cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Ancient Redwoods, Junk Bonds, and the Politics of Finance: A Study of the Hostile Takeover of the Pacific Lumber Company

In 1986 Pacific Lumber (PL). the largest private owner of old-growth redwood trees, was acquired in a highly leveraged hostile takeover by MAXXAM Group. MAXXAM subsequently doubled the rate at which PL harvested its ancient redwoods, precipitating 10 years of environmental protests and intensive coverage in the national news media. This highly negative coverage almost universally blames the junk bond-financed takeover for the threat to PL's ancient forests, and thereby provides for many people unequivocal evidence of the distinctive impact of 1980s Wall Street greed. This paper provides contradictory evidence which establishes that the threat to PL's old-growth redwoods is not attributable to junk bonds, high leverage, or hostile takeovers. Our analysis of the media treatment of the PL takeover sheds light on the process through which the public came to hold strongly negative views of Wall Street in the wake of the 1980s wave of corporate rest rupturings.
Glaucoma and Cornea Surgery Outcomes in Peters Anomaly.

Purpose To conduct a qualitative description of corneal and glaucoma outcomes in Peters anomaly. Design Retrospective case series. Methods Children with Peters anomaly who presented between 1982–2017 were included. Visual acuity, intraocular pressure (IOP), survival of corneal grafts, and success of glaucoma surgery (defined as IOP of 5–20 mm Hg and no additional IOP-lowering surgery or visually devastating complications) were analyzed. Results Fifty-eight eyes of 37 patients (19 males) with Peters anomaly presented at 0.7 ± 1.5 years of age and had a follow-up of 10.2 ± 10.8 years. Twenty-three eyes underwent penetrating keratoplasty (PKP) with an average of 2.0 ± 1.3 grafts per eye. PKP survival at 1 year was 60% (95% confidence interval 41–75%) but decreased at 10 years to 34% (95% confidence interval 18–51%). Thirty-four eyes were diagnosed with glaucoma at 2.8 ± 6.4 years of age. Twenty eyes required glaucoma surgery, and the average number of IOP-lowering surgeries was 2.9 ± 2.0 per eye. Glaucoma drainage devices (15 eyes) had a 53% success rate. Laser cycloablation (9 eyes, transcleral or endoscopic) had a success rate of 67% with 2.0 ± 1.0 treatments per eye. Trabeculectomy with mitomycin C (8 eyes) and trabeculotomy (8 eyes) had 25% and 0% success rates, respectively. Fifteen eyes that underwent glaucoma surgery obtained IOP control, and GDD with or without cycloablation accounted for 80% of the successes. Eyes that underwent PKP did not show increased rates of glaucoma, higher IOP, or a greater necessity for IOP-lowering surgery. Conclusions In Peters anomaly, PKP shows poor long-term success. In addition, >50% of eyes with Peters anomaly have secondary glaucoma that often requires multiple surgeries.
Effects of Roof Bolter Canopy Air Curtain on Airflow and Dust Dispersion in an Entry Using Exhaust Curtain Ventilation

A recent study conducted by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) evaluated the roof bolter canopy air curtain (CAC) system in a blowing face ventilation system, demonstrating its effectiveness and illustrating the CAC protection zones. This study evaluates the roof bolter machine CAC while operating in an exhausting face ventilation system. This study considers two similar locations to allow comparison with the previous blowing face ventilation (Zheng et al., Min Metal Explor 36(6):1115–1126, (2019)) study: (1) a roof bolter machine bolting the roof at 20 ft (6.1 m) from the face and (2) a roof bolting machine bolting at 4 ft (1.2 m) from the face. The environment introduces 6.0 mg/m3 of respirable dust to represent the roof bolting machine operating downstream of the continuous miner. However, the exhausting face ventilation uses an exhaust curtain with 9000 cfm (4.25 m3/s) of air. Two roof bolter machine working positions are simulated with the use of dual drill heads in the inward position for two inside bolts and in the outward position for two outside bolts. The influence of the CAC on airflows and dust dispersion is evaluated with the CAC operating at 250 cfm (0.12 m3/s) with dust reductions ranging from 39.5 to 82.8%. When the roof bolter machine operated close to the face, increasing CAC airflow was required for adequate protection since the dust reductions can be as low as 39.5%. Additional CAC airflows of 350 cfm (0.17 m3/s) and 450 cfm (0.21 m3/s) were evaluated and demonstrated that dust reductions increased to 59.7% (350 cfm) and 72.0% (450 cfm) for the worst location where the roof bolter operators located.
PIEZO ion channel is required for root mechanotransduction in Arabidopsis thaliana

Summary Plant roots adapt to the mechanical constraints of the soil to grow and absorb water and nutrients. As in animal species, mechanosensitive ion channels in plants are proposed to transduce external mechanical forces into biological signals. However, the identity of these plant root ion channels remains unknown. Here, we show that Arabidopsis thaliana PIEZO (AtPIEZO) has preserved the function of its animal relatives and acts as an ion channel. We present evidence that plant PIEZO is highly expressed in the columella and lateral root cap cells of the root tip which experience robust mechanical strain during root growth. Deleting PIEZO from the whole plant significantly reduced the ability of its roots to penetrate denser barriers compared to wild type plants. piezo mutant root tips exhibited diminished calcium transients in response to mechanical stimulation, supporting a role of AtPIEZO in root mechanotransduction. Finally, a chimeric PIEZO channel that includes the C-terminal half of AtPIEZO containing the putative pore region was functional and mechanosensitive when expressed in naive mammalian cells. Collectively, our data suggest that Arabidopsis PIEZO plays an important role in root mechanotransduction and establishes PIEZOs as physiologically relevant mechanosensitive ion channels across animal and plant kingdoms.
Parameter estimation for correlated Ornstein-Uhlenbeck time-series

In this article, we develop a Maximum likelihood (ML) approach to estimate parameters from correlated time traces that originate from coupled Ornstein-Uhlenbeck processes. The most common technique to characterize the correlation between time-series is to calculate the Pearson correlation coefficient. Here we show that for time series with memory (or a characteristic relaxation time), our method gives more reliable results, but also results in coupling coefficients and their uncertainties given the data. We investigate how these uncertainties depend on the number of samples, the relaxation times and sampling time. To validate our analytic results, we performed simulations over a wide range of correlation coefficients both using our maximum likelihood solutions and Markov- Chain Monte-Carlo (MCMC) simulations. We found that both ML and MCMC result in the same parameter estimations. We also found that when analyzing the same data, the ML and MCMC uncertainties are strongly correlated, while ML underestimates the uncertainties by a factor of 1.5 to 3 over a large range of parameters. For large datasets, we can therfore use the less computationally expensive maximum likelihood method to run over the whole dataset, and then we can use MCMC on a few samples to determine the factor by which the ML method underestimates the uncertainties. To illustrate the application of our method, we apply it to time series of brain activation using fMRI measurements of the human default mode network. We show that our method significantly improves the interpretation of multi-subject measurements of correlations between brain regions by providing parameter confidence intervals for individual measurements, which allows for distinguishing between the variance from differences between subjects from variance due to measurement error.
The affective politics of policy making spaces: Gendered and racial embodiments of neoliberal deservingness and power in a city council meeting

Abstract Bringing together feminist works on affect, neoliberalism, and the racial dimensions of dependency discourse, this paper discusses affective politics in policy making spaces by examining a Durham (North Carolina, USA) City Council meeting. We focus on a 2017 Housing Needs Hearing where bodily gestures and speech acts were crucial parts of emotional interactions that defined, maintained, and challenged subject positions and power structures. We argue that embedded within legacies of racial and gender inequality, neoliberal sensibilities work through embodied emotional performances that impact policy conversations. Our analysis reveals how, despite progressive aspirations and accomplishments in Durham, the meeting's extractive set up perpetuates inequities by positioning those seeking assistance to prove their worth through a contradictory performance of desperation and self-actualization while enabling supporters of housing affordability, including city officials, to adopt the role of caring advocates. We find that a performance of pain and the rhetorical proof of self-responsibility opens up potential access to affordable housing and in doing so reveals both the limits and impact of a broken housing system. We thus extend analysis of the neoliberal condition of US housing inequality by deepening understanding of how neoliberal deservingness is embodied and shapes racialized, classed, and gendered subject positions.
Noninvasive detection of elevated ICP using spontaneous tympanic membrane pulsation.

Neurological conditions such as traumatic brain injury (TBI) and hydrocephalus may lead to intracranial pressure (ICP) elevation. Current diagnosis methods rely on direct pressure measurement, while CT, MRI and other expensive imaging may be used. However, these invasive or expensive testing methods are often delayed because symptoms of elevated ICP are non-specific. Invasive methods, such as intraventricular catheter, subdural screw, epidural sensor, lumbar puncture, are associated with an increased risk of infection and hemorrhage. On the other hand, noninvasive, low-cost, accurate methods of ICP monitoring can help avoid risks and reduce costs while expediting diagnosis and treatment. The current study proposes and evaluates a novel method for noninvasive ICP monitoring using tympanic membrane pulsation (TMp). These signals are believed to be transmitted from ICP to the auditory system through the cochlear aqueduct. Fifteen healthy subjects were recruited and TMp signals were acquired noninvasively while the subjects performed maneuvers that are known to change ICP. A custom made system utilizing a stethoscope headset and a pressure transducer was used to perform these measurements. Maneuvers included head-up-tilt, head-down-tilt and hyperventilation. When elevated ICP was induced, significant TMp waveform morphological changes were observed in each subject (p < 0.01). These changes include certain waveform slopes and high frequency wave features. The observed changes were reversed by the maneuvers that decreased ICP (p < .01). The study results suggest that TMp waveform measurement and analysis may offer an inexpensive, noninvasive, accurate tool for detection and monitoring of ICP elevations. Further studies are warranted to validate this technique in patients with pathologically elevated ICP.
Book Success Prediction with Pretrained Sentence Embeddings and Readability Scores.

Predicting the potential success of a book in advance is vital in many applications. This could help both publishers and readers in their decision-making process whether or not a book is worth publishing and reading, respectively. In this paper, we propose a model that leverages pretrained sentence embeddings along with various readability scores for book success prediction. Unlike previous methods, the proposed method requires no count-based, lexical, or syntactic features. Instead, we use a convolutional neural network over pretrained sentence embeddings and leverage different readability scores through a simple concatenation operation. Our proposed model outperforms strong baselines for this task by as large as 6.4\% F1-score points. Moreover, our experiments show that according to our model, only the first 1K sentences are good enough to predict the potential success of books.
The influence of decision aid use on auditors' processing of irrelevant information in fraud risk assessment

This study provides evidence that in a fraud risk assessment task, decision aid use increases auditor susceptibility to dilution, an information processing bias where non-predictive cues water down or dilute the predictive value of diagnostic cues. The results of a between-subjects experiment where senior auditors assessed fraud risk indicate that in response to irrelevant information, decision-aided auditors lowered their fraud assessments more than their unaided counterparts did. Even in a high fraud risk context, where auditors should be particularly thoughtful as they review data in preparation for assessing fraud risk, the decision aid still impaired judgment.
Globalization and Sovereignty: Rethinking Legality, Legitimacy, and Constitutionalism

Sovereignty and the sovereign state are often seen as anachronisms; Globalization and Sovereignty challenges this view. Jean L. Cohen analyzes the new sovereignty regime emergent since the 1990s evidenced by the discourses and practice of human rights, humanitarian intervention, transformative occupation, and the UN targeted sanctions regime that blacklists alleged terrorists. Presenting a systematic theory of sovereignty and its transformation in international law and politics, Cohen argues for the continued importance of sovereign equality. She offers a theory of a dualistic world order comprised of an international society of states, and a global political community in which human rights and global governance institutions affect the law, policies, and political culture of sovereign states. She advocates the constitutionalization of these institutions, within the framework of constitutional pluralism. This book will appeal to students of international political theory and law, political scientists, sociologists, legal historians, and theorists of constitutionalism.
Individual Obligation and Group Welfare

Many moral thinkers have accepted the notion that there is an important connection between moral obligation and group welfare. More specifically, they have thought that the welfare of a social group would more-or-less automatically be maximized if all the members of that group were to do their moral obligations.1 We can say that any doctrine to this effect is a version of the “principle of moral harmony” (PMH).
Substance Abuse Disorders

This chapter discusses serious psychological problems that can arise in relation to the use of certain substances. These substances are called psychoactive substances because they can be used to affect moods, thinking, and behavior. In most societies, use of certain substances to modify mood or behavior is regarded as normal and appropriate, and such use may be a valued part of the culture. Customary and social drinking of alcohol as a beverage with meals or to enhance interaction at social gatherings is one example. The ritual use of peyote (a drug obtained from the mescal cactus that produces a variety of vivid visual hallucinations) for religious purposes by Indians in Mexico and the Southwestern United States is another. Further, some psychoactive substances are used for medical purposes under a physician’s prescription to relieve pain or decrease anxiety, or for other appropriate medical purposes. Therefore, this chapter is concerned not with these and other normal and appropriate uses of psychoactive substances, but rather with use that is considered pathological largely due to the negative behavioral effects. Table 1 lists major classes of psychoactive substances that are commonly subject to problematic use. The criteria for determining problematic use of such substances is considered next.
Transitive Adjectives: A Case of Categorial Reanalysis

This paper is an investigation into the criteria for establishing syntacitc categories, and more specifically, into the problem of distinguishing between the categories of Adjective and Preposition. I will argue that in the history of English, at least two adjectives, like and worth, were reanalyzed as prepositions. Two questions come to mind: Why did the categorial reanalysis take place? What were the grammatical consequences of the reanalysis, i.e. what change(s) in the words’ use followed as a result? The answers to these questions provide evidence as to the grammatical function of complements of different syntactic categories. They also show how very little of the evidence traditionally used by linguists to establish categories is strictly syntactic in nature.
Blending Research and Teamwork to Enhance Undergraduate Education: Results from National Survey of Student Engagement and Business ETS Major Field Test.

This study is a continuation of previous work by the authors. Most of the NSSE (National Survey of Student Engagement) scales are positively related to higher Business ETS MFT (Major Field Test) scores. The NSSE scales are Active and Collaborative Learning, Enriching Educational Experiences and Integration of Diversity into Coursework. In particular, the NSSE scale of Integration of Diversity into Coursework appears to be significant. Students seem to earn higher scores on the ETS MFT when diversity is integrated into courses. Two of the scales, however, are negatively related to GPA: Level of Academic Challenge and Integration of Diversity into Coursework. The items we added to the survey included a leadership position held on campus and, a NSSE item, the number of courses that expect students to put together ideas or concepts from different courses when completing assignments or during class discussions, were both significant. The positive partial correlation indicated a .223 and .181 (at the 5% significance level), respectively, for these two items. Other items of interest will be discussed in the paper.
Multi-frame Signature-cum Anomaly-based Intrusion Detection Systems (MSAIDS) to Protect Privacy of Users over Mobile Collaborative Learning (MCL).

The rogue DHCP is unauthorized server that releases the incorrect IP address to users and sniffs the traffic illegally. The contribution specially provides privacy to users and enhances the security aspects of mobile supported collaborative framework (MSCF) explained in [24].The paper introduces multi-frame signature-cum anomaly-based intrusion detection systems (MSAIDS) supported with novel algorithms and inclusion of new rules in existing IDS. The major target of contribution is to detect the malicious attacks and blocks the illegal activities of rogue DHCP server. This innovative security mechanism reinforces the confidence of users, protects network from illicit intervention and restore the privacy of users. Finally, the paper validates the idea through simulation and compares the findings with known existing techniques.
CHANGES IN MOUSE PNEUMONITIS AGENT ASSOCIATED WITH DEVELOPMENT OF RESISTANCE TO CHLORTETRACYCLINE.

Moulder, James W. (University of Chicago, Chicago, Ill.), Dorothy L. Novosel, and Ilse I. E. Tribby. Changes in mouse pneumonitis agent associated with development of resistance to chlortetracycline. J. Bacteriol. 89:17–22. 1965.—A chlortetracycline-resistant mutant of mouse pneumonitis agent, a member of the psittacosis group of microorganisms, differed in several ways from the susceptible stock from which it had been derived by serial chick-embryo passage in the presence of the antibiotic. It was almost completely resistant to chlortetracycline, had a longer growth cycle, produced many more very large particles, was not neutralized by parent antiserum and vice versa, was 10 times as resistant to d-cycloserine, and was highly lethal to mice when inoculated intracerebrally. These changes probably do not occur independently of one another but are the reflection of some genetically controlled change in the surface structure of the mouse pneumonitis particle which enables the resistant mutant to multiply in the presence of chlortetracycline.
Bound Water and Freezing Point Depression of Concentrated Orange Juices

Freezing points of orange juices (OJ) in the range 0° to 65° Brix were measured using the Beckman differential thermometers. Equilibrium freezing curves of OJ were characterized by the approximate freezing point depression equation of bound water theory. The average effective molecular weight was 235.6 ± 3.3 for Valencia, Corriente and blended frozen concentrated orange juice. The amounts of bound water were in the range 0.15 to 0.40 kg/kg solids.
Intellectual Property Protection for Plant Varieties in the 21st Century

Most genetic gains in U.S. maize (Zea mays L.) breeding come from pedigree breeding compared to more predictable backcrossing strategies. Historically, breeding access to proprietary maize germplasm was limited by trade secrets and heterotic group assignation. Advances in marker technologies, doubled haploidy and off-season nurseries have revolutionized the speed and efficiency of germplasm access and utilization. Immediate access and facilitated deployment of germplasm that is already widely used in cultivation reduces the effective level of intellectual property protection (IPP) that was previously in effect by virtue of plant variety protection (PVP). Consequences of reduced IPP include yet further development of hybrids that more closely resemble existing widely used varieties and reduced incentives for the private sector to broaden the adapted germplasm base from the introduction of exotic germplasm. Breeders worldwide should have the choice of using utility patents and/or a new form of PVP that includes a revised breeder exemption. These changes will promote investments in crop improvement, together with additional benefit sharing via royalty flows from the use of exotic and under-utilized germplasm, providing broader social benefits. Regular surveys of genetic diversity deployed on farms should also be undertaken because they represent an important component of national and global food security.
An (18/11)n upper bound for sorting by prefix reversals

The pancake problem asks for the minimum number of prefix reversals sufficient for sorting any permutation of length n. We improve the upper bound for the pancake problem to (18/11)n+O(1)?(1.6363)n.
Pressure solution zone propagation in naturally deformed carbonate rocks

Three independent lines of evidence in samples from the Conococheague Formation, northwestern Virginia, show that solution cleavage zones are best explained by the propagation (anticrack) model of solution zone formation. (1) Anticrack model predictions of the plastic deformation associated with propagating solution zones compare favorably to plastic deformation in rocks measured along the trace of solution cleavage zones by using an X-ray pole figure texture goniometer; (2) volume strain, measured with an electron microprobe along cleavage zones, diminishes from the center of solution cleavage zones to the tip; and (3) curvature of solution cleavage zones in three samples from different locations on folds follows incremental strain elongation. These three lines of evidence, taken together, are consistent with the anticrack origin of pressure solution for the surfaces studied.
Comparison of computationally- and manually-assigned Gene Ontology annotations to improve functional characterization of gene products.

The Gene Ontology (GO) describes molecular functions, biological processes, and cellular components of gene products using controlled-vocabulary terms that are related to each other in a structure that facilitates computing on GO annotations within and across species. Experimentally-based GO annotations that are manually curated from the literature are often used to predict the functions of related uncharacterized proteins. The accuracy of such annotations is thus critically important, particularly for a well-studied model organism such as Saccharomyces cerevisiae which is frequently used as the source of the experimental data.Comparison of experimentally-based annotations with those predicted by computational methods for the same gene products may reveal inaccuracies in curation of the experimental data, and could additionally be used to evaluate and improve the computational methods. We will present the results of an analysis at SGD that identified four major reasons for discrepancies between the two kinds of annotation. Some discrepancies revealed cases in which human error led to errors or omissions in the manual curation, prompting prioritization for review and correction. In another category, the computational annotations were not supported or were refuted by the literature, thereby suggesting ways in which the accuracy of the prediction methods could be improved. Yet another type of discrepancy resulted from issues with the GO structure, such as missing parentage for certain terms, leading to reexamination and improvement of the ontology. Finally, some discrepancies arose because the computational predictions were entirely novel, and no relevant experimental evidence was available. These cases highlight potential interesting new avenues for experimentation.
Planning for Evaluation’s Future Undergraduate Students' Interest in Program Evaluation

Undergraduate students are a potential pool of future evaluators, but little is known about their level of interest in pursuing a career in program evaluation (PE). This two-stage study collected s...
Infrared spectrum of chlorine in concentrated matrices

In studying reactions of chlorine and fluorine and their compounds in inert matrices (1-3), we have observed infrared absorptions near 892 -i cm and 546 cm -I which we can only attribute to molecular fluorine and chlorine, respectively. These frequencies can be compared with the corresponding gas phase Raman shifts of 892 and 557 cm -1 (4). These absorptions are clearly visible only when fluorine or chlorine is present at a concentration of about 3% or greater. Infrared spectra for several other homonuclear diatomic molecules have been observed in condensed systems, including liquid fluorine (5). Thus, while one can normally ignore homonuclear diatomic species in the interpretation of infrared spectra, these species should be expected to absorb in a sufficiently concentrated matrix. The spectrum of CI 2 in Ar (1:20) at 17°K is shown in Fig. l; it shows the expected isotopic splitting arising from 35CI and 37CI in natural relative abundance of ~3:1. A vibration involving two equivalent chlorine atoms should exhibit an infrared spectrum of three lines with absorbances in the ratio of approximately 9.4:6.2:1. In our spectrum, -i -i only two lines are visible, centered at 546.3 cm and 539.4 cm The absorbance of the higher frequency line is 1.48 times that of the second, very close to the ratio of 1.52 expected for the two strong lines
Control of corneal differentiation by extracellular materials. Collagen as a promoter and stabilizer of epithelial stroma production

Abstract The primary stroma of the cornea of the chick embryo consists of orthogonally arranged collagen fibrils embedded in glycosaminoglycan (GAG) produced by the epithelium under the early inductive influence of the lens. The experiments reported here were designed to test whether or not the collagen of the lens basement lamina is capable of stimulating corneal epithelium to produce primary stroma. Enzymatically isolated 5-day-old corneal epithelia were grown for 24 hr in vitro in the presence of 35SO4 or proline-3H on various substrata. Epithelia cultured on lens capsule synthesized 2.5 times as much GAG (as measured by incorporation of label into CPC precipitable material) and almost 3 times as much collagen (assayed by hot TCA extraction or collagenase sensitivity) as when cultured on Millipore filter or other noncollagenous substrata. A similar stimulatory response was observed when epithelium was combined with chemically pure chondrosarcoma collagen, NaOH-extracted lens capsule, vitreous humor, frozen-killed corneal stroma or cartilage, or tendon collagen gels; in the latter case, the magnitude of the effect can be shown to be related to concentration of the collagen in the gel. All of the collagenous substrata stimulate not only extracellular matrix production, but also polymerization of corneal-type matrix, as judged by ultrastructural criteria and by the association of more radioactivity with the tissue than the medium. Since purified chondrosarcoma collagen is as effective as lens capsule, the stimulatory effect on collagen and GAG synthesis by corneal epithelium is not specific for basal lamina (lens capsule) collagen.
Flux pinning and phase transitions in model high-temperature superconductors with columnar defects.

We calculate the degree of flux pinning by defects in model high-temperature superconductors (HTSC's). The HTSC is modeled as a three-dimensional network of resistively shunted Josephson junctions in an external magnetic field, corresponding to a HTSC in the extreme type-II limit. Disorder is introduced either by randomizing the coupling between grains (model-[ital A] disorder) or by removing grains (model-[ital B] disorder). Three types of defects are considered: point disorder, random line disorder, and periodic line disorder; but the emphasis is on random line disorder. Static and dynamic properties of the models are determined by Monte Carlo simulations and by solution of the analogous coupled overdamped Josephson equations in the presence of thermal noise. Random line defects considerably raise the superconducting transition temperature [ital T][sub [ital c]]([ital B]), and increase the apparent critical current density [ital J][sub [ital c]]([ital B],[ital T]), in comparison to the defect-free crystal. They are more effective in these respects than a comparable volume density of point defects, in agreement with the experiments of Civale [ital et] [ital al]. Periodic line defects commensurate with the flux lattice are found to raise [ital T][sub [ital c]]([ital B]) even more than do random line defects. Random line defects aremore » most effective when their density approximately equals the flux density. Near [ital T][sub [ital c]]([ital B]), our static and dynamic results appear consistent with the anisotropic Bose-glass-scaling hypotheses of Nelson and Vinokur, but with possibly different critical indices.« less
Stimulation of hypothalamic LHRH levels and release by gonadal steroids

Summary The inhibitory feedback effects of steroids on pituitary LH release are believed to be mediated via steroidal effects on the hypothalamic LHRH activity. We have examined the direct effects of individual steroids (T, DHT and E 2 ) on hypothalamic LHRH levels and on LHRH release in vitro . In castrated male rats, replacement of either steroid in physiological doses, resulted in augmentation of the MBH LHRH levels by steroidal action within the MBH. LHRH analyses of microdissected diencephalic nuclei revealed that this accumulation occurred exclusively in LHRH terminals in the ME. Careful examination of the time course of steroid action showed that whereas LH release was suppressed within hours of steroid treatment, the LHRH response occurred after 3–4 days of steroid exposure in 2-week castrated rats and 7–14 days in 8-week castrated rats. This temporal dichotomy in the LH and LHRH responses to steroid action was further substantiated by the differential effects of low, sub-physiological levels of steroids on these two responses. Very low levels of T or E 2 evoked maximal accumulation of the MBH LHRH, but LH release in vivo and the rate of LHRH release in vitro were not affected. Surprisingly, physiological levels of T which suppressed LH release concomitant with elevations in LHRH levels, augmented the in vitro rate of LHRH release. In fact, the LHRH release rate was found to be correlated with LHRH concentrations in hypothalami of intact, castrated and castrated rats treated with T. Thus it appears that in the hypothalamo-pituitary axis there are different thresholds of responsiveness to steroids. Apparently, the LHRH neurons, particularly the processes involved in LHRH accumulation are most sensitive to low levels of steroids; however, higher physiological levels of steroids are required to suppress pituitary LH release as well as to promote LHRH release. On the basis of our cumulative data, it is reasonable to speculate that steroid-induced accumulation of LHRH in the ME may not be a consequence of decrease in LHRH release, but may involve synthesis of the neurohormone.
Some temporal properties of intracranial self-stimulation.

Abstract Response rates observed under continuous and variable-interval schedules of brain-stimulation reinforcement were analyzed in terms of the component interresponse times. There was a clear suppression of very short interresponse times when rates were observed to decline with high-intensity stimulation. The suppression of short interresponse times may constitute a temporal description of disruptive motor activity under high-intensity stimulation. Grouping responses into interresponse time classes revealed the existence of orderly functional relations between the conditional probability of individual interresponse times and brain stimulation intensity. No one of these individual probability-intensity functions necessarily mirrored the trend of the rate-intensity function (which reflects a grand average of all interresponse times), suggesting that overall increases or decreases in response rate cannot be simply related to a hypothetical, unitary concept of brain-stimulation “reinforcement value”.
Immunological properties of mononuclear cells from blood stem cell harvests following mobilization with erythropoietin + G-CSF in cancer patients.

Background Although the recombinant granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) is a good CD34 cell mobilizer, the effects of G-CSF mobilization on the immune effector function of the individual is not always optimal. We studied the functional andphenotypic properties of peripheral blood stem cells (PBSCJ collected from 15 cancer patients mobilized with G-CSF plus recombinant erythropoietin (EPO). Methods The patients received EPO (300U/kg) and (G-CSF 10 μg/kg) per day as mobilizing cytokines and an autologous graft product was collected with at least daily apheresis procedures until a target number of CD34 cells and mononuclear cells were obtained. Mononuclear cells from the first four PBSC collections were tested for their natural killer (NK), activated NK and lymphokine activated killer (LAK) cytotoxic-ity in vitro against K562 and Raji tumor target cells. Results There was a significant increase in NK, activated NK and LAK cytotoxicity in EPO + G-CSF mobilized cells when compared to mononuclear cells from premobilization blood baseline values. Although there was no increase in CD3 + T cells, there was a significant increase in myeloid cells (CD14 + ), B-cells (CD20 + ) and NK cells (CD56 + ) following mobilization. There was no difference in T cell response to the mitogens PHA and Con-A, but there was an increase in B-cell response to PWM following mobilization. Thus, the combination o f EPO + G-CSF not only mobilized hematopoietic precursor cells but also increased the number of immune effector cells in the PBSC collections.
Flexible device for vertebral body replacement.

Abstract A novel vertebral prosthesis is presented. The prosthesis was developed for surgical procedures requiring the resection of a complete vertebral body and the adjacent intervertebral discs, the design objective being to develop a flexible implant that would be robust enought to withstand the in vivo stress environment of the human spine. In theory, a flexible implant should preserve a more normal range of motion and apply less stress to surrounding tissue than a rigid implant. A prototype implant was constructed so as to combine a rigid stainless steel structure with flexible silicon rubber elements in order to form an implant with static and dynamic mechanical characteristics similar to those of the anterior spinal column. Implant flexibility characteristics were determined from ex vivo stress-strain behaviour during bending and compressive creep testing. Results from the bending tests indicated good agreement for the lateral and sagittal bending characteristics in comparison with in vitro bending tests of human lumbar motion segments. Comparison of the implant compressive creep response with similar in vitro tests on human lumbar intervertebral discs also demonstrated similarities in the time-dependent mechanical parameters.
Changes in estrogen and progesterone receptor content of primary breast carcinoma during the menstrual cycle

This study was undertaken to determine if hormone receptor activity in breast cancers changes during different phases of the menstrual cycle. Estrogen (ER) and progesterone (PgR) receptors in seventy-eight primary breast carcinomas from premenopausal women were compared with the phase of the menstrual cycle at the time of biopsy. The frequency of ER positivity did not change, but PgR positivity became significantly higher after the early follicular phase. An increase in mean ER and PgR concentration was found (p less than .05) in the late luteal phase. The results indicate that tumor ER and PgR values change during the menstrual cycle, probably in response to endogenous hormonal fluctuations, and this may account for some vicissitudes in establishing hormone dependence.
Late glacial and postglacial pollen and plant macrofossils from Lake West Okoboji, Northwestern Iowa

Abstract Pollen and plant macrofossils preserved in lake sediment from Lake West Okoboji, Dickinson County, Iowa, indicate how the vegetation of that area changed during the late glacial and postglacial. A closed coniferous forest, dominated by spruce and larch trees, produced the Picea-Larix pollen assemblage zone. Fir trees were a minor constituent of this forest; pine trees were probably absent. Black ash trees increased in abundance at Lake West Okoboji and by 13,500 yr ago were an important constituent of the forest. The sediment accumulation rate and the pollen influx were low throughout this time. Birch and alder pollen peaked in abundance approximately 11,800 yr ago. Pollen influx increased rapidly as birch and alder replaced coniferous trees on the uplands. A deciduous forest, containing abundant oak and elm trees, replaced the birch-alder-coniferous forest. This forest inhabited northwestern Iowa from approximately 11,000 to 9000 yr B.P. Nonarboreal species became prevalent between approximately 9000 and 7700 yr B.P. as prairie began to replace deciduous forest on the uplands. Charred remains of Amorpha canescens and other upland species attest to the presence of prairie fires as an aid in establishing prairie and destroying the forest. The pollen influx declined. The warmest, driest part of the postglacial occurred in northwestern Iowa from approximately 7700 to 3200 yr ago. Lake level fell 9 to 10 m, and prairie extended to the edge of the lake. Wet-ground weeds inhabited areas near lake level which were alternately flooded, then dry. Pollen influx was approximately 100 grains/cm 2 /yr during the driest time in this dry interval. Deciduous trees, particularly oaks, returned after approximately 3200 yr B.P. Prairie continued to occupy the uplands but trees were more common in the lowlying wet areas. Settlement by Europeans in northwestern Iowa about 1865 is marked by an increase in weed pollen. Macrofossil deposition changed in 1910 in response to the stabilization of lake level.
Solubilization and partial purification of hepatic 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase.

Abstract This paper describes an effective method for the solubilization of microsomal HMG-CoA reductase from rat liver. Exposing the microsomes to a freeze-thaw treatment solubilized 80% of the microsomal reductase activity. Subsequently, a 25-fold purification has led to an enzyme preparation with a specific activity of 10–14 nmoles MVA per min per mg of protein and an increased stability.
Meta‐analysis of the Effectiveness of Resident Fathering Programs: Are Family Life Educators Interested in Fathers?

Using meta-analysis, we reviewed the effectiveness of resident fathering education programs. Our review identified 16 studies with over 200 reported effect sizes. Results revealed a significant overall effect size of d = .26, with specific significant outcomes ranging from d = .14 to d = .61. Studies with father-only reports produced significantly larger effects than multiple-reporter studies; studies with no-treatment control groups produced larger effects than studies with minimal-treatment comparison groups. A lack of long-term follow-up evaluation limited our ability to examine the strength of these effects over time. Although there is some reason for optimism, more fathering education program research is needed. Indeed, the dearth of work in this area may be the most important finding of this meta-analysis.
Dollars and sense: A case of distributed cognition in a problem-solving session

Social discourse among students has come to be seen as a vital aspect of knowledge production in mathematics classes. Discourse among small groups of students is often viewed as a way for individuals to validate ideas or as a way by which more capable students guide knowledge production in heterogeneous groups of students. This report provides an example of a problem-solving session which goes beyond peer tutoring or cooperative breaking up of problems to focus on knowledge construction of a truly collaborative nature. This serves as a demonstration that groups can function productively even when there is not a more capable member of the group and provides a pragmatic example for classroom teachers to consider as they strive to establish productive group work in their classrooms.
Energy-efficient mobile data collection in energy-harvesting wireless sensor networks

Environmental energy harvesting technologies have provided potential for battery-powered wireless sensor networks to have perpetual network operations. To design a robust network that can adapt to not only temporal but also spatial variations of ambient energy sources, in this paper, we utilize mobility to circumvent communication bottlenecks, by employing a mobile data collector, called SenCar. We propose a two-stage approach for mobile data collection. In the first stage, SenCar makes stops at a subset of selected sensor locations to collect data packets in a multi-hop fashion. We provide a selection algorithm to search for sensor locations with most residual energy while guaranteeing a bounded tour length. Then we design a distributed data gathering algorithm to achieve maximum network utility by adjusting data rates, link scheduling and flow routing that adapts to spatial temporal environmental energy variations. The effectiveness and efficiency of the proposed algorithms are validated by extensive numerical results.
Festphasensynthesen nichtoligomerer Naturstoffe

Naturstoffsynthesen sind wichtige Ausgangspunkte fur die Entwicklung neuer Synthesemethoden. Wenn die Moglichkeiten der kombinatorischen Chemie voll ausgereizt werden sollen, mussen die Methoden der Festphasensynthese besonders gefordert werden. Die neuen Festphasensynthesen verschiedener Naturstoffe haben den Weg fur die Entwicklung komplexerer Reaktionen und den Aufbau komplizierter Strukturen an festen Tragern geebnet.
Benign summer light eruption and polymorphic light eruption: genetic and functional studies suggest that a revised nomenclature is required.

New research indicates that polymorphic light eruption (PLE) is an autoimmune disease against an ultraviolet radiation-induced cutaneous antigen. PLE may even confer some protection against skin cancer later in life. This new information demands a reassessment of the precise nature and nomenclature of PLE. Benign summer light eruption (BSLE) (lucite estivale benigne) is the name used in continental Europe, and particularly France, to describe a clinically short-lived, itchy, papular eruption particularly affecting young women after several hours of sunbathing at the beginning of summer or on sunny vacations. Clinically more prolonged forms of solar eruption, starting early in spring and persisting for long periods, have been known in France as polymorphic light eruption (PLE) (lucite polymorphe) ('European PLE'). Investigative studies, however, now suggest that BSLE and some cases of 'European PLE' are part of the same spectrum. In the Anglo-Saxon literature, they are lumped together as PLE ('Anglo-Saxon PLE'). The other cases of 'European PLE', which do not fall within the compass of 'Anglo-Saxon PLE', are, in the Anglo-Saxon literature, classified as either actinic prurigo (AP) (a genetically determined, prolonged, excoriated form of Anglo-Saxon PLE), or chronic actinic dermatitis (CAD) (a sunlight-induced eczema precisely resembling allergic contact dermatitis, apparently to an ultraviolet radiation-induced antigen). It is therefore proposed that: i. the European term BSLE be dropped and that these patients be reclassified within the spectrum of (Anglo-Saxon) PLE, ii. the European use of the term PLE ('European PLE') be discontinued, iii. those previously diagnosed as having 'European PLE' be reclassified as (Anglo-Saxon) PLE, AP or CAD, as appropriate. The benefits of such a change in nomenclature would be twofold, firstly a uniformity of terminology and secondly, and more importantly, terminology would then correlate better with our recently improved understanding of the pathogenesis of these disorders.
Distributed value system matrix: a new use for distributed usability testing

In this paper, I make the case that User-Centered Design (UCD) principles, specifically those principles that view design through the lens of distributed usability, should be at the center of research into how organizations determine and value writing work. Based in activity theory, my argument for such an approach is that UCD principles, grounded in notions of Distributed Usability, function well as a research method to determine organizational values that may be invisible or ill defined. Activity theory as it currently stands contains but does not foreground what and how an organization values as good writing for a particular situation. By using activity theory and distributed usability to develop what I call a Distributed Value System Matrix, organizations would be able to see how differing documents may be doing the same work within and between different contexts. Such knowledge should be of great value for smaller organizations where members often engage in a variety of writing tasks and for professional writers who move project to project, context to context. I include a brief example of what such a research project looks like in an academic context.
An attempt to reduce time out resistance in young children.

Clinic-referred, noncompliant preschool children were trained to comply with maternal instructions in a clinic analog using a standardized set of contingencies (praise, warnings, and chair time outs). Ten subjects intensely reviewed time out contingencies prior to actual training (pretraining condition); ten did not. Data replicated prior results within the analog in terms of time outs to compliance criterion performance. The pretraining procedure, however, did not attenuate resistance to time out. Alternative explanations are discussed.
Benign clavicular lesions that may mimic malignancy

Nontraumatic lesions of the clavicle are infrequent. Of these, malignant tumors are more common than benign lesions. From January 1988 to January 1990, we examined 17 patients with benign lesions of the clavicle; in 8, the morphologic appearance of the lesion raised the possibility of malignancy in the differential diagnosis. The radiologic findings in these patients are presented. We propose that the unique shape and embryologic development of the clavicle may contribute to the atypical, aggressive presentation of some benign lesions in that bone.