cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Active and passive acquisition of health-related information on the Web by college students

Using the Internet as a source of health information is increasing among the college population (Escoffery et al., 2005; Ogan et al., 2008). A number of studies investigated how frequently they actively seek health-related information on the Internet, popular topics, used online sources (Baxter et al., 2008; Buhi et al., 2009; Escoffery et al., 2005; Hogan & Sweeney, 2012; Zuckerman, 2009). However, none of the studies compared if there is any difference between their active and passive health information acquisition. This poster presents the preliminary findings of a study on how college students obtain online health information, health-related topic and web-based sources they use to obtain health information in both passive and active manner, as well as if there is any difference in information acquisition style based on the information source. 2193 survey responses were collected using Qualtrics software. The findings of this study suggest that college students tend to actively seek health information more often than accidentally stumble upon it. The most common topic students look for in both passive and active manner are diet/nutrition and fitness/exercise. Health information is actively sought using search engines and Wikipedia and passively encountered using social networking sites and search engines. Keywords Online health information, information seeking information encountering, the Internet, college students
The roles of identity formation and moral identity in college student mental health, health-risk behaviors, and psychological well-being.

OBJECTIVES: This study examined the roles of identity formation and moral identity in predicting college student mental health (anxiety and depressive symptoms), health-risk behaviors (hazardous alcohol use and sexual risk taking), and psychological well-being (self-esteem and meaning). METHOD: The sample comprised 9,500 college students (aged 18-25 years, mean = 19.78, standard deviation = 1.61; 73% female; 62% European American), from 31 different universities, who completed an online self-report survey. RESULTS: Structural equation models found that identity maturity (commitment making and identity synthesis) predicted 5 of the health outcomes (except sexual risk taking), and moral identity predicted all of the health outcomes. In most cases identity maturity and moral identity also interacted in predicting mental health and psychological well-being, but not health-risk behaviors. CONCLUSIONS: The maturity and specific contents of identity may both play unique and often interactive roles in predicting college student health. Thus, college student health might be bolstered by helping them establish appropriate identity commitments. Language: en
The Biosynthesis of Folic Acid: VII. ENZYMATIC SYNTHESIS OF PTERIDINES FROM GUANOSINE TRIPHOSPHATE

Abstract Enzyme preparations from Escherichia coli catalyze the conversion of various species of 2-amino-4-hydroxy-6-(polyhydroxyalkyl)dihydropteridines to dihydropteroic acid. Of these compounds, the one utilized most efficiently by the enzyme system is 2-amino-4-hydroxy-6-(d-erythro-1',2',3'-trihydroxypropyl)dihydropteridine. Evidence is presented to show that the latter compound is converted by a heat-stable enzyme or enzymes to 2-amino-4-hydroxy-6-hydroxymethyldihydropteridine, a compound which is used directly as substrate for the formation of dihydropteroate and thus represents an intermediate in the conversion of the polyhydroxyalkyldihydropteridines to dihydropteroate. Evidence is presented which indicates that the enzyme system that catalyzes the synthesis of dihydropteroate from p-aminobenzoate and guanosine triphosphate will convert GTP to pteridine intermediates when p-aminobenzoate and ATP are left out of the reaction mixture. The pteridines that have been identified as products of this transformation are 2-amino-4-hydroxy-6-hydroxymethyldihydropteridine and 2-amino-4-hydroxy-6-(erythro-1',2',3'-trihydroxypropyl)dihydropteridine. Smaller quantities of the corresponding threo isomer of the latter compound are also made enzymatically from GTP, but the significance of the formation of this compound is not clear.
Bond pricing and the macroeconomy

This chapter reviews some of the academic literature that links nominal and real term structures with the macroeconomy. The main conclusion is that none of our models is consistent with basic properties of nominal yields. It is difficult to explain the average shape of the nominal yield curve, the variation of yields over time, and the predictability of excess bond returns. There are two overarching problems. First, much of the variation over time in economic activity is orthogonal to variation in nominal yields, and vice versa. Second, although mean excess returns to nominal Treasury bonds are positive, these returns do not appear to positively covary with risks that require compensation, at least according to standard asset-pricing models.
Child Adjustment of Single-Parent Adoption from China

Abstract A sample of 126 single-mother adoptive families was compared with 415 dual-parent adoptive families on their adopted Chinese daughters' internalizing and externalizing problem behaviors as measured by the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) parent report form. The single-mother families included 110 preschool (1.5–5 yrs) and 34 school-aged adoptees (6–11 yrs). The dual-parent families included 378 preschool and 131 school-aged adoptees. No group difference was found between adoptees from the two types of families on either the internalizing or the externalizing problem scale. The preschool adoptees from both single-and dual-parent families scored significantly lower than the U.S. norms on the internalizing and externalizing problem scale. The school-aged Chinese adoptees from both types of families also scored significantly lower than the U.S. norms on the externalizing problem scale. For both preschool and school-aged adoptees, family type did not predict any group difference in the problem behavior...
A successful experiment in curriculum integration: integrated science and technology at James Madison University

In 1988, the Virginia general assembly created the "commission on the university of the 21st century", which challenged each Virginia university to provide leadership in bringing about needed educational reform. In response to this challenge, James Madison university proposed an innovative new major entitled "integrated science and technology" (ISAT). ISAT integrates the study of science, mathematics, and technology in the context of societal and business concerns to uniquely qualify graduates to play a central role in creative scientific and technological problem solving. ISAT graduates are able to creatively solve scientific and technological problems in a real-world context with an appreciation for economic, social, political, and legal constraints. They communicate effectively and work productively in teams with individuals from a variety of disciplines. ISAT has grown from an enrollment of 62 students in its first freshman class (1993), to graduating over 200 seniors in 2002. ISAT has, by all measures, demonstrated a successful implementation of the original program vision.
Whistleblowing in the Fortune 1000: What practitioners told us about wrongdoing in corporations in a pilot study

Abstract This pilot study asked corporate public relations executives and practitioners in the largest publicly traded corporations in the United States about their involvement in developing and/or publicizing the anonymous, internal whistleblowing channel to report financial fraud mandated by the Sarbanes–Oxley Act of 2002, their awareness of wrongdoing, their reporting of wrongdoing, their view of their responsibility to report wrongdoing, and the consequences of reporting wrongdoing. The study found that two-thirds of respondents worked for corporations with the anonymous whistleblowing channel; only one-fifth helped develop it; almost two-thirds helped publicize it; almost half knew of wrongdoing during their careers or knew someone who did; two-thirds of those who knew about wrongdoing reported it; more than three-quarters who reported said reporting was not part of their job; virtually all who reported did so internally; almost two-thirds of those reported through chain-of-command channels; and one-third of those who reported (and were identified) suffered retaliation.
Toward Building an IT Disaster Recovery Site for Oil and Gas Companies

Typiaclly, the main objective of any IT disaster recovery assessment is to support a sustainable long term Disaster Recovery (DR) Data Center and Facilities strategy, both from IT and Business perspectives. In this paper, we provide an outline for carefully building an IT disaster recovery site for data centers running highly critical scientific applications. By presenting the EXPEC Computer Center (ECC) of Saudi Aramco as an example, we show that careful considerations on the location of DR facilities, proper capacity planning, careful selection of data center tier type, and recovery timelines considerations are all crucial elements when assessing the feasibility and practicality of establishing the disaster recovery site.
The Consumption of Lycopene and Tomato-Based Food Products Is Not Associated with the Risk of Type 2 Diabetes in Women

Lycopene is a major carotenoid with potent antioxidant properties that may provide protection against the development of type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM). In this study we examined the association between baseline dietary intakes of lycopene, lycopene-containing foods, and the subsequent development of type 2 DM in a large prospective cohort study. We analyzed a total of 35,783 women from the United States, aged > or =45 y and free from self-reported cardiovascular disease, cancer, and DM at baseline. Intakes of lycopene and total and individual tomato-based food products were assessed by a 131-item-validated semiquantitative food-frequency questionnaire. During a median follow-up of 10.2 y, 1544 cases of incident type 2 DM were documented. After adjusting for age, total energy intake, randomized treatment assignment, body mass index, and other known DM risk factors, the multivariate-adjusted relative risks and 95% CI of type 2 DM across increasing quintiles of dietary lycopene, were 1.00 (baseline), 1.10 (0.94-1.29), 1.10 (0.94-1.29), and 1.07 (0.91-1.26) (P linear trend = 0.56). Compared with women who consumed or =10 servings/wk had multivariate relative risks (95% CI) of 1.03 (0.88-1.20), 1.02 (0.87-1.20), 1.09 (0.89-1.33), and 1.04 (0.80-1.36), respectively (P linear trend = 0.54). The associations for individual tomato-based food products were similar to the results for the combination of all tomato products. Our study found little evidence for an association between dietary intake of lycopene or lycopene-containing foods and the risk of type 2 DM.
Young Children's Affective Responses to Acceptance and Rejection From Peers: A Computer‐based Task Sensitive to Variation in Temperamental Shyness and Gender

This study presents a novel task examining young children's affective responses to evaluative feedback-specifically, social acceptance and rejection-from peers. We aimed to determine (1) whether young children report their affective responses to hypothetical peer evaluation predictably and consistently, and (2) whether young children's responses to peer evaluation vary as a function of temperamental shyness and gender. Four- to seven-year-old children (N = 48) sorted pictures of unknown, similar-aged children into those with whom they wished or did not wish to play. Computerized peer evaluation later noted whether the pictured children were interested in a future playdate with participants. Participants then rated their affective responses to each acceptance or rejection event. Children were happy when accepted by children with whom they wanted to play, and disappointed when these children rejected them. Highly shy boys showed a wider range of responses to acceptance and rejection based on initial social interest, and may be particularly sensitive to both positive and negative evaluation. Overall, the playdate task captures individual differences in affective responses to evaluative peer feedback and is potentially amenable to future applications in research with young children, including pairings with psychophysiological measures.
Evaluation of small noncoding RNAs in ex vivo stored human mature red blood cells: changes in noncoding RNA levels correlate with storage lesion events.

BACKGROUND While biomarkers of storage lesions (SLs) for red blood cells (RBCs) abound, the physiologic consequences of SLs and associated important events are poorly understood. Previously we have identified differentially expressed regulatory small noncoding RNAs (ncRNAs) in stored RBCs, suggesting their role in the RBC SL process and their potential as quality biomarkers of stored RBCs. STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS Comprehensive ncRNA expression analysis of RBCs stored for up to 56 days was performed on RNAs collected from enriched mature RBCs on Days 0, 7, 14, 28, 42, and 56. Three known RBC SL processes, that is, mature RBCs’ suicidal death (eryptosis), ATP loss, and changes in RBC indices, were correlated with differentially expressed ncRNAs to gain knowledge on the SL molecular processes. RESULTS The analysis identified four ncRNAs whose changes in the expression levels were correlated with the selected three SL processes. Differential expression on Days 14 and 28 of the four selected ncRNAs was confirmed by TaqMan quantitative reverse transcription–polymerase chain reaction analysis. Bioinformatics analysis identified potential targets and biologic functions of these ncRNAs. Overexpression of one such ncRNA, hsa-miR-196a, in a human erythroblast cell line confirmed its protective effects against the cell death and ATP loss. CONCLUSION Overall, this study demonstrates that changes in the levels of small ncRNAs of stored RBCs correlate with some of the SL events and thus they have the potential to serve as the storage quality markers.
How Do We Acquire Parental Responsibilities

It is commonly believed that parents have special duties toward their children—weightier duties than they owe other children. How these duties are acquired, however, is not well understood. This is problematic when claims about parental responsibilities are challenged; for example, when people deny that they are morally responsible for their biological offspring. In this paper I present a theory of the origins of parental responsibilities that can resolve such cases of disputed moral parenthood. I begin by explaining the case of accidental fathers—men who took all the precautions they were expected to but still impregnated their partners. This case brings out a tension between certain general principles for assigning moral responsibility and the practice of assigning parental responsibilities equally to biological parents who conceive through voluntary intercourse. This practice makes the extent of responsibility disproportionate to the risk taken, and it implies that men and women have different moral powers without relevant differences. To deal with this problem we need an explanation of how parental responsibilities are acquired, in general. I consider two possible accounts of parental responsibilities that treat them as natural duties, that is, duties whose existence is independent of convention. Neither can explain paradigmatic cases of parenthood. Instead, I propose a conventional-acts account, according to which parental duties are taken on by individuals through acts whose meaning is determined by social convention. The artificiality of social conventions explains why the extent of parental responsibilities need not be proportional to the risks taken in sex. It also permits certain inequalities between the sexes with regard to how parental responsibilities are undertaken. We may criticize such inequalities, but such evaluations of parenting conventions should be distinguished from the question of whether people acting under the conventions have acquired parental responsibilities. Accidental fathers, for example, would have taken on responsibility for their children through the act of sexual intercourse, even if there were good reasons for changing the convention according to which sex has this significance.
Modeling position error probability density functions for statistical inversions using a Goff–Jordan rough surface model

Buried unexploded ordnance (UXO) continues to be a difficult remediation problem from both a sensing and a discrimination point of view. Modern approaches to both the sensing and discrimination problems utilize high bandwidth electromagnetic induction (EMI) sensors to collect geo-referenced data which is then inverted, or fit, using a forward model in order to obtain features that can be directly interpreted using the physics associated with electromagnetic induction-based sensing. These features are then used in a variety of classification architectures. One aspect of this process that has captured recent interest is that uncertainty in the positions at which data was collected can degrade the inversion performance and thus the subsequent classification. Several mechanisms to address this issue have been explored that range from filtering and prediction of actual positions to exploiting Bayesian approaches for uncertainty mitigation. In the Bayesian approach, a statistical model of the position errors is used as a prior for integrating over the uncertainty in the inversion process. In this study, we demonstrate that errors in the statistical priors used in this process can negatively impact subsequent classification performance, thus highlighting the need for an accurate statistical model for the position errors. Next, we propose a mechanism by which to obtain such models. Specifically, we utilize a Goff–Jordan rough surface model and simulate the sensor data collection system motion over the simulated ground or ocean surfaces to calculate errors and generate statistical models. Our results suggest that this approach can be used to develop the statistical models necessary for mitigating uncertain position information.
Asymptotic variance estimation in multivariate distributions

Abstract A version of an asymptotic estimation problem of the unknown variance in a multivariate location-scale parameter family is studied under a general loss function. The asymptotic inadmissibility of the traditional estimator is established. In a particular case we derive an admissible improvement on this estimator.
Inductive judgments about natural categories

The present study examined the effects of semantic structure on simple inductive judgments about category members. For a particular category (e.g., mammals), subjects were told that one of the species (e.g., horses) had a given property (an unknown disease) and were asked to estimate the proportion of instances in the other species that possessed the property. The results indicated that category structure—in particular, the typicality of the species—influenced subjects' judgments. These results were interpreted by models based on the following assumption: When little is known about the underlying distribution of a property, subjects assume that the distribution mirrors that of better-known properties. For this reason, if subjects learn that an unknown property is possessed by a typical species (i.e., one that shares many of its properties with other category members), they are more likely to generalize than if the same fact had been learned about an atypical species.
A study of tektites

A three-year research program at Boston University is described. A field survey was made in Texas, Georgia, Martha's Vineyard, and southern states along the Jackson formation. Sandstone taken from the tektite fields was fused into a glass by means of a solar furnace with an energy expenditure of 1.6×1011 ergs g−1. Although solar furnace glass resembled tektite material in its gross characteristics, there were notable differences in the magnetic domains and in the bubble content. Ablation experiments were carried out using tektite material in a plasma jet. It was found that with a Mach number of 0.47 the flange, so characteristic of flight forms, did not form as a stable structure. The new evidence has been combined with existing data in a logic table to assess the various theories of the origin of tektites. Arguments and interpretations are given on the basis of this table to show that tektites are produced as splashes of fused material from terrestrial craters formed by impact with a meteorite or asteroid.
Resonant electrodynamic heating of stellar coronal loops - An LRC circuit analog

The electrodynamic coupling of stellar coronal loops to underlying beta velocity fields. A rigorous analysis revealed that the physics can be represented by a simple yet equivalent LRC circuit analogue. This analogue points to the existence of global structure oscillations which resonantly excite internal field line oscillations at a spatial resonance within the coronal loop. Although the width of this spatial resonance, as well as the induced currents and coronal velocity field, explicitly depend upon viscosity and resistivity, the resonant form of the generalized electrodynamic heating function is virtually independent of irreversibilities. This is a classic feature of high quality resonators that are externally driven by a broad band source of spectral power. Applications to solar coronal loops result in remarkable agreement with observations.
Warm or cold environments

Climate Modes of the Phanerozoic. byL. A. Frakes J. E. Francis andJ. I. Syktus. Cambridge University Press: 1992. Pp. 274. £40, $69.95.
Si Me Permiten Hablar: Limitations of the Human Rights Tradition to Address Racial Inequality

In this paper we address some of the major limitations of the human rights tradition (HRT) in addressing issues of racial inequality. We contend that the universalist and individual-based framework of HRT fails to appreciate the significance of society's racial structure. More importantly, HRT ignores how race fractured the world system creating differently valued human bodies. In addition to addressing some of the shortcomings of HRT, we present challenges for those in the tradition and advance several alternatives for academics who want to work towards the elimination of race-based inequality in the world.
Anion-exchange behaviour of the alkaline earth metals

Abstract The anion-exchange behaviour of complexes of magnesium, calcium, strontium and barium with 2,6-pyridinedicarboxylic acid has been related to the formation constants of the complexes. The results have been found to be consistent with the concept that the metal is absorbed by the resin in the form (MA 2 2− ).
CONFIGR: A vision-based model for long-range figure completion

CONFIGR (CONtour FIgure GRound) is a computational model based on principles of biological vision that completes sparse and noisy image figures. Within an integrated vision/recognition system, CONFIGR posits an initial recognition stage which identifies figure pixels from spatially local input information. The resulting, and typically incomplete, figure is fed back to the ''early vision'' stage for long-range completion via filling-in. The reconstructed image is then re-presented to the recognition system for global functions such as object recognition. In the CONFIGR algorithm, the smallest independent image unit is the visible pixel, whose size defines a computational spatial scale. Once the pixel size is fixed, the entire algorithm is fully determined, with no additional parameter choices. Multi-scale simulations illustrate the vision/recognition system. Open-source CONFIGR code is available online, but all examples can be derived analytically, and the design principles applied at each step are transparent. The model balances filling-in as figure against complementary filling-in as ground, which blocks spurious figure completions. Lobe computations occur on a subpixel spatial scale. Originally designed to fill-in missing contours in an incomplete image such as a dashed line, the same CONFIGR system connects and segments sparse dots, and unifies occluded objects from pieces locally identified as figure in the initial recognition stage. The model self-scales its completion distances, filling-in across gaps of any length, where unimpeded, while limiting connections among dense image-figure pixel groups that already have intrinsic form. Long-range image completion promises to play an important role in adaptive processors that reconstruct images from highly compressed video and still camera images.
EDF scheduling using two-mode voltage-clock-scaling for hard real-time systems

Scaling down power supply voltage yields a quadratic reduction in dynamic power dissipation and also requires a reduction in clock frequency. In order to meet task deadlines in hard real-time systems, the delay penalty in voltage scaling needs to be carefully considered to achieve low power consumption. In this paper, we focus on dynamic reclaiming of early released resources in Earliest Deadline First (EDF) scheduling using voltage scaling. In addition to a static voltage assignment, we propose a new dynamic-mode assignment, which has a flexible voltage mode setting at run-time enabling much larger energy savings. Using simulation results and exploiting the interplay between power supply voltage, frequency, and circuit delay in CMOS technology, we find the optimal two-level voltage settings that minimize energy consumption.
High school outreach and family involvement

This study addressed the question: when high schools reach out to involve parents, are parents more likely to be involved in their teenagers'; education? Guided by the microinteractionst theory of symbolic interaction, this study analyzed individual-level reports from parents about their perceptions of school outreach and of their own involvement. Data were analyzed from over 11,000 parents of high school seniors participating in the National Educational Longitudinal Study of 1988. Findings revealed that, regardless of students' background and achievement, high schools' outreach positively and significantly predicted parents' involvement in a range of parenting, volunteering, and learning at home activities. The data suggest that high schools have the capacity to conduct activities that encourage families' involvement in teenagers' learning and development.
Holographic filter for coherent radiation

It is proposed to construct holographic devices which act as optical elements to modify the path of high spatially coherent radiation but not affect incoherent radiation. The device be composed of a laser-read holographic element in association with a band-pass spatial filter. The holographic filters will be wavelength independent to allow possible action as agile filters for laser safety protection while maintaining sufficient transmission for visual performance.
Interspecific variation of bark water storage capacity of three deciduous tree species in relation to stemflow yield and solute flux to forest soils

Abstract The purpose of the study was to: (1) test if normative bark water storage capacities differed significantly among three co-occurring deciduous tree species; and (2) examine the extent to which stemflow production and resulting solute inputs in temperate deciduous forests are affected by bark water storage capacity. Normative bark water storage capacities were determined for: Betula lenta L. (sweet birch), Carya glabra Mill. (pignut hickory), and Quercus rubra L. (northern red oak). Using the computed normative bark water storage capacities, previously published allometric equations relating tree diameter to aboveground woody surface area, and stemflow yield and chemistry data from ten precipitation events, the influence of bark water storage capacity on stemflow production and solute inputs was examined. Results demonstrated normative bark water storage capacities differed significantly among the tree species examined. Quercus rubra was found to hold the most water and B. lenta the least. For a 30 cm diameter tree, normative bark water storage capacities ranged from approximately 100 l for B. lenta to 250 l for Q. rubra. Despite a higher normative bark water storage capacity, Q. rubra was computed to have the largest stemflow solute inputs. Differences in stemflow quantities as well as solute inputs were attributable to interspecific variation in bark morphology and branching architecture, characteristics that affect amount of storage and detention times. Bark water storage capacity is linked with the geoecology of temperate deciduous forests because stemflow volume and solute inputs are partly determined by bark water storage capacity.
Picking Up Narrative Pieces in a Surrealist Prose Poem

This study involves a problem of narrative discontinuity in a text from Andre Breton's prose poem collection, Poisson soluble. It is an analysis of how certain textual signifiers – seen from the perspective of certain repeated formal aspects – generate a series of morphophonemic paradigms which take on a peculiar narrative quality of their own for the reader attuned to repetition. The narration in question is located above and beyond the level of “ordinary” referentiality. Instead of meaning just what they do “normally” on the denotative and connotative planes, these signifiers create a kind of subliminal, and supplementary, narration which justifies the otherwise seemingly gratuitous details encountered in the later part of the poem.
Integrating information literacy using problem-based learning

Teaching information literacy skills is increasingly difficult as the number of students entering the university demonstrate an extraordinary confidence using technology. Students and subject area faculty often do not grasp the subtle difference between being technology proficient and being information literate. Some faculty are even beginning to dismiss library instruction by saying “my students already know how to use the Internet”. This paper introduces a new method for teaching essential information literacy skills, combined with problem solving techniques, to develop, promote, and assess critical and analytical thinking of students further (and faculty) using information technologies today.
The effect of an inhomogeneous interphase on the elastic constants of transversely isotropic composites

Abstract We investigate the effect of an inhomogeneous interphase on elastic constants of unidirectional fiber reinforced composites. We assume that the interphase, a zone between a fiber and a matrix, has elastic properties changing with the radial distance from the fiber's boundary. We consider two types of variation: linear and power, and include numerical examples for a glass/epoxy and a graphite/epoxy composite.
The cultures of archaeoastronomy and the history of science

This essay draws on the skeptical opinions that some historians of science have of archaeoastronomy, on historians' changing interpretations of proper historical method, and on their varied understandings of the nature of science to discuss how these methodological issues apply to archaeoastronomy. The essay argues that archaeoastronomical research should bear as much attention to the external context of early astronomies as it does to their internal content, suggesting specifically that insights into the origins of science can be gained by paying greater attention to the practitioners of early astronomies—to the skywatchers.
Detection and identification of transient enzyme intermediates using rapid mixing, pulsed-flow electrospray mass spectrometry.

Rapid chemical quench methods coupled with off-line detection have proven to be very useful in identifying enzyme reaction intermediates. However, a limitation to this approach involves enzyme intermediates which are too labile under the chemical quenching conditions to allow detection and characterization. In this report, we describe the development of a novel approach for the detection and characterization of enzyme intermediates on the subsecond time scale using a "pulsed flow" method which employs a direct interface between a rapid-mixing device and electrospray ionization mass spectrometry. The application of this technique with the enzyme 5-enolpyruvoyl-shikimate-3-phosphate (EPSP) synthase is demonstrated. This enzyme converts shikimate-3-phosphate (S3P) and phosphoenol pyruvate (PEP) to EPSP and inorganic phosphate. Previous rapid chemical quench studies have shown that this reaction proceeds through a tetrahedral intermediate [Anderson, K. S., et al. (1988) J. Am.Chem. Soc. 110, 6577-6579] formed transiently at the enzyme active site. We have shown that this tetrahedral intermediate can be directly detected on a subsecond time scale without chemical quenching by interfacing a rapid mixing apparatus directly with an on-line electrospray ionization ion trap mass spectrometer. Negative ion mass spectra collected by electrospray ionization indicate peaks for S3P (m/z 253), PEP (m/z 167), EPSP (m/z323), and the tetrahedral intermediate (m/z 421). Further confirmation was provided by performing the same experiment with [13C-1]-labeled PEP. These spectra confirmed the anticipated shift of 1 atomic mass unit for PEP (m/z 168), EPSP (m/z 324), and the tetrahedral intermediate (m/z 422) with no change in S3P (m/z 253). The collision-induced dissociation of the unlabeled tetrahedral intermediate peak (m/z421) produced a daughter ion at m/z 323, which is most likely EPSP resulting from the loss of phosphate and is consistent with previous studies which have examined the chemical breakdown of the tetrahedral intermediate in solution [Anderson, K. S., et al. (1990) J. Biol. Chem. 265, 5567-6672]. This technique is under development and should be a useful method to study the transient formation of enzyme intermediates.
A method for quantifying travel productivity for corporate travel managers

Abstract For large corporations with significant travel budgets, the efficiency in execution of employee travel is critical to the productivity of the enterprise. Air travel disruptions (i.e. delays, cancellations, missed connections) prevent employees from performing enterprise related tasks resulting in lost billable revenue and unbudgeted Indirect costs (e.g. unplanned overnight stays for stranded passengers, and idle time charges). Since travel disruption data is not readily available to Corporate Travel Managers, the Indirect charges cannot be included in budgets, and the magnitude of lost billable revenue is not known. Further, without measuring the travel delays and their impact, it is not possible to understand the underlying causes of the delays to improve the process. This paper describes a method for providing Corporate Travel Departments travel disruption statistics and their impact on revenue and profits. The method overcomes the problem of the absence of data by deriving travel delay statistics for corporate travel from publicly available historic airline flight data-bases. The method also uses a travel delay cost model to estimate the financial impact of travel disruptions. The implications of these results on Corporate Travel Management (CTM) productivity improvement strategies, corporate travel and indirect budgets, contracts with travel providers, and travel insurance are discussed.
The role of nonuniform dielectric permittivity in the determination of heterojunction band offsets by C-V profiling through isotype heterojunctions

Abstract Up to now, C–V profiling through isotype heterojunctions has been performed assuming a uniform dielectric permittivity throughout the heterostructure. We extend the interpretation of C–V data to the case of a semiconductor with position-dependent dielectric permittivity, and we show that the variation of the dielectric permittivity across an isotype heterojunction interface has no effect on the determination of the heterojunction band discontinuity and the interface charge density.
Implementation parallelized queueing network simulations using FORTRAN and data abstraction

Researchers experimenting with simulation on novel computers with parallel architectures must contend with numerous disadvantages: limited availability of programming tools, unique synchronization problems when implementing the simulation, and unexpected interactions between elements of the simulation and characteristics of the underlying computer. Since FORTRAN is likely to be available on the computer and familiar to the researcher, it may be the most logical candidate for coding the simulation. However, FORTRAN does not enforce data abstraction, a useful tool in specifying, designing, and implementing a simulation effort. FAD is a FORTRAN preprocessor which allows the encapsulation of user-defined abstract data types. Data abstraction and FAD is illustrated in the simulation of a queueing network. The separation of concerns between a simulation expert ("the user") and an expert in exploiting a parallel architecture ("the implementor") has benefits for both.
The crystal chemistry of cerium in the monazite structure-type phase of tailored-ceramic nuclear waste forms

Monazite prepared at 1200°C in air was observed to incorporate cerium as 3+ and not 4+ even when charge compensation mechanisms for Ce4+ inclusion were present. The consequences of this phenomenon for the use of monazite structure-type solid solutions for transuranic nuclide isolation in radioactive waste management are discussed. The use of cerium as a substitute for the actinides is also considered.
Recurrent abdominal pain in children.

Recurrent abdominal pain (RAP) is a common complaint of children and adolescents. RAP is a benign pain syndrome for 95% of these children. Nurses may see children with RAP in schools, hospitals, and office settings. They can be actively involved in case finding, assessment, monitoring, intervention, and education for these children and their families. The precise cause of RAP is not known. A number of etiologic theories and models are discussed. Appropriate approaches to assessment and intervention based on these theories and current research data are described.
Autism: the first firm finding = underconnectivity?

In January 2005, J.R. Hughes and M. Melyn published an electroencephalographic study on autistic children and found 46% with seizures and also a relatively high prevalence of 20% with epileptiform discharges but without any clinical seizures (Clin EEG Neurosci 2005;36:15–20). Because the discharges have always been viewed as focal events and the clinical seizures as requiring spread, the conclusion from these data was that children with autism may have a deficiency of corticocortical fibers. Since that time many MRI and functional MRI studies have been published confirming that one of the first findings in this devastating condition is underconnectivity. Specific findings are the thinning of the corpus callosum and the reduced connectivity, especially with the frontal areas and also the fusiform face area. Other studies involving positron emission tomography scans, magnetoencephalography, and perception have added to the evidence of underconnectivity. One final point is the initial overgrowth of white matter in the first 2 years of life in autistic children, followed later by arrested growth, resulting in aberrant connectivity; myelination of white matter will likely be significant in the etiology of autism.
The effects of physical structure and semantic organization on the recall of prose

Abstract The effects of a prose passage's physical structure and semantic organization upon free recall performance was investigated. Passages, describing characteristics of fictitious countries, contained either five or nine paragraphs on attributes of the countries. Results showed that Mandler's in J. L. Cowan (Ed.), Studies in thought and language. Tucson: University of Arizona Press, 1970 ] organizational limits could apply to prose as well as word lists and could be used to explain previous discrepant results in semantic organization research. Results showed differences in the distribution of materials interacting with type of semantic organization to produce differences in recall. Different learning strategies imposed by the passage's semantic organization were also found.
RhoA Stimulates p27Kip Degradation through Its Regulation of Cyclin E/CDK2 Activity

RhoA has been identified as an important regulator of cell proliferation. We recently showed that the Ras/RhoA pathway regulates the degradation of p27(Kip) and the progression of Chinese hamster embryo fibroblasts (IIC9 cells) through G1 into S phase (Weber, J. D., Hu, W., Jefcoat, S. C., Raben, D. M., and Baldassare, J. J. (1997) J. Biol. Chem. 272, 32966-32971). In this report, we have demonstrated that, in IIC9 cells, RhoA regulates cyclin E/CDK2 activity, which is required for p27(Kip) degradation. As previously shown in several fibroblasts cell lines, expression of dominant-negative CDK2 in IIC9 cells blocked serum-induced cyclin E/CDK2 activity and p27(Kip) degradation. In the absence of serum, expression of constitutively active RhoA(63) resulted in significant stimulation of cyclin E/CDK2 activity and degradation of p27(Kip). Cotransfection of dominant-negative CDK2 and RhoA(63) inhibited RhoA(63)-induced cyclin E/CDK2 activity and p27(Kip) degradation. In addition, expression of dominant-negative RhoA blocked serum-induced cyclin E/CDK2 activity and p27(Kip) degradation. Finally, expression of catalytically active cyclin E/CDK2 rescued the effect of expression of dominant-negative RhoA. Taken together, these data show that RhoA regulates p27(Kip) degradation through its regulation of cyclin E/CDK2 activity.
The Effect of Metacognitive Knowledge on Local and Global Monitoring

Abstract This study investigated whether knowledge of cognition affects regulation of cognition. College students were assigned to one of three levels of monitoring ability based on pre-experimental self-report data and then completed a reading comprehension test in which they monitored their local (i.e., during testing) and global (i.e., after testing) performance. Self-appraised high monitors scored higher on a standardized reading comprehension test and were more confident and accurate when evaluating their test performance locally and globally compared to low monitors. Global monitoring scores improved significantly for high but not low monitors due in part to information acquired during testing. These results suggest that most college students possess metacognitive knowledge about their learning even though a large proportion do not use this knowledge to improve their on-line regulation of test performance.
Therapeutic options for the treatment of postherpetic neuralgia: a systematic review.

ABSTRACTPostherpetic neuralgia (PHN) is a chronic and painful condition that may result in significant disturbances to normal activities and decreases in the quality of life for those affected. Despite the availability of several first- and second-line treatment options, many patients may experience refractory pain. The objectives of this review were to summarize evidence for Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved and off-label therapies for the treatment of PHN and to present gaps in the current literature for future research focus. Several agents, including pregabalin, gabapentin, and opioids, have been shown to significantly improve pain when compared with placebo. However, evidence regarding the comparative effectiveness of these treatment alternatives is lacking. In order to choose the optimal treatment, providers should consider issues related to efficacy, safety, and tolerability in conjunction with patient goals, preferences, and adherence issues. Evidence from randomized or observational stu...
Divergent pathways for δ-aminolevulinic acid synthesis in two species of Arthrobacter

Secretion of coproporphyrin III by suspensions of Arthrobacter photogonimos and A. globiformis facilitated analysis of the paths of synthesis of δ-aminolevulinic acid, the precursor of tetrapyrroles. Sensitivity of coproporphyrin accumulation to gabaculine and incorporation of 14C from [1-14C]glutamate indicated that suspensions of A. photogonimos synthesized δ-aminolevulinic acid from glutamate by the widespread C5 pathway. In contrast, A. globiformis cells switched from predominantly the C5 pathway for δ-aminolevulinic acid synthesis in early exponential phase cultures to δ-aminblevulinic acid synthase in stationary phase cultures.
Drinking for negative reinforcement: the semantic priming of alcohol concepts

Cognitive models of alcohol abuse posit that the context typically associated with alcohol use, such as negative affect, implicitly activates alcohol use cognitions, which in turn leads to alcohol consumption. We selected 40 undergraduate women based upon their alcohol use and reported anxiety sensitivity, and proposed that drinking for the purpose of negative reinforcement would predict increased semantic priming between anxiety and alcohol concepts. A lexical decision task compared the response latencies of alcohol targets preceded by anxiety words to those same targets preceded by neutral words (anxiety-alcohol priming). Level of anxiety sensitivity did not relate to anxiety-alcohol priming, but drinking following social conflict was associated with increased anxiety-alcohol priming. This study specifically suggests that the contextual antecedents to drinking behavior relate to the organization of semantic information about alcohol, and more generally supports cognitive models of substance abuse.
Thermodynamic stability and growth of guest-free clathrate hydrates: a low-density crystal phase of water.

We use molecular dynamics simulations with the monatomic water (mW) model to investigate the phase diagram, metastability, and growth of guest-free water clathrates of structure sI and sII. At 1 atm pressure, the simulated guest-free water clathrates are metastable with respect to ice and stable with respect to the liquid up to their melting temperatures, 245 ± 2 and 252 ± 2 K for sI and sII, respectively. We characterize the growth of the sI and sII water crystals from supercooled water and find that the clathrates are unable to nucleate ice, the stable crystal. We computed the phase relations of ice, guest-free sII clathrate, and liquid water from −1500 to 500 atm. The resulting phase diagram indicates that empty sII may be the stable phase of water at pressures lower than approximately −1300 atm and temperatures lower than 275 K. The simulations show that, even in the region of stability of the empty clathrates, supercooled liquid water crystallizes to ice. This suggests that the barrier for nucleation...
The use of a closed system in the study of asthma and emphysema.

Abstract Experience with an apparatus permitting continuous recording of the respiration is described. The value of simultaneously observing the oxygen saturation with an oximeter is emphasized. The changes which accompany induced asthmatic attacks in subjects breathing ambient air in a closed system included (1) a temporary decrease in tidal volume and (2) an increase in the functional residual capacity. These changes were associated in some instances, with a demonstrable decrease in the efficiency of the lung. Relief of an induced asthmatic attack with aerosolized Isuprel caused an increase in ventilation and a return of the functional residual capacity toward the initial level. Anoxia accompanied severe induced attacks of asthma. The system described was readily adapted to the detection of the decrease in ventilation which follows the inhalation of oxygen by patients with respiratory acidosis.