cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Antipsychotic use in nursing home residents admitted with hip fracture.

Objectives: To evaluate the association between receiving antipsychotics and the outcomes of a cohort of nursing home (NH) residents with and without presumed delirium after hip fracture. Design: Population-based cohort study. Setting: Eleven thousand one hundred nineteen nursing homes nationwide from January 1, 2000, to December 31, 2007. Participants: First-time NH admissions with hip fracture (n = 77,759). Measurements: The Nursing Home Confusion Assessment Method was used to identify residents with no delirium, subsyndromal delirium, and full delirium. Propensity score reweighting was used, with analyses stratified according to delirium level. Results: In subjects with no delirium symptoms, approximately 5% (n = 3,250) received antipsychotic drugs. These individuals were less likely to be discharged home (odds ratio (OR) = 0.68, P < .001), had a higher likelihood of death before nursing home discharge (OR = 1.28, P = .03), stayed in nursing homes longer (? 2.83, P = .05), and had less functional improvement at discharge (? -0.47, P = .03). Receipt of antipsychotics in participants with mild delirium was associated with a lower likelihood of discharge home (OR = 0.74, P = .03). Conclusion: In NH residents with hip fracture and no delirium symptoms, use of antipsychotics was associated with worse outcomes, with the exception of rehospitalization. No clear benefits were associated with antipsychotic use for those with presumed delirium.
β-Adrenergic receptors: Solubilization of (−)[3H]alprenolol binding sites from frog erythrocyte membranes

Abstract The β-adrenergic receptors ((−)[ 3 H]alprenolol binding sites) present in a purified preparation of frog erythrocyte membranes have been solubilized with digitonin and assayed by equilibrium dialysis with (−)[ 3 H]alprenolol. At a concentration of 0.5–1% the detergent solubilizes about 80% of the receptor binding activity. The soluble receptor sites are not sedimented at centrifugal forces up to 105,000 xg for two hours, pass freely through Millipore filters of 0.22 μ pore size and fractionate on Sepharose 6B gel with an apparent molecular weight of 130–150,000 in the presence of digitonin. The soluble receptor sites retain all of the binding characteristics of the membrane-bound receptors. β-adrenergic agonists and antagonists compete with (−)[ 3 H]alprenolol for occupancy of the soluble sites with affinities which are directly related to their β-adrenergic potency on membrane-bound adenylate cyclase.
Emulation of human rhythm perception

Most music is said to "have a beat." When people describe music in this way, they mean that they can tap their feet to it, or dance to it, or somehow indicate their perception of some regularly spaced emphasis. In recent years there has been a growing interest in emulating this process with a computer program, so that computers, too, can understand how music is organized into beats. One reason such a program is desirable is that it would greatly enhance the ability of computers to participate intelligently in live musical performances. Another reason is that the program would enable computers to intelligently transcribe performed music, which would make music editing programs much easier to use. Furthermore, the problem is interesting from the point of view of psychologists of music, since perception of rhythm is one of the most basic activities of musical cognition (Bamberger 1980). Efforts so far to develop computer programs that are capable of parsing music rhythmically have been largely unsuccessful. The main reason for this, I believe, is that researchers (myself included) tend to underestimate how difficult this problem is. The rhythm of a musical performance is usually obvious to us, which causes us to think that writing a computer program to detect rhythm will be easy. We forget that the mental machinery that detects rhythm has been evolving for a long time, and has apparently become quite sophisticated. Emulating this sophistication on a machine is a demanding task. Despite these difficulties, the effort described below has produced some encouraging results. In what follows I will present a more precise exposition of the problem, and then describe Fa, a working rhythm-parsing program that runs on an Apple Macintosh computer. Basic Terms
Dynamic scaling for earth based testing of Mars terminal descent dynamics

The purpose of this paper is to outline the derivation and limitations of a dynamic scaling law for Earth based testing of this type of Mars terminal descent system.
Altered Pancreatic Islet Function and Morphology in Mice Lacking the Beta-Cell Surface Protein Neuroligin-2

Neuroligin-2 is a transmembrane, cell-surface protein originally identified as an inhibitory synapse-associated protein in the central nervous system. Neuroligin-2 is also present on the pancreatic beta-cell surface, and there it engages in transcellular interactions that drive functional maturation of the insulin secretory machinery; these are necessary for normal insulin secretion. The effects of neuroligin-2 deficiency on brain and neuronal function and morphology and on behavior and coordination have been extensively characterized using neuroligin-2 knockout mice. The effects of absent neuroligin-2 expression on islet development and function, however, are unknown. Here, to help test whether neuroligin-2 is necessary for normal islet development, we characterized islet morphology in mice lacking neuroligin-2. To test whether–as predicted by our earlier co-culture studies–absence of neuroligin-2 impairs beta cell function, we compared glucose-stimulated insulin secretion by islets from mutant and wild-type mice. Our results show that while islets from neuroligin-2-deficient mice do not to appear to differ architecturally from wild-type islets, they are smaller, fewer in number, and contain beta cells with lower insulin content. Evaluation of transcript levels suggests that upregulation of neuroligin-1 helps compensate for loss of neuroligin-2. Surprisingly, under both basal and stimulating glucose levels, isolated islets from the knockout mice secreted more of their intracellular insulin content. Rat islets with shRNA-mediated neuroligin-2 knockdown also exhibited increased insulin secretion. Neurexin transcript levels were lower in the knockout mice and, consistent with our prior finding that neurexin is a key constituent of the insulin granule docking machinery, insulin granule docking was reduced. These results indicate that neuroligin-2 is not necessary for the formation of pancreatic islets but that neuroligin-2 influences islet size and number. Neuroligin-2–perhaps through its effects on the expression and/or activity of its binding partner neurexin–promotes insulin granule docking, a known constraint on insulin secretion.
Angiogenesis in the kidney: a new therapeutic target?

Purpose of review The prevalence of chronic kidney disease has been growing consistently for the past decades. Renal failure is often associated with defective angiogenesis, and recognition of the contribution of the renal microcirculation to the progression of chronic renal disease may aid in the development of therapeutic interventions.
Atom probe analysis of solute clustering above a miscibility gap

Determination du maximum de lacunes de miscibilite dans l'alliage Fe-45% at. Cr. Developpement d'un modele thermodynamique qui prevoit la forme des histogrammes de composition dans la region a une seule phase, en fonction de la temperature de traitement thermique et de la composition de l'alliage. Analyse des amas de solute formes
Viral inhibition in adenovirus 5 treated hamster cells.

SummaryInoculation of hamster embryo fibroblast cultures with human adenovirus type 5 resulted in inhibition of replication of heterologous challenge virus in these cells. No evidence for replication of infectious adenovirus 5 particles could be found in this system. Beginning on day 4 postadenovirus 5 inoculation, decreased yields of challenge viruses were noted as compared to control yields. This effect was seen with two RNA viruses (vesicular stomatitis virus and Semliki Forest virus) as well as with one DNA virus (herpes simplex virus). The inhibition in the adenovirus 5-treated cells did not appear to be interferon mediated. Adsorption of challenge virus to treated cells did not differ significantly from adsorption to control cells.
Reduced hippocampal N-acetyl-aspartate (NAA) as a biomarker for overweight

Objective We previously demonstrated an inverse relationship between both dentate gyrus neurogenesis – a form of neuroplasticity – and expression of the antiapoptotic gene marker, BCL-2 and adult macaque body weight. We therefore explored whether a similar inverse correlation existed in humans between body mass index (BMI) and hippocampal N-acetyl-aspartate (NAA), a marker of neuronal integrity and putatively, neuroplasticity. We also studied the relationship of a potentially neurotoxic process, worry, to hippocampal NAA in patients with generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) and control subjects (CS).
Fiber Optic Flexural Disk Microphone

A microphone consisting of a hollow cylinder whose flexible, circular endplates are bonded to pairs of flat spiral wound coils of optical fiber is described. When the endplate/disk is deformed due to a pressure difference, the outer and inner fiber coils experience opposite strains resulting in a "push-pull" optical path length difference which is detected in an all-fiber Michelson interferometer. The close proximity of the interferometric fiber coils, separated by the thin thermally conducting end plate, rejects thermal gradient induced signals. The addition of a second identical endplate and fiber coil pair at the opposite end of the cylinder doubles the acoustic sensitivity while canceling acceleration induced signals. The calculated and measured optical strain of a single plate, single coil sensor using static pressure, acoustic pressure, and acceleration are in good agreement and yield a sensitivity of 21 milliradians per Pascal per meter of optical fiber for an 8.0 cm diameter, 3.0 mm thick plate below its resonance frequency of 3 KHz.
A New Relativity. Paper II. Transformation of the Electromagnetic Field Between Accelerated Systems and the Force Equation

The transformation for E and H between equivalent Euclidean reference systems with constant relative acceleration is obtained, and the necessary modification of the classical equation of motion of the electron is deduced.
Neurocognitive Outcomes 3 Years After Coronary Artery Bypass Graft Surgery: A Controlled Study

Background Cardiopulmonary bypass has been implicated in the late cognitive decline that has been reported after coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery. Because most studies did not include a control group, a causal link of such decline with the use of cardiopulmonary bypass has not been established. Methods We compared changes in cognitive performance from baseline to 3 years in patients undergoing on-pump CABG (n = 152) with those of three control groups: patients with off-pump surgery (n = 75); with diagnosed coronary artery disease but no surgery (n = 99); and without coronary artery disease risk factors (n = 69). Neuropsychological performance was assessed by standardized tests of attention, language, verbal and visual memory, visuospatial, executive function, and psychomotor and motor speed. Results Relative to their baseline performance, no group had significantly lower performance at 36 months for any of the cognitive domains. From 12 to 36 months, there were no statistically significant differences in the degree of change between the on- and off-pump surgery groups. There was a trend toward mild decline in some cognitive domains, but overall differences among groups in degree of change over time were not statistically significant. Conclusions We found a mild but nonsignificant trend toward late postoperative cognitive decline for all study groups with coronary artery disease, but no significant differences in the degree of late postoperative cognitive decline after on-pump compared with off-pump surgery. These findings suggest that previously reported late decline after bypass surgery is not specific to use of cardiopulmonary bypass.
Getting the inside out: the transporter associated with antigen processing (TAP) and the presentation of viral antigen.

The unique role of antigen presentation by major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I molecules is to enable the immune system to monitor the internal contents of intact cells. Cytotoxic T cells (CTLs) recognize peptide bound to class I molecules on the cell surface, detect virus infection or malignant transformation, and destroy the diseased cell (1). A key piece of information in the understanding of how the information content of the cytosol is transferred to the cell surface by class I was provided by the study of class I-deficient mutant cell lines, which showed that class I molecules bind peptides in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) before transit to the cell surface (2-4). The same mutant cells enabled the identification of the molecule responsible for transmitting peptides from the cytosol to the ER-the transporter associated with antigen processing (TAP)-a member of the ABC family of transporters (5-7). In the past 2 yr a series of experimental systems from several laboratories has begun to dissect the function of TAP and to address the role of TAP in the overall process of class I-restricted immunity. The combined effects of the peptides transferred by TAP and the peptide-binding capabilities of the class I molecules themselves must allow the immune system to detect the presence of intracellular parasites, and a diverse array of peptides must be able to be presented to optimize the chance of detecting rapidly mutating viruses. At the same time, functional TAP and class I molecules are necessary to select the repertoire of TCRs capable of recognizing foreign peptide (positive selection) and to eliminate those capable of responding to normal self-cells (negative selection). In this commentary we will discuss how the recently accumulated data on the function of TAP and peptide loading in the ER fit this evolutionary role for TAP. The diverse mechanisms that a number of viruses use to subvert the process of class I-restricted antigen presentation impose an additional selective pressure that
Compensation Methods for Network Solutions by Optimally Ordered Triangular Factorization

The compensation theorem is applied in conjunction with ordered triangular factorization of the nodal admittance matrix to simulate the effect of changes in the passive elements of the network on the solution of a problem without changing the factorization. The scheme includes network elements with mutual impedances. Compared with impedance matrix methods which are ordinarily used for power system applications, this method, which permits exploitation of matrix sparsity, always requires less computer storage and, with few exceptions, is much faster.
Use of cultured human tissues and cells in carcinogenesis research

A variety of approaches are used to study carcinogenesis. Recent advances in techniques for culture of human tissues and cells have provided additional experimental systems of study the process of carcinogenesis and the genetics of cancer.
Fourier transform method for collision dynamics theory

Abstract By introducing explicit boundary conditions, collision dynamics is converted to an equivalent bound-state problem. A modification of Percival's method is used to find the invariant toroids. The non-holonomic constraint introduced by the boundary conditions is treated with linear programming methods. The resulting theory can be applied to reactive collisions.
Bladder cancer--resection/ablation.

Superficial bladder cancer is a misnomer commonly associated with a heterogeneous group of tumors that have not yet involved the detrusor muscle of the bladder (muscularis propria; stage T2) and includes stages Ta (no penetration of the lamina propria), Tis (carcinoma in situ [CIS]), and T1 (invasion of lamina propria into submucosa) of any grade. The treatment and prognosis of these tumors are different. Most superficial tumors present as Ta (70%), followed by T1 (20%) and CIS (10%). Superficial bladder tumor recurrence and progression are influenced by tumor grade and stage. Currently, two grading systems are commonly in use and are often used interchangeably. The standard World Health Organization (WHO) grading system includes lesions graded as 1, 2, and 3, depending on the degree of differentiation. The International Society of Urologic Pathologists (ISUP) adopted a new grading system in 1998, which also attempted to include the biologic aggressiveness of superficial tumors. This grading system includes three classes: papillary neoplasms of low malignant potential, low-grade lesions, and high-grade lesions. Although low-grade Ta lesions frequently recur (50%–70%), they progress (5%) less often than high-grade T1 lesions (80% recurrence, 50% progression) within 3 years of resection [1]. Currently, there is no uniform system for grading superficial bladder cancer. Despite the recommended WHO/ISUP classification system, most pathologists still use the traditional numeric grading system (Table 1). Tumor grade is a more important predictor of progression than stage because grade 3 tumors are 5 times more likely to progress than grade 1, compared with only twice the risk of progression for T1 stage tumors compared with lower stage Ta lesions [2]. CIS of the bladder is a high-grade, flat, noninvasive form of transitional cell cancer (TCC) which is associated
Prognostic Value of Heart Rate Increase at Onset of Exercise Testing

Background— The initial response of heart rate to dynamic exercise has been proposed as having prognostic value in limited studies that have used modalities other than the treadmill. Our aim was to evaluate the prognostic value of early heart rate parameters in patients referred for routine clinical treadmill testing. Methods and Results— The heart rate rise at the onset of exercise was measured in 1959 patients referred for clinical treadmill testing at the Palo Alto (Calif) Veterans Affairs Medical Center from 1997 to 2004. Multivariable Cox survival analysis was performed for 197 all-cause and 74 cardiovascular deaths that accrued during a mean follow-up of 5.4±2.1 years. Decreased heart rate changes at all initial relative exercise workloads were associated with significantly increased all-cause mortality. The heart rate rise at one-third total exercise capacity, however, was the only early heart rate variable that significantly predicted both all-cause and cardiovascular risk after adjustment for con...
Transitory noradrenergic and peptidergic nerves in the cat kidney

Indirect immunohistochemical methods were used to visualize nerves immunoreactive for tyrosine hydroxylase (TH), dopamine beta hydroxylase (DBH), neuropeptide Y, (NPY) and calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) in sections of the kidneys of cats of different ages. Nerve terminals immunoreactive for TH, DBH and NPY innervated interlobar veins and the renal arterial tree including medullary vascular bundles of cats of each age studied. Most nerve terminals immunoreactive for CGRP innervated interlobar arteries. In kidneys of cats 2 to 10 weeks old, TH- and DBH-immunoreactive axons formed elaborate plexuses that were distributed throughout much of the outer two thirds of the inner medulla. Inner medullary NPY-immunoreactive nerve terminals formed sparse plexuses by comparison, thus suggesting a large population of TH-immunoreactive nerve terminals not immunoreactive for NPY. Plexuses immunoreactive for CGRP also innervated the inner medullae of young cats. Some inner medullary axons appeared degenerate in 8 and 10 week old cats, and no inner medullary nerve terminal plexuses were visualized in 12 week old or adult cats. Cell death or paring of axons resulting from mechanisms intrinsic to the neuronal population or from a change in trophic factors secreted or expressed by cells in the medulla may effect the loss of inner medullary nerve terminals in the kidneys of young cats.
Improvements in the Measurement of Cut Protection Performance: Revisions to ASTM F 1790

Workers exposed to mechanical hazards that could cause cuts or lacerations to the hands and arms have a need to understand the cut protection performance of protective apparel. Cut protection performance of clothing can be measured using CEN 388, ASTM International standard F 1790-97, and ISO 13997. The ASTM and ISO test methods employ force-distance testers to determine the cut resistance of a material when exposed to a cutting edge under specified loads. The latter two test methods provide a process for differentiating the cut protection performance of various materials such as cotton, leather, and high performance fibers. ASTM task group F23.20.02 sought to improve the reliability and reproducibility of the F 1790-97 standard in a way that creates a global standard for measuring cut performance, demonstrates equivalence of results between different test equipment, and reduces variability in the test method. The revised test method has been balloted by the main and sub-committees for adoption. This paper will outline the results of extensive interlaboratory studies on the test equipment, calibration method, and calibration materials. The implications of other testing aspects on the harmonization of the standards will be described. This information will be useful for end users, distributors, and manufacturers interested in measuring the cut performance of clothing.
DNA deoxyribophosphodiesterase of Escherichia coli is associated with exonuclease I

Abstract DNA deoxyribophosphodiesterase (dRpase) of E. coli catalyzes the release of deoxyribose-phosphate moieties following the cleavage of DNA at an apurinic/apyrimidinic (AP) site by either an AP endonuclease or AP lyase. Exonuclease I is a single-strand specific DNA nuclease which affects the expression of recombination and repair pathways in E. coli. We show here that a major dRpase activity in E. coli is associated with the exonuclease I protein. Highly purified exonuclease I isolated from an over-producing stain contains high levels of dRpase activity; it catalyzes the release of deoxyribose-5-phosphate from an AP site incised with endonuclease IV of E. coli and the release of 4-hydroxy-2-pentenal-5-phosphate from an AP site incised by the AP lyase activity of endonuclease III of E. coli. A strain containing a deletion of the sbcB gene showed little dRpase activity; the activity could be restored by transformation of the strain with a plasmid containing the sbcB gene. The dRpase activity isolated from an overproducing stain was increased 70-fold as compared to a normal sbcB+ strain (AB3027). These results suggest that the dRpase activity may be important in pathways for both DNA repair and recombination.
In situ dry matter, nitrogen, and fiber degradation of alfalfa, red clover, and eastern gamagrass at four maturities.

This study compared in situ degradation characteristics of dry matter, N, and neutral detergent fiber (NDF) for alfalfa and red clover with those for eastern gamagrass, a perennial, warm season grass that is native to the Flint Hills of Kansas. Gamagrass had a high proportion of leaf tissue (>69%) at boot and anthesis stages, at physiological maturity, and after 56 d of regrowth following clipping at boot stage. Gamagrass also had high N concentrations at boot and anthesis stages (2.82 and 2.16%, respectively). Whole-plant gamagrass tissue contained a large proportion of N that was insoluble in neutral detergent (>51%); however, this was a characteristic only of leaf tissue and was observed on a whole-plant basis because of the large proportion of leaf tissue at all plant maturities. Degradation characteristics of dry matter and NDF generally indicated that stem and cell-wall components from gamagrass at boot and anthesis stages had large maximum extents of degradation. Nitrogen degradation rates (0.047 to 0.059/h) were slower for whole-plant gamagrass than for alfalfa (0.213/h). The most distinguishing characteristic of these findings was not that N from gamagrass degraded more slowly in the rumen than did N from alfalfa or red clover, but that this trait was coupled with N concentrations at harvestable growth stages (boot or anthesis stages) that were similar to legumes.
Jewish Aging: Model Programs in Social Service, Adult Learning, Intergenerational Exchange, and Research

Religious beliefs and practices perform basic human functions as evidenced by the historical depth and contemporary breadth of their existence. These beliefs and practices are particularly important in late life as older adults cope with profound challenges and losses. This article focuses on Jewish aging as this denomination has strong support in scripture as well as demonstrable achievement in the community. It summarizes selected Jewish model programs, with important program characteristics highlighted. The model programs are offered to older adults, most—but not all—of whom are Jewish, in the areas of Social Service, Adult Learning, Intergenerational Exchange, and Research.
Patterns of Adolescents’ Beliefs About Fighting and Their Relation to Behavior and Risk Factors for Aggression

This study examined adolescents’ patterns of beliefs about aggression, and how these patterns relate to aggressive and prosocial behavior, and to risk factors associated with aggression. A sample of 477 sixth graders from two urban schools and a school in a nearby county completed measures of beliefs, behavior, and individual, peer and parental factors associated with aggression. Teacher ratings of participants’ behavior and emotion regulation were also obtained. The urban sample was 84% African American; the county school was in a rural fringe area with a student population that was 45% Caucasian and 40% African American. Latent class analysis of items on a beliefs measure supported hypotheses predicting three groups: (a) a Beliefs Against Fighting (BAGF) group that opposed the use of aggression (31% of the sample); (b) a Fighting is Sometimes Necessary (FSNEC) group that endorsed beliefs that fighting is sometimes necessary or inevitable (41%), and (c) a Beliefs Supporting Fighting (BSUPF) group that supported aggression across multiple contexts (28%). Differences across groups were found on race/ethnicity and family structure, but not on gender. Significant differences were also found such that the FSNEC group fell between levels of the BAGF and BSUPF groups on most measures. In contrast, the FSNEC and BAGF groups both differed from the BSUPF group, but not from each other on measures of empathy, perceived effectiveness of nonviolence and aggression, and parental messages supporting nonviolence. These differences suggest the need for tailoring prevention approaches for subgroups of adolescents who differ in their patterns of beliefs.
Scalable Face Image Retrieval with Identity-Based Quantization and Multireference Reranking

State-of-the-art image retrieval systems achieve scalability by using a bag-of-words representation and textual retrieval methods, but their performance degrades quickly in the face image domain, mainly because they produce visual words with low discriminative power for face images and ignore the special properties of faces. The leading features for face recognition can achieve good retrieval performance, but these features are not suitable for inverted indexing as they are high-dimensional and global and thus not scalable in either computational or storage cost. In this paper, we aim to build a scalable face image retrieval system. For this purpose, we develop a new scalable face representation using both local and global features. In the indexing stage, we exploit special properties of faces to design new component-based local features, which are subsequently quantized into visual words using a novel identity-based quantization scheme. We also use a very small Hamming signature (40 bytes) to encode the discriminative global feature for each face. In the retrieval stage, candidate images are first retrieved from the inverted index of visual words. We then use a new multireference distance to rerank the candidate images using the Hamming signature. On a one millon face database, we show that our local features and global Hamming signatures are complementary-the inverted index based on local features provides candidate images with good recall, while the multireference reranking with global Hamming signature leads to good precision. As a result, our system is not only scalable but also outperforms the linear scan retrieval system using the state-of-the-art face recognition feature in term of the quality.
The role of cultural and social factors in the cause of addictive disorders.

Various social and cultural groups use alcohol and drugs in diverse ways, from recreational use to sanctified use, from medicinal use to ritual use. Some groups officially forbid substance use through their laws or religious proscriptions but nonetheless tolerate use. Typically, a group forbids the use of some psychoactive substances and abides, or even prescribes, the use of other psychoactive substances. These patterns of use and nonuse have been well described in the literature; however, it is a great leap from describing the use of psychoactive substances within a particular group at a certain period of time to hypothesizing specific etiologic factors for substance abuse in the sociocultural realm. An even greater step lies in not merely hypothesizing such factors (which is easy enough to do after a brief survey of the relevant literature), but in actually demonstrating conclusively that such etiologic factors do exist. To accomplish the latter, one needs to review a greater body of information, relying on the observations and analyses of many researchers in numerous societies and cultures. This step of analyzing and attempting to make sense of many research reports on a topic inevitably requires meta-analysis, that is, the independent analyses of reports by many other researchers. To accomplish meta-analysis, meta-analyzers should be steeped in the literature of the field; should have conducted such work themselves; and, ideally, should have a sense of the researchers, their methods, and their modes of communicating their findings. Although one might describe this analytic process so that others could replicate the meta-analysis, in large part, meta-analysis remains as much, or perhaps more, art than science—despite the fact that it is based on scientific reports. Thus, readers must permit meta-analysts the arrogance to take on a task of such broad scope, presumably to reduce a library full of data into a brief article. Likewise, readers must understand meta-analysts' humility in attempting to identify such etiologic factors in the sociocultural realm.
Hepatic expression of acute-phase protein genes during carcinogenesis induced by peroxisome proliferators.

Concern exists regarding peroxisome proliferator (PP) xenobiotic exposure because many PPs are potent hepatocarcinogens in rodents. The mechanism of carcinogenicity induced by PPs is atypical compared with those of other hepatocarcinogens in that the former appears to involve alterations in expression of PP-activated receptor (PPAR) target genes rather than direct mutagenicity. To begin to identify some of these genes, we used differential display to compare mRNA expression between hepatic adenomas and adjacent non-tumor liver from rats fed the potent PP Wy-14643 (WY) for 78 wk. Here, we report increased expression of the acute-phase protein (APP) gene α-1 antitrypsin (AT) and decreased expression of α2-urinary globulin in the tumors. Similar changes were seen in hepatic adenomas induced by a diethylnitrosamine and phenobarbital protocol, indicating a lack of specificity for PP-induced tumors. Additional APP genes, including ceruloplasmin, haptoglobin, β-fibrinogen, and α1-acid glycoprotein were also upregulated in WY-induced tumors but were downregulated in the livers of rats administered a different PP for 13 wk. Mice treated with either WY or di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate for 3 wk had decreased hepatic AT expression but increased expression of ceruloplasmin and haptoglobin. PPARα-null mice showed no hepatic APP gene alteration after PP treatment but had higher basal expression than did wild-type controls. We conclude that PPARα activation by several different PPs leads to dysregulation of hepatic APP gene expression in rats and mice. This dysregulation may indicate alterations in cytokine signaling networks regulating both APP gene expression and hepatocellular proliferation. Mol. Carcinog. 26:226–238, 1999. © 1999 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Convolution estimates for some degenerate curves

Let k ∈ R , k ≥ 3. Consider the curve of class C 3 in R 3 defined by Let σ k ( t ) = t ( k −3)/6 dt be the affine arclength measure on γ k . Define the convolution operator T (= T k ) by
Structural empowerment and anticipated turnover among critical care nurses.

hauck a, quinn griffin mt. & fitzpatrick jj. (2011) Journal of Nursing Management19, 269–276 Structural empowerment and anticipated turnover among critical care nurses Aim This study examines the relationship between perceptions of structural empowerment and anticipated turnover among critical care nurses. Background The literature revealed that work environments that provide access to information, resources, support and opportunity create an environment of more satisfied employees, ultimately reducing turnover. Method A sample of 257 nurses completed a background data questionnaire, the Conditions of Work Effectiveness Questionnaire-II (CWEQ-II) and the Anticipated Turnover Scale (ATS). Results Nurses in five critical care units perceive themselves to be moderately empowered. Structural empowerment was inversely related to anticipated turnover; those who were more empowered had a lower anticipated turnover score. Conclusion Nurses who perceive themselves as empowered have higher levels of organizational commitment. Organizations that support and recognize these characteristics may experience improved retention rates. Implications for Nursing Management This study is the first to demonstrate a relationship between structural empowerment and anticipated turnover among critical care nurses. Research has demonstrated that workplace behaviours and attitudes are determined by social structures within the workplace. Nurses are responsible for a large portion of health care provided in this country. A serious nursing shortage is expected in the future and will exert pressure on both the supply and the demand of nurses.
In Vitro Effects of Thymosin on T-Cell Subsets in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus

AbstractThe possible immunomodulatory influence of thymosin on lymphocytes from patients with active systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) has been evaluated. Such patients have decreased numbers of T-suppressor (Tγ) cells and normal numbers of T-helper (Tμ) cells, resulting in an abnormally low Tγ/Tμ ratio. In vitro incubation of lymphocytes from active SLE patients with thymosin resulted in a normalization of the Tγ/Tμ ratio. This occurred because of a decrease in Ty cells rather than an increase in Tγ cells. The normalization of Tγ/Tμ ratios in vitro in the presence of thymosin is compatible with possible in vivo immunomodulatory effects of these peptides.
Prediction of post-operative necrosis after mastectomy: A pilot study utilizing optical diffusion imaging spectroscopy

Introduction Flap necrosis and epidermolysis occurs in 18-30% of all mastectomies. Complications may be prevented by intra-operative detection of ischemia. Currently, no technique enables quantitative valuation of mastectomy skin perfusion. Optical Diffusion Imaging Spectroscopy (ViOptix T.Ox Tissue Oximeter) measures the ratio of oxyhemoglobin to deoxyhemoglobin over a 1 × 1 cm area to obtain a non-invasive measurement of perfusion (StO2).
Apparent digestibility of alternative plant-protein feedstuffs for channel catfish, Ictalurus punctatus (Rafinesque)

A study was conducted with channel catfish, Ictalurus puntatus to determine apparent digestibility/availability coefficients of protein, amino acids, lipid and energy for alternative plant-protein feedstuffs: corn gluten feed, corn germ meal, distillers dried grains with solubles, and canola meal, compared with those for soybean meal. A 32%-protein, chemically defined diet containing 8% fish meal was used as the reference diet. Test diets consisted of 70:30 ratio of reference diet to test ingredient with chromic oxide (0.75% of the diet) as an inert indicator. Apparent digestibility/availability coefficients of protein, essential amino acids and energy in alternative protein feedstuffs tested were generally lower than those in soybean meal by channel catfish. Apparent digestibility coefficients of protein ranged from 75 to 87% and those of energy ranged from 52 to 59% for alternative feedstuffs. Lysine in alternative feedstuffs was 67–79%, methionine was 69–85% and cystine was 73–82% available to channel catfish. There were no significant differences in lipid ADCs among test feedstuffs (91.9–96.8%). Results from the present study can be useful in formulating cost-effective catfish feeds using these alternative feedstuffs.
A randomized trial of a computer-tailored decision aid to improve prostate cancer screening decisions: results from the Take the Wheel Trial

Objective: To evaluate a decision aid (DA) designed to promote informed decision making for prostate cancer screening. Methods: Twelve work sites were randomly assigned to an intervention or nonintervention comparison condition. Intervention sites received access to a computer-tailored DA at the workplace. Male employees age 45 years and above ( n = 625) completed surveys at baseline and at 3-month follow-up, documenting aspects of informed decision making. Results: Using an intention-to-treat analysis, men in the intervention group were significantly more likely to have made a screening decision and to have improved knowledge without increased decisional conflict, relative to men in the comparison group. These changes were observed despite the fact that only 30% of men in intervention sites used the DA. Among DA users, similar improvements were observed, although the magnitudes of changes were substantially greater, and significant improvements in decision self-efficacy were observed. Conclusions: A DA offered in the workplace promoted decision making, improved knowledge, and increased decision self-efficacy among users, without increasing decisional conflict. However, participation was suboptimal, suggesting that better methods for engaging men in workplace interventions are needed. Impact Statement: This trial shows the efficacy of a computer-tailored DA in promoting informed decisions about prostate cancer screening. The DA was delivered through work sites, thereby providing access to resources required to participate in informed decision making without requiring a medical appointment. However, participation rates were suboptimal, and additional strategies for engaging men are needed. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev; 19(9); 2172–86. ©2010 AACR.
Twelve fallacies of uniformitarianism

Although uniformitarianism is widely recognized as the basic principle of geology, the geological literature is riddled with false and misleading statements as to what uniformitarianism means. These misconceptions must be eliminated so geologists feel free to propose any scientifically reasonable hypotheses and because they open geology to unwarranted attack from outside science. The twelve specific fallacies identified herein are that uniformitarianism (1) is unique to geology; (2) was originated by Hutton; (3) was named by Lyell, who established its current meaning; (4) should be called “actualism” because it refers to “real” causes; (5) holds that only currently acting processes operated during geologic time; (6) holds that the rates of processes have been constant; (7) holds that only gradual processes have acted and that catastrophes have not occurred during Earth's past; (8) holds that conditions on Earth haven't changed much; (9) holds that Earth is very old; (10) is a testable theory; (11) is limited in both time and place; and (12) holds that the laws governing nature have been constant through time. Geologists should abandon the terms “uniformitarianism” and “actualism” because they are fruitless, confusing, and inextricably associated with many fallacious concepts. Instead, the fundamental philosophical approach of science should be recognized as basic to geology.
Parenting Style Influences Bullying: A Longitudinal Study Comparing Children with and without Behavioral Problems.

BACKGROUND: More optimal parenting has been linked with lower rates of bullying. However, it is not clear whether parenting can alter the trajectories of bullying among children diagnosed with ADHD or ODD as well as those who are not so diagnosed. This study examined whether parenting at age 4-5 years was associated with changes in bullying over the next 4 years among children with Attention-deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) with and without comorbid Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD) relative to children without these disorders. METHOD: Children from the New York metropolitan area (n = 162) were prospectively studied over six annual assessment points between preschool and 9 years of age. Parenting was assessed by laboratory observations of the parent and child; teachers rated child bullying, and parents reported on children's diagnostic status (Neither ADHD nor ODD, ADHD but not ODD, both ADHD and ODD). RESULTS: Children with comorbid ADHD and ODD were more likely to bully than the other two groups. Hierarchical linear modeling revealed a fall in bullying over five years. Diagnostic status was significantly associated with initial levels of bullying. Irrespective of diagnostic group, children receiving more parent support for child autonomy at age 4 to 5 years showed a significantly greater decline in bullying than those provided with little support for autonomy. There was no longitudinal link between parent negative affect, emotionally supportive parenting and quality of parent-child interactions with bullying. CONCLUSIONS: Greater parent support for child autonomy at age 4-5 years is related to reduced bullying. Interventions that encourage parent support for child autonomy at the time of entry into school may reduce bullying during early school years. Language: en
Managing large scale knowledge bases

The development of large-scale expert systems (ES) through traditional methods will in most cases present performance problems. The single large knowledge base created with off-the-shelf development tools is not the ideal structure for expert systems based primarily on theoretical knowledge. The research results presented illustrate a segregated knowledge-base structure designed to increase performance in large-scale, highly nonempirical knowledge bases. The case study presented is for a maintenance advisor (MA) for US Navy sonar systems. The goal is to demonstrate the applicability of ES techniques to assist sonar technicians in the isolation of malfunctions to the component level. The candidate MA is selected using the traditional ES implementation guidelines only. The candidate domain area is bounded, static and of sufficient technical challenge to be an asset to sonar maintenance technicians. The methodology for handling the knowledge-base substitution is discussed. >
Redundance of Δ-isobar parameters in effective field theories

Abstract It is shown that the off-shell parameters in the interaction Lagrangian of pions, nucleons, and Δ-isobars are redundant in the framework of effective field theories. Our results also suggest the necessity of including the Δ as an explicit dynamical degree of freedom.
Core-Selectability in Chip Multiprocessors

The centralized structures necessary for the extraction of instruction-level parallelism (ILP) are consuming progressively smaller portions of the total die area of chip multiprocessors (CMP). The reason for this is that scaling these structures does not enhance general performance as much as scaling the cache and interconnect. However, the fact that these structures now consume less proportional die area opens an avenue to enhancing their performance through truly overcoming the one-size-fits-all approach to their design. This paper proposes core-selectability – incorporating differently-designed cores that can be toggled into active employment. This enables differently customized ILP-extracting structures to be at hand in the system while not dramatically adding to the interconnect complexity. The design verification effort is minimized by separating the complexity of different core designs. Moreover, contrary to alternative approaches, the performance and power efficiency of the core designs are not compromised. Evaluation results are presented that show that, even when limiting the diversity between core designs to only the sizing of microarchitectural structures, core-selectability has the potential to provide notable performance enhancement (with an average of 10%) to scalable multithreaded applications, without increased concurrency. In addition, it can provide significantly greater throughput to multiprogrammed workloads by providing the potential for the system to transform into a heterogeneous design.
Highly Reactive Magnesium for the Preparation of Grignard Reagents: 1-Norbornanecarboxylic Acid

Highly reactive magnesium for the preparation of Grignard reagents: 1-norbornanecarboxylic acid intermediate: 2,2-dichloronorbornane intermediate: 1-chloronorbornane product: 1-norbornanecarboxylic acid Keywords: carboxylation; Grignard and related reactions; halogenation, chlorination; rearrangements; active magnesium; magnesium, activated; magnesium bromide, anhydrous, preparation of; magnesium ethoxide, anhydrous, preparation of; pentane; tetrahydrofuran; active magnesium; magnesium, highly reactive; potassium
Block Scheduling: The Effects on Curriculum and Student Productivity:

This article reviews pertinent research literature that documents the efficacy of alternative scheduling formats in U.S. secondary schools since the late 1990s. Gains attributed to alternative scheduling formats are discussed by subject area. Common educational dilemmas occasioned by a change to alternative school scheduling are outlined and discussed. Recommendations are provided for school administrators and faculty who are contemplating a transition to more innovative school schedules.
Relating optical signals induced by infrared neural stimulation to electrophysiology

Infrared neural stimulation (INS) is well characterized for the peripheral nervous system; however, translation to the central nervous system (CNS) presents a new set of challenges which require us to consider different anatomy, multiple cell types, and the physiology associated with structures in the CNS. This study represents the first attempt to translate INS to in vivo stimulation of the CNS. The results from this study show that INS generates intrinsic optical signals of similar magnitude and shape associated with well characterized mechanical stimuli. Electrophysiology analysis indicates INS evokes inhibitory responses in rat somatosensory cortex. The implications of this work could lead to neural implants which allows for single cell stimulation making it possible to design closed loop neural prosthetics.
Mechanical Circulatory Support as a Bridge to Definitive Surgical Repair After Post-Myocardial Infarct Ventricular Septal Defect

Ventricular septal defect (VSD) after myocardial infarction (MI) is an uncommon but serious complication. Patients refractory to attempts at medical stabilization and requiring emergency surgery have expected mortality rates greater than 50%. We present three cases of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation bridge to surgical repair in patients with multisystem organ failure who would otherwise require emergent cardiac surgery with associated risk and review the literature for mechanical circulatory support for patients with anterior and posterior post-MI VSD.