cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Prefrontal Cortex Response to Threat: Race by Age Variation in 9-10 Year Old Children.

Background Considerable research has suggested that race and age are two major determinants of brain development, including but not limited to development of the prefrontal cortex (PFC). Minorities' Diminished Returns (MDRs), however, suggests that race (as a proxy of racism) may interact with various determinants of human and brain development. Minimal knowledge, however, exists on whether age and race also interact on shaping PFC response to threat among American children. Purpose Using data from a task-based functional brain imaging study and considering race as a sociological rather than a biological construct, we investigated combined effects of race and age on prefrontal cortical (PFC) response to threat. We explored racial heterogeneities in the association between age and PFC response to threat by comparing Black and White children. Methods This study used the task-based functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) data from the Adolescents Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) study, a national, landmark, multi-center brain imaging investigation of 9-10 years old children in the US. The primary outcomes were mean beta weights of n-back runs measuring PFC response to threating versus neutral face contrast in the following regions of interest (ROIs): left hemisphere-lateral orbito-frontal, left hemisphere -superior-frontal, right hemisphere -caudal middle frontal, and right hemisphere -superior frontal cortex. The independent variable was age. Covariates were sex, ethnicity, family socioeconomic status, and neighborhood socioeconomic status. Race was the focal moderator. To analyze the data, we used linear regression models without and with interactions and SES as covariates. Results We included 5,066 9-10 years old children. Age and race did not show direct effects on PFC response to threatening relative to neutral faces. While ethnicity, sex, and socioeconomic status were controlled, age and race showed a systematic interaction on PFC response to threatening relative to neutral faces. Conclusions For American children, race and age do not have direct effects but multiplicative effects on PFC response to threat. The results may be reflective of social inequalities in how Black and White children are socialized and developed. The results are important given the role of the PFC in regulating the limbic system response to threat. Coordinated work of the limbic system and PFC is a core element of children's behavioral and emotional development. Future research is needed on how social stratification and racism shape emotion processing and regulation of American children in response to threat.
A novel experimental workflow to determine the impact of storage parameters on the mass spectrometric profiling and assessment of representative phosphatidylethanolamine lipids in mouse tissues

Evaluation of signaling lipids is essential for measuring biological processes. There is a lack of experimental data regarding the proper storage of extracts for signaling lipid analysis, potentially impacting the procedures that can lead to accurate and reproducible evaluation. In this study, the importance of pre-analytical conditions for analyzing ion transitions for phosphatidylethanolamines (PEs), an abundant signaling phospholipid, was systematically assessed. A novel workflow was utilized involving an MRM-based experimental approach followed by statistical analysis. Specifically, lipids were extracted from the brain, heart, lungs, and serum of C57BL/6 mice. Extract subsets were resuspended in organic solvents prior to storage in various temperature conditions. Mass spectrometry analysis by multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) profiling was performed at four time points (1 day, 2 weeks, 2 months, or 6 months) to measure relative amounts of PEs in distinct lipid extract aliquots. We introduce an innovative statistical workflow to measure the changes in relative amounts of PEs in the profiles over time to determine lipid extract storage conditions in which fewer profile changes occur. Results demonstrated that time is the most significant factor affecting the changes in lipid samples, with temperature and solvent having comparatively minor effects. We conclude that for lipid extracts obtained by Bligh & Dyer extraction, storage at − 80.0 °C without solvent for less than 2 weeks before analysis is ideal. By considering the data generated by this study, lipid extract storage practices may be optimized and standardized, enhancing the validity and reproducibility of lipid assessments.
Bridging fragmented knowledge between forecasting and fishing communities: Co-managed decisions on weather delays in Nova Scotia's lobster season openings

Abstract Commercial fish harvesters are one of the primary users of marine forecasts, and rely heavily on these reports to manage weather hazards in their work at sea. Despite the intrinsic user-producer connection between forecasters and fish harvesters, there are minimal opportunities for these groups to interact directly. The article draws from findings from a qualitative, partnership-based study conducted in Atlantic Canada on the role of marine forecasts in fishing safety. Lobster fishing is an economically lucrative sector in Atlantic Canada, in which the opening day of the commercial season is particularly hazardous. ‘Weather briefings’ are a co-managed decision-making process held immediately prior to planned lobster opening dates, in which harvesters collectively decide if anticipated weather conditions warrant a delay in the season opening. Weather briefings are notable as the sole existing channel where meteorologists and fish harvesters come into direct contact with one another. Meteorologists play a key role in the briefings insofar as they directly inform harvesters' decisions whether to delay the season. The findings highlight how these interactions represent a form of co-produced weather knowledge between lobster harvesters, forecasters, and managers, which can support fishing safety via broader fishing co-management processes.
Epidemiology, Risk Factors and Outcomes of Pneumomediastinum in Patients with Coronavirus Disease 2019: A Case-Control Study.

Background: Since the beginning of the ongoing Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, pneumomediastinum has been reported in patients with COVID-19 pneumonia and acute respiratory distress syndrome. It has been suggested that pneumomediastinum may portend a worse outcome in such patients although no investigation has established this association definitively. Research Question: We hypothesized that the finding of pneumomediastinum in the setting of COVID-19 disease may be associated with a worse clinical outcome. The purpose of this study was to determine if the presence of pneumomediastinum was predictive of increased mortality in patients with COVID-19. Study Design and Methods: A retrospective case-control study utilizing clinical data and imaging for COVID-19 patients seen at our institution from 3/7/2020 to 5/20/2020 was performed. 87 COVID-19 positive patients with pneumomediastinum were compared to 87 COVID-19 positive patients without pneumomediastinum and to a historical group of patients with pneumomediastinum during the same time frame in 2019. Results: The incidence of pneumomediastinum was increased more than 6-fold during the COVID-19 pandemic compared to 2019 (P = <.001). 1.5% of all COVID-19 patients and 11% of mechanically ventilated COVID-19 patients at our institution developed pneumomediastinum. Patients who developed pneumomediastinum had a significantly higher PEEP and lower P/F ratio than those who did not (P = .002 and .033, respectively). Pneumomediastinum was not found to be associated with increased mortality (P = .16, confidence interval [CI]: 0.89-2.09, 1.37). The presence of concurrent pneumothorax at the time of pneumomediastinum diagnosis was associated with increased mortality (P = .013 CI: 1.15-3.17, 1.91). Conclusion: Pneumomediastinum is not independently associated with a worse clinical prognosis in COVID-19 positive patients. The presence of concurrent pneumothorax was associated with increased mortality.
Pride and prejudice: young Finnish-Russian dual citizens and perceptions of Russia

Finnish-Russian dual citizens are the largest group of multiple citizens in Finland. Building on thematic interviews and drawing on Sara Ahmed’s work on cultural politics of emotions, this paper ex...
Worsening of MS Associated With Relapse Contributes to Disability Over the First 15 years (P4.2-079)

Objective: To ascertain the contribution of relapse associated disability in RMS using long term data collected in our clinic. Background: The natural history of relapsing MS (RMS) is being newly defined in the treatment era. Treatments affect both relapse related disability and short term worsening, but measurements of long term outcomes remain a challenge. Design/Methods: Retrospective study of a cohort of consecutively newly diagnosed RMS patients, (n=176) was undertaken, measuring all confirmed changes in disability up to 15 years after onset. Worsening was assessed yearly and in 5 year epochs and was attributed to either relapse (RW) or slow progression (PW), or a combination of both. Results: At data lock 139/176 (79%) of patients were still actively followed, with EDSS available for year10 post onset in 145/176 (82%) of patients and year 15 post onset EDSS was available for 83 patients (average follow up entire group 12 years post onset). RW accounted for a large proportion of worsening seen in the first 15 years of RMS. RW was less frequent over time, but accounted for most EDSS changes in the first decade of MS (167/267, 63% of all EDSS changes), and remained important even in years 11–15 (17/50, 34% of all EDSS changes). Median change in disability due to RW vs PW was similar over the entire 15 years. Conclusions: Worsening of treated MS was associated with relapses in many RMS patients throughout the first 15 years after onset, suggesting an opportunity for long term benefit through relapse reduction. Worsening due to slow progression played an increasing role over time. Disclosure: Dr. Diehl has nothing to disclose. Dr. Elmalik has nothing to disclose. Dr. Gettings has nothing to disclose. Dr. Hackett has nothing to disclose. Dr. Schramke holds stock and/or stock options in Pfizer, Inc. Dr. Scott has received personal compensation for consulting, serving on a scientific advisory board, speaking, or other activities with Biogen, Sanofi Genzyme, Novartis Pharmaceuticals, and Genentech. Dr. Scott has received research support from Biogen and Genentech.
The Rhetoric of Risk : Technical Documentation in Hazardous Environments

Contents: Editor's Introduction. Introduction: The Rhetoric of Risk. Part I: The Problem of Technical Documentation in Hazardous Environments. Regulating Hazardous Environments: The Problem of Documentation. Moments of Transformation: The Cycle of Technical Documentation in Large Regulatory Industries. Acknowledging Uncertainty: Rethinking Rhetoric in a Hazardous Environment. Part II: Moments of Transformation. Reconstructing Experience: The Rhetorical Interface Between Agencies and Experience. Learning From Experience: Enlarging the Agency's Perspective in Training and Instruction. Warrants for Judgment: The Textual Representation of Embodied Sensory Experience. Part III : Documenting Experience. Embodied Experience: Representing Risk in Speech and Gesture. Manual Communication: The Negotiation of Meaning Embodied in Gesture. Part IV: Transforming Experience. Capturing Experience: The Moment of Transformation. Conclusion: The Last Canary?
Blurred Vision in a Woman Who Had Sphenoid Wing Meningioma

A woman in her early 40swith a history of recurrent meningioma of the right sphenoid wing after tumor resections, followedby adjuvant radiation, presentedwith fluctuating vision in the right eye for several months. On examination, her best-corrected visual acuity was 20/20 OD and 20/20 OS. An external examination revealed ptosis of the right upper eyelid covering 40% of the surface of the eye. In each eye, the pupil, intraocular pressure, motility, and confrontational visual field were normal. An anterior segment examination revealedmild nuclear sclerotic cataracts in both eyes. A dilated fundus examination of the right eye was notable for revealing infarcts in several nerve fiber layers along the arcades and nasal to the optic disc and a few microaneurysms nasal to the optic disc. Fluorescein angiographyof the righteye (Figure, A) revealedmultipleareasof stainingnasal to thenerve and inferotemporal to thenerve and to the areas of pinpoint leakagewithin themacula.No abnormalitieswerenotedduring the fundus examinationof her left eye. Shewasobserved and followed up every 4months. One year later, the patient complained of a 1-month history of gradually worsening vision in the right eye. Her visual acuity was 20/400 OD and 20/20 OS. A fundus examination of the right eye revealed thickening in the macular region. Optical coherence tomography of the right eye (Figure, B) revealed a centralmacular thickness of 454 μm and the presence of subretinal fluid in the subfoveal region. Quiz at jamaophthalmology.com Fluorescein angiographic image A Optical coherence tomographic image B
Studies of the Origins of the Kuroshio and Mindanao Currents with EM-APEX Floats and HPIES

Abstract : The long-term goal is improving observations and understanding of major oceanographic features and phenomena. We emphasize motionally induced electric fields for measuring ocean velocities. The primary objectives of this observational program are to quantify the origin of the Kuroshio and Mindanao currents at their origin and as they evolve downstream. The use of bottom-mounted horizontal electric field sensors combined with inverted echo sounder units complements the ADCP moorings in the Kuroshio near the NE tip of Luzon, the Philippines. The new instrument is denoted as HPIES, an abbreviation of Horizontal EF, Pressure and Inverted Echo Sounder. The HEF measures the barotropic horizontal velocity. The pressure and IES data determine baroclinic velocity when operated in a horizontal array. Three complete HPIES exist from the original NSF development support. Two new HPIES are built using existing PIES and new HEF units. Five HPIES were deployed around upper ocean ADCP moorings by Ren-Chieh Lien. The ADCP is moored at 600-m level and upward looking. The HPIES will provide the depth-averaged velocity. Thus, the combination provides both upper-ocean Kuroshio transport and total-water transport. The moorings and the HPIES are installed at NE of Luzon. The HPIES and ADCP array are centered at the Kuroshio stream . Nine EM-APEX float are deployed along of 135 E between 13 N and 22 N. Floats drift at a parking depth (200m) that moves with the westward component of North Equatorial Current (NEC) but profile to 1,000 m to acquire velocity and density profiles. Field observation plan was presented at the ONR OKMC workshop in Kaohsiung, Taiwan in April 2012.
Rapid Controllable Damper Design for Complex Structures with a Hybrid Reduced-Order Modeling/Simulation Approach

AbstractEvaluating controllable damping designs typically requires simulation of the resulting inherently nonlinear closed-loop system because linear design strategies cannot always be reliably used. These analyses typically require many simulations, each a function evaluation in a parameter study or optimization. For complex structural models, these simulations can require significant computational resources. Further, complex structural models requiring repeated solutions of high-order Riccati equations for each function evaluation further exacerbate the computational burden. This paper demonstrates that a reduced-order model for designing the control strategy, resulting in a low-order control law, coupled with the full model of the original system, falls in the class of systems that are mostly linear but with very localized nonlinearities. For such systems, the authors have previously developed an approach that reduces the equations of motion to a low-order nonlinear Volterra integral equation that can ...
The Authors' Reply to Commentaries on, and Criticisms of The Militia and the Right to Arms, Or, How the Second Amendment Fell Silent

Responds to commentary by Mark Graber, Sanford Levinson, and Jonathon Simon concerning Uviller and Merkel's 2002 Duke University Press book The Militia and the Right to Arms, Or, How the Second Amendment Fell Silent.
Cytochrome P450 Monooxygenase as an Indicator of PCB/Dioxin-Like Compounds in Fish

Polychlorinated biphenyls, dioxins, and furans are ubiquitous and persistent organic pollutants (POPs). These three categories of chemicals are among the 12 priority POPs that have been scheduled for global phase-out according to the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (SCOPOP). SCOPOP was inaugurated in May 2001, and it has been ratified by more than 100 countries under the auspices of the United Nations Environment Program. Despite the stringent regulatory restrictions now placed on the manufacture and distribution of polychlorinated biphenyls and dioxin-like compounds, their recalcitrance in polluted aquatic environments necessitates the continuation of monitoring programs that have been implemented to reduce negative impacts on biotic and abiotic components of vulnerable ecosystems. Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) include 209 congeners consisting of two to ten chlorine atoms attached to a biphenyl structure. PCBs are highly soluble, clear, oily liquids at room temperature. They are chemically inert and thermally stable. These properties make them useful as insulators and coolants for capacitors and transformers in a variety of industries. Monsanto began production of PCBs in 1930, marketing congener mixtures under the brand name Aroclor. PCBs were also sold under the names Clophen (Germany), Kanechlor (Japan), Fenchlor (Italy), and Phenochlor (France). PCB production was banned in the U.S. in 1977 due to potential carcinogenicity. PCBs tend to deposit in sediments and soils where they persist and bioaccumulate, their half-lives are in the range of months to decades. Due to their high affinity for lipids, PCBs have been detected in the adipose tissues of animals worldwide, including humans. Consumption of contaminated fish is the primary route of exposure for adults, whereas infants can be exposed to high concentrations of PCBs in breast milk. Keywords: biomarker; enzyme; cytochrome P450; chlorinated hydrocarbon; persistent organic pollutants; fish; ecotoxicology; polychlorinated biphenyls; dibenzofurans; dioxin; industrial pollutants; monitoring
Paleoseismology of the southeastern Reelfoot Rift in western Tennessee and implications for intraplate fault zone evolution

[1] The southeastern Reelfoot Rift margin is expressed as a series of collinear scarps across western Tennessee, and shallow S wave reflection profiles, coring, and trenches show late Quaternary faulting along this lineament. At the north end, our seismic profile and coring suggest ≥1.5 m of Wisconsin down-to-the-NW faulting. Coring and trenches across the central lineament show ≥3 m of up-to-the-NW and 8–15 m of right-lateral Late Wisconsin/Holocene faulting. Averaged late Quaternary right-lateral slip has been 0.85–0.37 mm/yr on one fault plane at this locality, suggesting that total slip across all southeast rift margin fault planes may accommodate much of the regional strain. Our seismic profile at this site shows up-to-the-west faulting of Eocene strata folded down-to-the-west, indicating structural inversion. Seismic profiles, electrical surveys, coring, and a trench across the southern lineament segment show Holocene faulting. Trenching exposed a vertical fault with ∼0.5 m of late Holocene down-to-the-NW displacement. Nearby, coring and electrical surveys show ∼0.5 m of late Holocene up-to-the-NW faulting. We conclude the southeastern Reelfoot Rift margin is a right-lateral system with high-angle faults showing both up-to-the-NW and down-to-the-NW separations. Age constraints permit an earthquake circa 2500 to 2000 years B.P. on the southwestern/central segment of this fault system that ruptured ≥80 km. We suggest the northeastern segment of the southeastern rift margin turned off in Holocene when the Reelfoot step over thrust turned on.
Quantum Mechanics of Lowest Landau Level Derived from N=4 SYM with Chemical Potential

The low energy effective theory of N=4 super-Yang-Mills theory on S^3 with an R-symmetry chemical potential is shown to be the lowest Landau level system. This theory is a holomorphic complex matrix quantum mechanics. When the value of the chemical potential is not far below the mass of the scalars, the states of the effective theory consist only of the half-BPS states. The theory is solved by the operator method and by utilizing the lowest Landau level projection prescription for the value of the chemical potential less than or equal to the mass of the scalars. When the chemical potential is below the mass, we find that the degeneracy of the lowest Landau level is lifted and the energies of the states are computed. The one-loop correction to the effective potential is computed for the commuting fields and treated as a perturbation to the tree level quantum mechanics. We find that the perturbation term has non-vanishing matrix elements that mix the states with the same R-charge.
Active F− transport: Species and age effects with rodent intestine, in vitro

Active F− transport in a secretory direction across everted sacs of intestinal sections from four species of rodents was observed. Both the F− specific electrode and microdiffusion methods of fluoride analysis were employed. 1. 1. Net accumulation of F− in the mucosal fluid of ileal sacs was observed in three of the four species studied. Sacs from gerbil and hamster exhibited the greater rates of active F− transport. 2. 2. Active F− transport with gerbil ileum exhibited a unilateral dependency on the presence of Cl− in the mucosal compartment, as had previously been reported for rat, suggesting that the mechanism was similar. 3. 3. A decrease in active F− transport was observed within the age range of 4–18 weeks with both rat and gerbil ileal sacs. 4. 4. F− secretion by active transport was also observed in sacs of jejunum and colon from gerbil, as had previously been reported for rat, confirming that the process occurs along the entire length of rodent intestine.
The hypophysiotropic galanin system of the rat brain.

Abstract The external zone of the rat median eminence contains a large amount of galanin-immunoreactive terminals indicating that galanin might function as a hypophysiotropic hormone. The possible sources of these galanin-containing nerve terminals were studied in the male and female rat by means of retrograde labeling in combination with fluorescence immunocytochemistry. Fluoro-Gold was used as retrograde tracer, and it was injected peripherally. Fluoro-Gold does not penetrate the blood-brain barrier, but it is taken up by nerve terminals which project to areas supplied by capillaries that lack the blood-brain barrier. The simultaneous detection of Fluoro-Gold taken up by nerve terminals in the median eminence and the endogenous galanin in thin paraffin sections has revealed that approximately 60% of the hypophysiotropic galanin cells are located in the arcuate nucleus. The remaining portion is located in the parvocellular subdivision of the paraventricular nucleus. Only scattered hypophysiotropic galanin cells are present in the medial preoptic area.
Floral trait variation in Spergularia marina (Caryophyllaceae) : ontogenetic, maternal family, and population effects

Traits expressed by modular organisms present difficulties when estimating the genetic component to their variation if their phenotype changes as an individual ages, confounding ontogenetic and genetic sources of phenotypic variation. For such traits, it is necessary to control for ontogenetic effects in order to estimate accurately the degree of genetic variation in a trait. To measure the magnitude of ontogenetic change in floral traits and to determine whether it may obscure underlying genetic sources of floral trait variation in the autogamous annual, Spergularia marina (Caryophyllaceae), we monitored the expression of floral traits over a five-week period in greenhouse-raised plants from four California wild populations. From 130 individuals representing 8–10 maternal families per population, we sampled one flower per week to record the number of ovules, normal anthers (the number of which is positively correlated with pollen production per flower), abnormal anthers (those that grade phenotypically into petals), and petals; and the areas of a single petal and the entire corolla. All traits except the number of abnormal anthers exhibited strong temporal changes in phenotype, although the direction and magnitude of the change differed among traits. To determine whether populations appear to be evolving independently, we examined differences among them in floral trait means, in the magnitude of among-family variation, and in the degree to which they show temporal change in floral trait means. There were significant differences among population means for all traits except the number of ovules and petals per flower. In addition, populations differ in those traits that exhibit significant differences among maternal family means. For most traits, populations also differ in the magnitude of week-to-week changes in mean phenotype, suggesting the presence of genetic variation among populations in the expression of temporal change in floral traits. Finally, for most traits, the magnitude and significance of differences among populations and among maternal family means changed over time. Consequently, broad-sense heritability estimates, predictions of the response to selection, and measures of interpopulation divergence for floral traits are sensitive to the time of flower sampling in S. marina. The role of natural selection in moulding ontogenetic variation in floral traits has not been extensively studied in any species, but the presence of genetic variation among populations observed here suggests that this character is open to evolutionary change.
Microwave and optical detection of electron spin resonance in the triplet state of 1,8-naphthyridine

Abstract Conventional microwave and optically detected ESR of 1,8-naphthyridine in a durene host single crystal is reported.
Dihydrolipoamide Dehydrogenase Mutation Alters the NADH Sensitivity of Pyruvate Dehydrogenase Complex of Escherichia coli K-12

Under anaerobic growth conditions, an active pyruvate dehydrogenase (PDH) is expected to create a redox imbalance in wild-type Escherichia coli due to increased production of NADH (>2 NADH molecules/glucose molecule) that could lead to growth inhibition. However, the additional NADH produced by PDH can be used for conversion of acetyl coenzyme A into reduced fermentation products, like alcohols, during metabolic engineering of the bacterium. E. coli mutants that produced ethanol as the main fermentation product were recently isolated as derivatives of an ldhA pflB double mutant. In all six mutants tested, the mutation was in the lpd gene encoding dihydrolipoamide dehydrogenase (LPD), a component of PDH. Three of the LPD mutants carried an H322Y mutation (lpd102), while the other mutants carried an E354K mutation (lpd101). Genetic and physiological analysis revealed that the mutation in either allele supported anaerobic growth and homoethanol fermentation in an ldhA pflB double mutant. Enzyme kinetic studies revealed that the LPD(E354K) enzyme was significantly less sensitive to NADH inhibition than the native LPD. This reduced NADH sensitivity of the mutated LPD was translated into lower sensitivity of the appropriate PDH complex to NADH inhibition. The mutated forms of the PDH had a 10-fold-higher K(i) for NADH than the native PDH. The lower sensitivity of PDH to NADH inhibition apparently increased PDH activity in anaerobic E. coli cultures and created the new ethanologenic fermentation pathway in this bacterium. Analogous mutations in the LPD of other bacteria may also significantly influence the growth and physiology of the organisms in a similar fashion.
Serous Cells in the Parotid Glands of Two Species of Tamarins: Polarized Secretory Granules

The parotid glands of two species of tamarins were examined by electron microscopy. Endpiece cells are typical in appearance, with an extensive rough endoplasmic reticulum, prominent Golgi apparatuses, and numerous serous granules. In the saddleback tamarin, the secretory granules contain a dense spherule pressed against the inner aspect of the limiting membrane, leading to a surface bulge. During the course of merocrine secretion (a form of exocytosis), such morphologically polarized granules approach the luminal plasma membranes with the bulge in the vanguard. It is these protuberances that fuse with the plasmalemma. In contrast, although serous granules in the cotton top tamarin contain a spherule, they lack surface bulges and their docking on luminal membranes seems to be a random event with respect to their surface morphology. Moreover, certain other types of cells in a taxonomically wide spectrum of species have granules with a less obvious structural polarity, as well as cells whose granules lack morphological polarity but have a functional polarity that comes into play during exocytosis of such secretory granules.
Kinetics and mechanism of the dehydration of ammonium oxalate monohydrate

Abstract The dehydration of (NH4)2C2O4 · H2O has been studied by isothermal and nonisothermal TG. From the non-isothermal experiments, the best-fitting rate law appears to be A1.5, A3, or D3. Data from isothermal experiments gave the best fit with an R2 rate law. A value of 73 kJ mol−1 was found for the activation energy, and the nature of the variation between runs was explored.
Effects of opium alkaloids on mitosis and DNA synthesis

The cytogenetic effects of opium alkaloids were investigated. When lymphocytes from adolescent heroin addicts were cultured in vitro, a strikingly high mitotic index was observed, reaching over 20% in some. The mean mitotic index of 11.82 ± 1.827 (S.E.)% in 9 patients was significantly higher than that of sex and age matched controls of 6.59 ± 0.970 (S.E.)% (p<0.05). The addition of plasma from addicts to normal cultures caused no increase. This observation suggested that circulating metabolites of heroin were not responsible for the observed phenomenon. An in vitro model was then developed to study the effects of opium alkaloids on DNA synthesis. Adopting the method of Suciu-Foca, et al. (Cancer Res., 33:2373, 1973), microcultures of normal lymphocytes (200,000 T cells/cult.) were established and exposed to various concentrations of morphine sulfate. An enhancement of DNA synthesis was observed when cells were exposed to 10−4 μg/ml of morphine for 72 hrs. as measured by H3-thymidine uptake. The observed increase in chromosomal replication might be directly related to addictive phenomenon at the cellular level. The effects of opium alkaloids appear to be opposite to that of marijuana. (Supported by HRC, New York U-2215)
Exact Size of Binary Space Partitionings and Improved Rectangle Tiling Algorithms

We prove the following upper and lower bounds on the exact size of binary space partition (BSP) trees for a set of n isothetic rectangles in the plane: An upper bound of 3n-1 in general, and an upper bound of 2n-1 if the rectangles tile the underlying space. This improves the upper bounds of 4n in [V. Hai Nguyen and P. Widmayer, Binary Space Partitions for Sets of Hyperrectangles, Lecture Notes in Comput. Sci. 1023, Springer-Verlag, Berlin, 1995; F. d'Amore and P. G. Franciosa, Inform. Process. Lett., 44 (1992), pp. 255--259]. A BSP satisfying the upper bounds can be constructed in O(n log n) time. A worst-case lower bound of 2n-o(n) in general, and $\frac{3n}{2}-o(n)$ if the rectangles form a tiling. The BSP tree is one of the most popular data structures in computational geometry, and hence even "small" factor improvements of $\frac{4}{3}$ or 2 on the previously known upper bounds that we show improve the performances of applications relying on the BSP tree. As an illustration, we present improved approximation algorithms for certain dual rectangle tiling problems using our upper bounds on the size of the BSP trees.
A methodology for estimating canopy disturbance frequency and intensity in dense temperate forests

Analysis of the frequency of past moderate and high-intensity disturbances has been hindered in forests of complex age structure by methodological problems. A methodology is proposed for developing a disturbance chronology in such stands by identifying the probable date of canopy accession for each sample tree. Canopy accession dates are based on an evaluation of radial growth pattern and early growth rates of existing canopy trees. Canopy disturbance intensity is defined as the percentage of sample trees with canopy accession events in each decade. Rotation periods for disturbances of various intensities are calculated from the chronology. The method was evaluated using 893 increment cores from 70 plots in northern hardwood stands of western Upper Michigan. The estimated average disturbance rate for all plots and decades was 5.7–6.9% of land area per decade, with an implied average canopy tree residence time of 145–175 years. These estimates are similar to those obtained by on-site estimates of canopy tr...
Development and assessment of pilot food safety educational materials and training strategies for Hispanic workers in the mushroom industry using the Health Action Model

Abstract Evaluation of program impact is needed to show the worth of a program. There are few studies of training program impact on food safety behaviors within food production and processing settings. Our research objectives were to develop, implement and evaluate a pilot food safety educational program for Hispanic workers in the mushroom industry using the results of a needs assessment and elements from the knowledge and motivational systems of the Health Action Model (HAM). The impact of three independent variables was tested in the pilot test: (1) The food safety educational lessons (knowledge system); (2) the supervisors acting as role models and food safety rules encouragers (motivational system – expectancy & instrumentality); and (3) a monetary incentive (motivational system – valence). The dependent variables (behaviors), included three different handwashing opportunities plus jewelry and hairnet usage. The educational lessons alone produced a significant increase in knowledge and handwashing after using the restroom. With supervisor post lesson enforcement, handwashing before work and after breaks also increased significantly. No effect of the monetary incentive was observed. Thus, training must be followed by supervisory personnel enforcement of behavioral rules. Management support of the supervisory role will increase the success in any food safety program within the industry. Based on these findings the HAM model can serve as a guide to develop customized food safety educational materials at a variety of different settings and target audiences in food production facilities.
Through the Ethical Looking Glass Darkly

This article seeks to contribute to a growing. body of empirical research on ethics issues in the public sector. More specifically, this article reports findings that describe and analyze the ethical perceptions and outlooks of three sets of actors-citizens who file ethics complaints against public officials, the officeholders who are accused of ethical lapses, and local government managers. The research addresses two questions: (a) How do these actors view their ethical environs? (b) Are their ethical outlooks similar or dissimilar, congruent or incongruent? A third question is also addressed, one that follows from the effort to answer the first two questions: What are the implications for governance if ethical outlooks, especially those held by public officials and public managers, are incongruent?
Multi-resolution decomposition in relation to characteristic scales and local window sizes using an operational wavelet algorithm

Data from an IKONOS image acquired over Dallas were used to demonstrate the use of an operational wavelet-based algorithm to examine the performance of different texture measures and window sizes at various resolutions in connection with characteristic scales. It was found that a 63 × 63 window was the optimal size, and energy measure produced the highest accuracy. Results from this study suggest that the choice of window size in wavelet-based classification affects the accuracy. Larger window sizes significantly improve the overall accuracy when using homogeneous samples. In the real-world situation, a larger window may not necessarily produce higher accuracy since a larger window tends to cover more land-use and land-cover classes and therefore may miss smaller regions of classes that could lead to poorer accuracy. On the other hand, a smaller window tends to be incomplete in its coverage of texture features that represent a complex class. The classification accuracy can be improved by using more combinations of sub-images at different scales. However, smaller sub-images at the last two levels may lower the classification accuracy. The characteristic scale of the most complex feature among all selected classes could be the optimal local window size necessary to achieve the highest accuracy.
Assimilation and its discontents: between rhetoric and reality.

The process of immigrant assimilation is typically and uncritically conceived as one of linear progress - becoming similar to the dominant group in the place of destination is presumed to be a good thing. But a compelling body of evidence on the adaptation of immigrants and their children points to a deterioration of outcomes over time and generation in the United States, as well as to nonlinear processes of change. While linguistic assimilation among children of immigrants does proceed rapidly and inexorably as a linear function, other outcomes - in such diverse areas as infant and adolescent health, diet and divorce, delinquency and risk behaviors, educational achievement and aspirations, an ethos of hard work, and the development of an ethnic identity - contradict conventional expectations, expose underlying ethnocentric pretensions, and point instead to assimilation's discontents. By examining such paradoxes of immigrant adaptation that emerge in the conceptual interstices between rhetoric and reality, fruitful reformulations of a seminal sociological concept may be stimulated and advanced
The Fibrinolytic System in Neoplasia

During activation of the fibrinolytic system plasminogen is converted to plasmin by tissue plasminogen activator (t-PA) or urokinase-type plasminogen activator (u-PA). t-PA is predominantly released from endothelial cells, u-PA primarily by renal parenchymal cells. The activation of plasminogen is regulated by plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1), plasmin is controlled by alpha 2-plasmin inhibitor. The fibrinolytic system is not only involved in the intravascular dissolution of fibrin (thrombi), it also plays a vital role in normal physiologic reproduction, wound repair, angiogenesis, and tissue remodeling. Fibrinolysis is also a vital component in the pathogenesis of neoplastic disease. It is essential in releasing cells from their primary site of origin, providing nutrition for neoplastic cell growth and promoting cell mobility and motility. In neoplastic cells the degradation of the extracellular matrix proteins is facilitated by excessive expression of u-PA, t-PA, and u-PAR. In many forms of carcinoma increased expression of u-PAR and u-PA is associated with significantly shorter survival. Greater expression of u-PA in breast cancer cells, for example, is associated with shorter survival and increased relapse rate. Progressively aggressive neoplastic cells evidence high expression of u-PA and u-PAR activities, variable expression of t-PA, and enhanced PAI-1 and PAI-2 activities. In acute nonlymphocytic leukemias, poor outcome correlates with high t-PA levels. In acute progranulocytic leukemia there is a high incidence of DIC. Neoplastic prostatic tissue also expresses high u-PA activity and the more aggressive the cell line, the greater the number of u-PAR and the higher the u-PA activity. In gynecologic malignancies, a greater expression of u-PA in combination with cathepsin D is associated with widespread disease and poor prognosis. High u-PA values were also seen in patients with brain, gastric, and hepatic malignancies. It is evident that the plasminogen-plasmin system is a vital component in the biology of neoplastic disease and that it is, in theses conditions, in no way beneficial to the host.
Species distribution and community organization in a Nebraska Sandhills mixed prairie as influenced by plant/soil-water relationships.

Plant and soil water relationships in a typical nebraska Sandhills prairie were examined to 1) explain the observed distribution patterns of several dominant grasses along a topographic gradient, and 2) show how spatial and temporal variations in soil moisture are critical to community organization on a sandy substrate. An experimental transect encompassing the major community and soil types along a steep, west-facing vegetated dune was established. Maximum available water was shown to be significantly higher in the fine textured surface soils of the lowland sites than the coarse textured sands of the dune sites. Seasonal (1979) patterns of available soil moisture of the sampling sites on the transect showed that in the upper elevation dune sands, moisture was available in the entire profile with surface depletions not occurring until mid to late summer. In contrast, moisture in the surface 60–80 cm in the fine textured lowland soils was exhausted by early to mid-summer with the entire profile nearly dry by late summer. Deep-rooted, C4 species, Andropogon hallii and Calamovilfa longifolia which are common on upper, coarser sandy soils showed significantly greater water stress on fine textured soils than on dune sands. C3, shallowrooted species, Agropyron smithii, Stipa comata, and Koeleria cristata always experienced lower mid-day and predawn leaf water potentials than the C4 species. The C3 species, with the exception of Koeleria are most abundant on finer textured soils that provide substantial moisture during their peak activity in the spring. It appears that the C4 species show more conservative water use patterns than the C3 species as significantly lower leaf conductances in the C4's were measured when soil water was abundant. The C3 species appear to be opportunistic with available water and rapidly deplete surface soil moisture as a result of high transpiration rates. These data suggest that the temporal and spatial distribution of available water along this gradient controls species distribution according to rooting morphology, photosynthetic physiology, and water deficits, incurred by transpirational losses. Competitive interactions between species that utilize soil moisture differently may be an important factor in community organization.
Row–column designs: non-additivity makes them hazardous to use

Let there be v treatments, and two nuisance factors (rows and columns) at p and q levels, respectively. The general model is: y ij = γ ij + τ k ' + e ij , where τ k ' is the effect of the kth treatment, γ ij is the effect of the (i,j) cell, and e ij 's are independent random errors with zero mean and variance σ 2 , where the (i,j) cell has the kth treatment assigned to it. The nuisance factors are called additive if for all (i,j), γ ij is of the form (α i ' + β j '), where α i ' and β j ' are respectively the effects of the row i and column j. There is no reason to assume that arbitrary nuisance factors arising in nature will be additive. This will be illustrated in the paper through examples of real data. In this paper, we shall systematically study the problem concerning non-additivity in row-column designs. A method for examining non-additivity and identifying the non-additive cells will be developed. Our examples show that the effect of non-additivity, in the analysis of row-column designs, has misled experimenters in the past.
An algorithm for automated rating of reviewers

The current system for scholarly information dissemination may be amen able to significant improvement. In particular, going from the current system of journal publication to one of self-distributed documents offers significant cost and timeliness advantages. A major concern with such alternatives is how to provide the value currently afforded by the peer review system.Here we propose a mechanism that could plausibly supply such value. In the peer review system, papers are judged meritorious if good reviewers give them good reviews. In its place, we propose a collaborative filtering algorithm which automatically rates reviewers, and incorporates the quality of the reviewer into the metric of merit for the paper. Such a system seems to provide all the benefits of the current peer review system, while at the same time being much more flexible.We have implemented a number of parameterized variations of this algorithm, and tested them on data available from a quite different application. Our initial experiments suggest that the algorithm is in fact ranking reviewers reasonably.
Food deprivation and hypothalamic neuropeptide gene expression: effects of strain background and the diabetes mutation

We have used a novel method to identify genes expressed in the hypothalamus which may be potentially involved in controlling food intake and energy metabolism. We assumed that food deprivation, a powerful stimulus of food intake, would stimulate the activity of neural pathways involved in feeding behavior which should be reflected in an increase in the synthesis of any relevant neuropeptide and its messenger RNA. A study of 5 neuropeptides in 5 strains of mice has identified neuropeptide Y (NPY) as a gene whose expression in the hypothalamus is controlled by nutritional status, suggesting that hypothalamic NPY neurons are a link in the neural network regulating feeding behavior and energy metabolism. In addition, we have studied the effect of the diabetes mutation on neuropeptide gene expression during fasting and refeeding. Our findings suggest that abnormal NPY and enkephalin gene expression in the hypothalamus may be two important determinants of the expression of the diabetes mutation.
Shrinking wide compressors [BIST]

Quite often built-in self-test (BIST) designs make use of multiple-input signature registers (MISR's) to compress the test data. Normally a MISR includes a stage for every signal that it is sampling. In some applications this leads to very wide MISR's that may include several hundred stages. Wide MISR's pose problems in terms of hardware and wiring overhead. Shorter compressors are, therefore, needed. This paper investigates the problem of shrinking an MISR so that it samples multiple signals at every stage. The ultimate shrinkage occurs when only the parity of the sampled signals is compressed. This is the case when a MISR is replaced by a single-input signature register (SISR). Issues like detection probability loss, test length penalty, and fault coverage degradation are some of the disadvantages that may arise from the MISR shrinkage. Minimizing the effect of these issues is a precondition to the success of this method. >
Effects of morphine dependence, withdrawal and tolerance on prolactin and growth hormone secretion in the rat.

Abstract The effects of morphine dependence and withdrawal on prolactin (Prl) and growth hormone (GH) secretion were examined in the rat. Morphine dependence, induced by morphine pellet implantation, had no effect on nonstress concentrations of plasma Prl or GH, but it potentiated the response of Prl secretion to the stress associated with blood collection + injection of saline. Naloxone-induced withdrawal had no demonstrable effect on the changes in Prl and GH secretion produced by stress. In addition, signs of tolerance to both the Prl- and GH-stimulating effects of morphine injection were observed in morphine-dependent rats.