cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A COLORIMETRIC METHOD FOR THE DETERMINATION OF TRACE COPPER CONCENTRATIONS IN WATER

Trace quantities of copper (II) ion can be found in natural water as waste products from industrial, mining, and agricultural operations. Because low concentrations of copper can be toxic to plant life, many workers have devised methods of analysis for this metal in water. These methods require expensive equipment and skilled technicians. The described study illustrates a simple method in which copper (II) ion is concentrated by a batch ion exchange technique and estimated colorimetrically after formation of the blue triethylenetetramine complex. Using the visible absorption peak of the complex at 600 nm it was possible to obtain accurate estimations of original copper concentrations in the range 0.5-3 ppm. Using the complex absorption peak at 260 nm in the ultra-violet region of the spectrum increased the sensitivity by a factor of twenty. Because of the dependence of the complex formation reaction on solution acidity it is possible to optimize conditions for the detection of copper (II) in the presence of other metal ions. This type of method, which could be extended to the analysis of other metal ions, could be performed by a relatively unskilled technician under field conditions.
Mammalian telomere dynamics: healing, fragmentation shortening and stabilization

Telomeres are essential for stable chromosome maintenance. The simple G-rich sequence motif d(TTAGGG)n is all that is required in cis for telomere function in mammalian cells, as in other eukaryotes. Using this fact, telomeres have been used to specifically fragment mammalian chromosomes to dissect their structure and function. Telomere length maintenance is altered in cancer cells. Trans-acting factors, such as telomerase and telomere-binding proteins, may determine telomere function in both normal and cancer cells. Current experiments are aimed at understanding the role of telomerase and telomere-binding proteins in cellular senescence and immortalization.
‘Dangerous presumptions’: how single‐sex schooling reifies false notions of sex, gender, and sexuality

Due to the recent changes in federal regulations about gender equity in education in the USA, some policy makers have resurrected single‐sex public education. Because single‐sex schooling ignores the complexity of sex, gender, and sexuality, it sets up a ‘separate but equal’ system that is anything but. Discounting the ways in which gender is negotiated, constructed, and performed, and the variability of anatomical sex, current arguments for single‐sex schooling reify the false binaries of sex and gender, rely on assumptions of heteronormativity and, in turn, negate the existence of multiple sexes, genders, and sexual orientations.
Effect of long-range hopping on T c in a two-dimensional Hubbard-Holstein model of the cuprates

We study the effect of long-range hoppings on ${T}_{c}$ for the two-dimensional (2D) Hubbard model with and without Holstein phonons using parameters evaluated from band-structure calculations for cuprates. Employing the dynamical cluster approximation (DCA) with a quantum Monte Carlo (QMC) cluster solver for a 4-site cluster, we observe that without phonons, the long-range hoppings, ${t}^{\ensuremath{'}}$ and ${t}^{\ensuremath{''}}$, generally suppress ${T}_{c}$. We argue that this trend remains valid for larger clusters. In the presence of the Holstein phonons, a finite ${t}^{\ensuremath{'}}$ enhances ${T}_{c}$ in the under-doped region for the hole-doped system, consistent with local-density approximation (LDA) calculations and experiment. This is interpreted through the suppression of antiferromagnetic (AF) correlations and the interplay between polaronic effects and the antiferromagnetism.
Fifty–fifty = 50%?

Several recent surveys have asked respondents to estimate the probabilities of relatively unlikely events, such as dying from breast cancer and smoking. Examination of their response distributions reveals a seemingly inappropriate ‘blip’ at 50. The two studies reported here indicate that it reflects a response artifact associated with open-ended probability scales. The blip vanishes when a response scale with explicit response options is offered. Apparently, the open-ended format leads some people to use the 50% option as ‘fifty–fifty’, an expression of having no idea as to the answer. As a result, the accuracy of people's reported beliefs depends on the response scale used, as well as on how it evokes and channels such feelings of epistemic uncertainty. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Active RB elicits late G1/S inhibition.

The retinoblastoma tumor suppressor protein (RB) is activated/dephosphorylated to mediate cell cycle inhibition in response to antimitogenic signals. To elucidate the mode of RB action at this critical transition, we utilized cell lines that can be induced to express a constitutively active allele of RB (PSM-RB). As expected, induction of PSM-RB, but not wild-type protein (WT), inhibited progression into S phase. It has been well documented that active RB inhibits E2F reporter activity, and this observation was confirmed upon induction of PSM-RB. Additionally, active RB inhibited E2F-2-mediated stimulation of cyclin E. By contrast, PSM-RB did not affect the mRNA or protein levels of endogenous cyclin E when mediating cell cycle inhibition. Similarly, there was no observable effect on cyclin E protein levels when p16ink4a was utilized to activate endogenous RB. CDK2/cyclin E complex formation was not disrupted and cyclin E-associated kinase activity was retained in the presence of PSM-RB. Additionally, centrosome duplication, a CDK2/cyclin E-dependent event, was not altered in the presence of active RB. Together, these data indicate that active RB does not block the G1/S transition through inhibition of cyclin E expression or activity. In contrast, PSM-RB leads to a dramatic reduction in cyclin A protein levels by coordinate transcriptional repression and degradation. This attenuation of cyclin A protein correlates with cell cycle inhibition. These studies indicate that RB inhibits cell cycle progression by targeting CDK2/cyclin A-dependent events at the G1/S transition to inhibit cell cycle progression.
Some of the ways the new tool can afford us new perspectives. From an aficionado

The impact of computing on mathematics in the last 20 years has been broad and deep, on both the theoretical and applied sides. There are lots of software packages available and for just about any computational task, there is a tool that can handle it. But in terms of coverage of the diverse fields of mathematics, nothing comes close to the newest version ofMathematica. And the company’s outlook that mathematics is used throughout modern science, economics, and engineering has led to a program of unmatched breadth.
Human behavioral informatics in genetic studies of neuropsychiatric disease: multivariate profile-based analysis.

Abstract While genome-wide association (GWA) studies have yielded notable findings with regard to the identification of risk variants in diseases such as obesity and diabetes, similar studies of schizophrenia – and neuropsychiatric diseases in general – have failed to produce strong findings. One, plausible explanation for this relates to phenotypic heterogeneity and what may be inherent imprecision associated with diagnostic categories in neuropsychiatric disorders. In this review we discuss a general approach to addressing the problem of heterogeneity that draws on concepts in behavioral informatics and the use of multivariable behavioral profiles in genetic studies of neuropsychiatric disease. The use of behavioral profiles as phenotypes eliminates the need for categorizing individuals with different ‘subtypes’ of a disease into one group and provides a way to investigate genetic susceptibility to different neuropsychiatric disorders that share similar clinical characteristics, such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. Further, behavioral profiles are a direct, quantitative representation of the emotional, personality, and neurocognitive functioning of the individuals being studied, and as such, the use of these profiles may provide increased statistical power to detect genetic associations and linkages. We describe and discuss four general data analysis approaches that can be used to analyze and integrate multivariate behavioral profile data and high-dimensional genomic data. Ultimately, we propose that behavioral profile-based phenotypes provide a meaningful alternative to the use of single measures, such as diagnostic category, in genetic association studies of neuropsychiatric disease.
Two-level proportional hazards models.

Nous proposons une extension du modele de taux proportionnels a un modele a deux niveaux avec un terme constant aleatoire et des coefficients aleatoires. Les parametres de ce modele a plusieurs niveaux sont estimes par une combinaison des algorithmes EM et de Nuwton-Raphson. Meme pour des echantillons de 50 groupes, la methode fournit pour les coefficients des effets fixes, des estimateurs a peu pres sans biais et normalement distribues. Deux methodes distinctes. information observee et information de la vraisemblance des profils, seront utilisees pour estimer les erreurs standards. Ce travail a ete entrepris dans le but de comprendre les determinants des habitudes contraceptive. des femmes Nepaleses dans l'enquete sur les familles de la Vallee Chitwan (Axinn, Barber et Ghimire, 1997). Nous avons utilise ce modele de taux proportionnels a deux niveaux pour etudier la facon dont le niveau d'education et les possibilites d'acces a l'education des enfants varient avec l'initiation a un usage permanent de la contraception.
Validating the Intel(R) Pentium(R) 4 microprocessor

Developing a new leading edge IA-32 microprocessor is an immensely complicated undertaking. In the case of the Pentium(R) 4 processor, the microarchitecture is significantly more complex than any previous IA-32 microprocessor and the implementation borrows almost nothing from any previous implementation. This paper describes how we went about the task of finding bugs in the Pentium(R) 4 processor design prior to initial silicon, and what we found along the way.
Infant habituation and generalization to differing degrees of stimulus novelty.

Abstract This study examined 4-month-old infants' fixation times to familiar and novel visual patterns. Thirty-two male and 32 female infants were given 12 successive 15 sec exposures to one simple geometric pattern followed by test trials consisting of two exposures to the same pattern, two to a pattern with the same form but novel color, two with a novel form but the same color, and two with both novel form and color. Results indicated habituation of fixation times to the repeated stimulus and recovery to novel stimuli, particularly in male infants. Generalization was also obtained with less recovery to patterns with only one dimension novel than to those with both novel. Most individual infants were also found to be attending to both dimensions rather than some infants attending mainly to color changes and others attending mainly to form changes.
Interdigitated Bulk Heterojunction Organic Photovoltaic Cells With Aligned Copper Phthalocyanine Nanorods

We show that vertically aligned nanorod arrays composed of copper phthalocyanine (CuPc) molecules can be grown on various substrates using the oblique angle deposition technique in high vacuum. High-density nanorod arrays with diameters of 20-70 nm and spacing of 10-100 nm have been achieved with either stationary or rotated substrates. Scanning electron and atomic force microscopies are combined to study the morphology of CuPc nanorods grown under different conditions. X-ray diffraction reveals that the crystallinity of the CuPc nanorods is similar to a flat CuPc film deposited under normal molecular incidence. Interdigitated bulk heterojunctions (BHJs) have been formed by successfully infiltrating [6,6]-phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM) to fill the spacing between the CuPc nanorods via spin coating. The resulted CuPc nanorod/PCBM photovoltaic cells possess a maximum power conversion efficiency approximately doubling that of bilayer CuPc/PCBM devices, demonstrating the effectiveness of the nanorod-based BHJ in enhancing both the donor-acceptor interfacial area and the exciton diffusion efficiency in the active layer.
Reduction of sulfur compounds in the sediments of a eutrophic lake basin.

Concentrations of various sulfur compounds (SO42−, H2S, S0, acid-volatile sulfide, and total sulfur) were determined in the profundal sediments and overlying water column of a shallow eutrophic lake. Low concentrations of sulfate relative to those of acid-volatile sulfide and total sulfur and a decrease in total sulfur with sediment depth implied that the contribution of dissimilatory sulfur reduction to H2S production was relatively minor. Addition of 1.0 mM Na235SO4 to upper sediments in laboratory experiments resulted in the production of H235S with no apparent lag. Kinetic experiments with 35S demonstrated an apparent Km of 0.068 mmol of SO42− reduced per liter of sediment per day, whereas tracer experiments with 35S indicated an average turnover time of the sediment sulfate pool of 1.5 h. Total sulfate reduction in a sediment depth profile to 15 cm was 15.3 mmol of sulfate reduced per m2 per day, which corresponds to a mineralization of 30% of the particulate organic matter entering the sediment. Reduction of 35S0 occurred at a slower rate. These results demonstrated that high rates of sulfate reduction occur in these sediments despite low concentrations of oxidized inorganic compounds and that this reduction can be important in the anaerobic mineralization of organic carbon.
Courtship Violence Using Couple Data Characteristics and Perceptions

This study examined courtship violence using couple data. Participants were 50 heterosexual dating couples with at least one member of the couple being a university student. Using the Conflict Tactics Scales 2 (CTS2), both members of a couple reported on received and inflicted physical and psychological violence. The prevalence of physical aggression depended on how violence was defined. On the CTS2, 60% of couples were considered physically violent when within-couple agreement was not considered; this dropped to as low as 28% when agreement had to be present. Women were more likely than men to report inflicting psychological aggression and to report aggressing against their partner with a playful intent. Taken together, these findings demonstrate the need to continue to examine courtship violence, especially by utilizing responses from both members of a couple.
Gaining vehicle-to-grid benefits with unidirectional electric and plug-in hybrid vehicle chargers

The goal of this paper is to confirm that unidirectional power flow, given a significant penetration of electric vehicles (EVs), is sufficient to provide a utility with reactive power support and other vehicle-to-grid benefits. This work addresses the reactive power support capability of unidirectional chargers and power demand scheduling schemes aimed at minimizing peak loading on a distribution feeder due to multiple charging EVs. Reactive power capacity available from a unidirectional charger is quantified, and the impact of a few distinct utility-controlled power-draw scheduling strategies on peak loading of a distribution feeder model is discussed.
Percutaneous device closure of atrial septal defect in a premature infant with rapid improvement in pulmonary status.

Atrial septal defects are a common congenital heart defect and may complicate the course of a premature infant by imposing volume overload to the lungs. Surgical closure requires cardiopulmonary bypass and, frequently, a midline sternotomy. Recently, percutaneous transcatheter devices were approved for atrial septal defect closure but have been limited to use in larger children. Here we present the first known report of a transcatheter device closure of an atrial septal defect in a premature infant, which resulted in rapid improvement of the patient9s respiratory status.
Relationships Between Maternal Emotion Regulation, Parenting, and Children’s Executive Functioning in Families Exposed to Intimate Partner Violence

Recently researchers have begun to explore the extent to which children's cognitive development is influenced by experiences in the family environment. Assessing mother-child dyads exposed to intimate partner violence (IPV), a population at risk for emotional and neurocognitive problems, we examined relationships between maternal emotional regulation, parenting, and children's executive functioning (including working memory, inhibitory control, cognitve flexibility and set shifting, and planning). Positive parenting practices, as reported by the children, were correlated with children's planning and problem solving performance. Controlling for children's own emotion regulation and gender, mothers' self-reported emotion regulation abilities predicted children's performance on a task of cognitive flexibility. Girls exhibited superior emotion regulation and executive functioning performance compared to boys, and mothers of girls reported better emotion regulation abilities compared to mothers of boys. These findings add to a nascent literature suggesting that parenting and parental emotional functioning may play important roles in children's neurocognitive functioning. In addition, they help to explain the mechanisms by which children exposed to IPV experience executive functioning deficits.
Prospective randomized trial comparing the outcome and cost of in vitro fertilization with that of a traditional treatment algorithm as first-line therapy for couples with infertility.

Abstract Objective: To determine whether IVF or a standard infertility treatment algorithm results in better outcome and/or lower cost when used as first-line therapy for couples with infertility. Design: Prospective, randomized clinical study. Setting: University-affiliated infertility clinic. Patient(s): Couples with newly diagnosed infertility and no prior treatment. Intervention(s): Couples were randomized to undergo either IVF (group 1, n=46) or a standard infertility treatment algorithm (group 2, n=50) as initial therapy for infertility. Main Outcome Measure(s): Pregnancy rates and costs per couple, per month of treatment, and per pregnancy. Result(s): Pregnancy rates were higher in group 2 than in group 1. Costs per couple were not statistically different, although a trend toward higher costs was apparent in group 1, reflected by a higher median cost per clinical pregnancy established and a higher cost per month of treatment. Whereas cost differences between the groups diminished over time, pregnancy rates remained the same. Conclusion(s): In vitro fertilization currently does not represent an appropriate first-line treatment option for couples with infertility. The use of a standard infertility treatment algorithm results in a higher pregnancy rate and lower cost and therefore should be the preferred treatment approach.
Chemical sensing with ZnO nanowire

Zinc oxide nanowires were configured as n-channel field effect transistors. These transistors were implemented as chemical sensors for detection of various gases. Nanowire's ammonia sensing behavior was observed to switch from oxidizing to reducing when temperature increased from 300 to 500 K. This effect is attributed to the temperature dependent chemical potential shift. Carbon monoxide was found to increase the nanowire conductance in the presence of oxygen. In addition, nanowire detection sensitivity dependence on the diameter was investigated.
When something old becomes something new: spatiotemporal object continuity and attentional capture.

This article examines the possibility that the visual system treats dynamic cues as instances of new perceptual objects under some circumstances. Using the contingent captureparadigm (C. L. Folk, R. W. Remington, & J. C. Johnston, 1992), the author compared luminance change cues of different magnitude for their ability to capture attention when participants were set for new objects. Whereas small luminance changes failed to produce attentional capture, large luminance changes indeed captured attention, suggesting that they were treated as compatible with the participants’ attentional set for new objects. It is argued that sufficiently large luminance transients led to a disruption of spatiotemporal object continuity and precipitated the emergence of a new perceptual object. Two modes of attentional deployment are typically contrasted: one voluntary, the other involuntary. The latter is often referred to as exogenous orienting or attentional capture. Although folk psychology and personal experience suggest that most salient objects and events draw attention to themselves in a largely involuntary fashion, experiments have failed to support this assumption. The results of these experiments indicate that neither salient color differences (e.g., Gibson & Jiang, 1998; Jonides & Yantis, 1988;
A theory of growth controls

A microeconomic model of individual decision-making that illustrates how growth controls might arise is developed. The emergence of growth controls is analyzed under a variety of assumptions about the local-governmental environment, including congestion effects, different cost conditions and pricing schemes for public services, and property-tax limitations. Some welfare consequences of growth controls are also presented.
Flow in complex domains simulated by Dissipative Particle Dynamics driven by geometry-specific body-forces

We demonstrate how the quality of simulations by Dissipative Particle Dynamics (DPD) of flows in complex geometries is greatly enhanced when driven by body forces suitably tailored to the geometry. In practice, the body force fields are most conveniently chosen to be the pressure gradient of the corresponding Navier-Stokes (N-S) flow. In the first of three examples, the driving-force required to yield a stagnation-point flow is derived from the pressure field of the potential flow for a lattice of counter-rotating line vortices. Such a lattice contains periodic squares bounded by streamlines with four vortices within them. Hence, the DPD simulation can be performed with periodic boundary conditions to demonstrate the value of a non-uniform driving-force without the need to model real boundaries. The second example is an irregular geometry consisting of a 2D rectangular cavity on one side of an otherwise uniform channel. The Navier-Stokes pressure field for the same geometry is obtained numerically, and its interpolated gradient is then employed as the driving-force for the DPD simulation. Finally, we present a third example, where the proposed method is applied to a complex 3D geometry of an asymmetric constriction. It is shown that in each case the DPD simulations closely reproduce the Navier-Stokes solutions. Convergence rates are found to be much superior to alternative methods; in addition, the range of convergence with respect to Reynolds number and Mach number is greatly extended.
The Color and Sound of Dreams

curiosity of two psychologists ended up enabling us to have experiences few researchers ever get to have. We were able to influence intemational, national and statewide public policy; affect public opinion; and provide positive changes in the Uves of our clients. Best of all we gained a depth of knowledge that sometimes oruy comes by leaming it the hard way. We have seen Cambodia through the eyes and minds of women blinded by the experience.
A New Literalism? Rejection of the Sale of Business Doctrine

The definition of the term ‘security’ is critical to the scope and application of the federal securities laws. Unfortunately, courts have failed to develop a coherent approach to the statutory definition of a security that can be applied in a consistent manner. Judicial construction of the definition of a security is particularly inconsistent as it applies to certain types of instruments or interests that are listed in the statutory definition. The United States Supreme Court furthered this inconsistency recently when it rejected the sale of business doctrine in Landreth Timber Company v. Landreth and Gould v. Ruefenacht. The issue at the heart of this judicial failure is to what extent, or under what circumstances, instruments and interests that are specifically named in section 2(1) of the Securities Act of 1933 may be excluded from the definition of a security. Commercial notes and general partnership interests are generally excluded from the definition of a security based on the underlying economic transaction in which the instrument or interest is purchased or sold. The Supreme Court, however, in rejecting the sale of business doctrine, held that common stock is a security regardless of the economic transaction in which it is transferred. The purpose of this Article is to outline the history of the sale of business doctrine and to illustrate the problems created for both the bar and the courts by its rejection.
Next-Generation Molecular Testing of Newborn Dried Blood Spots for Cystic Fibrosis

Newborn screening for cystic fibrosis enables early detection and management of this debilitating genetic disease. Implementing comprehensive CFTR analysis using Sanger sequencing as a component of confirmatory testing of all screen-positive newborns has remained impractical due to relatively lengthy turnaround times and high cost. Here, we describe CFseq, a highly sensitive, specific, rapid ( 2000 CFTR variants. Validation studies across 190 dried blood spots demonstrated 100% sensitivity and a positive predictive value of 100% for single-nucleotide variants and insertions and deletions and complete concordance across the polymorphic poly-TG and consecutive poly-T tracts. Additionally, we accurately detected both a known exon 2,3 deletion and a previously undetected exon 22,23 deletion. CFseq is thus able to replace all existing CFTR molecular assays with a single robust, definitive assay at significant cost and time savings and could be adapted to high-throughput screening of other inherited conditions.
Japan's Economic Dilemma: The Institutional Origins of Prosperity and Stagnation. By Bai Gao. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2001. 328p. $54.95 cloth, $19.95 paper.

The once-formidable Japanese economy has fallen upon hard times. After posting a roughly double-digit rate of real annual growth from the mid-1950s to the early 1970s, and generally outperforming the economies of other advanced industrial democracies during the 1970s and 1980s, the Japanese economy suffered a prolonged period of stagnation throughout most of the 1990s. Given this dramatic reversal, Bai Gao sets about the ambitious task not only of explaining why the Japanese economy has soured, but of providing a broad institutional framework that underscores the common factors behind the high growth period, the bubble economy of the 1980s, and the collapse of the bubble in the 1990s. To achieve this task, Gao applies what he terms â€œthe logic of reverse reasoningâ€ ; he takes the rise and collapse of the bubble economy as the â€œstarting point fortheoretical reasoning,â€ examining the institutional mechanisms that purportedly produced it. He then works backward in time to reexamine how these institutional mechanisms operated during the high-growth era, and to identify the â€œenvironmental changesâ€ that account for the reasons these institutional mechanisms produced such varied outcomes over time (pp. 6â€“7).
Atmospheric controls on Puerto Rico precipitation using artificial neural networks

The growing need for local climate change scenarios has given rise to a wide range of empirical climate downscaling techniques. One of the most critical decisions in these methodologies is the selection of appropriate predictor variables for the downscaled surface predictand. A systematic approach to selecting predictor variables should be employed to ensure that the most important variables are utilized for the study site where the climate change scenarios are being developed. Tropical study areas have been far less examined than mid- and high-latitudes in the climate downscaling literature. As a result, studies analyzing optimal predictor variables for tropics are limited. The objectives of this study include developing artificial neural networks for six sites around Puerto Rico to develop nonlinear functions between 37 atmospheric predictor variables and local rainfall. The relative importance of each predictor is analyzed to determine the most important inputs in the network. Randomized ANNs are produced to determine the statistical significance of the relative importance of each predictor variable. Lower tropospheric moisture and winds are shown to be the most important variables at all sites. Results show inter-site variability in u- and v-wind importance depending on the unique geographic situation of the site. Lower tropospheric moisture and winds are physically linked to variability in sea surface temperatures (SSTs) and the strength and position of the North Atlantic High Pressure cell (NAHP). The changes forced by anthropogenic climate change in regional SSTs and the NAHP will impact rainfall variability in Puerto Rico.
Attojoule optoelectronics — Requirements and prospects for low energy devices

Using optics to save energy in information processing and communications will be increasingly important for continued scaling No other physical technology arguably has comparable potential for reducing communication energy and energy reduction is essential There are orders of magnitude of headroom for reducing the energy of optoelectronic systems through ➢ tight integration of optoelectronic devices, nanoscale optics, and electronics ➢ system redesign for minimum total energy per bit ➢ attojoule optoelectronic devices on micron and submicron scales Emerging possibilities for “zero dissipation” self-configuring optical processors could save additional energy in sensing, processing and communications.
Rickettsia rickettsii Infection of Cultured Endothelial Cells Induces Release of Large von Willebrand Factor Multimers From Weibel-Palade Bodies

The clinical manifestations of Rocky Mountain spotted fever (RMSF) result from Rickettsia rickettsii (R rickettsii) infection of endothelial cells and are mediated by pathologic changes localized to the vessel, including in situ thrombosis and tissue ischemia. This study uses in vitro infection of cultured human umbilical vein endothelial cells with R rickettsii to test the hypothesis that such infection induces von Willebrand factor (vWF) release from Weibel-Palade bodies, a process that could contribute to thrombotic changes. At 24 hours postinfection, there was an increase in metabolically prelabeled large multimers of vWF in the culture medium, with a concomitant decrease of these forms in the cell lysate samples. This release reaction was specific for the large multimer pool of vWF, localized to Weibel-Palade bodies, because no change in the distribution of dimeric forms between cells and culture medium was detected. Double-label immunofluorescence staining showed an inverse correlation between the number of R rickettsii and the number of Weibel-Palade bodies in infected cells. Cell lysis was minimal at 24 hours postinfection, as no detectable intracellular precursor forms (molecular weight 260,000) of vWF were released into the culture medium, there was no decrease in cell viability as measured by trypan blue exclusion, and no increase in 51Cr-release into the culture medium was observed when compared with uninfected controls. Release was likely a direct effect of the intracellular presence of the organism, rather than due to a noxious soluble factor such as endotoxin, because culture medium conditioned by infected endothelial cells was ineffective at inducing release in uninfected endothelial cell cultures. In summary, in vitro infection of endothelial cells by R rickettsii induces release of Weibel-Palade body contents, a process that may contribute to the pathogenesis of RMSF.
Biodistribution of Technetium-99m Labeled Epidermal Growth Factor Following Intracarotid Injection into Rats Bearing Intracerebral EGF Receptor (+) Gliomas

The gene for epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and its cell surface membrane expression is amplified in a majority of high grade gliomas,1 suggesting that this receptor potentially may be a useful target for the selective delivery of 10B to EGFR (+) brain tumors.2 There has been increasing interest in the possible use of the EGFR as a molecular target for the delivery of boron compounds to EGFR (+) brain tumors for BNCT.3 Two requirements must be fulfilled. The first, as recently described by us,4 is the development of methodology to chemically construct boron-containing EGF bio-conjugates that retain their in vitro and in vivo affinity for the EGFR and the second is the ability to selectively deliver sufficient amounts of boronated EGF (B-EGF) to the tumor.5 Since exogenous EGF has a high propensity to localize in the liver and small amounts localize in the tumor following intravenous (i.v.) injection, optimization of delivery is critical to the successful use of B-EGF bioconjugates as targeting agents for brain tumors.6
Anesthesia in Robotic Colon and Rectal Surgery

Anesthesia and surgery are inseparable; as surgery changes, so must the anesthesia we deliver. Surgery and anesthesia are like any team. Their goals are one in the same and working seamlessly together to accomplish common goals is crucial to a successful procedure. Optimizing intraoperative conditions, providing rapid recovery, and minimizing complications are common goals of any surgical procedure. Robotic surgery is no different.
Using the Rothman Index to Predict Discharge and Readmission Rates in an Inpatient Hematology Unit

BACKGROUND: Limited data exists regarding predictors of discharge (DC) disposition and readmission (RA) rates for hematology-oncology patients who are hospitalized. The Rothman Index (RI) is a single numerical score ranging from -91 to 100 derived from 26 data elements including vital signs, laboratory results, and nursing assessments. It is automatically calculated and displayed in real-time in the electronic medical record by a commercial software system. A previous analysis at our institution revealed a significant association between RI and DC disposition, and between RI and RA rates, for patients with solid tumors who were hospitalized in a dedicated inpatient oncology unit. We sought to determine the effectiveness of RI in predicting DC disposition and RA rates for hospitalized patients with hematologic malignancies. METHODS: Medical records of patients with hematologic malignancies admitted to Yale Cancer Center between 3/1/13 and 2/28/14 were reviewed. Admissions for elective chemotherapy were excluded. DC disposition was categorized as home (Hm), nursing home (NH), hospice (Hp), or death (D). RI at DC was examined as a predictor of DC disposition, overall RA rate, and RA rate of patients discharged to Hm. As an individual patient might have several admissions, generalized estimating equation models were used to assess the effect of RI at DC on DC disposition and the possibility of RA by controlling the within subject correlation. RESULTS: A total of 281 patients comprising 520 admissions were included in the final analysis. The median age was 59 (range: 19-93; age 70 or older: 21%), and 53% of patients were male. The most common hematologic malignancies were non-Hodgkin lymphoma (33%), acute myeloid leukemia (25%), and multiple myeloma (19%). Among all admissions, DC disposition was as follows: Hm, 439 (84%); NH, 53 (10%); Hp, 18 (4%); and D, 10 (2%). RI at DC was a significant predictor of DC disposition (p = 0.0001), with median RI at DC as follows: Hm, 82.1; NH, 61.4; Hp, 38.7; and D, -1.3. Patients with lower RI at DC were significantly more likely to be readmitted (p = 0.0006), even when the analysis was restricted to patients who had been discharged to Hm (p = 0.0131). Among Hm patients, RA rate was 61% for those whose RI at DC was 60. CONCLUSIONS: The RI at DC significantly correlated with patient DC disposition and RA rates and may assist health care providers in DC planning with the goal of reducing hospital RA rates and ultimately health care costs. Disclosures Lee:Pfizer: Consultancy.
Availability of Healthcare Resources and Epithelial Ovarian Cancer Stage of Diagnosis and Mortality Among Blacks and Whites

The purpose of this study is to examine whether racial disparities in epithelial ovarian cancer stage at diagnosis and survival may be explained by geographic availability of healthcare resources among Blacks and Whites. Data from the Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) database was used to identify White and Black women ages 40 years and above diagnosed with epithelial ovarian cancer between 2000 and 2010. Data on county-level availability of healthcare resources was obtained from the Area Resource File. Multi-level regression models, overall and stratified by race and age, were used to examine the associations of health care access (HCA) and socioeconomic status (SES) with stage at diagnosis while Cox proportional hazards models were used to examine the association with survival. Among 46,423 women diagnosed with epithelial ovarian cancer, Blacks were more likely to reside in counties with fewer average number of oncology hospitals (p < 0.05) and hospitals with ultrasound (p < 0.001), but higher number of medical doctors (p < 0.0001) and Ob/Gyn (p < 0.001). Black patients had higher odds of late stage diagnosis of epithelial ovarian cancer (OR: 1.13, 95% CI: 1.04–1.25) and higher risk of epithelial ovarian cancer mortality (HR: 1.25, 95% CI: 1.19–1.32) compared with White patients after accounting for differential availability of healthcare resources. Among Black patients, residing in counties with fewer medical doctors was associated with increased odds of late stage diagnosis (OR: 1.86, 95% CI: 1.10–3.13), and the racial disparity in late stage diagnosis and mortality was larger among patients ages <65 years compared with older patients. Racial disparities in availability and utilization of healthcare resources likely contributes to adverse epithelial ovarian cancer outcomes among Black women in the US.
Evaluation of the host immune response to Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis in naturally infected periparturient dairy cows

Johne’s disease (JD) caused by Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis (MAP), is estimated to infect more than 22% of US dairy herds. Periods of immunosuppression may contribute to the transition from the subclinical to clinical stage of infection. Understanding the effects of stressors such as parturition on the escalation of disease may provide information that will help manage JD. The objective of this study was to characterize cytokine gene expression and secretion in periparturient dairy cows naturally infected with MAP. Blood was collected from the jugular vein of healthy noninfected, and subclinically and clinically infected dairy cows for 3 wk preto 4 wk post-calving. Real-time PCR was performed to evaluate the expression of the following cytokine genes by peripheral blood mononuclear cells: IFN-γ, TNF-α, IL-12p35, IL-10, TGF-β, and IL-4. To assess the effects of parturient immunosuppression on cytokine gene expression, RT-PCR data were analyzed by using 2 values calibrated to dCt value at +1 d relative to calving for each animal. Department of Animal Science, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50010. USDA-ARS, National Animal Disease Center, Ames, IA 50010. Primary Researcher and author. Author for correspondence.
Role of Calcium in Regulating Primary Sensory Neuronal Excitability

The fundamental role of calcium ions (Ca2+) in an excitable tissue, the frog heart, was first demonstrated in a series of classical reports by Sydney Ringer in the latter part of the nineteenth century (1882a, b; 1893a, b). Even so, nearly a century elapsed before it was proven that Ca2+ regulated the excitability of primary sensory neurons. In this chapter we review the sites and mechanisms whereby internal and external Ca2+ can directly or indirectly alter the excitability of primary sensory neurons: excitability changes being manifested typically by variations in shape of the action potential or the pattern of its discharge.
Substance P (NK1 receptor) antagonists

Abstract Stress responses involve changes in hormone secretion, respiration, cardiovascular, and gastrointestinal function, and behavior in order to prepare an organism to respond to perceived or actual danger. They are orchestrated by neural circuits including the amygdala, brainstem, and hypothalamus. Substance P is a peptide neurotransmitter that is expressed within these neural pathways and can activate various physiological systems in a manner consistent with an integrated stress response. Preliminary clinical trials using highly selective substance P (NK 1 receptor) antagonists (SPAs) have shown promising findings in patients with stress-related disorders (major depression, irritable bowel syndrome and social phobia). These observations suggest that substance P in the brain is involved in the pathophysiology of stress-related disorders and that SPAs may provide a novel approach to pharmacotherapy.
Endovascular Treatment of Vascular and Nonvascular Diseases of the Spine

In general, the following entities have been listed under spinal vascular disease: Hemangioblastomas, Cavernous malformation/angioma, Spinal aneurysms, Arteriovenous fistulae, Arteriovenous malformations. With regard to vascular lesions of the vertebral bodies, aneurysmal bone cysts and vertebral hemangiomas also can be mentioned. Many different classification schemes have been suggested over the last three decades. The newest proposed classification for spinal vascular lesions is by Spetzler et al.1 The authors list the most prevalent classification scheme for arteriovenous fistulae and malformations along with the new classification and the angiographic/anatomic classification (Table 14.1).
A comparative analysis of resource use efficiency in government and private farms in Rivers State, Nigeria

The technical and economic efficiencies of 36 government farms and 110 private farms were studied and their relative contributions to agricultural productivity in Rivers State, Nigeria, quantified. The empirical findings from the study revealed that the private farms realized a higher net farm profit per hectare than the government farms during the period under study. In addition, the private farms were more technically efficient in the use of factors of production as shown by the result of the Chow test. However, the test of economic efficiency in the use of the inputs showed that the two groups of farms over-utilized labour and land but under-utilized fertilizer and seed. The major policy prescription that emerged was that the government should withdraw from direct food production and instead focus its attention on good policy formulation that would enhance production in the private farms.
Unusual subunits are directly involved in binding substrates for natural rubber biosynthesis in multiple plant species.

Abstract Rubber particles from rubber-producing plant species have many different species-specific proteins bound to their external monolayer biomembranes. To date, identification of those proteins directly involved in enzymatic catalysis of rubber polymerization has not been fully accomplished using solubilization, purification or reconstitution approaches. In an alternative approach, we use several tritiated photoaffinity-labeled benzophenone analogs of the allylic pyrophosphate substrates, required by rubber transferase (RT-ase) to initiate the synthesis of new rubber molecules, to identify the proteins involved in catalysis. Enzymatically-active rubber particles were purified from three phylogenetically-distant rubber producing species, Parthenium argentatum Gray, Hevea brasiliensis Muell. Arg, and Ficus elastica Roxb., each representing a different Superorder of the Dicotyledonae. Geranyl pyrophosphate with the benzophenone in the para position (Bz-GPP(p)) was the most active initiator of rubber biosynthesis in all three species. When rubber particles were exposed to ultra-violet radiation, 95% of RT-ase activity was eliminated in the presence of 50 μΜ Bz-GPP(p), compared to only 50% of activity in the absence of this analog. 3H-Bz-GPP(p) then was used to label and identify the proteins involved in substrate binding and these proteins were characterized electrophoretically. In all three species, three distinct proteins were labeled, one very large protein and two very small proteins, as follows: P. argentatum 287,000, 3,990, and 1,790 Da; H. brasiliensis 241,000, 3,650 and 1,600 Da; F. elastica 360,000, 3,900 and 1,800 Da. The isoelectric points of the P. argentatum proteins were 7.6 for the 287,000 Da, 10.4 for the 3,990 Da and 3.5 for the 1,790 Da proteins, and of the F. elastica proteins were 7.7 for the 360,000 Da, 6,0 for the 3,900 Da, and 11.0 for the 1,800 Da proteins. H. brasiliensis protein pI values were not determined. Additional analysis indicated that the three proteins are components of a membrane-bound complex and that the ratio of each small protein to the large one is 3:1, and the large protein exists as a dimer. Also, the large proteins are membrane bound whereas both small proteins are strongly associated with the large proteins, rather than to the rubber particle proteolipid membrane.
Paracellular calcium transport in the proximal tubule and the formation of kidney stones.

The proximal tubule (PT) is responsible for the majority of calcium reabsorption by the kidney. Most PT calcium transport appears to be passive, although the molecular facilitators have not been we...
Rare Childhood Tumors: Desmoplastic Infantile Ganglioglioma and Pleomorphic Xanthoastrocytoma

Desmoplastic infantile ganglioglioma (DIG) and pleomorphic xanthoastrocytoma (PXA) are both rare brain tumors but also important to recognize. They typically respond well to surgery alone without a need for adjuvant therapy. Particularly for PXA, the identification of the BRAF V600E mutation has aided in diagnosis and has potential benefit for therapy as well. This chapter will review the presentation, diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis of these entities.
Geochronology and Depositional History of the Sandy Springs Aeolian Landscape in the Unglaciated Upper Ohio River Valley, United States

This study reports on the geochronology and depositional history of aeolian landforms and sediments in the unglaciated upper Ohio Valley at the Sandy Springs site. The distribution of aeolian sediments at Sandy Springs is influenced by several past factors including local wind fetch potential, sediment availability, and underlying alluvial topography. Aeolian landforms and sediments include complex, linear, barchan-like, and climbing dunes; an interdune sand sheet; and sandy loess that blankets high valley surfaces. At Sandy Springs, aeolian dune sands and sandy loess are restricted to intermediate (S2) and higher (S3) geomorphic surfaces. Eight optically stimulated luminescence age estimates constrain the initiation of aeolian processes on the S2 surface to sometime after 17 ka and episodic deposition on the S2 and S3 surfaces between 11 and 1.4 ka. Sandy loess deposition at ca. 8.2 ka on the S3 surface may reflect hydrologic variability and cooling, associated with the final pulse of meltwater into the North Atlantic from the Laurentide Ice Sheet. Dune reactivation and erosion at ca. 4.5 ka on the S2 surface indicate enhanced sediment availability possibly associated with drought conditions. These results illustrate that the deciphering the coupled fluvial-aeolian records in this catchment of the Ohio River provides new insight into the nature of changing surface processes against the backdrop of climate variability over the past ca. 20 ka.
Leadership for Social Justice and Sustainability: A Historical Case Study of a High-Performing Dual Language School along the U.S.-Mexico Border

AbstractThis qualitative case study is focused on one high-performing urban elementary school that worked to address inequities within the school and community for two decades partly through dual l...