cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The Effect of Defoliation on Seed Production of Six Costa Rican Tree Species

The experiments reported here test the hypothesis that increased foliage losses lead to decreased reproduction in plants. Six Costa Rican tree species were defoliated by hand twice during 1970. Subsequent collection of fruit crops during 1971 showed that control totals for fruit number and weight were much larger than totals of defoliated trees in all six species. Over 80% of the experimental defoliated plants produced no fruit whatsoever. Individual controls outproduced occurred in either. It is concluded that heavy defoliation of wild trees will practically eliminate seed production for the year in which it takes place. These data and other work with crop plants have shown that both growth and reproduction are functions of leaf area. Consequently, heave defoliation drastically reduced the fitness of a plant. Herbivore consumption of plant parts has probably played an important role in the evolution of both the morphology and chemistry of plants. These data support the view that physical and chemical defenses evolved by plants have played an important role in plant—herbivore co—evolution.
Thermal and water vapor effects on the rate of the dehydration reactions of barium chloride

Abstract The dehydration kinetics of barium chloride dihydrate to the monohydrate and/or anhydrous salt were found to be very sensitive to the temperature, bulk water-vapor pressure, and sample and particle sizes. Dehydrations were conducted isothermally between 317 and 333 K under either moderate vacuum or water vapor atmospheres ranging from 40 to 6.67 & 10 2 Pa. Particle sizes ranged between 53 and 710 μm. Activation energies were found to vary with sample size and extent of conversion; apparent values ranging from 92 to 150 kJ mol−1 were measured. Enthalpy of reaction estimates also varied with sample size and temperature; values ranging from 115.9 to 137.2 kJ mol−1 were obtained. The sensitivities to the temperature, water vapor pressure, sample and particle size were found to be significantly affected by transient changes in local water vapor pressure caused by inter- and intraparticle diffusional limitations. Possible mechanistic changes with changing water vapor pressure are discussed. Transient increases in water vapor pressure in the interior of large particles caused crystallization of the monohydrate under conditions where it did not otherwise form.
Detection of GI and GII noroviruses in drinking water and vegetables using filtration and real-time RT-PCR

The purpose of the study was to provide a rapid and sensitive method for detecting NoV GI and NoV GII in drinking water and vegetables. The method is based on viral concentration by microporous membrane adsorption method before RNA extraction and real-time RT-PCR amplification. Then water and vegetable samples which artificially contaminated with NoV GI and GII stool samples were used to determine the mean virus recoveries and the method sensitivity. The method showed the detection limit of NoV GI was 4.13 × 102 copies/500 mL for drinking water and 4.13 × 103 copies/15 g for lettuce and coriander. The detection limit of NoV GII was 2.94 × 101 copies/500 mL for distilled water, 2.94 × 102 copies/500 mL for Mountain spring water and mineral water, and 2.94 × 103 copies/15 g for lettuce and coriander. The method described provides a valuable tool for monitoring the potential public health risks associated with noroviruses contamination in drinking water and vegetables.
Instability of moderately thick, laminated, cylindrical shells under combined axial compression and pressure

Abstract This paper presents theoretical predictions on the buckling of cylindrical shells subjected to simultaneous loading of axial compression and lateral pressure. The theoretical analysis took into account the effects of transverse shear deformation. The equilibrium equations and the related boundary conditions were derived by variational methods. The buckling equations were derived through the perturbation technique. A solution procedure is developed for computer-generated numerical results. This procedure is based on the Galerkin method. Solutions are obtained and results used to examine the effects of shear deformations for several stacking sequences, length-to-radius ratios, and radius-to-thickness ratios. The numerical results are presented both in tabular and in graphical forms.
Low doses of ethanol reduce neurotensin levels in discrete brain regions from LS/Ibg and SS/Ibg mice.

Studies were designed to examine the previously proposed hypothesis that some of the pharmacological actions of ethanol are mediated by neurotensinergic processes. Neurotensin-immunoreactivity (NT-ir) was extracted from various brain regions and shown by high performance liquid chromatography to possess the same retention time as authentic bovine NT1-13. The highest levels of NT-ir were observed in the hypothalamus with intermediate levels in the midbrain and striatum and lowest levels in the frontal cortex. Levels of NT-ir were higher in hypothalamus and midbrain from long-sleep (LS) than from short-sleep (SS) mice. Ethanol, in vivo, produced a dose-dependent decrease in NT-ir in several brain regions; low doses, 1.5 to 3.0 g/kg, but not high doses, 4.1 g/kg, of ethanol significantly decreased NT-ir in hypothalamus, midbrain, and striatum of LS and SS mice. Levels of NT-ir in the frontal cortex were not altered by ethanol administration. Ethanol-induced decreases in NT-ir were of rapid onset with a maximum decrease in 5 min after intraperitoneal (i.p.) injection, and they were of long duration with levels remaining depressed for 4 hr. These findings show that subhypnotic, intoxicating doses of ethanol enhance NT release, in vivo, and support the hypothesis that some of ethanol's actions are mediated by neurotensinergic systems.
Prevalence and natural history of distal common bile duct stenosis in alcoholic pancreatitis

Distal common bile duct stenosis was observed in 16 (9%) of 170 alcoholic patients admitted to a Veterans Administration Medical Center in the last five years. The following clinical and biochemical features were significantly more common (P<0.05) among the 16 patients with common bile duct stenosis than in 154 without: jaundice, cholangitis, hyperbilirubinemia, alkaline phosphatasemia, pancreatic calcification, and malabsorption. Surgical decompression of biliary tree was necessitated in 13 of 16 cases due to obstructive jaundice in seven, cholangitis in four, portal fibrosis in one, and persistent abdominal pain in one. The mean (±Se) time interval between initial serum alkaline phosphatase elevation and surgical intervention was 308±108 days. Liver histology in eight cases was remarkable for portal fibrosis in seven and biliary cirrhosis in one. These data suggest that distal common bile duct stenosis is a progressive lesion which is quite prevalent in patients with advanced pancreatic disease of alcoholic etiology.
Survival differences by race/ethnicity and treatment for localized hepatocellular carcinoma within the United States.

Racial differences among hepatocellular carcinoma survival have been reported, but the etiology behind these disparities remains unclear. Using multi-variable logistic regression analysis, our restrospective cohort study investigated the demographic disparities in survival among localized hepatocellular carcinoma in the United States. From 1998 to 2001, 2,776 cases of localized hepatocellular carcinoma were identified. Significant racial/ethnic disparities in overall survival and utilization of therapies were identified. Compared with non-Hispanic white males, black females were 56% less likely to survive 3 years (OR 0.44; 95% CI 0.21–0.93). Treatment-specific models also demonstrated disparities, e.g., compared with non-Hispanic whites, Asians receiving transplantation were 77% more likely to survive 3 years (OR, 1.77; 95% CI 1.28–2.44). There are significant racial/ethnic disparities in 3-year survival among patients with localized hepatocellular carcinoma. These differences are partially explained by demographic differences in utilization of therapy and in stage-specific survival for each therapy.
Feminist modes of shakespearean criticism: Compensatory, justificatory, transformational

(1981). Feminist modes of shakespearean criticism: Compensatory, justificatory, transformational. Women's Studies: Vol. 9, No. 1, pp. 3-15.
Comparison of Latina and Non-Latina White Women's Beliefs About Communicating Genetic Cancer Risk to Relatives

Breast cancer accounts for 30% of cancer among Latinas, and ovarian cancer is more common in Latinas than in non-Latina Whites. Latinas with a personal or family history of these cancers are increasingly referred for genetic cancer risk assessment (GCRA), but little is known about their perspectives regarding informing relatives of genetic cancer risk. We described and compared the pre-GCRA beliefs about informing relatives of genetic cancer risk, using survey data previously collected within a larger study. The sample included 475 Latina (N = 183; 39%) and non-Latina (N = 292; 61%) White women with a personal or family history of breast or ovarian cancers. Data analysis used descriptive statistics, chi-square and Wilcoxon rank-sum tests, and logistic regression. Findings revealed that most women believed their relatives should be informed of genetic cancer risk (92%), that informing was strictly a personal duty (88%), and that informing should be done only in person (60%). Multiple logistic regression de...
The Myth of Racial Strife and Merina Kinglists: The Transformation of Texts

Early history of the central highlands of Madagascar, called Imerina, must be written from oral literature. The first European account dates only to the late eighteenth century, long after the Merina monarchy arose, and it is not until the nineteenth century with the establishment of the London Missionary Society that detailed written sources appear. Moreover, unlike his colleagues in African history, the historian of Imerina cannot refer to archeology to test conclusions derived from oral sources since archeology in Imerina has only a few years of work behind it. Thus oral literature alone holds the key to questions about the foundations and growth of the Merina monarchy which by the mid-nineteenth century ruled all of Madagascar. In one respect, however, the historian of ancient Imerina is more fortunate. The Merina have produced perhaps the largest corpus of historical literature in any part of Africa.1 I intend first to describe this literature and to point out in very general terms the problems of using it. I will focus not only on the Malagasy milieu which gave rise to historical material, but also on two related aspects of European influence. First, I will show how European ideas of social evolution penetrated Merina thinking. Second, and perhaps more important because it has received such scant attention, is the effect of the introduction of writing and printing on Malagasy texts. I consider this the outstanding historiographical problem: how did writing, editing, and redacting change the Merina's own view of their distant past. Finally, to illustrate general points raised in the first section of this study, I will examine a particular historical problem, the founding of monarchy, and show how the transformation of Merina kinglists through years of editing created a new vision of the past. I see this transformation of Malagasy texts by writing as the most important European influence on the development of a Merina history.
The Emergency Informatics Transition Course: A Flexible, Online Course in Health Informatics for Emergency Medicine Clinicians and Trainees

Increasing emphasis on health information technology (HIT) as a mechanism to control costs and increase quality in health care is accelerating the diffusion of more advanced health information systems into emergency medicine. This has created an increased demand for informatics-trained emergency physicians to provide clinical input. In response to this need we partnered with the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP) to adapt an existing informatics educational program to emergency medicine. The American Medical Informatics Association (AMIA) 10X10 program is an effort to provide formal informatics training to 10,000 clinicians by 2010. Our first AMIA-ACEP 10X10 Emergency Informatics Transition Course matriculated 37 emergency physicians this fall. This 12 week online course is an adaption of the Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) introductory informatics 10X10 course where students complete weekly assignments and participate in online discussions. At the end of the course they meet face-to-face at the ACEP Scientific Assembly where they present their projects and discuss common themes. The online design of the course proved adaptable for a widely varied enrollment. The first class contained students from the United States and four other countries, both large urban and small rural hospitals, and both new and experienced clinicians. Extensive input from the students will assist us in further refining this annual course to better meet the needs of emergency clinicians. We will demonstrate the design of this course, which we believe offers interested residents and fellows in emergency medicine a flexible opportunity to advance their informatics training.
In the ventral tegmental area picrotoxin blocks FGIN 1-27-induced increases in sexual behavior of rats and hamsters.

Rationale and objectives There are two types of benzodiazepine receptors, mitochondrial benzodiazepine receptors (MBRs), and γ-aminobutyric acid (GABAA)/benzodiazepine receptor complexes (GBRs). MBR activation increases neurosteroidogenesis. Ventral tegmental area (VTA) infusions of the MBR agonist, FGIN 1-27, increase midbrain levels of the progesterone metabolite 5α-pregnan-3α-ol-20-one (3α,5α-THP) and lordosis of rats and hamsters. Activation of GBRs leads to membrane hyperpolarization. In the VTA, infusions of GBR agonists enhance 3α,5α-THP-facilitated lordosis. Thus, if, in the VTA, MBR-mediated increases in 3α,5α-THP enhance sexual responses via actions at GBRs, then blocking GBRs with picrotoxin will reduce FGIN 1-27-induced increases in sexual behavior of female rodents.
Predicting excessive hemorrhage in adolescent idiopathic scoliosis patients undergoing posterior spinal instrumentation and fusion

Abstract Background context Blood loss in patients with adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) who are undergoing posterior spinal instrumentation and fusion (PSIF) varies greatly. The reason for this wide range is not clear. There are reports of unexpected massive hemorrhage during these surgeries. Many studies reflect authors' preferences for describing blood loss in terms of levels fused, weight, or percent blood volume. Purpose We sought to define excessive blood loss clinically, determine its incidence in our study population, and identify associated variables. Results are intended to inform perioperative preparation for these cases. Results may be used to inform prospective study designs. Study design This was a retrospective uncontrolled case series. Patient sample A total of 311 consecutive AIS PSIF cases during the years 2005–2010 performed at Children's Hospital Colorado were studied. Outcome measures We measured estimated blood loss (EBL) and its association with multiple patient, surgical, and anesthetic variables. Methods Thirty-one variables potentially related to blood loss were collected retrospectively from electronic medical records for analysis. When no cases of clearly excessive blood loss were identified on the basis of visual examination of EBL distribution, we chose to use the top 10% of blood loss cases as an arbitrary determinant of excessive blood loss. Three cut-off strategies captured the top 10% of EBL cases with little variation in who was selected: 1) >1,700 mL of EBL, 2) >50% EBL/estimated blood volume, and 3) >150 mL/level fused EBL. Variables were compared with the χ 2 test, Fisher exact, or t -tests, when appropriate. A generalized linear mixed logistic model was used to determine the probability of excessive blood loss based on the number of levels fused. Results The average EBL was 89.17 mL/level fused (range, 45–133 mL). EBL fit a progressively wider distribution as surgical complexity (number of levels fused) increased. Number of levels fused (p 10% of excessive hemorrhage. Conclusion Excessive blood loss may be an arbitrary number until future research suggests otherwise. We show that the probability of exceeding one of our arbitrary definitions is approximately 10% when 12 or more levels are fused. If a 10% incidence of excessive blood loss is determined to be clinically relevant, teams might wish to pursue hematologic consultation and maximal blood conservation strategy when 12 or more levels are planned for fusion.
Automation in industry: Bleaching the blue collar: Computerization can increase workers' output, but it may also distance product designers from assembly and process requirements

At first glance, there appears to be an enormous contrast between the Chrysler Corp's Jefferson Avenue plant, an aging assembly facility built in 1907 on Detroit's now deteriorating East Side, and the John Hancock Building, a gleaming glass and steel skyscraper near one of Boston' s poshest neighborhoods. Inside, however, new forms of automation, based on computers and microelectronics, are being used to transform both. At the Jefferson Avenue plant, robots accomplish 98 percent of the welds on new car bodies automatically, while at John Hancock, word processors and other electronic office technologies are laying the basis for a restructured office. The exploding technical capabilities of these new machines and systems, combined in many cases with their plummeting costs, are extending automation to every sector of the economy.
Mechanisms of Photoinitiated Cleavage of DNA by 1,8-Naphthalimide Derivatives¶

Abstract Using water-soluble 1,8-naphthalimide derivatives, the mechanisms of photosensitized DNA damage have been elucidated. Specifically, a comparison of rate constants for the photoinduced relaxation of supercoiled to circular DNA, as a function of dissolved halide, oxygen and naphthalimide concentration, has been carried out. The singlet excited states of the naphthalimide derivatives were quenched by chloride, bromide and iodide. In all cases the quenching products were naphthalimide triplet states, produced by induced intersystem crossing within the collision complex. Similarly, the halides were found to quench the triplet excited state of the 1,8-naphthalimide derivatives by an electron transfer mechanism. Bimolecular rate constants were <105 M−1 s−1 for quenching by bromide and chloride. As expected from thermodynamic considerations quenching by iodide was 6.7 × 109 and 8.8 × 109 M−1 s−1 for the two 1,8-naphthalimide derivatives employed. At sufficiently high ground-state concentration self-quenc...
Late Cretaceous subduction initiation on the eastern margin of the Caribbean-Colombian Oceanic Plateau: One Great Arc of the Caribbean (?)

Detailed mapping on the Leeward Antilles islands of Aruba, Curacao, Bonaire, and La Blanquilla has led to a reassessment of their stratigraphic, magmatic, and structural evolution. In general, each island preserves its own distinct sequence of geologic events. The Cretaceous geology of Aruba and Curacao consists of a mafic igneous complex, long interpreted to represent exposures of the Caribbean-Colombian Oceanic Plateau (CCOP), intruded by 89–86 Ma arc-related plutons and dikes. The rocks on both islands that are interpreted as remnants of the CCOP underwent a period of subaerial erosion in the Late Cretaceous, but subsequently their geologic histories diverge significantly in terms of their stratigraphic and structural evolution. Mapping on Bonaire has resulted in a major revision to the Cretaceous bedrock geology. Instead of a single stratigraphic unit (Washikemba Formation) the island contains two stratigraphic units separated by a northwest-trending fault. The southwest side of the fault consists of an arc-related Early to Late Cretaceous volcaniclastic section cut by shallow level intrusions, whereas the northeast side is composed of Early to Late Cretaceous epiclastic/hemipelagic strata that are locally cut by small arc-related mafic intrusions. La Blanquilla represents the southernmost exposure of the Aves Ridge which is a remnant arc separated from the modern arc of the Lesser Antilles by the Grenada back arc basin. The bedrock geology consists of two Late Cretaceous arc-related plutons. The geologic evolution of the Leeward Antilles when combined within a broader context of Caribbean tectonics leads us to a tectonic model involving three distinct arcs rather than a single “Great Arc” of the Caribbean as an explanation for the geodynamic evolution of the CCOP and its fringing arc system.
Limits imposed by ionizing radiation on the long-term survival of trapped bacterial spores: beta radiation.

bacterial spores trapped within euid inclusions of Purpose: A model is presented for determining the survival time crystals is examined. TF of a fraction F of a population of bacterial spores trapped Bacterial spores trapped within a euid inclusion within a euid inclusion and subject to genetic damage from are subject to exposure to ionizing radiation. This beta radiation. radiation may originate from radionuclides within Methods: The limiting factor to survival is the production of double-strand breaks (DSB) in the DNA resulting from single- the euid, in the encasing crystal, or from crustal rock track cleaving and from the cumulative eVects of single-strand surrounding the crystal. This paper shows that the breaks (SSB) induced by the presence of ionizing radiation in eux of alphas and of high-energy particles comprising the environment. The model considers the probability that cosmic rays is a negligible factor compared to the radicals and ions formed by the passage of high-energy particles beta dose. The fact that Vreeland et al. (2000) were will interact with a DNA molecule and induce damage. Results: The survival time TF for a fraction F of a trapped able to revive 250Ma bacilli indicates that these population is a weak function of both F and the length L in base organisms are rather robust, and that, at least in that pairs of the genome. For irradiation due to a beta source trapped case, the exposure was insuYcient to kill all the with the spores within the inclusion, the survival time is also trapped spores. inversely proportional to the concentration of the radionuclide, Lesions on a DNA molecule may be created by the dominant factor in limiting survival time. Conclusions: The predictions of the model are consistent with the near-passage of a high-energy particle such as measured DSB formation rates, the observed survival of trapped might be emitted in radioactive decay. A direct spores over time periods as long as 250Ma, and track structure collision of the particle with a constituent atom of models which address low physical dose rates.
Innate and adaptive immune responses against Staphylococcus aureus skin infections

Staphylococcus aureus is an important human pathogen that is responsible for the vast majority of bacterial skin and soft tissue infections in humans. S. aureus can also become more invasive and cause life-threatening infections such as bacteremia, pneumonia, abscesses of various organs, meningitis, osteomyelitis, endocarditis, and sepsis. These infections represent a major public health threat due to the enormous numbers of these infections and the widespread emergence of methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) strains. MSRA is endemic in hospitals worldwide and is rapidly spreading throughout the normal human population in the community. The increasing frequency of MRSA infections has complicated treatment as these strains are more virulent and are increasingly becoming resistant to multiple different classes of antibiotics. The important role of the immune response against S. aureus infections cannot be overemphasized as humans with certain genetic and acquired immunodeficiency disorders are at an increased risk for infection. Understanding the cutaneous immune responses against S. aureus is essential as most of these infections occur or originate from a site of infection or colonization of the skin and mucosa. This review will summarize the innate immune responses against S. aureus skin infections, including antimicrobial peptides that have direct antimicrobial activity against S. aureus as well as pattern recognition receptors and proinflammatory cytokines that promote neutrophil abscess formation in the skin, which is required for bacterial clearance. Finally, we will discuss the recent discoveries involving IL-17-mediated responses, which provide a key link between cutaneous innate and adaptive immune responses against S. aureus skin infections.
Awkward encounters of an "other" kind: collective self-presentation and face threat on facebook

While we tend to think of self-presentation as a process executed by the self, reputation management on social network sites, like Facebook, is increasingly viewed as a collective endeavor. The information users share about one another can have significant impacts on impression formation, and at times this other-generated content may be face threatening, or challenging to one's desired self-presentation. However, we know little about the nature of these other-generated face threats and the ways that people perceive them. Using an online survey of 150 Facebook users, we report on what these users consider to be other-generated face threats and how they feel after experiencing them. Results suggest that many face threats result from other Facebook users neglecting or misunderstanding a target's audience and/or self-presentation goals, as well as a target's fear of creating an unwanted association with another Facebook user. Experience of these threats is affected by both individual and situational factors. We also report on a new unique measure capturing Facebook skills.
An algorithm for Monte Carlo estimation of genotype probabilities on complex pedigrees

Exact probability and likelihood computation on complex pedigrees is often infeasible, since exact methods are too computationally intensive even with today's computing technology. A statistical tool, Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC), is increasingly being explored as a technique for estimating probabilities of genotypic configurations on pedigrees conditional on phenotypic data. However, this conditional probability distribution on a complex pedigree is, in general, multimodal, and multimodality is one of the major difficulties in MCMC exploration of a probability surface. In this paper, a new member of the MCMC Metropolis-Hastings class of algorithms is proposed; the heated-Metropolis algorithm. The algorithm achieves passage through low probability states to other local modes of the probability distribution, and so provides much improved estimates of probabilities of interest. The example considered is the estimation of the probabilities of carrier genotype for the founders of a complex pedigree in which a very rare lethal recessive trait is segregating.
Evidence for an interaction between canine synovial cell proteoglycans and link proteins.

Abstract Link proteins are glycoproteins which stabilize aggregates of proteoglycans and hyaluronic acid in cartilage. We recently identified link proteins in canine synovial cell cultures. We now find that link proteins and proteoglycans extracted from these cells under dissociative conditions sediment in the high-buoyant-density fractions of an associative cesium chloride density gradient, suggesting that link proteins interact with high-bouyant-density proteoglycans. In gradients containing [ 35 S]sulfate-labeled synovial cell extracts, 76% of the labeled sulfate and 54% of the uronic acid is found in the high-buoyant-density fractions. Under associative conditions, Sepharose 2B elution profiles of the crude synovial cell extract, synovial cell high-buoyant-density fractions, and culture medium indicate that synovial cell proteoglycans are present in monomeric form, rather than in aggregates. Synovial cell link proteins co-elute with the [ 35 S]sulfate-labeled material under the same conditions. These proteoglycans do not interact in vitro with exogenous hyaluronic acid. Dermatan sulfate, chondroitin sulfate and heparan sulfate are the major cell-associated sulfated glycosaminoglycans synthesized by cultured canine synovial cells, while hyaluronic acid is found in the culture medium. Although the proteoglycans synthesized by cultured synovial cells interact with link proteins, these data indicate that they do not interact with hyaluronic acid to form aggregates.
Low Temperature Anisotropy of Manganese-Iron Ferrites

The anisotropy of the composition system Mn x Fe3−x O4, 0.40≤x≤1.80, has been measured between 4.2° and 77°K by the torque method, supplementing previous measurements on this system by Penoyer and Shafer between 77° and 313°K. The anisotropy curves for 0.4≤x≤1.25 show a minimum below 110°K and appear to be the summation of a number of components of different sign and different temperature dependence—negative components which decrease in magnitude relatively slowly with increasing temperature and positive components which decrease more rapidly. Over most of the composition range studied K 1 is negative at 4.2°K, but at x=0.80 the magnitude of the positive, low temperature contribution is sufficient to change the sign of K 1 from negative to positive at 34°K. In the region x≤1.0, this contribution can be attributed to the presence of Fe2+ ions, but such an explanation is not applicable to the positive contributions observed in compositions for which x≥1.25 and in which there is no Fe2+. For 1.25≤x≤1.80, negative values of K 1 at 4.2°K of unexpectedly large magnitude (< −3.7×105ergs/cm3) are observed. Unlike values at 77°K in this composition region, these values of K 1 are of too large a magnitude to be attributed to the splitting of the 3d levels of Fe3+ ions in a cubic crystalline field.
A theory of ion permeation through membranes with fixed neutral sites

Some model membranes and biological membranes behave as if ion permeation were controlled by fixed neutral sites, i.e., by groups that are polar but lack net charge. By solving the boundary conditions and Nernst-Planck flux equations, this paper derives the expected properties of four types of membranes with fixed neutral sites: model 1, a membrane thick enough that microscopic electroneutrality is obeyed; model 2, same as model 1 but with a free-solution shunt in parallel; model 3, a membrane thin enough that microscopic electroneutrality is violated; and model 4, same as model 3 but with a free-solution shunt in parallel. The conductance-concentration relation and the current-voltage relation in symmetrical solutions are approximately linear for all four models. Partial ionic conductances are independent of each other for a thin membrane but not for a thick membrane. Sets of permeability ratios derived from conductances, dilution potentials, or biionic potentials agree with each other in a thin membrane but not in a thick membrane. The current-voltage relation in asymmetrical single-salt solutions is linear for a thick membrane but nonlinear for a thin membrane. Examples of potential and concentration profiles in a thin membrane are calculated to illustrate the meaning of space charge and the electroneutrality condition. The experimentally determined properties (by A. Cass, A. Finkelstein & V. Krespi) of thin lipid membranes containing “pores” of the anion-selective antibiotic nystatin are in reasonable agreement with model 3. Tests are suggested for deciding if a membrane of unknown structure has neutral sites, whether it is thick or thin, and whether the sites are fixed or mobile.
Fungal pericarditis and endocarditis secondary to porcupine quill migration in a dog

A dog evaluated for acute onset of neurologic clinical signs was discovered to have a porcupine quill traversing the left atrium with fungal endocarditis. The dog had been quilled by a porcupine one month prior to presentation and had had several quills removed from the thoracic inlet and left dorsal shoulder areas. A new murmur was identified during the initial examination. Echocardiographic changes consistent with mitral valve endocarditis were identified, in addition to a linear, hyperechoic structure in the left atrium. A thoracic CT identified a possible mediastinal migrating foreign body tract. The foreign body was surgically removed and confirmed as a porcupine quill. Routine aerobic cultures of blood and pericardial samples resulted in growth of presumptive candidal organisms. PCR amplification and sequencing of samples from pericardial cultures identified the presence of a fungal organism, Lodderomyces elongisporus. The neurologic signs were attributed to a left-sided central vestibular lesion presumed secondary to an embolic event from infective endocarditis. After 3 months of antimicrobial and antifungal therapy the valvular changes had markedly improved and the clinical signs resolved. To the authors' knowledge, this is the first description of fungal endocarditis secondary to an intracardiac foreign body in a dog.
SU‐FF‐T‐183: Helical Tomotherapy Treatment Plan Optimization for Superficial Chest Wall Irradiation Incorporating Intrafractional Motion

Purpose: To evaluate different planning strategies for adequate coverage of misaligned chest wall PTVs. Methods and Materials: Nine treatment plans were evaluated for adequate coverage of a superficial chest wall target anteriorly shifted due to respiration and/or set‐up error. One was optimized to deliver a uniform dose to the original PTV; four plans were optimized to deliver uniform doses to both the original PTV and a secondary PTV created by extending the original PTV outside the body by 0.5, 1, 1.5 and 2 cm, respectively. Those four plans were repeated as virtual bolus plans, by applying a unit density override of each secondary PTV volume. Plans were computed on the original patient dataset, which was shifted up to 2 cm in the anterior direction to simulate misalignment. Dose volume histograms and isodoses were used to analyze the results. Results: For the original plan, anterior shifts resulted in underdosed regions, with a reduction in Dmin proportional to the magnitude of the shift (57% for 2 cm). Shifts also increased PTV Dmax by 20%, independent of the magnitude of the shift. Optimizing to secondary PTV volumes in air resulted in a smaller reduction in Dmin with patient shift (94% for 2 cm), although the increase in Dmax was more significant for these plans (58%). The least variation in PTV dose homogeneity was obtained with the virtual bolus plans (Dmin=91%, Dmax=117% for 2 cm). Reductions in PTV dose homogeneity were still observed if the shifts were greater than the virtual bolus thickness. Conclusions: For helical tomotherapy treatment planning, virtual bolus of thickness equivalent to the maximum expected anterior shift can account for small respiratory motion of the CW during treatment.Conflict of Interest: This work was supported in part by a research agreement with TomoTherapy, Inc.
Determination of growth stage from reflectance spectra of crops

The spectral reflectance characteristics of vegetation have been studied with the objective to learn how to extract useful information about the state of surface vegetation from space-borne observing systems, with emphasis on agricultural applications. Results of simulation studies based on high-resolution airborne spectrometer data indicate that changes in biomass, plant pigment, and leaf water content can be independently tracked by monitoring the reflective properties of vegetation with an appropriate selection of bands.
Suicide attitudes and experiences of hospitalized alcoholics.

about the attitudes and experiences of alcoholics specifically related to suicide. To provide such information, this study attempted to idenrib selected suicidal attitudes and experiences of some adult males hospitalized for alcohol treatment. During a continuous 6-mo. period between 1978-79, all the adult males voluntarily admitted for alcohol treatment to the V.A. Medical Center at Coatsville, PA, were given a 15-item questionnaire made up of six biographical questions and nine items related to suicide selected from the Shneidman Death Questionnaire (3). The inventory was given within 1 wk. of admission and all respondents were medically detoxified from alcohol when they completed the material. The data herein are from the 69 men who, at the time of the survey, had no documented physical illness or history of or current psychiatric diagnosis other than alcoholism. According to the biographical information obtained, the 69 respondents averaged 44 yr. of age and had 11 5 yr of education. In fact, 54% had completed high school. Most were Caucasian (75% ), either protestant (5 1% ) or Catholic (42 %), and somewhat over half (52%) were divorced or separated, only 13% were married and with spouse at the time of the survey.
Factor Structure of the Family-of-Origin Scale: Does This Scale Measure What Its Creators Say It Does?

The factor structure of the Family-of-Origin Scale (FOS) was examined. The FOS is a 40-item instrument devised to measure perceptions of health in the family of origin. Subjects were 162 gay and bisexual males. A confirmatory factor analysis was employed to examine the similarities of the factor structure obtained in the present study with those proposed theoretically by the test authors. The results supported the notion that the FOS is comprised of a single underlying construct that may be represented by bipolar items. It was concluded that the findings do not support the theoretically proposed factor structure of the FOS and that the value of the FOS is suspect.
Vesicular Stomatitis Viruses with Rearranged Genomes Have Altered Invasiveness and Neuropathogenesis in Mice

Transcription of vesicular stomatitis virus is controlled by the position of a gene relative to the single 3' genomic promoter: promoter-proximal genes are transcribed at higher levels than those in more 5' distal positions. In previous work, we generated viruses having rearranged gene orders. These viruses had the promoter-proximal gene that encodes the nucleocapsid protein, N, moved to the second or fourth position in the genome in combination with the glycoprotein gene, G, moved from its usual promoter-distal fourth position to the first or third position. This resulted in three new viruses identified by the positions of the N and G genes in the gene order: G3N4, G1N4, and G1N2. The viruses G3N4 and G1N4 were attenuated for lethality in mice. In the present study, we addressed the basis of this attenuation by measuring the ability of each of the rearranged viruses to travel to and replicate in the olfactory bulb and brain following intranasal inoculation. In addition, the neuropathogenicity, serum cytokine levels, and immunoglobulin G isotype profiles in infected mice were determined. All the viruses reached the olfactory bulb and brain, but the outcomes of these infections were dramatically different. Viruses N1G4(wt) and G1N2 caused lethal encephalitis in 100% of animals within 7 days postinoculation; however, viruses G3N4 and G1N4 were cleared from the brain by 7 days postinoculation and all animals survived without apparent distress. The viruses differed in the distribution and intensity of lesions produced and the type and levels of cytokines induced. Animals inoculated with N1G4(wt) or G1N2 displayed extensive encephalitis and meningitis and had elevated levels of serum gamma interferon compared to what was seen with G3N4- or G1N4-infected mice. In contrast to what occurred with intranasal inoculation, all four viruses caused lethal encephalitis when administered by direct inoculation to the brain, a route that circumvents the majority of the host immune response, demonstrating that G3N4 and G1N4 were not deficient in their abilities to cause disease in the brain. These findings indicate that gene rearrangement and its consequent alteration of gene expression can, without any other changes, alter the viral spread and cytokine response following intranasal infection.
8 Down-regulation of cytokine action*

Summary The study of cytokines that regulate all areas of cellular communication has expanded over the past few years. The control and modulation of the complex network of cytokine action remains an area of intense interest. Agents that will modulate cytokine signal transduction at the cellular level will assist in the understanding of the molecular basis of cytokine cellular activation and in the design of drugs for the management of clinical disease. Recent work has demonstrated the existence of complex mechanisms of negative regulation of cytokine action. New methods utilizing isolated protein products that participate in immunomodulation may prove useful for clinical regulation of the host response to cytokine up-regulation. Currently, most interest in soluble cytokine receptors, natural cytokine inhibitors, genetically engineered cytokine antagonists and single or combinations of anti-inflammatory cytokines has focused on the possibility that they may become standard pharmacological agents for the treatment of inflammatory complications of clinical disease. Specifically, TNF and IL-1 inhibitors and the cytokines IL-10 and TGF-β, alone or in combination may be effective for the inhibition of severe clinical inflammation. Soluble receptors for other cytokines such as IL-6 may prove to be carrier proteins that enhance cytokine action and will require cautious investigation. Because most cytokines are pleiomorphic in their activities, down-regulation through the utilization of direct inhibitors or anti-inflammatory cytokines may cause immunosuppression, making the host susceptible to opportunistic infection. Selective and short-term inhibition of inflammatory cytokine action may be necessary to prevent unwanted clinical side-effects.
Neurofilament and tubulin mRNA expression in Schwann cells.

Feeding of elemental tellurium to weanling rats blocks synthesis of cholesterol (a major component of myelin), and causes demyelination of the sciatic nerve. Expression of mRNA for myelin-specific genes in Schwann cells is downregulated. We now demonstrate specificity for Schwann cell injury in that expression of mRNAs for neurofilament subunits and for class II β-tubulin (parameters sensitive to axonal injury) is unaltered in neurons of the dorsal root ganglia. An unexpected result was that in tellurium-treated rats there was marked upregulation of expression of mRNAs coding for the light and medium neurofilament subunits (“neuron-specific” proteins) as well as that for class II β-tubulin (the major neuronal β-tubulin isotype) in Schwann cells. Expression of these “neuronal” mRNA species was also detected in distal stumps of transected nerves at times when Schwann cells were undergoing dedifferentiation. © 1992 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
A Filtering Process to Remove the Stochastic Component from Intraday Seasonal Volatility

The intraday seasonal variance pattern contains stochastic as well as deterministic components. Therefore, the estimation of information arrivals in the associated volatility process requires the proper filtering of both of these seasonal components. However, popular current models remove only the deterministic part of the typical U-shape volatility. Here, we provide the first empirical results of the importance of the stochastic component, as developed by Cho and Daigler (2012). We show that a highly significant additional 8.5% to 12.9% of the total seasonal variance is explained by the stochastic seasonal variance component for S&P500 futures, live cattle futures, and the Japanese yen-U.S. dollar spot exchange rate. Moreover, we show that the stochastic seasonal filtering model implemented here does not create any statistical distortions of the filtered series, as occurs with deterministic-based seasonal adjustment processes, as well as comparing the model examined here with the most popular current deterministic model. As part of our analysis we examine the application of the model to macroeconomic news and out-of-sample results for the model. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Jrl Fut Mark 34:479–495, 2014
Managerial learning: a neglected dimension in decision support systems

Past research on decision support systems has focused on numerous functional capabilities and decision outcomes. The findings of this stream of research are contradictory and the empirical evidence supporting competing viewpoints is overwhelming. A plausible explanation of these equivocal results is that most studies have been poorly grounded in theory and overlooked important characteristics of the decision process. In particular, improvements in a manager's information-processing capabilities have been acknowledged conceptually, but treated only in passing. This paper draws on cognitive perspectives on individual learning and develops a theoretical approach to address the unexplored question of how the use of a decision support system contributes to refine a manager's mental models of the business environment and improve the effectiveness of decision making. Implications of the proposed framework and future research directions are discussed. >
Revisiting graphemes with increasing amounts of data

Letter units, or graphemes, have been reported in the literature as a surprisingly effective substitute to the more traditional phoneme units, at least in languages that enjoy a strong correspondence between pronunciation and orthography. For English however, where letter symbols have less acoustic consistency, previously reported results fell short of systems using highly-tuned pronunciation lexicons. Grapheme units simplify system design, but since graphemes map to a wider set of acoustic realizations than phonemes, we should expect grapheme-based acoustic models to require more training data to capture these variations. In this paper, we compare the rate of improvement of grapheme and phoneme systems trained with datasets ranging from 450 to 1200 hours of speech. We consider various grapheme unit configurations, including using letter-specific, onset, and coda units. We show that the grapheme systems improve faster and, depending on the lexicon, reach or surpass the phoneme baselines with the largest training set.
Adenovirus Core Protein VII Protects the Viral Genome from a DNA Damage Response at Early Times after Infection

Adenovirus has a linear, double-stranded DNA genome that is perceived by the cellular Mre11-Rad50-Nbs1 (MRN) DNA repair complex as a double-strand break. If unabated, MRN elicits a double-strand break repair response that blocks viral DNA replication and ligates the viral genomes into concatemers. There are two sets of early viral proteins that inhibit the MRN complex. The E1B-55K/E4-ORF6 complex recruits an E3 ubiquitin ligase and targets MRN proteins for proteasome-dependent degradation. The E4-ORF3 protein inhibits MRN through sequestration. The mechanism that prevents MRN recognition of the viral genome prior to the expression of these early proteins was previously unknown. Here we show a temporal correlation between the loss of viral core protein VII from the adenovirus genome and a gain of checkpoint signaling due to the double-strand break repair response. While checkpoint signaling corresponds to the recognition of the viral genome, core protein VII binding to and checkpoint signaling at viral genomes are largely mutually exclusive. Transcription is known to release protein VII from the genome, and the inhibition of transcription shows a decrease in checkpoint signaling. Finally, we show that the nuclease activity of Mre11 is dispensable for the inhibition of viral DNA replication during a DNA damage response. These results support a model involving the protection of the incoming viral genome from checkpoint signaling by core protein VII and suggest that the induction of an MRN-dependent DNA damage response may inhibit adenovirus replication by physically masking the origins of DNA replication rather than altering their integrity.