cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Evaluation of an Online Program To Teach Microbiology to Internal Medicine Residents

Microbiology rounds are an integral part of infectious disease consultation service. During microbiology rounds, we highlight microbiology principles using vignettes. We created case-based, interactive, microbiology online modules similar to the vignettes presented during microbiology rounds. Since internal medicine residents rotating on our infectious disease elective have limited time to participate in rounds and learn microbiology, our objective was to evaluate the use of the microbiology online modules by internal medicine residents. We asked residents to complete 10 of 25 online modules during their infectious disease elective. We evaluated which modules they chose and the change in their knowledge level. Forty-six internal medicine residents completed assessments given before and after accessing the modules with an average of 11/20 (range, 6 to 19) and 16/20 (range, 9 to 20) correct questions, respectively (average improvement, 5 questions; P = 0.0001). The modules accessed by more than 30 residents included those related to Clostridium difficile, anaerobes, Candida spp., Streptococcus pneumoniae, influenza, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, and Neisseria meningitidis. We demonstrated improved microbiology knowledge after completion of the online modules. This improvement may not be solely attributed to completing the online modules, as fellows and faculty may have provided additional microbiology education during the rotation.
What Can I Learn From This Interaction? A Qualitative Analysis of Medical Student Self-Reflection and Learning in a Standardized Patient Exercise About Disability

Patients with disabilities receive fewer health services than the general population, yet they have greater health needs. Similarly, physicians report limited training in disability. The current project examines medical students' learning about disability in a project using individuals with disabilities as medical educators. Family medicine clerkship students (N = 138) across an academic year were videotaped during interviews with standardized patient educators with disabilities and during feedback sessions following the interactions. Qualitative analysis of feedback transcripts identifies three primary areas of integrating learning, reflective practice, and disability: (1) learning how disability impacts the treatment plan, (2) self-reflection and recognizing attitudes about disability, and (3) learning about the practice of medicine generally from the disability exercise. Themes are identified within each of the primary learning areas. Medical student reflection provides evidence of learning to connect disability with pain, everyday life, and treatment. Medical students learned to recognize patients' expertise in their own condition and in health care navigation. Medical students also examined how their language implies attitude. The current investigation provided evidence of the ways examining disability can serve as a cornerstone for building relationship-centered patient care and encouraging reflective practice overall.
2,3,7,8-Dibenzo-p-dioxins in mined clay products from the United States : Evidence for possible natural origin

Ball clay was the source of dioxin contamination discovered in selected chickens analyzed as part of a joint U.S. Department of Agriculture/U.S. Environmental Protection Agency national survey of the U.S. poultry supply conducted in 1997. The affected animals, which had been raised in the southern United States, represented approximately 5% of the national poultry production. All of these chickens and other animal food sources (i.e., farm-raised catfish), similarly contaminated, were fed a diet of animal feed containing ball clay as an anti-caking additive. The clay was mined in northwestern Mississippi within a geological formation referred to as the Mississippi Embayment. Individual raw and processed ball clay samples were analyzed for the presence of the 2,3,7,8-PCDDs/ -PCDFs. The average toxic equivalents (TEQs) for the raw and processed samples were 1513 and 966 ppt dw, respectively. Other mined clay-based products used in animal feeds revealed lower TEQs. All of the products exhibited either an abse...
A Search Engine for the Investment Community: www.investmentseek.com

SUMMER 2004 W ith a record increase in hedge fund assets under management in the first quarter of 2004, many institutional investors who have hitherto focused on traditional asset classes are seeking a better understanding of various aspects of alternative investments in general and hedge funds in particular. Many institutional investors (such as pension funds, endowments, etc.) have investment committees whose members are well versed in the various nuances of both types of investments. Numerous conferences focusing on traditional and alternative investments as well as their amalgamation are organized each year by various organizations (such as Information Management Network, Financial Research Associates, Strategic Research Institute, Opal Financial Group, Institutional Investor, etc.). Several databases (such as CISDM, HFR, TASS, Morningstar, etc.) provide in-depth information on mutual and hedge funds. Software programs such as RiskMetrics’ RiskManager, CDOManager, and HedgePlatform are striving to provide better risk reporting of the various asset classes. In order to effectively coordinate the processing of vast amounts of information pertaining to both traditional and alternative asset classes, a search engine/directory that provides all information in an organized manner would be ideal. Such a task is precisely what the website www.investmentseek.com is attempting to conduct. The content on the website is organized into twelve categories: Brokers, Careers, Consultants, Events, Institutional Investors, Investment Managers, Investment Research, Mutual Funds, News, Organizations, Reference, and Security Technology Vendors. Each of these categories provides information and links. For example the Brokers link is further divided into Prime Brokers and Online Brokers. Information on brokers in Europe, Asia, and Australia is provided as well. A Career link provides information and advice on careers in the financial industry as well as job listing organizations whereas a Consultants link provides direct access to numerous consulting firms in Europe and North America. The Events link provides information on the numerous conferences and meetings and the Institutional Investors link provides lists of Endowments, Foundations, Pension Funds, and TaftHartley Plans. The Investment Managers link provides lists and links to numerous U.S.based investment managers including hedge funds and private equity funds. The Investment Research link provides information on research whereas the News, Organizations, and Reference links provide information on various topics. Finally the Securities Technology Vendors link provides information on Accounting/Compliance Systems, Broker/ Web Review
An Effective Schema Mapping Model for Decentralized Network

Schema heterogeneity among individual peers is an important issue in PDMS (Peer Data Management System). Schema mapping is a key technology to find the semantic matching relationship between schemas, and it plays an important role in PDMS. In this paper, we address the problem of schema mapping in PDMS, a typical decentralized network. Aiming at the limitations of previous methods, we propose a schema mapping model based on peer interest, schema structure information and query log, and we also considers the uncertainty of schema mapping during query propagation among peers. In our model, the peers with same interest organize a community and the schema mapping is handled in the interest community. We propose a query processing strategy in which the uncertainty of schema mapping in taken into account. In order to supplement the matching and reasoning, we mine the query log to discover the relationship between schema elements and refine the schema mapping further. Experimental results show that our method is feasible and effective for schema mapping in decentralized network.
Unexpected Student Reflections from an Underused Genre.

Promoting the acquisition of reflection skills among students in higher education has long been a goal of educators, yet, it has remained a challenging task with varying results. This article presents a study that rekindled the use of the genre of a friendly letter and implemented it as a reflection tool. Education majors' reflections, following a four-week practicum experience, included a variety of reflection orientations with more meaningful content and higher quality reflections than had been previously demonstrated. This reflection genre has applications for a variety of content areas in teacher preparation programs and other academic areas in higher education.
Vitamin-D supplementation in prediabetes reduced progression to type 2 diabetes and was associated with decreased insulin resistance and systemic inflammation: An open label randomized prospective study from Eastern India

Vitamin-D supplementation in vitamin-D insufficient/deficient prediabetes individuals is associated with significantly lower progression to diabetes (6/55 vs. 13/49; p=0.04) and higher reversal to normoglycemia (23/55 vs. 10/49; p=0.02), associated with decreased insulin resistance and systemic inflammation (TNFα and IL6). Baseline vitamin-D and 2h blood glucose independently predicted progression to diabetes.
Duration of time in time-related words.

Summary.-275 time-related words, considered n source for the cognitive investigation of time perspective, were assigned to 10 time intervals ranging from seconds to millennia by 32 Ss equally divided by sex. Differences were found in the duration of time connoted by the verbal materials, with reference to the frequency with which the 10 time intervals were used, as well as the time spans associated with the past, present, and future. No sex difference was noted.
Age of Acquisition and Proficiency as Factors in Language Production: Agreement in Bilinguals.

Research on the production of subject–verb number agreement in monolinguals suggests differences between and within languages in how it proceeds as a function of morphological richness. When agreement morphology is relatively rich, the influence of conceptual number over grammatical number is less than when it is relatively poor. Within the framework of Eberhard, Cutting and Bock's (2005) marking and morphing account of agreement production, this finding is explained by how number features from the syntax and the lexicon are reconciled. This study asks: (1) Can this account of differences in agreement production as a function of morphological richness be extended to the case of bilinguals? (2) Do age of acquisition and/or proficiency modulate whether these differences surface in bilinguals? Agreement production was examined in early and late English–Spanish, and late Spanish–English bilinguals of varying proficiency. Higher-proficiency bilinguals patterned similarly to monolinguals, supporting the extension of the marking and morphing account.
Identification of integrin cell‐substratum adhesion receptors on cultured rat bone cells

The interactions of bone cells with their extracellular matrix is of major importance in bone development, repair, and disease. We examined the ability of rat calvarial bone cells to adhere to various matrix proteins and to define the role of integrin cell-substrate adhesion receptors in these interactions. Isolated newborn rat calvarial bone cells prelabeled with 3H-thymidine and plated on plastic wells that had been precoated with serial dilutions of various substrates showed typical dose-response adherence curves to fibronectin, fibrinogen, laminin, vitronectin, and collagen I and IV. Cell adherence to poly-D-lysine, a nonspecific cell adherent, was high at all substrate concentrations > 0.0001 micrograms/ml. A polyclonal anti-rat integrin antibody blocked cell adhesion to all substrates tested except poly-D-lysine. Isolated rat calvarial bone cells were surface labeled with 125I, extracted, and immunoprecipitated with polyclonal antibodies made against the rat integrin complex and peptides derived from the cytoplasmic domains of the alpha 2, alpha 3, and alpha 5 subunits. Analysis by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (nonreduced) identified four bands representing a mixture of integrins including the alpha 1 beta 1 laminin/collagen receptor, the alpha 5 beta 1 fibronectin receptor, and the alpha V beta 3 (or possibly alpha V beta 5) vitronectin receptor. These experiments show that bone cells adhere to a wide variety of extracellular matrix proteins via specific integrins. Increased knowledge about the regulation of these receptors and the mechanisms by which they transmit information to the cell will be important for a more complete understanding of bone physiology and pathophysiology.
Life as the Middle Child A Conversation With Mary Margaret Kerr

As part of an ongoing oral history project, a conversation was held with Dr. Mary Margaret Kerr on the past, present, and possible future of the field of providing services to children with emotion...
Collagen-mucopolysaccharide interactions at acid pH.

Abstract The interactions between acid soluble collagen and four connective tissue mucopolysaccharides: chondroitin 4-sulfate, dermatan sulfate, hyaluronic acid and keratan sulfate, have been investigated using circular dichroism spectroscopy. The effect of each polysaccharide on the denaturation (melting) behavior of calf skin collagen has been monitored, in dilute aqueous solution at pH 4. Each polysaccharide interacts with the protein, stabilizing the triple helical structure, such that the melting temperature, T m , is increased from 38 to 46°C. However, a different proportion of each polysaccharide is necessary to achieve this effect; below this limiting ratio, biphasic melting curves are obtained with transitions at 46 and 38°C, corresponding to melting of interacting and non-interacting collagen. The results indicate that the interaction of a particular polysaccharide depends on its chemical structure and probably its chain conformation.
Multirate filtering with out-of-sequence data

The paper develops a multirate filtering/smoothing approach for out-of-sequence (OOS) measurements. There are two major steps in OOS filtering/smoothing: retrospection from current time to OOS time (smoothing) and updating the current estimate with the OOS measurement (filtering), which imposes a high computation and memory burden on implementing OOS filtering. The multirate approach provides an excellent framework for efficient information retrospection and forward update. A multirate interacting multiple model (MRIMM) filter is developed to track a target with or without maneuvering behavior in an environment of our-of- sequence measurement reporting.
The relative contribution of trabecular and cortical bone to the strength of human lumbar vertebrae.

An experiment was performed to determine the relative contribution of the cortical shell and of the central trabecular bone to the peak, non-destructive compressive strength of excised human lumbar vertebrae. The vertebral “units” tested utilized the adjacent intervertebral discs to distribute the loads. Among other results the study indicated that (1) the cortex generally contributes 45–75% of the peak strength, regardless of percent ash or physical density of the trabecular bone; (2) when the ash content of a vertebral trabecular bone is 40% of the forces are transmitted via the central trabeculae and, as would be expected, (3) less force is transmitted by way of the central trabeculae in older subjects than in those ≦40 years of age.
Self-rated health in relation to rape and mental health disorders in a national sample of women

Overall health status is associated with long-term physical morbidity and mortality. Existing research on the correlates of mental health effects of rape suggests that rape victims are at higher risk for poor overall health status. Little is known, however, about how different rape tactics may relate to health status in rape victims. Our aim was to examine prevalence and correlates of self-rated health in a community sample of women, with particular emphasis on lifetime rape history (distinguishing between rape tactics), psychopathology, and substance use outcomes. A nationally representative sample of 3,001 U.S. women (age range: 18-86 years) residing in households with a telephone participated in a structured telephone interview. Poor self-rated health was endorsed by 11.4% of the sample. Final multivariable models showed that poor self-rated health was associated with older age (p<.001), lower educational attainment (p=.01), African American ethnicity (p=.03), lifetime posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD; p<.001), lifetime major depressive episode (MDE; p=.01), and history of forcible rape (p=.01). Self-rated health was associated with three potentially modifiable variables (forcible rape, PTSD, and MDE). Therefore, trauma-focused interventions for rape victims should include collaboration on treatment or prevention modules that specifically address both mental and physical health.
Solar connection to transient interplanetary processes

Abstract Described herein is an international, interdisciplinary project on the Solar connection of Transient Interplanetary Processes (SOLTIP). This project's primary objective is to promote international co-operation (among all ground-based and spacecraft-based observers as well as modelers, theoreticians and numerical simulators) to study interplanetary phenomena that are initiated at the Sun and then propagate through heliospheric space (in particular, toward Earth). Scientifically, this strategy will advance our understanding of the physical processes of the linkages between solar activity and the subsequent interplanetary activity and, in many cases, geomagnetic activity. Understanding the transfer of mass, energy, and momentum from the Sun to Earth under a variety of solar perturbations, therefore, is a major objective of this Project. SOLTIP will operate during the period covered by the STEP Programme of SCOSTEP (1990–1997).
The Classification and Scientific Names of Rainbow and Cutthroat Trouts

Abstract Two unambiguous discoveries involving rainbow trout require scientific name changes. First, the rainbow trout has been demonstrated to be the same species as the Kamchatka trout. Second, studies of osteology and biochemistry of trout and salmon show that rainbow and cutthroat trout, and their close relatives, the golden, Mexican golden, Gila, and Apache trouts, are more closely related to Pacific salmons (Oncorhynchus) than to brown trout and Atlantic salmon (Salmo). The different names required by these two discoveries will cause some confusion in communications in which the formal classification is used, so we present evidence to acquaint biologists and managers with the rationale for the changes. The species name of the rainbow trout becomes mykiss, an older Latinized indigenous name of the Kamchatka trout. The generic designation of rainbow and cutthroat trout poses a more subjective problem, involving four possibilities: Salmo, Oncorhynchus, Rhabdofario, and Parasalmo. The balance of evidenc...
Mechanical stability of PECVD silicon nitride protective films over bondwires, bonds and bondpads during thermal stress

Abstract PECVD silicon nitride thin films have potential application as protective diffusion barriers against water and aggressive ions which might corrode aluminum bondpads, bonds, and bondwires in packaged microelectronic assemblies. Test articles representing mounted and bonded devices were coated with silicon nitride films of thicknesses from 50 to 20,000 A, then subjected to temperature and chemical stresses. These thin films exhibited less tendency to crack under temperature stress than would be predicted based on the physical properties of bulk silicon nitride. Films of less than one micron thickness over Al structures did not crack under standard industrial temperature cycling and showed good coverage near the bond interfaces and around the bondwires. The spread of Al metallization corrosion under these films proceeded at a slower rate beneath the thinner films due to their more favorable mechanical properties. Although the intrinsic stresses could not be measured, the decreased tendency for the thinner films to crack is primarily a result of higher ultimate strain and not initial compressive stresses.
Non-selective Remote Sensing of Organic Pollutants by Laser Induced IR Fluorescence

Abstract A number of papers from this laboratory1–6 have described work which may be termed “feasibility studies” of the application of laser induced infrared fluorescence to remote sensing of molecular air pollutants. An initial attempt to demonstrate extra-laboratory remote sensing was made7 using a cassagrainian telescope system with a 4–1/4 inch aluminum coated primary. The analytical sensitivity of this system was found to be insufficient for remote sensing. It was felt that the power of the laser was too low for the detection of molecules more than a few feet from the detector. Further in the cassagrainian system, several feet of the laser optical path closest to the detector are shielded from the collecting mirror by the reflecting mirror. Since this part of the system is closest to the detector, it was felt that the signal for the most sensitive analytical region was eliminated from observation. In a second attempt to demonstrate remote sensing with this system the optics were redesigned.
UMASS/HUGHES: DESCRIPTION OF THE CIRCUS SYSTEM USED FOR TIPSTER TEXT

The primary goal of our effort is the development of robust and portable language processing capabilities for information extraction applications. The system under evaluation here is based on language processing components that have demonstrated strong performance capabilities in previous evaluations [Lehnert et al. 1992a]. Having demonstrated the general viability of these techniques, we are now concentrating on the practicality of our technology by creating trainable system components to replace hand-coded data and manually-engineered software.
Effects of Ro 15-4513, fluoxetine and desipramine on the intake of ethanol, water and food by the alcohol-preferring (P) and -nonpreferring (NP) lines of rats

The effects of the IP administration of RO 15-4513 (1, 2 and 4 mg/kg), fluoxetine (5 and 10 mg/kg) and desipramine (5 and 10 mg/kg) on the intake of 10% ethanol, H2O and food were determined in the selectively bred alcohol-preferring (P) and -nonpreferring (NP) lines of rats with daily access to fluids being limited to single 2-hour sessions. The imidazobenzodiazepine Ro 15-4513 (a partial inverse benzodiazepine agonist) significantly reduced the intake of 10% ethanol by the P rats to 50-60% of control levels in the first 30 minutes without altering food or H2O intake. The attenuating actions of 2 mg/kg Ro 15-4513 on ethanol intake could be completely blocked by the central benzodiazepine receptor antagonist Ro 15-1788 (10 mg/kg). Ro 15-1788, by itself, produced no effects on alcohol and H2O consumption. The 5 mg/kg dose of fluoxetine significantly reduced 10% ethanol intake by the P rats to 20% of control values without altering either H2O or food consumption. The 10 mg/kg dose of fluoxetine further reduced ethanol intake by the P rats, but this dose also reduced daily food intake to approximately 70% of normal. Desipramine at both doses significantly (p less than 0.05) reduced both ethanol and food uptake by the P rats and had a tendency to reduce H2O consumption as well. In general, the three drugs had effects in the NP rats similar to those observed for the P group, although the effects on 10% ethanol intake were difficult to compare because of the low, variable intake of alcohol by the NP group.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Effects of weekend admission on the outcomes and management of ruptured aortic aneurysms

Objective Ruptured aortic aneurysm is a condition with a high rate of mortality that requires prompt surgical intervention. It has been noted that in some conditions requiring such prompt intervention, in-hospital mortality is increased in patients admitted on the weekends compared with patients admitted on weekdays. We sought to determine if this was indeed the case for both ruptured thoracic aortic aneurysms (TAA) and abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAA) and to elucidate the possible reasons. Methods Using the Nationwide Inpatient Sample, a publicly available database of inpatient care, we analyzed the incidence of mortality among 7200 patients admitted on the weekends compared with weekdays for ruptured aortic aneurysm. Among these patients, 19% had a TAA and 81% had an AAA, and each group was analyzed for differences in mortality during the hospitalization. We adjusted for demographics, comorbid conditions, hospital characteristics, rates of surgical intervention, timing of surgical intervention, and use of additional therapeutic measures. Results Patients admitted on the weekend for both ruptured TAA and AAA had a statistically significant increase in mortality compared with those admitted on the weekdays (TAA: odds ratio, 2.55; 95% confidence interval, 1.77-3.68; P = .03; AAA: odds ratio, 1.32; 95% confidence interval, 1.13-1.55; P = .0004). Among those with TAA, a surgical intervention was performed on day of admission in 62.1% of weekday admissions vs 34.9% of weekend admissions ( P P Conclusions Weekend admission for ruptured aortic aneurysm is associated with an increased mortality compared with admission on a weekday, and this is likely due to several factors including a delay in prompt surgical intervention.
Polychlorinated biphenyls, dioxins, furans, and organochlorine pesticides in belted kingfisher eggs from the upper Hudson River basin, New York, USA

Nesting belted kingfishers (hereafter kingfishers, Ceryle alcyon) were studied on the Hudson River near Fort Edward south to New Baltimore (NY, USA) and three nearby river drainages in 2004. Concentrations of 28 organochlorine pesticides, 160 polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) congeners, and 17 dioxin and furan (PCDD-F) congeners were quantified in kingfisher eggs. The pattern of organochlorine pesticides and PCDD-F congeners did not differ significantly between 14 eggs collected from individual nests on the Hudson River and five eggs similarly collected on three other nearby rivers. In contrast, the pattern of PCB congeners in eggs collected on the Hudson River differed significantly from the other rivers. The differences in patterns of PCB congeners were associated with a higher representation of lower-numbered congeners on the Hudson River than the other rivers. The higher prevalence of the lower-numbered congeners and lower prevalence of the higher-numbered congeners is consistent with Aroclor 1016 and 1242 being the source of the PCBs on the Hudson River. Concentrations in a sample egg collected at each nest were compared to nest survival and egg success (the proportion of eggs hatching in a clutch if at least one egg hatched) of the remaining eggs in the clutch. Models that predicted nest survival and egg success as functions of contaminant levels were poorly distinguished from models that presumed no such associations. Small sample sizes could have contributed to the inability to distinguish among contaminant and no toxicant models. However, we cannot rule out the possibility that contaminant concentrations on the Hudson River were not sufficiently high to demonstrate a relationship between contaminant concentrations and reproductive success in kingfishers. Environ. Toxicol. Chem. 2010;29:99–110. Published 2009 SETAC
Temporal changes in endocardial energy metabolism following propranolol and the metabolic basis for protection against isoprenaline cardiotoxicity.

Propranolol infusions in open-chested, anaesthetised dogs increased endocardial levels of ATP and phosphocreatine. It reduced ADP, AMP, glucose-6-phosphate and lactate in this region. Endocardial glycogen was transiently increased. Metabolic perturbations in the endocardium produced by cardiotoxic doses of isoprenaline were prevented or reduced by propranolol pre-treatment. Thus, propranolol appears to have a more selective action on endocardial versus mid-myocardial or epicardial metabolism.
Experimental and Numerical Study of Solidification in Constant and Oscillating Temperature Gradients

Transient finite element models are developed to describe solidification of materials in constant and oscillating temperature gradients. Both moving grids and fixed methods are applied, with the former intended to model the near-planar solidification front, while the latter for complex solid-liquid interface morphology. Extensive numerical simulations are conducted for various configurations. To validate the model predictions, an experimental system has been set up with Succinonitrile (SCN) as a working fluid. The melt flows and solidification are measured using a laser PIV system. The measurements are compared well with numerical results obtained from the numerical models. Reasonably good agreement between the experimental measurements and numerical simulations is obtained.Copyright © 2003 by ASME
Fingerprinting cyanobionts and hosts of the Azolla symbiosis by DNA amplification

Cyanobionts of six species of the aquatic fernAzolla were evaluated by specific and random DNA profiles amplified by the DNA polymerase chain reaction. Simultaneous examination of the prokaryoticAnabaena azollae and the host was achieved using primers for the chloroplast-encoded intron of the tRNA-Leucine (UAA) gene. These amplifiedtrnL intron sizes, restriction fragment length polymorphisms of the amplified 16s rRNA gene, and random amplified polymorphic DNAs demonstrated the capacity of this method for the rapid assessment of similarities amongAnabaena azollae and minorAnabaena isolates fromAzolla.
OPTIMAL DEBT AND ENDOGENOUS GROWTH IN MODELS OF INTERNATIONAL FINANCE

The International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and the bond rating agencies did not anticipate the crises in Asia 1997–98 and in Argentina 2001. With this statement in mind, we consider some multi-stage inter-temporal stochastic optimisation models in international finance that imply theoretically founded and empirically measurable Early Warning Signals. The mathematical technique is dynamic programming/stochastic optimal control (DP/SOC). The variables of interest are the optimal foreign debt, consumption, capital and the growth rate of GDP. They are used as benchmarks of economic performance. By comparing the actual debt to the optimal debt we derive a measure of the sustainability of the debt and vulnerability to default problems. The two sources of uncertainty – the productivity of capital and the real interest rate on the foreign debt – are modeled as stochastic processes. Specific applications of the DP/SOC techniques are given for country defaults in Asia and Latin America, and the US current account deficits.
Secretory behaviour of hypertrophic and hyperplastic salivary gland.

The enzyme content and the secretory behaviour of normal rat salivary glands were compared with these properties in glands made hypertrophic and hyperplastic by the chronic administration of isoproterenol. The enlarged glands displayed reductions in the concentrations of ribonuclease, deoxyribonuclease and amylase. The secretory behaviourin vivo was similar for all enzymes in both types of glands, but the enlarged glands secreted a lower percentage of their contentin vitro. The reduction in amylase activity was shown by immunological techniques to be due to a reduction in the number of enzyme molecules. The reduction in ribonuclease activity was not due to changes in the level of ribonuclease inhibitors.
Operational tests on thyristor valves for Ningdong-Shandong ±660kV UHVDC project

For purchasing more efficiency, more power transmission capacity, UHVDC projects are employed in the gird of China. Thyristor valves, as one of the key equipments, must pass the operational tests in order to make sure the valve design is proper. In coordinate with IEC60700-1 standards and based on thorough investigation and comparison of exiting operational test circuits, a new operational tests circuit is developed and applied in the Ningdong-Shandong ±660kV UHVDC project. In this paper, the topology and working principle of the test circuit are introduced. Then test parameters and results are presented, showing that development of thyristor valves for Ningdong-Shandong UHVDC project is successful.
Transformations of Gaussian random fields to Brownian sheet and nonparametric change-point tests

Abstract It is shown that three important Gaussian random fields arising in statistics can be transformed to Brownian sheet. The Kiefer process, the tied-down Brownian sheet, and the 4-sided tied-down Brownian sheet are treated in this fashion. An application to change-point analysis is developed.
Activated protein C resistance caused by factor V gene mutation: Common coagulation defect in chronic venous leg ulcers?

Activated protein C resistance (APCR) may occur in up to one fourth of patients with venous leg ulcers and has recently emerged as the most frequent cause of venous thrombosis. Deep venous thrombosis often precedes deep venous insufficiency and is of major importance in the pathogenesis of venous leg ulcers. APCR is most frequently caused by a point mutation in the factor V gene (fV R506Q), resulting in reduced inactivation of activated factor V and imbalance of the hemostatic system. Recent data suggest that APCR/fV R506Q may be common in patients with venous leg ulcers. We review APCR as a genetically determined risk factor that may contribute to the development of venous leg ulcers. New diagnostic developments are discussed, and therapeutic guidelines specifically directed toward the prevention of thrombosis are suggested.
Bovine Cartilage, Coenzyme Q10, and Wheat Grass Therapy for Primary Peritoneal Cancer

The accepted postsurgical first-line therapy for primary peritoneal cancer has been a regime of chemotherapy. This paper reports the case of an 89-year-old female who refused chemotherapy but accepted a nutritional alternative. Results after more than 4 years of the nutritional regime have been encouraging with regards to objective and subjective measures.
Reunifying Families After an Out-of-Home Residential Stay: Evaluation of a Blended Intervention

For youth placed in out-of-home residential care, there has been a trend towards shorter lengths of stay and earlier reentry into the community. In order to support reentry, we propose blending out-of-home residential care with aftercare services. In this study 89 youth that were in or at risk of entering the juvenile justice system received a unique blend of a behavioral-focused residential care program with a family based in-home aftercare service. Results indicate that youth displayed decreased behavior problems and families practiced improved parenting skills at discharge. Further, at discharge from services youth were reported to engage in more positive interactions with peers. Follow-up data also suggested that at 12 months post-discharge, these youth had a high rate of remaining arrest-free, were living in a homelike setting, and had either graduated or were attending school.
Predicting bioavailability and bioaccumulation with in vitro digestive fluid extraction.

Bioavailability of sediment-associated contaminants was assessed in parallel tests by means of a bivalve (Macoma nasuta) bioaccumulation assay and a novel in vitro digestive fluid extraction procedure. Digestive fluid was obtained from the deposit-feeding polychaete Arenicola brasiliensis and used to extract sediments from a U.S. Navy facility. Both the digestive fluid extraction and the bivalve bioaccumulation test identified Cd, Pb, high molecular weight polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (HPAHs), and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) as the contaminants of concern; both procedures indicated that As, Cu, Hg, Ni, Zn, and low molecular weight polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons were rarely, if ever, of concern. The only contaminant for which the techniques consistently differed was Cr, a result attributable to constraints on intestinal absorption of the metal by the bivalves. For Cd and Pb, the concentration attained in digestive fluid during a brief extraction was highly correlated with concentration attained in the bivalve after a 28-d exposure; correlation was marginal for HPAHs and was nonsignificant for PCBs. However, bulk sediment concentrations were equally good predictors of bioaccumulation because of minimal differences in bioavailability from the most contaminated sediments. In vitro contaminant extraction with the digestive fluid assay has potential as a screening tool to predict relative bioaccumulation risk, and has several advantages over traditional tests.
Domination or equilibrium

Abstract In the dynamics of an evolutionary game an equilibrium in which all strategy types occur is called an interior equilibrium. Interior equilibria fail to exist only when there is domination among the strategy types.
The interaction of cobalt with hydrous manganese dioxide

Abstract Adsorption of cobalt on synthetic hydrous manganese dioxide was studied as a function of pH and surface area in NaCl solutions and solutions containing sea water concentrations of Na, Ca and Mg. The amount of cobalt adsorbed increased sharply at pH 6, a significantly lower pH than that required for significant hydrolysis of Co(II) or precipitation of Co(OH) 2 (S) in bulk solution. Sea water concentrations of Na, Ca and Mg have little effect on adsorption until the cobalt concentration is less than 10 −7 M. Micro-electrophoresis experiments from 1 × 10 −3 M to 1 × 10 −5 M to Co(II) show three charge reversals. The first is the pH of zero point charge of hydrous manganese dioxide. The second correlates well with the abrupt increase in adsorption at pH 6 and may reflect both specific adsorption of Co(II) and precipitation of Co(OH) 2 on the surface. The third agrees well with literature values for the pH of zero point of charge of Co(OH) 2 . An adsorption isotherm was constructed for cobalt and these data were used to test the hypothesis that the enrichment of cobalt in the suspended matter of the Black Sea is due to adsorption of cobalt from sea water by manganese dioxide. The calculations indicate that adsorption is a feasible explanation for this example.
Fabrication of a nanoscale electric field sensor

A new nanoscale electric field sensor was developed for studying triboelectric charging in terrestrial and Martian dust devils. The sensor was fabricated using MEMS techniques, integrated at the system level, and deployed during a dust devil field campaign. The two-terminal piezoresistive sensor consists of a micron-scale network of suspended singlewalled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) that are mechanically coupled to a free-standing electrically conductor. Electrostatic coupling of the conductor to the electric field is expected to produce a deflection of the conductor and a corresponding change in nanotube device resistance, based on the known piezoresistive properties of SWCNTs. The projected device performance will allow measurement of the large electric fields for large dust devils without saturation. With dimensions on the 100 μm scale and power consumption of only tens of nW, the sensor features dramatically reduced mass, power, and footprint. Recent field testing of the sensor demonstrated the robustness of suspended SWCNT devices to temperature fluctuations, mechanical shock, dust, and other environmental factors.
Evolution of Microstructure and Rheology in Mixed Polysaccharide Systems

Synergistic biopolymer blends composed of xanthan and enzymatically modified guar galactomannan are investigated in terms of their time-dependent properties. In particular, a side-chain cleaving enzyme, α-galactosidase, is used to cleave off galactose sugar units from guar to produce modified galactomannans with varying galactose contents of 25.2 and 16.2%. Laser scanning confocal microscopy and dynamic rheology are used to monitor the properties of each of these two modified guar gum in solution as well as in blends with xanthan as they are allowed to age over a period of 3 weeks. Our results indicate that solutions of guar with a higher galactose (25.2%) content undergo no rheological change over the period of observation and show a constant gel elastic modulus (G‘) in blends with xanthan. Confocal images of the solutions and the blends also indicate that the systems are stable over a period of 3 weeks. In contrast, guar gum with a lower galactose content (16.2%) forms interchain associations in solutio...
Characterization of ionotrophic purinergic receptors in hepatocytes.

Ionotrophic purinergic (P2X) receptors function as receptor-gated cation channels, where agonist binding leads to opening of a nonselective cation pore permeable to both Na+ and Ca2+. Based on evidence that extracellular adenosine 5′-triphosphate (ATP) stimulates glucose release from liver, these studies evaluate whether P2X receptors are expressed by hepatocytes and contribute to ATP-dependent calcium signaling and glucose release. Studies were performed in isolated hepatocytes from rats and mice and hepatoma cells from humans and rats. Transcripts and protein for both P2X4 and P2X7 were detectable, and immunohistochemistry of intact liver revealed P2X4 in the basolateral and canalicular domains. In whole cell patch clamp studies, exposure to the P2X4/P2X7 receptor agonist 2′3′-O-(4-benzoyl-benzoyl)-adenosine 5′-triphosphate (BzATP; 10 μM) caused a rapid increase in membrane Na+ conductance. Similarly, with Fluo-3 fluorescence, BzATP induced an increase in intracellular [Ca2+]. P2X4 receptors are likely involved because the calcium response to BzATP was inhibited by Cu2+, and the P2X4 modulators Zn2+ and ivermectin (0.3-3 μM) each increased intracellular [Ca2+]. Exposure to BzATP decreased cellular glycogen content; and P2X4 receptor messenger RNA increased in glycogen-rich liver samples. Conclusion: These studies provide evidence that P2X4 receptors are functionally important in hepatocyte Na+ and Ca2+ transport, are regulated by extracellular ATP and divalent cation concentrations, and may constitute a mechanism for autocrine regulation of hepatic glycogen metabolism. (HEPATOLOGY 2007.)
Critical Review: The Health Significance of Environmental Odor Pollution

Abstract Environmental odor pollution problems generate a significant fraction of the publicly initiated complaints received by air pollution control districts. Such complaints can trigger a variety of enforcement activities under existing state and local statutes. However, because of the frequently transient timing of exposures, odor sources often elude successful abatement. Furthermore, because of the predominantly subjective nature of associated health complaints, air pollution control authorities may predicate their enforcement activities upon a judgment of the public health impact of the odor source. Noxious environmental odors may trigger symptoms by a variety of physiologic mechanisms, including exacerbation of underlying medical conditions, innate odor aversions, aversive conditioning phenomena, stress-induced illness, and possible pheromonal reactions. Whereas relatively consistent patterns of subjective symptoms have been reported among individuals who live near environmental odor sources, docum...
Ray Flynn's Legacy: American Cities and the Progressive Agenda

Can urban progressivism flourish in a climate that is also hospitable to the interests of business — developers and industrialists alike? Pushing the “city limits” implies striking this balance, but addressing the root causes of abject urban poverty may ultimately exceed the capacity of the most progressive urban agenda.
The TREX1 exonuclease R114H mutation in Aicardi-Goutières syndrome and lupus reveals dimeric structure requirements for DNA degradation activity.

Mutations in the TREX1 gene cause Aicardi-Goutieres syndrome (AGS) and are linked to the autoimmune disease systemic lupus erythematosus. The TREX1 protein is a dimeric 3′ DNA exonuclease that degrades DNA to prevent inappropriate immune activation. One of the most common TREX1 mutations, R114H, causes AGS as a homozygous and compound heterozygous mutation and is found as a heterozygous mutation in systemic lupus erythematosus. The TREX1 proteins containing R114H and the insertion mutations aspartate at position 201 (D201ins) and alanine at position 124 (A124ins), found in compound heterozygous AGS with R114H, were prepared and the DNA degradation activities were tested. The homodimer TREX1R114H/R114H exhibits a 23-fold reduced single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) exonuclease activity relative to TREX1WT. The TREX1D201ins/D201ins and TREX1A124ins/A124ins exhibit more than 10,000-fold reduced ssDNA degradation activities. However, the TREX1R114H/D201ins and TREX1R114H/A124ins compound heterodimers exhibit activities 10-fold greater than the TREX1R114H/R114H homodimer during ssDNA and double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) degradation. These higher levels of activities measured in the TREX1R114H/D201ins and TREX1R114H/A124ins compound heterodimers are attributed to Arg-114 residues of TREX1D201ins and TREX1A124ins positioned at the dimer interface contributing to the active sites of the opposing TREX1R114H protomer. This interpretation is further supported by exonuclease activities measured for TREX1 enzymes containing R114A and R114K mutations. These biochemical data provide direct evidence for TREX1 residues in one protomer contributing to DNA degradation catalyzed in the opposing protomer and help to explain the dimeric TREX1 structure required for full catalytic competency.
Integration, alignment, and initial performance results of the Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer (FUSE) spectrograph

The Center for Astrophysics and Space Astronomy (CASA) recently delivered to the Johns Hopkins University the Far Ultraviolet Spectrograph Instrument for integration into the far ultraviolet spectroscopic explorer (FUSE) satellite. In addition to the optical design of the FUSE instrument, the CASA/FUSE team was responsible for development of major optical components of the spectrograph and the final assembly and alignment of the instrument.In this paper we present the optical design, alignment methodologies employed, and performance characteristics of the instrument as delivered to the Johns Hopkins University. In addition, we discuss how we determined the resolution of the instrument capable of resolving powers in excess of 30,000. We also discuss the contamination control and monitoring and stability testing of the instrument, i.e. vibration, thermal distortion, and longterm stability testing.
Studies on aspergilli xix. Role of carbon and nitrogen on citric acid production

The effect of various carbon and nitrogen compounds on the production of citric acid byAspergillus luchuensis was studied under controlled conditions. Unhydrolysed sucrose was better than the hydrolysed one. The other carbon sources, viz., maltose, lactose, ‘Gur’, ‘Ral’ and cane molasses were unsuitable for citric acid fermentation. With all these carbohydrates low yields were obtained. Sodium nitrate was found to be the best nitrogen source for the maximum yield of citric acid. It was closely followed by potassium nitrate. Ammonium compounds and amino acids, in general, were unsuitable for the production of citric acid.