cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Phase II trial of carboplatin in patients with advanced melanoma

We report the results of a phase II evaluation of carboplatin (CBDCA) in 45 patients with advanced malignant melanoma. Of the 43 evaluable patients, 6 had been treated previously with chemotherapy; 11 had been treated with immunotherapy. The initial dose was 400 mg/m2 i.v. every 4 weeks; the dose was modified as required to achieve moderate myelosuppression. There was one complete response (duration 16 months) and six partial responses, for a major objective response rate of 16%. Toxicity consisted primarily of acute nausea and vomiting, and thrombocytopenia. The activity of CBDCA in this disease is similar to that of cisplatin and dacarbazine.
Some Behavioral Effects of Two Experimental Synthetic Nutrients

Voluntary activity and equilibrium measures were used to assess the behavioral effects of two experimental, energy-dense, synthetic nutrients. Moderate doses of the nutrients, 1,3-butanediol (BD) and 1,2-propanediol (PD), were compared with isocaloric and isovolumetric solutions of ethanol, sucrose, and glycerol. All compounds were administered orally. BD, PD, and glycerol depressed the running activity of rats more than sucrose and almost as much as ethanol. Although the BD reliably disturbed equilibrium, its effect was not as profound as that of ethanol. Neither PD nor glycerol appeared to affect equilibrium. It was concluded that the various compounds tested produced their effects through different mechanisms. Possible mechanisms were discussed.
Modernism and Mysticism in Germany: Wilhelm Worringer and Pater Desiderius Lenz

The text seeks to integrate the late nineteenth and early twentieth-century art of the traditional Benedictine community of Beuron in southwestern Germany with early twentieth-century Modernist aesthetics, particularly as the latter are expressed in Abstraction and Empathy, a Contribution to the Psychology of Style by the German Art Historian Wilhelm Worringer. The influences on Beuron art—the German Kulturkampf that set Protestants and Catholics in northern and southern Germany in opposition and placed the few remaining monastic communities in limbo, the Beuron artist monks’ inspiration from the immobile Egyptian antiquities in the museums of Munich and Berlin, and their desire to develop a universal and otherworldly Christian art which transcended the tangible, tactile, and divisive world in which they lived, worked, and prayed—resulted in a similar rejection of the visible, the real, and the tangible and an embrace of the eternal and symbolic that the Modernists sought. The text ends with a quote from the Dutch Modernist Jan Toorop, a recently converted Roman Catholic, who asked his audience the following in 1912: “Two sculptures that dominate today in the mainstream of sculpture are The Burghers of Calais by the great Rodin and on the other hand St. Benedictine and St. Scholastica by the Benedictine Father Desiderius Lenz. Where do you want to go: to Rodin or to Lenz? To Calais or to Monte Cassino near Rome? Take a look at the work and we’ll talk again?” The question asked by Toorop is the question interrogated in this text.
A normal sensor hot-wire/film probe method for the analysis of three-dimensional flows

Abstract The resolution of the three-dimensional character of flows using hot-wire/film techniques can be achieved using either single or multiple sensors. This paper introduces a rotational technique employing normal straight-sensor probes particularly suitable for three-dimensional laminar or turbulent flows. The technique is based on the linearized constant-temperature anemometer signal in the case of isothermal flows and the corrected linearized signal in flows involving heat transfer. The method has been tested in the isothermal flow field of a round jet discharging to a cross flow in a water channel.
When Worldviews Collide: Gearing vs. Alien Epistemology

The theory of cultural transmission, as applied to education, lacks an adequate account of principles of interpretation. Hermeneutics, the philosophy of interpretation, has much to offer toward meeting this need. As a specific example, the philosophy of Michael Polanyi is used to critique recent theoretical work by Frederick O. Gearing. While many of Gearing's ideas are fundamentally sound, several inadequacies are identified. An expansion of Gearing's model of transaction is offered and education is redefined in a new light.
Do bioprosthetic aortic valves deteriorate more rapidly in patients with the metabolic syndrome

Do bioprosthetic aortic valves deteriorate more rapidly in patients with the metabolic syndrome?
A splitting scheme for control variates

This paper details a new control-variate splitting scheme yielding an unbiased estimator of the mean response and an unbiased estimator of the variance of the first estimator. This scheme also yields an asymptotically exact confidence interval for the mean response. We present analytical and empirical performance comparisons of this scheme versus other control-variate procedures.
Current status and challenges in optical turbulence simulations in various layers of the Earth's atmosphere

In this study, we present a brief review on the existing approaches for optical turbulence estimation in various layers of the Earth’s atmosphere. The advantages and disadvantages of these approaches are also discussed. An alternative approach, based on mesoscale modeling with parameterized turbulence, is proposed and tested for the simulation of refractive index structure parameter (C 2 n ) in the atmospheric boundary layer. The impacts of a few atmospheric flow phenomena (e.g., low-level jets, island wake vortices, gravity waves) on optical turbulence are discussed. Consideration of diverse geographic settings (e.g., flat terrain, coastal region, ocean islands) makes this study distinct.
Factors Regulating the Response of Cells Cultured from Human Giant Cell Tumors of Bone to Parathyroid Hormone

Exposure of cells cultured from human giant cell tumors of bone to parathyroid hormone (PTH) results in an increase in the intracellular cAMP content. When cells are preincubated with PTH for periods as short as 10 min and then reexposed to this hormone, there is a decrease in the subsequent PTH-induced cAMP response. This decrease is inversely related to the concentration of PTH present during the preincubation. To investigate the factors responsible for this decrease in hormone response, we used a synthetic substituted analog of bovine PTH, [Nle8,Nle18,Tyr34]bPTH-(3-34) amide (PTH-Inh), which had previously been shown to be a competitive inhibitor of PTHinduced cAMP responses in renal and bone-derived tissues. Incubation of these cultured cells withthis analog failed to increase intracellular cAMP levels. In contrast to the results obtained withnative hormone, when cells were preincubated with PTH-Inh, the acute cAMP response to native PTHafter the removal of PTH-Inh was not diminished. In addition, sim...
Lecithin: Cholesterol acyltransferase and lysolecithin in coronary atherosclerosis

Of 100 arteriographically examined, hospitalized, male patients, those without myocardial infarctions were divided into the following categories: zero-, one-, two-, and three-vessel disease; patients diagnosed with myocardial infarction were classified separately. The fasting plasma samples from these patients were examined for concentrations of triglycerides and total cholesterol, lipoprotein profile, lecithin: cholesterol acyltransferase (LCAT) activity, and lysolecithin (LPC) concentration. Those parameters in this group which are commonly determined were consistent with the clinical classification of these patients. Of those remaining parameters, the LCAT activity was increased as the severity of coronary atherosclerosis increased and the changes in the activity of this enzyme were appropriately reflected by increases in LPC concentration and decreases in the proportion of the plasma cholesterol unesterified. The results of this study suggest that increased, rather than decreased, plasma LCAT activity and increased LPC concentrations are characteristic of coronary atherogenesis. The plasma concentrations of LPC observed in these atherosclerotic patients are more than sufficient to qualify this substance for its previously proposed roles of mediator of transmembrane diffusion of LDL and as an inhibitor of platelet aggregation.
Interruption of Dot Processing by a Backward Mask

A white target field with 0-10 randomly positioned black dots was presented for 20 ms, and followed by a patterned mask with a duration of 200 ms. Subjects reported target numerosity, with strict or lax criteria. Numerosity functions, and control forced-choice discrimination results, supported an interruption model for backward masking by pattern, even for stimulus onset asynchronies as short as 50 ms. When the same targets were degraded by reducing their contrast, but not otherwise masked, results supported an integration model.
SILICON OXIDE DECOMPOSITION AND DESORPTION DURING THE THERMAL OXIDATION OF SILICON

The thermal oxidation of silicon is normally considered to occur via two different routes. At higher O2 pressures and lower temperature SiO2(s) film growth occurs ("passive" oxidation), while at lower O2 pressures and higher temperature SiO(g) is desorbed in an etching process ("active" oxidation). We have measured the yield of SiO into the gas phase in a wide range of dry O2 pressures (10-7–10-5 Torr) and Si substrate temperatures (620–870°C) in the passive as well as the active oxidation regimes. A phase diagram for silicon oxidation in this pressure–temperature region is obtained. We have found evidence for small but measurable yields of SiO(g) desorbing from the nascent oxide film during the initial stages of passive oxidation, even when the oxide film continuously covers the surface. A sensitive method for detecting volatile products based on condensation of desorbed species is described.
Free and conjugated desmethylsterol composition of Zea mays hybrids exposed to mild osmotic stress

Five hybrids of Zea mays (A619 × H60, B73 × MO17, B73 × PA91, B73 × VA17. A632 × H96) were grown hydroponically at osmotic potentials of -0.1 (control), -0.4 and -0.6 MPa. Dry weights of hybrids B73 × VA17 and A632 × H96 decreased significantly at -0.4 and -0.6 MPa. Few changes were observed in the free sterol, steryl glycoside and steryl ester fractions. However, steryl esters of the roots and stems of osmotically treated plants declined in most of the hybrids. The stigmasterol to sitosterol ratio increased in all three steryl fractions in the roots of B73×VA17 and A632×H96 as a result of the osmotic treatments. B73×VA17 and A632×H96 also exhibited the greatest initial electrolyte leakage when leaf dises were subjected to osmotic stress. A632×H96 and possibly B73×VA17 were less tolerant to osmotic treatments than the other hybrids. Modification of sterols may reflect initial events that lead to the stabilization or destabilization of cellular membrances which in turn may affect the tolerance of plants to stressful environments.
Chemotactic factor causes rapid decreases in phosphatidylinositol,4,5-bisphosphate and phosphatidylinositol 4-monophosphate in rabbit neutrophils

Abstract Stimulation of rabbit neutrophils prelabeled with 32 P by the synthetic chemotactic peptide f-Met-Leu-Phe induces a rapid decrease in the radio-activity in both phosphatidylinositol, 4,5 bis phosphate and phosphatidylinositol 4-monophosphate. The mean ± standard error of the mean values of the maximum decrease in phosphatidylinositol, 4,5 bis phosphate occurred at 10 seconds following stimulation and is equal to 19 ± 3% of the control value. The corresponding value for phosphatidylinositol 4-monophosphate occurred at 60 seconds following stimulation and is equal to 37 ± 7% of the control value. On the other hand, the radio-activity in phosphatidic acid and lysophospholipids increased continuously with time following stimulation. The relationship of these changes to calcium release and neutrophil activation is discussed.
Simulations and Measurements of the Flow and Noise in Hot Supersonic Jets

This paper describes a combined computational and experimental study of the noise of exhaust jets with operating conditions typical of high performance military aircraft engines. The numerical simulations use a hybrid RANS/LES approach for the turbulence modeling. Structured multiblock grids with non-matching interfaces are used to enable details of the nozzle geometry to be included. Dual time-stepping is used to advance the solution in time and multigrid and implicit residual smoothing is used to accelerate the convergence of the sub-iterations. The acoustic field is determined by integration over an acoustic data surface based on solutions to the Ffowcs Williams–Hawkings equation. Both the near and far acoustic fields are determined. Baseline nozzles and nozzles with chevrons for noise reduction are simulated. To simulate the effect of the chevrons, without using a body-fitted grid, an immersed boundary method is used. The companion experiments, whose measurements are used to assess the quality of the numerical simulations, are performed in an anechoic jet facility. The facility includes a forward flight stream and uses helium-air mixtures to simulate the effects of jet heating. Flow and noise measurements are described for both baseline and chevron nozzles. Comparisons are made between the numerical predictions and the measurements.Copyright © 2011 by ASME
Simulation for technical skills

Repetitive deliberate practice results in the development of professional expertise. In training thoracic surgeons, this concept was incorporated by long hours and years of training. Today, the landscape has changed, and residents are no longer allowed to work such hours. In addition, the complexity and variety of procedures performed has increased significantly, further decreasing any particular individual's exposure to a given technique. The incorporation of simulation into resident education will allow us to increase the hours of practice for a given technique and develop expertise before needing it in the operating room. Currently, very few models are available for these purposes. However, the increasing interest in the development and validation of these models to support the education of our residents will allow for progress in the near future.
Comparison of statistical methods for analysis of clustered binary observations

When correlated observations are obtained in a randomized controlled trial, the assumption of independence among observations within cluster likely will not hold because the observations share the same cluster (e.g. clinic, physician, or subject). Further, the outcome measurements of interest are often binary. The objective of this paper is to compare the performance of four statistical methods for analysis of clustered binary observations: namely (1) full likelihood method; (2) penalized quasi-likelihood method; (3) generalized estimating equation method; (4) fixed-effects logistic regression method. The first three methods take correlations into account in inferential processes whereas the last method does not. Type I error rate, power, bias, and standard error are compared across the four statistical methods through computer simulations under varying effect sizes, intraclass correlation coefficients, number of clusters, and number of observations per cluster, including large numbers 20 and 100 of observations per cluster. The results show that the performance of the full likelihood and the penalized quasi-likelihood methods is superior for analysis of clustered binary observations, and is not necessarily inferior to that of the fixed-effects logistic regression fit even when within-cluster correlations are zero.
IMPROVEMENT OF METHODS OF DIFFERENTIAL HAEMOLYSIS BY HAEMOGLOBINOMETRY.

The standard method of measuring red blood cell survival has been adopted to measure the haemoglobin of the supernatant haemolysate or of the unhaemolysed residual cells. Since haemoglobin determination is per se simpler and more precise than red cell counting, this technique was utilized. We have shown that this approach is practical, requires small quantities of blood and yields reliable and meaningful data with a minimum of equipment and effort. Above all, with this modification, we can do without the skilled technician, who alone is able to count free red cells in a morass of agglutinates.
Does short-term ADT before and during radiation therapy improve outcomes in locally advanced prostate cancer?

This Practice Point discusses the 10-year data of the RTOG 8610 trial, published by Roach III and colleagues, which suggest that a short, 4-month course of neoadjuvant–concomitant androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) might be sufficient to improve clinically relevant long-term outcomes in men with bulky, locally advanced prostate cancer. The results show that patients randomized to receive short-term ADT before and during radiation therapy (RT), rather than RT alone, had improved long-term disease-specific mortality, freedom from distant metastases, disease-free survival, freedom from biochemical failure, and possibly even overall survival. Importantly, no increase in the risk of fatal cardiac events was seen. The study did not, however, address the issue of the optimum duration of ADT; recent data suggest that longer courses of ADT (≥2 years), when added to RT, might further improve disease-free and even overall survival, especially in patients with high-grade disease.
Usage of video sharing websites: Drivers and barriers

Using a technology acceptance model (TAM) and uses and gratification theory (U&G) as primary theories, this exploratory study investigates what factors promote or hinder the use of video sharing websites. Theoretically, this study attempts to examine the integration of TAM and U&G with other perceptions of video sharing sites and consumer characteristics. Practically, the investigation provides video sharing websites with insights into the appeal of their sites to audiences. In addition, this study may help offline video media counter the threats from the drastic growth of video sharing websites. The findings concludes that those males who use the Internet for emotional pleasure and excitement, perceive video sharing websites to have greater usefulness, ease of use, substitutability, and content variety are more frequently using video sharing websites. With respect to service evaluation factors, content variety appears to mitigate the negative effects of content quality, loading speed, screen size, display resolution, and audio quality on video sharing websites.
Role of PU.1 in hematopoiesis.

The ETS-family transcription factor PU.1 is expressed in hematopoietic tissues, with significant levels of expression in the monocytic and B lymphocytic lineages. PU.1 is identical to the Spi-1 proto-oncogene which is associated with the generation of spleen focus-forming virus-induced erythroleukemias. An extensive body of in vitro gene regulatory studies has implicated PU.1 as an important, versatile regulator of B lymphoid- and myeloid-specific genes. The first half of the review is designed to coalesce data generated from studies examining the two PU.1 “knockout” animals, which have prompted a reevaluation of the proposed function of PU.1 during hematopoiesis. During hematopoiesis, PU.1 is required for development along the lymphoid and myeloid lineages but needs to be downregulated during erythropoiesis. These unique functional characteristics of PU.1 will be exemplified by contrasting the function of PU.1 with other transcription factors required during fetal hematopoiesis. The second half of this review will reexamine the functional characteristics of PU.1 deduced from traditional biochemical and transactivation assays in light of recent experiments examining the functional behavior of PU.1 in an embryonic stem cell in vitro differentiation system. Working models of how PU.1 regulates promoter and enhancer regions in the B cell and myeloid lineage will be presented and discussed.
On a class of martingale inequalities

Let Z = {Z0, Z1, Z2,…} be a martingale, with difference sequence X0 = Z0, Xi = Zi − Zi − 1, i ≥ 1. The principal purpose of this paper is to prove that the best constant in the inequality λP(supi |Xi| ≥ λ) ≤ C supiE |Zi|, for λ > 0, is C = (log 2)−1. If Z is finite of length n, it is proved that the best constant is Cn = [n(21n − 1)]−1. The analogous best constant Cn(z) when Z0 ≡ z is also determined. For these finite cases, examples of martingales attaining equality are constructed. The results follow from an explicit determination of the quantity Gn(z, E) = supz P(maxi=1,…,n |Xi| ≥ 1), the supremum being taken over all martingales Z with Z0 ≡ z and E|Zn| = E. The expression for Gn(z,E) is derived by induction, using methods from the theory of moments.
Novel Pharmacotherapeutic Approaches to Prevention and Treatment of GVHD

Acute and chronic graft versus host disease (GVHD) remain the major barriers to successful hematopoietic cell transplantation. The induction of GVHD may be divided into three phases: recipient conditioning;donor T-cell activation; andeffector cells mediating GVHD. This review examines GVHD prevention and treatment using this conceptual model as framework. The various pharmacological agents discussed impact on different phases of the GVHD cascade. For example, keratinocyte growth factor and interleukin (IL)-11 are cytokines that may be useful in disrupting phase I of the GVHD cascade by blocking gastrointestinal tract damage, and lowering serum levels of lipopolysaccharide and tumour necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha. Cyclosporin, tacrolimus (FK-506) and sirolimus (rapamycin) are some of the main agents that disrupt phase II (donor T-cell activation). Mycophenolate mofetil and tresperimus probably act on this phase as well. Other novel drugs that affect phase II are tolerance-induction agents such as CTLA-4 and anti-CD40-ligand monoclonal antibodies, and preliminary results using CTLA-4 monoclonal antibody in GVHD prevention are encouraging. Examples of agents that disrupt phase III are the IL-2 receptor antagonist daclizumab and the anti-TNFalpha monoclonal antibody infliximab. These anti-cytokine antibodies have shown promising results in early studies. The most effective approach to GVHD prevention will probably be a combination regimen where the three phases of the GVHD cascade are disrupted. Once GVHD has occurred, all three phases of the cascade are activated. Developments of combination therapy for treatment of both acute and chronic GVHD are likely to yield better results than monotherapy. The numerous new treatment modalities presented should improve the outlook for patients with acute and chronic GVHD.
Implications of Psychological and Educational Research for Assessment and Instruction of Culturally and Linguistically Different Students

This article contains suggestions for assessing and instructing culturally and linguistically different students. Special emphasis is placed on ways to distinguish those who are truly learning disabled from students who differ from the mainstream U.S. populations due to their unique cultural and linguistic background. The article focuses on how to reduce and circumvent the bias found in most widely used educational tests by paying increased attention to students' strengths and previously gained knowledge.
Shaping Third World Development: U.S. Foreign Aid and Supervision in the Philippines, 1948-1953

At its independence on 4 July 1946 U.S. policy-makers looked upon the Philippines as a shining example of America's enlightened colo nial rule, and as its hopes for peaceful decolonization in the Third World. Referring to "this great experiment in Pacific democracy," Presi dent Harry S Truman declared that the United States and the Philip pines had "already charted a pattern of relationships for all the world to study."1 By 1949 and 1950, however, the new nation reeled from the impact of inflation and budget deficits. Rebel guerrillas, the Hukbalahap or Huks, controlled sizable portions of the countryside. And the corrupt regime of President Elpidio Quirino seemed oblivi ous to the chaos sweeping his country. In this tumultuous setting, the Truman administration redefined U.S.-Philippine relations by fashion ing new economic and military aid programs to create domestic order in the islands, reassert American hegemony, and protect U.S. inter ests.
An Unusual Case of Postpartum Dyspnea

A 40-year-old South Asian woman was admitted in active labor at 38 weeks' gestation. She had an unremarkable medical history with routine prenatal care, negative HIV testing results, and an uneventful pregnancy. She received a Bacillus Calmette-Guerin vaccine during childhood and reportedly had a subsequent positive purified protein-derivative test result 1 year prior to conception. She never smoked and had seven normal term pregnancies.
Comparative Study of Thirteen Species of Sarcosaprophagous Calliphoridae and Sarcophagidae (Diptera) I. Bionomics

The species studied, representing nine genera in the two families, were: Wohlfartia opaca (Coq.), Sarcophaga cooleyi Park., S. shermani Park., S. bullata Park., Protocalliphora avium (S. & D.), Phormia regina (Meig.), Protophormia terrae-novae (R. D.), Phaenicia sericata (Meig.), Eucalliphora lilaea (Walker), Cynomyopsis cadaverina (R. D.), Calliphora vomitoria (L.), C. vicina R. D., and C. terrae-novae Macq. All except W. opaca and P. avium were reared successfully at 80 ±2° F. and 50±2 percent relative humidity; life history data on the other 11 species are tabulated and discussed. Controlled temperature and humidity, as employed here, accelerated the life cycle and shortened the adult life in comparison with results under fluctuating room temperature conditions. Beef liver was the most suitable rearing and oviposition medium. All species studied except E. lilaea avoided hog liver as a rearing medium, and all the calliphorids except E.lilaea (but none of the sarcophagids) required protein meal prior to copulation. Both protein and carbohydrates were required for oviposition. Severe competition for food prolonged the larval feeding period and gave rise to a large population of small-sized individuals; the sex ratio remained unaffected in underfed populations. Inherent ability to meet a critical shortage of food varies in different species; it is dependent upon whether the larvae has obtained the minimum food required to satisfy the physiological level of their metamorphosis and further their development. The possible significance of this inherent ability is in providing the mechanism of adaptation, which in turn influences distribution and population density of the species.
Reliance on auditory feedback in children with childhood apraxia of speech

Abstract Children with childhood apraxia of speech (CAS) have been hypothesized to continuously monitor their speech through auditory feedback to minimize speech errors. We used an auditory masking paradigm to determine the effect of attenuating auditory feedback on speech in 30 children: 9 with CAS, 10 with speech delay, and 11 with typical development. The masking only affected the speech of children with CAS as measured by voice onset time and vowel space area. These findings provide preliminary support for greater reliance on auditory feedback among children with CAS. Learning outcomes : Readers of this article should be able to (i) describe the motivation for investigating the role of auditory feedback in children with CAS; (ii) report the effects of feedback attenuation on speech production in children with CAS, speech delay, and typical development, and (iii) understand how the current findings may support a feedforward program deficit in children with CAS.
The counting lemma for regular k-uniform hypergraphs

Szemeredi's Regularity Lemma proved to be a powerful tool in the area of extremal graph theory. Many of its applications are based on its accompanying Counting Lemma: If G is an e-partite graph with V (G) = V1 ∪ … ∪ Ve and sVis = n for all i ∈ [e], and all pairs (Vi, Vj) are e-regular of density d for 1 ≤ i ≤ j ≤ e and e L d, then G contains $(1\pm f_{\ell}(\varepsilon))d^{\ell \choose 2}\times n^{\ell}$ cliques Ke, where fe(e) → 0 as e → 0.Recently, Rodl and Skokan generalized Szemeredi's Regularity Lemma from graphs to k-uniform hypergraphs for arbitrary k ≥ 2. In this paper we prove a Counting Lemma accompanying the Rodl–Skokan hypergraph Regularity Lemma. Similar results were independently obtained by Gowers.Such results give combinatorial proofs to the density result of Szemeredi and some of the density theorems of Furstenberg and Katznelson. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Random Struct. Alg., 2006
Field-Based Evidence for Devolatilization in Subduction Zones: Implications for Arc Magmatism

Metamorphic rocks on Santa Catalina Island, California, afford examination of fluid-related processes at depths of 15 to 45 kilometers in an Early Cretaceous subduction zone. A combination of field, stable isotope, and volatile content data for the Catalina Schist indicates kilometer-scale transport of large amounts of water-rich fluid with uniform oxygen and hydrogen isotope compositions. The fluids were liberated in devolatilizing, relatively low-temperature (400 degrees to 600 degrees C) parts of the subduction zone, primarily by chlorite-breakdown reactions. An evaluation of pertinent phase equilibria indicates that chlorite in mafic and sedimentary rocks and melange may stabilize a large volatile component to great depths (perhaps >100 kilometers), depending on the thermal structure of the subduction zone. This evidence for deep volatile subduction and large-scale flow of slab-derived, water-rich fluids lends credence to models that invoke fluid addition to sites of arc magma genesis.
Undergraduate physics instruction and critical thinking ability. The effects of instruction in physics upon the critical thinking ability of undergraduate students

Do PSSC materials used with undergraduates lead to better scores on a critical thinking appraisal test? Is the increment greater than conventional instruction yields?
Quantized optical vibrational modes of finite-length multi wall nanotubes: optical deformation potential

Abstract Optical vibrational modes are derived for finite-length nanotubes using the elastic continuum approximation. A quantum prescription is applied to facilitate the determination of the quantum-mechanical normalization of optical phonon modes. The dispersion relation is given and the quantum normalized amplitude is used to calculate the optical deformation potential.
Biofeedback methodology: does it matter how we teach children how to relax the pelvic floor during voiding?

Purpose: Biofeedback is a noninvasive treatment that has been documented to be helpful for children with daytime wetting and/or urinary tract infection secondary to voiding dysfunction. We wish to determine the effectiveness of biofeedback in a large population of children presenting with voiding dysfunction, and evaluate differences between 2 different methods with regard to resolution of symptoms, improvement of objective measurements and patient satisfaction.Materials and Methods: The charts of 102 consecutive patients treated with biofeedback were reviewed. Of the patients 21 were asked to void 4 to 8 times in 6 hours seated in front of a uroflow device while receiving coaching by a staff member (method 1), 56 were taught pelvic floor relaxation techniques in front of a computer monitor that displayed electromyogram readings for 45 to 90 minutes (method 2), and both methods were used in 25. Outcome variables were obtained through chart review and telephone contact, and included resolution of symptoms,...
Depression of human sperm motility by inhibition of enzymatic methylation

Abstract Alteration of membrane fluidity during enzymatic methylation of membrane phosphatidylethanolamine (PE) and neutralization of negative charges of membrane proteins due to methylation of carboxyl groups may contribute to sperm motility. Therefore, enzymatic phospholipid methylation and carboxymethylation, and the consequences of their inhibition on motility, were studied using human sperm. These studies gave the following results. Human sperm homoganates contained two phospholipid N -methyltransferases (PMT) which converted PE to phosphatidylcholine (PC) in the presence of S -adenosylmethionine (SAM). The first PMT converted PE to phosphatidyl- N -methylethanolamine (PME). In had a K m of 4.0 μ M and a pH optimum of 8.0. The second PMT converted PME to phosphatidyl- N , N -dimethylethanolamine and PC. It had a K m of 71μM and a pH optimum of 10.0. Spermatozoa also contained protein carboxymethylase (PCM) and methyl aceptor protein (MAP). The intracellular levels of S -adenosylhomocysteine (SAH), an inhibitor of SAM-mediated methylations, were increased by adding adenosine (100 μM), l -homocysteine thiolactone (L-HCT, 10 μM), and erythro-9-(2-hydroxy-3-nonyl)-adenine (EHNA, 10 μM), an inhibitor of adenosine deaminase, to human sperm ejaculates that had been diluted with sodium phosphate buffer at pH 7.4 and 25°. The motility index of each sperm suspension was determined every hour for 4 hr. In the presence of the mixture of adenosine, L-HCT and EHNA, the motility index was depressed by 57%. Under similar conditions, phospholipid methylation was depressed by 48%. Similar experiments were also conducted in the presence of 3-deazaadenosine (Deaza, 80 μM), a selective inhibitor of SAH hydrolase. In the presence of adenosine and L-HCT, Deaza depressed the motility index by 60% and phospholipid methylation by 86%. The potencies of SAH in the inhibition of phospholipid methylation and protein carboxymethylation in sperm homogenates had the following order: PMT I > PCM > PMT II. These observations indicate that the PMT system and/or the PCM-MAP system play a significant role in the regulation of human sperm motility.
The nasotemporal division in primate retina: the neural bases of macular sparing and splitting

In primates, each hemisphere contains a representation of the contralateral visual hemifield; unilateral damage to the visual pathways results in loss of vision in half of the visual field. Apparently similar severe, unilateral lesions to the central visual pathways can result in two qualitatively different central visual field defects termed macular sparing and macular splitting. In macular sparing a 2 degrees to 3 degrees region around the fovea is spared from the effects of unilateral damage to the visual pathways. In macular splitting there is no such spared region and the scotoma produced by unilateral brain damage bisects the fovea. The patterns of decussation of the different classes of retinal ganglion cells in both New World (Saimiri sciureus) and Old World (Macaca fascicularis) monkeys have been determined by horseradish peroxidase injection. In both species the distributions of ipsilaterally and contralaterally projecting ganglion cells in the central retina are different from those in other mammals and suggest neural bases for macular sparing and splitting, respectively.
Dynamic Impact Multipliers: A Case Study of White Dry Edible Beans

A dynamic model for the white dry edible bean sector based upon empirical demand and supply relationships is used (1) to evaluate the impact of governmental support programs, (2) to study the impact which changes in the exogenous variables have on the system, and (3) to estimate the effects which support prices established above free market prices have on production. Unique aspects of this study are (1) the treatment of a group of commodities rather than a single commodity, (2) the explicit consideration given to production and demand interrelationships, and (3) the effects of government programs on both controlled and noncontrolled commodities. HE purpose of this article is threefold: first, to simulate the markets for white dry edible beans over the period 1948-1964 under the assumption of absence of governmental intervention; second, to evaluate the impact on the system of changes in the exogenous variables; third, to estimate the effect on the production of these varieties of dry edible beans of the establishment of support prices at levels above free market prices. Toward this end, supply and demand relationships hypothesized to represent the market structure were developed and estimated. Both components could then be kept separate but used together for the purposes stated [5] or they could formally be integrated in a general dynamic model [1, 3, 7,
Changes in Milk Products Sham Fed to Calves. IV. Suckling from a Nurse Cow versus Consuming from Either a Nipple Feeder or an Open Pail

Abstract Lipolysis and associated changes in whole milk sham fed by different systems to two pairs of calves (Guernseys and Holsteins, 2 to 5 mo of age) were compared. Each calf was sham fed milk from the respective halves of the udder of a Holstein cow by: (a) nursing directly from the udder, (b) sucking from a nipple pail, and (c) drinking from an open pail. Increasing rates of consumption by these methods were in the order listed. Exposures during ingestion increased lipolysis and numbers of bacteria. Lipolysis, evidenced by increased soluble volatile fatty acids and decreased concentrations of fat, was accompanied by lowered pH and by accelerated rates of rennet coagulation. Lipolytic changes were accentuated throughout an 8-h incubation at 38C. Magnitudes of lipolysis in milks removed by hand from the respective udder halves and subsequently sham fed by pail systems were related closely to the duration of ingestion. Hence, changes in milk sucked from nipple pails were more marked than in that drunk from open pails. Nursing from the udder was slower than by sucking from a pail, but lipolytic modifications were less, which difference is attributed to the lower fat content of nursed milk.
Specialization and Its Discontents The Pernicious Impact of Regulations Against Specialization and Physician Ownership on the US Healthcare System

Ken Iverson, a technology entrepreneur, almost single-handedly revived the moribund US steel industry. His success contains important lessons for health care. Nucor, the steel-focused factory Iverson managed, differed from the everything-for-everybody steel behemoths of yore, like Bethlehem Steel, with its specialty steel products and relatively small mini-mills, as did his egalitarian, productivity-based management practices. Nucor paid its nonunionized workers like owners, primarily with productivity-based incentives. In contrast, Bethlehem Steel’s unionized workforce was paid wages, largely regardless of their productivity. The results of this revolution in focus and incentives? Nucor required 1 man-hour per ton of steel and Bethlehem 2.7; Nucor’s workers earned $60 000 ($40 000 from bonuses), and Bethlehem’s $50 000; and Nucor was highly profitable, earning $100 million in recessionary 2002, whereas Bethlehem lost $2 billion.1 Nucor did good for its customers, employees, and the US economy, and it did well for its shareholders, including Ken Iverson, currently hailed as the second Andrew Carnegie of the industry. Sadly, were Iverson a cardiologist or cardiac surgeon, he could not create the “do good–do well” healthcare-focused factory equivalent of Nucor.2 Rival everything-for-everybody hospitals would allege that he was robbing them of their most profitable business, leaving them with the money-losing dregs, while federal government regulations would inhibit doctors’ ownership stakes.3 The combination of negative press and legislative prohibitions creates daunting obstacles for productivity-minded entrepreneurial physicians. For example, MedCath, a partially physician-owned heart hospital firm, spends up to $200 000 to counter hospital complaints per project per year.4 Not surprisingly, relatively few focused healthcare facilities exist. A 2003 study found only 92 specialized hospitals, fewer than 2% of the market, and, more importantly, other physician-owned facilities that integrate care are sparse.5 These results are unfortunate: Specialized healthcare facilities, partially owned by entrepreneurial physicians, represent the best …
A first-order global model of late Cenozoic climatic change

The theory of the Quaternary climate will be incomplete unless it is embedded in a more general theory for the fuller Cenozoic that can accommodate the onset of the ice-age fluctuations. Here we construct a simple mathematical model for the late Cenozoic climatic changes based on the hypothesis that forced and free variations of the concentration of atmospheric greenhouse gases (notably CO2) coupled with changes in the global ocean state and ice mass, under the additional influence or earth-orbital forcing, are primary determinants of the climatic state over this long period. Our goal is to illustrate how a single model governing both very long-term variations and higher frequency oscillatory variations in the Pleistocene can be formulated with relatively few adjustable parameters. Although the details of this model are speculative, and other factors neglected here are undoubtedly of importance, it is hoped that the formalism described can provide a basis for developing a comprehensive theory and systematically extending and improving it. According to our model the major near-100 ka period ice-age oscillations of the Pleistocene were caused by the downdraw of atmospheric CO2 (possibly a result of weathering of rapidly uplifted topography) to low enough levels for the ‘slow climatic system’, including glacial ice and the deep ocean state, to become unstable.
Women's underrepresentation in science: sociocultural and biological considerations.

The underrepresentation of women at the top of math-intensive fields is controversial, with competing claims of biological and sociocultural causation. The authors develop a framework to delineate possible causal pathways and evaluate evidence for each. Biological evidence is contradictory and inconclusive. Although cross-cultural and cross-cohort differences suggest a powerful effect of sociocultural context, evidence for specific factors is inconsistent and contradictory. Factors unique to underrepresentation in math-intensive fields include the following: (a) Math-proficient women disproportionately prefer careers in non–math-intensive fields and are more likely to leave math-intensive careers as they advance; (b) more men than women score in the extreme math-proficient range on gatekeeper tests, such as the SAT Mathematics and the Graduate Record Examinations Quantitative Reasoning sections; (c) women with high math competence are disproportionately more likely to have high verbal competence, allowing greater choice of professions; and (d) in some math-intensive fields, women with children are penalized in promotion rates. The evidence indicates that women’s preferences, potentially representing both free and constrained choices, constitute the most powerful explanatory factor; a secondary factor is performance on gatekeeper tests, most likely resulting from sociocultural rather than biological causes.
Airflows and Moisture Conditions in Walls of Manufactured Homes

Unintentional airflow in exterior framed walls frequently causes diminished thermal performance. Furthermore, even very small infiltrative or exfiltrative airflows with little or no effect on the thermal performance are capable of voiding the moisture protection provided by a vapor retarder. Combined with high indoor or outdoor humidity, such walls may accumulate excessive amounts of moisture. However, more data were needed on airflows in and through wall assemblies and the effect of airflows on moisture conditions in walls. Twenty wood frame walls of ten different designs, characteristic of walls of manufactured homes, were constructed and installed in a test building near Madison, Wisconsin. In-place pressurization and depressurization tests were performed to separately determine airtightness of the interior and exterior membranes of the wall. This paper describes the methodology, equipment, and results of these measurements. Air pressure differences across these walls were monitored during an entire winter season, along with temperatures and moisture conditions in the walls. This paper describes the instrumentation and methodology used in these measurements. The measurements showed that providing wall cavity ventilation may cause pressurization of the wall cavity and can lead to a significant increase in air leakage and heat loss without reliably providing the intended protectionmore » from moisture accumulation in the cavity. Although several of the walls experienced condensation and mold growth, the moisture conditions in the walls showed no clear correlation with airtightness or with the amount of air flowing through the wall. Indoor humidity correlated strongly with wall cavity moisture conditions, suggesting that indoor humidity control is the most effective strategy to prevent excessive moisture accumulation in the exterior building envelope during winter.« less
Nostalgia-Related Aspects of Professional Sport Facilities: A Facility Audit of Major League Baseball and National Football League Strategies to Evoke the Past

This paper focused on documenting how Major League Baseball (MLB) and the National Football League (NFL) utilize nostalgia through their sport facilities to showcase the past, present and even the future. This study involved the collection and examination of several facility elements through a facility audit. Data was collected on nostalgia inducing elements by using facility and renovation documents/blueprints and announcements, archived data, published websites, facility visits, and interaction/contact with front office employees. The collected information led the researchers to determine that MLB and NFL teams use specific strategies or tactics within their facilities to create or evoke nostalgia. Furthermore, there are opportunities for each organization to attract more live and remote spectators to their venue and organizational-sponsored events in order to establish or maintain membership in their fan nation through methods which center on enhancing the nostalgic experience.
Ubiquitin/26S Proteasome-mediated Degradation of Topoisomerase I As a Resistance Mechanism to Camptothecin in Tumor Cells

Camptothecin (CPT) induces down-regulation of topoisomerase I (TOP1) via an ubiquitin/26S proteasome pathway. Studies using a panel of breast and colorectal cancer cell lines as well as primary nontransformed and oncogene-transformed cells have demonstrated that CPT-induced down-regulation exhibits a high degree of heterogeneity. In general, nontransformed cells are much more proficient in CPT-induced TOP1 down-regulation than their transformed counterparts. Among the breast and colorectal cancer cell lines, there was a general correlation between the extent of CPT-induced TOP1 down-regulation and CPT resistance. The breast cancer cell line ZR-75-1, the most sensitive to CPT, was completely defective in CPT-induced TOP1 down-regulation, whereas the breast cancer cell line BT474, the least sensitive to CPT, exhibited effective CPT-induced TOP1 down-regulation. The 26S proteasome inhibitor MG132 was shown to inhibit CPT-induced down-regulation of TOP1 in BT474 cells and selectively sensitized BT474 but not ZR-75-1 cells to CPT-induced cytotoxicity and apoptosis. In the aggregate, these results suggest that CPT-induced down-regulation of TOP1 could be an important parameter for determining CPT sensitivity/resistance in tumor cells. Analysis of the levels of TOP1 cleavable complexes, SUMO-1-TOP1 conjugates, and ubiquitin-TOP1 conjugates in ZR-75-1 and BT474 cells has suggested that the heterogeneity of CPT-induced down-regulation of TOP1 in tumor cells is at least in part attributable to altered regulation of a process(es) downstream from the TOP1 cleavable complex.