cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Neurotransmitter Activation of Second Messenger Pathways for the Control of Growth Cone Behaviors

The neuronal growth cone is now well recognized as one of the primary organelles responsible for the generation, alteration, and regeneration of neuronal form and connectivity (see review by Kater and Letourneau, 1985). The term neuronal growth cone was given by Ramon y Cajal (1890), to define the broad, flattened, lamellapodia and numerous filopodia that characterize the tip of a growing neunte. The growth cone is a highly dynamic structure; the lamellapodium and filopodia continuously move as the growth cone “explores” its environment. Discriminatory behavior is characteristic of motile growth cones; frequently the growth cone turns, branches, or even stops, apparently in response to invisible cues. Once growth cone motility, and hence neurite elongation ceases growth cone morphology also changes; the growth cone rounds up as the lamellapodium and filopodia are withdrawn.
Endocrine therapy of endometrial cancer

Endometrial carcinoma is the most common gynecologic malignancy, with approximately 34,000 new cases diagnosed yearly in the United States. It is the fourth most common cancer in American women and accounts for approximately 4000 deaths per year, as noted by the American Cancer Society. The majority of cases, approximately 75%, are confined to the uterus at the time of diagnosis and have a relatively good prognosis. However, a significant number of patients present annually for treatment with advanced or recurrent disease.
The Why Behind the Questions: Question-asking in Parents of Children Newly Diagnosed With Cancer - A Report From the Children's Oncology Group.

Abstract Purpose For parents of children newly diagnosed with cancer, the exchange of information during initial educational processes is critical. This focused analysis was completed to describe parent question-asking during the new childhood cancer diagnosis timeframe. Design & methods In previous research of new diagnosis education experiences, parents spoke extensively about asking questions. These data, captured in first level coding, were incorporated across higher level codes to describe how parents processed information after their child's cancer diagnosis. Using constant comparative analysis, we returned to our data to complete a focused analysis of our first level code, Asking Questions. Team members independently coded Asking Questions data from 20 parent interviews, followed by team discussions and consensus agreement for code assignment. Results Parents asked questions to learn, fill an unmet need, or clarify information. Clinicians asked questions to assess parent learning. Conclusion Question-asking is a technique used by parents and clinicians to communicate new information, assess understanding of provided content, and/or to confirm previously provided information. Practice implications Clinicians can benefit from carefully listening to patients/parents and reflecting on the type of questions asked in an effort to understand the reason behind the question. This can be used to guide further education.
The impact of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) on cancer survivorship.

10072Background: The ACA of 2010 has been recognized by the cancer community as an important step forward in insurance and payment reform, aiming to expand the number of insured patients, control c...
Multi-information source constrained Bayesian optimization

Design decisions for complex systems often can be made or informed by a variety of information sources. When optimizing such a system, the evaluation of a quantity of interest is typically required at many different input configurations. For systems with expensive to evaluate available information sources, the optimization task can potentially be computationally prohibitive using traditional techniques. This paper presents an information-economic approach to the constrained optimization of a system with multiple available information sources. The approach rigorously quantifies the correlation between the discrepancies of different information sources, which enables the overcoming of information source bias. All information is exploited efficiently by fusing newly acquired information with that previously evaluated. Independent decision-makings are achieved by developing a two-step look-ahead utility policy and an information gain policy for objective function and constraints respectively. The approach is demonstrated on a one-dimensional example test problem and an aerodynamic design problem, where it is shown to perform well in comparison to traditional multi-information source techniques.
Family Support and ICU Survivorship: Lessons Learned from the Pediatric Critical Care Experience

The first pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) was established in 1955, marking the beginning of significant advances and progress in this subspecialty of pediatric medicine (Epstein and Brill, Pediatr Res 58:98–996, 2005). The centralization of care into PICUs with dedicated pediatric intensivists and the development of fellowship training programs was accompanied by a decreased likelihood of mortality. As more children survive with increased rates of moderate or severe disability compared to earlier rates, pediatric critical care is now moving its focus toward what happens to children after they leave the PICU environment. Similarly, adult survivors would benefit from advocacy efforts to garner services that may affect their long-term health and ability to transition out of the hospital to home. Goals for both adults and children are a return to productive lives in the community. Family-centered care practices provide sustainable methods of support that can facilitate important advances for all ICU survivors. Healthcare teams must focus on resiliency at the onset of illness, the provision of family-centered care during illness, and an ongoing responsibility to transition care and advocate for patients after ICU discharge in order to optimize outcomes for critically ill patients across the life span.
Vasoconstrictor responsiveness through alterations in relaxation time and metabolic rate during rhythmic handgrip contractions

Increasing the relaxation phase of the contraction-relaxation cycle will increase active skeletal muscle blood flow ( Q˙m ). However, it remains unknown if this increase in Q˙m alters the vasoconstriction responses in active skeletal muscle. This investigation determined if decreasing mechanical impedance would impact vasoconstriction of the active skeletal muscle. Eight healthy men performed rhythmic handgrip exercise under three different conditions; "low" duty cycle at 20% maximal voluntary contraction (MVC), "low" duty cycle at 15% MVC, and "high" duty cycle at 20% MVC. Relaxation time between low and high duty cycles were 2.4 sec versus 1.5 sec, respectively. During steady-state exercise lower body negative pressure (LBNP) was used to evoke vasoconstriction. Finger photoplethysmography and Doppler ultrasound derived diameters and velocities were used to measure blood pressure, forearm blood flow (FBF: mL min-1 ) and forearm vascular conductance (FVC: mL min-1 mmHg) throughout testing. The low duty cycle increased FBF and FVC versus the high duty cycle under steady-state conditions at 20% MVC (P < 0.01). The high duty cycle had the greatest attenuation in %ΔFVC (-1.9 ± 3.8%). The low duty cycle at 20% (-13.3 ± 1.4%) and 15% MVC (-13.1 ± 2.5%) had significantly greater vasoconstriction than the high duty cycle (both: P < 0.01) but were not different from one another (P = 0.99). When matched for work rate and metabolic rate ( V˙O2 ), the high duty cycle had greater functional sympatholysis than the low duty cycle. However, despite a lower V˙O2 , there was no difference in functional sympatholysis between the low duty cycle conditions. This may suggest that increases in Q˙m play a role in functional sympatholysis when mechanical compression is minimized.
A multicenter evaluation of sweat chloride concentration and variation in infants with cystic fibrosis.

Abstract Fifty-nineCF infants' sweat chloride concentrations were analyzed to answer the questions: What is the biological and analytical variation in sweat chloride concentrations collected from the 32 infants homozygous for the F508 deletion? Do sweat chloride concentrations change in the first year of life beyond the variance previously established for adults with similar CFTR mutations? The biological and analytical variation of the infants' sweat chloride concentration was similar to that seen in adult CF patients. While there was a statistically significant difference between sweat chloride concentration in early (89.8 mmol/L) and late (95.0 mmol/L) infancy, this change is not likely clinically significant. This suggests that sweat chloride concentrations in CF patients do not change in a meaningful way during the first year of life. Determining variability in infants with CF is the necessary first step for future design of clinical trials of CFTR modulators in younger patients.
Claims That Don’t Need a Test

This chapter identifies several empirical claims that should not be ignored by people designing, conducting, and writing about Universal Basic Income (UBI) experiments but that cannot be tested on an experimental scale. Evidence about these claims will have to come from other sources, which will have to be combined with experimental evidence to connect experimental findings to the most important questions for the public evaluation of UBI as a policy.
RESPONSE: Clinician-Educator Program for FITs: Filling a Gap in Training

Dr. Alpert and his colleagues have written a very compelling description of an educational training program for fellows-in-training (FIT) who want special expertise to teach fellow residents and medical students and others for the next generation. They describe a program that is led by 2 highly
A holopsenelline wasp in mid-Cretaceous amber from Myanmar (Hymenoptera: Bethylidae)

A new genus and species of the basal bethylid subfamily Holopsenellinae is described and figured from a female in Burmese amber, the first occurrence of the lineage outside of the Early Cretaceous deposits of Lebanon. Holopsenelliscus pankowskiorum gen. and sp. nov. , differs from other holopsenellines most notably in the discontinuous anterior wing margin and open subdiscal cell, among other traits. The genus and species are described in full and distinguished from Holopsenella primotica Engel et al . in Lebanese amber and Cretabythus sibiricus Evans in Taimyrian amber. A key to the genera of Holopsenellinae is provided.
Image Deformation A Discussion of Several Contributing Sources

Many sources can contribute to the deformation of a photographic image. Deformation can occur during the exposure and processing of photographs, during the period between exposure and processing, a...
Distances to Galactic OB-stars: Photometry vs. Parallax

For application to surveys of interstellar matter and Galactic structure, we compute new spectrophotometric distances to 139 OB stars frequently used as background targets for UV spectroscopy. Many of these stars have updated spectral types and digital photometry with reddening corrections from the Galactic O-Star (GOS) spectroscopic survey. We compare our new photometric distances to values used in previous IUE and FUSE surveys and to parallax distances derived from Gaia-DR2, after applying a standard (0.03 mas) offset from the quasar celestial reference frame. We find substantial differences between photometric and parallax distances (at d > 1.5 kpc) with increasing dispersion when parallax errors exceed 8%. Differences from previous surveys arise from new GOS stellar classifications, especially luminosity classes, and from reddening corrections. We apply our methods to two OB associations. For Perseus OB1 (nine O-stars) we find mean distances of $2.47\pm0.57$ kpc (Gaia parallax) and $2.99\pm0.14$ kpc (photometric) using a standard grid of absolute magnitudes (Bowen et al. 2008). For 29 O-stars in Car OB1 associated with Trumpler-16, Trumpler-14, Trumpler-15, and Collinder-228 star clusters, we find $2.87\pm0.73$ kpc (Gaia parallax) and $2.60\pm0.28$ kpc (photometric). Using an alternative grid of O-star absolute magnitudes (Martins et al. 2005) shifts these photometric distances 7% closer. Improving the distances to OB-stars will require attention to spectral types, photometry, reddening, binarity, and the grid of absolute magnitudes. We anticipate that future measurements in Gaia-DR3 will improve the precision of distances to massive star-forming regions in the Milky Way.
Similarity in Teacher Ratings of the Externalizing Behavior of Twins: A Meta-Analysis:

Valid and reliable teacher ratings serve as the foundation for screening and assessment of youth with behavioral disorders and twin studies offer an opportunity to study those ratings. We conducted...
Morality, Law, and Judicial Ethics in the Western Legal Tradition

The focus of our symposium will be on judicial ethics, but I have been given a somewhat broader charge, relating morality, law, and legal ethics generally to the Western legal tradition as a whole. This topic is dear to my heart, important, fascinating, and very useful, but it requires some caution at the beginning, because our ultimate subject is universal, not parochial. The essence of legal and judicial ethics arises from human nature, which is the same everywhere, and therefore all societies participate or should participate equally in the search for justice and the rule of law. The Western legal tradition provokes our interest because its history is so well-known and well-recorded, but every legal tradition and all nations participate in this same vital struggle towards peace and justice through the rule of law.
Recorded video meetings in virtual exchange: a new frontier for pre-service teacher reflection

This study examined a virtual exchange in which English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teacher candidates from Colombia were partnered with Spanish as a Foreign Language (SFL) teacher candidates from the United States. The eight (n = 8) participants interacted via videoconference for six weeks. Additionally, they watched recordings of their video meetings in order to reflect on their experiences and what they noticed about their interactions (Schmidt, 1990). Results from qualitative data showed participants’ awareness of their professional identity and professional development. Additionally, incorporating a reflective component, based on watching recorded synchronous sessions, into virtual exchange is shown to be a valuable tool for making connections between theory and practice.
Quantification of continuous flood hazard using random forest classification and flood insurance claims at large spatial scales: a pilot study in southeast Texas

Abstract. Pre-disaster planning and mitigation necessitate detailed spatial information about flood hazards and their associated risks. In the US, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Special Flood Hazard Area (SFHA) provides important information about areas subject to flooding during the 1 % riverine or coastal event. The binary nature of flood hazard maps obscures the distribution of property risk inside of the SFHA and the residual risk outside of the SFHA, which can undermine mitigation efforts. Machine learning techniques provide an alternative approach to estimating flood hazards across large spatial scales at low computational expense. This study presents a pilot study for the Texas Gulf Coast region using random forest classification to predict flood probability across a 30 523 km 2 area. Using a record of National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) claims dating back to 1976 and high-resolution geospatial data, we generate a continuous flood hazard map for 12 US Geological Survey (USGS) eight-digit hydrologic unit code (HUC) watersheds. Results indicate that the random forest model predicts flooding with a high sensitivity (area under the curve, AUC: 0.895), especially compared to the existing FEMA regulatory floodplain. Our model identifies 649 000 structures with at least a 1 % annual chance of flooding, roughly 3 times more than are currently identified by FEMA as flood-prone.
Public Libraries as Key Partners for Advancing Health Equity

[ ]it was estimated that 171 million registered users, or 52% of the US population, visited public libraries more than 1 35 billion times over the course of one year 1 Lower-income Americans, Hispanics, and African Americans are more likely to affirm that public libraries positively affect their lives and communities than are other Americans 2 US public libraries and public library staff have provided safe spaces and intensive support for people experiencing mental illness and substance abuse, homelessness, immigration challenges, and trauma 3 Even in disenfranchised communities, such as many in the segregated neighborhoods of Chicago, Illinois, amid area gun violence, deep poverty, and isolation, libraries offer a safe space, and librarians are well trusted to support information access across racial/ethnic and other diversity divides NAVIGATING WELLNESS In recognition of the importance of disease and illness prevention to public health, the US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) was formed in 1984 as an independent group of national experts in prevention and evidence-based medicine that works to improve the health of all Americans by making evidence-based recommendations about clinical preventive services 6 Building on the infrastructure developed in Health for All, researchers and the Library Partnership Advisory Committee successfully applied for National Library of Medicine grant funding to scale the partnership efforts beyond clinical trials-and to health and wellness more broadly [ ]a trial implemented in urban neighborhoods selected to reach diverse, underserved communities found that participatory research in the public library system offers a scalable approach to reduce cancer health disparities 7 The Health for All public libraryacademic partnership we describe is an e· ample of how public libraries can serve as a safe space to support health disparity populations in dismantling the information divides that perpetuate health inequities At this time, the COVID-19 pandemic is having a disproportionate adverse impact on health disparities populations in the United States, which may be further exacerbated if these populations forego' or face barriers to participating in COVID-19 trials or utilizing COVID-19 vaccines or therapies that may be fortho:miing [ ]initiatives at public libraries such as Health for All an are now more important than ever
Transition Metals in Phase-Change Memory Materials: Impact upon Crystallization

We employed plane wave density functional molecular dynamics to simulate the crystallization of Ge\(_{2}\)Sb\(_{2}\)Te\(_{5}\) materials alloyed with \({\sim }{2}\,\%\) transition metals (Cu, Ag, and Au) and studied the resulting structural modifications. Despite having very different chemistry, we show that under many circumstances, transition metals join the crystalline structure essentially substitutionally. Bader charge analysis revealed similar positive atomic charges for Cu and Ag whereas negative charge for Au was observed. The optical contrast is preserved in Ag or Au doped Ge\(_{2}\)Sb\(_{2}\)Te\(_{5}\), but not in Cu doped Ge\(_{2}\)Sb\(_{2}\)Te\(_{5}\). The estimation of the crystallization time for the transition metal doped Ge\(_{2}\)Sb\(_{2}\)Te\(_{5}\) showed large variation which were attributed to the presence of different fractions of wrong bonds in the alloys.
Increased morbidity and mortality of a concomitant colectomy during a pancreaticoduodenectomy: an NSQIP propensity-score matched analysis

Background Select patients with peri-ampullary cancers require concomitant colon resection (CR) during a pancreaticoduodenectomy (PD) for margin-negative resections. This study analysed the impact of concomitant CR on major morbidity (MM) and mortality.
¿Estamos todos locos? A guisa de Mariano Ben Plotkin, Freud in the Pampas

About Freud in the Pampas, by Mariano Ben Plotkin. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2001.
Dexamethasone suppresses antigen-induced activation of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase and downstream responses in mast cells.

Dexamethasone and other glucocorticoids suppress FceRI-mediated release of inflammatory mediators from mast cells. Suppression of cytokine production is attributed to repression of cytokine gene transcription but no mechanism has been described for the suppression of degranulation. We show that therapeutic concentrations of dexamethasone inhibit intermediate signaling events, in particular the activation of phosphatidylinositol (PI)3-kinase and downstream signaling events that lead to degranulation in rat basophilic leukemia 2H3 cells. This inhibitory action is mediated via the glucocorticoid receptor and is not apparent when cells are stimulated via Kit in a mouse bone marrow-derived mast cell line. The primary perturbation appears to be the failure of the regulatory p85 subunit of PI3-kinase to engage with the adaptor protein Grb2-associated binder 2 leading to suppression of phosphorylation of phospholipase Cγ2, the calcium signal, and degranulation. Suppression of PI3-kinase activation by dexamethasone may also contribute to reduced cytokine production because the PI3-kinase inhibitor LY294002, like dexamethasone, inhibits Ag-induced transcription of cytokine genes as well as degranulation.
Shared allergenic and antigenic determinants in Alternaria and Stemphylium extracts

Abstract Alternaria and Stemphylium extracts were compared by means of various immunochemical and biologic methods. Skin-test responses to Alternaria and Stemphylium in allergic patients were positively correlated, and RAST binding values with the sera of 30 patients utilizing solid-phase Alt-I, Alternaria (70% ammonium sulfate-precipitable fraction), and Stemphylium allergens showed significant correlation, giving evidence for the presence of common allergenic determinants among these three extracts. In RAST inhibition assays, Alternaria and Stemphylium extracts exhibited dose-related inhibition with solid-phase Stemphylium , Alternaria , and Alt-I, confirming the presence of Alt-I as the major shared allergenic fraction in the two extracts. In repetitive absorption experiments, both Alt-I and Alternaria solid-phase allergens absorbed Stemphylium -specific IgE antibodies from a 12-person serum pool. Similarly, Stemphylium solid-phase allergen absorbed both Alternaria - and Alt-I -specific IgE antibodies. Double-antibody radioimmunoassay for Alt-I showed higher Alt-I activity in Stemphylium than in Alternaria extract. In double-immunodiffusion experiments with rabbit anti-Alt-I antibodies, both Stemphylium and Alternaria extracts produced precipitin lines of identity with Alt-I. The antigenic relationship of the two crude extracts was further confirmed by crossed and crossed-line immunoelectrophoresis experiments. Our results showed that Alternaria and Stemphylium extracts contain multiple shared allergenic and antigenic determinants, including Alt-I.
Impact a Contributions of MBASE on Software Engineering Graduate Courses

As the founding Director of the Center for Software Engineering, Professor Barry W. Boehm developed courses that have greatly impacted the education of software engineering students. Through the use of the MBASE framework and complementary tools, students have been able to obtain real-life software development experience without leaving campus. Project team clients and the universities have also benefited. This paper provides evidence on the impact of Dr. Boehms frameworks on courses at two universities, and identifies major contributions to software engineering education and practice.
The Italian Cinema and the Italian Working Class

This essay examines representations of the Italian working class from the 1930s through the 1970s. I analyze four films produced at four crucial moments in Italian labor and film history (Gli uomini, che mascalzoni!, Mario Camerini, 1932; Ladri di biciclette, Vittorio De Sica, 1946; Rocco e i suoi fratelli, Luchino Visconti, 1960; and Mimi metallurgico ferito nell'onore, Lina Wertmuller, 1972). I discuss the specific political climates that shaped these films' production and reception, paying attention to the role workers were to play as audiences in Communist and Catholic strategies of mass organization. I also highlight continuities of theme and attitude in Italian movies about the working class. A preoccupation with the maintenance of family structures links films by Camerini, De Sica, and Visconti—directors of different cinematic styles, political affiliations, and generations. Only after 1968 do directors such as Wertmuller subject such mindsets and their attendant social practices to sustained critique.
Enhancing Students' Loyalty to the Information Systems Major

Many colleges and universities face the problem of recruiting and retaining students in information systems related majors. The authors' study proposes a model to identify the primary factors leading to the retention of existing Computer Information Systems CIS majors. They identify four factors leading to student intention to remain a CIS major or to refer others to become a CIS major: 1 expectations, 2 perceived service quality, 3 satisfaction, and 4 regret. They discover that certain factors play a significant role in influencing a student's intention to remain a CIS major and/or to encourage others to major in CIS. By determining which factors impact students' intentions to remain a CIS major and to encourage others to major in CIS, we can focus our resources on these areas instead of spending time and money on those services which are not influential.
Constructing Latino Consumer-Citizens: An Analysis of Print Advertising in El Clamor Público (1855) and La Opinión (1926)

Advertising directed toward U.S. Latinos can be traced back to 1808 and has been integral to a Spanish-language media industry that has evolved significantly over the past two centuries. In this study, the author investigates how Latinos were discursively constructed as “consumer-citizens” by advertisers in the early Spanish-language press. Thus, advertising is seen as a site of ideological negotiation, hailing Latinos as participants within an evolving marketplace but also as members of a social system that distinguishes ethnic identity from national identity. An analysis of 685 print advertisements from two Los Angeles-based publications: El Clamor Publico in 1855 and La Opinion in 1926 reveals that Anglo businesses invested economic resources toward reaching Spanish-speaking consumers as early as the first issue of the region's first Latino newspaper. This finding challenges claims that Latinos were excluded from the formal economy and that the early Spanish-language press was primarily a space for pro...
DEPENDENCE OF SPIN-LATTICE RELAXATION TIME UPON MAGNETIC FIELD FOR TWO SALTS OF NEODYMIUM.

Abstract : Measurements were made below 1.5K of the spin-lattice relaxation rate of Nd(3+) in lanthanum fluoride and lanthanum magnesium nitrate as a function of the separation of the levels of the ground doublet. The relaxation rate for the forbidden transition was calculated, and it has been shown that under certain circumstances it can be more rapid than the relaxation rate for allowed transitions. There is an additional tribution which depends upon the concentration of Nd(3+) and may be due to cross relaxation to coupled pairs of Nd(3+) ions. In lanthanum magnesium nitrate there is a phonon bottleneck as well as the direct process. Both salts show an Orbach process above 2K. A modification of the usual pulse saturation technique was used to obtain these measurements which gives some advantages over the standard method.
Evaporation dynamics of a small nonhomogeneous droplet in intense optical fields

Abstract A complete theoretical description and an algorithm for studies of thermal dynamics of a vaporizing heterogeneous (layered) droplet are provided. The suspended in the superheated vapor droplet is irradiated by a moderately intense light beam. The description is two-dimensional and includes such elements as nonuniform patterns of absorption of the incident radiation inside the droplet obtained by the electromagnetic theory, kinetic (noncontinuum) expressions for coupled mass and energy transfer to/from the droplet in the surrounding gas, and a shrinking droplet dynamics. Transient heat dissipation inside the droplet is simulated by an application of the Monte Carlo method. Specific computations are performed for a coal-water droplet irradiated by an infrared light beam at conditions corresponding to the first stages of dynamics of the fuel droplet in a combustor.
Synthesis of alcohol and wax ester by a cell-free system in Mycobacterium tuberculosis

Abstract A particulate enzyme system from the cell-free extract of Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Ra catalyzes the reduction of palmityl-CoA to hexadecanol in the presence of ATP and NADPH. The hexadecanol product is esterified with endogenous acyl derivatives to form the wax esters. Two major radioactive wax ester products were identified as hexadecyl palmitate and hexadecyl stearate.
Progress toward magnetic suspension and balance systems for large wind tunnels

Recent developments and current research efforts leading toward realization of a large-scale production wind tunnel magnetic suspension and balance facility are reviewed. Progress has been made in the areas of model roll control, high-angle-of-attack testing, digital system control, calibration techniques, high magnetic moment superconducting solenoid model cores, and system failure tolerance. Formal design studies have confirmed the engineering feasibility of large-scale facilities.
The Burden of Support: Young Latinos in an Aging Society

The Burden of Support: Young Latinos in an Aging Society. David E. Hayes-Bautista, Werner O. Schink, and Jorge Chapa. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1988. 224 pp. $35.00 (cloth), 11.95 (paper). ISBN 0-8047-1371-5, ISBN 0-8047- 1802-4.
Energy levels and level ordering in the WKB approximation

Energy levels and level orderings for a particle in a non-relativistic potential are examined in the WKB approximation. In particular, power-law potentials (V(r) = arγ, −2 < γ < ∞) are discussed in some detail. The energy levels are shown to be determined in terms of a single function G(η, γ) of a variable η. Expansions of this function, valid for small (large) angular momentum quantum numbers (l) and large (small) radial quantum numbers (n), approximate the energy levels well. The ordering of the levels follows from the monotonic behavior of (∂/∂η)G(η, γ). The values γ = 2 (harmonic oscillator potential) and γ = −1 (Coulomb potential) for which the WKB approximation gives the exact (i.e. Schrodinger) results lead to degenerate levels. It is about these values of γ that the monotonic behavior of (∂/∂η)G(η, γ) changes sign (as a function of γ). We also find an ordering theorem for arbitrary central potentials which is valid for large l and small n and is possibly correct for smaller l. The ordering depends on various sums of derivatives of the potential. Similar theorems, which follow from the Schrodinger equation, have been obtained recently for low-lying levels and are compared to our results.
Tumor Necrosis Factor α Modulates Airway Smooth Muscle Function via the Autocrine Action of Interferon β

Current evidence suggests that tumor necrosis factor α (TNFα) and the family of interferons (IFNs) synergistically regulate many cellular responses that are believed to be critical in chronic inflammatory diseases, although the underlying mechanisms of such interaction are complex, cell-specific, and not completely understood. In this study, TNFα in a time-dependent manner activated both janus tyrosine kinase 1 and Tyk2 tyrosine kinase and increased the nuclear translocation of interferon-regulatory factor-1, STAT1, and STAT2 in human airway smooth muscle cells. In cells transfected with a luciferase reporter, TNFα stimulated γ-activated site-dependent gene transcription in a time- and concentration-dependent manner. Using neutralizing antibodies to IFNβ and TNFα receptor 1, we show that TNFα-induced secretion of IFNβ mediated γ-activated site-dependent gene expression via activation of TNFα receptor 1. In addition, neutralizing antibody to IFNβ also completely abrogated the activation of interferon stimulation response element-dependent gene transcription induced by TNFα. Secreted IFNβ acted as a negative regulator of TNFα-induced interleukin-6 expression, while IFNβ augmented TNFα-induced RANTES (regulated on activation normal T cell expressed and secreted) secretion but had little effect on TNFα-induced intercellular adhesion molecule-1 expression. Furthermore TNFα, a modest airway smooth muscle mitogen, markedly induced DNA synthesis when cells were treated with neutralizing anti-IFNβ. Together these data show that TNFα, via the autocrine action of IFNβ, differentially regulates the expression of proinflammatory genes and DNA synthesis.
Association of neutrophils with platelet aggregates in unstable angina. Should we alter therapy

In this issue of Circulation , Dr Ott and his colleagues1 have convincingly demonstrated evidence for increased neutrophil-platelet interaction associated with unstable angina not seen in patients with stable angina. Although such interactions have been suggested previously, as duly referenced by the authors, the work by Ott and coworkers has defined these observations and characterized some of the cellular changes in neutrophils consequent to this interaction that are potentially important in consideration of their pathophysiological significance. We intend to provide an alternative perspective to the scholarly discussion provided by Ott and colleagues. We wish to address the potential of these findings as a diagnostic and prognostic tool and as a part of the pathophysiology of unstable angina and to discuss the potential therapeutic implications. The major finding of the study by Ott et al1 is the evidence of augmented platelet-neutrophil interaction in the circulating venous blood of patients with unstable angina. They consider the mechanism of this adhesion and its potential relationship to the pathophysiological process, which is, at least theoretically, occurring on a labile plaque in the coronary circulation. However, activated neutrophils and neutrophil-platelet aggregates will certainly be cleared rapidly from the circulation by both the spleen and the lung. Because the complexes are both rapidly cleared and not likely to be stable (see below), this measurement offers a potential way of following the ongoing metastable interaction. It would be of interest to measure the rate at which these aggregates disappeared as a function of classic treatment approaches to unstable angina. If the complexes truly clear rapidly, then they should disappear rapidly after new complexes are no longer formed, and one would have the opportunity to examine these changes in patients with various treatment regimens. The relationship of platelet-neutrophil aggregates to treatment modalities and changes in symptoms …
Supercell Low-Level Mesocyclones in Simulations with a Sheared Convective Boundary Layer

AbstractSimulations of supercell thunderstorms in a sheared convective boundary layer (CBL), characterized by quasi-two-dimensional rolls, are compared with simulations having horizontally homogeneous environments. The effects of boundary layer convection on the general characteristics and the low-level mesocyclones of the simulated supercells are investigated for rolls oriented either perpendicular or parallel to storm motion, as well as with and without the effects of cloud shading.Bulk measures of storm strength are not greatly affected by the presence of rolls in the near-storm environment. Though boundary layer convection diminishes with time under the anvil shadow of the supercells when cloud shading is allowed, simulations without cloud shading suggest that rolls affect the morphology and evolution of supercell low-level mesocyclones. Initially, CBL vertical vorticity perturbations are enhanced along the supercell outflow boundary, resulting in nonnegligible near-ground vertical vorticity regardles...
Some fundamental relationships between oscillographic and spectrographic phonocardiograms

Abstract The theory of Fourier transform pairs is a profound mathematical concept which undoubtedly underlies the interrelationships between oscillographic and spectrographic types of phonocardiography. This communication introduces the concept of the Fourier transformation into the clinical phonocardiographic literature for what is apparently the first time. Various simple harmonic oscillations, occurring in bursts of n or ( n + 1 2 ) cycles, are analyzed by means of the Fourier transform method, and are discovered to contain significantly large frequency components extending from the near-zero range to beyond twice the fundamental frequency of the oscillations. The spread of sizable frequency components is found to be directly related to the abruptness of the onset and offset of sonic energy. The frequency spectra of simple memory functions have been determined in a like manner, and found to be of the same form as the frequency response of a damped, simple harmonic oscillator to forced oscillations. The relative magnitude of the near-zero frequency components is found to increase proportionately with the degree of damping of the system. This circumstance probably explains why sizable near-zero frequency components are commonly present in clinical spectrophonocardiograms. An attempt is made, on predominantly theoretical grounds, to compare the relative merits of stethographic oscillograms and spectrograms. It is concluded that spectrograms may be rather valuable in the analysis of murmurs, especially the musical variety. However, in the case of sounds produced by closure of the valves, it appears that frequency spectrograms are essentially artefacts (in the broad sense of the term), and that they tend to obscure many important dynamic characteristics of transient heart sounds. On the basis of these various considerations, we believe that frequency spectrography is a useful adjunctive procedure, but not necessarily the stethographic method of choice.
North Americans – one third of the world's weight?: Obesity and the comma

One in three people worldwide is overweight – and it is not just a problem of the developed world. The number of overweight and obese adults in the developing world has almost quadrupled since 1980 to around 1 billion, says a report from the Overseas Development Institute1. The increase was primarily in countries with rising incomes such as Egypt and Mexico. A shift from eating grains to more fats, sugar, oils and meat has been blamed. At the same time, millions, particularly children, are undernourished. In the UK, 64% of adults are classed as being overweight or obese. North America has the highest percentage of overweight adults at 70%. Reason for shame? Watch not only your weight, but also your punctuation, says Stella Dudzic.
GTPase twins in the SRP family

Two recent structural studies on the GTPases of the bacterial signal recognition particle–receptor complex reveal how direct interactions between the two ribonucleotides in a shared GTP-binding cavity contribute to the assembly and the GTPase-activated disassembly of this targeting complex.
What Is the Impact of Comorbid Depression on Adolescent Substance Abuse Treatment

ABSTRACT. Background: Substance use disorders (SUDs) are among the most common psychiatric diagnoses in adolescents. Some research suggests that comorbid depression in adolescents with SUD is associated with increased likelihood of alcohol dependence, poorer social competence, and greater risk for suicide attempts. However, little is known about how depression influences adolescent substance abuse treatment retention and outcomes. Methods: This review aimed to summarize the effects of comorbid depression on treatment retention and outcomes across 13 adolescent SUD treatment studies. Results: Results indicated that depression has a mixed relationship with treatment retention and outcomes, exerting a negative, positive, or nonsignificant effect depending on aspects of the study. Conclusions: More research needs to be done, particularly addressing the potential mediators and moderators of the relationship between depression and SUD outcomes. Importantly, recognizing that the studies varied widely in hypothes...
The relative success of Africanized and European honey-bees over a range of life-zones in Costa Rica

1. The reproductive success and biology of Africanized and European honey-bees (Apis mellifera) were compared for a year over three life-zones from 900 m to 2800 m in Costa Rica, with the aim of identifying the factors which might limit the distribution of both bee types in tropical highlands. ' 2. Determinations of colony success and comparative biology included survivorship during the rainy season, causes of colony mortality, frequency of swarming, absconding, seasonal patterns of weight gain, brood-rearing (worker and drone), and nectar and pollen storage. 3. There was a significant difference in survivorship during the rainy season between European colonies given supplemental feedings and those not so fed; however, there were no significant differences in survivorship between the fed and unfed Africanized colonies. 4. More European than Africanized colonies died from gradual weakening, and only Africanized colonies absconded. However, colony deaths and absconding occurred with approximately equal frequency over all elevations during the year. 5. Almost three times as many Africanized as European colonies swarmed over the year. Although the majority of swarms occurred in the dry season at the lowest apiary, both bee types issued swarms at the highest elevation. 6. Africanized colonies weighed significantly more and maintained significantly larger worker brood areas than European colonies across all elevations for most months of the year, except at 2800 m from March through June. 7. Africanized colonies reared more drones than European colonies, except during the dry season at the highest elevation. 8. There were no significant differences in pollen storage between bee types across all elevations for 10 months of the year, and there were no significant differences in nectar storage throughout the year. 9. The most pronounced differences between the bee types were observed in the lowlands, which accounts for the rapid population growth and range expansion of Africanized bees, and their displacement of European bees in these areas. 10. The differences between the bee types in the highlands (2200 m and 2800 m) were not as pronounced for any of the determinations, indicating that neither was better adapted than the other to the climatic and resource conditions of tropical highlands. Possible reasons for the similarities in survival and performance between the bee types in the highlands as well as the implications of these findings on the potential distribution of Africanized bees are discussed.
Congenital heart block and cardiac anomalies in the absence of maternal connective tissue disease

The association of congenital heart block with maternal connective tissue disease and autoimmunity has been recently reported. Two cases of heart block were diagnosed in utero at 23 and 24 weeks' gestation. Both mothers had extensive workups for connective tissue disease that were negative. Two-dimensional and Doppler echocardiograpy were performed in utero and both infants had left atrial isomerism, atripventricular canal, defects, and severe hydrops in addition to heart block. Review of the recent literature identifies a 'subset of congenital heart block in which the mothers have no evidence for connective tissue disease, and the fetus or neonate has complex cardiac malformations and hydrops. The common features in these babies are atrioventricular canal defects and isomerism. No reports of congenital heart disease among the children of mothers with connective tissue disease fit this description. Our recent experience and literature review emphasize the previously known association between congenital heart block and congenital heart disease. This association is especially important in light of the poor prognosis for this group of fetuses and neonates.
Chemotactic Function in the Human Neonate: Humoral and Cellular Aspects

Extract: The cellular and humoral components of the chemotactic response in neonates have been compared with those in adults. Leukocytes from neonates were compared with those from adults in their ability to movetoward chemotactic factors (CF) generated from pooled, normal serum. Neonatal leukocytes showed a consistent and highly significant deficiency in their response to chemotactic factor generated from Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, or albumin-antialbumin (Table I). Chemotactic factor generated from neonatal and adult sera was compared for its ability to stimulate migration of a standardized, normal leukocyte pool. A small but highly significant difference was seen between the amounts of effective CF generated from neonatal sera and that from adult sera. The difference was found with all three generating agents (Table II). The mechanism by which leukocytes undergo chemotactic migration is presently unclear. It is possible that in neonates cellular defects in leukocyte phagocytosis and leukotactic chemotaxis may be related to developmental immaturity of common biologic mechanisms. Although other serum factors may be involved, it appears that the separate deficiencies of neonatal sera in generation of CF and enhancement of phagocytosis may both be related to deficiencies of C3 and C5. The enhanced susceptibility to infection in neonates cannot be explained simply by a selective deficiency of IgM. Addition of IgM failed to correct the humoral deficiencies of chemotaxis and phagocytosis in vitro. Further, a deficiency of IgM would not explain the cellular deficiencies demonstrated. It is only by a sequential analysis of the entire inflammatory response in the neonate that these relations will become clear. Speculation: It has become apparent that the relative susceptibility of the neonate to bacterial infections is the result of a number of deficiencies involving both humoral and cellular aspects of the neonatal inflammatory response. The future delineation of these individual defects may lead to improved therapeutic approaches in neonatal septicemia and, also, provide valuable information on the mechanisms involved in the normal inflammatory response.
Mercury in the Muscle Tissue of Fish from Three Northern Maine Lakes

We report the levels of mercury in the muscle tissue of brook trout (Sa~ve_f~nt&5 folq;gT~n~) and lake trout (S. na~ayc~sh) from three northern Maine lakes. Mercury levels in fish from two wilderness lakes in the same drainage basin were compared with each other, and in turn with those in fish from a lake in a separate drainage basin. The fish species composition in one of the wilderness lakes, Cliff Lake, is different from that in the other two lakes, enabling us to analyze the effects of trophic structure on mercury concentration in top carnivores. It is unlikely that mercury from agricultural, geological, or local industrial sources occurs in these lakes.