cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
330 Firstline maintenance parp inhibitors in advanced ovarian cancer: a network meta-analysis for comparative efficacy and adverse events

Background Several studies explored the clinical benefit of maintenance PARP inhibitors (PARPI) and antiangiogenic agents (AA) in advanced ovarian cancer (aOC) with varied results. We conducted this analysis to expand our knowledge of the relative adverse-events (AE) and efficacy of firstline maintenance PARPI and AA in aOC. Methods A review of the medical literature was conducted using online databases. Inclusion criteria consisted of English language; diagnosis of aOC; firstline maintenance treatment with Olaparib (O), Niraparib (NR), Veliparib (V), Bevacizumab (B), Pazopanib (P), Nintedanib (NN), and control (C); and phase 3 randomized studies reporting progression, death, and AE. A frequentists and Bayesian network meta-analyses were conducted using netmeta package and random-effects model. Results Seven studies comprising 7,770 participants were included. The relative risk (RR) of progression and death (P&D) was highest in C and B>NN>P/V/NR/O in decreasing order. RR of AE≥3 was highest in P>NR>O/NN/B/V/C in decreasing order. PARPI significantly improved PFS in patients with homologous-recombinant deficiency (HRD) + or -, BRCA + or -, BRCA2+, and Stages 3 and 4. PARPI demonstrated an equivalent reduction in RRP&D in BRCA+ patients. In HRD+, O had the lowest RRP&D followed by NR then V in increasing order. However, in HRD-, V had the lowest RRP&D followed by NR then O. Conclusions This network meta-analysis is the first to compare and rank firstline maintenance therapies in aOC. It indicates that PARPI have better outcomes than AA. It also demonstrates that individual PARPI vary in frequency of AE≥3 as well as clinical efficacy across mutation subtypes.
Smuggled Sheep, Smuggled Shepherds: Farm Labour Transformations in Namibia and the Question of Southern Angola, 1933–1975

This article considers the history of labour relations within Namibia’s agricultural sector, with specific emphasis on the karakul sheep industry. It examines debates concerning shortages of shephe...
Branched-Chain Amino Acids and Risk of Breast Cancer.

Background Circulating branched-chain amino acid (BCAA) levels reflect metabolic health and dietary intake. However, associations with breast cancer are unclear. Methods We evaluated circulating BCAA levels and breast cancer risk within the Nurses' Health Study (NHS) and NHSII (1997 cases and 1997 controls). A total of 592 NHS women donated 2 blood samples 10 years apart. We estimated odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) of breast cancer risk in multivariable logistic regression models. We conducted an external validation in 1765 cases in the Women's Health Study (WHS). All statistical tests were 2-sided. Results Among NHSII participants (predominantly premenopausal at blood collection), elevated circulating BCAA levels were associated with lower breast cancer risk (eg, isoleucine highest vs lowest quartile, multivariable OR = 0.86, 95% CI = 0.65 to 1.13, Ptrend = .20), with statistically significant linear trends among fasting samples (eg, isoleucine OR = 0.74, 95% CI = 0.53 to 1.05, Ptrend = .05). In contrast, among postmenopausal women, proximate measures (<10 years from blood draw) were associated with increased breast cancer risk (eg, isoleucine OR = 1.63, 95% CI = 1.12 to 2.39, Ptrend = .01), with stronger associations among fasting samples (OR = 1.73, 95% CI = 1.15 to 2.61, Ptrend = .01). Distant measures (10-20 years since blood draw) were not associated with risk. In the WHS, a positive association was observed for distant measures of leucine among postmenopausal women (OR = 1.23, 95% CI = 0.96 to 1.58, Ptrend = .04). Conclusions No statistically significant associations between BCAA levels and breast cancer risk were consistent across NHS and WHS or NHSII and WHS. Elevated circulating BCAA levels were associated with lower breast cancer risk among predominantly premenopausal NHSII women and higher risk among postmenopausal women in NHS but not in the WHS. Additional studies are needed to understand this complex relationship.
Pore-scale CFD simulations of clay mobilization in natural porous media due to fresh water injection

Abstract The present work investigates mechanisms of permeability impairment as a result of low-salinity fluid injection into brine-saturated porous media containing dispersible clays. We present a computational fluid dynamics model at the pore-scale to simulate detachment, migration and straining of fine particles in porous media. The model uses an immersed boundary method to simulate the motion of clay fines in a fluid. In addition to the hydrodynamic forces, we model the Derjaguin-Landau-Verwey-Overbeek forces (DLVO) between clay fines and grains. Our simulations show the impact of the injected fluid’s salinity and velocity on the concentration of clay fines retained on the grain surface. We see clay particles dislodging from the grain surface in clusters of up to 12 particles. Our simulation results also demonstrate clogging of narrow pore spaces by the detached particles from the grain surfaces.
Applying Quantitative Systems Pharmacology (QSP) Modeling to Understand the Treatment of Pneumocystis

Pneumocystis, a yeast-like fungi, resides in lung alveoli and can cause a lethal infection known as Pneumocystis pneumonia (PCP) in hosts with impaired immune systems. In order to develop novel drugs or novel combinations of available drugs, quantitative Systems Pharmacological (QSP) models were built to help us understanding the complex pharmacokinetic (PK) and pharmacodynamic (PD) of multiple treatment regimens. In this chapter, we illustrated how to construct and independently validate PK modules of a number of drugs with available pharmacokinetic data. Characterized by simple structures and well constrained parameters, these PK modules could serve as a convenient tool to summarize and predict pharmacokinetic profiles. With the current hypotheses on the life stages of Pneumocystis, we also constructed a PD module to describe the proliferation, transformation, and death of Pneumocystis. By integrating the PK module and the PD module, the QSP model was further constrained with observed levels of asci and trophic forms following treatments with multiple drugs. Developed and validated in a data-driven manner, this QSP model integrated available data and promises to facilitate the design of future therapies against PCP.
Women and Slavery in Nineteenth-Century Colonial Cuba

Scholars have long recognized the importance of gender and hierarchy in the slave societies of the New World, yet gendered analysis of Cuba has lagged behind study of other regions. Cuban elites recognized that creating and maintaining the Cuban slave society required a rigid social hierarchy based on race, gender, and legal status. Given the dramatic changes that came to Cuba in the wake of the Haitian Revolution and the growth of the enslaved population, the maintenance of order required a patriarchy that placed both women and slaves among the lower ranks. Based on a variety of archival and printed primary sources, this book examines how patriarchy functioned outside the confines of the family unit by scrutinizing the foundation on which nineteenth-century Cuban patriarchy rested. This book investigates how patriarchy operated in the lives of the women of Cuba, from elite women to slaves. Through chapters on motherhood, marriage, education, public charity, and the sale of slaves, insight is gained into the role of patriarchy both as a guiding ideology and lived history in the Caribbean's longest lasting slave society. Sarah L. Franklin is assistant professor of history at the University of North Alabama.
The Multiple Faces of Peer Review in Science Education.

I use autobiographical narratives to describe and analyse my involvement in peer review activities in science education and to illustrate their historical, social and cultural constitution. I explore ways in which peer review and science education have interrelated in 30-plus years in which I have been a science educator. I employ cultural sociology and activity theory to identify patterns of coherence and coexisting contradictions that create tensions able to catalyse improvements in science education. I argue that early career science educators need a gradual induction into peer review activities, preferably increasing their effectiveness by coparticipating with more experienced colleagues. Also, I critically examine my roles as a peer reviewer, within various contexts that include being an editor of journals and a book series, an examiner of dissertations and an advisor of graduate students, and as a reviewer of applications for tenure and promotion. In so doing I probe power relationships between the reviewer and the reviewed and explore the possibility that peer review is hegemonic. Finally, I present strategies for science educators to reach a collective understanding of how to enact peer review equitably.
Impacts of climate change on the global forest sector

The path and magnitude of future anthropogenic emissions of carbon dioxide will likely influence changes in climate that may impact the global forest sector. These responses in the global forest sector may have implications for international efforts to stabilize the atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide. This study takes a step toward including the role of global forest sector in integrated assessments of the global carbon cycle by linking global models of climate dynamics, ecosystem processes and forest economics to assess the potential responses of the global forest sector to different levels of greenhouse gas emissions. We utilize three climate scenarios and two economic scenarios to represent a range of greenhouse gas emissions and economic behavior. At the end of the analysis period (2040), the potential responses in regional forest growing stock simulated by the global ecosystem model range from decreases and increases for the low emissions climate scenario to increases in all regions for the high emissions climate scenario. The changes in vegetation are used to adjust timber supply in the softwood and hardwood sectors of the economic model. In general, the global changes in welfare are positive, but small across all scenarios. At the regional level, the changes in welfare can be large and either negative or positive. Markets and trade in forest products play important roles in whether a region realizes any gains associated with climate change. In general, regions with the lowest wood fiber production cost are able to expand harvests. Trade in forest products leads to lower prices elsewhere. The low-cost regions expand market shares and force higher-cost regions to decrease their harvests. Trade produces different economic gains and losses across the globe even though, globally, economic welfare increases. The results of this study indicate that assumptions within alternative climate scenarios and about trade in forest products are important factors that strongly influence the effects of climate change on the global forest sector.
Photosynthetic response of Nereocystis luetkeana (Phaeophyta) to high light

SUMMARY Photosynthetic response to high light was determined for Bull kelp, Nereocystis luetkeana (K. Mertens) Postels and Ruprecht in order to understand how this species is affected by short-term fluctuations in irradiance. Exposure of N. luetkeana blades to high intensity photosynthetically active radiation (1000 µmol photons m−2 s–1) caused increased non-photochemical quenching of fluorescence and higher de-epoxidation ratios for xanthophyll pigments indicating that energy-quenching xanthophylls were used to protect blades against photoinhibition. Despite initiation of these photoprotective mechanisms, maximum photochemical efficiency of photosystem II (Fv/Fm) decreased 40% in response to a 60 min exposure to 1000 µmol photons m−2 s–1 photosynthetically active radiation indicating that photoinhibition had occurred. Light-saturated rates of oxygen evolution were not changed significantly by the high light treatment. Recovery of maximum photochemical efficiency of photosystem II to within 8% of initial values occurred after a 300-min dim light period. Younger sections of the blades were slightly more susceptible to high light damage than older sections. Middle sections of the blades were more prone to light-induced damage at water temperatures of 7°C or 18°C, as compared to 13°C. Exposure to biologically effective ultraviolet-B radiation (UV-Bbe) (up to 4.5 kJ m–2 day–1) in photoinhibitory light conditions did not significantly affect light-induced damage to photosystem II.
The problem of values and value‐judgments in science and a positive solution

The economic science is again in a crisis and a new solution prolegomena to any future study in economics, finance and other social sciences has just been published by the International Institute of Social Economics in care of the MCB University Press in England. The roots of the major financial and economic problems of our time lie in an open conflict between theory and practice. In the 1930s and before the conflict was between classical theory and given realities. In the 1990s the conflict appears between the now prevailing modern, Keynesian theory and the actual realities. In addition during the twentieth century a great argument developed between the two schools of thought, argument which is not yet settled. In one sentence, the prolegomena tried and was successful to solve the conflict between theory and practice and the big doctrinal dispute of the twentieth century. It was a struggle of research and observation over half a century between 1947 and 1997.
Neural network PC tools: a practical guide

This book is written for engineers and computer scientists interested in solving practical problems with neural network tools. The first book ever to cover neural network tools at the PC level, it provides background information on available network architectures, offers schemes for deciding if a particular problem is appropriate for neural networks, and gives practical guidelines for implementing a neural network in hardware and software at the PC level.
Election Auditing Is an End-to-End Procedure

Improving election auditing requires improved processes. New verification schemes must not make the system less trustworthy by making it easier for people to change records or claim that equipment is not working properly. New solutions for verification must also be tested and shown to improve voting. In this Policy Forum, alternatives for the improvement of auditing and election equipment are discussed, as well as a call for a halt to legislative changes that will mandate untested approaches.
Data-parallel training of spatiotemporal connectionist networks on the Connection Machine

An algorithm for optimizing spatiotemporal connectionist networks utilizing training set parallelism has been implemented on the Connection Machine (CM). The algorithm supports several optimization methods including backpropagation, conjugate gradient, and pseudo-Newtonian. By allocating one CM processor per training example, the computational complexity of the gradient derivation becomes independent of the number of training examples. The author has experimentally corroborated this independence, and reports the timing performance of the Connection Machine implementation on a series of spatiotemporal discrimination tasks. He also presents the timing performance of a serial implementation of the algorithm, running on an IBM RS/6000, to emphasize the efficacy of the data-parallel approach. >
What Writers Say About Writing

This chapter tells some of the insights that writers have given us into their work. Here are the comments of Anton Chekov, Arthur E. Hertzler, Alexander Fleming, and William Carlos Williams—all both physicians and writers. What was Wilder Penfield’s opinion of the influence of medical textbooks? How does Richard Selzer explain why surgeons write? And what do some professional medical writers have to say about medical writing?
An approach for on-line performance certification

Adaptive resource management middleware enables a pool of computing and network resources to be allocated at run-time. This allows systems to adapt to processing demands that depend on dynamic environments, and allows systems to reconfigure so that critical functions continue to be provided when some hardware components have failed. This paper presents a process that can be used on-line to find allocations that are feasible/schedulable (i.e., allocations that allow all realtime constraints to be met).
Lidar extinction methods applied to observations of obscurant events

The SRI four-wavelength (0.53-, 1.06-, 3.8-, and 10.6-μm) lidar system was used during the Smoke Week VI/SNOW-TWO field experiments to observe range-resolved backscatter and target-reflected laser energy along a horizontal path intersected by test obscurant aerosols. Collected data are analyzed in terms of extinction coefficients and transmissions along laser propagation paths using three different lidar signature methods.
Quantitative analysis of tethered and free-swimming copepodid flow fields

We quantified the flow field generated by tethered and free-swimming Euchaeta antarctica using the particle image velocimetry (PIV) technique. The streamlines around the free-swimming specimens were generally parallel to the body axis, whereas the streamlines around all of the tethered copepodids demonstrated increased curvature. Differences noted in the streamline pattern, and hence the vorticity, dissipation rate and strain rate fields, are explained by considering the forces on the free-swimming specimen compared to the tethered specimen. Viscous flow theory demonstrates that the force on the fluid due to the presence of the tether irrevocably modifies the flow field in a manner that is consistent with the measurements. Hence, analysis of the flow field and all associated calculations differ for tethered versus free-swimming conditions. Consideration of the flow field of the free-swimming predatory copepodid shows the intensity of the biologically generated flow and the extent of the mechanoreceptive signal quantified in terms of shear strain rate. The area in the dorso-ventral view surrounded by the 0.5 s(-1) contour of e(xy), which is a likely threshold to induce an escape response, is 11 times the area of the exoskeletal form for the free-swimming case. Thus, mechanoreceptive predators will perceive a more spatially extended signal than the body size.
Variables in the conflict between the generations: India for comparison

Eleven social conditions are postulated to accentuate conflict between children approaching adulthood and their parents. Conservative East Indian people without those conditions have a minimum of inter-generation hostility, at a high price. Modern Indians are discovering dissention with their children as they change.
Pressure shadows and relative movements in a shear zone

The determination of direction-sense of movement by means of pressure shadow orientation has been investigated by MUGGE [1930] in some detail. As far as the writer knows, no correlation of this deduced direction-sense with a field example of relative movement has previously been made. Study of an oriented specimen taken from the Campbell shear zone at Yellowknife (N. W. T., Canada), where the direction-sense of movement has been established with reasonable certainty, now provides this correlation. Interpretation of the pressure shadow orientation around pyrite grains in the rock confirms the field data in every way. It would seem that this structure warrants closer attention and application than it has received heretofore.
Relating the power of cellular arrays to their closure properties

There are many fundamental open problems concerning cellular arrays (CA's). For example: (1) Is the class of real-time CA languages closed under reversal (concatenation)? (2) (2) Are linear-time CA's more powerful than real-time CA's? (3) (3) Are nonlinear-time CA's more powerful than linear-time CA's? 4 (4) Does one-way communication reduce the computing power of a CA? Although some of these problems appear to be easier to resolve than the others, e.g., problem (1) seems easier than (2), no solution to any of these problems is forthcoming. In this paper, we investigate the relationships among these problems as well as prove some positive results concerning CA's. We show: a (a) the class of real-time CA languages is closed under reversal if and only if linear-time CA's are equivalent to real-time CA's; b if CA's are more powerful than CA's restricted to one-way data communication (i.e., one-way CA's), then nonlinear-time CA's are more powerful than linear-time CA's; c (c) if the class of real-time CA languages is closed under reversal, then it is also closed under concatenation. In the case of unary CA languages, we show that the class is closed under concatenation. We also show that the languageL={0n1m|m,n>0, mdividesn}is a real-time CA language, disproving a conjecture of Bucher and Culik.
Toll-like receptor ligands and CD154 stimulate microglia to produce a factor(s) that promotes excess cholinergic differentiation in the developing rat basal forebrain: implications for neurodevelopmental disorders.

Toll-Like Receptor Ligands and CD154 Stimulate Microglia to Produce a Factor(s) That Promotes Excess Cholinergic Differentiation in the Developing Rat Basal Forebrain: Implications for Neurodevelopmental Disorders
Association of chromosome 12 locus with antihypertensive response to hydrochlorothiazide may involve differential YEATS4 expression

A recent genome-wide analysis discovered an association between a haplotype (from rs317689/rs315135/rs7297610) on Chromosome 12q15 and blood pressure response to hydrochlorothiazide (HCTZ) in African–Americans. Our aim was to replicate this association and investigate possible functional mechanisms. We observed similar associations between this haplotype and HCTZ response in an independent sample of 746 Caucasians and African–Americans randomized to HCTZ or atenolol treatment. The haplotype association was driven by variation at rs7297610, where C/C genotypes were associated with greater mean (systolic: 3.4 mmHg, P=0.0275; diastolic: 2.5 mmHg, P=0.0196) responses to HCTZ vs T-allele carriers. Such an association was absent in atenolol-treated participants, supporting this as HCTZ specific. Expression analyses in HCTZ-treated African–Americans showed differential pre-treatment leukocyte YEATS4 expression between rs7297610 genotype groups (P=0.024), and reduced post-treatment expression in C/C genotypes (P=0.009), but not in T-carriers. Our data confirm previous genome-wide findings at 12q15 and suggest differential YEATS4 expression could underpin rs7297610-associated HCTZ response variability, which may have future implications for guiding thiazide treatment.
“I Go to School Six Days a Week”: The Role of Cultural and Religious Practices Within Hybrid Turkish-American Communities in Supporting Academic and Socioemotional Growth

The sociocultural practices within immigrant communities may be intended to nurture children's cultural identities and preserve the traditions of the community (Tsolidis & Kostogriz, 2008), rather ...
SUPPLY CHAIN PARTNERSHIPS: MODEL VALIDATION AND IMPLEMENTATION

The formation of appropriate linkages between supply chain members is an important aspect of implementing supply chain management. While practitioners and academics have championed the value of partnerships for this purpose, the challenge is to find effective methods for developing the appropriate type of relationship. This paper describes a large-scale validation of a previously developed model that can be used to structure business relationships. Twenty partnership cases were systematically analyzed. Findings showed that the fundamental components of the model were sound and that the use of target types of partnership worked well. Enhancements to this type of model should provide managers with a method to facilitate the formation of partnerships with their key supply chain members.
The plantar nerves-lumbrical muscles: a useful nerve-muscle preparation for assaying the effects of botulinum neurotoxin.

Abstract The plantar nerves—lumbrical muscles (PL) of the hindpaw of the mouse is a preparation that is particularly useful for assaying the effects of botulinum neurotoxin (NT) on the mammalian neuromuscular junction. Each mouse provides a minimum of 4 and a maximum of 8 such preparations. The muscles are thin enough so that neuromuscular junctions can be easily located with Nomarski interference contrast optics for impaling with microelectrodes. The preparations are small enough so they can be sectioned transversely or longitudinally, in their entirety, for light and electron microscopy, or just the regions containing end-plates can be used. An examination of the responses of this preparation to types A and E NT reveal its exceptional suitability for experiments with NT. The small number of fibers and their arrangement permit assays of low concentrations of NT to proceed to complete and total paralysis in a convenient period of time.
The SPRT control chart for the process mean with samples starting at fixed times

Abstract In contrast to traditional fixed sampling interval (FSI) control charts, variable sampling interval (VSI) charts vary the sampling interval as a function of the process data, thus detecting many process changes substantially faster than their FSI counterparts. However, an administrative complication in the practical implementation of VSI charts is that future sampling times are unpredictable. This paper develops a control chart for monitoring the process mean that is based on applying a sequential probability ratio test (SPRT) to the observations at each sampling point. It is assumed that the time required to take each individual observation is too long to be neglected, and that the possible times for starting an SPRT are equally spaced and determined (fixed) by administrative or process requirements. This chart is called the SPRT fixed-times (SPRTFT) chart because the SPRTs are started at the specified fixed times. Exact expressions in terms of integral equations are developed for the performance measures of the SPRTFT chart. A simple design method for the SPRTFT chart is developed based on corrected diffusion approximations to its statistical properties. Comparisons are made between the performancy of the SPRTFT chart and the FSI and VSI X and cumulative sum (CUSUM) charts, including VSI versions of the X and CUSUM charts constrained to sample also at fixed times. Compared to these charts, the SPRTFT control chart is shown to be highly efficient and have significant administrative advantages.
Nonelastic strain recovery in zinc single crystals

Abstract The rapid and time dependent strain recovery which occurs in deformed zinc single crystals has been studied as a function of prestrain, specimen purity and surface condition. The total strain recovery of zinc crystals was found to increase with prestrain for a constant unloading rate or to increase when the surface is copper coated over that for an uncoated crystal at equal prestrains greater than 10−4. Doping zinc with cadium is found to decrease the amount of total strain recovery as compared to undoped crystals at equal prestrains greater than 10−5. The recovered strain under various conditions was found to be logarithmic in time at constant applied stress. The time dependent recovery is explainable as a creep recovery process, the inverse of the transient creep behavior discussed by Seeger. The increase of the total strain recovery with prestrain can be accounted for by an increase of dislocation density with prestrain. Only cadmium doped crystals were observed to exhibit a jerky unloading behavior at room temperature and after a certain prestrain. This jerky unloading behavior can be explained in a similar manner to that presented by Cottrell to explain the Portevin-Le Chatelier effect in iron and aluminum alloys. Interpretation of the results is not dependent upon a precise knowledge of the proportion of the dislocations partaking in strain recovery which are held up just beneath the surface of the crystal to those in the interior. The surface effect results suggest, however, that a uniform increase in dislocation density may proceed from the center to the outside of the crystal after prestrain. The internal stress associated with this type of dislocation configuration may be expected to relax almost linearly with the recovered strain.
Proposed mechanistic model to simulate transfer line cool-down process using liquid helium

This paper proposes a mathematical model to simulate the cool-down behavior of a warm transfer line using liquid helium (including He II) in a microgravity environment. The thermal-hydraulic characteristics of different possible flow regimes which may occur during the cool-down process are discussed. Correlations for predicting the heat and momentum transfer rates in each flow regime are presented.
Overcoming Multidrug Resistance in Human Tumor Cells Using Free and Liposomally Encapsulated Antisense Oligodeoxynucleotides

Abstract Antisense oligonucleotides offer a molecular targeting tool for overcoming cellular multidrug resistance. In order to improve the in vitro and the in vivo transport of oligodeoxynucleotides, we developed a new liposomal delivery system, using the minimal volume entrapment (MVE) technique. We have demonstrated that cellular uptake and intracellular release of oligodeoxynucleotides were facilitated by delivery in liposomes. 15 mers cap phosphorothioate oligodeoxynucleotides complementary to the 5′ end of the coding region or to a loop-forming site in the mdr-1 mRNA were encapsulated in liposomes by the MVE method. P-glycoprotein synthesis and doxorubicin resistance were greatly reduced by exposure of the multidrug resistant SKVLB cells to 5 μM liposomally encapsulated oligonucleotide. A lower effect was observed when free oligodeoxynucleotides were used. Oligomers antisense to the loop-forming site appeared to be more effective and more specific in modulating multidrug resistance than oligomers with antisense sequence to the 5′ end coding region.
Regulation of murine embryonic epithelial cell differentiation by transforming growth factors β

Abstract The expression of some members of the transforming growth factor β (TGFβ) family of genes in embryonic craniofacial tissue suggests a functional role for these molecules in orofacial development. In an attempt to ascertain a role for the TGFβs during palatal ontogeny, murine palatal shelves were excised on gestation day (GD) 12, prior to overt epithelial differentiation, grown in organ culture under serum–free conditions and exposed to TGFβ1 and TGFβ2 for 18 or 42 h. Shelves were labeled with [3H]-thymidine (20 μCi/ml) during the last 4 h in culture, fixed, dehydrated, embedded in paraffin and sections stained and examined by autoradiography. Treatment of GDI2 palates with TGFβ1 and TGFβ2 resulted in precocious cessation of medial edge epithelium (MEE) DNA synthesis followed by elimination of the MEE. In addition, this response appeared to be dose–related with higher concentrations of growth factor eliciting a more marked biological response. TGFβ treatment of homologous shelves grown in apposition also resulted in precocious fusion of apposing MEE. Thus, members of the TGFβ family, known to be synthesized by palatal MEE, appear to act in an autocrine/paracrine fashion in this tissue and are capable of regulating differentiation of embryonic palatal medial edge epithelium.
Augmenting the Genetic Toolbox for Sulfolobus islandicus with a Stringent Positive Selectable Marker for Agmatine Prototrophy

Sulfolobus species have become the model organisms for studying the unique biology of the crenarchaeal division of the archaeal domain. In particular, Sulfolobus islandicus provides a powerful opportunity to explore natural variation via experimental functional genomics. To support these efforts, we further expanded genetic tools for S. islandicus by developing a stringent positive selection for agmatine prototrophs in strains in which the argD gene, encoding arginine decarboxylase, has been deleted. Strains with deletions in argD were shown to be auxotrophic for agmatine even in nutrient-rich medium, but growth could be restored by either supplementation of exogenous agmatine or reintroduction of a functional copy of the argD gene from S. solfataricus P2 into the ΔargD host. Using this stringent selection, a robust targeted gene knockout system was established via an improved next generation of the MID (marker insertion and unmarked target gene deletion) method. Application of this novel system was validated by targeted knockout of the upsEF genes involved in UV-inducible cell aggregation formation.
Thermal convection with shear at high Rayleigh number

A fluid is contained between rigid horizontal planes which move relative to each other with constant horizontal velocity. A gravitationally unstable temperature difference is maintained at the boundaries, and the heat flux and momentum flux (stress) transmitted by the fluid are measured. The Nusselt number, Nu, and the dimensionless momentum flux, Mo, are obtained for small mean rates of shear. The Rayleigh number, R, and the Prandtl number, σ, are both large in these experiments. The data are consistent with the following relations: Nu∝Moσ^(1/)2∝R^(1/3). Kraichnan's mixing-length theory of turbulent thermal convection is extended to the present situation, and the above experimental dependence of Nu and Mo on R and σ is obtained. The agreement between mixing-length theory and experiment provides strong support for Kraichnan's concise treatment of turbulent convection. The importance of this result is that heat and momentum fluxes may be calculated in this way for a variety of flows in geophysics.
Familial Alzheimer's Disease With Myoclonus and 'Spongy Change'

• "Spongy change," or vacuolar change, was observed in the neocortex of temporal and frontal lobes in four of 27 patients with clinical and pathologic characteristics of Alzheimer's disease. All four cases had the autosomal dominant form of the disease, and aside from severe dementia, all developed myoclonus and became mute before death. The degeneration observed was unlike that seen in Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease because it lacked astrocytosis and had a different distribution of lesions. Moreover, the abundance of neurofibrillary changes and senile plaques was consistent with Alzheimer's disease. None of the other 23 cases were familial, and none developed myoclonus or mutism; three of them had minor vacuolation limited to the temporal lobe. The four cases with severe spongy change described are the first, to our knowledge, in which vacuolar or spongy change has been associated with the familial form of Alzheimer's disease.
The Technical Writer as Naturalist: Some Lessons from the Classics

The contemporary technical writer, who often must fill the current demand for environmental impact statements and similar environmentally oriented documents, can perhaps benefit from reading the works of some of the classic naturalists such as William Bartram, Henry Walter Bates, and Charles Darwin. These early writers show an ability to present concretely detailed observations of flora and fauna without sacrificing readability and without losing touch with the natural world under observation. The best technical writing today can combine essential efficiency with sensitive treatment of environmental subjects.
Profiles of P.O.M.C.

The article presents a study on the attitudes of managerial students and managers toward the four introductory management course basics of planning, organization, motivation, and control. A semanti...
Alternative managerial responses to ethical dilemmas

What can and should we do as managers when our sense of personal morality is at odds with our organization's strategic thrust? There are essentially seven types of strategic responses based on game theory, philosophy, and everyday pragmatics: Avoid thinking about it; obey; leave; conscientiously object; secretly go outside the company to the press or government; publicly go outside the company to the press or government; or negotiate and build a consensus for a change in strategic management. The seven case studies below offer examples of each of these choices.
Effect of transforming growth factor-β1 on parathyroid hormone-related protein secretion and mRNA expression by normal human keratinocytes in vitro

Parathyroid hormone-related protein (PTHrP) is produced by a wide range of neoplastic and normal cells, including keratinocytes where it may regulate growth and differentiation. Transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) is a growth factor produced by many cells, including keratinocytes where it regulates epidermal homeostasis. TGF-β has been reported to be cosecreted with PTHrP in some neoplasms and to stimulate PTHrP production by neoplastic keratinocytes. However, the effects of TGF-β on PTHrP production by normal keratinocytes are not well characterized. In this study, we investigated the effects of endogenous and exogenous TGF-β on PTHrP production by normal human foreskin keratinocytes. PTHrP secretion, mRNA expression, and mRNA transcription in vitro were determined by N-terminal radioimmunoassay, ribonuclease protection assay, and transient transfections. PTHrP production and secretion of latent TGF-β activity were greatest in proliferating keratinocytes prior to and at confluence of monolayer cultures. TGF-β1 increased PTHrP mRNA expression by normal keratinocytes in a dose-dependent manner with maximal stimulation at 6–12 h after treatment. In addition, keratinocytes treated with a monoclonal anti-TGF-β antibody expressed decreased levels of PTHrP mRNA. The increased levels of PTHrP mRNA following TGF-β1 treatment were owing, at least partly, to an increase in PTHrP mRNA stability. TGF-β1 failed to activate transcription of the luciferase reporter gene driven by either the human or mouse PTHrP promoters. In conclusion, TGF-β1 functions as a paracrine or autocrine regulator of PTHrP production in normal human keratinocytes, and this may play a role in the regulation of keratinocyte proliferation or differentiation.
Fragmentation with abrasion and cleavage: analytical results

Abrasion and abrasion/cleavage processes are modeled via fragmentation theory. An analytical solution to the evolution of the particle size distribution in an abrasion-dominated process is presented. This solution to the fragmentation equation cannot be described by the usual self-similar form; nevertheless, it allows for the prediction of the mass fraction of unbroken material. Fitting to available data is discussed. Also considered are processes including simultaneous abrasion and cleavage. An analytical solution shows that the distribution diverges from the self-similar form as the average size approaches zero. It is concluded that these types of processes should be scaled with the weight average size, not the number average size.
The Döppler effect in the extraction of total neutron cross sections from deuterium data with particular emphasis on asymptotic hadron and deep inelastic electron scattering

Abstract The effects of nuclear Fermi motion on the extraction of high energy neutron cross sections from deuterium data are discussed in some detail. We consider three examples: (i) resonance scattering, (ii) asymptotic hadron scattering and (iii) deep inelastic electron scattering. In the first example we show in a very simple way how a nucleon resonance is broadened when viewed in the deuteron. Simple qualitative expressions are derived for the depression of the peak and the broadening of the width due to the Doppler shifting of the incident energy. For asymptotic hadron scattering, where total cross sections are generally very slowly varying, we show that there is a subtle effect due to the threshold constraint on the total nucleon cross sections which tends to deplete the total deuteron cross section. The size of this defect depends crucially upon the size of the high momentum components in the deuteron wavefunction. The effect is capable of explaining the apparent energy and process dependence of the mean inverse square radius parameter which occurs in the Glauber screening formula. An estimate of the effect in total photoabsorption cross sections indicates that the proton-neutron difference may be considerably smaller than expected. In the third example, deep inelastic electron scattering, this threshold effect increases near the threshold region. This together with the conventional smearing effect is shown to simulate the shape of the apparent difference between the proton and neutron. The size of the overall effect again depends crucially upon the high momentum components in the deuteron. However, reasonable estimates indicate that there is a real proton-neutron difference, especially in the so-called low ω region; the difference probably vanishes in the large ω region. Several other effects in deep inelastic electron scattering are discussed: We show that a value of ω exists (which we call the cross-over point, ω c ) at which the overall effect vanishes. That is, below ω c the effect reverses sign and the neutron cross section now appears larger than it really is. We also derive an expression for the threshold behavior of the deuteron cross section in terms of the threshold behavior of the nucleon cross sections and the asymptotic form of the deuteron elastic form factor. Finally we derive a series of wavefunction independent sum rules which relate the overall integrated depletion to the integrated deuteron cross section below the quasi-elastic peak. Such sum rules could be extremely useful in “measuring” the effects of the Fermi motion. Most of the discussions in the paper are of a qualitative nature; quantitative details will follow in a future publication. The paper has been written with the experimentalist reader in mind.
“Delivery-control” in organic reactivity

Abstract A large portion of the energy requirements of an intramolecular hydride transfer was shown to entail a carbon skeleton distortion that delivers the hydrogen to the recipient carbon. Only after a critical distance is reached does actual chemical reaction begin.
Intravenous amiodarone in the acute treatment of recurrent symptomatic ventricular tachycardia

Fifteen patients aged 59.3 ± 11.5 years (mean ± standard deviation [SD]) had recurrent symptomatic ventricular tachycardia (VT) refractory to at least 2 conventional antiarrhythmic drugs. All patients had organic heart disease; 4 had an acute myocardial infarction. The mean ejection fraction was 0.30 ± 0.09. Twelve patients had overt congestive heart failure. Five had bundle branch block. Before treatment with intravenous amiodarone, the patients had had 6 to 40 episodes of symptomatic VT over 1 to 8 days of hospitalization. All patients received an initial bolus of 5 mg of amiodarone/kg over 15 minutes. Seven patients also received a continuous infusion of 600 to 1,000 mg of amiodarone over 12 to 24 hours. Additional doses depended on the patients' clinical responses. In 11 of 15 patients, anti-arrhythmic drugs that had failed to suppress VT were continued during administration of amiodarone. In 12 of 15 patients acute control of VT was obtained with intravenous administration of amiodarone either alone or in combination with previously ineffective drugs. Three patients continued to have frequent episodes of VT while being treated with intravenous amiodarone. Mobitz type I atrioven-tricular block developed in 1 patient. No patient had high degree atrioventricular block, symptomatic hypotension, or a clinically apparent worsening of congestive heart failure. The use of intravenous amiodarone represents a significant advance in the acute treatment of frequent life-threatening VT refractory to other drugs. With appropriate monitoring, it can be used safely in patients with congestive heart failure, bundle branch block, or acute myocardial infarction.
Utilization of the Natural Helper Model in Health Promotion Targeting African American Men

When compared with other racial and ethnic groups, African American men experience a great number of health disparities. The factors that perpetuate health disparities among African American men are multidimensional and include lack of access to equitable health care, lack of knowledge and limited education about health promoting behaviors, lack of organizational trust and acceptability, the impact of masculinity on health, and psychological factors. This article explores the health promotion needs of African American men and the ability of the natural helper model to address those needs. Further discussion of its use by holistic nurses as a culturally tailored health promotion intervention targeting African American men is presented.
Signal-Locking Fourier Transform SPR: A New Low-Noise Detection Technique for Biomolecular Interactions

A new frequency domain SPR technique for quantitative measurement of biomolecular interactions is presented with the goal of improved signal-to-noise ratio. The technique uses a microfluidic chemical modulator chip with Au sensing sites.
Massive symmetric tensor field in spacetimes with a positive cosmological constant

Abstract We quantize the free massive symmetric tensor field in arbitrary vacuum spacetime with a positive cosmological constant. We find that the theory with (mass) 2 between 0 (linearized gravity) and 2 3 × (cosmological constant) is non-unitary if we require that it locally resemble the flat-spacetime counterpart. This is the generalization of the result obtained earlier in de Sitter spacetime.
Fever in Children

Fever is the most common presenting complaints in pediatric practice, accounting for 10% to 20% of office and emergency room visits. Pathophysiology of Fever Three pathophysiologic bases exist for fever. The first involves the raising of the hypothalamic set point in the central nervous system. Infection, collagen vascular disease, and malignancies are most commonly responsible. This type of fever is lowered by antipyretics and physical removal of heat. A second type of fever is a result of heat production exceeding heat loss as, for example, in salicylate overdose, hyperthryroidism, excessive environmental temperature, and malignant hyperthermia. The third type of fever is caused by defective heat loss, as seen with ectodermal dysplasia, heat stroke, and poisoning via anticholinergic drugs. Antipyretics are ineffective for the second and third types of fever. Biologic Process of Fever Reduction Fever occurs as a result of a number of complex biologic interactions. Exogenous pyrogens, including viruses, bacteria, fungi, antigen-antibody complexes, and drugs, are engulfed by phagocytic leukocytes, leading to the production of an endogenous pyrogen called interleukin-1 (Fig. 1). This compound (also known as lymphocyte-activating factor), in conjunction with interleukin-2, is responsible for increasing the number of helper T cells and initiating the production of prostaglandins in the hypothalamus. Helper T cells are instrumental in fighting infections; prostaglandins are responsible for producing fever.
STABILITY OF THE DRUG MISUSE SCALE OF THE MILLON CLINICAL MULTIAXIAL INVENTORY

This study examined the stability of the Drug Misuse scale of the Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory in a clinical sample. The inventory was administered to clients in various drug-treatment programs at intake and again several times during the course of treatment. Stability coefficients computed for scale scores at intake and 1 mo. (.45 and .55) and intake and 3 mo. (.56) into treatment were lower than expected. The obtained coefficient of .74 for the 1- and 3-mo. administrations is more satisfactory and may reflect the greater psychological stability of subjects after a period of drug withdrawal and initiation into treatment.