cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Organochlorine concentrations in Laurentian Great Lakes salmonines: Implications for fisheries management

To assess species-specific differences in organochlorine (OC) concentrations and sport harvest of Lake Michigan salmonines, and how this may affect human exposure to OC compounds, creel survey and OC analysis data for salmon and trout collected from the western waters of Lake Michigan in 1985 and 1990 were examined. In all species, total concentrations of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) attained the highest concentration of the OC compounds quantified in both study years. DDT and metabolites attained the second highest concentration of OC compounds, in those species in which these compounds were quantified, followed by chlordane and its constituents and dieldrin, respectively. The relative concentrations of PCBs and OC pesticides remained constant between study years in all species, except for brook trout as limited 1990 data prevented analysis. For the mean lengths of each species of salmonines taken by anglers in 1985, lake trout showed the highest concentrations of OC compounds followed by brown trout, chinook salmon, brook trout, rainbow trout, and coho salmon, respectively. In 1990 lake trout again had the highest concentration of OCs followed by chinook salmon, brown trout, rainbow trout, and coho salmon. Brook trout were not in the analysis. Chinook salmon contributed the greatest proportion of OCs to the 1985 sport catch because of its dominance in total biomass of fish harvested. Lake trout contributed the greatest proportion of OCs to the 1990 sport catch, although the second highest in biomass harvested, because of the higher concentration of OC compounds in this species. The concentrations of PCBs declined between study years in all species except brook trout becaused limited 1990 data prevented this comparison. Study results indicate salmonine stocking policies can significantly influence the exposure of sport fish consumers in the Great Lakes region to OC compounds.
The obesity epidemic and changes in self-report biases in BMI.

Objective: To assess time trends in measurement error of BMI and the sensitivity/specificity of classifying weight status in the United States by analyzing the difference in BMI between self-reported and measured height and weight. Design and Methods: Data from 18,394 respondents aged 20-89 years from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) from 1999 through 2008 were analyzed. Multiple linear regression and logistic regression models estimated trends in reporting bias and misclassification of weight status by BMI categories, sex, age, and racial/ethnic groups, adjusting for the sampling design. Results: We find no evidence that there are time trends in the accuracy of self-report by BMI categories, sex, age, or racial/ethnic groups. The well-known downward bias in self-report has remained stable over the last decade; approximately one in six to seven obese individuals were misclassified as nonobese due to underestimation of BMI. Conclusion: Increases in obesity rates based on self-reported height and weight are likely to reflect actual weight increases and are not inflated by changes in reporting accuracy.
Communication and Frightening Behavior Among Couples with Past and Recent Histories of Physical Marital Aggression

The present study compares observed communication and couples’ reports of husbands’ frightening behaviors among couples with no history of husbands’ physical marital aggression, a past history of such aggression, and recent history of such aggression. Ninety community couples reported on husbands’ physical marital aggression during two visits to the lab, approximately 1.5 years apart. During the second visit, we videotaped couples’ discussions of conflictual marital issues. Poor communication, as indexed by high hostility, low problem-description and low warmth, characterized couples with recent aggression, as compared to past aggression or no aggression. Husbands’ frightening behavior characterized the couples with either recent or past aggression, compared to no aggression. In addition, for couples who had experienced severe aggression, the rates of husbands’ frightening behavior were similar regardless of whether husbands persisted, reduced or desisted in the severe aggression. Discussion addresses possible reasons that reductions and desistance in husbands’ aggression may be associated with more positive communication patterns but with continued reports of frightening behavior.
Concerns related to eating, weight, and shape: Typologies and transitions in men during the college years

Objective: How to best classify concerns related to eating, weight, and shape (CREWS) in men remains an open question. Research on men considering CREWS during different developmental periods could be particularly informative. Method: Focusing on one potentially dynamic developmental period, this study charts the course of CREWS in men over the college years. Latent class/latent transition analysis identified typologies of weight- and shape-influenced self judgment, limiting attempts, fasting, overeating, binge eating, self-induced vomiting, and laxative or diuretic abuse for 1,025 men over the four traditional college years. Results: Three classes emerged: (1) no obvious pathological eating-related concerns (61–65%); (2) a high likelihood of limiting attempts and a moderately high likelihood of overeating (31–34%); (3) pervasive bulimic-like concerns (4–6%). Class membership was highly stable across assessment occasions. Discussion: The results contribute to the growing literature on empirically derived classifications of CREWS and indicate that for many men CREWS are a chronic presence during the college years. © 2011 by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. (Int J Eat Disord 2012; 45:768–775)
Radiative Transfer Within the Earth's Troposphere and Stratosphere: A Simplified Radiative-Convective Model

A radiative transfer model of the troposphere and stratosphere is presented which includes both long-wave cooling and solar heating due to H2O, CO2 and O3 and has a simplified formulation which facilitates the inclusion of Doppler broadening, H2O continuum bands, hot and minor isotopic bands of CO2, and overlap of H2O bands with CO2 and O3 bands. The radiative model is used to develop an accurate radiative-convective model for studying the global surface temperature, stratospheric thermal structure and the net outgoing long-wave flux.
2-thiouridine 5'-phosphate and its inhibition of aspartate transcarbamylase.

Abstract 2-Thioridine 5′-phosphate (2-Thio-UMP) has been synthetized and its inhibitory effect on aspartate transcarbamylase (carbamoylphosphate: l -aspartate carbamoyltransferase, EC 2.1.3.2) investigated. 2-Thio-UMP was enzymatically synthetized from 2-thiouracil and 5-phosphoribosyl 1-pyrophosphate (P-P-ribose-P) in a reaction catalyzed by nucleotide pyrophosphorylase obtained from Escherichia coli W. The product was isolated by thin-layer chromatography on cellulose developed with butanol-HCl. 2-Thio-UMP had a chromatographic mobility slightly greater than UMP. The ultraviolet spectrum of 2-thio-UMP was different from that of 2-thiouracil and it contained both sulfur and phosphorus. Inhibition of E. coli asparate transcarbamylase by 2-thio-UMP appears to be similar to the inhibition of this enzyme by CTP. These results support the hypothesis that inhibition of aspartate transcarbamylase by nucleotides of 2-thiouracil is the major cause of growth inhibition of E. coli in medium containing 2-thiouracil. It is proposed that 2-thiouracil, following entrance into the cell, is converted to nucleotide(s) which cannot be incorporated into nucleic acids but are able to inhibit cell growth by a reduction of the catalytic activity of aspartate transcarbamylase.
Rat epididymis-specific sperm maturation antigens. I. Evidence that the 26 kD 4E9 antigen found on rat caudal epididymal sperm tail is derived from a protein secreted by the epididymis.

Monoclonal antibody 4E9, which was raised against a partially purified detergent extract of rat caudal epididymal sperm, recognizes the tail of sperm from the cauda, but not from caput epididymidis, as well as epithelial cells in a restricted region of the distal caput/corpus epididymidis and proteins in epididymal fluid from corpus and cauda epididymidis. The antigen is apparently a glycoprotein, since it is retained on a Ricinus communis agglutinin l lectin column. Epididymal fluid antigens have apparent MrS of 38–26 kD, whereas the memrane-associated form of the molecule has an Mr of 26 kD. Immunocytochemical data and Western immunoblot data suggest that the membrane antigen is derived from the fluid antigen, which, in turn, is secrteted by the epididymal epithelium. Characterization of the membrane antigen indicates that it is tightly associated with the sperm surface, behaving as though it is an integral membrane protein. The antigen persists on ejaculated sperm. © 1994 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
STRUCTURALISM AND INFORMATION

According to Luciano Floridi (2008), informational structural realism provides a framework to reconcile the two main versions of realism about structure: the epistemic formulation (according to which all we can know is structure) and the ontic version (according to which structure is all there is). The reconciliation is achieved by introducing suitable levels of abstraction and by articulating a conception of structural objects in information-theoretic terms. In this essay, I argue that the proposed reconciliation works at the expense of realism. I then propose an alternative framework, in terms of partial structures, that offers a way of combining information and structure in a realist setting while still preserving the distinctive features of the two formulations of structural realism. Suitably interpreted, the proposed framework also makes room for an empiricist form of informational structuralism (structural empiricism). Pluralism then emerges.
Suppression of mitogen-induced lymphocyte transformation in cigarette smokers

Mitogen- and antigen-induced lymphocyte transformation was determined in peripheral blood lymphocytes from tobacco smokers and nonsmokers. Each group was evaluated by race, sex, and age subgroups. Male smokers as a group had depressed responses to phytohemagglutinin (PHA), concanavalin A, and pokeweed mitogen. The effect was most pronounced in all subjects on PHA stimulation. There was no apparent relationship to age or race. Antigenic stimulation of lymphocytes with mumps skin test antigen was not affected in any of the groups studied.
Human urine and/or plasma levels of methionine, methionine sulfoxide, and inorganic sulfate after consumption of a soy isolate: a preliminary study.

In a preliminary study, three human subjects consumed 35 or 70g of a commercially available soy isolate containing 298 or 596 mg of methionine sulfoxide. Methionine sulfoxide appeared in human plasma within one hour after consumption of the isolate. This observation suggests rapid absorption by humans of this oxidized form of methionine. Plasma levels of sulfoxide as determined in one subject returned to zero within 24 hours of consumption of the isolate. Ingested methionine sulfoxide was excreted in the urine in free form in very small quantities relative to intake. These results are consistent with, but of course do not prove, utilization of methionine sulfoxide as a methionine replacement in human subjects.
On the many-body Van der Waals forces between macroscopic bodies

Abstract The non-retarded Van der Waals interaction of a neutral atom with a semi-infinite perfect crystal is analyzed through the coupling of the atom to the electronic polarization waves of the crystal. First, we derive a closed form, valid to all order in d-1 (where d is the distance separating the atom from the crystal surface), for the exact interaction energy of the system. Second, by means of a renormalization procedure, we extract from the exact energy, the first non-vanishing order (and the only significant one, macroscopically) which depends on d-3. A numerically tractable formula results which includes the complete N-body contribution to this order. As a function of the “refractivity” z = 4πNα0 of the crystal, the d-3 energy possesses a singularity at z = z0 where z0 is any pole of the static dielectric constant e0(z). For the case of cubic crystals a singularity occurs at z0 = 3, a situation known as the “ 4π 3 polarizability catastrophe” in the theory of polar dielectrics. This feature clearly indicates the limited validity of the perturbational treatment of the problem. Finally, a comparison is made between our results and those recently obtained by Renne and Nijboer. Also, the necessary modifications to allow for retardation effects are discussed briefly.
The Effects of Concentric Ring Electrode Electrical Stimulation on Rat Skin

Surface electrodes are commonly used electrodes clinically, in applications such as functional electrical stimulation for the restoration of motor functions, pain relief, transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation, electrocardiographic monitoring, defibrillation, surface cardiac pacing, and advanced drug delivery systems. Common to these applications are occasional reports of pain, tissue damage, rash, or burns on the skin at the point where electrodes are placed. In this study, we quantitatively analyzed the effects of acute noninvasive electrical stimulation from concentric ring electrodes (CRE) to determine the maximum safe current limit. We developed a three-dimensional multi-layer model and calculated the temperature profile under the CRE and the corresponding energy density with electrical-thermal coupled field analysis. Infrared thermography was used to measure skin temperature during electrical stimulation to verify the computer simulations. We also performed histological analysis to study cell morphology and characterize any resulting tissue damage. The simulation results are accurate for low energy density distributions. It can also be concluded that as long as the specified energy density applied is kept below 0.92 (A2/cm4·s−1), the maximum temperature will remain within the safe limits. Future work should focus on the effects of the electrode paste.
The influence of inhaled formaldehyde on rat lung cytochrome P450

The effect of formaldehyde (HCHO) inhalation on total cytochrome P450 in the lungs of Sprague-Dawley rats was assessed after single and repeated exposures to 0, 0.5, 3, and 15 ppm HCHO. Whole-body exposures were conducted in dynamic, monitored exposure systems for 6 hr/day, 5 days/week, for periods of exposure of 1 day, 4 days, 12 weeks, or 24 weeks. Lung microsomal fractions were prepared and total protein and cytochrome P450 were measured 18 hr after the end of exposure at each time point. Two separate sets of exposure studies were conducted, thus duplicating all measurements for each dose group and at each time point. There were no detectable levels of total lung P450 in any of the rats that received a single 6-hr exposure to all three HCHO doses, while control lung P450 levels were similar to that found for 4-day and 12-week control rats. After 4 days of repeated exposures, however, there was a highly significant, reproducible, and dose-dependent increase in lung P450 levels relative to controls, with the 0.5, 3, and 15 ppm groups demonstrating 387, 1026, and 1123% of control values, respectively. Lung P450 levels remained elevated at all HCHO concentrations through 12 and 24 weeks of exposure, although the percentage difference between exposed and control rats continually dropped throughout the course of long-term repeated exposures. While HCHO-exposed rats did have decreased total body weight relative to controls, lung microsomal protein and lung weight of nearly all of the HCHO-exposed rats was not significantly different from the controls. The initial inactivation of lung P450 after a single HCHO exposure is apparently a transient phenomenon, with dose-dependent induction of the total P450 levels in the lung as the pattern of response to repeated exposures to inhaled HCHO.
‘Such is Glorious War’: British Reflections on the Peninsular War in Spain (1808–1814)

Recent studies on the incorporation of the War of Independence in Spanish literature have provided invaluable insights into the way Spanish writers integrated that terrible conflict into their work. However, another curious angle of the conflict has generally been passed over by students of literary and cultural studies: the view of the Peninsular War voiced by its English-speaking participants. Dozens of memoirs, diaries and histories have been published in multiple languages that attempt to reconstruct, remember, or justify the events of the War. Among the thousands of soldiers who ended up on the Peninsula was a young Irish lad named Robert Blakeney (1789–1858), whose memoir, A Boy in the Peninsular War, offers vivid details about his experiences as a soldier in major battles during the War of Independence. It provides us with an insider's view of a conflict that shook Europe, galvanized Spain, and wove itself into the fabric of Spanish history for more than two hundred years.
Effect of Protein-free Diet on the Vitamin A Storage in the Rat Liver

SEVERAL workers1–4 have reported that diets low in protein reduced the storage of vitamin A in the liver and increased the rate at which stored vitamin A was depleted. On the basis of such data, a conclusion was drawn by investigators that protein is a necessary dietary constituent for normal storage and utilization of vitamin A. The work described here was designed to test the validity of the former hypothesis by comparing hepatic vitamin A storage in young rats fed an 18 per cent casein diet and in animals fed a protein-free diet under the conditions of controlled intake of vitamin A.
Enteropathogenic Escherichia coli Inhibits Type I Interferon- and RNase L-Mediated Host Defense To Disrupt Intestinal Epithelial Cell Barrier Function

Enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (EPEC) primarily infects children in developing countries and causes diarrhea that can be deadly. EPEC pathogenesis occurs through type III secretion system (T3SS)-mediated injection of effectors into intestinal epithelial cells (IECs); these effectors alter actin dynamics, modulate the immune response, and disrupt tight junction (TJ) integrity. The resulting compromised barrier function and increased gastrointestinal (GI) permeability may be responsible for the clinical symptoms of infection. Type I interferon (IFN) mediates anti-inflammatory activities and serves essential functions in intestinal immunity and homeostasis; however, its role in the immune response to enteric pathogens, such as EPEC, and its impact on IEC barrier function have not been examined. Here, we report that IFN-β is induced following EPEC infection and regulates IEC TJ proteins to maintain barrier function. The EPEC T3SS effector NleD counteracts this protective activity by inhibiting IFN-β induction and enhancing tumor necrosis factor alpha to promote barrier disruption. The endoribonuclease RNase L is a key mediator of IFN induction and action that promotes TJ protein expression and IEC barrier integrity. EPEC infection inhibits RNase L in a T3SS-dependent manner, providing a mechanism by which EPEC evades IFN-induced antibacterial activities. This work identifies novel roles for IFN-β and RNase L in IEC barrier functions that are targeted by EPEC effectors to escape host defense mechanisms and promote virulence. The IFN-RNase L axis thus represents a potential therapeutic target for enteric infections and GI diseases involving compromised barrier function.
Psychology of Religion in America

When America was first discovered it was a new world and offered the opportunity of a new beginning in the history of man. This Utopian con cept of a new world has continued to shape the course of American history. Early colonists were infected with the fever of freedom to cast off old tra ditions and create a new society, to do as they pleased and become what ever they might desire. This fever has affected religious developments with the excitement of mass revivals, the ecstasy of intensely vivid experiences, and the proliferation of new religious sects and denominations. The prospect of new life through religious awakening has so captivated the imagination of the American people that church congregations continue to grow and re ligious devotion is a vital interest. Another manifestation of this Utopian motif is the development of mo dern science. The fever to discover and create a new world has risen to a crescendo of scientific theories and experiments, inventions and technolo gies which have changed the whole frame of human life. These scientific achievements have encouraged a kind of unlimited optimism to believe that man by his own genius can know everything and do everything. In this respect, scientific faith has become a religious cult offering to free man from the toils of his mortal bondage and save him from every doubt and distress. With such claims by quite different methods and presuppositions, it is inevitable that science and religion will meet, whether as rivals or allies, and consider how to come to terms with each other.
Discussion: Community Facilities and Services

The first question is the best-developed in familiar economic analytics. Day calls it the cost and output problem. Techniques of production economics seem logical candidates for application. Yet empirical studies to date seem less than satisfactory. Day notes that the observed data are a mixed bag of nonstandardized commodities. You cannot develop a cost curve when the data are not separated into what is corn and what is wheat. Many economists have a tendency to assume that product categories and specifications are given and are not grist for their analytic mill. We have become so familiar with No. 1 and No. 2 wheat that we forget the choice that went into these specifications. When we get to something like education, we are frustrated by the lack of grades and specifications which distinguish one product from another. Sometimes we forget that product categories do not exist in nature but are made by man to suit his collective purposes. I emphasize "collective purpose," since grades and categories cannot be individual if we expect trade and interaction. In many cases, they are public and common or they are worthless. Some product categories are of course private and are matters for negotiation between buyer and seller. It is interesting to note that few demand and supply elasticity studies exist for highly differentiated and uniquely specified products in the private economy. Economists have a limited role in product definition but a major one in forcing the issue. Take education, for example. People do discuss bond and tax issues for total spending or whether to add a swimming pool. But there is precious little public discussion of kinds of education. Surely, we do speak of vocational vs. college prep or our commitment to mass education as opposed to elite training. Still, this is like speaking of the product, grain, instead of No. 1 wheat and No. 2 corn.
Ribosomal DNA sites in a metacentric chromosome fragment.

It has recently been possible to identify specific gene sites with in situ hybridization of H3-RNA to human metaphase chromosomes. This study extends earlier observations of the localization of ribosomal DNA (rDNA) and describes the morphology of a small metacentric chromosome fragment which contains ribosomal DNA sites on both sides of the centromere. The presence of such additional gene sites is correlated with the clinical effects noted in the patient.
Is there a Oaxaca-California megashear? Conflict between paleomagnetic data and other elements of geology

After two decades, paleomagnetic study of Cretaceous plutonic, volcanic, and sedimentary rocks consistently shows that both the continental borderland and the batholithic terrane of peninsular California have moved north 14{degree} {plus minus} 5{degree} and rotated 25{degree} to 40{degree} clockwise between the end of the Cretaceous and the end of the Paleocene. A variety of geologic data across the borderland-batholith boundary, with the peninsula, across the Gulf of California, and within the State of Sonora, Mexico, appear to preclude the existence of a megashear along which peninsular California could have traveled northward. Lacking an acceptable scenario for moving the rocks from their proposed position of magnetization to their present position, the data of paleomagnetism and other elements of geology are in direct conflict. The resolution of this enigma will require an important revision of current assumptions.
Diverse etiologies of facial paralysis in children.

Abstract Facial paralysis (FP) in children is most often idiopathic, however, many diverse and identifiable etiologies exist. Twenty-five cases of children admitted consecutively to the Children's National Medical Center over 8.5 years for the evaluation of FP were reviewed retrospectively. In 21 (84%) of the patients the FP was discovered to be secondary to a specific etiology or associated with a recognizable syndrome. In 7 cases, the FP was an initial manifestation of a serious underlying disorder. Causes of the FP in this series include: otitis media, mastoiditis, temporal lobe abscess, osteopetrosis, both blunt and penetrating trauma, iatrogenic surgical injury, facial urns, cerebellar astrocytoma, leukemia rhabdomyosarcoma, intracerebral arteriovenous malformation, Goldenhar syndrome, and Melkersson-Rosenthal syndrome. Four (16%) patients were diagnosed as having Bell's palsy. Methods of management, including the use of electrodiagnostic testing are described.
Continuous quantum phase transition between an antiferromagnet and a valence-bond solid in two dimensions: evidence for logarithmic corrections to scaling.

The antiferromagnetic to valence-bond-solid phase transition in the two-dimensional $J\mathrm{\text{\ensuremath{-}}}Q$ model (an $S=1/2$ Heisenberg model with four-spin interactions) is studied using large-scale quantum Monte Carlo simulations. The results support a continuous transition of the ground state, in agreement with the theory of ``deconfined'' quantum criticality. There are, however, large corrections to scaling, of logarithmic or very slowly decaying power-law form, which had not been anticipated. This suggests that either the $\mathrm{SU}(N)$ symmetric noncompact $C{P}^{N\ensuremath{-}1}$ field theory for deconfined quantum criticality has to be revised or that the theory for $N=2$ (as in the system studied here) differs significantly from $N\ensuremath{\rightarrow}\ensuremath{\infty}$ (where the field theory is analytically tractable).
Chronic Hepatitis B in Children and Adolescents: Epidemiology and Management

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is a worldwide health problem, which can cause acute liver failure, acute hepatitis, chronic hepatitis, liver cirrhosis, and liver cancer. It is most prevalent in Asia, Africa, Southern Europe, and Latin America. Approximately 2 billion people in the world have been infected by HBV, with more than 350 million as chronic carriers. Implementation of the HBV vaccine led to a significant reduction in viral transmission in many areas of the world; however, it remains highly endemic in many developing countries. The main source of infection in childhood is via perinatal transmission or horizontal transmission during preschool years. The majority of children with chronic hepatitis B (CHB) infection are asymptomatic; however, they may develop progressive disease and are at increased risk of advanced liver disease or liver cancer before their third decade. All children with chronic HBV infection should be regularly monitored for disease progression. The goal of therapy for children with CHB is to arrest disease progression and reduce the risk of developing cirrhosis and cancer. The available medications have a low success rate because of immunotolerance in the child and the development of viral resistance to standard therapy. Therefore, case selection and determination of the best time to commence treatment are essential to increase treatment efficacy and reduce the risk of viral resistance.
Transfer of UV irradiance calibration to our field spectroradiometers: current performance and operational experience at Table Mountain, Colorado

At present the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Reference Spectroradiometric Network consists of 4 sites: Table Mt. CO, Ft. Collins CO, Lamont OK (The ARM program SGP site), and Beltsville MD. At each site we operate a 1-meter cascaded additive-double Czerny-Turner scanning monochromator with a bi-alkali Photomultiplier and photon-counting detection. Irradiance calibrations are provided for the instrument at Table Mt CO by NOAA's Central Ultraviolet Calibration Facility (CUCF) from NIST-traceable standards. Calibrations are transferred from this instrument to others in the network (and additional stability monitoring of the primary instrument conducted) using shippable transfer calibrators we have designed. Here we describe these transfer calibrators, and our operational experience seen at the Table Mt. Site in 2002 and 2003 to date.
Control of the Diurnal Pattern of Methane Emission from Emergent Aquatic Macrophytes by Gas Transport Mechanisms

Methane emissions from Typha latifolia (L.) showed a large mid-morning transient peak associated with rising light levels. This peak was also associated with a steep decline in lacunal CH, concentrations near the stem base. This pattern contrasted sharply with emissions from Peltandra virginica (L.) that gradually rose to a peak in the mid-afternoon corresponding to elevated air temperatures. Internal CH4 concentrations within P. virginica stems did not change significantly over the diurnal period. Stomatal conductance appeared to correlate directly with light levels in both plant types and were not associated with peak CH4 emission events in either plant. These patterns are consistent with a convective throughflow and diffusive gas ventilation systems for Typha and Peltandra, respectively. Further effects of the convective throughflow in T. latifolia were evident in the elevated CH4 concentrations measured within brown leaves as contrasted to the near ambient levels measured within live green leaves. Experimental manipulation of elevated and reduced CO2 levels in the atmosphere surrounding the plants and of light/dark periods suggested that stomatal aperture has little or no control of methane emissions from T. latifolia.
Green office construction: a discounted after-tax cash flow analysis

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to address the apparent slow acceptance on the part of developers located in the USA to seek green certifications. If green-certified construction costs more than non-green construction, then is there a financial reason for not seeking a green rating. Do green buildings perform better than non-green buildings financially? The paper develops and presents a discounted present value model for doing a cost-benefit analysis for building green. This model enables an investor to determine the feasibility of constructing a new green-certified building instead of a conventional non-green building. Non-green buildings are not certified by a rating agency such as Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED), Energy Star or Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM). Real estate permits are granted by local municipalities in the USA. This means that local government mandates requiring green construction that significantly adds to the initial...
Series of hadron energy levels as representations of non-compact groups☆

It has recently been emphasized [1] that in an approximate symmetry theory it is by no means necessary that a consistent relativistic model be available in which the symmetry is exact, with the violations then treated as perturbations. It is sufficient that a set of operators be found that obey the equal-time commutation relations characteristic of some algebra, that the energy operator be decomposed into terms transforming according to various irreducible representations of the algebra, and that the stationary and quasi-stationary quantum-mechanical states have a tendency to fall approximately into irreducible representations of the algebra as a result of dynamics. within each irreducible representations of the algebra as a result of dynamics.
Inducing Hypocrisy as a Means of Encouraging Young Adults to Use Condoms

This experiment applied a new twist on cognitive dissonance theory to the problem of AIDS prevention among sexually active young adults. Dissonance was created after a proattitudinal advocacy by inducing hypocrisy-having subjects publicly advocate the importance of safe sex and then systematically making the subjects mindful of their own past failures to use condoms. It was predicted that the induction of hypocrisy would motivate subjects to reduce dissonance by purchasing condoms at the completion of the experiment. The results showed that more subjects in the hypocrisy condition bought condoms and also bought more condoms, on average, than subjects in the control conditions. The implications of the hypocrisy procedure for AIDS prevention programs and for current views of dissonance theory are discussed.
Applications of PET in lung cancer

An estimated 180,000 new cases of lung cancer will be diagnosed in the United States this year, and lung cancer accounts for approximately 25% of all cancer deaths. The overall 5-year survival rate is 14%, and this has not changed over the past several decades. Lung cancer diagnosis and treatment is a major health problem globally. Most lung cancers are detected initially on chest radiographs, but many benign lesions have radiologic characteristics similar to malignant lesions. Thus, additional studies are required for further evaluation. Computed tomography (CT) is most frequently used to provide additional anatomic and morphologic information about the lesion, but it is limited in distinguishing benign from malignant abnormalities in the lung, pleura, and mediastinum. Because of the indeterminate results from anatomic imaging, biopsy procedures including thoracoscopy and thoracotomy may be used even through one-half of the lesions removed are benign and do not need to be removed. FDG-PET imaging provides physiologic and metabolic information that characterizes lesions that are indeterminate by CT and that accurately stages the distribution of lung cancer. Exploiting the fundamental biochemical differences between cancer and normal tissues, FDG imaging takes advantage of the increased accumulation of FDG in transformed cells. FDG-PET is very sensitive (approximately 95%) for the detection of cancer in patients who have indeterminate lesions on CT. The specificity (approximately 85%) of PET imaging is slightly less than the sensitivity because some inflammatory processes such as active granulomatous infections accumulate FDG avidly. The high-negative predictive value of PET suggests that lesions considered negative on the study are benign, biopsy is not needed, and radiographic follow-up is recommended. Several studies have documented the increased accuracy of PET compared with CT in the evaluation of the hilar and mediastinal lymph node status in patients with lung cancer. If the mediastinum is normal on PET imaging and there is no other evidence of metastatic disease, the patient has a thoracotomy. If the mediastinum is abnormal on PET imaging, mediastinoscopy is performed with the PET images providing the lymph node stations to target. Whole-body PET studies detect metastatic disease that is unsuspected by conventional imaging and demonstrate some of the anatomic abnormalities detected by CT to be benign lesions. Management changes have been reported to occur in up to 41% of patients based on the results of the whole-body studies.
Reverse piezoelectric behavior of carbon fiber thermoplastic‐matrix composite

The reverse piezoelectric effect was observed in the through-thickness direction of a continuous carbon fiber nylon-6 matrix composite. The piezoelectric coupling coefficient was 2.2 x 10 - 6 m/V, as determined up to an electric field of 261 V/m. The effect was largely reversible upon turning off the field and was unaffected by field reversal. It is attributed to the electric dipoles in the nylon-6 matrix.
TH-A-L100F-01: Advanced Techniques for Image Quality Assessment in Digital Radiography

Until recently, advanced image quality metrics such as the frequency‐dependent detective quantum efficiency, DQE (f), have been employed by a relatively small cadre of expert imaging scientists to compare the performance of digital radiographysystems, often using differing methods. To address the potential for differences in measured DQE(f) arising from differences in test methodology, in 2003 the International Electro‐technical Commission (IEC) published the first in a series of performance standards to define techniques for measuring the DQE(f) and its constitutent metrics, the modulation transfer function,MTF(f), and noise power spectrum, NPS(f). More recently, the increasing prevalence of digital radiographicsystems in the clinical environment and availability of both commercial and public‐domain resources have made DQE(f) evaluations both more accessible and increasingly relevant to the clinical medical physicist. This course will review the measurement and analysis methods for DQE evaluations of both general digital radiography and digital mammographysystems, using the relevant IEC standard method as a guide. Learning Objectives: 1. Review the definition of the DQE(f) and its constitutent metrics the MTF(f) and NPS(f). 2. Gain an understanding of the IEC standard method for measuring detective quantum efficiency, for both general digital radiography and digital mammographyimagingsystems. 3. Learn which commercial and public‐domain resources are available for measuring the DQE(f) of digital radiographicimagingsystems.
Do HMOs affect educational disparities in health care

BACKGROUND We wanted to examine how membership in a health maintenance organization (HMO) is related to delivery of preventive clinical services to patients with different educational levels. METHODS We conducted a cross-sectional analysis of the 1996–1997 Community Tracking Study Household Survey among adults aged 18 to 64 years with private or Medicaid health insurance. We examined interactions between respondent educational level and HMO membership for the following measures: having a regular source of care and, in the past year, having had a physician visit, a mental health visit, a mammogram (women ≥ 50 years), an influenza vaccination (ages ≥ 55 years), or smoking cessation counseling (smokers). RESULTS After adjustment for sociodemographic factors, community size, insurance type, physical and mental health status, and smoking, respondents with less education were significantly less likely to have had a physician visit or mental health visit, mammogram, or influenza vaccination in the past year. Disparities in receipt of preventive care by educational level were smaller among HMO members. Differences in disparities between HMO members and non-HMO members reached statistical significance for influenza vaccination and showed a trend for mental health visits (P = .06). Moreover, HMO members with less than 12 years of education received services at levels comparable to non-HMO members with more education. CONCLUSIONS There are appreciable disparities in receipt of preventive care by education among nonelderly insured persons. HMO membership is associated with smaller disparities for some services. Those with the lowest levels of education appeared to benefit the most from HMO membership.
Levobupivacaine 0.75% vs. lidocaine 4% for topical anaesthesia: a clinical comparison in cataract surgery.

Background: The aim of this study was to compare the efficacy of topical levobupivacaine drops 0.75% vs. lidocaine drops 4% in cataract surgery. Methods: We examined 203 patients undergoing cataract surgery by phacoemulsification. They were randomized into two groups: one received four drops of lidocaine 4% and the other received four drops of levobupivacaine 0.75%. The onset and offset times of sensory block were evaluated. Application, intraoperative and postoperative subjective pain was quantified by the patients using a verbal pain score. Complications, rates of supplemental anaesthesia, and the satisfaction of surgeon and patients were also recorded. Results: The mean sensory onset and offset times were significantly higher for the levobupivacaine group (P < 0.01). Pain score was lower in the levobupivacaine group than in the lidocaine one and the difference was statistically significant at all stages (P < 0.01). The mean satisfaction scores of patients and surgeon were also statistically higher for levobupivacaine (P<0.01). No significant differences for complications and rates of supplemental anaesthesia were found. Conclusions: Topical levobupivacaine 0.75% shows the same efficacy and safety as lidocaine 4% in cataract surgery by phacoemulsification. There was an adequate block with a good level of satisfaction of surgeon and patients. Levobupivacaine 0.75% offers a new and acceptable choice for topical anaesthesia in cataract surgery.
Performance analysis for ad hoc QoS routing protocols

One of the major challenges faced by designers of ad hoc network systems is the deployment of end-to-end quality-of-service support mechanisms. The paper presents a comprehensive performance analysis and comparison of two QoS-enhanced ad hoc network protocols. We assume that the underlying network uses a time slotted data link layer such as TDMA. We developed integrated, QoS-aware versions of AODV (ad-hoc on-demand distance vector) and TORA (temporally ordered routing algorithm), two well-known ad hoc routing protocols. Using the ns-2 simulator, we have conducted an extensive set of performance experiments for these protocols with a wide variety of mobility patterns and reservation strategies. Our experiments show that by using the relatively minor modifications we suggest, both routing methods can significantly improve the probability of being able to find an end-to-end QoS path.
Risk aversion min-period retiming under process variations

Recent advances in statistical timing analysis (SSTA) achieve great success in computing arrival times under variations by extending sum and maximum operations to random variables. It remains a challenge problem to apply such results in order to address the variability in circuit optimizations. In this paper, we study the statistical retiming problem, where retiming is a powerful sequential transformation that relocates flip-flops in a circuit without changing its functionality. We formulate the risk aversion min-period retiming problem under process variations based on conventional two-stage stochastic program with fixed recourse and a risk aversion objective of the clock period. We prove that the proposed problem is an integer convex program, show that the subgradient of the objective function can be derived from the combinational paths with the maximum path delay, and present a heuristic incremental algorithm to solve the proposed problem. Our approach can handle arbitrary gate delay model under process variations through sampling from a black-box and the effectiveness is confirmed by the experimental results. Further more, we point out how the current state-of-the-art SSTA techniques could be improved for future optimization algorithms when analytical models are available.
Comparative Political Analytics Reconsidered

T HE EFFERVESCENCE OF comparative politics during the last two decades is a well-documented phenomenon.' The purposes of this article are: (1) to add new evidence to support the assertion that comparative political analytics has commandeered an increasing portion of attention in political science; (2) to examine issues posed by the relationship of generalization to supporting data in the method of comparison; (3) to project an association between function and institutions in that method; and (4) to construct for that
Regulation of Fas Antigen (Fas, CD95)-Mediated Apoptosis of Bovine Granulosa Cells by Serum and Growth Factors

Our previous studies have shown that bovine granulosa cells cultured in basal media supplemented with 5% fetal bovine serum (BM-FBS) are resistant to apoptosis induced by recombinant Fas ligand (FasL) unless pretreated with interferon-g (IFN). Experiments were conducted to test the hypothesis that serum and growth factors alter the susceptibility of granulosa cells to FasLinduced apoptosis. Granulosa cells were cultured in BM-FBS, BM containing insulin, transferrin, selenium, and BSA (BM-ITS), and in BM-ITS supplemented with insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF). Cells were susceptible to FasL-induced killing in BM-ITS (27% killing) but were resistant in BM-FBS and in BM-ITS containing IGF (P , 0.05 vs. killing in BM-ITS). Exposure of phosphatidylserine residues on the outer cell membrane, an early marker of apoptosis, was stimulated by FasL and prevented in the presence of IGF. Neutralization of IGF activity in serum with IGF binding protein 3 reduced the protective effect of FBS on FasL-induced killing (P , 0.05), suggesting that IGF is an inhibitory component in FBS. Cotreatment with IFN overcame the inhibitory effects of serum and IGF on FasL-induced killing (31% and 29% killing, respectively, P . 0.05), but IFN did not potentiate killing of cells cultured in BM-ITS. IFN increased expression of Fas antigen (Fas, the receptor for FasL) mRNA five- to sevenfold (P , 0.05) and increased immunostaining for Fas protein similarly in all types of media. Addition of the growth factors epidermal growth factor or basic fibroblast growth factor to BMITS also inhibited FasL-induced killing (P , 0.05), whereas keratinocyte growth factor, transforming growth factor, plateletderived growth factor, FSH, and LH had no effect. In summary, FasL-induced killing is inhibited by FBS and certain growth factors. IFN increased expression of Fas similarly in all types of media but was required for FasL-induced killing only in BM containing FBS or IGF. Therefore, modulation of responsiveness to FasL-induced apoptosis by growth factors and IFN is not directly related to the level of Fas expression. apoptosis, cytokines, granulosa cells, growth factors, ovary
Perrhenate and Pertechnetate Behavior on Iron and Sulfur-Bearing Compounds.

Investigations on the behavior of the radioactive element technetium frequently use a stable isotope of rhenium as an analogue. This is justified by citing the elements similar radii and major oxidation states of +7 and +4. However, at least one study [1] has shown this analogy to be imperfect. Therefore, one goal of our study is to compare the adsorption behavior of perrhenate and pertechnetate (the major forms of Re and Tc in natural waters) on a number of different mineral surfaces. Quantum mechanical calculations were performed on the adsorption of these two anions on a series of iron oxides and sulfides. With these calculations, we gain insight into any differences between the anions adsorption behavior, including geometry, adsorption energies, and electronic structure such as density of states and orbital shapes and energies at the adsorption site. Differences between interactions on terraces and step edges, the effects of co-adsorbates such as Na{sup +} or H{sup +}, and possible reduction mechanisms are also explored. The influence of water was calculated using homogeneous dielectric fluids and explicit water molecules. As a complement to the calculations, batch sorption tests are in progress involving ReO{sub 4}{sup -}/TcO{sub 4}{sup -} solution in contact with Femore » metal, 10% Fe-doped hydroxyapatite, goethite, hematite, magnetite, pyrite, galena, and sphalerite.« less