cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Transport and localization elements in myelin basic protein mRNA.

Myelin basic protein (MBP) mRNA is localized to myelin produced by oligodendrocytes of the central nervous system. MBP mRNA microinjected into oligodendrocytes in primary culture is assembled into granules in the perikaryon, transported along the processes, and localized to the myelin compartment. In this work, microinjection of various deleted and chimeric RNAs was used to delineate regions in MBP mRNA that are required for transport and localization in oligodendrocytes. The results indicate that transport requires a 21-nucleotide sequence, termed the RNA transport signal (RTS), in the 3′ UTR of MBP mRNA. Homologous sequences are present in several other localized mRNAs, suggesting that the RTS represents a general transport signal in a variety of different cell types. Insertion of the RTS from MBP mRNA into nontransported mRNAs, causes the RNA to be transported to the oligodendrocyte processes. Localization of mRNA to the myelin compartment requires an additional element, termed the RNA localization region (RLR), contained between nucleotide 1,130 and 1,473 in the 3′ UTR of MBP mRNA. Computer analysis predicts that this region contains a stable secondary structure. If the coding region of the mRNA is deleted, the RLR is no longer required for localization, and the region between nucleotide 667 and 953, containing the RTS, is sufficient for both RNA transport and localization. Thus, localization of coding RNA is RLR dependent, and localization of noncoding RNA is RLR independent, suggesting that they are localized by different pathways.
Progenitors of skeletal muscle satellite cells express the muscle determination gene, MyoD

Satellite cells are tissue-specific stem cells responsible for skeletal muscle growth and regeneration. Although satellite cells were identified almost 50 years ago, the identity of progenitor populations from which they derive remains controversial. We developed MyoD(iCre) knockin mice, and used Cre/lox lineage analysis to determine whether satellite cell progenitors express MyoD, a marker of myogenic commitment. Recombination status of satellite cells was determined by confocal microscopy of isolated muscle fibers and by electron microscopic observation of muscle tissue fixed immediately following isolation, using R26R-EYFP and R26R (beta-gal) reporter mice, respectively. We show that essentially all adult satellite cells associated with limb and body wall musculature, as well as the diaphragm and extraocular muscles, originate from MyoD+ progenitors. Neonatal satellite cells were Cre-recombined, but only a small minority exhibited ongoing Cre expression, indicating that most satellite cells had expressed MyoD prenatally. We also show that satellite cell development in MyoD-null mice is not due to functional compensation by MyoD non-expressing lineages. The results suggest that satellite cells are derived from committed myogenic progenitors, irrespective of the anatomical location, embryological origin, or physiological properties of associated musculature.
Morphological study of cortical surfaces with principal component analysis

Studies in experimental neuroscience have found some evidence showing that the shapes of cortical surfaces of human brains might have certain connection with the neural functioning. This paper presents a morphological study of the cortical surfaces. The work consists of four major elements. First, we collect a sufficient number of 3D MRI datasets of brains that belong to different categories of people. Second, we extract the cortical surfaces from the 3D MRI datasets. Third, we apply statistical analysis to characterize the morphological features of the cortical surfaces. The last component is 3D visualization to illustrate the shapes and characteristics of cortical surfaces in an interactive environment.
Yield management: A tool for capacity-considered service firms

Abstract Airlines typically sell their seats for a variety of different fares. If customers make reservations early, low fares might be available, but if customers call at the last minute, they will probably have to pay the full fare. Since deregulation, early all airlines have been using a technique called yield management. Yield management allows the airlines to allocate their fixed capacity of seats in the most profitable manner possible. Since the airline's inventory of seats is perishable, the airlines must have a method of quickly and accurately allocating potential demand to capacity. The airline industry has been in the forefront of using management, but yield management has potential application to any firm constrained by capacity. Other services which have adopted yield management include the lodging, rental car, delivery service, rail and cruise line industries. The objective of yield management is to maximize the revenue or yield of the firm. A good yield management system will help the firm decide how much of each type of inventory (whether it be seats on an airplane, rooms in a hotel, or cars in a rental car fleet) to allocate to different types of demand. This article attempts to structure the concept of yield management by reviewing current literature, classifying types of solution approaches, discussing the managerial implications of yield management and presenting a future research agenda. While corporate research on yield management has been performed, most firms are understandably reluctant to share the results of their research with others. Operations management researchers could assist small and medium sized capacity-constrained firms by developing simple and accurate yield management techniques. The intent of the paper is to focus attention n the yield management and stimulate practical and theoretical research in this area.
AIDS-related risk behavior, knowledge, and beliefs among women and their Mexican-American sexual partners who used intravenous drugs.

OBJECTIVE To assess the risk behaviors, knowledge, and beliefs regarding human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) among women and their sexual partners who were Mexican-American men who used intravenous drugs. DESIGN Survey of male methadone users and their female sexual partners. PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING Mexican-American male clients at a methadone clinic in Los Angeles, Calif, were consecutively recruited for the study. A method similar to partner contact tracing was used to identify female subjects. One hundred subjects, representing 50 male-female pairs of sexual partners, answered identical questionnaires. The responses from females were compared with those from their male partners. RESULTS Seventy-four percent of the females disclosed that they used intravenous drugs, and 88% knew that their male partners were intravenous drug users. Of subjects who used intravenous drugs, 73% (27/37) of females and 88% (44/50) of males currently injected themselves and shared uncleaned needles. Seventy-six percent of females and 84% of males never used a condom during the previous year, and about 20% of both sexes had more than one sexual partner. Even though most of the females understood how HIV was transmitted and recognized themselves as at risk for AIDS, they continued to share needles unsafely and place themselves at risk for acquiring HIV infection through sex. CONCLUSION This group of females and their male sexual partners engaged in multiple behaviors that may contribute to the further propagation of HIV infection.
Magnetic ordering in ferric chloride hexahydrate

Abstract Mossbauer resonance experiments have detected spontaneous magnetization in FeCl3 · 6H2O below a critical temperature Tc = 1.46 ± 0.01 K.The magnetic hyperfine field is 396 ± 2 kG at 1.16 K, and is oriented approximately 73 deg to the major axis of the electric field gradient.
A field extruder for rapidly sectioning near-surface cores from lakes and wetlands

The soft uppermost sediments in lakes and wetlands contain important records of past environmental change. Although the technology for coring these sediments is relatively well established, there has been a continuing effort to improve the design of equipment that can provide the precise volumetric samples required for high-resolution dating and elemental analysis. Soft-sediment cores are usually sectioned near a coring site under a wide range of field conditions creating a challenge for both field crews and equipment. A new field extruder was therefore designed to simplify the process of fine-sectioning these cores in the field while improving volumetric-sampling accuracy. The new extruder is relatively light, stable, and easy to use, but sufficiently strong to extrude long continuous cores of stiff sediment if required. The key features of this extruder minimize sampling errors by enabling an operator to automate the measurement and extrusion of a pre-determined volume of sediment. The extruder was successfully field tested on a variety of sediment types in a large wetland from southern Florida, USA and proved easy to master by even inexperienced field crews.
The relation between the northern polar cap and auroral electrojet geomagnetic indices in the wintertime

The polar cap (PC) index is a measure of the high-latitude geomagnetic disturbances due to Hall and field-aligned currents. The index is well correlated with the auroral electrojet AL and AU indices (correlation with the PC index is 76% and 66%, resp.). Here we obtain several types of data-based models that relate the PC to the AL and AU indices in the wintertime, when the ionospheric conductivity is mostly due to the precipitating particles of the field-aligned currents. The new models predict AL and AU from PC with correlations much higher than those found by earlier studies. Thus linear moving-average filters reproduce the observed AL with a correlation of 88% (AU : 75%) while linear autoregressive moving-average (ARMA) models based on the PC index produce in-sample single-step predictions with 98% and 97% correlations with AL and AU respectively. For long-term, out-of-sample prediction, the linear ARMA prediction from the PC index has an asymptotic prediction error which is at least 25% more accurate than the prediction from solar wind input. Nonlinear models are slightly more accurate than their linear counterparts, indicating a weak nonlinearity in the relation between the polar cap and auroral zone indices. The prediction-observation correlations are sufficiently high that models based on the PC index can be used for specification of the auroral geomagnetic activity.
Contingent Democrats: Industrialists, Labor, and Democratization in Late-Developing Countries

Many classic works of political economy have identified capital and labor as the champions of democratization during the first wave of transition. By contrast, this article argues for the contingent nature of capital and labor's support for democracy, especially in the context of late development. The article offers a theory of democratic contingency, proposing that a few variables, namely, state dependence, aristocratic privilege, and social fear account for much of the variation found in class support for democratization both across and within cases. Conditions associated with late development make capital and labor especially prone to diffidence about democratization. But such diffidence is subject to change, especially under the impact of international economic integration, poverty-reducing social welfare policies, and economic growth that is widely shared. Case material from Korea, Indonesia, Mexico, Zambia, Brazil, Tunisia and other countries is offered as evidence.
Conceptual Barriers to Creating Integrative Universities

Today’s society looks to universities for solutions to broad-based issues that require cross-disciplinary expertise. Yet, the organizational structure of our institutions remains locked in academic...
A monolithically integrated multi-spectral polarimetric quantum dot infrared photodetector

A monolithically integrated wire grid polarizer and quantum dot infrared photodetector is reported. The photodetector array is integrated with a single large area aluminum wire grid polarizer that was fabricated using standard photolithographic procedures. The polarizer has period of 4μm and a 50% duty cycle. The device has an extinction ratio of 3dB for normal incidence long wavelength infrared radiation.
Explicit matchings in the middle levels of the Boolean lattice

New classes of explicit matchings for the bipartite graph ℬ(k) consisting of the middle two levels of the Boolean lattice on 2k+1 elements are constructed and counted. This research is part of an ongoing effort to show that ℬ(k) is Hamiltonian.
Nephrogenic Systemic Fibrosis and Gadolinium-Based Contrast Agents

The strong association between nephrogenic systemic fibrosis (NSF) and exposure to gadolinium-based contrast agents (GBCAs) has greatly affected the care of patients with kidney disease. NSF has been reported in patients with ESRD, CKD, and acute kidney injury (AKI). The majority of cases have occurred in patients with ESRD, but about 20% have been reported in patients with AKI or CKD stages 4 and 5. There is also a risk difference among GBCAs, with the Food and Drug Administration contraindicating 3 linear agents in patients at risk. Given the significant morbidity and mortality of NSF, it is imperative to identify individuals at risk. Although there are no data to support a role for hemodialysis (HD) in reducing the risk for NSF after administration of GBCAs, immediate HD is still recommended within 2 hours. Patients maintained on peritoneal dialysis seem to be at high risk and immediate HD is also recommended. However, this is not the current recommendation for CKD stages 4 and 5, especially with suspected lower risk of noncontraindicated agents. Individualized assessment is important and especially in those patients close to dialysis initiation. Instituting policies is important to address the imaging needs of patients with CKD and AKI while ensuring a balance between benefits and risks.
On a criterion for the invertibility of integral operators of the second kind in the space of summable functions on the semiaxis

To establish a criterion for the invertibility of integral operators of the second kind in terms of the kernel of the integral part of this operator, a special factorization method is applied. We present a transformation reducing the problem of the invertibility of such an operator to that of the inversion of an integral operator of the second kind with contracting integral part.
Passing the Torch

This issue marks the end of Satya's second two-year term as editor in chief. He introduces his successor, Roy Want of Intel Research, and reviews the progress that has occurred in the last four years.
Management of 155 patients with benign liver tumours.

Background: Benign hepatic tumours continue to represent a diagnostic and therapeutic challenge. This study evaluates the indications and results of resection compared with observation in patients with benign hepatic tumours. Methods: Patients with a primary diagnosis of benign liver tumour were identified from a prospective database and evaluated retrospectively. Results: From January 1992 to June 1999, 155 patients with benign hepatic tumours were evaluated. The diagnoses included haemangioma (n = 97), focal nodular hyperplasia (FNH) (n = 42), hepatic adenoma (n = 12) and cystadenoma (n = 4). Sixty-eight patients (44 per cent) underwent resection because of symptoms (n = 36), inability to exclude a malignancy (n = 31) or enlargement on serial imaging (n = 11). The operative morbidity and mortality rates were 21 per cent and zero respectively. Thirty patients had a preoperative percutaneous needle biopsy, 19 of which were either incorrect or indeterminate. Overall, 39 of 42 patients with symptoms attributed to the tumour were asymptomatic after resection and 18 of 21 patients with symptoms considered unrelated to the tumour were asymptomatic after a period of observation and/or treatment of unrelated conditions (median follow-up 16 months). Conclusion: When indicated, resection of benign liver tumours can be performed safely. Symptomatic patients with a small FNH or haemangioma can be observed because their symptoms are unlikely to be related to the liver tumour. Percutaneous needle biopsy rarely changes management. © 2001 British Journal of Surgery Society Ltd
A multiple-tree search procedure for the resource-constrained project scheduling problem

Abstract For over three decades, researchers have sought effective solution procedures for PERT/CPM types of scheduling problems under conditions of limited resource availability. This paper presents a procedure for this problem which takes advantage of the emerging technology provided by multiple parallel processors to find and verify an optimal schedule for a project under conditions of multiple resource constraints. In our approach, multiple solutions trees are searched simultaneously in the quest for a minimum duration schedule. Global upper and lower bound information in common memory is shared among processors, enabling one or several processors to prune potentially significant portions of its search tree based upon bounds discovered by a processor using a different search tree. Computational experience is reported both for problems in which resources are available in constant amounts per period, as well as the much more difficult problem in which the resources available are allowed to vary over the schedule horizon (e.g., travel, sick leave, assignment to other tasks or projects, and so forth). The modular multiple-tree search procedure described in this paper is quite general, permitting most types of existing serial search strategies to be adapted to this approach where multiple processors are available.
Competition Policy: Theory and Practice

Competition Policy: Theory and Practice Massimo Motta Cambridge & New York, Cambridge University Press, 2004, 616 pp., £34.00 paperback ISBN 0-521-81663-7 Massimo Motta of the European University I...
Integrating History of Mathematics into the Classroom: Was Aristotle Wrong?

This article describes a part of a large scale study which helped to gain understanding of the high school mathematicsteachers' perceptions related to the integration of history of mathematics into instruction. There is obvious lack ofcorrespondence between general perception about possible benefits of students learning the history of mathematics andteachers’ perceptions of the integration of the history of mathematics in curriculum. A total of 367 mathematicsteachers from one of the New England states, USA, participated in an on-line comprehensive survey, which wasdesigned by the researchers.We report on several factors that affect teachers' decision whether include history of mathematics into curriculum,offer some recommendations for teacher professional development and suggestions for further research.
Management of tumor lysis syndrome: prevention and treatment.

Objectives: To provide a review of the preventive and treatment strategies for tumor lysis syndrome (TLS). Data Sources: Primary and tertiary literature and clinical experience. Conclusions: The oncology nurse can optimize outcomes in the patient at risk for TLS through a variety of prevention and treatment interventicms: (1) aggressive patient monitoring for early identification and treatment; (2) minimize risk factors via thorough medication and nutritional histories, and assurance of proper prophylactic regimens; (3) assessment of optimal routes of drug delivery to assure medication bioavailability; and (4) reinforcement of the above with comprehensive patient education. Implications for nursing practice: Awareness and effective use of prophylactic and treatment regimens related to TLS will positively impact patient outcomes. The oncology nurse is at the front line to identify issues related to effective management of TLS.
Keeping technology at bay in the classroom [technology invasion]

A New York Times article cited research that compared the types of issues facing teachers today with those of 50 or 60 years ago. The article concluded that today's teachers have to deal with a much less kinder and gentler group of students than in the past, probably a reflection of the less kind, less gentle society in which we live. For the most part, these types of problems are not yet overwhelming higher education classrooms in the way they seem to at lower levels of public education. But there is a new phenomenon that really is affecting classroom management in higher education, and that is the invasion of technology.
VALVE AND BAND MORPHOLOGY OF SOME FRESHWATER DIATOMS. III. PRE- AND POST-AUXOSPORE FRUSTULES AND THE INITIAL CELL OF MELOSIRA ROESEANA1

Frustules of a clonal culture of Melosira roeseana Rabenh. were examined with light and scanning electron microscopy. Vegetative valves in the post-auxospore (full size) stage exhibit a larger width/length ratio than those in the pre-auxospore (size-reduced) stage. Cells form chains by linking spines of adjacent valves which occur at the periphery of the valve face-mantle junction. Three or jour large pores occur at the center of the valve face, with the diameter of each pore tapering from the inner to the outer valve surface; these pores are often occluded by siliceous processes. Features of M. roeseana, not shown previously for Melosira, include a “stepped” mantle, on only one of the two valves resulting from the same cell division, flattened processes attached to short siliceous stalks on the valve face, disk-like processes on the mantle, and an open girdle band with up to eight antiligulae. Siliceous scales on the surface of the initial cell are remnants of the auxospore wall. The epivalve of the initial cell is larger in diameter than the hypovalve, and both valves lack linking spines and a step on the valve surface. The initial, cell epicingulum consists of only two bands; the hypocingulum has up to seven. Initial cells with four or more hypocingular bands divide to form new post-auxospore filaments. Melosira roeseana should not be included in the genus Melosira as it is presently defined by the type species, M. nurnmuloides C. Ag. Major differences include irregular linking spines, a closed pseudoloculate valve construction, and labiate processes on the valve face and mantle of M. nummuloides, compared with well-defined linking spines, a valve constructed of a basal siliceous layer perforated by poroid areolae, and labiate processes lacking on the valve of M. roeseana.
The Biological Justification of Ethics: A Best-Case Scenario

Social and behavioral scientists — that is, students of human nature — nowadays hardly ever use the term ‘human nature’. This reticence reflects both a becoming modesty about the aims of their disciplines and a healthy skepticism about whether there is any one thing really worthy of the label ‘human nature’.For some feature of humankind to be identified as accounting for our ‘nature’, it would have to reflect some property both distinctive of our species and systematically influential enough to explain some very important aspect of our behavior. Compare: molecular structure gives the essence or the nature of water just because it explains most of its salient properties. Few students of the human sciences currently hold that there is just one or a small number of such features that can explain our actions and/or our institutions. And even among those who do, there is reluctance to label their theories as claims about ‘human nature’.Among anthropologists and sociologists, the label seems too universal and indiscriminant to be useful. The idea that there is a single underlying character that might explain similarities threatens the differences among people and cultures that these social scientists seek to uncover. Even economists, who have explicitly attempted to parlay rational choice theory into an account of all human behavior, do not claim that the maximization of transitive preferences is ‘human nature’.I think part of the reason that social scientists are reluctant to use ‘human nature’ is that the term has traditionally labeled a theory with normative implications as well as descriptive ones.
Gerard Swope — Hoover medalist

GERARD Swope is presented for the Hoover Medal on the ground of his “constructive public service in the field of social, civic, and humanitarian effort.” One of his humanitarian efforts has been to help me on many occasions in the consideration of measures for improving the educational work of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, of which he is an executive committee member.
VISIDEP (TM): Visual Image Depth Enhancement By Parallax Induction

The usual descriptions of depth perception have traditionally required the simultaneous presentation of disparate views presented to separate eyes with the concomitant demand that the resulting binocular parallax be horizontally aligned. Our work suggests that the visual input information is compared in a short-term memory buffer which permits the brain to compute depth as it is normally perceived. However, the mechanism utilized is also capable of receiving and processing the stereographic information even when it is received monocularly or when identical inputs are simultaneously fed to both eyes. We have also found that the restriction to horizontally displaced images is not a necessary requirement and that improvement in image acceptability is achieved by the use of vertical parallax. Use of these ideas permit the presentation of three-dimensional scenes on flat screens in full color without the encumbrance of glasses or other viewing aids.
Subjective overachievement: individual differences in self-doubt and concern with performance.

We discuss the construct of doubt about one's competence and suggest that doubt can have myriad consequences (e.g., self-handicapping, defensive pessimism). We focus on the effect of self-doubt when it is combined with a concern with performance and assert that this combination leads to the phenomenon of subjective overachievement. In two studies, we present a new 17-item Subjective Overachievement Scale (SOS), which includes two independent subscales measuring individual differences in self-doubt and concern with performance. The first study, consisting of two large samples (Ns = 2,311 and 1,703), provides evidence that the scale has high internal consistency and a clear two-factor structure. Additionally, the subscales have adequate test-retest reliability (Ns = 67 and 115). A second study reveals that the SOS has good convergent and discriminant validity. Both subscales are unrelated to social desirability but exhibit the predicted patterns of associations with other related constructs. The Concern with Performance Subscale is correlated with achievement motivation, whereas the Self-Doubt Subscale is correlated with scales assessing negative affectivity (e.g., self-esteem, social anxiety) and other self-related strategies associated with concerns about one's competence (e.g., self-handicapping, defensive pessimism, impostor phenomenon). The SOS, which combines the two subscales, appears to tap a unique strategy that individuals may use to deal with doubts about their own competence.
Hereditary Vasopressin Resistance in Man and Mouse

The DI +/+ Severe hereditary nephrogenic diabetes insipidus mouse is resistant to the antidiuretic action of vasopressin (VP) because of failure to accumulate cAMP and subsequent inability to form intramembranous particles on the apical (luminal) surface of kidney cells that normally respond to VP. The defect is primarily, if not exclusively, due to excessive activity of specific cAMP-phosphodiesterases. The abnormality can be overcome in vitro and in vivo by the phosphodiesterase inhibitor, rolipram. Most cases of hereditary NDI in man have sex-linked recessive inheritance, which appears to be due to an abnormality of the V2 receptor. The chromosomal locus of the defect is Xq28. Sporadic cases of congenital NDI have been described in females who appear to have a defect beyond the V2 receptor and the guanine nucleotide-binding stimulatory protein. There is no information on the biochemical defect in very rare cases with other types of inheritance patterns. No abnormalities of V1a and V1b receptor function have been found in patients with NDI. Mice and patients with NDI have evidence of increased AVP synthesis. AVP release in relation to plasma osmolality is increased in patients during infusion of hypertonic saline. This is the opposite of what has been described in patients with primary polydipsia (dipsogenic diabetes insipidus) who are chronically overhydrated. Together, these studies indicate that chronic dehydration and overhydration can cause up- and downregulation of the osmotic release of AVP.
NETWORK II.5 tutorial NETWORK II.5 without programming: NETWORK II.5—without programming

This tutorial will acquaint the reader with a powerful modelling tool which can dramatically reduce amount of time it takes to simulate a computer system. The NETWORK 11.5 world view and the class of problems it addresses will be discussed. A summary of NETWORK 11.5 capabilities will be presented. To tie the tutorial concepts together, an example of using NETWORK 11.5 is included.
Influence of Osteotomy Design on Bilateral Mandibular Ramus Sagittal Split Osteotomy.

The mandibular ramus sagittal split osteotomy is the most popular procedure for repositioning themandible for orthognathic surgery. Compared with other techniques, such as a vertical ramus osteotomy or inverted L-osteotomy, the sagittal split osteotomy provides a better bony interface to supplement healing and allows easier adaption of rigid fixation. Since the introduction of the intraoral sagittal split osteotomy by Trauner and Obwegeser in 1955, many modifications of this procedure have been performed. I have been requested to comment on the report by Verweij et al, titled ‘‘The Angled Osteotomy Design Aimed to Influence the Lingual Fracture Line in Bilateral Sagittal Split Osteotomy: A Human Cadaveric Study.’’ Historically, the ‘‘angled osteotomy’’ design was introduced and used for many years by Hugo Obwegeser and others. Verweij et al conducted a study on 28 cadaveric dentulous mandibles using 2 mandibular ramus sagittal split osteotomy modifications: the ‘‘conventional’ and the ‘‘angled osteotomy’ design. The ‘‘conventional’’ osteotomy design was based on modifications by Dal Pont and Hunsuck. The design includes the following steps: Step 1. A medial monocortical osteotomy above the lingula and extending posterior to it Step 2. A cut down the ascending ramus stopping distal to the second molar Step 3. A vertical monocortical osteotomy from distal of the second molar perpendicular to the inferior border of the mandible, with the cut extending through the lingual cortex of the inferior border The authors’ ‘angled osteotomy’’ technique uses the same basic design for steps 1 and 2; however, for step 3, the buccal monocortical osteotomy was angled inferoposterior toward the masseteric tubercles with a cut through the lingual cortex of the inferior border. The basic difference in these 2 designs is that the ‘angled osteotomy’’ eliminates a significant length of the lingual
Bounds on the number of cycles of length three in a planar graph

LetG be ap-vertex planar graph having a representation in the plane with nontriangular facesF 1,F 2, …,F r. Letf 1,f 2, …,f r denote the lengths of the cycles bounding the facesF 1,F 2, …,F r respectively. LetC 3(G) be the number of cycles of length three inG. We give bounds onC 3(G) in terms ofp,f 1,f 2, …,f r. WhenG is 3-connected these bounds are bounds for the number of triangles in a polyhedron. We also show that all possible values ofC 3(G) between the maximum and minimum value are actually achieved.
Nitrogen Fertilizer Management to Improve Crop Tolerance to Corn Rootworm Larval Feeding Damage

Widespread use of crop management practices that reduce the effect of corn rootworm (Diabrotica spp.) larval feeding damage on maize (Zea mays L.) plant lodging or grain yield production would reduce grower reliance on chemical pesticides. Nitrogen fertilizer placement can affect root system morphology and distribution within the soil profile. This study was conducted to determine if N fertilizer placement can be used as a tool to improve maize tolerance to rootworm infestation. The effects of planting time broadcast or split-applied (planting-cultivation) banded N (UAN ; 28-0-0 N-P-K) treatments on root larval feeding damage, root pull resistance, lodging, grain yield, and survival of larvae to adult stage under different levels of controlled rootworm larval infestation were investigated. Results of the 3-yr field experiment suggest that root systems were generally larger (greater root pull resistance) under banded N (85 kg plant -1 ) than under broadcast N (68 kg plant -1 ) at the time when rootworm larval feeding had ceased. Lodging (stem greater than 30° from vertical) in broadcast N plots (51%) was greater than that seen in banded N plots (41%). If tolerance to rootworm larval feeding damage is defined by the presence of a large root system and by the ability of the stem to stand erect, then banded N fertilizer placement can help improve tolerance to corn rootworm larval feeding damage.
Conversion of steel mill waste into nanoscale zerovalent iron (nZVI) particles for hydrogen generation via metal-steam reforming

Abstract The proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) are the most preferred and efficient energy conversion devices for automotive applications but demand high purity hydrogen which comes at a premium price. The currently pursued hydrogen generation methods suffer from issues such as, low efficiency, high cost, environmental non-benignity, and, in some cases, commercial non-viability. Many of these drawbacks can be overcome by resorting to metal-steam reforming using iron from steel industry's mill-scale waste. A novel solution-based room temperature technique using sodium borohydride (NaBH4) as the reducing agent has been developed that produces highly active nanoscale (30–40 nm) iron particles. A slightly modified version of this technique using a surfactant and water–oil microemulsion resulted in the formation of 5 nm spherical Fe particles. By using hydrazine as an inexpensive and more stable (compared to NaBH4) reductant, body centered cubic iron particles with edge dimensions ∼ 5 nm were obtained under mild solvothermal conditions in ethanol. The nanoscale zerovalent iron (nZVI) powder showed improved kinetics and greater propensity for hydrogen generation.
Biochemical and clinical analysis by enthalpimetric measurements — a realistic alternative approach?

Abstract The contribution of enthalpimetric measurements to biochemical and clinical analysis is evaluated. After a brief discussion of instrumental considerations, non-enzymatic and enzymatic approaches to biochemical and clinical enthalpimetry are considered. The main focus of the review is on the incorporation of enzyme-catalyzed reactions with enthalpimetric measurements to provide analytical selectivity; determinations of enzyme activity, substrate concentration, inhibitor concentration and biochemical constants are discussed. Enthalpimetric devices based on immobilized enzyme technology, e.g. flow enthalpimeters and enzyme-coated thermistors and the latest technique to evolve, thermometric enzyme-linked immunoassay are treated separately. The advantages and limitations of enthalpimetry in these areas of analysis are discussed in the context of routine clinical analysis.
On State SAT Research: A Response to Wainer.

The issues of how effective schools are in promoting educational quality and the extent to which schools can be held accountable in this regard have prompted efforts to ferret out the different factors tied to test performance at the aggregate level. Our research (Powell & Steelman, 1984) represented the first major analysis of the factors linked to state differences in Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) performance. Using recently released and previously unexploited data on SAT scores provided by the College Board, we examined state and regional variations in average SAT score as a function of several compositional and structural characteristics. Wainer (1986) raises a number of concerns about existing research on state variation in SAT performance. Indeed, he comes perilously close to dismissing such studies as worthless unless several stringent, perhaps unrealistic, conditions are satisfied. We respond here to his criticisms.' The first alleged pitfall that disturbs Wainer about our work is that the model we tested is neither explicit nor specified. It is possible that Wainer arrives at this mistaken impression because of the differences between the jargon of his field (educational statistics) and that of ours (sociology). He recommends that we distinguish between background and treatment variables. We do so, calling them instead compositional and structural variables, respectively. Consequently, Wainer's comments about our research attest more to the need for a common
Comment: "Professional Team Sports Are Only a Game: The Walrasian Fixed-Supply Conjecture Model, Contest-Nash Equilibrium, and the Invariance Principle"

In a recent article in this journal, Stefan Szymanski develops a generalized version of the two-team diminishing marginal revenue model of win percentage determination and talent allocation. The st...
Treatment of Acute Arrhythmias with Orally Administered Tolamolol

Orally administered tolamolol, a new cardioselective beta-adrenergic blocking drug, was evaluated in 30 patients with supraventricular arrhythmias or digitalis-induced arrhythmias. Tolamolol therapy slowed the rapid ventricular rate in ten of ten patients with atrial fibrillation and converted two of these ten patients to sinus rhythm. It slowed the rapid ventricular rate in eight of eight patients with atrial flutter and converted two of these eight cases to sinus rhythm. It converted to sinus rhythm four of four patients with paroxysmal atrial tachycardia or paroxysmal atrioventricular AV junctional tachycardia. It abolished supraventricular premature ventricular beats in three of three patients. It abolished digitalis-induced paroxysmal atrial tachycardia with AV block in three of three patients, digitalis-induced premature ventricular contractions in three of three patients, and digitalis-induced AV junctional tachycardia in one patient. Oral administration was effective in treating supraventricular arrhythmias and certain digitalis-induced arrhythmias.
Federal Antitrust Policy and Physician Discontent: Defining Moments in the Struggle for Congressional Relief

Organized medicine has battled the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) since the 1970s over enforcement of the antitrust laws. Physicians' discontent stems from the belief that federal policy allows managed care organizations to achieve dominance in health care markets just as it discourages physicians from taking collective action to protect their interests. This article examines two important efforts by organized medicine over a twenty-year interval to alter federal antitrust policy. In 1982, physicians and other professionals sought a special exemption from FTC jurisdiction; beginning in 1998, physicians promoted legislation that would exempt independent practitioners from the antitrust laws for collective bargaining purposes. Both initiatives passed in the House of Representatives but failed in the Senate. This article uses an advocacy coalition framework to reinterpret the events and to assess the reasons for legislative failure. The evidence suggests that in both instances, although twenty years apart, consumer groups and federal bureaucrats determined the outcome in favor of corporate medicine.
Nonlinear photoacoustics for measuring the nonlinear optical absorption coefficient

We report a novel photoacoustic Z-scan (PAZ-scan) technique that combines the advantages offered by the conventional Z-scan method and the sensitivity of the photoacoustic detection. The sample is scanned through the focused laser beam and the generated photoacoustic signal is recorded using a 10 MHz focused ultrasound transducer. Since the signal strength is directly proportional to the optical absorption, PAZ-scan displays nonlinear behavior depicting the nonlinear optical absorption of the material. Among many advantages, our experiments on mouse blood show that PAZ-scan can potentially be used as a standard technique to calibrate contrast agents used in theranostics in general and photoacoustics in particular.
Generic norm of an algebra

The notions of the rank or principal polynomial of an associative algebra and the corresponding notions of trace and norm are classical. These notions have been generalized recently by the author ([13,I]) to apply to strictly power associative algebras, and we have renamed these concepts the generic minimal polynomial, trace and norm, since this terminology appears to be more in keeping with present day usage in analogous situations. In our paper we investigated the groups of linear transformations which preserve the norms in special central simple Jordan algebras. This applies to central simple associative algebras as a special case. In a later paper ([13, III]) we studied the norm preserving groups of exceptional central simple Jordan algebras. The groups obtained in this way are generalizations of the complex Lie group E 6 and include certain geometrically defined subgroups of the collineation groups of Cayley planes.
Staff-assisted nursing home haemodialysis: patient characteristics and outcomes

Background. The number of elderly patients undergoing chronic haemodialysis (HD) in the nursing home (NH) setting is growing; however, little published data exists on this group of patients. Methods. We describe our experience with 271 patients undergoing staff-assisted HD in the NH setting from 1 January 2001 to 30 June 2004. Acceptance into the programme required that the patients were mentally responsive, haemodynamically stable without sepsis and not be considered terminal or in hospice. Results. Mean age at entry was 70.5 � 12.1 years, 53% were female, 54% were white and 34% black. Main causes of end-stage renal disease (ESRD) were diabetes mellitus (DM, 48%) and hypertension (HTN, 25%). Comorbid conditions included HTN-90%, DM-65%, coronary artery disease-54%, congestive heart failure59%, cerebrovascular accident-31%, and 40% could not ambulate. The average time on chronic dialysis prior to entering the nursing programme was 18 � 27 months, and the median time was 4 months (range: 0.1–191 months). The average time in the NH programme was 2.9 � 3.6 months (median: 1.6 months, range: 0.1–24 months). During the study period 42% of the patients died, 37% were discharged from the NH, 4.4% withdrew from dialysis, and 16% remained active in the programme. Patient survival from entry into the NH programme was 82% at 1 month, 64% at 3 months, 38% at 6 months and 26% at 12 months (median survival of 4.1 months). However, the patient survival from initiation of chronic dialysis was 75% at 6 months, 66% at 12 months and 38% at 60 months with a median survival of 3.4 years. When evaluating patients based on the duration of chronic dialysis prior to entering the NH programme we found that established HD patients (on HD � 12 months prior to programme entry) had fewer myocardial infarctions (15 vs 26%, P ¼ 0.05), more amputations (19 vs 8%, P ¼ 0.01), higher creatinine (6.7 vs 4.7 mg/dl, P < 0.01), haemoglobin (11.1 vs 10.5 g/dl, P < 0.01) and albumin (3.2 vs 3.0 g/dl, P ¼ 0.09) compared with new HD patients (on HD � 3 months prior to programme entry). New HD patients had a higher mortality rate (50 vs 31%, P < 0.01) and poorer median survival (3 vs 5 months, P < 0.01) than established HD patients. Conclusion. NH dialysis provides a means for dialysing our most ill and debilitated patients in the convenience and comfort of the NH setting. The success of this programme is demonstrated by the fact that almost 40% of patients are successfully rehabilitated and discharged home. Nonetheless, healthcare providers and families must recognize that patients entering an NH HD programme are a high risk population with significant morbidity and mortality. Compared with established dialysis patients, patients entering the NH programme who are new to dialysis represent a particularly high risk group. However, it is likely that the poor survival seen in the NH programme may represent end of life care, as the overall survival from initiation of chronic dialysis in this population is consistent with that of patients entering the ESRD programme at a similar age.
Automated soundness proofs for dataflow analyses and transformations via local rules

We present Rhodium, a new language for writing compiler optimizations that can be automatically proved sound. Unlike our previous work on Cobalt, Rhodium expresses optimizations using explicit dataflow facts manipulated by local propagation and transformation rules. This new style allows Rhodium optimizations to be mutually recursively defined, to be automatically composed, to be interpreted in both flow-sensitive and -insensitive ways, and to be applied interprocedurally given a separate context-sensitivity strategy, all while retaining soundness. Rhodium also supports infinite analysis domains while guaranteeing termination of analysis. We have implemented a soundness checker for Rhodium and have specified and automatically proven the soundness of all of Cobalt's optimizations plus a variety of optimizations not expressible in Cobalt, including Andersen's points-to analysis, arithmetic-invariant detection, loop-induction-variable strength reduction, and redundant array load elimination.
Rossby wave packet interactions

A mechanism is proposed whereby planetary zonal flows can be generated by the resonant interaction of Rossby wave packets whose amplitudes are slowly varying functions of both space and time. Equations are derived describing the long-time behaviour of a resonantly interacting triad. At the first closure certain properties analogous to those already known for discrete waves are deduced. At the second closure, in the particular case when one of the members of the triad is a zonal flow, it is shown that the sideband resonance mechanism can cause energy to be gained or lost by this zonal flow. It is also shown that a single Rossby wave packet can exchange energy with a zonal flow with weak shear. In the final section a resonant quarter mechanism for producing zonal flows is discussed. A numerical estimate of the acceleration of a zonal current from a zero initial state gives values of a few km/day per day.
We work with them? Healthcare workers interpretation of organizational relations mined from electronic health records

Objective Models of healthcare organizations (HCOs) are often defined up front by a select few administrative officials and managers. However, given the size and complexity of modern healthcare systems, this practice does not scale easily. The goal of this work is to investigate the extent to which organizational relationships can be automatically learned from utilization patterns of electronic health record (EHR) systems.
Inhibition of potassium- and ischemia-evoked [3H] D-aspartate release from isolated bovine retina by cannabinoids.

We investigated the effect of cannabinoids on potassium chloride (K+)- and ischemia-induced [3H]D-aspartate release from isolated bovine retinae. The superfusion method was employed for studies of [3H]-neurotransmitter release. Cannabinoid receptor CB1 agonists, but not the CB2 agonist JWH 015, inhibited K+-induced [3H]D-aspartate release from bovine retinae with the following rank order of activity: anandamide > ACEA > methanandamide > WIN 55,212-2. In the ischemic model, the rank order of activity was as follows: methanandamide > ACEA > WIN 55,212-2. The CB1 receptor antagonist AM 251 blocked inhibitory responses produced by cannabinoids in both experimental conditions. In conclusion, cannabinoids inhibit evoked [3H]D-aspartate release from isolated bovine retinae via an effect on CB1 receptors.