cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Generic archive capability for radio telescopes in AIPS

We have constructed an archive system for NRAO telescopes using mainly tools available in the Astronomical Information Processing System (AIPS++). Since the tools are available to anyone using AIPS++, this amounts to a generic archive capability for any telescope for which the AIPS++ data conversion program exists. The rich tool set available in AIPS++ has enabled very rapid development: our entire effort took no more than about 1 FTE-year. Additional capabilities were required to connect AIPS++ to the web. The system is now being deployed at the NRAO as a prototype archive system for the Very Large Array with deployment for the Green Bank Telescope and Very Long Baseline Array planned for 2003.
The role of electronic controls for future automotive mechatronic systems

The merging of electronics and mechanical actuators for automotive applications is driven by environmental and societal influences, customer wants, quality/reliability, and value. Cost-effective mechatronics is made possible by the continuing improvements in the underlying enabling technologies. This paper examines the technology enablers as they influence automotive control systems, and then explores the impact of environmental, customer, and societal drivers as they affect control systems.
Success and Failure: The Breakdown of Traditional Drought Coping Institutions Among the Pastoral Turkana of Kenya

During the severe drought of 1979-1981 over 80,000 Turkana people of northwestern Kenya left their pastoral lifestyle and migrated into famine relief camps. Although the drought affected both northern and southern Turkana district, the people who left the pastoral sector lived primarily in northern Turkana. A comparison of the pastoral economies of these two groups revealed that the indigenous drought coping institutions of the northern Turkana had begun to break down, while those of the southern Turkana remained viable. Analysis further revealed that the northern Turkana were subject to stress arising from inter-ethnic conflict, raiding, political instability, national boundary restrictions and the famine relief effort itself. The study concludes that the maintenance of indigenous drought coping institutions, based on a system of social relations and the redistribution of surplus, is critical for long term survival in this drought prone area of the world; and that these institutions have been made recently vulnerable to stresses beyond the control of the local people.
Hemodynamic parameters following pelvic exenteration

Abstract Hemodynamic parameters were prospectively studied in 31 patients who underwent pelvic exenteration. With the use of a thermistor-tipped pulmonary artery catheter, hemodynamic parameters were calculated during the intraoperative and acute (
Pain, Nicotine, and Smoking: Research Findings and Mechanistic Considerations.

Tobacco addiction and chronic pain represent 2 highly prevalent and comorbid conditions that engender substantial burdens upon individuals and systems. Interrelations between pain and smoking have been of clinical and empirical interest for decades, and research in this area has increased dramatically over the past 5 years. We conceptualize the interaction of pain and smoking as a prototypical example of the biopsychosocial model. Accordingly, we extrapolated from behavioral, cognitive, affective, biomedical, and social perspectives to propose causal mechanisms that may contribute to the observed comorbidity between these 2 conditions. The extant literature was 1st dichotomized into investigations of either effects of smoking on pain or effects of pain on smoking. We then integrated these findings to present a reciprocal model of pain and smoking that is hypothesized to interact in the manner of a positive feedback loop, resulting in greater pain and increased smoking. Finally, we proposed directions for future research and discussed clinical implications for smokers with comorbid pain disorders. We observed modest evidence that smoking may be a risk factor in the multifactorial etiology of some chronically painful conditions and that pain may come to serve as a potent motivator of smoking. We also found that whereas animal studies yielded consistent support for direct pain-inhibitory effects of nicotine and tobacco, results from human studies were much less consistent. Future research in the emerging area of pain and smoking has the potential to inform theoretical and clinical applications with respect to tobacco smoking, chronic pain, and their comorbid presentation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved).
Risk factors associated with cerebral palsy in preterm infants.

Objective. To examine pregnancy outcomes in preterm delivered children with cerebral palsy (CP).Methods. A retrospective population-based cohort study of children born in California (January 1, 1991 and December 31, 2001) with CP were identified (State databases) and compared to children without CP. We examined demographic data and pregnancy outcomes by gestational age groups controlling for multiple co-founders.Results. Of 2733 preterm infants (total of 8397, 33% <37 weeks of gestation) with CP, delivery <28 weeks had the largest impact upon the development of CP (Odds ratio (OR) 18.2 95%CI (16.7, 19.9)) with delivery 28–31 6/7 weeks having less impact (OR 8.8 (8.0, 9.7) when compared to term deliveries. Birth asphyxia (OR 5.9 (5.3, 6.6) was associated with the future development of CP as were birth defects (OR 4.3 (4.1. 4.5), cord prolapse (OR 2.0 (1.6, 2.4)) and fetal distress (OR 2.1 (1.9, 2.2)) the latter 2 being less so.Conclusion. Prematurity had the greatest impact upon the future development of C...
Analysis of Air Quality Data Using Positive Matrix Factorization

Positive matrix factorization (PMF) was applied to air quality and temperature data collected as part of the Program for Research on Oxidants: Photochemistry, Emissions, and Transport 1997 summer measurement campaign. Unlike more conventional methods of factor analysis such as principal component analysis, PMF produces non-negative factors, aiding factor interpretation, and utilizes error estimates of the data matrix. This work uses PMF as a means of source identification and apportionment, important steps in the development of air pollution control strategies. Measurements of carbon monoxide, particulate matter, peroxyactyl nitrate (PAN), isoprene, temperature, and ozone were taken from a 31 m tower in rural northern Michigan and analyzed in this study. PMF resulted in three physically interpretable factors: an isoprene-dominated factor, a local source factor, and a long-range transport factor. The isoprene-dominated and local source factors exhibited strong and weak diurnal signals, respectively. Fact...
The Effect of Tobramycin on the Renal Handling of Vancomycin

Studies in experimental animals and humans have suggested that enhanced renal and auditory toxicity occur with concurrent vancomycin and aminoglycoside treatment. In volunteers, systemic vancomycin clearance at steady-state was measured simultaneously with renal clearances of vancomycin, creatinine, inulin, and para-aminohippurate. Group 1 (n = 9) received vancomycin 5 mg/kg IV for 1 hour, then 1.1 mg/kg/hr for 3 hours. Group II (n = 7) received vancomycin plus tobramycin (2 mg/kg IV over 30 min). Groups did not differ demographically. Audiograms were obtained before and after vancomycin. Plasma samples were collected serially for vancomycin and tobramycin pharmacokinetic studies. Serum concentration versus time data were fit to a two-compartment model for vancomycin and a one-compartment model for tobramycin. For all volunteers, creatinine, inulin and para-aminohippurate clearance, and audiograms were not altered from baseline and were not statistically different between groups. No significant effect of tobramycin on vancomycin pharmacokinetics was observed. conversely, vancomycin had no significant effect on tobramycin pharmacokinetics. The nephrotoxic synergism of vancomycin and tobramycin is not explained by short-term differences in renal handling.
The New Financial Deal: Understanding the Dodd-Frank Act and Its (Unintended) Consequences

Foreword. Introduction. A Few Major Characters. Chapter 1 The Corporatist Turn in American Regulation. The Path to Enactment. The Two Goals of the Dodd-Frank Act. A Brief Tour of Other Reforms. Two Themes That Emerge. Fannie Mae Effect. Covering Their Tracks. Is There Anything to Like? Part I Relearning the Financial Crisis. Chapter 2 The Lehman Myth. The Stock Narrative. Lehman in Context. Lehman s Road to Bankruptcy. Lehman in Bankruptcy. Bear Stearns Counterfactual. Road to Chrysler. Chrysler Bankruptcy. General Motors Sale . From Myths to Legislative Reality. Part II The 2010 Financial Reforms. Chapter 3 Geithner, Dodd, Frank, and the Legislative Grinder. The Players. TARP and the Housing Crisis. Road to an East Room Signing. Channeling Brandeis: The Volcker Rule. The Goldman Moment. Chapter 4 Derivatives Reform: Clearinghouses and the Plain-Vanilla Derivative. Basic Framework. Derivatives and the New Finance. The Stout Alternative. New Clearinghouses and Exchanges. Regulatory Dilemmas of Clearinghouses. Disclosure and Data Collection. Making It Work? Chapter 5 Banking Reform: Breaking Up Was Too Hard to Do. Basic Framework. New Designator and Designatees. Will the New Capital Standards Work? Contingent Capital Alternative. Volcker Rule. What Do the Brandeisian Concessions Mean? Office of Minority and Women Inclusion. Institutionalizing the Government-Bank Partnership. A Happier Story? Repo Land Mine. Chapter 6 Unsafe at Any Rate. Basic Framework. Who Is Elizabeth Warren? Toasters and Credit Cards. The New Consumer Bureau. Mortgage Broker and Securitization Rules. Consequences: What to Expect from the New Bureau. What It Means for the Government-Bank Partnership. Chapter 7 Banking on the FDIC (Resolution Authority I). Does the FDIC Play the Same Role in Both Regimes? How (and How Well) Does FDIC Resolution Work? Moving Beyond the FDIC Analogy. Chapter 8 Bailouts, Bankruptcy, or Better? (Resolution Authority II). Basic Framework. The Trouble with Bailouts. Who Will Invoke Dodd-Frank Resolution, and When? Triggering the New Framework. Controlling Systemic Risk. Third Objective: Haircuts. All Liquidation, All the Time? Part III The Future. Chapter 9 Essential Fixes and the New Financial Order. What Works and What Doesn t. Staying Derivatives in Bankruptcy. ISDA and Its Discontent. Other Bankruptcy Reforms for Financial Institutions. Plugging the Chrysler Hole in Bankruptcy. Bankruptcy to the Rescue. Chapter 10 An International Solution? Basic Framework. Problems of Cross-Border Cases. Scholarly Silver Bullets. Dodd-Frank s Contribution to Cross-Border Issues. New Living Wills. A Simple Treaty Might Do. Risk of a Clearinghouse Crisis. Reinvigorating the Rule of Law. Conclusion. Notes. Bibliography. Acknowledgments. About the Author. Index.
Modeling of Unshielded Suspended and Inverted Substrate Microstrip Lines

Microstrip transmission lines have an important rule in designing microwave integrated circuits. In this paper, we will illustrate modeling of unshielded microstrip lines using finite element method (FEM). We specifically determine the capacitance per unit length, inductance per unit length, and characteristic impedance of unshielded suspended and inverted substrate microstrip lines. We compare our results with those obtained by other methods and found them to be in agreement.
Pathological Case of the Month: Helicobacter pylori Gastritis

A 10-YEAR-OLD white boy was referred to a pediatric gastroenterologist for evaluation of recurrent epigastric pain and symptoms of gastroesophageal reflux. The results of the physical examination were unremarkable. His height and weight were both above the 95th percentile. Results of a complete blood cell count were normal. A radiographic series of the upper gastrointestinal tract was unremarkable. A 24-hour pH-probe monitoring of the lower esophagus showed gastroesophageal reflux. Endoscopic findings of the upper gastrointestinal tract revealed nodular antral gastritis ( Figure 1 ). In addition, small duodenal ulcer and a gliding hiatal hernia were noted. Biopsy specimens from the gastric antrum were obtained ( Figure 2 and Figure 3 ). Diagnosis and Discussion Helicobacter pylori Gastritis Helicobacter pylori colonizes the gastric mucosa and is a major cause of chronic gastritis in both adults and children. 1,2 Furthermore, a causal relationship between H pylori and peptic ulcer disease is suggested by the presence of
Comparative genomics and evolution of proteins involved in RNA metabolism

RNA metabolism, broadly defined as the compendium of all processes that involve RNA, including transcription, processing and modification of transcripts, translation, RNA degradation and its regulation, is the central and most evolutionarily conserved part of cell physiology. A comprehensive, genome-wide census of all enzymatic and non-enzymatic protein domains involved in RNA metabolism was conducted by using sequence profile analysis and structural comparisons. Proteins related to RNA metabolism comprise from 3 to 11% of the complete protein repertoire in bacteria, archaea and eukaryotes, with the greatest fraction seen in parasitic bacteria with small genomes. Approximately one-half of protein domains involved in RNA metabolism are present in most, if not all, species from all three primary kingdoms and are traceable to the last universal common ancestor (LUCA). The principal features of LUCA’s RNA metabolism system were reconstructed by parsimony-based evolutionary analysis of all relevant groups of orthologous proteins. This reconstruction shows that LUCA possessed not only the basal translation system, but also the principal forms of RNA modification, such as methylation, pseudouridylation and thiouridylation, as well as simple mechanisms for polyadenylation and RNA degradation. Some of these ancient domains form paralogous groups whose evolution can be traced back in time beyond LUCA, towards low-specificity proteins, which probably functioned as cofactors for ribozymes within the RNA world framework. The main lineage-specific innovations of RNA metabolism systems were identified. The most notable phase of innovation in RNA metabolism coincides with the advent of eukaryotes and was brought about by the merge of the archaeal and bacterial systems via mitochondrial endosymbiosis, but also involved emergence of several new, eukaryote-specific RNA-binding domains. Subsequent, vast expansions of these domains mark the origin of alternative splicing in animals and probably in plants. In addition to the reconstruction of the evolutionary history of RNA metabolism, this analysis produced numerous functional predictions, e.g. of previously undetected enzymes of RNA modification.
Proximity-Coupled Systems: Quasiclassical Theory of Superconductivity

Although the physics of normal metals (N) in close proximity to superconductors (S) has been studied extensively for more than thirty years, it is only in the past decade that experiments have been able to probe directly the region close to the NS interface at temperatures far below the transition temperature T c of the superconductor. These experiments have been made possible by the availability of microlithography techniques that enable the fabrication of heterostructure devices with submicron scale features. This size scale is comparable to the relevant physical length scales of the problem, and consequently, a number of new effects have been observed. A variety of systems have been studied, the variation primarily being in the type of normal metal coupled to the superconductor. Canonical normal metals such as copper and gold, semiconductors, insulators, and ferromagnets have been employed. Although a variety of theoretical techniques have been used to describe proximity-coupled systems, the quasiclassical theory of superconductivity [1]–[12] has proved to be a remarkably powerful tool in understanding the microscopic basis for the remarkable effects observed in these systems.
The Interplay between the Hippocampus and Amygdala in Regulating Aberrant Hippocampal Neurogenesis during Protracted Abstinence from Alcohol Dependence

The development of alcohol dependence involves elevated anxiety, low mood, and increased sensitivity to stress, collectively labeled negative affect. Particularly interesting is the recent accumulating evidence that sensitized extrahypothalamic stress systems (e.g., hyperglutamatergic activity, blunted hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal [HPA] hormonal levels, altered corticotropin-releasing factor signaling, and altered glucocorticoid receptor signaling in the extended amygdala) are evident in withdrawn dependent rats, supporting the hypothesis that pathological neuroadaptations in the extended amygdala contribute to the negative affective state. Notably, hippocampal neurotoxicity observed as aberrant dentate gyrus (DG) neurogenesis (neurogenesis is a process where neural stem cells in the adult hippocampal subgranular zone generate DG granule cell neurons) and DG neurodegeneration are observed in withdrawn dependent rats. These correlations between withdrawal and aberrant neurogenesis in dependent rats suggest that alterations in the DG could be hypothesized to be due to compromised HPA axis activity and associated hyperglutamatergic activity originating from the basolateral amygdala in withdrawn dependent rats. This review discusses a possible link between the neuroadaptations in the extended amygdala stress systems and the resulting pathological plasticity that could facilitate recruitment of new emotional memory circuits in the hippocampus as a function of aberrant DG neurogenesis.
Categorizing Professional Discourse Engineering, Administrative, and Technical/Professional Writing

Rhetorical categories can and should be developed by scholars of professional writing to identify how values held within professions constrain the ways discourse is interpreted in organizational settings. Empirical research (conducted by the author and others), discourse theory, and pedagogical practice in professional writing strongly suggest that at least three categories of professional writing exist: engineering, administrative, and technical/professional writing. The author demonstrates this claim and distinguishes the characteristics of these three categories. Engineering writing is shown to respond to professional values of scientific objectivity and professional judgment as well as to corporate interests. Administrative writing reflects the locus of decision-making authority and promotes institutional identity. Technical/professional writing aims to accommodate audience needs through complying with professional readability standards. Future research should focus on defining the characteristics of ...
Neospora caninum Tachyzoite- and Antigen-Stimulated Cytokine Production by Bone Marrow–Derived Dendritic Cells and Spleen Cells of Naive BALB/c Mice

Abstract Neospora caninum is an intracellular protozoan pathogen that causes abortion in cattle. This parasite elicits a typical type 1 immune response in host animals, and it is widely believed that the strong type 1 immune response during pregnancy may result in fetal death. Pro-inflammatory and/or inflammatory cytokines produced during either primary or secondary pathogen exposure are supposed to be the mediators of abortion. The present study defined cytokine production by murine naive dendritic cells and spleen cells in response to whole Neospora tachyzoites (live, heat-killed, freeze-killed) or whole-cell tachyzoite lysate in the form of total (NcAg), soluble (sNcAg), or insoluble antigen (isNcAg). All tachyzoite and antigen preparations at high doses stimulated high levels of interleukin (IL) -12, interferon (IFN) -γ, and tumor necrosis factor (TNF) -α, except for heat-killed tachyzoites and sNcAg, which induced moderate level of IL-12 and very low levels of IFN-γ and TNF-α. In general, whole N. ca...
Frequently Repeated Glucose Measurements Overestimate the Incidence of Inpatient Hypoglycemia and Severe Hyperglycemia

Objective:The aim was to determine if frequently repeated glucose measurements mandated by an inpatient protocol led to falsely elevated reported rates of both hypo- and hyperglycemia.Methods:In our academic medical center, a mandatory standardized subcutaneous insulin order form and protocol was implemented in May 2006. We analyzed point-of-care blood glucose (BG) measurements collected on all medical/surgical wards during the month of August in both 2005 and 2006 by all BGs measured, by patient admission, and by monitored patient-day. We then repeated all analyses using an algorithm that excluded BG values if another BG was measured less than 5 minutes later or 5–60 minutes earlier.Results:In 2005 versus 2006, there were 7034 versus 8016 glucoses measured in 397 versus 389 patients over 1704 versus 1710 patient days, respectively. Analyses based on patient-day balanced differences in BG measurement frequency and patient length of stay. In both years, failure to exclude repeat values overestimated both t...
Primary care services for an emergency department population: a novel location for contraception

Abstract Objective To assess contraceptive provision site preferences in female urban Baltimore emergency department patients. Methods This cross-sectional questionnaire study was completed by 790 women, a population sufficient to detect a 10% intersite difference. The results were analyzed with chi-square, univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses. Results Obtaining contraception other than from a physician's office was acceptable to 57.2% of the subjects, particularly those uninsured (p=.006) and without primary care providers (p Conclusion Contraceptive services are acceptable in nontraditional settings, including the ED, particularly to women of limited resources. This service is acceptable without pelvic examination for a sizable proportion of the women using the ED.
The Oak Wilt Enigma: Perspectives from the Texas Epidemic

Ceratocystis fagacearum (Bretz) Hunt, the oak wilt pathogen, is currently causing massivel osses of semievergreen live oaks (Quercus fusiformis Small and Q. virginiana Mill.) in central Texas. Given the relatively limited oak mortality caused by C. fagacearum in the deciduous forests of the North Central, Midwestern, and Mid-Atlantic United States, this Texas epidemic was not anticipated. The intensity of oak wilt in Texas is attributed to a number of factors related to host characteristics and the ability of the pathogen to adapt to limiting environmental conditions. Oak wilt management in semievergreen oaks requires considerable revision of the control techniques previously designed for deciduous oaks. The Texas oak wilt epidemic provides a new perspective from which to evaluate questions concerning oak wilt, including the origins of the pathogen as well as the potential for future losses in unaffected oak forests.
The Short-Term Cooling but Long-Term Global Warming Due to Biomass Burning

44 4 ). To date, the global-scale climate response of controlling emission of these constituents together has not 2 NO3 been examined. Here 10-yr global simulations of the climate response of biomass-burning aerosols and shortlived gases are coupled with numerical calculations of the long-term effect of controlling biomass-burning CO 2 and CH4 to estimate the net effect of controlling burning over 100 yr. Whereas eliminating biomass-burning particles is calculated to warm temperatures in the short term, this warming may be more than offset after several decades by cooling due to eliminating long-lived CO 2, particularly from permanent deforestation. It is also shown analytically that biomass burning always results in CO 2 accumulation, even when regrowth fluxes equal emission fluxes and in the presence of fertilization. Further, because burning grassland and cropland yearly, as opposed to every several years, increases CO 2, biofuel burning, considered a ‘‘renewable’’ energy source, is only partially renewable, and biomass burning elevates CO 2 until it is stopped. Because CO 2 from biomass burning is considered recyclable and biomass particles are thought to cool climate, the Kyoto Protocol did not consider biomass-burning controls. If the results here, which apply to a range of scenarios but are subject to uncertainty, are correct, such control may slow global warming, contrary to common perception, and improve human health.
Lessons Learned From a Program Evaluation of a Statewide Continuing Education Program for Staff Members Working in Assisted Living and Adult Day Care Centers in Virginia

The number of older adults residing in assisted living facilities (ALF) and utilizing adult day care services is expanding with the increasing population of older adults. Currently, there are no standardized requirements for continuing education for assisted living and adult day care service staff at a national level. Given that 62% of states within the United States require continuing education for ALF staff and/or administrators, a more formalized system is needed that provides evidence-based gerontological training to enhance the quality of care and services provided to older adults. This article describes the challenges and lessons learned from conducting a program evaluation of a Statewide Training and Continuing Education Program for Assisted Living Facility and Adult Day Care Service staff in Virginia. Survey evaluation data from a 6-year period was examined and a formative program evaluation was conducted. The findings from the survey evaluation and formative evaluation are discussed as are the lessons learned.
Computer-aided detection of bladder mass within non-contrast-enhanced region of CT Urography (CTU)

We are developing a computer-aided detection system for bladder cancer in CT urography (CTU). We have previously developed methods for detection of bladder masses within the contrast-enhanced region of the bladder. In this study, we investigated methods for detection of bladder masses within the non-contrast enhanced region. The bladder was first segmented using a newly developed deep-learning convolutional neural network in combination with level sets. The non-contrast-enhanced region was separated from the contrast-enhanced region with a maximum-intensityprojection- based method. The non-contrast region was smoothed and a gray level threshold was employed to segment the bladder wall and potential masses. The bladder wall was transformed into a straightened thickness profile, which was analyzed to identify lesion candidates as a prescreening step. The lesion candidates were segmented using our autoinitialized cascaded level set (AI-CALS) segmentation method, and 27 morphological features were extracted for each candidate. Stepwise feature selection with simplex optimization and leave-one-case-out resampling were used for training and validation of a false positive (FP) classifier. In each leave-one-case-out cycle, features were selected from the training cases and a linear discriminant analysis (LDA) classifier was designed to merge the selected features into a single score for classification of the left-out test case. A data set of 33 cases with 42 biopsy-proven lesions in the noncontrast enhanced region was collected. During prescreening, the system obtained 83.3% sensitivity at an average of 2.4 FPs/case. After feature extraction and FP reduction by LDA, the system achieved 81.0% sensitivity at 2.0 FPs/case, and 73.8% sensitivity at 1.5 FPs/case.
Osmoregulation by Adélie Penguin Chicks on the Antarctic Peninsula

-Physiologists have long contended that consumption of a diet of marine invertebrates imposes a high salt load on animals. I measured water and salt contents in the food, excreta, and body fluids of Ad6lie Penguin (Pygoscelis adeliae) chicks to determine patterns of osmoregulation in a bird that eats almost exclusively marine invertebrates. Adelie Penguins eat krill (Euphausia spp.) and feed the same to their chicks by regurgitation. Adelie chicks sometimes receive food that is significantly saltier than their body fluids, but on average the food has salt concentrations similar to those in their plasma. Adelie chicks excrete excess solutes via the salt glands, which are fully functional at hatching, and via the kidneys, which produce urine that is more concentrated relative to urine of other bird species. Larger chicks receive food that is drier than that eaten by smaller chicks, and larger chicks may compensate by excreting more of a given salt load via the salt glands, thus conserving water. Regurgitated food has significantly less Na+ than Cl-, but the salt glands secrete equal amounts of these two ions. Consequently, in larger chicks Na+ may be shunted from the urine to be excreted via the salt glands. The loss of this cation in the urine is compensated for by addition of NH4+. Received 26 July 1996, accepted 1 February 1997. ADPLIE PENGUINS (Pygoscelis adeliae) live in an osmotically challenging marine environment. Adelie Penguins have little or no access to fresh water, and up to 99% of their diet is marine invertebrates, usually krill (mostly Euphausia superba; Volkman et al. 1980). Adelie chicks potentially face the same osmotic challenges as the adults, because the only food they receive is that regurgitated by their parents. Unless adults modify the composition of krill fed to chicks, then the chicks' osmoregulatory physiology must be sufficiently developed to handle potentially high salt loads delivered in the food within hours after hatching (Douglas 1963, 1968). The purpose of this study was to determine the magnitude of salt loads received by chicks, determine if adults alter the salt composition of food given to chicks, and measure the salt concentrations of chick excretions (e.g. urine and salt-gland secretion) to determine salt-output capability. Adelie Penguins are good subjects for physiological studies of osmoregulation for four important reasons. First, their large size (adults weigh 4 to 5 kg) allows collection of relatively large samples of tissues and body fluids, which facilitates ion analyses. Second, Adelie Penguins are found in dense colonies near research 1 E-mail: donjanes@ucracl.ucr.edu stations in Antarctica, and this abundance combined with their relative tameness permits acquisition of large sample sizes. Third, their life history is well known (Ainley et al. 1983). Fourth, all of the material input into chicks is regurgitated by the parents, simplifying measurements of water and salt influx.
Are Seat Belt Usage Rates Lower than We Think

The observed seat belt usage rates for front seat occupants have improved over the last few decades to 79% across the country in 2003. However, these usage rates, observed at intersections and at freeway entrances, may provide overestimates of actual rates for occupants that are belted at the start of the drive cycle. In the current study, we observed seat belt usage patterns of drivers and front seat passengers exiting gasoline stations, malls, and other public locations to determine whether their seat belts were fastened before leaving the premises as well as how grasping and buckling movements were completed. Contrary to the national usage rates for drivers and front seat occupants, only 52% of the occupants fastened their seat belts before leaving the public locations. We discuss these findings in terms of driver behavior and factors that influence the normal procedural sequences at the start of the drive cycle.
Post-GWAS: Phylogenetic Analysis in the Hunt for Complex Disease- Associated Loci

Copyright: © 2012 Roses AD. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. What constitutes reliable disease-relevant genetic association data? Scientific research arena has gone through remarkable transformation over the past decade in addressing this conundrum. It was recognized that more than 95% of reported disease associations in the pre-Genome Project years were neither consistently validated nor qualified in follow up investigation beyond the initial publication. In response, editors of the major scientific journals required biological or clinical data to substantiate the statistical findings.
Giving Wrongdoers What They Deserve

Retributivist approaches to the philosophy of punishment are usually based on certain claims related to moral desert. I focus on one such principle: Censuring Principle (CP): There is a moral reason to censure guilty wrongdoers aversively. Principles like CP are often supported by the construction of examples similar to Kant’s ‘desert island’. These are meant to show that there is a reason for state officials to punish deserving wrongdoers, even if none of the familiar goals of punishment, such as deterrence, will be achieved. When suitable variants of such examples are presented, however, it is evident that there cannot be much reason to punish such wrongdoers, even if there is some. The same problem besets claims that there is intrinsic value in the suffering of wrongdoers, or that wrongdoers deserve to suffer. All such claims are relatively weak normatively.
First order echo based room shape recovery using a single mobile device

This paper considers the problem of constructing 2-D room shape. A mobile device with co-located microphone and loudspeaker is used and the distances between consecutive measurement points are assumed to be known. The uniqueness of the mapping between the first-order echoes and the room geometry is guaranteed for any convex polygons. A practical algorithm for room reconstruction in the presence of noise and higher order echoes is proposed. Experimental results are provided to demonstrate the effectiveness of our approach.
PathMining: A Path-Based User Profiling Algorithm for Heterogeneous Graph-Based Recommender Systems

In a heterogeneous graph-based recommender system, relationships among various entities are used to predict the rating or preference that a user would give to an item. By modeling user’s selection behavior as a path in the heterogeneous graph, we can capture each user’s unique selection behaviors as a set of paths with specific types of nodes and edges. Since these paths capture selection behaviors unique to each user, these can then be used to perform personalized profiling and recommendation for each user. In this paper, we introduce PathMining, an algorithm which constructs personalized user profile and make recommendations based on Monte Carlo sampling of graph traversal. PathMining predicts preferable items by emulating user’s selection processes. The performance and potential value of our method is validated by using HetRec 2011 dataset. Traditionally, recommendation has been considered as a problem of finding an utility function that best predicts a user’s unknown ratings given the user’s known ratings as found in UserItem rating matrix (Adomavicius and Tuzhilin 2005). In the past, most recommender systems, based on this problem formulation, focused on increasing recommendation accuracy by minimizing differences between the predicted recommendations and the known ratings in the matrix as exemplified by the Netflix prize (Bennett and Lanning 2007). However, with the observation that decrease in the errors in the matrix alone does not necessarily increase the quality of the recommendations, the current trend is to incorporate other external types of information into the problem. A heterogeneous graph-based recommender system is an approach to integrate user ratings with other types of information following their semantic relationships, and represent them as a single graph. The types of entities in a graph are denoted as a node or an edge. Examples of nodes and edges for a movie rating system may be (e.g., USER, MOVIE,ACTOR,DIRECTOR,TAG, :::) and edges (e.g., USER liked ! MOVIE,MOVIE directedBy
CASE REPORT: Necrotizing Fasciitis of Abdominal Wall in AIDS

Necrotizing fasciitis (NF) is an uncommon but potentially lethal soft-tissue infection. Mortality rate is high and has not changed since it was first described by Meleny. Although immunodeficiency is a risk factor for NF, there is only one reported case of NF in AIDS involving the cervical region. We report the first case of necrotizing fasciitis of the abdominal wall in an AIDS patient.
Federal Home Loan Bank Advances and Bank and Thrift Holding Company Risk: Evidence from the Stock Market

Using bivariate GARCH models of stock portfolio returns and risk, we find that bank and thrift holding companies that relied the most on Federal Home Loan Bank (FHLB) advances exhibited less total risk and market risk than those that relied on them the least between 2001 and 2012. When we control for differences in holding company size, stock trading volume, residential mortgage lending, and holding company type (bank versus thrift), the most FHLB-reliant holding companies sustain the aforesaid risk advantages except during the crisis of 2007–2009, when they exhibit greater idiosyncratic risk. The latter finding suggests that investors perceived the high reliance of the borrowing institutions on advances as a sign of distress. Portfolios that consist of only bank holding companies show qualitatively similar results. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved
Acoustic monitoring techniques for avian detection and classification

There are many reports of bird and bat mortality in vicinity of wind turbines [1]. It is important to quantify numbers and species of birds and bats in a given area which is targeted for wind farm development. It is also necessary to assess the behavior of birds and bats in wind farm areas. Acoustic monitoring techniques have been developed in this work for monitoring of birds and bats. Spectrogram-based Image Frequency Statistics (SIFS) is used for feature extraction and Evolutionary Neural Network (ENN) is used for classification purposes. Data was collected near Lake Erie in Ohio during 2011 spring and fall migration periods. Data analysis was performed in accordance to needs of wildlife biologists.
EVALUATING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF COASTAL ZONE MANAGEMENT

Since the passage of the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972, 35 coastal states and territories have participated in the federal coastal zone effort, and 19 have established approved management programs. Most of the coastal planning efforts focus on resolution of use conflicts and amelioration of impacts. As a result of this emphasis, decisions are frequently made on the basis of permissibility of use within the conflict resolution framework rather than on the best or priority use of an area. In order to move from this “responsive” mode to a more “comprehensive” planning mode, I maintain that states should implement ongoing evaluation programs that monitor their efforts. This can only be achieved if measurable criteria are established for program goals. The evaluation process and suggested criteria for goals in the area of environmental protection, economic development, and management are outlined.
Technological Disclosure Versus Secrecy in an Emerging Technology Context

Integrating economic perspectives on intellectual property rights, institutional theory, and the resource-based view of the firm, our study illuminates the current debate on whether firms should di...
Reducing Surgical Infections and Implant Costs via a Novel Paradigm of Enhanced Physician Awareness.

BACKGROUND Studies have demonstrated that physicians are often unaware of prescription drug, laboratory, diagnostic, and surgical supply costs. OBJECTIVE To investigate the effects of increased physician awareness on infection incidence and surgical device cost containment. METHODS Within our institution, physicians were informed of individual, independently adjudicated, craniotomy and ventricular shunt infection incidence and rankings among peers, after which a protocol aimed at reducing skin bacterial burden was implemented for craniotomies. Physicians were also made aware of the costs for shunts and dural substitutes as well as available alternatives. RESULTS The combined craniotomy and ventricular shunt infection incidence significantly decreased by 37.5% from 3.2% over May 2011 to April 2015 (132 infections/4137 procedures) to 2.1% over May 2015 to April 2016 (26 infections/1250 procedures; P = .041). The average annual cost savings was $234 175 from preventing postoperative craniotomy infections and $121 125 from preventing postoperative ventricular shunt infections. Total supply costs of ventricular shunts significantly decreased by 26% from $2345 per procedure in fiscal year 2015 to $1747 per procedure in fiscal year 2016 (P < .001). Total supply cost of dural grafts significantly decreased by 54% from $191 per procedure in fiscal year 2015 to $88 per procedure in fiscal year 2016 (P < .001). In total, all initiatives in this study resulted in an estimated annual savings of $567 062. CONCLUSION Physician awareness of outcomes and costs resulted in increasing the quality of care, while at the same time reducing the cost.
Cdkal1, a type 2 diabetes susceptibility gene, regulates mitochondrial function in adipose tissue.

Abstract Objectives Understanding how loci identified by genome wide association studies (GWAS) contribute to pathogenesis requires new mechanistic insights. Variants within CDKAL1 are strongly linked to an increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes and obesity. Investigations in mouse models have focused on the function of Cdkal1 as a tRNA Lys modifier and downstream effects of Cdkal1 loss on pro-insulin translational fidelity in pancreatic β−cells. However, Cdkal1 is broadly expressed in other metabolically relevant tissues, including adipose tissue. In addition, the Cdkal1 homolog Cdk5rap1 regulates mitochondrial protein translation and mitochondrial function in skeletal muscle. We tested whether adipocyte-specific Cdkal1 deletion alters systemic glucose homeostasis or adipose mitochondrial function independently of its effects on pro-insulin translation and insulin secretion. Methods We measured mRNA levels of type 2 diabetes GWAS genes, including Cdkal1 , in adipose tissue from lean and obese mice. We then established a mouse model with adipocyte-specific Cdkal1 deletion. We examined the effects of adipose Cdkal1 deletion using indirect calorimetry on mice during a cold temperature challenge, as well as by measuring cellular and mitochondrial respiration in vitro . We also examined brown adipose tissue (BAT) mitochondrial morphology by electron microscopy. Utilizing co-immunoprecipitation followed by mass spectrometry, we performed interaction mapping to identify new CDKAL1 binding partners. Furthermore, we tested whether Cdkal1 loss in adipose tissue affects total protein levels or accurate Lys incorporation by tRNA Lys using quantitative mass spectrometry. Results We found that Cdkal1 mRNA levels are reduced in adipose tissue of obese mice. Using adipose-specific Cdkal1 KO mice (A-KO), we demonstrated that mitochondrial function is impaired in primary differentiated brown adipocytes and in isolated mitochondria from A-KO brown adipose tissue. A-KO mice displayed decreased energy expenditure during 4 °C cold challenge. Furthermore, mitochondrial morphology was highly abnormal in A-KO BAT. Surprisingly, we found that lysine codon representation was unchanged in Cdkal1 A-KO adipose tissue. We identified novel protein interactors of CDKAL1, including SLC25A4/ANT1, an inner mitochondrial membrane ADP/ATP translocator. ANT proteins can account for the UCP1-independent basal proton leak in BAT mitochondria. Cdkal1 A-KO mice had increased ANT1 protein levels in their white adipose tissue. Conclusions Cdkal1 is necessary for normal mitochondrial morphology and function in adipose tissue. These results suggest that the type 2 diabetes susceptibility gene CDKAL1 has novel functions in regulating mitochondrial activity.
Transient nocturnal site fidelity in juvenile green (Chelonia mydas) and hawksbill (Eretmochelys imbricata) sea turtles on the shallow nearshore coral reefs of South Caicos, Turks and Caicos Islands

Opportunistic nocturnal catch-and-release turtle surveys were conducted on three nearshore, shallow coral reefs that fringe the main navigation channel to Cockburn Harbour, South Caicos, between 2005 and 2015. A total of 117 captures were made, representing 73 individual turtles (32 green, 41 hawksbill). Almost half of the green turtles were recaptured on at least one occasion, with a maximum time at liberty of 574 days (median = 94 days). Only 20% of hawksbill turtles were recaptured, with a maximum time at liberty of 587 days (median = 120 days). These data suggest that the study sites are utilised by a combination of transient visitors and short to medium-term resident turtles. However, no evidence of long-term nocturnal site fidelity was found. The size ranges observed in both species indicate that all turtles were immature, and the minimum sizes are consistent with previously reported settlement sizes from the region. Despite the lack of long-term fidelity, turtles were regularly encountered over the...
Approach to Esophageal Motility Disorders

Esophageal motility disorders are a broad category of diseases with a variety of symptoms, ranging from dysphagia to chest pain. The pathophysiology is not always fully understood, but may involve alterations in inhibitory or excitatory innervation of the smooth muscle of the distal esophagus and LES. High-resolution manometry is the gold standard for its diagnosis, and the Chicago classification offers an organizational framework for better evaluation and management. Major disorders of motility are generally pathologic, and include achalasia, EGJOO, DES, hypertensive esophagus, and diseases of absent peristalsis, such as scleroderma. Treatments are targeted at the particular diagnosis. In achalasia, endoscopic and surgical options are preferred. For the remaining motility diagnoses, medical management forms the mainstay of treatment, which can be limited by side effect profiles.
Ethical Immunity in Business: A Response to Two Arguments

In this paper I examine the claim that businesspersons have what might be called "ethical immunity" with respect to the duty not to deceive. According to this ethical immunity claim, businesspersons are exempt from the ordinary ethical prohibition against deception; and widespread business deception is therefore ethically permissible. I focus on two arguments for the claim. One of the arguments, which has been presented by Albert Carr, relies upon an analogy between business on the one hand, and games in which deception is permitted, on the other. The second argument is based upon the notion that exceptions to ethical duties may sometimes be justified on prudential grounds. In response to the arguments, I try to show that neither one provides strong support for the ethical immunity claim.