cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Keynote: Accessibility and beyond

Accessibility refers to products and services that allow people with disabilities to participate in the activities of life. I will talk about how technologies first intended for people with disabilities have later become mainstream. Examples include video chat, personal texting, personal GPS navigation, text to-speech, speech recognition, and optical character recognition (OCR). I will talk about emerging technologies for people with disabilities. Finally, I will talk about the importance of having people with disabilities in the diverse technology creation workforce.
Marine-Derived Metabolites of S-Adenosylmethionine as Templates for New Anti-Infectives

S-Adenosylmethionine (AdoMet) is a key biochemical co-factor whose proximate metabolites include methylated macromolecules (e.g., nucleic acids, proteins, phospholipids), methylated small molecules (e.g., sterols, biogenic amines), polyamines (e.g., spermidine, spermine), ethylene, and N-acyl-homoserine lactones. Marine organisms produce numerous AdoMet metabolites whose novel structures can be regarded as lead compounds for anti-infective drug design.
Cyanobacterial process for renovating dairy wastewater

Abstract Dairy operations in Florida face the dual problem of water pollution and air pollution (odors) as a result of the large amounts of manure produced on the farms. Ground and surface waters are contaminated by nitrogen present in seepage and runoff. A low-cost method of treatment of dairy wastewater is to convert the dissolved nutrients to microalgae biomass in engineered ponds designed to maximize photosynthetic production through solar energy. Laboratory experiments conducted on effluent from an anaerobic lagoon of a modern dairy showed that cyanobacteria (= blue-green algae) grow well on dairy wastewater and that nitrogen removal is rapid and complete. Ammonia nitrogen concentrations were reduced from 100 mg l −1 to less than 1 mg l −1 in seven days. Maximum removal rate was 24 mg l −1 per day. Prospects for nitrogen recycling are considered.
Sex behavior and hormone responses in ewes administered testosterone propionate

Abstract Two ewes were administered testosterone propionate and subsequent plasma testosterone concentrations determined and male sex behavior recorded. Initially ewes were administered 50 mg of testosterone propionate every other day for 20 days. Within 6 days following the first injection, concentrations of testosterone in plasma increased to 8.0 to 10.0 ng/ml. A 50 mg injection of testosterone propionate administered every 10 days thereafter maintained concentrations of plasma testosterone at 1.0 to 3.0 ng/ml. Sex behavior tests conducted with non-estrus and estrus ewes showed that both testosterone treated ewes developed male sex behavior similar to a ram. Ewes in estrus were mounted by testosterone treated ewes an average of 6.7 ± 1.2 times during a 10 minute test whereas none of the non-estrus ewes were ever mounted. Silastic implants containing testosterone propionate placed in the ewes 83 days following the first injection maintained concentrations of plasma testosterone at 6.0 to 8.0 ng/ml for a 20 day period. Therefore, administration of testosterone propionate to ewes effectively stimulates male sex behavior and would obviate the necessity for vasectomized rams for estrus detection.
Perspectives about and approaches to weight gain in pregnancy: a qualitative study of physicians and nurse midwives.

Over one third of reproductive age women in the US are obese. Pregnancy is a strong risk factor for obesity, with excess weight gain as the greatest predictor of long term obesity. The majority of pregnant women gain more weight than recommended by the Institute of Medicine guidelines. The objective of this study was to understand prenatal care providers’ perspectives on weight gain during pregnancy. Semi-structured qualitative interviews of 10 prenatal care providers (three family physicians, three obstetricians, and four nurse midwives) at a University Hospital in the Midwest, that included the ranking of important prenatal issues, and open-ended questions addressing: 1) general perceptions; 2) approach with patients; and 3) clinical care challenges. Providers felt that appropriate weight gain during pregnancy was not a high priority. Many providers waited until patients had gained excess weight before addressing the issue, were not familiar with established guidelines, and lacked resources for patients. Providers also believed that their counseling had low impact on patients, avoided counseling due to sensitivity of the topic, and believed that patients were more influenced by other factors, such as their family, habits, and culture. Both providers and patients may benefit from increased awareness of the morbidity of excess weight gain during pregnancy. Practice-level policies that support the monitoring and management of weight gain during pregnancy could also improve care. Research that further investigates the barriers to appropriate weight gain is warranted.
Potentiometric Immunoassay with Quantum Dot Labels

Potentiometric sensors based on polymer membrane electrodes, if properly optimized, are useful for measurements at trace levels. The expected independence of the electrochemical signal of the sample size makes them extremely attractive for measurements in small volumes. Here, we report on electrodes for the potentiometric detection of cadmium ions that reach a detection limit of 6 nM and utilize a Na+-selective electrode as pseudoreference in order to facilitate measurements in 150-μL samples. A potentiometric immunoassay of mouse IgG is performed via CdSe quantum dot labels on a secondary antibody according to a sandwich immunoassay protocol in a microtiter plate format. The CdSe quantum dots are found to be easily dissolved/oxidized in a matter of minutes with hydrogen peroxide, allowing us to maintain the pH at a near-neutral value. The potentiometric protein immunoassay exhibits a log−linear response ranging from 0.15 to 4.0 pmol of IgG, with a detection limit of <10 fmol in 150-μL sample wells.
Barium and manganese trends in tree-rings as monitors of sulfur deposition

Barium and manganese concentrations in radial growth increments of heartwood from Juniperus virginiana L. are used to examine changes in soil reaction and sulfur deposition. Barium and Mn trends from trees growing on 2 sites with acid, low-Ca soils, signaled sulfur-induced changes in soil acidity after 1870, while Ba and Mn trends before 1870 did not. Factors controlling Ba availability are hypothesized to have changed from soil acidity before 1870 to precipitation of BaSO4 by increased soil sulfate after 1870.
Sociological Elements in Economic Thought: II. The Analytical Factor View

I. The analytical factor view of economics. Non-economic sociological supplements (a) Durkheim, 647.— (b) Pareto, 650.— (c) Max Weber, 654. — II. General methodological considerations: empiricism, economics and sociology, 657.
Nanocrystalline diamond: Effect of confinement, pressure, and heating on phonon modes

Micro- and nanocrystalline systems exhibit properties that differ markedly from bulk systems. Diamond, a prototypical system, demonstrates a broadening, shift, and emergence of Raman phonon modes that are believed to originate from finite-size effects. Such information should be useful in constraining confinement models developed to describe the state of these mesoscopic systems. For example, previous investigations have analyzed crystallite size and stresses in scientifically and technologically relevant environments, including chemical-vapor-deposition diamond films and diamond nanocomposites. We have experimentally measured the effect on the diamond Raman phonon modes due to confinement, pressure, and heating effects. At ambient pressure, we present Raman measurements for diamond crystallites ranging from 6 nm to 10 \ensuremath{\mu}m, which were synthesized by both static and dynamic techniques. The Raman spectra obtained from the statically synthesized samples exhibit a characteristic strong and narrow diamond band, while those dynamically synthesized exhibit both diamond and graphiticlike features. A redshift of the diamond Raman band is observed for decreasing particle size. However, the pressure dependence of the phonon is about the same as that for the bulk system up to 30 kbar for crystallite sizes between 6 and 10 nm. Our measurements also indicate that heating effects from the incident laser dramatically affect the measured Raman spectra. This result leads us to an explanation for discrepancies among previously published results. We show that crystallite size and stress information cannot be determined without compensating for heating effects. Lastly, the phonon confinement model is able to explain the shifts of the Raman modes with size.
FURTHER EXPERIENCE WITH A FAST-CLOSING PROTECTIVE VALVE.

Abstract Experience under actual operating conditions at the Oak Ridge Isochronous Cyclotron demonstrates that a fast-valve system, with a large opening (6.35 cm) and no special baffles, works successfully.
Relationships among Defense Style, Existential Anxiety, and Religiosity

63 participants whose mean age was 26.8 yr. answered a questionnaire which measured defense style, existential anxiety, and religiosity. Defense style was generalized to existential concerns; repressors, who tend to avoid threatening stimuli, were likely to have less existential anxiety than sensitizers, who tend to approach threatening stimuli. Religiosity was related to neither defense style nor existential anxiety. It was suggested that religiosity was more influenced by socialization than by individual anxieties or personality variables such as defense style.
Potassium transport and lipid composition in mammalinan red blood cell membranes

Potassium influxes in red cells from eight species have been found to follow exponential relationship with membrane phosphatidylcholine and sphingomyelin content. This relationship with membrane phosphatidylcholine and sphingomyelin content. This relationship with membrane phospholipid patterns was found to exist with both ouabain sensitive and insensitive fraction of potassium transport. When published values of chloride and phosphate permeabilities were compared with potassium permeabilities, correlations were found in seven out of nine of the species studied. On the basis of these findings it appears that potassium, phosphate, and chloride permeabilities in red blood cells of most species are related to the membrane phosphatidylcholine and sphingomyelin content; that is, membrane permeabilities increase with increasing amounts of phosphatidylcholine and decrease with increasing amounts of sphingomyelin. These results indicate that the membrane lipid is an important factor in transport processes in mammalian red blood cells.
Multispectral tissue classification of MR images using sensor fusion approaches

Multi-spectral image data fusion techniques for tissue classification of magnetic resonance (MR) images are presented. Using MR it is possible to obtain imagesof proton density the spin-lattice relaxation time constant ( T1) and the spin-spin relaxation time constant (T2) of the same anatomical section of the human body. In this paper we adopt a sensor fusion approach to tissue classification and segmentation in which each of the three images are treated as the output of different sensors. Regions of the images are modeled as noncausal Gaussian Markov random fields (GMRFs) and the underlying tissue label image is also assumed to follow a Gibbs distribution. Two different multi-spectral tissue labeling algorithms maximum a posteriori (MAP) estimation and the Dempster-Shafer evidential reasoning technique are presented. In the Bayesian MAP approach we use an independent opinion pool for data fusion and a deterministic relaxation to obtain the MAP solution. In practice the Bayesian approach may be too restrictive and a likelihood represented by a point probability value is usually an overstatement of what is actually known. In the Dempster-Shafer approach we adopt Dempster''s rule of combination for data fusion using belief intervals and ignorance to represent our confidence in a particular labeling and we present a new deterministic relaxation scheme that updates the belief intervals. Results obtained from real MR images are presented. 1.© (1990) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Focused attention during selective adaptation along a place of articulation continuum

The current investigation manipulated subjects' attention to adaptor tokens in five selective adaptation experiments. All stimuli were synthetic consonant-vowel syllables, with the consonant varying from [b] to [d] by formant frequency transitions. Two distractor conditions (auditory and visual) were compared to a more typical endpoint-[d alpha] adaptor condition. Distraction from endpoint-[d alpha] adaptors to phonetically distinct [si] and [integral of i] was used to observe whether smaller adaptation effects would result when attention was not focused on adaptor stimuli. In contrast, a focused attention condition required subjects to whisper [b alpha] adaptors right after they were heard. Performance in the focused attention condition was compared to a more typical endpoint-[b alpha] adaptation condition. Results indicated that focused attention did not affect the size of the adaptation effect. Asymmetrical adaptation results for [d alpha] vs [b alpha] adaptors, and a larger amount of adaptation with the presence of contralateral "distractor" syllables, resembled findings in psychoacoustic studies of discrimination and loudness adaptation. These results suggest that two levels of auditory processing (not special to speech perception) were responsible for the observed adaptation effects.
Progressive Glomerular Sclerosis in Experimental Antiglomerular Basement Membrane Glomerulonephritis

A model of chronic progressive glomerular sclerosis in experimental antiglomerular basement membrane (anti-GBM) glomerulonephritis was developed in Wistar rats. Wistar rats given the accelerated form of anti-GBIVI antibody glomerulonephritis initially developed significant proteinuria and renal insufficiency associated primarily with a decrease in glomerular filtration rate (GFR) with normal renal clearance of para-aminohippuric acid and with markedly reduced filtration fraction. The glomerular functional abnormalities were associated with marked glomerular hypercellularity due to leukocytic infiltration as well as proliferation of intrinsic glomerular cells with crescent formation. Late in the course of the disease, by day 21, GFR had fallen further, associated with a parallel decrease in the clearance of para-amminohippuric acid and a normal filtration fraction. At this stage, glomerular hypercellularity had diminished and was replaced by glomerular sclerosis. The model appears to be a reproducible form of chronic glomerulosclerosis and demonstrates that the chronic phase of glomerular basement membrane (GBM) glomerulonephritis is distinctly different from that of the acute phase. It provides a controllable setting to study the glomerular sclerotic process independent of the initial inflammatory changes.
Editorial Board Forum: Management Challenges and Research Issues

The media industries are currently in a period of transition throughout the world. To help understand what is taking place, the editorial board for The International Journal on Media Management was polled via e-mail and asked to respond to two questions regarding management challenges and research issues of importance to the media industry over the next 2 years. We asked the members to limit their responses to each question to 150 words. The opinions expressed are those of the editorial board members, and the responses are presented in alphabetical order. We hope the readers of this journal will appreciate this dialogue among the field's leading scholars. ACCESS TO FULL TEXT
Image and multimedia resources in an academic environment: A qualitative study of students' experiences and literacy practices

The digital environment provides an abundance of images and multimedia and offers a new potential for using resources in multiple modes of representation for teaching and learning. This article reports the findings of a case study that investigated the use of image and multimedia resources in an undergraduate classroom. The study assumed a contextual approach and focused on different class contexts and students’ literacy practices. The class, which took place in a resource-rich, multimodal environment, was perceived by students as a positive learning experience. The distribution of resources and their role in teaching and learning varied and depended on the context of use. The findings indicate that images fulfilled important descriptive and mnemonic functions when students were introduced to new concepts, but their role was limited in practices that required students to analyze and synthesize knowledge.
Cardiac Teratogenicity of Dichloroethylene in a Chick Model

ABSTRACT: Trichloroethylene (TCE) and dichloroethylene (DCE) are related halogenated aliphatic hydrocarbon industrial solvents that are frequently found as drinking water contaminants. TCE has been implicated as a cardiac teratogen in an epidemiologic study and in a chick model. The purpose of this study was to determine whether DCE was also a cardiac teratogen in the chick embryo. Fertilized White Leghorn chick eggs (n = 418) were inoculated just above the embryo with 30 μL of a test solution on d 3 of incubation. Two control groups were studied: normal saline (n = 96) and the diluent for the DCE, miners' oil (n = 108). DCE was studied at three doses: 5, 20, and 25 μM (n = 76, 62, and 76, respectively). Eggs were coded with a seven-digit number to mask identity. Chicks were terminated on d 18 of incubation, and, after external inspection, hearts and great vessels were dissected macroscopically according to a detailed protocol. Abnormal hearts were reviewed and the diagnosis was agreed upon by three investigators before decoding the seven-digit number and photographing the abnormality. Some embryo death and subsequent tissue autolysis occurred in all groups, but, compared to controls, it was not significantly greater in the treatment group. However, combining all controls and all experimentals, significantly more (p = 0.02) embryonic death occurred in the experimental group. Noncardiac anomalies occurred in 17 embryos and were highest in the saline (four), 5 μM (four), and 20 μM (seven) DCE groups. Cardiac and great vessel anomalies occurred in 4% of saline controls, 4% of mineral oil controls, 17% of the DCE 5 μ group (p < 0.05), 19% of the DCE 20 μM group (p < 0.05), and 2% of the DCE 25 μM group (p = 0.1). Cardiac anomalies included atrial and ventricular septal defects, malformations of all valves, and great vessel abnormalities. Results suggest that DCE is a more potent cardiac teratogen than a general teratogen in the chick. Results for DCE, including the marked decrease in cardiac teratogenicity between 20 and 25 μM treated groups, are almost identical to results found for TCE, which suggests that the cardiac teratogenic effect may be exerted through a common mechanism, possibly a common or similar metabolite.
Enhanced derivative recovery through least square residual penalty

Abstract L 2 projective techniques have proven very useful for postprocessing of derivatives, such as strains, in finite element solutions of elliptic problems. However, these projections often exhibit substantial errors near boundaries. It is shown here that adding the square of the residuals of selected governing equations to the least square form enhances the accuracy. Both global and local projection schemes are considered. Results are presented which show that these enhancements significantly increase the accuracy and convergence of recovered derivatives.
An object-based image analysis approach for determining fractional cover of senescent and green vegetation with digital plot photography

Research into automatic image processing of digital plot photography has increased in recent years. However, in most studies only overall vegetation cover is estimated. In arid regions of the southwestern US, grass cover is typically a mixture of green and senescent plant material and it is important to be able to quantify both types of vegetation. Our objectives were to develop an image analysis approach for estimating fractional cover of green and senescent vegetation using very high-resolution ground photography, and to compare image-based estimates with line-point-intercept (LPI) measures. We acquired ground photography for 50 plots using an eight megapixel digital camera. The images were transformed from the RGB (red, green, blue) color space to the IHS (intensity, hue, saturation) color space. We used an object-based image analysis approach to classify the images into soil, shadow, green vegetation, and senescent vegetation. Shadow and soil were effectively masked out by using the intensity and saturation bands, and a nearest neighbor classification was used to separate green and senescent vegetation using intensity, hue and saturation as well as visible bands. Correlation coefficients between LPI- and image-based estimates for green and senescent vegetation were 0.88 and 0.95 respectively. Image analysis underestimated total and senescent vegetation by approximately 5%. The object-based image-processing approach is less labor and time intensive than the LPI method, is a viable alternative to ground-based methods, and has the potential to be incorporated into rangeland monitoring protocols.
Familial Aggregation of Psychiatric Disorders in a Community Sample of Adolescents

ABSTRACT Objective To determine whether specific psychiatric disorders and suicide attempts ascertained in a community sample of adolescents show evidence of familial aggregation. Method Fifty-eight adolescent probands recruited from the community and their relatives were assessed as to the presence of specific DSM-III Axis I disorders and suicide attempt, using a combination of family study and family history methodology. Results In first-degree relatives, there was evidence for specific familial aggregation of suicide attempt (odds ratio [OR] = 12.1, 95% confidence interval [Cl] = 1.3 to 111.0), substance abuse (OR = 2.7, 95% Cl = 1.1 to 6.7), and any Axis I disorder (OR = 2.5, 95% Cl = 1.3 to 4.6), even after demographic confounders and familial comorbidity were controlled. Similarly, among second-degree relatives, in analyses controlling for potential confounders, the disorder-specific aggregation of suicide attempt (OR = 12.3, 95% Cl = 1.2 to 130.0), substance abuse (OR = 2.8, 95% Cl = 1.6 to 4.8), and any Axis I disorder (OR = 1.5, 95% Cl = 1.0 to 2.2) persisted. Conclusions The familial aggregation of suicide attempts and psychiatric disorders, particularly of substance abuse and any Axis I disorder, occurs in community samples and is not primarily attributable to referral status. J. Am. Acad. Child Adolesc. Psychiatry, 1997, 36(5):628–636.
The Association of African Ancestry and Elevated Creatinine in the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) Study

Whether genetic factors account for differences in early kidney disease among blacks in a young healthy population is not well known. We evaluated the association of self-reported race and genetic African ancestry with elevated creatinine (> or =1.3 mg/dl for men, > or =1.1 mg/dl for women) among 3,113 black and white participants in the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) study, ages 38-50 years. We estimated individual African ancestry using 42 ancestry informative markers. Blacks were more likely to have elevated creatinine than whites, and this effect was more pronounced in men: adjusted odds ratio (AOR) for black versus white men = 7.03, 4.15-11.91; AOR for women = 2.40, 1.15-5.02. Higher African ancestry was independently associated with elevated creatinine among black men (AOR = 1.53,1.08-2.16 per SD increase in African ancestry), but not women. A graded increase in odds of elevated creatinine by African Ancestry was observed among black men compared with white men: AOR = 4.27 (2.26-10.06) for black men with 40-70% African ancestry; AOR = 8.09 (4.19-15.61) for black men with 70-80% African ancestry; AOR = 9.05 (4.81-17.02) for black men with >80% African ancestry. Genetic factors common to African ancestry may be associated with increased risk of early kidney dysfunction in a young, healthy population, particularly among black men.
Optimal Auctions Revisited

In symmetric privately known values oral auctions with costly entry for bidders, the seller can do no better than by committing (ex ante) to a reservation price and entry fees or subsidies which result in no fewer—and at most one more—bidders than a reservation price equal to the seller′s value would in the absence of entry fees or subsidies. Journal of Economic Literature Classification Numbers; D44, C72.
Epoxyeicosatrienoic acids mediate insulin-mediated augmentation in skeletal muscle perfusion and blood volume

Skeletal muscle microvascular blood flow (MBF) increases in response to physiological hyperinsulinemia. This vascular action of insulin may facilitate glucose uptake. We hypothesized that epoxyeico...
Reflections on Human Spirituality for the Worksite

Seventy years later this same concept was revealed in a different light, as psychologist Carl Jung hypothesized his theory of the collective unconscious, in which he suggested that at some profound level, every person is connected in what he called a "divine consciousness." Jung proposed the idea that if people would take the time to dive below the waters of the conscious mind, the censor mechanism often nourished by fear, to access the wisdom of the unconscious mind, there would be a greater sense of balance and harmony in one’s life, or what he called "psychic equilibrium. ’’2 Jung’s theory of the collective unconsciousness was inspired in part by Albert Einstein’s Theory of Relativity and Unified Field Theory in which Einstein hypothesized that all matter is energy, and beyond the limits of space and time, all things connect. What Chief Seattle, Jung, and Einstein shared in common was a vision of connectedness beyond the apparent reality of the five senses. This sense of connectedness, or what is often referred to as a part of our social well-being, is actually a smaller part of the bigger construct of human spirituality. In this time and age where many people feel both personal stress and social upheaval, there appears to be a need to acknowledge and nurture the spiritual side of our increasingly diverse culture; respecting the aspect of cultural diversity, yet honoring the spiritual aspect which unites all people. The purpose of this paper is to illustrate and highlight several aspects of human spirituality in the context of health promotion and explain how this cornerstone of the wellness paradigm can be more fully integrated into the worksite setting. If you were to study the history of healing over the past ten thousand years, if you were to talk to the wisdom keepers of the world’s indigenous cultures, you would inevitably encounter the concept of holism, where the health of the human entity is comprised of the
Quantum Mechanical Pressure-Dependent Reaction and Recombination Rates for O + OH → H + O2, HO2

We extend recent flux−flux autocorrelation function methods for the direct computation of thermal reaction rate constants and unimolecular recombination rates to the case where both reaction and recombination are possible. Rather than a single transition state dividing surface, dividing surfaces are placed on both the reactant (r) and product (p) sides of the intermediate collision complex region. The thermal recombination rate expression then involves a flux cross-correlation function Crp(t) in addition to the usual autocorrelation function Crr(t), both of which are computed during a single quantum time propagation. This method is applied to the three-dimensional O + OH ⇌ H + O2 (J = 0) reactions, employing parallel computation because of the necessary large basis (218 grid points) and long propagation times (2−3 ps). Thermal rate constants (in the absence of recombination effects) are presented for T = 500−2000 K, using the J-shifting approximation to account for nonzero total angular momentum; good agr...
The immunomodulatory effects of damage control abdominal packing on local and systemic neutrophil activity.

Background: Damage control laparotomy (DCL) with abdominal packing has become commonplace after major trauma, but the immune consequences of DCL are unknown. Methods: We collected 37 fluid samples from laparotomy pads (LPF) removed from 28 patients 1 hour to 7 days after DCL. Samples from eight patients who underwent serial packing were assayed for their mediator content and effects on neutrophil (PMN) function. Respiratory burst (RB) to N-formyl-methionyl-leucyl-phenylalanine and phorbol myristate acetate (PMA), as well as PMN calcium ([Ca 2+ ] i ) mobilization by GRO-a and platelet-activating factor were studied using dihydrorhodamine and fura-2-acetoxymethyl ester fluorescence. Brief exposure to 20% LPF (LPF20) modeled LPF acting on peritoneal PMNs and 2% LPF (LPF2) modeled the systemic effects on PMNs. Endotoxin (ETX), GRO-a, and leukotriene B4 were assayed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Data analysis was by analysis of variance with Dunn's comparisons or the Mann-Whitney test when indicated. Results: LPF increased N-formyl-methionyl-leucyl-phenylalanine-induced RB from 0.4 ± 0.1 x 10 3 counts per second (control) to 0.7 ± 0.1 (LPF2) to 1.3 ± 0.3 (LPF20) (p < 0.05), with LPF2 increasingly active at later times after injury. PMA-elicited RB was primed only by LPF2 from < 24 hours. Both LPF2 and LPF20 markedly suppressed GRO-a [Ca 2+ ] i flux. Suppression by LPF2 was maximal at < 24 hours, abating after 48 hours. Suppression of GRO-a response was dose dependent: 150 ± 8 nmol/L in control PMNs, 97 ± 19 after LPF2, and 59 ± 4 after LPF20 (all p < 0.05). [Ca 2+ ] i flux after 1 nmol/L platelet-activating factor was only suppressed (from 181 ± 14 nmol/L to 149 ± 15 nmol/L,p < 0.05) by LPF20. LPF contained ETX, GRO-a, and leukotriene B4 at 10- to 20-fold plasma concentration in trauma patients. Conclusion: DCL results in peritoneal ETX and mediator accumulation even when cultures are sterile. LPF exposure primes PMN RB elicited by nonreceptor- (PMA) or receptor-coupled agonists that resist receptor desensitization. Conversely, LPF suppresses PMN responses to agonists that undergo receptor desensitization at high mediator concentrations. PMN dysfunction in such circumstances probably reflects a concomitant priming of some cell functions (e.g., RB) and desensitization of other (receptor-dependent) functions after an exposure to concentrated mediators. Peritoneal mediator production after DCL may be ETX driven, and may contribute to systemic inflammatory response syndrome. DCL trades early hemostasis for later inflammation. This should be considered in planning management strategies.
Effect of tetrandrine on micronucleus formation and sister-chromatid exchange in both in vitro and in vivo assays

Abstract The genotoxicity of tetrandrine, a drug potentially useful for the treatment of silicosis, was studied using the micronucleus and the sister-chromatid exchange (SCE) assay systems. Cultured Chinese hamster lung (V79) cells were used for the in vitro micronucleus and sister-chromatid exchange studies. Mouse bone marrow was used for the in vivo micronucleus assay and mouse spleen cells for the in vivo/in vitro sister-chromatid exchange analysis. The results show that SCE levels in V79 and in spleen cells were significantly elevated by treatment with tetrandrine at doses above 0.08 mg/ml and 100 mg/kg bw, respectively. Increased tetrandrine-induced SCE in vitro was metabolic activation dependent. Tetrandrine failed to induce micronuclei at any of the doses tested. A decrease of replicative index with an increase in the concentration of tetrandrine was found both in vitro and in vivo. These results indicate that tetrandrine is a weak indirect-acting genotoxicant.
Dimensional analysis in a turbulent glow discharge plasma

Abstract A low fractal dimension is measured in a fully turbulent collisional plasma which is constant throughout its fluid-like regime.
Newly Found Action of Cocaine

Cocaine augments appreciably the effects of small doses of acetylcholine on the heart rate, blood pressure, and the nictitating membrane in intact, anesthetized animals. This phenomenon assigns cocaine, thus far only known as a potentiator of adrenergic stimulation, a more general role of potentiator of both adrenergic and cholinergic neurohumors.
Great Expectations: The Association Between Media-Afforded Information Control and Desirable Social Outcomes

Media-afforded information control pertains to individuals’ abilities to utilize the features of interpersonal communication channels such that they are able to express information or withhold information in a manner consistent with their needs. Building on the uses and gratifications perspective and an intersectional view of media affordances, the purpose of this article was to assess the connection between afforded information control and obtaining positive outcomes. The results of both the survey and diary studies in a 2-part empirical investigation showed a positive relationship between reports on the expressive dimension of the information control scale and indicators of positive outcomes. To the author's knowledge, the diary study conducted in the second part of this investigation was the first to test the association between a media affordance, measured during a preliminary questionnaire stage, and outcomes assessed in later diary-recorded interactions in non-laboratory settings.
The measured performance of personal computer operating systems

This article presents a comparative study of the performance of three operating systems that run on the personal computer architecture derived form the IBM-PC. The operating systems, Windows for Workgroups, Windows NT, and NetBSD (a freely available variant of the UNIX operating system), cover a broad range of system functionality and user requirements, from a single-address-space model to full protection with preemptive multitasking. Our measurements are enable by hardware counters in Intel's Pentium processor that permit measurement of a broad range of processor events including instruction counts and on-chip cache miss counts. We use both microbenchmarks, which expose specific difference between the systems, and application workloads, which provide an indication of expected end-to-end performance. Our microbenchmark results show that accessing system functionality is often more expensive in Windows for Workgroups than in the other two systems due to frequent changes in machine mode and the use of system call hooks. When running native applications, Windows NT is more efficient than Windows, but it incurs overhead similar to that of a microkernel, since its application interface (the Win32 API) is implemented as a user-level server. Overall, system functionality can be accessed most efficiently in NetBSD; we attribute this to its monolithic structure and to the absence of the complications created by hardware backward-compatibility requirements in the other systems. Measurements of application performance show that although the impact of these differences is significant in terms of instruction counts and other hardware events (often a factor of 2 to 7 difference between the systems), overall performance is sometimes determined by the functionality provided by specific subsystems, such as the graphics subsystem or the file system buffer cache.
EVALUATION OF A CALCIUM ALGINATE COATING AND A PROTECTIVE PLASTIC WRAPPING FOR THE CONTROL OF LAMB CARCASS SHRINKAGE

Ninety lamb carcasses were evaluated for shrink loss, microbial growth and temperature reduction following treatment with: (1) an edible calcium alginate coating, Flavor-Tex®; (2) plastic wrap; or, (3) no treatment (control). Lambs (n = 30) were slaughtered on three consecutive days with 10 carcasses/day being randomly assigned to each treatment. Carcasses receiving the edible coating were significantly (P < 0.05) lower in 24-hr shrinkage loss (1.55%) than the controls (2.77%); however, those in plastic wrap had the least amount of shrinkage (1.20%), and maintained this advantage through 7 days postmortem. Total surface microbial counts from the sirloin area indicated a significant (P < 0.05) reduction at day 5 and 7 for the alginate coated carcasses, with the plastic wrap carcasses having the highest counts on all days. Internal leg temperature reduction (chilling) was essentially uniform at the end of a 24-hr chill at 2°C regardless of treatment. No significant differences were observed between treatments for cooking loss, flavor, juiciness, off-odor or overall acceptability.
Differences in stress levels, stressors, and stress responses between managerial and professional males and females on the stress vector analysis‐research edition

This study was to compare differences in stress levels, stress responses, and Stressors between male and female managers, executives, and professionals in Shreveport, Louisiana, New Orleans, Louisiana, Lake Charles, Louisiana, and Houston, Texas. A self‐administered 467‐item questionnaire with multiple‐choice and true/false format (Stress Vector Analysis—Research Edition) was the method of data collection. The tests were computer‐scored. The subscale scores were analyzed using analysis of variance. Male versus female Stressor strength comparisons were done by i‐test. Women in the sample reported a higher overall level of stress, and their Stressors appeared to be primarily familial, not job‐related. Managerial, executive, and professional women responded to stress with more reported illness, medical consultations, work loss, medication usage, and mental health consultations. They indicated greater incidence of mental problems, stress‐related disorders, and positive family histories for stress‐related diso...
Variation in the strontium isotopic composition of seawater (8 Ma to present) : Implications for chemical weathering rates and dissolved fluxes to the oceans

Measurements of 87Sr/86Sr on samples of planktonic foraminifers were used to reconstruct changes in the Sr isotopic composition of seawater for the past 8 Ma. The late Neogene was marked by a general, but not regular, increase in 87S/ 86Sr with two breaks in slope at 5.5 and 2.5 Ma. These times mark the beginning of two periods of steep increase in 87Sr/86Sr values, relative to preceding periods characterized by essentially constant values. During the last 2.5 Ma, 87Sr/86Sr values increased at an average rate of 54° 10−6 Ma−1. This steep increase suggests that the modem ocean is not in Sr isotopic equilibrium relative to its major input fluxes. A non-equilibrium model for the modern Sr budget suggests that the residence time of Sr is ∼ 2.5 Ma, which is significantly less than previously accepted estimates of 4–5 Ma. Modelling results suggest that the increase in 87Sr/86Sr over the past 8 Ma could have resulted from a 25% increase in the riverine flux of Sr or an increase in the average 87Sr/86Sr of this flux by 0.0006. The dominant cause of increasing 87Sr/86Sr values of seawater during the late Neogene is believed to be increased rates of uplift and chemical weathering of mountainous regions. Calculations suggest that uplift and weathering of the Himalayan-Tibetan region alone can account for the majority of the observed 87Sr/86Sr increase since the early Late Miocene. Exhumation of Precambrian shield areas by continental ice-sheets may have contributed secondarily to accelerated mechanical and chemical weathering of old crustal silicates with high 87Sr/86Sr values. In fact, the upturn in 87Sr/86Sr at 2.5 Ma coincides with increased glacial activity in the Northern Hemisphere. A variety of geochemical (87Sr/86Sr, Ge/Si, δ13C, CCD, etc.) and sedimentologic data (accumulation rates) from the marine sedimentary record are compatible with a progressive increase in the chemical weathering rate of continents and dissolved riverine fluxes during the late Cenozoic. We hypothesize that chemical weathering of the continents and dissolved riverine fluxes to the oceans reached a maximum during the late Pleistocene because of repeated glaciations, increased continental exposure by lowered sea level, and increased continental relief resulting from high rates of tectonism.
Shear Flow Over a Wavy Surface With Partial Slip

A viscous shear flow moves parallel to a wavy plate. Partial slip occurs on the wavy surface. The problem is solved by perturbation about a small amplitude parameter, namely, the amplitude to wavelength ratio. It is found that the interaction of waviness and slip decreases the apparent slip coefficient.
Distance dependence of tunneling in dissipative systems

We investigate the distance dependence of the rate of tunneling between two sites a distance r apart interacting with a thermal bath of phonons characterized by a density of states of the form g(\ensuremath{\omega})\ensuremath{\sim}${\ensuremath{\omega}}^{d\mathrm{\ensuremath{-}}1}$. We show that in such systems, the correction to the tunneling rate is of the form exp[-(r/${r}_{0}$${)}^{3\mathrm{\ensuremath{-}}d}$] where ${r}_{0}$ is a characteristic length. Ohmic dissipation corresponds to d=1 and a Gaussian correction exp[-(r/${r}_{0}$${)}^{2}$] to the tunneling rate arises as predicted by one of us [P. Phillips, J. Chem. Phys. 84, 976 (1986)].
Extending Ventilator Circuit Change Interval Beyond 2 Days Reduces the Likelihood of Ventilator-Associated Pneumonia

Objective To determine the risk of acquiring ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) and the impact on costs when extending ventilator circuit change intervals beyond 2 days to 7 and 30 days. Design Prospective 4-year review of mechanically ventilated patients. Setting The respiratory and medical ICUs of an 800-bed tertiary teaching Veterans Affairs hospital. Patients All adult patients receiving mechanical ventilation from January 1991 through December 1994. Interventions Ventilator circuits with active heated water humidifiers were changed at 2-day intervals during a 2-year control period, followed by 7-day and 30-day intervals (for 1 year each). Heated wire circuits were adopted with the 30-day interval. The rate of VAP per 1,000 ventilator days was calculated for each circuit change interval group. Survival analysis was used to model VAP with ventilator circuit change to determine risk. Results During the study period, 637 patients received mechanical ventilation. During the 2 years with 2-day change intervals, the VAP per 1,000 ventilator days was 11.88 (n=343), compared with 3.34 (n=137) and 6.28 (n=157) for 7-day and 30-day change intervals, respectively. The risk of acquiring a VAP for those with a circuit change every 2 days was significantly greater (relative risk, 3.1; p=0.0004; 95% confidence interval, 1.662, 5.812) than those with the 7- and 30-day circuit changes. Extending circuit change intervals reduced supply and labor costs averaging $4,231/yr for each ventilator in use. Conclusions Circuit change intervals of 7 and 30 days have lower risks for VAP than the 2-day intervals, yielding substantial reductions in morbidity as well labor and supply costs.
Winter air quality in a Wood-Burning community: a case study in Waterbury, Vermont

Abstract The recent upsurge in residential wood combustion has raised questions about potential adverse effects on ambient air quality and public health. Before policymakers can make informed and rational decisions about the need for government intervention, more information is needed concerning the nature and extent of the problem. This paper presents findings from the 1982 Harvard Wood-Burning Study in Waterbury, Vermont. Waterbury, a rural community of about 2000 people, was an ideal location for this investigation because: (1) half of the private residences are heated with wood fuel; (2) frequent winter temperature inversions promote pollution buildup in the valley; (3) there are no major industrial sources and (4) the Vermont Agency of Environmental Conservation has compiled a detailed wood-burning inventory. The ambient air monitoring study, from January to March 1982, emphasized measurements of total, inhalable and respirable particulate matter. Results indicate that 60–70% of the Waterbury aerosol was composed of particles less than 2.5 μm. A combination of indirect evidence suggests that wood burning was the major source of airborne particles in residential sections of the town. Dramatic diurnal variations in particulate concentrations were observed, with peak values at night exceeding afternoon levels by 5- to 10-fold. Both meteorology and emission patterns contributed to observed fluctuations.
Large-Scale Parallel Unstructured Mesh Computations for Three-Dimensional High-Lift Analysis

Acompletegeometryto drag polaranalysiscapabilityforthree-dimensionalhigh-liftcone gurationsisdescribed. The approach is based on the use of unstructured meshes to enable rapid turnaround for complicated geometries that arise in high-lift cone gurations. Special attention is devoted to creating a capability for enabling analyses on highly resolved grids. Unstructured meshes of several million vertices are initially generated on a workstation and subsequently are ree ned on a supercomputer. The e ow is solved on these ree ned meshes on large parallel computers using an unstructured agglomeration multigrid algorithm. Good prediction of lift and drag throughout the range of incidences is demonstrated on a transport takeoff cone guration using up to 24 :7 £ 10 6 grid points. The feasibility of using this approach in a production environment on existing parallel machines is demonstrated, as well as the scalability of the solver on machines using up to 1450 processors.
Difficulty in predicting bacteremia in elderly emergency patients

Study objectives: To characterize the clinical presentation and identify factors predictive of bacteremia in elderly patients. Design: Retrospective review of emergency department charts, hospital records, and microbiology reports. Setting: Community teaching hospital with annual ED census of 65,000 adults. Participants: Seven hundred fifty elderly patients (aged 65 to 99 years) who were evaluated by the emergency physician, had blood cultures obtained in the ED, and were hospitalized with a suspected infectious process during a 12-month period. Measurements: Records were analyzed for demographic information, underlying diseases, clinical presentation, laboratory findings, sources of infection, and causative organisms. Using contingency tables, 79 patients with positive blood cultures were compared with a random sample of 136 patients with sterile blood cultures to identify clinical variables significantly ( P Main results: The prevalence of bacteremia was 10.6%. Escherichia coli was the most commonly isolated pathogen (29% of cases), and the urinary tract was the most common source of infection (44.3% of cases). Logistic regression analysis showed that altered mental status (odds ratio, 2.88; 95% confidence interval [Cl], 1.52 to 5.50), vomiting (odds ratio, 2.63; 95% Cl, 1.16 to 6.15), and WBC band forms of more than 6% (0.06) (odds ratio, 3.50; 95% Cl, 1.58 to 5.27) were independent predictors of bacteremia. The presence of at least one of these three factors had a sensitivity of 0.85 (95% Cl, 0.75 to 0.92) and a specificity of 0.46 (95% Cl, 0.38 to 0.55) for predicting bacteremia in the study group. The positive predictive value was 0.16 (95% Cl, 0.12 to 0.19) and the negative predictive value was 0.96 (95% Cl, 0.94 to 0.98) for the ED patient group that met inclusion criteria. Conclusion: Elderly patients fail to manifest identifiable clinical features indicative of bloodstream infection. The sensitivity and specificity of the best statistical model for identifying bacteremic elderly patients suggest that clinical indicators alone are unreliable predictors of bacteremia in the geriatric ED population studied.