cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Market Ideology in Health Care and the Catholic Church

-M v } ichael Angrosino's article describes the Catholic philosophy of providing care to the poor and the sick through Catholic health and social service programs. As practiced in the United States, this philosophy accepts a "market" or "competition" ideology for health care that is based on the economics of capitalism and that supports rationing care to those who can pay for it or who have insurance. It also includes a fundamental opposition to family planning and abortion services that is not shared by most sectarian health and social service programs in the United States. Perhaps the church's market philosophy for health care as presented by Angrosino reflects general cultural values of the U.S. Catholic Church, rather than the philosophical perspective of the Catholic Church internationally. Otherwise, how can he explain the differences in values between those presented and the more socialistic values espoused by the Catholic Church in France, Greece, Italy, Portugal, Spain, and the United Kingdom? In these countries, where sizable proportions of the population are Catholic, the church appears to give broad support to a socialized health care system rather than to one organized by a competitive market. Also in these countries, the Catholic Church provides services and works well with government health programs that include the option for abortion and family planning services. The question of how the particular U.S. Catholic philosophy was developed is not answered by the article. As the author describes, the Catholic Church had a major interest in protecting both its philosophy and its current programs when national health insurance appeared to be a political possibility in the United States. Given its basic concern for the health and welfare of its members and the resource needs of its large provider network, it is understandable that the church decided to give general support to national health reform and to participate actively in the national debate. One is left perplexed, however, about how the Catholic Church analyzed the various national health insurance options and why it ultimately reached the conclusion that President Clinton's "managed competition" model was an acceptable approach. Why the church accepted aspects of managed competition over those of a socialized national health plan is difficult to understand. Perhaps the church believed the president's argument that a managed competition model was more politically feasible than a national health system with a single government payer (such as the Canadian model). Perhaps the political perspective of the church was shaped primarily by the providers in its own health network who for years have been highly effective in operating with a market system of health care. The church could have studied national health care in other industrialized
Acetylcholine-induced production of reactive oxygen species in adult rabbit ventricular myocytes is dependent on phosphatidylinositol 3- and Src-kinase activation and mitochondrial KATP channel opening

Acetylcholine (ACh), like ischemic preconditioning (PC), protects against infarction and is dependent on generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS). To investigate the mechanism by which ACh causes ROS production, isolated adult rabbit cardiomyocytes underwent a timed incubation in reduced MitoTracker Red, which is oxidized to a fluorescent form after exposure to ROS. The mitochondrial ATP-sensitive potassium (mK(ATP)) channel opener diazoxide (50 microM) increased fluorescence by 47 +/- 9% (P = 0.007), indicating that opening of mK(ATP) leads to ROS generation, and that increase was blocked by the mK(ATP) blocker 5-hydroxydecanoate (5HD, 1 mM); 250 microM ACh caused a similar increase in ROS generation (+45 +/- 6% for all experiments, P < 0.001). ACh-induced ROS production was prevented by (1) blockade of muscarinic surface receptors with 100 microM atropine (-6 +/- 2%, P = n.s.) or 250 nM 4-DAMP (+5 +/- 13%, P = n.s.), indicating that ACh's effect was receptor mediated; (2) closing K(ATP) channels with either the non-selective channel closer glibenclamide (50 microM) (-1.2 +/- 17%, P = n.s.) or the selective mK(ATP) closer 5HD (-1.8 +/- 9%, P = n.s.), indicating that increased ROS production involved opening of mK(ATP); (3) blockade of mitochondrial electron transport chain with 200 nM myxothiazol (-4 +/- 9%, P = n.s.), indicating ROS came from the mitochondria; (4) addition of 100 nM wortmannin (-13 +/- 12%, P = n.s.), indicating that phosphatidylinositol 3-(PI3)-kinase was involved; and (5) blockade of Src-kinase with 1 microM PP2 (-2 +/- 5%, P = n.s.), indicating the involvement of an Src-kinase. These results support the hypothesis that occupation of muscarinic surface receptors by ACh causes activation of PI3- and Src-kinases that then open mK(ATP) resulting in mitochondrial ROS generation and triggering of the preconditioned state.
Stimulability: Relationships to other characteristics of children's phonological systems

In honour of Miccio's memory, this article revisits the topic of stimulability in children with speech sound disorders (SSD). Eighteen children with SSD, aged 3;6-5;5 (M = 4;8), were tested for their system-wide stimulability, percentage consonants correct (PCC), phonetic inventory size, and oral- and speech-motor skills. Pearson Product Moment Correlations were calculated to determine the nature of relations between stimulability and each of these other variables. Results revealed marked relations between stimulability and PCC and between stimulability and inventory size. Relations between stimulability and both multisyllabic nonsense and real word repetition rates were substantial. Findings suggest that stimulability, as measured for a group of sounds typically challenging for children with SSD, reflects both underlying phonological representations (UPRs) and phonetic imitative skill. The impact of poor stimulability skills in children with severe involvement of SSD and limited phonetic inventories implicates not only the potential difficulty non-stimulable sounds pose at the word level, but the need for increasing stimulability in these children. This, in turn, is a tribute to Miccio's intervention programme and the need for including it in both efficacy and efficiency investigations.
Technology Assessment for the Anesthesiologist

The expense associated with modern heath care in the United States is very high, in excess of 15% of the GDP, continues to grow and has become a significant public policy issue. New technologies, defined as all drugs, devices, procedures, and organizational systems, are major contributors to rising health care costs. The use of health technology assessment tools can assist those in leadership positions in making rational decisions as to which new technologies to adopt. The classical approach is to use data from prospective, randomized, clinical trials that compare the outcomes of those treated with the new technology and the accepted therapy. Using this information and detailed economic data, the cost-effectiveness ratio can be determined. The accepted metrics are either dollars per life year saved or dollars per quality-adjusted life year saved. If the new medical intervention costs less than $50,000 to 80,000 dollars per life year saved, it is considered to be cost-effective and worthy of adoption. This kind of analysis is complex and expensive. In addition, the required information is not always available, limiting the applicability of this approach. Finally, the economic analysis often includes down-stream expense and benefit not relevant from a medical center perspective. Another approach is to focus the analysis to what impacts the medical center. This includes determining whether the technology has received the necessary approvals and has been shown to be effective, to improve health outcomes, to be at least as effective as standard therapy, and to be achievable outside the investigative setting. A fiscal analysis also must be done to determine what will it cost to acquire and operate the technology, what are the anticipated patient volumes and payer mix, and what will be the down-stream consequences to the medical center. If the process concludes that the technology works, makes a positive difference to patient care, and is fiscally and operationally acceptable, it should be purchased. After the technology has been installed and has been used, a postimplementation review should be done. This review should go over the same attributes that led to the decision to purchase. It should be determined whether the expected patient volumes, outcomes, income, and expenses were seen. If not, the technology assessment process should be refined to make better decisions in the future. Finally, if the results are at a substantial negative variance from what was anticipated, abandoning the technology should be considered. Anesthesiology either directly controls or indirectly influences a significant portion of medical technology in every medical center. Therefore, the processes that have been discussed in this article should be used by the department of anesthesiology to assure optimal patient care and the fiscal stability of the organization.
Truncated abelian lattice-ordered groups I: The pointed (Yosida) representation

Abstract This article is about truncation as an operation on divisible abelian lattice-ordered groups ( l -groups). Suppose A is an l -subgroup of an l -group B , and suppose 0 ⩽ u ∈ B is such that no element of A is either disjoint from u , or infinitesimal with respect to u . If a ∧ u ∈ A for all a ∈ A + then we say that A is closed under truncation by u . We do not assume that u is present in A , nor do we assume any knowledge of B . In effect, truncation by u constitutes a unary operation on A . We present several axiom systems for truncation and show them equivalent, thus defining the category T of l -groups with truncation, which we call truncated l-groups , or truncs for short. The morphisms of T are the l -homomorphisms which preserve truncation. A trunc A is called unital if it happens to contain an element u ⩾ 0 such that the truncation is provided by meet with u . We show that every trunc A is associated with a compact Hausdorff space X having a designated point ⁎. If A is archimedean then there is a trunc A ˆ which separates points from closed sets in D ⁎ X , the family of almost-finite extended-real valued functions on X which vanish at ⁎, and there is a trunc isomorphism A → A ˆ . The space X is unique up to pointed homeomorphism with respect to its properties. This is the direct generalization to archimedean truncs of the classical Yosida representation for W , which appears here as the full subcategory of T consisting of the unital archimedean truncs. We show W to be bireflective in T . We conclude by considering the important question of which divisible archimedean l -groups support a truncation. We point out an example in the literature of one which does not, and we note a couple of fairly extensive classes of divisible archimedean l -groups which do support a truncation. Finally, we observe that any trunc has what is known as a Johnson representation.
Comparison of the quantification of acetaminophen in plasma, cerebrospinal fluid and dried blood spots using high-performance liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry

Acetaminophen (paracetamol, N-(4-hydroxyphenyl) acetamide) is one of the most commonly prescribed drugs for the management of pain in children. Quantification of acetaminophen in pre-term and term neonates and small children requires the availability of highly sensitive assays in small volume blood samples. We developed and validated an LC-MS/MS assay for the quantification of acetaminophen in human plasma, cerebro-spinal fluid (CSF) and dried blood spots (DBS). Reconstitution in water (DBS only) and addition of a protein precipitation solution containing the deuterated internal standard were the only manual steps. Extracted samples were analyzed on a Kinetex 2.6 μm PFP column using an acetonitrile/formic acid gradient. The analytes were detected in the positive multiple reaction mode. Alternatively, DBS were automatically processed using direct desorption in a sample card and preparation (SCAP) robotic autosampler in combination with online extraction. The range of reliable response in plasma and CSF was 3.05-20,000 ng/ml (r(2)>0.99) and 27.4-20,000 ng/ml (r(2)>0.99) for DBS (manual extraction and automated direct desorption). Inter-day accuracy was always within 85-115% and inter-day precision for plasma, CSF and manually extracted DBS were less than 15%. Deming regression analysis comparing 167 matching pairs of plasma and DBS samples showed a correlation coefficient of 0.98. Bland Altman analysis indicated a 26.6% positive bias in DBS, most likely reflecting the blood: plasma distribution ratio of acetaminophen. DBS are a valid matrix for acetaminophen pharmacokinetic studies.
The axisymmetric double contact problem for a frictionless elastic layer

Abstract The general axisymmetric double contact problem for an elastic layer pressed against a half space by an elastic stamp is considered. The problem is solved under the assumptions that the three materials have different elastic properties, the contact along the interfaces is frictionless and only compressive normal tractions can be transmitted across the interfaces, and, in the case of the elastic stamp, the local radius of curvature of the stamp is large compared to the stamp-layer contact radius. The problem is reduced to a system of singular integral equations in which the contact pressures are the unknown functions. The solution is obtained and extensive numerical results are given for three stamp geometries, namely, rigid and elastic spherical stamps, and a flat-ended rigid cylindrical stamp. The results show that in the case of a flat-ended rigid cylindrical stamp the radius b of the contact area between the layer and the subspace is independent of the magnitude P of the total transmitted load and in all other cases b will depend on P .
Linear and nonlinear effects upon adaptive waveform transmission in fiber optic communications

In this paper we present basic background material concerning the propagation of pulses through fiber optics, and current transmission schemes in fiber optics. We discuss the value of using different signal processing techniques, and time-frequency bases in fiber optic transmission. Finally we outline issues which we believe to be of current interest in fiber optic transmission.
Ovarian sequestration of [14C]-inulin by an insect: An index of vitellogenesis

Abstract [14C]-Inulin injected into the blood of female milkweed bugs (Oncopeltus fasciatus) undergoing vitellogenesis is sequestered in the eggs. Determination of ovarian radiocarbon uptake gives a reproducible index of the progression of vitellogenesis that permits quantitative measurements prior to oviposition or under conditions where vitellogenesis is incomplete. This assay allows intra- and interspecific comparisons of the rates of juvenile hormone biosynthesis by corpora allata (CA) when these endocrine glands are transplanted into milkweed bug females, whose CA have been chemically destroyed with precocene. The method has the potential of distinguishing between nervous and hormonal regulation of the CA.
Choosing Buddy Icons that look like me or represent my personality: Using Buddy Icons for social presence

People choose aspects of the self to present that they believe will lead others to have positive impressions of them. The diffusion of telecommunication technologies has led to some of this self-presentation being done using Instant Messaging and other social media applications and devices. When people use Instant Messaging, they select graphical representations to represent them called Buddy Icons. This project asks users to describe the Buddy Icons they are currently using and what they intend to self-present in selecting them to test the extent to which self presentation theory can explain the choices people are making. Overall, participants reported that they felt their Buddy Icons accurately reflected physical characteristics, psychological aspects of the self, or both, which is consistent with previous research that people are relatively honest in their self-presentation online. Those who selected more human like (anthropomorphic) Buddy Icons reported them as more representative of the physical, as opposed to the psychological, self. Finally, users who felt their Buddy Icon accurately represented them reported a stronger sense of identification and felt their Buddy Icon could increase social presence. Implications of these results for online self presentation and impression management are discussed.
Properties of generic altitude functions

Abstract Using the typical C 1 -topology, we prove that a generic C 1 function f :K⊂ R n ↦ R on a compact neighborhood which has a zero gradient point necessarily has a zero-measure Cantor set C on which its gradient vanishes and on which its set of local extrema is dense.
Assessing cumulative impacts within state environmental review frameworks in the United States

article i nfo Cumulative impact assessment (CIA) is the process of systematically assessing a proposed action's cumulative environmental effects in the context of past, present, and future actions, regardless of who undertakes such actions. Previous studies have examined CIA efforts at the federal level but little is known about how states assess the cumulative impacts of nonfederal projects. By examining state environmental review statutes, administrative rules, agency-prepared materials, and a national survey of the administrators of state environmental review programs, this study identifies the legal and administrative frameworks for CIA. It examines current CIA practice, discusses the relationship between CIA policy and its implementation, and explores the opportunities for improvement. The results of the study show that twenty-nine state environmental review programs across twenty-six states required the assessment of cumulative environ- mental impacts. More than half of these programs have adopted specific procedures for implementing their policies. Some programs assessed cumulative impacts using a standard review document, and others have created their own documentations incorporated into applications for state permits or funding. The majority of programs have adopted various scales, baselines, significance criteria, and coordination practices in their CIA processes. Mixed methods were generally used for data collection and analysis; qualitative methods were more prevalent than quantitative methods. The results also suggest that a program with comprehensive and consistent environmental review policies and procedures does not always imply extensive CIA requirements and practices. Finally, this study discusses the potential for improving existing CIA processes and promoting CIA efforts in states without established environmental review programs.
Interaction of charybdotoxin with permeant ions inside the pore of a K+ channel

Abstract Charybdotoxin (CTX) blocks high conductance Ca 2+ -activated K + channels by binding to a receptor site in the externally facing "mouth." Toxin bound to the channel can be destabilized from its site by K + entering the channel from the opposite, internal, solution. By analyzing point mutants of CTX expressed in E. coli, assayed with single Ca 2+ -activated K + channels reconstituted into planar lipid bilayers, we show that a single positively charged residue of the peptide, Lys-27, wholly mediates this interaction of K + with CTX. If position 27 carries a positively charged residue, internal K + accelerates the dissociation rate of CTX in a voltage-dependent manner; however, if a neutral Asn or Gin is substituted at this position, the dissociation rate is completely insensitive to either internal K + or applied voltage. Position 27 is unique in this respect; charge-neutral substitutions made at other positions fail to eliminate the K + destabilization phenomenon. The results argue that CTX bound to the channel positions Lys-27 physically close to a K + -specific binding site on the external end of the conduction pathway and that a K + ion occupying this site destabilizes CTX via direct electrostatic repulsion with the e-amino group of Lys-27.
Control of habituation of the withdrawal reflex by the gill ganglion in Aplysia

The regions of the gill neural plexus responsible for habituation of the withdrawal reflex were studied using surgical and electrophysiological techniques. Waterdrops were applied to the gill pinnule, and testing for habituation was carried out in each preparation before and after ganglionectomy of the large ganglion in the gill and pinnule isolation. Three parameters of habituation, response decrement, spontaneous recovery, and dishabituation, were used to evaluate the function of the ganglion and the plexus in the pinnule in habituation of the reflex. Disruption of response decrement, of spontaneous recovery, and of dishabituation were caused by either isolating the stimulated pinnule from the gill ganglion by severing the branchial nerve, or by extirpating the gill ganglion. We conclude that: (a) the gill ganglion is necessary for the withdrawal reflex to exhibit the three parameters which characterize hibituation; and (b) the plexus in the pinnule mediates the withdrawal reflex. Extracellular recordings from the pinnule showed that sensory adaptation cannot be contributing to habituation of the reflex since the apparent sensory activity evoked by waterdrops in the pinnule was unaltered by repeated stimulation. In gill ganglion neurons, biphasic potentials were evoked by waterdrops and consisted of an initial depolarization followed by a longer lasting hyperpolarization whose duration was increased with repeated stimulation. In three spontaneously active neurons the rate of activity decreased with repeated stimulation. It is felt that the decreased rate is brought about by potentiation of the hyperpolarization. The rate of spike activity is considered to control the reflex amplitude since the increased rate with intracellular stimulation, in one neuron, resulted in an increased amplitude and since the absence of spontaneous discharge, after ganglionectomy, resulted in a reduced amplitude. A neural network mediating habituation of the withdrawal reflex is proposed.
Polymorphic Transformation in Ytterbium

The purpose of this Letter is to report the discovery of a polymorphic transformation in Yb and to provide a brief discussion of its significance in relation to recent high-pressure studies. The transformation, $\ensuremath{\beta}(\mathrm{fcc})\ensuremath{\leftrightarrow}\ensuremath{\alpha}(\mathrm{hcp})$, is martensitic, the $\ensuremath{\alpha}$ phase being the stable form at 1 atm below \ensuremath{\sim}270\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{}K. The slope of the $\frac{\ensuremath{\alpha}}{\ensuremath{\beta}}$ equilibrium boundary, ${(\frac{d{T}_{\ensuremath{\alpha},\ensuremath{\beta}}}{\mathrm{dP}})}_{{270}^{\ensuremath{\circ}},1 \mathrm{atm}}$, is (-23\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}8)\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{}K/kbar.
Intermittent Versus Continuous Cerebrospinal Fluid Drainage Management in Adult Severe Traumatic Brain Injury: Assessment of Intracranial Pressure Burden

There is clinical equipoise regarding whether neurointensive care unit management of external ventricular drains (EVD) in severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) should involve an open EVD, with continuous drainage of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), versus a closed EVD, with intermittent opening as necessary to drain CSF. In a matched cohort design, we assessed the relative impact of continuous versus intermittent CSF drainage on intracranial pressure in the management of adult severe TBI. Sixty-two severe TBI patients were assessed. Thirty-one patients managed by open EVD drainage were matched by age, sex, and injury severity (initial Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) score) to 31 patients treated with a closed EVD drainage. Patients in the open EVD group also had a parenchymal intracranial pressure (ICP) monitor placed through an adjacent burr hole, allowing real-time recording of ICP. Hourly ICP and other pertinent data, such as length of stay in intensive care unit (LOS-ICU), Injury Severity Score, and survival status, were extracted from our prospective database. With age, injury severity (initial GCS score), and neurosurgical intervention adjusted for, there was a statistically significant difference of 5.66 mmHg in mean ICP (p < 0.0001) between the open and the closed EVD groups, with the closed EVD group exhibiting greater mean ICP. ICP burden (ICP ≥ 20 mmHg) was shown to be significantly higher in the intermittent EVD group (p = 0.0002) in comparison with the continuous EVD group. Continuous CSF drainage via an open EVD seemed to be associated with more effective ICP control in the management of adult severe TBI.
Hydrolysis of the neuropeptide N-acetylaspartylglutamate (NAAG) by cloned human glutamate carboxypeptidase II.

Abstract Glutamate carboxypeptidase II may modulate excitatory neurotransmission through the catabolism of the neuropeptide N-acetylaspartylglutamate (NAAG) and possibly other endogenous peptide substrates. To investigate the molecular properties of cloned human GCP II (hGCP II), we analyzed the NAAG-hydrolytic activity conveyed by transfection of a full-length hGCP II cDNA into PC3 cells, which do not express GCP II endogenously. Membrane fractions from these cells demonstrated activity with an apparent Km of 73 nM and Vmax of 35 pmol/(mg protein*min). Activity was inhibited by EDTA and stimulated by the addition of CoCl2. Addition of GCP II inhibitors β-NAAG, quisqualic acid and 2-(phosphonomethyl)pentanedioic acid (PMPA) inhibited hydrolysis of 2.5 nM NAAG with IC50s of 201 nM, 155 nM and 98 pM, respectively. In competition experiments designed to infer aspects of hGCP II substrate selectivity, NAAG was the most potent alpha peptide tested, with an IC50 of 26 nM. Folate derivatives and some other γ-glutamyl peptides showed comparable affinity to that of NAAG, also displaying IC50s in the low nM range. Taken together with previous evidence demonstrating their presence in GCP II-expressing tissues, these data suggest that both NAAG and folates are good candidate substrates for GCP II in vivo.
Pseudo-aneurysm formation following balloon angioplasty for recurrent coarctation of the aorta.

Intraluminal balloon dilatation of re-stenosis encountered after operative repair of coarctation of the aorta has been recently advocated. A case is presented that demonstrates a potential serious complication of this procedure: rupture of the aortic wall with pseudoaneurysm formation. The operative repair and mechanism of injury are discussed. Balloon dilatation of recurrent coarctation of the aorta can cause a significant morbidity and potential mortality.
Visualizing current flow in high-Tc superconductors

To improve critical current density (Jc) in bulk high-critical-temperature superconductors, the nature of current flow must be understood. This article reports on two techniques that directly show how inhomogeneous current flow is. Laser slicing and magneto-optical imaging show that regions of Jc higher than previously reported that exist in even average quality prototype.
A Short Form of the McCarthy Scales of Children's Abilities: Methodological and Clinical Applications.

The McCarthy Scales of Children's Abilities (MSCA) was administered to 50 kindergarten-aged children to obtain General Cognitive Indices (GCI). A short form of the MSCA was developed by using a step-wise regression analysis to select the six subtests that best predicted the GCI. The potential use of such a short form for kindergarten screening was discussed.
Quantitative security and efficiency analysis of SEAR in wireless sensor networks

SEAR is a novel secure and energy aware routing protocol proposed to address the energy balance and routing security through a balanced energy consumption and probabilistic random walking. Recently, a quantitative security measurement scheme for source-location privacy based on source-location disclosure index (SDI) and source-location space index (SSI) has been proposed. In this paper, we first derive a numerical formula to quantitatively estimate the routing efficiency through the number of routing hops for a given routing security level. We then consider the reverse problem: For a given routing cost factor, how to determine the maximum security level for a message to be transmitted. Our simulation results demonstrate that the theoretical results provide a very tight estimation of the actual routing hops for various security parameters. Finally, we prove that the SEAR scheme can provide provable security under the quantitative security measurement criteria.
Severe pegfilgrastim-induced bone pain completely alleviated with loratadine: A case report

Febrile neutropenia is an oncologic emergency that can result in serious consequences. Granulocyte colony stimulating factors (G-CSFs) are often used as prophylaxis for febrile neutropenia. Bone pain is the most notorious adverse effect caused by G-CSFs. Specifically, with pegfilgrastim (Neulasta(®)), the incidence of bone pain is higher in practice than was observed during clinical trials. Traditional analgesics, such as non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and opioids, can be ineffective in severe pegfilgrastim-induced bone pain. With the high frequency of this adverse effect, it is clear that health practitioners need additional treatment options for patients who experience severe pegfilgrastim-induced bone pain. The mechanisms of bone pain secondary to G-CSFs are not fully known, but research has shown that histamine release is involved in the inflammatory process. There is scant previous clinical data on antihistamine use in the management of G-CSF-induced pain. We present the first case report in which loratadine prophylaxis completely alleviated NSAID-resistant severe pain secondary to pegfilgrastim. The result showed that loratadine may be a promising option for severe, resistant pegfilgrastim-induced bone pain. Further clinical studies are warranted and ongoing.
SEX: DIFFERENCES IN MUTATION, RECOMBINATION, SELECTION, GENE FLOW, AND GENETIC DRIFT

In many instances, there are large sex differences in mutation rates, recombination rates, selection, rates of gene flow, and genetic drift. Mutation rates are often higher in males, a difference that has been estimated both directly and indirectly. The higher male mutation rate appears related to the larger number of cell divisions in male lineages but mutation rates also appear gene- and organism-specific. When there is recombination in only one sex, it is always the homogametic sex. When there is recombination in both sexes, females often have higher recombination but there are many exceptions. There are a number of hypotheses to explain the sex differences in recombination. Sex-specific differences in selection may result in stable polymorphisms or for sex chromosomes, faster evolutionary change. In addition, sex-dependent selection may result in antagonistic pleiotropy or sexually antagonistic genes. There are many examples of sex-specific differences in gene flow (dispersal) and a number of adaptive explanations for these differences. The overall effective population size (genetic drift) is dominated by the lower sex-specific effective population size. The mean of the mutation, recombination, and gene flow rates over the two sexes can be used in a population genetics context unless there are sex-specific differences in selection or genetic drift. Sex-specific differences in these evolutionary factors appear to be unrelated to each other. The evolutionary explanations for sex-specific differences for each factor are multifaceted and, in addition, explanations may include chance, nonadaptive differences, or mechanistic, nonevolutionary factors.
A pharmacological analysis of stimulant-induced increases in smoking

Rationale Stimulants increase tobacco smoking in healthy adults under controlled laboratory conditions. The mechanisms that mediate stimulant-induced increases in smoking are not known.
CATALASE ACTIVITY OF LIVER AND KIDNEY IN FROGS WITH SPONTANEOUS RENAL CARCINOMA

The kidney carcinoma of the leopard frog has served for various studies on catalase activity, as a first step in gaining information on enzymatic properties of neoplasms in cold blooded animals. It was found that the activity level of this tumor is reduced to approximately 13 per cent of that of the normal frog's kidney. Systemic effects of the tumor on catalase activity of liver and kidney are evident. Liver catalase in tumor-bearing frogs is diminished to about 50 per cent of the normal, and kidney catalase to an even greater degree; i.e., to about 34 per cent. A positive correlation exists between levels of catalase in tumor and in liver. Frogs kept at 3 different temperatures, 8, 18, and 26.5°C., for upward of 29 days exhibited no significant change in activity levels either of tumor or of livers from normal or from tumor-bearing animals. It is suggested that a seasonal variation may occur in catalase activity of the frog. During the winter months catalase activity of the tumors was found to be higher than during the summer, whereas liver catalase was below the level of normal frogs examined during the summer. Intracoelomic injections of homogenates of tumors promptly lead to diminution of liver catalase lasting for several days. Injection of normal kidney has no such effect. These results with a spontaneous tumor of a cold blooded animal are in essential agreement with the many observations made with transplanted tumors of warm blooded animals. They lend support to the view that neoplasia is a ubiquitous biological process with similar characteristics in all species or classes of vertebrates.
Book Review, Cheryl L. Dunn, Editor

The article reviews the book "Stealing the Network: How to Own the Box," a collection of short stories by R. Russell, T. Mullen, D. Kaminsky, J. Grand, K. Pfeil, I. Dubrawsky, M. Burnett, and P. Craig.
Selection of Optimal Spacers in Perot-Fabry Interferometry*

The paper contains a general discussion of the conditions for optimal separation of Perot-Fabry patterns. A convenient graphical method is given which permits the selection of the proper spacer thicknesses for the clear resolution of the components of a pattern even in complicated cases.
Bifurcation analysis of the Eckhaus instability

The Eckhaus instability [1] is the only purely two-dimensional instability occurring in convection [2], Taylor-Couette flow [3], liquid crystals [4], and other pattern-forming systems. Despite its widespread occurrence, the Eckhaus instability has not been analyzed in bifurcation-theoretic terms. It can be studied analytically by averaging over the “depth” [5], leading to the classic one-dimensional Ginzburg-Landau equation: $$ \frac{{\partial A}}{{\partial t}} = \mu A + \frac{{{\partial ^2}A}}{{\partial {x^2}}} - {\left| A \right|^2}A. $$ (1)
The effects of temperature-sensitive Rous sarcoma virus and phorbol diester tumor promoters on cell lineages.

My colleagues and I, as well as many other investigators (Pierce 1967; Foulds 1969; Pierce and Wallace 1971; Berenblum 1974; Boutwell 1976; Potter 1978) have performed experiments based on the assumption that those intracellular controls which are involved in the transformation of normal cells into malignant cells are also involved in the generation of diversity among normal cells (Holtzer et al. 1972, 1974, 1975c). In addition, we have assumed that these intracellular controls are the very mechanisms which permit a “cloned” zygote, a “cloned” blastula cell, or a “cloned” limb bud precursor cell in early compartments of their respective lineages to generate diversified progeny (Abbott et al. 1974; Dienstman et al. 1974; Holtzer 1978). In all instances the fundamental question is: How does a single replicating “mother” cell, following a quantal cell cycle, yield daughter(s) with a predictably different, but equally limited, set of metabolic options? A replicating blastula cell, a replicating erythrogenic hematocytoblast or Friend erythroleukemic cell (Holtzer et al. 1972, 1975c; Lajtha and Schofield 1974; Weintraub 1975; Holtzer 1978), a replicating presumptive chondroblast (Holtzer 1978), or a replicating presumptive myoblast (Holtzer et al. 1975c; Holtzer 1978) has no option following a quantal cell cycle, but to yield specifically different kinds of gastrula cells, erythroblasts, chondroblasts, and myoblasts, respectively. Presumably, daughter cells, as a consequence of a quantal cell cycle, acquire the capacity to transcribe regions of the genome that could not be transcribed in their mother2. It is equally likely that the daughter cells lose the capacity to transcribe regions that were uniquely transcribed in their mother cells. Similarly, embryonal carcinoma cells (Martin 1975), chondrosarcoma cells, hepatoma cells, or lymphoma cells have each inherited a different set of metabolic options which (1) not only distinguish these different types of neoplastic cells one from the other, but (2) distinguish them from their normal mother cells.
Development and Applications of Three-Dimensional Analytic Element Models for Transport Modelling

The analytic element method has been receiving increased attention in recent years. Unlike its numerical counterparts, such as the finite difference or finite element method, the analytic element method does not employ a spatial element network or mesh to arrive at a solution to the groundwater flow problem. Instead, spatial distributions of piezometric heads and a flow field are generated through superposition of analytic solutions to the many individual flow features in the aquifer: the analytic elements. Although the method lacks some of the flexibility in varying aquifer parameters, which is a characteristic feature of the numerical models, this drawback is usually mitigated by two distinct advantages: (1) no numerical dispersion, and (2) operational efficiency in the absence of element network design.
Understanding School Leaders' Role in Teachers' Adoption of Technology Integration Classroom Practices

The educational technology research community documents that tech- nology is not integrated into teachers' classroom practices other than to reinforce or augment current practices (Becker, 2001; Cuban, 2001). Adopting technology at this level is called first-order change (Ertmer, 1999); the explanation the research community reaches is that teachers' belief structure is incompatible with high-level technology integration (Cuban, 2001; Ertmer, 2005). This study explores another explanation for teachers' reluctance to adopt technology integration - school lead- ers. Furthermore, this study outlines strategies a school leader must adopt to leverage his or her leadership position to increase technology utilization among the faculty.
A personalized committee classification approach to improving prediction of breast cancer metastasis

Motivation: Metastasis prediction is a well-known problem in breast cancer research. As breast cancer is a complex and heterogeneous disease with many molecular subtypes, predictive models trained for one cohort often perform poorly on other cohorts, and a combined model may be suboptimal for individual patients. Furthermore, attempting to develop subtype-specific models is hindered by the ambiguity and stereotypical definitions of subtypes. Results: Here, we propose a personalized approach by relaxing the definition of breast cancer subtypes. We assume that each patient belongs to a distinct subtype, defined implicitly by a set of patients with similar molecular characteristics, and construct a different predictive model for each patient, using as training data, only the patients defining the subtype. To increase robustness, we also develop a committee-based prediction method by pooling together multiple personalized models. Using both intra- and inter-dataset validations, we show that our approach can significantly improve the prediction accuracy of breast cancer metastasis compared with several popular approaches, especially on those hard-to-learn cases. Furthermore, we find that breast cancer patients belonging to different canonical subtypes tend to have different predictive models and gene signatures, suggesting that metastasis in different canonical subtypes are likely governed by different molecular mechanisms. Availability and implementation: Source code implemented in MATLAB and Java available at www.cs.utsa.edu/~jruan/PCC/. Contact: ude.astu@naur.auhnaij Supplementary information: Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
Diversity of the autochthonous colonic microbiota

A longstanding hypothesis in intestinal microbial ecology is that autochthonous microbes (resident) play a role that is distinct from allochthonous microbes (transient microbes in the fecal stream). A challenge has been to identify this pool of microbes. We used laser capture microdissection to collect microbes from the mouse ascending colon. This area contains transverse folds that mimic human intestinal folds and contains a distinct population of intestinal microbes that is associated with the mucosa. Our analysis of bacterial 16S rRNA genes showed that this area was enriched for Lachnospiraceae and Ruminococcaceae. In this addendum, we further compare this community to studies of mucosa-associated microbes in humans. This analysis reveals common phylogenetic groups of bacteria that are present in both mouse and human. However, we found microorganisms at the genus and species levels including Faecalibacterium prausnitzii which appears to be specific for humans. We propose that that examination of the mucosa-associated microbes in wild type and genetically modified mice will be a valuable component to define host microbial interactions that are essential for homeostasis.
Personal care products and endocrine disruption: A critical review of the literature.

This article reviews laboratory and epidemiological research into the endocrine disruptive effects of components of personal care products, namely, phthalate esters, parabens, ultraviolet (UV) filters, polycyclic musks, and antimicrobials. High doses of phthalates in utero can produce “phthalate syndrome,” demasculinizing effects in male rat offspring due to impaired testosterone production by fetal testes. However, evidence linking phthalate exposure to similar effects in humans appears inconclusive. Furthermore, phthalate exposure derived from personal care products is within safe limits and its principal bioavailable phthalate, diethyl phthalate (DEP), does not produce “phthalate syndrome.” Parabens exhibit very weak estrogen activity in vitro and in vivo, but evidence of paraben-induced developmental and reproductive toxicity in vivo lacks consistency and physiological coherence. Evidence attempting to link paraben exposure with human breast cancer is nonexistent. Select UV filters at high doses produce estrogenic, antithyroid, and other effects in rats in vivo. Again, no evidence links UV filter exposure to endocrine disruptive effects in humans. Some polycyclic musks weakly bind to estrogen, androgen, or progestin receptors and exhibit primarily antagonistic activity in vitro, which for the most part, has yet to be confirmed in vivo in mammals. The antimicrobials triclocarban and triclosan evoke weak responses mediated by aryl hydrocarbon, estrogen, and androgen receptors in vitro, which require confirmation in vivo. Preliminary observations suggest a novel interaction between triclocarban and testosterone. In conclusion, although select constituents exhibit interactions with the endocrine system in the laboratory, the evidence linking personal care products to endocrine disruptive effects in humans is for the most part lacking.
Vertex-distinguishing edge colorings of random graphs

A proper edge coloring of a simple graph G is called vertex-distinguishing if no two distinct vertices are incident to the same set of colors. We prove that the minimum number of colors required for a vertex-distinguishing coloring of a random graph of order n is almost always equal to the maximum degree Δ(G) of the graph.
No association between childcare and obesity at age 4 in low‐income Latino children

Summary Background Previous studies have found an association between early entry to childcare and risk for overweight and obesity at 3 years of age. These studies, however, have been conducted primarily with higher income White populations or have found increased risk in the children of educated mothers. Objective To assess the relationship between timing of entry to childcare and duration of childcare and pediatric overweight and obesity in a high risk population. Methods Using data from a longitudinal cohort of low-income Latino children in San Francisco, we evaluated the association between time of entry to childcare, hours in childcare, and risk for overweight and obesity at age 4. Similarly, we evaluated the relationship between these same childcare parameters and body mass index Z score and risk of having a waist circumference (WC) percentile ≥90th at 4 years of age. Results In contrast with previous studies, we found no association between being in childcare at 4 years of age or number of hours per week in childcare and risk for childhood overweight, obesity or WC ≥90th percentile at age 4. Additionally, we found no association between age of entry to childcare (≤6 months or ≤12 months of age) with risk for overweight or obesity at age 4. Future studies need to further evaluate the differential impact of childcare on early childhood obesity in relation to race/ethnicity and lower socioeconomic status. Conclusion Low-income children may not be at increased risk for obesity in relation to early childcare exposure.
The IRREGULAR TRICHOME BRANCH loci regulate trichome elongation in Arabidopsis

The proper control of cell expansion is vital to plant development. It is responsible for shaping individual cells and, together with cell division, it plays a lead role in shaping plant organs. Much of the underlying mechanism by which plant cells expand anisotropically is not understood. We are taking a genetic approach to cell expansion by isolating mutants that affect the branching pattern of Arabidopsis trichomes. Here we report the identification of four new loci that control trichome morphogenesis. These loci were named the IRREGULAR TRICHOME BRANCH (ITB) loci because of the deleterious effects on branch position and length in the mutants. Our analysis of branch expansion in itb mutants shows that the ITB genes act as positive regulators of branch elongation, and that the branch position defects are caused by altered expansion of the trichome stalk. The itb mutations display synergistic effects in double mutant combinations with certain branch number mutations, suggesting that the ITB genes also play key roles in branch initiation. These results demonstrate that the ITB genes are key regulators of anisotropic cell expansion in trichomes.
Boundary delineation in transrectal ultrasound image for prostate cancer

This paper presents a new advanced automatic edge delineation model for the detection and diagnosis of prostate cancer on transrectal ultrasound (TRUS) images. The proposed model is to improve prostate boundary detection system by modifying a set of preprocessing algorithms including tree-structured nonlinear filter (TSF), directional wavelet transforms (DWT) and tree-structured wavelet transform (TSWT). The model consists of a preprocessing module and a segmentation module. The preprocessing module is implemented for noise suppression, image smoothing and boundary enhancement. The active contours model is used in the segmentation module for prostate boundary detection in two-dimensional (2D) TRUS images. Experimental results show that the addition of the preprocessing module improves the accuracy and sensitivity of the segmentation module, compared to the implementation of the segmentation module alone. It is believed that the proposed automatic boundary detection module for the TRUS images is a promising approach, which provides an efficient and robust detection and diagnosis strategy and acts as "second opinion" for the physician's interpretation of prostate cancer.