cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
HEREDITARY AND ENVIRONMENTAL INFLUENCES ON CARDIOVASCULAR RISK FACTORS FOR CHILDREN THE BOGALUSA HEART STUDY

This paper reports on a study of all school-age children from Bogalusa, Louisiana, examined during the 1973-1974 and 1976-1977 school years by personnel of the Specialized Center of Research-Arteriosclerosis. For these children, the authors estimated the proportion of total variability in risk factors for atherosclerosis resulting from the influences of heredity (h2) and of common environment (c2). The authors' method of classifying half siblings underestimated h2 but overestimated c2. The results showed statistically significant values of h2 for height (0.91), weight (0.90), systolic blood pressure (.137), triglycerides (0.88), beta-lipoprotein (1.16), and alpha-lipoprotein (0.63). In addition, c2 was statistically significant for height (0.20), weight (0.32), triceps skinfold (0.19), systolic blood pressure (0.30), beta-lipoprotein (0.21), and alpha-lipoprotein (0.13). Because of the definition of c2, all traits for which it is significant must increase in value for some Bogalusa environments, and decrease for others. Therefore, for such traits, future analyses may identify favorable common environments that intervention studies can use to decrease the risk of atherosclerosis in Bogalusa. The values found for h2 and c2 in Bogalusa were compared and contrasted with values found for other communities.
The up-and-down method for the determination of nociceptive thresholds in rats

The up-and-down method applied to the jump-flinch technique provided estimates of shock thresholds for jump and flinch with high statistical efficiency and a much reduced amount of experimentation compared with traditional methods. Reproducible results were obtained after repeated testing and flinch and jump thresholds were significantly increased by treatment with morphine or oxotremorine.
Preclinical evaluation of postischemic dehydroascorbic Acid administration in a large-animal stroke model.

Dehydroascorbic acid (DHA), a blood–brain barrier transportable form of ascorbic acid, confers robust neuroprotection following murine stroke. In an effort to translate this promising neuroprotective strategy into human clinical trial, we evaluated postischemic DHA administration in a large-animal stroke model. Thirty-six adult male baboons were initially randomized to undergo transorbital craniectomy to induce transient cerebral artery occlusion and to receive postischemic dosing of either 500 mg/kg of DHA or vehicle. Primary outcomes included infarct volume, determined by magnetic resonance imaging, as well as neurological function evaluated on the day of sacrifice. The midpoint interim analysis (n = 9 per cohort) revealed that DHA administration did not significantly improve either infarct volume or neurological function. The study was terminated after a determination of statistical futility. We were unable to confirm a neuroprotective effect for postischemic DHA administration in our large-animal model using a dosing scheme that was previously successful in rodents. Further analysis of the efficacy of DHA administration must thus be undertaken prior to clinical translation.
International integration of capital markets and the cross-country divergence of per capita consumption

Abstract This paper proposes a new way of investigating the international integration of capital markets. In a stochastic neoclassical growth model with representative agents, perfect international capital markets result in the divergence of per capita consumption across countries. If instead the countries lack representative-agent economies with unrestricted access to international capital markets, per capita consumption does not diverge. Divergence of per capita consumption cannot be rejected across the countries most likely to have had unrestricted access to international capital markets: Canada, the UK and the US. By contrast, divergence of per capita consumption is strongly rejected across nineteen other industrial countries. (JEL F02). © 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd.
Determining the structure of supersymmetry breaking with renormalization group invariants.

If collider experiments demonstrate that the minimal supersymmetric standard model (MSSM) is a good description of nature at the weak scale, the experimental priority will be the precise determination of superpartner masses. These masses are governed by the weak scale values of the soft supersymmetry-breaking (SUSY-breaking) parameters, which are in turn highly dependent on the SUSY-breaking scheme present at high scales. It is therefore of great interest to find patterns in the soft parameters that can distinguish different high-scale SUSY-breaking structures, identify the scale at which the breaking is communicated to the visible sector, and determine the soft breaking parameters at that scale. In this work, we demonstrate that 1-loop renormalization group invariant quantities present in the MSSM may be used to answer each of these questions. We apply our method first to generic flavor-blind models of SUSY breaking, and then we examine in detail the subset of these models described by general gauge mediation and the constrained MSSM with nonuniversal Higgs masses. As renormalization group invariance generally does not hold beyond leading-log order, we investigate the magnitude and direction of the 2-loop corrections. We find that with superpartners at the TeV scale, these 2-loop effects are either negligible, or they are of the order of optimistic experimental uncertainties and have definite signs, which allows them to be easily accounted for in the overall uncertainty.
Interaction of Ekman Layers and Islands

The circulation induced by the interaction of surface Ekman transport with an island is considered using both numerical models and linear theory. The basic response is similar to that found for the interaction of Ekman layers and an infinite boundary, namely downwelling (upwelling) in narrow boundary layers and deformation-scale baroclinic boundary layers with associated strong geostrophic flows. The presence of the island boundary, however, allows the pressure signal to propagate around the island so that the regions of upwelling and downwelling are dynamically connected. In the absence of stratification the island acts as an effective barrier to the Ekman transport. The presence of stratification supports baroclinic boundary currents that provide an advective pathway from one side of the island to the other. The resulting steady circulation is quite complex. Near the island, both geostrophic and ageostrophic velocity components are typically large. The density anomaly is maximum below the surface and, for positive wind stress, exhibits an anticyclonic phase rotation with depth (direction of Kelvin wave propagation) such that anomalously warm water can lie below regions of Ekman upwelling. The horizontal and vertical velocities exhibit similar phase changes with depth. The addition of a sloping bottom can act to shield the deep return flow from interacting with the island and providing mass transport into/out of the surface Ekman layer. In these cases, the required transport is provided by a pair of recirculation gyres that connect the narrow upwelling/downwelling boundary layers on the eastern and western sides of the island, thus directly connecting the Ekman transport across the island.
Open states of nuclear envelope ion channels in cardiac myocytes.

Prevalent nucleocytoplasmic transport theory views flow of monoatomic ions as completely unrestricted, resulting from the presence of large diameter pore complexes (NPCs) that perforate, but hold together, the two separate membranes of the nuclear envelope (NE). However, three lines of investigations indicate that, at least in some cell types, monoatomic ion flow is restricted. (i) Patch clamp reveals quantized, ion channel-like activity in several NE preparations; activity thought to result from nuclear ion channels (NICs) connected to NPCs. (ii) Ratiometric fluorescence microscopy demonstrates that ions, as well as small molecules relevant to signal transduction, do distribute as if there is a NE barrier. (iii) Electron microscopy shows that NPCs contain material that behaves like a plug. NICs' large conductance (up to 1,000 pS) makes them a major determinant of nuclear ion concentrations which, in turn, influence nuclear processes. Therefore, NICs are an important modulating force of gene and transcriptional activities—two major determinants of gene expression. As nuclear processes may take from seconds (e.g., signaling) to minutes (e.g., transcription), the time the channels dwell in the ion-conducting open state is relevant to understanding NICs' role in nuclear function. Consequently, dwell-times and lifetimes of open NIC states were studied in 61 patch-clamped adult mouse cardiac myocyte nuclei. Upon voltage stimulation, NICs opened to main states of large conductance (281 ± 198 pS, range = 120–490 pS, n = 55) and wide-range mean dwell-times (∼100 msec, 1–10 sec, and min). Closed states (0 pS) also had widely distributed mean dwell-times (∼100 msec, 1–10 sec, and min). Putative open substates (37 ±11 pS, range = 25–50, pS, n = 6) of high bursting frequency (<1 msec) were observed without intervening main states (≈5% of patches). Fast (∼0.1 msec) and slow (∼10 msec) statetransitions were also detected. These observations suggest a role for NICs in mediating cytoplasmic signal control of cardiomyocyte gene expression.
Diet and Co-ecology of Pleistocene Short-Faced Bears and Brown Bears in Eastern Beringia

Carbon and nitrogen stable isotope analysis of fossil bone collagen reveals that Pleistocene short-faced bears (Arctodus simus) of Beringia were highly carnivorous, while contemporaneous brown bears (Ursus arctos) had highly variable diets that included varying amounts of terrestrial vegetation, salmon, and small amounts of terrestrial meat. A reconsideration of the short-faced bear's highly derived morphology indicates that they foraged as scavengers of widely dispersed large mammal carcasses and were simultaneously designed both for highly efficient locomotion and for intimidating other large carnivores. This allowed Arctodus to forage economically over a large home range and seek out, procure, and defend carcasses from other large carnivores. The isotope data and this reconstruction of Arctodus' foraging behavior refute the hypothesis that competition from brown bears was a significant factor in the extinction of short-faced bears.
Femtosecond studies of intervalley scattering in GaAs and AlXGa1−XAs

Abstract Results are presented from ensemble Monte Carlo simulations of the relaxation of photoexcited electrons and holes. The results are compared directly with three types of femtosecond optical experiments: transient absorption saturation, pump and continuum probe, and tunable pump-probe experiments. For these experiments we find that intervalley scattering has a dominant effect for the first several hundred femtoseconds, and that electron-electron scattering is only important at later times.
Characterization of Free and Porous Silicon-Encapsulated Superparamagnetic Iron Oxide Nanoparticles as Platforms for the Development of Theranostic Vaccines

Tracking vaccine components from the site of injection to their destination in lymphatic tissue, and simultaneously monitoring immune effects, sheds light on the influence of vaccine components on particle and immune cell trafficking and therapeutic efficacy. In this study, we create a hybrid particle vaccine platform comprised of porous silicon (pSi) and superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPIONs). The impact of nanoparticle size and mode of presentation on magnetic resonance contrast enhancement are examined. SPION-enhanced relaxivity increased as the core diameter of the nanoparticle increased, while encapsulation of SPIONs within a pSi matrix had only minor effects on T2 and no significant effect on T2* relaxation. Following intravenous injection of single and hybrid particles, there was an increase in negative contrast in the spleen, with changes in contrast being slightly greater for free compared to silicon encapsulated SPIONs. Incubation of bone marrow-derived dendritic cells (BMDC) with pSi microparticles loaded with SPIONs, SIINFEKL peptide, and lipopolysaccharide stimulated immune cell interactions and interferon gamma production in OT-1 TCR transgenic CD8+ T cells. Overall, the hybrid particle platform enabled presentation of a complex payload that was traceable, stimulated functional T cell and BMDC interactions, and resolved in cellular activation of T cells in response to a specific antigen.
A red meat-derived glycan promotes inflammation and cancer progression.

A well known, epidemiologically reproducible risk factor for human carcinomas is the long-term consumption of “red meat” of mammalian origin. Although multiple theories have attempted to explain this human-specific association, none have been conclusively proven. We used an improved method to survey common foods for free and glycosidically bound forms of the nonhuman sialic acid N-glycolylneuraminic acid (Neu5Gc), showing that it is highly and selectively enriched in red meat. The bound form of Neu5Gc is bioavailable, undergoing metabolic incorporation into human tissues, despite being a foreign antigen. Interactions of this antigen with circulating anti-Neu5Gc antibodies could potentially incite inflammation. Indeed, when human-like Neu5Gc-deficient mice were fed bioavailable Neu5Gc and challenged with anti-Neu5Gc antibodies, they developed evidence of systemic inflammation. Such mice are already prone to develop occasional tumors of the liver, an organ that can incorporate dietary Neu5Gc. Neu5Gc-deficient mice immunized against Neu5Gc and fed bioavailable Neu5Gc developed a much higher incidence of hepatocellular carcinomas, with evidence of Neu5Gc accumulation. Taken together, our data provide an unusual mechanistic explanation for the epidemiological association between red meat consumption and carcinoma risk. This mechanism might also contribute to other chronic inflammatory processes epidemiologically associated with red meat consumption.
Measurement of light scattering at 0 degrees by small-particle suspensions

Measurements of the intensity of the light scattered by 1 1 im polystyrene spheres suspended in water have been made as a function of angle from -0.05° to 0.05°. Data have also been obtained for scattering at O as a function of particle concentration. As the particle concentration Increases the sample transmission decreases monotonically but the scattered light intensity at O Increases monotonically as expected. This new measurement technique Is based on coherent two beam coupling In a photorefractive BaTIO3 crystal.
Buddhist logic and apologetics in 17th century China: An analysis of the use of Buddhist syllogisms in an anti-Christian polemic

A glimpse of the new application of Buddhist logic in the seventeenth century leads us to reflect about our approach to logic in a given religious tradition: Should we isolate a logical system from the very context that has given rise to the genesis and development of such an intellectual apparatus? Methodologically, we do have the legitimate right to approach Buddhist logic from a purely logical point of view. However, when we study the actual use of Buddhist logic in the seventeenth-century anti-Christian polemic, an analysis of its intentional application allows us to conclude that Buddhist logic in the context of controversy is primarily apologetic. Therefore, with a methodological concern, I suggest that philosophers and logicians should reconsider the apologetic nature of logic in any given religious tradition.
Sampling and analysis of atmospheric sulfates and related species

Abstract Sampling and analytical methods to measure atmospheric concentrations of sulfur, sulfates and related species are compared for aerosols collected in New York City, Philadelphia, PA, South Charleston. WV, St. Louis, MO; Glendora. CA; and Portland, OR. Dichotomous samplers equipped with virtual impactors were used to separately collect fine ( 3.5μm) particles on membrane filters. Both size fractions were analyzed by energy-dispersive X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy to determine the total amounts of sulfur and other elements, and the samples were analyzed by an Ion Chromatograph and by the thorin spectrophotometeric method to determine sulfate. These analyses reveal that more than 70% of the sulfur occurs in the fine particle fraction for at least 90% of the samples. Sulfate typically accounts for about 40% of the mass of the fine particle fraction, and in some instances it accounts for more than 50%. For the fine particle fraction, the ratio of the sulfate and the sulfur mass concentrations is 2.96 ±0.15, which is in excellent agreement with the value of 3.00 for sulfate. To test for the existence of sulfite ions in the samples, a cold extraction procedure was developed, which minimizes the conversion of sulfite to sulfate. Analysis for sulfite using the Ion Chromatograph indicates that less than 2% of the sulfur collected in South Charleston, WV. and Philadelphia, PA, is in the form of sulfite. A procedure was developed to preserve the acidity of aerosols collected with an automated dichotomous sampler and was recently used to sample aerosols in Research Triangle Park. NC. Analysis of the samples for H+, NH42− and SO42− ions revealed that the sulfate concentrations were typically 10 to 14μg3 and that H+ ions accounted for 5 to 60% of the cations associated with sulfate. In addition the sum of NH4+ and H+ equalled the SO42− concentration expressed in nanoequivalents. In the network of stations that was part of the Regional Air Pollution Study (RAPS) the hi-volume sampler gave mass and sulfate concentrations that were consistently higher than values obtained for the automated dichotomous sampler. For samples collected at eight RAPS stations at St. Louis, MO. between September and December 1975, the ratio for sulfate determined for the two types of samplers was 1.32.
Regulation of phosphatidylserine decarboxylase in Saccharomyces cerevisiae by inositol and choline: kinetics of repression and derepression.

Abstract The biosynthesis of phosphatidylserine (PS) and its conversion to phosphatidylcholine (PC) are regulated coordinately by inositol and choline in Saccharomyces cerevisiae ( G. M. Carman and S. A. Henry, 1989 , Annu. Rev. Biochem. 58, 635–669). In this study, PS decarboxylase activity is shown to be partially repressed when inositol is added to the medium of cells in the log phase of growth, and the extent of repression is augmented by the inclusion of choline, but not ethanolamine. The kinetics of repression and derepression of PS decarboxylase, PS synthase, and phospholipid N-methyltransferase (PNMT) activities, as regulatory responses to the availability of exogenous inositol and choline, have been characterized. When inositol was added to the medium of cell cultures growing exponentially, the three biosynthetic enzyme activities reached an intermediate level of repression (50–85% of control) within 60 min. After the addition of the combination of inositol and choline, PS decarboxylase, PS synthase, and PNMT activities decreased to the intermediate levels of repression in 60 min and were subsequently reduced to 15–40% of control values during a later stage of regulation (2–3 h). In a derepression study, the three enzyme activities remained relatively stable for approximately 60 min following the removal of choline and/or inositol from the growth medium, but the specific activities of PS decarboxylase, PS synthase, and PNMT increased to maximally derepressed levels within 2–3 h. The induction of the three biosynthetic activities was blocked by cycloheximide, but not by chloramphenicol. In summary, the level of PS decarboxylase activity in S. cerevisiae is partially and reversibly suppressed by inositol and further diminished by the combination of inositol and choline. The biphasic kinetics of repression by inositol and choline suggest that the effect of choline is dependent on earlier events mediated by inositol and possibly involves a separate regulatory factor(s).
Action of Pepsin on Synthetic Substrates

IN a previous communication1 regarding the action of pepsin on two of its synthetic substrates, acetyl-L-phenylalanyl-L-tyrosine and N-acetyl-L-tyro-syl-L-tyrosine, results were obtained which seemed to indicate that the products of the hydrolysis were released from the enzyme-substrate complex at different rates, and that it was this phenomenon which accounted for the logarithmic course of the reaction. A communication afterwards received from Dr. N. M. Green showed that the release of the second product at a very slow rate, according to the hypothesis presented, would not lead to a logarithmic course (see accompanying communication by Dr. N. M. Green). A further study of the hydrolysis of acetyl-L-phenylalanyl-L-tyrosine by pepsin was therefore made, and has shown the conclusions that were previously drawn to be incorrect.
Sulfidation of organic matter associated with gold mineralization, Pueblo viejo, Dominican republic

The Pueblo Viejo district is one of the largest producers of precious metals in the world, yielding more than 11,000 kg of Au annually. Gold mineralization at Pueblo Viejo is hosted in spilite, and coarse elastic and finely laminated, fine grained carbonaceous sedimentary rocks of the Lower Cretaceous Los Ranchos Formation. Mineralization was accompanied by sulfidation as evidenced by (I) the occurrence of siderite distal to mineralization and pyrite proximal to mineralization, (2) increased S/Fe ratios associated with Au mineralization, (3) the occurrence of native S in and adjacent to mineralization, and (4) the presence of sulfidized organic matter (organo-S compounds) in mineralized rocks. Organic matter in the carbonaceous sedimentary rocks comprises vitrinite and pyrobitumen. Rock-Eval pyrolysis data indicate that this organic matter is overmature (HI < 55). The organic matter is S-rich (up to 14 wt% S) in rocks where all Fe has been sulfidized to pyrite. X-ray absorption near edge structure (XANES) analysis indicates that the C-bonded S is thiophenic. Early disseminated Au mineralization is postulated to have occurred in response to sulfidation of ferrous Fe to form pyrite. The consequent decline in the activity of H2S in the mineralizing fluid would have destabilized Au bisulfide complexes and caused deposition of gold. The restriction of S-rich organic matter to rocks in which all Fe occurs as pyrite indicates that sulfidation of organic matter postdates sulfidation of ferrous Fe and therefore, deposition of much of the Au.
Exchange of adenine nucleotides in digitonin-treated mitochondria

Abstract 1. 1. The exchange of adenine nucleotides has been studied in phosphorylating inner membrane preparations of rat-liver mitochondria prepared by treatment with digitonin. 2. 2. The digitonin treatment removes nearly 75% of the outer membrane, as seen by the loss of rotenone-insensitive NADH cytochrome c reductase, while the activity of malate dehydrogenase and the concentration of adenine nucleotides are slightly increased. 3. 3. The exchange of adenine nucleotides is selective towards ADP and ATP, and is completely sensitive to atractyloside. m-Chlorocarbonylcyanide phenylhydrazone stimulates the ATP exchange, and concomitantly inhibits the Pi-ATP exchange. 4. 4. The digitonin particles are considerably more susceptible to changes in osmolarity than intact mitochondria, and exhibit no sucrose-impermeable space at 0.5 M sucrose. Furthermore, the exchange of ADP is completely inhibited. 5. 5. This study provides direct evidence that the inner membrane is the site of adenine nucleotide binding, and that the properties of these sites are unaffected by the digitonin treatment.
Complications after radical cystectomy: analysis of population-based data.

Abstract Objectives To determine the morbidity and mortality from radical cystectomy in a nationally representative population-derived sample. Complications after radical cystectomy have been reported from large single-institution series but population-based representative data are lacking. Methods All patients undergoing radical cystectomy for bladder cancer were identified from the National Inpatient Sample data set of the Health Care Utilization Project (1998 to 2002). The prevalence of different complications coded according to the International Classification of Diseases, version 9, after cystectomy were determined. Independent hospital and patient-related factors associated with the occurrence of a complication were determined by logistic regression analysis. The prevalence of complication by type and frequency were compared with that in other large reported series. Results The in-hospital mortality rate was 2.57%, and at least one complication other than death occurred in 28.4% of patients. These rates were comparable to those reported in published studies. Younger patients had a lower likelihood of complications. Younger patients and those undergoing cystectomy at large bed size, urban, teaching hospitals were less likely to have secondary complications after surgery, and younger patients, women, and those undergoing cystectomy at high-volume hospitals were less likely to have primary complications directly related to their surgery. Conclusions The overall morbidity and mortality rates after radical cystectomy in a population-based sample were comparable to those reported from individual centers. Larger centers in urban locations may have lower complication rates but only hospitals performing a high volume of cystectomies were associated with fewer primary surgery-related complications.
Convolution connection paradigm neural network enables linear system theory‐based image enhancement

A new type of robust numeric solution of one form of the Fredholm integral equations of the first king has been discovered. This discovery has its most immediate and important applications in the deconvolution or deblurring of data acquired using scientific instruments. A solution of this integral equation has very general applications. For example, investigator-controlled mapping of the instrumental point-spread function to a more useful form is made feasible. The solution of the linear systems imaging model integral equation results from operations performed on the instrumental kernel, response, or point-spread function with the direct result being the production of a robust, effective inverse kernel. The effective inverse is robust even in the presence of noise. The generation of the inverse kernel in no way depends on the observational data. Therefore, the image enhancement produced by this method contrasts with other numeric schemes that operate only on the observed data. This is an important distinction. This technique, which uses simple numeric operations, offers the possibility of attaining real-time data enhancements for observational instruments. The concept of taking control of the instrument kernel or point-spread function forms the basis of the work presented. Investigations of the application of artificial neural networks to resolution enhancement of Hubble Space Telescope imagery have led to a novel extended instrument paradigm that permits reliable and robust resolution enhancement. In addition to resolution enhancement, the fruits of this investigation have provided a powerful data mapping tool that permits nontrivial, numeric apodization of observed data. The applications of the novel convolution connection paradigm neural network has a great potential for multidisciplinary applications such as resolution enhancement of image and spectral data.
Dihydrotestosterone in Human Peripheral Plasma

ABSTRACT A method is described for the estimation of dihydrotestosterone (5α-androstan- 17β-ol-3-one) in human peripheral plasma. An aliquot of 5–10 ml of plasma with 3H indicator is extracted with solvent and chromatographed on low residue, methanol washed paper in the Bush B-3 system for 2–3 hr. The sample is then assayed by a displacement technique using diluted plasma from an estrogen treated or pregnant patient. Separation of bound from free steroid is obtained with small Sephadex G-25 columns. The % bound of the sample is converted to mass by comparison with a standard curve and corrected for recovery. Testosterone and dihydrotestosterone can be assayed simultaneously. Duplicate samples can be measured with an error of 10% for male and 13% for female samples and there is no indication for the presence of systematic errors. The nonspecific blank is 0.15±0.05 (sd) ng/sample. Prepubertal plasma did not contain measurable amounts of dihydrotestosterone. Adult male values are 54±19 (sd) and female plasma...
Use of continuous performance improvement in academics: a culture change.

The close alignment of academic pediatric departments with the clinical mission of children’s hospitals and university health systems has created a ‘‘burning platform’’ for the highest quality patient outcomes. With our hospital partner, Seattle Children’s Hospital, we began a longterm cultural transformation to achieve excellence through ongoing, incremental change by using a process of continuous performance improvement (CPI). CPI focuses on patients and families as the beneficiaries of all interventions and improvements to provide the highest standards of quality, safety, delivery, and cost efficiency with an engaged staff and administration.ThefoundationofCPImethodologyistheToyotaProductionSystem,knowninJapanasthe‘‘Kaizen’’system. 1 Inthe past 8 years, the Department of Pediatrics not only embraced the principles of CPI in our clinical programs, but also sought applications in our teaching and research missions. 2,3
Methylome-wide comparison of human genomic DNA extracted from whole blood and from EBV-transformed lymphocyte cell lines

DNA from Epstein–Barr virus-transformed lymphocyte cell lines (LCLs) has proven useful for studies of genetic sequence polymorphisms. Whether LCL DNA is suitable for methylation studies is less clear. We conduct a genome-wide methylation investigation using an array set with 45 million probes to investigate the methylome of LCL DNA and technical duplicates of WB DNA from the same 10 individuals. We focus specifically on methylation sites that show variation between individuals and, therefore, are potentially useful as biomarkers. The sample correlations for the methylation variable probes ranged from 0.69 to 0.78 for the WB duplicates and from 0.27 to 0.72 for WB vs LCL. To compare the pattern of the methylation signals, we grouped adjacent probes based on their inter-correlations. These analyses showed ∼29 000 and ∼14 000 blocks in WB and LCL, respectively. Merely 31% of the methylated regions detected in WB were detectable in LCLs. Furthermore, we observed significant differences in mean difference between WB and LCL as compared with duplicates of WB (P-value =2.2 × 10−16). Our study shows that there are substantial differences in the DNA methylation patterns between LCL and WB. Thus, LCL DNA should not be used as a proxy for WB DNA in methylome-wide studies.
Resilience of the Iron Environment in Heme Proteins

Conformational flexibility is essential to the functional behavior of proteins. We use an effective force constant introduced by Zaccai, the resilience, to quantify this flexibility. Site-selective experimental and computational methods allow us to determine the resilience of heme protein active sites. The vibrational density of states of the heme Fe determined using nuclear resonance vibrational spectroscopy provides a direct experimental measure of the resilience of the Fe environment, which we compare quantitatively with values derived from the temperature dependence of atomic mean-squared displacements in molecular dynamics simulations. Vibrational normal modes in the THz frequency range dominate the resilience. Both experimental and computational methods find a higher resilience for cytochrome c than for myoglobin, which we attribute to the increased number of covalent links to the peptide in the former protein. For myoglobin, the resilience of the iron environment is larger than the average resilience previously determined for hydrogen sites using neutron scattering. Experimental results suggest a slightly reduced resilience for cytochrome c upon oxidation, although the change is smaller than reported in previous Mossbauer investigations on a bacterial cytochrome c, and is not reproduced by the simulations. Oxidation state also has no significant influence on the compressibility calculated for cyt c, although a slightly larger compressibility is predicted for myoglobin.
Approximations in a group sequential test with unequal group sizes

Our concern in this paper is a group sequential test design for which the sample sizes between interim analyses are not identical. First, we consider a repeated significance test for comparing two treatments in a clinical trial, and study asymptotic properties of the test statistic. Using the arguments developed by Siegmund (1985, Chapters 8 and 9), we then obtain approximations for the overall significance level of the test and for the error level at each interim analysis. Simulation studies are performed to assess the accuracy of the approximations and the robustness of the approximations are examined using numerical examples.
The Implementation and Validation of Improved Land-Surface Hydrology in an Atmospheric General Circulation Model

Landsurface hydrological parameterizations are implemented in the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) General Circulation Model (GCM). These parameterizations are: (1) runoff and evapotranspiration functions that include the effects of subgrid scale spatial variability and use physically based equations of hydrologic flux at the soil surface, and (2) a realistic soil moisture diffusion scheme for the movement of water in the soil column. A one dimensional climate model with a complete hydrologic cycle is used to screen the basic sensitivities of the hydrological parameterizations before implementation into the full three dimensional GCM. Results of the final simulation with the GISS GCM and the new landsurface hydrology indicate that the runoff rate, especially in the tropics is significantly improved. As a result, the remaining components of the heat and moisture balance show comparable improvements when compared to observations. The validation of model results is carried from the large global (ocean and landsurface) scale, to the zonal, continental, and finally the finer river basin scales.
Clearance of Renin in Unanesthetized Rats: Effects of Chronic Lead Exposure'

Abstract These experiments studied the influence of chronic lead exposure on the steady-state clearance of exogenous homologous renin in unanesthetized, unrestrained rats. Relative to time controls (TC), rats chronically exposed to 500 ppm lead in drinking water had significantly elevated basal plasma renin concentrations (PRC) (Pb = 12.0 ± 1.6 ng/ml/hr, TC = 7.6 ± 0.8). During the infusion of homologous renin sufficient to increase plasma renin approximately 10-fold, the clearance of renin was not different between the two groups (after 60-min infusion, Pb = 16.1 ± 1.8 ml/kg/min, TC = 15.9 ± 1.5). Rats exposed to 1000 ppm lead did not have higher PRCs than time controls (Pb = 10.9 ± 2.2, TC = 9.2 ± 1.8). The clearances of renin in these two groups were also not significantly different (Pb = 15.3 ± 2.8, TC = 18.3 ± 2.5). Renal renin concentrations were significantly elevated in the 500 ppm rats (Pb = 1426 ± 110 ug/kidney, TC = 1065 ± 118) consistent with an increased basal renin secretion, but were not elevated in the 1000-ppm rats. There were no significant differences in the clearances of sulfobromophthalein (BSP) between any of the groups. The renin infusion significantly reduced BSP clearance, but did so equally in all groups. It is concluded that in unanesthetized, unrestrained rats the clearance of renin is not altered by chronic lead exposure of either 500 or 1000 ppm and that increased secretion of renin accounts for the elevated basal PRC observed in rats exposed to the lower dose of lead.
On an approximation theorem of Kupka and Smale

Proof of Kupka and Smale approximation theorem concerning differential equations defined on compact manifold
Sentences, individual differences, and multiple texts: Three issues in text comprehension

Three mini‐essays review the progress made on two traditional problems and one newer problem in discourse understanding. The first traditional problem is the relationship between individual sentences and discourses. The role of discourse factors on sentence comprehension has received continuing attention, whereas the complementary question of sentences’ contribution to discourse comprehension has been neglected. Recent work may have redressed this neglect to some extent. The second traditional topic is individual differences in discourse comprehension; the conclusion is that there has been substantial refinement of earlier hypotheses about the basic word and functional memory sources of such differences, whereas research on higher level causal factors remains inconclusive. The newer third problem, the representation of multiple texts, exposes fresh views of problems of discourse, especially the contrast between situation and text models. A recent representational Documents Model is briefly described. The ...
Resistance training as a preconditioning strategy for enhancing aerobic exercise training outcomes in COPD

Summary Purpose: Aerobic exercise training is a recognized approach for improving functional capacity in COPD. People with greater disease severity often have difficulty achieving higher aerobic exercise training intensity. The effects of resistance training prior to aerobic training were examined to determine if this sequential approach was associated with greater gains in func
Drug and Alcohol Use by Youth in Rural America: An Introduction

SUMMARY Articles by other authors In the volume are briefly reviewed and their findings integrated. Overall, rural communities may have slightly lower levels of drug use problems, but rural/urban differences are now small. There is great variability in the substance use problems among youth in rural towns. Resources for treatment and prevention are likely to be limited and may not be used because of transportation problems and possibly because of particular rural attitudes and beliefs. Prevention and treatment programs need to be made available in rural communities and must be tailored to the individual community to be sure that they will meet that community's needs aid that they will be congruent with the culture of the community.
Simulated Jury Trials: Students vs. “Real” People as Jurors

Summary The use of laboratory experiments involving simulated jurors has proven to be a popular means for examining the effects of various variables on juror decision making. In the vast majority of these studies, college students have been used in the roles as simulated jurors. Yet, one question facing studies employing students as jurors remains: Can the results of such studies be generalized to nonstudents in similar roles? Using 80 randomly selected undergraduate students and 80 randomly selected citizens, the present study tested the null hypothesis that college students do not differ from the general population in terms of the length of sentence they would impose upon an individual charged with a crime. Results showed that students were significantly (p < .01) more lenient in their sentences than were nonstudents.
The Way We Were: Legacy Organizational Identity and the Role of Leadership

We theorize how an organization's identity may endure as a legacy beyond the existence of the originating organization. We define legacy organizational identity as the shared claim by former organizational members to ‘who we were as an organization’, that (1) explicitly draws central and valued organizational identity elements from the past into the present and (2) is enacted regularly through collectively shared activities and artifacts. We conceptualize how legacy identities arise from organizational processes and events, such as death, decline, retrenchment or restructuring, that profoundly change the firm's existence as a recognizable entity. We compare organizational identities that are ‘living’ (in ongoing firms) and legacies (in defunct firms) and then show how leadership perpetuates a legacy through sensebreaking (from the past form) and sensegiving (for the present and future). We use the case of Digital Equipment Corporation to illustrate our theoretical ideas.
Counterion Effects on Ion Mobility and Mobile Ion Concentration of Doped Polyphosphazene and Polyphosphazene Ionomers

A physical model of electrode polarization is applied to dielectric (impedance) data from two poly(methoxyethoxy−ethoxy phenoxyphosphazene) systems with nearly identical chemical structures, one composed of an ionomer with a single mobile cation and the other composed of a salt-doped polymer with mobile cation and mobile anion. Quantitative comparison of the ion mobility and mobile ion concentration, based on chemical structure, is achieved. Both conductivity and ion mobility are reduced to common curves by normalizing T with Tg, indicating that Tg of the polymer matrix is a major factor controlling ion diffusion. Even with the use of normalized temperature, both the mobility of ions and the mobile ion concentration in the doped polymers are ∼10 times larger than those in the ionomers. These factors arise from faster diffusion of the anion and the local environment surrounding ion pairs. Also, Arrhenius and VFT parameters associated with mobile ion concentration and ion mobility, respectively, reveal diff...
Degradation Headroom: Another Issue for Archival Optical Discs

Degradation headroom is the difference between the as-recorded quality of the written data, and the degree to which the written data can degrade and still be read. This is important for permanent recordable optical discs.
Breaches in the Wall: Imprisonment, Social Support, and Recidivism

Objectives:Drawing on theories that emphasize the salience of social ties, this study examines the different kinds of experiences prisoners have with visitation and the implications of those experiences for behavior after release.Method:This study uses data from a release cohort of prisoners to (1) explore how visitation experiences unfold for different cohorts of individuals serving different amounts of time in prison and to (2) test the effects of longitudinal visitation patterns on recidivism.Results:Findings suggest that individuals who maintain connections with their social networks outside of prison have lower rates of reoffending and that the timing and consistency with which visitation occurs also affect criminal behavior. Specifically, prisoners who are visited early and who experience a sustained pattern of visitation are less likely to recidivate.Conclusion:These findings underscore the importance of social ties for understanding the prisoner experience and its implications for offending. More ...
Simultaneous expression of cocaine-induced behavioral sensitization and conditioned place preference in individual rats

Conditioned place preference and locomotor sensitization are rodent behavioral models commonly used to investigate the actions of drugs of abuse. However, few studies have examined both paradigms in the same group of animals. We were interested in developing a combined protocol which successfully induced both conditioned place preference and sensitization simultaneously in cocaine-treated Sprague-Dawley rats in order to test the hypothesis that the magnitude of these two phenomena would be positively correlated. We used an open-field with a removable place preference insert to assess these measures independently. Cocaine-conditioned animals demonstrated a significant shift in preference for the drug-paired compartment and a sensitized locomotor response which was not observed in saline-conditioned animals challenged with cocaine. There was no significant relationship between locomotor sensitization and conditioned place preference in individual animals. We further examined these results with respect to each rat's initial response to cocaine, response to a novel environment and central zone entries in an open-field. Locomotor sensitization demonstrated an inverse correlation with the initial cocaine response. In contrast, conditioned place preference demonstrated an inverse correlation with the centre response. These results demonstrate that the combination of the acute cocaine response and the centre response in a novel open-field environment can be used to indicate the propensity of a given rat to exhibit either behavioral sensitization or conditioned place preference; however, it seems that sensitization and place preference are not necessarily co-expressed to a similar extent in the same individual animal.
Cloud chemistry measurements and estimates of acidic deposition on an above cloudbase coniferous forest

The wet, dry and cloud water deposition of acidic substances on the forest canopy are considered as major mechanisms for pollutant induced forest decline at high elevations. Direct cloud capture plays a predominant role of intercepting acidic substances in above cloud-base forests. We conducted a field study at Mt. Mitchell, North Carolina (35°44′05″N, 82°17′15″W; 2038 m MSL)—the highest peak in the eastern U.S.—during May–September 1986 and 1987 in order to analyze the chemistry of clouds in which the red spruce and Fraser fir stands stay immersed. It was found that Mt. Mitchell was exposed to cloud episodes 71% of summer days, the cloud immersion time being 28% for 1986 (a record drought summer in southeastern U.S.) and 41% for 1987. Sulfate, NO3−, NH4+ and H+ ions were found to be the major constituents of the cloud water, which was collected atop a 16.5 m tall meteorological tower situated among 6–7 m tall Fraser fir trees. The initiation of precipitation in clouds invariably diluted the cloud water acidity. The cloud water pH during short episodes (8 h duration or less), which resulted from the orographic lifting mechanisms, was substantially lower than that during long episodes, which were associated with meso-scale and synoptic-scale disturbances. Sulfate accounted for 65% acidity in cloud water, on the average, and contributed 2–3 times more than the NO3−. Inferential micrometeorological models were used to determine deposition of SO42− and NO3− on the forest canopy and the hydrological input due to direct cloud capture mechanism. The cloud water deposition ranged between 32 and 55 cm a−1 in contrast to the bulk precipitation which was about 130 cm a−1 as measured by an on-site NADP (National Atmospheric Deposition Program) collector. For S compounds, wet, dry and cloud water deposition accounted for 19%, 11% and 70%, respectively for 1986, and 16%, 8% and 76%, respectively for 1987. For N compounds, dry deposition contributed 35% and 23% for 1986 and 1987, respectively, whereas, cloud water deposition contributed 50% and 65% for 1986 and 1987, respectively. Our estimates are compared with the reported literature values for the other sites.
‘Stuart Hall’ (Wahneema Lubiano Comments, Stuart Hall Event, 17 March 2014)

My first response to the news of Stuart's death was written on the heels of an email from Larry that I read first thing that Monday morning when a friend, Mark Anthony Neal, asked me to say somethi...