cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Identification of Chemotherapy-Resistant Mechanisms in Childhood T-ALL Cell Lines: Correlation with Genetic Profiles in Patients Having Early Treatment Failure.

Acquisition of drug resistance in childhood T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL) is a major cause of treatment failure. Drug resistant cell lines are effective tools for elucidating mechanisms of acquired drug resistance. In this study, we developed novel drug resistant cell lines that could be employed to identify mechanisms of drug resistance. We established three new drug resistant T-ALL cell lines: 2 resistant to L-asparaginase (L-asp), and one resistant to daunorubicin (DNR). The DNR-resistant line (Jurkat) acquired a 117-fold increase in EC 50 to DNR, from 20.6 nM to 2.4 μM, while the L-asp resistant cells (Jurkat and Sup T1) showed respective increases in resistance of 320-fold (0.003 IU/mL to 0.962 IU/mL) and 29-fold (0.042 IU/mL to 1.22 IU/mL). The DNR resistant cell line acquired a multidrug resistant phenotype, showing 310 and 120-fold increase in resistance to vincristine and prednisolone, respectively. Resistance to L-asp was unchanged. Microarray analysis showed that ABCB1 (MDR1, P-glycoprotein) was significantly upregulated (567-fold) in DNR resistant cells. siRNA experiments that reduced ABCB1 mRNA levels by 74% restored DNR sensitivity. In L-asp resistant T-ALL cells (Jurkat and Sup T1), two notable genes were upregulated, asparagine synthetase (ASNS) which catalyzes synthesis of asparagine (41-fold and 1.5-fold) and argininosuccinate synthase (ASS)(32-fold and 6.5-fold), respectively. Reduction of ASNS with siRNA restored drug sensitivity in both cell lines. Interestingly, siRNA suppression of ASS in conjunction with ASNS achieved an exaggerated restoration of drug sensitivity compared to ASNS alone. We next examined the microarray profiles of drug resistant cells with those of 86 T-ALL patients; of which 8 failed induction (IF). Interestingly, these 3 key genes are upregulated in 25–62% of IF cases. Although ABCB1 overexpression has been shown to be a mechanism of DNR resistance in many cancers, there is a paucity of resistant T-ALL cell lines to adequately model the effect of stage of differentiation and genetic heterogeneity underlying drug resistance in T-ALL. With the establishment of 3 new T-ALL cell lines in this report, there exist 5 T-ALL drug resistant cell lines, representing the spectrum of T-cell differentiation (pre-T, cortical T, and mature T cells). Finally, this is the first report of the potential contribution of ASS in addition to ASNS to L-asp resistance in leukemia cells.
American Trial Films and the Popular Culture of Law

The American trial and American cinema share certain epistemological tendencies. Both stake claims to an authoritative form of knowledge based on the indubitable quality of observable phenomena. And both are preoccupied with sustaining the authority that underlies the knowledge produced by visual perception. The American trial and cinematic form also increasingly share cultural space. Although the trial film (otherwise known as the courtroom drama) is as old as the medium of film, the continuing popularity of the legal drama centered on a courtroom verdict suggests more than a trend. The inherent affinities between law and film not only produce enduring and memorable stories about law and justice but help constitute a popular legal consciousness that sustains the authority of the rule of law in the United States. This article describes these affinities in more detail, tracing the common themes in trial films, the special case of trial film based on true stories, and the future of the genre in American popular culture. It concludes by reviewing the disciplinary approach to the study of law and visual popular culture.
Robust Cournot-Bertrand equilibria on power networks

We present a convex model describing risk-averse strategies for electricity producers in congested electricity networks. Extending prior work on Cournot-Bertrand equilibria in Poolco-style spot markets with locational marginal pricing, we propose a formulation which integrates uncertainty through robust convex optimization. We find that producers uniformly benefit from robust strategies under small uncertainty intervals, and explore the impacts of congestion and network effects on strategic behavior. We demonstrate our results on a simple example and explore the impacts of robust strategies on social welfare, finding that these risk-averse strategies reduce welfare by restricting output and increasing prices. By formulating the equilibrium conditions as a convex optimization problem, we are able to scale our results to large networks and accommodate many sources of uncertainty.
The Myotoxic Effects of Microencapsulated Naproxen and Carrier Polymer After Intramuscular Injection in Rats

Abstract : At the present time ketorolac is the only NSAID approved for intravenous and intramuscular use in humans. The half-life of naproxen is 12-15 hours compared to 4-6 hours for ketoralac, and naproxen has an antipyretic effect. A drug carrier system has been developed which allows for highly lipophilic compounds such as naproxen to be microencapsulated (MEC) for parenteral use. Intramuscular MEC naproxen could provide greater pain relief than ketoralac with a longer duration of action. MEC naproxen could also be given to reduce or replace opioid analgesics and reduce hyperthermia in patients unable to receive oral or rectal antipyretics. Since an assessment of the potential for local toxicity of a product intended for intramuscular injection is an important component of an initial drug development strategy, this research was conducted to determine the potential for myotoxicity from intramuscular MEC naproxen. Forty female Sprague Dawley rats were given intramuscular injections of 150 mg/kg MEC naproxen into the right gastrocnemius muscle with an equal volume of carrier polymer alone injected into the left. Animals were placed into four groups often for sacrifice at 24 hours, 72 hours, one week, and one month post-injection. Multiple tissue sections were cut, stainedwith hematoxylin and eosin, and examined under light microscopy for histopathologic changes. All samples were blinded before grading by a pathologist using the following scoring system: 0 = no damage; 1 = sparsely scattered hyalinized fibers and a localized inflammatory reaction; 2 = definite fiber destruction with the presence of macrophage digestion of muscle fibers and a mixed cellular infiltrate in some but not all sections examined; 3 = widespread muscle damage throughout the original specimen.
Combined Heat & Power's Role in Modern Grid System

The 21 st century needs a modern grid to meet increasingly higher standards in grid efficiency, reliability, security, power quality and environmental impact. Conventional coal-fired power plants, as the major electricity power house, are being phased out due to more stringent environmental regulations. However the electricity demand still persists. Combined heat and power (CHP) as a decentralized power generation system can support the transition and formation of the modern grid because of its high efficiency, enhanced system resiliency, improved power quality, reduced cost and carbon emissions, and its fast response complimentary to intermittent renewable energy. A case study was incorporated to demonstrate CHP's indispensable role in a modern grid configuration.
Television use and family mealtimes among a sample of US families with preschoolers

Research has connected family mealtimes with nutrition, child development, and child academic performance. However, it is not clear how television is associated with the quality of family mealtimes...
A biosignal-specific processing tool for machine learning and pattern recognition

Electrocardiogram (ECG), Electrodermal Activity (EDA), Electromyogram (EMG) and Impedance Cardiography (ICG) are among physiological signals widely used in various biomedical applications including health tracking, sleep quality assessment, early disease detection/diagnosis and human affective state recognition. This paper presents the development of a biosignal-specific processing and feature extraction tool for analyzing these physiological signals according to the state-of-the-art studies reported in the scientific literature. This tool is intended to assist researchers in machine learning and pattern recognition to extract feature matrix from these bio-signals automatically and reliably. In this paper, we provided the algorithms used for the signal-specific filtering and segmentation as well as extracting features that have been shown highly relevant to a better category discrimination in an intended application. This tool is an open-source software written in MATLAB and made compatible with MathWorks Classification Learner app for further classification purposes such as model training, cross-validation scheme farming, and classification result computation.
Thaxtomin A: evidence for a plant cell wall target☆

Abstract Thaxtomins are unique 4-nitroindol-3-yl containing dioxopiperazines that cause dramatic plant cell hypertrophy and seedling stunting. This family of phytotoxins is produced by Streptomyces species that cause diseases of root and tuber crops; its members are essential for pathogenicity. The symptoms produced by thaxtomin A suggest several potential plant cell targets including the plasma membrane, various components of the cytoskeleton and the cell wall. Dramatic increases in cell volume in onion seedling hypocotyls, radish seedling hypocotyls and tobacco suspension cultures, in response to 0.05–1.0 μ M thaxtomin A, suggested that this phytotoxin is interacting with one or more conserved plant cell targets. Onion root tip cells treated with thaxtomin A concentrations at or below that which inhibited onion root growth were binucleate or had abnormal cell plates. Thaxtomin A (1.0–3.0 μ M ) inhibited normal cell elongation of tobacco protoplasts in a manner that suggested an effect on primary cell wall development. In summary, these data suggest that thaxtomin A alters, either directly or indirectly, the deposition or composition of monocot and dicot plant cell walls in ways that affect the wall integrity and the ability of the cell to progress normally through cytokinesis.
Geologic evaluation of anomalies between like-polarized and cross-polarized K-band side-looking radar imagery of Yellowstone National Park

Geologic evaluation of anomalies between like-polarized and cross-polarized K-band side-looking radar imagery of Yellowstone National Park
The Two-Machine Flow Shop

The two-machine flow shop has attracted significant attention, especially when it comes to extensions of the basic makespan model to include release times, setups, or other complications. As expected, we start our coverage with a full discussion of Johnson’s Rule for makespan minimization. Then, we present extensions that incorporate setup/teardown times in automated manufacturing cells. When arbitrary positive release times are assumed for jobs, the problem of minimizing makespan in the two-machine flow shop is shown to be NPcomplete, and hence we discuss solution procedures, optimal and heuristic. Even when a single server is used to perform setups, the problem is shown strongly NP-complete, though special cases accept simple solutions. Results on optimal lot streaming of a product are also presented. Precedence constraints are postponed to a later chapter. Subsequently, we survey results on objectives like ΣCj, Lmax, Tmax, ΣTj, ΣUj, as well as corresponding multicriteria. Various manifestations of these models come with setups, scarce resources, common deadlines, etc. Whenever possible, we provide dominance properties, lower bounds, branch-andbound approaches, heuristics and computational results.
Tailoring Bariatric Surgery: Sleeve Gastrectomy, Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass and Biliopancreatic Diversion with Duodenal Switch

Abstract Background: A need exists to select the most appropriate bariatric operation for a particular patient. One-year data comparing sleeve gastrectomy (SG) to Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) an...
Fundamentals of Qualitative Research: A Practical Guide

This book is the road map to proficiency and development in the field of qualitative research. Borrowing from a wealth of experience teaching introductory qualitative research courses, author Kakali Bhattacharya lays out a dynamic program for learning different paradigms of inquiry, empowering students to recognize the convergence of popular research methodologies as well as the nuances and complexities that set each of them apart. Her book: supplements the readings and activities in a qualitative methods class, exposing students to the research process and the dominant types of qualitative research; introduces a variety of theoretical perspectives in qualitative research, including positivism and postpositivism, interpretivism, feminism, symbolic interactionism, phenomenology, hermeneutics, critical theory, and Critical Race Theory; identifies and summarizes the three dominant methodological approaches in qualitative research: narrative inquiry, grounded theory, and ethnography; provides interactive activities and exercises to help students crystallize their understanding of the different topics in each chapter.
Passive Mode-Locking of 3.25 μm GaSb-Based Cascade Diode Lasers

Passively mode-locked type-I quantum well cascade diode lasers emitting near 3.25 μm were designed, fabricated, and characterized. The deep etched ∼5.5-μm-wide single spatial mode ridge waveguide design utilizing split-contact architecture was implemented. The epi-side-up mounted 3-mm-long ridge lasers with both 2.7-mm-long gain and 300-μm-long absorber sections forward biased operated in the continuous wave regime with above 12 mW of output power at 20 °C. The devices with a reverse-biased absorber section generated ∼10 ps pulses at the repetition rate of ∼13.2 GHz with average power exceeding 1 mW. The laser emission spectrum in the mode-locked regime comprised a smooth bell-shape-like frequency comb covering about a 20 nm range at the full-width at half-maximum level. Second-order interferometric autocorrelation studies revealed a strong spectral chirp in the pulse. The intermodal beat note of the Lorentzian shape with a 180 kHz line width was observed, corresponding to pulse-to-pulse timing jitter of ...
Climate-Adaptive Volume: Solving the Motion Envelope of a Reconfigurable Cooling Aperture for Desert Climate

Through several prototypes of a roof aperture for passive cooling in a desert climate, the relationships between design, thermal performance, and measurement are explored. Optimization of both day ...
Refraction and glass prescription in pediatric age group

The pediatric population with refractive error needs regular assessment and prescription adjustment. Detection of refractive error and accurate prescription of glasses to prevent amblyopia in children is possible only if the general ophthalmologist is aware of the basic steps of assessment and prescription. This paper discusses the considerations for prescribing a refractive correction in infants and children, with reference to the current literature.
PWE-068 Prevalence and outcomes of pancreatic cystic lesions in liver transplant recipients: a pilot study from a liver transplant centre

Introduction Incidental small pancreatic cystic lesions (PCLs) are common present in 1–2% of the population undergoing CT for non-pancreatic indications. They are increasingly being identified on preoperative imaging of patients undergoing orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT). Most PCL are benign but a proportion, namely intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasms (IPMNs) and mucinous cystic neoplasms (MCNs) harbour malignant potential. There is growing evidence that liver transplant recipients are at increased risk of extrahepatic malignancy. Whether the natural history of PCL in liver transplant recipients is the same as the general population in uncertain. The aim of this study was to look at the incidence and progression of PCL in liver transplant recipients. Methods A pilot series of patients from a large UK liver transplant centre, were included. Between January 1990 and December 2017, a proportion of cases were selected from our consecutive database of liver transplant patients. Results 238 patients were included. PCL were present in 4% (9/238), 8/9 were male. End stage liver disease was due to alcohol related liver disease in 5 cases, Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis in 3 and was unknown in 1. Follow-up was undertaken by MRI annually. During the median follow up of 79 months (range 33–288 months) all PCL in the liver transplant patients on long-term immunosuppression remained stable in size. One developed mild dilation of the main pancreatic duct but no other features of concern were observed. Conclusion The prevalence of PCLs in liver transplant recipients was similar to that of the general population. PCL do not appear to have an accelerated malignant potential in post liver transplant patients, indicating the current International and European surveillance guidelines are likely to be applicable in this group.
The Impact of Disclosing Inventory-Scarcity Messages on Purchase Frequencies and Daily Sales in Online Retailing

To influence demand, some online retailers post messages (e.g., “5 units or less left in stock”) on their product pages to signal impending stockouts. These “scarcity” messages provide consumers “partial” inventory information, revealing only an upper bound on the number of units available for sale. To examine the impact of these messages, we obtained price and sales data from an online-retailer website across a sample of durable goods “before” and “after” the retailer posted these messages and during multiple inventory-replenishment cycles and indefinite time horizons. We then used these data to assess empirically the effect of posting these messages on these products’ purchase frequencies and daily sales. We find that publishing these messages fails to reduce the average frequency of purchase for the top 50% fastest selling SKUs in the sample. For the other SKUs, these messages can increase the frequency of purchase by 14.80%. We also observe that posting these messages can decrease daily sales by an average of 17.60% and that this effect is most pronounced for products purchased in larger quantities. This suggests that these messages’ inventory information has a negative influence on the sales prospects of durable goods over multiple replenishment cycles and indefinite time horizons.
Peripheral blood microbial signatures in COPD

Abstract Background The human microbiome has a role in the development of human diseases. Individual microbiome profiles are highly personalized, though many species are shared. Understanding the relationship between the human microbiome and disease may inform future individualized treatments. Specifically, the blood microbiome, once believed sterile, may be a surrogate for some lung and gut microbial characteristics. We sought associations between the blood microbiome and lung-relevant host factors. Methods Based on reads not mapped to the human genome, we detected microbial nucleic acid signatures in peripheral blood RNA-sequencing for 2,590 current and former smokers with and without chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) from the COPDGene study. We used the GATK microbial pipeline PathSeq to infer microbial profiles. We tested associations between the inferred profiles and lung disease relevant phenotypes and examined links to host gene expression pathways. Results The four phyla with highest abundance across all subjects were Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria, Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes. We observed associations between exacerbation phenotypes and the relative abundance of Staphylococcus, Acidovorax and Cupriavidus. The genus Flavobacterium was associated with emphysema and change in emphysema. Our host-microbiome interaction analysis revealed clustering of genera associated with emphysema, systemic inflammation, airway remodeling and exacerbations, through links to lung-relevant host pathways. Conclusions This study is the first to identify a bacterial microbiome signature in the peripheral blood of current and former smokers. Understanding the relationships between the systemic microbial populations and lung disease severity may inform novel interventions and aid in the understanding of exacerbation phenotypes.
How do high preoperative pain scores impact the clinical course and outcomes for patients undergoing lumbar microdiscectomy

Objective Preoperative pain assessment is often used to gauge the amount of disability in patients with lumbar disc herniation. How high preoperative pain scores impact the clinical course and outcomes of patients after lumbar microdiscectomy is not always clear. Here, the authors aimed to determine whether patients reporting higher preoperative pain scores have worse outcomes after lumbar microdiscectomy than those reporting lower preoperative scores. Methods The authors performed a retrospective review of patients with symptomatic lumbar disc herniations that had failed to improve with nonsurgical methods and who had undergone tubular lumbar microdiscectomy. Health-related quality of life (HRQOL) scores had been collected in the preoperative and postoperative period. The anatomical severity of disease was graded based on lumbar disc health (Pfirrmann classification), facet degeneration, thecal sac cross-sectional area, and disc herniation grade. Data on each patient's narcotic consumption and length of stay were collected. A Student t-test and chi-square test were used to compare patients with high preoperative pain scores (HP cohort) and those with lower preoperative scores (non-HP cohort). Results One hundred thirty-eight patients were included in this analysis. The 47 patients in the HP cohort had taken more preoperative opioids (12.0 ± 21.2 vs 3.6 ± 11.1 morphine equivalent doses, p = 0.01). However, there was no statistically significant difference in Pfirrmann classification (p > 0.15), facet grade (p > 0.11), thecal sac cross-sectional area (p = 0.45), or disc herniation grade (p = 0.39) between the HP and non-HP cohorts. The latter cohort had statistically significant higher preoperative PROMIS scores (36.5 ± 7.0 vs 29.9 ± 6.4, p 0.05). Conclusions A patient's perceived severity of disease often does not correlate with the actual clinical pathology on imaging. Although patients who report high pain and have a symptomatic lumbar disc herniation may describe their pain as more extreme, they should be counseled that the outcomes of microdiscectomy are positive.
Systematic comparison of high-throughput single-cell RNA-seq methods for immune cell profiling

Abstract Background Elucidation of immune populations with single-cell RNA-seq has greatly benefited the field of immunology by deepening the characterization of immune heterogeneity and leading to the discovery of new subtypes. However, single-cell methods inherently suffer from limitations in the recovery of complete transcriptomes due to the prevalence of cellular and transcriptional dropout events. This issue is often compounded by limited sample availability and limited prior knowledge of heterogeneity, which can confound data interpretation. Results Here, we systematically benchmarked seven high-throughput single-cell RNA-seq methods. We prepared 21 libraries under identical conditions of a defined mixture of two human and two murine lymphocyte cell lines, simulating heterogeneity across immune-cell types and cell sizes. We evaluate methods by their cell recovery rate, library efficiency, sensitivity, and ability to recover expression signatures for each cell type. We observed higher mRNA detection sensitivity with the 10x Genomics 5’ v1 and 3’ v3 methods. We demonstrate that these methods have fewer drop-out events which facilitates the identification of differentially-expressed genes and improves the concordance of single-cell profiles to immune bulk RNA-seq signatures. Conclusion Overall, our characterization of immune cell mixtures provides useful metrics, which can guide selection of a high-throughput single-cell RNA-seq method for profiling more complex immune-cell heterogeneity usually found in vivo.
Smoking-Specific Risk Factors in Early Adulthood That Mediate Risk of Daily Smoking by Age 29 for Children with ADHD.

Objective:To test whether smoking-specific risk factors in early adulthood mediate prediction to daily smoking from childhood ADHD.Methods:Participants were 237 with and 164 without childhood ADHD....
Can the Test Support Student Learning? Validating the Use of a Second Language Pronunciation Diagnostic

The purpose of diagnostic language assessment is to identify learner strengths and weaknesses so that subsequent learning activity can be planned according to learner needs, a purpose which aligns ...
Inelastic Lateral-Torsional Buckling of Beam-Columns

A procedure for the determination of the inelastic lateral-torsional buckling strength of steel wide-flange beam columns is presented. The beam columns are subjected to axial thrust and to moments applied at one and only. The end moments cause bending about the strong axis of the members, and the effects of initially present symmetric thermal residual stresses are included in the analysis. Two simultaneous differential equations with variable coefficients are derived, awl the corresponding finite difference equations are presented. The coefficients in these equations represent the pertinent section properties that vary along the length of the member in those portions that are partially yielded. The critical end moments are obtained when the value of the characteristic buckling determinant becomes zero.
Limited Liability in California: 1928-1931

Limited liability is generally viewed as the hallmark of the modern business enterprise. Commentators generally feel that limited liability played a major role in economic growth for the last century and a half. Recently, however, economic analyses of limited liability have focused on some potential costs associated with this regime, though most still view limited liability as optimal. Whether or not the advantages of limited liability outweigh the costs is, ultimately, an empirical question. In this paper I provide the first empirical evidence on the effect of adopting limited liability in a jurisdiction that waited until well into the 20 th century do so. I examine the effect of the change in law on incorporation rates and shareholder wealth. I also examine the political economy of change, with an eye toward the motives for the change. Overall, I find no evidence that adopting limited liability when California did, in 1931, had any significant affect on corporations or shareholders. Consistent with economic theory, the change was opposed by groups that extended trade credit. It appears that the main group that wanted to move to limited liability was the organized corporate bar in California.
Effect of fiber orientation in glass filled plastic enclosure on the performance of wire bonds in automotive electronic product under thermal cycling environment

Typical automotive electronic product consists of housing, cover and a laminated printed circuit board (PCB) with several electrical components mounted on it. Hard mount electrical connector on PCB with integrated pins is sometimes replaced by wire bonds and insert molded terminals in plastic enclosure. Wire bonds provide the much needed flexibility for the movement between connector and PCB wire bond pads, mainly under thermal cycling environment which is critical for the reliability of wire bonds. An extensive literature survey indicated that most of the work related to wire bonds so far focused on wire bond formation, materials, manufacturability, loop optimization, etc. There is a scarcity of work related to the effect of fiber orientation in glass-filled plastic as per the injection molding process on the reliability of solder joints of electronic devices and wire bonds on the circuit board. In this paper, a unique work has been published on the effect of glass fiber orientation in plastic housing and cover on the reliability of wire bonds used in an automotive electronic product under thermal cycling load. Fiber orientations in the glass-filled plastic housing and cover during injection molding are mapped on the structural mesh using DIGIMAT software. Then, a coupled thermal cycling finite element analysis (FEA) has been performed between DIGIMAT-Ansys on the structural mesh of the product assembly. Number of survival thermal cycles of the wire bond from the finite element analysis is compared with the actual product test data. Results show excellent correlation on the displacement behavioral trend at different wire bond pad locations and the number of wire bond thermal cycles. The major highlight of this paper is the importance of capturing the right physics of glass-filled plastic in thermal cycling analysis as per the fiber orientation from the mold flow during injection molding process. Absence of capturing the right physics of glass-filled plastic particularly during thermal cycling load, would lead to incorrect results, conclusions and thereby early failures during product life cycle, including warranty returns.
FEDERAL DEMOCRATIC PEACE: DOMESTIC INSTITUTIONS AND INTERNATIONAL CONFLICT IN THE EARLY AMERICAN REPUBLIC

TWO NOTABLE EVENTS in American foreign relations during the first sixty years of the nineteenth century immediately draw our attention: the War of 1812, initiated by the young republic to compel Br...
Integration of computer aided design to transmission line technology

This article describes the use of a special transmission line software which is being integrated in our four year electronics program in the school of technology. The paper discusses time and frequency domain analysis of microwave transmission lines under different termination. It is shown that this software is an excellent aid in teaching transmission line concepts to technology students. The software under consideration is for dissipationless and dispersionless T-lines but it can be used for lumped, distributed, or microstrip transmission lines. The article is prepared for general audience.
Counselors’ Experiences Using Motivational Interviewing and Cognitive Behavior Therapy

This study investigated six professional counselors’ experiences using two evidence-based practices (EBPs), motivational interviewing (MI) and cognitive behavior therapy (CBT), in combination. Data derived from interviews were analyzed using phenomenological procedures. Five themes were identified that suggest a strategic and sequential use of MI and CBT. Implications for counselor practice, advocacy, leadership, and education are discussed, specifically the integration of MI and CBT, as well as the promotion of EBPs. Future research opportunities are outlined.
Hand-held dynamometry; stability of muscle strength over multiple measurements.

Abstract Repeated measurements of elbow flexion force were obtained to determine the stability of muscle strength over multiple measurements (four) with a hand-held dynamometer. Thirty-one healthy, adult women were tested. Although the force of the fourth trial was found to differ significantly from the force of the first and second trials, the reliability of the procedure was very high (ICC=0·955). The first trial was usually the strongest, but not alqays. The coefficient of variation of the first two efforts did not decrease with the inclusion of the third and fourth trials in its calculation. If the fourth trial is excluded, the measurements demonstrate stability. Given this finding and the finding that the earlier efforts were usually the strongest, little justification for multiple measurements of strength is apparent in the subjects tested.
Regulation of STIM1 and SOCE by the Ubiquitin-Proteasome System (UPS)

The ubiquitin proteasome system (UPS) mediates the majority of protein degradation in eukaryotic cells. The UPS has recently emerged as a key degradation pathway involved in synapse development and function. In order to better understand the function of the UPS at synapses we utilized a genetic and proteomic approach to isolate and identify novel candidate UPS substrates from biochemically purified synaptic membrane preparations. Using these methods, we have identified Stromal interacting molecule 1 (STIM1). STIM1 is as an endoplasmic reticulum (ER) calcium sensor that has been shown to regulate store-operated Ca2+ entry (SOCE). We have characterized STIM1 in neurons, finding STIM1 is expressed throughout development with stable, high expression in mature neurons. As in non-excitable cells, STIM1 is distributed in a membranous and punctate fashion in hippocampal neurons. In addition, a population of STIM1 was found to exist at synapses. Furthermore, using surface biotinylation and live-cell labeling methods, we detect a subpopulation of STIM1 on the surface of hippocampal neurons. The role of STIM1 as a regulator of SOCE has typically been examined in non-excitable cell types. Therefore, we examined the role of the UPS in STIM1 and SOCE function in HEK293 cells. While we find that STIM1 is ubiquitinated, its stability is not altered by proteasome inhibitors in cells under basal conditions or conditions that activate SOCE. However, we find that surface STIM1 levels and thapsigargin (TG)-induced SOCE are significantly increased in cells treated with proteasome inhibitors. Additionally, we find that the overexpression of POSH (Plenty of SH3′s), an E3 ubiquitin ligase recently shown to be involved in the regulation of Ca2+ homeostasis, leads to decreased STIM1 surface levels. Together, these results provide evidence for previously undescribed roles of the UPS in the regulation of STIM1 and SOCE function.
Solid activity coefficients of soil components

Abstract Solute transport in soils depends on the solute's aqueous solubility, but predicting this solubility is limited by our meager knowledge of the activities of components in solid phases and on solid surfaces. Current predictions are based on the solubility of pure minerals. Natural minerals, however, are impure and exist as solid solutions or contain isomorphous substituents. The chemical potentials (activities) and aqueous solubilities of solid components depend on their concentration in the solid phase, if the solid is a solution rather than a mechanical mixture. Solid activities can be rigorously defined if the solid is homogeneous, but solid solutions dissolve nonstoichiometrically at the surface thus creating inhomogeneity and disequilibrium. Mineral-water suspensions can, however, reach a partial equilibrium if the solid's surface composition remains constant. Then approximate solid activities can be calculated from measurements of the ion activity product in the aqueous soil solution. This paper discusses the assumptions necessary to calculate approximate solid activities in soils and presents some values calculated from soil measurements. This paper also derives some modified solid activity coefficients which are more convenient for soil solutions. The treatment is general but seems most appropriate for trace metal ions.
Racial disparities in the development of dysphagia after stroke: analysis of the California (MIRCal) and New York (SPARCS) inpatient databases.

Abstract Gonzalez-Fernandez M, Kuhlemeier KV, Palmer JB. Racial disparities in the development of dysphagia after stroke: analysis of the California (MIRCal) and New York (SPARCS) inpatient databases. Objectives To determine whether the proportion of patients with stroke experiencing dysphagia differs among racial groups and whether this relation can be explained by stroke type or severity. Design Case-control study using California's Medical Information Reporting and New York's Statewide Planning and Research Cooperative System databases for 2002. Cases had primary diagnosis of cerebrovascular disease ( International Classification of Disease, 9th Revision [ICD-9] codes 430–438.9, excluding transient [435–435.9] and late-effects [438–438.9]), and self-identified race was white, black, or Asian. Two comparison groups were selected: (1) Parkinson's disease (ICD-9 codes 332–332.1) and (2) oral cancer (ICD-9 codes 141–149). Setting Inpatient admissions in the respective states. Participants Cases with primary diagnosis of cerebrovascular disease whose self-identified race was white, black, or Asian. Interventions Not applicable. Main Outcome Measure Dysphagia, defined by ICD-9 codes 787.2 (dysphagia), 507.0 (aspiration pneumonia), or presence of a feeding tube in the absence of a diagnosis of coma (Current Procedural Terminology codes 432.46 or 437.50 without ICD-9 code 780.01). Results In the stroke group, the adjusted odds ratio (OR) with 95% confidence interval (CI) for dysphagia was significantly higher for Asians than whites in New York (OR=1.64; 95% CI, 1.50–1.79) and California (OR=1.69; 95% CI, 1.34–2.13). The adjusted OR was slightly but significantly higher for blacks than whites in New York (OR=1.15; 95% CI, 1.03–1.28), but not in California (OR=1.08; 95% CI, 0.97–1.19). No statistically significant differences among racial groups were found in patients with Parkinson's disease or oral cancer. Other factors strongly associated with dysphagia included hemiplegia (OR=2.19; 95% CI, 2.07–2.32) and aphasia (OR=1.97; 95% CI, 1.83–2.11). Conclusions Asians were more likely to have dysphagia after stroke. This association was statistically significant after adjusting for age, sex, stroke severity indicators, comorbidities, and stroke type.
A comparison of two models of gynecology service consultation to the emergency department in an academic medical center.

Abstract Objective: This study was undertaken to determine differences in resource use and outcomes when emergency department (ED) physicians consult the gynecology service routinely versus selectively. Study Design: In July 2000, an ED policy of "routine" gynecology consultation for pregnant women less than 20 weeks' gestation with pain and/or bleeding complaints changed to a policy of "selective" consultation. Resource use and outcomes were compared for 222 women who received care during the 9 months before the protocol change with 268 women who presented during the 9 months after the protocol change. Results: With selective consultation, patients receiving gynecology evaluations decreased from 74% to 39%. Return visits to the ED increased from 9% to 21%. Ultrasound studies performed by ED physicians and radiologists increased, whereas studies by gynecologists decreased. Patients waited longer and received more unnecessary human chorionic gonadotropin studies. Conclusion: A policy of selective gynecology consultation, compared with routine gynecology consultation in the ED, increases diagnostic study resource use and patient length of stay. (Am J Obstet Gynecol 2003;188:1166-8.)
Observation of surface soliton arrays at the edge of a two-dimensional photonic lattice

We report the first observation of surface soliton arrays at the edge of a semi-infinite optically-induced photonic lattice with both self-focusing and self-defocusing nonlinearity. Experimental results are corroborated by numerical simulations.
Convergence Amid Divergence in a Region

The convergence hypothesis from neoclassical growth theory is examined for per capita incomes of counties within a large subnational region, the Great Plans. Convergence of the β and σ varieties are considered. The former describes the tendency for economies with low per capita incomes in an initial period to grow faster than those with higher incomes. The latter describes the tendency for the dispersion of incomes to fall over time and eventually stabilize. Total per capita incomes across the region show a β convergence speed over the past quarter century roughly equal to that found for activity measures in previous analyses of nation groups, continental regions, and states of the U.S. As concerns σ convergence, the dispersion of total per capita incomes in the region stabilized during the past decade. However, when transfer payments and dividends, interest, and rents are deducted from income, β convergence speeds drop markedly and the dispersion of incomes rises over the study period.
Characterizing a novel strain of Bacillus amyloliquefaciens BAC03 for potential biological control application

Aims To identify and characterize a bacterial strain BAC03, evaluate its biological control activity against potato common scab (Streptomyces spp.) and characterize an antimicrobial substance produced by BAC03. Methods and Results Bacterial strain BAC03, isolated from potato common scab suppressive soil, was identified as Bacillus amyloliquefaciens by analysing sequences of fragments of the recA, recN, cheA and gyrA genes. BAC03 displayed an antagonistic activity against Streptomyces spp. on agar plates using a co-culture method. In glasshouse assays, BAC03 applied in potting mix significantly reduced common scab severity (P < 0·05) and potentially increased the growth of potato plants (P < 0·05). An antimicrobial substance extracted from BAC03 by ammonium sulfate precipitation was identified as an LCI protein using liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry. The antimicrobial activity of either a BAC03 liquid culture or the ammonium sulfate precipitate fraction was stable under a wide range of temperatures, and pH levels, as well as following incubation with several chemicals, but was reduced by all proteinases tested. Conclusions Bacillus amyloliquefaciens strain BAC03 displayed a strong antimicrobial activity, that is, the suppression of potato common scab, and may potentially enhance the plant growth. LCI protein is associated with some of the antimicrobial activity. Significance and Impact of the Study Bacterial strain BAC03 has the potential to be developed as a commercial biological control agent for potato common scab.
Biodistribution and radiation absorbed dose of (N-methyl[11C])pyrilamine: a histamine H-1 receptor radiotracer.

The in vivo biodistribution for (N-methyl[11C])pyrilamine in mice is reported for various times after i.v. bolus injection, together with estimates of the radiation absorbed dose for the same radiotracer in man. More than 60% of the injected dose was excreted via the kidneys in urine after 90 min post injection. The brain regional distribution in mice showed a favorable hypothalamus-to-cerebellum ratio, indicative of H-1 receptor binding, encouraging in vivo histamine H-1 receptor imaging studies in man.
A Re-Examination of the Joint Mortality Functions

Abstract Mortality analysis involving multiple lives is easily one of the more complicated aspects in the theory of life contingencies. In this paper, we re-investigate joint mortality functions and in particular, we examine an assertion that relates the joint-life and last-survivor random variables. This common assertion states that the sum of the lifetimes of the joint-life and the last-survivor statuses is equal to the sum of the lifetimes of the single statuses. However, we show that this assertion is not precisely correct. We therefore offer a modification to the statuses definitions so that this common assertion holds.
Supermax Prisons: What We Know, What We Do Not Know, and Where We Are Going

Supermax prisons have substantially increased in popularity during the last 20 years. This article presents an examination of the current state of knowledge on supermax prisons, in terms of both ca...
Correlation between microstructure and coercivity of amorphous (fe0.82b0.18)0.90tb0.05la0.05 alloy ribbons

Amorphous alloys of (Fe0.82B0.18)0.90Tb0.05La0.05 develop intrinsic coercive forces of about 9 kOe when crystallized at 650 °C. In this work we have investigated the relationship between coercive force and microstructure for these alloys using X-ray and electron diffraction, electron microscopy, and by differential thermal analysis (DTA). The DTA reveals that upon heating, an exothermal process (probably an atomic rearrangement) occurs before crystallization begins. Annealing between the temperatures of 577 °C and 611 °C produces microcrystals of α-Fe, Fe3B, and R6Fe23 (R = Rare Earth). Mainly Fe3B and R Fe23 and a small amount of a-Fe appear in crystalline form between 627 °C and 752 °C, and the crystalline size increases with the temperature. Small amounts of La and an unidentified phase are also present in this temperature interval. Above 752 °C, the La and the unidentified phase disappear, the Fe3B transforms to a-Fe and Fe2B, and the grains of α-Fe and R6Fe23 grow appreciably. The high coercivity of ribbons annealed between 650 °C and 700 °C seems related to the single magnetic domain nature of the small crystallized grains, 100 to 300A. The decrease in coercivity observed by annealing above 700 °C is apparently related to the increase in grain size.
Theoretical treatment of the electronic structure of small metallic particles

Abstract A brief review is given of various theoretical methods which have been applied to small metal particles to elucidate their electronic structure. This survey includes discussions of simple models and semi-empirical methods as well as first principles methods. With a few exceptions, these theoretical methods are carried over from molecular physics, where they have been used to study the electronic structure of molecules. From a theoretical perspective, metal clusters are of great interest for two reasons. The first reason is that the intrinsic electronic properties of such clusters are of fundamental importance. The second reason is that such clusters might serve as models for understanding localized electronic phenomena in bulk metals. Theoretical work which considers clusters from both of these viewpoints will be presented.
Erratum to “Prenatal cocaine use and maternal depression: Effects on infant neurobehavior”⁎ [Neurotoxicol. Teratol. 29 (2007) 331–340]

a Brown Medical School, Providence, RI, United States b Women and Infants Hospital, Providence, RI, United States c Bradley Hospital, Providence, RI, United States d University of Miami School of Medicine, Miami, FL, United States e Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit Michigan, United States f University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, United States g National Institutes of Health, Department of Health and Human Services, Bethesda, MD, United States h Research Triangle Institute, Statistics Research Division, Research Triangle Park, NC, United States
Molecular markers in bladder cancer: a critical appraisal

The diagnosis of both primary and recurrent bladder tumors currently relies upon the urine cytology and cystoscopy. Neither of these diagnostic tools is completely accurate. Prognostication of bladder cancer is largely based on pathologic tumor grade and stage. Over the past 2 decades, there is accumulating evidence that like many other cancers, bladder cancer, too, has a distinct molecular signature that separates it from other cancers and normal bladder tissue. Bladder tumors of different grades and stages even possess unique, and specific genotypic and phenotypic characteristics. Although recognition of several of these molecular alterations is possible by analyzing tumor tissue, urine, and serum samples, few if any of these "molecular markers" for bladder cancer are widely used in clinical practice. These markers include some that can be applied during the diagnostic work-up of symptoms (e.g., hematuria), those under surveillance for recurrence of superficial disease and forecasting long-term prognosis, or response to chemotherapy. In this review of molecular markers for bladder cancer, effectiveness of markers in each of these categories that are identifiable in the urine of patients with bladder cancer was examined. Many of the diagnostic markers appear to hold an advantage over urine cytology in terms of sensitivity, especially for the detection of low-grade superficial tumors. However, most markers tend to be less specific than cytology, yielding more false-positives. This result is more commonly observed in patients with concurrent bladder inflammation or other benign bladder conditions. Although there are several candidate markers for assessing prognosis or response to chemotherapy, studies of large patient populations are lacking. Further studies involving larger numbers of patients are required to determine their accuracy and widespread applicability in guiding treatment of bladder cancer.