cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Onychomycosis: Treatment and prevention of recurrence

Onychomycosis is a fungal nail infection caused by dermatophytes, nondermatophytes, and yeast, and is the most common nail disorder seen in clinical practice. It is an important problem because it may cause local pain, paresthesias, difficulties performing activities of daily living, and impair social interactions. The epidemiology, risk factors, and clinical presentation and diagnosis of onychomycosis were discussed in the first article in this continuing medical education series. In this article, we review the prognosis and response to onychomycosis treatment, medications for onychomycosis that have been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration, and off-label therapies and devices. Methods to prevent onychomycosis recurrences and emerging therapies are also described.
Ordinal decision making with a notion of acceptable: denoted ordinal scales

Our concern is with the problem of constructing decision functions to aid in making decision under uncertainty. We discuss the tradeoff that has to be made, when selecting a scale for representing our possible payoffs, between the power of the scale and the burden of the scale. We consider here the situation in which our basic scale is an ordinal scale, however we augment this scale by allowing an additional notion, a classification of payoffs as to whether they are acceptable or not. This allows us to have information such as A is preferred to B but both are acceptable. We indicate that this formally corresponds to an ordinal scale with a denoted element and call such a scale a Denoted Ordinal Scale (DOS). It is shown that this augmentation of the ordinal scale increases the power of the scale and therefore allows us to built more sophisticated decision models.
Antinuclear antibodies in apparently healthy women with breast implants.

There has been much controversy about whether women with breast implants are at increased risk for autoimmune disease, particularly scleroderma [1–7]. Associations between breast implants and autoimmunity have been asserted [8–10] nd denied [11–14]. We performed a cross-sectional analysis of two cohorts of women with breast implants who considered themselves healthy together with suitable controls. A serum test for antinuclear antibodies (ANA) was the laboratory marker studied.
Imaging Yellowstone magmatic system by the joint Gramian inversion of gravity and magnetotelluric data

Abstract Gravity and long-period magnetotelluric data are combined in a joint Gramian inversion to obtain structurally-similar 3D density and electrical resistivity models of the Yellowstone magmatic feeding system. Structural constraints are enforced through a correlation of the model gradients. Gravity data are sensitive to upper-crustal structure, whereas long-period magnetotelluric data are more sensitive to deeper structure. By combining these complementary data, the jointly inverted models provide a consistent image of the partially molten structure underlying the Yellowstone Caldera from the surface to the Moho. Discrete zones of inferred partial melt in the upper and lower crust are fed by a southwest trending plume, and satisfy expectations from modern mantle plume models.
Inhibition of Megakaryocyte Differentiation in Vivo by E2F-1

The transcription factor E2F-1 plays a central role in the cell cycle through its ability to activate genes involved in cell division (La Thangue, 1994; Nevins, 1992). E2F-1 activity is regulated directly by retinoblastoma (Flemington et al., 1993; Helin et al., 1993) and indirectly by the cyclin dependent kinases (Skapek et al., 1995) and their inhibitors (Halevy et al., 1995; Parker et al., 1995), regulators that are known to affect differentiation. Here we investigated a potential role of E2F-1 in differentiation by assaying the ability of megakaryocytes to form platelets in an in vivo transgenic model. E2F-1 expression in megakaryocytes blocked differentiation during maturation resulting in severe thrombocytopenia and apoptosis. Furthermore, E2F-1 caused massive megakaryocyte accumulation in both normal and ectopic sites, first evident in E15 embryonic liver. These data indicate that E2F-1 can prevent terminal differentiation directly through its cell cycle stimulatory activity.
Das Konzept des Shared Decision Making am Beispiel der Nierenersatztherapie in der Nephrologie

Die gesundheitspolitische Bedeutung der chronischen Nierenerkrankung und der Dialysetherapie wurde in Deutschland noch nicht hinreichend erkannt. Von den beiden medizinisch gleichwertigen Dialyseverfahren Hamodialyse (HD) und Peritonealdialyse (PD) konnte sich die PD in Deutschland mit einem Anteil von etwa 6 % im internationalen Vergleich bislang nur wenig etablieren. Die Daten der deutschen CORETH-Studie weisen auf die Wirtschaftlichkeit der PD hin, bemerken aber eine unzureichende Beteiligung der Patienten bei der Wahl des Dialyseverfahrens. Diese Wahl sollte idealerweise in einem Prozess der Partizipativen Entscheidungsfindung (englisch: Shared Decision Making, SDM) gleichberechtigt zwischen Arzt und Patient erfolgen. Dies kann auf Patientenseite zu groserer Behandlungszufriedenheit und besseren Therapieergebnissen fuhren. Wie in anglo-amerikanischen Leitlinien bereits gefordert, ware auch im deutschen Gesundheitswesen eine starkere Implementierung des SDM zu befurworten. Im Hinblick auf die deutsche Dialyseversorgung konnte dies eine Starkung der Heimdialyse sowie einen gesundheitsokonomischen Benefit bedeuten.
Hurricanes, El Niño and harmful algal blooms in two sub-tropical Florida estuaries: Direct and indirect impacts.

Future increases in the intensity of hurricanes and El Nino periods predicted by climate change models have focused attention on their role in stimulating harmful algal blooms (HABs). A series of hurricanes that recently impacted Florida (USA) provided a unique opportunity to explore the relationships between hurricanes, El Nino and HABs in two Florida estuaries subject to repeated intense ecosystem disruptive HABs, the Indian River Lagoon and the St. Lucie Estuary. The roles that hurricanes and El Nino play in contributing to HAB events are examined in the context of key structural and functional features of each estuary and their watersheds, including morphology, water residence time and hydrology, such as the influence of Lake Okeechobee discharges into the St. Lucie Estuary. The most direct impact was the increase in rainfall associated with hurricanes and El Nino, resulting in enhanced nutrient loads which drive HABs in the Indian River Lagoon and Lake Okeechobee. Major HABs in Lake Okeechobee also present an indirect threat of freshwater HAB blooms in the St. Lucie Estuary via mandated discharges from the lake into the estuary during high rainfall periods. Conversely, during the absence of HABs in Lake Okeechobee, short water residence times produced by discharges into the St. Lucie Estuary can result in lower bloom intensities.
Postoperative Admission, Readmission, and Complications for Patients 60 Years and Older Who Are Undergoing an Isolated Sling Procedure for Stress Incontinence: A Database Study.

Objective The aim of the study was to determine the effect of increasing age on postoperative admission, readmission, and complications for patients 60 years and older who underwent a synthetic or autologous sling procedure for stress incontinence. Methods A retrospective cohort study of surgical cases from 2012 to 2017 from the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program database was conducted. Eligible patients were at least 60 years old and underwent an isolated sling procedure for stress incontinence identified by Current Procedural Terminology code 57288. Baseline demographics, preoperative comorbidities, and postoperative complications were obtained. Risk ratios (RRs) and 95% confidence intervals were calculated using log-binomial regressions. Results Of 3,960 eligible patients, 634 (16.0%) were admitted postoperatively. Admission rates differed across age groups (P = 0.04). For example, compared with patients aged 60-64 years, those aged 70-74 years had 1.3 times the risk of admission (95% confidence interval, 1.04-1.6). Other risk factors for admission included diabetes (RR, 1.3) and hypertension (RR, 1.2). Patients who had general anesthesia had 6.3 times the risk of admission compared with those who had monitored anesthesia/intravenous sedation. There were 72 patients (1.8%) readmitted within 30 days. There was no association between age and readmission. Risk factors for readmission included diabetes (RR, 1.8), bleeding disorders (RR, 3.4), severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (RR, 3.7), and congestive heart failure (RR, 11.3). There were 192 complications (4.8%), including 45 major complications (1.1%). Conclusions Among patients 60 years and older, the risk of postoperative admission and readmission for patients undergoing a synthetic or autologous sling procedure is low and complications are uncommon.
Use of cardiac radiation therapy as bridging therapy to CAR-T for relapsed pediatric B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

The use of radiotherapy as bridging therapy to chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy (CAR-T) in pre-B acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL) has been minimally explored. Here, we present a boy with B-ALL who relapsed after allogeneic bone marrow transplant with disseminated disease, including significant symptomatic cardiovascular and gastrointestinal (GI) involvement. The cardiac and GI leukemic infiltrates were successfully treated with bridging radiation therapy (BRT) prior to CAR-T infusion. Using this approach, he successfully tolerated CAR-T with no evidence of disease or sequelae on 3-month follow-up. This is the first reported case of safe and effective delivery of cardiac BRT in B-ALL.
Do EITC expansions pay for themselves? Effects on tax revenue and government transfers

Abstract This paper calculates the EITC’s net cost by estimating effects, both direct and through recipients’ behavioral changes, on tax revenue and government transfer spending. We show that the EITC increases labor supply and income, thereby increasing the taxes households pay and reducing the government transfer payments they receive. Using linked IRS–CPS data and several EITC policy changes, and focusing on married and unmarried women, we find that the EITC’s net cost is only 17 percent of the ($70 billion) budgetary cost over a one-year period. Although the EITC is one of the U.S.’s largest and most important public assistance programs, the EITC is actually one of the U.S.’s least expensive anti-poverty programs.
Robust Modeling of GNSS Tropospheric Delay Dynamics

In this article, we develop new stochastic tropospheric error models for positioning, fault detection, and integrity monitoring over time. We first perform time-domain and frequency-domain analyses of residual tropospheric delays observed over 12 months at multiple globally distributed locations. We then derive bounding error models for time-sequential safety-critical navigation systems including global navigation satellite systems integrated with inertial navigation systems and Kalman filter implementations of advanced receiver autonomous integrity monitoring.
Long Term Memory Outcome of Repetitive, Low-Level Dietary Exposure to Domoic Acid in Native Americans.

Domoic acid (DA) is a marine-based neurotoxin that, if ingested via tainted shellfish, is associated with Amnesic Shellfish Poisoning (ASP). These acute effects of elevated DA exposure in humans have been well described. In contrast, the long-term impacts of lower level, repetitive, presumably safe doses of DA (less than 20 ppm) are minimally known. Since Native Americans (NA) residing in coastal communities of the Pacific NW United States are particularly vulnerable to DA exposure, this study focuses on the long-term, 8-year memory outcome associated with their repeated dietary consumption of the neurotoxin. Measures of razor clam consumption, memory, clerical speed and accuracy, and depression were administered over eight years to 500 randomly selected adult NA men and women ages 18–64. Data were analyzed using GEE analyses taking into consideration the year of study, demographic factors, and instrumentation in examining the association between dietary exposure and outcomes. Findings indicated a significant but small decline in total recall memory within the context of otherwise stable clerical speed and accuracy and depression scores. There is reason to believe that a continuum of memory difficulties may be associated with DA exposure, rather than a unitary ASP syndrome.
A Roadmap for Successful State Sepsis Regulations-Lessons From New York.

New York state implemented the first state-level sepsis regulations in 2013. These regulations were associated with improved mortality, leading other states to consider similar steps. Our objective was to provide insight into New York state's sepsis policy making process, creating a roadmap for policymakers in other states considering similar regulations. DESIGN Qualitative study using semistructured interviews. SETTING We recruited key stakeholders who had knowledge of the New York state sepsis regulations. SUBJECTS Thirteen key stakeholders from three groups included four New York state policymakers and seven clinicians and hospital association leaders involved in the creation and implementation of the 2013 New York state sepsis regulations, as well as two members of patient advocacy groups engaged in sepsis advocacy. INTERVENTIONS None. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS We used iterative, inductive thematic analysis to identify themes related to participant perceptions of the New York state sepsis policy, factors that influenced the policy's perceived successes, and opportunities for improvement. We identified several factors that facilitated success. Among these were that policymakers engaged a diverse array of stakeholders in development, allowing them to address potential barriers to implementation and create early buy-in. Policymakers also paid specific attention to the balance between the desire for comprehensive reporting and the burden of data collection, narrowly focusing on "essential" sepsis-related data elements to reduce the burden on hospitals. In addition, the regulations touched on all three major domains of sepsis quality-structure, process, and outcomes-going beyond a data collection to give hospitals tools to improve sepsis care. CONCLUSIONS We identified factors that distinguish the New York sepsis regulations from less successful sepsis polices at the federal level. Ultimately, lessons from New York state provide valuable guidance to policymakers and hospital officials seeking to develop and implement policies that will improve sepsis quality.
SU-E-P-45: An Analytical Formula for Deriving Mechanical Iso-Center of Rotational Gantry Treatment Unit Rotational Gantry Treatment Unit

Purpose: To present an analytical formula for deriving mechanical isocenter (MIC) of a rotational gantry treatment unit. The input data to the formula is obtained by a custom-made device. The formula has been implemented and used in an operational proton therapy facility since 2005. Methods: The custom made device consisted of 3 mutually perpendicular dial indicators and 5 clinometers, to obtain displacement data and gantry angle data simultaneously. During measurement, a steel sphere was affixed to the patient couch, and the device was attached to the snout rotating with the gantry. The displacement data and angle data were obtained simultaneously at angular increments of less than 1 degree. The analytical formula took the displacement and angle as input and derived the positions of dial indicator tips (DIT) position in room-fixed coordinate system. The formula derivation presupposes trigonometry and 3-dimentional coordinate transformations. Due to the symmetry properties of the defining equations, the DIT position can be solved for analytically without using mathematical approximations. We define the mean of all points in the DIT trajectory as the MIC. The formula was implemented in computer code, which has been employed during acceptance test, commissioning, as well as routine QA practice in an operationalmore » proton facility since 2005. Results: It took one minute for the custom-made device to acquire the measurement data for a full gantry rotation. The DIT trajectory and MIS are instantaneously available after the measurement. The MIC Result agrees well with vendor’s Result, which came from a different measurement setup, as well as different data analysis algorithm. Conclusion: An analytical formula for deriving mechanical isocenter was developed and validated. The formula is considered to be absolutely accurate mathematically. Be analyzing measured data of radial displacements as function of gantry angle, the formula calculates the MI position in room coordinate.« less
Chapter 13: Behavior of Chemical and Slow Voltage-Sensitive Gates of Connexin Channels: The “Cork” Gating Hypothesis

Publisher Summary The permeability of gap junction channels to small cytosolic molecules is finely regulated by specific changes in cytosolic ionic composition. As gap junction channels close, cells uncouple from each other electrically and metabolically. Uncoupling is primarily a protective mechanism that enables healthy cells to isolate themselves from damaged neighbors, but evidence for channel gating sensitivity to nearly physiological calcium and hydrogen ion concentrations suggests that gap junction permeability modulation may play a role in normal cellular functions as well. Identifying the uncoupling agents and the molecular basis of channel gating is essential for understanding how cell communication is physiologically controlled and how cell coupling relates to specific cellular activities. Mechanism of channel gating can only be understood once a thorough knowledge of connexin domains relevant to gating and of cytosolic participants in gating processes is achieved. This chapter discusses the current knowledge of gap junction regulation by cytosolic acidification, focusing on molecular domains of connexins believed to participate in channel gating. Much of the material deals with gap junction channels made of connexin32 (Cx32), a connexin expressed widely in the mammalian tissues such as liver, pancreas, kidney, nervous system, thyroid, and mammary gland, and whose genetic mutation is involved in the pathogenesis of the X-linked Charcot-Marie-Tooth (CMTX) demyelinating disease.
Equity in Financing Primary and Secondary Education.

Abstract. Per pupil educational costs for Kansas counties are analyzed according to degree to which the county is rural. The loss or gain due to migration of educated young people is then added into the costs. Those costs are then compared to ability to pay according to a number of indicators in each category of the county. The impact of various forms of taxation to support schools is analyzed. Rural counties spend more per pupil and pay higher per capita property taxes. The differences in cost between rural and urban areas is even greater when the effects of migration are included. Household incomes tend to be lower in more rural counties. The effects of a court-ordered change in school finance will increase the inequalities between rural and urban areas. It is contended that reliance on the property tax contributes highly to this inequality.
Trophic Cascades and Historic Aspen Recruitment in the Gallatin Elk Winter Range of Southwest Montana

The extirpation of the gray wolf (Canis lupus) by 1930 in Yellowstone National Park (YNP) provided us with an opportunity to study historic aspen (Populus tremuloides ) recruitment with and without a top carnivore predator present. Herbivory, climate trends, fire records, and current conifer invasion were also examined within the context of aspen recruitment. We obtained tree cores and diameter at breast height measurements to create an aspen age-diameter relationship which we used to approximate aspen origination dates. One elk (Cervus elaphus) exclosure, erected in 1945 within the same elk winter range, was compared to the rest of the winter range. Consistent recruitment inside the exclosure began in the 1940s and has continued into the present. Outside of the exclosure, aspen recruitment began decreasing in the 1930s and ceased in the 1950s. Within the scope of the study, we found little correlative evidence between aspen decline and climate trends, conifer invasion, or fire suppression. The results are suggestive of a trophic cascade between aspen recruitment, and historical elk browsing activities as affected by the absence or presence of wolf predation.
Hippocampal damage associated with prolonged glucocorticoid exposure in primates

In the laboratory rat and guinea pig, glucocorticoids (GCs), the adrenal steroids that are secreted during stress, can damage the hippocampus and exacerbate the hippocampal damage induced by various neurological insults. An open question is whether GCs have similar deleterious effects in the primate hippocampus. In fact, we showed that sustained and fatal stress was associated with preferential hippocampal damage in the vervet monkey; however, it was not possible to determine whether the excessive GC secretion that accompanied such stress was the damaging agent. The present study examines this possibility. Pellets of cortisol (the principal GC of primates) were stereotaxically implanted into hippocampi of 4 vervet monkeys; contralateral hippocampi were implanted with cholesterol pellets as a control. One year later at postmortem, preferential damage occurred in the cortisol-implanted side. In the cholesterol side, mild cell layer irregularity was noted in 2 of 4 cases. By contrast in the cortisol-exposed hippocampi, all cases had at least 2 of the following neuropathologic markers: cell layer irregularity, dendritic atrophy, soma shrinkage and condensation, or nuclear pyknosis. Damage was severe in some cases, and was restricted to the CA3/CA2 cellfield. This anatomical distribution of damage, and the cellular features of the damage agree with that observed in instances of GC-induced toxicity in the rodent hippocampus, and of stress-induced toxicity in the primate hippocampus. These observations suggest that sustained GC exposure (whether due to stress, Cushings syndrome or exogenous administration) might damage the human hippocampus.
The Work of Mothers: Strategies for Survival in an Inner-City Neighborhood

Abstract Employment is increasingly important to poor mothers because they face both the need to supplement their inadequate public assistance benefits, and the eventual loss of benefits that will result from recent changes in welfare policy. At the same time, they are engaged in extensive unpaid caregiving work for which they find little support. This article examines how poor mothers balance productive and reproductive work and explores the factors that influence how these patterns are generated. The research uses long-term participant observation in an inner-city public housing development, and in-depth interviews among 56 resident welfare mothers to explore these questions. The findings illustrate that some mothers are already working at full capacity, managing labor market and caregiving work in the midst of circumstances-including gang violence, serious health problems among individuals for whom they have undertaken responsibility, and illogical and punitive welfare systems-that are far beyond their...
A Short History of the French Revolution

PREFACE CHAPTER 1: THE ORIGINS OF THE FRENCH REVOLUTION The Problems of the Monarchy The Failure of Reform Social Structure and Social Crisis The Third Estate The Lower Classes New Ideas and New Ways of Living The Growth of Public Opinion Notes CHAPTER 2: THE COLLAPSE OF THE ABSOLUTE MONARCHY, 1787-1789 The Prerevolution The Assembly of Notables From Failed Reforms to Revolutionary Crisis The Meeting of the Estates-General The Parliamentary Revolution The Storming of the Bastille Notes CHAPTER 3: THE REVOLUTIONARY RUPTURE, 1789-1790 The Concept of Revolution The "Abolition of Feudalism" and the Declaration of Rights The October Days The Accomplishments of the National Assembly, 1789-1791 The Constitutional Debates The Expropriation of Church Lands and the Assignats The Civil Constitution of the Clergy Notes CHAPTER 4: THE DEFEAT OF THE LIBERAL REVOLUTION, 1790-1792 The New Political Culture The King's Flight and the Crisis of 1791 The End of the National Assembly The Legislative Assembly The Revolt in the Colonies and Unrest at Home The Move toward War The Impact of War The Overthrow of the Monarchy Emergency Measures and Revolutionary Government The Failure of the Liberal Revolution Notes CHAPTER 5: THE CONVENTION AND THE REPUBLIC, 1792-1794 The Trial of the King Mounting Tensions The Victory of the Montagnards Terror Becomes the Order of the Day The Dictatorship of the Committee of Public Safety Revolutionary Culture The Radical Revolution and the Social Order The Great Terror and Thermidor The Revolution Victorious Thermidor Notes CHAPTER 6: THE RETURN TO ORDER, 1794-1799 The "Bourgeois Republic" and the Search for Order The Thermidorian Reaction The Defeat of the Sans-Culottes Counterrevolution and the Constitution of 1795 The Directory The Directory, Europe, and the Colonies The "Politics of the Balance" The "Second Directory" The Fall of the Directory CHAPTER 7: THE NAPOLEONIC CONSULATE, 1799-1804 The Consul and the Consulate Napoleon's Career The Institutions of the Consulate Consolidation of Power The Peace of Amiens and the Concordat Elements of Opposition Notes CHAPTER 8: THE NAPOLEONIC EMPIRE, 1804-1815 The Resumption of War From Ulm to Tilsit The Continental System The Empire at Home Culture under the Empire The Social Bases of the Empire The Decline of the Empire The Invasion of Russia The Hundred Days Note CHAPTER 9: THE REVOLUTIONARY HERITAGE The Postrevolutionary Settlement State and Nation The Revolution's Impact in the World The French Revolution as History The Jacobin Historical Synthesis The Revisionist Critique Postrevisionist Studies of the Revolution Notes SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER READING Bibliographies, Journals, and General Reference Works Specialized Titles: Select Bibliography CHRONOLOGY OF PRINCIPAL EVENTS DURING THE FRENCH REVOLUTION INDEX
From Empathy to Caring: Defining the Ideal Approach to a Healing Relationship

In recent years, "empathy" has been identified as a form of emotional engagement beneficial to patient care. Although usage varies, the term refers to sharing the feelings of another as a means of coming to a direct appreciation of the other. Defined this way, however, empathy may lead to mistaken assumptions and an absence of corrective curiosity: Once we think we understand what another is experiencing, we perceive less need to ask, listen, and learn. We propose the process of "caring" in place of "empathy" to embody the ideal emotional and behavioral approach to patient care. Caring refers to both an emotional reaction to another and the expression of that reaction in action, independent of the sharing of the other's emotion or experience. The expression of caring in the clinical context is close observation, precise listening, and responsive questioning, in concert with committed engagement and actions directly addressing the patient's problem, stripped of any assumptions about what the other might or might not be experiencing.
Language and Communicative Practices

Language and Communicative Practices. William F. Hanks. Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 1996. 335 pp.
Effects of Synonym Generation on Incidental and Intentional L2 Vocabulary Learning During Reading

This study examined effects of synonym generation on second language (L2) vocabulary learning during reading in both incidental and intentional vocabulary learning contexts. Spanish-speaking adult learners of L2 English (N = 114) at low- and high-intermediate proficiency levels read an English passage containing 10 target words translated in the text. Participants were assigned to one of four conditions: (a) Read for meaning only (incidental). (b) Read for meaning and try to learn the translated words (intentional). (c) Read for meaning and generate Spanish synonyms for the translated words (incidental + semantic). (d) Read for meaning, try to learn the 10 translated words, and generate Spanish synonyms for the translated words (intentional + semantic). Posttest measures were English-to-Spanish and Spanish-to-English recall of target words. Target word recall was higher when explicit instructions to learn new words were provided and when synonym generation was not required. Negative effects of synonym generation emerged in both the incidental and intentional learning conditions.
Mineralization of basalts in the CO2–H2O–H2S system

Abstract Basalt samples representing five different formations were immersed in water equilibrated with supercritical carbon dioxide containing 1% hydrogen sulfide (H2S) at reservoir conditions (100 bar, 90 °C) for up to 3.5 years. Surface coatings in the form of pyrite and metal cation substituted carbonates were identified as reaction products associated with all five basalts. In some cases, high pressure tests contained excess H2S, which produced the most corroded basalts and largest amount of secondary products. In comparison, tests containing limited amounts of H2S appeared least reacted with significantly less concentrations of reaction products. In all cases, pyrite appeared to precede carbonation, and in some instances, was observed in the absence of carbonation such as in cracks, fractures, and within the porous glassy mesostasis. Armoring reactions from pyrite surface coatings observed in earlier shorter duration tests were found to be temporary with carbonate mineralization observed with all the basalts tested in these long duration experiments. Geochemical simulations conducted with the geochemical code EQ3/6 accurately predicted early pyrite precipitation followed by formation of carbonates. Reactivity with H2S was correlated with measured Fe(II)/Fe(III) ratios in the basalts with more facile pyrite formation occurring with basalts containing more Fe(III) phases. These experimental and modeling results confirm potential for long term sequestration of acid gas mixtures in continental flood basalt formations.
Aspects of the chemistry of donor solvent coal dissolution. The role of phenol in the reaction

The relative reactivity of phenol in exchange reaction with tetralin-d12 and naphthalene-d8 indicates that hydrogen exchange occurs by a free radical process rather than by an electrophilic substitution reaction at 427 °C. Substances such as benzyl phenyl ether that initiate free radical reactions increase the rate of the exchange reaction between phenol and tetralin-d12 whereas weak acids have only a modest influence on the exchange. Phenol and 1 -naphthol accelerate the rates of decomposition of some ethers and amines in tetralin. These results suggest that phenolic compounds enhance thermal coal dissolution reactions in donor solvents via their influences on the rates of the homolytic cleavage of carbon-oxygen and carbon-nitrogen bonds.
Nicotine Addiction Causes Unique Detrimental Effects on Women's Brains

Nicotine addiction produces diverse physiological effects common to both men and women because of activation of the nicotinic acetylcholine receptors. In addition to these effects, nicotine reduces circulating estrogen (the female sex hormone) levels and leads to early onset of menopause in women. Nicotine's effect on estrogen metabolism has potential far-reaching consequences because endogenous circulating estrogen helps prevent cerebrovascular diseases in premenopausal women. In this article, the author presents a survey of literature showing that nicotine addiction causes unique deleterious effects in women's brains by inhibiting estrogen signaling, which makes the brain more susceptible to ischemic brain damage.
Gradionation: hypothesis for positioning and patterning.

SYNOPSIS. The interaction of contiguous proteins is explored in microtubules, rosettes, and membranes based on the well established molecular phenomena of cooperativity and allosterism. It is proposed that conformational gradients in protein arrays cause the formation of gradions by nearest-neighbor interactions. Gradions are repeating functional molecular sequences that contain several conformational forms of one or more proteins, with the result that different reactive sites can exist in the same molecular architecture at any one time. Gradionators are small controlling molecules that may be microscopically visible as layers or linkages, but could also be smaller. Some of the presently available supporting evidence and its functional implications are discussed, including the possibility that the raison d'etre for membrane-particle arrays is to enhance the regulation and amplification capabilities of cell systems.
Set Covering by Single-Branch Enumeration with Linear-Programming Subproblems

This paper presents an algorithm for the set-covering problem that is, min c'y: Ey â§ e, y â§ 0, yi integer, where E is an m by n matrix of l's and 0's, and e is an m-vector of l's. The special problem structure permits a rather efficient, yet simple, solution procedure that is basically a 0, 1 search of the single-branch type coupled with linear programming and a suboptimization technique. The algorithm has been found to be highly effective for a good number of relatively large problems. Problems from 30 to 905 variables with as many as 200 rows have been solved in less than 16 minutes on an IBM 360 Model 50 computer. The algorithm's effectiveness stems from an efficient suboptimization procedure, which constructs excellent integer solutions from the solutions to linear-programming subproblems.
Multiple acid phosphatases in avian pectoral muscle--the postmicrosomal supernatant acid phosphatase is elevated in avian dystrophic muscle.

Abstract There are at least three forms of acid phosphatase in avian pectoralis muscle differing in molecular weight, subcellular location, and response to various substrates and inhibitors. These enzymes are separated by differential sedimentation into postmicrosomal supernatant, lysosomal, and microsomal activities with apparent molecular weights in Triton X-100 of 68,000, 198,000, and 365,000, respectively. All of the enzymes show acid pH optima (pH ~5), but the postmicrosomal supernatant form is distinctly different from the other two forms in its resistance to most common phosphatase inhibitors and in its reduced activity against several organic phosphates. Quantitation of these three forms of acid phosphatase in normal and dystrophic avian pectoralis muscle shows that the postmicrosomal supernatant form is significantly elevated in dystrophic muscle; at 33 days ex avo , 84% of the increased acid phosphatase activity in dystrophic muscle can be attributed to the postmicrosomal supernatant form. The microsomal form is only slightly elevated; the level of the lysosomal form is not altered.
Presence of coelenterazine in non-bioluminescent marine organisms

Abstract 1. 1. Coelenterazine is known to be widely distributed in bioluminescent marine organisms, as a luciferin and as the functional group of photoproteins. 2. 2. The present data indicate that coelenterazine is also present in various non-bioluminescent marine organisms. 3. 3. In most of the non-bioluminescent organisms, coelenterazine is probably absorbed from ingested food.
Price controls in an open economy

Abstract Wage and price controls have been increasingly called for as Western economies have experienced periods of stagflation. Part of their attractiveness has been due to the belief that they are an appropriate instrument to deal with a country's unsatisfactory balance-of-payments position. This paper evaluates the appropriateness of an incomes policy in an open economy. An optimally structured incomes policy, derived for a simple inflation model, is examined under alternative exchange rate regimes. The model, in the tradition of models by Gordon, Hicks, and Okun, is characterized by two output markets-one a flexible price market and one characterized by markup pricing-and by a single labor (input) market. This model is then used as the constraint set in a dynamic optimization problem. Both analytical and simulation results are presented. The results suggest that a direct price control program is not appropriate in an open economy.
Open vs. laparoscopic procedures in bariatric surgery.

Laparoscopic GBP is a complex advanced laparoscopic operation that accomplishes the same objectives as open GBP but avoids a large upper midline abdominal incision. The differences between laparoscopic and open bariatric surgery are the method of access and exposure. By reducing the size of the surgical incision and the operative trauma associated with the operative exposure, the surgical insult should be less after laparoscopic compared to open bariatric surgery. We reported a reduction in the surgical insult after laparoscopic GBP and believe that this is the physiologic basis for the observed clinical advantages of laparoscopic GBP. The important clinical advantages of laparoscopic GBP are not the reduced length of hospitalization but the reduction in postoperative pain, lower rate of wound-related complications, and faster recovery. Given the currently available evidence-based data, laparoscopic bariatric surgery should be considered the new standard for the treatment of morbid obesity as long as the surgeon has passed the learning curve of the laparoscopic approach.
Asian Americans in the History of Education: An Historiographical Essay

Asian Americans have lived in the United States for over one-and-a-half centuries: Chinese and Asian Indians since the mid-nineteenth century, Japanese since the late nineteenth century, and Koreans and Filipinos since the first decade of the twentieth century (an earlier group of Filipinos had settled near New Orleans in the late eighteenth century). Because of exclusion laws that culminated with the 1924 Immigration Act, however, the Asian American population was relatively miniscule before the mid-twentieth century. As late as 1940, for example, Asian immigrants and their descendants constituted considerably less than 1 percent (0.0019) of the United States population. In contrast, in Hawai'i, which was then a territory and therefore excluded from United States population figures, 58 percent of the people in 1940 were of Asian descent.
Near-critical-region equilibria of the CH4-CO2-H2S system

Abstract Morris J.S. and Byers C.H., 1991. Near-critical-region equilibria of the CH4-CO2-H2S system. Fluid Phase Equilibria, 66: 291-308. To acquire data for assessing a proposed syngas purification system, an apparatus has been built to measure vapor-liquid equilibria of binary and multicomponent systems in the critical region of CH4-CO2-H2S mixtures. To test the experimental device and supplement existing data, binary systems were studied between 270.0 and 288.2 K. Predictions of the Peng-Robinson (PR) and Redlich-Kwong-Soave (RKS) equations of state were compared with binary and ternary data using the ASPEN simulator parameter regression utilities to determine binary interaction parameters from binary data. Calculated phase equilibria for CH4-CO2 mixtures based on both equations agree to within 3.5%, while the difference in either case with experimental liquid phase compositions is less than 15%. Similar results were obtained for CO2-H2S mixtures. Experimental values were less reliable for CH4-H2S binary interaction parameters. In predicting the ternary mixtures, total pressure is generated using both equations of state. Estimates by the PR equation were significantly better than those generated by the RKS equation (12% deviation versus 29% deviation) for the temperature and pressure range of the study.
Differences in juvenile hormone esterase activity between presumptive macropterous and brachypterous Gryllus rubens: Implications for the hormonal control of wing polymorphism

Abstract The developmental profile of haemolymph juvenile hormone esterase activity was compared between presumptive macropterous and brachypterous morphs of the cricket, Gryllus rubens . Activities were measured during the penultimate and last stadia, two stadia where winglength development is sensitive to both exogenous juvenile hormone and crowding. Ester hydrolysis was the exclusive or nearly exclusive route of juvenile hormone degradation in the haemolymph. Individuals of a genetic stock nearly pure-breeding for long wings exhibited substantially higher enzyme activity during the last stadium compared with individuals of a stock pure-breeding for short wings. High juvenile hormone esterase activity strongly cosegregated with long wings in F 1 interstock crosses and in F 2 backcrosses. Crickets of the macropterous stock whose winglength development was redirected to short wings by crowding exhibited low juvenile hormone esterase activity during the last stadium, similar to individuals of the brachypterous stock. Rates of juvenile hormone hydrolysis (epoxide hydrase plus esterase activity) were also higher in wingbud homogenates from last-stadium macropterous versus brachypterous females. In contrast, haemolymph enzyme activity was similar in presumptive macropterous and brachypterous morphs during the penultimate stadium. Results suggest that variation in haemolymph juvenile hormone esterase activity during the last stadium may play an important role in wingmorph determination in Gryllus rubens .
Covariation in conditioned response strength between stimuli trained in compound

Conditioned lick suppression by water-deprived rats was used to elaborate on recent evidence that the attenuated conditioned response elicited by an overshadowed stimulus may be enhanced by extinction of the overshadowing stimulus with which it had been trained in simultaneous compound. Using a modified serial stimulus arrangement in which a light coexisted with the last half of a tone that terminated with footshock, it was found in Experiment 1 that the tone overshadowed the light. Extinction of the tone-shock association resulted in a virtually complete recovery of the response to the overshadowed light. Using this serial overshadowing procedure, the possibility that the strength of a conditioned response to an element trained in compound covaries as a function of the strength of the response to the other element was tested in Experiment 2. Following overshadowing training similar to that of Experiment 1, independent reinforcement of the overshadowed light, that is, associative inflation, was found to have no deleterious effect on the response to the overshadowing tone. This suggests that the effects of postconditioning extinction and inflation of one element do not have symmetrical effects upon responding to the other element. The results of Experiment 2 were replicated in Experiment 3 using a simultaneous compound stimulus as opposed to the serial compound of the previous studies. These results are discussed in terms of various associative and cognitive models of learning and performance.
Pashto free relatives and triply-filled Comp: Evidence for a headed analysis

This paper shows that free relatives in Pashto are actually headed relative clauses, with the consequence that a single structure underlies the apparent diversity of relative clauses in the language. The data strongly suggest that the wh-word of free relatives is not in Spec of CP, but is entirely outside the relative clause, heading the apparently headless relative. Thus, the Head Hypothesis of Bresnan and Grimshaw (1978) is a more appropriate analysis of Pashto relative clauses than is the Comp Hypothesis of Groos and van Riemsdijk (1981). While it is able to maintain a headed structure for free relatives, Kayne's (1994) raising analysis of relative clauses offers a further advantage by transparently deriving some otherwise puzzling distributional correlations among wh-words in the language.
Explicit and parameterized episodes of warm-season precipitation over the continental United States

This paper describes explicit and parameterized simulations of midsummer precipitation over the continental United States for two distinct episodes: moderate large-scale forcing and weak forcing. The objective is to demonstrate the capability of explicit convection at currently affordable grid-resolution and compare it with parameterized realizations. Under moderate forcing, 3-km grid-resolution explicit simulations represent rainfall coherence remarkably well. The observed daily convective generation near the Continental Divide and the subsequent organization and propagation are reproduced qualitatively. The propagation speed, zonal extent and duration of the rainfall streaks compare favorably with their observed counterparts, although the streak frequency is underestimated. The simulations at ∼10-km grid-resolution applying conventional convective parameterization schemes also replicate reasonably well the diurnal convective regeneration in moderate forcing. The performance of the 3-km grid-resolution model demonstrates the potential of ∼1-km-resolution explicit cloud-resolving models for the prediction of warm season precipitation for moderately forced environments. In weak forcing conditions, however, predictions of precipitation coherence and diurnal variability are much poorer. This suggests that an even finer resolution explicit model is required to adequately treat convective initiation and upscale organization typical of the warm season over the continental U.S.
Dinuclear Oxovanadium(IV) N-(Phosphonomethyl)iminodiacetate Complexes: Na(4)[V(2)O(2){(O)(2)P(O)CH(2)N(CH(2)COO)(2)}(2)].10H(2)O and Na(8)[V(2)O(2){(O)(2)P(O)CH(2)N(CH(2)COO)(2)}(2)](2).16H(2)O(1).

The dioxovanadium(IV) complexes with pida(4)(-) ligands (H(4)pida) = N-(phosphonomethyl)iminodiacetic acid), Na(4)[V(2)O(2){(O)(2)P(O)CH(2)N(CH(2)COO)(2)}(2)].10H(2)O (1) and Na(8)[V(2)O(2){(O)(2)P(O)CH(2)N(CH(2)COO)(2)}(2)](2).16H(2)O (2), were isolated from reactions of H(4)pida with either oxovanadium(V) (i.e., NaVO(3)) or oxovanadium(IV) precursors within the pH range of 2-8. The structures of complexes 1 and 2 were investigated by X-ray diffraction methods and in contrast to expectation were both found to be dinuclear. Complex 1 crystallized in the monoclinic system: P2(1)/n, a = 10.5632(1) A, b = 11.1868(1) A, c = 12.6921(1) A, beta = 106.45 degrees, V = 1438.44(2) A(3), Z = 4, and R (wR2) = 0.0781 (0.2017). Complex 2 crystallized in the monoclinic system P2(1)/c: a = 13.9822(2) A, b = 11.1888(2) A, c = 18.6519(3) A, beta = 100.88 degrees, V = 2865.51(8) A(3), Z = 4, and R (wR2) = 0.046 (0.125). Both complexes 1 and 2 have similar dimeric frameworks where two vanadium centers are linked by two phosphonate groups of two pida(4)(-) ligands (quadridentate binucleating), bridging through their four oxygen atoms to form a V(2)O(4)P(2) eight-membered ring which possesses a crystallographic inversion center. In contrast to their solid-state features, in aqueous solution both dinuclear crystalline compounds immediately dissociate to monomeric species, as observed by EPR and UV/vis spectroscopy. Both solution-state EPR and NMR spectroscopy confirmed that redox chemistry is involved in the reaction between vanadate and H(4)pida. Studies in mixed solvent systems showed that the dinuclear complex would remain intact in the presence of sufficient organic solvent. In the absence of oxygen the mononuclear and the dinuclear complexes will reversibly interconvert, whereas, in the presence of oxygen, the complexes will oxidize. These studies document the existence of higher oligomeric vanadium compounds and surprisingly, in general, lend credibility to several emerging mechanistic proposals involving oligomeric species of vanadium compounds in catalytic processes.