cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Potential biochemical markers for infantile autism

Biochemical markers are crucial to the development of early diagnosis of infantile autism. The blood concentrations of neuroanalytes epinephrine, norepinephrine, dopamine, and serotonin were elevated in autistic subjects (n = 13) as compared to normal controls (n = 10). Autistic subjects had peptide patterns (peaks I-V, Sephadex G-25) that were different from those of normal controls. Methionine-enkephalin has been tentatively identified from fraction I of autistic subjects by HPLC as one of a large number of peptides that appears to be elevated. The HPLC chromatographic patterns of fraction V from all autistic subjects show a peak with retention time of 7.6 min. The HPLC of control urine fraction V revealed no comparable peaks.
Effects of aqueous suspensions of titanium dioxide nanoparticles on Artemia salina: assessment of nanoparticle aggregation, accumulation, and toxicity.

Aquatic stability and impact of titanium dioxide nanoparticles (TiO2 NPs, 10–30 nm) were investigated using Artemia salina. Acute exposure was conducted on nauplii (larvae) and adults in seawater in a concentration range from 10 to 100 mg/L TiO2 NPs for 24 and 96 h. Rapid aggregation occurred in all suspensions of TiO2 NPs to form micrometer size particles. Yet, both nauplii and adults accumulated the aggregates significantly. Average TiO2 content in nauplii ranged from 0.47 to 3.19 and from 1.29 to 4.43 mg/g in 24 and 96 h, respectively. Accumulation in adults was higher ranging from 2.30 to 4.19 and from 4.38 to 6.20 mg/g in 24 and 96 h, respectively. Phase contrast microscopy images revealed that Artemia were unable to excrete the particles. Thus, the TiO2 aggregates filled inside the guts. No significant mortality or toxicity occurred within 24 h at any dose. Lipid peroxidation levels characterized with malondialdehyde concentrations were not statistically different from those of the controls (p > 0.05). These results suggested that suspensions of the TiO2 NPs were nontoxic to Artemia, most likely due to the formation of benign TiO2 aggregates in water. In contrast, both mortality and lipid peroxidation increased in extended exposure to 96 h. Highest mortality occurred in 100 mg/L TiO2 NP suspensions; 18 % for nauplii and 14 % for adults (LC50 > 100 mg/L). These effects were attributed to the particle loading inside the guts leading to oxidative stress as a result of impaired food uptake for a long period of time.
Prevention of complications resulting from endovascular carotid sacrifice: a retrospective assessment.

Objective To determine the protective effects of various periprocedural interventions in the prevention of cerebral ischemia as a complication of endovascular carotid sacrifice (ECS). Methods Thirty-two cases of ECS performed at our institution, between October 1987 and July 1998, were reviewed. Fifteen patients underwent superficial temporal artery-to-middle cerebral artery bypass surgery. In 21 patients, the carotid artery was occluded proximal to the target lesion; and in 11 patients, a lesion trapping procedure was performed. Six patients were prophylactically anticoagulated, 14 received antiplatelet agents prophylactically, and 12 received no pharmacoprophylaxis. Results Among the six patients who were anticoagulated, there were no embolic events. Embolic events affected 4 of 14 patients receiving prophylactic antiplatelet agents, 2 of 12 patients receiving no pharmacoprophylaxis, 1 of 11 patients who underwent a trapping procedure, and 5 of 21 patients whose carotid artery was occluded proximal to the target lesion. Postocclusion cerebral ischemia developed in 7 of 15 patients who underwent bypass surgery, and in 1 of the remaining 17. Conclusion Superficial temporal artery-to-middle cerebral artery bypass did not protect against postocclusion cerebral ischemia after ECS in this series (P = 0.01). Although the small number of patients studied precludes statistical validity (P = 0.29), the trends suggest that antiplatelet agents provide no protection against postocclusion cerebral emboli after ECS. Prophylactic anticoagulation (P = 0.32) and lesion trapping (P = 0.12) may reduce the frequency of postocclusion embolic events after ECS; however, because of the small number of patients, statistical significance could not be demonstrated.
Estimating the Response of Extreme Precipitation over Midlatitude Mountains to Global Warming

AbstractGlobal warming–induced changes in extreme orographic precipitation are investigated using a hierarchy of models: a global climate model, a limited-area weather forecast model, and a linear mountain wave model. The authors consider precipitation changes over an idealized north–south midlatitude mountain barrier at the western margin of an otherwise flat continent. The intensities of the extreme events on the western slopes increase by approximately 4% K−1 of surface warming, close to the “thermodynamic” sensitivity of vertically integrated condensation in those events due to temperature variations when vertical motions stay constant. In contrast, the intensities of extreme events on the eastern mountain slopes increase at about 6% K−1. This higher sensitivity is due to enhanced ascent during the eastern-slope events, which can be explained in terms of linear mountain wave theory as arising from global warming–induced changes in the upper-tropospheric static stability and the tropopause level. Simil...
Persistence of Intimate Partner Violence Among Families Referred to Child Welfare

The purpose of this study is to examine the longitudinal course of intimate partner violence (IPV) among female caregivers of children receiving child welfare services. Data are derived from the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being, a national probability study of children investigated for child abuse and neglect in the United States. Caregivers (n = 861) are interviewed about demographic characteristics, mental health, substance use, and physical violence by a partner at the close of the investigation and at an 18-month follow-up. Polychotomous logistic regression examines the associations of severe and minor IPV controlling for caregiver and environmental characteristics. The results suggest that factors related to initial risk for IPV do not affect the continuation of IPV and that patterns of IPV differ for racial and ethnic groups.
Room temperature chemical vapor deposition of c-axis ZnO

Abstract Highly (0 0 2) oriented ZnO films have been deposited at temperatures between 25 and 230 °C by high-vacuum plasma-assisted chemical vapor deposition (HVP-CVD) on glass and silicon substrates. The HVP-CVD process was found to be weakly activated with an apparent activation energy of ∼0.1 eV, allowing room temperature synthesis. Films deposited on both substrates displayed a preferential c-axis texture over the entire temperature range. Films grown on glass demonstrated high optical transparency throughout the visible and near infrared.
Experimental and numerical investigation of soot deposition in laminar stagnation point boundary layers

Soot deposition from a hot gas flow to a cooled solid wall is investigated numerically and experimentally for laminar stagnation point flows. Numerical predictions of soot deposition are made by solving the coupled momentum, energy, and soot transport equations, which include the effects of variable transport properties and thermophoretic transport (i.e. mass transport down a temperature gradient) of soot particles. The results of the numerical computations indicate that the deposition rate, expressed in terms of the deposition velocity, increase with an increasing potential flow velocity gradient and decrease as the wall temperature approaches the freestream temperature. In addition, an insitu laser diagnostic technique is developed which provides simultaneous measurement of the soot deposit thickness and freestream soot concentration. The technique uses two laser beams (488 and 632 nm wavelength) coincident at a point adjacent to the deposition surface to measure the thickness of the deposit and the light extinction by airborne soot particles. Comparison of the experimental results to the numerical model indicates a critical velocity gradient beyond which the “sticking” fraction for the soot significantly decreases. This velocity gradient, which corresponds to maximum deposition, has been found to be approximately 2000 sec −1 for soot produced from fuel rich air/ethylene mixtures.
Outcomes of Esophagectomy for Esophageal Achalasia in the United States

While the outcomes after Heller myotomy have been extensively reported, little is known about patients with esophageal achalasia who are treated with esophagectomy. This was a retrospective analysis using the Nationwide Inpatient Sample over an 11-year period (2000–2010). Patients admitted with a primary diagnosis of achalasia who underwent esophagectomy (group 1) were compared to patients with esophageal cancer who underwent esophagectomy (group 2) during the same time period. Primary outcome was in-hospital mortality. Secondary outcomes included length of stay, postoperative complications, and total hospital charges. A propensity-matched analysis was conducted comparing the same outcomes between group 1 and well-matched controls in group 2. Nine hundred sixty-three patients with achalasia and 18,003 patients with esophageal cancer underwent esophagectomy. The propensity matched analysis showed a trend toward a higher mortality in group 2 (7.8 vs. 2.9 %, p = 0.08). Postoperative length of stay and complications were similar in both groups. Total hospital charges were higher for the achalasia group ($115,087 vs. $99, 654.2, p = 0.006). This is the largest study to date examining outcomes after esophagectomy in patients with achalasia. Based on our findings, esophagectomy can be considered a safe option, and surgeons should not be hindered by a perceived notion of prohibitive operative risk in this patient population.
Conceptum: An Online Infrastructure for Concept Inventories (Abstract Only)

Concept Inventories (CIs) are short, multiple-choice exams that evaluate a student's understanding of core concepts of a particular course. CIs are especially useful for evaluating the effects of pedagogical techniques and interventions on student learning, as their focus on core concepts means any student should be able to answer the questions, and their use as a pre- and post-test allows them to measure student learning gains. However, CI development requires significant overhead: the current state of the art calls for an intensive, six step process. As a result, there are few CIs available for Computer Science, despite their effectiveness. Our research is devoted to solving this problem by implementing an online platform for developing, deploying, and evaluating concept inventories. This open-source software will support any number of collaborators in following the process to develop a CI, including identifying concepts, interviewing both domain experts and students, developing and deploying surveys on concepts, and developing multiple-choice CI questions. Additionally, the tool will be able to manage, administer, and iteratively improve CIs after they are created, including allowing instructors to deploy the CI to their classes, and to compare their results with others who have used the CI. This work is part of a larger project, in which it will be used to develop a CI for CS2.
SnO2:F coated ferritic stainless steels for PEM fuel cell bipolar plates

Ferrite stainless steels (AISI441, AISI444, and AISI446) were successfully coated with 0.6 {micro}m thick SnO{sub 2}:F by low-pressure chemical vapor deposition and investigated in simulated PEMFC environments. The results showed that a SnO{sub 2}:F coating enhanced the corrosion resistance of the alloys in PEMFC environments, though the substrate steel has a significant influence on the behavior of the coating. ICP results from the testing solutions indicated that fresh AISI441 had the highest dissolution rates in both environments, and coating with SnO2:F significantly reduced the dissolution. Coating AISI444 also improved the corrosion resistance. Coating AISI446 steel further improved the already excellent corrosion resistance of this alloy. For coated steels, both potentiostatic polarizations and ICP results showed that the PEMFC cathode environment is much more corrosive than the anode one. More dissolved metallic ions were detected in solutions for PEMFC cathode environment than those in PEMFC anode environment. Sn{sup 2+} was detected for the coated AISI441 and AISI444 steels but not for coated AISI446, indicating that the corrosion resistance of the substrate has a significant influence on the dissolution of the coating. After coating, the ICR values of the coated steels increased compared to those of the fresh steels. The SnO{sub 2}:Fmore » coating seems add an additional resistance to the native air-formed film on these stainless steels.« less
Infighting and Ideology: How Conflict Informs the Local Culture of the Chicago Dyke March

Although the study of local cultures has become established in American sociology, it often ignores the contested nature of how culture emerges and is negotiated within the context of small groups. To this end, we address the concept of infighting, a subtype of conflict, as it operates within a small group framework. Building on an ethnographic study of the Chicago Dyke March, we demonstrate that infighting highlights competing ideologies that may remain implicit in the absence of such conflict. Infighting treats divergent meaning systems as part of local contention between rival cliques and power centers. These ideological battles both reflect pre-existing differences between subgroups and serve to make explicit and public such differences, both in their background characteristics and in their interests. In the process infighting directs attention away from shared concerns and group building to questions of strategy, transforming the small group into an arena of ideological production and factional rivalry. Infighting recasts a group from a space of consensus to a contested political arena. We elaborate four analytic processes through which infighting connects to ideology and small group culture: infighting emphasizes the multivocality of meaning, cultural heterogeneity, an equilibrium of inclusion and group boundaries, and planning in light of ideologies of power.
Discrimination of authorship using visualization

Abstract Visualization techniques help organize the vast amount of data generated in computational studies of literary style. These techniques are demonstrated by showing two-dimensional representations of the style of the authors of The Federalist Papers . The techniques are used to determine the authorship of the 12 unattributed papers. The authorship assigned to these papers is consistent with that found in other studies.
Microwave-assisted extraction of lycopene in tomato peels: Effect of extraction conditions on all-trans and cis-isomer yields

Abstract Lycopene is the primary carotenoid in tomato peels, a processing byproduct, and can be used as a natural color or bioactive ingredient. Unfortunately, extractions are inefficient as lycopene is extremely nonpolar and susceptible to degradation. As a rapid technique, microwave-assisted extraction (MAE) potentially offers efficient lycopene recovery. Thus, the objectives of this research were to: 1) optimize MAE of lycopene from tomato peels and 2) evaluate the effect of treatment on all-trans and isomer yields. Response surface methodology (RSM) was employed to optimize lycopene extraction with solvent ratio solid–liquid ratios, microwave power, and delivered energy equivalents as factors. High performance liquid chromatography with a diode array detector (HPLC-DAD) was used for isomer separation and quantification. Optimum MAE conditions were determined as: 0:10 solvent ratio at 400 W with a yield of 13.592 mg/100 g of extracted all-trans-lycopene. RSM suggested that ethyl acetate was a better MAE solvent for lycopene recovery as compared to hexane, which overall extracted less lycopene. HPLC-DAD indicated that MAE significantly improved all-trans and total lycopene yields, while conventional extraction demonstrated higher proportions of cis-isomer yields. Additionally, electron micrographs showed that significant structural disruption occurred in MAE-treated samples, possibly allowing for the improved lycopene extraction.
Glues or poisons: which triggers vein cutting by monarch caterpillars?

Late instar larvae of the monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus L., Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae) deactivate the latex defense of milkweeds by chewing a furrow in the leaf midrib or petiole. The larva then feeds beyond the cut where latex outflow is minimal. If a larva does encounter latex exudate during feeding, it often returns to its initial cut to damage the midrib or petiole more extensively before resuming feeding. We used this response to latex as an assay for testing what cue triggers vein cutting. A sticky solution of polyethylene glycol and a mixture of cardenolides both were ineffective; drops applied to the mouthparts of feeding monarchs failed to elicit renewed vein cutting. Activity resided instead within a methanol extract of the supernatant obtained from centrifuged latex of the milkweed, Asclepias curassavica L. (Asclepiadaceae). Treatment with proteinase K did not eliminate activity documenting that the active compound is unlikely to be proteinaceous. Our results indicate that latex adhesiveness and low polarity cardenolides are relatively unimportant releasers of vein cutting. We propose that milkweeds contain noncardenolide stimulants of vein cutting; these compounds presumably serve a defensive role for milkweeds. Over 50 species of insects are known to employ vein-cutting before feeding on plants with canal-borne exudates; most of these species are dietary specialists like the monarch. Our behavioral assay provides a novel approach for identifying ecologically-significant compounds in the exudates of their diverse host plants.
Identifying the key factors in increasing recycling and reducing residual household waste: a case study of the Flemish region of Belgium.

The competent waste authority in the Flemish region of Belgium created the ‘Implementation plan household waste 2003–2007’ and the ‘Implementation plan sustainable management 2010–2015’ to comply with EU regulation. It incorporates European and regional requirements and describes strategies, goals, actions and instruments for the collection and treatment of household waste. The central mandatory goal is to reduce and maintain the amount of residual household waste to 150 kg per capita per year between 2010–2015. In literature, a reasonable body of information has been published on the effectiveness and efficiency of a variety of policy instruments, but the information is complex, often contradictory and difficult to interpret. The objective of this paper is to identify, through the development of a binary logistic regression model, those variables of the waste collection scheme that help municipalities to reach the mandatory 150 kg goal. The model covers a number of variables for household characteristics, provision of recycling services, frequency of waste collection and charging for waste services. This paper, however, is not about waste prevention and reuse. The dataset originates from 2003. Four out of 12 variables in the model contributed significantly: income per capita, cost of residual waste collection, collection frequency and separate curbside collection of organic waste.
Exercise training and depression in older adults

This article provides a review of the evidence supporting exercise as an effective treatment of depression in older adults. Depression is prevalent among older adults and is associated with significant morbidity, increased risk of mortality, and economic burden. Although effective treatments for depression exist (e.g., antidepressant medication, cognitive-behavioral therapy), the disorder remains inadequately treated for many older individuals. Recently, the use of exercise as a treatment for depression has received increased attention. Results of these studies suggest that exercise leads to a reduction in depressive symptoms when compared to wait list, social contact controls, and antidepressant medication. However, many studies have significant methodological limitations. In the present article, we include discussion of these limitations and provide suggestions for future research.
Strain differences in rat adrenal biosynthetic enzymes and stress-induced increases in plasma catecholamines.

Abstract We have examined in two inbred rat strains basal and stress-induced increases in plasma levels of epinephrine (EPI) and norepinephrine (NE) and compared these with activities of the adrenal enzymes involved in the synthesis of catecholamines. There were no differences in basal levels of NE and EPI in plasma of adult male rats of the Wistar-Kyoto (WKY) and Brown-Norway (B-N) strains. However, following 5 min. of intermittent footshock, plasma levels of both catecholamines were twice as high in WKY rats as in B-N rats. In the adrenals of unstressed rats, activities of tyrosine hydroxylase and dopamine-beta-hydroxylase were significantly higher in B-N rats. In addition, the adrenal weights and the contents of NE but not EPI were greater in B-N rats. Thus, in these two rat strains, the capacity of the adrenal gland to synthesize and store catecholamines appeared to be inversely related to plasma levels of NE and EPI after stress. The differences between the strains appeared to be due to differences in the rates of removal of catecholamines from the peripheral circulation as well as to differences in the rate of release of catecholamines from the sympatho-adrenal medullary system. Thus biosynthetic enzyme activities need not be related directly to the capacity to release and elevate plasma levels of catecholamines following stressful stimulation.
Negative Thermal Expansion from 0.3 to 1050 Kelvin in ZrW2O8

Negative thermal expansion was found for ZrW 2 O 8 from 0.3 kelvin to its decomposition temperature of about 1050 kelvin. Both neutron and x-ray diffraction data were used to solve and refine the structure of this compound at various temperatures. Cubic symmetry persists for ZrW 2 O 8 over its entire stability range. Thus, the negative thermal expansion behavior is isotropic. Essentially the same behavior was found for isostructural HfW 2 O 8 . No other materials are known to exhibit such behavior over such a broad temperature range. These materials are finding applications as components in composites in order to reduce the composites9 overall thermal expansion to near zero.
Diamond Jet Hybrid HVOF Thermal Spray: Gas-Phase and Particle Behavior Modeling and Feedback Control Design

This paper focuses on the modeling and control of an industrial high-velocity oxygen-fuel (HVOF) thermal spray process (Diamond Jet hybrid gun, Sulzer Metco, Westbury, NY). We initially develop a fundamental model for the process that describes the evolution of the gas thermal and velocity fields and the motion and temperature of particles of different sizes and explicitly accounts for the effect of the powder size distribution. Using the proposed model, a comprehensive parametric analysis is performed to systematically characterize the influence of controllable process variables such as the combustion pressure and oxygen/fuel ratio, as well as the effect of the powder size distribution, on the values of the particle velocity, temperature, and degree of melting at the point of impact on the substrate. (These are the variables that directly influence coating microstructure and porosity, which, in turn, determine coating strength and hardness; see the second article of this series for details.) A feedback c...
DNA Methylation and Histone Modifications Are Associated with Repression of the Inhibin α Promoter in the Rat Corpus Luteum

The transition from follicle to corpus luteum after ovulation is associated with profound morphological and functional changes and is accompanied by corresponding changes in gene expression. The gene encoding the α subunit of the dimeric reproductive hormone inhibin is maximally expressed in the granulosa cells of the preovulatory follicle, is rapidly repressed by the ovulatory LH surge, and is expressed at only very low levels in the corpus luteum. Although previous studies have identified transient repressors of inhibin α gene transcription, little is known about how this repression is maintained in the corpus luteum. This study examines the role of epigenetic changes, including DNA methylation and histone modification, in silencing of inhibin α gene expression. Bisulfite sequencing reveals that methylation of the inhibin α proximal promoter is low in preovulatory and ovulatory follicles but is elevated in the corpus luteum. Increased methylation during luteinization is observed within the cAMP response...
Growth of human bone marrow in vitro.

Abstract Attempts were made to establish human bone marrow (HBM) culture. Cell proliferation was triggered by medium conditioned by acute myelocytic leukemic (AML) cells exposed to 12-O-tetradecanoyl-phorbol-13-acetate (TPA). A 6–15 fold multiplication of myelomonocytic cells was obtained in tissue culture from HBM cells. Proliferation of granulocyte-macrophage colony forming cells (CFC-GM) occurred up to 30-fold. The morphology of the cells and cytochemical markers were investigated at all stages of the culture.
Measurement of the magnetooptical constants of reactive metals.

A method is described for measuring the dielectric tensor of perpendicularly magnetized metal films that are overcoated with a protective transparent layer. It uses a combination of ellipsometric and polar Kerr measurements and employs a series of consistency checks to ensure the accuracy of the data analysis. As an example, the technique is applied to an amorphous terbium-iron alloy that was overcoated in situ with silicon dioxide.
The Soviet mass media in the sixties: Patterns of access and consumption

There is little question that recent changes in mass media availability and use in the U.S.S.R. have far outstripped awareness of these changes in the U.S.A. The mass communications system of one of the world's largest countries certainly is a topic of relevance to broadcasters and scholars elsewhere. Dr. Rosemarie Rogers is research associate in the Center for International Studies at M. I. T. and assistant professor in the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy.
Millimeter Resolution Otpical Reflectometry Over Up to Two Kilometers of Fiber Length

In recent years, optical frequency domain reflectometry (OFDR) has emerged as an effective measurement technique for characterizing short-haul optical networks such as those used in avionics. Comparable techniques such as optical time domain reflectometry (OTDR) and optical low coherence reflectometry (OLCR) are restricted in either spatial resolution or distance range respectively compared to OFDR. Earlier papers have shown OFDR measurements over up to 500 m in length (Soler et al., 2005). In this work, the authors demonstrate OFDR measurements over two kilometers of fiber length with millimeter level spatial resolution. The data required for this measurement was acquired in less than 100 ms and results in a sensitivity of over 130 dB. This level of measurement performance enables unprecedented visibility into fiber-optic networks. In addition, OFDR can be used for distributed fiber sensing of temperature and strain. The authors demonstrate distributed temperature sensing up to 800 degC. The paper also show distributed strain measurements at a distance of 800 m with cm level spatial resolution. These link characterization and sensing capabilities of OFDR make the technique particularly well suited for test and trouble-shooting in avionics applications.
An automated method for neuroanatomic and cytoarchitectonic atlas-based interrogation of fMRI data sets

Abstract Analysis and interpretation of functional MRI (fMRI) data have traditionally been based on identifying areas of significance on a thresholded statistical map of the entire imaged brain volume. This form of analysis can be likened to a “fishing expedition.” As we become more knowledgeable about the structure–function relationships of different brain regions, tools for a priori hypothesis testing are needed. These tools must be able to generate region of interest masks for a priori hypothesis testing consistently and with minimal effort. Current tools that generate region of interest masks required for a priori hypothesis testing can be time-consuming and are often laboratory specific. In this paper we demonstrate a method of hypothesis-driven data analysis using an automated atlas-based masking technique. We provide a powerful method of probing fMRI data using automatically generated masks based on lobar anatomy, cortical and subcortical anatomy, and Brodmann areas. Hemisphere, lobar, anatomic label, tissue type, and Brodmann area atlases were generated in MNI space based on the Talairach Daemon. Additionally, we interfaced these multivolume atlases to a widely used fMRI software package, SPM99, and demonstrate the use of the atlas tool with representative fMRI data. This tool represents a necessary evolution in fMRI data analysis for testing of more spatially complex hypotheses.
Synthesis and Characterization of Antiferromagnetic Kmnf3 Nanoparticles

The magnetic properties of nanosized antiferromagnetic particles of KMnF3 are presented. The particles were synthesized using the microemulsion technique, i.e. by using the aqueous core of reverse micelles as constrained microreactors for the precipitation of the particles. The structural characterization of the samples, accomplished by TEM and XRD, reveal that the samples consist of cubic-shaped, crystalline KMnF3 nanoparticles of uniform size. Control over the average size of the particles was achieved by changing the reaction time. Four different samples of average size in the range 13-35 nm were prepared. DC magnetic susceptibility measurements revealed superparamagnetic behavior of the particles. Hysteresis loops measured after field cooling the samples through TN were shifted. The shift is ascribed to the exchange coupling between the antiferromagnetic core of the particles and the uncompensated spin shell surrounding it.
Orthogonalization of correlated Gaussian signals for Volterra system identification

This article presents a simple method for orthogonalizing correlated Gaussian input signals for identification of truncated Volterra systems of arbitrary order of nonlinearity P and memory length N. The procedure requires a Gram-Schmidt orthogonalizer for a vector containing N elements and some nonlinear processing of the output elements of the Gram-Schmidt processor. However, the nonlinear processors do not depend on the statistics of the input signals and, consequently, are easy to design and implement. >
Sustainable Agriculture in the United States: A Critical Examination of a Contested Process

This paper investigates the political economy of the development of sustainable agriculture programs and initiatives in the United States. Sustainable agriculture emerged as part of a growing critique of the negative environmental consequences of unquestioned modern farming methods. The USDA/Sustainable Agriculture Research Education Program created in 1990 and the National Organics Program created in 2002 are the current government-sponsored programs in support of sustainable agriculture. Recently, private approaches to develop a national sustainable agriculture standard for the U.S. have emerged. The events of the cases developed in the paper reveal that because the concept of sustainability is deeply contested, agribusiness is able to exploit the ambiguity surrounding the definition of sustainable and exercise power in attempts to frame sustainable agriculture in their favor. Most recently, this contested process has focused on whether genetically-modified organisms (GMOs) will be included as part of the national sustainable agriculture standard.
Spontaneous regression of a mandibular arteriovenous malformation

Mandibular arteriovenous malformations (AVMs) are rare lesions that may initially present as catastrophic bleeding during dental surgical procedures. Owing to the significant risk of bleeding, most mandibular AVMs are treated definitively by resection or embolization. In this report, we describe a mandibular AVM that spontaneously regressed after biopsy.
Tailoring auditory training to patient needs with single and multiple talkers: transfer-appropriate gains on a four-choice discrimination test.

AbstractObjective: Our long-term objective is to develop an auditory training program that will enhance speech recognition in those situations where patients most want improvement. As a first step, the current investigation trained participants using either a single talker or multiple talkers to determine if auditory training leads to transfer-appropriate gains. Design: The experiment implemented a 2 × 2 × 2 mixed design, with training condition as a between-participants variable and testing interval and test version as repeated-measures variables. Participants completed a computerized six-week auditory training program wherein they heard either the speech of a single talker or the speech of six talkers. Training gains were assessed with single-talker and multi-talker versions of the Four-choice discrimination test. Participants in both groups were tested on both versions. Study sample: Sixty-nine adult hearing-aid users were randomly assigned to either single-talker or multi-talker auditory training. Res...
Sexual Frequency Decline From Midlife to Later Life

Objective. To examine sexual frequency decline among American men and women between the ages of 44 and 72 born from 1933 to 1948. Method. Using data from the National Health and Social Life Survey (NHSLS) and the National Social Life, Health, and Aging Project (NSHAP), the decline in sexual frequency is decomposed into declines due to changes in marital status, physical health, and happiness. We examine the contribution of both changes in the composition of the population with respect to these factors as well as changes in the association between these factors and sexual frequency by age. Results. For women, change in the proportion widowed is a significant factor in sexual frequency decline, as is change in the association between happiness and sexual frequency. Among men, both poorer physical health at older ages and a decrease in its association with frequency are significant factors in the decline. A change in the association between happiness and frequency is also a significant factor for men. Reverse causality may explain the happiness –frequency findings for both men and women. Discussion. Results provide evidence for gendered experiences in the sexual life course.
PROGNOSTIC VALUE OF HIGH-SENSITIVITY CRP FOR CARDIOVASCULAR OUTCOMES IN TRA 2°P-TIMI 50

High-sensitivity (hs)CRP is an inflammatory marker indicative of higher cardiovascular (CV) risk among pts with established atherosclerosis. It is unknown whether changes in hsCRP over time in stable pts with atherosclerosis are related to long-term outcomes. TRA2°P-TIMI 50 was a large,
Cavemen Among Us: Genealogies of Atavism from Zola's La Bête humaine to Chabrol's Le Boucher

Although critics have rightly linked Claude Chabrol's film Le Boucher (1969) to Zola's novel La Bete humaine (1890), the two have yet to be considered in the context of the century-long tradition of thought about atavism that informs them both. This article reconstructs that tradition, examining how Le Boucher's modern-day caveman suggests twentieth-century cultural continuities with nineteenth-century notions of man's relation to his evolutionary forebears. Noting Le Boucher's debt to a Freudian conception of atavism — a conception heavily influenced by the very same scientific paradigm that shaped Zola's fascination with man's prehistoric self — I argue that Chabrol's film revives a nineteenth-century European anxiety of proximity whereby technological and scientific advances prompted unease about ever closer contact with the distant reaches of humanity. Chabrol achieves this by building on Zola's protocinematic vision, refracting it through a Freudian lens in which atavism and the cinema occupy common psychological space, and updating the thematics of atavism for a twentieth century chastised by the colonial experiment.
Democratization and Disintegration in Multinational States: The Breakup of the Communist Federations

One of the challenges presented to democratization theory by the collapse of communist regimes is the need to take into account the impact of ethnonational diversity on the processes of transition. This article explores that question in a comparative analysis of the dissolutions of the multinational federations of Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia, and the Soviet Union. It revisits what has been a core--although usually unarticulated--premise of the democratization literature: that the decisions and negotiations that critically shape regime transition occur in a single, central political arena, a political space common to all actors. In contrast to that perspective, the strategic political context for transition in multinational states differs both from that in homogeneous states and from that in unitary multinational states, in offering multiple arenas of political contestation. The implication for democratization in multinational states is that, depending on the institutional structure of the state, regime change may occur at different rates in different substate political arenas--the republics--in such a way as to trigger the erosion of central control over the transition. Where democratization theory has emphasized strategic choice conditioned by the balance of power between regime and opposition actors, an accounting of the politics of transition in ethnofederal states must emphasize (1) strategic choices by actors in multiple political arenas and (2) the shifting balance of power between center and republics.
Textile Flammability Testing: Appropriate Levels for Moisture Content of Specimens

This study was performed to establish the appropriate moisture level for textile flammability test specimens. Three investigations were carried out: into the effect of the level of humidity in dwellings; into the moisture content of garments worn at various distances from the body; and into the effect of relatively short exposures to heat on the moisture content of fabrics (simulating the case of a person standing in front of an open fire or space heater). The moisture content of ambient air in dwellings was found to be primarily governed by the moisture content of the air outside and can be quite low, ten to twenty percent, especially in winter (unless, of course, humidifying equipment is used). The moisture content of garment parts which are at some distance from the body (e.g., the loosely fitting parts of skirts) is governed by the relative humidity of the room. Closely fitting parts are more likely to be exposed to ignition sources than closely fitting parts. Fabric specimens exposed at a short distance from an electric space heater had moisture contents similar to specimens which has been oven-dried and cooled in a desiccator. The results of these studies indicate that oven-drying is a reasonable conditioning requirement for testing the flammability of apparel and home furnishing fabrics.
Congenital bilateral absence of the vas deferens.

Abstract A 10-year–old boy with cystic fibrosis (CF) (ΔF508/G551D mutation) underwent an uneventful elective interval laparoscopic appendectomy. During routine laparoscopic inspection of the abdomen and groins, congenital bilateral absence of the vas deferens was noted. Pictures of the patient's internal inguinal ring noted at time of laparoscopy are presented and compared with a similar-aged patient's internal ring with a normal vas deferens. The genetics of CF patients associated with congenital bilateral absence of the vas deferens is reviewed. The pediatric or general surgeon performing a herniorrhaphy should be aware of this anomaly in CF patients.
On the Use of Ocean Color Remote Sensing to Measure the Transport of Dissolved Organic Carbon by the Mississippi River Plume

We investigated the use of ocean color remote sensing to measure transport of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) by the Mississippi River to the Gulf of Mexico. From 2000 to 2005 we recorded surface measurements of DOC, colored dissolved organic matter (CDOM), salinity, and water-leaving radiances during five cruises to the Mississippi River Plume. These measurements were used to develop empirical relationships to derive CDOM, DOC, and salinity from monthly composites of SeaWiFS imagery collected from 1998 through 2005. We used river flow data and a two-end-member mixing model to derive DOC concentrations in the river end-member, river flow, and DOC transport using remote sensing data. We compared our remote sensing estimates of river flow and DOC transport with data collected by the United States Geological Survey (USGS) from 1998 through 2005. Our remote sensing estimates of river flow and DOC transport correlated well (r2 ~ 0.70) with the USGS data. Our remote sensing estimates and USGS field data showed low variability in DOC concentrations in the river end-member (7-11%), and high seasonal variability in river flow (~50%). Therefore, changes in river flow control the variability in DOC transport, indicating that the remote sensing estimate of river flow is the most critical element of our DOC transport measurement. We concluded that it is possible to use this method to estimate DOC transport by other large rivers if there are data on the relationship between CDOM, DOC, and salinity in the river plume.
Blood meal and cytochrome P-450 monooxygenases in the northern house mosquito, Culex pipiens

Abstract Conditions for the measurement of aldrin epoxidation by microsomes prepared from abdominal tissues (fat body + integument) of adult female Culex pipiens were characterized. The enzyme activity had a pH optimum of 7.2 and an apparent Km of 3.4 μM. Aldrin epoxidation and NADPH-cytochrome c reductase had similar patterns of inhibition by a rabbit antiserum to house fly NADPH-cytochrome P-450 reductase, thus implicating cytochrome P-450 monooxygenase(s) in the epoxidation of aldrin. Low (71 pmol/mg protein) levels of cytochrome P-450 were detected in abdominal tissue microsomes. In non-blood-fed insects, aldrin epoxidation and NADPH-cytochrome c reductase activities did not change between Day 1 and Day 12 after adult emergence, except for a small peak on Day 2. In insects fed a blood meal on Day 6 after emergence both activities increased (two- to threefold) to a plateau maintained between 2 and 4 days after the blood meal. Aldrin epoxidation and NADPH-cytochrome c reductase activities decreased to normal values between 4 and 6 days after the blood meal.
CHARACTERIZATION OF THE METHIONINE SULFOXIDE REDUCTASES OF SCHISTOSOMA MANSONI

Schistosomiasis, also known as Bilharzia, is an infectious disease caused by several species of Schistosoma. Twenty million individuals suffer severe symptoms and 200,000 people die annually from the disease. The host responds to the presence of S. mansoni by producing reactive oxygen species that cause oxidative stress. We hypothesized that schistosomes produce antioxidants in response to oxidative stress. A known antioxidant protein is methionine sulfoxide reductase (Msr). Methionine residues can be oxidized to methionine sulfoxide in the presence of oxidizing agents, and the process is readily reversed by the action of the Msr system. Two S. mansoni MsrB genes (MsrB1 and MsrB2) were cloned and the recombinant proteins were expressed in bacteria and purified. The S. mansoni MsrB proteins contained the common conserved catalytic-and zinc-coordinating cysteines. Analysis of the proteins showed that both proteins promote the reduction of both free methionine sulfoxide (Met[O]) and dabsyl-Met(O) to free methionine (Met) and dabsyl-Met, respectively, while exhibiting differences in their specific activities toward these substrates. Using real-time polymerase-chain reaction (RT-PCR), both proteins were found to be expressed in all stages of the parasite's life cycle, with the highest level of expression of both proteins in the egg stage. This is the first description of MsrB proteins from a parasite.
A Connectionist Approach to Content Access in Documents: Application to Detection of Jokes

This paper addresses the question of accessing the content of documents. Drawing from similarities between vision and language, a connectionist architecture was designed that can use context information for the “understanding” of content. The principles of the approach are illustrated by the problem of understanding jokes.
Activity coefficients of bicarbonates and carbonates in seawater1

The total (stoichiometric) activity coefficients of bicarbonate and of carbonate ions were determined in seawater by a method that is independent of ion-pairing models and used in conjunction with estimates of the coefficients of major cations to calculate the mean activity cocfficicnts of bicarbonate and carbonate salts. The total ( stoichiometric) activity coefficients of bicarbonate and of carbonate ions in seawater were dctcrmined as a function of the salinity from the ratios of the thermodynamic and the apparent dissociation constants of carbonic acid. This method made it unnecessary to resort to ion-pairing models and, thus, permitted the avoidance of many assumptions. The coefficients were used in conjunction with estimated ones for some of the major cations of seawater, introducing at this stage specific ionic interaction models, to calculate the first reported values of the mean activity coefficients of bicarbonate and of carbonate salts in seawater. Data on single ion and mean activity coefficients are of use in physicochemical studies such as the interpretation of the solubility behavior of minerals in seawater. Free activity coefficients are those that are obtained in unassociated solutions and, in solutions in which specific ionic intcractions occur, are a construct that corresponds to the effects of the ionic strength alone. Total activity coefficients, on the other hand, are those mcasurcd in the presence of specific interactions and are related to free ones, when the ion-pairing model is used (Pytkowicz et al. 1966; Pytkowicz 1969)) by
Relationship of Carbon Dioxide to Aspartic Acid and Glutamic Acid in Actinomyces naeslundii

Buchanan, B. B. (Duke University, Durham, N.C.), and Leo Pine. Relationship of carbon dioxide to aspartic acid and glutamic acid in Actinomyces naeslundi. J. Bacteriol. 89:729-733. 1965.-CO(2), which was essential for the fermentation of glucose to succinic acid by Actinomyces naeslundii, was also required for the synthesis of internal aspartic acid, for which the cells lack a permease.
A Comprehensive Approach to NCLEX-RN® Success

Abstract Nurse educators face many challenges in their efforts to prepare graduates for success on the National Council Licensure Examination for Registered Nurses (NCLEX-RN®). A proactive, coordinated, and comprehensive effort to prepare graduates for NCLEX-RN success developed as an essential element in curriculum planning and delivery by a university-based associate degree program is described. The plan incorporates interventions in each semester of the curriculum and uses a commercially available standardized assessment and remediation package.