cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Parenting and child mental health: a cross-cultural perspective.

In its most general instrumental sense, parenting consists of care of the young in preparing them to manage the tasks of life. Parents provide childhood experiences and populate the environments that guide children's development and so contribute to child mental health. Parenting is expressed in cognitions and practices. However, parents do not parent, and children do not grow up, in isolation, but in multiple contexts, and one notable context of parenting and child mental health is culture. Every culture is characterized, and distinguished from other cultures, by deep-rooted and widely acknowledged ideas about how one needs to feel, think, and act as an adequately functioning member of the culture. Insofar as parents subscribe to particular conventions of a culture, they likely follow prevailing “cultural scripts” in childrearing. Broadening our definition, it is therefore the continuing task of parents also to enculturate children by preparing them for the physical, psychosocial, and educational situations that are characteristic of their specific culture. Cross-cultural comparisons show that virtually all aspects of parenting children are informed by culture: culture influences when and how parents care for children, what parents expect of children, and which behaviors parents appreciate, emphasize and reward or discourage and punish. Thus, cultural norms become manifest in the mental health of children through parenting. Furthermore, variations in what is normative in different cultures challenge our assumptions about what is universal and inform our understanding of how parent-child relationships unfold in ways both culturally universal and specific. This essay concerns the contributions of culture to parenting and child mental health. No study of a single society can address this broad issue. It is possible, however, to learn lessons about parenting and child mental health from the study of different societies.
Sampling airborne fungi in Kansas for diurnal periodicity

Abstract A new sampler, the Kramer-Collins Spore Sampler, has made possible studies of numbers of fungus spores and pollen grains in the air through a 24-h period. Diurnal periodicity in release and occurrence in the air was present in all forms studied with night time maxima for aeciospores of Puccinia andropogonis , ballistospores of Sporobolomyces , basidiospores of Coprinus , ascospores of Hypoxylon and Sordaria and day time peaks for Cladosporium, Cercospora, Alternaria, Helminthosporium and hyphal fragments. Pollen grains of Acalypha ostryaefolia had peaks from 6 to 7 a.m.
Origin of the ‘inactivation’ of ribonuclease A at low salt concentration

Abstract The effect of salt concentration on catalysis by ribonuclease A (RNase A) has been reexamined. At low salt concentration, the enzyme is inhibited by low-level contaminants in common buffers. When an uncontaminated buffer system is used or H12A RNase A, an inactive variant, is added to absorb inhibitory contaminants, enzymatic activity is manifested fully at low salt concentration. Catalysis by RNase A does not have an optimal salt concentration. Instead, kcat/KM was >109 M−1s−1 for RNA cleavage at low salt concentration. These findings highlight the care that must accompany the determination of meaningful salt-rate profiles for enzymatic catalysis.
The utilization of solubilized aqueous carotene by normal and hypothyroid rats.

Abstract 1. 1. The effect of the thyroid on the conversion of carotene to vitamin A has been studied by determining the blood serum vitamin A levels in vitamin A-deficient rats, fed with and without thiouracil, after the oral or parenteral administration of carotene dispersed in water. 2. 2. No significant differences were found in the blood serum vitamin A levels of hypothyroid or normal rats 6 or 12 hr. after giving 200 μg. of carotene orally. With the same dosage intramuscularly, small, but similar, amounts of vitamin A appeared in the serums of both normal and hypothyroid rats. 3. 3. After five weekly oral doses of 200 μg. carotene, the livers of the hypothyroid rats contained as much vitamin A as did the livers of the normal rats. 4. 4. Animals given carotene either orally or intramuscularly had appreciable stores of vitamin A in their kidneys. There was no significant difference between the normal and thiouracil-treated rats.
On vortex waves in compressible fluids. I. The hollow–core vortex

In 1880, Kelvin published his analysis of smallamplitude waves carried by a straightline vortex in an incompressible, inviscid fluid. The most significant of these waves are the bending modes, in w...
Electroreduction of Methanediol on Copper

We have used density functional theory calculations to study intermediates in the electroreduction of methanediol on copper. We find that methanediol, which is the hydrated form of formaldehyde, may be reduced to methanol with a limiting potential close to the experimental onset for reduction of aqueous formaldehyde.
Binder effectiveness for beads with high drug levels

AbstractPrevious reports from these laboratories showed that microcrystalline cellulose (AvicelR MCC, PH-101) formulations with low and medium drug levels (10 and 50%) produced very uniform beads whereas formulations containing MCC with high drug levels (80%) were difficult to process without special treatment or required the incorporation of alternate excipients. In this study, several binders, at a 2% level, specifically: Carbomer (CarbopolR 934-P), Sodium carboxymethylcellulose (CMC 7MF), Hydroxypropylcellulose (KlucelR HXF), Methylcellulose (MethocelR K-15). Povidone, USP (PVP K29-32) and Pregelatinized starch NF (Starch 1500R), were evaluated to determine whether they might impart advantages in processing and whether any differences in dissolution behavior would result. Spheres containing 80% anhydrous theophylline, the binders and MCC were manufactured by the extrusion/marumerization technique. In general, beads containing high drug levels produced with these binders are suitable for further process...
Biochemistry of nitric oxide and its redox-activated forms

Nitric oxide (NO.), a potentially toxic molecule, has been implicated in a wide range of biological functions. Details of its biochemistry, however, remain poorly understood. The broader chemistry of nitrogen monoxide (NO) involves a redox array of species with distinctive properties and reactivities: NO+ (nitrosonium), NO., and NO- (nitroxyl anion). The integration of this chemistry with current perspectives of NO biology illuminates many aspects of NO biochemistry, including the enzymatic mechanism of synthesis, the mode of transport and targeting in biological systems, the means by which its toxicity is mitigated, and the function-regulating interaction with target proteins.
On the deterministic complexity of factoring polynomials over finite fields

We present a new deterministic algorithm for factoring polynomials over Zp of degree n. We show that the worst-case running time of our algorithm is O(p12(log p)2n2+∈), which is faster than the running times of previous determi nistic algorithms with respect to both n and p. We also show that our algorithm runs in polynomial time for all but at most an exponentially small fraction of the polynomials of degree n over Zp. Specifically, we prove that the fraction of polynomials of degree n over Zp for which our algorithm fails to halt in time O((log p)2n2+∈) is ((n log p)2/p). Consequently, the average-case running time of our algorithm is polynomial in n and log p.
Rheological and Solid-Liquid Separation Properties of Bimodal Suspensions of Colloidal Gibbsite and Boehmite

Abstract Bimodal suspensions of nanometer-sized boehmite particles and micron-sized gibbsite particles in 0.10MNaNO3are used as models to gain insight into the physical properties of agglomerating colloidal suspensions containing bimodal distributions of primary particles. Results on the gibbsite–boehmite mixtures show that the presences of small particles in a suspension can have a dramatic impact on the rheological, sedimentation, and filtration characteristics of suspensions of larger particles. Transmission electron micrographs show that boehmite forms a coating on the larger gibbsite particles. The coating provides steric repulsion and reduces the attractive interactions between the larger particles, leading to viscosity decreases and greater densification of sediments and filter cakes. A model has been developed to rationalize observed property changes based on the range of agglomerate structures that can form in mixtures of large and small particles. Results are discussed in the content of the processing of nuclear waste sludges, but are applicable to a wide range of bimodal suspensions.
Policies for Prairie wetland protection

A nationwide consensus exists among informed scientists that our wetland resources are being destroyed at an alarming rate, but little consensus exists as to what should be done to abate this trend. Even at the state level, agreement as to how to proceed or as to the success of past protection efforts has not been forthcoming. A brief review of past and present wetland programs in the Prairie Pothole Region and a summary of the findings of landowner attitude studies in Minnesota, North Dakota, and South Dakota provide the premise for suggesting viable pothole protection mechanisms. Income tax incentives, long-term easements, and voluntary compliance are each shown to be infeasible for adequately protecting Prairie Potholes. Cross-compliance with government farm programs, fee title acquisition, and private sector market mechanisms offer the greatest chance for successful protection of this valuable natural resource.
Immune regulation of T lymphocyte by a newly characterized human umbilical cord blood stem cell.

Abstract Previous work identified a novel type of stem cell from human umbilical cord blood, designated cord blood-stem cells (CB-SC). To further evaluate their immune characteristics, we cocultured CB-SC with allogeneic peripheral blood lymphocytes in the presence of phytohaemagglutinin (PHA) or interleukin-2 (IL-2). Results showed that CB-SC could significantly inhibit lymphocyte proliferation and reduce tyrosine phosphorylation of STAT5 in both PHA- and IL-2-stimulated lymphocytes, along with the regulation on the phenotypes of CD4+ and CD8+ T cells. Additionally, CB-SC also suppressed the proliferation of IL-2-stimulated CD4+CD25+ regulatory T cells. Mechanism studies revealed that programmed death receptor-1 ligand 1 (PD-L1) expressed on CB-SC membrane, together with a soluble factor nitric oxide (NO) released by PHA-stimulated CB-SC, not prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) and transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1), mainly contributed to the T cell suppression induced by CB-SC, as demonstrated by blocking experiments with a nitric oxide synthase inhibitor (Nω-nitro- l -arginine, l -NNA) and a neutralizing antibody to PD-L1. Our findings may advance our understanding of the immunobiology of stem cells and facilitate the therapeutic application of cord blood stem cells.
The regulation by low-density lipoproteins of the activation of oxidative enzyme-primed lymphocytes is governed by transferrin

Abstract The activation of T lymphocytes was regulated in vitro by low-density lipoproteins (LDL). Not all prereplicative events induced by the oxidative enzymatic mitogens neuraminidase and galactose oxidase (NAGO) were susceptible to inhibition by LDL. The accessory cell-independent early blastogenic response was not suppressed. LDL suppressed accessory cell-dependent responses, and the extent of LDL suppression, depended on the concentration of transferrin. A gradient of transferrin determined the point in the cell cycle at which NAGO-primed lymphocytes were suppressed by LDL. When transferrin was low (0–10 μg/ml) and in serum-free medium (SFM), LDL suppressed the expression of cell surface receptors for interleukin-2 (IL-2R) and transferrin (TfR), the late blastogenic response prior to DNA replication (72 hr), and DNA replication. At higher levels of transferrin, about 100 μg/ml, the LDL-suppressed cells were IL-2R + , TfR + and responsive to IL-2, but did not enter S phase. LDL suppression could be ablated by IL-2 and by high levels of transferrin (250–1000 μg/ml). In RPMI medium containing serum (FBS), the pattern of LDL suppression was different from that in SFM: fully activated IL-2R + , TfR + lymphocytes were unresponsive to exogenous IL-2, suggesting that they were blocked at the G 1 /S boundary. This block was also relieved by transferrin (> 100 μg/ml). The data suggest that the interplay between transferrin and LDL is a critical factor in the NAGO-induced stimulation of T lymphocytes. LDL and transferrin exert negative and positive control of lymphocyte activation, respectively. In SFM, LDL appear to alter transferrin utilization by accessory cells; in RPMI-FBS, by fully activated T lymphocytes.
New strategies to improve outcomes in the surgical intensive care unit.

Background: Over the last half-decade, substantial breakthroughs have taken place in terms of routine therapy of critically ill patients. The combination of these strategies has the potential to result in improvement in the overall outcomes for patients in intensive care units. Methods: A focused review was undertaken of trials of interventions in critically ill patients with outcome endpoints. Results: This review discusses recent results related to transfusion avoidance, new drug therapy of sepsis, low tidal volume ventilation, tight glycemic control, early goal-directed resuscitation in sepsis, and the contribution of intensivists to improved outcomes. Conclusions: Appropriate incorporation of these strategies into everyday practice will likely result in improvements in the care of critically ill surgical patients.
A robust parameter extraction method for HBT small‐signal equivalent circuit

An improved pad-deembedding technique for InGaP/GaAs HBT reducing uncertainty in measurement and equivalent circuit is proposed. Intrinsic elements are obtained by iteratively determining the external and internal base resistance. The extracted equivalent circuits demonstrate good agreement with the measured S-parameters obtained from 45 MHz to 40 GHz for different sizes of HBTs. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 49: 1845–1848, 2007; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/mop.22573
Indeterminate cell lineage of the zebrafish embryo

We have examined the clonal progeny descended from individual blastomeres injected with lineage-tracer dye in the zebrafish embryo. Blastomeres arising by the same cleavages in different embryos generated clones in which the types and positions of cells were highly variable. Several features of early development were correlated with this diversity in cell fate. There was no fixed relationship between the plane of the first cleavage and the eventual plane of bilateral symmetry of the embryo. By blastula stages the cleavages of identified blastomeres were variable in pattern. Moreover, cell fate was not easily related to the longitudinal and dorsoventral position of the clone in the gastrula. These results establish that single blastomeres can potentially generate a highly diverse array of cell types and that the cell lineage is indeterminate.
The Use of Gasoline: Value, Oil, and the “American way of life”

: While the critical literature has focused on the geography of oil production, the politics of “outrageous” gasoline prices in the United States provide a fertile path toward understanding the wider geography of petro-capitalism. Despite the deepening contradictions of US oil consumption, “pain at the pump” discourse projects a political sense of entitlement to low priced gasoline. I use a value-theoretical perspective to examine this politics as not only about the quantitative spectrum of price, but also the historical sedimentation of qualitative use-values inscribed in the commodity gasoline. Gasoline is analyzed both as a use-value among many within the postwar value of labor power and as a singular use-value fueling broader imaginaries of a national “American way of life.” While use-value still represents an open site of cultural and political struggle infused within value itself, the case of gasoline illustrates how use-values are not automatically mobilized toward politically savory ends.
3 to 5-um lasers employing GaInSb/InAs superlattice active layers

We demonstrate midwave infrared diode lasers than span the 3 - 4 micrometers range. Laser active regions are multiple quantum well structures with GaInSb/InAs, type-II, broken gap superlattices for the wells and GaInAsSb for the barriers. The superlattice constituents and dimensions were tailored to reduce losses from Auger recombination. AlSb/InAs superlattices are used for both n-type and p-type laser cladding regions. A device with emission at 3.2 micrometers lased up to 255 K. We have achieved 75 mW per facet at 3.0 micrometers at an operating temperature of 140 K with an 85 microsecond(s) ec input current pulse. Device output appears to be limited by resistive heating. A four-layer, strain-balanced superlattice design offers greater laser efficiency.
MR imaging of the chest using a contrast-enhanced breath-hold modified three-dimensional gradient-echo technique: comparison with two-dimensional gradient-echo technique and multidetector CT.

OBJECTIVE. The purpose of this study was to assess the feasibility of performing MR imaging of the chest using a fat-suppressed gadolinium-enhanced modified three-dimensional (3D) gradient-echo technique with a volumetric interpolated breath-hold (VIB) sequence compared with using a standard two-dimensional (2D) breath-hold gradient-echo technique. MR images obtained using both techniques were compared with multidetector CT (MDCT) scans.SUBJECTS AND METHODS. Paired gadolinium-enhanced 2D gradient-echo and 3D gradient-echo VIB images were acquired in 15 consecutive patients with suspected intrathoracic abnormalities. MDCT scans were available for comparison in 12 patients. Two reviewers independently analyzed the MR images obtained using the two techniques for overall quality, the degree of artifacts, and visibility of mediastinal or parenchymal abnormalities. The detectability of lesions on the 3D gradient-echo VIB images and 2D gradient-echo images was compared with the detectability of lesions on CT sca...
Withdrawal properties of a neuroactive steroid: implications for GABAA receptor gene regulation in the brain and anxiety behavior

Early work in the field established that the 5 alpha-reduced metabolite of progesterone 3 alpha-OH-5 alpha-pregnan-20-one (allopregnanolone or 3 alpha,5 alpha-THP) is a potent positive modulator of the GABA(A) receptor (GABAR), the receptor mediating the effects of the primary inhibitory transmitter in the brain. This steroid acts in a manner similar to sedative drugs, such as the barbiturates, both in terms of potentiating GABA-induced inhibition in vitro and in behavioral assays, by reducing anxiety and seizure susceptibility. Because sedative compounds exhibit withdrawal properties that result in behavioral hyperexcitability, our laboratory has more recently investigated the effect of prolonged application and rapid removal (i.e. 'withdrawal') of this steroid, administered in vivo to female rats. Withdrawal from 3 alpha,5 alpha-THP produces a state of increased anxiety and lowered seizure threshold, similar to withdrawal from other GABA-modulatory drugs such as the benzodiazepines and alcohol. Hormone withdrawal also produced increases in the alpha 4-containing GABAR, an effect correlated with insensitivity of the GABAR to modulation by the benzodiazepine class of tranquilizers, as would normally occur under control conditions. In addition, changes in intrinsic channel properties, including a marked acceleration in the decay rate was also observed as a result of declining levels of 3 alpha,5 alpha-THP. Such a change would result in less inhibitory total current, and the resulting increase in neuronal excitability could then underlie the observed behavioral excitability following hormone withdrawal. These results suggest that actions of this steroid on a traditional transmitter receptor in the brain lead to alterations in GABAR subunit composition that result in changes in the intrinsic channel properties of the receptor and behavioral excitability. These results may have implications for endogenous fluctuations in this hormone which may accompany premenstrual dysphoric disorder.
Stress-optical effects in optical waveguides

Abstract Radial variation in thermal expansion coefficient causes thermal stresses in optical waveguides which may be great enough to alter significantly the refractive index profile. This paper discusses methods of calculating these stresses, using elastic and viscoelastic models, and illustrates the magnitude of the resulting index changes.
Design and mathematical analysis of controlled release from microsphere-containing polymeric implants

Abstract A model has been developed to describe controlled drug release from surface-eroding, biodegradable, implantable devices containing surface-eroding, biodegradable microspheres. This is a novel formulation design which gives drug release within a desired range, but which is not zero order. The described controlled release formulation can be used with a reasonable final device size, to give a desired rate of release over an extended period of time with only one application. The analysis of the formulation is limited to surface-eroding polymers with microspheres releasing at distinct intervals. In addition, all necessary parameters may be calculated prior to fabrication of these devices to give the desired release profile.
Causes and Consequences of Higher Edueation: Models of the Status Attainment Process

OCIOLOGISTS' interest in education dates back to the earliest days of the discipline. Auguste Comte, Herbert Spencer, Lester F. Ward, Emile Durkheim, Charles H. Cooley, Edward A. Ross-to mention only a few-were writing on the sociological aspects of education more than a half century ago. Although their interests were more in education as a basic institution for melioration and for passing on the social and cultural heritage from generation to generation, they were not unaware of some of the consequences of educational attainment for the individual and for society. The role of education in social stratification systems, however, was first spelled out in some detail by the late Pitirim A. Sorokin in his classic book, published in 1927, Social Mobility [33]. Sorokin correctly saw the school to be a major channel of vertical circulation and emphasized the extent to which the school served as a mechanism of social testing, selection, and distribution of individuals within different social strata, thus determining the properties of the different social classes. Much later, Talcott Parsons [18] elaborated on Sorokin's theme in his well-known article, "The School Class as a Social System: Some of Its Functions in American Society." Parsons stressed not only the selection and allocation functions of the
TRANSIT PERFORMANCE EVALUATION IN THE U.S.A.

Performance of transit agencies in the United States improved during the 1980s. At the beginning of the decade, Americans had become disenchanted with transit; legislation was passed that required agencies to report performance and accept regular audits. Theory underlying these policies is examined in four components: dimensions for policy objectives, indicators, information systems and incentives. Three programs are examined: federal triennial reviews that monitor compliance with planning and grant requirements, California performance audits that analyze goals and track performance on five indicators and the Los Angeles program that encourages improvement by offering incentive payments for better-than-average performance. The California audits have been the most successful.
Mechanical analysis of cartilage graft reinforced with PDS plate

Objectives/Hypothesis This study attempts to characterize the biomechanical properties of a PDS-cartilage composite graft for use in septorhinoplasty.
Unresponsiveness in Children with Severe Disabilities: Potential Effects on Parent‐Child Interactions

Abstract This paper examines the potential effects on parent‐child interactions when children, because of severe mental and physical impairments, are unable to exhibit most social responses. A model is proposed to explain why a child is perceived to be responsive or unresponsive by parents and caregivers; the former applies only if the child's behaviour is recognized and valued by the observer. It is also proposed that: (a) perceived unresponsiveness may be more critical than the disability per se;(b) intense interactions early in the disabled child's development, commonly described by observers as controlling, intrusive behaviour, may be due to high levels of caregiver motivation and extinction burst effects; and (c) reductions in the amount of some caregiver‐child interactions may be the outcome of previously unrewarded interaction attempts and decreased expectancy levels.
Regulation of intestinal calbindin-D28K gene expression: A solution hybridization study

A solution hybridization assay employing specific synthetic oligodeoxynucleotide probes was developed to study the regulation of intestinal calbindin-D28K mRNA. The technique is rapid and quantitative and eliminates the need for sample transfer, blotting, autoradiography, and densitometry. Following validation of the assay, chick intestinal calbindin-D and calbindin-D mRNA levels were compared under conditions known to stimulate intestinal calcium (Ca) transport. Both the protein and its mRNA were undetectable in 25-day-old vitamin D-deficient chicks. Following acute administration of vitamin D3, calbindin-D mRNA levels increased somewhat more rapidly than calbindin-D protein, but overall, the correlation was excellent. Chicks fed a nutritionally adequate diet for 14 days and then changed to a low Ca (0.1%) diet responded with increased calbindin-D and calbindin-D mRNA levels. Again the correlation was excellent over the ensuing 14-day experimental period. The combined effects of vitamin D repletion and dietary Ca status were also investigated with respect to calbindin D and its mRNA. Fourteen-day-old vitamin D-deficient chicks were changed to diets containing vitamin D and either adequate (1.2%) or low (0.3%) in Ca. The intestinal responses were measured at intervals up to 14 days. In the normal Ca situation, there were initial increases in both calbindin mRNA levels, which peaked at between 4 and 7 days, and calbindin protein levels, which peaked at 7 days. Both values subsequently declined during the remaining 7 days of the experimental period. In the low Ca situation, there were similar increases in calbindin mRNA and protein levels through 4 and 7 days respectively, but these levels remained high for the remainder of the 14-day experimental period. The present results demonstrate that intestinal tissue levels of calbindin D and its mRNA respond similarly to vitamin D repletion and dietary Ca restriction as well as the combination of these stimuli. There is no evidence to support significant post-transcriptional regulation of calbindin-D by Ca.
Storm Following Climatology Of Precipitation Associated with Winter Cyclones Originating Over the Gulf of Mexico

Abstract A storm-following climatology was compiled for the precipitation distributions associated with winter cyclones that originate over the Gulf of Mexico and adjacent coastal region. The goal of this research is to investigate the roles of the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic Ocean as sources of moisture for these storms, and to investigate geographic/orographic influences on the precipitation distributions. A second objective of this research is to provide forecasters with a potential guide with which to evaluate numerical model forecasts of quantitative precipitation for these storms. A 24-y climatology (1960–1983) was compiled of storms that originated over the Gulf of Mexico and adjacent coastal region, and produced wide-spread areas of precipitation (total ≥ 25 mm). Sixty-six storms satisfied these criteria, and three dominant storm tracks were identified. Six-h totals of hourly precipitation data were objectively analysed for individual storm belonging to each of the three tracks, and grid-point val...
Spectrophotometric observation of a glutamate dehydrogenase-l-glutamate complex

Abstract Ultraviolet differential spectroscopic measurements show the existence of a glutamate dehydrogenase ( l -glutamate:NAD(P) + oxidoreductase (deaminating), EC 1.4.1.3)— l -glutamate complex. The spectral features resemble perturbation difference spectra of enzyme aromatic amino acid chromophores and allow the determination of the l -glutamate concentration dependence. The dissociation constant for this enzyme- l -glutamate complex was approximately 48 mM and was independent of enzyme concentration. The lack of interaction between the binding of l -glutamate and the activating monocarboxylic amino acids indicates that they bind at totally separate sites.
Frontline: The p85α isoform of phosphoinositide 3-kinase is essential for a subset of B cell receptor-initiated signaling responses

Phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) is a ubiquitously expressed signaling enzyme that plays an integral role in development and activation of B cells. B cell receptor (BCR)-driven proliferation is completely blocked either in cells lacking the p85α regulatory isoform of PI3K or in wild-type cells treated with pharmacological PI3K inhibitors. However, the contribution of p85α to early signaling events has not been fully investigated. Here we show that B cells lacking p85α have signaling impairments that are both quantitatively and qualitatively different from those in cells treated with PI3K inhibitors. Loss of p85α results in partial reductions in Ca2+ mobilization and IκB phosphorylation, whereas ERK phosphorylation is not diminished. Moreover, although Akt phosphorylation is partially reduced, phosphorylation of several proteins downstream of Akt is preserved. These partial impairments suggest that there are other routes to PI3K activation in B cells apart from p85α-associated catalytic subunits. Notably, addition of phorbol ester restores BCR-mediated proliferation in p85α-deficient cells but not wild-type cells treated with PI3K inhibitors. These findings suggest that the primary BCR signaling defect in B cells lacking p85α is a failure to activate diacylglycerol-regulated signaling enzymes, most likely protein kinase C. See accompanying article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/eji.200425593
Templatgesteuerte Synthese von Vanadiumborophosphatcluster‐Anionen

Durch Hydrothermalsynthese zu neuen Vanadiumborophosphaten: BP2O10-Trimere und V2O8-Dimere sind durch gemeinsame Sauerstoffatome verbunden und ergeben so eine Baueinheit der Zusammensetzung (VO)2BP2O10. Die weitergehende Verknupfung dieser Einheiten fuhrt zu Vierer-, Funfer- und Sechserringen; der erstgenannte Fall ist schematisch gezeigt. Die Ringgrose des Anions wird durch die Grose des bei der Synthese eingesetzten Kations bestimmt.
Optimal Channelization in FDMA Communications

For most efficient performance in frequency-division multiple access (FDMA), a hard-limiting repeater should be operated completely channelized (i.e., each uplink carrier should be individually filtered and power-controlled prior to spacecraft limiting and downlink transmission). When there are a large number of uplink carriers involved, however, complete channelization is no longer feasible, and the uplink carriers must be grouped together (assigned frequencies), which allows joint filtering and amplification. In this correspondence, it is shown that an optimal grouping procedure always exists for minimizing required repeater power, no matter how many carriers and groups are to be used.
The rest of the world: Capacity building in the international context

Comparative analysis helps reveal that the issue of capacity building is broadly applicable to global civil society in sector, subsector, and organizational terms.
Lambert: a Novel Compact Calibration Solution for Superior Telescope Flat Fielding

Traditional dome flat fielding methods typically have difficulties providing spatially uniform illumination and adequate flux over a telescopic instrument's entire spectral range. Traditional flat fielding screens, with an illumination source at least the size of the primary, can be difficult or impractical to mount and uniformly illuminate. The Las Cumbres Observatory Global Telescope Network (LCOGTN) will consist of approximately 50 robotic telescopes of 0.4 m, 1.0 m, and 2.0 m apertures with instrument bandwidth ranging from 350 -- 1800 nm. The network requires a robust flat-field solution to fit in compact enclosures. A scanning illuminated flat fielding bar, Lambert, was developed to meet these requirements. Illumination is from a linear arrangement of sources that are spatially dispersed by a narrow holographic or glass diffuser equal in length to the primary's diameter. We have investigated a linearly scanning, enclosure mounted, deployable unit, and a rotary scanning, telescope mounted unit. For complete visible-light bandwidth, a set of different color LEDs is used. The source density, scan speed, and variable intensity tunes the flux to the instrument wavelength and bandwidth. The Lambert flat fields in comparison to sky flats match pixel to pixel variations better than 0.5%; large scale illumination differences, which are stable and repeatable, are ~1%.
Systemic lupus erythematosus arising during interferon-alpha therapy for cryoglobulinemic vasculitis associated with hepatitis C.

We present the case of a 53-year-old woman who developed systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) after being treated with interferon-alpha (IFN-α) for cryoglobulinemic vasculitis associated with hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. Her cryoglobulinemic vasculitis resolved rapidly with IFN-α treatment. However, after 10 months of IFN-α therapy, she developed a photosensitive malar rash, oral ulcers, arthralgias, lymphopenia, and anti-SSA autoantibodies. She was diagnosed with SLE induced by IFN-α therapy. IFN-α was discontinued, she was treated with a short course of prednisone and hydroxychloroquine, and she improved rapidly. This is the first report of IFN-α-induced SLE complicating treatment of cryoglobulinemic vasculitis associated with HCV infection. The development of SLE during therapy with IFN-α could be due to direct immunomodulation by IFN-α, and review of experimental data and prior case reports suggests a pathogenic role for IFN-α in SLE.
Absolute error criteria for bandwidth selection in density estimation from censored data

In Kernel density estimation, a criticism of bandwidth selection techniques which minimize squared error expressions is that they perform poorly when estimating tails of probability density functions. Techniques minimizing absolute error expressions are thought to result in more uniform performance and be potentially superior. An asympotic mean absolute error expression for nonparametric kernel density estimators from right-censored data is developed here. This expression is used to obtain local and global bandwidths that are optimal in the sense that they minimize asymptotic mean absolute error and integrated asymptotic mean absolute error, respectively. These estimators are illustrated fro eight data sets from known distributions. Computer simulation results are discussed, comparing the estimation methods with squared-error-based bandwidth selection for right-censored data.
Axonal transport through nodes of Ranvier

Axonally transported glycoproteins are shown to accumulate at nodes of Ranvier. We hypothesize that the increased labeling in nodal regions results from the rheological effects of axonal constriction as well as from selective deposition of some transported labeled molecules.
Influence of sperm processing on the fertilizing capacity and recovery of motile sperm from thawed human semen.

Artificial insemination programs now rely almost exclusively on frozen semen preparations as their source of sperm. Unfortunately, several reports indicate that conception rates using frozen-thawed semen are inferior to freshly ejaculated specimens. The present study was designed to investigate the fertilizing capacity of sperm and the recovery of motile sperm from thawed semen following different sperm processing methods. Washed resuspended pellets contained sperm with at least the same fertilizing potential as sperm from swim-up techniques. However, the recovery of motile sperm from the pellets was more than 3 times greater than from the swim-up techniques. Percentage motility, progressive velocity, and amplitude of lateral head displacement were generally higher in the sperm from swim-up techniques than in the sperm from the pellets, despite equivalent fertilizing potentials. It can be argued from these results that washed resuspended sperm preparations provide a significantly greater number of motile ...
The Dynamic Simulation of Control and Compliance Processes in Material Organizations

Computer simulation is a tool of multiple uses. One is the ability to dynamically model theories and discover unexpected interactions and outcomes. A propositional theory of organizational control, based on the work of Collins (1975, 1988), is modeled and simulated here. The verbal theory synthesizes other theories to explain how formal organizations attain and maintain compliance from members. The modeling and simulation of Collins' theory discovers a number of interesting and informative, but unexpected, outcomes. While the control processes of organizations do produce stable compliance, this compliance is punctuated by episodic periods of noncompliance that increase in frequency and duration over time, resulting ultimately in the breakdown of the control process.
Subcultural influences on family decisionmaking

This investigation assessed Mexican-American and Anglo wives' perceptions of family decisionmaking roles for the purchase of eight different goods and services. This comparison was used to explore the impact ethnic subculture plays in consumer behavior. The findings indicate that ethnicity significantly affects wives' perceptions of family decisionmaking roles for expensive items, and that this is not just due to common associations with other variables. This is an under researched area in which cross-national differences and basic socioeconomic disparities are often inaccurately attributed to culture.
Relation of Improvement in Estimated Glomerular Filtration Rate With Atorvastatin to Reductions in Hospitalizations for Heart Failure (from the Treating to New Targets [TNT] Study)

Impaired kidney function often accompanies heart failure (HF) and is associated with a worse prognosis. This post hoc analysis of the Treating to New Targets (TNT) trial examined whether the observed decrease in HF hospitalizations with high- compared to low-dose atorvastatin could be related to improvements in kidney function. Of 10,001 TNT participants, 9,376 had estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) measurements at baseline and 1 year and were included in this analysis. The association of change in year-1 eGFR and subsequent HF hospitalization was examined using Cox regression models. In total 218 participants developed subsequent HF hospitalization. Little change in eGFR occurred over 1 year in the atorvastatin 10-mg group, whereas eGFR improved in the 80-mg group by 1.48 ml/min/1.73 m(2) (95% confidence interval 1.29 to 1.67, p <0.0001). Subsequent HF was preceded by a decrease in eGFR over 1 year compared to modest improvement in those without subsequent HF (-0.09 ± 7.89 vs 0.81 ± 6.90 ml/min/1.73 m(2), p = 0.0015). After adjusting for baseline eGFR, each 5-ml/min/1.73 m(2) increase in eGFR at 1 year was associated with a lower risk of subsequent HF hospitalization (hazard ratio 0.85, 95% confidence interval 0.77 to 0.94, p = 0.002). This relation was independent of treatment effect or change in low-density lipoprotein cholesterol level at 1 year. In conclusion, treatment with high- compared to low-dose atorvastatin was associated with improvement in eGFR at 1 year, which was related to a decrease in subsequent HF hospitalization. This suggests that improvement in kidney function may be related to the beneficial effect of high-dose atorvastatin on HF hospitalization.
Acute ischemia of canine interventricular septum produces asymmetric suppression of conduction

Background Acute ischemia depresses tissue excitability more rapidly in the epicardium than in the endocardium of the canine left ventricular (LV) free wall. However, the effects of acute ischemia on conduction in the interventricular septum (IVS), which is composed of right ventricular (RV) and LV endocardium and midmyocardium without epicardium, are less known. Objective The purpose of this study was to evaluate the hypothesis that the IVS exhibits transseptal differences in local tissue response to acute ischemia. Methods Isolated canine IVS preparations were perfused through the septal branch of the anterior descending coronary artery, and conduction on the cut-exposed transseptal surfaces was optically mapped before and after two sequential episodes of 8 minutes of global ischemia (separated by >60 minutes of reperfusion). The preparations were paced alternately between the RV endocardium and LV endocardium at cycle lengths of 250, 300, and 1,500 ms. Results Prior to ischemia, transseptal conduction was radial and symmetric during either RV endocardial or LV endocardial pacing at all cycle lengths. Eight minutes of ischemia depressed conduction velocity more in the RV half than in the LV half of the IVS and caused local conduction block in the sub-RV endocardium, especially during rapid pacing. The K ATP channel blocker glibenclamide (10 μmol/L) prevented development of this transseptal asymmetry and conduction block during ischemia. Conclusion Acute global ischemia increased transseptal heterogeneity and induced sub-RV endocardial block of conduction via activation of the ATP-sensitive potassium current. Such changes could contribute to initiation of arrhythmia in patients with septal infarction.
Characterization of Oscillatory Boundary Layer over a Closely Packed Bed of Sediment Particles

Lack of accurate criteria for onset of incipient motion and sediment pickup function remain two of the biggest hurdles in developing better predictive models for sediment transport. To study pickup and transport of sediment, it is necessary to have a detailed knowledge of the small amplitude oscillatory flow over the sediment layer near the sea bed. Fully resolved direct numerical simulations are performed using fictitious domain approach (Apte & Finn, 2012) to investigate the effect of a sinusoidally oscillating flow field over a rough wall made of regular hexagonal pack of spherical particles. The flow arrangement is similar to the experimental data of Keiller & Sleath (1976). Transitional and turbulent flows at Reδ = 95, 150, 200 (based on the Stokes layer thickness, are studied. Turbulent flow is characterized in terms of coherent vortex structures, Reynolds stress variation and PDF distributions. The nature of unsteady hydrodynamic lift forces on sediment grains and their correlation to sweep and bur...
Influence of molecular geometry, exchange-correlation functional, and solvent effects in the modeling of vertical excitation energies in phthalocyanines using time-dependent density functional theory (TDDFT) and polarized continuum model TDDFT methods: can modern computational chemistry methods explain experimental controversies?

A time-dependent density functional theory (TDDFT) approach coupled with 14 different exchange-correlation functionals was used for the prediction of vertical excitation energies in zinc phthalocyanine (PcZn). In general, the TDDFT approach provides a more accurate description of both visible and ultraviolet regions of the UV−vis and magnetic circular dichroism (MCD) spectra of PcZn in comparison to the more popular semiempirical ZINDO/S and PM3 methods. It was found that the calculated vertical excitation energies of PcZn correlate with the amount of Hartree−Fock exchange involved in the exchange-correlation functional. The correlation was explained on the basis of the calculated difference in energy between occupied and unoccupied molecular orbitals. The influence of PcZn geometry, optimized using different exchange-correlation functionals, on the calculated vertical excitation energies in PcZn was found to be relatively small. The influence of solvents on the calculated vertical excitation energies in ...
LAMP: a tool suite for families of FPGA-based computational accelerators

Field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) are becoming increasingly attractive as computation engines: they are currently being integrated into supercomputers as application accelerators. In order for widespread use of FPGA-based accelerators to be practical, however, design tools must resolve a number of conflicting needs: application-specific tuning versus wide applicability, stability of software investment versus use of the most recent and powerful acceleration hardware, and customization of complex computing structures by end users who lack logic design skills. We describe how the LAMP tools address these conflicts and report performance results from experiments in creating families of application accelerators.
Effects of statin use on muscle strength, cognition, and depressive symptoms in older adults.

OBJECTIVES: To determine the relationship between hydroxymethyl glutaryl coenzyme A reductase inhibitor (statin) use and proximal muscle strength, cognition, and depression in older adults. DESIGN: Observational cohort study. SETTING: Outpatient primary care clinics. PARTICIPANTS: Seven hundred fifty-six communitydwelling veterans aged 65 and older. MEASUREMENTS: Timed chair stands (a measure of proximal muscle strength), Trail Making Test Part B (a measure of cognition), and the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale score were measured at baseline and 1-year follow-up. Participants were assessed for statin prescriptions (and indications for or contraindications to their use), concomitant medication use, comorbidities, and other potential confounders. RESULTS: Statin users (n 5315) took a mean 6.6 medications, versus 4.6 for nonusers (n 5441), and had a median duration of statin use of 727 days. Statin users were more likely to be white and had (as expected) more cardiac, cerebrovascular, and peripheral vascular disease. Based on multivariable models adjusting for pertinent covariates, statin users performed modestly better than nonusers for timed chair stands (� 0.5 seconds; P 5.04), Trail Making Test Part B (� 7.7 seconds; P 5.08), and depression scores (� 0.2 points;P 5.49) at follow-up.Of potentially high-risk participants (based on age, comorbidity, and number of medications), statin users also showed similar 1-year changes as nonusers, although worsened depression scores were found in those with greater comorbidity (10.88 points; P 5.10). CONCLUSION: Older, community-dwelling male participants taking maintenance statin therapy had similar outcomes to those of nonusers in tests of muscle strength, cognition, and depression, but further examination of benefits and harms in different subgroups is warranted. J Am Geriatr Soc 55:420–425, 2007.