cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Constraining Land Surface and Atmospheric Parameters of a Locally Coupled Model Using Observational Data

Abstract In coupled land surface–atmosphere modeling, the possibility and benefits of constraining model parameters using observational data bear investigation. Using the locally coupled NCAR Single-column Community Climate Model (NCAR SCCM), this study demonstrates some feasible, effective approaches to constrain parameter estimates for coupled land–atmosphere models and explores the effects of including both land surface and atmospheric parameters and fluxes/variables in the parameter estimation process, as well as the value of conducting the process in a stepwise manner. The results indicate that the use of both land surface and atmospheric flux variables to construct error criteria can lead to better-constrained parameter sets. The model with “optimal” parameters generally performs better than when a priori parameters are used, especially when some atmospheric parameters are included in the parameter estimation process. The overall conclusion is that, to achieve balanced, reasonable model performance ...
Synaptic Chemistry Associated with Aberrant Neuronal Development in the Reeler Mouse

: Pre- and postsynaptic neurochemical markers for several afferent and intrinsic neuronal systems were measured in the mouse mutant, reeler. In the neocortex of the reeler, the relative positions of the polymorphic and pyramidal cells were inverted but this was not associated with alterations in the content/mg protein of synaptic markers for noradrenergic [tyrosine hydroxylase (TH), norepinephrine (NE), NE uptake], cholinergic [choline acetyltransferase (ChAT), quinuclidinyl benzilate (QNB) binding], γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA)ergic (glutamate decarboxylase, GABA uptake, GABA receptors, GABA) or glutamatergic (glutamate uptake, receptors, glutamate) neurons. The laminar distributions of the hippocampal neurons were disrupted and associated with mild hypoplasia; consistent with this alteration, the content/mg protein of some GABAergic (GABA uptake) and glutamatergic (glutamate receptors) markers were slightly increased. The reeler cerebellum was characterized not only by misalignment of neurons but also by a marked loss of granule cells. Commensurate with the degree of cerebellar hypoplasia, the total amount of glutamate content, [3H]l-glutamate uptake activity, [3H]muscimol, and [3H]QNB ligand binding were reduced in the reeler cerebellum. In contrast, presynaptic markers for the noradrenergic (TH, NE) climbing fibers and the cholinergic (ChAT) mossy fibers were significantly increased/mg protein but their total content/cerebellum was near normal. Our data support suggestions that cerebellar granule cells use glutamate as their neurotransmitter and contain GABA and cholinergic receptors. The findings also suggest that misplaced cortical and cerebellar neurons retain normal neurochemical characteristics and that the morphologic alterations do not markedly affect the quantitative development of aminergic afferent systems.
A CAD-Model-Based System For Object Localization

Given a CAD model of an object and a set of inspection specifications, we would like to automatically generate the vision procedure to inspect a part that is an instance of the model. Since the position and orientation of the part may be wholly or partially unknown, the first step in the procedure is to determine the pose of the object. Assuming the sensor involved is a CCD camera, this reduces to matching the features extracted from a two-dimensional graytone perspective projection image of the object to the corresponding three-dimensional features of the model. Since 2D to 3D matching is more complex and time consuming than 2D to 2D matching, our preference is to match a data structure representing features and their spatial relationships extracted from the image to a similar 2D data structure generated from the CAD model. Our approach is to use the CAD model to predict the features that will appear in different views of the object under different lightings and use these visible features to generate a set of view classes for use in the matching. A view class is a cluster of views of the object which all produce similar data structures. Then a single representative data structure can represent the entire cluster of views and be used to match to the structure extracted from the image. Important questions that must be answered are 1) how do we predict features from CAD models without generating entire artificial images of the object, 2) what is a good representation for the features extracted from one view, 3) what criteria should be used for forming view classes, and 4) how should the matching from part structure to view class representatives be achieved most efficiently. In this paper we will report on our ongoing research in these areas. Keywords: matching, view class, CAD model, relational pyramid This research was supported by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) through a subcontract from Machine Vision International and by Boeing Commercial Aircraft Company.
AAV-mediated expression of an ADAMTS13 variant prevents shigatoxin-induced thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura

Severe deficiency of plasma ADAMTS13 activity causes thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP), a life-threatening syndrome for which plasma is the only effective therapy currently available. As much as 5% of TTP cases are hereditary, resulting from mutations of the ADAMTS13 gene. Here, we report the efficacy and safety of recombinant adeno-associated virus serotype 8 (AAV8)-mediated expression of a murine ADAMTS13 variant (MDTCS), truncated after the spacer domain, in a murine model of TTP. Administration of AAV8-hAAT-mdtcs at doses greater than 2.6 × 1011 vg/kg body weight resulted in sustained expression of plasma ADAMTS13 activity at therapeutic levels. Expression of the truncated ADAMTS13 variant eliminated circulating ultralarge von Willebrand factor multimers, prevented severe thrombocytopenia, and reduced mortality in Adamts13−/− disease-prone mice triggered by shigatoxin-2. These data support AAV vector-mediated expression of a comparable truncated ADAMTS13 variant as a novel therapeutic approach for hereditary TTP in humans.
Human Vilyuisk encephalitis.

For more than a century, a type of human encephalomyelitis has been known to affect indigenous people in the Sakha Republic in the Vilyui River Valley in Russia. The clinical features, laboratory findings, neuropathology, epidemiology and search for a causative pathogen are reviewed. One of the agents (Vilyuisk human encephalitis virus; VHEV) implicated in Vilyuisk encephalitis, belongs to a separate clade of Theiler's murine encephalomyelitis virus (TMEV). The recent discovery of theiloviruses from humans and the complete sequence of the VHEV raise the possibility that Vilyuisk arose from human cases of Vilyuisk encephalitis as a human–TMEV recombinant virus. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Quantitative histological analysis of amyloid deposition in Alzheimer's double transgenic mouse brain.

The development of transgenic mice has created new opportunities for the generation of animal models of human neurodegenerative diseases where previously there was no animal counterpart. The first successful transgenic mouse model of Alzheimer's disease expressed increased levels of mutant human amyloid precursor protein, exhibiting neuritic-type amyloid deposits and behavioral deficits at six to nine months of age. More recently, it was shown that transgenic mice expressing both mutant human amyloid precursor protein and presenilin 1 exhibit neuritic-type amyloid deposits and behavioral deficits in as little as 12 weeks. This accelerated Alzheimer phenotype greatly reduces the time necessary to conduct preclinical drug trials, as well as animal housing costs. The purpose of this study was to quantify the deposition of amyloid in five regions of the cortex and two regions of the hippocampus of transgenic mice expressing amyloid precursor protein (K670N, M671L) and presenilin 1 (M146L) mutations at various ages, using quantitative methods of confocal laser scanning microscopy and image analysis. Amyloid burden, expressed as the percentage area occupied by thioflavin S-positive amyloid deposits, increased an average of 179-fold from 12 to 54 weeks of age (0.02+/-0.01% to 3.57+/-0.29%, mean+/-S.E.M., respectively) in five regions of the cortex and two of the hippocampus. This was a function of increases in both deposit number and size. This transgenic mouse provides an ideal animal model for evaluating the efficacy of potential therapeutic agents aimed at reducing amyloid deposition, such as inhibitors of amyloid fibril formation or secretase inhibitors.
Instructional Development in Developing Countries

Instructional Development (ID), as a concept, a policy, and a technology takes place under rather distinct circumstances in developing countries. These include, but are not limited to traditional, political, and economic conditions. Such circumstances often influence and may sometimes dictate how instructional development is implemented in the countries. An understanding of these conditions is useful for analyzing existing instructional development efforts in developing countries and for planning new ones.
Effects of millimeter-wave radiation on monolayer cell cultures. I. Design and validation of a novel exposure system.

A method has been devised whereby both the thermal and possible athermal biological effects resulting from microwave radiation can be assessed. Monolayer cultures of BHK-21/C13 cells were grown on microwave-transparent polystyrene coverslips, placed directly on the open end of a wave guide, and irradiated for 1 hour. In experiments seeking athermal biological effects of millimeter waves, culture medium was continuously recirculated over the cells to prevent temperature increases greater than 0.1 °C. Incorporation of 3H-uridine into RNA and of 3H-methionine into protein was quantified by measurement of optical densities of the autoradiographs in contiguous rectangular regions corresponding to portions of the cell monolayer immediately above the wave guide aperture and lying along its longer axis. Since power density was shown to vary with position along this axis according to a cosine2 relationship, it was possible to assess the extent of microwave effects on macromolecular synthesis at power densities ranging from zero at each edge to twice the average power density at the center of the waveguide. Monolayer cultures maintained at 37.2 °C by recirculation of the medium did not show microwave-induced changes in synthesis of RNA and protein (41.8 or 74.0 GHz at average power densities of 320 or 450 mW/cm2, respectively). Since macromolecular synthesis was examined both during and after irradiation, our results exclude both transient and persistent athermal biological effects of acute exposure to millimeter waves. In contrast, irradiation of cultures incubated in a small volume of nonrecirculated medium resulted in 1) marked heating of the monolayer, 2) a graded decline in macromolecular synthesis with increasing incident power, and 3), in some cases, destruction of the cell monolayer in the region immediately above the center of the waveguide aperture.
Historical Perspectives: Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO)

In 1984 and 1985, we conducted a prospective randomized trial of extracorporeal life support (ECLS) versus conventional treatment in neonatal respiratory failure that was reported in Pediatrics in 1985. (1) Two decades, later ECLS is standard treatment for neonatal respiratory failure that is unresponsive to other methods of management. The editors of NeoReviews have invited this commentary on the development and clinical implementation of ECLS in neonatal respiratory failure. The heart-lung machine was invented by John Gibbon and initially used clinically in 1954 to replace heart and lung function long enough to allow operations on the heart. The entire field of cardiac surgery resulted from this invention. However, the heart-lung machine itself caused blood damage and multiple organ failure when used for more than 1 hour. The major cause of blood damage was direct exposure of the blood to oxygen gas. In the 1960s, some laboratories and medical device companies developed gas exchange devices in which a silicone rubber membrane was interposed between the blood and the oxygen. This modification (and others) allowed the use of a heart-lung machine for days or weeks. In 1971, prolonged extracorporeal circulation was used successfully to treat a young man who had acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) after trauma. (2) In the next few years, several other cases were reported using prolonged extracorporeal support to treat cardiac failure and respiratory failure from a variety of causes. Because the membrane type of artificial lung was the unique part of the device, the entire technology of prolonged ECLS came to be known as extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO). Of course, the technology involves much more than oxygenation, but that acronym has remained. In 1975, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) sponsored a prospective, randomized, multicenter trial of ECMO for ARDS in adult patients. (3) Only 10% of …
Density functional theory analysis of molybdenum isotope fractionation

Analytical studies have found an enrichment of the lighter Mo isotopes in oxic marine sediments compared to seawater, with isotope fractionation factors of -1.7 to -2.0 per thousand for Delta97/95Mosediment-seawater. These data place constraints on the possible identities of dissolved and adsorbed species because the equilibrium isotope fractionation depends on the energy differences between the isotopomers of the adsorbed species, minor dissolved species, and the dominant solution species, MoO42-. Adsorption likely involves molybdic acid, whose structure is indicated by previous studies to be MoO3(H2O)3. Here we used DFT calculations of vibrational frequencies to determine the isotope fractionation factors versus MoO42-. The results indicate that isotope equilibration of MoO42- with MoO3(H2O)3, yielding Delta97/95Momolybdic acid-molybdate=-1.33 per thousand, is most likely responsible for the isotope fractionation of Mo between oxic sediments and seawater. The difference between the calculated value of Delta97/95Momolybdic acid-molybdate for MoO3(H2O)3 and the value observed in natural sediments and experiments is probably due to effects of solvation and adsorption onto the manganese oxyhydroxide surface.
Global analysis of gene expression in Xenopus hindlimbs during stage-dependent complete and incomplete regeneration.

Xenopus laevis tadpoles are capable of limb regeneration after amputation, in a process that initially involves the formation of a blastema. However, Xenopus has full regenerative capacity only through premetamorphic stages. We have used the Affymetrix Xenopus laevis Genome Genechip microarray to perform a large-scale screen of gene expression in the regeneration-complete, stage 53 (st53), and regeneration-incomplete, stage 57 (st57), hindlimbs at 1 and 5 days postamputation. Through an exhaustive reannotation of the Genechip and a variety of comparative bioinformatic analyses, we have identified genes that are differentially expressed between the regeneration-complete and -incomplete stages, detected the transcriptional changes associated with the regenerating blastema, and compared these results with those of other regeneration researchers. We focus particular attention on striking transcriptional activity observed in genes associated with patterning, stress response, and inflammation. Overall, this work provides the most comprehensive views yet of a regenerating limb and different transcriptional compositions of regeneration-competent and deficient tissues. Developmental Dynamics 235:2667–2685, 2006. © 2006 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
The Use of Research in Local Policy Making: A Case Study of Corporal Punishment in Public Education:

This case study of one community's task force on corporal punishment illustrates the impediments to the application of education research in local policy making. Because the nature and methods of empirical research are not well understood, even by local education professionals, scientific knowledge can be mischaracterized or ignored, especially when it clashes with strongly held personal beliefs. For scholarship to serve society, scholars must identify and confront the impediments to accurate understanding of scientific knowledge and take greater care in preparing their students, the future educational leaders in local communities, to understand and make use of education research.
The role of uric acid in protection against peroxynitrite-mediated pathology

Peroxynitrite, the product of the free radicals nitric oxide and superoxide, has been implicated in the pathogenesis of inflammatory CNS disorders. Uric acid, an effective scavenger of peroxynitrite, is a purine metabolite present at high levels in the serum of hominoids relative to lower-order animals due to the functional deletion of urate oxidase. Raising the normally low levels of uric acid in mice is therapeutic for experimental allergic encephalomyelitis, an animal model of multiple sclerosis. This therapeutic activity of uric acid is associated with the inhibition of peroxynitrite-induced tissue damage, blood-CNS barrier permeability changes, and CNS inflammation. Based on these findings we have concluded that peroxynitrite has an important role in promoting enhanced vascular permeability and inflammatory cell extravasation. We hypothesize that higher uric acid levels in hominoids evolved to protect against this process.
Analogy between anorthosite series on the Earth and Moon

Abstract Speculation by others as to the origin of the Apollo basalts has primarily involved their production by some degree of partial fusion of the lunar interior, with or without subsequent differentiation. Prior crystallization and separation of considerable plagioclase has been invoked to explain the conspicuous negative Eu anomaly. This interpretation is compatible with the concept of an anorthositic (= plagioclase-rich) lunar crust, inferred from the presence of anorthosite fragments found in the lunar soil and breccia, and deemed to have come from the highlands. In our view, consideration of the diversity and composition of these lunar rocks (making allowance for their low alkali content) and in particular, the evidence of their crystallization from homogeneous liquids, suggests that the massif type of anorthosite series, rather than the stratiform type, may be the closest terrestrial analogs.
PROTEIN KINASE C PATHWAY IS INVOLVED IN REGULATING THE SECRETION OF PROSTATIC ACID PHOSPHATASE IN HUMAN PROSTATE CANCER CELLS

Abstract The stimulated secretion of prostatic acid phosphatase (PAcP) has been known to be a hallmark of androgen action on human prostate epithelial cells for the last five decades. The molecular mechanism of androgen action on PAcP secretion, however, has remained mostly unknown. We investigated the molecular mechanism that promotes PAcP secretion in LNCaP human prostate carcinoma cells which express PAcP and are androgen-responsive. Treatment with 12-o-tetradecanoyl phorbol-13-acetate (TPA), a protein kinase C (PKC) activator, resulted in an increased secretion of PAcP in a dose- and time-dependent fashion. 4α-Phorbol, a biologically inactive isomer of TPA, had no effect. This TPA stimulation of PAcP secretion was observed 2 h after exposure, while TPA did not have a significant effect on the mRNA level even with a 6 h treatment. A23187 calcium ionophore, known to mobilize cellular calcium which is a co-factor of PKC, also activated PAcP secretion. This TPA stimulation of PAcP secretion was more potent than the conventional stimulating agent 5α-dihydrotestosterone (DHT) at the same concentration of 50 n m . Furthermore, the action of TPA and DHT on PAcP secretion was blocked by five different PKC inhibitors. Results also showed that DHT, as well as TPA, could rapidly modulate PKC activity. Therefore, PKC can regulate PAcP secretion, and may also be involved in DHT action on PAcP secretion.
Awareness and use of prenatal diagnosis among Greek women: a national survey

The prevention of genetic diseases through prenatal diagnosis depends to a large extent on the awareness and acceptance of available methods by the public. A national survey was conducted among Greek women in order to explore their attitudes towards and their use of prenatal diagnosis in relation to their lifestyle. The survey was originally addressed to 3000 Greek women 18-65 years of age. Using as a criterion having a child 5 years old or younger, 350 women were eligible for the study. It was noted that 52 per cent of the respondents were adequately informed, while 48 per cent had either superficial knowledge of the subject or no knowledge at all. Amniocentesis was the method that most women were familiar with. The majority said that they were informed by their doctors and the media, and 13 per cent of the participants had prenatal diagnosis during a previous pregnancy. Twenty-two per cent of those who were not tested were over 35 years of age at the time of pregnancy. There was a significant positive correlation between awareness and acceptance of prenatal diagnosis, on the one hand, and the social, educational and financial profile of the women, on the other. Women aware of prenatal diagnosis adhered more closely to a healthy lifestyle and lived a family-centred life.
Length-Dependent Optical Effects in Single-Wall Carbon Nanotubes

Among the novel chemical and physical attributes of single-wall carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs), the optical properties are perhaps the most compelling. Although much is known about how such characteristics depend on nanotube chirality and diameter, relatively little is known about how the optical response depends on length, the next most obvious and fundamental nanotube trait. We show here that the intrinsic optical response of single-wall carbon nanotubes exhibits a strong dependence on nanotube length, and we offer a simple explanation that relates this behavior to the localization of a bound exciton along the length of a nanotube. The results presented here suggest that, for a given volume fraction, the longest nanotubes display significantly enhanced absorption, near-infrared fluorescence, and Raman scattering, which has important practical implications for potential applications that seek to exploit the unique optical characteristics of SWCNTs.
Evidence for bidirectional cues as a function of time following treatment with amphetamine: implications for understanding tolerance and withdrawal.

Abstract Rationale Previous drug-discrimination studies have focused on characterizing the cue properties associated with amphetamine's (AMPH) primary effect. Results from recent experiments indicate that equally prominent cues are associated with AMPH withdrawal. Objectives The purpose of the present study was to investigate the extent to which AMPH-induced withdrawal cues, opposite to those associated with AMPH's primary effect are observed. Methods Since dopamine (DA) has been implicated in mediating the AMPH cue, rats were trained to discriminate between 0.25 mg/kg AMPH, an indirect DA agonist, and 0.033 mg/kg haloperidol (HAL), a DA antagonist at the D2 receptor site. Training doses were chosen so that rats responded about equally on both levers when tested on saline (SAL) providing a behavioral baseline sensitive to assessing AMPH-related bidirectional changes in cue state. Following acquisition of the discrimination, rats were tested for choice of responding on the AMPH and HAL levers at intervals from 6 to 72 h following treatment with a single dose of 3.0 mg/AMPH. Also, in order to investigate the relationship between withdrawal and tolerance to AMPH's cue properties, AMPH dose–response curves were determined 24 h following treatment with SAL, 1.5 and 3.0 mg/kg AMPH. Results At short intervals after treatment with 3.0 mg/kg AMPH, rats responded primarily on the AMPH lever followed by a shift to predominant responding on the HAL lever 16–30 h post-treatment, before returning to predrug levels. Treatment with 1.5 and 3.0 mg/kg AMPH produced parallel dose–response curve shifts to the right. Conclusions Following a single dose of AMPH, robust cues associated with AMPH withdrawal were observed that lasted approximately three times longer than the cues associated with the drug's primary effects. Furthermore, results from the tolerance tests indicate that tolerance reflects a baseline shift rather than a loss in drug efficacy.
Seed Germination of American Pokeweed (Phytolacca americana). I. Laboratory Techniques and Autotoxicity

Seeds of pokeweed (Phytolacca americana L.), an underinvestigated species, were studied to determine optimal conditions for laboratory germination. Soaking seeds in acid solutions prior to sowing increased rates of germination. Concentrated (conc) H2SO4 was more effective than conc NO3 or conc HCI acids. Physiological evidence from seed germination studies suggests that autotoxicity, or intraspecific inhibition, exists in pokeweed, a species known to possess several biologically active compounds. Seed germination was investigated in the laboratory with aqueous extracts of vegetative and reproductive structures of the plant. The presence of extracts from most plant parts correlated with reduced or no germination by seeds of its own species, whereas the presence of distilled water correlated with high percentages of germination by control seeds. Whether diluted with water by 5-fold (20% v/v) or undiluted, juice of pokeweed fruits completely inhibited the laboratory germination of pokeweed seeds. Also, extracts of freshly harvested mature leaves, stems, and immature fruits inhibited seed germination. However, results with root extracts, obtained from a single individual, depended more on concentration, since the highest concentration (50% v/v) inhibited germination, and lower concentrations (10 and 20% v/v) increased germination percentages over control samples. Results with extracts of juvenile leaves correlated with neither inhibition nor promotion of germination. Thus, except for juvenile leaves and the root, most extracts of the pokeweed plant inhibited seed germination with more mature structures exerting more inhibition and less mature structures exerting less or no inhibition. The ecological implication of autotoxicity is that seeds are more dispersed through time and space. In regard to seed germination by other species, especially those taxa known to possess biologically active compounds, these and other results suggest that the phenomenon of autotoxicity might be more widespread than previously suspected.
Building Consumer-to-Consumer Trust in E-Finance Marketplaces: An Empirical Analysis

People-to-people (P2P) lending, a specialized consumer-to-consumer e-commerce model, facilitates borrowing and lending between individuals in on-line marketplaces. On-line market exchanges are usually characterized by uncertainty and risk. Since trust-building mechanisms and establishing trust can reduce the uncertainty arising from information asymmetries in exchange transactions, trust-building mechanisms are crucial to the prosperity of on-line marketplaces. Based on the elaboration likelihood model (ELM), which explains attitudinal change, trust-building mechanisms for P2P lending marketplaces are investigated empirically and tested. The study uses data collected from Prosper, the largest U. S. P2P lending marketplace. The results support the importance of the central route (economic status) as the major driver for bidding behavior and of peripheral cues (social capital and listing quality) as trust-building mechanisms that influence trust behavior. These findings will help on-line marketplace providers to build successful P2P lending marketplaces.
On the origin of the putative furca of the Ostracoda (Crustacea)

The posterior end of body of the extant ostracods exhibits a pair of variously shaped appendages, commonly designated as furca(e), uropods or caudal rami, used for feeding and/or locomotion. It is here shown that the socalled furca of all extant ostracods has evolved from the (probably epipodal) vibratory plates of a pair of uropods.
Calibrating strategies for evolutionary algorithms

The control of parameters during the execution of evolutionary algorithms is an open research area. In this paper, we propose new parameter control strategies for evolutionary approaches, based on reinforcement learning ideas. Our approach provides efficient and low cost adaptive techniques for parameter control. Moreover, it is a general method, thus it could be applied to any evolutionary approach having more than one operator. We contrast our results with tuning techniques and HaEa a random parameter control.
A Comparison of Survival to Decompression in Air and in Oxygen.

SummaryMice and chicks were decompressed in atmospheres of (1) air and (2) oxygen and the critical pressures determined below which the animals could not survive. A considerable species difference exists.
Grapefruit juice has minimal effects on plasma concentrations of lovastatin-derived 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase inhibitors

Objective To evaluate the effect of regular-strength grapefruit juice, a cytochrome P4503A4 (CYP3A4) inhibitor, on the pharmacokinetics of a commonly prescribed regimen of oral lovastatin. Methods In a randomized crossover study, 16 healthy subjects received a single 40 mg dose of lovastatin in the evening after each consumed an 8-ounce glass of regular-strength grapefruit juice or water with breakfast for 3 consecutive days. The effect of the same grapefruit juice and water regimen on the pharmacokinetics of midazolam (2 mg oral dose given 1 hour after the third day of grapefruit juice and water) was used as a positive control in the same subjects. Plasma concentrations of 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A (HMG-CoA) reductase inhibitors were determined by an enzyme inhibition assay, and concentrations of lovastatin, lovastatin acid, and midazolam were determined by liquid chromatography– tandem mass spectrometry. Results The area under the plasma concentration–time profiles (AUC) and maximum plasma concentrations (Cmax) of HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors increased slightly (~30% for each) after consumption of grapefruit juice. Similar effects on AUC and Cmax (~40% increase for each) were noted after analysis of samples of hydrolyzed plasma (which converts inactive lactones to active hydroxy acid species). The AUC and Cmax values for lovastatin approximately doubled in the presence of grapefruit juice, whereas the same parameters for lovastatin acid increased 1.6-fold. Grapefruit juice caused the AUC for midazolam to increase by a factor of ~2.4. Conclusions Daily consumption of a glass of regular-strength grapefruit juice has a minimal effect on plasma concentrations of HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors (~30% to 40% increase) after a 40 mg evening dose of lovastatin. Clinical Pharmacology & Therapeutics (1999) 66, 358–366; doi: 10.1053/cp.1999.v66.a101208
Insulin Pump (Dose-to-Dose) Accuracy: What Does It Mean and When Is It Important?

This article reviews the concept of using the proper methods for the proper task, in this case measuring dose-to-dose accuracy of continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion pumps.
An L-Tree Based Analysis of E-lessons

Logical structure of an e-lesson may be viewed from three different perspectives of absolute, teacher and learner, which may be represented as A-tree, T-tree, and L-tree, respectively. Building an A-tree is extremely difficult, if not impossible. A T-tree can be built by a teacher for a class. An L-tree can be built by a learner with guidance of a teacher. In this paper, the inherent properties of A and L trees are utilized to answer some crucial questions any e-lesson developer encounters. These questions are: (a) how are needed new modules for an e-lesson identified and used, (b) how are redundant modules in an e-lesson identified and discarded, (c) how and when should an e-lesson be broken into two or more e-lessons, and (d) How is the level of preparedness of two groups of learners for receiving a new e-lesson compared
Disentangling wireless sensing from mesh networking

The resource demands of today's wireless mesh networking stacks hinder the progress of low-cost, low-power wireless sensor nodes. Optimizing wireless sensors means reducing costs, increasing lifetimes, and locating sensors close to the action. Adding mesh networking functions like IP routing and forwarding increases RAM and ROM requirements and demands substantial idle listening to forward others' traffic, all of which adds cost and increases power draw. We argue that an architectural separation between sensor and router, similar to what ZigBee and traditional IP networks advocate, would allow each node class to be better optimized to the task, matched to technology trends, and aligned with deployment patterns. Although trivial to implement on current platforms, for example by turning off router advertisements in an IPv6/6LoWPAN stack, reaping the full benefits of this approach requires evolving platform designs and revisiting the link and network layers of the stack. We examine the resulting implications on the system architecture.
Technology and Education Change: Focus on Student Learning.

This study examined technology implementation practices associated with student learning gains. Interviews and observations were conducted with staff at schools where teachers using reading or mathematics software with their students attained above-average achievement gains and at schools where software-using teachers had below-average gains. The findings highlight the importance of school practices in the areas of principal support and teacher collaboration around software use and of teacher practices concerning classroom management and use of software-generated student performance data. The issues of instructional coherence and competition for instructional time are highlighted as challenges to software implementation. (Keywords: Technology, implementation, software)
Response selection in schizophrenia

Schizophrenia patients tend to have longer and more variable latencies of response than healthy control subjects. However, the distributions of data from the two groups overlap to a large extent. Therefore, we investigated (1) whether the process of response selection in schizophrenia patients is like that of slow control subjects or has different properties, and (2) whether the intra-individual variability of schizophrenia patients is intrinsically greater than that of control subjects or reflects their longer mean latency. To answer these questions we tested schizophrenia patients and healthy control subjects in a choice reaction time (RT) task with 2-choice and 4-choice conditions. We analyzed how mean RT in the 2-choice condition predicted mean RT in the 4-choice condition and found that the relation was significantly different between the two groups. In contrast, the intra-individual variability of RT was related to mean RT in the same way for schizophrenia patients and control subjects. These results indicate that the response selection process of schizophrenia patients was not simply a slower version of the same process engaged by control subjects, but it was a selection process with different dynamic properties. In contrast, schizophrenia patients did not have a greater intrinsic variability than control subjects. Furthermore, we found that the difference Δt between RT measured in the 4-choice condition and RT predicted for the control group in the same condition could be used to discriminate effectively patients and control subjects. However, there was no significant association between Δt and clinical variables. These results suggest that Δt could reflect a trait impairment of schizophrenia independent from symptom profile. Finally, we suggest that the impairment of the process of selection of the motor response in schizophrenia reflects the alteration of the time-dependent patterns of neural activity that result from anomalies in the connectivity of the brain areas engaged for the selection of the motor response.
Challenges to E-Reader Adoption in Academic Libraries

Individual ownership of handheld e-readers is increasing exponentially. Limited budgets, accessibility issues, and the failure of many e-readers to meet academic needs prevent academic libraries from adopting them at faster rates. Librarians spend a considerable amount of time gathering information about e-readers prior to making an investment. This article provides a history of e-reader availability and selection in the United States, information on the challenges that academic librarians face in e-reader selection, and research results of various studies on e-book/e-reader use by students. The article reflects on the e-reader evaluation and decision-making process and makes recommendations for investment and training.
Erratum: Internet Shopping Agents: Virtual Co-Location and Competition

“Internet Shopping Agents” (ISAs) allow consumers to costlessly search many online retailers and buy at the lowest price. One would expect these ISAs to subject sellers to intense price competition that results in uniform low prices. Yet Internet retailers have joined these ISAs. Furthermore, the prices charged by the inside retailers can vary substantially. We examine the impact of ISAs on market competition. An ISA creates differentiation in the pricing strategies of ex-ante identical retailers: Some retailers joint the ISA due to mass of consumers that they can potentially win, while others stay out and extract surplus from their loyal consumers. The equilibrium inside pricing is such that the average price charged can increase with the number of retailers joining. The average prices paid by consumers in the ISA can increase or decrease when more retailers join, depending on whether or not the reach of the ISA is independent of the number of joining retailers. When the reach is endogenous, there exist a unique number of inside retailers. (Consumer Search; Comparison Shopping Gents; Internet Intermediaries; Internet Retailing; Game Theory; Electronic Commerce)
Controlled Crack Shapes for Indentation Fracture of Soda–Lime Glass

Radial cracks for indented soda-lime glass aged in distilled water were highly elliptical because of truncation by lateral cracks. Indentation in silicone oil minimized radial/lateral crack interaction but still produced cracks having nominally constant ellipticity during bend testing. Analysis of applied stress/indentation crack length data using stress intensity factors based on half-penny crack shape resulted in apparent R-curve behavior and/or overestimation of the fracture toughness. Incorporation of elliptical shape factors eliminated the R-curve behavior and reduced measured toughness to near the accepted value for soda-lime glass.
Hospital Board and Management Practices are Strongly Related to Hospital Performance on Clinical Quality Metrics

National policies to improve health care quality have largely focused on clinical provider outcomes and, more recently, payment reform. Yet the association between hospital leadership and quality, although crucial to driving quality improvement, has not been explored in depth. We collected data from surveys of nationally representative groups of hospitals in the United States and England to examine the relationships among hospital boards, management practices of front-line managers, and the quality of care delivered. First, we found that hospitals with more effective management practices provided higher-quality care. Second, higher-rated hospital boards had superior performance by hospital management staff. Finally, we identified two signatures of high-performing hospital boards and management practice. Hospitals with boards that paid greater attention to clinical quality had management that better monitored quality performance. Similarly, we found that hospitals with boards that used clinical quality met...
Adding Meaning to Measurement: Evaluating Trends and Differences in Innovation Capacity Among the States

How do states compare to one another, and to themselves, in innovation capacity and past innovation performance? Are there groups of states that are more or less similar in innovation capacity composition? Because different score dimensions vary independently, it is possible for states to be high on some dimensions and low on others. In an effort to give greater meaning to innovation index scores, it is necessary to evaluate the relationships among them. This article subjects Hall's innovation capacity index scores to cluster analysis to reveal clusters of states that are similar in innovation capacity levels across the three dimensions considered. A cluster typology is created, and state changes in typology are observed and compared over the 20-year period of the data set. Patterns observed across states and over time will help policy makers to identify major changes in their typology that may reflect goal progress or regression.
Turbulent convective velocities /broadband and wavenumber dependent/ in a plane jet

An investigation into the magnitude and direction of the convective velocity in a plane air jet was performed. Convective velocities were obtained from cross-correlation measurements. They are defined as the ratio of the spacing between two hot-wire probes and the time delay between their signals to reach maximum correlation. These velocities were larger in magnitude than the local mean velocities for lateral distances greater than the half-width of the jet. Frequency analysis of the convective velocity indicates that the large-scale eddies move slower than the mean flow while the small scales move faster. Based on the convective velocity vector, broadband ‘convection lines’ were defined and found to point outward with respect to the streamlines for all values of y/b [Gt ] 0·5. Likewise, frequency investigation indicates that ‘convection lines’ point outward for all y/b [Lt ] 1·3 and then inward for larger values of y/b.
Simple and efficient CMOS circuit for fast VLSI adder realization

A simple, yet efficient, scheme for a VLSI implementation of addition in CMOS is presented. The implementation of this scheme yields an adder with near minimal number of gates and a small and regular area that outperforms carry-lookahead and recurrence solver schemes. This is demonstrated by simulation of the actual implementation, using examples. The development of this scheme is based on a more realistic estimate of delay in VLSI-CMOS technology and careful selection of circuits than the estimates traditionally used. Using the proposed scheme developed, 32-bit addition in 14.2 ns was realized and, based on it, a 64-bit adder performing addition in 16.0 ns was made possible. >
Comparisons of parameter and hypothesis definitions in a general linear model

In the context of the general linear model E(Y)=Xβ possibly subject to restrictions Rβ=r two secondary parameters may be well defined by Θi=GiE(Y)-Θoi=Ci β-Θoi,i=1,2, and corresponding nonconstant hypotheses, Hi:Θi=0. The following possible relations are defined: Θ1: is dependent upon /equivalent to/identical to Θ2:H1is a subhypothesis of/is identical to H2. Necessary and sufficient conditions, involving straightforward matrix computations, are presented for each relation. Comparisons of secondary parameters and hypotheses are illustrated with an incomplete, unbalanced 3 × 4 factorial design from Searle in which, using a constrained version of Searle's model, parameters and hypotheses in the incomplete, unbalanced design are shown to be indentical to parameters one would define if complete balanced data were available. Techniques for computing simplified definitions are illustrated.
Second-order motion without awareness: Passive adaptation to second-order motion produces a motion aftereffect

Although second-order motion may be detected by early and automatic mechanisms, some models suggest that perceiving second-order motion requires higher-order processes, such as feature or attentive tracking. These types of attentionally mediated mechanisms could explain the motion aftereffect (MAE) perceived in dynamic displays after adapting to second-order motion. Here we tested whether there is a second-order MAE in the absence of attention or awareness. If awareness of motion, mediated by high-level or top-down mechanisms, is necessary for the second-order MAE, then there should be no measurable MAE if the ability to detect directionality is impaired during adaptation. To eliminate the subject’s ability to detect directionality of the adapting stimulus, a second-order drifting Gabor was embedded in a dense array of additional crowding Gabors. We found that a significant MAE was perceived even after adaptation to second-order motion in crowded displays that prevented awareness. The results demonstrate that second-order motion can be passively coded in the absence of awareness and without top-down attentional control.
Women’s Experiences With Isotretinoin Risk Reduction Counseling

Importance Isotretinoin, an effective anti-acne therapy, is a known teratogen that is strictly regulated through the iPLEDGE program. However, since this program has not significantly reduced rates of pregnancies exposed to isotretinoin, new strategies for reducing rates of isotretinoin-exposed pregnancies are needed. Objective To explore women’s experiences with counseling about isotretinoin risk reduction. Design, Setting, and Participants Structured interviews were conducted between January and September 2012. Two independent coders performed content analysis using a grounded theory approach. The study participants were 16 women who had used isotretinoin to treat severe skin disease and who were recruited from a single urban community via flyers displayed on college campuses, at dermatology clinics, and at student health facilities. Main Outcomes and Measures Perceptions of isotretinoin-associated risks and understanding of ways teratogenic risks can be avoided. Results Participants clearly understood that isotretinoin is teratogenic but had less understanding of contraceptive methods that effectively prevent pregnancy. Most described the counseling they received as anxiety provoking. Few were counseled about highly effective reversible contraceptives such as the subdermal implant or intrauterine contraception; most counseling focused on oral contraceptives. Women cited multiple influences on their contraceptive choices, including friends, family, physicians, the internet, and other media; however, some expressed concerns about the accuracy of these sources of information. For many, iPLEDGE was their first introduction to contraception. When presented with evidence-based information on the relative effectiveness of available contraceptives, participants expressed surprise that this was not part of the iPLEDGE materials. Conclusions and Relevance Since few clinicians provide women information on highly effective (ie, intrauterine or subdermal) contraceptives, the iPLEDGE program increases anxiety about isotretinoin more than it helps women feel protected from the teratogenic risks of isotretinoin.
Quantitative approximation by fractional smooth general singular operators

Abstract In this article we study the fractional smooth general singular integral operators on the real line, regarding their convergence to the unit operator with fractional rates in the uniform norm. The related established inequalities involve the higher order moduli of smoothness of the associated right and left Caputo fractional derivatives of the engaged function. Furthermore we produce a fractional Voronovskaya type result giving the fractional asymptotic expansion of the basic error of our approximation. We finish with applications to fractional trigonometric singular integral operators. Our operators are not in general positive.