cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
PCR method for detection of EGFR exon 19 deletion in NSCLC

394 Back ground. The response rate of non-small cell lung carcinoma to EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKI) is approximately 10%. Recently, somatic mutations in EGFR exon 18-21 (TK domain) have been associated with response to TKI treatment but only deletions in exon 19 have been predictive of survival. It therefore may be important to identify exon 19 mutations in selecting patients for targeted treatment. Direct sequencing to identify EGFR TK domain mutations is time consuming and cost inefficient. We have developed a simple, PCR-based method to detect exon 19 deletion mutations as a potentially cost effective and sensitive method for identifying those NSCLC patients for whom TKI treatment may offer survival benefit. Materials and Methods. A total of 9 NSCLC lines, 5 with known mutations (H827, H1650, H2279, H3255 and HCC4006) and 4 without mutations (H157, H460, H520 and A549) 4 clinical tumor samples were tested in this pilot study. Tumor tissue was microdissected under stereoscopic microscopy from formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded sections and DNA was extracted from tumor cells with DNeasy (Qiagen). A semi-nested PCR procedure was employed to amplify exon 19 DNA in which the first round primers (27 cycles) were placed in the introns encompassing the whole of exon 19. Template from the first round was amplified with two additional primer sets, one encompassing a 126 bp segment containing all exon 19 deletions so far reported and second primer set in which one primer was set across the most common mutation (del E746-750A). PCR products were separated on 2.5% low range ultra agarose (Bio-Rad) and visualized by UV transillumination of gels stained with ethidium bromide. Results. Successful detection of known mutations was achieved in samples as small as 40 picograms of purified DNA and at mutant to wild type DNA copy ratios (M/W) of 1/600. The M/W in PCR products was not consistent even in cell lines with deletion. All of the known deletions present in the cell lines were detected by this assay and none of the non-mutant tumors were positive (100% concordance with published data). The assay detected mutations in 2 of the 4 clinical samples tested. In one cell line and one clinical sample, the detected deletion was of an uncommon type. Conclusions. This PCR-based EGFR deletion assay is sensitive for all known mutations in exon 19. It can be performed on paraffin embedded tissue samples rapidly and may be economical for large scale screening of clinical samples.
An interactive facial-expression training platform for individuals with autism spectrum disorder

Emotions are an incredibly important aspect of human communication. Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) suffer from significant challenges in perceiving, and understanding others' emotions, and responding emotionally in an appropriate manner. In order to help them to improve their facial expression recognition and response skills, EmoTrain was developed as an interactive platform that utilizes deep learning to track a user's facial expressions from a mobile device's camera and assists a user in learning to understand facial expressions and how to perform them. The paper details the design of the EmoTrain platform, the deep learning model and game engine for the platform, and evaluates EmoTrain's effectiveness.
Carotid artery cavernous fistulas.

The treatment of carotid cavernous fistulas has undergone a fundamental transformation during the preceding 30 years. Endovascular techniques have not only largely replaced surgical management of this disease, but have also resulted in substantially lower rates of procedure-associated morbidity and mortality. Percutaneous transarterial occlusion of direct cavernous carotid fistulas with preservation of the carotid artery using detachable balloons is now considered the current preferred therapeutic objective. Concurrent progress in percutaneous transvenous embolization techniques and materials has led to more effective and better-tailored therapies for indirect (dural) carotid cavernous fistulas. The current understanding of the clinico-pathologic mechanisms associated with carotid cavernous fistulas and the endovascular therapies used in the contemporary management of this condition are reviewed.
The Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) Session Layer

This paper explains the Session Layer of the OSI reference model. The Session Layer provides the means to organise, synchronise and manage the dialogue between cooperating session users. The paper includes a brief description of the development of the Session Layer, the definition of the service provided by the Session Layer, an explanation of the functional units which provide the service and a summary of the current and expected standardisation efforts for this layer.
Vitellogenesis in Mosquitoes

Malaria, dengue and other mosquito-borne infections are among the most devastating diseases (57, 144). The maintenance and dispersal of mosquito-borne disease depends upon the successful reproduction of the mosquito. The cornerstone of the reproductive cycle is vitellogenesis involving massive production of yolk protein precursors and their accumulation in developing oocytes. In anautogeneous mosquitoes, vitellogenesis is dependent on the availability of a blood meal and, as a consequence, is linked to transmission of pathogens. Pathogens acquired transovarially or from an infected host during an initial blood meal are transmitted during subsequent blood meals. Therefore, elucidation of vitellogenesis and other aspects of mosquito reproductive physiology is critical for the successful development of novel strategies in vector and disease management.
Effects of transient depolarizing potentials on the firing rate of cat neocortical neurons

1. The effects of excitatory postsynaptic potentials (EPSPs) on interspike intervals (ISIs) of neocortical neurons can be mimicked by pulse potentials (PPs) produced by current injection. The present report documents the dependence of the ISI shortening on the amplitudes of PPs and EPSPs and on the firing rate of the affected neuron. 2. In rhythmically firing necortical neurons, the ISI shortenings caused by PPs arriving at specific times in the ISI can be described by a shortening-delay (S-D) curve. The S-D curve yields three measures of the PPs' ability to shorten the ISI: 1) the mean ISI shortening, S; 2) the maximum shortening, Smax; and 3) the effective interval, defined as the portion of the ISI in which the PP consistently shortens the ISI. For PPs ranging between 80 microV and 3.6 mV (and cells firing at 25 imp/s), the mean shortening increased with amplitude h as S (ms) = 1.2*h (mV)1.24 (r = 0.94; P < 0.01). Smax increased linearly with amplitude as 4.9 ms/mV (r = 0.86, P < 0.01). The effective interval (as a percentage of the ISI) increased slightly with PP amplitude and had a mean value of 65 +/- 21% (mean +/- SD). 3. S-D curves obtained with stimulus-evoked EPSPs varied with EPSP amplitude in a manner similar to those of PPs. The relations obtained for stimulus-evoked EPSPs were not statistically different from those obtained for PPs in the same cells. 4. To determine the effect of firing rate. PPs were applied while neurons fired at frequencies ranging from 8 to 71 imp/s. Both S and Smax were approximately inversely proportional to the baseline firing rate (fo) and could be described as: S or Smax = kfo-m. The mean value of the exponent m (+/- SD) was 0.96 +/- 0.25 for S and 1.2 +/- 0.4 for Smax. These values were not statistically different from a value of 1 (1 group, 2-tailed t test). The effective interval did not vary significantly with firing rate. 5. The dependence of S on PP amplitude and baseline firing rate was incorporated into an expression for the average change in firing rate (delta f) produced by PPs occurring at rate fs: delta f = 0.03 h1.24 fs. The delta f increased with PP amplitude but did not vary significantly with the baseline firing rate. The values of delta f calculated from the S-D curves matched the values that were computed directly from the spike trains.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
Imaging of Acute Appendicitis in Adults: MRI

MR imaging provides systemic, multi-planar evaluation of the entire abdomen with excellent anatomic resolution and allows identification of the etiology for acute abdominal pain without exposing the patient to ionizing radiation and without the necessity of administration of intravenous contrast agents. Therefore, MR imaging is a valuable alternative to CT when US findings are inconclusive, especially in patients with higher risk for radiation exposure such as pregnant and pediatric patients. In this chapter, the role of MR imaging in diagnosis of acute appendicitis will be reviewed. Imaging protocols, MR-imaging features of the normal appendix, acute appendicitis and other causes of right-lower quadrant pain mimicking appendicitis will be described. Indications for MR imaging (with a special emphasis in pregnant patients) and safety issues will also be reviewed.
Bone quality in young adults with intellectual disability involved in adapted competitive football.

The objective of this study was to analyse bone quality parameters of football players with intellectual disability (ID) participating in adapted competitive football. Sixty-seven male football pla...
The servant of two masters: Electoral incentives in the Scottish Parliament

ABSTRACTScholars have pointed out the potential impact of different electoral systems on the incentives for representatives to cultivate personal versus party reputations. The mixed-member proporti...
A retrospective analysis of the relationship between race/ethnicity, age at delivery and the risk of gestational diabetes mellitus.

Objectives: To investigate the relationship between maternal race/ethnicity, maternal age at delivery, and the risk of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM).Research design: Patients of Henry Ford He...
A mass manufacturable thermoplastic based microfluidic droplet generator on cyclic olefin copolymer

The rapid progress of droplet microfluidics and its wide range of applications have created a high demand for the mass fabrication of low-cost, high throughput droplet generator chips aiding both biomedical research and commercial usage. Existing polymer or glass based droplet generators have failed to successfully meet this demand which generates the need for the development of an alternate prototyping technique. This work reports the design, fabrication and characterization of a mass manufacturable thermoplastic based microfluidic droplet generator on cyclic olefin copolymer (COC). COC chips with feature size as low as 20 µm have been efficiently fabricated using injection molding technology leading to a high production of inexpensive droplet generators. The novelty of this work lies in reoptimising surface treatment and solvent bonding methods to produce closed COC microchannels with sufficiently hydrophobic (contact angle of 120°) surfaces. These COC based droplet generators were shown to generate stable monodisperse droplets at a rate of 1300 droplets/second in the dripping regime. These new mass manufacturable, disposable and cheap COC droplet generators can be custom designed to cater to the rapidly increasing biomedical and clinical applications of droplet microfluidics.
A Bayesian approach to regional ceramic seriation and political history in the Southern Appalachian region (Northern Georgia) of the Southeastern United States

Abstract In this paper, I explore multiple methods of ceramic seriation, including correspondence analysis and frequency seriation, to revise the regional ceramic sequence for the Mississippian period of northern Georgia in the Southeastern United States, a period defined by the emergence of complex sociopolitical organization and marked socioeconomic inequality. I present a Bayesian radiocarbon framework for interpreting these seriations and situating them in absolute time. As the acquisition of new data and new analyses continuously demand reevaluations of any ceramic chronology, the analytical framework outlined here offers an avenue for future ceramic and radiocarbon datasets to be formally integrated with extant datasets to quantitatively reevaluate archaeological sequences. Because changes to materials and material attributes continue to be employed to construct culture-historical narratives and timelines across the world, especially for the purpose of highlighting and defining critical social, political, economic, and cultural transitions, the methodological approach presented here provides opportunities to formally explore, assess, and re-evaluate temporalities of cultural change.
13 Infant Mortality

Infant mortality is the death of an infant in the first year of life. The infant mortality rate (IMR) is the estimated number of infant deaths per 1000 live births. The IMR is not only a key indicator of maternal and child health, it is also considered an important indicator of population health and development. Child mortality has been declining worldwide as result of socioeconomic development and implementation of child survival interventions and yet, four million children die worldwide every year before their first birthday. Mostly in less developed countries and due to preventable causes. This chapter describes trends in infant mortality between 1990 and 2015 as well as differences across world regions.
Immunity in the developing amphibian.

Studies of immunologic development require animal models in which the effects of antigenic stimulation can be measured accurately with regard to various states of lymphoid development (1). Anuran amphibia represent one such group of animals. From an evolutionary perspective, adult amphibia are the first animals to possess a bone marrow which is similar to that of mammals, tissues resembling mammalian lymph nodes, and an “IgG”-like immunoglobulin (2–4). Similarly, the two life forms of amphibian tadpoles and frogs invite ontogenetic studies of the immune system as it relates to development of lymphoid tissues.
Mineralocorticoid Receptor Signaling Contributes to Normal Muscle Repair After Acute Injury

Acute skeletal muscle injury is followed by a temporal response of immune cells, fibroblasts, and muscle progenitor cells within the muscle microenvironment to restore function. These same cell types are repeatedly activated in muscular dystrophy from chronic muscle injury, but eventually, the regenerative portion of the cycle is disrupted and fibrosis replaces degenerated muscle fibers. Mineralocorticoid receptor (MR) antagonist drugs have been demonstrated to increase skeletal muscle function, decrease fibrosis, and directly improve membrane integrity in muscular dystrophy mice, and therefore are being tested clinically. Conditional knockout of MR from muscle fibers in muscular dystrophy mice also improves skeletal muscle function and decreases fibrosis. The mechanism of efficacy likely results from blocking MR signaling by its endogenous agonist aldosterone, being produced at high local levels in regions of muscle damage by infiltrating myeloid cells. Since chronic and acute injuries share the same cellular processes to regenerate muscle, and MR antagonists are clinically used for a wide variety of conditions, it is crucial to define the role of MR signaling in normal muscle repair after injury. In this study, we performed acute injuries using barium chloride injections into tibialis anterior muscles both in myofiber MR conditional knockout mice on a wild-type background (MRcko) and in MR antagonist-treated wild-type mice. Steps of the muscle regeneration response were analyzed at 1, 4, 7, or 14 days after injury. Presence of the aldosterone synthase enzyme was also assessed during the injury repair process. We show for the first time aldosterone synthase localization in infiltrating immune cells of normal skeletal muscle after acute injury. MRcko mice had an increased muscle area infiltrated by aldosterone synthase positive myeloid cells compared to control injured animals. Both MRcko and MR antagonist treatment stabilized damaged myofibers and increased collagen infiltration or compaction at 4 days post-injury. MR antagonist treatment also led to reduced myofiber size at 7 and 14 days post-injury. These data support that MR signaling contributes to the normal muscle repair process following acute injury. MR antagonist treatment delays muscle fiber growth, so temporary discontinuation of these drugs after a severe muscle injury could be considered.
Application of Stable Isotope Tracing to Elucidate Metabolic Dynamics During Yarrowia lipolytica α-Ionone Fermentation.

Summary Targeted metabolite analysis in combination with 13C-tracing is a convenient strategy to determine pathway activity in biological systems; however, metabolite analysis is limited by challenges in separating and detecting pathway intermediates with current chromatographic methods. Here, a hydrophilic interaction chromatography tandem mass spectrometry approach was developed for improved metabolite separation, isotopologue analysis, and quantification. The physiological responses of a Yarrowia lipolytica strain engineered to produce ∼400 mg/L α-ionone and temporal changes in metabolism were quantified (e.g., mevalonate secretion, then uptake) indicating bottleneck shifts in the engineered pathway over the course of fermentation. Dynamic labeling results indicated limited tricarboxylic acid cycle label incorporation and, combined with a measurable ATP shortage during the high ionone production phase, suggested that electron transport and oxidative phosphorylation may limit energy supply and strain performance. The results provide insights into terpenoid pathway metabolic dynamics of non-model yeasts and offer guidelines for sensor development and modular engineering.
The Road to Service Export Diversification: Gambling and Convention in Macao

Macao is a major exporter of gambling service in the world. Economies of scale in the gaming industry are the driving forces behind Macao’s pattern of export. However, rather than exploiting the economies of scale through further specialization in gambling service, the government of Macao aims at diversifying the service exports, focusing on Macao’s relatively small convention industry. To provide a theoretical ground for this seemingly counterintuitive strategy of the city, this paper builds a multiproduct model of service export diversification. In line with previous studies, the present model shows that if the cost of providing gambling service is relatively low, it is optimal for a city to export relatively more gambling service than convention services. However, as the tourism market expands, the city will pursue a higher degree of diversification among the two services. Analyses of 2008 Q1–2019 Q1 data of visitor arrivals, visitor expenditure, and production costs of Macao match the propositions of the theoretical model. Furthermore, the VAR model provides empirical evidence that the degree of service export diversification is positively related to the size of the tourism market.
Motivations for bribery and bribery in business: Vietnam past and present

From a novel historical angle, this paper examines a fundamental question of why bribery is so prevalent throughout Vietnamese history, why it has become a culturally acceptable norm, and what hist...
Field and numerical investigation of full depth reclamation with Portland cement in Georgia

Abstract The Full Depth Reclamation (FDR) technique has recently become a popular rehabilitation method to reconstruct old flexible pavement. Pulverized existing roadway materials are blended with stabilizing agents such as foamed asphalt and Portland cement to form a stiff base course for the new pavement. In Georgia, Portland cement is commonly used as a stabilizing agent for FDR stabilization. One of the challenges in FDR stabilization projects is to achieve uniform stiffness throughout the stabilized layer. FDR mix design often specifies a fixed rate of stabilizing agent, which could generate a range of FDR strengths due to the inherent variability in the existing pavement. Stiffness variation in the stabilized base should be minimized for optimum long-term pavement performance. This study investigates the influence of the variability in the FDR base layer stiffness on pavement performance. A series of field and laboratory tests were performed on a pavement reconstruction project in Georgia to assess variability. Tests included Unconfined Compressive Strength (UCS) tests and deflection tests with a Light Weight Deflectometer (LWD) and Falling Weight Deflectometer (FWD). Mechanistic sensitivity analyses were performed based on the field and laboratory test results to investigate the effect of variability in FDR properties on pavement performance. The results indicate both the FDR base thickness and strength have a significant influence on the predicted pavement responses. Findings presented here will be of interest to pavement engineers involved in the design and performance modeling of FDR pavement.
Microcystic Adnexal Carcinoma of the Nipple.

Background Microcystic adnexal carcinoma (MAC) is a rare infiltrative cutaneous tumor, but with its locally aggressive nature, high rate of recurrence, and rare metastatic potential, it is an important clinical entity to consider when faced with a nipple lesion. These tumors are frequently misdiagnosed based on superficial biopsy alone. Case report This case of a 15-year-old girl with MAC of the nipple demonstrates the importance of having a high index of suspicion in order to obtain a diagnosis, to determine the extent of disease, and to achieve adequate resection before reconstruction. Close clinical observation is recommended due to the possibility of future recurrences. Conclusions Between the confusing nomenclature, indolent course, and inadequacy of superficial biopsy to achieve an accurate diagnosis, MAC is a clinical entity that the plastic surgeon must be aware of in order to facilitate proper diagnosis and treatment.
From 'Rates of Innovation' to Measures for 'Innovation Quality and Culture'

This study provides formal theoretical evidence that the concept of 'rates of innovation' is not amenable to imposition of any preference structure, as such is misleading and non-robust. Dearth of robustness derives from the finding that a decreasing rate of innovation can be shown to be strictly preferred to either of an increasing or constant rate of innovation. This finding rules out either of patent counts, citation-weighted patent counts, or the term, 'innovation rates' as robust parameters for comparative studies of cross-sections of innovation activity. The formal theoretical model endogenously generates two parameters for comparative studies of cross-sections of innovation activity that, respectively are constructs for 'quality of innovation', and 'frequency', equivalently, 'culture of innovation'. Given the parameter for culture of innovation is derived, in entirety, from the quality of innovation parameter, it is obtained in context of a strict preference for higher quality innovations that is formally and theoretically established. A strict preference for higher quality innovations is shown, under regular conditions, to imply an intertemporal 'decreasing cascade' for each of quality of innovation, and frequency of innovation, a cascade that, simultaneously is susceptible to stochastic arrival of innovation events that induce upward 'jumps' to the intertemporal decreasing cascade process. Preliminary empirical tests show the quality of innovation parameter outperforms GDP Per Capita as measure of quality of innovation within cross-sections of countries. Given the terminology, 'studies of rates of innovation' embeds a misnomer, study findings recommend substitution of the terminology, 'studies of Innovation Quality and Culture (IQC)'.
Speeding up eQTL scans in the BXD population using GPUs.

The BXD family of mouse strains are an important reference population for systems biology and genetics that have been fully sequenced and deeply phenotyped. To facilitate interactive use of genotype-phenotype relations using many massive omics data sets for this and other segregating populations, we have developed new algorithms and code that enable near-real-time whole genome QTL scans for up to one million traits. By using easily parallelizable operations including matrix multiplication, vectorized operations, and element-wise operations, our method is more than 700 times faster than a R/qtl linear model genome scan using 16 threads. We used parallelization of different CPU threads as well as GPUs. We found that the speed advantage of GPUs is dependent on problem size and shape (the number of cases, number of genotypes, and number of traits). Our approach is ideal for interactive web services, such as GeneNetwork.org that need to display results in real-time. Our implementation is available as the Julia language package LiteQTL at https://github.com/senresearch/LiteQTL.jl.
Biermann Battery Magnetic Fields in ICF Capsules

Self-generated magnetic fields are expected to be generated in excess of 10,000T in ICF hot-spots [1] . A model for magnetic flux generation is presented, showing that more flux is expected around large amplitude and high mode perturbations. The model compares favorably with Gorgon extended-MHD simulations, allowing for greater understanding of which target designs will be susceptible to MHD effects. For example, the model can be used to ascertain when most magnetic flux is expected to be generated. If generation is weighted more towards early times, then more high-mode magnetic field loops will be generated; even if the high-mode perturbations are ablatively stabilized at later times, the high mode magnetic field will still be present.
Adaptation of a Brown Water Culture Technique to the Mass Culture of the Copepod Acartia tonsa

The use of bay water, filtered to 5 microns, was found to be sufficiently nutritious to sustain an average of 232,000 adult Acartia tonsu per m3. Copepods survived up to 24 days as adults and produced up to 75 nauplii per adult. Nauplii could be sieved to produce copepods of known age or known parentage. Survival of nauplii to adults ranged from 15 to 88%. Culture water varied from 6 to 28OC in temperature, and from 1 to 26 ppt in salinity.
Transient stresses al Parkfield, California, produced by the M 7.4 Landers earthquake of June 28, 1992: implications for the time-dependence of fault friction

he M 7.4 Landers earthquake triggered widespread seismicity in the Western U.S. Because the transient dynamic stresses induced at regional distances by the Landers surface waves are much larger than the expected static stresses, the magnitude and the characteristics of the dynamic stresses may bear upon the earthquake triggering mechanism. The Landers earthquake was recorded on the UPSAR array, a group of 14 triaxial accelerometers located within a 1-square-km region 10 km southwest of the town of Parkfield, California, 412 km northwest of the Landers epicenter. We used a standard geodetic inversion procedure to determine the surface strain and stress tensors as functions of time from the observed dynamic displacements. Peak dynamic strains and stresses at the Earth's surface are about 7 microstrain and 0.035 MPa, respectively, and they have a flat amplitude spectrum between 2 s and 15 s period. These stresses agree well with stresses predicted from a simple rule of thumb based upon the ground velocity spectrum observed at a single station. Peak stresses ranged from about 0.035 MPa at the surface to about 0.12 MPa between 2 and 14 km depth, with the sharp increase of stress away from the surface resulting from the rapid increase of rigidity with depth and from the influence of surface wave mode shapes. Comparison of Landers-induced static and dynamic stresses at the hypocenter of the Big Bear aftershock provides a clear example that faults are stronger on time scales of tens of seconds than on time scales of hours or longer.
Landsat-based monitoring of annual wetland change in the Willamette Valley of Oregon, USA from 1972 to 2012

In Oregon’s Willamette Valley, remaining wetlands are at high risk to loss and degradation from agricultural activity and urbanization. With an increased need for fine temporal-scale monitoring of sensitive wetlands, we used annual Landsat MSS and TM/ETM+ images from 1972 to 2012 to manually interpret loss, gain, and type conversion of wetland area in the floodplain of the Willamette River. By creating Tasseled Cap Brightness, Greenness, and Wetness indices for MSS data that visually match TM/ETM+ Tasseled Cap images, we were able to construct a complete and consistent, annual time series and utilize the entire Landsat archive. With an extended time series we were also able to compare annual trends of net change in wetland area before and after the no-net-loss policy established under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act in 1990 using a Theil-Sen Slope estimate analysis. Vegetated wetlands experienced a 314 ha net loss of wetland area and non-vegetated wetlands experienced a 393 ha net gain, indicating higher functioning wetlands were replaced in area by non-vegetated wetland habitats such as agricultural and quarry ponds. The majority of both gain and loss in the study area was attributed to gains and losses of agricultural land. After 1990 policy implementations, the rate of wetland area lost slowed for some wetland categories and reversed into trends of gain in wetland area for others, perhaps representative of the success of increased regulations. Overall accuracy of land use classification through manual interpretation was at 80 %. This accuracy increased to 91.1 % when land use classes were aggregated to either wetland or upland categories, indicating that our methodology was more accurate at distinguishing between general upland and wetland than finer categorical classes.
Needed Changes to Improve the Lives of Children

We live in a time of easy fixes to complicated problems in which medications are the answer to most health problems and talking therapy is considered a luxury, or perhaps even irrelevant. This approach has put practitioners into quite a quandary when it comes to working with children. Not only have they begun using medications with little evidence of their efficacy, but they use adult diagnostic categories to fit the medications with very young children. It is heartbreaking to think of a 3- or 4-year-old diagnosed with bi-polar disorder or chronic depression, or even worse, childhood schizophrenia, simply because a clinician or physician knows so little about children that he or she immediately thinks of an adult diagnosis and the adult medications for unformed and developing children whose childhoods will now be changed for, perhaps, a lifetime. To add to this tragedy, there is little evidence that adult medications actually work with children, and growing evidence that they often do harm.
NATIONAL SPACE TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM TELEMETRY DISTRIBUTION AND PROCESSING, NASA-JFK SPACE CENTER/CAPE CANAVERAL

Prelaunch, launch, mission, and landing distribution of RF and hardline uplink/downlink information between Space Shuttle Orbiter/cargo elements, tracking antennas, and control centers at JSC, KSC, MSFC, GSFC, ESMC/RCC, and Sunnyvale are presented as functional block diagrams. Typical mismatch problems encountered during spacecraft-to-project control center telemetry transmissions are listed along with new items for future support enhancement.
Multiple access communications using combinatorial designs

In the past century, combinatorial designs have had substantial application in the statistical design of experiments and in the theory of error-correcting codes. Applications in experimental and theoretical computer science have emerged more recently, along with connections to the theory of cryptographic communication. This paper focuses on applications of designs in multiple access communications, in particular to balanced methods of sharing resources such as communications hardware, time, and bandwidth. The theory of combinatorial designs continues to grow, in part as a consequence of the variety of these applications and the increasing depth of the connections with challenging problems on designs.
Televised portrayals of Hispanics:: A comparison of ethnic perceptions

Abstract Recent research has begun to recognize the role that mass media plays in acculturation. Equally important, however, may be the media's ability to influence the host society's perception of ethnic group members. Misperceptions by either group may inhibit or halt the acculturation and assimilation processes. As a first step to determine the degree of shared perceptions, the present study compared Hispanic, black, and Anglo respondents' beliefs about the adequacy of minority character portrayals on television programs and commercials. Additional analyses explored the impact of demographic and media use variables on these perceptions. The results indicate that there are significant differences in perceptions between ethnic viewers and Anglos. Minority group members were more likely to believe that there are too few minorities on TV. No significant differences, however, were found in the perceived fairness of ethnic portrayals. Among Anglo respondents, heavy TV viewing was associated with a greater belief that television portrayed Hispanics fairly, while among Hispanic respondents the opposite was true. Total amount of television viewing among blacks was positively correlated with the belief that there are too few blacks on television. These results have important theoretical implications for the way the media may effect acculturation and assimilation. Implications for advertising and programming practitioners are also discussed.
Conformational Analysis of the Nonplanar Deformations of Cobalt Porphyrin Complexes in the Cambridge Structural Database

Principal component analysis, cluster analysis, and various structural parameters have been used to differentiate the nonplanar deformations of cobalt(III) porphyrins. The results were compared with normal-coordinate structural decomposition analysis. Cobalt(III) porphyrins discussed in this paper do not undergo large wav, dom, and pro deformations and they were not considered in our analysis. The cis Cα-N-N-Cα dihedral angle is the best structural measure of ruffling and it is the only structural parameter that does not overestimate the extent of ruffling due to the presence of saddling. The average distance between the Cβ carbons and the plane comprising the four nitrogens, the four meso carbons and the cobalt ion is the best structural measure of saddling. No structural parameters were found that could be used in principal component analysis to find PC's that quantified the nonplanar deformations in cobalt(III) porphyrins. Cluster analysis was able to separate the sad, ruf, and planar structures, however, the preparation and symmetry adaptation of all the structures was complicated and was no more informative than the use of some of the univarient structural parameters. The NSD deformations are related to the vibrational energies and motions of the macrocycle and are thus the preferred description, but the more easily obtained structural parameters are useful measures of the normal coordinate deformations whenever a full NSD analysis is not possible.
Cytogenetics of Gossypium and the problem of the origin of New World cottons.

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the problem of the origin of amphidiploid cottons, the theory of recent origin and cytogenetic studies as method of attack on the problem. The genus Gossypium includes all the species, to which the cultivated cottons of commerce belong and taxonomically allied species that can be hybridized with them. On the basis of meiotic pairing in interspecific hybrids and the comparative sizes of the chromosomes in the different genoms, it was suggested that the New World (n=26) cottons had arisen by amphidiploidy from a hybrid or hybrids of the Asiatic (n= 13) and American (n=13) parentage. The problem with the origin of New World cottons is that their amphidiploid origin is known, but how it took place is still open to question as if the modern Central American amphidiploids contain an Asiatic genome, how did they get it, since it is now confined to Asia.
Directors as Trustees of the Nation? India’s Corporate Governance and Corporate SocialResponsibility Reform Efforts

Corporate law in India has been fundamentally transformed since the early 1990s. In conjunction with significant economic liberalization, the Indian government has introduced a series of corporate law reforms aimed, in part, at creating a system of transparent, ethical, and accountable corporate functioning. Early reforms sought to implement rules and practices that addressed traditional corporate governance concerns, in other words the relationship between firm managers and shareholders and the relationship among different groups of shareholders, particularly majority and minority shareholders. More recently, not only has the Indian government implemented laws to address corporate governance matters, but it has also started addressing the corporate social responsibility (CSR) area.This Article argues that the Indian government’s corporate governance and CSR efforts, while laudable in some respects, are problematic in their approach to the governance of Indian companies and reflect a view of the ownership and governance of Indian companies that does not necessarily address the fundamental governance issues that arise in Indian firms. India’s proposed corporate law reforms suggest imposition of detailed corporate governance rules without necessarily assisting directors in addressing the majority-minority agency problems of controlled companies. Moreover, India’s proposed CSR guidelines may further hamper independent directors and exacerbate some of the problems that this Article discusses with respect to majority-minority agency costs.
On the displacements of a nonhomogeneous thick cylinder under uniform pressure

Abstract The stress distribution in an isotropic, nonhomogeneous, thick cylinder under pressure is formulated in terms of the stress function for both the plane-stress and plane-strain conditions. To disprove the result of J. Golecki (3) 2 that the displacement of an incompressible, nonhomogeneous cylinder under pressure is indeterminate, the differential equations are solved for the incompressible case. Young's moduli, which vary radially according to certain square laws, are chosen in the study so as to compare results with that of Golecki's. It is found that the displacements in all cases studied are determinate and single-valued. The same problem is also formulated in terms of the displacement instead of the stress function and solved in order to verify the results from the stress-function formulation.
Adenovirus-mediated delivery of catalase to retinal pigment epithelial cells protects neighboring photoreceptors from photo-oxidative stress.

Oxidative stress is involved in the pathogenesis of many diseases. Overexpression of antioxidant enzymes by gene therapy may protect tissues from oxidative damage. Because the reactive oxygen species hydrogen peroxide can diffuse across cell membranes, we hypothesized that overexpression of the antioxidant catalase within certain cells might protect neighboring cells. To test this hypothesis, we transduced retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells in vitro and in vivo with adenovirus carrying the catalase gene (Ad.CMV.catalase). After transduction of only a subset of RPE cells in vitro, all cells in the culture were protected from exogenous hydrogen peroxide. Similarly, in vivo, eyes injected with Ad.CMV.catalase had high catalase levels in the RPE, which protected the adjacent photoreceptors from light damage and reduced photoreceptor oxidative stress as measured by the markers 4-hydroxynonenal and nitrotyrosine. Both in vitro and in vivo, gene therapy with Ad.CMV.catalase protected neighboring cells from o...
The role of age structure in the persistence of a chronic pathogen in a fluctuating population

Small mammal populations exhibit large fluctuations, potentially leading to local extinction of specialist pathogens after bottlenecks. Pathogen persistence in recovering populations depends on the epidemiological characteristics of the hosts that survive the bottlenecks. Sin Nombre virus is a largely asymptomatic infection of deer mice, which creates a chronic lifelong infection. Earlier work on this virus has shown that males play a key role in pathogen persistence through a combination of longer lifespan and higher seroprevalence. Other evidence indicates that mouse age could play an equally important role, as older mice may have higher survivorship and higher contact rates. We use age structured models to examine the relationships among prevalence, age-dependent demographics, and age-dependent epidemiology.
The effect of neat ionic liquid on the folding of short peptides

Using circular dichroism spectroscopy, we show evidence of unusual folding behaviour for several designed peptides in neat ionic liquid. Helical peptides, AKA2 and Trp-cage, exhibit heat-induced folding, with stable helical structure persisting to 96 °C, whereas the β-hairpin Trpzip4 is destabilized by the neat [C4mpy][Tf2N].
Malignant mastocytosis with circulating mast cells

A case of malignant mastocytosis with peripheral blood involvement is presented. The course of the patient's illness was complicated by recurrent hypotensive episodes, presumed to have been caused by mast cell degranulation. Treatment with hydroxyurea was associated with persistent hypotension which resulted in death. It has been proposed that the diagnosis of mast cell leukemia be given to patients presenting with greater than 10% atypical mast cells in the blood. However, review of 16 published cases of malignant mastocytosis with circulating mast cells reveals that the clinical manifestations, complications, and survival do not vary significantly with the percentage of peripheral blood mast cells. Patients with malignant mastocytosis with significant involvement by atypical mast cells in the bone marrow and peripheral blood should be considered as having an aggressive disease, regardless of the percentage of circulating mast cells.
Avoidable pitfalls when writing medical reports for court proceedings in cases of suspected child abuse.

Avoiding pitfalls All paediatricians, paediatric radiologists, paediatric pathologists, forensic pathologists, and many other specialists have to deal with cases of suspected child abuse, and in terms of the generation of complaints from families this is a high risk activity. Many complaints are devoid of merit, but in some cases a complaint is justified because of a faulty approach. This review draws attention to the avoidable pitfalls associated with report writing when child abuse is under consideration (see box 1). ### Box 1: Common medical issues that may arise in child protection cases The modern guidance on the duties of experts in cases of suspected child abuse stems in part from a care proceedings case heard in 1990. A 3 month old baby was admitted to hospital with serious injuries comprising subdural haemorrhages of more than one age, damage to the brain, multiple rib fractures, and multiple limb fractures. Despite the evidence pointing to child abuse, a number of experts from various disciplines offered a variety of unjustified or highly improbable alternative medical explanations (including abnormally fragile bones) for the injuries. The judge was highly critical of some of the expert reports and evidence given in court, and in his published judgment he gave clear advice concerning the duties of an …
The premenstrual syndrome: A discussion of its pathophysiology and treatment with lithium ion

Summary The symptoms commonly found in the premenstrual syndrome are discussed. Several cases successfully treated over an extended period of time with lithium ion are presented. Water and electrolyte balance is considered in relationship to mental states in general. The pathophysiology of the premenstrual syndrome is examined, particularly those aspects relating to water and electrolytes, since these are most often implicated in its etiology. Finally, the pharmacologic actions and clinical uses of lithium ion are noted and discussed in relation to the pathophysiology and treatment of this disorder.
The Effects of Suburbanization on Agriculture

This article conceptualizes the effects of suburban population density and land speculation on agricultural production choices, prices, and profits. A dual profit function model and a system of reduced-form price equations are used to estimate these effects for New Jersey. Results show that vegetable production is the only subsector to benefit from suburbanization, while livestock is the most adversely affected. Suburbanization reduces responsiveness to agricultural prices and discourages capital and land use. The overall impact on profits is positive when capital gains on land are included. Policy implications for farmland preservation and "right to farm" legislation are discussed.
Commutativity of differentiation and discretization with special reference to finite element and finite difference discretizations

Two approaches for the discretization of operator equations are considered. The first one is motivated by the so-called projection methods, such as Galerkin, for the approximation of the solution of nonlinear equations, and the second type is derived from a class of finite difference approximations. Commutativity of differentiation and discretization is established for the two types of discretizations. Applications of the theory to some techniques in structural computations are also discussed. The commutativity theory developed here does not involve the verification of the “d-compatibility” condition of the theory of Ortega and Rheinboldt.
A theory of radiation-induced segregation in concentrated alloys☆

Abstract A new and simple theory for radiation-induced segregation in concentrated alloys is presented. The coupling between defect fluxes and atom fluxes is accounted for by the concept of preferential migration of vacancies and interstitials via A-atoms or B-atoms in a binary A-B alloy. Similarly, atom fluxes are partitioned into those occurring via vacancies and via interstitials. This approach permits expression of the defect fluxes and atom fluxes in terms of partial diffusivity coeffi- cients and concentration gradients of defects and alloy components. The time and space dependence of the defect concen- trations and composition of a binary alloy is described by a set of three coupled partial differential equations containing four partial diffusivity coefficients, i.e., those of A-atoms and B-atoms diffusing via vacancies and via interstitials. The set of differential equations has been integrated for some model binary alloys with complete miscibility, utilizing the geometry of a thin foil. The sample calculations are in good qualitative agreement with the general features of radiation-induced segregation as deduced from experiments. The temperature, dose and dose-rate dependencies of segregation in concentrated alloys are found to be similar to those predicted by the Johnson-Lam model for dilute alloys.
AN ENZYMIC DETERMINATION OF REDUCED GLUTATHIONE.

Abstract The requirement of maleylpyruvic acid isomerase for reduced glutathione has been utilized to develop a new sensitive and specific enzymic spectrophotometric assay for GSH. It is possible to determine as little as 10−2 mμmole of reduced glutathione. A high degree of specificity is characteristic of this enzymic method.