cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
MO-F-CAMPUS-I-03: Tissue Equivalent Material Phantom to Test and Optimize Coherent Scatter Imaging for Tumor Classification

Purpose: To accurately model different breast geometries using a tissue equivalent phantom, and to classify these tissues in a coherent x-ray scatter imaging system. Methods: A breast phantom has been designed to assess the capability of coded aperture coherent x-ray scatter imaging system to classify different types of breast tissue (adipose, fibroglandular, tumor). The tissue-equivalent phantom was modeled as a hollow plastic cylinder containing multiple cylindrical and spherical inserts that can be positioned, rearranged, or removed to model different breast geometries. Each enclosure can be filled with a tissue-equivalent material and excised human tumors. In this study, beef and lard, placed inside 2-mm diameter plastic Nalgene containers, were used as surrogates for fibroglandular and adipose tissue, respectively. The phantom was imaged at 125 kVp, 40 mA for 10 seconds each with a 1-mm pencil beam. The raw data were reconstructed using a model-based reconstruction algorithm and yielded the location and form factor, or momentum transfer (q) spectrum of the materials that were imaged. The measured material form factors were then compared to the ground truth measurements acquired by x-ray diffraction (XRD) imaging. Results: The tissue equivalent phantom was found to accurately model different types of breast tissue by qualitatively comparing our measured form factors to those of adipose and fibroglandular tissue from literature. Our imaging system has been able to define the location and composition of the various materials in the phantom. Conclusion: This work introduces a new tissue equivalent phantom for testing and optimization of our coherent scatter imaging system for material classification. In future studies, the phantom will enable the use of a variety of materials including excised human tissue specimens in evaluating and optimizing our imaging system using pencil- and fan-beam geometries. United States Department of Homeland Security Duke University Medical Center - Department of Radiology Carl E Ravin Advanced Imaging Laboratories Duke University Medical Physics Graduate Program
Labor Rights and Multinational Production: Labor Rights, Economic Development, and Domestic Politics

The systematic, cross-national assessment of collective labor rights outcomes, and their causal determinants, is the central aim of this book. As such, much of the evidence presented is quantitative in nature, and it is cast at the country level of analysis. Whereas I discuss the importance of domestic economic and political variables as independent and intervening variables in Chapters 3 and 5, the explanations advanced focus on the impact (or lack thereof) of the global economy on national-level labor rights outcomes. Yet, despite the need (both from the point of view of international political economy and that of economic policymakers) for systematic, large-N treatments of the linkages between global production and labor rights, such an analytical approach also has limitations. Some of these are identified in the preceding chapter, which highlights problems of data availability among low- and middle-income nations. Another drawback relates to the difficulty of gaining a sense of the longer-term (and often domestically driven) processes linking the global economy, domestic politics and institutions, and the rights of workers. Such causal processes often unfold over many years, and they may unfold in a path-dependent fashion. This longer-term dynamic process may relate to the hypotheses introduced in Chapter 3 as well as to the sector and source arguments discussed in the previous chapter. As the nature of a country’s engagement in global production networks changes (in terms of the extent of its involvement, the sectors in which it is involved, or the developed nations from which investment and subcontracting come), labor rights outcomes also should change. Such changes, though, may happen over several years or even decades, making their impact easier to trace in qualitative analyses. Qualitative analyses not only facilitate the consideration of longer-term processes; they also allow for the possibility of unit heterogeneity (Sambanis 2004). That is, the medium- and longer-term processes linking labor rights, domestic politics, and the global economy may vary across units. Given these considerations, it is useful to complement quantitatively based approaches to understanding collective labor rights with qualitative analyses, either by industry (i.e., Silver 2003) or by country and region (i.e., Murillo 2001). By investigating a single case or set of cases over a longer period of time, we can assess the ways in which external variables (here, multinational production) are linked with outcome variables (labor rights) via various domestic political and economic institutions.
Coordination in distributed decision making

One of the key issues in designing a variable structure organization is to find the constraints on folding the appropriate fixed structures for different situations into one variable structure. The coordination constraint is discussed that must be satisfied to ensure that the folding is valid so that the variable structure organization is a feasible one. A mathematical framework, based on colored Petri nets, is developed for representing variable structure organizations. A simple example is employed to illustrate the procedure. >
Western popular culture and Soviet youth: A case study of the “Muslim” regions

(1988). Western popular culture and Soviet youth: A case study of the “Muslim” regions. Central Asian Survey: Vol. 7, No. 1, pp. 7-36.
An empirical test of three alternative explanations for covert reinforcement effects.

The empirical validity of the explanations, instrumental-conditioning, counterconditioning, and exposure for covert reinforcement were tested. 45 female students, aged 19 to 35 yr., were subjects. Each was screened for level of fear toward snakes and ability to form clear images. They were randomly assigned to one of five treatment conditions and one of three categories of expectancy. Conditions were covert positive reinforcement, reversed covert positive reinforcement, neutral consequence, reversed covert positive reinforcement to nonsnake stimuli, and nondirective contact. Assessment of expectancy occurred pretreatment and posttreatment, posttreatment only, and no assessment. Results showed that assessment of expectancy did not affect performance on subjective or behavioral measures of fear. All treatment conditions except contact produced significant reductions in fear and increased expectations about ability to approach a live snake. Findings did not support the explanations of instrumental-conditioni...
The impact of plant secondary compounds on primate feeding behavior

Primates, Secondary compounds, Feeding behavior, Nutrients, ABSTRACT The recent literature on plant secondary compounds and their influence on primate feeding behavior is reviewed. Many studies of nonhuman primates document the extreme selectivity that primates, particularly herbivo- rous species, demonstrate in their food choice. Until quite recently investigators interpreted this to mean that herbivorous primates were not food limited. This view has been challenged in the past 10 years by researchers concentrating on the primate-plant interaction. Chemical analyses have demonstrated that plant parts are of varying quality due to differences in nutrient and secondary compound content. The assumption that all leaves (or fruits, flowers, and insects) are po- tential foods of equal value to the primates eating them is refuted. The observed selectivity and preferences of primates for specific plant or insect species and parts are now viewed as strategies for dealing with the nutrient and secondary compound content variation in these foods. The field of plant-herbivore interaction is a rapidly expanding one that includes the phytochemical relationship between plants and herbivores. It has long been acknowl- edged that plants and insects profoundly influenced each others' evolutionary courses, but only recently have the biological and ecological roles of plant-produced secondary compounds been recognized. Stahl (1888) was the first to suggest that plants use chemical defenses in addition to the more familiar morphological and mechanical means of protecting themselves. Despite this early observation, plant produced chemicals were considered nothing more than waste products of plant metabolism until Fraenkel (1959) again suggested a defensive function for these compounds. Since then impressive evidence, which dem- onstrates that plants do use secondary compounds for defensive purposes, has accu- mulated (Ehrlich and Raven, 1965; Feeny, 1968; Janzen, 1969; Fthoades and Cates, 1976; Rosenthal and Janzen, 1979; and included references). Mothes (1976) went so far to suggest that secondary substances may be primarily defensive in nature and are neither essential nor of any physiological importance to the plants that produce them. He stated that the loss of these chemicals does not reduce the plant's viability.
Nonlinear dynamics in driven, damped sine-Gordon systems

Abstract Many quasi-one and two-dimensional systems can be modeled by sine-Gordon equations. Illustrations are given for driven and damped sine-Gordon equations of behaviors that are typical of ways that complexity in time and space can be manifested. Examples include: an ac response to a dc-driver; and spontaneous pattern formation and low-dimensional chaos under the influence of ac- or ac + dc drivers. The importance of the coexistence of coherence and chaos for transport phenomena is emphasized.
The Poetics of Therapeutic Practice: Motivational Interviewing and the Powers of Pause

Motivational interviewing (MI) is an increasingly prominent behavioral therapy that draws from and claims to synthesize two American therapeutic traditions long thought to be antithetical—“client-centered” and “directive” approaches. This paper proposes that MI achieves its hallmark “client-centered directiveness” through the aesthetic management of the therapeutic encounter, and more particularly, through MI practitioners’ marked use of silence. Drawing on data collected during the ethnographic study of MI trainings and the formal analysis of video-recorded MI sessions that are commonly used as models in such trainings, we identify three patterns of pause that regularly fall at specific grammatical junctures within seasoned MI practitioners’ turns-at-talk. We demonstrate how these pauses allow MI practitioners to subtly direct the conversation while simultaneously displaying unequivocal signs of client-centeredness. In other words, we show how and explain why the poetics of pause matter to MI. In presenting this case, we more generally highlight practice poetics—that is, the aesthetic management of the style and delivery of a professional message with a particular practical aim in mind—suggesting that this is a central if under-appreciated aspect of therapeutic practices.
Signal-processing characteristics of differential-interference-contrast microscopy

A mathematical model based on the methods of Fourier optics is presented as a description of the signal-processing characteristics of differential-interference-contrast microscopy. A computerized simulation of this signal processing is described, and some images of abstract objects generated by this simulation are presented. This model and its simulation have implications on the feasibility of image restoration with superresolution by way of differential-interference-contrast microscopy under the classical constraints of finite object size and non-negativity. Such implications are discussed, and the encouraging results of a study into such feasibility are shown.
Modulation of microRNA processing by mismatch repair protein MutLα

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are critical post-transcriptional regulators and are derived from hairpin-shaped primary transcripts via a series of processing steps. However, how the production of individual miRNAs is regulated remains largely unknown. Similarly, loss or overexpression of the key mismatch repair protein MutLα (MLH1-PMS2 heterodimer) leads to genome instability and tumorigenesis, but the mechanisms controlling MutLα expression are unknown. Here we demonstrate in vitro and in vivo that MLH1 and miR-422a participate in a feedback loop that regulates the level of both molecules. Using a defined in-vitro miRNA processing system, we show that MutLα stimulates the conversion of pri-miR-422a to pre-miR-422a, as well as the processing of other miRNAs tested, implicating MutLα as a general stimulating factor for miRNA biogenesis. This newly identified MutLα function requires its ATPase and pri-miRNA binding activities. In contrast, miR-422a downregulates MutLα levels by suppressing MLH1 expression through base pairing with the MLH1 3′-untranslated region. A model depicting this feedback mechanism is discussed.
Linear and Nonlinear Career Models Metaphors, Paradigms, and Ideologies

The communicative dimensions of career models have been insufficiently explored in contemporary career literature. Linear or bureaucratic career models dominate career research, metaphors, paradigms, and ideologies while maintaining career myths. These myths suggest the possibility of flexibility and individualized routes to “success” in organizational systems incapable of offering such versatility. Nonlinear career models offer suggestive metaphors for re-visioning careers and the promise of personalized definitions of success, control, and growth. Nonlinear approaches reconfigure career concepts to incorporate acceptance of individual needs and communal values consonant with demographic and structural societal changes.
Pharmacokinetics of methyl parathion: a comparison following single intravenous, oral or dermal administration.

Assessment of the risks posed by the residential use of methyl parathion requires an understanding of its pharmacokinetics after different routes of exposure. Thus, studies were performed using adult female rats to define the pharmacokinetic parameters for methyl parathion after intravenous injection and to apply the described model to an examination of its pharmacokinetics after single oral or dermal exposure. The pharmacokinetics of methyl parathion after intravenous administration (1.5 mg/kg) were best described by a three-compartment model; the apparent volume of the central compartment was 1.45 liters/kg, clearance was 1.85 liters/h/kg and the terminal half-life was 6.6 h with an elimination constant of 0.50 h−1. The apparent oral absorption coefficient for methyl parathion (1.5 mg/kg) was 1.24 h−1, and its oral bioavailability was approximately 20%. The latter likely includes a significant first pass effect. Concentrations of methyl parathion increased during the initial 10–60 min and then declined during the next 15–36 h. After dermal administration (6.25–25 mg/kg), methyl parathion concentrations peaked within 12–26 h and then declined dose dependently. The apparent dermal absorption coefficient was approximately 0.41 h−1, and only two pharmacokinetic compartments could be distinguished. In conclusion, the pharmacokinetics of methyl parathion are complex and route dependent. Also, dermal exposure, because of sustained methyl parathion concentrations, may pose the greatest risk.
Does Conceptual Implicit Memory Develop? The Role of Processing Demands

The author investigated the importance of processing considerations within implicit memory in a developmental design. Second-graders (n = 87) and college students (n = 81) completed perceptual (word stem completion) and conceptual (category generation) implicit memory tests after studying target items either nonsemantically (read) or semantically (generated). In support of previous research, the author found no age differences in priming in the nonsemantic study/perceptual test condition. Age differences in priming were found in the semantic study/conceptual test condition, however, where college students had significantly higher priming scores than did children. These developmental dissociations support the theory that the processing requirements of conceptual implicit memory are similar to those in explicit memory. The author also discusses the contribution of the Transfer Appropriate Processing (TAP; H. L. Roediger, D. A. Gallo, & L. Geraci, 2002) framework to understanding these findings.
Improved transient weather reporting using people centric sensing

Improving transient weather reporting accuracy by augmenting automated weather monitoring with people centric sensing is highly desirable since transient weather disambiguation can currently only be accomplished through employing trained expert observers or through using news media reports and data analysis following the weather event. Previous research on this topic has been unable to conclude whether people centric sensing improves weather forecasting. This paper proposes a new, semantic and geospatial analytic cross-disciplinary approach focused on only transient weather conditions, specifically tornado touchdowns, as a means of demonstrating that people centric sensing can provide accurate event reporting even before data from official agencies becomes available. In this way, it is shown that people centric sensing can be used to improve the accuracy of, and potentially confirm, the validity of data collected through traditional sensor sources.
Multiple phosphatidylinositol 3-kinases regulate vaccinia virus morphogenesis.

Poxvirus morphogenesis is a complex process that involves the successive wrapping of the virus in host cell membranes. We screened by plaque assay a focused library of kinase inhibitors for those that caused a reduction in viral growth and identified several compounds that selectively inhibit phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K). Previous studies demonstrated that PI3Ks mediate poxviral entry. Using growth curves and electron microscopy in conjunction with inhibitors, we show that that PI3Ks additionally regulate morphogenesis at two distinct steps: immature to mature virion (IMV) transition, and IMV envelopment to form intracellular enveloped virions (IEV). Cells derived from animals lacking the p85 regulatory subunit of Type I PI3Ks (p85α−/−β−/−) presented phenotypes similar to those observed with PI3K inhibitors. In addition, VV appear to redundantly use PI3Ks, as PI3K inhibitors further reduce plaque size and number in p85α−/−β−/− cells. Together, these data provide evidence for a novel regulatory mechanism for virion morphogenesis involving phosphatidylinositol dynamics and may represent a new therapeutic target to contain poxviruses.
Asymptotic properties of solutions of a 2nth-order differential equation on a time scale

In this paper, we are concerned with a 2n^t^h-order linear self-adjoint differential equation on a time scale. The results generalize known results for the corresponding ordinary differential equations and for difference equations. We define Type I and Type II solutions, prove the existence of these solutions, and verify asymptotic properties of these solutions. A quadratic functional corresponding to the differential equation on a time scale is defined and is used to prove several of the results in this paper.
The ubiquitin conjugation system is involved in the disassembly of cilia and flagella

The disassembly of cilia and flagella is linked to the cell cycle and environmental cues. We have found that ubiquitination of flagellar proteins is an integral part of flagellar disassembly. Free ubiquitin and the ubiquitin-conjugating enzyme CrUbc13 are detected in flagella, and several proteins are ubiquitinated in isolated flagella when exogenous ubiquitin and adenosine triphosphatase are added, suggesting that the ubiquitin conjugation system operates in flagella. Levels of ubiquitinated flagellar proteins increase during flagellar resorption, especially in intraflagellar transport (IFT) mutants, suggesting that disassembly products are labeled with ubiquitin and transported to the cell body by IFT. Substrates of the ubiquitin conjugation system include α-tubulin (but not β-tubulin), a dynein subunit (IC2), two signaling proteins involved in the mating process, cyclic guanosine monophosphate–dependent kinase, and the cation channel polycystic kidney disease 2. Ubiquitination of flagellar proteins is enhanced early in mating, suggesting that ubiquitination also plays an active role in regulating signaling pathways in flagella.
Expert Opinion and Controversies in Musculoskeletal and Sports Medicine: Core Stabilization as a Treatment for Low Back Pain

Although there are a wide variety of therapeutic exercises that have been proposed as treatments for low back pain (LBP), the last 20 years have seen the development of a substantial focus on the use of exercises that are intended to address intersegmental stability in the lumbar spine. These exercise programs are varyingly referred to as lumbar stabilization, segmental stabilization, or core stabilization, among other terms, and are aimed at improving the neuromuscular control, strength, and endurance of a number of muscles in the trunk and pelvic floor that are believed to play important roles in the dynamic stability of the spine. Although it is difficult to quantify, there appears to have been a tremendous degree of penetration of these treatment concepts into the therapeutic arena, the medical literature, and the lay press. Despite this, there are few prospective studies on patients with LBP, and there is even more limited discussion of the concepts of patient selection, dose-response, and long-term outcome associated with these approaches. There also is a significant lack of uniformity regarding the meaning of "core stabilization" and what therapeutic exercises may be most effective.
Are low-dose oral contraceptives safer and better?

It is widely believed that the use of low-dose oral contraceptives decreases thrombotic risks, compared with higher-dose oral contraceptives. Two recent epidemiologic studies infer a lower risk with 30 to 35 mcg than with 50 mcg estrogen oral contraceptives. However, as with prior studies from which similar conclusions were drawn, these studies have major flaws, the worst being that all 50 mcg oral contraceptives are lumped together, whereas 50 mcg mestranol oral contraceptives are actually bioequivalent to 35 mcg ethinyl estradiol oral contraceptives, thus confounding all such studies. Moreover, while rare thrombotic events have received inordinate attention, the major protective effect against endometrial and ovarian cancer that has been shown in older studies among users of oral contraceptives containing ≥ 50 mcg ethinyl estradiol or ≥ 80 mcg mestranol are almost totally ignored. The theoretical benefits of using lower-dose oral contraceptives have not been demonstrated, whereas the protection against these types of reproductive cancer have been shown repeatedly with high-dose oral contraceptives but not, to date, with lower-dose oral contraceptives. Such protection may be diminished by lowering the oral contraceptive dosage. Should every woman of reproductive age use high-dose oral contraceptives for 2 years? Are we throwing out the baby with the bath water?
Carbon Dioxide Variation in a Hardwood Forest Stream: An Integrative Measure of Whole Catchment Soil Respiration

The concentration of CO2 in stream water is a product of not only instream metabolism but also upland, riparian, and groundwater processes and as such can provide an integrative measure of whole catchment soil respiration. Using a 5-year dataset of pH, alkalinity, Ca2+, and Mg2+ in surface water of the West Fork of Walker Branch in eastern Tennessee in conjunction with a hydrological flowpath chemistry model, we investigated how CO2 concentrations and respiration rates in stream, bedrock, and soil environments vary seasonally and interannually. Dissolved inorganic carbon concentration was highest in summer and autumn (P 0.05). Over the 5 years, pCO2 was always supersaturated with respect to the atmosphere ranging from 374 to 3626 ppmv (1.0- to 10.1-fold greater than atmospheric equilibrium), and CO2 evasion from the stream to the atmosphere ranged from 146 to 353 mmol m−2 d−1. Whereas pCO2 in surface water exhibited little intra-annual or interannual variation, distinct seasonal patterns in soil and bedrock pCO2 were revealed by the catchment CO2 model. Seasonally, soil pCO2 increased from a winter low of 8167 ppmv to a summer high of 27,068 ppmv. Driven by the seasonal variation in gas levels, evasion of CO2 from soils to the atmosphere ranged from 83 mmol m−2 d−1 in winter to 287 mmol m−2 d−1 in summer. The seasonal variation in soil CO2 tracked soil temperature (r2= 0.46, P < 0.001) and model-derived estimates of CO2 evasion rate from soils agreed with previously reported fluxes measured using chambers (Pearson correlation coefficient = 0.62, P < 0.05) supporting the model assumptions. Although rates of CO2 evasion were similar between the stream and soils, the overall rate of evasion from the channel was only 0.4% of the 70,752 mol/d that evaded from soils due to the vastly different areas of the two subsystems. Our model provides a means to assess whole catchment CO2 dynamics from easily collected and measured stream-water samples and an approach to study catchment scale variation in soil ecosystem respiration.
Highly selective, kinetically controlled enolate formation using lithium dialkylamides in the presence of trimethylchlorosilane

Abstract The deprotonation of ketones and esters with lithium dialkylamides in the presence of trimethylchlorosilane leads to enhanced selectivity for the kinetically generated enolate. Lithium t -octyl- t -butylamide is shown to be superior to lithium diisopropylamide in the regio-selective generation of enolates and in the stereoselective formation of E enolates.
The effects of highly exothermic chemical reaction on a two-dimensional mixing layer

An experimental study of the effect of a highly exothermic chemical reaction on a two-stream mixing layer was performed. One stream was lean premixed cold reactants, while the other stream was hot combustion products that acted as an ignition source for the reactants. Results were obtained for a cold to hot side velocity ratio of 15:5 m/s and cold side equivalence ratios ranging from 0 to 0.8. The effect of increasing the energy release was to cause an increase in the acceleration of fluid on the hot, low-velocity side and, thus, an increase in the growth rate of the layer, movement of the centerline position toward the low-velocity side, earlier interaction of the layer with the wall, and a more rapid decay of the Reynolds stresses from their peak values. The large vortex structures that dominated this flowfield were not qualitatively affected by the exothermic reaction. The layer continued to grow by subharmonic combination until wall effects became important. For equivalence ratios less than the lean flammability limit, chemical reaction was restricted to the region of fluid-dynamic mixing. For equivalence ratios greater than the lean flammability limit, however, the reaction zone extended into the irrotational portion of the reactant stream.
DIDMCA and bank market risk: Theory and evidence

Abstract This paper examines the theoretical and empirical consequences of the Depository Institutions Deregulation and Monetary Control Act of 1980 on the market risk of the US banking industry. We survey several theoretical arguments linking deregulation of deposit interest rates to market-based measures of bank risk. Capital market data for a sample of large commercial bank holding companies provides evidence that deregulation has accompanied increases in both systematic and nonsystematic measures of bank risk.
A Correlation for Laminar Hydrodynamic Entry Length Solutions for Circular and Noncircular Ducts

Laminar hydrodynamic entry length solutions for circular and noncircular ducts are essential in proper design of compact heat exchangers and other heat transfer and fluid flow devices. A closed form equation has been proposed to present these solutions for the circular tube, parallel plates, rectangular, equilateral triangular, and concentric annular ducts. The necessary constants are evaluated and it is shown that the proposed correlation predicts the apparent friction factors within ± 2.4 percent.
The rabbit lumbrical: a new isolated mammalian nerve muscle preparation.

THE rat diaphragm phrenic nerve preparation1 enabled mammalian muscle to be studied under precise conditions of drug and ion concentration, but is insensitive to decamethonium (C10). The object of this communication is to describe a new isolated mammalian nerve–muscle preparation which does not suffer from this disadvantage. Several muscles in the feet of rabbits and cats are suitable; but the medial lumbrical of the rabbit's hind foot has been found most satisfactory. It is usually about 18 mm. long and 1 mm. in diameter under physiological tension.
STM Investigations of Organic Molecules Physisorbed at the Liquid−Solid Interface

Investigations of long-chain hydrocarbon and substituted hydrocarbon materials physisorbed at the liquid−solid interface have provided a particularly fruitful area of investigation for the scanning tunneling microscope (STM). Studies of this kind provide considerable information concerning surface−adsorbate interactions, the nature of the STM contrast mechanism for molecules adsorbed on surfaces, the effect of the chemical nature of the liquid solvent on the rearrangement and bonding of adsorbates, and the role played by the underlying structure of the surface itself (defects, domains, etc.) in determining the molecular arrangement of these adsorbates. All of these studies are aimed at the elucidation and control of surface and adsorbate structures and their relationship to the electronic and chemical properties of materials. The successful imaging of numerous physisorbed organic films at the solution−solid interface has demonstrated that the STM is sensitive enough to differentiate chemical functional gr...
Activity of a "thermostable exotoxin" of Bacillus thuringiensis subsp. morrisoni in the Salmonella/microsomal assay for bacterial mutagenicity.

Abstract The purpose of this study was to employ the Salmonella /microsomal assay (Ames test) to investigate the mutagenic potential of a thermostable exotoxin of Bacillus thuringiensis subsp. morrisoni . Bacteria are ideal for the detection of infrequently occurring point mutations because the large number of organisms (200 to 400 million bacteria per plate) exposed to the mutagen at any one time increases the possibility of observing a random mutational event. The exotoxin used in this study was produced using the shaker flask fermentation procedure with mineral casein broth. A Petri dish method of bioassay using fresh bovine feces was used to determine the efficacy of the exotoxin against horn flies. The LD 50 was found to be 5.35 μl/g of feces. Five bacterial tester strains were identified and characterized for the genetic markers described by Ames et al. (B. N. Ames et al., 1975, Mutat. Res. , 31 , 347–364). Appropriate doses of the B. thuringiensis supernatant, solvent or positive control were added to agar plates. The supernatant was tested at five dose levels against all five strains of bacteria. Controls of bacteria only were included for spontaneous reversions. All treatments were performed in triplicate. The numbers of revertant colonies from each set of triplicate plates were averaged and the standard deviation calculated and compared to that found with the solvent control. The negative controls, positive controls, and sterility controls all fulfilled requirements for determination of a valid test. No detectable mutagenic activity was found for the thermostable exotoxin of B. thuringiensis morrisoni .
Causes and Predictability of the 2012 Great Plains Drought

Central Great Plains precipitation deficits during May-August 2012 were the most severe since at least 1895, eclipsing the Dust Bowl summers of 1934 and 1936. Drought developed suddenly in May, following near-normal precipitation during winter and early spring. Its proximate causes were a reduction in atmospheric moisture transport into the Great Plains from the Gulf of Mexico. Processes that generally provide air mass lift and condensation were mostly absent, including a lack of frontal cyclones in late spring followed by suppressed deep convection in summer owing to large-scale subsidence and atmospheric stabilization. Seasonal forecasts did not predict the summer 2012 central Great Plains drought development, which therefore arrived without early warning. Climate simulations and empirical analysis suggest that ocean surface temperatures together with changes in greenhouse gases did not induce a substantial reduction in summertime precipitation over the central Great Plains during 2012. Yet, diagnosis of the retrospective climate simulations also reveals a regime shift toward warmer and drier summertime Great Plains conditions during the recent decade, most probably due to natural decadal variability. As a consequence, the probability for severe summer Great Plains drought may have increased in the last decade compared to the 1980s and 1990s, and the so-called tail-risk for severe drought may have been heightened in summer 2012. Such an extreme drought event was nonetheless still found to be a rare occurrence within the spread of 2012 climate model simulations. Implications of this study's findings for U.S. seasonal drought forecasting are discussed.
Metabolic pathways in T cell fate and function

T cell growth and function must be tightly regulated to provide protection against foreign pathogens, while avoiding autoimmunity and immunodeficiency. It is now apparent that T cell metabolism is highly dynamic and has a tremendous impact on the ability of T cells to grow, activate and differentiate. Specific metabolic pathways provide energy and biosynthetic precursors that must support specific cell functions, as effector, regulatory, memory, and alloreactive T cells have distinct metabolic needs in immunity and inflammation. Here, we review the signaling pathways that control metabolism and how the metabolic phenotypes of T cell subtypes integrate with T cell function. Ultimately, these metabolic differences may provide new opportunities to modulate the immune response and treat inflammatory and autoimmune diseases.
Variants in the LEPR Gene Are Nominally Associated With Higher BMI and Lower 24-h Energy Expenditure in Pima Indians

Genome-wide association studies (GWASs) have been used to search for susceptibility genes for type 2 diabetes and obesity in the Pima Indians, a population with a high prevalence of both diseases. In these studies, a variant (rs2025804) in the LEPR gene was nominally associated with BMI in 1,082 subjects (P = 0.03 adjusted for age, sex, birth year, and family membership). Therefore the LEPR and leptin overlapping transcript (LEPROT) genes were selected for further sequencing and genotyping in larger population-based samples for association analyses with obesity-related phenotypes. Selected variants (n = 80) spanning these genes were genotyped in a sample of full-heritage Pima Indians (n = 2,842) and several common variants including rs2025804 were nominally associated with BMI (P = 0.05–0.003 adjusted for age, sex, birth year, and family membership). Four common tag variants associated with BMI in the full-heritage Pima Indian sample were genotyped in a second sample of mixed-heritage Native Americans (n = 2,969) and three of the variants showed nominal replication (P = 0.03–0.006 adjusted as above and additionally for Indian heritage). Combining both samples provided the strongest evidence for association (adjusted P = 0.0003–0.0001). A subset of these individuals (n = 403) had been metabolically characterized for predictors of obesity and the BMI risk alleles for the variants tagged by rs2025804 were also associated with lower 24-h energy expenditure (24hEE) as assessed in a human respiratory chamber (P = 0.0007 adjusted for age, sex, fat mass, fat-free mass, activity, and family membership). We conclude that common noncoding variation in the LEPR gene is associated with higher BMI and lower energy expenditure in Native Americans.
Slow release formulations of metribuzin based on alginate-kaolin-linseed oil☆

Abstract Metribuzin [4-amino-6-(1,1-dimethylethyl)-3-methylthio-1,2,4-triazin-5(4H)-one], an herbicide widely used for weed control in soybeans and other crops, has been identified as a groundwater pollutant. Due to its relatively high water solubility, metribuzin is subject to leaching in the soil profile and eventually to the groundwater. The use of controlled release formulations of metribuzin would be expected to improve its environmental safety and perhaps its effectiveness. A granular formulation of metribuzin based on linseed oil, kaolin and alginate considerably reduced the release rate ofmetribuzin in comparison with conventional formulations and alginate formulations without linseed oil. Several factors affected the release rate including the ratio of oil/metribuzin in the formulation, the temperature of drying the formulation, and aging of the dried formulation. Reduced release rates were due to a combination of the polymeric coating formed by the linseed oil on the surface of the bead and the partitioning of the metribuzin between the oil in the bead and the water surrounding the bead.
Structural comparisons of fibronectins isolated from early and late passage cells.

Abstract Fibronectins isolated from culture media conditioned by the growth of early (young) and late (old) passage human fibroblasts were compared by affinity chromatography and polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The results indicated that fibronectins from young and old cells were similar, but not identical. The fibronectin synthesized by old cells migrated more slowly on NaDodSO 4 polyacrylamide gels in the presence of reducing agent than did fibronectin from young cells. The apparent molecular weight difference for purified fibronectins compared on gradient gels was estimated to be 5–10 000 daltons. The molecular weight difference was also evident in unpurified fibronectins in whole conditioned media. Both young and old fibronectins formed disulfide bonded dimers in the absence of reducing agents indicating that the molecular weight difference was not generated by proteolytic cleavage at the C-terminus of the molecule. Further, both fibronectins were bound by heparin-Sepharose, thiol-activated-Sepharose, and gelatin-Sepharose resins. Comparison of peptide maps, generated by limited proteolytic digestion revealed several differences. In particular, a polypeptide of molecular weight approx. 160 000 was larger in old cell fibronectin than in young cell fibronectin. This polypeptide had heparin binding activity, but lacked affinity for gelatin.
Renal sensory receptor activation by calcitonin gene-related peptide.

In anesthetized rats we examined whether calcitonin gene-related peptide activated renal pelvic sensory receptors and, if so, whether activation of renal pelvic calcitonin gene-related peptide receptors contributes to the inhibitory renorenal reflex response to renal mechanoreceptor stimulation. Calcitonin gene-related peptide (0.0026, 0.026, 0.26, and 2.6 mumol/L) administered into the renal pelvis increased ipsilateral afferent renal nerve activity in a concentration-dependent fashion (32 +/- 14%, 69 +/- 19%, 93 +/- 26%, and 253 +/- 48% [all P < .01], respectively). The increases in ipsilateral afferent renal nerve activity elicited by calcitonin gene-related peptide were associated with increases in contralateral urinary sodium excretion. The calcitonin gene-related peptide receptor antagonist human CGRP (h-CGRP) (8-37) (0.01, 0.1, 1.0, and 10 mumol/L) decreased the ipsilateral afferent renal nerve activity response to renal pelvic administration of calcitonin gene-related peptide (0.26 mumol/L) in a concentration-dependent fashion (29 +/- 4%, 33 +/- 12%, 76 +/- 9% [P < .01], and 86 +/- 13% [P < .01], respectively). In the presence of renal pelvic perfusion with vehicle, an increase in ureteral pressure of 5, 10, and 20 mm Hg increased ipsilateral afferent renal nerve activity by 13 +/- 7%, 41 +/- 7% (P < .01), and 95 +/- 15% (P < .01) and contralateral urinary sodium excretion by 8 +/- 1%, 24 +/- 4%, and 42 +/- 7% (all P < .05). The ipsilateral afferent renal nerve activity and contralateral natriuretic responses to graded increases in ureteral pressure (5 to 20 mm Hg) were unaltered by renal pelvic perfusion with h-CGRP (8-37) at 1.0 and 10 mumol/L.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Identification of the complexes of the electromagnetic ballistocardiogram in a single channel.

Abstract Because of several advantages, the electromagnetic ballistocardiograph has become a practical office instrument. Previously described arrangements of the electrical elements and circuits have not been satisfactory for identification of the complexes derived from this instrument. A new arrangement has been described which will permit simultaneous recordings of the waves of the electromagnetic ballistocardiograph and the electrocardiograph patterns on an ordinary single channel electrocardiographic machine with selective damping of the latter for purposes of identification. The arrangement permits selective damping of the electrocardiographic waves to the point where the QRS is just discernible without affecting the amplitude ofthe ballistocardiograph or significantly distorting its pattern. The circuits can be applied to either the radio vaccum tube amplifier or the string galvanometer types of standard electrocardiograph recording machines.
The Facts Unframed Will Not Set You Free

When first asked to participate in this symposium on "morality wars," I hedged. Whether by nature or upbringing, I am conflict-averse-an odd quality, perhaps, for someone who spent years studying the likes of The Jerry Springer Show. Furthermore, I knew some of the reading proposed for discussion would prove a challenge to my tolerance. Yet this forum also promised to complicate my understanding of the seemingly intractable cultural divide that the press is so fond of painting in red-state, blue-state terms. Maybe it will do the same for you. Like many left-leaning academics, I was dismayed and bewildered after the 2004 presidential election. How did Bush pull this off, AGAIN? Who were the folks who voted for him? What alternative universe were they from? Indeed, I thought of Bush supporters in much the same way that my friends and acquaintances (along with the vast majority of political pundits and journalists) thought of Jerry Springer guests: as deluded, misguided, stupid. But I was operating under some delusions of my own, of course, namely that "facts" and "issues" are what drive political orientation, and that if people only got the facts straight all would be well. It is a misconception that many liberals share, and one this cultural sociologist should have foreseen. If there's one thing I learned from my talkshow guests, it's that culture and cultural values (cast in the language of "personal experience") matter more to "average" Americans than facts; moreover, facts themselves have little meaning independent of cultural frames. What I aim to do in this essay is discuss the importance of cultural framing in understanding certain aspects of the contemporary morality wars, as well as the connection between frames and the "real life" experiences they organize. An obvious place to start talking about frames is George Lakoffs (2004) pithy manifesto for progressives, Don't Think of an Elephant: Know Your Values and Frame the Debate. Lakoff, a Berkeley linguist, admonishes liberals to stop presenting laundry lists of issues and start presenting a clear moral vision, one that uses effective frames to articulate
Relationships between job evaluation ratings and self-ratings of job characteristics

Abstract Self-ratings by 308 shop workers of their job variety, autonomy, task identity, and skill challenge correlate significantly with ratings by observers of the jobs' skill requirements. Self-ratings, however, are unrelated to observers' estimates of the physical demands of the jobs or to environmental conditions of the work. The self-ratings and observer measures provide complementary, not substitute, information. Self-ratings can signal person-job dysfunctions, and more objective job measures can identify possible sources of the dysfunctions. Modifications to job characteristics measures are discussed and suggestions are made to begin a new phase of programmatic job characteristics research.
Changing the Frequency of Inspections for PWSCC Susceptible Welds at Cold Leg Temperatures

A project has been completed under the sponsorship of the EPRI Materials Reliability Program to evaluate the acceptability of returning to an inservice inspection (ISI) frequency of ten years for the large diameter cold leg pipes (525 to 580F), with Alloy 82/182 dissimilar metal (DM) welds. This effort addresses alternative inspection requirements with a frequency of 7 years that have recently been imposed in order to address the potential for service induced Primary Water Stress Corrosion Cracking (PWSCC) of these welds. Careful review of the service experience shows that cracking has only been observed in the hot leg piping locations with DM welds, and the cold leg locations continue to exhibit very reliable service. There are a number of technical and practical arguments in favor of making this change, even beyond the excellent service experience, and these arguments are summarized in this paper. • Pulling the reactor vessel (RV) core barrel is a serious activity which can entail many risks, so additional pulls should be avoided. Inspection at a frequency of less than 10 years involves additional core barrel pulls. • The flaw tolerance of these large diameter cold leg pipes is very good, and example calculations show that reasonably large flaws are acceptable for ten years. • The probability of cracks initiating in cold leg piping is significantly lower than that for piping at hotter temperatures, and a detailed model has been developed to demonstrate this. Actions are underway to revise the relevant inspection requirements, back to a more typical Section XI ten-year interval, using this technical work as a basis.Copyright © 2011 by ASME
The Reproductive Health of Young people in Côte d’Ivoire: Issues and Prospects

In Cote d’Ivoire, young people aged between 14 and 24 represent 25% of the population, and this is the age group that is particularly vulnerable to reproductive health problems. Sexually transmitted diseases and AIDS in the main affect 15 to 18-year-olds; the early pregnancy rate is high; and the widespread recourse to illegal abortion by women at an increasingly young age reflects the emergence of an unfilled need for family planning services among the young. To cope with this situation, the Cote d’Ivoire authorities have adopted several strategies, which include launching wide-ranging information campaigns and making condoms generally available. However, over and beyond such actions, which are beginning to bear fruit, it seems that particular attention needs to be focused on young people not at school and on girls, whose social status is low. The promotion of equality between the sexes and the legalisation of abortion could give added force to strategies to promote the reproductive health of young people.