cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Poly ADP-Ribose Polymerase Inhibition Ameliorates Hind Limb Ischemia Reperfusion Injury in a Murine Model of Type 2 Diabetes

Introduction Diabetes is known to increase poly-ADP-ribose-polymerase (PARP) activity and posttranslational poly-ADP-ribosylation of several regulatory proteins involved in inflammation and energy metabolism. These experiments test the hypothesis that PARP inhibition will modulate hind limb ischemia reperfusion (IR) in a mouse model of type-II diabetes and ameliorate the ribosylation and the activity/transnuclear localization of the key glycolytic enzyme glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH). Methods db/db mice underwent 1.5 hours of hind limb ischemia followed by 1, 7, or 24 hours of reperfusion. The treatment group received the PARP inhibitor PJ34 (PJ34) over a 24-hour period; the untreated group received Lactated Ringer (LR) at the same time points. IR muscles were analyzed for indices of PARP activity, fiber injury, metabolic activity, inflammation, GAPDH activity/intracellular localization, and poly-ADP-ribosylation of GAPDH. Results PARP activity was significantly lower in the PJ34-treated groups than in the Lactated Ringer group at 7 and 24 hours of reperfusion. There was significantly less muscle fiber injury in the PJ34-treated group than in the Lactated Ringer-treated mice at 24 hours of reperfusion. PJ34 lowered levels of select proinflammatory molecules at 7 hours and 24 hours of IR. There were significant increases in metabolic activity only at 24 hours of IR in the PJ34 group, which temporally correlated with increase in GAPDH activity, decreased GAPDH poly-ADP-ribosylation, and nuclear translocation of GAPDH. Conclusions PJ34 reduced PARP activity, GAPDH ribosylation, and GAPDH translocation; ameliorated muscle fiber injury; and increased metabolic activity after hind limb IR injury in a murine model of type-II diabetes. PARP inhibition might be a therapeutic strategy after IR in diabetic humans.
The measurement of cognitive vocational maturity

Abstract This report describes an instrument that was designed to measure an individual's level of cognitive vocational maturity in six areas: Fields of Work, Job Selection, Work Conditions, Education Required, Attributes Requited, and Duties. Procedures used in developing the item analysis research form and the final form of the instrument are described. Sample items from each subtest are presented. Kuder-Richardson reliability estimates for each of the six area subtests are presented for grades 6–9. Both criterion-related and construct validity data are presented. Pupils whose vocational choices were in agreement with their field of interest and their ability level scored higher on all subtests than pupils whose choices agreed neither with their interests nor with their ability level. Mean scores on all area subtests increase across grades levels, thus providing support for the claim that vocational maturity behaviors are developmental ones.
Shrek 2: An Appraisal of Mainstream Animation's Influence on Identity

This article examines the discursive practices presented in Shrek 2. We apply a critical discourse analysis lens while focusing on the way animated versions of Latinos and African Americans are portrayed. In particular, the essay focuses on Shrek, Donkey, and Puss-in-Boots and the various stereotypical language discourses they reproduce. The essay then makes a comparison between the animated film and the current reproduction of racist ideologies that mirror the positions of minoritized people in U.S. society.
Treatment of anal fissures with topical nitroglycerin

Anal fissure is a painful condition that is caused by anodermal tearing after the passage of hard stool. Severe cases result in involuntary internal anal sphincter spasm and have traditionally been treated surgically with a lateral sphincterotomy. Investigators have demonstrated that nitric oxide causes relaxation of the smooth muscle of the anal canal, so topical nitroglycerin ointment preparations have recently been studied as an efficacious alternative to surgery. Despite the fact that there are a number of trials examining topical nitroglycerin for the treatment of anal fissures, there remains no consensus about concentrations, compositions and applications necessary to obtain good results. This review summarises current literature regarding topical nitroglycerin pharmacotherapy for anal fissure.
Mid‐tropospheric circulation and surface melt on theGreenland ice sheet. Part I: atmospheric teleconnections

Daily values of the spatial extent of melting on the Greenland ice sheet-measured from satellite passive microwave sensors-are compared with several mid-tropospheric teleconnection indices during May 1979 to June 1989. The teleconnection indices are derived by performing a rotated principal components analysis on a 100-point subset of the 700 hPa heights from the National Meteorological Center (NMC, now National Center for Environmental Prediction) octagonal grid. Loading patterns from the principal components are mapped and compared with teleconnection patterns identified in the climatological literature. Several teleconnections are apparent in the loading patterns, the most significant being the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO). The component scores are used as predictor variables in a multiple regression analysis of surface melt extent for the entire ice sheet and for eight topographically defined regions of the ice sheet. The results from the regression analysis show that the first five principal components account for more than half of a trend in the microwave-derived melt extent between 1979 and 1989. The NAO is shown as the teleconnection most highly related to surface melt extent on the Greenland ice sheet.
A Linguistic Analysis of Disadvantaged Kindergarten Children’s Verbal Responses to Questions

AbstractThe purpose of this study was to analyze the verbal responses of 72 disadvantaged kindergarten pupils to data recall, data processing, or application questions. Results for each sex and scores for each category of questions on the variables of total word count, vocabulary diversity, and mean length of T-unit were compared utilizing the multiple classification analysis of covariance technique and Duncan’s New Multiple Range Test. Data processing and application questions resulted in a statistically significant increase (.01) in total word count A significant increase (.01) in mean length of T-unit was recorded when subjects responded to data processing or application questions. The type of question which was utilized resulted in a significant difference (.05) in the children’s vocabulary diversity scores.
Porcine colonic microstructure and function as affected by the feeding of casein and soy protein

Abstract This study examined the effects of dietary casein and soy protein on the colonic mmcrostructure and function of pigs. Twelve crossbred pigs, 29–43 kg body weight, were fed their respective diets ad libitum for a minimum of 14 days. Gut function was assessed by the in vivo perfusion of two-20 cm segments (proximal and distal) of colon. Following the perfusion period, portions of the proximal and distal colon were collected for analysis of protein content, microstructural examination and mucosal energetics. Feeding casein significantly increased colonic protein and the surface area to mucosal volume ratio of colonic tissues, when compared to soy protein. Mucosal oxygen consumption rate for casein and soy protein were not different, nor were microstructural differences detected between the proximal and distal colonic segments. In vivo colonic perfusion studies indicated statistical differences, by protein source and by colonic segment, for the transport of chloride and the individual fatty acids. Animals fed the soy protein had a greater (P
Response of buying‐center participants to B2B product placements

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to review product‐placement research in the consumer‐marketing domain, examine the acceptability of the practice for buying‐center participants, and assess recall, attitude and purchase‐intention responses to B2B products placed in movie scenes.Design/methodology/approach – Achievement of the research objectives requires the collection of data from a sample of organizational buying‐center participants and their exposure to B2B placements in entertainment‐media contexts. Qualified participants observed a movie containing B2B products within the context of the feature. They then completed a short questionnaire concerning their observations and the impressions gained from that observation.Findings – Product placements, used prolifically to target household consumers, are beginning to expand into the B2B domain. This research reviews product‐placement research in the B2C domain and examines the acceptability of the practice for a sample of 127 buying‐center participants ...
Use of Nonionic Surfactants for Improvement of Terpene Production in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

To facilitate enzyme and pathway engineering, a selection was developed for improved sesquiterpene titers in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. α-Bisabolene, a candidate advanced biofuel, was found to protect yeast against the disruptive action of nonionic surfactants such as Tween 20 (T20). An experiment employing competition between two strains of yeast, one of which makes twice as much bisabolene as the other, demonstrated that growth in the presence of T20 provided sufficient selective pressure to enrich the high-titer strain to form 97% of the population. Following this, various methods were used to mutagenize the bisabolene synthase (BIS) coding sequence, coupled with selection by subculturing in the presence of T20. Mutagenesis targeting the BIS active site did not yield an improvement in bisabolene titers, although mutants were found which made a mixture of α-bisabolene and β-farnesene, another candidate biofuel. Based on evidence that the 3' end of the BIS mRNA may be unstable in yeast, we randomly recoded the last 20 amino acids of the enzyme and, following selection in T20, found a variant which increased specific production of bisabolene by more than 30%. Since T20 could enrich a mixed population, efficiently removing strains that produced little or no bisabolene, we investigated whether it could also be applied to sustain high product titers in a monoculture for an extended period. Cultures grown in the presence of T20 for 14 days produced bisabolene at titers up to 4-fold higher than cultures grown with an overlay of dodecane, used to sequester the terpene product, and 20-fold higher than cultures grown without dodecane.
The rate enhancing effect of ultrasound by inducing supersaturation in a solid–liquid system

Abstract Ultrasound has been found to induce the supersaturation of a sparingly soluble solid in a liquid system. Such supersaturation was observed with two different types of solid–liquid systems: sodium sulfide in acetonitrile and calcium citrate in water, with the former being investigated in greater detail. In the presence of ultrasound, the concentrations of these solutes in their respective solvents were increased at least 1.4 times the corresponding equilibrium saturation values. One possible mechanism may be an increased solubility of the solute in the hot-spot region where the solvent exists in a supercritical state. This increased solubility is retained long after the hot spot dissipates and the region returns to ambient conditions. Another mechanism may be the Gibbs–Thompson effect, i.e., the enhanced solubility of very small (
Virtual World Architectures

Three-dimensional virtual worlds promise to complement the Web with 3D models of virtual places that are fanciful or that model and mirror the real world. Marketplace evolution is one way to wait and see if and how this will come about. Another approach is to identify current limitations of virtual worlds, deconstruct and study their architectures, and consider how to evolve them to realize their promises. This special issue presents articles that explore architectural issues related to virtual world evolution. The articles cover topics like integration of 3D virtual world viewers with Web browsers, federation of virtual world grids, extensibility of virtual world platforms, adding knowledge-based services, accuracy of virtual worlds, standards, and serious applications built on top of virtual world platforms to support collaboration and training.
Src homology domain 2-containing tyrosine phosphatase 2 associates with intercellular adhesion molecule 1 to regulate cell survival.

Intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) binds to the plasma protein fibrinogen (Fg) to mediate leukocyte/endothelial cell interactions. In our studies, the ligation of Fg to ICAM-1 on tumor necrosis factor-α-stimulated endothelial cells resulted in the tyrosine phosphorylation of Src homology domain 2 (SH2)-containing phosphatase-2 (SHP-2). The ICAM-1 cytoplasmic sequence IKKYRLQ conforms poorly to the concensus immunoreceptor tyrosine-based inhibition motifs found in receptors that bind SHP-2. Nevertheless, the tyrosine phosphorylated sequence (IKKpYRLQ) bound specifically to the SH2 domain proximal to the NH2-terminal of SHP-2 (SHP-2-N) but not to the SH2 domain proximal on the COOH-terminal side (SHP-2-C). Phosphorylated ICAM-1 bound SHP-2-N. In immunoprecipitation experiments, SHP-2 associated with phosphorylated ICAM-1. Cells expressing truncated ICAM-1 that lacked the cytoplasmic sequence (ICAM-1(TR)) failed to associate with SHP-2. ICAM-1 containing the tyrosine to alanine substitution at position 485 (ICAM-1(Y485A)) associated weakly with SHP-2. Cells expressing ICAM-1(TR) and ICAM-1(Y485A) underwent apoptosis upon adhesion to Fg, whereas the wild type ICAM-1 maintained cell survival. These results indicate that ICAM-1 interactions with SHP-2 allow better cellular survival mediated through Fg-ICAM-1 ligation.
Effect of resident call status on ABSITE performance

Abstract Background. Long work hours that result in fatigue may adversely affect cognitive function. Chronically sleep-deprived surgical residents fear that being on call the night before sitting for a standardized test puts them at a potential disadvantage. We examined American Board of Surgery In-Training Examination (ABSITE) scores to assess the effect of call status on exam performance. Methods. Results of the 1994 ABSITE for 424 residents in 15 New England general surgery programs were collected. We compared standard scores of residents for the total test, clinical management, and basic science components with resident call status (on/off) for the night before the exam. Results. Differences were apparent in total test scores (mean: off, 496.1; on, 466.0; P
A MILP model for the n-job, M-stage flowshop with sequence dependent set-up times

SUMMARY The problem of an n-job, M-stage flowshop with sequence dependent set-up times is discussed. A mixed integer linear program (MILP) is formulated with considerably reduced number of integer binary variables, than if the same problem were formulated with integer variables defined as X ij=1 if job i is sequenced immediately before job j, and 0 otherwise. The inclusion of set-up times, sequence dependency and M stages makes this formulation different from most other flowshop formulations in the literature, since such problems have not been given due consideration. This paper contributes a unique formulation to handle flowshop problems in the process industry where the set-up times have a definite dependence on the sequence in which jobs are processed. Computational results have been compared for problems up to six jobs and stages where the objective has been to minimize the makespan. The MILP has been solved using the SCICONIC-V/M mixed integer solution package on the Prime-550 minicomputer.
The Confusing Digital Standards Picture--Are They Related?

Due to the realization of international competition and the recognition that perhaps the time for action has arrived, there recently has been a flurry of activity in many areas of digital interfacing standards. This paper will review the status and discuss the relation of the CAMAC system, the IEC bus, the channel interface, and the new bit serial standards in terms of the nuclear instrument, process control, and general computation communities.
Characteristics of Unstable Waves in a Weakly Ionized High-Frequency Magnetoplasma

Results of an experimental study of fluctuations of an unstable weakly ionized magnetoplasma with no axial drift is reported. Correlation measurements indicate that the observed waves propagate primarily in the azimuthal direction and that the parametric dependence of the phase velocity on pressure and magnetic field seem to be similar to that expected for a drift wave. The waves appear to be nonlocal in nature, the characteristic azimuthal and radial-mode numbers being unity.
Non-adherence to cardiovascular medications

Despite evidence-based interventions, coronary heart disease (CHD) remains a leading cause of global mortality. As therapies advance, patient non-adherence to established treatments is well recognized. Non-adherence is a powerful confounder of evidence-based practice and can affect daily patient management, resulting in inappropriate therapeutic escalation with greater costs and potential for harm. Moreover, it increases risk for adverse cardiac events, including mortality. Yet, non-adherence is complex, remains difficult to define, and provider ability to identify its presence accurately remains limited. Improved screening tools are needed to detect at-risk patients, enabling appropriate targeting of interventions. Given the rapidly expanding global population with CHD and emerging clinical and cost–benefits of adherence, addressing non-adherence to prescribed therapies is a top priority.
What designers of wafer scale systems should know about local sparing

Local sparing is a simple way to organize the redundancy of a fault tolerant system. Any system can be locally spared. Furthermore, local sparing preserves both regularity and planarity. In spite of this, the potential usefulness of local sparing appears to have been overlooked. Suppose that the designer wishes to assure, with high probability, a fault-free copy of the n-element system desired. If local sparing is used then, as proved, i) the resulting area is /spl Theta/(log n) times the area of the system desired; ii) the wire length is /spl Oscr/(/spl radic/(log n)) times the maximum wirelength in the desired system; iii) an optimal diagnosis algorithm identifies the faulty elements in /spl Theta/(n log/sup 2/ n) time; iv) in optimal time /spl Theta/(n log n+number of wires in the desired system), a simple configuration algorithm achieves a fault-free copy of the desired system if and only if a fault-free copy exists. The authors illustrate these results for arrays, binary trees, and hypercubes. In addition, v) if Y denotes the probability of achieving a fault-free copy of the system desired then, using h-fold redundancy, the maximum rate at which elements can fail is ((/spl minus/ln Y)/n)/sup 1/h/. Local sparing is simple, widely-applicable, and low-cost. A disadvantage is that, depending on the system desired, the cost may not be optimal. However, there is strong reason to prefer local sparing over global sparing, and in some cases local sparing is better than more popular approaches to configuration. >
The AIDS Epidemic: Six Years

The task of reviewing a burgeoning epidemic is intrinsically complicated for it has the challenge inherent in aiming at a moving target. The AIDS epidemic entered our awareness in 1981 and the speed of its recognition was quickly matched by an outpouring of research and clinical data. By the time the clinical expression of virus infection had surfaced however thousands of persons were caught up in the silent web and there was an enormous job of catching up to be done. Six years later the deluge of information concerning epidemiology virology pathogenesis clinical manifestations treatment and vaccine initiatives is extraordinary. Considerations of psychosocial impact ethics public policy health care delivery and financing lagged by comparison but they are now being addressed with an urgency that increases as the scope of the disaster becomes apparent. To make the review process manageable some limits are therefore needed and prior reviews must suffice to give due credit to the many contributors to progress. One helpful resource is the Institute of Medicine/National Academy of Sciences report Confronting AIDS which was published in October 1986. The study detailed in that document was comprehensive the report is exhaustively referenced and the study panel even commissioned papers on those topics which they found to be absent from the literature at the time of their six months’ review. Given the availability of that report and an even more recent review by Francis & Chin in this paper 1 focus on selected data and concepts that have arisen or matured since the IOM/NAS study was conducted. In addition to relying on that resource for background I am arbitrarily selective; and it is important that the reader recognize that the literature even since late 1986 is much more extensive than represented here. (excerpt)
Inferring packet dependencies to improve trace based simulation of on-chip networks

With the advent of large scale chip-level multiprocessors, there is a growing interest in the design and analysis of on-chip networks. The use of full system simulation is the most accurate way to perform such an analysis, but unfortunately it is very slow and thus limits design space exploration. In order to overcome this problem researchers frequently use trace based simulation to study different network topologies and properties, which can be done much faster. Unfortunately, unless the traces that are used include information about dependencies between messages (packets), trace based simulation can lead one to draw incorrect conclusions about network performance metrics such as latency and overall execution time. In this paper we will demonstrate the importance of including dependency information in traces, as well as present an inference-based technique for identifying and including dependencies, and show that using these augmented traces results in much better simulation accuracy without excessively extending simulation time.
Can transnational research be ethical in the developing world

This article discusses the ethical aspect of transnational research in poor communities by examining a study conducted by Daniel Fitzgerald and colleagues on the HIV transmission in Haiti. The author comments that the social gaps between researches and participants underpin the growing "outcome gap" that characterizes transnational projects.
Limitations of computerized tomography in staging invasive bladder cancer before radical cystectomy.

Purpose: Computerized tomography (CT) of the abdomen and pelvis is often routine in the preoperative staging assessment of invasive transitional cell carcinoma of the bladder. We determine the accuracy of staging CT findings, usefulness before planned extirpative surgery and impact on surgical management of this disease.Materials and Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the medical records, including radiographic, operative and pathological reports, of 82 consecutive cases. All patients presented with muscle invasive bladder tumors, were considered candidates for radical cystectomy and underwent preoperative staging CT of the abdomen and pelvis between July 1994 and June 1998. The ability of CT to provide additional staging information in terms of depth of tumor invasion, local extent of tumor, pelvic lymph node involvement and distant metastases was examined. We determined whether CT findings altered surgical management for individual patients.Results: CT was able to discriminate depth of invasion in onl...
A Modular Approach toward Block Copolymers

A novel methodology for the formation of block copolymers has been developed that combines ring-opening metathesis polymerization (ROMP) with functional chain-transfer agents (CTAs) and self-assembly. Telechelic homopolymers of cyclooctene derivatives end-functionalized with hydrogen-bonding or metal-coordination sites are formed through the combination of ROMP with a corresponding functional CTA. These telechelic homopolymers are fashioned with a high control over molecular weight and without the need for post-polymerization procedures. The homopolymers undergo fast and efficient self-assembly with their complement homopolymer or small molecule analogue to form block-copolymer architectures. The block copolymers show equivalent association constants as their small molecule analogues described in the literature, regardless of size or nature of the complementary unit or the polymer side chain.
TGFβ Protein Processing and Activity through TCR Triggering of Primary CD8+ T Regulatory Cells

In general, TGFbeta is synthesized as a procytokine that requires proteolytic activation, release of the mature cytokine from its noncovalently associated latent-associated peptide, and binding to TGFbetaRII to mediate suppressive activity. We tracked this process in mice containing primed CD8 regulatory T cells (Tregs) by immunoblotting in primary whole cell lysates for pro-TGFbeta, latent-associated peptide and mature TGFbeta. Generation of CD8 Tregs promoted processing of the 50 kDa pro-TGFbeta protein into a 12.5 kDa mature TGFbeta species in vivo. Despite the inability to detect mature TGFbeta in the sera of mice with primed CD8 Tregs and in the synthetic culture medium of stimulated CD8 Tregs, we demonstrated engagement of TGFbetaRII through immunoblotting for Smad2 phosphorylation. This process relied on continual TCR triggering, which also induced Smad3 phosphorylation. To understand the movement of mature TGFbeta, we showed that in contrast to IFN-gamma, mature TGFbeta does not remain a soluble cytokine but is likely to be rapidly adsorbed by neighboring cells. These data show the exquisite local control directed toward TGFbeta by the immune system and underscore the fine specificity involved in its detection.
Cyclic AMP is both a pro-apoptotic and anti-apoptotic second messenger

The second messenger cyclic AMP (cAMP) can either stimulate or inhibit programmed cell death (apoptosis). Here, we review examples of cell types that show pro-apoptotic or anti-apoptotic responses to increases in cAMP. We also show that cells can have both such responses, although predominantly having one or the other. Protein kinase A (PKA)-promoted changes in phosphorylation and gene expression can mediate pro-apoptotic responses, such as in murine S49 lymphoma cells, based on evidence that mutants lacking PKA fail to undergo cAMP-promoted, mitochondria-dependent apoptosis. Mechanisms for the anti-apoptotic response to cAMP likely involve Epac (Exchange protein activated by cAMP), a cAMP-regulated effector that is a guanine nucleotide exchange factor (GEF) for the low molecular weight G-protein, Rap1. Therapeutic approaches that activate PKA-mediated pro-apoptosis or block Epac-mediated anti-apoptotisis may provide a means to enhance cell killing, such as in certain cancers. In contrast, efforts to block PKA or stimulate Epac have the potential to be useful in diseases settings (such as heart failure) associated with cAMP-promoted apoptosis.
New exactly solvable model of strongly correlated electrons motivated by high-Tc superconductivity.

We present a new model describing strongly correlated electrons on a general {ital d}-dimensional lattice. It is an extended Hubbard model and it contains the {ital t}-{ital J} model as a special case. The model naturally describes local electron pairs, which can move coherently at arbitrary momentum. By using an {eta}-pairing mechanism we can construct eigenstates of the Hamiltonian with off-diagonal long-range order. In the attractive case the exact ground state is superconducting in any number of dimensions. On a one-dimensional lattice, the model is exactly solvable by Bethe ansatz.
Analysis of Myxococcus xanthus cell types by two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis.

Abstract Myxococcus xanthus is a gram-negative, soil-dwelling bacterium that undergoes development in response to depletion of nutrients. Whereas most cells aggregate into multicellular mounds in which they differentiate into spores, 10 to 20% of the developing cells remain outside fruiting bodies as peripheral rods. We used two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis to analyze the global expression of polypeptides in cells taken from six stages in the life cycle: vegetatively growing cells, cells 15 h after the induction of development, peripheral rods, prespores (sonication-sensitive, aggregated cells), fruiting-body spores (sonication-resistant, aggregated cells) 96 h after the induction of development, and glycerol-induced spores 15 h after induction. Seven hundred sixty-one discrete sample spots (SSPs) were identified among the six gels. Comparisons among the samples revealed that each sample had some unique SSPs, ranging from 0.3% of the 15-h developing cell SSPs to 17.9% of 96-h peripheral rod SSPs. Sixty-eight SSPs were ubiquitously distributed, but the relative amounts of these SSPs varied among the samples. Statistical analyses of the distribution and relative quantities of the SSPs indicate that, within a confidence level of greater than 99.99%, peripheral rods are significantly different from vegetatively growing cells, 15-h developing cells, prespores, fruiting-body spores, and glycerol-induced spores. In fact, among the six samples studied, only 15-h developing cells and glycerol-induced spores were similar to each other within a confidence level of P greater than or equal to 0.05. These results are consistent with the description of peripheral rods as a distinct developmental cell type.
Growth-rate-dependent expression and cloning of gnd alleles from natural isolates of Escherichia coli.

Abstract 6-Phosphogluconate dehydrogenase (6PGD), encoded by gnd, is highly polymorphic among isolates of Escherichia coli form natural populations. As a means of characterizing the growth-rate-dependent regulation of the level of 6PGD, five gnd alleles, including the E. coli B/r allele, were crossed into E. coli K-12 with bacteriophage P1. In each of the isogenic strains, the level of 6PGD was two- to threefold higher in cells grown on glucose than in cells grown on acetate. The level of enzyme activity in the acetate-grown cells varied about sixfold within the set of isogenic strains. The physiological importance of these differences in enzyme level is discussed. The gnd gene was cloned from five E. coli strains and Salmonella typhimurium LT-2 and mapped with twelve restriction endonucleases. gnd was located and oriented on the chromosomal DNAs. The restriction maps of the genes were aligned at conserved restriction sites, and the relative divergence of the genes was estimated from restriction site polymorphisms. The E. coli gnd genes differed from the S. typhimurium gene by about 11%. Most of the E. coli genes differed from one another by less than 5%, but one allele differed from the others by about 10%. Only the gnd gene from E. coli K-12 had an IS5 element located nearby.
Personal attitudes, perceived social norms, and health-risk behavior among female adolescents with chronic medical conditions:

To examine whether perceived peer/parent norms or personal beliefs about adolescent substance use influence substance use among female adolescents with chronic medical conditions. Sixty-eight femal...
Impaired theory of mind for moral judgment in high-functioning autism.

High-functioning autism (ASD) is characterized by real-life difficulties in social interaction; however, these individuals often succeed on laboratory tests that require an understanding of another person’s beliefs and intentions. This paradox suggests a theory of mind (ToM) deficit in adults with ASD that has yet to be demonstrated in an experimental task eliciting ToM judgments. We tested whether ASD adults would show atypical moral judgments when they need to consider both the intentions (based on ToM) and outcomes of a person’s actions. In experiment 1, ASD and neurotypical (NT) participants performed a ToM task designed to test false belief understanding. In experiment 2, the same ASD participants and a new group of NT participants judged the moral permissibility of actions, in a 2 (intention: neutral/negative) × 2 (outcome: neutral/ negative) design. Though there was no difference between groups onthefalsebelieftask,therewasaselectivedifferenceinthemoral judgment task for judgments of accidental harms, but not neutral acts, attempted harms, or intentional harms. Unlike the NT group, which judged accidental harms less morally wrong than attempted harms, the ASD group did not reliably judge accidental and attempted harms as morally different. In judging accidental harms, ASD participants appeared to show an underreliance on information about a person’s innocent intention and, as a direct result, an overreliance on the action’s negative outcome. These findings reveal impairments in integrating mental state information (e.g., beliefs, intentions) for moral judgment.
Time trends in glucocorticoid use in rheumatoid arthritis: results from a population-based inception cohort, 1980-1994 versus 1995-2007.

Objective To examine trends in glucocorticoid (GC) use and dosing among patients diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) over time. Methods A population-based inception cohort of RA patients diagnosed during 1980–2007 was followed longitudinally through their medical records until death, migration, or December 31, 2008. GC start and stop dates were collected, along with doses in prednisone equivalents. Results The study population comprised 349 patients (68% women) diagnosed in 1980–1994 and 464 (69% women) diagnosed in 1995–2007, with a median followup of 15.3 and 5.7 years, respectively. A higher proportion of patients started GCs in their first year of disease in 1995–2007 (68% versus 36%; P < 0.001), but the starting dose (mean 8.7 versus 10.3 mg; P = 0.08) and cumulative dose in the first year of use (mean 1.8g [mean daily dose 4.9 mg] versus 2.1 gm [mean daily dose 5.8 mg]; P = 0.48) were not different. A higher proportion also discontinued GCs in their first year of disease in the 1995–2007 cohort (P < 0.001). These differences in GC initiation and discontinuation persisted throughout followup. Prevalence of GC use was higher in the 1995–2007 cohort for the first 3 years of disease. Conclusion More patients are starting GCs early in their disease course now compared to previously, which is consistent with established treatment guidelines. A higher proportion are also discontinuing GCs, but the proportion of patients taking GCs at any given point of disease during the first 4 years is higher now than previously. Despite early addition of a disease-modifying antirheumatic drug, some patients may not be able to discontinue GCs over the long term.
Fracture in teeth—a diagnostic for inferring bite force and tooth function

Teeth are brittle and highly susceptible to cracking. We propose that observations of such cracking can be used as a diagnostic tool for predicting bite force and inferring tooth function in living and fossil mammals. Laboratory tests on model tooth structures and extracted human teeth in simulated biting identify the principal fracture modes in enamel. Examination of museum specimens reveals the presence of similar fractures in a wide range of vertebrates, suggesting that cracks extended during ingestion or mastication. The use of ‘fracture mechanics’ from materials engineering provides elegant relations for quantifying critical bite forces in terms of characteristic tooth size and enamel thickness. The role of enamel microstructure in determining how cracks initiate and propagate within the enamel (and beyond) is discussed. The picture emerges of teeth as damage-tolerant structures, full of internal weaknesses and defects and yet able to contain the expansion of seemingly precarious cracks and fissures within the enamel shell. How the findings impact on dietary pressures forms an undercurrent of the study.
Home treatment of infective endocarditis with oral amoxicillin.

Abstract The seriousness of infective endocarditis (IE) has discouraged experimental clinical trials of varying regimens, but occasionally a clincal setting occurs that requires some compromise with the published standards for treatment. Most regimens of treatment of IE require 4 to 6 weeks of parenteral antibiotic therapy, and most routines recommend at least 2 weeks of intravenous treatment. The major exception is penicillin-sensitive streptococcal IE, for which a 4-week course of penicillin may be shortened to 2 weeks by the addition of streptomycin. 1 Gray 2 stands almost alone in recommending simply oral amoxicillin, although he has treated more than 90 patients with as high a success rate as can be claimed for any regimen for IE. We were recently confronted with a clinical situation in which an oral regimen at home was the only acceptable choice.
Fiduciary Standard and Financial Advice: Findings from Academic Literature

This article provides an overview of theory and empirical evidence related to the benefits and costs resulting from the application of a fiduciary standard of care to the conduct of brokers, dealers (broker-dealers), and investment advisors. The purpose of this document is not to advocate a position on possible regulatory actions. It is intended to provide an in-depth review of the extant literature, primarily from economics, finance, and law, related to the regulation, incentives, and outcomes of the existing advice marketplace. Opinions on the likely impact of various strategies on the marketplace are entirely those of the author and are based on the preponderance of empirical evidence and the strength of related theories.
A Critical Review of the Marketing Claims of Infant Formula Products in the United States

A highly competitive infant formula market has resulted in direct-to-consumer marketing intended to promote the sale of modified formulas that claim to ameliorate common infant feeding problems. The claims associated with these marketing campaigns are not evaluated with reference to clinical evidence by the Food and Drug Administration. We aimed to describe the language of claims made on formula labels and compare it with the evidence in systematic reviews. Of the 22 product labels we identified, 13 product labels included claims about colic and gastrointestinal symptoms. There is insufficient evidence to support the claims that removing or reducing lactose, using hydrolyzed or soy protein or adding pre-/probiotics to formula benefits infants with fussiness, gas, or colic yet claims like “soy for fussiness and gas” encourage parents who perceive their infants to be fussy to purchase modified formula. Increased regulation of infant formula claims is warranted.
Catalytic formal [2+2+1] synthesis of pyrroles from alkynes and diazenes via Ti II /Ti IV redox catalysis

Pyrroles are a common substructure in pharmaceuticals, materials and natural products. Now a multicomponent, titanium-catalysed synthesis of polysubstituted pyrroles — a nitrenoid analogue of the Pauson–Khand reaction — is reported. Stoichiometric and kinetic studies suggest that the reaction proceeds through an unusual TiII/TiIV redox cycle.
Why Potentiality Matters

Do fetuses have a right to life in virtue of the fact that they are potential adult human beings? I take the claim that the fetus is a potential adult human being to come to this: if the fetus grows normally there will be an adult human animal that was once the fetus. Does this fact ground a claim to our care and protection? A great deal hangs on the answer to this question. The actual mental and physical capacities of a human fetus are inferior to those of adult creatures generally thought to lack a serious right to life (e.g., adult chickens), and the mere fact that a fetus belongs to our species in particular seems morally irrelevant. Consequently, a strong fetal claim to protection rises or falls with the appeal to the fetus's potentiality, for nothing else can justify it.
Monte Carlo Simulation of Gas Phase Particle Formation and Sintering

A Monte Carlo model has been developed to describe the gas phase formation and sintering of nanoclusters. Sintering was incorporated into the model by modifying Kadanoff's algorithm {xc[1]} for random particle walks on the surface of the cluster. The effect of restructuring and sintering on cluster-cluster aggregation have been investigated via 2d simulations. In the initial stages the sintering process results in clusters which are compact on small length scales. As time progresses and the clusters become larger, the sintering process slows down and the fractal dimension of the clusters is decreased. The model shows the effect of time and temperature on the specific surface area and size distribution of clusters.
Ionic liquids based on polynitrile anions: hydrophobicity, low proton affinity, and high radiolytic resistance combined.

Ionic liquids (IL) are being considered as replacements for molecular diluents in spent nuclear fuel reprocessing. This development is hampered by the dearth of constituent anions that combine high hydrophobicity, low metal cation and proton affinity, and radiation resistance. We demonstrate that polynitrile anions have the potential to meet these challenges. Unlike the great majority of organic anions, such polynitrile anions are resistant to oxidative fragmentation during radiolysis, yielding stable N- and C-centered radicals. Moreover, their radical dianions (generated by reduction of the anions) generally undergo protonation in preference to elimination of the cyanide. This is in contrast to fluorinated anions (another large class of anions with low proton affinity), for which radiation-induced release of fluoride is a common occurrence. The “weak spot” of the polynitrile anions appears to be their excited-state dissociation, but at least one of these anions, 1,1,2,3,3-pentacyanopropenide, is shown to...
On the Cyclotomic Function

(1905). On the Cyclotomic Function. The American Mathematical Monthly: Vol. 12, No. 4, pp. 86-89.
Silvestre revueltas at the dawn of his "American period": St. Edward's College, Austin, Texas (1917-1918)

Silvestre Revueltas (1899-1940) is widely recognized as one of the most important composers of the Mexican nationalist movement, perhaps second only to his coeval Carlos Chavez (1899-1978). Otto Mayer-Serra's "Silvestre Revueltas and Musical Nationalism in Mexico," appearing just six months after the composer's death on October 5, 1940, is the earliest article in a major English-language music journal (The Musical Quarterly) to call attention to his importance on the contemporary scene of Mexican art music. "Revueltas," in Mayer-Serra's assessment, "had not only produced some of the most significant musical works of his country, but had begun to open up new vistas for the development of a contemporary Mexican musical idiom."1 Drawing inspiration from primitive indigenous cultures, folklife in contemporary Mexico, and a modernist aesthetic that favored complex plays on meter and rhythm, the works Revueltas produced in a tremendous burst of activity during the last decade of his life-Janitzio (1933), Sensemaya (1938), and La noche de los mayas (1939), to name a few-came to form the basis of his nationalist image. That image was further enhanced by collaborations in later life with Chavez and the Orquesta Sinf6nica de Mexico (1929-35), and involvement with the leftist Liga de Escritores y Artistas Revolucionarios in the mid-1930s. But at odds with our received notion of Revueltas as a Mexican na-
An Integrated System for Superharmonic Contrast-Enhanced Ultrasound Imaging: Design and Intravascular Phantom Imaging Study

Objective: Superharmonic contrast-enhanced ultrasound imaging, also called acoustic angiography, has previously been used for the imaging of microvasculature. This approach excites microbubble contrast agents near their resonance frequency and receives echoes at nonoverlapping superharmonic bandwidths. No integrated system currently exists could fully support this application. To fulfill this need, an integrated dual-channel transmit/receive system for superharmonic imaging was designed, built, and characterized experimentally. Method: The system was uniquely designed for superharmonic imaging and high-resolution B-mode imaging. A complete ultrasound system including a pulse generator, a data acquisition unit, and a signal processing unit were integrated into a single package. The system was controlled by a field-programmable gate array, on which multiple user-defined modes were implemented. A 6-, 35-MHz dual-frequency dual-element intravascular ultrasound transducer was designed and used for imaging. Result: The system successfully obtained high-resolution B-mode images of coronary artery ex vivo with 45-dB dynamic range. The system was capable of acquiring in vitro superharmonic images of a vasa vasorum mimicking phantom with 30-dB contrast. It could detect a contrast agent filled tissue mimicking tube of 200 μm diameter. Conclusion: For the first time, high-resolution B-mode images and superharmonic images were obtained in an intravascular phantom, made possible by the dedicated integrated system proposed. The system greatly reduced the cost and complexity of the superharmonic imaging intended for preclinical study. Significant: The system showed promise for high-contrast intravascular microvascular imaging, which may have significant importance in assessment of the vasa vasorum associated with atherosclerotic plaques.
Refined Process Upcrossing Rate Approach for Estimating Probabilistic Wind Load Effects with Consideration of Directionality

AbstractThe process upcrossing rate approach remains one of the most popular methods for the estimation of probabilistic wind load effect with consideration of directionality. The accuracy of this approach depends on the adequacy of the parent distribution of directional mean wind speed. The widely used Weibull distribution has been proved to be inadequate in capturing the characteristics of strong wind speed region, thus leading to unsatisfactory estimations when adopted in the process upcrossing rate approach. This study introduces a new mixed distribution model for the parent distribution of mean wind speed in order to provide a better modeling of distribution for strong wind speed region. Within this mixed model, the distribution below a prescribed wind speed threshold is given by an empirical distribution estimated from the observation data directly, whereas above the threshold, it is described in terms of the generalized Pareto distribution (GPD). The performance of the mixed distribution model is e...
The Beginnings of Mental Health Disparities: Emergent Mental Disorders Among Indigenous Adolescents

Indigenous people (American Indian/Alaska Natives; AI/AN) make up the smallest ethnic group in the United States comprising about 1.5% of the population (4.3 million people, Ogunwole, 2006), yet they rank higher in health disparities than any other ethnic group. The current life expectancy for an Indigenous person born today is nearly 5 years shorter than that of the general population (72.3 vs. 76.9 years). They are nearly six times more likely to die from alcoholism then are other Americans, five times more likely to die from tuberculosis, three times more likely to die from diabetes, and three times more likely to die from unintentional injuries, homicide or suicide (Indian Health Service, 1992) Indigenous children are more than twice as likely to die in the first 4 years of life than are other American children.
Anesthetic and Obstetric Management of Placenta Accreta: Clinical Experience and Available Evidence

Abnormally implanted, invasive, or adherent placenta has become one of the most serious problems in obstetrics, comprising a leading cause of maternal hemorrhage, the most common cause of peripartum hysterectomy and an increasingly important contributor to cesarean delivery morbidity. Currently, up to 3 in 1000 pregnancies in the USA are complicated by placenta accreta, increta, or percreta, and the incidence is increasing in parallel with the rising cesarean delivery rate. Yet, despite the high morbidity and mortality associated with placenta accreta, consensus guidelines are lacking regarding the management of women with this condition.