cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Transforming growth factor‐β negatively modulates T‐cell responses in sepsis

Sepsis is associated with depressed T-cell functions and increased circulating levels of immunosuppressive agents. TGF-beta is a potential anti-inflammatory cytokine that can modify T-cell growth and differentiation. The up-regulation of TGF-beta and the mechanism of its action on the T-cells during septic injury have not been resolved. We hypothesized that in sepsis TGF-beta produced by macrophages acts on T-cells in a paracrine manner to suppress interleukin (IL)-2 production and proliferation. In this study, we examined the circulating TGF-beta levels in a rat model of Gram-negative bacterial sepsis, and compared the abilities of adherent and non-adherent splenocytes to produce TGF-beta. Additionally, we investigated the causal relationships of hrTGF-beta to concanavalin A (ConA)-induced T-cell responses and the intracellular mechanism of the generation of these responses in normal splenic rat T-cells. Sepsis was induced in rats by intraabdominally implanting fecal pellets containing Escherichia coli (150 CFU) and Bacteroides fragilis (10000 CFU). Adherent and non-adherent splenocytes were isolated by differential adherence using Ficoll gradient centrifugation. T-cells were purified by use of Nylon wool columns. We observed a 3-6-fold increase in the circulating levels of TGF-beta in sepsis. Western blots and ELISA determinations revealed a 2.5-3-fold increase in cell-associated TGF-beta protein levels in adherent splenic cells. Northern analyses also showed a marked increase in TGF-beta mRNA expression in adherent cells during sepsis. On the other hand, a significant change was not observed in the TGF-beta protein and mRNA expression in non-adherent splenocytes. Pretreatment of control rat T-cells with hrTGF-beta decreased both ConA-induced proliferation (by 35-40%) and IL-2 mRNA expression (by > 50%). Further, whereas incubation of control rat T-cells with either ConA or TGF-beta for 24 h resulted in a 10-15-fold increase in cAMP generation, the addition of hrTGF-beta along with ConA resulted in a 50-60-fold increase in cAMP. These results suggest that in sepsis, TGF-beta produced by splenic macrophages can act in a paracrine manner on T-cells to depress their IL-2 mRNA expression, IL-2 production and proliferation after up-regulation of cAMP which can interfere with T-cell signaling for proliferation.
Two proxies for state union attitudes

In a recent article ["Do Right to Work Laws Have an Impact on Union Organizing Activities," The Journal o f Social and Political Studies, Vol. 4, No. 1, Spring 1979, pp. 81-93], I reported the results of a study testing the impact of state right-to-work (SRTW) laws on union activities. In the research, four union activity proxies-petitions filed for representative elections, elections held, elections won, and votes cast for unions-were respectively regressed against 14 independent variables including a SRTW dummy for the years 1950, 1960, and 1970. Only the 1950 statistical tests on SRTW's were significantly negative. It was concluded that union activities shifted downward in the RTW states as Section 14b of the 1947 TaftHartley Act was implemented and organizing resources were reallocated to non-RTW states. By 1960, a new organizing equilibrium was established and there has been no effect since then. In the study, two unique independent variables were developed to measure tastes and preferences among individual states for unions. The purpose of this note is to draw special attention to these variables so that future researchers can specify more complete models for empirical testing. A state union attitude variable (UAV) was one of these special explanatory instruments. This variable was used to measure public sentiment towards unions and was based on the average ratings of Congressmen and Senators by the Committee on Political Education (COPE) of the AFL-CIO. Of course, COPE is only one such rating organization. Other possible political indices would include the Americans for Democratic Action (ADA), the National Associations of Businessmen (NAB) and the Americans for Constitutional Actions (ACT). However, COPE was selected since it explicitly rates Congressmen and Senators according to their pro-union or anti-union stance. The other unique variable included in the model was the number of unfair labor practices (F) committed annually by employers. This variable was used as a proxy for employer sentiment toward union activities. The number of CA cases appropriately adjusted was included in the model as the measure of anti-union activities by employers. These two variables are more reflective of regional preferences than are North-South dummies. Moreover, both COPE and (F) values reflect union attitudes in individual states and thereby permit testing of whether SRTW laws have an influence on union activities independently of the political sentiment which may cause them to be enacted. Significant findings for SRTW laws in earlier studies might disappear if these variables were included in the models. In the future such specification errors need not occur.
Thermochemical properties of the copper(ii) hydroxychlorides

CuOHCI and the three polymorphs of Cu2(OH)3Cl (botallackite, atacamite, and paratacamite) have been studied by means of thermogravimetry, differential scanning calorimetry, infrared spectroscopy, and X-ray powder diffraction. The OH stretching frequencies show a progressive increase in the strength of hydrogen-bonding in the order botallackite < atacamite < paratacamite. This correlates with the order of thermal stabilites, as evidenced by the decomposition temperatures and peak areas in the thermograms. Each of the copper hydroxychlorides passes through an intermediate phase having the stoichiometry Cu2OCl2 before being completely converted to CuO. Sealed tube experiments show that botallackite and atacamite are readily thermally converted to paratacamite, but that the latter can be kept at 500°C for hours without any detectable effects if the products of reaction, viz., H2O and Cl2 are not permitted to escape. The relative enthalpies of the thermal decomposition reactions of the hydroxychlorides and the intermediate Cu2OCl2 can be deduced from the DSC curves.
Stressed-metal NiZr probes for atomic force microscopy

Stressed-metal beams have recently been introduced as probes for high-topography substrates in atomic force microscopy (AFM). Their low spring constant and the adhesive-based probe mounting did, however, not allow for good non-contact measurements. Furthermore, the probe material was restricted to MoCr. Therefore, we have developed stiffer NiZr probes for non-contact mode measurements. Our clamp holder enables rigid mounting and easy exchange of stressed probes in commercial AFM systems. This paper presents NiZr probes and a clamp holder concept. High-resolution measurements and low tip wear are demonstrated.
Acute Myocardial Infarction Hospitalization in the United States, 1979 to 2005

Abstract Background We reported earlier that there was no decline of acute myocardial infarction hospitalization from 1988 to 1997. We now extend these observations to document trends in acute myocardial infarction hospitalization rates and in-hospital case-fatality rates for 27 years from 1979 to 2005. Methods We determined hospitalization rates for acute myocardial infarction by age and gender using data from the National Hospital Discharge Survey and US civilian population from 1979 to 2005, aggregated by 3-year groupings. We also assessed comorbid, complications, cardiac procedure use, and in-hospital case-fatality rates. Results Age-adjusted hospitalization rate for acute myocardial infarction identified by primary International Classification of Diseases code was 215 per 100,000 people in 1979-1981 and increased to 342 in 1985-1987. Thereafter, the rate stabilized for the next decade and then declined slowly after 1996 to 242 in 2003-2005. Trends were similar for men and women, although rates for men were almost twice that of women. Hospitalization rates increased substantially with age and were the highest among those aged 85 years or more. Although median hospital stay decreased from 12 to 4 days, intensity of hospital care increased, including use of coronary angioplasty, coronary bypass, and thrombolytics therapy. During the period, reported comorbidity from diabetes and hypertension increased. Acute myocardial infarction complicated by heart failure increased, and cardiogenic shock decreased. Altogether, the in-hospital case-fatality rate declined. Conclusion During the past quarter century, hospitalization for acute myocardial infarction increased until the mid-1990s, but has declined since then. At the same time, in-hospital case-fatality rates declined steadily. This decline has been associated with more aggressive therapeutic intervention.
As if the cancer wasn't enough! Understanding and treating the pain that comes with cancer.

In people with cancer, pain often occurs from the malignancy, from procedures done to diagnose, stage, and treat the malignancy, and from the toxicities of therapy used in treating the cancer. Of people with cancer, 75% complain of some sort of pain. Determining whether the pain is from tissue damage or nerve structures will guide therapy. Assessment of the severity of the pain by location, oncological type, as well as psychosocial and environmental factors are necessary to understand and treat the pain that accompanies cancer. Medical interventions include non-opioid analgesics opioids, and multiple different combinations of medications. Adjuvant medication like anticonvulsants and steroids are being used frequently to help people feel more comfortable.
Effect Of Asymmetry On Extinction Coefficient Of Crossing Channel LiNbO 3 Waveguide Switches

In this paper we will show theoretically and experimentally that the mode conversion in converging and diverging channels caused by the asymmetry produced in the fabrication processes is limiting the extinction ratio of single mode crossing channel switches. Degradation of the extinction ratio is caused primarily by asymmetry in the transition regions of the switches.
African American Girls and the Challenges Ahead

The research on the psychosocial development of African American girls is limited. Information that is available focuses on teen pregnancy and health issues such as nutrition and physical activity. African American girls are facing challenges, including poverty, crime, poor self-esteem, and peer pressure. Despite some of the negative characteristics attributed to African American girls, many are achieving some success. Policy makers and service providers need to recognize the resiliency and unique needs of African American girls and develop services that ensure their needs are being fully met.
The influence of caches on the performance of sorting

We investigate the effect that caches have on the performance of sorting algorithms both experimentally and analytically. To address the performance problems that high cache miss penalties introduce we restructure mergesort, quicksort, and heapsort in order to improve their cache locality. For all three algorithms the improvement in cache performance leads to a reduction in total execution time. We also investigate the performance of radix sort. Despite the extremely low instruction count incurred by this linear time sorting algorithm, its relatively poor cache performance results in worse overall performance than the efficient comparison based sorting algorithms. For each algorithm we provide an analysis that closely predicts the number of cache misses incurred by the algorithm.
African-American Race and Antibodies to Topoisomerase I Are Associated With Increased Severity of Scleroderma Lung Disease

Study objectives: To determine whether African-American race is independently associated with lung disease in scleroderma. Design: Retrospective review. Setting: University medical center in Baltimore. Patients: One hundred one patients with diffuse cutaneous scleroderma with available serum samples. Measurements: Patients underwent lung function testing as part of their routine clinical care. Percent predicted values adjusted for race were calculated for FVC, single-breath carbon monoxide diffusing capacity (DCO), and FEV 1 . Serum samples were assayed for the presence of antibodies to topoisomerase I and RNA polymerase II. Results: Scleroderma patients of African-American race had lower percent predicted values than white patients for FVC (p 1 (p Conclusion: African-American race and antibodies to topoisomerase I are independent risk factors for scleroderma lung disease. (CHEST 1998; 114:801–807) Abbreviations: Dco=single-breath carbon monoxide diffusing capacity, JHUMSC=Johns Hopkins and University of Maryland Scleroderma Center; PFT=pulmonary function test
Cholesterol feeding increases plasma and aortic tissue cholesterol oxide levels in parallel: further evidence for the role of cholesterol oxidation in atherosclerosis.

Abstract To determine the relationship between plasma and arterial wall oxysterols, plasma and aortic tissue from 7 New Zealand White rabbits fed a high cholesterol (1%) diet for 6 weeks was compared to plasma and aortic tissue from 7 normocholesterolemic rabbits fed standard rabbit chow. Cholesterol and cholesterol oxide fractions were isolated and analyzed by gas chromatography. Normocholesterolemic plasma and aortic tissue contained low levels of cholest-5-ene-3β,7α-diol, cholesta-3,5-dien-7-one, 5,6α-epoxy-5α-cholestan-3α-ol, cholest-5-ene-3β,7β-diol, and 5α-cholestane-3β,5,6/gb-triol while hypercholesterolemic plasma and atherosclerotic aorta contained significantly higher levels (P
Using natural-language responses in microcomputer research

A microcomputer natural-language interface is described that will identify limited natural-language input, such as that obtained in psychological research. In the task studied, subjects made natural-language requests involving 13 DOS commands, A Bayesian algorithm is used to calculate a vector of 13 probabilities expressing the relative likelihood of various DOS tasks that the user was attempting to specify from keywords extracted from the user’s input. The algorithm’s first-guess accuracy in the limited domain studied is approximately 90%; it will identify the user’s request with 99% accuracy in its first three guesses. This performance is considerably better than that of human experts performing the same task with the same input. Also discussed are issues of cross-validation, robustness, conditional independence, and the calibration of the algorithm’s probabilistic output.
Review of the genus Podapolipus (Acarina: Podapolipidae) with emphasis on species associated with tenebrionid beetles

ABSTRACT The genus Podapolipus is reviewed. Four groups of species are recognized within the genus, one group from Tenebrionidae. Podapolipus reconditus Rovelli and Grassi 1888 and P. apodus (Tragardh 1902) are redescribed. P. reconditus, P. apodus and P. tribolii Feldman-Muhsam and Havivi 1972, all from Tenebrionidae in the Mediterranean region, are discussed. Keys to Podapolipus from Tenebrionidae and a discussion of relationships of ten species of Podapolipus from throughout the world are presented.
Effect of microstructure on the dimensional stability of cast aluminum mirror substrates.

The dimensional stability of directionally cast grain microstructures was compared with that of normal randomly oriented grain microstructures in aluminum alloys. In general, directionally solidified aluminum mirror substrates exhibited superior dimensional stability as compared with castings exhibiting normal random microstructures. These findings are discussed in terms of the fundamental metallurgy of cast aluminum alloys.
Individual Differences in Human-Agent Teaming: An Analysis of Workload and Situation Awareness through Eye Movements

Studies investigating the effects of level of autonomy (LOA) on workload and performance in human-agent teams typically utilize subjective measures, but do not often incorporate physiological measures. This paper examines how well eye movement data collected in a recent experiment converges with the findings suggested by the subjective measures. Several eye behavior measures (fixation count, average fixation duration, blink rate, saccade amplitude and pupil diameter) were evaluated, and findings based on these compared to findings of NASA-TLX and situation awareness questionnaires. In addition, individual differences due to perceived attentional control were evaluated. Findings indicate that the physiological measures account for variance in workload that typical subjective measures may not, as they are more sensitive to individual differences among participants.
Two approaches to strategic database design

The strategic database (SDB) is an integral part of a decision support system (DSS) developed to support the strategic planning process in organizations. This paper describes two approache to SDB design---the descriptive approach and the prescriptive approach. Its purpose is to examine the assumptions underlying both approaches and to note the tradeoffs involved in adopting one approach over the other.
Advances in fetal surgery: the American perspective

Abstract Surgical intervention on the unborn fetus diagnosed with an anatomical defect has been performed for more than two decades in the USA. The majority of these procedures have been performed at two major medical centres: the University of California at San Francisco and the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.
Renal Disease and Anemia in the Elderly

As individuals age, the incidence of both renal insufficiency and anemia increases. Some of the changes in renal function can be traced to age-related alterations in the renal vasculature that may dissociate renal blood flow from glomerular filtration. In addition, there appear to be paradoxical changes in renal production of erythropoietin (Epo), in that Epo levels actually increase over time with aging, suggesting that the erythroid marrow may become less sensitive to Epo stimulation. These factors, together with the confounding effects of possible nutritional deficits and the disproportionate effect of early-stage diabetes mellitus on renal endocrine function and Epo production, all can contribute to anemia in the elderly. As anemia is an independent predictor of poor outcomes with many diseases and at any age, recognizing and correcting the underlying cause of the anemia is an important aspect of medically managing the elderly patient.
Physicians' Experience with the Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome as a Factor in Patients' Survival

Background Previous studies have found that patients with the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) who are admitted to hospitals that admit many such patients have lower mortality rates than patients in hospitals with less experience with AIDS. We examined the relation between physicians' experience with AIDS and the survival of their patients with AIDS. Methods We studied 403 adult male patients enrolled in a staff-model health maintenance organization in whom first AIDS-defining illnesses were diagnosed from 1984 through mid-1994; we determined that these illnesses met the 1987 case definition of the Centers for Disease Control. We defined three levels of experience for the patients' 125 primary care physicians according to their experience with AIDS during residency training and the cumulative number of patients with AIDS they had cared for in their practices. Results The median survival of the patients of physicians with the least experience in the management of AIDS was 14 months, as compared wi...
Why companies use open-market repurchases: A managerial perspective

Abstract We survey 642 top financial executives to learn their views about their firm’s share repurchases from January 1998 to September 1999. Based on 194 responses from managers of firms engaging in open-market repurchases, the results show that the most highly cited reasons for repurchasing shares of common stock are consistent with the signaling hypothesis, specifically the undervaluation version of this hypothesis. When compared to the results of previous surveys, our findings suggest that the importance management attaches to certain reasons for repurchasing shares of common stock may have changed over the past few decades. Reasons such as repurchasing shares to provide shares for incentive plans and to remove large blocks of stocks appear less important while reasons such as repurchasing shares to adjust the firm’s capital structure and to avoid dividend taxation appear more important.
Perturbation of Fuel Homeostasis Caused by Overexpression of the Glucose-6-phosphatase Catalytic Subunit in Liver of Normal Rats

The terminal step in hepatic gluconeogenesis is catalyzed by glucose-6-phosphatase, an enzyme activity residing in the endoplasmic reticulum and consisting of a catalytic subunit (glucose-6-phosphatase (G6Pase)) and putative accessory transport proteins. We show that Zucker diabetic fatty rats (fa/fa), which are known to exhibit impaired suppression of hepatic glucose output, have 2.4-fold more glucose-6-phosphatase activity in liver than lean controls. To define the potential contribution of increased hepatic G6Pase to development of diabetes, we infused recombinant adenoviruses containing the G6Pase cDNA (AdCMV-G6Pase) or the β-galactosidase gene into normal rats. Animals were studied by one of three protocols as follows: protocol 1, fed ad libitum for 7 days; protocol 2, fed ad libitum for 5 days, fasted overnight, and subjected to an oral glucose tolerance test; protocol 3, fed ad libitum for 4 days, fasted for 48 h, subjected to oral glucose tolerance test, and then allowed to refeed overnight. Hepatic glucose-6-phosphatase enzymatic activity was increased by 1.6–3-fold in microsomes isolated from AdCMV-G6Pase-treated animals in all three protocols, and the resultant metabolic profile was similar in each case. AdCMV-G6Pase-treated animals exhibited several of the abnormalities associated with early stage non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus, including glucose intolerance, hyperinsulinemia, decreased hepatic glycogen content, and increased peripheral (muscle) triglyceride stores. These animals also exhibited significant decreases in circulating free fatty acids and triglycerides, changes not normally associated with the disease. Our studies show that overexpression of G6Pase in liver is sufficient to perturb whole animal glucose and lipid homeostasis, possibly contributing to the development of metabolic abnormalities associated with diabetes.
Sorption of ciprofloxacin and oxytetracycline zwitterions to soils and soil minerals: influence of compound structure.

Oxytetracycline (OTC) zwitterions sorbed to a greater extent than ciprofloxacin (CIP) zwitterions onto goethite and soils with moderate-to-low effective cation exchange capacities (ECEC 10 cmolc/kg). The sorption of heterocyclic compounds structurally similar to CIP indicated that both positive charge localization on the cationic amine and the extent of charge delocalization to the heterocyclic ring influenced molecular orientation within the montmorillonite interlayers, van der Waals interactions, and the potential for sorption. The sorption of compounds structurally similar to OTC revealed that greater positive charge localization on the cationic amine facilitated sorption to montmorillonite, whereas ortho substituted a...
Magnetic antenna excitation of whistler modes. II. Antenna arrays

The excitation of whistler modes from magnetic loop antennas has been investigated experimentally. The field topology of the excited wave driven by a single loop antenna has been measured for different loop orientations with respect to the uniform background field. The fields from two or more antennas at different locations are then created by superposition of the single-loop data. It is shown that an antenna array can produce nearly plane waves which cannot be achieved with single antennas. By applying a phase shift along the array, oblique wave propagation is obtained. This allows a meaningful comparison with plane wave theory. The Gendrin mode and oblique cyclotron resonance are demonstrated. Wave helicity and polarization in space and time are demonstrated and distinguished from the magnetic helicity of the wave field. The superposition of two oblique plane whistler modes produces in a “whistler waveguide” mode whose polarization and helicity properties are explained. The results show that single point measurements cannot properly establish the wave character of wave packets. The laboratory observations are relevant for excitation and detection of whistler modes in space plasmas.
Measuring Successful Aging in Southern Black Older Adults.

With the growing size of the population of aging Black individuals, it is important to understand successful aging in this group. This study, therefore, piloted the Successful Aging Inventory (SAI) with a convenience sample of Black older adults. Participants completed a demographic form, the SAI, Purpose in Life Test, Life Satisfaction Inventory-A, Mastery Scale, and Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale. Internal reliability and convergent and discriminant validity were acceptable. The SAI appears suitable for examining successful aging in Black older adults.
Vitamin A deficiency and pulmonary oxygen toxicity: morphometric studies in the murine lung.

ABSTRACT. Vitamin A and its precursor β-carotene are naturally occurring antioxidants. The effects of diets deficient in β-carotene and vitamin A on the alveolar-capillary membrane were studied in young adult BALB/C mice before and after exposure to 65% oxygen. One of three diets (standard complete, β-carotene deficient, or β-carotene and vitamin A deficient) was fed for a 6-wk period. Mice were then exposed to 65% oxygen for 0, 3, or 6 days, sacrificed, and their lungs examined by electron microscopy using the morphometric techniques of Weibel. The arithmetic and the harmonic mean thicknesses of the alveolar-capillary membrane and its components (epithelium, interstitium, and endothelium) were measured to assess the influences of diet and of duration of exposure to 65% oxygen. Analysis of variance and multiple comparisons of means (Student-Neuman-Keuls statistics) were applied. Diet alone did not significantly affect membrane thickness. However, duration of oxygen exposure increased the thicknesses of both the epithelium and interstitium in the group fed a diet deficient in both β-carotene and vitamin A as compared to the other two groups although this was only significant for the epithelium. β-Carotene deficiency alone did not affect the respiratory membrane either before or after oxygen exposure. These results suggest that vitamin A may be an important nutrient in the protection against pulmonary oxygen toxicity.
The double square root, Jacobi polynomials and Ramanujan's master theorem

Abstract Let N 0,4 (a;m)≔ ∫ 0 ∞ d x (x 4 +2ax 2 +1) m+1 , a>−1, m∈ N and define P m (a)≔ 1 π 2 m+3/2 (a+1) m+1/2 N 0,4 (a;m). We prove that Pm(a) is a polynomial in a given by P m (a)=2 −2m ∑ k=0 m 2 k 2m−2k m−k m+k m (a+1) k . The proof is based on the Taylor expansion of the double square root and Ramanujan's Master Theorem.
Functional homogeneity of P-700 in cyclic and non-cyclic electron transport reactions in thylakoids.

The photoinduced turnover of P-700 (the reaction center chlorophyll a of photosystem I) in higher plant thylakoids was examined at room temperature by observation of the kinetics and amplitude of the transmission signal at 700 nm. The concentration of P-700 functional in cyclic and non-cyclic electron transfer reactions was compared. For the cyclic reactions mediated by N-methylphenazonium-p-methosulfate, 2,3,5,6-tetramethylphenylenediamine, 2,6-dichlorophenolindophenol and N,N,N′,N′-tetramethylphenylenediamine and non-cyclic reactions utilizing either methylviologen or NADP+ as acceptor, the illuminated steady-state concentration of P-700+ was shown to be similar. The data support the concept of a homogeneous pool of P-700 that is capable of interaction in both cyclic and non-cyclic electron transfer reactions and are consistent with previous data obtained in vivo. The amplitude and kinetics of the P-700 signal were found to be very dependent upon the composition of the reaction medium and differences were noted for turnover in the cyclic and non-cyclic reactions. Specifically, at white light saturation, the addition of low concentrations of divalent cations, such as Mg2+ or Ca2+, had no effect on the signal amplitude during the cyclic reactions, but, in confirmation of previous work, caused an attenuation of the signal amplitude during non-cyclic flow. At low light intensities, the divalent cations caused a similar reduction in redox level of P-700 in the steady-state during non-cyclic flow and also reduced the rate of P-700 photooxidation in the cyclic reactions. The concentration of divalent cation that reduced the signal amplitude of P-700+ during non-cyclic flow was compared with that required for the stimulation of the variable component of fluorescence, and it was shown to be similar with half maximal effects at 1 mM Mg2+. The observations confirm that divalent cations control non-cyclic electron transport by an activation of Photosystem II in addition to regulating the distribution of excitation energy between the two photosystems.
Migration mechanisms of oxygen interstitial clusters in UO2.

Understanding the migration kinetics of radiation-induced point defects and defect clusters is key to predicting the microstructural evolution and mass transport in nuclear fuels. Although the diffusion kinetics of point defects in UO2 is well explored both experimentally and theoretically, the kinetics of defect clusters is not well understood. In this work the migration mechanisms of oxygen interstitial clusters of size one to five atoms (1Oi–5Oi) in UO2 are investigated by temperature-accelerated dynamics simulations without any a priori assumptions of migration mechanisms. It is found that the migration paths of oxygen interstitial clusters are complex and non-intuitive, and that multiple migration paths and barriers exist for some clusters. It is also found that the cluster migration barrier does not increase with increasing cluster size and its magnitude has the following order: 2Oi < 3Oi < 1Oi < 5Oi < 4Oi. Possible finite-size effects are checked with three systems which are of different sizes. The results show good agreement with other available experimental and theoretical data. The cluster migration sequence might explain the interesting relationship measured experimentally between the oxygen diffusivity and stoichiometry in UO2+x.
Chronic vulvovaginal candidiasis: characteristics of women with Candida albicans, C glabrata and no candida.

INTRODUCTION--Although as many as 5% of all women complain of chronic vulvovaginitis, little is known about these women. They may often be misdiagnosed and the role of vaginal yeast culture in diagnosing vulvovaginal candidiasis (VVC) among them has not been clearly defined. METHODS--To address these deficiencies, we tabulated initial diagnoses among new patients and conducted a medical record-based, unmatched case-control study among women reporting a history of chronic vulvovaginitis (four or more episodes in the past year) at a vulvovaginitis specialty clinic. Clinical presentation and medical history were compared for women who had a positive vaginal yeast culture for either Candida albicans or C glabrata, or who had a negative culture. RESULTS--One-third of the women had no apparent vulvovaginal disease at their initial visit. All women reported similar symptoms, except for an increased prevalence of painful sexual intercourse in women with C albicans (chi 2 p = 0.014 versus women with C glabrata and p < 0.001 versus women with no candida). Women with C glabrata were more likely to be non-white (chi 2 p = 0.071 compared with women with C albicans) and to report an underlying medical condition (chi 2 p < or = 0.001 versus both women with C albicans and women with no candida). Physical examination was normal only in women with no candida. C albicans cases were more likely to have positive potassium hydroxide microscopy (chi 2 p = 0.016) and a pH < or = 4.5 (chi 2 p = 0.011) than were C glabrata cases. CONCLUSIONS--These results suggest that reliance on symptoms and signs alone will result in significant misdiagnosis of chronic vulvovaginitis. Among women with VVC, subtle differences in clinical presentation do not reliably distinguish women with C albicans from those with C glabrata. Our study also indicates that vaginal yeast cultures, while not necessary for every patient, are valuable in confirming negative diagnoses, detecting microscopy false-negatives, and identifying non-C albicans isolates.
The Role of Prostacyclin and Thromboxane in Sepsis and Septic Shock

• Prostacyclin, or prostaglandin I 2 (PGI 2 ), and thromboxane A 2 (TXA 2 ) are potent, endogenously produced, vasoactive substances that have been implicated as mediators in the pathophysiologic nature of septic shock. We investigated the contribution and production of PGI 2 and TXA 2 in sepsis and septic shock, using an intact rabbit model and an in vitro rabbit isolated cardiac perfusion model. Continuous hemodynamic monitoring of both experimental models, along with serial radioimmunoassays of the metabolites of PGI 2 and TXA 2 , indicated that myocardial depression is a common finding in subjects with septic shock and that septic shock causes a suppression of PGI 2 production while augmenting TXA 2 production. In addition, PGI 2 and TXA 2 were mediators of some cardiovascular changes in septic shock but were themselves not the toxic factor(s) responsible for the associated myocardial depression. ( Arch Surg 1984;119:189-192)
Attitudes, Values, and Entrance into Cohabitational versus Marital Unions

This article argues that marriage and cohabitation are associated with important differences in work patterns, earnings, treatment of money, use of leisure time, social relations with the extended family, the division of household labor, and fertility. We hypothesize that these differences lead those considering the formation of a household to consider their attitudes toward these aspects of life, which appear to be so different in marriage from those in cohabitation. Using data from the National Longitudinal Study of the High School Class of 1972, we test and find support for the hypothesis that the choice between cohabitation and marriage is affected by attitudes and values toward work, family, use of leisure time, money, and sex roles, as well as values and attitudes toward marriage itself Cohabitation is now an important form of union formation in the U.S. Recent estimates suggest that about 35% of those born in the early 1960s will live with someone of the opposite sex before age 25 compared to less than 8% of those born in the early 1940s (Bumpass & Sweet 1989). Although cohabitation is now unexceptional, key questions remain about why some who form households establish cohabitational unions while others marry. This article argues that the choice between marriage and cohabitation impinges on a wide range of activities, circumstances, and social relations. These most obviously include procreation and relations between cohabitants or spouses, but we argue that they also comprise relations with extended family, leisure pursuits, employment, division of economic resources, and division of household labor. Cohabiting may allow individuals or couples who feel unready for the demands of marriage to delay the assumption of marital roles but to acquire the benefits
Hodgkin disease in ataxia-telangiectasia patients with poor outcomes

Background To determine the presenting clinicopathologic features and treatment outcomes of 11 ataxia-telangiectasia (A-T) patients with Hodgkin disease. Procedure We reviewed the charts of 412 A-T patients to ascertain cases of Hodgkin disease. The data analyzed included date of diagnosis, duration of symptoms, chest radiographic findings, stage and histology, therapy, and outcome. Results The six male and five female patients had a median age at diagnosis of 12.2 years. Eight patients presented with fever, cough, and/or cervical lymphadenopathy with a median duration of symptoms of 3 months. Five patients had abnormal chest radiographic findings a median of 3 months prior to diagnosis and were treated with antibiotics for presumed pneumonia. Mediastinal and hilar adenopathy in addition to bilateral infiltrates were present. Histopathology reports were available for nine patients. Three had nodular sclerosing and two each had lymphocyte depleted, mixed cellularity, and not otherwise specified histology. Eight patients had stage IV disease, one had stage III, and in two the staging was not documented. Six patients received reduced-dose chemotherapy, two received radiation therapy, two did not receive therapy, and in one the treatment was not documented. In no patient did the Hodgkin disease remit and all died with a median survival of 3 months. Eight died of pneumonia and three of multiple system organ failure. Conclusions A-T patients with Hodgkin disease have markedly reduced survival compared to Hodgkin disease in the general population. Their poor outcomes may be due to advanced Hodgkin disease, failure to recognize coincident chronic lung disease, and the use of non-standard treatment regimens. Med Pediatr Oncol 2003;40:162–166. © 2003 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Interpolated linear precoding and space-frequency coding for MIMO-OFDM systems

We investigate the design of space-frequency codes and efficient feedback-aided precoding schemes for multiple-input multiple-output orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (MIMO-OFDM) systems. Inspired by the statistical structure of the MIMO-OFDM channel matrix, the proposed transceiver structure consists of two components: (i) a fixed space-frequency code, and (ii) a set of spatial precoding matrices that are adapted based on limited feedback from the receiver. For the fixed component, we propose a structured space-frequency coding scheme that spreads the source symbols across space and frequency. The space-frequency coded symbols are then processed with a spatial precoding matrix for each OFDM tone before transmission. The spatial precoding matrices use the limited feedback from the receiver to adapt the spatial directions and corresponding power allocation for different spatial symbols, in order to improve both the mutual information and error rate. Since the spatial channel statistics are invariant across frequency, one codebook of spatial precoding matrices suffices for all OFDM tones. This codebook is designed using a systematic algorithm that we had previously developed for narrowband spatially correlated MIMO channels. Finally, to reduce the computational complexity at the receiver and the amount of feedback to the transmitter, we propose a new interpolation algorithm in which the codebook indices are fed back to the transmitter for a subset of tones - precoding matrices for the other tones are computed at the transmitter using the precoding matrices for tones in the subset.
International Perspectives on Maps and the Internet: An Introduction

The Mosaic browser, the first to support graphics, was introduced in 1993 and, at some point during that year, the first map was transmitted through the Internet to a web page. Little notice was taken of the first web map but the development of Internet cartography since has been nothing but remarkable. The new medium of communication changed maps from static entities on paper to dynamic products of interaction. Millions of maps are now created by servers every hour and transmitted through the Internet. When we need to find a place or find out about a place, we turn immediately to these servers through the Internet. In a few short years, the World Wide Web has transformed the Internet into the primary medium for the dissemination of spatial information in the form of maps.
Newly Documented Host Fishes for the Eastern Elliptio Mussel Elliptio complanata

Abstract The eastern elliptio Elliptio complanata is a common, abundant, and ecologically important freshwater mussel that occurs throughout the Atlantic Slope drainage in the United States and Canada. Previous research has shown E. complanata glochidia to be host fish generalists, parasitizing yellow perch Perca flavescens, banded killifish Fundulus diaphanus, banded sculpin Cottus carolinae, and seven centrarchid species. Past laboratory studies have been conducted in the Midwest; however, glochidia used in these studies were obtained from adult mussels in the Great Lakes or St. Lawrence River basins, or glochidia sources were not reported. The objective of this study was to identify host fishes for E. complanata from streams in the Mid-Atlantic region. We used artificial laboratory infections to test host suitability of 38 fish and 2 amphibian species with E. complanata glochidia from the Chesapeake Bay drainage. Glochidia successfully metamorphosed into juvenile mussels on five fish species: American ...
c-Myc Promoter Activation in Medulloblastoma

%The c-myc oncogene is commonly activated in medulloblastoma. Genomic amplification is a well-documented cause of c-myc activation but does not account for all cases of c-myc activation. In this study, we sought other means by which c-myc is overexpressed in medulloblastoma. Twelve medulloblastoma or PNET cell lines were screened for c-myc genomic amplification, mRNA levels, and protein levels. Two medulloblastoma lines, D283 Med and D721 Med, were identified that expressed c-myc mRNA and protein at high levels without genomic amplification. The c-myc gene’s regulatory sequences were normal in those cell lines. However, specific regions of the promoter, independent of the β-catenin binding sites, were responsible for activation as revealed by promoter assays and site-directed mutagenesis. Transcriptional activation by a β-catenin-independent pathway is therefore a likely mechanism for c-myc overexpression in a subset of medulloblastomas.
Do Age-Group Differences on Mental Tests Imitate Racial Differences?.

Abstract Previous studies have shown that the pattern of mean differences on various mental tests (and other psychometric features) between black (B) and white (W) children all of the same age is imitated by comparing racially homogeneous groups composed of all W or all B children that differ in chronological age (CA). When the younger/older CA ratio is between 0.80 and 0.90, raw score differences approximate the B–W mental age (MA) ratio of same-age B and W children on IQ tests. The typical W–B IQ difference is 10–20 points. The imitation of actual same-age W–B mean differences by different age groups of W (or B) has been observed in a number of psychometric characteristics besides total raw scores. Does the same “imitation” phenomenon occur for Spearman's hypothesis? This hypothesis states that the standardized mean W–B differences on various tests are directly related to the magnitudes of the tests' g loadings? In a battery of 17 diverse tests, the actual W–B comparisons strongly bear out Spearman's hypothesis. The comparisons of different age groups (of the same race) resemble the Spearman effect, but also clearly differ, as the least g -loaded tests show larger age-group differences than the corresponding differences between the age-matched W and B groups. The findings support Spearman's hypothesis that the W–B difference in test performance is predominantly a g difference rather than a unitary developmental difference affecting all factors in test performance.
Property Readjustment and a Tenants' Cooperative in Mumbai: Some Lessons and Questions:

A key virtue of urbanization is the possibility of using the market value of land to pay for its development costs. Many urban-redevelopment strategies, such as urban renewal, land readjustment, and land sharing, are based on this principle. Mumbai's tenement, or chawl, redevelopment programme is also a variation on the theme. The key promise of the programme is the resettlement of tenement residents in new, cross-subsidized housing on the original sites. The city's property readjustment strategy is ambitious, but deals with difficult contexts—contested claims by tenants and owners, potential for disagreements and conflicts, underdeveloped housing-finance institutions, reliance on real-estate values, and the risk of failure, overburdened infrastructure, and so on—and is hard to implement. Nonetheless, an advantage of the approach, and a partial explanation for the difficulties in implementation, is the ability to redistribute wealth to tenants. My normative position in this paper is that the pace of imple...
Does Organization Ownership Matter? Structure and Performance in For-profit, Nonprofit and Local Government Nursing Homes !

We compare the structure and performance of for-profit (FP), nonprofit (NP) and local government (LG) organizations. These organizations differ in their ownership structure, objectives and agency relations. We conjecture that, compared to NP and LG, FP firms (a) delegate less decision-making power to employees, (b) provide more incentives and fewer fringe benefits, (c) monitor less, and (d) rely less on social networks to recruit employees. We also hypothesize that, relative to NP and LG, FP firms (i) are more efficient, (ii) provide similar levels of service elements that observable to their customers, (iii) provide lower levels of less-well observable elements, and (iv) provide less of the relational elements. Differences in structure and performance are likely to be tempered by regulation, market competition and institutional pressures for similarity. We study detailed performance outcomes for all the 369 Minnesota nursing homes included in federal and state datasets, and organization structure for a subsample of 105 homes that responded to our survey. Our empirical investigation generally supports our hypotheses. In particular, we find that FP homes serve more residents than NP and LG, after controlling for quality differences. However, FP homes provide lower quality services on a large array of attributes, especially those that are less observable by nursing home residents and their families. The differences among different types of organization are small, but significant.
The Solar H and K Lines of Ionized Calcium

Photographic observations of the mean H and K profiles are given for several positions across the solar disk (0.1 < μ <.6). The core profiles of H and K are nearly identical at the same position on the sun.
Determining Actual Response Time in P-FRP Using Idle-Period Game Board

A new, purely functional model of computation, called Priority-based Functional Reactive Programming (P-FRP), has been introduced as a new paradigm for building real-time software. P-FRP allows assignment of static priorities to tasks and guarantees that, when a higher priority task is released, the system will immediately preempt any lower-priority tasks that may be executing at the time. This execution model is different from the classical preemptive model of real-time systems due to the abort nature of preempted tasks. Methods developed for determining actual response time in the preemptive model are not guaranteed to work in P-FRP. In previous work, the gap-enumeration technique has been presented as a viable alternative to simulations for computing actual response time in P-FRP. Unfortunately, this method is difficult to implement due to its use of a Red-Black tree which is not available as a native function in programming languages. Also this method requires a complex logic loop for finding idle periods. In this paper, we present another technique using game-board which is simple to implement and uses native data structures. However, this simplicity comes at a performance cost which has also been analyzed in this paper.