cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Bionanotechnology and the future of glioma.

Designer nanoscaled materials have the potential to revolutionize diagnosis and treatment for glioma. This review summarizes current progress in nanoparticle-based therapies for glioma treatment including targeting, drug delivery, gene delivery, and direct tumor ablation. Preclinical and current human clinical trials are discussed. Although progress in the field has been significant over the past decade, many successful strategies demonstrated in the laboratory have yet to be implemented in human clinical trials. Looking forward, we provide examples of combined treatment strategies, which harness the potential for nanoparticles to interact with their biochemical environment, and simultaneously with externally applied photons or magnetic fields. We present our notion of the “ideal” nanoparticle for glioma, a concept that may soon be realized.
Studies in machine cognition using the game of poker

A progress report is presented of on-going research efforts concerning human decision making under uncertainty and risk and human problem solving and learning processes on the one hand, and machine learning, large scale programming systems, and novel programming techniques on the other. There has also been interest in how humans make deductive and inductive inferences and form and optimize heuristic rules, and how machines can reach similar results. Although the vehicle of these investigations has been the game of poker, a conceptual framework has been provided that should have a fairly wide range of applicability. The models of human judgement, choice, and decision making are incorporated in a large scale complex program. They represent both descriptive and normative theories of behavior. An interactive game environment has been recently established which, besides its usefulness for experiments in game playing, enables humans to construct machine strategies “on-line” in a question answering, advice taking mode.
A note on pricing of hub-and-spoke networks

Abstract The difference between competitive and monopolistic pricing of airlines' hub-and-spoke networks is examined. It is found that under reasonable cost conditions pass-through passengers pay lower prices per mile than those originating or ending at the hub. Thus, higher per-mile prices in large hubs do not necessarily signal market power.
Intermedia Influences Among Ghanaian Online and Print News Media: Explicating Salience Transfer of Media Agendas

Four major publications in Ghana (Daily Graphic, Daily Guide, Ghana News Agency [GNA], and Ghanaweb) were used to investigate intermedia agenda-setting relationships in Africa’s emerging era of lib...
Munc18c Interaction with Syntaxin 4 Monomers and SNARE Complex Intermediates in GLUT4 Vesicle Trafficking

In the process of insulin-stimulated GLUT4 vesicle exocytosis, Munc18c has been proposed to control SNARE complex formation by inactivating syntaxin 4 in a self-associated conformation. Using in vivo fluorescence resonance energy transfer in 3T3L1 adipocytes, co-immunoprecipitation, and in vitro binding assays, we provide data to indicate that Munc18c also associates with nearly equal affinity to a mutant of syntaxin 4 in a constitutively open (unfolded) state (L173A/E174A; LE). To bind to the open conformation of syntaxin 4, we found that Munc18c requires an interaction with the N terminus of syntaxin 4, which resembles Sly1 interaction with the N terminus of ER/Golgi syntaxins. However, both N and C termini of syntaxin 4 are required for Munc18c binding, since a mutation in the syntaxin 4 SNARE domain (I241A) reduces the interaction, irrespective of syntaxin 4 conformation. Using an optical reporter for syntaxin 4-SNARE pairings in vivo, we demonstrate that Munc18c blocks recruitment of SNAP23 to wild type syntaxin 4 yet associates with syntaxin 4LE-SNAP23 Q-SNARE complexes. Fluorescent imaging of GLUT4 vesicles in 3T3L1 adipocytes revealed that syntaxin 4LE expressed with Munc18c bypasses the requirement of insulin for GLUT4 vesicle plasma membrane docking. This effect was attenuated by reducing the Munc18c-syntaxin 4LE interaction with the I241A mutation, indicating that Munc18c facilitates vesicle docking. Therefore, in contradiction to previous models, our data indicates that the conformational "opening" of syntaxin 4 rather than the dissociation of Munc18c is the critical event required for GLUT4 vesicle docking.
Elastic-plastic aluminium ring response to pulsed electron beam impulse

Abstract Aluminum alloy 6061-T6 and 7075-T73 rings with lead and tin blowoff overlays were exposed to the Hermes II pulsed electron beam. The resultant energy deposition and subsequent expansion of the overlay produced an impulse load on the ring. High speed framing camera photographs permitted determination of the peak impulse and the variation of the impulse with angular location. The framing camera photographs also yielded the time dependent ring deformation profiles. Favorable comparisons were obtained between the UNIVALVE calculated response and the observed ring response.
Geometric entropy minimization (GEM) for anomaly detection and localization

We introduce a novel adaptive non-parametric anomaly detection approach, called GEM, that is based on the minimal covering properties of K-point entropic graphs when constructed on N training samples from a nominal probability distribution. Such graphs have the property that as N → ∞ their span recovers the entropy minimizing set that supports at least ρ = K/N(100)% of the mass of the Lebesgue part of the distribution. When a test sample falls outside of the entropy minimizing set an anomaly can be declared at a statistical level of significance α = 1 – ρ. A method for implementing this non-parametric anomaly detector is proposed that approximates this minimum entropy set by the influence region of a K-point entropic graph built on the training data. By implementing an incremental leave-one-out k-nearest neighbor graph on resampled subsets of the training data GEM can efficiently detect outliers at a given level of significance and compute their empirical p-values. We illustrate GEM for several simulated and real data sets in high dimensional feature spaces.
Spatial Distribution of Alligator Holes in the Central Everglades

Abstract Alligator holes are a key feature of Everglades marshes that provide refugia and foraging sites for a wide range of species. We investigated the spatial pattern of alligator holes in Water Conservation Area 3, a part of the central Everglades, and examined associations among alligator holes, canals, and hydrology. There were fewer alligator holes within 1000 m of canals than expected, supporting the hypothesis that Alligator mississippiensis (American Alligator) are using canals as aquatic refugia rather than creating or maintaining alligator holes in the marsh. In addition, density of holes was associated with hydrology; specifically, areas that were drier had more than twice as many alligator holes than areas that were wetter. Analyses from this study provide a baseline for evaluating changes in location and density of alligator holes in response to canal removal and hydrologic changes that will occur as part of Everglades restoration.
Abdominal Pain Unrelated to Trauma

The evaluation of abdominal pain in childhood requires excellence in diagnostic acumen followed by careful decision making. The best clinician for such children is an excellent history taker; a careful, thorough, and gentle examiner; and a clear decision maker. This review will present those causes of abdominal pain that require surgical evaluation and possible operative intervention. In its simplest form, an operation is mandated in all patients who have findings of parietal peritonitis (except primary peritonitis), but there are many other features of abdominal pain that require input and intervention by the pediatric surgeon. Foremost in the mind of the clinician examining children under 1 year of age who have abdominal pain must be intussusception (range 3 months to 3 years). The emphasis shifts increasingly toward appendicitis for children older than 1 year. With this in mind and being ever vigilant for "the deadly vomit" (bilious emesis in the very young: midgut volvulus), one only needs to remember to check for hernias and gonads to avoid common pitfalls in the management of abdominal pain in the vast majority of patients. Some children sent home after their initial examination will be brought back for re-evaluation; certainly, all parents must be warned repeatedly to come back to the emergency unit if they are not satisfied with their child9s progress.
Breast cancer genes and the surgeon.

Two genes, called BRCA- I and BRCA-2, have been identified that appear to be responsible for the majority of familial breast cancer syndromes. These genes now play a prominent role in the practice of the surgeon treating breast cancer. Additional genes, PTEN (Cowden disease), MSHI or MLH2 (HNPCC), and p53 (Li-Fraumeni syndrome) are responsible for other breast cancer syndromes but have not yet entered the clinical arena on a large scale. The risk of breast and ovaran cancer by age 70 in a BRCA-I mutation carrier is estimated at 55-75% and 16-26 %, respectively, overall, and as high as 87% and 44% in those with a strong family history. The cancer risks associated with BRCA-2 mutations appear to be somewhat lower than those of BRCA-I. BRCA mutations show a strong founder effect. This is best recognized in the Ashkenazi Jewish community, in which the incidence of one of three characteristic mutations is about 2%. In other ethnic groups the pattern of mutations is different, with over 100 distinct mutations throughout the genes having been described. Most mutations so far have been frame-shift or mis-sense mutations, although large deletions have also been described. Thus, in most situations, assessment of the whole coding sequence is required to confirm or exclude a mutation. Guidelines to suggest who is likely to be a mutation carrier are being clarified, but the appropriate management of someone who tests positive remains difficult. Prophylactic mastectomy and oophorectomy are likely to offer substantial gains in life expectancy to mutation carriers, especially for young women with a strong family history. Unfortunately, there are no currently available strategies to eliminate the risk of breast or ovarian cancer. The psychological impact of testing also remains poorly understood, and the danger of various forms of discrimination remain. These factors must be clearly understood by all parties prior to testing. The process of a dynamic, interactive informed consent-much more than a simple printed document-and also counseling are central to the testing process.
Electrochemically reduced graphene oxide sheets for use in high performance supercapacitors

Abstract Graphene oxide (GO) was reduced by a rapid, effective and eco-friendly electrochemical method of repetitive cathodic cyclic potential cycling, without using any reducing reagents. The electrochemically reduced graphene oxide (ERGO) was characterized by UV–vis, EIS and zeta-potential measurements. Most of the oxygen functional groups in ERGO were successfully removed resulting in smaller charge transfer resistance. However, some electrochemically stable residuals still remained, enabling ERGO to facilitate electrolyte penetration and pseudocapacitance. Since ERGO was readily stabilized by cathodic potential cycling, it exhibited an outstanding stability in cycle life, nearly with no capacitive loss from the second cycle on. A specific capacitance of 223.6 F g −1 was achieved at 5 mV s −1 , which makes the ERGO a competitive material for electrochemical energy storage.
Poster: GPU-accelerated rigid body fitting of atomic structures into electron density maps

Three initial fits of 1ubi in a 6.6A resolution synthesized density map had backbone RMSDs to the correct placement of 2.7, 2.9 and 6.6 A. They have been refined with a Powell optimizer [5] in 10 iterations using 6 directions, 3 rotations a, β with 0.15 radians and γ with 0.075 radians starting direction to cover the entire euler sphere and translation with 1.1 A search directions in x, y and z. Each line search was terminated after 10 iterations or if dCCC \lg 0.001. TABLE I. summarizes timings on CPU and 4 different GPU architectures in double floating point precision.
Use of insulin-like growth factor-1 to improve post-transfer survival of bovine embryos produced in vitro

Use of in vitro produced embryos in commercial settings is limited by alterations in embryo function that result in reduced embryo and fetal survival and increased fetal, placental and neonatal abnormalities. One potential strategy to improve the efficiency of in vitro embryo production systems is to modify embryo culture conditions to more closely mimic embryo physiology in vivo. The milieu of the reproductive tract contains various growth factors and regulatory molecules which can regulate embryonic development. One of these molecules, insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1), has been reported to have beneficial effects on bovine embryo development in vitro. Addition of IGF-1 to embryo culture can increase pregnancy and calving rates in lactating dairy cows. However, recent research indicates that such an effect is only observed when recipients are heat-stressed. In non-heat stressed animals, IGF-1 treatment does not affect conceptus length or interferon-tau secretion; thus, it is not likely that IGF-1 promotes embryo survival by blocking the luteolytic cascade. On the other hand, IGF-1 treatment can alter the relative abundance of certain developmentally important transcripts. Such differences may be important to improve embryo survival during heat stress. Further research into the effect of IGF-1 on gene expression and DNA methylation are warranted. Results indicate that modification of embryo culture with a growth factor can affect embryo survival after transfer. It is important that future research evaluating modifications to embryo culture also includes experiments involving transfer of embryos to recipients. Such experiments are important to demonstrate that proposed modifications actually improve post-transfer embryonic survival.
Endoplasmic reticulum to vacuole trafficking of endoplasmic reticulum bodies provides an alternate pathway for protein transfer to the vacuole.

One of the emerging differences that appears to separate plants from the other eukaryotes is the plasticity of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) to form protein, oil, or rubber containing subcellular structures best termed ER bodies, as proposed by Hara-Nishimura and colleagues ([Matsushima et al.,
The 1999 Mw 7.1 Hector Mine, California, Earthquake: A Test of the Stress Shadow Hypothesis?

We test the stress shadow hypothesis for large earthquake interactions by examining the relationship between two large earthquakes that occurred in the Mojave Desert of southern California, the 1992 M w 7.3 Landers and 1999 M w 7.1 Hector Mine earthquakes. We want to determine if the 1999 Hector Mine earthquake occurred at a location where the Coulomb stress was increased (earthquake advance, stress trigger) or decreased (earthquake delay, stress shadow) by the previous large earthquake. Using four models of the Landers rupture and a range of possible hypocentral planes for the Hector Mine earthquake, we discover that most scenarios yield a Landers-induced relaxation (stress shadow) on the Hector Mine hypocentral plane. Although this result would seem to weigh against the stress shadow hypothesis, the results become considerably more uncertain when the effects of a nearby Landers aftershock, the 1992 M L 5.4 Pisgah earthquake, are taken into account. We calculate the combined static Coulomb stress changes due to the Landers and Pisgah earthquakes to range from –0.3 to +0.3 MPa (–3 to +3 bars) at the possible Hector Mine hypocenters, depending on choice of rupture model and hypocenter. These varied results imply that the Hector Mine earthquake does not provide a good test of the stress shadow hypothesis for large earthquake interactions. We use a simple approach, that of static dislocations in an elastic half-space, yet we still obtain a wide range of both negative and positive Coulomb stress changes. Our findings serve as a caution that more complex models purporting to explain the triggering or shadowing relationship between the 1992 Landers and 1999 Hector Mine earthquakes need to also consider the parametric and geometric uncertainties raised here.
When perceptual time stands still: long percept-memory in binocular rivalry.

Abstract We have carried out binocular rivalry experiments with a large number of subjects to obtain high quality statistics on probability distribution of dominance duration (PDDD) for two cases where (a) the rival stimulus is continuously presented and (b) the rival stimulus is periodically removed, with stimulus-on and stimulus-off intervals T on and T off respectively. In the present study we have chosen to study the regime of relatively long stimulus-on time, i.e., T on > 1 s, where the stimulus presentation duration is significantly longer than the human reaction and recognition time. In the case of periodically removed stimulus, the total probability for percept reversal during each of the successive stimulus-on intervals T on can be predicted using the PDDD for continuous viewing. More importantly, this total probability for percept reversal during any stimulus-on interval is independent of the length T off of the preceding blank time, which can be quite long. We argue that this suggests that, in the regime of long T on and T off considered here, the variables representing the perceptual state do not change significantly during long blank intervals. We discuss that these findings impose challenges to theoretical models which aim at describing visual perception.
Biomarkers of Traumatic Brain Injury in the Geriatric Population

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) remains a significant cause of morbidity and mortality, and advanced age is an independent predictor of worse outcome. Mortality is nearly double that of younger TBI patients, regardless of injury severity. In addition, geriatric patients are more prone to complications, have longer hospital stays, and require long-term rehabilitative services, the cost of which can be a significant burden. These observations are often attributed to anatomic and physiologic changes that occur with age, as well as patient comorbidities and the medications required to treat those conditions. Although current diagnostic and treatment guidelines have led to improved outcomes in the general population, data regarding the specific management of geriatric patients remain sparse. The identification and management of TBI has been the focus of both basic science and clinical investigations. Recent advances in molecular biology have identified specific markers of brain cell damage that may offer insight to the nature and progression of injury, lead to improved monitoring and diagnostic capability, and potentially guide therapy. This review highlights some of the latest technology that may pave the way for advanced diagnostic and treatment modalities.
From metaphors to measures: observable indicators of gradual institutional change

Scholarship on social policy has recently emphasised the importance of gradual processes of institutional change. However, conceptual work on the identification of processes such as drift, conversion and layering has not produced clear empirical indicators that distinguish these processes from one another, posing major problems for empirical research. We argue that, in order to improve the validity of its empirical findings, scholarship on gradual change should - and can - pay more attention to issues of measurement and detection. We then contribute to this goal by clearly articulating observable indicators for several mechanisms of gradual institutional change and validating them against extant empirical work on political economy.
Comparison of total vibrations obtained from a normal, rapidly dying, human heart with those obtained in chronic myocardial disease

Abstract The curves of total cardiac vibrations, recorded by means of a cathoderay tube, were obtained from a dying convict's heart, from persons who were known to be normal, from patients with heart disease, and from persons who were suspected of having heart disease. The changes in the total cardiac vibrations from the dying human heart and from patients with heart disease have similar features. Spreading, especially of the first and second components of the first complex, was noted. Low-frequency systolic and diastolic waves developed under both clinical and experimental conditions, and suggested, as had been previously suspected, disordered cardiac function.
Primary myxedema with secondary adrenocortical failure.

DEFICIENCY of thyroid hormone is known to result in generalized alteration in cellular function. Most commonly the clinical manifestations of myxedema are noted in the skin, musculature, and cardiovascular and central nervous systems. Less emphasized is the effect of deficient thyroid hormone on the other endocrine glands, particularly the adrenals. Hypofunction of the adrenal cortex has been shown to occur in patients with myxedema (1). The manifestations of these secondary effects on endocrine function may overshadow the changes resulting from myxedema, and mask the underlying primary disease. The following is considered a case of primary myxedema in which the presenting findings were those of adrenocortical insufficiency: CASE REPORT Case #13343—A 32-year-old white male of Portuguese extraction was admitted in October 1952, to the Neuropsychiatric Service of the Providence Veterans Hospital with a diagnosis of neurasthenia. The patient stated that he was well until two years prior to admission, when pr...
HEAT RESISTANCE OF Yersinia enterocolitica IN SKIM MILK

This report presents information on the heat resistance in skim milk of Y. enrerocolitica strains isolated from vacuum-packaged meat and of two ATCC cultures. Data indicate considerable variation existed in the heat resistance of the test cultures, with ATCC cultures 23715 and 9610 being more heat resistant at 50 to 60°C than cultures isolated from vacuum-packaged beef. Culture 1049 was the least heat resistant. Data suggest that few if any survivors can be expected in foods heated and/or kept above 60°C for several minutes.
MEASURING ECONOMIC GROWTH IN RURAL COMMUNITIES: THE SHIFT-SHARE APPROACH

ing at least three aspects of the development process. The first deals with identifying existing and historical Shift-share analysis separates an area's change in composition of industry in the community, including economic activity (measured by employed, in this an explanation of how changes in the study area study) into three factors and measures the contribudiffer from changes in other areas, and an identifica- tion of each. The first factor measures change of a tion of industries in which the community has had a local area (county, in this study) in terms of change comparative advantage. The second aspect deals with in the reference area, or standard of comparison the many considerations involved in increasing de- (generally the nation but in this study the state sired economic activity in the community. This economy was deemed more appropriate). This effect includes business and industrial development. The is determined for a county by multiplying base year third aspect is addressed to estimating impacts of employment in each industry by the growth rate in growth and development on the local community. total state employment between base and terminal Knowledge of expected consequences of alternative years. growth and development possibilities improves The second factor, the component or industrial residents' ability to select preferred types of com- mix effect, measures distribution of rapidly and munity growth. All three aspects must necessarily be slowly growing industries in the county relative to the considered as a community strives to expand and state. It is calculated by subtracting the all-industry improve economic opportunity for its residents. state growth rate from individual industry growth This article demonstrates the usefulness of shift- rates in the state. These deviations are then multiplied share analysis in dealing with the first of these three by base year employment in the respective industries considerations in rural counties. This descriptive of the county. These first two factors compare technique emphasizes identifying changes that have industrial structure of the study area to that of the taken place in the industrial composition of the local reference area. (town, city or county) economy relative to a refer- The third factor, local-share effect, measures the ence area or standard of comparison (nation, state or competitive position of the county and each comporegion). The technique is demonstrated in a study of nent or industry in it, relative to the state. It is four rural Indiana counties. The objectives of this calculated by taking the difference between county study were to: (1) identify changes in industrial and state growth rates for an industry and multiplycomposition in each county, (2) explain differences ing that difference by county employment in the
Elimination of fat microemboli during cardiopulmonary bypass.

Abstract Background Fat emboli have been implicated in cerebral dysfunction after cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB). We sought to identify the source of fat emboli during CPB and devise a technique for their elimination. Methods Patients undergoing CPB were prospectively randomized to either cardiotomy suction (n = 7) or cell-saving suction device (n = 6). Blood was collected at various intervals during CPB, and the fat emboli were identified using oil red O stain. These emboli were grouped based on their diameter into 10- to 50-μm and more than 50-μm particles. The number of fat emboli per slide examined was graded according to the following scale: 1 (1 to 10), 2 (11 to 20), 3 (21 to 30), and 4 (> 30 emboli). In the second phase of the experiment, a 21-μm filter was attached in series, distal to the cardiotomy reservoir (n = 6), and fat emboli were quantified. Results Blood from the pericardial well was saturated with fat emboli of both sizes. Patients randomized to the cardiotomy suction had a significantly higher number of fat emboli at the end of CPB when compared with those randomized to the cell-saving suction device and dual-filter group. Processed blood from both the cardiotomy reservoir and cell-saving device was noted to have an abundance of fat emboli when compared with blood processed through the dual filters. Conclusions Processed blood from both the cardiotomy reservoir and cell-saving device appear to have an abundance of fat emboli that are completely eliminated by using a 21-μm arterial filter in series with the cardiotomy reservoir. This intervention could potentially reduce neurocognitive dysfunction associated with CPB.
Developing language skills of cocaine-exposed infants.

Objective. To assess whether there is an association of level of fetal cocaine exposure to developmental precursors of speech-language skills at 1 year of age, after controlling for confounding factors. Design. In a prospective, longitudinal, quasi-experimental, matched cohort design, 3 cocaine exposure groups were defined by maternal self-report and infant meconium assay: nonexposure (n = 131), heavier exposure (n = 66), >the 75th percentile for maternal self-report and >the 70th percentile of benzoylecgonine concentration, and all others as lighter exposure (n = 68). At 1 year of age, the Preschool Language Scale-3 was administered by examiners unaware of infant drug status. Results. Independent of confounding drug, medical, and environmental factors, more heavily exposed infants had lower auditory comprehension scores than nonexposed infants and lower total language scores than lighter and nonexposed infants. More heavily exposed infants were also more likely to be classified as mildly delayed by total language score than nonexposed infants. There were positive linear relationships between the concentration of benzoylecgonine in meconium and all outcomes and between maternal report of severity of prenatal cocaine use with poorer auditory comprehension indicating a relationship between amount of exposure and poorer outcomes. Conclusions. This study documents significant behavioral teratogenic effects of fetal cocaine exposure on attentional abilities underlying auditory comprehension skills considered to be precursors of receptive language. Pediatricians are in a unique position to monitor early development of cocaine-exposed infants and make timely referrals for intervention.
An Informed Forensics Approach to Detecting Vote Irregularities

Electoral forensics involves examining election results for anomalies in order to efficiently identify patterns indicative of electoral irregularities. However, there is disagreement about which, if any, forensics tool is most effective at identifying fraud, and there is no method for integrating multiple tools. Moreover, forensic efforts have failed to systematically take advantage of country-specific details that might aid in diagnosing fraud. We deploy a Bayesian additive regression trees (BART) model – a machine-learning technique – on a large cross-national dataset to explore the dense network of potential relationships between various forensic indicators of anomalies and electoral fraud risk factors, on the one hand, and the likelihood of fraud, on the other. This approach allows us to arbitrate between the relative importance of different forensic and contextual features for identifying electoral fraud and results in a diagnostic tool that can be relatively easily implemented in cross-national research.
Confidentiality, Competency and Confusion: The Uncertain Promise of the Mediation Privilege in Minnesota

This article discusses the scope of and conflict among the various rules, statues, and case decisions governing mediations in Minnesota and ultimately proposes comprehensive legislation to reconcile and provide clarity. Comprehensive legislation is necessary to assure that the legitimate needs of confidentiality in mediation are protected without infringing on other important societal interest. New legislation is necessary so that participants in mediations can easily understand the extent to which their communications in mediations will remain confidential.
Oxygen Free Radical Detection in Wood Colonized by the Brown-Rot Fungus, Postia Placenta

Rapid depolymerization of cellulose occurs shortly after brown-rot fungi colonize wood. The chemical agent responsible for this initial depolymerization is most likely a low molecular weight compound (Cowling, 1961; Cowling and Brown, 1969) that diffuses through the crystalline microfibrils of cellulose, degrading the amorphous non-crystalline regions (Cowling and Brown, 1969; Highley, Palmer, Murmanis, 1983). It is important to identify the depolymerizing agent(s) produced by brown-rot fungi, because such information could serve as a foundation for the development of new methods to prevent wood decay.
International Law and Domestic Legislation in the Sustainable Management of Transboundary Watercourses: The Case of the Amazon River Basin

The Article explores the intersection between positive international law and domestic legislation in the protection and management of transboundary water resources, with particular focus on the Brazilian Amazon. Given the global importance of the Amazon Basin and the growing threats to its fragile ecosystem-which to date has been relatively unaffected by human settlement, the need for a comprehensive legal regime to guide the development and management of this shared watercourse cannot be overstated. Because well over half of the Amazon Basin is in Brazil, much of the international spotlight on the exploitation of the Amazon's natural resources has focused on Brazil. Of equal importance is Brazil's legal approach to protecting and sustainably managing this transboundary basin. The latter issue raises the following question: With respect to the protection and management of the land and water resources of the Amazon Basin, what law should apply-Brazil's or international law? Will a regional framework of laws conceived by all the states that share the Amazon suffice, or must it only be positive international law?
DEVELOPMENTAL OUTCOME IN VERY LOW BIRTHWEIGHT INFANTS Current Status and Future Trends

For more than a decade, surfactant has been widely available for the prevention and treatment of respiratory disease in the prematurely born infant. Numerous studies 21,31,105 have established that surfactant has had a significant impact on mortality but no concomitant reduction in neurodevelopmental morbidity. Because of that, questions persist as to the edge of viability, the allocation of health care resources for the very low birth weight (VLBW) infant, and whether or not we are improving survival at the cost of contributing more handicapped individuals to society. As the postsurfactant VLBW survivors are now of school age, studies are ongoing to address those questions and to determine academic functioning and educational needs. Because surfactant therapy alone has not reduced morbidity, efforts are also directed to determine other treatments that could enhance the developmental outcome of the extremely premature infant. Those treatments include medical advances as well as behavioral and educational techniques.
Rural intersections: Resource marginalisation and the “non-Indian problem” in highland Ecuador

Abstract This paper examines the combination, and mutual reinforcement over time, of political marginalisation and resource-related conflicts that have affected indigenous communities in Cotopaxi province, in the highlands of Ecuador – based on ethnographic fieldwork studying the relational dynamics of community organizing and indigenous political action. Over the course of the last century, national policies for agrarian change focused successively on ‘modernization,’ agrarian reform, and integration into globalized markets and systems of production. Indigenous populations have consistently been targeted by these policies – the existence of widespread poverty was often dubbed the ‘Indian problem’ by institutions of authority. However, government policies directed at this ‘problem’ have repeatedly recreated the very issues they outwardly sought to resolve: rural indigenous populations have been redefined (as peasants, then workers, or now ‘partners’ in national agricultural projects), but they have not been repositioned. The ‘problem’ can thus more accurately be located within the histories of dispossession and systemic politico-economic exclusion that both (i) support structures of inequality, and (ii) allow environmental and juridical injustices to persistently shape the contexts within which rural indigenous communities here, and elsewhere, are acting. Examining the ‘non-Indian problem’ in Ecuador, and the mechanisms behind social and environmental inequalities (Callewaert, 2002) more broadly, this research engages environmental injustice as a socio-historical process rather than the result of discrete events or as an ahistorical phenomenon (Pellow, 2000). In the community studied here – San Isidro – collective action challenges entrenched historical inequalities in access to land and water, and seeks to increase shared labour on common infrastructure, whilst also managing communal areas of paramo moorland. This research identifies links between place-based processes of development and coordinated efforts to defend rural livelihoods – with implications for policies of governance (land rights, water rights), and for the design of localised resource management.
Programming model extensions for resilience in extreme scale computing

The challenge of resilience is becoming increasingly important on the path to exascale capability in High Performance Computing (HPC) systems. With clock frequencies unlikely to increase as aggressively as they have in the past, future large scale HPC systems aspiring exaflop capability will need an exponential increase in the count of the ALUs and memory modules deployed in their design [Kogge 2008]. The Mean Time to Failure (MTTF) of the system however, scales inversely to the number of components in the system. Furthermore, these systems will be constructed using devices that are far less reliable than those used today, as transistor geometries shrink and the failures due to chip manufacturing variability, effects of transistor aging as well as transient soft errors will become more prevalent. Therefore the sheer scale of future exascale supercomputers, together with the shrinking VLSI geometries will conspire to make faults and failures increasingly the norm rather than the exception.
POSTERIOR PROTRUSION OF THE LUMBAR INTERVERTEBRAL DISCS

Posterior protrusion of one of the lumbar intervertebral discs into the spinal canal is one of the most common mechanical derangements of the low back in patients suffering from intractable sciatic pain. The leg pain is due to direct pressure of the displaced intervertebral-disc tissue on one or more roots of the cauda equina. In addition to this lesion, there may be found associated thickening of the ligamentum flavum, chronic adhesive arachnoiditis, hypermobility of the involved vertebrae, and oedema of the involved nerve roots. Although the etiology of posterior disc protrusions is not perfectly clear, trauma to and degenerative changes in the intervertebral discs alone or in combination seem to be the usual causes of posterior protrusion. Among the most common and characteristic symptoms and signs, are intractable sciatic pain following a lifting injury, accompanied by limitation of back motion and of straight-leg raising, sciatic scoliosis, and lumbar kyphosis, tenderness over the lower lumbar spinous processes, and absence of the ankle jerk. The total protein of the spinal fluid is usually elevated. There are no changes on the routine roentgenograms characteristic of ruptured intervertebral discs, but narrowing of the fourth lumbar disc is of some importance if the clinical picture is characteristic. Lipiodol examination is highly accurate in making the correct diagnosis and in localization of the lesion, but because of potential danger, the use of lipiodol should be reserved for cases in which surgery is necessary. Pneumomyelography and clinical localization of the lesion may make the use of lipiodol necessary in not more than one-half the cases. Conservative treatment should be tried in every case of suspected protrusion of the intervertebral discs unless there is obvious serious nerve-root pressure, as shown by objective sensory or motor disturbance. Bed rest and immobilization of the lumbar spine in a plaster jacket seem to be the most effective means of conservative treatment. Surgical treatment consists in the removal of the ruptured disc fragment through as small a laminectomy incision as possible. Spine fusion at the time of the laminectomy seems to give definitely better results than laminectomy alone. Of ninety-four cases of proved ruptured intervertebral disc followed for at least one year after operation, 77 per cent. had complete relief of sciatic pain, and an additional 18 per cent. had only minor leg pain. There were two proved cases of recurrent ruptures in this series. The relief of back symptoms was not as satisfactory as the relief of the radiating leg pain. Seventy-three per cent. of the patients in whom the spine was fused and 52 per cent. of the patients without fusion had no back symptoms. The rest had complaints of backache or weakness of varying severity. In a small series in which insurance compensation was involved, 45 per cent. of the patients have been returned to their original occupation.
Cyclic strain regulates pro-inflammatory protein expression in porcine aortic valve endothelial cells.

Background and aim of the study The endothelium of diseased heart valves is known to express the adhesion molecules VCAM-1, ICAM-1 and E-selectin, while healthy valves lack these pro-inflammatory proteins. The study aim was to determine if mechanical forces were responsible for the pro-inflammatory reaction in aortic valve endothelial cells. Methods Isolated porcine aortic valve endothelial cells (PAVEC) were cultured and seeded onto BioFlexTM culture plates. The cells were exposed to equibiaxial cyclic strains of 5, 10 and 20% for 24 h in a Flexcell FX-4000T Tension Plus system at 1 Hz. Pro-inflammatory protein expression was detected through the use of monoclonal antibodies via fluorescence-assisted cell sorting (FACS) and confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM). Results Pro-inflammatory protein expression was evident at cyclic strains of 5 and 20%, while a 10% strain did not elicit an inflammatory response. Confocal images indicated a disrupted endothelial monolayer, evidence of significant cell death, and the presence of all adhesion molecules at 5% strain. PAVEC exposed to 10% cyclic strain failed to express any of the pro-inflammatory proteins, while the cellular monolayer appeared near-confluent and characteristically similar to cellular images captured prior to cyclic stretching. CLSM images of PAVEC cyclically stretched by 20% demonstrated a similar proinflammatory reaction to those with 5% strain, while the cellular environment also showed decreased monolayer integrity. FACS data showed a significant up-regulation of the membrane-bound VCAM-1-, ICAM-1- and E-selectin-positive cells at 5% and 20% strain, compared to 10% strain and controls. Conclusion The finding that equibiaxial cyclic strain regulates the pro-inflammatory response in PAVEC suggests that alterations in the mechanical environment of heart valves may contribute to valve pathogenesis.
Design of 2D and 3D Non-linear Compliant Mechanisms using Hybrid Cellular Automata

The field of topology design of compliant mechanisms has developed from infancy to well grown state in last 15 years. Born from the need of hingeless mechanisms in MicroElectroMechanical Systems (MEMS), compliant mechanims are finding their use in wide range of applications like snap-through mechanisms, piezoelectric actuators and wing flapping mechanisms among many others. Most of the work developed so far, consider linear elastic material behavior and small displacment theory to design compliant mechanisms. In order to account for the effect of large displacements in mechanism design, geometric nonlinearity is considered by many researchers, however, nonlinearities arising from plasticity and contact are seldomly studied. One of the major challenges in the design of mechanisms considering nonlinearities is sensitivity analysis. Analytical expressions for sensitivities of objective function with respect to design variables can not be expressed in closed form when nonlinear finite element methods are used. Moreover, commercial finite element softwares which use implicit/explict solvers can not be used for such sensitivity calculations as they do not store stiffness matrices. In this work, optimal design for compliant mechanisms using control based material update scheme (HCA) is developed for linear case and the idea is extended to obtain concept topologies for nonlinear cases. Since this method does not involve sensitivity calculations when nonlinearities are considered, commercial FEA packages can be used which help in handling complex design problems in 2D and 3D. Although the final designs for nonlinear cases can not be claimed ‘optimal’, this method gives designer, a candidate designs which perform satisfactorily well under nonlinear conditions. This method is developed particularly for potential applications of compliant mechanisms in crashworthy designs where considering nonlinearity becomes essential. The applicability of the proposed method is shown by considering 2 examples.
Reinfestation Analysis To Estimate Ectoparasite Population Size, Emergence, and Mortality

The key components of ectoparasite vectorial capacity are poorly known, and no estimates of absolute population size for nest ectoparasites nor average longevity under natural conditions are available. A simple method to estimate these and other population parameters is suggested here, using body infestation data obtained by a specific host sampling design and the reproductive status of female ectoparasites. In contrast to mark-release-recapture techniques, this method requires minimal effort. Data on fleas, Synosternus cleopatrae (Rothschild), infesting gerbils, Gerbillus andersoni allenbyi Thomas, were used as a preliminary test of this method. Thus, the average absolute density of female S. cleopatrae per host varied from seven in June to 24 in September; average female longevity varied from 17 to 5 d in that period. The quality of the parameter estimates was assessed by computer simulations to evaluate their variance and by comparison with the data available on fleas. The simulation indicated that estimates of absolute population size and proportion of the corporeal subpopulation were robust, but estimates of emergence rate, mortality rate, and average longevity were considerably less. The method's efficiency depends on the infestation rate and was considered suitable for medium to high counts of ectoparasites infesting solitary hosts.
Primary cutaneous (inoculation) blastomycosis: an occupational hazard to pathologists.

Primary skin infections caused by Blastomyces are rare. Nearly all of the reported cases followed accidental inoculations in the laboratory or during performance of an autopsy. Pathologists are at considerable risk. This paper reports two new cases, both occurring in pathologists, and includes a brief review of all of the known cases in the English literature.
Genotypic characterization of multiple antibiotic-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolated from patients with nosocomial infections in Shantou

Objective This study was to explore the molecular characteristics of multiple antibiotic-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolated from patients with nosocomial infection.Methods Various strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa were collected from two tertiary hospitals in Shantou city between January and June 2008.Antibiotic susceptibility test was conducted using the disc diffusion method.Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) method was used for molecular typing of Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolates.The patterns of PFGE were analyzed by using Bionumerics 4.0 software.Results A total of 132 Pseudomonas aeruginosa strains were obtained,including 45 strains from ICU and 87 strains from common wards.Of 132 strains,46 strains were multiple antibiotic-resistant(resistant to 3 antibiotics or more).PFGE analysis showed that the isolates obtained from ICU ward had a high degree of genetic homology.In contrast,a high degree of genetic heterogeneity was found in the isolates obtained from the non-ICU wards.Conclusion Cross-infection may be a route of infection in the spreading of nosocomial infections caused by multiple antibiotic-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa in ICU.
Methionyl-tRNA Formyltransferase (MTFMT) Deficiency Mimicking Acquired Demyelinating Disease

Disease-related mutations in the mitochondrial methionyl-tRNA formyltransferase (MTFMT) gene encoding a critical enzyme for mitochondrial translation have been rarely reported and are described in association with Leigh syndrome and combined oxidative phosphorylation deficiency. Symptoms include developmental delay, followed by ataxia and spasticity manifesting at later stages. A man had a clinical picture suggestive of an acquired demyelinating disease. Brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) demonstrated extensive involvement of the optic nerves, cerebral white matter, brain stem, and spinal cord. Whole-exome sequencing detected a pathologic homozygous c.626C>T mutation in the MTFMT gene. These findings expand the clinical features and neuroimaging spectrum associated with MTFMT mutations to include a relapsing-remitting phenotype.