cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Stressors and Caregivers’ Depression: Multiple Mediators of Self-Efficacy, Social Support, and Problem-Solving Skill

Caring for an older adult with memory loss is stressful. Caregiver stress could produce negative outcomes such as depression. Previous research is limited in examining multiple intermediate pathways from caregiver stress to depressive symptoms. This study addresses this limitation by examining the role of self-efficacy, social support, and problem solving in mediating the relationships between caregiver stressors and depressive symptoms. Using a sample of 91 family caregivers, we tested simultaneously multiple mediators between caregiver stressors and depression. Results indicate that self-efficacy mediated the pathway from daily hassles to depression. Findings point to the importance of improving self-efficacy in psychosocial interventions for caregivers of older adults with memory loss.
Non-Fermi-liquid behavior of two-dimensional electron gas with disorder

The problem of strongly correlated disordered two-dimensional electron gas on a lattice is studied by computer modeling. The long-range Coulomb interaction is assumed. It is proved that for zero hopping amplitude J the lowest residue of the one-particle Green function is zero. It is shown by quantum Monte-Carlo computations that the Coulomb gap in the one-particle density of states exists and the lowest residues remain small for J > 0 and independent of J at the same range of J where, according to other criteria, many-particle wave functions become delocalized.
CT appearance of gastric involvement in Multifocal idiopathic fibrosclerosis

Multifocal idiopathic fibrosclerosis (also called multifocal fibrosclerosis) is an uncommon disease in which there is a systemic overgrowth of fibrous tissues, with a spectrum of aggressiveness ranging from benign retroperitoneal fibrosis to pachymeningitis. We describe the first case of gastric involvement of multifocal fibrosclerosis and its appearance on CT.
Antibodies to CD45 and other cell membrane antigens in systemic lupus erythematosus

At some point in their illness, most patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) develop cold-reactive IgM anti-lymphocyte autoantibodies, which appear to represent a type of natural autoantibody that exhibits a disease-related increase in titer. Increased levels of such autoantibodies are found during flares of SLE disease activity in association with lymphopenia [7, 61], suggesting a causal relationship with T cell depletion and various functional abnormalities of T cells, B cells, and monocytes. Addition of SLE serum or immunoglobulin with anti-lymphocyte autoantibody activity to in vitro cultures of normal peripheral blood mononuclear cells alters their function in ways closely paralleling that of freshly isolated lymphocytes and monocytes from patients with SLE. Mechanisms by which such functional effects could occur in vivo include: (a) elimination of cells by complement-mediated lysis, antibody-dependent, cell-mediated cytotoxicity [15], and/or opsonization; (b) alteration of lymphocyte migration patterns; (c) modulation of surface determinants [63]; (d) agonist, partial agonist, or antagonist effects on cell surface receptors [38, 39, 65]; and (e) interaction with soluble products of activated cells [18]. Thus, autoantibodies to lymphocyte and monocyte surface determinants may constitute one of the pathogenetically significant extrinsic elements that alters cellular immune function in this disorder.
Calcium Assimilation as Indicated by Bone Analysis in Long-Time Experiments

Summary Four cows were maintained under herd conditions on a ration of timothy hay, a grain mixture, and corn silage for periods of fourteen to thirty-two months. Analyses were carried out on the bones of one of these cows (thirty months on timothy) and on those of two other animals which had been on alfalfa hay for some time before slaughter. Calculations have been made of the percentages of calcium assimilated by the four cows on timothy hay. 1.The results indicate that the relative amounts of ash, calcium, phosphorus, nitrogen, and organic matter in cows' bones are little if at all altered by long periods on rations low in calcium, even when a considerable amount of milk is given in such periods. 2.The results suggest that the treatment above described reduces by from 10 to 20 per cent the total weight of the bones, and, therefore, the amounts of calcium and phosphorus in the body. 3.The results indicate that, even on a mediocre roughage, the calcium assimilation tends to be somewhat higher in long periods under natural conditions than it has been in most balance experiments, and that, in the case of good cows, it may be much higher than it has been in most balance experiments.
Formation of ring-in-ring complexes between crown ethers and rigid TVBox8+

A rigid octacationic tetraviologen-based cyclophane, TVBox8+, is reported. It possesses a highly electron-deficient rectangular cavity with a length of 23 A and width of 6.1 A and is capable of encapsulating either two small π-aromatic guest molecules, such as PhMe and PhCl, simultaneously, or one large molecule, e.g., bis-1,5-dinaphtho[50]crown-14.
Role of an intronic polymorphism in the PDCD1 gene with the risk of sporadic systemic lupus erythematosus and the occurrence of antiphospholipid antibodies

Recently, a polymorphism in intron 4 (G/A) of the programmed cell death 1 (PDCD1) gene was shown to be associated with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) risk in familial and sporadic patients of European, European American, and Mexican origin. In this investigation, we examined the role of this polymorphism in 311 SLE patients (276 European Americans and 35 African Americans) and 390 age-matched healthy controls (359 European Americans and 31 African Americans). The frequency of the A allele was significantly higher in European American controls than in African American controls (0.107 vs. 0.048; P=0.046). There was no significant difference in the frequency of the A allele between SLE cases and controls in either the European American (0.107 vs. 0.129; P=0.84) or African American (0.048 vs. 0.100; P=0.25) cohort. However, after adjustment for the status of the antiphospholipid antibodies (APA) in the logistic regression analysis, the risk for SLE associated with the PDCD1 polymorphism was statistically significant. The APA-adjusted odds ratio (OR) between A allele carriers (AA + AG genotypes) versus the GG genotype showed a modest association with SLE risk in European Americans (OR=1.52, 95% CI: 1.02–2.27; P=0.039), African Americans (OR=2.89, 95% CI: 0.61–13.76; P=0.183), and the ethnicity-combined sample (OR=1.59, 95% CI: 1.08–2.34; P=0.019). Furthermore, we observed that the A allele carriers were protected against the occurrence of APA in both controls (OR=0.399, 95% CI: 0.19–0.82; P=0.0098) and SLE cases (OR=0.566, 95% CI: 0.32–1.01; P=0.054). Our data indicate polymorphism in intron 4 of the PDCD1 gene affects the occurrence of APA and may slightly modify the risk of sporadic SLE.
Crossed-categorization, evaluation, and face recognition

Abstract We investigated the relationship between evaluative intergroup bias and biased errors in intergroup face recognition after crossed-categorization (the combination of two social categories in defining a target of perception). Although evaluative bias and recognition bias often operate in parallel, we draw on two previously unconnected literatures to predict a divergence between these two processes after crossed-categorization. We tested this hypothesis by assessing participants’ evaluations of and recognition of targets who shared two ingroups with participants, targets who shared only one ingroup with participants, and targets who shared neither ingroup. Consistent with predictions, targets’ shared and unshared group memberships combined additively to affect evaluation, but targets who shared two ingroup memberships were better recognized than all other category combinations. These results document the relationship between evaluative bias and recognition bias after crossed-categorization and indicate that crossed-categorization affects evaluative bias and recognition bias in different ways.
The diacylglycerol-binding protein α1-chimaerin regulates dendritic morphology

The morphological and functional differentiation of neuronal dendrites is controlled through transcriptional programs and cell-cell signaling. Synaptic activity is thought to play an important role in the maturation of dendritic arbors, but the signaling pathways that couple neuronal activity and morphological changes in dendrites are not well understood. We explored the function of alpha1-chimaerin, a neuronal diacylglycerol-binding protein with a Rho GTPase-activating protein domain that inactivates Rac1. We find that stimulation of phospholipase Cbeta-coupled cell surface receptors recruits alpha1-chimaerin to the plasma membrane of cultured hippocampal neurons. We further show that alpha1-chimaerin protein levels are controlled by synaptic activity and that increased alpha1-chimaerin expression results in the pruning of dendritic spines and branches. This pruning activity requires both the diacylglycerol-binding and Rac GTPase-activating protein activity of alpha1-chimaerin. Suppression of alpha1-chimaerin expression resulted in increased process growth from the dendritic shaft and from spine heads. Our data suggest that alpha1-chimaerin is an activity-regulated Rho GTPase regulator that is activated by phospholipase Cbeta-coupled cell surface receptors and contributes to pruning of dendritic arbors.
Fourier Transform Vibrational Circular Dichroism Of Carbonyl Stretching Modes In N-urethanyl-a-amino acids

The vibrational circular dichroism (VCD) spectra of the N-t-BOC and N-CBZ-derivatives of alanine, proline, phenylalanine and valine in 0.2M CHC13 solutions all exhibit a characteristic, strong bisignate couplet in the carbonyl stretching region. The VCD couplet is interpreted in terms of the coupled oscillation of the urethane and acid carbonyl groups in an intramolecularly hydrogen-bonded structure.
Nutrient enrichment and depletion on the shoreside of the spring thermal front

Abstract A thermal front was evident within the nearshore zone of the south shore of Lake Ontario near Oak Orchard Creek on 28 May 2008. Here, we characterize nutrient concentrations during thermal bar formation on the shoreside and lakeside of the thermal front within a 5 × 20-km polygon. We observed that total phosphorus levels and turbidity were elevated while silica and nitrate were reduced on the shoreside relative to the offshore of the thermal front. Phosphorus and suspended solid flux from Oak Orchard Creek contributed to elevated turbidity and phosphorus concentrations on the shoreside of the thermal front and were not transported to the lakeside of the thermal front. Two hypotheses, not mutually exclusive, are offered as potential explanations for the observed reduction in silica and nitrate: biological uptake by phytoplankton and benthic algae and long-shore transport of nutrient poor Niagara River water. This work not only demonstrates that nutrient entrapment may occur but also that biological mechanisms function to reduce nutrient levels within the shoreside of the thermal front.
Mixed tocopherols inhibit N-methyl-N-nitrosourea-induced mammary tumor growth in rats.

Abstract Tocopherols are present in significant amounts in vegetable oils used in human foods. The most prevalent tocopherols in foods are the α, β, γ, and δ variants with (RRR) stereochemistry. Tocopherols are lipophilic phenolic antioxidants, produced by plants. In the United States, γ -tocopherol is the most prominent dietary tocopherol due to its high amount in the dominant commercially produced vegetable oils such as soybean, corn, and cottonseed. In this report, experiments were designed to study the inhibitory effect of mixed tocopherols against N-methyl-N-nitrosourea-induced mammary tumor growth in female Sprague-Dawley rats. Beginning at 21 days of age, rats were treated with a single intraperitoneal injection of 50 mg/kg body weight of N-methyl-N-nitrosourea. One wk later, the rats were fed experimental diets containing 0 or 0.1% mixed tocopherols containing over 50% γ -tocopherol. At 9 wk after N-methyl-N-nitrosourea treatment, all rats were evaluated for inhibition of mammary tumor growth and ...
Some origins of belief

Abstract Transmission of belief among statements is construed in terms of the “psychological strength” of associated arguments. Seven theoretical approaches to argument strength are presented and evaluated.
Differential effects of aminopeptides inhibitors on angiotensin-induced pressor responses

Recent iontophoretic data suggest that conversion of angiotensin II (AII) to angiotensin III (AIII) may be necessary before the peptide can activate central angiotensin-sensitive neurons. Furthermore, this conversion may be inhibited by the aminopeptidase A inhibitor, amastatin. In the present study we investigated the importance of aminopeptidase activity on central angiotensin-induced pressor responses. Intracerebroventricular (i.c.v.) pretreatment with amastatin, suppressed i.c.v. AII-induced pressor responses. Pretreatment with the aminopeptidase B inhibitor, bestatin, increased pressor responses to AIII. Pressor responses induced by the aminopeptidase-resistant analogue, [Sar1]angiotensin II, were not affected by pretreatment with angiotensin inhibitors. These results support the hypothesis that AII must be converted to AIII to be active in the brain.
Increased frequency of thymus-derived cells in the spleens of sheep erythrocyte-stimulated mice.

Groups of 8- to 12-week-old C57BL/J mice were immunized with SRBC at different times, varying from 24 hours to 8 days, before sacrifice. The animals were given an injection of 2 μCi of 3H-thymidine into the thymic parenchyma, one half the total amount into each lobe. One group of animals was not immunized, but was labeled intrathymically with the same amount of 3H-thymidine. Another group of mice received the isotope intravenously after surgical exposure of the thymus. All animals were killed 48 hours after isotope administration. Thymus, spleen and intestine were sampled for autoradiography. Spleens of the intrathymically labeled animals were screened for heavily labeled thymus-derived cells, i.e., cells with higher grain count than observed in the spleens of intravenously labeled animals. Twenty-four hours after antigen injection, significantly more such thymus-derived cells were encountered in the spleens of immunized than non-imunized animals. The frequency of heavily labeled thymus-derived cells, rem...
40. Those sexy STDs: opportunities for prevention in an anal dysplasia practice

Young gay and bisexual men are continuing to engage in practices that permit new HIV infections. Most of them are unaware that pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) with one pill a day can prevent most of these. HIV providers are poised to prescribe PrEP, but most of their patients are already HIV infected. General PCPs are considerably less knowledgeable regarding PrEP, even if they know/suspect that their patients are at risk for HIV acquisition. Anal dysplasia providers who see HIV-uninfected MSM have a unique opportunity to make an impact by identifying patients who might be candidates and providing basic information and referral. Chlamydia trachomatis (CT) infection is notoriously difficult to detect by culture. CT is also a frequent cofactor in the transmission/acquisition of HIV. Gynaecologists routinely use nucleic acid amplification tests (NAATs) to diagnose CT and gonorrhoea. Although there is no FDA-approved commercially available NAAT for the diagnosis of rectal CT, individual laboratories are able to develop and validate their own assays, if they follow the protocols established by their regulatory/governing bodies. This may not be as difficult as you would expect, with good collaboration between clinical providers and laboratory administrators. Expect your diagnosis of rectal CT infections and lymphogranuloma venereum (LGV) to increase significantly once you have an NAAT available to aid in diagnosis. Timely treatment of CT infections will decrease the number of new cases and perhaps even HIV incidence.
Ethology of hygienic behaviour in the honey bee Apis mellifera L. (Hymenoptera: Apidae): behavioural repertoire of hygienic bees.

Hygienic behaviour performed by middle-aged worker bees is an important intranidal task in colonies of the honey bee Apis mellifera (L.). It comprises detecting diseased brood in the larval and pupal stages and removing all such infected brood, thereby decreasing the incidence of infection. Hygienic behaviour consists of two task-components: uncapping cells and removing the cell contents. The aim of this study was to observe bees performing hygienic behaviour to determine their age at performance of the behaviour and to describe their behavioural repertoire. The bees performing hygienic behaviour were middle-aged bees, younger than foragers. In the colonies where the behaviours of individual bees were observed, all bees performing the hygienic behaviour were seen to exhibit both the components, though at different frequencies. One behavioural class performed the task of uncapping cells at higher frequencies than the task of removing cell contents, while another class performed both tasks to the same extent. While these two classes had higher frequencies of the tasks comprising the hygienic behaviour but lower frequencies of other common behaviours in their repertoire, a third class of bees included those that performed all behaviours in their repertoire at similar frequencies. There was no difference in the ages of the bees in these three behavioural classes. These results suggest that there is no evidence of task partitioning among bees performing the hygienic behaviour. The segregation observed could, however, be based on their response thresholds to the stimulus and/or on their ability to discriminate the various cues emanating from the dead brood.
Predicting and Evaluating the Effect of Bivalirudin in Cardiac Surgical Patients

Bivalirudin, used in patients with heparin-induced thrombocytopenia, is a direct thrombin inhibitor. Since it is a rarely used drug, clinical experience with its dosing is sparse. We develop two approaches to predict the Partial Thromboplastin Time (PTT) based on bivalirudin infusion rates. The first approach is model free and utilizes regularized regression. It is flexible enough to be used as predictors bivalirudin infusion rates measured over several time instances before the time at which a PTT prediction is sought. The second approach is model based and proposes a specific model for obtaining PTT which uses a shorter history of the past measurements. We learn population-wide model parameters by solving a nonlinear optimization problem. We also devise an adaptive algorithm based on the extended Kalman filter that can adapt model parameters to individual patients. The latter adaptive model emerges as the most promising as it yields reduced mean error compared to the model-free approach. The model accuracy we demonstrate on actual patient measurements is sufficient to be useful in guiding the optimal therapy.
Stochastic mobile energy replenishment and adaptive sensor activation for perpetual wireless rechargeable sensor networks

Recent studies have shown that environmental energy harvesting technologies have the potential to provide perpetual operation to wireless sensor networks. However, due to the large variations of the ambient energy source, such networks could only support low-rate data services and the performance is affected by many unpredictable environmental factors. To deliver energy to sensor nodes reliably, in this paper, we apply the novel wireless power transmission technology to rechargeable sensor networks by introducing a mobile actuator to replenish sensor energy wirelessly. We first establish an analytical model based on stochastic wireless energy replenishment to obtain a variety of performance metrics. Then based on the theoretical results, we further propose battery-aware mobile energy replenishment scheme and present two heuristic algorithms: (1) linear adaptation sensor activation with prioritized recharge; and (2) battery-aware activation with selective recharge. We validate the theoretical results and evaluate the performance of the proposed algorithms through extensive simulations. The results demonstrate that a good design of sensor activation with effective control of mobile energy replenishment can provide substantial performance improvement.
117 SERUM PROGESTERONE CONCENTRATION AND EMBRYO DIAMETER ON DAY 7 POST-OVULATION IN MARES

Monitoring serum progesterone (P4) concentrations has been a routine practice for determining phases of the oestrous cycle in mares. The use of maternal serum P4 concentration to estimate embryo size would be beneficial in determining the proper collection time for equine embryos destined for cryopreservation and transfer. Therefore, the objective of this study was to determine if embryo diameter was correlated with maternal serum P4 concentration on Day 7 post-ovulation. Light horse mares of various breeds (n = 40) were used in this study. The mares were in good body condition and ranged in age from 3 to 18 yrs. Oestrus detection was performed first with a stallion followed by reproductive tract examinations via transrectal ultrasonography to predict ovulation. Blood samples were collected via jugular venipuncture before artificial insemination (AI) (Day 0) and again on Day 7 post-ovulation. Blood samples were allowed to clot, then centrifuged for 10 min at 2600 × g and serum stored at –20°C until assayed. Each donor mare was inseminated with extended fresh semen every other day until ovulation. On Day 7 post-ovulation, a nonsurgical embryo collection was performed on inseminated mares by a single technician using a standard equine uterine flushing procedure. Only blood samples taken from mares in which an embryo was collected were analysed (n = 18). Blood samples were collected from similar noninseminated mares (n = 12) from the same research herd on the day of expected AI (Day 0) and again on Day 7 post-ovulation. Serum progesterone was determined using a P4 fluorometric enzyme immunoassay (FEIA; Tosoh Bioscience, Inc., South San Francisco, CA). Embryo diameter was measured including the zona pellucida using Micron Software (Westover Scientific). Mean P4 concentrations (±s.e.) for all inseminated donors producing an embryo were 0.49 ± 0.1 ng mL–1 at Day 0 and 12.9 ± 1.2 ng mL–1 on Day 7 post-ovulation. Mean P4 concentration of donors on Day 7 post-ovulation with embryo diameters of 400 μm (n = 10) and were 11.2 ± 1.7 ng mL–1 and 14.1 ± 1.7 ng mL–1, respectively. One mare produced viable twin embryos (284 and 373 μm in diameter) and had a P4 level of 35 ng mL–1 on Day 7 post-ovulation, and was not included in the data analysis. Mean P4 concentrations in the noninseminated mares were 0 0.68 ± 0.2 ng mL–1 on Day 0 and 12.3 ± 1.6 ng mL–1 on Day 7 post-ovulation and were not different from embryo-producing mares regardless of embryo size. From this preliminary study, that there is no evidence that embryo diameter is correlated with maternal progesterone concentrations on Day 7 post-ovulation.
The surface chemistry of polystyrene latices initiated by the persulfate/bisulfite/iron system

Abstract A series of polystyrene colloids in water was prepared by emulsion polymerization using the PBI initiator system [persulfate/bisulfite/iron (III)] and SDS surfactant (sodium dodecyl sulfate). In one case no surfactant was used. In some, divinyl benzene was employed as a crosslinking agent. The colloids were purified and converted to the surface acid form by a combination of continuous hollow fiber dialysis and ion exchange. The kinetics of the autocatalyzed hydrolysis of certain surface acid groups, presumably RSO 4 H, were determined at 70, 86, and 100°C by conductometric titration. Hydrolysis also occurred during dialysis and ion exchange. A residuum of nonhydrolyzable surface acid, presumably RSO 3 H, was always found. Mixed bed ion-exchange resins could be used to clean the colloids only after exhaustive purification, even though separate cation and anion resins appeared always to contaminate the latex surface. Dialysis alone was unsatisfactory.
Activation and germination of Bacillus thuringienis spores in Manduca sexta larval gut fluid

Abstract Incubation of Bacillus thuringiensis HD-1 spores in the larval gut fluid of Manduca sexta (tobacco hornworm) resulted in increased viable counts, conversion to phase-dark spores, and a loss of absorbance in spore suspensions, indicative of spore germination. Heat-activated and untreated spores incubated in water did not exhibit these changes. Only when spores were heat activated and incubated in germinants l -alanine and adenosine did changes in the spores approximate those observed in gut fluid. These data suggest that M. sexta larval gut fluid induces the activation and germination of B. thuringiensis spores.
Luminous pulses during triggered lightning

[1] A triggered lightning flash that transferred negative charge to ground in central New Mexico produced more than three levels of branching above the main channel to ground in a 1 km vertical field of view. A high-speed video recording shows that the main channel had about 50 brief luminous pulses, many of which were superimposed on a slowly changing persistent luminosity. In contrast, superposition was rare in the uppermost visible branches because luminous pulses first appeared on preexisting dark channels before merging into a luminous channel. This observation suggests that luminous pulses in triggered and natural lightning originate only on dark branches and that the complexity of the main channel to ground is the result of multiple mergers of dark branches with pulses into luminous branches without pulses. This suggestion is contrary to an earlier conclusion that there are two kinds of luminous pulses. We also observe behavior characteristic of electromagnetic waves on transmission lines: when a downward propagating luminous pulse reaches a junction with another initially dark branch, it travels both upward and downward along that branch. Upon reaching the ground the downward propagating wave produces a bright reflection which also splits at the junctions, producing luminosity for a short distance upward in one direction while propagating much farther upward along the path charged by the downward propagating wave. However, when a downward moving luminous pulse reaches a junction with an initially luminous branch, splitting is not evident, probably due to the greater conductivity of the luminous channel.
Congenital nephrotic syndrome with prolonged renal survival without renal replacement therapy

Infants with congenital nephrotic syndrome (CNS) develop severe nephrotic syndrome that is resistant to medical therapy, and bilateral nephrectomy is recommended toward the end of the first year of life followed by renal replacement therapy. CNS infants in New Zealand have been observed to exhibit a different course to those with the typical Finnish mutation. A database of CNS children at our center was retrospectively examined. All cases diagnosed between 1975 and 2011 were reviewed. Demographic data, clinical features, genetic mutations, treatment, and outcome were extracted from clinical records. Thirty-five patients with CNS, 23 children of Maori descent, and 12 Caucasians . Fourteen had died of either bacterial sepsis or intracranial thrombosis. Maori children had displayed a highly variable and protracted timeline to end-stage renal disease (ESRD) with median renal survival of 30 years versus 0.7 years in Caucasian patients. Mutation analysis of NPHS1 showed a founder mutation in the Maori population. Congenital nephrotic syndrome in New Zealand Maori children exhibit a different clinical course to Caucasian children and have a mutation that was first described in this ethnic group.
Fine structure of the gradient of polarity in the z gene of the lac operon of Escherichia coli.

Abstract Peaks have been found in the gradient of polarity of the 2 gene of the lac operon of Escherichia coli . The position of these peaks corresponds to the regions previously shown to contain polypeptide reinitiation sequences.
THE OSCILLATION OF POLICE CALLS TO DOMESTIC DISPUTES WITH TIME AND THE TEMPERATURE HUMIDITY INDEX

ABSTRACT Using a routine activities framework, this paper discusses how police calls to domestic disputes oscillate with time and the temperature-humidity index. The data are the number of domestic dispute calls for 1894 three-hour periods during 1986 in Charlotte, North Carolina. The results indicate that time periods defined as being primarily for the pursuit of discretionary rather than obligatory activities produce higher frequencies of domestic disputes, but the six hour lag of the temperature-humidity index modifies the levels of disputes expected for a specific time period.
Cognitive causal mechanisms in human agency: Etic and emic considerations

The debate over the contribution of cognitive processes in understanding human endeavor rages on in psychology despite decades of conceptual and empirical scrutiny from researchers. Recently, the construct of self efficacy has stimulated a renewal of this debate. We discuss the significance of this cognitive construct from the perspective of cross-cultural behavior. We examine the empirical evidence from a number of cross-cultural studies, and we argue that the etic quality of this construct provides strong evidence for its significance in understanding universal aspects of behavior.
Conceptual behavior as a function of associative strength between representational responses

The influence of associative strength between representational responses on conceptual categorizing behavior was investigated in two experiments. The first study failed to produce a significant effect of level of associative strength, high or low, on the ability of S s to execute a reversal shift in a concept-identification task requiring sorting nouns into two sense-impression categories. In the second study only one sorting category was used, and the S after identifying the correct concept was required to shift to a second concept which was either a high- or low-associate of the first concept. The shift was executed significantly more rapidly when the second concept was a high-associate of the first.
Constitutive Activation of Retinoic Acid Receptor β2 Promoter by Orphan Nuclear Receptor TR2

The orphan nuclear receptor TR2 functions as a constitutive activator for the endogenous retinoic acid receptor beta2 (RAR(beta2)) gene expression in P19 embryonal carcinoma cells and for reporters driven by the RAR(beta2) promoter in COS-1 cells. The activation of RAR(beta2) by TR2 is mediated by the direct repeat-5 (DR5) element located in the RAR(beta2) promoter. Furthermore, cAMP exerts an enhancing effect on the activation of RAR(beta2) by TR2, which is mediated by the cAMP response element located in the 5'-flanking region of the DR5. The constitutive activation function-1 (AF-1) of TR2 is mapped to amino acid residues 10-30 in its N-terminal A segment. A direct molecular interaction occurs between CREMtau and TR2, detected by co-immunoprecipitation, which is mediated by the N-terminal AB segment of TR2. In gel mobility shift assays, TR2 competes with P19 nuclear factor binding to the RAR(beta2) promoter, and TR2 and CREMtau bind simultaneously to this DNA fragment. The role of TR2 in the early events of RA signaling process is discussed.
High-Resolution Absorption Spectroscopy of NO2

Abstract The absorption cross-section of NO 2 has been measured above the 3979 predissociation limit in the region of 3920 and 3950 and in the discretely structured areas around 4112 and 4140 . Spectra were taken in a dual-beam arrangement using a tunable, pulsed dye laser with 0.05 bandwidth (FWHM). This represents an improvement of at least a factor of three over the resolution employed in previous studies. Below 3979 , the spectra are continous with occasional diffuse rotational lines superimposed. The spectra taken above 4100 reveal a wealth of structural complexity. We report here absolute cross-sections taken at 300 . The work above 4100 was also performed at 250 . Only slight variations in the measured cross-sections are observed between these two temperatures.
Transmission and absorption of solar radiation by Arctic sea ice during the melt season

[1] The partitioning of incident solar radiation between sea ice, ocean, and atmosphere strongly affects the Arctic energy balance during summer. In addition to spectral albedo of the ice surface, transmission of solar radiation through the ice is critical for assessing heat and mass balances of sea ice. Observations of spectral irradiance profiles within and transmittance through ice in the Beaufort Sea during the summer of 1998 during the Surface Heat Budget of the Arctic Ocean (SHEBA) are presented. Sites representative of melting multiyear and first-year ice, along with ponded ice were measured. Observed spectral irradiance extinction coefficients (Kλ) show broad minima near 500 nm and strong increases at near-infrared wavelengths. The median Kλ at 600 nm for the bare ice cases is close to 0.8 m−1 and about 0.6 m−1 for ponded ice. Values are considerably smaller than the previously accepted value of 1.5 m−1. Radiative transfer models were used to analyze the observations and obtain inherent optical properties of the ice. Derived scattering coefficients range from 500 m−1 to 1100 m−1 in the surface layer and 8 to 30 m−1 in the ice interior. While ponded ice is known to transmit a significant amount of shortwave radiation to the ocean, the irradiance transmitted through bare, melting ice is also shown to be significant. The findings of this study predict 3–10 times more solar radiation penetrating the ice cover than predicted by a current GCM (CCSM3) parameterization, depending on ice thickness, pond coverage, stage of the melt season, and specific vertical scattering coefficient profile.
A proteasomal stress response: pre‐treatment with proteasome inhibitors increases proteasome activity and reduces neuronal vulnerability to oxidative injury

We report here that exposure to low concentrations of proteasome inhibitors (e.g. 10–100 nm MG-132, 0.1–3 nm epoxomicin or 10–30 nmclasto-lactacystin β-lactone) resulted in an enhancement, rather than an inhibition, of proteasome activity in cultured neocortical neurons. Size-fractionation chromatography confirmed that the enhanced peptide cleavage activity was associated with proteasome-sized complexes. This sub toxic exposure reduced neuronal death caused by subsequent exposure to oxidative stress (100–200 µm H2O2 for 30 min, 24-h exposure to 100 µm paraquat or 7.5 µm menadione), but did not alter vulnerability to excitotoxicity (5-min exposure to 30–100 µm NMDA or 24 exposure to 12 µm NMDA). Sub toxic proteasome inhibitor exposure caused an increase in levels of proteasome core subunit proteins and mRNAs, but not in levels of potentially cytoprotective heat shock proteins (hsp70, hsp90 and hsp40). The neuroprotective effects of proteasome inhibitor pre-treatment were blocked by coapplication of proteasome inhibitors during the oxidative insult. These findings support a model in which sublethal proteasome inhibition induces neurons to increase proteasome activity and promotes resistance to oxidative injury and suggests that enhancement of proteasome activity is a potential therapeutic target for diseases in which oxidative stress has been implicated.
Verbal abilities in healthy elderly adults.

The Multilingual Aphasia Examination, a short battery of language measures, was administered to 61 healthy, community-dwelling adults (42 female, 19 male) 70 to 90 years old, and their performances were compared with the norms for younger participants. The intent was to investigate the decline of verbal abilities with advancing age and to consider the implications of such a decline for the interpretation of the performances of other elderly individuals. A significant age-related decline in performance was found on only one (Sentence Repetition) of the nine tests. Of note, Sentence Repetition is also the only test that makes specific demands on both short-term memory and serial auditory information processing. The relative stability of verbal performances from the early adult years to the ninth decade suggests that the occurrence of defective performances in older individuals is more likely to reflect the presence of "age-associated" disease rather than "normal" aging. Further, the findings suggest that no...
Nano-Indentation for Characterizing Mechanical Properties of Soft Materials

We have attempted to apply the computer-based finite element analysis (FEA) method to accurately measure the mechanical properties (e.g., hardness and elasticity) of a soft material by an indentation test. First, an axisymmetric model has been developed using commercially available FEA code ANSYS. The FEA model consisted of a thin Al-film resting on Si-substrate. A spherical indenter has been used to indent the Al-film, which traveled a predefined depth during the loading and unloading cycles. First, numerical simulations were conducted to get the force vs. displacement plot, which was later used to determine the modulus of elasticity and hardness of Al-film. The effects of substrate modulus and indentation depth were thoroughly investigated to determine the modulus and hardness of Al-film. The effect of friction, considered at the interface of indenter and Al-film, was found to offer minimum impact for relatively small indentation depth. The induced force on the Al-film by the indenter has been found to be higher with increasing indentation depth when friction was considered. However the contact stiffness, represented by the slope of the unloading curve, has been found almost the same with and without considering friction. The variation of substrate modulus has been found to be ineffective to capture the Al-film modulus for relatively small indentation depth. However for higher indentation depth, the substrate modulus has been found to offer profound effect to capture the film modulus. The hardness of the Al-film has also been found to be relatively unaffected with variation of substrate modulus. However, the hardness of the Al-film has been found to be higher with friction for relatively high indentation depth. Results obtained from this preliminary research are important to continue further investigation and to characterize the mechanical properties of other soft-materials, e.g., biofilms to minimize its detrimental effects and utilize its favorable aspects in industrial and biomedical applications.Copyright © 2013 by ASME
Termination of parental rights: A neglected side effect of infant intervention programs

A significant proportion of infants receiving treatment in programs designed to prevent abuse and psychosocial disorders may be removed from the custody of their parents by social service agencies. In an effort to help distinguish those cases at risk for termination of parental rights (TPR), seven such cases were analyzed and compared to seven similar cases where TPR did not occur. All 14 cases were referred because of abuse/neglect, and were at risk for continued abuse. Results showed that TPR was most likely in families where the parents were viewed as being unpleasant, as having a poor relationship with their child, were seen as retarded by the social service agency, and whose infants showed large gains in developmental level, especially during foster placement. These findings were interpreted as indicating a mixture of actual lack of progress in treatment and a negative attitudinal set about these clients.
Field enhanced thermionic electron emission from sulfur doped nanocrystalline diamond films

Thermal activation of field enhancement based emitters can provide efficient means of lowering the emission barrier, thus enabling high current density electron sources. Microwave plasma assisted chemical vapour deposition was employed to synthesize sulfur doped nanocrystalline diamond films with various sulfur/carbon concentrations. Electron emission at elevated temperatures was characterized by direct imaging of the emission utilizing electron emission microscopy. Sulfur doped nanocrystalline diamond films exhibit electron emission from singular sites indicating a non-uniform distribution of the local field enhancement. The threshold field for electron emission changes significantly by varying the sulfur/carbon concentration in the gas phase. At elevated temperatures the emission is strongly enhanced but remains confined to the intense emission sites.
Who are the Hosts?: Village Tours in Fenghuang County, China

In this article, from an anthropological power and scale perspective, I critically apply aspects of the McDonaldization thesis to the analysis of ethnographic cases of three village tours in Fenghuang County of rural China. I examine the role of tour operators as an emerging dominant power in shaping local tourism and society, through which both the toured and tourists are being objectified and consumed for profit at the hands of the global market. I explore resistance and acceptance from the toured and tourists in their response to global forces of commodification, dehumanization, and alienation. This article reveals the dynamics of the global process of "scaling up" in a local context of mass tourism. During this process, the private tourism operators and developers, connected with the local political authorities, were reaping most of the material rewards through their control of the tempo-spatial distribution of tourists and, therefore, were the actual "hosts" of the local tourism economy.
Mesoscale and microscale structure of cirrus clouds - Three case studies

Abstract The structure and composition of three basic cirrus cloud types are examined through coordinated aircraft and ground-based polarization lidar and radar measurements. The cloud systems consist of a multilayered orographic cirrus, a 6-km deep cirrostratus, and a group of fibrous cirrus bands at the tropopause. The data reveal the presence of mesoscale generating regions with horizontal dimensions ranging from ∼15 km in narrow cloud bands up to ∼100 km in cirrostratus. These generating regions appear to be composed of complexes of much smaller convective structures, presumably on the ∼1-km scale of cirrus uncinus cells, and so are termed Mesoscale Uncinus Complexes (MUC). Accumulations of ice particles within cirrus, commonly referred to as precipitation trails, are associated with generating regions at or near cloud tops, but are also created by the local production of ice crystals within embedded convective impulses. Supercooled cloud droplets large enough to be detected by aircraft probes (≳5 μm ...
Cells in the anteroventral cochlear nucleus are insensitive to l-glutamate and l-aspartate; excitatory synaptic responses are not blocked by d-α-aminoadipate

Auditory nerve fibers transmit signals from the cochlea to the 3 regions of the cochlear nuclear complex, the anteroventral (AVCN), posteroventral, and dorsal cochlear nucleus in the brainstem. It has been suggested that the amino acids L-aspartate and L-glutamate might serve as a neurotransmitter in auditory nerve fibers. The sensitivity of postsynaptic cells in the cochlear nuclei to these amino acids has been tested by iontophoretic techniques. One difficulty with these experiments is that responses were recorded only extracellularly. A second difficulty is that the concentrations needed to affect cells could not be determined. To avoid these difficulties a brain slice preparation was used to test the sensitivity of cells in the AVCN to bath applied L-glutamate and L-aspartate at concentrations ranging from 10(-5) to 10(-2) M. All cells that were tested in the cochlear nuclear complex were insensitive at all concentrations used; the resting potentials and the input resistances remained unchanged and the synaptic responses to electrical stimulation of the auditory nerve were not desensitized. All cells that were tested in the hippocampus, however, depolarized in the presence of 10(-4) M L-glutamate and L-aspartate. The synaptic responses to electrical stimulation of the auditory nerve were not blocked by D-alpha-aminoadipate, an amino acid which has been shown to block excitation of cells in the cochlear nuclei by auditory nerve fibers. The results are not consistent with L-glutamate and L-aspartate serving as neurotransmitters in the AVCN.
The roles of planning, learning, and mental models in repeated dynamic decision making

Repeated search and decision making is a common consumer activity that should benefit from advanced planning. In three simulated shopping experiments, we find that people often fail to plan spontaneously or, when they do plan, do not use an appropriate mental model of the search problem. We also manipulate the mental models used by subjects and find that while our manipulation successfully encourages the development of appropriate mental models and improves performance when search costs are low, it does not result in the type of sophisticated mental model required to change strategies based on increased search costs. Finally, we show that the benefits of planning generalize to real world shopping behavior in a field experiment.
Thermodynamic Approach to Enhanced Dispersion and Physical Properties in a Carbon Nanotube/Polypeptide Nanocomposite

A high molecular weight synthetic polypeptide has been designed which exhibits favorable interactions with single wall carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs). The enthalpic and entropic penalties of mixing between these two molecules are reduced due to the polypeptide's aromatic sidechains and helical secondary structure, respectively. These enhanced interactions result in a well dispersed SWCNT/Poly (L-Leucine-ran-L-Phenylalanine) nanocomposite with enhanced mechanical and electrical properties using only shear mixing and sonication. At 0.5 wt% loading of SWCNT filler, the nanocomposite exhibits simultaneous increases in the Young's modulus, failure strain, and toughness of 8%, 120%, and 144%, respectively. At one kHz, the same nanotube loading level also enhances the dielectric constant from 2.95 to 22.81, while increasing the conductivity by four orders of magnitude.
Resistivity Study of a Coastal Karst Terrain, Florida

Twenty-eight vertical electrical soundings were completed in the west-central Gulf Coast area of Florida. The objective of the survey was to evaluate the resistivity method for locating the fresh-water/salt-water interface in the karstic Floridan aquifer. Four geoelectric layers dominate the study area. The upper three are related to lithostratigraphy and correspond to: (1) surficial sands; (2) a karstic, highly-transmissive carbonate zone; and (3) a less porous carbonate zone. The lowest layer represents a zone saturated with salt water and with a resistivity of less than one ohmmeter. Toward the coast, the fresh-water/salt-water interface rises, and fewer geoelectric layers are observed because pore-water conductivity masks lithostratigraphic changes. Interface data interpreted from resistivity measurements agree with other hydrologic data. The study indicates that surface electrical methods can provide information on the interface position and can provide hydrologic information between wells used for control.
"Every pregnancy is different": designing mHealth for the pregnancy ecology

This paper presents the results of an ongoing study into the potential role of mobile or wireless health applications for targeting the prevention of excessive gestational weight gain in pregnant lower-income American women. Informed by a qualitative study of pregnant women's experiences, we develop a set of design requirements for designing mobile health (mHealth) interventions related to healthy pregnancies. We identify a disconnection between physical activity and food tracking application design paradigms, and the reality of pregnant women's lives and capacities. We introduce the concept of an individualized pregnancy ecology, which provides an alternative paradigm for design of health and wellness management tools for lower-income pregnant women.