cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Distinguishing fissions of 232Th, 237Np and 238U with beta-delayed gamma rays

Abstract Measurements of beta-delayed gamma-ray spectra following 14-MeV neutron-induced fissions of 232 Th, 238 U, and 237 Np were conducted at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory’s 88-Inch Cyclotron. Spectra were collected for times ranging from 1 min to 14 h after irradiation. Intensity ratios of gamma-ray lines were extracted from the data that allow identification of the fissioning isotope.
Leukemia‐associated Rho guanine nucleotide exchange factor (LARG) links heterotrimeric G proteins of the G12 family to Rho

A putative guanine nucleotide exchange factor (GEF), termed leukemia-associated RhoGEF (LARG), was recently identified upon fusion to the coding sequence of the MLL gene in acute myeloid leukemia. Although the function of LARG is still unknown, it exhibits a number of structural domains suggestive of a role in signal transduction, including a PDZ domain, a LH/RGS domain, and a Dbl homology/pleckstrin homology domain. Here, we show that LARG can activate Rho in vivo. Furthermore, we present evidence that LARG is an integral component of a novel biochemical route whereby G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) and heterotrimeric G proteins of the Gα12 family stimulate Rho-dependent signaling pathways.
CRA'S “BLIND SPOTS”: COMMUNITY REINVESTMENT AND CONCENTRATED SUBPRIME LENDING IN DETROIT

ABSTRACT: As the mortgage crisis took shape by 2007, the Community Reinvestment Act of 1977 emerged at the center of a debate over whether community reinvestment regulations were perverse incentives promoting high-risk lending, or whether those regulations had become outmoded in the face of concentrated subprime lending. This paper weighs those arguments by examining the market behavior of lenders subjected to Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) as the subprime lending boom took shape after 2004. Using Detroit as an illustrative case, it empirically examines the market structure of high-cost lending, as well as the role played by CRA-covered lenders in the critical market segments most prone to concentrated subprime lending. The results suggest that several “blind spots” in CRA regulations weakened the Act's ability to counter the firm- and neighborhood-level segmentation that characterized the growth of concentrated subprime lending in Detroit during the peak years of the housing boom.
Decision making about hormone replacement therapy: need for risk assessment questionnaire

Abstract Objective: Decision making about hormone replacement therapy (HRT) has increased in complexity. There is a need for systematic clinically useful approaches for gathering information to assist women and providers in making informed, individualized decisions. Methods: In phase one, to develop a computer decision-making resource, we studied knowledge, attitudes, and decision-making preferences of two groups of menopausal women, with and without breast cancer and compared them with a larger group of educated, menopausal women. In phase two, we are developing a risk assessment questionnaire. Results: Although menopausal women without breast cancer were willing to discuss menopausal issues, women with breast cancer focused on breast cancer. Both groups either wanted to make the decision about HRT themselves with assistance from their health care provider or wanted to share decision-making with their health care provider. Women were willing to gather medical information to fill out detailed risk assessment tools. Conclusions: Decision-making tools could assist women both with and without breast cancer and their providers to develop preventive health strategies based on individualized risks and personal values.
Accuracy of Interviewers' Perceptions of the Importance of Intrinsic and Extrinsic Job Characteristics to Male and Female Applicants

The study sought to determine how accurate male interviewers are (I) in assessing the job characteristics desired by male and female job applicants and (2) in predicting the preferences of applican...
Physical activity in individuals at risk for diabetes: Diabetes Prevention Program.

The Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP) was a randomized clinical trial of diabetes prevention in 3234overweightindividualsaged ≥ 25 yr with elevated fasting glucose levels and impaired glucose tolerance (27). The study was designed to determine whether a diet and exercise lifestyle intervention or treatment with metformin would delay the onset of diabetes in a heterogeneous group of individuals from 27 centers across the United States. Of the participants enrolled in the DPP, 45% were from ethnic or racial groups that suffer disproportionately from type 2 diabetes, including African Americans, Hispanic Americans, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, and American Indians. Participants were aged 25 yr and older, providing diversity of individuals by age as well. Self-reported levels of leisure physical activity were assessed at baseline in the entire DPP cohort using physical activity questionnaires with three different time frames (8,10,11,16,20). One of these questionnaires, the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES III), was also administered to a national U.S. sample, a subgroup of which had impaired glucose tolerance (16). The time frame of these three activity assessment tools varied from the past week to the past year. Given the success of the lifestyle arm of the DPP (5), it would be valuable to compare the DPP cohort with a national sample to better understand the generalizability of the DPP results. In addition, because (a) the physical activity questionnaires obtained at baseline in the DPP cohort assessed activity over different time frames and (b) the DPP population was highly diverse in regard to age, gender, race, and geographic location, it would be interesting to compare questionnaire results. Therefore, the purposes of this study were twofold: (a) to examine the magnitude of the correlations among reported physical activity levels in the DPP participants determined from three different baseline activity questionnaires and between physical activity levels determined by these questionnaires and measures of obesity and glucose tolerance; and (b) to compare the prevalence of inactivity in individuals from the DPP volunteer sample with the NHANES III cohort of individuals in the United States with impaired glucose tolerance who had completed the same leisure activity questionnaire a few years earlier.
Prime and atomic models

?0. Introduction. This paper gives some simple existence results on prime and atomic models over sets. It also contains an example in which there is no prime model over a certain set even though there is an atomic model over the set. The existence results are "local" in that they deal with just one set rather than all sets contained in models of some theory. For contrast, see the "global" results in [6] or [7, p. 200]. Throughout the paper, L is a countable language, and T is a complete L-theory with infinite models. There is a "large" model Xt of T that contains the set X and any other sets and models to be used in a particular construction of a prime or atomic model over X. A model WI is said to be prime over X if X C W and every elementary monomorphism on X can be extended to an elementary embedding on all of W. This notion is used in a variety of ways in model theory. It aids in distinguishing between models that are not isomorphic, as in Vaught [10]. It also aids in showing that certain models are isomorphic, as in Baldwin and Lachlan [1]. Atomic models over sets are used in producing models that omit a type, as in Morley [6]. If Y C Xt, V is an atomic set over X provided that each finite sequence in Y realizes a principal type over X. Here it is not assumed that X C Y. If W < Xt, W is an atomic model over X if X C W and W is an atomic set over X. (The distinction between a model and its universe is ignored here and elsewhere in the paper.) If W is an atomic model over X, then W will omit any type that is not principal over X. There may be models that are atomic but not prime over a given set X. For example, if WI is an equivalence structure with infinitely many equivalence classes, all infinite, and X consists of one member from each equivalence class, then W is atomic over X, but if one of the equivalence classes is uncountable, then W is not prime over X. Another example, suggested by the referee, is obtained by taking W to be an uncountable model of an Kt0-categorical theory and letting X be the empty set. In Morley's application [6], the prime model over a certain set X of indiscernibles is "strictly prime", and therefore atomic. A sequence (y4),<a (in Xt, of course) is strictly atomic over X if the type of each y4 is principal over the set X U {y;: ; < A}. A set Y is strictly atomic over X if Y is the range of a
In situ studies of ion irradiation effects in an electron microscope

The High-Voltage Electron Microscope (HVEM)-Accelerator Facility at Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) has been used to gain insight into the process of collapse of displacement cascades to vacancy loops in metals (Ni, Cu, Fe, Ni-Si, and Ni-Al) and the crystalline-amorphous transition produced in GaAs by ion implantation.
Expression of endogenous muscarinic acetylcholine receptors in Chinese hamster ovary cells

Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells are commonly used for expression of the genes of cloned neurotransmitter receptors to study their pharmacology and coupling to signal transduction pathways. It is usually assumed that host cells do not endogenously express the specific receptor under consideration. We demonstrate in this report that CHO cells contain endogenous functional muscarinic acetylcholine receptors which, in some circumstances, might complicate interpretation of data related to the properties of exogenously expressed receptors.
A systematic review of functional and quality of life assessment after major lower extremity amputation.

Background When judging the success or failure of major lower extremity (MLE) amputation, the assessment of appropriate functional and quality of life (QOL) outcomes is paramount. The heterogeneity of the scales and tests in the current literature is confusing and makes it difficult to compare results. We provide a primer for outcome assessment after amputation and assess the need for the additional development of novel instruments. Methods MEDLINE, EMBASE, and Google Scholar were searched for all studies using functional and QOL instruments after MLE amputation. Assessment instruments were divided into functional and QOL categories. Within each category, they were subdivided into global and amputation-specific instruments. An overall assessment of instrument quality was obtained. Results The initial search revealed 746 potential studies. After a review of abstracts, 102 were selected for full review, and 40 studies were then included in this review. From the studies, 21 different assessment instruments were used 63 times. There were 14 (67%) functional measures and 7 (33%) QOL measures identified. Five (36%) of the functional instruments and 3 (43%) of the QOL measures were specific for MLE amputees. Sixteen instruments were used >1 time, but only 5 instruments were used >3 times. An additional 5 instruments were included that were deemed important by expert opinion. The 26 assessment instruments were rated. Fourteen of the best-rated instruments were then described. Conclusions The heterogeneity of instruments used to measure both functional and QOL outcomes make it difficult to compare MLE amputation outcome studies. Future researchers should seek to use high-quality instruments. Clinical and research societies should endorse the best validated instruments for future use in order to strengthen overall research in the field.
Changes in the Pulsatile Pattern of Luteinizing Hormone Secretion during the Rat Estrous Cycle

To ascertain whether changes in the pattern of GnRH release from the hypothalmus occur during the 4-day rat estrous cycle, the pattern of LH release was characterized on each day of the estrous cycle, and the results were interpreted in light of the changes in pituitary responsiveness to GnRH previously described by this laboratory to occur during this time. Blood samples were taken from intact, freely moving rats via venous catheters at 6- to 10-min intervals for 3-4 h. LH pulse height and LH interpulse interval were quantified on each day of the cycle, and the transition on the afternoon of proestrus from tonic LH release to the preovulatory LH surge was detailed. The effects on the pattern of LH release during estrus of small doses of GnRH (0.4 ng) and the continuous infusion of the opioid antagonist naloxone were also examined. Plasma LH concentrations (NIAMDD rat LH-RP-1) were determined with a highly sensitive LH RIA. LH pulses were identified using the PULSAR algorithim. The LH interpulse intervals of 46 +/- 2 min on diestrous-1 day, 49 +/- 4 min on diestrous day 2, and 60 +/- 8 min on proestrus immediately before the LH surge were not significantly different. There were no changes immediately preceding the preovulatory LH surge on the afternoon of proestrus in either the LH interpulse interval or the LH pulse height. Instead, the transition from tonic LH secretion to the preovulatory LH surge was found to occur abruptly. These data suggest that an abrupt increase in GnRH secretion during the afternoon of proestrus initiates the dramatic rise in LH concentrations. The pattern of LH secretion during the day of estrus differed significantly from that on the other days of the cycle in that no LH pulses were observed. However, the administration of small pulses of GnRH elicited physiological elevations in LH release. Furthermore, the continuous infusion of naloxone to estrous rats immediately stimulated a pulsatile pattern of LH secretion, with a LH interpulse of 56 +/- 4 min. These data indicate that the absence of LH pulses during estrus may result from a deficit in GnRH release. Similar modifications in GnRH release during the other days of the cycle were inferred from the observed changes in LH pulse heights. The LH pulse height of 21 +/- 3 ng/ml on diestrous day 2 was significantly less than the LH pulse height of 41 +/- 4 ng/ml on diestrous day 1 or 35 +/- 4 ng/ml on proestrus before the surge.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
The Politics of Charter Schools

Charter schools, and other market-based reforms such as school vouchers and the student tutoring provision of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, are steeped in politics largely because they challenge the legitimacy of traditional power and funding arrangements in public education. The charter school reform is a significant public-private hybrid on the education landscape. Two advocacy coalitions engaged in charter school politics advance opposing perspectives on market-based education policy. This article begins with a framework for examining privatization in education and charter school politics. Following this, several key subjects of charter school politics are examined: financing and state caps on the number of charter schools permitted, parental choice, teachers unions and education management companies, and research on charter schools. Despite heated battles over student achievement data, the future of charter school politics is likely to be shaped more by the respective values and mobilization p...
Effects of Item Wording on Sex Bias

This study examined the effects of gender-related item-wording changes on the performance of male and female examinees. Mathematics word problems and English language items were created in neuter, male, and female versions. Items were administered to randomly equivalent samples of about 300 high school juniors and seniors. Loglinear analysis was used to assess the impact of item gender and its interaction with examinee sex on the difficulty and discrimination of each item in each context. No items were found to have sex bias in either context. Mathematics items did not have different difficulty or discrimination in the three gender versions. Neither mathematics nor English items had different discrimination levels in the three gender-related versions. Some English items, however, were found to have different difficulty levels in the three gender-related versions. These difficulty differences were not systematic: none of the three gender versions appeared consistently more or less difficult than the others.
Microprogrammable computer architecture design considerations

The implementation of a computer system through a microprogrammable architecture has demonstrated significant advantages in flexibility and overall cost. This paper summarizes some key questions related to the design of a microprogrammable computer architecture. Three areas are covered; general system questions, hardware questions, and software questions.
Superradiant Smith-Purcell Emission

A diffraction grating mounted in the electron beam focal region of a scanning electron microscope has been used to produce superradiant emission over the 300--900 $\ensuremath{\mu}\mathrm{m}$ wavelength range. Feedback is provided by the grating itself and the electron beam is focused and positioned over the grating by the microscope's electron optical system. Extensions of this technique promise a new tunable, coherent, cw source for the difficult to access far infrared (30--1000 $\ensuremath{\mu}\mathrm{m}$) range of the spectrum.
Standard line slopes as a measure of a relative matrix effect in quantitative HPLC–MS bioanalysis

A simple experimental approach for studying and identifying the relative matrix effect (for example "plasma-to-plasma" and/or "urine-to-urine") in quantitative analyses by HPLC-MS/MS is described. Using as a database a large number of examples of methods developed in recent years in our laboratories, the relationship between the precision of standard line slopes constructed in five different lots of a biofluid (for example plasma) and the reliability of determination of concentration of an analyte in a particular plasma lot (or subject) was examined. In addition, the precision of standard line slopes was compared when stable isotope-labeled analytes versus analogs were used as internal standards (IS). Also, in some cases, a direct comparison of standard line slopes was made when different HPLC-MS interfaces (APCI versus ESI) were used for the assay of the same compound, using the same IS and the same sample preparation and chromatographic separation conditions. In selected cases, the precision of standard line slopes in five different lots of a biofluid was compared with precision values determined five times in a single lot. The results of these studies indicated that the variability of standard line slopes in different lots of a biofluid [precision of standard line slopes expressed as coefficient of variation, CV (%)] may serve as a good indicator of a relative matrix effect and, it is suggested, this precision value should not exceed 3-4% for the method to be considered reliable and free from the relative matrix effect liability. Based on the results presented, in order to assess the relative matrix effect in bioanalytical methods, it is recommended to perform assay precision and accuracy determination in five different lots of a biofluid, instead of repeat (n=5) analysis in the same, single biofluid lot, calculate standard line slopes and precision of these slopes, and to use <3-4% slope precision value as a guide for method applicability to support clinical studies. It was also demonstrated that when stable isotope-labeled analytes were used as internal standards, the precision of standard line slopes in five different lots of a biofluid was </=2.4% irrespective of the HPLC-MS interface utilized. This clearly indicated that, in all cases studied, the use of stable isotope-labeled IS eliminated relative matrix effect. Also, the utilization of the APCI interface instead of ESI led to the elimination of the relative matrix effect in all cases studied. When the precision of standard line slope values exceeds the 3-4% limit, the method may require improvements (a more efficient chromatography, a more selective extraction, a stable isotope-labeled IS instead of an analog as an IS, and/or a change in the HPLC-MS interface) to eliminate the relative matrix effect and to improve assay selectivity.
Effective field theories, reductionism and scientific explanation

Effective field theories have been a very popular tool in quantum physics for almost two decades. And there are good reasons for this. I will argue that effective field theories share many of the advantages of both fundamental theories and phenomenological models, while avoiding their respective shortcomings. They are, for example, flexible enough to cover a wide range of phenomena, and concrete enough to provide a detailed story of the specific mechanisms at work at a given energy scale. So will all of physics eventually converge on effective field theories? This paper argues that good scientific research can be characterised by a fruitful interaction between fundamental theories, phenomenological models and effective field theories. All of them have their appropriate functions in the research process, and all of them are indispensable. They complement each other and hang together in a coherent way which I shall characterise in some detail. To illustrate all this I will present a case study from nuclear and particle physics. The resulting view about scientific theorising is inherently pluralistic, and has implications for the debates about reductionism and scientific explanation.
Distribution and Biotransformation of Methyl Mercuric Chloride in Different Tissues of Mice

The distribution of 203Hg radioactivity has been studied in various organs of adult male and female mice from one hour to 21 days after treating with 203 Hg-labeled methyl mercuric chloride (MMC). The amount of methyl mercury (MeHg) and inorganic mercury (Hg) has also been determined by injecting single doses of non-radioactive MMC, and subsequently measuring total, organic and inorganic Hg content by atomic absorption technique. In addition, photoemulsion histochemical method (PEHM) was used to demonstrate localization of Hg grains in various cellular compartments of organs and tissues. The highest levels of radioactivity were attained at 7 hours post-treatment in all organs except for brain and testis. The testis showed the highest radioactivity at one day and the brain at two days post-treatment. MeHg persisted in brain over a longer period though the level was not as high. The content of MeHg and inorganic Hg was maximum in kidneys as compared to other organs. The brain and the reproductive organs contained the least amount of inorganic Hg. By PEHM, Hg grains were most prominently observed in the sinusoids, Kupfer cells, hepatic cells and bile duct epithelium of liver; in the lumen of blood vessels, convoluted and collecting tubules of kidneys; and in the gastrointestinal epithelium. The pattern of uptake and distribution of MeHg correlated well with the morphological demonstration of Hg grains in tissue sections.
Quantitative Analysis of Commercial Online Resources Subscribed to by Twenty-Three Academic Libraries

Collection development for commercial online resources can be difficult without established standards, such as those librarians have for books. Using the Carnegie Classification System can be a good tool for generating a list of comparable universities to discover what they subscribe to. Librarians at the Paul Meek Library at the University of Tennessee at Martin used this system to generate a list and then conducted a study to discover which commercial online resources universities had in their electronic database collections. We reduced the list to the top 40% and compared our library to the list.
Does intensity matter? Preschoolers’ print knowledge development within a classroom-based intervention

Abstract The present study examined the extent to which two dimensions of intervention intensity, ( dose frequency and dose ) of a 30-week print-referencing intervention related to the print knowledge development of 367 randomly selected children from 55 preschool classrooms. Dose frequency refers to the number of intervention sessions implemented per week; teachers were randomly assigned to either the high-dose frequency condition (four intervention sessions per week) or the low-dose frequency condition (two intervention sessions per week). Dose refers to number of print-referencing teaching strategies used per intervention session and was a naturally varying variable across classrooms. Structural models of children's spring print knowledge showed a significant interaction of dose and dose frequency in relation to children's outcomes. Follow-up analyses showed that the benefit of providing four versus two print-referencing sessions per week disappeared when teachers were providing a relatively intense number teaching strategies within sessions (i.e., the dose was high). Considered differently, findings also show that increasing the number of print referencing teaching strategies within a session (i.e., the dose) related positively to children's print knowledge development, but only when the weekly number of intervention sessions were low (i.e., two intervention sessions weekly). Overall, findings show that there is a benefit to increasing the dose or dose frequency of the print referencing intervention, but increasing both aspects of intervention intensity appeared to have a diminishing benefit to children's learning. Findings empirically support the multi-dimensional nature of intervention intensity and implications for research and practice are discussed.
Artistically conveying peripheral information with the InfoCanvas

The Internet and World Wide Web have made a tremendous amount of information available to people today. Taking advantage of and managing this information, however, is becoming increasingly challenging due to its volume and the variety of sources available. We attempt to reduce this overload with the InfoCanvas, an ambient display of a personalized, information-driven, visual collage. Through a web-based interface, people identify information of interest, associate a pictorial representation with it, and place the representation on a virtual canvas. The end result is an information collage, displayed on a secondary monitor or net appliance, that allows people to keep tabs on information in a calm, unobtrusive manner. This paper presents details on how a person can create and manage information with the InfoCanvas, and how we provide such capabilities.
Lymphocytotoxic and microbial antibodies in Crohn's disease and matched controls

Patients with Crohn's disease and age, sex and seasonally matched healthy controls were studied for cold lymphocytotoxic and a variety of micriobial antibodies. Lymphocytotoxic antibody titers were increased significantly in the Crohn's patients compared to controls. but did not correlate with any of the microbial titers. Antibodies to a Pseudomonas-like bacterium and Bacteroides vulgatus were also increased in the patients, but titers to Chlamydia trachomatis, rotavirus and Norwalk virus were not elevated above control values. Analysis of microbial antibody within the patient and control groups revealed a significant (P=.001) correlation between antibodies to the Pseudomonas-like bacterium and Bacteroides vulgatus. The elevated titers to the Pseudomonas-like organisms and B. vulgatus are of potential importance, but their significance is known at this time. There is no evidence of an increased incidence of infection with C. trachomatis, rotavirus or Norwalk virus in Crohn's disease.
TRAPATT oscillations in a p-i-n avalanche diode

The characteristics of TRAPATT oscillations in a p-in diode are discussed and an approximate semi-analytical solution for the diode voltage waveform is derived when the diode current is a square wave. It is shown that a traveling avalanche zone is not necessary to generate a dense "trapped" plasma and that the boundary conditions prevent the trapped plasma from completely filling the depletion layer. Typical voltage waveforms and corresponding diode power, efficiency, and impedance at the fundamental and higher harmonics are presented. When the diode current is a square wave the diode does not necessarily exhibit a negative resistance at all higher harmonics. A computer program for TRAPATT oscillations in a p-i-n diode is described. Its running time is two or three orders of magnitude less than more exact time domain computer analyses. Typical results of diode power, dc to RF conversion efficiency, and required circuit impedances are presented for several different current waveforms which are composed of up to the seventh harmonic of a square wave and the first two harmonics of a half-wave sine wave. It is shown that high-efficiency oscillations are possible with diode currents composed of only the fundamental and one harmonic.
Determination of prostaglandin precursors in frog tissue using selected-ion monitoring in gas chromatographic—mass spectrometric analysis spectrometric analysis

Abstract Eicosatrienoic acid, eicosatetraenoic acid (arachidonic acid), and eicosapentaenoic acid are unsaturated fatty acids that are possible precursors for prostaglandin synthesis in amphibians. These compounds have been quantitatively identified in tissues of the American bullfrog by using methods of selected-ion monitoring for fatty acid methyl esters. Results from comparison of yield for four methylation techniques showed that boron trifluoride in methanol gave the best yield and reproducibility. Resolution values of 1.2 and 2.7 for these methyl esters were achieved by using a cyanosilicone liquid phase, and the limits of detection based on ion 79.1 a.m.u. were 0.5 ng absolute. These acids were extracted and methylated with overall recoveries of 47, 37 and 28% respectively. Methyl esters were detected in extracts of alltissues in concentration ranges 12 to 912 ng/μl of extract, or 30 to 2810 μg/g of tissue for 0.1− to 1.3-g samples.
DETERMINING THE LENGTHS FOR CRITERION-REFERENCED TESTS

If criterion-referenced testing is to achieve its full potential in situations as far ranging as teacher classroom assessments and professional certification examinations, criterionreferenced test scores must lead to decisions which are "consistent" across parallel-form (or retest) administrations of a test (Hambleton, Swaminathan, Algina, & Coulson, 1978). That is, a high percentage of examinees must be classified in the same mastery category or state by a parallel-form (or a readministration) of the test or the resulting decisions will be of limited usefulness. Unfortunately, there are few methods or guidelines available to assist test developers in determining the number of items required to achieve a desired level of decision consistency. Many available methods for determining the lengths for criterion-referenced tests are either based on unreasonable assumptions, are highly conservative, or fail to consider important factors (see Wilcox (1980) for a review of methods). For example, the well-known generalized Spearman-Brown formula can be used for determining the appropriate length of a norm-referenced test, but the formula is of limited value in the construction of criterion-referenced tests. The Spearman-Brown formula incorporates the correlation between scores on parallel forms of a test whereas with criterion-referenced tests, interest is often centered on the consistency of decision-making across parallel-form (retest) administrations of a test. The "correlation of scores" and "consistency of decisions resulting from the use of scores" will, in general, have different values. In fact, even for a given set of test items and group of examinee responses, the index of decision consistency will vary with the chosen cut-off score. Consider, for example, three popular methods for determining the lengths of criterion-referenced tests. The first two methods (Millman, 1973; Wilcox, 1976) focus on the individual examinee and determine test lengths to insure minimum probabilities of correct classification. The third method (Eignor and Hambleton, 1979) focuses on a group of examinees and determines test lengths to insure some overall level of decision consistency and accuracy. Millman's method requires the use of the simple binomial test model and an approximate true score for each examinee who will be tested. But, since the purpose of testing is often to assess examinee true scores, on many occasions suitable true score estimates will not be available. Also, unless a test is to be administered at a computer terminal, it is usually not practical to permit test lengths to vary from one examinee to the next. Wilcox's method, unlike Millman's, does result in the determination of a single test length for the total group of examinees. His method has considerable intuitive appeal but it also leads to the selection of highly conservative test lengths. That is, for many of the examinees in the examinee group of interest, considerably longer tests are used than are needed to achieve the desired probabilities of correct classifications.
Calix[4]arene nitroxide tetraradical and octaradical

1,3-Alternate calix[4]arene with para-phenylene spacers connecting nitroxide monoradicals and high-spin (S = 1) diradicals provides tetraradical and octaradical scaffolds that possess conformations with slow electron spin relaxation rates (1/T1). Such scaffolds may facilitate tuning of relaxation rates that are more favorable for MRI or DNP applications.
SEC capture by revolving door: strengths and weaknesses in the evidence base

In the wake of the financial crisis, it has been common to assert that regulatory agencies are captured by the financial industry and that the revolving door is the key mechanism. We analyse a set of seven cases involving the US Securities and Exchange Commission to evaluate these claims. We find that the evidence for capture is variable and attempt to separate the stronger from the weaker cases. Even in the stronger cases of plausible capture, the precise role of the revolving door is not yet clear. Rather than motivating regulators to act favourably toward industry or causing them to adopt industry arguments uncritically, the revolving door seems to act as one type of a general influence that past experience has on regulators' perspectives. Thus, reform measures targeted at the revolving door should be more closely examined for their plausible benefits and costs.
Molecular Insights into Alzheimer's Disease

Recent in vitro and in vivo 31P NMR studies demonstrate increased levels of PME and PDE in Alzheimer’s brain. The PME levels have an inverse correlation with the numbers of SP and are thought to represent an early molecular event in the pathogenesis of the disease. Similar high levels of PME are observed normally in the developing brain, especially during the period of dendritic proliferation. Cytological studies demonstrate the elaboration of dendritic processes in AD. The levels of PDE have a positive correlation with the numbers of SP and are thought to represent markers of neuronal degeneration. Fluorescence spectroscopy studies reveal that PME and PDE can alter membrane molecular dynamics. Solid-state 31P NMR studies reveal that PME but not PDE can alter the conformation of synthetic phospholipid model membranes and induce transformations from the bilayer phase to the hexagonal II and micellar phases. Similar transformations in vivo could induce the formation of vesicles (micellar) and the fusion of membranes (hexagonal II) with important biological consequences. Computer modeling studies demonstrate the PME to have striking conformational similarities with the neurotransmitters NMD A and l-glutamate. Recent studies reveal the PME to be neuromodulators at l-glutamate receptors in hippocampal CAI pyramidal cells. This finding suggests possible molecular mechanisms for memory loss and the degenerative features of the disease. The elevated levels of PME also could reflect enhanced phospholipase С activity, which could stimulate protein kinase С activity. Enhanced protein kinase С activity could lead to many diverse biological effects, including the hyperphosphorylation of proteins such as the ADAP and microtubule-associated tau proteins, resulting in altered posttranslational processing of these proteins. These findings provide insights into the molecular pathology of AD which could guide future therapeutic and preventive strategies.
One-dimensional diffusion with stochastic random barriers.

The dynamics of a one-dimensional Brownian particle are treated theoretically over a wide time scale in the presence of random reflecting barriers. Green functions for particle motion with two kinds of barriers are formulated, one being diffusion with fixed random barriers and the other with stochastic random barriers. The stochastic barriers are expected to appear randomly on the time axis as well as with positional disorder and then, after a while, to disappear. To treat these problems, we first develop a mean-field Green-function MFG theory. The effects of many barriers, regarded as a multiple perturbation to the free diffusion of the particle, are decomposed into many elements. Their average effects (the first cumulant of the random perturbation elements) are sequentially incorporated into the unperturbed Green function up to the number of the elements. The first-cumulant MFG is thus obtained and covers the whole range of the perturbation intensity of the mean element. To improve the approximation, the second cumulants of the perturbation elements are incorporated one by one into the first-cumulant MFG, yielding the second-cumulant MFG. Taking into account a higher-order correlation among the perturbation elements yields a higher-order cumulant MFG. By applying the first-cumulant and the second-cumulant MFG theories to the particle diffusion with fixed and with stochastic barriers, we calculated the mean-square displacement as a function of time. It was found that the first-cumulant MFG describes qualitatively the dynamic behavior of the particle on all the time scales, whereas the second-cumulant MFG gives a more accurate numerical coefficient in the estimation of the time-dependent mean-square displacement.
Variations in Short Term Products of Inorganic Carbon Fixation in Exponential and Stationary Phase Cultures of Aphanocapsa 6308

Aphanocapsa 6308 metabolizes both NaHCO3 and Na2CO3. The short term incorporation (5-s) metabolic pattern and the patterns of incorporation of bicarbonate for exponential versus stationary phase cultures differ, however. Cells were equilibrated for 10 min in air and distilled water prior to injection of either NaH14CO3 at pH 8.0, or Na214CO3 at pH 11.0. Hot ethanol extracts were analyzed via paper chromatography and autoradiography for products of CO2 fixation. At 5 s, malate (51.5%) predominates slightly as a primary bicarbonate fixation product over 3-phosphoglycerate (40.3%); 3-phosphoglycerate is the primary product of carbonate fixation. At 60 s, the carbonate and bicarbonate labelling patterns are similar. Cells in stationary phase fix in 5 s a greater proportion of bicarbonate into malate (36% vs. 14% for 3-phosphoglycerate) than do cells in exponential growth. Likewise, 60 s incorporations show a large amount of bicarbonate fixed into aspartate (30.9%) in stationary phase cells over that of exponential phase (11.6%). These data suggest an operative C4 pathway for purposes not related to carbohydrate synthesis but rather as compensation for the incomplete tricarboxylic acid cycle in cyanobacteria. The enhancement of both aspartate fixation and CO2 fixation into citrulline in stationary phase correlates with an increase in cyanophycin granule production which requires both aspartate and arginine.
Survey of the morphology of macaque retinal ganglion cells that project to the pretectum, superior colliculus, and parvicellular laminae of the lateral geniculate nucleus.

In common with other vertebrates, the primate retina contains a number of different ganglion cell types that project to different regions in the brain. We wanted to determine how the different ganglion cell types, distinguished morphologically, mapped to these regions of the brain. We injected a fluorescent dye into one of three regions of a macaque brain: the superior colliculus (SC), the pretectal region, and the parvicellular laminae of the lateral geniculate nucleus. By means of an in vitro preparation, the retrogradely labelled ganglion cells were intracellularly injected with horseradish peroxidase, so as to reveal their dendritic morphology. When the dendritic-field diameters of the injected cells were plotted against retinal eccentricity, each of the three regions was found to receive input from a distinctive population of cells. The pretectal projection was dominated by cells with large dendritic fields. The SC projection was composed of a number of distinct types, with smaller dendritic fields. Parasol cells project to SC but are extremely rare. In addition to midget ganglion cells, the parvicellular laminae receive inputs from at least two additional groups. Parvicellular bistratified (PB) cells have bistratified dendritic fields, slightly larger than those of parasol cells. Parvicellular giant (PG) cells have dendritic-field, diameters larger than that of any parasol cell, ranging from 250 μm to greater than 850 μm—the largest of any primate ganglion cells. In contrast to the retinal projections of the cat, in which a specific ganglion cell type can project to different regions of the brain, each of the regions in this survey appears to receive inputs from its own distinct group of ganglion cells. © 1993 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Cellular Mechanisms Mediating Agonist-Stimulated Calcium Influx in the Pancreatic Acinar Cell

Figure 1 summarizes our current concept of a signaling mechanism to explain agonist-induced Ca2+ entry in the pancreatic acinar cell. We propose that cGMP can modulate Ca2+ entry under conditions of internal Ca2+ store depletion and that the NO signaling system may be involved in coupling Ca2+ depletion to cGMP formation. The finding that Ca2+ entry after Ca2+ store depletion can occur with no elevation in [Ca2+]i37 raises the possibility that alternative signaling pathways may converge to stimulate cGMP formation or that additional messengers may activate plasmalemmal Ca2+ entry mechanisms in parallel.
Variability in PET quantitation within a multicenter consortium

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the variability in quantitation of positron emission tomography(PET) data acquired within the context of a multicenter consortium. Methods: PET quantitation phantoms designed by American Association of Physicists in Medicine/Society of Nuclear Medicine Task Group 145 were sent to the ten member sites of the Pediatric BrainTumor Consortium (PBTC), a NIH-funded research consortium investigating the biology and therapies for braintumors in children. The phantoms were water-filled cylinders (18.6 cm inside height and 20.4 cm inside diameter) based on the standard ACR phantom with four small, “hot” cylinders of varying diameters (8, 12, 16, 25 mm, all with 38 mm height), consisting of an equilibrium mixture of G 68 e / G 68 a in an epoxy matrix. At each site, the operator added the appropriate amount of F 18 to the water in the background in order to attain a feature-to-background ratio of roughly 4:1. The phantom was imaged and reconstructed as if it were a brainPET scan for the PBTC. An approximately 12 mm circular region of interest (ROI) was placed over each feature and in a central area in the background. The mean and maximum pixel values for each ROI were requested from local sites in units of activity concentration (Bq/ml) and the standard uptake value (SUV) (g/mL) based on bodyweight. The activity concentration was normalized by the decay-corrected known activity concentration for the features, and reported as the absolute recovery coefficient (RC). In addition, central analyses were performed by two observers. Results: The ten sites successfully imaged the phantom within 5 months and submitted the quantitative results and the phantom image data to the PBTC Operations and Biostatistics Center. The local site-based and central analyses yielded similar mean values for RC. Local site-based SUV measurements of the hot cylindrical features yielded greater variability than central analysis (COV range of 29.9%–42.8% compared to 7.7%–23.2%). Correcting for miscalculations in the local site reported SUVs substantially reduced the variation to levels similar to the central analysis (COV range of 8.8%–18.4%) and also led to the local sites providing a similar mean of the SUV values to those from the central analysis. In the central analysis, the use of mean SUV in place of maximum SUV for an ROI of fixed size substantially reduced the variation in the SUV values (COV ranges of 7.7%–11.3% vs 9.3%–23.2%). Conclusions: Based on this investigation, a SUV variability in the range of 10%–25% due solely to instrument and analysis factors can be expected in the context of a multicenter consortium if a central reading is used and quality assurance and quality control procedures are followed. The overall SUV variability can be expected to be larger than this due to biological and protocol factors.
Mining smartphone data to classify life-facets of social relationships

People engage with many overlapping social networks and enact diverse social roles across different facets of their lives. Unfortunately, many online social networking services reduce most people's contacts to "friend". A richer computational model of relationships would be useful for a number of applications such as managing privacy settings and organizing communications. In this paper, we take a step towards a richer computational model by using call and text message logs from mobile phones to classifying contacts according to life facet (family, work, and social). We extract various features such as communication intensity, regularity, medium, and temporal tendency, and classify the relationships using machine-learning techniques. Our experimental results on 40 users showed that we could classify life facets with up to 90.5% accuracy. The most relevant features include call duration, channel selection, and time of day for the communication.
Angiographic contrast media interference with laser-induced fluorescence excitation and detection in atherosclerotic human coronary arteries

Abstract Laser-induced fluorescence has been used in conjunction with angiography for laser angioplasty guidance. The effect of radiopaque contrast media on the excitation and detection of arterial fluorescence has not been previously reported. Accordingly, fluorescence emission spectra from human coronary artery necropsy specimens ( n = 7) during excitation with pulsed excimer laser excitation (308 nm) was examined before and after the addition of three different contrast media, sodium and meglumine diatrizoate, sodium and meglumine loxaglate, and iopamidol. A decrease in overall fluorescence intensity was observed at all wavelengths for each contrast agent examined. The decrease in intensity of fluorescence emission was more marked at wavelengths less than 410 nm than at wavelengths above 425 nm. Similar effects were observed for contrast media diluted with whole blood. Absorption spectra for all three contrast media demonstrated absorption in the ultraviolet centered around 240 nm. We conclude that preferential absorption in the ultraviolet range by contrast media interferes with the excitation and detection of laser-induced fluorescence; use of visible light excitation may obviate interference with laser-induced fluorescence analysis of plaque.