cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Hypoxic coronary vasodilatation and cGMP overproduction are blocked by a nitric oxide synthase inhibitor, but not by a guanylyl cyclase ANF receptor antagonist

Abstract Myocardial hypoxia is known to be accomapanied by the release of atrial natriuretic factor (ANF), a peptide which dilates the coronary vessels by stimulating particulate guanylyl cyclase. We have assessed whether ANF plays a paracrine role in hypoxic coronary vasodilatation, a reaction which we had previously found to be associated with increased cyclic GMP production. Compound HS 142-1 (100 μg/ml), a specific antagonist of the guanylyl cyclase ANF receptor, inhibited by 50–70% the coronary-vasodilating effects of human ANF (1–10 μg) administered to isolated guinea pig hearts, but affected neither hypoxic coronary vasodilatation nor cyclic GMP overflow. In contrast, the nitric oxide synthase inhibitor N ω - methyl- L -arginine (300 μM) reduced hypoxic coronary vasodilatation and cyclic GMP overproduction by ≈ 70% and 50–60%, respectively. Thus, unlike nitric oxide, ANF appears not to play a paracrine role in hypoxic coronary vasodilatation.
Territory sharing by the Caribbean striped parrotfish, Scarus iserti: patterns of resource abundance, group size and behaviour

Along the Caribbean coast of Panama, female groups of the striped parrotfish,Scarus iserti, co-defend a common area against neighbouring territorial and roving non-territorial conspecifics. Unlike many other group territorial organisms, the individuals within these groups are unrelated to one another and express no parental care. This paper describes the patterns of resource abundance, territory size, group membership and activity associated with the territory sharing behaviour of these fish. These data are applied to a set of hypotheses which may explain the evolution of parrotfish group territorial behaviour. The results suggest that groups form within territories because socially dominant individuals can exploit food resources more efficiently when others are present. This is due, at least in part, to the sharing of territorial defence, which allows individuals more time to feed. Other benefits of group-living, such as improved vigilance for predators or more efficient searching for food, may also enhance a territorial individual's food intake, while dominance interactions limit the consumption of resources by subordinates. The potential interaction of these factors in determining individual payoffs invites further study on the specific costs and benefits associated with life in these non-kin territorial groups.
Proper timing of cytokinesis is regulated by Schizosaccharomyces pombe Etd1

Cytokinesis must be initiated only after chromosomes have been segregated in anaphase and must be terminated once cleavage is completed. We show that the fission yeast protein Etd1 plays a central role in both of these processes. Etd1 activates the guanosine triphosphatase (GTPase) Spg1 to trigger signaling through the septum initiation network (SIN) pathway and onset of cytokinesis. Spg1 is activated in late anaphase when spindle elongation brings spindle pole body (SPB)–localized Spg1 into proximity with its activator Etd1 at cell tips, ensuring that cytokinesis is only initiated when the spindle is fully elongated. Spg1 is active at just one of the two SPBs during cytokinesis. When the actomyosin ring finishes constriction, the SIN triggers disappearance of Etd1 from the half of the cell with active Spg1, which then triggers Spg1 inactivation. Asymmetric activation of Spg1 is crucial for timely inactivation of the SIN. Together, these results suggest a mechanism whereby cell asymmetry is used to monitor cytoplasmic partitioning to turn off cytokinesis signaling.
Effects of natural and simulated rainfall on indicators of ensilability and nutritive value for wilting alfalfa forages sampled before preservation as silage1

Abstract The frustrations of forage producers attempting to conserve high-quality alfalfa ( Medicago sativa L.) silage during periods of unstable or inclement weather are widely known. Our objectives for this series of studies were to (1) assess indicators of ensilability, such as pH, buffering capacity, water-soluble carbohydrates (WSC), and starch for wilting alfalfa forages receiving no rainfall or damaged by simulated or natural rainfall events; (2) use these data as inputs to calculate the threshold moisture concentration that would prohibit a clostridially dominated fermentation; and (3) further evaluate the effects of rain damage or no rain damage on measures of forage nutritive value. Rainfall events were applied to wilting forages by both simulated and natural methods over multiple studies distributed across 4 independent forage harvests. Generally, simulated rainfall was applied to alfalfa under controlled conditions in which forages were relatively wet at the time of application, and subsequently were dried to final moisture endpoints under near ideal conditions within a constant temperature/humidity environmental chamber, thereby limiting postwetting wilting time to ≤21h. As a result, indicators of ensilability, as well as measures of nutritive value, changed only marginally as a result of treatment. Consistently, reductions in concentrations of WSC and starch occurred, but changes in WSC were relatively modest, and postwetting concentrations of WSC may have been buoyed by hydrolysis of starch. When forages were subjected to natural rainfall events followed by prolonged exposure under field conditions, indicators of ensilability were much less desirable. In one study in which alfalfa received 49.3mm of natural rainfall over a prolonged (8-d) field-exposure period, fresh pH increased from 6.48 to 7.43 within all forages exposed to these extended, moist wilting conditions. Furthermore, sharp reductions were observed in buffering capacity (410 vs. 337meq/kg of DM), WSC (6.13 vs. 2.90%), starch (2.28 vs. 0.45%), and clostridially dominated fermentation (62.7 vs. 59.4%). Based on these experiments, the potential for good fermentation is affected only minimally by single rainfall events applied to relatively wet forages, provided these events are followed by rapid dehydration; however, attaining acceptable silage fermentations with forages subjected to prolonged exposure under poor drying conditions is likely to be far more problematic.
Decreased dopamine D2 receptor availability is associated with reduced frontal metabolism in cocaine abusers

Decreased dopaminergic function has been postulated to underlie cocaine addiction. To examine the possibility that dysfunction of brain regions subserved by the dopamine system could promote cocaine self-administration, positron emission tomography and a dual-tracer approach was used to examine dopamine D2 receptor availability and regional brain glucose metabolism in cocaine abusers. When compared to normal controls, cocaine abusers showed significant decreases in dopamine D2 receptor availability which persisted 3-4 months after detoxification. Decreases in dopamine D2 receptor availability were associated with decreased metabolism in several regions of the frontal lobes, most markedly orbito-frontal cortex and cingulate gyri. Dopamine dysregulation of these brain areas which are involved in the channeling of drive and affect could lead to loss of control resulting in compulsive drug-taking behavior.
Recognizing places using spectrally clustered local matches

Place recognition is a fundamental perceptual problem at the heart of many basic robot operations, most notably mapping. Failures can result from ambiguous sensor readings and environments with similar appearances. In this paper, we describe a robust place recognition algorithm that fuses a number of uncertain local matches into a high-confidence global match. We describe the theoretical basis of the approach and present extensive experimental results from a variety of sensor modalities and environments.
Economic impact of screening for bladder cancer using bladder tumor markers: a decision analysis.

Abstract Purpose The Food and Drug Administration recently approved the use of bladder markers such as BladderChek (NMP22; Matritech, Inc., Newton, MA) and UroVysion (Abbott Laboratories, Abbott Park, IL) for use in screening for bladder cancer. The purpose of this analysis was to assess the cost associated with implementing a widespread screening program using a noninvasive bladder tumor marker. Methods Data for the accuracy of NMP22 in detecting bladder cancer was gathered from a comprehensive literature review. A decision tree analysis was constructed to evaluate the total cost of screening a low and high-risk population for bladder cancer using NMP22. Sensitivity analyses were conducted to evaluate the effect of relaxing the various assumptions in the model. Results Application of the model to all men, regardless of the degree of risk, rendered a cost per cancer detected of $783,913, $269,028, and $139,305 for ages 50–59, 60–69, and 70–79 years, respectively. Screening only patients at high-risk for bladder cancer (annual incidence 6%) would yield a cost per cancer detected of $3,310. Incidence of cancer and marker specificity had the highest influence on cost per cancer detected. Conclusions Application of NMP22 to the entire population would render an extremely high cost per cancer detected. However, application to an appropriate high-risk target population could achieve cost per cancer detected comparable to currently used screening programs for prostate, colon, and breast cancer. Further studies are needed to assess the accuracy of bladder tumor markers in detecting bladder cancer in a completely asymptomatic cohort.
Prostatic human kallikrein 2 inactivates and complexes with plasminogen activator inhibitor-1.

Human kallikrein 2 (hK2) is a serine protease expressed predominantly in the prostate which has 80% homology to prostate-specific antigen (PSA). hK2 is an active trypsin-like protease which has been shown by immuno-histochemical staining to be more highly expressed in prostate carcinoma than in benign prostate tissue. Unlike PSA, hK2 activates pro-PSA , pro-hK2 and the zymogen form of urokinase-type plasminogen activator (uPA), an extracellular protease correlated with prostate cancer and metastasis. We show here that hK2 rapidly forms a complex with plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1), the primary inhibitor of uPA in tissues. In addition, hK2 inactivated 6 to 7 mol of PAI-1 by cleavage at Arg346-Met347 for every mole of hK2–PAI-1 complex formed. In contrast with hK2, PSA neither complexed with nor inactivated PAI-1. PAI-1 inhibited hK2 comparably with protein C inhibitor (PCI) and at least 20 times more rapidly than α1-anti-chymotrypsin (ACT). N-Terminal sequencing shows that hK2 forms a covalent complex with PAI-1, PCI and ACT after cleavage at Arg346-Met347, Arg354-Ser355 and Leu358-Ser359, respectively. During complex formation, hK2 inactivated PAI-1 but did not inactivate ACT or PCI. Our current results suggest that the increased hK2 expression in prostate cancer tissues could influence cancer biology not only by activation of uPA but also by inactivation of its primary inhibitor, PAI-1. Int. J. Cancer 81:438–442, 1999. © 1999 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Use of molecular markers aids in the development of diverse inbred backcross lines in Beit Alpha cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.)

Beit Alpha cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) is a Mediterranean fresh-market type with a relatively narrow genetic base. To broaden its base for plant improvement, 42 diverse accessions were compared employing a previously defined standard marker array to choose wide-based parental lines for use in backcross introgression. Inbred backcross lines (IBL) were developed by crossing Beit Alpha line ‘04HD5’ (De Ruiter Seeds, The Netherlands; recurrent parent) and PI 285606 (Poland; donor parent), and then selecting the most genetically diverse BC1 and BC2 progeny based on molecular marker profiles, followed by three generations of single-seed descent to produce 117 IBL. Molecular genotyping of IBL was then performed, and IBL were evaluated for days to anthesis, sex expression, pistillate flowers per node, lateral branch number, fruits per plant, fruit length, and fruit weight in the US, The Netherlands, Israel, and Turkey. Multivariate analyses and genetic distance comparisons indicate that IBL possessed considerable inter-line morphological and genotypic diversity. These diverse IBL will be useful in genetic studies and to evaluate Beit Alpha cross-progeny derived from IBL × elite germplasm created to broadened genetic base of this market type.
Generation of Pulse Corona Discharge in Point-to-Plane Geometry Under Supercritical Conditions

Summary form only given. Generation of plasma under supercritical conditions is an unexplored area in plasma science. The known media of plasma applications include gas and liquid states with pressures from vacuum to atmospheric and above. Discharge development depends on the E/n ratio and the density of the media. In gaseous phase, the distance between the molecules is relatively large and electrical discharge can be achieved by using relatively low voltage. Concurrently, in liquid phase due to the densely packed molecules the required voltage for plasma generation is high. Some studies on plasma application for pollution control showed that small amount of dispersed liquid droplets increase the efficiency of the chemical utilization of the high energy electrons and reduce the required voltage at the same time. Supercritical fluid offers the unique advantage of having areas of low and high density that coexist in the fluid. This means that the discharge generated under these conditions starts in the low density gas like area where the required voltage for discharge initiation is low. Then the streamers rapidly propagate to the high density liquid like clusters, where the discharge propagation is controlled by mechanisms typical for the liquids. Our previous results on plasma generation under supercritical CO2 conditions in wire to cylinder pulsed power reactor suggest significant reduction of the breakdown voltage. At the same time the experiments conducted for point-to-plane configuration showed that the possibility for plasma generation extends far beyond the critical conditions (T=304 K, P=73.8 bar). In this paper we extend the knowledge on the dependence of the voltage required for plasma initiation on the pressure, temperature and density of the supercritical media. Furthermore, three different point-to-plane geometries are investigated to provide insight of the configuration influence on the plasma generation
Origin of Type-III Porphyrins in Nature

A RECENT article by Marks1 has reviewed the present state of knowledge concerning porphyrin biogenesis, A part of the pathway which has stimulated much speculation is the step involving the condensation of porphobilinogen (I) to uroporphyrinogen III, IV (iii). A good deal of information is available on the enzymes concerned. Briefly, it seems that two enzymes are involved, uroporphyrinogen-I-synthetase and uroporphyrinogen-III-co-synthetase. The first, when incubated with porphobilinogen (I), produces uroporphyrinogen I, IV (i), while in the presence of the second enzyme, the product is uroporphyrinogen III, IV (iii). Uroporphyrinogen I is not a substrate for the co-synthetase. (Ref. 1 gives a comprehensive bibliography.) Most attempts to explain this unusual cyclization have started from the assumption that the enzymes would utilize a pathway which could be illustrated by chemical condensations in vitro—and all have been criticized on the ground that they produce a mixture of porphyrin isomers of uncertain composition, whereas the enzymatic condensations are much more specific.
Tie1 attenuation reduces murine atherosclerosis in a dose-dependent and shear stress–specific manner

Although the response of endothelial cells to the disturbed blood flow in the vicinity of atherosclerotic lesions is known to be distinct from that elicited by nonatherogenic laminar flow, the mechanisms involved are poorly understood. Our initial studies confirmed that expression of the endothelial receptor tyrosine kinase Tie1 was evident at regions of atherogenic flow in mature animals. We therefore hypothesized that Tie1 plays a role in the endothelial response to atherogenic shear stress. Consistent with this, we found that Tie1+/- mice bred to the apoE-deficient background displayed a 35% reduction in atherosclerosis relative to Tie1+/+;Apoe-/- mice. Since deletion of Tie1 results in embryonic lethality secondary to vascular dysfunction, we used conditional and inducible mutagenesis to study the effect of endothelial-specific Tie1 attenuation on atherogenesis in Apoe-/- mice and found a dose-dependent decrease in atherosclerotic lesions. Analysis of primary aortic endothelial cells indicated that atheroprotective laminar flow decreased Tie1 expression in vitro. Attenuation of Tie1 was associated with an increase in eNOS expression and Tie2 phosphorylation. In addition, Tie1 attenuation increased IkBα expression while decreasing ICAM levels. In summary, we have found that shear stress conditions that modulate atherogenic events also regulate Tie1 expression. Therefore, Tie1 may play a novel proinflammatory role in atherosclerosis.
Resource dependence and interorganizational linkage among R&D labs: The impact of research orientations

Abstract This study examines the interaction effect of resource dependence and an R&D lab's research orientation on its involvement in interorganizational linkage activity. Data from a national sample of R&D labs in the U.S. support the general prediction that the stronger a lab's orientation toward basic research, the less likely that it will participate in interlab collaborative projects as a way to deal with its resource dependence problems. These results are obtained after controlling for the main effects of resource dependence and basic research orientation, and possible confounding effects from several other variables, including institutional setting and lab size. Implications of the findings are discussed, including their relevance to the design of public policy to promote collaborative R&D among U.S. organizations.
PRECIPITATION AND COLD AIR PRODUCTION IN MESOSCALE THUNDERSTORM SYSTEMS

Abstract This paper presents a proposed mechanism of cold air production associated with precipitation. A dome of cold air is produced by the evaporation of raindrops falling beneath the cloud base. A quantitative relationship between the evaporated rain and the produced excess mass of cold air was obtained, which showed that the mass is directly proportional to the evaporation. The coefficient of proportionality is a dimensionless number which varies between 0 and 1 depending on the temperature lapse rate originally existing beneath the cloud base. Results of mesoanalyses of squall lines and thunderstorms were used to estimate the actual amount of evaporation. The mass ratio of evaporated rain to the surface rain was found to increase with the height of the cloud base, reaching 1.0 at a cloud base of 9000 ft. In-cloud evaporation obtained by Braham (1952) showed a very good agreement with the values obtained in this study.
Who takes care of the caretakers

On October 17, 1989 at 5:04pm, an earthquake measuring 7.1 on the Richter Scale hit the Loma Prieta fault, destroying homes, freeways, and lives in the San Francisco Bay area. Although not everyone suffered physical harm or loss of property, no one was unaffected by the devastation. Constant media scrutiny brought the disaster into everyone’s living room, and as a result, the shock of the earthquake was felt from coast to coast. In response, the staff of the UC Berkeley Psychology Clinic offered psychological assistance to the community, and in order to reach as many people as possible, targeted the Berkeley and Oakland school districts. An intervention was planned whereby clinic faculty and interns would meet directly with teachers and administrators, to model a process they in turn could implement with their own staffs and students. Professors Philip A. Cowan and Rhona S. Weinstein proposed an intervention in which an initial team of five clinicians met with fifty principals and district administrative staff during an emergency planning meeting. The meeting broke into smaller groups consisting of ten to twelve participants, and each person was given the opportunity to tell of their experiences at the time of the earthquake, and was encouraged to express their subsequent feelings and concerns. Responses to the trauma varied greatly. Some people experienced debilitating anxiety, while others felt little or none. Reactions included sleeplessness, hypervigilance, disruptions of eating patterns, indifference, crying, and emotional shock. The model used emphasized the importance of providing a safe place in which to express reactions, whatever they might have been. The groups then came together and talked about the similarities, differences, and variability of the responses offered within each of the smaller groups. At this point the model was explained, and the participants were encouraged to repeat this process with the staff at each individual school site. One of the most important reasons for implementing this type of intervention is the normalization of responses. Many principals and administrators were concerned that their personal responses were in some way inappropriate. By witnessing the range of reactions, each participant was able to put her/his response into the context of a continuum, and for many this was greatly relieving. For others, supplemental psychological intervention was suggested, and alternative resources were offered.
Expert Systems and their Role in Computational Sociology

L'A. s'interesse aux modeles informatiques de procedures d'expertise. Ceux-ci mobilisent un systeme d'intelligence artificielle. Il s'efforce de decrire le fonctionnement de ce type de modele. Il pose le probleme de la validite des representations modelisees par ce biais et de l'hyper-simplification qu'elles induisent ordinairement. Il presente un certain nombre de programmes informatiques elabores en ce domaine. Il souligne l'importance de l'interactivite en ce qui concerne le maniement de ce type de dispositif
Differences in biomechanical stability of femur fracture fixation when using titanium nails of increasing diameter

Purpose The purpose of this study was to compare the biomechanical stability generated when utilizing increasing sizes of titanium (Ti) flexible nails for fixation of simulated comminuted femur fractures.
Formation of all-trans-retinoic acid and 13-cis-retinoic acid from all-trans-retinyl palmitate in humans

Abstract Increments of levels of both 13-cis- and all-trans-retinoic acid in human plasma were observed after either a physiologic or a pharmacologic oral dose of all-trans-retinyl palmitate. Subjects receiving a physiologic dose showed mean ± SEM plasma rises over baseline as follows: all-trans-retinoic acid = 1.1 ± 0.3 nmol/L and 13-cis-retinoic acid = 4.7 ± 1.1 nmol/L, which represented increases in 1.3 fold and 1.9 fold over fasting plasma levels. Those receiving a pharmacologic dose showed mean ± SEM plasma rises over baseline as follows: all- trans -retinoic acid = 11.5 ± 2.6 nmol/L and 13-cis -retinoic acid = 37.5 ± 6.1 nmol/L, which represented increases of 3.9-fold and 8.4-fold over fasting plasma levels. Moreover, areas under the curve of the means of all-trans- and 13-cis-retinoic acid over 24 hours showed that larger amounts of 13-cis-retinoic acid appear in the circulation than all-trans-retinoic acid after feeding all-trans-retinyl palmitate. The increase in retinoic acid in the circulation may be an important source of retinoic acid for some organs.
Scaling‐up PECVD system for large‐sized substrate processing

— With the prevailing trend of large-panel TFT monitors and, most recently, LCD TVs, large-sized-substrate processing is becoming the mainstream of TFT-LCD production. To enable this trend of ever-increasing large-area processing, a multiple generations of PECVD systems for volume production has been successfully developed. This paper discusses the scaling-up challenges from the equipment manufacturer's perspective, with the focus on process scalability, system design optimization, productivity enhancement, and cost-of-ownership reduction.
Using sampled nonlinearly chirped fiber Bragg gratings to achieve 40-Gbit/ s tunable multi-channel dispersion compensation

Abstract We demonstrate tunable chromatic dispersion in a 4 × 40-Gbit/s wavelength-division-multiplexed (WDM) transmission experiments using single sampled nonlinearly chirped fiber Bragg grating (NC-FBG) with negligible errors from higher order dispersion or two cascaded inverse sampled NC-FBG to cancel the higher order dispersion within the data’s bandwidth. In both the single FBG and cascaded FBG configurations,
Medical therapy for Cushing's disease: adrenal steroidogenesis inhibitors and glucocorticoid receptor blockers.

Morbidity and mortality in Cushing’s disease (CD) patients are increased if patients are not appropriately treated. Surgery remains the first line therapy, however the role of medical therapy has become more prominent in patients when biochemical remission is not achieved/or recurs after surgery, while waiting effects of radiation therapy or when surgery is contraindicated. Furthermore, use of preoperative medical therapy has been also recognized. In addition to centrally acting therapies (reviewed elsewhere in this special issue), adrenal steroidogenesis inhibitors, and glucocorticoid receptor antagonists are frequently used. A PubMed search of all original articles or abstracts detailing medical therapy in CD, published within 12 months (2013–2014), were identified and pertinent data extracted. Although not prospectively studied, ketoconazole and metyrapone have been the most frequently used medical therapies. A large retrospective ketoconazole study showed that almost half of patients who continued on ketoconazole therapy achieved biochemical control and clinical improvement; however almost 20 % discontinued ketoconazole due to poor tolerability. Notably, hepatotoxicity was usually mild and resolved after drug withdrawal. Etomidate remains the only drug available for intravenous use. A new potent inhibitor of both aldosterone synthase and 11β-hydroxylase, following the completion of a phase II study LCI699 is being studied in a large phase III with promising results. Mifepristone, a glucocorticoid receptor antagonist, has been approved for hyperglycemia associated with Cushing’s syndrome based on the results of a prospective study where it produced in the majority of patients’ significant clinical and metabolic improvement. Absence of both a biochemical marker for remission and/or diagnosis of adrenal insufficiency remain, however, a limiting factor. Patient characteristics and preference should guide the choice between different medications in the absence of clinical trials comparing any of these therapies. Despite significant progress, there is still a need for a medical therapy that is more effective and with less adverse effects for patients with CD.
Fortnightly review: Secondary prevention in acute myocardial infarction

Acute myocardial infarction affects hundreds of thousands of people each year. Around a quarter die, half of them before reaching a hospital. Survivors are at increased risk of recurrent myocardial infarctions or cardiac death, with a 10% death rate in the first year after discharge and a subsequent annual death rate of 5%—six times that in people of the same age who do not have coronary artery disease. Whereas aggressive management of the acute infarction has been enthusiastically adopted, far less attention has been given to preventive strategies. Though most doctors agree with the importance of secondary prevention, the results of studies suggest that many patients are currently not being given optimal preventive care. Since most patients after acute myocardial infarction are routinely followed up in primary care, general practitioners must be fully informed and participate in treatment strategies designed for the secondary prevention of coronary artery disease. We conducted a Medline search for all articles on acute myocardial infarction dating from January 1980 to August 1997, with particular emphasis on secondary prevention in acute myocardial infarction. We scanned all of these reports, which numbered more than 3000. In this review we have also incorporated current standard practice at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, for managing myocardial infarction. Several controlled trials in more than 35 000 survivors of myocardial infarction have shown the benefit of long term treatment with β blockers in reducing the incidence of recurrent myocardial infarction, sudden death, and all cause mortality (table 1).1-8 β Blockers reduce myocardial workload and oxygen consumption by reducing the heart rate, blood pressure, and contractility, and they increase the threshold for ventricular fibrillation. A meta-analysis of such treatment in patients who have had myocardial infarctions shows a 20% reduction in long term mortality and a 34% reduction in …
The Changing Urodynamic Pattern in Valve Bladders During Infancy

Bladder dysfunction in boys with posterior urethral valves is well documented in studies of long-term followup. These reports suggest that dysfunctional bladders can be divided into 3 main types, including unstable, low compliant and over distended. To our knowledge urodynamic findings at presentation during infancy have not been described previously. We report on 16 male patients born between 1989 and 1993 who presented with symptoms of posterior urethral valves between birth and age 5 months, and who were followed with repeated urodynamic evaluations for a mean of 19 months. At presentation the bladder was hypercontractile with low capacity. During the first 3 years of life, the urodynamic pattern changed with vanishing hypercontractility and increasing bladder capacity, although instability remained unchanged with emptying difficulties. Thus, the 3 patterns of bladder dysfunction reported in older boys after resection of posterior urethral valves could not be found in infants and small children.
Determination of nitroaromatic, nitramine, and nitrate ester explosives in soil by gas chromatography and an electron capture detector.

Abstract Hazardous waste site characterization, forensic investigations, and land mine detection are scenarios where soils may be collected and analyzed for traces of nitroaromatic, nitramine, and nitrate ester explosives. These thermally labile analytes are traditionally determined by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC); however, commercially available deactivated injection port liners and wide-bore capillary columns have made routine analysis by gas chromatography (GC) possible. The electron-withdrawing nitro group common to each of these explosives makes the electron capture detector (ECD) suitable for determination of low concentrations of explosives in soil, water, and air. GC-ECD and HPLC-UV concentration estimates of explosives residues in field-contaminated soils from hazardous waste sites were compared, and correlation (r>0.97) was excellent between the two methods of analysis for each of the compounds most frequently detected: 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene (TNT), hexahydro-1,3,5-trinitro-1,3,5-triazine (RDX), 2,4-dinitrotoluene (2,4-DNT), 1,3-dinitrobenzene (1,3-DNB), 1,3,5-trinitrobenzene (TNB), and octahydro-1,3,5,7-tetranitro-1,3,5,7-tetrazocine (HMX). The analytes were extracted from soils with acetonitrile by 18 h of sonication in a cooled ultrasonic bath. Two soil-to-solvent ratios were evaluated: 2.00 g:10.00 ml and 25.0 g:50.0 ml. GC-ECD method detection limits were similar for the two soil-to-solvent ratios and were about 1 μg kg−1 for the di- and trinitroaromatics, about 10 μg kg−1 for the mono-nitroaromatics, 3 μg kg−1 for RDX, 25 μg kg−1 for HMX, and between 10 and 40 μg kg−1 for the nitrate esters (nitroglycerine [NG] and pentaerythritol tetranitrate [PETN]). Spike recovery studies revealed artifacts introduced by the spiking procedure. Recoveries were low in some soils if the amount of soil spiked was large (25.0 g) compared to the volume of spike solution added (1.00 ml). Recoveries were close to 100% when 2.00-g soil samples were spiked with 1.00 ml of solution. Analytes most frequently found in soils collected near buried land mines were the microbial transformation products of TNT (2-amino-4,6-dinitrotoluene [2-Am-DNT] and 4-amino-2,6-dinitrotoluene [4-Am-DNT]), manufacturing impurities of TNT (2,4-DNT, 2,6-DNT, and 1,3-DNB), and TNT. The microbial reduction products of the isomers of DNT and of 1,3-DNB were also detected, but the ECD response to these compounds is poor.
Gas Dynamic Design Analyses of Charging Zone for Reverse-Flow Pressure Wave Superchargers

The paper is focused on a comprehensive and systematic gas dynamic analysis of the high-pressure phase (charging zone) of pressure wave superchargers. The procedure is documented for a four-port reverse flow (RF) wave rotor, the typical configuration for engine wave superchargers, also named Comprex. A one-dimensional analytical gas dynamic model is employed to calculate flow characteristics inside the channels. Existing normal shock wave equations along with isentropic relations for expansion waves are used for calculations. Useful design parameters such as cycle timing and port widths are determined by formulating traveling times of the waves inside the channels. The gas dynamic study of the internal wave process demonstrates its fundamental dependence on the externally imposed compression ratio of the pressure wave supercharger.Copyright © 2003 by ASME
A note on videos and accounting education

Doctoral students are often uncomfortable making oral presentations before their peers and the instructor. This paper describes a recent innovation employed in the doctoral programme of a major university which we feel has been useful not only in increasing the communication skills of our doctoral students, but has also enhancing the quality of doctoral students' dissertations as well as the teaching and presentation skill of staff involved in the programme.
Gender differences in patients with schizophrenia and substance abuse

Co-occurring substance abuse is common among people with chronic mental illnesses such as schizophrenia. Although gender differences have been established among substance abusers in the general population and among people with schizophrenia, little is known about gender differences in people with the dual disorders of schizophrenia and substance abuse. This study examines gender differences in 37 women and 135 men with dual disorders, and finds many differences consistent with those found in people with single disorders: dually diagnosed women had more social contact and fewer legal problems but greater problems with victimization and medical illness compared with dually diagnosed men. Unexpectedly, men and women had similar courses and severities of substance abuse. These findings may be critical in planning effective services that explicitly address women's family and social needs, issues related to victimization, and high rates of medical illness.
Equilibrium response of thermohaline circulation to large changes in atmospheric CO2 concentration

This study evaluates the equilibrium response of a coupled ocean–atmosphere model to the doubling, quadrupling, and halving of CO2 concentration in the atmosphere. Special emphasis in the study is placed upon the response of the thermohaline circulation in the Atlantic Ocean to the changes in CO2 concentration of the atmosphere. The simulated intensity of the thermohaline circulation (THC) is similar among three quasi-equilibrium states with the standard, double the standard, and quadruple the standard amounts of CO2 concentration in the atmosphere. When the model atmosphere has half the standard concentration of CO2, however, the THC is very weak and shallow in the Atlantic Ocean. Below a depth of 3 km, the model oceans maintain very thick layer of cold bottom water with temperature close to –2 °C, preventing the deeper penetration of the THC in the Atlantic Ocean. In the Circumpolar Ocean of the Southern Hemisphere, sea ice extends beyond the Antarctic Polar front, almost entirely covering the regions of deepwater ventilation. In addition to the active mode of the THC, there exists another stable mode of the THC for the standard, possibly double the standard (not yet confirmed), and quadruple the standard concentration of atmospheric carbon dioxide. This second mode is characterized by the weak, reverse overturning circulation over the entire Atlantic basin, and has no ventilation of the entire subsurface water in the North Atlantic Ocean. At one half the standard CO2 concentration, however, the intensity of the first mode is so weak that it is not certain whether there are two distinct stable modes or not. The paleoceanographic implications of the results obtained here are discussed as they relate to the signatures of the Cenozoic changes in the oceans.
The impact of negative affectivity on stressor-strain relations: A replication and extension

Abstract The present study was a replication and extension of the results of Brief et al. (1988), who found that partialling out negative affectivity reduced the magnitude of stressor-strain correlations considerably. The effect of both trait anxiety and dispositional optimism was partialled out from stressor-strain correlations. Unlike Brief et al. (1988), however, work stress was measured with specific stressor scales rather than life events. Results from two samples of university employees showed that partialling out trait anxiety, dispositional optimism, or both, reduced the magnitude of stressor-strain correlations very little. Thus, it does not appear that stressor-strain correlations can be attributed to negative affectivity. The possibility that the results of the study by Brief et al. (1988) may have been due to problems with the life events approach used to measure work stress is discussed. Future research on the impact of dispositions is suggested.
Handheld subcellular-resolution single-fiber confocal microscope using high-reflectivity two-axis vertical combdrive silicon microscanner.

We introduce a handheld single-fiber laser-scanning confocal microscope, incorporating a high-reflectivity two-axis silicon vertical combdrive microscanner, aimed at in vivo early detection of epithelial precancers. The approach adopted is motivated by need for a portable, economical, biopsy-free, early precancer screening technology in low-infrastructure environments. Our microelectromechanical system (MEMS) based handheld probe integrates the microscanners with miniature objective lens system and flexible electrical routing in a forward-imaging configuration, with 4.8 mm distal probe tip outer diameter for unrestricted imaging access in biological sites such as the oral cavity and cervix. Reflectance confocal videos of a USAF 1951 resolution target and biological samples were obtained over 200 μm × 110 μm field of view, with 0.80 and 9.55 μm lateral and axial resolution, at 3.5–5.0 frames per second. With improvements to objective numerical aperture, our probe can enable precise evaluation of nuclear size, density, nucleus-to-cytoplasm ratio and cell density, which are important visual identifiers of epithelial precancers.
Commutability of NIST SRM 1955 Homocysteine and Folate in Frozen Human Serum with selected total homocysteine immunoassays and enzymatic assays.

Abstract Background The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has recently developed Standard Reference Material (SRM) 1955 Homocysteine and Folate in Frozen Human Serum with certified values for total homocysteine (tHcy) and 5-methyl-tetrahydrofolic acid. NIST has performed an international, interlaboratory assessment of SRM 1955 commutability; results are reported for tHcy only. Methods Total Hcy was measured in 20 patient sera and in 3 levels of SRM 1955 using 14 immunoassays and/or enzymatic assays. Liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry was utilized as the reference assay. An “errors-in-variables” statistical model was utilized to assess the commutability of SRM 1955. Results Normalized residuals ranged from − 2.65 to 2.19 for SRM 1955. The median interlaboratory/interassay imprecision (CV) was ≈ 4% for patient specimens and ranged from ≈ 3% to ≈ 7% for SRM 1955. The median intra-assay imprecision ranged from ≈ 1% to ≈ 13%. Orthogonal residuals, as a descriptor of assay accuracy, ranged from 0.29 to 7.71 and from 0.20 to 2.22 for patient specimens and SRM 1955 samples, respectively. Conclusion The current study suggests that SRM 1955 is commutable with the investigated tHcy assays; however, a broader specimen set needs to be evaluated to completely substantiate this conclusion.
The Effects of Unemployment and Poverty on Sexual Appetite and Sexual Risk in Emerging and Young Adults

Since the economic recession was declared in December 2007, the rate of unemployed citizens has continued to rise, leading to a loss of over 7 million jobs. Emerging and young adults may be particularly vulnerable to the effects of unemployment and poverty because this developmental time period has been described as a time in which an individual is experiencing extensive identity exploration. One area of psychosocial functioning, sexual addiction, has received less attention in regard to unemployment and poverty, particularly among emerging and young adults. To examine these relationships, the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997 (NLSY97) was used with a sample of 2,362 participants aged 21–27. Structural equation modeling results found that individuals with higher poverty were more likely to have sex more frequently with multiple partners and decreased birth control use, including condoms. It was also found that when divided into regular and irregular workers, group differences emerged between the ...
Parental involvement in interventions to improve child dietary intake: A systematic review

Abstract Objective Interventions that aim to improve child dietary quality and reduce disease risk often involve parents. The most effective methods to engage parents remain unclear. A systematic review of interventions designed to change child and adolescent dietary behavior was conducted to answer whether parent involvement enhanced intervention effectiveness, and what type of involvement was most effective in achieving desired outcomes. Method In 2008, Pub Med, Medline, Psych Info, and Cochrane Library databases were searched to identify programs designed to change child and adolescent dietary intake that also involved parents. Methods of parental involvement were categorized based on the type and intensity of parental involvement. These methods were compared against intervention design, dietary outcomes, and quality of reporting (evaluated using CONSORT checklist) for each study. Results The literature search identified 1774 articles and 24 met review criteria. Four studies systematically evaluated parent involvement with inconsistent results. Indirect methods to engage parents were most commonly used, although direct approaches were more likely to result in positive outcomes. Four studies met > 70% of CONSORT items. Conclusion Limited conclusions may be drawn regarding the best method to involve parents in changing child diet to promote health. However, direct methods show promise and warrant further research.
Difficulties in relationships between nonhandicapped and severely mentally retarded children: The effect of physical impairments

Abstract Difficulties in relationships between nonhandicapped and severely mentally retarded children (ages 8–12) were examined as a function of the presence or absence of additional physical handicapping conditions. Two sets of data, involving multiple codes of both the handicapped and nonhandicapped children's behavior, were analyzed and aggregated to address this issue. Findings suggested that nonhandicapped children work harder, receive and emit fewer social reinforcers, have less opportunity to play and have fun, and achieve lower levels of social play when their playmate is physically handicapped as well as severely mentally retarded. Implications for the longevity of social relationships with and the community survival of severely multiply handicapped persons are discussed. Strategies for increasing the reinforcement potential of relationships with multiply handicapped children are proposed for future research and implementation.
The Tiger Lily Talks

Jesse Olwen’s Tiger 2 wouldn’t look out of place in a Park Avenue office in New York or a gallery in Sao Paulo, but the statement that this issue’s cover makes depends wholly on the environment that surrounds it—a symbiosis that transforms both the piece and the place. In Tiger 2, the finished flower captured in perfection is juxtaposed with discarded household items and a tangle of wires in a street scene in Incheon, South Korea. The dull gray and dirty greens of a broken pavement intensify the color of the painting and see to create movement. The flower opens to the discarded remnants of city life accepting and reclaiming the concrete and steel. For those of us in the richer countries of the developed world, dropping trash on the street is something that would lead to comments from passers-by, anger, and perhaps a quick fine. Since the 1970s, we’ve been repeatedly lectured about the cost of clean-up, the health hazards that discarded tires bring, and the need to look after our commons. For us, the images Olwen heightens are hard to understand. Can’t the local community come together and just clean-up this trash? Surely they realize that with a few hours’ work their lives would be improved? Why doesn’t the local council fix this? We have the luxury of wealth and freedom from other pressures that allow us to think about our built environment as a place of health. Research shows that urban settings devoid of flora or fauna are detrimental to mental and physical health. Prisoners whose cells face farmland or trees have a 24% lower frequency of sick cell visits than those who face concrete (Moore 1981). Hospitals and nursing homes with healing gardens, greenhouses, and atriums have more relaxed patients, reduced behavioral issues, and lower staff absenteeism (Pretty 2004). Urban green spaces foster a sense of community wellbeing, provide educational opportunities, and the building of self-esteem and social skills in our youth. Olwen’s uncommissioned street art installation (public art that’s not funded by the public) challenges us. The fauxabstraction of the flower’s shape evokes a sense of graffiti and political commentary. In the same way that vandalism, for practical reasons, is common on derelict buildings, this art is part of an artistic movement drawing attention to public space that is lying fallow, neglected, and under utilized. It’s a piece of street theater and one of subtlety and beauty. He calls his work a ‘gentle way’ to raise serious questions about nature and pollution. So we return to Alice’s question. How can a tiger lily talk? By using the familiar format of graffiti, Olwen coaxes us out of complacency: his tiger lily shouts out to us that beauty could exist in this trash-filled street. It goads us and confronts us with a harsh reality—systemic failure of public Published online: June 7, 2013