cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Intrarenal Angiotensin II Augmentation in Hypertension

Angiotensin (Ang) II-dependent hypertension is characterized by an augmentation in intrarenal Ang II content beyond circulating levels that is associated with functional and morphological derangements in the kidney. This augmentation is due to Ang II sequestration from the general circulation by the Ang II type 1 receptor (AT1R) and to intrarenal Ang II formation by a local renin–angiotensin system (RAS). This review summarizes the evidence in favor of the contribution of these two processes to the observed augmentation of intrarenal Angiotensin II as well as their impact on the regulation of kidney function and blood pressure regulation.
A Framework for Addressing Diabetes-Related Disparities in US Latino Populations

Despite national efforts to redress racial/ethnic disparities, Latino Americans continue to share a disproportionate burden of diabetes-related morbidity and mortality. A better understanding of underlying causes and influencing factors is needed to guide future efforts to eliminate racial/ethnic disparities in diabetes control. The objectives of this review are: (1) to summarize our understanding of determinants and modifiable predictors of glycemic control; (2) to provide an overview of existing strategies to reduce diabetes-related disparities; and (3) to identify gaps in the literature regarding whether these interventions effectively address disparities in US Latino populations. Key findings include evidence that diabetes care services can be designed to accommodate heterogeneity within the Latino American community by addressing key modifiable predictors of poor glycemic control, including insurance status, diabetes care utilization, patient self-management, language access, culturally appropriate care, and social support services. Future research efforts should evaluate the effect of structurally tailored interventions that address these key modifiable predictors by targeting patients, providers, and health care delivery systems.
Factors Associated with Newborn Hospital Readmissions for Hyperbilirubinemia in a Racially and Ethnically Diverse Sample

Purpose Hyperbilirubinemia is a common cause of newborn readmissions. Few studies have explored risk factors for readmissions due to hyperbilirubinemia in a racially and ethnically diverse population. The purpose of this study was to describe risk factors associated with hospital readmissions due to hyperbilirubinemia and to elaborate upon racial and ethnic identities potentially associated with hyperbilirubinemia. Methods We abstracted medical records of all cases of newborn readmissions at our institution due to hyperbilirubinemia during the 2014-’15 year. We also abstracted data …
The impact of expanded endonasal skull base surgery on midfacial growth in pediatric patients.

OBJECTIVE Surgical resection of skull base tumors in children is increasingly accomplished through an expanded endonasal approach (EEA). We aim to evaluate the potential effect of the EEA on midfacial growth as a result of iatrogenic damage to nasal growth zones. METHODS We performed a retrospective review of children undergoing craniopharyngioma resection via an open transcranial or EEA. Pre- and postoperative magnetic resonance imaging was evaluated for growth in four midfacial measurements based on established cephalometric landmarks: anterior midface height, posterior midface height, palatal length, and sella-nasion distance. Statistical analysis was conducted using a mixed-effects linear regression model. RESULTS Twenty-two patients underwent an EEA (n = 12) or open transcranial approach (n = 10) for tumor resection with 3 years of imaging follow-up. There was no difference in midfacial growth between groups for each measurement. Compared to the open group, patients undergoing EEA demonstrated relative anterior midface height growth of -0.42 mm (P = 0.880), posterior midface height growth of -0.44 mm (P = 0.839), palatal length growth of 0.35 mm (P = 0.894), and sella-nasion distance growth of -2.16 (P = 0.365). CONCLUSION We found no difference in midfacial growth measurements between patients undergoing craniopharyngioma resection via an EEA and the open transcranial route after 3 years of imaging follow-up. Preliminary results on midfacial growth demonstrate that the EEA is a safe alternative to traditional transcranial approaches for the pediatric population. Further investigation with larger sample size and longer duration of follow-up is warranted to more thoroughly investigate the long-term implications of the EEA to the skull base. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE 3 Laryngoscope, 130:338-342, 2020.
Truth-spots: how places make people believe

The concepts of truth and place provide the central theoretical strands around which the argument of Truth-Spots unfolds. In the contemporary moment of human history, characterized by cacophony of ...
The role of magnetic resonance imaging in patients with palpable breast abnormalities and negative mammographic and sonographic findings

OBJECTIVE OR PURPOSE OF STUDY The objective of this retrospective study was to determine the frequency of positive findings on breast magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in patients with palpable breast abnormalities in the setting of negative mammographic and sonographic evaluations. MATERIALS, METHODS, AND PROCEDURES Consecutive patients undergoing breast MRI for palpable abnormalities from January 1, 2005 to December 31, 2015 were identified for this retrospective study. Those with preceding imaging (mammograms or ultrasounds) demonstrating positive findings related to the palpable abnormalities were excluded. The location and the duration of the symptoms, the type and the location of the abnormal MRI findings, and their relationships to the symptoms were recorded. Clinical and imaging follow-up as well as the type and the resultant biopsies were recorded. Patients with less than two years of imaging or clinical follow-up were excluded from the study. RESULTS 22 004 women presented with palpable abnormalities at one breast imaging center between January 1, 2005 and December 31, 2015. Nine thousand and three hundred and thirty-four patients had negative or benign findings on mammography, ultrasound, or mammography plus ultrasound. Thirty-one patients underwent MRI with the complaint of palpable abnormalities despite negative or benign mammographic and/or sonographic findings. Their age range was between 32 and 74 years, and their mean age was 49 years. Of those who had MRI, twenty-one patients had negative MRI findings. Six patients had negative concordant results for the palpable abnormalities and benign incidental findings. Three patients had benign concordant results for the palpable abnormalities, and one patient had incidental atypia. Twenty-eight patients had negative MRI results in the area of the palpable abnormality, and none of these patients underwent biopsy. Of the 31 cases, four patients (13%) underwent additional examinations (three second-look ultrasounds and one bone scan) after MRI. Five patients (16%) underwent MRI-guided biopsies, two patients (6%) underwent ultrasound-guided biopsies, and one patient (3%) had an excision. All biopsies showed benign results. The Gail risk score was calculated for 22 of them and the mean 5-year risk was 1.64 and the mean lifetime risk was 12.51. CONCLUSION Breast MRI to evaluate palpable abnormalities after negative mammography and ultrasound results in a low yield for malignancy. The majority of patients (67.7%) had negative MRI examinations, and there were no malignancies detected. Our findings lead us to believe that there are no data to encourage the use of MRI in patients with palpable abnormalities and negative mammographic and/or ultrasound studies.
Toward A Constraint-Satisfaction Frameworkfor Evaluating Program-Understanding Algorithms

Different program understanding algorithms often use different representational frameworks and take advantage of numerous heuristic tricks. This situation makes it is difficult to compare these approaches and their performance. This paper addresses this problem by proposing constraint satisfaction as a general framework for describing program understanding algorithms, demonstrating how to tranform a complex existing program understanding algorithm into an instance of a constraint satisfaction problem, and showing how facilitates better understanding of its performance.
Measuring Fertility Health Knowledge in University Students: Development and Testing of a Survey Tool.

Background and purpose Few surveys address fertility health in both men and women. This report details development of a fertility knowledge assessment tool for clinical and research settings that would sensitize young adults to habits that would promote healthy fertility. Methods A pilot study (N = 31) followed by a larger study of students at three schools (N = 465, 335, & 375) at a midwestern university using a new 30-item survey. Results Face and content validity of the survey tool were determined by a panel of experts. Internal consistency and reliability were acceptable for a new instrument (α = .81 for the total group; α = .80 for each school. Conclusions This instrument is a valid and reliable short screening tool that can be used to assess knowledge of fertility and possibly open discussions about fertility self-care.
Coupling effect of power-law fluid properties and scaled fractal characteristics on flow through fractured media

Abstract Non-Newtonian fluid flow through fractured media widely exists in both natural and man-made materials, where fractures have been shown to have self-similar and fractal characteristics. In this study, a new analytical approach is developed to calculate the flowrate of a power-law fluid through fractal fractures, in which fracture trace length follows a fractal distribution and the aperture and trace length are related by a scaled power-law function. The average fracture flowrate in the fractal fractures is obtained through integrating flows in all fractures. The interplay of the power-law properties and fractal characteristic parameters on the flow through the fractal fractures is quantified and discussed. The results demonstrate that the average flowrate decreases with the fractal dimension of fracture length and scaling exponent. The increase in the trace length range ratio leads to the increased flowrate. The power-law index plays a significant role in the flowrate through fractal fractures coupling with the effect of pressure head gradient. The increase in pressure head gradient amplifies the effect of power-law fluid index on the flowrate in fractal fractures.
A Method for Segmenting the Process of Needle Insertion during Simulated Cannulation using Sensor Data

Cannulation is a routine yet challenging medical procedure resulting in a direct impact on patient outcomes. While current training programs provide guidelines to learn this complex procedure, the lack of objective and quantitative feedback impedes learning this skill more effectively. In this paper, we present a simulator for performing hemodialysis cannulation that captures the process using multiple sensing modalities that provide a multi-faceted assessment of cannulation. Further, we describe an algorithm towards segmenting the cannulation process using specific events in the sensor data for detailed analysis. Results from three participants with varying levels of clinical cannulation expertise are presented along with a metric that successfully differentiates the three participants. This work could lead to sensor-based cannulation skill assessment and training in the future potentially resulting in improved patient outcomes.
Retrospective Analysis of Chordoma Patients 1998-Present At the Barrow Neurologic Institute: Features and Findings (P4.222)

OBJECTIVE: Characterize response of chordoma to various treatment modalities in a cohort of over 50 patients. BACKGROUND: Chordomas of the skull base are locally aggressive cancers arising from the remnants of the embryonic notochord with a predilection for bony destruction and irregular growth patterns, and from which patients frequently succumb to recurrence and treatment failure. They occur with an annual age-adjusted rate of 0.089 /100,000 person years, and account for 1-4[percnt] of all primary malignant bone tumors . They often arise in the skull base or sacrococcygeal region, which makes total surgical resection difficult if not impossible because of complex neurovascular relationships and recurrence is common. These tumors have no clearly identified chemotherapeutic targets, and radiotherapy is ineffective at providing local control. Our objective was to expand on present knowledge by looking at the natural history of chordoma and time to progression, along with survival data, for various patients who had undergone resection, resection with radiation, resection with radiation and chemotherapy, or chemotherapy and resection, or no resection and chemotherapy. Our goal is to start to establish whether there might be a role for chemotherapy in the management of such patients moving forward. METHODS: Retrospective chart analysis of all chordoma patients cared for at the Barrow Neurologic Institute. Patient’s for whom pathologic samples are available were subjected to immunohistochemical analysis. RESULTS: Patients presented with a variety of presenting symptoms, with resection accompanied by adjuvant radiation as the primary treatment modality. Chemotherapy was attempted in only a small percentage of patients, but resulted in symptom free survival that lasted several months. CONCLUSION: Chemotherapeutic agents not traditionally used in chordoma may have a role in treatment, while resection remains the primary treatment modality. Disclosure: Dr. Cusack has nothing to disclose. Dr. Dardis has nothing to disclose.
Personal vehicle electrification and charging solutions for high-energy days

Questions remain on the effectiveness of different proposals for battery electric vehicle (BEV) charging and other supporting infrastructure. Here we investigate options for charging BEVs and supplementing them with long-range vehicles, including on the infrequent high-energy days that can otherwise impede personal vehicle electrification. We examine travel activities and their energy requirements—in Seattle and US-wide—to identify strategies that fit existing lifestyles. We find that home charging on- or off-street is pivotal in all strategies and that highway fast charging and/or supplementary vehicles can be impactful additions. For example, home charging can support the year-round energy requirements of approximately 10% of Seattle vehicles, assuming a lower-cost BEV, but adding occasional highway fast charging or supplementary vehicles on four days per year raises this value to nearly 40%. Infrequent supplementary vehicles may be needed even as battery technology improves. Our results outline potential solutions for nations, cities, companies and communities seeking to support widespread vehicle electrification despite the challenge of high-energy days. Current battery electric vehicles cannot meet all daily travel needs on a single charge. Wei et al. use travel survey data to model charging infrastructure scenarios under a range of battery sizes to find the best suite of charging options and use of supplemental vehicles to electrify personal vehicle transport.
Task specification and behavior verification for UUV behavior design

The robotics community is deeply interested in both platform design and behavior design, but we lack tools to connect the two. The platform, the behavior design, and the environment work together to determine the robot's actions, but our tools visualize the design of the hardware and the design of the behaviors separately. We lack tools that allow us to visualize the relationship between the platform and the behavior. To address this gap, we introduce a new design method based on a tabular representation called Capability Analysis Tables. The Capability Analysis Table enables the designer to define the constraints on a behavior design based on the platform it will be used on, and to define the constraints on the platform based on the behavior design. It gives the customer and the designer an opportunity to more clearly specify the desired behavior. Environmental factors are implicit in the platform interface definitions -sensory perception filters environmental inputs (colored objects can only be seen by sensors that produce color information) and actuators filter environmental outputs. Communications are handled explicitly as outputs and as either operator inputs or remotely gathered sensory data.
Methemoglobinemia in an infant treated with the folk remedy glycerited asafoetida.

Methemoglobinemia can be caused by inherited enzyme deficiencies or abnormal hemoglobin structure. Methemoglobinemia may also be the result of oxidative stress that overwhelms normal red cell protective mechanisms.1 We present a case of methemoglobinemia in an infant who was treated with gum asafoetida, a compound used as a folk remedy and contained in certain foods. Laboratory investigation demonstrated an oxidizing effect of asafoetida on fetal hemoglobin but not on adult hemoglobin. This chemical, which is sold over the counter in pharmacies, must be considered as being potentially life threatening if given to infants. CASE REPORT A previously well, 5-week-old black male infant was admitted to the hospital six hours after the onset of tachypnea, grunting, and cyanosis.
Phyllis Schlafly and Grassroots Conservatism: A Woman's Crusade

Review of: "Phyllis Schlafly and Grassroots Conservatism: A Woman's Crusade," by Donald T. Critchlow.
Little Higgs, Non-standard Higgs, No Higgs and All That

We give a brief review of recent developments in non-supersymmetric models for electroweak symmetry breaking, including little Higgs, composite Higgs and Higgsless theories. The new ideas such as extra dimensions, AdS/CFT correspondence, dimension-deconstruction, and collective symmetry breaking provide us new tools to construct new models. They also allow some old ideas to be revived and implemented in these new models.
Feeds and Feeding Practices

Although natural food organisms may provide certain micronutrients, the contribution of pond organisms to the nutrition of intensively cultured catfish is considered minuscule. The nutritional requirements of cultured catfish are met by using a feed that is formulated to provide all required nutrients (a complete feed) in the proper proportions necessary for rapid weight gain, high feed efficiency, and desirable composition of gain. Feed cost represents about half of variable production costs in catfish culture; thus careful consideration should be given to feed selection and use. High-quality feeds are essential for culture of catfish, but if consumption is poor, rapid growth will not be achieved. In addition, uneaten feed increases production costs and contributes to deterioration of water quality. Proper feeding practices are as important to the catfish producer as are good feeds. The prudent catfish producer should select the appropriate feed for a specific culture system and use it in a manner to ensure efficient conversion of feed to fish flesh. The following sections on feeds and feeding practices, although based on the best available information, are intended only as guidelines since feeding catfish is as much an art as it is a science. If additional information is desired, the reader is referred to the following: National Research Council (1983), Robinette (1984), Dupree (1984), Robinson and Wilson (1985), Lovell (1989), and Robinson (1989).
Five type I modules of fibronectin form a functional unit that binds to fibroblasts and Staphylococcus aureus.

Fibronectin is a cell-adhesive protein comprised of three types of repeating homologous sequences, I, II, and III (Petersen, T.E., Thogersen, H.C., Skorstengaard, K., Vibe-Pedersen, K., Sahl, P., Sottrup-Jensen, L., and Magnusson, S. (1983) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 80, 137-141). The amino-terminal portion of fibronectin is comprised of five type I modules and mediates assembly of dimeric soluble fibronectin into insoluble fibrils by cultured fibroblasts, binding and cross-linking of fibronectin to Staphylococcus aureus, and binding and cross-linking of fibronectin to fibrin. It is not known whether these binding activities require individual type I modules, several modules, or all five modules. To answer this question, we generated recombinant truncated fibronectin molecules with deletions of or mutations in the amino-terminal type I modules. Binding to cellular fibronectin assembly sites and S. aureus required all five type I modules. In contrast, proteins with deletions of type I modules interacted well with fibrin.
Prelycopersene Pyrophosphate and Lycopersene INTERMEDIATES IN CAROTENE BIOSYNTHESIS

Abstract Prelycopersene pyrophosphate and lycopersene have been isolated and identified as intermediates in plant carotenogenesis. Incubation of tomato plastid acetone powder extracts with [14C]geranylgeranyl pyrophosphate at 25° yields prelycopersene pyrophosphate and, in the presence of NADPH, lycopersene. These compounds have been isolated and purified by several chromatographic systems, and their identity has been confirmed by mass spectroscopy. Both compounds are utilized by the tomato enzyme system in the formation of phytoene and lycopene. It is concluded, therefore, that these compounds are intermediates in the conversion of geranylgeranyl pyrophosphate to phytoene.
Transportation and transformation of air bubbles in aerated oil through an engine lubrication system

The amount of free air in an engine oil can affect the performance of some engine components. Part of the air in an aerated oil can be dissolved into the oil, while some may remain as free air when the oil reaches these components. A methodology of analyzing how much air dissolves into the oil and how much remains as free air in a lubrication system is presented. A V6 gasoline engine is used as an example to calculate the changes of air bubble sizes due to compression and dissolution into the oil. The amount of air dissolved and the amount of free air in the oil when it reaches various locations along the lubrication passageways are estimated. It is concluded in the case studied that small air bubbles will be dissolved entirely before the oil reaches oil galleries in the heads, while most air in large air bubbles will stay as free air.
Descemet-stripping automated endothelial keratoplasty: a successful alternative to repeat penetrating keratoplasty.

Background: Although Descemet-stripping automated endothelial keratoplasty has replaced penetrating keratoplasty for primary treatment of endothelial disorders, many patients have already undergone penetrating keratoplasty. It is unclear when repeat penetrating keratoplasty is necessary or when endothelial keratoplasty may restore clarity to a failed graft. Design: Retrospective case series of patients undergoing Descemet-stripping automated endothelial keratoplasty after penetrating keratoplasty by three surgeons at an academic tertiary care centre. Participants: Eight patients with Descemet-stripping automated endothelial keratoplasty after penetrating keratoplasty from 2006 to 2009. Methods: Microkeratome-prepared Descemet-stripping automated endothelial keratoplasty donor tissue was used. In seven cases, the penetrating keratoplasty bed was neither stripped nor scraped, and in one, scraping only was performed. Main Outcome Measures: Preoperative and 6-month postoperative best-corrected visual acuities in logMAR (logarithm of the minimum angle of resolution). Results: The average pre-Descemet-stripping automated endothelial keratoplasty best-corrected visual acuity was 1.375, and the average best-corrected visual acuity 6 months postoperatively was logMAR 1.0, a 2.5-fold improvement in the minimum angle of resolution (P = 0.22). Seven of the eight patients showed an improvement in best-corrected visual acuity, and one patient had failure of Descemet-stripping automated endothelial keratoplasty and required penetrating keratoplasty. Five had a postoperative event: one had a gap that resolved spontaneously, three required rebubblings (injections of air only without otherwise repositioning the graft), and one experienced graft failure. Conclusions: Descemet-stripping automated endothelial keratoplasty can successfully rescue a prior penetrating keratoplasty, even with a fairly high detachment rate. Given these favourable visual outcomes, further study of this promising strategy is justified.
A single-amino-acid substitution in polyomavirus VP1 correlates with plaque size and hemagglutination behavior.

Abstract The plaque size and hemagglutination characteristics of five cloned wild-type strains of polyomavirus were determined. The strains fell into two groups, those with large or small plaques, each with distinctive hemagglutination behavior at different temperatures and pHs. The nucleotide sequence of VP1, the major capsid protein of the virus, was determined for each of the viral strains. The PTA (large-plaque) and RA (small-plaque) strains differed only at residue 92 of VP1, where there is a glutamic acid or glycine, respectively (R. Freund, A. Calderone, C. J. Dawe, and T. L. Benjamin, J. Virol. 65:335-341, 1991). The same amino acid difference in VP1 correlated with plaque size and hemagglutination properties of the other sequenced viruses. Mutagenesis converting amino acid 92 from glutamic acid to glycine converted the plaque size and hemagglutination behavior of the large-plaque PTA strain to that of a small-plaque strain. Furthermore, PTA and RA VP1 proteins produced in Escherichia coli behaved as their parental viruses did in hemagglutination assays. These results demonstrate that amino acid residue 92 of VP1 is involved in determining the plaque size and hemagglutination behavior of polyomavirus and strongly suggest that this region of the VP1 polypeptide interacts directly with cell receptors.
Range effects using instrumental choice procedures

Pigeons were trained to discriminate visual flicker-rate stimuli using two types of instrumental choice procedures. One experiment used a free-operant concurrent schedule with multiple schedule components. Two additional experiments used a two-alternative, discrete-trial procedure. In all experiments, the range of training stimuli was manipulated across conditions. Results from all three experiments showed typical range effects on discrimination performance. That is, performance declined with increases in the overall range of variation of training stimuli. These range effects occurred with either continuous response rate measures or discrete choice measures. Moreover, range effects appeared with relatively high or low levels of overall discrimination accuracy and with either symmetrical or asymmetrical extensions of stimulus range. The results of these experiments suggest that increasing stimulus range influences both perceptual sensitivity and bias to response alternatives.
Monitoring the global climatic impact of direct heat addition associated with escalating energy use

Abstract Using Budyko's overall heat-balance equation, we estimate that direct heat addition associated with worldwide energy use in the year 2050 will be responsible for a mean global temperature rise of 0.27 °C at a 20 kw t per capita energy consumption for a world population of ten billion people. The corresponding temperature rise between 15 and 60 °N is estimated to be 0.44 °C. If per capita energy consumption during the year 2050 is reduced to 5 kw, (i.e. about one half of U.S. consumption in the year 1970), the estimated temperature rise for the 15–60 °N latitudinal belt will be about 0.11 °C and therefore still not negligibly small. A program for monitoring the global climatic impact of escalating energy use involves precise monitoring of the following quantities: 1. (a) the solar constant 2. (b) the effective earth-atmosphere albedo 3. (c) the net (long-wavelength) radiant energy emitted from the earth-atmosphere system. Both the effective albedo and the (long-wavelength) radiant energy emitted from the earth-atmosphere system will depend on the nature and size of particulate concentrations in the atmosphere, on molecular emitters (especially CO 2 and H 2 O), cloud cover, and on the radiative-convective circulation pattern. A satellite observation program that is closely integrated with ground-based and atmospheric measurements and with a detailed program of theoretical analysis will be needed for more precise predictions of inadvertent climate changes and for developing the means to effect desirable global climate controls.
Oxidation states of mid-ocean ridge basalt glasses

Abstract Precise new analyses of ferrous and total iron for 78 hand-picked mid-ocean ridge basalt (MORB) glasses constrain the redox states of MORB magmas, and the systematics of those redox states with respect to geography and chemistry. The data indicate that MORB magmas at the point of eruption include some of the most reduced terrestrial lavas yet analyzed. Irrespective of their tectonic setting, geographic setting or chemical type, quench glasses from the outer surfaces of MORB lavas have Fe3+/ΣFe ratios of 0.07 ± 0.03 (2σ), equivalent to relative oxygen fugacities 1–2 log10 units below the fayalite-magnetite-quartz buffer (FMQ). These reduced values contrast markedly with those of cogenetic whole rocks, even for samples from the same pillow. Pillow cores (including virtually all published whole rock analyses) typically have Fe3+/ΣFe close to 0.15, equivalent to oxygen fugacities close to FMQ. The post-eruptive oxidation responsible for this contrast apparently occurs rapidly, while the lava is still partially molten, most likely as a result of hydrogen loss. The striking contrast between glass and whole rock data suggests that two common assumptions with respect to treatment of MORB are inappropriate: (1) assumption of Fe3+/ΣFe close to 0.15 for calculating norms and magnesium numbers; and (2) assumption of FMQ conditions for experimental studies of MORB crystallization. Oxygen fugacities in the mantle source regions of MORB have also been assumed to be close to FMQ. It is likely that, redox states determined from wholly or partially crystalline lavas are generally not representative of magmatic values. The new data reported herein define a new and rigidupper limit for the oxidation state of the sub-oceanic mantle.
Endothelin receptor pathway in human left ventricular myocytes: relation to contractility

Abstract Background . Increased synthesis and release of the potent bioactive peptide endothelin-1 (ET-1) occurs during and after cardiac surgery. However, the cellular and molecular basis for the effects of ET-1 on human left ventricular (LV) myocyte contractility remains unknown. Methods . LV myocyte contractility was examined from myocardial biopsies taken from patients (n = 30) undergoing elective coronary artery bypass. LV myocytes (n = 997, > 30/patient) were isolated using microtrituration and contractility examined by videomicroscopy at baseline and after ET-1 exposure (200 pmol/L). In additional studies, myocytes were pretreated to inhibit either protein kinase C (PKC) (chelerythrine, 1 μmol/L), the sodium/hydrogen (Na/H) exchanger (EIPA, 1 μmol/L), both PKC and the Na/H exchanger, or the ET A receptor (BQ-123, 1 μmol/L), followed with ET-1 exposure. Results . Basal myocyte shortening increased 37.8 ± 6.3% with ET-1 ( p A inhibition demonstrated that ET-1 effects on myocyte contractility were mediated through the ET A receptor subtype. Conclusions . ET-1 directly influences human LV myocyte contractility, which is mediated through the ET A receptor and requires intracellular activation of PKC and stimulation of the Na/H exchanger.
The isolation of a bacterial glycoprotein with luciferase activity

Abstract Luciferase from the luminescent bacteria Photobacterium leiognathi, strain S-1, has been isolated and purified from lysed cells and shown to be a glycoprotein. A soluble, non-carbohydrate containing luciferase was also isolated from the lysate. This latter luciferase amounts to less than 20% of the total luciferase activity. The purified glycoprotein is (1) susceptible to inactivation by lysozyme, (2) gives positive color reactions to the phenol, resorcinol, and anthrone tests for sugars, and (3) gives overlapping bands when stained for carbohydrate and protein on gel electrophoresis. Neither the soluble luciferase from S-1 nor a soluble luciferase isolated from Beneckea harveyi, mutant MB-20, give positive results to any of these carbohydrate tests.
Leaders, Followers, and the Visioning Process

One of the most often cited leadership competencies is the ability to inspire an organizational vision. However, numerous authorities on the topic caution that the vision cannot be the personal construct of the leader. They contend that major stakeholders should be involved in the development of a shared vision that will inspire commitment to organizational goals.This study examines the results of an effort to use a participative model in the visioning process at a publicly supported comprehensive university.
Windborne debris risk assessment

A probabilistic model, based on Poisson random measure theory, is developed for predicting windborne debris damage in residential areas. It is intended for incorporation into improved methodology to estimate economic losses due to hurricanes to individual houses or entire residential developments. A sample application to a coastal housing development is provided.
A pragmatic study of child dysfluency

Abstract The purpose of this paper was to investigate the conversational breakdowns, repairs, and resolution strategies in a conversation between a young dysfluent female child and her mother. Analysis of the conversation revealed five types of breakdowns, four repair types, and two resolution strategies. The majority of dysfluent moments occured in one particular type of breakdown, where the child elaborated on a comment, thereby departing from the parent's tightly formatted agenda that pervaded the interaction. This may have been an attempt of the child to gain control over the situation. This pragmatic analysis demonstrates a potentially useful way of defining the nature of interaction in which stuttering may occur. Therapeutic implications based on this type of pragmatic analysis are given.
Androgen receptor gene CAG repeat length varies in a race-specific fashion in men without prostate cancer

Abstract Objectives. Preliminary studies suggest that black men have shorter androgen receptor CAG repeat length compared with non-Hispanic whites. Because decreased CAG repeat length (in particular less than 20 repeats) may be associated with increased prostate cancer risk, these findings are potentially important in providing a hypothesis to explain the increased risk of prostate cancer in black men. Methods. CAG repeat length in the androgen receptor (exon one) was determined by a polymerase chain reaction method in 130 non-Hispanic white and 65 black men. All men had prostate-specific antigen levels less than 4 ng/mL and normal digital rectal examinations. Men self-classified themselves into racial categories by a standardized questionnaire. Results. For whites, the mean ± SD, median, and range of CAG repeat length were 21.0 ± 3.0, 21, and 9 to 28, respectively. For blacks, the mean ± SD, median, and range of CAG repeat length were 19.0 ± 3.0, 19, and 13 to 26, respectively. The mean and median CAG repeat length in blacks were statistically significantly shorter than in whites. Black men were twice as likely as whites to have fewer than 20 CAG repeats (56.9% versus 28.5%, P = 0.0001). Conclusions. These data unequivocally demonstrate that androgen receptor gene CAG repeat length varies in a race-specific manner in men without evidence of prostate cancer.
Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry for stable isotope tracer investigations

Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) has now been developed for application to stable isotope tracer investigations of several minerals/trace elements. Use of this method for such purposes requires an understanding of a number of fundamental issues: analytical chemistry performance of the method of isotopic analysis, relationship of the level of enriched isotope administered to the subject with background level of the isotope already present, the issues of cost, and finally the specific details of the biological issues to be explored.
Unsettling Towards a Chinese/Cuban Cultural Critique

This article elaborates a Chinese/Cuban cultural critique that operates through the notion of unsettling in light of recent work in Asian American studies and Chinese diaspora studies. Examining three case studies—Carlos Felipe’s play The Chinaman (El Chino), Rigoberto Lopez’s documentary The Longest Journey (El Viaje Mas Largo), and Michael Mann’s feature film Miami Vice—the author suggests that these examples of expressive culture function as memory projects, which construct Chinese/Cuban figures and reconfigure attachments to place through often immaterial, but not insignificant, investments. Chinese/ Cuban cultural critique finally provokes a series of productive questions for the study of human migration.
A microanalysis of ethanol-induced disruption of body sway and psychomotor performance in women

Measures of body sway, psychomotor performance and subjective reports of intoxication were obtained from 20 women after consuming either ethanol (0.56 g/kg) or placebo. Simple motor tasks were unaffected by the relatively low ethanol dose. Performance on the Digit Symbol Substitution Test (DSST) was affected only during the ascending portion of the blood ethanol curve while stance stability was disrupted during peak and descending blood ethanol levels. A microanalysis of the dynamic changes of ethanol-induced body sway was conducted and the results plotted in three-dimensional space. These data revealed that disruption of stance stability was more pronounced in the sagittal plane than in the lateral plane and that subjects swayed to the rear and the right side. The results of this study suggest that such data analysis techniques provide extremely sensitive measures of body sway resulting from consuming a moderate dose of ethanol.
Diversity in agricultural technology adoption: How are automatic milking systems used and to what end?

Adoption of technology in agriculture can significantly reorganize production and relationships amongst humans, animals, technology, and the natural environment. However, the adoption of agricultural technology is not homogenous, and diversity in integration leads to a diversity of outcomes and impacts. In this study, we examine the adoption of automated milking systems (AMS) in small and midsize dairy farms in the US Midwest, the Netherlands, and Denmark. In contrast to technological determinism, we find significant variation amongst adopters in the implementation of AMS and corresponding variation in outcomes. Adopters have significant discretion in determining the use of AMS, which leads to a diversity of possible outcomes for family and non-family labor, human–cow relationships, animal welfare, the environment, and financial resiliency. Adoption and implementation are shaped by both structural factors, such as debt load and labor market variation, and by farmers’ individual personality traits and values, such as a willingness (or not) to release control to technology. Rather than uniform adoption and impacts of technology, we highlight the importance of context, the co-constitution of technology and users, and the diversity of technology adoption and its associated impacts.
Distinctive perturbations of amino acid and sugar influx by sulfhydryl reagents in the avian small intestine.

Abstract 1. Influx of leucine, β-alanine and 3-O-methyl glucose, substrates transported by separate systems, has been studied in chicken small intestine. 2. Influx of leucine (JmcLeu) was much more rapidly inactivated during a 15 min exposure to p-chloromercuriphenyl sulfonate (PCMBS) or 3-chloromercuri-2-methoxy-propylurea (chlormerodrin) than β-alanine or 3-O-methyl glucose influx. Diazenedicarboxylic acid bis (N,N-dimethylamide) (diamide) in short-term (min) exposures inhibited β-alanine influx to a greater degree than the other substrates. 3. Neither the organic mercurials nor diamide in 30 min exposures changed intracellular GSH levels, implying their effects were confined to the cell membrane. 4. Dithiothreitol (DTT) completely and rapidly reversed inhibition of JmcLeu caused by the mercurials, suggesting these reagents acted on memebrane sulfhydryls. DTT only slowly reversed diamide-induced inhibition, whereas added GSH was without effect, indicating an intra-membrane site of action. 5. The temporal effects of the reagents on the different substrates suggest that separate and distinct classes of spacially-organized sulfhydryl groups were present among the different systems.
Intrinsic Motivation and Subjective Well-Being: The Unique Contribution of Intrinsic Religious Motivation

The purpose of this study was to determine if the frequently reported positive association between Intrinsic Religious Motivation (IRM) and Subjective Well-being (SWB) is explicable in terms of a more general intrinsic orientation to life that involves secular as well as religious domains. Measures of 3 distinct domains of intrinsic orientation (work, leisure, and religion) were administered to 161 college students along with 4 measures of SWB: satisfaction with life, purpose in life, self-efficacy, and negative affect. Four multiple regressions were performed, 1 to predict each measure of SWB, with the 3 intrinsic orientation scales, gender, and social desirability as the predictors in each regression. Intrinsic religiousness emerged as an independent predictor of satisfaction with life, purpose in life, and self-efficacy. Intrinsic religiousness appears to make a unique contribution to the prediction of SWB.
Birefringent in-phase supermode operation of a multicore microstructured fiber laser

We report the first observation of birefringent in-phase supermode operation of a phase-locked multicore fiber laser. The in-phase mode operation of our 12-core rectangular-array microstructured fiber laser was confirmed by the near-field distribution, the far-field diffraction pattern, and the optical spectrum. The birefringence of the in-phase mode in propagation constant Δγ was measured as ~4×10-6 1/µm. The break of the polarization degeneracy indicates the possibility of single polarization operation of phase-locked multicore fiber lasers and amplifiers.
Lobular neoplasia of the breast: higher risk for subsequent invasive cancer predicted by more extensive disease.

We have stratified the cancer risk implications of lobular pattern in situ neoplasias of the breast by separating marked examples of this histologic spectrum (lobular carcinoma in situ [LCIS]) from lesser examples (atypical lobular hyperplasia). The lesser-developed examples have been shown previously to have a lower relative risk (RR) of later invasive carcinoma of the breast (IBC). Forty-eight examples of LCIS were found in 10,542 otherwise benign breast biopsies, representing an incidence of 0.5%. Nine patients were excluded from follow-up because of bilateral mastectomy within 6 months of entry biopsy, IBC within 6 months of entry biopsy, or prior IBC. Follow-up of the remaining 39 patients was complete, averaged 18 years, and revealed an RR of subsequent IBC of 6.9 (P less than .00001). Average overall follow-up for LCIS patients was 19 years; it was 25 years for those alive and free of IBC at the time of their follow-up interview. Neither family history of IBC nor postmenopausal estrogen therapy further affected risk. The absolute risk of IBC after LCIS was 17% at 15 years (adjusted for withdrawals), and the RR was 8.0 in the first 15 years of follow-up compared with the general population. An analysis based on a time-dependent hazards model found that during the first 15 years following biopsy women with LCIS had 10.8 times the risk of breast cancer compared with biopsied women of comparable age who lacked proliferative disease. Some previously published articles reporting lobular neoplasia (LN) suggest that those series with the greatest incidences of LN (whether termed LN or LCIS) have the lowest RR of subsequent breast cancer. Those series with higher incidences of LN include less well-developed histologic patterns of LN (atypical lobular hyperplasia). We conclude that our study of LN and studies performed by others support the higher risk of IBC after histologically flagrant examples (LCIS, about nine times higher) and a relatively lower but definable risk after more histologically subtle examples (atypical lobular hyperplasia, four to five times lower). This relative cancer risk is probably not constant over more than 15 years; thus, cancer risk 15 to 25 years after initial diagnosis of LCIS is uncertain.
Advertising as a cause of bias in American juries: an exploratory study

This study explores the concept of jury bias based on exposure to lawyer advertising. Attitudinal and demographic differences are identified which distinguish respondents who felt they might be biased due to exposure to advertising. Legal precedents and implications for jury selection are discussed.
Engineering the Mud-Spacer-Cement Rheological Hierarchy Improves Wellbore Integrity

Maintaining the density hierarchy for wellbore fluids has long been an accepted engineering practice whereas the rheological hierarchy for mud, spacer and cement is sometimes not achieved due to tedious testing or limitations in the field. Establishing appropriate rheological and friction pressure hierarchies prevent fluid (mud-spacer-cement slurry) intermixing, especially in deviated and horizontal wells. The objective of this paper is to present a spacer rheological properties model along with a new microemulsion spacer formulation that improves well integrity. The water-based spacer system, with densities ranging from 8.5 to 16 ppg, was modeled to temperatures up to 325°F and provided proper suspension properties, confirming stability at elevated bottomhole circulating temperatures. In addition, compatibility of this spacer package with various synthetic-based muds, oil-based muds and cement slurries, designed for Gulf of Mexico, the US land, North Sea and the Middle East, plays a significant role in maximizing displacement efficiency, wellbore cleanup, long-term effective zonal isolation and sustainable hydrocarbon production. It is not always possible to accomplish turbulent flow during cementing. Therefore, a rheological model was developed to accomplish the ideal viscosity hierarchy by optimizing the spacer formulation design. Optimum rheological hierarchy occurs where the viscosity profile of a spacer system is higher than the viscosity profile of drilling fluid and lower than the cement slurry. The model’s predictions have been validated by one atmospheric and two industry-known HPHT rheometers. The model predictions show that the rheological profiles of the spacer fluid, for all the main standard shear rates, are between the mud and cement profiles. Data obtained from field case histories show the improvements and added values, such as ideal fluid compatibility, better displacement efficiency, friction pressure hierarchy and effective zonal isolation.
A 95-MS/s 11-bit 1.36-mW asynchronous SAR ADC with embedded passive gain in 65nm CMOS

An 11b asynchronous successive approximation register analog to digital converter with embedded passive gain architecture is proposed and prototyped in 65nm CMOS. The proposed passive gain technique is integrated in the sampling capacitor network as part of the SAR conversion, and provides a signal gain of 2x prior to the comparator without consuming static current. It thus reduces the comparator noise impact as well as enhancing the overall ADC conversion speed and power efficiency. The ADC prototype demonstrates a peak SNDR of 63.1dB and SFDR of 75.2dB when sampling at 95MS/s. Both measured differential and integral nonlinearities of the prototype are less than 0.84 LSB. It occupies an active area of 0.073mm2 and dissipates 1.36mW from 1.1V supply.