cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
On Seeking Common Ground between Medical Ecology and Critical Medical Anthropology

he power of a political-economic perspective is clear at a time when the penetration of world capitalism has led to widespread environmental degradation, disruption of the fabric of social life, and manifold constraints on biobehavioral responses. Yet, to dismiss the importance of biobehavioral responses and the reciprocal effects that such responses have with social relations and the environment, seriously diminishes the scope of anthropological interpretation. Ideological and epistemological barriers doubtlessly divide human ecological and adaptability and critical and political-economic perspectives,' making a complementary approach impossible for some to envision. At the extremes, critiques of a functionalist, positivist, reductionist, and ultimately alienating human biological science are juxtaposed with a disdain for a nonscientific, ideologically driven advocacy approach to information generation. Witnessing the debate in the Anthropology Newsletter over the salience of the "four field approach" gives one pause that anthropology is close to so fundamental a crisis of disagreement that the sides (mainly biological anthropologists on one side and cultural anthropologists on the other) are at risk of no longer communicating with each other (Brown and Yoffee 1992). The struggle to hold the field together and maintain a firm biocultural perspective is particularly acute in bridging subfields such as medical anthropology. Thus, in our assessment, quite a bit is at stake in the debate within medical anthropology. This comment is directed from a biological anthropology perspective toward articulating the need for integrated approaches in medical anthropology and possible directions this might take. The potential for more integrative approaches remains strong, as long as scholars such as Andrea Wiley and Merrill Singer continue to communicate across the divide within medical anthropology. Wiley and Singer, together, have made substantial contributions in identifying tensions and points of paradigmatic conflict between medical ecology and adaptability and critical medical anthropology. In her response to Singer's (1989) critique, Wiley (1992) has provided the most comprehensive, current defense of the adaptation and 202
Photospheric Magnetic Reconnection and Canceling Magnetic Features on the Sun

Parameters describing quasi-steady reconnecting current sheets in the plasma of the solar photosphere and chromosphere are computed using the VAL-C atmospheric model. In particular, the inflow speed for the Sweet-Parker magnetic reconnection is found for a sheet whose width is determined by the density scale height. The resulting speed of several tens of meters per second corresponds closely to the speeds implied by observations of canceling magnetic features on the Sun. This and other arguments support photospheric magnetic reconnection as the cancellation mechanism. The reconnection process should be most efficient around the temperature minimum region about 600 km above the lower photospheric boundary.
Look who's talking: a prospective study of familial transmission of language impairments

Language impairments have been hypothesized to have a genetic component. Previous studies of the familial aggregation of language impairments have relied on a retrospective approach based on parental/self-reported history of language development. This study examined familial aggregation prospectively, by investigating language acquisition and cognitive development in the younger siblings and offspring of individuals with well-defined language impairments. It was predicted that children with a positive family history for language impairments would be more likely to show delays in language acquisition than would age- and gender-matched controls. Similar delays were not expected in nonlinguistic domains, such as conceptual, gestural, or general cognitive development. Ten children with a positive family history and 10 age- and gender-matched controls were tested. Analyses of linguistic and cognitive assessments at 16 to 26 months confirmed the predictions. Children with a family history of language impairments had lower receptive and expressive language scores than controls, with 50% of them scoring at least 1.5 SD below the mean for their age. At the same time, performance on a number of tasks that did not rely on language abilities did not differ as a function of family history. These results indicate that children with a positive family history for language impairments are at risk for language delay; the results also support a familial component to language impairments.
Molecular mechanics calculations (MM3) on bicycloalkyl hydrocarbons

Abstract A series of bicycloalkyl hydrocarbons were studied using molecular mechanics methods (MM3), and the results were compared with the experimental data available. Five compounds were studied: bicyclopropyl, bicyclobutyl, bicyclopentyl, bicyclohexyl and 2,3-dimethylbutane. In general, the MM3 results are in good agreement with experimental values. Predicted structures and conformations are given for the bicyclopentyl previously uninvestigated experimentally.
Juvenile hormone biosynthesis in M. sexta: substrate specificity of insect prenyltransferase utilizing homologous diphosphate analogs.

Abstract Analogs of dimethylallyl diphosphate (DMAPP) and geranyl diphosphate (GPP) were prepared and tested as potential substrates of prenyltransferase of the tobacco hornworm, Manduca sexta , and of a sesquiterpene synthase derived from pig liver. Enzyme derived from corpora allata homogenates of both the larval and adult stage of M. sexta coupled each of the DMAPP analogs to produce homologous geranyl and farnesyl diphosphate products in the order ( Z )-3-ethyl>( Z )-3- n -propyl>( Z )-3-methyl (DMAPP)>( Z )-3- i -propyl⩾( Z )-3- n -butyl. In competition studies, the ethyl and n -propyl analogs either enhanced or had no effect on DMAPP coupling, whereas the larger analogs were inhibitors. ( Z )-7-ethyl and (2 Z ,6 Z )-3,7-diethyl analogs of GPP were as good, if not better substrates of larval prenyltransferase, while the C-3 ethyl analog of GPP, which is precursor to an isomeric form of juvenile hormone (JH) that is not typically found in insects, was poorly coupled by the enzyme. While similarities were seen for whole-cell extracts derived from adult and larval M. sexta , adult prenyltransferase derived from cytosolic and 16,000× g pellet fractions displayed distinct competitive coupling of GPP and its homologs, suggesting differences in substrate specificity as a result of enzyme localization. In contrast to M. sexta , the pig liver enzyme poorly coupled each of the homologous DMAPP derivatives, and the homologous derivatives of GPP were less efficiently coupled than GPP. These results indicate that prenyltransferase in M. sexta possesses high steric latitude at the ( Z )-C-3 and C-7 alkyl positions of DMAPP and GPP, respectively, in contrast to other animal prenyltransferases but in keeping with the enzyme's presumptive role in homologous JH metabolism.
Differential sorption of herbicides as related to soil topography and organic matter.

Abstract The sorption of bromacil and simazine by the surface soil (0–15 cm) sampled at various positions along an 8% slope citrus grove (Candler fine sand; Typic Quartzipsamment) and at various depths (0–200 cm) at upper, middle, and lower positions along the slope were investigated. The sorption of both herbicides by the top 15 cm soil decreased considerably from the upper to mid position along the slope and increased at the lower position. The organic matter content and concentrations of Ca, Mg, K, P, and Cu in the soil showed evidence of transport of organic matter and mineral nutrients from the mid position on the slope and accumulation in the lower position. The differential sorption of herbicides by the soil samples taken at various positions along the slope was closely related to changes in organic matter content. Although sorption of bromacil and simazine varied considerably at various positions along the slope, the sorption of bromacil was very similar at depths below 30 cm regardless of positio...
A study of the low molecular weight components of furfuryl alcohol polymers

Low molecular weight components of both an acid-polymerized and a γ-alumina polymerized furfuryl alcohol polymer were separated by gas chromatography utilizing a Porapak type P-S column packing. The identities of the separated polymer components were established by infrared spectroscopy, mass spectrometry, and nuclear magnetic resonance analysis. Volatile constituents found to be common to both furfuryl alcohol resin types were: furfuryl alcohol, water, difurylmethane, difurfuryl ether, and 2,5-difurfurylfuran. Also, 5-furfurylfurfuryl alcohol was found to be present only in the acid-polymerized resin, and 4-furfuryl-2-pentenoic acid γ-lactone was a constituent only of the γ-alumina-polymerized resin. Contrary to expectation, no esters of levulinic acid were found among the low molecular weight components of the γ-alumina-polymerized furfuryl alcohol polymer.
Differential effects of opioid peptides on myocardial ischemic tolerance.

BACKGROUND Opioid peptides, which can induce mammalian hibernation, may provide protection against subcellular and molecular changes during hypothermic myocardial ischemia. This study examined the differential effects of the three known myocyte opioid receptors, Mu (micro), Delta (delta), and Kappa (kappa), in augmenting myocardial ischemic tolerance. METHODS Control hearts (CH) were compared to hearts pretreated with either the micro-agonist, fentanyl, the delta-agonist, DADLE, or delta-antagonist, NTB, or the kappa-agonist, U50488H (U50), or kappa-antagonist, nor-BNI. The percent return of isovolemic developed pressure (LVDP), myocardial oxygen consumption (MVO(2)), and coronary flow (CF) following 2 h of global hypothermic cardioplegic ischemia were recorded in isolated Langendorff perfused hearts. RESULTS At 45 min of reperfusion, hearts pretreated with either DADLE or U50488H demonstrated significantly improved functional recovery versus controls (P < 0.05) and significantly depressed recovery with NTB or nor-BNI pretreatment (P < 0.05). Pretreatment with fentanyl was not significantly different than controls. Furthermore, DADLE, U50488H, or fentanyl resulted in increased MVO(2) versus controls (P < 0.05). There was no difference in CF between all groups. CONCLUSIONS This study demonstrates that the micro-receptor does not appear to confer a beneficial effect. However, selective delta- and kappa-agonists provide significant myocardial protection. Moreover, hearts pretreated with an opioid antagonist showed a marked decrement in both functional and metabolic integrity. These results taken together would imply a positive and negative constitutive role of delta- and kappa-opioids in the regulation of myocardial ischemic tolerance. This utilization of opioid receptor stimulation may have profound clinical applications.
Chronic alpha 1-adrenoreceptor stimulation increases DNA synthesis in rat arterial wall. Modulation of responsiveness after vascular injury.

Despite indirect evidence from studies using adrenergic antagonists or sympathectomy, catecholamines have never been shown directly to stimulate vascular smooth muscle cell (SMC) DNA replication in vivo. We studied whether a chronic infusion of catecholamine stimulates SMC replication in vivo in both uninjured arteries and arteries with a neointima formed after vascular injury. Animals were killed after 2 weeks of continuous infusion of bromodeoxyuridine (to label replicating DNA) and either phenylephrine, norepinephrine, or vehicle solution, starting early (third week) or late (ninth week) after balloon injury to the left common carotid artery. In catecholamine-infused animals, the uninjured carotid artery or thoracic aorta showed a marked increase in cross-sectional area (>25%) and frequency of cells undergoing DNA synthesis among medial SMCs (4- to 10-fold) and endothelial cells (13-fold). With catecholamine infusion at 9 to 10 weeks after injury, the media or neointima of the injured carotid artery sh...
Radiosensitization by gemcitabine fixed-dose-rate infusion versus bolus injection in a pancreatic cancer model.

It has recently been shown that fixed-dose-rate (gemcitabine) infusion may be superior to bolus gemcitabine in the treatment of metastatic pancreas cancer. We wished to compare the radiosensitizing effects of fixed-dose-rate gemcitabine infusion to standard bolus injection. We measured weight loss and mouse intestinal crypt survival to determine equally toxic concentrations of gemcitabine administered through a 3-hour fixed-dose-rate infusion versus bolus injection in combination with fractionated radiation. To measure the effect of fixed-dose-rate gemcitabine infusion or bolus injection on radiosensitization, we treated mice bearing Panc-1 xenografts with equally toxic concentrations of gemcitabine (100 mg/kg fixed-dose-rate infusion or 500 mg/kg bolus injection) and fractionated radiation and monitored tumor growth. We found that 100 mg/kg gemcitabine through fixed-dose-rate infusion produced the same weight loss and intestinal crypt toxicity as the 500 mg/kg bolus injection. In nude mice bearing Panc-1 xenografts, fixed-dose-rate gemcitabine infusion produced greater radiosensitization than bolus injection with tumor doubling times of 44 ± 5 versus 29 ± 3 days, respectively (*P
Adopting E-Readers with a Purpose: Surveying Users to Develop a Recreational Reading Kindle Lending Program

Studies have shown that students and faculty have reservations about the performance and usability of e-readers in an academic setting. However, incorporating e-readers on college campuses for recreational reading purposes has proven to be quite popular. These trends held true in a study conducted by librarians at St. Mary's College of Maryland. Students, faculty, and staff were surveyed on their use of and familiarity with e-books, e-readers, and tablet devices with e-reader functionality. Information gathered from this survey resulted in the launch of a pilot Kindle lending program focused exclusively on promoting recreational reading.
Coverage-Based Information Retrieval for Lifetime Maximization in Sensor Networks

We consider information retrieval in a wireless sensor network deployed to monitor a spatially correlated random field. We address sensor scheduling in each data collection under the performance measure of network lifetime. We formulate this problem as an energy constrained coverage problem and proposal a scheduling algorithm based on a greedy approach. In the proposed algorithm, we consider the impact of both the network geometry and the energy consumption by sensors to the network lifetime. Numerical examples are carried out to demonstrate the performance of the proposed algorithm.
Filmwise condensation from a flowing vapor onto isothermal, axisymmetric bodies

A model is developed for the study of laminar, filmwise condensation from flowing vapors onto isothermal, axisymmetric bodies. The method extends and combines earlier theoretical work, and relies upon earlier experimental studies. However, it is unique in as much as it geometrically generalizes these ideas, and removes a previously imposed assumption. Although the simplifications (in particular the asymptotic shear stress approximation) render the model slightly less accurate than numerical solutions of the coupled two-phase conservation equations, the results appear to be accurate within a few percent, and it is much simpler and easier to apply. A planar geometry (the cylinder in crossflow) is used to verify the analysis, and then it is applied to a cone at a zero angle of attack, and a sphere in a uniform flow. These have not previously appeared in the literature. 27 refs.
Benefits of linkage to the National Death Index in the Longitudinal Study of Aging.

To reduce the potential bias resulting from differential loss to follow-up in the Longitudinal Study of Aging (LSOA), information obtained from household contact methods was supplemented with infor...
Driver Behavior Analysis Using Vehicle Safety Systems’ Field Operational Test Data

The United States Department of Transportation’s (US DOT) Research and Innovative Technology Administration’s John A. Volpe National Transportation Systems Center (Volpe Center), under the direction of the US DOT Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) Office of Research and Development (R&D), is leveraging the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) sponsored Integrated Vehicle Based Safety System (IVBSS) Light Vehicle (LV) Field Operational Test (FOT) to collect and analyze drivers’ activities at or on approach to highway-rail grade crossings. Grade crossings in Michigan, Indiana, and Ohio were cross-referenced with IVBSS LV FOT research vehicle location to identify the time research vehicles were present at a crossing. The IVBSS LV FOT included 108 participants that took a total of 22,656 trips. Of the 22,656 total trips, 3,137 trips included a total of 4,215 grade crossing events.The analysis was based of drivers’ activities at the 4,215 grade crossing events. Both looking behavior and distractions did not significantly differ based on gender. However when analyzed per age-group, younger drivers (between 20 to 30 years old) were significantly more likely to be distracted than middle-aged drivers (between 40 to 50 years old) or older drivers (between 60 to 70 years old). For looking behavior, the data revealed that older drivers are more likely to look at least one way at or on approach to highway-rail crossing (43.8 percent exhibited this behavior) than either middle-aged drivers (35.0 percent exhibited this behavior) or younger drivers (25.3 percent exhibited this behavior).© 2012 ASME
Rifting episode in north iceland in 1874–1875 and the eruptions of askja and sveinagja

In 1874 and 1875 the fissure swarm of Askja central volcano was activated during a major rifting episode. This rifting resulted in a fissure eruption of 0.3 km3 basaltic magma in Sveinagja graben, 50 to 70 km north of Askja and subsequent caldera collapse forming the Oskjuvatn caldera within the main Askja caldera. Five weeks after initial collapse, an explosive mixed magma eruption took place in Askja. On the basis of matching chemistry, synchronous activity and parallels with other rifted central volcanoes, the events in Askja and its lissure swarm are attributed to rise of basaltic magma into a high-level reservoir in the central volcano, subsequent rifting of the reservoir and lateral flow magma within the fissure swarm to emerge in the Sveinagja eruption. This lateral draining of the Askja reservoir is the most plausible cause for caldera collpse.
Analysis and testing of an optical add/drop multiplexer based on MEMS micro-actuators

Optical ADD/DROP multiplexers (OADM) are incorporated into all-optical network structures that provide fixed access to a subset of the wavelengths in Wavelength Division Multiplexer (WDM) systems. The rapid growth of broadband data communications and the drive toward cost reduction have made optical MEMS (Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems) an extremely attractive technology for applications in optical communications. This paper will present theoretical analysis, simulation and testing results of an ADD/DROP multiplexer based on the MEMS-based micro-actuators. The micro-actuator is a MEMS-based compound grating (MCG) with a reconfigurable surface that couples the mechanical motion with optical diffraction. The diffraction patterns depend on the wavelength, incident angle and the grating structural parameters. This property is used to design an OADM that can be applied to broad areas in optical communication. A theoretical analysis is presented to establish the relationship between diffraction beams and the structural parameters of the grating, the wavelength of incident light, incident angle. Prototypes of these micro-actuators have been fabricated. The initial testing demonstrated the feasibility of using the MCG as an OADM. New designs of the MCG for application to the 1.55um optical telecommunication standard will be discussed.© (2002) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Depositional Supersequences Among Cenozoic Strata of U.S. Atlantic Continental Margin: ABSTRACT

Integration of outcrop, borehole, and seismic reflection stratigraphy reveals the broad-scale depositional framework of Cenozoic strata of the U.S. Atlantic margin. The principal feature of the framework is a series of depositional supersequences bounded by interregional erosional unconformities that can be traced from coastal plain outcrops to the continental rise. The Atlantic continental margin is divided into five depositional areas: the Salisbury, Albemarle, and Charleston embayments; a composite of the entire Atlantic coastal plain; and a composite of the Atlantic shelf and slope. The major depositional episodes are early and middle Eocene in all depositional areas, late Eocene in all areas except the Albemarle embayment, early Oligocene on the composite shelf and s ope, late Oligocene in all depositional areas but minor in the Salisbury embayment, and early, middle, late Miocene and Pliocene in all areas. Paleoenvironmental and paleo-oceanographic analyses of the sediments and associated fossil assemblages indicate that alternation of major depositional and erosional episodes is controlled chiefly by the relative position of sea level. Thus, the supersequences correlate with the supercycles of the Vail sea level model. The bounding unconformities, in turn, correlate with the major global unconformities of the Vail model. Local variations among such things as terrigenous sediment supply, subsidence rates, and the position of major geostrophic currents, however, may accentuate or diminish the sea level effects. End_of_Article - Last_Page 1445------------
Female sex offenders’ anticipations for re-entry: Do they really know what they’re in for?

Recent research points to the fact that sex offender registration has collateral consequences for those who are placed on the registry. Little is known about female sex offenders, particularly their thoughts about what will happen to them once they are released from prison. This study adds to what is known about sex offender perceptions of the registry. Forty-one incarcerated female sex offenders were interviewed to assess their perceptions of what they would face once released and returned to the community including their potential placement on the sex offender registry. Results indicate that female sex offenders believed they would face challenges in housing and employment and were fearful of being stigmatized as ‘sexual predators’ regardless of their actual conviction. In contrast, the women were hopeful that they could have positive family relationships. Study implications and limitations are also discussed.
Photography in Wang's Chang Hen Ge (The Song of Everlasting Sorrow)

In her article "Photography in Wang's Chang Hen Ge (Song of Everlasting Sorrow)" Hong Zeng analyzes Wang's novel in the context of imagery following the theoretical framework of photography as proposed in the work of Xun Lu and Roland Barthes. According to both Xun Lu and Roland Barthes, the spectacle of photography is tied to the notion of the "the theater of the dead." Further, according to Walter Benjamin, photography is linked with the motif of exile: it is the estrangement between self and image under the spotlight, the daily enlarged disparity between the perennial life preserved by the photograph and the reality of the corporeal being subject to the erosion of time. Wang's novel features a protagonist whose nostalgia for the beauty of 1930s Shanghai gradually loses her contact with reality in the contemporary world. Zeng's analysis with the notion of photography as postulated by Xun Lu and Barthes suggests that the novel's central perspective of exile, death, images of the past, and the divorce of body and image results in the protagonist's sense of loss of reality. Hong Zeng, "Photography in Wang's The Song of Everlasting Sorrow" page 2 of 7 CLCWeb: Comparative Literature and Culture 12.3 (2010):
Biological Basis of Hearing-Aid Design

We show that we can accurately model the auditory-nerve discharge patterns in response to sounds as complex as speech and ask how we may exploit this knowledge to test new strategies for hearing-aid signal processing. We describe the auditory-nerve representations of vowels in normal and noise-damaged ears. The normal representations are predicted well by a cochlear signal processing model originally developed by Carney (Carney, L. H. J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 93:401-417, 1993). Basilar-membrane tuning is represented by a time-varying narrow-band filter. Outer hair cell control of tuning is exerted by a nonlinear feedback path. We show that the effects of noise-induced outer hair cell damage can be modeled by scaling the feedback signal appropriately and use the model to test one strategy for hearing-aid speech processing. We conclude by discussing some aspects of future trends in biomedical engineering approaches to problems of hearing impairment.
Validity of Self-Reported Periodontal Status in the Florida Dental Care Study

Background: Our objectives were to assess the validity of self-reported periodontal status by quantifying the 1) concordance between self-reported and clinical status at baseline; and 2) validity using a multivariable regression of self-reported periodontal status and sociodemographic status.Methods: The Florida Dental Care Study was a prospective study that used a population-based, stratified random sample of 873 persons in four counties of north Florida who were ≥45 years of age at baseline. Analyses used baseline data derived from in-person interviews and clinical periodontal examinations. Multivariable logistic regressions were done to quantify the relationships between the outcome (clinically determined periodontal attachment level) and predictors (self-reported dental symptoms, self-reported dental behaviors, sociodemographic circumstances, and clinically determined number of remaining teeth).Results: Self-rated “gum” health and presence of a loose tooth were the only periodontal measures that were ...
Tailored anomalous group-velocity dispersion in silicon channel waveguides

We present the first experimental demonstration of anomalous group-velocity dispersion (GVD) in silicon waveguides across the telecommunication bands. We show that the GVD in such waveguides can be tuned from -2000 to 1000 ps/(nm·km) by tailoring the cross-sectional size and shape of the waveguide.
The science process for selecting the landing site for the 2011 Mars Science Laboratory

The process of identifying the landing site for NASA’s 2011 Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) began in 2005 by defining science objectives, related to evaluating the potential habitability of a location on Mars, and engineering parameters, such as elevation, latitude, winds, and rock abundance, to determine acceptable surface and atmospheric characteristics. Nearly 60 candidate sites were considered at a series of open workshops in the years leading up to the launch. During that period, iteration between evolving engineering constraints and the relative science potential of candidate sites led to consensus on four final sites. The final site will be selected in the Spring of 2011 by NASA’s Associate Administrator for the Science Mission Directorate. This paper serves as a record of landing site selection activities related primarily to science, an inventory of the number and variety of sites proposed, and a summary of the science potential of the highest ranking sites.
Photocurent spectroscopy in thin-film insulators: Voltage dependence of the external-circuit current

Abstract : An analytical model for trapping state photodepopulation measurements in conductor-thin film insulator-conductor structures is presented. The external circuit current dependence on applied voltage is determined, and it is shown that moments of the spatial distribution of trapped charge in the insulator can be extracted from collected charge vs. applied field characteristic curves. The photodepopulation technique is compared with more widely used differential capacitance and photoemission current techniques.
Prolactin and Osmoregulation

The actions of prolactin in hydromineral metabolism in all vertebrate classes are reviewed, and the impact of the studies on nonmammalian vertebrates in providing impetus for comparable research in mammals is emphasized. The teleost bladder is a model system for analyzing the interaction of prolactin and cortisol in transport processes; a parallelism is suggested between this model and the prolactin/cortisol regulation of ion and water movements during milk secretion. The immediate osmoregulatory effects claimed for prolacti in vitro are questioned; however, under organ-culture conditions the action of the hormone is readily demonstrable. Progress in the isolation of teleost prolactin and the role of osmotic factors in regulating prolactin secretion are briefly described.
Single-Step Grafting of Aminooxy-Peptides to Hyaluronan: A Simple Approach to Multifunctional Therapeutics for Experimental Autoimmune Encephalomyelitis

The immune response to antigens is directed in part by the presence or absence of costimulatory signals. The ability to coincidently present both antigen and, for example, a peptide that inhibits or activates the costimulatory pathway, would be a valuable tool for tolerization or immunization, respectively. A simple reaction scheme utilizing oxime chemistry was identified as a means to efficiently conjugate different peptide species to hyaluronan. Peptides synthesized with an aminooxy N-terminus reacted directly to hyaluronan under slightly acidic aqueous conditions without the need for a catalyst. The resulting oxime bond was found to rapidly hydrolyze at pH 2 releasing peptide, but was stable at higher pH values (5.5 and 7). Two different peptide species, a multiple sclerosis antigen (PLP) and an ICAM-1 ligand (LABL) known to block immune cell stimulation, were functionalized with the aminooxy end group. These peptides showed similar reactivity to hyaluronan and were conjugated in an equimolar ratio. The resulting hyaluronan with grafted PLP and LABL significantly inhibited disease in mice with experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis, a model of multiple sclerosis. Aminooxy-peptides facilitate simple synthesis of multifunctional hyaluronan graft polymers, thus enabling novel approaches to antigen-specific immune modulation.
Expression of Activating KIR2DS2 and KIR2DS4 Genes after Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation: Relevance to Cytomegalovirus Infection

The important role of activating killer immunoglobulin-like receptors (KIRs) in protecting against cytomegalovirus (CMV) reactivation has been described previously in patients undergoing hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT). More specifically, the presence of multiple activating KIRs and the presence of at least KIR2DS2 and KIR2DS4 in the donor genotype identified a group of HCT patients at low risk for CMV reactivation. However, CMV infection still occurs in patients with the KIR protective genotype, and the question has been raised as to whether this is related to the lack of KIR expression. In this report, expression of the KIR2DS2 and KIR2DS4 genes, as measured by mRNA-based quantitative polymerase chain reaction in both the donor cells and the HCT recipient cells, was studied relative to CMV reactivation. In the control samples from healthy donors, the median range for KIR2DS2 and KIR2DS4 expression was low, with 35% of donors considered null-expressers. Interestingly, KIR2DS2 and KIR2DS4 expression was elevated after HCT compared with donor expression before HCT, and was significantly elevated in CMV viremic compared with CMV nonviremic HCT recipients. The CMV seropositivity of donors was not associated with activating KIR expression, and donor null expression in those with the KIR2DS2 or KIR2DS4 genotype was not predictive for CMV reactivation in the recipient. After controlling for other transplant factors, including donor type (sibling or unrelated), transplant source (bone marrow or peripheral blood stem cells), and acute GVHD grade, regression analysis of elevated KIR gene expression found an association for both KIR2DS2 and KIR2DS4, with a 7-fold increase in risk for CMV reactivation. We speculate that the elevated activating KIR expression in CMV-viremic HCT recipients is either coincidental with factors that activate CMV or is initiated by CMV or cellular processes responsive to such CMV infection reactivation.
Siblings' premarital childbearing and the timing of first sex in three major cities of Cote d'Ivoire.

The association between youths’ sexual and reproductive attitudes and behaviors and those of their peers and parents has been documented; however information on siblings’ influence is scarce especially for developing countries. Data on 1395 female and 1242 male survey respondents aged 15–24 from three cities in Cote d’Ivoire were analyzed. Life-table analysis was conducted to examine respondents’ probability of remaining sexually inexperienced according to siblings’ history of premarital childbearing. Cox multivariate regressions were used to estimate respondents’ relative risks of sexual debut by age 17 and by age 24. At any age between 15 and 24 years the life-table probability of remaining sexually inexperienced was typically lower among persons who had at least one sibling with a premarital birth than among those who had no such sibling. In general among those with at least one sibling who had had a premarital birth the probability was lower if the sibling or siblings and the respondent were of the same gender rather than opposite genders and the probability was lowest among those who had a brother and a sister with a history of premarital childbearing. In the multivariate analysis for males having one or more brothers only or having at least one brother and at least one sister with a history of premarital childbearing was associated with increased relative risks of being sexually experienced by ages 17 and 24. No such association was found for females. Programs that seek to reduce premarital sexual activity among young people should develop strategies that take into account the potential influence of siblings. (authors)
Optimizing reliability in a two-level distributed architecture for wafer scale integration

Fault tolerance to support mission life reliability is a key consideration in many system applications. Redundancy for defect tolerance, i.e., yield enhancement, and wafer-level reliability enhancement have been standard practice since the advent of wafer scale technology. The Reliability-Hardware Quotient (RHQ) is an example of a fundamental composite metric which is useful for identifying the optimal design point in a VSLI or wafer scale system. In this paper, the RHQ metric is applied to the problem of optimizing a two-level distributed (parallel) processing architecture. In particular, a graphical optimization technique using the 3D and contour plot features of Mathematica is introduced which characterizes the trade space and identifies the optimum design point. The constraints of wafer scale technology can be superimposed upon the optimal solution space either to identify the limits of a given wafer scale implementation or to show what level of wafer scale technology is needed to achieve the optimum design. >
Linguistic evidence regarding Bantu origins

This article has two related purposes. The first is to attempt a clarification of certain points raised by Professor Oliver in his article, ‘The Problem of the Bantu Expansion’, published in an earlier issue of this Journal, insofar as it concerns his discussion of the alternative theories of Professor Guthrie and the present writer regarding Bantu origins. The second and more general aim is to survey the basic assumptions of Guthrie's work on Bantu insofar as it relates to the same problem. In the course of the exposition, three types of evidence are considered: the internal Bantu linguistic evidence; the linguistic evidence external to Bantu, chiefly from West African languages; and the non-linguistic, chiefly geographic evidence.It is argued that Guthrie's assumption which underlies his theory of a central ‘nuclear’ area as the point of origin, namely that the linguistically most conservative area reveals the place of origin, is contrary to empirical evidence. It is rather the area of greatest internal divergence, in this case the north-western area, which points to the earliest differentiation and hence point of origin.
International Linear Collider damping ring lattice design

We present a lattice design based on the theoretical- minimum-emittance (TME) cell for the international linear collider (ILC) 6.6-km 5-GeV damping ring. Several areas are discussed: momentum compaction, lattice layout, injection and extraction, circumference adjusters, phase adjuster, and dynamic aperture calculation with multipole errors.
An Experimental Examination of Factors That Influence Auditor Assessments of a Deficiency in Internal Control over Financial Reporting

SYNOPSIS: When assessing the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting (ICFR), auditors evaluate design effectiveness, gather evidence on operating effectiveness, assess operating effectiveness, and conclude whether control deficiencies are material weaknesses. We experimentally examine audit managers' and partners' assessments of ICFR operating effectiveness and judgments of whether a control deficiency is a material weakness to determine the influence of the presence of: (1) a material weakness unrelated to the deficiency being assessed, and (2) a known misstatement associated with the identified control deficiency. Results suggest that the presence of either an unrelated material weakness or a known misstatement influences the assessed operating effectiveness of an internal control and the likelihood of a material weakness assessment. We also provide supplemental survey results from practicing audit managers and partners on their experiences in assessing potential material weaknesses ...
Synchronous distance education via the Internet

Describes a vision for networked distance education and ongoing experiments intended to increase our understanding of how distance education can be conducted most successfully at the university level. Our vision includes the relationship between delivery media and modes in the future learning environment, the role of information technologies in scholarship, and the benefits of unlimited access to global information resources. A special concern is the effective use of various media in distance education. For example, the traditional role of video delivery is analyzed and seen to be, in many cases, more a matter of past necessity than effective future delivery. In support of our conclusions a series of experiments conducted at the author's university are described. These have involved teaching real, for-credit courses to remote students using the Internet. While many universities are experimenting with asynchronous delivery via e-mail, Web and related technologies, our work is unusual in that it involves synchronous delivery. The most enlightening of our experiments involved use of the Internet multicast backbone (Mbone) and its associated suite of multimedia tools. Ongoing experiments involve use of commercial off-the-shelf multimedia with low-cost workstations and a commercial Internet service.
The Brazilian Catholic Church and Church-State Relations: Nation-Building

Few national churches can match the Brazilian Catholic Church in creative visions. During the 1960s and 1970s, the Brazilian church led the larger Latin American church toward a progressive orientation. Brazilian bishops and theologians helped to craft the decisive docu ments of the Medellin (1968) and Puebla (1979) Conferences of Latin American bishops. The Brazilian Catholic Church, the largest in the world, promoted what have become key innovations: theology of libera tion, base Christian communities, and preferential option for the poor. Now, approaching the millennium, the Brazilian church has taken a leadership role in Latin America in church-state relations. In April 1996, the Brazilian National Bishops Conference (CNBB) unveiled a four-year plan in which they address political issues, Rumo ao Novo Milenio (Way to the New Millenium).1 Human rights and nation-build ing form a centerpiece of the new plan. Extensive activities support this thrust. The church at many levels has been shaping spaces in contemporary Brazilian politics. This new phase follows twenty-one years of increasingly repressive military rule
Lymphangiogenesis-independent resolution of experimental edema

Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)-C is necessary for lymphangiogenesis, and excess VEGF-C has been shown to be ameliorative for edema produced by lymphatic obstruction in experimental models. However, it has recently been shown that edema can resolve in the mouse tail even in the complete absence of capillary lymphangiogenesis when distal lymph fluid crosses the regenerating wound site interstitially. This finding has raised questions about the action of VEGF-C/VEGF receptor (VEGFR) signaling during the resolution of experimental edema. Here, the roles of VEGFR-2 and VEGFR-3 signaling in edema resolution were explored. It was found that edema resolved following neutralization of either VEGFR-2 or VEGFR-3 in the mouse tail skin, which inhibited lymphangiogenesis. Neutralization of either VEGFR-2 or VEGFR-3 reduced angiogenesis at the site of obstruction at day 10 (9.2 ± 1.2% and 11.5 ± 1.0% blood capillary coverage, respectively) relative to controls (14.3 ± 1.5% blood capillary coverage). Combined VEGFR-2/-3 neutralization more strongly inhibited angiogenesis (6.9 ± 1.5% blood capillary coverage), leading to a reduced wound repair of the lymphatic obstruction and extended edema in the tail skin. In contrast, improved tissue repair of the obstruction site increased edema resolution. Macrophages in the swollen tissue were excluded as contributing factors in the VEGFR-dependent extended edema. These results support a role for VEGFR-2/-3-combined signaling in the resolution of experimental edema that is lymphangiogenesis independent.
Efficient Inter-Layer Motion Compensation for Spatially Scalable Video Coding

In this paper, an efficient inter-layer motion-compensation technique is proposed for enhancement layer in spatially scalable video coding. The proposed approach exploits the prediction residue correlation between consecutive spatial layers. In enhancement-layer motion compensation, it selects the method with the lowest rate-distortion (RD) cost from three schemes: pyramid motion compensation, subband motion compensation, and encoding the enhancement layer with no base-layer information. To reduce the block artifacts of the enhancement-layer prediction used in the subband method, extended edge prediction is introduced in the proposed approach. Compared with the current scalable H.264/AVC extension (SVC) motion-compensation scheme, our experimental results show that the proposed method exploits the redundancy between the base layer and the enhancement layer more efficiently and hence improves the coding performance. It achieves an improvement up to about 1dB in the enhancement-layer encoding for different coding parameters and video sequences.
Evaluate IT Investment Opportunities Using Real Options Theory

In this paper, we discuss the real options theory and its applications in IT investment evaluation. We provide a framework within which the appropriateness of using real options theory in strategic IT investment evaluation is systematically justified. In our framework, IT investment opportunities are classified into four categories based on two criteria: the technology switching costs and the nature of competition. We point out that different real options models should be adopted for each category. The electronic brokerage's investment decision in wireless technology is discussed as a real world case within the framework. Our study also provides some insights about the relationship between technology standardization and IT investment decisions.
A numerical study of turbulent supersonic isothermal-wall channel flow

A study of compressible supersonic turbulent flow in a plane channel with isothermal walls has been performed using direct numerical simulation. Mach numbers, based on the bulk velocity and sound speed at the walls, of 1.5 and 3 are considered; Reynolds numbers, defined in terms of the centreline velocity and channel half-width, are of the order of 3000. Because of the relatively low Reynolds number, all of the relevant scales of motion can be captured, and no subgrid-scale or turbulence model is needed. The isothermal boundary conditions give rise to a flow that is strongly influenced by wall-normal gradients of mean density and temperature. These gradients are found to cause an enhanced streamwise coherence of the near-wall streaks, but not to seriously invalidate Morkovin's hypothesis : the magnitude of fluctuations of total temperature and especially pressure are much less than their mean values, and consequently the dominant compressibility effect is that due to mean property variations. The Van Driest transformation is found to be very successful at both Mach numbers, and when properly scaled, statistics are found to agree well with data from incompressible channel flow results.
How Do You Think I Feel? Poetic Representation of African and Syrian Refugees in a Sicilian Refugee Camp in Wake of the Lampedusan Tragedy

These poems are a representation of refugees’ experience of arrival to an emergency refugee camp in southeastern Sicily, right after the tragic shipwreck of refugees at Lampedusa, in which more than 360 Eritreans lost their lives. These poems give witness to the harsh reality of death, dislocation, confusion, and grief of the men, women, and children who flee their homeland(s) and attempt to find life in a country that is largely hostile to them.
Improved beam waist formula for ultrashort, tightly focused linearly, radially, and azimuthally polarized laser pulses in free space

We derive an asymptotically accurate formula for the beam waist of ultrashort, tightly focused fundamental linearly polarized, radially polarized, and azimuthally polarized modes in free space. We compute the exact beam waist via numerical cubature to ascertain the accuracy with which our formula approximates the exact beam waist over a broad range of parameters of practical interest. Based on this, we describe a method of choosing parameters in the model given the beam waist and pulse duration of a laser pulse.