cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Effects of Porcine Calcitonin on Calcium Metabolism in Osteoporosis

ABSTRACT The effect of the administration of porcine calcitonin together with dietary Ca and P supplements for a period of 3 months to 7 osteoporotic patients was evaluated by means of clinical observation, Ca-balance studies, kinetic tracer studies, and neutron activation analysis. Clinical improvement was evidenced in this study by a decrease in back pain and a cessation of spontaneous fractures. The compartmental analysis and the balance studies indicated a decrease in the resorption rate, and a small increase in the Ca balance. Direct measurement of total body calcium by in-vivo neutron activation analysis also showed a small increase in the calcium concentration in the skeleton of several of the patients. Taken by themselves, the objective data are not highly significant, but together with the clinical findings, they suggest a potential efficacy of calcitonin therapy. The three month period studied appears to be insufficient for the accumulation of significant amounts of calcium. The direction of the...
Relationship between intensity and reaction time in normal-hearing infants and adults.

Objective: Reaction time (RT) to sound is known to be related to loudness in adult listeners. The purpose of this study was to determine whether infants’ RT to sound decreases systematically with intensity as it does in adults. Design: RT was measured for 24 6- to 9-mo-old infants and 11 19- to 26-yr-old adults. All participants were normal hearing, naive listeners. The stimuli consisted of 4000 and 1000 Hz pure tones presented to the right ear through an insert earphone. Stimulus intensities ranged in 10 dB steps from 40 to 80 dB SPL for adults and 50 to 90 dB SPL for infants. Infant responses consisted of a head turn toward a reinforcer whereas adults responded by raising their hand. An additional three adults responded with a head turn. RT was defined as the time between the onset of the tone and an observer’s button press indicating that a response had occurred. RT was corrected for the observer’s reaction time and averaged over three to five repetitions at each level to obtain the mean reaction time (MRT) for each subject, frequency, and level. Results: MRT decreased with increasing intensity in both infants and adults. An examination of the MRT-intensity functions suggests that the infant functions may be steeper than those of adults, although considerable variability exists between listeners. Conclusions: RT holds potential as a measure of loudness in infants. Whether differences in the MRT-intensity slopes exist between infants and adults is unclear. Future investigations using methods to reduce the variability of RT measurements are needed to examine potential slope differences further. (Ear & Hearing 2002;23;92–97)
Mechanisms for DNA Charge Transport

DNA charge transport (CT) chemistry has received considerable attention by scientific researchers over the past 15 years since our first provocative publication on long range CT in a DNA assembly.1,2 This interest, shared by physicists, chemists and biologists, reflects the potential of DNA CT to provide a sensitive route for signaling, whether in the construction of nanoscale biosensors or as an enzymatic tool to detect damage in the genome. Research into DNA CT chemistry began as a quest to determine whether the DNA double helix, a macromolecular assembly in solution with π-stacked base pairs, might share conductive characteristics with π-stacked solids. Physicists carried out sophisticated experiments to measure the conductivity of DNA samples, but the means to connect discrete DNA assemblies into the devices to gauge conductivity varied, as did the conditions under which conductivities were determined. Chemists constructed DNA assemblies to measure hole and electron transport in solution using a variety of hole and electron donors. Here, too, DNA CT was seen to depend upon the connections, or coupling, between donors and the DNA base pair stack. Importantly, these experiments have resolved the debate over whether DNA CT is possible. Moreover these studies have shown that DNA CT, irrespective of the oxidant or reductant used to initiate the chemistry, can occur over long molecular distances but can be exquisitely sensitive to perturbations in the base pair stack. Here we review some of the critical characteristics of DNA charge transport chemistry, taking examples from a range of systems, and consider these characteristics in the context of their mechanistic implications. This review is not intended to be exhaustive but instead to be illustrative. For instance, we describe studies involving measurements in solution using pendant photooxidants to inject holes, conductivity studies with covalently modified assemblies, and electrochemical studies on DNA-modified electrodes. We do not focus in detail on the differences amongst these constructs but instead on their similarities. It is the similarity among these various systems that allows us to consider different mechanisms to describe DNA CT. Thus we review also the various mechanisms for DNA CT that have been put forth and attempt to reconcile these mechanistic proposals with the many disparate measurements of DNA CT. Certainly the debate among researchers has shifted from "is DNA CT possible?" to "how does it work?". This review intends to explore this latter question in detail.
Word Processing with Speech Synthesis and Word Prediction: Effects on the Dialogue Journal Writing of Students with Learning Disabilities

Five students, ages 9 and 10, with learning disabilities and severe writing problems wrote in dialogue journals to their teacher. They used a standard word processor during baseline phases and a word processor with speech synthesis and word prediction features during treatment phases. The special features had a strong effect on the legibility and spelling of written dialogue journal entries for four of the five students. During baseline, the writing of these four students ranged from 55% to 85% legible words and 42% to 75% correctly spelled words. All four increased their percentage of both legible and correctly spelled words into the 90–100% range.
Grassland community composition drives small-scale spatial patterns in soil properties and processes

Abstract The presence and activity of individual plants can affect soil resource availability and microbial processes, and can influence the spatial scale over which soil properties vary. While soils have been found to differ under plants of differing growth form (i.e. grasses vs. trees), few studies have focused on small-scale soil differences under comparably-sized species. Here we investigate how two types of C-3 grasses influence patterns in soil properties and processes at scales of less than one meter in a California grassland. To understand how native perennial grasses differ from invasive annual grasses in their effects on soils, we used cross-semivariogram analysis to quantify the degree and scale of spatial heterogeneity in soil properties and processes in experimentally-seeded grasslands. We then used mapping techniques to correlate spatial patterns of soil properties and processes with the cover of annual and perennial grasses aboveground. We found that many soil properties and processes belowground were spatially-correlated with the aboveground presence of annuals or perennials. Soil moisture became more heterogeneous with increasing amounts of perennial cover, suggesting that perennial bunchgrass individuals take up more water and produce zones of resource depletion in comparison with soils directly under annual grasses. The association of belowground resources and activity with the two types of grass suggests that the historical shift from perennial to annual dominance in California grasslands led to changes in the small-scale spatial structure of soil properties and processes in these systems. These changes may alter ecosystem function and could potentially perpetuate invasive annual grass dominance.
Between-class variance as a measure of image bimodality and sharpness

This paper investigates the suitability of between-class variance as a measure of image bimodality and sharpness. Between-class variance has been first proposed as a criterion function to determine an optimal threshold to segment images into nearly uniform regions. The evaluation on artificial images and real images of human aortic sections showed that normalized between-class variance can be effectively used to detect image bimodality, as well as to evaluate image sharpness. While the former can be utilized in image segmentation, the latter is essential to ensure repeatability in quantitative microscopy.
PHAML User's Guide

PHAML (Parallel Hierarchical Adaptive MultiLevel) is a Fortran module for the solution of elliptic partial differential equations. It uses finite elements, adaptive grid refinement (h, p or hp) and multigrid solution techniques in a message passing parallel program. It has interactive graphics via OpenGL. This document is the user’s guide for PHAML. The first part tells how to obtain any needed software, how to build and test the PHAML library, and how to compile and run the example programs. The second part explains the use of PHAML, including program structure and the various options that are available. The third part is a reference manual which describes the API (application programming interface) of PHAML. The reference manual begins with a 2 page Quick Start section for the impatient.
Dynamic Modeling and Simulation of Flexible Robots With Prismatic Joints

A dynamic model for flexible manipulators with prismatic joints is presented in Part I of this study. Floating frames following a nominal rigid body motion are introduced to describe the kinematics of the flexible links. A Lagrangian approach is used in deriving the equations of motion. The work done by the rigid body axial force through the axial shortening of the link due to transverse deformations is included in the Lagrangian function. Kinematic constraint equations are used to describe the compatibility conditions associated with revolute joints and prismatic joints, and incorporated into the equations of motion by Lagrange multipliers. The small displacements due to the flexibility of the links are then discretized by a displacement based finite element method. Equations of motion are derived for the cases of prescribed rigid body motion as well as prescribed joint torques/forces through application of Lagrange's equations. The equations of motion and the constraint equations result in a set of differential algebraic equations. A numerical procedure combining a constraint stabilization method and a Newmark direct integration scheme is then applied to obtain the system response. An example, previously treated in the literature, is presented to validate the modeling and solution methods used in this study.
Predicting Two-Dimensional Steady-State Soil Freezing Fronts Using the CVBEM

Utilisation de la methode aux elements limites variables complexes (CVBEM) pour la construction d'un modele bidimensionnel de la position du front de congelation stationnaire dans un sol
Photoemission Study of Single Crystal C60

We report angle-resolved photoemission data from single crystals of C 60 cleaved in UHV. Unlike the other forms of pure carbon, the valence band spectrum of C 60 consists of many sharp features that can be essentially accounted for by the quantum chemical calculations describing individual molecules. This suggests that the electronic structure of solid C 60 is mainly determined by the bonding interactions within the individual molecules. We also observe remarkable intensity modulations of the photoemission features as a function of photon energy, suggesting strong final state effects. Finally, we address the issue of the band width of the HOMO state of C 60 . We assert that the width of the photoemission peak of C 60 does not reflectthe intrinsic band width.
Duplication-based concurrent error detection in asynchronous circuits: shortcomings and remedies

Concurrent error detection (CED) methods are typically employed to provide an indication of the operational health of synchronous circuits during normal functionality. Existing CED techniques, however, require modification in order to be successfully adapted to asynchronous designs. We discuss the limitations of duplication, the simplest CED method, when applied to asynchronous circuits. We demonstrate that such limitations arise mainly due to comparison synchronization issues and inadequate detection of performance-related errors. We propose a circuit that alleviates the difficulties associated with comparison synchronization and we introduce a methodology that enables detection of errors that do not result in logic discrepancies and, thus, may not be detected through comparison. The proposed techniques are illustrated on example circuits, revealing their ability to render concurrently testable asynchronous designs.
Sum capacity of DS-CDMA with colored noise

We consider a direct sequence code division multiple access (DS-CDMA) channel in colored additive Gaussian noise and focus on the sum capacity of this channel. The sum capacity is the maximum sum of rates at which users can jointly reliably transmit, in an information theoretic sense. We completely characterize optimum sum capacity, which is obtained by choosing the signature sequences of the users appropriately. Our characterization is constructive in that we provide a combinatorial algorithm to generate the optimum signature sequences as a function of the covariance of the additive background noise and power constraints of the users. The characterization also allows us to identify a saddle property of the optimum sum capacity: convexity in the covariance matrix of the additive noise and concavity in the vector of user power constraints.
A model-integrated authoring environment for privacy policies

Privacy policies are rules designed to ensure that individuals' health data are properly protected. Health Information Systems (HIS) are legally required to adhere to these policies. Since privacy policies are imposed on complex software systems, it is extremely hard to reason about their conformance and consistency. In order to address this problem, we have created a model-driven authoring environment to formally specify privacy policies originally defined in legal terms. In our observation, appropriate formalization of our policy language enabled formal analysis of its policies; these features were key to a successful model-driven engineering process. In this paper we present our modeling language and show its semantic anchoring to analyzable logic programs. We report on several projects where our approach is being applied and validated. Model-Integrated Privacy Policy Authoring environment for lawyers and doctors.Precise semantic anchoring to term algebras and logic programs.A domain-specific language describing privacy policies with patterns.An execution environment by the tool FORMULA to prove correctness by design.A formally underpinned environment to reason about privacy policies.
Impact of physical activity on mood after TBI

Primary objective: To examine the effect of a physical activity programme on the mood states of individual's with a traumatic brain injury.Research design: Participants were randomly assigned to an...
Inflammation, C-Reactive Protein, and Cardiovascular Disease Moving Past the Marker Versus Mediator Debate

Twenty years ago, investigators collaborating in the laboratory of Attilio Maseri made the observation that plasma levels of the inflammatory biomarkers C-reactive protein (CRP) and serum amyloid A are elevated in patients with severe unstable angina, and that those with higher levels have worse clinical outcomes.1 However, as concentrations of CRP, serum amyloid A, and other acute phase reactants increase after ischemia, those initial data as well as comparable findings among postinfarction and chronic ischemia patients could not establish whether basal levels of inflammation were a substantive determinant of future vascular risk. That demonstration required evidence that inflammatory biomarkers such as CRP independently predict future myocardial infarction, stroke, and vascular death in apparently healthy populations free of acute phase stimuli, including cigarette consumption. When my group first presented such evidence in healthy men in 19972 and subsequently confirmed this effect in healthy women, Professor Maseri editorialized that the atherothrombosis community had envisioned “the hidden side of the moon” and that critical relationships between inflammation and occlusive cardiovascular events could no longer be ignored.3 Article, see p 672 Today, >60 prospective cohort studies confirm the core observation that multiple inflammatory biomarkers, including CRP, serum amyloid A, interleukin (IL) 6, tumor necrosis factor-α, soluble intercellular adhesion molecule-1, soluble vascular cell adhesion molecule-1, P-selectin, and fibrinogen, all associate with future vascular risk in otherwise healthy populations. Of these inflammatory biomarkers, CRP has become the standard for vascular risk prediction due largely to its ease of measurement and abundance of clinical data; meta-analyses convincingly demonstrate that the magnitude of future cardiovascular …
Developmental microRNA expression profiling of murine embryonic orofacial tissue.

BACKGROUND: Orofacial development is a multifaceted process involving precise, spatio-temporal expression of a panoply of genes. MicroRNAs (miRNAs), the largest family of noncoding RNAs involved in gene silencing, represent critical regulators of cell and tissue differentiation. MicroRNA gene expression profiling is an effective means of acquiring novel and valuable information regarding the expression and regulation of genes, under the control of miRNA, involved in mammalian orofacial development. METHODS: To identify differentially expressed miRNAs during mammalian orofacial ontogenesis, miRNA expression profiles from gestation day (GD) -12, -13 and -14 murine orofacial tissue were compared utilizing miRXplore microarrays from Miltenyi Biotech. Quantitative real-time PCR was utilized for validation of gene expression changes. Cluster analysis of the microarray data was conducted with the clValid R package and the UPGMA clustering method. Functional relationships between selected miRNAs were investigated using Ingenuity Pathway Analysis. RESULTS: Expression of over 26% of the 588 murine miRNA genes examined was detected in murine orofacial tissues from GD-12� GD-14. Among these expressed genes, several clusters were seen to be developmentally regulated. Differential expression of miRNAs within such clusters were shown to target genes encoding proteins involved in cell proliferation, cell adhesion, differentiation, apoptosis and epithelial-mesenchymal transformation, all processes critical for normal orofacial development. CONCLUSIONS: Using miRNA microarray technology, unique gene expression signatures of hundreds of miRNAs in embryonic orofacial tissue were defined. Gene targeting and functional analysis revealed that the expression of numerous protein-encoding genes, crucial to normal orofacial ontogeny, may be regulated by specific miRNAs. Birth Defects Research (Part A) 88:511� 534, 2010. 2010 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Risk Monitoring of Aircraft Fatigue Damage Evolution at Critical Locations

Fatigue damage detection and damage evolution monitoring are critical issues for the continued operational safety of aircraft. This article describes key technical elements, including probabilistic methods for risk monitoring of aircraft fatigue damage evolution at critical locations using either on-board sensors or off-board nondestructive inspection methods. Although the technical issues regarding risk monitoring are different between on-board and off-board structural health monitoring (SHM), they share many technical elements, such as SHM system sensitivity, inspection dependency and frequency, repair quality, damage evolution characterization, uncertainty quantification, and risk forecasting and updating for prognosis. A probabilistic framework and its associated methodologies, including the key technical elements, are described and discussed. The probabilistic methodologies consist of specialized probabilistic algorithms considering maintenance-related uncertainties, as well as inspection dependency, characterization of fatigue damage evolution, and a Bayesian updating approach to update prior knowledge using damage state information obtained through inspections. Keywords: fatigue; damage tolerance; structural health monitoring; probability of detection; risk; probability of failure; maintenance; inspection
Retrospective illumination correction of retinal fundus images from gradient distribution sparsity

We present a novel technique for retrospective illumination correction of retinal fundus images from the sparsity property of image gradient distribution. It can automatically estimate the illumination inhomogeneity given an arbitrary retinal fundus image. Experimental results on 665 high resolution fundus images show both the efficiency of our algorithm on illumination correction and its high value on improving the accuracy of blood-vessel segmentation.
Improving the performance of perfectly matched layers by means of hp‐adaptivity

We improve the performance of the Perfectly Matched Layer (PML) by using an automatic hp-adaptive discretization. By means of hp-adaptivity, we obtain a sequence of discrete solutions that converges exponentially to the continuum solution. Asymptotically, we thus recover the property of the PML of having a zero reflection coefficient for all angles of incidence and all frequencies on the continuum level. This allows us to minimize the reflections from the discrete PML to an arbitrary level of accuracy while retaining optimal computational efficiency. Since our hp-adaptive scheme is automatic, no interaction with the user is required. This renders tedious parameter tuning of the PML obsolete. We demonstrate the improvement of the PML performance by hp-adaptivity through numerical results for acoustic, elastodynamic, and electromagnetic wave-propagation problems in the frequency domain and in different systems of coordinates. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Numer Methods Partial Differential Eq 23: 832-858, 2007
Hyper-Hermitian Manifolds and Connections with Skew-Symmetric Torsion

The aim of the present paper is to review general results and some constructions of the hyper-Kahler geometry with torsion. This is the geometry of a special type of hyper-Hermitian metrics on a hypercomplex manifold related to some questions in theoretical physics. In particular, we show that there is a local existence of such metrics based on an HKT-potential theory, a moment map and reduction theory, as well as a global non-existence property.
Glucocorticoids Induce Kaposi's Sarcoma Cell Proliferation Through the Regulation of Transforming Growth Factor-β

Glucocorticoid (GC) use is known to induce or enhance the growth of Kaposi9s sarcoma (KS) in many clinical settings including human immunodeficiency virus infection, collagen vascular disease, lymphoproliferative disorders, and renal transplantation. Because GCs may induce immune suppression and thus tumor growth, we determined whether GCs had a direct effect on KS growth. We found that GCs directly induce the growth of KS cell lines. In examining the mechanism of action of GCs, we did not observe induction of known autocrine growth factors for KS including interleukin-1 (IL-1), IL-6, oncostatin-M, basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF ), and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF ). We thus examined factor(s) that inhibit KS growth. Transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) is produced by KS cells and has pleiotropic effects, including inhibiting the growth of hematopoietic and endothelial cells. We show that TGF-β is produced by KS cells in both the latent and active forms, and that TGF-β is an autocrine growth inhibitory factor. We then studied the effects of GCs on the regulation of TGF-β and found that GCs do not inhibit TGF-β transcription, but significantly inhibit TGF-β activation. This effect is mediated through regulation of the TGF-β activation pathway. TGF-β is activated by plasmin which is positively regulated by plasminogen activator (PA) and PA receptor (PAR), and negatively regulated by plasminogen activator inhibitor (PAI). GCs downregulated PAR and upregulated PAI. Thus, glucocorticoids enhance KS cell growth through the regulation of TGF-β activation.
Predicting Health Resilience in Pediatric Type 1 Diabetes: A Test of the Resilience Model Framework

Objectives This research examined whether individual and family-level factors during the transition from late childhood to early adolescence protected individuals from an increased risk of poor glycemic control across time, which is a predictor of future diabetes-related complications (i.e., health resilience). Methods This longitudinal, multisite study included 239 patients with type 1 diabetes and their caregivers. Glycemic control was based on hemoglobin A1c. Individual and family-level factors included: demographic variables, youth behavioral regulation, adherence (frequency of blood glucose monitoring), diabetes self-management, level of parental support for diabetes autonomy, level of youth mastery and responsibility for diabetes management, and diabetes-related family conflict. Results Longitudinal mixed-effects logistic regression indicated that testing blood glucose more frequently, better self-management, and less diabetes-related family conflict were indicators of health resilience. Conclusions Multiple individual and family-level factors predicted risk for future health complications. Future research should develop interventions targeting specific individual and family-level factors to sustain glycemic control within recommended targets, which reduces the risk of developing future health complications during the transition to adolescence and adulthood.
Pedagogy : reconsiderations and reorientations.

ly. DeLanda’s corrective to this is an elaboration on Deleuze’s “assemblage theory,” which contrasts with essentialist social ontologies insofar as it aims to avoid imposing reified, top-down symbolic schemas onto complex historical and material processes. Assemblages are comprised of historically-contingent ensembles of symbolic and organic (material) properties, which interact in different ways depending on the
Constitutional Law in 1959–1960

The personnel of the Supreme Court remained unchanged during the 1959 Term. From the point of view of the decisions rendered in the public law field, this was an undistinguished Term. Few of the constitutional cases are likely to hold an important place among the precedents, and a considerable number of well-argued decisions turned entirely upon private law questions. But there was no dearth of writing, during the period under review, about the Court as an institution and about the Justices who sit there. Note may be made at this point of the latest chapter in the long dispute over the so-called tidelands. In 1947 the Supreme Court had ruled that, as against the claims of California, the United States possessed paramount rights in lands underlying the Pacific Ocean seaward from the low-water mark. Similar rulings were made in 1950 as regards the claims of Louisiana and Texas in the Gulf of Mexico. But with the enactment in 1953 of the Submerged Lands Act, the United States relinquished to the coastal states all of its rights in all lands beneath navigable waters within the three-mile limit, and in excess of that limit within state boundaries as they existed at the time a state became a member of the Union, or as theretofore approved by Congress. The limit of the grant was three leagues (about ten and one-half miles) in the Gulf of Mexico and three geographical miles in the Atlantic and Pacific. The actual extent of the claims of the coastal states involved in the question was therefore left to be settled by litigation.
The effect of a practice checklist on practice strategies, practice self-regulation and achievement of collegiate music majors enrolled in a beginning class piano course:

This study was designed to test the effect of filling in a weekly practice checklist on self-reported practice strategies, self-efficacy beliefs, and final exam grades of music majors enrolled in b...
Fabrication of Superhydrophilic Surfaces by Aluminum-Induced Crystallization of Amorphous Silicon

Aluminum-induced crystallization (AIC) of amorphous silicon (a-Si) was, for the first time, used to produce textured surfaces to increase the wettability of solid substrates. It was found that glass substrates textured by AIC of a-Si technique exhibit highly stable superhydrophilic property. The water contact angle (WCA) of the textured glass surfaces became less than 5° in 0.5 second immediately after the AIC of a-process and remained less than 10° in 1 second even after the samples were stored in air for 192 hours.© 2008 ASME
Long-Term Persistence of Donor Alveolar Macrophages in Human Lung Transplant Recipients That Influences Donor-Specific Immune Responses.

Steady-state alveolar macrophages (AMs) are long-lived lung-resident macrophages with sentinel function. Evidence suggests that AM precursors originate during embryogenesis and populate lungs without replenishment by circulating leukocytes. However, their presence and persistence are unclear following human lung transplantation (LTx). Our goal was to examine donor AM longevity and evaluate whether AMs of recipient origin seed the transplanted lungs. Origin of AMs was accessed using donor-recipient HLA mismatches. We demonstrate that 94-100% of AMs present in bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) were donor derived and, importantly, AMs of recipient origin were not detected. Further, analysis of BAL cells up to 3.5 years post-LTx revealed that the majority of AMs (>87%) was donor derived. Elicitation of de novo donor-specific antibody (DSA) is a major post-LTx complication and a risk factor for development of chronic rejection. The donor AMs responded to anti-HLA framework antibody (Ab) with secretion of inflammatory cytokines. Further, in an experimental murine model, we demonstrate that adoptive transfer of allogeneic AMs stimulated humoral and cellular immune responses to alloantigen and lung-associated self-antigens and led to bronchiolar obstruction. Therefore, donor-derived AMs play an essential role in the DSA-induced inflammatory cascade leading to obliterative airway disease of the transplanted lungs.
Ecological Relations of Three Atta Species in Panama

Of the three Atta species of Panama (sexdens L., cephalotes isthmicola Weber and colonzbica tonsipes Santschi), sexdens is a grassland species as it is in South America, and the other two are forest or forest-grassland ecotone species. While sexdens and tonsipes may nest in the same general grassy area, sexdens extends along the sandy Pacific shore, and the other two nest primarily in clay. A unique relationship in the heart of the city of Colon on the Atlantic side was a colony of isthnzicola surrounded by colonies of tonsipes. Their leaf-bearing files were separate and they were mutually hostile. The main plaza of Panama City on the Pacific side has been occupied by sexdens despite the gradual extinguishing of foraging areas by buildings. Barro Colorado Island has isthmicola and tonsipes occupying similar habitats. Personal records since 1938 are noted. Usually the species of the leaf-cutting ant, Atta, occupy well-defined and separate areas (Fig. 1) throughout their range from Texas and Louisiana to Argentina and Uruguay. The gap between texana Buckley in Texas and the northernmost extent of mexicana F. Smith in Arizona is several hundred miles wide. In Uruguay sexdens L. is found to the north and on the rolling pampas while vollcnweideri Forel is found only close to the Rio Uruguay, according to Carbonnel (pers. commun.). The much closer relations of sexdens and cephalotes L. in Brazil have been described by Borgmeier (1959) and Goncalves (1960), and in Guyana and Venezuela in Weber 1946, and 1947. There is generally a well-defined ecological difference, sexdens being found in grassland or the grassland-forest ecotone and cephalotes occurring in the forest. In Guyana sexdens seemed more an ant of sandy soil and cephalotes an ant of clay, but this is not always consistent. The three species of Panama (Weber 1941, 1956, 1968) are sexdens, cephalotes isthmicola Weber and colombica tonsipes Santschi (Fig. 2). It should not be assumed that the ranges of any Atta are stabilized. All fluctuate with changes in climate and for more obscure reasons. In part it may be that the species and the genus have evolved in relatively recent times compared with such genera as Myrmicocrypta and Sericomyrmex. They clearly have more flexibility in meeting climatic change.
Examinees' Control of Item Difficulty Sequence

Summary.-90 students in introductory psychology responded to a questionnaire designed to assess test-taking strategies on multiple-choice rests. The data suggested that previous studies may not have actually tested item-difficulty sequence effects since item sequence is under examinees' control. Test constructors have been advised to arrange the items in achievement tests in order of increasing difficulty (e.g., Anastasi, 1976; Thorndike & Hagen, 1961) according to the contention that easy items in che beginning instill confidence and minimize the debilitating effects of test anxiety. Evidence supporting this practice has been found for tests administered under both speeded (Flaugher, Melton, & Myers, 1968; Towle & Merrill, 1975) and power conditions (Hambleton & Traub, 1974). Numerous other studies have found results which do not justify the pracrice (e.g., Huck & Bowers, 1972; Marso, 1970). In Hambleton and Traub's study, which found a sequence effect for a power test, control procedures ensured all subjects attempted the items in the order presented. Ostensibly other studies which did not use such controls made the implicit assumption that all subjects used the same strategy of answering item in sequence. The present study tested the validity of this assumption. Method.-Subjects were 39 female and 51 male introductory psychology students. The Examination Strategy Questionnaire, constructed especially for this study, contained 6 questions to assess the strategies students use for taking multiple-choice achievement tests. Question 1 asked the subject to select from a list of strategies the one that best describes how he asadly takes multiple-choice tests. Space was provided for the description of other strategies. Questions 2, 3, and 4 asked the subject to indicate the strategy he woald use to take tests having known item difficulty sequences; namely, hard-to-easy, easy-to-hard, and random sequences, respectively. For Questions 5 and 6, the subject indicated which one of the three types of tests described in Questions 2, 3, and 4 he would most prefer and least prefer to take if given the choice. The questionnaire was administered during the first 15 min. of a class meeting. Resalts.-Sixty-two subjects (69%) reported that they used strategies by which they seek out and answer the easy items first leaving the difficult ones for last. Only 16 (18%) indicated that they usually answer items sequentially without skipping any. Twelve subjects (13%) described other strategies. While 84 subjects (93%) would use their usual strategy for a random sequence, 30 (33%) would use a different strategy for a hard-to-easy sequence, and 21 (23%) would use a different strategy for an easy-to-hard sequence. Fifty-eight
Driver behavior at highway–rail grade crossings with passive traffic controls: A driving simulator study

Solutions to highway-rail grade crossings require understanding driver responses to traffic controls at crossings. This study examines differences in driver behaviors and safety at several types of passive traffic controls at grade crossings utilizing a high-fidelity driving simulator at the University of Tennessee. This article investigates the use of Stop and Yield signs as viable alternatives to upgrading a passive grade crossing to an active grade crossing. In addition to presenting descriptive statistics, mixed-effects regression models were estimated to handle repeated observations by 64 test participants. Additionally, path analysis provides a more nuanced interpretation of the results. Stop signs at railroad grade crossings were found to be associated with an increased likelihood of drivers looking for an oncoming train while approaching such passive crossings. They were also more inclined to reduce speeds and or stop. There were fewer violations at crossings with Stop signs when a train coming. The behaviors of drivers when faced with Yield signs were very similar to crossbuck signs, with little looking or stopping. The findings imply that Stop signs have the potential to decrease the chance of colliding with a train at passive grade crossings and reduce the crash severity even if a crash occurs. Language: en
Impact of Income Components in Determine the Market Value - Evidence from Pakistan Cement Industry

The main advantage of firm market value reference is that it provides some indications about the relevant data required by the investors. An income statement shows the financial operation of an entity over a period of time, which investors assumed to be the primary criteria for evaluating the financial position. The present paper provides a comprehensive study of the value relevance literature. This study investigates which income levels and components have an impact on the market value. Statistical population of cement companies listed at Karachi Stock Exchange over the time period of 2006-2011 is taken as a whole and also divided into large, medium and small categories as well on the basis of their market size to check individual relationship among income components and market value. Linear multiple regression, one sample test and coorelation analysis applied for data analysis. The results indicate that market value has strong relation with the income components except the net income variable which has insignificant relation. However, small and medium firms have no statistical impact on the value relevance of income components. These results were consistent with previous studies of Kallunki et al. (1998) and Hadi (2006), who found positive impact large firms have on the market value of a firm. Market value relevance with respect to income components of companies varies according to their size, which means the firm size is an important aspect in value relevance of financial figures data. Large firm’s investors have different source of information and resources available with them compared to those of medium or small firm’s investors.
Study on the qualitative analytical system for progesterone derivatives by UFLC/DAD/ESI/MS/MS

Objective:To establish a qualitative system for the determination of eight progesterone derivatives residues,such as 21-alpha-hydroxyprogesterone,17-alpha-hydroxyprogesterone,ethisterone,medroxyprogesterone,megestrol acetate,chlormadinone acetate,medroxyprogesterone acetate and progesterone,in the milk by ultra-fast liquid chromatography coupled with diode array detector(DAD) and electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry(UFLC/DAD/ESI/IT/MS).Methods: After the milk was extracted by methanol,cleaned and enriched by Waters Oasis HLB solid-phase extraction(SPE) cartridges,and separated by UFLC.Primary screening detection was carried out by DAD on line and comparison with the standard ultra-violet(UV) spectra and three-dimensional spectra.Confirmed detection was performed using an UFLC-MS/MS in a positive electrospray ionization mode according to the principle of three qualitative ions.Results: For the progesterone derivatives,the on line DAD screening spectrometric information was abundant,the chromatographic separation was well,the molecular ions were strong and stable,and the MS/MS fragment ions were reliable and steady,respectively.The reason for the primary qualitative analysis and the identified qualitative analysis was confirmed for the progesterone derivatives.Conclusion: The established qualitative method combined with UFLC retention time,ultra-violet spectra and MS/MS fragment ions is not only suitable for examination screening,but also for confirmation for the progesterone derivatives.
Displaced patella fractures

Displaced patella fractures often result in disruption of the extensor mechanism of the knee. An intact extensor mechanism is a requirement for unassisted gait. Therefore, operative treatment of the displaced patella fracture is generally recommended. The evaluation of the patella fracture patient includes examination of extensor mechanism integrity. Operative management of patella fractures normally includes open reduction with internal fixation, although partial patellectomy is occasionally performed, with advancement of quadriceps tendon or patellar ligament to the fracture bed. Open reduction with internal fixation has historically been performed utilizing anterior tension band wiring, although comminution of the fracture occasionally makes this fixation construct inadequate. Supplementation or replacement of the tension band wire construct with interfragmentary screws, cerclage wire or suture, and/or plate-and-screw constructs may add to the stability of the fixation construct. Arthrosis of the patellofemoral joint is very common after healing of patella fractures, and substantial functional deficits may persist long after fracture healing has occurred.
Hydrogen permeability and mechanical properties of NiNb-M (M = Sn, Ti and Zr) amorphous metallic membranes

Abstract In this paper, we report on the hydrogen permeability at 673 K of 45-μm thick splat-quenched Ni60Nb35M5 (M = Sn, Ti and Zr) amorphous metallic membranes. Changes in mechanical properties, induced by hydrogen, were evaluated by nanoindentation. The effect of different elemental substitutions on both the hydrogen permeability and the thermal stability are discussed. Membrane crystalline structure was probed with X-ray diffraction and membrane thermal properties were analyzed with differential scanning calorimetry. The Young’s modulus and hardness changes of the membranes were measured by nanoindentation. All of these ternary Ni–Nb membranes maintain their amorphous structure after 24 h of hydrogen permeability testing at 673 K. The Ni60Nb35Zr5 alloy membranes exhibited a hydrogen permeability of 10−10 mol m−1 s−1 Pa−0.5, the maximum of the three compositions tested. The hydrogen permeability declined slightly with time during the testing. Overall the amorphous metallic membranes were thermally stable and maintained their amorphous structure. A decrease in free volume is hypothesized to be the reason for i) the increase of Young’s modulus and hardness; ii) hydrogen permeability decrease over time.
Lipoma of Corpus Callosum

A lipoma of the corpus callosum diagnosed by CT at 7 mos and mistaken for hemorrhage in a premature infant is reported from the Medical College of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA.
Monocyte Recruitment and Arthroplasty: Primary and Revision

Introduction: Wear debris from articulating joint implants is inevitable. Small debris particles are phagocytosed by macrophages. Larger particles initiate the fusion of many macrophages into multi-nucleated giant cells for particle encasement. Macrophages are recruited into inflamed tissues from the circulating monocyte population. Approximately 10% of white blood cells are monocytes which after release from the bone marrow circulate for 2–3 days, before being recruited into tissues as inflammatory macrophages or undergoing apoptosis. Circulating MRP8/14 (S100A8/A9) is a measure of monocyte recruitment, part of the monocyte-endothelial docking complex, and shed during monocyte transmigration across the endothelium. The higher the S100A8/A9 the more monocytes being recruited giving an indirect measure of debris production. Methods: 2114 blood samples were collected from arthroplasty patients with hip or knee osteoarthritis (primary, post-traumatic and secondary), 589 before their primary arthroplasty, 1187 patients > 1 year post-arthroplasty, 101 patients before revision for aseptic loosening and 237 patients >1 year post-revision. Plasma S100A8/A9 was measured using BMA Biomedicals Elisa kit, normal levels in health adults are 0.5–3 mg/ml. Joint specific scores, WOMAC knee or Oxford Hip adjusted to percent of maximum, together with SF-12 were completed. Results: Mean and S.D. plasma S100A8/A9 before a primary 4.89 + 3.12, >1 year post-surgery follow up 4.03 + 2.2, before revision 5.08 + 2.59 and >1 year post revision 3.89 + 1.94. Percent joint specific scores before a primary 40.33 + 15.75, >1 year post-surgery follow up 70.34 + 22.33, before revision 38.75 + 15.12 and >1 year post revision 53.88 + 22.02. SF-12 physical function scores before a primary 26.52 + 7.12, >1 year post-surgery follow up 35.76 + 11.50, before revision 24.71 + 6.47 and >1 year post revision 30.08 + 9.82. The pre-op primary to follow up S100A*/A9 fell p Discussion: Osteoarthritis demonstrates enhanced monocyte recruitment before primary surgery which is significantly reduced following arthroplasty. There is a detectable and significant increase in S100A8/A9 concentrations indicative of enhanced monocyte recruitment again before revision surgery.
Aortic Remodeling After Endovascular Repair of Complicated Acute Type B Aortic Dissection.

Background Thoracic endovascular aortic repair (TEVAR) is the optimal therapy for complicated acute type B aortic dissection (aTBAD). This study examined clinical outcomes and aortic remodeling parameters after TEVAR for patients with complicated aTBAD. Methods From January 2012 to December 2015, 51 patients underwent TEVAR for complicated aTBAD. Preoperative and postoperative imaging studies were analyzed for sizes of the true lumen (TL) and false lumen (FL) and for the FL thrombosis status at five locations in the thoracic and abdominal aorta. Results In-hospital and 1-year mortality rates were 3.9% and 5.8%, respectively. The incidence of stroke and paraparesis were 3.9% and 5.8%, respectively. In DeBakey 3a patients, TEVAR resulted in complete FL thrombosis and/or obliteration in 73% of patients. In DeBakey 3b patients, TEVAR resulted in complete FL thrombosis and/or obliteration in 100% of patients in the proximal descending thoracic aorta and 78% in the midpoint of the descending thoracic aorta. The infrarenal FL remained patent in 78% of patients. TEVAR stabilized the size of the proximal descending thoracic aorta (pre-TEVAR 43 ± 9 mm vs post-TEVAR 39 ± 7 mm; p = 0.07). However, significant aortic expansion was observed in all other downstream aortic segments. TEVAR resulted in a significant expansion in the TL volume (pre-TEVAR 99 ± 51 cm 3 vs post-TEVAR 185 ± 70 cm 3 ; p 3 vs post-TEVAR 391 ± 120 cm 3 ; p = 0.02) while inhibiting expansion of FL volume (pre-TEVAR 215 ± 67 cm 3 vs post-TEVAR 204 ± 79 cm 3 ; p = 0.91). Conclusions TEVAR for complicated aTBAD results in low 30-day and 1-year mortality rates, with higher reintervention rates than observed with open operations. TEVAR is effective in thrombosing and stabilizing the size of the thoracic FL. The abdominal aortic FL remains patent and must be carefully scrutinized for long-term aneurysm formation.
Virus-host interactions and their roles in coral reef health and disease

Coral reefs occur in nutrient-poor shallow waters, constitute biodiversity and productivity hotspots, and are threatened by anthropogenic disturbance. This Review provides an introduction to coral reef virology and emphasizes the links between viruses, coral mortality and reef ecosystem decline. We describe the distinctive benthic-associated and water-column- associated viromes that are unique to coral reefs, which have received less attention than viruses in open-ocean systems. We hypothesize that viruses of bacteria and eukaryotes dynamically interact with their hosts in the water column and with scleractinian (stony) corals to influence microbial community dynamics, coral bleaching and disease, and reef biogeochemical cycling. Last, we outline how marine viruses are an integral part of the reef system and suggest that the influence of viruses on reef function is an essential component of these globally important environments.