cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Price-Concentration Studies: There You Go Again

Price-concentration studies are important because they are widely seen as supporting the standard prediction that high seller concentration tends to harm consumers and because both antitrust agencies use them in assessing horizontal mergers. But price-concentration studies are severely flawed. In industries in which sellers compete on quality and amenities, a positive price-concentration relation could result, not from coordinated effects, but from competitive superiority. Since such non-price competition is ubiquitous and is usually intense, this poses a significant problem of interpretation. Further, non-price competition cannot be controlled for statistically, as is frequently assumed. Even if sellers compete exclusively on price, price-concentration studies are still severely flawed. Differences in market size could induce a positive price-concentration relationship, but as with competitive superiority, a price-concentration relationship resulting from this cause does not imply consumers are being harmed. Market size differences may well account for the observations that the FTC attributed to non-competitive behavior in Staples. The paper concludes with some suggestions for improving price-concentration studies and for further research.
The impact of recovering irrigation water losses on the choice of irrigation technology with heterogeneous land quality and different crops

Rapid population growth often results in increased water scarcity and consequently in an interest in improving the productivity of irrigation water use, since irrigated agriculture is by far the largest consumer of water. Worldwide, about 72% of the water extracted is used for the production of food and fibres. Lrigated agriculture provides about 40% of the world's food supply, but occupies only 17% of the cultivated area (OECD, 2002). Concern about improving the irrigation effectiveness in this sector has therefore been widely reflected in the water economics literature (Caswell and Zilberman, 1985 & 1986; Shah et al., 1993; Shah and Zilberman, 1991). An increase in the irrigation effectiveness is often put forward as 'the solution' to the problem of reducing irrigation water use and losses. The adoption of modem irrigation technologies is therefore often encouraged. Whether such adoption is desirable in all cases is examined in this chapter. It is often argued that adoption is not interesting when losses fulfil leaching requirements or when losses are recovered through surface run-off returning to the hydrological cycle, through percolation to groundwater or indirectly through capillary rise. In such cases it seems interesting to reduce losses only to save pumping costs or to avoid environmental quality degradation or
Kinetics of Electron Transfer between Cardiac Cytochrome c1 and c

Abstract The kinetics and equilibrium of the electron transfer between isolated cytochrome c1 and cytochrome c and artificial carriers have been studied. The oxidation of ferrocytochrome c1 by ferricyanide showed a rate constant of 3.6 x 104 m-1 s-1 in 50 mm phosphate buffer, pH 7.4, 23°. Under the same condition the rate constant for the reduction of ferricytochrome c1 by ascorbate was found to be 1.2 m-1 s-1. The second order rate constant of the reduction of ferricytochrome c1 by N,N,N',N', tetramethyl-p-phenylenediamine to ferrocytochrome c1 and Wurster's blue was 2 x 104 m-1 s-1 and that of the reverse reaction was 3.9 x 104 m-1 s-1. Wurster's blue could not be further oxidized by either ferricytochrome c1 or ferricytochrome c. The oxidation of ferrocytochrome c1 by ferricytochrome c to ferricytochrome c1 and ferrocytochrome c was not a very fast reaction as generally believed and showed a second order rate constant (k1) of 3.3 x 106 m-1 s-1 at 10° and the reverse reaction showed a rate constant (k-1) of 1.0 x 106 m-1 s-1. These values gave an equilibrium constant (K) of the reaction of 3.3, which was in good agreement with direct spectrophotometric measurements for K. K was independent of the ionic strength and temperature studied, but dependent upon pH. The rate constant, k1, was, however, a function of temperature and ionic strength as well as pH. The reaction rates toward ferricytochrome c were the same whether ferrocytochrome c1 was in the soluble form or structured in a particulate succinate cytochrome c reductase.
Taxol-induced polymerization of purified tubulin. Mechanism of action.

Incubation of tubulin with taxol resulted in the assembly of tubulin in the absence of microtubule associated proteins. Optimum assembly occurred at approximately equal concentrations of tubulin and taxol. Both podophyllotoxin and colchicine inhibited the taxol-induced tubulin polymerization. Microtubules formed with taxol were also resistant to podophyllotoxin-induced depolymerization. The rate of tubulin subunit exchange into taxol-induced microtubules at steady state was 5-fold lower than into microtubule-associated protein (MAP2)-stimulated microtubules. There was a marked difference in the kinetics of tubulin polymerized in the presence of both taxol and MAP2 as compared to that obtained with either of them alone. In binding experiments, no competition was observed between taxol and MAP2 or the anti-tubulin drugs, e.g. colchicine, podophyllotoxin, and vinblastine.
Crystallographic phasing and refinement of macromolecules: Current Opinion in Structural Biology 1991, 1:1016–1022

Abstract Recent developments in crystallographic phasing and refinement are discussed with particular emphasis on ab initio phasing, molecular replacement, the efficiency of crystallographic refinement, thermal motion, disorder of macromolecules, and bulk solvent. The past year has seen a number of developments in these areas which were made possible by the availability of increased computing power and the application of novel mathematical techniques.
Bankrupt accountants and lawyers: Transition in the rise of professionalism in Victorian Scotland

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to study the incidence, impact, and consequences of accountant and lawyer bankruptcies in Victorian Scotland. The paper examines these bankruptcies in the context of an emerging profession separating from an established legal profession as part of the rise of professionalism in the Victorian Age.Design/methodology/approach – The paper reports data describing 135 accountant and 361 lawyer bankruptcies declared between 1855 and 1904. It uses theories of the rise of professionalism, signals of movement to occupational ascendancy, and social attitudes to money to provide explanations of the incidence, impact, and consequences of these bankruptcies. The paper also examines bankruptcy and the early disciplinary codes of professional accountancy associations.Findings – Despite a trend of general decline in total, accountant, and lawyer bankruptcies in Scotland through the Victorian Age, there is no consistency over time between accountant and lawyer bankruptcies and economi...
Some Highlights of N N and 3N Studies at TUNL

We report on a recent determination of the 3S1 - 3D1 mixing parameter E 1 in neutron-proton scattering between E n = 5 and 20 MeV. The results follow the trend of previous determinations at 25 and 50 MeV, thus indicating a stronger N N tensor force than predicted by N N potential models and the Nijmegen N N partial-wave analysis. In the field of 3N physics we summarize the ongoing search for an explanation of the 3N analyzing power puzzle.
GROWTH IN INSECTS

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the sentiment that insects grow by molting. This sentiment constitutes the Central Dogma of Entomology. In one way or another, it has found its way into virtually all accounts of insect development. Because the cuticle is incapable of growth and, in the more rigid parts such as the head capsule or appendages, is incapable even of being stretched, it is shed from time to time as the insect grows, and a new and larger cuticle is laid down. The nonelastic nature of the arthropod cuticula gives the body wall but little tensibility. When the cuticula is formed, the integument can ordinarily increase in extent insofar as the wrinkles and folds of the cuticula straighten out. The ubiquity of the dogma is further illustrated by a quotation from the most influential treatise on applied entomology, which states that an insect does not grow by regular, gradual, and imperceptible degrees like a child, and therefore, growth inside this inexpansible shell cannot be regular and continuous. Though most insect growth occurs without molting, it is difficult to conceive of metamorphosis taking place that way.
Forest Sparsity for Multi-Channel Compressive Sensing

In this paper, we investigate a new compressive sensing model for multi-channel sparse data where each channel can be represented as a hierarchical tree and different channels are highly correlated. Therefore, the full data could follow the forest structure and we call this property forest sparsity. It exploits both intra- and inter- channel correlations and enriches the family of existing model-based compressive sensing theories. The proposed theory indicates that only ${\cal O}(Tk+\log (N/k))$ measurements are required for multi-channel data with forest sparsity, where $T$ is the number of channels, $N$ and $k$ are the length and sparsity number of each channel, respectively. This result is much better than ${\cal O}(Tk+T\log (N/k))$ of tree sparsity, ${\cal O}(Tk+k\log (N/k))$ of joint sparsity, and far better than ${\cal O}(Tk+Tk\log (N/k))$ of standard sparsity. In addition, we extend the forest sparsity theory to the multiple measurement vectors problem, where the measurement matrix is a block-diagonal matrix. The result shows that the required measurement bound can be the same as that for dense random measurement matrix, when the data shares equal energy in each channel. A new algorithm is developed and applied on four example applications to validate the benefit of the proposed model. Extensive experiments demonstrate the effectiveness and efficiency of the proposed theory and algorithm.
Eternal Ancestors: The Art of the Central African Reliquary

All photos courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York W T hat inspired the peoples of the equa torial rainforest to create one of the continent's most celebrated sculp tural traditions? What ideals inform the aesthetics of that art that so ener gized Europe's modernists? How does this African artistic legacy relate to that of devotional forms of expression developed in Europe and Asia? How did these art forms emerge from the societies that produced them? The celebration of ancestors at the root of it all is the unify ing theme of "Eternal Ancestors: The Art of the Central African Reliquary" which opens at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York October 1, 2007, and runs through March 2, 2008. The exhibition brings together some of the most outstanding works in both American and European public and private collections, including the Dapper and Quai Branly museums in Paris, the Volkerkunde Museum in Berlin, and the Barbier-Mueller and Ethnographic museums in Geneva, among many others. The some 120 sculptures designed to accompany reliquary ensem bles come from fourteen distinct traditions in five contemporary African nations: Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Repub lic of the Congo, and Democratic Republic of the Congo. The African masterpieces at the core of this exhibition demand that we explore the sources of their greatness. During the nineteenth century, they were among the earliest works from sub-Saharan Africa to be collected by Europeans. Many of the highlights in "Eternal Ancestors" have been featured in surveys of African art since the pioneering Negerplastik by Carl Einstein (1920) and blockbuster exhibitions such as "African Negro Art" (1935) and "'Primitivism' in Modern Art" (1984) at MOMA in New York, as well as "Africa: Art of a Continent" (1995), orga nized by the Royal Academy in London. Despite their promi
Primary adenocarcinoma of the vagina not associated with diethylstilbestrol (DES) exposure

Abstract Objective. Primary non-diethylstilbestrol (DES)-associated adenocarcinoma of the vagina (NDAV) is a rare entity that has not been well described. The purpose of this study was to define the pathologic characteristics of verified NDAV and characterize the outcomes of patients who present with this rare malignancy. Methods. The tumors of all patients treated with definitive radiation therapy for NDAV between 1970 and 2000 were centrally reviewed. Data regarding patient, tumor, and treatment characteristics were abstracted from the hospital records of each patient. Survival rates were calculated and outcomes of patients with NDAV were compared with those of patients with squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of the vagina treated similarly over the same period. Results. Twenty-six patients with a median age of 54 years had primary NDAV confirmed by central pathologic review. Twenty patients (77%) were treated with external-beam radiation therapy (EBRT) followed by brachytherapy, and six patients (23%) were treated with EBRT alone. At 5 years, the overall survival rates of patients with NDAV and SCC were 34% and 58%, respectively ( p p p Conclusions. Primary NDAV is a rare disease with a poor prognosis. Patients with this disease have significantly worse outcomes than do patients with SCC, and chemotherapy or novel systemic biologic agents may be needed to achieve higher cure rates.
Estimates of Loss of Yield Caused by the Wheat Stem Maggot to South Dakota Cereal Crops

Populations of Meromyza Americana Fitch were studied in cereal crops in South Dakota east of the Missouri River between 1964 and 1967. Losses caused by this insect were assessed, and attempts were made to develop methods of predicting losses. Losses were highest in spring wheat, followed in descending order by winter wheat, rye, and barley. No estimate of loss exceeded 9%; most estimates in wheat and rye fell between 1 and 3%. Damaged heads tended to occur singly rather than in aggregates. Estimates of populations of gravid females early in the season were not reliable indices to crop losses later in the year.
Chromate ion adsorption by agricultural by-products modified with dimethyloldihydroxyethylene urea and choline chloride

The use of cellulose-containing agricultural by-products modified with the cross-linking reagent dimethyloldihydroxyethylene urea (DMDHEU) and the quaternary amine, choline chloride, as anion exchange resins, has not been reported. The objective of the present study was to convert the readily available by-products, soybean hulls, sugarcane bagasse and corn stover to functional anion exchange resins using DMDHEU and choline chloride. Optimization of the modification method was achieved using soybean hulls as a substrate. The optimized method was additionally used to modify sugarcane bagasse and corn stover. Adsorption efficiency results with chromate ion showed that modification with both DMDHEU and choline chloride was required for the highest efficiencies. Adsorption capacities of the modified by-products were determined using chromate ion and found to be 1.97, 1.61 and 1.12 mmol/g for sugarcane bagasse, corn stover and soybean hulls, respectively. Competitive adsorption studies were conducted at 10 and 50 times US Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) limits for arsenic, chromium and selenium in a simulated wastewater at pH 7. The results showed preferential adsorption of chromate ion over arsenate or selenate ion. Estimated product costs for the three resins ranged from $0.88/kg to $0.99/kg, which was considerably lower than the market costs for the two commercial anion exchange resins QA-52 and IRA-400 also used in this study. DMDHEU/choline chloride modification of the three by-products produced an anion exchange resin with a high capacity to adsorb chromate ion singly or competitively in the presence of other anions from aqueous solutions.
Improving telephone follow-up after ambulatory surgery

The number of ambulatory surgery procedures performed annually is steadily increasing. Telephone follow-up of patients after ambulatory surgery remains an important component of care for ambulatory surgery patients. The purpose of this prospective quality improvement project was to obtain a more comprehensive telephone follow-up of ambulatory surgery patients in a large metropolitan medical center. During a 3 month evaluation period, 485 patients (61% of a convenience sample of 798 who had undergone an ambulatory surgical procedure) were interviewed to determine the incidence of side effects and elicit patient satisfaction. Postoperative side effects reported most frequently included pain, bleeding, nausea, dizziness, and fever. A majority of patients reported receiving adequate discharge instructions and excellent nursing care. This quality improvement project initiated by staff nurses resulted in changes in the procedure for documenting postoperative phone assessments from narrative notes to the use of a semistructured form for telephone follow-up after ambulatory surgery.
Mental rotation of possible and impossible four-cornered toruses

Possible and impossible four-cornered toruses were used as stimuli in a mental rotation paradigm. Rotation rates varied with number of “net changes in depth,” a variable that closely corresponds with ratings of impossibility, rather than with formal distinctions between the possible and the impossible. Rotation rates were also affected by perimeter shapes but not in accord with perimeter complexity as defined by number of vertices. Experiment 2 attempted to separate net changes in depth from figure symmetry and found symmetry to be the more reliable predictor of rotation rates, suggesting that symmetry may underlie the influence of net changes of depth.
Evidence for internal organization of nucleic acid in T2 bacteriophage.

PELLETS of T 2 bacteriophage have been found to be liquid crystalline and to be negatively birefringent when subjected to stresses which cause alignment.
A New Trajectory-Generation Scheme for Overhead Cranes With High-Speed Load Hoisting

This paper proposes a new trajectory-generation scheme for a high-performance anti-swing control of overhead cranes, where the trajectory-generation problem is solved as a kinematic problem. First, a new anti-swing control law is designed based on the load-swing dynamics, for which the Lyapunov stability theorem is used as a mathematical tool. Then a new trajectory-generation scheme is proposed based on the anti-swing control law and typical crane operation in practice. For g iven hoisting motions, trolley-traveling trajectory references are computed based on the concept of minimum-time control, and then anti-swing trajectories are generated based on the trajectory references through the anti-swing control law. The new trajectory-generation scheme generates a typical anti-swing trajectory in industry with high-speed load hoisting. The effectiveness of the proposed trajectory-generation scheme is shown by generating high-performance anti-swing trajectories with high hoisting speed and hoisting ratio.Copyright © 2004 by ASME
Chronopotentiometry in thin-layer electrochemical cells: a new look at transition–time derivations including multicomponent systems

A complete derivation is presented for concentration profiles and transition times in a thin layer cell under constant current conditions. Expressions for the concentration across a thin layer cell and the transition time are presented under conditions where the diffusion layer is extremely small (short times) and extremely large (long times) compared to the thickness of the thin layer cell. Excellent agreement with those previously reported in the literature is found. Application to thin layer spectroelectrochemical cells is demonstrated.
Prescription acetaminophen ingestions associated with hepatic injury and death.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has formally requested that pharmaceutical manufacturers limit the amount of acetaminophen (APAP) in prescription products. The goal of this study was to describe a state-wide poison control system’s experience with prescription APAP ingestions that resulted in hepatic injury or death. Retrospective analysis of statewide California Poison Control System electronic database for cases from the years 2000 through 2009. Inclusion criteria: adults ≥18 years of age following therapeutic use of an acetaminophen-containing prescription with laboratory evidence of liver injury. Forty cases met the inclusion criteria. All cases involved at least two concurrent acetaminophen-containing products. Prescription APAP strengths of 500 mg per tablet or greater were involved in 32 of 40 cases (80 %). Thirty patients survived, three died, one underwent liver transplantation and seven cases were lost to follow up. The ingestion of concentrated prescription APAP-containing medications in combination with other sources of APAP can result in severe liver injury and death. Limiting the amount of APAP from prescription medications in conjunction with enhanced prescriber and patient education regarding the hazards of ingesting multiple APAP-containing products may assist in decreasing the overall incidence of unintentional APAP poisonings in the United States. Future prospective studies are required to determine if these measures will have a significant impact on both the morbidity and mortality associated with APAP administration.
Covalent binding of 17β-estradiol and retinoic acid to proteins in the human breast cancer cell line MCF-7

Both retinoic acid and 17β-estradiol formed covalent bonds with proteins of the human breast cancer cell line MCF-7. Two-dimensional gel patterns of the labeled proteins were unique for each ligand. There were four major retinoylated proteins in MCF-7 consisting of two doublets with molecular masses of 37 kDa and 20 kDa. These proteins were designated 37a, 37b, 37c, and 20d. The extent of retinoylation was very low in a 55 kDa protein that we previously identified in the human myeloid leukemia cell line HL60 [Takahashi, N. and Breitman, T. R. (1989) J. Biol. Chem. 264, 5159–5163]. These results indicated that the protein substrates for retinoylation may vary among cell-types. About 10 proteins were labeled from 17β-estradiol. Two of these proteins had mobilities that were identitied to the retinoylated proteins 37a and 20c. These results indicate that in MCF-7 cells there are two proteins that can be retinoylated and labeled from estradiol. The demonstration that some ligands of the steroid/thyroid receptor family are covalently linked to cellular proteins suggests new mechanisms for the many effects of these agents on cells.
5-Methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine: Spinal cord and brainstem mediation of excitatory effects on acoustic startle

The effects of different doses (0.03, 0.06, 0.12, 0.25, 1.0, 2.0, 4.0, and 8.0 mg/kg body weight) of 5-methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine (5-MeODMT) were tested on the acoustic startle reflex in rats. Beginning at 0.12 mg/kg, 5-MeODMT increased startle monotonically up to the highest dose used. 5-MeODMT still increased startle in acutely decerebrate rats or when infused directly onto the spinal cord. The excitatory effects of a high systemic dose of 5-MeODMT were completely blocked by cinanserin, cyproheptadine, and propranolol, but not by parachlorophenylalanine, α-methyl-p-tyrosine, haloperidol, sotalol, or phenoxybenzamine. The results were discussed in terms of a new theory, which suggests that stimulation of serotonin receptors in the spinal cord enhance startle whereas serotonin receptors in the forebrain inhibit startle.
Prazosin for the Treatment of Behavioral Symptoms in Patients With Alzheimer Disease With Agitation and Aggression

Objectives: Agitation/aggression in Alzheimer disease (AD) is a major cause of patient distress, caregiver burden, and institutionalization. Enhanced behavioral responsiveness to central nervous system norepinephrine (NE) release may contribute to the pathophysiology of agitation/aggression in AD. Prazosin, a nonsedating generic medication used for hypertension and benign prostatic hypertrophy, antagonizes NE effects at brain postsynaptic alpha-1 adrenoreceptors. This pilot study examined the efficacy and tolerability of prazosin for behavioral symptoms in patients with agitation/aggression in AD. Design: Double-blind, placebo controlled, parallel group study. Setting: A university AD center and a nursing home in Seattle, WA. Participants: Twenty-two nursing home and community-dwelling participants with agitation/aggression and probable or possible AD (mean age: 80.6 ± 11.2). Intervention: Randomization to placebo (N = 11) or prazosin (N = 11). Medication was initiated at 1 mg/day and increased up to 6 mg/day using a flexible dosing algorithm. Measurements: The Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS) and Neuropsychiatric Inventory (NPI) at Weeks 1, 2, 4, 6, and 8. The Clinical Global Impression of Change (CGIC) at Week 8. Results: Participants taking prazosin (mean dose: 5.7 ± 0.9 mg/day) had greater improvements than those taking placebo (mean dose: 5.6 ± 1.2 mg/day) on the NPI (mean change: −19 ± 21 versus −2 ± 15, χ 2 = 6.32, df = 1, p=0.012) and BPRS (mean change: −9 ± 9 versus −3 ± 5, χ 2 = 4.42, df = 1, p=0.036) based on linear mixed effects models and the CGIC (mean: 2.6 ± 1.0 versus 4.5 ± 1.6, z = 2.57, p=0.011 [Mann-Whitney test]). Adverse effects and blood pressure changes were similar between prazosin and placebo groups. Conclusion: Prazosin was well tolerated and improved behavioral symptoms in patients with agitation/aggression in AD.
Apparent cooperativity of [3H]ouabain binding to myocytes obtained from guinea-pig heart

Kinetics of [3H]ouabain binding to intact cardiac cells were examined using myocytes obtained from guinea-pig heart. In intact cells, the use of excess unlabeled ouabain results in an under-estimation of nonspecific binding, presumably due to cytotoxic effects of the unlabeled glycoside; estimation of the specific binding, as that to rapidly releasing sites yields more accurate results. Specific [3H]ouabain binding to myocytes is promoted by an increase in Na+ influx, indicating that normal intracellular Na+ concentration is insufficient to fully stimulate glycoside binding. High concentrations of [3H]ouabain seem to increase the apparent affinity of binding sites for the glycoside via increases in intracellular Na+ concentration resulting from sodium-pump inhibition; hence the binding reaction may be regarded as having a novel type of cooperativity. This cooperativity has kinetics different from those of classical positive cooperativity based on binding-site interactions, and is apparent with toxic concentrations of the glycoside that cause marked increases in intracellular Na+ concentrations.
A procedure and a program for the trial-by-trial identification of hypotheses in concept learning

An algorithm is described which identifies the subject’s hypothesis on each trial of a concept learning task. The algorithm operates on classifications of the entire stimulus population. A computer program has been prepared to execute the algorithm.
Characterization of hematopoietic potential of mesenchymal stem cells

Mesenchymal and hematopoietic tissues are important reservoirs of adult stem cells. The potential of tissue resident mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) to differentiate into cells of mesodermal and ectodermal lineages has been reported previously. We examined the hypothesis that adherent adipose tissue resident mesenchymal stem cells (ASCs) are capable of generating cells with hematopoietic characteristics. When cultured in differentiation media, clonally isolated ASCs develop into cells with hematopoietic attributes. The hematopoietic differentiated cells (HD) express early hematopoietic (c-kit, PROM1, CD4) as well as monocyte/macrophage markers (CCR5, CD68, MRC1, CD11b, CSF1R). Additionally, HD cells display functional characteristics of monocyte/macrophages such as phagocytosis and enzymatic activity of α-Naphthyl Acetate Esterase. HD cells are also responsive to stimulation by IL-4 and LPS as shown by increased CD14 and HLA-DRB1 expressions and release of IL-2, IL10, and TNF. Taken together, this study characterizes the potential of ASCs to generate functional macrophages in vitro, and therefore paves way for their possible use in cell therapy applications.
Incidence and prevention of iatrogenic urethral injuries

Purpose: Although improper urethral catheter insertion is a source of preventable injury in male patients, to our knowledge the extent of this problem is not known. We studied the incidence and mechanism of iatrogenic urinary catheter injuries occurring in adult male inpatients at a single institution. We also designed and implemented an intervention to prevent these injuries.Materials and Methods: This study was performed during a 13-month period. During months 1 through 6 all catheter related injuries in all adult male admissions to a single academic tertiary care center were prospectively tracked. Incidence data were calculated, injury severity was analyzed and the injury mechanism was identified. During month 7 based on injury mechanism data a nursing education program was designed and implemented by urology staff that included basic urological anatomy, urethral catheter insertion techniques and catheter safety. During months 8 through 13 catheter related injuries were again tracked. The incidences be...
Conformation of β-casein B

Abstract Molecular weight and viscosity studies of β-casein B in 0.14 m NaCl, 0.02 m EDTA, pH 7, 2.5 °, and in 6.0 m Guanidine HCL, pH 7, 25 °, have led to the conclusion that the protein has a random coil conformation in both of these solvents.
Publication bias and clinical trials.

A study was performed to evaluate the extent to which the medical literature may be misleading as a result of selective publication of randomized clinical trials (RCTs) with results showing a statistically significant treatment effect. Three hundred eighteen authors of published trials were asked whether they had participated in any unpublished RCTs. The 156 respondents reported 271 unpublished and 1041 published trials. Of the 178 completed unpublished RCTs with a trend specified, 26 (14%) favored the new therapy compared to 423 of 767 (55%) published reports (p < 0.001). For trials that were completed but not published, the major reasons for nonpublication were “negative” results and lack of interest. From the data provided, it appears that non-publication was primarily a result of failure to write up and submit the trial results rather than rejection of submitted manuscripts. The results of this study imply the existence of a publication bias of importance both to meta-analysis and the interpretation of statistically significant positive trials.
Practical radio environment mapping with geostatistics

In this paper we present results from the first application of robust geostatistical modeling techniques to radio environment and coverage mapping of wireless networks. We perform our analysis of these methods with a case study mapping the coverage of a 2.5 GHz WiMax network at the University of Colorado, Boulder. Drawing from our experiences, we propose several new methods and extensions to basic geostatistical theory that are necessary for use in a radio mapping application. We also derive a set of best practices and discuss potential areas of future work. We find that this approach to radio environment mapping is feasible and produces maps that are more accurate and informative than both explicitly tuned path loss models and basic data fitting approaches.
CELL-CELL ADHESION PREVENTS MUTANT CELLS LACKING MYOSIN II FROM PENETRATING AGGREGATION STREAMS OF DICTYOSTELIUM

Abstract When a small number of fluorescently labeled myosin II mutant cells (mhcA−) are mixed with wild-type cells and development of the chimeras is observed by confocal microscopy, the mutant cells are localized to the edges of aggregation streams and mounds. Moreover, the mutant cells stick to wild-type cells and become distorted (Shelden and Knecht, 1995). Two independent adhesion mechanisms, Contact Sites A and Contact Sites B, function during the aggregation stage and either one or both might be responsible for excluding the myosin II null cells. We have mixedmhcA−cells with cells in which the appearance of Contact Sites B is delayed (strain TL72) as well as cells which lack Contact Sites A (strain GT10) and double mutants in which both adhesion mechanisms are affected (strain TL73). In all chimeras, themhcA−cells were distorted by interactions with the adhesion mutant cells, indicating that it does not require significant adhesive interaction to distort the flaccid cortex ofmhcA−cells.mhcA−cells were excluded from streams composed of cells lacking either Contact Sites A or Contact Sites B but mixed randomly with cells lacking both adhesion systems. By 10 hr of development, cells of strain TL73 acquire Contact Sites B adhesion. If cells of this strain were mixed with labeledmhcA−cells, allowed to develop for 9 hr, and then dissociated before replating, the myosin II null cells were seen to be distorted and excluded from the reaggregates. Thus the exclusion ofmhcA−cells from streams can be accomplished by either Contact Sites A or B. When chimeras of labeled TL73 and wild-type cells were made, the TL73 cells were found to be randomly mixed into aggregation streams. This result indicates that adhesive sorting does not function during aggregation and so cannot account for the exclusion ofmhcA−cells from streams. We hypothesize that the flaccid cortex ofmhcA−cells cannot generate sufficient protrusive force to break the contacts between adhered cells in aggregation streams but can enter streams where the cells are weakly adherent.
Impulse stress wave propagation in elongated bodies: Apparent deviations from circuit realizability principles

Of concern is the undistorted propagation of pulse stress waves in long thin bodies. The primary signals are arbitrarily sharp pulses projected along thex-axis. It will be seen that these pulses travel close to the speed of sound in unbounded media. Secondary pulses follow representing interactive disturbances traveling along they-axis. But the process brings out certain anomalies in circuit realizability requirements. These issues, transmission parameters, and coupling between the various signals are studied in detail. The results are supported by experiments.
Moving Beyond Fear: Rousseau and Kant on Cosmopolitan Education

Recent attention to the role that education can play in averting the danger of war has raised anew the question of the relationship between education and character formation. Contemporary peace educators seem to rely chiefly on enlightened fear. Immanuel Kant's writings offer both a diagnosis of the psychological causes of war and a proposal for dealing with them through a new scheme of education. If the passionate desire for honor is the problem, Kant argues, the moral love of honor--in other words, the attachment to human dignity--is the solution. Education can serve to connect honor and morality. Yet, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, whose Emile arguably inspires much of Kant's moral psychology, suggests that true cosmopolitanism is too rare to be a reasonable political goal. The disagreement between the two turns on whether morality is innate or must be constructed in human beings out of other elements.
Transmit delay structure design for blind channel estimation over multipath channels

Wireless communications often exploit guard intervals between data blocks to reduce interblock interference in frequency-selective fading channels. Here we propose a dual-branch transmission scheme that utilizes guard intervals for blind channel estimation and equalization. Unlike existing transmit diversity schemes, in which different antennas transmit delayed, zero-padded, or time-reversed versions of the same signal, in the proposed transmission scheme, each antenna transmits an independent data stream. It is shown that for systems with two transmit antennas and one receive antenna, as in the case of one transmit antenna and two receive antennas, blind channel estimation and equalization can be carried out based only on the second-order statistics of symbol-rate sampled channel output. The proposed approach involves no preequalization and has no limitations on channel-zero locations. Moreover, extension of the proposed scheme to systems with multiple receive antennas and/or more than two transmit antennas is discussed. It is also shown that in combination with the threaded layered space-time (TST) architecture and turbo coding, significant improvement can be achieved in the overall system performance.
Verbal aggression in Alzheimer's disease. Clinical, functional and neuropsychological correlates

Objectives To determine the clinical, functional and neuropsychological correlates of verbal aggression in Alzheimer's disease in a group of consecutive first attendees to a memory clinic. Methods 150 people were evaluated and diagnosed as suffering with probable Alzheimer's disease. These people were tested using the Behave-AD for the presence of verbal aggression, delusions, depression and agitation. They were also assessed with cognitive, functional and neuropsychological scales. Results Twenty-eight per cent of this group of Alzheimer patients had exhibited some verbal aggression in the preceding month. Male gender (p = 0.022), the presence of paranoid and delusional ideation (p = 0.003) and agitation (p = 0.042) were significantly associated with verbal aggression in a stepwise backward logistic regression analysis. Conclusion The presence of verbal aggression should prompt the clinician to search for delusional ideation, which may respond to phamacotherapy. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Age Differences in the Accuracy of Confidence Judgments

Abstract Age differences in accuracy were investigated by having older (M = 68.6 years) and younger (M = 21.5 years) adults make confidence judgments about the correctness of their responses to two sets of general knowledge items. For one set, prior to making their confidence judgments, subjects made mental strategy judgments indicating how they had selected their answers (i.e., they guessed, used intuition, made an inference, or immediately recognized the response as correct). Results indicate that older subjects were more accurate than younger subjects in predicting the correctness of their responses; however, making mental strategy judgments did not result in increased accuracy for either age group. Additional analyses explored the relationship between accuracy and other individual difference variables. The results of this investigation are consistent with recent theories of postformal cognitive development that suggest older adults have greater insight into the limitations of their knowledge.
Identification of purine nucleoside phosphorylase deficiency in dried blood spots by a non-radiochemical assay using reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography.

Purine nucleoside phosphorylase (PNP) deficiency results in severe T cell dysfunction and hypouricemia. An assay to measure PNP activity in dried blood spots was developed using reversed-phase HPLC. The assay was linear with reaction times between 5 and 12.5 minutes, and protein concentrations ranging from 0.4 to 1.8 mg/ml. The intra-assay CV and the inter-assay CV for the complete assay was C mutation (p.E205A) in the PNP gene was 34% compared to controls. Thus, the analysis of the PNP activity in blood spots can readily detect patients with a PNP deficiency.
A new writing system? Developing orthographies for writing Arabic dialects in electronic media

This paper is set within the context of Electronic Amiyyas (EA) written dialects in Facebook used by youth in the Arab World. In recent years, electronic writings have begun to replace print writing in many circumstances. Similar to the printing press, this new technology has also influenced the written colloquial forms of languages, since youngsters all over the world are formulating and devising new conventions for writing their indigenous spoken languages electronically. This linguistic development is now occurring in many languages in the world, and Arabic is just one example. Chinese youngsters, for example, are also deviating from the standard Chinese writing system by mixing spoken and written language features in order to facilitate the written use of oral dialects on the Internet. In Japan, young Japanese employ colloquial language online, for example, by using eccentric spelling which reproduces actual articulation in the typed message. This pattern of electronic writings is particularly salient...
IL-15Rα Recycles and Presents IL-15 In trans to Neighboring Cells

We report intriguing aspects of the contribution of IL-15Ralpha to IL-15 functions. Consistent with high-affinity interactions between IL-15 and IL-15Ralpha, these two molecules form stable complexes on the cell surface of activated monocytes. The formation of IL-15/IL-15Ralpha complexes on cell surfaces induces a trans-endosomal recycling of IL-15 leading to the persistence of surface-bound IL-15 due to the constant reappearance of IL-15 on plasma membranes. This complex contributes to the long survival of T cells expressing IL-15Ralpha after IL-15 withdrawal. Finally, these complexes on activated monocytes present IL-15 in trans to target cells such as CD8(+) T cells that express only IL-2/15Rbeta and gammac upon cell-cell interaction.
Silibinin sensitizes human prostate carcinoma DU145 cells to cisplatin- and carboplatin-induced growth inhibition and apoptotic death.

In several recent studies, we have shown that silibinin inhibits the growth of human prostate cancer cells (PCA) both in vitro and in vivo. Here, we investigated the effect of silibinin in combination with cisplatin and carboplatin on human PCA DU145 cell growth and apoptosis. Cisplatin alone at 2 microg/ml dose produced 48% cell growth inhibition, whereas a combination with 50-100 microM silibinin resulted in 63-80% (p<0.05-0.001) growth inhibition. Similarly, compared to 68% growth inhibition at 20 microg/ml carboplatin, addition of 50-100 microM doses of silibinin caused 80-90% inhibition (p<0.005-0.001). In the studies assessing the effect of these combinations on cell cycle progression, a combination of cisplatin or carboplatin with silibinin resulted in a stronger G2-M arrest, compared to these agents alone showing a moderate G2-M and G1 arrests in case of cisplatin and silibinin, and a complete S phase arrest with carboplatin, respectively. A stronger G2-M arrest by these combinations was accompanied by a substantial decrease in the levels of cdc2, cyclin B1 and cdc25C. Silibinin/platinum compound combinations were also effective in inducing apoptosis where cisplatin and carboplatin when combined with silibinin enhanced apoptosis from 8 to 15% and from 20 to 40%, respectively. Apoptosis induction was further confirmed by PARP and caspases 3, 9 and 7 whose cleaved levels were also enhanced by combination treatment. In addition, there was a significant increase in cytochrome c release in the cytosol following treatment of DU145 cells with these combinations. Together, these results show a substantial increase in the efficacy of platinum compounds on human PCA cells, when combined with silibinin, which provide a rationale for further investigations with these combinations.
Studies of Positional Stability of the Electron Beam in the NSLS Storage Ring

The beam position monitor used at NSLS is described, with a resolution of 1 ..mu..m without considering mirror vibration. An upper limit of the resolution is 11 ..mu..m, given by a preliminary measurement of mirror angular vibration. Further improvement of this measurement can lower the upper limit. Preliminary result of long term beam movement and vibration of beam position is reported. These measurements are correlated with ambient and controlled mechanical vibration of a quadrupole. The 60 Hz vibration seems unlikely to be caused by quadrupole mechanical vibration, but 12 Hz beam vibration can be accounted for by this vibration. In time, correlation with ambient and controlled electrical variation will be measured. These measurements and more efforts on monitors at other beam ports to locate noise source are under way.
Reversal of platelet aggregation by prostacyclin.

Summary Platelet thrombi were formed on the surface of blood superfused collagen strips. Mixed-venous blood from right atrium of heparinized and anaesthetized cats superfused (3 ml/min) a piece of the tendon of Achilles from a rabbit. An increase in weight of the superfused strip was continuously recorded and this gain in weight represented the deposition of platelet clumps. The maximal deposition of the clumps (400 – 600 mg) occured after 30 – 40 min of the superfusion. The pretreatment of the collagen strips with prostacyclin (0.5 – 5 ng/ml) inhibited the deposition of the platelet clumps. The treatment of the preformed platelet clumps with prostacyclin (1 – 20 ng/ml) resulted in a dispersion of the clumps and a reversal of platelet aggregation. A similar deaggregatory effect of prostacyclin occured after an intravenous injection of the hormone, ID 50 for the in vivo de-aggregatory activity of prostacyclin was 7.5 μg/kg. The in vivo reversal of platelet aggregation by prostacyclin was observed even 3 hours after the platelet clumps were formed. Thus for the first time the de-aggregatory action of prostacyclin in vivo was demonstrated and quantified.
Lithium diisopropylamide-mediated ortholithiation of 2-fluoropyridines: rates, mechanisms, and the role of autocatalysis.

Lithium diisopropylamide (LDA)-mediated ortholithiations of 2-fluoropyridine and 2,6-difluoropyridine in tetrahydrofuran at −78 °C were studied using a combination of IR and NMR spectroscopic and computational methods. Rate studies show that a substrate-assisted deaggregation of LDA dimer occurs parallel to an unprecedented tetramer-based pathway. Standard and competitive isotope effects confirm post-rate-limiting proton transfer. Autocatalysis stems from ArLi-catalyzed deaggregation of LDA proceeding via 2:2 LDA–ArLi mixed tetramers. A hypersensitivity of the ortholithiation rates to traces of LiCl derives from LiCl-catalyzed LDA dimer–monomer exchange and a subsequent monomer-based ortholithiation. Fleeting 2:2 LDA–LiCl mixed tetramers are suggested to be key intermediates. The mechanisms of both the uncatalyzed and catalyzed deaggregations are discussed. A general mechanistic paradigm is delineated to explain a number of seemingly disparate LDA-mediated reactions, all of which occur in tetrahydrofuran ...
Ignition of mulch and grasses by firebrands in wildland–urban interface fires

Firebrands or embers are produced as trees and structures burn in wildland–urban interface (WUI) fires. It is believed that firebrand showers created in WUI fires may ignite vegetation and mulch located near homes and structures. This, in turn, may lead to ignition of homes and structures due to burning vegetation and mulch. Understanding the ignition events that are due to firebrands is important to mitigate fire spread in communities. To assess the ignition propensity of such materials, simulated firebrands of uniform geometry, but in two different sizes, were allowed to impinge on fuel beds of shredded hardwood mulch, pine straw mulch, and cut grass. The moisture content of these materials was varied. Firebrands were suspended and ignited within the test cell of the Fire Emulator/Detector Evaluator (FE/DE) apparatus. The FE/DE was used to investigate the influence of an air flow on the ignition propensity of a fuel bed. Ignition regime maps were generated for each material tested as a function of impacting firebrand size, number of deposited firebrands, air flow, and material moisture content.