cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Early Prediction of Sepsis in EMR Records Using Traditional ML Techniques and Deep Learning LSTM Networks

Sepsis is a life-threatening condition caused by infection and subsequent overreaction by the immune system. Physicians effectively treat sepsis with early administration of antibiotics. However, excessive use of antibiotics on false positive cases cultivates antibiotic resistant bacterial strains and can waste resources while false negative cases result in unacceptable mortality rates. Accurate early prediction ensures correct, early antibiotic treatment; unfortunately, prediction remains daunting due to error-ridden electronic medical records (EMRs) and the inherent complexity of sepsis. We aimed to predict sepsis using only the first 24 and 36 hours of lab results and vital signs for a patient. We used the Medical Information Mart for Intensive Care III (MIMIC3) dataset to test machine learning (ML) techniques including traditional methods (i.e., random forest (RF) and logistic regression (LR)) as well as deep learning techniques (i.e., long short-term memory (LSTM) neural networks). We successfully created a data pipeline to process and clean data, identified important predictive features using RF and LR techniques, and trained LSTM networks. We found that our best performing traditional classifier, RF, had an Area Under the Curve (AUC-ROC) score of 0.696, and our LSTM networks did not outperform RF.
Towards Design Principles for Fashion in Interactive Emergent Narrative

In this paper, we explore the concept of fashion and its relevance to interactive emergent narrative. This relationship has been understudied, despite fashion’s prevalence in other narrative mediums. We discuss some of the potential ways in which fashion can enhance or drive a narrative, and argue that it can help to solve the issue of compositional representation.
Activation of c-Met in cancer cells mediates growth-promoting signals against oxidative stress through Nrf2-HO-1

Any imbalance between reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation and the anti-oxidant capacity lead to cellular oxidative stress. Many chemotherapeutic agents mediate their cytotoxic functions through the generation of ROS. c-Met, a receptor tyrosine kinase, is over-expressed in renal cancer and plays very crucial role(s) in its growth and survival. Here, we show that c-Met activation protected renal cancer cells from ROS, oxidative stress and cytotoxicity induced by the anti-cancer agent sorafenib (used for renal cancer treatment); and it markedly attenuated sorafenib-induced DNA damage. Activated c-Met promoted the anti-apoptotic proteins (Bcl-2 and Bcl-xL) and inhibited apoptotic cleaved caspase-3. We found that the cytoprotective function of c-Met against sorafenib-induced ROS generation and apoptosis was mediated primarily through the activation of anti-oxidant Nrf2-HO-1. c-Met promoted the nuclear localization of Nrf2 and hindered its binding with the inhibitory protein Keap1. Silencing of Nrf2 attenuated the protective action of c-Met against sorafenib-induced oxidative stress. To evaluate the physiological significance of our findings, in a tumor xenograft model, we observed that a combination treatment with pharmacological inhibitors of c-Met and it’s anti-oxidant downstream effecter HO-1 markedly reduced the growth of renal tumor in vivo; it increased the oxidative stress, DNA damage and apoptotic markers in the tumor xenografts, along with reduced tumor vessel density. Our observations indicate that the c-Met-Nrf2-HO-1 pathway plays a vital role in relieving ROS-mediated oxidative stress of renal tumors. Targeting this pathway can significantly increase the oxidative stress to promote apoptotic death of cancer cells.
Publishing a Computer Graphics Book With Prototype Desktop Publishing Tools

The first major computer graphics text, Principles of Interactive Computer Graphics, 1 was inspired by a course, a research project, and a set of notes, all by Ivan Sutherland. In 1971, William Newman invited me to join forces to supplement his partial book draft with notes I had been writing. The book, which appeared in 1973, was received well, exceeding the sales projections of its publisher, McGraw-Hill. Between 1973 and 1977, William and I were research staff at the Xerox Palo Alto Research Center (PARC) working on tools for an “office of the future,” focusing especially on interactive graphics and raster printing. We realized that raster displays and printers would soon dominate and would require mastering new techniques and adapting old ones. The second edition of our book, a complete rewrite, introduced some of the new technologies. This note is a story of the writing of the two editions of the book and it is also a story about how the editions were published in the era before commercial desktop publishing systems. In both the cases, we exploited and adapted computer tools of the time to do much of the publishing ourselves. For the second edition, we chose to use the illustration and printing tools we had developed at PARC to produce camera-ready copy. Especially significant was the use of the Press file format, an early page description language, to combine onto each page the various separate components prepared by different composition tools.
Impact of Protease on Ultraviolet Photodissociation Mass Spectrometry for Bottom-up Proteomics

Recent mass spectrometric studies have reported enhanced proteome coverage by employing multiple proteases or by using multiple or alternative activation methods such as electron-transfer dissociat...
The Politics of Peril: UNESCO’s List of World Heritage in Danger

This article focuses on the ways that threatened heritage sites are caught up in complex deliberations of UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee around inscription to the List of World Heritage in Dange...
Review of Lozano, Rosina (2018) An American Language: The History of Spanish in the United States

This article reviews An American Language: The History of Spanish in the United States 978-0-520-29707-4
Differential requirements for FcγR engagement by protective antibodies against Ebola virus

Ebola virus (EBOV) continues to pose significant threats to global public health, requiring ongoing development of multiple strategies for disease control. To date, numerous monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) that target the EBOV glycoprotein (GP) have demonstrated potent protective activity in animal disease models and are thus promising candidates for the control of EBOV. However, recent work in a variety of virus diseases has highlighted the importance of coupling Fab neutralization with Fc effector activity for effective antibody-mediated protection. To determine the contribution of Fc effector activity to the protective function of mAbs to EBOV GP, we selected anti-GP mAbs targeting representative, protective epitopes and characterized their Fc receptor (FcγR) dependence in vivo in FcγR humanized mouse challenge models of EBOV disease. In contrast to previous studies, we find that anti-GP mAbs exhibited differential requirements for FcγR engagement in mediating their protective activity independent of their distance from the viral membrane. Anti-GP mAbs targeting membrane proximal epitopes or the GP mucin domain do not rely on Fc–FcγR interactions to confer activity, whereas antibodies against the GP chalice bowl and the fusion loop require FcγR engagement for optimal in vivo antiviral activity. This complexity of antibody-mediated protection from EBOV disease highlights the structural constraints of FcγR binding for specific viral epitopes and has important implications for the development of mAb-based immunotherapeutics with optimal potency and efficacy.
Robust Heart Rate Variability and Interbeat Interval Detection Algorithm in the Presence of Motion Artifacts

This paper proposes a novel method to estimate heart rate variability (HRV) and interbeat interval (IBI) in the presence of motion artifacts. A robust heartbeat selection method is introduced as a shortest path exploration problem to detect HRV/IBI from a noisy signal. The time-continuity of heartbeats is used to model the shortest path. The end point of one heartbeat is the starting point of the next one. A graph is constructed whose vertices and edges are assumed to be the beginning of each possible heartbeats and the IBIs, respectively. Weights are assigned to the edges by using average heart rate (HR) values from state-of-the-art algorithms. The results indicate that IBI percentage error is around 3% for distorted ECG signal even with 0dB SNR. In addition, HRV parameters of clean versus noisy signals show high correlation.
Binding to the Ribosome by Eukaryotic Initiation Factor 4B Drives Yeast Translational Control in Response to Urea

ABSTRACT The yeast eukaryotic initiation factor 4B binds the 40S subunit in translation preinitiation complexes (PICs), promoting mRNA binding. Recent evidence suggests mRNAs have variable dependence on eIF4B, suggesting this factor could promote changes in mRNA selection to adapt to stressors. However, the importance of eIF4B and its constituent domains for mRNA selection under diverse cellular and environmental conditions remain undefined. Here we compared the effects of disrupting eIF4B RNA- and ribosome-binding under ∼1400 growth conditions. The RNA-Recognition Motif (RRM) was dispensable for stress responses, but ribosome binding by the N-terminal Domain (NTD) promoted growth in response to various stressors. In particular, the NTD conferred a strong growth advantage in the presence of urea. Ribosome profiling revealed that the NTD promoted translation of mRNAs with long and highly structured 5-prime untranslated regions, both with and without urea exposure. Because these changes required 40S binding, our results suggest eIF4B regulates mRNA loading and scanning as a part of the PIC, rather than by activating mRNPs prior to ribosome binding. Furthermore, our data indicate the yeast response to urea includes a translational component, driven by translation of mRNAs encoding proteins associated with the cellular periphery, suggesting general eIFs can promote diverse cellular responses.
Substrate stiffness induced mechanotransduction regulates temporal evolution of human fetal neural progenitor cell phenotype, differentiation, and biomechanics

While the mechanotransduction-induced fate of adult neural stem/progenitor cells (NPCs) is relatively known, how substrate stiffness regulates the temporal evolution of the biomechanics and phenotype of developmentally relevant human fetal NPCs (hNPCs) and their mechanosensing pathways remain unknown. Here, we primed hNPCs on tissue-culture plastic (TCPS) for 3 days in non-differentiating medium before transferring to TCPS or Geltrex™ gels ( neural > glia subtypes. Higher stress fiber density in cells on stiffer gels explains their significantly different biomechanical properties on these gels. Blebbistatin treatment caused cell polarization, lowered elastic modulus, and enhanced tether forces, implicating the role of non-muscle myosin-II in hNPC mechanosensing, adaptability, and thereby mechanics. Such substrate-mediated temporal evolution of hNPCs guide design of smart scaffolds to investigate morphogenesis, disease modeling, stem cell biology, and biomaterials for tissue engineering.
In Suspense: Donald Trump’s Efforts to Undermine Public Trust in Democracy

For decades, Republicans and American conservatives have cultivated and employed public distrust in government to garner strategic benefits. But officeholders have typically behaved with restraint in running for reelection, limiting their pursuit of electoral self-interest at the expense of the political system they are sworn to “preserve, protect, and defend.” President Trump has shown little interest in such restraint, and his attacks on the electoral process could produce grave social and political consequences in the aftermath of the 2020 election.
Meibography Phenotyping and Classification From Unsupervised Discriminative Feature Learning

Author(s): Yeh, Chun-Hsiao; Yu, Stella X; Lin, Meng C | Abstract: PurposeThe purpose of this study was to develop an unsupervised feature learning approach that automatically measures Meibomian gland (MG) atrophy severity from meibography images and discovers subtle relationships between meibography images according to visual similarity.MethodsOne of the latest unsupervised learning approaches is to apply feature learning based on nonparametric instance discrimination (NPID), a convolutional neural network (CNN) backbone model trained to encode meibography images into 128-dimensional feature vectors. The network aims to learn a similarity metric across all instances (e.g. meibography images) and groups visually similar instances together. A total of 706 meibography images with corresponding meiboscores were collected and annotated for the use of network learning and performance evaluation.ResultsFour hundred ninety-seven meibography images were used for network learning and tuning, whereas the remaining 209 images were used for network model evaluations. The proposed nonparametric instance discrimination approach achieved 80.9% meiboscore grading accuracy on average, outperforming the clinical team by 25.9%. Additionally, a 3D feature visualization and agglomerative hierarchical clustering algorithms were used to discover the relationship between meibography images.ConclusionsThe proposed NPID approach automatically analyses MG atrophy severity from meibography images without prior image annotations, and categorizes the gland characteristics through hierarchical clustering. This method provides quantitative information on the MG atrophy severity based on the analysis of phenotypes.Translational relevanceThe study presents a Meibomian gland atrophy evaluation method for meibography images based on unsupervised learning. This method may be used to aid diagnosis and management of Meibomian gland dysfunction without prior image annotations, which require time and resources.
Long-Term Outcomes in 831 Kidney Transplant Recipients with 20 Years of Graft Function

An understanding of long-term outcomes for kidney transplant(KTx) recipients who survive with graft function beyond a specific time posttransplant is the first step in creating protocols to optimize care for current and improve outcomes for future recipients. We studied 831KTx recipients-580 living donor(LD); 251 deceased donor(DD)—with graft survival(GS) >20 years. For primary LD recipients, 25-year patient survival(PS) was 83%; 35-year, 59%. Their 25-year death-censored graft survival(DCGS) was 89%; 35-year, 72%. DD recipients had lower PS(P 3 antigens, pretransplant type 1 diabetes mellitus(DM1); in CNI era, a history of rejection, female gender. New comorbidities after 20 years were common: CVD(13%, non-DM1;18%, DM1), infections(27%, non-DM1;37%, DM1), 20-29 years posttransplant. Cancer after 20 years included: nonmelanotic skin cancer,22%; solid organ,7%; post-transplant lymphoproliferative disease(PTLD),2%. To improve long-term outcomes, clinical trials on prevention, recognition, and treatment of new comorbidities are needed.
DEK domain-containing proteins control flowering time in Arabidopsis

Evolutionarily conserved DEK domain-containing proteins have been implicated in multiple chromatin-related processes, mRNA splicing and transcriptional regulation in eukaryotes. Here, we show that two DEK proteins, DEK3 and DEK4, control the floral transition in Arabidopsis. DEK3 and DEK4 directly associate with chromatin of related flowering repressors, FLOWERING LOCUS C (FLC), and its two homologs, MADS AFFECTING FLOWERING4 (MAF4) and MAF5, to promote their expression. The binding of DEK3 and DEK4 to a histone octamer in vivo affects histone modifications at FLC, MAF4 and MAF5 loci. In addition, DEK3 and DEK4 interact with RNA polymerase II and promote the association of RNA polymerase II with FLC, MAF4 and MAF5 chromatin to promote their expression. Our results show that DEK3 and DEK4 directly interact with chromatin to facilitate the transcription of key flowering repressors and thus prevent precocious flowering in Arabidopsis.
Is Uveal Melanoma a Hormonally Sensitive Cancer? A Review of the Impact of Sex Hormones and Pregnancy on Uveal Melanoma.

Background: Despite a higher incidence and worse prognosis of uveal melanoma (UM) in men, there have been many case reports of pregnant patients with aggressive UM. This has led researchers to explore the influence of sex hormones and pregnancy on the development and progression of UM and hormones as potential therapeutic targets. Summary: A systematic literature review was conducted. More work is needed to elucidate the basis of sex differences in UM incidence and survival. The evaluation of germline BAP1 mutation would be beneficial in patients with UM presenting at a young age. Importantly, multiple studies reported no significant difference between the 5-year survival and 5-year metastasis-free survival rates between nonpregnant women with UM and pregnant women with UM. Multiple case-control studies disagree on how parity affects risk of UM. However, most studies agree that oral contraceptives and hormone replacement therapy have no effect on the incidence of UM. Current treatment strategies for pregnant patients with UM are discussed. Looking forward, this review reports recent research on targeted receptor-based chemotherapy, which is based on evidence of estrogen receptor (ER), estrogen-related receptor alpha (ERRα), and luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone (LHRH) receptor expression in UM. Key Messages: Based on review of the literature, UM is not a contraindication to oral contraceptives, hormone replacement therapy, or pregnancy. Globe-sparing radiation can be used as a treatment option for pregnant patients. Due to the presence of ER on a subset of unselected UM, its potential for adjunctive targeted therapy with agents like tamoxifen should be explored. Lessons from cutaneous melanoma regarding tissue ratios of estrogen receptors (ERα:ERβ) should be applied to assess their therapeutic predictive value. In addition, ERRα-targeted therapeutics and LHRH analogs are worthy of further exploration in UM.
Middle Preclassic Nixtun-Ch'ich': A lowland Maya primate/ritual city

Abstract It is argued that the southern lowland Maya city of Nixtun-Ch'ich' (Peten, Guatemala) centered a Middle Preclassic (ca. 900/800–400 BCE) primate settlement distribution and was the capital of an archaic state. This highly atypical, gridded site provides a new view of Maya socio-political development, contrasting with traditional rejection of the existence of true cities and early state-level organization. The city’s roughly orthogonal urban grid of paved streets, mimicking the dorsal surface of a mythological creation crocodile while more pragmatically draining it of excess rainwater, defined 50+ sectors of dense construction with “E-Group” ritual architectural complexes at the monumental core. Six satellites of the city can be identified by similar complexes with shared orientations toward solar phenomena. The grid, drainage system, and creation landscape are evidence of massive labor mobilization for construction of public goods, and we argue a collective politico-ritual organization for early Nixtun-Ch'ich'.
Performing Jim Crow: Blackface Performance and Emancipation

A nineteenth-century American actor named Thomas Rice was sensationally popular as a blackface character named Jim Crow. His popularity is credited with giving birth to blackface minstrelsy as others began to imitate him in the hope of emulating his succe
Influence of oxygen deficiency on the superconductive properties of grain-aligned YBa2Cu3O7- delta.

Magnetically aligned samples of sintered YBa{sub 2}Cu{sub 3}O{sub 7{minus}{delta}} were used to test the effects of oxygen-deficiency {delta} (with {delta}{le}0.2) on the superconductive magnetization {ital M}, critical current density {ital J}{sub {ital c}}, irreversibility field {ital B}{sub irr}, upper critical field {ital H}{sub {ital c}2}, coherence length {xi}, condensation energy {ital F}{sub {ital c}}, penetration depth {lambda}, and related properties as a function of temperature {ital T} and applied field {bold H}{parallel}{bold c}. In selected cases, studies were also made with {bold H}{parallel}{ital ab}. The O content was monitored {ital in} {ital situ} by thermogravimetric analysis. The open porosity and granularity of the material allowed rapid and homogeneous oxygenation. We found no significant enhancement of intragrain {ital J}{sub {ital c}} with chain-site O defects. With few exceptions, maximum {ital J}{sub {ital c}} occurred at full oxygenation.
Unipotent Hecke algebras of GLn(Fq)

This paper describes a family of Hecke algebras Hμ=EndG(IndUG(ψμ)), where U is the subgroup of unipotent upper-triangular matrices of G=GLn(Fq) and ψμ is a linear character of U. The main results combinatorially index a basis of Hμ, provide a large commutative subalgebra of Hμ, and after describing the combinatorics associated with the representation theory of Hμ, generalize the RSK correspondence that is typically found in the representation theory of the symmetric group.
Recurrent plugged ducts.

This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the School of Nursing at DigitalCommons@Fairfield. It has been accepted for inclusion inNursing Faculty Publications by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@Fairfield. For more information, please contactdigitalcommons@fairfield.edu.
Effects of Curcumin on the Expression of Antioxidants in Single Myofibers from Aged Mice

Oxidative stress is thought to play a role in the development of sarcopenia, which is the decline in muscle mass and function with advancing age. It is well documented that curcumin, the active ing...
Analysis of rev gene function on human immunodeficiency virus type 1 replication in lymphoid cells by using a quantitative polymerase chain reaction method.

Abstract Most detailed analyses of the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) rev gene product have relied on transfection of subgenomic env constructs into cells in which amplification of the transfected DNA occurs. This was necessitated by difficulties in quantitating low-abundance HIV-1 mRNA species and in distinguishing different RNAs of similar sizes. We have modified the conventional polymerase chain reaction method for general use as an extremely sensitive procedure for quantitative analysis of RNA species. Using this method, we assessed the role of the HIV-1 rev gene in viral replication following mutagenesis of an infectious molecular clone, HIV-1JR-CSF. Following transfection of wild-type and mutant proviral constructs, we can specifically detect unspliced RNA and distinguish between the spliced tat-rev and nef mRNAs, which are not resolved by standard RNA analyses. Our results show that the rev protein of HIV-1JR-CSF simultaneously down regulates the expression of tat-rev and nef RNAs and up regulates the level of unspliced full-length HIV-1 RNA. A cis-acting element(s), located exclusively within the env sequences, is essential to exhibit this regulation. Fractionation of cells shows that the ultimate effect of Rev is to direct the appearance of unspliced or singly spliced RNAs in the cytoplasm. Models are discussed for possible mechanisms of Rev action.
Replication of hepatitis delta virus RNA: effect of mutations of the autocatalytic cleavage sites

Abstract Hepatitis delta virus (HDV) contains a circular RNA genome of 1.7 kb. HDV RNA replication is thought to proceed via a rolling-circle mechanism that is dependent on autocatalytic cleavage and ligation reactions. However, it has never been established that these ribozyme activities are indeed involved in HDV RNA replication. To investigate the possible biological significance of HDV RNA self-cleavage, we constructed several HDV dimer cDNAs containing single-base substitutions of the 3' nucleotide of the genomic and the antigenomic self-cleavage sites. These mutations were known to affect self-cleavage in vitro to various extents. The effects of these mutations on HDV RNA replication were examined in hepatic and nonhepatic cell lines. The results showed that all of the mutants which had lost the in vitro self-cleavage activity could not replicate. The only mutant which retained full cleavage activity replicated as efficiently as the wild-type RNA. Thus, this study established that self-cleavage activity is required for HDV RNA replication in cells. Interestingly, the level of HDV RNA detected in cells transfected with this replication-competent mutant and that detected in cells transfected with the wild-type construct were similar in COS-7 cells but vastly different in HepG2 and Huh-7 cells, suggesting that HDV RNA self-cleavage activity may be modulated by cell-specific factors. We also compared the effects of mutations when the primary transcripts of these constructs were of either genomic or antigenomic sense. In constructs which synthesize primary transcripts of genomic sense, all of the antigenomic self-cleavage mutants produced as much hepatitis delta antigen (HDAg) as did the wild-type construct, even in the absence of detectable HDV RNA replication, whereas the genomic self-cleavage mutants produced very little HDAg. These and other data suggest that (i) the primary HDV RNA transcripts of both genomic and antigenomic polarities must first be processed to serve as a template for HDV RNA transcription, (ii) efficient cleavage at the antigenomic self-cleavage site is not required for HDAg expression, and (iii) HDV RNA replication most likely occurs by a double-rolling-circle mechanism.
Cooperation between the Hepatitis C Virus p7 and NS5B Proteins Enhances Virion Infectivity

The molecular mechanisms that govern hepatitis C virus (HCV) assembly, release, and infectivity are still not yet fully understood. In the present study, we sequenced a genotype 2A strain of HCV (JFH-1) that had been cell culture adapted in Huh-7.5 cells to produce nearly 100-fold-higher viral titers than the parental strain. Sequence analysis identified nine mutations in the genome, present within both the structural and nonstructural genes. The infectious clone of this virus containing all nine culture-adapted mutations had 10-fold-higher levels of RNA replication and RNA release into the supernatant but had nearly 1,000-fold-higher viral titers, resulting in an increased specific infectivity compared to wild-type JFH-1. Two mutations, identified in the p7 polypeptide and NS5B RNA-dependent RNA polymerase, were sufficient to increase the specific infectivity of JFH-1. We found that the culture-adapted mutation in p7 promoted an increase in the size of cellular lipid droplets following transfection of viral RNA. In addition, we found that the culture-adaptive mutations in p7 and NS5B acted synergistically to enhance the specific viral infectivity of JFH-1 by decreasing the level of sphingomyelin in the virion. Overall, these results reveal a genetic interaction between p7 and NS5B that contributes to virion specific infectivity. Furthermore, our results demonstrate a novel role for the RNA-dependent RNA polymerase NS5B in HCV assembly. Importance Hepatitis C virus assembly and release depend on viral interactions with host lipid metabolic pathways. Here, we demonstrate that the viral p7 and NS5B proteins cooperate to promote virion infectivity by decreasing sphingomyelin content in the virion. Our data uncover a new role for the viral RNA-dependent RNA polymerase NS5B and p7 proteins in contributing to virion morphogenesis. Overall, these findings are significant because they reveal a genetic interaction between p7 and NS5B, as well as an interaction with sphingomyelin that regulates virion infectivity. Our data provide new strategies for targeting host lipid-virus interactions as potential targets for therapies against HCV infection.
Gender-Based Wage Differences: The Effects of Organizational Context

In a study of more than 20,000 high-level administrators in 821 colleges and universities, it was found that women's salaries were lower than men's, even when institutional, individual, and positional characteristics were statistically controlled. Moreover, the negative effect of female incumbency on salary was greater in larger institutions and in private as compared with public colleges and universities. There was also limited evidence that the availability of more resources tended to increase the amount of gender-based wage discrimination. There was no effect of being in a university, a four-year college, or a two-year college. The results are consistent with the evidence of wage discrimination against women, and serve to identify some factors of organizational context that affect the extent of such discrimination.
Low-income American Indians' Perceptions of Diabetes

Abstract Objective To determine inner city American Indians’ perceptions of diabetes; find out how they manage their disease; and identify what health care improvements may be necessary for this population. Design Eight focus group discussions conducted with diabetic inner city American Indian adults. Setting Focus group discussions led by moderator using open-ended questions with prompts. Participants Eligibility criteria include age (≥18 years), a self-reported diagnosis of diabetes, and self-identification as inner city American Indian. Participants were screened by telephone to ensure all criteria were met. Forty inner city American Indian men and women participated in 8 focus groups. Phenomenon of Interest American Indians’ perception of diabetes, its treatment, and how they manage the disease. Analysis Focus group discussions were tape recorded and transcribed verbatim. Transcripts were analyzed by coding responses and identifying common themes according to content analysis procedures. Quantitative data from self-administered demographic forms were analyzed. Results Participants could verbalize information regarding treatment and management of diabetes, but few could apply this information to their own lives. Some participants were homeless or without insurance, which makes successful disease management difficult. Perceptions of the health care system varied; a majority felt the system was meeting their needs, whereas others said it was not adequate. Implications for Research and Practice The study identified the need for health care workers to develop a better understanding of how this population lives; doing so could improve patient compliance to treatment. The results may provide direction for the development of culturally specific diabetes education appropriate for low-income patients focusing on the diabetic diet and exercise, and suggesting ways that the patient can move from knowing the information to implementing behavior change.
Gifted adolescents’ overexcitabilities and self‐concepts: An analysis of gender and grade level

The current study examined the relationship between gifted adolescents’ overexcitabilities and self‐concept, while also exploring gender and grade‐level differences in overexcitabilities. Participants included 248 gifted adolescents who had completed the sixth through tenth grade during the previous academic year. Overexcitabllities were measured using the Overexcitabilities Questionnaire‐Two (Falk, Lind, Miller, Piechowski, & Silverman, 1999). Multiple facets of self‐concept were measured using the Self Description Questionnaire II (Marsh, 1990). Females reported higher sensual, imaginational, and emotional overexcitability subscale scores than males. Grade‐level differences were found for intellectual overexcitability. There were no gender or grade level differences for psychomotor overexcitability. Results indicate multiple relationships between overexcitabilities, self‐concept, and grade level. Conclusions and implications are discussed.
Peak broadening from an electrothermal vaporization sample introduction source into an inductively coupled plasma

Abstract Signal broadening using electrothermal vaporization with inductively coupled mass spectrometry (ETV-ICPMS) occurs at a rate much faster than would be predicted by simple longitudinal diffusion. A Monte Carlo simulation that focused on particle motion within the transport tubing was created to elucidate the causes of this dispersion within ETV-ICPMS. Several parameters, including the diffusion coefficient, tube diameter, transport tube length, and flow rate were varied to discern their role in signal broadening. Using typical instrumental parameters, the parabolic flow profile generated by laminar flow of the carrier gas was shown to be the primary cause of dispersion. Manipulating the aforementioned variables to lessen the effects of laminar flow led to a decrease in dispersion. Conversely, increasing the role of laminar flow promoted broadening. The broadening processes should be applicable to any transient introduction system where material must be transported to a detection system. Due to the difference in the rate of broadening expected for particles of different sizes, the simulation was used to calculate the average size of particles generated in the ETV using different mass amounts of sample. No change in particle size (∼1 nm) was seen for mass amounts ranging from 10–10 000 pg, which suggests that the particle number is increased with increasing sample mass rather than the average particle size. Using this method of determining particle size, it might be possible to further evaluate the mechanisms of physical ‘carrier’ action.
The Direct Calculation of Maximum Amplitudes in Transient Responses [includes discussion]

The important result in many studies of transient response is the maximum displacement experienced by one or more parts of the system. It is possible to calculate this maximum value directly from the system response function, without inspecting a complete plot of the response. The usefulness of the proposed calculation can be illustrated by applying it to the determination of maximum shaft torques in a 3-unit turbine-generator set following a short circuit.
The nature of the meteoritic components of Apollo 16 soil, as inferred from correlations of iron, cobalt, iridium, and gold with nickel

The Apollo 16 soil concentrations of Ni, Fe, Co, Ir, and Au were studied to determine the correlations with Ni. The correlations obtained indicate that the variation in the siderophile element concentrations in Apollo 16 soils result from the variation in the concentration of a Fe-Ni metal (with the mean composition of 5.6 pct Ni and 0.36 pct Co) that contributes about 0.4-0.5 pct to a typical soil from Apollo 16. It is shown that the siderophile elements of the 'ancient meteorite component' of Anders et al. (1973) and Hertogen et al. (1977) are located in the grains of Fe-Ni metal that in turn are contained in noritic impact melt breccias produced about 3.9 Ga ago. The ancient Fe-Ni is different from the metal of ordinary chondrites by having lower Ni/Co, Ir/Ni, and Ir/Au ratios. It is shown that Ni in the Apollo 16 soil is contributed approximately equally by the 'ancient meteorite component' and the 'micrometeorite component' (dominated by carbonaceous chondrites); however, most of the variation in Ni concentration results from the variation of the ancient Fe-Ni metal among samples of Apollo 16 soil.
Socially Responsible Consumers: Profile and Implications for Public Policy

Socially responsible consumption is an important prerequisite to successful voluntary conservation programs. This article reviews past research describing the socially responsible consumer and prov...
Predation by the Ordovician asteroid Promopalaeaster on a pelecypod

Blake, D.B. & Guensburg, T.E. 1994 10 15: Predation by the Ordovician asteroid Promopalaeaster on a pelecypod. An Ordovician Prornopalaeaster (Echinodermata: Asteroidea) wrapped about a Cuneamya? (Mol-lusca: Pelecypoda) in the extraoral feeding posture characteristic of Jurassic to modern members of the Asteriidae documents an early origin for this behavioral complex. Modern asteriids are convergent on Promopalaeastet; there is no direct phylogenetic linkage between the two. This fossil occurrence, combined with the success of modem Asteriidae, demonstrates that biological evolution and geological change need not outmode complex life habits. The fossil supports the notion of asteroids as Paleozoic-type predators, and its existence suggests that asteroids were not significant contributors to changing faunal structures in shelf seas during the Phanerozoic. Asteroidea, Pelecypoda, functional morphology, evolutionary ecology.
The α-transfer reactions 27Al(6Li, d)31P, 29Si(6Li, d)33S and 31P(6Li, d)35Cl at 36 MeV

Abstract The α-transfer reactions 27Al(6Li, d)31P, 29Si(6Li, d)33S and 31P(6Li, d)35Cl have been studied at a 6Li energy of 36 MeV. Absolute cross sections and angular distributions have been measured and an exact finite-range distorted-wave Born approximation analysis assuming a direct cluster transfer has been used to extract from the data α-particle spectroscopic strengths for levels populated in 31P, 33S and 35Cl in the three reactions respectively. The results show that in the case of most of the low-lying excited states of 31P, a single value of L of the transferred α-particle contributes, though a multiplicity of L-values are allowed by angular momentum selection rules. It is also found that the α-particle spectroscopic strength of the ground state of 31P is a factor of 2 more than the strengths of the ground states of 33S and 35Cl. The α-spectroscopic strengths of ground states of these, as well as other odd-A s-d shell nuclei, are compared with the presently available shell model calculations.
On a Transient Effect in Thermal Diffusion

Abstract An effect was observed in thermal diffusion of the CuSO4-CoSO4-H2O system. During the transient start-up of a Von Halle-Jury horizontal column, which utilizes diffusion through a membrane, the salts diffused in a direction opposite to that predicted by Soret measurements. This is not the “forgotten” effect observed in the Clusius-Dickel column.
FLOW CHARACTERISTICS IN THE VOLUTE AND TONGUE REGION OF A CENTRIFUGAL PUMP

A centrifugal process pump was tested at two rotational speeds and five flow rates. Nine piezometer taps around the volute were used to measure time averaged pressure profiles and streak photography was used to visualize the flow patterns near the volute tongue. Flow patterns for four different instantaneous impeller orientations (blade positions) were studied. Nondimensionalized results were independent of rotational speed. At 100% capacity the volute pressures were uniform within 15%. At off-design condition, however, the pressure near the tongue varied by as much as 28% from the average. At 100% capacity the streamlines were smooth and well behaved. At low flow rates the tongue stagnation point moved between the impeller and tongue and a separation zone appeared in the discharge. The instantaneous position of the impeller was seen to affect the streamlines primarily near the impeller, although at high flow rates the separation zone was also seen to depend on the impeller position.Copyright © 1984 by ASME
A rigorous upper bound of a scalar self-propagator in a random lattice ensemble in higher dimensions

Using an improved weight for a scalar field on a random lattice, it is rigorously proved that the self-propagator, averaged over an ensemble of random lattices with site density ρ, is bounded from above inD dimensions (D>2) i.e.: $$\begin{array}{*{20}c} {\Delta _0 \underset{\raise0.3em\hbox{$\smash{\scriptscriptstyle-}$}}{ \leqslant } \left( {4 + \frac{D}{{2\left( {D - 2} \right)}}\omega _D^{{2 \mathord{\left/ {\vphantom {2 {D - 1}}} \right. \kern-\nulldelimiterspace} {D - 1}}} D!^{{2 \mathord{\left/ {\vphantom {2 {D - 1}}} \right. \kern-\nulldelimiterspace} {D - 1}}} D^{{D \mathord{\left/ {\vphantom {D {2 - 1}}} \right. \kern-\nulldelimiterspace} {2 - 1}}{{ - 2} \mathord{\left/ {\vphantom {{ - 2} D}} \right. \kern-\nulldelimiterspace} D}} (D + 1)^{{D \mathord{\left/ {\vphantom {D {2{{ - 1} \mathord{\left/ {\vphantom {{ - 1} 2}} \right. \kern-\nulldelimiterspace} 2}{{ - 1} \mathord{\left/ {\vphantom {{ - 1} D}} \right. \kern-\nulldelimiterspace} D}}}} \right. \kern-\nulldelimiterspace} {2{{ - 1} \mathord{\left/ {\vphantom {{ - 1} 2}} \right. \kern-\nulldelimiterspace} 2}{{ - 1} \mathord{\left/ {\vphantom {{ - 1} D}} \right. \kern-\nulldelimiterspace} D}}}} } \right)} \\ { \cdot D^{D - 2{{ + 2} \mathord{\left/ {\vphantom {{ + 2} D}} \right. \kern-\nulldelimiterspace} D}} \omega _D^{2{{ - 2} \mathord{\left/ {\vphantom {{ - 2} D}} \right. \kern-\nulldelimiterspace} D}} \Gamma \left( {D - 1 + \frac{2}{D}} \right)\rho ^{{{1 - 2} \mathord{\left/ {\vphantom {{1 - 2} D}} \right. \kern-\nulldelimiterspace} D}} ,} \\ \end{array}$$ where ωD is the solid angle inD dimensions.
Non-specific cell binding characteristics of para-magnetic polystyrene microspheres used for antibody-mediated cell selection.

Abstract The binding of cells to paramagnetic polystyrene microbeads in the absence of coupling antibodies was measured. Cells from normal bone marrow, from an acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) cell line or from a neuroblastoma cell line, were labeled with the fluorochrome Hoechst 33342 and incubated with microbeads by rotation at 4°C. Following this incubation, the microbeads with all attached cells were collected using an externally applied magnetic field and visualized by microscopic examination under ultraviolet illumination. The incubation variables included the protein content of the medium, and the period of rotation. Normal bone marrow was found to adhere sparingly to the microbeads; less than 1.0% of the total nucleated cell population was recovered with the beads, whereas > 5% of the ALL cells and > 30% of the neuroblastoma cells were found to bind non-specifically to the microspheres. Neither changes in the protein concentration of the medium or in the incubation period significantly altered the non-specific binding of the cell types examined. It is thus apparent that the use of these microspheres for positive selection of cells, such as the collection of hematopoietic stem cells for transplantation, would be compromised by a sizeable non-specific interaction. Modification of the surface of the microspheres to substantially reduce this interaction will be necessary before efforts at positive selection using the magnetic microspheres can be fruitful.
Criteria for Neutral Stability of Wye-Grounded-Primary Broken-Delta-Secondary Transformer Circuits

This paper presents the results of an investigation made to determine and evaluate the effect of the factors affecting neutral instability of Y-grounded potential transformer circuits. The method used employs the medium of miniature system representation. The results therefore include the effect of saturation. The effects of the shape of the saturation curve, normal operating voltage, resistance of the winding, system capacitance, and impedance in the broken ? secondary or across each phase are illustrated. Regions of instability are shown which should be avoided in applying Y-connected potential transformers as ground fault detectors. The analysis shows by means of oscillograms the conditions under which incorrect indications of faults may be obtained.
Self-care strategies used by patients with lung cancer to promote quality of life.

Purpose/objectives To describe self-care strategies used by patients with lung cancer to promote quality of life (QOL). Research approach Qualitative study using a phenomenologic approach. Setting Cancer clinics in central Texas. Participants Purposive sampling was used to enroll 10 adults with lung cancer who had completed primary treatment within the prior two years. Methodologic approach One-on-one, semistructured, audiotaped interviews were conducted. Main research variables QOL and self-care strategies. Findings Participants identified family and social support, functional independence, physical well-being, and spirituality as important aspects of QOL. Participants identified fatigue as the factor most negatively affecting QOL. Self-care strategies identified to improve QOL were primarily related to fatigue management. Rest was the primary self-care strategy reportedly recommended by healthcare providers, but this strategy was ineffective. Helpful self-care strategies included budgeting time and energy, maintaining contact with family and friends for support, and prayer. Conclusions This study documents the negative effect of fatigue on QOL in patients with lung cancer. Use of rest to manage fatigue's pervasive negative effect on QOL is a common self-care strategy, reportedly recommended by healthcare providers, but is ineffective by itself to manage fatigue and improve QOL. Interpretation Healthcare providers should assess self-care strategies used by patients with lung cancer to promote improved QOL. Because fatigue has a documented negative effect on QOL in patients with lung cancer, providers should encourage the use of multidimensional strategies that have been supported by research evidence to manage fatigue and improve QOL.
THE HOST ENVIRONMENT PROMOTES THE DEVELOPMENT OF PRIMARY AND METASTATIC SQUAMOUS CELL CARCINOMAS THAT CONSTITUTIVELY EXPRESS PROINFLAMMATORY CYTOKINES IL-1ALPHA , IL-6, GM-CSF, AND KC

Human and murine squamous cell carcinomas (SCC) have been reported to produce proinflammatory cytokines IL-1alpha, IL-6, GM-CSF, and IL-8 or KC. Production of individual members of the proinflammatory cytokine family has been associated with increased tumor growth or metastasis in a variety of neoplasms. In this study, we determined whether the expression of these cytokines occurs as a result of the events of cellular transformation or culture, or is promoted by interaction of neoplastic cells with factors or cells in the host environment. We compared the expression of proinflammatory cytokines following the spontaneous transformation of murine keratinocytes in vitro, and following the formation of tumors and metastases from these transformed keratinocytes in syngeneic recipients in vivo. Using sensitive ELISA assays, we found that cultures of the in vitro transformed Balb/c SCC line Pam 212 do not produce elevated levels of proinflammatory cytokines IL-1alpha, IL-6, GM-CSF and KC, indicating that transformation or culture alone is insufficient to account for the level of cytokine expression detected in patient and experimental tumors. In contrast, Pam reisolates from primary and metastatic tumors were obtained which constitutively produce markedly elevated levels of cytokines IL-1alpha, IL-6, KC and GM-CSF. The increase in the expression of these cytokines by SCC in vivo occurred independent of T and B lymphocyte-mediated immunity, since increases in expression of the cytokines was observed in lines reisolated from immunodeficient athymic nude and SCID Balb/c congenic mice. The increased expression of cytokines appeared to result from additional events in vivo, rather than due to selection of a pre-existing cytokine-producing subpopulation, since clones of the parental cell line expressed lower cytokine levels than cloned reisolates, and clones of the non-secreting parental cell line that formed tumors in vivo secreted elevated levels of cytokines following reisolation. We conclude that the development of SCC that express proinflammatory cytokines is promoted by tumor-host interaction(s) that are independent of specific T and B cell immunity.
The unexpected infrared behavior of the one-instanton contribution in QCD

Abstract We consider the one-instanton contribution to QCD defined on a sphere and investigate its dependence upon the radius R. We find it to be non-trivial. In particular the relevant scale for the running coupling constant turns out to be the infrared cut-off R.