cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
GENDER-BASED PAY GAPS Methodological and Policy Issues in University Salary Studies

Methodology is often a point of contention in gender-based salary studies. Although this debate seems at first to be merely about technical issues, it also has an important conceptual dimension. We argue that there are two competing implicit conceptions of discrimination, one institutional and the other individual, that underlie many such debates. We first contrast the preferred methodologies advanced by each side, the policy capturing approach and the flagging approach, and explore the theoretical meaning of their statistical models. We then describe a practical application of both methodological approaches in one specific salary inequity study. In conclusion, we reflect on the implications of such practical statistical choices, discuss how such models can be combined, and make suggestions for sociologists who act as statistical experts or work with them in gender-based salary inequity studies on their own campuses.
A quadratic regulator-based heuristic for rapidly exploring state space

Kinodynamic planning algorithms like Rapidly-Exploring Randomized Trees (RRTs) hold the promise of finding feasible trajectories for rich dynamical systems with complex, nonconvex constraints. In practice, these algorithms perform very well on configuration space planning, but struggle to grow efficiently in systems with dynamics or differential constraints. This is due in part to the fact that the conventional distance metric, Euclidean distance, does not take into account system dynamics and constraints when identifying which node in the existing tree is capable of producing children closest to a given point in state space. We show that an affine quadratic regulator (AQR) design can be used to approximate the exact minimum-time distance pseudometric at a reasonable computational cost. We demonstrate improved exploration of the state spaces of the double integrator and simple pendulum when using this pseudometric within the RRT framework, but this improvement drops off as systems' nonlinearity and complexity increase. Future work includes exploring methods for approximating the exact minimum-time distance pseudometric that can reason about dynamics with higher-order terms.
On inverse adsorption chromatography. 2. Determination of isotherms and heats of adsorption as well as energy distributions of adsorption sites

The isotherms and heats of adsorption, as well as the energy distributions of adsorption sites for pyridine at 100 °C and benzene at 40 °C on the silica surface, were determined by the method of inverse gas chromatography (IGC). These characteristics are usually obtained from IGC after integration of its direct result: the derivative of the adsorption isotherm. It is shown that the constant of integration plays a critical role in obtaining the isosteric heats of adsorption and the energy distributions of adsorption sites. The method of extrapolation is shown herein to be most appropriate for obtaining this constant. The modified ECP method, which takes account of longitudinal diffusion and kinetics of adsorption, was developed in the companion paper (Bakaev, V. A. J. Phys. Chem. C 2007, 111, 7463-7472) and was applied here to the pyridine/silica and benzene/silica systems. It is shown how to experimentally determine the longitudinal diffusion coefficient and the kinetics of adsorption coefficient. The IGC method probes only a small fraction of all of the adsorption sites on a surface. These are the strongest adsorption sites whose adsorption energy in the case of pyridine is almost 6 times larger in magnitude than the heat of liquefaction.
A fast effusive-flow vapor-transport system for ISOL-based radioactive ion beam facilities

Abstract In order to generate useful beam intensities of short-lived radioactive isotopes for nuclear and nuclear-astrophysics research at ISOL-based radioactive ion beam facilities, delay times associated with diffusion release from target materials and effusive-flow transport from production targets to ion sources must be reduced to as low as practically achievable levels. A fast vapor-transport system has been conceived that reduces effusive-flow times from target to ion source by>2 orders of magnitude over those of conventional transport systems used at CERN-ISOLDE and the Holifield Radioactive Ion Beam Facility. For target material thicknesses of ∼1 μm, the new system permits the generation of useful RIB intensities of species with lifetimes of a few tens of milliseconds to a few seconds and target/species combinations with diffusion coefficients in the range, 10 −8 ⩾ D (cm 2 /s)⩾10 −10 .
Is the Ether Group Hydrophilic or Hydrophobic

A series of six surfactants, each with two ether oxygens within otherwise all-hydrocarbon chains, were synthesized and examined for their colloidal properties. Since an ether oxygen is sterically and conformationally similar to the methylene group it has replaced, the ether effect on micellization should stem mainly from solvation of the oxygen and, possibly, disrupted hydrophobicity of its adjacent carbons. It was found that critical aggregation values among the surfactants differ only modestly despite the total length of the ether-separated carbon segments ranging from 12 to 18. Shorter ether surfactants with only 12 or 14 total carbons appear to form small, loose aggregates owing, presumably, to a mild hydrophilicity of the ether groups. A surfactant with 18 chain carbons has a greater tendency to associate hydrophobically, but this is counterbalanced by a relatively water-free environment encountered by the ether groups within a more conventional micelle interior. The result is a leveling effect in wh...
Anticonvulsant effects of carbamazepine on spontaneous seizures in rats with kainate-induced epilepsy: comparison of intraperitoneal injections with drug-in-food protocols.

Summary Purpose: The present study evaluated the effectiveness of intraperitoneal (IP) injections and oral administration of carbamazepine (CBZ) in food on the frequency of spontaneous motor seizures in rats with kainate-induced epilepsy. The purpose was to develop a convenient drug-in-food approach for continuous, long-term administration of potential antiepileptic drugs (AEDs). Methods: Single IP injections of CBZ (10–100 mg/kg) were compared to vehicle injections via six AED-versus-vehicle tests using a repeated-measures, crossover protocol. Similar protocols were used with CBZ-containing or control food pellets. Results: CBZ significantly reduced motor seizure frequency at 30 and 100 mg/kg after single IP injections, and these doses completely blocked motor seizures during a 6-h postdrug epoch in 25% and 70% of the animals, respectively. Single administrations of 30 mg/kg and 100 mg/kg CBZ in food also significantly reduced motor seizures, and blocked seizures in 33% and 89% of the rats, respectively. CBZ administered in food three times per day (100 mg/kg ×3 CBZ in food) continuously blocked nearly all motor seizures over a 5-day period, and completely suppressed motor seizures in 50% of the animals tested. Conclusions: CBZ strongly suppresses spontaneous motor seizures, and single doses of CBZ in food are as effective as IP injections in rats with kainate-induced epilepsy. CBZ administered regularly in food continuously blocks nearly all motor seizures, and may provide a relatively simple method to test AEDs in chronic models of epilepsy.
Gene Expression Profiling in Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Oral Cavity Shows Abnormalities in Several Signaling Pathways

Objectives/Hypothesis: To examine gene expression profiles in squamous cell carcinoma of the oral cavity (oral SCC) compared with histologically matched normal tissue. Study Design: Fresh-frozen tissue was prospectively obtained from individuals undergoing surgical resections for oral SCC. Methods: RNA was extracted from seven sets of oral SCC and matched normal tissue. Gene expression profiles were obtained by interrogation of Affymetrix Gene Chip Arrays with cRNA prepared from the tissue. Expression values were subjected to a paired t test. Genes that were judged to differ between oral SCC and normal tissue were annotated according to their name in the Affymetrix Netaffx database and according to their function as indicated by their Gene Ontology Consortium number. Results: Of the 10,599 probe sets that were analyzed, 523 genes were abnormally expressed in SCC of the head and neck (P ≤ .01), and 417 of these genes were abnormally expressed in all seven tumors in the same manner. Hierarchical clustering of the 121 genes that were abnormally expressed in cancerous relative to normal tissue (P ≤ .001) showed that the tissue segregated into two groups consisting of normal and transformed tissue, as expected. The abnormal expression of two genes that were up regulated in oral SCC (ADAM 12 and PTHLH) and two genes that were down-regulated in SCCHN (EMP-1 and P11) were confirmed by real-time polymerase chain reaction and immunohistochemistry (ADAM 12) using additional sets of tissue. Conclusions: The data showed that oral SCC aberrantly express genes in cellular pathways related to proliferation, apoptosis, extracellular matrix degradation, adhesion, transforming growth factor-β signaling, and transcription. Further work is needed to determine the role of these genes in the development and progression of oral SCC.
Noncollocated point control of nondispersive distributed-parameter systems using time delays

This paper deals with the noncollocated, time-delayed active point control of continuous systems. It considers systems of finite spatial extent which can be modeled by the undamped wave equation. The paper presents a new method of control of the system using noncollocated sensors and actuators. By using the physical properties of the mode shapes of vibration of the system it is shown that the modal response at a given location in the system can be reconstructed from the time-delayed modal responses at (at most) three different locations in the system. This result is then used to motivate a closed-loop control design which is capable of stabilizing the system and dampening the vibrations in all its modes, using dislocated sensor and actuator locations. It is found that the cost of dislocating the sensors from the actuator is at most an additional two sensors. For special types of boundary conditions this cost may be reduced to one additional sensor, or even be completely eliminated. Simple finite-dimensional controllers, commonly used in control design, are found to suffice. The results are valid for rather general conditions at the boundaries of the continuum. Explicit conditions are provided to obtain the bounds on the controller gains to ensure stability of the closed-loop control design. These bounds are obtained in terms of the locations of the sensors and the actuators. Simulation results, which validate the control methodology and the theoretical bounds on the gain, are also presented.
Poster abstract: Pair-wise reference-free fault detection in wireless sensor networks

This poster presents a distributed reference-free fault detection algorithm which is based on local pair-wise verification. We show there exist a linear relationship between the output of any pair of sensors if the system excitations can be aggregated as a single system input. Using this relationship, faulty sensors suffering from sparse spike errors can be identified with high accuracy by our algorithm. An appealing feature of our method is that existence of reference sensors and knowledge of system input are not required. preliminary performance analysis shows that the algorithm is scalable, robust and able to detect most of the faults exist in the sen-sors. Communication power is also greatly reduced by the distributed nature of the algorithm.
The origin of secretory cells inCordylophora caspia during regeneration.

Previous studies withHydra viridis (Rose and Burnett, 1968b, 1970) demonstrated that both zymogen cells and gastrodermal basophilic cells differentiated into mucous cells in regenerating hypostomes. It remained to be demonstrated that interstitial cells are the source of the basophilic cells seen in the regenerating hypostome; that is, did they migrate into the gastrodermis during regeneration and differentiate into mucous cells ? This study was undertaken withCordylophora caspia to demonstrate that interstitial cells do differentiate into secretory mucous cells. This hydroid has a distribution of secretory cells similar to that ofHydra viridis. Furthermore, both the epidermis and gastrodermis can be readily isolated from theCordylophora stolon free from contamination by the other layer. Cordylophora can be cultured in a medium containing labeled cell precursors and afterwards be used to obtain pieces of labeled epldermis. These labeled pieces of epidermis were recombined with unlabeled gastrodermis and the resulting expiant was studied histologically, radioautographically, and with the electron microscope to determine if interstitial cells migrate into the gastrodermis and are the source of any specialized cells in this cell layer. The results of this experiment clearly demonstrated that interstitial cells do migrate into the gastrodermis and differentiate into the hypostomal mucous cells and zymogenic cells of that layer.
Solar Absorption Cooling and Heating System in the Intelligent Workplace

A solar thermal driven absorption cooling and heating system has been installed in Carnegie Mellon University’s Robert L. Preger intelligent Workplace, the IW. The purpose of this solar installation is to investigate the technical and economic aspects of using high temperature solar thermal receivers driving a two stage absorption chiller to cool and heat a building space. The solar system consists primarily of 52 m2 of single-axis tracking parabolic trough solar collectors (PTSC), and a 16 kW double effect absorption chiller driven by either a fluid heated in solar receivers or by natural gas fuel. The receivers convert solar radiation to thermal energy in a heated fluid; the chiller then uses this energy in summer to generate chilled water. In winter, the thermal energy is directly used for heating. A performance analysis was carried out to estimate the conversion efficiency of the PTSC based on mass and energy balances and heat transfer computations programmed in Engineering Equation Solver (EES). The performance of the overall solar cooling and heating for the IW has been programmed in TRNSYS modeling system. This solar energy system has been estimated to provide 38–50% of the cooling and 9–30% of heating energy depending upon orientation, insulation and storage capacity for 245 m2 of space in the IW. Experimental data are now being collected and will be used for validating the solar collector model. The solar system model will be used in interpreting the data yet to be obtained on the system performance. The primary purpose of this research program is the development of systems which reduce the energy requirements for the operation of buildings by a factor of two or greater, and the provision of techniques and tools for the design and evaluation of such systems.© 2007 ASME
Batrachotoxinin-A N-methylanthranilate, a new fluorescent ligand for voltage-sensitive sodium channels

Batrachotoxin and its derivatives have become important tools for the study of membrane excitability by virtue of their effects on voltage-sensitive sodium channels. Recent studies have shown that the 2,4-dimethylpyrrole carboxylate ester normally occurring in the 20-alpha position of batrachotoxin may be replaced by a benzoate moiety without loss of activity. We have now extended this series of active batrachotoxin derivatives and report here the synthesis of batrachotoxinin-A 20-alpha-N-methylanthranilate. The new fluorescent compound is highly toxic (LD50 approx. 15 micrograms/kg, i.p. mouse) and binds to the same receptor site of voltage-sensitive sodium channels as batrachotoxin with an equilibrium dissociation constant Kd = 180 nM (in the presence of scorpion toxin). These fluorescence and binding properties have been exploited to achieve successful visualization of sodium channels at mammalian nodes of Ranvier. Batrachotoxinin-A 20-alpha-N-methylanthranilate should prove to be a useful compound for studies of sodium channel distribution and for investigations of the microenvironment of the batrachotoxin binding site.
A Review of Fatigue Behavior in Nanocrystalline Metals

Nanocrystalline metals have been shown to exhibit unique mechanical behavior, including break-down in Hall-Petch behavior, suppression of dislocation-mediated plasticity, induction of grain boundary sliding, and induction of mechanical grain coarsening. Early research on the fatigue behavior of nanocrystalline metals shows evidence of improved fatigue resistance compared to traditional microcrystalline metals. In this review, experimental and modeling observations are used to evaluate aspects of cyclic plasticity, microstructural stability, crack initiation processes, and crack propagation processes. In cyclic plasticity studies to date, nanocrystalline metals have exhibited strongly rate-dependent cyclic hardening, suggesting the importance of diffusive deformation mechanisms such as grain-boundary sliding. The cyclic deformation processes have also been shown to cause substantial mechanically-induced grain coarsening reminiscent of coarsening observed during large-strain monotonic deformation of nanocrystalline metals. The crack-initiation process in nanocrystalline metals has been associated with both subsurface internal defects and surface extrusions, although it is unclear how these extrusions form when the grain size is below the scale necessary for persistent slip band formation. Finally, as expected, nanocrystalline metals have very little resistance to crack propagation due to limited plasticity and the lack of crack path tortuosity among other factors. Nevertheless, like bulk metallic glasses, nanocrystalline metals exhibit both ductile fatigue striations and metal-like Paris-law behavior. The review provides both a comprehensive critical survey of existing literature and a summary of key areas for further investigation.
Does APL really need run-time checking?

APL in its present interpretive implementations provides an ideal tool for the development of programs. The interpretive overhead, however, often prohibits the running of large production programs. Our results indicate that the overhead involved in checking type and size compatibility of the arguments of APL primitive functions during execution can be substantially avoided without loss of error detection. Using a large sample of syntactically correct APL programs, a statistical analysis was performed on the required conformability checks for each function. We have compiled (for each type of conformability check in each program) statistics on the percentage of checks that could be eliminated by static analysis and verification. The programs analysed contained 1,454 primitive functions. Of the 2,412 rank, length, domain and value checks required by a ‘naive’ interpreter, 1,966 (80 per cent) can be validated statically. Index checks were required only thirty-one times, but essentially all must be evaluated at run time. This suggests that compilation of APL programs to conventional target codes may be feasible as a high performance implementation whenever the cost of such translation does not dominate.
Impact of skin temperature and hydration on plasma volume responses during exercise

Heat stress and hydration may both alter plasma volume (PV) responses during acute exercise; potential interactions have not been fully studied. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of graded elevations in skin temperature (Tsk) on PV changes during steady-state exercise under conditions of euhydration (EU) and hypohydration (HYPO, -4% of body mass). Thirty-two men (22 ± 4 yr) were divided into four cohorts (n = 8 each) and completed EU and HYPO trials in one environment [ambient temperature (Ta) 10, 20, 30, and 40°C]. Thirty minutes of cycle ergometry (50% Vo2peak) was performed. Core (Tre) and mean skin (Tsk) temperatures were measured; changes in PV, total circulating protein (TCP), and mean arterial pressure (MAP) were calculated; and skin blood flow (SkBF) was estimated. Hypohydration decreased (P < 0.05) PV by 200 ml (-5.7%) but did not alter TCP. Plasma loss was not different between EU and HYPO during exercise at any Ta. Plasma losses were greater (P < 0.05) with elevated Ta with an average -130, -174, -294, and -445 ml losses during the 10, 20, 30, and 40°C trials, respectively. Significant (P < 0.05) correlations (r = 0.50 to 0.84) were found between ΔTCP and ΔPV during exercise when Tsk was cool/warm (<33°C; Ta 10, 20, and 30°C), but not at 40°C (high Tsk). We conclude that 1) graded skin warming proportionally accentuated plasma loss; 2) plasma loss was associated with plasma protein efflux at lower Tsk and SkBF; 3) at high Tsk, additional plasma loss likely results from increased net filtration at the capillaries; and 4) HYPO did not alter vascular fluid loss during exercise in any environment.
Does an Eye Tracker Tell the Truth about Visualizations?: Findings while Investigating Visualizations for Decision Making

For information visualization researchers, eye tracking has been a useful tool to investigate research participants' underlying cognitive processes by tracking their eye movements while they interact with visual techniques. We used an eye tracker to better understand why participants with a variant of a tabular visualization called `SimulSort' outperformed ones with a conventional table and typical one-column sorting feature (i.e., Typical Sorting). The collected eye-tracking data certainly shed light on the detailed cognitive processes of the participants; SimulSort helped with decision-making tasks by promoting efficient browsing behavior and compensatory decision-making strategies. However, more interestingly, we also found unexpected eye-tracking patterns with Simul- Sort. We investigated the cause of the unexpected patterns through a crowdsourcing-based study (i.e., Experiment 2), which elicited an important limitation of the eye tracking method: incapability of capturing peripheral vision. This particular result would be a caveat for other visualization researchers who plan to use an eye tracker in their studies. In addition, the method to use a testing stimulus (i.e., influential column) in Experiment 2 to verify the existence of such limitations would be useful for researchers who would like to verify their eye tracking results.
Anzia Yezierska and the Popular Periodical Debate Over the Jews

Ever since the rediscovery and celebration of Anzia Yezierska's masterpiece Bread Givers in the early 1970s, scholars have struggled with the question of how to read her work. The struggle has assumed the form of a debate about the quality of Yezierska's prose. Antagonistic readers like Irving Howe, for example, have flatly called her stories "not very good," while even sympathetic readers like Grace Paley have acknowledged Yezierska's clumsiness (269; Wexler 158).lYezierska's partisans have responded by seeing her stories as fictionalized memoirs and by extolling her ability to document the immigrant woman's experience. This makes her stories "valuable as social history and somewhat less important for [their] place in literature" (Kessler-Harris v).2 On the other hand, the reliability of Yezierska's "social histories" is sometimes suspect. Admittedly they are, as Thomas J. Ferraro has suggested, rich in "autobiographical resonances" (57). Yet Yezierska's autobiography, at least as it was presented piecemeal in reviews and interviews through the 1920s, was largely a publicrelations fiction: her life, as Mary V. Dearborn has said, "provides a case study of the invention of ethnicity in American culture" (109). Further, Yezierska's own daughter has warned against taking her mother's work as "literally true": "although most of her writing was autobiographical, she was incapable of telling the plain truth" (Henriksen, A Writer's Life 255). Thus the question remains: if we cannot take her compelling and critically-acclaimed3 stories as either accomplished fiction or memoir, how should we take them?
A Virtue-Ethics Analysis of Supply Chain Collaboration

Technological advancements in information systems over the past few decades have enabled firms to work with the major suppliers and customers in their supply chain in order to improve the performance of the entire channel. Tremendous benefits for all parties can be realized by sharing information and coordinating operations to reduce inventory requirements, improve quality, and increase customer satisfaction; but the companies must collaborate effectively to bring these gains to fruition. We consider two alternative methods of managing these interfirm supply chain relationships in this article. The first, which we have named “dictatorial collaboration,” occurs when a dominant supply chain entity assumes control of the channel and forces the other firms to follow its edicts. We compare and contrast this method with “sustainable collaboration,” in which the parties share resources and engage in joint problem solving to improve the performance of the system as a whole. We use a virtue ethics lens to describe these methods of relationship management to suggest that sustainable collaboration is preferable to dictatorial collaboration both operationally and ethically in the long run.
Fine-needle aspiration optimizes surgical management in patients with thyroid cancer.

Background Fine-needle aspiration (FNA) is accurate in diagnosing papillary, medullary, and anaplastic thyroid cancer, as well as lymphoma. Although many surgeons routinely perform FNA before surgery, some question whether FNA influences operative management. Therefore, to determine whether FNA affects surgical management in patients with thyroid cancer, we reviewed our experience.
Plasmodium falciparum: the lethal effects of tunicamycin and mevastatin on the parasite are not mediated by the inhibition of N-linked oligosaccharide biosynthesis.

Abstract Naik, R. S., Venkatesan, M., and Gowda, D. C. 2001. Plasmodium falciparum: The lethal effects of tunicamycin and mevastatin on the parasite are not mediated by the inhibition of N-linked oligosaccharide biosynthesis. Experimental Parasitology 98, 110–114.
Marital Satisfaction and Marital Discord as Risk Markers for Intimate Partner Violence: A Meta-analytic Review

A meta-analysis investigating the relationship between marital satisfaction/discord and intimate partner violence (IPV) in heterosexual relationships was conducted with 32 articles. Overall, a small-to-moderate effect size (r = −0.27) indicated a significant and negative relationship existed between marital satisfaction/discord and IPV. Moderator analyses found no differences between effect size based on construct examined (discord or satisfaction). However, the magnitudes of observed effect sizes were influenced by other moderator variables, including the use of standardized versus non-standardized measures, gender of the offender and victim, role in the violence (perpetrator versus victim), and sample type (clinical versus community). The data suggests that gender is an especially important moderator variable in understanding the relationship between marital satisfaction/discord and IPV.
Evanescent Coupling of Fluorescence Emission into Waveguide Modes for Integrated Biochemical Sensors

Fluorescence emission of radiating-molecules in close proximity to bound waveguide modes is investigated. Electromagnetic power coupled into guided, radiation, and substrate modes are calculated; waveguide geometries that maximize power coupling into guided modes are analyzed.
Prohormone atrial natriuretic peptides 1-30, 31-67, and 99-126 increase in proportion to right ventricular pacing rate.

To determine whether heart rate contributes to release of three new peptide hormones synthesized in the heart, right ventricular pacing at rates of 100, 125, 150, and 180 bpm was performed in six dogs with measurement of the plasma concentration of these peptides at each pacing rate while right atrial and systemic blood pressures were simultaneously monitored. These three peptides of the 126-amino-acid prohormone of atrial natriuretic factor (ANF), consisting of amino acids 1–30 (pro ANF 1–30), 31–67 (pro ANF 31–67), and 99–126 (ANF), increased incrementally at paced heart rates of 125, 150, and 180 bpm (r = 0.8, p < 0.001). Right atrial pressure decreased with increasing heart rate but systemic blood pressure did not decrease until the heart rate was 180 bpm, at which time these peptides had obtained their maximal circulating concentrations. After pacing, mean right atrial pressure and levels of ANF returned to prepacing values within 30 minutes. Mean arterial blood pressure, on the other hand, increased throughout the 120-minute period after pacing. At 2 hours after pacing, levels of pro ANFs 1–30 and 31–67 were elevated compared with prepacing values. These data demonstrate that, at heart rates of 125 bpm and above, pro ANF 1–30, pro ANF 31–67, and ANF (99–126) are simultaneously and incrementally released in direct proportion to heart rate. The sustained elevation in pro ANFs 1–30 and 31–67 seen 2 hours after pacing suggests that they may contribute to the prolonged diuresis seen after cardiac pacing or tachycardia.
Ineffectiveness of 688A (N-Phenoxyisopropyl-N-Benzyl-β-Chloroethylamine Hydrochloride) in Treatment of Essential Hypertension:

SummaryOral administration of 688A, an agent which causes adrenergic and sympathetic blockade, did not ameliorate the condition of 8 patients with essential hypertension when administered over a period of from 2 to 26 weeks. A statistically significant, but clinically unimpressive decrease of supine systolic and diastolic pressures occurred in only 1 of these patients; in another, supine arterial pressures were maintained in the presence of “blockade” and tolerance to a daily dosage of 1200 mg was established at the end of 4 weeks.
Prenatal cocaine exposure affects the acoustic startle response in adult rats

Abstract This study investigated whether prenatal exposure to cocaine alters reflex excitability in adulthood. Pregnant rats received 30 or 60 mg/kg/day cocaine HCl i.g. during gestational days 8–22. Vehicle-treated control rats were pair-fed/watered to rats receiving 60 mg/kg cocaine. A non-treated control group was also maintained. At parturition, litters from all four groups were surrogate fostered and then weaned at 21 days of age. In adulthood, rats were tested in an acoustic startle response (ASR) apparatus for 120 trials using a 116 dB signal on 2 consecutive days. On Day 2, subjects received a single injection of d-amphetamine sulfate s.c. (1.0 mg/kg) just prior to testing. ASR amplitude and latency were recorded. For average amplitude, significant effects for prenatal treatment were observed. Cocaine-exposed female rats demonstrated decreased ASR amplitude compared to offspring of pair-fed controls during both the initial test Session and following amphetamine administration as well. Overall, amphetamine increased startle. For latency, there were no significant treatment effects or effects of amphetamine administration. However, preplanned comparisons indicated that prenatal cocaine exposure interacted with trial block. Therefore, these data indicate that prenatal cocaine decreased startle amplitude in adults, primarily in females, and that startle-elicited amphetamine responses were dampened as well. The effects on latency indicate that amphetamine does not alter reaction times in prenatal cocaine exposed rats while it does in controls.
Characterization of a salivary gland-specific esterase in the vector mosquito, Aedes aegypti

Abstract Esterase enzymatic activity was investigated in salivary gland lysates of adult Aedes aegypti Esterases in lysates made from female glands had higher specific activity than those in lysates from male glands towards β-naphthyl acetate but showed no difference with α-naphthyl butyrate as a substrate. Female salivary gland lysates showed no difference in activity to α- and β-forms of naphthyl acetate and no discernable activity towards α-naphthyl caprate. Both female and male salivary gland lysates exhibited phosphatase enzymatic activity but the specific activities were lower than those seen for the esterase enzymatic activity. Salivary gland esterase activity was inhibited completely by paraoxon, para-hydroxymercurobenzoate, tetraethylammonium iodide and moderately by diisopropylfluorophosphate. Eserine and phenylmethylsulfonylfluoride had no effect on enzyme activity. In a probing assay, adults of both sexes were shown to secrete esterase in saliva. Esterase activity was present in the saliva of females probing for either a sugar meal or a blood meal. Furthermore, esterase was secreted from female salivary glands in culture. Histochemical analysis of dissected salivary glands showed that the majority of the esterase enzymatic activity was in the distal-lateral lobes of the female tissues, although the proximal-lateral and medial lobes also had activity. Male salivary glands stained uniformly over all of the lobes. A salivary gland-specific esterase, designated SG-EST , appears to account for the majority of enzyme activity in the glands. SG-EST was partially purified by electroelution of an active protein from native polyacrylamide gels, and has an approximate molecular weight of 65,000 Da. In separate experiments, affinity chromatography independently identified a single 65,000 Da protein likely to be SG-EST . Native electrophoretic analysis of salivary glands revealed that, while most enzyme activity is due to SG-EST , there are two other esterases present. One of these minor moieties is present in adult tissues in addition to the salivary gland, and the other is present throughout development. Possible functions of the salivary gland esterase are discussed.
Cadaveric fascia lata sling: analysis of five recent adverse outcomes

Abstract Objectives. To report a series of adverse outcomes of urethral sling procedures that used allograft fascia lata and to review the literature regarding the use of this material in genitourinary reconstruction. Methods. Five neurologically normal patients presented to our center between August 1999 and October 1999 with complaints of recurrent incontinence or voiding dysfunction after undergoing urethral sling procedures at outside institutions that used fascia lata allografts. All patients underwent a thorough evaluation, including history and physical examination, voiding cystourethrography, and urodynamic studies. Sections of fascia were removed for histology in 2 patients at the time of operation. Results. Three patients were diagnosed with de novo bladder outlet obstruction, 1 with recurrent urethral hypermobility, and 1 with intrinsic sphincteric deficiency. Histology of cadaveric fascia demonstrated collagen with almost complete absence of cellularity. There was no evidence of capillary or fibroblast ingrowth. All patients underwent reoperation and have had clinical improvement with short-term follow-up. Conclusions. Although distressing, the present series of adverse outcomes may simply reflect an overall increase in the number of sling procedures being performed nationally. Although decreased operative time and morbidity have been attributed to the use of fascia lata in urethral sling procedures, it is essential to ensure that long-term safety and efficacy will not be jeopardized before accepting it as a new standard of care.
Abrasion resistance and strength characteristics of [0001]sapphire fibers modified by 175 keV Mg+ ion irradiation

The inherent chemical stability and high strength of single-crystal sapphire fibers have made them attractive for use as a reinforcement phase in continuous fiber reinforced intermetallic-matrix composites (IMCs). However, surface damage incurred during handling, cleaning and processing is known to result in considerable strength reduction. One obvious approach to the problem would be to alloy with dopants intended to increase the fibers` intrinsic abrasion resistance, and some progress toward development of superior properties has been achieved through the use of both aliovalent and isovalent bulk dopants such as Mg{sup 2+} and Ti{sup 4+}. Though little data presently exist regarding the effect of ion implantation on the mechanical properties of sapphire fibers, studies on surface-modification of planar sapphire substrates have been encouraging. Here the authors report on changes in bend strength of Saphikon{trademark} single crystal fibers after 175 keV irradiation with Mg{sup +} ions to doses between 2 {times} 10{sup 16} and 2 {times} 10{sup 17} cm{sup {minus}2}.
Bacterial infection as a cause of cancer.

Bacterial infections traditionally have not been considered major causes of cancer. Recently, however, bacteria have been linked to cancer by two mechanisms: induction of chronic inflammation and p...
Case report of factor VII deficiency

The case of a 57-year-old woman with no personal or family history of coagulopathy or blood dyscrasia who was found to be factor VII deficient by routine laboratory testing is reported. The patient was also found to have type 2 diabetes mellitus and adenocarcinoma of the uterus in the course of her hospitalization.
Early Middle Ear Effusion and Language at Age Seven.

Abstract This study examined the relation of middle ear effusion (MEE) in the first 3 years of life to language outcomes at age seven. It was hypothesized, on the basis of a literature review, that (1) a low, but positive relation between early MEE and language measures in general will be observed at age seven, and (2) major effects will be demonstrated for measures of articulation and phonological sensitivity. MEE was assessed as days with bilateral MEE and episodes of MEE. Three measures of language status were used: the Test of Auditory Analysis Skill (TAAS [Rosner, J. (1975). TAAS: Test of Auditory Analysis Skill . Novato, CA: Academic Therapy Publications]), Goldman-Fristoe Articulation Test, Sounds in Words and Sounds in Sentences (GFAT [Goldman, R., & Fristoe, M. (1986). Goldman-Fristoe Test of Articulation . Circle Pines, MN: American Guidance Service]), and the Clinical Evaluation of Language Fundamentals-revised (CELF-R [Semel, E. M., Wiig, E. H., & Secord, W. (1987). CELF: Clinical Evaluation of Language Fundamentals-Revised . New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich]). The sample included 179 children who were heterogeneous for SES and ethnicity. There were no significant correlations for MEE and language measures. These negative results were sustained when multiple regression was used with controls for socioeconomic status and quality of the home environment. Learning outcomes: We conclude that early MEE may not pose a threat to language development in the early school years.
Dynamical electronic polarizability and the force sum rule

Abstract It is shown that a dynamical force sum rule is useful in analyzing the response of a finite electronic system to a uniform electric field that oscillates harmonically in time. The sum rule, which has been used previously in calculations of the response of atoms to electric fields, provides a direct test of electronic polarizability calculations and may lead to useful approximations for the electronic polarizability of metallic microstructures. We apply the sum rule to the case of a small metal sphere in the jellium model, and show that it directly leads to an approximation that is equivalent to the surface-plasmon-pole approximation for the red-shift of the surface plasmon frequency.
Consumers’ evolving definition and expectations for local foods

Purpose – Although locally sourced and produced foods are a growing trend in food marketing, they are not yet clearly understood nor consistently defined. There is no lack of definitions currently offered, however, based on expanding, evolving, and sometimes conflicting, dimensions. The purpose of this paper is to investigate various emerging definitional elements of local foods to determine which elements may be as important to food shoppers today as the prevailing food miles definition. Design/methodology/approach – A shopper survey is fielded and repeated measures ANOVA conducted to measure the relative importance of various definitional elements, assess where shoppers expect to acquire local foods, the price premium they are willing to pay, and differences that may exist across customer groups. Findings – The study finds that consumers do consider other definitional elements as important as distance in their definition of local foods and they expect to find them in secondary outlets beyond farmers mar...
Targeting Briquetting as an Alternative Fuel Source in Tanzania

Abstract Charcoal and firewood are the primary cooking fuels used in many developing countries, even though they both pose a number of environmental, social, and economic challenges. Aside from the ecological impacts of deforestation and resource destruction, indoor air pollution produced by cooking with solid fuels causes 2 million deaths each year [1] . The Bioenergy Project of Dartmouth Humanitarian Engineering (DHE) aims to develop clean cooking technologies that improve the health and environmental conditions of communities traditionally reliant upon wood as a fuel source through capacity building sessions.
Sex Differences in Restoring Justice: The Down Payment Effect.

Abstract It was proposed that harmdoers who psychologically suffer (e.g., experience remorse, guilt) through victimizing another will be viewed as having already taken a step toward righting the injustice caused the victim. Consequently, they should be asked to make fewer reparations and assigned a lesser fine than those harmdoers who do not express guilt or remorse. Male and female subjects read scenarios depicting an accident in which the harmdoer either admitted or did not admit responsibility (Experiment 1) or expressed various degrees of remorsefulness (Experiment 3). Both investigations indicated that a show of remorse or of a remorseful gesture (i.e., assuming responsibility) can partially vindicate harmdoers by requiring them to make fewer reparations to a victim (Experiment 1) or pay less of a fine (Experiment 3) among females only. Thus psychological damages incurred in a wrongful act can serve as a “down payment” toward restoring justice. In corroboration with these findings of sex differences, Experiment 2 revealed that females consider to a greater extent than males reasons such as a harmdoer's feelings when assigning a fine.
Simple microradiometric technique for the rapid measurement of monoamine oxidase activity in rat testicular minced and teased-tubular preparations.

Abstract Two radiometric ways of measuring monoamine oxidase activity in testicular tissue preparations are described. Both methods measure the rate of conversion of 5-HT- 14 C into 5-HIAA- 14 C. The first procedure is acceptable for assaying MAO activity of teased-tubular preparations, but not of whole testicular tissue. The second procedure is acceptable for either type of preparation and is the preferred assay for testicular tissue.
Degradable agreement in the presence of Byzantine faults

The authors consider a system consisting of a sender that wants to send a value to certain receivers. Byzantine agreement protocols have previously been proposed to achieve this in the presence of arbitrary failures. The imposed requirement typically is that the fault-free receivers must all agree on the same value. An agreement protocol is proposed that achieves Lamport's Byzantine agreement (L. Lamport et al., 1982) up to a certain number of faults and a degraded form of agreement with a higher number of faults. The degraded form of agreement allows the fault-free receivers to agree on at most two different values, one of which is necessarily the default value. The proposed approach is named degradable agreement. An algorithm for degradable agreement is presented along with bounds on the number of nodes and network connectivity necessary to achieve degradable agreement. >
Nitrate reductase transcript is expressed in the primary response of maize to environmental nitrate.

The nitrate induction of NADH:nitrate reductase mRNA in maize roots, scutella and leaves was investigated in the presence and absence of inhibitors of protein synthesis. In the absence of inhibitors, nitrate treatment caused a fairly rapid (2 to 3 h) increase in the level of the nitrate reductase transcript in all tissues. When cytoplasmic protein synthesis was inhibited by cycloheximide, nitrate reductase mRNA was induced by nitrate in all tissues to levels equal to or greater than those found with nitrate treatment alone. Treatment of maize tissues with cycloheximide in the absence of nitrate had only a small effect on the accumulation of the nitrate reductase mRNA. Inhibition of organellar protein synthesis with chloramphenicol also had little or no effect on nitrate-induced nitrate reductase mRNA accumuiation in roots and scutella, but did appear to partially inhibit appearance of transcript in leaves. Excision of scutella in the absence of nitrate was sufficient to cause some accumulation of the nitrate reductase transcript. Since cytoplasmic protein synthesis was not required for expression of nitrate reductase transcripts, induction of these transcripts by nitrate is a primary response of maize to this environmental signal. Thus, it appears that the signal transduction system mediating this response is constitutively expressed in roots, scutella and leaves of maize.
Pex: white box test generation for .NET

Pex automatically produces a small test suite with high code coverage for a .NET program. To this end, Pex performs a systematic program analysis (using dynamic symbolic execution, similar to path-bounded model-checking) to determine test inputs for Parameterized Unit Tests. Pex learns the program behavior by monitoring execution traces. Pex uses a constraint solver to produce new test inputs which exercise different program behavior. The result is an automatically generated small test suite which often achieves high code coverage. In one case study, we applied Pex to a core component of the .NET runtime which had already been extensively tested over several years. Pex found errors, including a serious issue.
Heparin-Binding Domain of Fibrin Mediates Its Binding to Endothelial Cells

Spreading of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (ECs) on fibrin requires thrombin cleavage of fibrinopeptide B (FPB) and subsequent exposure of the new β15-42 N-terminus. To further understand the interactions between ECs and fibrin β15-42 sequences, binding of fibrin(ogen) to EC monolayers was measured with polyclonal anti-fibrinogen (FBG) in parallel with monoclonal anti-FBG (18C6, β1-21; J88B, γ63-78) and anti-fibrin (T2G1, β15-21) antibodies in an indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. To accomplish this, large, soluble fragments of fibrin were prepared by cyanogen bromide (CNBr) cleavage (fibrin-CNBr); CNBr-cleaved FBG (FBG-CNBr) served as the control ligand. N-terminal fibrin-CNBr bound to EC monolayers and cells in suspension in a dose-dependent and saturable manner. By contrast, FBG-CNBr bound only 50% as well to EC monolayers, with no significant binding of intact FBG, C-terminal FBG plasmic fragment D, or N-terminal plasmic fragment E, which lacks β1-53. ECs bound the peptide β15-42–bov...