cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Transgender voice and communication treatment: a retrospective chart review of 25 cases.

Background People transitioning from male to female (MTF) gender seek speech–language pathology services when they feel their voice is betraying their genuine self or perhaps is the last obstacle to representing their authentic gender. Speaking fundamental frequency (pitch) and resonance are most often targets in treatment because the combination of these two voice characteristics can account for the majority of how listeners perceive a speaker's gender. Intonation, voice quality, pragmatics and non-verbal communication contribute to a lesser extent but are usually recommended in treatment guidelines. There are few examples of effective treatment with male-to-female transgender individuals in the literature. Due to a small number of reports, it remains unclear how closely clinical practice follows recommended approaches and the extent to which gains may be expected. Aims The purpose of this study was to examine retrospectively 5 years’ worth of cases of voice feminization treatment at a university clinic in order to describe a unique clinical population and report treatment techniques and outcomes. Methods & Procedures Demographic information and treatment outcome data (e.g. acoustic measures) were available for collection from 25 of the 32 cases discharged from a university clinic between 2006 and 2010. Behavioural targets of treatment goals also were examined. Outcomes & Results Clients were in various stages of male-to-female gender transitions during treatment; at discharge, 80% of them presented as female 100% of the time. A majority (88%) had a history of feminizing hormone treatment and 28% presented with a voice disorder separate from gender presentation concerns. Treatment goals included the following (listed in order of percentage of cases that addressed the topic): forward resonance, increased fundamental frequency or pitch, physical and mental relaxation, intonation, phonotraumatic behaviours, breath control, non-verbal communication, pragmatics, and vocal hygiene. After treatment, clients had increased speaking fundamental frequency in sustained vowel, reading, and monologue tasks by five to six semitones, which is statistically significant. Gains in fundamental frequency correlated significantly with total number of sessions, but no other correlations were significant. Conclusions & Implications Treatment goals for clients included in this study were consistent with those goals most often recommended in the research literature regarding voice and communication treatment for transgender clients. Voice and communication treatment resulted in gains in areas important to listeners’ perception of gender. Further research is warranted to determine efficacy of specific treatment protocols and potentially influential factors such as initial voice and communication status.
Timing is everything in a game of two hemispheres

What causes ice ages, and other episodes of violent climate change? One clue comes from a new study of ice cores, which, unexpectedly, seems to show rapid warming events happening first in the Southern Hemisphere.
Adaptation of the dichlorofluorescein assay for detection of radiation-induced oxidative stress in cultured cells

Abstract Wan, X. S., Zhou, Z. and Kennedy, A. R. Adaptation of the Dichlorofluorescein Assay for Detection of Radiation-Induced Oxidative Stress in Cultured Cells. Radiat. Res. 160, 622–630, (2003). The oxidation of 2′7′-dichlorofluorescin (DCFH) to 2′7′-dichlorofluorescein (DCF), a fluorescent DCFH oxidation product, is a highly sensitive indicator that is used to measure oxidative stress in cells. In the present study, a DCF assay has been adapted to quantify oxidative stress in human breast epithelial cell cultures after exposure to γ rays. The results demonstrate that the sensitivity and specificity of the DCF assay is strongly influenced by the timing of DCFH diacetate (DCFH-DA) substrate loading in relation to radiation exposure and by the matrix in which the cells were loaded with DCFH-DA substrate. Under the conditions optimized in this study, the DCF assay is capable of detecting increased DCFH oxidation in cell cultures irradiated with γ rays at a dose as low as 1.5 cGy. The increase in fluoresc...
Detoxification of oxidative stress in glioma stem cells: Mechanism, clinical relevance, and therapeutic development

Neural oncogenesis is currently incurable and invariably lethal. The development of innovative treatments for this devastating cancer will require a deeper molecular understanding of how cancer cells survive, proliferate, and escape from current therapies. In high-grade gliomas (HGGs), glioma stem cells (GSCs) may causally contribute to tumor initiation and propagation, therapeutic resistance, and subsequent recurrence of tumors. Within a tumor mass, GSCs are enriched in a hypoxic niche in which the oxidative stress levels are substantially elevated. Paradoxically, however, recent studies suggest that GSCs appear to generate less reactive oxygen species (ROS), a chemical component responsible for elevation of oxidative stress levels. To date, molecular mechanisms for how GSCs reduce oxidative stress to allow preferential survival in hypoxic areas in tumors remains elusive. This review article summarizes recent studies on the role of ROS-reducing enzymes, including peroxiredoxin 4, in detoxifying oxidative stress preferentially for GSCs in HGGs. In addition, the therapeutic potential of some of the recently identified antioxidant chemotherapeutic agents and avenues for future research in this area are discussed.
Warthin adenocarcinoma: analysis of 2 cases of a distinct salivary neoplasm

Carcinomas arising in or from the epithelial component of preexisting parotid Warthin tumors (WTs) are rare; the other histologic types of carcinoma found to arise from WTs are adenocarcinoma not otherwise specified, undifferentiated, mucoepidermoid, squamous cell, and oncocytic. The aim of this study is to describe the clinicopathologic features of a distinct salivary gland neoplasm, previously undescribed, with a striated duct phenotype arising from WT. We have designated this neoplasm "Warthin adenocarcinoma" (WA). In this retrospective study, we searched the surgical pathology files of the Department of Pathology at The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center for cases of malignant WT and salivary adenocarcinoma not otherwise specified diagnosed from January 1, 1985, through December 31, 2006, and evaluated patients' medical records and pathologic material. We obtained tissue sections and immunohistochemically stained them with antibodies against p63; Bcl-2; cytokeratin (CK)903, CK7, CK14, and CK18; antimitochondrial antibody (AMA); smooth muscle actin; calponin; S-100; and Ki-67. We identified 2 cases of WA; both patients were women, 44 and 60 years of age, with 4.0- and 4.5-cm tumors in the left parotid gland. Histologically, the tumors were composed of bilayered duct-like structures: The inner layer was formed by a single row of columnar oxyphilic cells expressing CK7, CK14, CK18, and AMA. The outer layer was composed of multiple layers of small round dark cells with scanty cytoplasm that expressed p63, Bcl-2, and CK903 and were focally positive for AMA and negative for myoepithelial markers. The Ki-67 proliferative indices were 20%; and 25%. A residual WT with transition to carcinoma was identified in both cases. Treatment had consisted of total parotidectomy with postoperative irradiation. Patients were free of disease 1 and 3 years after treatment. Warthin adenocarcinoma is a unique salivary gland carcinoma representing the malignant epithelial counterpart of WT. The identification of additional cases would help to better elucidate the line of differentiation of the tumor and further define its natural history.
UROLOGIC DISEASES IN AMERICA PROJECT: URINARY INCONTINENCE IN WOMEN—NATIONAL TRENDS IN HOSPITALIZATIONS, OFFICE VISITS, TREATMENT AND ECONOMIC IMPACT

ABSTRACT Purpose: We describe temporal trends in hospitalizations, outpatient visits and the treatment of female urinary incontinence (UI), and estimated the costs of incontinence using national databases. Materials and Methods: The analytic methods used to generate these results have been described previously. Results: The rate of hospitalization with a primary diagnosis of UI decreased from 51/100,000 women in 1994 to 44/100,000 in 2000 and mean length of stay decreased from 3.1 days to 2.1. In contrast, outpatient visits for UI more than doubled during the same period from 845/100,000 women to 1,845/100,000. Rates of inpatient surgical treatment for UI decreased slightly from 1994 to 2000, while ambulatory surgical center visit rates for Medicare beneficiaries 65 years or older more than doubled from 60/100,000 in 1992 to 142/100,000 in 1998. Medical expenditures for UI increased substantially during the 1990s, almost doubling from $128.1 million in 1992 to $234.4 million in 1998 for Medicare beneficiaries 65 years or older. This increase was due almost entirely to increased outpatient costs, which increased from $25.4 million or 9.1% of total costs in 1992 to $329 million or 27.3% of total costs in 2000 in this group. Conclusions: While existing national databases generally capture only the minority of incontinent women with UI who seek and receive care for UI, they are useful for documenting treads in service use and surgical treatments, and estimating economic impact. This data can be helpful when formulating public policy and designing observational and clinical studies.
Perceived probability and evaluation of balance, agreement, and attraction: Toward a solution of conflicting results

Fifty-four subjects rated sixteen hypothetical situations on four evaluative and four probability scales. The situations were of the P-O-X type, consisting of two persons and an issue. A2×2×2×2 factorial design was used to test the relative importance of attitude (P to × relation), issue (marijuana or premarital sex), agreement (P to × and O to × relations), attraction (P to O relation), and balance (agreement × attraction interaction) on the evaluation and probability variables. As predicted from a critical review of past research on balance theory, balance was the main determinant of perceived probability. Attraction was the main determinant of evalution. In light of a review of past balance research and of the present data, we propose to restrict the balance hypothesis to cognitive variables, i.e., expectancy and perceived probability. In addition, support was obtained for the hypothesis that the more dogmatic a person is, the more frequently he will perceive balanced relationships as occurring and the more positively he will evaluate balanced situations.
THE EFFECT OF LAND USE AND ENVIRONMENTAL REGULATIONS ON HOUSING COSTS

This paper examines the effects of various land use and environmental regulations on land and housing markets. Seven widely used techniques for controlling residential development appear to generate four “direct” and two “indirect” inflationary impacts. Land use and environmental controls directly affect the supply and cost of residential land, shift the cost of public services forward to developers, and increase delay and compliance costs associated with project evaluation. Development controls may also inadvertently facilitate monopolistic behavior in the development industry and predispose developers to orient their projects to high income groups onto which they can more easily pass along higher costs. The paper concludes by offering several policies for reducing the inflationary effects of environmental regulations.
Estimating the performance effects of business groups in emerging markets

Business groups—confederations of legally independent firms—are ubiquitous in emerging economies, yet very little is known about their effects on the performance of affiliated firms. We conceive of business groups as responses to market failures and high transaction costs. In doing so, we develop hypotheses about the effects of group affiliation on firm profitability: affiliation could either boost or depress firm profitability, and members of a group are likely to earn rates of return similar to other members of the same group. Using a unique data set compiled largely from local sources, we test for these effects in 14 emerging markets: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, India, Indonesia, Israel, Mexico, Peru, the Philippines, South Africa, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, and Turkey. We find evidence that business groups indeed affect the broad patterns of economic performance in 12 of the markets we examine. Group affiliation appears to have as profound an effect on profitability as does industry membership, yet strategy scholars have a much clearer grasp of industries than of groups. Moreover, membership in a group raises the profitability of the average group member in several of the markets we examine. This runs contrary to the wisdom, conventional in advanced economies, that unrelated diversification depresses profitability. Overall, our findings suggest that the roots of sustained differences in profitability may vary across institutional contexts; conclusions drawn in one context may well not apply to another. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Analysis and Design of a D-C Selsyn System

At the present time there are several remote-indicating systems in common usage in industry. These types include the conventional a-c Selsyn, a-c Magnesyn system, and the d-c Selsyn. The d-c Selsyn embodies two features which present a distinct advantage in aircraft systems. 1. The system does not require an a-c source of power. 2. The system requires only three wires between transmitter and receiver, whereas all other types of systems require at least five wires leading from the transmitter to the receiver. To offset somewhat these advantages, all d-c Selsyn systems now in operation have a very slight natural error which, although not important in some applications, becomes very undesirable in applications where a high degree of accuracy is required. In this paper the author presents a rigorous analysis of a conventional d-c Selsyn remote-indicating system. The first part of the analysis shows that a natural error exists in the system, which has a 60-degree cycle and which reaches a maximum value of 1.1 degress. The error is zero at each 30-degree point and reaches a maximum almost midway between the 30-degree points. The natural error of the Selsyn system arises from the fact that the transmitter resistance is a linear function of the transmitter angle ? This natural error may be overcome by designing a transmitter resistance in a non-linear manner. The equation is developed for the necessary variation of the transmitter resistance with the transmitter angle.
Examining and identifying the determinants of travel expenditure patterns

This study examined the effects of socio-demographic, travel-related and psychographic variables on travel expenditures. The travel expenditure categories examined include lodging, meals and restaurants, attractions and festivals, entertainment, shopping, transportation and total expenditures. The results of the study provide a more comprehensive and holistic picture in the search of travel expenditure patterns based on multiple independent variables. This study reveals that, among the three groups of variables examined, income and trip-related characteristics were the most influential variables affecting tourism expenditures. Discussions and implications are also provided based on the study results. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Evolution: Constantly avoiding mutation

The genomic mutation rate of the archaeon Sulfolobus acidocaldarius, which inhabits a harsh and potentially mutagenic environment, surprisingly agrees well with the previously observed constancy of genomic mutation rates in microbes. The evolutionary explanation for this constancy of genomic mutation rates remains obscure.
A photonic recirculating delay line for analog-to-digital conversion and other applications

Experimental results for a photonic recirculating delay line for high-speed, high-resolution Analog-to-Digital Converted (ADC) and other applications is presented. The approach modifies an analog fiber optic link with a recirculating optical loop as a means to store a time-limited microwave signal so that it may be digitized by using a slower, conventional electronic ADC. Detailed analytical analysis of the dynamic range and noise figure shows that under appropriate conditions the microwave signal degradation is sufficiently small so as to allow the digitization of a multi-gigahertz signal with a resolution greater than 10 effective bits. Experimental results provided support the theory.
Lesions of excitatory pathways reduce hippocampal cell death after transient forebrain ischemia in the gerbil.

Transient forebrain ischemia produces a spatially and temporally selective pattern of neuronal degeneration in the hippocampal formation of the Mongolian gerbil. Ischemic neuronal death has been suggested to depend on the activation of excitatory hippocampal pathways that project to the vulnerable neurons. This idea was tested by examining the effect of a unilateral entorhinal cortical lesion or a unilateral knife cut lesion of intrahippocampal pathways on the neuropathology produced by 5 min of complete fore-brain ischemia. A prior lesion of either the ipsilateral entorhinal cortex or the mossy fiber and Schaffer collateral-commissural pathways partially prevented the destruction of CA1b pyramidal cells in most animals. It did not, however, reduce the extent of ischemic neuronal death in any other hippocampal subfield. Within area CA1b, an entorhinal lesion protected an average of 23% of the pyramidal cells and a transection of both mossy and Schaffer collateral-commissural fibers protected an average of 36.5%. CA1b pyramidal cells saved from ischemia-induced degeneration appeared clearly abnormal when stained with cresyl violet or by silver impregnation. It is suggested that lesions of excitatory pathways attenuate ischemic damage to area CA1b by directly or indirectly reducing the level of synaptic excitation onto the vulnerable neurons. However, only a relatively small percentage of hippocampal neurons can be protected by these lesions in the gerbil ischemia model and there is reason to believe that the neurons protected in this manner may not be electrophysiologically competent. Synaptic excitation therefore appears to play an important, but not an essential, role in this model of ischemic brain damage.
Effects of spectral diffusion in incoherent photon-echo experiments.

The application of the incoherent photon-echo experiment to complex systems is analyzed. In systems in which spectral diffusion occurs, incoherent echo measurements do not yield the same optical dephasing rate as conventional two-pulse photon-echo measurements. The difference can be of major significance. To make the calculations explicit, optical dephasing in a glass is considered using the tunneling two-level system model.
TOTAL AND NEGATIVE REFRACTION OF ELECTROMAGNETIC WAVES

Recently there has been a great deal of interest in an unusual category of material, that is, a material that exhibits negative refractive index or more generally negative group velocity. Perhaps the most immediate application of this type of material is in an area known as total and negative refraction, which may potentially lead to many novel optical devices. The reason that the phenomenon of total and negative refraction has become so interesting to the physics community is also due largely to the notion that this phenomenon would never occur in conventional materials with positive refractive index. It turns out that total and negative refraction can be realized even in natural crystalline materials or in artificial materials (e.g. photonic crystals) without negative (effective) refractive index. In this brief review, after providing a brief historic account for the research related to finding materials with negative group velocity and achieving negative refraction, we discuss the three primary approaches that have yielded experimental demonstrations of negative refraction, in an effort to clarify the underlying physics involved with each approach. A brief discussion on the subwavelength resolution application of the negative (effective) refractive index material is also given.
Identification of functional receptors for vasoactive intestinal peptide and neurotensin in the human submandibular gland duct cell line, HSG-PA.

Abstract The HSG-PA human submandibular gland adenocarcinoma cell line has attracted attention recently as a potentially useful cell culture model for studies of salivary duct cell function and regulation. These cells possess a variety of morphological and biochemical markers found in salivary duct cells. Recently, muscarinic cholinergic receptors coupled to inositol intracellular Ca 2+ mobilization (He et al., Eur. J. Physiol., 413 (1989) 505–510) and K + fluxes (Ship et al., Am. J. Physiol., 259 (1990) C340–C348) have been identified in HSG-PA cells. In this study, we report the presence in these cells of functional receptors for two neuropeptides, vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) and neurotensin. Receptors for both peptides were labeled in intact cell radioligand binding studies and exhibited pharmacological profiles similar to receptors found in other tissues. There was close agreement between binding K i values and the ED 50 values for stimulation of second messenger production and modulation of K + efflux, with all values between 1 and 5 nM. Whereas neurotensin stimulated K + efflux dramatically, VIP alone had no effect but enhanced the response to neurotensin. These studies thus represent the initial documentation of functional receptors for VIP and neurotensin in a cell line of salivary duct cell origin.
INTERNAL ZONATION AND CHEMICAL EVOLUTION OF THE BLACK MOUNTAIN GRANITIC PEGMATITE, MAINE

The crystallization history of the Black Mountain granitic pegmatite, near Rumford, western Maine, is evaluated using compositions of rock-forming and accessory minerals. The pegmatite is strongly zoned; the zonation developed from the consolidation of a rare-element-enriched melt. Field and trace-element data show that the wall zone crystallized first from an initially B-enriched melt. Subsequent crystallization of three intermediate zones reflects changes in melt composition, which include a general decrease in levels of Mg, Ca, and Fe, and increases in levels of Be, Nb, Ta, Sn, and P. Significant enrichment in Li, Rb, Cs and F occurred during the latest stage of pegmatite crystallization prior to core development. Late albite-dominant units enriched in B, Nb>Ta, Sn and Zr replace primary zones; their chemical trends deviate from normal trends of fractionation ( e.g. , late enrichment in Fe).
CAFFEINE INHIBITION OF CYTOKINESIS : EFFECT ON THE PHRAGMOPLAST CYTOSKELETON IN LIVING TRADESCANTIA STAMEN HAIR CELLS

The distribution of microtubules and actin microfilaments during caffeine-induced inhibition of cell plate formation has been studied in livingTradescantia stamen hair cells. Previous studies have shown that caffeine allows cell plate initiation but prevents its completion, resulting in binucleate cells. In the present study, confocal microscopy of cells microinjected with fluorescent brain tubulin or phalloidin, and cultured in the presence 5 mM caffeine, revealed that the initiation and early lateral expansion phase of the phragmoplast occur normally. However, caffeine completely inhibits the formation of the cytoskeletal torus which occurs in untreated cells during the late stages of cell plate and phragmoplast expansion. Caffeine further causes the disintegration of the incomplete cell plate. The results allow us to distinguish two phases in cell plate and phragmoplast growth: the initiation and early expansion phase, which is not affected by caffeine, and the late lateral expansion phase, which is completely inhibited in the presence of caffeine. Also in this study, the use of a high phalloidin concentration has revealed structural detail about the actin microfilaments involved in cell plate formation: microfilaments are observed that link the expanding edge of the phragmoplast with the cortical division site. In addition, cortical actin patches are observed within the actin depleted zone that might play a role in guidance of phragmoplast and cell plate expansion.
PCR amplification and analysis of yeast artificial chromosomes

Abstract A strategy for the analysis of yeast artificial chromosome (YAC) clones that relies on polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification of small restriction fragments from isolated YACs following adapter ligation was developed. Using this method, termed YACadapt, we have amplified several YACs from a human Xq24-qter library and have used the PCR products for physical mapping by somatic cell hybrid deletion analysis and fluorescent in situ hybridization. One YAC, RS46, was mapped to band Xq27.3, near the fragile X mutation. The PCR product is an excellent renewable source of YAC DNA for analyses involving hybridization of YAC inserts to a variety of DNA RNA sources.
Funding the challenges in computing

What are the perceived challenges by the computing education and research communities? After small groups discuss this question, we will compare and contrast these perceived challenges to the current trend in proposals submitted and funded by the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Transforming Undergraduate Education in STEM (TUES) program. The intention is to create awareness for all involved and to broaden the range of proposals submitted to the NSF.
Frailty status and altered dynamics of circulating energy metabolism hormones after oral glucose in older women.

Frailty status is associated with altered glucose-insulin dynamics. Here, we sought to investigate whether alteration in the dynamics of other circulating energy metabolism hormones after oral glucose is associated with frailty status. Substudy of older women in a prospective cohort. Baltimore, Maryland. Seventy-three community-dwelling women aged 84–95 years without a diagnosis of diabetes who were enrolled in the Women’s Health and Aging Study II. We examined stimulus-response dynamics of free fatty acids (FFA), gut- (ghrelin, GLP-1) and adipocyte-derived hormones (leptin, adiponectin, resistin), growth hormone (GH), insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1), and interleukin-6 (IL-6) at 0, 30, 60, 120, and 180-minutes after a 75-g glucose challenge according to frailty status (non-frail, pre-frail, or frail). On average, frail women had higher fasting levels of glucose-raising hormones (FFA, resistin, GH, and IL-6) and lower fasting levels of glucose-lowering hormones (ghrelin, adiponectin, GLP-1 and IGF-1) versus non-frail women but these results were not statistically significant. Frail women also had higher fasting levels of leptin with relative adiposity compared to their counterparts, suggestive of leptin-resistance. integrated area under the curve (AUC) values for each hormone followed similar trends by frailty status. After age and BMI adjustment, frail versus non-frail women were more likely to be in the lowest tertile of fasting ghrelin levels and 120-min ghrelin levels (both p<0.05) in logistic regression analyses. No large differences were found for other hormones in adjusted models. Our findings suggest dysregulation of the orexigenic hormone ghrelin in the frailty syndrome. Further studies are needed to explore the role of ghrelin dysregulation in the clinical manifestation of frailty.
Picornavirus Modification of a Host mRNA Decay Protein

ABSTRACT Due to the limited coding capacity of picornavirus genomic RNAs, host RNA binding proteins play essential roles during viral translation and RNA replication. Here we describe experiments suggesting that AUF1, a host RNA binding protein involved in mRNA decay, plays a role in the infectious cycle of picornaviruses such as poliovirus and human rhinovirus. We observed cleavage of AUF1 during poliovirus or human rhinovirus infection, as well as interaction of this protein with the 5′ noncoding regions of these viral genomes. Additionally, the picornavirus proteinase 3CD, encoded by poliovirus or human rhinovirus genomic RNAs, was shown to cleave all four isoforms of recombinant AUF1 at a specific N-terminal site in vitro . Finally, endogenous AUF1 was found to relocalize from the nucleus to the cytoplasm in poliovirus-infected HeLa cells to sites adjacent to (but distinct from) putative viral RNA replication complexes. IMPORTANCE This study derives its significance from reporting how picornaviruses like poliovirus and human rhinovirus proteolytically cleave a key player (AUF1) in host mRNA decay pathways during viral infection. Beyond cleavage of AUF1 by the major viral proteinase encoded in picornavirus genomes, infection by poliovirus results in the relocalization of this host cell RNA binding protein from the nucleus to the cytoplasm. The alteration of both the physical state of AUF1 and its cellular location illuminates how small RNA viruses manipulate the activities of host cell RNA binding proteins to ensure a faithful intracellular replication cycle.
Representational momentum contributes to motion induced mislocalization of stationary objects

The influence of a moving target on memory for the location of a briefly presented stationary object was examined. When the stationary object was aligned with the final portion of the moving target's trajectory, memory for the location of the stationary object was displaced forward (i.e., in the direction of motion of the moving target); the magnitude of forward displacement increased with increases in the velocity of the moving target, decreased with increases in the distance of the stationary object from the final location of the moving target, and increased and then decreased with increases in retention interval. It is suggested that forward displacement in memory for a stationary object aligned with the final portion of a moving target's trajectory reflects an influence of representational momentum of the moving target on memory for the location of the stationary object. Implications of the data for theories of representational momentum and motion induced mislocalization are discussed.
Blowout of turbulent jet diffusion flames

Experiments have been performed to determine the blowout of jet diffusion flames with pure fuels, oxygenated fuels, mixed fuels, and diluted fuels. Stability tests were conducted with pure hydrocarbons at the C2 level to determine the effects of structural differences in the fuels. Diffusion flame blowout models were also used to correlate and interpret the data. Ethylene is more stable than ethane because of the additional heat release from the double-carbon bond and ethane is more stable than dimethyl ether. The blowout pressures of mixtures of ethylene and ethane are not linear contributions of component blowout pressures. Stability tests were conducted with ethylene diluted with air and nitrogen. Since both diluents have similar properties and also have a similar density to ethylene, factors in the blowout process, such as the laminar flame speed and air–fuel mass ratio, were isolated and measured. Stability tests with hydrogen diluted with helium, nitrogen, carbon dioxide, and sulfur hexafluoride were also conducted. The diluted hydrogen diffusion flames become less stable as the complexity of the diluent increases.
Sex differences in infection and sepsis

Sex and gender-based differences in responses to infection and sepsis are evident. Estrogens increase immune function, sometimes to the point of inducing autoimmune disease. Testosterone suppresses immune function, sometimes leading to a worsened outcome following traumatic injury. Therapies using sex hormones to improve outcomes after sepsis and hemorrhagic shock and to reduce exacerbations of autoimmune diseases are being studied. Differences in sex hormone levels may not tell the whole story. Studies of immune function in girls and boys before puberty may be helpful. Differences found early might indicate that factors other than estrogen and androgen levels are contributing. Variations in societal role acculturation and exposures that are gender based also may be involved. Clinicians must consider sex and gender when attempting to determine the risk of infection, sepsis, and immune dysfunction in populations. Clinical applications of sex and gender differences are just beginning to occur with the genesis of sex hormone-based treatments. The large-scale efficacy of such treatments has yet to be reported. Innovative strategies based on sex or gender differences in immune responses may soon be available and may lead to essential data for clinical decision making. The impact of sex and gender differences on long-term health outcomes remains to be seen.
Prognosis for Change in State Finance Plans: An Analysis of Recent Commission Reports and Court Decisions.

Practically every state, since the Serrano Court decision, has instituted study connmissiorts to review and make recommeidations concerning their school finance model. In this article, the author contrasts the recommendations of the most significant commission reports with the traditional school finance models and a composite of the court criteria for a constitutional school finance model.
COMPARISON OF ANTIMICROBIAL ACTIONS OF MONOLAURIN AND SORBIC ACID

The antimicrobial effects of monolaurin and sorbic acid were compared in laboratory media, cottage cheese and a pork homogenate. Sorbic acid (250–1000 ppm) was more effective than monolaurin (250–1000 ppm) in inhibiting the growth of Staphylococcus aureus S-6 and Salmonella enteritidis 13076 in pH 5.2 trypticase soy broth. Monolaurin was more effective than sorbic acid against the growth of S. typhimurium 13311 under similar conditions. No synergistic effects were observed when combinations of monolaurin and sorbic acid were tested. In the cottage cheese study, 800 ppm sorbic acid effectively inhibited the growth of coliforms and yeasts and molds, but only slightly inhibited the growth of psychrotrophs. Monolaurin at 800 ppm was ineffective in controlling the growth of any of the microorganisms tested. The use of 3000 ppm monolaurin in a pork homogenate had no effect on the outgrowth and gas formation by Clostridium sporogenes PA3679, whereas 3000 ppm sorbic acid delayed outgrowth and gas formation. Combinations of monolalurin and sorbic acid indicated that sorbic acid was the active anticlostridial agent.
Synthesis and characterization of nanostructured Cr3C2NiCr

Abstract Pre-alloyed Cr3C2-25 (Ni20Cr) powder was synthesized by mechanical ball milling in Hexane [H3(CH2)4CH3]and the variation of powder characteristics with milling time was investigated using SEM, X-ray and TEM. The average powder size drastically decreased with time during the first four hours of milling; then decreased slightly as milling continued up to 20 hours. For milling times in excess of four hours, the particle size approached 5 microns. X-ray diffraction analysis revealed a larger structural change in the NiCr solid solution powder relative to that experienced by the chromium carbide phases. This result indicated that the NiCr solid solution powder was subjected to heavier deformation than the chromium carbide powder. During the initial stages of milling, the brittle chromium carbide powders are fractured into sharp fragments and embedded into the NiCr solid solution powder. As milling continued a NiCr chromium carbide polycrystal composite powder was formed for times up to 20 hours of milling, transforming the sharp carbide fragments into spherical carbide particles. Conventional cold welding and fracturing processes primarily occurred only among the NiCr powder and composite powders. Milling times of up to 20 hours led to the formation of a poly crystal nanocomposite powder system in which chromium carbides, with average size of 15 nm, were uniformly distributed in NiCr matrix.
Prospects in antithrombotic therapy

Abstract Currently there is an increasing awareness of the magnitude and scope of the problem of thrombosis; renewed interest in this lesion also has been spurred by better appreciation of the limitations inherent in the use of the available anticoagulant agents as well as developments in new forms of antithrombotic therapy. Surprisingly, concern over coronary artery thrombosis as a proximate event precipitating acute myocardial infarction has not received the attention it deserves even though the most recent studies indicate that a thrombotic episode occurred in approximately 90 percent of patients who died after a classic acute myocardial infarction. This article briefly reviews (1) current concepts of the pathogenesis of acute coronary thrombosis; (2) the basis for, and developments in, the use of anti-platelet aggregating agents for prophylactic purposes; and (3) prospects for the application of thrombolytic agents to the treatment of acute myocardial infarction.
L-Canavanine, a Dietary Nitrogen Source for the Seed Predator Caryedes brasiliensis (Bruchidae)

Larvae of the bruchid beetle Caryedes brasiliensis (Bruchidae) develop entirely within the seed of the neotropical legume Dioclea megacarpa. The seed contains an appreciable concentration of L-canavanine, a potent antimetabolite and structural analog of L-arginine. This bruchid beetle uses the nitrogen stored in this toxic allelochemical as an effective dietary nitrogen source for amino acid biosynthesis.
A 250 meter neutron time-of-flight facility with modular detector and digital electronics stabilization☆

Abstract A 250 m neutron time-of-flight facility is described. The proton recoil detector has a unique modular design, and some of its properties, including efficiency and resolution are discussed. The electronic logic, including digital electronic drift compensation, as well as some of the properties of the electron-neutron conversion target are also described.
Glutathione conjugation of perchloroethylene in rats and mice in vitro: sex-, species-, and tissue-dependent differences.

Abstract Perchloroethylene (Per)-induced nephrotoxicity and nephrocarcinogenicity have been associated with metabolism by the glutathione (GSH) conjugation pathway to form S -(1,2,2-trichlorovinyl)glutathione (TCVG). Formation of TCVG was determined in incubations of Per and GSH with isolated renal cortical cells and hepatocytes from male and female Fischer 344 rats and with renal and hepatic cytosol and microsomes from male and female Fischer 344 rats and B6C3F1 mice. The goal was to assess the role of metabolism in the sex and species dependence of susceptibility to Per-induced toxicity. A key finding was that GSH conjugation of Per occurs in kidney as well as in liver. Although amounts of TCVG formation in isolated kidney cells and hepatocytes from male and female rats were generally similar, TCVG formation in subcellular fractions showed marked sex, species, and tissue dependence. This may be due to the presence of multiple pathways for metabolism in intact cells, whereas only the GSH conjugation pathway is active in the subcellular fractions under the present assay conditions. TCVG formation in kidney and liver subcellular fractions from both male rats and mice were invariably higher than corresponding values in female rats and mice. Amounts of TCVG formation in rat liver subcellular fractions were approximately 10-fold higher than in corresponding fractions from rat kidney. Although rats are more susceptible to Per-induced renal tumors than mice, amounts of TCVG formation were 7- to 10-fold higher in mouse kidney subcellular fractions and 2- to 5-fold higher in mouse liver subcellular fractions of both sexes compared to corresponding fractions from the rat. Hence, although the higher amounts of TCVG formation in liver and kidney from male rats correspond to their higher susceptibility to Per-induced renal tumors compared with female rats, the markedly higher amounts of TCVG formation in mice compared with rats suggest that other enzymatic or transport steps in the handling of Per in mice contribute to their relatively low susceptibility to Per-induced renal tumors.
Raccoon poxvirus rabies virus glycoprotein recombinant vaccine in sheep

Twenty sheep were divided into groups and inoculated by various routes with recombinant raccoon poxvirus expressing the CVS rabies virus glycoprotein (rRCNV-G) or with raccoon poxvirus (RCNV). The apparent innocuous pathologic responses to each virus coupled with development of high levels of rabies virus neutralizing antibodies in animals vaccinated with rRCNV-G intradermally or intramuscularly suggested that the recombinant is effective and that RCNV would be a suitable substrate for further development of sheep vaccines. Poor antibody response to rRCNV-G given orally implied that it would be relatively harmless if inadvertently ingested by sheep. Virus transmission between vaccinated and sentinel sheep was not observed or detected serologically.
Residential Design Implications of Consumers' Recycling Behaviors

Each year landfills receive a growing amount of waste that could be eliminated by recycling practices supported through the design of kitchens. This study had three objectives: (a) to examine residential design implications for incorporating recycling within the home, (b) to examine consumer's feelings of environmental altruism and their behaviors toward recycling within the context of situational conditions within the home, and (c) to examine consumer's views regarding the convenience of their home's recycling facilities. The primary research instrument was a survey of consumer behaviors and attitudes toward recycling. Certified Kitchen Designers provided client names for whom they had designed a kitchen as part of a remodel or new home construction within the last five years. Questionnaires were mailed to 271 households with a 58.2% response rate achieved. Five areas of information were addressed in the survey: sociode-mographics, behaviors and situational design factors, altruistic values, perceived inconvenience, and economic factors. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used for analysis with Chi-square tests used to examine relationships between variables. Results support including an area for recycling in the kitchen or a space that is directly adjacent such as an attached garage; convenience was found to be a primary factor in the recycling behaviors of highly altruistic individuals. It is important to design an environment that supports recycling. Whether recycling is convenient or not will have an influence on an individual's recycling behaviors. With environments that support recycling behaviors, consumers will increase their quantity and accuracy in recycling, which in turn could lead to an increase in attitudes toward other pro-environmental actions.
Digitized Special Collections and Multiple User Groups.

Many organizations have evolved since their early attempts to mount digital exhibits on the Web and are experimenting with ways to increase the scale of their digitized collections by utilizing archival finding aid description rather than resource-intensive collections and exhibits. This article examines usability research to predict how such systems might effectively be used and highlights a digital library and finding aid system that utilizes a single repository of digitized objects to fuel two types of user-discovery systems: a typical digital collections interface with item-level access and a finding aid that incorporates digitized items at the aggregate level.
Effect of fetal tissue on experimental (7,12-dimethylbenz[a]anthracene) breast cancer in rats

Abstract Treatment with small quantities of fetal tissue from randomly bred Sprague—Dawley rats can either potentiate or depress the development of DMBA-induced breast tumors in young adult female Holtzman rats. The difference between potentiation and suppression of tumors depended upon whether the fetal tissue had been killed (by freeze—thawing and homogenization), which potentiated tumor development, or whether a viable mince of fetal tissue had been used, which greatly suppressed tumor development and caused a high rate of tumor regression.
Vibrational spectroscopic studies of low molecular weight poly(propylene oxide)-sodium thiocyanate complexes

Abstract This paper presents the results of room temperature Raman scattering and infra-red transmission studies of a poly(propylene oxide), PPO, of average molecular weight approximately 450, complexed with varying concentrations of sodium thiocyanate, NaSCN. Observed changes in the polarized Raman and infra-red spectra of the polymer and polymer-salt complexes permit some insight into the basic nature of the complexes which are formed and the effect of successive complexation on polymer dynamics. In addition, characteristic frequencies observed for the thiocyanate anion in these complexes indicate that the thiocyanate anion is involved in contact ion pairing with the sodium cations at the nitrogen end of the anion.
Regulation of ClC-3 Cl-/H+ Transport and “Gating” Transients by Chloride Pathway Residues and External Protons

We investigated ClC-3 ion transport properties by employing a “ClC-5/3” plasmid, consisting of the ClC-5 N-terminal (M1-A46) linked to the core ClC-3 protein. This ClC-3 protein is redirected to the plasma membrane of HEK cells. Functionally it exhibits rapidly activated, outwardly rectifying sustained ion currents (ISS) representing coupled Cl-/H+ transport, and prominent “on/off” transient gating charge (Q) movements, as recently described for a ClC-3 mutant (Guzman et al, 2013, ACS Chem Neurosci). Interpreting Q to represent movements of unprotonated (ie, incompletely cycling) “Gluext”/ E224, ClC-3 exhibits low transport efficiency compared to ClC-5 or ClC-4, which exhibit larger ISS and much smaller Q. Replacement of external Cl- with SCN- increases ClC-3 currents by 3-4 fold, and reduces H+ coupling by ∼90%. Removal of a conserved tyrosine (Y630S, V) positioned at the intersection of the Cl-/H+ pathways (Accardi et al, 2006, JMB) greatly increases currents and decreases Q. For Y630S, H+ coupling is reduced by ∼50%; SCN substitution decreases rather than increases current, and eliminates H+ transport. An M568A mutant moderately impacts transport, increasing currents and decreasing Q by <50%. Reduction of external pH (pH 6 or 5) weakly inhibits ClC-3 ISS, but markedly reduces Q, and shifts the Q(V) relationship toward more positive voltages. These results are consistent with external protons inhibiting cycling by neutralization of Gluext. An endogenous Cl- current activated at pH5 (Iacid) has slow activation kinetics and lacks gating transients, is inhibited by 60-120 microM phloretin, and is decreased by ClC-3 expression. Thus, Iacid is readily distinguished from expressed ClC-3 transport. These data indicate that ClC-3 H+ coupling and transport is influenced by anion interaction, and by external protons, as suggested for the bacterial ClCec-1.