cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Survival of other fetuses after a fetal death in twin or triplet pregnancies.

Abstract OBJECTIVE: To estimate the frequency of fetal death in multifetal pregnancies and the probability of survival to age 1 year for twins or triplets in which at least one fetal death occurred at 20 weeks’ gestation or more. METHODS: We used the Matched Multiple Birth File from the US National Center for Health Statistics, which included 152,233 sets of twins and 5356 sets of triplets registered from 1995 to 1997. The Cox proportional hazards model was used to estimate the adjusted relative risk of death before age 1 year for remaining twins and triplets. RESULTS: Fetal death at 20 weeks’ gestation or later was uncommon, occurring in 2.6% of twin and 4.3% of triplet gestations. After adjustment for confounders, the survival of the remaining fetuses was inversely related to the time of the first fetal demise. Same-sex twins were two times more likely than opposite-sex twins to die after an intrauterine demise at 25–32 weeks’ gestation and were more than three times more likely to die after a death at 33 weeks’ gestation or more. CONCLUSION: After a fetal death in a multifetal pregnancy at 20 weeks’ gestation or later, the survival of the remaining fetuses is inversely related to the time the death occurred. Among twins, survival also depends on sex concordance, with opposite-sex twins more likely than same-sex twins to survive.
A Process Evaluation of START NOW Skills Training for Inmates With Impulsive and Aggressive Behaviors

AIM: To conduct a formative evaluation of a treatment program designed for inmates with impulsive and aggressive behavior disorders in high-security facilities in Connecticut correctional facilities. METHOD: Pencil-and-paper surveys and in-person inmate interviews were used to answer four evaluation questions. Descriptive statistics and content analyses were used to assess context, input, process, and products. FINDINGS: A convenience sample of 26 adult male (18) and female (8) inmates participated in the study. Inmates were satisfied with the program (4-point scale, M = 3.38, SD = 0.75). Inmate hospital stays were reduced by 13.6%, and psychotropic medication use increased slightly (0.40%). Improved outcomes were noted for those inmates who attended more sessions. CONCLUSIONS: The findings of the formative evaluation were useful for moving the START NOW Skills Training treatment to the implementation phase. Recommendations for implementation modifications included development of an implementation team, r...
Expression of late viral functions in SV40-infected rat-monkey somatic cell hybrids

Somatic cell hybrids between a rat hepatoma cell line and an SV40-transformed African green monkey kidney cell line (T22 TK−) have been isolated and their response to infection by SV40 virus characterized. The parental rat cells are nonpermissive to productive infection by SV40, while the parental monkey cells, which are T-antigen positive and capsid antigen negative, are permissive to productive infection. Hybrid clones, which had segregated monkey chromosomes, were infected with SV40 virus, and some clones were found to be negative for SV40 capsid antigen production while other clones were positive. Capsid antigen-positive clones produced little or no form I SV40 DNA, no infectious virus, and were not capable of rescuing SV40 from SV40-transformed mouse cells. Such hybrids, which produce late viral proteins in the absence of mature progeny viral DNA may be useful in the study of control of SV40 RNA transcription.
Dynamic Absorption by Passive and Active Control

The motion of a particular degree-of-freedom in a harmonically excited conservative system can be vanished by attaching an appropriate dynamic absorber to it. It is shown here that under certain conditions, which are characterized in the paper, the steady state motion of a damped system may be completely absorbed, without loss of stability, by active control implementing a single sensor and an actuator. The results are established theoretically and they are demonstrated by means of analytical examples.
Pregnenolone and progesterone from 20α-hydroxycholesterol by cheiranthus cheiri leaf homogenates

Abstract The incubation of 20α-hydroxycholesterol-7- 3 H with leaf homogenates of Cheiranthus cheiri results in the formation of pregnenolone and progesterone. Preliminary results suggest that leaf homogenates of Nerium oleander , but not Digitalis purpurea or Strophanthus kombe , will yield the same two products under identical conditions.
Molecular determinants of sugar transport regulation by ATP.

Intracellular ATP inhibits human erythrocyte net sugar transport by binding cooperatively to the glucose transport protein (GluT1). ATP binding produces altered transporter affinity for substrate and promotes substrate occlusion within a post-translocation vestibule formed by GluT1 cytosolic domains. The accompanying paper (Cloherty, E. K., Levine, K. B., Graybill, C., and Carruthers, A. (2002) Biochemistry 41, 12639−12651) demonstrates that reduced intracellular pH promotes high-affinity ATP binding to GluT1 but inhibits ATP-modulation of GluT1-mediated sugar transport. The present study explores the role of GluT1 residues 326−343 (a proposed GluT1 ATP-binding site subdomain) in GluT1 ATP binding by using alanine scanning mutagenesis. Cos-7 and HEK cells were transfected with a cDNA encoding full-length human GluT1 terminating in a carboxyl-terminal hemagglutinin (HA)-His6 epitope. The transporter (GluT1.HA.H6) is expressed at the surface of both cell-types and is catalytically active. In HEK cells, both...
Population, characteristics and kinematics of vortices in a confined rectangular jet with a co-flow

Vortex behavior and characteristics in a confined rectangular jet with a co-flow were examined using vortex swirling strength as a defining characteristic. On the left side of the jet, the positively (counterclockwise) rotating vortices are dominant, while negatively rotating vortices are dominant on the right side of the jet. The characteristics of vortices, such as population density, average size and strength, and deviation velocity, were calculated and analyzed in both the cross-stream direction and the streamwise direction. In the near-field of the jet, the population density, average size and strength of the dominant direction vortices show high values on both sides of the center stream with a small number of counter-rotating vortices produced in the small wake regions close to jet outlet. As the flow develops, the wake regions disappear, these count-rotating vortices also disappear, and the population of the dominant direction vortices increase and spread in the jet. The mean size and strength of the vortices decrease monotonically with streamwise coordinate. The signs of vortex deviation velocity indicate the vortices transfer low momentum to high-velocity region and high momentum to the low velocity region. The developing trends of these characteristics were also identified by tracing vortices using time-resolved particle image velocimetry data. Both the mean tracked vortex strength and size decrease with increasing downstream distance overall. At the locations of the left peak of turbulent kinetic energy, the two-point spatial cross-correlation of swirling strength with velocity fluctuation and concentration fluctuation were calculated. All the correlation fields contain one positively correlated region and one negatively correlated region although the orientations of the correlation fields varied, due to the flow transitioning from wake, to jet, to channel flow. Finally, linear stochastic estimation was used to calculate conditional structures. The large-scale structures in the velocity field revealed by linear stochastic estimation are spindle-shaped with a titling stream-wise major axis.
Variable Stars in M13. I. Positions and UBVRI Photometry for Variables, Suspected Variables, and Comparison Stars

Photoelectric and photographic UBVRI photometry is presented for 104 of the brighter stars in the field of the globular cluster M13 (NGC 6205). The observed objects include the known variable stars of the cluster, suspected variables, and a number of field stars suitable for calibrating CCD and photographic images and for serving as comparison stars for studies of the variables. Accurate relative J2000.0 positions for the stars are also given.
STAT-C: New therapies cannot get here fast enough

The ability to culture hepatitis C virus (HCV) and the determination of the three-dimensional structure of the replication elements of the HCV genome allowed the rapid development of antiviral molecules directly targeting specific enzymes that allow HCV to reproduce itself. This new class of drugs, known as specifically targeted antiviral therapy for HCV (STAT-C), offers a new paradigm for the treatment of this elusive virus. During recent years, multiple STAT-C agents were introduced into clinical trials, but only a few have overcome the hurdles often associated with early clinical drug development. This article discusses the latest clinical trial findings on the emerging STAT-C agents for the treatment of HCV, particularly the agents that have progressed to phase 2 and phase 3 in clinical trials.
Urban sprawl and social interaction potential: an empirical analysis of large metropolitan regions in the United States

Abstract This paper investigates the impact of urban spatial structure on the opportunities for people to participate in face-to-face activities. We make use of the Social Interaction Potential (SIP) metric, a tool to measure the average level of opportunity for people to engage in face-to-face activities given some basic constraints on their daily mobility patterns. Generally, this opportunity is a reflection of whether the urban spatial structure – a term that broadly applies to the spatial arrangement of land-uses and the interactions between them – constrains or permits the ability for potential activity partners to be at the same place and time. In this paper, the SIP metric is applied to 42 metropolitan regions in the United States with populations over 1,000,000 people. These measurements are regressed against a set of indicators of urban sprawl to expose the relationship between spatial structure and SIP. The indicators are generated by a factor analysis of a large set of variables describing the scale, centrality and dispersion of land-uses in addition to several other structural and infrastructure-related variables. Cluster analysis is also used to organize the regions into similar groupings with respect to their structural characteristics and the level of SIP they provide. The findings indicate that social interaction potential is hampered by decentralization, fragmentation, and longer commutes in the largest metropolitan regions in the country. Interestingly, the negative effect of decentralization on SIP Efficiency is found to be nearly ten times stronger than that of fragmentation and nearly 20 times stronger than the effect of mean commuting duration.
Interesting problems and interesting research: A path to effective exchanges between managers and scholars

Abstract Understanding how organizations operate and finding ways to improve organizations are of central importance to managers and to scholars that study business. We believe that greater synergy can be developed between these two groups. In particular, we suggest that collaborating on issues that both groups view as interesting can provide a motivating and stimulating setting for finding ways to improve organizations. We also offer two series of specific recommendations: one for managers and one for scholars. These recommendations are intended to make each side’s goals more salient to the other and to help each side become a more valued resource for the other.
Guidelines for Cardiovascular Risk Assessment and Cholesterol Treatment

As the chairs of the 2013 guideline panels on risk assessment and cholesterol treatment,1,2 we would like to clarify some statements made in 3 Viewpoint articles3- 5 and correct some misinterpretations or incorrect assumptions.
Fixed and Deforming Grid Solutions of Solidification in an Undercooled Melt: A Benchmark Problem

A problem involving the solidification of a solid seed in an undercooled melt is posed. A sharp interface between solid and liquid is assumed, and the equilibrium solidification temperature at this interface is controlled by both curvature and kinetic undercooling. Numerical solutions based on a fixed grid and on a deforming grid are developed. In the limits of a vanishing surface energy and large molecular mobility, these solutions are verified by comparing with known analytical solutions. In general applications, with curvature and kinetic undercooling present, predictions from the fixed and deforming grid solutions are in close agreement. The results obtained highlight the role of the surface curvature and kinetic undercooling in controlling solidification speed and acceleration. In addition, both the fixed and deforming solution methods provide verification tools for more general 2-D and 3-D crystal growth simulations.
Innovation in the Academy: Creating an Online Information Literacy Course

This article describes the instructional design and development of an online, for-credit information literacy course for distance students at a large research university. The course was accepted for the university's Innovation Academy which is a new educational model where students blend on- and off-campus learning. Course development and sample assignments called “Literacy Labs” are described in detail, demonstrating how the course supports the American Library Association standards of information literacy, while acknowledging the role of students as content creators.
A temporally intermediate mode of gonadotropin releasing hormone-induced desensitization of luteinizing hormone secretion.

The classical mode of luteinizing hormone (LH) secretory desensitization in the rat appears after 3–6 h of continuous in vitro administration of gonadotropin (GnRH). A second mode has been reported to occur very rapidly (<2 min) after the onset of GnRH administration, and to reverse within 3 min after its withdrawal. Here, the existence of a third mode of desensitization is reported, occurring at 40–50 min after initiation of continuous GnRH administration. Rat pituitary cells were perifused with 10−8 M GnRH for 6 h; 10 min samples were collected for LH measurements by radioimmunoassay. As expected, the pattern of LH release was biphasic: LH levels peaked in the first phase at 30 min, decreased at 40–50 min, increased in the second phase to maximal levels at 90–110 min, and then decreased in the classical desensitization mode to near-baseline values by 300–360 min. Static incubations of pituitary cells in Petri dishes in the presence of high (10−8 M) or submaximal (10−9 M) GnRH concentrations confirmed the decrease in LH secretion at 40–50 min. Measurement of LH by reverse hemolytic plaque assay (RHPA) confirmed the existence of this new mode of desensitization; since 93% of all gonadotropes had become secretory at 40–50 min, the possibility of two subpopulations of gonadotropes accounting for the two phases of LH secretion appears to be ruled-out. GnRH receptor binding studies demonstrated a ∼50% decrease in cell-surface binding in association with the desensitization at 40–50 min. These studies suggest the existence of a third mode of GnRH-induced LH secretory desensitization that is not due to gonadotrope subpopulations but may be causally associated with decreased GnRH receptor binding.
In-plane complex potentials for a special class of materials with degenerate piezoelectric properties

In this paper, complex potentials for the solution of two-dimensional, in-plane, linear piezoelectric boundary value problems are presented. These potentials are only valid for a special set of piezoelectric properties that have been identified as being useful in nonlinear ferroelectric constitutive laws. In contrast to more general solution procedures like the Stroh or Lekhnitskii formalisms, the complex potentials derived here are dependent on explicit, closed-form combinations of the piezoelectric material properties. Under either plane strain or plane stress conditions, three complex potentials are required to determine the full set of electrical and mechanical field quantities. The components of stress, strain, displacement, electric field, electric displacement, and electric potential will all be given in terms of these three potentials. To demonstrate the solution to a boundary value problem with these potentials, the asymptotic fields near a crack tip in these materials are presented in closed form. 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
A Schematic Theory of Nuclear Cross Sections

In this paper a description of the energy dependence of nuclear cross sections, especially for neutrons, is given in terms of simple assumptions on the properties of the nuclei. The results are supposed to represent average values over individual fluctuations and resonances. The total cross section, the reaction cross section, and the transport cross section are calculated as functions of the neutron energy. Only two nuclear parameters occur in the expressions; the nuclear radius and the average kinetic energy of a nucleon inside the nucleus. Comparison of the theory with neutron experiments is made. New values of nuclear radii are computed from total cross sections at 14 and 25 Mev. Predictions of the inelastic cross sections at 14 Mev are in good agreement with the measurements. Experiments involving total and transport cross sections between 0.1 and 1.5 Mev are compared with theory and reasonably good agreement is found with most of these. However, for the elements, I, In, Sb, agreement in the context of the theory may be obtained only if the strength of resonance levels for these elements is assumed to be unusually low.
Effects of EDTA on tyrosinase and l-amino-acid oxidase induction in Neurospora crassa

Tyrosinase (o-diphenol:O2 oxidoreductase, EC 1.10.3.1) and l-amino-acid oxidase l-amino acid:O2 oxidoreductase (deaminating, EC 1.4.3.2), which are normally induced in Neurospora crassa during starvation in phosphate buffer (pH 6), do not appear if the mycelium is washed with EDTA before induction. The induction of both enzymes is fully restored by adding calcium, amino acids, and copper or nickel to the induction buffer. The EDTA treatment (1) promoted the loss of amino acids and materials absorbing at 260 mμ from the mycelium, (2) increased the sensitivity of induction to inhibition by actinomycin D, (3) inhibited the uptake of lysine and uridine from the induction buffer and (4) inhibited the synthesis of protein. The inhibition of induction, uptake and protein synthesis appear to be due to removal of calcium from the mycelium and the retention of some EDTA in the mycelium. The EDTA effect was used to confirm that the lag phase of induction is a qualitatively distinct phase of the induction process.
Geometric curvature controls the chemical patchiness and self-assembly of nanoparticles

The chemical properties of a molecular monolayer on the surface of a non-spherical nanoparticle depend on its local curvature; an effect that can be exploited to drive the self-assembly of these nanoparticles into different structures.
An Analytical Map of Social Scientific Approaches to the Concept of Law

An intractable puzzle brought almost to a standstill the development of theory in the social scientific study of law from the 1950s through the 1970s. The debate over a social scientific concept of law was the central focus of theoretical discussion during this period. The puzzle lies in the fact that the debate seemed incapable of resolution. There appeared to be almost as many concepts of law as there were theorists, with no apparent means to determine which concept, if any, was the correct one. Legal philosophers have also long been exercised by the question of what law is, as H. L. A. Hart noted on the very first page of The Concept of Law.' But a lack of agreement has not been as debilitating. Legal philosophers, especially those in the positivist tradition, have the luxury of focusing on state law. Many social scientists, in contrast, consider state law to be an unacceptable starting point because it does not comprise a scientific category, and more so because application of the state law model would result in the conclusion that many societies (historically speaking) did not have law. Especially for legal anthropologists, this smacked of Western ethnocentrism. This mix of scientism and concern about ethnocentrism resulted in analytical gridlock. Scientists who declared-at the outset of the enquiry-that 'No society is without law',2 were inevitably led to identify a different concept of law from those scientists who believed that whether or not particular societies have law should be an empirical question, one that can be answered in the negative. After decades of heated exchanges, with no apparent progress, scholars in the field became frustrated with the issue. The debate over what is law? was characterized as 'endless wrangling' which operated 'to the hindrance of more
Birds of a Feather-Do They Flock Together.?

It is all the vogue to draw attention to communicable diseases that have been newly recognized ("emerging" infections), as well as those that now are resurgent after a period of decline ("reemerging" infections). Try as I might, however, I cannot place psittacosis into either category. The characteristic pneumonia of psittacosis initially was defined back in 1879 by Jacob Ritter, a Swiss physician who noted a cluster of seven illnesses that occurred among the members of his brother's household.' Ritter's meticulous observations delineated the clinical manifestations of the disease (including splenomegaly, a clinical "pearl"), the often fatal outcome (three of the seven patients died, including his brother), and the gross pathological findings. Ritter reconstructed the family's comings and goings during the weeks before the onset of these illnesses and deduced that the disease was an infection and that it emanated from a point source. He deduced further that the source was located within a single room of his brother's house: his study, the only room to which all the cases had been exposed. Because the study had, of course, always been part of the house, Ritter reasoned that the source must have been something that had been newly introduced into the study. His brother was a bird fancier, and, sure enough, just 3 weeks before the outbreak started, four new birds had been acquired and had been caged in the study. Another bird in the same shipment died shortly after arrival. Although Ritter's sleuthing was right on the mark, he reported his suspicion that the birds were the source of this infectious illness, but refrained from drawing a firm conclusion. It was only after several other outbreaks occurred in Europe that the disease was given its ame, derived from the Greek word (psittakos) for parrot, the bird that often was implicated as the source of infection. Then, as now, the illness was regard as a rather rare and somewhat exotic sort of pneumonia. Psittacosis had its coming-out party in 1929, dramatically emerging on the international scene because of two factors. The first, as with many infectious diseases, had to do with lifestyle. During the good economic times of the 1920s, the hobby of keeping companion birds flourished, with the colorful birds of the tropics being especially favored. The majority of such pet birds were imported from South America. The second factor was an outbreak of psittacosis among bird flocks in Argentina that occurred just before the local breeders held a major auction of pet birds for wholesale distributors. The auction was attended by an international cadre of dealers, and many infected birds were shipped around the world. Over the next 2 years, outbreaks of psittacosis followed the introduction of these birds in the countries of Europe and the Middle East, as well as in the United States and Canada. Case totals could only be estimated, but numbers over 1,000 have been suggested; the mortality rate was thought to be on the order of 15% to 20%. Psittacosis certainly had emerged. In reaction to this global pandemic, the public health authorities
A case-control study of lung cancer mortality in six Gila Basin, Arizona smelter towns.

Abstract To investigate factors related to lung cancer mortality in six Arizona copper smelter towns, we identified 185 lung cancer cases and two matched controls per case from decedent residents during 1979–1990. Detailed information on lifetime residential, occupational, and smoking history was obtained by structured telephone interviews with knowledgeable informants. Interviews were completed for 82% of 183 eligible cases and 88% of the targeted number (366) of controls. Estimated historical environmental exposures to smelter emissions, based on atmospheric diffusion modeling of measured SO 2 concentrations, were linked with residential histories to derive individual profiles of residential exposure. Occupational histories were characterized by potential exposure to smelter emissions, asbestos, and ionizing radiation. Conditional logistic regression was used to compare study factors in cases and controls with adjustment for potential confounding factors: gender, Hispanic ethnicity, and smoking. In overall and gender-specific analyses, no statistically significant associations were observed between lung cancer risk and any of the measures of residential exposure to smelter emissions considered (town of residence at time of death, highest level of exposure, and duration or cumulative exposure above background levels), or any of the estimated occupational exposures (definite or potential asbestos, potential ionizing radiation, definite or potential smelter). Among male residents of some, but not all, towns, there was some evidence of a positive association between lung cancer risk and reported copper smelter-related employment (reported as definite), with the highest risk observed for Miami, Arizona. This study provided little evidence of a positive association between lung cancer mortality and residential exposure to smelter emissions. Specific factors associated with the apparent heterogeneity in lung cancer risk across study towns cannot be identified in this community-based study.
A novel method for three-dimensional reconstruction of coronary arterial trees from biplane angiograms

A novel method of visualization of three-dimensional (3-D) arterial trees from the arterial cross-sections estimated from biplane angiograms is described. For computer generated data, the cross-sectional areas can be precisely computed using an elliptical model. However two views such as represented in biplane angiograms result in two ellipses of different eccentricities having the same area. Therefore the 3-D reconstructed coronary arteries can be visualized in two somewhat different shapes. At least three views are needed for unique 3-D reconstruction of the coronary artery when an elliptical model is used. A parametric model for observed intensity distribution of an arterial cross-section is developed and used to estimate not only transverse areas but parameters of the ellipse which are essential in 3-D reconstruction of an arterial segment. This model takes into account background intensity, noise and blurring. The performance of this model has been tested on computer-generated and actual data and compared to those of other methods for estimating arterial dimensions. Furthermore, 3-D reconstruction of arterial segments using elliptical model from computer- generated biplane angiogram data has shown excellent results. The accuracy of the computed cross-sectional area of coronary arterial trees and their 3-D visualization should provide better information for diagnostic decision and management of cardiac patients.© (1993) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Domain decomposition based coupling between the lattice Boltzmann method and traditional CFD methods - Part II

The cache-optimized lattice Boltzmann and finite difference methods are coupled.The domain decomposition based coupling is implemented on multiblock grids.Each individual solver is deployed in the region where it is most efficient.The coupled solver is applied to flow over a backwards step.The coupled solver was 2.9× faster than finite difference methods. The lattice Boltzmann method (LBM) and traditional finite difference methods have separate strengths when solving the incompressible Navier-Stokes equations. The LBM is an explicit method with a highly local computational nature that uses floating-point operations that involve only local data and thereby enables easy cache optimization and parallelization. However, because the LBM is an explicit method, smaller grid spacing requires smaller numerical time steps during both transient and steady state computations. Traditional implicit finite difference methods can take larger time steps as they are not limited by the CFL condition, but only by the need for time accuracy during transient computations. To take advantage of the strengths of both methods, a multiple solver, multiple grid block approach was implemented and validated for the 2-D Burgers' equation in Part I of this work. Part II implements the multiple solver, multiple grid block approach for the 2-D backward step flow problem. The coupled LBM-VSM solver is found to be faster by a factor of 2.90 (2.87 and 2.93 for Re=150 and Re=500, respectively) on a single processor than the VSM for the 2-D backward step flow problem while maintaining similar accuracy.
Zirconium tungstate hydroxide hydrate revisited: Crystallization dependence on halide and hydronium ions

The formation of zirconium tungstate hydroxide hydrate, a precursor to the negative thermal expansion material cubic zirconium tungstate, shows a strong dependence on hydrothermal reaction conditions. It was found that not only the acid concentration, but also the acid counterion plays a significant role in the crystallization of ZrW{sub 2}O{sub 7}(OH){sub 2}.2H{sub 2}O. High temperatures, high acid concentrations, and the presence of chloride or bromide ions promote the formation of well-crystallized ZrW{sub 2}O{sub 7}(OH){sub 2}.2H{sub 2}O. For low acid concentrations, a new zirconium tungstate hydrate polymorph is observed, which transforms to tetragonal ZrW{sub 2}O{sub 7}(OH){sub 2}.2H{sub 2}O at longer reaction times. A study of crystallization kinetics in hydrochloric acid is presented. - Graphical abstract: The formation of ZrW{sub 2}O{sub 7}(OH){sub 2}.2H{sub 2}O shows a strong dependence on reaction conditions. Both acid concentration and acid counterion play a significant role in the crystallization. High temperatures, high acid concentrations, and the presence of chloride or bromide ions promote the formation of well-crystallized ZrW{sub 2}O{sub 7}(OH){sub 2}.2H{sub 2}O. For low acid concentrations, a new zirconium tungstate hydrate polymorph is observed.
Studies of the hemopoietic microenvironment. Iii. Differences in the splenic microvascular system and stroma between sl/sld and w/wv anemic mice.

The differences in the splenic microvascular system and stroma between Sl/Sld and W/Wv anemic mice were investigated using in vivo microscopic and histochemical methods. Spleens of Sl/Sld anemic mice had increased numbers of sinusoids containing blood flow and an increased concentration of sulfated acid mucopolysaccharide in the splenic stroma when compared to spleens of non-anemic littermates; in both groups of mice the undifferentiated hemopoietic cells in the red pulp were enveloped with a coating of sulfated acid mucopolysaccharide. In contrast, in the W/Wv anemic mice, the number of sinusoids containing blood flow was one-half of that seen in non-anemic littermates. While the concentration of mucopolysaccharides in the splenic stroma of the W/Wv mice and their non-anemic littermates appeared similar, the W/Wv mice had a deficiency in the number of undifferentiated hemopoietic cells in the red pulp as well as a deficiency in the number of such cells enveloped with a coating of sulfated acid mucopolysaccharide. Transfusion of the W/Wv mice with stem cells from non-anemic littermates corrected the anemia. Blood flow through the sinusoids was restored to near normal levels, and the number of undifferentiated hemopoietic cells increased in the red pulp; most were enveloped with a coating of sulfated acid mucopolysaccharide. The histochemical results suggest specific defects in the composition of mucopolysaccharides in the hemopoietic microenvironment of Sl/Sld anemic mice and in the cell coatings of undifferentiated hemopoietic cells in W/Wv anemic mice. These results are consistent with our hypothesis that a cell coating of sulfated acid mucopolysaccharide is required for early erythroid differentiation but that a microenvironment which contains excessive concentrations of sulfated acid mucopolysaccharide is not conducive to supporting the later stages of erythroid development. In addition, the results obtained by in vivo microscopy of the microvascular system tend to support our hypothesis that erythropoietin-sensitive stem cells respond to erythropoietin by producing a substance that is locally vasoactive.
Assessment of virus infection in cultured cells using metabolic monitoring.

A rapid, in-process assessment of virus replication is disired to quickly investigate the effects of process parameters on virus infection, and to monitor consistency of process in routine manufacturing of viral vaccines. Live virus potency assays are generally based on plaque formation, cytopathic effect, or antigen production (TCID(50)) and can take days to weeks to complete. Interestingly, when infected with viruses, cultured cells undergo changes in cellular metabolism that can be easily measured. These phenomena appear to be common as they has been observed in a variety of virus-host systems, e.g., in insect cells infected with baculovirus, Vero cells infected with Rotavirus, MRC-5 cells infected with Hepatitis A virus, and MRC-5 cells infected with the Varicella Zoster Virus (VZV). In this article, changes in glycolytic metabolism of MRC-5 cells as a result of CVZ infection are described. Both glucose consumption and lactate production in VZV infected MRC-5 cells are significantly elevated in comparison to uninfected cells. Based on this result, a rapid, in-process assay to follow VZV infection has been developed. The relative increase in lactate production in infected cells (α) increases as the infection progresses and then plateaus as the infection peaks. This plateau correlates with time of peak virus titer and could be used as a harvest triggering parameter in a virus production process.X(u) = cell density of uninfected cellsX(i) = cell density of infected cellsX(T) = total cell densityL(i) = cumulative lactate production in infected culturesL(u) = cumulative lactate production in uninfected culturesq(Li) = specific lactate production of infected cellsq(Lu) = specific lactate production of uninfected cellsk(1), K(2) = constants.
The Oldest Mosquitoes

THE REV. PETER BELLINGER BRODIE, in his “History of the Fossil Insects of the Secondary Rocks of England,” gave a figure of a small fly which he named Culex (?) fossilis. This insect, from the Purbeck strata, would be by far the oldest mosquito known, were it a veritable Culex. Unfortunately, it is impossible to form any definite opinion, and as positive evidence of the antiquity of the Culicidae the specimen must be dismissed as valueless. On general grounds it is very improbable that the group is so ancient. In Handlirsch's great work on fossil insects several Culicidae are listed from the Oligocene Tertiary; but Handlirsch did not know that two species described by Scudder, from Wyoming and Utah respectively, are actually much older, coming from Eocene rocks. The one from Utah is of little value, and presumably not a true Culex; but that from the Green River beds of Wyoming has the unmistakable features of a genuine mosquito, showing the long proboscis and the short palpi of the female. According to Schuchert's estimates of geologic time, this should be more than two million years old at the very least. Scudder's insect, called Culex damnatorum is 6 mm. long, with a proboscis 1.9 mm. It doubtless tormented the Eohippus and related mammals of this general period. Whether it carried any pathogenic protozoa we can, of course, never know. It is now possible to put on record a second Eocene mosquito, found by Mr. Dean E. Winchester, of the U.S. Geological Survey, at Smith's Ranch, in the vicinity of the Cathedral Bluffs, in western Colorado. It is represented by a female, preserved in lateral view, 5.2 mm. long, the wing about 4.2 mm., thorax about 2 mm., palpi about 0.4 mm., and the distinctly curved proboscis 3 mm. The stout abdomen is like that of true Culex, obtuse at the end, not tapering as in Aedes. The longer proboscis readily separates it from Scudder's insect, so it must stand as a new species, to be called Culex winchesteri, after its discoverer. The horizon is considered to be Green River, approximately equivalent to that of the Wyoming locality.
The Role of Cell Sap Concentration in Frost Hardiness.

The many investigations attempting to relate cell sap concentration to frost hardiness have led to highly contradictory results (1). An indisputably close relation between the two exists in many cases; in many others there is a complete lack of correlation. A few investigators have even attempted to increase hardiness by inducing the uptake of relatively large amounts of solutes. The resulting increase in frost hardiness was always slight or nonexistent. The purpose of the present research is to reinvestigate the relation between frost hardiness and artificially induced increases in cell sap concentration, in an attempt to test the following hypothesis (1). A primary hardiness factor establishes the amount of frost dehydration that will injure the plant. Cell sap concentration is a secondary factor; it increases hardiness by lowering the temperature at which this frost-killing dehydration will occur. But the extent of the increase is proportional to the frost dehydration that can be withstood without injury. If a plant is unable to survive ice formation at more than a few degrees below its freezing point, any increase in cell sap concentration will have a negligible effect on this frost killing point. But if it is able to survive a freeze of several degrees, an increase in cell sap concentration will appreciably lower this frost killing point. The quantitative relations are as follows: If Ck = the cell sap concentration at the frost killing temperature, and Cf = the cell sap concentration at the freezing point, the ratio Ck/Cf represents the plant's tolerance of frost dehydration ( 1 ). As long as the primary hardiness factor is unchanged,
Stages of Change-Based Nursing Interventions for Victims of Interpersonal Violence

Recently, the health care system has become recognized as an important site for domestic violence programs. However, most of these programs focus on screening for violence. There is a need for conceptually based intervention strategies that provide help for victims once they are identified. The Transtheoretical Model of Change is useful in suggesting interventions that are consistent with the ways victims perceive their situations and take actions to end violence in their lives.
Environmental tobacco smoke and sudden infant death syndrome: a review

Environmental tobacco smoke (ETS), containing the developmental neurotoxicant, nicotine, is a prevalent component of indoor air pollution. Despite a strong association with active maternal smoking and sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), information on the risk of SIDS due to prenatal and postnatal ETS exposure is relatively inconsistent. This literature review begins with a discussion and critique of existing epidemiologic data pertaining to ETS and SIDS. It then explores the biologic plausibility of this association, with comparison of the known association between active maternal smoking and SIDS, by examining metabolic and placental transfer issues associated with nicotine, and the biologic responses and mechanisms that may follow exposure to nicotine. Evidence indicates that prenatal and postnatal exposures to nicotine do occur from ETS exposure, but that the level of exposure is often substantially less than levels induced by active maternal smoking. Nicotine also has the capacity to concentrate in the fetus, regardless of exposure source. Experimental animal studies show that various doses of nicotine are capable of affecting a neonate's response to hypoxic conditions, a process thought to be related to SIDS outcomes. Mechanisms contributing to deficient hypoxia response include the ability of nicotine to act as a cholinergic stimulant through nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) binding. The need for future research to investigate nicotine exposure and effects from non-maternal tobacco smoke sources in mid to late gestation is emphasized, along with a need to discourage smoking around both pregnant women and infants.
Preference toward future mode of delivery: how do antepartum preferences and prior delivery experience contribute?

AbstractObjective: Examine postpartum preferences toward future mode of delivery (MOD), considering recent MOD, antepartum preferences, and demographics.Study design: Prospective cohort study where a survey was distributed in outpatient obstetrics clinics to pregnant women over 18 years at 28 weeks gestation or later. Surveys gathered demographics, obstetric history, and preference toward vaginal delivery (VD) versus cesarean delivery (CD). Women were again surveyed at 6–8 weeks postpartum. Chi-square test compared proportions, and logistic regression controlled for potential confounders.Results: A total of 299 women returned postpartum surveys and expressed preferences. Comparing women who experienced VD versus CD, the majority who had a VD (92.1%) would choose this again, while only 1.9% preferred CD. Among the CD group, preferences were mixed: 29.4% desired repeat CD, 34.1% preferred VD, and 36.5% were undecided (p < 0.001). Adjusted odds were 34.4 (95% CI 9.4–126.1) for preferring VD over CD among wom...
Acute toxicologic effects of dimethyl sulfoxide on the rough-skinned newt (Taricha granulosa).

Abstract Newts were collected during the summer and spring, acclimated for 10 days at 10°C, weighed, treated with dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), and maintained in an unfed state which simulated winter conditions. Intraperitoneal injections of 15 g DMSO/kg or immersion in 2% DMSO were determined to be the lethal threshold doses for Taricha granulosa . Death was rapid. In addition to a transient increase in the body weight of the DMSO-treated animals, other marked changes were observed, such as (1) a reduction in respiration to 70% that of the controls, (2) a dramatic increase in the weights of the spleen, liver, and abdominal fat. Lethality was attributed primarily to irreversible changes in the permeability of the skin, causing a water imbalance, hyperhydration, and death. The reduced respiratory rate of DMSO-treated newts undoubtedly increased the mortality rate. The marked changes in the hematopoietic system and in the organ weights of these animals do not appear to play a major role in lethality.
Technique for compensating excessive rigid body motion in nondestructive testing of large structures using shearography

A major limitation of speckle interferometry techniques including shearography is that the occurrence of rigid body motion produces a decorrelation of speckle patterns which destroys the fringe visibility. This paper demonstrates that digital shearography can tolerate much greater rigid body translation than a speckle size as predicted by the conventional speckle decorrelation theory. Excessive rigid body translation in digital shearography can be compensated by either translating the sensor/camera or digitally shifting one of the speckle patterns.
Allozyme genotype in mosquitofish, Gambusia holbrooki, during mercury exposure : temporal stability, concentration effects and field verification

Genotype frequencies at nine enzyme loci were examined in a population of mosquitofish, Gambusia holbrooki, during acute inorganic mercury exposure at three concentrations. Genotype at one locus, glucose phosphate isomerase-2 (Gpi-2), was correlated with time to death (TTD) at the low (0.83 mg/L) mercury concentration, but genotypes at none of the nine loci were related to TTD at the medium (1.07 mg/L) or the high (1.13 mg/L) mercury concentration. A survey of mosquitofish from a mercury-contaminated canal was undertaken to determine if the results of laboratory exposures could be used to predict accurately the genetic profile of mercury-contaminated field populations. Mosquitofish collected from the contaminated canal had a significantly lower frequency of the Gpi-238 allele than mosquitofish collected from the adjacent noncontaminated river. The Gpi-2 allozymes may be useful as an indicator of pollutant stress if used in conjunction with a thorough understanding of the structure and history of the population.
A study of terrain coverage models

The ability to cover a terrain has numerous applications to our everyday lives: from spell checking to Web crawling, from surveillance to automated vacuuming. Indeed, these applications require different approaches to solving the coverage problem because they are based on different ways of evaluating the goodness of the coverage; a good terrain coverage to vacuuming may not be desirable in Web crawling. To better understand the issues, this paper divides the terrain coverage problem into two classes (temporal and spatial) and discusses the performance of standard and self-organized algorithms as means of solving both classes of coverage problem. In order to perform the comparison the paper introduces suitable metrics to evaluate the goodness of a coverage (temporal or spatial).
Do Foreign-Owned and U.S.-Owned Establishments Exhibit the Same Location Pattern in U.S. Manufacturing Industries?

There are arguments to support and contradict the proposition that foreign-owned and U.S.-owned establishments exhibit similar location patterns within the United States. This paper addresses these conflicting views by comparing the location of all manufacturing establishments in the United States held by the U.S. and by foreign firms. The empirical evidence indicates that the location patterns of foreign-owned and U.S.-owned establishments differ. Moreover, the most influential factor in explaining the location pattern difference is that foreign-owned establishments, compared to U.S.-owned establishments, favor coastal states. I also find evidence to suggest that foreign firms favor states with low unionization rates, low wage rates, and right to work legislation. These results are consistent with arguments that foreign establishments differ from their domestic counterparts and value location attributes differently.