cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Radiographic identification of thoracoabdominal hernias

Hernias spanning both chest and abdominal walls are uncommon and associated with chest wall trauma, coughing and obesity. This study describes the radiographic appearance of these hernias to guide proper identification and operative planning. Proposed standardized reporting patterns are also presented. The cross sectional imaging of patients presenting with thoracoabdominal hernias was reviewed. Radiographic reports were supplemented by surgeon imaging review and operative findings during repair. Defect dimensions, hernia content, level of herniation, presence of osseous or cartilaginous disruption of the chest wall and degree of rib displacement were collected. Disruption of myofascial planes was also noted. Six patients were identified. All hernias occurred below the 9th rib and were associated with complete intercostal muscle disruption. The transversus abdominis was disrupted in all hernias and the internal oblique was disrupted in five of the hernias. The majority (83%) had caudal rib displacement (median 6.8 cm compared to contralateral side). Median hernia width was 10.35 cm (1.6–19.1 cm) and median length was 10.2 cm (1.8–14.3 cm). Five patients had associated bone/cartilage injuries: two with 11th rib fractures, two with combined bone and cartilaginous fractures and one with a surgical rib resection. The typical injury pattern of thoracoabdominal hernias includes disruption of the intercostal muscles, transversus abdominis, and commonly the internal oblique with an intact external oblique. Inferior rib displacement by hernia contents and unopposed pull of the abdominal musculature is common. Osseous or cartilaginous disruption always occurs unless the defect is bounded on at least one side by a floating rib.
Limitations of the protective measure theory in explaining the role of childhood sexual abuse in eating disorders, addictions, and obesity: an updated model with emphasis on biological embedding.

In addition to its immediate negative consequences, childhood sexual abuse is associated with lifelong deleterious mental and physical health outcomes. This review employs a biopsychosocial perspective to better understand pathways from childhood sexual abuse to eating disorders, food and drug addictions, and obesity across the life course. Guided by an updated conceptual model, this review delineates how the biological embedding of childhood sexual abuse triggers a cascade of interrelated conditions that often result in failed attempts at weight suppression and eventually obesity. Such biological embedding involves pathways such as inflammation, allostatic load, reward sensitivity, activation of the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis, epigenetics, and structural and functional changes in the brain. These pathways are in turn theorized to lead to food addiction, substance use disorder, and eating disorders—each with potential pathways toward obesity over time. Predisposing factors to childhood sexual abuse including gender, culture, and age are discussed. This model calls into question the longstanding “protective measure” theory that purports individuals exposed to sexual abuse will deliberately or subconsciously gain weight in attempt to prevent future victimization. A more comprehensive understanding of the mechanisms by which childhood sexual abuse becomes biologically embedded may help clinicians and survivors normalize and/or address disordered eating and weight-related outcomes, as well as identify intervention strategies. Level of evidence: Level V: opinions of respected authorities, based on descriptive studies, narrative reviews, clinical experience, or reports of expert committees.
Planarity, Pictorial Space, and Abstraction

This article looks at how abstraction has progressed in art history in relation to the image and the planar surface, and in relation to consciousness, concepts, and language. I begin with challenges to more traditional kinds of representation that were mounted by people such as Turner and Cezanne, and that were continued through Analytic Cubism to Mondrian and Malevich on to Abstract Expressionism and Color-Field Painting. This brief outline enables one to see how the dilution and disintegration of the realistic image end in the reality of the surface in pure visual abstraction. I also consider the route from papier colle and collage to Duchamp, and to different kinds of surface in different kinds of object, and how that route leads to Minimalism and linguistic Conceptual art, which itself represents, in at least one important sense, a return to the use of planarity in the background surface on which visible language is situated.
Telling Stories of Love, Sex, and Race

The history of interracial sex is often told from the perspective of either legislatures or lynch mobs. The approach has a certain appeal; it allows us to track the ideological currents of the dominant society, as they ebb and flow from passive acceptance of the practice to outright hostility. But the approach also minimizes the role of the participants, routinely casting them as unimportant players in the overall history of sex and race in this country. In this book chapter, I look at the subject of interracial intimacy from the perspective of the people involved: one story involves a white man and black woman from slavery times, and the other involves a black man and white woman from the turn of the century. The purpose is to add some depth and detail to our understanding of some of these relationships, in the process upending some of our basic assumptions about what they might have been like. Indeed, by shining a light on individual cases, we begin to appreciate both the contradictions and complexities of interracial unions, breathing life into a portion of history too often left untold.
Modeling lightning strike behavior in the near field of elevated systems

The modeling of lightning strike behavior and estimation of the subsequent electric discharge is of great practical importance. In this study, a complete two-dimensional physics-based analytic formulation is presented for elevated grounded systems that can be envisioned to be contained within two non-concentric circular domains. The inner circle encompasses the body or system of interest, and the periphery of the outer circle addresses the cloud coverage. The potential field between the circular domains is modeled as the sum of two separate contributions. The first is formulated in terms of an eigen-function expansion involving simple radial functions and Legendre polynomials, while the second contribution is developed using two different approaches. The first approach utilizes an eigen-function expansion incorporating spherical Bessel functions and Legendre polynomials, while the second approach uses a Green’s function expansion also involving orthogonal polynomial functions. Each of the contributions to the total potential field leads to linear systems of equations that are solved for the unknown series expansion coefficients. The accuracy of the potential field solution is investigated with regard to convergence, stability, and error compared with an exact solution. The potential field solution is then used as the basis to evaluate leader formation, as a function of elevation, extent of cloud coverage, and propagation angle of the downward leader. Regions of high risk to lightning strikes on the grounded structure are developed in terms of joint probability functions. The electric discharge is estimated using electric current and is shown to be in the range of presently available information.
MCP-1 expression in endotoxin-induced uveitis.

PURPOSE Monocyte chemoattractant protein (MCP)-1 (CCL-2) is a chemokine with chemoattractant properties for monocytes, memory T cells, natural killer cells, mast cells, and basophils. To delineate the role played by MCP-1 in acute anterior uveitis, a common ocular inflammation, MCP-1(-/-) mice and wild-type matched control mice were analyzed for the development of endotoxin-induced uveitis (EIU) in response to subcutaneous injection of a sublethal dose of lipopolysaccharide (LPS). METHODS EIU was induced in MCP-1(-/-) and wild-type control mice by a single subcutaneous injection of Salmonella typhimurium LPS endotoxin at day 0. Alternatively, MCP-1(-/-) mice were injected subcutaneously with LPS plus recombinant MCP-1 at day 0 and with recombinant MCP-1 6 hours later. Mice were killed at day 1 or 3 after injection. Serum levels of IL-1alpha, IL-1beta, IL-6, IFN-gamma, TNF-alpha, granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF), macrophage inflammatory protein (MIP)-1alpha, MIP-2, regulated on activation normal T-cell expressed and secreted (RANTES), and MCP-1 were determined by ELISA. Eyes were collected and analyzed histologically and by RT-PCR for MCP-1, IFN-gamma, IL-6, TNF-alpha, beta-actin, MCP-5, RANTES, KC, inflammatory protein (IP)-10, and toll-like receptor (TLR)-4. RESULTS EIU was strongly reduced in MCP-1(-/-) mice compared with wild-type control mice. The number of ocular inflammatory cells was significantly reduced. Moreover, intraocular IFN-gamma transcription was increased. EIU was induced in MCP-1(-/-) mice by co-administration of recombinant rat MCP-1 and LPS. CONCLUSIONS Data indicate that MCP-1 plays a crucial role in the induction of EIU. MCP-1 may be a new therapeutic strategy for acute anterior uveitis.
Novel Lipids and Cancer

The focus of studies of diet/cancer interrelationships is shifting from the roles nutrients play to the chemopreventive actions of plant-derived, non-nutrient dietary constituents (indoles, coumarins, phthalides, organosulfur compounds, phytoestrogens, isothiocy-anates, bioflavonoids and protease inhibitors). Our interest in this aspect of diet/health relationships has roots in findings that products of plant mevalonate pathways both suppress hepatic mevalonate synthesis with a concomitant lowering of serum LDL cholesterol level and suppress the growth of chemically-initiated and transplanted tumors.1–4 Some of the more effective end products derived from the sequential mevalonate pathway intermediates, geranyl pyrophosphate, farnesyl pyrophosphate and geranylgeranyl pyrophosphate, are listed on Figure 1.1, 2 The pathway provides essential dietary components, specifically phylloquinone, β-carotene and a-tocopherol. The monoterpenes and sesquiterpenes have no nutritional impact. Never the less each of the products listed on Figure 1 has been shown to have an impact on HMG CoA reductase activity, blood cholesterol level and tumor cell proliferation.1–4
THE SWALLOWING OF FISH BY YOUNG HERRING GULLS: LARUS ARGENTATUS

Summary Naive Herring Gull chicks seize and swallow fish by the head end. In experiments with 16 hand-raised chicks it was determined that the choice is made simply by recognition of the wider or thicker end of the fish. The position of the eyes, fins, gill opercula, etc., appeared to be ignored. Speculations are advanced about the possible adaptive significance of swallowing fish head first.
Treating the Case of Incurable Hysteresis in VO2

This chapter contains sections titled: Introduction Hysteretic semiconductor-metal phase transition in VO 2 - major and minor loops How hysteresis causes problems in bolometric readout - forward and backward excursions Nonhysteretic branches in resistivity Theoretical model NHBs in optical reflectivity - testing the theoretical model Resistive microbolometers in NHB regime Summary
Tree Description Grammars and Underspecified Representations

In this thesis, a new grammar formalism called (local) Tree Description Grammar (TDG) is presented that generates tree descriptions. This grammar formalism brings together some of the central ideas in the context of Tree Adjoining Grammars (TAG) on the one hand, and approaches to underspecified semantics for scope ambiguities on the other hand. First a general definition of TDGs is presented, and afterwards a restricted variant called local TDGs is proposed. Since the elements of a local TDG are tree descriptions, an extended domain of locality as in TAGs is provided by this formalism. Consequently, local TDGs can be lexicalized, and local dependencies such as filler gap dependencies can be expressed in the descriptions occurring in the grammar. The tree descriptions generated by local TDGs are such that the dominance relation (i.e. the reflexive and transitive closure of the parent relation) need not be fully specified. Therefore the generation of suitable underspecified representations for scope ambiguities is possible. The generative capacity of local TDGs is greater than the one of TAGs. Local TDGs are even more powerful than set-local multicomponent TAGs (MC-TAG). However, the generative capacity of local TDGs is restricted in such a way that only semilinear languages are generated. Therefore these languages are of constant growth, a property generally ascribed to natural languages. Local TDGs of different rank can be distinguished depending on the form of derivation steps that are possible in these grammars. This leads to a hierarchy of local TDGs. For the string languages generated by local TDGs of a certain rank, a pumping lemma is proven that allows to show that local TDGs of rank n can generate a language Li := {a1k···a1k|k ≥ 0} iff i ≤ 2n holds. In order to describe the relation between two languages, synchronous local TDGs are introduced. The synchronization with a second local TDG does not increase the generative power of the grammar in the sense that each language generated by a local TDG that is part of a synchronous pair of local TDGs, also can be generated by a single local TDG. This formalism of synchronous local TDGs is used to describe a syntax-semantics interface for a fragment of French which illustrates the derivation of underspecified representations for scope ambiguities with local TDGs. Comments University of Pennsylvania Institute for Research in Cognitive Science Technical Report No. IRCS-99-08. This thesis or dissertation is available at ScholarlyCommons: http://repository.upenn.edu/ircs_reports/47 Tree Description Grammars and Underspeci ed Representations
The Sophistry of Guidelines: Revisiting Recipes for Color Use in Human-Computer Interface Design:

A survey study of color guidelines for user-computer interface design was undertaken and assessed against relevant knowledge about the human perceptual system. The main problem found is that some guidelines are dissociated from knowledge of how the human perceptual system works in relation to the constraints of the computer as a medium for perception. The guidelines approach, whose goal is to produce straightforward, concise recommendations for a diverse audience, may encourage this situation. Some specific problems and gaps in color guidelines are discussed. An alternative approach based on gearing guidance to the difficulties and common problems faced by designers is sketched.
Agents that Down-Regulate or Inhibit Protein Kinase C Circumvent Resistance to 1-β-D-Arabinofuranosylcytosine-Induced Apoptosis in Human Leukemia Cells that Overexpress Bcl-2

The effects of the non-tumor-promoting protein kinase C (PKC) activator bryostatin 1 and the PKC inhibitors staurosporine and UCN-01 were examined with respect to modulation of 1-[β-d-arabinofuranosyl]cytosine (ara-C)-induced apoptosis in human myeloid leukemia cells (HL-60) overexpressing the antiapoptotic protein Bcl-2. HL-60/Bcl-2 cells displayed a 5-fold increase in Bcl-2 protein compared with empty-vector counterparts (HL-60/pCEP4) but comparable levels of Bax, Mcl-1, and Bcl-xL. After exposure to an equimolar concentration of ara-C (10 μm for 6 hr), HL-60/Bcl-2 cells were significantly less susceptible to apoptosis, DNA fragmentation, and loss of clonogenicity than HL-60/pCEP4 cells. The protective effect of increased Bcl-2 expression was manifested by a failure of ara-C to induce activation/cleavage of the Yama protease (CPP32; caspase-3) and degradation of one of its substrates, poly(ADP-ribose)polymerase to an 85-kDa cleavage product. When HL-60/Bcl-2 cells were preincubated with bryostatin 1 (10 nm; 24 hr) or coincubated with either staurosporine (50 nm; 6 hr) or UCN-01 (300 nm; 6 hr) after a 1-hr preincubation, exposures that exerted minimal effects alone, ara-C-induced apoptosis and DNA fragmentation were restored to levels equivalent to, or greater than, those observed in empty-vector controls. These events were accompanied by restoration of the ability of ara-C to induce CPP32 cleavage and activation, poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase degradation, and inhibition of colony formation. Western analysis of Bcl-2 protein obtained from overexpressing cells treated with bryostatin 1, staurosporine, or UCN-01 revealed the appearance of a slowly migrating species and a general broadening of the protein band, effects that were insensitive to the protein synthesis inhibitor cycloheximide. Alterations in Bcl-2 protein mobility on sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis were reversed by treatment of lysates with alkaline phosphatase or protein phosphatase 2A; actions of the latter were blocked by the specific phosphatase inhibitor okadaic acid. In vivo labeling studies of Bcl-2 protein demonstrated increased incorporation of [32PO4]orthophosphate in drug-treated cells. Last, phosphorylated Bcl-2 failed to display decreased binding to the proapoptotic protein Bax. Collectively, these findings indicate that bryostatin 1, which down-regulates PKC, and staurosporine and UCN-01, which directly inhibit the enzyme, circumvent resistance of Bcl-2-overexpressing leukemic cells to ara-C-induced apoptosis and activation of the protease cascade. They also raise the possibility that modulation of Bcl-2 phosphorylation status contributes to this effect.
Microchannel Thin Layer Chromatography with in situ Plate Scanning Micro-DRIFTS Detection Using Plain and Polybutadiene Modified Zirconia Stationary Phases:

Thin layer chromatography (TLC) of various dyes is compared in microchannels packed with either bare zirconia (normal phase) or polybutadiene (PBD) modified zirconia (reversed phase). In situ micro-diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform spectroscopy (μDRIFTS) of the analyte spots is possible due to the low absorption background of both plain and PBD zirconia. An instrument coupling μDRIFTS with a motorized stage that could profile the microchannel TLC plate is developed. The retention order of anthracene and pyrene probes as a function of percent acetonitrile are generally as expected on PBD zirconia but opposite for plain zirconia. Impurities in technical grade methylene blue can be determined after TLC separation on plain zirconia. The separation and infrared identification of various dyes such as dichlorofluorescein and rhodamine B on PBD zirconia is improved using a mobile phase with an additive such as phosphate or dihexylamine that prevents band streaking.
Some Artificial Neural Networks for Visual Navigation

In this paper we illustrate how we can use artificial neural networks (ANN's) to con struct topologically accurate physical maps of environments from visual observations, and how we can use these maps for navigation. The method we use to build our ANN's is inspired by biological processes, making it more robust than comparable machine methods. Since the nodes, weights, and threshold functions of our ANN's all have physical meanings, we can easily predict network topolo gies and build networks, avoiding traditional trial-and-error training. This makes our method easy to use in constructing solutions to robotics problems.
Is “Relative” Hypertension a Risk Factor for Vaso-occlusive Complications in Sickle Cell Disease?

Supine arterial blood pressure measurements of 89 patients with homozygous sickle cell disease and normal renal function were compared with those of an age-, race-, and sex-matched normal population and with those of individuals who had similar levels of anemia due to beta thalassemia. Consistent with previous reports, sickle cell patients had significantly lower blood pressure than the normal population. However, within most age groups, sickle cell patients tended to have higher than expected blood pressure than individuals with similar or less severe degrees of anemia. Furthermore, the authors have found an association between cerebrovascular accident and elevated blood pressure in men, even in a range of systolic and diastolic pressures that would be considered normal by conventional standards. These results reiterate the intricate relationship that exists between factors governing red cell rheology and microvascular tone. They also raise the possibility that “relative” hypertension may be associated with other vaso-occlusive manifestations of the sickle cell syndromes.
Extension of beam propagation method to time-dependent optical waveforms

A new fast method describing the time-domain propagation of optical fields in adiabatic guiding structures and including high-order dispersion effects is developed. This method is demonstrated by the propagation of a short optical pulse in a directional coupler and is shown to be in full agreement with analytical results. >
Abnormal cerebral glucose metabolism in long-term survivors of childhood acute lymphocytic leukemia

Chemotherapy and radiation treatment of the central nervous system may cause delayed neurotoxicity in children with acute lymphocytic leukemia. We evaluated 12 long-term survivors of childhood leukemia using [18F]fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography, computed tomography scans, clinical neurological examinations, and neuropsychological tests. Regional cerebral metabolic rate for glucose (rCMRGlc) values for white matter were lower in the older long-term survivors (greater than 18 years old) treated with cranial radiation and intrathecal chemotherapy than in normal control subjects or survivors who had been treated with intrathecal chemotherapy alone. The ratio of white matter: cortex rCMRGlc values was lower than control values in the long-term survivors treated with cranial radiation and intrathecal chemotherapy, regardless of age, but not in those treated with intrathecal chemotherapy alone. By contrast, thalamic rCMRGlc values were lower than control values in older survivors regardless of treatment, and the ratio for thalamus:cortex rCMRGlc values was lower in all the treatment groups than in the control subjects. The highest rCMRGlc values were found in the youngest children, indicating an important effect of age on cerebral glucose metabolism. No neuropsychological deficits were identified in patients treated only with intrathecal chemotherapy; however, lower IQ scores were found in the long-term survivors who had been treated with cranial radiation and intrathecal chemotherapy. Treatment of the central nervous system with cranial radiation and intrathecal chemotherapy may cause prolonged alterations in white-matter and thalamic rCMRGlc, which may permit the identification and assessment of neurotoxicity in long-term survivors of acute lymphocytic leukemia by [18F]fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography.
Non-repetitive DNA transcription in mouse cells grown in tissue culture.

The extent of unique DNA expression, although greater in transformed than in normal cells, is the same for sub-confluent and confluent cultures. Normal cells, however, show qualitative differences between the two growth states in the sequences expressed, whereas transformed cells do not.
Restarted block-GMRES with deflation of eigenvalues

Block-GMRES is an iterative method for solving nonsymmetric systems of linear equations with multiple right-hand sides. Restarting may be needed, due to orthogonalization expense or limited storage. We discuss how restarting affects convergence and the role small eigenvalues play. Then a version of restarted block-GMRES that deflates eigenvalues is presented. It is demonstrated that deflation can be particularly important for block methods.
Revising the Panko-Halverson taxonomy of spreadsheet errors

Error taxonomies are useful because different types of errors have different commission and detection rates and because error mitigation techniques often are only useful for some types of errors. In the early 1990s, Panko and Halverson developed a spreadsheet error taxonomy. This paper updates that taxonomy to reflect human error research more fully. The taxonomy focuses on quantitative errors during development and testing but notes that qualitative errors are very important and that errors occur in all stages of the system development life cycle.
Risks from low doses of radiation.

Letters from: [ Jerome S. Puskin and Neal S. Nelson ][1] [ Rudi H. Nussbaum ][1] [ Donald A. Pierce and Dale L. Preston ][1] We disagree with some of the statements in Marvin Goldman's Perspective ([29 Mar., p. 1821][2]) challenging the traditional linear-nonthreshold paradigm for estimating
Content and Design of Corporate Governance Web Sites

Web sites are useful resources for communicating corporate governance information to stakeholders. They facilitate timely information disclosures, which leads to greater transparency and can help to improve investor perceptions. Positive perceptions, in turn, have the potential to boost a firm's performance. In this study, we develop a descriptive framework of governance content and web site design features, and use it to evaluate web sites of companies in the S&P 100 in order to determine differences among various sectors as well as companies with different corporate governance quotients (CGQ), a measure of effective governance assigned by Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS). Results indicate that there are significant differences in how the content is presented despite companies across sectors having standardized the type of content they provide. On the whole, manufacturing and technology sectors display more content. Likewise, these two sectors also appear to use more advanced design elements than finance, health care and services, with several significantly different features. Contrary to our expectation, very few features are significantly different in both content and design across the two CGQ groups though content provides slightly more variance. The study findings suggest that companies can vastly improve their web sites by including more content reflective of due diligence and transparency and by implementing Web 2.0 and other advanced technologies. Companies serious about transparency will adopt a more strategic approach to web content and design. The lists of content and design features identified here can serve as checklists/templates for executives' intent on further enhancing their web design and content.
Synthesis and spinning of a thermotropic liquid crystal copolyester containing a semirigid cycloaliphatic spacer

A thermotropic, liquid crystalline copolyester, based on 2-chlorohydroquinone, 1,4-cyclohexanedimethanol and terephthaloyl chloride, has been synthesized and melt spun. The cyclohexanedimethylene moiety acts as a semirigid spacer, introducing flexibility while preserving the thermotropic nature of the polymer. Melt-spun fibers were observed to have a high degree of molecular alignment owing to the nematic nature of the melt. Both polymer and fiber properties have been characterized. Characterization techniques used to this end include elemental analysis, hot-stage polarized light microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, dilute solution viscometry, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, nuclear magnetic resonance, differential scanning calorimetry, and thermogravimetric analysis. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci A: Polym Chem 36: 1473–1480, 1998
Computing singular solutions to polynomial systems

A method to generate accurate approximations to the singular solutions of a system of (complex) polynomial equations is presented. This method is established in a context of polynomial continuation; thus, all solutions are generated, with the singular solutions being approximated more accurately than by standard implementations. The theorem on which the method is based is proven using results from several complex variables and algebraic geometry. No special conditions on the derivatives of the system, such as restrictions on the rank of the Jacobian matrix at solutions, are required. A specific implementation is given and the results of numerical experiments in solving four test problems are presented.
Fragrance material review on p-isopropylbenzyl acetate.

Abstract A toxicologic and dermatologic review of p-isopropylbenzyl acetate when used as a fragrance ingredient is presented. p-Isopropylbenzyl acetate is a member of the fragrance structural group Aryl Alkyl Alcohol Simple Acid Esters (AAASAE). The AAASAE fragrance ingredients are prepared by reacting an aryl alkyl alcohol with a simple carboxylic acid (a chain of 1 to 4 carbons) to generate formate, acetate, propionate, butyrate, isobutyrate and carbonate esters. This review contains a detailed summary of all available toxicology and dermatology papers that are related to this individual fragrance ingredient and is not intended as a stand-alone document. Available data for p-isopropylbenzyl acetate were evaluated, then summarized, and includes: physical properties, acute toxicity, skin irritation, and skin sensitization data. A safety assessment of the entire AAASAE will be published simultaneously with this document. Please refer to Belsito et al. (2012) for an overall assessment of the safe use of this material and all AAASAE in fragrances. Belsito, D., Bickers, D., Bruze, M., Calow, P., Dagli, M., Fryer, A.D., Greim, H., Hanifin, J.H., Miyachi, Y., Saurat, J.H., Sipes, I.G., 2012. A toxicologic and dermatologic assessment of aryl alkyl alcohol simple acid esters when used as fragrance ingredients.
Comparison of online versus classroom delivery of an immunization elective course.

Objective. To compare performance and preferences of students who were randomly allocated to classroom or online sections of an elective course on immunization.Methods. Students were randomly assigned to either the classroom or online section. All course activities (lectures, quizzes, case discussions, vaccine administration, and final examination) were the same for both sections, except for the delivery of lecture material.Assessment. Students were surveyed on their preferences at the beginning and end of the semester. At the end of the semester, the majority of students in the classroom group preferred classroom or blended delivery while the majority of students in the online group preferred blended or online delivery (p<0.01). Student performance was compared at the end of the semester. There was no significant difference for any of the grades in the course between the 2 sections.Conclusion. There was no difference in student performance between the classroom and online sections, suggesting that online...
Next Generation Proteomics: Towards High-Throughput Protein Analysis via Microfluidic Integration & Soft Materials

While the genomics revolution has had sweeping impact on our understanding of life processes, the arguably more important “proteomics revolution” remains unrealized. Proteins are more directly linked to function than genes, but proteins are also dynamic and more biochemically complex. Consequently, protein analysis often demands multi-stage biochemical assays to measure not one, but multiple physicochemical properties (e.g., Western blot, 2D electrophoresis). Unfortunately, benchtop assays consume significant resources, making the biological sciences protein ‘data limited’. To surmount these challenges and realize an era of high throughput proteomics, innovation in instrumentation is needed.Microfluidic technology has advanced separations science, yet progress in multi-stage separations has lagged. Accepted multi-stage design approaches suffer from inherent information loss owing to strategies that ‘discretize’ first-stage separations by mapping readouts to discrete compartments in a second-stage. At UC Berkeley, we are introducing novel non-discretizing integration strategies. This talk will highlight multi-stage assays uniquely enabled by our ‘μMosaic’ fabrication technique: an approach that allows us to regionally photopattern 2D microchambers with heterogeneous, discrete crosslinked polyacrylamide gels. Our design strategy yields low-dispersion, near lossless electrokinetic material transport between disparate assay stages. In one example, I will summarize our recent progress towards fast, hands-free and perhaps even quantitative Western blotting, employed here for analysis of specimens from clinical sample repositories. Our ultimate goal being to advance the understanding of life processes - including development and disease - through quantitative bioinstrumentation.
High Surface Area Stainless Steel Brushes as Cathodes in Microbial Electrolysis Cells

Microbial electrolysis cells (MECs) are an efficient technology for generating hydrogen gas from organic matter, but alternatives to precious metals are needed for cathode catalysts. We show here that high surface area stainless steel brush cathodes produce hydrogen at rates and efficiencies similar to those achieved with platinum-catalyzed carbon cloth cathodes in single-chamber MECs. Using a stainless steel brush cathode with a specific surface area of 810 m2/m3, hydrogen was produced at a rate of 1.7 +/- 0.1 m3-H2/m3-d (current density of 188 +/- 10 A/m3) at an applied voltage of 0.6 V. The energy efficiency relative to the electrical energy input was 221 +/- 8%, and the overall energy efficiency was 78 +/- 5% based on both electrical energy and substrate utilization. These values compare well to previous results obtained using platinum on flat carbon cathodes in a similar system. Reducing the cathode surface area by 75% decreased performance from 91 +/- 3 A/m3 to 78 +/- 4 A/m3. A brush cathode with graphite instead of stainless steel and a specific surface area of 4600 m2/m3 generated substantially less current (1.7 +/- 0.0 A/m3), and a flat stainless steel cathode (25 m2/m3) produced 64 +/- 1 A/m3, demonstrating that both the stainless steel and the large surface area contributed to high current densities. Linear sweep voltammetry showed that the stainless steel brush cathodes both reduced the overpotential needed for hydrogen evolution and exhibited a decrease in overpotential over time as a result of activation. These results demonstrate for the first time that hydrogen production can be achieved at rates comparable to those with precious metal catalysts in MECs without the need for expensive cathodes.
Recent Progress in Collagen Research

In recent years our understanding of the macromolecules in connective tissue has increased considerably. Much has been learned about the chemistry and manner of synthesis of these substances, but the determination of their normal functions and their involvement in disease states has been less successful. In this paper, I summarize recent studies on collagen. Certain controversial or little noted questions will be emphasized along with recent developments in methodology. Wound healing and the removal of collagen are discussed elsewhere in this conference.
Growth of Polyporus glomeratus, Poria obliqua, Fomes igniarius, and Pholiota squarrosa-adiposa in media amended with manganese, calcium, zinc and iron.

Polyporus glomeratus Peck, Poria obliqua (Pers.) Bres., Fomes igniarius (L. ex Fries) Kickx., and Pholiota squarrosa-adiposa Lang are some of the principal Hymenomycetes that incite decay in the most valuable hardwood trees in the northeastern United States: sugar maple, Acer saccharum Marsh.; red maple, A. rubrum L.; yellow birch, Betula alleghaniensis Britton; paper birch, B. papyrifera Marsh.; American beech, Fagus grandifolia Ehrh.; and white ash, Fraxinus americana L. These fungi invade and decay wood that is altered first by host response to injury and then by infection with bacteria and nonhymenomycetous fungi (2) (FIG. 1). This altered wood differs in many ways from clear living wood (3). Two important differences of the dead and discolored wood are its high mineral content and high pH (1, 3). Because Hymenomycetes are in contact with such altered tissues, laboratory studies were conducted to gain some insight into the effect of manganese, calcium, zinc, and iron on the growth of these fungi. Isolates of the fungi were taken from decayed tissues in living trees cut on the White Mountain National Forest in New Hampshire. Inocula were prepared by growing the fungi in 25 ml of a liquid medium, 5 g glucose and 1 g yeast extract per liter of distilled water (5-1GY), in 250-ml Erlenmeyer flasks. The mycelium was washed thoroughly in distilled and deionized water and chopped in a blender. A drop of chopped mycelium was used as inoculum in each flask. The medium used in all experiments was 5-1GY. Amendments to this medium per liter were 0.1, 0.3, and 1.0 mg manganese as MnSO4'H2O; 10, 30 and 100 mg calcium as CaCl122HO2; 0.2, 0.6, and 2.0 mg zinc as ZnSO47H2O; and 0.2, 0.6, and 2.0 mg iron as FeNH4(SO4)2 12H20. The pH was adjusted to 6 in all media before autoclaving. The cultures were incubated at 25 C. Dry weight of mycelium, pH, and color of filtrate were recorded after 23 and 24 days. The experiments were repeated several times, and only slight variations occurred. A summary of the results is given in TABLE I. 604
Complete control of the chemoselectivity in catalytic carbene transfer reactions from ethyl diazoacetate : an N-heterocyclic carbene-Cu system that suppresses diazo coupling

The complex IPrCuCl (1) catalyzes the transfer of the :CHCO2Et group from ethyl diazoacetate (EDA) to unsaturated and saturated substrates (olefins, amine, alcohols) with very high yields. In the absence of substrate, the complex 1 does not react with EDA to give the diazo coupling products (fumarate and maleate), a rare example in the field of metal-catalyzed diazocompounds decomposition.
The Relationship between AB and BA

(1996). The Relationship between AB and BA. The American Mathematical Monthly: Vol. 103, No. 7, pp. 578-582.
Book Review: Black Asset Poverty and the Enduring Racial Divide by Lori Latrice Martin

After the 2008 election of President Barack Obama, several scholars and pundits contended that the USA had entered a new post-racial era, while other commentators avoided such proclamations. Instea...
Solvent perturbation difference spectra of a purified sheep antibody.

Abstract The solvent perturbation method of difference spectroscopy has been used to study chromophore exposure in a sheep immunoglobulin preparation. This particular preparation is an anti-(Glu 60 Ala 40 ) n antibody which requires divalent cations, particularly calcium, to effect interaction with the homologous antigen (Maurer et al. , 1970). After immunospecific purification, >90 per cent of the antibody sample could be precipitated with antigen. When precipitin tests were performed in 20 per cent (v/v) solutions of the perturbants (i.e. dimethylsulfoxide, ethylene glycol, glycerol and polyethylene glycol), no loss of activity was observed. Perturbation difference spectra of reduced-alkylated samples indicate a content of 16–17 tryptophane residues and 55–60 tyrosine residues per antibody molecule. Spectral studies with model compounds support this conclusion. In the native immunoglobulin, the smaller diameter perturbants reveal that 5·5-–6·5 tryptophane residues and 30–35 tyrosine residues are located on or near the surface (i.e. ‘exposed’); however, the larger diameter polyethylene glycol affects only two tryptophane residues indicating that three to four tryptophanes may be located in a ‘crevice’.
Phenyl phosphonic acid functionalized poly[aryloxyphosphazenes] as proton-conducting membranes for direct methanol fuel cells

Abstract A method for the synthesis of phenyl phosphonic acid functionalized poly[aryloxyphosphazene] membranes is described. Membranes of polymers with total ion-exchange capacities between 1.17 and 1.43 meq. g −1 were cast from N , N -dimethyl-formamide and found to have proton conductivities between 10 −2 and 10 −1 S cm −1 . Equilibrium water swelling values were determined to be between 11 and 32% depending on the polymer structure. Methanol diffusion coefficients for both radiation cross-linked and non-cross-linked membranes in 3 M aqueous methanol at 80 °C and 2.8 bar were found to be at least 12 times lower than for Nafion 117, and 6 times lower than for a radiation cross-linked sulfonated polyphosphazene membrane.
Impulsivity in adolescent bipolar disorder

Impulsivity is a prominent feature of bipolar disorder (BD) (1–3). Heightened impulsiveness is a characteristic feature of mania (3,4) and has also been associated with depressive episodes of BD (3,5). Using a self-report measure of trait impulsivity, the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale [BIS, (6)], adults with BD demonstrate elevated impulsivity during both acute mania and depression as well as in euthymic periods (2,3,7–10). These findings support impulsivity as a trait feature of BD. Impulsivity is elevated in adults with rapid-cycling bipolar disorder and suicidality, suggesting that impulsivity may be associated with poorer prognosis (11,12). Additionally, total and attentional impulsivity scores are related to an earlier age of onset in adult BD (12), suggesting impulsivity may be a characteristic of BD presenting during adolescence. However, little work has focused on impulsivity in adolescent BD and thus, it is not clear whether impulsivity is a trait feature of the adolescent epoch. To our knowledge, demonstration of trait impulsiveness across the attentional, motor, and nonplanning domains assessed by the BIS has not been reported previously in adolescents with BD. Increased impulsiveness in adolescents with BD is implicated by studies demonstrating impaired response inhibition in tasks requiring inhibition of prepotent responses and adaptation of responses to changing reinforcement contingencies (13–16). Moreover, impulsiveness could contribute to deficits in adaptive set shifting and cognitive flexibility in BD, demonstrated in euthymic adolescents with BD and in adolescent BD without comorbid attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (13–16). We assessed self-reported trait impulsivity in adolescents with BD using the BIS (6). We hypothesized that adolescents with BD would show increased impulsiveness compared to healthy comparison (HC) adolescents, and that this increase would be present in euthymic, in addition to symptomatic, adolescents with BD. We also explored the relationship between impulsivity and clinical features of BD, including rapid-cycling, comorbidity with ADHD, and suicidality.
ICESat measurement of Greenland ice sheet surface slope and roughness

The Ice, Cloud and land Elevation Satellite (ICESat) in its 8 day repeat orbit mode provided data not only on the along-track surface slope, but also on the cross-track surface slope from adjacent repeat ground tracks. During the first 36 days of operation, four to five such repeat orbits occurred within 1 km in the cross-track direction. This provided an opportunity to use ICESat data to measure surface slope in the cross-track direction at 1 km scale. An algorithm was developed to calculate the cross-track surface slope. Combining the slopes in the cross-track and along-track directions gives a three-dimensional surface slope at 1 km scale. The along-track surface slope and surface roughness at 10 km scale are also calculated. A comparison between ICESat surface elevation and a European Remote-sensing Satellite (ERS-1) 5 km digital elevation model shows a difference of 1-2 m in central Greenland where the surface slope is small, and >20 m at the edge of Greenland where the surface slope is large. The large elevation difference at the edge is most likely due to the slope-induced error in radar altimeter measurement. Accurate surface slope data from ICESat will help to correct the slope-induced error of radar altimeter missions such as Geosat, ERS-1 and ERS-2.
Pregnancy Wantedness and Child Attachment Security: Is There a Relationship?

Objectives Few studies examine the consequences of unwanted pregnancy on child development, and most of those that do, use measures of pregnancy intention. Here we use measures of pregnancy wantedness, together with measures of maternal motivation, to examine the potential effect of wantedness on the child’s attachment relationship with its mother. Methods Using data collected from 78 primiparous Black women who had applied for an Early Head Start program in a Midwestern city and who had completed a pregnancy acceptance questionnaire, we created four measures: Pregnancy Wantedness, Positive Maternal Motivation, Negative Maternal Motivation, and Social Reinforcement for the pregnancy. Each child had been assessed at about 11 months of age for Difficult Temperament and at about 14 months of age for Attachment Security. We then tested both regression and linear structural equation models in order to predict the child’s attachment security with the remaining variables. Results Pregnancy Wantedness is predicted with an R2 of .198 by Negative Maternal Motivation and Social Reinforcement but does not predict Attachment Security, which is predicted with an R2 of .375 by Positive Maternal Motivation, Negative Maternal Motivation, and Difficult Temperament. Conclusions Our analyses indicate that in a multivariate context there is no relationship between the wantedness of a pregnancy and the subsequent attachment security of the child for this sample of low-income Black primiparous mothers. This finding is related to some conceptual and measurement issues of pregnancy wantedness, the irrelevance of some aspects of wantedness to parent–child interaction, and the powerful effect of maternal motivations on child attachment security.
Efficacy of novel plasmid DNA encoding vaccinia antigens in improving current smallpox vaccination strategy.

We tested a DNA vaccine strategy in order to improve the efficacy and safety of the current live smallpox vaccine involving priming with DNA vaccines and boosting with live vaccinia virus (VacV). We generated DNA plasmids encoding the A4L, A27L and H5R VacV genes. A considerable increase in antigen-specific IFN-γ responses, high proliferative and humoral antigen-specific responses were detected in experimental primed Balb/C mice compared to controls after VacV boost. The VacV-DNA plasmids elicited IFN-γ production in HLA-A2.1 transgenic mice in response to predicted HLA-A2.1 restricted peptide epitopes, providing valuable data for further vaccine development.
The Risks and Rewards of Speaking Up: Managerial Responses to Employee Voice

This article examines whether managerial responses to employees speaking up depend on the type of voice exhibited—that is, whether employees speak up in challenging or supportive ways. In one field...
Nonlinear Stabilization of the Farley-Buneman Instability by Strong E → × B → Turbulence in a Plasma

It is shown that through nonlinear model coupling processes long-wavelength, low-frequency strong $\stackrel{\ensuremath{\rightarrow}}{\mathrm{E}}\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}\stackrel{\ensuremath{\rightarrow}}{\mathrm{B}}$ turbulence can stabilize short-wavelength, high-frequency Farley-Buneman modes in a weakly ionized low-pressure convecting plasma. Favorable comparisons are made with experimental observations.
Cytological localization of DNA complementary to ribosomal RNA in polytene chromosomes of Diptera

Molecular hybridization of radioactive ribosomal RNA with the DNA of cytological preparations is used to study the distribution of the ribosomal cistrons within the polytene chromosomes of three species of Diptera. It is shown that in Drosophila hydei the ribosomal cistrons are located within the nucleolus. In Rhynchosciara hollaenderi and Sciara coprophila, DNA coding for ribosomal RNA is present both in the nucleolus organizer regions of the chromosomes and in micronucleoli scattered throughout the nucleus. The DNA puffs in the salivary chromosomes of these sciarid flies do not contain detectable quantities of ribosomal cistrons. — RNA prepared by in vitro transcription has also been used to localize the ribosomal cistrons in Rhynchosciara. — Modifications in the technique of cytological hybridization are discussed.