cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Fempreneurs or organic tea farmers? Entrepreneurialism, resilience and alternative agriculture in Darjeeling, India

Abstract In this article I underscore how women organic tea farmers build economic resilience through dual enactments as "organic farmers" and as "entrepreneurs." In substantiating both, women question the limited optics through which Fair Trade type sustainability ventures measure their work for a tea cooperative, as well poorly recognizing their entrepreneurial work in their households and community. Women are deeply aware of the politics of Fair Trade where their productive and reproductive labor is appropriated through the labor of organics, where women not only produce the organic green leaf tea but also produce narratives of Fair Trade's success in its certification and gender audits. Thus, to understand what sustains the new wave of "sustainable agriculture" in the global South, we must explore the intersections of organic farming practices with emerging discourses and practices of gendered entrepreneurialism in organic farming communities. In Darjeeling, India, women provide the labor necessary to sustain organics that should ideally come from the Indian state or international trading partners. They fill the gap through their labor, time, creativity and risk-taking. I contend that the success of organic farming depends on critical maneuvers that entail economic and cultural entrepreneurialism, and demonstrate forms of resilience expressed through which women farmers identify and navigate the inadequacies of alternative agriculture and related Fair Trade practices. Keywords: Women organic tea farmers, women entrepreneurs, Fair Trade, rural Darjeeling, risk-taking, resilience
Characterization of Central Venous Catheter-associated Venous Thromboembolism

Background: Venous thromboembolism (VTE) is becoming an increasingly recognized complication in hospitalized pediatric patients. The Children’s Hospitals' Solutions for Patient Safety (SPS) has identified VTE as a focus for prevention of harm. Most VTE events in children are associated with a central venous catheter (CVC). The increasing incidence of pediatric VTE may therefore be a reflection of the rising number of patients with critical or chronic medical conditions which require central venous access. Despite …
Ultrasonography and transillumination for uveal melanoma localisation in proton beam treatment planning.

The success of proton beam treatment (PBT) in uveal melanoma depends in part on the accuracy of tumour localisation. This study determined if using ultrasonography (US) to measure the distance between tumour margin and tantalum ring (DTR) in PBT planning improves local treatment success when compared with using intraoperative transillumination (TI) alone. Retrospective analysis of patients with uveal melanoma treated at one centre between January 2006 and June 2017 with ≥12-month follow-up (or until treatment failure). Local tumour control was compared among study groups based on methods for measuring DTR: Group 1 (TI alone), Group 2A (postoperative US alone) and Group 2B (combination). Fifty-four eyes (54 patients) with uveal melanomas were included: Group 1 (22 eyes, 41%), Group 2A (11 eyes, 20%) and Group 2B (21 eyes, 39%). Mean age at diagnosis was 64 years [median 66 years, range 23–86 years]. Fifty tumours (93%) involved the choroid, while four involved the ciliary body (7%). In Group 2B, PBT treatment was based on the DTR obtained using US; DTR differed between TI and US by ≥1 mm for 25 rings in 16 eyes and ≥2 mm for 12 rings in 7 eyes. Five-year Kaplan–Meier estimate revealed a difference in local treatment success between Groups 1 and 2, (0.82 vs. 1.0, p = 0.02) with no difference in overall survival estimate, (0.85 vs. 0.83, p = 0.8). US can be used to measure DTR in PBT planning for uveal melanoma. This may improve accuracy of tumour localisation and improve local treatment success.
Courtroom Ethnography: Researching the Intersection of Law, Space, and Everyday Practices

This article argues for a more sustained use of courtroom ethnography by geographers as a means to research legal phenomena, especially in matters of court trials. To do this, I begin by referencin...
Endovascular Management of Neurofibromatosis Type I-Associated Vasculopathy: A Case Series and Brief Review of the Literature.

Purpose:Neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) is an autosomal-dominant disorder found in approximately 1 of every 3000 individuals. Neurofibromatosis type 1 can have vascular manifestations including aneu...
Over-detection of colonic abnormalities on CTAP and a decrease with experience: A simulation of machine learning.

68Background: Artificial intelligence (AI) can potentially improve patient care by assisting physicians as demonstrated with the recent approvals for technologies that detect intracranial hemorrhag...
Effect of Composition on the Spin Relaxation of Lead Halide Perovskites

Lead halide perovskites have been promising candidates in spintronics applications; however, the mechanism of spin relaxation is still unclear. Here, we compare the temperature-dependent spin dynam...
Efficient Convex Optimization with Oracles

Minimizing a convex function over a convex set is a basic algorithmic problem. We give a simple algorithm for the general setting in which the function is given by an evaluation oracle and the set by a membership oracle. The algorithm takes \(\widetilde{O}(n^{2})\) oracle calls and \(\widetilde{O}(n^{3})\) additional arithmetic operations. This results in more efficient reductions among the five basic oracles for convex sets and functions defined by Grotschel, Lovasz and Schrijver (Algorithms Comb 2, (1988), [5]).
The King James Bible as nationalist school curriculum amid immigration to the American West

During the era of westward expansion, Americanism became tied to visions of conquering the West with American customs and values. Public schools especially served the interests of promoting nationa...
Racial and ethnic differences in the associations between social integration, C-reactive protein and depressive symptoms.

Abstract This study evaluates whether the associations between social integration, inflammation, and depressive symptoms vary by race/ethnicity in the United States. Our study includes 5,634 respondents age 40 and older from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey for 2005-2008. We fit multivariate logistic regression models with interactions between C-reactive protein (CRP) and race/ethnicity as well as social integration and race/ethnicity to test our hypotheses. We find that social integration and CRP operate independently in their associations with depressive symptoms by race/ethnicity. Higher levels of social integration are associated with lower predicted probability of depressive symptoms for White and Black populations. This association is not statistically significant for the Hispanic population. CRP is associated with depressive symptoms for the White population, but not the Black or Hispanic populations. Our results suggest that studying depressive symptoms, and other mental health outcomes, among the US population without considering variation by race/ethnicity may restrict scholarly understanding of health disparities. Population-based assessments of associations between physiological processes or social integration should consider whether these variables operate differently by race/ethnicity and work to explain why differences may emerge. Furthermore, interventions aimed at social integration may improve mental health among older adults in the United States; especially for the least socially integrated.
Securing eliteness: class strategies of an elite school in Chile

The ways in which elite schools in Chile reproduce power and privilege within the nation’s highly inequitable schooling system are largely ignored by researchers and the general public. In this art...
Abstract B26: Combinational effect of sulforaphane (SFN) and epigenetic demethylation agent 5-aza-2’-deoxycytidine (DAC) on metastatic melanoma

UV exposure-induced oxidative stress is implicated as the driving mechanism of melanoma development. Increased oxidative stress results in imbalanced reactive oxygen species (ROS) that damage DNA and dysregulated epigenetic modifications and leads to melanoma progression. Sulforaphane (SFN) is the natural bioactivated product of the cruciferous vegetable family (e.g., broccoli and Brussels sprouts) and is known to play a dual role in cytoprotection and to induce apoptosis in the tumor via antioxidant regulation and histone modification of epigenetic enzymes. We investigated the combinational effect of 5-aza-2’-deoxycytidine (DAC), an FDA-approved DNA-modification epigenetic drug and SFN in melanoma cells. We found further cell growth inhibition and an increased number of altered gene expression profiles, increased survival-related cytokine expression, as well as unique histones post-translational modifications (PTMs) upon combinational treatments compared to single treatment in vitro. These results set the stage for animal studies. The long-term goal of the current study is to find an optimal dietary dose of antioxidants from SFN to reduce the burden of oxidative stress, which may contribute to melanoma recurrence, a constant problem with current treatments. In addition to recurrence, a reduced dose of epigenetic drugs applied may minimize the side effects of single-high-dose treatment. Citation Format: Tung-chin Chiang, L. Joseph Su, Brian S. Koss, Charity Washam, Stephanie Byrum, Aaron Storey, Alan J. Koss. Combinational effect of sulforaphane (SFN) and epigenetic demethylation agent 5-aza-2’-deoxycytidine (DAC) on metastatic melanoma [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Special Conference on Melanoma: From Biology to Target; 2019 Jan 15-18; Houston, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2020;80(19 Suppl):Abstract nr B26.
Short Term High-Repetition Back Squat Protocol Does Not Improve 5-km Run Performance

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the hypothesis that a novel high-repetition, low-resistance back squat training protocol, designed to stimulate high-intensity interval training, improves 5-km run performance. Fifteen runners [4 male, 11 female; 150 + minutes of endurance exercise/week; age = 22.7 ± 2.0 y; 21.5 ± 2.2 kg/m2 BMI] in this single-group test-retest design completed two weeks of back squats consisting of three sets of 15-24 repetitions at 60% of estimated one-repetition max (1RM), three times per week (1-2 days of rest between sessions). Outcome tests included a 5-km outdoor timed run, laboratory indirect calorimetry to quantify substrate oxidation rates during steady-state submaximal exercise (60% and 70% heart rate max (HRmax)), and estimated 1RM for back squats. Back squat estimated 1RM increased by 20% (58.3 ± 18.5 to 70.2 ± 16.7 kg, P < 0.001). However, 5-km run times due to the back squat protocol did not significantly change (Pre-Squats: 23.9 ± 5.0 vs. Post-Squats: 23.7 ± 4.3 minutes, P = 0.71). Likewise, the squat training program did not significantly alter carbohydrate or lipid oxidation rates during steady-state submaximal exercise at 60% or 70% of HRmax (P values ranged from 0.36 - 0.99). Short term high-repetition back squat training does not appear to impact 5-km run performance or substrate utilization during submaximal exercise.
The Mechanobiology of Vascular Remodeling in the Aging Lung.

Aging is accompanied by declining lung function and increasing susceptibility to lung diseases. The role of endothelial dysfunction and vascular remodeling in these changes is supported by growing ...
PCSK9-targeted therapies: present and future approaches.

Human genetic studies combined with biotechnological advances have guided and accelerated the development of PCSK9-targeting therapies. In this Clinical Outlook, we highlight present and future approaches for PCSK9 inhibition to reduce LDL-cholesterol levels and the risk of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease.
More Than an ERAS Pathway is Needed to Meet Target Length of Stay After Pancreaticoduodenectomy

Abstract Background Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) protocols have been successfully instituted for pancreaticoduodenectomy (PD). This study evaluates reasons patients fail to meet length of stay (LOS) and areas for pathway improvement. Materials and Methods A multidisciplinary team developed and implemented an ERAS protocol for open PD in 2017. The study includes a medical record review of all patients who were perioperatively managed with the ERAS protocol and failed to meet LOS after PD procedures. Target LOS was defined as 7 d. Results From 2017 to 2020, 44% (93 of 213) of patients using ERAS protocol after PD procedures failed to meet target LOS. The most common reason to fail target LOS was ileus or delayed gastric emptying (47 of 93, LOS 11). Additional reasons included work-up of leukocytosis or pancreatic leak (17 of 93, LOS 14), additional “night” of observation (14 of 93, LOS 8), and orthostatic hypotension (3 of 93, LOS 10). Of these additional 46 patients, 19 patients underwent computed tomography (on or after POD 7) and only four patients received additional inpatient intervention. Conclusions The most common reason for PD pathway failure included slow return of gastrointestinal function, a known complication after PD. The remaining patients were often kept for observation without additional intervention. This group represents an actionable cohort to target for improving LOS through surgeon awareness rather than protocol modification.
Chapter 10 High Resolution Autoradiography

Publisher Summary Significant observations concerning cellular activities were made soon after autoradiography was introduced as a cytochemical tool, autoradiography in its infancy did not escape the inherent problems that usually accompany a new technique. In recent years, the field of autoradiography has expanded rapidly because of the availability of tritiated compounds of very high radiochemical purity and the production of fine-grained nuclear emulsions. Investigators now have a more critical means for introducing radioactivity into specific cellular components in view of the many tritiated precursors that can be applied to biological investigations. Autoradiographic patterns are analyzed more accurately, because the short range of tritium radiation permits a resolution of 1μ with conventional methods at the light microscope level. The novice in electron microscope autoradiography will be informed about the important contributions that light microscope observations can make to high-resolution autoradiography, the incorporation of several steps in electron microscope autoradiographic experiments that will make operations more easily and quickly performed, and the use of a simplified method for obtaining suitable electron microscope autoradiographs that will provide adequate resolution for critical evaluation.
Distance sensitive snapshots in wireless sensor networks

Global state snapshots are a fundamental primitive for wireless networks that sense and control real environments. Consistent and timely snapshots are potentially costly. Cost reduction is often realized by gathering only a "delta" from previous snapshots. In this paper, we explore an alternative form of efficiency by generalizing the notion of a snapshot to satisfy distance sensitivity properties, wherein the state of nearby nodes is available with greater resolution, speed, and frequency than that of farther away nodes. Our algorithms are memory efficient and do not require global time synchronization or localization. For pedagogical reasons, we describe our solutions for the case of perfect 2-d grid topologies first, and then show how to extend them for higher dimensions, for network with irregular density, arbitrary sized holes, networks and non unit disk radios. We also discuss how different control applications can exploit these generalized snapshots.
Preparing for your career: lessons from my own professional journey (233.1)

Interested in leadership, education, and teaching? There are ways to move into such roles without pursuing the traditional tenure track. Now Assistant Dean of Career & Professional Development at UMass Medical School, Dr. Fuhrmann will describe her journey from PhD in Biochemistry to educator and administrator in the Graduate Dean's office. Her career experiences have included development of grant-funded educational programs, teaching, and peer-reviewed educational research. She has been active at the national level, as co-author of the AAAS/ScienceCareers website "myIDP" and a frequent presenter at conferences and universities. In the last part of her talk, Dr. Fuhrmann will share tips for how to prepare for a variety of scientific careers--whether a path in academic research, academic administration, or research/non-research careers beyond academe.
Introducing domestic violence assessment in a postpartum clinical setting.

Objectives: Attempts to introduce assessment for exposure to domestic violence in health care settings have met with limited success, in spite of widespread knowledge of the prevalence of spousal abuse and its implications for women's health. We assessed the utility of Rogers' model of institutional change for the implementation of a universal screening program for domestic violence in postpartum clinical settings. Methods: We adapted Rogers' innovation–diffusion model to develop and implement a protocol for domestic violence assessment among 300 nurses working in two hospitals that together provide obstetrical care to the City of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Our education sessions introduced new knowledge and addressed attitudes and beliefs. They were followed by “hands-on” demonstration and supervision of assessments. Our “Let's Talk” visual aids program added visibility to our initiative and provided cues as to how to undertake screening and response. Screening rates were monitored along with a process evaluation based on anecdotal reporting by nursing staff. Results: Following the initiation of educational sessions and supervision of assessment, the screening rate was 42%. Within 6 months, the screening rate had climbed to 60% and was sustained at that level. Major barriers to screening include difficulty in finding the opportunity to screen in privacy and overcoming language barriers. Conclusions: Application of Rogers' principles of diffusion of innovation in the implementation of a universal program for a domestic violence in two obstetrical care settings resulted in a screening rate of 60% which has been sustained for the first 18 months of the program.
The Stability of Acyl Carrier Protein in Escherichia coli

Abstract Two techniques have been employed to examine the turnover of the protein portion of acyl carrier protein, the conjugated protein which is the acyl carrier for fatty acid biosynthesis in Escherichia coli. The protein was shown to be metabolically stable, in contrast to its covalently bound 4'-phosphopantetheine prosthetic group which was previously found to undergo turnover at the rate of 4% per min (Powell, G. L., Elovson, J., and Vagelos, P. R. (1969) J. Biol. Chem. 244, 5616–5624).
Relationship of biochemical drug effects to their antitumor activity—II: Diacridines and membrane-related reactions

A method is presented that determines the degree of attachment of cancer cells to normal cells. This method may be useful in determining the extent to which treatment of normal cells (or of a tumor-bearing host) with a particular chemotherapeutic agent may affect the degree of attachment of cancer cells to the normal cells. The effects of several diacridines upon this process are described. In addition, we have determined the ability of individual diacridines to alter the permeability of P-388 cells; this effect has been related to their antitumor properties. In general, the most effective antitumor diacridines are those that cause minimal disruption of cell permeability. Conversely, diacridines that disrupt cell permeability tend to have poor antitumor properties. It is considered that the toxicity of these compounds may be a necessary consequence of the assays used for testing anticancer agents, and may not necessarily be related to their antitumor activity.
The Gulf Stream and its frontal structure: a quantitative representation

Abstract The structure of the Gulf Stream Current is associated with the quasi-permanent density front in the western North Atlantic. The lighter mass of warmer but saltier water of the Sargasso Sea is separated from the slope water by inclined isopycnals that form the front. Recent satellite altimeter measurements have also revealed a well-defined sea-surface height change across the front. In this paper, a model of the Gulf Stream cross-sectional density and current structure is presented, using the complete dynamical and mass-conservation equations. The model postulates a forcing, at the interior ocean boundary, by a cross-stream ageostrophic circulation with inflow of light water in the upper ocean and a return flow at greater depths. The model Gulf Stream is found to develop after initial geostrophic adjustment of several inertial periods. In the quasi-steady state, the normalized structural results constitute a single representation of the structure of all Gulf Stream sections; i.e., all sections ar...
Gender, Sex-Steroid, and Secretagogue-Selective Recovery from Growth Hormone-Induced Feedback in Older Women and Men

Context: GH negatively regulates its own secretion. How gender, sex steroids, and secretagogues modulate GH autofeedback is not known. Hypothesis/Objective: Supplementation with sex steroids and/or a peptidyl secretagogue will enhance the escape of GH from autoinhibition, thus framing a mechanism for amplifying pulsatile GH secretion. Subjects and Setting: Ten healthy postmenopausal women and 10 comparably aged men participated at the Clinical-Translational Science Unit. Design/Interventions: Randomly ordered, double-blind, prospective crossover treatment with placebo vs. testosterone (men) or placebo vs. estradiol (women). Autofeedback was imposed by an iv pulse of GH. Recovery of feedback inhibition was quantified during constant infusion of saline, GHRH, or GH-releasing peptide-2 (three peptide categories). Outcomes/Results: During negative feedback, total (integrated) GH recovery depended upon gender (P = 0.017), sex hormone (P < 0.001), and peptide category (P < 0.001). Mechanistic analysis revealed ...
HOW THE LICENSURE PROCESS WILL EVOLVE

ABSTRACT Background and Overview All aspects of dental licensure are continuing to evolve. This article describes the changes that are occurring in the licensure process and projects the direction and magnitude of future changes. Conclusions The author predicts that national board examinations will continue to move away from recall of facts and toward assessment of basic science and clinical principles as they apply to clinical decision making and delivery of care. Clinical examinations will continue their evolution to become even more reliable and valid. Licensure by credentials will be adopted by more states, thus addressing concerns about mobility that are expressed by many practitioners. Practice Implications Despite all of this projected progress, the dental profession should expect elevated public pressure for greater accountability unless it takes a proactive position to ensure the continued competency of all practitioners.
The coagulogen of Limulus polyphemus hemocytes. A comparison of the clotted and non-clotted forms of the molecule

Abstract The coagulogen (clottable protein) found in lysates of Limulus polyphemus hemocytes has been studied. Purified coagulogen is clotted by endotoxin in the presence of a high molecular weight fraction of the lysate. Trypsin clots the purified coagulogen with no additional factors required. Approximately 30% of the total lysate protein is precipitated by an acidification procedure which is described. The coagulogen is not precipitated. The effect of endotoxin on the lysate is almost abolished by this procedure but can be restored on addition of a fraction from an untreated lysate. Trypsin clots acid-treated lysate as effectively as untreated lysate. The acidification procedure permits the purification of coagulogen by Sephadex G-75 gel filtration at neutral pH without spontaneous clotting. Clotted coagulogen is depolymerized in 0.87 M acetic acid. It is dissolved in 0.6% sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) at pH 7.0 but not depolymerized unless it is reduced. The clotted and non-clotted forms of the coagulogen were purified by Sephadex G-75 gel filtration in 1.7 M acetic acid and compared after reduction, using polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis in the presence of SDS. This gave molecular weights of 23100 ±900 and 16900 ±1000 for the non-clotted and the clotted coagulogen, respectively. Reduction of the non-clotted coagulogen markedly decreased its mobility in the SDS polyacrylamide electrophoresis system.
Long-term consequences of adolescent gang membership for adult functioning

Objectives. We examined the possible public health consequences of adolescent gang membership for adult functioning.Methods. Data were drawn from the Seattle Social Development Project, a longitudinal study focusing on the development of positive and problem outcomes. Using propensity score matching and logistic regression analyses, we assessed the effects of adolescent gang membership on illegal behavior, educational and occupational attainment, and physical and mental health at the ages of 27, 30, and 33 years.Results. In comparison with their nongang peers, who had been matched on 23 confounding risk variables known to be related to selection into gang membership, those who had joined a gang in adolescence had poorer outcomes in multiple areas of adult functioning, including higher rates of self-reported crime, receipt of illegal income, incarceration, drug abuse or dependence, poor general health, and welfare receipt and lower rates of high school graduation.Conclusions. The finding that adolescent ga...
TH-F-211-01: A Finite Element Method-Based Multisource Model for Near-Infrared Laser-Mediated Plasmonic Heating with Optically-Tunable Gold Nanoparticles

Purpose: To develop a computational model based on the finite element method (FEM) that can be used to predict spatiotemporal heat distributions for near-infrared (NIR) laser-based thermal imaging and therapy applications involving highly heterogeneous gold nanoparticle (GNP) distributions in tissue. Methods: The absorption of external light in tissue can be greatly enhanced with the use of GNPs tuned to strongly absorb in the NIR region. Previously, a multisource heat model was developed to compute temperature elevation due to plasmonic heat generation from individual GNPs, treating each GNP as an independent heat source. However, it was implemented by a ‘multi-step approach’, computing the temperature increase due to each individual GNP by Green's function method and that due to laser light by FEM via optical diffusion approximation, separately. In the current investigation, a ‘one-step’ approach was developed to compute the full spatiotemporal temperature distribution due to multiple heat sources all together by solving the weak-form of the heat equation using FEM. This approach was applied to predict temperature increase inside a GNP-filled cavity mimicking a small breast tumor within a breast gel phantom. For the purpose of comparison, calculations were also performed using a ‘multi-step approach’. Results: The results from the one-step approach matched those from the multi-step approach to within 1.2% along the central axis of the laser. Conclusions: A multisource heat model was successfully solved by FEM-based one-step approach. Computational results from the one-step approach were found identical to those from the multi-step approach. Both models showed great flexibility in handling any heterogeneous distribution of GNPs without requiring prior knowledge of the optical properties a GNP-filled medium. The proposed one-step approach will facilitate the prediction of temperature change within GNP-filled tissue during NIR laser-based clinical applications. This work was supported by DOD/BCRP, W81XWH-08-1-0686. DOD/BCRP, W81XWH-08-1-0686.
Tetracycline-mediated regulation of gene expression within the human cytomegalovirus genome.

Abstract To evaluate the utility of tetracycline gene regulation in the study of human cytomegalovirus gene functions, expression of luciferase under the control of tetracycline-regulatable promoters was studied following transient plasmid transfections and from within recombinant human cytomegalovirus genomes. The tetracycline-regulatable promoter PhCMV*-1 contains sequences from the human cytomegalovirus ie1/ie2 promoter and seven upstream tet operator sites which bind the activator protein tTA only in the absence of tetracycline (Gossen and Bujard (1992). Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 89, 5547–5551). Two modifications of PhCMV*-1 were also studied: P1129, in which the tet operator sites were reduced from seven to one; and P1125, in which human cytomegalovirus sequences were replaced by adenovirus major late promoter and terminal deoxynucleotidyltransferase initiator sequences. In transient assays, PhCMV*-1 and P1125 exhibited modest differential regulation but were strongly activated by viral infection. P1129 exhibited less viral activation and narrower regulation. In the viral genome, PhCMV*-1 exhibited regulation up to 7-fold during late times of infection, whereas P1125 displayed nearly 100-fold regulation. Regulation of P1125 was fully reversed within 12 to 24 h of adding or removing tetracycline. These results suggest that P1125 may provide sufficient conditional expression to effectively regulate human cytomegalovirus late genes.
Comparison of Phonological Training Procedures in Kindergarten Classrooms

Abstract The authors compared the effect of 2 phonological training procedures—segmenting and blending, or first sound identification and rhyming—on the acquisition of reading and spelling skills among kindergarten children. Sixty-one low-skilled kindergartners were assigned randomly to 1 of 2 strategy groups. Children received 20–30 min of instruction in small groups that met twice a week for 10 weeks. Both groups improved significantly in the target skills and in reading and spelling. No significant differences were found between groups on skill acquisition, transfer to untaught skills, or generalization to reading and spelling. Children demonstrated weaker evidence for transfer and generalization than that reported earlier. The results are discussed in terms of treatment differences and support for stimulating generalization.
Microstructural banding and failure of a stainless steel

The presence of microstructural bands in AL-6XN stainless steel plate has been examined. The bands, which consist of a high density of second-phase particles, are located near the midthickness of the plate, range in thickness up to 300 µm, and are continuous over lengths up to 50 mm. Chemical analyses of the microstructural bands indicate elevated levels of chromium and molybdenum, while orientation imaging microscopy identified primarily sigma-phase particles within the bands; a small volume fraction of chi phase was also found. Tensile specimens oriented in the short transverse direction of the plate show low ductility and exhibit a large variation in failure strains, depending on the continuity of the bands as well as the presence of large precipitate particles within the bands. When oriented in either the longitudinal or the long transverse direction of the plate, circumferentially notched tensile specimens exhibit comparatively high ductility, although at high stress triaxialities, the material was susceptible to specimen splitting parallel to the tensile axis due to cracking along microstructural bands.
Fishing for allosteric sites on GABAA receptors

Abstract GABAA receptors have structural and functional homology with a super-family of cys-loop ligand-gated ion channel receptors including the nicotinic acetylcholine receptors. Amino acid residues involved in ligand-binding pockets are homologous among super-family members, leading to the multiple-loop model of binding sites situated at subunit interfaces, validated by structural studies on the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor and water-soluble snail acetylcholine binding protein. This article will briefly review the literature on the agonist binding sites on the receptor super-family, and then describe the current situation for attempts to identify sites for allosteric modulators on the GABAA receptors. A combination of mutagenesis and photoaffinity labeling with anesthetic ligands has given some leads in this endeavor. Current work by others and ourselves focuses on three putative sites for modulators: (1) within the ion channel domain TM2, near the extracellular end; (2) the agonist binding sites and homologous pockets at other subunit interfaces of the pentameric receptor; and (3) on the linker region stretching from the agonist site loop C to the top of the TM1 region. It is likely that concrete structural information will be forthcoming soon.
Allelopathic potential of wild oat ( Avena fatua ) on spring wheat ( Triticum aestivum ) growth

Wild oat plants may produce toxic substances that suppress the growth and development of desirable species, thus accounting for severe yield loss in infested fields. The purpose of this study was to determine the allelopathic potential of wild oat (Avena fatua) on the growth of spring wheat (Triticum aestivum var. Fieldwin) in the absence of plant competition. Wild oat and spring wheat plants were grown separately in 250-ml beakers in a sand medium. Root exudates were extracted from wild oat medium at the 1-, 2-, 3-, and 4-leaf stages of wild oat development and added to beakers containing spring wheat in temporally corresponding stages of development. Spring wheat root and leaf dry weights were measured to determine if one or more allelochemical agents were released from wild oat roots. Spring wheat leaf and root dry weights were significantly reduced by exudates from wild oat plants at the 2- and 4-leaf stages of development, respectively. Allelochemicals were isolated from wild oat root exudates at various stages of plant development. Paper chromatography analysis indicated that at least two unknown compounds were present.R f values in benzene-acetic acid-water of the two unknown compounds (0.825 and 0.930) were similar to scopoletin (7-hydroxy-6-methoxycoumarin) and vanillic acid (4-hydroxy-3-methoxybenzoic acid), respectively. Additional tests using diazotizedp-nitraniline, ultraviolet absorption spectra, and gas chromatography analysis also indicated that the unknowns were coumarin-related compounds such as scopoletin and vanillic acid.
Impact deformation and damage in austenitic high chromium white cast iron by spherical projectiles at normal incidence

Abstract Surface and subsurface deformation and damage accumulation resulting from rigid spherical particle impact at normal incidence on two austenitic high chromium white cast irons having varying eutectic carbide contents has been examined. Deformation and damage accumulation by 3.175 mm WC projectiles between 20 and 225 m s −1 was not dependent upon the volume fraction of eutectic carbide. Further, impact under these conditions did not result in mass loss; instead the impact energy was dissipated by plastic indentation, lip formation, surface eutectic carbide and radial cracking within the lip region and, at velocities above 175 m s −1 , shear band formation. These observations, coupled with finite element simulations, support the previous suggestion of Wang et al . [A. Wang, U. J. Desouza and H. J. Rack, Wear, 151 (1991) 157–173] that matrix plastic deformation and fracture, rather than eutectic carbide associated cracking or carbide-matrix interface void initiation, control damage accumulation in high chromium white cast irons.
Plankton ecology and the paleoceanographic-climatic record

The paleoceanographic-climatic record represented by deep-sea microfossils reflects conditions for only certain times of the year. Also, the relative abundances of microfossil species in deep-sea sediments do not usually reflect only one paleoceanographic variable, such as temperature. Rather, species distributions represent the integration of many factors that control biological production in the oceans. This influences the information on past climates that can be extracted from fossil material. The seasonal limitation is due to the cyclic nature of biological production in the open ocean. Case studies of the sediment record in the Atlantic for two species of planktonic Foraminifera, left-coiling Neogloboquadrina pachyderma (Ehrenberg) and Globigerinoides ruber (d'Orbigny), illustrate seasonal bias in environmental data reported by the relative abundances of species in deep-sea sediments. In addition, the study of G. ruber illustrates the operation of two oceanographic parameters in controlling a species distribution. These examples demonstrate that the environmental signal in the sediments is the result of the interplay of the ecological tolerance of the plankton species with seasonally variable biological and physical properties of the upper ocean.
‘Psychosurgery’ in Renaissance art

Hieronymus Bosch and other early Renaissance artists depicted ‘stone operations' in which stones were supposedly surgically removed from the head as a treatment for mental illness. These works have usually been interpreted either as portraying a contemporary practice of medical charlatans or as an allegory of human folly, rather than a real event. As trepanation for head injury and mental disease was actually carried out in Europe at this time, another interpretation of these works is that they are derived from a common medical practice of the day.
Improved concepts for predicting the electrical behavior of bipolar structures in silicon

Most bipolar device models, based upon doping profiles and upon numerical solutions to coupled, nonlinear equations for semiconductor devices, contain empirical methods for computing the effective intrinsic carrier concentration n ie mobility, and lifetime. These methods usually are based upon electrical measurements, assume that the majority hole (electron) mobility equals the minority hole (electron) mobility at high doping densities, use Boltzmann statistics, and assume that the carrier lifetime is much greater than the carrier transit time. More physically correct concepts are reported in this paper and are applied to bipolar transistors in silicon. These concepts use the perturbed densities of states and nonparabolic bands which arise from a quantum mechanical description of bandgap narrowing to compute separately n ie and the carrier mobility, use minority carrier lifetimes which agree much better with measured lifetimes in processed silicon, and use Fermi-Dirac statistics. When these concepts are incorporated into a device analysis code such as SEDAN1and then used to compute the dc common-emitter gain of two n-p-n transistors, the predicted gains agree very well with the measured gains. In addition, these concepts offer potential improvements in predicting the temperature dependence of the gain.
Diminished mercury emission from waters with duckweed cover

[1] Duckweeds (Lemnaceae) are a widely distributed type of floating vegetation in freshwater systems. Under suitable conditions, duckweeds form a dense vegetative mat on the water surface, which reduces light penetration into the water column and limits gas exchange at the water-air interface by decreasing the area of open water surface. Experiments were conducted to determine whether duckweed decreases mercury emission by limiting gas diffusion across the water-air interface and attenuating light, or, conversely, enhances emission via transpiration of mercury vapor. Microcosm flux chamber experiments indicate that duckweed decreases mercury emission from the water surface compared to open water controls. Fluxes under duckweed were 17–67% lower than in controls, with lower fluxes occurring at higher percent cover. The decrease in mercury emission suggests that duckweed may limit emission through one of several mechanisms, including limited gas transport across the air-water interface, decreased photoreactions due to light attenuation, and plant-mercury interactions. The results of this experiment were applied to a model lake system to illustrate the magnitude of potential effects on mercury cycling. The mercury retained in the lake as a result of hindered emission may increase bioaccumulation potential in lakes with duckweed cover.
Properties of the E1 giant resonance built on the first excited state of 16O.

Radiative capture of protons leading to the first excited state of $^{16}\mathrm{O}$ (${E}_{x}$=6.05 MeV, ${J}^{\ensuremath{\pi}}$${=0}^{+}$) has been measured in the energy range ${E}_{\mathrm{p}=10\char21{}}$17 MeV in 200 keV steps. A pronounced concentration of dipole strength is observed, which is interpreted as a giant dipole resonance built on the ${0}_{2}^{+}$ state. The observed strength has a \ensuremath{\gamma}-ray energy significantly less than that for the giant dipole resonance built on the ground state. The sign and magnitude of the shift is what would be expected if the giant dipole resonance observed is the lower energy component of a resonance split because of interaction with the quadrupole deformation of the ${0}_{2}^{+}$ state, although this conclusion is model dependent. The strength of the excited state giant dipole resonance is somewhat larger than would be predicted by simple models in which the strength scales with the proton spectroscopic factor of the final state.
Structure and photoelectrochemistry of a virus capsid–TiO2 nanocomposite

The use of protein templates to direct the formation of inorganic nanostructures offers a novel bio-inspired route to nanomaterial synthesis that avoids the use of harsh reaction conditions and offers unique functionalities including biocompatibility and hierarchical assembly. Pair distribution function (PDF) analysis from total X-ray scattering has been used to determine the structure of TiO2 nanoparticles grown within an icosahedral virus capsid. The protein–TiO2 composites are similar to nanocrystalline anatase and show photocatalytic activity. PDF analysis is ideally suited to the study of protein–inorganic nanocomposites, and may be able to provide information about the hard/soft interface.
Augmenting the Technology Acceptance Model with Trust: Commercial Drivers’ Attitudes towards Monitoring and Feedback:

This study evaluates truck drivers' attitudes toward an on-board monitoring system (OBMS), using an extended version of the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) that accounts for drivers' trust in OBMS. Crashes that involve trucks incur a high cost to society and driver-related factors contribute to about one third of all large truck fatal crashes in the US. Therefore, safety initiatives that can increase drivers' awareness of their risky behaviors are highly desirable. In-vehicle feedback systems are designed to serve this purpose; however, their benefits will not be realized unless their information can positively influence safe driving. Acceptance constructs for the proposed model were measured using a survey administered after the monitoring system was introduced to the drivers but before the system was actually installed in their trucks. In line with the TAM, the results demonstrated that perceived usefulness is the most important determinant of intention to use the OBMS. Trust was also a major determinant of intention to use, suggesting that the acceptance model can be usefully augmented by this construct. Language: en
Isolation and characterization of a regulated form of actin depolymerizing factor

Actin depolymerizing factor (ADF) is an 18.5-kD protein with pH-dependent reciprocal F-actin binding and severing/depolymerizing activities. We previously showed developing muscle down-regulates ADF (J. R. Bamburg and D. Bray. 1987. J. Cell Biol. 105: 2817-2825). To further study this process, we examined ADF expression in chick myocytes cultured in vitro. Surprisingly, ADF immunoreactivity increases during the first 7-10 d in culture. This increase is due to the presence of a new ADF species with higher relative molecular weight which reacts identically to brain ADF with antisera raised against either brain ADF or recombinant ADF. We have purified both ADF isoforms from myocytes and have shown by peptide mapping and partial sequence analysis that the new isoform is structurally related to ADF. Immunoprecipitation of both isoforms from extracts of cells prelabeled with [32P]orthophosphate showed that the new isoform is radiolabeled, predominantly on a serine residue, and hence is called pADF. pADF can be converted into a form which comigrates with ADF on 1-D and 2-D gels by treatment with alkaline phosphatase. pADF has been quantified in a number of cells and tissues where it is present from approximately 18% to 150% of the amount of unphosphorylated ADF. pADF, unlike ADF, does not bind to G-actin, or affect the rate or extent of actin assembly. Four ubiquitous protein kinases failed to phosphorylate ADF in vitro suggesting that ADF phosphorylation in vivo is catalyzed by a more specific kinase. We conclude that the ability to regulate ADF activity is important to muscle development since myocytes have both pre- and posttranslational mechanisms for regulating ADF activity. The latter mechanism is apparently a general one for cell regulation of ADF activity.
Con: Calcium Is Not Routinely Indicated During Separation From Cardiopulmonary Bypass

Severe hypocalcemia is uncommon in adult cardiac surgery patients; the nearly ubiquitous mild hypocalcemia does not impair myocardial performance. Clinicians should recognize that in certain circumstances, calcium may interact negatively with catecholamines such as epinephrine or dobutamine. Lastly, evidence suggests that calcium influx during ischemia-reperfusion contributes to myocardial dysfunction after CPB. Therefore, there appears to be no justification for the practice of routinely administering large doses of calcium salts to adult cardiac surgery patients after CPB.
Sequence analysis of end-labeled DNA fragments by solvolysis in hot aqueous piperidine solutions.

Abstract One-lane DNA sequencing by solvolysis in hot aqueous piperidine solutions, originally described for 5′-32P-labeled DNA (B. Ambrose and R. Pless (1985) Biochemistry24, 6194–6200) , is extended to 3′-labeled fragments. A salt-free sample for electrophoresis can be obtained by using 1 m LiCl in the solvolysis mixture and removing this salt from the dried hydrolysate by washing with ethanol. Rate and distribution of DNA cleavage in hot aqueous piperidine, containing 0.3 m NaCl, are studied in dependence of temperature, solvent, amine concentration, and reaction time. An increase in temperature strongly accelerates overall DNA degradation, but leaves the distribution of cleavage essentially unchanged. When 50% aqueous ethanol is substituted for water as the reaction solvent, the overall cleavage is slower, and scission at G-sites is enhanced relative to cleavage at the other bases. A rise in the piperidine concentration strongly accelerates the reaction, except at very high amine concentration. Cleavage at A-, G-, and C-sites increases steadily with reaction time, while the T-cleavage observed takes place primarily at the very beginning of the solvolysis.