cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Can the US transition to digital TV be fixed? Some lessons from two European Union cases

Abstract This paper compares the regulatory incentives created by government policies aimed at promoting the transition to digital TV in the US, France, and the UK. It argues that US policies have aggravated coordination problems and even created incentives for terrestrial broadcasters to retard the transition in order to receive compensations from wireless telecommunications providers for vacating frequencies before the statutory deadline. The institutional analysis framework is applied to explain the observed policy variations across countries as well as the factors retarding the transition in the American case. The conclusion suggests possible remedies to accelerate the transition to digital TV in the US based on the British experience.
DIFFERENTIAL PROPER-MOTION MEASUREMENTS OF THE CYGNUS EGG NEBULA: THE PRESENCE OF EQUATORIAL OUTFLOWS

We present the results of differential proper-motion analyses of the Egg Nebula (RAFGL 2688, V1610 Cyg) based on the archived two-epoch optical data taken with the Hubble Space Telescope. First, we determined that the polarization characteristics of the Egg Nebula are influenced by the higher optical depth of the central regions of the nebula (i.e., the 'dustsphere' of {approx}10{sup 3} AU radius), causing the nebula to illuminate in two steps-the direct starlight is first channeled into bipolar cavities and then scattered off to the rest of the nebula. We then measured the amount of motion of local structures and the signature concentric arcs by determining their relative shifts over the 7.25 yr interval. Based on our analysis, which does not rely on the single-scattering assumption, we concluded that the lobes have been excavated by a linear expansion along the bipolar axis for the past {approx}400 yr, while the concentric arcs have been generated continuously and moving out radially at about 10 km s{sup -1} for the past {approx}5500 yr, and there appears to be a colatitudinally increasing trend in the radial expansion velocity field of the concentric arcs. Numerical investigations into the mass-loss modulation by the central binary system exist,more » which predict such a colatitudinally increasing expansion velocity field in the spiral-shock trails of the mass-loss ejecta. Therefore, the Egg Nebula may represent a rare edge-on case of the binary-modulated circumstellar environs, corroborating the previous theoretical predictions.« less
Coordination of Ca2+ Signaling by Intercellular Propagation of Ca2+ Waves in the Intact Liver (∗)

Activation of the inositol lipid signaling system results in cytosolic Ca2+ oscillations and intra- and intercellular Ca2+ waves in many isolated cell preparations. However, this form of temporal and spatial organization of signaling has not been demonstrated in intact tissues. Digital imaging fluorescence microscopy was used to monitor Ca2+ at the cellular and subcellular level in intact perfused rat liver loaded with fluorescent Ca2+ indicators. Perfusion with low doses of vasopressin induced oscillations of hepatocyte Ca2+ that were coordinated across entire lobules of the liver by propagation of Ca2+ waves along the hepatic plates. At the subcellular level these periodic Ca2+ waves initiated from the sinusoidal domain of cells within the periportal region and propagated radially across cell-cell contacts into the pericentral region, or until terminated by annihilation collision with other Ca2+ wave fronts. With increasing agonist dose, the frequency but not the amplitude of the Ca2+ waves increased. Intracellular Ca2+ wave rates were constant, but transcellular signal propagation was determined by agonist dose, giving rise to a dose-dependent increase in the rate at which Ca2+ waves spread through the liver. At high vasopressin doses, a single Ca2+ wave was observed and the direction of Ca2+ wave propagation was reversed, initiating in the pericentral region and spreading to the periportal region. It is concluded that intercellular Ca2+ waves may provide a mechanism to coordinate responses across the functional units of the liver.
Synthesis of homolanthionine sulfone and homolanthionine sulfoxide.

Abstract Homolanthionine sulfoxide and homolanthionine sulfone were obtained by oxidation of homocystine with hydroperoxide in acid solution. Homolanthionine sulfone was isolated and crystallized following ion exchange chromatography. Homolanthionine sulfoxide diastereomers were identified in the reaction mixture.
Trace metal distributions in the surficial sediments of Penobscot Bay, Maine

In an effort to expand the environmental quality baseline of northern New England the authors surveyed Penobscot Bay for the distribution of benthic fauna and several pollutants as part of the Northeast Monitoring Program. Penobscot Bay, the largest embayment in northern New England, is located centrally on the Maine coast. This paper presents data on the distribution of the trace metals Ag, Cd, Cr, Cu, Pb, Ni and Zn in the surficial sediments of Penobscot Bay with the aim of describing existing conditions and providing a bench-mark against which to evaluate future alterations.
Target Age and the Acquisition of Innovation in High-Technology Industries

External acquisition of new technology is a growing trend in the innovation and product development process, particularly in high-technology industries, as firms complement internal research and development efforts with aggressive acquisition programs. Yet, despite its importance, there has been little empirical research on the timing of acquisition decisions in high-technology environments. Should organizations wait until more information is available about the target and its markets so that a better valuation can be obtained? Or should the target be acquired early to lower acquisition cost and gain early access to key technologies? Applying an event study methodology to technology acquisitions in the telecommunications industry from 1995 to 2001, we find evidence that supports acquiring early in the face of uncertainty. Our analytical model and empirical analysis uncover two characteristics of young targets that drive benefits from early acquisitions---flexible growth options that provide greater opportunities for synergistic fit, and greater valuation uncertainty that leads to lower prices. However, the negative effect of target age on acquirer value is partially mitigated if the target has recent patents or is privately held. In addition, the probability of acquisition is higher for targets that have signals of higher quality, and lower for targets that have superior access to capital and resources.
Predisposition to Infection and Bleeding in Mechanical Assist Devices (LVADs) Recepients after Dental Procedures: A Single Center Experience

Purpose Currently more than 7,000 patients with heart failure are supported with LVADs. Few patients with LVADs undergo dental procedures and are at risk of bleeding due to their anticoagulation/antiplatelet medication profile and acquired VWF deficiency. Many centers follow the AHA guidelines for the prophylaxis of bacterial endocarditis in patients with prosthetic devices. Though these guidelines are comprehensive, they do not specifically address prophylactic recommendations for patients with LVADs. We would assume that these guidelines hold true for LVADs; however there is no current evidence. Methods and Materials To assess the risk of infections and bleeding complications during dental procedures in patients with LVADs, we designed a protocol based pilot study of LVAD patients using the AHA guidelines. We followed 19 patients respective clinical course for administration of preprocedural antibiotics, continuation of their anticoagulation/antiplatelet medication, episodes of infective endocarditis, bacteremia, dental abscess, and bleeding episodes till six months after the procedure. Results [ figure 1 ] Conclusions There was no increased risk of infections (dental abscess, pneumonia, infective endocarditis, and bacteremia) and no bleeding complications when the designed protocol was followed.
Factors Associated with Non-Adherence to Three Hypertension Self-Management Behaviors: Preliminary Data for a New Instrument

BACKGROUND Clinicians have difficulty in identifying patients that are unlikely to adhere to hypertension self-management. Identifying non-adherence is essential to addressing suboptimal blood pressure control and high costs.
Paradoxical Motion of Interventricular Septum in Left Bundle Branch Block

Abnormal interventricular septal motion, with pre-ejection posterior motion and anterior motion away from the posterior left ventricular wall during ejection, was demonstrated by echocardiography in 14 out of 17 cases with complete left bundle branch block (LBBB). Two of 14 cases had intermittent LBBB and showed abnormal septal motion only during LBBB. Of the control group of 49 patients without LBBB but with cardiac disorders similar to the cases with LBBB, only two showed abnormal septal motion. However, pre-ejection motion was not seen in these two cases. During right ventricular pacing abnormal septal motion was observed in three out of ten cases. It is suggested that conduction abnormalities are responsible for abnormal septal motion in LBBB; normal septal motion in most cases with right ventricular pacing may be due to different conduction pathways not affecting the septum.
High power density and high efficiency converter topologies for electric ships

Power electronic converters are expected to be significant contributors to system mass, system loss, and system cost in the all-electric ship, and are therefore a significant area of interest. This paper investigates the reduction of switching losses in high power (MW level) converters. These losses remain a major obstacle to the development of converters capable of operating at higher frequencies and higher power densities. The Auxiliary Resonant Commutated Pole (ARCP) soft-switching converter topology offers the potential for minimization of switching losses but has some inherent limitations. This paper examines two new converter designs based on the ARCP soft-switching topology that allow for more compact units by reducing the semiconductor switching losses generated within them. These concepts have been proven in principle by preliminary laboratory testing of a scaled 20 kW converter prototype. The new proposed topologies are described and simulation results and experimental waveforms obtained on the prototype unit are also reported.
Design and analysis of clinical trials of nutrients: Author Reply

I thank Dr. Martineau for his comments and for the opportunity to clarify some of the points he addresses.1 We both recognize that systematic reviews (SR) and meta-analyses (MA) have two major purposes: 1) to increase statistical power and get a better fix on whether an effect occurs and, if so, on its size; and 2) to use observed heterogeneity of response to clarify why some studies find an effect and others do not. The guidelines for SR and MA, to which Dr. Martineau responds,2 were pointed solely at …
Immunocytochemical localization of renin in the submandibular gland of the mouse during postnatal development

The localization of renin in the developing mouse submandibular gland was studied immunocytochemically using the unlabelled antibody-enzyme method of Sternberger (1974). Bouin-fixed submandibular glands of mice of both sexes were examined at 5-day-intervals from birth (day 0) to 50 days of age. At all stages studied, only granular convoluted tubule (GCT) cells stained immunocytochemically for renin; such cells were first seen in glands of 30-day-old males and of 30-day-old females. The size and number of renin-containing GCT cells increased rapidly in males, attaining adult status by 50 days of age. In females, differentiation of GCT cells immunoreactive for renin was slower and less regular than in males, and at 50 days of age the GCT segment had not yet reached adult conditions with respect to the distribution of renin. Renin appears in GCT cells at later ages than other GCT cell products (e.g., EGF and amylase), suggesting the existence of independent developmental control for the expression of various biologically active substances in the GCTs.
Landscape change in an agricultural watershed in the U.S. Midwest

Abstract Opportunities to improve the ecological functioning of agricultural landscapes in the U.S. Midwest exist, and could include the restoration of native plant communities to improve biodiversity or the modification of agricultural production systems to enhance the provisioning of ecosystem services to society. To be most effective in achieving these goals, restoration efforts require knowledge of past conditions and drivers of change. We assessed landscape change in the Clear Creek, Iowa watershed from 1940 to 2002 using five metrics derived from aerial photos: land cover composition and configuration, housing density and spatial pattern, and stream sinuosity. Major cover changes in the watershed included increases in urban (+1743.0 ha) and dense forest cover (+618.9 ha), coupled with a decline in the total area (−2773.4 ha) and mean patch area (−4.9 ha) of crops. Mean forest patch area increased (+3.7 ha), while patch number declined by 21.1% as reforestation linked small, previously isolated patches. Housing density increased dramatically, and houses were increasingly clustered across the study period. Most new houses were added in urban areas. Main stream channel sinuosity ranged between 1.49 and 1.27; mean sinuosity decreased by 0.22 from 1940 to 1963, a decline that persisted until 2002. In combination, changes in these five metrics document shifts in landscape composition and configuration that have important implications for people and the landscape. Our results indicate the dynamics of land use in the watershed, and may be used to parametrize hydrological models, in the development of future land use scenarios, and as a basis for restoration planning.
Teaching the differences among women from a historical perspective: Rethinking race and gender as social categories

Abstract Fully acknowledging the diversity of women's experience begins with understanding how the differences among women are constructed relationally in specific social processes. This essay suggests, through an analysis of the historical roots of social classification systems, that institutionalized racism is a form of sexism. Scholars must move beyond understanding racism as purely an outgrowth of irrational prejudices and begin to think of race as a widespread principle of social organization. Race as a social category relies on biological metaphors of common substance to mark boundaries of privilege and entitlement. Thus, European societies before colonial contact with others were already racially stratified societies divided by lineage and bloodlines but not by skin color. The centrality of reproduction in this definition of race allows us to see why racial categories are predicated upon control of women and sexuality. Racial thinking, however, does not view all women as the same, but divides women by experience and by assigned function within the same social order. Through an analysis of race, we gain insight into the structural underpinnings of why women's experiences differ but also why such differences are implicated in each other.
A thinning algorithm for discrete binary images

The paper discusses thinning algorithms and introduces a characterization of skeletal pixels in terms of how many arcs of the boundary pass through a pixel. A new algorithm is proposed which proceeds by peeling off successive contours of the set to be thinned while identifying pixels where disjoint parts of the boundary have been mapped. The union of these pixels (plus a few others with similar properties) forms the skeleton. The algorithm can be implemented in such a way as to have time complexity which is a linear function of the area.
A novel canine lymphoma cell line: A translational and comparative model for lymphoma research

A novel canine lymphoma cell line, OSW, was established from the malignant pleural effusion of a dog with peripheral T-cell lymphoma. The immunoprofile as determined by flow cytometry was as follows: positive for CD45, CD49d, CD18, CD11a; weakly positive for CD11b, CD11c, CD11d; and negative for CD45RA, CD1a, CD1c, CD3, TCRalphabeta, TCRgammadelta, CD4, CD5, CD8a, CD8b, CD90(Thy1), CD21, MHCII, CD14(TUK4), CD34, and MPO. Immunocytochemistry of cytospin preparations was negative for cytoplasmic CD3, CD79a, and MPO, but was positive for CD20. The cell line had an oligoclonal T-cell receptor gamma (TCRgamma) gene rearrangement. Array comparative genomic hybridization (aCGH) and single locus probe (SLP) analysis showed that there were copy number increases of loci on dog chromosome 13 (CFA 13), and copy number decreases were evident for regions of CFA 11, 22, 26, 30 and 32, which include several of the more common chromosomal aberrations reported previously in canine lymphoma. The OSW cell line grows rapidly in vitro and is tumorigenic as a xenograft in SCID/NOD mice. OSW represents one of only a few reported canine lymphoma cell lines and is the most thoroughly characterized. This cell line and xenograft represent significant in vitro and in vivo models, respectively, for comparative and translational lymphoma research.
New roles for mitochondria in cell death in the reperfused myocardium

Mitochondria play an important role in regulating the life and death of cells. They provide the cell with energy via oxidative phosphorylation but can quickly turn into death-promoting organelles in response to stress by disrupting adenosine triphosphate synthesis, releasing pro-death proteins, and producing reactive oxygen species. Due to their high-energy requirement, cardiac myocytes are abundant in mitochondria and as a result, particularly vulnerable to mitochondrial defects. Myocardial ischaemia and reperfusion are associated with mitochondrial dysfunction and cell death. Therefore, future therapies will focus on preserving mitochondrial integrity and function in hopes of minimizing the impact of ischaemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury. It is well established that myocardial I/R activates both necrosis and apoptosis, and that blocking either process reduces the levels of injury. However, recent studies have demonstrated that alterations in mitochondrial dynamics or clearance of mitochondria via autophagy also can contribute to cell death in the myocardium. In this review, we will discuss these new developments and their impact on the role of cardiac mitochondria in cell death following reperfusion in the heart.
Requirement of Ginkgo Pollen-Derived Tissue Cultures for Boron and Effects of Boron Deficiency

Ginkgo biloba L. pollen-derived tissue, which is made up of small, friable masses of homogeneous parenchymatous cells, was shown to require boron in the culture medium. If no boron is supplied, growth soon stops. Growth responses to additions of boron were observed up to an optimum level of 0.1 mg of boron per liter.Histological examination and chemical analyses showed 2 general effects of boron deficiency: (1) a reduced rate of cell division, with no significant effect on cell size, and (2) some alteration in composition of the cell walls. With the exception of a reduction in fructose, the concentration of soluble and of readily hydrolyzable carbohydrates, and the concentration of protein in the tissue, were not affected by boron deficiency.
Fluid dynamics and mass transfer in submerged gas-particle jets

A room temperature model of a submerged gas-particle jet was used to investigate the hydrodynamics and gas-liquid mass transfer in such systems. Air or CO2 was used to inject particles of silica sand into water. In some cases, the sand was coated with resin to produce a hydrophobic surface. The flow regimes of behavior were observed: In the bubbling flow regime large bubbles of gas are formed and penetrated by a stream of particles which did not entrain gas, and in the steady jet flow regime the gas and particles travel together in a narrow cone. The second flow regime is favored by a high gas velocity, a small particle size, and a high ratio of particles to gas in the jet. The surface characteristics of the injected particles do not appear to affect this transition. A CO2-NaOH solution model was used to determine the effects of inert particle injection of the rate of mass transfer from gas to liquid. The rate of mass transfer was higher in steady cone jets, because under these conditions, the gas is dispersed into finer bubbles and carried deeper in the bath.
Diversity in care.

C a EVERYONE IN AMERICA remembers where they were and what they were doing on the morning of September 11, 2001. The world changed in two enormous, scorching explosions that rocked the country. In the immediate aftermath of the devastation, we all changed. We donated thousands of units of blood and millions of dollars in an attempt to normalize our lives and support those most in need. People came from as far away as Texas to help at Ground Zero. Firefighters arrived from all over the country to assist in the desperate search for survivors. The newspaper showed a picture of a lone nurse in scrubs standing amid the rubble with a collection of small bandages and a sign on her back that read, “I give hugs.” I don’t know if it is because I am a nurse, but to this day, I regret that I did not get into my car and go to New York.
Per-6-substituted-per-6-deoxy β-cyclodextrins Inhibit the Formation of β-Amyloid Peptide Derived Soluble Oligomers

Recent studies have indicated that the most important role of beta-amyloid peptide (Abeta) in the etiology of Alzheimer's disease may not be in plaque formation but in the formation of soluble, metastable Abeta(1-42) neurotoxic intermediates (called ADDLs). In the present work we describe the preparation of per-6-amino-6-deoxy-beta-cyclodextrins, which inhibit ADDLs formation in vitro.
Cell division requirement for activation of murine leukemia virus in cell culture by irradiation.

Abstract Actively dividing cultures of AKR mouse cells were exposed to relatively low dose-rates of gamma radiation and tested for activation of endogenous leukemia viruses. Efficient and reproducible induction of virus was obtained with actively dividing cells, but cultures deprived of serum to inhibit cell division before and during gamma irradiation were not activated, even when medium with serum was added immediately after irradiation. These results show that cell division was required for virus induction but that a stable intermediate similar to the state induced by halogenated pyrimidines was not formed. In actively dividing AKR cell cultures, virus activation appeared to be proportional to the dose of gamma radiation; the estimated frequency of activation was 1.8 × 10 −5 per exposed cell and the efficiency of activation was approximately 0.012 inductions per cell per rad. Other normal primary and established mouse cell cultures tested were not activated by gamma radiation. The requirement of cell division for radiation and chemical activation may reflect some common mechanism for initiation of virus expression.
A Spatially Explicit Model of the Wild Hog for Ecological Risk Assessment Activities at the Department of Energy's Savannah River Site

In North America, wild hogs (Sus scrofa) are both sought after as prime game and despised due to their detrimental impacts to the environment from their digging and rooting behavior. They are also a potentially useful indicator species for environmental health for both ecological- and human-based risk assessments. An inductive approach was used to develop probabilistic resource selection models using logistic regression to quantify the likelihood of hogs being in any area of the Department of Energy’s 805 km 2 Savannah River Site (SRS) in west-central South Carolina. These models were derived by using available SRS hog hunt data from 1993‐2000 and a Geographic Information System database describing the habitat structure of the SRS. The model’s significant parameters indicated that wild hogs preferred hardwoods and avoided pine and shrubby areas. Further, landscape metric analyses revealed that hogs preferred areas with large complex patch areas and low size variation. These resource selection models were then utilized to better estimate exposure of wild hogs to radionuclides and metals in a disturbed riparian ecosystem on the SRS using two different possible diets based on food availability. Contaminant exposure can be better estimated using these resource selection models than has been previously possible, because past practices did not consider home range and habitat utilization probability in heterogeneously contaminated habitats. Had these models not been used, risk calculations would assume that contaminated areas were utilized 100% of the time, thus overestimating exposure by a factor of up to 25.
Graph Weight Allocation to Meet Laplacian Spectral Constraints

We adjust the node and edge weightings of graphs using convex optimization to impose bounds on their Laplacian spectra. First, we derive necessary and sufficient conditions that characterize the feasibility of spectral bounds given positive node and edge weightings. Synthesizing these conditions leads naturally to algorithms that exploit convexity to achieve several eigenvalue bounds simultaneously. The algorithms we propose apply to many graph design problems as well as multi-agent systems control. Finally, we suggest efficient ways to accommodate larger graphs, and show that dual formulations lead to substantial improvement in the size of graphs that can be addressed.
Synthesis of thermoset plastics by Lewis acid initiated copolymerization of fish oil ethyl esters and alkenes

The Lewis acid initiated cationic homopolymerization of Norway fish oil ethyl ester (NFO) or the corresponding conjugated fish oil (CFO) and their copolymerization with various alkene comonomers is investigated. Among the Lewis acids employed, boron trifluoride diethyl etherate (BFE, BF3 · OEt2) is found to be the most effective initiator for cationic polymerization of the NFO and CFO systems. The BFE-initiated homopolymerization of NFO generally results in low molecular weight viscous oils, while that of CFO leads to a solid elastic gel with a gel time of more than 72 h at room temperature. Copolymerization of the NFO or CFO with some alkene comonomers significantly facilitates gelation. The gel times are largely dependent upon the stoichiometry, the type of fish oil, and the alkene comonomer. After postcuring at elevated temperatures, the cationic copolymerization affords polymers ranging from soft rubbery materials to rigid plastics. These NFO and CFO polymers are composed of highly crosslinked materials and a certain amount of free oils and are found to be fully cured thermosets. Generally, CFO polymers appear to be harder than the corresponding NFO polymers. However, the thermal properties of the bulk polymers are similar to each other, and their insoluble extracts exhibit much higher thermal stability than the bulk thermosets. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 81: 2001–2012, 2001
Electromagnetic Modeling Based On the Rock Physics Description of the True Complexity of Rocks: Applications to Study of the IP Effect In Porphyry Copper Deposits

SUMMARY A new approach to EM forward modeling from the grain-scale to deposit-scale is presented using a porphyry copper system. The Generalized Effective Medium Theory of the induced polarization (GEMTIP) effect and electromagnetic (EM) field propagation in heterogenous polarizable media presented by Zhdanov (2006) allows the incorporation of rock-scale parameters such as mineralization and/or fluid content, matrix composition, porosity, anisotropy, a nd the polarizability of the formations. GEMTIP is used for rock-scale forward modeling from grain-scale parameters. Empirical data from rock-scale measurements (Ostrander and Zonge, 1978) are in good agreement with GEMTIP forward modeling output for pyrite and chalcopyrite bearing rocks. To further our understanding of IP on a larger scale, deposit-scale modeling is conducted for a porphyry system. A simplified porphyry model is created for future detectability a nd mineral discrimination studies.
Metamorphic inhibition of Xenopus laevis by sodium perchlorate: Effects on development and thyroid histology

The perchlorate anion inhibits thyroid hormone (TH) synthesis via inhibition of the sodium-iodide symporter. It is, therefore, a good model chemical to aid in the development of a bioassay to screen chemicals for affects on thyroid function. Xenopus laevis larvae were exposed to sodium perchlorate during metamorphosis, a period of TH-dependent development, in two experiments. In the first experiment, stage 51 and 54 larvae were exposed for 14 d to 16, 63, 250, 1,000, and 4,000 μg perchlorate/L. In the second experiment, stage 51 larvae were exposed throughout metamorphosis to 8, 16, 32, 63, and 125 μg perchlorate/L. Metamorphic development and thyroid histology were the primary endpoints examined. Metamorphosis was retarded significantly in the first study at concentrations of 250 μg/L and higher, but histological effects were observed at 16 μg/L. In the second study, metamorphosis was delayed by 125 μg/L and thyroid size was increased significantly at 63 μg/L. These studies demonstrate that inhibition of metamorphosis readily can be detected using an abbreviated protocol. However, thyroid gland effects occur at concentrations below those required to elicit developmental delay, demonstrating the sensitivity of this endpoint and suggesting that thyroidal compensation is sufficient to promote normal development until perchlorate reaches critical concentrations.
Determination of homogeneity scale in ordered and partially ordered mixtures

Abstract The scale of homogeneity in solid particulate mixtures in critical to diverse sets of applications ranging from fertilizers to pharmaceuticals and advanced ceramics. In the past, probability-based models have been used to describe random particulate mixtures. However, such models are not generally applicable to ordered mixtures such as those obtained by various particle coating techniques. The current work presents a concentric-shell model for the simulation of particle distributions in a spatial framework. The model is applicable to mixtures of multiple components with a variety of particle coating configurations and particle size distributions. For each component, the calculated results include mean, variance and percentile distributions. For random particle mixtures, the compositional variances predicted by the concentric-shell and probability-based models converged with increasing sample size; however, the concentric-shell model was more appropriate for the evaluation of close-range mixing distributions. In addition, the concentric-shell model is useful in evaluating component distributions over a range of mixture types, including random, partially ordered and ordered mixtures. A substantial decrease in mixing variance was predicted for ordered mixtures achieved by particle coating.
An unusual cause of portal hypertension in a 65 year old woman: congenital hepatic fibrosis

An unusual cause of portal hypertension in a 65 year old woman: congenital hepatic fibrosis
Variable arginine vasopressin levels in neonatal congestive heart failure

Abstract Arginine vasopressin levels in 17 neonates with cardiac disease were compared with control levels in 10 healthy newborn infants. Infants with congestive heart failure who were free of left ventricular outflow tract obstruction had a mean level of 80 ± 18 pg/ml, which was significantly greater than the mean control level (p The data suggest that impaired forward flow to high pressure sinoaortic and ventricular baroreceptors is necessary for vasopressin release in congestive heart failure. In left ventricular outflow tract obstruction with heart failure these receptors may be impaired or absent, leading to decreased vasopressin release. Low plasma arginine vasopressin may adversely affect circulatory homeostasis.
Vivência: From disciplined to remade lived experience in the Brazilian avant-garde of the 1960s

In this article, I will address the artistic practices of the Brazilian avant-garde of the 1960s that revolved around the notion of vivencia or ‘lived thought’. These artistic practices – illustrated by two emblematic examples by, respectively, Helio Oiticica and Lygia Clark – should not only be regarded as a counter-practice to hegemonic historical developments, but they should also be looked at in terms of the culture-specific frame of experience in which they figure. As such, this article develops an anthropological investigation into the concrete dynamics of these artistic practices and the manner in which they were socio-culturally informed. To frame the connection between artistic practices and other culture-specific ones, a particular aspect of the concept of embodiment will be deployed.
Peer instruction enhanced meaningful learning: ability to solve novel problems

Students must be able to interpret, relate, and incorporate new information with existing knowledge and apply the new information to solve novel problems. Peer instruction is a cooperative learning...
Emerging treason? Politics and identity in the Emerging Church Movement:

The Emerging Church is one of the more interesting new movements in the religious landscape of the United States today. The Emerging Church has come out of US Evangelicalism, which has found itself in crisis, with a diminishing number of young people remaining in the church and a general popular impression of being intolerant, judgmental, and right-wing. Many in the Emerging Church are attempting to construct a vision of Christianity that addresses these problems. However, the Emerging Church is not a monolith; it includes a variety of perspectives and positions. What I will argue in this article is that there is, among several different perspectives within the movement, a critique of the US political and economic system that provides an interesting and new way of thinking about the relationship between Christianity, politics, economics, and identity that may serve to create a challenge to the hegemonic system of the United States. For the purposes of this article I use three examples to illustrate my point: Shane Claibourne’s ‘‘New Monasticism’’/’’Red Letter Christians’’ movement; Brian McLaren’s recent work, Why did Jesus, Moses, the Buddha and Mohammed Cross The Road; and Peter Rollins as a self-proclaimed inheritor of the radical tradition. I will show that the Emerging Church thinkers, by challenging the theological constructions of US Evangelicalism, are likewise providing fodder, to varying degrees, for a critique of the US political and economic system. Whether this will coalesce into a real significant challenge or will ultimately be reabsorbed by the status quo and/or marginalized remains to be seen.
The role of vision in odor-plume tracking by walking and flying insects

The walking paths of male cockroaches, Periplaneta americana, tracking point-source plumes of female pheromone often appear similar in structure to those observed from flying male moths. Flying moths use visual-flow-field feedback of their movements to control steering and speed over the ground and to detect the wind speed and direction while tracking plumes of odors. Walking insects are also known to use flow field cues to steer their trajectories. Can the upwind steering we observe in plume-tracking walking male cockroaches be explained by visual-flow-field feedback, as in flying moths? To answer this question, we experimentally occluded the compound eyes and ocelli of virgin P. americana males, separately and in combination, and challenged them with different wind and odor environments in our laboratory wind tunnel. They were observed responding to: (1) still air and no odor, (2) wind and no odor, (3) a wind-borne point-source pheromone plume and (4) a wide pheromone plume in wind. If walking cockroaches require visual cues to control their steering with respect to their environment, we would expect their tracks to be less directed and more variable if they cannot see. Instead, we found few statistically significant differences among behaviors exhibited by intact control cockroaches or those with their eyes occluded, under any of our environmental conditions. Working towards our goal of a comprehensive understanding of chemo-orientation in insects, we then challenged flying and walking male moths to track pheromone plumes with and without visual feedback. Neither walking nor flying moths performed as well as walking cockroaches when there was no visual information available.
THERAPEUTIC RAMIFICATIONS OF THE INTERACTION OF COMPLEMENT, GRANULOCYTES, AND PLATELETS IN THE PRODUCTION OF ACUTE LUNG INJURY*

Evidence is reviewed that activation of complement through its ability to cause adhesion of granulocytes to the pulmonary endothelium (margination) and aggregation and embolization of these cells to the lung microvasculature is an important cause of pulmonary injury. Agents capable of diminishing such stimulated adhesiveness might be rational therapeutic adjuncts in vascular-damaging syndromes and are being investigated. To date, corticosteroids, such as methylprednisolone (in enormous doses), and certain nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, such as ibuprofen, have been shown to diminish granulocyte stickiness in vitro and diminish complement-mediated tissue damage in vivo. Moreover, platelets amplify complement/granulocyte-induced endothelial damage by releasing serotonin, which, in turn, potentiates granulocyte adhesion to endothelium. This potentiation is abrogated by the serotonin antagonists imiprimine and methysergide. Since these diverse agents inhibit granulocyte-adhesion phenomena by different mechanisms, they might predictably be synergistic in their beneficial effect. This prediction is validated for methylprednisolone and ibuprofen, for which we report a threefold synergism in preventing complement-mediated granulocyte aggregation in vitro. Preliminary studies indicate utility of this synergism in vivo as well, in that the degree of myocardial infarction [a complement-activating phenomenon) is diminished in coronary-ligated animals in which rather small doses of the two drugs administered together.
Thermobarometry of mafic igneous rocks based on clinopyroxene-liquid equilibria, 0–30 kbar

Models for estimating the pressure and tem- perature of igneous rocks from co-existing clino- pyroxene and liquid compositions are calibrated from existing data and from new data obtained from experi- ments performed on several mafic bulk compositions (from 8—30 kbar and 1100—1475i C). The resulting geothermobarometers involve thermodynamic expres- sions that relate temperature and pressure to equili- brium constants. Specifically, the jadeite (Jd; NaAlSi 2 O 6 )—diopside/hedenbergite (DiHd; Ca(Mg, Fe) Si 2 O 6 ) exchange equilibrium between clinopyroxene and liquid is temperature sensitive. When composi- tional corrections are made to the calibrated equili- brium constant the resulting geothermometer is (i) 104 " "6.73!0.26* ln C Jd19*Ca-*2*Fm-*2 DiHd19*Na-*2*Al-*2D
Abstractions for parallel N-body simulations

Introduces C++ programming abstractions for maintaining load-balanced partitions of irregular and adaptive trees. Such abstractions are useful across a range of applications and MIMD architectures. The use of these abstractions is illustrated for gravitational N-body simulation. The strategy for parallel N-body simulation is based on a technique for implicitly representing a global tree across multiple processors. This substantially reduces the programming complexity and the overhead for distributed memory architectures. The overhead is further reduced by maintaining incremental data structures. >
Peripheral injection of human umbilical cord blood stimulates neurogenesis in the aged rat brain

Neurogenesis continues to occur throughout life but dramatically decreases with increasing age. This decrease is mostly related to a decline in proliferative activity as a result of an impoverishment of the microenvironment of the aged brain, including a reduction in trophic factors and increased inflammation. We determined that human umbilical cord blood mononuclear cells (UCBMC) given peripherally, by an intravenous injection, could rejuvenate the proliferative activity of the aged neural stem/progenitor cells. This increase in proliferation lasted for at least 15 days after the delivery of the UCBMC. Along with the increase in proliferation following UCBMC treatment, an increase in neurogenesis was also found in the aged animals. The increase in neurogenesis as a result of UCBMC treatment seemed to be due to a decrease in inflammation, as a decrease in the number of activated microglia was found and this decrease correlated with the increase in neurogenesis. The results demonstrate that a single intravenous injection of UCBMC in aged rats can significantly improve the microenvironment of the aged hippocampus and rejuvenate the aged neural stem/progenitor cells. Our results raise the possibility of a peripherally administered cell therapy as an effective approach to improve the microenvironment of the aged brain.
A Method for Reducing Adaptor Misalignment when Testing Gloves Using ISO 10819

Objectives: International standard ISO 10819 was established in order to quantify the vibration attenuation characteristics of anti-vibration gloves. One problem that exists with the standard is possible misalignment of the palm adaptor that is placed underneath the test glove. If the adaptor becomes misaligned, the measured glove transmissibility will be lower than the actual value. A tri-axial accelerometer was installed in the adaptor and was used as the basis for providing visual feedback of the adaptor alignment to the test subjects. The objective of this study was to test the hypothesis that adaptor misalignment could be reduced by providing feedback to the test subjects. Methods: Eight male volunteers (mean age 24.8 yr) were used in the study. Each subject performed two sets of tests: the standard ISO 10819 glove test and the modified version. Three different anti-vibration gloves were tested. Glove transmissibility and adaptor misalignment were calculated for each glove. A three-way analysis of variance was used to analyze the results. Results: A comparison of the two testing methods showed that the modified glove testing method did reduce misalignment significantly, which, in turn, resulted in an increase in the measured glove transmissibility. Conclusions: The proposed method greatly improved the standard deviation of transmissibility and made the test results more consistent.
Robotic-assisted Roux-en-Y Gastric bypass: minimizing morbidity and mortality.

Despite the rapid acceptance of laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) by the community and increase in the number of these procedures being done, there is still significant morbidity and mortality. At the University of Texas Medical School at Houston, we have performed 320 RYGB with robotic assistance (RARYGB). Surgical times, length of stay, morbidity, and mortality have been recorded since the beginning of our robotic experience and represent the world’s largest single institution series of RARYGB. Outcome data were examined in a postoperative cohort. The average starting BMI was 49.1 kg/m2, and it declined by 66% to 32.5 kg/m2 by the end of 1 year. The average operative time was 192 min, and the average length of stay was 2.7 days. Within the first year, there were a total of 77 (24.1%) complications. The foremost complications noted in the literature to be 3% to 11% were all <1% in our series, and we have no mortalities. Compared to our 356 laparoscopic RYGB, there was a significantly lower gastrointestinal leak rate in the robotic arm. A cohort of 79 postoperative patients was analyzed with respect to weight loss, resolution of co-morbidity, and quality of life. While there was no variation in quality of life over time, weight loss, resolution of co-morbidities, and overall outcome score were significantly improved. We effectively perform robotic-assisted RYGB that lowers the morbidity and mortality of this procedure compared to today’s standard while maintaining thriving outcomes.
Etoposide treatment suppresses atherosclerotic plaque development in cholesterol-fed rabbits.

To study the mechanisms by which monocytes/macrophages and smooth muscle cells contribute to atherosclerotic lesions, we studied atherosclerotic plaque formation in cholesterol-fed rabbits treated with etoposide, a drug that has been shown to have several effects that could interfere with the proposed interactions between these two cell types (M.W. Aarnoudes et al, Virchows Arch B 1984;47:211-216 and M. Rozencweig et al, Cancer 1977;40:334-342). Our results show that long-term etoposide treatment of New Zealand White rabbits maintained on a high-cholesterol diet decreases the extent of fatty streak formation in the aortic intima. Moreover, the plaques formed in the presence of etoposide are thinner and at least focally have less fibrous tissue and fewer smooth muscle cell-derived foam cells than do plaques in control rabbits. These effects are independent of the extent of the diet-induced hyperlipemia or an effect of etoposide on blood cell count and may be related to the inhibition of intimal cell proliferation by etoposide.
Frances: A Tool for Understanding Computer Architecture and Assembly Language

Students in all areas of computing require knowledge of the computing device including software implementation at the machine level. Several courses in computer science curricula address these low-level details such as computer architecture and assembly languages. For such courses, there are advantages to studying real architectures instead of simplified examples. However, real architectures and instruction sets introduce complexity that makes them difficult to grasp in a single semester course. Visualization techniques can help ease this burden, unfortunately existing tools are often difficult to use and consequently difficult to adopt in a course where time is already limited. To solve this problem, we present Frances. Frances graphically illustrates key differences between familiar high-level languages and unfamiliar low-level languages and also illustrates how familiar high-level programs behave on real architectures. Key to this tool is that we use a simple Web interface that requires no setup, easing course adoption hurdles. We also include several features that further enhance its usefulness in a classroom setting. These features include graphical relationships between high-level code and machine code, clearly illustrated step-by-step machine state transitions, color coding to make instruction behavior clear, and illustration of pointers. We have used Frances in courses and performed experimental evaluation. Our experiences with Frances in the classroom demonstrate its usability. Most notably, in our experimental setting, students with no computer architecture course experience were able to complete lessons using Frances with no guidance.
Renal cortical abnormalities in siblings of index patients with vesicoureteral reflux.

OBJECTIVE: Screening siblings of index patients with vesicoureteral reflux (VUR) has been proposed to identify children who are at risk for renal damage. However, screening siblings for VUR remains controversial. We investigated the prevalence of VUR and renal cortical abnormalities in the sibling population in a large cohort of families with VUR. METHODS: Between 1998 and 2012, parents of index patients with grade III to V VUR were asked permission to screen siblings RESULTS: There were 318 siblings in 275 families in the study. VUR was found after screening in 190 (60%) siblings and after a UTI in 128 (40%). Multivariate analysis revealed that siblings who had a previous UTI (odds ratio: 3.38), siblings with high grade reflux (odds ratio: 3.62), and siblings over 1 year of age (odds ratio: 2.84) were the most significant independent risk factors associated with renal cortical abnormalities. CONCLUSIONS: There is increased risk of renal cortical abnormalities in siblings with a previous UTI, siblings with high-grade VUR, and siblings over age 1 year. This information may help to counsel parents about the risk of VUR and reflux nephropathy in familial VUR.