cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
GROUP HOMOGENEITY, RANGE RESTRICTION, AND RANGE ENHANCEMENT EFFECTS ON CORRELATIONS

Recently, the issue of range enhancement effects on correlations has been raised as a potential criticism of correction for range restriction in validity generalization. While adding to or deleting from a sample can affect both the variance and correlation in the sample, increases or decreases in individual differences in an intact sample resulting from such factors as history, maturation, training, and experience will not necessarily affect correlations. If such changes in individual differences do occur in concurrent validation studies, the most likely result will be an underestimate of the unrestricted validity.
A novel neutrino mass hierarchy

Abstract Recent observations of solar neutrinos along with decades of data from the chlorine experiment seem to be converging on an explanation of the sun's neutrino deficit. Electron and muon neutrinos with Majorana masses ∼10-3 eV/c2 are subject to MSW suppression as they traverse the sun. However, Simpson's studies of s-decay spectra show that νe mixes with a Dirac neutrino (presumably ντ) of a consmologically nettlesome mass. We propose a simple modification of the singlet majoron hypothesis that accounts for these results yet remains in accord with known constraints from particle physics and cosmological theory. Maximal ντ oscillations into a sterile state are predicted.
Suppressive effect of thymosin fraction 5 on proliferation of cultured human T lymphocytes

Abstract The effects of thymosin fraction 5 (F5), an extract of bovine thymus containing multiple polypeptides, on the proliferation of cultured T cells (CTC), a continuously proliferating subpopulation of peripheral blood T lymphocytes, stimulated by either phytohemagglutinin (PHA) or delectinated interleukin 2 (IL-2) were studied. Addition of F5 to cultures significantly and consistently inhibited CTC responsiveness to PHA, with the degree of inhibition being greater using a suboptimal concentration of mitogen. F5 did not significantly or consistently inhibit CTC proliferation induced by IL-2. These studies suggest that the suppressive effect of F5 may be primarily mediated by decreased IL-2 production instead of effects on IL-2 activity or efficiency in stimulating CTC proliferation. Since prostaglandins inhibit the proliferation of CTC in response to PHA or IL-2 (R.D. Maca (1983) Immunopharmacology 6:267), studies were undertaken to determine if the observed inhibition was mediated by effects of F5 on prostaglandin E 2 (PGE 2 ). The inhibitory effect of F5 on PHA responsiveness of CTC was not affected by the addition of indomethacin indicating that suppression by F5 is not mediated by stimulating the production or release of cyclooxygenase-derived prostaglandins, such as PGE 2 . Furthermore, PGE 2 could not be detected in supernatants of F5-treated CTC stimulated by PHA. When PGE 2 was added to F5-treated CTC cultures, the PHA response was inhibited indicating that the suppressive effects of F5 and PGE 2 were additive and that F5 did not modulate the sensitivity of CTC to PGE 2 . These studies further demonstrate that CTC, being free of monocytes and B lymphocytes, provide a useful assay system for evaluation of the effects of F5 and other immune modulators on the function of T lymphocytes or T lymphocyte subpopulations.
MS/OR Enabled Systems Design

Management at least as reflected by popular management culture is now more interested in redesigning systems completely than in marginal or continuing improvements. Some practical MS/OR work has recognized this and produced new systems that have changed their sponsoring organizations and provided them with competitive advantages. This paper considers the importance for MS/OR workers of focusing on system design rather than analysis aimed at supporting improvements in existing systems. It notes that MS/OR has traditionally perceived itself predominantly as analysis in this latter sense, and discusses the difference between design and this form of analysis. It then uses some Edelman prize finalist papers to illustrate the cycle of design-oriented MS/OR projects. Finally, this paper considers the opportunities and challenging problems afforded by system design, with particular reference to techniques, education, and the future success of MS/OR.
Job-shop scheduling: Computational study of local search and large-step optimization methods

Abstract We present a computational study of different local search and large-step optimization methods to solve the job-shop scheduling problem. We review local optimization methods and propose a two-phase optimization method, known as large-step optimization, which has recently been introduced for the traveling salesman problem. The first phase of this new method consists of a large optimized transition in the current solution, while the second phase is basically a local search method. We present extensive computational results obtained from various combinations of local search and large-step optimization techniques. From the computational results we can conclude that the large-step optimization methods outperform the simulated annealing method and find more frequently an optimal schedule than the other studied methods.
The keys to effective IT auditing

Information technology (IT) and systems have become the backbone of almost every organization. So, good IT audits are essential to ensure proper controls, security, and efficient functioning. But it's not easy to implement an IT audit strategy that justifies its cost and promotes effective use of your information systems! What are the keys to doing that? The author of this article has some answers. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
The response of native species to removal of invasive exotic grasses in a seasonally dry Hawaiian woodland

. Non-native perennial grasses form 30% of the live understory biomass in seasonally dry, submontane forests in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, yet their effects on native species are unknown. We removed these grasses from plots of 20 m × 20 m in 1991 and maintained removal and control areas over the next three years. Two fast growing shrub species, Dodonaea viscosa and Osteomeles anthylidifolia, increased in size significantly more in removal areas than in controls. Individuals of the most abundant shrub species, Styphelia tameiameia showed no net growth response to grass removal. They did, however, change their architecture: many branches along the mid and upper sections of the main trunk died and a proliferation of new leaves and shoots occurred in the lower 40 cm of trunk. Basal diameter increase was very small in Metrosideros polymorpha, the dominant tree species in these sites. All species except Styphelia had significantly increased leaf tissue nitrogen in removal plots by 18 months after removal when compared to shrubs in control areas suggesting that removal plot shrubs had greater access to soil nitrogen. Available soil-N pools, which were generally higher in the removal plots, support this interpretation. Light levels near the soil surface were also higher where grasses were removed than where they were present which may have contributed to increased shrub growth. By contrast, soil moisture was consistently lower where grasses were removed than where they were still present. Shrub tissue carbon isotope values were consistent with the interpretation that shrubs in removal plots had less rather than more water available to them. Hence, the increased growth observed in removal plot shrubs could not be due to release from moisture competition. Lastly, our results showed that seedlings of all woody species except Metrosideros were significantly more abundant in removal plots at both one and three years after removal and initially high sapling mortality was balanced by high recruitment into the sapling class. We believe that over time this will result in increased densities of native shrubs if grasses are kept out. With the presence of grasses, shrub growth in these woodlands is reduced and biomass is shifting towards grasses.
America's Soaring Prison Population

Factors widely reported to explain record prison population increases since 1973 were generally not substantiated in national data. No clear evidence was found that prosecutors were increasingly using mandatory prison sentencing laws, that judges were imposing longer prison sentences than previously, or that parole boards were making prisoners serve longer before their first release. Changes since 1973 in population demographics and in police-recorded crime and arrest rates were found to have only a modest impact on prison population growth. The war on drugs was found to have only a small impact despite increased drug arrest and imprisonment rates. One change found to have a major impact was the increased chance of a prison sentence after arrest for nearly every type of crime. This change has helped to drive incarceration rates to their highest levels ever. Accompanying rising incarceration rates have been gradual reductions in U.S. crime rates after 1973, according to annual crime victimization surveys. The possibility that rising incarceration rates are helping to reduce crime must be weighed in debates about America9s prisons.
Evidence for training the ability to read microexpressions of emotion

Microexpressions are extremely quick facial expressions of emotion that appear on the face for less than ½ a s. To date, no study has demonstrated that the ability to read them can be trained. We present two studies that do so, as well as evidence for the retention of the training effects. In Study 1 department store employees were randomly assigned to a training or comparison group. The training group had significantly higher scores than the comparison group in microexpression reading accuracy at the end of the training; 2 weeks later the training group had better third-party ratings of social and communicative skills on the job. Study 2 demonstrated that individuals trained in reading microexpressions retained their ability to read them better than a comparison group tested 2–3 weeks after initial training. These results indicated that the ability to read microexpressions can be trained and are retained.
Evanescent Imaging with Induced Polarization

With a solid immersion lens microscope and linearly-polarized illumination light, the induced evanescent component of polarization from the surface of sample is re-imaged onto a CCD detector. Properties of the induced image are analyzed.
Proton efflux and cell lysis induced by fusicoccin in haploid protoplasts of Lunularia cruciata

Abstract Haploid protoplasts from the thalloid liverwort, Lunularia cruciata , were obtained by incubation in a solution containing cellulase, hemicellulase, and pectinase (5.0, 2.5 and 0.75%, respectively, in 0.5 M mannitol). Isolated protoplasts were incubated for up to 20 min in either 0.5 M mannitol alone, or in 0.5 M mannitol containing one or more of the following: 10 −5 M indoleacetic acid (IAA), 10 −4 M fusicoccin (FC, a probable activator of membrane-bound ATPase), 10 −3 M sodium orthovanadate (VAN), and 0.006 M potassium cyanide (CN). FC-treatment caused a 1.0 pH-unit drop in the suspending medium within 30 s. Less marked acidification in response to IAA was observed; VAN or CN-treatment inhibited proton efflux. FC-treatment significantly enhanced the amount of protoplast swelling and lysis (discernable after 10 and 20 min, respectively). Studies with radioactive tracers showed no correlation between uptake of the plasmolytic agent and FC-stimulated protoplast swelling. Lysis may result instead from the conversion of starch reserves to more osmotically active cell solutes.
Gram-Positive Pneumonia.

Gram-positive pneumonia is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality throughout the world. Of the gram-positive pathogens that cause pneumonia, Streptococcus pneumoniae and Staphylococcus aureus are the most common. The diagnosis of gram-positive pneumonia remains less than satisfactory, and newer diagnostic techniques such as antibody- and polymerase chain reaction-based antigen detection have yet to prove themselves. Drug resistance among gram-positive organisms is now endemic throughout the world and remains a serious therapeutic problem despite the availability of new antimicrobials. Efforts to control the spread of resistant strains include, in the case of S. aureus, stringent isolation policies and topical treatment to reduce carriage and, for S. pneumoniae, increased use of available vaccines and the development of more immunogenic vaccines.
Income inequalities and health disparities.

Assessment of neonatal pain is difficult, yet its control is important because, untreated, it has both short term and long term negative effects. A quick search on Google (www.google.com) brings up the impressive KidsHealth.org (“Our mission is to provide the best children's health information on the World Wide Web”), which scores well on being explicit about its sources, with a large editorial team of doctors. The information on pain is of reasonable quality (kidshealth.org/parent/healthy/pain.html), but there are the usual problems: the general discussion cannot specifically address the question that directs the browser to the site, nor does it link to further sources of information. Bridging the gap between consumer and medical information is www1.mosby.com/Mosby/Wong/hcom_wong_w43.html, which offers among other things, practical instructions for making a sucrose solution—1 tsp of sucrose in 4 T of water makes a 24%solution. At Islamic Voice (www.islamicvoice.com/june.98/science.htm#Top), there's a reminder that the prophet has long recommended placing a date in the mouth of male infants about to be circumcised. At the other end of the spectrum, just about as specialized as it is possible to be, is the Pediatric Pain Letter atis.dal.ca/∼pedpain/pplet/toc.htm#toc.
Acute Myeloid Leukemia Evolving from JAK 2-Positive Primary Myelofibrosis and Concomitant CD5-Negative Mantle Cell Lymphoma: A Case Report and Review of the Literature

Primary myelofibrosis (formerly known as chronic idiopathic myelofibrosis), has the lowest incidence amongst the chronic myeloproliferative neoplasms and is characterized by a rather short median survival and a risk of progression to acute myeloid leukemia (AML) noted in a small subset of the cases, usually as a terminal event. As observed with other chronic myeloproliferative neoplasms, the bone marrow biopsy may harbor small lymphoid aggregates, often assumed reactive in nature. In our paper, we present a 70-year-old Caucasian male who was diagnosed with primary myelofibrosis, and after 8 years of followup and therapy developed an AML. The small lymphoid aggregates noted in his bone marrow were neoplastic in nature and represented bone marrow involvement by a CD5-negative mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) that presented without any associated lymphadenopathy. We reviewed the English medical literature to identify a single case report of simultaneous association of AML and a MCL in the bone marrow. The unusual association presented here suggests an increase in observer awareness to apparently benign lymphoid aggregates in chronic myeloproliferative neoplasms.
Model-based estimation of breast percent density in raw and processed full-field digital mammography images from image-acquisition physics and patient-image characteristics

Breast percent density (PD%), as measured mammographically, is one of the strongest known risk factors for breast cancer. While the majority of studies to date have focused on PD% assessment from digitized film mammograms, digital mammography (DM) is becoming increasingly common, and allows for direct PD% assessment at the time of imaging. This work investigates the accuracy of a generalized linear model-based (GLM) estimation of PD% from raw and postprocessed digital mammograms, utilizing image acquisition physics, patient characteristics and gray-level intensity features of the specific image. The model is trained in a leave-one-woman-out fashion on a series of 81 cases for which bilateral, mediolateral-oblique DM images were available in both raw and post-processed format. Baseline continuous and categorical density estimates were provided by a trained breast-imaging radiologist. Regression analysis is performed and Pearson's correlation, r , and Cohen's kappa, κ, are computed. The GLM PD% estimation model performed well on both processed ( r =0.89, p r =0.75, p<0.001) images. Model agreement with radiologist assigned density categories was also high for processed (κ=0.79, p<0.001) and raw (κ=0.76, p<0.001) images. Model-based prediction of breast PD% could allow for a reproducible estimation of breast density, providing a rapid risk assessment tool for clinical practice.
Imitation and emulation by dogs using a bidirectional control procedure

A successful procedure for studying imitative behavior in non-humans is the bidirectional control procedure in which observers are exposed to a demonstrator that responds by moving a manipulandum in one of two different directions (e.g., left vs. right). Imitative learning is demonstrated when observers make the response in the direction that they observed it being made. This procedure controls for socially mediated effects (the mere presence of a demonstrator), stimulus enhancement (attention drawn to a manipulandum by its movement), and if an appropriate control is included, emulation (learning how the environment works). Recent research with dogs has found that dogs may not demonstrate imitative learning when the demonstrator is human. In the present research, we found that when odors were controlled for, dogs imitated the direction of a screen-push demonstrated by another dog more than in a control condition in which they observed the screen move independently while another dog was present. Furthermore, we found that dogs would match the direction of screen-push demonstrated by a human and they were equally likely to match the direction in which the screen moved independently while a human was present.
The Effects of Probe-Induced Flow Distortion on Atmospheric Turbulence Measurements.

Abstract We present a theory for probe-induced flow distortion which is applicable in the atmosphere at heights greater than about 10 times the obstacle size. We use the theory to calculate the behavior of Reynolds shear stress and velocity variances ahead of a cylinder and a sphere. The stress is found to be most seriously distorted, the extent depending on the nature of the trailing wake. We show that the linear form of the theory should be adequate for most surface-layer applications, and we discuss how the theory can be applied to more complex geometries. We show that the “tilt correction” approach to the problem, which has been used by some workers, is incorrect in principle since it violates vorticity conservation, and is not even a good approximation in general.
Endocrine and paracrine control of oocyte development

The effects of gonadotropins on oocyte development are mediated through a variety of mechanisms, including production by granulosa cells of growth factors, cytokines, inhibins, activins, and steroids. Specific receptors for steroids, growth factors, and cytokines have been demonstrated on oocytes of several species. Gonadotropin modulation of follicular concentrations of these paracrine factors may ultimately be responsible for the precise regulation of oocyte function. As gonadotropin-releasing hormone antagonists and recombinant gonadotropins become available, the clinical use of more precise control of the endocrine, paracrine, and autocrine regulation of follicle growth and oocyte development can be more thoroughly investigated.
Epidermodysplasia verruciformis in a setting of common variable immunodeficiency.

: A 14-year-old native American female with common variable immunodeficiency was admitted for bone marrow transplantation. Preoperative evaluation showed a generalized lichenoid papular eruption present for several years. Light microscopy revealed expansion of the epidermis by atypical keratinocytes; electron microscopy showed intranuclear papillomavirus inclusions within the granular keratinocytes; DNA hybridization revealed a type 5-related human papilloma virus homology. Four days after bone marrow transplantation the lichenoid papules blackened and began to disappear. Within 30 days after bone marrow transplantation the distribution and appearance of the papules was similar to that of the pretransplantation evaluation. One year after transplantation the patient showed evidence of a successful T lymphocyte graft. No transformation to squamous cell carcinoma had occurred. Epidermodysplasia verruciformis has been associated with deficient cell-mediated immunity, the varying severity of which does not predict the tendency to neoplasm formation (2, 5). Several distinct human papillomavirus genomes have been recovered with DNA hybridization techniques in these patients. It is hoped that the bone marrow transplantation might be associated with diminished transformation to squamous cell carcinoma.
Phylogenetic relationships among the agent of bacillary angiomatosis, Bartonella bacilliformis, and other alpha-proteobacteria.

Summary Bacillary angiomatosis (BA) and chronic bartonellosis are bacterial infections of humans which result in an unusual vascular proliferative tissue response. In order to determine their phylogenetic relationships, we have determined greater than 95% of the 16S rRNA sequences for these two organisms by amplification directly from infected BA tissue and from a Bartonella bacilliformis lyophilized culture. The BA agent and B. bacilliformis are closely related alpha-proteobacteria (98.5%), although the BA agent is more closely related to Rochalimaea quintana (99.1%). Contrary to previous belief, the BA agent is distinct from, and less closely related to, the cat scratch bacillus (Afipia fells) (90.7%). We propose a novel secondary structure in a hypervariable region of the 16S rRNA which is useful for alignment of primary sequences and which may be useful for design of nucleic acid probes.
Involutions of Connected Binary Matroids

We prove that if an involution φ is an automorphism of a connected binary matroid M then there is a hyperplane of M that is invariant under φ. We also consider extensions of this result for higher connectivity.
Evaluating Pay-For-Performance In Medicaid Through Real-World Observation

Health services researchers use a variety of methods to answer questions surrounding the use of incentives for quality. The current work by Suzanne Felt-Lisk and colleagues suffers from some limitations that may be inherent to many kinds of research, but it also overcomes a number of limitations and offers important insights into why some pay-for-performance (P4P) efforts are more successful than others. The work contributes to Medicaid payment policy and to the P4P literature more generally. In the future, it will be important for researchers to build on “exploratory” observational studies like those of Felt-Lisk and colleagues’ study and others by testing explicit “behavioral models” of individual physician or physician practice responses to P4P.
The nature of the product from the reaction of tetracyanoethylene with iron pentacarbonyl

Abstract The reaction of tetracyanoethylene with iron pentacarbonyl in mesitylene at 90° gave an insoluble product, Fe 2 C 16 H 12 N 8 O 7 . The Mossbauer and IR spectra, the magnetic susceptibilities over the temperature range 95–298 K, and the thermal decomposition temperatures in a nitrogen atmosphere were measured. The solid is best described as an iron (III) ketoamine polymer with hydroxo bridges between iron atoms.
Mitogen-induced preferential synthesis of proteins during the G0 to S phase transition in human lymphocytes☆

Abstract We have followed the induction of protein synthesis in mitogen-activated human peripheral blood mononuclear cells during the transition from quiescence, or G0, through the prereplicative phase and into first S phase. Doses of mitogens optimal for proliferative response preferentially enhance the synthesis of a subset of intracellular proteins during the approximately 24-h lag interval. The mitogenic lectin phytohemagglutinin (PHA) and OKT3, a mitogenic monoclonal antibody to the CD3 component of the T cell antigen receptor, preferentially enhance bands of the same molecular weight in one-dimensional SDS-PAGE. The proteins are low detergent soluble (0.1% Triton X-100) “cytoplasmic” cellular components and some have been identified as single spots on two-dimensional gels. Bands of 51 and 66 kDa are induced early in lag phase (4 h after stimulation) but are transiently synthesized, decreasing later in lag phase. The majority of the mitogen-induced proteins, 39, 51, 55, 60, 73, and 95 kDa are enhanced by mid lag phase (12 h after stimulation). With the exception of the 55-kDa band, five of these proteins are clearly enhanced in T cells purified after mitogen stimulation. The same five bands show sustained synthesis in actively cycling cells 42–48 h after stimulation and are major synthesized proteins, and corresponding bands are synthesized in a transformed T cell line, MOLT-4. Two of the proteins in this group that are most prominently synthesized during the lag interval have been previously identified as the heat shock proteins, HSP 90 (95-kDa band) and HSC 70 (73-kDa band). We speculate that this group of five proteins, including HSP 90 and HSC 70, may be coordinately expressed in actively replicating T cells and may have some common structural or functional role in sustaining the replicative state.
‘The first duties of persons living in a civilized community’: the Maya, the Church, and the colonial state in southern Belize

Abstract In recent years, historical geography has been at the forefront of new scholarship on the spatiality of colonial power and its complex relations with indigenous communities. This literature shows that imperial policies – emerging through state and scientific institutions, cultural practices, and capitalist ventures – required particular ways of conceptualizing, mapping, and organizing spaces and territories which transformed the geographies of indigenous communities, livelihoods, and identities. Through a close reading of archival texts from the late 19th and early 20th century, this paper examines the spatial and political relations between three groups: the Catholic Church, the British colonial state, and the Maya communities of southern British Honduras. Differences between the Catholic Church and the British colonial state – in their aims and approach to winning hegemony over the Q'eqchi' and Mopan Maya – were accommodated and assuaged by a tacit agreement: that the Maya must be settled in permanent communities. Colonial power, in both its spiritual and statist modalities, was imminently geographical, and this geography comprised the common ground between Church and state in their approach to the Maya.
Sufentanil disposition during cardiopulmonary bypass

In order to investigate the ability of a computer-assisted continuous infusion (CACI) system to maintain constant plasma levels of sufentanil during cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) using pharmacokinetic data derived from healthy surgical patients to determine the infusion rate, ten patients were anaesthetized with diazepam, enfturane and oxygen until ten minutes prior to the expected time of initiation of CPB. At that point, an infusion of sufentanil, aimed to reach a central compartment concentration of 5 ng-ml-1, was started via CACI. Plasma concentrations of sufentanil, haematocrit, total protein and albumin concentrations, and nasopharyngeal and CPB inflow temperatures were obtained at predetermined intervals before and up to 90 min after the initiation of CPB. Plasma concentrations of sufentanil reached 3.8 ± 0.4 ng-ml-1 before CPB and approached the 5.0 ng-m-1 set point (4.7 ± 0.4 ng-m-1) over the 90 min of CPB. In conclusion, our results show that it is possible to obtain stable plasma levels of sufentanil on CPB using a pharmacokinetically driven infusion scheme; however, our data suggest that use of such a system may lead to accumulation of drug during CPB.
Megalocornea and persistent hyperplastic primary vitreous masquerading as congenital glaucoma.

. A 7-month-old infant referred with suspected bilateral congenital glaucoma was noted under general anaesthesia to have simple megalocornea in association with contralateral glaucoma in an eye suspected of harbouring an intraocular tumour. Following enucleation, histopathology demonstrated persistent hyperplastic primary vitreous. The presence of simple megalocornea of autosomal recessive inheritance in association with contralateral persistent hyperplastic primary vitreous in a buphthalmic eye is of ophthalmic interest, and appears to be unique.
Delayed neurotoxicity of O-(2,4-dichlorophenyl) O-ethyl phenylphosphonothioate (S-Seven)

Abstract Administration of a single oral dose of S-Seven [O-(2,4-dichlorophenyl) O-ethyl phenylphosphonothioate], between 800 and 5000 mg kg , caused delayed neurotoxicity in hens similar to that reported for other organophosphorus compounds. The severity of the clinical condition depended on the size of the ingested dose. Hens given small doses showed only ataxia, while some of those treated with large doses became paralyzed and died.
Entrainment and condensation effects in the upward acceleration of a liquid column

Abstract The instability-governed entrainment rate of the lower surface of a subcooled water column accelerated upwards by an expanding steam mass is measured. It is found that the entrainment rate is approximately proportional to the fourth root of the acceleration. This would be the case if the characteristic length scale in the late stages of Taylor instability were governed by linear instability theory. In addition to the linear displacement measurements, the steam pressure in the lower driver section was monitored as a function of time. Estimates of the concentration, radius and age distribution of the entrained droplet population were made by modeling the bubble-and-spike breakup into discrete droplets. This allows the steam condensation rate, and hence the steam pressure, at each instant of time to be computed. This is compared with the observed steam pressure history. Reasonable agreement is found. One can thus estimate the reduction in work potential in the case of a steam explosion in the lower plenum of a pressurized-water nuclear reactor.
Chlamydia pneumoniae infection is frequent but not associated with coronary arteriosclerosis in cardiac transplant recipients

We sought to explore the relation between Chlamydia pneumoniae, cytomegalovirus (CMV), and cardiac transplant-associated arteriosclerosis. Serologic evidence of past Chlamydia pneumoniae infection was investigated in 3 patient groups at the time of cardiac catheterization: cardiac transplant recipients (n=49), patients having coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) (n=39), and a control group free of angiographic coronary artery disease (n=21). High Chlamydia pneumoniae immunoglobulin G titers (> or =1:160) were more frequently observed in cardiac transplant recipients (odds ratio[OR] 13.7; 95% confidence intervals [CI] 1.6 to 117.4, p <0.05) and CABG patients (OR 21.7; 95% CI 1.6 to 287.0, p <0.05) than in controls. However, high Chlamydia pneumoniae titers did not distinguish between cardiac transplant recipients with or without angiographic transplant-associated arteriosclerosis or CABG patients with or without bypass vein graft disease. Furthermore, there was no significant relation between elevated Chlamydia pneumoniae titers and the presence or progression of transplant-associated arteriosclerosis in the subgroup of patients who were also CMV positive. Yet, analysis of the same angiograms demonstrated an association between CMV infection and the recent progression of transplant-associated arteriosclerosis. Thus, patients with cardiac transplantation have evidence of past Chlamydia pneumoniae and CMV infection but Chlamydia pneumoniae does not appear to have an independent role or synergistic relation to CMV in the development of transplant-associated arteriosclerosis.
Cardiac arteriovenous malformation.

![Figure][1] [![Graphic][3] ][3][![Graphic][4] ][4] A 31-year-old woman with anxiety was seen by her primary care physician for progressive fatigue. Her electrocardiogram showed a left axis deviation, but was otherwise unremarkable. A transthoracic echocardiogram ( A , [Online
Motor unit firing rate patterns during voluntary muscle force generation: a simulation study.

Objective. Muscle force is generated by a combination of motor unit (MU) recruitment and changes in the discharge rate of active MUs. There have been two basic MU recruitment and firing rate paradigms reported in the literature, which describe the control of the MUs during force generation. The first (termed the reverse ?onion skin? profile), exhibits lower firing rates for lower threshold units, with higher firing rates occurring in higher threshold units. The second (termed the ?onion skin? profile), exhibits an inverse arrangement, with lower threshold units reaching higher firing rates. Approach. Using a simulation of the MU activity in a hand muscle, this study examined the force generation capacity and the variability of the muscle force magnitude at different excitation levels of the MU pool under these two different MU control paradigms. We sought to determine which rate/recruitment scheme was more efficient for force generation, and which scheme gave rise to the lowest force variability. Main results. We found that the force output of both firing patterns leads to graded force output at low excitation levels, and that the force generation capacity of the two different paradigms diverged around 50% excitation. In the reverse ?onion skin? pattern, at 100% excitation, the force output reached up to 88% of maximum force, whereas for the ?onion skin? pattern, the force output only reached up to 54% of maximum force at 100% excitation. The force variability was lower at the low to moderate force levels under the ?onion skin? paradigm than with the reverse ?onion skin? firing patterns, but this effect was reversed at high force levels. Significance. This study captures the influence of MU recruitment and firing rate organization on muscle force properties, and our results suggest that the different firing organizations can be beneficial at different levels of voluntary muscle force generation and perhaps for different tasks.
Detection of Thin Interfacial Layers by Picosecond Ultrasonics

We report on experiments in which the picosecond ultrasonics technique is used to detect the existence of thin layers of CFx at the interface between a metal film (Al) and a silicon substrate. Acoustic vibrations are excited in the metal film when a picosecond light pulse is absorbed. The thickness of the CFx can be estimated from the rate at which these vibrations are damped out via transmission of sound into the silicon substrate through the CFx layer. We show that thin CFx layers can also be detected via their effect on the rate at which heat flows from the metal to the silicon.
The SOGS-RA vs. the MAGS-7: Prevalence Estimates and Classification Congruence

The purpose of this study was to compare the prevalence rate estimates and congruence in classification status derived from two popular measures of adolescent gambling (SOGS-RA and MAGS-7). Adolescents from three states (Alabama, Mississippi, and Oregon) completed an anonymous questionnaire (n=1846 high school students total). Results indicate that the prevalence of probable adolescent pathological gambling varied both as a function of instrument and cut-off point utilized for classification (range 1.7%–8.2%). Classification groups (non-problem, at-risk, and problem gamblers) generated by both instruments were found to be associated with reports of gambling frequency, amount of money lost in one gambling occasion, and parental gambling problems. However, concern was raised because the MAGS-7 and the SOGS-RA had little congruence in their three-group classification decisions for specific individuals (e.g., only 20.5% agreement for problem gamblers). To improve clinical utility, an empirical case was made for using the SOGS-RA to generate a fourth group of adolescent gamblers, which we labeled “probable pathological gamblers” (SOGS-RA ≥ 6). This group was differentiated from the remaining gambling groups on all the validity indices. The implications and limitations of these findings, as well as future directions, are discussed.
Parallelizing Sequential Programs with Statistical Accuracy Tests

We present QuickStep, a novel system for parallelizing sequential programs. Unlike standard parallelizing compilers (which are designed to preserve the semantics of the original sequential computation), QuickStep is instead designed to generate (potentially nondeterministic) parallel programs that produce acceptably accurate results acceptably often. The freedom to generate parallel programs whose output may differ (within statistical accuracy bounds) from the output of the sequential program enables a dramatic simplification of the compiler, a dramatic increase in the range of applications that it can parallelize, and a significant expansion in the range of parallel programs that it can legally generate.Results from our benchmark set of applications show that QuickStep can automatically generate acceptably accurate and efficient parallel programs---the automatically generated parallel versions of five of our six benchmark applications run between 5.0 and 7.8 times faster on eight cores than the original sequential versions. These applications and parallelizations contain features (such as the use of modern object-oriented programming constructs or desirable parallelizations with infrequent but acceptable data races) that place them inherently beyond the reach of standard approaches.
Involvement of poly-A in selective gene expression: Suppression of enzyme induction in neural retina by inhibitors of poly-A synthesis

Abstract The hormonal induction og glutamine synthetase (GS) in embryonic neural retina involves selective accumulation of stable and active RNA templates for GS synthesis. Cordycepin, (3′-deoxyadenosine) suppresses this induction in close correlation with its inhibition of poly-adenylate (poly-A) synthesis. Similarly ethidium bromide, which also reduces poly-A synthesis, suppresses the induction of GS. Both agents inhibit GS induction by acting at a pre-translational level. The overall results suggest that formation of poly-A is required for the induction of GS; they provide the first indication of a relationship between poly-A synthesis and a specific, inducible, gene-controlled aspect of cell differentiation.
Kinetics and mechanism of the iron catalyzed positional isomerization of dichlorobutenes

Abstract The positional isomerization 1,4-dichloro-2-butene ⇆ 3,4-dichloro-1-butene is strongly catalyzed by soluble iron complexes. Kinetic data and other observations point to a mechanism involving π-allyliron intermediate.
Methyl farnesoate stimulates ecdysteroid secretion from crab Y-organs in vitro.

Abstract Methyl farnesoate (MF) stimulation of ecdysteroid secretion by Y-organs of the crab, Cancer magister , is demonstrated. Isolated Y-organs that were incubated with a mandibular organ (MO) secreted significantly higher levels of ecdysteroids into the medium when compared to those incubated in the absence of a MO. MOs secrete both farnesoic acid (FA) and MF into the medium and are not themselves a source of ecdysteroids. To determine if MF has a role in the regulation of ecdysteroid secretion, Y-organs from C. magister were incubated with various concentrations of MF. Y-organs in the presence of MF secreted significantly more ecdysteroids into the medium after a 24-hr incubation when compared to controls ( P ⩽ 0.05). The magnitude of this stimulation increased with higher concentrations of MF and increasing incubation times. The response was specific to (2E,6E)-MF. The cis,trans isomer of MF ((2Z,6E)-MF), FA, and farnesyl diazomethyl ketone, a photoaffinity analog of MF, did not have any effect on ecdysteroid secretion from Y-organs. The primary ecdysteroid secreted by C. magister Y-organs comigrates with authentic ecdysone and its secretion is stimulated by MF.
Shuffling arrays : appearances may be deceiving

Random permutations of arrays are widely used in experimentation and simulation, and most arrays are shuffled by means of a computer-based algorithm. In this paper, I show that despite theappearance of a random process, a shuffling procedure must be carefully scrutinized to determine whether it actually does produce random shuffles. A general sequence-transformation procedure is developed for evaluating permutation and shuffling schemes. Applying the transformation procedure and using the criteria that all possible sequences must be equally likely and that each object in a shuffled array must be equally likely to occupy each possible position in the shuffled array, we see that one algorithm meets the criteria, while another seemingly adequate algorithm fails to meet the criteria and, in addition, exhibits systematic deviations from randomness.
Generalized measures of association for ranked data with an application to prediction accuracy

A common practice in cross validation research in the behavioral sciences is to employ either the product moment correlation or a simple tabulation of first-choice “hits” for measuring the accuracy with which various preference models predict subjects’ responses to a holdout sample of choice objects.
Perspectives: Institutional And Political Obstacles To Reform

From the institutional and historical vantage point taken by Theda Skocpol and Hugh Heclo, the balance of an explanation about why Clinton’s health care reform plan failed is not any minor strategic or tactical error but rather the weight of the institutional and political obstacles that the administration confronted. I have identified four issues here. Scope of reform. The first puzzle is why the Clinton administration undertook what seems, with hindsight, to have been a tremendously risky process with so few political and environmental resources. Although Heclo does not address this question directly, he suggests that the decision to push comprehensive health care reform represented a continuation of the campaign mode into governing. Skocpol points to the favorable public opinion polls, but it would be useful to know more about the administration’s reading of these polls. Did it overinterpret or misread them, as some have suggested, or was the administration more aware of the risks than the discussion here has given it credit for? To understand why the administration acted as it did requires looking at how health care reform fit into the administration’s broader political strategy. Central to that strategy was a conscious attempt to build a new Democratic majority by combining the support of the middle-class and lowerincome groups. Enacting policies that would benefit both groups was a key element of this strategy; health care was seized upon as the most promising policy area in which to achieve these political objectives. Health care reform had many advantages: It did not evoke the racial divisions that have troubled the Democratic Party since the 1960s, and it was an “economic issue,” not a social issue. The Clinton plan itself. The second issue is why the administration chose the par-
Developmental dissociation in morphological evolution of the stickleback opercle.

SUMMARY Oceanic threespine sticklebacks have repeatedly and independently evolved new morphologies upon invasions of freshwater habitats. A consistent derived feature of the freshwater form across populations and geography is a shape change of the opercle, a large early developing facial bone. We show that the principal multivariate axis describing opercle shape development from the young larva to the full adult stage of oceanic fish matches the principal axis of evolutionary change associated with relocation from the oceanic to freshwater habitat. The opercle phenotype of freshwater adults closely resembles the phenotype of the bone in juveniles. Thus, evolution to the freshwater condition is in large part by truncation of development; the freshwater fish do not achieve the full ancestral adult bone shape. Additionally, the derived state includes dissociated ontogenetic changes. Dissociability may reflect an underlying modular pattern of opercle development, and facilitate flexibility of morphological evolution.
Biofilm enhanced geologic sequestration of supercritical CO2

In order to develop subsurface CO2 storage as a viable engineered mechanism to reduce the emission of CO2 into the atmosphere, any potential leakage of injected supercritical CO2 (SCCO2) from the deep subsurface to the atmosphere must be reduced. Here, we investigate the utility of biofilms, which are microorganism assemblages firmly attached to a surface, as a means of reducing the permeability of deep subsurface porous geological matrices under high pressure and in the presence of SC-CO2, using a unique high pressure (8.9 MPa), moderate temperature (32 8C) flow reactor containing 40 millidarcy Berea sandstone cores. The flow reactor containing the sandstone core was inoculated with the biofilm forming organism Shewanella fridgidimarina. Electron microscopy of the rock core revealed substantial biofilm growth and accumulation under high-pressure conditions in the rock pore space which caused >95% reduction in core permeability. Permeability increased only slightly in response to SC-CO2 challenges of up to 71 h and starvation for up to 363 h in length. Viable population assays of microorganisms in the effluent indicated survival of the cells following SC-CO2 challenges and starvation, although S. fridgidimarina was succeeded by Bacillus mojavensis and Citrobacter sp. which were native in the core. These observations suggest that engineered biofilm barriers may be used to enhance the geologic sequestration of atmospheric CO2.
A comparison of methods sensitive to interactions with small main effects

Numerous genetic variants have been successfully identified for complex traits, yet these genetic factors only account for a modest portion of the predicted variance due to genetic factors. This has led to increased interest in other approaches to account for the "missing" genetic contributions to phenotype, including joint gene-gene or gene-environment analysis. A variety of methods for such analysis have been advocated. However, they have seldom been compared systematically. To facilitate such comparisons, the developers of the multifactor dimensionality reduction (MDR) simulated 100 data replicates for each of 96 two-locus models displaying negligible marginal effects from either locus (16 variations on each of six basic genetic models). The genetic models, based on a dichotomous phenotype, had varying minor allele frequencies and from two to eight distinct risk levels associated with genotype. The basic models were modified to include "noise" from combinations of missing data, genotyping error, genetic heterogeneity, and phenocopies. This study compares the performance of three methods designed to be sensitive to joint effects (MDR, support vector machines (SVMs), and the restricted partition method (RPM)) on these simulated data. In these tests, the RPM consistently outperformed the other two methods for each of the six classes of genetic models. In contrast, the comparison between other two methods had mixed results. The MDR outperformed the SVM when the true model had only a few, well-separated risk classes; while the SVM outperformed the MDR on more complicated models. Of these methods, only MDR has a well-developed user interface.