cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Factors affecting the educational and occupational trajectories of women in engineering in five comparative national settings

Issues surrounding women's participation in engineering have confounded policymakers around the globe for a number of years. While substantial progress has been documented for women in engineering and in computing and information technology in the Middle East, the recruitment and retention of women in these fields continue to face substantial challenges. The primary objective of our new multi-site case study is to identify the factors underlying and contributing to the educational and occupational trajectories of women in engineering and computing in Jordan, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia and the US. These countries vary substantially in their economic, educational, cultural, historical, legal, geographic, and political contexts AND in women's engineering and computing representation. Perhaps most importantly, they differ in their levels of prosperity, the democratization of their political and social institutions, and in the prevailing cultural understandings of engineering and computing, including its gender labeling. Our research questions are: (1) What motivates women's choice of engineering or computing as an educational/occupational path? (2) How do women perceive professionals in these fields and the work they do? (3) What societal, cultural, legal, and policy factors are perceived to support or constrain women's participation in engineering or computing fields of study and occupations? (4) What common themes emerge in different national sites and for women at different stages of study or professional practice? (5) What can we learn from one another? In addition to these general research questions, our collaborating teams in each of the five case study contexts (Jordan, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, and the USA) have created context-specific questions based on relevant literature and national metrics for each respective site. Our collaborators in Saudi Arabia have developed a set of context-specific research questions related to computing as well, which has enjoyed strong female participation in that nation. We will include Saudi's first female engineering program, opened in 2011, in the second phase of our study when its first cohort has graduated. In this paper, we describe general and country-specific research questions and solicit input from diverse stakeholders in the IFEES community on the relevance, validity, and scope of these questions. By eliciting varied and broad perspectives, the research questions and resulting interview protocol for this study will gather rich qualitative data and will encourage buy in from the IFEES community for scale up survey work during our next phase.
Cognitive-Behavioral Treatment for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in Children and Adolescents

Several cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) approaches are available for treating child and adolescent posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). These treatments include common elements (eg, psychoeducation, gradual exposure, relaxation). This review (1) delineates common elements in CBT approaches for treating child and adolescent PTSD; (2) provides a detailed review of three CBT approaches with substantial evidence of effectiveness; and (3) describes promising practices in the area of CBT approaches to treating child and adolescent PTSD. Cultural and implementation considerations are also included.
Investigating the Effects of Caffeine on Phonation

Summary Objective A core component of vocal hygiene programs is the avoidance of agents that may dry the vocal folds. Clinicians commonly recommend that individuals reduce caffeine intake because of its presumed dehydrating effects on the voice. However, there is little evidence that ingestion of caffeine is detrimental to voice production. The first objective of this study was to evaluate whether caffeine adversely affects voice production. The second objective was to evaluate if caffeine exacerbates the adverse phonatory effects of vocal loading. Study Design Prospective, double-blinded, sham-controlled study. Methods Sixteen healthy adults participated in two sessions where they consumed caffeine (caffeine concentration=480mg) or sham (caffeine concentration=24mg) beverages. Voice measures (phonation threshold pressure and perceived phonatory effort) were collected. Subjects then completed a vocal loading challenge and voice measures were obtained again. Results There were no significant differences in voice measures between the caffeine and sham conditions. Ingestion of caffeine did not adversely affect voice production ( P >0.05) or exacerbate the detrimental phonatory effects of vocal loading ( P >0.05). Conclusions Our findings contribute to emerging knowledge on the effects of caffeine on voice production. Recommendations to completely eliminate caffeine from the diet, as a component of a vocal hygiene program, should be evaluated on an individual basis.
Chloride and the generation of amniotic fluid in the early embryo.

The concentrations of chloride in the amniotic fluid of the four and one-half day chick embryo exceed those in the blood plasma and in the sero-amniotic fluid. The electrical potential of the amniotic fluid is negative compared to the electrical potentials of the plasma and sero-amniotic fluid. Nevertheless, the amniotic fluid volume continues to grow without a sensible diminution of its chloride concentration. There is evidence, therefore, of non diffusional influx of chloride into the amniotic fluid. Radioactive chloride injected into the blood stream of the embryo also indicates that chloride is transferred into the amniotic fluid partly by an active process. Similar experiments with sodium ion fail to unequivocally demonstrate the existence of a sodium pump. From these measurements the rate of transfer of chloride by a chloride pump and the rate of efflux of chloride under the influence of the electrochemical gradient were calculated. The calculated net influx of chloride agrees with the net influx calculated from the observed growth rate of the amniotic fluid, and the same is true for sodium. It is postulated that a metabolically driven transfer of chloride into the amniotic cavity is an early step in the generation of the amniotic fluid.
In the beginning is the icon: A liberative theology of images, visual arts and culture

Bergmann, S. (2009). Oakville, CT: Equinox Publishing. 173 pp. $85.00 (hardcover). (First published in Swedish in 2003 under the title I begynnelsen ar bilden [A. K. Angelsen, Trans.], Trondheim, N...
Bulk-fluid solubility and membrane feasibility of rmim-based room-temperature ionic liquids

This paper shows how gas solubility can be predicted in Rmim-based room-temperature ionic liquids (RTILs). We have developed a model to illustrate that ideal, single-gas solubility in Rmim-based RTILs is primarily a function of molar volume of the RTIL. This method is used to estimate bulk-fluid gas solubility, showing that for Rmim-based RTILs there is a particular molar volume where a maximum amount of gas per volume of RTIL occurs at a given pressure and temperature. This method is also used to estimate gas permeability and gas pair separation selectivity for ideal CO2/N2 and CO2/CH4 separations. A comparison to traditional polymer membranes utilized in these separations is included in the form of a “Robeson plot”.
Price information in Producer markets: An evaluation of futures and spot cotton price relationships in the southwest region using cointegration

Producer spot (cash) prices of cotton from the Southwest region were compared to futures prices for cotton to examine the cash|futures price relationship using the cointegration technique. The results showed that the cash producer price and the futures price were not consistently related. The futures and cash prices were cointegrated in 2 of 4 years, while not cointegrated in the other 2 years. The inconsistency indicates that the reliability of the futures price as a source of price information to producers of cotton in the Southwest is questionable. This relationship may be arising from quality uncertainty in the producer market. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Structural requirements for selective binding of ISC1 to anionic phospholipids.

Abstract Yeast ISC1 (Yer019w) encodes inositolphosphosphingolipid-phospholipase C and is activated by phosphatidylserine (PS) and cardiolipin (CL) (Sawai, H., Okamoto, Y., Lubert, C., Mao, C., Bielawska, A., Domae, M., and Hannun, Y. A. (2000) J. Biol. Chem. 275, 39793–39798). In this study, the structural requirements for anionic phospholipid-selective binding of ISC1 were determined using site-directed and deletion mutants. FLAG-tagged Isc1p was activated by PS, CL, and phosphatidylglycerol (PG) in a dose-dependent manner. Using lipid-protein overlay assays, Isc1p interacted specifically and directly with PS/CL/PG. Lipid-protein binding studies of a series of deletion mutants demonstrated that the second transmembrane domain (TMII) and the C terminus were required for PS binding. Moreover, the TMII and the C terminus domain were sufficient to impart PS binding to a heterologous protein, green fluorescence protein. In addition, mutations of positively charged amino acid residues at the C terminus of ISC1 reduced the activating effects of PS, suggesting involvement of these amino acids in interaction with PS/CL/PG and in the activation of the enzyme. Finally, when separate fragments containing the N terminus-TMI and TMII-C terminus were expressed heterologously, enzyme activity was reconstituted, demonstrating that the interaction of the N terminus and the C terminus is required for activity of Isc1p. These results raise the hypothesis that in the presence of PS/CL/PG, the catalytic domain in the N terminus of Isc1p is “pulled” to the membrane to interact with substrate. These studies provide unique insights into the properties ofISC1 and define a novel mechanism for activation of enzymes by lipids cofactors.
Surface tensions of molten salt mixtures

Abstract It is always found that the surface tension of a mixture of molten salts lies below the mean of the surface tensions of the pure components, weighted by mole fractions. Part of this effect is certainly due to the well-known fact that the composition near the surface is enriched in the component of lower surface tension. We show that an effect of the long-range forces, present for fluids involving Coulombic interactions, is of greater importance. The effect is due to the electroneutrality constraint on the distribution functions. As we show by separate calculations, both effects must be considered to obtain good agreement with experimental results for alkali halide melts.
Lymphatic spread in carcinoma of the vulva

A study of 153 patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the vulva is reviewed. Regional node metastases were present in 20%, and lymphatic spread proved the single most significant prognostic factor in this disease. Recurrent carcinoma developed in 47% of cases with nodal metastases. Lymph node metastases were directly related to stage of disease, tumor differentiation, lesion size, and depth of invasion. Sixty percent of nodal disease was not suspected by clinical examination. No patient developing recurrent disease after identification of positive nodes survived the disease. Surgical staging based only upon size of lesion and presence of nodal metastases appears to offer a clearer prognostic profile than conventional clinical staging. The pattern and frequency of nodal spread suggest that in selected instances modifications of the standard surgical treatment of vulvar cancer may be appropriate.
Fat Digestion in the Stomach: Stability of Lingual Lipase in the Gastric Environment

Digestion of dietary fat starts in the stomach, where lingual lipase hydrolyzes triglycerides to free fatty acids and partial glycerides at pH 3.0-6.0. Lingual lipase is secreted continuously from lingual serous glands and accumulates in the stomach between meals, when gastric pH is less than 3.0. We have, therefore, examined the resistance of lingual lipase to low pH and its possible protection by dietary components present in the stomach contents. Partially purified rat lingual lipase (7-15 micrograms enzyme protein) was preincubated at 37 degrees C for 10-60 min at pH 1.0-6.0 before incubation for assay of lipolytic activity, hydrolysis of tri-[3H]olein at pH 5.4. The data show that partially purified rat lingual lipase preparations are stable at 37 degrees C in the pH range of 2.5-6.0. Enzyme activity, however, is rapidly and irreversibly lost during preincubation at pH 1.0-2.4 for 10-30 min. Protein (gelatin 1% or albumin 1% or 2.5%) cannot prevent the inactivation of lingual lipase at low pH. The large molecular species (molecular weight greater than 500,000) of lingual lipase (thought to be an aggregate of enzyme with lipids) is slightly more resistant to inactivation than the 46,000 dalton preparation, suggesting that lipids might protect the enzyme from inactivation. Indeed, about 60% of the initial lipase activity is preserved during incubation at pH 2.0 in the presence of 50 mM lecithin or 10 mM triolein. The data indicate that triglycerides which are hydrolyzed by this enzyme as well as phospholipids that are not hydrolyzed can prevent the inactivation of the enzyme.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Midlife blood pressure and dementia: the Honolulu–Asia aging study☆

We studied the association of mid-life blood pressure to late age dementia, specifically Alzheimer's disease and vascular dementia. Data are from the cohort of 3703 Japanese-American men who were followed in the Honolulu Heart Program (HHP;1965-1971), and subsequently re-examined in 1991 for dementia. We assessed the risk (odds ratio (95% CI)) for dementia associated with categories of systolic (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP), stratified by never/ever treatment with anti-hypertensive medications, and adjusting for age, education, apolipoprotein epsilon allele, smoking and alcohol intake. Among those never treated (57% sample), the risk for dementia was OR 95% CI 3.8 (1.6-8.7) for DBP of 90-94 mm Hg, and 4. 3 (1.7-10.8) for DBP of 95 mmHg and over compared to those with DBP of 80 to 89 mm Hg. Compared to those with SBP of 110 to 139 mm Hg, the risk for dementia was 4.8 (2.0-11.0) in those with SBP 160 mm Hg and higher. Blood pressure was not associated with the risk for dementia in treated men. These results were consistent for Alzheimer's disease and vascular dementia. This study suggests elevated levels of blood pressure in middle age can increase the risk for late age dementia in men never treated with anti-hypertensive medication.
The licensing of subjects and objects in Irish non-finite clauses

Abstract The paper examines two questions concerning Irish non-finite clauses, i.e.: (1) the free variation between overt subjects and PRO and (2) dialectal variation. As regards the first issue, it is argued that Irish non-finite clauses represent two types, namely: clauses with PRO which exhibit anaphoric Agr in T checking PRO's null Case and non-finite clauses which exhibit non-anaphoric Agr in T checking nominative Case of the subject. The mechanism licensing overt subjects and PRO can be used to account for distinct word orders found in Northern and in Southern dialects. While the former allow overt object shift in the presence of either the overt subject or PRO, hence yielding the following orders: S+O+particle+V and PRO+O+particle+V, the latter trigger overt object shift only in the presence of PRO and never in the presence of an overt subject, hence giving rise to the following patterns: S+particle+V+O and PRO+O+particle+V. In order to account for this dialectal variation, the particle a is taken to represent a marker of transitivity in Northern dialects and hence to appear in v. Object shift is triggered by the necessity to satisfy the v's EPP-feature and subject raising from Spec, vp is triggered by the EPP-feature of T. For Southern dialects the following assumptions are made: (1) the particle a has always a Case feature to check, (2) the particle a can appear in v or in T, when it appears in v, it checks the Case of the object and when it appears in T, it checks the Case of the subject, (3) overt subjects are licensed by the particle a , which is an overt realisation of non-anaphoric Agr in T, and (4) PRO is licensed by anaphoric Agr in T. Under these assumptions, the order S+particle+V+O arises if a is in T, whereas the order PRO+O+particle+V surfaces if a occurs in v. It is further suggested that subject and object raise in Southern dialects for Case reasons, not for EPP-checking. The pattern S+O + particle + V is impossible in Southern dialects, as in order to license the overt subject a must be in Agr, whereas in order to license object shift a must appear in v. Since a cannot occupy two positions simultaneously, this order is never attested.
Port-site complications after pediatric urologic robotic surgery.

The incidence of port-site hernia development after adult laparoscopic surgery is reported to be between 0.1% and 3.0%. There are no published reports concerning hernia incidence or related factors after pediatric urologic laparoscopic interventions. We present our experience with port-site complications following pediatric urologic robotic surgery (PURS). From July 2005 to June 2009 we prospectively followed the first 200 PURS cases performed at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. All cases had follow-up available for at least 2 months postoperatively. The data collected allowed for evaluation of the outcomes for each port site separately and compared its size, location, and fascial closure status. Median age was 3.2 years (0.4–18.8 years). All 200 patients had follow-up with median of 11 months (0.2–83.4 months). There were 600 port sites analyzed in the 200 cases. Of the 600 port sites, 200 were umbilical. The other 400 port sites were lateral to the rectus muscle, either subcostal or at the level of the anterior superior iliac spine. There was no wound irrigation prior to closure on any sites. All the patients received perioperative antibiotics. One umbilical port had a hernia diagnosed 2 weeks postoperatively. Four of the 600 ports (0.6%) developed skin dehiscence secondary to superficial wound infection within 1 week postoperatively. At our institution, the overall incidence of port-site complications after PURS was 0.83%. This is slightly lower than the published incidence in adults undergoing conventional laparoscopy. Due to the low incidence of complications it is difficult to draw conclusions on contributing factors.
Continuous and intermittent levodopa differentially affect rotation induced by D-1 and D-2 dopamine agonists.

Abstract The effects of continuous and intermittent levodopa treatment on rotational behavior induced by dopamine agonists were examined in rats with a unilateral 6-hydroxydopamine lesion of the nigrostriatal dopamine pathway. Chronic administration of levodopa by continuous infusion (90–100 mg/kg per day i.p. by osmotic pump for 19 days with a 3 day washout) enhanced the rotational response to the D-2 dopamine receptor agonist quinpirole, but had no effect on rotation induced by the D-1 agonist SKF 38393 or that due to the non-selective dopamine agonist apomorphine. The rotational responses to the selective dopamine agonists differed dramatically in rats treated with levodopa by intermittent injection (45–50 mg/kg i.p., b.i.d. for 19 days with a 3 day washout): they showed a markedly increased response to quinpirole, a greatly diminished response to SKF 38393, and a modestly enhanced response to apomorphine. Continuous and intermittent treatment resulted in equivalent daily plasma levodopa levels. These findings suggest that the intermittence of central dopamine receptor stimulation may be an important factor in determining the subsequent responses of the dopamine system. The dissociation between the effects of both continuous and intermittent levodopa on D-1 and D-2 agonist-induced rotation indicates that D-1 and D-2 dopamine receptor-mediated mechanisms respond differently to chronic levodopa treatment.
The conditional importance of sex: Exploring the association between sexual well-being and life satisfaction

Leaders in the field of sexuality have called for additional research examining the link between sexual well-being and life satisfaction in women in order to expand knowledge regarding the important consequences of a satisfying sex life. Participants in the present study were sexually active women reporting a wide range of sexual difficulties who completed an in-person interview, validated self-report measures, and daily online assessments for 4 weeks. Sexual well-being was related to life satisfaction both cross-sectionally and within individuals over time. In addition, high relational satisfaction and low attachment anxiety served as protective factors, decreasing the degree to which unsatisfying sexual experiences were associated with decreases in life satisfaction. These results extend previous findings by confirming a strong association between sexual well-being and overall life satisfaction within individuals over time. The strength of this association is moderated by a number of intra- and interper...
Effect of freezing and length of storage on milk properties.

Abstract One hundred six composite samples of milk were collected for 10 weeks from evening and morning milkings of individual cows. Samples were divided into three portions and analyzed fresh and after storage at −26 C, for 7 and 90 days. Concentrations of milk fat, solids-not-fat, total solids, chloride and protein, and the freezing point were determined. Differences between fresh samples and those that had been frozen were significant except for lactose and chloride.
Estimates of validity and reliability for the hemispheric mode indicator.

Concurrent validity of scores of the Hemispheric Mode Indicator (a measure of cognitive hemispheric dominance) was assessed by product-moment correlation with scores for the Human Information Processing Survey (a more-studied measure of hemispheric dominance) for 27 nurse-anesthetist students and 94 medical students (r = .61 and .69, respectively). For 70 of the medical students, test-retest stability was only fair (r = .74). For 525 undergraduates and 156 medical students, although alpha coefficients were .78 and .84, respectively, consideration of interitem correlations and principal components analyses indicated that some of the Hemispheric Mode Indicator's items are unsuitable as worded and that the 32 items probably represent more than one underlying latent variable.
Effect of stress and senescence on carbon partitioning in stored potatoes.

1. Cold sweetening of potato tubers is a complex metabolic process influenced by several levels of cellular regulation. 2. Metabolic events which confer a high or low sugar nature to genetically diverse potato clones must be distinguished from those events which occur in a non-limiting fashion. 3. The intracellular compartmentalization of Pi, influenced by stress action, may be important in regulating carbon partitioning in potato tubers. 4. The fine regulation of sucrose 6-P synthase may be more critical than its coarse regulation in determining a potato clone’s gluconeogenic ability. 5. The metabolic production of the key substrate UDPglucose by UDPglucose pyrophosphorylase may determine differential rates of sweetening observed between high and low sugar potato clones.
Rational or statistical routes from 1-acyldipyrromethanes to meso-substituted porphyrins. Distinct patterns, multiple pyridyl substituents, and amphipathic architectures.

New methodology is described for the synthesis of porphyrins bearing four (A4, cis-A2B2, cis-ABC2, trans-A2B2) or fewer (A, cis-AB, cis-A2, trans-A2) meso substituents. The method entails condensation of two 1-acyldipyrromethanes in the presence of a metal salt (MgBr2, 3 mol equiv) and a noncoordinating base (DBU, 10 mol equiv) in a noncoordinating solvent (toluene) with heating (conventional or microwave irradiation) and exposure to air. The rational synthesis of trans-A2B2- or trans-A2-porphyrins was achieved via condensation of two identical 1-acyldipyrromethanes. The statistical synthesis of various meso-substituted porphyrins was achieved via condensation of two nonidentical 1-acyldipyrromethanes. Both routes possess attractive features including (1) no scrambling, (2) good yield (up to 60%) at high concentration (100 mM) for the macrocycle-forming step, (3) reasonable scope (aryl, heteroaryl, alkyl, or no substituent), (4) short reaction time (∼2 h) via microwave irradiation, (5) magnesium porphyrin...
Challenges and opportunities at all levels: interactions among operating systems, compilers, and multicore processors

The tremendous advances in process technology have opened the doors to many opportunities, but have also introduced a wealth of challenges. On one hand, microprocessor designers can pack several cores, whether homogeneous or heterogeneous, on a single chip, enabling more parallelism. On the other hand, programmers must focus on producing parallel programs since automatic parallelization is still in its infancy, especially for non-scientific code. System designers must also focus on managing resources to optimize performance and minimize the impact on power and reliability. The increase in on-chip transistors results in increased power dissipation, both static and dynamic, and gives rise to other challenges related to parameter variations. The main question facing the entire computing community is how to make use of all the available cores in the most efficient and cost-effective way. This challenge can be addressed by changing the way multicore processors, compilers, and operating systems interact. This interaction is the main topic of this special issue.
Thyroid hormone receptor beta 1 expression in developing mouse limbs and face.

Thyroid hormone, acting through thyroid hormone receptors (TRs), plays an important role in amphibian metamorphosis and vertebrate development. To identify where and when TRβ1 promoter is activated during fetal life, we carried out an in vivo functional study of a 1.3 kilobase (kb) TRβ1 gene promoter using transgenic mice that express the β-galactosidase gene under control of the TRβ1 promoter. Transactivation of the gene was determined by blue staining of tissues after incubation with X-gal. High expression of transgene was detected in the limbs and face of the 12.5-day-old fetus (12.5F) and 14.5F, reminiscent of the changes occurring during amphibian metamorphosis, and this disappeared at 17.5F. The expression was confined to the tip of finger bones, between fingers in the limb buds, and was detected in the root of whisker follicles, nose, and around the eyes. Signal was detected in the oral cavity, nasal cavity, lung, and urogenital sinus of 14.5F, and disappeared at 17.5F. Signal was detected in the m...
Employee Assistance Programmes in the United States

A recent article by P.B. Beaumont focused attention on the problem of alcoholism in British industry. Beaumont discussed the need for organisations to have policies for dealing with employee alcoholism and he identified a number of factors likely to be associated with successful policies. The article was quite stimulating and, accordingly, I thought it would be instructive to describe what American organisations are doing with respect not only to employee alcoholism but also the problems of drug and other emotional difficulties affecting job performance. Specifically, this article is devoted to a more thorough description of american employee assistance programmes and a discussion of some of the factors that have been found important to their successful implementation. Hopefully this information could be helpful to British as well as other American firms that continue to grapple with these kinds of problems.
The “name game”: affective and hiring reactions to first names

Purpose – The paper seeks to examine how the uniqueness and ethnicity of first names influence affective reactions to those names and their potential for hire.Design/methodology/approach – In study 1, respondents evaluated 48 names in terms of uniqueness and likeability, allowing us to select names viewed consistently as Common, Russian, African‐American, and Unusual. In Study 2 respondents assessed the uniqueness and likeability of the names, and whether they would hire someone with the name.Findings – Results indicated that Common names were seen as least unique, best liked, and most likely to be hired. Unusual names were seen as most unique, least liked, and least likely to be hired. Russian and African‐American names were intermediate in terms of uniqueness, likeability and being hired, significantly different from Common and Unique names, but not significantly different from each other.Research limitations/implications – The name an individual carries has a significant impact on how he or she is view...
Tax/subsidy policies toward vector-borne infectious diseases

Abstract Vector-borne diseases especially rife in poor countries pose sectoral tax/subsidy issues. Preventions and therapies mitigate these diseases in a numerical optimization model combining dynamic epidemiology and economics. The medical distinction between prevention and therapy does not distinguish economic properties of preventions and therapies. Some interventions increase and others decrease moving to the steady state, depending: on the utility function, the targeting of interventions and the disease process. Interventions display negative own-price but indeterminate cross-price effects. Juxtaposing the social planner's with decentralized choices quantifies externalities and shows how subsidies implement the first-best. One prevention and the therapy are equally subsidized.
When Population Size Does Not Matter: Robust Bayesian Testing for Categorical Populations

We present a strongly robust Bayesian test of the hypothesis of equality of distributions for populations consisting of data in finitely many categories. The Bayes factors are the same for infinite and finite populations. Under the hypothesis of inequality, one distribution can be viewed as an exponentially tilted or exponentially distorted version of another. We illustrate the method by calculating Bayes factors for a range of data values.
Fine structural analysis of DNA repair in mammalian cells

Nucleotide excision repair (NER) of ultraviolet (UV) light induced photo lesions is heterogeneous in the genomic DNA. We have investigated the mechanistic basis for this repair heterogeneity by analyzing NER activity in higher order chromatin of repair proficient hamster cells. Immunological labeling of repair and transcription sites indicates that NER initiates at the nuclear matrix in close association with transcription. The repair gradually extends into the loop DNA regions in a time dependent fashion. Repair analysis indicates that the DNA damaged by UV irradiation is recruited to the nuclear matrix soon after UV exposure. Consistent with this finding, immunofluorescence and western blotting analyses indicate the enrichment of many NER proteins (XPA, RPA, PCNA, the P62 and p89 sub-units of the basal transcription factor, TFIIH) in the nuclear matrix of UV treated cells. These results strengthen the notion that the nuclear matrix is an important site for the assembly of an efficient repair complex.
"Excepting Himself": Olaudah Equiano, Native Americans, and the Civilizing Mission

Benjamin West’s 1771-1772 painting Penn’s Treaty with the Indians depicts a scene of apparently amicable barter of commodities for land between European settlers and Native Americans. In the painting (Figure 1), Lenni Lenape Indians look intently at the bolt of white cloth displayed by kneeling Quakers, while William Penn and a Native counterpart stand with arms spread, both looking to the Native chief for his judgment of the whites’ proposition. But whether he agrees is apparently moot: the deal has already taken place.
Multicolor Ramsey numbers involving graphs with long suspended paths

Let G"1,...,G"c be graphs and let H be a connected graph. Let H"n be a graph on n points which is homeomorphic to H. It is proved that if n is large enough, the Ramsey number r(G"1,...,G"c,H"n) has the form (X-1)(n-1)+T. Here X and T are two Ramsey-type functons involving G"1,...,G"c only. The properties of these functions are studied, leading to explicit evaluations in a number of cases.
Tenure Clock Extension Policies: Who Uses Them and to What Effect?

This study examined differences in utilization of tenure clock extensions, one of the most common forms of faculty career flexibility, by faculty gender, race, and academic field, as well as differences in career outcomes, namely retention and tenure attainment, by whether an extension was received. Data were obtained from the personnel files of the 465 tenure-line faculty hired across a 7-year period at a large, public, doctoral/research extensive university. Statistical analyses included chi-square tests of independence and logistic regression. The study found differences by gender and academic field in who receives tenure clock extensions, as well as differences by gender and academic field in reasons for policy utilization. Receiving a tenure clock extension has no statistically significant relationship with attainment of tenure, but faculty who receive extensions have a higher rate of attrition.
Maximizing the Use of the Handheld Doppler in Autologous Breast Reconstruction

The handheld acoustic Doppler is commonly used in the setting of autologous reconstruction. Like the color duplex Doppler, it can be used preoperatively but has the advantage of being used intraoperatively and postoperatively. It can be used as a sole modality or it can be used in conjunction with or to confirm the findings of CTA or MRA. This article focuses on the preoperative, intraoperative, and postoperative use of the handheld Doppler for free tissue transfer with an emphasis on perforator flap breast reconstruction.
Multi-modal intervention for the inpatient management of sickle cell pain significantly decreases the rate of acute chest syndrome.

Introduction Pain in children with sickle cell disease (SCD) is the leading cause of acute care visits and hospitalizations. Pain episodes are a risk factor for the development of acute chest syndrome (ACS), contributing to morbidity and mortality in SCD. Few strategies exist to prevent this complication. Methods We performed a before-and-after prospective multi-modal intervention. All children with SCD admitted for pain during the 2-year study period were eligible. The multi-modal intervention included standardized admission orders, monthly house staff education, and one-on-one patient and caregiver education. Results A total of 332 admissions for pain occurred during the study period; 159 before the intervention and 173 during the intervention. The ACS rate declined by 50% during the intervention period 25% (39 of 159) to 12% (21 of 173); P = 0.003. Time to ACS development increased from 0.8 days (0.03–5.2) to 1.7 days (0.03–5.8); P = 0.047. No significant difference was found in patient demographics, intravenous fluid amount administered, frequency of normal saline bolus administration, or cumulative opioid amount delivered in the first 24 hr. Patient controlled analgesia-use was more common after the intervention 52% (82 of 159) versus 73% (126 of 173; P = 0.0001) and fewer patients required changes in analgesic dosing within the first 24 hr after admission (26%, 42 of 159 vs. 16%, 28 of 173; P = 0.015). Conclusions A multi-modal intervention to educate and subsequently change physician's behavior likely decreased the rate of ACS in the setting of a single teaching hospital. Pediatr Blood Cancer 2011;56:262–266. © 2010 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Limit of detection for a bead-based diffraction biosensor

Diffraction-based biosensors that rely on optical scattering are a sensitive approach for biomolecular detection. We present a Mie surface double-interaction computer study of the in situ assembly of bead-based diffraction gratings on a gold substrate. The limit of detection for a system having 26 stripes is calculated to be approximately 25 beads in total, or approximately one bead per stripe in an immunoassay experiment. This sensitivity limit is orders of magnitude better than label-free molecular sensors, and is consistent with high-speed scanning for high-throughput assays.
Enhancement of discrimination learning following unilateral lesions of posterior neocortex in guinea pigs.

Abstract Monocular acquisition and interocular transfer of a horizontal-vertical discrimination were measured in 16 male albino guinea pigs which were restricted to using either the contralateral or ipsilateral primary visual fibers; restriction was accomplished by introduction of a unilateral striate lesion coupled with monocular occlusion. Eight sham-operated animals served as controls. The animals restricted to use of the contralateral fibers showed reliably enhanced rates of acquisition as compared to the controls, while the animals restricted to the ipsilateral fibers were unable to master the discrimination. The control animals learned readily, but demonstrated fairly low levels of interocular transfer. The data suggest that there is some form of interhemispheric interference which is eliminated by the introduction of unilateral ablations of the posterior neocortex.
Effect of Chelation on Phosphorus Metabolism in Experimental Atherosclerosis

MgNa2EDTA is shown to have an ameliorating effect of fat-induced atherosclerosis in rabbits. The compound was shown to decrease not only the general extent of atheromatosis, but to influence phosphate metabolism in induced atherosclerosis. Some credence is lent to a previously outlined hypothesis suggesting that the parathyroids mediate this effect.
Alpha particle induced gamma yields in uranium hexafluoride

Abstract Fluorine has a relatively large (α,n) production cross-section in the MeV range, the energy range of interest for special nuclear materials. In the uranium fuel cycle enriched UF6 in particular is a reasonably prolific source of (α,n) neutrons because along with 235U, 234U becomes enriched and it has a relatively short half-life. This enables the mass content of storage cylinders containing UF6 to be verified by neutron counting methods. In association with such measurements high resolution gamma-ray spectrometry (HRGS) measurements using a high-purity Ge detector are often undertaken to determine the 235U enrichment based off the intensity of the direct 186 keV line. The specific (α,n) neutron production, neutrons per second per gram of U, is sensitive to the relative isotopic composition, particularly the 234U concentration, and the traditional gross neutron counting approach is needed to quantitatively interpret the data. In addition to F(α,n) neutrons, α-induced reaction γ-rays are generated, notably at 110, 197, 582, 891, 1236 and 1275 keV. If one could observe 19F(α,xγ) gamma-lines in the HRGS spectra the thought was that perhaps the α-activity could be estimated directly, and in turn the 234U abundance obtained. For example, by utilizing the ratio of the detected 197–186 keV full energy peaks. However, until now there has been no readily available estimate of the expected strength of the reaction gamma-rays nor any serious consideration as to whether they might be diagnostic or not. In this work we compute the thick target yields of the chief reaction gamma-rays in UF6 using published thin target data. Comparisons are made to the neutron production rates to obtain γ/n estimates, and also to the 235U decay line at 186 keV which we take as a fiducial line. It is shown that the reaction gamma-rays are produced but are far too weak for practical safeguards purposes. Now that the underlying numerical data is readily available however, it can be used to support neutron and gamma production calculations in other fluorine compounds, for example impure plutonium reference materials where fluorine may be present only at the parts per million by weight level yet still present a serious nuisance addition to the neutron production rate.
The Dynamics of Capillary Flow

Penetration of Liquids into Cylindrical Capillaries.---The rate of penetration into a small capillary of radius $r$ is shown to be: $\frac{\mathrm{dl}}{\mathrm{dt}}=\frac{P({r}^{2}+4\ensuremath{\epsilon}r)}{8\ensuremath{\eta}l}$, where $P$ is the driving pressure, $\ensuremath{\epsilon}$ the coefficient of slip and $\ensuremath{\eta}$ the viscosity. By integrating this expression, the distance penetrated by a liquid flowing under capillary pressure alone into a horizontal capillary or one with small internal surface is found to be the square root of ($\frac{\ensuremath{\gamma}\mathrm{rt}\ifmmode\cdot\else\textperiodcentered\fi{}cos\ensuremath{\theta}}{2\ensuremath{\eta}}$), where $\ensuremath{\gamma}$ is the surface tension and $\ensuremath{\theta}$ the angle of contact. The quantity ($\frac{\ensuremath{\gamma}cos\ensuremath{\theta}}{2\ensuremath{\eta}}$) is called the coefficient of penetrance or the penetrativity of the liquid.Penetration of Liquids into a Porous Body.---(1) Theory. If a porous body behaves as an assemblage of very small cylindrical capillaries, the volume which penetrates in a time $t$ would be proportional to the square root of ($\frac{\ensuremath{\gamma}t}{\ensuremath{\eta}}$). (2) Experiments with mercury, water and other liquids completely verify the theoretical deductions.Dynamic capillary method of measuring surface tension is described. It possesses certain advantages on the static method of capillary rise.
Tactile agnosia. Underlying impairment and implications for normal tactile object recognition.

In a series of experimental investigations of a subject with a unilateral impairment of tactile object recognition without impaired tactile sensation, several issues were addressed. First, is tactile agnosia secondary to a general impairment of spatial cognition? On tests of spatial ability, including those directed at the same spatial integration process assumed to be taxed by tactile object recognition, the subject performed well, implying a more specific impairment of high level, modality specific tactile perception. Secondly, within the realm of high level tactile perception, is there a distinction between the ability to derive shape ('what') and spatial ('where') information? Our testing showed an impairment confined to shape perception. Thirdly, what aspects of shape perception are impaired in tactile agnosia? Our results indicate that despite accurate encoding of metric length and normal manual exploration strategies, the ability tactually to perceive objects with the impaired hand, deteriorated as the complexity of shape increased. In addition, asymmetrical performance was not found for other body surfaces (e.g. her feet). Our results suggest that tactile shape perception can be disrupted independent of general spatial ability, tactile spatial ability, manual shape exploration, or even the precise perception of metric length in the tactile modality.
War and peace in the Caucasus: Russia's troubled frontier

War and peace in the Caucasus: Russia's troubled frontier, by Vicken Cheterian, London, Hurst & Company, 2008 viii+395 pp., £25, ISBN 978-1-85065-929-7 and New York, Columbia University Press, 2008...
THE IMPACT OF AN SES-BASED MODEL ON A COLLEGE'S UNDERGRADUATE ADMISSIONS OUTCOMES*

In Grutter vs. Bollinger, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the use of race as one factor, among many in admissions decisions is constitutional. It is not known, however, whether future legal opinions will continue to uphold the use of affirmative action policies. Some have argued that class-based preferences can achieve many of the same goals as in affirmative action while being more likely to withstand legal challenges. To date, no empirical studies have been conducted on the potential impact of a class-based admissions policy if implemented at an undergraduate institution. This paper reports on a study at a selective public college and compares a number of outcomes under three admissions models: the original admissions decisions, a purely academic model, and an socio-economic status (SES)-based model. The findings showed that use of the SES-based model would have led to a more academically qualified class than in the original admitted class while maintaining substantially greater student diversity that was found under the academic model. An admissions policy based on preferences for socio-economically disadvantaged applicants appears to hold promise for other colleges and universities with similar institutional and applicant characteristics. The ideas and research design reported in this paper are based on the doctoral dissertation study of the second author, “Undergraduate Admissions Models Incorporating Socioeconomic Factors” (Johnson, 2000).
A study of the structural composition of PL/I programs

Some research on a theory of the structural composition of an algorithm has recently been reported. The theory embodies models of operator and operand distributions that have been proposed by Bayer, Zipf, and Zweben. This paper reports a study in which the three models of operator distributions are compared with the measured distributions found in 34 PL/I programs. Two of three models, one by Zipf and one by Zweben, are shown to correlate highly with the measured distributions. Two variations of the Zipf model are then formulated and tested with good results. Also, the relationship between the method of counting operators and the models is investigated.
Pharmacologic therapy of lipid disorders in the elderly.

Older men and women with coronary artery disease, prior stroke, peripheral arterial disease, and extracranial carotid arterial disease with a serum low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol > 125 mg/dL despite diet should be treated with lipid-lowering drug therapy, preferably with statins, to reduce the serum LDL cholesterol to or = 160 mg/dL plus one major risk factor, or a serum LDL cholesterol greater than or equal to 130 mg/dL plus a serum high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol < 50 mg/dL. Gemfibrozil may be useful in reducing the incidence of coronary events in persons with coronary artery disease whose primary lipid abnormality is a low serum HDL cholesterol level. There are no good data supporting treatment of hypertriglyceridemia unassociated with increased LDL cholesterol or decreased HDL cholesterol for prevention of cardiovascular disease.
Myasthenia gravis and Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease type 1A: an unusual combination of diseases

Concurrence of myasthenia gravis (MG) and Charcot-Marie-Tooth type 1 (CMT1A) neuropathy is rare. We describe a 60-year-old woman with MG and genetically proved CMT1A. The fluctuating ocular symptoms and proximal limb weakness were markedly improved by pyridostigmine treatment. Recognition of the possible association of MG and CMT1A in the same patient is important because the therapeutic result is rewarding.
St John's wort: a hidden risk for transplant patients.

Herbal medications may cause prescription drug interactions in transplant recipients. After 2 of our kidney transplant recipients started self-medicating with St John's wort, their cyclosporine concentrations were consistently documented to be subtherapeutic. While on St John's wort, one patient developed acute rejection possibly due to low cyclosporine concentrations. Termination of St John's wort returned both patients' cyclosporine concentrations to therapeutic values. Based on the Naranjo Adverse Drug Reaction Probability Scale, our report would achieve a "probable" score, which supports the existence of a St John's wort-cyclosporine adverse drug interaction. St John's wort may induce cytochrome P-450 3A4 activity and/or P-glycoprotein expression, which are both involved in the metabolism and absorption of cyclosporine. Patients using St John's wort concomitantly with cyclosporine or other medications with similar absorption and/or metabolism to cyclosporine need close monitoring. Transplant coordinat...