cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Understanding opioid tolerance in cancer pain.

PURPOSE/OBJECTIVES To review opioid tolerance in chronic cancer pain, define the phenomenon and its scope, review physiologic mechanisms, and discuss clinical strategies to identify and manage this complex issue. DATA SOURCES Review articles, case studies, original research, and published guidelines. DATA SYNTHESIS Novel therapies to prevent/reverse tolerance are being investigated with a possible future role for N-methyl-d-aspartate antagonists. CONCLUSIONS Greater nursing research is needed to identify patient risk factors for tolerance development and clinical measurement of the phenomenon. Understanding cellular mechanisms for tolerance may contribute to better management. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING PRACTICE Nursing knowledge of tolerance is important to provide the basis for accurate patient assessment, education, and pain management.
The Baker Institute World Gas Trade Model

This working paper describes a spatial and intertemporal equilibrium model of the world market for natural gas. Specifically, the model calculates a pattern of production, transportation routes and prices to equate demands and supplies while maximizing the present value of producer rents within a competitive framework. Data incorporated into the specifications of supplies and demands in each location are taken from a variety of sources including the United States Geological Survey, the Energy Information Administration, the International Energy Agency, the World Bank and various industry sources. A subsequent working paper uses the model to investigate the possible effects of a number of scenarios including possible political developments.
Study on copper diffusion barrier materials by Time-of-Flight Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry (ToF-SIMS)

Copper diffusion in two types of barrier layers (SiNx and SiCNx) in different conditions was investigated. The Cu depth profiles were examined by Time-of-Flight Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry (ToF-SIMS). Different distributions of Cu in barrier layer were observed. This study aims to understand the mechanism behind in order to select an appropriate barrier material for various applications.
Neurocognitive predictors of treatment response to randomized treatment in adults with tic disorders

Tourette's disorder (TS) and chronic tic disorder (CTD) are neurodevelopmental disorders characterized by involuntary vocal and motor tics. Consequently, TS/CTD have been conceptualized as disorders of cognitive and motor inhibitory control. However, most neurocognitive studies have found comparable or superior inhibitory capacity among individuals with TS/CTD relative to healthy controls. These findings have led to the hypothesis that individuals with TS/CTD develop increased inhibitory control due to the constant need to inhibit tics. However, the role of cognitive control in TS/CTD is not yet understood, particularly in adults. To examine the role of inhibitory control in TS/CTD, the present study investigated this association by assessing the relationship between inhibitory control and treatment response in a large sample of adults with TS/CTD. As part of a large randomized trial comparing behavior therapy versus supportive psychotherapy for TS/CTD, a battery of tests, including tests of inhibitory control was administered to 122 adults with TS/CTD at baseline. We assessed the association between neuropsychological test performance and change in symptom severity, as well as compared the performance of treatment responders and non-responders as defined by the Clinical Global Impression Scale. Results indicated that change in symptoms, and treatment response were not associated with neuropsychological performance on tests of inhibitory control, intellectual ability, or motor function, regardless of type of treatment. The finding that significant change in symptom severity of TS/CTD patients is not associated with impairment or change in inhibitory control regardless of treatment type suggests that inhibitory control may not be a clinically relevant facet of these disorders in adults.
Partial Commissurotomy and Cerebral Localization of Function

It is indeed a pleasure and an honor to be included in this symposium in commemoration of OTFRID FOERSTER. Reading over Dr. ZULCH’s elegant summary of FOERSTER’s interests one is reminded of the scope and influence FOERSTER had on brain research. He had, of course, a particular fascination for the problem of localization of function and it is this subject I would like to discuss as it is approached through studies on commissurotomy.
Heart failure drug changes the mechanoenzymology of the cardiac myosin powerstroke.

Omecamtiv mecarbil (OM), a putative heart failure therapeutic, increases cardiac contractility. We hypothesize that it does this by changing the structural kinetics of the myosin powerstroke. We tested this directly by performing transient time-resolved FRET on a ventricular cardiac myosin biosensor. Our results demonstrate that OM stabilizes myosin’s prepowerstroke structural state, supporting previous measurements showing that the drug shifts the equilibrium constant for myosin-catalyzed ATP hydrolysis toward the posthydrolysis biochemical state. OM slowed the actin-induced powerstroke, despite a twofold increase in the rate constant for actin-activated phosphate release, the biochemical step in myosin’s ATPase cycle associated with force generation and the conversion of chemical energy into mechanical work. We conclude that OM alters the energetics of cardiac myosin’s mechanical cycle, causing the powerstroke to occur after myosin weakly binds to actin and releases phosphate. We discuss the physiological implications for these changes.
Entangled Territories in Small-Scale Gold Mining Frontiers: Labor Practices, Property, and Secrets in Indonesian Gold Country

Summary Small-scale gold mining territories emerge at the nexus of land use, property, and labor relations in some of Indonesian Borneo’s most vibrant and populated spaces, entangling state actors while sitting comfortably beyond the reach of formal state authority. Based on 7 months of field research in a key gold-producing region of West Kalimantan, I argue that gold’s presence, discovery, and informal extraction creates resource frontiers, and that within these frontiers, mining labor practices, property relations, and gold mining-related secret knowledges converge to generate resource territories. While development practitioners, agrarian scholars, and government officials represent mining sites as chaotic and lacking institutional order, I show that a clearly understood organization of life and work animates the territorial subjects and territorialized spaces that small-scale mining populates in both urban and rural mining territories. The article challenges views of territory and territorialization as an imposition of government on the people and resources within spatial boundaries. Territories with no formalized boundaries in Indonesian gold country emerge through specific production practices engaging labor, resource access, and situated knowledges. The complex entanglements of legalities and illegalities suggest that smallholder gold production spaces are ungovernable through centralized state regulatory institutions.
Faculty Voice in Intellectual Property Policies: Collective Action for the Public Good

This chapter synthesizes the previous chapters to offer to readers practical recommendations for navigating IP issues, including resources and advice for faculty and administrations to engage in more equitable discussions about the rights of faculty and the interests of the public good.
Exploring Cultural Psychology: Introduction to a Book Forum on Towards Cultural Psychology of Religion: Principles, Approaches, Applications by Jacob A. Belzen

This article introduces a book forum on Jacob A. Belzen’s book Towards Cultural Psychology of Religion: Principles, Approaches, Applications. The introduction discusses the relatively recent “turn to culture” and how it has affected the field of psychology of religion and the variety of concerns examined by the journal Pastoral Psychology.
In search of Earth analogues

The radial velocity method of exoplanet detection has led to some fantastic discoveries of planets outside our solar system. But the hunt for true Earth analogues is hampered by noisy data from stars. Jessi Cisewski outlines the challenge, and how statisticians and statistically savvy astronomers are trying to help
Exploring quantum signatures of chaos on a Floquet synthetic lattice

Ultracold atoms are controlled to investigate the emergence of chaos in the paradigmatic quantum kicked top model. The atoms are transformed into a synthetic spin, which offers a high degree of tunability between the quantum and classical limit, i.e., from a space of suppressed chaos to one where it begins to develop.
Depression, Anxiety, and Guilt: Cognitive Strategies

This chapter explains cognitive strategies that describe depression, anxiety, and guilt. The chapter describes standard cognitive-behavioral processing strategies for negative emotions. As such, they represent a fairly direct self-regulation strategy that attempts to alter the belief systems presumed to drive these emotions. There are multiple avenues to pathological gambling and relapse. Moreover, the chapter describes strategies for coping with the major negative emotions that lead to gambling relapse. Self-regulation theory specifically maintains that the actual strategies people use to cope with these issues often backfire and result in relapse. People may relapse when they fail to regulate negative emotions and rely on gambling as their default mode for coping with emotional pain. In line with this model, the chapter also discusses clinical strategies for coping with emotions triggered by negative beliefs. Finally, the chapter concludes by focusing on the positive beliefs and cognitive distortions that maintain problem gambling.
Tissue engineering and biomimetics with bioceramics

Today the scientific community is intensively devoted to the development of biomaterials exhibiting high mimesis of bone tissues and cell instructive ability, with the purpose of enabling new therapies for tissue regeneration, which is today a clinical need of steadily increasing relevance. In this respect, calcium phosphates are elective materials, due to their composition close to that of mineral bone. In particular, apatites are biomimetic materials that can be synthesized in a wide variety of atomic compositions and under different forms, enabling various applications in bone surgery. Multiple ion doping confers high bioactivity to nanocrystalline apatite phases, and these phases can be obtained as nanopowders, injectable bioactive cements, or as biohybrid materials, by exploiting bioinspired synthesis approaches. As hydroxyapatite can be processed into porous sintered scaffolds for reconstruction of large cranial bones, it can also be processed into three-dimensional biomimetic scaffold exhibiting bone-like composition and nanostructure, and hierarchical organization, thanks to the application of nature-inspired biomorphic transformations. In the coming decades it is expected that novel synthesis approaches developed on a bioinspiration basis will gain ground, as elective methods to obtain tissue-mimicking materials with increased effectiveness in promoting tissue regeneration.
SummIt: A Tool for Extractive Summarization, Discovery and Analysis

We propose to demonstrate SummIt -- a tool for extractive summarization, discovery and analysis. The main goal of SummIt is to provide consumable summaries that are driven by users' information intents. To this end, SummIt discovers and analyzes potential intents that can be used for summarization. Given an intent, SummIt generates a summary based on a novel unsupervised, query-focused, extractive, multi-document summarization approach. Using visualization aids, SummIt further allows to analyze a given summary and explore both its narrow and broader context.
The predictive potential of hyponatremia for glioblastoma patient survival

Glioblastoma is a devastating malignancy with a dismal survival rate. Currently, there are limited prognostic markers of glioblastoma including IDH1, ATRX, MGMT, PTEN, EGFRvIII, and others. Although these biomarkers for tumor prognosis are available, a surgical biopsy must be performed for these analyses, which has morbidity involved. A non-invasive and readily available biomarker is sought after which provides clinicians prognostic information. Sodium is an electrolyte that is easily and quickly obtained through analysis of a patient's serum. Hyponatremia has been shown to have a predictive and negative prognostic indication in multiple cancer types, but the role of glioblastoma patients' serum sodium at the time of diagnosis in predicting glioblastoma patient survival has not been determined. We assessed whether hyponatremia at the time of glioblastoma diagnosis correlates to patient survival and show that in our cohort of 200 glioblastoma patients, sodium, at any level, did not significantly correlate to glioblastoma survival, unlike what is seen in multiple other cancer types. We further demonstrate that inducing hyponatremia in an orthotopic murine model of glioblastoma has no effects on tumor progression and survival.
Regulation of Gene Expression by Ethylene

In plants, many processes are regulated by a small number of hormones: auxin, abscisic acid, cytokinin, gibberellin, and ethylene (for review, see Wareing and Phillips, 1981). Plant hormones, like animal hormones, are active in extremely small quantities and influence the growth and differentiation of tissues and organs. However, certain important aspects about plant hormone action are unique. That is, each plant hormone is synthesized in many parts of the plant and each regulates a wide variety of different processes depending on the organ or tissue. Furthermore, plants regulate many processes by modulating both hormone concentration and sensitivity to the hormone (Trewavas, 1982; Trewavas et al., 1983). Thus, understanding the mechanism of plant hormone action involves knowing how both hormone concentration and tissue sensitivity regulate cellular differentiation.
Note to an Oncology Fellow.

After spending so much time with people at the end of their lives, many of us grow to feel that there are worse things to fear than death itself—mainly suffering through the dying process.
Let’s –ectomize thrombectomy, shall we?

Medical nomenclature has a rich tradition employing both ancient and modern languages to precisely describe our understanding of a particular medical noun. As with other storied professions, we have recognized particular luminaries by associating their names with particular conditions many times alongside a more descriptive term, which often exists in parallel. We have collectively also recognized that in many instances the understanding of a particular medical noun changes with time, rendering a prior term inaccurate. In such circumstances, ideally the field adopts a more accurate name while conscientiously relegating the former to medical archives. In the narrow confines of neurosurgery, neurology, and neuroradiology, changes in nomenclature have been motivated by improved understanding of disease states reflected in precision of the newly adopted appellation. Numerous examples of novel nomenclature demonstrate the potential benefit, including paradigm shifts in understanding as well as treatments for a disease. For example, acoustic neuromas no longer exist, replaced with the more accurate vestibular schwannoma.1 Developmental venous anomaly has mostly supplanted the more pedestrian venous angioma.2 The dural arteriovenous malformation has been replaced by dural arteriovenous fistula (DAVF), which represents the true angioarchitectural designation. Correct nomenclature can profoundly impact treatment; when we hear about a sexagenarian with a vein of Galen malformation we know the diagnosis is most likely a vein of Galen region DAVF, with completely different ramifications. Other times we adopt new terms simply because they more accurately define the state, even though the older term is widely used and perhaps not quite inaccurate—for example, pseudotumor cerebri has been replaced by idiopathic intracranial hypertension. This preamble, in the spirit of clinically relevant nomenclature revisions, is to contend that the vast majority of ‘thrombectomies’ in the …
Sequencing the Primordial Soup

Proteomics is the brute force attempt to systematically identify and map the total protein complement expressed by a genome or tissue. The intracellular protein differences between whole cells (diseased vs. healthy) or between other complex biological fluids are important to understanding protein function. Once the structure and interactions of all proteins are characterized — in physiological and pathological situations — therapeutic strategies can be more easily designed. Typically, these analyses are accomplished by 2D-gel electrophoresis for separation and quantitation, followed by Edman degradation and/or mass spectrometry (MS) for protein identification. Matrix assisted laser desorption/ ionization time-of-flight (MALDI-TOF) and/or nanospray ionization-MS are routinely used to identify tryptic maps of individual gel spots. Interfacing HPLC with electrospray ionization (ESI) on a tandem mass spectrometer (MS/MS) offers an attractive alternative. When coupled with automated sample handling techniques, data-dependent scanning, and database searching, it can be used with or without preliminary protein separation (1D or 2D gels). Combining these automated capabilities and adapting the sensitivity of nanospray to an on-line nanoflow-HPLC/micro-ESI assembly interfaced with ion trap MS has resulted in an even more attractive and sensitive method for protein identification and characterization. The methodology developed can be used to analyze complex biological mixtures containing hundreds of proteins, covering a wide dynamic range of concentrations. Detection limits of approximately 50 attomoles make possible the identification of several co-migrating proteins present in a single Coomassie- or silver-stained gel spot.
Perceptions of women and men based on their linguistic behavior: The Gender-Linked Language Effect

On the subject of gender and communication, one question continues to excite popular passion and command scholarly discussion: “Are there meaningful gender differences in language behavior?” A popular book in the United States offers the simplistic answer that the two genders are worlds apart — Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus (Gray 1991). At the other extreme is one academic pronouncement that meaningful differences between the language of men and women may exist, but they have not yet been found (Canary/Hause 1993). My research on the Gender-Linked Language Effect suggests that, as is so often the case with questions that excite passion, the truth lies somewhere in between the two poles. And although the answer is far more complex than can be prescribed in an aphorism, I would suggest that the reality is closer to the following: “Men are from Schleswig-Holstein, Women are from Brandenburg.” That is, men and women speak the same language, but they do so in subtly different ways and with importantly different consequences.
Experimental characterization and model predictions for twisted polymer actuators in free torsion

Thermally driven artificial muscles, such as twisted polymer actuators (TPAs), are a promising new development in the field of smart materials. TPAs have potential applications in advanced prostheses, robotics, or any operation that produces excess heat and requires actuation. The theory explaining the actuation phenomenon of TPAs is based on the anisotropic thermal expansion of drawn polymers, which expand radially and contract axially under thermal loading. When the monofilaments are twisted, these thermal expansion properties remain relatively unchanged, but the internal fibers become helically aligned, thus causing the TPA to untwist when heated. TPAs can be used as torsional or linear actuators, depending on the configuration of the twist. In this work, we present experimental methods for acquiring untwisted monofilament thermal properties and thermal actuation data of straight twisted polymer actuators (STPAs). STPAs act as torsional actuators and can be thought of as elemental sections of the coiled linear actuators. The experimental data is then used to assess current, kinematic models for predicting STPA responses under free torsion. The results suggest that current models capture first order torsional and axial response due to thermal load and indicate areas for future refinement and research.
Domain-specific impact of cerebral white matter hyperintensities on Parkinson’s disease cognitive functioning (P3.068)

Objective: In this study, we investigate the relationship between white matter hyperintensities (WMH) and Parkinson’s disease (PD) cognitive impairment using a comprehensive neuropsychological battery with Level-II criteria for domain-specific subtyping. Background: PD patients are at an elevated risk of developing cognitive impairment. The cognitive domains affected include executive function, attention, memory, visuospatial abilities, and language. Lewy-body pathology, Alzheimer’s disease-type pathology, vascular pathology, and mixed pathology have all been implicated on postmortem tissue analysis. However, etiology matters and the relative contribution of WMH due to vascular disease is still unclear (Veselý & Rektor, 2016). Design/Methods: A total of 79 PD participants (67.2 ± 8.8 years) were included in the present study, 65 with no or punctuate WMH and 14 with early-confluent or confluent WMH (Fazekas’ Scale). Level-II assessment of cognitive function (Litvan et al., 2012) included tests of executive (SDMT, FAS), attention/working memory (TMT-A/-B, WMS III-DS, Stroop), episodic memory (CVLT-II, BVMT-R), visuospatial (HVOT, JLO-V) and language function (BNT, DKEF, Semantic Fluency Test). Cognitive impairment was defined as >1.5 SD below age and education-matched normative values on at least two tests. Results: The two WMH groups did not differ in education, duration of PD diagnosis and MDS-UPDRS motor score (part-III). Binary logistic regression analysis showed WMH severity significantly predicted impairment in executive function (Exp(B)=6.35, 95% CI=1.73–23.34, p=0.005), attention/working memory (Exp(B)=4.67, 95% CI=1.34–16.26, p=0.016) and episodic memory (Exp(B)=4.69, 95% CI=1.18–18.67, p=0.028), and trended towards prediction of visuospatial function. WMH severity did not predict impairment in language function. Conclusions: This study demonstrates an interaction effect of WMH and domain-specific cognitive dysfunction in PD. Using comprehensive neuropsychological testing and level-II subtyping criteria, we found higher WMH burden in PD is associated with worse executive function, attention/working memory and episodic memory. Early treatment of vascular risk factors could modulate cognitive impairments in a subgroup of PD patients, but further investigations are needed. Disclosure: Dr. Linortner has nothing to disclose. Dr. Hendershott has nothing to disclose. Dr. Poston has nothing to disclose.
Cognitive architecture

Designing interactive computer systems to be efficient and easy to use is important so that people in our society may realize the potential benefits of computer-based tools .... Although modern cognitive psychology contains a wealth of knowledge of human behavior, it is not a simple matter to bring this knowledge to bear on the practical problems of design-to build an applied psychology that includes theory, data, and knowledge.
Two-Year Anniversary

My stroke at age 80 coalesced three critical life events: a life-threatening health crisis; involuntary retirement; and the onset of dreaded old-age infirmities. While each of these circumstances might be inevitable in the long run, they also each carry significant potential to produce a psychological crisis in anyone’s life. In my case, addressing all three at once has been more than a little humbling and often overwhelming. As I reflect back over the two years since my stroke, I see that it has taken virtually all of my energy to navigate and cope with these simultaneous life challenges.
Incomparable Empires: Modernism and the Translation of Spanish and American Literature

This book makes ambitious claims for the privileged place of translation in modernist studies. As in Rogers’s equally provocative first book, Modernism and the New Spain: Britain, Cosmopolitan Euro...
Responding to the Medication-Seeking Patient

Treating a medication-seeking patient can be one of the most challenging interactions in the emergency department. This chapter will define the problem and discuss ways to detect and effectively treat patients who present with this problem. We will discuss terminology, tips to identify patients with this behavior, including use of prescription drug-monitoring programs, and then describe an algorithm for the approach to patients with this behavior.
Parabolic–elliptic chemotaxis model with space–time-dependent logistic sources on ℝN. I. Persistence and asymptotic spreading

The current series of three papers is concerned with the asymptotic dynamics in the following parabolic–elliptic chemotaxis system with space- and time-dependent logistic source: ∂tu = Δu − χ∇⋅ (u∇...
Evaluation of oil-gelling properties and crystallization behavior of sorghum wax in fish oil

Abstract Inspired by the potential opportunities offered by sorghum as a natural wax source, the objective of this study was to investigate for the first time the potential of three types of sorghum waxes, namely, sorghum bran wax (SBW), sorghum DDGS wax (SDW), and sorghum kernel wax (SKW), as an oleogelator. All the three sorghum waxes showed good gelation properties with minor differences. Fast cooling rate and ultrasonic treatment favored the oil-gelling capacity and reduced oil loss by reducing the crystal size. All sorghum wax oleogels exhibited two common x-ray diffraction peaks around d-value of 0.415 nm and 0.374 nm, suggesting the evidence of a hexagonal symmetry and β’ crystals. Faster cooling rate resulted in an earlier onset of crystallization and ultrasonic treatment narrowed the melting range. Oxidation of fish oil in the sorghum wax oleogels were delayed considerably compared to free fish oil, while SDW generated the most stable oleogels.
Intersectional Effects of Gender, Education, and Geographic Region on Functional Health Disparities Among Older Adults in India:

Objective: Research on social determinants of health in India has focused largely on the independent influence of education, gender, and region. Using an intersectionality framework in this study, ...
Nonlinear Inversion MR Elastography With Low-Frequency Actuation

Magnetic resonance elastography (MRE) has been developed to noninvasively reconstruct mechanical properties for tissue and tissue-like materials over a frequency range of 10 ~200 Hz. In this work, low frequency (1~1.5 Hz) MRE activations were employed to estimate mechanical property distributions of simulated data and experimental phantoms. Nonlinear inversion (NLI) MRE algorithms based on viscoelastic and poroelastic material models were used to solve the inverse problems and recover images of the shear modulus and hydraulic conductivity. Data from a simulated phantom containing an inclusion with property contrast was carried out to study the feasibility of our low frequency actuated approach. To verify the stability of NLI algorithms for low frequency actuation, different levels of synthetic noise were added to the displacement data. Spatial distributions and property values were recovered well for noise level less than 5%. For the presented experimental phantom reconstructions with regularizations, the computed storage moduli from viscoelastic and poroelastic MRE gave similar results. Contrast was detected between inclusions and background in recovered hydraulic conductivity images. Results and findings confirm the feasibility of future in vivo neuroimaging examinations using natural cerebrovascular pulsations at cardiac frequencies, which can eliminate specialized equipment for high frequency actuation.
Willingness to pay for invasive seaweed management: Understanding how high and low income households differ in Ghana

Abstract Seaweed invasions have been plaguing coastal ecosystems in countries bordering the Atlantic Ocean since 2011. To protect their coastal fisheries and tourism, several countries in West Africa have adopted seaweed cleanup policies to periodically remove invasive seaweeds from the beach, but funding remains a challenge. We conducted a contingent valuation study in Ghana to understand the drivers of public support or willingness to pay (WTP) for seaweed cleanup to assist developing countries struggling to fund seaweed cleanup and contribute to the nascent literature on how socio-economic groups systematically value environmental resources differently. Overall, we found that household income, education of household head, years of residence, distance to the beach and attitudes about invasive seaweeds significantly influence WTP for all households. Among these drivers, only education and attitudes impact WTP irrespective of income status. In comparing income groups, we found that distance is only significant for high-income households, while income is also only significant for low-income households. We predicted GH₵59.62 (US$12.42), GH₵26.28 (US$5.48) and GH₵33.43 (US$6.96) as mean monthly WTP for high-income, low-income, and all households, respectively.
Tisch Cancer Institute Scholars Program: Mentored Cancer Research Training Pipeline for Medical Students.

Cancer research has led to unprecedented advances in treatment in recent decades. Physician-scientists have played a crucial role in these advances given their unique perspective at the intersection between basic research and clinical care, though their representation in cancer research has been in progressive decline. Cancer research programs that feature strong mentorship at the medical student level are associated with increased likelihood of alumni choosing a cancer research career path. In an effort to increase the cancer research medical student training pipeline, senior research faculty from the Tisch Cancer Institute (TCI) at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai (ISMMS) developed the TCI Scholars Program, a rigorous mentored research training program funding medical students’ summer research. This program is currently in its third year and has garnered significant interest among mentors and students alike from all four TCI Cancer Center Support Grant (CCSG)–funded research programs. Herein, we describe the development, implementation, evaluation, and major outcomes of this program.
Avian Studies in Montane Meadows: Songbird Abundance and Nesting Success

The loss of biological diversity has become a global concern during the last decade (Wilson, 1988; Reid and Miller, 1989). The need to predict those species of concern and areas of high species richness is even more pressing as we enter an era of potential global climate change. Prerequisites to good decision-making with regard to the management of biological diversity are adequate floral and faunal inventories for the lands in question and a rigorous understanding of species-habitat relationships (e.g., Noss, 1983; Davis et al., 1990; Scott et al., 1990; Scott et al., 1993). The emergence of landscape ecology as a discipline has been instrumental in helping scientists understand spatial patterns of species distribution (Noss, 1983; Urban et al., 1987; Turner, 1989). Once these relationships are understood, it may be possible to predict species diversity based upon landscape level habitat analysis using geographic information systems (GIS) and remotely sensed data (Urban et al., 1987; Turner, 1989) at fine-scale resolutions (e.g., 20 - 50 meter sampling sites). Conversely, such analyses can help optimize sampling strategies or allow us to test hypotheses regarding the spatial correspondence of species diversity "hotspots" among taxonomic groups (e.g. Prendergast et al., 1993). The debate over global climate change has created renewed interest in documenting baseline variability in biodiversity. Goals of the Committee on Earth Sciences (1989) regarding the U.S. Global Change Research Program focus on the development of sound scientific strategies for monitoring and predicting environmental change. Key priorities, as noted by the committee, are as follows: "Systematic sampling and monitoring are essential to document critical natural versus human-induced change in the structure and function of globally relevant biological systems on various time scales." (Committee on Earth Sciences, 1989).
Further Studies on Exponential Models of Cerebral Clearance Curves

In a previous communication [2] we have described a new mathematical model for the analysis of cerebral clearance curves consisting of a bimodal Gaussian distribution of exponentials. The purpose of the present communication is to further evaluate this bimodal Gaussian model and to compare it with the two compartment model using cerebral clearance curves synthetized from regional cerebral blood flow data obtained in cats.
Adipose-derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells Are Phenotypically Superior for Regeneration in the Setting of Osteonecrosis of the Femoral Head

Background Bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (bmMSCs) have been used as a cellular therapeutic option for treatment of osteonecrosis of the femoral head. However, use of bmMSCs as a treatment adjuvant for orthopaedic disorders in general has achieved limited success. Adipose-derived MSCs (aMSCs) may be a more-efficient regenerative cell source given their greater quantity and protection from physiologic stress.
Social Protest and Self-Enhancement: A Conditional Relationship

Data from a panel study are used to test the theoretically informed hypothesis that participation in social protest activities in the seventh grade has self-enhancing outcomes in the ninth grade and in young adulthood where the subjects in the seventh grade express alienation from the conventional social order. However, participation in social protest activities in the seventh grade is expected to have self-devaluing consequences in the ninth grade and young adulthood where the subjects in the seventh grade do not express alienation from the conventional social order. The results of OLS multiple regression analyses with interaction terms were consistent with the hypothesis. As predicted, among subjects who rejected the idea that one can get ahead by working hard, seventh grade social protest was inversely related to self-derogation; and, among subjects who affirm the idea that one can get ahead by working hard, social protest activities were related to higher subsequent levels of self-derogation.
Transamidating enzymes. II. A continuous fluorescent method suited for automating measurements of factor XIII in plasma.

Abstract The covalent incorporation of monodansylcadaverine ( N -5-(aminopentyl)-5-dimethylamino-1-naphthalenesulfonamide) into some proteins, catalyzed by a variety of transamidases, is accompanied by marked changes in the fluorescence emission of the dansyl group. In addition to a blue shift, there is an increase in intensity of fluorescence. Various types of caseins, as well as succinylated β-lactoglobulin or lysozyme, can be used as protein acceptors, though neither of the latter two support the reaction in their native form. The continuous rise of fluorescence intensity made it possible to record directly the course of the enzymic transamidating reactions. As such, the procedure is well suited for automation. Furthermore, the assay is applicable to human plasma for the monitoring of fibrin-stabilizing factor (Factor XIII) levels.
Affine Hybrid Systems

Affine hybrid systems are hybrid systems in which the discrete domains are affine sets and the transition maps between discrete domains are affine transformations. The simple structure of these systems results in interesting geometric properties; one of these is the notion of spatial equivalence. In this paper, a formal framework for describing affine hybrid systems is introduced. As an application, it is proven that every compact hybrid system H is spatially equivalent to a hybrid system H id in which all the transition maps are the identity. An explicit and computable construction for H id is given.
On the uniqueness of fingerprints via mining of statistically rare features

A new method for automatically identifying rare features in fingerprints based on a combination of level 1 features and minutia-based triangular descriptors is described. A feature is considered rare if it is statistically uncommon; for example, such a rare feature should be unique among N>1000 randomly sampled prints. A fingerprint feature that is rare has higher discriminatory power when it is identified in a print (latent or otherwise), and multiple rare features in a single print can increase discriminatory power dramatically. In the case of latent matching, such information can be significant for reaching a decision. The new approach was tested experimentally using the NIST SD-27 database and an FBI database of 11,036 unique fingerprints. The results indicated that every randomly selected fingerprint from the composite database has a small set of highly distinctive statistically rare features, some of with occurrence of 1 in 1000 fingerprints.
What I Have Learned from “Other” Art Educators

This article is based on nearly 25 years of working with and studying folk art and folk artists. While certified art educators and their university teachers may think they are inclusive in their un...
Resource adequacy in competitive electricity markets

Summary form only given. The definition of resource adequacy is "the ability of the electric system to supply the aggregate electrical demand and energy requirements of the customers at all times, taking into account scheduled and reasonably expected unscheduled outages of system elements. In this presentation, we discuss some of the different approaches taken in various markets around the world. We assess the results obtained through the implemented approaches. One of the popular approaches is the introduction of capacity payment, as incentives for investors in the generation sector to provide the funds for the financing for new capacity resources. We analyze the approaches implemented in the electricity market design of several jurisdictions and construct a conceptual framework for the assessment of resource adequacy issues. In particular, we introduce appropriate metrics for the resource adequacy problem. We also discuss a number of challenges in the area of resource adequacy and the research questions under investigation.
Glutathione depletion is associated with decreased Bcl-2 expression and increased apoptosis in cholangiocytes

Cholangiocytes are the target of a group of liver diseases termed the cholangiopathies that include conditions characterized by periductal inflammation and cholangiocyte apoptosis. Because inflammation is associated with oxidative stress, we developed the hypothesis that cholangiocytes exposed to oxidative stress will be depleted of endogenous cytoprotective molecules, leading to cholangiocyte apoptosis. To begin to test this hypothesis, we explored the relationships among glutathione (GSH) depletion, expression of Bcl-2 (a protooncogene that inhibits apoptosis), and apoptosis in a nonmalignant human cholangiocyte cell line. Monolayers of human bile duct epithelial cells, derived from normal liver and immortalized by SV40 transformation, were depleted of GSH using buthionine sulfoximine (BSO). Bcl-2 expression was assessed by quantitative immunoblot analysis, and apoptosis quantified by fluorescence microscopy using the DNA binding dye 4', 6'-diamidino-2-phenylindole. Bcl-2 message was assessed by RNase protection assay, and Bcl-2 protein synthesis and half-life by pulse-chase analysis. Exposure of human cholangiocytes in culture to BSO reduced GSH levels by 93 +/- 3% (P < 0.01). In addition, treatment of cholangiocytes with BSO reduced Bcl-2 levels by 87 +/- 2% (P < 0.01) and was associated with a time-dependent increase in the number of cells undergoing apoptosis; approximately 11 +/- 1% of cultured cells demonstrated morphological changes of apoptosis by 72 h compared with 1.5 +/- 0.1% in untreated cholangiocytes (P < 0. 01). Maintenance of GSH levels by addition of glutathione ethyl ester in the presence of BSO blocked the BSO-associated increase in apoptosis in BSO-treated cholangiocytes and also prevented the decrease in Bcl-2 protein. BSO treatment of cholangiocytes did not change steady-state levels of bcl-2 mRNA or Bcl-2 protein synthesis. However, Bcl-2 protein half-life decreased 57% in BSO-treated vs. untreated cells. Our results using a human cholangiocyte cell line demonstrate that reduction in the cellular levels of an antioxidant such as GSH results in increased degradation of Bcl-2 protein and an increase in apoptosis. These data provide a mechanistic link between the consequences of oxidative stress and cholangiocyte apoptosis, an observation that may be important in the pathogenesis of the inflammatory cholangiopathies.
A scaling approach to spatial variability in early diagenetic processes

The traditional approach to understanding early diagenetic processes in sediments has generally been to analyze pore water and solid phases from a single core on depth scales of centimeters. The resulting data is then modeled using the approximations of lateral homogeneity and steady-state conditions. However, the continuing advancement of the field of benthic biogeochemistry and development of new microelectrode analytic techniques are clearly demonstrating that in many sedimentary environments a more sophisticated approach to measure the spatial and temporal variability is necessary. Although no one approach is appropriate for all situations, a scaling method is presented, with examples, in this study for determining appropriate sampling intervals in time and space that has considerable utility for investigating early changes in sediment geochemistry in complex natural systems. This approach is derived from scaling techniques that have been developed by physical oceanographers for the study of processes in the water column where many analogous sampling problems are encountered.
Characterization of α- and β-Adrenergic Agonist Stimulation of Adenylate Cyclase Activity in Human Epidermal Keratinocytes In Vitro

Adrenergic receptors are responsible for selective recognition and binding of catecholamines and may in turn have an effect on epidermal cell growth and maturation via adenosine-3',5'-monophosphate (cAMP). Using endogenous catecholamines and drugs specific for α- and β-receptor subtypes, we have characterized the adrenergic receptor coupled to adenylate cyclase in cultured human epidermal keratinocytes. The relative potency order of stumulation of adenylate cyclase was: isoproterenol > epinephrine >> norepinephrine. The predominant adrenergic receptor is of the β 2 -subtype, as also confirmed by use of the selective antagonists propranolol, butoxamiine, and atenolol. No evidence of α-adrenergic receptor mediation of adenylate cyclase was noted with the α 2 -specific agonist, clonidine. Phenylephrine, the α 1 -specific agonist, affected cAMP formation but this response could not be totally inhibited with prazosin, suggesting an unknown mechanism of action. Human keratinocytes retained the same β-adrenergic receptor potency order properties throughout growth and maturation.
A requirement for lipid rafts in B cell receptor induced Ca(2+) flux.

Abstract Although the major biochemical events triggered by ligation of the B-cell receptor (BCR) have been well defined [1,2], little is known about the spatio-temporal organization of BCR signaling components within the cell membrane and the mechanisms by which signaling specificity is achieved. Partitioning of signaling complexes into specialized domains in the plasma membrane may provide a mechanism for channeling specific stimuli into distinct signaling pathways. Here, we report that multiple tyrosine-phosphorylated proteins accumulate transiently upon BCR activation in detergent-insoluble membrane microdomains known as lipid rafts. We found an activation-dependent translocation to the rafts of the BCR itself, as well as phospholipase Cγ2 (PLCγ2), an enzyme critical for BCR-induced Ca 2+ flux in B cells. An intact raft structure was required for BCR-induced tyrosine phosphorylation of PLCγ2 and the induction of Ca 2+ flux. Taken together, these data provide a functional role for lipid rafts in BCR signaling.
Residents' and nurses' perceptions of team function in the medical intensive care unit

Abstract Background Team-based care is integral to modern intensive care units (ICUs). Trainee physicians (“residents”) serve as core team members who provide direct patient care in academic ICUs. However, little is known about how resident perceptions of ICU team function differ from those of other disciplines. Therefore, we compared residents' perceptions to those of nurses', the other predominant direct caregiver group, in the medical ICU. Methods A cross-sectional survey was performed with validated team function scales including presence of a real team, communication quality, collaboration, and coordination. The survey was administered to nurses and residents in medical ICUs in an urban academic medical center. We analyzed differences between nurses and residents both in their responses and in their perceptions of how constructs were interrelated. Results Residents felt that the team was more bounded, was more collaborative, and planned its work to a greater degree, but they were less satisfied with communication, compared with nurses. Residents and nurses perceived relationships between team function constructs in very similar ways. Both groups felt that communication openness and collaboration were positively associated but that communication accuracy and timeliness were negatively correlated, revealing an opportunity to improve overall team performance. Conclusions We found important differences in the way that ICU nurses and medical trainee physicians, the predominant types of providers caring for the critically ill in academic medical center ICUs, perceive key aspects of team function. These results may be useful to those responsible for administering academic ICUs as well as to residency program directors developing communication- and team-based curricula.
Effect of concentration and magnetic field of radical ion (Wurster's blue cation and benzoquinone anion) quenching of anthracene triplets in fluid solution

The effect of magnetic field on the delayed fluorescence (DF) of anthracene in methylene chloride solutions in the presence of the radical cation of N,N,N',N'-tetramethyl-p-phenylenediamine (TMPD) and the radical anion of p-benzoquinone (BQ) has been studied. The results show strong quenching of anthracene triplets by both TMPD∗ and BQ− as well as a decrease in the rate of the triplet—radical ion reaction rate (and hence an increase in DF intensity) with increasing magnetic field. An equation for the effect of magnetic field on DF intensity in the presence of paramagnetic quenchers is proposed.