cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Metapopulation Dynamics of Bobolinks Occupying Agricultural Grasslands in the Midwestern United States

ABSTRACT A metapopulation is any set of populations that are patchily distributed and potentially connected by dispersal. This broad definition includes classical, mainland-island, source-sink, patchy and non-equilibrium metapopulations. To ensure long-term regional population viability in a fragmented landscape we need a better understanding of metapopulation dynamics. To determine which metapopulation model applies to a given species, Stith et al. (1996) developed a classification scheme using species-specific estimates of dispersal distance and local extinction risk. We used this scheme to classify bobolink (Dolichonyx oryzivorus) populations occupying fragmented, agricultural grasslands in the Midwestern United States. We estimated the distribution of dispersal distances using mark-recapture techniques and calculated local extinction risk. Dispersal rate and turnover were high, indicating that populations were highly connected. Local extinction probability was 4%, indicating that populations were “mid...
Corporate Boards of Directors: In Principle and in Practice

Numerous significant past and recent contributions to the literature on the efficacy of corporate boards of directors notwithstanding, a consensus has yet to develop. Partly this is due to a failure to agree on the ground rules, to which the use of different lenses through which to observe and interpret corporate boards is a contributing factor. This article examines corporate boards through the lens of contract/governance with the object of (1) uncovering the factors that are responsible for the intrinsic limitations of boards in monitoring and managing respects and, in consideration of these limitations, (2) advising on the merits of proposed reforms, to which credibility considerations and the integrity of delegation are relevant. A more accepting interpretation of practices regarded by many as problematic emerges, but not without qualifications and express concern for bad actors. (JEL G30, G34, K22, L14)
Enhancement and Suppression of Murine Sarcoma Virus Induced Tumors by Polyriboinosinic Polyribocytidylic Acid

SummaryThis paper reports the effects of polyriboinosinic·polyribocytidylic acid (rI·rC) on the Moloney strain of murine sarcoma virus (MSV) in BALB/c and AL/N mice. Complete suppression of tumor induction in BALB/c mice was produced by a highly toxic regimen, using terminal virus dilutions. Furthermore, tumors occurred in BALB/c mice after the cessation of multiple injections of rI·rC. These findings suggest that the tumor suppressive action of rI·rC is more likely mediated by its toxic or chemotherapeutic effects than by a direct antiviral action. Pre treatment with a single sub toxic dose of rI·rC, or simultaneous administration of rI·rC and MSV, resulted in enhancement of tumor induction in AL/N mice at all virus dilutions tested. The enhancement was a specific action of rI·rC as it could be reversed by prior immunization with double-stranded RNA. These studies suggest that the relationship between host, drug, and virus is dependent on multiple factors and is more complex than previously thought.
Biochemistry of reduction of nitro heterocycles.

Misonidazole is a metabolically active drug. Its addition to cells causes an immediate alteration in cellular electron transfer pathways. Under aerobic conditions the metabolic alterations can result in futile cycling with electron transfer to oxygen and production of peroxide. Thiol levels are extremely important in protecting the cell against the peroxide formation and potentially hazardous conditions for hydroxyl radical production. Nevertheless such electron shunting out of cellular metabolism will result in alterations in pentose cycle, glycolysis and cellular capacity to reduce metabolites to essential intermediates needed in DNA metabolism (i.e. deoxyribonucleotides). Glutathione must be depleted to very low levels before toxic effects of misonidazole and other nitro compounds are manifested in cell death via peroxidative damage. Under hypoxic conditions misonidazole also diverts the pentose cycle via its own reduction; however, unlike the aerobic conditions, there are a number of reductive intermediates produced that react with non-protein thiols such as GSH as well as protein thiols. The reaction with protein thiols results in the inhibition of glycolysis and other as yet undetermined enzyme systems. The consequences of the hypoxic pretreatment of cells with nitro compounds are increased vulnerability to radiation and chemotherapeutic drugs such as L-PAM, cis-platinum and bleomycin. The role that altered enzyme activity has in the cellular response to misonidazole and chemotherapeutic agents remains to be determined. It is also clear that the GSH depleted state not only makes cells more vulnerable to oxidative stress but also to hypoxic intermediates produced by the reduction of misonidazole beyond the one electron stage. The relevancy of the present work to the proposed use of thiol depletion in vivo to enhance the radiation or chemotherapeutic response of tumor tissue lies with the following considerations. Apparently, spontaneous peroxidative damage to normal tissue such as liver can occur with GSH depletion to 10-20% of control and with other normal tissue when GSH reaches 50% of control. This situation can obviously become more critical if peroxide producing drugs are administered. The only advantage to such combined drug treatments would lie in the possibility that tumors vary in their catalase and peroxidase activity and consequently may be more vulnerable to oxidative stress (cf. review by Meister. Our tumor model, the A549 human lung carcinoma cell in vitro, appears to be an exception because it has catalase, peroxidase and a high content of GSH.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
Enzastaurin, an inhibitor of PKCβ, Enhances Antiangiogenic Effects and Cytotoxicity of Radiation against Endothelial Cells

PURPOSE: Angiogenesis plays an important role in pancreas cancer pathobiology. Pancreatic tumor cells secrete vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), activating endothelial cell protein kinase C beta (PKCβ) that phosphorylates GSK3β to suppress apoptosis and promote endothelial cell proliferation and microvessel formation. We used Enzastaurin (Enz) to test the hypothesis that inhibition of PKCβ results in radiosensitization of endothelial cells in culture and in vivo. MATERIALS/METHODS: We measured PKCβ phosphorylation, VEGF pathway signaling, colony formation, and capillary sprout formation in primary human dermal microvessel endothelial cells (HDMECs) after Enz or radiation (RT) treatment. Microvessel density and tumor volume of human pancreatic cancer xenografts in nude mice were measured after treatment with Enz, RT, or both. RESULTS: Enz inhibited PKCβ and radiosensitized HDMEC with an enhancement ratio of 1.31 ± 0.05. Enz combined with RT reduced HDMEC capillary sprouting to a greater extent than either agent alone. Enz prevented radiation-induced GSK3β phosphorylation of serine 9 while having no direct effect on VEGFR phosphorylation. Treatment of xenografts with Enz and radiation produced greater reductions in microvessel density than either treatment alone. The reduction in microvessel density corresponded with increased tumor growth delay. CONCLUSIONS: Enz-induced PKCβ inhibition radiosensitizes human endothelial cells and enhances the antiangiogenic effects of RT. The combination of Enz and RT reduced microvessel density and resulted in increased growth delay in pancreatic cancer xenografts, without increase in toxicity. These results provide the rationale for combining PKCβ inhibition with radiation and further investigating such regimens in pancreatic cancer.
Comparison of manual methods of determination of albumin in human cerebrospinal fluid by the bromcresol green and immuno-precipitation methods

Simultaneous determinations of albumin concentrations in human cerebrospinal fluid were made by three different manual methods: bromcresol green dye-binding technique of Doumas et al. , a modification of the latter with color measurement shortly after the addition of dye as proposed by Ingwersen and Raabo and finally by an immuno-precipitation technique. Results obtained by the immunoprecipitation method correlated significantly with the dye-binding method of Doumas et al. , (r = 0.93) and the procedure of Ingmersen and Raabo (r = 0.94). Data from the two dye-binding techniques correlated significantly with one another also (r = 0.98). However, the immuno-precipitation technique gives albumin values lower than the dye-binding procedures. The latter presumably estimates other proteins which can also bind bromcresol green. The data corroborates the conclusions of earlier investigators that immuno-precipitation method is more specific for albumin assays.
Bringing class to light and life: A case study of reality-based television discourse

Abstract This paper examines representations of class and status differences in American reality-based television programs and some of the ways their design produces a form of dialog. This inquiry is situated in the context of two contemporary social phenomena: ambivalence toward class stratification in U.S. public discourse at a time of increasing class stratification, and a growth in the production and consumption of status-based reality television shows on U.S. broadcast and cable networks. For this study, a year of episodes from two programs were observed, one from network television set in the world of work, and one from cable television set in home life and leisure. Four cases selected from this corpus are analyzed multimodally to show how talk, images, and objects operate discursively to construct a dialog on class. Drawing from theories on the discursive construction of identity and agency, and focusing on members׳ methods of categorization and ventriloquism, we offer an understanding of class as enacted and engaged in - not just represented and talked about, but performed dialogically.
Does Pollen ‘Neighborhood’ Affect Berry Yield In Lowbush Blueberry (Vaccinium Angustifolium Ait)?

Proximally growing individuals of wild, lowbush blueberry (Vaccinium angustifolium Ait.) vary widely in yield despite being grown under conditions in which environmental heterogeneity is minimized by cultivation practices. We recently established that the relative self-fertility of the bearing plant is a significant predictor of its outcross yield. Further, although the species has historically been characterized as largely self-infertile, we, and others, have documented large variation in this trait among individuals within fields, and, thus, relative self-fertility stands as a partial explanation of yield variation in addition to other genetic factors, such as significant general and specific combining abilities. Here, we extend our scope by experimentally addressing whether pollen neighborhood affects yield. Lowbush blueberry is not sown, rather individuals have colonized fields by natural processes. Commercial fields of lowbush are generally pollinated by rented honey bees, which tend to pollinate nea...
The Regulation of Northern Overturning by Southern Hemisphere Winds

Abstract Coarse-resolution models are used to study the interaction of zonal wind stress at the latitude of Drake Passage and the production of northern deep water. A nearly linear response to wind stress at the tip of South America is seen in northern deep-water production in both one- and two-basin configurations. A comparison of steady-state circulations forced by different wind stress strengths over the Southern Hemisphere westerlies shows the changes in circulation away from the Southern Ocean largely confined to western boundary currents. The change in circulation accompanying stronger winds is similar to that predicted by the southern upwelling/northern sinking couplet discussed by Stommel. Transient studies are conducted in which wind stress is increased over the region of the Southern Hemisphere westerlies. In an ocean initially stratified and at rest, forced only by the Southern Hemisphere westerlies, the development of the flow is similar to that observed by Kawase in a two-layer model: barocli...
Pediatric tracheostomy: timing of the first tube change.

Objectives:No consensus exists on appropriate timing for the first tracheostomy tube change. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the safety of early tracheostomy change in the pediatric popula...
Near-field sensing using subspace techniques

Three techniques are studied for sensor array based pupil-plane imaging of point sources in the near field. Pupil plane imaging is a potential alternative in the absence of well-developed focal plane array technology. The techniques are sum and delay focusing, minimum variance distortionless response (MVDR) focusing and subspace focusing. While the first has been widely proposed for usage, it is demonstrated here that the other two provide better resolution. Between the MVDR and the subspace approaches, the latter potentially provides better performance in noise.
Photoassisted water-gas shift reaction over Pt TiO2(100)

Sustained production of hydrogen was observed over platinized TiO2(100) in the presence of water vapor and carbon monoxide with or without uv illumination. The thermal reaction proceeds with an activation energy of 26.3 ± 0.5 kcal/mole and is dominant at temperatures above 400 °K. The photoreaction, which dominates at temperatures below 400 °K with an activation energy of 7 ±2 kcal/mole, was extensively studied in this work. In the photoreaction, the hydrogen production rate was found to be independent of water and CO partial pressure in the range of 0.5 to 18 Torr and 0.1 to 10 Torr, respectively. The reaction rate increases monotonically with increasing uv intensity. Platinum coverage study suggested that the periphery of deposited Pt islands is involved in the photogeneration of H2. A reaction mechanism assuming CO photoreduction of TiO2 at Pt-TiO2 periphery sites to be the rate-limiting step is proposed that appears to account for all experimental observations.
A Single Mahaim Fiber Causing Both Antidromic and Orthodromic Reciprocating Tachycardia

We describe the case of a 56-year-old woman referred for electrophysiological (EP) testing for medically refractory supraventricular arrhythmias. During the EP study, the patient was found to have a right free wall atriofasicular (Mahaim type) accessory pathway and an inducible left bundle morphology preexcited tachycardia secondary to antidromic reciprocating tachycardia. The patient also had an inducible narrow complex orthodromic reciprocating tachycardia (ORT). Mapping revealed that the earliest site of retrograde atrial activation during ORT was along the lateral tricuspid annulus. This was the same location where the atriofasicular accessory pathway potential was recorded during sinus rhythm. Radiofrequency ablation at this site eliminated inducibility of both tachycardias and any evidence of antegrade or retrograde accessory pathway conduction. This report describes the case of a very rare right free wall Mahaim type fiber with both antegrade and retrograde conduction capabilities responsible for both antidromic and ORT.
Farm Wives' Preferences, Time Allocation, and Off-Farm Employment Status.

Farm wives' preferences for use of time in household and farm tasks, their actual time in these tasks, and their external employment status were investigated with a sample of farm wives from seven states. Most wives preferred to spend about the same amount of time they were actually spending in each of the 17 tasks. Not all who had other preferences desired to decrease their time in such tasks; many farm wives preferred to spend more time in tasks such as house care, household management, and gardening. Wives' off-farm employment status was signifi cantly related to their feelings about time in selected household and farm tasks. Generally, higher proportions of employed wives wanted to increase their time in meal preparation; house care; yard, car, and pet care; clothing care and construc tion; field work; caring for livestock; and running farm errands. The actual amount of time women spent at these tasks and their hours of employment time were only sporadically related to their feelings about their use of time.
The tumour-induced systemic environment as a critical regulator of cancer progression and metastasis

Recent pre-clinical and clinical research has provided evidence that cancer progression is driven not only by a tumour's underlying genetic alterations and paracrine interactions within the tumour microenvironment, but also by complex systemic processes. We review these emerging paradigms of cancer pathophysiology and discuss how a clearer understanding of systemic regulation of cancer progression could guide development of new therapeutic modalities and efforts to prevent disease relapse following initial diagnosis and treatment.
A Cotranslational Ubiquitination Pathway for Quality Control of Misfolded Proteins

Previous studies have indicated that 6%-30% of newly synthesized proteins are rapidly degraded by the ubiquitin-proteasome system; however, the relationship of ubiquitination to translation for these proteins has been unclear. We report that cotranslational ubiquitination (CTU) is a robust process, with 12%-15% of nascent polypeptides being ubiquitinated in human cells. CTU products contained primarily K48-linked polyubiquitin chains, consistent with a proteasomal targeting function. While nascent chains have been shown previously to be ubiquitinated within stalled complexes (CTU(S)), the majority of nascent chain ubiquitination occurred within active translation complexes (CTU(A)). CTU(A) was increased in response to agents that induce protein misfolding, while CTU(S) was increased in response to agents that lead to translational errors or stalling. These results indicate that ubiquitination of nascent polypeptides occurs in two contexts and define CTU(A) as a component of a quality control system that marks proteins for destruction while they are being synthesized.
New Insights on Persistent Nonphotochemical Hole Burning and Its Application to Photosynthetic Complexes

Nonphotochemical hole burning (NPHB) at low temperatures of the electronic absorption bands of molecular chromophores imbedded in amorphous solids (glasses and polymers) and in proteins is a striking manifestation of configurational tunneling triggered by electronic excitation. The current mechanism of NPHB has it due to a hierarchy of relaxation events that begin in the outer shell and involve the intrinsic two-level systems (TLSint) of the glass and terminate in the inner shell where the rate determining step involving the extrinsic TLS (TLSext) occurs. The TLS correspond to asymmetric intermolecular double well potentials. The TLSext are associated with the chromophore and the inner shell of solvent molecules. The TLSint are intimately associated with the excess free volume of glasses. Their tunneling leads to diffusion of excess free volume. Results for Al-phthalocyanine tetrasulfonate (APT) in hyperquenched glassy water (HGW) and ethanol (HGE) films that provide strong support for the critical role o...
Superoxide scavenging effect of Ginkgo biloba extract on serotonin-induced mitogenesis

Abstract We have reported previously that serotonin (5-HT) stimulates the mitogenesis of bovine pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells (SMCs) through active transport of 5-HT and cellular signaling that includes elevation of superoxide (O 2 · − ) and enhancement of protein tyrosine phosphorylation. Ginkgo biloba extract 501 (EGb 501), which has been demonstrated to act as an antioxidant, was found to block both the elevated O 2 · − and the proliferative and hypertrophic influences of 5-HT on SMCs, but not to directly inhibit the associated activation of NAD(P)H oxidase or the stimulation of phosphorylation of GTPase-activating protein (GAP). A similar effect of Ginkgo biloba extract 501 occurred on Chinese hamster lung fibroblasts (CCL-39), where 5-HT receptor, as opposed to transporter, action has been associated with mitogenesis. We conclude from these studies that Ginkgo biloba extract 501 quenches O 2 · − formation by 5-HT, thereby blocking its mitogenic effect. Stimulation of protein tyrosine phosphorylation of GAP by 5-HT appears to precede the elevation of O 2 · − .
Asymmetric Diels-Alder cycloadditions using chiral alkyl vinyl ethers and a dienyl sulfone

Summary Chiral alkyl vinyl ethers 2b – 2j underwent mild, inverse electron demand, Diels-Alder cycloadditions with 3-arenesulfonyl-2-pyrone 1 to form bridged bicyclic lactone adducts 3b – 3j in excellent yields and with dia-stereoselectivities of up to 90%.
A a comparison of the markov chain and the integral equation approaches for evaluating the run length distribution of quality control charts

Two methods that are often used to evaluate the run length distribution of quality control charts are the Markov chain and integral equation approaches. Both methods have been used to evaluate the cumulative sum (CUSUM) charts and the exponentially weighted moving average (EWMA) control charts. The Markov chain approach involves "discretiz-ing" the possible values which can be plotted. Using properties of finite Markov chains, expressions for the distribution of the run length, and for the average run length (ARL), can be obtained. For the CUSUM and EWMA charts there exist integral equations whose solution gives the ARL. Approximate methods can then be used to solve the integral equation. In this article we show that if the product midpoint rule is used to approximate the integral in the integral equation, then both approaches yield the same approximations for the ARL. In addition we show that the recursive expressions for the probability functions are the same for the two approaches. These results establ...
How young children learn from examples: descriptive and inferential problems.

Three experiments with preschool- and young school-aged children (N = 75 and 53) explored the kinds of relations children detect in samples of instances (descriptive problem) and how they generalize those relations to new instances (inferential problem). Each experiment initially presented a perfect biconditional relation between two features (e.g., all and only frogs are blue). Additional examples undermined one of the component conditional relations (not all frogs are blue) but supported another (only frogs are blue). Preschool-aged children did not distinguish between supported and undermined relations. Older children did show the distinction, at least when the test instances were clearly drawn from the same population as the training instances. Results suggest that younger children’s difficulties may stem from the demands of using imperfect correlations for predictions. Older children seemed sensitive to the inferential problem of using samples to make predictions about populations.
Climate change: confronting student ideas

Students bring prior knowledge about science to our courses, yet sometimes their information is inaccurate. The Beedlow et al. article in this issue (p 315-322) provides a foundation for addressing several incomplete, naive, or erroneous ideas that have been identified in students' think? ing about the carbon cycle (Carlsson 2002; Ebert-May et al. 2003), what scientists know about the relationship between plant growth and rising atmospheric COz concentrations, and the relationship between carbon and nitrogen cycles. The scientific teaching approach for this article involves three components: learning goals, instructional strategies that are inquiry-driven and student-centered, and assess? ment (ie obtaining data that measure student achievement of learning goals). The learning goals are based on the ques? tion: "What do students need to know to demonstrate a genuine understanding of the carbon cycle and its relation to global climate change?" The instructional strategy chosen for this example is based on the learning cycle, an instruc? tional model that enables students to address misconcep? tions and develop more accurate understanding (Posner et al. 1982; Kennedy 2004). In this case, students actively confront their current ideas about global warming by exploring the question "Where does the carbon go?" (a section in Beedlow et al. 2004) and ultimately come to a deeper under? standing of the carbon cycle. Assessments probe students' understanding and misconceptions before, during, and after instruction, to evaluate the effectiveness of teaching and learning.
Large strain deformation and ultra-fine grained materials by machining

Abstract Characteristics of the deformation fields associated with chip formation in plane strain machining are described. The ability to impose very large strain deformation in a controlled manner is highlighted. The creation of nano- and ultra-fine grained structures by machining is demonstrated in a variety of metals and alloys. These results indicate that machining not only offers a simple method for large scale manufacturing of nanostructured materials, but also provides a unique experimental configuration for studying large strain deformation phenomena.
Pharmacoeconomic analysis of oprelvekin (recombinant human interleukin-11) for secondary prophylaxis of thrombocytopenia in solid tumor patients receiving chemotherapy.

BACKGROUND Previous research has shown oprelvekin (recombinant human interleukin-11 [rhIL-11]) to be effective in reducing the requirements for platelet transfusions after myelosuppressive chemotherapy in patients who have previously experienced thrombocytopenia. The economic consequences of the routine use of this platelet growth factor and the usual standard of platelet transfusions for prophylaxis of severe chemotherapy-induced thrombocytopenia have not been compared. METHODS The authors constructed a decision-analytic model to compare the alternatives of rhIL-11 versus usual care using probability, outcome, and cost data from previously published clinical trials and their own institutional sources. They incorporated the costs of platelet transfusions and adverse events from rhIL-11 into the analysis. Quality-of-life outcomes were not considered. The pharmacoeconomic analysis was based on the criterion of cost minimization from the payer's perspective. RESULTS The expected cost of the usual care strategy for prophylaxis of severe thrombocytopenia (transfusion when platelets < 20,000 μL−1) was $3495 for a 3-week cycle of chemotherapy. The prophylactic rhIL-11 strategy was more expensive, with an expected cost of $5328 over the same time period. Nonetheless, it was associated with fewer platelet transfusions, avoiding an average of 6.7 U compared with usual care. The savings from avoidance of platelet transfusion and adverse reactions to transfusion from the use of rhIL-11 were not offset by the substantial cost of the pharmaceutical. The greater expected costs from the rhIL-11 strategy were relatively insensitive to the unit price and efficacy of rhIL-11 and the costs of platelet transfusions and monitoring. CONCLUSIONS From the payer's perspective, rhIL-11 cannot be considered a cost-saving clinical strategy compared with routine platelet transfusions for patients with severe chemotherapy-induced thrombocytopenia. Cancer 2003;97:3099–106. © 2003 American Cancer Society. DOI 10.1002/cncr.11447
Studies on DNA sequences in the Osmundaceae.

Phylogenetic relationships ofOsmunda cinnamomea, O. claytoniana, andO. regalis were explored by means of DNA sequence comparisons. Hydroxyapatite thermal elution profiles of self-reassociated repetitive DNA fragments were very similar, indicating the absence of gross differences in the amount of recent amplification or addition of repetitive DNA in any of these three genomes. Interspecific DNA sequence comparisons showed, in contrast to our earlier interpretation, that repeated DNA sequences ofO. claytoniana are nearly equally diverged from those ofO. cinnamomea andO. regalis. Differences between repetitive sequences of the three species can be interpreted as reflecting amplification events which occurred subsequent to speciation. The data obtained suggest that the threeOsmunda species most likely arose more or less simultaneously from a common ancestor. These findings were verified in experiments with tracer DNA preparations enriched for single copy sequences. On the basis of the hybridization data presented here and of the fossil record, the rate of single copy sequence divergence in the ferns is comparable to that in the primates, although slower than that observed in other animal taxa. From this first evaluation of rates of DNA evolution in plants it would seem that the rates for plants and animals are roughly comparable. The evidence suggests that species divergence is accompanied by further reiteration of preexisting repeat sequences. The rate of addition of repetitive sequences probably is slower in ferns than in angiosperms. This difference might be attributable to the much larger effective generation time in ferns.
Susceptibility Pathways in Fanconi's Anemia and Breast Cancer

The study of rare genetic diseases can lead to insights into the cause and treatment of common diseases. An example is the rare chromosomal instability disorder, Fanconi Anemia (FA). Studies of this disease have elucidated general mechanisms of bone marrow failure, cancer pathogenesis, and resistance to chemotherapy. The principal features of FA are aplastic anemia in childhood, susceptibility to cancer or leukemia, and hypersensitivity of FA cells to DNA cross-linking agents. There are thirteen FA genes, and one of these genes is identical to the well known breast cancer susceptibility gene, BRCA2. The corresponding FA proteins cooperate in the recognition and repair of damaged DNA. Inactivation of FA genes occurs not only in FA patients but also in a variety of cancers in the general population. These findings have broad implications for predicting the sensitivity and resistance of tumors to conventional anti-cancer agents, to inhibitors of poly-ADP ribose polymerase 1, an enzyme involved in DNA repair, and to other inhibitors of DNA repair.
WOMEN'S REACTIONS TO REPRODUCTIVE PROBLEMS

A history of reproductive problems was obtained from 252 women in an effort to obtain data on the frequency of occurrence of reproductive problems and psychological reactions to them. Reproductive problems are considered to include problems getting pregnant unplanned pregnancy abortion miscarriage difficult pregnancy or delivery death of an infant -- stillbirth or within 1 month of birth tubal ligation and hysterectomy. A sample of 1000 names was drawn at random from the telephone books representing the populations of Floyd and Clark Counties Indiana. Analysis of the data from the 252 completed questionnaires shows that the sample in general represents the demographic structure i.e. age distribution and occupational classification of the area as shown in the census of the population for these 2 counties. In general the data indicate that approximately 1 in 5 women experience problems getting pregnant a miscarriage a difficult pregnancy or delivery a tubal ligation or a hysterectomy. Fewer than 1 in 20 experience the stillbirth or death of an infant but 1 in 3 experiences an unplanned pregnancy. There were 303 problems reported in the 252 responses. No questionnaire was returned by a woman over 25 who had not had at least 1 of the problems and the cumulative probabilities for the various events would predict that each woman is likely to have at least 2 of these problems. For those events which require an active decision the reaction to a tubal ligation or hysterectomy was similar and positive. There was also a tendency for these women to say that they were depressed (13 of 47) and that they felt less a woman (7 of 47). For those events that do not depend on an active decision several patterns emerged which seem logical. Those women who had problems getting pregnant were significantly more frustrated and did not think the situation was for the best. The group who indicated an unplanned pregnancy was unwanted reported significantly more often than usual that they feel guilty and sexually less attractive and 4 of only 5 expressions of self hate came from this group. The women who miscarried did not express more negative responses than average but they less often reported any positive feelings. They significantly less often reported being very happy feeling good about themselves or getting used to the problem. The respondents indicated in 30% of the incidents that they were depressed 13% reported being frustrated 12% said the problem dominated their lives 9% felt guilty 7% felt alone and 4% felt that others did not care. In general women coped by seeking information about what others had experienced accepting their lack of control of the outcome and relying on those close to them for support.
The Impact of Political Advertising on Knowledge, Internet Information Seeking, and Candidate Preference

Previous research has suggested that exposure to political advertising is generally informative and may even reduce information gaps between the most and least aware in society, but does not produce large shifts in candidate preference. Drawing on extant models of opinion change, we predicted that the informational benefits of political ads would vary by level of awareness, such that the most aware would experience the largest gains, especially when they are asked to make inferences about issues not explicitly discussed in the ad. Further, we predicted that the most aware would use information in advertisements as a substitute for other kinds of information seeking, while the least aware would be relatively unmotivated to seek out new information, regardless of exposure. Finally, the least aware would be more susceptible to persuasion via ads than the most aware would be. Experimental evidence confirmed these predictions. Though the 50th anniversary of the first use of televised political advertisements in American campaigns is upon us, debates about the substantive impact and proper role of this unique form of political communication still rage. Recent meta-analyses have identified over 50 scholarly studies involving the impact of advertising on participation (Allen & Burrell, 2002; Lau, Sigelman, Heldman, & Babbit, 1999). Advertising has grown from a tool used exclusively by presidential candidates to an essential element of campaign communication at all levels of government. Consequently, the proportion of campaign-related expenditures by candidates and interest groups dedicated to this form of political communication has risen
Time Warping Symbolic Aggregation Approximation with Bag-of-Patterns Representation for Time Series Classification

Standard Symbolic Aggregation Approximation (SAX) is at the core of many effective time series data mining algorithms. Its combination with Bag-of-Patterns (BoP) has become the standard approach with state-of-the-art performance on standard datasets. However, standard SAX with the BoP representation might neglect internal temporal correlation embedded in the raw data. In this paper, we proposed time warping SAX, which extends the standard SAX with time delay embedding vector approaches to account for temporal correlations. We test time warping SAX with the BoP representation on 12 benchmark datasets from the UCR Time Series Classification/Clustering Collection. On 9 datasets, time warping SAX overtakes the state-of-the-art performance of the standard SAX. To validate our methods in real world applications, a new dataset of vital signs data collected from patients who may require blood transfusion in the next 6 hours was tested. All the results demonstrate that, by considering the temporal internal correlation, time warping SAX combined with BoP improves classification performance.
Do Actions Speak Louder Than Words? The Case of the Disappearance of Social Communication Oddities

Within the last decade, researchers and clinicians have reported an increase in the incidence and diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Various factors have been proposed for this apparent change including broader diagnostic criteria, greater public awareness, biological and environmental interactions, and earlier detection. However, it has been observed in a certain percentage of children, during the toddler and preschool years and before intervention is introduced, that severe language deficits distort social and self-regulatory behavior to such a degree that they mimic the characteristics of ASD. Professional caution is vital in this regard to describe early functioning and to defer diagnosis until the effects of intervention and treatment can be monitored over time. The case of Nicole, a preschooler with developmental delays and social communication oddities, illustrates what I believe is the most professionally responsible, cautious, family-centered, and data-based diagnostic process that links assessment, intervention, and evaluation for young children with early developmental difficulties.
Value of immunohistochemistry in staging T1 urothelial bladder carcinoma.

Abstract Purpose: The subclassification of T1 bladder tumors into T1A and T1B has an important prognostic significance and a great impact on patient management. Unfortunately, staging T1 tumors is highly subject to interpathologist variation that can be critical for patients included in randomized clinical trials. To determine the value of immunohistochemistry (IHC), such as desmin and keratin, in comparison to hematoxylin-eosin (H&E) in classifying T1 stage disease, we retrospectively examined 93 consecutive cases diagnosed at our department. Materials and Methods: The study was conducted in two phases (H&E then IHC), each in two time periods. First H&E, and then IHC slides were reviewed independently by two experienced pathologists and discrepant cases from each phase were discussed between the two pathologists to reach a final decision. Results: The two methodologies (H&E and IHC) showed total agreement in 76 out of 93 cases. IHC downstaged seven cases, that is from T1B to T1A, upstaged four cases, that is from T1A to T1B, lowered the rate of imprecision and eliminated the disagreement between the two pathologists. However, IHC failed to subclassify T1 tumors in three cases. Finally, the discussion supported by the IHC was very useful in reaching the diagnosis in some cases. Conclusions: IHC appears to be a useful tool in staging T1 bladder cancer, especially in difficult cases where specimen orientation and artifact could create a major hindrance in reaching an accurate diagnosis.
Quackery : The national council against health Fraud perspective

Quackery is the promotion of false and unproven health schemes for a profit. It is rooted in the traditions of marketplace. Scientific thinking and standards of conduct underlie professionalism and consumer protection law. At the present time, commercialism has overwhelmed professionalism in the marketing of alternative remedies. Neither patients nor legitimate businesses that adhere to the standards of science and consumer protection are well served by a double standard.
Limits on strength and deformation properties of jointed basaltic rock masses

A study of strength and deformation measurements for basaltic rocks, along with consideration of the influence of fracturing using a rock mass classification system, documents the range of brittle response for basaltic rock masses. Although basalts vary widely in composition and other physical factors, many of the properties of a basaltic rock mass appear to vary within a factor of about 10. Typical values of strength parameters for intact basalt at ambient temperature (20°C) and negligible confining pressure are Young's modulus, 78±19 GPa; Poisson's ratio, 0.25±0.05; tensile strength, −14.5±3.3 MPa; unconfined compressive strength, 266±98 MPa; and conhesion, 66 MPa. Corresponding values for a basaltic rock mass that incorporate the weakening effects of scale are deformation modulus, 10–40 GPa; Poisson's ratio, 0.3; tensile strength, −0.1 to −2.5 MPa; uniaxial compressive strength, 10–90 MPa; and cohesion, 0.6–6 MPa. A measured deformation modulus for ambient pressure in the vertical direction, 20 GPa, is 1.5–3 times larger than that in the horizontal directions, 13.5 and 6.5 GPa, reflecting strength anisotropy due to column or block geometry for one particular basalt. Values of tensile and cohesive strength for the basaltic rock mass are generally one to two orders of magnitude lower than corresponding values for intact basalt. The shear strength of joints appears to vary considerably from flow to flow.
Internal mammary coronary artery anastomosis by CO2 laser: an acute experimental study.

Abstract This study was designed to determine the feasibility of anastomosing the internal mammary artery (IMA) and coronary artery with a carbon dioxide laser in a canine model. Twenty-two mongrel dogs were randomly assigned to two groups: group I (n = 11) underwent laser-assisted vascular anastomosis (LAVA) of the left IMA to the left anterior descending (LAD) coronary artery, whereas in group II (n = 11) the anastomosis was done with the conventional technique (handsewn). Laser methodology was used to micro-weld vessels utilizing a power of 200 mW with a spot size of 500 μ, producing an effective power density of 102 W/cm2 and energy fluence of 9, 172 joules/cm2 in a continuous mode at a distance of 2 cm. The short-term patency rate, measured at 2 hours after completion of the anastomosis, was 100% in both groups. The time required to perform the LAVA in group I was significantly shorter than group II (6.27 ± 0.47 vs 11.6 ± 0.67 min, p < 0.05). The mean anastomotic bursting pressure in group I was significantly lower compared to group II (348 ± 8 vs 402 ± 9 mmHg, p < 0.05). Histologic evaluation of all vessels showed moderate thermal injury of the adventitia and media in the laser group. Scanning electron microscopy exhibited a smooth anastomotic area in group I, whereas endothelial and perianastomotic changes with multiple needle craters occurred in group II (conventional anastomosis). Based on the results of this study, we conclude that a low powered CO2 laser can be used to safely perform an IMA to LAD artery anastomosis, thus providing an alternative to conventional techniques because of its rapidity and minimization of anastomotic changes.
New center of diversity

Abstract MEMS @ MIT is a newly created center that is intended to bring together a diverse group of microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Fig. 1 Download : Download high-res image (221KB) Download : Download full-size image Fig. 1 . MIT’s Killian Court, designed by architect William Welles Bosworth, showing the Great Dome under which runs the famous ‘Infinite Corridor’. and to provide an industrial interface to organizations that seek to interact with the center. The MIT MEMS research program has been in existence for more than 20 years and has seen a steady growth in the number of researchers and faculty. Today, there are more than 20 faculty doing MEMS research at MIT, with approximately 120 students and staff who come from seven different academic departments. The annual contract research volume of this group is well in excess of $12 million. In creating this center, the faculty are recognizing the substantial value that arises from the coordination of activities, as well as the benefits of focused interactions with organizations that seek to commercialize the research.
Salinity Tolerance of Daphnia magna and Potential Use for Estuarine Sediment Toxicity Tests

Daphnia magna Straus, a common organism used for freshwater sediment toxicity tests, was evaluated to determine its tolerance to salinity and suitability for tests with estuarine water and sediments. Daphnids were exposed for 2 to 21 days to salinity in a variety of water-only tests, in tests with freshwater sediment overlain by salt water, and in tests with estuarine sediments overlain by freshwater. Daphnid age, test length, and temperature seemed to have little effect upon the range of LC50, NOAEL, and LOAEL values. LC50s for all tests ranged from 5.10 to 7.81 g/L, with a mean of 6.6 g/L salinity (measured conductivity 10.0 mS/m). The mean NOAEL and LOAEL values based on production of young were 4.6 and 6.9 g/L salinity (measured conductivity 7.1 and 10.5 mS/m), respectively. The results indicate that D. magna will survive and reproduce well in water with salinities below 4 g/L and demonstrate the potential usefulness of this organism in monitoring sediment toxicity from both freshwater and estuarine wetland sites.
Mutarotation studies of poly‐L‐proline using FTIR, electronic and vibrational circular dichroism

FTIR, electronic and vibrational circular dichroism (ECD and VCD) are used to follow the mutarotation of poly-L-proline I (PLP I) to poly-L-proline II (PLP II) in D2O solution. While this process is well known, these studies elucidate the nature of the characteristic spectra of each form in an aqueous environment, which can be useful for qualitative structural diagnoses of proteins and peptides using these spectroscopic techniques. Further, our data demonstrate the presence of an intermediate in the transformation, at least in highly concentrated aqueous solution, which is characterized by an absorption band growing in at 1653 cm−1 and then decaying away as the transformation proceeds. Based on correlations to FTIR and VCD studies on L-proline and D,L alternate proline oligopeptides previously carried out in our laboratories, this intermediate structure can be assigned to there being a distribution of cis-trans linkages in the polymer. This contrasts with the cooperative conformational transition from PLP I to PLP II, proceeding sequentially from end to end, that has been proposed for this mutarotation in previous studies, primarily in different environments. Our results are consistent with early interpretations of hydrodynamic data. Related studies of collagen and poly-L-hydroxyproline indicate that both yield VCD spectra similar in shape to that of PLP II, as expected, and demonstrate that intra-chain, near neighbor interactions dominate the VCD. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
The fermi surface of CeSn3 and LaSn3

Abstract It is shown that a band theory description of the electronic structure is able to represent well the Fermi surface topology of LaSn 3 and mixed valent CeSn 3 .
Integrating Big Questions with Real-World Applications: Gradual Redesign in Philosophy and Art History.

Two humanities professors shift from the rut of readings, memorization, and papers to having students ask personalized questions and make concepts relevant outside the classroom.
BCR sequences essential for transformation by the BCR-ABL oncogene bind to the ABL SH2 regulatory domain in a non-phosphotyrosine-dependent manner

BCR-ABL is a chimeric oncogene implicated in the pathogenesis of Philadelphia chromosome-positive human leukemias. BCR first exon sequences specifically activate the tyrosine kinase and transforming potential of BCR-ABL. We have tested the hypothesis that activation of BCR-ABL may involve direct interaction between BCR sequences and the tyrosine kinase regulatory domains of ABL. Full-length c-BCR as well as BCR sequences retained in BCR-ABL bind specifically to the SH2 domain of ABL. The binding domain has been localized within the first exon of BCR and consists of at least two SH2-binding sites. This domain is essential for BCR-ABL-mediated transformation. Phosphoserine/phosphothreonine but not phosphotyrosine residues on BCR are required for interaction with the ABL SH2 domain. These findings extend the range of potential SH2-protein interactions in growth control pathways and suggest a function for SH2 domains in the activation of the BCR-ABL oncogene as well as a role for BCR in cellular signaling pathways.