cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The Influence of Black Identity on Wellbeing and Health Behaviors

The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of Black identity on wellbeing and health behaviors. Data from the third year (wave) of a longitudinal cohort study (N = 1316) from a large, majority Black, Protestant church of 16,000 members located in Houston, Texas, were used to conduct secondary data analyses. Univariate analyses were used to obtain participants’ sociodemographic and health characteristics. ANCOVA and linear regression analyses and Bonferroni adjustments were used to examine the influence of the centrality, public and private regard aspects of Black identity as measured by the Multidimensional Inventory of Black Identity subscales on wellbeing (CES-D scores and self-reported general health) and health behaviors (diet and physical activity levels). Associations were noted between fruit consumption and centrality (F (95,1216) = 2.27) p = .046); soda consumption and private regard (F (5,1214) = 3.04; p = .010); public regard (F (2,1186) = 4.70; p = .009) and physical activity levels; self-reported general health status and private (F (4,1219) = 4.78; p = .001) and public regard (F (4,1211) = 8.53; p < .001). Psychological wellbeing was negatively associated with regard (private (B = −0.030; p < .001) and public regard (B = −0.060; p < .001)). Findings suggest that racial identity remain an important factor to consider in addressing health disparities. Racial identity influences mental health, general health, diet and the physical activity levels. Utilizing identity congruent health promotion interventions may positively impact mental, exercise levels, self-reported general health and diet.
Increased consumer density reduces the strength of neighborhood effects in a model system.

An individual's susceptibility to attack can be influenced by conspecific and heterospecifics neighbors. Predicting how these neighborhood effects contribute to population-level processes such as competition and evolution requires an understanding of how the strength of neighborhood effects is modified by changes in the abundances of both consumers and neighboring resource species. We show for the first time that consumer density can interact with the density and frequency of neighboring organisms to determine the magnitude of neighborhood effects. We used the bean beetle, Callosobruchus maculatus, and two of its host beans, Vigna unguiculata and V. radiata, to perform a response-surface experiment with a range of resource densities and three consumer densities. At low beetle density, damage to beans was reduced with increasing conspecific density (i.e., resource dilution) and damage to the less preferred host, V. unguiculata, was reduced with increasing V. radiata frequency (i.e., frequency-dependent associational resistance). As beetle density increased, however, neighborhood effects were reduced; at the highest beetle densities neither focal nor neighboring resource density nor frequency influenced damage. These findings illustrate the importance of consumer density in mediating indirect effects among resources, and suggest that accounting for consumer density may improve our ability to predict population-level outcomes of neighborhood effects and our use of them in applications such as mixed-crop pest management.
Surgical Strategies for High Risk Neuroblastoma

The surgical management of high risk neuroblastoma has been highly debated over the last decade. Many surgeons attempt a near total resection of the tumor no matter how extensive, and others believe that partial resection is all that is required for local control. The high risk population is unique in neuroblastoma, as most of these patients are only cured with a combination of systemic therapies, radiation therapy, and surgery. Even with these extensive treatment regimens, survival does not approach 50% at 5 years, bringing into question the role of surgery in the management of these children. Recent data continues to suggest that extensive (>90%) resections may not change the outcomes of these children.
Bioinspired chemistry at MOF secondary building units

The secondary building units (SBUs) in metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) support metal ions in well-defined and site-isolated coordination environments with ligand fields similar to those found in metalloenzymes. This burgeoning class of materials has accordingly been recognized as an attractive platform for metalloenzyme active site mimicry and biomimetic catalysis. Early progress in this area was slowed by challenges such as a limited range of hydrolytic stability and a relatively poor diversity of redox-active metals that could be incorporated into SBUs. However, recent progress with water-stable MOFs and the development of more sophisticated synthetic routes such as postsynthetic cation exchange have largely addressed these challenges. MOF SBUs are being leveraged to interrogate traditionally unstable intermediates and catalytic processes involving small gaseous molecules. This perspective describes recent advances in the use of metal centers within SBUs for biomimetic chemistry and discusses key future developments in this area.
EXPERIMENTAL “AURICULAR ELECTRO ACUPUNCTURE” IN MORPHINE-DEPENDENT RATS: BEHAVIORAL AND BIOCHEMICAL OBSERVATIONS

The experimental paradigm reported here provides a useful animal model with which to further study the effects of regional electrostimulation and its possible relationship with electrical acupuncture. What similarities there may be between electrical acupuncture and the technique of regional electrocerebral stimulation used for production of electrosleep and electronarcosis in animals and man (Wageneder et al., 1966) remain to be elucidated. Further research studies, both clinical and basic, are clearly needed to answer some of the questions relating to the safety, efficacy, and possible mechanisms by which a technique such as electrical acupuncture may exert its effects.
Fine-tuning Pre-trained Contextual Embeddings for Citation Content Analysis in Scholarly Publication.

Citation function and citation sentiment are two essential aspects of citation content analysis (CCA), which are useful for influence analysis, the recommendation of scientific publications. However, existing studies are mostly traditional machine learning methods, although deep learning techniques have also been explored, the improvement of the performance seems not significant due to insufficient training data, which brings difficulties to applications. In this paper, we propose to fine-tune pre-trained contextual embeddings ULMFiT, BERT, and XLNet for the task. Experiments on three public datasets show that our strategy outperforms all the baselines in terms of the F1 score. For citation function identification, the XLNet model achieves 87.2%, 86.90%, and 81.6% on DFKI, UMICH, and TKDE2019 datasets respectively, while it achieves 91.72% and 91.56% on DFKI and UMICH in term of citation sentiment identification. Our method can be used to enhance the influence analysis of scholars and scholarly publications.
“Pure” versus “Applied” Psychology: An Historical Conflict between Edward B. Titchener (Pure) and Ludwig R. Geissler (Applied)

There have been three significant breakaways from the American Psychological Association (APA) as a result of its emphasis on professional practice as opposed to “pure” or scientific psychology. In the first, Titchener organized “the Experimentalists” in 1904 (renamed “Society of Experimentalists,” 1929) as an alternative to APA. Following that, the Psychonomic Society (1959) and American Psychological Society (1989; renamed Association for Psychological Science, 2006) broke away from APA. Titchener’s conflict with Ludwig Geissler might be read as a case study of some of the early issues associated with such breakaways. For better understanding of Titchener and Geissler, biographical sections are included with more about Titchener as he is more prominent in the history of psychology literature. Their primary conflict, a private one, was revealed in 14 extant letters between Titchener and Geissler. Titchener was persistently critical of applied psychology. Geissler, Titchener’s student, was the principal founder of the Journal of Applied Psychology. A secondary conflict involved Titchener’s persistent effort to convince Geissler to leave his position in Virginia and return “East, up into the center of things again.” Geissler (1923) eventually responded with a critique of Titchener’s structuralism. In spite of several longstanding disagreements, the two maintained a cordial professional relationship, and in the end, Titchener showed increasing respect for applications of psychology.
Pragmatic approaches to analyzing qualitative data for implementation science: an introduction

Qualitative methods are critical for implementation science as they generate opportunities to examine complexity and include a diversity of perspectives. However, it can be a challenge to identify the approach that will provide the best fit for achieving a given set of practice-driven research needs. After all, implementation scientists must find a balance between speed and rigor, reliance on existing frameworks and new discoveries, and inclusion of insider and outsider perspectives. This paper offers guidance on taking a pragmatic approach to analysis, which entails strategically combining and borrowing from established qualitative approaches to meet a study’s needs, typically with guidance from an existing framework and with explicit research and practice change goals. Section 1 offers a series of practical questions to guide the development of a pragmatic analytic approach. These include examining the balance of inductive and deductive procedures, the extent to which insider or outsider perspectives are privileged, study requirements related to data and products that support scientific advancement and practice change, and strategic resource allocation. This is followed by an introduction to three approaches commonly considered for implementation science projects: grounded theory, framework analysis, and interpretive phenomenological analysis, highlighting core analytic procedures that may be borrowed for a pragmatic approach. Section 2 addresses opportunities to ensure and communicate rigor of pragmatic analytic approaches. Section 3 provides an illustrative example from the team’s work, highlighting how a pragmatic analytic approach was designed and executed and the diversity of research and practice products generated. As qualitative inquiry gains prominence in implementation science, it is critical to take advantage of qualitative methods’ diversity and flexibility. This paper furthers the conversation regarding how to strategically mix and match components of established qualitative approaches to meet the analytic needs of implementation science projects, thereby supporting high-impact research and improved opportunities to create practice change.
Mechanical properties of food and masticatory behavior in llamas, Llama glama

Mammals typically process food items more extensively in their oral cavities than do other vertebrates. Dental morphology, jaw-muscle activity patterns, mandibular movements, and tongue manipulation work to facilitate oral fragmentation of dietary items. While processing mechanically challenging foods, mammals modulate mandibular movements and bite forces via recruitment of greater jaw-adductor muscle forces and protracted biting or chewing. Because jaw-loading patterns are influenced by magnitude; frequency; and duration of muscular, bite, and reaction forces during routine feeding behaviors, relatively larger jaws are thought to be more characteristic of mammals that experience higher masticatory loads due to the processing of mechanically challenging foods. The ease of food fracture during post-canine biting and chewing is mainly determined by food stiffness and toughness. Such foods have been associated with increased loading magnitude and/or greater amounts of cyclical loading (i.e., chewing duration). Dietary properties are thought to modulate cyclical loading through changes in chewing frequency and chewing investment. On the other hand, chewing frequency has been found to be independent of dietary properties in rabbits and primates; however, little evidence exists regarding the influence of dietary properties on these parameters in a broader range of mammals. Here, we assessed chewing behavior in seven adult llamas (Llama glama) processing foods with a wide range of mechanical properties (grain, hay, carrots, and dried corn). Each subject was filmed at 60 frames/s, with video slowed for frame-by-frame computer analysis to obtain length of feeding bout and number of chewing cycles for each food type. These parameters were used to calculate chewing frequency (chews/s), chewing investment (chews/g), and chewing duration (s/g). Chewing frequency was not significantly related to mechanical properties of food, but chewing investment and chewing duration were significantly related to dietary stiffness and toughness. Therefore, cyclical loading is positively influenced by stiff and tough foods. This suggests that variation in jaw morphology in extinct and extant mammals is positively related to dietary stiffness and toughness, which requires greater chewing investment and increased chewing duration.
Shortening filtrations

Let C be a set of modules. We argue that there is an ordinal κ such that if a module has a filtration by modules in C, then it has a filtration of length κ by direct sums of modules in C. As an application we give another way to prove a result of Saorin and Sťovicek and of Sťovicek.
Skeletal effects of exercise in men

This chapter reviews the conceptual basis for understanding the relationship between mechanical loading and skeletal adaptation, along with the specific effect of exercise on bone mass in men. Complete understanding of the relationship of exercise to bone mass in humans must await development and validation of accurate, quantitative estimates of mechanical loading history. Although this has not yet been accomplished, sufficient information is available to permit general conclusions, as well as speculation about the kinds of exercises that are likely to prove most osteogenic. Cross-sectional studies provide support for the notion that habitual athletic endeavor promotes superior bone density in men compared with that of a sedentary life-style. The magnitude of this difference is likely to depend on the nature of the activity, the age at which it was initiated, and the number of years spent in training. Physical activity may enhance peak bone mass attained if initiated before the age of 20. Muscle mass and strength is likely to contribute positively to bone mineral density (BMD) at this age, as well as during later years. Bone displays a clear site specificity for mechanical load-induced adaptation at all ages.
Recurrent right middle cerebral artery territory infarctions in a patient with JAK2 (V617F) point mutation positive polycythemia rubra vera (P2.258)

OBJECTIVE: Illustrating the importance etiologies for recurrent stroke in a patient with polycythemia vera BACKGROUND: Recurrent strokes in patients with polcythemia vera has been described in the literature but recurrent same vascular territory infarct has not been described DESIGN/METHODS: Case study RESULTS: 48 year old heavy smoker male when presented with first time right middle cerebral artery (MCA) territory ischemic infarct had a hematocrit of 54.2[percnt] and when presented with second ischemic stroke 2 months later in the same vascular territory had a hematocrit of 53.6[percnt] which resulted in the work up for polycythemia vera and the laboratory results showed positive JAK2 (V617F) point mutation and bone marrow exam showed overt phase. The third ischemic stroke a month later resulted in same right MCA territory infarct and the hematocrit at that time was 49.6[percnt]. MR angiogram of head and neck during the third stroke admission, showed mild stenosis of right M1 segment of MCA. Patient was started on oral Aspirin 325 mg daily after the first stroke and is also now having regular phlebotomy. Patient deferred from undergoing further intervention to treat the right M1 stenosis CONCLUSIONS: Hyperviscosity in polycythemia with hematocrit of more than 43[percnt] is known to cause ischemic events and it is evident in our case where our patient had recurrent ischemic strokes whenever the HCT is about 50[percnt] and the right MCA M1 segment though a mild stenosis, it becomes a critical factor for this patient as the patient had recurrent right MCA territory infarcts and hence in addition to regular phlebotomy to keep hematocrit less than 43[percnt], our patient might also need intervention in the form of cerebral angioplasty or stenting to treat even mild arterial stenosis. Study Supported by: Disclosure: Dr. Suri Mohanram has nothing to disclose. Dr. Nattanmai Chandrasekaran has nothing to disclose.
The FCC and Congress Should Consider Consumer Rights When Making the Transition to DTV

This ibrief discusses the copyright issue surrounding the transition into Digital Television. It proposes that the Federal Communications Commission should balance the copyright interests of all parties involved in the DTV transition. Creators of informative and entertaining works must be rewarded with incentives to create further works. Such incentives necessarily involve copyright protection for these content holders. Just as the rights of content holders should be protected, the public’s right to access information and to freely express ideas needs to remain protected. Copyright laws, specifically the fair use doctrine, must be allowed to stand firm while maintaining flexibility in order to advance with media technology.
Chronic neutrophilic leukemia 2014: Update on diagnosis, molecular genetics, and management.

Disease Overview: Chronic neutrophilic leukemia (CNL) is a myeloproliferative neoplasm characterized by sustained, mature neutrophilic leukocytosis, splenomegaly, and bone marrow granulocytic hyperplasia. Diagnosis: Key diagnostic criteria include leukocytosis of >25 × 109/l (of which >80% are neutrophils) with <10% and <1% circulating immature granulocytes and myeloblasts, respectively. There should be no dysplasia, monocytosis, molecular evidence of BCR-ABL1, PDGFRA, PDGFRB, or FGRF1 rearrangements and no identifiable cause for physiologic neutrophilia or, if present, demonstration of myeloid clonality. Developments in Molecular Genetics: Recently, CNL has been shown to be specifically driven by somatic activating mutations of CSF3R, most commonly CSF3R T618I. As such, the diagnosis of CNL will no longer be one of exclusion only, and revision of the current WHO classification is anticipated to include the molecular criterion of mutated CSF3R. Am. J. Hematol. 89:651–658, 2014. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Development of Petawatt scale Ti:sapphire laser at 0.05 Hz repetition rate

In our design of Petawatt scale Ti:sapphire laser ("Hercules") a pump laser based on high average power glass (QX-ND, Kigre, Inc) is used at the 100 TW stage. This pump laser generates 14 J of a frequency doubled output at 0.1 Hz repetition rate in 80 ns pulse. In this paper we present a design of a relatively simple and inexpensive extension of this laser allowing to generate pump energy 60-80 J, necessary to reach Petawatt powers. The pump laser consists of a Nd:YLF oscillator, a preamplifier and two 2-pass glass amplifiers with 16-mm diameter phosphate glass rods.
The aggressive patient/inmate: beyond denial.

The public is no longer willing to tolerate being repeatedly victimized by a small group of sexually and/or physically aggressive predators. These predators may be found among much larger groups of non-predatory inpatients in psychiatric hospitals or inmates in prisons. These institutionalized people deserve to be treated or incarcerated without fear of being victimized, as well. The U.S. Supreme Court has recently recognized the principle of protecting the public from such predation, in its Kansas v Hendricks decision. This paper details the philosophy, management, unit construction, legislative changes, and intervention strategies necessary to contain such predators and to propel them toward rehabilitation-once we have given up our denial about the existence of such people.
Loss Profiles at the Link Layer

In an earlier paper3 we proposed the implementation of Loss Profiles (a new QoS measure for Mobile Computing) as a sub-layer at the transport layer. In this paper we examine the possibility of implementing a limited form of Loss Profiles at the link layer.
School-readiness profiles of children with language impairment: linkages to home and classroom experiences.

Background This study represents an effort to advance our understanding of the nature of school readiness among children with language impairment (LI), a population of children acknowledged to be at risk of poor academic achievement. The academic, social–emotional, and behavioural competencies with which children arrive at kindergarten affect the nature of their future educational experiences, and their overall academic achievement. Aims To examine whether there are reliable profiles that characterize children with LI just prior to kindergarten entrance, and the extent to which profile membership is associated with characteristics of children's homes and preschool experiences. Questions addressed were twofold: (1) To what extent are there reliable profiles of children with LI with respect to their school readiness? (2) To what extent is children's profile membership associated with characteristics of their homes and preschool classrooms? Methods & Procedures Participants were 136 children with LI from early childhood special education classrooms. We utilized latent class analysis (LCA) to classify individuals into profiles based on individual responses on school readiness measures. We then used multilevel hierarchical generalized linear models to examine the relations between profile membership and children's home/classroom experiences. Outcomes & Results LCA analyses revealed that a four-profile solution was the most appropriate fit for the data and that classroom experiences were predictive of these profiles, such that children in classrooms with more instructional/emotional support were more likely to be placed in profiles characterized by higher school readiness skills. Conclusions & Implications These results suggest that the school readiness profiles of young children with LI are associated with the quality of children's classroom experiences, and that high-quality classroom experiences can be influential for ensuring that young children with LI arrive in kindergarten ready to learn.
Structure along the eastern margin of the central Cordillera, upper Magdalena Valley, Colombia

Abstract The eastern margin of the Central Cordillera in the Colombian Andes is bounded by a narrow, east-verging, middle Tertiary foreland fold and thrust belt. Serialized balanced cross-sections reveal that structures within this belt are characterized by en echelon basement-cored domes carried eastward on low-angle to moderately steeply dipping basement-rooted thrust faults. Foreland folding and thrusting migrated eastward through time, but ended by latest Oligocene and crustal deformation shifted eastward to the Eastern Cordillera and the Garzon Massif during the early Miocene through Pliocene. The style and configuration of the foreland structures along the eastern margin of the Central Cordillera appear to be controlled by a polygonal array of pre-existing mechanical anisotropies in the pre-Cretaceous basement. In the northern portion of the Chusma fault system, N/S-trending, moderately dipping, basement-rooted thrusts flatten upward into detachment surfaces within a thick Upper Cretaceous shale unit, carry broad basement-cored ramp anticlines on their hanging walls, and splay upward into the pre-Miocene sedimentary cover forming trailing imbricate fans. To the south, the same basement faults exhibit a different style as they steepen, jog sharply to a northeast trend, and cut directly up through the sedimentary cover without forming associated imbricate thrusts. This retro-arc thrust belt differs from other cordilleran deformed belts, such as the Canadian Rockies and Foothills, in that basement directly influenced deformation of the sedimentary cover. The interplay of Oligocene crustal shortening with pre-existing basement weaknesses created a transitional terrane that developed features of both thin-skinned thrust belts and thick-skinned Laramide-style crustal uplifts.
Cytotoxic sesquiterpenoids from Ratibida columnifera.

Bioassay-directed fractionation of the flowers and leaves of Ratibida columnifera using a hormone-dependent human prostate (LNCaP) cancer cell line led to the isolation of 10 cytotoxic substances, composed of five novel xanthanolide derivatives (2-4, 7, and 8), a novel nerolidol derivative (9), and three known sesquiterpene lactones, 9alpha-hydroxy-seco-ratiferolide-5alpha-O-angelate+ ++ (1), 9alpha-hydroxy-seco-ratiferolide-5alpha-O-(2-methylbut yrate) (5), 9-oxo-seco-ratiferolide-5alpha-O-(2-methylbutyrate) (6), as well as a known flavonoid, hispidulin (10). On the basis of its cytotoxicity profile, compound 5 was selected for further biological evaluation, and was found to induce G1 arrest and slow S traverse time in parental wild type p53 A2780S cells, but only G2/M arrest in p53 mutant A2780R cells, with strong apoptosis shown for both cell lines. The activity of 5 was not mediated by the multidrug resistance (MDR) pump, and it was not active against several anticancer molecular targets (i.e., tubulin polymerization/depolymerization, topoisomerases, and DNA intercalation). While these results indicate that compound 5 acts as a cytotoxic agent via a novel mechanism, this substance was inactive in in vivo evaluations using the murine lung carcinoma (M109) and human colon carcinoma (HCT116) models.
Ventilation Style and Renal Function in Premature Newborn Lambs During The First 24 Hours After Delivery. † 1098

Ventilation Style and Renal Function in Premature Newborn Lambs During The First 24 Hours After Delivery. † 1098
Immobilization of the knee prevents osteoarthritis after anterior cruciate ligament transection

The effect of immobilization of the knee in flexion on the development of osteoarthritis was studied in dogs that had undergone transection of the anterior cruciate ligament. Knees of dogs that were permitted ad libitum ambulation in a pen for 12 weeks after transection of the ligament showed osteophytes and fibrillation and a decrease in proteoglycan (uronic acid) content, although thickness of the articular cartilage was normal. Proteoglycan synthesis was 80% greater (P less than 0.01) than that in cartilage from the contralateral knee, and more than twice the normal proportion of the total proteoglycans was present in the medium of cultures of cartilage from the unstable knee (P less than 0.01). Similarly, the proportion of total tissue proteoglycans extracted with 0.4M guanidinium chloride was 3 times greater than normal (P less than 0.01). In contrast, osteophytes were not seen when the leg was immobilized in flexion immediately after transection of the ligament, and the articular surface remained intact. The cartilage became atrophic, however, and its proteoglycan content (uronic acid) was diminished; proteoglycan synthesis was decreased to 61% of the level in cartilage from the contralateral knee, although proteoglycan extractability was normal. Knee cartilage from these legs that were immobilized after transection, therefore, resembled that from dogs whose leg had been immobilized without cruciate ligament transection. In cartilage from all operated and/or immobilized joints the proportion of proteoglycans that interacted with hyaluronic acid in vitro was diminished, because of a defect in the hyaluronate-binding region of the proteoglycan.
Nature of the pH-induced conformational changes and exposure of the C-terminal region of chromogranin A

Chromogranin A is known to undergo pH induced conformational changes, and the difference in conformation is supposed to be responsible for the difference in Ca2+ binding property. To gain insight regarding the overall structure and the nature of pH-induced conformational changes of chromogranin A, limited trypsin digestions were carried out at pH 5.5 and pH 7.5. The resulting fragments were analyzed by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, and the amino acid sequences of the tryptic fragments were determined. From these analyses it was shown that the chromogranin A structure consists of an N-terminal compact core region and a rather loosely organized C-terminal region and that the change of pH from 7.5 to 5.5 loosened the overall structure of chromogranin A, exposing the C-terminal region. Since the conserved C-terminal region (residues 407–431) was shown to exist in monomer-dimer and monomer-tetramer equilibria at pH 7.5 and 5.5, respectively, the conformational changes of the region at pH 7.5 and 5.5 were studied by circular dichroism spectroscopy using a synthetic peptide representing the conserved C-terminal region. When the pH was changed from 7.5 to 5.5, the coil structure of the C-terminal peptide decreased with an accompanying increase of α-helicity.
Suicidal behavior in "normal" adolescents: Risk and protective factors.

Risk and protective factors were examined in suicidal and nonsuicidal public high school students. With life stress and depression as independent risk factors, family cohesion was found to offset the effect of stress, and friendships to have a more indirect effect. Differential effects of ten sources of stress were analyzed from a developmental perspective, and the probability of suicidal behavior associated with clusters of factors was estimated for the general population.
Sequencing methods for carbohydrates and their biological applications

Abstract The diversity of oligosaccharide structures may confer the specificity inherent in many molecular and cellular interactions. Scientists from numerous disciplines are faced with the challenge of determining their sequence and deciphering their function.
Chaos in a Harmonically Excited Elastic Beam

Numerical integration of the equations for the evolution of amplitudes of a harmonically forced simply supported elastic beam indicates that for certain values of the frequencies of excitation the response of the beam may be chaotically modulated. In an attempt to confirm the presence of chaos, the Lyapunov exponents have been calculated for two cases in which the broadening of the power spectra around the dominant peaks occurs. In both the cases one of the Lyapunov exponents is positive; this provides further evidence of chaos. The Lyapunov dimension of the attractors in these cases is estimated to be 2.09 and 2.11, respectively.
Transport of glycyl-L-proline in intestinal brush-border membrane vesicles of the suckling rat: characteristics and maturation.

Abstract Transport of the dipeptide glycine- l -proline (Gly- l -Pro) in the developing intestine of suckling rats and its subsequent maturation in adult rats was examined using the brush-border membrane vesicles (BBMV) technique. Uptake of Gly- l -Pro by BBMV was mainly the result of transport into the intravesicular space with little binding to membrane surfaces. Transport of Gly- l -Pro in BBMV of suckling rats was: (1) Na2+ independent; (2) pH dependent with maximum uptake at an incubation buffer pH of 5.0; (3) saturable as a function of concentration (apparent K m = 21.5 ± 7.9 mM , V max = 8.6 ± 1.5 nmol/mg protein per 10 s): (4) inhibited by other di- and tripeptides; and (5) stimulated and inhibited by inducing a negative and positive intravesicular membrane electrical potential, respectively. Similarly, transport of Gly- l -Pro in intestinal BBMV of adult rats was saturable as a function of concentration (apparent K m = 17.4 ± 8.6 mM , V max = 9.1 ± 2.1 nmol/mg protein per 10 s) and was stimulated and inhibited by inducing a relatively negative and positive intravesicular membrane potential, respectively. No difference in the transport kinetic parameters of Gly- l -Pro was observed in suckling and adult rats, indicating a similar activity (and/or number) and affinity of the transport carrier in the two age groups. These results demonstrate that the transport of Gly- l -Pro is by a carrier-mediated process which is fully developed at the suckling period. Furthermore, the process is H2+-dependent but not Na2+-dependent, electrogenic and most probably occurs by a Gly- l -Pro/H+ cotransport mechanism.
Consumer Response to Retailer-Supplier Brand Exclusivity Arrangements

Product assortment is one of the most important factors within retail strategy and number of brands offered is a key dimension. Retailers face the challenge balancing assortments that are large enough to attract and satisfy consumers, while also being efficient and profitable. Brand exclusivity arrangements within mass retailers are a developing phenomenon in the marketplace. Consumer reaction to these arrangements is not well understood by retailers, nor are they studied in the literature. This study examines the impact brand exclusivity arrangements and their context may have on customer satisfaction. A field experiment finds that the negative consumer response to imposed brand exclusivity is significantly larger than that associated with the mere reduction in the number of brands.
Some new fundamental considerations of variety‐seeking behavior

This article deals with living systems at the organism level. Through aggregation we obtain the behavior of groups or classes of persons as they exercise choice perogatives within society. The study focuses on subsystems which process information with major emphasis on the associator, the memory, and the decider. Fundamental advances in modeling human choice behavior (at the level of an individual human being) have occurred as a result of computer simulation capabilities for testing various hypotheses about sustained loyalty over a sequence of decisions, e.g., repeating brand choice. The models reflect the fact that choice behavior can be viewed as an information process. One of the prime descriptions of information sequences is the Shannon entropy measure which has been used by social scientists for about the same length of time as computers have existed. This paper proposes a unique modification of the entropy level measure to explain switching patterns of loyalty such as: one choice alternative is repeatedly selected, but the consistency is punctuated by occasional switching to others. The modified measure relates to changes in entropy. Specifically, the most successful hypothesis for explaining observed loyalty is that the individual strives to maximize the cumulative absolute change of entropy, i.e., max Σ ‖ ΔHt ‖ = max Σ ‖ Ht − Ht−1 ‖. This dynamic viewpoint necessitates consideration of the effects of planning horizons (how far in the future is T?) and experience horizons (how far back does memory extend?). The latter is reflected in the calculation of Ho. Unequal costs of alternatives (such as brands) are shown to produce stronger loyalty effects for the less expensive choices. This leads to the postulate that individuals perceive lower costs for choices that change entropy and higher costs for choices that provide minimal changes. Thus the best description of a variety-seeking system over time is not measured by the net change in its entropy (Σt ΔHt), but by the absolute change (Σt ‖ ΔHt ‖). Zipf's empirical studies (e.g., concerning word lengths) are cited in support of these notions. The aggregation of simulations of choices by individual human beings based on the max Σ ‖ H ‖ hypothesis presents challenging opportunities to study and explain social behavior.
Copying and Reproduction from Memory Tasks in Differentiation of Brain-Damaged and Control Psychiatric Patients

The capacities of 4 types of visual-motor test items to separate 32 brain-damaged from 32 control psychiatric patients were compared. The formats were (a) reproduction from memory, (b) copying, (c) multiple-choice recognition from memory, and (d) multiple-choice identification. Only one formar, reproduction from memory, showed promise.
ON THE ASYMPTOTIC THEORY OF FIXED-WIDTH SEQUENTIAL CONFIDENCE INTERVALS FOR THE MEAN.

Let x1, x2, • • • be a sequence of independent observations from some population. We want to find a confidence interval of prescribed width 2d and prescribed coverage probability a for the unknown mean µ of the population. If the variance σ2 of the population is known, and if d is small compared to σ 2, this can be done as follows. For any n ⪴ 1 define \({x_n} = {n^{ - 1}}\sum\nolimits_1^n {Xi,{I_n}} = \left[ {{x_n} - d,{x_n} + d} \right],\) and choose a to satisfy \(\left( {2\pi } \right){ - ^{{1 \over 2}}}{\int_{ - a}^a e ^{ - u2/2}}du = a\)
Weighting simulation data to reduce initialization effects

Abstract A popular method for reducing initialization bias in simulation output is to delay the collection of data until the model has “warmed up”. This technique, called data truncation, is considered as a special case of observation weighting. Using a simple autoregressive model for the simulated series, several optimal weighting schemes are studied.
Solitary bone plasmacytoma: outcome and prognostic factors following radiotherapy

Abstract Purpose: To clarify the natural history of solitary plasmacytoma of bone (SBP) after radiation treatment. Methods and Materials: Between 1965–1996, we identified 57 previously untreated patients with a SBP. A serum myeloma protein was present in 33 patients (58%) and Bence Jones proteinuria was present in an additional eight patients (14%). The median radiotherapy dose was 50 Gy (range, 30–70 Gy). Overall survival, cause-specific survival, and freedom from progression to multiple myeloma were calculated actuarially. Results: Local control was achieved in 55 of 57 patients (96%). For those 29 patients (51%) who subsequently developed multiple myeloma, the median time to progression was 1.8 years. There was a direct correlation between persistence of abnormal protein following radiotherapy and the likelihood of developing multiple myeloma. Among 11 patients with disappearance of myeloma protein, only two developed multiple myeloma after 4 and 12 years, in contrast to progression in 57% of patients with a persistent protein peak and 63% of those with nonsecretory disease ( p = 0.02). Among 23 patients with thoracolumbar spine disease, 7 of 8 patients staged with plain radiographs alone developed multiple myeloma in comparison with 1 of 7 patients who also had magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) ( p = 0.08). For all patients, the median survival from radiotherapy was 11.0 years. The median cause-specific survival of patients with disappearance of myeloma protein was significantly longer than that of the remaining patients ( p = 0.004). Conclusion: Results supported the importance of precise staging that includes MRI of the spine for optimum patient selection and the application of definitive radiotherapy. Those patients with myeloma protein that disappears following radiotherapy represent a category with a high likelihood of cure.
Chicken anti-protein A prevents Staphylococcus aureus protein A from binding to human and rabbit IgG in immunoassays and eliminates most false positive results.

Abstract This report demonstrates that chicken anti-protein A can prevent both soluble and surface-bound Staphylococcal protein A from binding to either human or rabbit IgG. In an ELISA assay, chicken anti-protein A prevented > 98% of the soluble protein A from binding to the human IgG-Fc coat. In a blotting assay, chicken anti-protein A prevented the membrane-bound protein A from interacting with the human IgG probe. When intact S. aureus (Cowan I strain) was bound to the surface of a microassay plate, chicken anti-protein A blocked > 98% of the cell wall protein A and permitted the probing of the surface components with human IgG. In another immunoassay, rabbit anti-enterotoxin A IgG was used to measure enterotoxin A concentrations in S. aureus culture medium supernatants after soluble protein A was blocked by chicken anti-protein A. Thus, the binding of chicken anti-protein A to protein A almost completely eliminates false positive results and permits the measurement of specific antibodies or antigens in a variety immunoassays where protein A is present.
Quality of care in African-American patients admitted for congestive heart failure at a university teaching hospital.

Previous studies have shown that the quality of congestive heart failure (CHF) treatment for hospitalized patients varies. The goal of this study was to evaluate the compliance of physicians at a large, inner-city teaching hospital with current evidence-based guidelines. A retrospective review of the medical records of 104 patients admitted with CHF was conducted. Quality-of-care indicators were assessed, including the use of echocardiograms, the administration of angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors and β blockers to appropriate patients, and lifestyle and medication counseling at discharge. The assessment of left ventricular (LV) function was documented in 96.1% of patients (n = 100). A total of 65 patients (92.8%) with systolic dysfunction were considered to be ideal candidates for ACE inhibitor therapy. Of these 65 patients, 58 (89.2%) were discharged on ACE inhibitors. Of 41 patients with LV systolic dysfunction who were considered to be ideal candidates for β-blocker therapy, only 10 (24.4%) were discharged on β-blocker therapy. Of all patients with CHF, 50% received discharge counseling on medication compliance, 48% received counseling on a low-salt diet, and only 9% were told to monitor daily weight. This study shows that in a major academic teaching hospital, there is a need for improvement in the use of β-blocker therapy as well as greater emphasis on patient education strategies regarding diet, medication adherence, and monitoring daily weight.
Whither Trade Policy with Japan

Trade issues with Japan have subsided to a murmur. With the Japanese economy reeling from recession and the financial sector wallowing in a mountain of bad debt, the issue of access for foreign firms has diminished in relative importance. Nonetheless, the issue remains—and Japanese government resistance to dismantling those barriers continues.
National Economic Development and Disparities in Body Mass Index: A Cross-Sectional Study of Data from 38 Countries

Increases in body mass index (BMI) and the prevalence of overweight in low- and middle income countries (LMICs) are often ascribed to changes in global trade patterns or increases in national income. These changes are likely to affect populations within LMICs differently based on their place of residence or socioeconomic status (SES). Using nationally representative survey data from 38 countries and national economic indicators from the World Bank and other international organizations, we estimated ecological and multilevel models to assess the association between national levels of gross domestic product (GDP), foreign direct investment (FDI), and mean tariffs and BMI. We used linear regression to estimate the ecological association between average annual change in economic indicators and BMI, and multilevel linear or ordered multinomial models to estimate associations between national economic indicators and individual BMI or over- and underweight. We also included cross-level interaction terms to highlight differences in the association of BMI with national economic indicators by type of residence or socioeconomic status (SES). There was a positive but non-significant association of GDP and mean BMI. This positive association of GDP and BMI was greater among rural residents and the poor. There were no significant ecological associations between measures of trade openness and mean BMI, but FDI was positively associated with BMI among the poorest respondents and in rural areas and tariff levels were negatively associated with BMI among poor and rural respondents. Measures of national income and trade openness have different associations with the BMI across populations within developing countries. These divergent findings underscore the complexity of the effects of development on health and the importance of considering how the health effects of "globalizing" economic and cultural trends are modified by individual-level wealth and residence.
A Contextual Approach to Neighbourhood Attachment

In spite of prophecies to the contrary, the urban neighbourhood continues to be an important locale for formal and informal social action. Attachment to neighbourhood is complex and the reasons for it are not captured simply by matching the attributes of the individual resident and his or her attitudes and behaviour, as previous studies have suggested. Characteristics of the neighbourhood itself need to be incorporated into an analysis of attachment. It is also argued that the existence or degree of attachment varies between individuals depending upon their resources, opportunities for extra-local links, personal needs and the place in which they live.
Free-standing and mechanically flexible mats consisting of electrospun carbon nanofibers made from a natural product of alkali lignin as binder-free electrodes for high-performance supercapacitors

Abstract Mechanically flexible mats consisting of electrospun carbon nanofibers (ECNFs) were prepared by first electrospinning aqueous mixtures containing a natural product of alkali lignin together with polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) into composite nanofiber mats followed by stabilization in air and carbonization in an inert environment. Morphological and structural properties, as well as specific surface area, total pore volume, average pore size, and pore size distribution, of the lignin-based ECNF mats were characterized; and their electrochemical performances (i.e., capacitive behaviors) were evaluated by cyclic voltammetry, galvanostatic charge/discharge, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. The lignin-based ECNF mats exhibited outstanding performance as free-standing and/or binder-free electrodes of supercapacitors. For example, the ECNFs made from the composite nanofibers with mass ratio of lignin/PVA being 70/30 (i.e., ECNFs (70/30)) had the average diameter of ∼100 nm and the Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) specific surface area of ∼583 m2 g−1. The gravimetric capacitance of ECNFs (70/30) electrode in 6 M KOH aqueous electrolyte exhibited 64 F g−1 at current density of 400 mA g−1 and 50 F g−1 at 2000 mA g−1. The ECNFs (70/30) electrode also exhibited excellent cycling durability/stability, and the gravimetric capacitance merely reduced by ∼10% after 6000 cycles of charge/discharge.
An investigation of mercury solidification and stabilization in portland cement using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and energy dispersive spectroscopy

Abstract Portland cement doped with 10% by weight aqueous mercuric nitrate was investigated using XPS and EDS. Mercury does not exist as a strong surface specie. The final chemical state of the dopant is believed to be mercuric oxide (HgO). There is no evidence of chemical complexation of Hg in the cement matrix. On the other hand there is evidence of close association of calcium rich deposits with mercury. These calcium deposits show an apparent lack of silicate species when compared to the matrix components. XPS results show that there is marked increase of carbonate content for the doped cement over the undoped cement.
Spectral utility, wiener-hopf techniques, and rational expectations

Abstract Purely classical, frequency-domain methods are useful for solving linear-quadratic dynamic rational expectations models. To illustrate this, generic scalar and multiple-variable problems are solved completely in the frequency domain. The procedure, which utilizes Wiener-Hopi methods to maximize the frequency-domain representation of the objective function, makes ordinarily troublesome second-order conditions transparent, allows infinite-order costs of adjustment, and handles moving average errors easily.