cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Common-Law Habeas and the Seperation of Powers

This short essay is a response to Professor Azmy's article on Executive Detention, Boumediene, and the New Common Law of Habeas, which provides a comprehensive overview of the new procedural, evidentiary, and substantive rules that the D.C. district court has fashioned in Guantanamo habeas cases in the two years since the Supreme Court's decision in Boumediene.In recent weeks and months, increasing criticisms have emerged questioning not only the results the D.C. District Court has reached in individual cases but also the practical feasibility and normative desirability of the entire post-Boumediene project. Even a Brookings Institution report purporting to offer a neutral analysis of the district court’s jurisprudence in the post-Boumediene cases noted the report's authors' "significant concerns about the habeas process as a lawmaking device." To be sure, many of the criticisms have been directed at Congress and its purported irresponsibility in leaving such momentous questions of individual rights and national security for courts to pass upon in the first instance. But some critics have gone out of their way to question whether, even in the absence of legislative intervention, the courts have still overstepped their bounds, as typified by Judge Janice Rogers Brown's concurring opinion in al-Bihani v. Obama, which argues that the "new common law of habeas" that Professor Azmy so richly describes is in fact an inappropriate exercise of judicial power and one the courts should refrain from pursuing.This essay aims to put Professor Azmy’s descriptive work - with which I have no quarrel - on firmer prescriptive foundations. In particular, I argue that what he describes as the "new common law of habeas" is in fact just a new variation on an old theme: that, well into the twentieth century, the law of habeas corpus in the United States was, almost entirely, a set of judge-made substantive, procedural, and evidentiary rules. Indeed, even after the Supreme Court in Erie famously eschewed general federal common law, it continued to articulate judge-made principles to govern virtually every aspect of federal habeas litigation, only moving away from this trend in cases decided after 1948, when Congress first started to legislate more specifically in the habeas context.More than just historical fortuity, this essay demonstrates that the effectively common-law nature of habeas corpus is a product of its unique constitutional status - protected except in the most extreme circumstances by the Suspension Clause, one of only two remedies guaranteed by the Constitution. Even though the federal courts all but depend on legislation for their existence, the writ does not. Mirroring the pre-revolutionary English experience, the Framers intended to provide a permanent constitutional protection for individual rights by protecting the role of the courts in detention cases - a protection that would be utterly meaningless if it turned in any way on popular will and/or legislative whim.
Skeletal muscle pump versus respiratory muscle pump: modulation of venous return from the locomotor limb in humans

The vast majority of quantitative data examining the effects of breathing on venous return have been derived from anaesthetized or reduced animal preparations, making an extrapolation to an upright exercising human problematic due to the lack of a hydrostatic column and an absence of muscular contraction. Thus, this study is the first to quantitatively examine the effects of different breathing mechanics on venous return from the locomotor limbs both at rest and during calf contraction exercise in the semirecumbent human. When subjects inspired using predominantly their ribcage/accessory inspiratory muscles at rest (change in gastric pressure (ΔPGA) = 5 cmH2O, ΔPES=∼−6 cmH2O; TI/TTOT= 0.5), femoral venous return was markedly impeded (net retrograde flow of 11%) and significantly lower than that observed during ribcage breathing conditions (P < 0.01). During the ensuing expiratory phase of a diaphragmatic breath, there was a large resurgence of femoral venous blood flow. The pattern of modulation during ribcage and diaphragmatic breathing persisted during both mild (peak calf force = 7 kg) and moderate (peak calf force = 11 kg) levels of calf contraction. Despite the significant within-breath modulation of femoral venous return by breathing, net blood flow in the steady state was not altered by the breathing pattern followed by the subjects. Though popliteal blood flow appeared to be modulated by respiration at rest, this pattern was absent during mild calf contraction where popliteal outflow was phasic with the concentric phase of calf contraction. We conclude that respiratory muscle pressure production is the predominant factor modulating venous return from the locomotor limb both at rest and during calf contraction even when the veins of the lower limb are distended due to the presence of a physiologic hydrostatic column.
Autism and Special Education Policy in Mexico

In recent years, a great deal of scholarship has examined the adequacy of special education and other support services for children with disabilities in the U.S. and in other industrialized states. By contrast, there has been comparatively little study of services for children with disabilities in developing countries. In this paper, we attempt to bridge this gap in the literature. Focusing on the case of Mexico, we examine the provision of special education and other support services, and the availability and cost of private services. The focus of the analysis is on children with autism. Drawing upon a theoretical approach that combines modern political economy and comparative institutionalism, we also develop a tentative explanation of the politics of policy-making among parents and other stakeholders in the autism advocacy community.
Resonant Theory of Dissociative Attachment

Dissociative attachment processes in low-energy electron-molecule collisions are very important for the electron kinetics in gas discharges. The attachment reduces the number of free electrons and decreases electron conductivity. Dissociative attachment to chlorine-containing molecules is of special importance in many applications, particularly in excimer lasers, plasma etching and optically controlled diffuse discharge switches.
Progressive contour models

A progressive contour model is developed based on the idea of deforming the contour from an initial shape as a source of prior knowledge by minimizing a defined contour energy to extract a desired contour from images. This model differs from active contour models (or snakes) in that the internal component of the contour energy is used to impose the smoothness constraints not on the shape of the contour but on the displacements of deformation, and the external component of the contour energy is used to locate the correspondence for the contour through a specified local correspondence mapping. A sequence of deformations is determined by repeatedly deforming and updating the initial contour. It is shown that the contour deformed by this sequence will smoothly and progressively approach a well-defined contour. Finite- element methods, multigrid algorithms, and unconstrained optimization methods are employed to implement this model. This approach offers several attractive advantages including a good convergence rate, the adaptation of the smoothness constraints and the adoption of a globally convergent algorithm. Experiments are conducted on real images to evaluate the performance of a progressive contour program, and a computational complexity in the order of O (lnN) is verified.© (1995) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Intracoronary C5a induces myocardial ischemia by mechanisms independent of the neutrophil: leukocyte filters desensitize the myocardium to C5a.

Activation of the complement cascade with the generation of anaphylatoxins accompanies the inflammatory response elicited by acute myocardial ischemia and reperfusion. Although complement is activa...
OXIDATIVE METABOLISM AND THE GLYOXYLATE CYCLE IN PSEUDOMONAS INDIGOFERA

McFadden, Bruce A. (Washington State University, Pullman, Wash.) and William V. Howes. Oxidative metabolism and the glyoxylate cycle in Pseudomonas indigofera. J. Bacteriol. 84:72–76. 1962.—Oxidative patterns of Pseudomonas indigofera have been investigated. Intact cells oxidize acetate, ethanol, fumarate, glyoxylate, α-ketoglutarate, malate, oxaloacetate, pyruvate, and succinate to greater than 35% of completion. Isocitrate is oxidized to 21% of completion. Citrate is not oxidized by whole cells but is oxidized by cell-free preparations, as are fumarate, isocitrate, malate, and succinate. These patterns are suggestive of the operation of the tricarboxylic acid cycle. Investigations of levels of isocitrate lyase and malate synthase as functions of growth substrate have been conducted. Assays for these enzymes in “soluble” preparations were performed under ostensibly optimal conditions for catalysis. Growth substrates used at 0.3% were: (i) ethanol, (ii) glucose, (iii) succinic acid, and (iv) yeast extract. Specific activities of isocitrate lyase were: for (i) 3.80, (ii) 0.61, (iii) 1.47, and (iv) 1.33; activities of malate synthase were: for (i) 0.18, (ii) 0.032, (iii) 0.021, and (iv) 0.029. Additionally, the isocitrate lyase level from butyrate-grown cells was similar to that for ethanol-grown cells; the specific activity of malate synthase was about 60% as high. Specific activities of these enzymes were reproducible when conditions of sonic disruption were standardized. Longer durations of disruption decreased both activities.
Tissue patterning and cellular mechanics

In development, cells organize into biological tissues through cell growth, migration, and differentiation. Globally, this process is dictated by a genetically encoded program in which secreted morphogens and cell–cell interactions prompt the adoption of unique cell fates. Yet, at its lowest level, development is achieved through the modification of cell–cell adhesion and actomyosin-based contractility, which set the level of tension within cells and dictate how they pack together into tissues. The regulation of tension within individual cells and across large groups of cells is a major driving force of tissue organization and the basis of all cell shape change and cell movement in development.
Genome Sequence of Mycobacteriophage Momo.

ABSTRACT Momo is a newly discovered phage of Mycobacterium smegmatis mc2155. Momo has a double-stranded DNA genome 154,553 bp in length, with 233 predicted protein-encoding genes, 34 tRNA genes, and one transfer-messenger RNA (tmRNA) gene. Momo has a myoviral morphology and shares extensive nucleotide sequence similarity with subcluster C1 mycobacteriophages.
Multivariate analysis of RNA levels from postmortem human brains as measured by three different methods of RT-PCR

The analysis of RNA from postmortem human brain tissue by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) provides a practical method to measure both normal and abnormal brain gene expression. A major limitation in using human material is that yields can vary dramatically from individual to individual, making comparisons between samples difficult. In this report, we study the association of pH and several pre- and postmortem factors on the RNA yields from 89 postmortem human occipital cortices. Glyceraldehyde phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPdH) mRNA levels were measured by RT-PCR. A major variant in this method is the priming used in the reverse transcription reaction. Three different methods of reverse transcription were performed and the resultant levels of products compared against the pre- and postmortem factors and pH. The levels of GAPdH correlated significantly to pH and pH itself to the rapidity of death (RoD) (agonal state) indicating that premortem factors may play the greatest role in determining postmortem RNA levels. The three methods of priming showed different sensitivities, most notably that oligo dT priming alone is vulnerable to long freezer intervals (FI). We conclude that premortem factors are the major affectors of RNA levels variations and that the polyA tail region of the molecule appears to be adversely affected by extended freezer storage.
Measurements of drift velocities and Lorentz angles at 15 kG

Abstract We have measured the drift velocities and Lorentz angles of electrons in several candidate gases for the CDF central tracking chamber at magnetic fields of 10, 13.5, and 15 kG. The gases include argon/ethane ( 50 50 ), argon/ethane/ethyl-alcohol mixtures, and argon/CO2/methane (89/10/1). For the preferred gas mixture of argon/ethane ( 50 50 ) bubbled through alcohol at −7.2°C, we studied the sensitivity of the drift velocities and Lorentz angles to changes in electric field, magnetic field, alcohol temperature, and argon/ethane ratio. Measurements with argon/methane ( 80 20 ) at 5 and 10 kG are also presented.
Development of polyphosphate parameters for use with the AMBER force field

Accurate force fields are essential for reproducing the conformational and dynamic behavior of condensed-phase systems. The popular AMBER force field has parameters for monophosphates, but they do not extend well to polyphorylated molecules such as ADP and ATP. This work presents parameters for the partial charges, atom types, bond angles, and torsions in simple polyphosphorylated compounds. The parameters are based on molecular orbital calculations of methyldiphosphate and methyltriphosphate at the RHF/6-31+G* level. The new parameters were fit to the entire potential energy surface (not just minima) with an RMSD of 0.62 kcal/mol. This is exceptional agreement and a significant improvement over the current parameters that produce a potential surface with an RMSD of 7.8 kcal/mol to that of the ab initio calculations. Testing has shown that the parameters are transferable and capable of reproducing the gas-phase conformations of inorganic diphosphate and triphosphate. Also, the parameters are an improvement over existing parameters in the condensed phase as shown by minimizations of ATP bound in several proteins. These parameters are intended for use with the existing AMBER 94/99 force field, and they will permit users to apply AMBER to a wider variety of important enzymatic systems.
Care For Pastors: Learning From Clergy and Their Spouses

Pastors and their spouses face unique challenges because of the nature of pastoral work, and yet most manage these challenges successfully. Five studies are presented which help distinguish between intrapersonal, family, and community forms of care. Pastors rely heavily on intrapersonal forms of coping such as spiritual devotion, hobbies, exercise, and taking time away from work. The marriage relationship is also quite important for most clergy and spouses. Relationships outside the immediate family are not commonly identified as coping resources. Implications are discussed.
Let’s stay together: relationship dissolution and sexually transmitted diseases among parenting and non-parenting adolescents

Relationships influence sexual risk and maternal-child health. Few studies have assessed relationship dissolution and its association with sexually transmitted diseases (STD) among adolescent parents. Our study aimed to describe relationship dissolution among 295 parenting and non-parenting adolescents over an 18-month period and how it related to STD incidence. Results showed that nonparenting adolescents in a relationship with someone other than their baby’s father were more likely to have a relationship dissolution over an 18-month period compared to those in a relationship with the baby’s father (OR = 1.69, P < .05). Parenting adolescents who ended their relationship with their baby’s father were 3 times more likely to get an STD over the course of the study compared to parenting adolescents who remained with their baby’s father (39% vs. 13%). Comparatively, nonparenting adolescents who ended their relationship were only 1.4 times more likely to get an STD compared to non-parenting adolescents who remained with their partner (44% vs. 32%). Our results suggest that prevention programs that incorporate male partners and components that strengthen relationship skills may reduce HIV/STD risk and help adolescents adapt during times of transition such as parenthood.
Building blocks of successful aging: a focus group study of older adults' perceived contributors to successful aging.

Objective The purpose of this study was to solicit the opinions of older adults about factors related to successful aging using focus group methods. Methods Twelve focus groups were conducted with an average of six individuals per group. Participants included 72 community-dwelling older adults (age range: 60–99 years) recruited primarily from retirement communities in San Diego County, California. Interview transcripts were analyzed using a grounded theory framework of "Coding Consensus, Co-occurrence, and Comparison." Results A total of 33 factors were identified, out of which four major themes emerged: attitude/adaptation, security/stability, health/wellness, and engagement/stimulation. Every focus group emphasized the need for a positive attitude, realistic perspective, and the ability to adapt to change. Security and stability encapsulated one's living environment, social support, and financial resources. General physical health and wellness were frequently mentioned, with mixed opinions on their necessity for successful aging. Finally, a sense of engagement, reflected in pursuit of continued stimulation, learning, feeling a sense of purpose in life, and being useful to others and to society, was considered a prominent aspect of successful aging. All four themes appeared to be interrelated such that engagement required a foundation of security and stability while positive attitude and adaptation strategies often compensated for impaired physical health. Conclusion Older adults place greater emphasis on psychosocial factors as being key to successful aging, with less emphasis on factors such as longevity, genetics, absence of disease/disability, function, and independence.
Evidence for a curvilinear dose-response relationship between avoidance coping and drug use problems among women who experience intimate partner violence

Women who experience intimate partner violence (IPV) are at heightened risk for drug use problems. While prevailing models of drug use suggest that IPV-exposed women use drugs in an effort to escape or avoid negative affect, a dearth of literature has examined the role of avoidance coping in drug use problems within this population. Given recent suggestions that flexible, situationally appropriate use of avoidance coping may be adaptive, particularly when confronted with highly stressful situations, we hypothesized that avoidance coping and drug use problems would demonstrate a curvilinear, U-shaped dose-response relationship. Participants were 147 community-recruited women experiencing IPV. Consistent with our hypotheses, moderate levels of avoidance coping were associated with lower levels of drug use problems, whereas high and low levels of avoidance coping were associated with higher levels of drug use problems. Findings highlight the complex relationship between avoidance coping and drug use problems and suggest that avoidance coping, when used in moderation, may be an adaptive strategy for coping with relational conflict among women who experience IPV.
Overdamped Condenser Oscillations

In the classical equations of the discharge of a condenser of capacity C into an external circuit of resistance r and inductance L, it is found that the discharge is oscillatory if r ≪ ?4L/C, and is impulsive if r ≫ ?4L/C. As the perfect condenser can never be realized in practise, it is the purpose of this paper to show the effect of the condenser leakage on the discharge wave. The imperfect condenser is represented by the perfect condenser C shunted by the conductance g. This condenser discharges into the circuit L and r as above. The mathematical discussion shows that no matter what the relation between r and ?4L/C, there may always exist some value of g for which the discharge is oscillatory. This is the case when (r/L - g/C) ? 4/LC i, e., r ≪ ?4L/C+ gL/C It is to be borne in mind that the above holds true only when r, L, C, and g are constant. If the resistance is that of a third class conductor, the discharge will always be oscillatory. An apparent paradox is found in the statement that the current may be more than 90 deg. out of phase with the voltage. A study of the derived equations, remembering that the current under consideration is only one of the two components forming the total discharge current (C de/dt) of the condenser (the leakage current g e being the other), will show that this is true.
Statistical prediction of tissue fate in acute ischemic brain injury

An algorithm was developed to statistically predict ischemic tissue fate on a pixel-by-pixel basis. Quantitative high-resolution (200 � 200 lm) cerebral blood flow (CBF) and apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) were measured on acute stroke rats subjected to permanent middle cerebral artery occlusion and an automated clustering (ISODATA) technique was used to classify ischemic tissue types. Probability and probability density profiles were derived from a training data set (n ¼ 6) and probability maps of risk of subsequent infarction were computed in another group of animals (n ¼ 6) as ischemia progressed. Predictions were applied to overall tissue fate. Performance measures (sensitivity, specificity, and receiver operating characteristic) showed that prediction made based on combined ADC þ CBF data outperformed those based on ADC or CBF data alone. At the optimal operating points, combined ADC þ CBF predicted tissue infarction with 86%74% sensitivity and 89%76% specificity. More importantly, probability of infarct (PI) for different ISODATA-derived ischemic tissue types were also computed: (1) For the ‘normal’ cluster in the ischemic right hemisphere, PI based on combined ADC þ CBF data (PI[ADC þ CBF]) accurately reflected tissue fate, whereas PI[ADC] and PI[CBF] overestimated infarct probability. (2) For the ‘perfusion–diffusion mismatch’ cluster, PI[ADC þ CBF] accurately predicted tissue fate, whereas PI[ADC] underestimated and PI[CBF] overestimated infarct probability. (3) For the core cluster, PI[ADC þ CBF], PI[ADC], and PI[CBF] prediction were high and similar (B90%). This study shows an algorithm to statistically predict overall, normal, ischemic core, and ‘penumbral’ tissue fate using early quantitative perfusion and diffusion information. It is suggested that this approach can be applied to stroke patients in a computationally inexpensive manner.
Kinetic study of smoking marijuana

Six subjects each smoked a 1% marijuana cigarette and 2 hr later smoked a second one. Plasma levels of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol were measured for 9 hr with a radioimmunoassay. Heart rate and self-reported “high” were measured for 2 hr after each cigarette. All three measures showed a rapid increase after the start of smoking with Cmax occurring before the end of smoking. There was a strong correlation between decrease in heart rate and plasma levels from 10 min after smoking until 120 min. All pharmacodynamic response measures returned to baseline values within approximately 2 hr.
Novel conformationally restricted aromatic piperidines as selective sigma receptor ligands

A series of novel conjugated aromatic 4-amino- and 4-amido-piperidines which are potent sigma receptor ligands are described. These ligands exhibited good to excellent selectivities for binding at sigma versus D2 and 5-HT2 receptors.
Tropospheric OH and the lifetimes of hydrochlorofluorocarbons

Hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs) may be used as alternatives for the chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs). Lifetimes for the HCFCs are predicted here in two ways: integrating their loss with a global model, and scaling to another compound with a better known lifetime. Both approaches are shown here to yield similar results. Three-dimensional fields of modeled tropospheric OH concentrations are used to calculate lifetimes against destruction by OH for the HCFCs and other hydrogenated halocarbons. The OH fields are taken from a three-dimensional chemical transport model [Spivakovsky et al., 1990a] that accurately simulates the global measurements of methyl chloroform (derived lifetime of 5.5 yr). The lifetimes of various hydro-halocarbons are shown to be insensitive to possible spatial variations and seasonal cycles. It is possible to scale the HCFC lifetimes to that of methyl chloroform or methane by using a ratio of the rate coefficients for reaction with OH at an appropriate temperature, about 277 K.
Push-and-pull lean strategy evaluation for online graduate courses

Purpose – This study aims to investigate if new ways of delivering higher education can contribute to economic revitalization by enhancing the economic competitiveness of the workforce. Design/methodology/approach – Case study/conceptual paper. Findings – This study establishes suggested criteria by which push and pull elements can be utilized to streamline the much needed pedagogical process for mid-career professionals taking asynchronous online graduate classes. Research limitations/implications – This study had very small sample and focused on further education of mid-career professionals. Originality/value – The current economic crisis requires new approaches to efficiently improving human capital, and this study proposes one successful approach.
Perchlorate Leaching from Solid Rocket Motor Propellant in Water

Several launch vehicle solid rocket motor propellants contain ammonium perchlorate as a major ingredient, and so the potential exists for perchlorate release to the environment during launch operations and propellant manufacture. Solid composite base propellants containing four types of binder were studied: hydroxyl-terminated polybutadiene, carboxyl-terminated polybutadiene, polybutadiene-acrylic acid-acrylonitrile terpolymer, and polyurethane. The rate of perchlorate release from solid propellant during immersion in deionized and simulated seawater has been measured at 5, 20, and 29°C. The rate-limiting step is most probably diffusion, and the diffusion coefficient is given. Arrhenius terms are presented to facilitate calculation of diffusion coefficients at intermediate temperatures. The diffusion coefficients for all propellant types and conditions tested fall in the range from 3.6 X 10 - 1 2 to 1.1 × 10 - 1 3 m 2 s - 1 . The diffusion coefficients for each propellant type are proportional to temperature and inversely related to salinity.
IMMUNOLOGICAL RECONSTITUTION IN SEVERE COMBINED IMMUNODEFICIENCY DISEASE WITH TRANSPLANTATION FROM A NON-COMPATIBLE DONOR

We report the immunological reconstitution of an infant with combined immunodeficiency disease (CID) following transplantation of cells from a donor incompatible by mixed lymphocyte culture (MLC) typing. Previous long term reconstitution in CID has been achieved by transplantation of bone marrow cells either genetically compatible by HL-A typing or more recently, in MLC. Reconstitution has occurred in this infant with CID. No donor cells completely compatible in MLC were available. However, paternal immunocytes reactive in MLC could be eliminated in vitro with a pulse of tritiated thymidine of high specific activity. The remaining immunocytes were MLC compatible with the infant's cells. Cells were prepared in vitro in this way on three occasions (twice from peripheral blood and once from bone marrow) and transplanted intraperitoneally over a 4 month period, utilizing increasing numbers of donor cells each time. Now at 12 months of age, the infant exhibits a moderate chronic graft versus host reaction. Immunoglobulins are normal. Cell mediated responsiveness measured in vitro by phytohemagglutinin, pokeweed, and MLC reactivity is present. Skin tests have reverted to negative. B and T lymphocytes are present. This suggests that there is a potential source of cells from non-compatible donors for reconstitution of CID.
The venous system of the head and neck of the opossum (Didelphis virginiana)

The venous system of the head and neck of the opossum, Didelphis virginiana, was studied by injecting the veins with a tinctorial mass. Gross dissection spechmens injected with a colored gelatin solution and corrosion specimens prepared by Batson's technique (Batson, '55) were utilized to describe the venous pattern in greater detail than is presently available in the literature. The venous drainage of the superficial structures of the head is principally by way of the V. jugularis externa and its tributaries. Although small emissary veins connect the Sinus cavernosus with the Plexus pterygoideus and the V. maxillaris, the dural venous sinuses drain primarily into the Plexus vertebralis internus and into the V. maxillaris by way of the V. emissaria foraminis retroarticularis. The small V. jugularis interna receives minor connections from the Plexus pterygoideus, the Sinus cavernosus and the Sinus petrosus ventralis as well as anastomotic tributaries from the Plexus vertebralis and the plexus of veins around the hyoid bone. However, the V. jugularis interna serves mainly as a pathway for venous drainage from the deeper structures of the neck and only minimally for draining the brain.
Two-Step Approach to the Formation of Organic Monolayers on the Silicon Oxide Surface

A new synthetic strategy has been developed for the formation of densely packed monolayers on oxide surfaces. This technique involves a simple two-step procedure in which the oxide surface is initially chlorinated and then exposed to alcohol molecules for monolayer formation via Si−O linkages. We demonstrate this approach with the formation of octadecanol (C18) monolayers on the oxide-terminated Si(111) surface. Characterization of the resulting C18H37O− monolayer by a combination of techniques reveals a densely packed film with partial disorder. At the highest surface coverage, the thickness of the film is determined to be 24 A. Kinetics of monolayer growth is characterized by a fast initial step at low coverage; the rate constant decreases by 3 orders of magnitude when surface coverage approaches saturation.
Subtype-selective antagonism of N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor ion channels by synthetic conantokin peptides.

Abstract Conantokin-G (con-G), conantokin-T (con-T), a truncated conantokin-R (con-R[1–17]), that functions the same as wild-type con-R, and variant sequences of con-T, were chemically synthesized and employed to investigate their selectivities as antagonists of glutamate/glycine-evoked ion currents in human embryonic kidney-293 cells expressing various combinations of NMDA receptor (NMDAR) subunits (NR), viz., NR1a/2A, NR1a/2B, NR1b/2A and NR1b/2B. Con-G did not substantially affect ion flow into NR1a,b/NR2A-transfected cells, but potently inhibited cells expressing NR1a,b/NR2B, showing high NR2B selectivity. Con-T and con-R served as non-selective antagonists of all of four NMDAR subunit combinations. C-terminal truncation variants of the 21-residue con-T were synthesized and examined in this regard. While NMDAR ion channel antagonist activity, and the ability to adopt the Ca2+-induced α-helical conformation, diminished as a function of shortening the COOH-terminus of con-T, NMDAR subtype selectivity was enhanced in the con-T[1–11], con-T[1–9], and con-T[1–8] variants toward NR2A, NR1b, and NR1b/2A, respectively. Receptor subtype selectivity was also obtained with Met-8 sequence variants of con-T. Con-T[M8A] and con-T[M8Q] displayed selectivity with NR2B-containing subunits, while con-T[M8E] showed enhanced activity toward NR1b-containing NMDAR subtypes. Of those studied, the most highly selective variant was con-T[M8I], which showed maximal NMDAR ion channel antagonism activity toward the NR1a/2A subtype. These studies demonstrate that it is possible to engineer NMDAR subtype antagonist specificity into con-T. Since the subunit composition of the NMDAR varies temporally and spatially in developing brain and in various disease states, conantokins with high subtype selectivities are potentially valuable drugs that may be used at specific stages of disease and in selected regions of the brain.
Sister-chromatid exchanges and gene mutations are induced by the replication of 5-bromo- and 5-chloro-deoxyuridine substituted DNA

Abstract The thymidine (dT) analogue 5-chlorodeoxyuridine (CldU) induces 7–8-fold more sister-chromatid exchanges (SCE) than does 5-bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) at equal substitution for dT in Chinese hamster ovary cells in culture. This difference facilitates study of the mechanism of induction of SCE by these analoques. Cultures were incubated with either BrdU or CldU for one cell cycle, followed by incubation in the presence of dT alone or BrdU or CldU for the second cell cycle and the SCE frequency determined in M2 cells. The results suggest that the induction of SCE is dependent only on the replication of the analogue-substituted DNA during the second cell cycle. Additional studies employed cultures grown in the presence of BrdU or CldU for 7 days to obtain mainly bifilarly substituted DNA, followed by 2 rounds of replication in the presence of dT alone. The SCE frequencies were approximately twice those found in cultures which had undergone the usual 2 rounds in the presence of the analogue; this is consistent with the replication of twice the amount of analogue-substituted DNA. Furthermore, such long-term growth in the presence of BrdU or CldU also results in concentration-dependent increases in the frequency of 6-thioguanine-resistant mutants, suggesting that gene mutations also result from the replication of analogue-substituted DNA.
Morbidity of rectosigmoid resection and primary anastomosis in patients undergoing primary cytoreductive surgery for advanced epithelial ovarian cancer.

Abstract Objectives. Studies from the colorectal literature have shown that factors associated with anastomotic leak after colorectal resection include long surgical time (>2 h), multiple blood transfusions, and short distance to the anal verge. The aim of this study was to assess the morbidity associated with en bloc resection of ovarian carcinoma with low anterior resection and anastomosis in patients undergoing primary cytoreductive surgery for advanced disease. Methods. We performed a retrospective chart review of all patients who had undergone primary cytoreduction for advanced epithelial ovarian cancer with rectosigmoid resection followed by low rectal anastomosis between January 1994 and June 2004. Patient characteristics, operative details, and postoperative complications were extracted from patients' charts. Results. Seventy patients met the above criteria and form our study group. The median age was 59 years (range, 25–82). There were 52 stage IIIC (74%) and 18 stage IV (26%) cancers. The median operating time was 315 min (range, 120–750) and the median estimated blood loss was 1200 ml (range, 250–8000), with 53 (76%) patients requiring blood transfusion. Twenty-eight patients (40%) underwent major upper abdominal procedures other than omentectomy, and 14 patients (20%) underwent a second bowel resection. Twelve patients (17%) underwent a protective ileostomy while the remainder (83%) did not. Of the 58 patients with no ostomy, the only complications associated with the resection and anastomoses were a pelvic abscess in 3 patients (5%) and an anastomotic leak requiring diverting colostomy in 1 patient (1.7%). Of the 12 patients who had protective ileostomies, 3 (25%) had complications related to their ileostomy short-bowel syndrome requiring early reversal, incarceration of the prolapsed loop requiring surgical correction, and prolapse corrected electively at the time of second-look surgery. Conclusions. In women undergoing primary cytoreductive surgery, the morbidity associated with en bloc resection of ovarian carcinoma with low rectosigmoid resection and anastomosis without protective ileostomy was acceptably low, with an anastomotic leak rate of less than 2%. Protective ileostomy is not always necessary and should be used selectively.
Charge-density-wave instabilities in a multisubband quasi-one-dimensional electron system

A multiple energy subband structure of an electronic Fermi liquid on a graphitic nanotubule is calculated self-consistently. A series of Kohn anomalies are found in density-density correlation functions that appear at [similar to][ital k][sub [ital f]][sup ([ital m])][plus minus][ital k][sub [ital f]][sup ([ital n])], where [ital k][sub [ital f]][sup ([ital n])] is a Fermi wave number of an occupied subband with index [ital n]. The spontaneous broken symmetry is characterized by multiple charge-density-wave (CDW) order parameters. These CDW instabilities and the energy gaps they induce at the Fermi surface are predicted. The temperature dependences of the order parameters are also discussed. We identify the regime in which a coupling between two order parameters can significantly enhance the transition temperature.
In vitro culturing and characteristics of transit amplifying epithelial cells from human prostate tissue

The prostatic epithelium is functionally organized in stem cell units. This unit consists of a slow turn over stem cell within the basal epithelial layer which can replenish itself and provide progeny which differentiate down either a neuroendocrine or exocrine pathway. The maturation along the exocrine pathway initially involves transit amplifying cells within the basal layer proliferating and subsequently the progeny maturing into intermediate cells. These intermediate cells migrate into the luminal layer where they terminally differentiate into non-proliferative secretory luminal cells which express prostate specific differentiation markers, like PSA. A growing body of experimental evidence has identified the proliferating transit amplifying/intermediate cells as the cells of origin for the common prostatic adenocarcinomas. Using a series of growth characteristics, and mRNA and protein markers, we have validated that primary cultures can be established in serum free defined media from surgically resected human prostates which are composed of essentially pure population of transit amplifying cells. At each serial passage, the subsequent cultures undergo enhanced maturation into intermediate cells and by the 7-10th passage these cells eventually lose their proliferative ability. This study validates that these cells are a useful and relevant system for the determination of molecular events involved in prostatic carcinogenesis.
MoMiReS: Mobile mixed reality system for physical & occupational therapies for hand and wrist ailments

The MoMiReS is a mobile mixed reality system aimed at physical and occupational therapies. The goal of the system is to engage therapy patients by involving them in a fun to play 3D game environment through physical interactions with a wireless sensor glove. Our system offers a solution for rehabilitation of the hand, wrist originated problems with a smartphone based mobile mixed reality game that will be used in conjunction with traditional rehabilitation programs such as home treatment. The key factor in the success of the home treatment is compliance of patients to the given therapy instructions. However, therapists report that patients do not carry on their home-exercises and activities. The main reason is the lack of motivation and boredom for the given activities. These activities require patients to carry out set of repetitive movements. The lack of motivation in exercises causes discontinuity and increases the recovery time and eventually increases the cost of the treatment. Therefore, we propose a complete framework by reducing the drawbacks of the traditional therapy. Our framework has three components; hardware, smartphone game, and cloud for data storage and processing. A sensor glove was developed with plug and play motion sensors streamed in real-time to the mobile phone with Bluetooth connection. The glove is used for tracking finger pressures and motion of the fingers. The patient side smartphone based interactive game verifies compliance of the motions for assigned exercises by occupational/physical therapist. The cloud side aims at ensuring patients that the assigned exercises are carried out and also monitors patient in real-time. Cloud application keeps the record of the patients' progresses for further analysis by therapists. In order to understand the effectiveness of the proposed system, we developed games specifically for treatment of carpal tunnel syndrome. The usability and effectiveness of the systems are surveyed among the occupational therapy students. Survey results show that 92% approval rate of the system.
Right-Libertarian Parties and the "New Values": A Re-examination*

Among the most noted and studied societal tendencies of recent decades have been those associated with structural change in industrial societies becoming postindustrial. Within political science, much attention has been focused on the behavioural and institutional effects of value change accompanying that transition, and especially on the diminishing impact of class and ideology on politics. Among the institutional effects have been (at times and in some places) decline in support for “established” parties and the rise of alternative political organizations, including new parties on both the left and right. Many of the new parties of the left, and especially those labelled “left-libertarian”, are generally viewed as harbingers of things-to-come in the “new” politics - progressive vehicles, driven along by the tides of change. In contrast, the new parties of the right are generally viewed as conservative, authoritarian, materialist reactions to change - representing transitional efforts to stop change and its effects. The latter parties presumably tell more about the past, the present, and efforts to preserve them, than about the “new” in politics. The purpose of this article is to explore the possibility that some of the new right-wing parties - especially those in social democracies - might themselves be viewed more accurately (or at least as justifiably, based on reinterpretation of the available evidence) as reflections of new values and as vehicles of forward-looking change. If so, then those parties, like their left-libertarian counterparts, may tell us something about the future of postindustrial politics.
Familial DiGeorge syndrome and associated partial monosomy of chromosome 22

Partial monosomy of 22q due to an unbalanced 4;22 translocation was seen in a 2-month-old male with Type I truncus arteriosus, dysmorphic features, and T-cell abnormalities. The family history revealed a previous sib with Type I truncus arteriosus, thymic aplasia, and parathyroid hypoplasia noted on postmortem examination, consistent with DiGeorge syndrome. Evaluation of the asymptomatic mother of these two patients revealed partial T-cell deficiency and the same unbalanced translocation with deletion of proximal 22q11. These findings provide further evidence that some cases of complete or partial DiGeorge syndrome are associated with monosomy of the proximal long arm of chromosome 22, and they may explain many, if not all, familial cases of the syndrome.
Gene conversion: remarks on the quantitative implications of hybrid DNA models.

Some quantitative implications of the gene conversion models of Holliday and Whitehouse & Hastings are discussed. These models predict two kinds of mispairing when a heterozygous mutant is in hybrid DNA. It is pointed out that the latter model, in contrast to statements in the literature, does not require identical repair rates in both kinds of mispairing. Furthermore, some peculiarities are discussed which result if, among the corrected fractions of hybrid sites, the frequency of repair to wild-type is the same in both kinds of mispairing ( r = s ). In the Holliday model a minimum results under this condition for the frequency of asci which show a normal 4:4 segregation, but which have originated by repair from meioses with hybrid DNA.
Risk factors for trisomy 21: maternal cigarette smoking and oral contraceptive use in a population-based case-control study.

Purpose: We examined maternal smoking and oral contraceptive use as possible risk factors in the genesis of cases of trisomy 21 of maternal origin. This is the first epidemiological study to categorize cases of trisomy 21 by parent of origin and timing of the meiotic error before assessing possible risk factors. Methods: We used chromosome 21-specific DNA markers to assign origin to each case. Structured interviews were employed to deter-mine maternal smoking and oral contraceptive use around conception. Results: The odds ratio (OR) for maternal smoking was significantly increased among younger mothers (OR = 2.98; 95% CI = 1.01–8.87), but only in a particular subset of meiotically-derived cases. The combined use of cigarettes and oral contraceptives increased the risk further (OR = 7.62; 95% CI = 1.63–35.6); however, oral contraceptive use alone was not a significant risk factor. Conclusion: Our results indicate that categorizing cases of trisomy 21 by parent and timing of the meiotic error allows more precision in identifying risk factors and may shed light on mechanisms of meiotic nondisjunction.
A LOOK AT THE FIRE SYMBOL BEFORE AND AFTER MAY 4, 1970

(1974). A LOOK AT THE FIRE SYMBOL BEFORE AND AFTER MAY 4, 1970. Free Speech Yearbook: Vol. 13, No. 1, pp. 18-28.
“TOO MANY LAWYERS, NOT ENOUGH PRACTICAL PEOPLE”: The Policy‐Making Discretion of the Federal Trade Commission

Contemporary legal theory recognizes three primary methods of controling administrative discretion: confining through substantive standards, structuring through procedural requirements, and checking through bureaucratic review. It is sometimes assumed that these techniques operate independently and that their effects are additive. This article reports on a study of Federal Trade Commission policy-making and concludes that in some instances there can be complex interactions among the legal techniques for controlling discretion, and between the legal techniques and political or bureaucratic forces shaping policy-making discretion.
Sepsis, septic shock, acute abdomen? The ability of cardiac disease to mimic other medical illness

Transport medicine offers the challenge of patient diagnosis based only on the relayed history an the impressions of referring medical personnel. A thorough pretransport review of the patient's history, physical examination, radiographs, laboratory values, and other supporting information can help avoid surprises upon arrival at the patient's bedside and lead to an appropriate diagnosis and management plan. One must approach the transported child with an open mind, however, to avoid misdiagnosis and inadequate or inappropriate intervention and management. One of the advantages of pediatric specialty transport services is the ability to critically assess a referred patient and offer diagnostic and therapeutic guidance in addition to transportation to the receiving center. These above two examples illustrate difficult cases where the diagnostic skills of the transport medical personnel enabled the patients to receive appropriate acute interventional and specific disease-related therapy.