cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Broken Bosnia: The Localized Geopolitics of Displacement and Return in Two Bosnian Places

Abstract The Dayton Peace Accords brought the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina to an end but left ethnonationalism undefeated and the country divided. The Accords legitimized the wartime entity Republika Srpska, created by ethnic cleansing, yet offered the possibility of reversing ethnic cleansing with Annex VII, which declared the right of those displaced to return to their prewar homes. Implementing Annex VII across ethnonationalist-dominated localities was a struggle of power, capacity, and law over the control of place in postwar Bosnia. This article examines the localized geopolitics of wartime displacement and postwar returns in two contrasting Bosnian counties, Zvornik in eastern Bosnia, and Jajce in central Bosnia. Based on extensive fieldwork in both places, the article documents how the Bosnian wars radically transformed the demographic character and cultural landscape of both places. The postwar effort to implement Annex VII developed as a struggle over place between entrenched local ethnonational...
Designing efficient Six Sigma experiments for service process improvement projects

The Six Sigma and Design for Six Sigma methodologies often use experiments to improve product or service quality. However in many situations, there are several challenges associated with planning and designing experiments. Specifically for service industries, the qualitative nature of the parameters involved in quality improvement often causes project teams to struggle with how to design effective experiments that are manageable in both size and cost. To address this issue, we propose the development of a new Six Sigma design/improvement methodology in which the quality function deployment process is used to narrow the scope of experimental factors. The purpose of this method is to provide a systematic method for choosing between potentially important factors, in order to facilitate the design, execution, and analysis of experiments in service sectors. To illustrate the proposed approach, we provide a numerical example concerning a quality improvement project for a banking operation.
Primary Oblique Muscle Overaction: The Brain Throws a Wild Pitch

Background Sensorimotor and orbital anatomical mechanisms have been invoked to explain primary oblique muscle overaction. Methods Review of primitive visuo-vestibular reflexes and neuroanatomical pathways corresponding to vestibulo-ocular reflexes, and correlation with known clinical abnormalities in patients with primary oblique muscle overaction. Results Bilateral superior oblique muscle overaction, which corresponds to a backward pitch in lateral-eyed animals, can occur when structural lesions involving the brainstem or cerebellum increase central otolithic input to the extraocular muscle subnuclei that modulate downward extraocular muscle tonus. Bilateral inferior oblique overaction, which corresponds to a forward pitch in lateral-eyed animals, may result from visual disinhibition of central vestibular pathways to the extraocular muscle subnuclei that modulate upward extraocular muscle tonus. Conclusions Primary oblique muscle overaction recapitulates the torsional eye movements that occur in lateral-eyed animals during body movements or directional luminance shifts in the pitch plane. These primitive ocular motor reflexes become manifest in humans when early-onset strabismus or structural lesions within the posterior fossa alter central vestibular tone in the pitch plane.
Decadal Changes in the World's Coastal Latitudinal Temperature Gradients

Most of the world's living marine resources inhabit coastal environments, where average thermal conditions change predictably with latitude. These coastal latitudinal temperature gradients (CLTG) coincide with important ecological clines,e.g., in marine species diversity or adaptive genetic variations, but how tightly thermal and ecological gradients are linked remains unclear. A first step is to consistently characterize the world's CLTGs. We extracted coastal cells from a global 1°×1° dataset of weekly sea surface temperatures (SST, 1982–2012) to quantify spatial and temporal variability of the world's 11 major CLTGs. Gradient strength, i.e., the slope of the linear mean-SST/latitude relationship, varied 3-fold between the steepest (North-American Atlantic and Asian Pacific gradients: −0.91°C and −0.68°C lat−1, respectively) and weakest CLTGs (African Indian Ocean and the South- and North-American Pacific gradients: −0.28, −0.29, −0.32°C lat−1, respectively). Analyzing CLTG strength by year revealed that seven gradients have weakened by 3–10% over the past three decades due to increased warming at high compared to low latitudes. Almost the entire South-American Pacific gradient (6–47°S), however, has considerably cooled over the study period (−0.3 to −1.7°C, 31 years), and the substantial weakening of the North-American Atlantic gradient (−10%) was due to warming at high latitudes (42–60°N, +0.8 to +1.6°C,31 years) and significant mid-latitude cooling (Florida to Cape Hatteras 26–35°N, −0.5 to −2.2°C, 31 years). Average SST trends rarely resulted from uniform shifts throughout the year; instead individual seasonal warming or cooling patterns elicited the observed changes in annual means. This is consistent with our finding of increased seasonality (i.e., summer-winter SST amplitude) in three quarters of all coastal cells (331 of 433). Our study highlights the regionally variable footprint of global climate change, while emphasizing ecological implications of changing CLTGs, which are likely driving observed spatial and temporal clines in coastal marine life.
Intestinal bacterial overgrowth and bacterial translocation in cirrhotic rats with ascites

Abstract Background/Aims: Translocation of indigenous bacterial from the gut lumen of cirrhotic animals to mesenteric lymph nodes appears to be an important step in the pathogenesis of spontaneous bacterial peritonitis. However, the sequence of events leading to translocation remains unclear. One of the most predictable risk factors for translocation is overgrowth of gut bacterial flora. The present study was designed to compare the intestinal aerobic bacterial flora of cecal stools at the time of sacrifice between cirrhotic and normal rats and to evaluate the role of intestinal aerobic bacterial overgrowth in bacterial translocation in cirrhotic rats. Methods: Thirty-five male Sprague-Dawley rats with carbon tetrachloride-induced cirrhosis and ascites and 10 normal rats were included in this study. Cirrhotic rats were sacrificed when ill and samples of ascitic fluid, mesenteric lymph nodes and cecal stool were taken for detecting quantitatively aerobic bacteria. Results: Total intestinal aerobic bacterial count in cecal stool at the time of sacrifice was significantly increased in cirrhotic rats with bacterial translocation with or without spontaneous bacterial peritonitis compared to cirrhotic rats without bacterial translocation ( p p p p Conclusions: Carbon tetrachloride-induced cirrhotic rats with bacterial translocation have increased total intestinal aerobic bacteria count, and intestinal bacterial overgrowth appears to play an important role in bacterial translocation in this experimental model of cirrhosis in rats.
Evaluation of glassy-state dynamics from the width of the glass transition: Results from theoretical simulation of differential scanning calorimetry and comparisons with experiment

Abstract The purpose of this study is to investigate the quantitative relationship between the width of the glass transition, Δ T g , and glass fragility or activation energy for structural relaxation. The ultimate objective is the estimation of structural relaxation time as a function of temperature from the width of the glass transition region, allowing characterization of glass dynamics by a single simple measurement. The Moynihan correlation indicates that activation energy for structural relaxation should be inversely proportional to the width of the glass transition, but recent experimental studies suggest this relationship is a poor approximation for glasses of pharmaceutical interest. The present study is an effort to better understand the validity of the Moynihan correlation by selected experimental studies and a theoretical analysis of those factors that impact the glass transition width. Experimental data for glass transition widths for (poly)vinylpyrrolidone, sucrose, and trehalose are obtained using a variety of procedures, and relaxation time data are obtained using the thermal activity monitor. The theoretical analysis begins by simulating the temperature dependence of the heat capacity by breaking the cooling and heating scans into a large number of temperature steps followed by isothermal holds, during which relaxation of the material is calculated. Here, the modified VTF equation is used for relaxation time and the generalized Kohlraush-Williams-Watts stretched exponential function is used to describe the relaxation kinetics. Simulations are performed for materials of varying fragility and varying “stretched exponential” constants, β, and the width of the glass transition region, Δ T g , is evaluated from the simulated heat capacity versus temperature curves as one would do with experimental data. Agreement between the theoretical simulations and experimental Δ T g data is excellent. The simulations demonstrate that although the Moynihan correlation is not valid for variable β, a modification of the Moynihan correlation which includes variation in β is a good approximation. Thus, an estimate of fragility may be obtained from glass transition width data provided an estimate of β is available. Furthermore, it is shown that a first approximation for β may be obtained from the magnitude (i.e., height) of the differential scanning calorimetry thermal overshoot. We also find that using the modified VTF equation to evaluate the temperature dependence of the structural relaxation time at the glass transition, and integrating this expression to lower temperatures, it is possible to obtain an evaluation of the relaxation time constant, τ β , in the glass at any temperature, using only the Δ T g and β values obtained from a single differential scanning calorimetry scan. These estimated time constants correlate very well with the values directly measured with the thermal activity monitor.
Impacts of different forms of nutrients on the roles of coastal lagoons as nutrient sources or sinks — A mesocosm study

Abstract An experiment was conducted to quantify the effects of enrichment with dissolved inorganic nutrients on the Nand P mass balances of coastal lagoons. The experiment was conducted during summer using mesocosms designed as living models of the shallow coastal lagoons of Rhode Island, USA. The experiment involved five treatments, each conducted in duplicate. Two mesocosms served as controls, and remained unenriched. Two mesocosms were enriched with phosphate alone, two with nitrate alone, two with nitrate plus phosphate, and two with ammonium plus phosphate. The unenriched controls functioned as small sources of Nand P. The mesocosms enriched with phosphate alone showed net releases of N (as in the controls), but a small net retention of P. The inverse pattern applied in the mesocosms enriched with nitrate alone. The mesocosms enriched with N plus P showed net retention of both elements. For both nutrients, the percent retention of the nutrients added to the system was small (ca. 20%), and in the sam...
The Dirichlet-to-Neumann map, viscosity solutions to Eikonal equations, and the self-dual equations of pattern formation

Abstract We study the limiting behavior as e ↘ 0 of solutions u e to the Dirichlet problem e 2 Δ u e − u e = 0 on Ω , u e | ∂ Ω = e − θ / e , where Ω ¯ is a bounded domain and θ a given smooth function on its boundary ∂ Ω . We provide a natural criterion on θ in order to obtain an estimate e ∂ ν u e ( x ) u e ( x ) ≤ C ∞ , x ∈ ∂ Ω , independent of e as e ↘ 0 , where ∂ ν u e denotes the normal derivative of u e . The results of this paper serve to significantly strengthen the analysis of asymptotic minimizers for a Ginzburg–Landau variational problem for irrotational vector fields (gradient vector fields) known as the regularized Cross–Newell variational problem in the pattern formation literature. In particular, this yields estimates on the asymptotic energy of these minimizers for general Dirichlet viscosity boundary conditions. The class of boundary conditions for this variational problem to which our methods apply is quite general (even including domains which are general Riemannian manifolds with boundary). This, for instance, provides a first step for extending the Ginzburg–Landau type model we consider to the larger class of vector fields that are locally gradient (often called director fields).
Effect of hydrocortisone on secretion of acid and pepsin by Heidenhain pouches.

SummaryHydrocortisone (50 mg intramuscularly daily) was given to 3 dogs with Heidenhain pouches for a period of 37 days. Maximal acid and pepsin output in response to histamine and gastrin increased during hydrocortisone administration. During control studies, the mean maximal acid output in response to gastrin was lower than to histamine but the maximal responses to these 2 stimulants were generally equal during hydro-cortisone administration. In contrast, mean maximal pepsin output was higher with gastrin during control studies and remained higher than histamine during administration of hydrocortisone.
Polarization analysis of magnetic X-ray scattering

Abstract In this paper we discuss polarization analysis in X-ray magnetic scattering experiments. The non-resonant X-ray cross-section is calculated, including magnetic terms, and three examples of magnetic structures are considered. It is shown that the contributions of the orbital- and spin-magnetization densities may be identified by analyzing the polarization of the scattered beam. We describe the results of recent experiments concerning polarization and resonance properties of magnetic X-ray scattering in holmium.
Pulmonary Gas Trapping in Premature Infants

Extract: Measurements of thoracic gas volume and functional residual capacity were performed serially from birth on 26 premature infants to determine the presence and time course of gas trapping. Nitrogen washouts were carried out on 16 of these infants and urinary-alveolar nitrogen gradients (uADN2) were measured in 7. The infants were divided into two groups, those above and those below 1750 g birth weight. Trapped gas was documented in both groups, but in the smaller infants the condition persisted for a longer time. The mean thoracic gas volume (TGV) in infants over 1750 g birth weight was 2.0 ± 0.7 ml/cm at birth, with a mean functional residual capacity (FRC) of 1.3 ± 0.4 ml/cm; by day 9, the TGV and FRC were 1.5 ± 0.3 and 1.2 ± 0.2 ml/cm, respectively. Infants under 1750 g birth weight had a mean TGV of 1.7 ± 0.2 ml/cm at birth with an FRC of 0.9 ± 0.2 ml/cm; by week 2 of life, mean TGV and FRC were 0.9 ± 0.2 and 0.8 ± 0.2 ml/cm, respectively. When gas trapping was present, nitrogen washouts and uADN2 indicated that the lung was a single well ventilated space with no evidence of an abnormal distribution of ventilation. This indicated that ventilation of the trapped areas was so small that it could not be measured. The possibility that gas trapping is related to the presence of lung fluid and very compliant airways is considered. Speculation: Low birth weight infants have been shown to have high airway resistance, compliant airways, and low lung volume. This combination of findings has been associated with airway closure in adults. The possibility arises that a volume of gas is “trapped” with each expiration until airways are sufficiently stiff and remain patent with every breath.
Configuration-interaction study of atoms. I. Correlation energies of B, C, N, O, F, and Ne

The configuration-interaction method has been used to calculate the wave functions and energies for the ground state and some selected excited states of the atoms B to Ne. A systematic way of selecting atomic orbital basis and configurations has been developed and is reported in some detail. The calculated total correlation energies range from 95 to 97% of the empirical correlation energy. Calculated term energies of the carbon atom are within 2% of the spectroscopic values. The correlation energies were analyzed in terms of contributions from various classes of configurations, and these contributions were compared with results of previous work. The energy contributions from the class of configurations of triple and higher electron excitations are estimated to be of the order of (3-4)% of the total correlation energy, which is larger than previous estimates of (1-3)% for these atoms.
Algorithm for classifying multiple targets using acoustic signatures

In this paper we discuss an algorithm for classification and identification of multiple targets using acoustic signatures. We use a Multi-Variate Gaussian (MVG) classifier for classifying individual targets based on the relative amplitudes of the extracted harmonic set of frequencies. The classifier is trained on high signal-to-noise ratio data for individual targets. In order to classify and further identify each target in a multi-target environment (e.g., a convoy), we first perform bearing tracking and data association. Once the bearings of the targets present are established, we next beamform in the direction of each individual target to spatially isolate it from the other targets (or interferers). Then, we further process and extract a harmonic feature set from each beamformed output. Finally, we apply the MVG classifier on each harmonic feature set for vehicle classification and identification. We present classification/identification results for convoys of three to five ground vehicles.
γ-Aminobutyric AcidB Receptor–Mediated Responses in the Nucleus Tractus Solitarius Are Altered in Acute and Chronic Hypertension

The increase in mean arterial pressure evoked by injection of the γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) B agonist baclofen into the nucleus tractus solitarius (NTS) is greater in spontaneously hypertensive rats and renal wrap chronically hypertensive (CHT) rats compared with normotensive (NT) controls. We report here that the baclofen-induced pressor response (BIPR) is enhanced after acute hypertension (AHT) of only 30 minutes. Sprague-Dawley rats were anesthetized with Inactin, paralyzed, and artificially ventilated. As we previously reported, after unilateral electrolytic ablation of the NTS, microinjection of 40 pmol baclofen into the contralateral NTS of NT rats resulted in a BIPR of 22±1 mm Hg (n=12). During the infusion of phenylephrine for 30 minutes (AHT), the BIPR was 39±5 mm Hg (n=10), significantly greater than the response in NT rats ( P
Resonant-tunneling mixed-signal circuit technology

Abstract A large-scale integration (LSI) InP-based technology is described for high-speed mixed-signal circuits. The monolithic 75-mm wafer process uses molecular beam epitaxy, InP etch stop layers, an electron-beam-defined gate, non-alloyed ohmic contacts, and 10 mask levels to provide resonant tunneling diodes (RTD's), 0.25- or 0.5-μm gate-length high electron mobility transistors (HEMT's), Schottky diodes, resistors, capacitors and two and a half levels of interconnect. Resonant tunneling circuits described here for the first time include a 2.5-GHz, ten stage, tapped shift register, a 6.5-GHz clock generator and a multivalued-to-binary converter.
Categorization of College Students' Meaning of Life

This study was designed to develop meaning-in-life categories which have adequate interrater reliability and stability over time. Also of interest were the categories which college students endorsed and the number of students who reported no meaning in life. A pilot study was used to develop appropriate categories. 100 students from a State University class were asked to write about the three most meaningful things in their lives and then ranked their written meanings in order of importance to them. Eight categories had adequate interrater reliability and stability over a 3-mo. period. The “relationship” category was most often chosen followed by “service,” “growth,” “belief,” “existential-hedonistic,” “obtaining,” “expression,” and “understanding.” Only 5% of our sample claimed life to have no meaning.
Effects of Subtotal Nephrectomy on Renal Hypertension

SummarySurgical reduction of the mass of a clipped kidney does not alter the course of hypertension, whether a contralateral untouched kidney is present or not, while subsequent removal of the clip or excision of the kidney usually causes remission of hypertension. These observations do not support the view that hypertension is due to an imbalance between flow and mass, which can be corrected by reduction of renal mass. Constriction of the clipped kidney by a ligature causes a gradual renal atrophy and remission of hypertension only when the contralateral kidney is present. There is no relationship between renal renin and pressure levels.
Ridge-forming, ice-bounded lava flows at Mount Rainier, Washington

Large (0.3–4 km3) andesite and dacite lava flows at Mount Rainier, Washington, sit atop or are perched along the sides of high ridges separating deep valleys. Early researchers proposed that these ridge-forming lavas flowed into paleovalleys and displaced rivers to their margins; entrenchment of the rivers then left the lavas atop ridges. On the basis of exceptional flow thickness, ice-contact features, and eruption age measurements, we propose that the lavas flowed beside and between valley glaciers that filled the adjacent valleys in the Pleistocene. When the glaciers retreated, the flows were left high on the adjacent ridges. These lavas were never situated at valley floors and do not represent products of reversed topography. Instead, ridge-forming and perched lava flows at Mount Rainier and at many other high stratovolcanoes illustrate the ability of ice to dam, deflect, and confine flowing lava.
Mining and linking patterns across live data streams and stream archives

We will demonstrate the visual analytics system V istreamT, that supports interactive mining of complex patterns within and across live data streams and stream pattern archives. Our system is equipped with both computational pattern mining and visualization techniques, which allow it to not only efficiently discover and manage patterns but also effectively convey the mining results to human analysts through visual displays. In our demonstration, we will illustrate that with V istreamT, analysts can easily submit, monitor and interact with a broad range of query types for pattern mining. This includes novel strategies for extracting complex patterns from streams in real time, summarizing neighbour-based patterns using multi-resolution compression strategies, selectively pushing patterns into the stream archive, validating the popularity or rarity of stream patterns by stream archive matching, and pattern evolution tracking to link patterns across time.
Dantrolene sodium: Effects of smooth muscle

The effects of dantrolene sodium on smooth muscle were evaluated in vitro using the guinea pig ileum and the guinea pig vas deferens preparations. Dantrolene irreversibly decreased the strength of the responses of the ileum to acetylcholine, histamine, potassium chloride and electrical stimulation. Doubling the concentration of calcium in the bathing media reduced the effect of dantrolene on all agonists. Dantrolene irreversibly decreased the response of the vas deferens to epinephrine, norepinephrine, acetylcholine and electrical stimulation. Doubling the concentration of calcium in the bathing media reduced the effect of dantrolene on all agonists. Dantrolene seems to depress smooth muscle as it does skeletal muscle. The mechanism of action probably involves the reduction of calcium flux into the muscles.
Pollination Ecology and Endemic Trends in Pedicularis bracteosa var. atrosanguinea Pennell & Thompson (Scrophulariaceae) in North America

Pedicularis bracteosa var. atrosanguinea occurs locally in association with P. racemosa or P. groenlandica in the Olympic Mountains in Washington. Other plant species, e.g., Polygonum bistortoides, Lupinus argenteus var. parviflorus and Valeriana sitchensis compete for space and bumblebee pollinators within the study area. Pollinator sharing, resulting from such competition, may increase the frequency of unvisited flowers of P. bracteosa var. atrosanguinea. P. bracteosa var. atrosanguinea, with blood purple nectariferous flowers, is presumed to lack intense reflections of blue spectral components from its corollas in attracting bumblebees compared to those of P. racemosa and P. groenlandica. Six species of bumblebees (Bombus) and cuckoo bees (Psithyrus) pollinate P. bracteosa var. atrosanguinea. Of these, Bombus mixtus and B. occidentalis occur in higher frequencies and are the major pollinators of P. bracteosa var. atrosanguinea. Queen and larger worker bumblebees pollinate nototribically as they probe for nectar, while smaller worker bumblebees pollinate sternotribically while scraping pollen from anthers deeply hidden in the dome-shaped galea. Corbicular pollen loads of bumblebees collected in the study area contain Pedicularis pollen alone/in combination of Polygonum, Valeriana, Lupinus, Erigeron and Bidens, or exclusively of Polygonum or Valeriana. P. bracteosa var. atrosanguinea does not suffer seriously from deficient pollination but seedlings resulting from pollinated flowers may be subjected to natural selection pressure exerted by colonial plant species for space. P. bracteosa var. atrosanguinea does not propagate asexually but resumes aerial growth seasonally from the self-same underground root stocks. If seedlings are under continuous selection pressure for lack of space, P. bracteosa var. atrosanguinea is presumed to regenerate primarily by perennial root stocks. This behavior may favor endemism in P. bracteosa var. atrosanguinea.
Ecological correlates of vulnerability to fragmentation among Afrotropical terrestrial small mammals in northeast Tanzania

Understanding ecological traits of species associated with vulnerability to habitat fragmentation is important for the development of effective conservation efforts. However, few studies have examined ecological correlates of vulnerability to fragmentation among tropical small mammals at fine spatial scales. Here we use random forests and regression tree models to identify ecological correlates of vulnerability to fragmentation among terrestrial small mammal species across 2 networks of forest fragments in the East and West Usambara Mountains, Tanzania. Small mammal species vary considerably in their vulnerability to fragmentation as assessed by species occupancy and change in abundance. Random forests models indicate that matrix use is the highest-ranked predictor of vulnerability to fragmentation with small mammal species that do not use or use few matrix habitat types, being more vulnerable to fragmentation than species that use all adjacent matrix habitat types. Our results emphasize the importance of local-scale approaches for designing conservation strategies for Afrotropical small mammal species.
Calculations of O2 absorption and fluorescence at elevated temperatures for a broadband argon—fluoride laser source at 193 nm

Abstract Calculations have been made of O 2 absorption and fluorescence in the Schumann-Runge B 3 Σ - u ← X 3 Σ - g band system for excitation by a broadband argon fluoride excimer laser at 193 nm. Results are presented for line strengths, spectral absorption coefficients, relative fluorescence spectra, total fluorescence and integrated absorption coefficients. The calculations have been performed for 300, 500, 1000, 1500 and 2000 K, a range of temperatures typically found in combustion flows. The absorption coefficients and fluorescence yields found are large enough to encourage use of argon fluoride lasers for O 2 measurements in a variety of flows.
New Approaches to Spatial Economics

This paper looks at the linkages between three recent developments in spatial economics that in combination have changed the way that economic growth is viewed. These new approaches are that of the New Growth Theory, the measurement of geographical economic convergence, and the role of infrastructure in stimulating economic growth. In combination these developments may combine to provide a different perspective on why regions often grow at differential rates,ways of measuring these differences, and possible policy interventions tomanipulate geographical variations in the growth process. The paper argues, however, that these concepts, while they may offer new insights, are nevertheless unlikely to provide a complete picture of why spatial economic divergence is widespread nor a set of policy instruments that can be simplydeployed to ameliorate such discrepancies.
Radioimmunoassay of digitonin

Abstract We describe a radioimmunoassay for digitonin which utilizes the ability of digotonin to compete with 125I-labeled digoxigenin for binding to anti-digoxin antiserum. As performed using the Gammaflo automated radioimmunoassay system and commercially available reagents, the assay can detect as little as 20 μg/ml (15 μM) digitonin. The assay is insensitive to interference by cholesterol or other cell membrane constituents and is useable above and below the critical micelle concentration of digitonin. It should be useful for the monitoring of digitonin concentrations in solubilized biochemical preparations.
Mightier than the sickle cell

In this issue of Blood , Chang and colleagues demonstrate that a synthetic small molecule inhibitor designed to displace ligand binding to E-selectin disrupts key signaling and activation events leading to vaso-occlusion in SCD.[1][1] The age-old adage “the pen is mightier than the sword”
Comparison of alternative nonmarket valuation methods for an economic assessment of a public program

Abstract This paper contributes to the discussion of the problem of integrating ecological and economic costs of public programs for mosquito abatement. The study illustrates the economic optimum level that could equate marginal cost to marginal benefit. The case study of a Texas gulf coast county demonstrates that the current largely chemical control program has an estimated benefit cost ratio of about 1.9 whether based on the expenditure function approach or the contingent valuation method. Costs of short- and long-run damages to public health and the environment have not been estimated. However, residents would be willing to pay nearly double the current program cost for ecologically sensitive control measures as they are developed.
Austro-American Relations during the Era of the American Civil War

For most of the nineteenth century prior to the American Civil War relations between the United States and Austria were characterized by rancor and ill feeling. As Protestants with strong nativist sentiments and republicans anxious to spread their political institutions to other nations, Americans generally regarded Catholic Austria and its conservative monarchy with great suspicion and distrust. An attempt by an Austrian Catholic missionary society in the 1820's to foster Catholicism in America led to sharp recriminations against the government in Vienna, which some even accused of supporting conspiracies against the United States. In 1848, when revolution swept the Habsburg empire, Americans almost unanimously supported the revolutionaries, condemning an Austria which the North American Review called a “conglomeration of dissimilar races having no principle of unity but despotism.” Secretary of State John M. Clayton ordered A. Dudley Mann to Hungary to welcome the country into the family of nations as soon as her independence was assured. When the Hungarian revolutionary leader Lajos Kossuth toured the United States, he met a hero's welcome wherever he went. In response, Austria pursued an unfriendly policy of her own towards the United States, even briefly breaking off diplomatic relations.
Response of engineered cartilage to mechanical insult depends on construct maturity

Summary Injury to articular cartilage leads to degenerative changes resulting in a loss of mechanical and biochemical properties. In engineered cartilage, the injury response of developing constructs is unclear. Objective To characterize the cellular response of tissue-engineered constructs cultured in chemically-defined medium after mechanical insult, either by compression-induced cracking, or by cutting, as a function of construct maturity. Methods Primary immature bovine articular chondrocytes (4–6 weeks) were encapsulated in agarose hydrogel (2%, 30 millioncells/mL) and cultured in chemically-defined medium supplemented with Transforming growth factor (TGF)-β3 (10ng/mL, first 2 weeks). At early (5 days) and late (35 days) times in culture, subsets of constructs were exposed to mechanical overload to produce a crack in the tissue or were exposed to a sharp wound with a perpendicular cut. Constructs were returned to culture and allowed to recover in static conditions. Mechanical and biochemical properties were evaluated at 2-week intervals to day 70, and cellular viability was assessed at 2-week intervals to day 85. Results Constructs injured early in culture recovered their mechanical stiffness back to control values, regardless of the mode of injury. Later in culture, when constructs exhibited properties similar to those of native cartilage, compression-induced cracking catastrophically damaged the bulk matrix of the tissue and resulted in permanent mechanical failure with persistent cell death. No such detrimental outcomes were observed with cutting. Biochemical content was similar across all groups irrespective of mode or time of injury. Conclusions Unlike native cartilage, engineered cartilage constructs exhibit a reparative capacity when the bulk integrity of the developing tissue is preserved after injury.
Manganese superoxide dismutase from Thermus thermophilus. A structural model refined at 1.8 A resolution.

The structure of Mn(III) superoxide dismutase (Mn(III)SOD) from Thermus thermophilus, a tetramer of chains 203 residues in length, has been refined by restrained least-squares methods. The R-factor (= ∑¦¦Fo¦−¦Fc¦¦∑¦Fo¦) for the 54,056 unique reflections measured between 10·0 and 1·8 A (96% of all possible reflections) is 0·176 for a model comprising the protein dimer and 180 bound solvents, the asymmetric unit of the P41212 cell. The monomer chain forms two domains as determined by distance plots: the N-terminal domain is dominated by two long antiparallel helices (residues 21 to 45 and 69 to 89) and the C-terminal domain (residues 100 to 203) is an α + β structure including a three-stranded sheet. Features that may be important for the folding and function of this MnSOD include: (1) a cis-proline in a turn preceding the first long helix; (2) a residue inserted at position 30 that distorts the helix near the first Mn ligand; and (3) the locations of glycine and proline residues in the domain connector (residues 92 to 99) and in the vicinity of the short cross connection (residues 150 to 159) that links two strands of the β-sheet. Domain-domain contacts include salt bridges between arginine residues and acidic side chains, an extensive hydrophobic interface, and at least ten hydrogen-bonded interactions. The tetramer possesses 222 symmetry but is held together by only two types of interfaces. The dimer interface at the non-crystallographic dyad is extensive (1000 A2 buried surface/ monomer) and incorporates 17 trapped or structural solvents. The dimer interface at the crystallographic dyad buries fewer residues (750 A2/monomer) and resembles a snap fastener in which a type I turn thrusts into a hydrophobic basket formed by a ring of helices in the opposing chain. Each of the metal sites is fully occupied, with the Mn(III) five-co-ordinate in trigonal bipyramidal geometry. One of the axial ligands is solvent; the four protein ligands are His28, His83, Asp166 and His170. Surrounding the metal-ligand cluster is a shell of predominantly hydrophobic residues from both chains of the asymmetric unit (Phe86A, Trp87A, Trp132A, Trp168A, Tyr183A, Tyr172B, Tyr173B), and both chains collaborate in the formation of a solvent-lined channel that terminates at Tyr36 and His32 near the metal ion and is presumed to be the path by which substrate or other inner-sphere ligands reach the metal. A pocket adjoining the metal, formed by His33, Trp87, His83 and Tyr36, is postulated to be the substrate-binding site. Refinement of 2.3 A data from crystals reduced with dithionite indicates that the co-ordination geometry at the metal is not changed by reduction.
Resistance of T-Cell Receptor δ-Chain-Deficient Mice to Experimental Candida albicans Vaginitis

ABSTRACT Conditions consistent with tolerance or immunoregulation have been observed in experimental Candida albicansvaginal infections. The present study investigated the role of γ/δ T cells in experimental vaginal candidiasis. Results showed that T-cell receptor δ-chain-knockout mice had significantly less vaginal fungal burden when compared to wild-type mice, suggesting an immunoregulatory role for γ/δ T cells in Candidavaginitis.
The acceleration in papillary thyroid cancer incidence rates is similar among racial and ethnic groups in the United States.

Reports of similar age-specific incidence rates and a female-to-male gender disparity by racial/ethnic groups suggests that further consideration of race-specific patterns may confer insight into the possible causes of thyroid cancer or explanations for the increase in incidence. We used the National Cancer Institute’s (NCIs) surveillance, epidemiology, and end results (SEER) program and Joinpoint Regression for cases diagnosed during 1992–2009 to investigate trends and rates of acceleration for papillary thyroid cancer by gender and race/ethnicity. We determined the annual percent change (APC) and found a yearly increase of 7.0 % for papillary thyroid cancer for the most recent APC trend, with an APC of 6.3 and 7.1 % for white males and females, respectively; an APC of 4.3 and 8.4 % for black males and females, respectively; an APC of 4.2 and 6.7 % for Hispanic males and females, respectively; and an APC of 3.4 and 6.4 % in Asian/PI males and females, respectively. The APC projections show the rates of papillary thyroid cancer rising in males, but the patterns are more dramatic in females, with rates of papillary thyroid cancer in females surpassing rates of common cancers and becoming the third most common cancer in women of all ages by 2019. Although the lowest rates of thyroid cancer are observed in blacks, the greatest rate of acceleration is occurring in black females. Our data also show that the rate of papillary thyroid cancer will continue to surpass rates of ovarian cancer, and in white women: it is projected to be more incident than colorectal cancer as well; and in Hispanic and Asian/Pacific Islander women, rates of papillary thyroid cancer are projected to be higher than lung, colorectal, and ovarian cancers in the near future.
Detecting Intruders Using a Long Connection Chain to Connect to a Host

A common technique hackers use to break into a computer host is to route their traffic through a chain of stepping-stone hosts. There is no valid reason to use a long connection chain for remote login such as SSH connections. One way to protect a host of being attacked is to identify long connection chains connecting into the host. This paper proposes a novel method to identify long connection chains from short chains using a pre-computed short chain profile. Each new connection will be compared to the profile. Any connection that differs significantly from the profile will be considered as a suspicious long connection. Several methods are used to adjust with user's different typing speed. Validation results show that more than 80% long chains can be correctly detected for chains of length 4 or higher.
Bacteria and soluble oil dermatitis

Simultaneous investigation of the bacterial flora of a soluble oil in use as a metalworking fluid and of the skin of machine operatives exposed to that soluble oil did not support the hypothesis that bacteria in soluble oil emulsions colonise the skin and either initiative or maintain the dermatitis associated with soluble oil exposure.
Social Workers' Attitudes towards People Living with HIV/AIDS in Kentucky

This study examined social workers attitudes towards persons living with HIV/AIDS in Kentucky. The study utilized a secondary data set of 58 licensed masters’ level social workers from a survey that was originally completed as part of a continuing education seminar on HIV/AIDS issues. The survey consisted of nine statements that were answered with “YES” or “NO”. The survey also contained a number of demographic questions. The findings showed that the majority of the participants (81%, n=47) had positive attitudes towards persons living with HIV/AIDS. Participants with previous experience working with persons living with HIV/AIDS were found to be more likely to hold positive attitudes than those with no previous experience.
Theoretical analysis of the minimization of the temperature sensitivity of a coated optical fiber in a fiber-optic polarimeter

Closed-form solutions are used to analyze the effects of low-frequency temperature changes on coated optical fiber in a polarimeter. It is shown that coating the optical fiber with certain materials to an appropriate thickness can, theoretically, produce a zero temperature sensitivity. >
Clarithromycin in γ-aminobutyric acid-Related hypersomnolence: A randomized, crossover trial.

Objective Some central hypersomnolence syndromes are associated with a positive allosteric modulator of γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA)-A receptors in cerebrospinal fluid. Negative allosteric modulators of GABA-A receptors, including clarithromycin, have been reported to reduce sleepiness in these patients. We sought to systematically assess the effects of clarithromycin on objective vigilance and subjective sleepiness. Methods This was a 5-week, randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind, crossover trial of clarithromycin 500mg with breakfast and lunch, in patients with hypersomnolence syndromes (excluding narcolepsy with cataplexy) and evidence for abnormal cerebrospinal fluid potentiation of GABA-A receptors. The study occurred at a university-affiliated medical center. The primary outcome measure was median reaction time on the psychomotor vigilance task (PVT) at week 2 in each condition. Secondary outcomes included the Epworth Sleepiness Scale, Stanford Sleepiness Scale, Functional Outcomes of Sleep Questionnaire, Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, SF-36, and additional PVT measures. Results Twenty-three patients began treatment. Three patients dropped out, and final analyses were performed on 20 complete cases. Median reaction time was not significantly different between clarithromycin and placebo. Subjective measures of sleepiness were significantly improved on clarithromycin versus placebo. Altered taste perception occurred, but was the only side effect more common on clarithromycin than placebo. No serious adverse events occurred. Interpretation Subjective sleepiness, but not psychomotor vigilance, improved during a 2-week course of clarithromycin. Although additional studies are needed, this suggests that clarithromycin may be a reasonable treatment option in patients with treatment-refractory hypersomnolence. This trial was registered at ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT01146600) and supported by the American Sleep Medicine Foundation. Ann Neurol 2015 Ann Neurol 2015;78:454–465
Evolution speed in some coupled-spin models

We investigate the time evolution of some models with $N$ spins and pairwise couplings, for the case of large $N$, in order to compare evolution times with ``speed-limit'' minima derived in the literature. Both in a (symmetric) case with couplings of the same strength between each pair and in a case of broken symmetry, the times necessary for evolution to a state in which the simplest initial state has evolved into a nearly orthogonal state are proportional to $1∕N$, as is the speed limit time. However, the coefficient in the broken symmetry case comes much closer to the speed limit value. Introducing a different criterion for evolution speed, based on macroscopic changes in occupation, we find a corresponding enhancement in rates in the asymmetric case as compared to the symmetric case.
Rapid evolutionary dynamics and disease threats to biodiversity

Existing and emerging pathogens pose unusual challenges for conservation because of their potential to drive rapid changes in the numerical abundance and genetic composition of wild host populations. An increasing number of studies indicate that host genetic diversity plays an important role in buffering populations against widespread epidemics, and that parasites represent powerful selective agents in natural populations. The observation that infectious diseases might be both mitigated by and rapidly change the genetic composition of host populations gives new significance to the role of host genetic diversity in species conservation. Less clear is the role that pathogen evolutionary change plays in the emergence and spread of new diseases, but recent examples indicate that humans might be selecting unknowingly for rapid changes in pathogen biology through habitat fragmentation, climate shifts and environmental pollution. Although the risks they pose to endangered species are apparent, pathogens and other natural enemies can be a driving force behind species and genetic diversity in natural populations, and preserving interacting networks of coevolving populations should enable hosts to respond better to future disease threats.
Feature weighting using neural networks

We propose a feature weighting method for classification tasks by extracting relevant information from a trained neural network. This method weights an attribute based on strengths (weights) of related links in the neural network, in which an important feature is typically connected to strong links and has more impact on the outputs. This method is applied to feature weighting for the nearest neighbor classifier and is tested on 15 real-world classification tasks. The results show that it can improve the nearest neighbor classifier on 14 of the 15 tested tasks, and also outperforms the neural network on 9 tasks.
Using game format to teach psychopharmacology to medical students.

Background: Most psychiatric programs provide lectures on basic principles of psychopharmacology. Yet, this traditional approach has been criticized due to excessive information and passive transfer of expert knowledge. An alternative teaching method is the use of “academic games.”Aims: To investigate medical students’ acquisition of knowledge on psychopharmacology, and their perception of a game playing approach compared to traditional lectures.Methods: Two senior residents designed, implemented, and executed a randomized pretest–posttest study to teach psychopharmacology, using an academic game and a lecture format, to third-year medical students during a 6-week Psychiatry clerkship. Both didactic interventions were delivered concurrently for five consecutive weeks covering five psychopharmacology modules: antidepressants I (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors and atypical antidepressants), antidepressants II (monoamine oxidase inhibitors and tricyclic antidepressants), mood stabilizers, antipsychot...