cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Enhancing caption accessibility through simultaneous multimodal information: visual-tactile captions

Captions (subtitles) for television and movies have greatly enhanced accessibility for Deaf and hard of hearing (DHH) consumers who do not understand the audio, but can otherwise follow by reading the captions. However, these captions fail to fully convey auditory information, due to simultaneous delivery of aural and visual content, and lack of standardization in representing non-speech information. Viewers cannot simultaneously watch the movie scenes and read the visual captions; instead they have to switch between the two and inevitably lose information and context in watching the movies. In contrast, hearing viewers can simultaneously listen to the audio and watch the scenes. Most auditory non-speech information (NSI) is not easily represented by words, e.g., the description of a ring tone, or the sound of something falling. We enhance captions with tactile and visual-tactile feedback. For the former, we transform auditory NSI into its equivalent tactile representation and convey it simultaneously with the captions. For the latter, we visually identify the location of the NSI. This approach can benefit DHH viewers by conveying more aural content to the viewer's visual and tactile senses simultaneously than visual-only captions alone. We conducted a study, which compared DHH viewer responses between video with captions, tactile captions, and visual-tactile captions. The viewers significantly benefited from visual-tactile and tactile captions.
Processing of long-acting natriuretic peptide and vessel dilator in human plasma and serum.

Abstract OVERTON, R.M. AND D.L. VESELY. Processing of long-acting natriuretic peptide and vessel dilator in human plasma and serum . PEPTIDES 17 (7) 1155–1162, 1996.—High performance-gel permeation chromotography (HP-GPC) evaluation of human plasma and serum incubated at 37°C up to 24 h after the addition of long-acting natriuretic peptide (LANP) revealed a 25% decrease in LANP's peak at 2 h followed by an increase in plasma without EDTA at 8 h ( p Published by Elsevier Science Inc.
Compression waves generated in rock by cylindrical explosive charges: A comparison between a computer model and field measurements

Abstract A computer model is used to simulate the compressive strain waves generated in rock from the end detonation of long and short cylindrical explosive charges. The model synthesizes the strain wave by superposing the waves from detonation of a number of concentrated explosive charges. In situ strain data were recorded by strain gages mounted in a granite gneiss at various distances and positions with respect to 2 1 2 ft and 27 ft charges of a high-pressure gelatin (HPG) and a more slowly detonating mixture of prills and fuel oil (PFO). The good agreement between the strain data obtained in the field and the computer-generated data shows that the model can be used to predict the strain waves generated in rock by cylindrical explosives charges. The paper also shows that for relatively short end-initiated HPG charges, the resulting strain is not spherically symmetric even at large distances in the rock. Furthermore the peak strains due to both long and short charges are shown to be greatly influenced by the detonation velocity of the explosive.
Minimally invasive esophagectomy: lessons learned from 104 operations.

Objectives:To review the outcomes of 104 consecutive minimally invasive esophagectomy (MIE) procedures for the treatment of benign and malignant esophageal disease.Summary Background Data:Although minimally invasive surgical approaches to esophagectomy have been reported since 1992, MIE is still con
A Critical Evaluation of the Randomized Response Method Applications, Validation, and Research Agenda

Warner (1965) introduced the Randomized Response Method (RRM) 20 years ago. This method has been advocated as a useful tool in eliciting sensitive information. Much of the early research focused on various parameter estimation methods. This article provides a comprehensive review of applications of the randomized response method with emphasis on recent publications, identifies issues now being studied, and suggests future research directions. As such, the article addresses method validation, respondent jeopardy, and new applications. In so doing, the method is considered in the broad context of obtaining responses to sensitive questions. Judging by the number of articles published, randomized response method continues to be of interest in numerous and diverse disciplines.
Emergent Literacy in Family Child Care: Perceptions of Three Providers

Abstract Perceptions of emergent literacy by three family child care providers are described. These perceptions were gathered through ethnographic data collection techniques, including participant-observation, field notes, interviews, and document analysis. The providers described their understandings of emergent literacy through perceptions about themselves, perceptions of their own child-rearing practices, perceptions of how young children learn to acquire literacy, and perceptions of the literacy-play connection. The findings focus on the providers' notion of being on a continuum between a mother, provider, and teacher. Possible effects that these self-understandings may have on the literacy development of children who attend family child care, and the implications of these perceptions for children who attend family child care as a preschool experience, are discussed.
A magnetorheological fluid-based controllable active knee brace

High customization costs and reduction of natural mobility put current rehabilitative knee braces at a disadvantage. A resolution to this problem is to integrate a Magnetorheological (MR) fluid-based joint into the system. A MR joint will allow patients to apply and control a resistive torque to knee flexion and extension. The resistance torque can also be continuously adjusted as a function of extension angle and patient strength (or as a function of time), which is currently impossible with state of the art rehabilitative knee braces. A novel MR fluid-based controllable knee brace is designed and prototyped in this research. The device exhibits large resistive torque in the on-state and low resistance in the offstate. The controllable variable stiffness, compactness, and portability of the system make it a proper alternative to current rehabilitative knee braces.
Case Article---Quantifying Operational Risk in Financial Institutions

Risk management is essential in today's business environment for banks and other financial institutions to survive in highly competitive and volatile markets. As the subprime mortgage debacle of 2008 has shown us, risk management, or the lack thereof, affects more than just the individual institution. Hence, banks and other financial institutions are subject to frequent reviews by federal regulators. The regulatory reviews require that the institutions set aside capital cash reserves to offset the potential risk of loss that they face every day. This case study focuses on a large regional bank, for which we use the pseudonym A Bank, and guides students through developing a risk model for operational risk. The students develop their models using maximum likelihood estimation, goodness-of-fit testing, convolution of distributions, and order statistics. The pedagogical objectives of the case study include applying statistics to a real-world problem while establishing connections among statistics, optimization, and simulation. The case can be used in different disciplines such as engineering e.g., an engineering statistics class or business e.g., a hybrid operations research/statistics MBA class or an elective class on quantitative finance and for graduate or undergraduate education by changing the intensity of the technical skills required and by using a different mix of case documents. Case Teaching Note: Interested Instructors please see the Instructor Materials page for access to the restricted materials. To maintain the integrity and usefulness of cases published in ITE, unapproved distribution of the case teaching notes and other restricted materials to any other party is prohibited.
Commodity prices and the CPI: Cointegration, information, and signal extraction

This paper provides theoretical underpinnings for the commodity price/aggregate price relationship, discusses the conditions under which commodity prices are useful information variables for monetary policy, and provides empirical results which suggest why commodity prices have not been very useful for forecasting.
The interrelations of the pulmonary arterial and venous wedge pressures.

Pulmonary venous wedge pressure closely reflects the pulmonary arterial mean pressure. Pulmonary arterial wedge pressure is not significantly different from the left atrial mean pressure. Neither the former nor the latter is an approximation of the pulmonary capillary pressure.
Vegetation and seedbank response to Eragrostis lehmanniana removal in semi-desert communities

Summary Eragrostis lehmanniana (Lehmann lovegrass) is an invasive perennial bunchgrass in semi-desert grasslands in the USA. We removed E. lehmanniana using glyphosate at three locations in south-eastern Arizona in 2003 and 2004 to evaluate the community response. We also sampled the seedbank five times during the course of the experiment to characterise viable seeds at the sites. Two of the sites with histories of livestock grazing responded similarly to the continued removal of E. lehmanniana, with significant increases in native cover and species richness, mainly attributable to herbaceous annual species. Over the course of the study, progressively fewer E. lehmanniana seeds and higher numbers of native annual herb seeds were germinated from seedbank samples of treated plots. At the third site, characterised by a history of intense agricultural use and drier conditions than the other sites, there was a large decrease in E. lehmanniana cover in all plots, followed by an increase in aggressive non-native species as well as native grasses. The seedbank at this site suggested potential for restoration, with native perennial grass species present in increasing quantities. The results of this study have implications for site restoration, should a means of permanently removing E. lehmanniana be found.
Therapy for Emotionally Abused Women

Emotional Abuse. Marti Tamml Oringn. ew York: Lexington Books, 1994. 140 pp., $22.95, ISBN: 020-919343-5
Modified Pereyra bladder neck suspension in patients with intrinsic sphincter deficiency and bladder neck hypermobility: patient satisfaction with a mean follow-up of 4 years

Abstract Objectives. To determine the long-term success rate for the modified Pereyra bladder neck suspension and to identify preoperative characteristics that create differences in surgical outcome. We attempted retrospectively to separate those patients with what we now recognize was significant intrinsic sphincter deficiency (ISD) before routine use of Valsalva leak point pressures (VLPPs) was available. Methods. The charts and videourodynamic reports of 208 patients who underwent a modified Pereyra bladder neck suspension from June 1988 to June 1996 were reviewed, and survey questionnaires were mailed to all patients. All videourodynamic study reports and charts were reviewed to identify those with what we now recognize was significant ISD and compare them with a group that we believed had more pure descent problems. Results. A total of 135 patients or 65% of the population responded. The mean time after surgery was 4.14 years. At the follow-up survey, 14% reported no leakage at all, 42% reported very little or mild leakage, 38% reported moderate leakage, and 6% reported severe leakage. Fifty-three percent of patients continued to wear pads. Seventy-nine percent reported improvement in their leakage compared with the preoperative state, and 69% were satisfied with the results. When patients with preoperative ISD were compared with patients with pure bladder neck hypermobility, the ISD group had more leakage and less improvement after surgery than patients with bladder neck hypermobility. Conclusions. With an average follow-up of greater than 4 years, most women continued to leak with symptoms of stress urinary incontinence. Even though 79% reported improvement over their preoperative condition and 69% were satisfied, the results were disappointing. Patients with significant ISD had a worse outcome (2.6% dry) than patients with pure bladder neck hypermobility (20% dry). Given the above data, significant ISD is a contraindication for a modified Pereyra transvaginal needle suspension, and these data cast further doubt on the ability of the modified Pereyra needle suspension to consistently cure even anatomic incontinence.
Characterization of cDNAs for stylar transmitting tissue-specific proline-rich proteins in tobacco.

Summary The pistil of flowers is a specialized organ which contains the female gametophytes and provides the structures necessary for pollination and fertilization. Pollen deposited on the stigmatic surface of a compatible plant germinates a pollen tube which penetrates the stigmatic papillae and grows intercellularly through the style towards the ovules in the ovary. Pollen tube growth is largely restricted to the transmitting tissue in the style. Therefore the stylar transmitting tissue is extremely important for the migration of the pollen cell towards the ovary. We have isolated two related cDNAs, transmitting tissue-specific (TTS)-1 and TTS-2, derived from two proline-rich protein (PRP)-encoding mRNAs that accumulate specifically in the transmitting tissue of tobacco. The deduced PRP sequences share similarities with proline-rich cell wall glycoproteins found in a variety of plants. TTS-1 and TTS-2 mRNAs are induced in very young floral buds, accumulate most abundantly during the later stages of flower development when style elongation is the most rapid, and remain at relatively high levels at anthesis. These mRNAs become undetectable in maturing green fruits. In situ hybridization shows that TTS-1 and TTS-2 mRNA accumulation is restricted to the transmitting tissue of the style. The possible roles that these transmitting tissue-specific PRPs may play in maintaining the structural integrity of the style or in the function of this organ is discussed.
Perspectives on rogers's basic encounter group: A commentary on interpretations by boy and bozarth

Abstract The nature of Rogerian theory and group work are discussed in this comment on an article by Boy and a reaction by Bozarth
Parallel programming with logic languages: A survey

Formal properties of logic languages are largely studied; however, their impact on the practice of software design and programming is currently minimal. In this paper we survey some interesting representatives of the family of logic languages aiming at comparing the different capabilities they offer for designing and programming parallel systems. The logic languages Prolog, Aurora, Flat Concurrent Prolog, Parlog, GHC, and DeltaProlog were chosen, because a suitable set of relevant examples has been published, mostly by the language designers themselves. A number of sample programs is used to expose and compare the languages with respect to their object oriented programming capabilities for multiprocess coordination, interprocess communication, and resource management. Special attention is devoted also to metaprogramming as well, seen as a useful technique for specifying and building the operating environments of the languages themselves. The paper ends with a discussion on positive and negative features found comparing these languages, and indicates some guidelines to be followed in the design of new logic languages.
Transient error management for partially adaptive router in network-on-chip (NoC)

We propose a concatenate error detection method that exploits inherent information redundancy in network-on-chip (NoC) router, to address transient route computation errors. In our previous works, inherent information redundancy has been successfully employed to management transient errors in routers using XY deterministic routing algorithm. To prevent misrouting caused by transient errors injected in the partially adaptive router, we improve our previous method by using concatenate error detection logic. The proposed method is applied to a recent partially adaptive router based on logic-based distributed routing (LBDR). Analysis and simulation results show that the proposed method reduces the residual error rate by up to 1.98× and 3.47× over our previous approach and triple modular redundancy (TMR), respectively. More importantly, the proposed method consumes 2.6× less area and 2.1× less power consumption compared to TMR.
Convergent Validity of the Behavioral and Emotional Rating Scale for Youth in Community Mental Health Settings

Traditionally, assessment of youths’ emotional and behavioral functioning within community mental health is conducted from a deficit-based approach, often excluding the measurement of strengths. Assessing youths’ emotional and behavioral strengths can provide a comprehensive understanding of youths’ functioning and better inform treatment planning. The Behavioral and Emotional Rating Scale-Second Edition (BERS-2) is a standardized, norm-referenced assessment of the behavioral and emotional strengths of youth ages 5–18. The psychometric properties of the BERS-2 scores are well established; however, most previous studies have focused on youth within school settings. As such, the purpose of the present study was to evaluate the convergent validity of the scores from the caregiver version of the BERS-2 with a large, diverse sample of youth referred for community mental health services. The correlation coefficients between the BERS-2 scores and scores from the Child Behavior Checklist and the Columbia Impairment Scale were moderate to large, and in the expected directions. Thus, findings support the convergent validity and use of the BERS-2 scores for youth receiving community mental health services.
Some conjectures on the behavior of acknowledgement-based transmission control of random access communication channels

A class of acknowledgment-based transmission control algorithms is considered. In the finite population case, we claim that algorithms based on backoff functions which increase faster than linearly but slower than exponentially are stable up to full channel capacity, whereas sublinear, exponential, and superexponential algorithms are not. In addition, comments are made about the nature of the quasistationary behavior in the infinite population case, and about how systems interpolate between the finite and infinite number of station cases. The treatment presented here is nonrigorous, consisting of approximate analytic arguments confirmed by detailed numerical simulations.
Changes in Musical Attitudes, Opinions, and Knowledge of Music Appreciation Students

In this study, the changes in musical attitudes, opinions, and knowledge of undergraduate students (N = 135) enrolled in a music appreciation course were investigated. At the beginning and end of the 10-week course, students' attitudes toward composers were assessed by a free-recall survey on which the students were asked to list and rank-order their 10 favorite composers and to give information about recording ownership. Students then completed a test composed of excerpts about which they were asked their opinion and questions about their knowledge of era, composer, and title. Students exhibited a significant gain in knowledge about the works on the test (p .10). Students listed significantly more composers of the formal tradition on the attitude survey following the course (p < .01). Moderate relationships were found between the gain in the number of formal composers lis...
Neonatal Herpes Simplex Virus Infections: Where Are We Now?

Neonatal herpes simplex virus (HSV) infection continues to cause significant morbidity and mortality despite advances in diagnosis and treatment. Prior to antiviral therapy, 85% of patients with disseminated HSV disease and 50% of patients with central nervous system disease died within 1 year. The advent of antiviral therapy has dramatically improved the prognosis of neonatal HSV with initially vidarabine and subsequently acyclovir increasing the survival rate of infected neonates and improving long-term developmental outcomes. More recently, polymerase chain reaction has allowed earlier identification of HSV infection and provided a quantitative guide to treatment. Current advances in the treatment of neonatal HSV infections are looking toward the role of prolonged oral suppression therapy in reducing the incidence of recurrent disease. Of concern, however, are increasing reports of acyclovir-resistant HSV isolates in patients following prolonged therapy.
BETWEEN NON-RACIALISM AND MULTICULTURALISM: INDIAN IDENTITY AND NATION BUILDING IN SOUTH AFRICA

The paper examines the rhetoric of nation-building in South Africa with particular reference to the incorporation of South Africans of Indian descent into the post-1994 political order. During its years as a protest movement, the ANC came to embrace ‘non-racialism’, a doctrine emphasising a common South African identity, in order to provide a counter-rhetoric to the racially exclusive doctrine of apartheid. However, the organisation had difficulty in garnering support from the Indian and Coloured communities during the transition to democratic rule. It increasingly adopted a multiculturalist conception of the South African nation and promoted the idea of the ‘rainbow nation’ in order to foster a sense of unity among South Africa's diverse population groups. This multicultural conception of the South African nation has met with some success. The majority of Indians voted for the ANC in the 2004 elections, shifting their political loyalties from the National and Democratic Parties in previous elections. This trend demonstrates an increasing identification among Indians with the African majority government. However, in spite of the ANC's success in courting the Indian vote in the 2004 elections, Indian-African tensions have been fuelled by recent anti-Indian rhetoric. The paper argues that a multiculturalism that does not address the material conditions that fuel class antagonisms will prove to be shallow in the present neo-liberal policy climate.
Taxonomy and Life History of the Moose Fly, Haematobosca alcis and Its Association with the Moose, Alces alces shirasi in Yellowstone National Park

The moose fly, Haematobosca alcis (Snow) is abundant in Yellowstone National Park wherever its host, Shiras' Moose, occurs. Descriptions of the 2nd and 3rd instars, the puparium, and both sexes are given. H. alcis is similar morphologically to its European congener, H. stimulans , but can be distinguished particularly by size, biology and host preference. Except for the difference in host specificity, the biology of H. alcis is similar to that of Haematobia irritans . The females oviposit in fresh moose droppings, depositing about 10 eggs each 0.5-3 min after a moose defecates. Development from egg to adult requires about 16 days at 21°C in the laboratory. Flies emerge from overwintered pupae in late spring (usually early June) and adults are active until late September. The haematophagous adults are host specific for moose and remain with the host animal, except when females are ovipositing. Occasional specimens were attracted to horses when near moose habitat and one male attempted to pierce the skin of man. Moose did not appear particularly annoyed by H. alcis , even when 500 or more flies were present/animal.
Morphogenetic Differences between Fore and Hind Limb Precartilage Mesenchyme: Relation to Mechanisms of Skeletal Pattern Formation

Abstract Using a serum-free culture system, we have investigated morphogenetic differences between fore and hind limb precartilage mesenchymal cells derived from stages 21-26 chicken embryos. Across all stages, wing and leg cultures were intrinsically different in the amount and spatial organization of cartilage that they produced. By stage 24, leg cells began to produce a nodular pattern of cartilage while wing cells continued to produce sheets of cartilage. This pattern difference persisted throughout the later stages and was not due to differences in cell survival as judged by DNA content or to the presence of distinctive cell subpopulations in either tissue, as determined by flow cytometry. Chondrogenesis in wing and leg precartilage cell cultures was affected differently by 10% fetal bovine serum, TGF-β1 (1 ng/ml for 5 hr on the day after plating), and retinoic acid (5 ng/ml). In wing cultures, the extent of chondrogenesis was significantly enhanced by serum or by a combination of TGF-β1 and retinoic acid, but the cartilage pattern was not altered with any treatment. In leg cultures, the extent of chondrogenesis was enhanced by TGF-β1 alone, inhibited by retinoic acid alone, and the cartilage pattern was changed from nodular to sheet-like by treatment with TGF-β1. Wing and leg cultures also differed from each other in relative cohesivity and in condensation morphology and organization of fibronectin during the early phase of differentiation. Wing cells produced broad, flat condensations containing diffusely organized fibronectin, whereas leg cells elaborated an extensive network of long fibronectin-rich fibrils connecting very compact, fibronectin-rich condensations. These intrinsic and induced differences in fore and hind limb mesenchyme provide insight into the mechanisms that are common to the formation of all limb skeletal elements and those that distinguish skeletal elements from different limb regions and limb types.
Effect of auxiliary males on territory ownership in the oribi and the attributes of multimale groups.

Abstract I observed free-ranging oribi, Ourebia ourebi , in Serengeti National Park, Tanzania, to determine whether group formation by males provides evidence for cooperative territory defence, a behaviour that is rare among male vertebrates. Socially dominant males that shared territories with subordinate auxiliary males were replaced by rivals less often than males that defended territories without auxiliary males. Auxiliary males marked territories with preorbital glands, dung and urine, and territories defended by male groups were marked more thoroughly than those defended by single males. Fifteen of 24 (62.5%) auxiliary males whose histories were known were born on territories defended by males that probably were their fathers. But 37.5% of auxiliary males probably were unrelated to dominant males, because male groups also formed when territory owners accepted adult male immigrants as subordinates, and when owners allowed young males to remain philopatric after evicting a male likely to have been the young male’s father. All males in groups probably had some mating access to females, but dominant males may have minimized matings of auxiliary males by guarding fertile females. These results suggest that auxiliary male oribi aided dominant males in territory defence, and that dominants traded off the risks of losing matings to auxiliaries, or being overthrown by them, in exchange for a reduction in their chance of being evicted by rival neighbours or immigrants.
Social influence and interpersonal power in organizations: Roles of performance and political skill in two studies

This two-study investigation framed performance as one potential form of influence that interacts with political skill to affect power assessments. It was hypothesized that favorable performance is more likely to be leveraged into higher levels of interpersonal power when individuals possess high levels of political skill but not for individuals low in political skill. Study 1 (N = 97) demonstrated that individuals with positive performance were more likely to possess higher levels of interpersonal power if they were high in political skill. Furthermore, higher levels of performance were not related to power for individuals low in political skill. Thus, these results from Study 1 established support for the hypothesis. Study 2 (N = 384), using a multisource design, constructively replicated these findings. Contributions to theory and research, strengths and limitations, directions for future research, and practical implications are discussed.
Post-licensure rapid immunization safety monitoring program (PRISM) data characterization.

Abstract Background The Post-Licensure Rapid Immunization Safety Monitoring (PRISM) program is the immunization safety monitoring component of FDA's Mini-Sentinel project, a program to actively monitor the safety of medical products using electronic health information. FDA sought to assess the surveillance capabilities of this large claims-based distributed database for vaccine safety surveillance by characterizing the underlying data. Methods We characterized data available on vaccine exposures in PRISM, estimated how much additional data was gained by matching with select state and local immunization registries, and compared vaccination coverage estimates based on PRISM data with other available data sources. We generated rates of computerized codes representing potential health outcomes relevant to vaccine safety monitoring. Standardized algorithms including ICD-9 codes, number of codes required, exclusion criteria and location of the encounter were used to obtain the background rates. Results The majority of the vaccines routinely administered to infants, children, adolescents and adults were well captured by claims data. Immunization registry data in up to seven states comprised between 5% and 9% of data for all vaccine categories with the exception of 10% for hepatitis B and 3% and 4% for rotavirus and zoster respectively. Vaccination coverage estimates based on PRISM's computerized data were similar to but lower than coverage estimates from the National Immunization Survey and Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set. For the 25 health outcomes of interest studied, the rates of potential outcomes based on ICD-9 codes were generally higher than rates described in the literature, which are typically clinically confirmed cases. Conclusion PRISM program's data on vaccine exposures and health outcomes appear complete enough to support robust safety monitoring.
Potential Jupiter Atmospheric Constituents: Candidates for the Mass Spectrometer in the Galileo Atmospheric Probe

An array of carbon-hydrogen-nitrogen (CHN) compounds are formed when mixtures of ammonia and acetylene are photolyzed with ultraviolet (UV) light. Some of these compounds, formed in our investigation of pathways for HCN synthesis on Jupiter, have not been encountered previously in observational, theoretical or laboratory photochemical studies. Knowledge of these structures may facilitate the interpretation of the mass spectral data obtained by the Galileo probe as it passed through the atmosphere of Jupiter.
On the boundary conditions applied to the sea‐ice coupled model

[1] The formulation of suitable boundary conditions at the water-ice interface during ice formation (melting) is an important aspect of the sea-ice coupled model. The transfer of water and salt through the water-ice can be posed as different boundary conditions. Behavior of the model under these boundary conditions is illustrated through simple analytical models and a numerical model based on pressure-η coordinate. It is emphasized that the correct handling of the boundary conditions associated with sea ice formation requires an accurate treatment of the equivalent pressure on the top of water column and the total volume (mass) of the water column in the ice formation regime. Improper treatment of these boundary conditions may lead to an artificial loop current near the edge of ice in numerical simulations of oceanic circulation in the Arctic Ocean or near the Antarctica.
γ‐Lactones from malonic acid derivatives

The acid catalyzed cyclization of isopropylidene malonate derivatives of ketones to form α-earboxy-γ-lactones has been shown to occur with boron trifluoride etherate or p-toluenesulfonic acid, as well as with concentrated sulfuric or polyphosphoric acids. A similar cyclization of a diethyl ylidenemalonate to a lactone ester, in relatively poor yield, has also been accomplished. Acid catalyzed cyclization of the ylidenemalononitrile derived from pinacolone to form an α-carbamoyl-γ-lactone has been shown to occur with rearrangement. However, that derived from 2,2-dimethyleyclohexanone cyclized to the secondary carbon of the ring without rearrangement. The isopropylidene malonate derivatives of several ring-substituted and bridged ketones have been converted to α-earboxy-γ-laetones without rearrangement.
Too Close For Comfort: Psychoanalytic Cultural Theory and Domestic Violence Politics

This paper takes up a series of questions concerning the narrating of domestic abuse, seeking a rapprochement between psychoanalytic cultural theory and domestic violence politics. The paper makes use of a line of psychoanalytic theory pursued by Frances Restuccia (2000) as point of departure, introducing alternative pathways for navigating between psychoanalytic cultural theory and a feminist politics of battering. The paper unpacks the narrative strategies deployed in the domestic violence movement, starting with the work of Lenore Walker on the “battered woman syndrome” and extending into the work of Ellen Pence and Michael Paymar, whose “power and control” model displaced the psychiatric discourses underpinning the work of Walker. In bringing psychology back into analyses of stories about battering, the paper closes with a psychoanalytic-feminist reading of a film discussed by women's advocates in the course of the author's domestic violence research carried out at the Pine Ridge Reservation in the United States.
The effect of demand response on distribution system operation

Demand response is an important resource that can significantly increase the efficiency of the future power systems. It is a key component of smart grids that can bring a lot of benefits to power system operators and customers. This work assesses potential impacts of demand response on some major attributes of the distribution system such as the network losses, voltage profiles, and maximum power flow through the lines. We considered detailed and practical models of individual residential loads for flexible loads in the system. The flexible load models are various household appliances with different acceptable delay times (ADTs) within which their consumption can be shifted from the normal schedules. With these models, demand response was applied to the 33-bus IEEE test system. In this system, each bus served a specific number of aggregated individual residential loads. The obtained results have shown the great effects of demand response on distribution system attributes.
Experimental pitfalls in evaluating vectorial protein secretion in vitro; Sertoli cell secretion of androgen-binding protein and transferrin in two-compartment culture chambers.

We examined the influence of various Millipore filter pretreatments on the amounts of androgen-binding protein (ABP) and transferrin (Trf) found in the outer (OC) and inner (IC) compartment of two-compartment Sertoli cell (Sc) cultures. When Sc were cultured on untreated Millipore filters, less than 10% of ABP was found in OC during 3 initial culture days compared to similar cultures on pretreated filters. Most of the glycoprotein was shown to be bound by the filters. Pretreatment of Millipore filters with 5% bovine serum albumin (BSA) or 2% fetal bovine serum (FBS) maximally saturated the nonspecific protein-binding sites resulting in OC:IC ratio of ABP similar to that found in cultures on polycarbonate membranes, which exhibit very low protein-binding capacity. In contrast to ABP, about 40% of Trf was bound by the Millipore filter on Day 1, with only trace amounts bound thereafer. These differences were due to much higher secretion rate of Trf than ABP, resulting in a relatively smaller fraction of Trf bound to the filter. Again, the nonspecific binding of Trf was greatly reduced by filter pretreatment with 5% BSA or 2% FBS. It is concluded that complete saturation of protein-binding sites of cellulose ester supports is necessary for reliable evaluation of vectorial protein secretion by Sc and other polarized epithelial cells maintained in this type of culture. The implications of partial saturation of protein-binding sites of culture support in interpreting experimental results are discussed.
Excited States of the F Center

Various $L$ bands have been measured in KCl and KBr x rayed at liquid-helium temperature and in KCl: H x rayed at room temperature. These results argue against the suggestion that the $L$ bands arise from complexes involving $F$ centers and support the argument that the $L$ bands arise from the $F$ center itself. A charge-transfer model of the $L$ bands is proposed in which the transitions correspond to a combination of transferring the $F$-center electron to a neighboring alkali ion and raising the resulting alkali atom to one of its excited states.
Everything you want to know about androgens

The third edition of the encyclopedic book Testosterone: Action, Deficiency, Substitution covers almost all aspects of the general biology of androgens and their clinical applications. The authors are primarily from Europe but the inclusion of contributors from the USA and Australia ensures an international flavor. This book includes comprehensive reviews of androgen biosynthesis, transport and molecular biology as well as two chapters covering the molecular biology and clinical pathophysiology of androgen receptors.
Building self-configuring services using service-specific knowledge

A self-configuring sendee can automatically leverage distributed sendee components and resources to compose an optimal configuration according to both the requirements of a particular user and the system characteristics. One major challenge for building such sendees is how to bring in sendee-specific knowledge, e.g., what components are needed and optimization criteria to use, while still allowing reuse of common sendee composition functionalities. We present an architecture in which service developers express their service-specific knowledge in the form of a service recipe that is used by a generic synthesizer to perform sendee composition automatically. We apply our approach to three different services to illustrate the flexibility and simplicity of the recipe representation. We use simulations based on Internet measurements to evaluate how an appropriate optimization algorithm can be selected according to a developer's sendee-specific trade-off between optimality and cost of optimization.
Orthopyroxene-bearing, mafic migmatites at Cone Peak, California: evidence for the formation of migmatitic granulites by anatexis in an open system

Orthopyroxene-bearing migmatites, exposed at the summit of Cone Peak in the Santa Lucia Range, California, offer an opportunity to explore potential links between granulite facies metamorphism and migmatite formation. Geothermobarometry indicates that the metamorphic temperatures and pressures were in the approximate ranges of 700–750° C and 7.0–7.5 kbar. The rocks at the summit comprise three domains: relatively coarse-grained, leucocratic veins; relatively fine-grained, biotite-enriched zones at the margins of the veins; and a biotite–hornblende-bearing host rock. Orthopyroxene is concentrated in the veins, which have also the highest ratio of anhydrous to hydrous minerals of the three rock types. The composition of the veins, together with their textures and modes, suggest that they formed through anatexis involving a dehydration-melting reaction which consumed hornblende and produced orthopyroxene. Variability in mineralogy and composition indicates that there was some local migration of magma along the veins before their final solidification. The biotite-enriched zones formed either by the concentration of residual biotite at the margins of the vein, or through the metasomatic conversion of hornblende (and/or pyroxene) to biotite, or by a combination of the two processes. Significant differences in the chemistry of the neosome (vein + biotite-enriched zone) and the host rock rule out simple dehydration melting in a local closed system. The model that explains best the mineralogical and chemical patterns involves triggering of melting by an influx of a low-aH2O mixed fluid which added K and Si to and removed Ca from the neosome.
The Beavers Systems Model of Family Functioning

Family competence and family style are the two main dimensions of the Beavers Systems Model of Family Functioning. The competence dimension ranges from optimal through adequate, midrange and borderline to severely dysfunctional. The style dimension ranges from centripetal to centrifugal. When the two dimensions are combined, they diagramatically define nine distinct family groupings, three of which are relatively functional and six of which are thought to be sufficiently problematic to require clinical intervention. A family's status on the competence and style dimensions may be established with the Beavers interactional scales. The self-report family inventory may be used to evaluate family members' perceptions of their status on the competence dimension. The reliability and validity of the self-report instrument and observational rating scales have been documented in over thirty papers and books published by the Beavers research team since 1970. The model has proved useful in training, research and clinical work.
A Mutation in the sap Operon Attenuates Survival of Nontypeable Haemophilus influenzae in a Chinchilla Model of Otitis Media

Bacteria have evolved strategies to resist killing by antimicrobial peptides (APs), important effectors of innate immunity. The sap (sensitivity to antimicrobial peptides) operon confers resistance to AP-mediated killing of Salmonella. We have recently shown that sapA gene expression is upregulated in the middle ear in a chinchilla model of nontypeable Haemophilus influenzae (NTHI)-induced otitis media. Based on these findings, we constructed an NTHI strain containing a Lux reporter plasmid driven by the sapA promoter and demonstrated early yet transient expression of the sap operon within sites of the chinchilla upper airway upon infection. We hypothesized that the sap operon products mediate NTHI resistance to APs. In order to test this hypothesis, we constructed a nonpolar mutation in the sapA gene of NTHI strain 86-028NP, a low-passage-number clinical isolate. The sapA mutant was approximately eightfold more sensitive than the parent strain to killing by recombinant chinchilla β-defensin 1. We then assessed the ability of this mutant to both colonize and cause otitis media in chinchillas. The sapA mutant was significantly attenuated compared to the parent strain in its ability to survive in both the nasopharynx and the middle ear of the chinchilla. In addition, the mutant was impaired in its ability to compete with the parent strain in a dual-strain challenge model of infection. Our results indicate that the products of the sap operon are important for resisting the activity of APs and may regulate, in part, the balance between normal carriage and disease caused by NTHI.
Hypoxia and HIF-1α Stability Another Stress-Sensing Mechanism for Shc

The formation of new blood vessels after ischemia and vascular injury is a critical process for tissue repair. A complex interplay of stress-activated signal transduction pathways is activated in response to ischemia and injury to initiate the repair process. Among these pathways, the hypoxia-inducible transcription factor-1 (HIF-1α) plays an essential role by transactivating the VEGF gene and activating a pattern of gene expression associated with mobilization, migration, and recruitment of endothelial cells and smooth muscle cells to form new blood vessels.1–3⇓⇓ The report by Jung et al4 in this issue of Circulation Research investigates the signaling pathway responsible for hypoxia-induced HIF-1α protein stabilization and concludes that a mechanism involving Src, Shc, Ras, and Raf-1 is critical in endothelial cells. In this editorial, we discuss 5 key issues raised by the work of Jung et al.4 (1) Signal transduction pathways that regulate protein stabilization are important pathophysiological mechanisms that may provide novel therapeutic approaches. (2) Shc isoforms represent a family of stress-regulated proteins that act as sensors for redox, oxygen species (ROS), and other genotoxic stresses. (3) Shc proteins mediate signal transduction in localized subcellular compartments, which are likely essential for hypoxia signaling pathways. (4) Cell migration in response to hypoxia likely involves multiple mechanisms including Shc. (5) Dominant-negative (DN) proteins represent an important technical advance to define signal transduction pathways, but appropriate controls must be used to avoid nonspecific effects. Shc is an adaptor protein that possesses no intrinsic enzymatic activity, yet alterations in its structure have profound functional consequences as shown by the fact that Shc was first identified as a protooncogene.5 The mammalian SHC locus encodes three different isoforms with molecular masses of 52 kDa (p52Shc), 46 kDa (p46Shc), and 66 kDa (p66Shc). These isoforms share a Src-homology2 (SH2) domain, a collagen-homology …
Long-lasting alterations in membrane properties, k(+) currents, and glutamatergic synaptic currents of nucleus accumbens medium spiny neurons in a rat model of alcohol dependence.

Chronic alcohol exposure causes marked changes in reinforcement mechanisms and motivational state that are thought to contribute to the development of cravings and relapse during protracted withdrawal. The nucleus accumbens (NAcc) is a key structure of the mesolimbic dopaminergic reward system. Although the NAcc plays an important role in mediating alcohol-seeking behaviors, little is known about the molecular mechanisms underlying alcohol-induced neuroadaptive changes in NAcc function. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of chronic intermittent ethanol (CIE) treatment, a rat model of alcohol withdrawal and dependence, on intrinsic electrical membrane properties and glutamatergic synaptic transmission of medium spiny neurons (MSNs) in the NAcc core during protracted withdrawal. We show that CIE treatment followed by prolonged withdrawal increased the inward rectification of MSNs observed at hyperpolarized potentials. In addition, MSNs from CIE-treated animals displayed a lower input resistance, faster action potentials (APs) and larger fast afterhyperpolarizations (fAHPs) than MSNs from vehicle-treated animals, all suggestive of increases in K+-channel conductances. Significant increases in the Cs+-sensitive inwardly-rectifying K+-current accounted for the increased input resistance, while increases in the A-type K+-current accounted for the faster APs and increased fAHPs in MSNs from CIE rats. We also show that the amplitude and the conductance of α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic acid receptor (AMPAR)-mediated mEPSCs were enhanced in CIE-treated animals due to an increase in a small fraction of functional postsynaptic GluA2-lacking AMPARs. These long-lasting modifications of excitability and excitatory synaptic receptor function of MSNs in the NAcc core could play a critical role in the neuroadaptive changes underlying alcohol withdrawal and dependence.