cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Anxiety sensitivity and opioid misuse and dependence among trauma-exposed adults with chronic pain.

It is unclear if anxiety sensitivity may serve as mechanism underlying the relation between posttraumatic stress symptom severity and opioid misuse and dependence among trauma-exposed persons with chronic pain. Therefore, the current study evaluated the explanatory role of anxiety sensitivity in the relations between posttraumatic stress symptom severity and opioid misuse and dependence. Participants included 294 trauma-exposed adults with chronic pain (71.4% female, Mage = 37.79 years, SD = 10.85, Mpain rating = 7.32/10) that reported current moderate to severe chronic pain and prescription opioid use. Participants were recruited via an online national survey in the United States of America. There were statistically significant indirect effects of posttraumatic stress symptom severity via anxiety sensitivity in relation to opioid misuse and dependence. The indirect effects of the reverse models for opioid misuse and dependence also were significant and suggest the potential for bi-directional relations; however, the magnitude of the effect was smaller in the tests of specificity than in the original models. The present findings provide initial empirical evidence that greater posttraumatic stress symptom severity is related to anxiety sensitivity, which in turn, is associated with increased opioid misuse and dependence among trauma-exposed individuals with chronic pain.
Spontaneous fission properties of Lr 103 259

We have measured the mass and kinetic-energy distributions of fragments from the spontaneous fission of $^{259}\mathrm{Lr}$. The $^{259}\mathrm{Lr}$ was produced via the $^{248}\mathrm{Cm}$ ${(}^{15}$N,4n) reaction with a production cross section of 100 nb using 81-MeV projectiles. The kinetic energies and times of the alpha particles and coincident fission fragments were measured using our rotating wheel system. From these data the half-life, mass, and kinetic-energy distributions were derived. The total kinetic-energy (TKE) distribution appears to consist of a single component with a most probable pre-neutron-emission TKE of 215\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}3 MeV. The mass distribution is predominantly symmetric with a full width at half maximum of about 20 mass numbers. These results are consistent with trends observed for other trans-berkelium spontaneously fissioning isotopes. We determined the half-life to be 6.14\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.36 s by measuring its alpha decay and the observed spontaneous fission half-life was consistent with that value. An energy of 8.439\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.010 MeV was measured for the main alpha transition of $^{259}\mathrm{Lr}$. We measured a spontaneous fission to alpha-decay ratio of 0.25\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.03 which results in a partial half-life for spontaneous fission of 31\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}4 s, if there are no other appreciable modes of decay.
Peripheral Artery Disease, Carotid Artery Disease, and Renal Artery Disease

Peripheral vascular diseases are usually asymptomatic at the early stage and have been under-recognized and treated. However, without appropriate therapies, peripheral vascular disease will lead to severe clinical consequences, such as critical limb ischemia, limb amputation, ischemia stroke, refractory hypertension, and renal failure. This chapter covers the most common peripheral vascular diseases including peripheral artery disease, carotid artery disease, and renal artery disease. We focus on the etiology, clinical manifestations, key diagnostic tests, and differential diagnosis, as well as the managements. We include current evidence-based guidelines from the American Heart Association/American College of Cardiology and the latest clinical trials for peripheral vascular diseases.
Emerging technologies: implications for the Nepalese tourism industry

This paper intends to present the potential technologies for sustainable tourism development and promotion of Nepal. Based on secondary literature, various emerging technologies that help to reduce manual works, maximize productivity and ensure the physical security of entities have been explored in the paper. Similarly, some challenges of technological interventions and needful steps to overcome the obstacles are also illustrated. Moreover, this paper also addresses the impacts of the prevailing COVID- 19 crisis on tourism in Nepal and puts forward the needful suggestions to mitigate the crisis. It is hoped that this paper can be a reference to scholars, tourism stakeholders, and policymakers as it delivers plentiful information on the potentialities and feasibilities of ICT implementation in Nepal.
Почему не может быть процветающего общества без уважаемого права наследования Why Your Country Can't Flourish Without Protected and Revered Right of Inheritance

Russian Abstract: В данной записке мы собрали аргументы в пользу необходимости защиты и укрепления института наследования, как естественной связки семьи и частной собственности. То есть институтов лежащих в основе цивилизованного общества. Тоталитаристы атаковали и продолжают атаковать этот институт, как будто бы "несправедливый" в соответствии с линией намеченной задолго до Манифеста коммунистической партии, чьи авторы продуманно поместили семью и частную собственность в прорезь своего прицела. Поскольку защита этого института в литературе представлена недостаточно, мы попробовали в меру своих сил постараться закрыть пробел. English Abstract: Here we present our case for Inheritance institution. Inheritance institution is a natural bridge between private property and family (marriage) institutions, fundamental for free and civilized Society. Totalitarians traditionally attack Inheritance as if "unjust" even before the Communist Party Manifesto (the authors of thereof deliberately targeted both "bourgeois" family and the Private Property). As we guess, the Defense of Inheritance Institution in the literature is still insufficient, incomplete and inconsecutive, so we attempted, to the best of our ability, to close the gap.
Colony fitness increases in the honey bee at queen mating frequencies higher than genetic diversity asymptote

Across the eusocial Hymenoptera, a queen’s mating frequency is positively associated with her workers’ genetic diversity and colony’s fitness. Over 90% of a colony’s diversity potential is achieved by its mother’s tenth effective mating (me); however, many females mate at levels of me > 10, a zone we here call hyperpolyandry. We compared honey bee colony fitness at mating levels near and above this genetic diversity asymptote. We were interested in how hyperpolyandry affects colony phenotypes arising from both common tasks (brood care) and rare specialized tasks (parasite resistance). We used an unselected wild line of bees and a Varroa Sensitive Hygiene (VSH) line selected to resist the parasite Varroa destructor. Virgin queens were instrumentally inseminated to replicate the following queen/colony conditions: (1) VSH semen/low polyandry (observed mating number = mo = 9), (2) VSH semen/high polyandry (mo = 54), (3) wild type semen/low polyandry, or (4) wild semen/high polyandry. There was a positive effect of polyandry on brood survival, an outcome of common tasks, with highest values at mo = 54. There was an interaction between polyandry and genetics such that differences between genetic lines expressed only at mo = 54, with fewer mites in VSH colonies. These results are consistent with two hypotheses for the evolution of mating levels in excess of the genetic diversity asymptote: hyperpolyandry improves colony fitness by (1) optimizing genotype compositions for common tasks and (2) by capturing rare specialist allele combinations, resisting cliff-edge ecological catastrophes. Polyandry is a female’s practice of mating with several males, storing their sperm, and using it to produce one or more clutches of genetically diverse offspring. In the social Hymenoptera, polyandry increases the genetic diversity and task efficiency of workers, leading to improved colony fitness. Over 90% of the increase in a colony’s diversity potential is achieved by its mother’s tenth mating; however, many females practice hyperpolyandry, a term we reserve here for mating levels above this genetic diversity asymptote. We show that a token of colony fitness arising from common tasks, brood survival, improves universally as one moves from sub- to hyperpolyandrous mating levels. However, a colony phenotype arising from a rare parasite resistance task is only expressed in the presence of the controlling alleles and under conditions of hyperpolyandry. These results suggest adaptive mechanisms by which hyperpolyandry could evolve.
The 2-(aldo-polyhydroxyalkyl) benzimidazoles.

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses 2-( aldo -polyhydroxyalkyl)benzimidazoles and substances of this type containing hydroxylated side chains of one to seven carbon atoms in length. Typical is the benzimidazole from D -glucose through D -gluconic acid. The side chain is attached at position 2 of the benzimidazole nucleus while the numbering of substituents in the side chain proceeds in the customary manner for sugars and their derivatives—that is, from top to bottom in the accompanying example. The configuration of the side chain is designated by a prefix referring to the sugar from which it was derived—for example, D -gluco-benzimidazole. However, the more systematic name would be 2-( D -gluco-pentahydroxypentyl)-benzimidazole, the italicized portion indicating that the configurations of the asymmetric carbon atoms are the same as in D -glucose. The benzimidazole from the corresponding 6-desoxy sugar would be named 6-desoxy- D -gluco-benzimidazoloe,r 2-( D -gluco-1,2,3,4-tetrahydroxypentyl)-benzimidazole.
Operations for Rectal Cancer

Measurements of the location of malignancies in the rectum are generally made by placing the patient in the knee- chest position, inserting a proctosigmoido- scope, and reading off the number of centimeters indicated by the markers on the outside of the scope at the point where the perianal skin meets the scope. This measures the distance between the anal verge and the lower border of the tumor where the tip of the proctoscope has been inserted. Remember that when a measurement is cited taking the anal verge as the point of reference, it does not refer to the rectum alone but includes the length of the anal canal in the calculation. The rectal mucosa meet the squamous epithelium of the anal skin at the “dentate line.” This line is 2–3 cm above the anal verge and about 1 cm below the upper border of the sphincter muscles of the anal canal. The length of the anal canal is about 4 cm. All the measurements cited below are made from the reference point of the anal verge.
Fault Diagnosis System for a Multilevel Inverter Using a Principal Component Neural Network

A fault diagnosis system In a multilevel-Inverter using a compact neural network is proposed in this paper. It is difficult to diagnose a multilevel-inverter drive (MLID) system using a mathematical model because MLID systems consist of many switching devices and their system complexity has a nonlinear factor. Therefore, a neural network classification is applied to the fault diagnosis of a MLID system. Multilayer perceptron (MLP) networks are used to identify the type and location of occurring faults from inverter output voltage measurement. The neural network design process is clearly described. The principal component analysis (PCA) is utilized to reduce the neural network input size. A lower dimensional input space will also usually reduce the time necessary to train a neural network, and the reduced noise may improve the mapping performance. The comparison between MLP neural network (NN) and PC neural network (PC-NN) are performed. Both proposed networks are evaluated with simulation test set and experimental test set. The PC-NN has improved overall classification performance from NN by about 5% points. The overall classification performance of the proposed networks is more than 90%. Thus, by utilizing the proposed neural network fault diagnosis system, a better understanding about fault behaviors, diagnostics, and detections of a multilevel inverter drive system can be accomplished. The results of this analysis are identified in percentage tabular form of faults and switch locations.
Why the hand

Surely all neuromuscular systems are complex, and complex enough that our understanding of them (e.g., as described in this book) is universally regarded as challenging. Nevertheless the neuro-musculo-skeletal complexity of the human hand has an aura of being somehow different to that of limbs, and somehow vital to our identity as a species. In fact, the naming of our palenteological lineage emphasizes two biomechanical and one cognitive milestone: homo erectus, homo abilis, and homo sapience, where abilis suggests the manual ability for tool making as a critical evolutionary stage. A reasonable question is, therefore, whether and how the neuromuscular control of the human hand is different from other neuromuscular systems in our body, or other species even. This short Introduction attempts to provide a perspective from which to understand the breadth and depth of today’s lines of inquiry on the neuromuscular control of the hand. As such, it is incomplete and does not do justice to the many investigators currently working in this field, of which the four chapters of this section are only a small sample. Thus my sincerest apologies to those I do not mention in this short overview. As a form of imperfect excuse, I suggest that a reason why it is impossible to do justice to all investigators and lines of inquiry is because the sensorimotor versatility of the hand spans an uncommonly large number of dimensions. Few other neuromuscular systems in our bodies can claim to being important to our biomechanical, manipulative, perceptual, cognitive, psychological, social, linguistic, and artistic everyday activities. The role of the hand in the evolution of the physical and cognitive features of our species is a subject of longstanding interest and intense debate (Brand and Hollister 1999; MacKenzie and Iberall 1994; Napier 1956; Tubiana 1981; Winslow 1732; Zancolli 1979 and references therein). Aristotle gives us a synopsis of this debate as far back as c. 350 B.C.E. by saying ‘‘. . .Now it is the opinion of Anaxagoras that the possession of these hands is the cause of
Epidermal Growth Factor Receptors Control Competence to Interpret Leukemia Inhibitory Factor as an Astrocyte Inducer in Developing Cortex

Cortical progenitors begin to interpret leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF) and bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) as astrocyte-inducing signals during late embryonic cortical development, coincident with an increase in their expression of epidermal growth factor receptors (EGFRs). To determine whether the developmental change in EGFRs regulates the change in responsiveness to LIF and BMP, we analyzed cortical progenitors induced to express EGFRs prematurely and progenitors from late embryonic EGFR-null cortex. Premature elevation of EGFRs conferred premature competence to interpret LIF, but not BMP, as an astrocyte-inducing signal. EGFR-null progenitors from late embryonic cortex did not interpret LIF as an astrocyte-inducing signal but responded to BMP4. LIF responsiveness in EGFR-null cells was rescued by the addition of EGFRs but not by the stimulation of fibroblast growth factor receptors. Astrocyte differentiation induced by LIF depends on signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3). We show that the level of STAT3 increases during late embryonic development in a subset of progenitors. EGFRs regulate this change in STAT3 and increase STAT3 phosphorylation in response to LIF. Increasing STAT3 prematurely with a retrovirus also increased the phosphorylation of STAT3 by LIF. In contrast to the finding with EGFRs, however, increasing STAT3 did not cause LIF to induce astrocytes, although it reduced expression of the neurogenic factor PAX6 (paired box gene 6 ). Our findings show that developmental changes in EGFRs regulate the competence of progenitors to interpret LIF as an astrocyte-inducing signal. EGFRs elevate STAT3 expression and increase its phosphorylation by LIF, but this is not sufficient to change LIF responsiveness to astrocyte induction, suggesting that EGFRs also regulate LIF responsiveness downstream of STAT3.
Avalanche-hazard mapping and zoning problems in the Rocky Mountains, with examples from Colorado, U.S.A

Avalanche-hazard mapping as a basis for land-use decision-making was not undertaken systematically in Colorado until 1974. Passage of Colorado House Bill 1041 required counties to map areas subject to snow avalanche, landslide, debris flow, and mountain flood at 1 : 24 000, and funds were provided. This legislation induced several approaches: work undertaken directly by the Colorado Geological Survey; private contract work; mapping by the Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research (INSTAAR) funded by a NASA research grant. This latter effort produced 37 individual 1 : 24 000 map sheets of Hinsdale, Ouray, San Juan, and San Miguel counties, San Juan Mountains. This emphasized problems of scale and degree of cartographic accuracy. Swiss, Austrian, and French experience, together with the actual Colorado mapping experience, facilitated further definition of problems facing the Rocky Mountains slates, both in terms of resolution of actual mapping problems, and of using such developing experience to influence the decision-making process. Two mapping attempts are described: (i) development of a combined hazard map for a mountain type area, indicating the difficulties of, and need for, combining hazard assessment of avalanche and other physical processes that frequently overlap; (ii) consideration of avalanche-zoning problems in a wilderness area. Finally, scale limitations and the need to define rigorously “hazard” are discussed. Definition of hazard must include consideration of recurrence interval, impact pressures in the run-out zone, and limitations of displaying this type of data on available topographic maps, all in relation to types of impact, i.e. to moving or stationary objects in relatively sparsely populated terrane. Additional critical needs facing Rocky Mountains states are itemized: (i) standardized mapping legends for different scales; (ii) establishment of an avalanche cadastre; (iii) systematic reporting of climax events; (iv) development of an historical archive; (v) public awareness; (vi) attention to legal aspects of the avalanche equivalent of the hundred-year flood, and its legal testing.
A Student-Centered Project for Earth System History

This project is intended to replace some of the lectures that would ordinarily be necessary in a survey of Earth history over geologic time. The students will be taking the lecturer's place in front of the class, presenting some of the material to their colleagues. Students will work in groups on a single era or period. Each student role-plays an expert (such as an oceanographer) and works with teammates playing other sorts of experts (a biologist, a geologist, an atmospheric scientist). Their presentation will require them to do research. They will be constructing resource lists to keep track of how they learned what they are presenting and beginning a critical analysis of resources found on the World Wide Web. They will also write brief individual summaries of the findings within their area of expertise. While the students are researching and preparing their presentations, the instructor will start giving lectures on the earliest time units, modeling the kind of presentation that the students will be do...
Factors influencing cancer screening practices of underserved women

Purpose: This integrated review was conducted to evaluate the factors that inhibitorpromotedecisionsbyAfricanAmericanandHispanicwomentoobtain cervical cancer screening. Data sources: Research articles were identified using MEDLINE, PubMed, and Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health literature, published between 1999 and 2005. Conclusions: Cervical cancer screening practices of African American and Hispanic women were influenced by extrinsic motivators including lack of insurance, no usual source of health care, acculturation, and socioeconomic factors. Intrinsic motivators were related to beliefs and perceptions of vulnerability, such as ignoring cervical cancer screening when no symptoms were present; believing that not knowing if one had cervical cancer was better; and thinking that only women who engage in sexual risk‐taking behaviors need to obtain Papanicolaou (Pap) smear testing. Implications for practice: Nurse practitioners (NPs) have an opportunity to impact the incidence and mortality of cervical cancer by improving screening practices of minority women. They can emphasize the importance of obtaining Pap smears regularly, teach patients the risks for and signs and symptoms of cervical cancer, and provide recommendations for obtaining screening at low cost or no cost to the patient. To improve cancer screening practices, NPs need to address minority women’s beliefs about cervical cancer and provide information and services in a culturally sensitive manner at an appropriate level of learning.
Design and evaluation of a high sensitivity spiral TDR scour sensor

Bridge scour accounts for more than half of the reported bridge failures in the United States. Scour monitoring technology based on time domain reflectometry (TDR) features the advantages of being automatic and inexpensive. The senior author's team has developed a few generations of a TDR bridge scour monitoring system, which have succeeded in both laboratory and field evaluations. In this study, an innovative spiral TDR sensor is proposed to further improve the sensitivity of the TDR sensor in scour detection. The spiral TDR sensor is made of a parallel copper wire waveguide wrapped around a mounting rod. By using a spiral path for the waveguide, the TDR sensor achieves higher sensitivity than the traditional straight TDR probes due to longer travel distance of the electromagnetic (EM) wave per unit length in the spiral probe versus traditional probe. The performance of the new TDR spiral scour sensor is validated by calibration with liquids with known dielectric constant and wet soils. Laboratory simulated scour-refilling experiments are performed to evaluate the performance of the new spiral probe in detecting the sediment–water interface and therefore the scour-refill process. The tests results indicate that scour depth variation of less than 2 cm can be easily detected by this new spiral sensor. A theory is developed based on the dielectric mixing model to simplify the TDR signal analyses for scour depth detection. The sediment layer thickness (directly related to scour depth) varies linearly with the square root of the bulk dielectric constant of the water–sediment mixture measured by the spiral TDR probe, which matches the results of theoretical prediction. The estimated sediment layer thickness and therefore scour depth from the spiral TDR sensor agrees very well with that by direct physical measurement. The spiral TDR sensor is four times more sensitive than a traditional straight TDR probe.
Species difference in modulation of calcium release by Naja naja kaouthia snake venom cardiotoxin in terminal cisternae from human and equine skeletal muscle

Abstract The modulation of Ca 2+ release by a cardiotoxin (CTX) from Naja naja kaouthia snake venom was examined in terminal cisternae-containing fractions from equine and human skeletal muscle. Pretreatment with CTX (10 μM) decreased by 27% (human muscle), or had no effect on (equine muscle), the threshold of Ca 2+ -induced Ca 2+ release. If terminal cisternae fractions were first preloaded with Ca 2+ to greater than 65% of the threshold of Ca 2+ -induced Ca 2+ release and then CTX added, an immediate and sustained release of Ca 2+ occurred in preparations from both species. Addition of CTX after a Ca 2+ preload of less than 60% of the threshold of Ca 2+ -induced Ca 2+ release did not elicit Ca 2+ release in preparations from either species. Ruthenium red (10 μM) antagonized CTX-induced Ca 2+ release, whereas dantrolene (10 μM) did not. These findings suggest that the effects of CTX on the Ca 2+ release channel are dependent on Ca 2+ preload and that CTX may be an important probe of the Ca 2+ -modulated Ca 2+ release process and in understanding regulation of Ca 2+ release in skeletal muscle from different species.
A Zoo of Dynamic Pattern Formation by Bacterial Cell Division Proteins

Min proteins of the Escherichia coli cell division system oscillate between the cell poles in vivo. In vitro on a solid-surface supported lipid bi-layer these proteins exhibit a number of interconverting modes of collective ATP-driven dynamic pattern formation including not only the previously described propagating waves, but also near uniform in space surface concentration oscillation, propagating filament like structures with a leading head and decaying tail, and moving and dividing amoeba-like structures with sharp edges. We demonstrate that the last behavior most closely resembles in vivo system behavior. The simple reaction-diffusion models previously proposed for the Min system fail to explain the results of in vitro self-organization experiments. We propose hypotheses that initiation of MinD binding to the surface is controlled by counteraction of initiation and dissociation complexes; the binding of MinD is stimulated by MinE and involves polymerization-depolymerization dynamics; polymerization of MinE over MinD oligomers triggers dynamic instability leading to detachment from membrane.Fig. 1MinD (green) and MinE (red) wave transforms into running and dividing amoebas. Frames were taken every 40 s, the scale bar is 5 μm.View Large Image | View Hi-Res Image | Download PowerPoint Slide
Remarks on KdV-type flows on star-shaped curves

Abstract We study the relation between the centro-affine geometry of star-shaped planar curves and the projective geometry of parametrized maps into R P 1 . We show that projectivization induces a map between differential invariants and a bi-Poisson map between Hamiltonian structures. We also show that a Hamiltonian evolution equation for closed star-shaped planar curves, discovered by Pinkall, has the Schwarzian KdV equation as its projectivization. (For both flows, the curvature evolves by the KdV equation.) Using algebro-geometric methods and the relation of group-based moving frames to AKNS-type representations, we construct examples of closed solutions of Pinkall’s flow associated with periodic finite-gap KdV potentials.
Endogenous reactive oxygen metabolites mediate sublethal endothelial cell dysfunction during reoxygenation

Purpose: Endothelial cells (EC) secrete vasoactive eicosanoids, which maintain organ blood flow. Because EC are a major source of eicosanoids, we studied the effects of reoxygenation on EC prostacyclin production. Methods: Bovine aortic EC cultures were exposed to 2 hours of normoxia, then 1 hour of hypoxia (Po2=10±3.5 mm Hg), followed by 1.5 hours of reoxygenation in either normal medium or medium plus either superoxide dismutase (SOD, 300 units/ml), catalase (1200 units/ml), allopurinol (5.0×10−4 mol/L), or dinitrophenol (10−4 mol/L). Results: Prostacyclin production decreased to 40% (p Conclusions: The hypoxia-induced decrease in EC prostacyclin does not recover during reoxygenation. Catalase/SOD allowed return to baseline prostacyclin production during reoxygenation, implicating reactive oxygen metabolites as mediators of decreased eicosanoid biosynthesis. Recovery of prostacyclin production after 60 minutes reoxygenation with dinitrophenol but not allopurinol suggests a mitochondrial origin of the oxygen metabolites responsible for decreased prostacyclin biosynthesis.
Solid-State NMR of a Large Membrane Protein by Paramagnetic Relaxation Enhancement.

Membrane proteins play an important role in many biological functions. Solid-state NMR spectroscopy is uniquely suited for studying the structure and dynamics of membrane proteins in a membranous environment. The major challenge to obtain high quality solid-state NMR spectra of membrane proteins is sensitivity, due to limited quantities of labeled high-molecular-weight proteins. Here we demonstrate the incorporation of paramagnetic metal (Cu2+) ions, through either ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) or a chelator lipid, into membrane protein samples for rapid data collection under fast magic-angle spinning (MAS) and low power 1H decoupling. Spectral sensitivity of DsbB (20 kDa), an integral membrane protein, more than doubles in the same experimental time due to 1H T1 relaxation enhancement by Cu2+ ions, with DsbB native fold and active site intact. This technique can be implemented to acquire multidimensional solid-state NMR spectra for chemical shift assignments and structure elucidation of large me...
POLYMORPHONUCLEAR LEUKOCYTES IN IMMUNOLOGIC REACTIONS : THE DESTRUCTION OF VASCULAR BASEMENT MEMBRANE IN VIVO AND IN VITRO

Vascular basement membrane was disrupted in the presence of polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMN's) during two immunologic reactions: The Arthus phenomenon and the reaction to locally injected antibody to vascular basement membrane. This disruption was evidenced by (a) the inability of the basement membrane to retain circulating carbon, by (b) loss of antigenic constituents, and by (c) electron microscopic observation showing actual gaps in the structure of the vascular basement membrane. The factors within PMN's responsible for damage to isolated glomerular basement membrane in vitro were found by isolation procedures to be cathepsins D and E. Cationic proteins of PMN's were separable from the cathepsins. While inducing vascular permeability upon injection, these basic proteins failed to inflict the severe damage to the basement membrane observed in Arthus and antibasement membrane reactions. It is concluded that the full expression of these immunologic lesions requires destruction of the basement membrane possibly brought about by cathepsins D and E. Some of the physicochemical properties of these pathologically active leukocytic factors are given.
Metabolic support of Na+ transport by the rabbit CCD: Analysis of the use of equivalent current

Metabolic support of Na + transport by the rabbit CCD: Analysis of the use of equivalent current. The role of metabolism in the support of ion transport by the cortical collecting duct (CCD) is being increasingly recognized as a complex process involving energy supply to the Na + /K + pump and maintenance of cellular conductive pathways. In order to assess both of these processes, we measured the metabolic support of Na + transport using transepithelial electrical measurements and, in some cases, simultaneous determination of lumen-to-bath Na + flux. Analysis of the calculated equivalent current (I eq ), the product of the transepithelial voltage and conductance, showed a predicted (and a measured) discrepancy between this value and the magnitude of active Na + transport. Under conditions of this study, the change in I eq in a single tubule was a reasonable index of the change in Na + transport. The majority of the support of Na + transport appears to come from oxidative metabolism. Glucose supports transport better than the other substrates tested, but lactate, pyruvate, and some acids provide near maximal support. We found some conditions where large changes in Na + transport occurred without significant changes in conductance. Conductance could also be altered without producing major changes in transport. These results demonstrate complex and possibly independent influences of metabolism in the regulation of Na + transport and cell conductive pathways.
Photocatalytic oxidation of low molecular weight alkanes: Observations with ZrO2–TiO2 supported thin films

Abstract Low molecular weight alkanes including, propane, isobutane and n-butane can be completely oxidized to carbon dioxide and water vapor using a tubular photoreactor containing supported ZrO 2 –TiO 2 thin film photocatalyst. It is observed that efficient reactor design requires optimization of catalyst packing to minimize bypass of the contaminant gas and optimization of the reactor diameter to maximize catalyst illumination. Single gas streams of ∼1000 ppmv were fed into the optimized tubular reactor and evaluated for complete oxidation at relative humidity ranging from n -butane are comparable while on average the reaction rates of propane were significantly smaller. Reaction rates of propane and n -butane respond similarly to humidity levels, but isobutane reactivity differs in response to humidity. Reaction rates increase significantly from 35 to 70 °C, but not from 70 to 100 °C. In a feed stream containing a tertiary mixture of these alkanes and passed through the reactor, n -butane had the highest photoconversion followed by isobutane and propane. Variations in the gases’ reactivity in single gas and tertiary experiments are attributed to differences in strength of adsorption to the catalyst and reaction pathways that led to different intermediate compounds.
Prisons as economic resources in Borderlands Texas: Regional inequities in sentenced inmates vs prison location

For purposes of this study, the Texas borderlands region consists of forty-one border and contiguous counties (Map I). Defining the borderlands region in this fashion provides analytical comparability with Lulac vs Richards, et al. (Stoddard 1992). Not only does this region include America's most concentrated poverty area, it suffers from inadequate state funding of health care and education. Texas ranks only 37th among the 52 states in support of basic education, experiencing the highest minority dropout rate of any border state. It is not surprising, therefore, that residents of borderlands cities and counties require high welfare budgets, register low educational achievement and suffer high teen pregnancy rates. Border health and health care are substandard (Teller, 1978), border schools suffer from inequitable distribution of public funds (Webking and Rocha, 1992) and legal challenges to limited availability of advanced degree programs in border universities have been made (Stoddard, 1992). The minority drop-out rate in Texas exceeds that of other border states (Balch, 1990) and with its limited education and poverty lifestyles, teen pregnancy has become an epidemic in the Texas borderlands (Stoddard, 1993). This pattern of inequity and systematic neglect of educational and social needs in the Texas borderlands is also reflected in the spatial distribution of its state prison facilities. Though logically prisons are built to accommodate inmates from adjacent areas, Texas has concentrated its prisons in the east-central region, largely ignoring its borderlands. To mask this deprivation, site selection teams have been known to give site preference to unpopular locations within a community, later citing local rejection as the reason for building the prison elsewhere. This essay examines the disparities between high inmate-sending communities on the border and the absence of state prison facilities within the Texas borderlands.
Characterization of eosinophilic esophagitis murine models using optical coherence tomography

Pre-clinical studies using murine models are critical for understanding the pathophysiological mechanisms underlying immune-mediated disorders such as Eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE). In this study, an optical coherence tomography (OCT) system capable of providing three-dimensional images with axial and transverse resolutions of 5 µm and 10 µm, respectively, was utilized to obtain esophageal images from a murine model of EoE-like disease ex vivo. Structural changes in the esophagus of wild-type (Tslpr+/+) and mutant (Tslpr−/−) mice with EoE-like disease were quantitatively evaluated and food impaction sites in the esophagus of diseased mice were monitored using OCT. Here, the capability of OCT as a label-free imaging tool devoid of tissue-processing artifacts to effectively characterize murine EoE-like disease models has been demonstrated.
Enhanced Sensitivity to Cytochrome c–Induced Apoptosis Mediated by PHAPI in Breast Cancer Cells

Apoptotic signaling defects both promote tumorigenesis and confound chemotherapy. Typically, chemotherapeutics stimulate cytochrome c release to the cytoplasm, thereby activating the apoptosome. Although cancer cells can be refractory to cytochrome c release, many malignant cells also exhibit defects in cytochrome c-induced apoptosome activation, further promoting chemotherapeutic resistance. We have found that breast cancer cells display an unusual sensitivity to cytochrome c-induced apoptosis when compared with their normal counterparts. This sensitivity, not observed in other cancers, resulted from enhanced recruitment of caspase-9 to the Apaf-1 caspase recruitment domain. Augmented caspase activation was mediated by PHAPI, which is overexpressed in breast cancers. Furthermore, cytochrome c microinjection into mammary epithelial cells preferentially killed malignant cells, suggesting that this phenomenon might be exploited for chemotherapeutic purposes.
One-dimensional gravity drainage of uniform columns of porous materials

Abstract A numerical analysis of the one-dimensional gravity drainage problem using the pressure head form of the differential equation of flow is presented. The analysis is programmed for solution by a digital computer and is tested against several sets of published experimental data where the hydrologic characteristics of the porous material are given, together with the required time profiles of pressure head and water content. The numerical approach is then used to investigate in detail certain physical aspects of the drainage process.
Flagellin as carrier and adjuvant in cocaine vaccine development

Cocaine abuse is problematic, directly and indirectly impacting the lives of millions, and yet existing therapies are inadequate and usually ineffective. A cocaine vaccine would be a promising alternative therapeutic option, but efficacy is hampered by variable production of anticocaine antibodies. Thus, new tactics and strategies for boosting cocaine vaccine immunogenicity must be explored. Flagellin is a bacterial protein that stimulates the innate immune response via binding to extracellular Toll-like receptor 5 (TLR5) and also via interaction with intracellular NOD-like receptor C4 (NLRC4), leading to production of pro-inflammatory cytokines. Reasoning that flagellin could serve as both carrier and adjuvant, we modified recombinant flagellin protein to display a cocaine hapten termed GNE. The resulting conjugates exhibited dose-dependent stimulation of anti-GNE antibody production. Moreover, when adjuvanted with alum, but not with liposomal MPLA, GNE-FliC was found to be better than our benchmark GNE-KLH. This work represents a new avenue for exploration in the use of hapten-flagellin conjugates to elicit antihapten immune responses.
Britain in the world: Implications for the study of British Politics

Political scientists in Britain have traditionally been more comfortable with, and open to, historical work than their American counterparts. There is nevertheless surprisingly little interaction between history and politics in the United Kingdom and little indication that political scientists make much use of even the best historical work on politics or international relations (IR). This essay reviews five more or less recent histories that focus on the British Empire and, more broadly, on Britain's place in the world, suggests why they might be of interest to students of contemporary politics and sketches a framework that might serve to connect them with more recent phenomena in Britain's IR.
A multiplayer online game for teaching software engineering practices

Programming best-practices are a difficult subject to learn for beginner computer science students. In the classroom, these practices are appreciated and taught through a combination of lectures and group projects. Group projects, however, take time and are ill-suited for Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs).This project aims to develop a web-based many-player programming game which addresses these issues by having large numbers of students code many small functions in parallel, give feedback on each other's implementations, and compose them into much larger programs. Gameplay will require only a few hours and should provide rapid and substantive feedback on the reusability and flexibility of a student's code.We have developed and playtested a small-scale prototype to determine if software engineering lessons could be learned through such a game. Further prototypes will test the game at MOOC scales and with different structures. We will develop a final version to deploy to MIT's online class 6.005x: Software Construction.
Iliac artery MR angiography: comparison of three-dimensional gadolinium-enhanced and two-dimensional time-of-flight techniques.

PURPOSE: To determine if a three-dimensional (3D) gadolinium-enhanced technique is useful for improving the accuracy of magnetic resonance (MR) angiography. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Prospectively, two-dimensional (2D) time-of-flight (TOF) and 3D gadolinium-enhanced MR angiography was performed in 23 patients. Conventional arteriography, the reference standard, was performed in all but five patients. Images from each examination were interpreted blindly by two observers. RESULTS: For common and external iliac arteries, interpretations of dynamic 3D gadolinium-enhanced MR angiograms matched those of conventional arteriograms in 12 of 18 patients (67%) for both observers. Interpretations of 2D TOF images matched those of conventional arteriograms in six (33%) and seven (39%) patients for the two observers respectively. CONCLUSION: Preliminary results suggest that iliac artery MR angiography can be improved by complementing standard 2D TOF acquisitions with 3D gadolinium-enhanced acquisitions.
Look‐up tables to convert Landsat TM thermal IR data to water surface temperatures

Abstract The primary aim of this paper is to provide the users of Landsat‐4 and Landsat‐5 Thematic Mapper (TM) data with a more convenient means to convert the relative digital counts of the TM thermal band into temperatures. Two conversion (calibration) look‐up tables corresponding to two different periods of operation of Goddard's TIPS facilities, prior and after January 15, 1984 are included. The procedures utilized to produce the look‐up tables are briefly described.
Obit: A Development Environment for Astronomical Algorithms

Obit is a development environment for astronomical algorithms. It implements multiple "native" data formats including FITS and AIPS. The shared data model with AIPS means almost complete interoperability, allowing algorithmic development in a production environment. The Obit package supports both prepackaged, compiled tasks and a python interface to the major class functionality to allow rapid prototyping using python scripts. Developed features are predominantly radio astronomical, but support for astronomical images and tables is generic and should allow a wider range of applications. The design is intended to be readily extensible. An example is given that explores the effect of "CLEAN bias" in the VLA Low-Frequency Sky Survey and compares its method of CLEAN to an automated CLEAN window selection scheme that should reduce the bias. This technique shows much promise for reducing this systematic effect.
The rat prostatic epithelial cell line NRP-152 can differentiate in vivo in response to its stromal environment.

BACKGROUND The clonally derived rat prostatic epithelial cell line NRP-152 was examined to determine its ability to differentiate in a tissue recombination model. METHODS NRP-152 cells alone, or combined with urogenital mesenchyme (UGM) or 10T1/2 fibroblasts, were grafted beneath the renal capsule of athymic rodent hosts. After 1 and 3 months, grafts were examined grossly and immunohistochemically. RESULTS NRP-152 cells grafted alone formed small (10–25 mg) grafts without recognizable architecture. NRP-152 cells recombined with UGM formed larger grafts (50–100 mg after 28 days) containing glandular epithelium. Columnar luminal cells expressed cytokeratins 8 and 18 and rat prostatic secretory markers (DP-1 and DP-2). The epithelial ducts were surrounded by well-differentiated smooth muscle. The glandular epithelial cells were shown to be of rat origin. NRP-152 + 10T1/2 tissue recombinants formed small grafts (10–40 mg wet weight) after 1 month. The epithelial component of these grafts formed solid unbranched cords expressing cytokeratins 5 and 14; no glandular epithelial structures were observed. The stromal matrix was densely packed with a few cells expressing α-actin. CONCLUSIONS A clonally derived prostatic epithelial cell line can form structurally and functionally normal prostatic tissue. This suggests that prostatic basal and luminal epithelial cells can be derived from a common progenitor. Prostate 39:205–212, 1999. © 1999 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Calcium Absorption and Bone Loss in Ovariectomized Rats Fed Varying Levels of Dietary Calcium

The following studies were undertaken to examine whether estrogen deficiency impairs calcium absorption in aged rats, and to determine whether impaired calcium absorption and the level of dietary calcium are related to the degree of bone loss due to estrogen deficiency. Sixty rats were sham operated (Sham) or ovariectomized (Ovx) to make them estrogen deficient and divided into three dietary groups of 10 rats per group: Group 1 (Sham) and Group 2 (Ovx) were maintained on a diet containing 0.5% calcium; Group 3 (Sham) and Group 4 (Ovx) were maintained on a diet containing 0.1% calcium; Group 5 (Sham) and Group 6 (Ovx) were maintained on a diet containing 0.02% calcium. Calcium absorption was measured in all animals at the beginning of the study and 2 weeks, 1 month, 2 months, and 3 months following surgery, then the animals were sacrificed. In Ovx rats fed 0.5% Ca diet, calcium absorption decreased progressively and the decrease became statistically significant 8 and 12 weeks following ovariectomy (P < 0.05). A similar ovariectomy-related impairment of calcium absorption was not observed in animals fed diets with lower calcium content, making the Ovx rat a tenuous model of intestinal calcium malabsorption. Low dietary calcium decreased cancellous bone mineral content and density at the proximal tibial metaphysis and the decrease was augmented by ovariectomy. The degree of osteopenia due to ovariectomy was not related to the level of dietary calcium or the efficiency of calcium absorption.
The effect of call-option-listing announcement on shareholder wealth

Abstract This study examines the effect on shareholder wealth of call-option- listing announcements. Using three alternative methods to estimate daily excess returns, significant negative excess returns are found to occur on the announcement date. This is consistent with the hypothesis that existing shareholders view the onset of option tradings as a destabilizing influence on the underlying stock. Additionally, positive excess returns are shown to occur on the day actual tradings begin. This is attributed to the excess demand created by new investors attracted by the expanded risk-return combinations arising from the availability of options.