cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The unusual amino acid L -ergothioneine is a physiologic cytoprotectant

Ergothioneine (ET) is an unusual sulfur-containing derivative of the amino acid, histidine, which is derived exclusively through the diet. Although ET was isolated a century ago, its physiologic function has not been clearly established. Recently, a highly specific transporter for ET (ETT) was identified in mammalian tissues, which explains abundant tissue levels of ET and implies a physiologic role. Using RNA interference, we depleted cells of its transporter. Cells lacking ETT are more susceptible to oxidative stress, resulting in increased mitochondrial DNA damage, protein oxidation and lipid peroxidation. ETT is concentrated in mitochondria, suggesting a specific role in protecting mitochondrial components such as DNA from oxidative damage associated with mitochondrial generation of superoxide. In combating cytotoxic effects of pyrogallol, a known superoxide generator, ET is as potent as glutathione. Because of its dietary origin and the toxicity associated with its depletion, ET may represent a new vitamin whose physiologic roles include antioxidant cytoprotection.
INTRINSIC AFFINITIES OF ALKALI CATIONS FOR 15-CROWN-5 AND 18-CROWN-6 : BOND DISSOCIATION ENERGIES OF GAS-PHASE M+-CROWN ETHER COMPLEXES

Bond dissociation energies (BDEs) of M+[c-(C2H4O)5] and M+[c-(C2H4O)6] for M = Na, K, Rb, and Cs are reported. The BDEs are determined experimentally by analysis of the thresholds for collision-induced dissociation of the cation−crown ether complexes by xenon measured by using guided ion beam mass spectrometry. In all cases, the primary and lowest energy dissociation channel observed experimentally is endothermic loss of the ligand molecule. The cross section thresholds are interpreted to yield 0 and 298 K BDEs after accounting for the effects of multiple ion−molecule collisions, internal energy of the complexes, and unimolecular decay rates. For both 18-crown-6 and 15-crown-5, the BDEs decrease monotonically with increasing cation size. These results indicate that the intrinsic affinity of c-(C2H4O)5 and c-(C2H4O)6 for M+ is determined principally by the charge density of the cation not by the ratio of the ionic radius to the cavity size. The BDEs reported here are in fair agreement with recent ab initio...
An Alternative Presentation of Incremental Validity Discrepant SAT and HSGPA Performance

This study examined discrepant high school grade point average (HSGPA) and SAT performance as measured by the difference between a student’s standardized SAT composite score and standardized HSGPA....
Organizational framework for health information technology.

Abstract Purpose We do not yet know how best to design, implement, and use health information technology (IT). A comprehensive framework that captures knowledge on the implementation, use, and optimization of health IT will help guide more effective approaches in the future. Methods The authors conducted a targeted review of existing literature on health IT implementation and use, including health IT-related theories and models. By crosswalking elements of current theories and models, the authors identified five major facets of an organizational framework that provides a structure to organize and capture information on the implementation and use of health IT. Results The authors propose a novel organizational framework for health IT implementation and use with five major facets: technology, use, environment, outcomes, and temporality. Each major facet is described in detail along with associated categories and measures. Conclusion The proposed framework is an essential first step toward ensuring a more consistent and comprehensive understanding of health IT implementation and use and a more rigorous approach to data collection, measurement development, and theory building.
Understanding FRBR as a Conceptual Model: FRBR and the Bibliographic Universe

Functional Requirements for Bibliographic Records (FRBR) presents a complex conceptual model. Because of this, it is not easy for everyone to understand. The purpose of this paper is to make some of the more difficult aspects of the FRBR model, in particular the Group 1 entities work, expression, manifestation, and item, easier to understand by placing FRBR in the context of what it is: a conceptual entity-relationship model. To this end, a definition of the term “model” is presented, a variety of types and functions of models are introduced, conceptual models are discussed in detail, modeling an abstraction is explained, and different ways of interpreting FRBR are suggested. Various models used in the history of cataloging are introduced to place FRBR in the context of the historical development of document models.
Antigenic changes in human albumin caused by reactivity with the occupational allergen diphenylmethane diisocyanate

Diphenylmethane diisocyanate (MDI), the chemical commonly used as a cross-linking agent in commercial polyurethane production, is a well-recognized cause of asthma. Reaction products between MDI and “self” proteins are hypothesized to act as antigens capable of inducing airway inflammation and asthma; however, such MDI antigens remain incompletely understood. We used a variety of analytical methods to characterize the range of MDI–albumin reaction products that form under physiological conditions. Sites of MDI conjugation on antigenic MDI–albumin products, as defined by serum immunoglobulin G (IgG) from MDI-exposed workers, were determined by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) followed by tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS). The data identified 14 MDI conjugation sites (12 lysines and 2 asparagines) on human albumin and highlight reaction specificity for the second lysine in dilysine (KK) motifs, and this may be a common characteristic of “immune-sensitizing” chemicals. Several of the MDI conjugation sites are not conserved in albumin from other species, and this may suggest species differences in epitope specificity for self protein (albumin)–isocyanate conjugates. The study also describes new applications of contemporary proteomic methodology for characterizing and standardizing MDI–albumin conjugates destined for use in clinical research.
Superficial (pT2a) and Deep (pT2b) Muscle Invasion in Pathological Staging of Bladder Cancer Following Radical Cystectomy

Purpose: We compared and evaluated clinical outcomes in patients with pathological superficial (pT2a) and deep (pT2b) invasion of bladder muscle with transitional cell carcinoma following radical cystectomy and urinary diversion.Materials and Methods: From 1971 to 2001, 311 of 1,359 patients (23%), including 244 males (78%) and 67 females, were found to have pathological muscle invasive (pT2) bladder cancer following radical cystectomy. Of this group 147 patients (47%) had pT2a (superficial) and 164 (53%) had pT2b (deep) muscle invasive tumors. Overall 242 patients had no evidence of lymph node metastasis, including 127 with pT2a (86%) and 115 with pT2b (70%). A total of 69 patients (22%) had lymph node involvement, including 20 with pT2a (14%) and 49 with pT2b (30%). At a median followup of 14.3 years (range 0 to 30.1) clinical outcomes were determined, including recurrence-free and overall survival, and local vs distant recurrence.Results: In the 311 patients with pT2 tumors 10-year recurrence-free and ...
COSSERAT MICROMECHANICS OF HUMAN-BONE - STRAIN REDISTRIBUTION BY A HYDRATION SENSITIVE CONSTITUENT

Experimental determination of the strain distribution in prismatic, square cross-section bars of human compact bone in torsion disclosed nonclassical effects associated with the microstructure. Specifically, in wet bone at small strain, significant deviations from the classically predicted strain distribution were observed. The measured strain distribution in wet bone followed predictions based on Cosserat (micropolar) elasticity. In dry bone, the strain distribution was very close to the prediction of classical elasticity. The interaction between Haversian osteons and the cement substance between them was hypothesized to be the principal mechanism for the phenomena. To evaluate this hypothesis, additional specimens were subjected to prolonged torsional load and the cement lines were observed by reflected light microscopy. Localized deformation at the cement lines was observed, but it was less than values reported earlier for bovine plexiform bone.
A positive model of special district formation

Abstract New special district governments account for most of the growth in the number of governments in the US over the past few decades. This paper presents a positive model of the formation of special districts that provide goods via an increasing-returns-to-scale technology, such as water or sewerage districts. The formation of a special district is modeled as a noncooperative game between a city and a suburb. A city's interest in and ability to annex surrounding suburbs is closely linked with incentives to form a special district. Cities which must gain approval from suburban areas in order to annex new territory may use access to cheaper publicly-provided goods as a `carrot' to induce surrounding areas to accept annexation. Therefore, growing cities without strong annexation powers will not agree to form a special district, so long as annexation is possible and desirable.
Gas-Liquid Chromatographic Analysis of Indole-3-acetic Acid Myoinositol Esters in Maize Kernels

An improved method of fractionating the myoinositol esters of indoleacetic acid (IAA) from maize kernels by gas-liquid chromatography has been developed. Mass spectrometry was employed as an aid in identification of the esters. Maize kernels contain three groups of esters of IAA: (a) IAA myoinositols, (b) IAA myoinositol arabinosides, and (c) IAA myoinositol galactosides. Each group has three chromatographically distinguishable isomers. The glycosylinositols described are unique in that carbon 1 of the sugar is attached to the hydroxyl at C-5 of the myoinositol.
A pilot study of the clinical problem of regionally anesthetizing the pulp of an acutely inflamed mandibular molar

The diplomates of the American Association of Endodontists were surveyed regarding difficulties in regionally anesthetizing acutely painful mandibular molar teeth. Frequently patients developed evidence of adequate regional block anesthesia but experienced pain when the dentist attempted access. A pilot projection was undertaken to determine if a scientific basis existed for this problem. With the animal under general anesthesia, the mandibular nerve of a cat was isolated and then regionally blocked. A stimulating electrode was implanted in a cuspid tooth and a receiving electrode in the cortex of the brain. When a state of inflammation was created in the tooth in the presence of a regional block, there was an increasing cortical response to this stimulation. It was concluded that the pilot project offered a realistic technique for the study of this clinical entity.
The Sequence of Instruction in Games: Implications for Developmental Appropriateness

(1992). The Sequence of Instruction in Games: Implications for Developmental Appropriateness. Journal of Physical Education, Recreation & Dance: Vol. 63, No. 6, pp. 36-39.
Serum adiponectin is associated with worsened overall survival in a prospective cohort of hepatocellular carcinoma patients.

Background: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the third leading cause of cancer deaths worldwide. The rise in metabolic syndrome has contributed to this trend. Adipokines, such as adiponectin, are associated with prognosis in several cancers, but have not been well studied in HCC. Methods: We prospectively enrolled 140 patients with newly diagnosed or recurrent HCC with Child-Pugh (CP) class A or B cirrhosis. We examined associations between serum adipokines, clinicopathological features of HCC, and time to death. We also examined a subset of tumors with available pathology for tissue adiponectin receptor (AR) expression by immunohistochemistry. Results: The median age of subjects was 62 years; 79% were men, 59% had underlying hepatitis C, and 36% were diabetic. Adiponectin remained a significant predictor of time to death (hazard ratio 1.90; 95% confidence interval 1.05-3.45; p = 0.03) in a multivariable adjusted model that included age, alcohol history, CP class, stage, and serum E-fetoprotein level. Cytoplasmic AR expression (AR1 and AR2) in tumors trended higher in those with higher serum adiponectin levels and in those with diabetes mellitus, but the association was not statistically significant. Conclusions: In this hypothesis-generating study, we found the serum adiponectin level to be an independent predictor of overall survival in a diverse cohort of HCC patients. Impact: Understanding how adipokines affect the HCC outcome may help develop novel treatment and prevention strategies. i 2014 S. Karger AG, Basel
The Detection of Flash Temperatures in a Sliding Contact by the Method of Tribo-Induced Thermoluminescence

The method uses a photomultiplier to collect photons emitted by a hot contact spot. The method was used to measure flash temperatures at the contact between a spherical sapphire slider and a rapidly moving thin film magnetic disk. It was found that temperature flashes of over 1000°C, lasting less than 2 μs, can occur at the sliding interface
Microprocessor Signal and Train Control: A New Regulatory Approach

In February 2005, the Federal Railroad Administration issued a set of new regulations governing the development and use of microprocessor-based signal and train control systems. The new rule represented a major paradigm shift from prescriptive to performance-based regulation. This paper addresses the rationale for that paradigm switch, highlights the key points of the rule that go into the safety case, and discusses the impact of the new regulatory approach on the rail industry.
Appeasement Whites’ Strategic Support for Affirmative Action

This article explores the possibility that dominant-group members will attempt to appease subordinate groups to protect the hierarchy. In four studies, we find that (a) prohierarchy Whites perceive more intergroup threat when they believe ethnic minorities hold Whites in low regard, (b) prohierarchy Whites respond to ethnic minorities’ low regard for Whites by increasing their support for redistributive policies (e.g., affirmative action), (c) the increase in support only occurs when prohierarchy Whites perceive the hierarchy to be unstable, and (d) prohierarchy Whites perceive the hierarchy to be more stable if they believe Whites support redistributive policies. These results suggest that prohierarchy dominant-group members’ support for redistributive policies can stem from a concern about maintaining the hierarchical status quo, and provides evidence that support for redistributive policies can be a hierarchy-enhancing strategy.
Cognitive functioning of alcoholic females: An exploratory study

Abstract The effects of long-term alcoholism on the cognitive functioning of female alcoholics was examined through direct comparisons to equivalent male alcoholics and to both male and female controls on a battery of neuropsychological tests. As expected male alcoholics demonstrated deficits in abstraction, memory and visuoperceptual functioning whereas female alcoholics demonstrated deficits in abstraction and visuoperceptual functioning only. Apparently alcoholic females have fewer cognitive deficits than equivalent alcoholic males. Specifically after 30 days of sobriety alcoholic females were no different than control males or females on tests of memory whereas male alcoholic males were impaired. This finding if replicated implies the possibility of less structural brain damage in female alcoholics than equivalent male alcoholics.
Identifying Networks of Semantically-Similar Individuals from Public Discussion Forums

In identifying communities in the online environment most approaches consider as the basic tie that connects social actors together some form of direct contact, such as through communication. Other approaches use surrogates for direct ties including copresense, cooccurrence, or structural equivalence. In contrast, this paper focuses on semantic equivalence among social actors, regardless of their direct contact. In particular, to index semantic similarity, it measures the entire semantic network across the body of messages an individual produces and compares that network to another person’s to index how similar they are. Then it uses this similarity coefficient as the social network tie for network analysis to identify communities of semantic practice. Semantic similarity has some unique value for theory and practice in automated social network analysis. To illustrate this approach, this research extracted all 10, 001 posts from a public discussion forum authored by 3, 272 individuals and represented each author’s semantic network based on cooccurrences of all word pairs within three word positions. Pearson correlation coefficients were computed for 5.36 million pairs of individuals using Quadratic Assignment Procedures (QAP). Authors sharing approximately 50% of their semantic networks numbered 22. Subsequent network analysis found that they constituted a single group in terms of a community of linguistic practice. A different forum was analyzed as a contrast. Applications of such a procedure can test hypotheses about semantic network similarity in relation to variations in communication frequency and modality More practical purposes would include finding persons of interest to add to a watch list.
Improvement in Right Ventricular Systolic Function After Surgical Correction of Isolated Tricuspid Regurgitation

Abstract Chronic tricuspid regurgitation (TR) may lead to impairment in right ventricular (RV) function. Whether surgical correction results in restoration of normal RV geometry and function is unknown. The purpose of this study was to determine whether surgical correction of TR results in improved RV geometry and function. Measurements of RV areas were made from digitized 4-chamber echocardiographic views. Right ventricular end-diastolic volume (RVEDV), right ventricular end-systolic volume (RVESV), and ejection fraction (EF) were calculated with the single-plane subtraction method. There was a significant decrease in RVEDV (109.06 ± 12.45 versus 71.63 ± 6.83; P =.005) and RVESV (76.2 ± 9.83 versus 44.5 ± 5.58; P =.002) and a significant increase in RVEF (0.30 ± 0.05 versus 0.38 ± 0.05; P =.01) at a mean follow-up of 130 ± 63 days after surgery. These results demonstrate significant remodeling of the right ventricle with reduction in size and improved EF after tricuspid valve surgery. (J Am Soc Echocardiogr 2000;13:650-4.)
Academic-Practice Partnership in Public Health Nursing: Working with Families in a Village-Based Collaboration

Objectives The purpose of this program development and evaluation project was to promote healthy families and communities by creating academic-practice partnerships, educating BSN students and building family-nursing student partnerships that were supported by a “village” of interconnected resources. Design and Sample A mixed-methods design was used for the project. Data were collected from a convenience sample of vulnerable families, BSN students engaged in PHN practica, and partner members. Measures Nine tools were developed to capture data over two semesters including a GIS mapping strategy. Results One hundred and seventy-five home visits were completed with 20 families, 14 of whom needed interpreter assistance. Families reported satisfaction with the quality of home visits, education, and assistance toward health goals. Fifty-three students provided 202 educational interventions, 39 community resource connections, and 46 care transitions. Students reported linking theory with practice and valued the PHN practicum experience. Academic-practice partners identified opportunities for program development and sustainability. GIS mapping illustrated complex family linkages to community resources. Conclusions Results suggest that young, vulnerable families benefit from public health nursing (PHN) home visits, but sustaining home visit programs is challenging. Academic-practice partnerships can guide students and families partnered in a reciprocal relationship with “village” resources.
Understanding Essential Tremor: Progress on the Biological Front

For many years, little was written about the underlying biology of ET, despite its high prevalence. Discussions of disease mechanisms were dominated by a focus on tremor physiology. The traditional model of ET, the olivary model, was proposed in the 1970s. The model suffers from several critical problems, and its relevance to ET has been questioned. Recent mechanistic research has focused on the cerebellum. Clinical and neuroimaging studies strongly implicate the importance of this brain region in ET. Recent mechanistic research has been grounded more in tissue-based changes (i.e., postmortem studies of the brain). These studies have collectively and systematically identified a sizable number of changes in the ET cerebellum, and have led to a new model of ET, referred to as the cerebellar degenerative model. Hence, there is a renewed interest in the science behind the biology of ET. How the new understanding of ET will translate into treatment changes is an open question.
Audio steganography by amplitude or phase modification

This paper presents the results of embedding short covert message utterances on a host, or cover, utterance by modifying the phase or amplitude of perceptually masked or significant regions of the host. In the first method, the absolute phase at selected, perceptually masked frequency indices was changed to fixed, covert data-dependent values. Embedded bits were retrieved at the receiver from the phase at the selected frequency indices. Tests on embedding a GSM-coded covert utterance on clean and noisy host utterances showed no noticeable difference in the stego compared to the hosts in speech quality or spectrogram. A bit error rate of 2 out of 2800 was observed for a clean host utterance while no error occurred for a noisy host. In the second method, the absolute phase of 10 or fewer perceptually significant points in the host was set in accordance with covert data. This resulted in a stego with successful data retrieval and a slightly noticeable degradation in speech quality. Modifying the amplitude of perceptually significant points caused perceptible differences in the stego even with small changes of amplitude made at five points per frame. Finally, the stego obtained by altering the amplitude at perceptually masked points showed barely noticeable differences and excellent data recovery.© (2003) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Desmoplastic fibroma of the mandible in an infant

We report the CT and MR imaging findings of a case of a desmoplastic fibroma of the mandible in a 6-month-old girl who presented with a rapidly enlarging facial mass and who represents one of the youngest reported children with this rare tumor. Although imaging is non-specific and these lesions are best distinguished histologically, the desmoplastic fibroma should be considered when there is an occurrence of any bubbly or cystic expansile mandibular lesion presenting in childhood.
Investigation of apparent correlated motion of Brownian particles

We, as well as other workers, have noticed using light microscopy that particles undergoing Brownian motion can appear to linger around each other for long periods of time. The question arises as to whether this lingering is a product of interparticle interactions, or is an artifact due to random thermal motion and projection onto a two-dimensional image plane. To answer this question, we produced digitized animations of colloidal particles using light microscopy images of a system composed of micrometer-sized latex spheres suspended in water. Six observers, unfamiliar with the experiment, watched these animations for lingering among the particles. Control animations were also generated from these data sets in which correlations due to particle-particle interactions had been destroyed, but the probability of the aforementioned artifactual correlations remained unchanged. We found that the differences in what people observed in the real and control data were not statistically significant. Thus, we conclude that any lingering observed on the time scale of 10 s and the length scale of 5 \ensuremath{\mu}m is the result of the random motion of the particles and projection effects. By way of explaining this result theoretically, we find that on this length and time scale, hydrodynamic interactions dominate over electrostatic and van der Waals forces. Accordingly, we present numerical and analytical calculations of the enhanced lingering associated with the decrease in hydrodynamic mobility of closely separated particles. These calculations give results which are consistent with the conclusion that the enhanced lingering effect is too small to be seen by an individual observer.
Diffusion of Sm, Sr, and Pb in fluorapatite

Abstract Diffusion coefficients for Sm, Sr, and Pb in fluorapatite at 900°–1250°C were obtained by measuring experimentally-induced diffusional uptake profiles of these elements in the margins of gem-quality apatite crystals. The crystals were immersed in synthetic melts enriched in the trace elements of interest and presaturated in apatite, and the resulting diffusion gradients were characterized by electron microprobe analysis. Except in the case of Pb, the diffusivities define good Arrhenius lines for the respective elements: DSm = 2.3 × 10−6exp(−52,200/RT) DSr = 412 exp(−100,000/RT). (Diffusion perpendicular to and parallel to c is measurably different in the case of Sr; the Arrhenius equation given above is an average for the two directions). Results on Pb were erratic, probably because extremely Pb-rich melts were used for some of the experiments. Data believed to be reliable define the following Arrhenius line: DPb = 0.035 exp(−70,000/RT). Constraints based on closure of natural apatites with respect to Pb suggest that the experimental data can be extrapolated, with sizeable uncertainty, to temperatures as low as 550°C. When applied to the question of isotopic and trace-element equilibration of residual or entrained apatites with crustal melts, the measured diffusivities indicate that 0.05-cm crystals will rarely preserve the original Pb-isotope characteristics of the source; the same is not true, however, of Sr (and, under some conditions, the REE), which may be unaffected at crystal cores during typical melting events.
School Choice with Consent

An increasingly popular practice for student assignment to public schools in the United States is the use of school choice systems. The celebrated Gale. Shapley student-optimal stable mechanism (SOSM) has recently replaced two deficient student assignment mechanisms that were in use in New York City and Boston. We provide theoretical evidence that the SOSM outcome may produce large welfare losses. Then we propose an efficiency-adjusted deferred acceptance mechanism (EADAM) that allows a student to consent to waive a certain priority that has no effect on his or her assignment. Under EADAM, consenting students cause themselves no harm, but may help many others benefit as a consequence. We show that EADAM can recover any welfare losses due to SOSM while also preserving immunity against strategic behavior in a particular way. It is also possible to use EADAM to eliminate welfare losses due to randomly breaking ties in student priorities.
Commentary on teaching food: Why I am fed up with Michael Pollan et al

Julie Guthman is an Assistant Professor in Community Studies at the University of California at Santa Cruz where she teaches courses in global political economy and the politics of food and agriculture. Her 2004 book, Agrarian Dreams: The Paradox of Organic Farming in California, examines how the California organic sector intersected with California s agrarian history to replicate many aspects of industrial agriculture that it set out to oppose and, in particular, how social justice issues were shunted aside in the codification of organic agriculture. Her more recent research looks at other ways in which neo-liberalism – as both a political economic project and a form of governmentality – shapes the politics of the possible in food politics more broadly. Her new research directions involve the articulations of race, alternative food movements, and the politics of obesity.
Functional analysis of the P box, a domain in cyclin B required for the activation of Cdc25

Summary Cyclin B-cdc2 complexes are kept inactive by inhibitory phosphorylations on Thr-14 and Tyr-15 of cdc2 until they are dephosphorylated at the end of G2 by the phosphatase cdc25. Recent work has suggested that a small region of cyclin B, which we call the P box, may contribute part of a phosphatase-activating domain to cdc25. Individual conservative substitutions at three invariant residues within the P box yield mutant cyclin B proteins that bind cdc2 in vitro and then show the predicted cell cycle arrest, with cdc25 remaining in the low activity interphase form and cyclin B-cdc2 complexes remaining phosphorylated and inactive. While the low activity interphase form of cdc25 cannot act on cdc2 complexed with a mutant P box cyclin, the high activity M phase form of cdc25 can. These results demonstrate that the P box domain of cyclin B is required for cdc25 activation and support a two-step mechanism for the cdc25-dependent activation of cyclin B-cdc2.
A Theoretical Framework for the Role of Classroom Assessment in Motivating Student Effort and Achievement

This article presents a theory about the role of classroom assessment in motivating student effort and achievement. The theory postulates that in any particular class, the classroom assessment environment is played out in repeated classroom assessment events, activity segments with associated expectations and assessments. Within a classroom assessment event, a teacher communicates to students through assignments, activities, and feedback on performance, and students respond according to their perceptions of these learning opportunities and their perceived efficacy to accomplish the tasks. The classroom assessment environment concept offers a way to integrate individual (students) and group (a class with one teacher) aspects of effort and achievement into one theoretical framework. The classroom assessment event concept offers a mechanism for how curriculum, instructional activities, and assessmerits impact student effort and achievement.
Hume, Causation, and Agency

Abstract Hume inherits the spectator model of experience and knowledge, and inflates it to displace any other kind of experience-based knowledge. Thus he construes our knowledge of causation as no more than an observer’s knowledge of one thing’s following on, or attending, another. Construing causation in that way, he rules out consideration of our experience as agents and our knowledge of causation as efficacy, or making things happen. Yet if we did not understand causation as efficacy, we could not understand what it is that Hume says we cannot understand; we could not appreciate its proposed replacement by his one-thing’s-attending-on-another account of causation; we could not see that his proposed one-thing’s-attending-on-another account of causation is not an account of causation. Hume’s ultimate aim appears to be the exclusion of agency from the world, whether the agent is personal, material, or divine.
Electrochemical oxidation of carotenoids containing donor/acceptor substituents

Abstract Cyclic voltammetry and square wave voltammetry of the carotenoids β-carotene (I), 7′,7′-dimethyl-7′-apo-β-carotene (II), 7′,7′-hexadeuterodimethyl-7′-apo-β-carotene (III), 7′-cyano-7′-ethoxycarbonyl-7′-apo-β-carotene (IV), 7′,7′-dicyano-7′-apo-β-carotene (V) and canthaxanthin (VI) show that the electrochemical properties of the synthetic dimethyl and hexadeuterodimethyl compounds are similar to those of the naturally occurring β-carotene, while the properties of the synthetic dicyano carotenoid are similar to those of the naturally occurring canthaxanthin, and those of the cyanoester compound are of an intermediate nature. The difference in oxidation potentials for the formation of the cation radical and the dication is small for the first set of compounds (less than 36 mV) and large (up to about 200 mV) for the second. Simulation of the CVs with the DigiSim® program led to evaluation of the half-wave potentials, heterogeneous rate constants and homogeneous equilibrium constants which describe the oxidation properties of the carotenoids.
NIF small mirror mounts

A number of small mirror mounts have been identified that meet the stringent stability, wave front, and cleanliness standards of the NIF. These requirements are similar to those required in other performance critical optical design applications. Future design teams would conserve time and effort if recognized standards were established for mirror mount design and performance characteristics. Standards for stability, physical features, wave front distortion, and cleanliness would simplify the qualification process considerably. At this point such standards are not difficult to define, as the technical support work has been performed repeatedly by mirror mount consumers and suppliers.
Risk Assessment of 2,3,7,8-Tetrachlorodibenzo-p-Dioxin Equivalents in Tissue Samples from Three Species in the Denver Metropolitan Area

Polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs), polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs), and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are possible contaminants of concern in areas with a history of organochlorine pesticide production or various other industrial chlo-rination processes. The Rocky Mountain Arsenal (RMA), a Superfund site near Denver, CO, has a history of various industrial processes that may have led to the release of these compounds and subsequent exposure and risk to surrounding biota. PCDDs, and PCDFs, and non- and mono-ortho-substituted PCBs cause a common set of toxic effects that are mediated through the aryl-hydrocarbon receptor (AhR). The total AhR-medi-ated activity of tissue samples collected from the RMA and surrounding reference areas was determined by both instrumental and bioanalytical techniques. Concentrations of dioxin equivalents were measured in carp eggs, great horned owl livers, and American kestrel eggs collected from the RMA and from off-post reference sites. Detected concentrations...
Antibody-cell interactions: Fc receptors.

Jean-Pierre Kinet National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases National Institutes of Health Bethesda, Maryland 20892 Antibodies are involved in two main functions: the binding to antigen via the antigen-combining site and the mobili- zation of defense mechanisms via another part of the mol- ecule, the Fc region. The attachment of the Fc region to receptors on many cells of the immune system triggers various functions such as phagocytosis, antibody-depen- dent cytotoxicity, and the secretion of potent mediators. Because the Fc receptors (FcRs) mediate these essential functions of the immune defense system, understanding their structure and function is a central problem in immu- nology. Such understanding may also help in designing new therapeutic approaches to allergy and autoimmunity, disorders in which these receptors are involved. In this minireview I discuss the new information about the structures of FcRs that has been obtained by molecu- lar cloning. It is becoming apparent that with one excep- tion (FccRII) the FcRs belong to the immunoglobulin (lg) superfamily, so that both the antibodies and their recep- tors are members of the same general family. However, the structural diversity of these receptors is greater than initially expected. The analysis of homologous receptors from different species is now possible and may help to identify those portions of the molecule that are function- ally important. Special emphasis is given here to the most complex of FcRs: the receptor with high affinity for IgE. One class of Fc receptors, the lg transporters, is not dis- cussed because of space limitations and because their mechanism of action is presumably quite different. Fc Receptors for /gG Distinct forms of FcyRs have been identified both in mice and in humans: a receptor (FcyRI) with high affinity for monomeric IgG, and other receptors (FcyRII and FcyRIII) that have only low affinity for monomeric IgG but that can effectively bind immune complexes by multiple recep- tor-ligand interactions (reviewed in Unkeless et al., 1988). Several mouse and human FcyRs have been cloned. All belong to the lg superfamily and with one exception (FcyRIII-PIG; see below) are integral membrane proteins with a leader peptide, an extracellular portion that is glycosylated, a single transmembrane segment, and a carboxy-terminal cytoplasmic “tail” (see figure). The ami- no-terminal extracellular portion contains two or three lg- related domains that show significant homology with the C2 set of lg domains as defined by A. Williams. These do- mains are formed by disulfide loops of variable length (42-44 residues) that are too short to allow confident pre- diction of their folding relative to a typical lg domain. Despite being members of the same family, FcyRs ex- hibit rich structural diversity. In the mouse, FcyRll is en- coded by two genes a and b. Because of alternative
Approximate computing for energy-efficient error-resilient multimedia systems

The rapid advancement in scaled silicon technology has resulted in the influx of numerous consumer devices with a plethora of applications. Multimedia applications which use image and video processing, pattern or facial recognition, data mining and synthesis have seen a significant increase in user base. These applications not only demand complex signal processing of digital data to achieve quality requirements specified by the user, but also need to operate in an energy-efficient manner, posing a significant design challenge. It should also be noted that majority of these applications have an inherent error-resiliency. This arises from the fact that: (a) these algorithms have to be noise tolerant to deal with real world input data, (b) large data sets are processed frequently with significant redundancy, (c) statistical or probabilistic computations are used in several cases, (d) human perception does not discern a small amount of error in output.
Isolation of a murine osteoclast colony-stimulating factor

Abstract Cultures of a cell line derived from a murine mammary carcinoma that induces hypercalcemia were examined for soluble products that could induce osteoclasts to differentiate from murine bone marrow cells. The serum-free culture supernatant of this cell line stimulated growth of colonies from bone marrow cells that exhibited tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase (TRAPase) activity. These TRAPase-positive cells demonstrated essential features of osteoclasts when cultured with mineralized bone or dentin. The culture period required for colony development and the frequency of colony-forming cells indicated that relatively primitive marrow progenitors were stimulated by a tumor-derived factor(s) to form immature osteoclasts. Other colony-stimulating factors (CSFs), including granulocyte CSF, macrophage CSF, granulocyte-macrophage CSF and interleukin 3, were ruled out as the source of the activity produced by the tumor cells. The biological activity was successfully purified by gel filtration chromatography and reverse-phase HPLC. By SDS/PAGE, the activity was traced to a protein of approximately 17 kDa. Functional and biochemical studies of the purified factor suggest that it is distinct from any known CSF of myeloid cells. This protein appears to be a CSF for the osteoclast lineage, osteoclast CSF (O-CSF).
Effect of Dramamine on the Objective Electrical Vestibulogram

The effects of Dramamine and a placebo (Vitamin C) were investigated on subjective responses and on the objective electrical vestibulogram. The latter is a plot of objectively determined absolute thresholds (RLs) against stimulus frequency for a lateral swaying response in standing, blindfolded Ss to sinusoidal electrical stimuli of various frequencies passed between S's mastoid processes. Numbers of subjective responses were not significantly different under the Dramamine and placebo conditions. The only effect on the objective vestibulogram was a rise in the RL at 0.20 cps. The results did not suggest any hypothesis as to the site of action of the drug, but did suggest that its mechanism in preventing the symptoms of motion sickness is very specific.
The impact of test ownership and team structure on the reliability and effectiveness of quality test runs

Context: Software testing is a crucial step in most software development processes. Testing software is a key component to manage and assess the risk of shipping quality products to customers. But testing is also an expensive process and changes to the system need to be tested thoroughly which may take time. Thus, the quality of a software product depends on the quality of its underlying testing process and on the effectiveness and reliability of individual test cases.Goal: In this paper, we investigate the impact of the organizational structure of test owners on the reliability and effectiveness of the corresponding test cases. Prior empirical research on organizational structure has focused only on developer activity. We expand the scope of empirical knowledge by assessing the impact of organizational structure on testing activities.Method: We performed an empirical study on the Windows build verification test suites (BVT) and relate effectiveness and reliability measures of each test run to the complexity and size of the organizational sub-structure that enclose all owners of test cases executed.Results: Our results show, that organizational structure impacts both test effectiveness and test execution reliability. We are also able to predict effectiveness and reliability with fairly high precision and recall values.Conclusion: We suggest to review test suites with respect to their organizational composition. As indicated by the results of this study, this would increase the effectiveness and reliability, development speed and developer satisfaction.
Five new species of Acanthobothrium (Cestoda: Tetraphyllidea) from himantura uarnacoides (Myliobatiformes: Dasyatidae) in Malaysian Borneo

Abstract As part of a survey of parasites of elasmobranchs of Malaysian Borneo, the cestode fauna of the dasyatid stingray Himantura uarnacoides was examined for the first time. Among other cestodes, this stingray was found to host 5 species of Acanthobothrium van Beneden, 1849 new to science. Based on the criteria of Ghoshroy and Caira (2001), these consisted of the 4 category 1 species (<15 mm total length, <50 proglottids, <80 testes, with a symmetrical ovary) Acanthobothrium foulki n. sp., Acanthobothrium gnomus n. sp., Acanthobothrium larsoni n. sp., and Acanthobothrium lepidum n. sp., and 1 category 2 species (<15 mm total length, <50 proglottids, <80 testes, with an asymmetrical ovary), Acanthobothrium tetabuanense n. sp. Acanthobothrium foulki and A. larsoni differ from all of the ∼150 known species of Acanthobothrium except Acanthobothrium southwelli Subhapradha, 1955 and Acanthobothrium saliki Fyler and Caira, 2006 in their possession of testes posterior to the ovarian bridge. However, A. foulki...
Predictors of renal and cardiovascular mortality in patients with non-insulin-dependent diabetes : A brief overview of microalbuminuria and insulin resistance

Abstract Both microalbuminuria and insulin resistance are present at some stage in the natural history of non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM). Microalbuminuria predicts both progression to endstage renal disease and an increase in cardiovascular mortality compared to diabetic patients without microalbuminuria. Conversely, microalbuminuria is not a strong predictor of either renal or cardiovascular mortality in hypertensive nondiabetic subjects. This difference in risk may relate to the presence of glycated albumin in patients with diabetes. Glycation of albumin occurs because of persistent hyperglycemia. Glycated albumin is directly toxic to both renal and vascular tissue through stimulation of reactive oxygen species by both renal and immune protective cells. Blunting the rise in microalbuminuria with either aggressive blood glucose control or angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibition, early in the course of the disease, markedly reduces renal mortality. In contrast to microalbuminuria, which is a reflection of renal injury, insulin resistance is a genetically determined problem that directly relates to peripheral glucose utilization. In most cases, insulin resistance is phenotypically expressed as diabetes as a result of environmental factors such as obesity. Insulin resistance is associated with an increased risk for development of both hypertension and NIDDM as well as atherosclerosis. Diabetic or hypertensive subjects with insulin resistance have an increased risk of cardiovascular but not renal mortality. Sustained weight loss is the best way to reduce insulin resistance and arterial pressure. Additionally, α blockers, more than other antihypertensive agents reduce insulin resistance. This class of drugs, however, has not been shown to reduce either microalbuminuria or overall cardio-renal mortality.
N-Acetylaspartate in the CNS: From neurodiagnostics to neurobiology

The brain is unique among organs in many respects, including its mechanisms of lipid synthesis and energy production. The nervous system-specific metabolite N-acetylaspartate (NAA), which is synthesized from aspartate and acetyl-coenzyme A in neurons, appears to be a key link in these distinct biochemical features of CNS metabolism. During early postnatal central nervous system (CNS) development, the expression of lipogenic enzymes in oligodendrocytes, including the NAA-degrading enzyme aspartoacylase (ASPA), is increased along with increased NAA production in neurons. NAA is transported from neurons to the cytoplasm of oligodendrocytes, where ASPA cleaves the acetate moiety for use in fatty acid and steroid synthesis. The fatty acids and steroids produced then go on to be used as building blocks for myelin lipid synthesis. Mutations in the gene for ASPA result in the fatal leukodystrophy Canavan disease, for which there is currently no effective treatment. Once postnatal myelination is completed, NAA may continue to be involved in myelin lipid turnover in adults, but it also appears to adopt other roles, including a bioenergetic role in neuronal mitochondria. NAA and ATP metabolism appear to be linked indirectly, whereby acetylation of aspartate may facilitate its removal from neuronal mitochondria, thus favoring conversion of glutamate to alpha ketoglutarate which can enter the tricarboxylic acid cycle for energy production. In its role as a mechanism for enhancing mitochondrial energy production from glutamate, NAA is in a key position to act as a magnetic resonance spectroscopy marker for neuronal health, viability and number. Evidence suggests that NAA is a direct precursor for the enzymatic synthesis of the neuron specific dipeptide N-acetylaspartylglutamate, the most concentrated neuropeptide in the human brain. Other proposed roles for NAA include neuronal osmoregulation and axon-glial signaling. We propose that NAA may also be involved in brain nitrogen balance. Further research will be required to more fully understand the biochemical functions served by NAA in CNS development and activity, and additional functions are likely to be discovered.