cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Infectious complications of endoscopic procedures in bone marrow transplant recipients

The prevalence of clinically relevant bacteremia after endoscopic procedures in bone marrow transplant recipients was assessed retrospectively. Bacteremia, within 24 hr of procedure, was defined as positive blood cultures, while hypotension and temperature greater than 38° C were taken as possible indicators of bacteremia. Sixty-seven procedures were performed in 53 endoscopic sessions (upper endoscopy 37, flexible sigmoidoscopy 7, upper endoscopy + flexible sigmoidoscopy 8, colonoscopy 1). Twenty-five endoscopic sessions were performed in patients receiving broad-spectrum antibiotics and 28 sessions in patients not receiving antibiotics. Both groups were comparable with respect to patient characteristics, procedures performed, and immune status. No patient in either group developed hypotension. One patient developed fever after flexible sigmoidoscopy; no source of fever was identified. We conclude that: (1) there were no episodes of clinically relevant bacteremia attributable to endoscopic procedures, and (2) not all bone marrow transplant recipients require routine antibiotic prophylaxis prior to endoscopic procedures.
Evaluation of variable volume and temperature HVAC system for commercial and residential buildings

Abstract The variable volume and temperature (VVT) system can meet energy efficiency constraints during peak and partial load conditions while maintaining thermal comfort requirements. Although there are numerous alternatives available for changeover from an existing inefficient constant-air-volume system, the VVT system is of particular interest due to the favorable economics and minimal time requirements for installation. The objectives of this paper are (1) the presentation of simulation results for constant-air-volume, variable-air-volume, and VVT systems; and (2) the comparison of annual energy consumption and economic selection factors for these systems. A typical three-story office building and a typical residential building, located in Des Moines, Iowa, were examined. The results show that the VVT system should be considered during the design stages for new projects and as a replacement in retrofit projects. For a commercial office building, the payback period for retrofit from a constant-air-volume system to the VVT system is estimated at 3–4 yr. For a residential building, capital-cost-recovery periods of 6 mo for retrofit and 18 mo for a new installation of the VVT system are predicted.
Mothers’ preferences and willingness to pay for vaccinating daughters against human papillomavirus

A choice-format, conjoint-analysis survey was developed and fielded to estimate how features of human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccines affect mothers' perceived benefit and stated vaccine uptake for daughters. Data were collected from a national sample of 307 U.S. mothers of girls aged 13-17 years who had not yet received an HPV vaccine. Preferences for four features of HPV vaccines were evaluated: protection against cervical cancer, protection against genital warts, duration of protection, and cost. We estimate that mean maximum willingness-to-pay (WTP)-an economic measure of the total benefits to consumers-for current HPV vaccine technology ranges between $560 and $660. All vaccine features were statistically significant determinants of WTP and uptake. Mothers were willing to pay $238 more for a vaccine that provides 90% protection for genital warts relative to a vaccine that provides no protection against warts. WTP for lifetime protection vs. 10 years protection was $245. Mothers strongly valued greater cervical cancer efficacy, with 100% protection against cervical cancers the most desired feature overall. Adding a second HPV vaccine choice to U.S. consumers' alternatives is predicted to increase stated uptake by 16%. Several features were significantly associated with stated choices and uptake: age of mother, race/ethnicity, household income, and concern about HPV risks. These findings provide new data on how HPV vaccines are viewed and valued by mothers, and how uptake may change in the context of evolving vaccine technology and as new data are reported on duration and efficacy.
Synthesis of methyl α-sialosides N-substituted with large alkanoyl groups, and investigation of their inhibition of agglutination of erythrocytes by influenza A virus

The synthesis of a series of new inhibitors of the binding of influenza virus to erythrocytes is described. The inhibitors are derivatives of sialic acid with C4 – C14 alkanoic acids groups attached at the N5 position as acyl groups. These molecules were evaluated for their ability to prevent virus-induced agglutination of erythrocytes. There appears to be a correlation between increased chain length and increased inhibition of virus-induced agglutination of erythrocytes These derivatives did not, however, show increased binding to BHA, a soluble form of the lectin hemagglutinin that is responsible for the attachment of virus to cell.
Secular changes in the amount and texture of dolomite

The amount of dolomite in Cenozoic carbonates is lower than throughout most of the Paleozoic, a difference that could be due to changes in either chemical conditions or physical conditions that lead to extensive dolomitization. The abundance of mimetic (texturally retentive) dolomites in the Cenozoic suggests that chemical conditions were unusually favorable for dolomite formation, and, therefore, it must be physical conditions that explain the paucity of Cenozoic dolomites. One reasonable explanation for the paucity of Cenozoic dolomites is that glacio-eustatic sea-level fluctuations reduced the amount of time carbonate sediments were in contact with dolomitizing solutions.
Theory of Some Laser Noise Effects

A simple version of the semiclassical theory is applied to the shot effect. Considerations of thermal noise reported by Lamb (1965) are extended to take into account amplitude fluctuations. The laser is considered to be a lossy cavity of the Fabry-Perot type in single-mode operation with a circular frequency driven by an inverted population of active atoms. The electric field is taken to be transverse to the cavity axis. The amplitude and phase are assumed to be slowly varying functions which satisfy two self-consistency equations.
Corporate bond ratings changes and economic instability: Evidence from the Korean financial crisis

Abstract This study presents the first empirical analysis of the impact of bond ratings changes during periods of significant economic instability. Using the Korean financial crisis as the experimental stimulus, the study documents that changes in Korean bond ratings during the financial crisis resulted in dramatically stronger changes in stock prices than ratings changes of identical magnitude announced either before or after the crisis.
Conveyor belt clock synchronization

A protocol for synchronizing distant clocks is proposed that does not rely on the arrival times of the signals which are exchanged, and an optical implementation based on coherent-state pulses is described. This protocol is not limited by any dispersion that may be present in the propagation medium through which the light signals are exchanged. Possible improvements deriving from the use of quantum-mechanical effects are also addressed.
Calcium-Activated Neutral Proteinase (Calpain) System in Aging and Alzheimer's Diseasea

Calpains (CANPs) are a family of calcium-dependent cysteine proteases under complex cellular regulation. By making selective limited proteolytic cleavages, they activate or alter the regulation of certain enzymes, including key protein kinases and phosphatases, and induce specific cytoskeletal rearrangements, accounting for their suspected involvement in intracellular signaling, vesicular trafficking, and structural stabilization. Calpain activity has been implicated in various aging phenomena, including cataract formation and erythrocyte senescence. Abnormal activation of the large stores of latent calpain in neurons induces cell injury and is believed to underlie neurodegeneration in excitotoxicity, Wallerian degeneration, and certain other neuropathologic states involving abnormal calcium influx. In Alzheimer's disease, we found the ratio of activated calpain I to its latent precursor isoform in neocortex to be threefold higher than that in normal individuals and those with Huntington's or Parkinson's disease. Immunoreactivity toward calpastatin, the endogenous inhibitor of calpain, was also markedly reduced in layers II-V of the neocortex in Alzheimer's disease. The excessive calpain system activation suggested by these findings represents a potential molecular basis for synaptic loss and neuronal cell death in the brain in Alzheimer's disease given the known destructive actions of calpain I and its preferential neuronal and synaptic localization. In surviving cells, persistent calpain activation may also contribute to neurofibrillary pathology and abnormal amyloid precursor protein trafficking/processing through its known actions on protein kinases and the membrane skeleton. The degree of abnormal calpain activation in the brain in Alzheimer's disease strongly correlated with the extent of decline in levels of secreted amyloid precursor protein in brain. Cytoskeletal proteins that are normally good calpain substrates become relatively calpain resistant when they are hyperphosphorylated, which may contribute to their accumulation in neurofibrillary tangles. As a major effector of calcium signals, calpain activity may mirror disturbances in calcium homeostasis and mediate important pathologic consequences of such disturbances.
Effects of variation in superoxide dismutases (SOD) on oxidative stress and apoptosis in lens epithelium.

Among the critical antioxidant enzymes that protect the cells against oxidative stress are superoxide dismutases: CuZnSOD (Sod1) and MnSOD (Sod2). The latter is also implicated in apoptosis. To determine the importance of these enzymes in protection against reactive oxygen species (ROS) in the lens, we analysed DNA strand breaks in lens epithelium from transgenic and knockout (Sod1) mice following exposure to H2O2 in organ culture. Since Sod2 knockouts do not survive, comparison was made of lenses of partially-deficient (heterozygote) for Sod2 and the wild-type controls which have twice the enzyme level. Antioxidant potential of Sod2 was also studied in human lens epithelial cells (SRA01/04) in which the enzyme was up- and down-regulated by transfection with plasmids containing sense and antisense human cDNA for MnSOD. DNA strand breaks in the epithelium of Sod1 knockouts and Sod2 heterozygotes were much greater than in the corresponding wild-type or in transgenic mice over-expressing the enzymes when the lenses were exposed to H2O2. The functional role of Sod2 in apoptosis was examined in cultured human lens epithelial cells. Cells with higher enzyme levels were more resistant to the cytotoxic effects of H2O2, O2− and UV–B radiation. Furthermore, Sod2-deficient cells showed dramatic mitochondrial damage, cytochrome C leakage, caspase 3 activation and increased apoptotic cell death when they were challenged with O2−. Thus, mitochondrial enzyme (Sod2) deficiency plays an important role in the initiation of apoptosis in the lens epithelium.
Changes in metatarsal robusticity following experimental surgery

When a marginal metatarsal (M1 or M5) is amputated in neonatal rats, robusticity increases in all other metatarsals in both sexes. The robusticity increase is greatest in the metatarsal adjacent to the operation and declines in the direction away from it. The tripod structure of the rat's foot with its maximum robusticity of the marginal metatarsals is retained. When both marginal metatarsals are removed, this tripod arrangement is less clearly retained. When robusticity of all remaining metatarsals is averaged in a total robusticity quotient, total robusticity increase is greater in M1 than in M5 removal and greatest when both are removed. Total increase is greater in females than in males. Metatarsal robusticity increases result from retardation of longitudinal growth and increase of weight. The fact that some robusticity increases coincide with lesser length but not with increased weight suggests that in the process of robusticity increase longitudinal growth retardation precedes that of weight increase. Lesser length and greater weight of a long bone occurs also when hypofunction is produced in neonatal rats. However, in hypofunction the thickness of the compacta is increased leading to an obliteration of the medullary canal, while in the experimental metatarsals of this study, submitted to greater weight-bearing stresses, this canal is never reduced or obliterated.
Confinement and spin-statistics in the deconfined phase

Abstract It is argued that the infrared modes become more important in QCD as the temperature is increased. They lead to dynamical breakdown of the symmetry with respect to the fundamental group of global gauge transformations at the deconfinement phase transition. The triality charge of the deconfined quarks is screened by this symmetry breaking. It is pointed out that states with unusual spin-statistics are supported by the deconfined phase. We predict the appearance of some gluonic neutral “hadron” states in the high temperature phase.
Fabrication of suspended fully metallic ultra‐small capacitance nano‐junctions

We demonstrate the fabrication of freely suspended metallic islands using an SF6 etching and deposition technique. The resulting structure consists of nanoscale islands connected to source and drain contacts by thin CF2 layers. This enables operation of the suspended island as a coupled metal–insulator–metal (MIM) junction with application as ultra-sensitive nano-diodes. (© 2010 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)
Family options for parents with mental illnesses: a developmental, mixed methods pilot study

Objective The objective of this paper is to provide a description of Family Options, a rehabilitation intervention for parents with serious mental illnesses and their children focusing on recovery and resilience, and to report the findings from a pilot study at 6-months post-enrollment for participating mothers. Methods A developmental design, and mixed quantitative and qualitative methods facilitate an in-depth understanding of Family Options and its impact on parents early in the implementation process. Results Participating families faced significant challenges, including long-term mental health conditions in adults, and emotional and behavioral difficulties in children. Data from mothers (n = 22) demonstrate significant improvements in well-being, functioning, and supports and resources at 6 months post-enrollment in Family Options. Mothers report help from Family Options staff consistent with the intervention as conceptualized, and high levels of satisfaction with the intervention as delivered. Conclusions Innovative study design and analytic strategies are required to build the evidence base and promote rapid dissemination of effective interventions. Findings from this study will assist purveyors in refining the intervention, and will lay the groundwork for further replication and testing to build the evidence base for parents with serious mental illnesses and their families.
Alcohol consumption and 17-year mortality in the Chicago Western Electric Company study.

Abstract The association between baseline alcohol intake and mortality from all causes and specific causes based on 17 years of follow-up experience was analyzed for 1,832 white males originally age 40–55 from the Chicago Western Electric Company study. Alcohol consumption was expressed as number of drinks per day for all intake combined, including hard liquor, beer, and wine, based on the maximum intake reported on three questionnaires. With mortality rates adjusted only for age, total intake was associated with increased risk of death from all causes, the cardiovascular diseases, coronary heart disease, cancer, and other causes at the level of six or more drinks per day. There was no increase in mortality with increasing alcohol consumption below this level. Only the associations between alcohol intake and death from the cardiovascular diseases and coronary heart disease failed to persist after adjustment for other risk factors, such as smoking and blood pressure. When the deaths were divided into those occurring within the first 10 years of follow-up and those occurring more than 10 years after entry, the association between baseline alcohol intake and mortality was generally stronger for those deaths occurring more than 10 years after entry.
An Infrared Absorption Band System of Iodine

A vibrational analysis is given for a group of weak bands observed between 8300A and 9300A in the absorption spectrum of saturated iodine vapor at temperatures between 80\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{} and 150\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{}C. The system is analogous to the extreme red system of bromine, being due to transitions from the normal state to an electronic state of small $D$ value (\ensuremath{\sim}0.08 volts) dissociating into normal atoms. A region of continuous absorption, presumably associated with the band system, and having a maximum at 7320\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}50A has been observed.
Potential habitat loss and population fragmentation for cold water fish in the North Platte River drainage of the Rocky Mountains : Response to climate warming

We used three approaches to examine potential habitat loss in relation to climate warming for cold water species of fish in the North Platte River drainage in Wyoming. The projected loss of habitat varied among approaches, but all methods indicated a noticeable loss of habitat for even minor increases in temperature. An approach based on the use of summer air temperatures to define the thermal limits of cold water species estimated a loss of 9-76% of the present geographic range for temperature increases of 1-5°C. A second approach, also based on air temperature limits, projected a loss of 7-64% of the stream distance currently having thermally suitable habitat for cold water fish for temperature increases of 1-5°C. A third approach, based on the use of summer water temperatures to define the thermal limits of cold water species, projected a loss of 16-69% of the stream distance currently having thermally suitable habitat for temperature increases of 1-5°C. In addition to habitat loss, population fragmentation would occur as remaining enclaves of cold water fish are forced to retreat to increasingly isolated headwater stream reaches.
Factors in the Development of Modern Biblical Study

The impression which is likely to be derived from the reading of a history of biblical interpretation is that modern criticism is a goal which has been attained by an evolution in which the curve of progress is fairly steady and constant. There seems to be a tacit assumption that such adjectives as “modern,” “critical,” and “scientific” as applied to biblical studies are synonymous and equally deserved. The occasional appearance of a critical judgment in the work of ancient worthies is regarded as an “anticipation” of modern views. In most histories of interpretation the beginnings of modern criticism are found in the Renaissance and the Reformation, so that Luther and Calvin are regarded as biblical scholars; the importance of New Testament studies in the work of Erasmus is exaggerated, and processes of scientific criticism are pictured as in effect before the impact of discovery brought a new world-view into being.
Making Ecuadorian Histories: Four Centuries of Defining Power

Making Ecuadorian Histories: Four Centuries of Defining Power. O. Hugo Benavides, Austin: University of Texas Press, 2004. 231 pp.
Linear Network Error Correction Codes in Packet Networks

In this paper, we study basic properties of linear network error correction codes, their construction and error correction capability for various kinds of errors. Our discussion is restricted to the single-source multicast case. We define the minimum distance of a network error correction code. This plays the same role as it does in classical coding theory. We construct codes that can correct errors up to the full error correction capability specified by Singleton bound for network error correction codes recently established by Cai and Yeung. We propose a decoding principle for network error correction codes, based on which we introduce two decoding algorithms and analyze their performance. We formulate the global kernel error correction problem and characterize the error correction capability of codes for this kind of error.
Hexuronic Acid Stereochemistry Determination in Chondroitin Sulfate Glycosaminoglycan Oligosaccharides by Electron Detachment Dissociation

Electron detachment dissociation (EDD) has previously provided stereo-specific product ions that allow for the assignment of the acidic C-5stereochemistry in heparan sulfate glycosaminoglycans (GAGs), but application of the same methodology to an epimer pair in the chondroitin sulfate glycoform class does not provide the same result. A series of experiments have been conducted in which glycosaminoglycan precursor ions are independently activated by electron detachment dissociation (EDD), electron induced dissociation (EID), and negative electron transfer dissociation (NETD) to assign the stereochemistry in chondroitin sulfate (CS) epimers and investigate the mechanisms for product ion formation during EDD in CS glycoforms. This approach allows for the assignment of electronic excitation products formed by EID and detachment products to radical pathways in NETD, both of which occur simultaneously during EDD. The uronic acid stereochemistry in electron detachment spectra produces intensity differences when assigned glycosidic and cross-ring cleavages are compared. The variations in the intensities of the doubly deprotonated 0,2X3 and Y3 ions have been shown to be indicative of CS-A/DS composition during the CID of binary mixtures. These ions can provide insight into the uronic acid composition of binary mixtures in EDD, but the relative abundances, although reproducible, are low compared with those in a CID spectrum acquired on an ion trap. The application of principal component analysis (PCA) presents a multivariate approach to determining the uronic acid stereochemistry spectra of these GAGs by taking advantage of the reproducible peak distributions produced by electron detachment.
LARS*: An Efficient and Scalable Location-Aware Recommender System

This paper proposes LARS*, a location-aware recommender system that uses location-based ratings to produce recommendations. Traditional recommender systems do not consider spatial properties of users nor items; LARS*, on the other hand, supports a taxonomy of three novel classes of location-based ratings, namely, spatial ratings for non-spatial items , non-spatial ratings for spatial items , and spatial ratings for spatial items . LARS* exploits user rating locations through user partitioning , a technique that influences recommendations with ratings spatially close to querying users in a manner that maximizes system scalability while not sacrificing recommendation quality. LARS* exploits item locations using travel penalty , a technique that favors recommendation candidates closer in travel distance to querying users in a way that avoids exhaustive access to all spatial items. LARS* can apply these techniques separately, or together, depending on the type of location-based rating available. Experimental evidence using large-scale real-world data from both the Foursquare location-based social network and the MovieLens movie recommendation system reveals that LARS* is efficient, scalable, and capable of producing recommendations twice as accurate compared to existing recommendation approaches.
Polyvascular atherosclerotic disease: recognizing the risks and managing the syndrome.

AbstractBackground:Patients with an initial ischemic event secondary to atherosclerosis have an increased risk of suffering a recurrent event not only in the same vascular territory, but in other territories as well. Patients with polyvascular disease, or atherosclerotic disease in more than one vascular territory, have worse clinical outcomes than those with disease in a single vascular territory. This suggests that atherosclerosis should be treated as a systemic disease with appropriately aggressive secondary preventive measures in order to prevent recurrent events throughout the arterial tree.Objective:To discuss relevant findings for the management of patients with polyvascular disease and provide guidance to clinicians who may not be aware of how best to manage these patients.Methods:Relevant English-language articles published from 1950 through February 2009 were identified by searching the Cochrane, MEDLINE, and Ovid databases using the terms ‘atherosclerosis,’ ‘atherothrombosis,’ ‘cerebrovascular ...
STUDIES ON LYSOSOMES I. THE EFFECTS OF ENDOTOXIN, ENDOTOXIN TOLERANCE, AND CORTISONE ON THE RELEASE OF ACID HYDROLASES FROM A GRANULAR FRACTION OF RABBIT LIVER

In the article by Janoff, Weissmann, Zweifach, and Thomas on Pathogenesis of experimental shock. IV, in Text-figs. 4 and 5, for /micrograms protein/hour read everywhere /100 micrograms protein/hour.
Stage-specific predation on Lygus hesperus affects its population stage structure

Evidence suggests that prey can vary in their susceptibility to predation depending on their developmental stage. Stage-dependent predation is of particular importance to integrated pest management, because it is often a particular developmental stage of a pest that causes the majority of the damage to the crop. An understanding of stage-dependent biocontrol is therefore important for predicting the ultimate impact of herbivore populations. In this article, we addressed this issue by focusing on the stage structure of Lygus hesperus Knight (Heteroptera: Miridae) populations in cotton as related to the density of a specific generalist predator. We first demonstrated in a field experiment that Geocoris spp. adults suppressed L. hesperus eggs and/or early instars (first through third), but did not suppress fourth through fifth instars or adult L. hesperus. We then demonstrated that this stage-specific predation translated into season-long shifts in the stage structure of L. hesperus populations in cotton fields. Using weekly sweep counts across 21 separate cotton fields, we found a negative correlation between season-long Geocoris spp. densities and season-long densities of L. hesperus nymphs. In contrast, there was no such correlation between Geocoris spp. and L. hesperus adults. Taken together, these results suggest that Geocoris spp. predators influence the stage structure of L. hesperus populations in cotton, which in turn has the potential to affect patterns of cotton square damage and sampling bias when monitoring L. hesperus populations.
Speed and time, texts and sentences: Choosing the best metric for relating reading rate to comprehension

The objective of this study was to explore the relationship of reading rate to reading comprehension using different scales for reading rate. Although fluency research typically measures reading rate as speed (in words-per-minute) using whole texts as the text unit of interest, reading research investigating situation models measures rate as time (in seconds) using individual sentences as the unit of interest. The current study compared the predictive powers of these contrasting metrics. Time was shown to be the superior metric when both text- and sentence-reading times were included as predictors of comprehension, along with an interaction between them. The time model accounted for the curvilinear nature of the relationship and explained almost half of the variance in comprehension without violating the homoscedasticity assumption.
Fundamental Difference of Transport Mechanisms Between ABC Importers and Exporters

ABC transporters use the energy of ATP to drive the active transport of various substrates across the membrane. All members of this superfamily share a common machinery of two nucleotide binding domains (NBDs) at their cytoplasmic side, which close and open in response to ATP binding and hydrolysis. Despite highly homologous NBDs, substrates can be either imported or exported in different subfamilies. Although crystal structures of ABC transporters have been resolved in different conformational/functional states, it is still puzzling how a common set of motor domains can drive transport in opposite directions. We use comparative molecular dynamics simulations of an ABC-importer (maltose transporter) and an ABC-exporter (P-glycoprotein), to investigate functionally relevant dynamical differences. The two transporters exhibit very different structural flexibility and fluctuations in their inward-facing states, especially with regard to the separation of the NBDs. Comparing the dynamics of NBDs, it becomes evident that ABC importers fluctuate significantly lower than ABC exporters, suggesting that the conformational ensembel obtained for the former represents a deeper energy well. In contrast, the NBDs of P-glycoprotein are able to reach near dimerized conformations even in the absence of the nucleotide due to the overall higher structural flexibility of the protein architecture. The dynamical difference between the two ABC transporters appears to present a fundamental mechanistic difference between the subfamilies they belong to, which can be described as different energy landscapes along their pathways for NBD dimerization. The difference in energy landscapes is evidenced by their transport activities in that the NBDs of the maltose transporter dimerize only in the presence of its substrate, whereas P-glycoprotein possesses a remarkable substrate-independent ATPase activity.
Small Size No Protection for Acrobat Ants: World's Smallest Fly is a Parasitic Phorid (Diptera: Phoridae)

A new species of phorid fly, Euryplatea nanaknihali (Diptera: Phoridae), is described from Thailand. This is the first Oriental Region record for this genus; it is otherwise known only from the type species from Africa, where it parasitizes ants of the genus Crematogaster Lund. The new species is probably capable of parasitizing the smallest host Crematogaster (Formicidae) ants in its range. At 0.40 mm in body length, it is the smallest known fly in the world.
Effect of temperature on pH and electrolyte concentration in air-breathing ectotherms.

The aim of this study was to determine the effects of temperature upon pH, protein charge and acid-base-relevant ion exchange in air-breathing ectotherms. Plasma and skeletal muscles in cane toads (Bufo marinus) and bullfrogs (Rana catesbeiana) were examined at 30, 20 and 10 degrees C. In addition, skeletal muscle ion concentrations were examined in black racer snakes (Coluber constrictor) at 30 and 10 degrees C. Cooling the amphibians produced a reduction in most of the plasma ion concentrations (Na(+), K(+), Ca(2+), Cl(−), SO(4)(2)(−)) and in protein concentration because of increased hydration. Between 30 and 10 degrees C, total plasma osmolality fell by 14 % in the toads and by 5 % in the frogs. Plasma protein charge, calculated using the principle of electroneutrality, was unaffected by temperature, except possibly for the toads at 10 degrees C. The in vivo skeletal muscle capdelta pHi/ capdelta T ratio, where pHi is intracellular pH and T is temperature, between 30 and 20 degrees C averaged −0.014 degrees C(−)(1) in the toads and −0.019 degrees C(−)(1) in the frogs. Between 20 and 10 degrees C, there was no change in pHi in the toads and a −0.005 degrees C(−)(1) change in the frogs. The in vitro skeletal muscle capdelta pHi/ capdelta T averaged −0.011 degrees C(−)(1) in both toads and frogs. In all three species, skeletal muscle inulin space declined with cooling. Intracellular ion concentrations were calculated by subtracting extracellular fluid ion concentrations from whole-muscle ion concentrations. In general, temperature had a large effect upon intracellular ion concentrations (Na(+), K(+), Cl(−)) and intracellular CO(2) levels. The relevance of the changes in intracellular ion concentration to skeletal muscle acid-base status and protein charge and the possible mechanisms producing the adjustments in intracellular ion concentration are discussed. It is concluded that ion-exchange mechanisms make an important contribution to adjusting pH with changes in temperature.
Psychophysiological measures applied to operational test and evaluation

Psychophysiological measures have the potential to supplement and eventually replace subjective measures in determining fatigue and workload in military and commercial systems during test and evaluation. With the advances in equipment (such as miniaturization) over the last decade, the use of various psychophysiological methods, particularly electroencephalography (EEG), has become more feasible in operational settings. Accompanying this capability is the necessity to develop valid methodology and ensure consistent results within individuals and similar situations using relatively automatic analysis and presenting the results in non-specialist terms. This paper reviews the rationale for using psychophysiological metrics, particularly EEG, during the test and evaluation process, and discusses the requirements for its use and acceptance by decision-makers and subjects. The comments in this paper are based on 14 years of observation.
The Reluctance of the Elderly to Accept Help.

This study is concerned with the methodology of needs assessment, and an understanding of why the elderly don't take advantage of existing programs and services. Data were obtained through 25 in-depth interviews, and briefer interview of clients and service personnel in senior centers, meal sites, and agencies. It was found that direct assessment of needs (via direct questions, suggestion lists, contingency planning and projection)may not be possible. The elderly are reluctant to admit need or accept help and may even deny using services. They seem to have devised their own model of services with those perceived to have been earned or which require a donation most acceptable and those having a minimum income eligibility least acceptable. Findings are explained in terms of relative deprivation and through an analysis of the social and economic history of age cohorts representing the older, younger and future elderly. It is concluded that since successive cohorts have experienced better times and a more liberal social atmosphere, they will feel increasingly needier and be increasingly aggressive about getting assistance.
FSelector: a Ruby gem for feature selection.

Summary: The FSelector package contains a comprehensive list of feature selection algorithms for supporting bioinformatics and machine learning research. FSelector primarily collects and implements the filter type of feature selection techniques, which are computationally efficient for mining large datasets. In particular, FSelector allows ensemble feature selection that takes advantage of multiple feature selection algorithms to yield more robust results. FSelector also provides many useful auxiliary tools, including normalization, discretization and missing data imputation. Availability: FSelector, written in the Ruby programming language, is free and open-source software that runs on all Ruby supporting platforms, including Windows, Linux and Mac OS X. FSelector is available from https://rubygems.org/gems/fselector and can be installed like a breeze via the command gem install fselector. The source code is available (https://github.com/need47/fselector) and is fully documented (http://rubydoc.info/gems/fselector/frames). Contact: vog.hin.mln.ibcn@gnawy or vog.hin.mln.ibcn@tnayrb Supplementary Information: Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
A Critique of "Alternatives to National Standards for Environmental Education: Process-Based Quality Assessment"

Upon invitation of the editor of the Canadian Journal of Environmental Education, some thoughts, contemplative disagreements, and hearty concurrences are offered in relation to the thought provoking article produced by Wals and van der Leij entitled “Alternatives to National Standards for Environmental Education: Process-Based Quality Assessment.” While it is always risky to make pronouncements without having had opportunity to personally interact with the writers, especially in such an international arena, there still might be some utility in a response arising from perspectives gained during 35 years of participation in the field of environmental education. The basic premise that national standards cannot be meaningfully established is receiving more support than the authors may have originally surmised. That premise apparently led to their interesting argument attempting to refute such establishment. In fact, it appears that the goal of establishing national environmental education standards is apparently falling of it’s own weight. It should be noted that the North American Association for Environmental Education (NAAEE), in an attempt to draft and publish a “National Environmental Education Standards” document, has already backed off and changed the name of their publication to Environmental Education Materials: Guidelines for Excellence (Simmons, 1997). Following a variety of debates at the 25th meeting of NAAEE in Burlingame, California it was apparent that consensus on national standards was not possible. The contention that “. . . such standards should focus on the quality of the learning process and not on some kind of learning outcome . . .” (Wals & van der Leij, 1997, p. 15) seems shortsighted in relation to the main goal of environmental education which is generally defined to be improvement in the “quality of life” (R.
Distributed end-to-end proportional delay differentiation in wireless LAN

Providing service differentiation in wireless networks has attracted much attention in recent research. Existing studies so far have focused on the design of MAC layer protocols to achieve distributed priority scheduling. While these works have been shown to achieve certain differentiation (higher throughput or lower delay for higher priority packets) at MAC layer, they did not consider the problem of service differentiation from end-to-end perspective. Moreover, these approaches did not present a formalized service differentiation model that quantifies the degree of differentiation, which is critical for service class selection and provision. This paper addresses above problems by introducing a clear service differentiation model, proportional service differentiation, to the domain of wireless network which targets at providing proportional delay differentiation in wireless LAN. Due to the unique characteristic of distributed medium sharing, the scheduling algorithm employed in wireline networks can not be applied directly to the context of the wireless network. We argue that delay differentiation in wireless LAN can be only achieved through a joint packet scheduling at network layer and distributed coordination at MAC layer. Hereby, we present a distributed waiting time priority scheduling (DWTP) algorithm which is deployed on a cross-layer architecture. DWTP consists of two tiers: an intra-node predictive WTP scheduler at network layer and an inter-node priority-based distributed coordination at MAC layer. These two tiers coordinate via cross-layer priority mapping to achieve proportional delay differentiation. Simulation results show that the cross-layer DWTP algorithm can effectively achieve proportional delay differentiation in wireless LAN.
5-Azacytidine Induces Transgene Silencing by DNA Methylation in Chinese Hamster Cells

The cytosine analog 5-azacytidine (5-AzaC) is a demethylating agent that is also known to induce mutagenesis in mammalian cells. In this study, the mutagenic potential of this drug was tested in the G10 and G12 transgenic Chinese hamster cell lines, which have a single bacterial gpt gene integrated into the genome at different sites, with its expression driven by a simian virus 40 (SV40) promoter. We show that the mutation frequencies following a 48-h exposure to different concentrations of 5-AzaC were 10 to 20 times higher than those of any of the other numerous mutagens that have been tested in the G10-G12 system. Moreover, the mutation frequencies were much higher in the G10 cell line than in the G12 cells. Detailed molecular analysis of the 6-thioguanine (6-TG)-resistant variants demonstrated that transgene silencing by de novo DNA methylation and increased chromatin condensation in the SV40 promoter was the major factor responsible for this high level of 6-TG resistance. As would be expected, exposure to 5-AzaC lowered the overall genomic DNA methylation levels, but it unexpectedly caused hypermethylation and increased chromatin condensation of the transgene in both the G10 and G12 cell lines. These results provide the first evidence that 5-AzaC may also induce transgene-specific DNA methylation, a phenomenon that can further be used for the elucidation of the mechanism that controls silencing of foreign DNA.
Morphology of the outer zone electron distribution at low altitudes from January through July and September 1963 from Injun 3

Morphology of outer zone electron distribution at low altitude - Injun III satellite measurement
Calcineurin and Beyond Cardiac Hypertrophic Signaling

In response to increased ventricular wall tension or neurohumoral stimuli, the myocardium undergoes an adaptive hypertrophy response that temporarily augments pump function. Although initially beneficial, sustained cardiac hypertrophy can lead to decompensation and cardiomyopathy. Recent studies have focused on characterizing the molecular mechanisms that underlie cardiac hypertrophy. An increasing number of signal transduction pathways have been identified as important regulators of the hypertrophic response, including the low-molecular weight GTPases (Ras, RhoA, and Rac), mitogen-activated protein kinases, protein kinase C, and calcineurin. This review will discuss an emerging body of evidence that implicates the calcium-calmodulin-activated protein phosphatase calcineurin as a physiological regulator of the cardiac hypertrophic response. Although the sufficiency of calcineurin to promote cardiomyocyte hypertrophy in vivo and in vitro is established, its overall necessity as a hypertrophic mediator is currently an area of ongoing debate. The use of the calcineurin-inhibitory agents cyclosporine A and FK506 have suggested a necessary role for calcineurin in many, but not all, animal models of hypertrophy or cardiomyopathy. The evidence implicating a role for calcineurin signaling in the heart will be weighed against a growing body of literature suggesting necessary roles for a diverse array of intracellular signaling pathways, highlighting the multifactorial nature of the hypertrophic program.
Technology and multicultural education: The question of convergence

(1998). Technology and multicultural education: The question of convergence. Theory Into Practice: Vol. 37, Technology and the Culture of Classrooms, pp. 11-19.
Holidays, triggers, and willpower--is there a role for medications? A commentary on "The effects of extended-release naltrexone on holiday drinking in alcohol-dependent patients".

The public health significance of the findings by Lapham et al. in this issue is huge. These authors found that individuals who received extended release naltrexone treatment were significantly better able to avoid episodes of heavy drinking during the holiday periods that have been shown to be triggers for relapse, risky drinking, and alcohol-related accidents. Here are two of themost significant implications from these findings. Medications, Holidays, and Willpower. Holidays are particularly perilous times for those in treatment for alcohol problems—for obvious reasons. These times mix the internal and external triggers of stress and celebration into a literally intoxicating cocktail. Although medications—particularly naltrexone—have been suggested as aides to help avoid alcohol-related problems like this for a long time, every clinician has the same two common and enduring laments:
Appeals and Laments: Is Complaining a Varity of Political Participation in Post-Soviet Russia?

Systems of representation and government accountability are poorly developed in post-Soviet Russia in part do to the weakness of interest groups, social movements, and other vehicles of political participation that feature in prominently in democratic governance in the West. This paper argues, however, that scholars' search for participatory practices analogous to those in the West has obscured other forms of public feedback in Russia, most notably appeals and complaints to state institutions. Complaint-making has a long history dating from the Soviet period and, according to some scholars, helped improve governance by the Communist Party. Lenin himself suggested that it was necessary 'to teach the people the immense value of practical complaints, bringing about as they do desirable and serious results.' Theoretically, it is also in the interest of the current Russian government to encourage public complaints in order to assess the implementation of various reforms and to mitigate corruption. This paper surveys avenues for appeals and complaints by the public to assess whether citizens are able to use these points of access to influence policy-making and contribute to the redefinition of the state's responsibilities toward the public.
Transboundary conservation: An ecoregional approach to protect neotropical migratory birds in South America

Future conservation efforts will need to transcend geopolitical boundaries in efforts to protect entire landscapes and ecosystems. Neotropical migratory birds are as a group a useful conservation tool for linking diverse landscapes and people due to their dependence on multiple habitats, sensitivity to habitat changes, and universal public appeal. The conservation of neotropical migrants can therefore function as a powerful hemispheric umbrella for ecosystem protection. Efforts to protect neotropical migratory birds on their nonbreeding grounds have traditionally been focused on Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean. To assess the importance of South America to neotropical migrants, an ecoregional classification system was used to determine species distributions in the Andean/Southern Cone Region (Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru, and Venezuela). The occurrence of migrants in protected areas that are part of The Nature Conservancy's Parks in Peril program was also assessed. Of the 406 neotropical migrant species, nearly one third (132) occur as regular nonbreeding residents in the region and for almost half of these species (53), South America is their main nonbreeding ground. All Parks in Peril sites were found to harbor neotropical migrants. Forty-eight species (36%) have declining longterm North American Breeding Bird Survey population trends and/or high Partners in Flight concern scores and thus are of significant conservation concern. Most importantly, 29 species (22%) of conservation concern use South America as their primary nonbreeding ground, indicating a need for focused conservation action. The nature of the ecoregional approach used in this endeavor makes future prioritization of ecoregions and conservation strategies for neotropical migrants across national boundaries possible. The ability to link diverse landscapes using a common element such as migratory birds allows for unique transboundary partnerships and opportunities for habitat conservation, which support the goal of the Conservancy's new Migratory Bird Initiative.
IMPACT OF VASODILATOR AGENTS ON VENTRICULAR FUNCTION DURING CARDIAC MRI STRESS TESTING

Stress cardiac MRI (CMR) is an effective modality to assess obstructive coronary disease. Despite differences in vasodilator stress drugs, CMR protocols do not differ based on drug choice. We evaluated each vasodilator’s effect on ventricular volumes and function over time. We propose that