in which antimicrobial agents are transferred into unwanted cells using the process of bacterial conjugation. In the work described here, we pursued proteins that cause plasmid over-replication as potential antimicrobial agents. Our focus was on the pir -encoded π protein of plasmid R6K that possesses both positive and negative functions in controlling γ origin-based replication. We observed that three of four pir mutations examined, including two in-frame deletions, severely impaired negative plasmid-replication control. The resulting over-replication phenotype was particularly strong when a pir mutant was placed in cis to γ origin. In conjugative mating experiments with several representatives of the family Enterobacteriaceae , the plasmids expressed postconjugational antimicrobial activity. The potential utility of a conjugation-based antimicrobial approach is discussed. Additionally, we describe the replication inhibitory function of a novel and useful Rep protein variant, π•M36A^M38A, which binds iteron DNA exclusively as dimers.
The Clergy Occupational Distress Index (CODI): background and findings from two samples of clergy.

This study demonstrates the reliability and validity of the Clergy Occupational Distress Index (CODI). The five-item index allows researchers to measure the frequency that clergy, who traditionally have not been the subject of occupational health studies, experience occupational distress. We assess the reliability and validity of the index using two samples of clergy: a nationally representative sample of clergy and a sample of clergy from nine Protestant denominations. Exploratory factor analysis and Cronbach’s scores are generated. Construct validity is measured by examining the association between CODI scores and depressive symptoms while controlling for demographic, ministerial, and health variables. In both samples, the five items of the CODI load onto a single factor and the Cronbach’s alpha scores are robust. The regression model indicates that a high score on the CODI (i.e., more frequent occupational distress) is positively associated with having depressive symptoms within the last 4 weeks. The CODI can be used to identify clergy who frequently experience occupational distress and to understand how occupational distress affects clergy’s health, ministerial career, and the functioning of their congregation.
Choline administration: activation of tyrosine hydroxylase in dopaminergic neurons of rat brain

The administration of choline in doses previously shown to elevate brain acetylcholine concentrations also increases the activity of tyrosine hydroxylase in rat caudate nuclei. This response can be blocked by atropine, a muscarinic antagonist. These findings indicate that choline-induced increases in acetylcholine concentrations may be associated with parallel changes in the amount of the neurotransmitter released into synapses.
Ultraviolet Observations of Interstellar Molecules

The benefits of placing ultraviolet (UV) spectrographs in space were first pointed out by Spitzer (1946) and Spitzer & Zabriskie (1959), with much of the emphasis on absorption-line measurements of interstellar atoms and molecules. The first UV observations of the diffuse interstellar medium took place in the early 1970s, using sounding rockets, which were followed by a series of orbital instruments starting in the later 1970s and extending almost to the present time. Many of these observations have provided information on the chemistry of the diffuse ISM, and will be emphasized here. The most abundant molecule in space, H, have been detected through UV absorption-line observations, and many others have been sought unsuccessfully. The Cosmic Origins Spectrograph, expected to be installed aboard the HST in 2007, will have enhanced UV sensitivity and will provide information on molecular abundances in denser clouds than previously studied. One of the high priorities will be the search for electronic transitions of complex organic molecules such as PAHs.
Recharge to ground-water from floods in a typical desert wash, Pinal County, Arizona

Queen Creek, considered in this paper, is a typical large desert wash. It rises in the Pinal Mountains near the mining town of Superior and enters the outwash-plain at Black Point about three miles north of Florence Junction (see Fig. 1). Thence it passes over the desert in a southwesterly direction toward Chandler, spreads over the lowlands, and disappears. The flow of the stream consists almost entirely of storm-water and is of the quick, flashy type common to the deserts of the Southwest. In ordinary years the stream is dry most of the time. Formerly the flood-waters spread over the floor of the desert and did no harm. Now, however, they invade highly cultivated lands that are irrigated with water from Salt River or from wells, and cause serious damage to both crops and canals. The damage could be prevented by storing the stormwaters in a reservoir formed by a dam at or above Black Point.
Leaf biomechanical properties as mechanisms of resistance to black cutworm (Agrotis ipsilon) among Poa species

Biomechanical properties can be important parameters in resistance of plants to herbivorous insects. As plants age, however, there can be dramatic changes in physical defenses that can then influence their susceptibility to insect herbivores. We measured changes in leaf biomechanical properties during ontogeny of Poa species and the relationship of these changes to the development of a generalist herbivore, the black cutworm, Agrotis ipsilon Hufnagel (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), was investigated. Larvae were reared on two representative age classes, i.e., young ( 1 year after planting), of foliage in laboratory assays. Foliage generally reaches a peak fracture force between 80 and 109 days after planting depending on grass type. Foliage from old plants was significantly tougher than that of young plants, and black cutworm larvae reared on foliage from young plants gained significantly (ca. four times) more weight than those fed on foliage from old Poa plants. In addition, fracture force has a negative relationship with black cutworm development. Plant fiber, particularly neutral detergent fiber accounted for 65 and 46% of the variation in fracture force and larval development, respectively. These results provide additional insight into how plant ontogeny influences physical defenses to an insect herbivore in a grass system. Likewise, this is seemingly the first study to suggest a mechanism for host plant resistance to black cutworm. Plant fiber may be a useful trait to explore in plant improvement programs in which black cutworm is a primary pest (e.g., managed turfgrass).
Contralateral Prophylactic Mastectomy Provides No Survival Benefit in Young Women with Estrogen Receptor-Negative Breast Cancer

Several studies have shown that contralateral prophylactic mastectomy (CPM) provides a disease-free and overall survival (OS) benefit in young women with estrogen receptor (ER)-negative breast cancer. We utilized the National Cancer Data Base to evaluate CPM’s survival benefit for young women with early -stage breast cancer in the years that ER status was available. We selected 14,627 women ≤45 years of age with American Joint Committee on Cancer stage I–II breast cancer who underwent unilateral mastectomy or CPM from 2004 to 2006. Five-year OS was compared between those who had unilateral mastectomy and CPM using the Kaplan–Meier method and Cox regression analysis. A total of 10,289 (70.3 %) women underwent unilateral mastectomy and 4,338 (29.7 %) women underwent CPM. Median follow up was 6.1 years. After adjusting for patient age, race, insurance status, co-morbidities, year of diagnosis, ER status, tumor size, nodal status, grade, histology, facility type, facility location, use of adjuvant radiation and chemohormonal therapy, there was no difference in OS in women <45 years of age who underwent CPM compared towith those who underwent unilateral mastectomy (hazard ratio [HR] = 0.93; p = 0.39). In addition, Tthere was no improvement in OS in women <45 years of age with T1N0 tumors who underwent CPM versus unilateral mastectomy (HR = 0.85; p = 0.37) after adjusting for the aforementioned factors. Among women ≤45 years of age with ER-negative tumors who underwent CPM, there was no improvement in OS compared with women who underwent unilateral mastectomy (HR = 1.12; p = 0.32) after adjusting for the same aforementioned factors. CPM provides no survival benefit to young patients with early-stage breast cancer, and no benefit to ER-negative patients. Future studies with longer follow-up are required in this cohort of patients.
Maintaining low intragroup relatedness: evolutionary stability of nonkin social groups

Communal sociality, involving cooperation among unrelated group members, occurs in all of the six families of bees. However, most communal species also occupy nests that persist over many generations. Why, then, do females not remain in their natal nests with their relatives? We examined how sex-biased dispersal contributes to maintaining low intragroup relatedness by documenting dispersal using microsatellite data in the communal halictine bee, Lasioglossum (Chilalictus) hemichalceum. The composition and genotypes of brood from nests excavated late in the reproductive season (late-season) were compared with those of adults from nests excavated from the same aggregation in early winter (post-season). Females left their natal nests if nests were large and if their brothers were present, demonstrating female-biased dispersal to avoid inbreeding in a social insect for the first time. Thus, the occurrence of within-nest mating in communal species, combined with strong selection against inbreeding in the Hymenoptera, appears to select for female-biased dispersal. This in turn results in a population-wide decrease in intracolony relatedness, thereby maintaining cooperation among nonkin in communal Hymenoptera.
Effects of restricted diffusion on MR signal formation.

Abstract Numerous functional MRI (fMRI) and diffusion MR studies have recently boosted interest in the theory of MR signal formation in biological systems in the presence of mesoscopic magnetic field inhomogeneities. Herein we report an exact solution to the problem of free induction decay (FID) and spin echo (SE) signal formation in the presence of a constant field gradient in three models of one-, two-, and three-dimensional restricted diffusion. We demonstrate the transition with increasing diffusion coefficient from the oscillating FID signal behavior in the static dephasing regime to a monotonic exponential behavior in the motional narrowing regime. Quantitative criteria are presented for applicability of the Gaussian approximation for the description of the MR signal. The spatial distribution of signal density and the edge enhancement effect are analyzed. We also demonstrate that the presence of restrictive barriers in a one-compartment model can lead to a quasi-two-compartment behavior of the MR signal. This result suggests a simple rationale for the experimental findings of biexponential echo attenuation curves in MR diffusion experiments with tissue systems.
Isolation of Acinetobacter baumannii Complex and Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus from Hospital Rooms Following Terminal Cleaning and Disinfection: Can We Do Better?

Objective.To study the frequency of isolation of Acinetobacter baumannii complex (ABC) and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) from surfaces of rooms newly vacated by patients with multidrug-resistant (MDR) ABC following various rounds of routine terminal cleaning and disinfection (C/D) with bleach or 1 round of C/D followed by hydrogen peroxide vapor (HPV) treatment.Setting.A 900-bed tertiary care hospital.Methods.ABC and MRSA cultures were obtained from hospital rooms including 312 rooms (mean, 18.3 sites/room) following 4 rounds of C/D, 37 rooms (mean, 20 sites/room) following 1 round of C/D before and after HPV treatment, and 134 rooms (mean, 20 sites/room) following 1 round of C/D and HPV treatment.Results.Following 4 rounds of C/D, 83 (26.6%) rooms had 1 or more culture-positive sites; 102 (1.8%) sites in 51 (16.4%) rooms grew ABC, and 108 (1.9%) sites in 44 (14.1%) rooms grew MRSA. The addition of HPV treatment to 1 round of C/D resulted in a significant drop in ABC- and MRSA-positive room sites (odds ratio, 0 [95% confidence interval, 0–0.8]; P = .04 for both organisms). Following 1 round of C/D and HPV treatment, 6 (4.5%) rooms were culture-positive for ABC, MRSA, or both.Conclusions.Routine terminal C/D of hospital rooms vacated by MDRABC-positive patients may be associated with a significant number of ABC- or MRSA-positive room surfaces even when up to 4 rounds of C/D are performed. The addition of HPV treatment to 1 round of C/D appears effective in reducing the number of persistently contaminated room sites in this setting.
Consumer responses to high-technology products: Product attributes, cognition, and emotions

Abstract The present study investigates how high-technology attributes influence consumer responses. Based on Mehrabian and Russell's Stimulus–Organism–Response (S–O–R) framework (1974), this study proposes that high-technology product attributes elicit consumers' cognitive (attitude) and affective states (pleasure and arousal), contributing to their approach–avoidance behavior. High-technology product users ( N = 408) participated in surveys. The results provide support for the model. Among six factors of high-technology product attributes (usefulness, ease of use, innovativeness of technology, visual appeal, prototypicality, and self-expression), the latter four have major influences on approach behavior through attitude (cognitive state) and pleasure (affective state). Supplemental analysis shows that attitude and pleasure influence approach–avoidance behavior directly, but that arousal affects approach–avoidance behavior indirectly via pleasure.
Application of rigorous nonlinear regression to the decomposition kinetics of explosives

Abstract A method based on rigorous nonlinear regression is used to determine global rate parameters for the condensed phase decomposition of an explosive monitored by isothermal differential scanning calorimetry. Nonlinear regression provides relative errors for each global rate parameter, quantitative assessments for the quality of the regression fit, and absolute errors for the resultant Arrhenius parameters. Application of the method is demonstrated for evaluation of global rate parameters for the decomposition of 2,2',4,4',6,6'-hexanitroazobenzene(HNAB) at constant volume and constant pressure.
Exceptionally large banded spherulites

Abstract This article concerns the crystallization of maleic anhydride from a blend containing 2 wt% of poly(acrylonitrile). High speed photography and temperature measurements during the crystallization as well as X-ray diffraction from the blend after crystallization are consistent with a banded spherulitic morphology. The spacing of the bands, typically 4 to 15 mm, is two orders of magnitude larger than that reported in previous studies of the structure of banded spherulites. The velocity of the growth front is determined to be 33 cm/s when crystallization initiates from a solution supercooled by 28°C. X-ray diffraction patterns recorded using three orthogonal beam propagation directions at different locations in the band structure show (within experimental error) that the blends have the twisting orientation of crystallites characteristic of banded spherulites. Interestingly, the bands caused by spherulitic crystallization of maleic anhydride are imprinted on the polymer phase in the blend. This imprinting as well as the exceptionally large band spacing in the crystallized blend may open the way for studies that would clarify the mechanism of formation of the twisting crystal orientation in banded spherulites.
Expression and activity of poly(ADP-ribose) glycohydrolase in cultured astrocytes, neurons, and C6 glioma cells

Poly(ADP-ribose) metabolism plays a major role in DNA repair, transcription, replication, and recombination. Poly(ADP-ribose) polymerases are localized primarily to the nucleus, whereas significant levels of poly(ADP-ribose) glycohydrolase (PARG) are believed to be located in the cytoplasm. Only one PARG gene has been identified, but prior studies have reported multiple products of this gene. Here we studied PARG activity and PARG gene expression in several CNS cell types that span the cell growth spectrum: rapidly dividing C6 glioma tumor cells, dividing astrocytes, non-dividing astrocytes (due to contact inhibition), and post-mitotic neurons. Activity assays showed no overall differences between these cell types, but the nuclear to cytoplasmic ratio of PARG activity was highest in C6 glioma cells and lowest in neurons. Western blotting revealed full-length PARG as well as lower molecular weight PARG species in all four cell types.
Novel use of an established agent: Topotecan is anti-angiogenic in experimental Wilms tumor.

Background/Purpose: Antiangiogenic agents offer a new approach to the treatment of aggressive neoplasms, yet very few agents are available for current use. The authors have shown previously the efficacy of antiangiogenic therapy in experimental Wilms tumor, using an investigative antibody. They hypothesized that topotecan, administered in a regimen targeting endothelial cells, would suppress tumor growth and angiogenesis in experimental Wilms tumor. Methods: Experimental tumors were induced in the left kidneys of athymic mice by injection of cultured Wilms tumor cells. Topotecan (0.36, 0.6, 1.0, 2.0, and 3.0 mg/kg) or vehicle was injected intraperitoneally in 2 cycles over a 6-week period. Fluorescein angiograms and platelet endothelial cell adhesion molecule-1 staining of primary tumors were performed to ascertain vascular architecture. Endothelial apoptosis was assessed by TdT-mediated dUTP nick end labeling assay. Results: Tumor weights were reduced significantly in treated versus control animals, even in the lowest-dose group. Endothelial cell staining and angiography results showed relatively sparse vascularity in treated xenografts. Endothelial apoptosis was observed in treated but not control tumors. Conclusions: Topotecan, delivered in an “antiangiogenic” regimen, even at very low doses, significantly inhibited growth of experimental Wilms tumors. No adverse effects were noted at low doses. Thus, the established chemotherapy agent topotecan may be useful in a novel role: as antiangiogenic therapy. J Pediatr Surg 36:1781-1784. Copyright © 2001 by W.B. Saunders Company.
The Nearly Degenerate Triplet Electronic Ground State Isomers of Lithium Nitroxide

The triplet electronic ground state potential energy surface of lithium nitroxide has been systematically investigated using convergent quantum mechanical methods. Equilibrium structures and physical properties for five stationary points (three minima and two transition states) have been determined employing highly correlated coupled cluster theory with four correlation-consistent polarized-valence (cc-pVXZ and aug-cc-pVXZ, X = T and Q) and two core correlation-consistent polarized-valence (cc-pCVXZ, X = T and Q) basis sets. The global minimum, roughly L-shaped Li-O-N, is predicted to lie 6.5 kcal mol-1 below the linear LiON minimum and 2.4 kcal mol-1 below the linear LiON minimum. The barrier to isomerization from the global minimum to LiON was found to be 7.4 kcal mol-1 and with regard to LiNO 6.9 kcal mol-1. The dissociation energies, D0, with respect to Li + NO, have been predicted for all minima and for the global minimum was found to be 34.9 kcal mol-1.
The power (and limits) of proximity.

to the very general-what sort Does of life is worth having? This second question, however general, Clini c al is also every bit as practical, as concerned with practice, with Ethics living a moral life, as the first question. Distort the With no embarrassment, I count myself in that second Discipline? camp. To do that well requires attentiveness to stories in all their particularity. But it also acknowledges the ineluctable human tendency to generalize, to move from the particular to the general. Doing sound practical reasoning requires embracing our capacities to move intellectually in both directions, to make our moral perceptions accord with one another, to make our generalizations consistent with each other and with our moral perceptiveness. It is true, as Dan asserts, that "the details of particular cases [can] distract our attention from the larger issues at stake." But it is also true that moral generalizations can and do blind us to the humanly, and therefore morally, significant details of the story. Unnuanced moral generalizations, every bit as much as an inappropriately narrow focus on the details of a case, can leave out important details about social patterns, the behavior of institutions, insights into human motivation, belief, and action. But this brings us back to the importance of context. Where are we? What is the proper role of stories, in particular, the genre of case stories typical in clinical ethics? I want to enlist the aid of Martha Nussbaum here. In Love's Knowledge, she writes: "Moral knowledge . . . is not simply intellectual grasp of propositions; it is not even simply intellectual grasp of particular facts; it is perception. It is seeing a complex concrete reality in a highly lucid and richly responsive way; it is taking in what is there, with imagination and feeling."2 The problem with clinical ethics arises when the genre becomes formulaic, when it forces us to look only at those aspects of the case decided in advance to be significant, at that most constricted of literary genres, the medical record. We must never lose sight of the broader world and its patterns out of which the clinical story arises. We need, that is, attentiveness to context as well as attentiveness to particulars. We need stories that are rich and thick, that point to what we need to know. We need, that is,. good stories. We also need perceptive interpreters of and commentators on those stories. t e very general-what sort
The Role of the Gulf of Mexico Coastal Ocean Observing System (GCOOS) in K-12 Education: Applying the Technology in Classroom Curriculum

The need for advanced ocean literacy in our society has never been more critical than it is today. Decades of science education research has well documented the need to improve the instruction and intellectual capacity of science and mathematics in K-12 students. Ocean observing systems (OOS) data, derived from both atmospheric and from ocean platforms, have provided technological support to teachers delivering challenging curricula in meeting the standards of the Ocean Literacy Essential Principles and Fundamental Concepts. The Centers for Ocean Sciences Education Excellence: Gulf of Mexico (COSEE:GOM); Gulf of Mexico Coastal Ocean Observing System (GCOOS); and Gulf of Mexico Alliance (GOMA) have established the ability to engage ocean monitoring systems and scientific research with educators (informal and formal) to enhance the ocean sciences education framework. Recent collaborations between GOMA and GCOOS have motivated education inventiveness with Mexico and the Caribbean. Further, the statistical impact of professional development programs for precollege teachers (2006 and 2007 COSEE Summer Institutes and GCOOS) document positive correlations between pre- and posttests. Technology resources from OOS research, teacher workshops, curricular development, and concepts of Ocean Literacy are recognized and will be discussed during the authors' presentation at the Marine Technology Society's 2007 Annual Conference.
Growth of the Andes by Rejuvenated Subduction

Subduction-zone magmatism became extensive along the west coast of South America during the Ordovician, soon after Gondwana was assembled. During the remainder of the Paleozoic and the early Mesozoic, eastward subduction of the Farallon plate led to emplacement of a succession of granitic and volcanic rocks. During the Cretaceous, when South America broke away from Africa and began moving independently toward the Pacific Basin, the resulting opposite motions of the South American and Farallon plates toward the subduction zone caused vigorous tectonic mountain building. But by the Oligocene, South America had advanced more than 2000 km beyond the position of the Cretaceous subduction zone's root in the lower mantle. The South American plate, moving westward over the subducting plate, pushed down and flattened the curved top of the subducting slab, as indicated by today's flattened earthquake zone under South America. I hypothesize that this flattening increased the subducting slab's resistance with the und...
Rosemary Extracts as Inhibitors of Lipid Oxidation and Color Change in Cooked Turkey Products During Refrigerated Storage

Water-soluble rosemary extracts were evaluated for their inhibitory effects on lipid oxidation and color change in cooked turkey products during storage. Changes were measured in thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances, hexanal production and color of the cooked turkey samples containing 0, 100, 250 and 500 ppm water-soluble resemary extracts, at storage day 0, 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 10, and 13. The rosemary extracts showed significant protection of lipid oxidation and color change in cooked turkey. Higher levels of water-soluble rosemary extracts were more effective in delaying quality loss in cooked turkey at all tested storage times. Cette etude evalue le potentiel d'extraits de romarin hydrosolubles sur la stabilite et la qualite de produits a base de viande de dinde. Des echantillons de viandes de dinde contenant 0, 100, 250 et 500 ppm d'extraits de romarin sont entreposes pendant 0, 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 10 et 13 jours a 4°C. Les resultats montrent que ces extraits inhibent l'oxydation lipidique et le changement de couleur dans la viande de dinde, et donc ameliorent la qualite et augmentent la duree de conservation du produit.
Some Methodological Modifications of the Technicon "SMA 12/60 AutoAnalyzer" System

Methodological modifications have been made in our "SMA 12/60 AutoAnalyzer" system, to improve the reproducibility and accuracy of six commonly performed procedures. These include glucose with the glucose oxidase method, albumin with the bromcresol green method, and alkaline phosphatase with the sodium thymolphthalein monophosphate method. We have also modified the composition of the reagents used in the determination of protein, inorganic phosphate, and aspartate aminotransferase. A general approach that is useful for adapting a new method to a multichannel AutoAnalyzer system is discussed.
Ethical Issues of Predictive Genetic Testing for Diabetes

With the rising number of individuals affected with diabetes and the significant health care costs of treatment, the emphasis on prevention is key to controlling the health burden of this disease. Several genetic and genomic studies have identified genetic variants associated with increased risk to diabetes. As a result, commercial testing is available to predict an individual's genetic risk. Although the clinical benefits of testing have not yet been demonstrated, it is worth considering some of the ethical implications of testing for this common chronic disease. In this article, I discuss several issues that should be considered during the translation of predictive testing for diabetes, including familial implications, improvement of risk communication, implications for behavioral change and health outcomes, the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act, direct-to-consumer testing, and appropriate age of testing.
Activation Time Detection Algorithms Used in Computerized Intraoperative Cardiac Mapping: A Comparison with Manually Determined Activation Times

Activation Time Detection for Intraoperative Mapping.Introduction: Local activation determined from monopolar electrograms usually is marked at the time of the minimum slope. In bipolar recordings, the peak, the maximum absolute slope, the baseline crossing of the segment containing the maximum absolute slope, and morphological criteria have been used. The purpose of this work is: (1) to compare activation times determined using these algorithms with activation times corrected by electrophysiologists; and (2) to determine which computerized algorithm requires fewest operator correction of outliers. Methods and Results: Monopolar and bipolar electrograms were collected from the epicardium of subjects undergoing surgery for ventricular tachycardia and Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome, and the above bipolar and monopolar algorithms were evaluated. The electrophysiologists viewed adjacent channels and evolving isochronal maps but not the computer markings. The morphological algorithm compared most favorably with times marked up by electrophysiologists having an overall average difference of 2.2 ± 3.1 msec. For monopolar data, a five point, least square fit, second-order slope approximation algorithm most closely agreed with the electrophysiologist corrected algorithm (3.2 ± 4.0 msec). The morphological and least square algorithms also produced the fewest outliers (3.1% and 5.7%, respectively). When outliers were removed, bipolar and monopolar discrepancies were reduced to 1.8 ± 1.9 and 2.5 ± 2.3 msec, respectively. Conclusions: Thus, among those algorithms tested, an algorithm based on morphological criteria is best suited for computer determination of bipolar activation times and compares favorably to variations between electrophysiologist corrected and computer marked activation times determined traditionally by the largest negative slope in monopolar data. Identification of outliers using contextual and improved morphological algorithms may improve computerized mapping system performance.
Using simulation for the determination of the potential impact of inter-organizational systems

Inter-Organizational Information Systems (IOS) have recently been receiving attention as a means of providing strategic advantage to industry. The goals of this research are twofold: to create a tool to aid in determining whether it would be advantageous to install an IOS in a given environment, and to attempt to discover under what conditions such a system would be successful.
Interactive decision-making in people with schizotypal traits: A game theory approach

Studies that have investigated whether deficits in social cognition observed in schizophrenia are also present in schizotypal individuals have largely been inconclusive, and none of these studies have examined social interactive behavior. Here, we investigated interactive decision-making behavior in individuals differing in the amount of schizotypal symptoms using tasks derived from Game Theory. In total 1691 undergraduate students were screened with the Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire-Brief version. We selected 69 people distributed across the full schizotypal continuum to participate in Ultimatum and Dictator Games in which they played against human and non-human, computer partners. The results showed that higher levels of schizotypal symptoms, particularly positive and disorganized schizotypy, were related to proposing higher offers to all partners. Additionally, the amount of interpersonal schizotypal symptoms was associated with an increased acceptance rate of very unfair offers from human partners, possibly reflecting a blunted emotional response to such offers. We conclude that positive and disorganized schizotypal symptoms are associated with less adequate bargaining behavior, similar to what has been recently observed in patients with schizophrenia. The observed similarities on Ultimatum Game behavior between patients with schizophrenia and individuals with more schizotypal symptoms contribute to the growing evidence that social cognitive deficits may represent a marker of vulnerability to schizophrenia.
Deletion of the monkeypox virus inhibitor of complement enzymes locus impacts the adaptive immune response to monkeypox virus in a nonhuman primate model of infection

Monkeypox virus (MPXV) is an orthopoxvirus closely related to variola virus, the causative agent of smallpox. Human MPXV infection results in a disease that is similar to smallpox and can also be fatal. Two clades of MPXV have been identified, with viruses of the central African clade displaying more pathogenic properties than those within the west African clade. The monkeypox inhibitor of complement enzymes (MOPICE), which is not expressed by viruses of the west African clade, has been hypothesized to be a main virulence factor responsible for increased pathogenic properties of central African strains of MPXV. To gain a better understanding of the role of MOPICE during MPXV-mediated disease, we compared the host adaptive immune response and disease severity following intrabronchial infection with MPXV-Zaire (n = 4), or a recombinant MPXV-Zaire (n = 4) lacking expression of MOPICE in rhesus macaques (RM). Data presented here demonstrate that infection of RM with MPXV leads to significant viral replication in the peripheral blood and lungs and results in the induction of a robust and sustained adaptive immune response against the virus. More importantly, we show that the loss of MOPICE expression results in enhanced viral replication in vivo, as well as a dampened adaptive immune response against MPXV. Taken together, these findings suggest that MOPICE modulates the anti-MPXV immune response and that this protein is not the sole virulence factor of the central African clade of MPXV.
Repeated nicotine exposure enhances responding with conditioned reinforcement.

Rationale Stimuli associated with a reinforcer (e.g., an addictive drug) can acquire conditioned reinforcing effects. Clinical observations indicate that smoking depends strongly upon conditioned reinforcement (i.e., cues support smoking behavior); however, little is known about the effects of repeated nicotine exposure on these processes.
Tissue tropism, transmission and expression of foreign genes in vivo in midgut symbionts of tsetse flies

Tsetse flies (Diptera: Glossinidae) harbour three different symbiotic organisms in addition to the pathogenic African trypanosomes they transmit. The two gut-associated symbionts (primary, P; secondary, S) are enteric and are nutritionally required, whereas the third microorganism Wolbachia (family Rickettsiaceae) affects the reproductive biology of the insects it infects. The bacteriome-associated P-symbiont (Wigglesworthia glossinidia) displays a concordant phylogeny with its host tsetse species, whereas midgut S-symbionts characterized from distant tsetse have identical 16S rDNA sequences and therefore may either represent recent independent acquisitions or horizontal transfer between species. The S-symbionts have been cultured in vitro and a genetic transformation system has been developed. Here we report on their density and tissue tropism in different species (G. m. morsitans, G. p. palpalis, G. austeni and G. brevipalpis) and on their maternal route of transmission to tsetse progeny. Using a bacterium-specific PCR-assay, the S-symbionts were found primarily in the midgut, haemolymph, milk gland and in G. palpalis also in salivary glands of teneral flies. In older flies these infections were found to spread to other tissues including muscle, testes and fat body. The S-symbionts were transformed to express the marker gene product, Green Fluorescent Protein (GFP) in vitro. When the recombinant symbionts were introduced into the haemoceal of fertile female flies via intrathoracic microinjection, they were detected in the intrauterine progeny, indicating that haemolymph may provide a possible route for their transmission. The implications of these results for symbiont-host interactions and for transgenic strategies in tsetse are discussed.
Advances in Magnetic Fusion Science and the ITER Project

Summary form only given. The last decade has seen dramatic advances in the scientific understanding of magnetically-confined high-temperature plasmas for fusion energy, due to advances in plasma measurement techniques and parallel computing. The understanding of the global stability of plasmas has advanced to the point where detailed measurements of pressure and current allow accurate prediction of stability against rapidly growing "ideal" modes; understanding and control of slower dissipative global phenomena is advancing rapidly. A "standard model" of ion turbulence has been tested successfully in many experiments, although the mechanism of the turbulent transport of electron heat remains controversial. Nonetheless overall heat losses are predictable. Based on the state of fusion science, the world is on the verge of construction of ITER, a device capable of producing hundreds of megawatts of fusion power, at high gain, for hundreds of seconds. While ITER itself is not a prototype of a fusion power plant, with parallel research on materials and technology, and optimization of the plasma configuration, the next major step after ITER could be a demonstration power plant.
THE PREPARATION OF A GRADED SERIES OF ULTRAFILTERS AND MEASUREMENT OF THEIR PORE SIZES

A simple procedure for making a series of membranes of graded pore sizes is presented with data for permeability of the membrane series to water and to colloidal sols of known particle sizes. A convenient ultrafiltration apparatus for operation under aseptic conditions is described.
TOP TEN TRIUMPHS AND TRAGEDIES OF GENICHI TAGUCHI

[This abstract is based on the author's abstract.] Considerable debate surrounded the philosophy, teachings, and methodology of Genichi Taguchi in the field of quality engineering. Both his success and mistakes have been cited by practitioners and ..