cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Cost-Effectiveness of Mandatory Compared With Voluntary Screening for Human Immunodeficiency Virus in Pregnancy ☆

Abstract Objective: To determine the cost-effectiveness of mandatory screening for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in pregnancy compared with that of voluntary screening under varying assumptions about patient behavior. Methods: Using a health care system perspective, a decision-analysis model was constructed to estimate the outcomes and costs of the two strategies. Average and incremental cost-effectiveness ratios were calculated for each strategy. Sensitivity analyses were performed to test the effects of different values on the results of the simulation. In particular, we examined the potential effects of changes in patient behavior resulting from mandatory screening on our estimates of cost-effectiveness. Results: At a prevalence of 170 per 100,000, average costs per case prevented were $255,158 and $367,998 for mandatory and voluntary screening, respectively. The incremental cost-effectiveness of mandatory compared with voluntary screening was $29,478. These values decreased as prevalence of HIV increased, or as the estimated lifetime cost of pediatric HIV infection increased: above an estimated cost for pediatric HIV of $129,250, mandatory screening was less expensive and more effective than voluntary screening. Assumptions about patient behavior affected these results: a 40% reduction in zidovudine acceptance in women identified only through mandatory screening increased the incremental cost-effectiveness to $112,434. The impact of behavior increased as the prevalence of HIV increased. Conclusion: Mandatory screening will prevent more cases of pediatric AIDS, but at a somewhat higher cost than voluntary screening under baseline assumptions. The cost-effectiveness of mandatory screening will be influenced by patient behavior, especially acceptance of zidovudine treatment among women who would have refused voluntary screening.
Time-variable gravity signal during the water impoundment of China's Three-Gorges Reservoir

[1] Beginning in 2003, China's Three-Gorges Reservoir will start water impoundment in phases. By 2009, it will be holding 40 km3 of water, flooding a stretch of middle Yangtze River about 600 km in length. The water impoundment process represents a geophysical “controlled experiment” offering a unique opportunity for detailed studies of a classical forward/inverse modeling problem of surface loading. While Wang [2000] studied the large loading effects on a local scale, we aim for longer spatial scales upwards from several hundred km, specially on the time-variable gravity signals that can be detected by the newly-launched GRACE satellite mission, whose 5-year lifetime (until 2007) will span the major impoundment period. Our results using the Green's function method adopting the PREM elastic Earth model indicate that the per-year geoid height increase is above the GRACE observational sensitivity out to harmonic degree 20, and to degree 50 (corresponding to a wavelength of 800 km) when integrated over the 5-year period.
Witnessing the Body’s Response to Trauma: Resistance, Ritual, and Nervous System Activation

This essay describes the body’s states of nervous system activation after trauma—focusing on intimate partner violence and sexual assault against women—as signs of resistance and posits that caregivers should attend to these phenomena as the body’s way of communicating. Trauma triggers nervous system responses. and understanding these responses helps caregivers to read the body language of survivors and thus avoid retraumatizing them in pastoral care. Fundamentally, rather than being seen as symptomatic of a disorder, the aftereffects of trauma should be seen as a survivor’s witness to the profound harm experienced as well as to the image of God in the survivor. This approach offers ritual and social ways of addressing this harm.
Optimum Feedback Controller Design for Tandem Cold Metal Rolling

Abstract Controlling the tandem cold rolling of metal strip is a significant challenge to the control engineer. This is due mostly to complex interactions between the process variables, nonlinearities that change with process conditions, and long speed-dependent time delays. The present technology is limited in its capability for improvement in performance. This paper describes a new control strategy that is based on solving a state-dependent algebraic Riccati equation pointwise to establish a control law for a MIMO controller that is augmented by appropriate trimming functions. Simulation testing showed that the tolerance in mill exit thickness compares favorably to the tolerances using existing techniques.
Transducin Activation by Nanoscale Lipid Bilayers Containing One and Two Rhodopsins

Nanodiscs are nanometer scale planar membranes of controlled size that are rendered soluble in aqueous solution via an encircling amphipathic membrane scaffold protein "belt" (Bayburt, T. H., Grinkova, Y. V., and Sligar, S. G. (2002) Nano. Lett. 2, 853-856). Integral membrane proteins can be self-assembled into the Nanodisc bilayer with defined stoichiometry, which allows an unprecedented opportunity to investigate the nature of the oligomerization state of a G-protein-coupled receptor and its coupling to heterotrimeric G-proteins. We generated Nanodiscs having one and two rhodopsins present in the 10-nm-diameter lipid bilayer domain. Efficient transducin activation and isolation of a high affinity transducin-metarhodopsin II complex was demonstrated for a monodisperse and monomeric receptor. A population of Nanodiscs containing two rhodopsins was generated using an increased ratio of receptor to membrane scaffold protein in the self-assembly mixture. The two-rhodopsin population was isolated and purified by density gradient centrifugation. Interestingly, in this case, only one of the two receptors present in the Nanodisc was able to form a stable metarhodopsin II-G-protein complex. Thus there is clear evidence that a monomeric rhodopsin is capable of full coupling to transducin. Importantly, presumably due to steric interactions, it appears that only a single receptor in the Nanodiscs containing two rhodopsins can interact with G-protein. These results have important implications for the stoichiometry of receptor-G-protein coupling and cross talk in signaling pathways.
Accelerometer validity and placement for detection of changes in physical activity in dogs under controlled conditions on a treadmill

The objective of the research was to determine the optimal location and method of attachment for accelerometer-based motion sensors, and to validate their ability to differentiate rest and increases in speed in healthy dogs moving on a treadmill. Two accelerometers were placed on a harness between the scapulae of dogs with one in a pouch and one directly attached to the harness. Two additional accelerometers were placed (pouched and not pouched) ventrally on the dog's collar. Data were recorded in 1s epochs with dogs moving in stages lasting 3 min each on a treadmill: (1) at rest, lateral recumbency, (2) treadmill at 0% slope, 3 km/h, (3) treadmill at 0% slope, 5 km/h, (4) treadmill at 0% slope, 7 km/h, (5) treadmill at 5% slope, 5 km/h, and (6) treadmill at 5% slope, 7 km/h. Only the harness with the accelerometer in a pouch along the dorsal midline yielded statistically significant increases (P<0.05) in vector magnitude as walking speed of the dogs increased (5-7 km/h) while on the treadmill. Statistically significant increases in vector magnitude were detected in the dogs as the walking speed increased from 5 to 7 km/h, however, changes in vector magnitude were not detected when activity intensity was increased as a result of walking up a 5% grade. Accelerometers are a valid and objective tool able to discriminate between and monitor different levels of activity in dogs in terms of speed of movement but not in energy expenditure that occurs with movement up hill.
Older women caring for spouses with Alzheimer's disease at home: making sense of the situation.

I combined phenomenological and feminist approaches to capture older women’s own description of their Alzheimer’s disease (AD) caregiving experience. Face-to-face interviews were conducted with 14 women who were 60 or older and cared at home for their spouses diagnosed with AD. Data were analyzed using a modified version of Colaizzi’s method. Five major themes were found to define the fundamental structure of these women’s experience. Here I address only findings pertaining to the fourth theme: making sense of the situation. These findings reveal aspects unique to older women’s/wives’ AD caregiving experience.
Characterization of a cardboard recycling facility's plastic waste for beneficial use

An issue with old cardboard container recycling is the generation of a plastic waste stream that currently either gets land-filled or burned. The contents of this rich plastic waste, which constitutes 35% of the exiting stream, are not well documented. This study is aimed at characterizing the plastic waste stream for engineering new second life products. The plastic waste from a Wandel screen processing unit was composed typically of hot melt adhesives (37%), polypropylene (32%), polyethylene (17%), and polystyrene (9%). Proportions varied 10% or less in each polymer category. The plastic waste was compounded, milled and injection molded into test specimens. DSC analysis showed that the polymers exist generally in separate phases. TGA thermograms determined that the onset degradation (405°C) of the mixed stream is an average of its components. In tensile tests, the mixed plastic waste stream performed comparably to its starting materials with a modulus of 9.6 MPa, ultimate strength of 8.7 MPa, and toughness of 52.6 J.
Deposition and characterization of superconducting YBaCuO films

Abstract Films of YBa 2 Cu 3 O y have been prepared on sapphire substrates by rf sputtering from a single nonconducting target made by hot-pressing unreacted powders of Y 2 O 3 , BaCO 3 and CuO and by e-beam deposition of multilayers of Cu, Y and BaF 2 . After post-growth annealing in oxygen, these films exhibited superconducting properties with T c onsets above 90 K and with zero resistances and diamagnetic susceptibilities above 60 K. Resistivity, ac magnetic susceptibility and reverse ac Josephson effect measurements indicate a very weak Josephson coupling between the superconducting grains of these polycrystalline films.
On the origin of magnetic inhomogeneity in Ca2+2V5+-substituted garnets☆

Abstract For the Q 3−2x Ca 2x Fe 5−x V x O 12 garnet system, where Q represents either Y 3+ or Bi 3+ , an intrinsic magnetic-inhomogeneity model is proposed to explain the large effective porosities characteristic of this family above the magnetic compensation point at x≈1.0. Experimental results for hysteresis-loop parameters and resonance linewidths are offered as evidence of the effective porosity. Magnetic-inhomogeneity theory is applied in an attempt to explain how a small amount of this type of inhomogeneity could be amplified by as much as a factor of six with the variations in magnetization possible in this system. If the expected reversal of magnetization in localized pockets were taken into account, the inhomogeneity would be even greater.
Principles of cancer prevention.

Objective To summarize the scientific principles underlying cancer prevention. Data Sources Articles, text books, personal communications, and experience. Conclusion The scientific basis of cancer prevention is complex and involves experimental and epidemiologic approaches and clinical trials. Implications for Nursing Practice As more information becomes available regarding proven and potential cancer-prevention strategies, oncology nurses are regularly called upon to guide patients and others in making choices regarding preventative options. It is important for oncology nurses to stay abreast of this growing body of knowledge.
Reproductive potential of two-spotted spider mite under insecticide treatment.

In many areas of cotton production, cotton plants have been heavily infested with the two-spotted spider mite, Tetranychus urticae Koch. Pesticides may alter the physiology of spider mites, and in some areas T. urticae has been reported to be resistant to certain pesticides.
Comparison of Lymphocyte Function after Isolation by Ficoll-Hypaque Flotation or Elutriation

Mononuclear leukocytes were separated from whole blood by ficoll-hypaque flotation and by elutriation (counterflow centrifugation). Lymphocytes isolated from 6 control subjects by elutriation showed a 30% greater response to stimulation with phytohemagglutinin and 130% greater response to streptokinase-streptodornase stimulation than did autologous lymphocytes obtained by ficoll-hypaque separation. Cell yields of major mononuclear cell subpopulations and cell viability were comparable after separation of leukocytes by both techniques. These results indicate that ficoll-hypaque flotation may diminish lymphocyte responses, and that elutriation offers a useful alternative to ficoll-hypaque separation. In addition, elutriation may be the preferable method for evaluation of lymphocytes from patients with suspected immunologic dysfunction and may be valuable in the isolation of mononuclear cells from infiltrated skin lesions.
Modulation of mouse sperm-egg interaction, early embryonic development and trophoblastic outgrowth by activated and unactivated macrophages.

Exposure of mouse spermatozoa and oocytes duringin vitro fertilization (IVF) to lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and phorbol myristate acetate (PMA) activated macrophages (U937 cell line), but not unactivated macrophages cultureconditioned medium or control medium (RMPI+DMEM with 0.5% FBS) resulted in inhibition of IVF (87.2%), first cleavage (90.8%) and total blastocyst formation 97.5%). The direct coculture of the activated macrophages with 2-cell stage embryos resulted in arrested development (91.2%), an effect that was significantly diminished in the presence of monolayer of human endometrial stromal cells in the coculture (58.3%). In contrast, the majority of 2-cell embryos developed to blastocysts when exposed to unactivated macrophages, or macrophage-stromal cell cocultures (94.1%). The majority of 2-cell embryos cultured in control medium (DMEM/Ham’s F12 with 2% FBS) developed to morulae (96.2%), then underwent growth arrest and degeneration. Furthermore, culturing blastocyst stage embryos in the above groups resulted in a significant enhancement of trophoblast outgrowth, particularly in coculture with activated macrophages as compared to any other group (P<0.005). There was a significant increase in the levels of TGF-β, GM-CSF, IL-1α, IL-1β, TNF-α, PGE2, TXB2 and LTB4 released into the culture conditioned medium of activated macrophages compared to unactivated macrophages (P<0.001). These results suggest that the secretory products of activated macrophages, among them those determined in this study, in a stage-specific manner can directly effect sperm-egg interaction, early embryonic development and trophoblastic outgrowth. This data provides further support for the hypothesis that in endometriosis-associated infertility, continuous exposure of spermatozoa, oocytes and early embryos to activated macrophage-derived factors may play a vital role in their survival during transportation and fertilization as well as development during early embryonic stage.
The Drosophila Z-disc Protein Z(210) Is an Adult Muscle Isoform of Zasp52, Which Is Required for Normal Myofibril Organization in Indirect Flight Muscles

The Z-disc is a critical anchoring point for thin filaments as they slide during muscle contraction. Therefore, identifying components of the Z-disc is critical for fully comprehending how myofibrils assemble and function. In the adult Drosophila musculature, the fibrillar indirect flight muscles accumulate a >200 kDa Z-disc protein termed Z(210), the identity of which has to date been unknown. Here, we use mass spectrometry and gene specific knockdown studies, to identify Z(210) as an adult isoform of the Z-disc protein Zasp52. The Zasp52 primary transcript is extensively alternatively spliced, and we describe its splicing pattern in the flight muscles, identifying a new Zasp52 isoform, which is the one recognized by the Z(210) antibody. We also demonstrate that Zasp52 is required for the association of α-actinin with the flight muscle Z-disc, and for normal sarcomere structure. These studies expand our knowledge of Zasp isoforms and their functions in muscle. Given the role of Zasp proteins in mammalian muscle development and disease, our results have relevance to mammalian muscle biology.
Integrated circuit system for digitizing arterial blood pressure and heart rate

Abstract The measurement of arterial blood pressure during physiological, pharmacological or behavioral manipulations generates a vast amount of data which must be reduced. Hand scoring is both time consuming and inaccurate, while on-line computer analysis may be prohibitively expensive. As an alternative, an inexpensive circuit is described which digitizes, stores, and prints out mean systolic and diastolic blood pressure, as well as heart rate, from up to four analog channels. Channels are sequentially digitized, each for an interval dialed on the front panel (1–999 sec). For each beat, a peak and trough detector enables the systolic and diastolic accumulators, respectively, thus storing two ten bit words from the analog to digital converter. For each systolic occurrence, a count of one is added to the heart rate counter. At the end of the recording interval, an output routine prints the interval number, mean systolic pressure, mean diastolic pressure, and total heart beats. Offset and gain controls allow precise calibration of various transducer and polygraph amplifiers.
Calcium dysregulation and neuroinflammation: discrete and integrated mechanisms for age-related synaptic dysfunction

Some of the best biomarkers of age-related cognitive decline are closely linked to synaptic function and plasticity. This review highlights several age-related synaptic alterations as they relate to Ca2+ dyshomeostasis, through elevation of intracellular Ca2+, and neuroinflammation, through production of pro-inflammatory cytokines including interleukin-1 beta (IL-1β) and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α). Though distinct in many ways, Ca2+ and neuroinflammatory signaling mechanisms exhibit extensive cross-talk and bidirectional interactions. For instance, cytokine production in glial cells is strongly dependent on the Ca2+ dependent protein phosphatase calcineurin, which shows elevated activity in animal models of aging and disease. In turn, pro-inflammatory cytokines, such as TNF, can augment the expression/activity of L-type voltage sensitive Ca2+ channels in neurons, leading to Ca2+ dysregulation, hyperactive calcineurin activity, and synaptic depression. Thus, in addition to discussing unique contributions of Ca2+ dyshomeostasis and neuroinflammation, this review emphasizes how these processes interact to hasten age-related synaptic changes.
Polycyclic aromatic primary amines as determinant chemical mutagens in petroleum substitutes

Petroleum crude oils and coal- and shale-derived petroleum substitutes have been separated by chemical class and the class fractions have been subjected to bacterial mutagenicity testing. Alkaline constituents of the petroleum substitutes are found to make major contributions to their mutagenicities. High-resolution chromatographic and spectroscopic analysis of alkaline subfractions enriched in mutagenic activity show the causative agents to be polycyclic aromatic primary amines. The amines may be responsible for the increased biological activity of coal- and shale-derived petroleum substitutes relative to petroleum.
Civil society, the state and democracy in Africa

The importance of new civil society organisations for creating and maintaining democracy in Africa has been greatly overstated. Scholars and donors holding the conventional view claim that new autonomous, interest‐specific and rule‐respecting associations can liberalise authoritarian states and sustain democratic governance. But they idealise the Western practices from which they borrow and overlook the defects in the outdated pluralist argument they urge on Africa, particularly its inequalities of access, difficulties in responding to problems of collective action and lack of local finance. However, because of the paradoxical position of the state in civil society, the problem of creating civil society organisations that are powerful enough to force the state into democratic reform might also weaken it severely. Excluding aggressive organisations, such as ethnic or religious associations, on the ground that they are uncivic is myopic. If associations that are both strong and democratically oriented are c...
Anatomic and Pathologic Spectrum of Pituitary Infundibulum Lesions

OBJECTIVE. The pathologic spectrum of pituitary infundibulum disease is diverse. We reviewed 65 infundibular lesions in 44 adult and 21 pediatric patients and summarized their imaging features and clinical presentation.CONCLUSION. The spectrum of pathology involving the pituitary infundibulum is broad yet distinct from other pathology in the sella and parasellar region. Pituitary stalk lesions can be grouped into three categories: congenital and developmental, inflammatory and infectious, and neoplastic. Knowledge of the imaging appearance of diseases specific to adults and to children is important for accurate diagnosis and treatment.
RADIATIVE ENERGY TRANSFER WITHIN A HYDROGEN PLASMA

Abstract The object of this investigation is to study various methods of analyzing radiative energy transport within a plasma. For this purpose, a very simple physical system is chosen consisting of a hydrogen plasma bounded by two parallel black plates, and within the plasma there is a uniform heat source per unit volume. Limited results are also presented for a hydrogen plasma in radiative equilibrium. Since line radiation is generally characterized by relatively large optical thicknesses, whereas continuum radiation corresponds to much smaller optical thicknesses, it is found that the optically thin and optically thick limits have little practical utility, in that both line and continuum radiation will rarely be either thin or thick simultaneously. This large variation in spectral optical thickness further appears to limit the utility of a nongray differential approximation, by which the radiative flux is described through a second-order differential equation. It is shown that line radiation can have a significant effect upon radiative energy transport within the plasma for moderate pressures. At higher pressures, however, the lines become opaque and no longer contribute to the radiative transport process. In either case, lines appear to have little influence upon radiation passing through the plasma (as opposed to radiative transport within the plasma), since the lines encompass only a small fraction of the spectrum.
Addition of N−H and O−H Bonds of Amines and Alcohols to Electron-Deficient Olefins Catalyzed by Monomeric Copper(I) Systems: Reaction Scope, Mechanistic Details, and Comparison of Catalyst Efficiency

Monomeric copper(I) amido, alkoxide, and aryloxide complexes catalyze the addition of N−H and O−H bonds of amines and alcohols, respectively, to electron-deficient olefins. The ancillary ligands of the active catalysts include the N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC) ligands IPr, IMes, and SIPr {IPr = 1,3-bis(2,6-diisopropylphenyl)imidazol-2-ylidene; IMes = 1,3-bis(2,4,6-trimethylphenyl)imidazol-2-ylidene; SIPr = 1,3-bis(2,6-diisopropylphenyl)imidazolin-2-ylidene} as well as the chelating bisphosphine ligand dtbpe {dtbpe = 1,2-bis(di-tert-butylphosphino)ethane}. For the hydroamination and hydroalkoxylation of olefins, both aromatic and alkyl substituents can be incorporated into the nucleophile, and both primary and secondary amines are reactive. Monosubstituted and disubstituted olefins have been demonstrated to undergo reaction. For the addition of aniline to acrylonitrile, kinetic studies suggest a pathway that is dependent on the concentration of amine, olefin, and catalyst as well as inversely proportional t...
The microbiology and treatment of nitroaromatic compounds

Abstract Nitroaromatic compounds, an extremely important class of industrial pollutant, are degradable by both bacteria and fungi. Biodegradation of these molecules occurs under aerobic and/or anaerobic conditions. Even compounds such as 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene can be completely biomineralized by certain microorganisms. Knowledge is still incomplete, but the past two years have seen great progress in our understanding of the fundamental biochemical mechanisms involved in microbial catabolism of this class of environmental contaminant.
A visitation of difference: Randall Kenan and black queer theory.

This essay is a consideration of the position of "region" in queer theory, particularly black queer theory. Although only minimal analysis has been directed at black gay cultural production, most a...
Transformations of 2:1 phyllosilicates in 41-year-old soils under oak and pine

Abstract The large, unconfined lysimeters at the San Dimas Experimental Forest, in southern California, provide a unique setting in which to study decade-scale vegetation effects on mineral weathering. We investigated the 2:1 phyllosilicate mineralogy of lysimeter soils under 41-year-old monocultures of scrub oak (Quercus dumosa Nutt.) and Coulter pine (Pinus coulteri B. Don), and compared the results to archived original fill material. X-ray diffraction showed that mica increased relative to vermiculite in the clay and medium silt fractions of A horizons under both oak and pine, compared to the archived original fill material. The increase, however, was far greater under oak than under pine. No mineralogical differences were observed in the subsurface horizons of either oak or pine, compared to archived material. Nonexchangeable K increased by 23% in the clay fraction of the oak A horizon, and increased by 5% in the clay fraction of the A horizons under pine, relative to archived parent material. Strong evidence supports biocycling as the basis for observed decade-scale mineral transformations. We conclude that the return of K to the soil surface through litter decomposition, and subsequent fixation by vermiculite, resulted in increased mica contents in A horizons. More K may have been fixed by vermiculite in the oak A horizon compared to pine due to greater K concentration in the oak litter pool; earthworm-mediated mineralization of K from organic matter under oak; and presence of fewer roots at the surface under oak, and, consequently, less plant removal of K from the A horizon.
Pharmacists: an important resource to improve core measure performance.

Abstract In 2001, the Quality Initiative from the Department of Health and Human Services resulted in the development of a set of core measures focused on five patient populations. Although not part of the original list of providers able to document core measures involving medications, pharmacists were added to the list in November 2007. Within the set of core measures, there are 22 of 44 (50%) that are medication related. The authors’ purpose is to describe the role of a pharmacist in meeting core measurements and provide an example of how a pharmacist is utilized at our institution.
Cryogenic Receivers For Millimeter And Near-Millimeter Wavelengths

We present results for ambient temperature and cryogenic operation of mixer receivers for use in the 80-350 GHz range. These systems employ GaAs Schottky barrier diodes doped for optimum performance at 15 K, and make use of a combination of waveguide and quasioptical circuits for LO injection and sideband filtering. Cooled receiver temperatures (DSB) are ~ 65 K at 100 GHz, ~ 250 K at 225 GHz, and -- 530 K at 350 GHz. Local oscillator requirements are < 100 uW in the 3 mm range and 100-300 uW in the 1.5-1 mm range making it feasible to pump these mixers with frequency multiplied sources. The mixer receivers described are tunable over ~ 30-40% of their center frequency. The performance of the frequency multipliers is also discussed. The low noise performance has been achieved in part by use of specially designed FET amplifiers which are cooled to 15 K. For the receivers described, amplifiers centered near 1.5 GHz with ~ 400 MHz bandwidth have been employed.
Isolation of 1-methylinosine and inosine from yeast soluble ribonucleic acid☆

Abstract Soluble RNA (S-RNA) contains several methylated derivatives of the major purine components adenosine and guanosine. This communication describes the isolation of another purine derivative, 1-methylinosine, as well as the parent nucleoside, inosine, from S-RNA. The free base, 1-methylhypoxanthine, has been found in human urine (Weissmann, 1957) but not previously in RNA, and hypoxanthine has been isolated from the ribosomes of E. coli (Szafranski, 1962) .
A Rapid Method for Determining the Fat Emulsion Stability of Homogenized Fluid Milk Products

Summary The Babcock centrifuge and fat testing apparatus were used. The method follows: Add 1 ml. of Sudan III to a milk test bottle, then add 17.5 ml. of milk at 110° F. and shake for 15 sec. Add two 10-ml. portions of distilled water at 110° F., shaking for 30 sec. after each addition. Then fill the bottle to between the 7 and 8% marks with distilled water at 110° F., being careful not to shake. Balance bottle in a centrifuge heated to 110° F., using the outside trunnion cups, and spin for 10 min. Read directly from the centrifuge, the cream volume to the nearest 0.1%. Each 0.1% cream volume is about equal to 1.0% difference in the USPHS Index. Sudan III made the cream volume more distinct. Ethyl alcohol carried the dye. With this method small differences can be detected in fat emulsion stability as affected by some processing procedures.
Learning about restoration of urban ecosystems: a case study integrating public participation, stormwater management, and ecological research

Restoration of ecosystem functions in urban environments is made challenging by 1) a public that often lacks understanding of ecological principles, 2) inadequate evidence of the effectiveness of restoration practices, and 3) difficulty integrating social and biophysical factors in studies of urban ecosystems. This paper describes a case study in which potential solutions to these challenges were explored. We facilitated collaborative learning through public participation in the design and implementation of an urban riparian buffer along a headwater stream in a neighborhood park, a process that was informed by ecological research. Learning outcomes were evaluated using surveys and qualitative assessment of discussion. Results indicated that participants’ knowledge about water quality problems associated with urbanization, stormwater, and nonpoint-source pollution increased, familiarity with stormwater management practices increased, and perceptions about the importance of stream ecosystem functions changed. In-stream monitoring of sediment delivery, as well as direct measurements of buffer infiltration capacity, provided early evidence of buffer effectiveness in prevention of sediment inputs to the stream and absorption of runoff from surrounding surfaces. This study provides a useful model for integration of collaborative learning through participation, ecological restoration, and ecological research in an urban setting. Elements deemed essential to success of this model included an opportunity for dialog focused on a specific natural feature, sustained interaction between participants and researchers, opportunities for hands-on participation by urban residents, and flexibility in restoration practice installation.
“She does have an accent but…”: Race and language ideology in students' evaluations of mathematics instructors on RateMyProfessors.com

Nonnative English speakers (NNESs) who teach at English-medium institutions in the United States (US) have frequently been the subject of student complaints. Research into language ideologies concerning NNESs in the US suggests that such complaints can be understood as manifestations of a broader project of social exclusion operating, in part, through the ideological construction of the NNES as incomprehensible Other. The present study explores the extent to which such ideological presuppositions and exaggerative performances are observable in students' evaluations of ‘Asian’ mathematics instructors on the website RateMyProfessors.com (RMP). A mixed methodological approach combining statistical analysis of numeric RMP ratings, quantitative corpus linguistic techniques, and critical discourse analysis was employed. Findings confirm the presence of disadvantages related to ‘Asian’ instructors' race and language. However, RMP users' discourse is shown to be less overtly discriminatory and instead to reproduce dominant language ideology in subtle, previously undescribed ways.(Student evaluations, higher education, university teaching, nonnative speakers, second language users, ethnicity, critical discourse analysis, corpus linguistics, formulaic language)*
Comparison of different drying procedures for scanning electron microscopy using human leukocytes

Using human leukocytes as test specimens, three different drying procedures for scanning electron microscopy: critical-point drying (CPD), Peldri II, and tetramethylsilane (TMS), were compared. All three procedures produced identical surface morphology preservation. An equal amount of volume shrinkage was observed regardless of the dehydrants and drying techniques employed. Considering the simplicity, convenience, and time saved, air-drying with TMS is by far the best choice for preparing animal cells for scanning electron microscopy. © 1995 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Universality of the Ultrathin Film Viscosity Law

An explanation of the remarkable singular behavior of the shear viscosity of ultrathin liquid films is presented. The "universal" viscosity law ηeff ~ (|v|/d)-a originally observed by Hu, Carson and Granick [Phys. Rev. Letts.66, 2758 (1991)] is derived and the exponent a is found to be a = 1-δ-1 where δ is the critical exponent for a corresponding second order phase transition in the film. This exponent can take either the classical (mean field) value δ = 3, or other, nonclassical values depending on the universality class of the surface phase transition.
Luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone peptidase activities in discrete hypothalamic regions and anterior pituitary of the rat: apparent regulation during the prepubertal period and first estrous cycle at puberty

Presently, two peptidase activities degrading LHRH have been observed in rat hypothalamic tissue: an endopeptidase and postproline cleaving enzyme (PPCE). Since no clear evidence for their physiological role in the onset of puberty has been presented, we examined the relationship between the content and degradation of LHRH by the median eminence (ME) and that by the ventromedial preoptic area (POA) during the prepubertal period and during the first estrous cycle at puberty. LHRH degradation by anterior pituitary during this period was also determined. Using kinetically optimized conditions, total LHRH degradation was measured by high performance liquid chromatographic estimation of the loss of synthetic LHRH catalyzed by low speed tissue supernatants, and PPCE activity was measured using a fluorogenic substrate (carbobenzoxy-1-glycl-1-prolyl-4- methylcourmarine-7-amide). The ME and POA LHRH content and serum levels of LH were estimated by RIA. During the prepubertal period, in animals killed between 22 an...
Differential antigen expression profile predicts immunoreactive subset of advanced ovarian cancers.

The presence and composition of lymphocytes characterizing an immune response has been connected to prognosis in advanced ovarian cancer. Our aim is to establish novel associations between prognosis and the expression of immune-related genes through a focused screen utilizing publicly available high-throughput assays. We consider transcriptome profiles from advanced ovarian cancer patients observed in four separate studies divided into discovery/validation sets (/). We focus on a subset of lymphocyte markers, antigen presentation and processing genes, T cell receptor associated co-stimulatory/repressor genes and cancer testis (CT) antigens. We modeled differential expression and co-expression using these subsets and tested for association with overall survival. Fifteen of 64 immune-related genes are associated with survival of which 5 are reproduced in the validation set. The expression of these genes defines an immunoreactive (IR) subgroup of patients with a favorable prognosis. Phenotypic characterization of the immune compartment signal includes upregulation of markers of CD8+ T-cell activation in these patients. Using multivariate model building, we find that the expression of 6 CT antigens can predict IR status in the discovery and validation sets. These analyses confirm that a genomic approach can reproducibly detect lymphocyte signals in tumor tissue suggesting a novel way to study the tumor microenvironment. Our search has identified new candidate prognostic markers associated with immune components and uncovered preliminary evidence of prognostic subgroups associated with different immune mechanisms.
Toward The Recognition Code Of Protein-DNA Recognition

Discovering the "recognition code" governing protein-DNA interaction has been an important topic for decades in bioinformatics. While other studies have focused on analyzing the frequency of amino acid-base contacts, this study here attempts to discover the structural and physicochemical features of proteins that determine the specificity of amino acid-base contacts. For each amino acid that contacts with DNA, we attempt to predict the type of bases (purines or pyrimidines) that it contacts. We extract 8 structural and physicochemical features from proteins and use a bottom-up approach to search for the combination of features that can be used to predict the specificity of amino acid-base contacts. In the end, 4 features are selected. Using these features, a support vector machine method can achieve 67.1% accuracy with 0.329 MCC in predicting the type of base (purines or pyrimidines) that an amino acid contacts. Analyzing the selected features will provide insights into the "recognition code" of protein-DNA interaction.
Grain Refinement by Pulse Electric Discharging and Undercooling Mechanism

High voltage durative discharge was applied to unidirectional solidifying pure aluminum by discharging capacitor bank. The conditions to modify solidification structures, including initial voltage and capacitance of capacitor bank, were examined. The experimental results showed that the solidification structure was modified from columnar grains to equiaxed grains by increasing initial voltage and capacitance. However, coarsening of grain structures was observed when the discharge energy poured from the capacitor bank was excessive. The effect of pulse electric discharge on undercooling during solidification was analyzed, and the grain structures were simulated using cellular automaton methods based on nucleation theory.
Designing and evaluating voice-based virtual communities

Voice-based virtual communities offer new possibilities for information dissemination and sharing for billions of users who lack access to Internet-connected PCs. As interaction is only through voice, these systems are subject to different design constraints than web-based social software. Through lab experiments and fieldwork, we have identified three key design challenges for voice-based virtual communities: supporting threaded conversations; indexing and searching content; and managing identity. We discuss each of these issues and propose approaches to address them. We also present plans to evaluate the impact of voice-based virtual communities on knowledge access and sharing in rural India.
Simulations and experiments on the growth and microstructure of zeolite MFI films and membranes made by secondary growth

The seeded growth of polycrystalline, faceted MFI films was simulated in two spatial dimensions using a front tracking technique. Our model simulates the growth of a zeolite membrane, starting from seeds with initial random orientation and position, by tracking the motion of all intersections where faces or vertices of a crystal grain meet different grains. The temporal evolution of film growth shows that grain boundaries are straight, but undergo abrupt changes in direction when two grains of different crystals meet. The computer simulations also clearly show that with increasing film thickness, a preferential orientation of the crystal grains develops, and the average grain size increases. The crystallographic orientation distribution (texture) analysis of the simulation results shows two peaks that sharpen during film growth. The first peak position is common to all idiomorphs and may be derived directly from the orientation of the largest radial vector (c-axis) perpendicular to the substrate. The second peak position is dependent on a growth rate parameter and is derived from the orientation of the second largest radial vector in two dimensions. While this second peak had been experimentally observed, a possible explanation for its origin was not reported until now. These simulations are in qualitative agreement with X-ray diffraction pole figure analysis performed on MFI membranes grown by secondary growth under hydrothermal synthesis. The same membranes were also analyzed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and laser scanning confocal microscopy (LSCM). The simulations are in good agreement with the experimental results obtained using SEM and LSCM.
Influence of pH on enzyme stabilization: an analysis using a series-type mechanism

Abstract A series-type model is utilized to show the influence of pH on enzyme inactivation kinetics and stability. Examples of enzyme inactivations involving both single-step and series-type mechanisms are presented. Empirical relations for the inactivation rate constant for the first step and the residual activity as a function of pH are presented. This provides physical insights into the enzyme inactivation processes. The analysis forms the beginning of a framework within which one could quantitatively manipulate the inactivation rate constants and the residual activity for enzymes in desired directions as a function of pH.
Use of Twitter to Encourage Interaction in a Multi-campus Pharmacy Management Course

Objective. To implement and assess the effectiveness of using Twitter to encourage interaction between faculty members, guests, and students in a pharmacy management course taught simultaneously on 2 campuses. Design. Students were required to tweet a minimum of 10 times over several class sessions. The course instructor and guest professionals also participated. Assessment. More than eighteen hundred tweets were made by students, guests, and the instructor. Students tweeted most frequently with each other and found value in reading each others’ tweets. One hundred thirty-one students completed an optional evaluation survey. Seventy-one percent indicated that Twitter was distracting, 69% believed it prevented note taking, and more than 80% indicated that it facilitated class participation and allowed an opportunity to voice opinions. Conclusion. Educators who wish to use Twitter in pharmacy courses must balance the potentially positive aspects of the technology, such as increased interaction among students, with potentially negative aspects, such as the interruptive nature of Twitter use and the large volume of tweets generated by a class assignment.
Modulation of schedule-induced polydipsia by Pavlovian conditioned states.

Abstract It has previously been porposed that Random-Interval schedules fail to induce polydipsic drinking in rats because such schedules fail to provide gradients of reinforcement probability. In the present study, food-deprived rats received single pellet meals delivered on either a Fixed-Time or a Random-Time 120-sec schedule, with half of each group receiving signalled, and half unsignalled, pellet deliveries. Acquisition of polydipsia was retarded in animals exposed to the Random-Time Unsignalled condition. However, the imposition of a CS+ for pellet delivery on the identical Random-Time schedule resulted in levels of polydipsia comparable to those obtained in both Fixed-Time conditions. These results suggest that the establishment of a Pavlovian conditioned inhibitory signal, as well as local periods of low reinforcement probability, may be sufficient for the development of schedule-induced behaviors such as polydipsia.
Stereocontrolled total synthesis of (-)-vincamajinine and (-)-11-methoxy-17-epivincamajine.

The first total syntheses of (−)-vincamajinine (5) (from Na-methyl-d-tryptophan methyl ester) and (−)-11-methoxy-17-epivincamajine (6) (from Na-methyl-6-methoxy-d-tryptophan ethyl ester) are descri...
Transient double diffusion in a stably stratified fluid layer heated from below

Abstract A series of two-dimensional transient numerical simulations is presented for the problem of double diffusion in a horizontal fluid layer linearly stratified in a stable manner with a salt gradient, and heated from below. For the numerical simulations the complete form of the governing equations, subject to the usual Boussinesq approximation, is utilized. A constant heat flux condition is imposed at the bottom warm wall of the system that generates a single well-mixed flow region which grows with time. The growth of the bottom region and the increase of the local and average bottom wall temperature are investigated. Furthermore, results are presented that aim to improve our understanding on the effect of the geometric aspect ratio of the system ( H/L ) as well as the effect of the ratio of the thermal to the solutal Rayleigh number (stability ratio, χ = Ra / Ra s ) on the evolving temperature, concentration and flow fields. Overall, the trends identified by earlier studies on double diffusion in a horizontal fluid layer are observed and a wealth of new information is reported.
On the theory of fuzzy switching mechanisms

A fuzzy switching function F over n variables is a mapping from Vn to V , where V represents the closed interval [0,1], such that F is representable by a logic formula defined under the operations of fuzzy algebra. In this paper we present a unified approach to the theory of fuzzy switching mechanisms, their properties, simplification, enumeration and applicability to the analysis of certain computer science related problems.
Drug addiction in pregnancy: the interface of science, emotion, and social policy.

Abstract The problem of drug addiction in pregnancy has been posed as a conflict between the rights of women and those of their fetuses. This paper presents a framework that incorporates emotion, identification, scientific research, and ethical issues as components to be used in establishing policy with respect to drug addicted pregnant women. Three approaches—voluntary treatment, involuntary treatment or incarceration, and maintaining of the status quo—are discussed with attention to class and economic aspects of women's lives and society's concern for fetal well-being. A model is proposed that addresses the needs of pregnant drug-addicted women and their fetuses, and that serves as an alternative to forced treatment or criminal prosecution.