cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Temperature, kairomones, and phenotypic plasticity in the rotifer Keratella tropica (Apstein, 1907)

A Patagonian strain of Keratella tropica exhibits extensive non-genetic variation in spine development and body size. This study experimentally investigates the effect of temperature (10, 15, 20, and 25°C), both alone and with Daphnia and Asplanchna kairomones, on spine and lorica length. Temperature by itself had a major effect on right and left posterior spines and the lorica; these increased in length as temperature decreased, most notably from 20 to 15°C. At these two temperatures and a high food level (1 × 104 cells Cryptomonas erosa ml−1), lengths were, respectively, ca. 24 and 38 μm for the right posterior spine, 19 and 32 μm for the left posterior spine, and 116 and 126 μm for the lorica. A lower food concentration (2 × 103 cells C. erosa ml−1) at these two temperatures had little effect; the left posterior spine and lorica were slightly but significantly smaller. The growth-promoting effects of low temperature and kairomones generally were additive. Daphnia induced a moderate increase in the length of both posterior spines and lorica; these increases were significantly greater at 15 than 20°C. Asplanchna induced a great elongation of the right posterior spine, a reduction or loss of the left posterior spine, and moderate elongation of the outer two pairs of anterior spines. The right posterior spine and anterior spines were of similar length at 15 and 20°C, but the left spine and lorica were significantly longer at 15°C. Temperature and kairomones from Asplanchna and some crustaceans control the expression of a great variety of phenotypes and probably are largely responsible for seasonal changes in the spine development of this rotifer in natural communities.
Sex Difference in Link between Interleukin-6 and Stress

Inflammation contributes to disease development, and the neuroimmunoendocrine interface is a potential site of action for inflammatory products like IL-6 to affect health. Although plasma IL-6 can stimulate the activity of the hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenocortical (HPA) axis, the precise role, if any, for IL-6 in the HPA response to nonimmunological stressors is unclear. The purpose of this study was to test the hypothesis that IL-6 in the stalk median eminence (SME) can be directly involved in stimulating ACTH secretion in response to acute stress in female swine. This study was undertaken as a result of finding IL-6 localized to the external zone of the SME next to the hypophyseal portal vessels. Results indicate that content of IL-6 in the SME decreases in response to acute stress along with an increase in nuclear phosphorylated signal transducer and activator of transcription-3 (pSTAT-3) in pituitary corticotrophs and a simultaneous increase in plasma concentrations of IL-6 and ACTH. Furthermore, we show that females concomitantly display greater SME content of IL-6 and greater HPA responsiveness to stress, thereby suggesting that IL-6 release from the SME is an integral factor contributing to enhanced stress responsiveness in females. Our results provide evidence for a direct link between IL-6 and ACTH release and reveal a sex difference in this relationship.
The incidence of Graves' ophthalmopathy in Olmsted County, Minnesota.

Purpose To determine the incidence of Graves' ophthalmopathy. Methods A population-based cohort of all Olmsted County, Minnesota, residents who had ophthalmopathy associated with autoimmune thyroid disease between Jan. 1, 1976, and Dec. 31, 1990, was identified through the medical diagnostic index of the Mayo Clinic and the Rochester Epidemiology Project. Results One hundred twenty incident patients were identified, of whom 103 (85.8%) were women (P = .00001; normal relative deviate test). The overall age-adjusted incidence rate for women was 16.0 cases per 100,000 population per year, whereas the rate for men was 2.9 cases per 100,000 population per year (standardized rate ratio, 5.5; 95% confidence interval, 3.3 to 9.3). The distribution of incidence rates by five-year age groups included peak incidence rates in the age groups 40 to 44 years and 60 to 64 years in women, and 45 to 49 years and 65 to 69 years in men. Conclusions Incidence rates for Graves' ophthalmopathy exhibited an apparent bimodal peak for both men and women, although the peaks for men occurred approximately five years after those for women. No explanation for these trends was apparent from the data collected.
Asymmetric synthesis of α-alkylated α-amino acids: azocane-2-carboxylic acids

Abstract α-Alkylated azocane-2-carboxylic acid methyl esters 5 were synthesized with excellent enantiomeric excess (>96%) in four steps starting from optically active β-keto esters 1 . The synthesis involved tetrazole formation, reduction, protection, and oxidation.
Addressing hazards in wireless sensor and actor networks

In wireless sensor and actor networks (WSANs), sensors monitor the environment based on which the sink issues commands to actors to act on the environment. In order to provide tight coupling between sensing and acting, an effective coordination mechanism is required among sensors and actors. In this context, we identify the problem of "hazards", which is the out-of-order execution of commands and queries due to lack of coordination between sensors and actors. We identify three hazards and show with an example application, the undesirable consequences of these hazards. We also outline the basic design needed to address this problem efficiently.
A preparative method for the isolation of brain cerebroside, sulfatide and sphingomyelin.

Abstract Ox brain sphingolipids are separated into cerebroside, sulfatide and sphingomyelin fractions by chromatography on a silicic acid-Hyflo Super-Cel column. Elution is carried out with mixtures of chloroform-methanol-water. Depending on the method by which the sphingolipids are prepared, it is necessary to free the cerebroside of small amounts of contaminating lipid by chromatography on Florisil. Regardless of the source, the sulfatide and sphingomyelin require further purification. Final purification of the sulfatide is carried out by chromatography on Florisil followed by precipitation from chloroform with acetone. Final purification of sphingomyelin is accomplished by chromatography on alumina. Final yields of 92–95% of the sphingolipids in a brain sphingolipid preparation are obtained. Chemical analysis of the products indicates purities of the order of 99%. Choline of sphingomyelin is assayed by a new micro assay based on the formation of choline reineckate.
Early respiratory responses of soil treated by heat or drying

Mild oven heating stimulated the respiratory activity of soils, following remoistening, more than drying alone. Tests with moist heating at the same temperatures indicated that the heat, rather than the drying, was responsible for a burst of activity peaking at 4 to 6 hours. It is probable that bacterial spore-formers were caused to germinate by mild heating. Soil samples receiving various treatments were heated to determine their response, and inferentially, the status of the bacterial spore-formers. Correlations were also made between populations during the early hours following various treatments and the respiratory activity. An attempt was made to determine, as best possible, how quickly the respiratory activity in dried-remoistened soil appeared.
The Cardiovascular-Behavioral Interaction—As It Appears Today

Research is reviewed concerning the interrelationships among cardiodynamics, blood pressure control mechanisms, somatic activity, and the stimulus parameter of active vs passive coping. Emerging evidence suggests that with passive coping such as classical aversive conditioning, the heart is more under vagal control which is directionally linked with somatic activity, while blood pressure is more dominated by vascular processes. With active coping such as shock avoidance, the heart is under greater sympathetic control which is directionally independent of concomitant somatic activity, while cardiac influences on blood pressure become more dominant. Several current psycho physiological issues are discussed including the possible significance of these effects for cardiovascular disease processes.
Excitation processes in an r.f.-boosted, pulsed hollow cathode lamp

Abstract Time and space resolved emission spectroscopy was used to examine the excitation processes in an r.f.-boosted, pulsed hollow cathode lamp. Sealed commercial hollow cathode lamps with copper cathodes and neon or argon buffer gases were driven with temporally spaced unidirectional current pulses and radio frequency bursts. The neon filled lamp was studied most extensively; the argon lamp was used for comparison. Three excitation periods were considered: the current pulse, the r.f. burst, and the afterglow. Each of these periods was marked by a unique set of emission characteristics that suggested different combinations of excitation processes. Excitation during the current pulse appears to be a combination electron impact and charge exchange. Charge exchange excites the 3 d 9 5 s levels of Cull while electron impact excites the other ion levels and the neutral levels. Charge exchange continues to excite the ion spectrum during the afterglow. Afterglow emission from the neutral spectrum apparently results from two types of recombination processes. The exact recombination mechanisms could not be unambiguously assigned. Emission results from the r.f. burst suggest that electron impact is the dominant excitation process. Excitation of the neutral and ion spectra are from their respective ground states. There appears to be little ionization by electron impact. To evaluate the lamp's suitability as a line source for analytical atomic spectroscopy the profile of the 324.8 nm neutral resonance line was examined during the current pulse and the r.f. burst. The profile during the current pulse is strongly dependent on radial position in the cathode bore. Near the edges of the cathode the line is severely self-reversed. The profile during the r.f. burst is uniform across the cathode bore and is affected only slightly by self-absorption.
The Interpretation of Data: Puberty Rites1

SINCE the emergence of anthropology as a systematic study a century ago, accounting for similarities and differences in culture among the societies of the world has been the central concern of evolutionists, diffusionists, and functionalists. Van Gennep's classic work on rites of passage deals largely with similarities. Since the time of van Gennep, various writings concerning a single society or a few societies have considered differences in rites of passage, attempting to explain the presence, absence, or relative elaboration of rites concerned with birth, puberty, marriage and other important events in the lives of individuals. These studies, of which Audrey Richards' Chisungu (1956) is the most recent detailed example, have come to us principally from scholars identified as social anthropologists, and they present interpretations relating the rites to features of social structure and social institutions. No study using this approach collates and compares the scattered group of publications on the subject or attempts to be comprehensive. The idea expressed by Durkheim and various of his followers that whatever is important in social life tends to receive ritual attention seems to form the implicit foundation of most studies of this kind. Their objective has been to state why stable marriages or the attainment of adult status and the like are socially important and fraught with difficulties in one society but less important and less disturbing in another. Of a similar vein is the view expressed by Chapple and Coon (1942) that rites are both an indication of disturbed social equilibrium and a device for restoring equilibrium. Where no rites occur, it appears to be assumed that no social disturbances exist; at least, there has been no systematic observation of individual societies to account for differences in practice. It is with some interest, then, that we see the publication by Whiting, Kluckhohn, and Anthony (1958) of a large-scale, cross-cultural comparison of male initiation ceremonies at puberty that offers a specific interpretation to account for the presence and absence of these ritual events and generalizations on the significance of the rites that presumably apply to all societies.2 Interpretations of individual features of puberty rites have come to us previously from psychoanalysis, notably from Freud (1939), and more recently from Bettelheim (1954). Again, these interpretations do not account for variations in practice from society to society, and they do not attempt to quantify data. The study by Whiting and collaborators compares 56 societies and offers an interpretation, presented in quantitative form, that is derived largely from psychoanalytic theory concerning the Oedipus complex. A close relation is reported to exist between customs fostering intimacy between mother and infant son,
An Empirical Test of the Job Satisfaction-Turnover Relationship: Assessing the Role of Job Performance for Retail Managers

The role of job performance in the turnover process has been a problematic issue for researchers and managers alike. The present study provides a preliminary test of two key predictions derived from a conceptual model refining the role of job performance as a direct impact on turnover, and a moderator of the job satisfaction-turnover relationship. The results support differing roles for intrinsic and extrinsic satisfaction components in their relationship with turnover for retail store managers performing at low, average and high levels.
Jumbled Women's Activism: Subnational And International Influences On Galician Equality Politics

Abstract International perspectives regarding gender equality have materialized in Galicia, the most northwestern region of Spain. This article examines how international and subnational factors have affected Galician nationalist feminists, rural women's associations and bureaucrats working in women's policy machineries. The article explains how these equality actors similarly base their activism on local and international themes, yet maintain different stances on the meaning of equality. I uncover how the subnational manifestation of women's policy machineries – themselves an international phenomenon – hastened diversity and even discontent among local equality actors. I conclude that subnational efforts at equality promotion do not always produce a bold version of feminism within local societies.
Q-sort definition of ego identity status.

Four Q-sort profiles of the ego identity statuses were developed to provide empirical definition and analysis of the statuses and Q-sort templates for status assignment by correlation with individual personality profiles. Ten expert judges used the California Q-set (Block, [1978];The Q-Sort Method in Personality Assessment and Psychiatric Research, Consulting Psychologists Press, Palo Alto, CA [originally published 1961]) to describe the prototypical individual in each ego identity status. The judgments were combined to form consensual composites (the Q Ego Identity Status templates [Q-EIS]) with reliabilities ranging from .87 to .97. Template descriptions of males in each status were quite similar to those for females; gender-specific Q-EIS templates correlated .92 for Identity Achievement, .86 for Foreclosure, .81 for Moratorium, and .84 for Identity Diffusion. The Q-EIS templates are analyzed for gender differences within status, intercorrelation among the statuses in comparison with theoretical predictions of the course of identity development, and empirical distinction of the characteristics salient to the dimensions of crisis and commitment.
The Development of a Facile Tandem Wolff/Cope Rearrangement for the Synthesis of Fused Carbocyclic Skeletons

A set of mild processes for the conversion of vinyl cyclopropyl diazo ketones to highly functionalized cycloheptadienones and vinyl cyclopentenones by use of a target-inspired tandem Wolff/Cope rearrangement sequence is described. A divergent reaction course of the vinyl cyclopropyl diazo ketone substrates under sono- or photochemical activation provides good to excellent yields (55−98%) of the product cycloheptadienones and vinyl cyclopentenones.
Gift of the Body in Islam: The Prophet Muhammad's Camel Sacrifice and Distribution of Hair and Nails at his Farewell Pilgrimage

The following pages examine the relationship between the prophet Muhammad's sacrifice of the camels and the distribution of his hair at the conclusion of his farewell pilgrimage just before his death. A study of the accounts of the Prophet's camel sacrifice shows that it prefigures the annual rites of the Hajj using the biblical model of Abraham's sacrifice to align other pre-Islamic practices, including those associated with the cult at Mecca, with the origins of a specifically Islamic civilization. The prophet Muhammad's distribution of his hair, detached from his body at the time of his desacralization from the Hajj delineates the Meccan sanctuary as the place of origination from which was spread both the physical and textual corpus of the Prophet's life. Whether by design or not, the traditional Islamic descriptions of this episode from the life of the prophet Muhammad are not unlike narratives found in Buddhist, Iranian, Christian and other traditions in which the body of a primal being is dismembered to create a new social order. Through the gift of the sacrificial camels and parts of his own body, the prophet Muhammad is portrayed, in this episode, as making a figurative and literal offering of himself at the origins of Islamic civilization.
Automatic antenna selector for use in biotelemetry applications.

Abstract Design details are provided for an antenna selector that will automatically step through up to 8 antennae, at a stepping rate of 100 msec, and select an antenna receiving a signal containing a selectable low value of high frequency noise. The antenna selector precedes the FM receiver, and utilizes feedback from the receiver discriminator to determine signal quality. It is designed for use in low signal strength biotelemetry applications.
Experience with model predictive control in the undergraduate laboratory

A model predictive control experiment for an undergraduate senior laboratory course is outlined in this article. The process under study is a continuous stirred-tank heater and the control objective is to control the water temperature in the tank. A discrete, dynamic, physical model of this process is used in the controller. The model predictive control algorithm is a single-move, analytical controller that matches the model predicted temperature to a reference temperature trajectory at a single time in the future. A series of different control experiments using this algorithm are described and examples of each are presented. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Comput Appl Eng Educ 13: 40–47, 2005; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com); DOI 10.1002/cae.20028
On the model theory of the ring NT(n, R)

Abstract Let NT(n, R) be the ring of strictly upper triangular(n × n) matrices (n ≥ 3) over an associative ring R with 1. We study the rings elementarily equivalent to NT(n, R) and find their structure. We prove the following theorems: • Theorem 1. NT(n, S) is elementarily equivalent to NT(m, R) if and only if n = m and R is equivalent to S. • Theorem 2. The number of models size λ elementarily equivalent to NT(n, R) equals the number of rings of size λ elementarily equivalent to R.
A uniform flying height rotary actuated air bearing slider

A new air bearing slider is presented and its flying characteristics are studied for large variations in skew angle due to rotary actuator positioning. The new slider contour is seen to remove most of the sensitivity of flying height and roll to skew angle and radial position. This should provide a more uniform magnetic head flying height over the recording band and allow a wider variation of slider skew angle. Conventional machining operations are required for production of the slider contour.
Mathematical interrelationship between instantaneous ventricular pressure-volume ratio and myocardial force-velocity relation.

The instantaneous left intraventricular pressure-volume ratio,e(t)= p(t)/[v(t)−v d], in whichp(t), v(t) andv d are intraventricular pressure, volume and a correction factor, respectively, was shown by our experimental studies to be independent of mechanical loading conditions and yet vary markedly with changes in contractile state of the ventricle. The studies also indicated that thee(t) curve under a given contractile state could be described ase(t)=αe o(βt), in whiche o(t) representse(t) under arbitrarily defined control contractile state and heart rate, and α and β are magnitude and duration parameters of the givene(t) with respect toe 0(t). The present mathematical analysis of mechanical relationship between ventricular performance represented bye(t) and myocardial contraction shows that the α and β parameters related to myocardial force,F, and shortening velocity of contractile element,V ce, respectively. Using a two-element model of myocardium and a thick-wall sphere or cylinder model of the ventricle we found thatF(t)=αHe 0(βt) andV ce(t)=βK j[de 0(βt)/d(βt)]/e 0(βt). BothH andK j are functions of ventricular volume and are specific to the geometric model used, whereas the mode of afterload affectsK j only. The mathematically derivedF−V ce curves and their shifts owing to variations of α, β,H andK j under isotonic, isobaric and isovolumetric contractions simulated the experimentally establishedF−V ce curves from papillary muscle and their characteristic shifts reported by other investigators. On these bases we conclude thate(t) explicitly expresses the dynamic characteristics of myocardial contractions, which further supports our experimental contention thate(t) can be used as a useful index of contractile state of the ventricular chamber.
Effects of abomasal infusions of safflower oil or elaidic acid on blood lipids and milk fat in dairy cows.

Abstract In each of three trials with abomasally-fistulated lactating Holstein cows, we compared control rations to the same ration plus abomasal infusion of safflower oil or elaidic acid. In Trial 1, 250 ml safflower oil were infused over 4 h daily for 3 wk. Trial 2 involved infusing 500 ml safflower oil over 4 h daily for 1 wk. In Trial 3 elaidic acid was infused daily for 1 wk. Infusion of safflower oil in Trial 1 increased milk fat percentage and proportion of 18-carbon polyunsaturated fatty acids in the milk fat. Proportions of myristic, palmitic, stearic, and oleic fatty acids of milk fat decreased. Blood ketones and free fatty acids and cholesterol of plasma were increased by the oil infusion. In Trial 2 the 1-wk infusion of safflower oil did not affect milk fat yield or percentage. The infusion increased the proportion of polyunsaturated 18-carbon fatty acids in the milk fat and decreased myristate, palmitate, and stearate. An increase in plasma free fatty acid was small but significant. Triglycerides, cholesterol, glucose, ketones, and acetate were not affected by the infusion. Intake of hay was depressed by this infusion rate. In Trial 3, infusion of elaidic acid had no effect on milk fat yield or percentage. Blood or plasma lipids did not change.
Young’s increasing returns, the factory system and Kaldor’s admonition

Nicholas Georgescu‐Roegen’s analysis of the factory system is used to show how an expanded market makes possible increasing returns in manufacturing, which can in turn lead to the kind of cumulative growth process envisioned by Allyn Young. The analysis is then extended to take into account Nicholas Kaldor’s admonition to pay attention to the fact that manufacturing is a process that uses inputs that are the products of nature. It is found that the inability to use the factory system in agriculture limits the extent of increasing returns in manufacturing. Increasing returns in manufacturing and an accompanying pattern of cumulative growth require a continuing infusion of exogenous technological innovation in agriculture.
Imaging of facial fillers: additional insights.

We appreciate the interest that readers have expressed in our article “Imaging Features of Midface Injectable Fillers and Associated Complications,”[1][1] and we are pleased to be regarded as pioneers in the field. However, we would like to clarify a few points and share additional insights on
Medium chain triglyceride oil consumption as part of a weight loss diet does not lead to an adverse metabolic profile when compared to olive oil.

Objective: Medium chain triglyceride (MCT) consumption may have a beneficial impact on weight management, however, some studies point to a negative impact of MCT oil consumption on cardiovascular disease risk. This study examined the effects of MCT oil consumption, as part of a weight loss diet, on metabolic risk profile compared to olive oil.Design: Thirty-one men and women, age 19–50 y and body mass index 27–33 kg/m2, completed this randomized, controlled, 16-week weight loss program. Oils were consumed at a level of ∼12% of the subjects’ prescribed energy intakes in the form of muffins and liquid oil.Results: After controlling for body weight, there was a significant effect of time on fasting serum glucose (P = 0.0177) and total cholesterol (P = 0.0386) concentrations, and on diastolic blood pressure (P = 0.0413), with reductions in these variables occurring over time; there was no time-by-diet interaction for any of the parameters studied. Two of the 3 subjects in the MCT oil group with evidence of th...
Detection of neuronal current MRI in human without BOLD contamination

Controversial results regarding the detectability of neuronal current magnetic resonance imaging (ncMRI) have been reported in different studies on human subjects. In all the previous studies, the ncMRI signal was detected under a continuous and paradigm task-induced blood oxygen level dependent (BOLD) signal background. The aim of this study is to investigate the possibility of detecting ncMRI signal in human brain in the situation that task-induced BOLD background is absent or minimum. In this study, by adopting an event-related visuomotor paradigm with long interstimulus interval (=20 s), the ncMRI signal was detected when the BOLD signal fully returned to its baseline, and the potential BOLD background contamination was avoided effectively. The results showed that the visuomotor stimulation elicited BOLD activation in visual and motor cortices, but no significant ncMRI signal change (in magnitude) was detected in human brain. These experimental findings are consistent with theoretical predications.
Treatment patterns by decade of life in elderly women (≥70 years of age) with ovarian cancer ☆

Abstract Objective. Elderly patients are less likely to receive surgery and platinum-based combination chemotherapy than younger patients. We evaluated multi-institutional management of ovarian cancer in the elderly. Methods. Charts of women with ovarian, primary peritoneal or fallopian tube cancer from 1/1996–6/2004, age ≥70 years were reviewed. Age, stage, medical co-morbidities, surgery, chemotherapy, treatment modification, toxicity and survival were analyzed. Chi-square, logistic regression and survival analysis were used. Results. Of 131 patients, 90 were ages 70–79 (group 1 = G1) and 41 were >80 years of age (group 2 = G2). Surgery was performed in 80 patients in G1; 25 patients in G2 ( P = 0.001). Among patients who underwent surgery, optimal debulking and post-operative complications did not differ between groups. Ninety-five percent of patients received platinum-based therapy and 83% received combination platinum/paclitaxel in G1, compared to 90% and 41%, respectively, in G2 ( P Conclusion. The extreme elderly had a decreased likelihood of receiving surgery and combination chemotherapy despite equivalent co-morbidities. In this analysis, optimal surgical cytoreduction had the greatest impact on survival.
Organochlorine residue concentrations and burdens in grey seal (Halichoerus grypus) blubber during the first year of life

Between 1988 and 1991 grey seal (Halichoerus grypus) pups at various developmental stages were sampled at Sable Is., NS, and blubber samples were analysed for lipid content and organochlorine (OC) residue concentrations. Blubber lipid content increased significantly between birth and 12 d, and then stayed relatively constant. Blubber OC residue concentrations were fairly constant during the first 12–16 d of life. From weaning (approx. 16 d) until four months, the pups are learning to feed but are relying on blubber fat reserves; thus, during this period blubber weight declined to minimum levels, and OC residue concentrations in blubber lipid increased significantly. Blubber lipid OC concentrations then declined slightly as the pups gained weight, until at the end of one year they were about twice those immediately post-weaning. Blubber lipid residue burdens calculated from these data showed that at weaning, about 98% of the seal's residues were accumulated from maternal milk. After weaning, there were no significant changes in the burdens of any residue until the end of the first year of the pup's life, and the organochlorine concentration changes reflected a fairly constant organochlorine burden around which lipid contents varied. These data suggest that the capacity of the seal to degrade the residue inherited from its mother is very limited. Furthermore, the absence of any significant accumulation of organochlorines during the second six months of the seal's life suggests that the juvenile seal must feed at a low trophic level which is not highly contaminated with organochlorines.
Studies on the mechanism of iron release from transferrin

Abstract Iron release from human, rabbit, rat and sheep transferrin, chicken conalbumin and human lactoferrin was measured by the change in absorbance of solutions of the iron-protein complexes or by the release of 59Fe from the protein conjugated to agarose. Several phosphatic compounds and iron chelators were able to mediate the process (ATP, GTP, 2,3-diphosphoglycerate, inositol hexaphosphate, pyridoxal 5-phosphate, cytidine 5-triphosphate, pyrophosphate, inorganic phosphate, citrate, EDTA, oxalate, nitrilotriacetate). The greatest rate of iron release was found with pyrophosphate and the least with inorganic phosphate. Different rates of iron release were obtained with the different proteins, greatest with human transferrin and least with lactoferrin. With each of the proteins and the mediators there was a linear relationship between the H+ concentration and the rate of iron release. At any given pH the rate of iron release increased to a maximal rate as the mediator concentration was raised. It is concluded that iron release from transferrin under the conditions of these experiments involves an initial interaction between H+ and the iron-transferrin complex followed by release of the iron under the action of the mediator.
Monetary randomness and investment

Abstract This paper develops a neoclassical model in which the behavior of the money supply affects investment by affecting the real distribution of asset returns. Investment depends on wealthholders' demand for capital. A stochastic money growth rule influences portfolio choice by affecting the distribution of the inflation rate. The variance of inflation matters to wealthholders because of the existence of assets with returns that are not indexed to changes in the price level: money and bonds which are contracted in nominal terms. In a rational expectations environment, asset demands will thus be sensitive to the distribution of the money growth rate. Our principle conclusion is that an increase in the variance of the money growth rate lowers investment, which complements Tobin's (1965) result that an increase in the mean stimulates capital accumulation. The paper also represents a step toward incorporating an asset market into a macroeconomic model in a manner which takes account of Lucas' (1976) criticism of econometric policy evaluation. All variables in the model, including asset return distributions, are functions of technology, preferences and the money supply rule. Further, expectations are rational.
Hydrodynamic, mass transfer, and dissolution effects induced by tablet location during dissolution testing

Tablets undergoing dissolution in the USP Dissolution Testing Apparatus II are often found at locations on the vessel bottom that are off-center with respect to the dissolution vessel and impeller. A previously validated CFD approach and a novel experimental method were used here to examine the effect of tablet location on strain rates and dissolution rates. Dissolution tests were conducted with non-disintegrating tablets (salicylic acid) and disintegrating tablets (Prednisone) immobilized at different locations along the vessel bottom. CFD was used to predict the velocity profiles and strain rates when the tablets were placed at such locations. A CFD-based model was derived to predict the mass transfer coefficient and dissolution curves, which were then compared to the experimental results. Both non-disintegrating and disintegrating off-center tablets experimentally produced higher dissolution rates than centered tablets. The CFD-predicted strain rate distribution along the bottom was highly not uniform and the predicted strain rates correlated well with the experimental mass transfer coefficients. The proposed CFD-based model predicts mass transfer rates that correlate well with the experimental ones. The exact tablet location has a significant impact on the dissolution profile. The proposed model can satisfactorily predict the mass transfer coefficients and dissolution profiles for non-disintegrating tablets.
Formation of soluble whey protein aggregates and their stability in beverages.

Abstract The objectives of this work were to 1) determine the role of pH in forming thermally stable whey protein isolate (WPI) soluble aggregates (SA), 2) evaluate the functionality of SA formed under a range of conditions, and 3) evaluate SA stability in a model beverage. Whey protein isolate SA were formed using two sources of WPI at pH 6.5 or 7.5, and thermal stability was tested in the presence of 30–60 mM NaCl or 15–30 mM CaCl2. Soluble aggregates from the two sources of WPI exhibited physicochemical and functional differences over the range of conditions investigated. Soluble aggregates formed at pH 7.5, 7% w/w protein, by heating statically at 90 °C for 10 min exhibited lower turbidity and viscosity, and higher solubility when thermally treated in solutions containing salt for both types of WPI, and were more sensitive to CaCl2. Soluble aggregates and a model beverage containing the SA were prepared at pilot scale and evaluated for shelf stability. Soluble aggregates were formed under continuous flow at pH 6.5, 7% w/w WPI, added at 5% w/w to the beverage, and thermally processed. Over nine weeks of storage at 22.5 °C, the beverage with SA had lower turbidity, aggregate size, and viscosity; and the aggregates had a more negative zeta potential. Results indicate that SA can be used to improve thermal and storage stability in beverages containing salts, and that solution and heating conditions can be optimized for improved thermal stability.
The midas touch: black gold, economics and politics in Iran today

The legendary King Midas was the first Near Eastern ruler to cherish the belief that untold mineral wealth would enable him to realize all his dreams and ambitions. But just because all he touched turned into gold, he soon discovered he could no longer eat. The moral of this legend may becomning home to various regimes in oil-rich countries, which are encountering problems of agricultural decline, overrapid rural-urban migration, inflation, increased income distribution gaps, and so forth. Nowhere have the expected achievements to result from oil income been more touted than in Iran, where the "White Revolution" (later the "Shah-People Revolution") and the "Great Civilization" proclaimed from the throne since the early 1960s were not only to provide social and economic well-being for all, but also to put Iran among the world's top industrial powers before the end of the century (whether it was seriously going to be among the five top world powers varied from statement to statement, but this was said at one time). Today all this lies inobvious ruins, but the ruin did not begin with oppositional demonstrations generally dated from January, 1978, but was there for many to see in the preceding years.1
Symbolic Error Analysis and Robot Planning

A program written to control a robot manipulator for industrial assembly operations must take into account possible errors in parts placement and tolerances of the parts themselves. Previous approa...
Warning: The Hollow State Can Be Deadly

While this book mines the field of choices facing the United States in the aftermath of 9/11, it does not provide a comprehensive answer. It also fails to con sider the implementation problems that any of these choices would conceivably face if adopted. Could the theoretically better-designed organizations actually be implemented, and if they can be measured, would they yield better results? The answer lies in part with the response of the 1.85 million federal employees to whoever might be vested with the authority to rede sign and implement the reorganizations envisioned by the authors.
Special Libraries Association: The Importance of Leadership

ABSTRACT The Special Libraries Association (SLA), celebrating its 100th year in 2009, has long considered leadership qualities to be an important characteristic of members of the association. This article describes the structure of the organization and types of leadership programs available to SLA members and reviews some of the research done on the individual potential leadership characteristics of librarians and on special librarians in particular. A brief summary of the current activities of SLA and its positioning for the future are also provided.
Advanced maternal age--how old is too old?

How realistic is it for a young woman today to expect to delay her childbearing while she pursues her career? Dr. Linda J. Heffner examines how old is too old.
Religion and American Politics from a Global Perspective

Past findings and theory in the sociology of religion support two opposing perspectives concerning the influence of religion on American politics. Looking from within the United States, the commanding influence of religion on political rhetoric and voting patterns seems apparent. From a global perspective, the role that religion plays in American politics is less clear; in fact, one could argue that our political institutions are decidedly secular. I present support for both of these perspectives before turning to an international analysis of images of God using the Gallup World Poll. These data indicate the uniqueness of American religiosity and suggest that the ways in which religion affect politics in the United States is unusual for a post-industrial country. Namely, many Americans understand God as a political actor; because of this, American political culture mixes religious and political language with fervor, all while keeping church and state institutions separate.
Rapid polymerase chain reaction-based detection of the causative agent of cat scratch disease (Bartonella henselae) in formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded samples

Bartonella (formerly Rochalimaea) henselae (Bh) plays a central role in cat scratch disease. A polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based assay that can detect Bh DNA in formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded (FF-PE) samples would have utility in the evaluation of processed lymph nodes suggestive of this disorder. Fresh or FF-PE cultures of Bh and related species were analyzed. Thirteen lymph nodes (12 FF-PE and one fresh cell suspension) with necrotizing suppurative granulomatous inflammation and seven FF-PE negative control lymph nodes were also evaluated. PCR was performed using a novel, hemi-nested protocol. Amplified products were analyzed by gel electrophoresis. The fresh and FF-PE Bh cultures showed a specific PCR product with an analytical sensitivity of 0.5 pg bacterial DNA. Seven (54%) of 13 clinical lymph node samples with morphological features suggestive of cat scratch disease also had detectable Bh DNA, whereas none of the seven negative control lymph nodes yielded positive results. We have designed a rapid and sensitive PCR test that can reliably detect Bh DNA in fresh and FF-PE samples. Our findings indicate that this assay has clinical utility in the diagnosis of cat scratch disease.
Surrogate mobility and orientation affect the early neurobehavioral development of infant rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta).

A biological mother’s movement appears necessary for optimal development in infant monkeys. However, nursery-reared monkeys are typically provided with inanimate surrogate mothers that move very little. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of a novel, highly mobile surrogate mother on motor development, exploration, and reactions to novelty. Six infant rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta) were reared on mobile hanging surrogates (MS) and compared to six infants reared on standard stationary rocking surrogates (RS) and to 9-15 infants reared with their biological mothers (MR) for early developmental outcome. We predicted that MS infants would develop more similarly to MR infants than RS infants. In neonatal assessments conducted at day 30, both MS and MR infants showed more highly developed motor activity than RS infants on measures of grasping (p=.009), coordination (p=.038), spontaneous crawl (p=.009), and balance (p=.003). At 2-3 months of age, both MS and MR infants displayed higher levels of exploration in the home cage than RS infants (p=.016). In a novel situation in which only MS and RS infants were tested, MS infants showed less of a stress response, spending less time near their surrogates in the first five minutes of the test session than RS infants (p=.05) and exhibiting a significantly lower rise in salivary cortisol after the test than RS infants (p=.018). Collectively, these results suggest that when nursery-rearing of infant monkeys is necessary, a mobile hanging surrogate may encourage more normative development of gross motor skills and exploratory behavior and may serve as a useful alternative to stationary or rocking surrogates.
Mass spectrometry-based quantitative proteomic analysis of Salmonella enterica serovar Enteritidis protein expression upon exposure to hydrogen peroxide

Background Salmonellaenterica, a common food-borne bacterial pathogen, is believed to change its protein expression profile in the presence of different environmental stress such as that caused by the exposure to hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), which can be generated by phagocytes during infection and represents an important antibacterial mechanism of host cells. Among Salmonella proteins, the effectors of Salmonella pathogenicity island 1 and 2 (SPI-1 and SPI-2) are of particular interest since they are expressed during host infection in vivo and are important for invasion of epithelial cells and for replication in organs during systemic infection, respectively. However, the expression profiles of these proteins upon exposure to H2O2 or to host cells in vivo during the established phase of systemic infection have not been extensively studied.
Weak solar fields and their connection to the solar cycle

Videomagnetograph observations of the weak solar magnetic fields are discussed. Intranetwork (IN) elements are found to emerge in bipolar form, but to flow in a random pattern rather than toward the network elements. Merging of IN fields is found to be more important than the ephemeral regions as a source of new network elements. Arguments for and against the hypothesis that all solar fields are intrinsically strong are considered. It is noted that reconnection and merging of magnetic fields take place continually under the conditions presently examined.
Three Questions Regarding Urbanization in China

The three questions addressed in this article pertain, respectively, to the contributing factors, outcomes, and policy interventions associated with urbanization in China. Contributing factors include transition to a market-driven economy, political devolution, demographic changes, globalization, and technological change. These are unravelled with care, with a conclusion that embedded markets are the central contributing factor, with globalization and political institutions as important helpmates. Regarding urbanization outcomes, the evidence reviewed supports the convergence hypothesis in broad terms, but with ample evidence of hybridity, resulting in urbanization with Chinese characteristics. The article concludes with a call for a more balanced approach to urban policy interventions in China, whereby existing spatial planning perspectives are complemented by market-based perspectives.
Methylation Patterns of the E-cadherin 5′ CpG Island Are Unstable and Reflect the Dynamic, Heterogeneous Loss of E-cadherin Expression during Metastatic Progression

Metastatic progression of most common epithelial tumors involves a heterogeneous, transient loss of expression of the homotypic cell adhesion protein, E-cadherin, rather than the uniform loss of a functional protein resulting from coding region mutation. Indeed, whereas E-cadherin loss may promote invasion, reexpression may facilitate cell survival within metastatic deposits. The mechanisms underlying such plasticity are unclear. We now show that the heterogeneous loss of E-cadherin expression in primary human breast cancers reflects a heterogeneous pattern of promoter region methylation, which begins early prior to invasion. In cultured human tumor cells, such heterogeneous methylation is dynamic, varying from allele to allele and shifting in relation to the tumor microenvironment. Following invasion in vitro, which favors diminished E-cadherin expression, the density of promoter methylation markedly increased. When these cells were cultured as spheroids, which requires homotypic cell adhesion, promoter methylation decreased dramatically, and E-cadherin was reexpressed. These data show that the methylation associated with E-cadherin loss in human breast cancer is heterogeneous and unstable and suggest that such epigenetic plasticity may contribute to the dynamic, phenotypic heterogeneity that drives metastatic progression.
Brand choice and varying quantity of information

Abstract The research reported here examines the impact of varying information on brand choice decisions and the relationship between brand choice and consumers' confidence, satisfaction, and the assumptions they make about undisclosed information.
Single unit response of neurons within the hamster suprachiasmatic nucleus to GABA and low chloride perfusate during the day and night

Using the in vitro hamster hypothalamic slice preparation, the effects of GABA and 80% chloride (Cl-) reduced medium on the single unit activity of SCN neurons was investigated. GABA 10(-4) M produced inhibitory responses in 55% of the 69 SCN neurons examined. No statistically significant day-night difference was observed in either the percentage of SCN units responding to GABA, or in their threshold response. During the day 80% Cl- reduced medium had an excitatory effect on SCN neurons; however, following the return to normal Cl- concentrations a transient, but significant inhibition was observed. During the night, 80% Cl- reduced medium produced an excitatory response similar to that observed during the day, but no inhibition following return to the medium containing normal Cl- concentrations. Only during the night was Cl- reduced medium found to initiate activity in a dose-dependent manner in some silent cells. No significant day-night difference in response to 80% Cl- reduced medium occurred in neurons of the paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus. These results indicate that SCN neurons whose activity is mediated by Cl- may be involved in the control of circadian rhythms.