cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Update on prevalence and treatment of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus infections.

The prevalence of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is characterized by variations (sometimes extreme) by country and geographic region. The conventional association of MRSA with healthcare settings has been upset by the emergence of community-associated MRSA infections in many areas. With this surge in MRSA comes a renewed interest in alternative agents to vancomycin for treatment of MRSA infections, including older drugs, such as clindamycin, doxycycline and trimethoprim– sulfamethoxazole. Newer agents, such as linezolid and daptomycin, are aiming to improve on the poor cure rates found with vancomycin in serious MRSA infections, but definitive studies showing superiority of these drugs are not yet available. Finally, the drug-development pipeline contains a number of agents for the treatment of MRSA infections, including enhanced glycopeptides (dalbavancin, oritavancin and telavancin) and anti-MRSA cephalosporins (ceftobiprole). As MRSA becomes the ‘new normal’ in many areas, clinician...
A framework for comparing models of computation

We give a denotational framework (a "meta model") within which certain properties of models of computation can be compared. It describes concurrent processes in general terms as sets of possible behaviors. A process is determinate if, given the constraints imposed by the inputs, there are exactly one or exactly zero behaviors. Compositions of processes are processes with behaviors in the intersection of the behaviors of the component processes. The interaction between processes is through signals, which are collections of events. Each event is a value-tag pair, where the tags can come from a partially ordered or totally ordered set. Timed models are where the set of tags is totally ordered. Synchronous events share the same tag, and synchronous signals contain events with the same set of tags. Synchronous processes have only synchronous signals as behaviors. Strict causality (in timed tag systems) and continuity (in untimed tag systems) ensure determinacy under certain technical conditions. The framework is used to compare certain essential features of various models of computation, including Kahn process networks, dataflow, sequential processes, concurrent sequential processes with rendezvous, Petri nets, and discrete-event systems.
Action potential propagation in inhomogeneous cardiac tissue: safety factor considerations and ionic mechanism.

Heterogeneity of myocardial structure and membrane excitability is accentuated by pathology and remodeling. In this study, a detailed model of the ventricular myocyte in a multicellular fiber was u...
P04.24. Use of Relaxation Techniques and Complementary and Alternative Medicine by Adults with Insomnia Symptoms: Results from a National Survey

Purpose An estimated 1.6 million U.S. adults use complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) for insomnia. The American Academy of Sleep Medicine has graded relaxation training as a “Standard” treatment for insomnia. However, national patterns of CAM and relaxation techniques by American adults with insomnia are not well-established. In this context, we sought to identify overall rates of CAM and relaxation technique use, determine correlates of relaxation technique use, and to quantify reasons for use and disclosure of CAM and relaxation techniques to conventional medical professionals.
Decreased Uptake and Release of D‐Aspartate in the Guinea Pig Spinal Cord After Dorsal Root Section

This study attempts to determine if L-glutamate and/or L-aspartate may be transmitters of dorsal sensory neurons. The uptake and the electrically evoked release of D-[3H]aspartate, a putative marker for L-glutamate and L-aspartate, were measured in the cervical enlargement (segments C4-T1) of the guinea pig spinal cord before and after cutting dorsal roots C5-T1 on the right side. The uptake and the release of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) also were measured as indices of the integrity of GABAergic neurons in the spinal cord. The cervical enlargement was excised and divided into left and right halves, then into dorsal and ventral quadrants. Quadrants from unlesioned animals took up D-aspartate and GABA, achieving concentrations in the tissues which were 14-25 times that in the medium. Subsequently, electrical stimulation evoked a Ca2+-dependent release of D-aspartate and of GABA. The uptake and release of D-aspartate and GABA were similar in tissues taken from intact and sham-operated animals. However, dorsal rhizotomy, without damage to dorsal radicular or spinal blood vessels, depressed the uptake (by 22-29%) and the release (by 50%) of D-aspartate only in quadrants ipsilateral to the lesion. The uptake and the release of GABA were unchanged. In transverse sections of the cervical enlargement, stained to reveal degenerating fibers, by far the heaviest loss of axons occurred in the cuneate fasciculus and in the gray matter ipsilateral to the cut dorsal roots. These findings suggest that the synaptic endings of dorsal sensory neurons probably mediate the uptake and the release of D-aspartate and, therefore, may use L-glutamate or L-aspartate as a transmitter. When spinal blood vessels were damaged during dorsal rhizotomy, the deficits in D-aspartate uptake and release were larger than those in the absence of vascular damage and were accompanied by deficits in GABA uptake and release. These findings imply that vascular damage results in the loss of intraspinal neurons, some of which probably mediate the uptake and release of D-aspartate and, therefore, may use L-glutamate and/or L-aspartate as a transmitter.
Aeroelastic Failure Risk Assessment in Damage Tolerant Composite Airframe Structures

The quantitative assessment of the effects of damage and material degradation on the aeroelastic reliability of composite aircraft has become more important in recent years due to the increased use of composites in main structural components of passenger aircraft. The paper presents a method for quantifying the damage tolerance and reliability of aircraft composite structures due to flutter in the presence of multiple uncertainties. Automated rapid simulation tools for predicting flutter speeds and limit cycle oscillation amplitudes for composite airframes subject to multiple uncertainties serve a key role, and are used for Monte Carlo simulations. A thorough discussion of the aeroelastic uncertainty of composite aircraft, covering material degradation, damage, repair, design and certification practices, and maintenance procedures is included. The effectiveness of the method is illustrated on a typical aircraft structure with a composite control surface. Conclusions are drawn and some recommendations for future work are made.
From School Counselor to Counselor Educator: A Phenomenological Study

Through a phenomenological study, the experiences of 8 early-career school counselor educators who entered academia directly from positions as P–12 school counselors were examined. Results revealed that the participants experienced numerous challenges and supports related to their transition. Recommendations for counselor educators, doctoral students, and new faculty are provided.
Electric Field Dependence on Charge Collection of CdZnTe X-Ray Detectors

In this study, the electric field dependence on the charge collection process of CdZnTe detectors, at different x-ray tube settings, within the x-ray diagnostic energy range, is investigated. In addition, the detector contrast at different applied bias voltages and x-ray tube settings have been experimentally determined. The experimental results suggest that an efficient charge collection process is obtained by increasing the applied bias voltage. Once the applied bias voltage is sufficiently high, charge collection becomes complete and the detector operates in the saturation region. This is a prerequisite for high contrast and spatial resolution. As a result, the detector contrast is enhanced significantly. Therefore, CdZnTe detectors appear to be potential candidates for digital radiographic applications.
Hydrogen bonding in MM2

Hydrogen bonding is qualitatively accounted for in the early versions of the MM2 program, but not quantitatively. Experimentally, the hydrogen bonds are somewhat shorter and stronger than calculated by MM2. This has been corrected now in MM2(87), by reducing the van der Waals radius of the hydrogen involved in hydrogen bonding for that interaction only, and by increasing the van der Waals' attraction between the hydrogen and the various electronegative atoms to which it can hydrogen bond by about 1–3 kcal/mol, depending on the particular atoms involved. It is now possible to reproduce reasonably well ab initio calculations on simple amides and the methanol dimer, and experimental data on compounds in which a hydroxyl hydrogen is hydrogen bonded to an alcohol, an alkyl chloride, or to a carbon–carbon double bond.
Magnetic resonance imaging of the brain: Blood partition coefficient for water: Application to spin-tagging measurement of perfusion

We describe the use of relative proton density imaging to obtain spatially resolved measurements of the brain:blood partition coefficient for water. Values of relative proton density and apparent-T1 were calculated by performing a multidimensional nonlinear least squares fit of progressive saturation image data. Correction for magnetic field inhomogeneity was included. The partition coefficient was calculated by dividing the relative proton density of brain by the relative proton density of blood water. Results obtained from healthy volunteers demonstrate significant spatial variation in the partition coefficient in brain. Direct measurement of this parameter eliminates a source of error in the calculation of regional perfusion using arterial spin-tagging techniques.
Systematic errors in cesium beam frequency standards introduced by digital control of the microwave excitation

As part of the accuracy evaluation of the NIST-7 primary frequency standard, we have investigated potential sources of frequency offsets due to the electronic servo system. We present results from investigations of RF spectral purity and synthesizer switching transients.
A randomized cross-over study of inhalation of diesel exhaust, hematological indices, and endothelial markers in humans

Background Exposure to traffic-related air pollution (TRAP) is considered a trigger for acute cardiovascular events. Diesel Exhaust (DE) is a major contributor to TRAP in the world. We evaluated the effect of DE inhalation on circulating blood cell populations, hematological indices, and systemic inflammatory cytokines in humans using a specialized facility.
Mars Global Surveyor mission assurance: key approaches for faster, better, cheaper missions

Future space missions are required to deliver significant results with new technology and substantially reduced development cost and schedule. Among the first of the recent Faster, Better, Cheaper (FBC) missions for Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASAs) Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) was launched to Mars on November 7, 1996 after spending $148M and 27 months in development. A phoenix risen from the ashes of Mars Observer (MO), MGS combined significant heritage with key enabling new technologies to meet its ambitious programmatic and technical goals. This development was characterized by significant teaming between JPL and its development partners. The MGS mission assurance (MA) program was tailored from its MO baseline to capitalize on previous heritage, use development partners' assurance approaches, balance technical risk and implement new assurance approaches consistent with the significant development constraints. The key approaches included teaming, heritage, personnel consistency, concurrency, collocation, task value analysis, communication, peer review, rapid closure, appropriate attention to detail and education. This paper will outline the MGS mission assurance requirements and describe the key mission assurance approaches.
Solid‐substrate fermentation of alfalfa for enhanced protein recovery

Solid-substrate fermentations for extraction of protein from pressed alfalfa residues with Aspergillus Sp. QM 9994, Aspergillus niger QM 877, and Rhizopus nigricans QM 387 were conducted in shake flasks. Upon reimbibing and second pressing, total protein recovery from alfalfa was increased from 47.2% for control samples and up to 64.5% for fermented samples. Analysis of juice from fermented samples indicated the presence of cellulase as well as pectinase activities. Dialysis cultures of cellulase-producing fungi showed that total biomass production and solids consumption were much higher than those of a mutant strain lacking the ability to produce cellulase, indicating significant utilization of cellulosic materials in alfalfa. The biomass yields in the former case ranged from 39-47% based on total solids consumption. Since some of the cellulosic and other carbohydrate constituents in alfalfa may be converted into fungal protein, final alfalfa residues following protein extraction in a commercial process would be less bulky for storage and handling and would be more digestible as a nonruminant animal feed.
The Cassini May 2000 solar conjunction

Interplanetary spacecraft, which fly in the ecliptic plane, typically encounter solar conjunctions during their main missions. The communications link between an interplanetary spacecraft and Earth is affected by the charged particles that constitute the intervening solar corona and solar wind. As the Sun-Earth-probe (SEP) angle becomes small (usually <3/spl deg/ for X band or 8.43 GHz), the signal suffers increased degradation. The effects on the received signal include time delay and phase fluctuations due to the fluctuating columnar electron density, which in turn cause carrier lock problems and telemetry data loss. Because of these effects, studies of solar corona charged particle effects on spacecraft signals were conducted to determine strategies for optimizing data return during these periods. The first solar conjunction of the Cassini spacecraft occurred between May 8, 2000 (2000/129) and May 18, 2000 (2000/139). During this period, the Cassini spacecraft was within 3.2/spl deg/ of the Sun as seen from Earth with the minimum SEP angle of 0.56/spl deg/ occurring on May 13 (2000/134). This solar conjunction occurred prior to the expected peak of the current solar cycle. Coherent dual-frequency X band (8.43 GHz) and Ka band (32 GHz) data were acquired from 3.2/spl deg/ to near the minimum SEP angle at 0.6/spl deg/ for both ingress and egress. The measurements of amplitude scintillation, spectral broadening and phase scintillation were examined as a function of SEP angle. As expected, these solar effects are significantly less at Ka band than at X band for the same SEP angle. This study's results will be combined with those of other spacecraft solar conjunctions in order to build a statistical database of solar effects as a function of solar elongation angle and phase of the solar cycle. Such studies are useful in the design of telecommunications systems for future spacecraft missions, which may have stringent communication requirements during their solar conjunction phases.
Frequency domain analysis of a family of minimax signal estimators

A minimax estimator of the mean of x approximately N( theta ,R/sub n/) is evaluated, where R/sub n/ is Toeplitz. The problem can be viewed as estimating a signal theta that has been corrupted by additive wide-sense stationary noise. The evaluation is carried out using a frequency-domain approach that yields advantages in design and analysis. In particular, counterintuitive performance of an entire class of minimax forms is discovered when R/sub n/ is not diagonal. A numerical example is presented to demonstrate the performance. >
"I lie to myself that i have freedom in my own schedule": productivity tools and experiences of busyness

This paper examines the relationship between experiences of busyness in everyday life and the use of productivity tools, including planners, calendars and to-do lists. Field study findings demonstrate that American individuals across a demographic range have internalized a cultural emphasis of busyness as a moral value to construct positive identities as busy individuals. At the same time, they struggle with a sense of conflict around busyness, reflected in real-life experiences of clashing priorities, fantasies of downtime, and struggles with anxiety, guilt, and loss of control. Our findings also point to the ways digital and non-digital productivity tools are embedded in experiences and coping practices around busyness. Grounded in our observations we propose design principles for productivity tools that support users' identities as busy people but also address some of the perils of the American busyness ethic.
AN ANALYTICAL STUDY OF IN VIVO SURVIVAL OF LIMITED POPULATIONS OF ANIMAL RED BLOOD CELLS TAGGED WITH RADIOIRON

Animal red blood cell in vivo survival curves, obtained by the radioiron tagging of populations of approximately the same age followed by the administration of non-radioactive iron to suppress radioiron reutilization, have been subjected to mathematical analysis on the basis of the three following assumptions:— (A) Red blood cells disappear from the circulation as the result of senescence: there is an average life span around which the life spans of individual cells are distributed in the usual way. (B) Red blood cells may be removed from the circulation by a process of random destruction which continuously removes a constant fraction of the cells present at any moment irrespective of age or other characteristics. (C) Under the conditions of the experiments described, a fraction of the radioiron, constant for each animal, is reutilized in new red cell formation when released by red cell destruction. This mathematical analysis indicates the following average life spans with the respective standard errors of the mean: dog 107 days ± 1.14; rabbit 67.6 days ± 1.94; cat 68.4 ± 1.50. The mathematical treatment presented has permitted a consideration of the theoretical variation of red cell life spans which was found in these experiments to be relatively small for all three species studied. In the rabbit and cat 2.5 per cent of tagged populations of red cells of the same age would theoretically have disappeared by senescence 17 days before the average life span was reached. The variation of red cell life in the dog was slightly less. Animals of the three species studied, in spite of apparently normal health, exhibited varying degrees of random destruction of both autogenous and transfused fresh normal homologous red cells. As yet, we have no explanation for this random loss of cells occurring in apparently healthy normal animals. The method of mathematical analysis presented is applicable to animal red cell survival studies employing radioiron in which differing rates of random destruction are operating in the removal of red cells.
Abuse of Propofol by Anesthesia Providers: The Case for Re-Classification as a Controlled Substance

Propofol was first reported as a drug of abuse in 1992 after a New York anesthesiologist became addicted to the then recently approved medication. Abuse of propofol, primarily among anesthesia providers, has since been reported around the world. As an uncontrolled substance, propofol is seldom kept in locked storage, nor is it inventoried or accounted for similar to other potential drugs of abuse found in most operating rooms. Rarely identified as a preferred drug of choice for abuse, ease of access appears to be a primary factor in propofol abuse, as well as its use as a drug of substitution for unavailable controlled drugs. Rather than contributing to the rate of substance abuse in anesthesia providers, most concerning is the high rate of accidental fatal overdose in individuals who abuse propofol. When propofol is controlled in a manner similar to more familiar drugs of abuse, specifically Scheduled drugs found in the operating room, the incidence of propofol abuse falls dramatically along with corresp...
How to estimate and use MTTF/MTBF would the real MTBF please stand up?

This paper discusses, with examples, uses of the terms Mean Time To Failure (MTTF) and Mean Time Between Failures (MTBF) in a variety of contexts. Especially, this paper points out how the same terms are explained and understood in a variety of meanings, and in very many cases are misinterpreted and misunderstood.
Meeting the global challenges of the contemporary business environment

The challenges for business in a global environment include an accelerating rise in anti-Americanism, the increased negative attitudes toward multinational brands and global corporations, and the economic impact as a result of the War on Terror. Numerous scandals, beginning with the implosion of Enron in 2001, have created an additional communication challenge for corporations to restore trust in business and the capital markets through new corporate reporting and governance challenges. Plans to meet the challenge to restore trust have been endorsed by the PR Coalition, an association of more than twenty organizations dedicated to public relations, public affairs, and corporate communication; and efforts to combat anti-Americanism have been outlined by Business for Diplomatic Action.
Bubble coalescence in fluidized beds

The two-dimensional motion of two circular bubbles moving in train up through a fluidized bed is considered. By using continuum equations of motion for this two-phase flow situation, neutral coalescence curves are obtained which indicate, for given bubble radii and distance apart, whether or not the bubbles will coalesce. The conclusions are in agreement with the available experimental results.
PRESSURE AND WATER FLOW PATTERNS IN THE RESPIRATORY TRACT OF THE BASS (MICROPTERUS SALMOIDES)

SUMMARY Instantaneous water velocities in the respiratory tract of bass, Micropterus salmoides (Lacepede), were measured using a fast-responding hot-film anemometer. The flow velocity waveform varied within the buccal cavity, with lower peak velocities at the back than at the front. Flow velocity in both the buccal and opercular cavities varied over the respiratory cycle, and 80 % of signal power in the velocity waveform was between 1 and 10 Hz. Flow within the buccal cavity reached a maximum velocity of 50cms" 1 and did not decline to zero, even when differential pressure across the gills was negative. Simultaneous measurement of dimensional changes in the bran- chial apparatus, pressure and velocity fluctuations showed that gill bar adduction coincides both with the pressure reversal across the gills and with maximum flow velocities in the opercular cavity. The movement of the gill bars during respiration causes flow velocity fluctuation just in front of the primary lamellae and may be an important component of intraoral resistance contributing to the phase differences between pressure and velocity waveforms.
Atmospheric Ozone Determination by Amperometry and Colorimetry

The iodometric procedure has been used extensively to monitor oxidant and ozone concentrations in atmospheric reaction studies, chamber exposures and calibration of oxidant and ozone analyzers as well as to collect air quality data. The term “oxidant” refers to all substances present in the sampled air that oxidize potassium iodide (KI) to form iodine (I2) such as ozone (O3), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), and organic peroxides. Specific spectroscopic measurements indicate that ozone is the principal oxidant in most atmospheres.
Junk in the joint: A trend for arthroscopic debridement to improve outcomes following closed reduction of traumatic hip dislocation

PurposeTo determine whether arthroscopic debridement following closed reduction of traumatic hip dislocation is associated with less persistent pain and functional impairment than closed reduction ...
Boronic Acids and Derivatives—Probing the Structure–Activity Relationships for Mutagenicity

Despite a recent publication describing boronic acids as a “novel class of bacterial mutagen,” process and analytical chemists may not be aware of the potential worker exposure hazards, or of the need to assess boron compounds as potential genotoxic impurities (GTIs) per ICH M7. This publication provides new Ames data for 44 commercially available boronic acids, boronic acid derivatives, and boron-containing reagents. Trends in the Ames data are discussed from a structure–activity perspective. Common reagents such as bis(pinacolato)diboron and bis-boronic acid were shown to be mutagenic in the Ames assay. Currently available in silico computational models were found to provide little value in predicting the outcome of the Ames assay for boronic acids and derivatives. We propose oxygen-mediated oxidation of boron compounds to generate organic radicals as a potential mechanism for mutagenicity. It is hoped that this paper will result in increased awareness of this class of GTIs and prompt publication of add...
Rhetoric: Three More Techniques

This piece describes three forms of parallelism: anaphora (begin the same way), epistrophe (end the same way), and chiasmus (reverse parallelism) and gives examples. These rhetorical techniques can add emphasis and persuasion to legal writing.
Holocene records of environmental change in High Plains playa wetlands, Kansas, US:

Holocene environmental change is poorly characterized throughout much of the High Plains. Playa wetlands are sites with appreciable potential for reconstructing environmental change because of thei...
African Americans in the History of Mass Communication: A Reader

The boilerplate African American mass media narrative often goes like this: In 1827 Samuel Cornish and John Russwurm launched Freedom's Journal, America's first black-owned newspaper. Frederick Dou...
The Impact of Financial Advisors on the Subsequent Wealth of Older Adults

Despite the growing use of financial advisors, relatively little is known about the impact that financial advisors have on actual wealth outcomes among older adults. Using data from the Study of Assets and Health Dynamics Among the Oldest Old (AHEAD), we find that using a financial advisor is positively related to subsequent net worth, especially on net worth values more than a decade after initially reporting the use of professional financial advice. Having a financial advisor is also positively associated with current and subsequent investment returns, and a large factor impacting the difference in returns comes is due to differences in portfolio allocations. Specifically, we find evidence that the impact of a financial advisor on subsequent wealth is likely due to a greater allocation to equities.
Stable carbon isotope ratios of intact GDGTs indicate heterogeneous sources to marine sediments

Thaumarchaeota, the major sources of marine glycerol dibiphytanyl glycerol tetraether lipids (GDGTs), are believed to fix the majority of their carbon directly from dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC). The δ13C values of GDGTs (δ13CGDGT) may be powerful tools for reconstructing variations in the ocean carbon cycle, including paleoproductivity and water mass circulation, if they can be related to values of δ13CDIC. To date, isotope measurements primarily are made on the C40 biphytane skeletons of GDGTs, rather than on complete tetraether structures. This approach erases information revealed by the isotopic heterogeneity of GDGTs within a sample and may impart an isotopic fractionation associated with the ether cleavage. To circumvent these issues, we present δ13C values for GDGTs from twelve recent sediments representing ten continental margin locations. Samples are purified by orthogonal dimensions of HPLC, followed by measurement of δ13C values by Spooling Wire Microcombustion (SWiM)-isotope ratio mass spectrometry (IRMS) with 1σ precision and accuracy of ±0.25‰. Using this approach, we confirm that GDGTs, generally around −19‰, are isotopically “heavy” compared to other marine lipids. However, measured δ13CGDGT values are inconsistent with predicted values based on the 13C content of DIC in the overlying water column and the previously-published biosynthetic isotope fractionation for a pure culture of an autotrophic marine thaumarchaeon. In some sediments, the isotopic composition of individual GDGTs differs, indicating multiple source inputs. The data appear to confirm that crenarchaeol primarily is a biomarker for Thaumarchaeota, but its δ13C values still cannot be explained solely by autotrophic carbon fixation. Overall the complexity of the results suggests that both organic carbon assimilation (ca. 25% of total carbon) and multiple source(s) of exogenous GDGTs (contributing generally <30% of input to sediments) are necessary to explain the observed δ13CGDGT values. The results suggest caution when interpreting the total inputs of GDGTs to sedimentary records. Biogenic or open-slope sediments, rather than clastic basinal or shallow shelf sediments, are preferred locations for generating minimally-biased GDGT proxy records.
Comparative Photovoltaic Study of Physical Blending of Two Donor–Acceptor Polymers with the Chemical Blending of the Respective Moieties

A regularly alternating terpolymer and a random terpolymer were synthesized from the constituent units of two donor–acceptor polymers with complementary absorption. They were then compared to a physical blend of these two donor–acceptor polymers in order to investigate the best means of extending the light absorption range in bulk heterojunction (BHJ) solar cells. While all three methods broadened the light absorption, the physical blend provided the best improvement in power conversion efficiency (4.10% vs 3.63% and 2.67% for the random and regular terpolymers, respectively). This is due to the increase in aggregation in the physical blend, as demonstrated in the UV–vis spectra, which likely leads to higher local mobility and less recombination. This study shows that in order to effectively increase the light absorption (and therefore performance) of a polymer:fullerene based BHJ solar cell, a terpolymer must retain a structure which allows sufficient aggregation.
State Building, Health Policy, and the Persistence of the American Abortion Debate

In the years since the Supreme Court handed down its ruling in Roe v. Wade (1973), the abortion controversy has raged across America with increasing vigor. Since Ruth Bader Ginsburg's appointment solidified the Rehnquist Court's moderate bloc, holding the line on Roe's basic principle but inviting more state regulation, the conflict over abortion is likely to expand and intensify in most of the fifty states. The increased and bitter activity since the Supreme Court decided Webster v. Reproductive Health Services (1989), which gave state legislatures more latitude to respond to pro-life pressures, provides only a small indication of what the future may hold. Almost twenty years after Roe legalized abortion in the United States, an end to the “clash of absolutes,” as Laurence Tribe has recently called the American abortion conflict, seems nowhere in sight.
The Digestibility of Steam-Pelleted Wheat Bran

Abstract The aleurone layer is the major wheat bran component containing significant amounts of nutritionally important materials (McMasters et al., 1964). However, its cells have such relatively heavy cell walls compared to endosperm cells that the question arises as to whether the nutrients in raw whole bran or shorts are completely available. Work by Rohrlich and Rasmus (1955) shows clearly that protein digestibility in aleurone cells depends on the ease with which enzymes can penetrate the cell wall structure. Cave et al. (1965a, b) found that certain wheat milling fractions gave relatively low metabolizable energy values and poor protein utilization when they constituted an important part of chick diets. They also showed that steam pelleting wheat bran increased its metabolizable energy (M.E.) in chick diets by as much as 30 percent over unpelleted mash. An increase of 17 percent was found for steam-pelleted wheat shorts over unpelleted material. Pelleting poultry rations . . .
Pentobarbital attenuates pulmonary vasoconstriction in isolated sheep lungs.

Pentobarbital sodium is a widely used anesthetic agent that has been demonstrated to attenuate systemic vascular responses to multiple pressors. To determine whether pentobarbital affected pulmonary vasoreactivity we determined the pulmonary vascular response to hypoxia and potassium in isolated in situ perfused sheep lungs. The flow resistive characteristics of the pulmonary vasculature were assessed by determining mean instantaneous pressure-flow relationships over a wide range of flows (20-120 ml.min-1.kg body wt-1) with PIO2 of 200 and 30 Torr, with and without pentobarbital. Pentobarbital attenuated hypoxic pulmonary vasoconstriction (P less than 0.001) in a concentration-dependent fashion (50% effective concentration = 0.42 mM). In addition, the pulmonary constrictor response to potassium was markedly blunted by pentobarbital (P less than 0.001). We conclude that pentobarbital inhibits hypoxic pulmonary vasoconstriction in a concentration-dependent fashion and that this inhibition of pulmonary vasoconstriction in isolated sheep lungs is not specific for hypoxia.
A Programmable Cell Assay Platform for Kinetic Studies of a Single Cell

We demonstrate the passive capture of a single cell in a specific area of a microfluidic chip and the active delivery of reagents or compounds to that cell. This delivery of reagents and the wash steps are very rapid. The chip can be used to perform many different types of cell-based assays, such as Ca++ flux and apoptosis. Both mix-and-measure and heterogeneous assays can be performed in real-time. The trap can be used serially for multiple assays, because a trapped cell can be dispensed after the assay either to waste or to a downstream function, such as a region for further culturing.
Gender Justice in the Elementary Classroom

How children learn about and express their gender is subject to biological influences as well as socialized learning of how to exhibit expected gender norms. How these expressions align with expected gender norms results in social responses that influence both the emotional well-being and academic achievement of the child. The ways a school’s socializing culture is at odds with the internalized self-understandings of gender nonconforming children might influence their well-being. For the purposes of this chapter, we will focus on the problematic ways schools directly and indirectly influence gender perceptions in all students. Classroom structures, teaching practices, and children’s literature are some strategies effective for addressing gender nonconformity in non-threatening ways. We will provide reflective questions for evaluating gender representations in children’s literature as well as some implementation strategies for promoting gender inclusivity in elementary classroom settings.
New Observations of BL Lacertae Objects

This contribution is divided into three parts: 1. A summary of mostly published work that describes the new type of BL Lac Objects discovered with X-ray satellites, “X-ray Bright BL Lacs (XBLs)”, and their relationship to the previously known “radio bright BL Lacs (RBLs).” Most (but not all?) of the differences between XBLs and RBLs are explicable using a “viewing angle” model in which the soft X-ray emission emanates into a much wider cone (23–30°) than the radio emission (8–10°). 2. New ROSAT PSPC soft X-ray observations are presented for complete samples of XBLs and RBLs which may explain the absence of luminous optical emission lines in BL Lacs. 3. A deep, subarcsec optical imaging survey of a large (50) sample of both XBLs and RBLs conducted at the Canada-France-Hawaii 3.6m Telescope (CFHT), whose purpose was to characterize the host galaxies and clustering environment of BL Lacs. This work defines more precisely the “parent population” of BL Lacs and identifies a small number of discrepant objects which may not be “beamed FR 1s”.
Data-driven benchmarking of building energy performance at the city scale

Cities across the country (20 to date) are rapidly passing laws to mandate the collection and disclosure of energy usage data with the hopes that such data could be utilized to benchmark building energy performance and provide a basis for designing and deploying efficiency measures. However, numerous municipalities are struggling to translate such data into actionable insights on which buildings are the best candidates for energy efficiency interventions. Current studies are limited in their ability to compare energy efficiency of buildings at the city scale and maintain interpretability necessary to result in effective decision making that can facilitate municipal policy and program design. In this paper, we present an integrated data-driven method based on recursive partitioning and stochastic frontier analysis to benchmark energy performance of building stock across an entire city. We implement the proposed method on a dataset of over 10,000 buildings in New York City. The preliminary results begin to quantify the potential for building energy efficiency and give further support to city officials for examining effects of possible interventions. We aim to establish a robust methodology that provides a standard way to benchmark building energy performance at the city scale, which can be easily applied to other cities across the country.
Blastomyces dermatitidis serine protease dipeptidyl peptidase IVA (DppIVA) cleaves ELR+ CXC chemokines altering their effects on neutrophils.

Summary Blastomycosis elicits a pyogranulomatous inflammatory response that involves a prominent recruitment of neutrophils to the site of infection. Although neutrophils are efficiently recruited to the site of infection, this event is paradoxically coupled with the host's inability to control infection by Blastomyces dermatitidis, the causative agent. The mechanisms underlying this characteristic pyogranulomatous response and inability of neutrophils to kill the yeast are poorly understood. We recently reported that the fungal protease dipeptidyl peptidase IVA (DppIVA) promotes B. dermatitidis virulence by cleaving a dipeptide from the N-terminus of C–C chemokines and granulocyte/macrophage-colony stimulating factor, thereby inactivating them. Herein, we present evidence that DppIVA can also truncate the N-terminus of members of the ELR+CXC chemokine family, which are known to modulate neutrophil function. We show that the DppIVA cleaved form of human (h) CXCL-2, for example, hCXCL-2 (3-73), is a more potent neutrophil chemoattractant than its intact counterpart, but hCXCL-2 (3-73) is conversely impaired in its ability to prime the reactive oxygen species response of neutrophils. Thus, DppIVA action on ELR+CXC chemokines may promote the pyogranulomatous response that is typical of blastomycosis, while also explaining the inability of neutrophils to control infection.
Effects of multiaged silvicultural systems on reserve tree growth 19 years after establishment across multiple species in the Acadian forest in Maine, USA

This study investigated the growth response of mature, isolated reserve trees (n = 528) in two multiaged silvicultural systems in the Acadian Forest Ecosystem Research Project (AFERP). Absolute and percent increases in basal area increment (BAI; cm2·year−1) were assessed for the five predominant reserve tree species in AFERP: Acer rubrum L., Picea rubens Sarg., Pinus strobus L., Thuja occidentalis L., and Tsuga canadensis (L.) Carriere. Absolute growth was significantly greater in the large-gap treatment (23.7 ± 1.1 cm2·year−1; mean ± SE) than in the small-gap treatment (16.3 ± 0.9 cm2·year−1). Percent growth increase was greater in the small-gap treatment (187.6% ± 15.8%) than in the large-gap treatment (143.4% ± 19.3%), and both treatments had greater percent increases than the unharvested control (9.6% ± 5.2%). Species differed in their response to treatment. Pinus strobus had the greatest absolute increase (large-gap, 52.5 cm2·year−1), while Tsuga canadensis (large-gap, 270% ± 71.6%) and Acer rubrum (...
Point-of-Care Ultrasound in Acute Neonatal Ascites

AbstractWe present a 4-week-old neonate with acute onset of bloody stools and abdominal distention. Point-of-care ultrasound performed in the emergency department allowed for rapid diagnosis of a large amount of free intra-abdominal fluid, which together with the physical findings, prompted emergent
Effect of prior exercise on postprandial triglycerides in overweight young women after ingesting a high-carbohydrate meal.

To examine the effect of prior exercise on the postprandial lipid response to a high-carbohydrate meal in normal-weight (NW=BMI or= 25) women (age 18-25), 10 NW and 10 OW participants completed 2 conditions separated by 1 month. In the morning, the day after control (CT=no exercise) or exercise conditions (EX=60 min cycling at 60% VO(2peak)), participants consumed a high-carbohydrate meal (80% CHO, 15% protein, 5% fat; 75 kJ/kg BM) followed by 6 hr of hourly blood sampling. Blood was analyzed for triglycerides (TG), blood glucose (BG), and insulin (IN). TG levels over the 6-hr period were lower in NW than OW (p= .021) and lower in EX than in CT (p= .006). Area under the curve (AUC) for TG was lower in NW than OW (p= .016) and EX than CT (p= .003). There were nonsignificant tendencies for reduced BG over time (p= .053) and AUC (p= .083), and IN AUC was lower in EX than in CT (p= .040) for both groups and lower in NW than in OW (p= .039). Prior exercise improved TG levels after a high-carbohydrate meal in both groups, and OW women demonstrated a greater postprandial lipemic response than NW regardless of condition. There were tendencies for improved glucose removal with prior exercise in NW vs. OW. Acute exercise can improve postprandial TG responses and might also improve postprandial BG and IN after a large meal in NW and OW young women.
Transparency and Epistemology in George Eliot's Daniel Deronda

Jules Law, ““Transparency and Epistemology in George Eliot's Daniel Deronda ”” (pp. 250––277) The recent turn in George Eliot scholarship toward historicism——and in particular toward intellectual and political history——has tended to occlude the epistemological metaphors in the author's work: those persistent figures that conjoin George Eliot's ethics to her aesthetics but that, according to an earlier generation of critics, also point to the essentially unstable nature of knowledge, whether ethical or aesthetic. This essay examines the figurative schematics and the epistemology by which George Eliot's politics are elaborated in her writing, focusing in particular on the figure of transparency and the thematics of political vocation, and culminating in the figure of the spectral Jew. Every end or purpose, like every origin, in George Eliot's novels is calibrated in relation to the twin horizons of absolute sameness and absolute difference. The tension between these two limits constitutes not only an epistemological, but also a cultural and political, dilemma: one that George Eliot broods constantly upon, most particularly in her ceaseless interrogation of what it would mean for a person to ““merge”” with his or her political or cultural destiny. This essay argues that George Eliot's uneasy reliance on the concept of transparency——of goals, of motives, of minds——bespeaks her yearning not only for self-evidence in the realm of meanings, but also for a sense of belonging in the realm of culture: a sense of belonging that is inextricable from a certain experience, and thus figuration, of language.
Genomic regions associated with susceptibility to Barrett's esophagus and esophageal adenocarcinoma in African Americans: The cross BETRNet admixture study.

BACKGROUND Barrett's esophagus (BE) and esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC) are far more prevalent in European Americans than in African Americans. Hypothesizing that this racial disparity in prevalence might represent a genetic susceptibility, we used an admixture mapping approach to interrogate disease association with genomic differences between European and African ancestry. METHODS Formalin fixed paraffin embedded samples were identified from 54 African Americans with BE or EAC through review of surgical pathology databases at participating Barrett's Esophagus Translational Research Network (BETRNet) institutions. DNA was extracted from normal tissue, and genotyped on the Illumina OmniQuad SNP chip. Case-only admixture mapping analysis was performed on the data from both all 54 cases and also on a subset of 28 cases with high genotyping quality. Haplotype phases were inferred with Beagle 3.3.2, and local African and European ancestries were inferred with SABER plus. Disease association was tested by estimating and testing excess European ancestry and contrasting it to excess African ancestry. RESULTS Both datasets, the 54 cases and the 28 cases, identified two admixture regions. An association of excess European ancestry on chromosome 11p reached a 5% genome-wide significance threshold, corresponding to -log10(P) = 4.28. A second peak on chromosome 8q reached -log10(P) = 2.73. The converse analysis examining excess African ancestry found no genetic regions with significant excess African ancestry associated with BE and EAC. On average, the regions on chromosomes 8q and 11p showed excess European ancestry of 15% and 20%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS Chromosomal regions on 11p15 and 8q22-24 are associated with excess European ancestry in African Americans with BE and EAC. Because GWAS have not reported any variants in these two regions, low frequency and/or rare disease associated variants that confer susceptibility to developing BE and EAC may be driving the observed European ancestry association evidence.
OBESITY PARADOX IN ATRIAL FIBRILLATION: OBESITY IS ASSOCIATED WITH LOWER MORTALITY IN PATIENTS WITH ATRIAL FIBRILLATION WHO UNDERGO ABLATION

Obesity is a predictor of worse outcomes in many cardiovascular diseases but studies suggest an obesity paradox exists in patients with heart failure, hypertension, peripheral vascular disease, and coronary artery disease. Obesity has been linked to increased incidence of atrial fibrillation (AF) as
Microwave Power Enhancement of the Plasma Conductivity in a Thermionic Energy Converter

The potential of the application of microwave power in the interelectrode gap of a thermionic energy converter as an auxiliary ionization source is investigated, it is found that microwave power sh...
Treaty Implementation and Constitutional Limitations

The rules governing treaty implementation in Australia derive principally from two sources: the provisions of the Australian Constitution and Australian doctrine concerning the relationship between international law and municipal law. In the body of these same rules are also found the main constitutional limitations upon Australia’s treaty-making power. With regard to constitutional limitations, this chapter will consider not only those affecting treaty implementation but also those affecting the power to conclude treaties.