cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Increasing the Consequential Validity of Reading Assessment Using Dynamic Measurement Modeling: A Comment on Dumas and McNeish (2017).

Dynamic measurement modeling (DMM) has been shown to improve the consequential validity of longitudinal mathematics assessment in the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Kindergarten (ECLS-K) databa...
Visualization of the normal appendix in children: feasibility of a single contrast-enhanced radial gradient recalled echo MRI sequence.

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) assessment for appendicitis is limited by exam time and patient cooperation. The radially sampled 3-dimensional (3-D) T1-weighted, gradient recalled echo sequence (radial GRE) is a free-breathing, motion robust sequence that may be useful in evaluating appendicitis in children. To compare the rate of detection of the normal appendix with contrast-enhanced radial GRE versus contrast-enhanced 3-D GRE and a multi-sequence study including contrast-enhanced radial GRE. This was a retrospective study of patients ages 7–18 years undergoing abdominal-pelvic contrast-enhanced MRI between Jan. 1, 2012, and April 1, 2016. Visualization of the appendix was assessed by consensus between two pediatric radiologists. The rate of detection of the appendix for each sequence and combination of sequences was compared using a McNemar test. The rate of detection of the normal appendix on contrast-enhanced radial GRE was significantly higher than on contrast-enhanced 3-D GRE (76% vs. 57.3%, P=0.003). The rate of detection of the normal appendix with multi-sequence MRI including contrast-enhanced radial GRE was significantly higher than on contrast-enhanced 3-D GRE (81.3% vs. 57%, P<0.001). There was no significant difference between the rate of detection of the normal appendix on contrast-enhanced radial GRE alone and multi-sequence MRI including contrast-enhanced radial GRE (76% vs. 81.3%, P=0.267). Contrast-enhanced radial GRE allows superior detection of the normal appendix compared to contrast-enhanced 3-D GRE. The rate of detection of the normal appendix on contrast-enhanced radial GRE alone is nearly as good as when the contrast-enhanced radial GRE is interpreted with additional sequences.
Minireview: demystifying microbial reaction energetics

The biology literature is rife with misleading information on how to quantify catabolic reaction energetics. The principal misconception is that the sign and value of the standard Gibbs energy ( Δ G r 0 ) define the direction and energy yield of a reaction; they do not. Δ G r 0 is one part of the actual Gibbs energy of a reaction (ΔGr ), with a second part accounting for deviations from the standard composition. It is also frequently assumed that Δ G r 0 applies only to 25 °C and 1 bar; it does not. Δ G r 0 is a function of temperature and pressure. Here, we review how to determine ΔGr as a function of temperature, pressure and chemical composition for microbial catabolic reactions, including a discussion of the effects of ionic strength on ΔGr and highlighting the large effects when multi-valent ions are part of the reaction. We also calculate ΔGr for five example catabolisms at specific environmental conditions: aerobic respiration of glucose in freshwater, anaerobic respiration of acetate in marine sediment, hydrogenotrophic methanogenesis in a laboratory batch reactor, anaerobic ammonia oxidation in a wastewater reactor and aerobic pyrite oxidation in acid mine drainage. These examples serve as templates to determine the energy yields of other catabolic reactions at environmentally relevant conditions.
Possible Association of Tremors and Dysarthria with Losartan Use: A Case Report.

Losartan is a common first-line antihypertensive medication particularly useful in a select patient population. Common side effects of the drug include headaches, dizziness, fatigue, nausea, vomiting, and anemia. The only well-documented detrimental side effect of losartan is angioedema/anaphylactoid reactions. Here, we present a case of a 56-year-old Caucasian male who developed tremors and dysarthria one hour after taking losartan. His symptoms were severe enough to require hospitalization and close monitoring. His symptoms later resolved without any targeted treatment. This is the first reported case of tremors and dysarthria associated with the use of losartan which could represent an entirely benign side effect or an initial sequela of a potentially detrimental side effect that warrants our attention.
Prevalence and Predictors of Gastrointestinal Dysmotility in Patients with Hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome: A Tertiary Care Center Experience

Introduction Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (EDS), specifically the hypermobility type (hEDS), is associated with a variety of gastrointestinal (GI) conditions. This study aims to evaluate the prevalence of and factors associated with gut dysmotility in patients with hEDS. Methods This is a retrospective study of hEDS patients conducted at the Cleveland Clinic's Center for Personalized Genetic Healthcare between January 2007 and December 2017. Demographics, GI motility testing, endoscopic, and imaging data were extracted from the patients' charts. Results A total of 218 patients with hEDS were identified. Among them, 136 (62.3%) patients had at least one GI symptom at the time of EDS diagnosis. Motility testing was performed and reported in 42 (19.2%) patients. Out of them, five (11.9%) had esophageal dysmotility, 18 (42.8%) had gastroparesis, five (11.9%) had small bowel/colon altered transit time, and four (9.5%) had global dysmotility. In univariable analysis, patients with postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS) [odds ratio (OR): 8.88, 95% CI: 3.69-24.9, p<0.0001], fibromyalgia (OR: 4.43, 95% CI: 2.04-10.1, p=0.0002), history of irritable bowel syndrome (OR: 5.01, 95% CI: 2.31-11.2, p<0.0001), and gastroesophageal reflux disease (OR: 3.33, 95% CI: 1.55-7.44, p=0.002) were more likely to be diagnosed with GI dysmotility. On multivariable analysis, only POTS (OR: 5.74, 95% CI: 2.25-16.7, p=0.0005) was significantly associated with an increased likelihood of GI dysmotility. Conclusions This study suggests that GI symptoms are relatively common among patients with hEDS. Of the patients tested for dysmotility, 76.2% were found to have some form of dysmotility. POTS was found to be an independent predictive factor for GI dysmotility.
CHEMICAL ECOLOGY OF SHALLOW WATER OCTOCORALS. OCCURRENCE OF CEMBRANOLIDES IN PSEUDOPLEXAURA AND EUNICEA

Gorgonians of the genus Pseudoplexaura, from a variety of geographical locations, yield crassin acetate as the major cembranolide. The cembranolides found in Eunicea collected at different locations vary. Eunicin is found in Eunicea mammosa from Bimini, and from a number of other locations. Its position isomer Jeunicin, has been found in the Eunicea from Jamaica. Eunicea from Curacao yields an epimer ot eunicin, Cueunicin, while that from Puerto Rico yields Eupalmerin acetate, and Peunicin occurs in Eunicea collected off Panama. The cembranolides are toxic to various aquatic organisms. They inhibit ciliary action in the ciliate Tetrahymena pyriformis, and in the larvae of the nudibranch Phestilla sibogae.
Google Trends Insights Into Reduced Acute Coronary Syndrome Admissions During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Infodemiology Study.

Background: During the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, a reduction in the presentation of acute coronary syndrome (ACS) has been noted in several countries. However, whether these trends reflect a reduction in ACS incidence or a decrease in emergency room visits is unknown. Using Google Trends, queries for chest pain that have previously been shown to closely correlate with coronary heart disease were compared with searches for myocardial infarction and COVID-19 symptoms. Objective: The current study evaluates if search terms (or topics) pertaining to chest pain symptoms correlate with the reported decrease in presentations of ACS. Methods: Google Trends data for search terms “chest pain,” “myocardial infarction,” “cough,” and “fever” were obtained from June 1, 2019, to May 31, 2020. Related queries were evaluated for a relationship to coronary heart disease. Results: Following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, chest pain searches increased in all countries studied by at least 34% (USA P=.003, Spain P=.007, UK P=.001, Italy P=.002), while searches for myocardial infarction dropped or remained unchanged. Rising searches for chest pain included “coronavirus chest pain,” “home remedies for chest pain,” and “natural remedies for chest pain.” Searches on COVID-19 symptoms (eg, cough, fever) rose initially but returned to baseline while chest pain–related searches remained elevated throughout May. Conclusions: Search engine queries for chest pain have risen during the pandemic as have related searches with alternative attribution for chest pain or home care for chest pain, suggesting that recent drops in ACS presentations may be due to patients avoiding the emergency room and potential treatment in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Social Media as a Research Tool (SMaaRT) for Risky Behavior Analytics: Methodological Review.

Background: Modifiable risky health behaviors, such as tobacco use, excessive alcohol use, being overweight, lack of physical activity, and unhealthy eating habits, are some of the major factors for developing chronic health conditions. Social media platforms have become indispensable means of communication in the digital era. They provide an opportunity for individuals to express themselves, as well as share their health-related concerns with peers and health care providers, with respect to risky behaviors. Such peer interactions can be utilized as valuable data sources to better understand inter-and intrapersonal psychosocial mediators and the mechanisms of social influence that drive behavior change. Objective: The objective of this review is to summarize computational and quantitative techniques facilitating the analysis of data generated through peer interactions pertaining to risky health behaviors on social media platforms. Methods: We performed a systematic review of the literature in September 2020 by searching three databases—PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus—using relevant keywords, such as “social media,” “online health communities,” “machine learning,” “data mining,” etc. The reporting of the studies was directed by the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) guidelines. Two reviewers independently assessed the eligibility of studies based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria. We extracted the required information from the selected studies. Results: The initial search returned a total of 1554 studies, and after careful analysis of titles, abstracts, and full texts, a total of 64 studies were included in this review. We extracted the following key characteristics from all of the studies: social media platform used for conducting the study, risky health behavior studied, the number of posts analyzed, study focus, key methodological functions and tools used for data analysis, evaluation metrics used, and summary of the key findings. The most commonly used social media platform was Twitter, followed by Facebook, QuitNet, and Reddit. The most commonly studied risky health behavior was nicotine use, followed by drug or substance abuse and alcohol use. Various supervised and unsupervised machine learning approaches were used for analyzing textual data generated from online peer interactions. Few studies utilized deep learning methods for analyzing textual data as well as image or video data. Social network analysis was also performed, as reported in some studies. Conclusions: Our review consolidates the methodological underpinnings for analyzing risky health behaviors and has enhanced our understanding of how social media can be leveraged for nuanced behavioral modeling and representation. The knowledge gained from our review can serve as a foundational component for the development of persuasive health communication and effective behavior modification technologies aimed at the individual and population levels.
An Adaptive Utilization of Convolutional Matrix Methods of Neuron Cell Segmentation with an Application Interface to Aid the Understanding of How Memory Recall Works

Current methods of image analysis and segmentation on hippocampal neuron bodies contain excess and unwanted information like unnecessary noise. In order to clearly analyze each neural stain like DAPI, Cy5, TRITC, FITC and start the segmentation process, it is pertinent to preemptively denoise the data and create masked regions that accurately capture the ROI in these hippocampal regions. Unlike traditional edge detection algorithms like the Canny methods available in OpenCv libraries, we employed a more targeted approach based on pixel color intensities. Using the R, G, and B value thresholds, our algorithm checks if a cell is a boundary point by doing neighboring pixel level comparisons. Combined with a seamless GUI interface for cropping the highlighted ROI, the algorithms efficiently work at creating general outlines of neuron bodies. With user modularity from the various thresholding values, the outlining and denoising presents clean data ready for analysis with object detection algorithms like FRCNN and YOLOv3.
Learning Through Co-teaching as Critical Friends

The authors reflect on their experiences of co-teaching mathematics courses for teachers and how their ability to be successful connects to a critical friendship that developed over time. They also discuss how critical friendship and co-teaching supports their development as teacher educators.
Type 1 Diabetes incidence among youth in Utah: A geographical analysis.

Abstract Type 1 Diabetes (T1D) poses an increasing threat to public health, as incidence rates continue to rise globally. However, the etiology of T1D is still poorly understood, especially from the perspective of geography. The objective of this research is to examine the incidence of T1D among youth and to identify high-risk clusters and their association with socio-demographic and geographic variables. The study area was the entire state of Utah and included youth with T1D from birth to 19 years of age from 1998 to 2015 (n = 4161). Spatial clustering was measured both globally and locally using the Moran's I statistic and spatial scan statistic. Ordinary least squares (OLS) regression was used to measure the association of high-risk clusters with certain risk factors at the Census Block Group (CBG) level. The mean age at diagnosis was 9.3 years old. The mean incidence rate was 25.67 per 100,000 person-years (95% CI, 24.57–26.75). The incidence rate increased by 14%, from 23.94 per100,000 person-years in 1998 to 27.98 per 100,000 person-years in 2015, with an annual increase of 0.80%. The results of the spatial scan statistic found 42 high-risk clusters throughout the state. OLS regression analysis found a significant association with median household income, population density, and latitude. This study provides evidence that incidence rates of T1D are increasing annually in the state of Utah and that significant geographic high-risk clusters are associated with socio-demographic and geographic factors.
Local warming is real: A meta-analysis of the effect of recent temperature on climate change beliefs

Climate change is a complex phenomenon that the public learns about both abstractly through media and education, and concretely through personal experiences. While public beliefs about global warming may be controversial in some circles, an emerging body of research on the ‘local warming’ effect suggests that people’s judgments of climate change or global warming are impacted by recent, local temperatures. A meta-analysis including 31 observations across 82 952 participants derived from 17 papers published since 2006 found a small but significant effect overall: a 1°C increase in temperature increases worry about climate change by 1.2%. Moderation analysis found larger effects for temperatures over longer time frames and smaller effects for behaviors versus beliefs. We also review conceptually related effects due to other extreme weather events, as well as effects on behaviors related to climate change beliefs.
Frenemies: Overcoming Audiences’ Ideological Opposition to Firm–Activist Collaborations:

Collaborations between organizations from different sectors, such as those between firms and nonprofits or governments, can offer effective solutions to complex societal problems like climate chang...
Zusammenfassung und Entwicklung der Fragestellung

Seit mehreren Jahrzehnten setzen sich Forscher verschiedener Disziplinen intensiv mit dem Phanomen der Sexualdelinquenz und deren Tatern auseinander. Es liegen zahlreiche Befunde aus dem nationalen und internationalen Raum vor, die sich zumeist nur Teilaspekten dieser Thematik widmen. Bereits in den Anfangen der verhaltensorientierten Sexualstraftaterforschung ist es gelungen, Verhaltensweisen zu identifizieren und zu gruppieren, die wahrend einer Tat gemeinsam auftreten und somit auch das Tatgeschehen charakterisieren. Ebenso konnten Eigenschaftsmuster ermittelt werden, die vor allem fur einzelne Deliktgruppen charakteristisch sind. Sowohl innerhalb der personlichkeitsorientierten Taterforschung als auch innerhalb des Bereichs der verhaltensorientierten Forschung treten immer wieder vergleichbare Befunde und Zusammenhange zu Tage.
Thermal Behavior of Spectral Line Positions and Widths of Nd3+ in GSGG

The thermal effects on luminescence line positions and widths of Nd3+ in Gd3Sc2Ga3O12:Cr3+, Nd3+ were studied from 78 to 600 K. The temperature dependence of linewidths and lineshifts is explained in terms of an ion-phonon interaction as a perturbation using a Debye phonon distribution. The Debye temperature is treated as an adjustable parameter to get the best fit to the experimental data. The linewidths are related to Raman phonon scattering, direct phonon processes, and random microscopic strains of the crystal. The lineshifts are due to the stationary effect of the ion-phonon interaction.
Matrix and vector multiplications using a 2/sup 1///sub 2/-dimensional systolic array

A pseudo-three-dimensional network, called a 2½-dimensional systolic array, to compute matrix-vector and matrix-matrix multiplications is introduced. The new architecture achieves twice the throughput rate as that of the conventional systolic arrays with the same number of processing elements. This new approach provides a practical means for the implemention using current integration technology.
Homer between History and Fiction in Imperial Greek Literature

1. Introduction. Imperial Homer, history, and fiction 2. Homer, poet and historian. Herodotus and Thucydides 3. Homer, the ideal geographer. Strabo's Geography 4. Homer the liar. Dio Chrysostom's Trojan Oration 5. Homer on the island. Lucian's True Stories 6. Ghosts at Troy. Philostratus' Heroicus 7. Epilogue.
Evaluation of the low power operation of ferroelectric emission cathodes for electric propulsion

Summary form only given, as follows. Expellantless neutralizers can improve the propellant utilization of very low-power colloid thrusters, field emission electric propulsion (FEEP) devices, ion engines, Hall thrusters, and gridded vacuum arc thrusters. In addition, spacecraft plasma contactors and electrodynamic tether systems could reap expellant mass reduction benefits from electron emitters that require very low gas flow rates or no gas flow to perform their functions. Ferroelectric emission (FEE) cathodes operating at minimized power are currently being studied as zero expellant flow rate cathode sources. Typical cathode operation requires 0.4 to 1 kV to be rapidly pulsed across a ferroelectric ceramic, triggering electron emission through a gridded electrode on the ceramic surface. Ceramics with painted-on Ag electrodes have produced peak current densities of 10s of mA/cm/sup 2/ with pulse voltages near current emission threshold (approximately 400 to 600 V). Additionally, thin film electrode grids have been deposited on two PZT ceramics with relative dielectric constants of 1000 and 4100. The thin film grids are composed of molybdenum and are 10 and 100 nm thick, 1 mm wide, and separated into strips by 1 mm. A parametric study of these FEE cathodes examines the effects of ferroelectric dielectric constant, grid thickness, and pulse geometry for low power operation. Additionally, cathode surface modification due to operation is studied.
Medical Systems and Practices

Globalization presents unique challenges for fully understanding the myriad medical systems and practices in operation today. Medical ethnography continues to play an important role, descriptively and theoretically, in fully articulating the range of modern and alternative systems, practices, and treatments available to patients. Unique methodologies are necessary in order to capture the increasingly hybrid manifestation of medical systems/practices and the ways in which global health care infrastructures are being impacted by neoliberal reforms as well as powerful market forces. The ethnographic study of pharmaceuticals presents a paradigmatic example and methodology of how to critically examine systems/practices in the current global context. Keywords: alternative medicine; folk practices; globalization; health care; medical anthropology
Drug information for patients. Duties of the manufacturer, pharmacist, physician, and hospital.

(1986). Drug information for patients: Duties of the manufacturer, pharmacist, physician, and hospital. Journal of Legal Medicine: Vol. 7, No. 3, pp. 279-340.
A Theory for Imperfect Bifurcation via Singularity Theory.

Abstract : This paper applies the theory of singularities of differentiable mappings - specifically the unfolding theorem - to study the effect of imperfections in a system subject to bifurcation. In a number of special cases we have classified (up to a suitable equivalence) all the possible perturbations of the bifurcation equations by a finite number of imperfection parameters. These cases include both bifurcation from a double eigenvalue and from a simple eigenvalue degenerate in the sense of Crandall-Rabinowitz.
A mechanism for bursty radio emission in planetary magnetospheres

Bursty radio emissions are often observed from the polar magnetospheres of the earth, Jupiter, Saturn, and Uranus in addition to the smooth radio emissions commonly detected. It is shown that in plasma regimes in which the electron plasma frequency is less than the electron cyclotron frequency, anisotropic electron beams or gyrating electron beams can excite directly broadband electromagnetic radiation. The largest growth is for right-hand X-mode radiation with frequencies above the electron cyclotron frequency. This instability can produce bursty, broadband emission, consistent with some of the properties of the radiation observed from the magnetized planets.
Linkage analysis with an interbreed backcross maps Dalmatian hyperuricosuria to CFA03

Dalmatians, like humans, excrete uric acid in their urine. All other dogs and most mammals excrete allantoin, a water-soluble compound that is further along the purine degradation pathway. Excretion of uric acid at high concentrations (hyperuricosuria) predisposes Dalmatians to the formation of urinary urate calculi. Hyperuricosuria (huu) is found in all Dalmatians tested and is inherited as an autosomal recessive trait. A genome scan and linkage analysis performed on a Dalmatian x Pointer interbreed backcross detected a single linked marker, REN153P03, located on CFA03. Haplotype analysis of the region around this marker defined a 3.3-Mb interval flanked by single recombination events. This interval, which contains the huu mutation, is estimated to include 24 genes.
What Does the EU Crisis Mean for the U.S. Economy

The Europe economy is on the edge of a recession unlike anything since World War II. Many economies in the Euro zone have already been confronted with the sovereign debt crisis, and there is little hope for a recovery in 2012. The EU crisis has important policy implications for the rest of the world, particularly for the United States, which is its main trade and investment partner. This paper emphasizes on trade, investment, stock, and monetary transmission channels of contagion from Europe to the United States and estimates the effects of the EU crisis on U.S. exports, the inflow of foreign direct investment (FDI), the stock market, the U.S. banks’ claims on the European banks, and the U.S. foreign-owned assets in the EU. The results of this study indicate that the U.S. economy will be severely affected by the EU crisis.
Baseline Body Mass Index Does Not Significantly Affect Outcomes After Pulmonary Thromboendarterectomy

Background Obesity is a common comorbidity of patients with chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension referred for pulmonary thromboendarterectomy, yet the effect of obesity on pulmonary thromboendarterectomy outcomes has not been well described. Methods We conducted a retrospective cohort study in which 476 consecutive operations over a 3.5-year period were examined to determine the effects of obesity on outcomes. Patients were grouped into four categories based on body mass index (BMI): less than 22 kg/m 2 , 22 to 30 kg/m 2 , 30 to 40 kg/m 2 , and more than 40 kg/m 2 . Results There were important differences in baseline pulmonary hemodynamics, with obese patients having significantly lower pulmonary vascular resistances than nonobese patients. All patients achieved a significant reduction in pulmonary vascular resistance, although the improvement was greatest in the lower BMI groups. The overall in-hospital mortality was 0.8%, and there were no differences in risk among BMI groups. Among the BMI groups, there were no differences in incidence of postoperative complications, including atrial fibrillation (overall 24.8%), reperfusion lung injury (overall 23.1%), and surgical site infection (overall 4.4%) or in median lengths of stay (including ventilator days, intensive care unit days, and postoperative length of stay). Conclusions Pulmonary thromboendarterectomy outcomes have continued to improve, and this surgery can safely be completed in obese patients, previously deemed to be at high risk for poor outcomes.
Soil profiles as indicators of mineral weathering rates and organic interactions for a Pennsylvania diabase

Abstract Basaltic bedrock dissolves quickly, and its weathering rate is therefore important towards controlling the composition of natural waters, soil formation, and CO 2 concentrations in the atmosphere. Despite its importance, however, few reports of basalt or diabase and gabbro weathering rates exist in the literature, and most have been measured in laboratory dissolution experiments or based on watershed studies. Here, using elemental profiles measured through regolith on a Jurassic diabase dike in south-central Pennsylvania, we calculate time-integrated log dissolution rates (mol m − 2 s − 1 ) of the primary minerals plagioclase (− 14.9 s − 1 ) and augite (− 14.8), and of smectite (− 17.6), a secondary clay mineral formed in the soil. Characteristic patterns in elemental profiles are consistent with preserved signatures of corestone formation. Elemental and mineral signatures of the soils relative to the parent rock are compared to predictions from citrate-containing basalt column dissolution experiments. Depletion of apatite and of Al, Fe, Mn, Ti, P, Y, Ni, Cr, Sc, V, Ga, Cu, Zn, and La are observed in the upper meter of the profile relative to the parent rock.
Some simplified undecidable and NP-hard problems for simple programs

The complexity of the equivalence problem for several classes of simple programs with a fixed number of program variables is investigated. The classes are shown to have undecidable, NP-hard, or polynomial-time decidable equivalence problems.
ACTH induces up-regulation of ACTH receptor mRNA in mouse and human adrenocortical cell lines

Corticotropin (ACTH) binds to specific receptors in the adrenal cortex and thereby regulates glucocorticoid and mineralocorticoid production. The number of ACTH binding sites on adrenocortical cells is increased by exposure of cells to activators of the cAMP pathway. The mechanism responsible for the increase in ACTH binding sites is not known. We therefore studied the levels of ACTH-R mRNA in mouse Y-1 and human NCI-H295 (H295) adrenocortical carcinoma cell lines. ACTH induced an increase in mouse ACTH-R mRNA in Y-1 cells that was time and dose dependent, increasing 6-fold over basal levels following exposure to 10(-8) M ACTH for 19-24 h. The amount of human ACTH-R mRNA in H295 cells increased 2-4-fold following a 24 h exposure to 10(-8) M ACTH, 1 mM dbcAMP, or 10(-5) M Forskolin. Treatment of H295 cells with angiotensin II (A-II) was found to dramatically increase the level of ACTH-R mRNA. These data indicate that regulation of ACTH-R mRNA levels is at least one mechanism by which ACTH and A-II elevate the number of ACTH binding sites in the adrenocortical cells.
Clinical and Circulatory Effects of Isosorbide Dinitrate Comparison with Nitroglycerin

In order to resolve current controversies on isosorbide dinitrate (ISDN), we employed a particularly sensitive testing protocol to evaluate effects of sublingual ISDN and nitroglycerin on the exercise capacity of patients with angina. Ten minutes after ISDN 21 of 23 patients exercised longer (average 2.7 minutes, P < 0.001) than after placebo. Benefit was evident in only a minority of patients tested one hour and in none tested two hours after either ISDN or nitroglycerin. A given amount of exercise resulted in lower mean blood pressure (average 13 mm Hg, P < 0.001), higher heart rate (average 10 beats/min, P < 0.001), and shorter ejection time (average 0.04 second, P < 0.001) after ISDN. Similar changes were seen after nitroglycerin. The product of blood pressure, heart rate, and ejection time, an index of myocardial O2 consumption, was unchanged at angina after ISDN or nitroglycerin despite the increased exercise capacity, suggesting that clinical improvement after these drugs may be due to circulatory ...
Lifestyle as rhetorical transaction: A case study of the vegetarian movement in the United States

In rhetorical studies of social movement the focus has consistently been on collective actions working from outside the establishment to achieve change. The individual's role in social movement has, as a result, been excluded. This essay argues that rhetorical critics should consider individual lifestyle as a dimension of social movements through study of the Vegetarian Movement in the United States. This study examines the power of lifestyle as a force in change through examining the values of the Vegetarian Movement, how those values are represented in individual lifestyle, and how that lifestyle influences others.
Quantitative brain surface mapping of an electrophysiologic/metabolic mismatch in human neocortical epilepsy

Summary The spatial relationship between an intracranial EEG-defined epileptic focus and cortical hypometabolism on glucose PET has not been precisely described. In order to quantitatively evaluate the hypothesis that ictal seizure onset and/or rapid seizure propagation, detected by subdural EEG monitoring, commonly involves normometabolic cortex adjacent to hypometabolic cortical regions, we applied a novel, landmark-constrained conformal mapping approach in 14 children with refractory neocortical epilepsy. The 3D brain surface was parcellated into finite cortical elements (FCEs), and hypometabolism was defined using lobe- and side-specific asymmetry indices derived from normal adult controls. The severity and location of hypometabolic areas vs. ictal intracranial EEG abnormalities were compared on the 3D brain surface. Hypometabolism was more severe in the seizure onset zone than in cortical areas covered by non-onset electrodes. However, similar proportions of the onset electrodes were located over and adjacent to (within 2cm) hypometabolic regions (46% vs. 41%, respectively), whereas rapid seizure spread electrodes preferred these "adjacent areas" rather than the hypometabolic area itself (51% vs. 22%). On average, 58% of the hypometabolic regions had no early seizure involvement. These findings strongly support that the seizure onset zone often extends from hypometabolic to adjacent normometabolic cortex, while large portions of hypometabolic cortex are not involved in seizure onset or early propagation. The clinical utility of FDG PET in guiding subdural electrode placement in neocortical epilepsy could be greatly enhanced by extending grid coverage to at least 2cm beyond hypometabolic cortex, when feasible.
Looking down is looking up.

How do we perceive distance using only one eye? A neat variation on existing methods of measuring visually perceived distance highlights the importance of 'angular declination', a cue long thought to be involved.
Dyadic military conflict, security alliances, and bilateral FDI flows

Although multinationals operate under cross-border jurisdictions, the relevance of interstate security relations to international business has received little attention. Despite the impressive accumulation of knowledge in international business and international relations, the two intellectual communities have largely ignored the insights from each other. In this article, we seek to bridge this gap. We argue that interstate military conflict and security alliances, as two central features of interstate security relations, often change both government policies toward international business and investor expectations of political risk. From the perspectives of both states and investors, military conflict should reduce bilateral investment whereas security alliances increase it. Our empirical analysis applies the system GMM estimator to a gravity model of bilateral investment flows for 1117 directed dyads among 58 countries from 1980 to 2000. Among 18 countries whose per capita real incomes remain consistently above 12,000 constant dollars, the security factors do not affect bilateral investment; in the high-income/low-income dyads, interstate military conflict and security alliances significantly influence bilateral investment as expected. The findings depict two separate realms in which international politics does and does not interfere with international business, helping us improve political risk assessments and understand the interactions between states and firms.
Integration of Jacobson's Pellicle Method into Proteomic Strategies for Plasma Membrane Proteins

A modified form of the cationic colloidal silica technique for plasma membrane isolation has been combined with SDS-PAGE, mass spectrometry, and bioinformatics for evaluation as a proteomics strategy with human multiple myeloma cells and human breast cancer cells. On the basis of Western blots, half of the protein isolated is estimated to come from the plasma membrane. Forty-three percent of the 366 proteins identified by mass spectrometry had been previously classified as plasma membrane proteins. Thirty proteins previously catorgized as hypothetical membrane proteins are now reported to be expressed. Keywords: plasma membrane • plasma membrane proteins • cationic silica • MCF-7 cells • myeloma cells • 1D gel electrophoresis • LC−MS−MS basolateral membrane
The thermal racemization of methyl-substituted hexahelicenes

Abstract Rates of racemization of several Me-substituted hexahelicenes have been measured. It appeared that Me groups at the positions 3, 4, 13 and 14 have no influence; at the positions 2 and 15 the effect is small; Me-substitution at C(1) and C(16) leads, however, to a large increase of the free energy of activation. From an analysis of the data the suggestion is made that the conformation of highest energy during racemisation of 1-methyl- and 1,16-dimethylhexahelicene (and possibly also of hepta and octahelicene) is that with the terminal rings in orthogonal position.
Crustal velocity structure of the northern Yukon-Tanana upland, central Alaska: Results from TACT refraction/wide-angle reflection data

The Fairbanks North seismic refraction/ wide-angle reflection profile, collected by the U.S. Geological Survey Trans-Alaska Crustal Transect (TACT) project in 1987, crosses the complex region between the Yukon-Tanana and Ruby terranes in interior Alaska. This region is occupied by numerous small terranes elongated in a northeast-southwest direction. These seismic data reveal a crustal velocity structure that is divided into three upper-crustal and at least two middle- to lower-crustal domains. The upper-crustal domains are delineated by two steeply dipping low-velocity anomalies that are interpreted as signatures of the Victoria Creek fault, and the Beaver Creek fault or a fault buried by the Beaver Creek fault. This tripartite upper crust extends to 8-10 km depth where a subhorizontal interface undercuts the northern and central domains. Beneath the northern domain, this interface is interpreted as the southeastwardly dipping boundary between the Tozina and Ruby terranes. The continuation of this interface beneath the central domain suggests that it may represent the detachment or basal thrust for thin-skinned tectonic amalgamation of the terranes caught between the Yukon-Tanana and Ruby terranes. The lower crust and Moho reflection exhibit differences from north to south that define at least two lower-crustal domains, interpreted as the Yukon-Tanana and Ruby terranes. Finally, the crustal thickness along the profile is nearly uniform and ranges from 31 to 34 km. Our data suggest that after initial thin-skinned amalgamation of the various terranes, this region experienced thick-skinned tectonic reorganization via strike-slip faulting. This interpretation supports a model in which at least one strand of the Tintina fault exists in this important region of Alaska.
Characterization of murine Girk2 transcript isoforms : Structure and differential expression

Abstract A mutation in the G-protein-linked inwardly rectifying K + channel 2 gene ( Girk2 ) is the cause of the weaver mouse phenotype. We determined that the originally published Girk2 transcript is composed of five exons. The primary coding exon (designated exon 4a in our system) encodes over two-thirds of the protein. Five different full-length Girk2 transcript isoforms (designated Girk2-1, Girk2A-1, Girk2A-2, Girk2B, and Girk2C) originating from different transcriptional start sites and/or alternative splicing were isolated by cDNA RACE. Several of the transcripts were predicted to encode truncated proteins that may lack some of the G-proteincoupling sequence. Northern blotting and in situ hybridization studies with transcript-specific probes indicated that the transcripts were differentially expressed in both normal and weaver mice. All transcripts tested were expressed in the three major targets of action of the weaver mutation: cerebellum, substantia nigra, and testis. Two of the transcripts, Girk2A-1 and Girk2A-2, encode identical proteins and have a distinct pattern of expression in testis, which suggests that they are associated with specific stages of spermatogenesis. An additional transcript, Girk2D, appears to be brain-specific, not polyadenylated, and highly expressed in cerebellar granule cells.
Resources for teaching computer networks

Teaching a computer networks course can be a challenge both in terms of deciding on the focus of the course and providing appropriate practical experiences to complement the theoretical issues. However, because the course overlaps other areas of the computer science curriculum, it is an opportunity to apply some of the concepts from other areas and to expose students to the research in the field. This paper describes a computer networks course to accomplish this along with a collection of resources.
Case‐control association testing in the presence of unknown relationships

Genome-wide association studies result in inflated false-positive results when unrecognized cryptic relatedness exists. A number of methods have been proposed for testing association between markers and disease with a correction for known pedigree-based relationships. However, in most case-control studies, relationships are generally unknown, yet the design is predicated on the assumption of at least ancestral relatedness among cases. Here, we focus on adjusting cryptic relatedness when the genealogy of the sample is unknown, particularly in the context of samples from isolated populations where cryptic relatedness may be problematic. We estimate cryptic relatedness using maximum-likelihood methods and use a corrected chi(2) test with estimated kinship coefficients for testing in the context of unknown cryptic relatedness. Estimated kinship coefficients characterize precisely the relatedness between truly related people, but are biased for unrelated pairs. The proposed test substantially reduces spurious positive results, producing a uniform null distribution of P-values. Especially with missing pedigree information, estimated kinship coefficients can still be used to correct non-independence among individuals. The corrected test was applied to real data sets from genetic isolates and created a distribution of P-value that was close to uniform. Thus, the proposed test corrects the non-uniform distribution of P-values obtained with the uncorrected test and illustrates the advantage of the approach on real data.
Regulation of Entry and the Variety of Manufactured Exports from Developing Countries

This paper analyzes the effect of regulation of firm entry on the variety of manufactured goods exported by developing countries. Using panel regressions, I find robust evidence that an increase in entry regulation significantly reduces the variety of manufactured goods that developing countries export. Given the evidence which clearly shows that export variety of manufactured goods positively affects productivity, the results imply that reducing regulatory barriers to entry can raise productivity, and this is especially important in low income countries where exports are heavily concentrated in primary products and the cost of entry regulation is quite high.
Hypnosis, Hypnotizability, and Placebo

Dr. Raz's speculations about the relation between placebo responsivity and hypnotizability are critically examined. While there is no generally accepted theoretical definition of hypnosis, there is a general consensus that hypnotizability can be reliably measured. In contrast, there seems to be a general consensus about a theoretical definition of placebo (including placebo effect, placebo response, and nocebo). There is no widely accepted measure of individual differences in placebo responsivity. Various methodological considerations about how to examine the relation between placebo responsivity and hypnotizability are identified. Studies are identified which indicate that response to treatments which utilize adjunctive hypnosis are superior to placebo treatments. The only study which examined whether placebo responsivity was correlated with hypnotizability seems to indicate that they are only slightly related at best. The possibility that there may be such thing as a "good placebo responder (GPR)" is questioned, while the known clinical value of hypnotizability assessment is reaffirmed. Future directions for empirical research on the relation between placebo responsivity and hypnotizability are identified.
Hepatocyte-specific ablation of Foxa2 alters bile acid homeostasis and results in endoplasmic reticulum stress

The transcription factor Foxa2, which is key for the hepatic control of glucose metabolism, is now shown in this report to also be crucial for proper bile acid homestasis in the liver, as well as to be misregulated in human cholestatic diseases.
Concept search in Urdu

This paper describes a thesis proposal to do concept search in non English and non European languages. Urdu is chosen as an example language because of its unique nature, morphology and a large number of speakers. Besides its importance, Urdu does not have adequate language resources to do intellectual research in Information Retrieval (IR). It is shown that methods used for English language for concept searching are inadequate for Urdu. Some novel approaches for concept searching are also presented. Pre-processing IR tasks such as stop word identification and stemming require complex research for a morphological rich language like Urdu. Named-entity identification is hypothesized to be useful in determining the concept being sought by the user and research plan includes an implementation of named-entity identification for Urdu. An Urdu language toolkit will be made available to the IR community for Urdu language processing. Finally, a TREC like evaluation criteria is presented with relevance judgments, test collection and queries for Urdu IR.
Pulsed hollow cathode light sources

Abstract Spectroscopic measurements of the light emitted by pulsed hollow cathode lamps have been made as a function of cathode material and geometry, buffer gas and buffer gas pressure, and the size and shape of the exciting current pulse. From these observations the following generalizations can be made. The source exhibits the same general properties with any metal cathode material and with any geometry. Excitation increases with increasing peak current between 30 and 1500 A and is essentially independent of the shape of the current pulse as long as the pulse is not oscillatory. It increases with increasing buffer gas pressure over the range of stable operation of the source between 5 and 50 torr. Buffer gases with high ionization potentials increase ionization while molecular gases depress it. Time-resolved measurements show that the excitation temperature in the afterglow decreases almost linearly with time. Electron density is independent of pressure but increases linearly with increasing peak current. Electron density also decreases linearly with time in the afterglow. Finally, lines from higher ionization stages appear earliest in the light source output. The dependence of excitation and ionization on pressure, buffer gas, peak current and time can be used to roughly sort lines by their upper energy level in the analysis of complex atomic spectra.
Aequorin luminescence during activation of single isolated smooth muscle cells

INCREASED cytoplasmic Ca2+ supposedly couples excitation to contraction in smooth muscle. But there have been no direct measurements of such an increase and there is little information about the kinetics of changes in intracellular Ca2+ during individual contractions of smooth muscle. Thus the basic aspects of excitation–contraction (EC) coupling in smooth muscle are not known with the same degree of certainty that exists for striated muscle1. For example, there is a long delay between stimulation and contraction in smooth muscle; this delay might result from a slow onset of Ca2+ release after a change in surface membrane potential or from the slowness of some other process2. If it were possible to correlate measurements of transmembrane potential, intracellular Ca2+ and contraction in the same single cell the mechanism of EC coupling in smooth muscle might be better understood. Some progress in this direction has been made by the development of methods for enzymatic isolation of smooth muscle cells and measuring electrical activity and force production or shortening in these single cells2–6. We report here a further approach to the problem by (1) microinjecting the Ca2+ indicator aequorin into smooth muscle and (2) directly measuring changes in intracellular Ca2+ during EC coupling in single isolated smooth muscle cells. Cytoplasmic Ca2+ evidently began to rise without detectable delay following a single electrical stimulus applied to a cell injected with aequorin and reached a peak well before contraction presumably began. The long delay, therefore, between stimulation and contraction seems inherent in the mechanism by which the contractile proteins of smooth muscle are activated.