cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Functional self-efficacy and pain-related disability among older veterans with chronic pain in a primary care setting.

We examined the relationship between functional self-efficacy and pain-related disability in a sample of older veterans with chronic pain. A total of 1045 veterans aged 65 years or older who received primary care at the VA Connecticut Healthcare System in West Haven, CT, were assessed for the presence of chronic pain (i.e. pain due to a non-cancer cause for >/=3 consecutive months in the past 12 months); 303 (26%) screened positive; and 245 (81%) participated. Using a ten-item functional self-efficacy questionnaire (scale: 0-40), participants were categorized into three functional self-efficacy groups: low, score </=26; moderate, score 27-38; and high, score 39-40. Pain-related disability was defined as having one or more days of restricted activity due to pain in the past month. The mean age was 75 years (s.d.=5.1) and most participants were male (84%) and Caucasian (96%). Twenty-five percent of the sample had low, 50% had moderate, and 25% had high functional self-efficacy. The prevalence of pain-related disability was 56%. After adjusting for potential confounders, the likelihood of pain-related disability was significantly higher for those with moderate vs. high (OR=2.05, 95% CI 1.03-4.06) and low vs. high (OR=4.77, 95% CI 1.96-11.61) functional self-efficacy. Functional self-efficacy was a strong and independent factor associated with pain-related disability among older veterans with chronic pain.
Serotonin Transporter Genomic Biomarker for Quantitative Assessment of Ondansetron Treatment Response in Alcoholics

Paucity of sensitive biomarkers to quantify transient changes in alcohol consumption level remains a critical barrier for the development of efficacious therapeutic agents to treat alcoholism. Recently, in an 11-week, randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind trial of 283 alcohol-dependent individuals, we demonstrated that ondansetron was efficacious at reducing the severity of drinking (measured as drinks per drinking day; DDD) in alcoholics carrying the LL compared with the LS/SS genotype of the serotonin transporter gene, 5′-HTTLPR. Using peripheral blood samples from a cohort of 41 of these subjects, we determined whether there was a relationship between mRNA expression level of the 5′-HTTLPR genotypes (measured at weeks 0, 4, and 11) and self-reported alcohol consumption following treatment with either ondansetron (4 μg/kg twice daily; N=19) or placebo (N=22). Using a mixed-effects linear regression model, we analyzed the effects of DDD and 5′-HTTLPR genotypes on mRNA expression levels within and between the ondansetron and placebo groups. We found a significant three-way interaction effect of DDD, 5′-HTTLPR genotypes, and treatment on mRNA expression levels (p=0.0396). Among ondansetron but not placebo recipients, there was a significant interaction between DDD and 5′-HTTLPR genotype (p=0.0385 and p=0.7938, respectively). In the ondansetron group, DDD was associated positively with mRNA levels at a greater rate of expression alteration per standard drink in those with the LL genotype (slope=+1.1698 in ln scale). We suggest that the combination of the LL genotype and 5′-HTTLPR mRNA expression levels might be a promising and novel biomarker to quantify drinking severity in alcoholics treated with ondansetron.
Parathyroid hormone induces c-fos and c-jun messenger RNA in rat osteoblastic cells

PTH is a potent regulator of osteoblast gene expression, yet the nuclear events that mediate PTH action are poorly understood. We were interested in identifying immediate early genes which may regulate PTH-altered gene expression in the osteoblast. Therefore, we examined the effects of PTH on c-fos and c-jun gene expression in a rat osteoblastic cell line (UMR 106-01). Under control conditions, c-fos and c-jun mRNAs were present at low basal levels. After PTH treatment, c-fos mRNA abundance dramatically increased, with a maximal and transient response at 30 min. PTH also stimulated an increase in c-jun mRNA, but in a biphasic manner, with maximal levels at 30 min and 2 h. These responses were dose dependent, not altered by cotreatment with the protein synthesis inhibitor cycloheximide, and preceded PTH-induced expression of matrix metallo-proteinase-1 mRNA. Nuclear run-on assays demonstrated an increased rate of c-fos and c-jun transcription after PTH exposure. To determine the signal transduction pathways involved, second messenger analogs were tested for their ability to mimic the effects of PTH. 8-Bromo-cAMP and phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA) caused increases in the abundance of c-fos and c-jun transcripts. Ionomycin had no effect on the expression of these genes. Pretreatment of the cells with PMA resulted in a decrease in basal c-jun expression, but did not alter the PTH-mediated increase in c-fos, c-jun, or matrix metalloproteinase-1 mRNAs.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS).
Pater Desiderius Lenz at Beuron: History, Egyptology, and Modernism in Nineteenth-Century German Monastic Art

The text is an introduction to the art made by a Benedictine community of artist/monks in the village of Beuron in the state of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen in southwestern Germany in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The founder of the school, Pater Desiderius Lenz, studied art in Munich, received a scholarship to work in Rome, but discovered the source for his work in the flat two-dimensional colored drawings and prints of Egyptian art in albums published by the German archaeologist, Richard Lepsius. The iconic and non-empathetic style of Beuron art inspired by Lenz's ideas and writings is discussed with respect to its source in the Benedictine experience, bonded as it is to the church walls and to the Gregorian chanting of the monastic choirs. But at the same time, because of its rejection of the form and expression of the three-dimensional world of man and nature, it is characterized as being Modernist as well, an early by-product of that twentieth century stylistic phenomenon. Through Lenz's first architectural project, the St. Maurus Chapel above the Danube near Beuron, and his evolving exploration of the subject of the Pieta, his Egypto-Modernist religious imagery is described.
Spatial Light Modulators As Parallel Memories For Optoelectronic Neural Networks

A generic architecture for realizing neural networks is presented in which the synaptic interaction matrix is loaded in parallel into an electronic integrated circuit from a SLM. Three types of the electronic processors are described using CCD, CID and CMOS technologies respectively. The pros and cons of currently existing SLMs for this architecture are pointed out.
College and University Counseling Centers: Questions in Search of Answers.

College and university counseling centers are being influenced by changing populations of students and the concerns of a variety of constituencies and stakeholders about mental health issues. Although counseling centers can be important institutional resources in matters of recruitment, retention, and risk management, new legal and ethical issues and concerns about training programs have emerged. This article reviews research on these emerging questions and considers how counseling centers might respond.
Energy transfer processes in novel subphthalocyanine-fullerene ensembles.

A series of subphthalocyanine−C60 dyads in which the two subunits are placed at different distances have been prepared and their electrochemical properties measured. Photophysical measurements reveal energy transfer events following the initial photoexcitation of the subphthalocyanine chromophore.
The postdiction superiority effect in metacomprehension of text

Metacomprehension accuracy for texts was greater after, rather than before, answering test questions about the texts—a postdiction superiority effect. Although postdiction superiority was found across successive sets of test questions and across successive texts, there was no improvement in metacomprehension accuracy after participants had taken more tests. Neither prediction nor postdiction gamma correlations with test performance improved with successive tests. Although the results are consistent with retrieval hypotheses, they contradict predictions made by test knowledge hypotheses, which state that increasing knowledge of the nature of the tests should increase metacomprehension accuracy.
Controllable models of gaze behavior for virtual agents and humanlike robots

Embodied social agents, through their ability to afford embodied interaction using nonverbal human communicative cues, hold great promise in application areas such as education, training, rehabilitation, and collaborative work. Gaze cues are particularly important for achieving significant social and communicative goals. In this research, I explore how agents - both virtual agents and humanlike robots - might achieve such goals through the use of various gaze mechanisms. To this end, I am developing computational control models of gaze behavior that treat gaze as the output of a system with a number of multimodal inputs. These inputs can be characterized at different levels of interaction, from non-interactive (e.g., physical characteristics of the agent itself) to fully interactive (e.g., speech and gaze behavior of a human interlocutor). This research will result in a number of control models that each focus on a different gaze mechanism, combined into an open-source library of gaze behaviors that will be usable by both human-robot and human-virtual agent interaction designers. System-level evaluations in naturalistic settings will validate this gaze library for its ability to evoke positive social and cognitive responses in human users.
A Social Network Based Reputation System for Cooperative P2P File Sharing

Current reputation systems for peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing networks suffer from high overhead on reputation querying. Also, purely relying on a threshold to detect malicious nodes may make a high-reputed node be reluctant to further increase its reputation in these reputation systems. On the other side, the social network concept of ”friendship foster cooperation” can be utilized to alleviate the high overhead in reputation systems. However, the limited number of friends limits the availability of file resources in these approaches. To overcome the drawbacks, we propose a social network based reputation system, namely SocialTrust, that synergistically leverages the social network connections and traditional credit based reputation system to provide efficient reputation management for P2P file sharing. In SocialTrust, each node favors friends for service transactions, which are resulted from both real life acquaintances and online partnerships established between high-reputed and frequently-interacted nodes. When no friends are available for a request, a node chooses the server with the highest reputation. The benefits of friendship and partnership on file sharing and cost saving encourage nodes to be continuously cooperative. Further, SocialTrust considers the number of friends/partners and the reputation of a node in reputation rewarding/punishment in order to realize accurate reputation evaluation. SocialTrust can also prevent certain attacks such as deny of service and collusion. Extensive trace-driven simulation demonstrates the effectiveness of SocialTrust.
Exploratory Drilling in Northern Newark Basin, New Jersey: ABSTRACT

Extensive drilling is in progress along the right-of-way of a proposed flood diversion tunnel in northern New Jersey. This 21.8-km tunnel would cut across the strike of the Newark basin in an area where rock exposures are few because of glacial deposition. Approximately 2,400 m of the 6,300-m thick northern portion of the Newark basin is represented in rock cores. The uppermost 870 m of Upper Triassic strata has been drilled along with 1,620 m of Lower Jurassic strata. The Jurassic strata include the three Watchung Mountain sheet basalts sandwiched between fluvial and lacustrine sedimentary deposits. What emerges for the first time is a continuous picture of the previously poorly exposed Jurassic lacustrine deposits. These cyclic deposits containing kerogen-rich layers are some of the youngest strata found in Mesozoic rift basins. These westernmost Newark basin deposits can be correlated to similar age deposits in outer continental shelf drill holes and possibly help the wildcat exploration starting to appear in the Newark basin. End_of_Article - Last_Page 1437------------
Villous adenoma of the duct of Wirsung.

A patient presenting with recurrent pancreatitis was found to have a benign polypoid villous adenoma of the duct of wirsung. The tumor was excised locally via transduodenal access to the duct. The patient has now remained free of pancreatitis for 24 months. Obstruction of the pancreatic duct by this rare tumor appears to have been the cause of pancreatitis. Villous adenomas of the pancreatic duc epithelium may be premalignant.
Differential susceptibility of avian hair cells to acoustic trauma

Five groups of 10-day-old chicks were continuously exposed to either 500 or 1500 Hz pure tone at 125 dB for 4 or 12 h and killed 10 days later. The basilar papillae were fixed, embedded in plastic, sectioned, and hair cells were counted according to type: tall or short. Short hair cells were found to be more susceptible to acoustic overstimulation than tall hair cells. Further, the position of maximum short hair cell loss varied along the length of the basilar papilla as a function of the exposure frequency while the position of tall hair cell loss did not. Similarities between morphological response of short hair cells in avians after acoustic trauma and outer hair cells in mammals are discussed.
The Synthesis of Mercurated 8-Allyloxycaffeine and Mercurated 1,3,7-trimethyl-9-allyluric Acid, and a Study of Their Toxicity and Diuretic Activity

Two new organic mercurials, mercurated 1,3,7-trimethyl-9-allyluric acid and mercurated 8-allyloxycaffeine, were prepared and compared as to toxicity and diuretic activity. The mercurials prepared and tested are isomers, and differ in the manner in which the mercurated side chain is attached to the heterocyclic nucleus. Experiments on rats and mice showed that the mercurated uric acid derivative produced diuresis while the caffeine derivative produced no significant diuresis.
Light Kaluza Klein States in Randall-Sundrum Models with Custodial SU(2)

We consider Randall-Sundrum scenarios based on SU(2){sub L} x SU(2){sub R} and a discrete parity exchanging L with R. The custodial and parity symmetries can be used to make the tree level contribution to the T parameter and the anomalous couplings of the bottom quark to the Z very small. We show that the resulting quantum numbers typically induce a negative T parameter at one loop that, together with the positive value of the S parameter, restrict considerably these models. There are nevertheless regions of parameter space that successfully reproduce the fit to electroweak precision observables with light Kaluza-Klein excitations accessible at colliders. We consider models of gauge-Higgs unification that implement the custodial and parity symmetries and find that the electroweak data singles out a very well defined region in parameter space. In this region one typically finds light gauge boson Kaluza-Klein excitations as well as light SU(2){sub L} singlet, and sometimes also doublet, fermionic states, that mix with the top quark, and that may yield interesting signatures at future colliders.
The human erythrocyte sugar transporter presents two sugar import sites.

The human erythrocyte sugar transporter presents sugar import (e2) and sugar export (e1) sites simultaneously. This study asks whether the sugar transporter exposes only one or multiple import sites. We approached this question by analysis of cytochalasin B binding to the human erythrocyte sugar export site in the presence of sugars that bind to the sugar import site. Extracellular maltose does not enter human erythrocytes. High concentrations of maltose (1−100 mM) inhibit cytochalasin B binding to human red cells. Low concentrations (25−500 μM) increase the level of erythrocyte cytochalasin B binding. Maltose modulation of cytochalasin B binding is mediated by altered affinity of sugar export sites for cytochalasin B. Similar results are obtained with other cell-impermeant inhibitors of sugar uptake. Extracellular d-glucose (a transported sugar) stimulates cytochalasin B binding at low d-glucose concentrations (10−250 μM), but this effect is lost at higher concentrations. Intracellular d-glucose inhibits...
UNRAVELING FAMILIES AND DELINQUENCY: A REANALYSIS OF THE GLUECKS' DATA*

One of the most influential studies in the history of criminological research is Sheldon and Eleanor Gluecks' Unraveling Juvenile Delinquency (UJD) (1950). The research design of the UJD study was strong, but the conceptual and statistical analyses performed by the Gluecks were ofen lacking in both methodological and theoretical rigor. As a result, the Gluecks' study has been criticized from both a methodological and ideological perspective. This research reanalyzes the original Glueck data, with a specijic focus on variables relating to family characteristics of 500 oficially defined delinquents and 500 nondelinquents. Using multivariate analyses we find that mother's supervision, parental styles of discipline. and parental attachment are the most important predictors of serious and persistent delinquency. On the other hand, background factors (e.g., parental criminality and drunkenness, broken homes, crowding) have little or no direct effect on delinquency, but instead operate through the family process variables. By reanalyzing the original UJD data, this study contributes to the current literature on family lve and delinquency and provides an updated assessment of the Gluecks' contributions to criminologv.
Market-Based Higher Education: Does Colorado’s Voucher Model Improve Higher Education Access and Efficiency?

In 2004, Colorado introduced the nation’s first voucher model for financing public higher education. With state appropriations now allocated to students, rather than institutions, state officials expect this model to create cost efficiencies while also expanding college access. Using difference-in-difference regression analysis, we find limited evidence that these outcomes occurred within the 4-year sector; however, the policy increased cost efficiencies among community college and reduced college access for some underrepresented groups. The paper discusses the challenges of applying market-based reforms to public higher education.
Tools for navigating large social cyberspaces

The Netscan project helps online participants form cooperative relationships by offering a better sense of the other players involved.
Converging Technologies and Human Destiny

The rapid fertility decline in most advanced industrial nations, coupled with secularization and the disintegration of the family, is a sign that Western Civilization is beginning to collapse, even while radical religious movements pose challenges to Western dominance. Under such dire circumstances, it is pointless to be cautious about developing new Converging Technologies. Historical events are undermining the entire basis of ethical decision-making, so it is necessary to seek a new basis for ethics in the intellectual unification of science and the power to do good inherent in the related technological convergence. This article considers the uneasy relations between science and religion, in the context of fertility decline, and the prospects for developing a new and self-sustaining civilization based in a broad convergence of science and technology, coalescing around a core of nanotechnology, biotechnology, information technology, and cognitive technologies. It concludes with the suggestion that the new civilization should become interstellar.
Reciprocity Beyond Dyadic Relationships Aging-Related Communal Coping

Residing in a long-term care community can provide numerous opportunities for collective identification and cooperative action to address the chronic stressors of aging, including issues of health and well-being. Communal coping, a process that entails the identification of a stressor as “our” issue and “our” responsibility, has traditionally been examined in the context of large-scale natural disasters or war or of family systems. This study examines communal coping behavior among 11 elderly residents of a continuing-care retirement community. Using grounded theory and semistructured interviews, the authors found that respondents engaged in mutually beneficial and supportive behavior toward their peers through reciprocal assistance between roommates, the “buddy system” among neighbors, and the expression of solidarity in aging through “we” talk. Aging stressors often viewed as “individual” in nature can instead be both viewed and addressed in the context of a collectively shared experience.
Customer Relationship Management, Exit-Voice-Loyalty, and Satisfaction: The Case of Public Schools

A conceptual model of customer relationship management (CRM) is developed in the context of public schools. Correlates of parent satisfaction were examined as variables in a CRM model within the framework of exit, voice, and loyalty of A. O. Hirschman (1970). The CRM model is composed of parent satisfaction, parent empowerment, parent involvement, school service quality, school ethical climate, school climate, parent loyalty, parent voice, and parent exit. The model can serve as a useful tool for school leaders to better understand the implications of CRM in the school setting and to better understand the role of parent satisfaction by (a) implementing strategies in such areas as school climate, school ethical climate, and school service quality and (b) providing training for parents, teachers, and staff.
Role-based authorization constraints specification

Constraints are an important aspect of role-based access control (RBAC) and are often regarded as one of the principal motivations behind RBAC. Although the importance of contraints in RBAC has been recogni zed for a long time, they have not recieved much attention. In this article, we introduce an intuitive formal language for specifying role-based authorization constraints named RCL 2000 including its basic elements, syntax, and semantics. We give soundness and completeness proofs for RCL 2000 relative to a restricted form of first-order predicate logic. Also, we show how previously identified role-based authorization constraints such as separtation of duty (SOD) can be expressed in our language. Moreover, we show there are other significant SOD properties that have not been previously identified in the literature. Our work shows that there are many alternate formulations of even the simplest SOD properties, with varying degree of flexibility and assurance. Our language provides us a rigorous foundation for systematic study of role-based authorization constraints.
Cytologic diagnosis of true thymic hyperplasia by combined radiologic imaging and aspiration cytology: a case report including flow cytometric analysis.

True thymic hyperplasia (TH) is an age-dependent increase in size and weight of the thymus gland, which by definition maintains a normal histologic architecture. TH can mimic other important diseases, including lymphofollicular hyperplasia, thymoma, lymphoma, and germ-cell tumors. Traditionally, separating these entities has required a formal surgical biopsy. Given that many of these conditions occur in children, this can be a traumatic experience for both the patient and family members. Fine-needle aspiration biopsy has the distinct advantage of being able to obtain diagnostic material without requiring general anesthesia. We are aware of only one previously reported case of an enlarged thymus being subjected to aspiration cytology. We therefore present a case of thymic hyperplasia in a 5-mo-old child diagnosed by combined radiologic and cytologic parameters, including flow cytometric analysis.
Viscous Sintering under a Uniaxial Load

An analysis is presented for viscous sintering under a uniaxial load; numerical results are presented for compressive loads. The load increases the axial contraction rate, hut counteracts the radial contraction rate. When the load is similar in magnitude to the capillary stress driving sintering, the radius remains essentially constant as the body densifies. Following a suggestion by Bordia, the viscosity and sintering kinetics can be determined in one experiment by measuring the axial and radial shrinkages simultaneously.
Porphyrin interactions with nucleic acids

Abstract The interactions of tetrakis(4-N-methylpyridyl)porphine (H 2 TMpyP-4) and its copper(II), nickel(II), zinc(II), cobalt(III), iron(III), and manganese(III) derivatives with several nucleic acids have been investigated. Spectrophotometric titrations of H 2 TMpyP-4 and Cu(II)TMpyP-4 with the synthetic polymer poly(dG-dC) could be analyzed by a near-neighbor exclusion model leading to n ≈2 and equilibrium binding constants of 7.7 × 10 5 M −1 and 8.0 × 10 5 M −1 , respectively. The other metal derivatives (except for the nickel porphyrin) do not provide sufficiently large color changes with poly(dG-dC) to allow analysis. In contrast, all of these porphyrins interact with poly(dA-dT) and DNA. For those porphyrins investigated the binding profiles are not adequately fit by a near-neighbor exclusion model but have bonding profiles suggesting cooperativity effects are important. Spectral and circular dichroic experiments both suggest base specificity. With calf thymus DNA, the copper(II) and nickel(II) derivatives show primarily prominent negative CD features and large red shifts and hypochromicity of visible absorption bands in the Soret region characteristics of GC specificity (as demonstrated with the synthetic polymer); the other metal derivatives show prominent positive induced visible CD features with small red shifts and hypochromicity of the absorbance bands in the Soret region characteristic of AT specificity. Only the metal-free derivative has a conservative CD spectrum suggestive of distribution among GC and AT sites. Stopped-flow kinetic experiments corroborate the interpretation of the static experiments. Both association and dissociation kinetics involving poly(dA-dT) are too rapid to be seen by the stopped-flow method in all the derivatives. However, the copper(II), nickel(II), and non-metallo derivatives show measurable kinetic profiles in the stopped-flow region with poly(dG-dC). The temperature-jump method was used to investigate the reactions of H 2 TMpyP-4 with DNA and poly(dG-dC). Although the former reaction is multiphasic in the former case, a single relaxation process was obtained for the latter system yielding a forward rate constant of 5.7 × 10 5 M −1 s −1 and 1.8 s −1 for the reverse rate constant. Temperature-jump relaxation studies of mixtures of poly(dA-dT) and poly(dG-dC) indicate that the redistribution of H 2 TMpyP-4 between AT and GC sites occurs via a mechanism involving dissociation rather than direct tranfer. A comparison of the relaxation times obtained for this system with those obtained for DNA strongly suggests that in the natural system the porphyrin can move from site to site without dissociation into the solvent medium.
Variability of several forms of soil nitrogen in two rice fields

Abstract A practical limitation of nitrogen soil tests is large spatial variability. The object of this research was to compare the variability of several forms of soil nitrogen: total N, nitrate, nitrate + ammonium, ammonium released during a two‐week anaerobic incubation at 25° C, and ammonium released by distillation with alkaline permanganate. A second objective was to compare sensitivity of these measurements to presence of green manure legume residues. Samples were collected from a 6.1‐ha area of a Nueva loam soil in transects with a 33.5‐m spacing and over a shorter distance at a 5‐m spacing. Plots with and without purple vetch (Vicia benqhalensis) were established on the site and at one other site with clay soil. Soil samples were collected in the spring just before and just after the legume was disced under. Coefficients of variability for nitrate, incub. ammonium, total N, and alk. perman. ammonium were 29–36%, 9–15%, 5–6%, and 2–4%, respectively. All variables showed similar spatial dependence ...
Electron microscopy study of the structure of normal and abnormal poly(butylene terephthalate) spherulites

Normal and abnormal spherulites of polybutylene terephthalate cast from solution in HFIP were investigated by electron microscopy (CTEM and STEM). Both spherulite types crystallize in the α form. The crystallite is biaxial with its greatest polarizability directions Z and Y oriented along the molecular chain and perpendicular to it in the plane of the terephthalate residue. In the normal spherulites, the [210]* direction is parallel to the radius direction, so that both Z and Y directions are oriented tangentially (negative spherulites). In the abnormal spherulites, the [111]* direction is parallel to the radius, and this explains the observed abnormal light scattering pattern.
Appetite regulation via exercise prior or subsequent to high-fat meal consumption

This study assessed the effect of exercise timing relative to meal consumption on appetite and its hormonal regulators (i.e., PYY(3-36), ghrelin and leptin) in moderately active young men. Twelve men performed three trials in a random order: (1) meal consumption, (2) exercise 2h after a meal, (3) exercise 1h before a meal. The test meal provided 16.5 kcal kg(-1) with 70% fat, 26% carbohydrate and 4% protein. Exercise was performed at a work rate eliciting 60% of VO(2max) for 50 min. Hunger ratings and plasma leptin concentrations were measured at baseline and hours 1, 3, 5, and 7 post-meal, and plasma concentrations of ghrelin and PYY(3-36) were measured at baseline and 1, 3, and 7h after meal consumption. Exercise performed 2h after meal consumption extended the appetite suppressing effect of food intake. Furthermore, plasma PYY(3-36) concentration tended to be elevated by exercise after meal consumption. Exercise prior to food intake decreased appetite and increased plasma ghrelin concentrations. No response to timing of exercise relative to food intake on plasma leptin concentration was detected. These data indicated the timing of exercise to meal consumption may influence appetite and its hormonal regulators. Post-meal exercise may extend the suppressive effects of meal consumption on appetite.
Sustained perimacular vascular and visual response to topical beta blockers in normal human eyes

Abstract Purpose : To assess visual and circulatory responses to treatment with topical beta adrenergic antagonists. Design : Institutional prospective randomized clinical trial in normal adults. Methods : Twenty adults (36 (mean) ± 8 (S.D.) years) underwent repeated baseline perimetry (Humphrey 30-2), contrast sensitivity (Vector Vision), perimacular microcirculatory studies (Oculix blue-field entoptic simulator), intraocular pressure (IOP), heart rate (HR), and blood pressure (BP) testing. Subjects commenced either timolol 0.5% or betaxolol 0.5% twice daily on day 1, were retested on days 3 and 35, discontinued treatment for 21 days, whereupon repeated tests were performed. Treatment responses were compared by paired t -test. Results : Timolol-treated eyes showed improvement in contrast sensitivity ( P =0.03) and pericentral perimetric thresholds ( P =0.01), but corresponding increases among betaxolol-treated eyes were significantly higher ( P =0.03 and 0.04, respectively, relative to timolol-treated eyes). Leukocyte velocity increased with both drugs, each with post-withdrawal carryover ( P ≤0.03). Significant IOP reduction (∼2.5 mmHg) occurred in both groups, BP fell 2.8 mmHg among betaxolol-treated subjects ( P =0.02), and HR was 2 bpm slower among timolol-treated subjects ( P =0.03), but all reverted to baseline values after washout. Conclusions : Both treatment groups demonstrated significant changes in visual function and perimacular hemodynamics, sustained after the terminal 3-week washout period.
Transitions in semicrystalline polymers. I. poly(vinyl Fluoride) and poly(vinylidene fluoride)

Abstract The relaxation phenomena of two semicrystalline polymers, poly(vinyl fluoride) and poly(vinylidene fluoride) were studied by a dilaitometric technique in the temperature range from—30°C to 200°C. The premelting (Tαc), upper [Tg(U)] and lower glass [Tg(L)] transitions are observed for both polymers, as well as a transition in PVF2 which is sensitive to thermal history. Comparison of our results with previous work, in most cases at higher frequencies, as well as thermal treatment of PVF2 allow us to make assignments and calculate activation energies for the relaxations. Certain characteristic quantities are given, namely, T < Tg(L)/Tg(L), Tg(L)/Tm, and Tαc/Tm, as well as αΔg and ΔαTg.
The interaction of 1-fluoro-2,4-dinitrobenzene with amino-phospholipids in membranes of intact erythrocytes, modified erythrocytes, and erythrocytes ghosts.

1-Fluoro-2,4-dinitrobenzene (FDNB) has been used to study the availability of amino-containing phospholipids in erythrocyte membranes and ghosts in an aqueous, isotonic medium. It was found that the addition of bovine serum albumin (BSA) to the medium protects the cells from cation leak and protects some of the amino-phospholipids from reacting with the probe. In isotonic medium without BSA, 46% of the phosphatidylethanolamine and 12% of the phosphatidylserine of erythrocytes and 73% and 21% of these respective lipids of ghosts react with the probe. In the presence of 70 μm BSA, 31% of phosphatidylethanolamine and 6.5% of phosphatidylserine of erythrocytes and 59% and 16% of these respective lipids of ghosts react with the probe. The labeling of these lipids does not change under conditions of varying tonicity, or after treatment of erythrocytes with pronase or lysolecithin. The data suggest that 46% of phosphatidylethanolamine and 12% of phosphatidylserine of the erythrocyte membrane are free in a lipid bilayer; 27% and 9% of these respective lipids are loosely bound to proteins which are lost during the preparation of ghosts and 27% of the phosphatidylethanolamine and 79% of the phosphatidylserine are tightly bound to core proteins which remain part of the erythrocyte membrane even after hemolysis.
Evaluation of bioremediation methods for the treatment of soil contaminated with explosives in Louisiana Army Ammunition Plant, Minden, Louisiana.

Abstract Two bioremediation methods, namely, soil slurry reactor and land farming technique were evaluated for the treatment of soil contaminated with explosives in Louisiana Army Ammunition Plant, Minden, Louisiana. The soil had a high concentration of 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene (TNT) of 10,000 mg/kg of soil and medium level contamination of RDX 1900 mg/kg and HMX 900 mg/kg of soil. The results indicated that soil slurry reactor under co-metabolic condition with molasses as co-substrate removed TNT more efficiently than land farming method. TNT removal efficiency was 99% in soil slurry reactor compared to 82% in land farming after 182 days. HMX and RDX were also removed from the soil in both methods, but the removal efficiency was low. The radiolabeled study showed that soil microbes mineralize TNT. The mass-balance of TNT indicated 23.5% of TNT was mineralized to CO 2 , 22.6% was converted to biomass, and 52.3% was converted to various TNT intermediates in the soil slurry reactor. Both methods maintained high bacterial population fairly well. The results of this bench-scale study are promising with regard to transferring the technology to full-scale application at this site.
Carbohydrate and energy metabolism in perinatal rat brain: relation to survival in anoxia.

— The ability of rats of different ages to survive exposure to anoxia was correlated with rates of high energy phosphate consumption (metabolic rates) of the fore-brain. Fetal rats at term, delivered by hysterotomy following maternal decapitation, survived in nitrogen at 37°C twice as long as 1-day-old neo-nates, 5 times longer than 7-day-old rats, and 45 times longer than adults. During ischemia induced by decapitation, the cerebral concentrations of the labile energy reserves (ATP, ADP, P-creatine, glucose and glycogen) and of lactate were determined in fetuses, 1- and 7-day post-natal animals. From the changes, the cerebral energy use rates were calculated to be 1·57 mmol/kg/min in fetuses, 1·33 mmol/kg/min in 1-day-olds and 2·58 mmol/kg/min in 7-day-olds. Maximal rates of lactate accumulation during ischemia, as a measure of glycolytic capacity, were comparable in fetuses and neonates, but were about twice as great in 7-day-old rats. It is concluded that in post-natal animals survival in anoxia and cerebral energy consumption are inversely, and nearly quantitatively, related. However, the reduced cerebral energy requirement cannot entirely account for the greater anoxic resistance of fetuses.
Validation of a patient-centered culturally sensitive health care provider inventory using a national sample of adult patients

Objective The Tucker-Culturally Sensitive Health Care Provider Inventory – Patient Form (T-CSHCPI-PF) is an inventory for culturally diverse patients to evaluate provider cultural sensitivity in the health care process. The T-CSHCPI-PF is novel in that it assesses provider cultural sensitivity as defined by culturally diverse patients. The purpose of the present study was to determine the factor structure and internal consistency reliability of the T-CSHCPI-PF.
Niruroidine, a norsecurinine-type alkaloid from Phyllanthus niruroides

Leaves of Phyllanthus niruroides provided a new norsecurinine-type alkaloid niruroidine whose structure was elucidated on the basis of spectral measurements.
Total colonic Hirschsprung's disease and anorectal malformation in a baby with Pallister–Hall syndrome

Abstract Pallister Hall syndrome (PHS) is a rare polymorphic syndrome of autosomal dominant inheritance characterized by the coexixtance of an hypotalamic hamartoma and polydactyly. Anorectal malformations are commonly present in patients with PHS. Hirschsprung's disease can exist in isolation or associated with a variety of genetic syndromes. In the current report, we present a patient with PHS, anorectal malformation and total colonic Hirschsprung’s disease.
Laser-induced phase transformations in semiconductor nanocrystals

It is demonstrated that coherent laser excitaton results in a selective modification of nanocrystals, results in the change of size, shape and crystal structure of nanocrystals.© (2002) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Impact of Ingredient Ratios on Ground Beef Loaf Quality

Abstract LEARNING OUTCOME: to develop a model ground beef loaf system which would be he basis for developing reduced fat meatlof products. The emphasis on healthy, low fat diets and the decline in beef consumption have resulted in attempts to reduce fat calories in comfort foods. Response surface methodology was utilized to predict an optimum ground beef loaf. A Box-Behnken design consisting of the following treatments: {distilled water (DW) (45, 51, 57, 63, 69g); bread crumbs (BC) (30, 33, 36, 39, 42g); egg whites (EW) (51, 54, 57, 60, 63g); and ground beef fat (GBF) levels (10, 13.3, 20, 26.7, 30%)} were evaluated in a meat loaf formulation comprised of 447g ground beef and 0.3g salt. Variables evaluated were yield, proximate composition (PC), cookout (CO). Instron Lee Kramer, pH, and water holding capacity (WHC). Sensory attributes (juiciness, firmness, mouthfeel, flavor, and overall acceptability were measured using a hedonic scale (5=like extremely and l=dislike extremely). The Statistical Analysis System (SAS) response surface regression was used for model determination. Individual response surface models for yield, sensory, PC, CO, Instron, pH, and WHC did not indicate an optimum response. However, meatloafs formulated with reduced ground beef fat levels (10%) increased yield from 80.2% to 85.2%. Similarly, high levels of egg whites (63g) and bread crumbs (42g) increased yield. A SCORE {SCORE = l(Sensory) + 12(Yield + WHC) + 13(Instron) + 14(PC) + 1 / 5 (CO) + 1 / 6 (pH)} was generated using weighted linear combinations of the variables. Procedure regression with stepwise selection was used to maximize the coefficient of determination and select the maximum score. Formulations with scores above 15 were selected for further evaluation. Two formulations {(45g DW, 42g BC, 63g EW, 10% GBF (LWHB); 69g DW, 30g BC, 63g EW, 10% GBF (HWLB)} were evaluated. A higher cooked yield (86.4%) was obtained from the LWHB formulation. With the current emphasis on healthy and low-fat diets, this ground beef loaf formulation was not only nutritionally healthy, but also palatable.
Ricin does not act as an endonuclease on L cell polysomal RNA

The ability of ricin to act as an endonuclease was examined using labelled polysomes isolated from mouse L cells grown in [32P] orthophosphate. No change was detected in the electrophoretic mobility of any ribosomal RNA species whether L cells were first treated with ricin or the isolated polysomes were treated with ricin. No trichloroacetic acid soluble counts over control levels were released by ricin treatment of isolated polysomes and no changes were observed in sucrose density gradient polysome profile with ricin treatment. The action of ricin on polysomes which results in inhibition of translation does not appear to involve endonuclease activity.
Farida Benlyazid's Moroccan women

(2000). Farida Benlyazid's Moroccan women. Quarterly Review of Film and Video: Vol. 17, No. 4, pp. 343-369.
Coupled Water Content Method for Shrink and Swell Predictions

Lane/shoulder drop-off or heave due to expansive soils beneath is a common distress in both concrete and asphalt pavements, resulting in substantial discomfort, safety hazard and vehicle damage. The situation becomes worse when exposed to moisture changes, particularly in Texas, Colorado, Arizona, California, etc. where many soils are expansive soils. Therefore, expansive soils pose great challenges for the design of pavements and foundations. One of the most difficult issues for designing pavements and foundations on expansive soils is to predict the volume change of the soils. In this study, current methods for movement predictions are summarised and their relationships and shortcomings are discussed. It is found that all these methods have the same theoretical basis. Based on the theory of unsaturated soil mechanics, it is found that the water content and the mechanical stress can be used to determine the soil status. Hence, a void ratio versus mechanical stress and water content surface is constructed...
Blending military chain of command with the typical it support model to support the largest dormitory in the world

The Commandant & Staff IT zone within the Information Technology Services Division (ITSD) at the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, MD provides IT support to a student body of over 4400 individuals (The Brigade of Midshipmen), the Commandant and his staff, and the company officers and senior enlisted leaders responsible for governing their respective Midshipmen companies. The entire Brigade resides in Bancroft Hall, the largest dormitory in the world, which also houses the office space for the support staff and officers. A dormitory of this size presents its own particular challenges technologically as well as logistically. The IT issues presented by the Brigade of Midshipmen are resolved by a support model which includes the use of government employees, contractors, and students who are referred to as Midshipmen Information Systems Liaison Officers (MISLOs) and have been appointed by their senior officers. Using a combination of the military chain of command and ITSD's information technology support model, the Brigade of Midshipmen have all of their IT needs addressed in a timely manner. In addition to this support model, USNA began using the 3rd party application Web Help DeskTM in October of 2010. The transition from the existing RemedyTM ticketing system to a system using approvals and escalations has ensured trouble tickets don't "fall through the cracks," and are addressed in a timely manner. The use of MISLOs and Web Help Desk has greatly improved the IT process in supporting the Brigade of Midshipmen.
Quantum conductance of graphene nanoribbons with edge defects

The conductance of metallic graphene nanoribbons (GNRs) with single defects and weak disorder at their edges is investigated in a tight-binding model. We find that a single edge defect will induce quasilocalized states and consequently cause zero-conductance dips. The center energies and breadths of such dips are strongly dependent on the geometry of GNRs. Armchair GNRs are more sensitive to a vacancy than zigzag GNRs, but are less sensitive to a weak scatter. More importantly, we find that with a weak disorder, zigzag GNRs will change from metallic to semiconducting due to Anderson localization. However, a weak disorder only slightly affects the conductance of armchair GNRs.
Parasitic infections: Time to tackle cryptosporidiosis

The little-studied parasite Cryptosporidium is a major threat to infants. Boris Striepen calls on microbiologists and funders to give it more attention.
Mare Humorum: An Integrated Study of Spectral Reflectivity

A detailed study was made of the spectral reflectivity of 31 areas in the Humorum basic region. There are at least two units in the mare portion of Humorum which are distinguishable by spectral properties. One of these units (T-type) has a spectral reflectivity resembling that of the Apollo 11 site and also some areas in Oceanus Procellarum. The other unit in southwest Mare Humorum resembles Mare Serenitatis in spectral character (S-type). The continuity of T-type material through the break in the northeast wall of Mare Humorum and its spectral similarity to areas in Procellarum suggest that the T-type material may result from an event that flooded parts of Mare Procellarum at a period later than the original Humorum basin filling (S-type).
Proteomic analysis of GLUT4 storage vesicles reveals LRP1 to be an important vesicle component and target of insulin signaling.

Insulin stimulates the translocation of intracellular GLUT4 to the plasma membrane where it functions in adipose and muscle tissue to clear glucose from circulation. The pathway and regulation of GLUT4 trafficking are complicated and incompletely understood and are likely to be contingent upon the various proteins other than GLUT4 that comprise and interact with GLUT4-containing vesicles. Moreover, not all GLUT4 intracellular pools are insulin-responsive as some represent precursor compartments, thus posing a biochemical challenge to the purification and characterization of their content. To address these issues, we immunodepleted precursor GLUT4-rich vesicles and then immunopurified GLUT4 storage vesicle (GSVs) from primary rat adipocytes and subjected them to semi-quantitative and quantitative proteomic analysis. The purified vesicles translocate to the cell surface almost completely in response to insulin, the expected behavior for bona fide GSVs. In total, over 100 proteins were identified, about 50 of which are novel in this experimental context. LRP1 (low density lipoprotein receptor-related protein 1) was identified as a major constituent of GSVs, and we show it interacts with the lumenal domains of GLUT4 and other GSV constituents. Its cytoplasmic tail interacts with the insulin-signaling pathway target, AS160 (Akt substrate of 160 kDa). Depletion of LRP1 from 3T3-L1 adipocytes reduces GLUT4 expression and correspondingly results in decreased insulin-stimulated 2-[3H]deoxyglucose uptake. Furthermore, adipose-specific LRP1 knock-out mice also exhibit decreased GLUT4 expression. These findings suggest LRP1 is an important component of GSVs, and its expression is needed for the formation of fully functional GSVs.