cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Is methylmethacrylate toxic during pregnancy and breastfeeding?--- a systematic review

Methyl methacrylate (MMA) is commonly used in the fields of dentistry and orthopaedic surgery. However, there remain concerns for the occupational hazards of MMA, particularly during pregnancy and breastfeeding. We performed a systematic review of studies on effects that MMA may have in pregnancy in the context of exposure during orthopaedic surgery and dentistry. Review articles, studies lacking statistical data, single case reports and other evidence level V studies were excluded. Nine studies were included. One basic science study demonstrated an increase in neuronal cell lysis and shrunken cell bodies when neocortical neurons were exposed to MMA monomer. Three animal studies exposed pregnant rodents to MMA via intraperitoneal injection or inhalation. Exposed fetuses in two studies had an increase in gross abnormalities such as hemangiomas, while there was no increase in teratologic effects in the third study. In dental workers exposed to MMA, two retrospective cohort studies did not find a statistically significant increase in birth defects or miscarriage. After exposure to MMA during total joint arthroplasty, two studies found that MMA levels were undetectable in the mothers’ serum or breast milk. One study measuring the airborne levels of MMA during simulated joint arthroplasty found that concentrations never exceeded 1% of the recommended limit set forth by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). Potential teratologic effects of MMA cannot be excluded by existing evidence. However, the typical MMA exposure levels for dental and orthopaedic personnel appear to be substantially less than currently proposed exposure limits.
Jokes and the Logic of the Cognitive Unconscious

Freud’s theory of jokes explains how they overcome the mental “censors” that make it hard for us to think “forbidden” thoughts. But his theory did not work so well for humorous nonsense as for other comical subjects. In this essay I argue that the different forms of humor can be seen as much more similar, once we recognize the importance of knowledge about knowledge and, particularly, aspects of thinking concerned with recognizing and suppressing bugs — ineffective or destructive thought processes. When seen in this light, much humor that at first seems pointless, or mysterious, becomes more understandable.
Reaching (and Maintaining) Agreement in the Presence of Mobile Faults (Extended Abstract)

In this paper we consider a model where malicious agents can corrupt hosts and move around in a network of processors. We investigate the issue of fault mobility and the faults' power of disruption as a function of the fundamental parameter in such systems: the faults' speed. We do so by evaluating in a mobile-fault environment a classical testbed problem for fault-tolerant computing: Byzantine agreement.
Lag in multiprocessor virtual reality

Lag in virtual reality VR, i.e., the delay between performing an action and seeing the result of that action, is critical when trying to achieve immersion. While multiple, networked processors have been used to increase throughput, we concentrate on using multiple processors to reduce lag. To that end, we present a complete list of all possible lag sources in VR applications, review available lag reduction techniques, and investigate how these reduction techniques interrelate. We also introduce a new process-synchronization scheme that reduces lag. We evaluate the effectiveness of this synchronization scheme by software simulation as well as by actual lag measurements in our sample application.
Joint Attention and Early Social Communication: Implications for Research on Intervention with Autism

Highly structured, intensive early intervention may lead to significant developmental gains for many children with autism. However, a clear understanding of early intervention effects may currently be hampered by a lack of precision in outcome measurement. To improve the precision and sensitivity of outcome assessment it may be useful to integrate research on the nature of the social disturbance of autism with research on early intervention. In this regard, it may be that measures of nonverbal social communication skills are especially important in the study of preschool intervention programs. This is because these measures appear to tap into a cardinal component of the early social disturbance of autism, and because these measures have been directly related to neurological, cognitive, and affective processes that may play a role in autism. The research and theory that support the potential utility of these types of measures for early intervention research are reviewed. Examples are provided to illustrate how these types of measures may assist in addressing current issues and hypotheses about early intervention with autism including the “recovery hypothesis,” the “pivotal skill hypothesis,” and the relative effectiveness of discrete trial versus incidental learning approaches to early intervention. A cybernetic model of autism is also briefly described in an effort to better understand one potential component of early psychoeducational treatment effects with children with autism.
TISSUE DISTRIBUTION OF RYANODINE RECEPTOR ISOFORMS AND ALLELES DETERMINED BY REVERSE TRANSCRIPTION POLYMERASE CHAIN REACTION

The tissue distribution of mRNA for ryanodine receptor (ryr) isoforms in various porcine tissues has been determined using the reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). First strand cDNA was synthesized from total tissue RNA with reverse transcriptase and random hexamer primers. PCR primers were selected to amplify an approximately 500-base pair segment from homologous regions near the 5' end of the skeletal (ryr1), cardiac (ryr2), or brain (ryr3) ryr cDNA sequences. The specific amplification of each of the ryr isoforms was confirmed by restriction enzyme mapping and DNA sequencing. A ryr1 RT-PCR product was identified in skeletal muscle and esophagus, a ryr2 RT-PCR product was identified in cardiac muscle, aorta and esophagus, and a ryr3 RT-PCR product was identified in skeletal and cardiac muscle, aorta, esophagus, adrenal gland, small intestine, and lung. All three ryr isoforms were identified throughout the brain, including the parietal, frontal, and temporal lobes of the cerebrum, thalamus/hypothalamus, cerebellum, and brain stem. The normal (Arg615) and mutant (Cys615) ryr1 alleles were expressed in the brains of normal and malignant hyperthermia susceptible pigs, respectively. These results thus demonstrate expression of two ryr isoforms in each type of striated muscle, and all ryr isoforms in a number of regions of the nervous system. The wide distribution of ryr1 in the brain provides a possible neurogenic etiology of malignant hyperthermia.
Legal and Non-Legal Responses to Concerns for Women's Rights in Countries Practicing Female Circumcision

Ute Gerhard's book, Debating Women s Equality, emphasizes the continuing importance of equality to the women's rights movement. Gerhard tackles the feminist equality-versus-difference debate and concludes that both concepts are vital to women's efforts to achieve status that is both equal with men but uniquely female at the same time. She directs her theories to the feminist movements in Europe, and concludes that women must primarily use law to claim their rights. This Book Review tests the applicability of Gerhard's Western feminist theories to the anti female circumcision movements in Mrica, and particularly focuses on the limitations of law as a method for claiming women's rights in circumcising communities. Through this analysis, this Review illustrates the limited applicability of Western feminism to the experiences and goals of Mrican feminists and suggests alternate, nonlegal approaches to eradicate the practice of female circumcision in Mrica.
Induced connections and imbedded Riemannian spaces

Let P be a principal fibre bundle over M with group G and with projection π : P → M . By definition of a principal fibre bundle, G acts on P on the right. We shall denote this transformation law by ρ
Chronic Interleukin-6 Alters NMDA Receptor-Mediated Membrane Responses and Enhances Neurotoxicity in Developing CNS Neurons

Recent studies show that the cytokine interleukin-6 (IL-6) is expressed at elevated levels in the CNS in several disease states and contributes to the neuropathological process. The mechanisms through which IL-6 exerts its CNS effects are primarily unknown. We have investigated the pathophysiological effects of IL-6 on developing CNS neurons using a culture model system and a chronic treatment paradigm. Here, we show, using current- and voltage-clamp recordings, that chronic IL-6 treatment of developing cerebellar granule neurons increases the membrane and current response to NMDA and that these effects are the primary mechanism through which IL-6 produces an enhanced calcium signal to NMDA. We also show that calcium influx through voltage-sensitive calcium channels contributes to the enhanced calcium signal to NMDA in the IL-6-treated neurons in a developmentally regulated manner and that the membrane depolarization to NMDA is more sensitive to the NMDA receptor antagonist ifenprodil in the IL-6-treated neurons compared with control neurons at a late developmental stage, consistent with a larger proportion of NMDA receptors containing the NMDAR2B subunit in the IL-6-treated neurons. Additional studies show that IL-6 treatment reduces the number of granule neurons in culture and enhances neurotoxicity involving NMDA receptors. These results support a pathological role for IL-6 in the CNS and indicate that NMDA receptor-mediated functions are likely to play a critical role in neuropathological changes observed in CNS diseases associated with elevated CNS levels of IL-6.
Loneliness, eudaimonia, and the human conserved transcriptional response to adversity.

Abstract Background Chronic social adversity activates a conserved transcriptional response to adversity (CTRA) marked by increased expression of pro-inflammatory genes and decreased expression of antiviral- and antibody-related genes. Recent findings suggest that some psychological resilience factors may help buffer CTRA activation, but the relative impact of resilience and adversity factors remains poorly understood. Here we examined the relative strength of CTRA association for the two best-established psychological correlates of CTRA gene expression—the risk factor of perceived social isolation (loneliness) and the resilience factor of eudaimonic well-being (purpose and meaning in life). Methods Peripheral blood samples and validated measures of loneliness and eudaimonic well-being were analyzed in 108 community-dwelling older adults participating in the longitudinal US Health and Retirement Study (56% female, mean age 73). Mixed effect linear model analyses quantified the strength of association between CTRA gene expression and measures of loneliness and eudaimonic well-being in separate and joint analyses. Results As in previous studies, separate analyses found CTRA gene expression to be up-regulated in association with loneliness and down-regulated in association with eudaimonic well-being. In joint analyses, effects of loneliness were completely abrogated whereas eudaimonic well-being continued to associate with CTRA down-regulation. Similar eudaimonia-dominant effects were observed for positive and negative affect, optimism and pessimism, and anxiety symptoms. All results were independent of demographic and behavioral health risk factors. Conclusions Eudaimonic well-being may have the potential to compensate for the adverse impact of loneliness on CTRA gene expression. Findings suggest a novel approach to targeting the health risks associated with social isolation by promoting purpose and meaning in life.
The political economy of growing a rural university in the USA using online education: an examination of incentives for educational imperialism and academic capitalism

Rural colleges and universities in the USA struggle to recruit new students, as their geographic region is depopulating and costs to attend classes on campus are increasing. Online education using the Internet is rapidly expanding as an effective growth strategy to reach new groups of students. In this paper, we take the position that online education is a form of cultural imperialism and academic capitalism where curriculum developers and professors are motivated to enroll new students in order to maintain the credibility and strength of their programmes and host institutions. We argue that it is not our intent to be educational imperialists or capitalists. Rather these are unintended consequences of our actions. This argument is supported by political economy theory in that we are marketing a technical rational form of online education without awareness of its long-term cultural, economic or political ramifications. Even though we pride ourselves on developing a high-quality programme that in our eyes m...
Prediction of the Energy-Absorption Capability of Composite Tubes

A method of predicting the crack-related energy-absorption capability of composite tubes is presented. The method is based upon a phenomenological model of the crushing process exhibited by continuous-fiber-reinforced tubes. A finite element method is used to model the crushing process. The analysis is compared with experiments on Kevlar-epoxy and graphite-epoxy tubes. Reasonable agreement is obtained between the analysis and experiment.
Protonation effect on drug affinity.

Abstract Pharmacologic ligand–macromolecule interactions are commonly characterized by affinity (dissociation) constants such as K d or K i without regard to the protonation effect of the buffer used in the measurement. The protonation effect is demonstrated here using isothermal titration microcalorimetry measurements of the competitive inhibitor binding of cytidine 2′-monophosphate (2′-CMP) to RNase-A as a model system in buffers of different ionization Δ H buffer . The results demonstrate the importance of protonation in measures of affinity.
Lateral Asymmetries of Pupillary Responses

We wanted to learn if pupillary changes induced by looking and attending to stimuli on the right and left are asymmetrical. In humans, there are hemispheric asymmetries in the control of attention-arousal systems. Because attention and arousal may influence pupil size, asymmetric pupillary responses may be seen when looking and attending in different directions. Twelve right-handed, healthy volunteers served as subjects. Using infrared pupillography, we recorded changes of pupillary diameter while subjects were looking and attending to the stimuli on the right and left sides of space. For the one second following a saccade, there are three phasic pupillary responses, an initial constriction (C1) then a dilation (D1), followed by constriction (C2). Evaluation of these three responses revealed right-left asymmetries with more pupil dilation (D1) when looking to the stimulus on the right. Our results suggest that subjects are more aroused when looking to the right than when looking to the left.
Fault monitoring of nuclear power plant sensors and field devices

Existing and new generation of nuclear power plants have economic and reliability concerns as addressed by overall plant performance, unscheduled downtime and the long-term management of critical assets. The key to achieving these needs is to develop an integrated approach for monitoring, control, fault detection and diagnosis of plant components such as sensors, actuators, control devices and other equipment. Both single and multiple fault cases have been considered. This paper presents the following approach for achieving this goal: 1. Development of data-driven system models using Group Method of Data Handling (GMDH), Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and Adaptive Network-based Fuzzy Inference System (ANFIS), 2. Fault detection by tracking model residuals of selected process variables and control functions, and 3. Fault isolation using a rule-based technique and/or a pattern classification technique. This approach is illustrated for a nuclear plant steam generator. Fault detection and isolation (FDI) of sensors and field devices is an important step towards the implementation of an automated and intelligent process control strategy, especially for Generation-IV reactors.
Development of a Nutrition Education Program for Athletes in a University Setting.

Abstract LEARNING OUTCOME: To identify steps taken in the development of a program designed to enhance the nutition knowledge of college athletes. Due to the recent NCAA ruling that collegiate athletes may no longer have eating facilities separate from the general school population, there has been an increasing concern about the quality of the athlete's diet. Prior to the ruling, athletes at the University of Florida ate in a private dining hall, and the university nutritionist had a significant role in the food choices available. A recent survey of male and female athletes showed that since this ruling, many athletes are choosing to eat off campus or are preparing their meals at home. The nutritionist has minimal impact in regards to the foods available to the athletes, and the athletes now have increased responsibility for their own food selections. It has been observed by trainers, coaches and the nutritionists that the athletes are not always making wise choices. In response to these changes, an innovative nutrition education program was implemented in September 1996. All incoming athletes are now required to meet with a nutritionist at least once a year. To increase nutrition knowledge, two nutrition education programs were created. One is a monthly newsletter, the Chompin' Gator, which provides nutrition information targeting the student athlete and highlighting and evaluating popular food choices. The other program consists of a series of nutrition education messages, Gator Bites, which are posted in the locker rooms. These programs are being used to enhance the nutrition knowledge and performance potential of student athletes.
Seismic Modeling In Fluid-saturated Porous Media: An Approach to Enhanced Reservoir Characterization

A seismic modeling method with potential application to enhanced hydrocarbon reservoir characterization is presented, The method involves numerical simulation of low-frequent acoustic-wave propagation in porous media and is based on the explicit finite-difference formulation of the Biot's system of equations in a fluid-saturated poroelastic aggregate. The scheme is second-order accurate in space and time.
PERSONAL INNOVATIVENESS, SOCIAL INFLUENCES AND ADOPTION OF WIRELESS INTERNET SERVICES VIA MOBILE TECHNOLOGY

Abstract Technology acceptance research has tended to focus on instrumental beliefs such as perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use as drivers of usage intentions, with technology characteristics as major external stimuli. Behavioral sciences and individual psychology, however, suggest that social influences and personal traits such as individual innovativeness are potentially important determinants of adoption as well, and may be a more important element in potential adopters' decisions. This paper models and tests these relationships in non-work settings among several latent constructs such as intention to adopt wireless mobile technology, social influences, and personal innovativeness. Structural equation analysis reveals strong causal relationships between the social influences, personal innovativeness and the perceptual beliefs—usefulness and ease of use, which in turn impact adoption intentions. The paper concludes with some important implications for both theory research and implementation strategies.
PREFERENTIAL ACCELERATION AND PERPENDICULAR HEATING OF MINOR IONS IN A COLLISIONLESS CORONAL HOLE

We incorporate the cyclotron-resonant Fermi heating mechanism of Isenberg & Vasquez into an inhomogeneous, collisionless coronal hole model to investigate this kinetic process in the presence of the other known forces on the coronal hole minor ions. The model includes the effects of gravity, charge-separation electric field, and mirroring in the decreasing magnetic field of a super-radially expanding flux tube. The Fermi process, due to the existence of multiple cyclotron resonances for minor ions, acts preferentially since it is not available to thermal protons in the low-beta coronal hole. The minor ions are treated as test particles, and we consider the specific case of O5+, which is the principal minor ion observed by the UVCS/Solar and Heliospheric Observatory instrument. We estimate an upper limit to the nonlinearly generated resonant wave power by extrapolating from the observed low-frequency fluctuations, and find that only a small fraction of this power is required to provide the observed minor ion energization. The perpendicular heating provided by this Fermi mechanism accelerates the entire minor ion distribution to high speed with respect to the bulk protons, consistent with the differentially streaming minor ion core distributions which are a distinctive property of the in situ fast solar wind. We conclude that this cyclotron-resonant Fermi process is easily capable of providing the observed preferential acceleration and heating of minor ions in the fast solar wind.
Correcting rolling-shutter distortion of CMOS sensors using facial feature detection

This paper proposes a fully automated post image processing scheme based on facial feature detection to correct the horizontal temporal shear or rolling shutter distortion. This distortion occurs when obtaining images or video sequences from a CMOS camera with a rolling shutter whenever there is relative horizontal movement between the sensor and the object being imaged during the integration time of the image frame. Unlike CCD sensors, such as the interline CCD, which provides an electronic shutter mechanism called a global shutter in which the light collection starts and ends at exactly the same time for all pixels, CMOS sensors can not hold and store all the pixels at the same time. Each scanline is exposed, sampled, and stored in sequence, resulting in the rolling shutter effect or temporal distortion of the image that will cause inaccurate facial recognition results. Facial feature detection is performed using correlation based methods with low computational complexity. The location of key facial feature points is then used to calculate the temporal horizontal shear or the distortion of the image. This information can then be used to remove the temporal horizontal shear distortion from the detected face or the entire image. We present experimental results on controlled data sets and real scenes to show that the proposed method yields excellent results in reversing the temporal horizontal shear caused by the CMOS rolling shutter sensor and significantly improves the accuracy of our facial recognition algorithm.
The Spokane Flood debates: historical background and philosophical perspective

The 1920s–1930s debates over the origin of the ‘Channeled Scabland’ landscape of eastern Washington, northwestern USA, focused on the cataclysmic flooding hypothesis of J Harlen Bretz. During the summer of 1922, Bretz began leading field parties of advanced University of Chicago students into the region. In his first paper, published in the Bulletin of the Geological Society of America, Bretz took special care not to mention cataclysmic origins. However, in a subsequent paper in the Journal of Geology, to the editorial board of which he had recently been added, Bretz formally described his hypothesis that an immense late Pleistocene flood, which he named the ‘Spokane Flood’, had derived from the margins of the nearby Cordilleran Ice Sheet. This cataclysm neatly accounted for numerous interrelated aspects of the Channeled Scabland landscape and nearby regions. Nevertheless, the geological community largely resisted Bretz’s hypothesis for decades, despite his enthusiastic and eloquent defence thereof. Resolution of the controversy came gradually, initially through the recognition by J. T. Pardee of a plausible source for the flooding: ice-dammed Pleistocene glacial Lake Missoula in northern Idaho and western Montana. Eventually, by the 1960s, the field evidence for cataclysmic flooding became overwhelming, and physical processes were found to be completely consistent with that evidence. The controversy is of philosophical interest in regard to its documentation of the attitudes of geologists toward hypotheses, which illustrate aspects of geological reasoning that are distinctive in degree from those of other sciences. J Harlen Bretz (there can be no period after the ‘J’ – it was the man’s entire first name) was born in 1882. He initiated one of the great debates in the history of geomorphology. While not revolutionary in its implications, the debate is, nevertheless, instructive for how it illustrates the workings of science; where the latter is defined not as a sterile collection of facts, or even as a logical application of method, but rather as the collective workings and attitudes of human beings passionately dedicated to the search for truth. The subject of the debate is an unusual landscape in eastern Washington, northwestern United States, described by Bretz (1928a, pp. 88–89) as follows: No one with an eye for land forms can cross eastern Washington in daylight without encountering and being impressed by the ‘scabland.’ Like great scars marring the otherwise fair face to the plateau are these elongated tracts of bare, black rock carved into mazes of buttes and canyons. Everybody on the plateau knows scabland . . .. The popular name is a metaphor. The scablands are wounds only partially healed – great wounds in the epidermis of soil with which Nature protects the underlying rock . . .. The region is unique: let the observer take wings of the morning to the uttermost parts of the earth: he will nowhere
Preparation of thin films of sulforspinels

Abstract Thin films of MnCr2S4, FeCr2S4, CoCr2S4, CuCr2S4, and ZnCr2S4 sulfospinels were prepared by a flash evaporation technique. Random polycrystalline films resulted from evaporation on the (111) plane of Nacl. The FeCr2S4 spinel grew epitaxially on the (100) plane of NaCl with the {00 l } planes of the spinel parallel to the (100) plane of NaCl. Deposition of FeCr2S4 on the (100) plane of MgO resulted in polycrystalline spinel films.
Effects of novobiocin on the acute toxicity, metabolism and biliary excretion of 3-trifluoromethyl-4-nitrophenol in rainbow trout

Abstract This report is concerned with the effects of novobiocin on the acute toxicity and disposition of 3-trifluoromethyl-4-nitrophenol (TFM) in rainbow trout. Pretreatment of rainbow trout with 200 mg/kg novobiocin ip decreased the 3-hr LC50 of TFM from 5.20 to 2.48 mg/liter. Temporally associated with the increase in toxicity was an elevation of total 14 C in blood of novobiocin-treated trout exposed to [ 14 C]TFM in the tank water. Analysis of blood, brain and liver revealed increased concentrations of unconjugated TFM in these tissues from novobiocin-pretreated trout. Novobiocin also increased the half-life of TFM in blood when TFM was injected ip. In addition, novobiocin pretreatment resulted in a sharp decrease in biliary excretion of TFM glucuronide and an increase in the blood concentrations of TFM glucuronide when [ 14 C]TFM was given by ip injection or by exposure in the tank water. The results are discussed in relation to the importance of conjugation and biliary excretion in the protection of trout from toxic phenols in water.
Focal cerebral ischemia in rats. Effect of hypervolemic hemodilution with diaspirin cross-linked hemoglobin versus albumin on brain injury and edema.

BACKGROUND Hemodilution has had limited success as a treatment of cerebral ischemia. When using a non-oxygen-binding fluid, the therapeutic efficacy of hemodilution-induced increases in blood flow are offset by concomitant decreases in oxygen content. METHODS The effect of hemodilution, with diaspirin cross-linked hemoglobin (DCLHb), on brain injury and edema was assessed during middle cerebral artery occlusion (180 min) and reperfusion (120 min) in rats (blood volume increased by approximately 30% and n = 10 for each group): (1) 44/B: 8.0 ml of donor blood was given; (2) 30/albumin: hematocrit was decreased to 30% with 10% albumin; (3) 30/DCLHb: hematocrit was decreased to 30% with 10% DCLHb; or (4) 9/DCLHb: hematocrit was decreased to 9% with DCLHb. Infarct size was analyzed with 2,3,5-triphenyltetrazolium chloride, and edema by microgravimetry. RESULTS Brain injury (percent of the hemispheric area ipsilateral to ischemia, mean +/- SD) was greater in the 44/B group (44 +/- 4) versus the 30/albumin group (37 +/- 3). In addition, brain injury was greater in the 44/B and 30/albumin groups versus the 30/DCLHb group (27 +/- 4); which was in turn greater than the 9/DLCHb group (18 +/- 3). Specific gravity was greater (less brain water) in all hemodiluted groups versus the 44/B group. CONCLUSIONS These results support a hypothesis that hemodilution decreases focal cerebral ischemic injury, and when an oxygen-binding fluid is used, there is a dose-dependent effect of hemodilution on ischemia. In addition, these results suggest that hemodilution, as achieved with DCLHb, was more effective in reducing ischemic brain damage than was the same degree of hemodilution as achieved with albumin.
A novel strategy for unambiguous determination of inner esterification sites of ganglioside lactones

A method is described which is suitable for protection of all free hydroxyl groups of a glycosphingolipid under conditions which will not cleave ester linkages, including inner ester linkages characteristic of ganglioside lactones. The protecting methoxyethoxymethyl group is stable in alkaline media, surviving permethylation procedures which introduce a methyl ether at all sites previously acylated. Hydrolysis, reduction, and acetylation then yield alditol acetate derivatives which can be analyzed by conventional GC-MS to locate the methyl ether groups. The method is used to locate the inner esterification site of GM3 lactone.
Confessions of a Job Crafter: How We Can Increase the Passion Within and the Impact of Our Profession

Job crafting, engaging in practices that alter our jobs for the better, has enormous potential to enliven scholars and to enhance our field’s societal impact. Drawing upon a personal tale, I outline various job crafting techniques in which I have engaged and note how these practices have transformed the level of satisfaction I feel for my job, profession, and life, while also enriching the quality of my research and teaching contributions. As profoundly positive as has been my experience with job crafting, I have also encountered some significant systemic obstacles. For the tenured, such obstacles would likely be frustrating, constraining passion and undermining contributions. For the untenured, many become pitfalls that can endanger careers. I address some of the obstacles that I encountered while engaging in job crafting practices, framing them in terms of what we can do to remove them. I am optimistic that, collectively, we can dramatically diminish and even abolish the obstacles outlined here for the ...
Synthesis and Characterization of Organic−Inorganic Perovskite Thin Films Prepared Using a Versatile Two-Step Dipping Technique

A convenient two-step technique for preparing thin films of the organic−inorganic perovskites (RNH3)2(CH3NH3)n-1MnI3n+1 (R = butyl, phenethyl; M = Pb, Sn; n = 1, 2, ∞) has been achieved. Films of the metal halide, MI2, were first deposited onto ash glass or quartz disks using vacuum evaporation or spin-coating. By dipping these inorganic films, at room temperature, into an organic ammonium iodide solution for a short period of time (1−5 min for the layered perovskites), single-phase samples of the corresponding organic−inorganic perovskite thin films were formed. While a variety of solvents can be used for the dipping process, toluene/2-propanol mixtures have been shown to work well for many of the present compounds. The layered organic−inorganic perovskite films exhibited uniform surfaces and strong photoluminescence at wavelengths that were consistent with the corresponding materials made by single-crystal growth from solution. However, dipped organic−inorganic films made from evaporated PbI2 exhibited ...
Binding sites for growth hormone releasing factor on rat anterior pituitary cells

Growth hormone releasing factors (GRFs) have been isolated from human pancreatic tumours (hGRF)1–3 and rat hypothalamus (rhGRF)4. The response to GRF at the pituitary level can be modulated by other factors, including glucocorticoids5, thyroid hormones5, somatostatin and other neuropeptides5,6 and somatomedins7,8. Glucocorticoids enhance GRF-induced growth hormone (GH) secretion in primary cultures of rat anterior pituitary cells5,9, and the synthetic glucocorticoid dexamethasone has recently been shown to increase the amounts of GH released in freely moving rats in response to submaximal doses of intravenous GRF10. To investigate whether somatotroph sensitivity to GRF is modulated at its receptor level, we have developed a radioreceptor assay using an iodinated analogue of hGRF as radioligand. We report here that the relative binding affinities of rGRF, hGRF and the two analogues are correlated with their in vitro biological potencies. Further, the number of GRF binding sites is drastically decreased in cells deprived of glucocorticoids either in vivo or in vitro.
A culturally relevant teaching course: Reflecting pre‐service teachers’ thinking

As professors of Culturally Relevant Teaching, we seek to expand pre‐service teachers’ understanding of cultures through critical examination of personal cultural backgrounds, as well as, of those diverse groups who historically have experienced oppression in US society and its educational system. We share the story of how we develop and implement the course, setting it in the context of our teaching for a social justice‐oriented teacher education program in a predominantly White, rural, state university college. We indicate the literature from which we developed the course content and its activities; we analyze pre‐service teachers’ awareness of their cultural identities; and, describe the implications of this knowledge for teaching as reflected in the cultural autobiographies and narratives pre‐service students write at the beginning and end of the course. We hope this study will be helpful to other multicultural educators implementing similar courses.
The editor's correspondence: Analysis of patterns appearing in selected specialty and general journals

Most serious scientific journals allot space for correspondence from readers. One could conceive a priori of various functions for “letters to the editor.” For example, editors and readers both may wish a form of check and balance on the often imperfect peer review systeml; contributors may wish to present interesting or important anecdotal data and even pilot studies that might not merit full manuscript submission; individuals or organizations may announce a search for particular data or solicit referral of patients for special studies, and so on, not neglecting the obvious opportunity, where permitted, for a variety of complaints, felicitations and occasional whimsy. A greater or lesser amount of space devoted to letters characterizes particular journals, as does their content: Some are a mine of information containing initiatives such as case reports and miniseries; others are highly committed to the give-and-take of criticism and replies to criticism of published material. Because of this kind of interest, we analyzed the nature of published correspondence in 4 general medical journals, each appearing weekly, and 4 monthly specialty journals, each appearing during 1979.
Nonesterified Fatty Acid Content of Rabbit Kidney Cortex Slices after Warm Ischemia and Low Temperature Preservation

Abstract Nonesterified fatty acid content (NEFA) of rabbit kidney cortex slices preserved at low temperature after warm ischemia was examined. Kidney tissue slices were subjected to 60 min of warm (37°C) ischemia induced by anoxic gaseous phase incubation and then either had reperfusion simulated by normothermic oxygenated aqueous incubation or were preserved at 5°C up to 18 h with UW sodium gluconate solution and then reincubated at normothermia. Slice NEFA content increased during ischemia and remained significantly higher than controls during simulated reperfusion. Ischemic tissue slice NEFA content was significantly reduced by both 3- and 18-h preservations. There was a significant increase in NEFA content in 3-h preserved slices during simulated reperfusion. This increase was relatively unaffected by the addition of KCN to the incubation medium, suggesting that mitochondrial injury was induced by ultrashort preservation of ischemic tissue slices. Ischemic tissue slices preserved for 18 h increased in NEFA content during simulated reperfusion but did not appear more damaged than slices subjected to ischemia alone. Addition of quinacrine (100 μmol/l) to the cold preservation solution significantly reduced NEFA content during simulated reperfusion of slices preserved both 3 and 18 h with a greater effect in 18-h preserved slices. Quinacrine had no effect when added only during simulated reperfusion. KCN addition during simulated reperfusion indicated that quinacrine acted as a mitochondrial protectant in the absence of phospholipase inhibition under these conditions. This study showed that cold preservation may be useful for resuscitation of ischemic tissues harvested for transplantation. Treatments administered during cold preservation of ischemic tissue can have a lasting beneficial effect during reperfusion and may be more effective than similar treatments given only during reperfusion.
Calculating incoherent diffraction MTF

The incoherent diffraction MTF plays an increasingly important role in the range performance of imaging systems as the wavelength increases and the optical aperture decreases. Accordingly, all NVESD imager models have equations that describe the incoherent diffraction MTF of a circular entrance pupil. NVThermIP, a program which models thermal imager range performance, has built in equations which analytically model the incoherent diffraction MTF of a circular entrance pupil and has a capability to input a table that describes the MTF of other apertures. These can be calculated using CODE V, which can numerically calculate the incoherent diffraction MTF in the vertical or horizontal direction for an arbitrary aperture. However, we are not aware of any program that takes as input a description of the entrance pupil and analytically outputs equations that describe the incoherent diffraction MTF. This work explores the effectiveness of Mathematica to analytically and numerically calculate the incoherent diffraction MTF for an arbitrary aperture. In this work, Mathematica is used to analytically and numerically calculate the incoherent diffraction MTF for a variety of apertures and the results are compared with CODE V calculations.
Channel catfish BAC-end sequences for marker development and assessment of syntenic conservation with other fish species.

Summary In the present study, 25 195 BAC ends for channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus) were sequenced, generating 20 366 clean BAC-end sequences (BES), with an average read length of 557 bp after trimming. A total of 11 414 601 bp were generated, representing approximately 1.2% of the catfish genome. Based on this survey, the catfish genome was found to be highly AT-rich, with 60.7% A+T and 39.3% G+C. Approximately 12% of the catfish genome consisted of dispersed repetitive elements, with the Tc1/mariner transposons making up the largest percentage by base pair (4.57%). Microsatellites were detected in 17.5% of BES. Catfish BACs were anchored to the zebrafish and Tetraodon genome sequences by BLASTN, generating 16% and 8.2% significant hits (E < e−5) respectively. A total of 1074 and 773 significant hits were unique to the zebrafish and Tetraodon genomes, respectively, of which 417 and 406, respectively, were identified as known genes in other species, providing a major genome resource for comparative genomic mapping.
Solar Absorber Material Stability Under High Solar Flux

Solar absorbing Black Chrome coating have been exposed to high temperatures (350-400°C) under high solar fluxes (0.4 to 2.0 MW/mL) to test for their stability under actual operating conditions. Field tests at the White Snds Solar Furnace have shown higher stability than expected from oven tested samples. Laboratory studies utilizing spectrally selective concentrated solar simulated radiation have indicated that the cause of the higher stability under solar irradiation is photo-stimulated desorption of oxygen bearing species at the absorber surface and resultant reduced oxidation of the absorber.© (1982) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Hybrid auctions revisited

Abstract We examine hybrid auctions with affiliated private values and risk-averse bidders, and show that the optimal hybrid auction trades off the benefit of information extraction in the ascending-bid phase and the cost of reduced competition in the sealed-bid phase.
On the use of EPID-based implanted marker tracking for 4D radiotherapy

Four-dimensional (4D) radiotherapy delivery to dynamically moving tumors requires a real-time signal of the tumor position as a function of time so that the radiation beam can continuously track the tumor during the respiration cycle. The aim of this study was to develop and evaluate an electronic portal imaging device (EPID)-based marker-tracking system that can be used for real-time tumor targeting, or 4D radiotherapy. Three gold cylinders, 3 mm in length and 1 mm in diameter, were implanted in a dynamic lung phantom. The phantom range of motion was 4 cm with a 3 - s “breathing” period. EPIDimage acquisition parameters were modified, allowing image acquisition in 0.1 s . Images of the stationary and moving phantom were acquired. Software was developed to segment automatically the marker positions from the EPIDimages.Images acquired in 0.1 s displayed higher noise and a lower signal-noise ratio than those obtained using regular ( > 1 s ) acquisition settings. However, the markers were still clearly visible on the 0.1 - s images. The motion of the phantom blurred the images of the markers and further reduced the signal-noise ratio, though they could still be successfully segmented from the images in 10 – 30 ms of computation time. The positions of gold markers placed in the lung phantom were detected successfully, even for phantom velocities substantially higher than those observed for typical lungtumors. This study shows that using EPID-based marker tracking for 4D radiotherapy is feasible, however, changes in linear accelerator technology and EPID-based image acquisition as well as patient studies are required before this method can be implemented clinically.
On the spectrographic representation of rapidly time-varying speech

Abstract A spectrogram is the normal display for visual interpretation of the speech signal and, in one form or another, spectrographic data are very often used as the feature space for speech recognition. It is generally accepted that normal sampling rates and window sizes may be inappropriate for good spectrography given time-varying speech. We conjecture that rapid time variation is much more insidious than that; a spectrogram can indicate formant tracks which totally belie the vocal-tract generation process. It is shown that increased bandwidth due to rapid time variation can mask an expected, instantaneous spectral representation; current spectral analyses are very likely to provide inconsistent information for accurate classification of rapidly time-varying events such as stops.
Demonstration of high extinction ratio modal interference in a two-mode fiber and its applications for all-fiber comb filter and high-temperature sensor

We show that high extinction ratio (>20 dB) modal interference in a two-mode dispersion compensating fiber can be utilized to build a compact, easy-to-fabricate tunable all-fiber optical comb filter. Wavelength tunability over the full free spectral range of the comb filter is demonstrated with an electrical power of 115mW using an on-fiber thin film micro-heater deposited directly on the fiber. In another configuration, the comb filter is used as a temperature sensor with dynamic range of >300 °C and sensitivity of <0.1 °C. The temperature sensor is capable of measuring a temperature as high as 500 °C.
Continental rifting at pre-existing lithospheric weaknesses

Continental rifting is the poorly understood thermomechanical process by which continents break up and new ocean basins form. Two dominant styles of continental rifting are recognized1. Crevice style rifts are characterized by initial graben formation, local uplift of the graben shoulders, and little or no volcanism. Arch-volcanic rifts exhibit an initial doming of the crust, extensive volcanism, and late-stage graben formation. The prevailing expla-nation for the two styles is that crevice rifts form in response to regional horizontal stresses, principally derived from the inter-action of the lithospheric plates along their edges, whereas arch-volcanic rifts are thought to be the result of mantle convection currents which upwell directly beneath the rift axis2. We propose an alternative working model of continental rifting in which both styles initiate in response to regional horizontal stresses. The different surface expressions of the two styles are explained in terms of differences in the mode of failure at different kinds of pre-existing weaknesses in the continental lithosphere, rather than differences in the nature of the driving forces involved.
Components of Emotion Dysregulation in Borderline Personality Disorder: A Review

Following Linehan's biosocial model, we conceptualize emotion dysregulation in borderline personality disorder (BPD) as consisting of four components: emotion sensitivity, heightened and labile negative affect, a deficit of appropriate regulation strategies, and a surplus of maladaptive regulation strategies. We review the evidence supporting each of these components. Given the complexity of the construct of emotion dysregulation and its involvement in many disorders, there is a need for research that specifies which components of emotion dysregulation are under study and also examines the interplay amongst these emotion dysregulation components.
BH3 mimetics and multi-kinase inhibition in AML.

In this issue of Blood , Rahmani et al show in preclinical studies that the combination of the multi-kinase inhibitor sorafenib with the BH3 mimetic obatoclax results in enhanced antileukemic effects compared with the effects of each agent alone.[1][1] This work has important clinical implications
Designing molecular eigenstates in a four-level Λ system

The interaction of single cw laser (coupling) field with a four-level $\ensuremath{\Lambda}$ system containing two closely spaced upper levels ($a$ and $b$) is studied as a means to attain quantum control. By adjusting the coupling field Rabi frequency and detuning, it is possible to create target states of a prescribed admixture of states $a$ and $b$ within a dressed state representation. An electromagnetically induced transparency of an additional probe beam is also studied. The four-level $\ensuremath{\Lambda}$ system gives rise to generally two dark resonances for a given coupling field detuning. When the resonances are degenerate EIT is enhanced.