cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Prevalence of Obesity Among U.S. Workers and Associations with Occupational Factors

Background Along with public health and clinical professionals, employers are taking note of rising obesity rates among their employees, as obesity is strongly related to chronic health problems and concomitant increased healthcare costs. Contributors to the obesity epidemic are complex and numerous, and may include several work characteristics. Purpose To explore associations between occupational factors and obesity among U.S. workers. Methods Data from the 2010 National Health Interview Survey were utilized to calculate weighted prevalence rates and prevalence ratios (PRs) for obesity in relation to workweek length, work schedule, work arrangement, hostile work environment, job insecurity, work-family imbalance, and industry and occupation of employment. Data were collected in 2010 and analyzed in 2012-2013. Results Overall, 27.7% of U.S. workers met the BMI criterion for obesity. Among all workers, employment for more than 40 hours per week and exposure to a hostile work environment were significantly associated with an increased prevalence of obesity, although the differences were modest. Employment in health care and social assistance and public administration industries, as well as architecture and engineering, community and social service, protective service, and office and administrative support occupations was also associated with increased obesity prevalence. Conclusions Work-related factors may contribute to the high prevalence of obesity in the U.S. working population. Public health professionals and employers should consider workplace interventions that target organization-level factors, such as scheduling and prevention of workplace hostility, along with individual-level factors such as diet and exercise.
Genesis of Kaolinite in Cretaceous Shales of Central Colorado

The refractory shales of the Purgatoire and Dakota formations in central Colorado were studied to determine the genesis of the kaolinite. The compositions of the shales were similar, with variation only in relative amounts and grain size of the component minerais. The shales consist primarily of kaolinite, subangular to subrounded quartz, and hydro-muscovite, with minor amounts of feldspar, montrcorillonite, mixed-layer clays, and occasional traces of gypsum and zeolites.
Attitudes of Gifted and Talented Pupils towards Learning Experiences and Teaching Methods at an Enrichment Center

This research examined the attitudes of gifted and talented pupils towards different methods of teaching and learning experiences at an enrichment center. The research sample included 275 gifted and talented children aged ten to twelve who studied at an after-school enrichment program, Hugordon, based at the Gordon Academic College of Education in Haifa and the Maagan Michael Community Center in 2008. Within the workshops, teachers employed various teaching methods and strategies. A survey was conducted among the pupils that included both open- and closed-ended questions about their attitudes towards various teaching methods. Findings indicated that the pupils had a high to very high level of satisfaction from their learning experience in the workshops. Moreover it was found that pupils who specialized in science and technology were challenged by activities that promoted analytical and practical thinking methods, whereas pupils that specialized in humanities showed a higher level of satisfaction from the role of the teacher.
Acculturation, Childhood Trauma and the Cortisol Awakening Response in Mexican American Adults

Abstract Exposure to chronic and traumatic stress has been associated with the dysregulation of crucial stress response systems. Acculturation has been associated with unique forms of chronic psychosocial stress. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of exposure to early traumatic stress and acculturation on dysregulation of the cortisol awakening response (CAR) in Mexican–American adults. Salivary cortisol samples were collected at awakening and 30, 45, and 60 min thereafter, on two consecutive weekdays from 59 healthy Mexican–American adult males (26) and females (33), ages 18–38 years. Participants were assessed for level of acculturation and exposure to early trauma. Data were analyzed using a mixed effects regression model with repeated measures at four time points. Mixed effects regression results indicated a significant Early Trauma × Time interaction (p = .0029) and a significant Acculturation × Time interaction (p = .0015), after controlling for age and sex. Subsequent analyses of the interaction of Trauma × Acculturation × Time showed that more than minimal exposure to either risk factor was associated with attenuation of the awakening cortisol response (p = .0002). Higher levels of acculturation with greater Anglo-orientation were associated with attenuation of the CAR in Mexican–American adults. Both moderate and higher levels of exposure to early trauma were associated with an attenuated CAR. However, greater exposure to both risk factors was only incrementally worse than exposure to either one.
Blind channel estimation for CDMA systems with orthogonal modulation

Most recent efforts on blind channel estimation and interference suppression for CDMA systems have concentrated on Direct-Sequence CDMA employing linear modulation (e.g., BPSK). Several existing CDMA systems however, do not conform to the above model as they employ orthogonal (rather than linear) modulation. For example, the reverse channel of the IS-95 cellular system employs 64-ary Walsh orthogonal modulation as a means of expanding the signal's bandwidth. Unfortunately, orthogonal modulation destroys the linear, time invariant property of the baseband equivalent overall channel model and severely limits the applicability of common linear blind equalization techniques. In this paper, the structure of the Walsh codes is exploited in order to derive chip-rate receivers and channel estimation algorithms. It turns out that a partial pilot signal may be identified in the Walsh code structure, casting the problem as a semi-blind channel estimation task. Based on this observation, batch and adaptive methods are derived to identify the chip-rate channel. The design of optimal receivers based on the channel estimates is also studied.
Minimal covers of S n by Abelian subgroups and maximal subsets of pairwise noncommuting elements, II

Abstract We give best possible asymptotic upper and lower bounds for the minimal cardinality βn of a cover of the symmetric group Sn by abelian subgroups and the maximal cardinality αn of a set of pairwise noncommuting elements of Sn. We show that the average values of β n (n − 2) ! and of α n (n − 2) ! are bounded above and below by positive constants. Finally, we show that the sequence { β n α n } is bounded and that if it converges, then βn = αn for all n⩾0.
Effect of Unconditioned Response Restriction on Subsequent Acquisition of a Habit Motivated by “Fear”

This study considers some conditions which may be necessary for a neutral stimulus to acquire motivational properties when paired with an aversive one. The situation considered is the two-stage procedure called "fear" conditioning. In the first stage a neutral stimulus Sc is paired with an aversive stimulus STjC which has a high probability of eliciting the motor response Rrjc of running and jumping. In the second stage, the termination of Sc is made contingent on the occurrence of some instrumental response RI. Decreased latencies of R r over trials is evidence that Sc has acquired motivational properties. A simple S-R contiguous associationistic analysis specifies that compatibility between response classes Rrrc and Rr is necessary for learning to occur in the second stage.3 This restriction is unnecessary if a construct such as "fear" is postulated (e.g., 3 ) or if it is assumed that Sc may become a secondary reinforcer by simply being paired with Sue (e.g., 5 ) . Since there have been occasions when learning was demonstrated even though the response classes appeared dissimilar, the adequacy of a simple S-R analysis has been questioned ( 4 ) . This study further explores the issue by using a purely non-contingent procedure in the first stage in contrast to the contingent procedures utilized previously which enabled S to terminate SUc by executing a predetermined response. In the first stage of this study rats were conditioned with a colnpound light and buzzer Sc that was non-contingently paired with an electric shock Svc. In the second stage S could terminate Sc by executing RI, a hurdle jumping response compatible with the response class Ruc of running and jumping. This compatibility was systematically manipulated by conditioning Ss in boxes which differentially restricted RUG. METHOD Subjects.-Ss were 36 90to 120-day-old naive, female Sprague-Dawley rats. Apparatus.-Three conditioning boxes and a hurdle box were used. Minimally restricted Ss (Gp. Min.) were conditioned in a black wooden box 9% in. long, 5 in. wide and 5% in. deep (i.d.); intermediately restricted Ss (Gp. Int.) in a box 7 % x
Theory of hopping conduction in arrays of doped semiconductor nanocrystals

The resistivity of a dense crystalline array of semiconductor nanocrystals (NCs) depends in a sensitive way on the level of doping as well as on the NC size and spacing. The choice of these parameters determines whether electron conduction through the array will be characterized by activated nearest-neighbor hopping or variable-range hopping (VRH). Thus far, no general theory exists to explain how these different behaviors arise at different doping levels and for different types of NCs. In this paper, we examine a simple theoretical model of an array of doped semiconductor NCs that can explain the transition from activated transport to VRH. We show that in sufficiently small NCs, the fluctuations in donor number from one NC to another provide sufficient disorder to produce charging of some NCs, as electrons are driven to vacate higher shells of the quantum confinement energy spectrum. This confinement-driven charging produces a disordered Coulomb landscape throughout the array and leads to VRH at low temperature. We use a simple computer simulation to identify different regimes of conduction in the space of temperature, doping level, and NC diameter. We also discuss the implications of our results for large NCs with external impurity charges and for NCs that are gated electrochemically.
Analysis of the glycoproteome of Toxoplasma gondii using lectin affinity chromatography and tandem mass spectrometry.

Glycoproteins are involved in many important molecular recognition processes including invasion, adhesion, differentiation, and development. To identify the glycoproteins of Toxoplasma gondii, a proteomic analysis was undertaken. T. gondii proteins were prepared and fractioned using lectin affinity chromatography. The proteins in each fraction were then separated using SDS-PAGE and identified by tryptic in gel digestion followed by tandem mass spectrometry. Utilizing these methods 132 proteins were identified. Among the identified proteins were 17 surface proteins, 9 microneme proteins, 15 rhoptry proteins, 11 heat shock proteins (HSP), and 32 hypothetical proteins. Several proteins had 1-5 transmembrane domains (TMD) with some being as large as 608.3 kDa. Both lectin-fluorescence labeling and lectin blotting were employed to confirm the presence of carbohydrates on the surface or cytoplasm of T. gondii parasites. PCR demonstrated that selected hypothetical proteins were expressed in T. gondii tachyzoites. This data provides a large-scale analysis of the T. gondii glycoproteome. Studies of the function of glycosylation of these proteins may help elucidate mechanism(s) involved in invasion improving drug therapy as well as identify glycoproteins that may prove to be useful as vaccine candidates.
Unusually short RNA sequences: design of a 13-mer RNA that selectively binds and recognizes theophylline.

RNA plays critical roles in numerous biological processes and constitutes valuable therapeutic targets. RNA is significant not only for its roles in transmitting the genetic code but also for its enzymatic functions in ribozymes and in peptide bond formation in ribosomes. Recent studies have shown that RNAs containing as few as 22 nucleotides can be key elements in cellular functions. This suggests the possibility of using short RNAs as regulatory elements. Here, we show that ligand recognition and selectivity by RNA molecules can occur with only the presence of a binding pocket and as few as six additional scaffolding nucleotides holding the binding pocket in place. A 13-mer RNA truncation of a 33-mer aptamer for theophylline preserves the ability to bind to theophylline and to discriminate against the structurally similar compound caffeine. The truncated aptamer retains nearly all of the same structural elements in its binding site as those present in the original aptamer. This is the first demonstratio...
Evolving perspectives on the biology and mechanisms of carcinogenesis.

From experimental and epidemiological evidence, radiation-induced cancers appear to arise as multistage, monoclonal growths, which are elicited through various mechanisms, depending on the neoplasm in question and the conditions of exposure. At the molecular level, the process of carcinogenesis may involve the activation of oncogenes and/or the inactivation or loss of anti-oncogenes, through chromosomal rearrangements, point mutations, and other effects of radiation on DNA. In contrast to these mechanisms of carcinogenesis, which result from the absorption of radiation by the tumor-forming cells themselves, abscopal effects resulting from irradiation of other cells may contribute to carcinogenesis under certain conditions, e.g. in the induction of tumors of endocrine target cells through radiation-induced disturbances of hormonal balance. Effects of the latter type, which require the killing of substantial numbers of cells, are not elicited at low doses, thus contrasting with effects of the former type, which may be presumed to have no thresholds. Because radiation carcinogenesis may be mediated through a diversity of effects, the relationship between incidence and dose can vary accordingly. The relationship between the incidence of radiation-induced tumors and the time elapsing after irradiation also varies, depending on the type of tumor in question, species, age at irradiation, exposure conditions, and other factors. Although the variations with dose and time are consistent with multistage models of tumor initiation, tumor promotion, and tumor progression, the precise nature of the successive steps that are involved remains to be determined. The tendency for the tumors to resemble their spontaneous counterparts in age-distribution points to interactions between radiation and other carcinogenic risk factors which are as yet poorly understood. Also poorly understood are species- and organ-differences in susceptibility to radiation carcinogenesis, which bear no consistent relationship to corresponding 'spontaneous' cancer rates.
Obtaining coroutines with continuations

Abstract Continuations, when made available to the programmer as first class objects, provide a general control abstraction for sequential computation. The power of first class continuations is demonstrated by implementing a variety of coroutine mechanisms using only continuations and functional abstraction. The importance of general abstraction mechanisms such as continuations is discussed.
Monopole polarization in crystals.

The calculation of the electrostatic potential energy is considered for crystals in which the local electric fields result from the monopole and dipole terms of a multipole expansion of the charge distribution at each lattice site. The crystals considered here are of a sufficiently low symmetry so that the monopole fields do not vanish on symmetry grounds. The various contributions to the potential energy are discussed, and results of calculations for \ensuremath{\beta}-AgI are presented. This formalism is shown to be formally equivalent to a method given by Wang.
Activation of the Budding Yeast Spindle Assembly Checkpoint Without Mitotic Spindle Disruption

The spindle assembly checkpoint keeps cells with defective spindles from initiating chromosome segregation. The protein kinase Mps1 phosphorylates the yeast protein Mad1p when this checkpoint is activated, and the overexpression of Mps1p induces modification of Mad1p and arrests wild-type yeast cells in mitosis with morphologically normal spindles. Spindle assembly checkpoint mutants overexpressing Mps1p pass through mitosis without delay and can produce viable progeny, which demonstrates that the arrest of wild-type cells results from inappropriate activation of the checkpoint in cells whose spindle is fully functional. Ectopic activation of cell-cycle checkpoints might be used to exploit the differences in checkpoint status between normal and tumor cells and thus improve the selectivity of chemotherapy.
How the West Was One: Explaining the Similarities in Race-Specific Homicide Rates in the West and South

This research investigates the impact of structural conditions on- rates of black and white homicide for different regions of the U.S. Particular attention is given to the claim that significant changes have occurred in regional patterns of homicide, shifting attention awayffrom the South and toward the western region. Based on race-specific homicide rates for U.S. cities in 1990, our research provides statistical evidence of similarities in mean race-specific homicide ratesfor the southern and western regions. hile thisfinding suggests greater comparability, further exploration reveals that the similarities in regional homicide rates cannot be attributed to like circumstances or conditions once methodological pursuits of invariant structural covariates in research prevail. Given the presence of unique structural disadvantages in each of these regions, we offer explanationsfor the differences in structural and culturalforces that contribute to the race-specific homicide rates.
The relative importance of reproductive assurance and automatic selection as hypotheses for the evolution of self-fertilization

BACKGROUND The field of plant mating-system evolution has long been interested in understanding why selfing evolves from outcrossing. Many possible mechanisms drive this evolutionary trend, but most research has focused upon the transmission advantage of selfing and its ability to provide reproductive assurance when cross-pollination is uncertain. We discuss the shared conceptual framework of these ideas and their empirical support that is emerging from tests of their predictions over the last 25 years. SCOPE These two hypotheses are derived from the same strategic framework. The transmission advantage hypothesis involves purely gene-level selection, with reproductive assurance involving an added component of individual-level selection. Support for both of these ideas has been garnered from population-genetic tests of their predictions. Studies in natural populations often show that selfing increases seed production, but it is not clear if this benefit is sufficient to favour the evolution of selfing, and the ecological agents limiting outcross pollen are often not identified. Pollen discounting appears to be highly variable and important in systems where selfing involves multiple floral adaptations, yet seed discounting has rarely been investigated. Although reproductive assurance appears likely as a leading factor facilitating the evolution of selfing, studies must account for both seed and pollen discounting to adequately test this hypothesis. CONCLUSIONS The transmission advantage and reproductive assurance ideas describe components of gene transmission that favour selfing. Future work should move beyond their dichotomous presentation and focus upon understanding whether selection through pollen, seed or both explains the spread of selfing-rate modifiers in plant populations.
Changes in hydrogen production and polymer accumulation upon sulfur-deprivation in purple photosynthetic bacteria

Abstract The work investigated physiological conditions directing cellular metabolism toward either H2-production or storage polymer accumulation in purple photosynthetic bacteria. Hydrogen-producing cultures of the purple anoxygenic photosynthetic bacterium Rhodospirillum rubrum were resuspended in media lacking sulfur (S) nutrients. S-deprived cultures displayed lack of growth, cessation of bacteriochlorophyll and protein accumulation, and inhibition of H2 evolution. Cell volume increased substantially and large amounts of polymer were found to accumulate extracellularly. Poly-β-hydroxybutyrate (PHB) content increased about 3.5-fold within 24 h of S-deprivation. Most cells remained viable after 100 h of S-deprivation and cultures were capable of resuming growth and H2-production when supplemented with sulfate. Transcript levels, protein amount, and activity of the nitrogenase enzyme, which are responsible for H2-production, decreased with a halftime of about 15 h upon S-deprivation. In addition, the nitrogenase NifH subunits were modified by ADP-ribosylation, indicating post-translational inactivation. Comparative aconitase activity measurements of control and S-deprived cells failed to indicate a general stress to Fe–S proteins, as aconitase, a Fe–S protein in the citric acid cycle sensitive to oxidative stress, maintained activity throughout the course of the S-deprivation. In contrast to nifH transcriptional down-regulation, expression of cysK (encoding cysteine synthase) was upregulated in response to S-deprivation. The described physiology is not specific to R. rubrum, as Rhodobacter sphaeroides and Rhodopseudomonas palustris exhibited a similar response to S-deprivation. It is suggested that manipulation of the supply of S-nutrients may serve as a tool for the alternative production of H2 or PHB in purple photosynthetic bacteria, thus affording opportunities to design photobiological systems that serve in both energy conversion and storage processes.
Quantifying the Predictive Skill in Long-Range Forecasting. Part I: Coarse-Grained Predictions in a Simple Ocean Model

AbstractAn information-theoretic framework is developed to assess the long-range coarse-grained predictive skill in a perfect-model environment. Central to the scheme is the notion that long-range forecasting involves regimes; specifically, that the appropriate initial data for ensemble prediction is the affiliation of the system to a coarse-grained partition of phase space representing regimes. The corresponding ensemble prediction probabilities, which are computable using ergodic signals from the model, are then used to quantify through relative entropy the information beyond climatology in the partition. As an application, the authors study the predictability of circulation regimes in an equivalent barotropic double-gyre ocean model using a partition algorithm based on K-means clustering and running-average coarse graining. Besides the established rolled up and extensional phases of the eastward jet, optimal partitions for triennial-scale forecasts feature a jet configuration dominated by the second em...
21-(4-Methyl-phenyl-sulfon-yl)-4,7,13,16-tetra-oxa-1,10,21-triaza-bicyclo-[8.8.5]tricosane-19,23-dione: an N-tosyl-ated macrobicyclic dilactam.

The macrobicyclic title compound, C23H35N3O8S, contains two tertiary amide bridgehead N atoms and a toluene­sulfonamide N atom in the center of the five-atom bridging strand. The mol­ecule has a central cavity that is defined by the 18-membered ring identified by the N2O4 donor atom set and two 15-membered rings with N3O2 donor atom sets. The toluene­sulfonamide N atom adopts an exo orientation with respect to the central cavity, and the tosyl group is oriented on one side of the aza-bridging strand that connects the bridgehead N atoms.
Strong Vocational Interest Blank Patterns Associated with Law School Achievement

106 first-year male law students (Mage = 24 yr.) completed the Strong Vocational Interest Blank. Those students who finished in the top half of their first-year class scored higher on the Physician, Psychiatrist, Psychologist, Biologist, Artist, Musician-Performer, Lawyer, and Author-Journalist scales, while those who finished in the bottom half of their first-year class scored higher on the Public Speaking, Business Management, Merchandising, Office Practices, Mechanical, Religious Activities, Production Manager, Accountant, Office Worker, Purchasing Agent, Banker, Pharmacist, Funeral Director, Salesman, President-Manufacturing, Credit Manager, and Business Education Teacher scales. There is thus great variance in the interest patterns of these groups.
A novel method to map and compare protein-protein interactions in spherical viral capsids.

Viral capsids are composed of multiple copies of one or a few chemically distinct capsid proteins and are mostly stabilized by inter subunit protein–protein interactions. There have been efforts to identify and analyze these protein–protein interactions, in terms of their extent and similarity, between the subunit interfaces related by quasi- and icosahedral symmetry. Here, we describe a new method to map quaternary interactions in spherical virus capsids onto polar angle space with respect to the icosahedral symmetry axes using azimuthal orthographic diagrams. This approach enables one to map the nonredundant interactions in a spherical virus capsid, irrespective of its size or triangulation number (T), onto the reference icosahedral asymmetric unit space. The resultant diagrams represent characteristic fingerprints of quaternary interactions of the respective capsids. Hence, they can be used as road maps of the protein–protein interactions to visualize the distribution and the density of the interactions. In addition, unlike the previous studies, the fingerprints of different capsids, when represented in a matrix form, can be compared with one another to quantitatively evaluate the similarity (S-score) in the subunit environments and the associated protein–protein interactions. The S-score selectively distinguishes the similarity, or lack of it, in the locations of the quaternary interactions as opposed to other well-known structural similarity metrics (e.g., RMSD, TM-score). Application of this method on a subset of T = 1 and T = 3 capsids suggests that S-score values range between 1 and 0.6 for capsids that belong to the same virus family/genus; 0.6–0.3 for capsids from different families with the same T-number and similar subunit fold; and <0.3 for comparisons of the dissimilar capsids that display different quaternary architectures (T-numbers). Finally, the sequence conserved interface residues within a virus family, whose spatial locations were also conserved have been hypothesized as the essential residues for self-assembly of the member virus capsids. Proteins 2008. © 2008 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
A chronic mouse model of Parkinson's disease has a reduced gait pattern certainty

Abstract The purpose of this investigation was to determine if a chronic Parkinson's disease mouse model will display less certainty in its gait pattern due to basal ganglia dysfunction. A chronic Parkinson's disease mouse model was induced by injecting male C57/BL mice with 10 doses of 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (25 mg/kg) (MPTP) and probenecid (250 mg/kg) (P) over 5 weeks. This chronic model produces a severe and persistent loss of nigrostriatal neurons resulting in dopamine depletion and locomotor impairment. The control mice were treated with probenecid alone. Fifteen weeks after the last MPTP/P treatment, the mice were videotaped in the sagittal plane with a digital camera (60 Hz) as they ran on a motorized treadmill at a speed of 10 m/min. The indices of gait and gait variability were calculated. Stride length was significantly ( p = 0.016) more variable in the chronic MPTP/P mice. Additionally, the chronic MPTP/P mice had a statistically less certain gait pattern when compared to the control mice ( p = 0.02). These results suggest that variability in the gait pattern can be used to evaluate changes in neural function. Additionally, our results imply that disorder of the basal ganglia results in less certainty in modulating the descending motor command that controls the gait pattern.
The exit-time problem for a Markov jump process

The purpose of this paper is to consider the exit-time problem for a finite-range Markov jump process, i.e, the distance the particle can jump is bounded independent of its location. Such jump diffusions are expedient models for anomalous transport exhibiting super-diffusion or nonstandard normal diffusion. We refer to the associated deterministic equation as a volume-constrained nonlocal diffusion equation. The volume constraint is the nonlocal analogue of a boundary condition necessary to demonstrate that the nonlocal diffusion equation is well-posed and is consistent with the jump process. A critical aspect of the analysis is a variational formulation and a recently developed nonlocal vector calculus. This calculus allows us to pose nonlocal backward and forward Kolmogorov equations, the former equation granting the various moments of the exit-time distribution.
Comparison of the depletion of glutathione in mouse liver and lung following administration of styrene and its metabolites styrene oxide and 4-vinylphenol

Styrene is hepatotoxic and pneumotoxic in mice. Its major metabolite styrene oxide and its minor, but potent, metabolite 4-vinylphenol cause similar toxicities. Styrene and styrene oxide cause decreases in reduced glutathione levels in tissues. The current studies examined styrene and styrene oxide in a time and dose-dependent manner and 4-vinylphenol in a time dependent fashion. Styrene (600 mg/kg, 5.8 mmol/kg ip) caused decreased GSH levels in both liver and lung within one hour. A maximum was seen at three hours with return to control levels by 12 h. Lower doses also caused changes in a dose-dependent fashion. For styrene oxide, similar findings were observed with a dose of 300 mg/kg (2.5 mmol/kg). GSH levels in liver, but not lung, returned to control by 6 h. Again a dose response was found for both tissues. While 4-vinylphenol (100 mg/kg, 0.83 mmol/kg) was administered at a dose known to be more hepatotoxic and more pneumotoxic than styrene or styrene oxide and it caused decreased GSH levels, the degree of depletion was less compared to styrene and styrene oxide. In general the lung was more affected by these agents than was liver. The decreases in GSH suggest the possibility that the toxicity of styrene in lung and liver may be related to a profound but reversible oxidative stress in these tissues.
Profetching and memory system behavior of the SPEC95 benchmark suite

This paper presents instruction and data cache miss rates for the SPEC95™ benchmark suite. We have simulated the instruction and data traffic resulting from 500 million instructions of each of the 18 programs. Simulation results show that only a few of the applications place more than modest demands on the memory system. This was noticed for instruction caches, where only a few workloads required more than a 32Kb cache to achieve miss rates of less than one miss every 1000 instructions. We also analyze two prefetching algorithms using the SPEC95 workload: next-sequential prefetching and shadow-directory prefetching. Each prefetching algorithm is evaluated using three performance metrics: coverage, accuracy, and traffic. Variations in each prefetching algorithm involve the use of a confirmation mechanism that receives feedback information about the quality of each prefetch. With confirmation, the prefetching algorithm is able to enhance the accuracy of prefetching decisions. The results show that shadow-directory prefetching averages miss coverage about ten percent higher than next-sequential prefetching when used in prefetching instructions (about 60 percent coverage for next-sequential prefetching versus 70 percent for shadow-directory prefetching). The prefetching accuracy for both algorithms is more than 90 percent when a confirmation mechanism is used. In general, data prefetching is shown to be less accurate and to provide less coverage than instruction prefetching. Shadow-directory prefetching averaged about a 40 percent miss coverage versus a 25 percent miss coverage for next-sequential prefetching. Prefetching accuracy is over 70 percent when confirmation is applied.
Safety without stuttering

Abstract A new formalization of safety properties is given. The formalization agrees with the informal definition—that a safety property stipulates that some ‘bad thing’ does not happen during execution—for properties that are not invariant under stuttering, as well as for properties that are.
Detection of circulating platelet–monocyte complexes in persons infected with human immunodeficiency virus type-1

Activated platelets form transient aggregates with monocytes in circulation and have a half-life of approximately 30-60 min. These complexes are increased in various inflammatory conditions and are an early marker of myocardial infarction. HIV-1 infection is associated with chronic inflammation, and increased CD16⁺ inflammatory monocytes have been observed in these individuals, probably as a result of increased interaction with platelets. However, narrow detection period and platelet activation during sample processing pose significant problems in detecting platelet-monocyte complexes (PMCs). A method was standardized addressing these difficulties, to enumerate PMCs involving CD16⁺ or CD16⁻ monocytes in whole blood using flow cytometry. Blood collected from healthy individuals was treated with either collagen (for platelet activation) or LPS (for monocyte activation) and subsequently used to study effect of these treatments on PMC formation. This method was also validated for the ex vivo quantitation of PMCs in blood obtained from persons infected with HIV. The in vitro results demonstrated that platelet activation, but not monocyte activation, resulted in significant increase in PMC formation. There was a significant increase in CD16⁺ PMCs and platelet activation, in samples obtained from persons infected with HIV as compared to those without HIV infection. Furthermore, PMC percentages correlated positively with platelet activation. These findings improve the ability to detect PMCs and shed light on HIV pathogenesis.
Listeria monocytogenes infection as a complication of treatment with tumor necrosis factor alpha-neutralizing agents.

Objective Tumor necrosis factor α (TNFα) has been implicated in the pathogenesis of certain inflammatory diseases. Two TNFα-neutralizing agents are licensed in the US. Infliximab is licensed for the treatment of Crohn's disease (CD) and, when used with methotrexate, for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Etanercept is licensed for the treatment of RA, including juvenile RA, and, more recently, was licensed for the treatment of psoriatic arthritis. Because of the potential for decreased host resistance to infectious agents due to treatment with anti-TNFα agents, we sought to evaluate postlicensure cases of opportunistic infection, including Listeria monocytogenes, in patients treated with these products. Methods The FDA Adverse Event Reporting System, a passive monitoring system, was reviewed to identify all reports of adverse events (through December 2001) associated with L monocytogenes infection in patients treated with infliximab or etanercept. Results Fifteen cases of L monocytogenes infection associated with infliximab or etanercept treatment were identified. In 14 of these cases, patients had received infliximab. The median age of all patients was 69.5 years (range 17–80 years); 53% were female. Six deaths were reported. Among patients for whom an indication for use was reported, there were 9 patients (64%) with RA and 5 patients (36%) with CD (information was not reported for 1 patient). All patients for whom information was reported were receiving concurrent immunosuppressant drugs. Conclusion Postlicensure surveillance suggests that L monocytogenes infection may be a serious complication of treatment with TNFα-neutralizing agents, particularly infliximab.
Mechanical and antibiotic bowel preparation for urinary diversion surgery

Purpose: We reviewed the existing scientific literature regarding the efficacy of preoperative mechanical and antibiotic bowel preparation for urinary diversion surgery.Materials and Methods: We performed MEDLINE searches of the literature from 1966 through 2000 and obtained additional references through a review of the bibliographies of select articles.Results: For urinary diversion surgery information regarding appropriate mechanical and antibiotic bowel preparation is scant. The colorectal surgery literature indicates that oral sodium phosphate appears to be better tolerated than polyethylene glycol and is as effective, although the latter is preferred in patients with compromised renal, cardiac or liver function. A combination of oral and parenteral antibiotics should be used for all urinary reconstructive surgeries involving gastrointestinal tract segments. A parenteral second generation cephalosporin antibiotic should be given within 1 hour of skin incision and repeated at an interval of twice the a...
Genetic testing for autism: recent advances and clinical implications.

Understanding the genetics of autism guides the development of clinical genetic testing Autism is defined and diagnosed as a pattern of behaviors, including difficulties with communication and social interactions, and repetitive or stereotypical behaviors. Autism spectrum disorders (ASDs), the broad category that includes autism and related disorders, are common, with a prevalence of one in 110 or 9.0 per 1000 individuals (95% CI: 8.6–9.3) [1]. Twin studies showing concordance rates approaching 90% among monozygotic twins, and the high recurrence risk for parents of a child along the spectrum, point to a strong genetic component [2,3]. Discovery of genetic variants contributing to ASD is the first step in developing clinical diagnostic genetic tests, but most cases are still unexplained by current genetic testing and will require ongoing discovery to improve the yield from clinical testing.
Back-to-School Nutrition:

Back-to-school season can be an important time for enhancing dietary quality, which is vital to chil- dren's health and wellness. An abun- dance of scientific literature supports a critical role of...
A long-day short-day effect in the photoperiodic control of the pupal diapause of the bollworm, Heliothis zea (Boddie)

Abstract Diapause induction in the bollworm was found to be dependent upon both temperature and photoperiod. More bollworms diapaused when reared at 21° than 27°C under identical photoperiodic regimens. The photoperiodic requirement for inducing the pupal diapause, in a substantial percentage of a population under natural conditions, requires that the previous parent and egg stages be exposed to longer photofractions than the subsequent larval progeny. Results suggest that the bell-shape of the diapause induction curve in the autumn is due to the parents and eggs having one set of photoperiodic requirements and the larval stages having another. Diapause may be induced only when the critical photoperiodic requirements of all three life-history stages overlap. Thus, diapause is restricted to a relatively narrow range of photoperiods and at College Station, Texas, occurs only from late September to mid-November. This provides the bollworm with a mechanism for distinguishing between spring and autumn day-lengths. The experiments also indicate that there may be a maternal influence which initiates the individual toward the diapause condition prior to the deposition of eggs; however, this treatment may be reversed by altering the sequence of photoperiodic exposure during the developmental period from egg to pupae.
Cosmic-ray-modified stellar winds. II. A perturbation approach

A perturbation method is developed to describe the modification of a stellar wind flow with termination shock by the Galactic cosmic rays. The perturbation parameter epsilon used in the analysis is the ratio of the galactic cosmic-ray pressure to the thermal gas pressure at a large distance from the star. The positive galactic cosmic-ray pressure gradient serves to brake the outflowing stellar wind gas, particularly just upstream of the termination shock of the wind. A one-fluid polytropic model is used to describe the thermal stellar wind gas, with the coupling between the cosmic rays and the thermal gas being determined by an average hydrodynamical diffusion coefficient kappa describing the scattering of cosmic rays by magnetohydrodynamic waves traveling in the background flow. The analysis takes into account cosmic-ray modifications of the critical point of the wind, the thermal gas entropy constants on both sides of the shock, and the fluid velocity profile.
Using Solution-Oriented Techniques in Mutual Aid Groups

ABSTRACT Mutual aid groups have long been used in social group work to effectively build support, mutuality and connection among group members. People facing serious life crises are overwhelmed by events that they experience as being powerless to control. A mutual aid system developed within a group has significant power to help people gain a sense of greater personal, interpersonal and environmental control over their lives. Solution-focused practice techniques have been found to be effective in shifting the discourse from one which is problem-saturated to one which emphasizes solutions. This article discusses and demonstrates how solution-focused techniques can be utilized in mutual aid group work.
Pathophysiology of and prophylaxis against late Ahmed Glaucoma Valve occlusion

Abstract PURPOSE: To understand the pathophysiology of late Ahmed Glaucoma Valve failures and devise strategies to minimize this problem. METHODS: One hundred sixty eyes that had undergone Ahmed Glaucoma Valve implants by one surgeon were retrospectively reviewed. Six eyes with late (greater than 3 months) Ahmed Glaucoma Valve occlusion requiring operative intervention were identified. Two of these eyes underwent initial successful transcameral drainage tube irrigation and four initially required Ahmed Glaucoma Valve exchange. Intraoperative images, postoperative histologic analysis, and Ahmed Glaucoma Valve handling experiments were performed. RESULTS: Two eyes with late occlusion (33%; 1.25% of total implants) were initially successfully treated with irrigation alone. A gap between the valve cover and valve body junction allowed fibrovascular ingrowth and produced valve failure ultimately in five of six eyes (83%; 3.1% of total implants). This gap could be produced by grasping the device along the center line, indenting the valve cover, and damaging the plastic rivets attaching the valve cover to the valve body. Handling the Ahmed Glaucoma Valve outside this “no touch zone” eliminated this problem. CONCLUSIONS: Leaflet adhesion has a low incidence and may be treated by transcameral drainage tube irrigation. Late onset distal occlusion is best treated by Ahmed Glaucoma Valve exchange with respect for the “no touch zone.” Respecting the “no touch zone” over the valve mechanism should avoid creation of gaps between the valve cover and valve body junction, which allow secondary fibrovascular ingrowth.
Hypervisible Man: Techno-Performativity and Televisual Blackness in Percival Everett’s I Am Not Sidney Poitier

In interviews and in his writing, Percival Everett has been notoriously evasive about the role of race and African American identity in his fiction. For instance, in a typical exchange from a 2005 interview, Jim Kincaid asked Everett, “What, for you, is race?” Everett responded, “It’s when two or more people, dogs, horses or cars try to get to a distant point as fast as they can.” Kincaid later asked Everett whether he is “in some way a black writer” (378); Everett gave a similarly playful but perhaps more telling answer: “I am a black writer the way you are a white professor or that man over there is a fat banker. You might point me out as a black writer when trying to betray me to the KKK or the Bush administration. If I get lost and you’re trying to tell the police what I look like, you will say, ‘He’s devastatingly handsome, tall and black’” (379). While of course Everett is in part merely engaging in some verbal parrying with Kincaid here, this statement reveals something about the way that race and racial identification are treated in Everett’s fiction. For Everett, blackness is primarily a visual descriptor, one that is much more likely to tell us something significant about the person doing the describing than the person being described. Proceeding from this point, many critics who have discussed Everett’s fiction claim that its project is defiantly to carve out space (in a uniquely curmudgeonly style) for African American writers whose writing does not fit neatly into stereotyped and popularly circulated versions of the authentic black experience. For instance, about Erasure (2001), Everett’s scathing takedown of the publishing industry’s treatment of black culture, Margaret Russett writes that “Everett unhinges ‘black’ subject matter from a lingering stereotype of ‘black’ style, while challenging the assumption that a single or consensual African-American Experience exists to be represented” (360). Brian Yost similarly argues that rather than depicting any sort of unitary form of blackness, Everett “re-evaluates expression at the individual level, offering instead a human identity composed of a non-reducible array of significant experiences and influences” (1325). A defiant individualism in Everett’s work puts him in the context of a postmodernist black
A retrospective evaluation of remote pharmacist interventions in a telepharmacy service model using a conceptual framework.

Abstract Objectives: This retrospective cross-sectional study evaluated a telepharmacy service model using a conceptual framework to compare documented remote pharmacist interventions by year, hospital, and remote pharmacist and across rural hospitals with or without an on-site rural hospital pharmacist. Materials and Methods: Documented remote pharmacist interventions for patients at eight rural hospitals in the Midwestern United States during prospective prescription order review/entry from 2008 to 2011 were extracted from RxFusion® database (a home-grown system, i.e., internally developed program at The Nebraska Medical Center (TNMC) for capturing remote pharmacist-documented intervention data). The study authors conceptualized an analytical framework, mapping the 37 classes of remote pharmacist interventions to three broader-level definitions: (a) intervention, eight categories (interaction/potential interaction, contraindication, adverse effects, anticoagulation monitoring, drug product selection, dr...
A REMARK ABOUT COMBINGS OF GROUPS

It is currently unknown whether or not there exist (synchronously) combable groups which are not automatic. This note settles an analogous question in a simpler context. The notion of a broomlike combing is introduced. It is shown that if a group admits a broomlike combing then it admits a broomlike combing in which the language of combing words is regular. A finitely generated group admits a broomlike combing if and only if it contains a free subgroup of finite index.