cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Application of the Quartic Hard Chain equation of state to polymer mixtures

Abstract The Quartic Hard Chain equation of state proposed by Kubic is a simple model for chain-like molecules. This study considers the application of this equation to polymer solutions. The equation was not found to be a useful predictive model because polymer parameters could not be reliably predicted from pure component properties. However, the equation was found to be a useful empirical form for representing polymer solution data. Because the Quartic Hard Chain equation is applicable to the vapour—liquid equilibria of normal fluids, this method is potentially useful for representing high pressure vapour—liquid equilibria in systems with dissolved polymer.
Defining Self in Kokoschka's Self-Portraits

The literature on Oskar Kokoschka is divided between those scholars who argue for the psychological truth of the artist's self-portraits and those who argue for their fictive artificiality. This debate often hinges upon the pluralistic nature of the artist's self-portraiture. If Kokoschka depicts himself in multiple guises, so the argument goes, how can his art claim to represent the “real” self? This essay contributes to the discussion by introducing current theories about the nature of the self from social psychology into the debate. By relying on the recent distinctions made between the individual, relational, and collective self, as well as the theory of symbolic self-completion, and the dramaturgical aspects certain psychologists discern in everyday behavior, such an interdisciplinary approach allows a more nuanced version of the self to emerge. On this account, the self does betray multiple facets, but those facets may not necessarily unveil hitherto disguised layers of the psyche, as much as the various ways an individual engages in deliberate self-fashioning.
On a cultural psychology of religion: a critical response to Belzen (2010)

In this brief response to Belzen's proposal that the psychology of religion undertakes a cultural approach to its subject matter, I suggest that (1) the psychology of religion is not as a-cultural as suggested by Belzen and (2) a cultural approach has both practical and theoretical liabilities, including the lack of coherence and the inability to identify universals. I then offer a friendly amendment to Belzen's approach, suggesting from a Kuhnian perspective that he presents a cultural approach more in terms of rapprochement with the existing experimental paradigm.
Combustion performance of several nanosilicon-based nanoenergetics

Silicon-based nanoenergetics have great potential due to silicon’s good thermochemical properties, high active content, and surface modification potential. The combustion characteristics of several silicon-based nanoenergetics were studied by performing equilibrium calculations, initial screening tests, and instrumented burn tube experiments. Results of constant pressure equilibrium calculations predicting adiabatic combustion temperatures and volumetric gas production are shown and the mechanisms that produce these results are discussed. For 14 of the 19 Si/oxidizer systems studied, such as Si/perchlorate systems, the predicted maximum adiabatic combustion temperatures are about 3000 K. For the materials considered the highest predicted combustion temperature is for the Si/polytetrafluoroethylene system at 3531 K, whereas the Si/metal oxide systems are predicted to have adiabatic combustion temperatures ranging from 2282 to 2978 K. The dissociation of SiO2 to SiO was observed to limit predicted adiabatic...
High molecular weight poly(vinylene carbonate) and derivatives

The preparation, structure and physical properties of poly(vinylene carbonate), polyhydroxymethylene, and polyacetoxymethylene are discussed. Vinylene carbonate was prepared by chlorinating ethylene carbonate in carbon tetrachloride solution, dehydrohalogenating the product, and refluxing the bulk monomer with small weight percentages of sodium borohydride. Monomer prepared and purified in this way gave very high molecular weight polymer by free-radical initiation. Poly(vinylene carbonate) films were converted to polyhydroxymethylene films by hydrolysis with sodium methylate in methanol. Drawn polyhydroxymethylene films were crystalline and oriented and had good tensile properties. Polyacetoxymethylene was prepared by treatment of polyhydroxymethylene with acetic anhydride in molten urea.
Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for the detection of airborne microorganisms used in biotechnology

Many working environments contain viable and non-viable airborne microorganisms which may cause adverse health effects. Current assay methods rely on culturing techniques which only detect viable microorganisms and so result in underestimates of total concentrations of airborne microorganisms. This study investigated the use of a single antibody sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for rapid, specific detection and enumeration of airborne microorganisms. ELISAs were developed for three microorganisms commonly used in the biotechnology industry (Escherichia coli, Bacillus subtilis and Saccharomyces cerevisiae). These microorganisms were aerosolised and collected with an IOM personal sampler and a glass cyclone sampler. The resultant samples were assayed using the ELISAs. Results were compared to traditional culturing methods and light microscopy. The results indicated that ELISA provides a reliable, relatively rapid, specific and quantitative method for the detection of airborne microorganisms independent of their metabolic state.
Fabrication of Metallic Microstructures Using Exposed, Developed Silver Halide-Based Photographic Film

This paper demonstrates that the pattern of silver particles embedded in the gelatin matrix of exposed and developed silver halide-based photographic film can serve as a template in a broadly applicable method for the microfabrication of metallic microstructures. In this method, a CAD file is reproduced in the photographic film by exposure and developing. The resulting pattern of discontinuous silver grains is augmented and made electrically continuous by electroless deposition of silver, and the electrically continuous structure is then used as the cathode for electrochemical deposition of an additional layer of the same or different metal. The overall process can be completed within 2 h, starting from a CAD file, and can generate electrically continuous structures with the smallest dimension in the plane of the film of ∼30 μm. Structures with aspect ratio of up to 5 can also be obtained by using the metallic structures as photomasks in photolithography using SU-8 photoresist on the top of the electropla...
Ligand-selective receptor conformations revisited: the promise and the problem.

Abstract Ligand-selective receptor conformations introduce the concept of ‘texture' to drug effects, with respect to ligands possessing quality in addition to quantity of efficacy. This cell-dependent phenotypic efficacy extends to ligand properties beyond G-protein signaling and, in terms of drug development, presents a two-edged sword to pharmacologists. On the one hand, such efficacy promises more selective agonism but on the other hand it predicts problems associated with the use of recombinant or natural lead optimization assays as predictors of therapeutic value in humans. In this article, the evidence to suggest that not all agonists produce the same receptor active state is reviewed.
Systolic blood pressure and subjective well-being in patients with coronary artery disease.

Background Limited information exists regarding the association between subjective well-being (SWB) and systolic blood pressure (SBP) among hypertensive patients with coronary artery disease (CAD). Hypothesis We tested the hypothesis that there is an association between SBP and SWB. Methods We studied 22,576 hypertensive CAD patients ≥ 50 years old in the INternational VErapamil SR-Trandolapril Study (INVEST), a randomized, blinded-endpoint trial of antihypertensive therapy in stable CAD patients. At each study visit, patients rated their SWB in the previous 4 weeks as “excellent,” “good,” “fair,” or “poor” prior to SBP recordings. The outcome measure was SWB of “fair” or “poor.” A longitudinal analysis using generalized estimating equations was performed to assess the association between SBP and odds of reporting fair/poor SWB, controlling for baseline SWB of fair/poor and angina reported during the study. Results Patients with higher SBP had higher odds of reporting fair/poor SWB. Specifically, compared with patients with SBP of ≤ 120, patients with SBP 140–150 > 150 − ≤ 160 and > 160 had about 90% and 2.5 times greater odds of feeling fair/poor, respectively (adjusted odds ratio [OR]: 1.5990, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.81–2.00 and adjusted OR: 2.53, 95% CI: 2.41–2.66). Those who reported angina in the 4 wks prior to a protocol visit had 2.2 times greater odds of reporting fair/poor SWB (adjusted OR: 2.2, 95% CI: 2.13–2.27). Female gender, black race, history of smoking, diabetes, myocardial infarction, stroke, and cancer also increased the odds of reporting fair/poor SWB. Conclusions Among hypertensive CAD patients, higher on-treatment SBP is associated with greater odds of fair/poor SWB during follow-up. Copyright © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Epidemiology of Diphtheria in San Antonio, Tex, 1970

In 1970, 196 diphtheria cases were reported from San Antonio, Tex. Rates were highest for children 5 to 14 years old. The rate for blacks and Chicanos was 12.5 times as high as that for Anglos. The incidence rate for the upper 25% of the population by socioeconomic status was 5.6 cases per 100,000; for the lower 25% it was 62 cases per 100,000. Mass immunization programs conducted at the peak of the epidemic were not associated with a prompt reduction in incidence. Forty-seven years after the introduction of diphtheria toxoid, substantial segments of the United States population are still not immunized against diphtheria. Until diphtheria toxoid immunization can be made truly "routine" for all segments of the population, it is likely that sporadic large outbreaks of diphtheria will continue to occur in the United States.
Incorporating consensus and conflict into the legitimacy of law

Recent research on the legitimacy of law is dominated by the confirmed effect of procedural justice on views of legitimacy. The procedural justice research, however, neglects the substantive component of law and how that substance may conflict with value systems of the various subcultures that constitute a complex society. This paper reviews classic and contemporary theory, as well as supporting empirical criminological research, in order to argue that views of the legitimacy of a given law can also be affected by such conflicting value sets. Allotting subculture a central influence, a model is proposed that integrates a sociological conception of the legitimacy of law with the existing research from psychology on procedural justice.
Intestinal epithelial cells mediate lung injury after ethanol exposure and hypoxic insult.

Background:Alcohol (EtOH) use may potentiate acute lung injury and development of acute respiratory distress syndrome in patients with shock or sepsis. Gut ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) episodes are common in these settings and may have systemic effects. Human pulmonary microvascular endothelial cells
Trans-synaptic regulation of tyrosine hydroxylase in adrenal medulla: Possible role of cyclic nucleotides

Publisher Summary This chapter describes a study analyzing possible role of cyclic nucleotides in transsynaptic regulation of tyrosine hydroxylase in adrenal medulla. This study examined the changes of medullary guanosine 3,5′-monophosphate (cGMP) concentrations at various times during exposure of rats at 4°C. It was found that the concentrations of cGMP progressively decline during cold exposure to a minimal level which is about 30% of that prior to cold exposure. The chapter reports the concentrations in adrenal medulla of adenosine 3′,5′-monophosphate (cAMP) and cGMP at 24 min after various stimuli inducing TH activity. It is found that three different inducing stimuli all cause an increase of the cAMP/cGMP concentration ratios greater than 7-fold. However, the effect of the various stimuli on medullary cGMP concentrations is not uniform; exposure to 4°C decreases cGMP concentrations, whereas aminophylline and carbamylcholine increase its concentrations. The chapter highlights that a regulation through an action on phosphodiesterases cannot be excluded for aminophylline and carbamylcholine, but could be ruled out for exposure to 4°C. Because the latter represents a physiological event, it is suggested that phosphodiesterase may not be involved in the regulation of the synaptic transaction.
The Role of Lipid Peroxidation in Kwashiorkor Syndrome 147

Background: The Kwashiorkor syndrome is a form of protein-energy malnutrition (PEM) characterized by generalized oedema, skin and hair changes, neurologic abnormalities and fatty liver. It has been postulated that the sudden onset is due to lipid peroxidation (LPO).
A Theory of Job Shopping

I. Introduction, 261.—II. The basic model—risk neutrality, 262.—III. Mobility cost, 268.—IV. Education, 270.—V. Extensions of the basic model, 272.—VI. Empirical applications, 274.
Mass Spectra of Some Simple Esters and Their Interpretation by Quasi‐Equilibrium Theory

Mass spectra and appearance potential data are reported for normal and isotopically labeled methyl formate, methyl acetate, and ethyl formate, and reaction mechanisms are proposed for the production of the spectra. The data are analyzed from the standpoint of the quasi‐equilibrium theory of Eyring and co‐workers. For the data from 70‐volt ionizing electrons, frequency factors can be adjusted so that the calculated patterns agree well with the experimental data. These frequency factors seem qualitatively satisfactory although there are some difficulties with the values for some of the rearrangements and hydrogen abstraction processes. However the theory is clearly inadequate at lower ionizing voltages. The probable explanation is that the electronic states are in narrow bands which do not overlap, so that at low voltages a portion of the ionic fragments are produced by direction dissociation, without the redistribution of energy which is required by the quasi‐equilibrium theory.
Justice in the family : A defence of feminist contractarianism

Jean Hampton argues that we can detect exploitation in personal relationships by thinking about what we would agree to were we to set aside the emotional benefits we receive from those relationships. Hampton calls her account "feminist contractarianism," but it has recently been critiqued as decidedly un-feminist, on the grounds that it is hostile to women's interests and women's values. Furthermore, Hampton's requirement that we imaginatively distance ourselves from our emotional connections to our loved ones - the key element in her contractarian test - is simply ad hoc. In this essay, I will evaluate these objections and offer a new justification for Hampton's test. I conclude that feminist contractarianism is not only a useful tool for detecting exploitation in the family, it is also deserving of its feminist label.
Uterine metabolism of the pregnant guinea pig as a function of gestational age.

ABSTRACT. During the last half of pregnancy, the fetal guinea pig grows exponentially at 7.1%/day. In order to define the metabolic requirements of the gravid uterus during this period of rapid growth, catheters were placed in the femoral artery and uterine vein of guinea pigs at gestational ages ranging from 40 days to term (68 days). The animals were studied in the unstressed state after full recovery from surgery and anesthesia. Arterial and venous concentrations of oxygen, glucose, lactate, acetoacetate, β-hydroxybutyrate, and acetate were measured, and metabolic quotients and coefficients of extraction were calculated. The glucose/oxygen quotient did not change significantly in the last half of pregnancy averaging 1.26, while the lactate/oxygen quotient remained unchanged at −0.42, and the (glucose + lactate)/oxygen quotient remained unchanged at 0.82. Coefficients of extraction of glucose and oxygen increased linearly with gestational age. The increase in supply of substrates for the rapid growth of the conceptus toward the end of gestation is accounted for by increasing extraction of substrate and by greatly increasing blood flow with increasing gestation. While glucose remains the major metabolic fuel of the guinea pig conceptus and acetate is consistently taken up by the uterus, these substrates alone cannot account for the metabolic fate of the oxygen taken up and fall far short of the predicted nutritional requirements of the fetus for both oxidative metabolism and growth.
Synthetic fuel production in prewar and world war II Japan: A case study in technological failure

Summary Japan is a country largely lacking supplies of many essential natural resources including petroleum, coal, and iron ore. As her industrial base and economy expanded during the 1920s and 1930s, Japan's dependence on imports of these resources became increasingly evident. The onset of the Depression in the 1930s further threatened Japan's lifeline, and, in an effort to become economically independent and self-sufficient in natural resources (autarky), Japan's militaristic government pursued a policy of territorial expansion. Beginning in 1937, Japan's military forces swept out of Manchuria into China and then into Southeast Asia in search of strategic materials such as petroleum, coal, copper, zinc, and rubber. To achieve independence in petroleum, the Japanese developed a dual approach: they would acquire natural petroleum sources in Southeast Asia and at the same time establish a synthetic fuel industry for the conversion of coal to oil. Actually, the Japanese had begun research on synthetic fuel ...
Troubadours in Debate: The Breviari d'Amor

Abstract Matfre Ermengaud's thirteenth-century Occitan encyclopedia, the Breviari d'Amor, concludes with a treatise on courtly love, the “Perilhos tractat d'amor de donas segon que han tractat li antic trobador en lors cansos.” In this treatise, the chief figures of courtly love—the lovers, ladies, troubadours, and maldizen, with Matfre as narrator and participant—dispute key tenets of love, quoting frequently from numerous troubadour lyrics in order to prove their arguments. In fact, the “Perilhos tractat” presents quotations of troubadour lyric in a disputative manner so as to highlight the troubadours as themselves in debate, although the Breviari purports to be structured by the overarching principle of love dictated by the visual mnemonic metaphor of the Tree of Love. This study examines the quotations of the troubadour lyrics here as dialectical, then, rather than as expressing and confirming a unitary vision of Natural Love. The “Perilhos tractat” is a debate not simply on love but also on the unde...
“Talents Committed to Your Care”: Reading and Writing Radical Abolitionism in Antebellum America

Abstract Through an analysis of words and images as they moved through material production, circulation, and reception, the essay explores the literary and pictorial practices of African American women who, at sites ranging from oral to scribal to print, forged discursive communities engaged in social and moral reform, especially radical abolitionism.
Bacillus subtilis expressing a haemolysin gene from Listeria monocytogenes can grow in mammalian cells

INTRACELLULAR parasites can be classified into those that reside within a host vacuole and those which grow directly in the host cytoplasm1. Members of the latter group, which includes Rickettsia2, Shigellae3, Trypanosoma cruzi4, and Listeria monocytogenes5,6, possess haemolytic activity associated with the ability to enter the host cytoplasm5–7. Therefore mutants of L. monocytogenes lacking a pore-forming haemolysin, listeriolysin O, do not escape from the endosomal compartment5,6 and consequently fail to become established in the cytoplasm5,8,9. To examine the role of listeriolysin O, we cloned the structural gene for the L. monocytogenes haemolysin, hlyA, into an asporogenic mutant of Bacillus subtilis under the control of an IPTG-inducible promoter10. After being internalized by the macrophage-like cell line J774, haemolytic B. subtilis disrupted the phagosomal membrane and grew rapidly within the macrophage cytoplasm. These results show that a single gene product is sufficient to convert a common soil bacterium into a parasite that can grow in the cytoplasm of a mammalian cell.
Xenopus laevis ovarian CYP17 is a highly potent enzyme expressed exclusively in oocytes. Evidence that oocytes play a critical role in Xenopus ovarian androgen production.

Abstract Progesterone has long been considered the primary mediator of Xenopus oocyte maturation. We have recently shown, however, that androgens, which are equal or more potent promoters of maturation and are present at higher levels in ovulating frogs, may also be playing an important physiologic role in mediating maturation. Here, we examined the role of CYP17, a key enzyme mediating sex steroid synthesis, in Xenopus ovarian androgen production. We found that the 17,20-lyase activities ofXenopus CYP17 exceeded the 17α-hydroxylase activities in both the Δ4 and Δ5 pathways; thus, Xenopus CYP17 rapidly converted pregnenolone and progesterone to dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) and androstenedione, respectively. This remarkably robust activity exceeds that of CYP17 from most higher vertebrates, and likely explains why virtually no progesterone is detected in ovulating frogs. Additionally, ovarian CYP17 activity was present exclusively in oocytes, although all other enzymes involved in sex steroid production were expressed almost entirely in surrounding follicular cells. This compartmentalization suggests a “two-cell” model whereby Xenopus ovarian androgen production requires both follicular cells and oocytes themselves. The requirement of oocytes for ovarian androgen production further introduces the unusual paradigm whereby germ cells may be responsible for producing important steroids used to mediate their own maturation.
Relationships between Transforming Growth Factor-β1, Myostatin, and Decorin IMPLICATIONS FOR SKELETAL MUSCLE FIBROSIS

Recent studies have shown that myostatin, first identified as a negative regulator of skeletal muscle growth, may also be involved in the formation of fibrosis within skeletal muscle. In this study, we further explored the potential role of myostatin in skeletal muscle fibrosis, as well as its interaction with both transforming growth factor-beta1 and decorin. We discovered that myostatin stimulated fibroblast proliferation in vitro and induced its differentiation into myofibroblasts. We further found that transforming growth factor-beta1 stimulated myostatin expression, and conversely, myostatin stimulated transforming growth factor-beta1 secretion in C2C12 myoblasts. Decorin, a small leucine-rich proteoglycan, was found to neutralize the effects of myostatin in both fibroblasts and myoblasts. Moreover, decorin up-regulated the expression of follistatin, an antagonist of myostatin. The results of in vivo experiments showed that myostatin knock-out mice developed significantly less fibrosis and displayed better skeletal muscle regeneration when compared with wild-type mice at 2 and 4 weeks following gastrocnemius muscle laceration injury. In wild-type mice, we found that transforming growth factor-beta1 and myostatin co-localize in myofibers in the early stages of injury. Recombinant myostatin protein stimulated myofibers to express transforming growth factor-beta1 in skeletal muscles at early time points following injection. In summary, these findings define a fibrogenic property of myostatin and suggest the existence of co-regulatory relationships between transforming growth factor-beta1, myostatin, and decorin.
Performance of hybrid occulters using apodized pupil Lyot coronagraphy

The internal coronagraph and the external occulter have both been proposed for imaging extrasolar planets; each has its own strengths and weaknesses. Internal coronagraphs require very accurate wavefront control, while occulters require accurate positioning and alignment, and a precisely manufactured shape. A hybrid occulter, which combines the two technologies, ideally reduces the tolerances on each, making both sytems more manufacturable. Our hybrid occulter concept combines the apodized pupil Lyot coronagraph with an external occulter. We present a number of designs which cover a wide span of suppression levels, and give a framework for creating further families of occulters with desired potential science bandwidths, occulter angular sizes, and diameters of the telescope secondary. All of these designs are capable of reaching 10 10 contrast over their entire spectrum of design. We also characterize the edge tolerances required for both systems.
Underwater sensor deployment using an evolutionary algorithm

Underwater sensor deployment is a significant challenge due to the inherent difficulties posed by the underwater channel in terms of sensing and communications between sensors. In addition, monetary constraints arising from the cost of sensors and deploying them, limit the number of available sensors. As a result, these sensors must be deployed as efficiently as possible. This work presents the Underwater Sensor Deployment Evolutionary Algorithm (USDEA), which uses environmental data and several factors not simultaneously considered, due to the ensuing complexity, including sensing and communications range, to generate highly capable underwater sensor fields. Tradeoffs in field sensing capabilities are shown through a simulation study for two popular sensor network topologies, mesh and cluster.
High-Q resonators on Bi-layer Si platform using wafer bonding

We report the development of a high quality bi-layer silicon material platform using wafer bonding. We have experimentally demonstrated high quality-factor resonators (>200,000) in this material platform for both TE and TM polarizations.
Speech breathing in children and adolescents

An investigation was conducted to elucidate the nature of speech breathing in children and adolescents and to determine if sex and age influence performance. Eighty healthy boys and girls represent...
On Hylemorphism and Personal Identity

Abstract: There is no such thing as ‘the’ hylemorphic account of personal identity. There are several views that count as hylemorphic, and these views can be grouped into two main families—the corruptionist view, and the survivalist view. The differentiating factor is that the corruptionist view holds that the persistence of the soul is not sufficient for the persistence of the person, while the survivalist view holds that the persistence of the soul is sufficient for the persistence of the person. In this paper, I argue that hylemorphists should prefer the corruptionist view. This project ought to be of interest to anyone working on issues of personal identity, not only because hylemorphic views are historically important, but also because they are currently receiving significant attention in the personal identity literature.
Genetic Associations of Brain Structural Networks in Schizophrenia: A Preliminary Study

Background Schizophrenia is a complex genetic disorder, with multiple putative risk genes and many reports of reduced cortical gray matter. Identifying the genetic loci contributing to these structural alterations in schizophrenia (and likely also to normal structural gray matter patterns) could aid understanding of schizophrenia's pathophysiology. We used structural parameters as potential intermediate illness markers to investigate genomic factors derived from single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) arrays. Method We used research quality structural magnetic resonance imaging (sMRI) scans from European American subjects including 33 healthy control subjects and 18 schizophrenia patients. All subjects were genotyped for 367 SNPs. Linked sMRI and genetic (SNP) components were extracted to reveal relationships between brain structure and SNPs, using parallel independent component analysis, a novel multivariate approach that operates effectively in small sample sizes. Results We identified an sMRI component that significantly correlated with a genetic component ( r = −.536, p p Conclusions Despite the small sample size, this novel analysis method identified an sMRI component including brain areas previously reported to be abnormal in schizophrenia and an associated genetic component containing several putative schizophrenia risk genes. Thus, we identified multiple genes potentially underlying specific structural brain abnormalities in schizophrenia.
Comparison of the effect of temperature on kidney cortex mitochondria from rabbit, dog, pig, and human: Arrhenius plots of ADP-stimulated respiration.

Abstract The effect of temperature on the rate of ADP-stimulated respiration of mitochondria from dog, rabbit, pig, and human kidney cortex mitochondria was plotted according to the Arrhenius relationship. The temperature at which the plot demonstrated a break was at 15 °C for mitochondria from dog, pig, and human kidneys. The discontinuity occurred at 10 °C or less for mitochondria from rabbit kidneys. This difference suggests that mitochondria from rabbit kidneys undergo a lipid-phase transition at lower temperatures than for other species commonly used in experimental renal preservation. The implications of this difference suggest caution in using results obtained with rabbit kidneys for comparison to results obtained from hypothermic renal preservation of other species kidneys. Apparent fluidization of dog kidney mitochondrial membranes with adamantine abolished the discontinuity in the Arrhenius plot.
Hypothermia after acute ethanol and benzyl alcohol administration.

Abstract The acute administration of ethanol like other CNS depressing drugs, lowers body temperatures in mice. Therefore many of the biological effects attributed to ethanol itself may be secondary to hypothermia. The degree of hypothermia was dose dependent and ranged from 1.5 C after 1.9 g/kg to 4.5°C after 5.7 g/kg body weight. This effect was independent of the route of administration (oral, intraperitoneal), the temperature of the administered solutions and the tonicity (0.9% sodium chloride). Hypothermia was prevented by elevating environmental temperatures. Benzyl alcohol which is widely used as preservative in parenteral solutions also has a behaviorally sedating and hypothermic effect.
d-Valine medium maintains prolactin production in primary culture

Abstract Prolactin secretion by bovine pituitary cells in l -valine-containing medium decreases ~ 96% from day 3 to day 11 of culture. We hypothesized that this decrease was caused by overgrowth of these cultures by fibroblasts. Our present objective was to maintain the synthesis and secretion of PRL by bovine pituitary cells in culture. We attempted this by growing pituitary cells in d -valine-containing medium to achieve selective suppression of fibroblast growth. Substitution of d -valine for l -valine in Earle's or Swim's medium resulted in undiminished PRL synthesis and release over a 30-day culture period. In contrast, comparable measures for cells maintained in medium with l -valine decreased more than 90% from day 5 to day 20 of culture and remained low thereafter. Cells cultured in medium containing d -valine retained their ability to release PRL in response to thyrotropin-releasing hormone throughout the 30-day culture period, although there was a decrease in magnitude of response with time. Similarly, estradiol increased PRL release by pituitary cells maintained in d -valine, but this stimulatory effect was no longer demonstrable by day 20 of culture. The amount of growth hormone (GH) and luteinizing hormone (LH) released into the medium decreased with time and this decrease was independent of the valine isomer contained in the medium. We conclude that substituting d -valine for l -valine in culture medium allows PRL synthesis and release to persist undiminished for at least 30 days in culture.
Effects of dynorphin (1-8) on movement: non-opiate effects and structure-activity relationship

Abstract Cell bodies in the head of the caudate nucleus that synthesize prodynorphin peptides form a substantial projection to the substantia nigra pars reticulata (SNR). The discovery of this pathway suggested an involvement of prodynorphin products in motor control. The effects of unilateral nigral microinjections of prodynorphin products were tested in an in vivo circling model. Dynorphin (1–8), dynorphin (1–7), dynorphin (1–6), dynorphin (2–17) (des-Tyr-dynorphin), and Leu-enkephalin induced spontaneous contralateral circling at 20 nmol doses. The effect of dynorphin (1–8) was dose dependent and was not blocked by pretreatment with naloxone or WIN 44,441-3. These findings clearly demonstrate the dynorphinergic involvement in nigral motor control which may consist of an opioid and a non-opioid component.
Homotaurine: A GABA agonist with anticonvulsant effects

Abstract Electrophysiological, biochemical and pharmacological data suggest that an impairment of inhibitory systems contribute to the generation of epileptiform activity of both interictal and ictal type within epileptic foci. Homotaurine, (3 aminopropanesulfonic acid, 3-APS) is a synthetic analog of GABA with powerful depressant action on central neurons. Systemic administration of 3-APS is capable of antagonizing the epileptogenic spiking activity of neocortical foci induced by Penicillin and conjugated estrogens in cats. Pretreatment with subcute 3-APS for 3 days also blocks the convulsant and cytotoxic effects of intraperitoneal injected Kainic Acid in rats. Systemically injected 3-APS potentiates a feline model of cortico-reticular epilepsy of Petit Mal type. Often compounds with suspected GABAmimetic properties, also activate or induce ex novo various models of bilaterally synchronous S-W discharges. Until data on the behavior of 3-APS in relation to the blood brain barrier becomes available the central action observed upon systemic administration of 3-APS can not be ascribed with certainty to 3-APS itself.
Building penetration loss at 900 MHz

Building penetration loss was measured at 937 MHz in an urban environment using a new method which unlike previous methods takes into account many of the variables present in an actual portable radio system. A 900 MHz portable transceiver was used to transmit a signal to a calibrated receiver connected to a 8.5 dB gain base station antenna. Measurements were made in buildings of the class 1 type (greater than 100' x 100' or higher than 4 floors). The buildings varied in age from 1 to 50 years. A comparison was made between signal strengths at the same height inside and outside the building, as well as comparing outside street level signals with signals in the building at different floor levels. Conclusions are drawn as to the effects of height above street level, type of building construction, and outside environment with respect to the base station, on building penetration loss.
Inhibition of cytoplasmic antigen, glucose- 6-phosphate dehydrogenase, by VH-CH1, an intracellular Fd fragment antibody derived from a semisynthetic Fd fragment phage display library.

A library of Fd fragment antibody binding proteins was created by random mutation of 15 nucleotides within the CDRIII region of the immunoglobulin heavy chain gene and displayed as Fd coat protein fusion constructs of M13 phage. The library was screened for those VHbinding sites that bound glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD). One isolate (DH27bp) inhibited G6PD activity by 85 %. The DH27bpgene was re-engineered, placed in a eukaryotic expression vector having an isopropyl-beta-delta-thiogalactopyranoside (IPTG) inducible promoter, and transfected and then expressed in Chinese hamster V79 cells. G6PD activity was completely inhibited. Removal of IPTG reverted the cell to full G6PD activity. The intracellular dynamics of the G6PD/DH27bpcomplex showed that when the proteasomes of cells expressing DH27bpwere inhibited (N -acetyl-Leu-Leu-norleucinal or lactacystin) G6PD activity increased. Metabolic labelling of newly synthesized IPTG-induced proteins during/absence of proteasomal inhibitors showed that both G6PD and DH27bpare signaled for degradation when the intracellular complex is formed. Furthermore, semi-quantitative RT/PCR demonstrated that G6PD mRNA is upregulated over the time course of G6PD inactivation by DH27bpFd binding protein. These effects were not observed in those cells expressing a non-mutated Fd (UMHC) or in IPTG-treated non-transduced V79 cells. Our results demonstrate that an Fd-based intracellular binding protein can find and disable the function of a specific intracellular target and once the Fd expression is repressed the activity of intracellular targeted protein can revert to normal.
Screening colonoscopy in asymptomatic average-risk African Americans

Abstract Background: Recent data indicate that colorectal cancer incidence and mortality in white Americans have been declining since 1985 at a rate of 2% to 3% per year. In African Americans, however, mortality from colorectal cancer appears to be increasing. We sought to evaluate the prevalence of colonic neoplasia in asymptomatic African Americans. Methods: We performed a cross-sectional colonoscopy screening study to determine the prevalence of colonic neoplasia in asymptomatic African Americans older than 50 years of age. Results: One hundred sixty-six subjects were evaluated for the study of whom 121 (69 women) were deemed to be asymptomatic average-risk persons and completed colonoscopy. Forty-two individuals (35%) had a total of 72 adenomas (67 tubular and 5 tubulovillous); 47 (65.3%) of these were proximal to the splenic flexure. Three subjects had an adenoma 1 cm or greater in diameter and none had severe dysplasia. Conclusions: The overall prevalence of adenomas in asymptomatic average-risk African Americans was comparable to that of previously described populations. The predominance of right-sided adenomas in this study confirms previous findings and is an area requiring further study. Until this issue is resolved, we suggest the use of colonoscopy rather than sigmoidoscopy for screening for colorectal neoplasia in asymptomatic, average-risk African Americans. (Gastrointest Endosc 2000;51:524-7.)
Archaeology, Anthropology, and the Culture Concept

The culture concept has been central to anthropology since the formational period of the discipline. Yet for much of the discipline's history it was used without explicit definition. Recent attempts to define it have yielded a range of varied formulations in the subdisciplines of archaeology and sociocultural anthropology. Does this mean that the center of anthropology—shared belief in a unified culture concept—has been destroyed? Quite the opposite, the author concludes—the debate has yielded benefits.
Creativity in Comic Strip Authors1

The Remote Associates Test of creativity was administered to 17 comic strip authors. These men obtained a higher mean score than any sample tested to date, including research scientists, psychology graduate students, and engineers.
Virus et auto-immunité

Les virus sont depuis longtemps associes aux maladies auto-immunes. Plusieurs mecanismes ont ete proposes pour expliquer comment une infection virale peut annuler la tolerance immunitaire et initier un processus autoreactif specifique d'organe. Nous discutons deux mecanismes potentiels d'initiation virale de l'autoimmunite, le mimetisme moleculaire et l'inflammation locale accompagnee d'activation. Ils jouent un role central dans le developpement de l'auto-immunite et ne sont pas mutuellement exclusifs, ce qui leur permet une contribution individuelle a la maladie.Des arguments recents suggerent un role supplementaire des virus dans la reactivation et la chronicite des maladies auto-immunes.
The Biomechanical Response of Normal and Glaucoma Human Sclera

By 2010, 60 million people will have glaucoma, the second leading cause of blindness worldwide [1]. The disease is characterized by a progressive degeneration of the retinal ganglion cells (RGC), a type of neuron that transmits visual information to the brain. It is well know that elevated intraocular pressure (IOP) is a risk factor in the damage to the RGCs [3–5], but the relationship between the mechanical properties of the ocular connective tissue and how it affects cellular function is not well characterized. The cornea and the sclera are collage-rich structures that comprise the outer load-bearing shell of the eye. Their preferentially aligned collagen lamellae provide mechanical strength to resist ocular expansion. Previous uniaxial tension studies suggest that altered viscoelastic material properties of the eye wall play a role in glaucomatous damage [6].Copyright © 2010 by ASME
Protein breakdown in muscle from burned rats is blocked by insulin-like growth factor i and glycogen synthase kinase-3beta inhibitors.

We reported previously that IGF-I inhibits burn-induced muscle proteolysis. Recent studies suggest that activation of the phosphotidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K)/Akt signaling pathway with downstream phosphorylation of Forkhead box O transcription factors is an important mechanism of IGF-I-induced anabolic effects in skeletal muscle. The potential roles of other mechanisms in the anabolic effects of IGF-I are less well understood. In this study we tested the roles of mammalian target of rapamycin and glycogen synthase kinase-3β (GSK-3β) phosphorylation as well as MAPK- and calcineurin-dependent signaling pathways in the anticatabolic effects of IGF-I by incubating extensor digitorum longus muscles from burned rats in the presence of IGF-I and specific signaling pathway inhibitors. Surprisingly, the PI3K inhibitors LY294002 and wortmannin reduced basal protein breakdown. No additional inhibition by IGF-I was noticed in the presence of LY294002 or wortmannin. Inhibition of proteolysis by IGF-I was associated w...
Renovation of Mercy Family Health Center

Abstract The design of healthcare facilities has to provide a comfortable environment for the patient as well as acceptable waiting and processing times to serve the patient. In this paper, we redesign the layout of a real world healthcare facility (Mercy Family Health Center) to explicitly reduce the back and forth flow of the patients in the existing area and consequently reduce the patient's waiting time. We propose two different alternatives. We use mixed integer programming (MIP) as the basis of our design.
RACE AND RELIGION IN THE BIBLE BELT: PARENTAL ATTITUDES TOWARD INTERFAITH RELATIONSHIPS

This study examines the racial and religious differences in parental attitudes toward interfaith relationships in the Bible Belt region of the United States. Using data from the 2007 Georgia Southwestern Omnibus Community Survey, we explore attitudes toward interfaith unions and whether opposition becomes stronger as the union becomes more intimate. We utilize marriage market theory and third party influence to explain subjective parental attitudes toward the interfaith unions of their children. We employ a tolerance scale and logistic regression to predict the racial, religious, and cultural differences in opposition toward interfaith friendship, dating, and marriage. Results indicate that religious importance is a more significant predictor of interfaith opposition than religious affiliation. In addition, white parents exhibit greater opposition toward interfaith dating and marriage than black parents. Overall, the level of opposition toward interfaith unions increases as the relationship becomes more i...
A New Approach for Perineural Injection of the Lateral Palmar Nerve in the Horse

Objective— To evaluate the accuracy of a new technique for perineural injection of the lateral palmar nerve and to determine frequency of inadvertent injection into the carpal synovial sheath with this technique. Study Design— Prospective experimental study. Animals— Thirty equine cadaver forelimbs. Methods— Each of 3 clinicians injected 0.5 mL of a 1% aqueous solution of new methylene blue as a marker at the medial aspect of the accessory carpal bone of 10 limbs. Immediately after each injection, the lateral palmar nerve was identified by dissection of and inspected for proximity of dye, and the carpal synovial sheath was inspected for the presence of dye. Results— New methylene blue solution was observed to surround the nerve (29 limbs) or to lie within 2 mm of it (1 limb). Dye was not found in the carpal synovial sheath of any specimen. Conclusions— Using this technique, perineural injection of the lateral palmar nerve can be consistently achieved, and the carpal synovial sheath is unlikely to be penetrated by the needle during the procedure. Clinical Relevance— The technique described provides an accurate and simple method for perineural injection of the lateral palmar nerve proximal to the origin of its deep branch. This technique can be used to anesthetize the lateral palmar nerve for diagnosis of pain originating in the palmaroproximal aspect of the metacarpus without risk of inadvertently desensitizing structures within the carpal synovial sheath.
Image Registration Error Variance as a Measure of Overlay Quality

When one image (the sigal) is to be registered with a second image (the signal plus noise) of the same scene, one would like to know the accuracy possible for this registration. This paper derives an estimate of the variance of the registration error that can be expected via two approaches. The solution in each instance is found to be a function of the effective bandwidth of the signal and the noise, and the signal-to-noise ratio. Application of these results to LANDSAT-1 data indicates that for most cases registration variances will be significantly less than the diameter of one picture element.
Debt relief under the HIPC initiative: Context and outlook for debt sustainability and resource flows

This paper analyses debt relief efforts by creditors to alleviate the debt burden of low-income countries. The Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative builds on traditional debt relief, and for the first time involves relief on multilateral debt
Measuring social support in patients with advanced medical illnesses: An analysis of the Duke-UNC Functional Social Support Questionnaire.

Objective To date, no measure of social support has been developed specifically for either palliative care or oncology settings. The present study examined the psychometric properties of the Duke-University of North Carolina Functional Social Support Questionnaire (DUFSS) in order to (1) assess the adequacy of the scale in the context of severe medical illness and (2) evaluate whether a brief subset of items might generate roughly comparable utility. Method The 14-item DUFSS was administered to 1,362 individuals with advanced cancer or AIDS. Classical test theory (CTT) and item response theory (IRT) analyses were utilized to develop an abbreviated version of the DUFSS that maintained adequate reliability and validity and might increase the feasibility of its administration in a palliative care setting. The reliability and concurrent validity of the DUFSS-5 were evaluated in a separate validation sample of patients with advanced cancer. Results Analyses generated a five-item version of the DUFSS (the DUFSS-5) that collapsed response levels into only three options, instead of five. Correlations between the DUFSS-5 and measures of depression, quality of life, and desire for hastened death, as well as regression models testing the main-effect and buffering models of social support, provided support for the utility of the DUFSS-5. Significance of results Both the DUFSS and the abbreviated DUFSS-5 appear to have adequate reliability and validity in this setting. Moreover, the DUFSS-5 represents a potentially important option for healthcare researchers, particularly for those working in palliative care settings where issues of patient burden are paramount. Such analyses are critical for advancing the development and refinement of psychosocial measures, but have often been neglected.