cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
An efficient fluid–solid coupled finite element scheme for weapon fragmentation simulations

Abstract An efficient finite element (FE) scheme to deal with a class of coupled fluid–solid problems is presented. The main ingredients of such methodology are: an accurate Q1/P0 solid element (trilinear in velocities and constant piecewise-discontinuous pressures); a large deformation plasticity model; an algorithm to deal with material failure, cracking propagation and fragment formation; and a fragment rigidization methodology to avoid the possible numerical instabilities that may produce pieces of material flying away from the main solid body. All the mentioned schemes have been fully parallelized and coupled using a loose-embedded procedure with a well-established and validated computational fluid dynamics (CFD) code (FEFLO). A CSD and a CFD/CSD coupled case are presented and analyzed.
Unannounced standardized patients: a promising method of assessing patient-centered care in your health care system

While unannounced standardized patients (USPs) have been used to assess physicians’ clinical skills in the ambulatory setting, they can also provide valuable information on patients’ experience of the health care setting beyond the physician encounter. This paper explores the use of USPs as a methodology for evaluating patient-centered care in the health care system. USPs were trained to complete a behaviorally-anchored assessment of core dimensions of patient-centered care delivered within the clinical microsystem, including: 1) Medical assistants’ safe practices, quality of care, and responsiveness to patients; 2) ease of clinic navigation; and 3) the patient-centeredness of care provided by the physician. Descriptive data is provided on these three levels of patient-centeredness within the targeted clinical microsystem. Chi-square analyses were used to signal whether variations by teams within the clinical microsystem were likely to be due to chance or might reflect true differences in patient-centeredness of specific teams. Sixty USP visits to 11 Primary Care teams were performed over an eight-month period (mean 5 visits/team; range 2–8). No medical assistants reported detecting an USP during the study period. USPs found the clinic easy to navigate and that teams were functioning well in 60% of visits. In 30% to 47% of visits, the physicians could have been more patient-centered. Medical assistants’ patient safety measures were poor: patient identity was confirmed in only 5% of visits and no USPs observed medical assistants wash their hands. Quality of care was relatively high for vital signs (e.g. blood pressure, weight and height), but low for depression screening, occurring in only 15% of visits. In most visits, medical assistants greeted the patient in a timely fashion but took time to fully explain matters in less than half of the visits and rarely introduced themselves. Physicians tried to help patients navigate the system in 62% of visits. USP assessment captured actionable, critical, behaviorally-specific information on team and system performance in an urban community clinic. This methodology provides unique insight into the patient-centeredness and quality of care in medical settings.
A methodology for estimation of surface evapotranspiration over large areas using remote sensing observations

We propose a simple scheme to estimate surface evaporation over large heterogeneous areas using remote sensing observations. Our approach is based on a relationship between easily measured surface parameters (e.g. radiometric surface temperature) and a surrogate for effective surface resistance. Preliminary results, using remotely sensed data sets from AVHRR NOAA-14 over the Southern Great Plains, show good agreement. The proposed approach appears to be more reliable and easily applicable for operational estimation of evaporation over large areas.
A FAST INITIAL RESPONSE SCHEME FOR THE EXPONENTIALLY WEIGHTED MOVING AVERAGE CONTROL CHART

Capability indices are becoming increasingly popular in industry. One of the problems associated with these indices is the underlying assumption of normality. Four non-normal distributions were examined for their effect on inferences made using the stan..
Coagulopathy of the critically ill equine patient.

Objective – To review the hemostasis literature relevant to development of coagulopathy in the critically ill equine patient. Data Source – Original scientific and review articles. Human Data Synthesis – Inflammation plays a critical role in the activation and amplification of clot formation, as well as the impairment of physiologic anticoagulant mechanisms, and fibrinolysis. Earlier identification of coagulopathy in patients at risk and restoration of physiologic hemostasis may result in better outcome. Development of scoring systems based on information other than coagulation markers alone may better identify patients with subclinical coagulopathy. Veterinary Data Synthesis – Critically ill equine patients commonly at risk for coagulopathy include those with severe gastrointestinal disease, septic foals, and adults subjected to severe systemic inflammatory response syndrome. Publications provide information regarding coagulation markers helpful for identification of hemostatic dysfunction in specific patient populations, as well as information regarding the influence of coagulopathy on outcome. Data regarding clinically relevant information on therapeutic intervention are lacking. Conclusions – The relationship between inflammation and endotoxemia and development of coagulopathy is better understood in both human patients and the critically ill equine patient. Prospective clinical trials evaluating clinically relevant and financially feasible approaches to treatment are still needed.
A New First Step in Activation of Steroid Receptors HORMONE-INDUCED SWITCHING OF FKBP51 AND FKBP52 IMMUNOPHILINS

We have identified a new first step in the hormonal activation of the glucocorticoid receptor (GR). Rather than causing immediate dissociation of the cytoplasmic GR heterocomplex, binding of hormone-induced substitution of one immunophilin (FKBP51) for another (FKBP52), and concomitant recruitment of the transport protein dynein while leaving Hsp90 unchanged. Immunofluorescence and fractionation revealed hormone-induced translocation of the hormone-generated GR·Hsp90·FKBP52·dynein complex from cytoplasm to nucleus, a step that precedes dissociation of the complex within the nucleus and conversion of GR to the DNA-binding form. Taken as a whole, these studies identify immunophilin interchange as the earliest known event in steroid receptor signaling and provide the first evidence of differential roles for FKBP51 and FKBP52 immunophilins in the control of steroid receptor subcellular localization and transport.
Modular annihilator algebras

The elements of minimal left (right) ideals in a semi-prime modular annihilator algebraA completely characterized by the property of being singles not in radA. An elements ofA is calledsingle if wheneverasb=0 for somea,b inA then at least one ofas,sb is zero.
ESI: a new spectrograph for the Keck II telescope

The ESI (echellette spectrograph and imager) is a multi-mode Cassegrain spectrograph currently funded and under construction at UCO/Lick Observatory for the Keck II telescope. The ESI instrument has three modes. The 170.0-mm collimated beam can be sent directly into the camera for imaging, through a prism disperser, or to an echellette grating with prism cross-dispersion. An all-refracting Epps camera and a single 2 K by 4 K detector are used for all three modes. The direct-imaging mode has a 2.0 multiplied by 8.0- arcmin field of view with 0.15-arcsec pixels. Filters may be placed either near the focal surface of the telescope or in the parallel beam, and the option of a future upgrade including a Fabry-Perot at the pupil image is available. The low-dispersion prism-only mode has a dispersion of 50 to 300 km/sec/pix, depending on wavelength, and this mode can be used with a 8.0-arcmin long slit or in a multi-slit mode with user- made slit-masks. The high-dispersion echellette mode gives the entire spectrum from 0.39 to 1.09 microns with a 20.0-arcsec slit length in a single exposure, with a dispersion of 9.6 to 12.8 km/sec/pix.
The role of drug use outcome expectancies in substance abuse risk: An interactional–transformational model

While a variety of risk factors for substance abuse have been identified, the psychological mechanisms underlying the transmission of risk is unclear based on studies using traditional risk-outcome research designs. The present paper identifies drug use outcome expectancies as a common etiological mechanism involved in substance abuse risk. Existing literature findings are reviewed and integrated according to an interactional-transformational (IT) model of developmental psychopathology. This model identifies the preliminary (mediating) and secondary (moderating) role of drug expectancies as important operations involved in the development of substance use patterns. Advantages of the IT model over traditional trait-based or environmental models are discussed, along with implications for intervention and future research.
Loss of islet sympathetic nerves and impairment of glucagon secretion in the NOD mouse: relationship to invasive insulitis

Aims/hypothesis We hypothesised that non-obese diabetic mice (NOD) mice have an autoimmune-mediated loss of islet sympathetic nerves and an impairment of sympathetically mediated glucagon responses. We aimed: (1) to determine whether diabetic NOD mice have an early impairment of the glucagon response to insulin-induced hypoglycaemia (IIH) and a coincident loss of islet sympathetic nerves; (2) to determine whether invasive insulitis is required for this nerve loss; and (3) to determine whether sympathetically mediated glucagon responses are also impaired.
Spatial-temporal understanding of urban scenes through large camera network

Outdoor surveillance cameras have become prevalent as part of the urban infrastructure, and provided a good data source for studying urban dynamics. In this work, we provide a spatial-temporal analysis of 8 weeks of video data collected from the large outdoor camera network at UCSB campus, which consists of 27 cameras. We first apply simple vision algorithm to extract the crowdedness information in the scene. Then we further explore the relationship between the traffic pattern observed from the cameras with activities in the nearby area using additional knowledge such as campus class schedule. Finally we investigate the potential of discovering aggregated human movement pattern by assuming a simple probabilistic model. Experiment has shown promising results using the proposed method.
Governance of Data Initialization for Service Oriented Architecture-based Military Simulation and Command and Control Federations:

Military simulation and command and control federations have become large, complex distributed systems that integrate with a variety of legacy and current simulations, and real command and control systems locally as well as globally. As these systems continue to become increasingly more complex so does the data that initializes them.This increased complexity has introduced a major problem in data initialization coordination, which has been handled by many organizations in various ways. Service-oriented architecture (SOA) solutions have been introduced to promote easier data interoperability through the use of standards-based reusable services and common infrastructure. However, current SOA-based solutions do not incorporate formal governance techniques to drive the architecture in providing reliable, consistent, and timely information exchange. This article identifies the need to establish governance for data service development oversight, presents current research and applicable solutions that address so...
Sweat loss prediction using a multi-model approach

A new multi-model approach (MMA) for sweat loss prediction is proposed to improve prediction accuracy. MMA was computed as the average of sweat loss predicted by two existing thermoregulation models: i.e., the rational model SCENARIO and the empirical model Heat Strain Decision Aid (HSDA). Three independent physiological datasets, a total of 44 trials, were used to compare predictions by MMA, SCENARIO, and HSDA. The observed sweat losses were collected under different combinations of uniform ensembles, environmental conditions (15–40°C, RH 25–75%), and exercise intensities (250–600 W). Root mean square deviation (RMSD), residual plots, and paired t tests were used to compare predictions with observations. Overall, MMA reduced RMSD by 30–39% in comparison with either SCENARIO or HSDA, and increased the prediction accuracy to 66% from 34% or 55%. Of the MMA predictions, 70% fell within the range of mean observed value ± SD, while only 43% of SCENARIO and 50% of HSDA predictions fell within the same range. Paired t tests showed that differences between observations and MMA predictions were not significant, but differences between observations and SCENARIO or HSDA predictions were significantly different for two datasets. Thus, MMA predicted sweat loss more accurately than either of the two single models for the three datasets used. Future work will be to evaluate MMA using additional physiological data to expand the scope of populations and conditions.
Hydrographs of a Martian flood from the breach of Galilaei Crater

Abstract Spectacular floods were spawned on Mars when large craters filled to overtopping and catastrophically breached. The wealth of data now available permits quantitative analysis of these ancient floods. Galilaei Crater is examined here, along with the likely sources of its water and the processes that formed Tana Vallis, its 1-km-deep outflow channel. Laser altimetry data, stereo-photogrammetry, and scaled images are used to reconstruct the lake volume and the geometry of the preserved breach. It is theorized that surface flows from Hydaspis Chaos eroded the rim and floor of Galilaei Crater and partly filled the basin, leading to degradation of the underlying cryosphere. Groundwater released from a confined aquifer then slowly filled Galilaei Crater until the enclosed lake overtopped its rim. The resulting flood breached the crater wall, rapidly drained the lake, and eroded Tana Vallis. The drainable lake volume was ≥ 1.110 × 1013 m3, based on laser altimetry data from Mars Global Surveyor. This volume was 90% of the volume in Lake Superior in the Great Lakes. Using the reconstructed breach and channel geometry, methods used to analyze terrestrial dam breaches were applied to produce hydrographs of lake stage and discharge. Peak flood discharge in Tana Vallis likely ranged from 1.5 to 4.7 × 107 m3 s− 1. Mean channel incision rates are estimated at 0.333, 0.133, and 0.0667 m min− 1 for scenarios in which Tana Vallis formed in 2, 5, and 10 days. For the 5-day breach erosion scenario, stream power per unit streambed area at the time of peak discharge was estimated at > 3.5 × 105 W m− 2. The volume of material eroded to form the vallis was only ~ 3% of the lake volume that drained in 5 days. Open-channel calculations were performed to compare with the dam breach hydrographs for Tana Vallis. The channel as seen today never flowed bank full or even at three-fourths its maximum depth because the implied flows would have exceeded peak discharges from the crater breach. I also evaluate an alternative model (catastrophic ice lake collapse) for the morphology and breach of Aram Chaos, a large crater near Galilaei Crater. That model has fundamental difficulties because of improbable assumptions and inadequate consideration of the knowledge base of terrestrial basalt hydrology. The model of ice lake collapse fails to explain the breach and outflow of crater lakes like those that existed in Aram Chaos and Galilaei Crater. The present analysis supports a simpler model of groundwater inflow that fills a crater to overtopping. This model harmonizes with the low elevations of Aram Chaos and Galilaei Crater and is more consistent with extensive evidence of fluid breakouts in this region and with theoretical and terrestrial knowledge.
Eimeria tenella or Eimeria adenoeides: Induction of Morphological Changes and Increased Resistance to Salmonella enteritidis Infection in Leghorn Chicks

Abstract The effect of either low doses of the chicken coccidium, Eimeria tenella (ET) or high doses of the turkey coccidium, Eimeria adenoeides (EA) on Salmonella enteritidis (SE) organ invasion, as well as histological and morphometric changes in the ceca of Leghorn chicks, was investigated. In these studies, chicks were inoculated orally with either saline solution (control) or one of three doses of sporulated oocysts of either ET or EA at 1 d of age. Five days later, 104 cfu of SE were administered per os to all chickens. Chicks were killed and organs cultured for SE 6 d following bacterial challenge. A clear relationship of decreased SE organ invasion was observed by increasing the dose of sporulated oocysts of either ET or EA. Furthermore, the increased resistance to organ infectivity in both experiments was matched with an increase in lamina propria thickness based on morphometric analysis (P
Is condom use habit forming? Condom use at sexual debut and subsequent condom use

The objective of this study was to assess whether using a condom at adolescent sexual debut is associated with an increased likelihood of subsequent condom use. A nationally representative sample was used including 4024 sexually active adolescents (12–18 years) from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health. Logistic regression was used to model the association of condom use at sexual debut on condom use at most recent sex (mean interval 23 months). Condom use at adolescent sexual debut was associated with a twofold increased likelihood of condom use during most recent sex (odds ratio 2.28; 95% confidence interval 1.91–2.73). Among adolescents early condom use is associated with an increased likelihood of subsequent condom use. (authors)
Computer-aided design of clustered-dot color screens based on a human visual system model

We address the problem of optimal periodic clustered-dot color-screen design. In traditional clustered-dot color screening, the screen for each colorant is rotated to a different angle relative to the others. If the angles are not carefully chosen, visible moire and rosette artifacts may appear These artifacts primarily result from the interaction of the periodic structures associated with the halftone screens of different colorants. Registration errors can also introduce unwanted artifacts in the screened images. Using lattice theory and a model for the perceived rendered halftone, we present a systematic method for designing moire- and rosette-free clustered-dot color screens for discrete-raster color systems. We also investigate strategies for choosing the periodicities so that the resulting screen is robust to registration errors.
Fiscal Centralisation and Decentralisation in Russia and China

We review the fiscal evolution of China and Russia and how the process of creating a separate tax-financed public sector in the two countries differed. China's fiscal budget was consistently smaller than in Russia, and their fiscal decentralisation was consistently greater. In China, local governments that were allowed to keep marginal increases in local tax revenue had incentives to pursue growth-supporting policies, but the absence of financial markets and barriers to investment resulted in protectionism and inefficient use of capital. Interregional fiscal transfers from the centre provided modest fiscal equalisation in China, but not in Russia. Russia's status as a petro-state makes efficient management of the public sector particularly difficult. Rising world energy prices and resource rents have generated growing federal budget surpluses, and fiscal recentralisation has been associated with expanding state control in other areas.
Modeling Inducible Human Tissue Neoplasia Identifies an Extracellular Matrix Interaction Network Involved in Cancer Progression

To elucidate mechanisms of cancer progression, we generated inducible human neoplasia in three-dimensionally intact epithelial tissue. Gene expression profiling of both epithelia and stroma at specific time points during tumor progression revealed sequential enrichment of genes mediating discrete biologic functions in each tissue compartment. A core cancer progression signature was distilled using the increased signaling specificity of downstream oncogene effectors and subjected to network modeling. Network topology predicted that tumor development depends on specific extracellular matrix-interacting network hubs. Blockade of one such hub, the beta1 integrin subunit, disrupted network gene expression and attenuated tumorigenesis in vivo. Thus, integrating network modeling and temporal gene expression analysis of inducible human neoplasia provides an approach to prioritize and characterize genes functioning in cancer progression.
FM mode-locked fiber lasers operating in the autosoliton regime

A high-repetition-rate ytterbium fiber laser, harmonically mode-locked using a phase modulator, is investigated experimentally, numerically, and analytically. Experimental results agree well with numerical simulations using the measured parameter values. By employing a few approximations, our model is cast in terms of a Ginzberg-Landau equation. This equation has known analytic solutions that agree well with the results of the full model in the appropriate limit. Pulse stability is also investigated numerically with an emphasis on the role of third-order dispersion.
Quantitative, Multiplexed Assays for Low Abundance Proteins in Plasma by Targeted Mass Spectrometry and Stable Isotope Dilution

Biomarker discovery produces lists of candidate markers whose presence and level must be subsequently verified in serum or plasma. Verification represents a paradigm shift from unbiased discovery approaches to targeted, hypothesis-driven methods and relies upon specific, quantitative assays optimized for the selective detection of target proteins. Many protein biomarkers of clinical currency are present at or below the nanogram/milliliter range in plasma and have been inaccessible to date by MS-based methods. Using multiple reaction monitoring coupled with stable isotope dilution mass spectrometry, we describe here the development of quantitative, multiplexed assays for six proteins in plasma that achieve limits of quantitation in the 1–10 ng/ml range with percent coefficients of variation from 3 to 15% without immunoaffinity enrichment of either proteins or peptides. Sample processing methods with sufficient throughput, recovery, and reproducibility to enable robust detection and quantitation of candidate biomarker proteins were developed and optimized by addition of exogenous proteins to immunoaffinity depleted plasma from a healthy donor. Quantitative multiple reaction monitoring assays were designed and optimized for signature peptides derived from the test proteins. Based upon calibration curves using known concentrations of spiked protein in plasma, we determined that each target protein had at least one signature peptide with a limit of quantitation in the 1–10 ng/ml range and linearity typically over 2 orders of magnitude in the measurement range of interest. Limits of detection were frequently in the high picogram/milliliter range. These levels of assay performance represent up to a 1000-fold improvement compared with direct analysis of proteins in plasma by MS and were achieved by simple, robust sample processing involving abundant protein depletion and minimal fractionation by strong cation exchange chromatography at the peptide level prior to LC-multiple reaction monitoring/MS. The methods presented here provide a solid basis for developing quantitative MS-based assays of low level proteins in blood.
CloVR-16S: Phylogenetic microbial community composition analysis based on 16S ribosomal RNA amplicon sequencing – standard operating procedure, version 1.0

The CloVR-16S pipeline employs several well-known phylogenetic tools and protocols for the analysis of 16S rRNA sequence datasets:A) Mothur [1] – a C++ - based software package used for clustering 16SrRNA sequences into operational taxonomic units (OTUs). Mothur creates OTUs using a matrix that describes pairwise distances between representative aligned sequences and subsequently estimates within-sample diversity (alpha diversity);B)The Ribosomal Database (RDP) naive Bayesian classifier [2] assigns each 16S sequence to a reference taxonomy with associated empirical probabilities based on oligonucleotide frequencies;C) Qiime [3] – a python-based workflow package, allowing for sequence processing and phylogenetic analysis using different methods including phylogenetic distance (UniFrac [4]) for within- (alpha diversity) and between- (beta diversity) sample analysis;D) Metastats [5] and custom R scripts used to generate additional statistical and graphical evaluations.Though some of the different protocols used in CloVR-16S overlap in purpose (e.g. OTU clustering), the end-user benefits from their overall complementary nature as they focus on different aspects of the phylogenetic analysis. CloVR-16S accepts as input raw multiplex 454-pyrosequencer output, i.e. pooled pyrotagged sequences from multiple samples, or alternatively, pre-processed sequences from multiple samples in separate files. This protocol is available in CloVR beta versions 0.5 and 0.6.
Hierarchical cubic networks

We introduce a new interconnection network for large-scale distributed memory multiprocessors called the hierarchical cubic network (HCN). We establish that the number of routing steps needed by several data parallel applications running on a HCN-based system and a hypercube-based system are about identical. Further, hypercube connections can be emulated on the HCN in constant time. Simulation of uniform and localized traffic patterns reveal that the normalized average internode distances in a HCN are better than in a comparable hypercube. Additionally, the HCN also has about three-fourths the diameter of a comparable hypercube, although it uses about half as many links per node-a fact that has positive ramifications on the implementation of HCN-connected systems. >
Stunning: Does It Exist? A Commentary

Do diagnostic prescribed activities (dosages) of 131I cause stunning or not? In the first part of this section, Drs. Park and Gerard present arguments supporting the presence of stunning secondary to the administration of diagnostic dosages of 131I, and in the second section, Dr. McDougall presents arguments against the presence of stunning as a significant issue. In the end, each physician will most likely select the information that one believes makes the stronger argument or best supports one’s prior viewpoint. However, a third viewpoint exists to either a “yes” or “no” answer. It is a compromised viewpoint that holds: “Diagnostic doses of 131I result in a spectrum ranging from no stunning to significant stunning and even treatment.”
Tertullian and Jerome again 1

Petitmengin has recently proposed two new passages for addition to the growing dossier of Jeromes borrowings from Tertullian. Investigation of a hitherto undocumented sense of ruere would seem to show that in the first case Petitmengin is mistaken to posit Tertullianic influence, while in the second Jeromes debt turns out to be rather more substantial than Petitmengin supposed; the same Tertullianic text can also be shown to have inspired two later passages of Jerome.
Modeling Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) operations in mine hunting

As part of the new Underwater Warfare Program, DRDC has started a new project on Task Group Mine Field Avoidance. While the long-term objective of the work is to demonstrate a Task Group Mine Field Avoidance capability using Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs) and Autonomous Air Vehicles (AAVs), the first project is focused on developing a realizable and cost effective concepts of operations for this system. This involves looking at a variety of sensor and vehicle configurations, and for predefined mission scenarios, determine the systems measures of effectiveness (MOEs).
Biliary tree malignancies : The University of Minnesota experience

Because of its slow-growing natural history, most patients with extrahepatic biliary tree malignancies present with inoperable disease. For the minority of patients with operable disease, surgical resection remains the treatment of choice and offers the patient the best chance for long-term local control. The role of chemotherapy and radiotherapy in the management of these patients in the definitive, adjuvant, and palliative setting is expanding, although unsettled. Response rates with chemotherapy have been low and will most likely find a place in a combined multimodality setting. Radiotherapy (external beam, intraoperative, and intraluminal brachytherapy using 192Ir) has played a major role in the treatment of these cancers. The close proximity of bowel, kidney, and liver limits the external beam radiotherapy doses that can be safely delivered. Since most patients require placement of percutaneous transhepatic biliary catheters to relieve jaundice, this route has been utilized to deliver higher doses of radiation to the tumor area with intraluminal 192Ir ribbons. The University of Minnesota has treated 15 patients with extrahepatic bile duct cancers. Most were located at the bifurcation of the common bile duct and were treated with intraluminal brachytherapy alone or with external beam radiotherapy. Our results are comparable to previously reported retrospective data with a median survival of 8 months and three long-term survivors. J. Surg. Oncol. 1997;65:298–305. © 1997 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Does agomelatine have antidepressant action in juvenile rats? (1144.4)

The purpose of this project is to investigate the effects of agomelatine on hippocampal neurogenesis and behavior in juvenile rats, which may lead to testing agomelatine for treating juvenile depression. Postnatal day 21 (PND21) juvenile Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into 2 subgroups: 1) neurogenesis, and 2) behavioral. Each subgroup was further divided into experimental and control groups and injected intraperitoneally (IP) with agomelatine (10 mg kg¯¹) in 1% hydroxyethyl cellulose or vehicle respectively. The neurogenesis subgroup was injected once daily for 14 days. The behavioral subgroup was injected for 3 days, the first 2 days according to a porsolt forced swim test protocol, and once on the third day. The neurogenesis subgroup was also injected IP with BrdU three times a day for two days at the end, mitogenic, or the beginning, cell survival, of the 14 day injection period. After BrdU administration, the rats were sacrificed, and brain tissues fixed. The fixed brains were sectioned and analyzed...
The Search for Good Government: Understanding the Paradox of Italian Democracy. By Filippo Sabetti. Montreal: McGill–Queens University Press, 2000. 288p. $34.95.

Filippo Sabetti has written an important book, not just for specialists in Italian politics, but also for those more generally interested in comparative politics. Poor government performance has often been associated with the Italian state, so much so that foreign scholars often used Italy as an ideal locale to probe the seminal causes of political pathology. Edward Banfield's (1958) The Moral Basis of a Backward Society, for example, attributed poor political performance to the particular beliefs and attitudes of Italians, to an inadequate moral basis he identified as “amoral familism.” The village Banfield studied, Chiaromonte (which he called Montegrano), soon became a model for “backward societies” in the comparative literature and later was woven into game theoretic concerns, such as the tragedy of the commons and the prisoner's dilemma. Banfield's “culturalist” approach was later refined in Robert Putnam's (1993) Making Democracy Work. Rather than condemning all Italy to pathological status, as Banfield's Montegrano writ large, Putnam compared the “unsuccessful” South with the civic-minded North, where a density of associations and an abundance of “social capital” not only made “democracy work,” but also contributed to economic prosperity. Putnam later extended this analysis of associability and social capital to the United States, most famously in his work on “bowling alone.”
Poly-N-Acetylglucosamine Expression by Wild-Type Yersinia pestis Is Maximal at Mammalian, Not Flea, Temperatures

Numerous bacteria, including Yersinia pestis, express the poly-N-acetylglucosamine (PNAG) surface carbohydrate, a major component of biofilms often associated with a specific appearance of colonies on Congo red agar. Biofilm formation and PNAG synthesis byY.pestishave been reported to be maximal at 21 to 28°C or "flea temperatures," facilitating the regurgitation ofY.pestisinto a mammalian host during feeding, but production is diminished at 37°C and thus presumed to be decreased dur- ing mammalian infection. Most studies of PNAG expression and biofilm formation by Y.pestishave used a low-virulence deriva- tive of strain KIM, designated KIM6, that lacks the pCD1 virulence plasmid, and an isogenic mutant without the pigmentation locus, which contains the hemin storage genes that encode PNAG biosynthetic proteins. Using confocal microscopy, fluorescence-activated cell sorter analysis and growth on Congo red agar, we confirmed priorfindings regarding PNAG produc- tion with the KIM6strain. However, we found that fully virulent wild-type (WT) strains KIM and CO92 had maximal PNAG expression at 37°C, with lower PNAG production at 28°C both in broth medium and on Congo red agar plates. Notably, the typi- cal dark colony morphology appearing on Congo red agar was maintained at 28°C, indicating that this phenotype is not associ- ated with PNAG expression in WT Y.pestis. Extracts of WT sylvaticY.pestisstrains from the Russian Federation confirmed the maximal expression of PNAG at 37°C. PNAG production by WT Y.pestisis maximal at mammalian and not insect vector tem- peratures, suggesting that this factor may have a role during mammalian infection. IMPORTANCE Yersinia pestis transitions from low-temperature residence and replication in insect vectors to higher-temperature replication in mammalian hosts. Priorfindings based primarily on an avirulent derivative of WT (wild-type) KIM, named KIM6, showed that biofilm formation associated with synthesis of poly-N-acetylglucosamine (PNAG) is maximal at 21 to 28°C and decreased at 37°C. Biofilm formation was purported to facilitate the transmission of Y.pestisfromfleas to mammals while having little importance in mammalian infection. Here we found that for WT strains KIM and CO92, maximal PNAG produc- tion occurs at 37°C, indicating that temperature regulation of PNAG production in WT Y.pestisis not mimicked by strain KIM6. Additionally, we found that Congo red binding does not always correlate with PNAG production, despite its widespread use as an indicator of biofilm production. Taken together, thefindings show that a role for PNAG in WT Y.pestisinfection should not be disregarded and warrants further study.
Conserved C-terminal motifs of the Arabidopsis proteins APETALA3 and PISTILLATA are dispensable for floral organ identity function.

The B-class genes APETALA3 (AP3) and PISTILLATA (PI) in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) and their orthologs in other species have been the focus of studies to elucidate the development of petals and stamens in angiosperm flowers. Evolutionary analysis indicates that B-class genes have undergone multiple gene duplication events in angiosperms. The resultant B-class lineages are characterized by short, conserved amino acid sequences at the extreme C-terminal end of the B-class proteins. AP3 is a member of the euAP3 lineage that contains both the euAP3 and PI-derived motifs at the C terminus. PI is a member of the PI lineage that contains the C-terminal PI motif at the C terminus. Despite conservation over a wide evolutionary distance, the function of C-terminal motifs is not well understood. In this study, we demonstrate that truncated forms of AP3 and PI, which lack the conserved C-terminal motifs, function to direct floral organ identity specification in Arabidopsis plants. By contrast, larger truncations, which remove the third putative amphipathic α-helix in the K domain of AP3 or PI, are nonfunctional. We conclude that the euAP3 and PI-derived motifs of AP3 and the PI motif of PI are not essential for floral organ identity function of AP3 and PI in Arabidopsis.
Effect of Pedestrian Safety Retraining for Elementary and Middle School Students

A pedestrian safety educational training program was presented to more than 930 students in Grades 2 through 7 at five public schools in Detroit, Michigan. Initial student training was performed at four of the schools during spring 2008 and at the remaining school during fall 2008. Retraining was performed 7 to 12 months after the initial training. The same training procedures were used during both the initial training and the retraining sessions. The training program was evaluated with the use of both written pre- and posttesting and before-and-after observations of the street-crossing behavior of children near the schools included in the study. Two measures of effectiveness (MOEs) were used for the evaluation: (a) the violation rate for child pedestrians and (b) the percentage of correct test responses. The child pedestrian violation rate decreased shortly after the initial training; this decrease was sustained for several months. Retraining produced an additional incremental decrease in the child pedes...
The neuropsychiatric aspects of boxing.

Objective:To review the neuropsychiatry of boxing.Method:This update considers the clinical, neuropsychological, diagnostic, neurobiological, and management aspects of boxing-related brain injury.Results:Professional boxers with multiple bouts and repeated head blows are prone to chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). Repeated head blows produce rotational acceleration of the brain, diffuse axonal injury, and other neuropathological features. CTE includes motor changes such as tremor, dysarthria, and parkinsonism; cognitive changes such as mental slowing and memory deficits; and psychiatric changes such as explosive behavior, morbid jealousy, pathological intoxication, and paranoia. Screening with neuropsychological tests and neuroimaging may help predict those boxers at risk for CTE.Conclusions:Boxing results in a spectrum of CTE ranging from mild, nonprogressive motor changes to dementia pugilistica. Recent emphasis on safety in the ring, rehabilitation techniques, and other interventions do not elimin...
Accurate Mg/Ca, Sr/Ca, and Ba/Ca ratio measurements in carbonates by SIMS and NanoSIMS and an assessment of heterogeneity in common calcium carbonate standards

As archives of past climate variability, the micron and sub-micron scales of element:calcium (Me/Ca) variability in both biogenic and inorganic carbonates contain important geochemical information. Ideally working at smaller and smaller scales leads to higher temporal resolution of past changes, but more often it has revealed the strong overprint of other processes on the climate signal. Therefore, the role of SIMS and NanoSIMS techniques in studying paleoenvironmental proxies continues to increase. We evaluate the accuracy and precision of the CAMECA ims 7F-GEO and NanoSIMS-50L ion probes for measurements of Sr/Ca, Mg/Ca, and Ba/Ca ratios in carbonate minerals. Nine carbonate reference materials were examined for their ^(88)Sr/^(42)Ca, ^(24)Mg/^(42)Ca, and ^(138)Ba/^(42)Ca ratios using a primary O^− beam with spot sizes of 20–40 μm (SIMS) and 0.8–2 μm (NanoSIMS). To assess accuracy, seven of these standards were analyzed for Sr/Ca and Mg/Ca with ID-ICP-MS. Variability in the elemental ratios arising from drift and changes in the tuning of the ims 7F-GEO over a nine month period is smaller than the chemical heterogeneity of the most frequently analyzed standards (OKA and Blue-CC). Across a whole crystal, Blue-CC is more homogeneous (1σ of 2.39% and 1.60% for Sr/Ca and Mg/Ca respectively) than OKA, but in the bulk matrix of OKA there is even less variability (1σ of 0.85% and 0.83% respectively). We find that carbonate samples can be accurately normalized to carbonate standards with significantly different absolute Me/Ca ratios. NanoSIMS intensity ratios follow counting statistics better than ± 1% (2σ) at any one spot, but conversion to Me/Ca ratios increases the uncertainty. Two factors give rise to this limitation. First, the spatial heterogeneity of nominally homogeneous standards can lead to accuracy offsets that are as large as the ranges quoted above. Second, the NanoSIMS generates higher instrumental mass fractionation relative to SIMS. The combination of three different analytical techniques demonstrates that Blue-CC and homogeneous calcite zones in OKA are promising reference materials for precise analyses. Accuracy is crucially dependent on making independent measurements on exactly the same crystal of standard used in the SIMS and NanoSIMS machines.
The pyruvate ketal as a stereospecific immunodeterminant in the type XXVII Streptococcus pneumoniae (pneumococcal) capsular polysaccharide

Abstract The configuration of the 4,6- O -pruvate ketal in the Streptococcus pneumoniae (pneumococcal) type XXVII polysaccharide has been established from 1 H and 13 C nuclear magnetic resonance spectra of the natural product and of model compounds. Inhibition of the homologous precipitin reaction by synthetic, diastereoisomeric pyruvate ketals showed that the configuration of the pyruvate ketal contributes to the serological specificity of the type XXVII polysaccharide.
Regulation of insulin biosynthesis in pancreatic beta cells by an endoplasmic reticulum-resident protein kinase IRE1

In pancreatic beta cells, the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) is an important site for insulin biosynthesis and the folding of newly synthesized proinsulin. Here, we show that IRE1alpha, an ER-resident protein kinase, has a crucial function in insulin biosynthesis. IRE1alpha phosphorylation is coupled to insulin biosynthesis in response to transient exposure to high glucose; inactivation of IRE1alpha signaling by siRNA or inhibition of IRE1alpha phosphorylation hinders insulin biosynthesis. IRE1 activation by high glucose does not accompany XBP-1 splicing and BiP dissociation but upregulates its target genes such as WFS1. Thus, IRE1 signaling activated by transient exposure to high glucose uses a unique subset of downstream components and has a beneficial effect on pancreatic beta cells. In contrast, chronic exposure of beta cells to high glucose causes ER stress and hyperactivation of IRE1, leading to the suppression of insulin gene expression. IRE1 signaling is therefore a potential target for therapeutic regulation of insulin biosynthesis.
High performance PDU processing for application layer

Encoding/decoding is a functionality which takes about half of the protocol processing. ASN.1 is a standard language to define messages of the application/layer. BER is the standard that describes encoding/ decoding of PDUs defined in ASN.1. The authors show that decoding can be divided into two phases: parsing and type-value matching. Algorithms are developed for these transformations. Distributed implementation of these algorithms can be achieved with specialized encoders/decoders. Four different architectures are defined for single-layer encoding/decoding. One of these architectures defined as VLSI-based ASN.1 encoder/decoder (VASN1) achieves better parallelisation as well as pipelining of parsing with type-alue matching subphases. VASN1 is composed of 16 instruction RISC processors. The processors used as execution units perform subphase transformations while the processor used as central controller assigns workload to the execution units. The processor used as interface unit takes care of input/output. >
Personal inventories: toward durable human-product relationships

In this paper, I build on perspectives in Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) and design literature to develop a theoretical lens to conduct personal inventories of human-product relationships within the home. I describe an ongoing empirical study examining participants' attitudes toward and relationships with interactive technology, and frame this research within the nascent and growing literature in HCI on environmental sustainability. I will present early findings from this study and discuss how these implications can inform potential future design practice within the HCI community.
Endotoxin-induced adhesion of red blood cells to pulmonary artery endothelial cells

Cell-cell interactions are important in intravascular inflammation. Neutrophils and monocytes adhere to the vascular endothelium and release mediators, such as tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alph...
Pharmacological evaluation of SCH-12679: evidence for an in vivo antagonism of D1-dopamine receptors.

The benzazepine compound SCH-12679 has been shown to have clinical efficacy against aggressive behavior in mentally deficient patients. The purpose of the present investigation was to evaluate the potential mechanism of action of SCH-12679. Because of the structural similarity of SCH-12679 to compounds influencing D1-dopamine receptors, even though in vitro studies indicated no direct action on this receptor, investigations focused on the possibility that in vivo SCH-12679 antagonizes the function of this dopamine receptor subtype. After i.p. administration to neonatal-6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA)-lesioned rats, SCH-12679 reduced, dose-dependently, the locomotor activity induced by SKF-38393, a D1-dopamine agonist. A dose of SCH-12679 that antagonized the activity induced by SKF-38393 in neonatally lesioned rats also blocked various behaviors observed after administration of this D1-dopamine agonist. SCH-12679 did not alter the activity or behavioral responses induced by quinpirole, a D2-dopamine agonist, when administered to 6-OHDA-lesioned rats. SCH-12679 antagonized the self-mutilation behavior and behavioral responses induced by L-dihydroxyphenylalanine in neonatal-6-OHDA lesioned rats in a manner similar to the prototypic D1-dopamine antagonist SCH-23390 and, like SCH-23390, produced a deficit in avoidance responding in unlesioned rats. SCH-12679 produced a small, transient activation of locomotor activity immediately after administration to neonatal-6-OHDA-lesioned rats that was not observed in unlesioned or adult-6-OHDA-lesioned rats.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Bounding Cases of Genetic Algorithms with Multiple Demes

The calculations presented in this chapter recognize that the design of parallel GAs is a complex problem, and that the choices of topologies, migration rates, number of demes, and their size are intimately related. To make progress on the deme-sizing problem without ignoring the other choices, the analysis used bounds on the topologies and migration rates.
A Generativity Track to Life Meaning in Retirement: Ego-Integrity Returns on Past Academic Mentoring Investments

One suggested pathway to developing life meaning and contentment in older adulthood is by achieving generativity needs during the working years via mentoring. Although theoretically linked, there is little empirical evidence supporting the work mentoring and psychosocial development relationship. The current study examines this postulated link by sampling retirees from academia, an occupational domain where the generative activity of mentoring is prevalent and has been theorized to relate to psychosocial development. A national U.S. sample of 277 emeritus academics were surveyed about their past mentoring investments and current psychosocial development (generativity achievement and ego-integrity development). Regression analyses revealed that those who identified as past mentors had greater levels of generativity achievement compared to past nonmentors. Structural equation modeling showed that, for retired mentors, past mentoring investments directly predicted generativity achievement and indirectly predicted ego-integrity development. This study expands empirical knowledge about the connections between work behaviors and psychosocial development in retirement.