cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A physician planning framework for polyclinics under uncertainty

Abstract In this paper, we present a comprehensive two-level physician planning framework for polyclinics under uncertainty. The first level focuses on clinic scheduling and capacity planning decisions, whereas the second level deals with physician scheduling and operational adjustments decisions. In order to protect the generated schedules against demand uncertainty, the first level is modeled as an adjustable robust scheduling problem, which is solved using an ad hoc cutting plane algorithm. To cope with variability in patients’ treatment times, we formulate the second level as a two-stage stochastic problem and use a sample average approximation scheme to obtain solutions with small optimality gaps. We use a Monte-Carlo simulation algorithm and data obtained from a university health center in Montreal, Canada, to demonstrate the benefits of our planning framework. In particular, we show that the schedule generated by our approach is superior in terms of total cost as compared with the one obtained from a single-level deterministic model.
Bolivia’s TIPNIS Road Conflict through the Lens of Xavier Albó’s Writings

This paper focuses on the writings by Bolivian anthropologist/linguist Xavier Albo in relation to the widely publicized TIPNIS (Territorio Indigena y Parque Nacional Isiboro Secure) road conflict in Bolivia’s Amazon basin. The first part of this paper provides a brief historical review of the emergence of TIPNIS beginning with 1990’s territorial rights march through its most recent related protest march in 2011 and its related ongoing controversies and conflicts. This background section provides the context for a discussion of selected Albo writings as contributions to the debates surrounding TIPNIS. His writing examines the multiple problematic impacts of TIPNIS as a controversial infrastructural project for its various environmental, indigenous rights, developmental, and coca-cocaine related issues and dimensions. The paper argues that a continuing concern throughout Albo’s writing on TIPNIS is the importance of the struggle for indigenous political unity as a necessary foundation for the effective operations of Bolivia’s innovative plurinational state.
Cracking the WHIP: An Evaluation of Baseball’s Hall of Fame Pitchers

Walks plus hits per inning pitched (WHIP) is a key performance metric for pitchers in Major League Baseball (MLB). The authors analyze WHIP and its two components, walks and hits, to determine whether Hall of Fame pitcher performance has changed over time since the Hall of Fame’s first induction in 1936. All inducted pitchers are divided into four roughly equal groups. The results reveal that pitchers inducted between 1936 and 1959 gave up significantly fewer walks per inning pitched while pitchers inducted between 1960 and 1979 gave up significantly more hits per inning pitched. However, in general, WHIP displays no statistically significant trend over time, as the small number of walks per inning pitched among early inductees is offset by a large number of hits given up per inning pitched among later inductees.
Effects of Vibrio cholerae infection and colonization on the zebrafish intestinal microbiome

Zebrafish (Danio rerio) are an attractive model organism for a variety of scientific studies, including host-microbe interactions. Zebrafish contain a core (i.e., consistently detected) intestinal microbiome consisting primarily of Proteobacteria. Furthermore, this core intestinal microbiome is plastic, and can be significantly altered to due external factors. The organism is particularly useful for the study of aquatic microbes that can colonize vertebrate hosts, including Vibrio cholerae. As an intestinal pathogen, V. cholerae needs to colonize the intestine of an exposed host for any type of pathogenicity to occur. It is suspected that members of the resident intestinal microbial community need to be eliminated by V. cholerae in order for colonization, and subsequently disease, to occur. While numerous studies have explored various aspects of the pathogenic effects of V. cholerae on zebrafish and other model organisms, few, if any, have examined how a V. cholerae infection alters the resident intestinal community. In this study, 16S rRNA gene sequencing was utilized to investigate how various strains of V. cholerae alter the aforementioned microbial profiles following an infection. We found that V. cholerae infection and subsequent colonization induced significant changes in the zebrafish intestinal microbiome, with specific members of the microbial community targeted. Additional salient differences to the microbial profile were observed based on the particular strain of V. cholerae utilized for challenging the zebrafish hosts. We conclude that V. cholerae causes significant modulation to the zebrafish intestinal microbiome in order for infection and subsequent disease to occur.
Piptides: New, Easily Accessible Chemotypes For Interactions With Biomolecules

Small molecule probe development is pivotal in biomolecular science. Research described here was undertaken to develop a non-peptidic chemotype, piptides, that is amenable to convenient, iterative solid-phase syntheses, and useful in biomolecular probe discovery. Piptides can be made from readily accessible pip acid building blocks and have good proteolytic and pH stabilities. An illustrative application of piptides against a protein-protein interaction (PPI) target was explored. The Exploring Key Orientations (EKO) strategy was used to evaluate piptide candidates for this. A library of only 14 piptides contained five members that disrupted epidermal growth factor (EGF) and its receptor, EGFR, at low micromolar concentrations. These piptides also caused apoptotic cell death, and antagonized EGF-induced phosphorylation of intracellular tyrosine residues in EGFR.
Essentialism is the enemy of the good: how the myth of objectivity is holding computing back

Right after the spring semester ended, I was invited to do an ethics workshop for a Data Science for the Common Good graduate student research program [6]. It had been a week since George Floyd was killed by police [15], and weeks before Covid-19 related deaths had initially peaked in most parts of the U.S. Organizations, and then even retailers, started sharing anti-racism statements, promises, and in the case of Amazon, Black Lives Matter banners on their website. Press related to facial recognition technology and algorithmic decision making's increasingly troubling role in our criminal justice system had already began the reckoning within computer science [1], calling for a fundamental change in how computing professionals think. So, it shouldn't have been surprising that my lesson for these common-good minded, data-science inclined Ph.D. students could be stated simply as explaining the connection between the myth of objectivity and racism. The stop in the middle connecting a belief in objectivity to racism is a concept called essentialism.
Cancer Stem Cells

Different cancer types have different cancer stem cells owing to their different stem cells of origin.
Modeling solar eclipse shadow bands using wave optics simulation through distributed turbulence.

Thin, wavy ribbons of light known as “shadow bands” can be seen moving and undulating on the ground just preceding and following the occurrence of a total solar eclipse. Using the scattering scintillation theory, Codona [Astron. Astrophys.164, 415 (1986)AAEJAF0004-6361] presented theoretical investigations that explain recorded features of shadow bands and suggest the turbulence mainly responsible for the bands is within the bottom 2–3 km of the atmosphere. This paper proposes an approach to model the shadow band phenomena using a numerical wave optics simulation. The simulation approach employs numerical wave optics techniques to model a crescent-shape source, propagation of component plane waves through turbulence phase screens, and observation of the light at the ground. The simulation produces intensity patterns with structures and evolution that are consistent with actual shadow band observations and Codona’s theory. The contribution of the turbulence phase screens as a function of height to the shadow band intensity scintillation index is simulated and excellent correspondence is found with the theory. Finally, the practical utility of the simulation is illustrated by creating intensity frames that show the temporal evolution of the patterns due to wind. The simulation approach is adaptable and can be applied to scintillation and imaging problems involving other incoherent objects or sources that subtend relatively large angles and are observed through atmospheric turbulence.
Multiphase direct ink writing (MDIW) for multilayered polymer/nanoparticle composites

Abstract Additive manufacturing has advantages in freedom of design, rapid prototyping, and waste minimization. However, one bottleneck in 3D printing polymer/nanoparticle composites has been the lack of high-precision structural control, especially without sacrificing manufacturing rates. For the first time, this study demonstrated the design and development of a new additive manufacturing mechanism, the Multiphase Direct Ink Writing (MDIW). By matching the viscosity between polymer solutions/nanoparticle suspensions, an individual line composed of a desirable number of sublayers (i.e., 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, 256, 512) was printed. A thin-ply structure with continuous ink deposition showed a strong dependence upon these layer numbers per printing line or the unit layer thickness. The 64-layered structure showed the highest modulus, strength, and energy absorption at a specific strain of 30% (E30% strain) (i.e., 5 times increase in Young's modulus, 3 times growth in ultimate tensile strength, and 3.5 times improvement in E30% strain compared to the PVA). The enhancement in composite mechanics was due to thin layer thickness that improved the interfacial interactions and nanoparticle distribution homogeneity. The interfacial interactions between layers also facilitated the nanotube alignment and affected the crystallization behaviors. Our MDIW method is compatible with natural-, synthetic- and biopolymers as long as the feedstock rheology is well-managed, showing broad applications in structural systems, thermal insulation, electrical conductivity, optical reflectance, and biomedical scaffolds.
Host–Microbiota Interactions in the Esophagus During Homeostasis and Allergic Inflammation

Abstract Background & Aims Microbiota composition and mechanisms of host-microbiota interactions in the esophagus are unclear. Herein, we aimed to uncover fundamental information about the esophageal microbiome and its potential significance to eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE). Methods Microbiota composition, transplantation potential and antibiotic responsiveness in the esophagus were established via 16S rRNA sequencing. Functional outcomes of microbiota colonization were assessed by RNA sequencing analysis of mouse esophageal epithelium and compared to the human EoE transcriptome. The impact of dysbiosis was assessed using a pre-clinical model of EoE. Results Herein, we report that the murine esophagus is colonized with diverse microbial communities within the first month of life. The esophageal microbiota is distinct, dominated by Lactobacillales, and demonstrates spatial heterogeneity as the proximal and distal esophagus are enriched in Bifidobacteriales and Lactobacillales, respectively. Fecal matter transplantation restores the esophageal microbiota, demonstrating that the local environment drives diversity. Microbiota colonization modifies esophageal tissue morphology and gene expression that is enriched in pathways associated with epithelial barrier function and overlapping with genes involved in EoE including POSTN, KLK5 and HIF1A. Finally, neonatal antibiotic treatment reduces the abundance of Lactobacillales and exaggerates type 2 inflammation in the esophagus. Clinical data substantiated loss of esophageal Lactobacillales in EoE as compared with controls. Conclusion The esophagus has a unique microbiome with notable differences between its proximal and distal regions. Fecal matter transplantation restores the esophageal microbiome. Antibiotic induced dysbiosis exacerbates disease in a murine model of EoE. Collectively, these data establish the composition, transplantation potential, antibiotic responsiveness, and host-microbiota interaction in the esophagus, and have implications for gastrointestinal health and disease.
An Information-Theoretic Framework for Identifying Age-Related Genes Using Human Dermal Fibroblast Transcriptome Data.

Investigation of age-related genes is of great importance for multiple purposes, for instance, improving our understanding of the mechanism of ageing, increasing life expectancy, age prediction, and other healthcare applications. In his work, starting with a set of 27,142 genes, we develop an information-theoretic framework for identifying genes that are associated with aging by applying unsupervised and semi-supervised learning techniques on human dermal fibroblast gene expression data. First, we use unsupervised learning and apply information-theoretic measures to identify key features for effective representation of gene expression values in the transcriptome data. Using the identified features, we perform clustering on the data. Finally, we apply semi-supervised learning on the clusters using different distance measures to identify novel genes that are potentially associated with aging. Performance assessment for both unsupervised and semi-supervised methods show the effectiveness of the framework.
Recurrent Off-policy Baselines for Memory-based Continuous Control

When the environment is partially observable (PO), a deep reinforcement learning (RL) agent must learn a suitable temporal representation of the entire history in addition to a strategy to control. This problem is not novel, and there have been model-free and model-based algorithms proposed for this problem. However, inspired by recent success in model-free image-based RL, we noticed the absence of a model-free baseline for history-based RL that (1) uses full history and (2) incorporates recent advances in off-policy continuous control. Therefore, we implement recurrent versions of DDPG, TD3, and SAC (RDPG, RTD3, and RSAC) in this work, evaluate them on short-term and long-term PO domains, and investigate key design choices. Our experiments show that RDPG and RTD3 can surprisingly fail on some domains and that RSAC is the most reliable, reaching near-optimal performance on nearly all domains. However, one task that requires systematic exploration still proved to be difficult, even for RSAC. These results show that model-free RL can learn good temporal representation using only reward signals; the primary difficulty seems to be computational cost and exploration. To facilitate future research, we have made our PyTorch implementation publicly available at https://github.com/zhihanyang2022/off-policy-continuous-control.
Statistical Techniques for Estimation of Hazard Functions

The use of aggregate data to infer group risk factors in mortality and morbidity determination clearly raises questions concerning which variables are endogenous and which are exogenous, a point recently remade by Manski (1993). Although aggregate level studies based on micro level decisions have been undertaken through calibration and simulation [see, for example, Auerbach, et al. (1989) in their study of four OECD countries], estimation of such general equilibrium models is problematic given the enormous data requirements. In the last chapter we outlined a microeconomic model of individual behavior which made explicit the causal links between mortality and morbidity, and which allowed control for the risk factors which give rise to changes in health. The need for such structural modeling of the risk factors which cause variations in health outcomes has been noted by many authors, a recent example being Feinstein (1992) in his survey of health outcomes and socioeconomic status. In these models, the allocation of time and the income it generates and health status are rationally chosen under constraints of scarcity, technology and uncertainty.
Industrial and Agricultural Chemicals

The alert practitioner should know the types of pollution created by agriculture and industry in his area. In agriculture, two important pollutants are nitrates and pesticides (which include insecticides, herbicides, fungicides, rodenticides, and defoliants). Pediatricians are well aware of methemoglobmnemia due to excessive nitrates in water. Nitrates in water supplies are of increasing concern because of runoff from feed lots and incremental use of fertilizers. Tolerance levels of nitrate in municipal water supplies are established, and pediatricians should insist that these standards be enforced in their community. With regard to pesticides, the Environmental Protection Agency has funded 13 community studies throughout the United States. The purpose is to monitor the health of pesticide workers compared with suitable controls. To date no significant health effects have been demonstrated. Most studies have been made on adult males because of their occupational exposure to pesticides. The groups under surveillance include workers who manufacture pesticides, pest-control operators who spray daily, and farmers who have intermittent exposure to high concentrations of pesticides. We are seeking the effects, if any, in the most heavily exposed persons before trying to determine the effects of smaller doses. This approach suffers the problem of small sample size (several thousand instead of hundreds of thousands of exposed persons). Our studies and those of others have shown that DDT in the sera of blacks is about two to three times that of whites. 1-3 We had assumed that this difference was due to environmental exposure, but recent studies in Charleston, South Carolina, have suggested a genetic factor.
Lung volume does not alter the distribution of pulmonary perfusion in dependent lung in supine humans

There is a gravitational influence on pulmonary perfusion, including in the most dependent lung, where perfusion is reduced, termed Zone 4. Studies using xenon-133 show Zone 4 behaviour, present in the dependent 4 cm at total lung capacity (TLC), affects the dependent 11 cm at functional residual capacity (FRC) and almost all the lung at residual volume (RV). These differences were ascribed to increased resistance in extra-alveolar vessels at low lung volumes although other mechanisms have been proposed. To further evaluate the behaviour of perfusion in dependent lung using a technique that directly measures pulmonary perfusion and corrects for tissue distribution by measuring regional proton density, seven healthy subjects (age = 38 ± 6 years, FEV1= 104 ± 7% predicted) underwent magnetic resonance imaging in supine posture. Data were acquired in the right lung during breath-holds at RV, FRC and TLC. Arterial spin labelling quantified regional pulmonary perfusion, which was normalized for regional proton density measured using a fast low-angle shot technique. The height of the onset of Zone 4 behaviour was not different between lung volumes (P= 0.23). There were no significant differences in perfusion (expressed as ml min−1 g−1) between lung volumes in the gravitationally intermediate (RV = 8.9 ± 3.1, FRC = 8.1 ± 2.9, TLC = 7.4 ± 3.6; P= 0.26) and dependent lung (RV = 6.6 ± 2.4, FRC = 6.1 ± 2.1, TLC = 6.4 ± 2.6; P= 0.51). However, at TLC perfusion was significantly lower in non-dependent lung than at FRC or RV (3.6 ± 3.3, 7.7 ± 1.5, 7.9 ± 2.0, respectively; P < 0.001). These data suggest that the mechanism of the reduction in perfusion in dependent lung is unlikely to be a result of lung volume related increases in resistance in extra-alveolar vessels. In supine posture, the gravitational influence on perfusion is remarkably similar over most of the lung, irrespective of lung volume.
[Book Review] Kay, Brian H. and Richard C. Russell [Eds.] 2013. Mosquito Eradication. The Story of Killing

Kay, Brian H. and Richard C. Russell [Eds.] 2013. Mosquito Eradication. The Story of Killing. Campto, CSIRO Publishing, Collingwood, VIC. Australia. xxii + 256 pp., paperback. ISBN 9781486300570, $69.95 (AU). This multi-authored volume chronicles stages and strategic planning of a remarkable achievement, the unprecedented eradication of an invasive salt marsh mosquito pest and potential disease vector. The book is a collaboration between Australian experts, including the editors, who are doyens of mosquito biology and control Down Under, and New Zealand scientists, government workers, and response teams whose timely engagement was responsible for the eventual purging of the Australian southern salt marsh mosquito Aedes camptorhynchus from their country. The cooperation between these neighbors is appropriate and not unexpected, given their shared concerns about invasive species and ‘biosecurity’, plus the fact that the unwanted Campto was inadvertently introduced into NZ from Australia. View this article in BioOne
Escherichia coli strains with thermolabile ribonuclease II activity.

Abstract Studies with ribonuclease II enzymes from various temperature sensitive Escherichia coli mutants that showed heat labile ribonuclease II activity in extracts indicated that only one of these strains, 1113B, contains an altered heat labile ribonuclease II enzyme. Genetic analysis of temperature independent transductants indicated that strain 1113B carries two mutations that cause a decrease in its capacity to grow at elevated temperatures. However, neither of these mutations is responsible for the altered ribonuclease II in this strain. Moreover, strains with this altered RNase II enzyme are capable of growing exponentially at 45°, and growth at that temperature (45°) does not affect their level of ribonuclease II.
Neuroanatomy education tools to make it active, clinical, and mobile (215.3)

This session will address best methods to incorporate active learning into traditional didactic teaching to improve student participation in neuroanatomy class. It will highlight online resources (...
Actinide-specific sequestering agents and decontamination applications

LBL-11533 C Preprint To be published as a Book Chapter in Structure and Bonding Vol. 43, 1980, Springer-Verlag, Heidelberg. West Germany . ACTINIDE-SPECIFIC SEQUESTERING AGENTS AND DECONTAMINATION APPLICATIONS William L. Smith and Kenneth N. Raymond July 1980 TWO-WEEK LOAN COP This is a Library Circulating Copy which may be borrowed for two weeks. Prepared for the U.S. Department of Energy under Contract W-7405-ENG-48
Decline of Cornus florida and forest succession in a Quercus–Carya forest

Cornus florida is a common understory species in many hardwood forests in eastern North America. It plays an important role in nutrient cycling and is an important food resource for many vertebrate species, especially migratory birds. We used data collected over a 16-year period to examine population dynamics of a tagged population of C. florida in a 6.4 ha area in the context of change in the protected Quercus-Carya forest of the Ross Biological Reserve, Indiana. We examined the hypothesis that forest dynamics result from interactions between long-term ecological succession and pathogens. The C. florida population at the Ross Reserve declined by 50% between 1983 and 2000, with a survivorship of 24%. Analysis of 40 years of forest survey data showed that Quercus and Carya populations declined in impor- tance, while Acer saccharum increased dramatically. This change in forest structure is consistent with successional changes occurring throughout the Mid- west and can be attributed to suppression of distur- bance. Cornus florida declined more sharply where A. saccharum increased. From 1983 to 1999, C. florida were less likely to survive if they were within 5 m of a A. saccharum. Light measurements showed that A. saccharum abundance correlated negatively with light available to C. florida, suggesting that increased shading by A. saccharum contributed to C. florida decline. The fungus, Discula destructiva causes the disease dogwood anthracnose that is associated with widespread decline of C. florida in the eastern United States. Tests for this pathogen in our study area were mostly negative. Other tests revealed that Armillaria root rot infected most C. florida, but this disease seemed to be a secondary effect of shading by A. saccharum. These results suggest that the lack of fire and other anthropogenic disturbances has resulted in an accelerated shift in dominance from Quercus and Carya to A. saccharum in the main canopy, and this shift, in turn, has resulted in increased shading of C. florida and its decline in previously more open Midwestern forests.
TRANSFORMATION OF A TEXAS COTTON CULTIVAR BY USING AGROBACTERIUM AND THE SHOOT APEX

Transgenic cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) plants of a Texas cultivar CUBQHRPIS were obtained using Agrobacterium-mediated transformation coupled with the use of shoot-apex explants. After inoculation with A. tumefaciens strain LBA 4404 containing the pBI121 plasmid, regeneration of primary plants was carried out in a medium containing kanamycin (100 mg l-1). Progeny obtained by selfing were germinated in the greenhouse and selected for expression of the T-DNA marker gene encoding neomycin phospho-transferase II (NPTII) by painting kanamycin (2%) on the leaves. Plants that survived the leaf painting were analyzed by DNA blots. Evidence for integration of the transgene (GUS) was observed in two successive generations from the regenerants (T0). The transformed plants appeared to have more than one copy of the T-DNA.
The Impact of Learning Structure on Students' Readiness for Self-Directed Learning

Self-directed learning (SDL) skills are the basis of lifelong learning. The authors present findings from a classroom experiment to assess acquisition of the skill of SDL under structured and unstructured learning environments. The authors found that structure match enhances SDL skills and that courses designed to enhance students' readiness for SDL can do so. However, the majority of the students in this study, who were likely to be similar to other students at public universities in metropolitan areas, entered the course unprepared for SDL. The structured environment, in which students model good learning skills, provided a more suitable environment for improving student readiness for SDL for more students. The authors make recommendations for the development of SDL across the college curriculum.
Complex moduli of aligned discontinuous fibre-reinforced polymer composites

This paper describes recent analytical and experimental efforts to determine the effects of fibre aspect ratio, fibre spacing, and the viscoelastic properties of constituent materials on the damping and stiffness of aligned discontinuous fibre-reinforced polymer matrix composites. This includes the analysis of trade-offs between damping and stiffness as the above parameters are varied. Two different analytical models show that there is an optimum fibre aspect ratio for maximum damping, and that the predicted optimum aspect ratios lie in the range of actual aspect ratios for whiskers and microfibres when the fibre damping is small. When the fibre damping is great enough, however, the optimum fibre aspect ratio corresponds to continuous fibre reinforcement. Experimental data for E-glass/epoxy specimens are presented for comparison with predictions.
Compressibility, Thermal Expansion, and Other Properties of Helium-Three

Measurements of pressure versus temperature of solid ${\mathrm{He}}^{3}$ have been made for various constant volumes between 17.6 and 24.7 ${\mathrm{cm}}^{3}$/mole, in the temperature range from 0.35\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{}K to the melting point. Use was made of a sensitive capacitive strain gauge, which is described. From the pressure, the compressibility and thermal expansion coefficient are obtained. By extending the isochores into the liquid region, these quantities are also obtained for the liquid at melting. The compressibilities of the solid and liquid in equilibrium at the melting curve are nearly equal. The expansion coefficient of the solid is positive in the range investigated. Comparison with specific heats and with other results is made, and values of the Gr\"uneisen $\ensuremath{\gamma}$ and Debye $\ensuremath{\theta}$ are obtained. A discontinuity in volume of about 0.1 ${\mathrm{cm}}^{3}$/mole at the bcc-hcp phase transition down to 0.35\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{}K was found.
Loss of Cftr function exacerbates the phenotype of Na+ hyperabsorption in murine airways

Airway surface hydration depends on the balance between transepithelial Na+ absorption and Cl− secretion. In adult mice, absence of functional cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (Cftr) fails to recapitulate human cystic fibrosis (CF) lung disease. In contrast, overexpression of the epithelial Na+ channel β subunit in transgenic mice (βENaC-Tg) produces unregulated Na+ hyperabsorption and results in CF-like airway surface dehydration, mucus obstruction, inflammation, and increased neonatal mortality. To investigate whether the combination of airway Na+ hyperabsorption and absent Cftr-mediated Cl− secretion resulted in more severe lung pathology, we generated double-mutant ΔF508 CF/βENaC-Tg mice. Survival of ΔF508 CF/βENaC-Tg mice was reduced compared with βENaC-Tg or ΔF508 CF mice. Absence of functional Cftr did not affect endogenous or transgenic ENaC currents but produced reduced basal components of Cl− secretion and tracheal cartilaginous defects in both ΔF508 CF and ΔF508 CF/βENaC-Tg mice. Neonatal ΔF508 CF/βENaC-Tg mice exhibited higher neutrophilic pulmonary inflammation and club cell (Clara cell) necrosis compared with βENaC-Tg littermates. Neonatal ΔF508 CF/βENaC-Tg mice also exhibited spontaneous bacterial infections, but the bacterial burden was similar to that of βENaC-Tg littermates. Adult ΔF508 CF/βENaC-Tg mice exhibited pathological changes associated with eosinophilic crystalline pneumonia, a phenotype not observed in age-matched βENaC-Tg mice. Collectively, these data suggest that the combined abnormalities in Na+ absorption and Cl− secretion produce more severe lung disease than either defect alone. Airway cartilage abnormalities, airway cell necrosis, and exaggerated neutrophil infiltration likely interact with defective mucus clearance caused by βENaC overexpression and absent CFTR-mediated Cl− secretion to produce the increased neonatal mortality observed in ΔF508 CF/βENaC-Tg mice.
The Importance of Antibiotic Pharmacokinetics in Critical Illness

Antibiotics are the most commonly used drugs in the surgical patient. Pharmacokinetics is the study of processes that result in the delivery of drugs to effector sites. Drug absorption, distribution, biotransformation, and excretion are the critical elements of drug delivery to effector sites. The biologic elimination half-life (t1/2) and the volume of distribution (Vd) are terms used to describe the active processes of pharmacokinetics; t1/2 and Vd are determined for antibiotics by employing healthy volunteers or minimally ill patients. From these data, dosing schedules for each antibiotic are determined. This article reviews the literature on the impact of critical illness and sepsis on antibiotic pharmacokinetics. The data identify that t1/2 may be reduced in the hyperdynamic states of stress and sepsis and that the Vd is expanded. These changes mean that currently accepted dosing regimens of antibiotics in critically ill patients are inadequate. Subtherapeutic antibiotic concentrations in these patients may account for treatment failures and may be of significance in the emergence of bacterial resistance.
Noninvasive optical imaging of localized absorption and scattering changes during functional activation of the human brain: an evaluation and feasibility study

In the present study we evaluated a new 50 MHz single wavelength multi-source detector imaging system for noninvasive optical imaging of human brain function. The system is based on phase resolved technology and allows measurements in remission mode of changes in phase shift and light intensity in the phased array approach and the conventional phase modulation approach. To evaluate the potentials and limitations of the system with respect to functional brain imaging we assessed the sensitivity of imaging based on photon migration pattern and absorption changes in the two different approaches as a function of object depth in a homogeneous brian model under controlled conditions. Furthermore first results using this technique for noninvasive optical imaging of functional brain activation in human subjects are presented and discussed with respect to potentials and limitations of the respective parameter.
Effects of adsorbates on supported platinum and iridium clusters: Characterization in reactive atmospheres and during alkene hydrogenation catalysis by X-ray absorption spectroscopy.

MgO-, SiO2-, and γ-Al2O3-supported platinum clusters and particles (with average diameters ranging from 11 to 45 A) and zeolite-supported Ir4 clusters (approximately 6 A in diameter) were characterized by extended X-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopy in the presence of H2, O2, ethene, propene, and ethane, as well as under conditions of alkene hydrogenation catalysis. The results indicate that under various atmospheres, the presence of adsorbates affects the smaller platinum clusters (11 A) on γ-Al2O3 more substantially than the larger platinum particles (i.e., those greater than approximately 21 A in average diameter) on MgO or SiO2. When Pt/γ-Al2O3 was exposed to H2, the platinum morphology did not change, although the Pt−Pt bond distance increased. In contrast, when the same sample was exposed to O2, complete oxidative fragmentation took place. This processes was reversed following subsequent treatment with H2. Exposure to alkenes changed both the morphology and electron density (as indicated by...
Tigers and temples: The politics of nationalist and non‐modern violence in Sri Lanka

(1997). Tigers and temples: The politics of nationalist and non‐modern violence in Sri Lanka. South Asia: Journal of South Asian Studies: Vol. 20, Conflict and Community in Contemporary Sri Lanka, pp. 201-214.
A radar-based stochastic model for the time-space arrivals of the rain fields onto a geographical region

Rainfall in time at any ground location can be described by the rain intensity distribution over the subtrajectories which are drawn by the ground location point on the radar-detected incremental rain fields (IRFs) that pass over this location. Based on this conceptualization, this study develops a stochastic description of the arrivals of IRF subtrajectories (SIRFs) onto any given set of ground locations over a geographical region. The arrivals of SIRFs is described by a multivariate doubly stochastic Poisson process, excited by the time-space arrival process of IRFs onto the designated geographical region. The arrival process of IRFs is described by a 3-level time-space nonhomogeneous Poisson cluster model. At the primary level of this model are the arrivals of synoptic cyclonic systems; at the secondary level are the arrivals of large mesoscale rain areas (LMSAs) and at the tertiary level are the arrivals of IRFs onto the designated geographical region, all detected by the weather radar. The models are substantiated both by the graphical analysis of rain fields, as detected on a radar scope, and by the statistical analysis of the arrivals data at all of the four levels at three different ground locations over a rectangular geographical region in Northern Kentucky. It is pointed out that a doubly stochastic Poisson process is basically a Poisson cluster process. Hence, the final process of SIRF arrivals onto any ground location may be interpreted as a 4-level Poisson cluster process. Finally, heavy tails in the sample covariance density functions of the IRF and SIRF arrivals are detected. This study shows that the appropriate incorporation of clustering at all observable distinct scales of the rain fields models the heavy tail behavior of the covariance density adequately.
Comprehensive environmental review following the pork PCB/dioxin contamination incident in Ireland

In December 2008 the Irish Government made a decision to recall all Irish pork and bacon products from pigs slaughtered in Ireland since September 1 2008 as a result of polychlorinated biphenyl contamination identified during routine monitoring of Irish pork products. 30000 tonnes of returned product were subsequently destroyed, as well as 170000 pigs and 5700 cattle, with a cost to date to the Irish exchequer in excess of €120 million, as well as reputational damage to the Irish agriculture and food industries. The source of the contamination was traced to an animal feed production facility which was using the hot gases from the combustion of contaminated fuel oil to dry animal feed. This review examines the events which led to the contamination of the feed, the associated environmental monitoring investigations that followed, and also the lessons learned from this incident.
Diagnosis and surgical treatment of childhood brain tumors

As the most frequent solid tumor occurring in childhood, brain tumors constitute an important segment of pediatric oncology. Neurologic manifestations may be deceptively mild and easily overlooked or misinterpreted, particularly in the very young, because of the remarkable resiliency of the immature central nervous system and the skull's ability to expand throughout the pre-adolescent years. The majority of childhood tumors produce increased intracranial pressure, usually the consequence of obstructive hydrocephalus. Specific neurologic deficits correspond to the tumor's location. The posterior fossa harbors two-thirds of childhood tumors, and each of the four common tumors in this location produces a characteristic syndrome. Supratentorial tumors occupy the cerebral hemisphere, the suprasellar area, and the pineal gland. Diagnostic studies have reached a state of great sophistication and precise anatomical localization. Surgery, either alone or with adjuvant radiotherapy, cures no more than one-third of all tumors; for the remainder, it has a diagnostic and palliative role. The introduction of operative microsurgery has advanced the art, particularly in the surgical treatment of craniopharyngiomas and pinealomas, but any significant improvement in the treatment of brain tumors as a group seems unlikely to be achieved by surgery alone.
Low Frequency Noise Properties of Stabilized GaAlAs Lasers

A number of different methods of stabilizing the output of GaAlAs diode lasers are described and discussed. Forms of both optical and electronic feedback are considered.© (1983) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
The development of generative lipreading skills in deaf persons using cued speech training

Abstract This study evaluated the effects of cued speech, a system of manual cues used in conjunction with spoken words, on lipreading performance of two congenitally and profoundly deaf males. Students received sequential cued speech training via a multiple-baseline design across groups of phonemes (responses). Prior to and following training on each group, two types of probes were administered. Individual phoneme probes assessed acquisition of lipreading skills and generalization to expressive articulation responses. Novel phoneme combination probes assessed generalization of training to untrained phoneme combinations. Results indicated that subjects were able to accurately lipread cued stimuli as a function of cued speech training and that generalization of lipreading skills to novel nonsense syllables occurred. Cued speech training also appeared to facilitate lipreading performance with noncued stimuli, as well as articulation responses. Finally, students' probe performance following training compared favorably with that of an untrained deaf peer who was considered to be a skilled lipreader. Advantages of cued speech over other methods of communication training are discussed.
Radiation change in normal organs: an overview of body imaging

Radiotherapy causes changes in a treated malignancy and the surrounding normal tissue which must be included in the radiation fields. Awareness of the expected appearance of these changes frequently permits differentiation of them from superimposed infection, recurrent malignancy, radiation-induced tumors, and the other true complications of radiation therapy. Radiotherapy changes are a function of the tissue volume treated, field shape, total dose and how it was delivered, time from completion of therapy, and the possible effect of other therapies. Timing of radiation changes varies in the different organs. Acute radiation pneumonitis is generally seen approximately 2 months after completion of radiotherapy, but radiation pericarditis not until 6-9 months after therapy. Radiation-induced sarcomas do not develop on average until 10-15 years after radiation therapy. An overview of expected findings and complications in the lungs, heart, gastrointestinal tract, genitourinary tract, and bones is presented.
IN SITU MEASUREMENTS OF STRESS WITH TEMPERATURE IN THIN FILM PbxBa1 − xTiO3

In situ curvature measurements were used to monitor the macroscopic film stress with temperature in well-oriented thin films of Pb_xBa_(1-x)TiO_3 (x = 0.2, 0.5, 1.0) on single crystal MgO (001). Successive measurements were made between room and the growth temperature, 650 °C. The films were found to be in compression at room temperature. The compressive stresses in the films continually decreased at nearly constant rates with increasing temperature, and near the Curie temperature for each composition Tc_(x) these rates increased. Energy minimization calculations were used to predict the changes in the domain volume fractions and the film stresses with temperature. We find qualitative agreement between the predicted and measured behavior of the domain volume fractions. However, the stress in the films is not relaxed below Tc_(x) as expected. We discuss the effects that may inhibit this relaxation, namely film thickness, growth effects, and the presence of grain boundaries
Intracavitary radiotherapy of endometrial cancer by afterloading

Abstract Afterloading capsules, modified Heyman applicators, are now feasible with miniaturized radiation sources of cesium 137 as thin plastic tubes with bulbous ends. No longer need gynecologists and radiotherapists, operating room personnel, recovery room nurses, and other personnel receive unnecessary radiation from Heyman capsules.
Growth and reproductive responses of Laminaria longicruris (Laminariales, Phaeophyta) to nutrient enrichment

A series of comparative culture experiments were conducted in order to determine responses of Laminaria longicruris male and female gametophytes and juvenile sporophytes to several temperatures (5, 10, 15, 20 °C), light levels (10, 35, 75 μmol m-2 s-1) and media nitrogen concentrations (0, 20, 100 μM ammonium-nitrogen). Responses were measured as numbers of male and female gametophytes producing gametangia and number of sporophytes produced following fertilization. Both male and female gametogenesis was reduced at 5 and 20 °C versus 10 and 15 °C. At 20 °C gametogenesis inhibition was greater with higher levels of ammonium-nitrogen concentration (100 μM). Sporophyte production was more sensitive to light, temperature and nitrogen concentration than gametogenesis. Production of sporophytes was inhibited completely at 20 °C. At lower temperatures, increasingly higher nutrient concentrations produced greater inhibition of production of sporophytes.
Small Angle X-Ray Scattering from Tertiary-Butyl Alcohol-Water Mixtures

Abstract Small angle x-ray scattering measurements have been made on a number of t-butanol-water mixtures. The scattering is concentration dependent and has a maximum intensity for the solution with 0.11 mole fraction of alcohol. The zero angle scattering from this solution is temperature dependent and increases by a factor of 2.5 when the temperature changes from 5° to 56°C. Theoretical zero angle intensities, calculated from thermodynamic data in terms of the Kirkwood and Buff solution theory, were found to be in agreement with the experimental results. Thermodynamic data were also used to show that the solutions that give rise to appreciable small angle scattering also tend to form clusters of like molecules.
Predicting Pluralistic Ignorance: The Hostile Media Perception and its Consequences:

This study focused on media coverage of a controversial issue—the use of primates in laboratory research—to examine pluralistic ignorance, the potential for public misjudgment of public opinion. We hypothesized that people on both sides of the issue would find news coverage relatively disagreeable to their own point of view (the relative hostile media perception). We also expected to find that perceived public opinion would be influenced by personal opinions (the projection bias) and by perceived news slant (the persuasive press inference) and that, because of the hostile media perception, these latter two factors would push perceived public opinion in contrary directions. Data from a national probability sample (N=402) indicated support for all three hypotheses. In addition, along with an aggregate perception of unfavorable news coverage we found that people substantially overestimated public opposition to the use of primates in research. The results suggest that perceptions of the slant of press coverag...
Modulation of mu, delta and kappa opioid receptors in rat brain by metal ions and histidine.

The effect of zinc (Zn2+) and several other trace elements was studied on the binding of the opioid receptor agonists [3H] DAGO ([Tyr-d-Ala-Gly-Methyl-Phe-Olyol]-enkephalin)a, [3H] DSTLE ([Tyr-d-Ser-Gly-Phe-Leu-Thr]-enkephalin) and [3H] EKC (ethylketocyclazocine), which are specific for the mu, delta and kappa opioid receptors, respectively, in the cerebral cortex of the rat. Physiological concentrations of zinc were inhibitory to mu receptor binding, whereas the delta and kappa receptors were relatively insensitive to this inhibition. Scatchard analysis, using these opioid agonists, revealed curvilinear plots; concentrations of zinc equal to or less than the IC50 (the concentration of cation which caused 50% inhibition of the binding of opioid ligand to its receptor), increased the KD (the dissociation constant) of all three subtypes of receptor, with no effect on the Bmax (the maximum number of binding sites) and abolished the high affinity sites of the delta and kappa receptors. Copper, cadmium and mercury also inhibited the binding of these ligands to their receptors. Histidine was most effective in preventing the inhibitory effects of zinc and copper, whereas it was less effective on cadmium and without any effect on the inhibition caused by mercury. Magnesium and manganese were stimulatory to opioid receptor binding, whereas cobalt and nickel had dual (stimulatory and inhibitory) effects. Non-inhibitory concentrations of zinc significantly decreased the stimulatory effects of magnesium and manganese on the mu and delta receptors, suggesting that part of the effect of zinc was through prevention of the actions of stimulatory cations. The reducing reagent dithiothreitol partially protected against inhibition by zinc and the oxidizing reagent dithiobisnitrobenzoic acid potentiated the inhibitory effects of zinc on the binding of [3H] DSTLE and [3H] DAGO. These results suggest that physiological concentrations of free zinc can inhibit mu but not delta and kappa receptors. The lower susceptibility of delta and kappa receptors to inhibition by zinc may be due to the presence of fewer sulfhydryl-groups in these receptors, or due to their inaccessibility to binding by zinc. Relative physiological concentrations of free zinc and histidine may govern the extent of binding of the mu ligands to their receptors.