cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Bits of String and Bits of Branes

String-bit models are both an efficient way of organizing string perturbation theory, and a possible non-perturbative composite description of string theory. This is a summary of ideas and results of string-bit and superstring-bit models, as presented in the Strings '96 conference.
A Framework for Integrated Communication and I/O Placement

This paper describes a framework for analyzing dataflow within an out-of-core parallel program. Dataflow properties of FORALL statement are analyzed and a unified I/O and communication placement framework is presented. This placement framework can be applied to many problems, which include eliminating redudant I/O incurred in communication. The framework is validated by applying it for optimizing I/O and communication in out-of-core stencil problems. Experimental performance results on an Intel Paragon show significant reduction in I/O and communication overhead.
Misinterpretation of cerebrospinal fluid Gram stain.

Several causes for false-positive Gram stains of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) have been recorded previously! We report here an additional cause for misinterpretation of the cerebrospinal fluid Gram stain which is probably related to the use of an open needle to perform the lumbar puncture. CASE REPORT The patient was a 1,300-gm black female infant, delivered after a 33-week gestation, who developed mild respiratory distress and hyperbilirubinemia which resolved spontaneously within one week. She received penicillin G and kanamycin for her first five days of life because of apnea and bradycardia, but blood, urine, CSF, and a culture of the tracheal aspirate obtained prior to therapy were all negative for bacteria.
Marve: a prototype virtual human interface framework for studying human-virtual human interaction

Human to virtual human interaction is the next frontier in interface design, particularly for tasks that are social or collaborative in nature. Several embodied interface agents have been developed for specific social, place-related tasks, but empirical evaluations of these systems have been rare. In this work, we present Marve (Messaging And Recognition Virtual Entity), our general purpose Virtual Human Interface Framework, which integrates cutting-edge interface technologies into a seamless real-time system, to study human to virtual human interaction. Marve is a prototype of a real-time embodied, interactive, autonomous, virtual human interface agent framework. Marve "lives" next to the primary entrance of the Future Computing Lab. His primary tasks are to greet everyone who enters or leaves the lab, and to take and deliver messages to the students and faculty who work there. Marve uses computer vision techniques for passer-by detection, gaze tracking, and face recognition, and communicates via natural language. We present a preliminary empirical study of the basic elements of Marve, including interaction response times, recognition of friends, and ability to learn to recognize new people.
Long-term use of levetiracetam to treat tics in children and adolescents with Tourette syndrome

Tics are a common disorder in children. Some available drugs have unacceptable side effects, and thus alternative treatments are needed. Levetiracetam is an antiepileptic drug reported to be useful for the treatment of tics. Patients age 18 years and younger with tics and Tourette syndrome were enrolled in this prospective, open-label study. Seventy patients were treated with levetiracetam as monotherapy for four years. The initial dose of levetiracetam was 250 mg/day. The dose was titrated over three weeks to 1,000 to 2,000 mg/day. Clinical outcomes were assessed with the Clinical Global Impression Scale, Yale Global Tic Severity Scale, Revised Conners’ Parent Rating Scale, and Revised Conners’ Teacher Rating Scale. After four years of treatment with levetiracetam, all 70 patients showed some improvements based on the scales used. A total of 49 patients improved with regard to behavior and school performance. Levetiracetam was generally well tolerated. Despite the limitations of open-label studies, these results suggest that levetiracetam may be useful in treating tics in children and adolescents. Given its established safety profile, levetiracetam is a candidate for further study.
Living With the I-Word: Improvisation and its Alternates

The word improvisation is burdened with limitations placed on it by changes occurring in Europe in the 19th century, the period when the model of the hyphenated performer-composer prevailing in Europe up to that point was being split into two specialties. By the 20th century, composition and improvisation had been cast in bronze as mutually defining opposites, the presumed starting point of any approach to how music is made and heard, regardless of historical period or cultural origin. As a way of creating a more critical approach to discourse dependent on the ubiquitous "I-word," this essay seeks to problematize it by focusing on the more general concept of variability itself, or mouvance , as the French literary scholar Paul Zumthor described it in his studies of medieval lyric poetry. More than a century of scholarship on the music of Chopin, the songs of the medieval troubadours, folk music of the British Isles and Balkans, and Turkish classical music—all repertoires which do not rely on the conventions of I-discourse—will provide examples of differing levels of tolerance for performer control of musical events, of different definitions of musicianship, and of different performance poetics. Reflex jazz-related I-genres intentionally play no role in this exercise, forcing us to reflect on I-qualities where we least expect to find them and thus to re-examine our dependence on the I-concept in our thinking about the full spectrum of music-making. None of the I-alternates offered here—musicianship, mouvance , control, variability, or poetics—can be considered competitors for the I-word’s universalizing pretensions, but rather offer insight into what I believe is the I-word’s real content.
A biomarker ensemble ranking framework for prioritizing depression candidate genes

It is a great challenge in human health clinic to find parsimonious set of genes responsible for depression disease. Many prioritization approaches have been developed for depression candidate genes. However, most of the methods primarily rank depression candidate genes based on the similarities with known depression genes. Those approaches do not effectively consider relativeness of depression candidate genes with non-disease genes for precise ranking. In this paper, we propose a Biomarker Ensemble Ranking Framework (BERF) for depression candidate gene prioritization, which applies 2-ranking models scheme by considering both candidate genes and non-disease genes. We first clusterize training genes which consists of both known depression and non-disease genes. Then, we introduce a global loss function in the 2-ranking learning model. Finally, we propose a modified SVM-based learning strategy with minimizing the global loss. An ensemble technique is applied to generate the ranking results for depression candidate genes. The experimental results show that our BERF outperforms existing approach in terms of ROC and AUC.
Effects of cattle grazing on North American arid ecosystems: a quantitative review

A quantitative review was conducted of the effects of cattle grazing in arid systems on 16 response variables ranging from soil bulk density to total vegetative cover to rodent species diversity. Various studies from North American arid environments that used similar measures for assessing grazing effects on the same response variables were used for the review; each study was assigned to serve as a single data point in paired comparisons of grazed versus ungrazed sites. All analyses tested the 1-tailed null hypothesis that grazing has no effect on the measured variable. Eleven of 16 analyses (69%) revealed significant detrimental effects of cattle grazing, suggesting that cattle can have a negative impact on North American xeric ecosystems. Soil-related variables were most negatively impacted by grazing (3 of 4 categories tested were significantly impacted), followed by litter cover and biomass (2 of 2 categories tested), and rodent diversity and richness (2 of 2 categories tested). Vegetative variables showed more variability in terms of quantifiable grazing effects, with 4 of 8 categories testing significantly. Overall, these findings could shed light on which suites of variables may be effectively used by land managers to measure ecosystem integrity and rangeland health in grazed systems.
Falsely Normal Anion Gap in Severe Salicylate Poisoning Caused by Laboratory Interference

Severe salicylate poisoning is classically associated with an anion gap metabolic acidosis. However, high serum salicylate levels can cause false increase of laboratory chloride results on some analyzers. We present 2 cases of life-threatening salicylate poisoning with an apparently normal anion gap caused by an important laboratory interference. These cases highlight that the diagnosis of severe salicylism must be considered in all patients presenting with metabolic acidosis, even in the absence of an increased anion gap.
When gross total resection of a glioblastoma is possible, how much resection should be achieved?

Objective The efficacy of extensive resection on prolonging survival for patients with glioblastoma (GBM) is controversial because prior studies have included tumors with dissimilar resection capabilities. The true isolated effect of increasing resection on survival for GBM therefore remains unclear. Methods Adult patients who underwent surgery of an intracranial newly diagnosed GBM at an academic tertiary-care institution from 2007 to 2011 were reviewed. Preoperative images were reviewed by 3 neurosurgeons independently. Tumors considered amenable to gross total resection based on preoperative imaging by all neurosurgeons were included. Multivariate proportional hazards regression analysis was used to identify if an association existed between residual volume (RV) and extent of resection (EOR) with survival. Results Of the 292 patients with newly diagnosed GBM, 84 (29%) were amenable to gross total resection. The median (interquartile range) pre and postoperative tumor volumes were 27 (13.8–54.4) and 0.9 (0–2.7) cm 3 , respectively. The mean percent resection was 91.7% ± 1.3%. In multivariate analysis, after controlling for age, functional status, and adjuvant therapies, RV (hazards ratio [HR] [95% confidence interval (CI)] = 1.114 [1.033–1.193], P = 0.006) and EOR (HR [95% CI] = 0.959 [0.934–0.985], P = 0.003) were each independently associated with survival. The RV and EOR with the greatest reduction in the risk of death was 3 and >95%, respectively. Likewise, RV (HR [95% CI] = 1.085 [1.010–1.178], P = 0.01) and EOR (HR [95% CI] = 0.962 [0.930–0.998], P = 0.04) each remained independently associated with recurrence. Conclusion This is the first study to evaluate RV and EOR in a more uniform population of patients with tumors of similar surgical capabilities. This study shows that achieving a decreased RV and/or an increased EOR is independently associated with survival and recurrence in those patients with tumors with similar resection capacities.
Magnetic Form Factor of Terbium

The magnetic form factor of Tb at 4.2\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{}K has been measured to $\frac{(sin\ensuremath{\theta})}{\ensuremath{\lambda}}=1.1$ ${\mathrm{\AA{}}}^{\ensuremath{-}1}$ by the use of both polarized and unpolarized neutrons. The crystal was magnetized along the $b$ and $a$ directions by the use of a split-coil superconducting magnet providing a field of 40 kOe. At lower scattering angles where the magnetic amplitude $p$ is greater than the nuclear amplitude $b$, the main source of experimental error is uncertainty in the extinction correction, which was estimated by changing wavelength as well as sample thickness. At higher scattering angles where $plb$, the polarized-beam experiments yielded accurate form-factor values. Except for a scale factor, the measurements are in good agreement with theoretical values, suggesting a contribution from the conduction electrons which has been borne out by Fourier synthesis of the magnetization density. A theoretical calculation has been made of the aspherical contribution to the form factor.
Fabrication of Inverted Trapezoidal Microstructures for Heat Transfer and Microfluidics Applications

In the present work, a novel fabrication technique of inverted trapezoidal microstructures on a silicon substrate is presented. The novel microstructures caused the inherently hydrophilic silicon surface to become hydrophobic without the use of coating or thin film deposition. The microstructures were fabricated on a Silicon On Insulator (SOI) wafer through steps of photolithography, dry/wet etching, and bounding. Starting with a (100) plane SOI wafer, squares were patterned into a nitrite etch mask. Potassium hydroxide (KOH) anisotropic wet etchant was then used to etch the wafer, as a result created pits with flat sloping {111}-oriented sidewalls and a flat (100)-oriented bottom of the silicon device layer (i.e., at SiO2 layer). To get the inverted trapezoids, wafer bonding was carried out after etching, and the handle wafer along with the SiO2 layer were completely etched to expose the small openings of the trapezoids.SEM images were taken to investigate the surface and to measure the dimensions of the square openings from both sides before and after bonding. Contact angle measurements demonstrated the ability of the novel surfaces to form Cassie wetting states with a liquid droplet, sustaining large contact angles above 90 degrees, whereas bare silicon surfaces were measured to have contact angles of around 40 degrees. Shifts in contact angles were attributed to air entrapment.Copyright © 2014 by ASME
Observables on hypergraphs

Observables on hypergraphs are described by event-valued measures. We first distinguish between finitely additive observables and countably additive ones. We then study the spectrum, compatibility, and functions of observables. Next a relationship between observables and certain functionals on the set of measures M(H) of a hypergraph H is established. We characterize hypergraphs for which every linear functional on M(H) is determined by an observable. We define the concept of an “effect” and show that observables are related to effect-valued measures. Finally, we define “operational” transformations from M(H) to itself and show that they can be described as a certain combination of effects.
Host responses induced by co-infection with Porphyromonas gingivalis and Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans in a murine model

In this study, evidence is presented that mixed infection with the periodontal pathogens Porphyromonas gingivalis and Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans results in a synergistic effect in their pathogenicity and in their ability to induce humoral and cellular host responses. BALB/c mice were injected subcutaneously on the back with P. gingivalis ATCC 53977, A. actinomycetemocomitans 75 or a mixture of both bacteria. Samples of blood and fluid from abscesses formed at the site of injection (first degree) or distant from the injection site were collected for microbiologic analysis. Serum and spleens were obtained for evaluation of humoral and cellular responses to P. gingivalis and A actinomycetemocomitans. Mice injected with A. actinomycetemcomitans had first-degree lesions only, whereas mice injected with P. gingivalis and A. actinomycetemcomitans had lesions at first- and second-degree sites from which both bacterial species were isolated. A serum anti-P. gingivalis response was induced in P. gingivalis-injected mice, which was higher in mice injected with P. gingivalis and A. actinomycetemcomitans. This pattern was not seen in the anti-A, actinomycetemcomitans response. Lymphoproliferative responses to phytohemagglutinin, Escherichia coli lipopolysaccharide and P. gingivalis of spleen cells from infected mice were decreased, especially following co-infection. Furthermore, co-infection of mice resulted in the greatest decrease in the number of CD5+, especially CD4+ lymphocytes.
Cisapride provides symptomatic relief in functional dyspepsia associated with gastric myoelectrical abnormality.

Objective: We evaluated the effects of cisapride (10 mg t.d.s. and 20 mg b.d.) on gastrointestinal symptoms and gastric myoelectrical activity in patients with functional dyspepsia. Myoelectrical activity was measured by electrogastrography. Methods: Patients with functional dyspepsia, defined as discomfort in the epigastrium, a negative endoscopy, and clinical symptoms of dyspepsia, were enrolled. A total of 38 patients participated in the study (23 female; 15 male; 24–72 years of age). Screening electrogastrography identified those with a normal electrogastrogram (14 subjects) and those with an abnormal electrogastrogram (24 patients). Patients were randomly assigned to 2 weeks of placebo or 2 weeks of cisapride (10 mg t.d.s.); both groups then received 2 weeks of cisapride (20 mg b.d.). Electrogastrograms were repeated at the end of each 2-week treatment period. Results: Cisapride 10 mg t.d.s. significantly improved symptoms in all patients. An additional 2 weeks of treatment with cisapride 20 mg b.d. led to continued improvement in symptoms in all patients, with significant improvement in the group with abnormal baseline electrogastrograms. Cisapride significantly improved postprandial bloating and discomfort in patients with abnormal baseline electrogastrograms. Cisapride also significantly improved postprandial gastric myoelectrical activity as measured by electrogastrography in patients with abnormal baseline electrogastrograms. Conclusion: Cisapride provides symptomatic relief and improves gastric myoelectrical abnormalities in patients with functional dyspepsia.
Instabilities and patterns in coupled reaction-diffusion layers.

We study instabilities and pattern formation in reaction-diffusion layers that are diffusively coupled. For two-layer systems of identical two-component reactions, we analyze the stability of homogeneous steady states by exploiting the block symmetric structure of the linear problem. There are eight possible primary bifurcation scenarios, including a Turing-Turing bifurcation that involves two disparate length scales whose ratio may be tuned via the interlayer coupling. For systems of $n$-component layers and nonidentical layers, the linear problem's block form allows approximate decomposition into lower-dimensional linear problems if the coupling is sufficiently weak. As an example, we apply these results to a two-layer Brusselator system. The competing length scales engineered within the linear problem are readily apparent in numerical simulations of the full system. Selecting a $\sqrt{2}$:1 length-scale ratio produces an unusual steady square pattern.
Division of Labor in the Hyperdiverse Ant Genus Pheidole Is Associated with Distinct Subcaste- and Age-Related Patterns of Worker Brain Organization

The evolutionary success of ants and other social insects is considered to be intrinsically linked to division of labor among workers. The role of the brains of individual ants in generating division of labor, however, is poorly understood, as is the degree to which interspecific variation in worker social phenotypes is underscored by functional neurobiological differentiation. Here we demonstrate that dimorphic minor and major workers of different ages from three ecotypical species of the hyperdiverse ant genus Pheidole have distinct patterns of neuropil size variation. Brain subregions involved in sensory input (optic and antennal lobes), sensory integration, learning and memory (mushroom bodies), and motor functions (central body and subesophageal ganglion) vary significantly in relative size, reflecting differential investment in neuropils that likely regulate subcaste- and age-correlated task performance. Worker groups differ in brain size and display patterns of altered isometric and allometric subregion scaling that affect brain architecture independently of brain size variation. In particular, mushroom body size was positively correlated with task plasticity in the context of both age- and subcaste-related polyethism, providing strong, novel support that greater investment in this neuropil increases behavioral flexibility. Our findings reveal striking levels of developmental plasticity and evolutionary flexibility in Pheidole worker neuroanatomy, supporting the hypothesis that mosaic alterations of brain composition contribute to adaptive colony structure and interspecific variation in social organization.
Stability robustness characterization and related issues for control systems design

Abstract Two issues are addressed in this paper. First, we show that the H∞ norm of a sensitivity function matrix for a stable multivariable closed loop system indicates its stability robustness in the sense of gain margin and phase margin. Second, we apply this result to the problem of synthesizing a robust stabilizing controller. The emphasis of the analysis is LQ feedback system design. The goal is to design an observer based controller such that the resulting closed loop system has the robustness property that an LQ state feedback system has. This is achievable if the sensitivity function of the observer based control system is very close to that of the state feedback system. The closeness is measured by the H∞ norm and classical H∞ optimization techniques are used for design.
MMPI-A PROFILES OF HISPANIC ADOLESCENTS

A study was conducted to compare validity, clinical, content, and supplementary scale scores of Hispanic adolescents to normative data on the MMPI-A. Volunteers, 30 boys, 17 girls, were Hispanic adolescents, aged 14 to 18 years from school and after-school settings. Analysis indicated elevated T score means on F1 (66), F2 (68), F (68), L (61), Hs (61), D (63), Sc (62), A-hea (63), A-biz (63), A-lse (61), A-las (60), A-sch (61), and IMM (61) scales for boys. Scores for low aspirations, low self-esteem, immaturity, and school problems were all interrelated. For girls, scores on no scales were elevated, but on several scales mean T scores, Hs, Hy, Ma, Si, A-anx, A-obs, A-hea, A-ang, A-las, MAC-R, and ACK, were below average. This suggests the MMPI-A may underpathologize for girls. Consistent with previous findings, the boys scored higher on the Immaturity Scale than the girls. It was speculated that the boys' dislike for school and low aspirations were related to the lower education and employment of their fathers compared to those for the normative sample. The A-las, A-sch, and IMM scales may prove to be useful in identifying adolescent boys "at-risk" for dropping out of school, if replication with much larger samples confirms present findings.
Two-Nucleon Interaction at High Energies and the Lévy Potential

The predictions of the L\'evy potential for nucleon-nucleon scattering and polarization at high energies have been explored. Most of the computations were made at 162 Mev, although some have also been done at 105 and 348 Mev. Various values of the Blatt-Kalos parameters were tried as well as certain modifications in the coupling constants and the range which surrender approximate agreement with the low-energy data. No satisfactory agreement with the unpolarized and polarized cross sections could be found. The need of a spin-orbit term in the two-nucleon interaction is discussed.
Formation of antibiotic, biodegradable polymers by processing with Irgasan DP300R (triclosan) and its inclusion compound with β‐cyclodextrin

The inclusion compound (IC) between the FDA-approved antibacterial Irgasan DP300 (Trichlosan), and /3-cyclodextrin (CD) has been formed. When the Irgasan-β-CD-IC is embedded in biodegradeable/bioabsorbable films of poly(∈-caprolactone) (PCL) at low levels (a few wt %), they are rendered resistant to the growth of E. coli bacteria. When these same PCL films embedded with Irgasan-β-CD-IC are used as the adhesive for laminating cotton fabrics, we observe the resulting cotton laminates to also be resistant to the growth of E. coli bacteria. These results hold promise for the fabrication of bacteria-resistant polymer films and fibers, as well as antibacterial fabrics, by means of simple melt processing with Irgasan-β-CD-IC.
Factors Affecting Efficacy of Methionine Hydroxy Analogue for Chicks Fed Practical Diets

Abstract The relative values of the calcium salt of the hydroxy analogue of methionine (MHA) and L-methionine were studied in chick feeding tests with five practical type diets deficient in the sulfur amino acids. Performance was improved with the addition of either substance to each of the five diets. Methionine was slightly more effective at low levels of addition to the four diets primarily deficient in methionine. The two supplements were equally effective in one diet based on corn, soybean, and meat and bone meals, a diet with a wider methionine/cystine ratio. Both the practical and highly purified amino acid diets thus showed similar differences in efficacy of the two products as the methionine/cystine ratio of the diet changed. Methionine also was more effective than MHA in overcoming the deleterious effects produced by the addition of ethionine to a practical type diet.
Corticosterone infused intracerebroventricularly inhibits energy storage and stimulates the hypothalamo-pituitary axis in adrenalectomized rats drinking sucrose

When allowed to drink sucrose, bilaterally adrenalectomized (ADX) rats exhibit normal weight gain, food intake, sympathetic neural activity, and ACTH compared with sham-ADX rats. Furthermore, ADX rats drinking sucrose have normal corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) mRNA throughout brain. In ADX rats without sucrose, all of these variables are abnormal. Systemic corticosterone (B) replacement also restores these variables in ADX rats to normal. To test whether B acts centrally, we infused B or saline intracerebroventricularly into ADX rats under basal conditions and after repeated restraint. Rats were exposed to no stress or 3 h/d restraint for 3 d. Body weights and food and fluid intakes were measured. Brains were analyzed using immunocytochemistry against glucocorticoid receptors (GR) and CRF. Intracerebroventricular B blocked the positive effects of sucrose on metabolism, increased basal ACTH concentrations, and augmented ACTH responses to restraint on d 3. B-infused rats exhibited nuclear GR staining in perirhinal cortex, hippocampus, and hypothalamic paraventricular nuclei, showing that infused B spreads effectively. CRF staining in the paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus was higher in B- than in saline-infused rats. We conclude that under basal conditions B acts systemically, but not in the brain, to restore metabolism and neuropeptides after adrenalectomy. By contrast, tonic GR occupancy in brain initiates metabolic and ACTH responses characteristic of stress.
A Simple Distribution-Free Algorithm for Generating Simulated High-Dimensional Correlated Data with an Autoregressive Structure

A distribution-free method to generate high-dimensional sequences of dependent variables with an autoregressive structure is presented. The quantile or fractile correlation (i.e., the moment correlation of the quantiles) is used as measure of dependence among a set of contiguous variables. The proposed algorithm breaks the sequence in small parts and avoids having to define one large correlation matrix for the entire high-dimensional sequence of variables. Simulations based on proteomics data are presented. Results suggest that negligible or no loss of fractile correlation occurs by splitting the generation of a sequence into small parts.
You Can't Do Nothing

Unless we can think right down to the reaches of mankind's long past and into the future in which the earth is only one part of a known and explored solar system, and in which mankind's problems will become extraordinarily different, we shall not be what we want to be: anthropologists, whatever our area, whatever our specialty, whatever our subdivision.
EPR study of cation radicals derived from Benz[a]anthracene and its monomethylated derivatives on oxidation with thallium (III) trifluoroacetate

Abstract EPR spectra of cation radicals from benz[ a ]anthracene (BA), 12 monomethylated BAs, and 7,12-dimethyl-BA have been observed upon oxidation with thallium tristrifluoroacetate in trifluoroacetic acid (TTFA/TFA ). The species giving rise to the EPR spectrum in BA/TTFA/TFA was determined to be the 7-trifluoroacetoxy-BA cation radical and its EPR spectrum has been analyzed by numerical methods in terms of 11 nonequivalent proton splittings and 3 equivalent fluorine splittings. An assignment of the splitting constants has been proposed by comparison with the EPR spectra of the 12 monomethylated BA cation radicals. The spin density distribution in the HOMO of BA has thus been experimentally determined.
Induction, activation and inhibition of epoxide hydrase: an anomalous prevention of chlorobenzene-induced hepatotoxicity by an inhibitor of epoxide hydrase.

Abstract Epoxide hydrase activity, measured with [3H]styrene oxide as substrate, is present in mammalian liver, kidney, lung, intestine and skin. The hepatic level of the enzyme, measured in vitro with [3H]styrene oxide, benzene oxide or naphthalene-1,2-oxide, is elevated substantially by pretreatment of rats with phenobarbital and to a lesser extent by pretreatment with 3-methylcholanthrene. Metyrapone and 1-(2-isopropylphenyl)-imidazole, two monooxygenase inhibitors, activate epoxide hydrase in vitro, but have no demonstrable effect on the enzyme in vivo. 3,3,3-Trichloropropene oxide, a potent in vitro inhibitor of epoxide hydrase, has no effect on monooxygenase activity measured in vitro with [3H]benzenesulfonanilide. Trichloropropene oxide is extremely toxic. In sub-lethal dosages, it does not significantly inhibit epoxide hydrase activity in vivo, although it and several other epoxides do react with and thereby reduce hepatic levels of glutathione. Cyclohexane oxide, another potent in vitro inhibitor of epoxide hydrase, reduces hepatic glutathione levels to 10% of control values. This relatively non-toxic substance should potentiate the hepatotoxicity of chlorobenzene by inhibiting further metabolism of the toxic chlorobenzene oxide intermediate through either hydration or conjugation with glutathione. Instead, co-administration of cyclohexene oxide and chlorobenzene significantly reduces the rate of metabolism of [14C]chlorobenzene and prevents the hepatic centrilobular necrosis caused by chlorobenzene in rats. Arene oxide-mediated hepatotoxicity apparently is dependent upon a variety of factors including both rates of formation and degradation of arene oxides in tissue. The presently known hydrase inhibitors are not sufficiently selective in their effects on liver cells to permit a quantitative assessment of the relative importance of these factors.
Substituent effects on the rate of acid-catalyzed proton exchange of phenol in methanol

Abstract OH-proton exchange of phenol in methanol containing HCl is catalyzed by methyloxonium ion; the second-order rate constant is 7·3 × 10 5 sec −1 M −1 at −80°; ΔH ‡ = 4·7 kcal; ΔS ‡ = −6·6 gibbs. Substituent effects are large, in spite of the high reactivity. The effects of a para -substituent are described fairly well by the Bronsted and Hammett relationships. The effects of an ortho -substituent can be analyzed into polar and steric contributions. ortho -Disubstitution by bulky substituents results in an unexpectedly high rate constant in the case of 2,6-dibromophenol and 2,6-di-t-butylphenol.
MxL: pseudo-maskless high-throughput nanolithography

A novel chemical procedure is described that presents, for the first time, a dissolvable template (as opposed to a hard or soft template) for printing. The method, called Molecular Transfer Lithography (MxL), is a pseudo-maskless approach to high-throughput fabrication of devices over large areas with feature sizes that can extend below 100 nm. The MxL procedure utilizes a chemical process that replicates the surface topography of a master pattern into soluble polymeric templates. The template is dissolvable in water but not most organic materials. This property of differential solubility is useful for transferring topography or functional materials onto substrate surfaces. The template is generally chemically dissolved at the conclusion of the pattern formation process. The paper presents a variety of printing strategies and results including lines at 53 nm, three-dimensional patterns, 250 nm contact hole levels, diffraction and optical structures and 200 mm wafer printing. The technique is also useful for planarization. Multi-level printing is achieved by integration of the MxL process and dissolvable templates with standard contact aligners.
A hybrid boundary element—finite element method of stress analysis for bolt-reinforced inhomogeneous ground

Abstract A numerical implementation of stress analysis for bolt-reinforced ground is presented by combining the use of boundary and finite elements. The stresses and deformations around underground openings are derived by considering the interactions between rock movement, bolt tension and bending. The rocks are piecewise inhomogeneous and contain planes of weakness. Boundary elements are used to represent the openings and interfaces between strata, while rock bolts which can be fully grouted or partially grouted are represented by finite elements. The reinforcements of bolts are related to the movements of rocks and the displacement discontinuities along the planes of weakness. Furthermore, the effect of the bearing plates is simulated by using additional boundary elements in contact with the surface of the openings. With the use of an indirect formulation method for inhomogeneous solids, all the effects of rock inhomogeneities, unloading along opening surfaces, sliding and/or separations along planes of weakness, bolt reinforcements at axial and transverse directions, and the reactions of bearing plates are incorporated into a mechanical model for the entire domain of interest. Several examples are presented which show that the numerical method developed and adopted in this paper is very efficient in solving the rock bolting problems.
Cognitive strategies, field dependence, and the abstraction process

Abstract Subjects were given a concept learning task in which potentially relevant dimensions were characteristics descriptive of people. Some stimuli consisted of verbal descriptions alone, and others consisted of verbal descriptions with pictorial exemplars. The concept learning task was followed by a surprise recognition memory task for stimuli in the concept learning task in which the new stimuli were either old verbal descriptions with changed context or new verbal descriptions. Change in context for the former type of stimulus involved either a change of pictorial example, a switch from no example to some example, or a switch from a pictorial example to no example. Subjects were tested on the Embedded Figures Test (EFT), and measures of verbal ability (V) and quantitative ability (Q) were obtained. Recognition memory performance revealed very strong memory for context. Furthermore, when recognition memory performance for stimuli encountered before final error in concept identification was correlated with trial of last error on the concept identification task, the correlation was positive and significant. Thus, context memory seemed to impede the abstraction process significantly. Task strategy differences were not highly correlated with performance on EFT, V, and Q. However EFT, as a measure of field independence, was correlated with lower confidence ratings and faster latencies in the recognition memory task. Results were interpreted in terms of global processing in retrieval for field dependent subjects.
Studies on the destruction of liver microsomal cytochrome P-450 by carbon tetrachloride administration

Carbon tetrachloride impairs the oxidative enzymes in liver microsomes by decreasing the amount of cytochrome P-450. The destruction is probably not mediated by an increase in lipid peroxidation, since ethanol which promotes lipid peroxidation does not decrease cytochrome P-450 or the metabolism of ethylmorphine. The decrease in cytochrome P-450 is not due to destruction of liver cells or to altered permeability of endoplasmic reticulum because NADPH cytochrome c reductase was not detected in plasma and was not decreased in liver microsomes. The solvent effect of CCl4 probably does not account for the decrease in cytochrome P-450 because CHCl3 and CH2Cl2 did not decrease the cytochrome. Our results are in accord with the view that CCl4 acts through an active metabolite, but they do not necessarily imply that the active metabolite is formed by a cytochrome P-450 enzyme.
The effectiveness of interactive professional learning experiences as a pedagogical tool: Evidence from an audit setting

Abstract This paper describes an interactive professional learning experience (IPLE) and provides guidance for implementing an IPLE in an audit classroom. The IPLE described in this paper exposes students to a realistic practice environment within the classroom by bringing practitioners together with students in a professional supervisory setting. Practitioners review students’ work and then meet with students one-on-one to provide feedback on their work. We also document evidence of the pedagogical value of an IPLE by using a between-subjects experimental design in which learning outcomes for participants are compared to a control group that received the same instructions and completed the same written assignment, but did not participate in the professional interaction. In addition, pre- and posttests of students’ audit knowledge allowed for a within-subjects self-assessment of knowledge acquisition. The results strongly suggest that participation in the IPLE improves students’ performance on a skills test of relevant audit material and increases their self-perceptions of knowledge gained. In addition, results indicate that both students and audit professionals consider the IPLE a positive professional learning experience.
Generation and migration of light hydrocarbons.

Light hydrocarbons (containing from 1 to 14 carbon atoms) are formed from disseminated organic matter in sediments at the parts-per-billion level by biological and low-temperature ( 50°C) cracking reactions. The cooler reactions produce mainly branched hydrocarbons, whereas the hotter reactions yield more straight chains. Hydrocarbon generation zones in the subsurface can be recognized on the basis of hydrocarbon distribution patterns. Hydrocarbons with tertiary carbon atoms form at lower temperatures than those with quaternary carbons. Methane and ethane migrate vertically through fine-grained shales by diffusion and solution, whereas many of the C3+ hydrocarbons show little or no vertical migration. Concentrations of light hydrocarbons, including methane, in fine-grained source rocks decrease to low values in deep, high-temperature (>200°C) sediments. This decrease may be one reason why no economic accumulation of gas has been found to date deeper than 8.2 kilometers (27,000 feet).
Disparities in Whites' versus Blacks' self-rated health: social status, health-care services, and health behaviors.

Using 2009 National Health Interview Survey data, we examined how social-status factors, variables describing health services, and health-related behaviors explained self-rated health among Black adults and among White adults. We wanted to evaluate whether self-rated health’s relationships with these three sets of variables were conditional on race. Our results overall indicated that social-status, health-care-services, and health-behaviors variables are important to the explanation of both groups’ self-rated health. But in this study, when all social-status, health-care-services, and health-behaviors variables were controlled, Black respondents’ self-reported health did not differ, on average, from White respondents’. Such a finding firmly suggests that the three sets of variables partially explain disparities in the groups’ self-reported health. In the end, our results showed racial health disparities to be partially explained by racial differences in distribution of health resources and health behaviors.
Abnormal Valsalva blood pressure response in dilated cardiomyopathy: Association with “pseudonormalization” of echocardiographic Doppler transmitral filling velocity pattern

Abstract In patients with dilated cardiomyopathies, the presence of an abnormal blood pressure response to the Valsalva maneuver has been shown to correlate well with increased left-sided filling pressures. The presence of a "pseudonormalized" early peak to late peak velocity (EA) ratio on echocardiographic Doppler transmitral filling pattern has also been correlated with increased left ventricular end-diastolic pressures in these patients. Since both abnormal blood pressure response to the Valsalva maneuver and a "pseudonormalized" Doppler transmitral EA ratio probably represent elevated left ventricular filling pressure, we postulated that there would be a positive correlation between the two in a group of patients with dilated cardiomyopathy and abnormal systolic function. Twenty-five consecutive male patients with New York Heart Association (NYHA) class II to IV heart failure and dilated cardiomyopathy were included. Patients with abnormal blood pressure responses to Valsalva had significantly larger peak early (E) velocities, smaller peak late (A) velocities, and larger EA ratios compared with patients with normal responses. EA ratio 1.0 was present in 12 (71%) of 17 patients with an abnormal response ( p
Endobronchial techniques in lung cancer. Options for nonsurgical care.

PREVIEWDespite improved diagnostic techniques, lung cancer is still most often inoperable when patients present for care. Palliative interventions are needed in these cases. In this article, Dr Midthun describes four endobronchial techniques that can be used alone or in combination to administer treatment (photodynamic therapy) or to relieve symptoms (laser therapy, implantation of prosthetic airway stents, and brachytherapy).
Critical Issues: Forging Conceptual Unum in the Literacy Field of Pluribus: An Agenda-Analytic Perspective

The paper explores two alternative agendas that define educational and literacy practices and policies in the United States. The first is the unum agenda, which focuses on developing readers who are good citizens and effective workers. The second is the pluribus agenda, which serves to promote appreciation of diversity, empowerment of disadvantaged groups, and enhanced reader sense of self-esteem. The article argues that deciding questions of “what should be” in practice and policy cannot be determined by neutral appeal to research. Rather, how “good” research, practice, and policy are determined depends, in large measure, on the agenda that one selects to promote education and literacy in the first place. It is noted that, to date, researchers, teachers, and politicians (as well as other educational consumer groups) have tended to advocate for their favorite agenda while dismissing others. The result has been the promulgation of contradiction and confusion. To lend some rationality to the current situati...
Rule differences, practice, and verbal solutions using a reception procedure in complete learning

Rule differences in a complete learning (CL) task, using a reception procedure with neutral labels, were investigated over practice. Subjects were given 20 problems, in four blocks of five problems each. Within each block, problems representing the affirmative (Af), conjunctive (Cj), conditional (Cd), inclusive disjunctive (Id), and biconditional (Bd) rules were presented. The order of rule difficulty was found to be Af = Cj < Cd < Id < Bd. Performance improved through the third block of five problems, but there was no significant order of rule difficulty by practice interaction. The results for rule differences are inconsistent with previous research using the selection procedure. No currently available model of CL can account for differences in rule order under both selection and reception procedures. Verbal solutions were found to focus on the more homogeneous response category for the Af, Cj, and Cd rules. For the more difficult Id and Bd rules, verbal solutions focused equally frequently on the more homogeneous and the more heterogeneous response categories.
The Use of Portable Peak Flowmeters in the Surveillance of Occupational Asthma

The purpose of this study was to identify the strengths and limitations of using portable peak flowmeters to document suspected cases of occupational asthma that were reported to a statewide surveillance project. The New Jersey Department of Health conducts surveillance for occupational asthma as part of the federally sponsored Sentinel Event Notification System for Occupational Risks (SENSOR). Between May 1988 and January 1990, 70 cases were reported voluntarily by physicians. Subjects who were still employed in suspected work sites were requested to test themselves for at least 15 days, using portable peak flowmeters to generate serial measurements of their peak expiratory flow rate (PEFR). For each of the 14 subjects who were successfully tested, the PEFR data provided valuable information about their asthma-work association. However, a large number of subjects whose cases were reported (56) either could not be tested or were not successfully tested. The proportion of subjects completing the test would probably improve if it were conducted when their conditions were first diagnosed. Accordingly, the collection of serial peak flow measurements to document occupational asthma would best be initiated by the treating physician when the patient first sought care, rather than waiting until after the case was reported to the state health department.
Chimeric immune receptor T cells bypass class I requirements and recognize multiple cell types relevant in HIV-1 infection

Transduction of T cells with a chimeric immune T cell receptor (CIR) has been proposed as a strategy to generate cellular immunity against viral pathogens such as HIV-1. In the case of the CD4-CD3-zeta chain (CD4-zeta) CIR, specificity for HIV-1 is conferred by binding of the CD4 moiety to gp120 on the surface of infected cells. However, it is unclear whether CD4-zeta-T cells may differ from naturally derived CD8(+) cytotoxic T cells (CTL) in their susceptibility to viral escape mechanisms or ability to recognize different cell types that support viral replication. We demonstrate that CIR-T cells can mediate antiviral activity against HIV-1 in cells that are resistant to class I-restricted CTL-mediated activity. Furthermore, CIR-T cells can suppress virus in multiple cell types, including monocytes, dendritic cells, and lymphocyte-dendritic cell clusters. These results provide evidence that T cells can be redirected against novel targets, and that independence from the class I pathway may have distinct advantages.
Status faking on the SVIB-M

Abstract A study and replication of students faking interest in high status occupations on the Strong Vocational Interest Blank for Men. In general, the faking was successful in shifting the specific target occupational scales and especially the occupational level scale. Other scales are affected, many with decisive upward or downward shifts. Demonstration is made of the extent to which the faking condition led to differences in the overall test results. Various aspects of the general problem of test faking are reviewed.