cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Enhancing knowledge of authorization requests through registry development

Understanding the member population to which medical coverage policies apply is important for ensuring the relevance of a health insurer's policies. The medical policy unit of our company developed a registry and workflow to enhance our knowledge about the members who seek authorization for bariatric surgery. Data captured in the registry have allowed us to construct a descriptive profile of the entire population that seeks bariatric surgery (both members who are approved and members who are denied). In addition, we have examined characteristics associated with denied authorization requests, determined the proportion of requests originating from specific insurance products, and studied the relationship between results on a specific laboratory test and authorization decisions. Given the growing importance of data in the realm of health care management, this article is an important demonstration of how data can be used to understand populations of members who are affected by medical policies.
Peripheral arterial disease : evaluation with color flow and duplex sonography

This article reviews the expanding role of sonography in the noninvasive evaluation of peripheral arterial diseases. Technical aspects, aneurysms, pseudoaneurysms, perivascular masses, arteriovenous fistulae, detection of arterial conduit occlusion, principles of stenosis detection and grading, bypass graft monitoring, and native peripheral arterial disease are among the topics discussed.
Adolescent Addiction Curriculum: Impact on Knowledge Self-Assessment in Pediatric Learners.

Introduction Addiction is developmentally a pediatric-onset disease. Adolescent addiction recently gained the nation's attention due to the steep increase in opioid-related drug overdose deaths. Ed...
Buried Alive: The Reboot of the Equal Rights Amendment

This Article addresses the recent effort to revive the proposed Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) to the Constitution. Following ratifications by Nevada (2017) and Illinois (2), the ERA stands close to the three-fourths vote in the states required for ratification under Article Five. But these recent ratifications are of uncertain validity, as Congress imposed a deadline for the ERA's ratification that expired in 1982. The paper argues that Congress can waive the expired ratification deadline but should not do so until there is no doubt that 38 states have voted for ratification. There is room for doubt on that score because five states rescinded their ratification votes in the 1970s. Congress is free to disregard these rescissions on the ground that a state may not repeal its ratification of a proposed constitutional amendment. Ignoring these state rescissions in addition to waiving the ratification deadline, though, would raise substantial concerns about the ERA’s legitimacy and may lead a future Congress to attempt the reversal of that recognition. Thus, the wise course is for Congress to refrain from taking action on the ERA until 38 states can be counted as yes votes without the five rescinding states. If Congress decides to include these five states as part of the ratification total, then at least two-thirds of the Senate and the House of Representatives should be required to support that decision — in accord with a precedent established by the Fourteenth Amendment--to quiet the doubts about the validity of the ERA’s ratification.
Manufacturing Shintō as a “World Religion”: An Analysis of Anglo-American Textbooks

How is Shintō presented in Anglo-American world religions textbooks? While not included in the earliest of such survey courses, it regularly appears in such texts from the early 20th century to the present. Why is Shintō included as one of “great” or “world” religions given how greatly it differs from the likes of Christianity and Islam? Textbook authors include Shintō by constructing an image of it that reflects their own model of world religions, an image that is also based on the “Shintō” that Meiji Japanese officials and scholars invented for their own political-ideological purposes. The standard portrayal of Shintō in Western textbooks has remained more or less the same for a century: It is described as (1) an archaic religion; (2) centered on Japanese imperial mythology; (3) nature worship; (4) apolitical, emphasizing personal piety at shrines. While the most recent editions have tried to incorporate new scholarship in their portrayal, they still rely a world religions model of Shintō that is seriously misleading, failing to adequately present Shintō’s complexities as a tradition.
Chromatographic Methods for Analyzing β-Endorphin and Related Peptides

Publisher Summary During the past two decades, s-endorphin's potent analgetic activity has stimulated intense research interest and the peptide has become ensconced in the popular imagination as the endogenous substance responsible for much that is deemed pleasurable in life. From a practical, analytical standpoint, s-endorphin processing is important to consider because most of the antisera used to measure beta endorphin immunoreactivity recognize all six beta endorphin analogs as well as beta lipotropin. This methodological detail complicates the analysis of beta endorphin, in part because beta endorphin processing is tissue specific, which means that different tissues may synthesize completely different assortments of beta endorphin peptides yet, when measured by radioimmunoassay (RIA) contain equivalent amounts of beta endorphin immunoreactivity. This principle is clearly illustrated by beta endorphin processing in the anterior and intermediate lobes of the rat pituitary. This chapter reviews analytical methods commonly used to isolate s-endorphin-related peptides from biological tissues, including plasma. In situ hybridization is based on the ability of relatively short sequences of DNA or RNA to penetrate into cells and hybridize with complementary regions of RNA or DNA in the cell. The ability to accurately estimate the amount of mRNA in the tissue is subject to a number of variables described in a protocol that is divided into three separate procedures that describe each component of the assay: preparation of the tissue, labeling of the probe, and hybridization of the probe specifically to the sequence of interest..
Managed Complexity in An Agent-based Vent Fan Control System Based on Dynamic Re-configuration

Developments in advanced control techniques are occurring in parallel with advances in sensors, algorithms, and architectures that support next-generation condition-based maintenance systems. The emergence of Multi-agent Systems in the Distributed Artificial Intelligence arena is providing important new capabilities that can significantly improve automation system performance, survivability, adaptability, and scalability. The new capabilities provided by multi-agent systems has shifted control system research into a very challenging and complex domain. A multi-agent system approach enables us to encapsulate the fundamental behavior of intelligent devices as autonomous components. These components exhibit primitive attitudes to act on behalf of equipment or complex processes. Using this approach, we have implemented a set of cooperating systems that manage the operation of an axial vent fan.
Probing the Intermolecular Dynamics of Liquids by Femtosecond Spectroscopy

Solvent-solvent and solvent-solute intermolecular forces play an important role in determining solution chemistry. We outline below some of our recent experimental efforts using femtosecond nonlinear spectroscopy to probe the intermolecular dynamics in liquids. Our approaches center on four-wave mixing techniques and thus the experimental signals probe the intermolecular potential through the third-order nonlinear susceptibility tensor. First, we examine results of femtosecond optically-heterodyne-detected Raman-induced Kerr Effect spectroscopy (OHD-RIKES) for a series of aromatic liquids. Second, we show that the OHD-RIKES spectrum is identical to that obtained from the frequency domain technique of stimulated gain spectroscopy. Finally, we present data for benzene collected using the technique of optically-heterodyne detected impulsive-stimulated Raman scattering (OHD-ISRS).
How to Shape the Humor of a Robot - Social Behavior Adaptation Based on Reinforcement Learning

A shared sense of humor can result in positive feelings associated with amusement, laughter, and moments of bonding. If robotic companions could acquire their human counterparts' sense of humor in an unobtrusive manner, they could improve their skills of engagement. In order to explore this assumption, we have developed a dynamic user modeling approach based on Reinforcement Learning, which allows a robot to analyze a person's reaction while it tells jokes and continuously adapts its sense of humor. We evaluated our approach in a test scenario with a Reeti robot acting as an entertainer and telling different types of jokes. The exemplary adaptation process is accomplished only by using the audience's vocal laughs and visual smiles, but no other form of explicit feedback. We report on results of a user study with 24 participants, comparing our approach to a baseline condition (with a non-learning version of the robot) and conclude by providing limitations and implications of our approach in detail.
"Esa vacua y petulante invención de la vulgaridad": Nueva York, estética del anuncio, y sociedad de consumo en la obra de Joaquín Torres-García (1920-21)

In his essay New York (1920-30), the Uruguayan painter Joaquin Torres-Garcia analyzes the tight connection between advertising industry and the spiritual vulgarity of consumer society. Despite his enthusiasm far the visual aesthetics of advertisement, Torres-Garcia denounces how the materialist logic that operates at the heart of advertising results in a vulgarization of capitalist societies. The advertising industry aspires to disciplining subjectivities and transforming individuals into an anonymous mass. This is achieved through discursive strategies based on psychological manipulation that banalize human affectivity by transforming it into a commodity.
286) Chronic Opioid Use after Thoracic Surgery among VA Veterans

The incidence of chronic pain following thoracic surgery (∼50%) is greater than most other surgeries. The goal of this retrospective study was to detect the incidence of prolonged opioid use at 1 year after surgery among those veterans who were chronic opioid users versus not chronic users during the one year prior to their thoracic surgery, separately. In addition, predictors of prolonged opioid use at 1 year after surgery from demographic, surgical, and comorbid medical and psychiatric factors were assessed for each of the two groups separately. Veterans Health Administration sample of 19,240 patients who had thoracotomy or video assisted thoracoscopy between 2006 and 2015 and were alive at one year after surgery were included. “Chronic opioid use” was defined as consistent opioid prescription for more than 90 days during the year (1). Veterans’ opioid use during the 1-year prior to surgery was used to determine whether they were “preoperative chronic opioid users” at the time of surgery. Similarly, the opioid use information during the first year after the surgery was used to determine whether they become “prolonged opioid users” during the 1-year following surgery. Out of 2,370 preoperative opioid users at the time of surgery, 61% (95% CI: 59% to 63%) continued prolonged opioid use at 1 year after their thoracic surgery. Only younger age and the presence of pre-existing chronic pain were associated with the prolonged opioid use at 1 year after surgery. Out of 16,870 patients who were not preoperative chronic opioid users during the year prior to their surgery, 6.8% (95% CI: 6.4% to 7.2%) became prolonged opioid users. At the 0.01 type I error level, the presence of pre-existing chronic pain, longer duration of hospital stay, antidepressant use and benzodiazepine use were associated with prolonged opioid use at one year after thoracic surgery.
Paracupes svitkoi [Coleoptera: Cupedidae], a new species from the Cretaceous of New Jersey

LUBKIN S. H. 2003. Paracupes svitkoi (Coleoptera: Cupedidae), a new species from the Cretaceous of New Jersey. Acta zoologica cracoviensia, 46(suppl.– Fossil Insects): 189-194.
Understanding nurses' workflow: Batching care and potential opportunities for transmission of infectious organisms, a pilot study.

Background Caring for patients in contact precautions can be challenging. In this pilot study, we sought to understand, using qualitative and visual methods, how nurses provide care for patients in contact precaution rooms and to identify potential breakdowns in practice that could increase risk of disease transmission. Methods Qualitative data were collected while shadowing 4 nurses on 2 medical/surgical units at a university medical center between September and October 2016. Observers documented nurses' movements in handwritten fieldnotes. Fieldnote data were analyzed using a descriptive approach with visual depiction to map care delivery in precaution and non-precaution rooms. Results Nurses moved between non-precaution rooms, completing 1-4 tasks per room entry, over the course of several brief room entries and exits. In contrast, nurses rarely entered contact precaution rooms to complete only a few tasks, generally completing ≥10 tasks per room entry. Although hand hygiene on room entry/exit was consistently performed, a breakdown in practice occurred in precaution rooms as nurses tended to move between tasks and contact with the environment without performing hand hygiene. Conclusions Differences in how nurses structure their work in contact precaution rooms may contribute to risk of infectious disease transmission. Understanding and addressing the challenges specific to how nurses work is a critical part of infection prevention in today's hospital environment.
Exploring Warp Criticality in Near-Threshold GPGPU Applications Using a Dynamic Choke Point Analysis

General-purpose graphics processing units (GPGPUs), due to their enormous parallelism, have found ubiquitous applications in parallel computing. However, their peak power rating has also increased over the years. As a consequence, near-threshold computing (NTC) has come to the rescue. However, a severe device-level delay variability arising from process variation (PV) can significantly diminish the NTC system performance. In this article, we examine choke points—a unique device-level characteristic of PV at NTC—that can exacerbate the delays of the GPGPU parallel warps. In order to improve the NTC GPU performance, we propose a family of holistic circuit-architectural solutions, referred to as choke-point-aware warp speculator (CPAWS). CPAWS identifies the choke point-induced critical warps in GPGPU applications and improves their execution latencies. Compared to a state-of-the-art warp scheduling policy, our best scheme improves the performance and energy efficiency of an NTC GPU by ~39% and ~31%, respectively.
Human pseudoislet system enables detection of differences in G-protein-coupled-receptor signaling pathways between α and β cells

G-protein-coupled-receptors (GPCRs) modulate insulin secretion from β cells and glucagon secretion from α cells. Here, we developed an integrated approach to study the function of primary human islet cells using genetically modified pseudoislets that resemble native islets across multiple parameters. We studied the Gi and Gq GPCR pathways by expressing the designer receptors exclusively activated by designer drugs (DREADDs) hM4Di or hM3Dq. Activation of Gi signaling reduced insulin and glucagon secretion, while activation of Gq signaling stimulated glucagon secretion but had both stimulatory and inhibitory effects on insulin secretion. Further, we developed a microperifusion system that allowed synchronous acquisition of GCaMP6f biosensor signal and hormone secretory profiles and showed that the dual effects for Gq signaling occur through changes in intracellular Ca2+. By combining pseudoislets with a microfluidic system, we co-registered intracellular signaling dynamics and hormone secretion and demonstrated differences in GPCR signaling pathways between human β and α cells.
An effective reagent to functionalize alcohols with phosphocholine

Phosphocholine is a small haptenic molecule that is both a precursor and degradation product of choline. Phosphocholine decorates a number of biologics such as lipids and oligosaccharides. In this study, an air and bench stable phosphocholine donor has been developed and evaluated with a number of alcohol acceptors. Using a one-pot, three-step sequence, (phosphitylation, oxidation, and phosphate deprotection) phosphocholine derivatives are synthesized in high yields. Of particular interest is the synthesis of miltefosine, the lone oral drug approved to treat leishmaniasis. Due to its prohibitive expense ($1500 per g), miltefosine is not accesable for the majority of the world's patients. Based on the described reaction sequence, this drug can be produced for $25 per g.
Predictability of Common Atmospheric Teleconnection Indices Using Machine Learning

Abstract Medium-range weather forecasting continues to be an elusive challenge in the field of meteorology. The ability of dynamic weather models to represent changes in atmospheric variability at time scales on the order of months is limited, such that meteorologists typically resort to climatic scales to assess predictability. Atmospheric teleconnections provide an opportunity to assess interconnectedness at a planetary scale and have known relationships with seasonal features, particularly in wintertime temperatures and precipitation. However, these teleconnections are difficult to predict owing to their chaotic nature. In this study, the predictability of the cold-season monthly phases of four common teleconnection indices, the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO), the Pacific North American oscillation (PNA), the West Pacific Oscillation (WPO), and the Arctic Oscillation (AO) is quantified using multiple machine learning methods. Lagged indices out to 6 months are employed for all four teleconnection patterns are used to predict each upcoming teleconnection index. Improvements offered by support vector machines and random forests are compared against a baseline multivariate linear regression to quantify the benefits of applying machine learning to the research problem. Ultimately, the resulting models offer a first attempt at quantifying monthly atmospheric variability using machine learning and are an important first step towards improved medium and long-range weather forecasting.
Polarimetric Synthetic Aperture Radar Imaging With Radially Polarized Antennas

A polarimetric 3-D synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imaging method using a radially polarized antenna is described. The advantages of the radially polarized antenna, mainly that polarimetric SAR imaging can be performed without requiring additional measurements compared to traditional SAR, are discussed. A general target model is developed that includes information about target orientation and degree of polarization (i.e., how well and in what direction the target polarizes a signal). Image reconstruction algorithms were developed to allow polarimetric imaging to be performed with radially polarized antenna imaging data, enabling the estimation of target orientation and degree of polarization. The effect of scan step size and scan aperture size is studied on the accuracy of the estimation of these parameters, and guidelines were established as to the proper step size and scan aperture size to be used to keep estimation error below a specific threshold. Subsequently, a radially polarized antenna was designed, fabricated, and used to image several samples containing various types of point targets, by which the capability of this technique to enable accurate estimation of target orientation and degree of polarization is successfully demonstrated.
Dynamic Causal Modeling of Gender Differences in Emotion: Implications for Augmented Cognition:

The goal of this study is to investigate the neural basis of gender difference in emotion processing. Elec- troencephalogram (EEG) signals were recorded when the same set of emotion-eliciting image...
Enfermedad trofoblástica gestacional en el posparto tardío

Gestational trophoblastic disease (GTD) is a term used for a group of pregnancyrelated tumors arising from defective proliferation of trophoblastic tissue. Its incidence after term pregnancy is infrequent, being diagnosed in most cases incidentally, due to symptoms of metastasis. We present a case of GTD that occurred 9 weeks after a vaginal delivery at term. The serum beta-human chorionic gonadotropin (β-hCG) level was 38 084 mIU/mL and a chest CT scan showed multiple pulmonary nodules. The patient received actinomycin D for 3 cycles. The β-hCG normalized after the third cycle and the patient remained disease-free for 12 months after diagnosis. The clinical presentation and challenges in diagnosing GTD in the late postpartum period are described.
Microhabitats created by log landings support abundant flowers and insect pollinators within regenerating mixed-oak stands in the Central Appalachian Mountains

Abstract Despite their role as keystone organisms, insect pollinator populations have declined across many regions. Although pollinator populations face a multitude of threats, among the most important is habitat loss and degradation. In eastern North America, forested landscapes are thought to serve as strongholds for robust pollinator populations, however, even these high-quality landscapes are increasingly unsuitable for pollinators due to suppression of natural disturbances, which results in mature forests with few floral resources. To enhance landscapes for forest-dependent wildlife, land managers increasingly recognize the value of silviculture for promoting forest regeneration to support early-successional species. Although timber harvest has proven to be an invaluable tool for enhancing forest pollinator habitat, the role of microhabitat components like log landings remains unassessed. Log landings (open areas where harvested logs are loaded for transport) may serve as an important microhabitat component of early seral stands because they are expected to support open conditions and high floral abundance. We sampled 20 log landing/timber harvest interior pairs for bees, butterflies, floral resources, and structural vegetation in the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania from June-September 2019. Hierarchical distance models revealed that log landings supported twice as many bees (897 vs 351 bees/ha) and five times as many butterflies (433 vs 88 butterflies/ha) as timber harvest interiors. Likewise, log landings supported about 14 times as many floral resources than timber harvest interiors (109,572 vs 8,431/transect). Among log landings, those with the most floral resources also supported the most bees and butterflies. Collectively, our results support the hypothesis that log landings serve as concentrated resource hubs for bees and butterflies. Future work exploring the role of different plant species (e.g., native vs exotic) in habitat quality for early-successional pollinators would prove useful.
Editorial Commentary: False-Positive Meniscus Pseudotear on Magnetic Resonance Imaging: A False Sign That Rings True.

Abstract The false-positive finding of anterior horn meniscus (pseudo)tear on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is an important finding of which to be aware. We have recently seen awareness similarly raised regarding root tears of the meniscus, which, if overlooked, could have detrimental consequences. Manifestations of the MRI finding of meniscus pseudotear arise from the variability of the insertion of the transverse geniculate ligament into the anterior horn of the lateral meniscus. Bearing in mind that anterior knee pain is a common reason that patients present for an orthopaedic and sports medicine evaluation, the understanding that this MRI finding does not represent a true meniscus tear may save patients from unnecessary arthroscopic surgery.
Thoughts on Legal Writing from the Greatest of Them All: Antonin Scalia and Bryan A. Garner — Part II

This series discusses thoughts about legal writing from the greatest writing teachers. This column is the second part of a two-part column on Antonin Scalia and Bryan A. Garner's Art of Persuading Judges.
Optokinetic stimulation of an immobilized eye in the monkey.

Quantitative investigation of the optokinetic nystagmus effect in rhesus monkeys. The results obtained are shown to parallel those found for the rabbit by Ter Braak (1936). Quantitative findings pertaining to the ratio between slow velocity of nystagmus and stimulus speed as a power function of pattern motion velocity and to other parameters are presented graphically and discussed.
Senescence in Cell Culture: An Accumulation of Errors or Terminal Differentiation?

Senescence in cell culture represents an ideal model system to examine a variety of questions related to cellular aging. The process of aging in vitro can be followed conveniently and precisely by measurement of the saturation density of the culture (1), the percentage of clones that can proliferate (2) or the percentage of cells incorporating 3H-thymidine under a given standard set of conditions (3). In addition, other physiologic changes which parallel the losses in proliferative capacity such as the increase in lysosomes and lysosomal enzyme activity (4–6) can be conveniently studied using proliferative activity as an independent measure of population age. In these cultures, most, if not all, environmental factors can be controlled. Thus, we can design experiments to determine the answer to fundamental questions at the cellular level which could not be answered easily in vivo.
Long-term storage and transport length scale of fine sediment: Analysis of a mercury release into a river

Excessive suspended sediment concentrations create important water quality problems, but scientists disagree on how to predict its movement through watersheds. Most models assume that fine-grained sediment moves rapidly far downstream, without recognizing the importance of episodic, long-term storage. Here a historic industrial release of mercury is interpreted as a decadal sediment tracer experiment, releasing sediment particles “tagged” with mercury that are deposited on floodplains. As expected, floodplain mercury inventories decrease exponentially downstream, with a characteristic decay length of 10 km (95% confidence interval: 5–25 km) that defines the distance suspended particles typically move downstream before entering storage. Floodplain mercury inventories are not significantly different above and below three colonial age mill dams (present at the time of mercury release but now breached), suggesting that these results reflect ongoing processes. Suspended sediment routing models that neglect long-term storage, and the watershed management plans based on them, may need revision.
Improving Global Vascular Risk Prediction With Behavioral and Anthropometric Factors: The Multiethnic NOMAS (Northern Manhattan Cohort Study)

Objectives This study sought to improve global vascular risk prediction with behavioral and anthropometric factors. Background Few cardiovascular risk models are designed to predict the global vascular risk of myocardial infarction, stroke, or vascular death in multiethnic individuals, and existing schemes do not fully include behavioral risk factors. Methods A randomly derived, population-based, prospective cohort of 2,737 community participants free of stroke and coronary artery disease was followed up annually for a median of 9.0 years in the NOMAS (Northern Manhattan Study) (mean age 69 years, 63.2% women, 52.7% Hispanic, 24.9% African American, and 19.9% white). A global vascular risk score (GVRS) predictive of stroke, myocardial infarction, or vascular death was developed by adding variables to the traditional Framingham cardiovascular variables based on the likelihood ratio criteria. Model utility was assessed through receiver-operating characteristics, calibration, and effect on reclassification of subjects. Results Variables that significantly added to the traditional Framingham profile included waist circumference, alcohol consumption, and physical activity. Continuous measures for blood pressure and fasting blood sugar were used instead of hypertension and diabetes. Ten-year event-free probabilities were 0.95 for the first quartile of GVRS, 0.89 for the second quartile, 0.79 for the third quartile, and 0.56 for the fourth quartile. The addition of behavioral factors in our model improved prediction of 10-year event rates compared with a model restricted to the traditional variables. Conclusions A GVRS that combines traditional, behavioral, and anthropometric risk factors; uses continuous variables for physiological parameters; and is applicable to nonwhite subjects could improve primary prevention strategies.
Turning hidden nodes into helper nodes in IEEE 802.11 wireless LAN networks

To enhance the performance of IEEE 802.11 WLANs in the presence of hidden terminal problem, we propose a protocol that allows non-hidden stations to help each other retransmit faster whenever possible. Opposite to other approaches, the new protocol benefits from the hidden terminal problem to improve the performance of DCF, which is the basic operation of IEEE 802.11. The new protocol is compatible with IEEE 802.11, and works with the same PHY of IEEE 802.11. Using Opnet simulation, results show that the proposed scheme improves throughput, delay, packet drop, retransmissions, and fairness with small trade-off regarding fairness depending on the network topology.
Low carbohydrate diets in family practice: what can we learn from an internet-based support group

The Active Low-Carber Forums (ALCF) is an on-line support group started in 2000 which currently has more than 86,000 members. Data collected from posts to the forum and from an on-line survey were used to determine the behavior and attitudes of people on low carbohydrate diets. Members were asked to complete a voluntary 27-item questionnaire over the internet. Our major findings are as follows: survey respondents, like the membership at large, were mostly women and mostly significantly overweight, a significant number intending to and, in many cases, succeeding at losing more than 100 lbs. The great majority of members of ALCF identify themselves as following the Atkins diet or some variation of it. Although individual posts on the forum and in the narrative part of our survey are critical of professional help, we found that more than half of respondents saw a physician before or during dieting and, of those who did, about half received support from the physician. Another 28 % found the physician initially neutral but supportive after positive results were produced. Using the same criteria as the National Weight Registry (without follow-up) – 30 lbs or more lost and maintained for more than one year – it was found that more than 1400 people had successfully used low carb methods. In terms of food consumed, the perception of more than half of respondents were that they ate less than before the diet and whereas high protein, high fat sources replaced carbohydrate to some extent, the major change indicated by survey-takers is a large increase in green vegetables and a large decrease in fruit intake. Government or health agencies were not sources of information for dieters in this group and a collection of narrative comments indicates a high level of satisfaction, indeed enthusiasm for low carbohydrate dieting.
T cells undergo rapid ON/OFF but not ON/OFF/ON cycling of cytokine production in response to antigen.

Inflammatory cytokines such as IFN-γ and TNF produced by Ag-stimulated CD4 + and CD8 + T cells are important in defense against microbial infection. However, production of these cytokines must be tightly regulated to prevent immunopathology. Previous studies, conducted with BALB/c mice, have suggested that 1) CD8 + T cells maintain IFN-γ production but transiently produce TNF in the continued presence of Ag and 2) lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus-specific and in vitro-propagated effector CD8 + T cells could rapidly cycle IFN-γ production ON/OFF/ON in response to Ag exposure, removal, and re-exposure. In contrast with CD8 + T cells, our results show that Listeria monocytogenes -specific CD4 + T cells from C57BL/6 mice rapidly initiate (ON cycling) and maintain production of both IFN-γ and TNF in the continued presence of Ag. Upon Ag removal, production of both cytokines rapidly ceases (OFF cycling). However, if the initial stimulation was maximal, Ag-specific CD4 + T cells were unable to reinitiate cytokine production after a second Ag exposure. Furthermore, L. monocytogenes -specific CD8 + T cells in the same mice and lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus-specific CD8 + T cells in BALB/c mice also underwent ON/OFF cycling, but if the initial Ag stimulus was maximal, they could not produce IFN-γ after Ag re-exposure. As the initial Ag dose was reduced, the number of cells producing cytokine in response to the second Ag exposure exhibited a corresponding increase. However, T cells that were marked for IFN-γ secretion during the first stimulation did not contribute cytokine production during the second stimulation. Thus, T cells are not able to undergo rapid ON/OFF/ON cytokine cycling in vitro in response to Ag.
Time Series and Cross-sectional Variations of Expected

The paper develops a general equilibrium stochastic growth model of a multi-sector economy subject to i.i.d. taste shocks. Each sector produces one good, and each firm has a linear production technology and faces a quadratic capital adjustment cost. The model contains a standardd intertemporal capital asset pricing theory of consumption and portfolio demands with dynamically complete and frictionless markets and a standard q-theory of investment under uncertainty. We show that the equilibrium stochastic investment opportunity set is driven by the relative shares of firms' nominal capital stocks, and the equilibrium dynamics of the state vector is driven by firms' relative investment intensities. Key implications of the model includes (i) the expected equity returns are endogenously predictable both over time and in the cross-section; and (ii) the "value anomaly" arises in a rational expectations equilibrium due to a negative (positive) hedging demand for value (growth) stocks against the risk of cross-sectional dispersion of firms' nominal capital stocks.
Gas turbine combustor stabilization by heat recirculation

The feasibility of heat recirculation for stabilization of lean mixtures and emission reduction has been studied in detail for a typical aircraft gas turbine combustor. Thermodynamic calculations have indicated temperature and heat recirculation rates for operation of the combustor over a range of combustion zone equivalence ratios and for varying modes of desired engine operation. Calculations indicate the feasibility of stabilizing the combustion zone at equivalence ratios as low as 0.2 with achievable heat recirculation rates. Detailed chemical kinetic calculations suggest that combustor heat release is maintained with reaction completion substantially before the NO forming reactions, even though CO is rapidly oxidized in this same region.
Editing Indians: Representation and Appropriation in Early New England Native Literatures

AS scholars of Native New England have long recognized, the struggle for indigenous sovereignty was (and is) as much textual as territorial. From the beginnings of Euro-American colonization through the end of the nineteenth century, non-Native peoples held a near monopoly on the means of publication and representation, and this imbalance created significant challenges for the relatively small number of Native writings that appeared in print. In such works, one glimpses the efforts of Native peoples to negotiate the complexities of intercultural encounter, to speak in the name of individual and tribal self-determination, and to engage in the work of decoloniza tion. Given the enormity of these tasks, one is awed by early Native New Englanders' ingenuity, creativity, and persistence in utilizing the literate technologies of their colonizers?and as a teacher, I am
Prior exposure to chronic stress results in enhanced synthesis and release of hippocampal norepinephrine in response to a novel stressor

The release and synthesis of norepinephrine (NE) in hippocampus were measured in naive and chronically cold-stressed rats in response to acute tail-shock stress. Using in vivo microdialysis, it was determined that the basal extracellular concentrations of NE and 3,4- dihydroxyphenylacetic acid (DOPAC) in hippocampus were the same in the two groups. However, 30 min of intermittent tail shock produced a greater elevation of extracellular NE and 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetic acid in the chronically cold-stressed rats than in the native controls. In hippocampus, the extracellular concentration of DOPAC may reflect NE biosynthesis, and thus the enhanced DOPAC response in the chronically stressed rats suggests an increase in NE synthesis. In order to investigate this possibility, two further methods of assessing NE biosynthesis were employed. Tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) activity was assayed in vitro in the presence of saturating concentrations of cofactor. No change in maximal TH activity could be detected in hippocampus of chronically cold-stressed rats. In addition, the in vivo rate of tyrosine hydroxylation in cold-stressed rats was measured by the accumulation of 3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine in tissue following inhibition of aromatic amino acid decarboxylase. It was found that, whereas basal synthesis was the same in both groups of rats, synthesis accompanying a novel stressor was increased to a greater extent in the chronically stressed rats.
A Taxonomy Of Participation In Online Courses

One of the main challenges in web-based education is to encourage student participation. Although many instructors would like to increase participation in their online courses, there is no established body of knowledge on the various forms such participation may take. This paper will propose a taxonomy for classifying different types of participation in online courses, discuss pedagogical issues involved in increasing participation, and suggest testable hypotheses for future research.
A New Mating Compatibility Locus in PHYSARUM POLYCEPHALUM.

ABSTRACT The rate and extent of plasmodium formation were studied in mating tests involving pairs of largely isogenic amoeba1 strains compatible for matingtype ( mt ) alleles. A systematic variability was observed: plasmodia formed either rapidly and extensively or slowly and inefficiently. Plasmodium formation was found to be 10 3 - to 10 4 -fold more extensive in "rapid" crosses than in "slow" crosses. A genetic analysis revealed that the variability reflects the influence of a multiallelic compatibility locus that determines mating efficiency. This compatibility locus (designated matB ), together with the original mating type locus mt (in this work designated matA ), constitute a tetrapolar mating specificity system in Physarum polycephalum .
Chloro‐p‐Benzoquinone

Chloro-p-benzoquinone product: chloro-p-benzoquinone product: p-benzoquinone product: 3-chlorotoluquinone product: 2,5-dichloroquinone product: methoxyquinone Keywords: oxidation, miscellaneous; rearrangements; reduction, miscellaneous; electrolysis apparatus, for reduction; sublimation apparatus
`To Adapt or Not to Adapt': Exploring the Role of National Culture in HRM - A Study of Pakistan

This study draws out evidence from 11 organizations, local as well as multinationals, in Pakistan to test the `culture-sensitive' view. A number of conclusions are drawn. First, the findings support this view; evidence shows enough similarities exist between local organizations and multinationals to indicate that the influences of the parent companies of multinationals are weakened by the national characteristics of the environments in which they operate. Second, it is pointed out that although some policies of multinationals may be the same as those found in their parent companies, the practices certainly are not, because of adaptation to local norms. It is therefore suggested that a distinction between police) and practice be made in an organizational analysis of this kind. Third, despite culture-sensitivity of HRIV practices, their impact on employees is similar to what has been previously documented by researchers in the UK and the USA. It is left to further studies to debate whether HRM outcomes can ...
Paramagnetic resonance absorption of Mn++ in single crystals of zincblende

Abstract The anisotropy of the paramagnetic absorption spectrum of manganous ion in a natural crystal of cubic zinc sulfide has been found to be unusually pronounced. The maximum width of an hfs group is 45 gauss with the densities of the components approximately in the ratio 8: 5: 9: 5: 8. This pattern of density distribution is to be expected when quartic terms in the crystalline electric field predominate. The spectra wereobtained at fields in the vicinity of 8500 gauss and at a microwave frequency of approximately 24,000 Mc/sec. The angular dependence was investigated by varying the direction of the magnetic field in the (100), (110) and (111) planes of the crystal. Experimental results indicate that the symmetry of the crystalline electric field about the Mn++ ion is cubic. The cubic anisotropy constant a is −1.39 gauss, the sign being determined from the dependence of the hfs pattern upon the nuclear magnetic quantum number. The hyperfine interaction constant A is 68.4 gauss. A doublet structure is predicted for the spectrum of manganous ion in hexagonal zinc sulfide.
Micromethod for the analysis of Evans Blue in plasma using ion-pair high-performance liquid chromatography

Abstract A micromethod for the determination of Evans Blue in plasma has been developed. Effective release of the dye from the dye—albumin complex was accomplished using a solution of urea and 2-mercaptoethanol. Ion-pairing techniques were used to extract the dye as well as the internal standard (Naphthol Blue Black B) from plasma. Separation involved ion-pair high-performance liquid chromatography. Eluent was monitored at 605 nm. The technique results in a linear response over the concentration range of approximately 1.0–30.0 μg/ml. Assay performance was verified by estimating plasma volume in the rat.
Activities observed in iridium after neutron bombardment. Remarks on a paper by H. H. Hennies and A. Flammersfeld

Recently Hennies and Flanunersfeld (Naturwissenschaften, 47: 11(1960)) reported ths observation of a new 47-sec activity produced by irradiating Ir powder with slowed-down neutrons. The activity was tentatively assigned to Ir/ sup 194//sup m/. Beta activities, previously ascribed to Ir/sup 192//sup m/, were reassigned to Ir/sup 194//sup m/. A repetition of the experiment on the bombardment of Ir/sup 193/ with slow neutrons (Phys. Rev. Lettens, 3: 4S(1959)) confirmed the previous conclusions and ruled out a 47-sec period in Ir/sup 192/ or Ir/sup 19 / 4>s. It was suggested that the Hennies and Flammersfeld results may be partly ascribed to a Rh impurity and partly to the effect of fast neutrons. (J.S.R.)
Faces of polytopes and Koszul algebras

Let g be a semisimple Lie algebra and V a g-semisimple module. In this paper, we study the category G of Z-graded finite-dimensional representations of g⋉V. We show that the simple objects in this category are indexed by an interval-finite poset and produce a large class of truncated subcategories which are directed and highest weight. In the case when V is a finite-dimensional g-module, we construct a family of Koszul algebras which are indexed by certain subsets of the set of weights wt(V) of V. We use these Koszul algebras to construct an infinite-dimensional graded subalgebra AΨg of the locally finite part of the algebra of invariants (EndC(V)⊗SymV)g, where V is the direct sum of all simple finite-dimensional g-modules. We prove that AΨg is Koszul of finite global dimension.
Competitive PCR to detect eIF4E gene amplification in head and neck cancer.

Background The protein eukaryotic initiation factor 4E (eIF4E) binds to messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) as the initial step in protein synthesis. Overexpression of eIF4E results in upregulation of specific proteins essential to cell growth and division. Overexpression of eIF4E has been found in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) and breast carcinoma. This study's purpose is to determine whether eIF4E overexpression is present and associated with eIF4E gene amplification in HNSCC. Methods Competitive polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was performed on eight HNSCC and seven intraoral benign lesions to determine the copy number of eIF4E relative to a reference gene, gastrin. Western blots were performed to quantify eIF4E protein expression. Results All eight HNSCC specimens demonstrated significant (p < .005) overexpression of eIF4E protein (14.1 ± 10.4) and eIF4E gene amplification (4.5 ± 1.2). Benign tissue did not exhibit eIF4E protein overexpression or gene amplification. Conclusions Overexpression and associated gene amplification of eIF4E were present in HNSCC but not in benign tissue. Gene amplification of eIF4E may be an important mechanism for eIF4E overexpression. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Head Neck 21: 60–65, 1999.
Host Specificity Tests of Dichasmimorpha kraussii (Hymenoptera: Braconidae), a Newly Introduced Opiine Fruit Fly Parasitoid with Four Nontarget Tephritids in Hawaii

Abstract Laboratory tests were conducted to evaluate responses of an opiine fruit fly larval parasitoid, Diachasmimorpha kraussii (Fullaway), recently introduced to Hawaii for control of the solanum fruit fly, Bactrocera latifrons (Hendel), to four nontarget tephritid flies, including Trupanea dubautiae (Bryan), Ensina sonchi (L.), Eutreta xanthochaeta Aldrich, and Procecidochares utilis (Stone). T. dubautiae is a native Hawaiian tephritid, infesting flowerheads of the native composite shrub Dubautia raillardioides Hillebrand; E. sonchi is an adventive species, infesting flowerheads of the exotic weed, Sonchus oleraceus L. The other two tephritids, E. xanthochaeta and P. utilis, are deliberately introduced weed control agents, forming stem galls on Lantana camera L. and Ageretina adenphorum (Spreng), respectively. Gravid females of D. kraussii were confined in laboratory cages with host plant substrates (flowerheads or stem galls) infested with late instar larvae of the tephritid flies in both the presence and the absence of the normal rearing host, B. latifrons. Regardless of the presence or absence of B. latifrons, gravid D. kraussii showed some levels of positive visiting and probing responses to host plant substrates of all the test tephritids. Presence or absence of the normal hosts (B. latifrons) in the test cages had no significant effect on responses of gravid D. kraussii to the plant substrates. While a mean of 1.8 and 0.8 adult D. kraussii emerged per 10 exposed E. xanthochaeta galls (containing 10 fly larvae per trial) in both the absence and the presence of the parasitoid's normal hosts, no adult parasitoids were recovered from the other three tephritids. In all tests, D. kraussii normally emerged from B. latifrons, producing 8.6–16.3 wasps per trial (40 late instar B. latifrons larvae). Posttrial dissection of dead fly puparia and/or larvae revealed that for T. dubautiae, E. sonchi, and P. utilis, 2.3–5% of the dead fly pupae or larvae contained parasitoid cadavers (eggs and/or first instar capsules), whereas 15–26% of dead E. xanthochaeta pupae and larvae contained parasitoid cadavers. In contrast, 37.5–56.3% of dead B. latifrons pupae and larvae contained parasitoid cadavers, possibly because of superparasitism. Relevance of the findings to potential nontarget risks of using D. kraussii in fruit fly biological control programs is discussed.