cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The effect of bilingualism on cognitive ability: A test of the level of bilingualism hypothesis

Does bilingualism facilitate the development of cognitive abilities, and if so, how? According to the level of bilingualism hypothesis (Diaz, 1983), only in the early stages of second language acquisition does bilingualism foster cognitive ability. This hypothesis was tested on a sample of 3rd and 4th grade Mexican Spanish-English bilinguals with low English proficiency. Knowledge of Spanish and English in phonology, vocabulary, and syntax was measured. Nonverbal general intelligence was assessed with the Raven Colored Progressive Matrices, and verbal intelligence was assessed with a subtest of the Woodcock Language Proficiency Battery. No relationship was found between degree of bilingualism and nonverbal intelligence, contrary to the level of bilingualism hypothesis. The results suggest that the effects of bilingualism on cognitive development are not solely dependent on the level of second language proficiency.
Measurements of precipitation particles in warm cumuli over Southeast Texas

Abstract Precipitation particles >250 μ were sampled in the upper regions of warm cumuli over southeast Texas using a foil-belt particle sampler. It was found that relatively high concentrations of drops can occur. Concentrations exceeding 1000 m−3 were found in nearly 25% of the clouds. Drop sizes 1 mm in diameter were found fairly often, and 2-mm drops were occasionally sampled. The effect of cloud height on the precipitation characteristics was found to be quite pronounced. Higher concentrations and broader distributions generally were found in the tallest clouds. The height of clouds plays a more important role in determining drop concentration and size distribution range than do updrafts or downdrafts. In a comparison between concentration of precipitation particles and average cloud water content (CWCm), it was found that large quantities of drops were associated with low CWCm. Conversely, large values of CWCm were associated with small numbers of drops >250 μ in diameter. The 1968 clouds generally ...
Improving Non-CS Major Performance in CS1

At our comprehensive liberal arts college, we offer a 2-credit hour CS1 course for engineering majors that includes all of the standard learning objectives of a typical 4-credit hour course. To help the students learn the course material in this compressed time frame, we switched our programming language from C++ to Python, and we replaced weekly homework assignments with labs and online problem sets. All other factors in the course were unchanged, including instructor, course and weekly learning objectives, tests, grading criteria, pedagogical style, and even textbook (the textbook came in two versions -- a C++ version and a Python version). This transition offered a unique opportunity to observe, compare, and measure student learning outcomes across the two semesters. Our measured results show a moderate but statistically significantly improvement from the semester using C++ and homework assignments to the semester using Python and online problem sets.
Development and Sustainability of Emerging Health Insurance Markets: Evidence from Microinsurance in Pakistan

Despite widespread interest in expanding insurance at the bottom of the economic pyramid, the viability of emerging microinsurance programmes is questioned because of their high loss ratios and doubts about their sustainability. The purpose of this research is to derive implications for the viable provision of products for emerging microinsurers by investigating the degree of sustainability of a micro health insurance programme in its early years of development. Using data from a micro health insurance programme in Pakistan, this paper analyses how claim rates evolve as households renew their policies and finds that households that have larger claims during the policy period are more likely to renew their policies for the next period. Although on the surface that pattern is consistent with adverse selection and decreasing sustainability, it was found instead that when compared with households buying the insurance for the first time, renewed households have significantly lower claim frequency and total claim amounts. Taken together, these results may suggest that there are forces affecting insurance demand for renewed households that may lead to an improved risk portfolio.
The S wave in acute anterior Q-wave myocardial infarction: a study with serial multilead precordial maps and standard ECGs

To investigate the relationship of S waves with R waves and/or Q waves in the ECGs of patients with acute myocardial infarction, 20 patients with anterior Q-wave infarcts had serial 49-lead precordial maps and simultaneously recorded standard ECGs on admission and at 13 predetermined time intervals, extending to their discharge from the hospital. The sums of S waves (sigma S) from ECG leads of both precordial maps and standard ECGs showing ST-segment elevation on admission were correlated with the corresponding sums of R waves (sigma R) and/or Q waves (sigma Q). Correlation of sigma S by the precordial maps and the sigma S by the standard ECG was good (r = 0.88). However, correlation of sigma S with sigma R and sigma Q by both the precordial maps and standard ECG were poor (r values ranged between -0.02 and -0.32). Fair correlations were found between sigma S + sigma Q and the corresponding sigma R by both ECG systems (r = 0.36, precordial map and r = 0.40, standard ECG). The present study demonstrates (1) that precordial (consequently partial) ECG mapping systems have no advantage over standard precordial ECG, and (2) that quantitative data from S waves correlate weakly with similar information from corresponding R waves or Q waves, but fairly with the latter two combined, as recorded by the two ECG systems employed.
Indications for bishydroxycoumarin (dicumarol) in acute myocardial infarction.

Many physicians find it difficult to decide whether or not a patient sustaining a mild episode of acute myocardial infarction should be treated with anticoagulant drugs. The Committee for the Evaluation of Anticoagulants in the Treatment of Coronary Occlusion with Myocardial Infarction (American Heart Association) has recommended the employment of such therapy in patients with this disease, unless contraindications to anticoagulant therapy exist. Data are presented to show that in "good risk" patients treated conservatively without anticoagulants, the mortality rate and incidence of thromboembolism are strikingly low. Consequently, even the maximum benefit theoretically obtainable from the employment of dicumarol in these cases is not sufficient to justify the hazard entailed in its use. It is therefore recommended that anticoagulants be employed only in the more serious attacks of the disease.
School Belonging, Educational Aspirations, and Academic Self-Efficacy Among African American Male High School Students: Implications for School Counselors

While academic self-efficacy is widely considered an individual cognitive variable, it may be influenced by a sense of belonging and connection to others in the school community. Using a correlation and multiple regression design, the study in this article examined the relationship between perceptions of school belonging, educational aspirations, and academic self-efficacy among 40 African American male high school students. Results indicated that feeling encouraged to participate and educational aspirations were significant, positive predictors of academic self-efficacy. Other components of perceptions of school belonging were not significant in predicting academic self-efficacy. Recommendations for future research and practical suggestions for school counselors are discussed.
Cinedefecography and electromyography in the diagnosis of nonrelaxing puborectalis syndrome.

A prospective study was undertaken to assess the correlation between electromyography (EMG) and cinedefecography (CD) for the diagnosis of nonrelaxing puborectalis syndrome (NRPR). Clinical criteria for NRPR included straining, incomplete evacuation, tenesmus, and the need for enemas, suppositories, or digitation. EMG criteria included failure to achieve a significant decrease in electrical activity of the puborectalis (PR) during attempted evacuation. CD criteria included either paradoxical contraction or failure of relaxation of the PR along with incomplete evacuation. In addition, other etiologies for incomplete evacuation, such as rectoanal intussusception or nonemptying rectocele, were excluded by proctoscopy and defecography in all cases. One hundred twelve patients with constipation, 81 females and 31 males, with a mean age of 59 (range, 12–83) years were studied by routine office evaluation, CD, and EMG. Forty-two patients (37 percent) had evidence of NRPR on CD (rectal emptying: none, 24; incomplete, 18). Twenty-eight of these patients (67 percent) also had evidence of NRPR on EMG. EMG findings of NRPR were present in 12 of 70 patients (17 percent) with normal rectal emptying. Conversely, 14 of 72 patients (19 percent) with normal PR relaxation on EMG had an NRPR pattern on CD. The sensitivity and specificity for the EMG diagnosis of NRPR were 67 percent and 83 percent, and the positive and negative predictive values were 70 percent and 80 percent, respectively. Conversely, if EMG is considered as the ideal test for the diagnosis of NRPR, CD had a sensitivity of 70 percent, a specificity of 80 percent, and positive and negative predictive values of 66 percent and 82 percent, respectively. In summary, sensitivity, specificity, and predictive values of EMG and CD are suboptimal. Therefore, a combination of these two tests is suggested for the diagnosis of NRPR.
Spontaneous eye movements in restrained goldfish.

Abstract A new optical method has been used to measure rotatory eye movements in the horizontal plane made by restrained, unanesthetized goldfish. Three kinds of movements are described: the saccade, the stretch and the slow eye movements. The restrained animal spontaneously moves its eyes from side to side, using a series of (usually) unequal binocular saccades. The disconjugate component of these saccades stabilizes the interocular angle, or vergence, near some reference value. The slow movements tend to diminish the vergence, the stretch movements, to increase it.
Rapid regulation of [3H]hemicholinium-3 binding sites in the rat brain

The effects of various drugs known to affect the sodium-dependent high-affinity choline-uptake system (SDHACU) in the brain were examined for their action upon the [3H]hemicholinium-3 [( 3H]HCh-3) binding site, which is associated with the choline carrier. The [3H]HCh-3 binding sites are affected in a similar way to the SDHACU system. Thus, alterations in the velocity of choline-uptake are mediated through changes in the apparent number of available transport sites at cholinergic terminals.
Jesuit Conspirators and Russia’s East Asian Fur Trade, 1791–1807

In 1791, amidst growing anxiety about British encroachment on its fur trade with the Qing Empire, the Russian government discovered that Britain was sending a large and important embassy to Beijing, led by Lord Macartney. In an attempt to derail the negotiations, Russia enrolled the Polotsk Jesuits in a plot to convince the Qing of the nefariousness of British designs. The conspiracy was not a success, despite Macartney’s failure. The Jesuits both in Belarus and Beijing continued to play a central role in Russia’s geopolitical plans in the region for the next decade and a half, although ultimately the project to establish a Russian Jesuit college in the Qing capital failed. Using Russian as well as Jesuit archival sources, the article reconstructs the secret plans, mishaps, and miscalculations that shaped this unusual relationship.
Land cover classification and change analysis of the Twin Cities (Minnesota) Metropolitan Area by multitemporal Landsat remote sensing

The importance of accurate and timely information describing the nature and extent of land resources and changes over time is increasing, especially in rapidly growing metropolitan areas. We have developed a methodology to map and monitor land cover change using multitemporal Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) data in the seven-county Twin Cities Metropolitan Area of Minnesota for 1986, 1991, 1998, and 2002. The overall seven-class classification accuracies averaged 94% for the four years. The overall accuracy of land cover change maps, generated from post-classification change detection methods and evaluated using several approaches, ranged from 80% to 90%. The maps showed that between 1986 and 2002 the amount of urban or developed land increased from 23.7% to 32.8% of the total area, while rural cover types of agriculture, forest and wetland decreased from 69.6% to 60.5%. The results quantify the land cover change patterns in the metropolitan area and demonstrate the potential of multitemporal Landsat data to provide an accurate, economical means to map and analyze changes in land cover over time that can be used as inputs to land management and policy decisions.
Impact of HPV infection in adolescent populations

Human papillomavirus (HPV) is a significant source of morbidity and mortality worldwide. The primary risk factors for acquiring HPV are generally associated with sexual activity. Evidence suggests that condoms provide some protection against infection and disease progression, but any genital contact is sufficient for HPV transmission. HPV is so common and transmissible that having just one sexual partner often results in infection. Indeed, cumulative prevalence rates are as high as 82% among adolescent women in select populations. As such, nearly all sexually active adolescents are at high risk for acquiring HPV. Persistent infection with high-risk HPV types (e.g., HPV 16 or 18) is considered necessary for the development of cervical cancer, whereas infection with low-risk HPV types (e.g., HPV 6 or 11) is associated with the development of genital warts and other low-grade genital abnormalities. Most infections are asymptomatic and are efficiently cleared by the immune system. Similarly, both low- and high-grade lesions caused by HPV can regress in adolescent and young adult women. Treatment guidelines allow for observation of adolescent women who develop low-grade lesions rather than immediate colposcopy. Nonetheless, a small percentage of adolescents will develop precancerous lesions that may progress to invasive cervical cancer. Adolescents should be given appropriate education about HPV and the dangers associated with infection; they should also be encouraged to obtain appropriate gynecological care after initiating sexual activity. This article discusses HPV infection and the causal role that HPV plays in the development of low- and high-grade genital lesions, cervical cancer, and genital warts.
Planning in Time: Windows and Durations for Activities and Goals

A general purpose automated planner/scheduler is described which generates parallel plans to achieve goals with imposed time con-straints. Both durations and start time windows may be specified for sets of goal conditions. The parallel plans consist of not just actions but also of events (triggered by circumstances), inferences, and scheduled events (completely beyond the actor's control). Deterministic dura-tions of all such activities are explicitly modeled, and may be any com-putable function of the activity variables. A start time window for each activity in the plan is updated dynamically during plan generation, in order to maintain consistency with the windows and durations of adja-cent activities and goals. The plans are tailored around scheduled events. The final plan network resembles a PERT chart. From this a schedule of nominal start times for each activity is generated. Ex-amples are drawn from the traditional blocksworld and also from a real-istic ``Spaceworld,'' in which an autonomous spacecraft photographs objects in deep space and transmits the information to Earth. The author is with the Information Systems Research Section, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA 91109.
Misusing Virtual Worlds Can Be Dangerous: A Response to Carvalho

The article “Virtual Worlds Can Be Dangerous: Using Ready-Made Computer Simulations for Teaching International Relations” reports on one class's experiences with the Statecraft simulation. Students reported confusion regarding the simulation rules, questioned its utility as a teaching tool, and found that Statecraft was unrealistically prone to cycles of violence including nuclear war. However, the article makes no mention of the fact that Statecraft was used in this classroom in ways that directly contradicted its explicit instructions. These instructions were designed to maximize Statecraft's pedagogical effectiveness and prevent precisely the sorts of negative outcomes this class experienced. Specifically, the simulation was not properly set up before Turn 1, students were not incentivized to learn the simulation rules, the all-important grading system appears not to have been used, and the instructor materials that are essential for helping students make sense of their Statecraft experience are nowhere mentioned in the article and appear not to have been used. This brief response highlights the most important features of the Statecraft design and pedagogical intent that were entirely absent from this article, so that readers may gain a more complete picture of what Statecraft was intended to do and how it is designed to work.
Making worm guts: the gene regulatory network of the Caenorhabditis elegans endoderm.

The nematode Caenorhabditis elegans is a triploblastic ecdysozoan, which, although it contains too few cells during embryogenesis to create discernible germ "layers," deploys similar programs for germ layer differentiation used in animals with many more cells. The endoderm arises from a single progenitor, the E cell, and is selected from among three possible fates by a three-state combinatorial regulatory system involving intersecting cell-intrinsic and intercellular signals. The core gene regulatory cascade that drives endoderm development, extending from early maternal regulators to terminal differentiation genes, is characterized by activation of successive tiers of transcription factors, including a sequential cascade of redundant GATA transcription factors. Each tier is punctuated by a cell division, raising the possibility that intercession of one cell cycle round, or DNA replication, is required for activation of the next tier. The existence of each tier in the regulatory hierarchy is justified by the assignment of a unique task and each invariably performs at least two functions: to activate the regulators in the next tier and to perform one other activity distinct from that of the next tier. While the regulatory inputs that initiate endoderm development are highly divergent, they mobilize a gene regulatory network for endoderm development that appears to be common to all triploblastic metazoans. Genome-wide functional genomic approaches, including identification of >800 transcripts that exhibit the same regulatory patterns as a number of endoderm-specific genes, are contributing to elucidation of the complete endoderm gene regulatory network in C. elegans. Dissection of the architecture of the C. elegans endoderm network may provide insights into the evolutionary plasticity and origins of this germ layer.
Regulation of T-cell activation by the cytoskeleton

The T-cell cytoskeleton is a complex intracellular network of structural, adaptor and signalling molecules. This Review discusses recent advances in our understanding of its role in the initiation and maintenance of T-cell activation during antigen-presenting-cell recognition. To become activated, T cells must efficiently recognize antigen-presenting cells or target cells through several complex cytoskeleton-dependent processes, including integrin-mediated adhesion, immunological-synapse formation, cellular polarization, receptor sequestration and signalling. The actin and microtubule systems provide the dynamic cellular framework that is required to orchestrate these processes and ultimately contol T-cell activation. Here, we discuss recent advances that have furthered our understanding of the crucial importance of the T-cell cytoskeleton in controlling these aspects of T-cell immune recognition.
An Explanation for Symmetry-Induced Isotopic Fractionation in Ozone

Application of a theory of nuclear symmetry-based reaction restrictions to the O 2 + O → O 3 reaction provides a potential explanation for the symmetry-induced isotopic enrichment observed for laboratory and atmospherically produced O 3 . Within this theory, the rate of formation of O 3 from collisions of O and isotopically homonuclear O 2 depends on whether the O 2 molecule is in an f (allowed) or an e (restricted) parity label state. The restriction can be relaxed by various potential energy surface coupling terms, and the assumption that approximately 78 percent of the restricted O 2 (e) levels produce O 3 with the same efficiency as the allowed O 2 ( f ) levels can account for laboratory-observed isotopic fractionation. In particular, the theory explains the special enhanced formation of the completely asymmetric isotopomer 16 O 17 O 18 O.
Molecular dynamics study of atomic-level structural parameters in liquid and amorphous metals

Abstract To investigate the local structural developments of liquid and glassy metals at finite temperatures a molecular dynamics study has been carried out. The local structure and its changes have been analyzed in terms of atomic level stresses throughout this process. When the sample was cooled to the room temperature the average second moments of the hydrostatic stress, p, and the von Mises shear stress, τ, reached constant values which were close to those found in the previous static simulations. Transition to the glassy state is characterized by freezing of 2 ⪢ and τ 2 ⪢ and the observed changes of the pair distribution function are directly related to the changes in 2 ⪢.
Latent inhibition of the rat eyeblink response: Effect of hippocampal aspiration lesions.

The effect of hippocampal aspiration lesions on latent inhibition of eyeblink conditioning in the restrained rat preparation was examined. Rats received either sham, cortical control, or hippocampal aspiration lesions. Control animals, but not animals with hippocampal lesions, showed slower conditioning after being preexposed to the conditioned stimulus (latent inhibition). Together with previous results regarding the effect of hippocampal lesions in acquisition and extinction of delay conditioning, the present study suggests that the restrained rat preparation may serve as a reliable way of investigating hippocampal participation in different classical conditioning paradigms.
Protein Folding Intermediates: Native-State Hydrogen Exchange

The hydrogen exchange behavior of native cytochrome c in low concentrations of denaturant reveals a sequence of metastable, partially unfolded forms that occupy free energy levels reaching up to the fully unfolded state. The step from one form to another is accomplished by the unfolding of one or more cooperative units of structure. The cooperative units are entire omega loops or mutually stabilizing pairs of whole helices and loops. The partially unfolded forms detected by hydrogen exchange appear to represent the major intermediates in the reversible, dynamic unfolding reactions that occur even at native conditions and thus may define the major pathway for cytochrome c folding.
Modulation of the function and activity of cAMP-dependent protein kinase by steroid hormones

Abstract Steroid hormones can modulate the intracellular function and activity of cAMP-dependent protein kinase through regulating the autophosphorylation, the amount, and the isozyme pattern of cAMP-dependent protein kinase in steroid-responsive target tissues. These biochemical events and the resulting changes in substrate protein phosphorylation may provide a basis for the potentiating effects (either permissive or synergistic) of steroid hormones on the action of those hormones that use cAMP as the intracellular second messenger.
Regulation of the Hippo pathway and implications for anticancer drug development

Research in the past decade has revealed key components of the Hippo tumor suppressor pathway and its critical role in organ size regulation and tumorigenesis. Recent progress has identified a wide range of upstream factors that control the Hippo pathway, which include cell-cell contact, various diffusible signals, and cognate receptors. Dysregulation of the Hippo pathway, caused by gene mutation or aberrant expression, promotes cell proliferation and tumorigenesis. Here, we discuss the current state of Hippo pathway research, primarily focusing on upstream regulators and protein-protein interactions as potential therapeutic targets. Consideration of pharmacological intervention of the Hippo pathway may provide novel avenues for future therapeutic treatment of human diseases, particularly in cancer.
Emerging advanced optical transmission technologies: Their impact on optical transport networks and optical packet switching

This paper reviews the recent advanced optical transmission technologies that have the potential to expand substantially the optical transparent network domain. The new challenges that these emerging technologies bring to optical packet switching design are discussed.
Oxygen isotope variation in the tusks of extinct proboscideans: A measure of season of death and seasonality

Centimetre-scale laminae in tusk and molar dentine of late Pleistocene mastodonts and mammoths have been interpreted as annual growth bands produced, in part, by seasonal variation in growth rate. To test this interpretation, we measured the oxygen isotope composition (δ 18 O) of the CO 3 fraction of dentinal hydroxyapatite from samples covering consecutive inferred years of growth in tusks. In mammals, changes in the δ 18 O value of dental tissues within individuals predominantly reflect variation in the δ 18 O value of body fluids, which is controlled mainly by the isotopic composition of ingested water. In Northern Hemisphere continental regions, winter precipitation has substantially lower δ 18 O values than does precipitation in other seasons. If ingested water tracks focal precipitation, then seasonal variations in dentinal isotope composition should result, the lowest δ 18 O values representing winter growth. We demonstrate that there are substantial variations in the oxygen isotope composition of proboscidean dentinal apatite, and that isotopic identifications of winter (i.e., low δ 18 O values) coincide with those based on growth rate (i.e., slow-growth zones). Finally, the potential of oxygen isotope analyses of terrestrial mammals for assessing the seasonality of paleoclimates is considered.
A Best Possible Heuristic for the k-Center Problem

In this paper we present a 2-approximation algorithm for the k-center problem with triangle inequality. This result is “best possible” since for any δ < 2 the existence of δ-approximation algorithm would imply that P = NP. It should be noted that no δ-approximation algorithm, for any constant δ, has been reported to date. Linear programming duality theory provides interesting insight to the problem and enables us to derive, in O|E| log |E| time, a solution with value no more than twice the k-center optimal value. A by-product of the analysis is an O|E| algorithm that identifies a dominating set in G2, the square of a graph G, the size of which is no larger than the size of the minimum dominating set in the graph G. The key combinatorial object used is called a strong stable set, and we prove the NP-completeness of the corresponding decision problem.
Genetic control of glutamate oxaloacetic transaminase in murine spermatozoa.

Abstract Electrophoretic studies of glutamate oxaloacetic transaminase in murine spermatozoa of F1 hybrids disclose a pattern with a hybrid enzyme band as is found in other tissues. This finding argues against post-meiotic gene transcription for this enzyme.
An inequality for pseudo-subplanes of sets of orthogonal latin squares

Abstract Let L1, L2,…, Lt be a given set of t mutually orthogonal order-n latin squares defined on a symbol set S, |S| = n. The squares are equivalent to a (t + 2)-netN of order n which has n2 points corresponding to the n2 cells of the squares. A line of the net N defined by the latin square Li comprises the n points of the net which are specified by a set of n cells of Li all of which contain the same symbol x of S. If we pick out a particular r × r block B of cells, a line which contains points corresponding to r of the cells of B will be called an r-cell line. If there exist r(r − 1) such lines among the tn lines of N, we shall say that they form a pseudo-subplane of order r-the “pseudo” means that these lines need not belong to only r − 1 of the latin squares. The purpose of the present note is to prove that the hypothesis that such a pseudo-plane exists in N implies that r 3 − (t + 2)r 2 + r + nt ⩾ ∗ 0 .
Stable isotope ratios of dissolved inorganic carbon in the Atlantic

Abstract δ 13C values of oceanic inorganic carbon from six stations in the North and South Atlantic vary between − 1 and + 2%. relative to the PDB standard. A correlation between the concentration of dissolved oxygen and δ 13C is observed at all stations below the top meters. The correlation is due to the oxidation of organic matter depleted in 13C. The extent of the isotope shift in the dissolved inorganic carbon is a measure of the amount of organic carbon oxidized.
A CONSTANT CURRENT SKIN RESISTANCE COUPLER

A constant current skin resistance measuring device with separate outputs, linear in ohms, for skin resistance responses (SRR) and skin resistance level (SRL) is described. The unit is made as a coupler for an Offner Type R Dyno-graph, and has built-in calibration facilities.
Overexpression and purification of transcriptionally competent CREB from a recombinant baculovirus.

Abstract Signal transduction and viral stimulatory pathways converge ultimately at the level of transcriptional activation to influence the expression of a variety of cellular genes in response to environmental stimuli and developmental signals. Recent studies have implicated the cyclic AMP-responsive element-binding protein (CREB) to be involved in mediating transcriptional activation in response to multiple varied stimuli, including (1) stimulation of the protein kinase A signal transduction pathway; (2) membrane depolarization and increases in intracellular calcium; and (3) viral induced gene expression. In order to study the structure and functional mechanisms of CREB actions in these systems, full-length CREB-327 was expressed in Spodoptera frugiperda (Sf9) cells with the baculovirus expression vector system. The expressed CREB, which is phosphorylated and localized in the nucleus, is capable of enhancing the transcription of a reporter gene containing the CRE sequence in a cell-free transcription assay. Approximately 12.5 mg of purified CREB per liter of infected Sf9 cell culture can be obtained. These large amounts of purified protein will facilitate studies of the structure and functions of this important transcriptional regulatory protien.
Tacrolimus withdrawal and conversion to sirolimus at three months post-pediatric renal transplantation.

UNLABELLED Nephrotoxicity caused by CNI may adversely affect long-term graft outcomes. For this reason, we have adopted a protocol for withdrawing TAC and converting to SRL at three months post-renal transplantation. All recipients received basiliximab induction and TAC, MMF, and prednisone. Patients without acute rejection by surveillance biopsy at three months were eligible for SRL conversion. RESULTS From August 2004 to September 2006, TAC was withdrawn and replaced by SRL in 30 first transplant recipients, who were followed for six to 39 months (mean 18 +/- 8). Renal function did not improve significantly after SRL conversion (p = 0.25). Acute rejection occurred in three patients (10%) at five to 12 months after CNI withdrawal. There were no occurrences of wound healing problems, pneumonitis or post-transplant lymphoproliferative disease. Thrombocytopenia and diabetes each occurred in one patient. Four patients received treatment for hypercholesterolemia. CNI withdrawal and replacement with SRL was an effective regimen in children who did not display biopsy evidence of acute rejection at three months post-transplant. While these early results are promising, the ultimate benefit of this protocol to enhance the long-term renal function and graft survival requires ongoing follow-up.
Magnetic properties of synthetic six-line ferrihydrite nanoparticles

Abstract Three synthetic samples of six-line ferrihydrite (Fh5.4, Fh4.1, and Fh3.0), with average particle sizes of 5.4, 4.1, and 3.0 nm (respectively), have been studied by low-temperature magnetic techniques, Mossbauer spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and X-ray absorption spectroscopy. Magnetic data indicate that these nanoparticles are not only antiferromagnetic, but that they also possess a ferromagnetic-like moment due to the presence of uncompensated spins. Both magnetic and Mossbauer data indicate that nanoparticles of six-line ferrihydrite are superparamagnetic at room temperature, with a low-temperature transition between blocked and unblocked magnetic states dependent on average particle size. In particular, low-field magnetic susceptibility data display a peak in amplitude at 45 K (Fh3.0), 55 K (Fh4.1), and 80 K (Fh5.4). Low-temperature induced magnetization data, acquired in magnetic fields up to 5 T, also display clearly a superparamagnetic behavior. These data were tentatively modeled as the sum of two contributions: a linear term due to the antiferromagnetic susceptibility and a nonlinear term due to the uncompensated spins. Model estimates of the magnetization carried by the uncompensated spins ( M nc ) show a decrease in M nc with increasing temperature. Extrapolation of M nc values down to zero provided an estimate of the Neel temperature for six-line ferrihydrite on the order of 500 K.
Optimization of Earnings in Stochastic Industries, with Applications to Casinos

Abstract Gambling casinos and banks are examples of stochastic industries whose sole commodity is cash. To optimize income, cash reserves should be determined so that earnings, subject to default penalties, are a maximum. This article provides a straightforward procedure, involving a financial growth equation, that can readily be applied to any cash-transactional business to obtain cash reserve requirements for various default criteria. Examples involving actual cash flow data from two Las Vegas casinos are given and analyzed to confirm the felicity of the method.
Anthropological Perspectives on Genocide Alexander Laban Hinton and Kevin Lewis O'Neill, eds., Genocide: Truth, Memory, and Representation

Do the effects of genocide and other mass violence ever end? How do people day in and day out cope with the presence/absence of such violence, with the loss and physical and mental injuries? In the last decade, more and more literature in genocide studies and related areas has addressed the ongoing challenges and complications of living in societies in the aftermath of genocide and other atrocities when the peak of violence subsides. The factors that lead up and contributed to the escalated violence are complicated, and so too are the aftershocks including how truth, memory, and representation become part of the struggle that follows. The levels of damage to individuals, cultures, and societies continue as the past is re-constructed, re-imagined, or forgotten from official commemorations and state hegemonic narratives to silence, fear, and sometimes terror among survivor populations. The role and reactions of anthropologists in studying these difficult processes become part of the stor... Language: en
Thermal Interface Properties of Cu-filled Vertically Aligned Carbon Nanofiber Arrays

Nanoengineered materials have emerged as efficient thermal interface materials in a variety of thermal management applications. For example, integrated circuits (IC) are subject to tight thermal budgets to maintain acceptable reliability standards. This letter presents thermal contact resistance measurement results and analyses for copper gap-filled carbon nanofiber−copper composite arrays. Experimental results demonstrate the efficient interfacial thermal conduction of these structures. Using copper as a gap-fill material for improving lateral heat spreading and mechanical stability is discussed.
On the ability of drops or bubbles to stick to non-horizontal surfaces of solids

It is common knowledge that relatively small drops or bubbles have a tendency to stick to the surfaces of solids. Two specific problems are investigated: the shape of the largest drop or bubble that can remain attached to an inclined solid surface; and the shape and speed at which it moves along the surface when these conditions are exceeded. The slope of the fluid-fluid interface relative to the surface of the solid is assumed to be small, making it possible to obtain results using analytic techniques. It is shown that from both a physical and mathematical point of view contact-angle hysteresis, i.e. the ability of the position of the contact line to remain fixed as long as the value of the contact angle θ lies within the interval θR [les ] θ [les ] θA, where θA [nequiv ] θR, emerges as the single most important characteristic of the system.
Heterogeneous mobile sensor net deployment using robot herding and line-of-sight formations

This paper presents an approach for deploying a team of mobile sensor nodes to form a sensor network in indoor environments. The challenge in this work is that the mobile sensor nodes have no ability for localization or obstacle avoidance. Thus, our approach entails the use of more capable "helper" robots that "herd" the mobile sensor nodes into their deployment positions. To extensively explore the issues of heterogeneity in multi-robot teams, we employ the use of two types of helper robots-one that acts as a leader and a second that: 1) acts as a follower and 2) autonomously teleoperates the mobile sensor nodes. Due to limited sensing capabilities, neither of these helper robots can herd the mobile sensor nodes alone; instead, our approach enables the team as a whole to successfully accomplish the sensor deployment task. Our approach involves the use of line-of-sight formation keeping, which enables the follower robot to use visual markers to move the group along the path executed by the leader robot. We present results of the implementation of this approach in simulation, as well as results to date in the implementation on physical robot systems. To our knowledge, this is the first implementation of robot herding using such highly heterogeneous robots, in which no single type of robot could accomplish the sensor network deployment task, even if multiple copies of that robot type were available.
Patterns Approach in the Re-Engineering Process of Learning Scenario

This paper presents a knowledge capitalization methodology, which is proposed inside a project concerning the assistance in the learning scenarios design process, which is based on designers expertise. The community of designers has an important knowledge on the design of learning resources (scenarios...) and learning session. But this expertise is never capitalized and shared. Designers cannot use and re-use it to facilitate their activity. Our work focuses on the detection, the capitalization, and the re-use of this knowledge in order to support design activity.
Obeticholic acid and budesonide for the treatment of primary biliary cirrhosis.

Introduction: Primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC) is a chronic cholestatic liver disease of adults. Treatments are needed when patients have incomplete response to ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA). Areas covered: Discoveries of the key role played by bile acids (BAs) and nuclear receptors (NRs) in regulating liver and metabolic homeostasis have led to promising therapeutic approaches in liver diseases. A PubMed search for the recent literature on NRs in liver disease was conducted. In particular, obeticholic acid (OCA) is a farnesoid X receptor (FXR) agonist that has an important role in the enterohepatic circulation of BAs. Preliminary studies of OCA in patients with PBC have demonstrated marked biochemical improvement when administered in combination with UDCA and alone. Pruritus is the most common side effect, limiting treatment at higher doses. Budesonide is a glucocorticoid receptor/pregnane X receptor (PXR) agonist also involved in BA synthesis, metabolism and transport. Studies with budesonide have shown positive effects of short-term combination therapy in selected patients with early stage disease and overlapping features of autoimmune hepatitis. Expert opinion: Though larger studies are needed, preliminary results of agents targeting FXR and PXR have been encouraging, particularly in subsets of patients with PBC and may mark a new therapeutic era.
Fluorescence Microangiography for Quantitative Assessment of Peritubular Capillary Changes after AKI in Mice

AKI predicts the future development of CKD, and one proposed mechanism for this epidemiologic link is loss of peritubular capillaries triggering chronic hypoxia. A precise definition of changes in peritubular perfusion would help test this hypothesis by more accurately correlating these changes with future loss of kidney function. Here, we have adapted and validated a fluorescence microangiography approach for use with mice to visualize, analyze, and quantitate peritubular capillary dynamics after AKI. A novel software-based approach enabled rapid and automated quantitation of capillary number, individual area, and perimeter. After validating perfusion in mice with genetically labeled endothelia, we compared peritubular capillary number and size after moderate AKI, characterized by complete renal recovery, and after severe AKI, characterized by development of interstitial fibrosis and CKD. Eight weeks after severe AKI, we measured a 40%±7.4% reduction in peritubular capillary number (P<0.05) and a 36%±4% decrease in individual capillary cross-sectional area (P<0.001) for a 62%±2.2% reduction in total peritubular perfusion (P<0.01). Whereas total peritubular perfusion and number of capillaries did not change, we detected a significant change of single capillary size following moderate AKI. The loss of peritubular capillary density and caliber at week 8 closely correlated with severity of kidney injury at day 1, suggesting irreparable microvascular damage. These findings emphasize a direct link between severity of acute injury and future loss of peritubular perfusion, demonstrate that reduced capillary caliber is an unappreciated long-term consequence of AKI, and offer a new quantitative imaging tool for understanding how AKI leads to future CKD in mouse models.
Sex differences in recombination of linked genes in animals

Reports of sex differences in crossing-over in animals, published since Haldane in 1922 suggested that crossing-over should be less frequent in the heterogametic sex, have been reviewed and discussed. No general rule is discernible apart from the absence of crossing-over in males of the dipteran genera Drosophila and Phryne and in females of some lepidopteran species, due apparently to failure of chiasma formation in the heterogametic sex. In the majority of animal species examined crossing-over occurs in both sexes. While there is some tendency in mammals for crossover values in females to exceed those in males, it was of greater interest to find that marked sex-differences occur in the same species (data chiefly from the house mouse) in opposite directions in different chromosomes. The influence of factors acting locally in the chromosomes, such as those associated with hetero-chromatin, were indicated as promising subjects for the study of variations associated with sex.
Rapid response predicts 12-month post-treatment outcomes in binge-eating disorder: theoretical and clinical implications.

Background We examined rapid response in obese patients with binge-eating disorder (BED) in a clinical trial testing cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and behavioral weight loss (BWL).
N″′-(1,2-Dimethylethyl)-N,N,N′,N′,N′,N′-hexamethyl Phosphorimidic Triamide†

[81675-81-2] C10H27N4P (MW 234.32) InChI = 1S/C10H27N4P/c1-10(2,3)11-15(12(4)5,13(6)7)14(8)9/h1-9H3 InChIKey = YRNOSHBJMBLOSL-UHFFFAOYSA-N (an effective catalyst for Michael addition reactions,3, 4 a superior base for alkylation reactions,5-8 and for solubilizing α-amino acids in an organic solvent acetonitrile10) Alternate Name: phosphazene base P1-t-Bu. Solubility: partially or completely miscible with all common solvents. Physical Data: bp 62 °C/0.01 Torr. Form Supplied in: colorless mobile liquid; commercially available. Preparative Methods: prepared from the reaction of dimethylamine with (tert-butylimino)phosphorus trichloride followed by treatment with aqueous KOH.2 Handling, Storage, and Precautions: relatively volatile, insensitive to oxygen, and stable to hydrolysis.
A Preliminary Study of the Fiber-Length Distribution in Fly Produced During the Weft Knitting of Cotton Yarns

Approximately 50% by weight of all ily released from a carded cotton yarn during knitting is deposited at the cone- unwinding point. Most of this fly consists of short fibers 2 mm or less in length. Normal yarn lubrication using wax has no signficant effect on either the amount or composition of deposited fly. Slashing yarns with a polyvinyl alcohol- based product reduces fly quantity significantly but is an impractical solution to the problem.
Flip returns from mid‐Pacific research cruise

The research platform Flip and the research vessel Horizon returned to San Diego on October 7, 1963, after completing 46 days at sea, the longest consecutive time spent between ports for either vessel. The ships spent 27 days on station near the western end of the Mendocino escarpment at 39°30′N, 148°30′W. Measurements of surface waves, internal waves, and seismic waves were made from Flip during the time; hydrographic casts, BT observations, PDR soundings, and gravity cores were made from Horizon. Flip was maintained in a vertical position the entire time on station and was resupplied with fresh water, fuel, and perishables by high line from Horizon. The duration of the cruise was such that Horizon moored next to Flip for four days in order to conserve fuel.
Correctional Officer Excessive Use of Force: Civil Liability Under Section 1983

Despite recent research demonstrating the impact of inmate perceptions of correctional legitimacy on order maintenance, the extant literature has failed to examine the contextual reality of correctional excessive use of force claims. Utilizing legal cases from the U.S. Court of Appeals and U.S. District Courts, this article examines correctional officer excessive use of non-deadly force and identifies recurring themes in these claims. Findings highlight the common occurrence of retaliatory violence, negative attitudes, failure to listen to inmate concerns, inadequate training, and an inability to decipher reliable threat cues consistently present in correctional officer use of non-deadly force claims. Suggestions for future research and policy implications are offered.