cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The Exchange Rate Regime: An Analysis and a Possible Scheme (Le rÃ©gime des taux de change: analyse et projet de plan de rÃ©forme) (El rÃ©gimen de tipos de cambio: AnÃ¡lisis y proyecto de sistema)

A CENTRAL ISSUE in future monetary arrangements is the role to be played by exchange rate adjustment. This issue has a close bearing on many other aspects of future monetary arrangements. It has a key role in the adequacy of the adjustment process and in the respective contributions of deficit and surplus countries in that process. It partly underlies the issue of convertibility through its effect on the practical ability of the United States to resume its convertibility obligations; and it has consequential implications for appropriate arrangements for reserve creation. In turn, the role to be played by exchange adjustment will be determined not only by the institutional provisions made at the international level but also by the use actually made of such provisions, as a result of policies of national governments and the development of market forces. This paper approaches this broad problem by a general discussion which takes as its starting point the objectives of the exchange rate regime, and goes on to consider some inferences that follow for the exchange rate mechanism in its main aspects. It concludes with an outline of a possible scheme that is designed to stimulate further discussion. Developments that have taken place in the 18 months since the issuance of the report of the Executive Directors, The Role of Exchange Rates in the Adjustment of International Payments, have brought a new perspective to the agenda of exchange rate reform. In particular, the present discussion can and must take into account the implications of a positive exchange rate policy on the part of the United States. This brings fully into view the need for the exchange rate regime to reconcile what may otherwise be competing or inconsistent policies on the part of major member countries. This problem was largely hidden in the first 15 years or so after World War II, during which the United States
Parent—Child Relationships and the Transmission of Culture

The parent—child relationship has always assumed a central place in developmental theories of socialization. If the environment is important in social development, then the individuals with the largest potential impact on children would arguably be the parents. Parents begin interacting with the child from birth and, because of their relatively greater power, they are able to control much of the daily life of the child, especially in the early years. As the child becomes older there is more exposure to other possible environmental influences, but even exposure to these factors is often influenced by the parents, as when a parent chooses the child’s school or neighborhood. Moreover, if children are increasingly less susceptible to environmental influences as they become older, it is quite possible that their reaction to the wider world and their choice of a niche in the world is influenced by their early interactions with their parents, so that the later environment has relatively little effect on them.
UV light inactivation of hepatitis A virus, Aichi virus, and feline calicivirus on strawberries, green onions, and lettuce.

A majority of illnesses caused by foodborne viruses are associated with fresh produce. Fruits and vegetables may be considered high-risk foods, as they are often consumed raw without a specific inactivation step. Therefore, there is a need to evaluate nonthermal treatments for the inactivation of foodborne pathogens. This study investigates the UV inactivation of three viruses: feline calicivirus (a surrogate for norovirus), and two picornaviruses, hepatitis A virus and Aichi virus. Three produce types were selected for their different surface topographies and association with outbreaks. Green onions, lettuce, and strawberries were individually spot inoculated with 10(7) to 10(9) 50% tissue culture infective doses (TCID50) of each virus per ml and exposed to UV light at various doses ( 0.05) for virus inactivation were observed among the three doses applied (40, 120, and 240 mW s/cm2) on the produce, with the exception of hepatitis A virus and Aichi virus inactivation on green onions, where inactivation continued at 120 mW s/cm2 (P < 0.05).
Clinical Leaflet Thrombosis in Transcatheter and Surgical Bioprosthetic Aortic Valves by Four-Dimensional Computed Tomography.

Background The incidence of leaflet thrombosis after transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) with active surveillance by four-dimensional computed tomography (4DCT) ranges from 7% to 14%. The incidence of leaflet thrombosis when 4DCT is performed for clinical and echocardiographic indications is unknown. Methods All patients with prior TAVR or surgical aortic valve replacement (SAVR) who underwent evaluation between October 2015 and January 2017 at our institution and had clinical or echocardiographic indications of leaflet thrombosis were evaluated by 4DCT. Indications for 4DCT by echocardiography included (1) interval increase in mean gradient of 10 mm Hg or more, (2) interval decrease in ejection fraction of 10% or more, (3) thrombus seen on transthoracic echocardiography, (4) persistent or increasing paravalvular leak, or (5) valve dehiscence or thickened leaflets seen on transthoracic echocardiography. Clinical indicators were (1) stroke, (2) transient ischemic attack, or (3) new or worsening heart failure. Results During the study period, 612 patients underwent TAVR, and 101 patients (55 TAVR; 46 SAVR) met the criteria for 4DCT imaging. Leaflet thrombosis was seen in 17 of 55 TAVR patients (30.9%) and 15 of 46 SAVR patients (32.6%). Follow-up imaging with 4DCT after treatment with anticoagulation showed improvement or resolution in thrombus burden and leaflet excursion in all TAVR patients and in two-thirds of SAVR patients. Conclusions One-third of patients with clinical or echocardiographic indications suggestive of leaflet thrombosis were found to have evidence of leaflet thrombosis using 4DCT. This allowed tailored anticoagulation therapy with resolution of the thrombus in most patients and avoiding unnecessary anticoagulation in the remaining two-thirds of patients.
Twilight of All the Russias: The Red Wheel as Literary Historiography

Abstract Krasnoe koleso (The Red Wheel), Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn’s mega-saga of World War I and the Russian revolution, is a work of literary historiography, rather than historical fiction, a generic distinction that explains the discontinuities in its reception. This paper examines Solzhenitsyn’s philosophy of history and predilection for historical counterfactuality as expressed in his “epopee”, as well as its anthologizing treatment of nineteenth- and twentieth-century Russian literature. The experimental aspects of the saga, for example the quasi-cinematic Screens, use of montage, variable modes of narration, and diegetic blanks and ellipses, are discussed with reference to the practices of Russian and Western modernism.
Construction, Commissioning, and Startup Execution: Problematic Activities on Capital Projects

AbstractThe commissioning and startup (CSU) stage of industrial capital projects is made up of a large number of discrete activities. These activities are executed across the construction, precommi...
Design of a conformal acoustic parametric array

The acoustic parametric array exploits the nonlinearity of air to create an audible sound beam that can propagate long distances. Transmitted signals are modulated around a nominal 40 kHz carrier, creating sum and difference components as the signal propagates through air. Since attenuation is proportional to frequency squared only the low-frequency difference component remains at long distances. Current commercially available parametric arrays arrange ultrasonic transducers in a planar array to create a beam of sound that is audible at distances up to 100 m. Our goal is to create a concave parametric array to determine if the added geometrical focusing allows for tighter spatial control of the audible signal. Ultrasonic transducers were mounted on a flexible three-dimensional printed structure to create an array with a variable curvature. Simulation and experimental results are presented comparing our conformal array to two commercially available planar arrays.
Genome-wide association study (GWAS) of leaf cuticular wax components in Camelina sativa identifies genetic loci related to intracellular wax transport

It is important to explore renewable alternatives (e.g. biofuels) that can produce energy sources to help reduce reliance on fossil oils, and reduce greenhouse gases and waste solids resulted from fossil oils consumption. Camelina sativa is an oilseed crop which has received increasing attention due to its short life cycle, broader adaptation regions, high oil content, high level of omega-3 unsaturated fatty acids, and low-input requirements in agriculture practices. To expand its Camelina production areas into arid regions, there is a need to breed for new drought-tolerant cultivars. Leaf cuticular wax is known to facilitate plant development and growth under water-limited conditions. Dissecting the genetic loci underlying leaf cuticular waxes is important to breed for cultivars with improved drought tolerance. Here we combined phenotypic data and single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) data from a spring C. sativa diversity panel using genotyping-by-sequencing (GBS) technology, to perform a large-scale genome-wide association study (GWAS) on leaf wax compositions. A total of 42 SNP markers were significantly associated with 15 leaf wax traits including major wax components such as total primary alcohols, total alkanes, and total wax esters as well as their constituents. The vast majority of significant SNPs were associated with long-chain carbon monomers (carbon chain length longer than C28), indicating the important effects of long-chain carbon monomers on leaf total wax biosynthesis. These SNP markers are located on genes directly or indirectly related to wax biosynthesis such as maintaining endoplasmic reticulum (ER) morphology and enabling normal wax secretion from ER to plasma membrane or Golgi network-mediated transport. These loci could potentially serve as candidates for the genetic control involved in intracellular wax transport that might directly or indirectly facilitate leaf wax accumulation in C. sativa and can be used in future marker-assisted selection (MAS) to breed for the cultivars with high wax content to improve drought tolerance.
Controlling the physical and electrochemical properties of block copolymer-based porous carbon fibers by pyrolysis temperature

Block copolymer-based porous carbon fibers are emerging materials for electrochemical energy conversion and storage. Pyrolysis temperature governs the properties of carbons. To design porous carbon fibers with tunable pore size, surface area, heteroatom content, electrical conductivity, and electrochemical performance, block copolymer poly(acrylonitrile-block-methyl methacrylate) (PAN-b-PMMA) was converted to porous carbon fibers via self-assembly, stabilization, and pyrolysis at temperatures ranging from 600 to 1200 °C. An increase in the pyrolysis temperature increases the total pore volume, specific surface area, and graphitic level, but decreases the amounts of nitrogen and oxygen heteroatoms, as well as the electrical resistance. As electrochemical supercapacitor electrodes, the porous carbon fibers pyrolyzed at 800 °C exhibit the highest gravimetric capacitance, owing to the balanced structural, chemical, and physical properties. The porous carbon fibers pyrolyzed at 600 °C have the highest heteroatom content to induce pseudocapacitance, but their capacitance and rate capability are the lowest due to the poorest electrical conductivity. In contrast, the porous carbon fibers pyrolyzed at 1200 °C show the best rate capability because of the highest electrical conductivity, the largest pore volume, the lowest diffusion resistance, and the best electron/ion transport. This work systematically reveals the thermal processing principles of porous carbon fibers with controlled structural, physical and electrochemical properties. The findings provide a guideline for designing block copolymer-based porous carbon fibers for electrochemical energy conversion and storage.
Long-term Outcomes for the Treatment of Paragangliomas in the Upfront, Adjuvant, and Salvage Settings With Stereotactic Radiosurgery and Intensity-modulated Radiotherapy.

Objective To analyze local control (LC) and toxicity rates between stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) and intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) in relation to reported surgical rates in the treatment of paragangliomas (PG) in the upfront, adjuvant, and salvage settings, and to explore factors affecting tumor size reduction, toxicity rates, and symptom control. Study design Retrospective cohort analysis. Setting Tertiary referral center. Patients and interventions Thirty patients treated with either linear accelerator-based SRS or IMRT in the definitive, planned adjuvant, or unplanned salvage postsurgery settings. Main outcome measures Local control, toxicities, symptom control, tumor size reduction, and factors affecting each. Results Median follow-up was 4.16 years. LC rates were 100%. Acute grade >3 toxicity rate was 6.7%, 86.7% of tumors had a reduction in volume, and 76.7% of patients had improvement in at least one tumor-induced symptom by last follow-up. Larger tumor size at presentation and longer time to last follow-up were significantly associated with greater tumor size reduction on multivariate analysis. Conclusions SRS and IMRT are safe and effective treatment for PG with high efficacy and low morbidity rates in the upfront, planned adjuvant, and unplanned salvage settings.
Targeting CSPG4 for isolation of melanoma cell-derived exosomes from body fluids

This manuscript describes the functional properties of the exosomes released from melanoma cells. It details the characteristics of the tumor antigen chondroitin sulfate proteoglycan 4 (CSPG4), which is used as a marker to separate exosomes released by melanoma cells from exosomes released by nonmalignant cells. The results are discussed in view of the potential role of melanoma cell-derived exosomes in the escape of malignant cells from the host’s immune system.
Open Data Sharing in the 21st Century: Sage Bionetworks’ Qualified Research Program and Its Application in mHealth Data Release

Sage Bionetworks (Sage) has developed a framework for qualifying solvers from around the world for accessing health and biomedical data within Synapse, Sage’s data sharing and collaboration platform. We identified three conceptual mechanisms – transactional cost, exposure, and openness – to enable the broadest researcher pool access to health and biomedical research data for discovery while still encoding basic contractual protections for research participants. Our qualified researcher framework was first piloted in 2015 with data gathered from mPower, an observational smartphone-based study of Parkinson disease symptoms. Here we describe the rationale and features of the framework and its application in the exemplar mPower study.
Bariatric Surgery Improves Systolic Dysfunction In Obesity Cardiomyopathy

Introduction The prevalence of morbid obesity and heart failure have been steadily increasing in recent decades. Symptoms of heart failure are often masked by and/or attributed to exercise intolerance from morbid obesity. This portends a poor prognosis for the patient given their risk of mortality and cardiac complications. Bariatric surgery is an option for significant weight reduction in those patients who meet eligibility. Patients that benefit from such weight loss interventions report a significant improvement in degree of physical condition, however it is unclear if that is entirely due to the weight loss itself or improvement of various comorbidities, including but not limited to LVEF. We sought to explore this hypothesis by analyzing our morbidly obese population with LVEF Methods A retrospective single center analysis of all patients in the dedicated Obesity Clinic at a single academic center were examined, identifying all patients with LVEF Results Between 2010 and 2019, there were 191 patients with a history of morbid obesity and heart failure referred to the Obesity Clinic for bariatric surgery (Figure 1). Of this group, 58 patients (30%) had an LVEF Conclusions In our study, there was a 54% rate of LVEF recovery after significant weight reduction following bariatric surgery. As such, patients with morbid obesity who have a history of left ventricular systolic dysfunction should aggressively be considered for bariatric surgery as a means to potentially improve their cardiac function.
Simulation Meets Experiment: Unraveling the Properties of Water in Metal-Organic Frameworks Through Vibrational Spectroscopy

In nanoporous materials, guest–host interactions affect the properties and function of both adsorbent and adsorbate molecules. Due to their structural and chemical diversity, metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), a common class of nanoporous materials, have been shown to be able to efficiently and, often, selectively adsorb various types of guest molecules. In this study, we characterize the structure and dynamics of water confined in ZIF-90. Through the integration of experimental and computational infrared (IR) spectroscopy, we probe the structure of heavy water (D2O) adsorbed in the pores, disentangling the fundamental framework–water and water–water interactions. The experimental IR spectrum of D2O in ZIF-90 displays a blue-shifted OD-stretch band compared to liquid D2O. The analysis of the IR spectra simulated at both classical and quantum levels indicates that the D2O molecules preferentially interact with the carbonyl groups of the framework and highlights the importance of including nuclear quantum effects and taking into account Fermi resonances for a correct interpretation of the OD-stretch band in terms of the underlying hydrogen-bonding motifs. Through a systematic comparison with the experimental spectra, we demonstrate that computational spectroscopy can be used to gain quantitative, molecular-level insights into framework–water interactions that determine the water adsorption capacity of MOFs as well as the spatial arrangements of the water molecules inside the MOF pores which, in turn, are key to the design of MOF-based materials for water harvesting.
What is Data Science? An Operational Definition based on Text Mining of Data Science Curricula

Data science has maintained its popularity for about 20 years. This study adopts a bottom-up approach to understand what data science is by analyzing the descriptions of courses offered by the data science programs in the United States. Through topic modeling, 14 topics are identified from the current curricula of 56 data science programs. These topics reiterate that data science is at the intersection of statistics, computer science, and substantive fields.
Reprogramming adult tendon healing using regenerative neonatal regulatory T cells

ABSTRACT Tendinopathy is a common clinical problem leading to significant musculoskeletal disability. Using a neonatal mouse model of tendon regeneration compared to adult tendon fibrosis, we identified a unique immune profile in regeneration that is associated with type 2 macrophage polarization and regulatory T cell (Treg) infiltration. Neonatal Treg ablation resulted in a dysregulated immune response leading to failed tenocyte recruitment and loss of functional regeneration. Transcriptional profiling of adult and neonatal tendon Tregs revealed distinct type 1 and type 2 immune signatures that facilitate macrophage polarization following injury. Finally, adoptive transfer of mouse and human neonatal Tregs was sufficient to improve functional regeneration, in contrast to adult Treg transfer. Collectively, these studies uncover a critical role for neonatal Tregs in controlling immune polarization to promote an environment permissive for tendon regeneration. Our findings provide a basis for immune modulating therapies to facilitate regenerative adult tendon healing.
Brave new home: our future in smarter, simpler, happier housing

With a busy personal and professional life, author Diana Lind spent little time at home until her maternity leave. However, being at home with her infant son gave her time to rediscover her house, ...
The Merchant of Venice: A Triumph of Discrepancy and Mirth

In dwelling on the merry aspects of this play, I have favored a theatrical, performative, and metadramatic reading of drama as opposed to a mimetic or referential approach. The medium thus counts more heavily than the message. Instead of considering the text of a play as an end in itself, I regard it as a script or a score geared to stage performance for the benefit of an audience. As a result, theater, while appearing to imitate outside events, represents with even greater success its own generic operations. For this reason, dramatists attempt to break down the various barriers separating the part from the performer, quite often by inducing historical personages to conduct themselves like actors and dramatists. Thus, strengths or weaknesses in a given character will tend to coincide with performative success or failure in composing, directing, acting or observing. Naturally, failure in one capacity by no means excludes incompetence in the others. Macbeth, who has criminal aspirations thrust upon him, provides a telling example of manifold performative shortcomings, for he shows himself incapable of filling the part of Duncan, urges the witches, whose obvious intentions he cannot fathom, to compose his scenarios, and relies on his wife for stage management and direction.
Decision Procedures for Recursive Data Structures with Integer Constraints

This paper is concerned with the integration of recursive data structures with Presburger arithmetic. The integrated theory includes a length function on data structures, thus providing a tight coupling between the two theories, and hence the general Nelson-Oppen combination method for decision procedures is not applicable to this theory, even for the quantifier-free case. We present four decision procedures for the integrated theory depending on whether the language has infinitely many constants and whether the theory has quantifiers. Our decision procedures for quantifier-free theories are based on Oppen’s algorithm for acyclic recursive data structures with infinite atom domain.
The surface reduction of lunar fines, 14163,111.

Abstract Exposure of Lunar fines (14163,111) to atomic hydrogen resulted in a surface reduction, the final surface density of the added hydrogen being 2 hydrogen atoms/100 A2. Exposure to oxygen at 25°C produced a partial reoxidation of the surface while nitrogen had no effect. It is postulated that the solar wind will completely reduce materials on the lunar surface but that exposure to a terrestrial or similar atmosphere will result in rapid partial reoxidation.
Service Choreography and Orchestration with Conversations

Service oriented computing provides technologies that enable multiple organizations to integrate their businesses over the Internet. Typical execution behavior in this type of distributed systems involves a set of autonomous peers interacting with each other through messages. Modeling and analysis of interactions among the peers is a crucial problem in this domain due to following reasons: 1) Organizations may not want to share the internal details of the services they provide to other organizations. In order to achieve decoupling among different peers, it is necessary to specify the interactions among different services without referring to the details of their local implementations. 2) Modeling and analyzing the global behavior of this type of distributed systems is particularly challenging since no single party has access to the internal states of all the participating peers. Desired behaviors have to be specified as constraints on the interactions among different peers since the interactions are the only observable global behavior. Moreover, for this type of distributed systems, it might be worthwhile to specify the interactions among different peers before the services are implemented. Such a top-down design strategy may help different organizations to better coordinate their development efforts.
Postcolonial biopolitics in the empire of capital: Lines of Foucauldian inquiry in educational studies

This paper provides a reading of the trope “after Foucault” to indicate three lines of inquiry in Foucauldian studies with particular application to education: the postcolonial, following Edward Said; the biopolitical, following Giorgio Agamben; and the empire of capital, following Michael Hardt and Antonio Negri. This is a synoptic paper that engages with the question of how to read Foucault after thirty years of theorising, following the advice of Foucault himself, and in each case of the postcolonial, the biopolitical and the empire of capital there are hermeneutical gains and losses. And in each case the field of educational opens itself to new vistas, new problems, and new orientations and approaches.Keywords: biopolitics, Foucauldian studies, post-colonial, empire of capital.
Techniques of Stereotactic Radiosurgery

Stereotactic navigation and radiosurgery share a rich history highlighted by innovative minds, technological advances, and clinical success. Although the two concepts are in many ways intimately joined, radiosurgery could not exist without a thorough understanding of the fundamental principles of stereotaxis. Just as the original concept of radiosurgery was a natural, albeit inspired, application of the ideas of stereotactic navigation, advances in radiosurgery over the years have largely been preceded by innovations in stereotaxy.
High-frequency plant regeneration through adventitious shoot formation in castor (Ricinus communis L.)

An efficient plant regeneration protocol was established for castor (Ricinus communis L.). Hypocotyl tissue from zygotic embryo axis produced adventitious shoots when treated with either thidiazuron (TDZ, 1 μM) or 6-benzylaminopurine (BA, 20 μM). TDZ resulted in more than a threefold higher rate of shoot induction (a maximum of 24.2 shoots per explant) than BA (6.8 shoots). Our results also showed that the pretreatment of explants in the dark increased the number of shoots regenerated per explant by 82% and 36% with TDZ and BA, respectively. The elongation of hypocotyl tissue in the dark appears to be the primary cause of the increase. Comparable rates of rooting were achieved on the media supplemented with either indole-3-butyric acid (IBA, 84.3%) or 1-naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA, 87.4%) at 5 μM. However, IBA was more efficient in promoting root and shoot development, resulting in a higher rate of establishment (93.5%) in the soil, compared to the rate with NAA (39.5%). Histological analysis showed the adventitious induction of the shoot buds originated from the cortex of the hypocotyl tissue.
Comparative efficacy of adenine arabinoside 5' monophosphate and prednisone withdrawal followed by adenine arabinoside 5' monophosphate in the treatment of chronic active hepatitis type B.

Abstract Thirty-eight patients with chronic active hepatitis type B received antiviral therapy. In one trial, 22 patients were randomized to either no treatment or treatment with a 28-day cycle of adenine arabinoside 5′ monophosphate (ARA-AMP); in a second trial, 13 patients were randomized to no treatment or treatment with two 28-day cycles of ARA-AMP separated by a 4-wk rest interval; during a third trial, 11 individuals were treated with 8 wk of prednisone therapy followed by 28 days of ARA-AMP therapy. The response rate (73%) to the regimen with prednisone was significantly greater than that achieved in the first or second trial (0% and 15%, respectively). The data indicate that the combination of short-term prednisone and ARA-AMP therapy may offer more promise for successful treatment of chronic active hepatitis type B than does ARA-AMP alone. Synergism may possibly occur by the combined effects of immune rebound provided by corticosteroid withdrawal and the inhibition of viral proliferation by ARA-AMP.
Tank spawning of first generation domestic green sturgeon

Summary Green sturgeon Acipenser medirostris from hatchery spawned wild-caught broodfish matured under aquaculture conditions. The first females (three out of four) matured at age 8 years, were successfully induced to ovulate by hormonal injections, and their eggs collected by caesarean surgery for fertilization. While the incision healed completely, unknown complications resulted in mortalities 5–12 months later. To minimize handling stress and to eliminate mortalities associated with surgery, a semi-natural tank spawning technique was used in subsequent years. A female was placed into a 3.7 m diameter flat-bottom circular fiberglass tank, depth 0.7 m, with two or three males, and the fish were injected with gonadotropin-releasing hormone analog (GnRHa) and white sturgeon pituitary extracts to induce spawning. Fuller’s Earth was continually added to the spawning tank using a belt feeder to minimize egg adhesion to other eggs and to the tank surfaces. The tank was checked hourly for oviposition, and the eggs collected using a fine mesh dip net, every 1–3 h. Spawning lasted 15–21 h, and 53–80 000 eggs were collected from individual spawning females. Direct observation of spawning activity was not possible because of the high turbidity caused by Fuller’s Earth. However, the female and males occasionally breached at the water surface and appeared to be interacting. After oviposition was completed, viable milt was collected from all males, and fertilization success ranged from 7% to 83% in five spawning events. Over three consecutive years (2009–2011) all five females and 11 males used in semi-natural tank spawning ovulated or spermiated, and were not subject to post-spawning mortality. The relatively slow deposition of eggs and the continuous addition of Fuller’s Earth minimized the adhesion of eggs into large clumps. While the egg fertility and hatchability varied greatly among individual females, the tank spawning technique presented a feasible alternative to other more invasive methods for obtaining fertilized eggs of green sturgeon, and may be applicable for other sturgeons, particularly endangered species.
XRCC1 and DNA polymerase β interaction contributes to cellular alkylating‐agent resistance and single‐strand break repair

X-ray cross complementing 1 (XRCC1) protein has been suggested to bind to DNA single-strand breaks (SSBs) and organize protein interactions that facilitate efficient DNA repair. Using four site-specifically modified human XRCC1 mutant expression systems and functional complementation assays in Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) XRCC1-deficient EM9 cells, we evaluated the cellular contributions of XRCC1s proposed N-terminal domain (NTD) DNA binding and DNA polymerase beta (POLbeta) interaction activities. Results within demonstrate that the interaction with POLbeta is biologically important for alkylating agent resistance and SSB repair, whereas the proposed DNA binding function is not critical to these phenotypes. Our data favor a model where the interaction of XRCC1 with POLbeta contributes to efficient DNA repair in vivo, whereas its interactions with target DNA is biologically less relevant.
Left-flat spaces and null geodesics.

Equations are derived giving the null geodesics in any left-flat space as the intersection of hypersurfaces. The connection with null geodesics given in terms of the good-cut functions forH spaces is established.
EXPERIMENTAL STUDIES ON THE ETIOLOGY OF TYPHUS FEVER : IV. IMMUNIZING AND TOXIC AGENTS FOUND OCCASIONALLY IN FILTRATES OF TYPHUS-INFECTED TISSUES.

In the filtrates of typhus-infected tissues of guinea pigs can be occasionally found a substance which produces in these animals thermic reactions, lesions characteristic of experimental typhus, and, still less frequently, immunity to later injections of active virus. The general indications are that this substance is not a living organism.
The physical state of quick-frozen membranes and lipids.

Abstract Lipid bilayers and biomembranes produce nearly identical calorimeter scans regardless of whether they are slowly cooled under near-equilibrium conditions or rapidly frozen at rates used in freeze-fracture electron microscopy. Except for the melting of ice at 273 K, for both cooling regimens no significant thermal events occur from 100 K to the usual gel to liquid crystal transition. The gel to liquid crystal transition itself is somewhat altered by rapid cooling when bilayers contain mixed lipid species. Combined with X-ray diffraction studies, the results indicate that quickly frozen bilayers are crystalline, but that the crystalline domains are quite small or otherwise disordered. In contrast to the behavior of lipids in bilayers, hexagonal-phase calcium cardiolipid easily forms a glass upon cooling.
Explicit Donations and Inferred Endorsements

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives, while not necessarily intended to constitute an endorsement of the brand by the participating nonprofit organization, may nonetheless be perceived by consumers as such. Our experimental findings of two common types of CSR initiatives (licensing associations and cause-related marketing) suggest that not only can the method of presentation of CSR initiatives in advertising result in perceptions of nonprofit endorsement, but also may be entirely confused with explicit seals of approval. Heightened processing motivation either fails to correct the misperception of nonprofit endorsement or may even enhance its perception as a result of the presentation of the CSR initiative in an advertisement. Level of fit between the nonprofit and for-profit brand may also result in increased perception of endorsement. Given the positive effects of third-party endorsements, our results suggest that some CSR initiatives may result in consumer inferences that are inaccurate bu...
Nasopharyngeal viral isolates in children with Haemophilusinfluenzae type B meningitis

V1Rt;SES have been implicated in the pathogenesis of certain bacterial infections? -3 Influenza and parainfluenza viruses potentiate the action of Haernophilus influenzae type b in experimental animals? In the infant rat model, prior inoculation with influenza virus decreased by 100fold the dose of H. influenzae type b required to produce meningitis in rats without prior viral inoculation? Symptoms and signs consistent with preceding upper respiratory tract infectio n frequently are present in children with bacterial meningitis. We report the results of nasal wash viral cultures in a group of children with meningitis caused by H. influenzae type b.
Properties of edge-deleted distance stable graphs

The distance from a vertex u to a vertex v in a connected graph G is the length of a shortest u-v path in G. The distance of a vertex v of G is the sum of the distances from v to the vertices of G. For a vertex v in a 2-edge-connected graph G, we define the edge-deleted distance of v as the maximum distance of v in G - e over all edges e of G. A vertex is an edge-deleted distance stable vertex if the difference between its edge-deleted distance and distance is 1. A 2-edge-connected graph G is an edge-deleted distance stable graph if each vertex of G is an edge-deleted distance stable vertex. In this paper, we investigate the edge-deleted distance of vertices and describe properties of edge-deleted distance stable graphs.
Thermal analysis of some aromatic amine cured model epoxy resin systems—II: Residues of degradation

Abstract The thermal and thermo-oxidative stability of thermoplastic and thermoset epoxy resin model systems based on the diglycidyl ether of bisphenol A (DGEBA) are compared and contrasted as a function of (mostly) aromatic amine curative structure. Overall activation energies for thermal degradation were measured for selected model systems using programmed thermogravimetry, in conjunction with the Flynn-Wall and Kissinger methods of data reduction, and were used to establish correlations between thermal stability and curative structure, resin crosslink density and cure stoichiometry. The thermal degradation of poly(bisphenol A, 2-hydroxy propyl ether) ‘Phenoxy tm ’ resin, a simpler bisphenol A-containing model system which remains soluble throughout the weight loss process in the absence of oxygen, was characterised through joint application of thermogravimetry, capillary viscometry, high resolution 1 H and 13 C Nuclear Magnetic Resonance spectroscopy and Infrared (IR) spectroscopy. Processes of thermal degradation and thermo-oxidative degradation of Phenoxy tm resin, and of network and thermoplastic epoxy resin model systems, were examined through the application of IR spectroscopy. The 1,3 di-phenoxy isopropanol chain extender in Phenoxy tm resin was shown to be more stable than the di-(3-phenoxy, 2-hydroxy) tertiary aromatic amine extender/crosslink in DGEBA based epoxy resins, both in the presence and in the absence of oxygen.
Divorce in Early America: Origins and Patterns in Three North Central States

The recent increase in American divorce rates has aroused a great deal of media publicity, popular discussion, and social science research. Several recent works have begun to reexamine the origins, trends, and implications of divorce in American history. This paper presents systematic data concerning the extent of divorce in three North Central states for the 1810–60 period. The findings establish the incidence of mass divorce for a considerable period prior to official divorce statistics. Major patterns are analyzed and compared to late 19th-century data from the first governmental studies of divorce for the 1870–1900 decades. While some urban-rural differences are found, changing laws and norms played the principal role in the increase in divorce rates during the 1800s. The final part of the paper discusses the implications of these findings for understanding marital disruption in social-historical perspective.
Additional evidence on age-related differences in Machiavellianism in an adult sample.

In this investigation of 115 adults employed with the same organization, age again correlated inversely with scores on Machiavellianism, particularly the components of deceit and flattery.
A more accurate short method of approximating Lotka's r.

This paper describes a short method of computing the intrinsic growth rate which yields more accurate estimates than other methods which have similar information requirements. The procedure is recommended when hand or desk calculation of the intrinsic growth rate is necessary.
m‐bromobenzazide as a reagent for the identification of amines

m-Bromobenzazide was prepared in good yield by the treatment of m-bromobenzhydrazide with nitrous acid in glacial acetic acid solution. The azide, reacted with amines, amides aminophenols, and aminoacids in boiling toluene solution, to give, well defined crystalline m-bromophenylureas with sharp melting points. These derivatives are suitable for the purpose of identification.
Monomer Crystallization During Vapor‐Deposition Polymerization

Establishing control of molecular order, orientation, and the size of crystalline domains within thin films is crucial to engineering physical and charge-transport properties. Vapor-deposition polymerization of polyimides is accomplished by controlling incident molecular flux of sublimed dianhydrides and diamines. Crystallites containing unreacted monomer are observed when monomer fluxes are unbalanced. Diamine crystallites nucleate at early stages of deposition, grow radially during film growth, and are smaller at high deposition rates. Diamine crystallites protrude above the film, suggesting that monomer surface diffusion is significant. This high surface mobility likely promotes polymerization and explains other phenomena observed in vapor deposited films.
Factor Structure of the Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire

A factor analysis of responses from 136 Georgia public school superintendents to the short form Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire, a 20-item scale, yielded a single factor, General Satisfaction,...
I Eastern Europe: Backwardness and the Challenges of Modern Politics

Roger East and Jolyon Pontin, eds, Revolution and Change in Central and Eastern Europe, rev. edn. London: Pinter, 1997. Philip Longworth, The Making of Eastern Europe. From Prehistory to Post‐communism, 2nd edn. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1997. Gale Stokes, Three Eras of Political Change in Eastern Europe. New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1997.
Nonadherence to angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors and/or angiotensin II receptor blockers among high-risk patients with diabetes in Medicare Part D programs.

Abstract Objectives To identify predictors of nonadherence to angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEIs) and/or angiotensin II receptor blockers (ARBs) and to assess the association between nonadherence to ACEIs/ARBs and potentially avoidable hospitalizations (PAHs) among elderly high-risk patients with diabetes. Methods Medicare Part D enrollees from six states who had diabetes and coexisting hypertension and/or renal disease, were aged 65 years or older, and who had filled at least one prescription for ACEIs/ARBs in the first 6 months of 2006 were included in this retrospective cohort study. The primary outcomes of interests were patient nonadherence to ACEI/ARB therapy, which was defined as a proportion of days covered (PDC) less than 0.8 and PAH for diabetes during the patient follow-up period (July 1, 2006, to March 31, 2007). Results A total of 599,141 patients (mean [±SD] age 75.6 ± years, 66% women, 63% white, 15% black, and 9% Hispanic) were included. Among them, 46% were nonadherent to ACEI/ARB therapy and 6.3% had a PAH during the follow-up period. In multivariate logistic regressions, patients with diabetes and both hypertension and renal disease and patients with diabetes and renal disease only were 24% and 15% more likely, respectively, to be nonadherent to ACEI/ARB therapy compared with patients with diabetes and hypertension. Black and Hispanic patients were also more likely to be nonadherent to ACEI/ARB therapy. Nonadherence to ACEI/ARB therapy was associated with a 5% increase in the likelihood of PAH. Conclusion Adherence to ACEI/ARB therapy is suboptimal among elderly high-risk patients with diabetes enrolled in Medicare Part D programs from six states, and nonadherence to ACEIs/ARBs is associated with a slightly increased risk for PAH.
Gender Matters: Feminist Research in Educational Evaluation.

The key insights and shifts in first-, second-, and third-wave feminism are examined, along with the impact on methodological thinking of what may be broadly termed “race-based” feminisms, lesbian theory, postcolonial feminist theory, and post-structuralism. This overview provides a present-day portrait of where feminist theory is now and the continued importance of paying attention to gender, particularly in education.
Selective CB2 receptor activation ameliorates EAE by reducing Th17 differentiation and immune cell accumulation in the CNS

CB2, the cannabinoid receptor expressed primarily on hematopoietic cells and activated microglia, mediates the immunoregulatory functions of cannabinoids. The involvement of CB2 in EAE has been demonstrated by using both endogenous and exogenous ligands. We showed previously that CB2 selective agonists inhibit leukocyte rolling and adhesion to CNS microvasculature and ameliorate clinical symptom in both chronic and remitting-relapsing EAE models. Here we showed that Gp1a, a highly selective CB2 agonist, with a four log higher affinity for CB2 than CB1, reduced clinical scores and facilitated recovery in EAE in conjunction with long term reduction in demyelination and axonal loss. We also established that Gp1a affected EAE through at least two different mechanisms, i.e. an early effect on Th1/Th17 differentiation in peripheral immune organs, and a later effect on the accumulation of pathogenic immune cells in the CNS, associated with reductions in the expression of CNS and T cell chemokine receptors, chemokines and adhesion molecules. This is the first report on the in vivo CB2-mediated Gp1a inhibition of Th17/Th1 differentiation. We also confirmed the Gp1a-induced inhibition of Th17/Th1 differentiation in vitro, both in non-polarizing and polarizing conditions. The CB2-induced inhibition of Th17 differentiation is highly relevant in view of recent studies emphasizing the importance of pathogenic self-reactive Th17 cells in EAE/MS. In addition, the combined effect on Th17 differentiation and immune cell accumulation into the CNS, emphasize the relevance of CB2 selective ligands as potential therapeutic agents in neuroinflammation.
Developmental alterations in 5'-nucleotidase kinetics and lipid composition of rat heart sarcolemma.

Abstract The objective of these studies was to examine the mechanism by which the specific activity of heart sarcolemma 5′-nucleotidase decreases as function of age. We examined the kinetic properties and the lipid composition of the sarcolemma from animals with different ages. The age groups used were 1 month, 6–8 months and 13–15 months. It was found that the K m of this enzyme increases as the animal develops from 1 month to 6–15 months. The opposite was true with 5′-nucleotidase V max . There was no significant difference between the middle age and the older age groups in those parameters. The results of these experiments suggest that the increase in K m in sarcolemma 5′-nucleotidase could be due to the reduction of the sarcolemmal polyunsaturated fatty acid concentration, the only lipid alteration observed.
Uptake and assimilation of dissolved inorganic nitrogen by a symbiotic sea anemone

The tropical sea anemone, Aiptasia pulchella, harbours symbiotic dinoflagellates (zooxanthellae). Animals in their natural habitat in Hawaii and those maintained in the laboratory in Los Angeles took up ammonium from nutrient enriched seawater. That the uptake experiment was done in the dark did not influence uptake although prolonged (19 h) dark treatment caused the animals to release ammonium. Aposymbiotic anemones (lacking zooxanthellae) typically excreted ammonium in the light. Freshly isolated zooxanthellae were also able to deplete enriched seawater of ammonium, indicating that the capacity for uptake by the symbiosis is due to the zooxanthellae. Uptake rates of freshly isolated zooxanthellae exceeded those of zooxanthellae in symbiosis. There was evidence that uptake of ammonium follows diffusion kinetics rather than the Michaelis--Menten model, since there was no saturation component. Neither symbiotic A. pulchella nor their isolated algae were able to remove nitrate from enriched seawater, even when pretreated for 24 h or one month with 5 or 10 $\mu $M nitrate. Symbiotic anemones that were not fed zooplankton for a month, to reduce the internal pools of excretory ammonium, showed a slight ability to deplete the medium of nitrate. Enzymes involved in assimilation of dissolved inorganic nitrogen were assayed in cell-free zooxanthellae extracts. Neither nitrate reductase nor glutamate synthase activity was found. There was glutamate dehydrogenase activity, with a K$\_{\text{m}}$ for ammonium of 4--5 mM; K$\_{\text{m}}$ for $\alpha $-ketoglutarate of 5--7 mM. The zooxanthellae also showed glutamine synthetase activity with a K$_{\text{m}}$ for glutamate of 12.5 $\mu $M but exhibiting negative cooperativity with ammonium.
Fatigue effects in unidirectional composites: applications to Nb3Sn superconductors

A computer‐simulated model for the fatigue behavior of multifilamentary unidirectional composites is presented. It is applicable to two‐component composites with perfectly elastic filaments in a ductile matrix, and considers both applied cyclic stresses and strains. Information regarding the change in residual stress state, matrix yield strength, and the number of cycles necessary to stabilize properties by the achievement of totally elastic strains (shakedown), or to reach some preassigned failure stress in the matrix, can be determined. Results obtained are applied directly to the fatigue behavior of multifilamentary Nb3Sn superconducting composites.