cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Post-fire regeneration across a fire severity gradient in the southern Cascades

Abstract Large scale, high-severity fires are increasing in the western United States. Despite this trend, there have been few studies investigating post-fire tree regeneration. We established a study in the footprint of the 2000 Storrie Fire, a 23,000 ha wildfire that occurred in northern California, USA. We used a stratified sampling design to quantify post-fire vegetation dynamics across four levels of burn severity and three forest types on the Lassen National Forest nine and ten years following fire. Within each sampled stand, we recorded tree seedlings, forest overstory, shrub cover, and abiotic factors hypothesized to influence growth and establishment. Median conifer seedling densities varied substantially by burn severity: 1918 seedlings ha −1 in the Unchanged units; 4838 seedlings ha −1 in the Low-severity units; 6484 seedlings ha −1 in the Medium-severity units; and 710 seedlings ha −1 in the High-severity units. Increased burn severity was associated with greater shrub coverage: shrub cover in High-severity burns was more than three times those of lower burn severities. We calculated Shannon’s Species Diversity ( H ′) and Pielou’s Evenness ( E H ) indices to examine woody shrub and tree diversity. Abies spp. were by far the most abundant regenerating conifer species, which may be a concern for land managers; shrub cover after High-severity burns was dominated by Ceanothus spp. Although fir regeneration was prolific, the Storrie Fire generated diverse vegetative responses, potentially aiding in the reintroduction of the diverse landscape mosaic homogenized by a century of landscape-scale fire exclusion.
Hirschsprung disease: A component of the familial cancer syndrome multiple endocrine neoplasia type 2a

Abstract Hirschsprung disease is a congenital condition characterized by a mechanical obstruction caused by inadequate motility in parts of the intestine. This condition can result from mutations in any one of several different genes operating either alone or in combination. Hirschsprung disease has been identified in families with the cancer syndrome multiple endocrine neoplasia type 2a, and it may be the first presentation of the syndrome. Parents of newborns diagnosed with Hirschsprung disease should be counseled on the possible presence of a genetic mutation to the re arranged t ransfection ( RET ) gene on chromosome 10 that predisposes individuals to this hereditary cancer. Risk management strategies can begin early in life to prevent cancer morbidity and mortality. Copyright 2002, Elsevier Science (USA). All rights reserved.
Somatic Poetry in Amazonian Ecuador

SUMMARY In this article, I explore two healing experiences, one in Amazonian Ecuador and the other in Amazonian Peru. I argue that these experiences can be theorized through the idea of “somatic poetry,” which I define as the process of making and experiencing beauty so that life and the story become part of the same thread. I discuss how somatic poetry involves drama and coauthoring with nonhuman natural beings, including spirits. I also explore how somatic poetry works textually in interconnecting past lives, history, myth, the body, and the myriad and various subjectivities of the Amazonian landscape.
Biochemical Studies in Full-Blooded Navajo Indians

The Navajo Indians, who have a low incidence of coronary artery disease and a high fat intake, have also been shown to have significant elevation of serum gamma globulins. In this electrophoretic study of patterns of serum proteins it was found that adult Indians had elevated gamma globulins but that Indian children had electrophoretic patterns similar to white children. These observations indicate that the gamma globulin elevation is not an inherited characteristic in this Indian race and is probably not related to the low frequency of coronary disease.
Pancreas transplantation: The Wake Forest experience in the new millennium.

AIM: To investigate the Wake Forest experience with pancreas transplantation in the new millennium with attention to surgical techniques and immunosuppression. METHODS: A monocentric, retrospective review of outcomes in simultaneous kidney-pancreas transplant (SKPT) and solitary pancreas transplant (SPT) recipients was performed. All patients underwent pancreas transplantation as intent-to-treat with portal venous and enteric exocrine drainage and received depleting antibody induction; maintenance therapy included tapered steroids or early steroid elimination with mycophenolate and tacrolimus. Recipient selection was based on clinical judgment whether or not the patient exhibited measureable levels of C-peptide. RESULTS: Over an 11.25 year period, 202 pancreas transplants were performed in 192 patients including 162 SKPTs and 40 SPTs. A total of 186 (92%) were primary and 16 (8%) pancreas retransplants; portal-enteric drainage was performed in 179 cases. A total of 39 pancreas transplants were performed in African American (AA) patients; of the 162 SKPTs, 30 were performed in patients with pretransplant C-peptide levels > 2.0 ng/mL. In addition, from 2005-2008, 46 SKPT patients were enrolled in a prospective study of single dose alemtuzumab vs 3-5 doses of rabbit anti-thymocyte globulin induction therapy. With a mean follow-up of 5.7 in SKPT vs 7.7 years in SPT recipients, overall patient (86% SKPT vs 87% SPT) and kidney (74% SKPT vs 80% SPT) graft survival rates as well as insulin-free rates (both 65%) were similar (P = NS). Although mortality rates were nearly identical in SKPT compared to SPT recipients, patterns and timing of death were different as no early mortality occurred in SPT recipients whereas the rates of mortality following SKPT were 4%, 9% and 12%, at 1-, 3- and 5-years follow-up, respectively (P < 0.05). The primary cause of graft loss in SKPT recipients was death with a functioning graft whereas the major cause of graft loss following SPT was acute and chronic rejection. The overall incidence of acute rejection was 29% in SKPT and 27.5% in SPT recipients (P = NS). Lower rates of acute rejection and major infection were evidenced in SKPT patients receiving alemtuzumab induction therapy. Comparable kidney and pancreas graft survival rates were observed in AA and non-AA recipients despite a higher prevalence of a “type 2 diabetes” phenotype in AA. Results comparable to those achieved in insulinopenic diabetics were found in the transplantation of type 2 diabetics with detectable C-peptide levels. CONCLUSION: In the new millennium, acceptable medium-term outcomes can be achieved in SKPT and SPTs as nearly 2/3rds of patients are insulin independent following pancreas transplantation.
Excellent Local Control From Radiation Therapy for High-Risk Neuroblastoma

Purpose Local recurrence has been demonstrated in previous studies to be one of the obstacles to cure in neuroblastoma. Radiation therapy indications, optimal dose, and technique are still evolving. Here we report our experience of high-risk neuroblastoma patients who received local radiation therapy as part of their cancer management. Methods and Materials We conducted a retrospective study of 34 high-risk neuroblastoma patients who received radiation therapy to local sites of disease from March 2001 until February 2007 at our institution as part of their multimodality therapy. Results At a median follow-up of 33.6 months, 6 patients died of disease, 7 patients were alive with disease, and 21 patients were in clinical remission. Eleven patients relapsed, all distantly. Two patients failed locally in addition to distant sites. Both of these patients had persistent gross disease after induction chemotherapy and surgery. Our 3-year local control, event-free survival, overall survival were 94%, 66%, and 86%, respectively. Conclusion Patients with high-risk neuroblastoma in our series achieved excellent local control. Doses of 21–24 Gy to the primary tumor site appear to be adequate for local control for patients in the setting of minimal residual disease after induction chemotherapy and surgery. Patients with significant residual disease may benefit from radiation dose escalation, and this should be evaluated in a prospective clinical trial.
Linking together different measures of preference: A dynamic model of matching derived from decision field theory

Abstract Two frequently used tasks for measuring preferences among gambles are choice and selling price tasks. However, the rank orders observed with these tasks do not agree, and these disagreements are called preference reversals. In this article, we propose an extension of decision field theory that was originally designed to account for choice probability and the distribution of choice response times. In this extension, we show how this same theory can be used to derive predictions for the distribution of values produced by selling price tasks. This model not only accounts for the basic preference reversal results but also can explain the effects of various information processing factors on preference reversals including time, effort, and practice. We conclude by summarizing the advantages of the decision field matching model over two earlier models of choice and selling prices—expression theory and the contingent weighting model.
Measures of Student Attitudes on Aging

The purposes of the study were to (a) identify student attitudes toward older people according to three measures, (b) determine the relationships among the attitudes as shown by these measures, and (c) identify the relationships between age, gender, frequency of communication with older adults, and life experience with older adults. A total of 125 students completed the study at a university in the United States. The attitude measures used were Kogan's Scale for Attitudes toward Old People, a Facts on Aging Quiz (FAQ), and journal entries about beliefs, affects, and experience regarding older people. Results from the three measures were quantified and analyzed for positive and negative attitudes toward older people.
Measurement of the Dielectric Constant and Loss Tangent of Thallium Mixed Halide Crystals KRS-5 and KRS-6 at 95 GHz

The dielectric constants and loss tangents of KRS-5 and KRS-6 thallium halide mixed crystals have been measured at 95 GHz using both the shorted waveguide (SWG) reflection method and the Fabry-Perot (F-P) transmission method on samples filling standard WR-10 waveguide. The results--KRS-5: epsilon'/sub r/ = 31; tan delta = 1.8 x 10/sup -2/; KRS-6: epsilon'/sub r/ = 29, tan delta = 2 x 10/sup-2/-- agree reasonably well with a simple theoretical fit to the far-infrared Iattice absorption of TIBr and TICI centered at about 1400 GHz. The dielectric samples were hot-pressed into copper wafers with dimensions matching WR-10 waveguide, and then machined and polished to obtain flat, parallel air-dielectric interfaces.
Scaling in tensile “skeletons”: scale dependent length of the Achilles tendon in mammals

The Achilles tendon of a diverse group of mammals ranging from the mouse (12g) to the rhinoceros (1300kg) scales so that the tendon length varies as tendon diameter.0-931±0.069 (r=0.983). Tendon length scales as (body mass)0-342±0.028, and tendon diameter scales as (body mass)0-361±0.029. If tendon stress and strain are scale independent, the capacity of the tendon to store elastic strain energy remains proportion to body mass. If tendon stress and strain increase with body mass, energy storage may scale somewhat higher. The scaling of the Achilles tendon is consistent with its role in storing strain energy and different from that of a variety of other tensile skeletal elements which exhibit scale independent length dimensions.
Long-term renal fate and prognosis after staghorn calculus management

AbstractWe analyzed retrospectively 177 consecutive staghorn calculus patients to determine risk factors for ultimate renal deterioration and renal cause specific death. Mean followup was 7.7 years. Overall rate of renal deterioration was 28 percent. Renal deterioration was associated more frequently among patients with solitary versus nonsolitary kidneys (77 percent versus 21 percent, p less than 0.001), previous versus initial stones (39 percent versus 14 percent, p = 0.03), recurrent versus nonrecurrent calculi (39 percent versus 22 percent, p = 0.07), hypertension versus normotension (50 percent versus 22 percent, p = 0.006), complete versus partial staghorn calculi (34 percent versus 13 percent, p = 0.02), diversion versus no diversion (58 percent versus 19 percent, p less than 0.001) and neurogenic bladder versus normal voiding (47 percent versus 21 percent, p = 0.006), as well as those who refused treatment versus treated patients (100 percent versus 28 percent, p less than 0.001). No patient with ...
Thermo-optically tunable photonic crystal light modulator utilizing cut-off effect

We present design, fabrication and characterization of thermo-optically tunable photonic crystal light modulator. Thermo-optic effect of silicon was utilized to change refractive index of silicon and photonic band dispersion to realize tunable photonic crystal devices.
Dynamic regulation of middle neurofilament RNA pools during optic nerve regeneration

Stereotypical changes in neurofilament subunit expression are highly correlated with the regenerative success of lower vertebrate CNS axons. The phylogenetically conserved binding of ribonucleoproteins to the 3'-untranslated region of the middle neurofilament subunit (NF-M) mRNA suggests that post-transcriptional mechanisms play an important role in the control of NF-M expression. To assess their contribution to the regulated changes in NF-M expression that occur during Xenopus laevis optic axon regeneration, we followed changes in intracellular NF-M RNA pools. Within 3 days after axotomy, when NF-M mRNA levels decrease in the injured retinal ganglion cells, heterogenous nuclear RNA levels increased more than 15-fold, but did so in both the operated and the contralateral unoperated eyes as compared with the eyes of surgically naive frogs. Increased nuclear RNA levels persisted throughout regeneration but never correlated directly with changes in mRNA expression, indicating that such changes most likely arose from alterations in nuclear-cytoplasmic RNA export and turnover. The early phase of optic nerve regeneration also exhibited an increase in the efficiency of translation of NF-M mRNA relative to surgically naive animals. This increase was only transient in unoperated control eye, but persisted through the peak of regeneration in the operated eye. Thus, post-transcriptional control of NF-M expression plays a significant role in regulating the cytoskeletal composition of injured neurons. These findings indicate that changes in protein expression during successful regeneration of CNS axons involve a complex interplay of transcriptional and translational regulation that is controlled by the operation of functional neuronal pathways. These findings also raise the additional possibility that factors regulating post-transcriptional changes in cytoskeletal gene expression may be as important as transcription factors for the successful regeneration of CNS axons.
Relating Weight Gain and Feed:Gain of Male and Female Broilers to Rearing Temperature

The effects of environmental temperature on growth and feed:gain were studied in three trials each for male and female broilers. Chicks were reared in a common environment to 21 d of age. At 21 d, they were randomly allocated to 10 environmental chambers. Each chamber was maintained at a constant temperature; the chambers ranged from 12 to 30 C in two-degree increments. The dewpoint was maintained at 18 C, except that relative humidity was not permitted to exceed 82.9%. Body weight was determined at 21 d. Weight gain and feed:gain were determined at 28, 35, 42, and 49 d. The data were analyzed statistically, and regression equations were obtained for weight gain and feed:gain for each sex. Equations were based on body weight and temperature, and the body weight equations were plotted as grams gained per bird per day. Feed:gain increased with increasing weight. The temperature that resulted in the most favorable feed:gain decreased with increasing weight. These results support lower rearing temperatures for optimum growth and feed:gain by large broilers than those of other reports in the literature.
Simulating Global Software Development in a Course Environment

Global software development presents many challenges that are difficult to simulate in a course environment. We present teaching patterns such as remote testing, subordinate role, partitioning, and continuous development that are motivated by industry experience. Our goal is to give students problems that simulate real global software development. Each teaching pattern discusses the educational methodology, student challenges and learning outcomes that provide the students firsthand experience working on projects with remote teams.
Evaluation of an introductory research program for minority students in an interdisciplinary tissue engineering lab

Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) has become a priority in the United States, both in educating the populace and producing a national workforce in this area. Our National Science Foundation: Emerging Frontiers in Research and Innovation - Research Experience and Mentoring (REM) program focused on introducing minority students in the early years of their science or engineering undergraduate degrees to STEM research in biomaterials and tissue engineering. A pre- and post-survey helped discern how the REM program influenced students' feelings of preparedness for future research programs and assessed skills gained through the program. A significant (p = 0.0172) increase was seen in students' reports of feeling prepared for future research experiences after completing this introductory program. Overall, students' reported an improvement in research preparedness and research skills assessment after participating in the REM program.
Contrasting effects of catecholic and O-methylated tetrahydroisoquinolines on hydroxyl radical production.

Abstract Tetrahydroisoquinolines (TIQs) are intraneuronal, catecholamine-derived alkaloids that have been implicated in the etiology of Parkinson’s disease and in alcohol related disorders. The in vitro production of the cytotoxic hydroxyl radical ( ⋅ OH) was recorded during the autoxidation of salsolinol (SAL) and salsolinol-1-carboxylic acid (SAL-1C), but not when these two catecholic TIQs were oxidized by tyrosinase. Significantly higher levels of the radical were produced when these catecholic TIQs were incubated with ⋅ OH generating complexes, or with chelated iron. In contrast, mono- O -methylated TIQs such as salsoline (SLN) and salsoline-1-carboxylic acid (SLN-1C) did not generate ⋅ OH during autoxidation or when incubated with chelated iron or tyrosinase. Radical production by ⋅ OH-generating complexes was reduced in the presence of O -methylated TIQs. The neurotoxicity of TIQs may result from their propensity to autoxidize and generate reactive quinoids and ensuing oxygen radicals. The functional significance of the replacement of a hydroxyl group attached to C-7 of SAL or SAL-1C with a methoxyl group remains to be determined. This single structural modification may prevent mono- O -methylated TIQs from participating in catalytic redox cycling reactions that would otherwise augment ⋅ OH production. If true, then O -methylation and other cellular mechanisms that circumvent the autoxidation of catecholamine-derived TIQs may reduce the likelihood of these substances forming cytotoxic quinoids and influencing endogenous ⋅ OH-generating reactions.
The Art of Correlation

Correlation is of direct importance to all engineersboth those who generate new information and those who wish to make use of it. The solution of theoretical models to predict behavior does not preclude the need for correlation since the output is generally a set of discrete values that differ from experimental data only by virtue of their precision and regularity. The methodologies that lead to improved correlating equations are examined in general and by means of specific examples in fluid flow and heat transfer. The identification of the optimal dimensionless groupings and the derivation and incorporation of theoretically based asymptotes are shown to be the keys to better correlation. Nonconformity to known theoretical relationships and constraints and the uncritical examination of experimental data or computed values are found to be the principal sources of miscorrelation. Correlations should be expected to evolve and to be replaced as new data are obtained and new theoretical relationships are deriv...
Measures of flow variability for great lakes tributaries.

Design of monitoring programs for load estimation is often hampered by the lack of existing chemical data from which to determine patterns of flux variance, which determine the sampling program requirements when loads are to be calculated using flux-dependent models like the Beale Ratio Estimator. In contrast, detailed flow data are generally available for the important tributaries. For pollutants from non-point sources there is often a correlation between flow and pollutant flux. Thus, measures of flow variability might be calibrated to flux variability for well-known watersheds, after which flow variability could be used as a proxy for flux variability to estimate sampling needs for tributaries for which adequate chemical observations are lacking.
Extraarticular fluid dissection in tissues during arthroscopy A report of clinical cases and a study of intraarticular and thigh pressures in cadavers

Significant fluid extravasation occurred in four knees undergoing arthroscopic meniscectomy. In one knee, a partial compromise of peripheral blood flow was transiently detected.In cadaver studies, with the joint only moderately distended, a mean pressure of 158 mm of mercury was measured. With flexion of the knee to 90°, a mean pressure of 216 mm of mercury was recorded and rupture of the synovial pouch occurred in all knees. The fluid extravasated into the thigh due to rupture of the suprapatellar pouch. Fluoresceine labeled saline was utilized to follow the course of the extravasated fluid. The saline was found to loculate about the superficial femoral artery, easily dissecting up to the femoral triangle. Elevated femoral artery pressures and quadriceps muscle interstitial pres sures were documented at a relatively early point during the course of fluid extravasation. A second pathway of extravasation of intraarticular fluid was by rupture of the semimembranous bursa. The saline then dissected beneath t...
Alcohol abuse and dependence in a national sample of psychiatric patients.

Objective: To examine clinical characteristics and services being provided to Alcohol Abuse/Dependent (AAD) patients in current psychiatric practice. Method: In a national sample of psychiatrists (N = 417), each provided data on three preselected patients (N = 1,245; 51.8% women) that included demographics, DSM-IV diagnoses, treatment setting and health-plan measures. Logistic regression was used to compare patients with and without an AAD diagnosis. Results: Only 12% of patients (n = 151) had an AAD diagnosis. AAD patient care was more frequently subject to utilization review and restriction or specification of medications to be prescribed (formulary). Psychiatrists also perceived greater restrictions on AAD patient care (e.g., requirements to use specific practice guidelines or treatment algorithms). Conclusions: Findings suggest that health care systems are subjecting treatment patients with AAD to greater scrutiny and may be limiting the extent and nature of care provided to these patients. The low pr...
Why We Fight: Congress and the Politics of World War II. By Nancy Beck Young. Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, 2013. 376 pp.

Why We Fight: Congress and the Politics of World War II. By Nancy Beck Young. Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, 2013. 376 pp. Nancy Beck Young departs from her previous works as a biographer to pen this in-depth examination of Congress and how it operated during the Second World War--although, to be fair, the book discusses pre-1939 legislative issues, as well. Unlike the majority of the books reviewed in this journal, the author chooses to focus on the legislative branch, noting that too many books focus on the efforts of the imperial presidency and miss what is happening on the other end of Pennsylvania Avenue. Young argues that the "Good War" provided the opportunity for congressional conservatives to wage a different kind of war on the New Deal. With so much of the Democratic Party's leadership made up of southern conservatives, it was only moderates of both parties who managed to protect and institutionalize the New Deal's economic agenda, as its statism fit well with winning the war. Attempts at pluralism or social justice legislation along the same lines as the New Deal, however, were lost, as moderates sided with conservatives over fears that such laws would hamper the war effort or split the unity of the nation in time of war. Congressional liberals were not helped in the fight for social justice when "Dr. New Deal" became "Dr. Win-the-War", as President Franklin Roosevelt ignored almost all social justice questions before the legislators. This coalition of the moderates meant that welfare state liberalism turned into warfare state liberalism. Young explains in her epilogue that moderates of both parties have disappeared since 1975; this has left twenty-first century Americans with massive congressional gridlock and hyperpartisan battles fought by screaming pundits and politicians alike. The author divides the book into two main sections: the economics of war and pluralism/social justice. The former includes fights on taxation, wage and price controls, extension of some of the New Deal's "alphabet soup" agencies, and labor legislation. The latter section includes issues such as Jewish refugees, racial equality, and the creation and later reauthorization of the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC). All of these chapters are solidly researched, with amazing quotes from Time magazine reporter Frank McNaughton detailing extraordinary behind the scenes struggles within the Democratic caucus. …
The 11/25/88, M=6 Saguenay Earthquake near Chicoutimi, Quebec: Evidence for anisotropic wave propagation in northeastern North America

On November 25, 1988, a magnitude 6 earthquake occurred in the province of Quebec, Canada. This earthquake triggered nine digital strong motion instruments in New York and Maine at epicentral distances of 200 to 820 km which were installed as part of an effort by the National Center for Earthquake Engineering Research (NCEER) to study ground motions and wave propagation in eastern North America. We calculate Q(f) at discrete frequencies from 0.6 to 26 Hz, assuming that geometrical spreading causes a l/r0.5 decay in spectral amplitudes. Of the nine stations, four are in the Adirondack Mountains in New York and three are in eastern Maine. If we calculate Q(f) for these two clusters of stations separately, we obtain higher values for the Adirondack stations. The Quebec-Adirondack path is along the strike of the predominant structural trends in northeastern North America, in the Grenville Province crust, while the Quebec-Maine path is at high angle to the structural grain and crosses the boundary between the Grenville and the Appalachian provinces. We thus have instrumental data in support of earlier observations based on contours of intensity from historic earthquakes: Seismic wave propagation in northeastern North America is more efficient along the predominantly NE-SW striking geological trends. We address possible biases due to site effects.
Classification of mammographic lesions into BI-RADS shape categories using the beamlet transform

We present a new algorithm and preliminary results for classifying lesions into BI-RADS shape categories: round, oval, lobulated, or irregular. By classifying masses into one of these categories, computer aided detection (CAD) systems will be able to provide additional information to radiologists. Thus, such a tool could potentially be used in conjunction with a CAD system to enable greater interaction and personalization. For this classification task, we have developed a new set of features using the Beamlet transform, which is a recently developed multi-scale image analysis transform. We trained a k-Nearest Neighbor classifier using images from the Digital Database for Digital Mammography (DDSM). The method was tested on a set of 25 images of each type and we obtained a classification accuracy of 78% for classifying masses as oval or round and an accuracy of 72% for classifying masses as lobulated or round.
Remote tissue injury primes hepatocytes for nitric oxide synthesis.

Following trauma and tissue injury, patients frequently suffer infections and septic complications. Tissue injury is associated with the induction of the hepatic acute-phase response, but how this phenotypic expression by hepatocytes influences their subsequent response to endotoxin (lipopolysaccharide, LPS) or inflammatory cytokines is unknown. We have shown that both rat and human hepatocytes maximally express the enzyme-inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) in response to a combination of LPS and the cytokines tumor necrosis factor (TNF), interferon-γ (IFN-γ), and interleukin-1. Furthermore, we have shown that the in vivo induction of the acute-phase response following tissue injury (hind limb turpentine injection) is not associated with hepatocyte iNOS expression. In this study, we show that the phenotypic change associated with the acute-phase response following tissue injury primes the hepatocyte to subsequently express iNOS in vitro in response to LPS alone as well as TNF and IFN-γ. This expression of iNOS can be seen as early as 3 hr following the initial injury and lasts up to 24 hr. Early postinjury changes result in maximal expression following stimulation with TNF or IFN-γ. Later (24 hr postinjury) changes reveal LPS to be the most potent inducer with as little as 0.01 μg/ml LPS being required for iNOS mRNA expression. The in vivo correlate of tissue injury (turpentine injection) followed by sepsis (intraperitoneal LPS injection) resulted in a three- to fourfold rise in plasma levels of the stable endproducts of nitric oxide production, nitrite, and nitrate (NO-2 + NO-3), over levels seen in cases of sepsis alone. These data show that hepatocytes can be primed by remote tissue injury to respond directly to LPS as well as TNF and IFN-γ. Such enhanced responses could have important influences on hepatocellular function following trauma and sepsis.
A Priori Bounds for Semielliptic Operators

We derive Lp a priori bounds for semielliptic operators, with variable matrix coefficients, in domains in Rn. The results are applicable to elliptic, parabolic, and p-parabolic operators, as well as to more general operators. We direct special attention to the nature of the dependence of constants involved in these bounds upon coefficient bounds and semiellipticity constants.
Does obesity modify the association of supplemental folic acid with folate status among nonpregnant women of childbearing age in the United States

BACKGROUND Obesity is associated with an increased risk of having a pregnancy affected by a neural tube defect (NTD). It is not clear whether the amount of folic acid required by obese women to protect against NTDs is the same as that for nonobese women. METHODS We analyzed data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, representative of the noninstitutionalized civilian U.S. population, to assess whether body mass index (BMI; normal weight, overweight, and obese categories) modified the association between supplemental folic acid intake and folate status. We estimated the geometric mean concentration among nonpregnant women of childbearing age (15–44 years) during the postfortification period of: serum folate (2003–2008); red blood cell (RBC) folate (2007–2008); and plasma total homocysteine (tHcy; 2003–2006), adjusted for age, race and ethnicity, and total dietary folate expressed as dietary folate equivalents for strata of supplement use and BMI. RESULTS BMI was inversely associated with serum folate among women who did not use supplements containing folic acid; no differences between women in different BMI categories were observed among supplement users. Regardless of supplement use, obese women had the highest RBC folate concentrations. There were no differences in tHcy by BMI, regardless of supplement use. CONCLUSIONS These results do not support a straightforward modification of the relationship between supplemental folic acid intake and folate status by BMI. In this population, BMI may affect the body distribution of folate, as reflected by lower serum and higher RBC folate levels in obese women who do not use supplements. Birth Defects Research (Part A) 2012. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Operational Characteristics of Germanium Detectors at Higher Temperatures

Several important areas for the use of germanium spectrometers would be opened if these detectors could be successfully operated at temperatures considerably in excess of 77°K. Precise measurements on a series of detectors made from different high-purity germanium crystals and on one lithium-drifted germanium detector indicate that the resolution does not degrade significantly until nearly 150°K is reached. Similar-sized detectors, including the lithium-drifted device, exhibited essentially identical temperature-resolution relationships.
A Multisite Community-Based Health Literacy Intervention for Spanish Speakers

The National Action Plan to Improve Health Literacy emphasizes the importance of community-based opportunities for education, such as English as a second language (ESL) programs. It recommends collaborations among the adult literacy and ESL communities. However, limited attention has been given to researching the effectiveness of community-based interventions that combine ESL and health literacy. The purpose of this study was to explore the feasibility of using different community settings for improving health literacy among adult Spanish speakers through an English language program. The study used a pre-experimental, single arm pretest–posttest design, and implemented the Health Literacy and ESL Curriculum. A collaborative was established between the community and university researchers. Participants were recruited at three distinctive sites. Health literacy was assessed using the Spanish version of the Test of Functional Health Literacy in Adults (TOFHLA). Analysis included descriptive and paired-group t test. Forty-nine participants completed the intervention and post-tests (92 % retention rate). Overall—all sites—posttest scores significantly improved for total TOFHLA, raw numeracy, and reading comprehension (p < 0.0001). Similarly, all three sites yielded significantly better mean differences for the total TOFHLA score while numeracy and reading comprehension significantly improved in some sites. Results suggest that community sites are viable venues for delivering health literacy/language instruction to Spanish speaking adults. The study also points to community engagement and ESL programs as two essential components of effective health literacy interventions among Spanish speakers.
Levels of nitric oxide metabolites do not increase during penile erection

Abstract Cavernosal smooth muscle relaxation, one of the primary events in penile erection, is initiated by the synthesis and release of nitric oxide (NO) from the neurons of the cavernosa. The present study was undertaken to determine whether or not serum levels of NO metabolites rise during an erection. Since NO is rapidly converted into nitrites and nitrates, and nitrites, we measured these serum levels in the peripheral and cavernosal blood of 15 potent adult male volunteers who were exposed to erotic stimuli in order to elicit a penile erection. Our data demonstrate that both nitrite and nitrate levels in the peripheral and cavernosal blood do not appreciably change during and immediately following an erection. This indicates that the determination of whether or not abnormalities in the synthesis and release of NO play any role in erectile dysfunction will require alternative testing methods.
Aspartate aminotransferase-like immunoreactivity as a marker for aspartate/glutamate in guinea pig photoreceptors.

Aspartate aminotransferase-like immunoreactivity as a marker for aspartate/glutamate in guinea pig photoreceptors
PITUITARY WEIGHT OF GROWING MALE ALBINO RAT RELATED TO BODY WEIGHT11

HATAI (1) has reported on the relation of the weights of various organs (including the pituitary) of the growing albino rat to body weight. Others (2–6) have similarly reported on such relations in the mature albino rat. For more complete references to relation between organ weight and body weight in growing and mature animals see Brody and Kibler (7). Since the time of Hatai's report on the albino rat the pituitary gland has become increasingly recognised as an important organ of internal secretion, being associated with many body processes and with the growth of the animal. As the pituitary is so closely associated with so many vital processes in the body, it has been suggested (8) that the relation between increasing pituitary weight and increasing body weight be used as a criterion for judging amounts of hormone or hormone extracts to administer to animals of different body weights which are used in endocrine research.
Collision-free coherent anti-stokes raman spectroscopy (cars) of molecular photofragments

Abstract Collision-free CARS spectra of molecular oxygen produced in the viable photodissociation of ozone have been obtained. The nascent rotational and vibrational state distributions of the oxygen have been extracted from these spectra.
Origin and maintenance of clinal variation in nuphar (Nymphaeaceae)

Natural populations ofNuphar luteum in the coastal plain of North Carolina present a morphological and geographical cline with ssp.macrophyllum representing one extreme and ssp.sagittifolium the other. Plants of intermediate morphology exist in abundance in areas between the two extremes. Data involving 1) analysis of variance within and among clones, 2) analysis of variation in seedling populations cultured under uniform conditions, 3) analysis of seedlings produced through artificial hybridization, and 4) reciprocal transplantation indicate the morphological cline to be genetically controlled with the leaf length-width ratio being the most constant and reliable feature for identification. An analysis of competitive and non-competitive populations within one pond provides evidence that natural selection of specific mature clones occurs under competitive conditions. Likewise, an analysis of the seedling potential of adult populations along the cline indicates that, in nature, a strong selection mechanism is operative during seed germination and/or seedling establishment. Chemical analyses of the aquatic habitats along the cline show several gradients to be correlated with the morphological cline. By extrapolation of the data, the variability evident inNuphar, not only among subspecies but also among populations and clones, is considered to result from adaptation to environmental selection pressures.
Some aspects of forces and fields in atomic models of crack tips

This paper examines the stresses and displacement gradients in atomistic models of cracks based on an EAM potential devised for aluminum. Methods for computing these quantities are described. Results are presented for two models differing in terms of the orientations of the crack relative to the crystal, a [100] (010) orientation that behaves in a brittle fashion and a [111] (110) orientation that emits partial dislocations prior to extending. Both models display lattice trapping. The stresses in the brittle crack model are compared with the linear elastic prediction and found to be in remarkably good agreement to within distances of about one lattice parameter of the crack tip and at the free surface where contributions from sources other than strain energy (e.g., surface tension) influence the results. Similar results are observed for the ductile model until dislocation emission occurs. The largest stresses that develop just prior to crack extension or dislocation emission are used to estimate the ratio of theoretical tensile strength to shear strength in this material. Eshelby’s conservation integrals, F and M, are also computed. F is found to be essentially contour independent and in agreement with the linear elastic prediction in both models until dislocation emission occurs, at which point a large screening contribution arises from the emitted partials. The contour size dependence of M reveals some interesting features of the crack tip including a slight wobble of the crack tip inside its potential well with changing applied K and the existence of forces acting to move the crack faces apart as blunting occurs.
Population Dynamics of the Big Brown Bat (Eptesicus fuscus) in Southwestern Ohio

Population dynamics of the big brown bat ( Eptesicus fuscus ) were studied for four years (1969–1972) in southwestern Ohio. Data were collected from 10,761 banded bats located in 81 summer nursery colonies and five winter hibernacula. Of 4506 immature big brown bats captured during the study period, 2223 (49.3 percent) were females. Contrary to previous studies, adult females outnumbered males in three of five winter hibernacul. Tooth wear of known age bats predicted population age class structure, but was a poor indicator of a specific age of a given individual. Survivorship curves for female bats were constructed from the percentage of banded individuals which were recaptured in subsequent years within the nursery colonies. Annual female mortality rate values for two large bat populations were 68.1, 28.7, and 72.0 percent and 89.5, 30.0, and 42.9 percent, respectively. Big brown bats recaptured at distances greater than 8 kilometers (km) (5 miles, mi) from the home colony were found to move in a southerly direction. In two instances record natural movements of 250 km and 290 km (155 and 180 mi) were recorded for E. fuscus . Larger populations of Eptesicus were located in the unglaciated region of the study area. Efficiency of young production per adult female was found to decrease with a corresponding increase in nursery population size. Merits of this inverse correlation efficiency as a potential population regulatory mechanism are discussed.
16O(p,α0)13N cross-section measurements

Abstract Total cross sections for the 16 O ( p , α 0 ) 13 N reaction have been measured by observation of the positron decay of the residual 13N nuclei. These cross sections, covering the c.m. energy range 5.4 ≦ E ≦ 9.9 MeV, allow determination of reaction rates of astrophysical interest at temperatures in the neighborhood of 4 × 109°K.
The Longitudinal Relation Between Peer Violent Victimization and Delinquency Results From a National Representative Sample of U.S. Adolescents

Using a nationally representative sample of adolescents from the United States aged 12 to 17 years (Wave 1, n = 3,614; Wave 2, n = 2,511), this study examined (a) demographic and descriptive information about peer violent victimization (PVV); and (b) the longitudinal relation between a history of PVV and delinquency. Results indicated that 12.4% of adolescents reported lifetime exposure to PVV, and many of these adolescents with a previous history of PVV also reported exposure to other forms of interpersonal violence, with witnessing community/school violence being the most commonly endorsed exposure category. Males, older adolescents, African American adolescents, and adolescents from low-income households were significantly more likely to endorse PVV. Regardless of the victim’s gender, the majority of the perpetrators were male. After controlling for exposure to other forms of interpersonal violence and a history of delinquency, PVV was related to subsequent delinquency. Implications for policy, practic...
Impression management and testing for control locus in an alcoholic sample.

In response to a debate as to whether alcoholics as a group score in an internal or an external direction on Rotter's I-E Scale, a projective, TAT measure of locus of control was proposed. In this pilot study a multivariate storytelling measure was used to test the hypothesis that alcoholics may resort to "impression management" when responding to questionnaires and that a "projective" device may yield different results regarding personality variables like locus of control. An internal score on the I-E was observed for 30 alcoholic subjects to shift to an external score on the Thematic Locus of Control (TLC). Spearman's rho for I-E and TLC was .47 (p less than .001). Six subjects had markedly incongruent ranks across instruments; three of these were extreme I-E "internals" who shifted to extreme TLC "externals."
STABILITY OF CYSTEAMINE HYDROCHLORIDE IN SOLUTION

Summary Cysteamine hydrochloride injection has frequently been prescribed for the treatment of paracetamol overdosage. Since there was no satisfactory preparation available, investigations were conducted to formulate Cysteamine hydrochloride as a stable injection. A formula for a stable injection of Cysteamine hydrochloride is presented.
Survey Measures of Classroom Instruction: Comparing Student and Teacher Reports

This analysis contributes to efforts to improve the use and understanding of survey data in education policy research by asking: How different are student and teacher reports of classroom instruction? Do student, class, or teacher characteristics account for any of the differences? Using National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP) data, we compare the responses of middle-school students and their teachers to the same questions about mathematics instruction. We found low correlations and small significant mean differences between student and teacher reports; we also found that student reports are sensitive to key student and class variables, most notably to individual and class achievement, student race/ethnicity, income, parent education, and motivation. Implications for using student survey data in policy research are discussed.
Combining conflict resolution education and human rights education: thoughts for school‐based peace education

Peace education embraces a wide range of programs and initiatives. Two of those subfields, human rights education and conflict resolution education, are often considered too different in goals, models and content to be seen as partners in the same educational effort. A review of recent literature confirms that few conflict resolution education programs include a strong human rights emphasis. And many human rights education programs contain little in the way of conflict resolution education. In this article, I suggest that these types of peace education may be more productively combined than originally thought, especially in school‐based and youth‐based programs in the United States.