cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Zonulin measurement conundrum: add confusion to confusion does not lead to clarity.

I read with great interest the commentary by Massier et al 1 to the paper published in GUT by Talley et al 2 on their report suggesting that zonulin is not a good gut permeability biomarker for irritable bowel disease, functional dyspepsia and non-coeliac gluten sensitivity. While I appreciate the authors’ effort in making the point of the poor reliability of the commercially available ELISA in measuring zonulin, I think that some issues need to be clarified to avoid misleading the readership and, therefore, add more confusion to a field that would strongly benefit from greater clarity on this topic. Having been responsible for the discovery of zonulin and for the development of the first ‘in house’ ELISA for measuring zonulin, I think I am well positioned to provide the following clarifying points Since our discovery in 2000, …
Assessment and Treatment of Recurrent Venous Thoracic Outlet Syndrome

Patients that have undergone treatment for venous TOS generally have excellent clinical outcomes, but a proportion of individuals may present with persistent, progressive, or recurrent upper extremity symptoms. The purpose of this chapter is to outline the spectrum of conditions that should be considered in evaluation of such patients and a systematic approach to classify and address these problems. It can be expected that with comprehensive evaluation and appropriate treatment, the majority of patients with persistent or recurrent venous TOS can experience decreased symptoms and restoration of normal upper extremity function. Evaluation of the deficiencies found during reoperations for venous TOS is informative with regard to the optimal approaches to be taken during primary operation for this condition.
Differences in Factors Contributing to Child Undernutrition between Pastoral and Agro-pastoral Communities in Ethiopia

This cross-sectional study compared factors associated with childhood undernutrition in a pastoral community (PC) and an agro-pastoral community (APC) in Ethiopia. Results showed that APC had lower...
Genomic and Transcriptomic Correlates of Thyroid Carcinoma Evolution after BRAF Inhibitor Therapy.

Targeted inhibition of BRAF V600E achieves tumor control in a subset of advanced thyroid tumors. Nearly all tumors develop resistance, and some have been observed to subsequently undergo dedifferentiation. The molecular alterations associated with thyroid cancer dedifferentiation in the setting of BRAF inhibition are unknown. We analyzed targeted next-generation sequencing data from 639 advanced, recurrent and/or metastatic thyroid carcinomas, including 15 tumors that were treated with BRAF inhibitor drugs and had tissue sampled during or post treatment, 8 of which had matched pre-therapy samples. Pre- and post-therapy tissues from one additional patient were profiled with whole exome sequencing and RNA expression profiling. Mutations in genes comprising the SWI/SNF chromatin remodeling complex and the PI3K/AKT/mTOR, MAPK, and JAK/STAT pathways all increased in prevalence across more dedifferentiated thyroid cancer histologies. Of 7 thyroid cancers that dedifferentiated after BRAF inhibition, 6 had mutations in these pathways. These mutations were mostly absent from matched pre-treatment samples and were rarely detected in tumors that did not dedifferentiate. Additional analyses in one of the vemurafenib-treated tumors before and after anaplastic transformation revealed the emergence of an oncogenic PIK3CA mutation, activation of ERK signaling, dedifferentiation, and development of an immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment. These findings validate earlier preclinical data implicating these genetic pathways in resistance to BRAF inhibitors, and suggest that genetic alterations mediating acquired drug resistance may also promote thyroid tumor dedifferentiation. Implications: The possibility that thyroid cancer dedifferentiation may be attributed to selective pressure applied by BRAF inhibitor targeted therapy should be investigated further.
Graduating Students' and Surgery Program Directors' Views of the Association of American Medical Colleges Core Entrustable Professional Activities for Entering Residency: Where are the Gaps?

Objective Residency program directors have increasingly expressed concern about the preparedness of some medical school graduates for residency training. The Association of American Medical Colleges recently defined 13 core entrustable professional activities (EPAs) for entering residency that residents should be able to perform without direct supervision on the first day of training. It is not known how students’ perception of their competency with these activities compares with that of surgery program directors’. Design Cross-sectional survey. Setting All surgery training programs in the United States. Participants All program directors (PDs) in the Association of Program Directors in Surgery (APDS) database (n = 222) were invited to participate in an electronic survey, and 119 complete responses were received (53.6%). Among the respondents, 83% were men and 35.2% represented community hospital programs. PDs’ responses were compared with questions asking students to rate their confidence in performance of each EPA from the Association of American Medical Colleges Graduation Questionnaire (95% response). Results PDs rated their confidence in residents’ performance without direct supervision for every EPA significantly lower when compared with the rating by graduating students. Although PDs’ ratings continued to be lower than students’ ratings, PDs from academic programs (those associated with a medical school) gave higher ratings than those from community programs. PDs generally ranked all 13 EPAs as important to being a trustworthy physician. PDs from programs without preliminary residents gave higher ratings for confidence with EPA performance as compared with PDs with preliminary residents. Among PDs with preliminary residents, there were equal numbers of those who agreed and those who disagreed that there are no identifiable differences between categorical and preliminary residents (42.7% and 41.8%, respectively). Conclusions A large gap exists between confidence in performance of the 13 core EPAs for entering residency without direct supervision for graduating medical students and surgery program directors. Both the groups identified several key areas for improvement that may be addressed by medical school curricular interventions or expanding surgical boot camps in hopes to improve resident performance and patient safety.
A systematic approach for providing end-to-end probabilistic QoS guarantees

We propose a probabilistic characterization of network traffic. This characterization can handle traffic with heavy-tailed distributions in performance analysis. We show that queue size, output traffic, virtual delay, aggregate traffic, etc. at various points in a network can easily be characterized within the framework. This characterization is measurable and allows for a simple probabilistic method for regulating network traffic. All of these properties of the proposed characterization enable a systematic approach for providing end-to-end probabilistic QoS guarantees
Metal cluster catalysis

Abstract The iron cluster, [(n5-C5H5)Fe(μ3-CO)]4, 1, catalyzes the selective hydrogenation of alkynes to alkenes at 100–130° and 100–1000 psig and the selective reduction of terminal alkynes to olefins in the presence of alkenes or internal alkynes. Internal alkynes are slowly reduced to cis olefins, aryl nitro groups to aniline derivatives, and terminal activated carbon-carbon double bonds (methyl acrylate, acrylonitrile) are hydrogenated. The cluster concentration, monitored by high pressure liquid chromatography, was unchanged after 1148 and 1410 turnovers. Cluster 1 was isolated in 95–97% yields after catalytic reduction (1000 turnovers) and no other iron-containing species were detected. After 280 turnovers, the catalyst solution was filtered through an ultrafiltration membrane into a second vessel where hydrogenation of 1-pentyne continued. Fragmentation of 1 tc
Metabolism of paraldehyde to acetaldehyde in liver microsomes. Evidence for the involvement of cytochrome P-450.

A concentration-dependent acetaldehyde (AcH) generation was observed when paraldehyde was incubated with the mouse liver microsomal fraction. The process, which exhibited a requirement for oxygen and NADPH and was inhibited by carbon monoxide, was found to have a Km of 17.9mM with respect to paraldehyde and a Vmax of 40.1 nmoles/mg protein/min with respect to AcH formation. NADH was much less effective as an electron donor than NADPH, though a more than additive increase in AcH generation was observed when both of these nucleotides were added to the incubation. The rate of microsomal AcH generation from paraldehyde was increased 2.5-fold by pretreatment of the mice with phenobarbital but only 0.6-fold by pretreatment with 3-methylcholanthrene. Pretreatment with 2-diethylaminoethyl-2, 2-diphenylvalerate hydrochloride (SKF-525A) resulted in 54% inhibition of the reaction rate. Addition of metopirone to the incubation inhibited AcH generation in a concentration-related fashion, the inhibition being greatest, proportionately, in microsomes from phenobarbital-pretreated animals. The above results conclusively indicate the involvement of cytochrome P-540 mixed function oxidase in the formation of AcH from paraldehyde by mouse liver microsomes. It is also postulated that this process may be accomplished in the reaction analogous to O-dealkylation.
Improving the Throughput of Remote Storage Access through Pipelining

Data intensive applications constitute a large and increasing share of Grid computing. However there are relatively few results on how to improve the efficiency of the basic data transfer mechanisms used to move large data set in and out of Grid nodes. In this paper we describe a simple and general technique to improve the throughput of data transfer protocols and we demonstrate it on the SDSC Storage Resource Broker (SRB), a remote storage access middleware for supercomputer applications. We achieve a maximum performance improvement of 43%/52% for remote reads/writes larger than 1MB with a few changes to the original SRB protocol. The protocol was restructured by introducing a notion of pipelining that enables the overlapping of the various stages of the data processing, such as network transfer and disk access. We present a detailed analysis of the pipelined SRB implementation and of the pipeline cost model we used to drive our design.
Use of pan evaporation to estimate terrestrial evaporation trends: The case of the Tibetan Plateau

[1] There is still no general agreement on the relationship between the evaporation of open water from a small pan and the terrestrial evaporation from the surrounding landscape under drying conditions. A possible way out of this impasse is reviewed and applied to the harsh and extreme climatic conditions of the Tibetan Plateau. It is confirmed herein that during 1966–2000 with a pan evaporation trend of −4.57 mm a−2, the terrestrial evaporation trend was +0.7 mm a−2, in agreement with the experimental findings of Zhang et al. (2007).
A space-time model of resource allocation of a multimedia network

The purpose of this paper is to study optimal resource allocation and capacity as a function of user-specific delay-cost in a dynamic multimedia network, where different users may have different time-varying data rates. In a framework with user-specific delay-costs the average performance of a packet-switched network is better than that of a circuit-switched network.
Fluid-induced frequency shift in a piezoelectric plate driven by lateral electric fields

We study thickness-shear vibration of a piezoelectric crystal plate whose one surface is in contact with a viscous fluid layer of finite thickness. The crystal plate is driven by a lat eral electric field. The theory of piezoelectricity and the t heory of Newtonian fluids are used. Both free and forced vibration sol utions are obtained. An approximate expression for the frequency shift in the crystal plate due to the presence of the fluid is pr esented. The admittance of the structure is also calculated . The results are useful for acoustic wave fluid sensors.
Seeing through thick and through thin: Retinal manifestations of thrombophilic and hyperviscosity syndromes

The presence of retinal vasculopathy in the absence of typical predisposing factors should suggest a possible underlying hematologic abnormality. In such cases, a systemic investigation may reveal a potentially fatal hypercoagulability or hyperviscosity syndrome. Retinal vein occlusion is the most commonly encountered ophthalmic finding in such syndromes; however, abnormalities of the arterial system, the choroid, and the macula are also possible. Visual symptoms may be the only manifestation of the underlying process, making timely diagnosis by the ophthalmologist critical for both treatment and thrombotic prophylaxis. Moreover, as newer ophthalmic diagnostic technologies arise, there is an increasingly important role for eye physicians in the management of such syndromes.
Model-based control of a direct drive arm. II. Control

For pt.I see ibid., p.1374-9 (1988). Work on model-based control with the MIT Serial Link Direct Drive Arm is described. It is shown that model-based control leads to performance superior to control not based on carefully constructed models. Trajectory control, trajectory learning, and force control are treated. A new type of trajectory learning is considered in which a robot fine-tunes one particular trajectory through repetition. Various experiments with the direct drive arm are reported to validate the importance of model-based control. >
Design Concepts for Dynamics of Soil-Structure Interaction

The principal effects of soil-structure interaction on the dynamic response of ground-excited systems are identified, and information and concepts are presented with which these effects may be provided for rationally and cost-effectively in design. Both kinematic and inertial actions are examined. The concepts involved are developed by reference to relatively simple structures, but their application to more involved systems is also highlighted. In addition, a brief account is given of the application of some of these concepts in the formulation of appropriate seismic design provisions for building structures.
Optimal parallel I/O using replication

There has been a lot of interest in declustering spatial data for efficient parallel I/O. Declustering is used to distribute blocks of data among multiple devices, thus enabling parallel I/O access and reducing query response times. A strictly optimal declustering, or disk allocation, technique is the one that achieves optimal performance for all possible queries. We propose to use replication to reach optimal parallel I/O in multidisk/processor architectures. Replication is a well-known and effective solution for several problems in a database context, especially for availability and load balancing problems. Intelligent replication is considered. We especially focus on allocations based on latin squares and derive several nice properties for replication and declustering purposes. Three different replication strategies are proposed and evaluated. Using the proposed schemes, strict optimality is reached, even with a single replication, for all possible range queries and for several number of disks. We first show this for m-by-m grid on m disks, and then generalize it to any arbitrary a-by-b grids. We also show how to efficiently find optimal disk accesses for a given arbitrary query by storing minimal information.
Obligation, Responsibility, and Alternate Possibilities

Harry Frankfurt is well-known for his argument, in [1], against the Principle of Alternate Possibilities: "(PAP) A person is morally responsible for what he has done only if he could have done otherwise." In [2], pp. 95-96, he argues that the rejection of (PAP) does not require rejection of the Kantian principle that 'ought' implies 'can': "(K) An agent S has a moral obligation to perform [not to perform] an act A only if it is within S's power to perform [not to perform] A."
Effects of blood transfusions given after renal transplantation

Background. Human leukocyte antigen (HLA) antibodies produced after transplantation are frequently measured in transplant recipients, because they are strongly associated with humoral rejection and graft loss. However, antibodies can be induced by posttransplant blood transfusions rather than by the graft, casting doubts about the possible role of antibodies in a patient with graft dysfunction. Methods. We recorded the posttransplant transfusions in 746 patients transplanted during a 6-year period. Rejection episodes were evaluated after exclusion of patients who were transfused proximate to the time of rejection. Specimens for solid-phase HLA antibody testing were available in 199 patients. Results. The frequency of transfusions was 45%, but it was higher in deceased donor transplants (51%) than in live donor transplants (30%). Almost 80% of the transfusions were given during the first month after transplant. However, the incidence of posttransplant antibodies was similar in patients transfused and not transfused, and only 1 of 12 patients who received more than 10 transfusions produced antibodies. There was no evidence that posttransplant antibodies not directed to donor antigens were triggered by transfusions. The incidence of rejection episodes, allograft nephropathy, and graft loss was slightly more in transfused patients but the differences were not statistically significant. Conclusions. When HLA antibodies are detected posttransplant, they are likely induced by the graft rather than by any transfusions the patient may have received. The results suggest that posttransplant transfusions do not have the sensitizing or down-regulatory effects of pretransplant transfusions.
Controlled smoking: Development and maintenance

Abstract This study investigated the development and maintenance of controlled smoking (smoking at or below a target rate set by the individual smoker). Two procedures, Programmed Delay and Contingency Contracting, were compared with 16 smokers. Each group served as its own control using a multiple baseline design across subjects. Contingency contracting resulted in less attrition and the more frequent development and maintenance of controlled smoking. Subjects reported using the treatment procedures only occasionally during follow-up. Considerations for further research into controlled smoking are discussed.
Maybe Wilson Was Right: Espoused Values and Their Relationship to Enacted Values

Abstract Public administration scholars have little understanding of the operation of values within public sector organizations. Because the institutional values literature suggests that behavior consistent with American values by public organizations and officials can make a difference in successful policy outcomes, this research focuses on identifying the espoused and enacted value perspectives for two sets of U. S. government officials, presidents and senior executives. Through a content analysis of agency mission statements and speeches of Presidents Bush, Clinton and Bush, a subject matter analysis of executive orders, and a survey of senior executives, the following information is identified: The three presidents espouse the same set of values (i.e., ethics, performance, and support) in their speeches, but enact only one common value (i.e., commitment) in their executive orders. Although not statistically significant, two (i.e., performance and ethics) of the three top values in the agency mission s...
Anaerobic induced ethanol synthesis in the stems of greenhouse-grown conifer seedlings

Ethanol synthesis was induced in stem segments from greenhouse-grown conifer seedlings by placing them in a N2 atmosphere at 30 °C for 24 h. Stems from ponderosa pine,Pinus ponderosa Dougl. ex Laws., sugar pine,Pinus lambertiana Dougl., Pacific silver fir,Abies amabalis Dougl. ex Forbes, and lodgepole pine,Pinus contorta Dougl. ex Loud, produced the highest quantities of ethanol. This group also had the smallest and slowest growing stems. Within each of these species the amount of ethanol produced was inversely related to the stem volume. Stems from western hemlock,Tsuga heterophylla (Raf.) Sarg., grand fir, Abies grandis Dougl. ex Forbes, Douglas-fir,Pseudotsuga menziesii (Mirb.) Franco, and western redcedar,Thuja plicata Donn ex D. Don, all produced equivalent but low ethanol concentrations. These species had the largest and fastest growing stems. In this group only grand fir exhibited an inverse relationship between ethanol concentrations and stem volume. The relative amounts of ethanol synthesized by stems from Douglas-fir, western hemlock and western redcedar seedlings were not the same as subsequently observed in logs from mature trees of the same species under field conditions. Differences in the anaerobic environments for the two stem types could have affected the quantities of ethanol produced. The observed high amounts of ethanol produced by the stems from pine species were discussed in terms of their ability to handle periods of anaerobic stress or hypoxia.
Heavy metals in Franklin's gull tissues: Age and tissue differences

We examined the concentrations of lead, cadmium, chromium, mercury, manganese, and selenium in feathers, liver, kidney, heart, brain, and breast muscle of Franklin's gulls (Larus pipixcan) nesting in northwestern Minnesota, USA, in 1994. Between 16% (chromium) and 71% (selenium, manganese) of the variation in metal concentrations was explained by tissue and age, except for selenium and arsenic, which were only explained by tissue. Of 35 possible differences (seven metals in five tissues), 24 significant age-related differences were found in Franklin's gulls, with young generally having lower concentrations of metals in all of their tissues than adults. A notable exception was the liver; young had significantly higher concentrations of selenium, chromium, manganese, and arsenic than did adults. Three notable findings were the following: young had significantly higher concentrations of selenium, chromium, manganese, and arsenic in their liver than did adults; young had 30 times as much chromium in the liver than adults; and adults had greatly elevated concentrations of cadmium in feathers, kidney, and liver.
Studies on the properties of the metabolic products of the screw-worm, Callitroga hominivorax (Coquerel).

Summary Metabolic products of growing screw-worms ( Callitroga hominivorax ) were collected in the form of filter-sterilized exudate from the lesions of guinea pigs infested with screw-worms, and as the liquefied portions of an in vitro medium consisting of fresh guinea pig muscle and blood in which larvae had been cultivated under axenic conditions. These products, when injected intraperitoneally into guinea pigs and mice, produced severe anaphylactoid reactions and sometimes death. They also contained a spreading factor and produced marked erythematous thickening of the skin with proliferation of fibrous tissue when injected intracutaneously. In vitro they exhibited proteolytic, hemolytic, and anticoagulating properties. The possible sources and identities of the active substances are discussed.
Generation and Characterization of Phage‐GnRH Chemical Conjugates for Potential Use in Cat and Dog Immunocontraception

Overpopulation of cats and dogs is a serious worldwide problem that demands novel, safe and cost-effective solutions. The objective of this study was to generate and characterize phage-peptide conjugates with gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) for potential use as an immunocontraceptive. A filamentous phage vector f5-8 with wild-type phage coat proteins was used as a carrier for construction of chemical conjugates with GnRH, a peptide that acts as a master reproductive hormone. In such conjugates, the phage body plays the role of a carrier protein, while multiple copies of GnRH peptide stimulate production of neutralizing anti-GnRH antibodies potentially leading to contraceptive effects. To generate the constructs, four different GnRH-based peptides were synthesized and conjugated to phage particles in a two-step procedure: (i) peptides were reacted with phage to form a conjugate using 1-ethyl-3-[3-dimethylaminopropyl]carbodiimide hydrochloride chemistry (EDC) and (ii) the conjugates were separated from remaining free peptides by dialysis. Formation and specificity of phage-GnRH conjugates were confirmed by three independent methods: spectrophotometry, electron microscopy and ELISA. When the conjugates were tested for interaction with sera collected from cats and dogs immunized with GnRH-based vaccines in independent studies, strong specific ELISA signals were obtained, suggesting the potential use of the conjugates for cat and dog immunosterilization. The ability of the conjugates to stimulate production of anti-GnRH antibodies in vivo was evaluated in mice. While optimization of dose, immunization route and adjuvant still requires investigation, our preliminary results demonstrated the presence of anti-GnRH antibodies in sera of mice immunized with such conjugates. Fertility trials in cats and dogs will be needed to evaluate contraceptive potentials of the phage-GnRH peptide chemical conjugates.
Channel piracy on the lower Bengal Fan

Differences in morphology between the most recently active valley and older valleys suggest that channel piracy occurred on the lower Bengal Fan. Cutoff of two older valleys took place in the late Wisconsinan fan lobe between Sri Lanka and the 85°E Ridge at about 5°N and 83°E.
Alcohol-induced structural transformations of surfactant aggregates

Alcohol-induced structural transformations of cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) aggregates adsorbed on mica have been investigated using atomic force microscopy (AFM). A series of alcohols of different chain lengths was used to study the effect on surface aggregate structure. In CTAB solutions of fixed concentration, increasing amounts of alcohol spread the lateral spacing of the CTAB cylinders adsorbed on mica. At high alcohol concentrations, relative to the alcohol chain length, the surface aggregates changed from a cylindrical to a spherical structure. This structural transformation is explained by hydrophobic interactions between the alcohol and surfactant micelle.
EventStream: integrated transit information system

EventStream was designed to help out-of-town attendees of seminars or conferences use public transportation (PT) to travel to and from these meetings. Since the dominant business travel mode is the personal vehicle [2], this would help reduce habitual and inefficient travel in Single Occupant Vehicles. Using recommendations from studies on travel mode choice [4], we designed EventStream to offer customized transit information for this target group. We deliver this information via email, our website, to an iPod, or through Short Message Service (SMS) to a cell phone. Our user studies indicated a willingness to attempt PT use in an unfamiliar town when provided information that supports informed choices.
Adjuvant-dependent cytokine profiles in the context of a DNA prime-protein boost HIV-1 vaccine

Background Heterologous prime-boost vaccinations have emerged as a promising strategy to generate protective immunity against a variety of pathogens. Our previous clinical work has demonstrated that an HIV-1 gp120 DNA prime-protein boost vaccine, DP6-001, elicits enhanced neutralizing antibody responses as well as cell-mediated immune responses in humans. However, the roles of adjuvants remain largely unknown in the context of such combination vaccines.
Anisotropic hardening and non-associated flow in proportional loading of sheet metals

Abstract Conventional isotropic hardening models constrain the shape of the yield function to remain fixed throughout plastic deformation. However, experiments show that hardening is only approximately isotropic under conditions of proportional loading, giving rise to systematic errors in calculation of stresses based on models that impose the constraint. Five different material data for aluminum and stainless steel alloys are used to calibrate and evaluate five material models, ranging in complexity from a von Mises’ model based on isotropic hardening to a non- associated flow rule (AFR) model based on anisotropic hardening. A new model is described in which four stress–strain functions are explicitly integrated into the yield criterion in closed form definition of the yield condition. The model is based on a non-AFR so that this integration does not affect the accuracy of the plastic strain components defined by the gradient of a separate plastic potential function. The model not only enables the elimination of systematic errors for loading along the four loading conditions, but also leads to a significant reduction of systematic errors in other loading conditions to no higher than 1.5% of the magnitude of the predicted stresses, far less that errors obtained under isotropic hardening, and at a level comparable to experimental uncertainty in the stress measurement. The model is expected to lead to a significant improvement in stress prediction under conditions dominated by proportional loading, and this is expected to directly improve the accuracy of springback, tearing, and earing predictions for these processes. In addition, it is shown that there is no consequence on MK necking localization due to the saturation of the yield surface in pure shear that occurs with the aluminum alloys using the present model.
The QT Interval in Aborted Sudden Infant Death Syndrome Infants

Summary: The QT interval was measured in 12 normal and 7 aborted sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) infants in rapid eye movement (REM) and quiet sleep at monthly intervals through the age of 4 months. An accuracy of better than 2 msec was assured by high resolution of the digitized signal and calibration of each QT measurement with an accurately generated time code. In contrast to current speculations, the QT index was significantly smaller in the infants with aborted SIDS than in the normal infants in both REM and quiet sleep (P < 0.05). In addition, as in normal infants, the QTC was smaller in REM than in quiet sleep (P < 0.01). Although these results offer no support for the hypothesis that SIDS results from prolongation of the QT interval, they suggest that aborted SIDS infants have a functional abnormality in the autonomic nervous system. Speculation: We suggest that 1) the shortening of the QT interval in the aborted SIDS infants results from a uniform increase in the sympathetic outflow to the cardiac ventricles or an increase in circulating levels of catecholamines; and 2) an imbalance between the left and the right sympathetic outflow to the ventricles of aborted SIDS infants, as has been previously hypothesized, is not likely since the QTc was not larger in REM sleep, a sleep state in which an increase in sympathetic activity occurs.
An acoustical and physiological analysis of buzzing in cicada killer wasps (Sphecius speciosus )

Cicada killers (Sphecius speciosus) are large solitary wasps capable of producing a high-amplitude buzzing sound. The buzz was acoustically characterized and its thermal and energetic effects examined. The sound was amplitude modulated, variable in frequency, had many harmonics, and was sometimes interrupted by broad-band buzz pulses. Cicada killer body size was directly related to sound pressure level and inversely related to frequency. Buzzing in males was 70 ± 0.8(21) dB (re 20 μPa measured 3 cm from the dorsum of the thorax) in sound pressure amplitude, with a fundamental frequency of 209 ± 6(20) Hz, while in females buzzes were 72.6 ± 8.3(30) dB and 152.5 ± 5.2(29) Hz. Males, the smaller of the sexes, had buzzes of significantly lower amplitude and higher frequency. Metabolic rate was 0.293 ± 0.024(13) W g−1, or 88% of maximal, during buzzing, and was 5–100 times more costly than file-and-scraper stridulation. Thorax temperature climbed rapidly during sound production and peaked at levels that were nearly optimal for flight. Buzzing may play a role in both interspecific and intraspecific defensive interations.
Primary structure of the human follistatin precursor and its genomic organization

Follistatin is a single-chain gonadal protein that specifically inhibits follicle-stimulating hormone release. By use of the recently characterized porcine follistatin cDNA as a probe to screen a human testis cDNA library and a genomic library, the structure of the complete human follistatin precursor as well as its genomic organization have been determined. Three of eight cDNA clones that were sequenced predicted a precursor with 344 amino acids, whereas the remaining five cDNA clones encoded a 317 amino acid precursor, resulting from alternative splicing of the precursor mRNA. Mature follistatins contain four contiguous domains that are encoded by precisely separated exons; three of the domains are highly similar to each other, as well as to human epidermal growth factor and human pancreatic secretory trypsin inhibitor. The genomic organization of the human follistatin is similar to that of the human epidermal growth factor gene and thus supports the notion of exon shuffling during evolution.
Cytochrome P450 metabolites of arachidonic acid: rapid incorporation and hydration of 14,15-epoxyeicosatrienoic acid in arterial smooth muscle cells

Arachidonic acid is converted to epoxyeicosatrienoic acids (EETs) by cytochrome P450 monooxygenases. EETs produce arterial vasodilatation, and recent evidence suggests that they are endothelium-derived hyperpolarizing factors. In porcine coronary arteries contracted with a thromboxane mimetic agent, we find that relaxation is rapidly initiated by exposure to 14,15-EET. The relaxation slowly increases in magnitude, resulting in a response which is sustained for more than 10 min. Cultured porcine aortic smooth muscle cells rapidly take up [3H]14,15-EET. After 3 min, radioactivity is present in neutral lipids, phosphatidylcholine, and phosphatidylinositol. The cells also convert 14,15-EET to 14,15-dihydroxyeicosatrienoic acid (14,15-DHET), and some DHET is detected in the medium after only 1 min of incubation. Like 14,15-EET, 14,15-DHET produces relaxation of the contracted coronary artery rings. These findings suggest that the incorporation into phospholipids and conversion to 14,15-DHET can occur at a rate that is fast enough to modulate the vasorelaxation produced by 14,15-EET.
Anomalous transport model in high density regimes of confined plasmas

Abstract Current driven drift modes can contribute appreciably to the thermal energy transport in high temperature toroidal plasmas where magnetic trapping affects significantly the distribution function of the current carrying electrons. The type of scaling laws that can be derived from the inferred anomalous diffusion coefficient, is compared with those obtained from the Alcator experiment in regimes where no known trapped electron mode can be excited.
Automatic Film Reading At The Lincoln Laboratories

Lincoln Laboratory has developed computer' controlled equipment for automatic reading of data recorded on photographic film. Methods for photographic recording of electrical waveforms associated, with experimental radar equipment are described. Two computer controlled film readers are employed to read this data, one with a resolution of about 106 elements over a one-inch by one-inch square of data. Some factors pertinent to the desi and operation of computer controlled film readers are discussed,.
Energy-Saving Method Analysis in Plastic Products Industry

Kinds of plastic injection molding machines were widely used in plastic products industry. The electric energy consumption of injection molding machine was an important part of the production cost of plastic products. Injection molding machines main energy saving methods such as the variable frequency speed regulation and electromagnetic heating were analyzed. The various methods of energy saving effect were evaluated through actual measurements, The advantages and disadvantages of various energy saving mode were also pointed out. The energy saving space and benefit in this industry was analyzed from the view of technology economy.
Further studies of gaseous ion action on trachea.

The trachea of the living rabbit was observed during exposure to un-ionized and ionized N2, O2, and CO2 using a separate airway for respiration. Positively charged CO/sub 2/ was found to be responsible for reduction of ciliary activity, contracture of smooth muscle, ischemia, and enhanced vulnerability to trauma.
Correlation Between Nitrate Contamination and Ground Water Pollution Potential

AQUIPRO, a PC-based method, was used to assess aquifer vulnerability using digital water well logs. The AQUIPRO model is a parameter/factor weighting system for rating the pollution potential of an aquifer. This method uses the well depth, as well as the clay and partial clay thickness in a well, to generate pollution potential scores. In this model, aquifer protection increases as the AQUIPRO vulnerability scores increase and ground water pollution potential decreases. Computerized water well records of 2435 domestic wells with partial chemistry data were used to determine the ground water pollution potential of Kalamazoo County, Michigan. Theoretically, low AQUIPRO pollution potential scores should have more frequent occurrences of ground water contamination events than areas with high AQUIPRO scores with similar land-use, well construction, and well densities. The relative AQUIPRO scores were compared with the frequency of occurrences of nitrate-N in ground water wells. The average nitrate-N concentrations within each relative AQUIPRO vulnerability scores category were also compared. The results indicate that domestic wells containing 5 mg/L or more nitrate-N showed a positive correlation between the frequency of occurrences of nitrate-N and relative decrease of AQUIPRO (r2 = 0.99) vulnerability scores. In other words, as the ground water pollution potential increases, the occurrence frequency of nitrate-N also increases. Furthermore, the results show that as the relative AQUIPRO (r2 = 0.96) vulnerability scores decrease, the mean nitrate-N concentrations also increase.
Growing Pains: Challenges for a Rising China

ELIZABETH J. PERRY, a Fellow of the American Academy since 2002, is the Henry Rosovsky Professor of Government at Harvard University and Director of the Harvard-Yenching Institute. Her many books in clude Shanghai on Strike: The Politics of Chinese Labor (1993), Patrolling the Revolution: Worker Militias, Citizenship, and the Modern Chinese State (2005), and Anyuan: Mining China’s Revolutionary Tradition (2012). The accumulative achievements of China’s ongoing socioeconomic reforms are by most measures little short of astounding. From one of the globe’s poorest countries at the time of Mao Zedong’s death in 1976, the People’s Republic of China (prc) has become a booming economy–second biggest in the world– thanks to a swift rise that has rescued hundreds of millions of its people from poverty and afforded the government enviable resources for further development. Yet while one may marvel at the speed and success of the so-called China miracle, neither the Chinese people nor their leaders seem at ease with the current situation. Rampant grassroots protest bespeaks intense popular indignation at everything from land grabs to environmental pollution, while top of1⁄2cials themselves rail against the corroding effects of cadre corruption and income inequality. To evaluate the challenges facing China after thirty1⁄2ve years of reform is a dif1⁄2cult task, and not only because of the apparent disconnect between objective gains and subjective gripes. For one thing, the head-spinning pace of change threatens to render any academic assessment quickly obsolete. For another, the prc’s post-Mao record of achievement is in fact decidedly uneven across geographic re gions, social strata, and policy sectors. While major cities boast gleaming new infrastructure and attendant urban amenities that equal or surpass those of the advanced industrial world, much of the rural interior remains mired in grinding poverty. The af fluence of new urban middle and upper classes, flush
Social Institutions, Theory Development, and the Promise of Comparative Criminological Research

This paper highlights the ways in which recent comparative criminological research has begun to advance theory development by directing systematic attention to the role of institutional structure. The overarching thesis is that sensitivity to the institutional context in recent criminological studies, especially those conducted in Asia, has paved the way for the productive elaboration of two highly influential theories: Routine Activities Theory and the General Theory of Crime (or self-control theory). Such theoretical elaboration promises to enhance the explanatory power of these theories by placing individual behavior in a multilevel, institutional context. The paper also outlines a transformed variant of self-control theory that posits two distinctive forms of self-control, which are likely to have differential impacts on criminal offending depending on features of the institutional structure of societies.
Measurement of Reading for Problem Solving: A Critical Review of the Literature

Reading rate and comprehension have enjoyed the attention of test makers almost since the inception of objective measurement. Few areas have been favored with so many tests or with so many research investigations employing tests. A great number of these studies were concerned with the basic nature of the reading process and with improvements in the measurement of reading ability. However, the majority of the research leading to the development of reading tests has been primarily concerned with the measurement of level of read ing ability in terms of the ability to grasp and retain facts contained within a relatively short paragraph. There is a dearth of creative re search designed to construct devices for the measurement of reading as a tool for the understanding of relationships or for the solution of problems. When attention is focused upon reading as a tool to be used in the solution of problems, several closely related questions present them selves. First, we must know whether reading in one content field (science, the social studies, literature, etc. ) is likely to be a differ ent task and one which requires different or more highly differenti ated skills and abilities than reading in another content field. Any problem quite obviously has its locus and requires certain kinds of materials for basic data to be used in reaching a solution. The ques tion then is whether the reading job is different when the problem is located in different content areas? A second question is whether the reader's purpose--that is, what he intends to get from the reading is an important factor in determining his reading speed and compre hension? Different problems require the reader to approach the ma terials with quite diverse purposes in mind. If these purposes influ ence the manner in which he reads, it would seem desirable to con trol or account for the purpose factor in the measurement of the kind of reading employed in problem solving. A third major question in volves the relationships between reading and thinking and between 453
Data Analysis Problems in Single-Case Evaluation: Issues for Research on Social Work Practice

Data analysis problems, particularly involving the likelihood of obtaining visually ambiguous graphs, pose a barrier to efforts to promote increased use of smgle-case evaluation by practitioners. The debate about whether these efforts will eventually achieve sufficient success has thus far paid little attention to the impact of data analysis problems on practitioners' propensity to sustain a commitment to conducting single-case evaluations. This article uses findings from an evaluation of a cognitive-behavioral intervention with adolescent sex offenders to illustrate these data analysis problems and develop issues for research on social work practice and the teaching of single-case evaluation.
Halidohydrolytic conversion of N, N′-BIS-(dichloroacetyl)-N,N′-diethyl-1,4-xylylenediamine in rat liver

Abstract N , N ′-bis-(dichloroacetyl)- N , N ′-diethyl-1,4-xylylenediamine (WIN 13099) was synthesized with tritium on the xylylene carbon which did not exchange with body water. This compound was metabolized by 140,000 g supernatant liquid and the mitochondrial fraction of rat liver. Deproteinized 140,000 g supernatant liquid was required for the mitochondrial activity. Although WIN 13099 effectively inhibits drug metabolism by rat liver microsomes in vitro and in vivo , it is not metabolized by rat liver microsomes in vitro . The major metabolite in vitro of WIN 13099, N -dichloroacetyl- N ′-hydroxyacetyl- N , N ′-diethyl-1,4-xylylenediamine, was isolated and characterized and found not as effective as the parent compound in inhibiting electron transport by sub-mitochondrial particles or drug metabolism by rat liver microsomes.
Thermophilic Streptococci as Starters for Swiss Cheese

Summary Over 350 pairs of Swiss cheese were made at these laboratories, at a Pennsylvania factory and at an Ohio factory, for the purpose of comparing cheese made with L. casei (39a) starter alone with cheese made with both L. casei starter and S. thermophilus starter. The following conclusions were drawn from the experiments: 1.Under most conditions the use of starters containing Streptococcus thermophilus improved the quality of the cheese. 2.The improvement was most marked in eye-formation, texture and flavor. 3.Many of the cheeses made with the S. thermophilus starters showed a tendency toward checking and glass. 4.The cheese made with "raw" or kettle whey starter showed no superiority over the cheese made with pure cultures of S. thermophilus . 5.The use of pure cultures of S. thermophilus avoids the uncertainty inherent in the use of "raw" whey starters. 6.Different strains of S. thermophilus , which had been isolated from Swiss cheese whey, were tried as starters and acted differently in the cheese.
Temperature and source material influence ecological attributes of ponderosa pine and Douglas-fir charcoal

Abstract Charcoal has numerous physical and chemical properties that allow it to influence a variety of ecological processes. The objective of this study was to evaluate how several ecological properties of charcoal vary as a function of formation temperature and the source of woody material from which it is formed in ponderosa pine/Douglas-fir ( Pinus ponderosa/Psuedotsuga menziesii ) ecosystems. We generated charcoal in the laboratory at two temperatures (350 and 800 °C) and from four source materials (bark and wood from mature Douglas-fir and ponderosa pine trees), collected in western Montana. In an incubation experiment, where soils were amended with charcoal and glycine, all charcoal types resulted in higher rates of net ammonification relative to the no-charcoal control, and all charcoal types (except 800 °C ponderosa pine bark) increased net nitrification rates relative to the control. All charcoal types were also effective at sorbing catechin (±), an allelochemical produced by the invasive species Centaurea maculosa ; however, higher temperature charcoals had a higher sorption capacity. High temperature charcoals also demonstrated higher extractable NO 3 − , pH, electrical conductivity, total C content; whereas, soluble and total phenol concentrations, extractable PO 4 3− and NH 4 + , and density were lower in high temperature char relative to low-temperature charcoal. The species (ponderosa pine or Douglas-fir) and material (wood or bark) from which charcoal formed also resulted in variation in several properties; however, this variation was of minor importance relative to differences caused by temperature, and thus is likely a less significant source of variation in natural systems. These data suggest that charring temperature, which may be correlated with fire severity during fire events, is likely the greatest source of variability in these charcoal properties in the ponderosa pine/Douglas-fir ecosystem.