cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Neuron-Specific Vitamin D Signaling Attenuates Microglia Activation and CNS Autoimmunity

Low vitamin D during childhood is associated with an increased risk of developing multiple sclerosis (MS) as an adult. Given that vitamin D has anti-inflammatory properties, it has been postulated that the relationship between MS and low vitamin D is due to immune dysregulation. Since the vitamin D receptor (VDR) is expressed in many cell types, this study investigated an alternative hypothesis - neuron-specific VDR signaling induces anti-inflammatory molecules that protect the central nervous system from autoimmunity. Using media from neurons treated with calcitriol, the active form of vitamin D3, LPS-activated microglia had a reduction in pro-inflammatory molecules, and a reciprocal induction of anti-inflammatory molecules. Since IL-34 is critical to the homeostasis of microglia, and was previously shown to be induced in endothelial cells by vitamin D, we investigated IL-34 as the potential anti-inflammatory molecule induced in neurons by vitamin D. Treatment of LPS-activated microglia with IL-34 reduced pro-inflammatory cytokine production and enhanced the expression of anti-inflammatory transcripts. However, neutralizing IL-34 in vitamin D neuronal conditioned media only impacted IL-6 and not the broader anti-inflammatory phenotype of microglia. To mimic low vitamin D in children, we used a neuron-specific inducible mouse model in which VDR was partially deleted in juvenile mice. Partial deletion of VDR in neurons during early life resulted in exacerbated CNS autoimmunity in adult mice. Overall, the study illustrated that vitamin D signaling in neurons promotes an anti-inflammatory state in microglia, and low vitamin D in early life may enhance CNS autoimmunity.
Effective monotherapy despite intratumor heterogeneity: Clonal convergence within the PI3K pathway and sensitivity to mTOR inhibitors in patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma (RCC).

4573 Background: Rapalogs, inhibitors of mTOR, are approved for treatment of advanced RCC. Recent reports of clonal heterogeneity challenge the concept of targeted monotherapy and the development o...
Integrating Diabetes Prevention Education Among Teenagers Involved in Summer Employment: Encouraging Environments for Health in Adolescence (ENHANCE)

Type 2 diabetes (T2D) in youth is a growing healthcare and public health concern. It is costly, and youth suffer from disabling and deadly comorbid conditions at a faster pace than adult onset. However, T2D is preventable. The population of obese youth at greatest risk for T2D is of minority race/ethnicity and socioeconomically disadvantaged background, which creates barriers to health promoting lifestyles. Despite being the first line of prevention efforts for T2D, efficacious behavioral lifestyle interventions are still lacking at the community level. During the summers of 2016 and 2017, a study integrated obesity and diabetes prevention health education into TeenWorks summer employment program at Indy Urban Acres in Indianapolis, Indiana. Results were analyzed using paired sample t-tests. Participants (N = 168) had a mean age of 15.8 ± 0.7 years, 61% female, 13% Hispanic, 80% Black. By the end of the intervention, physical activity (p = 0.000) and prevention knowledge (p = 0.000) were significantly higher. Dietary intake (p = 0.204), self-efficacy (p = 0.58), food insecurity (p = 0.058) and depression screening scores (p = 0.809) were not significantly different. In light of the continuing childhood obesity epidemic and increasing prevalence of prediabetes and T2D in youth, there is a pressing need to understand and reduce barriers to obesity and diabetes prevention in high-risk populations. This study demonstrated the feasibility of integrating obesity and T2D prevention health education into a teen summer employment program.
A Survey on Multi-robot Particle Filter SLAM

Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (SLAM) can be successfully used for GPS-denied environments. Single-robot SLAM is a mostly-solved topic, hence researchers are focusing on multi-robot SLAM to increase the efficiency of environment exploration. Multi-robot SLAM has many advantages but there are also various issues in its implementation. This paper explores most of the known problems of multi-robot SLAM. Many techniques on multi-robot SLAM have been published; one of the most frequently used techniques is the particle filter. This paper provides an overview of the current solutions of the particle filter, multi-robot SLAM algorithms along with their advantages and disadvantages.
David Oliver: Silencing NHS staff who speak out is sheer stupidity

Amid a global pandemic, which is putting our health services and frontline staff under immense strain and personal risk, is it right to suppress their free speech? On 31 March the media reported on a dossier from the Doctors’ Association UK detailing numerous instances of medical and nursing staff being warned, disciplined, threatened, monitored, and gagged for speaking out on social or mainstream media.1 Their concerns included a lack of personal protective equipment and testing for covid-19—putting them, their families, and their patients at risk.2 The staff also highlighted what they saw as inconsistent and unconvincing guidance from their employers and national authorities. There’s a long history of NHS executives and managers being leant on to prevent them speaking out publicly about …
Counterpart theories for everyone

David Lewis’s counterpart theory (CT) is often seen as involving a radical departure from the standard, Kripke-style semantics for modal logic (ML), suggesting that we are dealing with deeply divergent accounts of our modal talk. However, CT captures but one version of the relevant semantic intuition, and does so on the basis of metaphysical assumptions (all worlds are equally real, individuals are world-bound) that are ostensibly discretionary. Just as ML can be translated into a language that quantifies explicitly over worlds, CT may be formulated as a semantic theory in which world quantification is purely metalinguistic. And just as Kripke-style semantics is formally compatible with the doctrine of world-boundedness, a counterpart-based semantics may in principle allow for cases of trans-world identity. In fact, one may welcome a framework that is general enough to include both Lewis’s counterpart-based account and Kripke’s identity-based account as distinguished special cases. There are several ways of doing so. The purpose of this paper is to outline a fully general option and to illustrate its philosophical significance, showing how the large variety of intermediate relations that lie between Lewisian counterparthood and Kripkean identity yield a corresponding variety of modal theories that would otherwise remain uncharted.
A photovoice analysis of experiences during a short-term study abroad trip to Belize

The purpose of this study was to use Photovoice to examine meaningful experiences and learning for Education and Health and Community Wellness students (n = 9) on the short-term study abroad trip t...
Educational Attainment and Staphylococcus aureus Colonization in a Hispanic Border Community: Testing Fundamental Cause Theory.

ABSTRACT This study was carried out to evaluate hypotheses generated by fundamental cause theory regarding the socioeconomic status (SES) gradient in colonization with Staphylococcus aureus among Hispanic and non-Hispanic adults living in a border community. Participants (n = 613) recruited in naturally occurring small groups at public and private sites throughout Yuma County, AZ, completed a sociodemographic survey and swabbed their palms, noses, and throats to sample microbial flora. Positive S. aureus colonization among non-Hispanic white participants was nominally higher (39.0%; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 32.4 to 46.1%) than that in Hispanics (31.3%; 95% CI = 26.4 to 36.8%), but there was no education gradient for the sample overall (incidence rate ratio = 1.00; 95% CI = 0.90 to 1.12) or within each ethnic group separately. The education gradient between Hispanic and non-Hispanic whites was statistically equivalent. Results were consistent when home ownership was used as the SES indicator. These data show that S. aureus colonization is not linked to two different SES indicators or Hispanic ethnicity. S. aureus colonization may be considered a less preventable health risk that is outside the influence of SES-based resources. IMPORTANCE Unlike some types of S. aureus infections, S. aureus colonization is not associated with ethnicity or educational attainment and thus may be outside the influence of socioeconomic status-based resources typically mobilized to avoid or mitigate preventable health risks. This assessment of a clinically silent risk that usually precedes infections may illustrate a boundary of fundamental cause theory.
Impact of Right-sided Obstructive Lesions in Children & Adolescents having Cone Repair for Ebstein Anomaly

Background: Ebstein anomaly (EA) is a rare congenital heart defect characterized by apical displacement of the tricuspid valve resulting in tricuspid valve (TV) dysfunction and right ventricular myopathy. Cone reconstruction (CR) has become the standard technique for TV repair for most patients with EA. The impact of additional right-sided obstructive lesions (RSOL) on post-operative outcomes in pediatric patients undergoing CR for EA is unknown. Methods: We performed a retrospective review of all children 1 …
‘At Home on the Earth’: Toward a Theology of Human Non-Exceptionalism

The climate crisis requires a revaluation of what it means to be human that radically rejects human exceptionalism. I argue that such an account of human being can be constructed from a combination of Sallie McFague’s theology and Maurice Merleau-Ponty’s phenomenology. While McFague’s theology established the parameters for an embodied, ecotheological concept of human being, I contend that Merleau-Ponty’s late work can push this vision of humanity from being anti-anthropocentric to being truly non-exceptionalistic, by making it possible to understand humans as part of the ‘mesh’ of the world. This allows for a human non-exceptionalism that still has room for the differentiation and relationality necessary to honor human diversity and to facilitate ameliorative action. The result is a foundation for a new ecotheological concept of human being that can speak to what it means to be human in the Anthropocene.
Italy: Beyond the Clichés that Obscure Unacceptable Histories

Italy is known for some resilient national stereotypes, and not just regarding la dolce vita (the sweet life), quick tempers, and the love of cars and fashion. Italians themselves, like foreigners,...
The formation of cool stars from cloud cores

We consider models of the processes by which a molecular cloud acquires dense cores, a (magnetized) rotating core collapses to give a protostar plus nebular disk, and a powerful stellar wind sets in to reverse the accretion flow and reveal the central object as a pre-main-sequence star. At each stage, we rely on a combination of theory and observation to fix the basic parameters of the model. We show that core formation in a molecular cloud is an inevitable byproduct of ambipolar diffusion in a magnetized self-gravitating medium of low fractional ionization. We find that the gravitational collapse of a uniformly-rotating isothermal core, which possesses a 1/r2 density profile in its inner parts, has simple analytic properties. And we propose that strong stellar winds in T Tauri stars represent a phase of readjustment in the angular momentum distribution after deuterium burning drives convection throughout a strongly differentially-rotating protostar. We conclude that the major missing link in this picture is the evolutionary behavior of massive nebular disks that may accumulate around protostars. Otherwise, there seems to be a satisfying connection between the cloud cores observed by molecular-line radio astronomers and the active stellar atmospheres of young stars studied by optical and x-ray astronomers.
Outcomes of infection in nursing home residents with and without early hospital transfer.

OBJECTIVES: To compare outcomes of infection in nursing home residents with and without early hospital transfer. DESIGN: Observational cohort study. SETTING: Fifty-nine nursing homes in Maryland. PARTICIPANTS: Two thousand one hundred fifty-three individuals admitted to nursing homes between 1992 and 1995. MEASUREMENTS: Incident infection was recorded when a new infectious diagnosis was documented in the medical record or nonprophylactic antibiotic therapy was prescribed. Early hospital transfer was defined as transfer to the emergency department or admission to the hospital within 3 days of infection onset. Infection, resident, and facility characteristics were entered into a multivariate model to create a propensity score for early hospital transfer. Association between early hospital transfer and outcomes of infection, namely pressure ulcers and death between Days 4 and 34 after infection onset, were examined, controlling for propensity score. RESULTS: Four thousand nine hundred ninety infections occurred in 1,301 residents. Genitourinary (28%), skin (19%), upper respiratory (13%), and lower respiratory (12%) were the most common types. Three hundred seventy-five episodes in which residents survived 3 days (7.6%) resulted in early hospital transfer. In multivariate regression, individuals with early hospital transfer had higher mortality (odds ratio (OR) 1.44, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.04-1.99) and, in 1-month survivors, a greater occurrence of pressure ulcers (OR 1.61, 95% CI = 1.17-2.20) than those without, after adjusting for propensity score. CONCLUSION: Using observational data and propensity score methods, outcomes were worse in nursing home residents transferred to the hospital within 3 days of infection onset than in those who remained in the nursing home.
Biocompatible Implanted Dielectric Sensors for Breast Cancer Detection

This article describes the development of a method for a biocompatible sensor device for the intent of in-vivo breast tissue dielectric properties measurements. This article focuses on a specific type of sensor that utilizes an LC circuit with an inter-digital capacitor IDC with small size and high sensitivity for early stage breast cancer detection. To meet this objective an IDC was optimized in terms of contrast and miniaturized size via simulation techniques. For experimental testing, a scaled-up prototype inter-digital capacitor and spiral square inductor sensor was fabricated, and tested with known media, such as distilled water and glycerol. The results suggest that there is a need for further development, such as fabrication and testing for the biocompatible, miniaturized sensor for breast tissue application.
Was Hirschi Right?: A National-Level Longitudinal Examination of Religion as a Social Bond

The current research re-examines Hirschi’s (1969) omission of religion as a social bond by examining the impact of religious commitment and religious salience on substance use in National Youth Survey Family Study respondents, both in adolescence/early adulthood, and again in middle adulthood. This approach allows for a longitudinal examination of a large, nationally representative sample of respondents. Results challenge Hirschi’s decision, and suggest that, particularly in adolescence, a person’s religious service attendance, and belief in religion, do affect their likelihood of substance use. Further research is suggested.
Bacterial colonization of amniotic fluid in the presence of ruptured membranes

Amniotic fluid (AF) was collected from 37 selected patients by amniocentesis, aspiration through a pressure catheter, or aspiration at the time of cesarean section. The unspun AF was examined directly by Gram stain for bacteria and white blood cells (WBC) and was cultured. Thirteen AF cultures were positive, defined as growth on primary plating media which corresponded to greater than 10(2) colony-forming units (CFU) per milliliter. Almost equal numbers of aerobic and anaerobic bacteria were isolated. The presence of bacteria, but not WBC, on Gram stain of AF correlated significantly with a positive culture, which indicated that microscopic examination of AF would usually predict the culture result. Growth of greater than 10(2) CFU/ml from AF was significantly associated with clinical chorioamnionitis, but colonization also was observed in five afebrile patients, four of whom were in premature labor. In patients delivered by cesarean section, bacteria on Gram stain and a positive culture from AF each were significantly correlated with postpartum endometritis.
Mile-a-minute Weed, (Polygonum perfoliatum L.), an Invasive Vine in Natural and Disturbed Sites

Polygonum perfoliatum L. (Polygonaceae) or mile-a-minute weed, from eastern Asia, has been spreading through wild and disturbed areas of the mid-Atlantic United States. It has a wide ecological amplitude and is found on stream banks, moist thickets, roadsides, nurseries, wood-piles, clearings, and ditches. Polygonum perfoliatum presents serious problems for reforestation because it thrives where forests are clear-cut. A southward direction of spread indicates that the species will probably proliferate in at least some southern states. Mechanical control is not likely to be completely effective because seeds are often left behind. No appropriate biocontrols are known. The plant poses a threat to natural and restored ecosystems because of its capacity to grow rapidly and overgrow other species. It is expected to cover large areas unless it is controlled.
Similarity Weighted Instance-based Learning for the Generation of Transition Potentials in Land Use Change Modeling

Land use change models are increasingly being used to evaluate the effect of land change on climate and biodiversity and to generate scenarios of deforestation. Although many methods are available to model land transition potentials, they are usually not user-friendly and require the specification of many parameters, making the task difficult for decision makers not familiar with the tools, as well as making the process difficult to interpret. In this article we propose a simple method for modeling transition potentials. SimWeight is an instance-based learning algorithm based on the logic of the K-Nearest Neighbor algorithm. The method identifies the relevance of each driver variable and predicts the transition potential of locations given known instances of change. A case study was used to demonstrate and validate the method. Comparison of results with the Multi-Layer Perceptron neural network (MLP) suggests that SimWeight performs similarly in its capacity to predict transition potentials, without the need for complex parameters. Another advantage of SimWeight is that it is amenable to parallelization for deployment on a cloud computing platform.
Direct observation of nanometer-scale Mg- and B-oxide phases at grain boundaries in MgB2

Here we describe the results of an atomic resolution study of the structure and composition of both the interior of the grains, and the grain boundaries in polycrystalline MgB2. We find that there is no oxygen within the bulk of the grains but significant oxygen enrichment at the grain boundaries. The majority of grain boundaries contain BOx phases smaller than the coherence length, while others contain larger areas of MgO sandwiched between BOx layers. Such results naturally explain the differences in connectivity between the grains observed by other techniques.
Does Safe Patient Handling Legislation Make a Difference

Washington State passed Safe Patient Handling legislation (ESHB 1672) for hospitals in 2006 with full implementation by 2010. We assessed the impact of the legislation by comparing workers compensation claims rates for Washington State hospitals (with) nursing homes (without) over this period, focusing on work- related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs). We also compared implementation of SPH in Washington State hos- pitals (with legislation) to comparable hospitals in Idaho (no legislation) via focus groups and surveys. Over the study period, hospital WC rates for WMSDs declined more rapidly than nursing home WC rates. Washington hospital nursing staff reported significantly greater SPH implementation than Idaho nursing staff.
Methodology for first wall design

An analytic parametric scoping tool has been developed for application to first wall (FW) design problems. Both thermal and disruption force effects are considered. For the high heat flux and high disruption load conditions expected in the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) device, vanadium alloy and dispersion-strengthened copper offer the best stress margins using a somewhat flattened plasma-facing configuration. Ferritic steels also appear to have an acceptable stress margin, whereas the conventional stainless steel 316 does not appear feasible. If a full semicircle shape FW is required, only the vanadium and ferritic steel alloy have acceptable solutions.
Signed Language Community‐Researcher Collaboration in Việt Nam: Challenging Language Ideologies, Creating Social Change

Examining linguistic practices and description involved in signed language community- researcher collaboration in Việt Nam, this article contributes a case supporting analytic efforts to study the ways “people take up literacy for their own purposes” (Bialostok and Whitman 2006:390). Emerging at the juncture of national speech-based Deaf education, one signed language–based education project, and Deaf community organizing, these collaborations coalesced in a political climate in which “signs” were construed as a compensatory system for “real” language (Woodward, Nguyen, and Nguyen 2004) and as “backward” relative to Vietnamese grammatical structure (Cooper 2014). Using original ethnographic data, microanalysis of two texts reveals that the ways presenters mobilize stances toward linguistic description and one another accrues legitimacy and authority for Deaf sociolinguistic knowledge and Deaf agency while implicitly challenging prevailing language ideologies and hierarchies. Discussion centers on processes of legitimation of Deaf social voices, language invention/disinvention, interpretation/translation, and the significance of ethnography to the present analysis.
DIFFERENCES IN BEGINNING SPECIAL EDUCATION TEACHERS: THE INFLUENCE OF PERSONAL ATTRIBUTES, PREPARATION, AND SCHOOL ENVIRONMENT ON CLASSROOM READING PRACTICES

Little research exists to help us understand why some beginning special education teachers of reading engage in more effective classroom practices than others. Factors that may influence these diff...
NSA algorithm and its computational complexity-preliminary results

To overcome the limitations of models of statistical heuristic searching the author proposes the idea of combining nonparametric statistical inference methods with the heuristic search. A nonparametric statistical algorithm (NSA) for heuristic searching is presented, and its computational complexity is discussed. It is shown that, in a uniform m-ary search tree G with a single goal S/sub N/ located at an unknown site in the N-th depth, NSA can find the goal asymptotically with probability one, and the complexity remains O(N(In N)/sup 2/), where N is the length of the solution path. >
SPECIAL ARTICLE: SHEDDING LIGHT ON THE USE OF LIGHT

Radiation from the sun or from artificial sources is part of the basic environment impinging on all organisms. Its causal role in health and disease of man is seen daily by the clinician. Within the past decades, however, radiation has become important as a clinical and research tool. The generation, control, and measurement of radiation requires some application of photobiological and photophysical principles, not only to satisfy the editor of a periodical, but also to allow other investigators and clinicians to evaluate the results and conclusions, to permit confirmation and extension of reports, and to use radiation effectively in research and in practice. Although this brief resume of some of the perils and pleasures of photobiology is not comprehensive, it may provide a base for studies and reports in which radiation is a parameter. You will note that the term radiation has been used, rather than the more common term, light. Actually, there are two systems of nomenclature, one dealing with radiation as a physical entity, the other with what is called the photometric or psychophysical system. Light is a people-word, referring to that small segment of the electromagnetic spectrum that stimulates the optic nerve. If a mosquito were the dominant and articulate life form, the word light would be restricted to wavelengths below those perceived by man; the region we call the ultraviolet. Since much of radiation research does not involve the human eye, photometric terminology has little meaning and, as we shall see, may provide information that is very misleading.
In situ measurement of water vapor in the stratosphere with a cryogenically cooled Lyman-Alpha hygrometer

In situ measurements of water vapor in the stratosphere with a new instrument are reported. The instrument has been designed to observe daytime water vapor from a multiinstrument balloon gondola that simultaneously measures free radicals such as OH, HO2, and O3 in the stratosphere up to 40 km. Lyman-alpha photofragment fluorescence is used to measure water molecules in a flowing sample of ambient air. A brief description of the instrument is given, followed by the results of the first four balloon flights. The measured mixing ratio for this flight varies from 3.0-5.5 ppmv over the altitude range of 17-34 km. Adjustments in the cooling protocol for the flights of July 6, 1988, July 28, and August 25, 1989, result in a much higher signal-to-noise ratio. Profiles from these three flights are similar to, but somewhat higher, than the 1987 profile. Implications of measurements are discussed, as are the issues of short- and long-term variability of stratospheric water vapor.
Engineering the Solid State with 2-Benzimidazolones

Six derivatives of 2-benzimidazolone, disubstituted in the 4 and 5 positions, have been synthesized, and their structures have been determined in the solid state. Four of these compounds crystallize as molecular tapes. Compounds 1-(CH3)2, 1-Cl2, and 1-Br2 form tapes that pack with their long axes parallel; compounds 1-H2 and 2-H2 form tapes that pack with their long axes at an angle to one another. Compounds 1-F2 and 1-I2 crystallize with a three-dimensional network of hydrogen bonds. The packing arrangement of molecular tapes is rationalized on the basis of closest packing and electrostatic interactions between aromatic rings. The occurrence of the network motif rather than the tape motif for 1-F2 and 1-I2 is rationalized on the basis of secondary interactions involving the halogen atoms.
Transformation of spherical harmonic coefficients to ellipsoidal harmonic coefficients

Analytical expressions linking spherical harmonics gravity field expansions with ellipsoidal harmonics gravity field expansions are developed. Certain symmetries and simplifications for the transformation between the two are noted. Using the expressions, a numerical approach is developed and applied for the computation of ellipsoidal harmonic gravity coefficients using spherical harmonics coefficients as inputs. This method can be used to transform a measured spherical harmonic gravity field into an ellipsoidal harmonic gravity field for use within the Brillouin sphere of the original body. This would allow for the computation of spacecraft and natural trajectories close to the surface of an asteroid or comet using a measured gravity field.
Dealing with pressure: FEM solution strategies for the pressure in the time-dependent Navier–Stokes equations

We present a survey of solution methods for calculating the pressure in the time-dependent Navier-Stokes equations. The primary focus is on the treatment of the pressure-Poisson equation deriving from index-1 DAE formulations of the Navier-Stokes equations. Based on extensive operational experience with a variety of solution strategies, the combination of a stabilized pressure-Poisson operator with an A-conjugate projection and SSOR preconditioned conjugate gradient method has been found to yield the overall best performance relative to the resolve cost of a high performance direct solver
Radiochemical neutron activation analysis for arsenic, cadmium, copper and molybdenum in biological matrices

A simple two step radiochemical separation scheme has been developed which permits the RNAA determination of As, Cd, Cu and Mo in biological matrices. The RNAA separation is applied following the INAA determination of at least 17 other elements in the same samples. Under our experimental conditions which included a four day decay period for handling and shipping from a remote reactor site, detection limits for As, Cd, Cu and Mo are 0.24, 6.6, 45 and 3.4 ng, respectively, in NBS biological standard reference materials SRM 1571 and 1567. Decontamination factors for the major spectral interferences,82Br,42K,24Na32P and122Sb have been determined and found to be sufficiently high for measurement of the elements of interest in most biological matrices. The overall INNA/RNAA procedure takes full advantage of high resolution Ge(Li) gamma-ray spectroscopy and involves minimal chemical processing.
Masculinity and Self‐Esteem in Israeli Jewish Professional Women 1

The literature suggests that while women experience unique challenges with self-esteem and self-acceptance, Jewish professional women in Israel face additional challenges in balancing majority culture values, ethnic traditions, and the socio-historical-political context of the country. The present study investigated differences in masculinity, femininity, locus of control, self-esteem, and self-acceptance among Israeli Jewish and other professional women, including professional women scientists. Masculinity scores were significantly lower for Israeli Jewish women, and self-acceptance scores were significantly lower for Israeli Jewish women than for the group of professional women.
The index set of uncountably categorical theories

We classify the complexity of the index set of uncountably categorical theories. We show that this index set surprisingly falls at the intermediate stage of being complete for intersections of Π2 sets with Σ2 sets.
Water and growth in an agricultural economy

We present a model of economic growth of an agricultural household that is faced with an exogenous water availability constraint. We examine the long-run investment and consumption choices under two scenarios: (i) when the water availability constraint is binding and (ii) when it is not binding. We then compare the two scenarios to derive conditional convergence hypotheses regarding the impact of water availability on long-run agricultural growth. Panel data from Wyoming are used to test these conditional convergence hypotheses. We find that Wyoming counties exhibit strong conditional convergence in agricultural growth. Our theoretical and empirical results demonstrate that water availability is not a determinant but can be a constraint on long-run agricultural growth. Higher water use leads to higher growth in agricultural yield per capita but when water rights constrain water use in a county, as we found in southeastern Wyoming, there are significant losses in agricultural growth.
Influence of malignancy on the decision to withhold or withdraw life-sustaining therapy in critically ill patients.

Purpose: To evaluate the influence of malignancy on the decision to limit life-sustaining therapy in the intensive care unit (ICU). Methods: At the day of patients’ admission to the ICU, we prospectively collected information on demographics, acute physiology and chronic health evaluation (APACHE) II score, and features related to malignancy. We retrospectively collected information on in-hospital survival and decision to withhold or withdraw life-sustaining treatment. Results: This study included 122 adult critically ill patients. After adjusting for age and APACHE II score, patients with malignancy had 3.02 (95% CI 1.19 to 7.62) higher odds of having life-sustaining therapy withdrawn or withheld as compared to patients without active malignancy. Conclusion: Our study showed that critically ill patients with malignancy are more likely to have their life-sustaining therapy withheld or withdrawn than those without malignancy after adjusting for severity of disease. This finding may be related to a percepti...
A 2.4-GHz frequency synthesizer based on process and temperature compensated ring ILFD

In this paper, a 2.4-GHz frequency synthesizer incorporating a ring-oscillator based process and temperature compensated injection-locked frequency divider (ILFD) is proposed. The synthesizer is implemented in a 0.18-μm standard complementary metal-oxide semiconductor process with a chip area of 3 mm × 3 mm plus the off-chip capacitors for loop filter. With an LC oscillator, the output frequency can be tuned from 2.057 to 2.652 GHz, while the settling time is around 36 μs with a loop bandwidth of 60 kHz. Measurements are performed across six different chips to study the circuit performance due to process variation. The worst-case total power consumption is measured to be 2.2 mW with a power supply of 1.8 V. The ILFD block is also tested separately and the test results show a wide locking range of 1.4 GHz over all the process corners and a temperature range from 0 to 80 °C.
Purification and properties of human placental acid phosphatase III.

Abstract Human placental acid phosohatase III has been purified 5000-fold from the crude tissue homogenate by a combination of gel filtration and ion-exchange chromatography. The resultant material had a specific activity of 10 international units p-nitrophenyl phosphate phosphatase activity per mg protein at 37°, and a pH optimum of 5.2–5.3 in sodium citrate. In sodium acetate buffer the pH curve was flattened and its optimum shifted to pH 4.8–5.0. Addition of 6-ethylmercaptopurine to the reaction mixture greatly stimulated the hydrolysis of p-nitrophenyl phosphate without further changing the pH curve. Purified enzyme III is moderately sensitive to gluteraldehyde and extremely sensitive to inactivation by heavy metal ions. These and other physico chemical properties of this enzyme are discussed in relation to difficulties in its histochemical visualization, possible uniqueness in human tissue, and similarities to an enzyme found in rabbit heterophil leukocytes.
Aggregation error: Research objectives and relevant model structure☆

Abstract A model that simulated the daily production of 100 theoretical algal populations was used to define a sampling universe for the construction and evaluation of aggregated models of phytoplankton community structure. Three model communities consisting of ten populations each were constructed by aggregating parameters from subsets of the original 100 populations. Populations were aggregated according to different criteria: (1) correlations between their individual annual production and total annual production of all 100 populations, (2) correlations between individual population late summer production and total algal production during this period, and (3) similarities among model parameters that determined individual population growth rates. A fourth model community was constructed by classifying all 100 populations into four groups according to their individual seasonal patterns of growth. Cross comparisons of model performance with total community production values demonstrated that aggregates based on correlation with annual production reproduced total annual production within 6% of the actual value. The community aggregate derived from seasonal patterns of individual population growth was the poorest overall predictor, underestimating total annual production by 24% and late summer production by 4%. The model community derived from late summer production underestimated total annual production by 18%, but predicted summer production under simulated increased temperatures and nutrient availability within 1% of the actual value. These aggregation exercises demonstrated the importance of identifying community structures in relation to the specific ecological question of interest and indicated the potential for inaccuracy when a model structure derived for a particular objective is more broadly applied.
Anorexigenic and Ancillary Actions of MK-212 (6-Chloro-2- (1-Piperazinyl)-Pyrazine; CPP)

In rats allowed to eat for 2h/day and injected i.p. 30 min before feeding, MK-212, ED50=1.5 mg/kg, was two times more potent as an anorexigen than fenfluramine. However, the compounds were equiactive in the rat following p.o. administration 1.5 or 3 h before the test, while fenfluramine was more potent if the interval was extended to 6 h. In cats permitted to eat for 3 h/day, the ED50 dose (mg/kg p.o.) for MK-212 determined at 0.5, 1 and 3 h after feeding was, respectively, 15, 10 and 3 times less than that of fenfluramine. Emesis and diarrhea were frequently observed ancillary effects in cats treated with fenfluramine, whereas apparent sedation and salivation were commonly detected in animals after MK-212. In rats or cats pretreated with methergoline, the decrease in food consumption elicited by MK-212 was markedly inhibited, suggesting that the mechanism of action involves a serotoninlike effect. Compared with the marked stimulant action of amphetamine, MK-212 had only a minor and inconsistent effect on motor activity in rats and mice. Similar results were obtained with fenfluramine. MK-212 was not self-administered by rats, while the self-administration of amphetamine and morphine were demonstrated using the same experimental protocol.
Ab Initio studies of receptor interactions with AMPA (( S )-2-amino-3-(3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolyl) propionic acid ) and Kainic acid (2S-(2α,3β,4β))-2-carboxy-4-(1-methylethenyl)-3-pyrrolidineacetic acid

The optimum geometries and binding energies of the complexes formed by AMPA and Kainic acid, as well as their anions with tyrosine, proline and some tripeptides are investigated with quantum chemical calculations (HF/6-31G**). It was found that receptors featuring the Tyr-Ala-Pro sequence exhibit stronger binding energies to the substrates than the Tyr-Ser-Pro and Tyr-Ser-Ser. As expected, the anions are more bound than the neutral species. This work can lead to investigations on the effect of AMPA receptors mutations on the brain functions, possibly related to criminal tendencies.
Model compounds of ruthenium-alkene intermediates in olefin metathesis reactions

The development of a model system to study ruthenium−olefin complexes relevant to the mechanism of olefin metathesis is reported. Upon addition of 1,2-divinylbenzene to (H_2IMes)(py_2)(Cl)_2Ru CHPh (H_2IMes = 1,3-dimesityl-4,5-dihydroimidazol-2-ylidene), two ruthenium−olefin adducts are formed. On the basis of ^1H NMR spectroscopy experiments and X-ray crystallographic analysis, these complexes are assigned as side-bound isomers in which the olefin and H_2IMes ligands are coordinated cis to each other. The dynamic interconversion of these two ruthenium complexes was determined to have a barrier of 19.1 ± 0.1 kcal/mol.
Dielectric response to a donor ion in a Ga1-xAlxAs-GaAs-Ga1-xAlxAs quantum well of infinite depth.

We consider the dielectric response to a donor ion in a GaAs quantum well of infinite depth in two cases: (1) The ion is placed at the center of the well; (2) the ion is placed into off-center positions in the well. In each of these cases we calculate the binding energy of the donor atom as a function of the width of the well and compare our values with those arising from Bastard's theory, where the donor atom is considered as a hydrogenic impurity. We find that consideration of the dielectric response of the GaAs quantum well leads to important deviations with respect to Bastard's hydrogenic theory. Specifically, we find that, in case (1), our binding energies at different well widths are larger in magnitude than those calculated from Bastard's theory. We also find that the discrepancy between the two sets of binding energies is a function of the width of the well, becoming less pronounced as the width of the well is increased. We further find that, in case (2), as the donor atom is moved from the center of the well toward the wall of the well, our binding energies at different well widths rise toward those calculated from Bastard's theory and practically merge with them at a certain impurity position. We analyze our findings, and conclude that the dielectric response in a narrow GaAs quantum well is an important factor in the theory of impurity states in the well.
Considerations in the Treatment of Feline Hyperthyroidism

Feline hyperthyroidism can be treated with long-term antithyroid drug administration, surgical thyroidectomy, or radioactive iodine. This article discusses the advantages of each of these treatment options and gives specific recommendations on the use of each therapeutic modality.
Effect of sulphydryl binding compounds on the inflammatory process.

THE mechanism of action of numerous substances used as anti-inflammatory agents is not completely understood1,2. Recently it has been shown that potent blockers of protein synthesis such as actinomycin and puromycin are effective inhibitors of the inflammatory response3. In addition, it has been shown that hydrocortisone acetate might exert at least some of its anti-inflammatory action by interfering with a basic process of protein synthesis3,4. In the experiments reported here we tested the possible anti-inflammatory effect of compounds which are known to bind sulphydryl (SH) groups, because these groups are essential for the transfer reactions involved in the synthesis of proteins5–7. In addition, the anti-inflammatory activity of some commonly used drugs was tested in the presence of a compound carrying a sulphydryl group.
Insulin-like growth factor-I response is comparable following intravenous and subcutaneous administration of growth hormone.

Abstract Subcutaneous (sq) administration of recombinant human growth hormone (r-hgh) has an anabolic effect and increases systemic insulin-like growth factor (IGF-I) in surgical patients. IGF-I is a mediator of growth hormone (gh) anabolic effects. To determine the effect of intravenous (iv) administration of r-hgh on systemic IGF-I, 11 patients were given 14 1-week courses of daily 8-hr infusions of r-hgh (10 mg in 500 ml D5W). Serum gh and IGF-I levels were measured. To compare routes of administration, iv r-hgh patients were matched to comparable sq r-hgh patients and IGF-I responses were examined. Illness severity effect on IGF-I response to r-hgh was assessed by dividing 16 burn patients who received either iv or sq r-hgh into two groups on the basis of severity scores. Analysis of the data showed that IGF-I levels increased significantly after iv r-hgh, IGF-I response to iv r-hgh (1.14 ± 0.18 U/ml to 4.12 ± 0.65 U/ml) was not different from IGF-I response to sq r-hgh (1.04 ± 0.36 U/ml to 4.96 ± 1.09 U/ml). Increasing illness severity attenuated the IGF-I response in the more severely injured group (0.91 ± 17 U/ml to 2.40 ± 0.38 U/ml) relative to the less severely injured group (1.37 ± 0.22 U/ml to 5.53 ± 0.78 U/ml) despite a significant increase in IGF-I after gh in both groups. In summary, IGF-I increased significantly after iv r-hgh and the increases were similar to those seen after sq r-hgh in comparable patients. Increasing severity of illness attenuated the IGF-I response to r-hgh given either iv or sq in burn patients.
Modifying Rules of a Regular Girls Softball League to Facilitate the Inclusion of a Child with Severe Disabilities

Although many local recreation programs are opening their doors to individuals with disabilities, the vast majority of individuals with more severe disabilities still do not participate in communit...
Small-Molecule Antioxidant Proteome-Shields in Deinococcus radiodurans

For Deinococcus radiodurans and other bacteria which are extremely resistant to ionizing radiation, ultraviolet radiation, and desiccation, a mechanistic link exists between resistance, manganese accumulation, and protein protection. We show that ultrafiltered, protein-free preparations of D. radiodurans cell extracts prevent protein oxidation at massive doses of ionizing radiation. In contrast, ultrafiltrates from ionizing radiation-sensitive bacteria were not protective. The D. radiodurans ultrafiltrate was enriched in Mn, phosphate, nucleosides and bases, and peptides. When reconstituted in vitro at concentrations approximating those in the D. radiodurans cytosol, peptides interacted synergistically with Mn2+ and orthophosphate, and preserved the activity of large, multimeric enzymes exposed to 50,000 Gy, conditions which obliterated DNA. When applied ex vivo, the D. radiodurans ultrafiltrate protected Escherichia coli cells and human Jurkat T cells from extreme cellular insults caused by ionizing radiation. By establishing that Mn2+-metabolite complexes of D. radiodurans specifically protect proteins against indirect damage caused by gamma-rays delivered in vast doses, our findings provide the basis for a new approach to radioprotection and insight into how surplus Mn budgets in cells combat reactive oxygen species.
PARTICLE SPIN AND ROTATION

It is proposed to treat the spin of a particle phenomenologically by considering the particle as a small rotating sphere, the rotation of which is described by euler parameters. If the rotation is quantized in the space of the euler parameters, one obtains both integral and half-integral values for the spin. In this way one arrives at a formalism in which the spin components can be represented as differential operators in the Schroedinger representation.
Measurement of dissolved neon by isotope dilution using a quadrupole mass spectrometer

We describe an analytical method with improved precision for measuring the concentration of neon dissolved in water. Measurements were calibrated by isotope dilution, with addition of a 22 Ne spike directly to the evacuated sample flask prior to water collection. The use of glass flasks for water sampling, with flushing of air from the system by CO2, greatly reduced the chance of contamination. Dissolved gases were extracted from the water sample by equilibration with a headspace and cryogenically processed to remove interferences. The 22 Ne/ 20 Ne ratio was then measured on a quadrupole mass spectrometer operated in static mode. Mass fractionation by the system was accounted for by frequent analyses of the 22 Ne/ 20 Ne ratio in air. We routinely obtained precisions of ±0.13% based on the standard deviation of duplicate field samples. Accuracy of the method, in the form of possible systematic offsets that could skew all the data, was assessed to be ±0.18%, excluding a possible ±0.2% error in the estimate of the Ne concentration of air.