cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Study of emotional distress in a comparative effectiveness trial of diabetes treatments: Rationale and design.

Abstract Emotional distress, including depression and diabetes-specific distress (e.g., feeling overwhelmed by living with diabetes, feelings of failure related to diabetes self-care), is a significant and prevalent problem for patients with type 2 diabetes. Both depression and diabetes distress have been associated with metabolic/glycemic control, diabetes complications, mortality, and quality of life. Recent findings further suggest that risk for emotional distress is influenced by diabetes treatment. The GRADE Study (Glycemia Reduction Approaches in Diabetes: A Comparative Effectiveness Study) is generating prospective data that will provide a unique opportunity to examine the relationships between emotional distress, diabetes treatment, and outcomes in an experimental design. The GRADE study is a randomized clinical trial that will compare the metabolic effects of four common anti-hyperglycemic drugs when combined with metformin. This sub-study recruited a subset (n = 1739) of GRADE participants and will examine patient-level variation in baseline emotional distress as a predictor of glycemic control and other health outcomes, independent of treatment effects. The study will also provide an experimental examination of treatment regimen effects on emotional distress over time as part of the overall evaluation of comparative effectiveness. Evaluation of emotional distress using validated measures will allow us to disentangle the roles of depressive symptoms and diabetes distress, factors that share significant overlap but require distinct approaches to screening and treatment. Study findings may directly influence practice decisions regarding screening and treatment for emotional distress as part of diabetes care. ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT01794143
Social mobility, adolescents’ psycho-social dispositions, and parenting

Abstract Psycho-social dispositions and parental influence are central in early status attainment models. We apply the Social Structure and Personality framework to investigate the contributions of adolescents’ psycho-social dispositions to social mobility, and then the contributions of parents’ socioeconomic status (SES) and parenting to adolescents’ psycho-social dispositions. The Kaplan Longitudinal and Multigenerational Study includes data on two generations of respondents: the first-generation of respondents was observed from seventh grade in 1971 until midlife, and the second-generation, their children, was observed from adolescence to young adulthood. We find that upward social mobility is inhibited by poor psycho-social dispositions, particularly by negative self-feelings. SES, in turn, also affects psycho-social dispositions. Family income is more relevant (i.e., variance explained) than parental education for adolescents’ locus of control, while parental education is more relevant for adolescents’ negative self-feelings. Finally, our findings indicate that parenting can disrupt the cycle of social reproduction, with lower SES adolescents exhibiting lower levels of negative self-feelings if their parents are more attached or less authoritarian.
Histographs: Interactive Clustering of Stacked Graphs

Visualization systems must intuitively display and allow interaction with large multivariate data on low-dimensional displays. One problem often encountered in the process is occlusion: the ambiguity that occurs when records from different data sets are mapped to the same display location. For example, because of occlusion summarizing 1000 graphs by simply stacking them one over another is pointless. We solve this problem by adapting the solution to a similar problem in the Information Murals system [2]: mapping the number of data elements at a location to display luminance. Inspired by histograms, which map data frequency to space, we call our solution histographs. By treating a histograph as a digital image, we can blur and highlight edges to emphasize data features. We also support interactive clustering of the data with data zooming and shape-based selection. We are currently investigating alternative occlusion blending schemes.
Early Bilingual Education: An Examination of Purposely Selected Teacher Viewpoints: South East China and San Francisco Area

In the coming years, an increasing number of children in urban Chinese areas are taking a second language at an early age. It leads to an argument about whether it is appropriate for children to learn a second language in an early age Some people disagree that idea, because children are not developed enough to receive foreign language learning. Learning a second language early is disadvantageous for young children because they should first learn to speak the primary language well. Whereas, other people support that children should start learning second language early for three main reasons: children’s talent for language study, the need ofglobal communication, and the educational achievement. The purpose of this study is to examine teacher perceptions of children’s potential for learning a new language, and the effects of bilingual education on young children. Data were gathered from two kindergarten teachers in Fuzhou, Fujian, China and two teachers from San Francisco, CA, U.S. Teachers were interviewed about their viewpoints on bilingual education as an option for young children. Results indicated that early bilingual education is necessary for young children because language pronunciation shapes language confidence and proficiency. Implications of these findings suggest that children who have an interest in learning a second language may benefit from bilingual education. Children who are under three years old do not benefit from bilingual education.
What Obama Means: ...for Our Culture, Our Politics, Our Future

This is our moment. This is our time, Barack Obama declared in his victory speech on November 4, 2008. Such a moment is an opportunity to explore who we are, where we've been, and what the emergence of a leader like Obama can tell us about our culture, our politics, and our future. In "What Obama Means", Jabari Asim, author of the acclaimed "The N Word", provides the context needed to understand what the Obama presidency means to people of all backgrounds. Asim moves easily from the contemporary to the historical, showing how performers and athletes, such as Michael Jackson and Michael Jordan, laid the groundwork for Obama as much as did leaders such as Frederick Douglass, W. E. B. DuBois, and Martin Luther King Jr. He examines the impact of Sidney Poitier (whose "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner" could have been the story of the president's parents) and how the actor's navigation of Hollywood was a forerunner for Obama's own path in wooing America's white voters. Asim places Obama within the history of the black rhetorical tradition, alongside such figures as James Baldwin, Fannie Lou Hamer, and Barbara Jordan. He also describes how the 'Obama phenomenon' grew from the ground up, focusing on the people who caught on even before their leaders did. He demonstrates how Obama turned the old civil-rights model of African American leadership on its head, and shows that Obama's election is evidence of the progress that has been made in healing wounds and broadening America's concept of leadership and inspiration.
Acute superior oblique palsy in the monkey: effects of viewing conditions on ocular alignment and modelling of the ocular motor plant.

Abstract: We investigated the immediate and long-term changes in static eye alignment with acute superior oblique palsy (SOP) in the monkey. When the paretic eye was patched immediately after the lesion for 6–9 days, vertical alignment slowly improved. When the patch was removed and binocular viewing was allowed, alignment slowly worsened. In contrast when a monkey was not patched immediately after the lesion vertical alignment did not improve. We also show that a model of the eye plant can reproduce the observed acute deficit induced by SOP, but only by abandoning Robinson's symmetric simplification of the reciprocal innervation relationship within pairs of agonist–antagonist muscles. The model also demonstrated that physiologic variability in orbital geometry can have a large impact on SOP deficits.
Solution of the mathematical adjoint equations for an interface current nodal formulation

A numerical method for directly computing the mathematical adjoint flux moments and partial currents for the hexagonal-Z geometry interface current nodal formulation in the DIF3D code is described. The new scheme is developed as an alternative to an existing scheme that employs a similarity transformation of the physical adjoint solution to compute the mathematical adjoint. Whereas the existing scheme is rigorous only when the flat transverse-leakage approximation is employed, this new scheme is exact for all leakage approximations in the DIF3D nodal method. in the new scheme, adjoint nodal equations whose form is very similar to that of the forward nodal equations are derived by employing linear combinations of the adjoint partial currents as computational unknowns in the adjoint equations. This enables the use of the forward solution algorithm with only minor modifications for solving the mathematical adjoint equations. By using the new scheme as a reference method, it is shown numerically that while the results computed with the existing scheme are approximate, they are sufficiently accurate for calculations of global and local reactivity changes resulting from coolant voiding in a liquid metal reactor.
On the double commutator algebra of $QF-3$ algebras

Introduction and Preliminaries. Nakayama [9] suggested that algebras be classified according to the length of a right projective, injective resolution of the algebra as a left module. Tachikawa [10] showed that an algebra is QF-3 (see [12] for definition) if and only if the length is at least one. He [11] also gave some estimations of the length of the resolution besides relating the length to the size of the double commutator algebra of a faithful projective, injective left ideal.
Pore-space alteration induced by brine acidification in subsurface geologic formations

[1] A new Lagrangian particle-based method is presented to simulate reactive transport in natural porous media. This technique is based on Modified Moving Particle Semi-implicit (MMPS) and takes as input high-resolution voxel images of natural porous media. The flow field in the medium is computed by solving the incompressible Navier-Stokes equations. Moreover, a multicomponent ion transport model is coupled with a homogeneous and heterogeneous reactions module to handle pore-space alteration (i.e., pore-wall dissolution). The model is first successfully validated against the experimental data available in the literature. Subsequently, X-ray microtomographic images of two naturally occurring porous media are used to investigate the impact of reaction kinetics and pore-space topology on pore-space alteration induced by brine acidification in subsurface conditions. We observed that at the normal rates of reactions no significant change in porosity and permeability takes place in the short term. Whereas, higher reaction rates caused major changes in the macroscopic properties (e.g., porosity and permeability) of the rocks. We also show that these changes are strongly affected by the rocks' pore-scale topologies.
Thirty-day mortality risk associated with the postoperative nonresumption of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors: a retrospective study of the Veterans Affairs Healthcare System.

BACKGROUND Angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (ACE-Is) are a widely used class of cardiovascular medication. However, limited data exist on the risks of postoperative nonresumption of an ACE-I. OBJECTIVE To evaluate the factors and 30-day mortality risks associated with the postoperative nonresumption of an ACE-I. DESIGN A retrospective cohort study. SETTING Veterans Affairs (VA) Healthcare System. PATIENTS A total of 294,505 admissions in 240,978 patients with multiple preoperative prescription refills (>3) for an ACE-I who underwent inpatient surgery from calendar years 1999 to 2012. INTERVENTION None. MEASUREMENTS We classified surgical admissions based upon the timing of postoperative resumption of an ACE-I prescription from the day of surgery through postoperative days 0 to 14 and 15 to 30, and collected 30-day mortality data. We evaluated the relationship between 30-day mortality and the nonresumption of an ACE-I from postoperative day 0 to 14 using proportional hazard regression models, adjusting for patient- and hospital-level risk factors. Sensitivity analyses were conducted using more homogeneous subpopulations and propensity score models. RESULTS Twenty-five percent of our cohort did not resume an ACE-I during the 14 days following surgery. Nonresumption of an ACE-I within postoperative day 0 to 14 was independently associated with increased 30-day mortality (hazard ratio: 3.44; 95% confidence interval: 3.30-3.60; P < 0.001) compared to the restart group. Sensitivity analyses maintained this relationship. CONCLUSIONS Nonresumption of an ACE-I is common after major inpatient surgery in the large VA Health Care System. Restarting of an ACE-I within postoperative day 0 to 14 is, however, associated with decreased 30-day mortality. Careful attention to the issue of timely reinstitution of chronic medications such as an ACE-I is indicated. Journal of Hospital Medicine 2014;9:289–296. 2014 Society of Hospital Medicine
Models to Study NK Cell Biology and Possible Clinical Application

Natural killer (NK) cells are large granular lymphocytes of the innate immune system, responsible for direct targeting and killing of both virally infected and transformed cells. NK cells rapidly recognize and respond to abnormal cells in the absence of prior sensitization due to their wide array of germline-encoded inhibitory and activating receptors, which differs from the receptor diversity found in B and T lymphocytes that is due to the use of recombination-activation gene (RAG) enzymes. Although NK cells have traditionally been described as natural killers that provide a first line of defense prior to the induction of adaptive immunity, a more complex view of NK cells is beginning to emerge, indicating they may also function in various immunoregulatory roles and have the capacity to shape adaptive immune responses. With the growing appreciation for the diverse functions of NK cells, and recent technological advancements that allow for a more in-depth understanding of NK cell biology, we can now begin to explore new ways to manipulate NK cells to increase their clinical utility. In this overview unit, we introduce the reader to various aspects of NK cell biology by reviewing topics ranging from NK cell diversity and function, mouse models, and the roles of NK cells in health and disease, to potential clinical applications. © 2015 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Translating personalized medicine using new genetic technologies in clinical practice: the ethical issues

The integration of new genetic technologies into clinical practice holds great promise for the personalization of medical care, particularly the use of large-scale DNA sequencing for genome-wide genetic testing. However, these technologies also yield unprecedented amounts of information whose clinical implications are not fully understood, and we are still developing technical standards for measuring sequence accuracy. These technical and clinical challenges raise ethical issues that are similar to but qualitatively different from those that we are accustomed to dealing with for traditional medical genetics. The sheer amount of information afforded by genome sequencing requires rethinking of how to implement core ethical principles including, but not limited to: informed consent, privacy and data ownership and sharing, technology regulation, issues of access, particularly as new technology is integrated into clinical practice, and issues of potential stigma and impact on perceptions of disability. In this article, we will review the issues of informed consent, privacy, data ownership and technology regulation as they relate to the emerging field of personalized medicine and genomics.
Conversion of Bacillus subtilis DNA to phage DNA following mitomycin C induction.

The induction of Bacillus subtilis by mitomycin C results in the formation of the defective phage PBSX, even when DNA synthesis is greatly inhibited. Under normal conditions, when DNA synthesis is not inhibited, approximately 30 to 40% of the host genome is incorporated into phage particles. When bacterial DNA synthesis is inhibited, the yield of phage is 50 to 70% that of the control. After induction, bacterial DNA (50 s) is gradually converted to 22 s size fragments, which is the size of the DNA isolated from PBSX phage particles. Very little DNA of intermediate size is formed when monitored by sucrose gradient centrifugation, suggesting that the degradation of bacterial DNA giving rise to phage-size material takes place in a specific way. All phage-size DNA present in the induced cells which is derived from the host can be accounted for by DNA packaged into phage particles. Inhibition of protein synthesis by chloramphenicol after mitomycin C treatment interferes with the specific cleavage of the bacterial genome and accumulation of phage-size DNA. Mechanisms involved in the determination of the size of DNA in the phage particles are discussed.
Visualization of Identified GFP-expressing Cells by Light and Electron Microscopy

We have developed a procedure for visualizing GFP expression in fixed tissue after embedding in LR White. We find that GFP fluorescence survives fixation in 4% paraformaldehyde/0.1% glutaraldehyde and can be visualized directly by fluorescence microscopy in unstained, 1-μm sections of LR White-embedded material. The antigenicity of the GFP is retained in these preparations, so that GFP localization can be visualized in the electron microscope after immunogold labeling with anti-GFP antibodies. The ultrastructural morphology of tissue fixed and embedded by this protocol is of quality sufficient for subcellular localization of GFP. Thus, expression of GFP constructs can be visualized in living tissue and the same cells relocated in semithin sections. Furthermore, semithin sections can be used to locate GFP-expressing cells for examination by immunoelectron microscopy of the same material after thin sectioning.
Farm Parents' Attitudes Towards Farm Safety Experts*

Using both qualitative and quantitative data, this article analyzes farm parents' attitudes towards the trustworthiness, usefulness, and use of advice from farm safety experts. The article evaluates four different perspectives on trust in expert: the Validity of Knowledge perspective, the Salient Values Similarity perspective, the Diffusion of Innovation perspective, and the Local Knowledge perspective. Among other factors, the results show that negative attitudes towards experts are strongly influenced by attitudes towards the validity of scientific knowledge vs. farm experience. They also show that experts who are more involved in farm production have higher levels of trust and usefulness. While all of the perspectives receive some degree of support, the results suggest that local knowledge and culture are critical in shaping attitudes towards experts. Attitudes towards experts are shaped not solely by expert characteristics but by the meanings and significance they assume in specific socio-cultural contexts.
Retinol and retinoic acid bind to a surface cleft in bovine β-lactoglobulin: a method of binding site determination using fluorescence resonance energy transfer

Abstract Two potential ligand binding sites in the lipocalin β-lactoglobulin have been postulated for small hydrophobic molecules such as retinol or retinoic acid. An agreement on one of the two alternatives, an interior cavity or a surface cleft, however, has not been achieved. In order to discriminate between these two possibilities, we measured the efficiency of fluorescence resonance energy transfer between the two intrinsic Trp-residues of β-lactoglobulin and the ligands retinol, retinoic acid and bis-ANS. Using the crystallographic coordinates of β-lactoglobulin, this efficiency could be accurately computed for both the interior cavity and the surface cleft as ligand binding sites. For the surface cleft, the theoretical value was found to be in excellent agreement with the measured value, whereas for the interior cavity any reasonable agreement would require a dramatic ligand-induced conformational change that can be ruled out due to the protein's known structural stability. Our conclusion that these ligands bind to the surface pocket rather than the interior cavity was further confirmed by competitive binding studies.
Power Failure Ride Through for an Inverter System Using Its Own Induction Motor Load as Energy Source

The functioning of a system when energy in rotation motors are used to provide continuous operation during a momentary failure of ac input power is investigated. The system includes an ac power input, a dc rectifier, and an inverter which normally provides ac power to high-inertia induction motors. During a failure of the ac input, the frequency of the inverter is reduced so that the motors can transfer their rotational energy back to the dc bus through the inverter. When ac power returns, the system returns to its original condition.
AAV8, 9, Rh10, Rh43 Vector Gene Transfer in the Rat Brain: Effects of Serotype, Promoter and Purification Method

We compared adeno-associated virus (AAV) serotypes for expression levels of green fluorescent protein (GFP) in the adult rat hippocampus by biophotonic imaging. Preparations of AAV serotypes 8, 9, Rh10, and Rh43 incorporating cytomegalovirus (CMV) promoter–driven GFP were purified by a CsCl method. Neither AAV Rh10 nor AAV Rh43 produced greater levels of GFP than AAV8, which was used as a reference. For AAV9, there was an increase relative to AAV8. The CsCl-purified AAV8 displayed an astroglial transduction pattern in contrast to the expected neuronal expression of other AAVs. After preparing the same CMV-GFP plasmid in AAV8 with an iodixanol purification method, the expected neuronal pattern resulted. The astroglial expression with the CsCl AAV8 was probably due to relatively high levels of protein impurities. We compared the CMV promoter with the CMV/chicken β-actin (CBA) promoter in the context of AAV8, both prepared by iodixanol, and found the CBA promoter to produce stronger GFP expression. At two doses of vectors optimized for serotype, promoter and purification, we did not observe serotype differences among AAV8, AAV9, or AAV Rh10. The purification method can therefore impact the transduction pattern as well as the results when comparing serotype strengths.
Spectrophotometric study of the cobalt-3-nitroso-2,6-pyridinediol reaction

A spectrophotometric study has been made on the cobalt-3-nitroso-2, 6-pyridinediol reaction. The yellow complex formed has an absorption maximum at 411 nm and a molar absorptivity of 3.4·104 l mole−1 cm−1. The system follows Beer's law.
Detection of malaria parasites in blood by laser desorption mass spectrometry.

A novel method for the in vitro detection of the protozoan Plasmodium, the causative agent of malaria, has been developed. It comprises a protocol for cleanup of whole blood samples, followed by direct ultraviolet laser desorption (LD) time-of-flight mass spectrometry. Intense ion signals are observed from intact ferriprotoporphyrin IX (heme), sequestered by malaria parasites during their growth in human red blood cells. The LD mass spectrum of the heme is structure-specific, and the signal intensities are correlated with the sample parasitemia (number of parasites per unit volume of blood). Parasitemia levels on the order of 10 parasites/μL blood can be unambiguously detected by this method. Consideration of laser beam parameters (spot size, rastering across the sample surface) and actual sample consumption suggests that the detection limits can be further improved by at least an order of magnitude. The influence of experimental factors, such as desorbed ion polarity, laser exposure and fluence, sample s...
A personalized recommendation system on scholarly publications

Researchers, as well as ordinary users who seek information in diverse academic fields, turn to the web to search for publications of interest. Even though scholarly publication recommenders have been developed to facilitate the task of discovering literature pertinent to their users, they (i) are not personalized enough to meet users' expectations, since they provide the same suggestions to users sharing similar profiles/preferences, (ii) generate recommendations pertaining to each user's general interests as opposed to the specific need of the user, and (iii) fail to take full advantages of valuable user-generated data at social websites that can enhance their performance. To address these problems, we propose PubRec, a recommender that suggests closely-related references to a particular publication P tailored to a specific user U, which minimizes the time and efforts imposed on U in browsing through general recommended publications. Empirical studies conducted using data extracted from CiteULike (i) verify the efficiency of the recommendation and ranking strategies adopted by PubRec and (ii) show that PubRec significantly outperforms other baseline recommenders.
Solomon Fry, Survivor

Solomon Fry survived the Holocaust. Decades after liberation, he continues to survive the Holocaust day by day. In this brief ethnographic life history I explore cultural aspects of Solomon's survival, including strategies for enduring both immediacies and memories of Nazi oppression. For Solomon Fry, and perhaps for all of us, there is more to survival than staying alive.
Permission Management System: Permission as a Service in Cloud Computing

One of the challenging problems cloud computing is facing today is the security of data in the cloud. Since the physical location of user data in the cloud is unknown and the data are often distributed across multiple cloud services, a user controllable and privacy preserving access control mechanism is necessary for the success of cloud computing in general and for the protection of user data in specific. In this paper, we discuss a novel approach to controlling access to user data in the cloud; the concept is called Permission as a Service (PaaS). Specifically, PaaS separates access control from other services to provide a separate service in the cloud. This allows users to set permissions for all data in a single location. In PaaS, user data are encrypted to maintain confidentiality and permissions are managed via decryption keys. As a proof-of-concept, we discuss the design and implementation of our prototype leveraging attribute based encryption (ABE).
Relationship between visual motor integration skill and academic performance in kindergarten through third grade.

ABSTRACT:Purpose.The objective of this study was to examine the relationship between visual motor integration skill and academic performance in kindergarten through third grade.Methods.One hundred ninety-one (N=191) children in kindergarten through third grade (mean age=7.78 years; 52% male) from an
Covert warfare against the immune system: decoy capsids, stealth genomes, and suppressors.

In part owing to their low immune profile, adeno-associated virus (AAV) vectors have long been viewed as ideal for in vivo gene transfer. They are based on a small, nonpathogenic virus that is composed of a single-stranded DNA genome and a protein capsid. As compared with many other viral vectors, recombinant AAVs are better at avoiding activation signals, are less efficient in transducing professional antigen-presenting cells, and elicit weaker and more transient innate inflammatory responses.1 Ultimately, these naturally stealthy vectors have been able to express various transgenes for months if not years in numerous immune-competent animal models. Many serotypes with differing tropism that are capable of transducing various cell types in vivo have been identified. Induction of immune tolerance to transgene products has been demonstrated for hepatic gene transfer, which induces regulatory T cells (Tregs).2,3
The scope and significance of anger in the experience of chronic pain

This paper is divided into 3 sections. The first provides the conceptual framework by introducing definitions of anger and related constructs and highlighting pertinent aspects of the concept of pain. The second section examines the evidence for anger as a feature of chronic pain. The available research indicates that chronic pain patients experience anger but this may be underestimated because of denial. In fact, anger stands out as one of the most salient emotional correlates of pain, even though past research has been largely confined to the study of depression and anxiety. the third section explores the significance of anger in chronic pain, in terms of its compounding effects on pain, depression and psychosocial functioning, as well as its consequences for physical health and health habits. The impact of anger among chronic pain patients for treatment outcome is discussed. Finally, the information from these sections is integrated into a model depicting the antecedents and consequences of anger as specifically associated with the chronic pain experience.
Antioxidant activity of the monoamine oxidase B inhibitor lazabemide

Free radical-induced damage to lipid and protein constituents of neuronal membranes contributes to the pathophysiology of neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer's disease (AD). The development of an effective inhibitor of oxidative stress represents an important goal for the treatment of AD. In this study, the intrinsic antioxidant activity of lazabemide, a potent and reversible inhibitor of monoamine oxidase B (MAO-B), was tested in a membrane-based model of oxidative stress. Under physiologic-like conditions, lazabemide inhibited lipid peroxidation in a highly concentration-dependent manner. At low, pharmacologic levels of lazabemide (100.0 nM), there was a significant (P < 0.001) and catalytic reduction in lipid peroxide formation, as compared with control samples. The antioxidant activity of lazabemide was significantly more effective than that of either vitamin E or the MAO-B inhibitor, selegiline. The ability of lazabemide to inhibit oxidative damage is attributed to physico-chemical interactions with the membrane lipid bilayer, as determined by small angle x-ray diffraction methods. By partitioning into the membrane hydrocarbon core, lazabemide can inhibit the propagation of free radicals by electron-donating and resonance-stabilization mechanisms. These findings indicate that lazabemide is a potent and concentration-dependent inhibitor of membrane oxy-radical damage as a result of inhibiting membrane lipid peroxidation, independent of MAO-B interactions.
525 KV Self-Contained Oil Filled Cable System for Grand Coulee Third Powerplant Design, Test, Manufacture and Installation

This paper discusses the features of design, test, manufacture and installation of the, 525 KV self-contained oil filled (OF) cable and its system installed at the third powerplant of the Grand Coulee Dam.
Orientation and homing behavior as a measure of affinity for the home range in two species of Iguanid lizards

The relationship between home range affinity and homing ability was studied in Phrynosoma douglassi and Sceloporus graciosus in southeastern Idaho. Movement patterns for P. douglassi were typical of an animal moving from one site of activity to other sites, whereas S. graciosus movements were typical of an animal using a single site of activity. Only S. graciosus was able to orient towards the home range when displaced, indicating an affinity for this site. Adult S. graciosus oriented and homed more consistently than did juveniles. P. douglassi did not orient homeward when displaced and returned less frequently than did S. graciosus. Recapture locations along with data regarding homeward orientation and homing indicate that P. douglassi has a lesser affinity than does S. graciosus for the home range. Some gravid females of both species left the home range to deposit eggs or young and later returned. Use of areas outside the home range for egg-laying and birthing and movements out of the home range resulting from chases by predators may represent natural means of displacement that select for homing behavior. Because most lizards experience only short displacements during their life histories, long distance homing reported for snakes, turtles, and salamanders is absent.
FLUXIONAL BEHAVIOR OF THE BRIDGING VINYL GROUP IN HOS3 (CO)10(CHCH2) AND RELATED COMPLEXES

Abstract 13 C NMR spectra of the cluster complexes HOs 3 (CO) 10 (CH=CHR) establish that the σ and π bonds binding the bridging vinylic group are rapidly interchanged between the bridged osmium atoms.
Chronic intermittent salt loading enhances functional recovery from polydipsia and survival of vasopressinergic cells in the hypothalamic supraoptic nucleus following transection of the hypophysial stalk

Hypophysial stalk-transected (ST) and sham-operated animals were subjected to a chronic intermittent salt loading regimen (CISL) for 14 days beginning 1 day post surgery (dps). Animals were sacrificed at 15 and 36 dps. Three days after the termination of CISL, water consumption in ST + CISL animals decreased to the same level as that of sham-operated animals, while that of ST + water animals was maintained at a significantly higher level. The number of the surviving vasopressinergic neurons in the supraoptic nuclei of the ST + CISL group was significantly higher than that of ST + water group. CISL induced vasopressinergic axonal sprouting into the external zone of the median eminence, and formation of subependymal perivascular plexus. While CISL also enhanced regeneration of oxytocinergic axons into the external zone, it did not, however, have any effect on the number of oxytocinergic neurons surviving axotomy.
A Large Bakeable Vacuum Valve

The development and design of a large bakeable valve based on a unique seat arrangement and a novel motion seal are described. The seat sealing is accomplished through the use of high pressure fluid actuation of an annular pinch gasket. Experimental data on seat closure performance, and the specific design features to achieve successful closures, are presented. The bakeable motion seal utilizes a stainless steel bellows sleeving over an inner concentric actuating shaft. This shaft is bent at 90 deg to the axis of rotation and is free to rotate relative to the bellows. There is no apparent size limitation to this type of actuation. The design of a 10-inch gate valve utilizing these principles is described. (auth)
A surface plasmon enabled liquid-junction photovoltaic cell

Plasmonic nanosystems have recently been shown to be capable of functioning as photovoltaics and of carrying out redox photochemistry, purportedly using the energetic electrons and holes created following plasmonic decay as charge carriers. Although such devices currently have low efficiency, they already manifest a number of favorable characteristics, such as their tunability over the entire solar spectrum and a remarkable resistance to photocorrosion. Here, we report a plasmonic photovoltaic using a 25 μm thick electrolytic liquid junction which supports the iodide/triiodide (I−/I3−) redox couple. The device produces photocurrent densities in excess of 40 μA cm−2, an open circuit voltage (Voc) of ∼0.24 V and a fill factor of ∼0.5 using AM 1.5 G solar radiation at 100 mW cm−2. The photocurrent and the power conversion efficiency are primarily limited by the low light absorption in the 2-D gold nanoparticle arrays. The use of a liquid junction greatly reduces dielectric breakdown in the oxide layers utilized, which must be very thin for optimal performance, leading to a great improvement in the long-term stability of the cell's performance.
Arresting development arrests aging in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans

Larval development of the nematode, Caenorhabditis elegans, can be arrested by either of two different treatment: (1) complete starvation, or (2) growth in a partially defined culture medium (axenic medium) of strains adapted to bacterial growth. The developmental arrest is complete under total starvation and the starved populations live about 10 days. The developmental block is incomplete in axenic medium; most animals mature but maturation takes 10 times longer than normal. If developmentally arrested cultures are returned to growth on E. coli, both the completely starved and the axenically arrested cultures mature at normal rates. Life-span is prolonged by 1 day for each day of complete starvation; life-span is prolonged by 0.7 days for each day of axenic arrest. These results suggest that aging and development are closely coupled in this system. The results are discussed in terms of previous observations on nutritional deprivation in other invertebrates and caloric restriction in mammals and are interpreted in light of theoretical models of senescence.
THE RENAL LESION IN HYPERPARATHYROIDISM

AN IMPORTANT advance in knowledge of parathyroid hyperfunction is the fact that lesions of the kidney and parathyroid glands are often closely related. MacCallum drew attention to this relationship in 1905 (1) with his report of a tumor of the parathyroid gland associated with chronic renal disease. Since that time many scattered reports have pointed to some relationship between hyperparathyroidism and kidney disease. Mandl’s pioneer work on the surgical treatment of hyperparathyroidism, and his final proof in1925 of the parathyroid etiology of generalised osteitis fibrosa cystica stimulated much interest in hyperparathyroidism (2). It soon became evident that lesions in the skeletal system were not necessarily the most important, and indeed not even the most frequent pathological change associated with hyperparathyroidism. Due to extensive and careful studies by Albright and his associates (3) in the last few years, the frequency and relatively great importance of renal disease has been recognised.
Síntesis histórica de la política de importación de banano de la Unión Europea

Sintesis historica de la politica de importacion de banano de la Union Europea. Este articulo resume los principales eventos en el conflicto entre la Union Europea, los paises productores de banano de Africa, el Caribe y el Pacifico, los productores latinoamericanos, y Estados Unidos, relacionados con la importacion de banano en la Union Europea. Se discute el debate historico acerca de estas politicas entre las partes interesadas, debate que ha llegado a conocerse como "la guerra del banano". Describe eventos recientes relacionados con el proceso de transicion de un mercado altamente protegido a un sistema de importacion de tarifa unica, el cual podria suavizar el conflicto pero no terminar con esta "guerra". El articulo esta dividido en 7 partes: 1) descripcion de la politica de importacion de banano de la Union Europea antes de implementar la Politica Comunitaria; 2) descripcion de la Politica Comunitaria de Importacion de Banano en 1993; 3) discusion de los eventos que se originaron despues de la aprobacion del regimen de importacion de 1993; 4) descripcion de la perspectiva de la Union Europea sobre la llamada guerra del banano; 5) convenio entre los Estados Unidos y la Union Europea; 6) algunos resultados de investigaciones relacionadas con el nuevo sistema de importacion y 7) conclusion.
034 Light‐Emitting Diode Therapy Increases VEGF and no Production in Raw 264.7 Cells

Introduction: Low-energy laser photostimuation has been reported to affect the proliferative phase of wound healing and stimulate macrophages. Light-emitting diodes (LED) are an efficient, inexpensive source of low energy photons. We propose that LED therapy will stimulate macrophage production of VEGF and NO. Methods: Serum-starved RAW 264.7 cells (5 × 105cells/ml) were treated with or without LPS (10 ng/ml) and IFN-gamma (100 Units/ml) for 24 hours. Cells were divided into groups: 1) control – no LED, 2) 670 nm, 3) 730 nm, 4) 880 nm, and 5) combination (880 nm/730 nm/670 nm) at 4 J/cm2 per wavelength. Twenty-four hours post-LED, conditioned media was analyzed for VEGF (ELISA) and nitrites (Greiss assay). Proliferation was assessed using BrDU incorporation. Data were analyzed using one-way ANOVA with Tukey post-test. Results: In serum-starved cells, proliferation was unchanged by LED. VEGF and nitrite levels were increased in groups 4 (VEGF = 1057.1 +/− 100.3 pg/ml; nitrites = 11.13 +/− 0.79 uM) and 5 (VEGF = 1148.9 +/− 88.5 pg/ml; nitrites = 10.72 +/− 1.03 uM) compared to control (VEGF = 812.2 +/− 94.8 pg/ml; nitrites = 7.32 +/− 1.92 uM). LPS/IFN decreased proliferation 25 percent at all wavelengths compared to control + LPS/IFN (p < 0.01). Nitrite and VEGF levels were markedly elevated in all five LPS/IFN-treated groups with no appreciable intergroup differences. Conclusions: LPS/IFN stimulation resulted in maximally elevated levels of nitrites and VEGF, possibly masking the effects of LED. Serum-starved RAW 264.7 cells responded to LED treatment at 880 nm and combined wavelengths with increased VEGF and NO production. These results suggest that LED treatment at 880 nm and 880 nm/730 nm/670 nm may upregulate the production of pro-angiogenic factors by macrophages in the wound bed.
Changes of airway smooth muscle in experimental asthma

The present study demonstrates the response of isolated tracheal preparations (ITP) from control animals and animals with two types of experimental asthma to histamine and carbachol stimulation. Reactivity of ITP was measured by ED50 (effective dose developing 50% response), and contractility of ITP was measured by maximal developed isometric tension expressed in grams. It was found that trachea preparations isolated from animals with experimental asthma did not demonstrate a significant change in reactivity of airway smooth muscle to histamine or carbachol as compared with preparations isolated from control animals. On the contrary, ITP from asthmatic animals showed significantly decreased ability to develop maximal isometric tension after histamine and carbachol stimulation. The absence of substrate in the experimental bath significantly abolished contractile response of ITP isolated from both control and asthmatic animals to histamine. Similarly, removing a substrate from the experimental solution did not change airway smooth muscle reactivity, as measured by ED,50 to histamine, in both control and asthmatic animals. After trachea! preparation was contracted by carbachol, the ability of airway smooth muscle to relax was tested byisoproterenol(2.43 × lO−6 M). It was found that ITP from animals with experimental asthma (Pertussis sensitization) has a significantly lower (P < O.001) ability to relax following beta stimulation. In summary, this study demonstrates significant impairment of both contractility and relaxation processes of airway smooth muscle isolated from guinea-pigs with experimental asthma. On the contrary, the reactivity of airway smooth muscle isolated from asthmatic animals was not found to be different than controls.
Axon terminal clustering in nigrostriatal double grafts

Embryonic dopaminergic terminals of the ventral mesencephalon were cotransplanted with other immature neural tissues to the brain of newborn rats. Immunocytochemical localization of tyrosine hydroxylase in mature cografts with light and electron microscopy, demonstrated the existence of different axon terminal distributions in different grafts. These findings implicate the influence of local cell interactions in determining axon arborization.
The Role of Uncoupling Protein 1 in the Metabolism and Adiposity of RIIβ-Protein Kinase A-Deficient Mice

Mice lacking the RIIβ regulatory subunit of protein kinase A exhibit a 50% reduction in white adipose tissue stores compared with wild-type littermates and are resistant to diet-induced obesity. RIIβ−/− mice also have an increase in resting oxygen consumption along with a 4-fold increase in the brown adipose-specific mitochondrial uncoupling protein 1 (UCP1). In this study, we examined the basis for UCP1 induction and tested the hypothesis that the induced levels of UCP1 in RIIβ null mice are essential for the lean phenotype. The induction of UCP1 occurred at the protein but not the mRNA level and correlated with an increase in mitochondria in brown adipose tissue. Mice lacking both RIIβ and UCP1 (RIIβ−/−/Ucp1−/−) were created, and the key parameters of metabolism and body composition were studied. We discovered that RIIβ−/− mice exhibit nocturnal hyperactivity in addition to the increased oxygen consumption at rest. Disruption of UCP1 in RIIβ−/− mice reduced basal oxygen consumption but did not prevent t...
An Empirical Assessment of the Performance Impacts of IS Support for Knowledge Transfer

While a great deal has been written about how information systems (IS) can be deployed to facilitate knowledge transfer (a key knowledge management process) for performance improvements, there is little empirical evidence suggesting firms can actually derive economic returns from using IS to support knowledge transfer. This study attempted to assess the impacts of IS support for knowledge transfer on labor productivity and profitability with both survey and archival data. The potential moderating effects of firm-specific, complementary organizational resources on the performance impacts of IS support for knowledge transfer was also examined and tested. The results showed that IS support for knowledge transfer had a positive direct effect on labor productivity. Coupled with certain firm-specific, complementary organizational resources, IS support for knowledge transfer exerted a positive effect on profitability.
The pharmacology of fluvastatin, a new HMG‐CoA reductase inhibitor

As a therapeutic class, the 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-coenzyme A (HMG-CoA) reductase inhibitors are highly effective at lowering low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) levels. In addition, they are well tolerated and well suited to a broad range ofpatients with primary (type IIa or IIb) hypercholesterolemia. The most recently approved HMG-CoA reductase inhibitor, fluvastatin sodium (Lescol®, Sandoz Pharmaceuticals Corp.), is the only entirely synthehc agent in this class. This agent has a distinct biopharmaceuhc profile that may be responsible for certain safety benefits. Fluvastatin exhibits a favorable drug-interaction profile when used in combination with cyclosporine, fibric acids, erythromycin, or niacin
STABILITY ANALYSIS OF A CIRCULARLY TOWED CABLE–BODY SYSTEM

Abstract This paper investigates the dynamic response of a circularly towed cable-body system with fluid drag loading. The system model includes non-linear steady state equations and linear vibrational equations about steady state. The steady state equations are linearized using Galerkin's method. Numerical results show the existence of multiple steady state solutions for fluid drag, large end mass, or high rotation speed. Divergently unstable solutions lead to jump phenomena. High rotation speed causes Hopf bifurcations and second mode flutter for small point mass radius or third mode flutter for a large point radius. Generally, increasing drag increases the stable regions. Stable single-valued solutions always exist for sufficiently low rotation speed.