cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
General knowledge monitoring as a predictor of in-class exam performance

Background. Current theories of self-regulated learning predict a positive link between student monitoring accuracy and performance: students who more accurately monitor their knowledge of a particular set of materials are expected to more effectively regulate their subsequent study of those materials, which in turn should lead to higher test performance. Aims. The present study further explored the link between monitoring accuracy and performance by investigating whether monitoring of one set of materials would predict performance on a different set of materials. Sample. The participants were college students (N= 379) enrolled in an educational psychology course. Method. Students’ monitoring accuracy was measured at the start of the semester; the monitoring task involved materials that were not related to class content (i.e., general knowledge vocabulary) and that were related to class content (i.e., terms from educational psychology). Target performance was students’ scores on the final exam. Results. Monitoring accuracy significantly predicted student performance on the final exam, even when the monitoring task and final test were based on materials from different content domains. Also, the class-related (vs. unrelated) materials in the monitoring task did not improve the predictive validity of monitoring accuracy, suggesting a limited role for domain specificity in the relationship between monitoring skill and performance. Conclusions. This study establishes a critical link between general monitoring accuracy and exam performance within a classroom setting.
OSU-03012, a novel celecoxib derivative, induces a unique autophagy-like cell death in human hepatocellular carcinoma cells

Proc Amer Assoc Cancer Res, Volume 47, 2006 4662 Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common and lethal solid tumors in the world. HCC is typically refractory to almost all cytotoxic chemotherapeutic agents. OSU-03012 is a derivative of celecoxib, a cyclooxygenase (COX)-2 inhibitor. However, its primary mechanism of action is known as 3-phosphoinositide-dependent kinase-1 (PDK-1) inhibition and by which it induces apoptosis in certain cancer cells[Zhu J et al. , Cancer Res. 64:4309-18, 2004; Hsu AL et al. , J Biol. Chem . 275:11937-403. 2000]. This study sought to investigate if OSU-03012 may be effective in the treatment of HCC. OSU-03012 inhibited cell growth of Huh7, a human HCC cell line, in a dose-dependent manner, with IC50 at 1μM, which is well below the non-toxic serum concentration (5-20μM) in mice. Surprisingly, in this Huh7 cell model, western blotting analysis demonstrated that neither pPDK1 nor pAkt was suppressed by OSU-03012. Cell cycle analysis by flow cytometry indicated that OSU-03012 (5μM, 24h) significantly increased S-phase population, while did not alter sub-G1 population, suggesting that apoptosis is not a major mechanism of cell growth suppression. Western blotting analysis showed that OSU-03012 reduced protein level of cyclin D1. Furthermore, OSU-03012-treated cells exhibited cytoplasmic vacuoles which were positively stained by acridine orange and monodansylcadaverine, a phenomenon mimicking cell autophagy. The content in the OSU-03012-induced autophagosomes and its mechanistic linkage with the occurrence of autophagy-like cell death of Huh7 cells are under investigation. Together, our preliminary results indicate that OSU-03012 might be an effective therapeutic agent for HCC, but the mechanisms of action of this drug in HCC cells need to be further clarified. (This study was supported by grant DOH94-TD-B-111-001 from Department of Health, R.O.C. to National Clinical Research Center at National Taiwan University)
Bilinear adaptive controller for multimachine power system stability

The problem of multimachine power system stabilization with a single series capacitor controller is addressed. When controlled by the global series capacitor, each machine can be modeled for adaptive purposes by a discrete bilinear time-series model. Using real-time measurements, the coefficients of these models can be identified recursively. The design of an adaptive one-step-ahead controller for the multimachine system is discussed. In the context of the one-step-ahead controller, local and global controllers are designed. Simulation results showing the damping afforded by the proposed adaptive controllers are presented. >
Too Many Banks to Fail? Theory and Evidence

The idea of "Too Many to Fail" (hereafter TMTF) is that -- even if the large banks are healthy -- small and medium sized banks can cause a banking crisis if enough of them fail simultaneously. Therefore, it has been argued, containing the risks of "Too Big to Fail" banks (hereafter TBTF) does not address the fundamental cause of systemic banking crises, it just shifts the focus from big banks to smaller ones. We disagree, and show that this line of reasoning is not supported either theoretically or empirically for the US banking system.
Cultivating Spiritual Academics for Leadership--A Presidential Perspective

A reprint of a speech given at the 2005 Institute on College Student Values, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL February 3-5, 2005.
Observations of Turbulence in the Atmosphere of Venus using Mariner 10 Radio Occultation Measurements

A technique is developed for estimating the outer scale of turbulence in a planetary atmosphere using dual-frequency radio occultation measurements. This technique is based on the frequency dependence of the temporal frequency spectra for the log-amplitude fluctuations and is particularly useful when probing the upper atmosphere where the transverse velocity of the line-of-sight path is decelerating very rapidly. It is applied to the region of strong turbulence located in the vicinity of 60 km on the dayside of the atmosphere of Venus using the Mariner 10 S/X radio occultation measurements. It is found that, contrary to earlier findings from Mariner 5, the outer scale of turbulence is at least 5 km. It appears that the outer scale of turbulence is as large as the vertical extent of the region of strong turbulence. Estimates of the structure constants for refractive index and temperature fluctuations indicate that the turbulence is stronger than that measured near the earth's tropopause.
Cooperation of Three Denitrifying Bacteria in Nitrate Removal of Acidic Nitrate- and Uranium-Contaminated Groundwater

In uranium-contaminated aquifers co-contaminated with nitrate, denitrifiers play a critical role in bioremediation. Six strains of denitrifying bacteria belonging to Rhizobium, Pseudomonas, and Cas...
The effects of social training and other factors on adoption success of shelter dogs

Abstract The aim of the present study was to increase adoption rates of dogs housed in shelters. Previous research suggests that the public perceives friendly and sociable dogs as more adoptable. The present study hypothesized that dogs trained to gaze into potential adopters' eyes would be perceived as more attractive and would therefore have a greater likelihood of being adopted. In addition, we investigated other individual factors that may predict adoption success. For each dog in the study, we tracked outcome (adoption or euthanasia), physical characteristics, and how they were acquired by the shelter. Dogs in a group trained to gaze at people were not significantly more likely to be adopted than untrained dogs in a control group (70.7% in the training group vs. 67.8% in the control group, P >0.10). However, breed type, mode of intake (how dogs were taken into the shelter), and kennel location were predictive of adoption ( P P P P P =0.05, and P P
Galactomannan Antigen Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay for Diagnosis of Invasive Aspergillosis after Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation

Invasive aspergillosis is difficult to diagnose in patients undergoing hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). In 2003, a serum enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) test for the detection of galactomannan (a glycoprotein found on the Aspergillus cell wall) became available in the United States. In 2004, patients undergoing HSCT were screened biweekly with the galactomannan ELISA at our institution. We performed a retrospective chart review of 121 SCT patients who underwent galactomannan testing. Thirteen of the patients (10.7%) had at least 1 positive galactomannan ELISA, and 4 had multiple positive tests. When calculated in reference to a proved or probable diagnosis of aspergillosis, the galactomannan ELISA had a sensitivity of 0.50 and a specificity of 0.94. The positive predictive value was 0.46, and the negative predictive value was 0.94. Galactomannan ELISA had fewer false-positive and false-negative results in pediatric patients than in adult patients. In 4 of the 12 cases of invasive aspergillosis, the galactomannan ELISA was positive before other microbiologic evidence of aspergillosis was available. In these cases, a positive ELISA predated culture and cytologic evidence of invasive aspergillosis by a mean of 5 days (range, 1-8 days). Our findings indicate that a biweekly serum galactomannan ELISA is a highly specific diagnostic tool for detecting invasive aspergillosis in patients undergoing HSCT. When used regularly, the ELISA may allow for earlier diagnosis of invasive aspergillosis in some patients. The test is troubled by a low sensitivity and high frequency of false-negative tests.
Fast voxelization of three-dimensional synthetic objects

Abstract This paper presents a new approach to the voxelization of threedimensional synthetic objects. It makes use of existing graphics hardware on standard graphics workstations, such as the polygon-based geometry engine and frame buffer operations, and is able to generate the voxel-based volume representations of general curves, surfaces, or solid objects efficiently. On a workstation with hardwaresupported texture mapping, the voxelization result may also be written directly to the three-dimensional texture memory as a three-dimensional texture object, and interactively rendered by the three-dimensional texture-mapping hardware. This approach provides a practical solution to the interactive manipulations of geometric objects within a volume graphics framework.
A bacterial haloalkane dehalogenase (dhlA) gene as conditional negative selection marker for rice callus cells

The dhlA gene of Xanthobacter autotrophicus encodes dehalogenase that hydrolyzes dihaloalkanes such as 1,2-dichloroethane (DCE) into cytotoxic halogenated alcohol and an inorganic halide. As plants do not contain dehalogenase activity, they grow normally in the presence of DCE. We tested the transgenic expression of the bacterial dhlA gene in rice as a conditional negative selection marker. We developed 24 transgenic callus lines containing dhlA gene driven by rice actin-1 promoter, verified the expression of dhlA by Northern blot analysis, and subjected these transgenic lines to DCE treatment. We found that, while untransformed callus (Nipponbare) was unaffected by the DCE treatment, most of the transformed lines displayed symptoms of toxicity, indicating that dhlA is an effective conditional negative selection marker gene for rice in vitro cultures.
Correction of SMN2 Pre-mRNA splicing by antisense U7 small nuclear RNAs

Abstract Mutations in one of the duplicated survival of motor neuron (SMN) genes lead to the progressive loss of motor neurons and subsequent development of spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), a common, and usually fatal, hereditary disease. Homozygous absence of the telomeric copy ( SMN1 ) correlates with development of SMA because differential splicing of the centromeric copy ( SMN2 ) leads to exon 7 skipping and predominantly produces a biologically inactive protein isoform. To increase exon 7 inclusion of SMN2, we have designed a series of vectors that express modified U7 snRNAs containing antisense sequences complementary to the 3′ splice site of SMN exon 8. Over 20 anti-SMN U7 snRNAs were tested for their ability to promote exon 7 inclusion in the SMN2 gene. Transient expression of anti-SMN U7 snRNAs in HeLa cells modulated SMN2 splicing to ∼70% exon 7 inclusion in a sequence-specific and dose-dependent manner. Significantly, the administration of anti-SMN U7 snRNPs results in an increase in the concentration of SMN protein. These results suggest that modulation of SMN2 pre-mRNA splicing by modified U7 snRNAs provides a promising form of gene therapy for the treatment of SMA.
Determination of sea topography and its effect upon restoration of imagery acquired by viewing through the sea surface

Imagery acquired by viewing through the air-sea interface is generally degraded by refraction at the interface, as well as by atmospheric and in-water scattering. A key problem in the restoration of such imagery is the removal of interfacial refractive effects. We have previously shown the feasibility of image restoration via model-based compensation for interfacial refraction and volume scattering distortions. Our techniques are contingent upon the accurate determination of sea topography, which we propose to accomplish via pointwise optical time- domain reflectometry (OTDR). Recently, consideration has been given to interfacial sensing methods such as glint imaging and stereophotogrammetry, which can be implemented with passive sensors but exhibit deficiencies which limit their utility in sensing sea topography. In this paper, we analyze salient errors inherent in the foregoing techniques, and briefly discuss errors incurred by sonic and microwave echolocation. We show that OTDR-based sensing is superior to stereophotogrammetry, whose accuracy, range, and field of view is resolution- limited. Additionally, we analyze and demonstrate the effect of topographic sensor errors upon feature localization in the reconstructed target imagery. Given a simulated wave height of 1.5 meters, 100 m sensor altitude, and 5 m target depth, we show that our image restoration model is stable, and remains useful, when the estimate of sea surface elevation is corrupted by a ranging error of up to 25.5 cm (peak-to-peak) at an error cross-section of 25 percent or less.© (1992) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Optical properties of relaxor ferroelectric crystal : Pb(Zn1/3Nb2/3)O3-4.5%PbTiO3

Abstract High quality Pb(Zn1/3Nb2/3)O3-4.5%PbTiO3 single crystal sample with the stable polarization (well poled) were used for the optical measurements in this work. For the single crystal, poled along ⟨111⟩ direction, the wavelength dependence of the refractive index (n1 and n3) was measured by the Minimum Deviation Method. The Sellmeier optical coefficients, Eo=5.25eV, λo=0.236μm, So=0.7×1014m−2 and Ed=20.48eV for n3, and Eo=5.46eV, λo=0.227μm, So=0.8×1014m−2 and Ed=22.52eV for n1, of the PZN-PT, were obtained through fitting the single-term oscillator equation. The effects of crystal-lattice distortion and poling direction on optical properties of crystal were discussed.
Perineural spread of cutaneous squamous and basal cell carcinoma: CT and MR detection and its impact on patient management and prognosis

Abstract Purpose: To analyze the pretreatment imaging findings and outcome of patients with perineural spread of squamous or basal cell carcinoma of the face and scalp treated with radiotherapy, to determine whether CT (computed tomography) or MR (magnetic resonance) imaging can be effectively used to identify patients who would benefit from aggressive treatment, and to characterize the imaging features associated with cure. Methods: Thirty-five patients had perineural spread of squamous and basal cell carcinoma along the divisions of the trigeminal and/or facial nerves based on clinical findings and/or histopathological proof. Perineural extension seen on imaging was divided into three zones of involvement. The volume of perineural disease was graded semiquanitatively. All patients received radiotherapy with curative intent. Results: Eighteen of the 35 patients had imaging evidence of perineural spread of tumor, and the remaining 17 were imaging negative for perineural spread. The absolute 5-year survival of the imaging positive group was 50% compared with 86% in the imaging-negative group ( p = 0.048). Conclusions: Imaging can be used to identify patients with advanced perineural spread who warrant aggressive radiotherapy. Imaging evidence of perineural invasion worsens prognosis; however, low-volume and peripheral perineural disease is radiocurable. Greater perineural tumor volume with more central disease was associated with an unfavorable outcome.
Caffeine- or halothane-induced contractures of masseter muscle are similar to those of vastus muscle in normal humans.

BACKGROUND: Skinned fibers from normal human masseter muscle have greater caffeine and calcium sensitivity than skinned fibers from vastus muscle. We examined sensitivity to caffeine and halothane in fresh, cut muscle bundles (non-skinned) from human masseter muscle. METHODS: Masseter bundles (caffeine, n=25, halothane, n=19) excised from 10 humans under general anesthesia had tension measured in 37 degrees C baths during the addition of caffeine (0.5, 1, 2, 4, 8, 32 mM) or 3% halothane. Results were compared to those of our previous studies (1989, 1997, 25 patients) of vastus bundles (caffeine, n=71, halothane, n=63) using the same protocol, technicians, and equipment. RESULTS: Baseline force in the caffeine test was 2.10+/-1.57 for masseter, and 2.02+/-1.68 and 1.82+/-1.29 respectively for vastus muscle. Force at 32 mM caffeine concentration was 11.2+/-9.9 g for masseter, 11.0+/-5.4 and 13.5+/-7.5 g for vastus. Concentration-response curves were virtually identical. In the halothane group, neither baseline values (masseter 1.47+/-1.30, vastus 1.91+/-1.32 and 2.15+/-1.71) nor contractures in response to 3% halothane were different. Most bundles had no contracture in response to 3% halothane; 3 masseter bundles and 2 vastus bundles (1989) developed contractures of less than 0.05 g. Three vastus bundles (1997) developed contractures >0.2 g. CONCLUSION: Contracture responses of intact cut masseter and vastus bundles (non-skinned) do not differ with respect to caffeine and halothane. Responses of skinned fibers might demonstrate greater sensitivity under certain conditions, but they do not reflect those of intact cut bundles.
Effect of salt on myoglobin derivatives in the sarcoplasmic extract from pre- and post-rigor beef in the presence or absence of mitochondria and microsomes

Abstract The effect of salt and pH on the colour stability (oxymyoglobin) in the sarcoplasmic extract (SPE) prepared from pre- and post-rigor beef muscle was studied in the presence or absence of mitochondria and microsomes during 96 h at 4°C. The sarcoplasmic extract from the post-rigor meat (pH 5·4) or from the pre-rigor meat adjusted to pH 5·4 contained more oxymyoglobin (MbO2) than the pre- or post-rigor SPE maintained at pH 7·4. The presence or absence of mitochondria and microsomes in the SPE at pH 5·4 had little effect on the percentage of MbO2. At pH 7·4, however, the percentage of MbO2 decreased in the SPE in the presence of mitochondria, whereas the percentage of MetMb was lower in the presence of microsomes. The relative proportion of MbO2 decreased and that of metmyoglobin (MetMb) increased with increasing salt concentration at low pH (more so in the absence of subcellular organelles) and with storage period in the SPE from both pre- and post-rigor meat. However, at pH 7·4, high levels of salt (2–4%) helped to maintain a high percentage of MbO2 in SPE in the absence of subcellular organelles, especially the mitochondria. The first-order interactions of pH value × subcellular organelles (P
A New Model for the Effect of Molecular Imposters on the Shape of Faceted Molecular Crystals

In a solution crystallization process, dissolved molecules that are structurally related to the solute (here termed “imposters”) can exert effects on the shape of the solute crystal. We propose a new model for the effect of imposters based on a mechanistic description of the way a molecular imposter affects a growing crystal surface. Crystals growing at relatively small supersaturations are known to grow by a flow of steps across crystal faces manifested as spirals originating from screw dislocations. We argue that, when the imposter is present on the surface at low concentrations, it has no net effect on these spirals except in the region where the first turn of a spiral occurs. The model is applied to α-glycine growing from water in the presence of l-alanine, and our shape prediction compares favorably with available experimental data.
Correction: Additive Function of Vibrio vulnificus MARTX Vv and VvhA Cytolysins Promotes Rapid Growth and Epithelial Tissue Necrosis During Intestinal Infection

Vibrio vulnificus is a pathogen that causes both severe necrotizing wound infections and life-threatening food-borne infections. Food-borne infection is particularly lethal as the infection can progress rapidly to primary septicemia resulting in death from septic shock and multiorgan failure. In this study, we use both bioluminescence whole animal imaging and V. vulnificus bacterial colonization of orally infected mice to demonstrate that the secreted multifunctional-autoprocessing RTX toxin (MARTXVv) and the cytolysin/hemolysin VvhA of clinical isolate CMCP6 have an important function in the gut to promote early in vivo growth and dissemination of this pathogen from the small intestine to other organs. Using histopathology, we find that both cytotoxins can cause villi disruption, epithelial necrosis, and inflammation in the mouse small intestine. A double mutant deleted of genes for both cytotoxins was essentially avirulent, did not cause intestinal epithelial tissue damage, and was cleared from infected mice by 36 hours by an effective immune response. Therefore, MARTXVv and VvhA seem to play an additive role for pathogenesis of CMCP6 causing intestinal tissue damage and inflammation that then promotes dissemination of the infecting bacteria to the bloodstream and other organs. In the absence of these two secreted factors, we propose that this bacterium is unable to cause intestinal infection in humans.
A Simple, Accurate Model for Alkyl Adsorption on Late Transition Metals

A simple model that predicts the adsorption energy of an arbitrary alkyl in the high-symmetry sites of late transition metal fcc(111) and related surfaces is presented. The model makes predictions based on a few simple attributes of the adsorbate and surface, including the d-shell filling and the matrix coupling element, as well as the adsorption energy of methyl in the top sites. We use the model to screen surfaces for alkyl chain-growth properties and to explain trends in alkyl adsorption strength, site preference, and vibrational softening.
Constraints on the processing of indirect speech acts: Evidence from aphasiology

Abstract The ability of anterior aphasics and patients with right-hemisphere damage to comprehend both the literal and nonliteral readings of indirect speech acts was examined. Subjects viewed videotaped episodes in which one actor asked another “Can you X?” and the second actor responded with either an action or a simple “Yes.” Subjects judged whether the response was appropriate given its context. Anterior aphasics could comprehend the nonliteral but not the literal reading, supporting models that posit that people have direct access to nonliteral but conventional readings. Patients with right-hemisphere damage could appreciate the direct reading, but failed to distinguish between appropriate and inappropriate action-responses. This finding suggests that it may be possible to dissociate the pragmatic and syntactic aspects of comprehension of indirect speech acts.
Exact results for itinerant ferromagnetism in a t 2 g -orbital system on cubic and square lattices

We study itinerant ferromagnetism in a ${t}_{2g}$ multiorbital Hubbard system in the cubic lattice, which consists of three planar oriented orbital bands of ${d}_{xy},\phantom{\rule{0.16em}{0ex}}{d}_{yz}$, and ${d}_{zx}$. Electrons in each orbital band can only move within a two-dimensional plane in the three-dimensional lattice parallel to the corresponding orbital orientation. Electrons of different orbitals interact through the on-site multiorbital interactions including Hund's coupling. The strong-coupling limit is considered in which there are no doubly occupied orbitals but multiple on-site occupations are allowed. We show that in the case in which there is one and only one hole for each orbital band in each layer parallel to the orbital orientation, the ground state is a fully spin-polarized itinerant ferromagnetic state, which is unique apart from the trivial spin degeneracy. When the lattice is reduced into a single two-dimensional layer, the ${d}_{zx}$ and ${d}_{yz}$ bands become quasi-one-dimensional while the ${d}_{xy}$ band remains two-dimensional. The ground-state ferromagnetism also appears in the strong-coupling limit as a generalization of the double-exchange mechanism. Possible applications to the systems of ${\mathrm{SrRuO}}_{3}$ and ${\mathrm{LaAlO}}_{3}/{\mathrm{SrTiO}}_{3}$ interface are discussed.
The economic development incentives game: an imperfect information, heterogeneous communities approach

The economic development incentives game developed in this paper extends the basic incentives game framework utilized in previous research by: (1) assuming heterogeneous communities with a priori unknown (to the communities or the firm) benefits and costs associated with the location, (2) providing a mechanism for communities to discover their true benefits and costs, and (3) allowing firms, as well as communities, to experience consequences associated with accepting a ‘bad deal’. Modeling an incentives competition game with these elements generates equilibrium behaviors and payoffs consistent with those observed in empirical and case studies.
Recent advances in understanding the clinical utility and underlying cause of antinucleosome (antichromatin) autoantibodies

Abstract The clinical utility of measuring antinucleosome autoantibodies (also known as antichromatin) in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) has recently been evaluated by a number of different groups. Many studies found that antinucleosome autoantibodies were more prevalent than anti-DNA in SLE patients. In addition, antinucleosome autoantibodies were usually found to correlate with glomerulonephritis or disease activity better than anti-DNA in these patients. Antinucleosome autoantibodies are also found in patients with drug-induced lupus and Type I autoimmune hepatitis, but not usually in other diseases, thus showing good specificity for the above diseases. Several studies have shown that individuals with SLE have T cells reactive with nucleosomes and have increased levels of nucleosomes in their sera. The antinucleosome response in murine models of SLE is also T-cell–dependent and appears to be driven by self antigen. Nucleosome–antinucleosome immune complexes bind to glomeruli in vitro , and antinucleosome autoantibodies have been eluted from the kidneys of people and mice with glomerulonephritis. In one strain of mouse it was shown that antinucleosome autoantibodies were necessary, but not sufficient, to cause glomerulonephritis. These findings all show that antinucleosome autoantibodies are a sensitive and specific diagnostic marker for SLE and contribute to the pathology of glomerulonephritis.
The management of urinary calculous disease in patients with duplicated ureters.

SUMMARY The anatomical and physiological peculiarities that contribute to difficulty in the diagnosis and management of calculous disease associated with ureteral duplication are illustrated by case examples from the author's experience with 20 patients treated over the last 10 years. In addition to the removal of the calculous or calculi, management must include the surgical treatment of urinary tract disease associated with ureteral duplication. Such surgical treatment will help to prevent the recurrence of calculi in these patients. A prolonged period of follow-up is necessary.
Spectroscopic and computational study of melittin, cecropin A, and the hybrid peptide CM15

Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs), such as cecropin A from silk moth, are key components of the innate immune system. They are effective defensive weapons against invading pathogens, yet they do not target host eukaryotic cells. In contrast, peptide toxins, such as honeybee melittin, are nondiscriminating and target both eukaryotic and prokaryotic cells. An AMP-toxin hybrid peptide that is composed of cecropin A and melittin (CM15) improves upon the antimicrobial activity of cecropin A without displaying the nonspecific, hemolytic properties of melittin. Here we report fluorescence and UV resonance Raman spectra of melittin, cecropin A, and CM15 with the goal of elucidating peptide-membrane interactions that help guide specificity. We have probed the potency for membrane disruption, local environment and structure of the single tryptophan residue, backbone conformation near the peptide hinge, and amide backbone structure of the peptides in lipid environments that mimic eukaryotic and prokaryotic membranes. These experimental results suggest that melittin inserts deeply into the bilayer, whereas cecropin A remains localized to the lipid headgroup region. A surprising finding is that CM15 is a potent membrane-disruptor despite its largely unfolded conformation. A molecular dynamics analysis complements these data and demonstrates the ability of CM15 to associate favorably with membranes as an unfolded peptide. This combined experimental-computational study suggests that new models for peptide-membrane interactions should be considered.
Civilizing the Popular? The Law of Popular Participation and the Design of a New Civil Society in 1990s Bolivia

In the context of the Bolivian state’s strategy to construct a strong ‘civil society’, the ‘Popular Participation Law’ (LPP) appears as a response to long term popular demands. Situating this law within the context of hegemonic processes which have aimed at incorporating Andean peasants/‘Indians’ into the Bolivian nation state, this article discusses the effects that this highly regulated construction of a modern participatory citizenry has on rural areas. The case of a rural province in the highlands of Cochabamba suggests that while the establishment of a framework for the emergence of a rural civil society does entail a potentially significant reconfiguration of rural power and ethnic relations, the subtle works of these hegemonic strategies also predefine the limits to what can name=be achieved in the space opened for participatory citizens.
Reliability of self-reported Antisocial Personality Disorder Symptoms among substance abusers

It is estimated that from 20 to 60% of substance abusers meet criteria for Antisocial Personality Disorder (APD). An accurate and reliable diagnosis is important because persons meeting criteria for APD, by the nature of their disorder, are less likely to change behaviors and more likely to relapse to both substance abuse and high risk behaviors. To understand more about the reliability of the disorder and symptoms of APD, the Diagnostic Interview Schedule Version III-R (DIS) was administered to 453 substance abusers ascertained from treatment programs and from the general population (St Louis Epidemiological Catchment Area (ECA) follow-up study). Estimates of the 1 week, test-retest reliability for the childhood conduct disorder criterion, the adult antisocial behavior criterion, and APD diagnosis fell in the good agreement range, as measured by kappa. The internal consistency of these DIS symptoms was adequate to acceptable. Individual DIS criteria designed to measure childhood conduct disorder ranged from fair to good for most items; reliability was slightly higher for the adult antisocial behavior symptom items. Finally, self-reported 'liars' were no more unreliable in their reports of their behaviors than 'non-liars'.
Control of paleoshorelines by trench forebulge uplift, Loyalty Islands

Abstract Unlike most tropical Pacific islands, which lie along island arcs or hotspot chains, the Loyalty Islands between New Caledonia and Vanuatu owe their existence and morphology to the uplift of pre-existing atolls on the flexural forebulge of the New Hebrides Trench. The configuration and topography of each island is a function of distance from the crest of the uplifted forebulge. Both Mare and Lifou are fully emergent paleoatolls upon which ancient barrier reefs form highstanding annular ridges that enclose interior plateaus representing paleolagoon floors, whereas the partially emergent Ouvea paleoatoll rim flanks a drowned remnant lagoon. Emergent paleoshoreline features exposed by island uplift include paleoreef flats constructed as ancient fringing reefs built to past low tide levels and emergent tidal notches incised at past high tide levels. Present paleoshoreline elevations record uplift rates of the islands since last-interglacial and mid-Holocene highstands in global and regional sea levels, respectively, and paleoreef stratigraphy reflects net Quaternary island emergence. The empirical uplift rates vary in harmony with theoretical uplift rates inferred from the different positions of the islands in transit across the trench forebulge at the trench subduction rate. The Loyalty Islands provide a case study of island environments controlled primarily by neotectonics.
Prior esophageal variceal bleeding does not adversely affect survival after orthotopic liver transplantation

Prior variceal bleeding may adversely affect the prognosis of orthotopic liver transplantation. We studied this question by evaluating all 175 adult patients undergoing orthotopic liver transplantation at our institution to determine risk factors associated with mortality after transplantation. Seventy patients demonstrated prior variceal bleeding, and of those, 32 had a course of sclerotherapy. Thirteen also had portal systemic shunts. Compared with the 105 transplant patients who had no prior bleeding, patients who bled were more likely to have parenchymal liver disease (74% vs. 50%), equally likely to have cholestatic liver disease (19%), and less likely to have malignancy (6% vs. 19%) or fulminant liver failure (1% vs. 12%). Bleeding patients also were more likely to be Child-Pugh class C (46% vs. 35%). By the common closing date of December 31, 1990, 26 patients (37%) with prior bleeding and 48 patients (46%) without bleeding died after transplantation. From survival curves, patients with prior bleeding had improved survival rates at 1 yr (65% vs. 54%), at 3 yr (60% vs. 47%) and at 5 yr (55% vs. 43%), although the differences were not statistically significant. With a proportional hazards model to adjust for confounding effects, the relative risk of mortality among patients with prior bleeding was 0.60 (95% confidence interval, 0.27 to 1.30). Sclerotherapy or portal systemic shunts did not alter survival. Important adverse risk factors for mortality included older age at transplantation, black race, malignant disease and more advanced Child-Pugh class. This study suggests that prior esophageal variceal bleeding did not adversely affect the mortality of patients undergoing orthotopic liver transplantation. (HEPATOLOGY 1993;18:66–72).
Cytochemical localization of lectin-binding to intracellularly melanized first stage larvae of Brugia malayi (Buckley) (Nematoda: Filarioidea) in Anopheles quadrimaculatus (Say) (Diptera: Culicidae)

Abstract Cytochemical localization of Concanavalin A (Con A) lectin followed by gold-labeled horseradish peroxidase binding to carbohydrate moieties on intracellularly developing normal and melanized first stage (L1) larvae of Brugia malayi (Nematoda: Filarioidea) was investigated in the thoracic muscles of Anopheles quadrimaculatus (Diptera: Culicidae) females. Con A did not bind to the carbohydrate moieties on the larval cuticle or in tissues around the normally developing L1, but bound moderately to the carbohydrate moieties in the cellular matrix of the larva. It bound intensely to the carbohydrate moieties of the dense cytoplasmic material and melanin deposits in the melanized capsule surrounding the melanized L1. The results suggest that the dense cytoplasmic material in the melanized capsule surrounding the L1 contains materials with exposed carbohydrate moieties specific for Con A.
Semiclassical simulations of multidimensional Raman echoes

A high-temperature and a weak-nonlinearity (low-temperature) semiclassical expansion are developed for computing two-dimensional vibrational Raman spectroscopies, and applied to an exactly solvable Brownian-oscillator model. The origin of photon echoes is discussed using phase-space-wave-packets. Impulsive and semi-impulsive echoes are shown to satisfy different phase-matching conditions, and are generated in different directions.
Web Accessibility Policies and Practices at American Community Colleges

Community colleges are increasingly using the Internet for admissions and financial aid applications. The use of online processes has serious implications for students with disabilities, such as visual and learning problems, who may encounter difficulties with the Web sites if they are not designed in an accessible and usable way. A survey of student services leaders at community colleges across the country was conducted to evaluate the use of the Web for a variety of student processes. Also investigated was the awareness of issues related to Web accessibility for students with disabilities. Nearly 700 colleges responded, representing a 79% response rate. While 90% offered online access to course catalogs, class schedules, and online courses, only half said that their school had requirements for accessible Web content. These results indicate that significantly more work needs to be done to inform community college administrators and Web developers about these issues.
Constitutive production of procollagenase and tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinases by human keratinocytes in culture.

Production of procollagenase and tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinases was demonstrated in human keratinocyte cultures. The two proteins were immunoprecipitared from keratinocyte-conditioned medium with antibodies to human dermal fibroblast collagenase and tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinases anal quantitated with enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays. Treatment of the keratinocytes with the phorbol ester, 12-0-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate, produced a six to 34-fold increase in procollagenase synthesis and secretion but only a threefold increase in the production of tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinases. Collagenase and tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinases mRNAs were present in normal keratinocytes, were the same size as their fibroblast counterparts, and both increased in response to treatment with 12-0-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate. These data suggest that remodeling of type I collagen may be ah important function of human keratinocytes in vivo.
Compensation for attenuation, scatter, and detector response in SPECT reconstruction via iterative FBP methods.

Iterative filtered backprojection (FBP) reconstruction is a fast method for single photon emission computed tomography(SPECT) that can provide simultaneous compensation for nonuniform attenuation, scatter, and distance‐dependent detector response. The iterative FBP method was applied to the reconstruction of SPECTimages of a chest phantom consisting of nonuniform attenuating media. One hundred twenty projections containing 20 million counts were reconstructed on an image array of 128×128×64. The accuracy of reconstruction was significantly improved, in terms of concentration ratio, object shape, and noise reduction. Results of this experimental study indicate that iterative FBP can effectively reconstructSPECTimages, while other iterative methods, such as maximum a posteriori probability (MAP), will spend at least ten times more computing effort in the reconstruction on the same computer. The disadvantage of iterative FBP is its inability to model the noise properties of data collection accurately, as compared to the MAP methods.
The impact of industry contextual factors on IT focus and the use of IT for competitive advantage

Only limited empirical evidence has confirmed the effectiveness of strategic information systems planning (SISP)and there is no evidence that investment in mission-critical systems leads to improved performance under conditions of environmental uncertainty and information intensity. This study tests the extent to which such contextual factors impact business dependence on IT and two SISP practices: IT participation in business planning and the alignment between the IT and the business plans. It also examines the influence of IT dependence and SISP on the use of IT for competitive advantage. Using structural equation modeling on postal survey data from 161 firms, it found a positive and significant impact of the contextual factors on business dependence on IT and the two SISP practices and between these factors and the use of IT for competitive advantage. Data also revealed significant differences between industry types and environmental uncertainty but not information intensity. Implications are discussed.
Designing the New Negro: The Color of Late Nineteenth-Century Multimodality

Abstract Focusing on the 1900 publication of A New Negro for a New Century, this article examines multimodal design's “social and semiotic history” ( Kress, 2010 , p. 46), arguing that multimodality as semiotic potential and design as semiotic performance were both racially charged in the late nineteenth-century United States. By positioning multimodality, and thus designing writing, historically, this essay exposes the racial coding of design. It reveals the challenges posed by multimodal agency for African Americans as well as their concerted efforts to claim multimodality as a rhetorical resource serving the goal of racial uplift. To underscore the color of fin de siecle multimodal design, the article begins by addressing the racial valance of the book as medium, situating A New Negro for a New Century as a communication event within post-Reconstruction print culture, a transitional moment for technology and publication processes. Then, the article turns to the two key modes of image and word, contending that the White dominant culture sought to construe image and word as White resources. At the same time, the African American community fought back by seizing and exercising their modal agency despite overt and covert resistance. This analysis emphasizes that, as a semiotic performance, late nineteenth-century multimodality was neither neutral nor colorless. Instead, design was interpolated with race, suggesting the need to examine digital multimodality through a racial lens. Thus, the article concludes with a three-part heuristic by which the racial dimension of digital multimodality might be made visible.
Multiple murder and criminal careers: A latent class analysis of multiple homicide offenders

Purpose: To construct an empirically rigorous typology of multiple homicide offenders (MHOs). Method: The current study conducted latent class analysis of the official records of 160 MHOs sampled from eight states to evaluate their criminal careers. Results: A 3-class solution best fit the data (2LL = 1123.61, Bayesian Information Criterion (BIC) = 2648.15, df = 81, L 2 = 1179.77). Class 1 (n = 64, class assignment probability = .999) was the low-offending group marked by little criminal record and delayed arrest onset. Class 2 (n = 51, class assignment probability = .957) was the severe group that represents the most violent and habitual criminals. Class 3 (n = 45, class assignment probability = .959) was the moderate group whose offending careers were similar to Class 2. Conclusion: A sustained criminal career with involvement in versatile forms of crime was observed for two of three classes of MHOs. Linkages to extant typologies and recommendations for additional research that incorporates clinical constructs are proffered.
Simultaneous approximations and covering by arithmetic progressions in F p

Abstract Given a set A={a1, …, an}⊆ F p of residues modulo prime p, we seek α, δ∈ F p (δ≠0) which simultaneously minimize all the distances ‖δai−α‖ from the zero residue and investigate the quantity mn=max|A|=n minα, δ max1⩽i⩽n ‖δai−α‖, the outer maximum being taken over all n-element subsets of F p. It is shown that this extremal simultaneous approximation problem is equivalent to the combinatorial problem of finding minimal ln such that any set of n residues modulo p can be covered by an arithmetic progression of the length ln. For n⩾4, we determine the order of magnitude of mn and prove that 1 2 p1−1/(n−1)(1+o(1)) p /3 p /3
Chronic social stress in puberty alters appetitive male sexual behavior and neural metabolic activity

Repeated social subjugation in early puberty lowers testosterone levels. We used hamsters to investigate the effects of social subjugation on male sexual behavior and metabolic activity within neural systems controlling social and motivational behaviors. Subjugated animals were exposed daily to aggressive adult males in early puberty for postnatal days 28 to 42, while control animals were placed in empty clean cages. On postnatal day 45, they were tested for male sexual behavior in the presence of receptive female. Alternatively, they were tested for mate choice after placement at the base of a Y-maze containing a sexually receptive female in one tip of the maze and an ovariectomized one on the other. Social subjugation did not affect the capacity to mate with receptive females. Although control animals were fast to approach females and preferred ovariectomized individuals, subjugated animals stayed away from them and showed no preference. Cytochrome oxidase activity was reduced within the preoptic area and ventral tegmental area in subjugated hamsters. In addition, the correlation of metabolic activity of these areas with the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis and anterior parietal cortex changed significantly from positive in controls to negative in subjugated animals. These data show that at mid-puberty, while male hamsters are capable of mating, their appetitive sexual behavior is not fully mature and this aspect of male sexual behavior is responsive to social subjugation. Furthermore, metabolic activity and coordination of activity in brain areas related to sexual behavior and motivation were altered by social subjugation.