cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Prosthetic finger based on fully compliant mechanism for multi-scale grasping

The paper presents a novel design of multi-fingered end-of-arm-tooling mechanism for handling micro–meso scale objects. More particularly, the research aims to develop a compliant prosthetic manipulator designed for rapid 3D manufacturability. The microgripper is constructed from a multiple compliant 5-beam mechanism arranged symmetrically to provide three-dimensional manipulation. Comprehensive one dimensional and three dimensional finite element modeling simulations are conducted including geometrical optimization, structural and dynamic analysis with and without grasping an object, modal and buckling analysis. The results showed capability to tune the structural responses to attain fine to coarse displacement allowing grasping of irregular shapes. Preliminary experimental results showed that using electromagnetic actuation as a source of force input to a 3D printed gripper introduces asymmetrical nonlinear response between the reaction force and displacement measured at the fingertip. Future improvement will involve investigating the effect of the digital printing and force feedback control methods to regulate fingertip displacement.
Knowledge, Perceptions, and Uptake of the Human Papillomavirus Vaccine in a Sample of US High School Adolescents.

OBJECTIVE To assess high school students' knowledge and perceptions of human papillomavirus (HPV) and HPV vaccines and evaluate high school students' self-reported uptake of the HPV vaccine. METHODS This was an observational, descriptive study using a 44-question survey. Participants were ninth grade students in a Colorado public school district. The survey was administered as part of a health education course. RESULTS Ninety-two surveys were included in the analysis. Demographic characteristics included 64/92 (69.6%) male and 55/92 (59.8%) Hispanic/Latino students. There was no difference between males and females regarding self-reported vaccination status. Non-Hispanic students were 71.6% less likely to have received the HPV vaccine than Hispanic students (OR 0.284; 95% CI, 0.088-0.920; p = 0.036). The average score on the knowledge section was 42.7% with a standard deviation of 22.6%. When assessing students' perceptions, 71/92 (77.2%) disagreed or strongly disagreed that they felt at risk for getting an HPV infection. There was no significant difference between males and females regarding awareness of the HPV vaccine (p = 0.14). More than half of students (58.7%) did not know if they had received the HPV vaccine. CONCLUSION HPV vaccine awareness was low and many students did not know if they had received the HPV vaccine. Ninth grade students did not have accurate knowledge of HPV and HPV vaccines and this study presents opportunities for increased education.
How Should the Church Teach? A Mode of Learning and Teaching for Our Times

This essay develops a way of understanding the nature and the various subjects of the teaching office of the church, known in the Catholic Church as the magisterium. Starting from the notion that the principal subject of the teaching function is the whole church, it expands the magisterium beyond the teaching function of the hierarchy (the hierarchical magisterium of the pope and bishops) to include the teaching role of theologians, the laity, the poor, and the believers of other religions. It also emphasizes that this new understanding of the magisterium entails the priority of learning over teaching. Without learning from the other four magisteria the hierarchical magisterium cannot exercise its teaching function in a credible way in our increasingly multicultural and multireligious world. The essay ends by showing how Pope Francis has embodied this new model of teaching, especially in his encyclical on ecology.
Prevalence of Protein and Pre-Workout Supplement Use among High School Football Players and Potential Product Contamination:

The purpose was to determine the prevalence of protein and pre-workout supplement usage in high school football players and how many products contained banned substances or dangerous ingredients. A national sample of 102 high school football players was recruited via Qualtrics Research Panels to complete a cross-sectional online questionnaire. Data were summarized as means with standard deviations (SDs) and frequencies with proportions (%). A majority (59.8%) of high school football players reported currently using a protein supplement. Just under one-third (29.4%) reported currently using pre-workout supplements. Five participants reported using a pre-workout product that contained a known NCAA banned substance. Many of the products used contain banned, regulated elsewhere, or unknown substances. Secondary school ATs must educate athletes regarding the use of nutritional supplements and the potential dangers of ingesting banned or unknown substances.
A New Literature-Based Discovery (LBD) Application Using the PubMed Database

PubMed, the biomedical database of the National Institutes of Health, contains over 30 million abstracts. Comparisons between pairs of abstracts can reveal novel and highly valuable hypotheses, especially if the connected abstracts are in very different areas of biomedical knowledge. It is improbable that such hypotheses can be formulated exclusively by professional investigators, who are usually highly specialized. We developed an application that generates hypotheses by connecting pairs of facts: the first fact is contained in abstracts in the area of expertise or interest of an investigator, while the second fact can be anywhere in PubMed, inside or outside the investigator’s expertise. The application is based on a natural language processing machine learning model, provided by the Python package spaCy.
A microwave non-contact identification transponder using subharmonic interrogation

A credit-card sized microwave transponder is presented for "wireless key" and surveillance applications. Based on a subharmonically pumped quasi-optical mixer, the transponder is activated by a C-band interrogation beam to upconvert and radiate a digitally modulated identification tone at X-band frequencies non-harmonically related to the interrogation signal. >
Likelihood Ratios and Conical Measures

Many of the usual statistical arguments depend strongly on the introduction of likelihood ratios and on the study of the distributions of those ratios. We have not used these concepts so far, even though they may be considered implicit in some of the derivations of Chapter 2.
Suicide and North American Indians: A Social Constructivist Perspective.

ABSTRACT This paper considers suicide from the perspective of a particular tribal group of North American Indians-the Ojibwa (also known as the Chippewa in the U.S.). Through an exploration of the erosion and loss of the central cultural value of pimadaziwin (health, well-being, and longevity for self and family), an understanding of self-destructive thoughts and behaviors, culminating in suicide or nissitise, is presented. Implications for cross-cultural social work practice founded on intervention as social construction are offered.
Boundary Institutions for Reconciliation of Academic Chemistry to Industry: Germany vs. The United States

During the interwar period the science support system in the United States changed dramatically. One of these changes occurred as an expansion in the scale and scope of scholarly societies in the sciences, and the major site of innovation happened in chemistry. This expansion was motivated, in part, by the need to bridge the divide between academic and industrial research so that both could encourage the growth of the other. To compare and contrast such developments in the US and Germany, I start with the notion of a “boundary object.” In Germany in the years leading up to WW I, innovations in the relationship between the state, academia and industry fostered the development of a boundary institution in the format of the Kaiser Wilhelm Gesellschaft and later the Liebig, Baeyer, and Fischer Societies where there was a promotion of an academic-industrial symbiosis. The comparable boundary institution in the United States, the Chemical Foundation, played a crucial role in stabilizing the framework needed to achieve an academic-industrial symbiosis after WW I. This discussion not only expands our understanding of the Chemical Foundation’s role in re-shaping chemistry in the early 20th century, but also highlights the differences by which Germany and the United States achieved a working academic-industrial symbiosis prior to World War II.
Advantages and disadvantages of cytidine deamination.

Cytidine deamination of nucleic acids underlies diversification of Ig genes and inhibition of retroviral infection, and thus, it would appear to be vital to host defense. The host defense properties of cytidine deamination require two distinct but homologous cytidine deaminases-activation-induced cytidine deaminase and apolipoprotein B-editing cytidine deaminase, subunit 3G. Although cytidine deamination has clear benefits, it might well have biological costs. Uncontrolled cytidine deamination might generate misfolded polypeptides, dominant-negative proteins, or mutations in tumor suppressor genes, and thus contribute to tumor formation. How cytidine deaminases target a given nucleic acid substrate at specific sequences is not understood, and what protects cells from uncontrolled mutagenesis is not known. In this paper, I shall review the functions and regulation of activation-induced cytidine deaminase and apolipoprotein B-editing cytidine deaminase, subunit 3G, and speculate about the basis for site specificity vis-a-vis generalized mutagenesis.
Markets for Water: Time to Put the Myth to Rest?

any economists and others argue that theproper solution to water allocation is toallow markets to play the major role inreallocating water among users and in other aspectsof water management (Anderson and Snyder 1997;Easter, Rosengrant, and Dinar 1998; Gray 1996;Kaiser 1996; Sterne 1997; Teerink and Nakashima1993; Thompson 1993). They argue that privateproperty and markets are nearly painless means forresolving the increasing problems of water allocation,distribution, and preservation. Elsewhere I haveargued at length against this conclusion (Dellapenna2000). I summarize the reasons for these conclusionshere.That many professional economists championprivate property and markets (or “market-likemechanisms”) as water management tools is onlyto be expected. The study and employment ofmarkets is, at least in western economics, theirstock in trade. Markets, they tell us, will introducethe necessary flexibility into water managementwhile simultaneously fitting the appropriateintegration of water quality and water quantityissues into a single managerial model. They alsoexpect that the market results will be accordedthe strong presumption of validity that market-based allocations are accorded in capitalistsocieties. The presumption of validity for marketoutcomes has only been strengthened by the utterfailure of classic socialism. Still, actual marketsin free-flowing water have always been extremelyrare in practice (Israel and Lund 1995; Kloezen1998; McCormick 1994).In fact, when markets for water become a subjectof public concern, the debate often becomes highlyemotional, a good deal of the emotion going againstmarkets (Woodhouse 2003). To the extent thatmarkets for water have existed, they have been forthe transfer fairly small-scale amounts among similarusers (Kloezen 1998; Thompson 1993). Watermarkets have seldom been used to accomplishsignificant changes in the ways water is used. Yet,in the face of the existing and impendinghydropolitical stresses on water managementregimes, this is precisely the sort of change that willbecome necessary. When so-called markets are setup in order to bring about major changes in the time,place, or manner of use, they in fact have functionedonly through the rather heavy-handed interventionof the state (Dellapenna 2000; Pigram 1997). Sucharrangements hardly qualify as a market at all.If markets for water are so good, why are theyso seldom used? Supporters of markets seldomaddress this question except to denigrate their criticsas holding cultural, religious, even mystical prejudicesabout water (Brown 1995). This attitude, however,overlooks that water is not like other resources.
On Discrete Hazard Functions

This paper describes basic results about discrete hazard functions. Several of these results have parallels in the continuous case. Two theorems in section three are presented. The first provides a basis for selecting hazard functions; the cumulative hazard must become infinite. The second describes the limiting behavior of residual lifetime. Several open questions are posed in section four.
De l'Hôpital, Bernoulli, and the genesis of Analyse des infiniment petits

The Marquis de l'Hopital's Analyse des infiniment petits (1696) was the first ever calculus textbook. Its introductory chapters were based on Johann Bernoulli's Lectiones de calculo differentialium, a series of lessons written for the Marquis in 1691–92. Bernoulli also assisted with the later chapters, while the Marquis supported him with a stipend during 1694–96. We examine the text and its source material in this paper, which was presented at the research symposium ‘Editing historical mathematics: techniques and traditions since 1900’ at All Soul's College, Oxford, in December 2011. With this in mind he published his Analyse des infiniment petits, a book that was both good and well-written … We may only find fault in that Mr. de l'Hopital did not make well enough known the debt he owed to Mr. Bernoulli … (Montucla 1798, 397)
Acid-catalyzed rearrangement of 1 -benzyl-2-methyl-3-piperidone to 1-benzyl-2-acetylpyrrolidine

Abstract We report that 1-benzyl-2-methyl-3-piperidone, conveniently prepared from 3-hydroxy-2-methylpyridine, undergoes rearrangement to 1-benzyl-2-acetylpyrrolidine in aqueous 6 N HCl at reflux. Studies showing that the 2,2-dimethyl analog is inert under the same conditions support a mechanism of reversible tautomeric equilibria via ring-opened intermediates, one of which was independently synthesized and shown to be a kinetically competent intermediate to product.
New techniques of ultrasound and color Doppler in the prospective evaluation of acute renal obstruction: do they replace the intravenous urogram?

Background The intravenous urogram has long been the primary imaging modality in assessing acute renal obstruction. Newer ultrasound (US) techniques including pulsed and color Doppler allow the physiology of the urinary system to be interrogated via the resistive indices and ureteral jets. We sought to determine whether these new techniques would improve the ability of ultrasound to assess the presence of renal obstruction and replace the intravenous urogram in assessing acute ureteral obstruction.
Influence of Diuretic Therapy on the Clonidine Suppression Test

Moduretic has been reported to inhibit the suppression of plasma norepinephrine (NE) levels by the alpha 2 adrenoceptor agonist, clonidine. To determine whether plasma volume reduction by hydrochlorothiazide (HCTZ) or antagonism of Na+/H+ exchange by amiloride (the constituents of Moduretic) is responsible, the authors performed a modified clonidine suppression test (CST) in nine normal volunteers (aged 25 +/- 2 years), pretreated for 1 week with HCTZ 50 mg daily, amiloride 10 mg daily, or placebo, in a randomized, double-blind, crossover study. Baseline characteristics were identical on all study days, except serum [K+] and weight, which were lowest on HCTZ (3.6 +/- 0.2 mEq/L and 78.7 +/- 2.5 kg), compared with amiloride (4.2 +/- 0.1 mEq/L and 79.9 +/- 2.4 kg) and placebo (4.0 +/- 0.1 mEq/L and 80.2 +/- 2.7 kg, P less than .05). Oral clonidine (0.3 mg) produced a reduction in mean blood pressure by about 20%. Plasma norepinephrine levels were similar in patients receiving placebo, HCTZ, and amiloride (205 +/- 18, 272 +/- 40 and 277 +/- 44 pg/mL, P greater than .20), and decreased significantly during CST. The maximal reduction for each subject averaged 72.7 +/- 12.4%, 87.9 +/- 3.8%, and 82.9 +/- 5.7% for placebo, HCTZ, and amiloride. Clonidine also produced a four to seven-fold increase in plasma growth hormone levels, reduced salivary flow by about 75%, and increased the level of sedation. There were no differences among the three pretreatment regimens in the effects of clonidine, indicating that diuretic therapy does not need to be systematically discontinued in patients undergoing CST.
Estimation of skull table thickness with clinical CT and validation with microCT.

Brain injuries resulting from motor vehicle crashes (MVC) are extremely common yet the details of the mechanism of injury remain to be well characterized. Skull deformation is believed to be a contributing factor to some types of traumatic brain injury (TBI). Understanding biomechanical contributors to skull deformation would provide further insight into the mechanism of head injury resulting from blunt trauma. In particular, skull thickness is thought be a very important factor governing deformation of the skull and its propensity for fracture. Current computed tomography (CT) technology is limited in its ability to accurately measure cortical thickness using standard techniques. A method to evaluate cortical thickness using cortical density measured from CT data has been developed previously. This effort validates this technique for measurement of skull table thickness in clinical head CT scans using two postmortem human specimens. Bone samples were harvested from the skulls of two cadavers and scanned with microCT to evaluate the accuracy of the estimated cortical thickness measured from clinical CT. Clinical scans were collected at 0.488 and 0.625 mm in plane resolution with 0.625 mm thickness. The overall cortical thickness error was determined to be 0.078 ± 0.58 mm for cortical samples thinner than 4 mm. It was determined that 91.3% of these differences fell within the scanner resolution. Color maps of clinical CT thickness estimations are comparable to color maps of microCT thickness measurements, indicating good quantitative agreement. These data confirm that the cortical density algorithm successfully estimates skull table thickness from clinical CT scans. The application of this technique to clinical CT scans enables evaluation of cortical thickness in population-based studies.
Indexed bonds: A comparative analysis

Abstract This paper compares two types of proposed indexed bonds for the purpose of determining whether a given bond actually provides an inflation hedge. The approach taken recognizes the effect that inflation has on the returns from reinvestment of interim cash flows. It is found that the return on neither bond is unaffected by inflation. A new bond is developed that is shown to be immune to price level changes.
A respiration-deficient Chinese hamster cell line with a defect in mitochondrial protein synthesis: Rapid turnover of some mitochondrial transcripts

Translational initiation and elongation in mammalian mitochondria is still poorly understood, and genetic approaches are expected to be helpful in the elucidation of the mechanism. This study describes a further characterization of a Chinese hamster mutant cell line which is severely defective in mitochondrial protein synthesis. Additional proof is provided that the mutation is nuclear. It is shown that there is no dramatic depletion of mitochondrial DNA in these cells, and the mtDNA appears to have neither significant deletions nor rearrangements. Transcription is not affected, and the polycistronic transcripts are processed normally. However, mt mRNAs are differentially quite unstable, and some are at very low steady state levels. Several nuclear transcripts encoding mitochondrial proteins were also investigated and found to be present at normal levels, and in particular, it was demonstrated that complex II (and succinate dehydrogenase activity), encoded entirely by nuclear genes, was only moderately affected by the absence of all the other complexes of the electron transport chain.
"I Now Harbor More Pride in My Race": The Educational Benefits of Inter- and Intraracial Dialogues on the Experiences of Students of Color and Multiracial Students.

How do students of color and multiracial students learn to make sense of and navigate race within historically white institutions (HWIs)? And, what pedagogies and inter-/intragroup dynamics facilitate increased understanding of issues of race, racial identity development, and racism in the U.S.? This project examines students’ of color (SOC) and multiracial students’ learning in the Intergroup People of Color–White People Dialogues and Intragroup Multiracial Identity Dialogues at a small private liberal arts college in the Northeast. Through qualitative, inductively-derived analyses of student papers, this study advances understanding of how SOC/multiracial students make sense of their own racial group membership and how they navigate raced interactions in college. It also continues and extends national efforts to conduct and disseminate research on both the substantive nature and process of the Inter-/Intragroup Dialogues and their impact on students.
Essential Outlines of Crime and Madness: Man‐Fights in São Luís

This article discusses a Brazilian scenario known as briga. The prototypical briga is a fatal bar or street fight, an escalating confrontation between two men culminating in murder. I shall argue that like Geertz's Balinese cockfight (1973a), briga exposes the hostility concealed beneath the smooth veneer of everyday sociability. But in briga disruptive sentiments burst through the veneer, dramatizing the troubling message that face-to-face encounters are unstable, emotional control is unreliable, and life itself is precarious. In short, briga proclaims that integrity at every level-social, moral, and physical-is at risk from forces barely submerged beneath the mundane surface of day-to-day existence. The spectacle of briga, at once riveting and repugnant, focuses Brazilians' attention repeatedly on a locus of sociocultural failure: a place where chaos issues from a crack in the world they inhabit. What Brazilians call a briga is, observed through a camera's lens, an exchange of aggressions that sometimes escalates to mayhem or murder. But the Brazilian's view is richer; he or she experiences the interaction through the prism of a complex cultural model charged with meaning and emotion. That is, mediating between event and experience is a model of and for briga (cf. Geertz 1973b): a model that is built on, and builds, behavior and motivations that tend simultaneously to shape and to conform with its predictions. This essay focuses mainly, but not exclusively, on briga as experience-as filtered through the cultural prism. Its perspective is that of the observer rather than the participant. The observer's stance is familiar to all those, both men and women, with whom I talked, whereas not everyone provokes, or tends to get enmeshed in, brigas. Nevertheless, there seems to be an element of vicarious participation in simply watching a briga: the antagonists' dilemmas and actions become, in the imagination, one's own. My discussion relies on fieldwork I conducted in the northeastern Brazilian city of Sao Luis during my residence there, from March 1984 to March 1986.1 I collected accounts of brigas and explanations of the concepts upon which those accounts rested. Interviews with the most articulate and patient persons, such as Tito (whom I quote in this essay), totaled many hours: I tried to elicit from them as complete a cognitive scheme as possible. I also consulted archival materials,
Depth Profiling of Polymer Composites by Ultrafast Laser Ablation

Past work has shown femtosecond laser ablation to be a non-thermal process at low fluences in polymer systems. The ablation rate in this low fluence regime is very low, allowing for micro-scale removal of material. We have taken advantage of this fact to perform shallow depth profiling ablation on carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) composites. Neat resin and composite samples were studied to establish reference ablation profiles. These profiles and the effects of the heterogeneous distribution of carbon fibers were observed through optical and scanning electron microscopy. Weathered materials that have been subjected to accelerated tests in artificial sunlight or high temperature conditions were ablated to evaluate any correlation between exposure and change in ablation characteristics. Preliminary Raman and micro-ATR analysis performed before and after ablation shows no chemical changes indicative of thermal effects. The low-volume-ablation property was utilized in an attempt to expose the sizing-matrix interphase for analysis.Copyright © 2009 by ASME
The reserpine, rescinnamine, and deserpidine content of Rauwolfia roots.

The alkaloids reserpine, rescinnamine, and deserpidine occurring in the roots of various Rauwolfia species are separated by column chromatography, and determined by ultraviolet spectrophotometry.
The Effects of Assistive Technology on Students with Disabilities

The purpose of this article is to analyze assistive technology literature for students with disabilities. The literature search rendered N = 57 literature and n = 17 manuscripts were identified in the special education technology field studies. Each source was evaluated according to the following criteria: types of disability, learning objectives and tasks, types of assistive devices available, application, and competency in matching the assistive technology with a specific disability. Results show: 1) research in this field tends to be limited to faculty development and need assessment focus; 2) technological interventions appeared scattered, vague, incomprehensive and non-specific; and 3) pre-service teachers' comfort level of assistive technology in an inclusive classroom remain low. An updated list of various type of AT suggesting teachers to match each technological tool to a specific disability is summarized in Table 1 and it is also included in this study.
The USPTO economics research agenda

This article outlines the creation of the Chief Economist’s Office at the US Patent and Trademark Office in March, 2010, and the publication of the Office’s first economics research agenda. In describing the elements of the research agenda—the role of intellectual property (IP) in economic growth, performance, and employment; IP and technology standards; the economics of trademarks; the economics of United States Patent and Trademark Office initiatives; and IP and the markets for technology—we both review the state of knowledge and outline ongoing initiatives and future possibilities. The article also suggests opportunities for ongoing public–private research collaboration on these issues, particularly between government and academic researchers.
Automated telecommunication-based reminders and adherence with once-daily glaucoma medication dosing: the automated dosing reminder study.

Importance Topical glaucoma medications lower intraocular pressure and alter the course of the disease. Because adherence with glaucoma medications is a known problem, interventions are needed to help those patients who do not take their medications as prescribed. Objective To assess the ability of an automated telecommunication-based intervention to improve adherence with glaucoma medications. Design, Setting, and Participants We performed a prospective cohort study of medication adherence, followed by a randomized intervention for those found to be nonadherent, of individuals recruited from a university-based glaucoma subspecialty clinic. A total of 491 participants were enrolled in the initial assessment of adherence. Of those, 70 were nonadherent with their medications after 3 months of electronic monitoring and randomized to intervention and control groups. Interventions A personal health record was used to store the list of patient medications and reminder preferences. On the basis of those data, participants randomized to the intervention received daily messages, either text or voice, reminding them to take their medication. Participants randomized to the control group received usual care. Main Outcomes and Measures Difference in adherence before and after initiation of the intervention. Results Using an intent-to-treat analysis, we found that the median adherence rate in the 38 participants randomized to the intervention increased from 53% to 64% (P Conclusions and Relevance Automated telecommunication-based reminders linked to data in a personal health record improved adherence with once-daily glaucoma medications. This is an effective method to improve adherence that could realistically be implemented in ophthalmology practices with a minimum amount of effort on the part of the practice or the patient.
A case of bilateral trochleitis in adult-onset Still's disease.

Abstract Objectives We describe the first case of adult-onset Still's disease (AOSD) presenting with trochleitis and successfully treated with an interleukin-1 receptor antagonist. Methods This is a descriptive case report of one patient, identified in consultation with the inpatient ophthalmology consult service. Results A 23-year-old Caucasian male initially presented with complaints of sore throat, myalgias, rash, and fever. After he failed to respond to antibiotic therapy for presumed streptococcal pharyngitis and developed left eye pain with upgaze, he was admitted to the hospital. Laboratory workup revealed elevated inflammatory markers and liver enzymes. He was eventually diagnosed with AOSD. During his hospitalization he developed binocular vertical diplopia, worsening of left eye pain on upgaze, and exquisite tenderness over the region of the left trochlea, consistent with trochleitis. This diagnosis was supported by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Soon after onset of left eye symptoms, the right eye developed identical symptoms. He was started on intravenous corticosteroids, which led to the rapid resolution of his ocular and systemic symptoms. However, after transition to oral corticosteroids, his symptoms recurred. He was started on anakinra, an interleukin-1 (IL-1) receptor antagonist, which led to resolution of his ocular and systemic symptoms. Conclusions Trochleitis is an unusual form of orbital inflammation localized to the superior oblique tendon and trochlea complex. It has been associated with a number of systemic inflammatory conditions including systemic lupus erythematous, rheumatoid arthritis, and juvenile idiopathic arthritis. This is the first case of a patient with AOSD presenting with trochleitis. Treatment with IV corticosteroids and anakinra resulted in rapid resolution of his ocular and systemic symptoms.
Species dependent differences in the actions of sympathetic nerves and noradrenaline in the internal anal sphincter

Abstract Excitatory motor innervation to the internalanal sphincter (IAS) of the monkey, the rabbit andmouse were compared. Contractile responses to elec-trical ﬁeld stimulation of nerves (EFS, atropine1 lmol L )1 and N(x)-nitro- L -arginine 100 lmol L )1 present throughout) were examined in isolated stripsof IAS. In the monkey IAS, EFS caused frequencydependent (1–30 Hz) contractions which were abo-lished by guanethidine (10 lmol L )1 ) or phentolamine(3 lmol L )1 ). The sympathetic neurotransmitter nor-adrenaline (NA) also caused concentration-dependent(10 nmol L )1 –100 lmol L )1 ) contractions which wereabolished by phentolamine revealing a small relaxa-tion that was abolished by propranolol (3 lmol L )1 ).In contrast, EFS caused only relaxation of the mouseand rabbit IAS which was not affected by guanethi-dine. Furthermore, NA relaxed these muscles andrelaxation was nearly abolished by combined additionof phentolamine and propranolol. In conclusion, themonkey IAS is functionally innervated by sympa-thetic nerves that contract the muscle via excitatorya-adrenergic receptors. In contrast, no signiﬁcantmotor function could be identiﬁed for sympatheticnerves in the rabbit or mouse IAS although adrenergicreceptors linked to muscle inhibition are present.These data reveal species dependent differences insympathetic motor innervation and suggest that somespecies are more appropriate than others as models formotor innervation to the human IAS.Keywords adrenergic, autonomic, gastrointestinal,internal anal sphincter, motility, sympathetic.
Listening and organization

An experiment comparing the effects of direct listening training and speech‐organization training on listening comprehension, lecture comprehension, and lecture retention is reported.
A Transgenic Mouse Model of Heart Failure Using Inducible Gαq

Receptors coupled to Gαq play a key role in the development of heart failure. Studies using genetically modified mice suggest that Gαq mediates a hypertrophic response in cardiac myocytes. Gαq signaling in these models is modified during early growth and development, whereas most heart failure in humans occurs after cardiac damage sustained during adulthood. To determine the phenotype of animals that express increased Gαq signaling only as adults, we generated transgenic mice that express a silent Gαq protein (GαqQ209L-hbER) in cardiac myocytes that can be activated by tamoxifen. Following drug treatment to activate Gαq Q209L-hbER, these mice rapidly develop a dilated cardiomyopathy and heart failure. This phenotype does not appear to involve myocyte hypertrophy but is associated with dephosphorylation of phospholamban (PLB), decreased sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca2+-ATPase activity, and a decrease in L-type Ca2+ current density. Changes in Ca2+ handling and decreased cardiac contractility are apparent 1 week after GαqQ209L-hbER activation. In contrast, transgenic mice that express an inducible Gαq mutant that cannot activate phospholipase Cβ (PLCβ) do not develop heart failure or changes in PLB phosphorylation, but do show decreased L-type Ca2+ current density. These results demonstrate that activation of Gαq in cardiac myocytes of adult mice causes a dilated cardiomyopathy that requires the activation of PLCβ. However, increased PLCβ signaling is not required for all of the Gαq-induced cardiac abnormalities.
Immunogenicity of four sequential polypeptides in inbred guinea-pigs and their recognition at the T lymphocyte and antibody levels.

SUMMARY Four sequential polypeptides containing equimolar amounts of tyrosine, glutamic acid, alanine and glycine were shown to be T lymphocyte-dependent immunogens in inbred guinea-pigs. Poly (Glu-Ala-Tyr-Gly) was immunogenic only in strain 2 guinea-pigs; poly (Glu-Tyr-Ala-Gly) and poly (Ala-Tyr-Glu-Gly) were immunogenic only in strain 13 guinea-pigs; and poly (Ala-Glu-Tyr-Gly) was immunogenic in both inbred strains. The specificity of immune recognition was probed at the T lymphocyte and humoral levels with the heterologous polypepties. Only a few cases of heterologous cross-stimulation or cross-reaction were observed, indcating the great selectivity of immune recognition. The results showed considerable variability in immune recognition from animal to animal. Nevertheless, at the T-cell level, cross-stimulation appears to necessitate that the antigen is itself immunogenic in that strain, whereas at the antibody level, cross-reaction is not similarly restricted. The structural basis for mutual recognition of immunogen and antigen at these levels is discussed.
The Teratogenic Interaction of Hydroxyurea and 5-Bromodeoxyuridine Examined with the Aid of Limb Culture and Image Analysis

Abstract Pregnant mice were treated on gestation Day 11 (E11) with a single dose of either hydroxyurea (HU, 250 mg/kg) or 5-bromo-2′deoxyuridine (BrdU, 500 mg/kg), or with a combination of the two agents. The dams were either allowed to go to term, when the fetuses were examined for cleft palate (CP) and digital anomalies, or killed 24 hr after the treatment. In the latter case, limbs from the embryos of control and treated dams were excised and cultured for 6 days in submerged culture. At the end of the culture period, the limb explants were stained for cartilage. The various cartilaginous components were subsequently analyzed using image analysis methods. CP was observed in 2.4 and 22.9% of the fetuses, respectively, after a single dose of HU or BrdU on E11. Simultaneous HU + BrdU treatment decreased the incidence of BrdU-induced CP to 3.6%, while treatment with BrdU 3 hr after HU resulted in 33.3% CP. In addition, syndactyly and ectrodactyly, not seen after the treatment with either HU or BrdU alone, were observed when the two agents were administered simultaneously, 1 hr apart or with a 3-hr delay. The teratogenic response was enhanced when limbs were cultured for 6 days. Digital anomalies were observed in the limb explants of BrdU-pretreated embryos; such abnormalities were not observed in vivo. Image analysis of cultured limb explants revealed that with HU-3 hr-BrdU pretreatment, the total limb area occupied by the long bones was increased at the cost of the paw area. However, no consistent changes in the shape or form of individual bones were observed. HU and BrdU given together produced a teratogenic response which was significantly different from that observed following the administration of HU or BrdU alone. This is considered to be due to an interference with the incorporation of BrdU in the DNA, since HU is known to block DNA synthesis. When HU was given before BrdU, the effects of BrdU were enhanced, probably due to the reported synchronizing action of HU on dividing cells. We also found that after a similar in utero exposure, the culture conditions themselves enhanced the frequency of teratogenic expression of BrdU.
Transposon‐induced events at gene loci

In the October issue of BioEssays (vol. 3, no. 4), H. P. Doring reviewed the general molecular biology of transposable elements in plants. In this review by P. A. Peterson, the effects of transposable genetic elements are considered, with special attention being paid to investigation of mobile-element-induced mutations at loci that control identifiable enzymes, and the specific alterations in enzyme properties that result. Together with DNA sequence analysis, these studies have begun to reveal the complexity of insertion/excision events, and their potential in protein evolution.
High temperature nuclear magnetic resonance studies of oxide melts

Abstract Recently, application of in situ, high temperature nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy to study silicate, borate and aluminate melts has lead to a variety of findings on structural changes with temperature (particularly in cation coordination number), and on the dynamics of exchange and diffusion. New data are presented on chemical shifts and spin-lattice relaxation of 23 Na in a number of silicate liquids to about 1200°C, and these results are discussed in light of other recent studies. These results clearly demonstrate the mixed alkali effect on cation motion. New high temperature magic angle spinning 11 B NMR spectra for a sodium borate liquid are also presented. As in previous studies of aluminate and silicate melts, the latter data set suggests that the mechanism of viscous flow is closely tied to local exchange of cationic species.
SU-E-T-441: First Results Using Thermoluminescent Chips to Estimate Neutron Doses Near Proton Dose Delivery Regions in Solid Water Phantoms

Purpose: Demonstrate feasibility of using TLDs to estimate neutron doses near clinical proton dose delivery in solid water phantoms and compare relative readings for various conditions. The advantage of TLDs is their small size providing good spatial resolution. The issue of neutron levels adjuvant to proton therapy has been hotly debated for years. This effort aims at providing measured data of relevance to that question. Methods: TLD‐700 chips were irradiated in solid water stacks at locations a few cm distal and lateral to regions of proton dose delivered to 50 Gy. Readings were done at multiple beam energies (ranges in water) in a system that delivers beam via uniform scanning. A similar irradiation was done using a passive scattering system for further comparison. Absorbed doses were extracted from the two peak analysis of the TLD glow curves and cross calibration of the same chips in a proton beam and neutron therapy beams. Results: Neutron dose estimates were surprisingly low for the uniform scanning system, being of order 0.2% of the proton dose at isocenter. Readings distal and lateral to the dose region were about equal, which was also somewhat surprising. Readings for the passive scattering system are expected to be higher than for the uniform scanning system, and will also be presented. Conclusion: The feasibility of using TLDs to measure neturon levels near proton dose delivery regions is demonstrated, at least within the limitations of this method of data analysis. Additional work needs to be done, but initial results indicate that neutron levels appear to be lower than expected. Further study incorporating Monte Carlo simulations to estimate the neutron energy spectra at the locations of the chips will continue in the near future.
Expression and androgen regulation of C-CAM cell adhesion molecule isoforms in rat dorsal and ventral prostate

C-CAM is an epithelial cell adhesion molecule with two major splice variants that differ in the length of the cytoplasmic domain. C-CAM1 (long (L)-form) strongly suppresses the tumorigenicity of human prostate carcinoma cells. In contrast, C-CAM2 (short (S)-form) does not exhibit tumor-suppressive activity. In the present study we have investigated the functional significance of L-form and S-form C-CAM in rat prostate by examining their expression and distribution in different prostate lobes and their response to androgen deprivation. RNase protection assays with a probe for both C-CAM isoforms detected high levels of C-CAM messages in the rat dorso-lateral prostate (DLP). L- and S-form proteins, localized by indirect immunofluorescence using isoform-specific antipeptide antibodies, were co-expressed on the apical surface of prostate epithelial cells in normal DLP. Androgen depletion did not significantly change the steady state levels of C-CAM message and protein expression in the DLP, although there was a change in the pattern of protein expression in these lobes. In contrast, C-CAM isoform messages and proteins were undetectable in normal ventral prostate (VP) but increased markedly in this lobe in response to castration, producing isoform ratios similar to those in DLP. These results demonstrate that coordinate expression of C-CAM isoforms is maintained in the VP following androgen depletion and suggest that androgen suppresses C-CAM expression in VP but not in DLP. These results suggest that balanced expression of L- and S-form C-CAM is important for normal prostate growth and differentiation.
Non-separation in the mean–lower-partial-moment portfolio optimization problem

Abstract With a number of advantages, lower partial moments (LPM) serve as alternatives to variance as measures of portfolio risk. For two specific targets, a separation property holds in the context of mean–LPM portfolio optimization that allows investors to separate the decision about investment proportions among risky assets from the decision about how much to invest in risky versus risk-free assets. For other targets, however, separation is not guaranteed, and this case has not received much attention in the literature. We show in the case of non-separation that investment curves are not common to all optimizing investors, but that they are convex in (mean, LPM) space and their lower envelope is the efficient frontier. We consider the interesting behavior of investment curves and optimal risky portfolios. We also show empirically that an investor who mistakenly assumes separation holds will not experience significant excess portfolio risk in all practical cases.
Role of highly conserved pyrimidine-rich sequences in the 3' untranslated region of the GAP-43 mRNA in mRNA stability and RNA-protein interactions

We have shown previously that the mRNA for the growth-associated protein GAP-43 is selectively stabilized during neuronal differentiation. In this study, we explored the role of its highly conserved 3' untranslated region (3'UTR) in mRNA stability and RNA-protein interactions. The 3'UTRs of the rat and chicken GAP-43 mRNAs show 78% sequence identity, which is equivalent to the conservation of their coding regions. In rat PC12 cells stably transfected with the full-length rat or chicken GAP-43 cDNAs, the transgene mRNAs decayed with same half-life of about 3 h. The GAP-43 3'UTR also caused the rabbit beta-globin mRNA to decay with a half-life of 4 h, indicating that the major determinants for GAP-43 mRNA stability are localized in its highly conserved 3'UTR. Three brain cytosolic RNA-binding proteins (molecular mass 40, 65 and 95 kDa) were found to interact with both the rat and chicken GAP-43 mRNAs. These RNA-protein interactions were specific and involved pyrimidine-rich sequences in the 3'UTR. Like the GAP-43 mRNA, the activity of these proteins was enriched in brain and increased during development. We propose that highly conserved pyrimidine-rich sequences in the 3'UTR of this mRNA regulate GAP-43 gene expression via interactions with specific RNA-binding proteins.
Persistent Internal Polarization

Studies are reported on persistent internal polarization effects. This polarization can be produced, particularly in photoconductive, fluorescent substances of high dark resistance, by the action of various kinds of radiation in the presence of a dc electric field. It has been found that such polarizations, of more than 10 000 volts/cm, will persist for many days if kept in the dark after field removal. A material so polarized is in many ways a photosensitive electret. Among the substances tested, a [Zn: Cd]S phosphor and anthracene were used most extensively. Measurements are reported on the effect of ultraviolet, visible, and infrared light, gamma and beta rays on the production and removal of polarization. The increase of polarization with time is initially rapid and then shows saturation. It is almost a logarithmic function of the exciting radiation intensity, and a linear function of the polarizing voltage over a wide range. It is found that the equilibrium values of polarization are essentially determined by the applied voltage, and one parameter specific to the substance. Data are given on the long-time storage of polarization. It is shown that this polarization is due to a partial separation by the applied field of free mobile charges produced by the radiation inside the material and their localization in traps. It is not a charge injection-ejection phenomenon at the electrodes since it occurs just as well in samples insulated from the electrodes. In powders at least, the polarization is distributed throughout the entire sample and is not a charge accumulation near the surfaces. A correlation is established between these phenomena and the mechanism assumed for these substances to explain photoconductivity and fluorescence. A phenomenological model is presented which quantitatively describes many of the results of these experiments. This polarization effect provides a new method to detect and study energy storage in crystals.
Support for Addressing the Effects of Public Policy on Same-Gender Couples and Their Children

To the Editor .— The special article “The Effects of Marriage, Civil Union, and Domestic Partnership Laws on the Health and Well-being of Children,”1 published in Pediatrics , is an excellent and important step forward in the publication of unbiased, scientifically sound information on a subject that is often poorly and emotionally misrepresented. The authors of the article presented a thorough, clear, and evidence-based review of the relevant public policy, as well as psychosocial and developmental considerations, …