cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Distribution of phosphate-independent MAP2 epitopes revealed with monoclonal antibodies in microwave-denatured human nervous system tissues.

In contrast with results obtained in experimental animals, antibodies to microtubule associated protein-2 (MAP2) preferentially label abnormal structures in human nervous system tissue samples, but the normal sites at which MAP2 is expressed are not well-defined. To determine the distribution of MAP2 in the human central (CNS) and peripheral (PNS) nervous systems, we prepared monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) specific to MAP2, and compared the localization of this MAP in postmortem bovine and human tissues as well as in several human neural cell lines that express either neurofilament (NF) or glial filament (GF) proteins. Eight MAbs specific for phosphate-independent epitopes in bovine and human MAP2 were obtained, and those that performed well in tissues produced immunoreactivity confined to the somatodendritic domain of neurons in bovine and human CNS and PNS tissues. Other neural cells (e.g. astrocytes) did not express MAP2 immunoreactivity using these MAbs. Postmortem delays of less than 24 h prior to tissue denaturation did not affect the distribution of MAP2 immunoreactivity. However, microwave denaturation of these tissues preserved MAP2 immunoreactivity better than fixation with Bouin's solution or formalin. Microwave treatment also improved the immunoreactivity of several MAbs for NF and GF proteins. Finally, MAP2 was not detected in human neural cell lines that express NF (2) or GF (1) proteins. We conclude that microwave denaturation provides an effective means to preserve the immunoreactivity of normal human neuronal cytoskeletal proteins, and that this method of tissue denaturation allows the normal distribution of MAP2 to be defined in postmortem samples of human CNS and PNS tissues.
The Internet as Global Platform? Grounding the Magically Levitating Public Sphere1

The Internet has been touted as a potential platform for a “global” civil society to assert itself and challenge the dominant forms of power, including the globalized market, multilateral institutions, and nation-states. This argument coincides with Nancy Fraser's 2005 piece in the New Left Review, “Reframing Justice in a Globalizing World,” that called for a global platform beyond states as a public sphere for critical discourse. For the Internet to serve as such a platform, it is often constructed in this discourse as a space beyond borders or boundaries, somehow unlimited by the forces that constitute the current power constructs of the afore-mentioned dominations. While borders and boundaries can create hierarchies, their loss may also produce negative effects, such as an absence of space for critical reflection necessary to any public sphere. Moreover, the idea that the Internet can overcome boundaries denies that the Internet exists in actual, physical space and is materially constructed. This paper...
Silver and lanthanum as effective modifiers in trace determination of cadmium in nickel-base alloys by electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry

Abstract Trace cadmium in nickel-base superalloys was determined by a stabilized temperature platform furnace using atomic absorption spectrometry with a deuterium arc background correction system. The volatility of cadmium limits the pyrolysis temperature. This prevents the removal of the interfering alloy matrix at the thermal pretreatment step. Hence, an enormously high background signal has been observed. Chemical modifiers including ammonium citrate, 1-(2-pyridylazo)-naphthol, 4-(2pyridylazo)resorcinol, 2-(5-bromo-2-pyridylazo)-5-(diethylamino)-phenol, Triton-X 100, EDTA, potassium nitrate, palladium nitrate, magnesium nitrate, aluminum chloride, ammonium dihydrogen phosphate, lanthanum oxide, lanthanum chloride and silver nitrate have been studied. Matrix interferences were effectively reduced by silver and lanthanum. The 100–300°C increase in the pyrolysis temperature effectively reduced the non-specific absorption from the alloy matrix. Interferences from foreign ions were also investigated. The merit of the proposed method was increased by the excellent agreement between the certified and the experimental values of Cd in the standard reference material, IN100, and the recovery obtained (100–104%). The precision of six successive replicate measurements was 4.9% with Ag modifier and 2.5% with La modifier, respectively. The results of analysing Tracealloy B were also satisfactory.
6β-acyloxy(nor)tropanes: Affinities for antagonist/agonist binding sites on transfected and native muscarinic receptors

A series of esters of 6β-hydroxynortropane and the N-methyl analogue 6β-tropanol were synthesized and screened versus binding of an antagonist (quinuclidinyl benzilate) and an agonist (oxotremorine-M) at sites on human m1-, m2-, m3-, and m4-muscarinic receptors in transfected cell membranes and on native M1-muscarinic receptors in rat brain membranes and native M2-muscarinic receptors in rat heart membranes. Most 6β-acyloxy(nor)tropanes had higher affinity versus oxotremorine-M binding compared to quinuclidinyl benzilate binding at transfected m1- and native M1-receptors, indicative of agonist activity. 6β-Acetoxynortropane had Ki values versus oxotremorine-M binding at m1-, m2-, and m4-receptors ranging from 4 to 7 nM. N-Methylation reduced affinity greatly as did increasing the size of the acyl moiety. The affinity of 6β-benzoyloxynortropane and other analogues with larger acyl moieties was little affected by N-methylation or in some cases was increased. 6β-Acyloxy(nor)tropanes and classical muscarinic ...
Simultaneous determination of cocaine and its metabolites with caffeine in rat serum microsamples by high-performance liquid chromatography

A single, isocratic high-performance liquid chromatographic method is described for the determination of cocaine and three of its metabolites along with caffeine in serum microsamples (50 microliters). The small sample size permits the tracking of pharmacokinetic data over time in individual, small animals. The method also was used to demonstrate that cocaine, benzoylecgonine and norcocaine in rat serum samples were stable for at least a month without the presence of sodium fluoride.
Border Maquila Ownership and Mexican Economic Benefits: A Comparative Analysis of the Good, the Bad and the Ugly

Canada, Mexico and the United States are developing a new doctrine of regional economic cooperation as a strategy to meet competition from Pacific Rim exporting nations and the European Common Market. Federal officials from the three North American nations employ a policy of national self-interest as they open their common borders to less restrictive trade. Meanwhile, local border entities try to protect existing transborder networks which may help them to survive within this new reality (Stoddard 1982 and 1991a). The resolution of the incongruencies can be both frightening and painful if exacerbated by misinformation about border activities and conditions. This article will examine six case studies of maquila operations in northern Mexico with varying ownership arrangements: American, Japanese, Mexican National and Mexican worker-owner cooperatives. Conceptually, the issue of how foreign or domestic maquiladora owners contribute to the public good cannot be measured accurately without some differentiation of the various social levels at which said contributions are made. This study will focus on three: the nation, the local community housing the plants and the plant workers themselves. It is hoped that more precise data will eventually form policies to curtail the activities of those enterprises which detract from Mexican society and to encourage those which provide the greatest benefits.
Measurement of capillary optic performance for hard x rays

The properties of polycapillary x-ray fibers at medium energies for applications such as crystal diffraction and mammography have been extensively measured and reported. However, many medical and industrial applications for x-rays, such as chest radiography, x-ray orthovoltage therapy, and nondestructive testing, require higher x-ray energies, up to or exceeding 100 keV. In order to investigate the feasibility of using Kumakhov capillary x-ray optics on these applications, measurements have been performed on the behavior of capillary optics at higher energies. Transmission efficiency of straight polycapillary fibers of different types have been measured as a function of source location and x-ray energy from 10 to 80 keV. The measurements are compared to geometrical optics simulations, which have also been extended to these energies. Despite the lower critical angle for total external reflection at high energies, capillary x-ray optics appear promising for many applications.
The perceptions of costs and benefits of high active versus low active groups in community coalitions at different stages in coalition development

Over 200 community volunteers who belong to different committees of an alcohol, tobacco, and other drug abuse prevention coalition completed a comprehensive survey designed to measure specific variables associated with coalition functioning including costs and benefits of participation. Community volunteers are one of the coalition’s greatest resources, and benefits and costs may mediate member participation throughout the different stages of coalition functioning. The survey was completed first at the formation stage (Time l), and then eight to ten months later at the implementation stage (Time 2) of the coalition’s development. Contrary to most previous research, a principal component analysis of the benefit and cost items yielded only one benefit component and one cost component. Also, the authors found that benefits and costs distinguished between the members of “High” and “Low” attendance groups only at Time 2. We consider the implications for coalition functioning, empowerment theory, and “incentive/cost management.” We also describe how we provided the partnerships with information in order to assist them to implement the incentivefcost management process. Community coalitions are frequently being used to address serious public health concerns. For example, the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention (CSAP) currently funds 245 communities across the country to create community partnerships in order to mobilize individuals and organizations to address the alcohol, tobacco, and other drug abuse (ATODA) problems at a local level. CSAP partnerships form coalitions involving youth and parent volunteers, in addition to volunteers from business, the criminal justice system, the media, health services, the religious community, as well as community and school-based personnel to develop and implement a comprehensive plan for reducing ATODA within their community. The coalition studied in this research is one of the 245 CSAP partnerships. Maximizing volunteer participation is important because the coalition depends heavily on the efforts of these volunteers to do much of the coalition’s work. Gaining an understanding of the benefits and the costs that volunteer coalition members experience from their participation is the first step in this process. Participation, benefit, and cost variables are related in various volunteer organizations (Prestby, Wandersman, Florin, Rich, & Chavis, 1990), political parties (Clarke, Price, Stewart, & Krause, 1978), and business groups (Knoke & Adams, 1987). Since this relationship is robust and useful across several different types of organizations, this study will examine the relationship between participation, benefits, and costs in volunteer coalitions. Researchers have previously studied individuals’ perceptions of benefits and costs (Chavis, Florin, Rich, & Wandersman, 1987; Prestby & Wandersman, 1985; Wandersman & Alderman, 1993; Wan
Dispersion in One-Dimensional Photonic Band Gap Periodic Transmission Lines

Dispersion in periodic microstrip transmission lines was investigated by using S-parameters to cal culate the characteristic impedance and the complex propagation constant. Dispersion curves determined from a vari ety of methods, including simulation with IE3D and measurement with a network analyzer, were compared to an analyt ic transcendental model providing self-consistent vali dation of each method. Simulated S-parameters agreed with measurement, including the case of a multi-layered substrate. Very similar dispersion curves were produced using simulated S-parameters, simulated current distributions, anal ytic calculation and measured S-parameters.
Access to health care for hispanic women: A primary health care perspective

Social and political changes are needed to improve the health of, and health care for, Hispanic women.
Utilizing hospital discharge data (HD) to compare fatal and non-fatal work-related injuries among Hispanic workers in New Jersey

BACKGROUND: This study explores the utilization of Hospital Discharge (HD) data to obtain estimates of work-related non-fatal injuries rates in NJ to determine if Hispanics workers have an increased risk of specific work-related injuries. In addition, HD data are used to compare the rate ratios between fatal and non-fatal injuries in this population to demonstrate the effectiveness of using HD as a surveillance tool for monitoring injury trends and performing evaluations. METHODS: Several types of fatal and non-fatal injuries were modeled using Poisson regression with the following predictor variables: gender, ethnicity, and year. The estimated number of workers by ethnicity employed in NJ each year was obtained from the U.S. Census Bureau, DataFerrett, Current Population Survey, November 2006, a data mining tool which accesses CPS data. RESULTS: These analyses, utilizing estimates of working population at-risk, indicate that Hispanic workers have an increased risk of four particular work-related injuries compared with non-Hispanics, and Hispanics were injured at a younger age than non-Hispanics. In addition the rankings of the rate ratios from the comparison between non-fatal and fatal risk estimates were similar; indicating that occupational surveillance of non-fatal injuries is a viable component to be considered. CONCLUSIONS: HD data are effective for monitoring trends over time across ethnic groups and injury types. Therefore, non-fatal injury surveillance should be considered for targeting specific worker populations for interventions to reduce exposure to workplace hazards, and can be a valuable surveillance tool in efforts to reduce occupational injuries. Language: en
Density and strain dependence of ν=1 energy gap in a valley-degenerate AlAs quantum well

In an AlAs quantum well where two-dimensional electrons occupy two conduction-band valleys with anisotropic Fermi contours, we tune the valley splitting energy via the application of strain and measure the energy gaps for the quantum-Hall state at filling factor $\ensuremath{\nu}=1$. At zero valley splitting energy (strain), there is a sizeable energy gap which increases linearly with density. At a fixed density, the gap rises with increasing strain much faster than the single-particle picture predicts. Interpreting the rapid rise of the gap as a signature of valley Skyrmions, we find that their size grows as the electron density increases.
Direct and indirect induction of apoptosis in human mesenchymal stem cells in response to titanium particles

The most frequent complication of total joint arthroplasty is periprosthetic osteolysis initiated by an inflammatory response to orthopaedic wear debris, which if left untreated, can result in implant instability and failure, eventually requiring revision surgery. We have previously reported that osteogenic differentiation of human marrow stroma-derived mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) is suppressed upon exposure to titanium particles, accompanied by reduced bone sialoprotein (BSP) gene expression, diminished production of collagen type I and BSP, decreased cellular viability and proliferation, and inhibition of extracellular matrix mineralization. In this study, we have further investigated hMSC cytotoxicity upon exposure to submicron particles of commercially pure titanium (cpTi) and zirconium oxide (ZrO(2)). Our results showed that direct exposure to cpTi and ZrO(2) particles compromises cell viability through the induction of apoptosis, eliciting increased levels of the tumor suppressor proteins p53 and p73, in a manner dependent on material composition, particle dosage, and time. Additionally, conditioned medium collected from hMSCs exposed to cpTi particles, but not to ZrO(2) particles, is cytotoxic to hMSCs, inducing apoptosis in the absence of particles. These findings demonstrate that exposure to orthopaedically derived wear particles can compromise hMSC viability through the direct and indirect induction of apoptosis. Thus, prolonged in vivo exposure of marrow-derived hMSCs to implant-derived wear debris is likely to reduce the population of viable osteoprogenitor cells, and may contribute to poor periprosthetic bone quality and implant loosening.
Mechanism of the Quorum-Quenching Lactonase (AiiA) from Bacillus thuringiensis. 1. Product-Bound Structures

Enzymes capable of hydrolyzing N-acyl-l-homoserine lactones (AHLs) used in some bacterial quorum-sensing pathways are of considerable interest for their ability to block undesirable phenotypes. Most known AHL hydrolases that catalyze ring opening (AHL lactonases) are members of the metallo-β-lactamase enzyme superfamily and rely on a dinuclear zinc site for catalysis and stability. Here we report the three-dimensional structures of three product complexes formed with the AHL lactonase from Bacillus thuringiensis. Structures of the lactonase bound with two different concentrations of the ring-opened product of N-hexanoyl-l-homoserine lactone are determined at 0.95 and 1.4 A resolution and exhibit different product configurations. A structure of the ring-opened product of the non-natural N-hexanoyl-l-homocysteine thiolactone at 1.3 A resolution is also determined. On the basis of these product-bound structures, a substrate-binding model is presented that differs from previous proposals. Additionally, the pr...
MOUSE HEMOGLOBIN. I. CHROMATOGRAPHIC ANALYSIS.

Abstract 1. 1. The “single” type mouse hemoglobin has one major, three minor, and one nonheme component. Strain C57 appears to be exceptional (zone M Ic is missing) but there is some existing evidence that the minor component M Ib may be further resolved. 2. 2. Two types of “diffuse” hemoglobins were found. Strains C3H and C3HB contain two major, three minor, and one nonheme component; AKR and A contain three major, two minor, and one nonheme component. 3. 3. While the “single” type mouse hemoglobins seem to be characterized by one large major component, very real differences exist in the over-all composition of all the hemoglobins studied, both in the major and minor components. 4. 4. It is proposed that a modification of the nomenclature of Allen et al . (3) for the components of human hemoglobin be developed for other species.
Reducing polarization dependence in asymmetric coupler wavelength filters using birefringence compensation

We demonstrate that a novel birefringence compensation technique can reduce the polarization dependence of AlGaAs directional coupler wavelength filters operating at {lambda} = 773 nm.
Lichenoid Mucosal Reaction to Rituximab

A case of rituximab-induced oral lichenoid drug reaction in a patient with follicular non-Hodgkin lymphoma is presented. In light of the wide use of rituximab for the treatment of lymphoma and the increasing use for autoimmune diseases, awareness and recognition of this unusual side effect of treatment with rituximab is critical to allow for prompt management to reduce morbidity.
A report on the "worst" state hospital recidivists in the U.S.

A total of 196 nonspecialty state hospitals in the U.S. each identified one patient--referred to as the hospital's "worst" recidivist--admitted to the hospital in 1987 who had the most lifetime admissions to that hospital. Persons admitted for mental retardation or substance abuse detoxification were excluded. The mean age of the recidivists was 42.2 years; their mean age at first admission was 24.7. The number of admissions per patient ranged from five to 121, with a mean of 31. Compared with the national population of state hospital admissions, significantly larger proportions of recidivists had diagnoses of schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and personality disorder. More research is needed to determine actual community tenure of patients who receive revolving-door care and whether alternative approaches would be more effective.
Meaning in life mediates the relationship between social and physical functioning and distress in cancer survivors.

Objectives. Impairments in physical and social functioning are often associated with distress for the cancer survivor. Impaired functioning may also lead individuals to question previously held beliefs about meaning in life. Meaning in life was hypothesized to mediate the relationship between functioning and distress. Design and methods. Two studies were conducted. In the cross-sectional study (I), cancer survivors (N ¼ 420) were accrued via the Internet and completed measures of social and physical functioning, meaning and distress. In the longitudinal study (II), breast cancer survivors (N ¼ 167) completed measures of functioning at 18 months, meaning at 24 months and distress at 30 months post-diagnosis. Results. In Study I, meaning in life was a significant, partial mediator for both of the effects of physical and social functioning impairments on heightened distress. In Study II, significant indirect effects of functioning impairments on distress through meaning were replicated even when functioning and distress were measured 1 year apart. The relationship of social functioning and distress was fully mediated by meaning in life, whereas the relationship of physical functioning and distress was partially mediated by meaning. Conclusions. The negative social and physical sequelae of cancer are associated with heightened distress, and this association appears to be accounted for, in part, by patients’ loss of meaning in their lives. Meaning in life can be broadly defined as a positively valenced framework of beliefs about the coherence of the world and one’s own life. Meaning in life can bring a sense of wonder and joy in living (Schwartzberg & Janoff-Bulman, 1991), while meaninglessness is thought to underlie psychological disorders (e.g. Yalom, 1980). To date, there has
Acute Surgical Management of Hand Burns

A hand represents 3% of the total body surface area. The hands are involved in close to 80% of all burns. The potential morbidity associated with hand burns can be substantial. Imagine a patient carrying a pan of flaming cooking oil to the doorway or someone lighting a room-sized pile of leaves and branches doused with gasoline. It is clear how the hands are at risk in these common scenarios. Not all burn injuries will require surgical intervention. Recognizing the need for surgery is paramount to achieving good functional outcomes for the burned hand. The gray area between second- and third-degree burns tests the skill and experience of every burn/hand surgeon. Skin anatomy and the size of injury dictate the surgical technique used to close the burn wound. In addition to meticulous surgical technique, preoperative and postoperative hand therapy for the burned hand is essential for a good functional outcome. Recognizing the burn depth is paramount to developing the appropriate treatment plan for any burn injury. This skill requires experience and practice. In this article, we present an approach to second- and third-degree hand burns.
The Effect of Quality Assessment and Directional Goal Commitment on Auditors' Acceptance of Client‐Preferred Accounting Methods

Previous research demonstrates that auditors' directional goals influence their reporting decisions. For example, when auditors have goals of accepting client‐preferred accounting methods, they tend to exploit ambiguity in reporting standards to justify those methods, even when they are aggressive (Hackenbrack and Nelson 1996). We report an experimental investigation of the likely effectiveness of regulation designed to curb this tendency. Specifically, regulators suggest that having auditors identify benchmarks or assess the quality of various methods will “raise the bar” for method acceptability, thereby reducing auditor acceptance of aggressive reporting methods. However, this reasoning ignores the fact that ambiguity typically surrounds quality assessment. Following motivated reasoning theory, we argue that, in order to meet the increased standard for acceptability, auditors with high commitment to directional goals will exploit the ambiguity surrounding the quality of various methods when making qual...
Universal optimality of ue 3-designs for a competing effects model

Designs with unequal set sizes called UE 3-designs are introduced to estimate all the individual brand effects and the individual competing effects in the competing effects model. It is also shown that a UE 3-design is universally optimal for the estimation of the individual parameters in the model. Besides, some properties and construction of UE 3-designs are provided.
The History and Stability of Atmospheric Oxygen

There are three processes weakly concentration-dependent that keep changes in concentration of atmospheric pressure from being a random walk—inhibition of net photosynthesis by oxygen, the passage of hydrogen through the oxidizing part of the atmosphere before it escapes from the earth, and burial of reduced carbon in anaerobic water. A stronger regulator seems desirable but remains to be found. The cause of the initial rise in oxygen concentration presents a serious and unresolved quantitative problem.
H-1 Virus Viremia in the Human.

SummaryA viremia and subsequently HA-I and neutralizing antibodies were found in each of 2 human subjects injected with H-1 virus, indicating that the human is susceptible to, and can support, the proliferation of this agent. Studies of blood samples from one of the 2 individuals indicated that the viremia had a cyclic pattern.
Detection of bacterial cytotoxic activities from water-damaged ceiling tile material following incubation on blood agar.

Samples of ceiling tiles with high levels of bacteria exhibited cytotoxic activities on a HEP-2 tissue culture assay. Ceiling tiles containing low levels of bacterial colonization did not show cytotoxic activities on the HEP-2 tissue culture assay. Using a spread plate procedure on blood agar plates, the levels of bacteria colonizing portions of cellulosic indoor ceiling tiles were easily identified. Levels of bacteria measured by this simple procedure may be a good indicator of microbial colonization of indoor building materials especially in the case of water damage. We suggest that bacterial levels above 150 CFU g−1 of ceiling tile material indicate colonization has occurred.
Extended-Spectrum Beta-Lactamase Gene Sequences in Gram-Negative Saprophytes on Retail Organic and Nonorganic Spinach

A substantial proportion of infections caused by drug-resistant Gram-negative bacteria (GNB) in community and health care settings are recognized to be caused by evolutionarily related GNB strains. Their global spread has been suggested to occur due to human activities, such as food trade and travel. These multidrug-resistant GNB pathogens often harbor mobile drug resistance genes that are highly conserved in their sequences. Because they appear across different GNB species, these genes may have origins other than human pathogens. We hypothesized that saprophytes in common human food products may serve as a reservoir for such genes. Between July 2007 and April 2008, we examined 25 batches of prepackaged retail spinach for cultivatable GNB population structure by 16S rRNA gene sequencing and for antimicrobial drug susceptibility testing and the presence of extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL) genes. We found 20 recognized GNB species among 165 (71%) of 231 randomly selected colonies cultured from spinach. Twelve strains suspected to express ESBLs based on resistance to cefotaxime and ceftazidime were further examined for blaCTX-M and blaTEM genes. We found a 712-bp sequence in Pseudomonas teessidea that was 100% identical to positions 10 to 722 of an 876-bp blaCTX-M-15 gene of an E. coli strain. Additionally, we identified newly recognized ESBL blaRAHN-2 sequences from Rahnella aquatilis. These observations demonstrate that saprophytes in common fresh produce can harbor drug resistance genes that are also found in internationally circulating strains of GNB pathogens; such a source may thus serve as a reservoir for drug resistance genes that ultimately enter pathogens to affect human health.
Ascospore Deposition and Epiphytic Growth in Relation to Fungicide Timing for Control of Greasy Spot Rind Blotch Caused by Mycosphaerella citri

Greasy spot rind blotch is a serious problem in Florida for the production of grapefruit (Citrus paradisi) for the fresh market. In the 1970s to the early 1980s, the disease was described in detail and the cause was determined to be Mycosphaerella citri, the same species responsible for greasy spot of foliage. The most appropriate timing for fungicide sprays was determined at that time, but peak ascospore release has changed in recent years. In the present study, the relationship of ascospore deposition and fungal growth on fruit was determined in order to more accurately time fungicide applications. Infection of fruit appears to occur similarly to that of leaves: by deposition of ascospores and germination to produce epiphytic growth followed by penetration of the fungus through stomata. Ascospore deposition occurred mostly in May and June, but epiphytic growth began only after the onset of the summer rainy season in June in 2002 and 2003. Ascospore deposition was lower in 2002 than in 2003, but development of epiphytic growth was similar in both years. Timing of fenbuconazole sprays was evaluated in the 2001, 2002, and 2003 seasons. Of the single-spray applications, those in July were the most effective, sprays in June and August were moderately effective, and those made in May or September were ineffective. Two- and three-spray programs from June through August were usually more effective than single sprays, and four monthly sprays from May to August were needed for a high level of control. Fungicide applications are needed about every 3 to 4 weeks after the beginning of the rainy season in June through August for a high level of control of rind blotch.
In utero treatment for bladder outlet obstruction using robot assisted laparoscopic techniques.

Purpose: Bladder outlet obstruction can have devastating consequences. Given the poor outcome, intervention in utero has been advocated in an attempt to salvage pulmonary and renal function. We evaluated whether laparoscopic decompression of the obstructed bladder could be performed efficiently by adapting current robot assisted laparoscopic techniques to access the fetus in utero.Materials and Methods: At 95 days of gestation 20 fetal sheep underwent ligation of the urethra and urachus. Two to 5 days later robot assisted laparoscopic vesicostomy was performed. Ultrasound of the kidneys and bladder was performed before each procedure. At 135 days of gestation the urinary tract was evaluated to assess the adequacy of bladder decompression and a patent vesicostomy.Results: After 48 hours of undergoing ligation all fetuses had bilateral moderate hydronephrosis and a markedly distended bladder. In the first 10 fetuses vesicostomy could not be completed laparoscopically due to limited visualization. Additional...
Working Wives and Time-Saving Durables: Usage Patterns for the Microwave Oven

Working wives face increasing demands on their time due to the pressures of employment as well as household needs. Accordingly, they are expected to adopt strategies which save time, such as the purchase of durables like dishwashers and microwave ovens. Previous research, however, has not demonstrated this association. This paper proposes that the actual usage of the durable, rather than its ownership, is more likely to vary with working wife status. When the case of microwave ovens is considered, a survey of households in southern New Jersey indicates that usage similarly does not vary with wife’s participation in the labor force.
Living in a Post-CIPA World

Concluding what turned out to be a landmark year for the information community, the United States Supreme Court affirmed the constitutionality of the Children’s Internet Protection Act (CIPA). The Act ties receipt of federal E-rate and LSTA funding to the installation and use of Internet filters on public school and library computers.As a librarian and a First Amendment junkie I am not a fan of filtering in any form. But the reality is that as a librarian I filter information every day when I decide what to purchase and what not to purchase for my library. Information content providers make similar decisions in deciding what to provide and what not to provide on their Websites and databases. Reviewing the Supreme Court’s decision carefully, one can find some ground upon which to build a filtering environment that while not perfect, and not what the First Amendment junkie in me would prefer, is a manageable solution.
Antisense oligodeoxynucleotide to PKC-δ blocks α1-adrenergic activation of Na-K-2Cl cotransport

A role for protein kinase C (PKC)-δ and -ζ isotypes in α1-adrenergic regulation of human tracheal epithelial Na-K-2Cl cotransport was studied with the use of isotype-specific PKC inhibitors and ant...
Vulnerability to renal, heat and respiratory hospitalizations during extreme heat among U.S. elderly

Extreme heat (EH) is a growing concern with climate change, and protecting human health requires knowledge of vulnerability factors. We evaluated whether associations between EH (maximum temperature > 97th percentile) and hospitalization for renal, heat and respiratory diseases among people > 65 years differed by individual and area-level characteristics. We used Medicare billing records, airport weather data, U.S. Census data and satellite land cover imagery in 109 US cities, May-September, 1992-2006, in a time-stratified case-crossover design. Interaction terms between EH and individual (> 78 years, black race, sex) and home ZIP-code (percentages of non-green space, high school education, housing built before 1940) characteristics were incorporated in a single model. Next, we pooled city-specific effect estimates or regressed them on quartiles of air conditioning prevalence (ACP) in a multivariate random effects meta-analysis. EH and combined renal/heat/respiratory hospitalization associations were stronger among blacks, the very old, in ZIP codes with lower educational attainment or older housing and in cities with lower ACP. For example, for EH versus non-heat days, we found a 15% (95% CI 11%-19%) increase in renal/heat/respiratory hospitalizations among individuals in ZIP codes with higher percent of older homes in contrast to a 9% (95% CI 6%-12%) increase in hospitalizations in ZIP codes with lower percent older homes. Vulnerability to EH-associated hospitalization may be influenced by age, educational attainment, housing age and ACP.
Quantitative studies on gamma-2 anti-dinitrophenyl antibodies.

SummaryGuinea pig γ2 anti-dinitrophenyl antibodies can lyse tanned sheep erythrocytes coated with highly derivatized dinitrophenyl bovine serum albumin. With the method used, 0.3 to 0.6 γ antibody protein/ml is sufficient to provoke lysis. Since no difference was found between high and low affinity anti-bodies, this method can be used for the quan-titation of guinea pig γ2 anti-dinitrophenyl antibodies of high and/or low affinities.
The Influence of Teacher Immediacy Behaviors on Student Performance in an Online Course (and the Problem of Method Variance)

Social presence (represented by salience of instructor and fellow students) in an online teaching environment has been shown to influence perceptions of course activity and self-estimates of learning. An experiment is described here in which teacher presence is manipulated via personalized messages from the teaching assistant throughout the course. High presence was not associated with activity in class discussion, homework performance, or tests over the assigned readings. It is suggested that these results have clear implications for the interpretation of research using perceived as opposed to objectively measured course outcomes to evaluate social presence and teacher immediacy concepts.
Progress and Development of Chinese Democracy in the New Era

China's democracy goes hand in hand with Chinese revolutiona and socialist construction.With the coming of the new era,democracy laid a solid foundation of reform and opening-up and exerted a direct promoting influence on political system reform.Meanwhile,the purpose of socialist democracy are more prominent,subjects are wider,concrete system procedure are more standard and its contents are more concrete and richer,thus socialist democratic theory with Chinese characteristics have been basically formed and China has been on the correct way of democratic construction.
Analysis on water quality of Hohhot from 2006 to 2008

Objective Appraised each kind of water supply type and the management adds water the archery target influence,provided the scientific basis safely for our city water used.Methods Monitored each kind of domestic water data from 2006 to 2008 which carried on the statistical analysis,used case of illness to compare the research method and carried on the water quality hygiene condition good central water supply with other three kinds of water qualities contrast analysis.Results The central water supply water quality wanted obvious good in two water supplies,from water-treatment and the production water supply.In which was worst from water-treatment and the production water supply hygiene condition.Conclusion Should strengthen two water supplies,the production water supply hygienic management water-treatment.the medical department and the water supply unit must own responsibility,and guarantee water quality health security.
Dual Precursor Atmospheric Plasma Deposition of Transparent Bilayer Protective Coatings on Plastics

We demonstrate a dual organic and inorganic precursor method to deposit transparent organosilicate protective bilayer coatings on poly methyl methacrylate (PMMA) substrates with atmospheric plasma deposition in ambient air. The bottom layer was a hybrid organosilicate adhesive layer deposited with dual organic 1,5-cyclooctadiene (CYC) and widely used inorganic tetraethoxysiline (TEOS) precursors. The selection of the organic CYC precursor allowed incorporation of a carbon chain in the organosilicate adhesive layer, which resulted in improved adhesion. The top layer was a dense silica coating with high Young’s modulus and hardness deposited with TEOS. The deposited bilayer structure showed ∼100% transparency in the visible light wavelength region, twice the adhesion energy, and five times the Young’s modulus of commercial polysiloxane sol–gel coatings.
Introductory paper: Cellular mechanisms in hypertension and therapeutic implications in blacks

The high incidence and prevalence of hypertension in the black community in western societies led to early speculation that the black population consumed more sodium (sodium chloride) than the general population. However, numerous studies have failed to support this conclusion. It seems rather that it is the handling of sodium by the kidney (greater salt sensitivity) by many hypertensive blacks and the interaction of sodium with potassium, probably magnesium, calcium, and various transport systems at the cellular level that offer a better explanation of these observed phenomena.
A DCNN and SDM Based Face Alignment Algorithm

We present a coarsely locating little points and finely locating many points approach for face alignment. This cascade structure replies to 2 problems existing all the time in face alignment: the initialization and great accuracy difference between inner points and outline points. First, we adopt DCNN to coarsely localize 5 points: two pupils, nose and two mouth corners. Second, based on shape initialization of coarse location, using SDM with extracting simplified SIFT features, we finely localizes 49 inner points and 17 outline points. Experiments on CAS-PEAL-R1 and FERET database show that our approach is accurate and robust. The proposed method achieves 99.23% localization accuracy of eyes on CAS-PEAL-R1.
Dark secret at centre of Milky Way

Black holes are extreme concentrations of mass from which light cannot escape. How then could we ever discover one? The answer is that we can infer the existence of a black hole by its gravitational interactions with surrounding matter. However, we must place limits on the mass and size of the unseen object that allow no explanation other than a black hole.
Coverage of Burmese refugees in Indiana news media: An analysis of textual and visual frames

This study investigates how Burmese refugees were framed by Fort Wayne’s The Journal Gazette located in one of Indiana’s cities where refugee resettlement has taken place over the last two decades....
M-Perf: An available bandwidth estimation tool for multicast applications

In this paper, we present M-Perf, a tool to estimate the total available bandwidth to each receiver in a multicast session where total available bandwidth is defined as the maximum flow rate from the source to the receiver in a given directed acyclic graph. M-Perf achieves this objective using a technique called network coding. Therefore, unlike end-to-end bandwidth estimation tools, M-Perf requires support from forwarding nodes. Such support is easily available for application layer multicasts in overlay networks. It may also become available in the future for network layer multicast through lower layer support for network coding. We show that M-Perf accurately estimates the available bandwidth using two overlay networks: local-area overlay at University of Wisconsin and wide-area overlay on Planetlab [1]. We also integrate M-Perf into a multimedia streaming application to demonstrate a usage case scenario and further evaluate its effectiveness.
Optimizing the RoI of Cyber Risk Mitigation

In this paper, we present a security analytics frame-work that augments host compliance reports with network configuration to assess the risk globally and devise cost-effective mitigation plans. We define metrics to measure the global enter-prise risk based on network assets vulnerabilities, their inter-dependencies, and network configurations. Our framework takes the decision burden away from administrators by automatically recommending cost-effective mitigation actions that achieve the expected return on investment (RoI). We use XCCDF, a language defined as part of the Security Content Automation Protocol (SCAP), to communicate the compliance benchmarking and scoring reports. In addition, we utilize the basic metrics defined in the standard vulnerability scoring systems, such as CVSS, to accurately assess the global risk. We formalize our proposed mitigation planning solution as a constraints satisfaction problem and we solve it using the Z3 SMT solver.
Effect of reactor radiation on the thermal conductivity of TREAT fuel

Abstract The Transient Reactor Test Facility (TREAT) at the Idaho National Laboratory is resuming operations after more than 20 years in latency in order to produce high-neutron-flux transients for investigating transient-induced behavior of reactor fuels and their interactions with other materials and structures. A parallel program is ongoing to develop a replacement core in which the fuel, historically containing highly-enriched uranium (HEU), is replaced by low-enriched uranium (LEU). Both the HEU and prospective LEU fuels are in the form of UO2 particles dispersed in a graphite matrix, but the LEU fuel will contain a much higher volume of UO2 particles, which may create a larger area of interphase boundaries between the particles and the graphite. This may lead to a higher volume fraction of graphite exposed to the fission fragments escaping from the UO2 particles, and thus may induce a higher volume of fission-fragment damage on the fuel graphite. In this work, we analyzed the reactor-radiation induced thermal conductivity degradation of graphite-based dispersion fuel. A semi-empirical method to model the relative thermal conductivity with reactor radiation was proposed and validated based on the available experimental data. Prediction of thermal conductivity degradation of LEU TREAT fuel during a long-term operation was performed, with a focus on the effect of UO2 particle size on fission-fragment damage. The proposed method can be further adjusted to evaluate the degradation of other properties of graphite-based dispersion fuel.
Persistence of Florida largemouth bass alleles in a northern Arkansas population of largemouth bass, Micropterus salmoides Lacèpéde

Abstract Florida largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides floridanus) have been intensively stocked throughout the southern United States for the past three to four decades due to perceived superior growth characteristics. As a result, introgression of Florida largemouth bass with native stocks of northern largemouth bass (M. s. salmoides) has been prevalent. Lakes Ashbaugh and SWEPCO, located in northern Arkansas, were both constructed near 1980 and initially stocked with Florida largemouth bass (LMB). Allele frequencies of three discriminant allozyme loci (sAAT-B, sIDH-B, sMDH-B) between Florida and northern largemouth bass were determined for LMB collected between 1994–1996. Florida largemouth bass alleles were common within each reservoir, yet more common in SWEPCO Lake, a cooling pond for a coal powered electric plant. FLMB allele frequencies in Lake Ashbaugh bass were 0.20 for sAAT-B*3–4 alleles, to 0.24 for sIDHP-B*2 and 0.27 for sMDH-B*2; SWEPCO Lake FLMB allele frequencies were highly variable, wit...
White Matter Hyperintensity Volume and Outcome of Mechanical Thrombectomy With Stentriever in Acute Ischemic Stroke.

Background and Purpose— Finding of white matter hyperintensity (WMH) has been associated with an increased risk of parenchymal hematoma and poor clinical outcomes after mechanical thrombectomy using old-generation endovascular devices. Currently, no data exist with regard to the risk of mechanical thrombectomy using stentriever devices in patients with significant WMH. We hypothesized that WMH volume will not affect the hemorrhagic and clinical outcome in patients with acute ischemic stroke undergoing thrombectomy using new-generation devices. Methods— A retrospective cohort of consecutive acute ischemic stroke patients >18-year-old receiving mechanical thrombectomy with stentriever devices at a single academic center was examined. WMH volume was assessed by a semiautomated volumetric analysis on T2 fluid attenuated inversion recovery–magnetic resonance imaging. Outcomes included the rate of any intracerebral hemorrhage, 90-day modified Rankin Score (mRS), the rate of good outcome (discharge mRS ≤2), and the rate of successful reperfusion (thrombolysis in cerebral ischemia score 2b or 3). Results— Between June 2012 and December 2015, 56 patients with acute ischemic stroke met the study criteria. Median WMH volume was 6.76 cm 3 (4.84–16.09 cm 3 ). Increasing WMH volume did not significantly affect the odds of good outcome (odds ratio [OR], 0.811; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.456–1.442), intracerebral hemorrhage (OR, 1.055; 95% CI, 0.595–1.871), parenchymal hematoma (OR, 0.353; 95% CI, 0.061–2.057), successful recanalization (OR, 1.295; 95% CI, 0.704–2.383), or death (OR, 1.583; 95% CI, 0.84–2.98). Conclusions— Mechanical thrombectomy using stentrievers seems to be safe in selected patients with acute ischemic stroke with large vessel occlusion, nonwithstanding the severity of WMH burden in this population. Larger prospective studies are warranted to validate these findings.