cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Pressure-volume equation of state of consolidated and fractured rocks to 40 kb

Abstract A rapid and accurate method to obtain pressure-volume data to 40 kb at 25°C for rocks is presented. Typical data for both consolidated and artificially fractured materials are included. The pressure-volume curves so obtained can be related to the initial porosity of the consolidated rock and to porosity induced by fracturing the test samples. The qualitative features of the pressure-volume curves are consistent with a model of the effect of porosity on compressibility. The experimental results may also be related to the in situ elastic properties of the rock. These pressure-volume data, together with other mechanical properties, are used for numerical calculations of the effects of explosions in rock. Several nuclear explosions and high-explosive detonations in the Plowshare Program of the AEC have been successfully calculated using this type data.
Highly oxidizing excited states of one-electron-oxidized guanine in DNA: wavelength and pH dependence.

Excited states of one-electron-oxidized guanine in DNA are known to induce hole transfer to the sugar moiety and on deprotonation result in neutral sugar radicals that are precursors of DNA strand breaks. This work carried out in a homogeneous aqueous glass (7.5 M LiCl) at low temperatures (77−175 K) shows the extent of photoconversion of one-electron-oxidized guanine and the associated yields of individual sugar radicals are crucially controlled by the photon energy, protonation state, and strandedness of the oligomer. In addition to sugar radical formation, highly oxidizing excited states of one-electron-oxidized guanine are produced with 405 nm light at pH 5 and below that are able to oxidize chloride ion in the surrounding solution to form Cl2•− via an excited-state hole transfer process. Among the various DNA model systems studied in this work, the maximum amount of Cl2•− is produced with ds (double-stranded) DNA, where the one-electron-oxidized guanine exists in its cation radical form (G•+:C). Thus...
Robber Barons Redux: Antimonopoly Reconsidered

The antimonopoly critique of big business that flourished in the United States during the 1880s is a neglected chapter in the history of American reform. In this essay, a revised version of Richard R. John’s 2011 Business History Conference presidential address, John shows how this critique found expression in a gallery of influential cartoons that ran in the New York City–based satirical magazines Puck and Judge . Among the topics that the cartoonists featured was the manipulation of the nation’s financial markets by financier Jay Gould.
Perturbation solution for the 2D Boussinesq equation

Boussinesq equation arises in shallow water flows and in elasticity of rods and shells. It contains non- linearity and fourth-order dispersion and has been one of the main soliton models in 1D. To find its 2D solutions, a perturbation series with respect to the small parameter e = c 2 is developed in the present work, where c is the phase speed of the localized wave. Within the order O(e 2 )= O(c 4 ), a hierarchy is derived consisting of one-dimensional fourth-order equations. The Bessel operators involved are refor- mulated to facilitate the creation of difference schemes for the ODEs from the hierarchy. The numerical scheme uses a special approximation for the behavioral condition in the singularity point (the origin). The results of this work show that at infinity the stationary 2D wave shape decays algebraically, rather than exponentially as in the 1D cases. The new result can be instrumental for understanding the interaction of 2D Boussinesq solitons, and for creating more efficient numerical algorithms explicitly acknowledging the asymptotic behavior of the solution.
Alteration of oxidation behaviour of silicon carbide by aluminium implantation

Surface modification of ceramics by ion implantation is a fruitful area of research, giving the prospect of improving their surface-sensitive properties such as oxidation and wear resistance, hardness, and fracture toughness, while retaining the desirable bulk properties. In the case of oxidation, the surface chemistry of ceramics can be so tailored as to favour conditions for enhanced oxidation stability. These conditions include formation of an oxide barrier layer, neutralization of detrimental effects of bulk or environmental impurities, and modification of oxide defect concentration and conductivity. The effects of ion implantation on the oxidation behaviour of ceramics, mainly silicon nitride and silicon carbide, have been shown to be complex [1, 2]. Noda et al. [1] investigated the oxidation behaviour of sintered silicon nitride implanted with chromium to doses in the range 1 × 10175 × 1017 ions/cm 2 at 200 keV. It was shown that, at temperatures up to 1100 °C, a stable chromia layer was preferentially formed and acted as a good diffusion barrier to inward diffusion of oxygen and outward diffusion of impurity cations present in the sintered specimens. Chromium implantation markedly increased the oxidation resistance of silicon nitride. Above 1100 °C, little difference was observed in the oxidation behaviour between the implanted and unimplanted specimens due to rapid vaporization of chromium oxide. Studies of chromium-implanted silicon carbide by McHargue et al. [2] yielded an opposite outcome, however. It was revealed that silicon carbide implanted with chromium to doses in the range 6.2 × 1015-2.7 × 1016 ions/cm 2 at 95-280 keV exhibited significantly faster chemical-etching and oxidation rates than unimplanted samples~ These results were attributed to the amorphization of SiC by chromium implantation [2]. The adverse effect of implantation-induced structural changes on oxidation was also shown by Due t al. [3] in their oxidation studies of self-implanted single crystal silicon carbide at 1100 °C. Documented studies which investigate the potential of ion implantation to improve the oxidation resistance of silicon carbide and silicon nitride ceramics have been focused on using chromium as the dopant [1, 2]. In principle, any dopant may be considered to have a potentially beneficial effect on the oxidation stability if the dopant preferentially
The ESTRO Regaud lecture Inherent radio sensitivity of tumor and normal tissue cells as a predictor of human tumor response

Abstract This lecture reviews the history and current status of attempts to correlate the outcome of radiation therapy with estimates of tumor cell radio sensitivity, made by either histologic assessment of tumors irradiated in vivo or by assays for the survival of tumor cells irradiated in vitro. Genetically determined variability in the radiosensitivity of normal tissue cells from different individuals is also discussed in terms of its effect on the determination of “tolerance” doses and the possible correlation between tumor cell and normal tissue cell radiosensitivity in a given patient. It is concluded that measurement of both tumor cell and normal tissue cell radiosensitivies, along with other radiobiologically-based assays, will improve our ability to predict treatment outcome and provide the basis for further therapeutic advances in radiation oncology.
SKCG-1: a new candidate growth regulatory gene at chromosome 11q23.2 in human sporadic Wilms tumours.

Using arbitrary primed-PCR (AP-PCR), we have identified a novel genetic alteration located at chromosome 11q23.2 and this genetic alteration was common in 38% of the human Wilms tumour samples analysed. Further characterisation by cloning and sequencing of this genomic region revealed that it represents a part of an uncharacterised gene. We have named this gene as Sporadic Kidney Cancer Gene-1 (SKCG-1). Using fluorescence in situ hybridisation (FISH) approach, we established its localisation on the chromosome 11q23.2. Northern analysis revealed the transcript size of SKCG-1 of 2.09 kb and this was further confirmed by full-length cDNA sequence. Sequence analysis revealed an active translation start site (ATG sequence), a polyadenylation signal sequence (AATAAA), and an open reading frame (ORF) encoding a peptide of 124 amino acids in the cDNA sequence of SKCG-1. Analysis of genomic sequence of SKCG-1 revealed a promoter region containing TATA box located at −13 bp upstream of transcription start site. The AP-PCR, SCAR, and Southern blot analyses indicated genomic loss of SKCG-1 in Wilms tumours. The transcript of SKCG-1 was abundantly present in brain, kidney, liver, testis, salivary gland, foetal brain, foetal liver, whereas relatively lower expression in heart, stomach, prostate and no expression in spleen, colon, lung, small intestine, muscle, adrenal gland, uterus, skin, PBL, and bone marrow was detected. The expression of this gene transcript was either very less or undetectable in Wilms and breast tumours compared to their matched uninvolved tissues. Inhibition of SKCG-1 by siRNA resulted in increased cell proliferation of kidney epithelial cells. Based on the presence of two transmembrane regions in its peptide, SKCG-1 has been predicted as a transmembrane protein. Thus, the findings of this study revealed (i) SKCG-1, a new gene located at 11q23.2 and harbouring genetic alteration in Wilms tumours, (ii) the presence of SKCG-1 gene transcripts in various human normal tissues and its lower expression or absence in Wilms and breast tumours indicate that it may be associated with tumour growth suppressor activity, (iii) the presence of an open reading frame in the cDNA sequence of SKCG-1 indicates that it has potential to encode a protein, (iv) increased cell growth by silencing this gene in HEK293 cells further supports a potential role of this gene in growth of kidney epithelial cells. Our findings suggest that SKCG-1 may have a tumour suppressor role, and implicate genetic alteration in this gene as a potential oncogenic pathway and therapeutic target in kidney and breast cancer.
Use of Laboratory Data to Predict Sulfate Sorption During Artificial Ground-Water Recharge

Sulfate sorption data determined from laboratory investigations were used to predict movement of sulfate during a field experiment of artificial ground-water recharge in a basin near Lubbock, Texas. Laboratory studies confirmed that sulfate sorption is controlled in the system by surface area, content of iron oxides and hydroxides, and pH. Predicted sulfate distribution in the unsaturated zone was made by assuming constant one-dimensional flow. Where these assumptions were met, predictions were generally good at shallow depths and for short times. At greater depths and longer times, these assumptions combined with other factors, such as changes in effective porosity, variable mineralogy, changing hydrodynamic dispersion coefficients, and variable infiltration rates contributed to the failure of the predicted values to match the observed data. It appears that sulfate distribution in the unsaturated zone during artificial recharge can be predicted by using easily derived laboratory data if the flow conditions in the field can be described adequately.
Detection of astronomical cycles in the stratigraphic record by frequency modulation (FM) analysis

ABSTRACT Frequency modulation (FM) analysis of a sequence of basinal limestone/shale cycles from the Upper Pliensbachian Domaro Limestone, Lombardy Pre-Alps, northern Italy, reveals modulations with multiple low frequencies that closely resemble those of the theoretical equatorial, orbitally forced (precession-dominated) insolation. There is evidence for a systematic shift in these modulation frequencies that is consistent with a shorter Jurassic length of day. These results were used to estimate the incremental time scale along the Domaro succession, revealing a dual-frequency signal comparable to the precession. Separate analysis of the limestones and shales suggests that the limestones were deposited during times of decreasing or low northern spring equatorial insolation (NSEI), and the shales during times of increasing or high NSEI. We discuss two "end member" models that could link precession-forced insolation to the cyclic basinal sedimentation. The ambiguity of the source of carbonate influx into this Early Jurassic basinal depocenter led us to consider (1) an "allodapic mud model" in which precession-forced sea-level oscillations instituted a cyclic production of lime mud in shallow marine environments and subsequent transport into the adjacent basinal environments, and alternatively, (2) a "pelagic ooze model" in which precession-forced insolation directly forced pelagic productivity and influx into the basin.
Supplier-dependent antiglycan monoclonal antibody specificities: Comment on “High-throughput carbohydrate microarray profiling of 27 antibodies demonstrates widespread specificity problems”

We recently reported carbohydrate microarray profile results for a set of commercially available antiglycan monoclonal antibodies (Manimala et al. 2007), including clone A70-C/C8 (Kuemmel et al. 2007), which we acquired from Cell Sciences (Canton, MA), and antibodies B386 and B389, which we acquired from Biomeda (Foster City, CA). It was our understanding that B386 was equivalent to A68-B/A11 (Karsten et al. 1995) and B389 was equivalent to A70-A/A9 (Christensen et al. 2007). Subsequent to publication, we obtained A70-C/C8, A68-B/A11, and A70-A/A9 from the original source, Glycotope GmbH, Berlin-Buch (Dr. Uwe Karsten). In a side-by-side comparison, two of the antibodies supplied by Glycotope produced significantly different results as compared to the antibodies from Cell Sciences and Biomeda. In our assay, antibody A70-C/C8 from Glycotope bound selectively to LeY while A70-C/C8 from Cell Sciences cross-reacted with blood group B as we had reported. Antibody A68-B/A11 from Glycotope displayed reactivity with TFα, GA1 (TFβ), blood group A, blood group B, blood group H1, GM1, and tri-LacNAc while B386 from Biomeda bound blood group B had minor reactivity with blood group A trisaccharide and did not bind TFα, GA1 (TFβ), blood group H1, GM1, or tri-LacNAc. Antibody A70-A/A9 from Glycotope and B389 from Biomeda both bound selectively to LeY and did not show appreciable differences. Based on these results, binding data, tissue staining, and Western blots obtained with a particular antibody should be interpreted in relation to the supplier. Table ​TableII lists the original sources and catalog numbers for the antibodies profiled in our previous paper (Manimala et al. 2007). Table I Sources and catalog numbers for the antibodies
Thermally and electrically isolated single crystal silicon structures in CMOS technology

Thermally and electrically isolated single crystal silicon structures have been fabricated using a post-processing anisotropic tetramethyl ammonium hydroxide (TMAH) electrochemical etch. The process was carried out on CMOS circuits fabricated by a commercial foundry. Since the etch consists of a single micromachining step performed on packaged and bonded dice, this technique has the potential for cost-effective prototyping and production of integrated sensors and circuits. >
New class of wavelets for signal approximation

This paper develops a new class of wavelets for which the classical Daubechies zero moment property has been relaxed. The advantages of relaxing higher order wavelet moment constraints is that within the framework of compact support and perfect reconstruction (orthogonal and biorthogonal) one can obtain wavelet basis with new and interesting approximation properties. This paper investigates a new class of wavelets that is obtained by setting a few lower order moments to zero and using the remaining degrees of freedom to minimize a larger number of higher order moments. The resulting wavelets are shown to be robust for representing a large classes of inputs. Robustness is achieved at the cost of exact representation of low order polynomials but with the advantage that higher order polynomials can be represented with less error compared to the maximally regular solution of the same support.
Exploiting social context for review quality prediction

Online reviews in which users publish detailed commentary about their experiences and opinions with products, services, or events are extremely valuable to users who rely on them to make informed decisions. However, reviews vary greatly in quality and are constantly increasing in number, therefore, automatic assessment of review helpfulness is of growing importance. Previous work has addressed the problem by treating a review as a stand-alone document, extracting features from the review text, and learning a function based on these features for predicting the review quality. In this work, we exploit contextual information about authors' identities and social networks for improving review quality prediction. We propose a generic framework for incorporating social context information by adding regularization constraints to the text-based predictor. Our approach can effectively use the social context information available for large quantities of unlabeled reviews. It also has the advantage that the resulting predictor is usable even when social context is unavailable. We validate our framework within a real commerce portal and experimentally demonstrate that using social context information can help improve the accuracy of review quality prediction especially when the available training data is sparse.
Urban microbial ecology of a freshwater estuary of Lake Michigan.

Freshwater estuaries throughout the Great Lakes region receive stormwater runoff and riverine inputs from heavily urbanized population centers. While human and animal feces contained in this runoff are often the focus of source tracking investigations, non-fecal bacterial loads from soil, aerosols, urban infrastructure, and other sources are also transported to estuaries and lakes. We quantified and characterized this non-fecal urban microbial component using bacterial 16S rRNA gene sequences from sewage, stormwater, rivers, harbor/estuary, and the lake surrounding Milwaukee, WI, USA. Bacterial communities from each of these environments had a distinctive composition, but some community members were shared among environments. We used a statistical biomarker discovery tool to identify the components of the microbial community that were most strongly associated with stormwater and sewage to describe an “urban microbial signature,” and measured the presence and relative abundance of these organisms in the rivers, estuary, and lake. This urban signature increased in magnitude in the estuary and harbor with increasing rainfall levels, and was more apparent in lake samples with closest proximity to the Milwaukee estuary. The dominant bacterial taxa in the urban signature were Acinetobacter, Aeromonas, and Pseudomonas, which are organisms associated with pipe infrastructure and soil and not typically found in pelagic freshwater environments. These taxa were highly abundant in stormwater and sewage, but sewage also contained a high abundance of Arcobacter and Trichococcus that appeared in lower abundance in stormwater outfalls and in trace amounts in aquatic environments. Urban signature organisms comprised 1.7% of estuary and harbor communities under baseflow conditions, 3.5% after rain, and >10% after a combined sewer overflow. With predicted increases in urbanization across the Great Lakes, further alteration of freshwater communities is likely to occur with potential long term impacts on the function of estuarine and nearshore ecosystems.
Is it easy to move and easy to evolve? Evolutionary accessibility and adaptation

Recent phylogenetic studies have documented high levels of conservatism in ecological traits that seem at odds with the traditional view that organisms can readily adapt to different environments. We highlight the need for a new level of rigour in interpreting such patterns from both organismal and biogeographical perspectives. A handful of closely studied systems are revealing a greater number of ecological transitions than anticipated, but these are typically phylogenetically clustered, suggesting that the relative ease or difficulty of such adaptations is strongly contextdependent. We believe that this differential evolutionary ‘accessibility’ to certain adaptations is pervasive across the tree of life and we illustrate this with reference to several important ecological syndromes in plants. Differential accessibility derives in large part from the attributes of the organisms themselves – certain traits may act as ‘enablers’ that increase the likelihood of particular innovations. So far, we have made minimal progress in identifying precursor traits that underlie the evolution of ecological syndromes, but we are hopeful that improved phylogenetic resolution will allow for a surge of new insight. However, the accessibility of particular adaptations also derives from external factors, such as the relative location and extent of certain habitats and the competitive ability of the lineages that already occupy them. Better understanding of where particular lineages have existed in the past, and of the adjacency or connectivity of different environments through time, will also be necessary to explain how both dispersal and ecological diversification have jointly contributed to the assembly of the world’s ecosystems.
Oral Management of the Scleroderma Patient

The exercises presented enable the patient to improve mastication and oral hygiene, which were impeded by scleroderma.
The effects of rural-to-urban migration on the poverty status of youth in the 1980s

The effects of rural-to-urban migration on the poverty status of migrants have not been adequately explored. Using data from the [U.S.] National Longitudinal Survey of Youth to examine poverty status before and after a rural-to-urban migration a proportional hazards model of time spent in poverty that begins in rural areas is estimated to determine whether moving to an urban area reduces the time spent in poverty while controlling for individual educational and family characteristics. Results indicate that moving from a rural to an urban area reduces time spent in poverty for white and black women but the effects are not statistically significant for men. Further to adequately understand the relationship between moving to an urban area and poverty the analysis examines the effects of moving on the length of time spent not employed. (EXCERPT)
Web-Based Self-Triage of Influenza-Like Illness During the 2009 H1N1 Influenza Pandemic

The sudden emergence of 2009 H1N1 influenza in the spring of that year sparked a surge in visits to emergency departments in New York City and other communities. A larger, second wave of cases was anticipated the following autumn. To reduce a potential surge of health system utilization without denying needed care, we enlisted the input of experts from medicine, public health, nursing, information technology, and other disciplines to design, test, and deploy clinical algorithms to help minimally trained health care workers and laypeople make informed decisions about care-seeking for influenza-like illness. The product of this collaboration, named Strategy for Off-Site Rapid Triage (SORT) was disseminated in 2 forms. Static algorithms, posted on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Web site, offered guidance to clinicians and telephone call centers on how to manage adults and children with influenza-like illness. In addition, 2 interactive Web sites, http://www.Flu.gov and http://www.H1N1ResponseCenter.com, were created to help adults self-assess their condition and make an informed decision about their need for treatment. Although SORT was anchored in a previously validated clinical decision rule, incorporated the input of expert clinicians, and was subject to small-scale formative evaluations during rapid standup, prospective evaluation is lacking. If its utility and safety are confirmed, SORT may prove to be a useful tool to blunt health system surge and rapidly collect epidemiologic data on future disease outbreaks.
Long-term wash-resistant effects of brief interaction of xanomeline at the M1 muscarinic receptor.

Abstract Compared to other M 1 muscarinic acetylcholine receptor (M 1 mAChR) agonists, xanomeline demonstrates both reversible and persistent modes of binding to the receptor. In our study, we investigated the long-term consequences of brief incubation of Chinese hamster ovary cells expressing M 1 mAChR (M 1 -CHO) with low concentrations of xanomeline followed by washing off the free drug. Thus, M 1 -CHO cells were exposed to 100 nM xanomeline for 1 h then washed extensively. Washed cells were either used immediately for binding assays or incubated for 23 h in the absence of free xanomeline. Only the latter treatment conditions resulted in marked attenuation of binding of the muscarinic radioligand [ 3 H] N -methylscopolamine ([ 3 H]NMS) to intact cells. Shortening the xanomeline pretreatment period to 1 min had the same trends as the 1 h pretreatment, implying that xanomeline binds instantly to the receptor to elicit long-term wash-resistant effects. Presence of atropine during the brief period of xanomeline pretreatment did not markedly modulate xanomeline's long-term effects, which suggests that persistent anchoring of the xanomeline molecule to the M 1 receptor takes place at a site distinct from the orthosteric binding domain. Our findings suggest the possibility of a time-dependent transition of the conformation of the muscarinic M 1 receptor-xanomeline complex between states that vary in their ability to bind [ 3 H]NMS. However, possible involvement of other mechanisms of long-term receptor regulation cannot be discounted.
SUBURBIA AND VOTING BEHAVIOR IN THE LONDON METROPOLITAN AREA

ABSTRACT Widely noted spatial regularities in political activity include suburbancentral city differences in party preference and political participation. The spatial regularities can be found both in the United States and in Britain. In the London metropolitan area both party preference and participation are related to suburbanism in particular, and to other socio-economic dimensions in general, derived from a factor analysis. A causal model which attempts to evaluate the relative significance of suburbanism and other socio-economic dimensions in explaining the geography of party! preference and participation suggests that while both aspects of political activity are directly related to suburbanism, suburban-central city differences also operate indirectly through other dimensions to effect geographical differences. Suburbanism probably affects party preference in two ways: conversion of erstwhile central city Labor party supporters and immigration of Conservatives from the central city.
Business dealings with a patient: Money never sleeps

Mr M.O. Gul returned for his postoperative visit today after you successfully repaired a leaking abdominal aortic aneurysm. Mr Gul owns most of the cable networks in the state, making him a billionaire. He realizes that he met the bearded reaper and walked away because of your skills. He is pioneering a new technology that will make current Wi-Fi obsolete. Unexpectedly, he offers you the opportunity to invest with the expectation of huge returns. M.O. personally guarantees you will not lose money. What should you do? AInvest. No questions asked. BDo not invest. It is unprofessional. CDo not invest without consulting with your attorney. DDo not invest. You have already been paid for services rendered. EInvest provided you forego future medical relationships with M.O. as the attending physician.
Job Orientation of Black and White College Graduates in Business.

Differences in job orientation between black and white male and female business college graduates were examined. Significant race differences were found on 10 of 25 job characteristics, with blacks rating 9 of these more important than whites. Significant race by sex interactions exist on four characteristics, while sex differences were found on nine. Factor analysis indicates that blacks value long-range career objectives and structure considerably more than do whites, while their preference for intrinsic and extrinsic factors was less pronounced. Methods by which organizations can satisfy the greater importance placed on many job characteristics by blacks are explored.
Objectives and Capabilities of the Skylab S-193 Altimeter Experiment

This paper presents a summary of the experimental objectives and spacecraft instrumentation associated with the S-193 altimeter experiment for the 1973 Skylab mission. The experiment is, in general terms, directed toward geodetic altimetry and the acquisition of technical information needed to improve future precision altimeter designs, remote sensing of oceanographic and surface features, and measurement of basic electromagnetic scattering characteristics. A detailed discussion of the experiments associated with these objectives is given and the paper concludes with a review of the spacecraft hardware characteristics.
Competitive effects of long-chain-triglyceride emulsion on the metabolism of medium-chain-triglyceride emulsions

This study was conducted to assess the potential metabolic competitive interactions of intravenous medium-chain-triglyceride (MCT) and long-chain-triglyceride (LCT) lipid emulsions. To assess this competition increasing concentrations of LCT emulsion were added to an intravenous dose of MCT emulsion of 3.0 g/kg body wt up to a maximum dose of 3.0 g LCTs/kg body wt. Blood samples were assessed for competitive interactions by analyzing the following metabolites: glucose, insulin, lactate, pyruvate, ketones (acetoacetate, beta-hydroxybutyrate), elimination of triglycerides, and free fatty acids. Evaluation of the data showed a strong competitive interaction between the MCT and LCT emulsions. This competition was evident as soon as LCTs were added to the MCT infusions and appeared to favor LCTs for removal and metabolism over MCTs. This appears to indicate that there is a peripheral, strong affinity site for LCT removal and metabolism and a shared peripheral site and specific visceral site for MCT removal and metabolism.
Traffic modeling for multimedia communication systems

This paper focuses on characterization of typical traffic loads of multimedia communication systems. It begins with an investigation of the basic concepts relating to load characterization and traffic modeling for multimedia applications. Then we characterize video load sources and present the relevant statistical analyses and studies. On this basis, traffic sources are modeled. As a case study, we investigate transformation of multimedia traffic loads.
Effects of Heat Stress on Day-Old Broiler Chicks

Abstract Short-term heat stress can occur when chicks are transported from the hatchery to growing facilities. Two experiments were conducted to determine the possible effects of short-term heat stress on growth and feed conversion of broiler (Hubbard × Hubbard) chicks. The heat stress was accomplished by placing chicks in Jamesway 252 incubators at dry bulb temperatures ranging from 40 to 45 C for variable times. Growth, feed consumption, and mortality were measured for 16 days following the heat stress. Short sublethal heat stress significantly reduced growth rate to 16 days in these experiments without any effect on feed conversion ratio. The results indicate that the hatchery industry should avoid overheating chicks even for periods as short as 1 hr.
Assigning probabilities for assurance in MLS database design

The author discusses the management of a possible breach of the security policy in multilevel secure systems using data managed by a database management system. Systems containing a multilevel secure database are subject to compromise when data collections from the database are used to obtain data values classified at higher security levels. There are two types of such problems, described as aggregation and inference problems. The cost of eliminating these problems by considering every case is exponential, so an approach of risk estimation based upon a probability measure should be considered. Probability has two orthogonal interpretations known as Pascalian and Baconian, suited respectively to aggregation and inference. Using the functional data model as the mathematical description of databases, formalisms for mapping measures of each to a database are provided. Mappings are presented that represent the probability semantics of each type of probability measure. >
Tight junction modulation and its relationship to drug delivery

In order for therapeutic agents to exert their pharmacological effects, they have to cross the biological membranes into the systemic circulation and reach the site of action. Drugs cross the membranes by one of two pathways; paracellular or transcellular. Most drugs are transported transcellularly depending on their physiocochemical properties, however the paracellular route is usually the main route of absorption for hydrophilic drugs (proteins, peptides, etc.). The paracellular pathway is governed by the tight junctions (TJs). The modulation of the TJs by absorption enhancers for paracellular drug transport enhancement and hence drug delivery improvement has been hampered for so many years by lack of comprehensive understanding of the structure and function of the TJs. The TJs are a multiple unit structure composed of multiprotein complex that affiliates with the underlying apical actomyosin ring. TJ proteins identified include transmembrane proteins occludin and claudin and cytoplasmic plaque proteins ZO-1, ZO-2, ZO-3, cingulin, and 7H6. Among the new absorption enhancers that evolved in the past few years is Zonula Occludens toxin, Zot. In vivo and in vitro studies have shown that Zot and its biologically active fragment ΔG could be effectively used to increase the transport/absorption of paracellular markers and low bioavailable drugs across the intestinal epithelium and the blood brain barrier endothelium. Zot was also shown to be an excellent mucosal adjuvant. Above all, the transient opening of the TJs by Zot suggests that it could be used as a novel approach for the safe drug delivery of therapeutic agents.
Stromal cell-derived factor-1-mediated angiogenesis for peripheral arterial disease: ready for prime time?

Atherosclerotic peripheral arterial disease (PAD) is a major cause of morbidity in Western societies and significantly reduces quality of life in affected individuals.1 The prevalence of PAD is dependent on the age of the population studied, the atherosclerotic risk factor profile, and the criteria used for diagnosis. In the United States, an estimated 20% of adults >70 years of age have PAD. Only one fifth of patients with objective evidence of PAD have the typical symptoms of intermittent limb claudication, whereas a significant percentage (30% to 50%) report atypical leg symptoms, and the remainder are asymptomatic.2,3 Although relatively few deaths are directly attributed to PAD, the disease is potently implicated in mortality. Both symptomatic PAD and asymptomatic PAD independently predict cardiovascular mortality. Moreover, occlusive PAD can progress to critical limb ischemia, a condition characterized by resting perfusion that is inadequate to maintain tissue viability. Patients with chronic critical limb ischemia have a 1-year mortality of 25% and a substantial rate of limb loss.4 Although the goal of treatment in patients with limb-threatening ischemia is to preserve life and limb and to maintain function through the use of surgical or endovascular revascularization strategies, a significant number of patients have unreconstructable disease. Approximately 40% of these patients will require a major amputation within 6 months of the initial diagnosis.2 Successful treatment of these patients requires new therapeutic approaches to reconstitute the microvasculature. Article see p 1306 Over the last 20 years, the explosion in our understanding of the regulation of angiogenesis resulted in identification of mediators capable of promoting new vessel formation in ischemic tissues. …
Isolation and characterization of phenol-degrading denitrifying bacteria

Phenol is a man-made as well as a naturally occurring aromatic compound and an important intermediate in the biodegradation of natural and industrial aromatic compounds. Whereas many microorganisms that are capable of aerobic phenol degradation have been isolated, only a few phenol-degrading anaerobic organisms have been described to date. In this study, three novel nitrate-reducing microorganisms that are capable of using phenol as a sole source of carbon were isolated and characterized. Phenol-degrading denitrifying pure cultures were obtained by enrichment culture from anaerobic sediments obtained from three different geographic locations, the East River in New York, N.Y., a Florida orange grove, and a rain forest in Costa Rica. The three strains were shown to be different from each other based on physiologic and metabolic properties. Even though analysis of membrane fatty acids did not result in identification of the organisms, the fatty acid profiles were found to be similar to those of Azoarcus species. Sequence analysis of 16S ribosomal DNA also indicated that the phenol-degrading isolates were closely related to members of the genus Azoarcus. The results of this study add three new members to the genus Azoarcus, which previously comprised only nitrogen-fixing species associated with plant roots and denitrifying toluene degraders.
Truncated amplification: a method for high-fidelity template-driven nucleic acid amplification.

The error rate of conventional PCR is problematic when amplifying from single cells or amplifying segments for protein functional analysis by in vitro translation. We describe truncated amplificati...
Cross-classified random effects models in institutional research

This chapter provides an example of how cross-classified random effects modeling can be used in institutional research by examining faculty gender pay gaps overall and by principal activity.
Using an evidence-based CBT group intervention model for adolescents with depressive symptoms: lessons learned from a school-based adaptation

This paper highlights the process of implementing and adapting an evidence-based cognitive–behavioural therapy (CBT) depression group intervention model for adolescents (ages 11–18) in two middle schools and one alternative high school in the USA. The paper describes the process of moving an evidence-based intervention from a clinic-based setting to a school-based setting by engaging in the following steps: (1) reviewing the literature and selecting the evidence-based intervention with the greatest chance of success in the school environment; (2) adapting the evidence-based intervention to address delivery issues in a school setting; (3) preparing social workers to deliver the evidence-based intervention with fidelity; (4) evaluating the fidelity and outcomes of the implementation of the evidence-based intervention; and (5) addressing issues of sustainability or continuous quality improvement of the evidence-based intervention. The paper concludes with a section on lessons learned from piloting an adaptation of an evidence-based intervention in a real world setting.
A comparison of two synchronizing concepts

In this paper the use of semaphores and critical regions to synchronize concurrent processes is compared to a more recent proposal for so-called conditional critical regions. The latter concept permits the programmer to express directly that a process must be delayed until a certain condition holds before entering a critical region. The paper describes a well-structured notation for these. synchronizing concepts and uses both of them to solve a typical resource allocation problem. The two solutions are compared by outlining proofs of their correctness. A fairly long argument is needed to justify the solution which uses semaphores. In contrast, the solution based on conditional critical regions is so obvious that a proof is hardly needed. The paper concludes by explaining why programs using semaphores in general will be much more obscure than programs using conditional critical regions.
In vivo characterization of colonic thermal injury caused by argon plasma coagulation.

Abstract Background: Argon plasma coagulation has been rapidly accepted for endoscopic obliteration of vascular lesions and superficial tumors. Depth of injury is thought to be limited through preferential discharge of energy to nondesiccated tissue. However, argon plasma coagulation-induced injury has not been well characterized. The aim of this study was to characterize argon plasma coagulation-induced colonic injury by using a porcine model. Methods: Laparotomy was performed in 6 female swine and the colon exteriorized with the subjects under general anesthesia. Lesions were made with an argon plasma coagulation probe held perpendicular and 2 mm from the mucosa. Variables studied were as follows: power (45 W, 60 W, and 75 W) and duration (1, 2, or 3 seconds; n=11 for each power/duration combination). Injury was graded as either superficial or deep, involving the muscularis propria. Results: Circular muscle layer injury correlated closely with power ( p = 0.02), duration ( p = 0.001), and total energy delivered ( r = 0.977). Longitudinal muscle damage was associated with duration of burn ( p = 0.001) and total energy delivered ( r = 0.855), but correlated poorly with power ( p = 0.40). No perforations occurred. Submucosal injection of saline solution had a protective effect with reductions in circular (90% to 10%, p = 0.002) and longitudinal muscle injury (50% to 0%, p = 0.1). Conclusions: Injury to the muscularis propria occurs at recommended settings for argon plasma coagulation. Injury correlates with power setting, duration of burn, and total energy delivery. Protective arcing to nondesiccated tissue does not appear to be significant in vivo. Submucosal injection of saline solution protects against deep injury. (Gastrointest Endosc 2002;55:631-6.)
Westward Motion of Mesoscale Eddies

Abstract Since the pioneering work of Nof, the determination of the westward drift of mesoscale eddies under the planetary (beta) effect has been a recurrent theme in mesoscale oceanography, and several different formulae have been proposed in the literature. Here, recpatiulation is sought, and, within the confines of a single-layer model, a generalized formula is derived. Although it is similar to Nof's, the present formula is established from a modified definition and with fewer assumptions. It also recaptiulates all other formulae for the one-layer model and applies to a wide variety of situations, including cases when the vortex develops a wake of Rossby waves or undergoes axismmetrization. Following the derivation of the formula, a physical interpretation clarifies the migration mechanism, which can be divided between a self-induced propulsion and a reaction from the displaced ambient fluid. Numerical simulations with primitive and geostrophic equations validate the formula for a variety of length sc...
Maternal diabetes distress is linked to maternal depressive symptoms and adolescents' glycemic control.

Objective Mothers of youth with type 1 diabetes experience increased levels of stress and depression related to the burden of diabetes management, but the concept of diabetes distress, or distress linked specifically to diabetes and its management, has not been applied to mothers. The current study examined diabetes distress in relation to maternal depressive symptoms and adolescents' glycemic control. Research Design and Methods Mothers of youth with type 1 diabetes (age: 10–16) completed a measure of depressive symptoms and diabetes distress as part of a screening questionnaire. Adolescents' glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) was obtained from medical records. Results Mothers' diabetes distress was strongly related to maternal depressive symptoms, and relationship-related diabetes distress was significantly associated with adolescents' HbA1c. In multivariate analyses, maternal depression was the only significant predictor of glycemic control. Conclusions Given the links between mothers' diabetes distress, maternal depressive symptoms, and adolescents' glycemic control, diabetes distress may be important to consider when targeting both maternal and adolescent adjustment to type 1 diabetes.
Comparison of very-high-frequency ultrasound and spectral-domain optical coherence tomography corneal and epithelial thickness maps.

Purpose To compare corneal thickness and epithelial thickness measurements in maps obtained using the RTVue spectral domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) system and the Artemis 2 immersion arc-scanning very-high-frequency ultrasound (VHF-US) system. Setting Department of Ophthalmology, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, New York, USA. Design Comparative study. Methods Eyes of normal volunteers were scanned with the SD-OCT system followed by the VHF-US system and then again by the SD-OCT system. On each map, the minimum corneal thickness and mean values of corneal thickness and epithelial thickness in the 3.0 mm radius zone and in 0.5 mm wide concentric annuli of up to a 3.0 mm radius around the corneal vertex were determined. Results Both eyes of 12 normal volunteers were scanned. The corneal thickness values from both devices were highly correlated (R > 0.96); in the 3.0 mm radius zone, they were not statistically significantly different. There was no statistically significant change in epithelial thickness or corneal thickness in SD-OCT measurements taken before versus after immersion US. Although highly correlated (R > 0.76), the SD-OCT epithelial thickness values were systematically thinner (1.7 ± 2.1 μm) than the VHF-US measurements in the 3.0 mm radius zone (P Conclusions The corneal thickness measurements in the 3.0 mm radius zone in normal eyes were equivalent between the 2 systems. Although correlated, the VHF-US epithelial thickness measurements were systemically thicker than the SD-OCT values. Financial Disclosures Drs. Silverman and Reinstein have a commercial interest in Arcscan, Inc. Dr. Reinstein is a consultant to Carl Zeiss Meditec. None of the other authors has a financial or proprietary interest in any material or method presented.
Oral contraceptives and risk of breast cancer.

Use of oral contraceptives (OCs) by women prior to age 25 or 1st fullterm pregnancy has been theorized to increase the risk of breast cancer. While multiple studies have reported a positive relationship between early us and subsequent breast cancer development numerous researchers have concluded that there is no effect. 1 reason for the varied results may be the case-control methodology utilized by the majority of studies and its associated biases including selection information and recall bias. Other theories include an undetected latent effect changing OC dosages and formulations earlier breast cancer diagnosis followup among OC users and chance. While more research is needed the weight of evidence does not support an increased risk of breast cancer among OC users even those women under age 25 or those who have not had a fullterm pregnancy. Thus it seems unnecessary to change the current approach to OC use. (authors modified)