cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Barbies, Goddesses, and Entrepreneurs: Discourses of Gendered Digital Embodiment in Women’s Health Apps

AbstractThis study presents a qualitative analysis of mobile phone applications (apps) marketed to women for health management. Although previous research has focused on the efficacy of apps, resea...
An Alongshore Momentum Budget Over a Fringing Tropical Fore‐Reef

Author(s): Arzeno, Isabella B; Collignon, Audric; Merrifield, Mark; Giddings, Sarah N; Pawlak, Geno
Optimal Investment to Control "Red Air Day" Episodes: Lessons from Northern Utah, USA

We address the issue of optimal investment in ‘preventative capital’ to mitigate episodic, mobile-source air pollution events by calibrating an endogenous-risk model with parameter estimates obtain...
Concentrating risk? The geographic concentration of health risk from industrial air toxics across America

Abstract Despite consistent reports of large-scale declines in air pollution over the past several decades in the US, those declines have not been consistent across the landscape. Low-income and African American communities consistently remain exposed to higher levels of air pollution than non-Hispanic whites (Arde, 2015). Researchers have pointed to inequalities in environmental exposure as one contributor to racial disparities in health outcomes across the US (Juarez et al., 2014). This chapter explores the potential role of air pollution hotspots in creating and maintaining health disparities over time. Focusing on EPA Region 5 (Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, Wisconsin), we analyze the demographic characteristics of those block groups that were consistently hotspots for air pollution health risk for the four years following the Executive Order 12898 aimed at addressing these disparities. Estimates of the health risk of 572 industrial air toxics were obtained from the EPA Risk Screening Environmental Indicators Geographic Microdata (RSEI-GM). We find that the likelihood that an area becomes a hotspot, and the likelihood that it remains a hotspot over time is influenced by race and income. Block groups with greater percentage of low income African-Americans and Whites were more likely to become a hotspot over the time period studied. Block groups with a greater percentage of African-American residents were significantly more likely to remain hotspots over time, whereas hotspots with greater percentage of Hispanic residents were more likely to lose their hotspot status. This study revealed important information about the populations that are consistently exposed to toxic hotspots—and thus at the greatest risk for poor health outcomes. This is one step in understanding the potential role of hotspots in creating and maintaining disparities in health.
Bhais behaving badly: Vernacular masculinities in Hindi detective novels

This article considers some of the novels of towering modern Hindi language detective novelists Ved Prakash Sharma and Surender Mohan Pathak. The articulation of masculinity that each novelist prof...
In Vitro Regeneration of Plantlets from Cultured Tissues of Scots Pine (Pinus Sylvestris L.)

After germination and 4 weeks of culture on a modified Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium, apical slices from Scots pine seedlings, which included the base of the cotyledonary whorl subtended by a stub of hypocotyl, were established in culture. Adventitious buds developing on these apical slices were further multiplied at 1-to 2-month intervals. Two plantlets were regenerated when elongated adventitious shoots from these cultures were transferred to a rooting medium. Greater difficulty was encountered when ungerminated embryos were cultured; nevertheless, one plantlet was regenerated using this starting material. The 3 regenerated plantlets were transferred to vermiculite and maintained at high humidity for 2 months, during which time further shoot growth occurred.
Modeling Diffusion and Chemical Reactions to Analyze Redox-Based Molecular-Electrical Communication.

For more than a decade, Molecular Communication (MC), inspired by the natural way biological cells communicate, has been studied in engineering as the key paradigm for realizing computing and information systems increasingly integrated with biology. Broad application scenarios range from medical diagnostics and treatment, to biocompatible device and systems engineering. This paper focuses on a recently proposed technology able to transduce information from the MC domain to the electrical domain of classical circuits and systems. In particular, this is based on redox reactions, i. e., chemical processes where molecules exchange electrons, which play an important role in living systems. Based on these processes and a proof-of-concept prototype realized by our research collaborators, this paper addresses the computational modeling necessary to derive the design principles of such system. In particular, a stochastic simulation framework is developed to reproduce the transduction of information signals from the MC (input molecule concentration) to the electrical domain (output current). Numerical results from this framework, realized in MATLAB, are presented to evaluate the Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR), the Limit of Detection (LOD), and the Limit of Quantification (LOQ) of this transduction process as a function of the input concentration value. While at its preliminary stage, this framework has the potential to be foundational towards the engineering of a complete redox-based bio-hybrid electronics.
A Quantum Congress

This article tries to address the problem of a corrupt and broken electoral system that has been captured by special interests through big money spending in political campaigns, while at the same time preserving the spirit of the Free Speech Clause of our Constitution. In doing so, this article first reviews and summarizes the different alternatives proposed as potential fixes for the campaign finance problem. It then explains why none of the proposed alternatives can accomplish the dual goals set out above. Finally, the article briefly sketches a proposal for a fundamental reworking of our representative democracy by substituting legislative elections with a system for randomly choosing our legislators from the general population.
The interplay of age, period, and cohort effects on obesity and metabolic diseases in later life

Abstract Currently, 35% of older adults are obese and 25% have type 2 diabetes. The rates of obesity and its metabolic diseases will continue to rise in future cohorts, leading to even more disease burden among older adults. Population aging contributes to this projected growth but not all aging societies are facing this epidemic. In this chapter, we suggest that social scientists can employ an age–period–cohort (APC) framework to disentangle concurrent trends of population aging, cohort replacement, and phases of the nutrition transition to the Western diet. We present recent and historical research to illustrate APC effects, and discuss the “metabolic ghetto,” which is the increasing concentration of obesity and metabolic diseases in lower socioeconomic strata. We end by outlining social, policy, and individual level interventions that may make measurable reductions in obesity among older adults.
In Situ Simulation to Promote Residents as Resuscitation Leaders.

Objectives Our study sought to assess whether perceptions of residents as resuscitation team leaders could be improved by using emergency department (ED) in situ simulations involving ED staff. Secondarily, we monitored changes indicated in overall resuscitation team dynamics. Methods We conducted a prospective experimental study over the 2018-2019 academic year. Data were collected at a community-based ED with an emergency medicine residency program. Prior to starting the education, all ED staff including residents, attending physicians nurses and techs completed a survey of their perceptions of team performance and leadership during medical resuscitations. Throughout the year, residents and ED staff members were exposed to various in situ simulation scenarios. A follow-up survey was administered to reassess resident and ED staff perceptions of team dynamics and, specifically, residents as patient care team leaders. A relational coordination survey analysis was performed, dichotomized by professional domain. Results A total of 20 participants completed surveys before and after the in situ simulations, covering the professional domains with matched pre-simulation and post-simulation data showing significant improvement in communication and team dynamics for residents (p = 0.029) and other ED staff in medical resuscitations. Using residents as the team leaders for the simulation improved perceived leadership during resuscitation (p = 0.006). Conclusions Our study suggests that in situ simulation within the ED leads to improved team dynamics and defined roles while emphasizing the resident as a resuscitation leader.
Comparison of Stacked Sentinel-3 A&B and AltiKa Repeat Cycle Data

Sentinel-3 A&B radar altimeters yield sea surface height measurements in both a high-precision Synthetic Aperture Radar Mode (SARM), and a Pseudo-Low Resolution Mode (PLRM). We stacked repeat cycle...
Interreligiöse Dialoge im Mittelalter und in der frühen Neuzeit

Der Aufsatz behandelt die wahrscheinlich originellsten und reichhaltigsten interreligiosen Dialoge in der Zeit vom 12. bis zum 16. Jahrhundert, Peter Abalards Collationes (Dialogus inter philosophum, Judaeum et Christianum), Ramon Llulls Llibre del gentile dels tres savis, Nikolaus von Kues’ De pace fidei und Jean Bodins Colloquium heptaplomeres de rerum sublimium arcanis abditis. Er analysiert sowohl die Pragmatik des Umgangs miteinander als auch die wichtigsten theologisch-philosophischen Argumente, die ausgetauscht werden, und geht der Frage nach, was die Gegenwart von diesen Dialogen fur den interreligiosen Austausch lernen kann.
Improved Regret for Zeroth-Order Stochastic Convex Bandits

We present an efficient algorithm for stochastic bandit convex optimisation with no assumptions on smoothness or strong convexity and for which the regret is bounded by O(d^(4.5) sqrt(n) polylog(n)), where n is the number of interactions and d is the dimension.
Can Any Biomarker Predict the Temporal Behavior of Aging

Journals are filled with articles describing the creation of physiological biomarkers whose temporal behavior is attributed to aging. This paper explores whether it is even possible to create a biomarker capable of describing the temporal mortality dynamics of aging. Just as Medawar referred to aging as an unsolved problem in biology in his classic 1951 lecture, this article suggests that aging remains an unresolved problem in gerontology. The argument is also made that biomarkers of any biological phenomenon must be derived from the logic of an evidence-based conceptual framework or paradigm. As such, the variables used to construct a dataset for quantitative analysis must be related to the subject of interest. It is, therefore, unclear whether a database designed to study disease contains the variables needed to study the mortality dynamics of aging and its biomedical consequences.
Voting by Elderly Persons with Cognitive Impairment: Lessons from Other Democratic Nations

Modern democratic nations have designed electoral systems to achieve two fundamental goals: increasing enfranchisement and voting, and, assuring the integrity of the vote. Efforts to achieve these two objectives can generate a tension between them. As an example, postal voting (also called absentee balloting) has the benefit of allowing persons who cannot easily reach a polling place to vote from remote locations at some time prior to the day of the election. This is especially valuable to persons with disabilities that limit their ability to travel. But postal voting also increases the risk of fraud. Specifically, these ballots can be stolen and either cast by other people or destroyed. The magnitude of this problem can increase in congregate living settings where multiple voters cast absentee ballots. In short, there is a trade-off between an effort to enhance enfranchisement, in this case by postal voting, while at the same time assuring the integrity of the electoral process.The purpose of this paper is to examine and compare various nations’ electoral systems in order to understand how they address this trade-off. Our focus on voting by elderly persons, particularly those with cognitive impairments, highlights how well the various approaches succeed in simultaneously facilitating voting by vulnerable elderly persons while reducing the opportunities for deception and fraud.
Maspin expression in prostate tumor elicits host anti-tumor immunity

The goal of the current study is to examine the biological effects of epithelial-specific tumor suppressor maspin on tumor host immune response. Accumulated evidence demonstrates an anti-tumor effect of maspin on tumor growth, invasion and metastasis. The molecular mechanism underlying these biological functions of maspin is thought to be through histone deacetylase inhibition, key to the maintenance of differentiated epithelial phenotype. Since tumor-driven stromal reactivities co-evolve in tumor progression and metastasis, it is not surprising that maspin expression in tumor cells inhibits extracellular matrix degradation, increases fibrosis and blocks hypoxia-induced angiogenesis. Using the athymic nude mouse model capable of supporting the growth and progression of xenogeneic human prostate cancer cells, we further demonstrate that maspin expression in tumor cells elicits neutrophil- and B cells-dependent host tumor immunogenicity. Specifically, mice bearing maspin-expressing tumors exhibited increased systemic and intratumoral neutrophil maturation, activation and antibody-dependent cytotoxicity, and decreased peritumoral lymphangiogenesis. These results reveal a novel biological function of maspin in directing host immunity towards tumor elimination that helps explain the significant reduction of xenograft tumor incidence in vivo and the clinical correlation of maspin with better prognosis of several types of cancer. Taken together, our data raised the possibility for novel maspin-based cancer immunotherapies.
Relation between kernel CCA and kernel FDA

In this paper, relation between multi-class linear and kernel Fisher discriminant analysis (FDA) and linear and kernel canonical correlation analysis (CCA) is established. It is shown that in a multi-class classification problem, the CCA between feature vectors (or a nonlinearly mapped version of them) as one-channel and the class label vectors as the second channel is equivalent to multi-class FDA. The multi-class Fisher distance is found to be decomposed into a sum of terms, each of which is determined by a canonical correlation. This result is extended to the kernel formulation without explicit computation of the nonlinear mappings. A simple example is presented to numerically verify the results.
Access Barriers to and Unmet Needs for Home- and Community-Based Services Among Older Korean Americans

This cross-sectional survey study of 146 caregivers of older Korean Americans explored access barriers to and unmet needs for home- and community-based services (HCBS) programs (respite care, adult day care, personal care, home health, housekeeping, and transportation). Most often reported access barriers were lack of awareness and care recipient refusal. Predictors of unmet needs varied depending on the type of service, but included caregiver gender, relationship, education, caregiving duration, Medicaid coverage, English proficiency, caregiver self-efficacy, care recipient functional dependency, cognitive impairment, and caregiving hours. This study highlighted unmet needs for HCBS in Korean American communities, pointing to the pressing need for a collaborative effort to develop plans that modify and expand HCBS programs for older Korean Americans.
Locus-Specific Constitutive and Cytokine-Induced HLA Class I Gene Expression

Cytokine induction of the MHC class I genes increases the nascent molecules available for binding potentially antigenic peptides. The human H chain loci, HLA-A, -B, and -C, encode highly homologous and polymorphic mRNAs. Here, these transcripts were resolved and measured by competitive PCR of cDNA using locus-specific primers. Endothelial cells expressed many HLA-A and -B, but fewer HLA-C, transcripts. In contrast, HeLa cells expressed many HLA-A and -C, but fewer HLA-B, transcripts. The inflammatory cytokines TNF-α, IFN-β, and IFN-γ induced HLA-B strongly, but HLA-A and -C weakly in both cell types. Combined treatment with IFNs and TNF further increased HLA-A and -B, but not HLA-C transcripts. The constitutive and inducible activities of transfected promoters correlated well with mRNA levels. The weak IFN response of the HLA-A2 promoter was not due to variations in the IFN consensus sequence, the site α, or a 3-bp insertion between them. The HLA-Cw6 promoter was less TNF responsive due to a variant κB enhancer, which also reduced the IFN responses. The NF-κB subunit RelA strongly activated the HLA-A2 and - B7 promoters but only weakly activated the HLA-Cw6 promoter due to the variant κB. Cotransfecting NF-κB1 with RelA further increased activity of the HLA-A2 and - B7 , but not HLA-Cw6 , promoters. All three promoters were activated by MHC class II trans -activator, but not CREB-binding protein, whereas IFN regulatory factor-1 and -2 weakly activated the HLA-B7 and - Cw6 , but not HLA-A2 , promoters. These studies illustrate common and locus-specific mechanisms that may be targeted to modulate immune reactions.
Comparison of endovascular treatment approaches for acute ischemic stroke: cost effectiveness, technical success, and clinical outcomes

Introduction The use of mechanical thrombectomy for the treatment of acute ischemic stroke has significantly advanced over the last 5 years. Few data are available comparing the cost and clinical and angiographic outcomes associated with available techniques. The aim of this study is to compare the cost and efficacy of current endovascular stroke therapies. Methods A single-center retrospective review was performed of the medical record and hospital financial database of all ischemic stroke cases admitted from 2009 to 2013. Three discrete treatment methodologies used during this time were compared: traditional Penumbra System (PS), stent retriever with local aspiration (SRLA) and A Direct Aspiration first Pass Technique (ADAPT). Statistical analyses of clinical and angiographic outcomes and costs for each group were performed. Results 222 patients (45% men) underwent mechanical thrombectomy. Successful revascularization was defined as Thrombolysis In Cerebral Infarction (TICI) 2b/3 flow, which was achieved in 79% of cases with PS, 83% of cases with SRLA, and 95% of cases with ADAPT. The average total cost of hospitalization for patients was $51 599 with PS, $54 700 with SRLA, and $33 611 with ADAPT (p Conclusions The ADAPT technique represents the most technically successful yet cost-effective approach to revascularization of large vessel intracranial occlusions.
A note on the matrix ordering of special c-matrices☆

Abstract The matrix inequality (∗) Δt − tt′ ⩽ Δr − rr′ is considered, where t and r are positive stochastic vectors, and Δt and Δr are diagonal matrices with t and r on their diagonals. Necessary and sufficient conditions are established (1) for (∗) to hold when t and r are given, and (2) for the existence of some vector r satisfying (∗) when t is given. The results have applications in various parts of statistics.
Asymptotic behaviors of some measures of accuracy in nonparametric curve estimation with dependent observations

Under the i.i.d. condition, Marron and Hardle (1986, J. Multivariate Anal.20 91-113) showed that quadratic measures of errors for nonparametric kernel estimates are asymptotically equivalent, and Hall (1984, J. Multivariate Anal.14 1-16) investigated their convergence rates. In this article, we extend their results to the dependent case. In addition, the effect of dimension on the convergence rates will be discussed.
Inhibition of rat brain mitochondrial calcium transport by chlordecone

Abstract Assessment of 45 Ca 2+ transport in rat brain mitochondria following in vitro and in vivo exposures to the neurotoxic insecticide chlordecone revealed a locus for chlordecone's mitochondrial impairment in the coupling reactions of oxidative phosphorylation. Mitochondrial 45 Ca 2+ transport supported by either 2 m m succinate (free energy supplied via electron transport) or 800 μ m ATP (free energy supplied via the Mg 2+ ATPase reaction) was inhibited by low concentrations of chlordecone (10 −8 –10 −5 m ). Administration of a tremorigenic dose (40 mg/kg, po) of chlordecone to rats similarly inhibited both succinate- and ATP-supported 45 Ca 2+ uptake in brain mitochondria in vitro . Studies on the subcellular distribution of [ 14 C]chlordecone in rat brain following in vivo administrations were compared to those on the mitochondrial uptake of [ 14 C]chlordecone in vitro . Administration of the 40-mg/kg tremorigenic dose of chlordecone produced mitochondrial chlordecone concentrations which were comparable to the tissue concentrations achieved by exposing mitochondria to a 2 × 10 −6 m concentration of chlordecone in vitro . These data lend further support for mitochondrial inhibition as a mechanism for chlordecone toxicity.
Utilizing the Lability of Lead Selenide to Produce Heterostructured Nanocrystals with Bright, Stable Infrared Emission

Infrared-emitting nanocrystal quantum dots (NQDs) have enormous potential as an enabling technology for applications ranging from tunable infrared lasers to biological labels. Notably, lead chalcogenide NQDs, especially PbSe NQDs, provide efficient emission over a large spectral range in the infrared, but their application has been limited by instability in emission quantum yield and peak position on exposure to ambient conditions. Conventional methods for improving NQD stability by applying a shell of a more stable, wider band gap semiconductor material are frustrated by the tendency of lead chalcogenide NQDs toward Ostwald ripening at even moderate reaction temperatures. Here, we describe a partial cation-exchange method in which we take advantage of this lability to controllably synthesize PbSe/CdSe core/shell NQDs. Critically, these NQDs are stable against fading and spectral shifting. Further, these NQDs can undergo additional shell growth to produce PbSe/CdSe/ZnS core/shell/shell NQDs that represent...
Head Normal Form Bisimulation for Pairs and the \lambda\mu-Calculus

Bohm tree equivalence up to possibly infinite \eta expansion for the pure \lambda-calculus can be characterized as a bisimulation equivalence. We call this co-inductive syntactic theory extensional head normal form bisimilarity and in this paper we extend it to the \lambdaFP-calculus (the \lamda-calculus with functional and surjective pairing) and to two untyped variants of Parigots \lambda\mu-calculus. We relate the extensional head normal form bisimulation theories for the different calculi via Fujitas extensional CPS transform into the \lambdaFPcalculus. We prove that extensional hnf bisimilarity is fully abstract for the pure \lambda-calculus by a co-inductive reformulation of Barendregts proof for Bohm tree equivalence up to possibly infinite \eta expansion. The proof uses the so-called Bohm-out technique from Bohms proof of the Separation Property for the \lambda-calculus. Moreover, we extend the full abstraction result to extensional hnf bisimilarity for the \lambdaFP-calculus. For the "standard" \lambda\mu-calculus, the Separation Property fails, as shown by David and Py, and for the same reason extensional hnf bisimilarity is not fully abstract. However, an "extended" variant of the \lambda\mu-calculus satisfies the Separation Property, as shown by Saurin, and we show that extensional hnf bisimilarity is fully abstract for this extended \lambda\mu-calculus.
Synthesis of α-methylene-γ-butyrolactone via transition metal carbene complexes

Abstract The anion of (2-oxacyclopentylidene)pentacarbonylchromium(0), (I), is alkylated by addition to ClCH2OCH3 to give (-5methoxymethyl-2-oxacyclopentylidene)pentacarbonylchromium(0), (VI), and (5,5-dimethoxymethyl-2-oxacyclopentylidene)pentacarbonylchromium(0), VII, in 45 and 13% yields, respectively, as well as (5-hydroxymethyl-2-oxacyclopentylidene)pentacarbonylchromium(0), (VIII), and (5-hydroxymethyl-5-methoxymethyl-2-oxacyclopentylidene)pentacarbonylchromium(0), (IX), in a combined yield of 18%. Methanol and water are eliminated from VI and VIII, respectively, to give 64% of (5-exo-methylene-2-oxacyclopentylidene)pentacarbonylchromium(0), (IV), which affords 76% α-methylene-γ-butyrolactone, (X), upon oxidation by ceric ion. Direct addition of one-half equivalent of ClCH2OCH3 to the anion of I gave a 74% yield of the methylene bridged dimer V. Addition of excess ClCH2OCH3 to the bis(triphenylphosphine)iminium salt of the anion of I gave primarily VI (38%).
Dosimetric parameters of Enhanced Dynamic Wedge for treatment planning and verification

Treatment planning for Enhanced Dynamic Wedge requires a knowledge of the dosimetric parameters of the treatment fields. These dosimetric parameters include depth doses, surface doses, buildup doses, peripheral doses, beam profiles, wedge angles and wedge factors. These parameters and their application to treatment planning are evaluated and compared with standard open field and metal wedge field dosimetric parameters.
Dietary cholate is required for antiatherogenic effects of ethanol in mouse models.

Background: Human consumption of moderate amounts of ethanol is associated with reduced cardiovascular events. Studies examining the effect of ethanol on atherosclerosis in mouse models have yielded conflicting results that may be due to differences in dietary fat and cholate content. To determine if dietary cholate influences ethanol's effect on atherosclerosis, we fed apolipoprotein E−/− and low-density lipoprotein receptor (LDLR)−/− mice different liquid diets with or without ethanol. Methods: Apolipoprotein E−/− mice were fed a low-fat or high saturated fat, cholate-containing diet with or without ethanol for 3 to 10 weeks, and LDLR−/− mice were fed a low-fat, high saturated fat, or high saturated fat diet with cholate with or without ethanol for 7 weeks. At the end of the feeding study, aortic root lesion size was determined and compared with serum cholesterol, triglycerides, and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol. Because dietary cholate increases hepatic nuclear factor (NF)-κB and ethanol inhibits NF-κB, we also examined the effect of ethanol on aortic NF-κB binding activity. Results: Adding ethanol to a low-fat diet had no effect on lesion size. Similarly, ethanol had no effect on lesion size in LDLR−/− mice consuming a high saturated fat diet. Adding ethanol to a high-fat, cholate-containing diet for either strain resulted in a 25% to 50% reduction in lesion size. Dietary cholate increased and ethanol reduced NF-κB binding activity in the aorta. Conclusions: These results suggest that ethanol inhibits atherosclerosis in the presence of dietary cholate, which may occur via an anti-inflammatory mechanism.
A pigmentation-associated, differentiation antigen of human melanoma defined by a precipitating antibody in human serum.

Antibodies in the serum of melanoma patient AU precipitate an antigen from 125I-labelled extracts of cultured autologous melanoma cells. The antigen, which is probably not a cell surface component, is present in other pigmented melanomas but not in non-pigmented melanomas or other tumor cell types, and the amount of antigen is correlated with the degree of pigmentation. These conclusions are based on absorption experiments with 11 pigmented melanomas, 8 non-pigmented melanomas, 3 astrocytomas, 12 carcinomas of various histological types, 1 leukemia, 2 EB-virus-transformed B lymphocyte lines, and human erythrocytes. The antigen was also detected in cultured human melanocytes. It has a molecular weight of 70,000, an isoelectric point of pH 5.3, and it binds to concanavalin A-Sepharose. Ninety-six sera from other melanoma patients were examined and none of them precipitated this antigen. As described previously, the serum from patient AU also has antibodies to a unique (Class 1) tumor antigen found only on AU melanoma cells. The pigmentation-associated, differentiation antigen and the unique antigen are clearly different in their distribution, but some relationship between these unusual antibody responses is possible.
Standard Weights (Ws ) for Striped Bass, White Bass, and Hybrid Striped Bass

Abstract We developed relationships between standard weight (Ws , g) and total length (TL, mm) for striped bass Morone saxatilis, white bass M. chrysops, and palmetto bass M. saxatilis ♀ × M. chrysops ♂ by use of the regression-line–percentile (RLP) technique. The proposed 75th-percentile-based Ws equations are: log10 Ws = –4.924 + 3.007 log10TL for striped bass; log10 Ws = –5.066 + 3.081 log10TL for white bass; and log10 Ws = –5.201 + 3.139 log10 TL for hybrid striped bass. These formulae produced distributions for individual and population-mean relative-weight (Wr ) values similar to those observed for other species in earlier studies (Wr = 100·W / Ws ). The previously defined target range for Wr encompassed reasonable proportions of striped bass, white bass, and hybrid striped bass in the present study. The 75th-percentile weights for centimeter classes provided log10weight-log10length relationships that may be characterized as better than average. There were no appreciable length-related trends observ...
Heat kernel asymptotics on manifolds with conic singularities

The Laplacian acting onk-forms on a manifold with isolated conic singularities is not in general an essentially self-adjoint operator. The heat kernels for self-adjoint extensions of the Laplacian on these metric spaces are described as functions conormal to a manifold with corners. The heat kernel for a given self-adjoint extension is constructed from the Friedrichs heat kernel. The terms in the difference of the heat trace expansions are shown to supply information parametrizing the extension.
Fractionation of oyster cilia inhibitor from cystic fibrosis heterozygote serum.

Abstract A serum factor found in cystic fibrosis heterozygotes responsible for ciliary asynchrony on gills of the oyster Crassostrea virginica was prepared by ion exchange chromatography and isoelectric focusing. The cationic factor, characterized by an isoelectric point of 8.54, migrated as a single symmetrical band in acrylamide gel electrophoresis. A purified serum factor has considerable potential for detecting heterozygotes and determining the metabolic basis of the disease.
Finite-size effects in Cu-Mn spin glasses

Finite-size effects in the spin glass (SG) Cu-Mn have been studied using magnetron-sputtered multilayer systems (MS's) of the form Cu{sub 1{minus}{ital x}}Mn{sub {ital x}}/Cu and Cu{sub 1{minus}{ital x}}Mn{sub {ital x}}/Si with {ital x}=0.04, 0.07, 0.14 (and some data for 0.21). The SG layers have widths {ital W}{sub Cu-Mn} ranging from 10 000 to 20 A and are separated and magnetically decoupled from each other by interlayers of either 300 A of Cu or 70 A of Si. The MS's continue to show SG peaks in the zero-field-cooled (ZFC) dc'' magnetic susceptibility {chi} down to {ital W}{sub Cu-Mn}=20 A. The quasistatic freezing temperature {ital T}{sub {ital f}} (defined as the location of the peak in {chi}) begins to decrease from its bulk value, {ital T}{sub {ital f}}{sup {ital b}}, at {ital W}{sub Cu-Mn}{approx}1000 A and approaches zero for SG thicknesses 0{le}{ital W}{sub Cu-Mn}{le}10 A with Cu interlayers or 30 A{le}{ital W}{sub Cu-Mn}{le}35 A with Si interlayers.
Who will be responsible? The authentication and preservation of government digital information

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to discuss the authentication and preservation of government digital information. The Government Printing Office (GPO) has been the official distributor of government information for 147 years and charged with assuring authenticity of all published government documents. Most federal information is now “born digital” and the GPO is evolving into an electronic information repository. Digital technology has made editing and altering documents easy, making authentication a prominent issue. Through the Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP), the federal depository libraries (FDLs) have been providing preservation and access to government information for almost 200 years. In its 2007 Annual Report, the GPO claims its planning on assigning the duties of authenticating and preserving electronic documents to the FDLs.Design/methodology/approach – Areas discussed include the GPO and authentication, the FDLP, the depository libraries and preservation, policy and technologica...
On the development of a new methodology for groundwater‐Driven health risk assessment

A methodology and hypothetical case study are presented for incorporation of uncertainty and variability into calculations of human health risk appropriate for regional, or basin-scale, groundwater management problems. Uncertainty in well water concentration is introduced through complex contaminant migration patterns in the subsurface. Variability is considered in parameters related to individual behavior patterns and biological effects and to groundwater extraction and distribution networks. A joint uncertainty and variability (JUV) analysis is used to generate a two-dimensional distribution or risk surface that spans both transport uncertainty as well as individual variability. Cuts in this distributional surface (fractiles of variability and percentiles of uncertainty) are presented and discussed. Comparisons with alternative approaches based upon deterministic transport models are also made. In addition, important distinctions are made between the case where household water is derived from the nearest well and the case where household water is mixed from many wells in a distribution system.
Using a social capital framework to enhance measurement of the nursing work environment.

Aim To develop, field test and analyse a social capital survey instrument for measuring the nursing work environment. Background The concept of social capital, which focuses on improving productive capacity by examining relationships and networks, may provide a promising framework to measure and evaluate the nurse work environment in a variety of settings. Methods A survey instrument for measuring social capital in the nurse work environment was developed by adapting the World Bank's Social Capital – Integrated Questionnaire (SC-IQ). Exploratory factor analysis and multiple regression analyses were applied to assess the properties of the instrument. Results The exploratory factor analysis yielded five factors that align well with the social capital framework, while reflecting unique aspects of the nurse work environment. Conclusion The results suggest that the social capital framework provides a promising context to assess the nurse work environment. Further work is needed to refine the instrument for a diverse range of health-care providers and to correlate social capital measures with quality of patient care. Implications for nursing management Social capital measurement of the nurse work environment has the potential to provide managers with an enhanced set of tools for building productive capacity in health-care organisations and achieving desired outcomes.
EFFECTS OF DIFFERENT SYMBOLIC CODING STIMULI IN BEHAVIOR MODELING TRAINING

Three types of learning points (behavioral, summary label, and rule-oriented) and a no-learning point control condition were compared in terms of their effects on two dependent variables (reproduction and generalization) in a behavior modeling training laboratory experiment (N= 80). Multivariate analysis of variance revealed that individuals who had been randomly assigned to the rule-oriented and behavioral learning point conditions were able to generalize and reproduce the key behaviors better than a no learning point control condition. Those in the rule-oriented condition were able to generalize the modeled behaviors to novel conditions more so than individuals assigned the behavioral learning point condition. Those who had received the behavioral learning points were able to imitate the modeled performance better than individuals in the rule-oriented condition. Those who received the summary label learning points were not able to a reproduce, but could generalize the modeled behaviors to a different setting. There was no difference found between the summary label and rule-oriented conditions on the generalization dependent variable.
Analytic continuation of the doubly-periodic Barnes zeta function

The aim of this work is to study the analytic continuation of the doubly-periodic Barnes zeta function. By using a suitable complex integral representation as a starting point we find the meromorphic extension of the doubly periodic Barnes zeta function to the entire complex plane in terms of a real integral containing the Hurwitz zeta function and the first Jacobi theta function. These allow us to explicitly give expressions for the derivative at all non-positive integer points.
A Case of an Infant with Flail Tricuspid Valve Due to Spontaneous Papillary Muscle Rupture: Was Neonatal Lupus the Culprit?

A 3-month-old infant presented in extremis with a flail tricuspid valve. The authors theorized that the genesis of her papillary muscle rupture was perinatal ischemia compounded by worsening pulmonary valvular stenosis leading to excessive fiber tension. Her underlying diagnosis of autoimmune-mediated heart block with endocardial fibroelastosis and prenatal glucocorticoid steroid treatment represents potentiating factors.
Heterogeneous and Anomalous Diffusion inside Lipid Tubules

Self-assembled lipid tubules with crystalline bilayer walls are promising candidates for controlled drug delivery vehicles on the basis of their ability to release preloaded biological molecules in a sustained manner. While a previous study has shown that the release rate of protein molecules from lipid tubules depends on the associated molecular mass, suggesting that the pertinent diffusion follows the well-known Stokes−Einstein relationship, only a few attempts have been made toward investigating the details of molecular diffusion in the tubule interior. Herein, we have characterized the diffusion rates of several molecules encapsulated in lipid tubules formed by 1,2-bis(10,12-tricosadiynoyl)-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (DC8,9PC) using the techniques of fluorescence recovery after photobleaching (FRAP) and fluorescence correlation spectroscopy (FCS). Our results show that the mobility of these molecules depends not only on their positions in the DC8,9PC tubules but also on their respective concentration...
Bank Lending Channel Effectiveness and Loan Sales in the US

This paper examines whether banks that sell loans in the secondary market respond differently to a monetary policy innovation from those that do not engage in loan sales. We answer this question by measuring the policy response while controlling for loan sales activities. Using a simple theoretical model and U.S. bank-level Call Report longitudinal data for the period 1991Q1-2008 Q4, we conduct a dynamic panel regression analysis. We find that the long-run response to a typical policy shock is three times greater for mid-size banks engaging in loan sales. Given the increase in proportion of banks engaging in loan sales, this finding has strong implications for policy makers and bank industry volatility.
Racial/ethnic differences in the association of triglycerides with other metabolic syndrome components: the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis.

Abstract Objective: The aim of this study was to examine whether there are ethnic differences in the association of triglycerides (TG) with waist circumference (WC), blood pressure, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), fasting glucose, and insulin resistance and to examine the disparities in the prevalence of the metabolic syndrome components between African Americans and non-Hispanic whites who do not have hypertriglyceridemia. Methods: This study used the baseline data from the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA) study. The analysis included non-Hispanic whites (N = 2,427) and African Americans (N = 1,519) aged 45–84 years free of clinically evident cardiovascular disease and diabetes at baseline. The revised National Cholesterol Education Program (NCEP) criteria were used to define the metabolic syndrome and its components. Results: African Americans had lower prevalence of elevated TG as compared with non-Hispanic whites. The association of TG with other components of the metabolic s...
Genomic gems: SINE RNAs regulate mRNA production

Mammalian short interspersed elements (SINEs) are abundant retrotransposons that have long been considered junk DNA; however, RNAs transcribed from mouse B2 and human Alu SINEs have recently been found to control mRNA production at multiple levels. Upon cell stress B2 and Alu RNAs bind RNA polymerase II (Pol II) and repress transcription of some protein-encoding genes. Bi-directional transcription of a B2 SINE establishes a boundary that places the growth hormone locus in a permissive chromatin state during mouse development. Alu RNAs embedded in Pol II transcripts can promote evolution and proteome diversity through exonization via alternative splicing. Given the diverse means by which SINE encoded RNAs impact production of mRNAs, this genomic junk is proving to contain hidden gems.
Traumatic intracranial aneurysm after penetrating brain trauma.

A patient sustained a gunshot, which entered the nose and exited the parietal region. The patient was intubated, with reactive pupils and minimal extremity movement (Glasgow Coma Scale 3 T). Initial CT angiogram was unrevealing, but MRI performed 1 week later revealed a 4.5 mm traumatic intracranial aneurysm (TICA) close to the bullet path (figure 1A). Cerebral angiography confirmed the aneurysm (figure 1B), and the patient underwent coil embolisation of it with sacrifice of the distal pericallosal artery using …
The content of ambulatory medical care in the United States. An interspecialty comparison.

Abstract Ambulatory care, accounting for over half a billion visits to physicians per year, is a major component of the health-care system and is the core of primary health care. This study uses data from the National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey to describe the most common problems seen in an ambulatory-care setting, to identify the medical specialties that provide the greater part of this care, and to characterize the major specialties in terms of the diagnoses in the patients who constitute their ambulatory practice. Fifteen diagnosis clusters account for 50 per cent of all ambulatory-care visits; only 8 of the 28 specialties account for a substantial amount (more than 25 per cent) of the ambulatory care rendered to patients with any of these 15 diagnoses. General and family physicians, general internists, and general pediatricians account for 65.9 per cent of all outpatient visits to physicians for the 15 most common problems; general and family physicians alone are responsible for more than half th...
Escape analysis for Java

This paper presents a simple and efficient data flow algorithm for escape analysis of objects in Java programs to determine (i) if an object can be allocated on the stack; (ii) if an object is accessed only by a single thread during its lifetime, so that synchronization operations on that object can be removed. We introduce a new program abstraction for escape analysis, the connection graph, that is used to establish reachability relationships between objects and object references. We show that the connection graph can be summarized for each method such that the same summary information may be used effectively in different calling contexts. We present an interprocedural algorithm that uses the above property to efficiently compute the connection graph and identify the non-escaping objects for methods and threads. The experimental results, from a prototype implementation of our framework in the IBM High Performance Compiler for Java, are very promising. The percentage of objects that may be allocated on the stack exceeds 70% of all dynamically created objects in three out of the ten benchmarks (with a median of 19%), 11% to 92% of all lock operations are eliminated in those ten programs (with a median of 51%), and the overall execution time reduction ranges from 2% to 23% (with a median of 7%) on a 333 MHz PowerPC workstation with 128 MB memory.
Levels of High Energy Phosphate in the Dorsal Skin of the Foot in Normal and Diabetic Adults: The Role of 31P Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy and Direct Quantification with High Pressure Liquid Chromatography

Determining viability of tissues and wound-healing potential in diabetic patients remains a significant challenge. Current methods for preoperative assessment of wound-healing potential (pressures in the ankle, temperature of tissues, transcutaneous measurements of oxygen, and systemic nutritional status) are indirect, in that they characterize the delivery of oxygen or other nutrients to the cells. A noninvasive means to measure adenosine triphosphate (ATP) and phosphocreatine (PCr), the fundamental high energy phosphate substrates of oxidative energy-metabolism in the skin, has been devised by using magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS). The signal-to-noise ratio of bioenergetic metabolites in the skin was 86% lower in five patients with diabetes who had ischemia of the lower extremity compared with five control subjects (P < 0.0001), suggesting that the concentration of high energy metabolites in diabetic patients was reduced. The ratio of ATP/phosphocreatine (PCr) in patients with diabetes was also significantly lower than in controls (P < 0.01). Chewing a single piece of nicotine gum reduced the measured concentrations of ATP and PCr in control subjects by an average of 18% and by an average of 75% in subjects with diabetes. To verify these results in a second experiment, skin was harvested from the surgical wound sites in eight patients with diabetes undergoing elective amputation, eight patients with diabetes undergoing elective foot surgery, and ten age-matched control (nondiabetic) patients undergoing elective foot surgery. Analysis of ATP and PCr using high pressure liquid chromatography corroborated MRS findings, showing a significant reduction in ATP and PCr in diabetic skin. Depression of metabolites was more severe in the patients with diabetes undergoing amputation than in the ones undergoing elective surgery. Results demonstrate depression of metabolites in the skin of patients with diabetes and suggest that MRS with 31p may be useful in characterizing metabolites in the skin.
Porous layer open-tubular capillary columns: preparations, applications and future directions

Porous-layer open-tubular (PLOT) columns, first suggested by Golay in the late 1950s, have been developed and commercialized successfully. PLOT columns have since become powerful and routine tools in gas chromatographic analyses of fixed gases, light hydrocarbons and volatile solvents. They often replace traditional packed columns. However, there are still many unknowns in the development and the applications of PLOT columns. The future of PLOT columns seems less clear. This paper reviews the history of PLOT column development and its applications including practical aspects of PLOT columns. Some speculation of future development is also provided.