cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Longevity and reproductive rate ofPatasson lameerei [Hym.: Mymaridae], a parasitoid ofSitona spp. [Col.: Curculionidae] eggs

Patasson lameerei DeBauche produced an average of 28.5 offspring under 2 temperature regimes usingSitona hispidulus (Fabricius) eggs as hosts. Although its fecundity was not affected by the temperature regimes,P. lameerei lived significantly longer at 6.7/18.3°C than at 21.1°C. When ample hosts were available,P. lameerei produced more offspring during the 1st few hours of its adult life than during any other comparable period. When the parasitoids were denied access to host eggs for 1,2, or 3 days after emergence, they still produced similar numbers of offspring during their 1st 24 h exposure to hosts.
Selective use of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation is warranted after lung transplantation

Abstract Objectives: Early allograft dysfunction after lung transplantation ranges from subclinical x-ray abnormalities to pulmonary edema, hypoxemia, hypercarbia, and pulmonary hypertension. Management may include extracorporeal circulation to allow recovery of the acute lung injury. We reviewed our experience with extracorporeal membrane oxygenation after lung transplantation to assess the utility of this therapy. Methods: A retrospective chart review was performed. Single or bilateral lung transplantation was performed in 444 adults from July 1988 to July 1998. Twelve (2.7%) patients experienced allograft dysfunction severe enough to require extracorporeal membrane oxygenation after failure of conventional therapy, including sedation, paralysis, and inhaled nitric oxide. Results: Seven of 12 patients requiring extracorporeal membrane oxygenation were discharged from the hospital. Mean and median times to extracorporeal membrane oxygenation support were 1.2 days and 0 days, respectively. Mean length of support was 4.2 days. Four patients died while receiving extracorporeal membrane oxygenation support. One patient was weaned from extracorporeal membrane oxygenation but died during the hospitalization. Two patients required acute retransplantation while receiving extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, and one survived to discharge. Three patients continued to receive extracorporeal membrane oxygenation support for more than 4 days, and all 3 died. All survivors had begun receiving extracorporeal membrane oxygenation support by post-transplantation day 1. Three of 7 patients discharged from the hospital died 12 months, 13 months, and 72 months after transplantation because of bronchiolitis obliterans syndrome (n = 2) or lymphoma (n = 1). Four patients are alive 2, 12, 25, and 54 months after transplantation. Conclusions: Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation provides effective therapy for acute post-transplantation lung dysfunction. The frequency and pattern of our extracorporeal membrane oxygenation use reflects bias toward early extracorporeal membrane oxygenation support for isolated graft failure in otherwise intact and uninfected recipients. (J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg 2000;120:20-8)
Intraoperative monitoring of the facial nerve during decompressive surgery for hemifacial spasm.

✓ In 11 consecutive patients, intraoperative electromyographic (EMG) recordings were made from the facial muscles during microvascular decompression for hemifacial spasm. In one patient, recordings could not be obtained for technical reasons, and two patients had no abnormality. In the remaining eight patients, the abnormal response resolved before decompression in two, resolved immediately at the time of decompression in five, and failed to resolve in one. All patients were relieved of their hemifacial spasm. In the five patients whose abnormalities resolved at the time of decompression, there was a precise intraoperative correlation between decompression of the nerve and disappearance of the abnormal EMG response. In three cases, this was a useful guide to the need to decompress more than one vessel. These results confirm the findings of Mailer and Jannetta, support the use of this technique for intraoperative monitoring of facial nerve decompression procedures, and provide strong circumstantial evidenc...
In vitro characterization of movement, heating and visualization of magnetic nanoparticles for biomedical applications

Magnetic nanoparticles can be used for a variety of biomedical applications. They can be used in the targeted delivery of therapeutic agents in vivo, in the hyperthermic treatment of cancers, in magnetic resonance (MR) imaging as contrast agents and in the biomagnetic separations of biomolecules. In this study, a characterization of the movement and heating of three different types of magnetic nanoparticles in physiological systems in vitro is made in a known external magnetic field and alternating field respectively. Infra-red (IR) imaging and MR imaging were used to visualize these nanoparticles in vitro. A strong dependence on the size and the suspending medium is observed on the movement and heating of these nanoparticles. First, two of the particles (mean diameter d = 10 nm, uncoated Fe3O4 and d = 2.8 µm, polystyrene coated Fe3O4+γ-Fe2O3) did not move while only a dextran coated nanoparticle (d = 50 nm, γ-Fe2O3) moved in type 1 collagen used as an in vitro model system. It is also observed that the time taken by a collection of these nanoparticles to move even a smaller distance (5 mm) in collagen (~100 min) is almost ten times higher when compared to the time taken to move twice the distance (10 mm) in glycerol (~10 min) under the same external field. Second, the amount of temperature rise increases with the concentration of nanoparticles regardless of the microenvironments in the heating studies. However, the amount of heating in collagen (maximum change in temperature ΔTmax~9 °C at 1.9 mg Fe ml−1 and 19 °C at 3.7 mg Fe ml−1) is significantly less than that in water (ΔTmax~15 °C at 1.9 mg Fe ml−1 and 33 °C at 3.7 mg Fe ml−1) and glycerol (ΔTmax~13.5 °C at 1.9 mg Fe ml−1 and 30 °C at 3.7 mg Fe ml−1). Further, IR imaging provides at least a ten times improvement in the range of imaging magnetic nanoparticles, whereby a concentration of (0–4 mg Fe ml−1) could bevisualized as compared to (0–0.4 mg Fe ml−1) by MR imaging. Based on these in vitro studies, important issues and parameters that require further understanding and characterization of these nanoparticles in vivo are discussed.
Interferometric frequency measurement of 130Te2 reference transitions at 486 nm.

The frequencies of four $^{130}\mathrm{Te}_{2}$ transitions at 486 nm, which are of interest as references in precision measurements of the 1S-2S transitions in hydrogen, deuterium, and positronium, are determined with an accuracy of 1 part in ${10}^{9}$ by interferometric comparison with $^{127}\mathrm{I}_{2}$ standard transitions.
Power minimization by clock root gating

Clock root gating transformation targets power savings on the clock tree by inserting gating logic at the root of the clock. In this paper, we propose an efficient graph-based algorithm to solve the root clock gating optimization problem. The algorithm is also tightly integrated with a clock tree synthesis tool so that real power savings can be achieved after the clock tree is generated. Experimental results on industrial circuits showed that significant power savings can be achieved.
Characterization of Fish-Skin Gelatin Gels and Films Containing the Antimicrobial Enzyme Lysozyme

Fish skins are rich in collagen and can be used to produce food-grade gelatin. Films cast from fish-skin gelatins are stable at room temperature and can act as a barrier when applied to foods. Lysozyme is a food-safe, antimicrobial enzyme that can also produce gels and films. When cold-water, fish-skin gelatin is enhanced with lysozyme, the resulting film has antimicrobial properties. The objective of this study was to characterize the effect on strength and barrier properties of lysozyme-enhanced fish-skin gelatin gels and films, and evaluate their activity against potential spoilage bacteria. Solutions containing 6.67% fish-skin gelatin were formulated to contain varying levels of hen-egg-white lysozyme. Gels were evaluated for strength, clarity, and viscoelastic properties. Films were evaluated for water activity, water vapor permeability, and antimicrobial barrier capabilities. Fish-skin gels containing 0.1% and 0.01% lysozyme had pH (4.8) and gelling-temperatures (2.1 °C) similar to lysozyme-free fish-skin gelatin controls. However, gel strength decreased (up to 20%). Turbidities of gels, with or without lysozyme, were comparable at all concentrations. Films cast with gelatin containing lysozyme demonstrated similar water vapor permeabilities and water activities. Lysozyme was still detectable in most fish gelatin films. More antimicrobial activity was retained in films cast with higher lysozyme concentrations and in films where lysozyme was added after the gelatin had been initially heated. These results suggest that fish-skin gelatin gels and films, when formulated with lysozyme, may provide a unique, functional barrier to increase the shelf life of food products.
Operators with Powers close to a Fixed Operator

It is intuitively obvious that if z is a complex number such that ∣1– z v ∣ ≤ b ≺ 1 for all positive integers p and some real number b , then z = 1. The purpose of this note is to exhibit a proof of the following generalisation of this observation: THEOREM. Let A be continuous linear operator on a reflexive Banachspace B. If there exists a continuous linear operator T on B, a real number b, and a positive integer p' such that , p an integer and , then A = I. Moreover, in this case ∥I—T∥.
Genetic Deletion of Pregnancy-Associated Plasma Protein-A Is Associated With Resistance to Atherosclerotic Lesion Development in Apolipoprotein E–Deficient Mice Challenged With a High-Fat Diet

Pregnancy-associated plasma protein-A (PAPP-A), a metalloproteinase in the insulin-like growth factor (IGF) system, is markedly upregulated in human atherosclerotic plaque. To determine whether PAPP-A plays an active role in the development of atherosclerosis, we crossed mice lacking apolipoprotein E (ApoE) with PAPP-A-deficient mice, generating ApoE knock-out (KO), PAPP-A KO, wild-type (WT/WT), and ApoE/PAPP-A double KO (KO/KO) mice. These mice were fed a high-fat diet starting at 7 weeks of age. Total serum cholesterol levels were elevated similarly in the ApoE KO and KO/KO mice and were 10-fold higher than in the WT/WT and PAPP-A KO mice. WT/WT and PAPP-A KO mice showed little or no lesion development even after 20 weeks of diet. ApoE KO mice had a progressive increase in aortic lesion area over 20 weeks of diet. In comparison, lesion area was reduced 60% to 80% in KO/KO mice. Lesions of ApoE KO aortas had 8- to 20-fold increases in PAPP-A, IGFBP-4, and IGF-I mRNA levels compared with nonlesional areas, whereas IGF-I receptor levels were equivalent--conditions for enhanced lesional IGF activity. Consistent with this, an in vivo marker of IGF-I receptor-mediated action was increased 10-fold in lesions from ApoE KO compared with KO/KO aortas. These data indicate that PAPP-A plays a critical role in lesion development in a mouse model of atherosclerosis, at least in part, through amplification of local IGF-I bioavailability.
CMB constraints on WIMP annihilation: Energy absorption during the recombination epoch

We compute in detail the rate at which energy injected by dark matter (DM) annihilation heats and ionizes the photon-baryon plasma at z{approx}1000, and provide accurate fitting functions over the relevant redshift range for a broad array of annihilation channels and DM masses. The resulting perturbations to the ionization history can be constrained by measurements of the CMB temperature and polarization angular power spectra. We show that models which fit recently measured excesses in 10-1000 GeV electron and positron cosmic rays are already close to the 95% confidence limits from WMAP. The recently launched Planck satellite will be capable of ruling out a wide range of DM explanations for these excesses. In models of dark matter with Sommerfeld-enhanced annihilation, where rises with decreasing WIMP velocity until some saturation point, the WMAP5 constraints imply that the enhancement must be close to saturation in the neighborhood of the Earth.
Clopidogrel Is Not Associated With Major Bleeding Complications During Peripheral Arterial Surgery

Objectives Persistent variation in practice surrounds preoperative clopidogrel management at the time of vascular surgery. While some surgeons preferentially discontinue clopidogrel citing a perceived risk of perioperative bleeding, others will proceed with surgery in patients taking clopidogrel for an appropriate indication. The purpose of this study was to determine whether preoperative clopidogrel use was associated with significant bleeding complications during peripheral arterial surgery. Methods We reviewed a prospective regional vascular surgery registry recorded by 66 surgeons from 15 centers in New England from 2003 to 2009. Preoperative clopidogrel use within 48 hours of surgery was analyzed among patients undergoing carotid endarterectomy (CEA), lower extremity bypass (LEB), endovascular abdominal aortic aneurysm repair (EVAR), and open abdominal aortic aneurysm repair (oAAA). Ruptured AAAs were excluded. Endpoints included postoperative bleeding requiring reoperation, as well as the incidence and volume of blood transfusion. Statistical analysis was performed using analysis of variance, Fisher exact, χ 2 , and Wilcoxon rank-sum tests. Results Over the study interval, a total of 10,406 patients underwent surgery, including 5264 CEA, 2883 LEB, 1125 EVAR, and 1134 oAAA repair. Antiplatelet use among all patients varied, with 19% (n = 2010) taking no antiplatelet agents, 69% (n = 7132) taking aspirin (ASA) alone, 2.2% (n = 229) taking clopidogrel alone, and 9.7% (n = 1017) taking both ASA and clopidogrel. Clopidogrel alone or as dual antiplatelet therapy was most frequently used prior to CEA and least frequently prior to oAAA group (CEA 16.1%, LEB 9.0%, EVAR 6.5%, oAAA 5%). Reoperation for bleeding was not significantly different among patients based on antiplatelet regimen (none 1.5%, ASA 1.3%, clopidogrel 0.9%, ASA/clopidogrel 1.5%, P = .74). When analyzed by operation type, no difference in reoperation for bleeding was seen across antiplatelet regimens. There was also no difference in the incidence of transfusion among antiplatelet treatment groups (none 18%, ASA 17%, clopidogrel 0%, ASA/clopidogrel 24%, P = .1) and none when analyzed by individual operation type. Among patients who did require transfusion, there was no significant difference in the mean number of units of packed red blood cells required (none 0.7 units, ASA 0.5 units, clopidogrel 0 units, ASA/clopidogrel 0.6 units, P = .1) or when stratified by operation type. Conclusions Patients undergoing peripheral arterial surgery in whom clopidogrel was continued either alone or as part of dual antiplatelet therapy did not have significant bleeding complications compared with patients taking no antiplatelet therapy or ASA alone at the time of surgery. These data suggest that clopidogrel can safely be continued preoperatively in patients with appropriate indications for its use, such as symptomatic carotid disease or recent drug-eluting coronary stents.
Abnormal Arteriovenous Communications Great Variability of Effects with Particular Reference to Delayed Development of Cardiac Failure

Clinical experiences and experimental studies provide evidence that an abnormal communication between the arterial and venous systems introduces into the circulation two circuits of flowing blood, one characterized by high arterial pressure and high peripheral resistance, and a second system bypassing part of the first, thus introducing a shorter circuit back to the heart, characterized by low pressure and low resistance, each supplied with flowing blood from the same central source, the heart. This shorter circuit acts solely as a parasitic circuit engrafted upon the normal circulation, serving no useful purpose, but capable of producing serious deleterious effects, depending upon the volume of blood diverted from the normal circulation into the shorter or parasitic circuit. Intimately dependent upon this diversion of differing volumes of blood into the shorter circuit is the great diversity in the effects of a peripheral fistula upon the heart: the complete absence of cardiac dilatation in some cases; t...
Inactivation of an x-irradiated tumor by independent processes in vivo.

An inactivation model is postulated for tumor-cell radiation response in vivo based upon the response to multiple independent processes. These are intrinsic cell radiation response (Process 1), and immunological host resistance (Process 2). A composite dose-effect relationship which arises is described. Experimental data found with the LSA mouse lymphoma are analyzed and show agreement with the model proposed. Tumeur LSA des Souris C57BL Un modele d'inactivation est postule pour la reponse in vivo des cellules tumorales a l'irradiation basee sur la reponse aux processus multiples independants qui sont: la reponse intrinseque des cellules a l'irradiation (processus 1) et la resistance immunologique de l'hǒte (processus 2). Les auteurs decrivent la relation composite dose-effet qu'ils ont constatee. Ils analysent les donnees experimentales recueillies d'apres le lymphome LSA de la souris; ces donnees concordent avec le modele propose.
Comparative safety of various intracanal irrigation systems.

The objective of this project was to evaluate the safety of various intracanal irrigation systems by measuring the apical extrusion of irrigant. Twenty-two single canal, extracted mature teeth were instrumented and secured through the lid of a scintillation vial to collect apically extruded irrigant. A precision syringe pump delivered controlled amounts of irrigant at a constant flow. The irrigation systems used were EndoVac Micro and Macro Cannula, EndoActivator, manual irrigation with Max-I-Probe needle, Ultrasonic Needle Irrigation, and Rinsendo. Results were analyzed by using one-way analysis of variance with Scheffe test (P < .05). The EndoVac Micro and Macro cannulae groups did not extrude irrigant, and there was no statistically significant difference between these 2 groups and the EndoActivator group. Within the groups that produced extrusion, EndoActivator extruded statistically significantly less irrigant than Manual, Ultrasonic, and Reinsendo groups. There was no statistically significant difference among Manual, Ultrasonic, and Rinsendo groups. This study showed that the EndoVac did not extrude irrigant after deep intracanal delivery and suctioning the irrigant from the chamber to full working length. EndoActivator had a minimal, although statistically insignificant, amount of irrigant extruded out of the apex when delivering irrigant into the pulp chamber and placing the tip into the canal and initiating the sonic energy of the EndoActivator. Manual, Ultrasonic, and Rinsendo groups had significantly greater amount of extrusion compared with EndoVac and EndoActivator.
Ambient it is meaningful too

In one of the many insightful passages in his Meaning and the structure of language (Chafe, 1970), Wallace Chafe characterizes sentences like It's hot, It's late, and It's Tuesday as referring to ‘all-encompassing states’. ‘They cover,’ he says, ‘the total environment, not just some object within it’ (101). His treatment, in common with most others – but in his case partly because of the centrality of the verb in his System – denies any value to it: ‘it need not reflect anything at all in the semantic structure’. I believe that the notion of ambience is correct, though that of totality must be qualified; but I think that not only is it more than an empty surface element: it has as its referent precisely the ‘environment’ that is central to the whole idea. There is a hint of this notion in a recent observation by Arthur Schwartz (1972: 70–71) concerning it seems: ‘the surface it is not really a pronominal substitute for the proposition, but closer to the impersonal situational it of It is cold today or It is crowded in here’.
A CMOS Analog Front-End interface IC for gas sensors

This paper presents a gas sensor readout IC for amperometric and conductometric electrochemical sensors. The Analog Front-End (AFE) readout circuit enables tracking long term exposure to hazardous gas fumes in diesel and gasoline equipment, which may be correlated to diseases. The AFE reads out the output of eight conductometric sensor arrays and eight amperometric sensor arrays. The IC consists of a low noise potentiostat, and associated 9bit current-steering DAC for sensor stimulus, followed by the first order nested chopped ΣΔ ADC. The conductometric sensor uses a current driven approach for extracting conductance of the sensor depending on gas concentration. The amperometric sensor uses a potentiostat to apply constant voltage to the sensors and an I/V converter to measure current out of the sensor. The core area for the AFE is 2.65×0.95 mm2. The proposed system achieves 91 dB SNR at 1.32mW quiescent power consumption per channel. With digital offset storage and nested chopping, the readout chain achieves 500 µV input referred offset.
Bifurcations with O(3) symmetry including applications to the Bénard problem

This paper has two purposes: to study from the singularity theory point of view certain bifurcation problems which commute with the five-dimensional irreducible representation of the orthogonal group O(3) and to give some implications of this study for the Benard problem in spherical geometry. We shall now describe in general terms our results and compare them with the work of Chossat [3] whose paper motivated our own interest in the problem. The Benard problem is concerned with convection in a viscous fluid when it is heated from below. The fluid is assumed to be confined in a spherical shell of outer radius R, and inner radius qRo, where q is near 0.3. This choice of q is partially motivated by considering convection within the molten layer of the core of the earth (see Busse [l] for further discussion). We consider the Binard problem in the Boussinesq approximation. In this model there is a trivial solution representing pure heat conduction radially outward. As the temperature on the inner sphere (that is, the Rayleigh number R) is increased, this trivial solution loses stability, say at R = R'. The Benard problem is the study of the resulting bifurcation. Chossat studies this problem using the Lyapunov-Schmidt reduction. In the Boussinesq approximation the fluid is driven from the pure conduction state by a term in the momentum equation involving the gravity vector g(r) and a term in the temperature equation involving the gradient of the conduction temperature VT,. Assuming that the production of heat and the density are uniform throughout the shell, these vectors have the form
Characterization of a novel 132-bp exon of the human maxi-K channel

The large-conductance Ca2+-activated voltage-dependent K+ channel (maxi-K channel) induces a significant repolarizing current that buffers cell excitability. This channel can derive its diversity by alternative splicing of its transcript-producing isoforms that differ in their sensitivity to voltage and intracellular Ca2+. We have identified a novel 132-bp exon of the maxi-K channel from human myometrial cells that encodes 44 amino acids within the first intracellular loop of the channel protein. Distribution analysis reveals that this exon is expressed predominantly in human smooth muscle tissues with the highest abundance in the uterus and aorta and resembles the previously reported distribution of the total maxi-K channel transcript. Single-channel K+ current measurements in fibroblasts transfected with the maxi-K channel containing this novel 132-bp exon demonstrate that the presence of this insert attenuates the sensitivity to voltage and intracellular Ca2+. Alternative splicing to introduce this 132-bp exon into the maxi-K channel may elicit another mode to modulate cell excitability.
Marketing Using Web 2.0

The increasing popularity of Web 2.0 tools, such as blogs, wikis, and virtual worlds, is fundamentally changing how consumers use the Web. The basic core of Web 2.0, that users can generate and share their own content, often regarding company brands and products, provides both potential value and challenges to marketing practitioners. Along with conducting secondary research, we interviewed 30 marketing executives and senior managers at companies at the forefront of using this technology. We found that there were four principles which guided managers' marketing actions: 1) facilitate users in generating content, 2) focus on building a community, 3) ensure authenticity of the message, and 4) look for marketing opportunities through experimentation.
Categories, borders and boundaries:

In recent years, categories have been a topic of substantial research in the social sciences and humanities. Although many problematic categories such as culture, gender and scale have been criticized, moving beyond them has proved to be surprisingly diffi cult. This paper attributes this diffi culty to what is termed the paradox of categories and argues that the key problems with categories emerge from the contradictory ways their boundaries are intellectually and cognitively understood. By integrating poststructural insights into the role categories play in ordering modern society with research from cognitive science on the role categories play as containers in cognitive processes, this paper argues that the boundaries of categories should be understood as always inchoate - only partially formed and incomplete. The paper concludes that research into cat- egories and boundaries is unnecessarily fragmented across a wide range of disciplines and proposes expanding boundary studies in geography to be the fi eld that investigates the bounding processes that result in all types of categories.
Modeling, Nonlinear Dynamics, and Identification of a Piezoelectrically Actuated Microcantilever Sensor

Nanomechanical cantilever sensors (NMCSs) have recently emerged as an effective means for label-free chemical and biological species detection. They operate through the adsorption of species on the functionalized surface of mechanical cantilevers. Through this functionalization, molecular recognition is directly transduced into a micromechanical response. In order to effectively utilize these sensors in practice and correctly relate the micromechanical response to the associated adsorbed species, the chief technical issues related to modeling must be resolved. Along these lines, this paper presents a general nonlinear-comprehensive modeling framework for piezoelectrically actuated microcantilevers and validates it experimentally. The proposed model considers both longitudinal and flexural vibrations and their coupling in addition to the ever-present geometric and material nonlinearities. Utilizing Euler-Bernoulli beam theory and employing the inextensibility conditions, the coupled longitudinal-flexural equations of motion are reduced to one nonlinear partial differential equation describing the flexural vibrations of the sensor. Using a Galerkian expansion, the resulting equation is discretized into a set of nonlinear ordinary differential equations. The method of multiple scales is then implemented to analytically construct the nonlinear response of the sensor near the first modal frequency (primary resonance of the first vibration mode). These solutions are compared to experimental results demonstrating that the sensor exhibits a softening-type nonlinear response. Such behavior can be attributed to the presence of quadratic material nonlinearities in the piezoelectric layer. This observation is critical, as it suggests that unlike macrocantilevers where the geometric hardening nonlinearities dominate the response behavior, material nonlinearities dominate the response of microcantilevers yielding a softening-type response. This behavior should be accounted for when designing and employing such sensors for practical applications.
Where did the Productivity Growth Go? Inflation Dynamics and the Distribution of Income

A basic tenet of economic science is that productivity growth is the source of growth in real income per capita. But our results raise doubts by creating a direct link between macro productivity growth and the micro evolution of the income distribution. We show that over the entire period 1966-2001, as well as over 1997-2001, only the top 10 percent of the income distribution enjoyed a growth rate of real wage and salary income equal to or above the average rate of economy-wide productivity growth. Growth in median real wage and salary income barely grew at all while average wage and salary income kept pace with productivity growth, because half of the income gains went to the top 10% of the income distribution, leaving little left over for the bottom 90%. Half of this inequality effect is attributable to gains of the 90th percentile over the 10th percentile; the other half is due to increased skewness within the top 10%. In addition to its micro analysis, this paper also asks whether faster productivity growth reduces inflation, raises nominal wage growth, or raises profits. We find that an acceleration or deceleration of the productivity growth trend alters the inflation rate by at least one-for-one in the opposite direction. This paper revives research on wage adjustment and produces a dynamic interactive model of price and wage adjustment that explains movements of labour's share of income. What caused rising income inequality? Economists have placed too much emphasis on 'skill-biased technical change' and too little attention to the sources of increased skewness at the very top, within the top 1% of the income distribution. We distinguish two complementary explanations, the 'economics of superstars,' i.e., the pure rents earned by sports and entertainment stars, and the escalating compensation premia of CEOs and other top corporate officers. These sources of divergence at the top, combined with the role of deunionization, immigration, and free trade in pushing down incomes at the bottom, have led to the wide divergence between the growth rates of productivity, average compensation, and median compensation.
Singled out: Exploring epigenetics

How do genetically identical cells develop and maintain their distinct phenotypes? Conrad Waddington originally envisioned undifferentiated cells as marbles rolling down a rugged epigenetic landscape. Marbles start at the same location but travel different trajectories to various nooks and crannies
Experiments on ß-mercaptoethanol as an inhibitor of neurulation movements in amphibian larvae

The morphogenetic movements of the ectoderm during neurulation include: (1) the movements taking place within the neural plate, which becomes longer and more concentrated in a medio-lateral direction (Jacobson, 1962); and (2) those found in the lateral epidermis layer which, in an epibolic way, moves in a dorsal direction, thus exerting a pushing effect on the lateral edges of the neural plate (Lewis, 1947). The former is, to a great extent, realized by a change of form of the neuroepithelium cells, from cuboidal in early neurulae to the high columnar cells observed during later phases of neural-tube closure. In the epidermis, on the other hand, the case is the reverse. The dorsal spreading of the layer is made possible by a flattening of the cells. In a series of papers, Brachet and his group have show that β-mercaptoethanol (HSCH 2 ·CH 2 OH; in this article, called ME) inhibits neurulation (for review, see Brachet, 1964).
Analysis of purine- and pyrimidine-induced vascular responses in the isolated rat cerebral arteriole.

Effects of extraluminal UTP were studied and compared with vascular responses to ATP and its analogs in rat cerebral-penetrating arterioles. UTP, UDP, 2-methylthio-ATP, and α,β-methylene-ATP dilate...
MRI-monitored electromagnetic heating using iterative feedback control and phase interference mapping

Noninvasive electromagnetic hyperthermia, used in combination with radiotherapy or chemotherapy, is a promising technique in the treatment of large, deep-lying tumours. One of the major difficulties in effective implementation, however, is that the spatial distribution of electric fields within the patient is strongly influenced by tissue morphology and dielectric properties, and is therefore difficult to model. Even when desired heating profiles are achieved experimentally, the specific absorption rate at the focus generally does not reach its theoretical maximum value since the E-fields are not completely coherent. In this article, a new method, phase interference mapping, is developed to address this latter problem and is demonstrated in phantoms. The complete process for optimizing spatial and temporal control of electromagnetic heating has three separate steps. The first involves phase calibration of the individual dipoles of a phased array applicator with a noninvasive E-field probe placed on the surface of the phantom. In the second step, an iterative feedback method is used to rapidly steer the thermal focus as close as possible to the desired location. Noninvasive mapping of the temperature and specific absorption rate is realized by magnetic resonance imaging. The final step in the process consists of phase interference mapping of the dipoles, to maximize E-field coherence. Temporal control of the temperature rise or specific absorption rate can then be performed. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Concepts Magn Reson Part B (Magn Reson Engineering) 23B: 1–15, 2004
Cinderella revisited: Women’s appearance modification as a function of target audience sex and attractiveness

The impact of 2 target audience characteristics on appearance modification was examined. Women participants were led to expect an interaction with an attractive or unattractive male or female target (randomly assigned). Female raters assessed the amount of cosmetics worn by participants both before the experimental manipulation and on the day that they returned for the anticipated interaction. It was revealed that women wore significantly more makeup when they anticipated an interaction with a highly attractive target, irrespective of sex, wore the same amount of makeup when anticipating meeting an unattractive woman, and wore significantly less makeup when expecting to meet an unattractive man. These findings are congruent with a self-presentational conceptualization of appearance and provide evidence that attractiveness and sex/gender are powerful social cues that elicit behavioral displays from others.
Chemistry in Kant’s opus postumum

In his Metaphysische Anfangsgrunde der Naturwissenschaft, Kant claims that chemistry is an improper although rational science. The chemistry to which Kant confers this status is the phlogistic chem...
Postural interneurons in the abdominal nervous system of lobster. III. Pathways mediating intersegmental spread of excitation.

1. The multisegmented abdomen of crayfish and lobster assumes a variety of postures as components of different behavioral acts. Experimentally these postures can be maintained by activating any of a number of premotor positioning interneurons. The pathways by which the motor output in two or more segments is coordinated were here investigated for a small group of identified postural interneurons whose somata lie in the 2nd abdominal ganglion (A2). 2. Stimulation of all postural interneurons examined evokes a motor output in other abdominal ganglia through which the axon of the neuron passes as well as in the ganglion of origin (ganglion containing the neuron's cell body). The spread of motor excitation away from the originating ganglion occurs via two general pathways. 3. In the first pathway connections to postural motoneurons are made directly by processes of the postural interneuron which pass into ganglia distal to the originating ganglion. Examples of this are shown for two flexion producing interneurons (FPIs) 201 and 301. Each of these FPIs makes monosynaptic connections with motoneurons in A2 and with a homologous set of motoneurons in A3. 4. All postural interneurons fired a set of corollary discharge interneurons (CDIs) whose activities were recorded from the abdominal connectives. Two FPIs, 202 and 301, and a third interneuron, 503, produced motor outputs in ganglia to which they did not project. The motor specificity established in A2 by stimulation of FPIs 202 and 301 (whose axons pass caudally) was preserved in more rostral ganglia, such as A1. Therefore, different sets of CDIs can be specifically recruited to spread the same motor program that is initiated in the originating ganglion to ganglia that do not receive projections from the stimulated postural interneuron. 5. CDIs, in addition, have the capacity to elicit motor programs in distal ganglia that are markedly different from that expressed in the ganglion of origin. For example, although 503 produced an inhibitory output in the abdominal ganglia that it innervated (A1 and A2), a flexion response was generated by it in more caudal ganglia. The caudal flexion response was mediated in part through a monosynaptic activation of FPI 201 and through other unidentified CDIs. Thus, the interneuronal circuitry for postural control is composed of numerous components, some of which have regional control over different portions of the abdominal nerve cord. Depending upon the required movement, select components are coactivated, either serially or in parallel, to effect a variety of spatially distinct positions.
Solidarity and alignment in nurse practitioner–patient interactions

This article focuses on how solidarity is negotiated in interactions during medical visits between nurse practitioners (NPs) and patients. Drawing on data from ethnographic field notes, audio-recorded interactions and interviews involving one NP and 20 patients, the article outlines ways in which the NP creates a sense of solidarity by lessening the social distance between herself and her patients. These attempts at solidarity do not correlate with what has been noted in previous studies of medical visits involving medical doctors (MDs) and may represent a difference in how both the NP and the patients view the NP as a mid-level provider. As NPs are taking on a more prominent role in the healthcare landscape, it is important to understand what the interactional norms are and how these may deviate from the norm set by MDs.
The clinical value of dynamic measurement of cardiac output in early shock neonates

Objective To dynamically measure cardiac output in shock neonates and to explore its clinical values. Methods The cardiac output and stroke volume of left ventricle in 30 shock neonates and 30 normal neonates were measured by noninvasive ultrasonic cardiac output monitor (USCOM) and the measurement was repeated in shock neonates after volume expansion and dopamine (2 4 μg / (kg·min)) treatment. Results The cardiac output and stroke volume of left ventricle in shock neonates ((0.36 ± 0.24) L / min,(3.5 ± 1.5) cm3) were significantly lower than those in normal neonates ((0.49 ± 0.15) L / min,(2.7 ± 1.6) cm3)) and however were improved significantly after volume expansion and dopamine treatment ((0.52 ± 0.28) L / min,(3.8 ± 1.8) cm3). The urine volume was also increased significantly after treatment (P 0.05). Conclusions Dynamic measurement of the cardiac output in early shock neonates might offer guidance on clinical fluid resuscitation.
Serial serum CA 125 measurements for evaluation of recurrence in patients with endometrial carcinoma.

Objective To evaluate the usefulness of serum assays for CA 125 to detect recurrent endometrial carcinoma. Methods Two hundred sixty-six patients were studied with 1101 post-treatment assays. Patients were categorized as low, medium, or high risk based on surgical-pathologic findings. CA 125 values were analyzed with respect to each patient's disease status. Results Serial CA 125 levels were elevated (greater than 35 U/mL) in 19 of 33 patients (58%) with recurrent disease. Among 236 surgically treated patients, 97 (41.1%), 42 (17.8%), and 97 (41.1%) were considered low, medium, and high risk, respectively. None of the low-risk and only two (4.7%) of the medium-risk patients developed recurrent disease. One of the latter patients was detected based on an elevated CA 125 level alone. Twenty-seven (27.8%) of the high-risk patients developed recurrent disease, 23 of whom had elevated pre-treatment CA 125. Fifteen of 16 (94%) with recurrent disease had an elevated CA 125 level. Nine of 12 patients with papillary serous carcinoma experienced recurrence; eight of these nine had elevated CA 125 levels at diagnosis and recurrence, in contrast to only one patient with a normal pre-treatment level (P = .018). False elevations were noted in 13 patients, 12 of whom had received radiation therapy. Conclusions CA 125, if elevated at diagnosis of endometrial carcinoma, is an important marker for recurrent disease. The use of serial CA 125 assays is most beneficial in diagnosing recurrence in a high-risk population, including patients with papillary serous carcinomas. False elevations may occur following radiation therapy.
How Bayesian estimation might improve CBS measure development: A case study with body-image flexibility in Hispanic students

Abstract The methods for examining questionnaires in psychology are steeped in conventional statistics. However, many within the social sciences have started exploring Bayesian methods as an alternative to the conventional approach. This paper highlights the usefulness of Bayesian methodology for factor analysis, using the Body Image Acceptance and Action Questionnaire (BI-AAQ) as a case study. In an all-Hispanic undergraduate sample (n=289), we compared techniques from Bayesian and frequentist estimation for examining the factor structure of the BI-AAQ. Results indicated Bayesian estimation was flexible and offered unique insights relative to the conventional frequentist approach. We conclude the BI-AAQ was a structurally valid measure for our all-Hispanic sample and that Bayesian methods may be fruitful for further evaluation within the contextual behavioral science community.
Energy, Transportation, Air Quality, Climate Change, Health Nexus: Sustainable Energy is Good for Our Health

The Paris Agreement on Climate Change has the potential to improve air quality and human health by encouraging the electrification of transportation and a transition from coal to sustainable energy. There will be human health benefits from reducing combustion emissions in all parts of the world. Solar powered charging infrastructure for electric vehicles adds renewable energy to generate electricity, shaded parking, and a needed charging infrastructure for electric vehicles that will reduce range anxiety. The costs of wind power, solar panels, and batteries are falling because of technological progress, magnitude of commercial activity, production experience, and competition associated with new trillion dollar markets. These energy and transportation transitions can have a very positive impact on health. The energy, transportation, air quality, climate change, health nexus may benefit from additional progress in developing solar powered charging infrastructure.
Modeling and Design of Peptidomimetics to Modulate Protein–Protein Interactions

We describe a modular approach to identify and inhibit protein-protein interactions (PPIs) that are mediated by protein secondary and tertiary structures with rationally designed peptidomimetics. Our analysis begins with entries of high-resolution complexes in the Protein Data Bank and utilizes conformational sampling, scoring, and design capabilities of advanced biomolecular modeling software to develop peptidomimetics.
SmartResponse: Emergency and Non-emergency Response for Smartphone Based Indoor Localization Applications

In this paper, we present an Android based application that uses Wi-Fi fingerprinting technique to locate a person in an indoor environment with an accuracy of 1–2 m in 70% and 2–3 m in 30% of the test runs. This application can run in the background and whenever the individual requires assistance, their exact location along with a floor map image can be communicated to the appropriate authorities through an SMS, which is activated by pre-defined gestures such as swipe on a smartphone. We envision that the proposed application will assist people who are blind or visually impaired in navigating an indoor environment and in requesting assistance from other individual during their independent navigation.
Attachment avoidance to God exacerbates the negative effect of tangible resource loss on psychological resource loss

ABSTRACTThe present study examined the impact of losing tangible resources on psychological resources in a sample of college students (n = 160) affected by Hurricane Katrina. The data was collected approximately five months after the storm. Based on conservation of resources theory, we tested whether the loss of tangible resources (e.g., food, water) would be positively related to the loss of psychological resources (e.g., optimism, hope), and whether this association would be exacerbated by having an insecure (anxious or avoidant) attachment to God. As predicted, loss of tangible resources was related to the loss of psychological resources, and this relationship was amplified in participants who had an avoidant attachment to God. We conclude by discussing implications of the present study and areas for future research.
Simulation of self-induced unsteady motion in the near wake of a Joukowski airfoil

Recent impetus for research in unsteady separated flows stems from a wide range of applications from low- to high- Reynolds number, Re. The physics of high-Re flows, in general, is quite complex and often involves multiple nonuniqueness and chaos, beyond simple unsteady separation. For the low-Re case, e.g. in the manuevering of fighter aircraft at high angle-of-attack in near- and post-stall regime, the vortex interaction dominates the flow field. The passage of vortices over the suction surface and their subsequent shedding leads to self-excited persistently unsteady flows. This flow field is extremely complicated due to the global effect of unsteady separated flow, coupled with the presence of hydrodynamic instabilities which may trigger transition and eventually lead to chaos. Besides supermaneuverability, interest also lies in this low-Re case because of the need for design of efficient airfoil sections for Re in the range of 105–106, for improving the performance of mini-RPV’s (remotely piloted vehicles) operating at low altitudes, jet engine compressor and turbine blades, helicopter rotor blades, etc.