cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Appropriate mechanism design, regulations, and wages

Although economic regulation is ubiquitous, little is known about the impact of different regulatory schemes, and changes in these schemes, on wages. The article evaluates the impact of changes in price regulation on average employee wages among the United States local exchange telecommunications companies using contemporary historical data between 1988 and 2001. Two primary approaches in price regulation have been the rate of return and price cap regulation schemes, with the latter assumed to possess important incentive properties. The results establish that firms regulated via rate of return or other hybrid regulatory approaches have paid significantly lower wages. These wages have been, on average, 5�10% lower than what firms regulated via price cap regulation have paid their employees. These results signify the importance of regulations possessing requisite incentive properties and of appropriate regulatory mechanism design in enhancing employees� real wages in regulated firms.
Evaluating Agricultural Nonpoint-Source Pollution Programs in Two Lake Erie Tributaries

During the past three decades, numerous government programs have encouraged Lake Erie basin farmers to adopt practices that reduce water pollution. The first section of this paper summarizes these state and federal government agricultural pollution abatement programs in watersheds of two prominent Lake Erie tributaries, the Maumee River and Sandusky River. Expenditures are summarized for each program, total expenditures in each county are estimated, and cost effectiveness of program expenditures (i.e., cost per metric ton of soil saved) are analyzed. Farmers received nearly $143 million as incentive payments to implement agricultural nonpoint source pollution abatement programs in the Maumee and Sandusky River watersheds from 1987 to 1997. About 95% of these funds was from federal sources. On average, these payments totaled about $7000 per farm or about $30 per farm acre (annualized equivalent of $2 per acre) within the watersheds. Our analysis raises questions about how efficiently these incentive payments were allocated. The majority of Agricultural Conservation Program (ACP) funds appear to have been spent on less cost-effective practices. Also, geographic areas with relatively low (high) soil erosion rates received relatively large (small) funding.
Basal Melting Along the Floating Part of Byrd Glacier

A mass balance calculation was made for the floating part of Byrd Glacier, using 1978-79 ice elevation and velocity data, over the 45 km of Byrd Glacier from its grounding line to where it leaves its fjord and merges with the Ross Ice Shelf. Smoothed basal melting rates were relatively uniform over this distance and averaged 12 ± 2 m yr -1 .
Affinity chromatography of creatine kinase

Abstract An affinity chromatography technique for purification of creatine kinase is described. Creatine kinase from human skeletal muscle is retained on a column of p -mercuribenzoate-2-aminoethyl-Sepharose. After removal of contaminating proteins with Tris buffer and a solution of p -mercuribenzoate, the creatine kinase is selectively cluted in 80% yield with a gradient of 2-mercaptoethanol. This method yields a highly purified protein with a specific activity of 300 units/mg.
Characterization of structural variants with single molecule and hybrid sequencing approaches

Motivation: Structural variation is common in human and cancer genomes. High-throughput DNA sequencing has enabled genome-scale surveys of structural variation. However, the short reads produced by these technologies limit the study of complex variants, particularly those involving repetitive regions. Recent ‘third-generation’ sequencing technologies provide single-molecule templates and longer sequencing reads, but at the cost of higher per-nucleotide error rates. Results: We present MultiBreak-SV, an algorithm to detect structural variants (SVs) from single molecule sequencing data, paired read sequencing data, or a combination of sequencing data from different platforms. We demonstrate that combining low-coverage third-generation data from Pacific Biosciences (PacBio) with high-coverage paired read data is advantageous on simulated chromosomes. We apply MultiBreak-SV to PacBio data from four human fosmids and show that it detects known SVs with high sensitivity and specificity. Finally, we perform a whole-genome analysis on PacBio data from a complete hydatidiform mole cell line and predict 1002 high-probability SVs, over half of which are confirmed by an Illumina-based assembly. Availability and implementation: MultiBreak-SV is available at http://compbio.cs.brown.edu/software/. Contact: ude.tv@ztiranna or ude.nworb.sc@leahparb Supplementary information: Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
Evaluation of cottonseed aflatoxin testing programs.

A computer model was developed to simulate cottonseed aflatoxin testing programs. By use of the model, probabilities of obtaining certain aflatoxin test results for various lot concentrations and sample sizes were determined. Also, the effects of sample size and the definition of good and bad sample quality on the probability of lot acceptance were demonstrated.
Mental models theory and relevance theory in quantificational reasoning

Human reasoning involving quantified statements is one area in which findings from cognitive psychology and linguistic pragmatics complement each other. I will show how mental models theory provides a promising account of the mechanisms underlying peoples’ performance in three types of reasoning tasks involving quantified premises and conclusions. I will further suggest that relevance theory can help to explain the way in which mental models are employed in the reasoning processes. Conversely, mental models theory suggests that human reasoning typically does not involve deductive rules, which in turn entails a modification to the nature of the deductive processes proposed by relevance theory. The mechanism proposed by mental models theory also helps to clarify the nature of the relevance theory distinction between conceptual and procedural information.
Investigation of soy protein hydrogels for biomedical applications: materials characterization, drug release, and biocompatibility.

Soy protein is emerging as a novel material for biomedical applications due to its abundance in nature, ease of isolation and processing, and inherent properties for mediating cell adhesion and gro...
Ability and effort weights in pay level and pay increase decisions

It was hypothesized that ability, effort, and the interaction between ability and effort would influence pay level and pay increase decisions. An experiment was conducted with 66 human resource professionals to test this hypothesis. The results indicate that pay level decisions are influenced primarily by ability, and pay increase decisions are influenced primarily by the interaction between ability and effort. The results are discussed in the context of the traditional compensation model which suggests that ability should influence pay level, but not pay increase, and that effort should influence pay increase, but not pay level. It was concluded that the distinction currently being made between person and job based pay plans may not be meaningful.
Disseminated Strongyloides stercoralis infection. Association with ectopic ACTH syndrome and depressed cell-mediated immunity.

A patient with disseminatedStrongyloides stercoraliswas evaluated to elucidate host factors that may have led to the development of this infection. The patient was found to have oat cell carcinoma with hypercortisolism produced by tumor adrenocorticotropic hormone. His serum contained a potent inhibitor of lymphocyte blastogenesis. This patient's high level of endogenous cortisol may have impaired lymphocyte function and thereby facilitated infection withS stercoralis. (Arch Intern Med138:1005-1006, 1978)
Seed limitation and the regulation of community structure in oak savanna grassland

Summary 1 We present results from a long-term sowing experiment conducted in nutrient-poor savanna grassland in eastern Minnesota. We examine the effects of a one-time seed addition of 23 grassland species on plant community dynamics and structure over eight growing seasons. 2 Our goals were to: (i) test the importance of seed availability in regulating plant colonization dynamics and species richness; (ii) assess both the initial effects of sowing on species diversity and community structure and whether these effects increased, persisted or dissipated over the long-term; and (iii) determine the long-term impacts of sown species on the structure and dynamics of the existing community, including effects on species diversity, the abundance of existing (non-sown) species, extinction rate and abundance hierarchy. 3 Sowing led to the successful establishment of several plant species that had not been present in the plots and to increased abundance of other species that were already present. 4 Sowing led to sustained, significant changes in community structure, including increased species richness, increased community evenness, and decreased absolute and relative abundance of non-sown species. Effects of sowing were large and significant 8 years after sowing, revealing the role of seed limitation in these grassland communities. 5 In total, the results suggest that dispersal limitations, species pools and local biotic processes interact to regulate plant community structure.
A mathematical model of decision-making neural circuits controlling behavioral mode selection

Mathematical models of mutually interacting reverberatory neural circuits exhibit decision-making properties that can account for behavioral mode selection in terms of identifiable neural subsystems and measurable variables, without the need for invoking concepts such as “drive,” “motivation,” or “instinct.” The models can account for an animal's ability to persist in a given behavioral mode under appropriate stimulus conditions and to rapidly switch modes in response to significant stimulus changes via the properties of stable steady states, thresholds for steady-state transitions, and the lack of intrinsic oscillations.
Personality out of proportion

The field of personality assessment has evolved the normative practice of centering scores on their means, evaluating associations among measures with Pearson correlations, and using factor analytic methods to reduce redundancy and provide putative explanatory variables. At least some of these explanatory variables, or factors, have become well-known elements in trait theories of personality structure (e.g., the Five-factor model). Hofstee and Ten Berge (2004/this issue) suggest an alternative set of procedures arising from treating the midpoints of bipolar rating scales as true zero points. These procedures lead to a very different view of personality structure in which one factor provides a nearly sufficient summary of personality judgments. I scrutinize the methodological choices implied by these procedures here. This evaluation leads to the conclusion that Hofstee and Ten Berge provide methods and results that cannot serve to replace normative practice and well-known findings but do provide insight in...
Neuroblastoma membranes inhibit isoproterenol-stimulated rise of cAMP in glioma cells

C6 glioma cells respond to beta-adrenergic agonists (isoproterenol) with a transient rise in intracellular cyclic adenosine monophosphate level. This beta-responsiveness of C6 cells is inhibited by the presence of a plasma membrane fraction, which has a five- to six-fold purification of membrane markers, showed a greater inhibition of beta-responsiveness in C6 cells than any other subcellular fractions of B104 cells. The inhibitory effector(s) is apparently associated with integral membrane structure(s) since ionic extraction and treatment with chelating agents did not remove the effect from the particulate membrane fraction. The effector is probably proteinaceous in nature as judged by its susceptibility to inactivation by heat and protease treatment. The data indicate that neither adenylate cyclase nor phosphodiesterase enzyme is likely to be directly involved in mediating the beta-nonresponsiveness of C6 cells.
Mouse Preimplantation Embryos Developed from Oocytes Injected with Round Spermatids or Spermatozoa Have Similar but Distinct Patterns of Early Messenger RNA Expression

Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction assay was used to compare the temporal transcriptional activation and mRNA removal for a number of genes in mouse embryos derived by round spermatid injection (ROSI) or intracytoplasmic sperm injection. A number of marker genes with widely different cellular functions were analyzed. Similar patterns of activation were found for the transcription factor Oct 4, the translation initiation factor eukaryotic initiation factor 1A, the L1 ribosomal protein, the chromatin modifying protein histone deacetylase 1, the enzyme hypoxanthine phosphoribosyl transferase, the murine endogenous retrovirus-like element, and the repetitive DNA LINE retrotransposons. Expression of the retrovirus-like mobile element intracisternal A particle, however, was markedly elevated from the two-cell to the blastocyst stages in ROSI embryos. Analyses performed for various paternal mRNAs introduced into the oocyte by the round spermatid, including protamines 1 and 2, transition protein 2, ropporin, and glyceraldehydes 3-phosphate dehydrogenase, revealed all were removed from the preimplantation embryos, albeit with distinct temporal patterns.
Determination of aflatoxins and ochratoxin A in animal tissues.

Aflatoxins and ochratoxin A are mycotoxins which under certain conditions are produced by fungi species of the genera Aspergillus and Penicillium respectively. Because of the cancerogenic, teratogenic and nephrotoxic nature of these mycotoxins, they belong to the most dangerous contaminants in food- and feedstuffs. A number of cases of human and animal mycotoxicoses have been reported [1]. Deposits of the aflatoxins and of ochratoxin A in animal tissue can occur due to their binding to certain protein fractions and they could be identified in liver, kidney, blood and muscle tissues. Several methods among them thin layer chromatography (TLC), high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), gas chromatography (GC) and immunological procedures (RIA, ELISA) for identification and determination of aflatoxins and ochratoxin A have been reported [2, 3]. We have been able to develop a new method for the determination of aflatoxins and ochratoxin A in animal tissue, based on described thin layer chromatographic methods [4–8]. The main innovation is a combination of simultaneous extraction and cleaning with a separate thin layer chromatographic separation and determination of the respective mycotoxins. Experiments are carried out on a model system with pig liver, aflatoxin B1 and G1 and/or ochratoxin A. This new method has a sensitivity of 1 μg/kg for aflatoxins and 10 μg/kg for ochratoxin A with recoveries of 80% each.
The Effects of Involvement in Sports on Attitudes Toward Native American Sport Mascots

This study investigated whether the degree of involvement in sports affected attitudes about the acceptability of Native American sport mascots. A multidimensional measure of sport involvement show...
On vasodepressor activity in the hypothalamus

Abstract Acetic acid extracts of hypothalamic tissue of pigs, cattle, and sheep were subjected to gel filtration on Sephadex and other purification procedures. Several vasodepressor fractions were obtained. The activity of one of these fractions was clearly due to oxytocin. However, another fraction, which is present in significant amounts in hypothalamic extracts of domestic animals, lowered the blood pressure of chickens and rats and relaxed isolated rat duodenum, but had no effect on isolated rat uterus. The vasodepressor property of this material was not abolished by treatment with thioglycolate, trypsin, pepsin, papain, chymotrypsin, carboxypeptidase, or leucine aminopeptidase. Data presented show that this fraction is not oxytocin, vasopressin, substance P, angiotensin, bradykinin, acetylcholine, 5-hydroxytryptamine, histamine, γ-aminobutyric acid, epinephrine, or norepinephrine. Many of its pharmacologic and chemical characteristics suggest that it is. adenosine monophosphate. We suggest that in studies of hypothalamic extracts, it is unwise to equate vasodepressor activity with the presence of oxytocin.
Comparative structure–activity relationship studies of 1-(5-methylsulfonylpyrid-2-yl)-5-alkyl and (hetero)aryl triazoles and pyrazoles in canine COX inhibition

Abstract Structure–activity relationship (SAR) studies of novel 5-alkyl and 5-aryl/heteroaryl substituted 1,2,4-triazoles are described. The in vitro activity is compared to the pyrazole class of compounds with analogous side chains to delineate the contribution of the triazole ring nitrogen in binding to the active site. Both series are quite potent and selective in the canine whole blood (CWB) COX-2 assay, suggesting the increased binding contribution of the hydrophobic side chains.
What is the evidence for implantable drug delivery systems for refractory cancer pain

Despite best management, 14% of patients with cancer have unrelieved pain and many more have undesirable side effects from pain medicines. Intrathecal implantable drug delivery systems (IDDSs) manage intractable cancer pain by delivering pain medications directly to the spinal fluid. In addition to data from many nonrandomized trials, there are now randomized clinical trial data showing better clinical success, pain relief, drug toxicity control, and perhaps survival compared with comprehensive medical management (CMM). We reviewed published cohort reports from 1980 through 2003 using Medline. We studied 202 patients with unrelieved pain on visual analogue scale (VAS) pain scores of ≥ 5 on a scale of 0–10 despite conventional management. The main outcome measure was clinical success, defined as a 20% improvement in pain control and composite drug toxicity. We ranked the trials according to accepted levels of evidence. The nonrandomized trials all showed pain relief with acceptable complication rates, but often did not have standardized assessment schemas, had no control groups, and were single-institutional trials. In the randomized trial, more patients had clinical success with IDDS (84.5%) than with CMM (70.5%, P < 0.05). After 4 weeks, the mean VAS pain score decreased from the baseline of 7.75 to 4.74 (39% reduction) in the CMM group and from 7.45 to 3.59 (52% reduction) in the IDDS group (P = 0.057). The drug toxicity scores decreased from the baseline of 6.35 to 5.18 (19% reduction) in the CMM group and from 7.14 to 3.46 (52% reduction) in the IDDS group (P = 0.01). All individual toxicities were improved more by IDDS, especially fatigue and depressed level of consciousness. Patients randomized to IDDS therapy had improved survival, with 53.9% alive at 6 months compared with 37.2% of the CMM group (P = 0.06). There is now high-level randomized clinical trial evidence, in addition to consistent nonrandomized evidence, that IDDSs reduce pain and common drug toxicities and are associated with improved survival. Added to the multiple cohort studies, the evidence is compelling in favor of IDDS.
A constitutively transcribed actin gene is associated with the nuclear matrix in a Drosophila cell line

The relationship between transcriptional activity and gene association with the nuclear matrix has been investigated inDrosophila melanogaster. The nuclear matrix of Schneider cell line 2 ofDrosophila was isolated and observed to conform to expected dimensions in phase contrast and scanning electron microscopic preparations. This structure contains proteins that appear similar to the intact nucleus. High salt extracted nuclei digested with DNase I released 98% of the DNA, whereas digestion with Eco RI released a maximum of 80%. These and other nuclease digestions indicate that satellite DNA as well as some unique sequence DNA are bound to the nuclear matrix. A consitutively transcribed actin gene was enriched in the nuclear matrix bound DNA. Two other nontrascribed genes, a muscle-specific actin gene and the myosin heavy chain gene, showed no enrichment in nuclear matrix DNA.
Complications associated with transobturator sling procedures.

This study aims to determine the complications associated with trans-obturator slings as reported to a national database. We required “MAUDE”, a database that collects reports of complications associated with medical devices and which is maintained by the Food and Drug Administration. We searched for complications associated with three different, commercially available trans-obturator slings. We then tabulated the results by type of complication, by date of occurrence, and by type of sling. Between January 2004 and July 2005, 140 reports of 173 complications associated with trans-obturator tapes were reported to the MAUDE database. Previously unreported injuries, such as obturator nerve injuries, large blood losses (≥600cc), and ischiorectal fossa abscesses, were documented. Serious complications occur with the trans-obturator tape systems, but the rates are unknown due to database limitations. The type of complication appears to differ between devices and this may reflect different implantation systems and different polypropylene mesh formulations. Improved tracking of device complications is necessary to maximize patient safety.
Bridges and barriers to recovery: Clinical observations from an opiate recovery project

Abstract Clinical issues are described in opiate addicts attempting to taper off methadone maintenance, and techniques are suggested to help this patient population. The observations were generated in an experimental “Tapering Network” project, in which opiate addicts on methadone maintenance had the opportunity to receive individual and group counseling, relapse prevention training, self-help groups, and other services. Vignettes illustrate clinical problems with intimacy and social isolation, identity as a former addict, and a “post methadone syndrome” characterized by vulnerability, dramatic swings in mood, and disordered thinking for a period of up to six months after detoxification. To counteract these barriers to recovery, a program model is suggested that uses curricula available in the emerging literature on treatment of substance abuse. These techniques can provide bridges to recovery.
Statisticism in personality psychologists’ use of trait constructs: What is it? How was it contracted? Is there a cure?

Abstract ‘Statisticism’ is meant to characterize a way of thinking in psychology that invests virtually boundless trust in the aptness of statistical concepts and methods to reveal the ‘lawfulness’ of human psychological functioning and behavior. In the article, I discuss how statisticism came to infect the thinking of mainstream 20th century personality investigators and how – if at all – the discipline might be cured. Unfortunately, mainstream thinking within the sub-discipline of personality psychology has long sanctioned an understanding of the statistical findings issuing from studies of individual differences in personality traits that is faithful to neither of the so-called ‘frequentist’ or ‘subjectivist’ traditions. Instead, such findings are widely regarded as a scientifically acceptable warrant for claims to knowledge about objective states of affairs existing for individuals within the samples one has studied. I suggest that the prospects for eradicating dubious fruits of this form of statisticism will hinge importantly on (a) the ability of theoretically and philosophically-oriented psychologists to re-instill within the discipline a healthy respect for the power of conceptual analysis more generally, and, following this, (b) concern within the discipline for the fact that the deep and abiding conceptual problem described above in fact does exist.
Structure of the carbonic anhydrase VI (CA6) gene: evidence for two distinct groups within the α-CA gene family

The secreted carbonic anhydrase (CA VI) is believed to be one of the oldest mammalian CAs in evolutionary terms. To elucidate its gene structure and compare it with other members of the alpha-CA family, we cloned genomic fragments encoding the bovine CA6 gene and determined its exon/intron organization. The gene spans approx. 25 kb and consists of eight exons and seven introns. Exon 1 encodes the 5' untranslated region, the signal peptide and the N-terminus of the mature enzyme. Exon 8 encodes the 3' untranslated region and the C-terminal extension that is unique to CA VI. Exons 2-7 encode the CA domain, which shows significant sequence similarity to other CAs. Two distinct groups exist in the alpha-CA family on the basis of a comparison of the known gene structures. One group consists of the cytoplasmic (CA I, II, III and VII) and mitochondrial (CA V) members. The other group consists of the membrane-bound (CA IV and IX) and secreted (CA VI) members. In particular, the seven exon/intron boundaries in the CA domain of the CA6 gene are conserved in the CA9 gene, which encodes the multidomain protein CA IX that is overexpressed in tumours and has transforming potential.
Improving the Th1 cellular efficacy of the lead Yersinia pestis rF1-V subunit vaccine using SA-4-1BBL as a novel adjuvant.

Abstract The lead candidate plague subunit vaccine is the recombinant fusion protein rF1-V adjuvanted with alum. While alum generates Th 2 regulated robust humoral responses, immune protection against Yersinia pestis has been shown to also involve Th 1 driven cellular responses. Therefore, the rF1-V-based subunit vaccine may benefit from an adjuvant system that generates a mixed Th 1 and humoral immune response. We herein assessed the efficacy of a novel SA-4-1BBL costimulatory molecule as a Th 1 adjuvant to improve cellular responses generated by the rF1-V vaccine. SA-4-1BBL as a single adjuvant had better efficacy than alum in generating CD4 + and CD8 + T cells producing TNFα and IFNγ, signature cytokines for Th 1 responses. The combination of SA-4-1BBL with alum further increased this Th 1 response as compared with the individual adjuvants. Analysis of the humoral response revealed that SA-4-1BBL as a single adjuvant did not generate a significant Ab response against rF1-V, and SA-4-1BBL in combination with alum did not improve Ab titers. However, the combined adjuvants significantly increased the ratio of Th 1 regulated IgG 2c in C57BL/6 mice to the Th 2 regulated IgG 1 . Finally, a single vaccination with rF1-V adjuvanted with SA-4-1BBL + alum had better protective efficacy than vaccines containing individual adjuvants. Taken together, these results demonstrate that SA-4-1BBL improves the protective efficacy of the alum adjuvanted lead rF1-V subunit vaccine by generating a more balanced Th 1 cellular and humoral immune response. As such, this adjuvant platform may prove efficacious not only for the rF1-V vaccine but also against other infections that require both cellular and humoral immune responses for protection.
A matroid algorithm and its application to the efficient solution of two optimization problems on graphs

We address the problem of finding a minimum weight baseB of a matroid when, in addition, each element of the matroid is colored with one ofm colors and there are upper and lower bound restrictions on the number of elements ofB with colori, fori = 1, 2,⋯,m. This problem is a special case of matroid intersection. We present an algorithm that exploits the special structure, and we apply it to two optimization problems on graphs. When applied to the weighted bipartite matching problem, our algorithm has complexity O(|E∥V|+|V| 2log|V|). HereV denotes the node set of the underlying bipartite graph, andE denotes its edge set. The second application is defined on a general connected graphG = (V,E) whose edges have a weight and a color. One seeks a minimum weight spanning tree with upper and lower bound restrictions on the number of edges with colori in the tree, for eachi. Our algorithm for this problem has complexity O(|E∥V|+m 2 |V|+ m|V| 2). A special case of this constrained spanning tree problem occurs whenV * is a set of pairwise nonadjacent nodes ofG. One must find a minimum weight spanning tree with upper and lower bound restrictions on the degree of each node ofV *. Then the complexity of our algorithm is O(|V∥E|+|V * ∥V| 2). Finally, we discuss a new relaxation of the traveling salesman problem.
IRISH IN THE CITY: RECENT DEVELOPMENTS IN AMERICAN URBAN HISTORY

Parish boundaries: the Catholic encounter with race in the twentieth-century urban north. By John T. McGreevy. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1996. Pp. vi+362. ISBN 0-226-55873-8. $27.50.What parish are you from? A Chicago Irish community and race relations. By Eileen M. McMahon. Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, 1995. Pp. xii+226. ISBN 0-8131-1877-8. $32.95.The Boston Irish: a political history. By Thomas H. O'Connor. London: Northeastern University Press, 1995. Pp. xixx+363. ISBN 1-55553-220-9. £23.50.The New York Irish. Edited by Ronald H. Bayor and Timothy J. Meagher. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1996. Pp. xxii+743. ISBN 0-8018-5199-8. $45.00.The public city: the political construction of urban life in San Francisco, 1850–1900. By Philip J. Ethington. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1995. Pp. xvi+464. ISBN 0-8018-5199-8. £40.00.Civic wars: democracy and public life in the American city during the nineteenth century. By Mary P. Ryan. London: University of California Press, 1997. Pp. xii+376. ISBN 0-520-20441-7. £16.15.Few events have had a greater impact on urban America than the Irish Catholic exodus, which eventually brought one third of the Irish to the United States. Irish Catholics were the first ethnic group to immigrate in large numbers to America's cities and to experience overt discrimination. Overcoming that discrimination, they emerged as the consummate political force in urban America. In the late nineteenth century, Irish politicians and their political machines controlled a majority of America's large cities, long before the election of John F. Kennedy as president brought the Irish political presence to the national stage. At once integrated into American culture and proud of their ethnic culture and identity, the Irish in America continue to have a clear cultural presence in both positive and negative ways, in many American cities. The Irish hold the best parades, but sometimes refuse to allow Irish homosexuals the right to parade in them. The Irish are proud of their neighbourhoods, sometimes to the point of physical violence.For the first time in over two centuries, however, Irish immigration patterns have reversed. Over the last two years, 13,000 more Irish moved back to Ireland from America than went the other way. This watershed change provides a good opportunity to reconsider the history of the Irish in America's cities, as the authors of some recent publications demonstrate. This review will examine six current studies that illuminate the Irish urban experience in America. The authors of these histories document the role of the Irish and the Catholic church in urban racial disturbances in the twentieth century; they reconsider the importance of the Irish to urban political culture; and they explore the contested meanings of being Irish in urban America.
Regulation of estrogen receptor mRNA by 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin as measured by competitive RT-PCR.

Environmental contaminants, such as 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD), cause alterations in gene expression. In this study, we measured the regulation of estrogen receptor (ER) mRNA in female CD-1 mice by competitive RT-PCR. Previous work suggests that ER protein levels are affected by TCDD, but how this is regulated is uncertain. These studies found no significant changes in ER mRNA levels, but the methods used (Northern blot analysis and RNase protection assays) lack sensitivity for measuring the low levels of RNA transcript, such as ER mRNA. The method described here offers an excellent alternative for quantifying the changes in mRNA levels. Internal competitors were created with gene-specific primers for ER and beta-actin by PCR reactions at low annealing temperatures. For each sample, the mRNA levels of ER and beta-actin were determined. Using competitive RT-PCR, the relative changes in ER mRNA from TCDD-treated and control animals were determined after normalization with the levels of beta-actin mRNA. The ER mRNA from female CD-1 mice treated with TCDD (single dose 5 micrograms/kg, i.p., 4 days) was found to be significantly suppressed as compared with the vehicle control in all tissues examined. TCDD decreased ER mRNA in the liver (30.1%) as expected. However, the greatest effect was in the reproductive tissues, with a 64.2% reduction in ER mRNA in the ovary. This is the first demonstration that TCDD causes tissue-specific downregulation of ER mRNA. These effects may contribute to the tissue-specific toxicity of TCDD.
Ligands located within a cholesterol domain enhance gene delivery to the target tissue

Targeted gene delivery provides enormous potential for clinical treatment of many incurable diseases. Liposomes formulated with targeting ligands have been tested extensively both in vitro and in vivo, and many studies have strived to identify more efficacious ligands. However, the environment of the ligand within the delivery vehicle is generally not considered, and this study assesses the effect of ligand microenvironment by utilizing a lipoplex possessing a cholesterol domain. Our recent work has shown that the presence of the targeting ligand within the cholesterol domain promotes more productive transfection in cultured cells. In the present study, lipoplexes having the identical lipid composition were formulated with different conjugates of the folate ligand such that the ligand was included in, or excluded from, the cholesterol domain. The effect of locating the ligand within the cholesterol domain was then tested in a xenograft tumor model in mice. Lipoplexes that included the ligand within the cholesterol domain showed significantly higher luciferase expression and plasmid accumulation in tumors as compared to lipoplexes in which the ligand was excluded from the domain. These results demonstrate that the microenvironment of the ligand can affect gene delivery to tumors, and show that ligand-mediated delivery can be enhanced by locating targeting ligands within a cholesterol domain.
CRYSTALLIZATION IN SOLUTIONS SUPERSATURATED WITH SUCROSE AND LACTOSE

Changes in properties of sucrose solutions as a result of substituting lactose for a portion of the sucrose were studied at room temperature (27°C). The influence of a seeding regimen on the properties also was investigated. Seeding with sucrose or lactose favored crystallization of the sugar of higher concentration, whereas seeding a mixture of sucrose and lactose to less supersaturated solutions resulted in rapid crystallization of both sugars. Crystal habit of each sugar was influenced by increasing the concentration of the other. Solution viscosity following complete crystallization increased with the percentage of lactose. As the percentage of lactose in the supersaturated solution was increased, the proportion of lactose in the crystalline mass also increased, the proportion of sucrose decreased, and the hardness of the crystalline mass decreased. Type of seeding influenced the type and number of crystals and therefore influenced the properties of the system, but this was minor compared to the influence of composition. Application of this work to produce softer, smoother sugar products is suggested.
Molecular Cloning, Expression, and Characterization of a Novel Human Serine/Threonine Protein Phosphatase, PP7, That Is Homologous toDrosophila Retinal Degeneration C Gene Product (rdgC)

Abstract A novel serine/threonine protein phosphatase (PPase) designated PP7 was identified from cDNA produced from human retina RNA. PP7 has a molecular mass of ∼75 kDa, and the deduced amino acid sequence of PP7 contains a phosphatase catalytic core domain that possesses all of the invariant motifs of the PP1, PP2A, PP2B, PP4, PP5, and PP6 gene family. However, PP7 has unique N- and C-terminal regions and shares <35% identity with the other known PPases. The unique C-terminal region of PP7 contains multiple Ca2+ binding sites (i.e. EF-hand motifs). This region of PP7 is similar to the Drosophila retinal degeneration C gene product (rdgC), and PP7 and rdgC share 42.1% identity. Unlike the other known PPases, the expression of PP7 is not ubiquitous; PP7 was only detected in retina and retinal-derived Y-79 retinoblastoma cells. Expression of recombinant human PP7 in baculovirus-infected SF21 insect cells produces an active soluble enzyme that is capable of utilizing phosphohistone and p-nitrophenyl phosphate as substrates. The activity of recombinant PP7 is dependent on Mg2+ and is activated by calcium (IC50 ≅ 250 μm). PP7 is not affected by calmodulin and is insensitive to inhibition by okadaic acid, microcystin-LR, calyculin A, and cantharidin.
Reproductive responses to shell damage by the gastropod Nucella emarginata (Deshayes)

Abstract This study investigated the effects of shell injury on reproduction by the marine intertidal snail Nucella emarginata (Deshayes) in northern California. Snails with experimentally damaged shells grew significantly more new shell than did control snails, and fed-damaged snails grew more shell than starved-damaged snails. The repair rate difference between fed and starved snails indicates that shell repair is an energetically costly process. Despite this, shell-damaged female snails produced more egg capsules than uninjured females, indicating an increase in reproductive effort. However, total production of embryos per female did not differ among treatments. A mark-and-recapture experiment showed that shell-damaged snails had higher rates of mortality than did uninjured snails. These results are consistent with a life-history model which predicts that reproductive effort should increase when adult mortality rises relative to juvenile mortality.
Karyotypic Abnormalities in Transformed Chronic Granulocytic Leukaemia

Summary Chromosomal abnormalities in three cases of chronic granulocytic leukaemia are presented. The relative importance of ‘specific’ chromosomal abnormalities, additional to the Ph1 in the karyotypic evolution of chronic granulocytic leukaemia is discussed. A new abnormal metacentric chromosome is described.
Modification of Fick's Law

In the presence of long-time memory effects, Fick's law must be modified by replacing the diffusion coefficient by a convolution over time of the velocity autocorrelation function. This leads to a convergent Chapman-Enskog expansion in a fluid provided the proper reference frame is taken in the presence of hydrodynamic motion.
Bathymetry and Sediments of Bay of Campeche, Gulf of Mexico: ABSTRACT

During February and March, 1957, the Department of Oceanography and Meteorology, Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas, conducted a cruise to the Bay of Campeche. Twenty-nine cores and one grab sample were collected at 30 stations. Approximately 1,5000 nautical miles of sounding tract was accomplished. The sediment and bathymetric data indicate that the area can be subdivided into three broadly defined sedimentary and geomorphic provinces: (1) Western Bay, separated from the Southern Bay by a deep-water re-entrant of the Gulf of Mexico centered along 95° W. Longitude; (2) Southern Bay, separated from the Eastern Bay by Campeche Canyon; and (3) Eastern Bay. The concave upper part and step-like lower part of the continental slope in the Western Bay suggest that the slope is structurally controlled and little modified by sedimentation. The convex upper part and highly irregular lower part of the continental slope in the Southern Bay suggest that the topography of the slope is the result of the behavior of unstable sediment under stress, as Gealy (1955) suggested for the topography of the Northwest Gulf of Mexico. It was not possible to shed new light on the origin of the continental slope off Campeche Bank in the Eastern Bay. The sediments from the Western and Southern Bay were found to be composed mainly of clastic material which grades sharply seaward from sands near shore to silts and clays on the continental slope. The CaCO3 content of the surface sediments increases seaward because of a relative increase in the quantity of Foraminifera and decrease in the quantity of clastic material. The clay mineral type changes seaward from dominantly kaolinite-illite on the continental shelf to dominantly montmorillonite on the continental slope. Calcareous sediments dominate the Eastern Bay Campeche Bank. Conclusive evidence of sediment displacement was found in cores from Campeche Canyon, and evidence suggesting sediment displacement was found in cores from the deep-water re-entrant between the Wester and Southern Bay. End_of_Article - Last_Page 1781------------
Nitrosative stress and peripheral diabetic neuropathy in leptin-deficient (ob/ob) mice

Nitrosative stress contributes to nerve conduction slowing, thermal hypoalgesia, and impaired nitrergic innervation in animal models of Type 1 diabetes. The role for reactive nitrogen species in Type 2 diabetes-associated neuropathy remains unexplored. This study evaluated the role for nitrosative stress in functional and structural neuropathic changes in ob/ob mice, a model of Type 2 diabetes with mild hyperglycemia and obesity. Two structurally diverse peroxynitrite decomposition catalysts, Fe(III) tetrakis-2-(N-triethylene glycol monomethyl ether)-pyridyl porphyrin (FP15) and Fe(III) tetra-mesitylporphyrin octasulfonate (FeTMPS), were administered to control and 8-week-old ob/ob mice for 3 weeks at the doses of 5 mg kg(-1) day(-1) (FP15) and 5 and 10 mg kg(-1) day(-1) (FeTMPS). The 11-week-old ob/ob mice developed motor nerve conduction velocity (MNCV) and hind-limb digital sensory nerve conduction velocity (SNCV) deficits, thermal hypoalgesia, tactile allodynia, and a remarkable ( approximately 78%) loss of intraepidermal nerve fibers. They also had increased nitrotyrosine and poly(ADP-ribose) immunofluorescence in the sciatic nerve, spinal cord, and dorsal root ganglion neurons. Treatment with two structurally diverse peroxynitrite decomposition catalysts was associated with restoration of normal MNCV and SNCV, and alleviation of thermal hypoalgesia. Tactile response thresholds increased in response to peroxynitrite decomposition catalyst treatment, but still remained approximately 2.7- to 3.2-fold lower compared with non-diabetic controls. Intraepidermal nerve fiber loss was not alleviated by either FP15 or FeTMPS. Nitrotyrosine and poly(ADP-ribose) immunofluorescence in sciatic nerve, spinal cord, and dorsal root ganglia of peroxynitrite decomposition catalyst-treated ob/ob mice were essentially normal. In conclusion, nitrosative stress plays an important role in functional abnormalities associated with large motor, large sensory, and small sensory fiber neuropathy, but not in small sensory nerve fiber degeneration, in this animal model. Peroxynitrite decomposition catalysts alleviate Type 2 diabetes-associated sensory nerve dysfunction, likely by mechanism(s) not involving arrest of degenerative changes or enhanced regeneration of small sensory nerve fibers.
Agências de Viagens e Turismo e o Impacto da Internet: um Estudo Bibliométrico

As agencias de viagens e turismo sao empresas distribuidoras dos produtos turisticos. A internet esta inserida de maneira significativa no cotidiano destas empresas e mudou totalmente a forma de atuacao nos negocios. Em razao disto, o objetivo deste artigo e visualizar no âmbito academico qual a quantidade e a diversidade de pesquisas existentes sobre esse o tema ligado as agencias de viagens e turismo e o impacto da internet. Para alcancar este objetivo, foi realizada uma pesquisa bibliometrica, com um corte longitudinal, nas bases de dados internacionais: SAGE, EMERALD e SCIENCE DIRECT e na principal base de dados nacional, que e a dos Periodicos CAPES, no periodo de 1999 a 2013. Os resultados apontam para a predominância de publicacoes estrangeiras, poucos artigos (28) com relacao direta ao tema, a inexistencia de uma tendencia que defina os autores principais sobre o tema e a concentracao das publicacoes em um dos periodicos da area que abrange mais de 50% (cinquenta por cento) dos artigos considerados na pesquisa. Palavras-chave: Turismo. Agencias de Viagem. Internet. Estudo Bibliometrico.
Effects of interfractional motion and anatomic changes on proton therapy dose distribution in lung cancer.

Purpose Proton doses are sensitive to intra- and interfractional anatomic changes. We analyzed the effects of interfractional anatomic changes in doses to lung tumors treated with proton therapy. Methods and Materials Weekly four-dimensional computed tomography (4D-CT) scans were acquired for 8 patients with mobile Stage III non–small cell lung cancer who were actually treated with intensity-modulated photon radiotherapy. A conformal proton therapy passive scattering plan was designed for each patient. Dose distributions were recalculated at end-inspiration and end-expiration breathing phases on each weekly 4D-CT data set using the same plans with alignment based on bone registration. Results Clinical target volume (CTV) coverage was compromised (from 99% to 90.9%) in 1 patient because of anatomic changes and motion pattern variation. For the rest of the patients, the mean CTV coverage on the repeated weekly 4D-CT data sets was 98.4%, compared with 99% for the original plans. For all 8 patients, however, a mean 4% increase in the volume of the contralateral lung receiving a dose of at least 5 Gy (V5) and a mean 4.4-Gy increase in the spinal cord maximum dose was observed in the repeated 4D-CT data sets. A strong correlation between the CTV density change resulting from tumor shrinkage or anatomic variations and mean contralateral lung dose was observed. Conclusions Adaptive re-planning during proton therapy may be indicated in selected patients with non–small cell lung cancer. For most patients, however, CTV coverage is adequate if tumor motion is taken into consideration in the original simulation and planning processes.
On the transition to agent-based modeling: implementation strategies from variables to agents

This article studies the effect of different implementation approaches on agent-based computer models. This is accomplished via four reimplementations of a simple model of self-organization. How implementation choices "guide our hands" and lead possibly to implicit assumptions about the modeled system is also demonstrated. Furthermore, the question of what makes a model agent based is studied. An argument is made that agent-based implementation is rather a matter of degree than a binary choice.
On Order Gain of Backoff Misbehaving Nodes in CSMA/CA-based Wireless Networks

Backoff misbehavior, in which a wireless node deliberately manipulates its backoff time, can induce significant network problems, such as severe unfairness and denial-of-service. Although great progress has been made towards the design of countermeasures to backoff misbehavior, little attention has been focused on quantifying the gain of backoff misbehaviors. In this paper, we define and study two general classes of backoff misbehavior to assess the gain that misbehaving nodes can obtain. The first class, called continuous misbehavior, keeps manipulating the backoff time unless it is disabled by countermeasures. The second class is referred to as intermittent misbehavior, which tends to evade the detection by countermeasures by performing misbehavior sporadically. Our approach is to introduce a new performance metric, namely order gain, which is to characterize the performance benefits of misbehaving nodes in comparison to legitimate nodes. Through analytical studies, simulations, and experiments, we demonstrate the impact of a wide range of backoff misbehaviors on network performance with respect to the number of users in CSMA/CA-based wireless networks.