cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Bladder cancer in men and women treated by radiation therapy and/or radical cystectomy

Abstract Four-hundred fifty-one patients with bladder cancer, 348 men and 103 women, were treated by radiation therapy and/or radical cystectomy during the last two decades at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. Radical cystectomy alone was the treatment in 98 men and 39 women. Radical radiation therapy to an average tumor dose of 6,000 rad in six weeks was given to 79 men and 30 women ± one year before salvage cystectomy was done for recurrent or persistent tumors. Planned preoperative irradiation was delivered to the true pelvis either 4,000 rad in four weeks in 95 men and 24 women or 2,000 rad in one week in 76 men and 10 women ± six weeks and two days, respectively, before radical cystectomy. Over-all survival and recurrence results in both sexes were similar; 40 per cent of men and 36 per cent of women were alive at five years without recurrence, 45 per cent of men and 48 per cent of women died in five or more years with local and/or distant recurrences, and 21 per cent of men and 15 per cent of women died before five years from causes other than cancer recurrence. Higher five-year survival for high clinical stage B2 to D1 tumors was noted similarly in the irradiated men (30 per cent) and women (37 per cent) than in the cystectomy alone patients (19 per cent in men and 4 per cent in women). Similar survival rates (52 to 57 per cent) were observed in men and women with low clinical stage O to B1 tumors treated with or without irradiation.
A comprehensive and critical review essay of "Homosexuality, science, and the 'plain sense' of Scripture": part 2

Not treated here are the articles by Phyllis A. Bird and William R. Schoedel. My analysis of Bird’s article will be published separately in a forthcoming issue of Zeitschrift fur die alttestamentliche Wissenschaft under the title “The Old Testament and Homosexuality: A Critical Review of the Case Made By Phyllis Bird.” As for the article by William R. Schoedel, I refer readers to pp. 392-95 in my book The Bible and Homosexual Practice: Texts and Hermeneutics (Nashville: Abingdon, 2001), “A Note on Schoedel’s Study of Ancient Causation Theories.” Elsewhere I discuss further the implications of “orientation” theory in antiquity for study of Paul’s discussion of homosexual practice: “Does the Bible Regard SameSex Intercourse as Intrinsically Sinful?” in Christian Sexuality: Normative and Pastoral Principles (ed. R. Saltzman; Minneapolis: Kirk House, 2003), 106-55, specifically pp. 140-52.
THE TRANSFORMATION OF THE LATIN AMERICAN STATE-AS-LAW: STATE CAPACITY AND THE RULE OF LAW

Este articulo propone que hubo una profunda transformacion en la naturaleza del estado de derecho en America Latina desde 1975. En esa epoca, el Estado proponia una legalidad muy acotada y con poca autonomia de quien detentaba el poder. Existian vastos espacios sociales, economicos y politicos librados a la arbitrariedad del poder. Ahora, estos espacio se han reducido, y el orden se ha formalizado. Podemos distinguir cuatro modelos de estado de derecho, dependiendo de la densidad y autonomia del orden legal: el modelo original, un estado politico, que persiste en pocos estados, y tres nuevos, el estado social de derecho, el estado liberal de derecho y el estado de derecho politizado.
113-GHz f/sub T/ graded-base SiGe HBT's

Summary form only given. A novel low-thermal cycle process was used to fabricate epitaxial SiGe-base heterojunction bipolar transistors (HBTs) with record unity current gain cutoff frequencies. The process includes an in situ phosphorus-doped polysilicon emitter which requires only a 800 degrees C-10-s anneal. A peak f/sub T/ of 113 GHz at V/sub CB/ of 1 V was obtained for an intrinsic base sheet resistance of 7 k Omega / Square Operator . >
Red lunulae: Case report and literature review

Thumb nails with asymptomatic red lunulae were noted in a 54-year-old woman with testosterone propionate-responsive vulvar lichen sclerosus et atrophicus of 4 years' duration and localized vitiligo that had been treated with topical corticosteriods for 15 months, Cutaneous and systemic disorders in which red lunulae have been observed are reviewed.
Reasoning about other people's beliefs: Bilinguals have an advantage.

Bilingualism can have widespread cognitive effects. In this article we investigate whether bilingualism might have an effect on adults' abilities to reason about other people's beliefs. In particular, we tested whether bilingual adults might have an advantage over monolingual adults in false-belief reasoning analogous to the advantage that has been observed with bilingual children. Using a traditional false-belief task coupled with an eye-tracking technique, we found that adults in general suffer interference from their own perspective when reasoning about other people's beliefs. However, bilinguals are reliably less susceptible to this egocentric bias than are monolinguals. Moreover, performance on the false-belief task significantly correlated with performance on an executive control task. We argue that bilinguals' early sociolinguistic sensitivity and enhanced executive control may account for their advantage in false-belief reasoning.
109 A NEW METHOD FOR ECHOCARDIOGRAPHIC ASSESSMENT OF RIGHT VENTRICLE IN CHILDREN

Our preliminary study suggested the possibility of a reliable method of measurement of right ventricular outflow tract (RVOFT) for the assessment of RV size by echocardiography (E). We further examined 110 male (M) and 90 female (F) , normal school children, 5-14 years of age, with body surface area (BSA) varying from 0.7 to 1.59 to establish normal standards. In the standard fashion, strip chart E recordings were obtained of the aortic root from the 3rd or 4th left intercostal space. Inner RVOFT at the onset of Q wave of the EKG, the distance from the endocardium of the anterior RV wall to the outer aspect of the anterior wall of the aorta was measured in millimeters for several cardiac cycles and averaged. The results were as follows for the mean and 1 standard deviation for the different BSA Our study demonstrates increase in RVOFT diameter with larger BSA in keeping with the other cardiac chambers. The difference in the RVOFT sizes at any BSA between M and F children was not statistically significant. Our study establishes normal standards for RVOFT diameter for these normal school children.
All-optical multi-dimensional imaging of energy-materials beyond the diffraction limit

Efficient, environmentally-friendly, harvesting, storage, transport and conversion of energy are some of the foremost challenges now facing mankind. An important facet of this challenge is the development of new materials with improved electronic and photonic properties. Nano-scale metrology will be important in developing these materials, and optical methods have many advantages over electrons or proximal probes. To surpass the diffraction limit, near-field methods can be used. Alternatively, the concept of imaging in a multi-dimensional space is employed, where, in addition to spatial dimensions, the added dimensions of energy and time allow to distinguish objects which are closely spaced, and in effect increase the achievable resolution of optical microscopy towards the molecular level. We have employed these methods towards the study of materials relevant to renewable energy processes. Specifically, we image the position and orientation of single carbohydrate binding modules and visualize their interaction with cellulose with ~ 10nm resolution, an important step in identifying the molecular underpinnings of bio-processing and the development of low-cost alternative fuels, and describe our current work implementing these concepts towards characterizing the ultrafast carrier dynamics (~ 100fs) in a new class of nano-structured solar cells, predicted to have theoretical efficiencies exceeding 60%, using femtosecond laser spectroscopy.
Development of a New Test Method for Air Intrusion Quantification of Roofing Assemblies

In North America, approximately one-fourth of low-slope buildings are roofed with a mechanically attached assembly (MAA) with a single-ply membrane. During wind suctions, the membrane can lift and billow. This creates localized suction under the membrane. If design provisions are not made to control the air intruison at the deck level, this suction pressure can draw the indoor conditioned air into the assembly. Two main factors influence the air intrusion: the air permeability of the components and shape or volume changes during the wind uplift. Available standard test procedures can quantify the former for roof materials. However, there is no widely accepted standard specification or test to address the air intrusion characteristics of roofing assemblies. Air leakage measurement techniques used for walls are also not applicable for roof assemblies due to the membrane shape and volume changes in the roof assembly. Research efforts are under way at the National Research Council of Canada to quantify the air intrusion rate of roof assemblies. This paper presents the details of the experimental setup, test procedure, and validation effort of this newly developed test method.
Photographic observations of streamers and steps in a cloud-to-air negative leader

A color photograph has been obtained of a negative lightning leader in clear air at 10.3 km altitude. The individual leader steps are resolved as relatively straight segments of at least ~200 m in length, between sharp kinks (nodes) in the channel. Each node is accompanied by a group of streamers of ~100 m in length. One node has an unconnected secondary leader with streamers at both ends. Lightning Mapping Array observations show that the leader was part of an intracloud (IC) flash. The observation shows that steps of negative leaders near 10 km altitude are an order of magnitude longer than values reported in the literature for negative leaders near sea level. Since negative leaders propagate at comparable velocities at low and high altitudes, stepping occurs at a lower rate in IC flashes, which can explain why RF emissions from IC flashes are more intermittent than those from cloud-to-ground flashes.
Isolation of deoxycoformycin-resistant cells with increased levels of adenosine deaminase

Deoxycoformycin (dCF) is a specific inhibitor of adenosine deaminase (ADA). Rat hepatoma cells deficient in adenosine kinase and growing on adenosine as the sole carbon source are sensitive to the lethal action of dCF. Mutants resistant to dCF arise spontaneously with a frequency of1.7 × 10−6. This frequency is increased to 2.6 × 10−5 by prior mutagenesis with ethyl methane sulfonate. Initially, dCF-resistant cell lines have 3–10 times the level of adenosine deaminase when compared to sensitive parental cells. Subsequent selection of mutants resistant to increased concentrations of dCF results in cells with a 15- to 30-fold increase in ADA levels. Quantitative immunoprecipitation tests indicate that the increase in enzyme activity in one line tested is due to an increase in the number of ADA molecules. These dCFr cell lines may serve as a model system to study the human disease state, hereditary hemolytic anemia, which is associated with increased levels of ADA.
Photoinduced electron transfer and strand cleavage in pyrenyl–DNA complexes and adducts

The fluorescence of pyrenyl residues in complexes with the nucleic acid bases G, C and T, but not A, is strongly quenched by photoinduced electron transfer mechanisms. Site-specifically modified 11-mer oligonucleotide duplexes containing a single modified guanosyl base G* bearing a covalently attached pyrenyl residue were prepared in order to probe for photochemical damage associated with these photoinduced electron transfer reactions. When the pyrenyl residue positioned at G* is photoexcited with 355 nm light, direct strand cleavage is observed at that site with low quantum yield. Frank strand breaks are also observed up to five base pairs away from G*, suggesting that intrastrand migration of a reactive intermediate from base to base is occurring. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
VERY LOW-TEMPERATURE ALTERATION OF SIDEROMELANE IN HYALOCLASTITES AND HYALOTUFFS FROM KILAUEA AND MAUNA KEA VOLCANOES: IMPLICATIONS FOR THE MECHANISM OF PALAGONITE FORMATION

Three petrographically distinct styles of altered glasses in two hyaloclastites and one hyalotuff were studied. The texture and chemistry of these samples were investigated using electron probe microanalysis, scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy in order to understand better the mechanism by which alteration of sideromelane and formation of palagonite occurred in these samples. The results show that clay minerals (primarily smectites) are present in three different microenvironments: (1) coating the surfaces of glass and crystals or vesicle walls; (2) as a relatively heterogeneous, but well crystallized, replacement product (i.e. reddened smectite grain replacement or RSGR) of glass or; (3) as a relatively homogeneous, amorphous to poorly crystalline replacement product (i.e. palagonite). Both the grain size and composition of these smectite-like materials vary considerably. Crystalline smectites occur in both hyaloclastites and have an intermediate composition between the two end-members nontronite and saponite. This composition could correspond to a mechanical intergrowth and/or an interstratification of two different smectites: one dioctahedral (i.e. nontronite) and one trioctahedral (i.e. saponite or stevensite) or simply to a true di-trioctahedral smectite. The coating smectite appears to have precipitated by a paragenetically-early, dissolution-precipitation mechanism prior to the formation of the RSGR. The high Ti content found in RSGR is attributable to an amorphous Ti-rich material which is intergrown with smectite and which behaves as a sink for immobile elements and those not included in smectite. Palagonite from both hyaloclastites and hyalotuff is poorly to non-crystalline and more aluminous than the coating smectites. Palagonite from the hyalotuff has an Fe-rich montmorillonite-like composition. The TEM images show a 30–50 nm thick leached layer formed by selective (non-stoichiometric) dissolution that takes place in the fracture domain. The hydration and replacement of glass during the palgonitization process is accompanied by the loss of Fe, Mg and Ca with a concomitant gain of Al. Both palagonites (from hyaloclastites and hyalotuff) show smilar textural and chemical characteristics.
Low energy $bar K - Nucleon$ interactions and the apparent strong violation of charge independence in K--proton absorption reactionsinteractions and the apparent strong violation of charge independence in K--proton absorption reactions

In the zero-range boundary conditions method of Dalitz and Tuan for the discussion of low energy K−-proton reactions, the apparent strong violation of the charge independence hypothesis in the calculations of hyperon production rates, due to the inclusion of\(\bar K^0 ,K^ - \) and (n, p) mass differences, is investigated. Also, the results of Sakitt's zero-range analysis on low energy interactions of K−-mesons in hydrogen bubble chamber are discussed.
Instantaneous active and nonactive power control of distributed energy resources with a current limiter

Distributed energy resources (DER) with a power electronics inverter interface can provide both active power and nonactive power simultaneously and independently. A decoupled control algorithm of active power and nonactive power is developed based on the instantaneous active power and nonactive power theory. A current limiter is combined to the control algorithm, and it ensures that the inverter is not overloaded. During the normal system operation, the active power has higher priority over the nonactive power so that the energy from a DER can be fully transferred to the grid. Within the inverter's capability, nonactive power is provided to the grid as required. With this control algorithm, the inverter's capabilities are taken full advantage at all times, both in terms of functionality as well as making use of its full KVA rating. Through the algorithm, the inverter's active power and nonactive power are controlled directly, simultaneously, and independently. Several experimental results fully demonstrate the validity and effectiveness of this new control algorithm. As evidenced by the fast dynamic response that results, a DER system with the control algorithm can provide full services to the grid in both steady state and during transient events.
Response of Hairless Mouse Skin to Chloracnegens

AbstractChemically induced choracne may be used as a model to study the factors involved in the development of comedogenesis. Even though the activating agents in chloracne and acne vulgaris are obviously entirely different, it seems probable that the biochemical events activated in the development of comedogenesis in these two syndromes are identical. 2,3,7,7-Tetra-chlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) is the most potent known chloracnegen discovered to date. As such, it is the most potent comedogenic agent known. In contrast to humans, in whom the skin and especially the sebaceous follicles are the primary target organs to express toxicity following exposure to this chemical, skin of laboratory animals generally does not exhibit a similar sensitivity. Known exceptions are skin of the inner surface of the rabbit ear, facial skin of monkeys, and skin of hairless, but not of haired, mice. Low-dose application of TCDD stimulates epidermal/epithelial hyperplasia/hyperkeratinization in the hairless, but not haired, m...
The expenditure effects of municipal annexation

The shift in the institutional stucture in California in 1963 simultaneously reduced the ability of new cities to incorporate and elevated the status of annexation as a favored municipal growth policy. This study finds that cities which grew more rapidly by annexation also experienced more rapid expenditure growth rates than cities which did not grow rapidly by annexation. These results, using somewhat better data, corroborate those of M-W. They support the hypothesis that the institutional shift toward annexation enhanced the service monopolies enjoyed by existing municipalities thus promoting bureau-growth and inefficiency. Of course, further tests will be necessary to determine whether these expenditure effects arise solely because of annexation. That is, would this expenditure growth be expected in easy-annexation states even if entry to the local government services market were relatively open? The bureaucracy-monopoly hypothesis also needs to be tested against alternative hypotheses about the causes of rapid expenditure growth in high annexation cities. Nonetheless, the results of this study, combined with those of M-W, clearly indicate the importance of the institutional structure in affecting municipal fiscal behavior.
On the theory of biased bisection operations and their inverses

Abstract A theory of fundamental measurement involving multiple operations is presented. The operations are bisection, and two inverses of the bisection operation called right and left displacement, analogous to “displacement” of an interval “up” or “down” a scale. Following Pfanzagl, “biased” operations are permitted, and linear, reflexive representations are presented for the biased operations. Results are obtained on the constructability of unbiased scaling operations, and several methods of constructing standard sequences of equally spaced stimuli using biased operations, are described. A striking property of biased linear representation models is derived, showing that if bias is present, indefinite iterations of one or the other of the two displacement operations will converge to asymptote. Preliminary data support this surprising convergence property.
A comparison of hepatocyte size distribution in untreated and phenobarbital-treated rats as assessed by flow cytometry

Flow cytometric analysis of narrow forward angle light scatter was used to examine the effect of phenobarbital treatment on hepatocyte size. Light scatter analysis of freshly isolated hepatocytes and of hepatocytes separated by means of centrifugal elutriation into five subpopulations (fractions 1–5) was performed on both untreated and phenobarbitaltreated rats. The frequency distribution histogram of forward scatter intensity produced by freshly isolated hepatocytes from untreated rats was used as the baseline. This histogram was arbitrarily divided into four regions; referred to as region 1 (small cells) to region 4 (large cells). Subsequent analysis of the light scatter histograms derived from elutriated fractions of both untreated and phenobarbital-treated animals was performed using these baseline regions. Analysis showed that small cells were enriched in elutriated fraction 1, and large cells in elutriated fraction 5. Phenobarbital treatment was associated with a uniform shift to a higher intensity light scatter (relative increase in cell size) within each of the four selected regions. Our findings suggest that phenobarbital does not have a selective hypertrophic effect on these subpopulations of rat hepatocytes.
Reframing the benefits and beneficiaries of public benefits programs

Abstract This article uses current research to demonstrate that in addition to the direct benefits received by recipients of four main types of public benefit programs—cash assistance, public health insurance, food assistance, and public housing—non-recipients receive a variety of indirect economic and noneconomic benefits. Non-recipients include individuals, families, organizations, businesses, neighborhoods, and the general public. The review indicates that public benefits programs can indirectly benefit non-recipients economically by increasing economic security; stimulating local, state, and national economies; increasing employment and other measures of economic well-being; generating tax revenues; and providing cost savings. In addition, we determined two main types of indirect noneconomic benefits: enhancing neighborhood quality and the intrinsic rewards gained from fulfilling humanitarian and related values. We then summarize the results of these studies and make suggestions for future research. Finally, based on the reviewed research, we identify methods to reframe negative perceptions of government spending on public benefits programs. By reframing the benefits and beneficiaries of these programs, social workers, professional organizations, lobbyists, politicians, and elected officials can increase societal and political support for public benefits programs.
Large-scale Rossby Normal Modes during Some Recent Northern Hemisphere Winters

AbstractLarge-scale Rossby normal modes are studied for the Northern Hemisphere winters of 2005, 2006, 2008, and 2009 using global observational meteorological analyses spanning the 0–92-km altitude range. Spectral analysis of geopotential height fields shows pronounced peaks at westward-propagating zonal wavenumber 1 near the theoretical locations of the free Rossby waves at 25, 16, 10, and 5 days that, in some cases, have amplitudes significantly larger than the estimated background spectrum. Evidence is also found for a wavenumber-2 free mode near 4 days. A coherence analysis is used to extract the amplitude and phase of the waves, and to isolate those regions of the latitude/altitude plane where the signals are statistically significant. Although the spectral location, temporal evolution, and vertical structure of several of these waves are suggestive of the presence of Rossby normal modes, this study shows that in the real atmosphere the waves only occasionally have the global properties of classical...
Antibody responses to suspected periodontal pathogens in elderly subjects with periodontal disease

Abstract Little is known about the relationship of aging to periodontal disease. The immune response undergoes aging-related changes resulting in loss of functional capacity. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between levels of serum IgG antibodies against suspected periodontal pathogenic microorganisms to the presence or absence of periodontal disease in an elderly (65-75 yrs) population. From this study, we obtained information concerning: (1) the ability to differentiate elderly individuals without disease from those with disease by their levels of antibodies against periodontal pathogens and (2) which periodontal pathogen(s) triggered those responses. IgG anti- Porphyromonas gingivalis (strains W83 and 381) levels in the serum of elderly patients with severe periodontal disease were the only antibody responses measured which were elevated compared to the elderly control group of subjects with no periodontal disease. Anti- Prevoiella intermedia IgG levels in both elderly patient groups were depressed compared to anti- P. intermedia levels in the young normal control subjects. Serum IgG antibody levels to six other plaque microorganisms did not differentiate between diseased and normal, elderly or young subjects. This data suggested that P. gingtvalis was associated with periodontal disease in this elderly group of individuals and that those elderly individuals were able to respond with a normal IgG immune response.
Operant leadership and employee citizenship: A question of trust?

Abstract The present study replicates and extends previous research examining the relationship between operant leader behavior and organizational citizenship behavior (OCB). Drawing on recent theory proffering trust as an important explanatory mechanism, we hypothesized that employee trust mediates the relationship between operant leader behaviors and OCB. Further, we argue that the valences associated with reward and punishments augment the effects of both contingent and non-contingently administered behaviors. Using data collected from 475 employees of a United States manufacturing firm, results indicate that trust fully mediates the relationship between operant leadership and OCB. Further, results confirmed that contingently based reward and punishment leader behaviors are more constructive in engendering trust and citizenship than non-contingent leader behaviors.
A Kolmogorov inequality for the sum of independent Bernoulli random variables with unequal means

This note presents a Kolmogorov inequality for the partial sums of a sequence of independent Bernoulli random variables with unequal means.
THE FINITE ELEMENT RESPONSE MATRIX METHOD FOR THE SOLUTION OF THE NEUTRON TRANSPORT EQUATION

The finite element response matrix method has been applied to the solution of the neutron transport equation. This method has previously been applied to the neutron diffusion equation for coarse mesh reactor analysis with excellent results. As with the diffusion equation implementation, the transport method employs a local-global projection technique to allow treatment of internal heterogeneities that would normally not be resolved by the coarse global mesh that is needed for computational efficiency. However, since the transport equation includes the angular domain, the local~lobal projection technique has been extended to angle as well as space. Since the response matrices do not depend on the multiplication factor, a conventional fission source iteration method is utilized for criticality problems. The method has been applied to the one-dimensional and two- dimensional neutron transport equations. For one-dimensional geometries, the local global projection method yields excellent results, indicating the potential of this approach as a viable coarse mesh transport method. Numerical results are presented for several one-dimensional configurations that were analyzed with varying choices of local and global meshes in the spatial domain. Preliminary results with two-dimensional applications indicate that computational times may be an order of magnitude faster than with the conventional finite element solution of the two-dimensional transport equation.
Faithful Distributed Shapley Mechanisms for Sharing the Cost of Multicast Transmissions

Sharing the cost of multicast transmissions was studied in the past and two mechanisms, Marginal Cost and Shapley Value, were proposed. Compared to the Marginal Cost Mechanism the Shapley Value mechanism has the advantage of being budget balanced. Although both of them are strategyproof mechanisms, the distributed protocols implementing them are susceptible to manipulation by autonomous nodes. We propose two protocols that implement the Shapley Value mechanism in which the nodes do not have incentives to deviate from the protocol specifications. We show that the proposed protocols are faithful implementations of the Shapley Value mechanism. We deploy these protocols on PlanetLab and analyze their performance.
Classical structures in the quantized baker transformation

Abstract We study the role of periodic trajectories and other classical structures on single eigenfunctions of the quantized version of the baker's transformation. Due to the simplicity of both the classical and the quantum description a very detailed comparison is possible, which is made in phase space by means of a special positive definite representation adapted to the discreteness of the map. A slight but essential modification of the original version described by Balasz and Voros ( Ann. Phys. 190 (1989), 1) restores the classical phase space symmetry. In particular, we are able to observe how the whole hyperbolic neighborhood of the fixed points appears in the eigenfunctions. New scarring mechanisms related to the homoclinic and heteroclinic trajectories are observed and discussed.
Trivedi and Makivic reply.

In response to a recent comment [Phys. Rev. Lett. 74 1038 (1995)], the authors further their Monte Carlo study of the two[minus]dimensional dirty boson problem. (AIP)
Unexpected Diversity of Bacteria Capable of Carbon Monoxide Oxidation in a Coastal Marine Environment, and Contribution of the Roseobacter-Associated Clade to Total CO Oxidation

The species diversity, phylogenetic affiliations, and physiological activity rates of carbon monoxide-oxidizing microorganisms were investigated, using new isolates from surface waters collected from the coast of New England and type strains from established collections. A direct isolation method allowed the simultaneous recovery of organisms with different growth rates and nutritional requirements and the identification of marine microorganisms that oxidize CO at an environmentally relevant concentration (42 nM CO). Isolates that oxidized CO at environmentally relevant rates (>4.5 × 10−11 nmol CO oxidized cell−1 h−1) were taxonomically diverse, with representatives in the alpha and gamma subclasses of the Proteobacteria and the phylum Bacteroidetes, and represent a hitherto unreported metabolic function for several diverse microbial types. Isolates and type strains having the greatest specific rates of CO metabolism (1.1 × 10−10 to 2.3 × 10−10 nmol CO oxidized cell−1 h−1) belonged to the Roseobacter-associated clade (RAC) of the alpha subclass of the Proteobacteria. By using triple-labeled slide preparations, differential counts of active CO-oxidizing RAC cells, total RAC cells, and total bacterial cell counts in environmental samples were obtained. RAC organisms were a major component of total cell numbers (36%). Based on the density of active CO-oxidizing RAC cells in natural samples and RAC-specific metabolic activities determined for pure cultures, active CO-oxidizing RAC cells may contribute up to 15% of the total CO oxidation occurring in coastal waters.
Alteration of apparent restriction endonuclease recognition specificities by DNA methylases

Abstract An in vitro method of altering the apparent cleavage specificities of restriction endonucleases was developed using DNA modification methylases. This method was used to reduce the number of cleavage sites for 34 restriction endonucleases. In particular, single-site cleavages were achieved for Nhe I in Adeno-2 DNA and for Acc I and Hinc II in pBR322 DNA by specifically methylating all but one recognition sequence.
Development of a real-time quantitative PCR assay for detection of a stable genomic region of BK virus

BK virus infections can have clinically significant consequences in immunocompromised individuals. Detection and monitoring of active BK virus infections in certain situations is recommended and therefore PCR assays for detection of BK virus have been developed. The performance of current BK PCR detection assays is limited by the existence of viral polymorphisms, unknown at the time of assay development, resulting in inconsistent detection of BK virus. The objective of this study was to identify a stable region of the BK viral genome for detection by PCR that would be minimally affected by polymorphisms as more sequence data for BK virus becomes available. Employing a combination of techniques, including amino acid and DNA sequence alignment and interspecies analysis, a conserved, stable PCR target region of the BK viral genomic region was identified within the VP2 gene. A real-time quantitative PCR assay was then developed that is specific for BK virus, has an analytical sensitivity of 15 copies/reaction (450 copies/ml) and is highly reproducible (CV ≤ 5.0%). Identifying stable PCR target regions when limited DNA sequence data is available may be possible by combining multiple analysis techniques to elucidate potential functional constraints on genomic regions. Applying this approach to the development of a real-time quantitative PCR assay for BK virus resulted in an accurate method with potential clinical applications and advantages over existing BK assays.
Lack of Cardiac Effect from Repeated Doses of Albuterol Aerosol A Margin of Safety

To simulate the pattern of use by some patients at home, we studied the effect of frequently repeated inhalation of albuterol aerosol on cardiac rhythm. Fifteen stable outpatient asthmatic children, ages 9-14 years were treated with two puffs of albuterol aerosol (180 mcg) followed either by hourly placebo or hourly albuterol aerosol for 5 hours (10 puffs = 900 mcg) in a randomized, double-blind crossover study. Cardiac rhythm was Holter monitored and pulmonary function was tested hourly for 5 hours. Heart rate (HR) was analyzed at hourly intervals. Pretreatment heart rate of 95.4 bpm ±1.9 SEM declined by 0.4-3 (bpm) after single dose and declined by 2.2-5.6 (bpm) from 99.2 (bpm) ± 2.3 SEM during multiple doses. No one developed arrhythmia, and side effects were infrequent on either day. Forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1) increased similarly on both regimens. It remained stably elevated on the multiple doses, but it started to decline at 120 minutes after the single dose. Our study shows a substa...
A Tree Based Data Mining Prediction Scheme for Wireless Cellular Network

A centralized collaborative system between nodes and Base Stations (BSs) is developed, and a new prediction mobility scheme with Data Mining techniques is proposed so that the service of the handoff calls can be guaranteed. This new approach belongs to the Direct Group Mobility (DGM) prediction scheme and is based on the Tree Path Construction Algorithm (TPCON) and the Merge Tree Algorithm (MTA). Two Call Admission Control (CAC) algorithms are developed for each BS according to the predictive or adaptive policy for the reservation operation in order to minimize the call dropping probability. This study deals with the system behavior only at exceptional congestion time periods (periodical events).
Rubrics: Tools for Making Learning Goals and Evaluation Criteria Explicit for Both Teachers and Learners

Introduction of new teaching strategies often expands the expectations for student learning, creating a parallel need to redefine how we collect the evidence that assures both us and our students that these expectations are in fact being met. The default assessment strategy of the typical large, introductory, college-level science course, the multiple- choice (fixed response) exam, when used to best advantage can provide feedback about what students know and recall about key concepts. Leaving aside the difficulty inherent in designing a multiple-choice exam that captures deeper understandings of course material, its limitations become particularly notable when learning objectives include what students are able to do as well as know as the result of time spent in a course. If we want students to build their skill at conducting guided laboratory investigations, developing reasoned arguments, or communicating their ideas, other means of assessment such as papers, demonstrations (the “practical exam”), other demonstrations of problem solving, model building, debates, or oral presentations, to name a few, must be enlisted to serve as benchmarks of progress and/or in the assignment of grades. What happens, however, when students are novices at responding to these performance prompts when they are used in the context of science learning, and faculty are novices at communicating to students what their expectations for a high-level performance are? The more familiar terrain of the multiple-choice exam can lull both students and instructors into a false sense of security about the clarity and objectivity of the evaluation criteria (Wiggins, 1989 ) and make these other types of assessment strategies seem subjective and unreliable (and sometimes downright unfair) by comparison. In a worst-case scenario, the use of alternatives to the conventional exam to assess student learning can lead students to feel that there is an implicit or hidden curriculum—the private curriculum that seems to exist only in the mind's eye of a course instructor. Use of rubrics provides one way to address these issues. Rubrics not only can be designed to formulate standards for levels of accomplishment and used to guide and improve performance but also they can be used to make these standards clear and explicit to students. Although the use of rubrics has become common practice in the K–12 setting (Luft, 1999 ), the good news for those instructors who find the idea attractive is that more and more examples of the use of rubrics are being noted at the college and university level, with a variety of applications (Ebert-May, undated; Ebert-May et al., 1997 ; Wright and Boggs, 2002 ; Moni et al., 2005 ; Porter, 2005 ; Lynd-Balta, 2006 ).
Human macrophage adhesion on polysaccharide patterned surfaces

Despite many advances in designing biocompatible materials, inflammation remains a problem in medical devices and implants. We report two methods, microcontact printing and photodegradation by UV exposure, to pattern dextran and hyaluronic acid on glass, as well as demonstrate their utility for use as an anti-inflammatory biomaterial. The dextran/glass patterned surface can be further modified by grafting hyaluronic acid to glass, creating a binary polysaccharide patterned surface. We used two geometries, 90 µm squares and 22 µm stripes, to study the human macrophage (THP-1) adhesion on the patterned surfaces containing dextran, hyaluronic acid and the binary pattern. The results indicate that a majority of the macrophages are non-adherent on hyaluronic acid for three day culture. The ranking of surfaces according to macrophage adhesion is 3-aminopropyl triethoxysilane-modified glass culture dish, dextranized surfaces, glass, and hyaluronic acid-modified surfaces. On the binary pattern of dextran and hyaluronic acid, macrophages preferentially attach and adhere to the dextranized area. Patterned surfaces provide an excellent platform for mimicking the complexity of the glycocalyx and investigating the interface between this surface and cells. This binary polysaccharide pattern also offers a new route to address anti-inflammatory potential of surface coatings on biomaterials in a high through-put fashion.
Shifting topographic activation and 5-HT1A receptor-mediated inhibition of dorsal raphe serotonin neurons produced by nicotine exposure and withdrawal

Nicotine activates serotonin (5-HT) neurons innervating the forebrain and this is thought to reduce anxiety. Nicotine withdrawal has also been associated with an activation of 5-HT neurotransmission, although withdrawal increases anxiety. In each case, 5-HT1A receptors have been implicated in the response. To determine if there are different subgroups of 5-HT cells activated during nicotine administration and withdrawal, we mapped the appearance of Fos, a marker of neuronal activation, in 5-HT cells of the dorsal and median raphe nuclei (DR and MR). To understand the role 5-HT1A receptor feedback inhibitory pathways on 5-HT cell activity during these conditions, we administered a selective 5-HT1A-receptor antagonist and measured novel disinhibited Fos expression within 5-HT cells. Using these approaches, we found evidence that acute nicotine activates 5-HT neurons rostrally and in the lateral wings of the DR while there is 5-HT1A dependent inhibition of cells located ventrally both at rostral and mid levels. Previous chronic nicotine exposure did not modify the pattern of Fos activation produced by acute nicotine, but increased 5-HT1A-dependent inhibition of 5-HT cells in the caudal DR. This pattern was nearly reversed during nicotine withdrawal when there was evidence for caudal activation and mid- and rostral-5-HT1A-dependent inhibition. These results suggest that the distinct behavioral states produced by nicotine exposure and withdrawal correlate with reciprocal rostral-caudal patterns of activation and 5-HT1A-mediated inhibition of DR 5-HT neurons. The complimentary patterns of activation and inhibition suggest that 5-HT1A receptors may help shape distinct topographic patterns of activation within the DR.
Quantitative myocardial infarction on delayed enhancement MRI. Part I: Animal validation of an automated feature analysis and combined thresholding infarct sizing algorithm.

Purpose: To develop a computer algorithm to measure myocardial infarct size in gadolinium-enhanced magnetic resonance (MR) imaging and to validate this method using a canine histopathological reference. Materials and Methods: Delayed enhancement MR was performed in 11 dogs with myocardial infarction (MI) determined by triphenyltetrazolium chloride (TTC). Infarct size on in vivo and ex vivo images was measured by a computer algorithm based on automated feature analysis and combined thresholding (FACT). For comparison, infarct size by human manual contouring and simple intensity thresholding (based on two standard deviation [2SD] and full width at half maximum [FWHM]) were studied. Results: Both in vivo and ex vivo MR infarct size measured by the FACT algorithm correlated well with TTC (R 0.95– 0.97) and showed no significant bias on Bland Altman analysis (P not significant). Despite similar correlations (R 0.91– 0.97), human manual contouring overestimated in vivo MR infarct size by 5.4% of the left ventricular (LV) area (equivalent to 55.1% of the MI area) vs. TTC (P 0.001). Infarct size measured by simple intensity thresholdings was less accurate than the proposed algorithm (P 0.001 and P 0.007). Conclusion: The FACT algorithm accurately measured MI size on delayed enhancement MR imaging in vivo and ex vivo. The FACT algorithm was also more accurate than human manual contouring and simple intensity thresholding approaches.
An 18-yr prospective study of pediatric diabetic ketoacidosis: an approach to minimizing the risk of brain herniation during treatment.

Background During the late 1900s, raised intracranial pressure (ICP) during treatment of pediatric diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) surfaced as the most important cause of morbidity and mortality in pediatric DKA. The contribution of fluid and electrolyte therapy to neurologic deterioration during treatment remains controversial. Methods We proposed a physiologic approach to treatment of DKA, incorporating the principles of rehydration of hypertonic states. Consecutive episodes of pediatric DKA were managed using continuous intravenous insulin, an individualized assessment of the degree of dehydration, and rehydration solutions of tonicity approximating that of the patient. Gradual replacement of the volume of deficit after correction of shock, if present, was planned over 48 h with special attention to changes in effective osmolality along with intensive cardiorespiratory, neurologic, and biochemical monitoring. Mannitol was given for signs or symptoms of raised ICP. Results Six hundred and thirty-five consecutive episodes of pediatric DKA were treated from January 1988 to September 2005. Means +/- standard deviation (SD) for initial measured concentrations of total carbon dioxide, glucose, and urea nitrogen were 7.8 +/- 3.3 mmol/L, 602 +/- 271 mg/dL (33.4 +/- 15 mmol/L), and 21 +/- 1 mg/dL (7.4 +/- 3.6 mmol/L), respectively. Pretreatment blood gases were available for 477 episodes. The mean initial partial pressures of arterial and venous carbon dioxide +/- SD were 16.8 +/- 7 mmHg (kP(a)CO(2)= 2.24 +/- 0.93) for n = 308 and 26.6 +/- 7 mmHg (kP(v)CO(2)= 3.54 +/- 0.93) for n = 169, respectively. Although repair was planned to occur over 48 h, the mean time to achieve clinical rehydration and correction of DKA was 11.6 +/- 6.2 h. Mannitol was given in 35 (5.5%) episodes. There was no neurologic morbidity or mortality. Conclusion Management of pediatric DKA using this multifaceted physiologic approach and the principles of rehydration described is safe and appears to minimize the risk of brain herniation during treatment.
Systematic encounter sampling : a simulation study

Bromaghin (1991) presents a systematic encounter sampling design that is appropriate for the study of biological populations that may be demographically and geographically open. The elements of the population must be approximately aged at the time of detection and monitored thereafter. The design permits two general classes of parameters to be estimated, population totals and ratios of population totals. However, the recommended estimation procedures are complex and the statistical properties of the estimators must be investigated using numerical techniques. This work presents the results of a simulation study conducted to numerically evaluate the statistical properties of the systematic encounter sampling design and the recommended estimators. The results of the study indicate the estimators possess attractive statistical properties in a variety of experimental situations.
Touschek lifetime calculations and simulations for NSLS-II

The beam lifetime in most medium energy synchrotron radiation sources is limited by the Touschek effect, which describes the momentum transfer from the transverse into the longitudinal direction due to binary collisions between electrons. While an analytical formula exists to calculate the resulting lifetime, the actual momentum acceptance necessary to perform this calculation can only be determined by tracking. This is especially the case in the presence of small vertical apertures at insertion devices. In this case, nonlinear betatron coupling leads to beam losses at these vertical aperture restrictions. In addition, a realistic model of the storage ring is necessary for calculation of equilibrium beam sizes (particularly in the vertical direction) which are important for a self-consistent lifetime calculation.
Isolation and Characterization of Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus Strains from Louisiana Retail Meats

We investigated the prevalence of Staphylococcus aureus and methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) in 120 retail meat samples from 30 grocery stores in Baton Rouge, LA. S. aureus strains were recovered from 45.6% of pork samples and 20% of beef samples, whereas MRSA strains were isolated from six meat samples (five pork samples and one beef sample). The MRSA isolates were of two strain types (clones), one harboring Panton-Valentine leucocidin and belonging to pulsed-field gel electrophoresis type USA300 and the other one belonging to USA100.