cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Rethinking Lowrider Artistic Representations: An Aesthetic Response to Social Exclusion:

This article examines the narrative and visual construct of the lowrider vehicle as part of the barrio aesthetic. The central argument is that the display of lowrider art can be better understood a...
The Role of Hormones in Male Sexual Function

Male sexual dysfunction has many different causes and is often multifactorial in nature. We aim to review the effects that testosterone (T), estrogen, thyroid hormone, prolactin (PRL), and cortisol have on male sexual function. T deficiency can cause decreased libido and diminished erectile function. Estrogen is necessary for sexual drive but is postulated to inhibit erectile function when elevated. Hyperthyroidism is associated with premature ejaculation (PE), hypothyroidism is associated with delayed ejaculation (DE), and both are associated with erectile dysfunction (ED). Hyperprolactinemia is associated with ED and can cause fertility issues. The role of corticosteroids is largely unknown. While hormonal disorders can largely influence male sexual health, resolution of sexual dysfunction is achieved in most cases by normalization of hormone levels.
Pro Bono Matters in the District

Washington D.C. suffers from a severe affordable housing crisis, rising family homelessness, high unemployment rates, and falling income among the poorest residents. The District’s overall poverty rate is above the national average at more than 18%, but for D.C.’s children the poverty rate soars to 28%. One in ten residents live in extreme poverty, or below half of the poverty line. Poverty is concentrated and segregated in D.C., with nearly three-fourths of poor households headed by people of color, and almost half headed by someone who was born in D.C. (only 31% and 17% in the general population, respectively). These statistics can be mind-numbing, but they have profound daily, as well as long-term, implications for our nation’s Capital. From February to May of 2013, one local youth service provider turned away at least 150 unaccompanied minor children due to lack of emergency shelter space. The District also has the nation’s second highest rate of food insecurity among children. One in three children in Washington, D.C. lives in a home where there is not enough food for them to eat. In the past decade, Catholic Charities have more than doubled their emergency food services. Food insecurity is harmful to any individual’s physical and mental well-being, but it is particularly devastating for children due to critical brain, bone and organ development. The adverse long-term physical and mental health and related financial consequences are devastating for our economy and country. Fortunately, some remedies are being unleashed to try to turn back this debilitating trend. Together with several other states, the District is raising its minimum wage and enhancing its EITC. Recent minimum wage increases together with an expanded D.C. EITC should make work pay more effectively for lower-income working families. The District has raised the minimum wage from $8.25 per hour in 2013 to $11.50 for 2016 and expanded the already significant D.C. EITC for childless workers. About one-half of District families who will benefit from the higher minimum wage have incomes below or near the poverty line – a group that should also benefit from the D.C. EITC. The expanded childless worker D.C. EITC should mitigate the harsh reality that America taxes into poverty certain low-wage workers.
Approaches to the Quantitative Physical and Functional Capacity Assessment of Occupational Musculoskeletal Disorders

In this chapter, we consider the objective characteristics that would be needed for an ideal assessment of worker physical and functional capacities. We review the pertinent clinical literature relating to quantitative assessment of physical capacity and function in the injured worker setting, from 1999 to 2012, and draw conclusions about the usefulness, if any, of these tests in the current environment. We also examine some recent findings from the physiology literature that may shed light on future improvements.
Mechanism of cell-mediated cytotoxicity at the single-cell level: VII. Trigger of the lethal hit event is distinct for NK/K and LDCC effector cells as measured in the two-target conjugate assay

Normal human peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBL) express several in vitro cytotoxic functions, among which are natural killer (NK), antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC), and lectin-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (LDCC). The relationship of these various cytotoxic functions and the identity of cells involved has been a subject of controversy. Recently it was reported that NK and K for ADCC can be mediated by the same cell, suggesting that they constitute in large part a single subpopulation with multiple cytotoxic functions. The ability of this NK/K effector cell to mediate LDCC was examined here using the two target conjugate assay. The effector cells were Ficoll-Hypaque PBL or LGL-enriched fractions. The targets used were K562 or MOLT for NK, RAJI coated with antibody for ADCC, and RAJI coated with PHA or Con A or modified by NaIO4 for LDCC. In the two-target conjugate assay, one of the targets is fluorescein labeled for identification. The results show that (a) LDCC copurifies with NK/K and is enriched in the LGL fraction, as measured in both the 51Cr-release assay and the single-cell assay for cytotoxicity; (b) single effector cells simultaneously bind to NK or ADCC and LDCC targets, revealing that single cells bear binding receptors for all targets; and (c) single lymphocytes were not able to kill both bound NK/K and LDCC targets. However, significant two-target killing was obtained when both targets were NK targets, ADCC targets, LDCC targets, or one NK and one ADCC target. These results demonstrate that the NK and LDCC effector cells are distinct subpopulations copurified in the LGL fraction. In addition, the results show that lectin is unable to trigger globally an NK effector cell to mediate cytotoxicity against a bound NK insensitive target. Thus, although both NK and LDCC effector cells are present in the LGL fraction and can bind to both types of targets, the trigger of the lethal hit event is the function of specialized effector cells.
A PHOTOMETRIC SURVEY FOR VARIABLES AND TRANSITS IN THE FIELD OF PRAESEPE WITH THE KILODEGREE EXTREMELY LITTLE TELESCOPE

The Kilodegree Extremely Little Telescope (KELT) project is a small aperture, wide-angle search for planetary transits of solar-type stars. In this paper, we present the results of a commissioning campaign with the KELT telescope to observe the open cluster Praesepe for 34 nights in early 2005. Light curves were obtained for 69,337 stars, out of which we identify 58 long-period variables and 152 periodic variables. Sixteen of these are previously known as variable, yielding 194 newly discovered variable stars for which we provide properties and light curves. We also searched for planetary-like transits, finding four transit candidates. Follow-up observations indicate that two of the candidates are astrophysical false positives, with two candidates remaining as potential planetary transits.
International Laws of War and the African Child: Norms, Compliance, and Sovereignty

The Convention on the Rights of the Child of 1989 is one of the most prominent international humanitarian treaty in world history. It entered into force quicker than any other treaty and currently only two countries (the United States and Somalia) have not ratified it. Carol Bellamy, Executive Director of UNICEF, says that the Convention has become the centerpiece of a global movement, a movement that reflects a growing awareness of the importance of safeguarding human rights and child rights in particular. Similarly, Lisbet Palme claimed, after traveling to some of the worst conflict zones in Africa, that, For many of the children I have met and talked with, the Convention takes on a very meaningful reality. Yet, during the 1990?s, more children in Africa became victims of, and combatants in, war than at any time in history. Partially as a result, a bitter Human Rights Watch Report assessing the state of children?s rights ten years after the Convention on the Rights of Children came into force was entitled Promises Broken. Indeed, to enhance further international humanitarian law protecting children during war, governments agreed in January 2000, after six years of negotiations, to an Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child that raises the minimum age of combatants to eighteen.
The plasma membrane H+-ATPase of Neurospora crassa. Properties of two reactive sulfhydryl groups.

Abstract Previous work with N-ethylmaleimide (NEM) has defined two sites on the Neurospora plasma membrane H+-ATPase. Modification of one (the "fast" site) by NEM is rapid but does not affect ATPase activity, while modification of the other (the "slow" site) inactivates the enzyme and is protectable by MgATP or MgADP. In the present study, a wider array of sulfhydryl reagents have been used to examine the properties of both sites. The results show the following. (a) Both fast and slow sites react preferentially with hydrophobic compounds (N-pyrenemaleimide, dithiobisnitropyridine greater than N-naphthylmaleimide, dithiobisnitrobenzoate greater than N-phenylmaleimide greater than N-ethylmaleimide) and are virtually insensitive to hydrophilic sulfhydryl reagents such as iodoacetamide and iodoacetic acid. (b) The reaction rate of the slow site with NEM is approximately 2000-fold less rapid than that of the fast site. The slow site also has an unusually high pKa (greater than 9.5). (c) Whether or not cysteine modification leads to inactivation of the ATPase depends upon the site and the reagent. For example, when the fast site reacts with NEM, enzymatic activity is retained; when it reacts with N-pyrenemaleimide, activity is lost. Likewise, when the slow site is modified by any of the maleimides or by dithiobisnitropyridine or dithiobisnitrobenzoate, the ATPase is inactivated; when it is modified by methylmethanethiosulfonate, activity remains intact. Thus, neither cysteine can be considered to play an essential role in the reaction cycle of the ATPase, but the introduction of a sufficiently bulky substituent at either site can disrupt activity. (d) Upon reaction of methylmethanethiosulfonate at the slow site, the K1/2 for MgATP hydrolysis is reduced from 0.65 to 0.25 mM. This result strengthens the evidence for a conformational relationship between the slow site cysteine and the nucleotide binding site of the ATPase.
The PFP and ESG protein function prediction methods in 2014: effect of database updates and ensemble approaches.

Functional annotation of novel proteins is one of the central problems in bioinformatics. With the ever-increasing development of genome sequencing technologies, more and more sequence information is becoming available to analyze and annotate. To achieve fast and automatic function annotation, many computational (automated) function prediction (AFP) methods have been developed. To objectively evaluate the performance of such methods on a large scale, community-wide assessment experiments have been conducted. The second round of the Critical Assessment of Function Annotation (CAFA) experiment was held in 2013–2014. Evaluation of participating groups was reported in a special interest group meeting at the Intelligent Systems in Molecular Biology (ISMB) conference in Boston in 2014. Our group participated in both CAFA1 and CAFA2 using multiple, in-house AFP methods. Here, we report benchmark results of our methods obtained in the course of preparation for CAFA2 prior to submitting function predictions for CAFA2 targets. For CAFA2, we updated the annotation databases used by our methods, protein function prediction (PFP) and extended similarity group (ESG), and benchmarked their function prediction performances using the original (older) and updated databases. Performance evaluation for PFP with different settings and ESG are discussed. We also developed two ensemble methods that combine function predictions from six independent, sequence-based AFP methods. We further analyzed the performances of our prediction methods by enriching the predictions with prior distribution of gene ontology (GO) terms. Examples of predictions by the ensemble methods are discussed. Updating the annotation database was successful, improving the Fmax prediction accuracy score for both PFP and ESG. Adding the prior distribution of GO terms did not make much improvement. Both of the ensemble methods we developed improved the average Fmax score over all individual component methods except for ESG. Our benchmark results will not only complement the overall assessment that will be done by the CAFA organizers, but also help elucidate the predictive powers of sequence-based function prediction methods in general.
How Do Facebook Users Believe They Come Across in Their Profiles?: A Meta-Perception Approach to Investigating Facebook Self-Presentation

The present study examines Facebook self-presentation from the perspective of the self-presenters themselves: How do Facebook users believe they come across in their profiles? A sample of undergraduate students (N = 212) rated their Facebook self-presentations as highly positive, although not so positive as to communicate an idealized version of self. Additionally, self-presenters believed that their profiles portrayed them as better than reality on certain dimensions of self (e.g., “funny,” “adventurous,” “outgoing”), accurately on other dimensions (e.g., “physically attractive,” “creative”), and worse than reality on yet other dimensions (“intelligent,” “polite,” “reliable”). Participants believed that their own profile postings made them come across more positively than reality, but Friends' postings made them come across more negatively than reality. The results are generally consistent with the Hyperpersonal model's notion of selective self-presentation.
A comment on the relationship between the history of marketing thought and the development of marketing theory

This comment argues that the history of marketing thought and the development of marketing theory are intimately intertwined. The history of marketing thought is necessary for the development of ma...
Photophysical studies of an encapsulated neutral guest intercalated into the 2-dimensional space of α-Zr(IV) phosphate

Our long-range objective of developing surface anchored supramolecular assemblies as artificial light harvesting systems led us to explore the intercalation of guest molecules confined within octaamine hydrochloride (OAm·HCl) in the 2-dimensional galleries of layered inorganic material α-Zr(IV)phosphate (α-ZrP). Photophysical properties of 4,4′-dimethylbenzil, camphorthione, 4,4′-dimethylstilbene, pyrene and coumarin-1 were used to probe the intercalation behavior of OAm capsules within the galleries of α-ZrP. 1H NMR and emission spectral investigations suggested the inclusion of guests within OAm and also confirmed the stability of host–guest complexes under acidic conditions in water. Stirring guest encapsulated OAm capsule with exfoliated α-ZrP nanosheets resulted in intercalation of the host–guest assembly as a whole in the case of 4,4′-dimethylbenzil, camphorthione, and 4,4′-dimethylstilbene as guests. According to powder X-ray diffraction and emission data these capsules are stable in the galleries of α-ZrP. The fact that the capsules are stable and can be included in α-ZrP nanosheets opens up further opportunities to explore inclusion of two different capsules, one with a donor and the other with an acceptor, and study the energy and electron transfer phenomenon between neutral molecules in α-ZrP galleries.
Javelin Dynamics With Measured Lift, Drag, and Pitching Moment

Etude par simulation sur ordinateur des conditions optimales de lancement d'un javelot en supposant que la vitesse initiale qu'on peut atteindre depend de l'angle de lancement et que le centre de pression aerodynamique se deplace en fonction de l'angle d'attaque. On tient compte dans la simulation des forces et moments aerodynamiques mesures prealablement en soufflerie
Vanishing Indians: the social construction of race in colonial Sao Paulo.

Much has been written about race and race stereotyping in Brazil in relation to African-Brazilians and their mixed African-European descendants. The situation of Indians and their mixed-blood descendants has been studied much less. In fact, the word mestizo as it is used in Spanish America does not translate well into Portuguese, for in Portuguese a mestico can be any mixture. In the case of Brazil, it can mean either a descendant of Indian-European parents or of African-European parents. This paper studies racial classifications in seventeenth, eighteenth, and early nineteenth-century Sao Paulo. Sao Paulo was a unique region in colonial Brazil and, because of its unique history, these findings cannot be automatically extrapolated to all other parts of Brazil. Sao Paul was very poor, especially if compared to the northeast, and later to Minas Gerais, the center of the gold and diamond mining region. Though the town was founded in 1554, it lacked exportable natural resources until the late eighteenth century, so that the economy was partly based on the raising of a few cattle and crops for subsistence or for sale locally or to other regions of Brazil. The labor needs of Paulistas (inhabitants of Sao Paulo) were met through exploratory and slaving expeditions called bandeiras that replenished their Indian labor force or else provided captives to be sold to other parts of Brazil. Though there were a few African slaves in Sao Paulo in the seventeenth century, the settlers could not afford them in substantial numbers until the second half of the eighteenth century.
Correlated firing of hippocampal neuron pairs in sleep and wakefulness.

Abstract Temporal patterns of firing in pairs of hippocampal neurons were studied in relation to behavioral states in the cat, using cross correlation techniques. These units were recorded simultaneously by a single microelectrode. During deep sleep with cortical high-voltage slow-wave activity, a high correlation was observed in the patterning of firing in the neuronal pairs. There was a high probability of correlated firing within a short time (for example, 5 msec) with an increased chance of concurrent appearance of long inactive periods in the neuronal pairs. When the behavioral state shifted from sleep to wakefulness, patterns of the two spike trains showed a reduced correlation, with concomitant decrease in the probability of correlated firing. In this state, though the long inactive periods appeared in individual neurons, they did not occur simultaneously in adjacent neurons. In behavioral arousal or in REM sleep, which are characterized by hippocampal theta activity, firing patterns in neuronal pairs showed minimal correlation. The probability of correlated firing fell to chance levels.
Stress-difference elasticity and its application to photomechanics

The two-dimensional elasticity equations have been reformulated in terms of the obtainable photoelastic data and the first stress invariant. The result is a new group of partial-differential equations which can be used to either separate the stresses along a line segment or to generate photoelastic data within a region. The equations can also be used to check the quality of the data used in the shear-difference method. Examples which illustrate the use of these equations are presented and discussed.
The contentious historiography of the Gilan republic in Iran: a critical exploration

(1995). The contentious historiography of the Gilan republic in Iran: a critical exploration. Iranian Studies: Vol. 28, No. 1-2, pp. 3-24.
Isolation and characterization of a partial cDNA clone for heparin cofactor II

A human fetal liver cDNA library constructed in λgt11 was screened with affinity-purified rabbit antibodies raised against heparin cofactor II. One positive clone was plaque purified and the cDNA insert was completely sequenced. The clone encodes the C-terminal 167 amino acid residues of heparin cofactor II as well as the entire 3′-untranslated region of the message. Proline and leucine were identified in the P2 and P1 positions of the protease cleavage site, providing a possible exlanation for the ability of heparin cofactor II to inhibit both thrombin and chymotrypsin-like proteases. The coding sequence is identical to that of the recently published human leuserpin 2 (Ragg (1986) Nucl. Acids Res. 14, 1073).
The Impact of Component Pricing of Soybeans and Milk: Comment

The purpose of this comment is to set the record straight on what the butterfat differential is and to demonstrate how it should be used to calculate the producer prices of fat skim and solids-not-fat in milk. The butterfat differential is used in the Federal Milk Marketing Orders to determine fat and skim values for each class of milk pooled in the order. Perrin used the butterfat differential incorrectly to estimate the impacts of milk component pricing on producers and milk processors. Lesser repeated the mistake in a later note, and Quinn and Wasserman made the same mistake in a recent extension publication. It is evident that many research and extension economists err by assuming the butterfat differential is the price of one-tenth of a pound of butterfat. The butterfat differential as it is used in pricing milk is the difference between the price of one-tenth of a pound of butterfat and the price of one-tenth of a pound of skim.
Fragmentation analysis of bradykinin by 252Cf-plasma desorption mass spectrometry

The 252Cf-plasma desorption (PO) mass spectrum of the nonapeptide bradykinin was studied in detail with particular emphasis on the fragmentation pattern resulting from fast metastable decay of the molecular ion. N-acetyl and O-methyl derivatives of bradykinin were used as mass shift species for assignment of N-terminal and C-terminal fragment ions. Thirty-seven sequence-specific fragment ions were identified, including those that are due to cleavage of peptide backbone as well as side chain bonds (i.e., dn, vn, wn fragment ions). The degree of fragmentation correlates with what has been observed by fast atom bombardment tandem mass spectrometry using hi~h energy collisional activation. The high degree of excitation of bradykinin molecules in 252Cf-POMS is undoubtedly due to the special nature of excitation intrinsic to the 252Cf_PD process where electronic excitation occurs with a very high probability due to the high electron and photon flux surrounding the nuclear fission fragment track. These results offer further evidence that 252Cf_PDMS, in addition to providing molecular weight information, can be used to sequence peptides without the need for a second stage of molecular excitation.
The Quasi-Molecular Model of Atomic Collisions

My mentor, Robert S. Mulliken, once said to me, “Molecules are just like a puzzle. They may seem hard to understand, but if you just think about them, you can always solve the problem.” Can we be as confident about atomic collisions? Considering the progress we have made in the past dozen years, the answer seems to be yes.
Epithelial odontogenic tumours in domestic animals

Abstract Epithelial odontogenic tumours are uncommon, poorly understood and often difficult to diagnose, oral neoplasms. Dental organ pre-ameloblasts and basal lamina induce development of mesenchymal cells into odontoblasts, which produce dentin and induce pre-ameloblasts to mature into secretory ameloblasts. These reciprocal sequential inductive interactions between dental epithelium and mesenchyme form the basis for classifying epithelial odontogenic tumours. There are three tumours classified as non-inductive: ameloblastoma characterized by cords and islands of stellate reticulum with peripheral palisades of polarized columnar cells, adenomatoid ameloblastoma which has acini, rosettes and ducts of polarized columnar cells and stellate reticulum and calcifying epithelial odontogenic tumour which contains foci of Congo-red-positive material surrounded by pleomorphic polygonal epithelial cells. There are five tumours in which induction of mesenchymal tissue is evident: ameloblastic fibroma with characteristics of ameloblastoma plus proliferation of closely associated pulp-like mesenchyme; dentinoma consisting of masses of dentin, often with minimal cellular components; ameloblastic odontoma which contains palisaded epithelium and stellate reticulum as in ameloblastoma, as well as foci of dentin and/or enamel; complex odontoma which is a disorderly array of dentin, enamel, ameloblastic epithelium and odontoblasts; and compound odontoma containing denticles with well-organized tooth morphology. This paper reviews the embryogenesis of teeth and describes six types of epithelial odontogenic tumours in 13 animals. The literature concerning these tumours in nearly 250 animals is reviewed. The most commonly reported tumour is ameloblastoma and the species in which all types are most commonly reported is the dog.
Developmental regulation and primary structure of murine cellular nucleic acid‐binding protein, a zinc finger‐containing protein whose general structure is present in evolutionarily diverse eukaryotes

Murine cellular nucleic acid binding protein (CNBP) cDNA was cloned during a differential screen of messages expressed in early postimplantation extraembryonic tissues. Sequence analysis indicates that CNBP belongs to a family of proteins that contains retroviral-type zinc fingers (CCHC) and glycine-rich domains and whose general structure is similar in Leishmania, the yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe and in mammals. Transcripts representing four different CNBP proteins were detected during murine embryogenesis. Spatial analysis indicated that CNBP messages accumulated in a regulated pattern during postimplantation development. Most tissues expressed the CNBP message at E9.5 of embryonic development, with the exception of neural epithelia, developing gut and otic placode. By E12.5, the spatial pattern had become more restricted, but now included ependymal and mantal layers of the developing nervous system and differentiating lamina propria of the intestine. By E14.5, CNBP levels had decreased throughout all regions of the embryo. While the overall structure of CNBP-like proteins is conserved in eukaryotes, the CNBP expression pattern is not consistent with a simple housekeeping role.
Image understanding architecture and its software development tools

We will briefly review the design of the Image Understanding Architecture (IUA), a massively parallel, multi-level processor for real-time, knowledge-based, computer vision applications. A proof-of-concept prototype of the IUA has been built jointly by the University of Massachusetts and Hughes Research Laboratories in Malibu. We then describe the programming environment that has been created for the IUA.
Cardiac Myosin Adenosinetriphosphatase Activity: Modifying Factors and Comparison with Skeletal Muscle Myosin Adenosinetriphosphatase ACTIVITY

Cardiac myosin prepared by any one of a number of modifications of the basic Szent-Gyorgyi method and cardiac myosin prepared by the lithium chloride-ammonium sulfate technique differ in two important respects: 1) Szent-Gyorgyi-prepared myosin solutions are inhomogeneous by both chemical and immunologic criteria; 2) the ATPase activity of Szent-Gyorgyi-prepared myosin is low in comparison to lithium chloride-ammonium sulfate prepared cardiac myosin. Evidence is presented in this paper showing that the reduced ATPase activity of Szent-Gyorgyi-prepared cardiac myosin is the result of inhibition of the enzyme, possibly by a nucleotide contaminant, and a "diluting" effect of other nitrogen-containing contaminants of low specific activity. Many earlier studies indicate that cardiac and skeletal muscle myosin prepared by the Szent-Gyorgyi method differed strikingly in their ATPase activities. Comparison of lithium chloride-ammonium sulfate prepared cardiac and skeletal muscle myosin shows that skeletal muscle myosin has a slightly but significantly higher ATPase activity than canine cardiac myosin. A methodologic error was not excluded as the cause of this discrepancy. In a number of other characteristics, canine cardiac and skeletal muscle myosin ATPase activity was virtually identical.
The effects of salinity and soil drying on nutrient uptake and growth of Spartina alterniflora in a simulated tidal system

Abstract A study quantifying the role of the interactive effects of salinity and soil drying on nutrient uptake in Spartina alterniflora was conducted in a climate-controlled greenhouse. The experiment consisted of three levels of salinity (3–5 g/L, L; 15–20 g/L, M; 35–38 g/L, H) as well as three dynamic water levels: drought (water level maintained at least 20 cm below the soil surface at high tide, D), intermediate soil drying (water level maintained between 20 cm below the soil surface at low tide and 10 cm below the soil surface at high tide, I), and flooding (water level maintained 3–5 cm above the soil surface at high tide and 10 cm below the soil surface at low tide, F). Survival, shoot and root dry matter production, and concentrations of Al, Ca, Fe, Mg, N, P, K, Na, and S were measured along with soil conditions of redox potential and water potential. Contrary to expectations, the interactive effects of salinity and soil drying were not additive on plant nutrient uptake or biomass. However, both salinity and soil drying significantly impacted root and shoot dry weights. In addition, significant decreases were seen in all nutrients in response to increases in salinity and/or soil drying. High salinity in conjunction with drought (HD) decreased survival to 71%, whereas survival was 100% for all other treatments. Furthermore, leaf chlorosis and browning occurred in plants under increased salinity and drought conditions (HD and MD). Therefore, it appears that drought may magnify the adverse effects of salinity on plant nutrient status. Although the combined effects of increased salinity and soil drying did not appear to be detrimental to this species, significant decreases in nutrient uptake seen in response to the combined effects at severe levels (HD), if continued over an extended period, may be detrimental enough to cause large-scale marsh browning as noted in the field.
Attachment and Parental Divorce: A Test of the Diffusion and Sensitive Period Hypotheses

One of the assumptions of attachment theory is that disruptions in parental relationships are prospectively related to insecure attachment patterns in adulthood. The majority of research that has evaluated this hypothesis, however, has been based on retrospective reports of the quality of relationships with parents-research that is subject to retrospective biases. In the present research, the authors examined the impact of parental divorce-an event that can be assessed relatively objectively-on attachment patterns in adulthood across two samples. The data indicate that parental divorce has selective rather than diffuse implications for insecure attachment. Namely, parental divorce was more strongly related to insecure relationships with parents in adulthood than insecure relationships with romantic partners or friends. In addition, parental insecurity was most pronounced when parental divorce took place in early childhood. This finding is consistent with hypotheses about sensitive periods in attachment development.
Large Insensible Water Loss (IWL) in Low Birth Weight Infants Treated with a Plastic Heat Shield

Large Insensible Water Loss (IWL) in Low Birth Weight Infants Treated with a Plastic Heat Shield
Oscillations, noise, and extended negative correlations in electroreceptors

We demonstrate the existence of two types of oscillators embedded in the electroreceptor system of paddlefish. The first type of oscillator is represented by the collective activity of hundreds of epithelial cells. It produces stochastic oscillations with a well-expressed peak in the power spectrum at approx. 25 Hz. The second oscillator resides in the afferent terminals and is driven by the first, epithelial oscillations. We show that the existence of the epithelial oscillation leads to two main effects. On the one hand, it busts variability of afferent firing, expressed as an increase of the coefficient of variation of interspike intervals. On the other hand, however, the epithelial oscillations involve additional degree of ordering expressed in the extended negative correlations between sequential interspike intervals. We discuss implications of extended negative correlations on the performance of electroreceptors.
Control group study of juvenile diversion programs: an experiment in juvenile diversion—the comparison of three methods and a control group

Abstract Juvenile diversion methods have been tested in many states in an effort to reduce recidivism. This paper reports on an experimental juvenile diversion program and the evaluation to assess the effects on recidivism during the experimental period. In this control group design first-time juvenile status offenders were randomly assigned to three experimental groups: Juvenile Accountability Program, Youth Court, or Magistrate Court and compared with an Educational Control group. The data revealed that the Juvenile Accountability diversion program, which diverted offenders from the justice system and held them accountable of their offenses, showed positive signs for reducing recidivism.
Association of Host Genetic Risk Factors With the Course of Cytomegalovirus Retinitis in Patients Infected With Human Immunodeficiency Virus

Purpose To evaluate the effects of previously reported host genetics factors that influence cytomegalovirus (CMV) retinitis incidence, progression to acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS), and efficacy of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) for mortality, retinitis progression, and retinal detachment in patients with CMV retinitis and AIDS in the era of HAART. Design Prospective, multicenter, observational study. Methods Cox proportional hazards model based genetic association tests examined the influence of IL-10R1_S420L , CCR5-Δ32 , CCR2-V64I , CCR5 promoter , and SDF-3′A polymorphisms among patients with mortality, retinitis progression, and retinal detachment. Participants were 203 European-American and 117 African-American patients with AIDS and CMV retinitis. Results European-American patients with the CCR5 +.P1.+ promoter haplotype showed increased risk for mortality (hazard ratio [HR] = 1.83; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.00-3.40; P = .05). Although the same haplotype also trended for increased risk for mortality in African-American patients, the result was not significant (HR = 2.28; 95% CI: 0.93-5.60; P = .07). However, this haplotype was associated with faster retinitis progression in African Americans (HR = 5.22; 95% CI: 1.54-17.71; P = .007). Increased risk of retinitis progression was also evident for African-American patients with the SDF1-3′A variant (HR = 3.89; 95% CI: 1.42-10.60; P = .008). In addition, the SDF1-3′A variant increased the retinal detachment risk in this patient group (HR = 3.05; 95% CI: 1.01-9.16; P = .05). Conclusion Besides overall immune health, host genetic factors influence mortality, retinitis progression, and retinal detachment in patients with AIDS and CMV retinitis that are receiving HAART.
Actions of transforming growth factor‐β on muscle cells

It has recently been reported by three laboratories that transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta) is a potent and reversible inhibitor of differentiation in myogenic cells. To improve our understanding of this inhibition, we investigated the effects of TGF-beta on several other processes in L6 myoblasts, with emphasis on actions of the insulin-like hormones (which stimulate myoblast differentiation). We found that TGF-beta had no effect on the binding of insulin-like growth factors (IGFs) to their receptors on the cell surface, and it had little or no effect on some actions of the IGFs. There was essentially no change in the suppression of proteolysis or the stimulation of cell proliferation by IGFs when TGF-beta was also added to the medium. However, there was an effect of TGF-beta on another process stimulated by the IGFs; TGF-beta was an equally active and more potent stimulator of amino acid uptake than was IGF-I, and the stimulation was additive beyond the maximal response attained with IGF-I, suggesting that the two act by different mechanisms. TGF-beta had significant effects on myoblast morphology, causing the formation of abundant stress fibers containing cytoplasmic (but not myofibrillar) actin. Addition of TGF-beta at various times after initiation of differentiation demonstrated that TGF-beta inhibits an early process in differentiation. Thus it appears that the interactions of TGF-beta and the IGFs in myoblasts are complex; in some instances the effects of IGFs are inhibited and in others they are mimicked or are unaffected. It is clear that TGF-beta does not act by simply interfering with IGF binding or blocking early steps in its action on myoblasts.
A comparison of four simple water extraction—concentration procedures to be used with the battery of bioassay tests approach

With many environmental water samples, excluding industrial and domestic effluents, it has been found necessary to concentrate the water samples prior to testing with various bioassays for toxicant/genotoxicant content. In this report we describe four water concentration procedures: (1) flash evaporation, (2) Blue Rayon, (3) Empore disk, and (4) membrane filtration. For the water samples tested in this study a flash evaporation procedure and the membrane filtration procedure were the most promising sample concentration procedures. Results are discussed and future research directions are proposed. © 1993 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
On a multidimensional S -transform and the realization problem for homogeneous nonlinear systems

A multidimensional S -transform, related to the multidimensional Laplace transform, is defined in an algebraic fashion. Some properties of this transform with regard to nonlinear system representation are discussed. In particular the S -transform representation leads to a solution of a realization problem for stationary, homogeneous, degree n nonlinear systems. For ease of exposition the results are presented for the two-dimensional case only.
Thermal expansion of an E-glass/vinyl ester composite from 4 to 293 K

We have measured the thermal expansion of the three principal orthogonal directions of an E-glass/vinyl ester structural composite from liquid helium temperature, 4.2 K, to room temperature, 293 K. The linear thermal expansion at 4.2 K ranged from −0.23 to −0.71%, referenced to zero expansion at 293 K. We fitted the linear thermal expansion data from 4.2 to 293 K with a cubic polynomial for each of the three principal orthogonal directions.
Lipase-catalyzed modification of phospholipids: Incorporation of n-3 fatty acids into biosurfactants

Phospholipids were successfully modified by lipase-catalyzed transesterification to incorporate n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids such as eicosapentaenoic acid (20:5) and docosahexaenoic acid (22:6). The phospholipid modification was carried out in organic media with lipase fromMucor miehei (lipozyme) as biocatalyst. The parameters studied were the effect of different solvents, enzymes, acyl donor type, phospholipid class, water, enzyme and substrate concentrations. Hydrolysis of phosphatidylcholine to yield lysophosphatidylcholine and the synthesis of phosphatidylcholine from lysophosphatidylcholine was also carried out. The optimal conditions for the modification of phospholipids by transesterification were obtained with phosphatidylcholine and free eicosapentaenoic acid EPA 45 as acyl donor in the presence of 15% w/w nonimmobilizedMucor miehei lipase (lipozyme) in hexane with no added water. The maximum incorporation of EPA 45 was 17.7 mol%. Hydrolysis was easily achieved with phospholipase A2 in benzene and Tris-HCl buffer. The synthesis of phosphatidylcholine was difficult, and when it was achieved, not enough phosphatidylcholine was obtained for quantitation.
Multiple T-type Ca2+ current subtypes in electrophysiologically characterized hamster dorsal horn neurons: possible role in spinal sensory integration.

Whole cell patch-clamp recordings were used to investigate the contribution of transient, low-threshold calcium currents (IT) to firing properties of hamster spinal dorsal horn neurons. IT was wide...
Nigeria’s Elusive Quest for Democracy: Multinational Corporations and Sustenance of Authoritarianism*

In 1999 Nigeria witnessed its second transition to democracy. However, not only have authoritarian regimes existed in Nigeria for a substantial part of its history but also the successive democratic governments since 1999 have continued to mirror the characteristics of these regimes. Thus, in the article I analyze this paradox by examining the role of multinational corporations in preventing the growth of democracy in Nigeria. I observe that the rentier incomes provided by the multinational oil corporations to the Nigerian state have enabled the authoritarian regimes to maintain themselves in power. Furthermore the multinational corporations have also played a very important role in ensuring the continuation of an “elite social class” supportive of these regimes, within the Nigerian society. These findings suggest that the important socio-economic position enjoyed by these multinational corporations within the Nigerian society, has resulted in the continuation of the authoritarian regimes and their policies within the Nigerian state.
Unexpected nuclear effects in v-Fe interactions and MINERvA's program to measure v scattering off a range of nuclei

Recent studies of nuclear effects in v -Fe data by members of the CTEQ collaboration suggest that nuclear effects as seen by neutrinos are very different compared to those from μ/e-Fe scattering. The CTEQ analysis extracted a set of iron PDFs and showed that under reasonable assumptions it is possible to constrain the valence, light sea, and strange quark distributions. The CTEQ iron PDFs were then used to compute xBj -dependent and Q2 -dependent nuclear correction factors for iron structure functions, which are required in global analyses of free nucleon PDFs. Comparing these results with nuclear correction factors from neutrino-nucleus scattering models and correction factors for μ/e-Fe scattering, CTEQ found that, except for very high xBj, the correction factors differ in both shape and magnitude from the correction factors of the models and charged-lepton scattering. The MINERvA experiment will measure v -A scattering off of He, C, Fe and Pb to systematically study these nuclear effects in neutrino interactions with high statistics. The poster will summarize the CTEQ results and outline the MINERvA program for measuring nuclear effects.
Incorporating clinical diagnoses in the prediction of performance on computer-based tasks for low vision users

Researchers focusing on investigations of human-computer interaction are developing a heightened awareness of the challenges that impede universal access to information technologies. Furthermore, researchers are acknowledging that low vision computer users represent a sizeable portion of the computing community for whom information technologies must be made available if we are to claim successful universal access.The low vision computing community represents a vast array of visual capabilities and limitations. Thus, it has been challenging for researchers to characterize this community in a meaningfully empirical way. As a result, research and design to-date have depicted low vision computer users as a single collection of individuals possessing comparable capabilities, limitations and needs. The danger is that researchers and designers overlook the individual differences in low vision computer users that render each of them more or less able to effectively utilize computing technologies.Investigations of human-computer interactions should include clinical profiles that capture the essence of the visual capabilities of the population in question. This will enable adequate representation of the individual differences that exist between low vision computer users. In addition, we must understand (Jacko & Sears, 1998):• how a person's visual profile drives system configuration choices,• how changes in one's visual profile motivate transitions from one configuration to another, and• how visual profiles drive the interaction strategies that are adopted during task execution.The author, a member of the ACM and Assistant Professor of Industrial Engineering at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, was awarded a five-year, $500,000 Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE) to investigate these and related issues in her research titled, "Universal Access to the Graphical User Interface: Design for the Partially Sighted." Jacko was one of twenty National Science Foundation (NSF)-supported researchers to receive the award.The research is a collaborative effort with ophthalmologists from the Bascom Palmer Eye Institute of the University of Miami School of Medicine, the Digital Signal Processing Laboratory at Florida International University, and The Miami Lighthouse for the Blind.
Search for retrogressive reactions accompanying demineralization in native and air-oxidized coals.

This solid state 13C NMR study confirms, for coals, and extends, for air-oxidized coals, the claim that the Bishop and Ward strong aqueous-acid coal demineralization procedure [M. Bishop, D.L. Ward, Fuel 37 (1958) 191.] does not lead to the formation of detectable levels of cross-links in the organic matrix of these materials. The study was prompted by the demonstration that polymerization accompanies strong acid demineralization in lignin, and the recognition that the chemical environment created in air-oxidized coals contains introduced reactive functionality similar to that in the lignin. In particular, both contain oxidized benzylic carbon functionality that can undergo acid-catalyzed polymerization reactions. For two coals of differing rank, no acid-induced cross-link formation has been observed in the pristine or air-oxidized coals, within the 5 parts per thousand (ppt) sensitivity of the NMR technique used in this study.
Isolation of EGF-dependent transforming growth factor (TGFβ-like) activity from culture medium conditioned by fetal rat calvariae

A transforming growth factor of the beta class (TGF-beta), defined by its ability to induce normal rat kidney cells (NRK, clone 49F) to form anchorage-independent large colonies in soft agar in the obligate presence of epidermal growth factor, has been prepared from culture medium conditioned by fetal rat calvariae. This activity was purified by acetic acid extraction, gel permeation chromatography, and two reversed-phase HPLC (rpHPLC) steps. Bone culture derived-TGF beta-like activity was soluble in 1.0 M acetic acid, eluted from Sephadex G-75 at relative molecular mass (Mr) 25,000, from mu Bondapak C18 rpHPLC at 63 +/- 5% methanol in 0.1 M acetic acid, and from mu Bondapak CN rpHPLC at 36 +/- 2% n-propanol in 0.1% trifluoroacetic acid. Based on specific activity estimations at each stage of purification, TGF beta-like activity was purified 2500-fold with a 14% recovery, and 1 l of conditioned medium yielded 1-2 micrograms of factor. Silver-stained polyacrylamide gels of this material after CN mu Bondapak rpHPLC revealed a predominant band of (Mr) 24,000.