cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Disruption of Schwann cell elemental composition is not a primary neurotoxic effect of 2,5-hexanedione.

The effects of 2,5-hexanedione (2,5-HD) on elemental composition (Na, P, S, Cl, K, Ca, Mg) and water content of Schwann cells and myelin were assessed in rat posterior tibial and proximal sciatic nerves. Animals were intoxicated with 2,5-HD by two routes of administration: oral 10.4% in drinking water for 78, 85 or 104 days) and intraperitoneal (i.p.; 0.4 gm/kg/day × 11, 18 or 30 days). Electron probe X-ray microanalysis demonstrated that oral 2,5-HD intoxication produced temporally-dependent disruptions of Na, P, Cl, K and Mg distributions in Schwann cells of proximal and distal nerve regions. On both a dry and wet weight basis, cytoplasmic Na and Cl concentrations increased, while P, K and Mg levels declined relative to control values. In contrast, intraperitoneal administration was associated with minimal changes in regional glial cell elemental concentrations. Moreover, neither route of intoxication altered the elemental composition nor water content of myelin. Thus, oral but not i.p. intoxication of rats with 2,5-HD causes perturbation of elemental distributions in peripheral nerve Schwann cells. Although the pattern of elemental disruption caused by oral administration is typical of cellular injury, the route-dependent nature draws into question the overall mechanistic relevance of this effect
A Corticostriatal Balancing Act Supports Skill Learning

In this issue of Neuron, Kupferschmidt et al. (2017) reveal the shifting dynamics of functionally defined corticostriatal pathways during skill learning in mice using fiber photometry. They show different time courses in plasticity of associative and sensorimotor circuits across learning that involve changes at both the synaptic and cortical level.
Beyond Thiamine: Treatment for Cognitive Impairment in Korsakoff’s Syndrome

Background Wernicke’s encephalopathy is a condition whose treatment many consultation-liaison psychiatrists know quite well. Less clear, however, is the treatment of its dementia disorder descendent, the Korsakoff’s syndrome (KS). Objective This article seeks to review treatment options and provide recommendations for consultation-liaison psychiatrists treating cognitive impairment in KS. Methods In this nonsystematic review, we reviewed PubMed, CINAHL Plus, and Google Scholar for published reports and studies regarding treatment of KS. Results The literature revealed case reports and placebo-controlled trials of various medications for treatment of KS, though the samples sizes were small and were mostly case reports. There is more attention devoted toward medications used in other dementia disorders, such as donepezil and memantine. The literature revealed more studies around behavioral interventions recommended for treatment of memory impairment in KS and they focused on cognitive remediation and environmental adaptation, such as the use of PDAs or alarms. Conclusions There is no single, well-studied intervention proven effective as a primary treatment for cognitive impairment in KS. An approach of using environmental modifications in a well-structured living environment, combined with various cognitive interventions, such as pictorial associations, and perhaps a trial of donepezil or memantine, likely represents the best strategy for treating long-term cognitive impairment in KS.
Can growth be optimized in enterally fed very low birth weight infants who receive dexamethasone as compared to untreated peers: a retrospective study

Background: Growth is essential for very low birth weight infants, but is compromised in those receiving dexamethasone, especially when given as a consecutive 10-day treatment course to wean ventilatory support. The purpose of this review is to analyze growth outcomes of enteral nutrition practices for infants born < 1,500 grams who received at least one consecutive 10-day treatment course during hospitalization compared to untreated peers. Methods: An IRB-approved retrospective chart review compared 17 dexamethasone-treated study infants vs. 34 untreated controls born < 1,500 grams. Wilcoxon rank sum test and Fisher’s exact test compared continuous data and associations of categorical variables. Multiple regression analyzed predictors for growth outcomes when adjusting for birth gestational age. P-value < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: Treated infants were born younger (25+4 vs. 27+6 weeks gestational age [GA]) with smaller anthropometric measurements (p < 0.05). Growth from birth to 36 weeks GA approached significance (15.1 grams/kg/day study vs. 16.65 grams/kg/day control [p = 0.07]). Treated infants were discharged at similar weight percentiles as untreated infants (p = 0.7). Head growth percentiles were well-maintained for all infants (treated: median 12th% birth, 21st% discharge; untreated: 29th% birth, 43rd% discharge). Treated infants had lower length measurements at 36 weeks GA (p = 0.011) and discharge (p = 0.095). Treated infants received more nutrition, median 131 vs. 119 calories/kg/day (p = 0.0005), 4.4 vs. 4.1 grams protein/kg/day (p = 0.0004). Average nutrition delivery during dexamethasone treatment was 138 calories/kg/day, 4.5 grams protein/kg/day. There were no differences in highest blood glucose (p = 0.071), BUN (p = 0.053), or alkaline phosphatase (p = 0.17) between groups. Conclusions: Infants receiving at least one consecutive 10-day treatment course with dexamethasone during hospitalization experienced altered growth by 36 weeks GA, but comparable growth to non-treated infants for weight and head circumference can be achieved by discharge by optimizing enteral nutrition before, during, and after dexamethasone treatment. Future studies are needed to assess if this leads to improved developmental outcomes.
Teaching highs and lows: Exploring university teaching assistants’ experiences

Recent reforms in statistics education have initiated the need to prepare graduate teaching assistants (TAs) for these changes. A focus group study explored the experiences and perceptions of University of Nebraska-Lincoln TAs. The results reinforced the idea that content, pedagogy, and technology are central aspects for teaching an introductory statistics course. The TAs addressed the need for clear, specific guidelines and examples, as well as collaboration between colleagues. The TAs also sought opportunities to enrich their teaching skills and, ultimately, their impact on students’ learning. These findings support previous research on graduate TAs and highlight the need for additional exploration of the role graduate statistics TAs play in introductory statistics education. First published November 2010 at Statistics Education Research Journal: Archives
Models for recycling electronics end-of-life products

Increasing environmental concerns about the disposal of mass produced products have resulted in efforts to take back end-of-life consumer products. Legislation aimed at forcing manufacturers to take back electronics products at the end of their useful lives has either been adopted or is impending in many countries. This, along with shrinking landfill capacity and the reluctance of communities to open new waste sinks underscores the importance of developing methods and models for the management of end-of-life materials and products. This paper reports a study of the reverse channels for recycling of electronics products. The economics of electronics recycling are modeled from the viewpoints of the generators, recyclers, and material processors separately. A variety of mathematical programming models, representative of the many ways in which the recycling industry currently operates, have been proposed along with numerical illustrations. Models integrating disassembly and material recovery decisions are also presented. These models can be used by recyclers and processors for optimizing recycling operations and thus contribute towards the economic sustainability of electronics recycling.
Assessment Issues in Child Abuse Evaluations

Professionals have used a variety of techniques to evaluate offender characteristics thought to be related to child abuse. Current assessment approaches include the use of interviews, observations, general personality measures, offender-specific measures, and specialized risk assessment models. Offender evaluations are conducted for a variety of reasons, including screening for child abuse risk status, child abuse report confirmation, treatment planning, treatment evaluation, and prediction of reabuse. Unfortunately, as detailed here, supportive psychometric data are frequently lacking on the appropriateness of using available assessment techniques in various evaluation situations. Even when psychometric data exist, information is rarely available on the appropriateness of using different assessment techniques with demographically diverse populations.
Caregivers’ understanding of fluoride varnish: implications for future clinical strategies and research on preventive care decision making

Objective To describe caregivers' understanding of fluoride varnish. Methods We administered the Oral Health Literacy Inventory for Parents within a pediatric dental clinic (N = 113). Caregivers were asked to read and define each item. Interviews were audio recorded, transcribed, and coded inductively. The main analyses focused on responses to "fluoride varnish" and were conducted at the response level. Results Of the 140 responses, 22.1 percent of the responses indicated lack of knowledge about fluoride varnish, 23.6 percent that it was for teeth, 8.6 percent as something in toothpaste or water, and 45.7 percent as something that helps teeth. About 52.7 percent of responses indicated lack of knowledge, incomplete, or incorrect understanding. At the caregiver-level, 50.4 percent did not know what fluoride varnish was or provided an incorrect or incomplete response. Conclusion Many caregivers have an incomplete or inaccurate understanding of fluoride varnish, which has implications for how healthcare providers communicate about preventive care and future research on caregiver decision making.
Addressing Attachment Injuries with Bisexual Clients and their Monosexual Partners during the Coming out Process

Individuals who identify as bisexual, a marginalized sexual minority group different from lesbian women or gay men (LG), face complex challenges from the heterocentric society and members of the LG...
Interval Thrombosis of Arteriovenous Malformation Draining Vein After Stereotactic Radiosurgery

Arteriovenous malformations (AVMs) are high-pressure vascular lesions that can present formidable therapeutic challenges. One treatment option for these lesions is stereotactic radiosurgery, which may be used to provoke progressive thrombosis of the draining veins and subsequent obliteration of the AVM nidus. In this clinical image, we successfully demonstrate this therapeutic modality with the case of a 26-year-old man with a large frontal AVM, treated with stereotactic radiosurgery.
Mode of Transport and Clinical Outcome in Rural Trauma: A Helicopter versus Ambulance Comparison.

Helicopter Emergency Medical Services (HEMS) is presumably an effective way of patient transport in rural trauma, yet the literature addressing its effectiveness is scarce. In this study, we compared the clinical outcome of rural trauma patients between Ground Emergency Medical Services (GEMS) and HEMS transportation from the beginning of 2006 to the end of 2012. Focus was placed on identifying factors associated with survival to discharge in these patients. Over the seven-year study period, 4492 patients met the inclusion criteria with 2414 patients (54%) being transferred by GEMS and 2078 patients (46%) being transferred by HEMS. In comparison with GEMS, patients transferred by HEMS were younger men who were admitted with a higher mean Injury Severity Score and a lower mean Glasgow Coma Score (all Ps 8 were also associated with significantly improved odds of survival to discharge (all P < 0.0001). These findings show that although patients transferred by HEMS arrived in less favorable clinical conditions, HEMS transfer was associated with significantly higher odds of survival in rural trauma.
Methodological confusions and the science wars in economics

The “science wars” are a contentious, ongoing series of debates about the nature of knowledge and the proper role of the scientific method. The participants take many forms, but always central to the controversy are postmodern ideas that challenge commonly accepted understandings of the objectivity of data, science, and sometimes even reality. In this paper, we consider the relevance of these debates for the practice of economics. Ultimately we propose that these debates present two opportunities and a significant challenge to the discipline of economics. The opportunities are: 1) to incorporate post-positivist philosophy of science as a way to better interpret the meanings that become attached to institutions, which is particularly important for studies of political hierarchy and oppression, and 2) to do better empirical work by robustly incorporating interpretation into the gathering and analysis of data. The challenge is to do this work without abandoning economic theory itself, preserving the critically important insights of the universal logic of human choice while abandoning the illusion of a single best scientific method.
Testing for calibration systematics in the EDGES low-band data using Bayesian model selection

Cosmic Dawn, when the first stars and proto-galaxies began to form, is commonly expected to be accompanied by an absorption signature at radio frequencies. This feature arises as Lyman-$\alpha$ photons emitted by these first luminous objects couple the 21 cm excitation temperature of intergalactic hydrogen gas to its kinetic temperature, driving it into absorption relative to the CMB. The detailed properties of this absorption profile encode powerful information about the physics of Cosmic Dawn. Recently, Bowman et al. analysed data from the EDGES low-band radio antenna and found an unexpectedly deep absorption profile centred at 78 MHz, which could be a detection of this signature. Their specific analysis fit their measurements using a polynomial foreground model, a flattened Gaussian absorption profile and a white noise model; we argue that a more accurate model, that includes a detailed noise model and accounting for the effects of plausible calibration errors, is essential for describing the EDGES data set. We perform a Bayesian evidence-based comparison of models of the EDGES low-band data set and find that those incorporating these additional components are decisively preferred. The subset of the best fitting models of the data that include a global signal favour an amplitude consistent with standard cosmological assumptions (A < 209 mK). However, there is not strong evidence to favour models of the data including a global 21 cm signal over those without one. Ultimately, we find that the derivation of robust constraints on astrophysics from the data is limited by the presence of systematics.
Coupled electrokinetic and biological remediation method leads to improved treatment of chlorinated solvents at high sulfate, transport limited sites

Chlorinated solvents are some of the most pervasive pollutants found in groundwater and drinking water sources in the United States (U.S.). In the early 2000s, bioremediation emerged as a novel and effective technology, but was limited by challenges to delivery and transport of nutrients and microbes. Electrokinetic bioremediation (EK-Bio) has since emerged as a promising alternative to solve these limitations, delivering successful results at the lab and pilot scale. EK-Bio can be applied at sites where traditional bioaugmentation, the transformation of pollutants via an added microbial culture, is transport limited. The application of direct current in situ in electrokinetic (EK) remediation facilitates transport of the microbial culture and substrate in the subsurface. Despite this recent surge in interest surrounding EK-Bio, it is not clear how this technology would perform at a site with elevated levels of alternative electron acceptors, another common barrier to successful bioremediation. Our objectives were to use bench scale reactors to 1) determine which reactions and processes would dominate when using EK-BIO to treat TCE contamination at a site with high levels of the alternative electron acceptor sulfate, 2) compare EK-Bio to a traditional bioremediation application without electrokinetics, and 3) understand the effect of EK-Bio on the microbial community under these conditions. Our results showed complete transformation of TCE to ethene and acetylene by EK-Bio, while only 15% of TCE was transformed to cis-DCE and VC via traditional bioaugmentation. In the EK-Bio reactor, the majority of the TCE was converted to acetylene, likely due to its electrochemical reduction at the cathode. EK-Bio out performed traditional methods as it facilitated TCE biotic and abiotic transformation. Next generation sequencing analysis showed the microbial community in the EK-Bio reactor was highly enriched by the bioaugmentation culture, and community structure and diversity were minimally affected by the electrokinetic application. These results demonstrate that EK-Bio is an effective and promising remedy for treating chlorinated solvent contamination at transport limited sites with high concentrations of competing electron acceptors. This combined treatment strategy can be used to extend traditional bioaugmentation to a greater number of polluted sites, restoring more contaminated water systems for beneficial use.
Timing of exposure to environmental adjuvants is critical to mitigate peanut allergy.

Toll-like receptor ligands in indoor dust act as environmental adjuvants to promote sensitization to inhaled peanut in mice. The timing of exposure to environmental adjuvants relative to peanut is a determinant of peanut allergy development.
Public Disclosure and Consumer Financial Protection

The U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has accepted complaints about banks’ financial products and services since 2011 and has released the complaint database to the public since 2013. We analyze the effectiveness of this public disclosure in protecting mortgage borrowers. We find a greater reduction in mortgage applications to banks that receive more mortgage complaints in local markets after the disclosure. The effect is stronger in areas with more sophisticated consumers and higher credit competition, and for banks receiving more severe complaints. The number of monthly mortgage complaints per bank exhibits faster mean reversion after the publication of the database. Our findings suggest that the public disclosure of banks’ provision of inferior products and services enhances product market discipline and consumer financial protection.
Sensitivity of pore collapse heating to the melting temperature and shear viscosity of HMX

Abstract A multiscale modeling strategy is used to quantify factors governing the temperature rise in hot spots formed by pore collapse from supported and unsupported shock waves in the high explosive HMX (octahydro-1,3,5,7-tetranitro-1,3,5,7-tetrazocine). Two physical aspects are examined in detail, namely the melting temperature and liquid shear viscosity. All-atom molecular dynamics simulations of phase coexistence are used to predict the pressure-dependent melting temperature up to 5 GPa. Equilibrium simulations and the Green–Kubo formalism are used to obtain the temperature- and pressure-dependent liquid shear viscosity. Starting from a simplified continuum-based grain-scale model of HMX, we systematically increase the complexity of treatments for the solid–liquid phase transition and liquid shear viscosity in simulations of pore collapse. Using a realistic pressure-dependent melting temperature completely suppresses melting for supported shocks, which is otherwise predicted when treating it as a constant determined at atmospheric pressure. Alternatively, melt pools form around collapsed pores when the pressure (and melting temperature) are reduced during the release stage of unsupported shocks. Capturing the pressure dependence of the shear viscosity increases the peak temperature of melt pools by hundreds of Kelvin through viscous work. The complicated interplay of the solid-phase plastic work, solid–liquid phase transition, and liquid-phase viscous work identified here motivate taking a systematic approach to building increasingly complex grain-scale models.
Synthesis and evaluation of layered double hydroxide based sorbent for hot gas cleanup of hydrogen chloride

Abstract In this study, we report on the synthesis and evaluation of a sodium, magnesium, and aluminum (Na-Mg-Al) layered double hydroxide (LDH) based sorbent for hydrogen chloride (HCl) removal at concentrations found in lignocellulosic biomass derived syngas. The LDH was synthesized by a spontaneous self-assembly method and further calcined at 700 °C to produce a mixed metal oxide sorbent that we evaluated in the hot gas cleanup of hydrogen chloride at 100 parts per million. The performance of this sorbent was evaluated in a fixed bed reactor from 400 to 600 °C against that of a commercial magnesium and aluminum LDH (ComLDH) material that does not contain sodium in the matrix as well as two other commercial sorbents, sodium carbonate (Na2CO3) and sodium aluminate (NaAlO2). Our Na-Mg-Al LDH is thermally stable in the hot gas cleanup temperature range. During fixed bed experiments, our calcined LDH mixed metal oxide was effective in reducing hydrogen chloride’s concentration below the breakthrough concentration of 1 ppm from 400 to 600 °C for more than 14 h. The better performance of our calcined LDH compared to calcined commercial LDH supported our hypothesis that sodium incorporation in the LDH matrix enhances HCl sorption. Based on comparison against the commercial Na-based sorbents, the following rankings by temperature observed: LDH > NaAlO2 > Na2CO3 at 400 °C; LDH = NaAlO2 > Na2CO3 at 500 °C; and Na2CO3 = NaAlO2 = LDH at 600 °C.
Carbohydrate-Restricted Diet: A Successful Strategy for Short-Term Management in Youth with Severe Obesity-An Observational Study.

Background: Obesity affects ∼20% of children in the United States and reports of successful dietary treatment are lacking. This study aimed to determine the change in body weight in severely obese ...
Patients are unaware of clinical recommendations and resources.

Abstract Aims The Emory Family Medicine Clinic (EFMC) sought to identify perceptions of recent patient-provider communications for patients with diabetes, factors influencing patient compliance with clinical recommendations, and patients’ desire for additional resources to facilitate diabetes management. Methods Four focus group discussions were held June–August 2018 (3–9 participants each, 21 total). EFMC patients with uncontrolled diabetes received a phone invitation. A template analytic strategy, characterized by an initial set of codes based on interview content and expected types of responses and inductive codes, was used to thematically code the data. Results Most participants were single (62%), college educated (62%), had incomes less than $60,000 (76%), and were younger than 50 years old (62%). For themes related to barriers to compliance the participants mentioned the “business of medicine,” convenience factors, food choices, accountability, feeling overwhelmed, costs, location/transportation, and miscommunications. Prevailing themes regarding facilitating compliance included a desire for help with self-accountability and prioritization of recommendations. The major desired patient resource was peer-support groups. Conclusion Patient understanding of the impact diabetes has on their life can affect adherence to treatment; hence patient education is critical. Payment policies should support innovative educational clinical visits with patients.
Mechanistic understanding of the effects of process and design parameters on the mixing dynamics in continuous twin-screw granulation

Abstract Wet granulation is a size enlargement process in which fine powders are agglomerated into larger granules via the presence of a liquid binder. Among various types and modes of granulation processes, twin-screw granulation is a popular continuous wet granulation technique. The typical residence time that powders spend in a twin-screw granulator are in the order of seconds, hence, the rigorous mixing of solid and liquid particles across particle sizes and equipment geometry becomes even more important. This study aims to improve the mechanistic understanding of the effect of process and screw parameters on the mixing dynamics inside a twin-screw granulator using dispersion coefficient as a key metric. The dispersion coefficient quantifies the dispersion and is directly proportional to the extent of mixing occurring inside the granulator. An analysis of the experimentally obtained dispersion coefficient is performed to understand the effect of key process and design parameters such as feed rate, screw speed, number of kneading elements and, stagger angle. A semi-mechanistic model that incorporates these parameters was developed to estimate and predict the dispersion coefficient. The model accurately predicts the dispersion coefficient values and the goodness-of-fit values (R2) for the test set and full data set were found to be equal to 0.920 and 0.932 respectively. This model was further tested by predicting the complete RTD curves using the predicted dispersion coefficients. The average goodness-of-fit value (R2) for the prediction of RTD curves for all the experimental runs was calculated to be equal to 0.698.
Effect of Multiple Relationship Quality on New Product Adoption: An Abstract

Researchers have studied relationship marketing in a variety of subdisciplines of marketing including service marketing, channel relationships, and business-to-business marketing. However, prior research has predominantly focused on interpersonal relationships between service providers and customers and business-to-business relationships, as opposed to relationships between firms (or marketers) and consumers, even though the existence of such relationships has been explicitly acknowledged (Dwyer et al. 1987; Webster 1992). In this light, the current study examines the possible impacts of relationship quality (as a consequence of relationship marketing efforts) on the likelihood of a consumer’s new product adoption. Specifically, two research questions are addressed: (1) “If a consumer develops trust in and commitment to a firm (or a marketer), then is he/she more likely to adopt a new product introduced by the same (focal) firm?” and (2) “How would relationship quality with competitors influence the likelihood of adopting new product introduced by a focal firm?” The main goals of the current study are (1) to empirically test the effect of multiple relationship quality on consumer’s new product adoption; and (2) to provide a theoretical rationale for extending relationship marketing to the consumer product area and outline a future research agenda.
The Racialization of Drug Fakery and Pharmaceutical Markets

In this article, I show that fake drugs circulate widely in markets that chronically experience non-equilibrium. Moreover, those who manufacture, buy, and sell low priced drugs for African markets ...
Racial Subordination in Latin America: The Role of the State, Customary Law, and the New Civil Rights Response

There are approximately 150 million people of African descent in Latin America yet Afro-descendants have been consistently marginalized as undesirable elements of the society. Latin America has nevertheless long prided itself on its absence of US-styled state-mandated Jim Crow racial segregation laws. This book disrupts the traditional narrative of Latin America's legally benign racial past by comprehensively examining the existence of customary laws of racial regulation and the historic complicity of Latin American states in erecting and sustaining racial hierarchies. Tanya Kateri Hernandez is the first author to consider the salience of the customary law of race regulation for the contemporary development of racial equality laws across the region. Therefore, the book has a particular relevance for the contemporary US racial context in which Jim Crow laws have long been abolished and a 'post-racial' rhetoric undermines the commitment to racial equality laws and policies amidst a backdrop of continued inequality.
Strong collapse turbulence in a quintic nonlinear Schrödinger equation.

We consider the quintic one-dimensional nonlinear Schr\"odinger equation with forcing and both linear and nonlinear dissipation. Quintic nonlinearity results in multiple collapse events randomly distributed in space and time, forming forced turbulence. Without dissipation each of these collapses produces finite-time singularity, but dissipative terms prevent actual formation of singularity. In statistical steady state of the developed turbulence, the spatial correlation function has a universal form with the correlation length determined by the modulational instability scale. The amplitude fluctuations at that scale are nearly Gaussian while the large-amplitude tail of the probability density function (PDF) is strongly non-Gaussian with powerlike behavior. The small-amplitude nearly Gaussian fluctuations seed formation of large collapse events. The universal spatiotemporal form of these events together with the PDFs for their maximum amplitudes define the powerlike tail of the PDF for large-amplitude fluctuations, i.e., the intermittency of strong turbulence.
A search program for finding optimal integration lattices

In this paper we describe some of the salient features of our search program for finding good lattices. The reciprocals of these lattices are used in lattice integration rules, of which number theoretic rules form a major subset. We describe algorithms for ϱ(⋎), the Zaremba index (or figure of merit) of an integer lattice ⋎. We describe a search algorithm that finds ϱ(N), the maximum of ϱ(⋎) over lattices of orderN. One feature of our search is that it can exploit the symmetry of ϱ without significantly slowing down the program to list symmetric copies. We have also developed other interactions between the search algorithm and the algorithm for ϱ(⋎) that have a significant effect on the speed of the program. The paper is theoretical, providing the mathematical basis for these algorithms. However, we give a list of all the three-dimensional good lattices of order not exceedingN=4,000. This list has 68 entries, 40 of which are new.
DNA replication in synchronized cultured mammalian cells: II. Replication of ribosomal cistrons in thymidine-synchronized HeLa cells

Abstract HeLa cells synchronized by double thymidine treatment were used to determine when DNA homologous to 28 s ribosomal RNA is replicated during S (the synthetic phase of the cell cycle). DNA replicated during selected intervals of the S period was isolated from the remainder of the nuclear DNA by pulse-labeling with bromodeoxyuridine and cesium chloride density-gradient centrifugation. Hybridization of this fractionated DNA with HeLa 28 s RNA indicated that in these cells, DNA homologous to 28 s RNA replicates throughout the S period.
Oral atorvastatin therapy restores cutaneous microvascular function by decreasing arginase activity in hypercholesterolaemic humans

Elevated low-density lipoproteins (LDLs) are associated with vascular dysfunction evident in the cutaneous microvasculature. We hypothesized that uncoupled endothelial nitric oxide synthase (NOS3) through upregulated arginase contributes to cutaneous microvascular dysfunction in hyperocholesterolaemic (HC) humans and that a statin intervention would decrease arginase activity. Five microdialysis fibres were placed in the skin of nine normocholesterolaemic (NC: LDL level 95±4 mg dl⁻¹) and nine hypercholesterolaemic (HC: LDL: 177±6 mg dl⁻¹) men and women before and after 3 months of systemic atrovastatin. Sites served as control, NOS inhibited, arginase inhibited, L-arginine supplemented and arginase inhibited plus L-arginine supplemented. Skin blood flow was measured while local skin heating (42°C) induced NO-dependent vasodilatation. L-NAME was infused after the established plateau in all sites to quantify NO-dependent vasodilatation. Data were normalized to maximum cutaneous vascular conductance (CVC(max)). Skin samples were obtained to measure total arginase activity and arginase I and arginase II protein. Vasodilatation was reduced in hyperocholesterolaemic subjects (HC: 76±2 vs. NC: 94±3%CVC(max), P 0.05). Arginase activity and protein were increased in HC skin (P < 0.05 vs. NC) and activity decreased with atrovastatin treatment (P < 0.05). Reduced NOS3 substrate availability through upregulated arginase contributes to cutaneous microvascular dysfunction in hyperocholesterolaemic humans, which is corrected with atorvastatin therapy.
Chlorination of (Phebox)Ir(mesityl)(OAc) by Thionyl Chloride

Pincer (Phebox)Ir(mesityl)(OAc) (2) (Phebox = 3,5-dimethylphenyl-2,6-bis(oxazolinyl)) complex, formed by benzylic C-H activation of mesitylene (1,3,5-trimethylbenzene) using (Phebox)Ir(OAc)2OH2 (1), was treated with thionyl chloride to rapidly form 1-(chloromethyl)-3,5-dimethylbenzene in 50% yield at 23 °C. A green species was obtained at the end of reaction, which decomposed during flash column chromatography to form (Phebox)IrCl2OH2 in 87% yield.
Microscopic filamentation due to electrothermal instability and plasma heating in time-dependent solar transition layer

We have investigated nonlinear equilibrium states of a microscopic current filamentation (electrothermal instability) in solar atmosphere. The microscopic filamentation instability will develop for transition zone ion temperature plasmas, provided T e/Ti > 1, where T e and T i are the electron and ion temperatures, respectively. Since the temperature radio for a steady-state solar atmosphere is approximately unity, the electrothermal instability will develop only in a time-dependent solar atmosphere. Indeed, such a condition is provided by time-dependent currents, which seem to exist in many magnetic loops as recent analysis by Porter et al. (1987) indicates. When the onset condition for the electrothermal instability is satisfied, the instability drives a current filamentation to a nonlinear equilibrium state with a spatially periodic electron temperature variation with the wavelength comparable to several ion-Larmor radii. The amplitude of the periodic temperature variation may be so large that the transition layer temperature and coronal temperature plasmas may exist within several Larmor radii — coexistence of the transition zone and corona within the same macro-volume.
Copper deficiency alters vasodilation in the rat cremaster muscle microcirculation.

The effects of copper deficiency on smooth muscle relaxation were studied in the cremaster muscle microcirculation. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were fed either a copper-adequate diet (CuA, 5 micrograms copper/g diet) or copper-deficient diet (CuD, no added copper) for 17-27 d before experimentation. In vivo television microscopy was used to quantify agonist-induced diameter changes in third-order arterioles. Endothelium-dependent relaxation, which is hypothesized to be mediated by nitric oxide, was attenuated by copper deficiency. Both receptor (acetylcholine, 10(-7) to 10(-4) mol/L) and nonreceptor (calcium ionophore A23187, 10(-8) to 10(-7) mol/L) relaxation was decreased. Nitric oxide-mediated dilation, which was endothelium-independent (10(-7) to 10(-5) mol/L sodium nitroprusside), was also attenuated by copper deficiency. Maximal responses were as follows: for acetylcholine, 136 +/- 16% CuA vs. 45 +/- 15% CuD; for A23187, 104 +/- 16% CuA vs. 21 +/- 11% CuD; and for nitroprusside, 125 +/- 12% CuA vs. 46 +/- 13% CuD. There was no difference in microvascular dilation between groups treated with 10(-6) to 10(-4) mol/L of the phosphodiesterase inhibitor papaverine (e.g., CuA 109 +/- 11% vs. CuD 133 +/- 21% with 10(-4) mol/L). These results suggest that copper deficiency inhibits the nitric oxide-mediated mechanism of vascular smooth muscle relaxation without altering the capacity of the smooth muscle to relax. We suggest that copper deficiency either decreases nitric oxide radical availability or disrupts the nitric oxide-guanylate cyclase interaction.
Innovation management in diversified corporations: Problems of organization

Developing a new product line or innovation within an ongoi ng line of business is a difficult undertaking, requiring unusual amounts of motivation, creativity, and the cooperation and trust of the persons involved. Corporate innovation processes often fail because of external factors, but more often because of internal ones, such as lack of support, insufficient preparation, or plain error. This article focuses upon internal risks of failure ("internal uncertainties") resulting from disturbances in human relations and organizational behavior. The author proposes a concept of favorable positioning for the firm, and postulates that other things being equal the firm's favorable position tends to deteriorate naturally as the technology base of the firm ages (Wolfs Law of Progress). Corporate innovation processes take time. Hence, the preconditions for success of any single innovation within the firm may deteriorate faster than organized innovative activity can move on and seize the opportunity. For many firms this reported failure of seizing the market opportunities will eventually lead to an unmanageable, irreversible situation ("shake-out"). This article highlights the findings of an extensive exploratory, "clinical" field study of innovation processes in small, medium, and medium-large industrial firms in Berlin, Germany. Clinical research (usually preceding analytical research in a scientific enterprise such as " innovations research") looks at "clinical syndromes" (Roethlisberger, 1977) of the type "under certain conditions, x seem to appear together with y" (rather than analyzing how x varies with y). Our clinical research reveals a set of clinical syndromes for the deterioration of the firm's position, and suggests some human resource management actions, such as participative strategy formulation, conflict resolution, and interface facilitation, which can turn the situation around and enhance the chances of success for corporate innovation processes.
Learning and Service in Engineering and Global Development

In Spring 2004, students in Smith College's new Picker Engineering Program teamed up with the community-based organization Nuestras Raices in Holyoke, MA to address the problem of wood-fired oven emissions posed by the successful and expanding operation of Nuestras' entrepreneurial project, the El Jardin Bakery. This partnership between El Jardin and the Picker Engineering Program developed in the context of a new course, “Engineering and Global Development,” which aimed to achieve such pedagogical goals as: developing an understanding and critical view of globalization and global development engineering; developing analytic and implementation skills related to the design and construction of technological solutions in developing settings; and critiquing the “expert” model learning relationships that operate both in the classroom and in the community. Though global in overall perspective, the course engaged multifaceted challenges of engineering, economic and human development. We found these challenges analogous across communities that are similarly distressed by pressures of globalization and human need, such as those affecting low-income, poorly-resourced communities worldwide. We also found the ambitious marriage among engineering education, development studies, and liberative pedagogies to provide profound challenges equaled by pedagogical, educational, and experiential rewards.
Pulse width dependence of polarization mode dispersion and polarization dependent loss for a pulse and their impacts on pulse broadening

The interaction of polarization mode dispersion and polarization dependent loss for an optical pulse is studied. The pulse-width-dependence of polarization mode dispersion and dependent loss, and their combined effect on pulse broadening will be discussed.
Tissue repair plays pivotal role in final outcome of liver injury following chloroform and allyl alcohol binary mixture.

Abstract The objective of this study was to evaluate the interaction profile of chloroform (CHCl 3 )+allyl alcohol (AA) binary mixture (BM)-induced acute hepatotoxic response. Plasma alanine aminotransferase (ALT) was measured to assess liver injury, and 3 H-thymidine ( 3 H-T) incorporation into hepatonuclear DNA was measured as an index of liver regeneration over a time course of 0–72 h. Male Sprague–Dawley (S-D) rats received single ip injection of 5-fold dose range of CHCl 3 (74, 185 and 370 mg/kg) in corn oil (maximum 0.5 ml/kg) and 7-fold dose range of AA (5, 20 and 35 mg/kg) in distilled water simultaneously. The doses for BM were selected from individual toxicity studies of CHCl 3 alone [Int. J. Toxicol. 22 (2003) 25], and AA alone [Reg. Pharmacol. Toxicol. 19 (1999) 165]. Since the highest dose of each treatment (CHCl 3 - 740 and AA- 50 mg/kg) yielded mortality due to the suppressed tissue repair followed by liver failure, this dose was omitted for BM. The levels of CHCl 3 (30–360 min) and AA (5–60 min) were quantified in blood and liver by gas chromatography (GC). The liver injury was more than additive after BM compared to CHCl 3 alone or AA alone at highest dose combination (370+35 mg/kg), which peaked at 24 h. The augmented liver injury observed with BM was consistent with the quantitation data. Though the liver injury was higher, the greater stimulation of tissue repair kept injury from progressing, and rescued the rats from hepatic failure and death. At lower dose combinations, the liver injury was no more than additive. Results of the present study suggest that liver tissue repair, in which liver tissue lost to injury is promptly replaced, plays a pivotal role in the final outcome of liver injury after exposure to BM of CHCl 3 and AA.
MLEM algorithm adaptation for improved SPECT scintimammography

Standard MLEM and OSEM algorithms used in SPECT Tc-99m sestamibi scintimammography produce hot-spot artifacts (HSA) at the image support peripheries. We investigated a suitable adaptation of MLEM and OSEM algorithms needed to reduce HSA. Patients with suspicious breast lesions were administered 10 mCi of Tc-99m sestamibi and SPECT scans were acquired for patients in prone position with uncompressed breasts. In addition, to simulate breast lesions, some patients were imaged with a number of breast skin markers each containing 1 μCi of Tc-99m. In order to reduce HSA in reconstruction, we removed from the backprojection step the rays that traverse the periphery of the support region on the way to a detector bin, when their path length through this region was shorter than some critical length. Such very short paths result in a very low projection counts contributed to the detector bin, and consequently to overestimation of the activity in the peripheral voxels in the backprojection step -- thus creating HSA. We analyzed the breast-lesion contrast and suppression of HSA in the images reconstructed using standard and modified MLEM and OSEM algorithms vs. critical path length (CPL). For CPL ≥ 0.01 pixel size, we observed improved breast-lesion contrast and lower noise in the reconstructed images, and a very significant reduction of HSA in the maximum intensity projection (MIP) images.
Rationale and design for health promotion with older adults

The paper underscores the relevance of preventive and well health practices for older adults, given the current potential for extended life spans. One model for health promotion interventions consists of self-care skills, emotional and spiritual integration, and social integration. It was based on research in which older adults identified dimensions of everyday well-being.
Birth defects in the newborn population: race and ethnicity.

Background Racial variability in certain prenatal risk factors, such as prenatal vitamin supplementation and termination of pregnancy for fetal anomaly, has altered the racial prevalence of birth defects. Analysis of a single large representative population is required to analyze current racial differences in the prevalence of birth defects in the United States. Methods This is a population-based cross-sectional study to analyze racial differences in the prevalence of birth defects. We reviewed all live births in the 2008 Nationwide Inpatient Sample (NIS) database and determined birth prevalence of 55 selected birth defects in Caucasians. We then calculated the relative risk of these birth defects in African–Americans, Hispanics, and Asians relative to Caucasians. Result Overall birth defect prevalence was 29.2 per 1000 in a cohort of 1,048,252 live births, of which 51% were Caucasians. Compared with Caucasians, the risk of overall birth defects was lower in African–Americans (relative risk = 0.9, confidence interval 0.8–0.9) and Hispanics (relative risk = 0.9, confidence interval 0.8–0.9). The risk of overall birth defects was similar in Caucasians and Asians. Relative to the Caucasians, African–Americans had a lower risk of cardiac, genitourinary, and craniofacial malformations but a higher risk of musculoskeletal malformations. Hispanics had a lower risk of genitourinary and gastrointestinal malformation. Asians had a higher risk of craniofacial and musculoskeletal malformations. Conclusion This is a comprehensive description of racial differences in the risk of birth defects in the United States. Observed racial differences in the risk of birth defects may be related to genetic susceptibilities, to cultural or social differences that could modify exposures, or to the many potential combinations between susceptibilities and exposures.
Rapid synthesis and quality control of 68Ga-labeled chelates for clinical use.

Abstract Rapid synthesis of radiopharmaceuticals labeled with 68 Ga obtained from a 68Ge68Ga generator is described. Approximately 70% of the available 68 Ga activity was obtained in 4 mL 1 N HCl and evaporated to dryness in 5 min in a Rotovap system. Activity was reconstituted in 0.01 N HCl and 0.5 M NaAc, MPO added and pH adjusted to 6.7–7.0 with NaOH. Previously prepared human platelets were labeled with 68 Ga and reinjected within 1 h of eluting the generator.
Heterocoagulation as an Inclusion Coating Technique for Ceramic Composite Processing

This paper reports on colloidal heterocoagulation in aqueous media that was used to form coatings of alumina or polystyrene latex particles on alumina spheres and of alumina or latex particles on silicon carbide whiskers. The polyelectrolyte dispersants poly-(ammonium methacrylate) and poly(ethylenimine) were used to alter the inherent surface potentials of the materials to increase the applicability of this technique. In most cases, the coatings formed were partial monolayers, although thicker coatings of alumina were formed on the SiC due to aggregation of the alumina. The oxide coatings were relatively well adhered while the latex coatings were easily removed in aqueous media. The adherence of the latex coatings was improved by adding low alcohols to the heterocoagulating suspension.