cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
High-dose cyclophosphamide as salvage therapy for severe aplastic anemia

Abstract Objective The treatment options for patients with aplastic anemia who do not respond to conventional immunosuppression are limited. The aim of this study was to evaluate high-dose cyclophosphamide in patients with refractory severe aplastic anemia (SAA). Materials and Methods We treated 17 SAA patients with high-dose cyclophosphamide (50 mg/kg/day for 4 consecutive days) who previously did not respond to one or more courses of immunosuppressive therapy. Median age was 31 years (range 6–58); median disease duration was 14 months (range 6–58), and 8 patients met criteria for very severe aplastic anemia (absolute neutrophil count 9 /L) at the time of treatment. Results At median follow-up of 29 months, 10 patients (59%) are alive. Nine patients (53%) achieved a drug-free remission after high-dose cyclophosphamide; 4 patients achieved a complete remission and 5 patients currently meet criteria for a partial remission but continue to improve. One nonresponder to high-dose cyclophosphamide developed paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria; another nonresponder developed a myelodysplastic syndrome. In responding patients, median time to 500 neutrophils was 54 days (range 35–119), median time to the last platelet transfusion was 99 days (range 51–751), and median time to the last red cell transfusion was 125 days (range 63–796). Conclusion High-dose cyclophosphamide shows promise for salvaging patients with refractory SAA.
Scattering of a scalar beam from a two-dimensional randomly rough hard wall: Enhanced backscattering.

We have calculated numerically the scattering of a scalar beam incident normally on a large-amplitude, large-rms-slope, two-dimensonal, randomly rough, hard wall (Dirichlet boundary condition). Our result is equivalent to a fourth-order Kirchhoff approximation, and displays a well-defined peak in the retroreflection direction in the angular dependence of the intensity of the waves scattered incoherently.
Randomised clinical trial: Polyethylene glycol 3350 with sports drink vs. polyethylene glycol with electrolyte solution as purgatives for colonoscopy-- the incidence of hyponatraemia.

SummaryBackground Polyethylene glycol 3350 plus sports drink (PEG-SD) is a hypo-osmotic purgative commonly used for colonoscopy, though little safety data are available. Aim To evaluate the effect of PEG-SD on serum sodium (Na) and other electrolytes compared with PEG-electrolyte solution (PEG-ELS). Methods We performed a single center, prospective, randomised, investigator-blind comparison of PEG-ELS to PEG-SD in out-patients undergoing colonoscopy. Laboratories were obtained at baseline and immediately before and after colonoscopy. The primary endpoint was development of hyponatraemia (Na <135 mmol/L) the day of colonoscopy. Changes in electrolyte levels were computed as the difference between the lowest value on the day of colonoscopy and baseline. Purgative tolerance and efficacy were assessed. Results A total of 389 patients were randomised; 364 took purgative and had baseline and day of colonoscopy labs (180 PEG-SD, 184 PEG-ELS). The groups were well matched except for a higher fraction of women and Blacks in PEG-ELS. Seven patients (3.9%) in PEG-SD and four patients (2.2%) in PEG-ELS developed hyponatraemia (OR = 1.82, 95% CI: 0.45–8.62, P = 0.376). Changes in electrolytes from baseline were small but significantly worse with PEG-SD for sodium, potassium and chloride (P = 0.001, 0.012, 0.001, respectively). Preparation completion, adverse events, and overall colon cleansing were similar between the groups, but PEG-ELS had more excellent preparations (52% vs. 30%; P = 0.001). Conclusions Greater, but very modest, electrolyte changes occur with PEG-SD. Hyponatraemia is infrequent with both purgatives. A significant increase in hyponatraemia was not identified for PEG-SD vs. PEG-ELS, but the sample size may have been inadequate to identify a small, but clinically important difference. ClinicalTrials.gov identifier NCT01299779.
Constellation Design for Channel Precompensation in Multi-Wavelength Visible Light Communications

The predicted ubiquity of light-emitting diodes (LEDs) suggests great potential for dual-use systems with visible light communications (VLC) capabilities. One class of LEDs employs multiple emitters at different wavelengths, making them appropriate for applications requiring colored output and providing multiple channels for communication. We present a design framework for optimizing the signaling constellation of VLC systems employing an arbitrary number of such LEDs, each with an arbitrary number of emitters. In particular, by considering the design of constellation-symbol locations jointly across LED emitters, the framework provides for the precompensation of linear channel distortions arising from, for example, cross-channel leakage, noise correlation, or wavelength-dependent received-signal and/or noise power, as well as the incorporation of design constraints for color-shift keying, dimming, and/or perceived color. Simulation results demonstrate the design approach and the potential performance enhancement that can be achieved for particular system scenarios. Experimental measurements using a prototype VLC system confirm such performance enhancements, providing real-world evidence of the benefit of applying the proposed framework to VLC channel precompensation.
Nearest neighbor ensemble

Recent empirical work has shown that combining predictors can lead to significant reduction in generalization error. The individual predictors (weak learners) can be very simple, such as two terminal-node trees; it is the aggregating scheme that gives them the power of increasing prediction accuracy. Unfortunately, many combining methods do not improve nearest neighbor (NN) classifiers at all. This is because NN methods are very robust with respect to variations of a data set. In contrast, they are sensitive to input features. We exploit the instability of NN classifiers with respect to different choices of features to generate an effective and diverse set of NN classifiers with possibly uncorrelated errors. Interestingly, the approach takes advantage of the high dimensionality of the data. The experimental results show that our technique offers significant performance improvements with respect to competitive methods.
Error bounds for the method of alternating projections

Given a collection of closed subspaces of a Hilbert space, the method of alternating projections produces a sequence which converges to the orthogonal projection onto the intersection of the subspaces. A large class of problems in medical and geophysical image reconstruction can be solved using this method. A sharp error bound will enable the userto estimate accurately the number of iterations necessary to achieve a desired relative error. We obtain the sharpest possible upper bound for the case of two subspaces, and the sharpest known upper bound for more than two subspaces.
The Electoral System of the Federal Republic of Germany—a Study in Representative Government.

In the development of democracy in the modern world, increasing attention has been paid to the idea of representation. With the growth of large electorates which resulted from the extension of the -franchise, it has been a necessary and logical process for thinkers and constitution-makers to devise methods by which the will of the electors can be formulated and translated into public policy. Since the voters are too numerous to gather in the market place, some means must be found to represent their opinions in the control and administration of the state. In the words of John Stuart Mill, "the meaning of representative government is, that the whole people, or some numerous portion of them, exercise through deputies periodically elected by themselves the ultimate controlling power, which, in every constitution, must reside somewhere."' But specifically whom should the deputy represent-individuals, areas, groups, parties, or himself? Must he be popularly elected and, if so, how, and by whom? These and other vital questions have occupied the attention of scholars and statesmen for more than a hundred years. How to organize a system of good democratic representation is today'a very live question in several countries, and a really critical question in one or two of them.
Self-administration of cocaine induces dopamine-independent self-administration of sigma agonists.

Sigma1 receptors (σ1Rs) are intracellularly mobile chaperone proteins implicated in several disease processes, as well as psychiatric disorders and substance abuse. Here we report that although selective σ1R agonists (PRE-084, (+)-pentazocine) lacked reinforcing effects in drug-naive rats, over the course of 28 experimental sessions, which was more than sufficient for acquisition of cocaine self-administration, responding was not maintained by either σ1R agonist. In contrast, after subjects self-administered cocaine σ1R agonists were readily self-administered. The induced reinforcing effects were long lasting; a response for which subjects had no history of reinforcement was newly conditioned with both σ1R agonists, extinguished when injections were discontinued, and reconditioned when σ1R agonists again followed responses. Experience with food reinforcement was ineffective as an inducer of σ1R agonist reinforcement. Although a variety of dopamine receptor antagonists blocked cocaine self-administration, consistent with its dopaminergic mechanism, PRE-084 self-administration was entirely insensitive to these drugs. Conversely, the σR antagonist, BD1063, blocked PRE-084 self-administration but was inactive against cocaine. In microdialysis studies i.v. PRE-084 did not significantly stimulate dopamine at doses that were self-administered in rats either with or without a cocaine self-administration experience. The results indicate that cocaine experience induces reinforcing effects of previously inactive σ1R agonists, and that the mechanism underlying these reinforcing effects is dopamine independent. It is further suggested that induced σ1R mechanisms may have an essential role in treatment-resistant stimulant abuse, suggesting new approaches for the development of effective medications for stimulant abuse.
Pareto optimization with reverse normal-boundary intersection for power plant models

This paper presents the use of Pareto optimization techniques that was previously analyzed with small scale power plant models where results could be verified analytically. Further research has been conducted into the use of applying these techniques to large scale models and analyzing performance. These approaches have been verified to scale well to larger applications. Through the use of multi-objective particle swarm optimization and reverse normal-boundary intersection, reference governors can be developed for numerous types of power plant. Combining these two approaches allows decisions made from a Pareto front to be seamlessly mapped into a simple and fast single variable optimization process. These applications are demonstrated with a small oil-fired power plant model and a large-scale coal-fired power plant model.
RNA-RNA interactions between oligonucleotide substrates for aminoacylation.

Abstract RNA stem-loop microhelices with helix sequences based on tRNA acceptor stems can be charged with specific amino acids. Experiments were designed to test the possibility that microhelices could laterally associate through complementary loop sequences and thereby bring their attached aminoacyl groups close enough together to form a peptide bond. Computer simulations suggested that formation of such complexes would be sensitive to the number of loop nucleotides needed to span the grooves of the quasi-continuous helix of the intermolecular pseudoknot so formed. These predictions were confirmed experimentally by observation of complex formation sensitivity to loop size. Complexes with optimized loop sizes had apparent bimolecular dissociation constants of approximately 100 nM with only three complementary base pairs between the respective loops. Single nucleotide substitutions that disrupted the predicted intermolecular loop-loop base-pairing abolished detectable association. Similarly, placing a gap between the short helix formed by loop-loop pairing and the adjacent acceptor stems also diminished complex formation. These experiments establish an experimental basis for microhelix association for peptide synthesis.
Glucocorticoid receptors in normal human eosinophils: comparison with neutrophils.

Abstract Saturation analysis with [ 3 H]-dexamethasone was employed to measure glucocorticoid binding in purified preparations of human eosinophils and neutrophils. Eosinophils contained 10.8 ± 1.3 × 10 3 high-affinity receptor sites per cell, with a dissociation constant (K d ) of 15.3 ± 0.6 nM dexamethasone. Cortisol was capable of competing with [ 3 H]-dexamethasone in the binding reaction, whereas progesterone, estradiol, estriol, and testosterone were less effective. Saturable glucocorticoid binding in neutrophils had a K d of 17.7 ± 0.8 nM dexamethasone with 11.1 ± 0.8 × 10 3 sites per cell and displayed similar steroid specificity. These data indicate that normal human eosinophils have glucocorticoid receptors with characteristics similar to those in neutrophils and that in these cells ligand-receptor interaction can occur at physiologic glucocorticoid concentrations. Furthermore, these results suggest that certain glucocorticoid effects on eosinophils and neutrophils may be mediated through specific receptors.
Renewable Energy and Hybrid Turbine-Fuel Cell Cogeneration System’s Predicted Performance

A normalized, general approach for determining the combined performance of a hybrid turbine-fuel cell cogeneration system with a renewable energy source, such as a solar thermal system is presented. The hybrid-cogeneration system provides required electric power as well as satisfying simultaneous heating loads. In this paper a system level analysis that includes practical values of heat exchangers, pumps, and storage equipment is presented. The use of the ratio of the thermal load to required power parameter (HLRP), which has been previously used by the authors to scale energy systems, allows the performance to be quickly determined and preliminary carbon dioxide production rates and cost effects to be estimated. The present paper will focus on a solar thermal system as renewable energy to illustrate the development of this technique and its integration with the hybrid fuel cell cogeneration system. Practical values of solar collector efficiency and storage tank efficiency are included. The analysis will focus on matching the transient characteristics of the power and thermal loads with those of the renewable energy system. Performance measures used to evaluate the investigated designs include the energy utilization factor and the carbon dioxide produced per unit power output. The information provided by the performance graphs can be used to estimate costs for each system and to easily determine which system is the most efficient for satisfying energy requirements and reducing green house gas emissions. The results provide site planners and physical plant operators with initial information that can be used to design new facilities or effectively integrate large plant expansion that include renewable energy systems in a manner that will minimize energy requirements and reduce pollution effects.Copyright © 2007 by ASME
Multidimensional letter similarity derived from recognition errors.

In order to provide a reliable measure of the similarity of uppercase English letters, a confusion matrix based on 1,200 presentations of each letter was established. To facilitate an analysis of the perceived structural characteristics, the confusion matrix was decomposed according to Luce’s choice model into a symmetrical similarity matrix and a response bias vector. The underlying structure of the similarity matrix was assessed with both a hierarchical clustering and a multidimensional scaling procedure. This data is offered to investigators of visual information processing as a valuable tool for controlling not only the overall similarity of the letters in a study, but also their similarity on individual feature dimensions.
Caring for grandchildren and intergenerational support in rural China: a gendered extended family perspective

This investigation examines how support from adult children is affected by their parents' involvement in grandchild care. Instead of focusing on dyadic interactions, we adopt a gendered extended family perspective to examine how financial and emotional support from children was influenced when their siblings received help with child care from their elder parents. The data were from a two-wave (2001, 2003) longitudinal study of 4,791 parent–child dyads with 1,162 parents, aged 60 and older, living in rural areas of Anhui Province, China. Random effects regression showed that emotional support from both sons and daughters was strengthened when parents provided more child care for their other adult children; in addition, daughters were more emotionally responsive than sons under this situation. Concerning dyadic parent–child relationships, daughter and sons increased their financial support, and sons increased their emotional support when they themselves received help with child care from parents. We suggest taking a gendered extended family perspective when studying intergenerational relationships in rural China.
Calcitriol-mediated modulation of urokinase-type plasminogen activator and plasminogen activator inhibitor-2

alcitriol-induced differentiation of U937 mononuclear phagocytes is known to have divergent effects on the synthesis of urokinase-type plasminogen activator (uPA) and plasminogen activator inhibitor-2 (PAI-2). In this study, we sought to determine whether calcitriol affects the expression of these proteins by modulating intermediate signal trasduction involving intracellular calcium and protein kinase C (PKC). U937 cells were stimulated with calcitriol (50 nM) for 6-72 hr, inducing a transient increase in specific binding of (3H)phorbol dibutyrate ((3H)PDBu), seen only after 24 hr. Staurosporine (2 nM), a PKC inhibitor, had no effect on calcitriol-induced secretion of plasminogen activator (PA) activity. However, staurosporine significantly (P < 0.05) inhibited the ability of calcitriol to enhance phorbol myristate acetate (PMA)-induced secretion of PA inhibitor activity, indicating that this priming effect of calcitriol requires expression of PKC. The calcium ionophore A23187 (0.1/~M) induced a modest increase in secreted PA inhibitor activity, in contrast to the secretion of PA activity which is consistently seen in response to calcitriol. Northern blot analysis demonstrated that A23187 induced an increase in PAI-2 mRNA and a marked reduction in uPA mRNA, while calcitriol induced opposite changes in both mRNA species. We conclude that calcitriol modulates uPA and PAI-2 expression by multiple mechanisms that are both PKC dependent and PKC independent. Our studies also demonstrated that increased intracellular calcium alters the synthesis of both uPA and PAI-2 in a manner which favors expression of PA inhibitor activity.
Hierarchical Order of Galilei and Lorentz Invariance in the Structure of Matter

The structure of matter shows a hierarchical order: (1) from Lorentz invariance in high-energy physics; (2) to Galilei invariance in the low-energy nonrelativistic limit of high-energy physics; and (3) again to Lorentz invariance in condensed matter physics (where the velocity of sound takes the place of the velocity of light). The hierarchical order can be continued downward further to: (4) non-relativistic (velocity small compared to the velocity of sound) condensed matter excitons, obeying Galilei invariance; and (5) to excitonic matter obeying Lorentz invariance with an excitonic matter sound velocity. It was previously conjectured that Lorentz invariance of high-energy physics is preceded by Galilei invariance at the Planck scale. Still further, the conjectured Galilei invariance at the Planck scale may be the result of an underlying five-dimensional non-Euclidean conform invariant metric structure, with three spatial and two time dimensions, compactified onto three spatial and one time dimension.
Acute Multifocal Inner Retinitis

Two patients developed acute changes in vision two to four weeks after a febrile illness. On ophthalmic examination, each patient had bilateral vitreitis without anterior segment inflammation and multiple, bilateral, round, yellow-white inner retinal lesions that were located in the posterior pole and midperiphery. Laboratory tests did not contribute to a diagnosis. Symptomatic visual loss was caused by neuroretinitis and serous retinal detachment in one patient and by an occluded branch retinal artery in the other. The multifocal retinal lesions resolved gradually without treatment over several months with minimal or no residual retinal changes. Acute multifocal inner retinal lesions may be associated with a preceding nonspecific viral illness and may cause a sudden change in vision if associated with neuroretinitis, serous retinal detachment, or retinal vessel occlusion. We have termed this constellation of ophthalmic findings acute multifocal inner retinitis.
μSr study of the grain-size dependence of Y1237 vortex states

Abstract The grain-size dependence of the magnetic field distributions in YBa 2 Cu 3 O 7−δ (Y1237) vortex states has been studied. Strong deviations from type-II BCS-like behavior are observed.
Ground-based passive FT-IR spectrometry

Absorbance and transmittance spectra were acquired with ground-based passive FT-IR spectrometry for industrial stack evaluations and open-air controlled vapor generation experiments. The industrial stack effluents of sulfur dioxide and nitrous oxide were detected from a coal-burning power plant and an acid plant, respectively, with both MWIR and LWIR passive sensors. The controlled open-air experiments relied on only a LWIR sensor. These experiments produced plumes of methanol and ethanol at three and four elevated plume temperatures, respectively. Various vapor concentration pathlength produces of both ethanol and methanol were generated and gravimetrically monitored in the range from 0 to 300 ppm-m. The associated absorbance values for these concentration pathlength products were found to obey Beer's Law for each elevate stack temperature of 125, 150, 175, and 200 degrees C.
The implications of role expectations for birth assistance among Bariba women

Abstract Throughout the Third World, a notable trend has been the proliferation of parallel health care systems in which cosmopolitan medical services co-exist with a variety of indigenous health care services, and client populations must make decisions regarding the preferred choice among the existing alternatives. Correspondingly, Bariba women in People's Republic of Benin, West Africa, who seek obstetrical care have an increasing number of available options from which to select, including government hospitals, maternity clinics, private clinics, and a variety of indigenous practitioners. An examination of the factors influencing choices of birth assistance among Bariba women suggests that attributes of indigenous midwives such as status characteristics and type of training serve as significant considerations for clientele selecting obstetrical care. Characteristics discussed as salient features of the midwife include religion, age, marital status, education, apprenticeship, and certain personal qualities such as courage and lack of modesty. In addition, features of the midwifery role are delineated; for instance, the role of indigenous midwife involves a great deal of variability in contrast to that of the government nurse-midwife, which appears as a more narrow specialization. In order to fulfill role expectations, the indigenous midwife must demonstrate attributes which fall within an acceptable range to the client population, thus rendering her reasonably homophilous. Homophily is defined as ‘the degree to which pairs of individuals who interact are similar in certain attributes such as beliefs, values, education, social status’. The data suggest that a healer, in this instance an indigenous midwife, is selected in order to accomplish a particular task. A client assumes certain characteristics of the role occupant are requisite for the healer to be effective and competent. Clients and midwives are found to be homophilous in that they share concepts of causation, beliefs, values and role expectations. Where the healer is not homophilous with the client, the absence of homophily operates to deter prospective clients from utilizing obstetrical services. Thus in the case of the rural client/government midwife relationship, the respective role occupants are shown not to be homophilous. In contrast to the indigenous midwife, the government midwife does not share significant attributes, values and expectations with her client and this lack of homophily deters prospective clients from selecting the government midwife as an option for birth assistance.
Editorial: Bowel Preparation: Is Fair Good Enough?

The effectiveness of colonoscopy in reducing colorectal cancer incidence and mortality has been shown to be associated with an endoscopist's adenoma detection rate, although the ability to detect adenomas depends, in part, on the quality of bowel preparation. Many endoscopists routinely recommend shorter examination intervals for colonoscopies with a fair or intermediate-quality bowel preparation, assuming that the preparation is insufficient for the purpose of colorectal cancer screening. In this issue, Clark et al. performed a systematic review and meta-analysis to assess the adequacy of a fair-quality bowel preparation, finding no difference in the adenoma detection rate of colonoscopies with an intermediate-quality bowel preparation relative to those with a high-quality preparation. Although this finding has potentially significant implications for patient care and healthcare costs, the limitations of the adenoma detection rate as a performance measure and variability in the application of bowel preparation ratings are important issues that must be considered.
Throwing the cancer switch: reciprocal roles of polycomb and trithorax proteins

The discovery that cancer can be governed above and beyond the level of our DNA presents a new era for designing therapies that reverse the epigenetic state of a tumour cell. Understanding how altered chromatin dynamics leads to malignancy is essential for controlling tumour cells while sparing normal cells. Polycomb and trithorax group proteins are evolutionarily conserved and maintain chromatin in the 'off' or 'on' states, thereby preventing or promoting gene expression, respectively. Recent work highlights the dynamic interplay between these opposing classes of proteins, providing new avenues for understanding how these epigenetic regulators function in tumorigenesis.
Application of Lyapunov’s direct method to the study of the stability of solutions to systems of impulsive differential equations

Classical theorems on the stability of the solutions of impulsive differential equations are further developed.
TULA proteins regulate activity of the protein tyrosine kinase Syk.

TULA belongs to a two-member family: TULA (STS-2) is a lymphoid protein, whereas STS-1/TULA-2 is expressed ubiquitously. TULA proteins were implicated in the regulation of signaling mediated by protein tyrosine kinases (PTKs). The initial experiments did not fully reveal the molecular mechanism of these effects, but suggested that both TULA proteins act in a similar fashion. It was shown recently that STS-1/TULA-2 dephosphorylates PTKs. In this study, we analyzed the effects of TULA proteins on Syk, a PTK playing an important role in lymphoid signaling. First, we have shown that TULA-2 decreases tyrosine phosphorylation of Syk in vivo and in vitro and that the intact phosphatase domain of TULA-2 is essential for this effect. We have also shown that TULA-2 exhibits a certain degree of substrate specificity. Our results also indicate that inactivated TULA-2 increases tyrosine phosphorylation of Syk in cells co-transfected to overexpress these proteins, thus acting as a dominant-negative form that suppresses dephosphorylation of Syk caused by endogenous TULA-2. Furthermore, we have demonstrated that phosphatase activity of TULA is negligible as compared to that of TULA-2 and that this finding correlates with an increase in Syk tyrosine phosphorylation in cells overexpressing TULA. This result is consistent with the dominant-negative effect of inactivated TULA-2, arguing that TULA acts in this system as a negative regulator of TULA-2-dependent dephosphorylation. To summarize, our findings indicate that TULA proteins may exert opposite effects on PTK-mediated signaling and suggest that a regulatory mechanism based on this feature may exist. J. Cell. Biochem. 104: 953–964, 2008. © 2008 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Assessing the Flynn Effect in the Wechsler Scales

The current study examined the Flynn Effect (i.e., the increase in IQ scores over time) across all editions of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS), Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC), and Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence (WPPSI). By reverse engineering the correlation and scale score transformations from each Wechsler edition’s technical manual, we made a mean and covariance matrix using the subtests and age groups that were in common for all editions of a given instrument. The results indicated that when aggregated, there was a FE of 0.44 IQ points/year. This Wechsler instrument used, however, moderates the FE, with the WISC showing the largest FE (0.73 IQ points/year) and the WAIS showing a smallest FE (0.30 IQ points/year). Moreover, this study found that the amount of invariant indicators across instruments and age groups varied substantially, ranging from 51.53% in the WISC for the 7-year-old group to 10.00% in the WPPSI for the 5- and 5.5-year-old age groups...
Plasma and urinary leukotrienes in sickle cell disease: Possible role in the inflammatory process

Sickle cell (HbSS) disease is associated with rheological and inflammatory stresses within the microcirculation. In order to determine the role of leukotrienes in the inflammatory processes in HbSS patients, we analysed plasma and urine levels of leukotrienes (LT); LTB4, LTC4, LTD4, and LTE4 as indicators of their in vivo metabolism. Plasma and urine level samples of 15 HbSS patients in steady-state and age-matched healthy, homozygous (HbAA) controls were extracted for leukotrienes and quantitated by HPLC. Control plasma level of leukotrienes (mean +/- SEM, ng ml-1) were: LTB4, 8.95 +/- 0.26; LTC4, 7.24 +/- 0.21; LTD4, 11.42 +/- 0.40; and LTE4, 14.51 +/- 0.50. Corresponding values for HbSS patients were: LTB4, 6.15 +/- 0.42; LTC4, 13.61 +/- 1.45; LTD4, 6.44 +/- 0.51 and LTE4, 4.97 +/- 0.37. The differences were significant at P < 0.05. Urine levels (mean +/- SEM, ng mmol-1 creatinine), for controls were: LTB4, 10.60 +/- 0.35; LTC4, 360.0 +/- 9.82. Values for HbSS urine were: LTB4, 27.50 +/- 3.33; LTC4, 356.0 +/- 17.87; LTD4, 69.90 +/- 14.51. LTD4 was not detected in control urine. These results suggest that sickle cell patients may exhibit impaired ability to catabolize LTC4 in plasma during steady state conditions. This altered metabolism may contribute to the persistent stress of the microcirculation, and is probably related to the abnormal microvascular rheology of sickle blood cells.
Synthesis of vinylic lactones via palladium-catalyzed coupling of vinylic halides or triflates and unsaturated carboxylic acids

Abstract Vinylic halides or triflates react with 3-butenoic or 4-pentenoic acids in the presence of 5% Pd(OAc)2 or Pd(dba)2, n -Bu4NCl, i -PrNEt2 and either acetonitrile or N , N -dimethylformamide at 80–100°C to afford the corresponding γ-alkenyl-γ-butyro- or δ-alkenyl-δ-valerolactones respectively by an intramolecular π-allylpalladium displacement process.
Experimental Removal of Woody Vegetation Does not Increase Nesting Success or Fledgling Production in Two Grassland Sparrows (Ammodramus) in Pennsylvania

Abstract. The influence of vegetation structure on the probability of daily nest survival (DNS) for grassland passerines has received considerable attention. Some correlative studies suggest that the presence of woody vegetation lowers DNS. Over 3 years (2009–2011), we monitored 215 nests of the Grasshopper Sparrow (Ammodramus savannarum) and Henslow's Sparrow (A. henslowii) on 162 ha of reclaimed surface-mine grasslands in Pennsylvania. We removed shrubs from treatment plots with ≤36% areal coverage of woody vegetation in a before-after-control-impact-pairs (BACIP) design framework. Daily nest survival (95% CI: 0.94–0.96) was as high as previous studies have reported but was not associated with woody vegetative cover, proximity to woody vegetation, or woody stem density. Variation in DNS was best explained by increasing nonwoody-vegetation height. Grasshopper Sparrow fledgling production on treatment plots in 2010 (95% CI: 3.3–4.7) and 2011 (95% CI: 3.8–5.0) was similar to baseline conditions of treatmen...
Membrane androgen receptors may mediate androgen reinforcement

Anabolic-androgenic steroid (AAS) abuse is widespread. Moreover, AAS are reinforcing, as shown by self-administration in rodents. However, the receptors that transduce the reinforcing effects of AAS are unclear. AAS may bind to classical nuclear androgen receptors (ARs) or membrane receptors. We used two approaches to examine the role of nuclear ARs in AAS self-administration. First, we tested androgen self-administration in rats with the testicular feminization mutation (Tfm), which interferes with androgen binding. If nuclear ARs are essential for AAS self-administration, Tfm males should not self-administer androgens. Tfm males and wild-type (WT) littermates self-administered the non-aromatizable androgen dihydrotestosterone (DHT) or vehicle intracerebroventricularly (ICV) at fixed-ratio (FR) schedules up to FR5. Both Tfm and WT rats acquired a preference for the active nose-poke during DHT self-administration (66.4+/-9.6 responses/4 h for Tfm and 79.2+/-11.5 for WT responses/4 h), and nose-pokes increased as the FR requirement increased. Preference scores were significantly lower in rats self-administering vehicle (42.3+/-5.3 responses/4 h for Tfm and 19.1+/-4.0 responses/4 h for WT). We also tested self-administration of DHT conjugated to bovine serum albumin (BSA) at C3 and C17, which is limited to actions at the cell surface. Hamsters were allowed to self-administer DHT, BSA and DHT-BSA conjugates for 15 days at FR1. The hamsters showed a significant preference for DHT (18.0+/-4.1 responses/4 h) or DHT-BSA conjugates (10.0+/-3.7 responses/4 h and 21.0+/-7.2 responses/4 h), but not for BSA (2.5+/-2.4 responses/4 h). Taken together, these data demonstrate that nuclear ARs are not required for androgen self-administration. Furthermore, androgen self-administration may be mediated by plasma membrane receptors.
Response of cells to fast neutrons, stopped pions, and heavy ion beams

Abstract The delta-ray theory of the inactivation of cells by energetic heavy ions, shown earlier to represent experimental survival curves for bacterial spores, haploid yeast, HeLa, Chinese hamster, and T-1 human kidney cells, in the cellular grain-count regime (where inactivated cells are strung on the path of a heavy ion) is here extended to bacteria, diploid yeast, leukemia cells, and the cellular track-width regime (where even cells which are not intersected by the ion's path are activated, by energetic delta-rays). When the four cellular radiosensitivity parameters of the model are known for a cellular variety in a specific set of ambient conditions, the model may be applied to the evaluation of cellular survival in an arbitrary radiation environment, for which the secondary particle spectrum is known or negligible. For such a mixed environment, the solution to the problem of cellular survival is formulated in general terms, and is then made specific to 14 MeV neutrons, stopped pions (as in the Bragg peak of a pion beam), and heavy ion beams. Calculated survival data for 14 MeV neutrons and energetic nitrogen beams are compared to existing data. Difficulties arising from the use of incomplete parameterizations of experimental data (based on the assumption that response is a single valued function of LET, and so on) are discussed.
PUBLIC HEALTH IN CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPE AND THE ROLE OF ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION

▪ Abstract The central and eastern European countries that composed the former Eastern Bloc have experienced an alarming decline in public health since the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Death rates have increased in most age groups. Life expectancy, especially among males, has decreased in many countries; in Russia, male life expectancy dropped by six years between 1989 and 1994. By 2020, these countries are projected to have smaller increases in life expectancy than any other geographic region. The conditions responsible for the excess mortality are cardiovascular disease, cancer, and injuries among adults. The major factors in the sharp increase are poverty, social disintegration, and crime, overlaid on historically high rates of smoking, alcohol use, and psychosocial stress. Environmental pollution, although common and sometimes severe in the former Eastern Bloc, is another, albeit not the chief, cause of the sharp decline in public health since 1989.
Of Seeds, Seasons, and Seas: Andrew Watson's Medieval Agrarian Revolution Forty Years Later

Since its publication in 1974, Andrew Watson's article “The Arab Agricultural Revolution and Its Diffusion, 700–1100,” has been used and cited widely by historians and archaeologists, many working in fields far removed from Watson's. This essay explores the nature of Watson's impact and attempts to explain it.
Selective photochemical dry etching of compound semiconductors: Enhanced control through secondary electronic properties

When laser-driven etching of a semiconductor requires direct participation of photogenerated carriers, the etching quantum yield will be sensitive to the electronic properties of a specific semiconductor material. The band-gap energy of the semiconductor determines the minimum photon energy needed for carrier-driven etching since sub-gap photons do not generate free carriers. However, only those free carriers that reach the reacting surface contribute to etching and the ultimate carrier flux to the surface is controlled by more subtle electronic properties than the lowestenergy band gap. For example, the initial depth of carrier generation and the probability of carrier recombination between the point of generation and the surface profoundly influence the etching quantum yield. Appropriate manipulation of process parameters can provide additional reaction control based on such secondary electronic properties. Applications to selective dry etching of GaAs and related materials are discussed here.
2-Pyridone and Derivatives: Gas-Phase Acidity, Proton Affinity, Tautomer Preference, and Leaving Group Ability

The fundamental properties of the parent and substituted 2-pyridones (2-pyridone, 3-chloro-2-pyridone, and 3-formyl-2-pyridone) have been examined in the gas phase using computational and experimental mass spectrometry methods. Newly measured acidities and proton affinities are reported and used to ascertain tautomer preference. These particular substrates (as well as additional 3-substituted pyridones) were chosen in order to examine the correlation between leaving group ability and acidity for moieties that allow resonance delocalization versus those that do not, which is discussed herein.
Current-source-rectifier topologies for sinusoidal supply current: theoretical studies and analyses

For current-source-rectifier (CSR)-based systems, sinusoidal supply current and unity displacement power factor in the utility are achieved through either a pulsewidth-modulation CSR or a phase-controlled rectifier in conjunction with an active filter. This paper investigates theoretical studies and analyses for the two topologies from the standpoint of converter kilovoltampere rating and switch rating.
On the oscillations of the atmosphere

The effect of the zonal wind, having a constant angular velocity, upon the periods of an incompressible and homogeneous fluid, and upon an autobarotropic atmosphere is studied. The effect is found to be small for the roots of the first class, and larger for the roots of the second class. In the autobarotropic case, the equivalent depth of the atmosphere, which is independent of the lapse rates of the autobarotropic layers when the zonal wind is not present, is found to depend also on the lapse rate of the lowest layer when the zonal wind is present. The effect due to this lapse rate on the periods of the first class, when the zonal wind is held at a certain reasonable speed, is found to be similar to that due to the zonal wind itself. The effect on the positive period of the first class wave, that resembles the solar semidiurnal wave, due to the zonal wind or to the lapse rate is small and within the range of the tuning required by the resonance theory. Thus the resonance theory is further strengthened by this study.
Issues and Opinions---Information Technologies in Business: A Blueprint for Education and Research

How are business schools thinking about developing leaders for the emerging digital economy? Is there a set of core principles we can apply to thinking about the enabling potential of information technologies and their consequences for business and society? We present a business-centric framework and a technology-centric framework that together form a blueprint for answering these questions. The business-centric framework articulates three compelling reasons why information technology (IT) matters in business: (1) IT continually transform industry and society, (2) executive decisions about IT investments, governance, and strategy are critical to organizational success, and (3) deriving value from increasingly available data trails defines effective decision making in the digital economy. However, our conversations with the leadership of 45 business schools and our subsequent data indicate that business schools are challenged by effectively training future executives to think about these reasons and act on them as part of a forward-looking program of business education that is grounded in stable concepts. In response, the technology-centric framework provides a set of grounding concepts and stable principles about IT that have emerged over the last four decades, and leads to a natural set of consequences that can inform thinking about IT in business. We illustrate how these complementary frameworks---business and technology---can be combined to frame an educational program by outlining a set of key questions, by placing these questions in the context suggested by our frameworks, and by providing guidelines toward answering them. These questions also define a natural path for future research about IT in business and society that will lead to stronger intellectual foundations for the field and define future education that is better grounded in concepts and theories that emerge from academic research.
Land Tenure and Related Sectors of the Balkan Economy, 1600–1800

By The end of the sixteenth century, the tendency in the OttomanEmpire toward the expansion of timariote properties or military fiefs is reversed, and quasi-private properties begin again to acquire ascendancy in the Balkans. To understand die process of reversal, one must bear in mind the separation of die properties administered by die timariote into two distinct categories, die raya-ciftlik and the hassa-ciftlik The raya-ciftlik was die property over which die peasant tenant had rights of usufruct. The hassa-ciftlik was the private farm or “proprietary nucleus” of the timariote. Slowly the timariote expands his hassa-ciftlik at die expense of die raya-ciftlik. This is possible because certain peasants become indebted to timariotes, others sell dieir right of usufruct, some leave no legal heirs behind them, and others abandon dieir lands to escape plague or famine or to avoid a census, die collection of taxes, or armies on die march.
'Consumers are patients!' shared decision-making and treatment non-compliance as business opportunity.

This article describes an aspect of the progressive insertion of commercial interests into the relationship between patients and their clinicians, with particular reference to psychiatry. Treatment noncompliance, a long-standing problem for healthcare professionals, has lately drawn the attention of the pharmaceutical and allied industries as a site at which to improve return on investment (ROI). Newly founded corporate `compliance departments' and specialized consultancies that regard noncompliance as a form of marketing failure are seeking to rectify it with reinvigorated models and strategies. This intervention stands to impact patients' experience of illness as well as the participation of those formally (physicians, case managers, etc.) and informally (family, friends, etc.) involved in treatment. My analysis draws upon observation at compliance conferences to demonstrate the contrasting models of patient empowerment underlying the marketing vs. medical approaches. I propose a research agenda for mea...
CkDirect: Unsynchronized One-Sided Communication in a Message-Driven Paradigm

A significant fraction of parallel scientific codes are iterative with barriers between iterations or even between phases of the same iteration. The sender of a message is assured that the receiver is executing exactly the same iteration or phase. This opens up the opportunity to use one-sided communication without synchronization, explicit or implicit, between the sender and receiver of every message. The synchronization inherent in the application is sufficient to ensure correctness. We present CkDirect, an interface for such one-sided communication in the message driven Charm++ runtime system. CkDirect helps avoid unnecessary synchronization and message copying as well as scheduling overhead in iterative scientific codes. We describe the interface as well as its implementations on two different interconnects: Infiniband and Blue Gene/P. We evaluate CkDirect through a micro-benchmark, two simple scientific codes: stencil computation and matrix multiplication, as well as a full fledged quantum chemistry application called OpenAtom.
Quantum Mechanical–Rapid Prototyping Applied to Methane Activation

The accuracy of quantum mechanics (QM) calculations have improved to the point at which they are now useful in elucidating the detailed mechanisms of industrially important catalytic processes. This, combined with the continued dramatic decreases in the costs of computing (and the concomitant increases in the costs of experiments), makes it feasible to consider the use of QM in discovering new catalysts. We illustrate how to apply quantum mechanics to rapidly prototype potential catalysts, by considering improvements in the Catalytica Pt catalyst for activating methane to form methanol. The strategy is to first determine the detailed chemical steps of a prototype reaction (in this case, (bispyrimidine)PtCl2). Then, we identify critical conditions that must be satisfied for a candidate catalyst to be worth considering further. This allows the vast majority of the candidates to be rapidly eliminated, permitting a systematic coverage of large numbers of ligands, metals, and solvents to be covered rapidly, enabling the discovery of new leads. This Quantum Mechanics-Based Rapid Prototyping (QM-RP) approach is the computational-chemistry analogy of combinatorial chemistry and combinatorial materials science.