cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Effectiveness in delaying the initiation of sexual intercourse of girls aged 12-14. Two components of the Girls Incorporated Preventing Adolescent Pregnancy Program.

The Girls Incorporated formerly Girls Clubs of America program in Preventing Adolescent Pregnancy which was initiated in 1985 was evaluated to obtain information about sexual behavior and attitudes related to pregnancy educational and career expectations and sociodemographic characteristics and to ascertain the effectiveness of 2 components for girls aged 12-14 in delaying early sexual involvement. The theoretical base of intervention is discussed and delineation of 3 themes recurrent in the literature. Program interventions are also described. The 2 program components evaluated were Will Power/Wont Power which taught skill in general and specific assertiveness and Growing Together which facilitated communication between parents and daughters. The sample consisted of 412 virgin girls 12-14 years of which 25% did not participate in either program from communities in which the adolescent pregnancy rate was higher than the national average. Participants were required to have completed 1 complete year which included before and after surveys. 257 participated in Will Power/Wont Power; 84 in Growing Together; and 46 in both programs. Participants and nonparticipants were similar in background characteristics. The profile was one of primarily African American 12 year olds of a Protestant religion. Growing Together participants were slightly different and less likely to engage in early sexual intercourse. The findings of the bivariate and logistic regression analyses were that nonparticipants were 2.5 times more likely to initiate sexual intercourse during the study year than participants in Growing Together but this was only marginally statistically significant. It is suggested however that when controlling for age religion race and having contact with a pregnant teen that Growing Together participation contributed to a delay in the initiation of sexual intercourse. Participation in Will Power did not account for any differences in likelihood of initiating sexual activity although those who participated for a short time were 3 times more likely to initiate sexual activity than those participating longer. Analysis of selection bias among the 3 groups found that at best there was a weak indication of selection bias on the academic performance variable but no relationship on the contact with a teen pregnancy variable. The authors concluded that the findings were consistent although not always statistically significant and that the Will Power and particularly both programs delayed initiation of sexual activity. Affiliate implementation occurred before evaluation with some minor changes. Further refinements are expected based on continual analysis of impact.
What Do Philosophers of Education Do? An Empirical Study of Philosophy of Education Journals

What is philosophy of education? This question has been answered in as many ways as there are those who self-identify as philosophers of education. However, the questions our field asks and the research conducted to answer them often produce papers, essays, and manuscripts that we can read, evaluate, and ponder. This paper turns to those tangible products of our scholarly activities. The titles, abstracts, and keywords from every article published from 2000 to 2010 in four journals of educational philosophy were analyzed to find out what kind of research is being published in the field of philosophy of education. Over 143 different concepts were identified and analyzed from 1,572 articles. The data suggests that philosophy and education, while primarily concerned with theory, teaching, and learning, tackles a diversity of subjects in a slightly narrowing band of thematic topics.
Hematopoietic cellular therapy: Implications for the flow cytometry laboratory

Cell therapy replaces, restores, or enhances the biological function of a damaged tissue or system through the use of autologous or allogeneic cells. These cells may be isolated, modified, cultured, or changed to increase their therapeutic potential. Emerging research in this area promises to open a new armamentarium of immunologic therapy of cancer through biologic and pharmaceutical approaches. This article reviews major trends in hematopoietic cell therapy, particularly with respect to the current and emerging applications of flow cytometry.
Sunlight-catalyzed conversion of cyclic organics with novel mesoporous organosilicas

Abstract Porphyrin-embedded periodic mesoporous organosilica (PMO) materials were developed for sunlight-stimulated degradation of cyclic organics. The binding affinity and selectivity of the PMOs act to bring porphyrin and target into close proximity, provide extensive surface area, and a stable substrate for porphyrin immobilization. Aqueous samples incubated with these PMO materials showed a decrease in analyte concentration greater than that expected based on adsorption and uncatalyzed photoconversion during 5 h of sunlight illumination. Both materials show selective binding of TNT over structurally similar compounds such as p -nitrophenol. Template directed molecular imprinting was used in an attempt to increase the selectivity of the catalyst.
DOMAIN DECOMPOSITION FOR PARALLEL PROCESSING OF SPATIAL PROBLEMS

Abstract Spatial models often are not used to their fullest potential because they have massive computational requirements. Existing workstations and microcomputers often must solve these models in batch mode and, consequently, decision makers are unable to explore and resolve complex spatial problems in an interactive and graphical environment similar to that provided by general purpose business software. Parallel processing can solve spatial models at high speed, however, greatly decreasing turnaround times and enabling decision makers quickly to see the results of revising parameters and criteria. To reap these benefits in a parallel processing environment, researchers must recast modelling procedures from their existing sequentially-oriented form to one in which parallelism can be exploited. This process, referred to as domain decomposition, is a fundamental enterprise in parallel spatial modelling. Domain decomposition for spatial problems can be structured by a set of general principles which are described and illustrated using an example from location-allocation modelling.
621 GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT IN CHILDREN WITH SICKLE CELL TRAIT: A MATCHED-PAIR PROSPECTIVE STUDY

621 GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT IN CHILDREN WITH SICKLE CELL TRAIT: A MATCHED-PAIR PROSPECTIVE STUDY
Comparison of acute structural and histopathological changes of the porcine ciliary processes after endoscopic cyclophotocoagulation and transscleral cyclophotocoagulation

Background: The objective of this study is to investigate the acute histological effects of transscleral cyclophotocoagulation and endoscopic cyclophotocoagulation on the ciliary body and other structures of porcine eyes compared with untreated controls. Methods: Transscleral cyclophotocoagulation and endoscopic cyclophotocoagulation were performed on porcine eyes. Detailed histological evaluations were performed with light and scanning electron microscopy of treated eyes and compared with untreated controls. Results: Histological changes were observed with both light and scanning electron microscopy for all treated tissues. Tissue treated with transscleral cyclophotocoagulation showed pronounced tissue disruption of the ciliary body muscle and stroma, ciliary processes, and both pigmented and non-pigmented ciliary epithelium. Endoscopic cyclophotocoagulation-treated tissue exhibited pronounced contraction of the cilliary processes with disruption of the ciliary body epithelium, with less architectural disorginization and sparing of the ciliary body muscle. The sclera was not affected by either laser treatment. Conclusion: The endoscopic cyclophotocoagulation treatment caused less damage to the ciliary body compared with the transscleral cyclophotocoagulation when evaluated by light and scanning electron microscopy. Compared with transscleral cyclophotocoagulation, endoscopic cyclophotocoagulation appears to be a more selective form of cyclophotocoagulation resulting in less tissue disruption while achieving the goal of destroying ciliary body epithelium.
Economic theory and DEA models: a critical review

A critical review of data envelopment analysis is attempted in respect of some of the basic postulates of economic theory, such as rationality, risk aversion and the dynamics of the learning process.
Discriminatively trained particle filters for complex multi-object tracking

This work presents a discriminative training method for particle filters in the context of multi-object tracking. We are motivated by the difficulty of hand-tuning the many model parameters for such applications and also by results in many application domains indicating that discriminative training is often superior to generative training methods. Our learning approach is tightly integrated into the actual inference process of the filter and attempts to directly optimize the filter parameters in response to observed errors. We present experimental results in the challenging domain of American football where our filter is trained to track all 22 players throughout football plays. The training method is shown to significantly improve performance of the tracker and to significantly outperform two recent particle-based multi-object tracking methods.
Inhibition of photosynthesis by ultraviolet radiation as a function of dose and dosage rate: Results for a marine diatom

The effects of ultraviolet radiation on phytoplankton are usually described as a function of dose (J m−2, weighted appropriately). Experiments conducted in 1988 and 1989 on a marine diatom,Thalassiosira pseudonana (Clone 3H), demonstrate that during lightlimited photosynthesis in visible radiation, the inhibition of photosynthesis by supplemental ultraviolet radiation (principally UV-B: 280 to 320 nm) is a function of irradiance (W m−2) as well as of dose: for equal doses of UV-B, a relatively short exposure to high UV-B irradiance is more damaging to photosynthesis than a longer exposure to lower irradiance. In fact, photoinhibition by UV-B is well described as a monotonic, nonlinear function of irradiance for time scales of 0.5 to 4 h. A nitrate-limited culture was about nine times more sensitive to UV-B than was a nutrient-replete culture, but the kinetics of photoinhibition were similar. These results have some bearing on efforts to describe the effects of ultraviolet radiation on marine primary productivity. Action spectra of photoinhibition by UV can be constructed, but they should only be used to describe photoinhibition for specified time scales. Vertical profiles of relative photoinhibition must be interpreted cautiously because photoinhibition by UV-B is likely to be a function of incubation time and results must therefore be interpreted in the context of vertical mixing.
Expression of geminin as a marker of cell proliferation in normal tissues and malignancies.

Geminin interacts with a DNA replication initiation factor, Cdt1p, to suppress initiation of DNA replication in a Xenopus egg extract based cell-free system, leading to the expectation that the protein acts as an inhibitor of cell proliferation. Immunohistochemistry and immunoblotting for geminin, however, reveals that the protein is expressed specifically in proliferating lymphocytes and epithelial cells. This pattern is in contrast to the expression of a bona fide cell cycle inhibitor like p21/WAF1 that is specifically expressed in quiescent cells. Geminin is widely expressed in several malignancies and the number of geminin-expressing cells is directly proportional to the cell proliferation index as measured by Ki-67 expression. Therefore, instead of being a suppressor of cell proliferation, geminin expression is positively correlated with cell proliferation. Consistent with this observation, transient overexpression of wild-type geminin in cancer cells in culture did not produce a cell cycle block. A point mutation in the destruction box of geminin, however, results in a protein that is stabilized in G1 and capable of arresting cells at the G1-S transition.
Type A aortic dissection in patients with bicuspid aortic valves: clinical and pathological comparison with tricuspid aortic valves

Objective Bicuspid aortic valve (BAV) is associated with a higher risk of type A aortic dissection (AD) compared with tricuspid aortic valve (TAV). We sought to study differences between patients with BAV and TAV with AD. Design and setting Observational descriptive analysis of clinical, imaging and pathological characteristics of all patients with confirmed BAV and AD from 1980–2010, compared with a consecutive TAV group with AD. Results Of 47 patients with BAV (mean age 58±14, 77% male), 31 (66%) had acute AD, 16 (34%) had chronic AD, 40 (85%) had typical BAV, 32 (68%) had hypertension and 11 (23%) had previous aortic coarctation repair. Of 53 patients with TAV (mean age 66±13 (p=0.007), 76% male), 34 (66%) had acute AD (p=1.0) and 46 (87%) had hypertension (p=0.03). More patients with BAV had known aortic dilatation prior to AD (49% versus 17%, p=0.001). Presentation symptoms were identical between groups (p=NS). Maximal ascending aortic diameter at AD was higher in patients with BAV (66±15 mm vs 56±11 mm, p=0.0004). Previous aortic valve replacement (AVR) was more common in BAV (23% vs 6%, p=0.02). Of 11 patients with BAV with previous isolated AVR, 7 had ≥moderate ascending aorta dilatation at the time of surgery. Patients with BAV had increased aortic jet velocity (28% vs 10%) and more severe aortic stenosis (19% vs 0%) at presentation (p=0.04 and 0.002, respectively). In acute AD, aortic medial degeneration affected 75% of BAV specimens and 41% TAV specimens (p=0.01) while aortic atherosclerosis was more frequent in TAV (56% vs 26%, p=0.02). Conclusions Compared with patients with TAV, patients with BAV with type A AD are younger, have less hypertension, more valve stenosis and previous AVR, higher maximal aortic dimension, worse aortic medial degeneration, high prevalence of aortic coarctation, and 1 out of 2 have known aortic dilatation prior to AD. Implementation of current guidelines could have theoretically prevented AD in several patients with BAV.
Functionality of electrically stimulated broiler breast meat1

Postmortem electrical stimulation (ES) tenderizes meat by acceleration of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) depletion, pH decline, and physical disruption of muscle fibers. It has been demonstrated that rigor development at elevated temperatures, as with slow chilling, can cause meat to develop pale color and poor water-holding capacity. The objective of this study was to compare the functionality of broiler breast meat from control and electrically stimulated carcasses with and without normal rapid chilling. Broilers were either electrically stimulated (450 mA, 450 V, 2 s on, 2 s off for 7 pulses) immediately after bleeding or used as nonstimulated controls. The ES birds were either chilled immediately (ES2) or had chilling delayed for 2 h at room temperature (ESD2). All ES breast fillets were harvested at 2 h postmortem. The control carcasses were chilled immediately and had fillets harvested at 2 h postmortem (C2) or at 8 h postmortem (C8). Electrical stimulation accelerated pH decline and prevented toughening when breast meat was deboned at 2 h postmortem, regardless of chilling rate. The water released from the gels during cooking was higher for the ESD2 than the ES2 group, which was not different from the C2 group, suggesting that ES followed by slow chilling reduced water-holding capacity compared with the ES2 and C2 groups. There were no differences in expressible moisture, gel strength, or lightness among the ES2, ESD2, and C2 treatments. These results indicated that high voltage ES followed by normal chilling did not impair protein functionality or cause pale, soft, exudative meat. However, there was some evidence that slow chilling after ES may negatively affect some water-holding properties of the meat.
Highlighting the Significance of Island and Coastal Archaeology

With this first issue of Volume 2 of the Journal of Island and Coastal Archaeology (JICA), we enter our second year as editors of the only international, peer-reviewed journal fully dedicated to is...
Exact and heuristic algorithms for the minimization of incompletely specified state machines

Presents two exact algorithms for state minimization of FSM's. The authors' results prove that exact state minimization is feasible for a large class of practical examples, certainly including most hand-designed FSM's. They also present heuristic algorithms, that can handle large, machine-generated, FSM's. They argue that the true objective of state reduction should be reduction toward maximal encodability. The state mapping problem has received almost no prior attention in the literature. They show that mapping plays a significant role in delivering an optimally implemented reduced machine. They also introduce an algorithm whose main virtue is the ability to cope with very general cost functions, while providing very high performance. >
Robust regression using repeated medians

Abstract : The repeated median algorithm is a robustified U-statistic in which nested medians replace the single mean. Unlike many generalizations of the univariate median, repeated median estimates maintain the high 50% breakdown value and can resist the effects of outliers even when they comprise nearly half of the data. Because they are calculated directly, not iteratively, repeated median procedures can be used as starting values for iterative robust estimation methods. For bivariate linear regression with symmetric errors, repeated median estimates are unbiased and Fisher consistent, and their efficiency under Gaussian sampling can be comparable to the efficiency of the univariate median. (Author)
Foundations of a methodology of DBMS decoupling for evolutionary component DBMS design

DBMS decoupling is an important part of component DBMS design in which the architects must identify and factor out appropriate DBMS components. Unfortunately, we do not yet have clear understanding of the objectives and pitfalls of DBMS decoupling, least of all the formal methods that can guide the process. This paper lays out the foundations of a methodology of DBMS decoupling which reflects the intrinsic complexity of the process and provides a framework for addressing all of its objectives. Relying on a theory of implementation independence, we estimate the complexity and outline a methodology of DBMS decoupling. The method upholds an original approach to component DBMS design, vie wed as an evolving process in which the objectives of generality and extensibility are de-emphasized in favor of more practical concerns of DBMS implementors, application developers, and database users.
Antibody targeted CpG for the immunotherapy of solid tumors.

Meeting abstracts This work describes a method to improve the therapeutic effects of unmethylated CpG oligodeoxynucleotides (ODNs) analogues which can be used to stimulate the innate immune system. It is based upon the generation of novel reagents that can be used to target tumors after linkage of
Effects of Different Instructional Approaches on Young Children's Achievement and Motivation

Children in child-centered preschools and kindergartens were compared to children in didactic, highly academic programs in terms of their basic skills achievement and a set of motivation variables. The study included 227 poor, minority, and middle-class children between the ages of 4 and 6 years. Children in didactic programs that stressed basic skills had significantly higher scores on a letters/reading achievement test but not on a numbers achievement test. Being enrolled in a didactic early childhood education program was associated with relatively negative outcomes on most of the motivation measures. Compared to children in child-centered programs, children in didactic programs rated their abilities significantly lower, had lower expectations for success on academic tasks, showed more dependency on adults for permission and approval, evidenced less pride in their accomplishments, and claimed to worry more about school. Program effects were the same for economically disadvantaged and middle-class children, and for preschoolers and kindergartners.
Nutritional Modeling and Its Impact on Managerial Goals in Dairy Production

Modeling, as defined by Mertens (59), involves development of a set of mathematical equations to predict changes in the real world. Modeling is a recognized part of the scientific method and is as old as science itself. Regression equations, fat-corrected milk formulas, and total digestible nutrients (TDN) equations all provide examples of modeling in its simplest form. Only the complexity which current models are taking is new. Modeling should not represent the endpoint of scientific research but be used as an important scientific tool. The endpoint of modeling research must lie in simulation. Mertens (59) defines simulation as use of models to study dynamics of a system. Models such as those developed to evaluate nutrient requirements of dairy cows (62) are used daily in simulation to predict energy, protein, and mineral requirements. While this paper deals specifically with modeling, it is difficult and undesirable to separate modeling from simulation, and, consequently, discussion will overlap. Recently there has been a rapid increase in interest in nutritional modeling (2, 12, 20, 25, 54, 67, 68). To understand the impact such models may have, it is important to understand the concepts involved in model development. An objective of all model developers is better to understand input/output relationships of a system. As an example, many milk production models have been developed to help interpret effects of a specific variable (i.e., crude protein) on milk yield. Often models include a second objective of understanding and resolving interactions between independent variables. For example, protein and energy intake interact to affect milk yield. Increasing both simultaneously results in greater production than the sum of results if each are raised independently. Baldwin et al. (2, 67, 68) demonstrated another major
Sorption of methane on lignite from Polish deposits

Abstract Coal samples from Miocene lignite deposits (ortholignite—ECE-UN 2002) in Belchatow, Adamow, Konin and Turow (Poland) were analyzed to determine the relationships between coal properties and gas capacity. Investigations presented here addressed the occurrence of methane sorbet in lignite deposits within Poland's largest penetrated lignite deposits (e.g., Belchatow, Adamow, Turow and Konin). Lignite samples collected from surface mines were detritic coal with variable contents of xylites. The highest level of xylites (up to 25 vol.%) was found in carbon samples taken from the Belchatow deposit. Samples from other mines contained no more than 10 vol.% xylites. Petrographic compositions were dominated by huminite group macerals (73–88 vol.%) with atrinite, densinite and texto-ulminite, a porous form of ulminite; inertinite groups were less important components (4–8 vol.%). Isotherms were determined for methane sorption at 298 K with test pressure ranges below 1.2 MPa. At a pressure of 1.0 MPa, the largest gas capacity of approximately 1.7 [dm3 STP/kg] was found in the sample from Belchatow. This result may have been attributable to differences in the porosity of the samples; the porosity of the sample from Belchatow was twice as high as the porosities of the other coal samples. This variation in porosity resulted from the lithologic and maceral composition of the coal sample that contained substantial quantities of porous textinite and texto-ulminite. The thermal sorption equation was used to determine the limiting values of isosteric enthalpy of sorption, which suggested weak interactions between methane and the lignite matrix. The residual gas capacity of the tested samples was also determined. All samples exhibited a high residual methane-bearing capacity, which may not only cause methane to be released from coal at a pressure of 1 bar but also may pose a gas risk during mining operations.
Changes in parents' mental distress after the violent death of an adolescent or young adult child: a longitudinal prospective analysis.

This study examined changes in bereaved parents' mental distress following the violent deaths of their 12 - to 28 - year - old children . A community - based sample of 171 bereaved mothers and 90 fathers was recruited by a review of medical examiner records . Data were collected 4 , 12 , and 24 months post - death . Repeated measures analysis of variance showed significant reductions in 8 of 10 measures of mental distress among mothers and 4 of 10 for fathers , with the most change for both genders occurring between 4 and 12 months post - death . During the 2nd year of bereavement , mothers' symptoms continued to decline , whereas fathers , who started out with less distress than mothers , reported slight increases in 5 of 10 symptom domains . Nonetheless , 2 years after the deaths , mothers' mental distress scores were to 5 times higher than those of ''typical'' U . S . women and fathers' scores were to 4 times higher than ''typical'' U . S . men . Of the 7 intervening variables , higher scores on self -...
Selective uptake and biological consequences of environmentally relevant antidepressant pharmaceutical exposures on male fathead minnows.

Antidepressant pharmaceuticals have been reported in wastewater effluent at the nanogram to low microgram-per-liter range, and include bupropion (BUP), fluoxetine (FLX), sertraline (SER), and venlafaxine (VEN). To assess the effects of antidepressants on reproductive anatomy, physiology, and behavior, adult male fathead minnows (Pimephales promelas) were exposed for 21 days either to a single concentration of the antidepressants FLX, SER, VEN, or BUP, or to an antidepressant mixture. The data demonstrated that exposure to VEN (305 ng/L and 1104 ng/L) and SER (5.2 ng/L) resulted in mortality. Anatomical alterations were noted within the testes of fish exposed to SER and FLX, both modulators of the neurotransmitter serotonin. Additionally, FLX at 28 ng/L induced vitellogenin in male fish—a common endpoint for estrogenic endocrine disruption. Significant alterations in male secondary sex characteristics were noted with single exposures. Effects of single compound exposures neither carried over, nor became additive in the antidepressant mixtures, and reproductive behavior was not affected. Analysis of brain tissues from the exposed fish suggested increased uptake of FLX, SER and BUP and minimal uptake of VEN when compared to exposure water concentrations. Furthermore, the only metabolite detected consistently in the brain tissues was norfluoxetine. Similar trends of uptake by brain tissue were observed when fish were exposed to antidepressant mixtures. The present study demonstrates that anatomy and physiology, but not reproductive behavior, can be disrupted by exposure to environmental concentrations of some antidepressants. The observation that antidepressant uptake into fish tissues is selective may have consequences on assessing the mode-of-action and effects of these compounds in future studies.
Node-Based Probing and Monitoring to Investigate Use of Peer-to-Peer Technologies for Distribution of Contraband Material

We consider the requirements for node-based probing and monitoring for network forensic investigation of the use of peer-to-peer technologies for distribution of contraband material. The architecture of peer-to-peer (P2P) data exchanges must be examined for opportunities to capture data on the transfer of contraband data with a focus on node structures in P2P exchanges. This examination is of technical, social and legal aspects of P2P use leading to the design and testing offorensically-sound investigative tools and protocols. Computational research must examine: 1. Undercover Node-based Probing and Monitoring to Build an Approximate Model of Network Activity 2. Flagging Contraband Content (keyword, hashes, other patterns) 3. Evaluation against different recipient querying, distribution and routing cases 4. Using the Evaluation results to fine-tune the node positioning strategy Legal and social research is needed to examine the U.S. and transnational legal constraints on the use of particular tools and the presence of possible behavioral signatures.
Hierarchical optical BdBG network

This paper uses a pattern matching routing algorithm for the hierarchical optical bidirectional de Bruijn graph (BdBG) network. Its performance is analyzed in terms of delay, mean length and locality factor.
Heterogeneous Inhibition of Homogeneous Reactions: Karstedt Catalyzed Hydrosilylation

The Karstedt-catalyzed hydrosilylation reaction used in curing of silicone release coatings was investigated using first-principle quantum mechanical techniques (density functional theory) as well as semiempirical methods to estimate solubility parameters. The results we obtain for the catalytic cycle indicate, in agreement with experimental results, that hydrosilylation occurs easily at room temperature. The detailed mechanism we suggest contains the key features of the models previously proposed in the literature by Lewis and Chalk−Harrod and adds quantitative estimates of reaction energies and barriers. On the basis of the energy profile for the catalytic cycle in the presence of inhibitor molecules and on solubility parameters for the species involved in the reaction, we conclude that the role of the inhibitors we considered is to phase-separate the catalyst from the substrate. The reaction is thus quenched by introducing a microscopic second phase that interferes with the homogeneous reaction.
Ovine skeletal muscle multicatalytic proteinase complex (proteasome): purification, characterization, and comparison of its effects on myofibrils with mu-calpains.

The latent form of multicatalytic proteinase complex (MCP) was purified to homogeneity from ovine skeletal muscle. The MCP ran as a single band (M(r) 600,000) on nondenaturing polyacrylamide gel (PAGE) and dissociated to a number of subunits (M(r) 21,000 to 31,000) under denaturing and reducing conditions (SDS-PAGE). The proteinase complex was activated reversibly by heating at 60 degrees C and in the presence of SDS. Maximum activation (18-fold) was observed after 2 min at 60 degrees C and there was rapid inactivation beyond 2 min. Maximum proteolytic activity (12.8-fold) occurred in the presence of .25 mM SDS and diminished rapidly at higher SDS concentrations. The MCP was maximally active at pH 7.5 to 8.0 and 45 degrees C using radiolabeled alpha-casein. These and other results (e.g., proteinase inhibitor profiling) indicate that ovine skeletal muscle does indeed contain MCP and that its biochemical properties are the same as MCP isolated from other sources. By using [14C]-casein as a substrate, the specific activities (milligrams of protein degraded/milligrams of proteinase) for mu-, m-calpain, and MCP were 44.0, 59.7, and 2.0, respectively. Purified ovine myofibrils were incubated with mu-calpain or MCP. Classical effects of calpains, which include degradation of Z-disks, titin, desmin, troponin-T, and troponin-I and removal of alpha-actinin, were observed. However, only troponin-C and myosin light chains-2 and -3 were degraded by MCP. Morphologically, MCP had no detectable effect on myofibrils. Results suggest that MCP is not involved in the initial steps of myofibril disassembly. However, its involvement in the degradation of myofilaments remains to be determined.
Gravity Waves and Turbulence as seen in the Radiosonde- Thermosonde Observations

Atmospheric gravity waves (GWs) are ubiquitous and play an essential role in the dynamics, temperature and constituent structure of the lower and middle atmosphere. The importance of the effect of gravity wave on various dynamical and chemical processes has been well documented in the upper and middle atmosphere. However, less is known about these waves in the lower atmosphere, as well the importance of various source mechanisms and their propagation characteristics. It is well accepted that they transport energy and momentum from the region where they are generated to others regions where they are dissipated and interact with mean circulation, contributing to the shape and structure of atmosphere circulation, thermal structure and the chemistry of the atmosphere. Quasicontinuous GW breaking at a range of heights around the globe maintains body forces and turbulent diffusion that drives winds, temperatures, and chemical constituent distributions that are quite different from those of an atmosphere lacking these processes. Gravity waves are generated by a variety of processes, especially in the lower atmosphere. Therefore for the comprehensive understanding of the global atmosphere dynamics and structure it is of significant importance to study the primary features of gravity wave activity in the lower atmosphere. The chief mechanisms by which they are generated are thought to be flow over orography 27, , convection , shear instability , or by developing fronts and upper tropospheric jets. However, knowledge of wave source distribution and properties remains poor, which is a major uncertainty in GW parameterizations in atmospheric models. The theoretical understanding of gravity wave sources is in some way worse than our observational knowledge of them, which is not considered to be very complete. For instance we have little idea how important gravity wave emission from tropopause jets might be, or whether the observed correlation with tropopause jetstream activity is mainly due to correlations of the jet-stream activity with surface winds or with orographic and frontal gravity-wave generation. These facts have stimulated considerable effort toward observations and theoretical characterizations of gravity waves as well as the development of numerical algorithms which simulate gravity wave source characteristics and generation, wave propagation, breaking and their interaction with mean atmospheric flows.
Transition from dilute to concentrated electrokinetic behavior in the dielectric spectra of a colloidal suspension.

Dielectric spectroscopy is used to measure the complex permittivity of 200 and 100 nm diameter polystyrene latex suspended in potassium chloride (KCl) solutions over the frequency range 104–107 Hz as a function of particle volume fraction (ϕ) and ionic strength. Dilute suspension dielectric spectra are in excellent agreement with electrokinetic theory. A volume fraction dependence of the dielectric increment is observed for low electrolyte concentrations (0.01, 0.05, and 0.1 mM) above ϕ ≈ 0.02. This deviation from the dilute theory occurs at a critical frequency ω* that is a function of volume fraction, particle size, and ionic strength. The dielectric increment of suspensions at the highest salt concentration (1 mM) shows no volume fraction dependence up to ϕ = 0.09. Values of ω* are collapsed onto a master curve that accounts for the length and time scales of ion migration between neighboring particles. The measured conductivity increment is independent of volume fraction and agrees with theory after ac...
Inactivation of estradiol by the hepatic tissues of mice.

SummaryHepatic tissue of normal mice inactivated 8.5 m.u. of estradiol per mg dry weight per hour. Hepatic tissue from castrated mice or from estrone-treated mice was slightly less effective.
Baltimore’s Juvenile Curfew: Evaluating Effectiveness

Juvenile curfew statutes are used in hundreds of cities across the United States to prevent juvenile offending and victimization. In spite of their popularity, there is disagreement in the existing...
The efficacy of piquindone, a new atypical neuroleptic, in the treatment of the positive and negative symptoms of schizophrenia.

Piquindone (RO22–1319), a new “atypical” neuroleptic, was administered for 2 weeks to 37 schizophrenic patients, and the effects of treatment were examined in a double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. “Atypical” neuroleptics are those that block animal behaviors that model antipsychotic actions in humans at doses lower than those necessary to block animal behaviors that model extrapyramidal actions. Our results demonstrate that piquindone led to moderate but significant improvements in the positive symptoms of schizophrenia and to improvements in negative symptoms just below the level of statistical significance. This supports the notion that neuroleptics categorized as “atypical” in preclinical experiments may prove to be clinically efficacious in humans. In addition, our anecdotal observations were that piquindone caused minimal extrapyramidal symptoms. This is consistent with the preclinical data and suggests that atypical neuroleptics may be associated with fewer extrapyramidal side effects in humans than conventional neuroleptics. However, this must be substantiated by further research. (J Clin Psychopharmacol 1987;7:324–329)
Pharmacogenetics and interstitial lung disease

Purpose of reviewInterstitial lung disease (ILD) is comprised of a heterogeneous group of disorders with highly variable natural histories and response to therapies. Pharmacogenetics focuses on the variability in drug response because of the presence of genetic factors that influence drug metabolism
Autoimmune Diseases of Poultry

Complex, non-communicable diseases presenting with immune-mediated pathology and possible target cell-specific autoimmune responses are emerging in poultry production. Lines of chickens with spontaneously occurring autoimmune diseases, such as vitiligo in the Smyth line, Hashimoto’s thyroiditis in the Obese strain and scleroderma in the UCD 200/206 lines, are excellent models to study multi-factorial diseases, providing important insight into the role of the immune system, target tissue, environment and gender. Knowledge gained from these studies promises to find application in poultry management and breeding practices with a focus on identifying the underlying genetic susceptibility and environmental triggers that can precipitate disease expression. Moreover, the usefulness of these animal models in biomedical research has been clearly demonstrated, particularly based on the spontaneous, predictable and high incidence of disease expression, the identification of environmental triggers, and the ability to study the etiology of the disorder.
To Be or Not to Be EL An Examination of the Impact of Classifying Students as English Learners

Across the United States, students who are deemed not to be proficient in English are classified as English learners (ELs). This classification entitles students to specialized services but may als...
Organic Delights: Examining the Challenges of Corporate Social Responsibility:

Organic Delights is an experiential exercise designed to help undergraduate business students learn about corporate social responsibility (CSR). In this exercise, students assume the role of a seni...
Src inhibitors potentiate UCN-01-induced apoptosis in human multiple myeloma cells through mechanisms involving disruption of the MEK1/2/ERK1/2 pathway and anti-angiogenesis in vitro and in vivo

1476 We previously reported that MEK1/2 inhibitors and agents targeting Ras (e.g., farnesyltransferase inhibitors or HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors) blocked UCN-01-mediated ERK1/2 activation in human multiple myeloma (MM) cells, resulting in synergistic lethality (Dai et al. Blood 100:3333, 2002; Pei et al. Clin Cancer Res 11:4589, 2005; Dai et al. Blood 109:4415, 2007). Because Src is involved in Ras/Raf/MEK/ERK activation, the possibility arose that targeting Src might analogously potentiate the anti-MM activity of Chk1 inhibitors. The goal of this study was to determine whether dual Src/Abl inhibitors, including BMS354825 (dasatinib) or SKI-606, interact with UCN-01, and to elucidate the underlying mechanisms. Co-exposure of human MM cells (e.g., U266, RPMI8226, MM.1S, or, MM.1R) to minimally toxic concentrations of UCN-01 (e.g., 100-150 nM) and either BMS354825 (e.g., 500-800 nM) or SKI-606 (e.g., 1-2 uM) dramatically induced apoptosis. Co-administration of either BMS354825 or SKI-606 largely diminished ERK1/2 phosphorylation/activation in MM cells exposed to UCN-01, accompanied by enhanced Thr4/Tyr15 dephosphorylation/activation of cdc2 and DNA damage (reflected by increased gammaH2A.X expression). Ectopic expression of kinase inactive (K297R) or dominant-negative (K296R/Y528F) mutant Src prevented ERK1/2 activation by UCN-01 and significantly sensitized U266 cells to this agent. Moreover, U266 ectopically expressing either active mutant Ras (Q61L) or constitutively active MEK1 displayed significant resistance to combined treatment with SKI-606 and UCN-01, suggesting that Src inhibitors act upstream of Ras/Raf/MEK to potentiate UCN-01 lethality. Conversely, stable expression of dominant-negative mutant Ras (S17N) markedly sensitized MM cells to this combination regimen. Lastly, co-administration of BMS354825 (50mg/kg) and UCN-01 (0.5mg/kg) resulted in a significant reduction in tumor size in athymic nude mice inoculated with MM.1S cells, compared to the effects of these agents administered individually. This was associated with a striking induction of apoptosis (manifested by TUNEL staining) in tumor tissues obtained from mice that had received combined treatment. Moreover, the drug combination resulted in a dramatic inhibition of angiogenesis (reflected by reduced numbers of microvascular vessels exhibiting expression of the murine endothelial marker CD31). Together, these findings indicate that Src inhibitors act through a Ras/Raf/MEK-dependent mechanism to prevent ERK1/2 activation in UCN-01-treated MM cells, resulting in the synergistic induction of cell death in vitro and in vivo. They also suggest that the in vivo activity of a regimen combining BMS354825 and UCN-01 may involve anti-angiogenic effects.
Novel implicit method for faster modeling of low frequency EM problems in the time domain

This report describes a novel implicit solver method for modeling electromagnetic interactions in the time domain. It is designed to outperform finite difference time domain (FDTD) on EM modeling problems with fine spatial detail. The method is novel in that it computes electric and magnetic potentials rather than fields and in the way it efficiently solves a large, sparse system of linear equations at each time step using a fast, multi-grid Laplace solver. We describe the method and present results from our numerical implementation.
A mobile two-way wireless covert timing channel suitable for peer-to-peer malware

A wireless covert timing channel (WCTC) is an established method of concealing information within a wireless medium for the purpose of covert communications. The pervasive use of mobile devices motivates our exploration into the potential of a two-way WCTC suitable for peer-to-peer (P2P) malware, in order to raise early awareness to the threat. In this work, we demonstrate the efficacy of a two-way WCTC over local networks, the public Internet, and cellular networks. Such network scalability in a mobile-to-mobile WCTC would make the notoriously hard-to-defeat P2P command-and-control (C&C) structure a viable option for currently prevalent families of mobile banking and ransomware Trojans. Specifically, we developed an Android application with the capability to communicate with other instances of the application over local networks, the Internet, and mobile networks via a WCTC. We demonstrate the feasibility of this application through experiments that test its accuracy, speed, and overall effectiveness. The main concern is that our endpoint applications could easily be replaced with malware and P2P C&Cs. The likely result is that very-difficult-to-detect malicious network traffic would emerge, especially since popular intrusion detection systems, like Snort and FireEye, have no inherent mechanisms to detect WCTCs.
‘Faulty’ fiscal illusion: examining the relationship between revenue diversification and tax burden in major US cities across the economic cycle

We investigate how revenue diversification affects tax burden in major U.S cities as it interacts with fiscal balance reported in the general fund over the economic cycle. We find that more diversi...
Covert network analysis to detect key players using correlation and social network analysis

The increasing terrorist events across all over the world have attracted the attention of many researchers towards counter-terrorism. This field demands from them to contribute in developing new techniques and methods for analysis, identification and prediction of terrorist events and group leaders. In this paper, we propose a model to detect key players from a network keeping focus on their communication contents. The proposed model finds correlation of communication contents of all nodes with data dictionary and detects nodes based on a threshold correlation value. A new network is drawn and its density is calculated. After that different centrality measures are applied on new network and most important nodes detected using each measure. That gives us different key players with different roles in the network. Data dictionary consists of words or terms used by the terrorist in their communication. We used Enron email data set to test and validate our proposed model.
Relating Seedling Physiology to Survival and Growth in Container-Grown Southern Pines

A variety of physiological and morphological characteristics of container grown southern pine seedlings were measured at the time of outplanting and then related to field performance. The variables measured included: needle chlorophyll content, degree of mycorrhizal inoculation, biochemical constituents, seedling height and stem diameter, dry weight of roots and shoots, and shoot/root ratios. Although many of the variables were significantly correlated to one another, seedling heights were most positively related to growth in the field. Most of the characteristics measured could not be closely related to field survival, because survival was unusually high. Cultural treatments applied during the greenhouse growing period affected both initial seedling development and field performance.
Reactivity and Behavioral Inhibition as Personality Traits in Nonhuman Primates

While the history of the study of personality dates back to the early 1900s, most animal research, particularly on nonhuman primates, is much more recent. That personality in animals reflects our common evolutionary history is not surprising, and given our close genetic relatedness, should be expected. The personality trait that has received the most research in nonhuman primates is what we have called elsewhere, reactivity (others have referred to it as fearfulness, timidity, shyness, etc.). While several methods have been used to study it (including personality rating scales), generally, reactivity in nonhuman primates is most often measured using behavior codings. Two paradigms have received the most research: social separations and the human intruder paradigm. Individual differences in reactivity are stable across time and situations. Reactivity can also predict multiple behavioral outcomes, including enduring anxiety, low social dominance rank and submissiveness, high alcohol intake, and other forms of affective psychopathology. One major advantage of using nonhuman primates to model personality is that the underlying physiology and central nervous system foundations can be more readily studied than in humans. These studies show the importance of the amygdala and frontal cortex, as well as the HPA Axis, central norepinephrine, and serotonin in regulating reactivity. Studies also show the importance of early parental influence and genes on reactivity. Recent studies using molecular genetics show that the serotonin transporter and corticotrophin releasing hormone genes probably play important roles in its etiology but interact with early rearing history and situations to modulate reactivity.