cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Jaspers's Critique of Mysticism

Saspers's relation to mysticism is both fascinating and frustrating. On the one hand, Jaspers seems to be never more himself than when he is providing extended commentary and exposition on such spiritual giants as Jesus, Socrates, and the Buddha. And when he provides monograph or book-length treatment of mystical philosophers such as Plotinus, Cusanus, and Spinoza, one has the distinct impression that Jaspers finds himself mirrored almost perfectly in these thinkers-so much so, in fact, that it is sometimes very difficult to ascertain who is speaking, Jaspers or his subject. Thus, when Jaspers says that "prayer," for Plotinus, "is a philosophizing self-movement toward God" and that "the love of man for God," in Plotinus and Spinoza, "is the foundation of all authentic life" (GP:II,50ff.), the reader of Jaspers knows instinctively that such utterances are descriptive avowals and not merely statements of fact. But while the depth of Jaspers's self-identification with mystical thinkers is fascinating, it is simultaneously the feature of his work which invites suspicion on the part of those who question the validity of highly existential historiography, since Jaspers, as we will see, is rather selective about what he chooses to accept and to reject in certain mystics. Jaspers's critique of mysticism, therefore, may be viewed as following a strategy somewhat analogous to what Ricoeur has called the hermeneutics of "sympathetic reenactment" (SE:3ff.). But Jaspers is not as methodologically self-conscious as Ricoeur, and herein lies the primary reason for what I will argue is a cause of inconsistency in Jaspers's understanding of the nature, meaning, and value of mysticism. In saying this, I am not implying that the meaning of mysticism is self-evident or that it is "unconfused," for it is one of the most supremely confusing subjects one can ever explore. I do believe, however, with J. N. Findlay, and against someone like Bertrand Russell (1917:1-32), that "what characterizes myticism is a refusal to accept and use the notions of identity
Polyominoes: A Guide to Puzzles and Problems in Tiling

Polyominoes will delight not only students and teachers of mathematics at all levels, but will be appreciated by anyone who likes a good geometric challenge. There are no prerequisites. If you like jigsaw puzzles, or if you hate jigsaw puzzles but have ever wondered about the pattern of some floor tiling, there is much here to interest you. A polyomino is a shape cut along the lines from square graph paper; the pronunciation of polyomino begins as does polygon and ends as does domino. Tilings, also called tessellations of mosaic patterns, are older than civilization itself. Tiling with polyominoes provides challenges that range from the popular jigsaw-like puzzles to easily understood mathematical research problems. You will find unsolved puzzles and problems of both kinds here. Answers are provided for most of the problems that have known solutions. It is only fair to repeat here the warning stated in the preface to this book, 'Playing with polyominoes can be habit forming.'
New Method of Characterizing and Quantifying Complex Microstructures in Steels

From the late 1960s through the late 1970s, high strength microalloyed steels hot rolled to strip and plate exhibited ferrite-pearlite microstructures with yield strengths essentially limited to the range of 350–420 MPa. However, the advent of the energy crisis of the late 1970s led to the demand for steels of higher strengths, while maintaining acceptable levels of other properties such as weldability, toughness, and formability. Since the late 1970s, it has been recognized that the strengthening mechanisms present in ferrite-pearlite steels had reached their limit in terms of grain refinement and solute and precipitation hardening; hence the barrier of 350–420 MPa was a real restraint. At about the same time, it was also recognized that higher strengths in as-processed steels could only be achieved through the use of ferrite of lower temperature formation, i.e., non-polygonal, acicular, bainitic, or martensitic ferrite, either as a monolithic matrix microstructure or as a combination. This change in ach...
Effects of growth temperature and ratio on surface structure and ordering in Ga0.5In0.5P

Surface photoabsorption (SPA) measurements were used to clarify the CuPt ordering mechanism in Ga 0.5 In 0.5 P layers grown by organometallic vapor phase epitaxy. The CuPt ordering is known to be strongly affected by the growth temperature and the input partial pressure of the phosphorus precursor, i.e. the V/III ratio. The SPA peak at ∼ 400 nm was found to be a measure of the concentration of [110]-oriented phosphorus dimers on the surface, which are characteristic of the (2 x 4) reconstruction. Both ordering, measured using the low temperature photoluminescence peak energy, and the SPA signal difference due to P dimers were studied versus the growth temperature and V/III ratio. The degree of order decreases markedly with increasing growth temperature above 620°C at a constant V/III ratio of 40. This corresponds directly to a decrease of the [110]-oriented P dimer concentration on the surface determined using SPA. Below 620°C, the degree of order decreases as the growth temperature decreases, even though the concentration of P dimers increases. The presence of an isotropic excess P phase observed in the SPA spectrum at ∼ 480 nm might be responsible for the decrease of CuPt ordering, although it has previously been attributed to the slow rearrangement of adatoms. The degree of order is found to decrease monotonically with decreasing V/III ratio in the range from 160 to 8 at 670°C and from 40 to 8 at 620°C. This also corresponds directly to the decrease of the P dimer concentration on the surface measured using SPA. At 620°C and a V/III ratio of 160, the degree of order decreased despite an increase of the P dimer concentration. This may also be due to the formation of the isotropic excess P phase on the surface. The direct correlation of the [110]-oriented P dimer concentration and the degree of order with changes in temperature (≥ 620°C) and V/III ratio (≤ 160 at 670°C and ≤ 40 at 620°C) suggests that, in this range of growth parameters, the (2 x 4) surface reconstruction is necessary to form the CuPt structure, in agreement with published theoretical studies.
Development of the Diabetes Problem-Solving Measure for Adolescents

PURPOSEthis paper describes the development and psychometric properties of the Diabetes Problem-Solving Measure for Adolescents (DPSMA).METHODSThe DPSMA is a structured, interview-based questionnai...
Microstructure and Microanalysis of Metal Artifacts from Kerkenes Dag, Central Turkey, ca. 600 B.C.

Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of California – Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095 Metal technology during the Iron Age in Central Turkey, ca. 1200 – 333 B.C., witnessed several key innovations in production and use that influenced society at that time [1]. Lesser known innovations during this time period occur in the tradition of bronze metallurgy. The excellent preservation of bronze metal found in a destroyed palatial context at the archaeological site of Kerkenes Dag in central Turkey provides central clues into the development of bronze technology. This paper explores the microstructure and composition of several non-ferrous metal artifacts from excavated contexts in order to ascertain how these objects were produced and used. An important capability of the variable pressure (VP) SEM is that archaeological artifacts can be analyzed non-destructively without modification of their structure and chemistry. Our approach here was to assess microstructure and microchemistry of the samples non destructively by VPSEM coupled with energy dispersive x-ray spectrometry (EDS) and perform high-resolution inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) on the same samples later on. For the purposes of this paper, we prepared artifact samples for three different analyses. 1.) Samples were mounted, polished and etched for microstrucural analysis with the aid of light optical microscopy; 2.) Mounted samples were analyzed for microstructure and composition using VPSEM and EDS; and 3.) Samples were analyzed by high-resolution ICP-MS for stable lead isotopes to infer base metal provenance. Results indicate a wide variety of non-ferrous metal technology, using metals from both local and far resource areas. Some objects, including a highly stylized tin bronze sheet cut into the shape of an ibex, appear to be surface treated with tin so as to physically alter the presence of the object. This is one of the earliest examples of bronze surface treatment using tin [2]. The results provide conclusive evidence for highly specialized metal production during this historically unknown period and geographical region [3]. References [1] K.A.Yener, E.Geckinli, H.Ozbal, in
Spatial regulation of floating head expression in the developing notochord

The zebrafish homeobox gene floating head (flh) is essential for notochord development and is one of the earliest genes to be expressed in notochord precursors. To understand how flh is regulated during notochord development, we compared the wild-type flh expression pattern to that in embryos mutant for flh and no tail (ntl), the zebrafish homologue of Brachyury. In the early gastrula, the pattern of flh expression is not affected in either flh or ntl mutants, implying that the initial establishment of a gastrula notochord domain is independent of the function of these genes. However, flh RNA is expressed at lower levels in flh mutants, suggesting that flh positively regulates its own expression. During gastrulation, flh mutants show an abrupt loss of flh expression in cells which have involuted and entered the hypoblast, while the rest of the expression pattern appears normal, thus flh+ function is specifically required to maintain flh expression in hypoblast cells. The anterior-most part of the notochord rudiment differentially maintains flh expression in both wild types and flh mutant embryos, suggesting that there is unique regulation of flh in this region of the developing notochord. In ntl mutants, the spatial pattern of flh expression is altered as early as the late gastrula stage, becoming broad and diffuse. We hypothesize that ntl+ is required for the proper convergence movements of flh-expressing cells. Dev. Dyn. 209: 156-165, 1997. © 1997 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Some inequalities concerning positive-definite Hermitian matrices

1. Let H = (aij) be a positive-definite Hermitian matrix of order n. For any k distinct integers i1, i2, …, ik between 1 and n, we shall use the symbol (i1, i2, …, ik) to denote the k-rowed principal submatrix of H corresponding to the rows and columns with indices i1, i2, …, ik. It is well known thatMand more generally,
Advances in neurosurgery: Five new things

Summary Surgical options for disease of the nervous system continue to expand in breadth and scope. These advances have been related in large part to progress in technology, translational application of molecular biology, and increasing understanding of the physiologic processes associated with neurologic disease. The current review will outline recent neurosurgical advances in the management of brain tumors, movement disorders, spinal degenerative disease, and neurologic injury. In addition, we include a brief discussion of exciting data from recent trials focusing on the brain-machine interface.
An investigation of centrifugal distortion in the microwave spectrum of formamide

Abstract Measurements of the microwave spectrum of formamide have been extended in order to account accurately for the effects of centrifugal distortion. A total of 22 new transitions involving J ≤ 29 have been measured for 14 NH 2 12 CH 16 O in the ground vibrational state. Combined with previous observations, these transitions have been fit to a model containing five quartic distortion terms and seven sextic terms with a rms deviation of 64 kHz. A large number of resolved quadrupole shifts were fit with an rms deviation of 42 kHz. The remainder of the spectrum for J ≤ 30 has been calculated with standard deviations less then 3 MHz. Correct weighting of the observed transitions has been found to be important.
CITIZEN REPORTING OF CRIME Some National Panel Data

The decision to report criminal victimizations to the police is an important determinant of the capacity of the criminal justice system to fulfill its mandate. This report analyzes the individual-level determinants of crime reporting, using data generated by the 1973 National Crime Survey conducted by the Bureau of the Census. It examines the impact of three characteristics of victimizations upon their reporting probability: the attributes of their victims, the nature of victim-offender relationships, and the seriousness of the offense. Only the latter appears to be of major significance, although youthful victims are substantially less likely than their elders to report their experiences to the police. The reasons that nonreporters give for their inaction appear to be quite rational, reflecting the probability that anything will come of their cooperation.
The Problem of origins

Gibson, Kathleen R. and Tim Ingold, eds. Tools, Language and Cognition in Human Evolution. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1993. xii + 483 pp. including index. $69.95 cloth. Wallman, Joel. Aping Language. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1992. xii + 191 pp. including notes, references, and indices. $44.95 cloth, $14.95 paper.
Uncovering Students’ Environmental Identity: An Exploration of Activities in an Environmental Science Course

This study at a public high school in the Northeastern United States explores how students’ environmental identities are affected by various activities in an Environmental Science course. Data was collected as part of an ethnographic study involving an Environmental Science teacher and her tenth–twelfth grade students. The results focus on interviews with 10 students and the teacher, conducted at three points during the semester-long course. The findings illuminate ways in which students’ identities (environmental and consumer-materialist) are affirmed or disconfirmed during classroom activities, the importance of establishing personal connections with environmental issues, and challenges related to the teaching of controversial environmental issues.
Back to the Basics: Career Counseling

This chapter emphasizes that the practice of career counseling should be the foundation of career centers.
Quantitative methods for ecological network analysis

The analysis of networks of ecological trophic transfers is a useful complement to simulation modeling in the quest for understanding whole-ecosystem dynamics. Trophic networks can be studied in quantitative and systematic fashion at several levels. Indirect relationships between any two individual taxa in an ecosystem, which often differ in either nature or magnitude from their direct influences, can be assayed using techniques from linear algebra. The same mathematics can also be employed to ascertain where along the trophic continuum any individual taxon is operating, or to map the web of connections into a virtual linear chain that summarizes trophodynamic performance by the system. Backtracking algorithms with pruning have been written which identify pathways for the recycle of materials and energy within the system. The pattern of such cycling often reveals modes of control or types of functions exhibited by various groups of taxa. The performance of the system as a whole at processing material and energy can be quantified using information theory. In particular, the complexity of process interactions can be parsed into separate terms that distinguish organized, efficient performance from the capacity for further development and recovery from disturbance. Finally, the sensitivities of the information-theoretic system indices appear to identify the dynamical bottlenecks in ecosystem functioning.
The Association Between the Report of Abuse in Childhood and Perceptions of Safety in Current Adult Intimate Relationships

This study investigated the association between reporting the experience of childhood abuse and perceptions of safety in current adult relationships. Data from 177 couples were collected from both clinic and community samples. Results suggest that when violence is present, people who reported being abused as a child are more likely to have lower feelings of safety in their current relationship than those who have not been abused in childhood. When no violence is present in the relationship, there is no difference in perceptions of safety between those who were and were not abused as a child. Clinical implications are discussed.
Aortic outflow cannula tip design and orientation impacts cerebral perfusion during pediatric cardiopulmonary bypass procedures.

Poor perfusion of the aortic arch is a suspected cause for peri- and post-operative neurological complications associated with cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB). High-speed jets from 8 to 10FR pediatric/neonatal cannulae delivering ~1 L/min of blood can accrue sub-lethal hemolytic damage while also subjecting the aorta to non-physiologic flow conditions that compromise cerebral perfusion. Therefore, we emphasize the importance of cannulation strategy and hypothesize engineering better CPB perfusion through a redesigned aortic cannula tip. This study employs computa- tional fluid dynamics to investigate novel diffuser-tipped aortic cannulae for shape sensitivity to cerebral perfusion, in an in silico cross-clamped aortic arch model modeled with fixed outflow resistances. 17 parametrically altered configu- rations of an 8FR end-hole and several diffuser cone angled tips in combination with jet incidence angles toward or away from the head-neck vessels were studied. Experimental pressure-flow characterizations were also conducted on these cannula tip designs. An 8FR end-hole aortic cannula delivering 1 L/min along the transverse aortic arch was found to give rise to backflow from the brachicephalic artery (BCA), irrespective of angular orientation, for the chosen ascending aortic insertion location. Parametric alteration of the cannula tip to include a diffuser cone angle (tested up to 7� ) eliminated BCA backflow for any tested angle of jet incidence. Experiments revealed that a 1 cm long 10� diffuser cone tip demonstrated the best pressure-flow performance improvement in contrast with either an end-hole tip or diffuser cone angles greater than 10� . Performance further improved when the diffuser was preceded by an expanded four-lobe swirl inducer attachment—a novel component. In conclusion, aortic cannula orientation is crucial in determin- ing net head-neck perfusion but precise angulations and insertion-depths are difficult to achieve practically. Altering the cannula tip to include a diffuser cone angle has been shown for the first time to have potential in ensuring a net positive outflow at the BCA. Cannula insertion distanced from the BCA inlet may also avoid backflow owing to the Venturi effect, but the diffuser tipped cannula design presents a promising solution to mitigate this issue irrespective of in vivo cannula tip orientation.
Upregulation of Vitamin D binding protein (Gc-globulin) binding sites during neutrophil activation from a latent reservoir in azurophil granules

Vitamin D binding protein (DBP) is a multifunctional plasma transport protein that is also found on the surface of many cell types. Cell surface DBP significantly enhances chemotactic activity of complement (C) peptides C5a and C5a des Arg. However, both DBP binding and C5a chemotaxis enhancement can vary among neutrophil donors. To test if activation during cell purification is responsible for this variability, neutrophils were isolated using both standard and LPS-free protocols. Cells isolated by the LPS-free method had no DBP-enhanced chemotaxis to C5a or DBP binding to plasma membranes. Moreover, neutrophils treated with LPS bound more avidity to immobilized DBP than sham-treated cells. Subcellular fractionation of neutrophils (standard protocol) revealed a heavy plasma membrane (HM) band that contained components of light plasma membranes and all three granules. The HM band possessed most of the DBP binding activity (58%), and activation of cells with ionomycin greatly increased DBP binding to HM. Azurophil granules contained 33% of the total DBP binding sites and there was a highly significant positive correlation (r = 0.988) between release of the granule marker myeloperoxidase and DBP binding. These results indicate that fusion of granules with the plasma membrane forms HM that contains DBP binding sites.
Differential Prediction of Academic Achievement In Elementary and Junior High School By Sex

The purpose of this study was to examine differences in predicting achievement by sex on the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills (ITBS) from the verbal, quantitative, and nonverbal scores on the Cognitive A...
The role of glutathione and glutathione transferases in chemical carcinogenesis.

(1990). The Role of Glutathione and Glutathione Transferases in Chemical Cardnogenesi. Critical Reviews in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology: Vol. 25, No. 1, pp. 47-70.
Indecision on decisional separability

The theoretical framework of General Recognition Theory (GRT; Ashby & Townsend, Psychological Review, 93, 154-179, 1986) coupled with the empirical analysis tools of Multidimensional Signal Detection Analysis (MSDA; Kadlec & Townsend, Multidimensional models of perception and recognition, pp. 181-228, 1992) have become one important method for assessing dimensional interactions in perceptual decision-making. In this article, we critically examine MSDA and characterize cases where it is unable to discriminate two kinds of dimensional interactions: perceptual separability and decisional separability. We performed simulations with known instances of violations of perceptual or decisional separability, applied MSDA to the data generated by these simulations, and evaluated MSDA on its ability to accurately characterize the perceptual versus decisional source of these simulated dimensional interactions. Critical cases of violations of perceptual separability are often mischaracterized by MSDA as violations of decisional separability.
Polar drive on OMEGA

High-convergence polar-drive experiments are being conducted on OMEGA (T. R. Boehly et al., Opt. Commum. 133, 495 (1997)) using triple-picket laser pulses. The goal of OMEGA experiments is to validate modeling of oblique laser deposition, heat conduction in the presence of nonradial thermal gradients in the corona, and implosion energetics in the presence of laser-plasma interactions such as crossed-beam energy transfer. Simulated shock velocities near the equator, where the beams are obliquely incident, are within 5% of experimentally inferred values in warm plastic shells, well within the required accuracy for ignition. High, near-one-dimensional areal density is obtained in warm-plastic-shell implosions. Simulated backlit images of the compressing core are in good agreement with measured images. Outstanding questions that will be addressed in the future relate to the role of cross-beam transfer in polar drive irradiation and increasing the energy coupled into the target by decreasing beam obliquity.
Karyotyping of Cryptococcus neoformans as an epidemiological tool.

Karyotyping of Cryptococcus neoformans var. neoformans can be used as an epidemiological tool for C. neoformans infections. In this study of over 40 isolates from both clinical and environmental sources, 90% had a unique chromosome banding by pulsed-field electrophoresis. There was no conserved pattern associated with body site of infection, geographical location of the isolate, or human immunodeficiency virus status. Karyotypes of individual isolates remained stable during both in vitro passage and in vivo infections. Karyotype was used to exclude the possibility of nosocomial spread of C. neoformans in one clinical situation and supported relapse in two other cases. Because of its variable sizes between isolates, karyotyping of C. neoformans is a convenient method for molecular identification of different strains. Images
Familial rates of affective and substance use disorders in patients with first-episode mania.

Abstract Background : One explanation for the high co-occurrence between bipolar and substance use disorders is that substance abuse may precipitate affective symptoms in patients who otherwise may have not had the genetic risk for developing an affective illness. Previous studies comparing familial rates of affective illness between bipolar patients with and without alcohol use have provided conflicting results. We hypothesized that patients with bipolar disorder and antecedent alcohol abuse would have lower familial rates of affective illness than bipolar patients without antecedent alcohol abuse. Methods: Family history data were obtained on 275 first-degree relatives of 51 patients hospitalized for a first manic episode using the Family History Research Diagnostic Criteria. Results: Patients with bipolar disorder and antecedent alcohol abuse had lower familial rates of affective illness than patients with bipolar disorder without antecedent alcohol abuse (two-tailed Fisher’s exact, P =0.003). There was no statistically significant difference in the familial rates of affective illness between bipolar patients with and without antecedent drug abuse (other than alcohol). Patients with bipolar disorder and antecedent alcohol abuse had a significantly older age of onset of affective illness (27.6 years) than patients with bipolar disorder without antecedent alcohol abuse (20.6 years, z =3.3, df=1, P =0.0009). There was no statistical difference in age of onset of affective illness between the patients with antecedent drug abuse and the patients without antecedent drug abuse. Limitations: Future studies with a larger number of bipolar patients, direct structured interviews of family members and better differentiation between substance abuse and dependence syndromes are needed to extend and replicate this pilot study. Conclusions: Our study suggests that there may be a subset of bipolar patients who have antecedent alcohol abuse and a subset who develop alcohol abuse after the onset of bipolar disorder. We further speculate that alcohol abuse may precipitate mania in some patients with bipolar disorder.
Linoleic acid induces proinflammatory events in vascular endothelial cells via activation of PI3K/Akt and ERK1/2 signaling

Linoleic acid (18:2n-6), is a major unsaturated fatty acid in the American diet. Linoleic acid is considered to be atherogenic because of its pro-oxidative and proinflammatory properties. There is substantial evidence that linoleic acid (LA) can activate vascular endothelial cells and contribute to an inflammatory response. To explore the mechanisms of LA-induced proinflammatory signaling pathways, the present study addresses the role of the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase/amino kinase terminal (PI3K/Akt), extracellular signal regulated kinase 1/2 (ERK1/2) and p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathways during vascular endothelial cell activation. After a 3- to 6-h exposure, LA significantly activated both Akt and ERK in endothelial cells, as assessed by western blot and immunofluorescence. In contrast, LA activated p38 MAPK already at 10 min, suggesting that p38 MAPK signaling occurred upstream of the ERK1/2 pathway. Furthermore, inhibition of ERK activity by PD98059 and PI3K/Akt activity by LY294002 or wortmannin significantly reduced the LA-induced activation of nuclear factor kappa B (NF-kappaB). These results suggest a contribution of both the ERK1/2 and PI3K/Akt pathways to the effect of LA on NF-kappaB-dependent transcription. Indeed, LA-mediated gene expression of the vascular cell adhesion molecule 1 was suppressed by PD98059, wortmannin and LY294002. These data indicate that both PI3K/Akt- and ERK1/2-mediated proinflammatory signaling events are critical in LA-induced endothelial cell activation and vascular inflammation.
MAMMALS OF THE COSIGÜINA PENINSULA OF NICARAGUA

Nicaragua's Cosiguina Peninsula, located at the northwestern tip of the country, is one of the most poorly studied biotic regions in Central America. The peninsula has been occupied for millennia because the climate of the region supported human habitation and because of its strategic position along the rich Pacific coast. The combination of long-term occupancy by humans and the cataclysmic eruptions of Volcan Cosiguina have produced a heavily impacted landscape. During the 1960s, the University of Kansas conducted multiyear field surveys of the terrestrial mammals on the peninsula and the adjacent mainland to quantify species diversity, relationships, abundances, habitat use, and reproduction. The mammalian fauna of the peninsula contains at least 39 species of terrestrial mam- mals, which includes 7 orders and 17 families. These include Didelphimorphia (2 spe- cies)—Didelphidae, 2; Chiroptera (22)—Emballonuridae, 2; Noctilionidae, 1; Mormoopidae, 1; Phyllostomidae, 12; Vespertilionidae, 3; Molossidae, 3; Carnivora (4)—Procyonidae, 1; Mustelidae, 1; Felidae, 2; Perissodactyla (1)—Tapiridae, 1; Artiodactyla (1)—Cervidae, 1; Rodentia (8)—Sciuridae, 1; Heteromyidae, 1; Muridae, 5; Dasyproctidae, 1; Lagomorpha (1)—Leporidae, 1. We provide new information on distributions, systematics, morphometrics, and natural history of the species of terrestrial mammals on the Cosiguina Peninsula, including a number of new records for the peninsula. We document that diversity and abundances of mammals can be substantial in a heavily impacted landscape. In compari- son with five other mammalian faunas in Nicaragua, the Cosiguina fauna is most similar in size and diversity with those from elsewhere in the Pacific lowlands. The fauna from the Cordillera los Maribios, which is composed of the volcanic peaks along the eastern edge of the Pacific Lowlands, has the lowest number of species recorded for any of the six faunas with only 21 species recorded; however, this fauna may be under sampled or the unstable environments offered by these active volcanoes may not support a large or di- verse mammalian fauna. The mammalian faunas from the remaining two physiographic regions of Nicaragua—Central Highlands and Atlantic Lowlands—have larger, more diverse faunas than that of the Cosiguina Peninsula and elsewhere in the Pacific lowlands. Three reserves in Nicaragua's Sistema Nacional de Areas Protegidas now protect more than one- fourth of the peninsula.
Andrija Mohorovic: Seventy years ago an earthquake shook Zagreb: His analysis resulted in a fundamental discovery

On October 8, 1909, at 9 hours 59 minutes Greenwich time, Zagreb was shaken by a strong earthquake which knocked down chimneys but did little other damage. Thus it was that Andrija Mohorovicic, director of the Zagreb Meteorological Observatory and professor at the university, began his report in 1910. He drew on this earthquake and others to document his findings that there is a seismic velocity increase with depth at approximately 50 km in the earth. He recognized that the P waves occurred in two phases and were followed by S-waves which apparently followed corresponding travel paths. Later when this was confirmed by others, the boundary between the crustal layer and the mantle below was referred to as the Discontinuity of Mohorovicic. No doubt one reason that today the discontinuity is most frequently known as the Moho, or simply as the M-discontinuity, is that many find his name difficult to pronounce (try; moe-hoar-oh-VEE-cheach).
The Soybean Aphid in China: A Historical Review

Since the discovery of the soybean aphid, Aphis glycines Matsumura, in North America in the summer of 2000, a great deal of interest has developed in the biology, ecology, and control of this insect in its native range of eastern Asia. Although there is a wealth of literature on A. glycines that could help guide the efforts of North American entomologists, much of it is written in Chinese. Here, we review the Chinese-language literature on the biology, ecology, natural enemies, and control of the soybean aphid in China.
Biogas and other alternative energy sources

Of the possible alternative energy sources mentioned in Chapter 2, only biogas and solar energy offer significant potential for use in India during the next quarter century. This chapter evaluates the potential for using biogas as an alternative means of rural electrification (through decentralized power generation) and as a means of providing both fuel for direct consumption and fertilizer to village India. The potential for solar energy development in India is also reviewed.
Cognitive functioning in breast cancer patients during and following chemotherapy

e20571 Background: The development of cognitive difficulties, including memory loss, confusion, and difficulty concentrating following cancer treatment is a significant concern in patients receivin...
X-Y NONDISJUNCTION AND EXCHANGE INDUCED BY X RAYS IN PRIMARY SPERMATOCYTES OF THE ADULT DROSOPHILA

X-irradiation of primary spermatocytes of adult yv/B/sup s/Yy/sup +/ Drosophila melanogaster males was demonstrated to produce a greater proportion of X-Y exchanges than X-Y nondisjunction. This result is consistent with the previous findings of Zimmering and Wu (1963) following irradiation of the prepupal testis, but is disagreement with those reported by Savhagen (1961) and by Straagio (1961, 1962) from experiments on adult males. (auth)
Beyond Experimentation: Governing Occupational Safety in the United States (or - Core and Periphery in Regulation Governance)

This chapter offers a critical assessment of a range of regulatory tools in the context of heath and safety regulation. It explores the struggles surrounding OSHA, an administrative agency fraught with budgetary constraints, political resistance, and a limited legal mandate. The chapter describes new programs that expand the responsibility of the agency's Office of Cooperative Programs and considers the effectiveness of new governance approaches that rely on stakeholder involvement, self-regulation, beyond compliance certification, and cooperative incentives. It demonstrates how attention to the organizational dynamics within workplaces and industries are key to successful implementation of such programs.
A Meta-analysis of the Rates of Listeria monocytogenes and Enterococcus in Febrile Infants.

CONTEXT: A change in the epidemiology of pathogens causing serious bacterial infection (SBI) has been noted since original recommendations were made for the empirical antibiotic choices for young infants with fever. OBJECTIVE: To assess the prevalence of SBI caused by Listeria monocytogenes and Enterococcus species. DATA SOURCES: A literature search was conducted on keywords related to SBI, L. monocytogenes, and Enterococcus spp. infections. STUDY SELECTION: Eligible studies were those conducted in the United States and published between January 1998 and June 2014 focusing on SBI in infants ≤90 days of age. DATA EXTRACTION: The rates of urinary tract infection, bacteremia, and meningitis for each pathogen were recorded for each study. Meta-analysis was performed to calculate the prevalence for each pathogen in a random effects model with 0.5 continuity correction added to studies with zero events. RESULTS: Sixteen studies were included. A total of 20 703 blood cultures were included, with weighted prevalences for L. monocytogenes and Enterococcus spp. bacteremia of 0.03% and 0.09%, respectively. A total of 13 775 cerebrospinal fluid cultures were included with event rates (unweighted prevalences) for L. monocytogenes and Enterococcus spp. meningitis of 0.02% and 0.03%, respectively. A total of 18 283 urine cultures were included, with no cases of L. monocytogenes and a weighted prevalence for Enterococcus spp. urinary tract infection of 0.28%. LIMITATIONS: There may have been reporting bias or incomplete retrieval or inadvertent exclusion of relevant studies. CONCLUSIONS: SBI caused by L. monocytogenes and Enterococcus spp. in febrile infants is rare, and therefore clinicians may consider a change in empirical antibiotic choices.
Studies in Non-Specific Complement Fixation. V. The Effect of Heat on Normal Rabbit and Dog Sera in Relation to Antilytic and Non-Specific Complement-Fixation Reactions

Having considered in previous articles1 the property of normal rabbit and dog sera of yielding non-specific complement-fixation with various lipoidal and bacterial antigens, and the influence of anesthetics and splenectomy2 upon this property, and the relation of serum lipoids to the process,3 in the present article we shall study further the nature and mechanism of the process, and the influence of certain factors upon it, and we shall consider methods for lessening or abolishing its effects in complement-fixation tests with these sera for specific immune bodies.
Effects of autologous and homologous blood replacement in hypovolemic dogs.

SummaryReplacement of blood after a hemorrhage to 50 mm Hg mean arterial pressure with autologous, reconstituted autologous, and homologous blood results in a significantly higher venous hematocrit than expected, indicating shifting of red cells and plasma within the circulation. Mean arterial pressure, plasma volume, and concentration and total amount of protein were not significantly different from the “expected” values. When reconstituted homologous blood was used as the replacement there was a significant reduction in plasma volume and total protein in addition to a steep rise in venous hematocrit. Urticaria was seen in 25% of the dogs receiving homologous blood and in 63% receiving reconstituted homologous blood, supporting the idea that handling of the blood to be transfused produces a substance causing urticaria. In the present experiments reconstituted blood, whether homologous or autologous, caused the loss of fluid and protein from the circulation.
Investigating the Phosphine Chemistry of Se Precursors for the Synthesis of PbSe Nanorods

We studied the role of different Se precursors for PbSe nanorod (NR) synthesis, focusing on phosphine chemistry to understand precursor decomposition. After characterizing the morphology of PbSe na...
Video compression based on iterated function systems

The application of iterated function systems to the modeling of video sequences is investigated. Efficient algorithms are developed for video modeling and compression based on the self-similarity property which is a characteristic of natural images. The notion of constancy of IFS parameters in the direction of motion is introduced in the form of domain vector prediction to impose motion continuity as a constraint in the determination of the iterated function system. This domain vector prediction approach leads to significant reduction in the computational complexity of the IFS model. The affine transformation that describes the IFS model is cast in the form of projections onto orthogonal subspaces. The orthogonal components of the fractal approximation are the fixed subspace approximation by an element of the subspace generated by a set of fixed vectors, and the component of the domain vector orthogonal to the fixed subspace. This formulation is shown to decouple the contribution of the domain vector from that of the fixed subspace in the approximation of the target range block. This decoupling is exploited in formulating adaptive quantization strategies to satisfy bit rate constraints and further reduce the computational cost. Efficient hierarchical techniques are developed for the estimation of the IFS parameters. We introduce the notion of 2-scale tilings for block-based hierarchical motion estimation to monitor the error energy at the two different scales and adaptively select the best tiling for each block. This 2-scale approach for hierarchical motion estimation is shown to provide robust estimation at low computational cost while keeping a good balance between the entropy of the motion field and the energy of the motion compensated prediction error. An IFS based video coder is implemented, evaluated and compared to a standard based coder. Our results suggest that iterated function system can be used effectively for the compression of full motion video sequences at low bit rates.
The Most General Fractional Representation Formula for Functions and Consequences

Here we present the most general fractional representation formulae for a function in terms of the most general fractional integral operators due to Kalla [4, 5, 6]. The last include most of the well-known fractional integrals such as of Riemann-Liouville, Erde lyi-Kober and Saigo, etc. Based on these we derive very general fractional Ostrowski type inequalities. It follows [2].
DIVERSITY ANALYSIS OF RVA PROFILES OF AROMATIC RICE

593 aromatic rice accessions originated from different regions were comparatively studied by analyzing their starch rapid visco analyser(RVA) characters.The result indicated that among the tested aromatic rice accessions there were significant diversities in pasting properties of rice starch except peak time and pasting temperature.The coefficient of variance(CV) of final viscosity of aromatic waxy rices reached 42.9,the CV of setback of aromatic indica and japonica rices reached 71.9 and 76.1,respectively.There were clear differences in frequency distributions of the RVA profile character.The generalized Shannon-wiener genetic diversity index of each character was calculated and all of indices were more than 1.0,among them the peak viscosity and final viscosity of aromatic waxy rices reached 2.02 and 2.01,the setback of aromatic indica rices and the aromatic japanica rices reached 2.09 and 1.99,respectively.
On the Evolution of Complex Organizational Systems

This paper considers that the fundament thought of the complex organizational system is that adaptability builds complexity. The relations between the complexity and the adaptability of organizational structure were supposed that the both are unifies on the basis of development. According to complex theory ,the framework of the organizational evolution is established and the direction of more research is pointed out, and all these offer a new view for us to study complex organizational systems, and have methodological significance.
Location and Gaze-Dependent Shift of Inferior Oblique Muscle Position: Anatomic Contributors to Vertical Strabismus Following Lower Lid Blepharoplasty?

Lower lid blepharoplasty is widely performed aesthetic surgery that corrects involutional changes.1 This surgery involves the region of the lower eyelid retractors, connective tissue bands extending from the region of the conjoined inferior rectus muscle (IR), and inferior oblique muscle (IO) pulleys. This region also includes Lockwood's ligament, a connective tissue structure that supports the globe. Complications of blepharoplasty have been reported, including diplopia due to strabismus.2–8 While vertical strabismus is relatively infrequent, it is one of the most bothersome complications. The mechanism of this diplopia is not well understood. The lower eyelid has an intimate anatomic relationship with the IO and orbital bones.9,10 The IO pulley is partly coupled to the mobile IR pulley by elastic tissues. The lower eyelid normally moves in coordination with vertical eye position by roughly the same amount, as does the globe surface. However, while the IO pulley is shifted by the IR's orbital layer, the IO pulley moves only half as far at the IO pulley and lower lid.11 This means that in infraduction, the IO pulley more closely approximates the lower lid skin surface than in other gaze positions. Elasticity of lower lid tissues contributes to the coordinated shifts of the lower lid, IO pulley, and eye. Fibrous adhesions of the IO-IR pulley to the orbital floor may produce restrictive hypertropia by hindering normal posterior pulley shift during infraduction.12 It is therefore plausible that milder changes in elastic mechanical forces in the eyelids following blepharoplasty might be transmitted to IR and IO so as to contribute to strabismus following blepharoplasty. Such a putative effect would probably be related to individual variations in lid and bony orbital anatomy. We hypothesized that the lower lid blepharoplasty could affect IO position, since the lower lid is intimately coupled to the IO-IR pulley system. If such an effect were to occur, it should be most pronounced in patients who have shallow orbits or other anatomic features bringing the IO-IR pulley assembly into proximity with the skin. This could cause vertical strabismus following lower lid blepharoplasty. Therefore, this study sought to investigate, using high-resolution magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), the position of IO relative to the adnexa in subjects with vertical strabismus following lower lid blepharoplasty, comparing these with controls.
Cells redox environment modulates BRCA1 expression and DNA homologous recombination repair

Cancer development and progression have been linked to oxidative stress, a condition characterized by unbalanced increase in ROS and RNS production. The main endogenous initiators of the redox imbalance in cancer cells are defective mitochondria, elevated NOX activity, and uncoupled NOS3. Traditionally, most attention has been paid to direct oxidative damage to DNA by certain ROS. However, increase in oxidative DNA lesions does not always lead to malignancy. Hence, additional ROS-dependent, pro-carcinogenic mechanisms must be important. Our recent study demonstrated that Tyr nitration of PP2A stimulates its activity and leads to downregulation of BRCA1 expression. This provides a mechanism for chromosomal instability essential for tumor progression. In the present work, we demonstrated that inhibition of ROS production by generating mitochondrial-electron-transport-deficient cell lines (ρ0 cells) or by inhibition of NOX activity with a selective peptide inhibitor significantly reduced PP2A Tyr nitration and its activity in different cancer cell lines. As a result of the decreased PP2A activity, BRCA1 expression was restored along with a significantly enhanced level of DNA HRR. We used TCGA database to analyze the correlation between expressions of the NOX regulatory subunits, NOS isoforms, and BRCA1 in the 3 cancer research studies: breast invasive carcinoma, ovarian cystadenocarcinoma, and lung adenocarcinoma. TCGA database analysis demonstrated that the high expression levels of most of the NOX regulatory subunits responsible for stimulation of NOX1-NOX4 were associated with significant downregulation of BRCA1 expression.
Two-dimensional phase aberration correction using an ultrasonic 1.75D array: case study on breast microcalcifications

Ultrasound phase aberration resulting from tissue velocity inhomogeneities reduce the focusing ability of ultrasound waves and degrade image quality. Two-dimensional phase aberration measurements and correction with higher-order 1.75D arrays are expected to reduce this problem. We implement a least-mean-squares measurement algorithm and discuss implementation decisions for phase aberration correction techniques. We present clinical results from using individual channel RF signals from an 8/spl times/128 1.75D array (Tetrad Co.) interfaced with a Siemens Elegra scanner. The average patient aberration measurement in the thyroid (9 patients) was 22.2/spl plusmn/4.6 ns r.m.s. amplitude with 4.8 mm/spl plusmn/1.3 mm FWHM autocorrelation length. Analysis of breast scans (8 patients) resulted in a patient average aberration measurement of 33.1/spl plusmn/7.0 ns r.m.s. amplitude and 6.4/spl plusmn/1.5 mm FWHM. The results show a statistically significant difference (p-value=0.01) in aberration measurements in clinical breast imaging patients in age groups 20-40 years old and 50-70 years old. We present results of receive-only aberration correction in clinical images and describe quantitative improvements and the results from using specific correction implementation techniques in a case study of breast microcalcifications after phase aberration correction.